Work From Home With Internet Coupon Business

There is a new type of work from home business sweeping the internet. It’s called NiceOffers.com (NOC). NOC is a coupon distribution business were you can make money for signing up new merchants and or distributing merchant coupons to consumers.
In my years as an internet work from home entrepreneur I have never come across an opportunity quite like it. There are your average run of the mill affiliate programs that pay you a commission for selling their products but with NOC there is nothing to sell. All you need to do is recruit new merchants to the NOC system and sign them up. This is free for the merchant. Or if you are not into sales and recruiting you could simply give away coupons for free.
NOC is the brain child of Gerry Carson owner of Strong Future International (SFI). SFI already has hundreds of thousands of affiliates already in the system promoting the NOC work from home opportunity and signing up new merchants. SFI has also been in business for some time now making NOC a stable business opportunity that is sure to stand the test of time.
So just how does the whole system work?
Merchants register with NOC (this is 100% FREE) and enter special offers and discounts.
Some examples:
• Save $30 off any DVD player. • Buy one large pizza, get a second large pizza free. • Buy two pairs of adult shoes, get the third pair free. • One-year healthclub membership (normally $295) for just $99.
These offers will be available to consumers in the form of coupons they can print out and redeem at the physical store locations of the merchants and/or via a "promotion code" at the merchant's Website.
SFI affiliates promote the merchants' offers. These promotions can run via anything from banners on Websites, to pay-per-clicks, to handing out the coupons to family, friends, and others.
Each time a sale is created (i.e. when a coupon is redeemed), the merchants pay a "bounty" to SFI...with the lion's share going to the affiliate who referred the buyer.
The founder of SFI and NOC believes that NOC could one day be the next e-bay.
QUOTE FROM GERY CARSON: It's said that fortune favors those who act boldly. NOC may appear to be little more than a gnat today, but I believe its potential parallels that of eBay. How's that for boldness?!
If your looking for a brand new ground floor work from home opportunity than the new NOC business may be exactly what you are looking for. For more information and to sign up as an affiliate go to the following site. https://www.quickinfo247.com/

Original Ways To Make Money With No Money-a Short Education

An opportunity should never be bought into. By definition, an opportunity is something that people will never sell you. From franchises to swamp land in Florida, to patents and inventions, it makes no difference. Theres nothing wrong with any of the things mentioned, however if somebody is trying to sell you these things, then they are not opportunities by definition.
An opportunity is an advantage that you can see that others cannot. I dont care about the dictionary definition, this is the real world definition. Opportunities are free. They dont cost money to observe. Of course I dont mean they wont cost you money, you may need some money to act on it. But if you are paying money so somebody can sell it to you (a sales commission) You should run for the hills.
So, getting back to my definition of an opportunity.
"Its an advantage that you can see that others cannot"
So what that means is that you have vision while others do not. We are awash with money around us. Money or "value" is everywhere. As "Hayden Muller" says, "it permeates our lives like oxygen" The difficulty is not finding opportunity. It is literally everywhere all the time. We are suffering from snow blindness if we still work for a living when such abundance is around us in our every day lives.
The difficulty is not money either. Having access to a few hundred dollars is all you need to take advantage of a million daily opportunities that present themselves in our daily lives. Anyone with some determination can find that much.
No, the real difficulty is knowledge, or education. Its what seperates action from indifference. The question becomes, "so what?" "so what if I took this opportunity and made a few dollars, what next?" You see, without education, opportunities are meaningless. They lead now-where because we lack vision. Don't worry, I lacked plenty of vision myself.
Today you could drop me out of the sky into any free city on the Planet with nothing but the shirt on my back and I would be living well within 3 months and be financially secure within 2-4 years. I know I can do that because my vision tells me I easily could.
Put me in the middle of New York, I would immediately find markets to deal in. Even before I found a place to sleep, I would begin learning about what free markets are available and what they most want and need. I would quickly establish contacts with suppliers and retailers to become the "middle man" my favourite place to be.
Within a week, I would have a few hundred dollars saved. I would use those funds and pyramid my purchases for faster and faster turn over until I had enough to buy small assets that are in high demand. Cars, boats, anything that was being sold that I could find really cheaply. My charm and good looks would make sure I got the best deals and sold them for the highest price (winks)
Charm and good looks aside, the one thing you need is a clarion plan. A master plan that gets you from A to B
Making money with no money is easy and rudimentry. Its the opportunities you spot that makes the real difference. But really its the propensity to take action that delivers the results. Before you can take that action, you need to know where you are going.
Your situation is alot better then the scenario I presented above. You live in a place where you know. You have intimate knowledge of the markets available already present. You have skills and have contacts already that can be of use.
Get a quick short education and go to it. Your first million is not as difficult as you may imagine.
May success find you fast and knowledge find you sooner.

http://www.opportunity-investor.com

How To Make Extraordinary Amounts Of Money With Google AdSense!

WHAT IS ADSENSE AND HOW CAN I MAKE MONEY FROM IT?
Before looking at AdSense, I feel that it is necessary to give a brief description of pay per click advertising. The biggest and most powerful ppc system is called Google AdWords.
AdWords
You will have seen AdWords in action before. They are those little text ads that appear down the right hand side of Google’s search results. They are an amazingly powerful method of advertising. The ads you see are 100% related to the keywords that you type into a search. This means, that as an AdWords advertiser you are capable of displaying your ads in front of an audience that is already interested in your products or services. Never before have businesses been able to conduct their advertising in such a highly targeted manner.
If your internet company rented holiday properties in Spain for example, you could set up your AdWords ads to appear ONLY when someone typed in keywords like “Spanish, Spain, holiday, rental, villas, apartments, properties etc.”
Of course, this all comes at a price. As an advertiser, you have to pay Google every time somebody clicks on one of your ads. Not knowing how to cost their system, the geniuses at Google came up with the idea of letting their advertisers bid against each other for the value of their chosen keywords.
This means, that if I wanted my ad to be displayed the most often when someone types the key phrase “Spanish holidays” into Google, I would have to out bid the advertiser who currently comes top of the list for this key phrase.
The Internet has matured as a result of ppc advertising. The embarrassing days of the Dot Coms are well and truly behind us. The value of online businesses can now be measured because ppc advertising is a dynamic system that reflects real-world supply and demand.
With ppc advertising, Google has enabled small online businesses to flourish, whilst making tens of billions for themselves.
AdSense
With their follow up program AdSense, Google created an opportunity for everybody to get a share in this lucrative market.
AdSense is an extension of the AdWords program that allows any website owner to place AdWords ads on their site. However, the difference in this system lies in the fact that the ads displayed come not from search phrases, but from the content of your site.
As an AdSense user, Google gives you a piece of JavaScript that has your unique id embedded within it. This enables them to track the performance of the ads on your site. You simply paste this code into the html of your website.
Then, when someone views your site, the JavaScript automatically fetches ads from the Google server and places them on your page. Google does this with its advanced content recognition technology. This technology is so clever, that it knows which country you are viewing a site from. It then places country specific ads accordingly. For example, if you had a site about fly-fishing, people viewing your site in Australia would see ads for Australian fishing tackle retailers, and in the USA people would see ads for American retailers.
When someone clicks on one of your ads, Google charges the advertiser. Google then takes a cut of the money and gives the rest to you. Although Google won’t disclose any details about their payout ratio, it is rumored that they take 32% and you get 68%.
Before you start thinking: why don’t I just click on my ads all day long and make loads of money? Google has thought of this and takes click fraud very seriously. They want their advertising system to work. They can tell if you have been committing click fraud and will bar you from AdSense FOR EVER!
Making serious money
99% of AdSense users make next to nothing. They stick the code onto their website and sit back. When the money doesn’t appear they think the system is useless. This is good for us, because those in the know can make extraordinary amounts of legitimate, Google approved money.
• The key lies in finding a niche market and creating a content rich, topical site within this market. You then fill the content of your site with high paying keywords.
• Next, through good search engine optimization and advanced inbound linking strategies, you build a high and constant flow of traffic to your site.
• Then, only after you have taken steps one and two, do you place the AdSense code into your site. You add the JavaScript whilst employing certain techniques that make the ads look more attractive. This will encourage more of your website’s visitors to click on the ads.
This strategy, coupled with careful tracking of ad performance, will guarantee that you are making serious amounts of money with Google AdSense.
If you want to be amongst the 1% of high earners make sure that you follow The AdSense Mint course step-by-step!
Visit http://www.free-adsense-ebook.com to get the free copy of The AdSense Mint Course

