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Gel Candle Safety: What You Should Know Before You Buy. Back Challenges.

2005-10-27T22:50:00.000-07:00

A lot of attention has been focused on gel candle safety in recent years. Irresponsible (usually foreign) candlemakers have flooded the shelves of dollar stores and discount retailers with poor quality and at times unsafe container gel candles.

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As a result, gel candles have gotten a "bum rap" as being hazardous works of the devil, rather than being viewed as an alternative decorating option for candle lovers. Following the guidelines here will help you in choosing safe gel candles for your home or gift giving needs.

Most gel candles are container based, meaning decorative materials (called embeds) and a wick are placed inside a container (generally glass) and the container is then filled with molten gel. The gel is mostly mineral oil, blended with a stabilizing polymer, which helps the candle retain fragrance load. The thicker (more dense) a gel is, the more fragrance load it can carry. Remember, too that the thicker the gel, the higher the melt point, which means a generally hotter and longer burning candle.

And there's the rub! Careless manufacturers assume that gel candles can be made in the same manner as traditional paraffin candles. Not so! Because the candle "wax" is hotter, there are more safety precautions that need to be taken into account.

First, gel candles should not contain flammable materials as embeds. The wick can float in a gel candle and set any of those embeds on fire. The added heat can cause a container to crack or even worse, explode, sending flaming gel around the room. Embeds should be made of glass or other non-flammable materials and should be secured away from the path of the wick. The wick should be secured with a wick clip (also called a sustainer base). The wick clip should have at least a 3mm neck. This helps control the burn path of the wick by holding the wick upright as it burns. Many gel candles have no sustainer base of any kind, which results in wick "float" as it burns.

Second, it is important to inspect all your container candles before lighting - this includes paraffin candles. Often a chip or crack goes unnoticed until the glass breaks under heat stress - a very dangerous situation. Many times a gel candle is otherwise not a threat to life and limb, until the integrity of the glass is compromised. Make sure that glassware used to house your candle is designed to withstand the heat of the candle inside it. Ask your candle maker. Candle glassware comes in many shapes and sizes and not all are suited to gel.

Finally, it is important

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to supervise a burning candle. The Navy Safety Center tells a story of how lighting a gel candle led to a horrible explosion and severe burns on the hand of one Michelle Shebloski Weyer. While the glassware may or may not have been unsuitable for gel candle use, the author glosses the fact that the candle was left unattended and when she heard it fall to the floor, she noticed it was broken and picked it up anyway - while it was still burning. The end result was days in a burn unit and plastic surgery to repair her severely damaged hand. Careless consumers can cause just as much damage as careless manufacturers. Never leave a burning candle unattended - and never touch a burning candle!

Another type of container candle is called a "double glassed" gel candle. In this instance, a smaller container with the actual gel candle is placed inside an outer container where the design using gel and embeds has been made. This is a safer design concept that allows you to burn the candle without losing the original look of the scene designed within the candle. It segregates the burning wick from the potentially flammable embeds The candle also becomes refillable - which is a great way to try different scents.

In the last five years a new type of clear candle has emerged - freestanding gel-type candles. Again using a base of mineral oil, candle uses a patented resin as the stabilizer, creating a candle that outshines both traditional paraffin and gel candles. It requires no container like gel candles, burns longer than paraffin and holds more fragrance than either. The flame burns down through the inside of the candle as light radiates through the candle's side wall. Without the potential of an exploding glass container, there are fewer safety concerns with this type of candle. Resin-based candles can be made in traditional paraffin pillar shapes, lending them more decorative appeal than gel candles and more durability than paraffin.

Whatever your candle choice, know what your burning. Read and follow the directions that come with each candle. Understand how candles create heat and light. Take the time to learn about candles and be an informed consumer. That can literally make the difference between life and death.

Lisa Robbin is the Director of Product Development for the giving candle, the maker of Heavenly Gems resin-based clear candles. Lisa writes articles on all things candle related in an effort to educate consumers about making the most out of their candle purchases. You can email her directly at lisa@thegivingcandle.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

This is very important information for anyone with back problems!

If you hurt your back it is usually a disc problem. Unless you strained some ligaments, which can happen, that's why you should consult with a Doctor who specializes in the back. If you take care of it right away you will be able to heal it faster. I have used this approach with hundreds of patients, as well as with my other colleagues. It seems to be the best and conservative approach:

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1st See a doctor that specializes in backs. Stay in bed, don't sit or stand or even walk much. Most importantly, don't do any exercises that flex the spine (bend forward). The most important exercise to do is to arch the spine, as in the cobra (lying on the ground like you are going to do a push-up, keeping the pelvis flat on the ground and keeping the butt muscles relaxed (see exercise in my web site).

2nd The doctor who is experienced in treating backs will prescribe some anti- inflammatory drugs. Depending on the severity of your condition he may even recommend some muscle relaxers or pain pills. These medications during the early stages are great and can greatly increase the healing. Even using a back brace during this early time is especially beneficial particularly if you are listing (leaning to one side).

3rd Use ice every day, all day if the pain is severe. Doing the cobra while icing it will help pull the disc in. If the full cobra is too much, do the second exercise or what we call the sphinx by just rising up on your elbows. These exercises are the best. An alternative is the cat-dog but make sure you don't go into flexion.

4th Consult with a professional that can guide you to healing the condition. Many times medical doctors don't have the training, and you need to get therapy. Sometimes traction helps with medical massage, and at the right time chiropractic can help, although I have seen it cause more pain during the acute stages. Most important is the alignment of the hips and spine which chiropractic is good for; for the long-term recovery this is imperative. The corrective exercises I give are mostly common to physical therapy. I have also developed some of my own that will help take the pressure off the disc. Think about it: If your pelvis is twisted or higher on one side than the other, there will still be pressure on the disc. I believe that for a disc to be injured it has suffered this pressure for a long time, as discs are part of a very strong system. Muscle tension is the way the body compensates for this misalignment and with that it compresses the spine thus breaking down the disc over a period of time. So sometimes with the right conditions such as tension, stress, too much work, just by bending over one day or twisting while carrying something, it can force that weak disc out of place. With either a bulge or an actually torn disc (herniated) you need to work intensely to get it back to health.

Let's review what some of the tools are that professionals may use for disc problems, besides the drugs, which I think are very beneficial if you get them right away. Later on they are less effective, in fact, everything is less effective if you wait a week or more to get help. Go see your doctor right away if you hurt your back, don't wait! Rest in bed is the best and most important therapy you can do along with the medication. Obviously your body is talking to you very loudly, so pay attention, take some time to reflect on you life and listen to your body. Don't walk around and don't sit. Lie down and do the extension exercises with ice. This is not only critical in the early stages, but it will also help all the way through.

Deep massage with an alignment technique is great. The key is to take to pressure off the disc. The problem with deep massage without attention to alignment or with too much twisting is that it can actually make it worse. When you relax the muscles that are holding, it may put more pressure on the disc at least temporarily. Rolfing has a good technique for lengthening the torso fascia. Trigger point therapy can ease the pain and relieve the muscle tension. Chiropractic during the acute phases has mixed reviews, depending on the chiropractor. Gentle work seems to be more effective, but at other times it's just too painful for some patients. It is definitely helpful after the acute phase for alignment. Sorry, chiropractors, but I have found this to be true. Many of my best friends are chiropractors and I use them myself, but as I've said many times, it depends on the patient as well as the doctor. During the later stages after the swelling has gone down may be the time for chiropractic as well as physical therapy or traction. That seems to be the time when it is most effective. Acupuncture will not correct structural problems, but it can help with the pain or even swelling. However, I work directly with many of the best acupuncturists, and they refer their patients to me when there is a disc problem for body alignment.

5th. Once you have injured a disc you have a weakened area for some time. Remember, this tissue heals very slowly. It takes many years sometimes to totally heal a ligament if it came from improper posture, which I think is the most common reason, from slouching all your life or from too much sitting and no exercise. You need to start to change your posture and habits. Yoga, Pilate's, Alexander, Feldenkrais or Aston Patterning are many techniques that can help with that. You need to strengthen the abdominal muscles because most often this is a big problem area especially if you are a male and have a large stomach. By the way, most back problems are associated with males.

Since posture is one of the biggest problems with the back, doing the right exercises is critical for improvement. Some of the exercises that are recommended are counterproductive, such as bending over to touch your toes! Never do that, unless you have been shown the right way to do it. Anyway, you can get the same stretch if you sit on the ground and touch your toes without the pressure on your spine. Most flexion exercises are not great for us. These are when you bow your back backwards. It's best to keep the spine flat at the low back for certain stretches. There are even some Pilate's moves that I would be very careful with, especially if you have had a back problem. Get some expert advice and always remember to consult with your doctor before starting an exercise program.

6th. Here are some of the most common tests for disc problems:

a. Does it hurt your back to lower your head?

b. Does it hurt if you cough?

c. Can you bend over without pain?

d. Can you arch your back without pain? Usually if these four cause problems, it's a disc.

e. There may be a need for more leaning into the pain if it's on one side or the other. This will often reproduce the pain, or cause a shooting sensation down the foot.

f. Lastly, we may twist and find out if this pain is made worse by doing that. Note that a doctor should do these tests and care should be taken in doing them.

g. There are other obvious signs such as listing (leaning to one side), which is a common disc reaction. The body is trying to take pressure off the disc.

h. Shooting pain or numbness down the leg or into the buttocks is another sign.

i. Of course, if you can't even walk or sit, you know what you have.

See your doctor. You can do the first two tests yourself with no problem and if you have the last two symptoms, well, we are pretty sure you have injured a disc. Take care of it immediately and get into bed as soon as possible. I have seen people get better right away, but if not taken care of properly, it can last for years. Believe me, as I have personally had the experience as well. If you have a back problem, get my next book, The Better Back Book.

The cobra, or extension of the spine. If this is difficult don't push it do the alternate pose the sphinx (right). Both of these are some of the best and easiest exercises to do when your back is hurting. They are the best for assisting the disc to return back to it's normal place and help reduce the tension. Also quite effective for the back muscles as well.

A Nice Way To Lengthen The Low Back:

Slowly lift patient laying prone (Face down) from their anterior iliac spine, not grabbing hard, and gently pull up the hip while pushing on your side of the spine with your palm. Start at the low lumbar and work your way up each vertebra at a time, drop the hip every vertebra and lift again as you go. If you find tight and resistive muscles, gently massage and friction them as well. Use deep breathing and pull up as they exhale.

With all the troubles that modern people or we earthlings have had with the back, I find it imperative to just take the time and take care of your own. No one can do it ALL for you. It just takes knowing something about the body and just rolling up your pants and diving in. The best strategy I know about everything I have tried is to start out gently, even if you are a big, strong bodybuilder. Most bodies I have encountered in my career are out of alignment; the least were two of the top Olympic athletes of the late seventies.

The Abdominal Lift; just sitting and contracting your abs as you lift the torso. This takes pressure off the discs. This is also good for when you are doing any exercise as it allows you support and initiates all other movement from the core.

Another important exercise to start building your core muscles. Laying on your back bend both legs and beginers should start with one foot. Lifting one leg at a time, keeping one on the ground is for beginner's . Lifting two legs is more advanced. The object is to keep your abdominal muscles contracted and move the legs back and forth (top one at a time) bottom two at a time bicycling back and forth. NOTE!!!! These should not be done when you are hurting; they are for after your back episode so that you can prevent the next one.

Next you have your basic crunchies laying on your back your legs bent at a niety degree. Hips to thighs niety then knees on down shins parallel to the floor. Come up with your elbows touching your knees, don't pull on your head hands at side of face. Do straight ahead, rectus, and then opossit elbow to other knee and so forth.

The advance crunchies and the transverse crunch two both sides for the transverse abdominals.

Other tricks for your back if you have tension between the shoulders lay on a towel running vertical towel placement. Lay on towel also helps neck if you notice its too far forward on your body.

Lengthen Your Own Low Back, go slow, can be done during pain episode, careful. (Check with doctor)

Home made traction to assist the body in reversing the stress of gravity thougout the day, the is a great way to get your body relaxed as once the curves are in the right place the muscles can relax instead of holding us in our tension pose.

Starting with two towels one for your neck and one for your low back. Just lay down! That will lengthen your back. Use a towel under your low back and under your neck for added traction. This is homemade traction at its best, easy to do and takes very little skill. It will do wonders, just try it. Once again gravity is the force we all are subject to, and it exerts its force on our bodies. If we fight it we loose and it becomes stress and tension. Note: start with only a few min. at a time. Increase slowly up to five or ten minutes.

My philosophy is simple, do as many exercises we can that reverse the pull gravity has on our bodies. Hanging up side down has been around since the seventies; we did that after tree planting all day. You can only stay upside down for so long, without training even dangerous so just be careful with all exercises in general. These are beautiful because they are the easiest to do, don't get me wrong just cause they are easy, they are very powerful if done regularly, regularly, that is the key.

I start all the moves to loosen the spine on the ground. I just think it may be less stressful on any back. Most twisting is not usually recommended if you have a strained back or some old ligament injury. You could even push out your own disc. The key is to go easy with anybody when you start any exercise program.

The cat and dog, on your knees, with hands on ground in front. I just normally let the back sag, it feels great we need more of the arch than the bending over that is only good for muscles we need to strengthen the ligaments and assist the disc in moving back into place and then you bow back up, I recommend to only going to neutral or straight back.

