Tours Travel

San Juan Puerto Rico

San Juan is the capital of Puerto Rico, a popular tourist destination island in the Caribbean. The city of San Juan was founded in 1521 and is known as La Ciudad Amurallada, that is, the walled city. San Juan is the largest natural harbor in the Caribbean and the second oldest city in the Americas. The city is a major port and tourist center and the oldest city under the United States flag.

The Spanish made San Juan the central point for trade during the 16th century and fortified the entire city, now known as Old San Juan. The city has now expanded beyond its walled limits and incorporates the suburbs of Miramar, Santurce, Condado, Hato Rey and Río Piedras. Today, San Juan is the largest petroleum processing center, and is known for sugar refining, manufacturing, and distillation. Cement, pharmaceutical and tobacco industries have been installed, making it one of the busiest ports in the Caribbean and the second largest seaport in the area, after New York City. San Juan is also the financial capital of Puerto Rico with many US banks and corporations having established offices there in recent times.

The city of Old San Juan was originally a military stronghold. It is now a charming residential and commercial district with streets paved with bluestone cobblestones. More than 400 carefully restored 16th-century Spanish colonial buildings line the city. Tourists seeking an experience of old world charm flock to the city every year.

Plaza de San José is lined with a number of historic buildings and is a favorite meeting place for many residents and tourists. The bronze statue of Ponce de León stands in the center of the plaza.

The Parque de las Palomas or Pigeon Park offers an impressive view of the port and the mountains of the city. The park overlooks the restored La Princesa jail, now an art gallery.

Begun in 1540, the Castillo de San Felipe del Morro is a six-tier fortress that was finally completed in 1589. The fortress is a labyrinth of tunnels, dungeons, barracks, and ramps. Its 18-foot-thick wall rises 140 feet above sea level; it provided a formidable defense against attack in the 16th century. The fort is dotted with small circular sentry boxes called ‘Garitas’, now a national symbol.

The Capilla del Cristo or Capilla del Cristo was built in 1753. Through the glass doors of the church you can see the altar and beautiful Campeche paintings inside.

For those who really want to experience the charm of San Juan, there is nothing like a fun walk through the narrow and steep streets of the city. San Juan is a picturesque city that combines historic charm with modern vision and comfort.

Technology

Fake accounts on Facebook: how to counter them

Facebook is the most popular social networking site in the world and is responsible for bringing almost a communication revolution to the World Wide Web.

The use of Facebook today is really very large and has reached a level where the user base is estimated to cover around 37% of the total world population. Along with this huge user base, the fake user base has also increased to an unexpected level of 27% of all Facebook users. That means that if you receive 10 friend requests a day, of those 10 only 7 or 8 are real people and the rest 2 or 3 are fake.

Like the virtual world, the Internet world is also becoming full of scams. From phishing scams to hacking, the World Wide Web today is said to be only 65% ​​original. This in turn means that the remaining 35% is fraud. The same goes for popular social networking and microblogging sites like Facebook, Digg, LinkedIn, MySpace, Twitter, etc. Some do it for fun and some do it for business.

Here are some of the reasons why Facebook is becoming a fake book:



1. funny book: The most common threat among young people is setting up fake accounts and misleading their friends and colleagues for social reasons. This hilarious habit of tricking others has given rise to fake account holders, sometimes even bearing the name of a real person who has never used Facebook in their life.

two. Business Book: The danger of Facebook is very brutal when we talk about the dangers for business. Nothing can hinder business worse than a false perspective. And with the rise of these fake accounts on Facebook, all businesses need to be smart about turning a Facebook lead into a prospect. Most of the fake business accounts are used by some companies to promote their products. Because people find it more convenient to believe in a product or service when an individual recommends or endorses it. If you take a look at any of the Freelancing sites like Elance, GAF or Guru, you can easily find a good number of published projects to create massive Facebook accounts. In fact, these are fake accounts.

3. Niche Book: You name any niche and you find it within Facebook. either in the form of groups or fan-pages. And to increase the visibility of a group or a fan page, the use of fake accounts is the best source.

With the growth of these fake accounts, the risk of losing ground on Facebook is becoming too high for everyone. Therefore, it is an immense need for you to know about the precautions that should be taken. I am mentioning some of these precautions here that I have found helpful:

1. Find the address: Most fake Facebook users don’t have a proper address on their information page. So look for that information page to clarify your doubts.

two. Profile picture: To amaze us all, most of the fake accounts have photos on their profiles. And they are simply collected from dating sites and other image sources. Thus, it relates the image to the address or age provided by the user. Trust me, it will tell you a lot.

3. Friends: If you see an account where the user’s address is somewhere in Chula Vista, USA or London, UK and you don’t have any friends from that region, you should be careful. This is rare for a person not to have any friends from their own place.

Keeping these 6 points in mind while accepting any friend request on Facebook will definitely save you from the danger of fake book.

Business

Finding the right SBA loan for your business

Whether you’re thinking of starting a business or already running it, money is your lifeline. Small businesses have financing as an important factor in keeping their business afloat and at some point getting financing for their business turns out to be in their best interest. The Small Business Administration (SBA) helps put the pieces together for small businesses. It offers them the financing they need to run their businesses and even grow them.

This is a federal government agency that has worked for many small businesses. Instead of lending money directly to businesses, it establishes and uses guidelines for lending through partners like credit unions, microcredit institutions, banks, and community development organizations. The SBA takes the risk out of lenders by guaranteeing the payment of portions of loans granted. It can be termed as a win-win situation because the entrepreneurs get the funds they need and the lenders make sure that the loans will be repaid which makes the agency very beneficial. Loans simply offer access to capital at lower costs without the requirement to give up equity.

loan programs

It is important to note that SBA loan programs are structured specifically for small businesses that do not have access to other types of financing. As a small business person, you should be familiar with loan programs so you can apply for the right one for your business.

7(a) Loan Program: This is the primary program intended to help new businesses as well as existing small businesses that need financing. The loans are basic and the money can be for general business purposes such as equipment, machinery, working capital lease improvements, fixtures and furnishings, and other business needs. Basically, it can deal with business acquisitions, consolidation of unsecured debt into a new loan, purchase of large inventories, and business expansion.

CDC/504 Loan Program: This SBA loan program offers long-term financing for the purchase of large assets. Assets can include commercial real estate, buildings and land, or even equipment. Loans typically cover 40% of the total project cost, with the participating lender covering 50% and the borrower contributing the last 10%. Loans under this program are never used for inventory or capital.

Disaster Loans – Businesses can be affected by disasters and this can be devastating to any business. The SBA extends disaster loans to businesses affected by declared disasters. Low-interest loans are structured to help replace or repair damaged machinery, personal property, business assets, inventory, and equipment. Basically, you’ll get back on your feet after a disaster strikes at very low interest using this loan program.

Microloan Program: The loan program provides very small loans to new, growing, or newly established businesses. They typically have SBA-appointed intermediary lenders, most of whom are nonprofit organizations with some experience in lending and technical assistance. Although small loans cannot be used to pay off existing debts or purchase real estate, they are still useful for the purchase of fixtures, equipment, machinery, supplies, and inventory or used as working capital.