Indie Music Artists Meet Clear Channel Execs

"What does it cost to get a record on the charts?" The question was directed to Mike McVay, programming consultant to about 400 radio stations owned by media giant Clear Channel.
A hush fell over the audience, as this was a piece of information that could determine the fate of independent artists everywhere.
McVay pulled no punches. Depending on your genre, the amount is "a hundred thousand dollars up to a quarter of a million."
And suddenly, the economic reality of the airplay portion of the record business was in full view.
In a different part of the day's event, someone asked another of those all-important, career-shaping questions: "How many slots are typically available to independent artists?"
This time, the question was directed to Shane Bourbonnais of Clear Channel Entertainment. "Not many" was his reply, albeit in the nicest tone imaginable.
Did these terrifying facts of life appear to dampen the enthusiasm of most of the artists? Nope. After all, hope springs eternal.
Judging from the questions to other panel members during the day, it was clear that many artists in attendance thought that somehow they would be the one who got past the gatekeepers, the one whose awesome talent would cause cold-eyed business people to waive the entry fees, the one whose marketability would get them the major label contract and backing to enter the game with a large checkbook behind them.
And why not? Why shouldn't they be hopeful? Are they not talented? Judging from the CDs handed to me, there were some amazingly gifted artists at the conference known as the Boot Camp workshop, which was organized by Blak Dog Promotions in association with The Beat 94.5 FM and the Western Canadian Music Awards.
Consider some of the artists: Smokekiller makes music that vibrates with consistent excitement. Ultimate Power Duo blends equal parts modern punk and retro Liverpool sounds for an album that is fun from beginning to end. Lyricist Jacqui Leddy has written lines that make you feel the inside of the human soul.
There also was silky, subtle and seductive jazz from Sandy Foster; strong rock from Scott Douglas; evocative country from John Wort Hannam; excellent rap from Don Castro; and power plus glory in the heavy grooves of Aly Young. Not to be outdone, event organizers Shawn Smith and Chin Injeti are themselves supremely electrifying recording artists.
The quality of the acts was of the highest level of any event at which I've been a panelist. Group after group, artist after artist were very impressive. Karen Howlin' Fowlie seems to put megawatts of electric power into even her softest vocal passages. Sonicjoy delights in fusing electronics with rock 'n' roll. This is not to overlook Rallycar, Green Door Club, Chesterfield Rock, Morgan Mayer, Maurice, and James Pender, all of whom are excellent.
Here's hoping this music gets to your ears. And if would be terrific if someone was recording the panels, because a lot of valuable information was presented by a lot of very smart people, including:
Chris Myers, Program Director, The Beat Michael McCarty, President of EMI Music Publishing Michael Persh, Music Manager, E! Networks Jonathon Simkin, Co-owner, 604 Records Christopher Ward, Songwriter (Alannah Myles, Ming Tea) Bob Power, Producer (MeShell N'degeocello, The Roots, David Byrne) Jim Vallance, Songwriter (Bryan Adams, Steven Tyler, Gene Simmons) Terry O'Brien, SOCAN Tom Wilson, Songwriter (Billy Rae Cyrus, Jimmy Rankin)
The event was well-run by Smith, Injeti, Natalie Rhodes, and a large contingent of volunteers. Attendees seemed uniformly pleased: "Extremely informative," said singer and voiceover artist Marina Seretis. "The whole day was very encouraging," stated Mitch Helten of SPI International. "It was enlightening," said singer Jafelin. "This was great," said Jacqui Leddy. You can't stop people with this kind of enthusiasm.
# # #

scott@gmanmusic.com

How to Control the Music Download Madness

After following the trend of users coming on to the internet to download music, many resources started to come out offering you the latests downloads. At the very beggining this was great for most users.
After a while, people started to take advantage of this. They started adding pop ups, illegal spy software, among many other things to their sites. You downloaded an mp3 file and you got the file, but with it you had a shiny new browser window that told you to buy viagra everytime you surfed the web.
Fortunately, other resources came out. Legal Resources. Places were you can come inside and download music in a safe way, in a way you can trust.
These are cost effective, and if you compare it to the damage that could be caused by downloading the files from an illegal source, then the legal sources will outweight their value by tenfold.
When you're downloading for and Mp3 music file online, there are a few things you will want to look for:
1) The quality of the Mp3. File quality can range anywhere from 20 kbps which is blurry quality to 320 kbps which is basically CD quality. You should aim for downloading music files that are above 128 kbps. Anything below that will have a trashy background that will not sound great when you burn it onto a CD.
2) You internet speed must be in a good shape. Sometimes it's necessary to restart your computer to get it back to optimum speed before attempting to download any mp3 file. You'll want anything over 3 kb/s to get the song in under 10 minutes.
3) Check you computer to make sure you have enough space on the drive you're downloading your file. There's nothing more annoying than getting to 75 percent of the download only to find out that you didn't have enough room in your C: Drive. Nowadays with our hard drive's spaces growing this is more unsual but it's best to make sure before you start.
4) Make sure you don't make illegal copies of the music you're downloading. The best way to download music is to use them as samples for a music album. You download a music file, see if you like it, and if you do, you go ahead and buy the record. If you don't then sample on to the next band. This way we keep the music industry going and it's an all round win win situation.
All and all, downloading music is a great experience and you can even learn about new bands that you'll want to go to the concert or buy the album later. Just make sure you do it from a legal source and keep your copies to yourself.

(http://www.systemmastery.com/DownloadMusicOnline.html)

Popular Wedding Hair Styles

A great hairstyle is the crowning glory to your personality. A wedding hairstyle holds much importance to enhance the overall beauty of the pretty bride. The hairstyle can make a bride look smart and mesmerizing. No wonder, you will be too busy in picking your wedding dress and accessories. But the wedding hair style is as important as your wedding dress. You have a number of hair saloons where you can get special popular wedding hairstyle. These styles have been adorned by so many beautiful brides.
The hair style, off course, depends on the dress you are wearing and shape of your face and hair texture. The hairstyle must be in accordance to the veil or the head piece of the bride. Also, the hair style should be set to make the bride a real princess.
Fulfill your dream of being a royal princess by wearing a sparkling crown on your head. One of the most popular head piece is the crown. It is classy and also easy-to-wear. To wear a crown, you can adhere to a simple hairstyle. You can pin up your hair on the top of the head to make a high bun. Also you can part your front hair and curl the back hair. After curling the back hair, pin them up high or let them down. After this, fix the crown and veil with the same pins. This will give you a more formal look.
If your wedding is a casual affair you can let all your hair down. Just pull them back and fix the veil with a beautiful wreath. Wreath is a half ring made up of flowers.
Flowers are an inseparable part of wedding hair styles. The beautiful flowers enhance the feminine looks of the innocent bride. You can choose from a variety of flowers. The most popular wedding hair styles incorporate the flowers like orchids and roses as they are available in so many attractive colors.
For a sophisticated look, you can pull all your hair back to make a low bun just above your neck. Flowers can be added individually around the bun or in the form of a ring. The most popular buns are the ones made after rolling your hair. You can tie your hair in to a low ponytail and roll over the rest of hair into rolls. A bun with 6 rolls is the hottest among the brides these days. After bun is complete, you can add certain accessories like flowers, hair brooch or simply some beads in the new hair style.
Las Vegas wedding hair style is also in vogue among the young generation brides. It is a funky hair style. In this wedding hair style the hair are pined loosely to make a bun on top of your head. The front hairs are let loose. The hair locks from both the sides of forehead and allowed to fall down on the face of the bride. Are you ready to embellish your crowning glory by now?
http://www.Prom-Hairstyle.net

