Q: Like their stock counterparts, futures mutual funds are a diversified portfolio of different commodity futures managed by a professional advisor for a fee. Managers determine which futures to buy or sell and the timing of the transactions. Most funds are highly leveraged to increase return. The portfolio might be broad including all commodity classes or limited to specific types such as grains or precious metals. Management fees typically are 1.5% or higher of the fund’s asset value.  Mutual funds let investors participate in the commodities market without having to get directly involved with trading highly leveraged commodities. Also, since commodity mutual funds also make investments in stocks related to the commodities, sometimes they still perform well even if a commodity itself is experiencing a negative price movement. For example, stocks in a mining company may rise even though the price of the commodity they mine is falling. This is because the stock value of the companies related to the commodities are affected not only by the price of the commodity, but also by their own debt and cash flow.  Major investment companies that sell commodity index funds include Pimco Real Return Strategy Fund, Oppenheimer, Barclays and JP Morgan. Commodity mutual funds are advantageous because they are professional managed and diversified, providing a full package to inexperienced investors. A Commodity ETF is a managed portfolio of physical commodities or commodity futures designed to track either the spot price such as precious metals or an index of a specific commodities. For example, a Gold ETF might purchase and store gold in the form or coins or bullion while a Futures ETF would contain a series of futures contract designed to replicate the price movement of an index like the Dow Jones-USB Grains Subindex Total Return or the SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index Total Return. While assets within the ETF are rebalanced periodically to track the index more closely, active management is less intensive than a commodity mutual fund and less expensive with expense ratios of 1% or less.  Commodity ETFs trade like a common stock on a stock exchange and undergo price changes frequently as they are bought and sold. ETFs usually have lower fees than mutual fund shares. However, ETFs also introduce credit risk, as their issuer may not be able to repay the promised amount under certain circumstances. Both commodity mutual funds and ETFs can be purchased through a regular online brokerage or an in-person broker. Mutual funds may have management fees and/or minimum investment amounts. Check with your brokerage for details.
A: Understand commodity futures mutual funds. Understand commodity-related Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Buy commodity mutual fund shares or ETFs.

Q: This will take care of the mush many softer leaf herbs are going to turn into anyway. You can grate or finely chop single herbs this way or do a mixture of complementary herbs. Date and label the bags. Use within two months.
A: Grate or finely chop the herbs before freezing. Place into small freezer bags. Freeze.

Q: Two of the biggest problems that people make when they're trying to narrate are speaking too quickly and not varying their voice. These two problems tend to go together, since it's hard to vary you're voice when you're flying through your narration at the speed of light.  Watch your breathing and your pauses, if you're worried about speaking too quickly. If you aren't taking deep, slow breaths you're probably going too fast. If you aren't pausing, then you are definitely going to fast and your audience will have difficulty keeping up. Make sure that you're using inflections on words and syllables, so that you aren't simply speaking in one tone. This is one of the biggest ways to keep your audience's interest, even if the story itself isn't the most interesting. Another problem is not getting to the story quickly enough and taking too many detours during the story. The occasional aside isn't a problem, especially if it's informative or humorous. Otherwise, stick to the main story, because that's what your audience wants to hear about.  Avoid the "pre-ramble." When you start your narration, do the briefest introduction of yourself and the work as possible. Your audience doesn't want to hear how the story came to you in a dream, etc. and etc. They want to hear the story. Don't ramble during the story. Keep to the basic bones of the story and don't go off onto other memories, or other immensely funny things that you just thought of. Too many side rambles and you're going to lose your audience. When you're narrating a story, whether it's your own or another's, your audience does not want your moral insight. Think about the stories that you remember from your childhood (like Aesop's fables). Most, if not all, had some moral. Do you even remember it, or do you remember only the story? Stories are built on facts, the facts of the narrative. Following these facts will provide the moral or opinion or insight whether or not you articulate what it actually is. This seems like such an obvious step, but so often this is where people fall down when trying to narrate. You have to practice before you can effectively and entertainingly narrate something, whether it's a written poem or story, or a story you're telling that comes from your own life. The more you know your material, the more confident you'll appear when you're narrating. The more confident you are in your narration, the more interest your garner from your audience. There are people who do narration for a living: storytellers, people who do voice-overs for movies, people who read stories for books on tape. Watch storytellers live and see how they use their bodies (hand gestures, facial expressions), how they vary their voices, and what techniques they use to draw in their listeners.
A: Use your voice appropriately. Get to the story. Avoid sharing too much opinion/insight/moral. Practice. Listen to other storytellers.

Q: Even if you think the way you were let go was unfair or terrible, don’t badmouth your former employer or boss in an interview. This makes you look negative and often changes the way the interviewer sees you. If the interviewer asks you to elaborate about your boss or former company, you can say something like, "The company just wasn't a good fit for me, because it didn't present the types of challenges I most enjoy." Or you can say, "My boss is great at his job, but our personalities just didn't fit well." ” Don’t lie, but you don’t have to be obvious about it either. Instead, you can say things like “my company downsized” or “my position was eliminated.” If it’s apparent to the interviewer that you were fired for a more specific reason that downsizing, explain what happened in as few words as possible. For example, you can say something like “I learned that I should really research the companies I apply to, to make sure that their goals and mine match. For example, I noticed that your company’s commitment to social justice matches my own passion for it, which is exemplified by my work with the ACLU.” Interviewers will tend to have more respect for you if you take responsibility for being fired. This doesn’t necessarily mean accepting blame if you weren’t at fault, but it can mean acknowledging the position wasn’t a good fit or you didn’t get along with your bosses or coworkers. For example, you can say something like “You can see on my resume that being involuntarily let go from a position is not commonplace for me. The truth is that my boss and I did not get along well and the position wasn’t a good fit. I’ve learned a lot from the position, and my references will attest to my excellence as an employee and coworker.”
A:
Don’t talk about your previous boss or company. Avoid saying “fired. Be concise, then move on. Take responsibility.