Please consult with your doctor before doing any exercises, these are standard medical and Physical therapy exercises and here are used as educational material. Never bend over to touch your toes to stretch your back that is an advanced move and must be done correctly and during a pain episode, no flexion ever. (Bowing out the back). For more information on the spine and the rest of your body, as well as other health related articles see my web site:

www.molinamassage.com

Since 1969 Othon has perused many types of healing work from Native American Curandero deep tissue, to Polarity Therapy; Dr. Bernard Jensen iridology and nutrition; he ran Touch for Health for a few years and became an expert in Kinesiology; For some thirty intense years Othon practiced and studied with Psychics, Chiropractors, Osteopaths, M.D.'s, Physiatrists, Physical Therapists, Yoga, Pilates Instructors, Rolfers, Aston, Feldenkrais and many others. He has blended these many forms of body/mind work into a simple and effective treatment. Some of the past patients are: Bob Hope, Jane Seymore, Carol Burnette, Essam Kashoggi, Jim Nabors, Tony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, the San Francisco Ballet, Alvin Alley Dance troupe, Team doc for the Germany Iron Man professionals, Outrigger Canoe Club world Champs, many of Honolulu top runners, like Rachal Portner, Connie Carvo, John Cross etc.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Niche Marketing - How to Find Your Perfect Niche Market. Making The Most Of Your Smart Decision To Hire An Interior Designer.

2005-10-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Web Site Promotion Strategy - 101 highly effective strategies to promote your web site

If you don't find a niche market for the product or service you offer, you will have a difficult time being successful. Most newcomers who wish to do business on the Internet often market to everyone they can find with the expectation that everyone will do business with them. This is the same as throwing mud against the wall and hoping some of it will stick. They have not yet found their niche market.

What is niche marketing?

A niche market

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is composed of individuals and businesses that have similar interests and needs, which can be readily identified and that can be easily targeted and reached.

Finding a niche for your business means finding a great product or service for a highly targeted audience.

Here's the process to find your niche business

1. Find a niche product or service you are passionate about. This will greatly improve your chances of being successful. Why? Because it's the only way you're going to be able to devote the kind of time and effort to create a meaningful web site, build up the right traffic, generate worthwhile income, and enjoy what you're doing.

2. Choose a niche product you are knowledgeable about. Reflect on what skills, hobbies or products you know the most about. If you don't have the knowledge yet, then choose a niche product that you would love to promote, then spend the necessary time to research it, so you can eventually become an expert in your marketing field.

3665-->3. Define your niche market - do the necessary research to see if there is a market for your niche product. To create a profitable business for your niche product, you need to ask yourself these questions:

a) Is there sufficient demand for it? - if you choose a field that is too broad it may be hard to stand out from the competition. For example, camping equipment could be your niche product. Well, unless you are a large corporation such as Sports Authority (a large retail store in my town), you won't stand out from the crowd. However, a more highly targeted niche product could be Coleman Camping Equipment.

Keyword Toolkit - PC and Web Based Keyword Tools

b) Keyword research - use keyword tools such as the overture suggestion tool (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion) or wordtracker (wordtracker.com) to find how many people are searching each month on keywords related to your niche product.

Here's an example:

According to overture (at the time of writing this article), the keyword phrase "camping equipment" was searched 76164 times in one month. If you do a search on Google.com for camping equipment you will find 1,610,000 web sites show up - heck, that's too competitive.

However "coleman camping equipment" generated 1242 searches in one month according to overture. Google.com shows 93,200 competing websites. That's much better though still somewhat competitive.

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Notice there are not many web sites (even the top ones), that have "coleman camping equipment" in their titles. This is just one of the ways to obtain a high ranking on the search engines for your newly targeted web site. This will then provide lots of targeted traffic to your site.

c) Take a survey - you may already have products or services that you selling to your customers. If so, ask questions within your survey about what product or service would help your customers business. If it can help them save time by gaining more knowledge or automating tasks, you could have a winner.

d) Create Your Own Unique Selling Position (USP) - study your competition to find out what they emphasize about the product which makes them stand out from the crowd. Then decide on something that will make your business unique from the others. It could be something unique about the product (ie discount coleman camping equipment) or you could choose a more highly defined target market (ie boyscout organizations and clubs throughout the USA that use coleman's camping equipment).

409-->4. Build and promote your web site - to develop a profitable web site for your niche product you need to create a number of informative pages that will not only attract visitors from the search engines, but inform and move them to purchase from your site.

Read my article, "How to Create a Web Site That Sells" (http://www.isitebuild.com/buildingA.htm).

Niche marketing is the key to developing a profitable business that will make you stand out from the crowd. By doing the necessary research and building an informative web site, you will become an expert in your niche marketing field.

Resources
ebook - "Strike it Niche"

Herman Drost is the author of the popular ebook: 101 Highly Effective Strategies to Promote Your Web Site Subscribe to his "Marketing Tips" newsletter for more original articles at: subscribe@isitebuild.com. You can read more of his in-depth articles at: http://www.isitebuild.com/articles

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Kitchen Design - a complete guide

So you've decided to hire an Interior Designer-good move! Now what? Before you start planning your "reveal" party, you'll need a basic understanding about the process to ensure that you get the most design for your dollar and that you have a fun and fabulous experience, no matter what type of project is ahead of you.

You'll need to learn the basics of choosing the right design professionals, establishing a budget, outlining the details of the contract, considering your lifestyle and communicating your challenges.

Choosing the Right Designer: Beyond the Portfolio

Professionally trained Interior Designers have undergone extensive training in the various elements of modern and historical design, art and architecture. They have a basic foundation of knowledge that allows them to develop concepts in a variety of styles that range from traditional, contemporary, art deco, eclectic-or a combination of several styles.

That being said, not every designer's talent is right for every project. For yours, you'll want to choose someone whose portfolio "speaks" to you in a positive way. As with every profession, designers tend to develop personal styles that carry over into their projects. It could be the sense of clarity and order you see in the furniture arrangements, or maybe it's a color palette that's used in a unique way. It could be the modern touches worked seamlessly into a roomful of antiques, or the interesting textures of the fabrics.

Referrals are the best way to find a designer, so if the home of a friend or colleague appeals to you, by all means ask them for the designer's number! You can also visit Web sites to get a better feel for the designer's talent and personal style. Expect to spend a bit of time on the phone discussing your project with the designer and/or completing a questionnaire that will give them a better feel for your tastes and your project prior to the kickoff meeting.

You're looking for someone you instantly trust and respect, who communicates excitement about your project, no matter how big or small, and who trusts and respects you as well. After all, this person is transforming your most sacred and cherished space!

Establishing a Realistic Budget

Everyone has a budget, so don't feel bad about setting yours in stone...or tile, or brick. No matter what the amount, your designer should help you get the best value and the highest quality possible. Be wary of anyone that summarily dismisses your grand ideas based on budget alone: A first-rate designer will work hard to achieve your key design goals, perhaps by spreading the job out over time or suggesting alternative solutions for your project.

A great benefit of using a professional designer is that she has access to materials unavailable to the general public, so no matter what your budget, your home will feel unique and very "you."

Your designer will also manage the entire process, whether it involves space planning, lighting design, purchasing, ordering, selecting finishes or monitoring the construction and installation of the project elements.

Outlining Terms of the Contract

Make sure you read and sign an official contract before any money exchanges hands or work begins. In addition to the legal aspects, a contract summarizes the plans you've been discussing such as your budget, design fees, accountability regarding subcontractors (painters, carpet layers, etc.).

You've selected the designers and signed the contract - now comes the fun part!

Considering Your Lifestyle

Your home environment should complement and support the way you and your family really live - or really want to live. For example, if you're starting a home-based business, you might turn your cluttered garage into a functional office. If your spouse loves to cook, you might knock down a wall so the under-used formal dining room becomes part of the kitchen. Many families make the mistake of letting the layout of the home dictate their activities vs. reorganizing the space to embrace their lifestyles.

To ensure that your designer understands how you live now and how you want to live, share as many details with her as you can. Also share your personal tastes so she can incorporate them into the designs. If you hate plaid, tell her now, before she gets too deep into the first draft.

To help you better prepare yourself, answer these questions before you have your first meeting with the designer:

Are you a creative person? In what ways does your home limit your creativity or your hobbies?
Do you like the present color palette? Does it need updating?
Are they any rooms that feel cramped or stuffy? Any rooms that feel empty, cold or unwelcoming?
Is adequate, well-organized storage a problem? Can you find things when you need them?
Are your bathrooms functional, pleasing spaces? Do you or family members have special needs (e.g. grab bars, easy-entrance shower stalls, etc.)?
As you walk through your rooms, jot down your favorite qualities about each. Do you like the proportions? Is there adequate ventilation and lighting throughout your house?
Are there any rooms that you don't use regularly? Could any of these rooms be used for more than one function? Could any of these rooms be used for a completely different function?
Does your home balance open space and private areas?
Does the entryway do its job of setting the stage for the rest of your home by welcoming guests and making a statement about the people who live there? If you normally come into your home through the garage, does that area welcome you?

Focus on Your Challenges

A designer works best when you share your "wish list," express your ideas, and then keep an open mind. That means communicating how you want to live in the space and then entrusting the designer to make it happen. After all, you hired this person for her experience, talent and vision!

For example, one homeowner hired a designer to help her reorganize her tiny office so she could be more productive. Instead, the designer suggested that she move her entire operation downstairs, into the den she used once every two months to watch movies. She did, tripling her space and doubling her productivity in just three months.

Contrary to TV,

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where designers admonish clients for questioning their plans, real-life designers understand that you're the person who ultimately needs to love the space. They want you to be happy and want you to give your input so you're absolutely thrilled with the results (and so you'll recommend them to your friends)! That's why they do so much probing upfront about your tastes and how you live, then incrementally present their ideas throughout the process.

Hiring a designer is like giving a gift to yourself! You made the smart decision to hire an Interior Designer, you've been smart about the planning process, and now you can rest assured that the time, money and energy you spend returns truly smart, stunning results!

About The Author

Karen Trubner-Kent
LLK Interior Design
The principals of LLK Interior Design (www.LLKInteriorDesign.com) have been creating beautiful, practical spaces for corporate and residential clients around the Puget Sound for a combined total of 16 years.

Services include space planning, custom design, model home design, kitchen and bath design and residential lighting. Later this year they will appear in an episode of HGTV's wildly popular show "Designers' Challenge." In addition, LLK Interior Design participated in "Meet the Designer" at the Seattle Interiors Show in October 2003. The principals of the firm are members of the American Society of Interior Designers, the Master Builders Association and Built Green. LLK Interior Design's studio is located in downtown Bellevue, Washington, where they hold client appointments and monthly interactive Design 101 classes.

info@llkinteriordesign.com

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The Prostate, What You Don't Know Could Kill You

The Prostate, What You Don't Know Could Kill You

Women know more about men's health than men do themselves and that's a fact. Why is that? Is it because we find it hard to discuss these things? Is it because it's not macho! From the time that we are young, we are taught that boys have to act tough and shouldn't cry. You must have heard the saying "Big Boys don't cry!"

Most of us carry this thought process into adulthood and feel by showing concern for our health, it will be seen as a male weakness. I am guilty of that myself.

I know when my prostate troubles began, I knew absolutely nothing about the prostate. I was one of the 96%. Mainly because it didn't cross my mind that I'd ever have any problems.

In addition, the prostate is in a "private" area, and it wasn't something I wanted to examine. Many people, including myself, feel uncomfortable talking about the prostate, since the gland plays a role in both sex and urination.

I have had prostate troubles, survived a cancer scare and watched my sister die from Cancer. Believe me, when I say that when you think you are going to die, it concentrates your mind on what is really important. Suddenly your priorities get focused.

Due to my prostate troubles, I became interested in learning about the prostate and how it affected my health.

I cried the day they took a biopsy and I cried with relief the day I was told it was benign. I cried many times as I watched my sister die.

I got so frustrated having to get up every night 3-4 times due to my prostate troubles and then finding I couldn't get back to sleep.

What is prostate cancer?

Prostate Cancer develops by the growth of cancerous cells within the prostate gland. Prostate cancer occurs when some of the cells that make up the prostate gland escape from the normal controls on their growth and start to divide, grow and spread in an uncontrolled manner. In its advanced form, it can produce the same symptoms as BPH. (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia)

Warning Signs

Early prostate cancer often does not cause symptoms. When symptoms of prostate cancer do occur, they may include some of the following problems:

A need to urinate frequently, especially at night; Difficulty starting urination or holding back urine; Inability to urinate; Weak or interrupted flow of urine; Painful or burning urination; Painful ejaculation; Blood in urine or semen; and/or Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs.

Any of these symptoms may be caused by cancer or by other, less serious health problems, such as BPH or an infection (Prostatitis). Only a doctor can tell the cause. A man who has symptoms like these should see his family doctor . Do not wait to feel pain; early prostate cancer does not cause pain.

These are two other main prostate problems

1) BPH - (Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia) is the abnormal growth of benign prostate cells. In an enlarged prostate , the prostate grows larger and pushes against the urethra and bladder, blocking the normal flow of urine. BPH is often the result of prostatitis.

2) Prostatitis refers to prostate inflammation and infection, which can be brief or long-lasting, mild or severe symptoms can include frequent, urgent and painful urination, erectile problems or pain >during ejaculation.

Prostatitis is rampant in the US, affecting at least 80% of American men. Most is without major symptoms. Prostate enlargement, called Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy (BPH) is often the result of prostatitis.