The Secret to Cooking for a Crowd

Having a large family growing up, I learned to cook in a big way. With 5 brothers and 3 sisters plus Mom and Dad, I started out cooking for eleven people by the time I was twelve. Mom needed help and taught her daughters to cook at an early age. I’ll never forget the first time I fried chicken all by myself. My brothers ridiculed my over-done chicken mercilessly.
I’ll never forget the first meal I cooked away from home. My sister and I moved out together, just the two of us, and, after settling in, prepared our first meal for just us. We cooked like we were taught: 5 pounds of potatoes for mashed potatoes, 2 whole chickens for fried chicken, 2 quarts of green beans. To this day, we still laugh about all that food we had left over.
So needless to say, cooking for a large gathering is no problem for me. I take on the task of hosting my husband’s family for Thanksgiving and while most people worry about having a dry turkey, my biggest dread is cleaning the house.
So what is the secret to cooking large? Like cooking any size meal, the secret is in the planning. You will need extra and larger everything. Plan your menu, inventory your serving dishes, pots and pans, plates, forks, knives, spoons, drinking glasses at least a week in advance. Buy everything you need ahead of time, right down to butter for bread and ice for drinks.
Once you have your menu and inventory planned, jot down a time schedule. Have the house cleaned and seating arrangements completed the day before so you can focus on the meal, otherwise you’ll be pulling your hair out trying to get everything done on time. The easiest thing to cook is a one-dish meal, like pot roast or lasagna with few side dishes.
· Main dish, Pot Roast w/carrots and potatoes
o cook in roaster, 3-hour oven time, serve on platter
· Side vegetable, steamed broccoli
o cook in 3 qt. steamer, 20 min stove top time, serve in blue bowl
· Bread, buy brown and serve rolls (or make from scratch ahead of time)
o oven time 15 minutes, last thing to cook, serve in basket, buy new towel
After detailing each dish, make a timetable. Example, for a 6:00 dinner:
2:00 Start pot roast; have in oven by 2:30
4:00 Peel potatoes, slice carrots; add to pot roast by 4:30
4:30 Set tables
5:15 prepare broccoli, start to cook by 5:35
5:35 Prepare rolls for cooking, in oven by 5:45
5:45 Transfer pot roast to platter
5:55 Transfer broccoli to bowl
6:00 Bread’s done, transfer to basket and cover with towel
Sit down to delicious meal and enjoy. And for your test, I now present the world’s best pot roast recipe. It’s my own, passed to me from my Mom.
Pots you'll need:
oven going roasting pan
10-inch skillet
1 or 2 Chuck roasts (2-3 lbs ea.)
1 large or 2 med. onions, sliced
6 carrots (or more as needed)
6 potatoes (or more as needed)
1 can onion soup +1/2 can water*
Can mushroom soup (or golden mushroom)
1/4 tp.salt or Murray's Seasoning Salt
1-2 cup mushrooms (optional)
*2 cans for 2 roasts, or substitute
1-2 pkg. onion soup mix, per directions.
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
1. In large oven roasting pan, add onion soup and water.
2. Slice onion and add 1/2 to bottom of roaster. Set aside.
3. Heat skillet on high on top of stove. When hot, sear roast on all sides until brown on the outside.
4. Place seared roast(s) on top of onion/onion soup in roaster.
5. Sprinkle with salt.
6. Cover with remaining onion slices and can of mushroom soup, undiluted (optional)
7. Cover with alum foil, sealing tightly and put in oven.
8. Set timer to cook for 1 hour for 1 roast, 2 hours for 2 roasts.
9. Peel potatoes and cut into quarters.
10. Slice carrots.
11. When timer goes off, add potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. Cover and cook for 1 more hour.
Done when vegetables are tender. Time may have to be adjusted depending on how many vegetables there are. I have filled the pan to the brim and had to cook an additional 1/2-hour.
You can eat this roast with a fork it is so tender. You can substitute a sirloin roast, but chuck works best in my opinion.
Ummm-Ummm Good Comfort food! And so pretty on the plate. I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
Warm wishes
DebbieB
PS. Use those leftovers: get some beef stroganoff soup mix and dry egg noodles. Cook the soup, cook the noodles and combine in large skillet. Chop up left over pot roast, vegetables and all, and add to skillet along with left over juice. Heat thoroughly and enjoy!

Australia

Location: South Pacific Ocean

Area: 2,966,200 square miles

Population: 17,800,000

Government: Democratic, federal state system. Parliamentary government with

the Queen of England as the sovereign, an elected Prime Minister, and a

parliament

Largest cities: Canberra (capital), Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide,

Perth

Languages: English, aboriginal languages

Ethnic groups: European 95%, Asian 4%, Aborigine 1.5%

Religions: Anglican, Roman Catholic, other Protestant

Chief industries: Machinery, steel, textiles, chemicals, motor vehicles

Chief crops: Wheat, barley, oats, corn, cattle, wool, meat, sugar, fruits,
vegetables

Minerals: Gold, iron, bauxite, zinc, oil, uranium, coal, lead, nickel, tin,
tungsten

Leading exports: Wool and other agricultural products, ores, coal

Leading imports: Machinery, consumer goods

Monetary unit: Australian dollar

Antigua and Barbuda

Location: Eastern Caribbean Sea, about 30 miles North of Guadaloupe

Area: 170 square miles

Population: 100,000

Government: Constitutional monarchy, with the Queen of England as the

sovereign, a cabinet, and a parliament

Largest city: St. John's (capital)

Language: English

Ethnic group: Antiguan

Religion: Christian, predominantly Church of England

Chief industries: Tourism, manufacturing

Chief crops: Cotton, fruit, vegetables

Leading exports: Petroleum products, manufactures

Leading imports: Food, fuel, machinery

Monetary unit: East Caribbean dollar

How To Create a Toast

Chances are you will run into an occasion in life which requires you to give a toast. Perhaps the event is a wedding, or a birthday party, or an event recognizing some achievement. With more formal events, a more formal toast is appropriate, and unless you’re a naturally-gifted and golden-tongued speaker, you’ll need to do some practicing beforehand in order to get it right. But before practicing it, you’ll have to make up the toast. It might be funny, or it might be more serious. When I had to create a toast recently, I turned to the movie, “The Count of Monte Cristo”, in which Jim Caviziel’s character delivers a gem of a toast to a an adolescent boy entering adulthood. The toast was so impressive in form and substance that I not only memorized it, but I also broke it down so I could adapt it to my own situation. What I present here is but one way to create your own toast using certain guidelines that I extracted. The toast itself is comprised of eight or nine lines, but you should feel free to adapt it to your own liking. Before you begin the toast, you will probably want to break the ice by mentioning something about the person(s) of honor to whom the toast is directed. Perhaps a memorable story, or some kind remarks, or a funny anecdote. This story, then, should lead you into and relate to the toast itself. The first line of the toast should state a general observation in life using a metaphor related to the introductory remarks that you just made. For example, if your story told was about a bride’s particular love of the roses her groom regularly gave her while they were dating, you might start the toast with, “Love is a rose”. Or, if you are toasting someone who will be soon be traveling to a far away country, you might use, “Life is a long journey.” Or, for an entrepreneurial business partner, “Success is a vast ocean”. This first line should set the mood and the theme of the rest of the toast. The next two lines are inter-related; the first should convey a benefit or positive aspect related to the metaphor in line one, and the next line should convey a negative aspect. So, if I begin with “Life is a long journey” the next two lines might be “You may be greeted by friends in one town” and the next might be “only to be scorned by strangers in the next”. Now that tension has been created, the next line should reconcile the previous few lines. For example, I might say “But what traveler gets to his destination without venturing into the unknown?” The next part of the toast gives encouragement or advice based on the same theme. It should continue with a line about the honoree(s) and the future. Using the same theme of a traveler going on a long journey, I could say, “May you never hesitate to step into that unknown”. After that, we have two more lines which are interrelated and give a sense of advice or observation about the world. This part might be difficult to create, but if you do it correctly it can make all the difference. An example here might be, “For to take a step outside the ordinary / Creates a life for you that is nothing less than extraordinary”. To wrap up the toast, you will want an “epic” closing which pertains to the public or the world and the honoree(s) of the toast. The last two lines wrap it up neatly. Concluding the journey-themed toast, I could say (using a dramatic pause between the lines), “And at the end of the road of life, may you proudly proclaim to the world / ‘I lived my life as a Traveler’”. Of course, you should adapt the toast guidelines presented here to your own needs and situation. Add a line, or subtract a few as needed. Be sure to plan ahead and spend some serious time thinking about the lines in your toast and writing them down beforehand. By following the basic structure of metaphor – tension – resolution – encouragement, you can probably develop toasts for all sorts of occasions. But remember that the quality of your toast will depend also on your word selection, the advice you give, and your delivery. I also suggest memorizing the toast by heart so it rolls off your tongue. When dozens or hundreds of people are staring at you, the last thing you want to do in a moment of expectation is to look like a deer caught in headlights. As a backup, make sure that you have a written copy with you. And lastly, have fun with the toast. Standing up in front of a crowd and trying your best is far better than not having tried at all.
www.Cordial-Glasses.com

Mint-Chocolate Coffee Spoons

A quick and easy way to enjoy mint-chocolate coffee! My sister-in-law makes these, and they sell them at school events to raise money for the parochial school where her son is enrolled. She says they "sell like hotcakes." Suggested price: 2 for $1. If you want to make gifts for people for birthdays or Christmas or other special occasions, or as party favors, the coffee spoons work well for that too. Ordinary plastic spoons Bars of Hershey's chocolate Hard peppermint candy or, for something different, try dinner mints Saran Wrap or other plastic wrap Short pieces of ribbon Melt the chocolate. Dip the plastic spoons in the chocolate. Lay spoons on wax paper. Before the chocolate sets, place a mint in the middle of the spoon. When the chocolate has cooled and hardened, cover spoon with Saran Wrap (or other plastic wrap). Tie a ribbon around handle of the spoon to hold the plastic wrap in place. (Use colored plastic wrap and coordinating colors for the ribbon, if you prefer.) To use: pour a cup of hot coffee, take the plastic wrap off the spoon, stick the spoon in the coffee and stir. And TA-DA! -- mint chocolate coffee. Note: You might want to add some chocolate chips to the melted chocolate to give it a somewhat firmer consistency when it cools off. You may also want to experiment a bit with dipping the spoons a couple of times. Another note: you could also experiment with other flavors. What about vanilla almond bark and butterscotch candy? Or chocolate and butterscotch? Or chocolate and raspberry candy? You get the picture, I'm sure.
www.ruralroute2.com

