Articles written by D. Blain

What is Helium

About me - D. Blain

Well, I'm recently married to the most beautiful person in the world (just over a year) - which I suppose makes me the luckiest man alive too. Hurrah for that!

I am currently a stockbroker and I trade securities on the NYSE. I know that's not exactly the profession

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Business > Sales The science of successful sales techniques: 1 of 23
INTRODUCTIONIt is hard to discuss sales in a general way, as each product or service being sold has its own unique set of circumstances. For the purpose of this article I will be discussing direct-to-consumer sales, which in my experience is the most challenging form of selling.Every sales person has "their close" or "that co... More..
Creative Writing > Novel Excerpts Novel excerpts: Dark fantasy: 18 of 149
ONE OF THE DREAMS MY MAIN CHARACTER HAS IN HIS EARLY 30'SThe sky sparkling crystal blue, perfectly smooth. So smooth it looked like he could just reach up and brush his hand across its glassy surface. Bare feet stood on black stone. Coarse, grinding stone. His every step laborious, like he was chained to the ground.But he had... More..
Celebrations & Holidays > Special Occasion Gifts April Fools' Day prank-gift ideas: 3 of 14
A really simple, eloquent and funny one I pulled off was a few years ago when I was picking up a girl friend from work (not my girlfriend but one of her friends). She was an manager at Bootlegger.I managed to peel off one of the magnetic sticky-tags that trigger the alarms for shoplifting. When I grabbed her coat, I unzipped ... More..
Personal Finance > Managing Debt Should third party collection agencies be legal?: 4 of 9
Third party collection agencies are vital to our lives in many ways. Although just the word "debt collector" sends a shiver down your spine, and generally people have about as much regard for a collection agent as the guy knocking on your door wielding a baseball bat, they are just one of those thing you love if you need one... More..
Personal Finance > Investing (Other) Who do you trust more: Bernanke or Greenspan: 5 of 11
I'm a stockbroker, so I follow all of the numbers announced and all of the addresses made by Greenspan and Bernake. I decided earlier this week that Greenspan shouldn't be allowed to address the markets in any way. It's exactly like you said: People put more stock in Greenspan because of his long-term career and experience, b... More..
Personal Finance > Managing Credit How to build your credit: 15 of 30
Despite the fact that almost every person says a credit card is the best way to build credit, it is actually the WORST way to build credit.This is because of the way credit companies in North America market their products and attack their primary initial target market - students. Credit companies set up kiosks at colleges and... More..
Relationships & Family > Marriage & Intimacy How frequently people make love: 20 of 37
As long as it's healthy sex, and both parties are getting enough of it, there isn't a problem at all.I have a pretty strong drive (much fueled by the fact my wife is absolutely beautiful in every way), and I could very easily have something to do with sex every morning and every evening without missing a beat (sorry for the F... More..
Food & Drink > Drinks (Other) What is your favorite beverage?: 34 of 62
My favourite beverage is coffee. I have two dependencies in my life, coffee and cigarettes. Thankfully they compliment each other wonderfully (better than ice cream and pizza or something).Second to that is water. Lots and lots of water. I find this helps my body to flush out the toxins from all of the coffee and cigarettes. ... More..
Personal Finance > Stock Market Seven signals of a rising stock price: 4 of 7
What are these elusive "signals" that point to profit for you? Most people will point the seeker in the direction of technical indicators, such as MACD or Volume or Force Index. Others will say the signals are things like Cramer hammering the head of a jack-in-the-box with a rubber mallet screaming "buy buy buy!" along w... More..
Personal Finance > Stock Market From Wall Street to Asian financial centers and back again: Stock market crash of 2007: 6 of 10
In response to the #1 article I would like to make a few points:First of all, if you review the numbers economically, you'll find the following:Housing is only down marginally. The Fed Reserve is expected to keep rates steady for at least six months which will keep the housing sector fairly steady.Unemployment rates are only ... More..