Treatment for Prostate Cancer

The treatment given for prostate cancer depends on how advanced or widespread the disease is. If the cancer is small and only present within the prostate gland, it is possible to treat it with

surgery (radical prostatectomy) radiotherapy (either external beam radiotherapy or brachytherapy) hormone therapy

I sincerely hope that this article can be of use to you, your partner, someone in your family or indeed a close friend.

Health to me is both physical and mental. The two cannot be separated. May I leave you with what I regard the finest bits of advice for life

**************************************************************
If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, "I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me." Ann Landers
***************************************************************

I wish you perfect health and piece of mind in all that you do.

Jeff Cuckson

webmaster@backtobetterhealth.com
*****************************************
Discover Real People With Stories Of Success
In Getting Back To Good Health. Go Visit NOW at!
http://www.backtobetterhealth.com
********************************************

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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The Bright Side of Loneliness. The Story of Adam and Eve.

2005-10-24T13:27:00.000-07:00

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Recently a romantic relationship came to an end and I found myself alone again. The minutes, the hours now felt empty. For three weeks I sat beside a silent phone, rehashing the past and coming to terms with my loss. After the warmth and intimacy of love, my loneliness felt like a great abyss that I could not escape.

I do not allow myself to indulge in self-pity - so my next reaction was to ask "what now?" Looking back, I saw that I had invested so much time and energy in the relationship that I had grown lax about undertaking new projects or meeting new people.

My first step was to join a Friday evening discussion group, which I found very stimulating. I also prepared and delivered two new workshops to help people find their life purpose and make money doing what they loved. In giving these I again recognized what I had to offer the community (encouragement, experience and insight) and was buoyed by the positive response from participants.

Everyone feels lonely sometimes. It's part of being human! However we cannot afford to become paralyzed by a sense of isolation. We all need to connect - both to ourselves and to the world around us.

What does your loneliness tell you? What is it that you miss? You may believe that a love partner will fulfill all your needs. However the intensity that marks the beginning of a relationship doesn't last; with luck, it will change into something deeper. The two of you will again be drawn into your individual lives. If you don't feel connected to what you are doing or to the people around you, you are likely to feel lonely again.

Here are my suggestions for dealing with loneliness:

�½ Get involved with others

Have time on your hands?

Offer your services at a soup kitchen, read stories to children, or play cheerful tunes on the piano at the seniors' residence. What do you know or are good at? Perhaps you can do like me and give a workshop in your area of expertise. There's no room for loneliness when you give freely of yourself - and you will receive love and appreciation in return.

If you're a computer buff, there are communities of people on the Net who want to share their interests, from dating to rug hooking. Especially for the housebound, regular e-mail friends can be a great solace.

�½ Do something you love

Limit your television viewing, push yourself off the couch and engage in something that you really enjoy! Maybe you haven't roller-skated in years and going to the local rink makes you come alive. Bake your favourite pie and share it with a friend, or learn how to do the lambada.

The problem is that many of us don't ALLOW ourselves to do what we love. We tell ourselves, I'll do it when... (I meet the love of my life, become more successful, finish all these chores). Do it NOW and you will feel better for it.

�½ Connect with nature

I never feel lonely when I go for a long walk by the river. I have a thing for water: ocean, lake or streams. Feel your connection to nature - whether you plant a row of petunias or take a leisurely walk in the park.

�½ Journal for self-expression

When there's no one around to talk to, and I feel the need, I journal in a small notebook in longhand, letting deeper thoughts and feelings emerge from my subconscious. I write about my preoccupations as well as my hopes and fears.

You cannot enjoy being alone without peace of mind. Journaling helps you to voice and resolve any inner conflicts that you have. Doing it on a regular basis will give you clarity and focus. It's a good way to connect with your inner self.

�½ Realize that you are NOT alone

Do you know that most of the world is feeling lonely at this very moment? Think of the new neighbour on your street, a foreign student in your class, or the man who just joined your company. Each of them wonders how he or she will make friends. Be the first to give a warm welcome.

Whatever your faith or beliefs, connecting with a Higher Force through prayer or meditation will also dispel feelings of isolation.

A little too much solitude spurs me to reach out to those around me. On my nature walk yesterday, I met a woman. As we both watched kayakers ride the rapids, we struck up a conversation - ranging from our experience with water sports to where we grew up and what we enjoyed about the waterfront. At the end we both went our separate ways, parting with a smile and a wave.

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I've learned to appreciate the little exchanges that make life so much fuller.

Loneliness makes me feel painfully alive and aware that I cannot afford to get complacent. It compels me to do more, to be more. And that isn't such a bad thing, is it?

About The Author

Thelma Mariano, life coach and author, is dedicated to bringing clarity and direction to people's lives. See her on-line coaching prorams, articles and column at http://www.u-unlimited.ca.

thelma@u-unlimited.ca

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

To really understand how we all got here, what it really means to be "born again" and why there is so much death and destruction in the world we live in - you have to go back to the very beginning to

Adam's Dog Training & Behavior Book Page

the story of Adam and Eve as told to us in the Bible.

To truly understand our roots and beginnings as Christians, we have to fully understand what occurred in this story. In this article, we will cover the basic highlights of exactly what God was doing when He created the first man and the first woman and what happened when they could not stay off of the one tree that He told them not to eat from.

As a result of their one disobedient act, all of mankind had to be born into an imperfect fallen world subject to death, corruption, demonic spirits and bad and evil people who have chosen with their free wills to live this life on the dark side - thereby causing untold pain, death and misery to millions of people throughout the ages.

This incredible story also explains God's perfect setup in arranging for His Son Jesus Christ to come to our earth in the flesh, to go to the cross to die for all of the sins of mankind - thereby restoring our divine connection back to God the Father and gaining us entry into heaven when we all die and cross over. The story of Adam and Eve (sets the stage) for the greatest story that will ever be told - the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to our earth to save us from our sins.

This story also explains exactly what it means to born "again." Adam and Eve lost "something" that day when they committed their first sin against God by eating off the tree of the knowledge and good and evil. After Jesus comes to our earth to die for all of our sins - we then get back that "something" that Adam and Eve lost that day - hence the word born "again." This article will fully explain what that "something" was and how we got that "something" back "again" after Jesus died on the cross.

This story needs to be fully understood by every Christian so we know who we really are "in Christ Jesus" and exactly why there is so much death and destruction in our earthly lives. Knowledge that this story will give you on these topics will also help you when witnessing to nonbelievers - especially when you have to deal with one of the most frequently asked question by many nonbelievers - if there really is a God, how could He allow so many bad things to happen to so many people on our earth throughout the last 6000 years?

Once you fully understand the consequences that occurred after Adam and Eve ate off of that one forbidden tree - you will have the knowledge and insight to fully explain the answer to that question to anyone who may ask you - whether it be to a nonbeliever or even to another Christian who really doesn't understand the "Big Picture" and why things are the way they are in this life.

For a very good synopsis of this story, along with a good detailed explanation explaining some of the above topics, go to http://www.bible-knowledge.com/Adam-and-Eve.html

Article written by Michael Bradley, author of over 100 articles which can be found at http://www.bible-knowledge.com

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What Are Prescription Eyeglasses Made Of?. Growing Your Own Herbs for Tea.

2005-10-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

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Prescription eyeglasses are manufactured in a variety of materials. The most basic is the glass lens. The glass lens is by far the best in absorbing ultraviolet light. It comes in several different colors and is, of course, scratch resistant. It is also one of the least expensive. The downfall to the glass lens is the weight of a pair of prescription eyeglasses made of glass. They are also very breakable and have to undergo a heat-treated process to ensure durability.

Another material used to manufacture prescription eyeglasses is the High-Index plastic lens. It also absorbs ultra violet light well. This type of lens is much lighter in weight than the glass lens; however, they are also very expensive and can be scratched very easily.

Resin Plastic is another type of material used in manufacturing the prescription eyeglass lens. They are the lightest of all lenses, but do not offer the high level of protection against ultra violet light that the other lenses offer.

Some prescription eyeglasses are tinted with a wide variety of colors and shades. The purpose of the tint is to reduce the glare from certain situations: such as bright lights, computers television sets, etc. Another reason for the tinting of the lenses are to offer comfort to the eyes. Also, people order tints on their eyeglasses for the fashion.

Glass and most plastic lenses are coated with a UV protection coating. Ultra violet rays can cause severe damage to the eyes. It is very important to protect your eyes while out in the sun.

Another coating that is added to a pair of prescription eyeglasses is the scratch-resistant coating. Sometimes this coating is applied at the manufacturer and other times it can be added right there at the eye doctors office. It must be said, however, that even while this coating can aid in the durability of the lens, it does not make the lens scratch proof.

Tim Gorman is a successful webmaster and publisher of Vision-Doctor.com an online website that offers discounts on contact lenses, sunglasses, free information on LASIK eye surgery procedures and discount prescription eyeglasses that you can view in the privacy of your own home.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Front & Back Music Software & Royalty Free Music Clips

If you love herbal teas, as I do, you know they are just a little bit pricey. However, growing your own herbs is easy and so much fun!

Here are just a few of the herbs you might want to consider for a tea garden:

Chamomile: Remember the favorite tea of Peter Rabbit? Only the flowers of this fragrant herb are used when making tea. Chamomile tea can be enjoyed by itself or you might enjoy adding mint or lemon verbena.

Lemon Balm: This herb is lemony with a touch of mint and makes a soothing cup of tea.

It's easy to grow (almost too easy) so remember to keep it clipped back.

Lemon Verbena: An excellent herb to grow in a sunny spot, it makes a delicious tea. You might try combining it with orange mint or spearmint.

Mints: There are many mints available. Generally, they are aromatic plants and they are aggressive. It may be a good idea to plant mint in a pot and then put the pot in the ground so it doesn't take over your herb garden. Spearmint, peppermint, orange mint all make wonderful teas, alone or along with chamomile or any of the lemon herbs.

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Herb teas can be made with fresh or dried herbs and can be enjoyed either hot or cold.

For one cup of hot tea, use one teaspoon of dry herbs or up to 3 teaspoons of fresh herbs. Bruising the leaves of fresh herbs will help release the flavor. Pour boiling water over the herbs in a glass or china pot. Metal pots can sometimes leave a metallic taste. Let steep for 5 or so minutes. Strain and enjoy with a little honey to sweeten.

Sun tea can be made simply by filling a jar with water, throw in a handful of crushed fresh herbs, and set in the sun for 3 or 4 hours. Stir in a little honey to sweeten, pour over ice and enjoy.

Trying different combinations of herbs is fun. Remember you can also add spices you have on hand, such as cinnamon, cloves, etc.

There are many benefits to growing and making your own herbal teas. Gardening itself is very relaxing and rewarding. With herbs from your garden you can soothe away your troubles with a cup of chamomile tea or make yourself a refreshing cup of peppermint tea after a hard day at work.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The Sweet Smell of Success - Start Your Own Bath and Body and Perfume Business

Look in the perfumes of flowers and nature for peace of mind and joy of life. --Wang Wei

About The Author

Cyndi Roberts' website, "1 Frugal Friend 2 Another" will show you ways to save money everyday. Receive a free e-course on saving money at the supermarket! To learn more, visit http://www.cynroberts.com

frugal_friend1@yahoo.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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7 Unique Stress Relievers. Debt Consolidation with Free Government Grants? One Scam to Avoid.

2005-10-21T20:20:00.000-07:00

Too much driving, too much shopping, too much rushing around, running the kids around. Do family and work demands have you stressed out?

There are many ways to help you control stress. Here are some unique methods I've collected.

1. Yell! But---be sure you are alone. The best place is in the car with the windows up. Stuck in traffic? Try it.

2. Sing. This is close to the first one. Lots of people swear by the power of music to release tension and stress. Sing wherever you feel comfortable. It doesn't matter what. Just have some fun with it! I have done this on all jobs I've had. Then I started dancing. Why not! People thought I was crazy, but it works.

3. Do something soothing. Start or try a activity like knitting, crochet, pottery making. Don't worry about being good at it. It's the process that's beneficial. Sitting still while performing repetitive movements is calming and stabilizing for many people. It can be time to collect your thoughts.

4. Start a garden. Even apartment-dwellers can do this. Inside in pots, pots on the patio, pots, a small spot in your yard. There is a little work to setting it up. Tending plants, fruits, vegetables, flowers and watching them grow, bloom, or yield food is rewarding. Avid gardeners say working a garden is the best way

to control stress and worry. An added benefit is the creation of a more beautiful, restful environment.

5. Play with a dog or cat. Experts say Pet owners have longer lives and fewer stress symptoms than non-pet owners. Playing with your pet provides good vibrations. It's a form of social interaction with no pressure to meet anyone's expectations!

6. Gaze at the stars. Many times I have gazed up at the stars off my patio. Preferably in a still, dark, and quiet area, sit back and observe the heavens. The vastness of space is awesome. This way can make a lot of problems seem very small.

70-->7. Discover how you can recognize too much stress before it explodes here: http://www.faceuptoit-youcan.com/sanpaku.html

If stress is not relieved it can be very dangerous to your health and can explode into violent behavior.

Kathy Thompson, Wellness Coach, can help you lead a happier healthy life, with products, programs, profiles. With 8 years of teaching and 15 years in Toastmasters, Kathy Thompson really enjoys writing and speaking. She has a B. S. in Business Communications and has taught her programs around the country at various businesses and Adult Education Centers.