Pinot Gris Or Grigio, This Grape Makes Great Wine

One of the most popular imported wine styles in America is Pinot grigio. Nearly all of the Pinot grigio consumed in the US comes from Italy, but as we shall see this is likely to change soon. Pinot grigio is very popular with consumers, but it receives mixed reviews from wine judges and wine critics. One reason may be that wines made from Pinot grigio do not have a consistent and distinctive varietal character. Consumers are just attracted to the crisp which goes well with a wide variety of foods. Another problem is that there are two names for the variety in common use. The names Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris mean Grey Pinot in Italian and French respectively. 'Pinot' refers to the characteristic pine one shaped bunch of this group of varieties. In Australia, winemakers, marketers and wine writers haven’t really sorted out which name to call the variety. Some have dodged the issue and refer to “Pinot G.” This variety closely is related to the much better Pinot Noir variety and is believed to be a mutation of Pinot Noir. In fact in the vineyard Pinot grigio is difficult to distinguish from its putative ancestor until the berries ripen when those of the grigio will have much less pigment. There is another variety, Pinot blanc which has little or no pigment in the berries. There is considerable clonal variation within the variety. Jancis Robinson says that the variety hardly knows if it is a dark or a light grape. It has several synonyms including Burot and Malvoise in France and Rulander and Tokayer in Germany. In Europe the variety is widely planted. Given the inherent variation and geographic dispersion it is hardly surprising that a wide range of wine styles are produced from it. In Alsace under the name of Tokay d'Alsace, it produces a rich, almost oily wine. In Northern Italy the Pinot Grigio's are light and even spritzig. Under the name of Rulander in Germany it produces wines somewhat similar to white burgundies. The variety has attracted serious interest in Australia only over the past few years. It is now producing some remarkable wines in regions such as the Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and the Adelaide Hills. Casella wines in the Riverina wine region are very interested in this variety. They believe they can make first class wines even in warmer wine regions, and are devoting some resources to developing a wine suitable for export to the US. Remember Casella is the company who developed the yellowtail range of wines which exploded onto the US market a couple of years ago. There is a great deal of experimentation with the variety and it may take several more years before the optimal combination of terroir and winemaking technique emerges. In the meantime some great wines are already available for those who are looking for new experience. The style varies from light bodied and fairly straight forward to rich and complex wines that are almost overwhelming in their voluptuousness. This is one occasion when reading some tasting notes about a particular wine before buying is worthwhile.
http://www.vinodiversity.com

Eleven Benefits of Green Tea

Green tea is known to provide 10-40mg of polyphenols and has antioxidant activity greater than a serving of spinach, broccoli, carrots, or strawberries Studies show that green tea contains antioxidants, polyphenols, theanine, as well as a wide variety of vitamins and minerals. Green tea is definitely good for your body. Enhances Health Tea is known for its incredible power to prolong life. In recent research into green tea, results show its power in preventing disease as well. Prevents Cancer The death rate from cancer is known to be significantly lower for both women & men in Japan. Why is this you may ask? As much as 5-6 cups daily are consumed in areas that produce green tea, making it the main beverage to drink. This suggests that the main ingredients of green tea (tannin, catechin); in sufficient amounts lower the standard mortality rates for stomach cancer. Restricts Blood Cholesterol There are two types of cholesterol, one is "bad" cholesterol (LDL), and heavy accumulation of these in tissues can lead to atherosclerosis. The other is good cholesterol (HDL) that prevents accumulation of excessive "bad" cholesterol. It has been proven and demonstrated that green tea catechin restricts the excessive buildup of cholesterol. Controls High Blood Pressure High blood pressure is a serious burden on the vascular system and is known to cause heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. Green tea is known for lowering blood pressure. Lowers Blood Sugar Green teas given to diabetes patients cause a decrease in the blood glucose levels. Green Tea has the capability of lowering blood sugar. The sugars and carbohydrates in our food are digested mainly in the duodenum, where it is converted to glucose and then absorbed into the blood stream. The agent that regulates the intake of blood sugar into tissues is insulin. Diabetes is characterized by lack of insulin or not the body not using insulin properly, which does not allow proper absorption of glucose into tissues and leads to a high blood sugar level that must eventually be excreted into urine. If this high concentration of blood sugar continues for a long period, it will affect the vascular system and cause serious diseases including arteriosclerosis and retinal hemorrhages. Suppresses Aging Oxygen plays a key role in metabolism, but can also be an unhealthful agent. As a free radical, oxygen in the body can corrode cell membranes, which will damage DNA and the fats. This then leads to diseases such as cancer, cardio-vascular disease and diabetes. Lipid peroxide created by fats combined with oxygen tends to build up in the body and create aging. Consumption of antioxidants such as vitamins E and C promises longer life, and we already know that green teas are rich in those two vitamins. Refreshes the Body Green tea caffeine taken in proper quantity stimulates every organ in the body and clears your mind. The small amount of caffeine (about 9 mgs of caffeine) present in a normal serving of green tea can stimulate the skeletal muscles and smooth the progress of muscular contraction. Deters Food Poisoning It has long been known that green tea has the ability to kill bacteria and is known to deter food poisoning. Treating diarrhea with consumption of strong green tea. Green tea is a powerful sterilizing instrument for all sorts of bacteria that cause food poisoning. Prevents and Treats Skin Disease Soaking in green tea has been successful as a treatment for athlete's foot. Bedsores and skin disease can be prevented or healed by using a green tea bath. Stops Cavities Green tea contains natural fluorine and is thought to aid in the reduction of cavities in schoolchildren. It has been known for some time that small amounts of fluorine can strengthen teeth and help prevent cavities. Fights Viruses Green tea catechin and theaflavin, which are both present in black tea, have a strong effect on the flu virus. It is also thought that the anti viral capability of green tea catechin may have some beneficial effect on the AIDS virus. Additional Information · Green Tea drinkers appear to enjoy better health. · Catechin is 100 times more potent than vitamin C and 25 times more potent than vitamin E. · Green Tea drinkers have half the risk of fatal heart attacks. Compounds in the tea called flavonoids stop blood platelets from forming clots, much like aspirin does.
http://www.GreenteaInfoCenter.com

Best Cookies: No Bake Rocky Road Chocolate Bars

Here’s a rocky road that you’ll be more than happy to travel on. You’ll love how quick and easy they are to make, but I bet they won’t last long. No Bake Rocky Road Chocolate Bars ½ cup butter 1 (12 oz.) package semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 cup butterscotch-flavored chips 1 cup peanut butter 4 cups crisp rice cereal 3 cups miniature marshmallows Directions Combine butter, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in 4-quart saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted (4 to 6 minutes). Stir in peanut butter until well mixed. Remove from heat. Add cereal and marshmallows; toss until well coated. Press mixture onto bottom of buttered 13x9-inch baking pan. Refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes). Cut into bars. Store refrigerated.