Presentation skill,public speaking,communication skill

She writes and speaks about Health, Personal Communications (writing & speaking), and her unique specialty of "Face Reading" has brought her plenty of media attention. Kathy's goal is to help you be all you can be and reach your potential.

http://www.faceuptoit-youcan.com
Contact Kathy at; writing4u@faceuptoit-youcan.com

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Government Grants - Free Government Grants - Free Government Cash Grants - Cash Free Government Gran...

Have you ever seen a commercial or an ad promising "free government grant money?" According to these ads, the government and other organizations give away nearly one half a trillion dollars each year, and all you need to do is apply! The ads go on to state that the money can be used for anything, including debt consolidation , student loans, a yacht or just about any frivolous thing you can imagine. All you need to do is call their toll free number, buy their book or enroll in their program and the details are soon on their way to you.

A half a trillion dollars is certainly enticing, but are organizations really just giving money away for the asking?

Not exactly.

Government Grants, Loans, Federal grants and Grant Money

Grants are certainly available from the Federal Government and elsewhere, but it's not as though the money is just handed out for the asking. Grants are usually given by organizations interested in achieving specific goals. If you're interested in bringing water to the desert, you might find an organization that's interested in global water distribution to aid you in your quest with a grant. It's doubtful that you'll find an organization that's interested in helping you pay off your Mastercard bill or funding your dream vacation home in Sun Valley.

Some of these organizations that advertise grant information are running scams, and they're just out to take your money and run. Others are fairly legitimate in that they will provide information to you for your fee, but the information they provide is readily available elsewhere for free

If you are really interested in grant money, there's no reason to answer to the ads on TV promising "free grant money."

The term "free grant money" is a rather odd term, anyway, since the word "grant" means "bestow" - it's a gift, and if it's a gift, then of course it's free!

You can find out about grants from the Federal Government by visiting the official Government grant Website - www.grants.gov. If you are in doubt about one of these organizations, it never hurts to check with your local Better Business Bureau.

Charles Essmeier is the owner of Retro Marketing, a firm devoted to informational Websites, including http://www.End-Your-Debt.com/ and http://www.HomeEquityHelp.net/

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Creating a Basic Web Design Template. Cadillac SRX 2004: The Weekly Driver Review.

2005-10-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

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A "template" is simply a design format which you can apply to all (or most) of the pages in your web site. The first advantage of using a "template" system is that it allows you to make your most important design decisions at the beginning, and then just focus on content. The second advantage is that it allows you to quickly create new pages based on your standard design.

The disadvantage is that many template-based websites look homogenized and seem to lack a unique character. Designers who sell templates tend to use the same formats over and over again, insert the same generic images, and use the same techniques.

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Just as important, templates are often not ready-to-go right out of the box. They almost always need modification, and often modifying a professionally prepared template is difficult because the designer will have used techniques you may not fully understand or are specific to the tools he or she used to create it.

So it is preferable not to think of a web template as the kind of thing you buy from an online template store. Rather just think of it as a basic page format that can be used over and over again. The best template is therefore one that uses "standard" techniques that can be modified without the use of specialized tools or programs (like Front Page or Dreamweaver).

Creating a Basic Template

If you are not familiar with web design, try working with a "bare bones" template to begin with. There are two ways you can go. You can work with basic html and tables, or you can create your basic template with CSS. Since CSS is rapidly becoming the new standard, it is probably better to begin with CSS -- especially if you have not yet become used to constructing web pages with tables.

CSS stands for "Cascading Style Sheets", but at the beginning it is not important to understand what that means. What is important is to understand that CSS allows you to create a set of formatting parameters in a "style sheet" (a seperate file) which you then can very easily apply to your individual pages. In other words, you seperate the "style" from the "content".

A simple style sheet can contain just three or four design elements. Here is an example which you are free to copy (right click and "Save target as" to a location on your hard drive, then change its name to "sample-1.css".)

Style Sheet Sample (be sure to change its name to "sample-1.css").

This template

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contains a definition for the body text, a header component (with a background image), a "navbar", and a definition for two headline styles, h1 and h2.

Now that you have a style sheet you can begin building your web site by creating a basic home page. Here is an example which embeds the style sheet referred to in the previous paragraph. You can get the html code by just opening the page in a browser window, looking at the "Source" code, and saving the resulting file on your hard drive as, for instance, "sample-1.html".

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Now you should have two files in the same location on your hard drive -- "sample-1.css" and "sample-1.html". You can get the image file by just right clicking on the image in the sample page and saving it to the same location on your hard drive.

Your second step will be to create the pages referenced in the "navbar", so make sure you think of names for these pages before proceeding (e.g., howitworks.html, products.html, about.html, sitemap.html, contact.html). Then build your hyperlinks into the navbar. (Look at the code of the sample file to see how it is done.)

Once you have your basic home page with links, this then becomes your template. Just save it as "howitworks.html", "products.html", etc., and make the changes to the specific pages.

The result (once you upload it all to your host server) will be a basic, functional website containing a number of properly interlinked pages. It will also be search engine friendly because the design is not cluttered with scripts, and the most important elements are clearly laid out at the top of the page.

For more web design tips and techniques see the Linknet Marketing Resource Library.

Rick Hendershot is a marketing consultant, writer, and internet publisher who lives in Conestogo, Ontario, Canada. He publishes several websites and blogs, including The Linknet Network of Websites. This network provides an inexpensive way to advertise your website, and get as many as 100 low cost links.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Speed Test

The naming of new cars must be a curious process. Animals are popular choices for various makes and models, and those selections often make sense.

But in recent years it seems manufacturers have one only criteria -- the more obscure the name, the better.

Volkswagen has its Touareg and Phaeton. Toyota has the Prius. Pontiac has the Vibe. Oldsmobile has the Alero.

So when Cadillac introduced its first car-based SUV this year, couldn't it have taken the lead from either the name traditionalists or the new breed of name-makers?

The Cadillac Deville, Seville and Escalade are well-established vehicles, but who's going to remember the SRX?

Fortunately, an odd name is about the only thing not right with the new Cadillac. It may be the most comfortable, well-equipped and stylishly appointed SUV available.

For my weekly drive, I tested the 4.6-liter, 320-horsepower, 5-speed, all- wheel drive, automatic transmission SRX. The vehicle's light platinum exterior was well-matched with an ebony interior and the car nicely continues the manufacturer's reputation. In short, the SRX, like other Cadillacs, has a commanding road presence.

More impressive is the vehicle's performance and its features. Acceleration to steering and handling, ride comfort to instrumentation, the SRX has few weaknesses.

With its sizable engine, the SRX moves briskly from a standstill and while accelerating at any speed. The ride is firm and smooth and the steering and handling couldn't be better. Turns are handled with confidence and the steering has a natural feel. The steering wheel, by the way, a combined leather and burled walnut trim, is elegant yet sturdy.

The driver, front-seat passenger and all other second and optional third- row seat passengers have ample head and leg room, and the list of standard safety and performance features is impressive. They include: rear window defogger, daytime and twilight running and fog lamps, power and heated front seats, rear air conditioning, power and heated outside mirrors, AM/FM radio, cassette and CD changer with seven speakers and the Onstar safety and security system.

The base price of the SRX is $46,595. But my test vehicle also included three additional options, The added costs represent the potential downside of vehicle -- financial considerations.

The all-wheel drive transmission, for example, included among standard features on many vehicles, is a $1,900 option. Likewise, the eighth- speaker Bose audio system ($1,100) and third-power seat ($1,000) features, plus a $325 additional for the XM satellite radio, catapults the vehicle's cost past the $50,000 plateau.

The estimated gas mileage of 15 mpg (city) and 20 mpg (highway) are not great numbers, either.

Still, it's hard to find fault with the SRX. It may be the best SUV on the road today, and it would be even more popular -- if it only had a memorable name.

2004 Cadillac SRX

Safety features -- Driver and front seat passenger, front and side impact and curtain side impact and front to to second row curtain side impact air bags. Tire pressure monitor.

Fuel Mileage (estimates) -- 15 mpg (city), 20 mpg (highway)

Warranty -- Bumper to bumper, 4 years/50,000 miles; Corrosion, 6 years, 100,000 miles; Roadside assistance, 4 years/50,000 miles.

Base Price -- $46,595.00

James Raia is a syndicated journalist in Sacramento, Calif., who writes about sports, fitness and business topics as well as the syndicated car review column, The Weekly Driver.

To read more car reviews, visit: The Weekly Driver

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How To Create a Life Strategy for Business Success - Part One of a Series. Top 5 School Fund Raiser Ideas.

2005-10-19T10:59:00.000-07:00

Self Made Multi-Millionaire Stua

Ask yourself the following:

1. I have created a life-strategy plan for the next:

  a.  20 years.................Yes  No b.  10 years.................Yes  No c.  5-years..................Yes  No d.  1-year...................Yes  No e.  1-week...................Yes  No

If you knew how to create a life strategy and implement it, would you be interested in doing so? ...................Yes No

Very few people take the time to think through, and commit to paper, a life strategy for the future.

Surely, we all set certain life goals such as finishing High School, obtaining a college degree, attaining a specific professional position, reaching an athletic goal, or achieving a particular level of personal income.

However, in general, few people look to the future and fashion a wide-ranging and cohesive life strategy that would reach 5-10-15, or even 20 years into the future.

Normally, people maintain much shorter life-strategy horizons because it is difficult and very challenging to look far into the future and predict an outcome. In addition, most people, from an early age, do not learn why it is important to create a life strategy.

The lack of long-term life-strategy horizons could also be an intrinsic consequence of our culture and its orientation to instant gratification and wanting everything NOW! You could say a lot about the importance of living in the moment and of not being obsessive to the point of planning one's life down to the last detail. After all what about spontaneity and embracing the naturalness of life as it unfolds?

We could not agree more.

However, we have always encouraged people to develop some form of a life strategy so they have something to look forward to, and, at the same time, set productive goals that have meaning, substance, and represent a raison d'�½tre for their many years of living.

A life without some life strategy is like a boat without a rudder.

Your boat will definitely get you somewhere due to the forces of wind and water currents, but where you end up may not be where you really want to go.

For that reason, it is important to give your life some direction to end up where you want to be in life in the future.

Bear in mind that you do not have to give up spontaneity or the natural evolution of your life to embrace a life strategy even 20 years into the future. It is equally important to be open to all possibilities in your life so that you do not overlook opportunities that might come to you.

You will discover that when you have a life strategy that has a 15-20 year horizon you will be continually refining your life strategy as you gain more knowledge and experience in your life. Additionally, you will also learn to fine-tune opportunities as they present themselves, which further enhances the fulfillment of your life strategy.

Consider a long-range life strategy as a chart of your future, which has elasticity so that you can tweak it from time to time to perfect its outcome.

Conversely, you should build your life strategy on a solid foundation of clear life-goals.

Goals like self-reliance, financial self-sufficiency, and entrepreneurialism.

For instance, let us say that one of your major long-term goals in a 20-year life strategy is to retire a multi-millionaire at age 50. That certainly is a reasonable and worthy goal for anyone. However, let's say you get within 10 years of your goal and lose everything in a bad business deal. At that point, you literally have to start over to rebuild whatever portion of your multi-million dollar retirement nest egg that you had already accumulated.

Does your life strategy change? Yes, it certainly does.

The biggest change is that you now have to extend your retirement age to 60 instead of 50. Then again, based on all of the knowledge, valuable contacts, and business savvy you have acquired in your life thus far you might be able to shorten the time horizon to your goal.

More often than not that is exactly what happens with entrepreneurs who encounter a major setback, they come back even stronger. As a result, the life-strategy goal of retiring a multi-millionaire does not change, only the timeline changes.

Clearly, developing a life strategy makes a lot of sense and can be useful to just about anyone.

In future articles, we'll discuss these questions: How do you go about creating a life strategy? What are the steps, and how do you maintain a life strategy over time in order to reach your goals?

About The Author

Charles and Holly Egner are veteran entrepreneurs. They have trained, coached, and mentored hundreds of aspiring entrepreneurs. Their last entrepreneurial venture sold for just under $400 million in 1999. BuildOnYourDreams.com was founded to help promising entrepreneurs to build the business of their dreams.

For a f.ree Life Strategy Planning Teleseminar, visit http://www.BuildOnYourDreams.com today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Coupon Duck - Save Money with Manufacturers' Coupons

Schools often look for ways to make money. Sometimes, new playground equipment is needed, or perhaps band equipment and uniforms, it might be that the football team is in need of uniforms, or that the debate team needs money to travel to a meet. Fundraising is quite common and an excellent way to make the money required while teaching students about good sales and marketing, as well as money management. You will also see schools using fundraising to help other people. For example, during the Tsunami, schools all around the country joined efforts to raise money that could be used for medicine, food, clothing, and other needs. As you will discover in this article, there are many innovative ways of making money.

Discount Cards

With discount cards, you can offer one particular type or a book that consists of several different cards. For example, three of the favorites are shopping cards, pizza cards, and prepaid phone cards. With the shopping card, you would choose from local and national merchants that provide nice savings at retail shops, grocery stores, florists, etc. For the pizza card, this is just what it sounds, a card that would offer a discount off the price of food sold at major chain pizza restaurants. Many of these cards offer limited use but for a mere $10, the person might receive a discount 20 times, making this a real bargain. Finally, prepaid phone cards are always a great fundraising option, used by families that live across the country from one another or for college students. For this type of card, you can choose from a number of denominations of $10, $20, $24, and even $30.

Sweet Candy

The second school fundraising idea is something just about everyone loves - candy. Most often, candy sales are associated with school clubs, sports groups, music departments, and church youth groups. Because this is a small dollar item, they sell well but a good marketing plan to increase sales must also be developed and implemented. Ideally, find low-priced candy suppliers, ones that support school fundraising projects, choose the type or types of candy you want to sell, determine your price, and then get started selling.

Rubber Ducky

Next on the list of school fundraising ideas is the rubber duck derby. In the past few years, this has become a very popular school fundraising idea.

Not only is the rubber duck derby fun, but also a great way to involve the community while earning money. You could work with your local grocery stores to sell rubber ducks for $1, which gives the buyers a chance to win a valuable donated prize. Then on a specified date, the ducks are taken to a local park with a lake. All of the rubber ducks are emptied into the water at once and the first one to cross the finish line wins.

Car Washes

Next for successful school fundraising ideas is the car wash. Many companies will donate the water for car washes so all you have to do is bring garden hoses, towels, Windex and paper towels, and signs leading people in the right direction. You can set the price at $1 to $5 per car or establish the car wash fundraiser as a donation basis. Either way, you will find that you make quite a bit of money in exchange for some hard work and fun.

Bake Sales

Finally, one of the most popular and most successful school fundraising ideas is a good, old-fashioned bake sale. For this, students (and probably parents) would donate baked goodies to include brownies, cookies, cake, pie, and miscellaneous items. Then, the students would work outside a strip mall or grocery store, encouraging people to buy. Usually, people are very supportive of a bake sale and if the food is good the money is too.

Dion Semeniuk is the proud father of 2 girls. He's actively looking at ways to be able to generate money for kids to be able to participate in special events. Learn about School Fund Raiser Ideas, visit http://www.school-fund-raiser-directory.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Putting Your Ideas Into Action. Metaphorically Selling.

2005-10-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

AuctionsPASS Government Auctions - Seized, Surplus, and Unclaimed Cars and Property Items.

Ideas are everywhere. Some are small and seemingly insignificant. Others are big giant ideas with the chance to change large portions of our lives. Each idea that we encounter, whether we create the idea, synthesize it from somewhere else, or hear it, is a possible opportunity.

A possible opportunity.

It doesn't matter how promising, exciting or applicable the idea is, or how big of an opportunity it might be, it is just a possible opportunity, unless you take action on it. Opportunity may knock, but we have to open the door, roll up our sleeves and get after it if we want to benefit from that opportunity.

There are many reasons why people don't take action on ideas and seize opportunities, including:

- they lack the self confidence to feel they will succeed

- they don't see the benefits outweighing the risks

- they are scared

- they have too many opportunities and are immobilized, unable to make a choice

The steps outlined below help you get past any of these issues - and move forward with confidence towards great results. Here are the steps you can take to turn your ideas and opportunities into action.

1. Pick one. The first step in getting past any of the issues above is to select an opportunity. Not every opportunity or idea that comes your way will be one you should tackle. Or, if you are "suffering" from too many opportunities, picking one is the only way to move forward.

2. Sell yourself. Perhaps you have sold yourself before picking, or perhaps you are still unsure. Either way, before you get too far down the road you need to see how this idea can have a positive impact. Will it give you more time? Will it expand your income? Will it help you learn new things? Will it help you reach long term goals? Whatever the benefits are, you need to lock them into your mind at this stage. When (if) the challenges grow large in your path, this belief will keep you moving forward.

3. Commit. Commit to yourself to seizing the opportunity or capitalizing on the idea.

4. Make a plan. Build a timetable and checkpoints on your way to implementing the idea. For some ideas this might be a two minute "back of the envelope" process, for others a more elaborate exercise. Either way, the goal is to outline a plan, not become mired in details.

5. Build support. You will likely need the support and/or involvement of others in turning your idea into results. Therefore, it is important to get people to see your vision, and understand your plan. This is a critical step that is often overlooked. Don't make that mistake. Get the people on board that will help you succeed.

6. Get started. You've decided, committed and built a plan. Get started already. The opportunity might not always be there. The idea deserves your best shot.

Ideas are great, but ideas alone don't solve problems or achieve your goals. Ideas are tools. We must find the best tools to apply in our lives and businesses. Find your ideas, seek them out. But please don't stop there.

Put the best ones into action.

You will either generate new success, or learn what doesn't work. Either way, you are way ahead of the person who sat still, taking no action at all.

©Kevin Eikenberry 2005. Kevin is Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on "Unleashing Your Potential" go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

The Big Idea

A lot of people consider selling a very difficult task. Unfortunately for them, selling is an activity that forms part of everyone's daily routine. It occurs not only at work, but also when you are at home with your family, or when you are enjoying a cup of coffee with a friend.

Types of selling include debating with your friend on what type of movie to watch, convincing your boss to adapt to a different way of management, and getting that top client to buy your company's products. You must remember that selling does not limit itself to cars, clothes or food.

In the book Metaphorically Selling, author Anne Miller explains that given time and the right method, anyone can learn how to sell, persuade and explain. By using simple metaphors and visually-enticing words, you can change your status from a poor loser to a topnotch scorer.

The Case for Metaphor

The Challenge: Getting Heard

You live in a world where people read newspapers and get bombarded by print advertisements every morning. You live in a world where large billboards fight for attention, and television commercials have become a way of life.

Since selling is an everyday occurrence, you must learn to accept that your udience has heard the very same pitch that you prepared countless times before. How then do you force a jaded audience to loosen their guard and listen to you?

First, you must learn to talk from your audience's point of view. Get your listeners to understand what it is you're selling by picking the right words. Speak their language and use words that they can relate to. Remember, you are not selling your product to yourself.

Second, don't bombard your audience with too much information. Keep in mind that you are only given a short time to make a sales pitch. It would be a fatal mistake to overwhelm your audience with too many facts and figures.

Lastly, to do justice to your product without boring your audience, it would be most helpful and advantageous to use visual words. Arming your presentation with visual words enable you to explain fully what your product is about without spoiling your audience's zeal.

What are Metaphors?

When you were a student, you were taught that a metaphor is a figure of speech. Your professor may have failed to tell you however; just how important a metaphor is when it comes to selling.

A metaphor is a way to communicate your message to any given audience in an

instant. You do this by using words that compare one thing to another. The brilliance of a metaphor is that you can easily come up with comparisons that are familiar to your audience. You can use metaphors that your audience can strongly associate with.

The best way to explain this further is to tell you what not to do. If you are speaking before a group of female activists, it is never a good idea to use metaphors extolling the triumph of men in sports.

When Do You Need Metaphors?

Without question, a metaphor is a powerful tool. In fact, metaphors will help you close a sale no matter what kind of audience you are interacting with. While you may not need to use metaphors all the time, be keen and alert when one is needed. You know you have to start firing a metaphor the moment your audience starts showing hostility. . .

This article is based on the following book:

Metaphorically Selling - A Book Summary

Wordtracker magic - How To Instantly Mine Pure Gold From Wordtracker's Database

How to Use the Magic of Metaphors to Sell, Persuade & Explain Anything to Anyone
By Anne Miller
Chiron Associates, Inc., New York 2004
ISBN: 0-9762794-0-1
161 Page

By: Regine P. Azurin
Regine Azurin is the President of BusinessSummaries.com, a company that provides business book summaries of the latest bestsellers for busy executives and entrepreneurs.

http://www.bizsum.com "A Lot Of Great Books....Too Little Time To Read" Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers for Busy Executives and Entrepreneurs

Mailto: mailto:freearticle@bizsum.com
BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Focus On the Prize. Why Some Men Don't Want To Commit.

2005-10-17T06:56:00.000-07:00

People talk to me about making personal and professional changes in their life. I hear comments about how hard they think it will be, concerns about their ability to be successful, pressure on themselves to produce results, etc. The anticipation (what you imagine or assume will happen) of the experience can be daunting enough to deter a person from taking the first step! How often does the anticipation match the reality of what happens? If your thoughts and emotions are getting in the way of what you want, read on for 10 tips to get going and stay moving.

1. Describe (in detail) one change you want to make in your life. Consider the benefits to you, how your life will improve, who you will become, how other people and situations will benefit from your success.... Be specific.

2. Identify any concerns, challenges and fears associated with this goal. Create a realistic perspective by examining what you may be anticipating or assuming.

3. Focus on seeing yourself achieving that goal. Make the image vivid and detailed. See yourself already there and step into that picture in your mind. Standing in that space, notice your feelings, thoughts, and physical sensations as you observe yourself successfully attaining your goal.

From that future position, answer these questions:

�½ How has this change impacted your life? What's changed? Describe in detail.

�½ How are you feeling, thinking, being?

�½ What's the best part about being successful?

�½ What have you learned about yourself by achieving this goal?

�½ What else are you aware of? 4. Describe the picture you see on paper. Write in detail all that you see, think, and sense. If you feel creative, draw a picture or make a collage to bring greater depth to your vision.

5. Looking backward from this future point, begin to recognize the steps you took to arrive at success. From here you can begin to craft a flexible strategy that will lead you to the outcome you have already achieved.

6. Identify the first step and...take it! One step leads to the next.

7. Once a day (or more!), revisit the picture of success you created in steps 3 & 4. Putting your attention on the desired outcome reinforces your intention and recommits you to the goal. Reframe fearful thoughts with new internal messages to strengthen you and move you forward. Example: "I'm afraid to do XYZ for fear I might fail" to " I have the strength and support to move forward with confidence." You might add, " Each step I take is a success!" (see below)

8. Acknowledge your small steps as successes. A great way to remember all of your successes is to keep a journal to document your progress. Making a change involves a series of action steps that produce the end result. Baby steps lead to leaps and shifts and fuel motivation by inspiring confidence and action.

9. Invite people to cheer you on and support you.

Experience The Power Of Hypnosis

Experience the power of having a team behind you.

Celebrate along the way!!!!

_____________________________________

Lorraine Cohen of Powerfull Living (http://www.powerfull-living.biz) is a Business Coach and Life Strategist and Team Member of Solo-E (http://www.Solo-E.com). Lorraine Cohen is a Business Coach & Life Strategist who brings more than 25 years of experience in life coaching, counseling, and sales. She helps people through career change, life transitions, and the process of breaking through FEAR and removing barriers to success.
____________________________________________

*********** Find more articles like this at http://www.Solo-E.com - Keeping Solo Entrepreneurs Juiced in Business and in Life. Our team of Solo Entrepreneurs are comprised of small business experts who support others in finding business success with the flexibility and freedom to have a life, too. Network with other freelancers, self-employed and Solo Entrepreneurs in our forums, enjoy our articles and newsletter, and find other online training opportunities. ***********

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

500 Lovemaking Tips & Secrets: Increase passion and intimacy through great sex

If you are dating, engaged, or still trying to find Mr. Right, then this week's message is for you - Why some men do not want to commit or find it very difficult to commit to women they supposedly love. This topic is quite puzzling to most single women. You feel that a man who professes to love you ought to commit to you with ease. Here are some of the reasons why some men behave this way:

"Why commit when I am getting the goods free of charge?" - A lot of men, if given the opportunity, will sow their wild oats until hell freezes over. These men are like kids in a candy store - they just don't know how to choose when there are so many varieties to choose from. It is more exciting for them to keep you as one of their concubines, rather than get tied down and lose out on the opportunity to sample the delicious lovelies out there.

"What if I commit too soon and miss out on the most beautiful woman I have ever met?" This is the kind of internal talk that goes on in the head of the guy that is finding it difficult to commit. You may be the nicest person they have ever met, but something tells them that there may be someone else out there who is more beautiful, sexier, freakier, and just plain nicer.

Past hurtful experience that makes it difficult to commit - Some men want to commit to women,

Why Women Dump Men - Find Out Why She Broke Up With You

but find it very difficult to do so as a result of being dumped, cheated on, or simply being disappointed by someone they loved with all their heart. The hurtful experience could also be from childhood, such as having parents that divorced .

This sometimes makes a men feel that it is useless to commit to any woman, when there is the possibility that the relationship could break up. The relationship that once was his rock and foundation - his parent's - disintegrated. This type of man is usually a good man, but as a result of the bad relationship experience, has become gun shy.

From Commitment Phobe to "I Do"! A Commitmentphobia Support Group - Commitment Phobia an...

With some patience, love and the passage of time, this kind of man usually overcomes his commitment phobia.

Fear of taking on responsibility - With commitment comes responsibility, and there are some men who just hate to take on the kinds of responsibility that come with marriage and childbirth. They find it much easier to remain single.

Your inability to satisfy him in bed - This is an often-neglected reason why a man may not want to commit to a woman. Men have this fear that if they are not sexually satisfied now, when they have not committed to you, it may get even worse when you get very comfortable after they commit. There is a way to boost your abilities in this area without having to hang off chandeliers.

Michael Webb's Relationship ebook collection

Michael Webb's exciting, "500 Love Making Tips & Secrets" can take your lovemaking to a whole new level.

Just because your man is afraid of committing does not mean that he cannot commit to you. There is always a way to get the results you want. You can make yourself so irresistibly attractive to him that all his inhibitions will just simply melt away.

There is a way to get your man commit to you. Find out more by visiting: http://www.smartwomansguide.com.

Steve Ubah is the author of Passion Keys - A Woman's Ultimate Guide To Unlocking The Love In A Man's Heart. To find out how you can make your man fall madly in love with you, please visit http://www.smartwomansguide.com

A note to all publishers: Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine, newsletter or website as long as the article's content is not modified and all links as well as the author's resource box are included.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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How to Be Happy!. School Bullying Stopped: 5 Tips for Blasting Hardcore Bullies!.