http://www.best-cookie-jar-recipes.com

Virus & Spyware - Fix's

We all get the odd virus now and then, but sometimes that one virus could cause so many problems. In this article I shall be going though just some of the problems that these virus software programs can do, and how to fix them. One of the worst type of virus is one that effects the Boot Config, if this happens you will notice an error such as "Invalid boot sector" or "unaccessable boot device", there are many other errors for the same problem, if you don't get even a windows loading screen then your issue may be the Boot Config, sounds like a hard problem to fix don't it, infact its pretty easy. For this we shall need a Windows XP install CD, if your computer never come with one then please go down to where you paid for your PC and ask for one, insert the CD and then turn on your PC, you will get a text messege saying "To boot from CD press any key", so press anykey!, now wait for a few mintues untill it says the terms and conditions, read though them and then follow the onscreen instructions untill it warns of another operating system already installed. It will give you a option to go into the recovery console by pressing R, this is what we want to go into. Wait, and a Dos like screen will show itself, type the following "/fixmbr" and then "/exit", and then load up your PC and windows should load up. Now I would advice for you to do a virus scan using what ever software you use! Another type of virus is one that cuts you of the network or internet often, these can be hard to fix as they most of the time merge with the system files. First of all check that you can't just fix it by using MSCONFIG (Start - Run - Msconfig - Startup - Disable all), if you can then do so and then run a virus checking peice of software, if this fails then read on. Load up in Windows safe mode (Press F6 before the windows loading screen and then select safe mode) and now wait for safemade to load, once loaded use your virus checking software to rid yourself of the virus that is creating this problem, almost all viruses can be removed from Safemode. If this fails then seek professional help or reinstall Windows. Yet another type of virus is not really a virus its spyware and adware, this is the type of problem most people get and it is the most common caluse for computers to slow down over time, you may ask where you could get spyware from and the most common places are p2p software such as Kazaa or websites offering Illegal content or even porn sites, but you may also get it from any other type of site. Spyware and Adware are big issues for slowing down your PC so I am sure you want to get rid of them, to do so you will wish to download Anti-Spyware software and I reccomend Spysweeper by WebRoot, others may wish to try Ad-aware, download the anti-spyware tool you want and then UPDATE the softrware, now do a full system scan and go make a drink, when you get back the scan should be done and it will list all of the spyware and adware, right click and click remove all and then wait again for it to remove the software. When done it may ask you to reset, do so as surgested, but now you will want to get another peice of software called Spybot S&D, this is free and can be downloaded from http://www.security.kolla.de, download and update that then run scan, it will find more spyware and adware so don't be shocked by thinking the other software did not work, in turn they work together to make a better peice of anti-spyware, Spybot also gives you the chance to immunize from some spyware, click that and now your system won't get the same spyware again. I reccomend doing a spyware check every 1 week.
By http://www.walls.dimensionet.com

Free ISP software download ?

Yes, there is such a thing as a free ISP or internet service provider. An internet service provider is a company that provides internet access, usually for a nominal fee. However, you might be surprised to find that there are Free ISP’s. If you are wondering if I am referring to the discs you receive in the mail that offer you free internet for 30 days, think again. The ISP’s I am talking about are not offering just a free trial. So, how are these ISP’s able to offer free internet access? The answer to that will not come as a surprise. In fact, advertising is the funding source behind many free products. For instance, you can find many sites offering free MP3 downloads. However, just like the free ISP’s, these sites come with a great number of pop-up advertisements. In fact, these pop-ups can be so numerous on free internet connections offered by these ISP’s that it can become a real nuisance. It may even stall your computer and make it difficult and frustrating to surf the net. Additionally, these free ISP’s may not offer internet, or free internet, in your area. If there is not a dialup number in your area, you may have to go without. These ISP’s may also limit the amount of time you can spend surfing the net. The amount of features that commercial ISP’s include may be lost when going with a free ISP. Most ISP’s that charge for their services are constantly coming up with new features. This is not the case with ISP’s that offer free internet services. Free ISP’s may also provide a poor quality connection with more interruptions that commercial ISP’s. If you are looking for an ISP that is a step up from the free ISP’s, the answer might be right in front of you. You see, a lot of ISP’s that offer free internet services also have a premium package available for a low cost. In fact, offering free internet access can be a way for these ISP’s to attract customers. Once a customer sees that they enjoy using the ISP, they may decide to purchase unlimited access from them rather than their competitors. Before accepting the terms and conditions of your ISP, always be sure you have read and understand every thing. When you are agreeing to free internet access you want to make especially sure that your ISP is truly offering the free internet access you think they are. You also want to make sure you know how much your internet time is limited to, if that is the case. You also want to look for any additional charges or long distance charges that may apply for your ISP.
By www.ukbroadbandreview.com

Computer Data Backup - Data Backup Solution Will Give You A Peace Of Mind

Imagine that you have been working on a file for the entire day and there was a power surge that caused your computer to 'black out'. It would have been a frustrating experience for us as we had put in a lot of time and effort into it. I am sure that many of us would have experienced data loss in some form or another and have learnt to be wiser to backup our data to avoid any form of data loss. Have you ever thought of a worst case scenario where a fire broke up and destroy your computer or where your laptop got stolen? Should that happen, the first thing that comes into your mind is the thousands of dollars that you spend on your computer or laptop and you would feel very upset about it. However, when you thought for a second moment, you started to realize that what is really valuable are the amount of data that you have built up over the years in it. Though hardware can always be replaced, even at no cost to you if you have insurance, but lost data is gone forever. Lost data such as the thousands of mp3 and movies that you have downloaded from the Internet, thousands of digital photographs that are impossible to replace are lost in an instant. This form of data loss hits home especially hard when the laptop holds the lifeblood to your business. Imagine all your business contacts documents and contracts that you have painfully built up over the years would be vanished just like that. Your business would be wipe out overnight. Do not wait for the worst to happen before you start to consider about data backup solution. Having a data backup solution will give you a peace of mind as you know that your data is in safe hand.
By http://www.backupcenter.info

Network Performance Management - The 6 Pillars Of Network Management System

Now that we are in the 21st century, most companies need to have some form of connectivity or another in order to have their business running well. In another word, network management can be the life line of these companies. Can you imagine Yahoo, Google, and Ebay going down for a few minutes? Millions of dollars could be lost during those few minutes. As such, the importance of network management in this type of companies cannot be underestimated. In order to understand network management better, we have to look at the ISO (International Organization for Standardization) which looks at security management, fault management, configuration management, accounting management and performance management. Security Management Security Management looks at alerting the personnel when resources are accessed. An example would be emailing or calling the network personnel that a resource is down and needed his attention or sending messages when certain files is accessed. Fault Management Fault Management is to log, find, and alert the network personnel of problems that will effect the systems operations. Configuration Management Configuration Management is to identify effects on network's operation after tracking the software plus the hardware on the network. Accounting Management This is to watch and determine the usage of information or resources for billing purposes. A typical company such as a mobile company or internet service provider would need these features in their business operations to bill their customer. Performance Management Monitoring, assessing, and adjusting the available bandwidth and network resource usage are tasks that are performed by network personnel as part of performance management system. This is to make the network run more efficiently. In order to have a good network management system, the 6 pillars of network management need to be implemented by the network personnel in their companies.
By http://www.networkmanagementcenter.info

Traditional Antivirus Programs Useless Against New Unidentified Viruses!

Every now and then you can read about a new virus and the damage it causes. The millions viruses costs companies each time they strike. It is however not only companies that are suffering from the damages caused by viruses. A virus can be just as damaging if not more for a private Internet user by destroying important documents, family pictures and everything else you keep on your computer. Therefore should no home computer be without a good virus protection software. This way you can protect your computer and yourself from loosing data, corrupted hard drives and a number of other problems. There are several anti virus programs available of which some are free and some are not. You should however always remember that you might get what you paying for, meaning that the service and the updates might be better for the paid alternatives and thereby protect your computer better. When using a virus program you should try to find one that is fast, reliable and able to discover as many viruses as possible. Whether it is fast or not might seem unimportant if you don't use your computer that much, but you will find that an anti virus program that scans your computer faster will be used more frequently and thereby giving you a better protection. If an anti virus program should be effective when protecting your computer it needs to be able to recognise all viruses, and since new viruses are constantly created this means that the database for the program has to be constantly updated. You should therefore consider how often the different anti virus programs update their databases when choosing which antivirus program to get. You should always make sure to keep your virus program up-to-date. One of the best anti virus programs on the market today is Panda Active Scan Anti Virus Software Online which has an unrivalled capacity for detecting viruses and other threats online which is the most common path for viruses to reach our computer. Almost all viruses today are spread through the Internet. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 is easy to install and once it is installed it finds and remove viruses automatically. Panda Anti Virus also automatically updates itself if you want it to. In other words: Panda Anti Virus is an anti virus program that manages itself and makes sure that it is up to date and able to keep your computer safe from viruses. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 scans your entire computer, including the program itself, to make sure that a virus can't infect any part of the computer. Panda Anti Virus doesn't just search for virus, it also search your computer for a number of other security risks like spy wares and Trojans. Panda Anti Virus contains TruPrevent Technologies. TruPrevent Technologies is a system designed to help Panda Anti Virus protect your computer against unknown viruses and intruders. The user can choose whether they want to use TruPrevent Technologies or not. The technology has been implemented to allow Panda Anti Virus to protect your computer against new virus since a new virus can spread world wide within a few hours. The TruPrevent Technologies allows Panda Anti Virus to detect and block viruses even if they are not yet included in the virus database. This allows Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 to keep your computer safe against all viruses and not only the ones that are already identified, since you might encounter a new virus despite the fact that Panda updates their database at least once a day. Old anti virus programs - and most of the modern anti virus programs as well - can only protect you against already identified viruses. The ability to protect against unknown viruses is what Panda Anti Virus a superior choice for an anti virus program. Panda Titanium Active Scan Anti Virus 2005 does not only offer superior security and very user friendly functionality. It also comes with tech support where experts answer any questions that might arise. All personal computers should have virus protection since you otherwise risk loosing important document, family pictures etcetera and if you are looking for user friendliness and a superior security Panda Anti Virus is your best choice. You can get panda antivirus at support cave