2005-10-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

How would you like to have at least an extra hour in your day just for yourself so that you can have more fun?

Well you can you know, you just have to do the following consistently and you'll free up your time so that you can enjoy more of your life.

Look After Yourself First

Exercise regularly and eat healthily. Do the right thing by yourself and you'll have heaps of energy, be motivated,more productive and happier.

Surround Yourself with Positivity

Personal Development, Self Help & Motivational e-Books

Circulate with positive people, read motivational books and listen to motivational tapes/cds while driving, commuting, waiting for appointments.

Avoid negative people like the plague. They will drain your energy

Clean out the Clutter

You will save yourself heaps of time, energy and money if you clear out your work and home environment...paperwork, books, old equipment etc. regularly. You'll be able to find things, save money because you won't have to buy what you already have hidden somewhere, plus you'll be less stressed. You'll feel better which will make you happier.

Jazz Up Your Environment

If you work and live in a pleasant environment, you'll naturally feel better and happier. A clean, uncluttered home or workplace makes you feel good and happy to be there.

Dress for Success

When you look good, you feel good , when you feel good you are happier. Have an image makeover.

Plan Time For Fun

With so much to organise in your busy life you need to record your appointments, things to do and goals somewhere. Use a paper diary or digital organiser that you can take everywhere. This is the most effective way to get things done, plan your work and your life.

Learn to say "No"

To dramatically improve your productivity and do more of the things you want in your life, you have to be firm with others and let them know if you cannot, will not or are unavailable to fulfil their requests. If you constantly say "yes" to everyone else's requests you will never have the time to do what you really want to.

Book yourself into a self-assertiveness course to learn these skills if you feel you need to.

Do What You Do Best and Delegate the Rest

At work see if there are ways you can delegate tasks which would suit someone else's talents. Many office and home based workers are spending heaps of time on mundane secretarial tasks which would take a person who is trained in that area a quarter of the time to undertake.

At home hire a gardener and cleaner to take care of the basic household chores. It's worth investing the extra dollars if you can have more free time to do what you want to.

Compliment Someone Every Day

How do you feel when you receive a compliment? Make someone's day...give before you get because what goes around, comes around.

The Final Word

By following these simple yet very effective ideas you'll feel good, look good and have more time to enjoy your life... and when you're enjoying life, you're happy!

About The Author

Lorraine specialises in working with businesspeople showing them how to dramatically boost their productivity, reduce the stress and the mess in their lives and have more time for enjoying their life.

www.office-organiser.com.au

lorraine@office-organiser.com.au

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Hardcore bullies!

Which staff members are best suited to deal with them during the school year?

Free From Bullies

In my experience of coordinating the Bully Zapper Mentor Program for 7 years, guidance counselors are the most effective with these hardcore bullies.

1. Our building principal has mentored several hardcore bullies and, believe it or not, this was not an effective relationship in stopping this student from bullying.

Why?

Because the hardcore bully felt that they were "above the rules" with the principal being their mentor. No matter how much they were told that they would receive disciplinary consequences, they did not stop bullying because they felt like they had an advocate at the top.

Obviously, this is not the purpose of the Bully Zapper Mentor Program!

2. Teachers and even Educational Assistants have had some of our more hardcore bullies. If the teachers spend inordinate amounts of their personal time with the bullies nurturing and talking to them, often the hardcore bully was neutralized and even did a major turn around.

3. Some of our staff are outstanding in this way but most teachers do not have the time or any extra emotional resources to invest in a hardcore bully.

4. A few of our Educational Assistants have had success with the hardcore bullies, but they lack the professional experience and education to deal with them effectively on a regular basis.

5. Our most successful staff bully zappers have been the guidance counselors because not only do they have a more flexible schedule to deal with a bully crisis as it comes up, they have the training and experience to deals with these difficult kids.

Also, guidance counselors are privy to more personal information about the families, past history and personal issues of the hardcore bullies and many of them have already worked with these students and their families.

So, put your most effective mentors with these hardcore bullies - your able-bodied guidance counselors!

Purchase the latest Bully Zapper publication, 11 SIMPLE STEPS TO ZAPPING BULLIES! Discover tips on working with the bully as well as the victim, talking to parents effectively,

Stopping School Violence - Immediately learn skills to keep your child safe from bullying and school...

using behavior checklists with success, enabling teachers to deal with bullies in their classrooms, and much more practical and useful information you can use immediately to Zap the Bullies in your school! To order, go to http://www.bullyzapper.com

©2005 Permission granted to reprint this article in print or on your web site so long as the paragraph above is included and contact information is provided to the email coach@bullyzapper.com and http://www.bullyzapper.com

Paula McCoach invites you to join the Bully Zapper Newsletter. New and effective bully zapping techniques will be sent directly to your email, so you can start zapping bullies immediately! Just published is the long-awaited ebook, 11 SIMPLE STEPS FOR ZAPPING BULLIES and THE BULLY ZAPPER MENTOR PACK both available at http://www.bullyzapper.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Release Some Tension...Spend Some Time In Your Garden. The Developing Child.

2005-10-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

The Sweet Smell of Success - Start Your Own Bath and Body and Perfume Business

Gardening can be one of the most rewarding and relaxing hobbies that you can engage in. Picture a beautiful spring day, the sweet smell of grass in the air and you get to go out and work the soil and prepare your garden.

One of the fascinating things about gardening is that you can start with a small seed and grow anything you want.

Whether you're interested in gardening to grow flowers and plants or fruit and vegetables, every gardener knows the excitement and satisfaction of seeing their work and effort pay off with a beautiful harvest. Not only are you producing nature's products for yourself but from mid-summer through winter, dozens of plants share their berries with wild creatures, which in turn, helps wildlife build fat storage for winter survival.

Have you every seen an attractive garden and over in the corner there's statue of a gnome?

Well, according to legend, house and garden gnomes help with chores around the home, like sweeping the floor or planting. This is the reason many statues of gnomes hold hammers, axes or shovels, or are pushing wheelbarrows. Find out more about these delightful garden creatures.

Whether you're interested in flowers and shrubs or organic gardening, you're sure to derive much relaxation and happiness from spending time in your own garden.

About The Author

Mike Yeager, Publisher

http://www.a1-flowers-4u.com/

mjy610@hotmail.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

We know the fetus is experiencing whatever is going on with the mother. This is the good news or the bad news as the case may be.

In an ideal world I would focus my attention on creating a pleasant and harmonious environment for the developing child. This could look like connecting with the fetus, sending love and messages of welcome. This can be especially important if the pregnancy was not planned or initially unwanted. In the altered state of breathwork, this can be done fairly easily.

In many first pregnancies, there can be a lack of connection to the fetus. It feels unreal that this is happening at all and in spite of her changing body, the mother-to-be feels flat and unattached to the baby growing inside. This kind of work is very important and can be very powerful or very gentle, as the case may be.

Now, in a not so ideal world this work is even more important. If the mother is upset, sick, distraught, or confused, then these messages are being registered by the fetus as well. So, the goal would be to create harmony by releasing what is in the way of creating that peaceful environment.

During pregnancy and through delivery, many of our own issues may emerge, especially around birth or mother. In this case breathwork is the perfect vehicle because of its connection to the body and its stored memories. The client is treated the same as your other clients except I recommend you stay with the circular breath and not go into fast and full. If that happens spontaneously, then that is fine. Tetany and other signs of hyperventilation should be watched for and avoided as much as possible.

If I have an ongoing or regular client who becomes pregnant during therapy, then I do some of the connection work and suggest that she take some time off. This is the time to go home and prepare for a blessed event. It is not a time to take on one's deepest issues, unless they are activated by the situation itself. If it isn't broken, don't fix it at this time. If something comes up, then that is a different story. I am available and have worked with women right up to delivery. The best part would be to do the water work with the new baby and the parents 2-3 months after birth.

Carol A. Lampman:

Holistic Therapist, Certified Breathwork Instructor, Advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist, Certified Release Therapist with

Body sculpting with the internet's premiere body sculpting designer for women. Expert body sculpting...

training in Hypno-Behavioral Therapy, Reichian Process Work, Integrative, Cathartic, Rebirthing Breathwork, Hendricks Body Centered Transformation.

Carol is an acknowledged speaker and educator, and has presented programs, trainings and workshops for the public in the US, France, Italy, Spain, Venezuela and Israel. She is moving into a more prominent role in the professional community as a facilitator of personal transformation techniques. Her dynamic personality combined with her humor and deep respect for the work of the participants has allowed her to establish a strong foundation of support among the professional community.

Carol's life experience with childhood trauma and her early medical background working

IntoThisMoment.com - Transform Your Relationship with Money; Energy healing helps release anxiety, f...

with catastrophically ill children sparked her interest in the mind body connection, the emotional process, and its overall relationship to health and wholeness.

http://www.IntegrationConcepts.net

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How To Choose a Good Piano Teacher. Poker Tournaments.

2005-10-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

First we assume that you intent to hire a private piano teacher. Advantages of doing this over attending classes at a school are numerous. Most piano learners end up employing a piano teacher, and if you are serious, you should too.

Learn To Read Piano Music With Fun Piano Software for Children, Adult Beginners And Piano Teachers

Piano teachers have different approaches, but most piano instruction advances in grades, from grade 1 to grade 8. Books are labeled according to grades, but teachers often recommend additional books or songs tailored to specific student abilities and tastes.

How important are the Piano certifications?

You may be under the impression that piano teachers must have music degrees, piano diploma or music teaching certification. Actually this is not necessary. If you are a beginner, look for someone who has at least a grade 7 to teach.

A good piano teacher needs more than adequate certification. Practical considerations like him staying near you house is also important.

The most important qualities

Personality, experience and interest in teaching are also crucial. Sometimes, a student and teacher don't mix. It's a matter of matching personalities. If a kid is miserable because of the dislike of the piano teacher, don't continue with that teacher. Your kid might end up losing interest in learning piano.

Typical costs of learning piano starts from $100 every four lesson of 45 minutes for beginners.

Piano Information Services Online: Piano Appraisals, Keyboard Instrument & Organ Appraisals, Pia...

That is a part-time piano teacher's price. A full time teacher would cost more; in the region of $140.

Get a music teacher form http://music.manytutors.com Or read more articles at http://www.manytutors.com/tuition-resourses/articles/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Most people believe that poker tournaments are for the most experienced and most aggressive poker players. But this is simply just not true. There are actually many more low-limit tournaments (that attract beginners mostly) than high stakes tournaments.

Low-limit Poker Tournaments usually only attract beginners because the betting stakes are restricted to small amounts.

The basic structure of Poker Tournaments

Online poker tournament are events in which players compete to win a part of the total prize pool. The general objective of each poker game is to collect all of the chips in play. At every table in the tournament the players compete until there is only one winner or until one of the contestants loses all their chips. The remaining contestants then progress through to the following round, until there are only a few players left in the tournament.

Champion Plays - Sports Winners

These winners then play against each other at the winners table to determine the tournament champion. Depending on the tournament structure, the prize pool may be divided among the top ranked players, or the winner might take it all.

Elimination Tournaments :

Each player is given the same amount of chips to begin with and play continues until one player has lost all their chips and is eliminated. Players are then reseated at fewer tables until only one table is left. The payout structure is set up to award all the finalists, with first place being awarded more than the second and second more than the third, etc.

Rebuy Tournaments :

These tournaments usually offer bigger jackpots than others because the players are periodically allowed to rebuy chips. The betting is normally quite aggressive in these tournaments as players are allowed to buy more chips if they've lost everything.

Shoot-out Tournaments :

As opposed to elimination tournaments where the players are reseated after each player is eliminated, shoot-out tournaments are played until there is only one player left at each table, the winners then play at a final table for the grand prize.

Satellite Tournaments...

Read more: Poker Tournaments

Stanley Majors is an experienced online poker journalist who writes articles on a range of poker topics.
His numerous articles found on Texas Holdem Net ,provide useful and factual poker information and insight.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Inflammatory Arthritis: Alternative Treatments. What Is A FICO Score?.

2005-10-07T05:55:00.000-07:00

Inflammatory Arthritis:

Bioterrorism: A Close Look at Ancient and Alternative Treatments of Horrible Diseases

Alternative Treatments

There are two main types of arthritis: inflammatory arthritis and osteoarthritis. Inflammatory arthritis can be treated naturally without drugs. Inflammatory arthritis' symptoms (such as Rheumatoid Arthritis) are exactly what they sound like: inflammation, redness and swelling in the joints. Sometimes there will even be a temperature change in the area affected. Also, in the hand, you may notice that some fingers may look like they are turning away from the thumb (ulnar deviation).

This type of arthritis is primarily an auto-immune response. This means that the body believes it is under attack by an invader, such as an infection of some kind. However,this is not the case and the body ends up "attacking" the toxins that have built up in the joint capsules. Alternative treatment for this type of arthritis is fairly simple. Since the problem is caused by toxins in the joints, then the solution is to remove these toxins.

There are actually several ways to detoxify the body. One of these is fasting. Using juice fasts,fruit fasts or other types of fasts can be very effective. However, it takes a very disciplined individual to actually finish one of these programs. There are several good books to help you if you planon doing a fast, one of my personal favorites is "Dr. Jensen's Guide to Better Bowel Care"", by Bernard Jensen.

Another way to detox is cleansing the colon with a colonic irrigation or similar procedure. This procedure should be done by a professional since there are some minimum hygiene standards that should be followed. In this procedure, a tube is inserted into the rectum and filtered water is constantly irrigated into the colon-and fecal matter and other wastes flowing out at the same time.People that have this performed often report they see waste products from foods they have not eaten in years.

A third way to cleanse is by supplementing your diet with large quantities of fiber and herbal supplements. This method is probably best for most Americans. Not because it is more effective than the other two, but because of it's ease of execution.

One good way to see if this type of treatment will help is to buy an inexpensive psyllium supplement and take it three times per day for two days. If you do notice an improvement in your symptoms,then go ahead and purchase a complete cleanse program of some kind.

If you are performing a cleanse you should modify your diet in several ways: increase the consumption of leafy green vegetables, decrease the consumption of dairy, red meat and other mucus-producing foods. And probably the most important-increase your intake of clean filtered water to at least a gallon per day.

One note of caution: when doing any type of cleanse, you may experience a healing crisis. On the third or fourth day or a cleanse regimen, you may experience symptoms such as sore throat, headache, lightheadedness, bad breath or pimples. Don't panic! this is a normal response and indicates that the cleanse is working and the toxins are beginning to leave your body. Depending on your toxicity level, you may experience some relief by simply having a bowel movement.

If the healing crisis becomes too uncomfortable, then be sure to discontinue the program and consult a health care professional. The goal is to find the type of treatment that is correct for you and see it until the end. You will find that these treatments are more successful in helping arthritis than the traditional medical solution of pain killers and drugs.

Dr. Dan DeReuter is a chiropractor practicing in Georgia. He operates various websites with the goal of educating people on the benefits of natural methods of better heath. His websites are: http://www.healthfultips.com, http://www.deepdownwellness.com, and http://www.deepdownnutrition.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Your FICO score or credit score as it's commonly called is a very important calculation that can control whether or not you are eligible to receive credit and if eligible the terms you can receive credit under. Failure to understand the impact this score can have on you future purchasing power and lifestyle can be disastrous. This article will break down all the information you need to know regarding your FICO score.

Learn How To Save Time and Money When Paying Bills. Improve FICO, credit rating and increase your fi...

As I mentioned above the FICO score is a numerical score that is based on your financial history as collected in your credit report. Creditors can use this number to evaluate whether or not you are able to pay a loan back on time. The higher the score the more likely you are to pay off a loan on time and the less of a credit risk you pose.

The FICO or credit score ranges are broken down as follows:

720-850 - This represent the best score range

700-719 - Able to obtain favorable financing terms

675-699- This is still a decent score range

620-674 - May have trouble obtaining favorable credit terms

560-619 - May have trouble obtaining credit

500-559 - Time to improve your score

Your credit score is broken down into 5 distinct categories each with their own importance based on a percentile. The 5 categories and the percentage they represent I relation to your credit score are as follows:

Payment History - 35%

Amounts Owed - 30%

Length of Credit History - 15%

New Credit - 10%

Types of Credit Used - 10%

Your payment history contains information on credit cards, retail accounts, installment loans, finance company accounts and any mortgages you may have had. It also details any past due accounts and the amount owed on hem. You will also find bankruptcy information as well as other adverse information in regards to your credit history. This is why it warrants a 35% piece of the pie.

Your amount owed is generally speaking the amount owed on any accounts you currently have and number of accounts with balances. Note that it has a large impact (30%) on your credit score. The length of your credit history details when accounts were opened and the last activity on those accounts. New credit shows the number of recently opened accounts by the type of account and number of account inquiries. Finally the type of credit used is a snapshot of what types of financing you have held.

Other information that is included in your credit report but has no bearing on your FICO score includes your race, age, where you live and your sex and employment information. Although the FICO score doesn't use these factors the employment information may be used by other companies and creditors to help in their decision making process.

There are three major credit-reporting agencies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion that have your credit information on hand. Each of these credit bureaus maintains their information separately, which can cause the financial data to be slightly different among the three of them. Most experts agree that in order to get the best snapshot of your financial history and credit worthiness it is a good idea to request a report from each of the reporting agencies. It is also highly recommended that you actually review your credit report once a year in order to identify and correct any errors before they cause any future potential problems when you apply for credit. Recent changes in the laws no allow for consumers to request 1 free credit report each year in order to look for any such errors.

Here is the contact information for each of the three reporting credit bureaus:

Equifax: (800) 685-1111, www.equifax.com
Experian: (888) 397-3742, www.experian.com
TransUnion: (800) 888-4213, www.transunion.com

As you can see your FICO Score is a very important number that represents your financial trustworthiness in the eyes of creditors. Failure to properly monitor it could cause you future headaches when it comes time to apply for any form of credit.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Debt-Relief-Solutions.com. He provides more debt relief, consolidation and credit repair information that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Horse Racing Betting, The Risk Free Way. The Five Most Common Joint Venture Marketing Mistakes To Avoid.

2005-10-04T19:45:00.000-07:00

Betting Systems by Great Gambling Systems

You may or may not of heard of all this talk about been a change to horse racing betting where you can bet on horse races risk free.

Yes that's right, Risk Free!

Now this isn't some bogus system that gives you one horse that is guaranteed to win, it isn't even like normal gambling. It's more like trading as you are betting on more than one horse in a race even all of them.

I hear you saying how can I make money betting on every horse in the race?

Because of the competition between bookmakers and now the rise of Betfair there prices are all over the place. One horse can be 4/1 with one bookmaker and 7/1 with another.

Every bookmaker is trying to get customers by giving away free bets, the best prices etc. They do this by making a couple of horses in a race better priced and then advertising it. If every bookie does this you can make a profit very easy.

The idea is that you place the right amount of money at the right prices so that no matter what horse wins the race, you make a profit.

Sounds hard doesn't it?

Horse racing systems, my mathematical formula, maclean

I know it sounds a bit complicated but there is a new horse racing system that makes it easy and dead simple to use. There are calculators and software to help you and take most of the work out of doing it.

Now some people in the know have been doing this for years even before all of the online bookmakers but with the internet exploding risk free betting has been made available to you and others.

You can learn more about this amazing horse racing system now and start profiting for yourself.

Rob is making

Racing Secrets: Auto Racing Tech

a living using his horse racing betting system and you can join him going to his site http://www.risk-free-betting-secret.com to learn more about risk free betting.

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Small Business Big Profits by Bob Serling - Profitable Small Business

Joint Venture marketing has become a highly popular way for small businesses to maximize their profits. When two or more businesses combine their resources synergistically, it creates greater marketing impact and bigger profits than either can have alone.

Doing joint ventures has many benefits, but there are also many mistakes that can be made. These mistakes can be costly, not only in revenue, but in credibility with your client base.

These are not the only joint venture marketing mistakes made by small businesses, but as these are the most common, avoiding or correcting them will certainly put you on the right path.

Here are the five most common mistakes to avoid:

1. Not taking the time to ensure that your partner has great-quality products and services and a solid reputation.

When you choose a partner, it is imperative to choose one that has high-quality products and services as well as a good reputation within the industry. Sometimes, a company may look better on the surface than it really is. Your credibility is at stake if you partner up with a company that has sub-standard products and services or one that is popular for bad customer service. Do your research about your potential joint venture partners and review their products and services before endorsing them as these issues will reflect on you and your business!

2. Offering your partner too small of a deal

There has to be an incentive for your partner to engage with you, and offering too small of a deal won't make it worth their time and effort. Remember that endorsers with a large, targeted and loyal client base are the most wanted joint venture partners.

Have You Opened the Profits Vault Yet?

They'll partner with others if you offer a percentage of the profits that's too low. So make this mental note... if they are worth pursuing, they are worth sharing the profits with.

3. Simply handing over your client list

This can constitute breach of contract with your clients if you have committed to their privacy. You've also worked very hard to build your client list, and this forms part of the value you have to contribute to the joint venture relationship. If you simply hand over your client list, you have no point of leverage.

4. Not devising an exit strategy

Even the best of relationships can go sour, or simply not work. Make sure you have an open door to leave the joint venture if for any reason it is not working out.

5. Committing to a long term relationship from the beginning, without testing your strategy first

Any joint venture should involve a trial period to see if profits will show a real upwards trend, or if the idea is a valid one. If you sign a long term contract, you may be stuck in a no-win situation with no way to escape. As with any marketing strategy, test in small numbers first, before rolling out fully.

Joint Venture marketing is very lucrative, and with some forethought and planning, can help springboard your business to new success levels. Just make sure to do your homework right from the start, and avoid these pitfalls to ensure high returns on your investment of time, money and effort.

Note: You are welcome to republish this article as long as the resource box at the end is included fully and unaltered.

Habiba Abubakar, a.k.a. The Profit Diva, specializes in helping small business owners who are struggling to increase their client base and are tired of earning mediocre profits. The tips in this article have been excerpted from her home-study program, "Joint Venture Profits For Small Business Owners."

To learn more about this step-by-step program, and to sign up FREE for her revealing Mini eCourse, "The Easiest Way To Skyrocket Your Profits In 90 Days Or Less," visit http://www.profitdiva.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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College Radio: The Most Important Radio Level for Musicians. Want A $10,000 House?.

2005-10-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

Amoroso Music Studio-Music Score Sheet Music

For the self-promoting independent artist, the idea of taking on a radio promotion campaign can, in itself, become overwhelming. But, this idea is usually based on such artists attempting to obtain worldwide airplay on a local budget.

And, in doing so, self-promoting independent artists quickly discover another factor not usually considered previously... that engaging in a worldwide radio promotion campaign translates to hundreds and, possibly, thousands of CD units for media contacts alone.

As you can see, this can also quickly become a nightmare for indie artists, particularly, if the promotion budget only allows for the purchase of 1,000-CD packages at a time.

Starting in the 1980's, college radio became a dominant force in not only discovering independent recording artists, but also in introducing new artists to the general public. Hundreds of these particular artists have gone on to become established 'household' names.

Likewise, the college radio level has a continued history of presenting, practically, all forms of music, much of which would never see the proverbial light of day at the commercial radio level and, in many cases, neither at the non commercial level.

Therefore, if an artist has limited funds for radio promotion, it is highly advisable that the he begin exclusively with college radio for the following reasons:

* Far easier and faster access to airwaves

* Far more plentiful specialty and mix shows and programs

Greater chances for both in-studio and telephone interviews to promote music releases

* More possibilities for station ID checks for further publicity

* Corresponding college campus newspapers that will more readily accept and support music aired on their campus stations for creating a campus-wide buzz

* A ready and built-in market in the campus community for repeated live performances to further support and supplement campus airplay and campus press coverage

* An opportunity for grassroots distribution through supplying both campus bookstores and campus music stores with music releases

Is the college market a viable market for your music sales?

Though the question is rhetorical in nature, please review the below U. S. college population statistics:

* There are 631 public 4-year colleges and universities that have a combined student population of 6,236,455.

* There are also 1,835 private 4-year colleges and universities with a combined student population of 3,440,953.

* Additionally, there exists 1,081 public 2-year colleges with a combined student population of 5,996,701.

* Even further, 621 private 2-year colleges host another 253,878 students.

This brings the average U. S. student population total to a whopping 15,927,987 minimum every year. And, more people are attending some form of higher education than ever before.

Now, even the least popular music genres are certain to find a financial comfort zone with a market of almost 16 million unique principals.

So, what results could really popular commercial music genres experience, simply by working the various entities of the college market, i.e., campus radio, campus press, campus bookstores, campus music stores, campus live performances? Quite pleasant ones, I would suspect.

But, remember! The above statistics only reference the United States college/university potential listenership. College radio also has a respectable portion of listeners who are *not* students.

Add to that, listeners of college radio who strictly listen to the streaming portion of college radio online, and who may, or may not, be in the college's geographical area, i.e., military service members.

Plus, there is lot more of the college market abroad, of which U. S.-based artists would do well to approach English- speaking nations first, i.e., United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland, subsequently, moving into additional nations.

While it may (or may not) be true that it is possible for commercial radio stations to be the primary driving force behind most retail sales, that theory may not be so valid today, given the fact that:

* With the Internet, artists are no longer required to sell millions of CDs to make a great living financially

* Artists have greater and easier access to far more radio stations (broadcast, satellite, internet, college)

* With the college community, and all of its combined promotion and sales aspects (radio, bookstores, music stores, live performances), if conducted correctly, the college market campaign can equalize and, in some cases, even supersede commercial radio results. ______________________________________________

[---Additional Statistics---]

Top 10 College Enrollment:

Miami-Dade College (51,717)
University of Texas at Austin (50,616)
Ohio State University (48,477)
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (46,597)
University of Florida (46,516)
Arizona State University (45,693)
Texas A&M University (44,618)
Michigan State University (44,227)
University of Wisconsin Madison (40,912)
Pennsylvania State University at University Park (40,828)

(The above figures were reported in Almanac 2004-2005, published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, August 27, 2004.) ______________________________________

What College Students Spend on Music:

According to a recent Harris Interactive survey, college students spend $200 billion...that's right...BILLION dollars per year, with 76% of the students having spent $2,746,000 on music alone.

Note: As an added advantage, the self-promoting independent artist should also create an Internet radio promotion campaign simultaneously, since most 'net stations are accepting of MP3 files for airplay, thus, reducing packaging and shipping costs of CDs to stations.

You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included. A courtesy copy of your publication would be appreciated.