Supportcave.com

Google - The Next Step In IM

As Google keeps on expanding, it was only a matter of time before they entered the IM arena. Although there have been several rumours regarding the acquisition of Jabber by Google, it is now more likely that they will acquire Meetro from Meetroduction. Meetro is a location-aware networking software, the main objective of which is to find people in the "real world" that are close by to hang out with. In their own words at Meetro's website: "Technically speaking, Meetro is radius and proximity based software. Untechnically speaking, it finds like-minded people around you instantly. Wherever you are. So whether you’re in-town or out of town, Meetro gets you on the town with old friends or new acquaintances." Through the software, you can locate people that are online, but within a certain radius. That means that they are online, and close to you, making it easier to connect and meet up with that person. Of course, having more products and services to offer, will allow Google to create a type of “user loyalty” from users that now use Yahoo, MSN or other IM applications for chatting, thus also having more ways of creating exposure to ads.

www.meetro.com/index.html

Two Companies Merge To Provide Higher Security Against Spyware Threats

In an effort to offer computer users who utilize Internet Explorer an initial protection device against spyware, Jayde Online Inc. and Xblock Software announced a partnership they planned to take on in 2004. The two companies planned to merge the spyware tool X-Cleaner, provided by XBlock, into Jayde’s Internet Explorer search engine toolbar, ExactSeek.com. The ExactSeek toolbar already provided features including web search, pop-up blocking, highlighting and drag and search along with Alexa ranking information. Executives at Jayde Online are seeking to provide internet users with multiple new features upon the release of each new free toolbar. By working with XBlock the company hopes to provide users with an initial line of defense against spyware threats. Because computer users are constantly being preyed upon by spyware those involved in the industry predict spyware could far surpass the threats computer viruses bring. Executives at XBlock believe the use of anti-spyware tools on the ExactSeek toolbar will not offer computer users a complete defense against spyware but it will protect computers from the most prevalent spyware, adware, keylogger and Trojan problems. The XBlock company has provided several online security tools for consumers and corporations since its beginning. ExactSeek.com is part of the Jayde Corporation which is comprised of several online network sites. Jayde also focuses on publishing several email newsletters.
By http://www.spyware-removal-made-easy.com/

"Blogging" For Fun & Profits

Unless you've been under a rock for the last year, you've heard the term "blog" once or twice. To most people, a "blog" simply represents a glorified online "diary" where geeks, computer nerds, and lonely teenagers record their thoughts in cyber-space. However, many people don't realize that "blogs" are quietly revolutionizing the way companies and customers interact about everything from existing products to new ideas and improvements in customer service. In short, "blog" style communication has come of age and anyone with an online business better sit up and take notice fast! In the beginning, "blogs" were basically an online diary to record your thoughts; but "blogs" have now evolved into dynamic websites that non-technical people can update immediately without html editors or ftp programs. Blogs allow their authors to make instant website updates through a computer anywhere in the world with a Web browser and Internet connection. Blogs also allow readers to respond to the author's posts, provide additional information, links, expanded opinions, and more. In short, an active "blog" creates an interactive community with the author as the hub and the readers as the spokes of the wheel that keep the whole cycle turning round. Unlike traditional "static" web pages where content rarely (if ever) changes, an active blog evolves in a state of constant and never-ending renewal. With blogs, smart online businesses re-discovered a principal that small "mom and pop" stores understood for years: know your customers and stay in close tune with their wants, needs, and desires. Large companies throw billions of dollars down a black hole every year to literally "guess" what people want to buy. Most call it the "Marketing Department." On the flipside, smart online businesses understand that blogs allow you to avoid guessing what's on your customers' minds and provide an active and up-to-the-minute means for them to tell you exactly what they do and don't like about your services, products, and virtually any other aspect of the market. This lightning fast communication makes it possible for small companies to literally snatch huge market share away from more traditional companies. Blogging also has a distinct advantage over traditional email newsletters in that subscribers can get udpates without having to receive an email message. Through the power of RSS (real simple syndication), subscribers get notified of updated content though an rss news reader. Bottom Line: publishing a blog with an RSS feed that your readers can subscribe to means your content NEVER gets blocked by a SPAM filter. Blog software basically comes in 2 flavors: hosted and stand-alone. Hosted blogging solutions make it extremely easy to get set up with a blog, often in just a couple of minutes. If you know how to type, you can create a blog. Log on to Blogger.com and you can set up a blog free of charge and start posting in just a few minutes. Blogger.com (owned by search giant, Google) will even host your blog on their servers. Typepad.com, which charges as little as $4.95 per month, is also an excellent hosted service offering additional features that enable you to quickly get your own blog up and running. The alternative is stand-alone blogging software installed on your own website. A very popular solution is Moveable Type, available from moveabletype.org, which provides a very versatile and powerful suite of tools for creating a full-featured blog to rival that of any size company in the world. This is the solution I've chosen for my blog at http://www.IGottaTellYou.com/blog/ Whichever blogging solution you choose, if you plan to successfully conduct any form of business online, understand that a "blog" must form an integral part of your overall plan for customer communication and interaction.
By http://www.IGottaTellYou.com/blog/

Why Laptops are Different than Desktops

Laptops are different from desktops in the these ways; 1. Power supply: As desktops can be plugged in an outlet in the wall (AC Power) so can laptops with an AC adapter. But how a laptop is different from a desktop is that it is portable because batteries can also power laptops. The batteries are rechargeable; lithium, nickel-cadmium, or nickel-metal hydride. 2. Display: Also like desktops, laptops have some type of LCD display screen. Modern Laptops have 800 x 600 pixel resolution. This gives it a very clear screen and anything less should be avoided. 3. Input Devices: On a desktop computer you usually use a mouse and keyboard to enter data and navigate. With laptops keyboards are built in but since they are portable so they don't have a mouse. Instead they have one of three input devices in place of the mouse. A trackball, rotating the ball allows you to move the cursor. A trackpoint allows you to push your finger over the point to move the cursor. Lastly, a laptop may have a touchpad that you move your finger across to move the cursor. 4. Docking Connections: Many laptops come with a docking connection to make it more comfortable to use at a desk. You just plug your laptop in and use it as a desktop. The docking station comes with many peripheral devices: full size computer monitor, full size keyboard and mouse, disk drives and printer
By http://www.A1-computers.net.

Why Laptops are Different than Desktops

Laptops are different from desktops in the these ways; 1. Power supply: As desktops can be plugged in an outlet in the wall (AC Power) so can laptops with an AC adapter. But how a laptop is different from a desktop is that it is portable because batteries can also power laptops. The batteries are rechargeable; lithium, nickel-cadmium, or nickel-metal hydride. 2. Display: Also like desktops, laptops have some type of LCD display screen. Modern Laptops have 800 x 600 pixel resolution. This gives it a very clear screen and anything less should be avoided. 3. Input Devices: On a desktop computer you usually use a mouse and keyboard to enter data and navigate. With laptops keyboards are built in but since they are portable so they don't have a mouse. Instead they have one of three input devices in place of the mouse. A trackball, rotating the ball allows you to move the cursor. A trackpoint allows you to push your finger over the point to move the cursor. Lastly, a laptop may have a touchpad that you move your finger across to move the cursor. 4. Docking Connections: Many laptops come with a docking connection to make it more comfortable to use at a desk. You just plug your laptop in and use it as a desktop. The docking station comes with many peripheral devices: full size computer monitor, full size keyboard and mouse, disk drives and printer
By http://www.A1-computers.net.

latest Broadband internet high speed for you

Broadband is the name given to a high-speed Internet connection that provide large bandwidth. It is a quick connection, typically “always-on” and capable of transmitting data at a much faster rate than a standard dialup modem connection. Broadband also won’t tie up your phone line, allowing you to use the internet and telephone simultaneously. Broadband can be provided from a dedicated line such as Cable or ISDN, or over the top of your phone line such as ADSL. Low-band Internet access is typically running up to 56kbps using a dial-up modem. Mid-band Internet is a phrase given to dialup that operates at 64kbps or 128kbps. Broadband starts at 512kbps (approximately ten times faster than typical dialup) and is also typically available at 1mbps, 1.5mbps and 2.2mbps. Some companies offer broadband at 4mbps and 8mbps. The maximum possible for cable is around 26mbps and 24mbps for ADSL although these speeds are not sold commercially due to the high cost required to upgrade telephone lines to be able to transmit at this speed. With broadband you can quickly download or stream music and video. Many websites are designed especially for broadband users with intense integrated graphics, flash and video. Another popular use of broadband is online gaming. Xbox and PS2 consoles include broadband support, by subscribing to gaming packages from your ISP you can play Xbox and PS2 games live with other people over the internet. Online PC gaming has been around since the early days of the internet, but now with faster speeds there is less lag (slow or jerky response from the computer making it hard to play) and you are no longer keeping an eye on the time as you play, making it much more popular. Many recent games are released requiring an internet connection, without them you simply cannot play. With users so keen on downloading music and video most broadband providers have introduced a maximum limit on the amount you can download. This can be as low as 1 GB up to 30 GB for power users, or unlimited for the extreme. Exceeding your ISP’s download cap will result in you having a limit connection for the rest of the month or none at all. The future of broadband is the possibility of Internet Television. Currently there is not enough bandwidth (the amount of data you can send and receive down the line) to give as good an image as of a standard television. But with ever increasing internet speeds Internet Television will soon be with us. You can already legally download clips from your favourite shows, music videos and other content you would normally find on your television, just not in real time. Another use developed because of broadband is online telephony. Software that enables you to turn your computer into a telephone and talk to people from across the world without any extra cost is not only commonplace but of a higher quality recording than standard telephone lines. It seems with ever increasing Internet speeds, Broadband will be able to replace television, telephone and will soon become a welcome addition to every home. Broadband is helping the internet become an extensive resource that’s easy to access and fun to use.

www.ukcheapbroadband

Computer Virus Timeline

1949
Theories for self-replicating programs are first developed.
1981
Apple Viruses 1, 2, and 3 are some of the first viruses “in the wild,” or in the public domain. Found on the Apple II operating system, the viruses spread through Texas A&M via pirated computer games.
1983
Fred Cohen, while working on his dissertation, formally defines a computer virus as “a computer program that can affect other computer programs by modifying them in such a way as to include a (possibly evolved) copy of itself.”
1986
Two programmers named Basit and Amjad replace the executable code in the boot sector of a floppy disk with their own code designed to infect each 360kb floppy accessed on any drive. Infected floppies had “© Brain” for a volume label.
1987
The Lehigh virus, one of the first file viruses, infects command.com files.
1988
One of the most common viruses, Jerusalem, is unleashed. Activated every Friday the 13th, the virus affects both .exe and .com files and deletes any programs run on that day.
MacMag and the Scores virus cause the first major Macintosh outbreaks.
1990
Symantec launches Norton AntiVirus, one of the first antivirus programs developed by a large company.
1991
Tequila is the first widespread polymorphic virus found in the wild. Polymorphic viruses make detection difficult for virus scanners by changing their appearance with each new infection.
1992
1300 viruses are in existence, an increase of 420% from December of 1990.
The Dark Avenger Mutation Engine (DAME) is created. It is a toolkit that turns ordinary viruses into polymorphic viruses. The Virus Creation Laboratory (VCL) is also made available. It is the first actual virus creation kit.
1994
Good Times email hoax tears through the computer community. The hoax warns of a malicious virus that will erase an entire hard drive just by opening an email with the subject line “Good Times.” Though disproved, the hoax resurfaces every six to twelve months.
1995
Word Concept becomes one of the most prevalent viruses in the mid-1990s. It is spread through Microsoft Word documents.
1996
Baza, Laroux (a macro virus), and Staog viruses are the first to infect Windows95 files, Excel, and Linux respectively.
1998
Currently harmless and yet to be found in the wild, StrangeBrew is the first virus to infect Java files. The virus modifies CLASS files to contain a copy of itself within the middle of the file's code and to begin execution from the virus section.
The Chernobyl virus spreads quickly via .exe files. As the notoriety attached to its name would suggest, the virus is quite destructive, attacking not only files but also a certain chip within infected computers.
Two California teenagers infiltrate and take control of more than 500 military, government, and private sector computer systems.
1999
The Melissa virus, W97M/Melissa, executes a macro in a document attached to an email, which forwards the document to 50 people in the user's Outlook address book. The virus also infects other Word documents and subsequently mails them out as attachments. Melissa spread faster than any previous virus, infecting an estimated 1 million PCs.
Bubble Boy is the first worm that does not depend on the recipient opening an attachment in order for infection to occur. As soon as the user opens the email, Bubble Boy sets to work.
Tristate is the first multi-program macro virus; it infects Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
2000
The Love Bug, also known as the ILOVEYOU virus, sends itself out via Outlook, much like Melissa. The virus comes as a VBS attachment and deletes files, including MP3, MP2, and .JPG. It also sends usernames and passwords to the virus's author.
W97M.Resume.A, a new variation of the Melissa virus, is determined to be in the wild. The “resume” virus acts much like Melissa, using a Word macro to infect Outlook and spread itself.
The “Stages” virus, disguised as a joke email about the stages of life, spreads across the Internet. Unlike most previous viruses, Stages is hidden in an attachment with a false “.txt” extension, making it easier to lure recipients into opening it. Until now, it has generally been safe to assume that text files are safe.
“Distributed denial-of-service” attacks by hackers knock Yahoo, eBay, Amazon, and other high profile web sites offline for several hours.
2001
Shortly after the September 11th attacks, the Nimda virus infects hundreds of thousands of computers in the world. The virus is one of the most sophisticated to date with as many as five different methods of replicating and infecting systems. The “Anna Kournikova” virus, which mails itself to persons listed in the victim's Microsoft Outlook address book, worries analysts who believe the relatively harmless virus was written with a “tool kit” that would allow even the most inexperienced programmers to create viruses. Worms increase in prevalence with Sircam, CodeRed, and BadTrans creating the most problems. Sircam spreads personal documents over the Internet through email. CodeRed attacks vulnerable webpages, and was expected to eventually reroute its attack to the White House homepage. It infected approximately 359,000 hosts in the first twelve hours. BadTrans is designed to capture passwords and credit card information.
2002
Author of the Melissa virus, David L. Smith, is sentenced to 20 months in federal prison. The LFM-926 virus appears in early January, displaying the message “Loading.Flash.Movie” as it infects Shockwave Flash (.swf) files. Celebrity named viruses continue with the “Shakira,” “Britney Spears,” and “Jennifer Lopez” viruses emerging. The Klez worm, an example of the increasing trend of worms that spread through email, overwrites files (its payload fills files with zeroes), creates hidden copies of the originals, and attempts to disable common anti-virus products. The Bugbear worm also makes it first appearance in September. It is a complex worm with many methods of infecting systems.
2003
In January the relatively benign “Slammer” (Sapphire) worm becomes the fastest spreading worm to date, infecting 75,000 computers in approximately ten minutes, doubling its numbers every 8.5 seconds in its first minute of infection. The Sobig worm becomes the one of the first to join the spam community. Infected computer systems have the potential to become spam relay points and spamming techniques are used to mass-mail copies of the worm to potential victims.
2004
In January a computer worm, called MyDoom or Novarg, spreads through emails and file-sharing software faster than any previous virus or worm. MyDoom entices email recipients to open an attachment that allows hackers to access the hard drive of the infected computer. The intended goal is a “denial of service attack” on the SCO Group, a company that is suing various groups for using an open-source version of its Unix programming language. SCO offers a $250,000 reward to anyone giving information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the people who wrote the worm.
An estimated one million computers running Windows are affected by the fast-spreading Sasser computer worm in May. Victims include businesses, such as British Airways, banks, and government offices, including Britain's Coast Guard. The worm does not cause irreparable harm to computers or data, but it does slow computers and cause some to quit or reboot without explanation. The Sasser worm is different than other viruses in that users do not have to open a file attachment to be affected by it. Instead, the worm seeks out computers with a security flaw and then sabotages them. An 18-year-old German high school student confessed to creating the worm. He's suspected of releasing another version of the virus.

www.infoplease.com

hymn for 22/9

O COME ye hither, sit ye down: to Indra sing ye forth, your song, companions, bringing hymns of praise. 2 To him the richest of the rich, the Lord of treasures excellent, Indra, with Soma juice outpoured. 3 May he stand by us in our need and in abundance for our wealth: May he come nigh us with his strength. 4 Whose pair of tawny horses yoked in battles foemen challenge not: To him, to Indra sing your song. 5 Nigh to the Soma-drinker come, for his enjoyment, these pure drops, The Somas mingled with the curd. 6 Thou, grown at once to perfect strength, wast born to drink the Soma juice, Strong Indra, for preëminence. 7 O Indra, lover of the song, may these quick Somas enter thee: May they bring bliss to thee the Sage. 8 Our chants of praise have strengthened thee, O Satakratu, and our lauds So strengthen thee the songs we sing. 9 Indra, whose succour never fails, accept these viands thousandfold, Wherein all manly powers abide. 10 O Indra, thou who lovest song, let no man hurt our bodies, keep Slaughter far from us, for thou canst.