About the Author:

Self-Promotion Resources to Boost Your Music Biz Career

Kenny Love is president of MuBiz.com, a radio promotion, media publicity and music business/career firm for musicians. He is also the author of "Explosive CD $ales Tips," as well as publisher of The B# Newsletter, a highly informative music business resource. Visit his website at http://www.MuBiz.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

How do you find a house for ten or twenty thousand dollars? In three steps:

1. Find towns that are affordable.

2. Find houses you like.

3. Make an offer.

1. Affordable Towns

Clickbank .com Affiliate Classifieds. For sale. Used Cars. Classic Cars. Sports Cars. RVs. Airplane...

Altoona, Pennsyvania still had dozens of homes for sale for less than $30,00 when I checked today. The cheapest one is listed for $7,500. As the photo on our site shows, this is a cute little town, yet still big enough to have everything you need.

Hot Springs, Arkansas has houses under $20,000, the cheapest at the moment being $13,500. Alamogordo, New Mexico is a town we like a lot, and it still has homes for sale under $30,000. Independence, Kansas has really inexpensive homes. Prices start under $10,000!

2. Affordable Homes

To find houses that are for sale in these towns and others, you can look up their local newspapers online, and check out the classifieds. You can find a local real estate agent online too, and give them a call. One of the best resources, though, is probably www.Realtor.com, where you can search any town for homes listed by price, number of bedrooms, and many other criteria.

3. Buying A $10,000 House

Don't think that if you don't see homes listed for $10,000, you can't buy one. When we were living in Anaconda, Montana (where we bought a beautiful house for $17,500), we watched as a house listed for $18,000 eventually dropped to $9,900, and then was finally sold for $6,000! In towns where houses are this cheap, they often sell for much less than their initial asking price. Make an offer!

Steve Gillman and his wife Ana Blum traveled the country exploring great towns where there are still affordable houses. They bought a beautiful home in a cute mountain town for $17,500, and created a website where you can learn how to do the same. See a photo of their house and learn more at: http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Tools of the Trade, the SEO Must Have Utilities. Use an Exercise Training Diary to Keep Your Workouts on Track.

2005-09-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

! ApplyTools.com - Webmaster Tools, CGI Scripts, Webmaster Resources, Website Tools, Ecommerce Tools...

Search Engine traffic accounts for nearly 80% of the Internet traffic. It is no wonder all website owners want their pages appear in the first 3 pages of the Search engine Results Pages ( SERPS). Getting there by itself is one tough job, and sustaining your place there is another day to day tussle. Unless most of the mundane tasks are automated the life of an SEO is going to be miserable. We constantly see new webmasters are clueless about the tools of the trade. Let's see a few main one's in this article.

Search Engine Guide

Keywords describe the content to the search bots, they guide the search engine to decipher the theme of a webpage. These keywords should be employed in specific ways to acheive optimal results. The first thing to note is the keyword density, SE's still use the density to validate whether they are being guided towards relevant content as suggested by keywords. Keyword Density Analyzer is one important tool that should be employed to check the usage of keywords and phrases in each of your webpage.

Keyword Research tools are really godsend. In this competitive space, if everyone starts targeting the same phrase then you are going into a virtual stalemate. That is why we should find relevant phrases and target them rather than highly competitive keywords. It is better to be listed in page one of a relevant keyword than on page 6 of the main keyword. There are many tools out there that can provide you a list of keywords based on the popular searches, with cue from the SE's themselves. These are typically based on the current search terms employed the netizens.

Keywords are just one part of the SEO puzzle, there is a good tool to prepare your website for SE's. Checkout the resource box for the website with all the tools described in here, they are free to use. The search engine preparation tool helps analyze your website against many criterion. Another popular tool that is a must have is the position checker. The search engine index is really dynamic and hence keeping up with your position manually and that too twice a day is a redundant task that is best left to a script.

The pro tool that is employed by SEO's is the saturation tool that finds how many pages have been indexed and figures out your presence in the top search engines. This is really helpul because as you know each page in the website is indexed separately and seen as one individual entity in the web. This tool figures out which one's got indexed and which did not and you can further analyze the reasons and try to enhance the optimization. The free SEO tools can found in http://www.web-inspect.com.

ScotConnect - the web accessibility company

Author freelances for many great web companies and can be found in Aplora Web Solutions and No Fee Free Freelance.

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A road map is a very handy tool when you're setting out on a long trip. It helps point you in the direction you want to go and can be a lifesaver when you've strayed off course.

Teach in Japan with the Super Teaching in Japan Handbook As Your Road Map

An exercise training diary can provide the same help as a road map when you embark on an exercise program. In many ways, it's a lot more informative because it's a daily record of your journey to your fitness goals. So let's take a look at how to get the most benefit from your workout log.

1. Record the Basics

Record the date, start and end times, body parts trained, and if you were joined by a training partner. Also be sure to record information about your cardio workouts.

2. It's more than just sets and reps

For a weight training log you'll certainly want to record the number of sets and reps you perform for each lift. Also be sure to indicate all warm up sets. This will help you prevent injury and may also indicate if you're doing too many warm up sets.

Of course you'll want to record the weight you use for each lift. Unless you have a pretty good memory, it's difficult to remember from one workout to another what weight you used the last time. A training diary takes away the guesswork.

Also be sure to indicate if you use any special training techniques such as forced reps, negatives, pyramids, or super sets. A training diary is a great way to uncover if any of these techniques actually work for you or if they're just making you over trained.

Also, recording the settings on exercise machines such as seat height and other adjustments can save you a lot of time during your workouts.

3. Details Matter

Details do make a difference! In the notes area of your diary page, be sure to record how you're feeling at the start of your workout. Are you tired or are you ready to tear things up in the weight room? Do your muscles pump up quickly as your workout progresses or is the pump avoiding you today?

If you workout to music it may be helpful to record the tracks you listened to. This can also have a subliminal effect if you associate a great workout with certain music.

4. Don't forget about nutrition

The other half of the fitness equation is diet. It's vital that you record everything that you eat and drink throughout the day. Record the item, amount in grams, and time consumed. You can look up the calories at the end of the day and record the total.

5. Record vital measurements

Once a week you should weigh yourself and enter this into your training diary. Putting a tape measure to your neck, upper arms, chest, waist, thighs, and calves is a great way to track your weight training progress.

6. Review your log before each workout

Before you begin your workout, take a look back to the last time you trained the same body parts. Take assessment of the maximum weight and reps you did for each exercise. This is the time to mentally challenge yourself to get an extra 2 reps or increase the weight by 5 lbs.

7. Interpreting the data

Once you've logged several weeks of training data look back over it to see what kind of progress you've made. Pick one or two major exercises such as the bench press or squats. Have you been able to increase the weights for these lifts on a steady basis or have you hit a sticking point?

This is a good time to look for any correlations. Did your body weight begin to drop off around the time you hit the sticking point? If so, then maybe you've begun to over train.

CarbTrack Low Carb Diet tracking software for the atkins diet and weight loss, south beach diet. Cou...

Also look back over your nutrition log and make sure you're staying on track with your diet.

Maintaining an exercise diary is a little extra work, but it's a commitment to your training program that will pay big dividends by keeping you on the road to training success!

Rich Rojas
Elliptical Trainer Reviews and Fitness Ideas
http://www.ellipticalhome.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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Interviewing Candidates: 3 Ways to Avoid Snap Judgments. Survival At Sea: What You Need To Do, What You Need To Have.

2005-09-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

Have you ever hired the wrong person? If so, perhaps you are an emotional interviewer?

An emotional interviewer tends to make judgments on first impressions. In a matter of minutes, an emotional interviewer may decide if someone is competent or not. Not surprisingly, they often make poor hiring decisions.

Killer Job Interview Answers! - 87 answer scripts and 100s of techniques to GET YOU HIRED.

All hiring managers are susceptible to "emotional" hiring mistakes. Why? Because we are human and we like to hire people that we like or that may mirror ourselves.

First impressions, good or bad, tend to skew the interviewer's evaluation of a candidate. Given the difficulty of overcoming first impressions, what can you do as a hiring manager to avoid making hiring decisions based on emotion?

�€� First, conduct phone interviews. Phone interviews are an excellent way to avoid first impression mistakes. You will not be influenced by appearance or gestures; allowing you to concentrate on what the candidate actually says.

�€� Second, ask performance-based interview questions. Performance-based interviewing, commonly known as behavioral based interviewing, is an approach that looks at past behavior as the best predictor of future performance.

�€� Third, be prepared. Having a structured list of interview questions will keep your interview discussion focused on job skills and past performance.

TIP: Wait at least 30 minutes from initial introduction before you assess a candidate's competency - good or bad.

In summary, don't be too quick to judge.

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Be prepared and keep emotions at bay by asking job related, performance-based interview questions.

Ann Clifford is the Founder and President of Safari Solutions, an HR consulting firm focused on helping companies hire better. Over the past six years, Ann has worked closely with over 120 business owners in delivering improved hiring results. Ann graduated from Indiana University with an accounting degree and started her career with Price Waterhouse. With over 15 years of entrepreneurship, Ann is an advocate of small business. She is a board member of Entrepreneur Alliance of Indiana, and an active member of the the National Association of Women Business Owners, Network of Women in Business, and Venture Club of Indiana.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

The Ultimate Fishing Trip Guidebook...How To Plan, Organize and Catch More Fish On Your Next Fishin...

Two boys from South Carolina made headlines a few weeks ago. They had spent six days adrift at sea before being rescued ... off the coast of North Carolina.

The boys, one fifteen and one sixteen, had set out in a small boat with no paddles, no motor, no sail, no food and no water. The fact that they had survived for six days under these circumstances is almost a miracle.

The first lesson to be learned from their experience goes almost without saying: never, never, never set out to sea without paddles, a motor, or sails. No matter how close you think you will stay to shore, no matter how serene the ocean seems, no matter how calm the weather is, you just can't trust that conditions will not change.

Beyond the obvious, that you do need paddles or a sail, what else do you need to survive at sea and what you need to do you to maximize your chances of survival?

The US Army Survival Manual has some very good information on the topic of survival at sea. The first thing, in the words of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is "don't panic." Check the physical condition of everyone onboard. Give first aid as necessary. Take seasickness pills if available as vomiting from seasickness (or any other cause) increases the danger of dehydration.

Next, make an inventory of all equipment, food, water, thermos jugs, other containers, clothing, seat cushions, life preservers, and anything else that may be of value. If you have an emergency radio, turn it on. Have emergency signaling devices ready for instant use. If you have been forced into a raft, be sure to check for inflation, leaks and possible chafing. Make sure the buoyancy chambers are firm (well rounded but not drum tight). Check inflation regularly. Hot air expands so on hot days, release some air.

Throw out the sea anchor or improvise a sea anchor using a bucket, any other large open-mouthed container or a large roll of clothing. A sea anchor will keep you near the place where your boat became incapacitated or where you were forced into the raft, making it easier for rescuers to find you. The sea anchor will also help keep the boat or raft headed into the wind and waves.

If the weather turns stormy, try to rig a spray and windshield. If you are in a raft, see if there is a canopy. If so, keep it up at all times. Keep the raft as dry as possible and properly balanced. Everyone in the raft should stay seated with the heaviest person in the middle of the raft.

If you are in a cold climate, put on as much extra clothing as possible. Keep the clothes loose and comfortable. If you are in a raft, take care to not snag it with sharp objects. Try to keep the floor of the raft dry. If possible, cover it with canvas or cloth for insulation. Huddle with others to keep warm, moving enough to keep circulation going.

In a warm climate, be sure to rig a sunshade or canopy. Cover your skin as much as possible to protect it from the sun. Use sunscreen if available on all exposed skin. Your eyelids, the back of your ears, and the skin under your chin burn easily so do not forget these areas.

Determine exactly how much food and water you have. Work out a rationing plan to ensure you will have something to eat and water to drink for as many days as possible. Keep a tarpaulin or sail for catching rainwater. If the tarp or sail is encrusted with dried salt, wash it in seawater. There will not be enough salt left to harm you. At night, secure the sail or tarpaulin like a sunshade and turn the edges up to collect dew. When it rains, catch and drink as much water as possible. Do not drink salt water.

If you run out of food, see what you can do to catch fish. Most fish in the open sea are edible. You can make a hook from pins, needles, small nails, or any piece of metal. One way to make a wooden fishhook is to cut a piece of hardwood about two inches long, and one-half inch in diameter to make the shank. Cut a notch near one end of the wood in which to place the point. Place the point (a small nail, pin, piece of bone or similar item) in the notch. Hold the point in the notch and tie securely.

You can use shoelaces, string, thin ropes or thread from your clothes to fashion a line. Small fish will gather under the shadow of your craft. Catch them and use them as bait to catch larger fish. Make a dip net to scoop up crabs, fish and shrimp. At night, shine a flashlight on the water to attract fish.

Most important of all, prepare and take with you a survival kit. At the minimum, This kit should contain:

�½ Water or the means to catch and store water.

�½ Food packets and items such as fishhooks and line that can be used to catch fish
�½ Wooden matches and waterproof matches
�½ Pocket knife
�½ Plastic spoon
�½ Compass
�½ Signaling mirror
�½ First aid kit
�½ Sun block
�½ Sun hat
�½ Poncho
�½ Sleeping bag
�½ Tarpaulin

If you have these items, as well as a couple of paddles, your chances of survival at sea are excellent.

Article by Douglas Hanna. Douglas is a retired advertising and marketing executive and long-time Denver resident. He is the webmaster of http://www.all-in-one-info.com, a free resource for information on a variety of subjects. Please visit his site to subscribe to his free newsletter, "Tips & Tricks to Save Money & Live Better."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

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