Roses - Creating Beautiful Cut Roses

Many gardeners like to enjoy their roses twice — first in the garden, then indoors as cut flowers. By choosing the right roses, cutting them at the proper time of day, and conditioning them after cutting, you can enjoy your cut roses for the longest possible time — up to five days or more after cutting. When to Cut Roses In general, the more petals a rose has the slower it will open and the longer it will last. So, the best roses to use as cut flowers are the fully double varieties. Flowers with fewer petals open quickly and need to be replaced more often. Old garden and shrub roses generally wilt rapidly because their petals lack the substance (thickness and sturdiness) of modern roses and therefore don’t make good cut flowers. In addition to the form of a rose, you should consider its blooming stage. A rose will last longer if it is cut when the sepals have separated from the bud and have turned downward, and when the bud has softened but before the stamens are visible. If you squeeze the bud and it is still hard, wait a day or two before cutting it or it may not open after it is cut. Roses should be cut from a well-watered plant, late in the afternoon when the sugar and nutrient content of the plant is highest. This provides the bloom with ample energy to develop and open normally, and to stay open longer without wilting. During hot weather, when there is chance that a flower may be dehydrated by late afternoon, water the plant well several hours before cutting. How to Cut Roses Using pruning shears or flower-cutting shears cut the stem at a 45-degree angle, no shorter than just above the first five-leaflet leaf below the flower. You can cut a stem as long as you like, provided that at least two sets of leaves are left on the main stem to act as food producers for future growth and flowering. Carry a bucket of water with you into the garden so that you can place the cut stems in the water immediately. The flowers will last much longer if the uptake of water is not interrupted for too long and the stems don’t dry out. It’s all right to submerge the leaves temporarily as they too will absorb moisture. Although you will not harm a plant if you cut off all its flowers at one time, you may want to leave a few on the plant for garden color. Cutting roses, whether new or faded, encourages the plants to grow and re-bloom quickly. After you have cut the roses re-cut the stems at a slant with the stem underwater to permit maximum water absorption. How to Condition Roses Place the bucket of water containing the cut roses in a cool, dark place, like in the basement, to allow the roses to become “conditioned” before arranging them in a vase. Conditioning roses allows them to get used to being detached from the plants and slows down the respiratory rate of the leaves. Leave them for at least several hours; preferably overnight. You can condition cut flowers in a refrigerator as long as the refrigerator is intended only for roses and not for food. Many types of fruit stored in a refrigerator release ethylene gas, a ripening agent that causes cut flowers to open prematurely. Water for cut flowers is best if it is slightly acidic because acid breaks up air bubbles in water by neutralizing the carbon dioxide gas. Air bubbles can clog capillaries in the stem and prevent water from reaching the flowers and foliage. Water also travels more quickly up a stem when the water is acidic. If you're not sure whether your water is acidic, ask your water supplier. If it is not acidic, add lemon juice to acidify it. You should not use artificially softened water; it contains sodium, which is toxic to plants. In most cases, use cold water; it slows down the respiratory rate of the leaves. However, if the flowers have wilted because they have been out of water too long or because the stems were not cut underwater soon enough and the stem ends have become clogged, hot water will revive them faster than cold water. The stems absorb hot water more quickly. How to Prepare Roses for a Vase Before placing the roses in a vase, remove any leaves and thorns that will be below the water after arranging, because these will quickly disintegrate, foul the water, and shorten the life of the cut flowers. Thorns can be snapped off by hand or with a special thorn-stripping tool sold by florist supply stores. Then clean the remaining foliage with soap and water if necessary to remove dirt or spray residue, and make the leaves shine by rubbing with a paper towel, a soft cloth, or a nylon stocking. If any of the leaves are ripped or chewed, they can be manicured with small scissors. More tips: If the roses you have picked are fragrant, handle them gently. The petals of fragrant roses have more scent-emitting glands than do those of less-fragrant kinds, and they therefore tend to bruise more easily. To lengthen the life of your cut roses, always use a clean container for the flowers, and add a floral preservative to the water. Because they are acidic, contain sugar, and include a bacteria-retarding agent, floral preservatives provide some nutrients and restrain the growth of bacteria that will shorten the life of the flowers. These preservatives can be purchased at a flower shop. If you can't buy one, mix any clear citrus-based soft drink containing sugar with three parts water; or mix 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon sugar, and l/2 teaspoon household bleach in 1 quart of water. Keep the container filled with water to reduce the chance that it will evaporate or be consumed by the roses. If possible, change the water daily, re-cutting the stems underwater each time. Or check the level every day and add water as needed. To prolong the life of cut roses, keep cool and away from drafts, air-conditioners, radiators, and full sun. Display the splendor of single rose stems in simple vases. When enjoying blooms from first-year roses, it's usually better to cut short stems. Good Roses for Long-Stemmed Cutting Barbra Streisand ('WEKquaneze') Bride's Dream ('KORoyness') Crystalline ('ARObipy' Elina ('DICjana') Jardins de Bagatelle ('MEImafris') Kardinal (KORlingo') Love & Peace ('BALpeace') Moonstone ('WEKcryland') New Zealand ('MACgenev') Peter Mayle ('MEIzincaro') 'Royal Highness' Toulouse Lautrec ('MEIrevolt') Valencia ('KOReklia') Veteran's Honor (‘JACopper')

Practice (sadhana)

1. (The practice of) self-purification (tapas), the analysis of one's own self (svadhyaya), surrender to God (ishvarapranidhana) are (the beginning of) kriya yoga. 2. For achieving awareness (samadhi), the obstacles (kleshas) have to be diminished (first). 3. Ignorance (avidya), the Ego (asmita), passion (raga), anger/ aversion (dvesha) and will to live/ clinging to life/ fear of death (abhinivesha) (are) the obstacles (kleshas). 4. (It is) because of ignorance (avidya) (that) things appear to be inert, inconsistent, dispersed and endless. 5. Ignorance (avidya), (by mistake takes) what is perishable as eternal, what is impure as pure, what is sorrow as happiness, what is not-Self as the Self (Atman).

Lice

What are Lice?There are two types of lice, which live by infesting humans. These are the Pediculus humanus and Pediculus pubis. They may be present on the head, body or pubic area.
Head Lice are the more common in the UK. The eggs of the ‘nits’ are laid in the hair, close to the scalp. Over about nine days, the eggs hatch and the lice begin to feed off the scalp by sucking blood.
What are the symptoms?Itching of the scalp and neck area. There may be evidence of impetigo and excoriation of the scalp.
The eggs tend to be spread by close contact and so school children and family members are frequently affected and may all need to be treated.
Body lice occur less frequently. They need to feed regularly and live in a constant temperature. They will thrive in any condition where the host changes their clothes infrequently.
TreatmentThis is by means of gamma-benzene hexachloride (lindane) which is a special alcoholic lotion, which kills the parasites.

Depression is defined as 'a feeling of gloom due to disappointment, loss or failure'

In what is termed 'reactive depression (i.e.. due to stress) the patient does not lose touch with reality. However, in endogenous or 'clinical' depression, the patient is in what is termed a psychotic state and needs expert help.
Known CausesThe are many known possible organic and psychological causes that may trigger a depressive state. Conventional medical treatments still tend to focus on anti-depressant medications, many of which can be addictive and have harmful side effects. Medical doctors - a group which boasts a high ratio of depression within its own members - still regards depression as a chemical problem, with medications as the answer. Prozac launched in 1987 achieved worldwide sales by 1990 estimated to be in excess of $675 million .In severe cases, electric shock treatment is still commonly prescribed. whilst psychotherapy/counselling takes a secondary role.
In the U.K. there are at least three million people suffering from depression. Self-doubt, recrimination, loss of apetite are all common symptoms but depression can be seen as something very positive, a turning point in one's life. Lee Iaocca was fired from General Motors by Henry Ford II in 1978. He took to drink and became more depressed. Finally, he said; "I had a simple choice: I could turn that anger against myself, with disastrous consequences. Or I could take some of that energy and try to do something productive." This is easier for some people to do than others, but it can be done...fortunately there are alternatives which can help.

Ankle Sprains for child

Homoeopathic treatment of acute ankle sprainsThe homoeopathic ointment Traumeel (R) was tested in a placebo-controlled, randomized double-blind study involving a total of 73 patients who had sports-related sprains of
the ankle. Electrotherapy was administered to all patients as basic treatment.
The study design took the quantifiable objective criterion for the degree of restitution of ankle mobility and the difference in total angulation of the joint measured in extension and flexion between the affected and non-affected joints. Treatment was administered on an outpatient basis seven times within a two-week period.
The basic electrotherapy treatment produced an improvement in joint mobility in both groups, however on closer examination of the data, the researchers found that the homoeopathic treatment resulted in a significantly faster recovery than was observed in the placebo group.
Zell J.; Connert W.-D.; Mau J.; Feuerstake G. Treatment of acute sprains of the ankle. Controlled double-blind trial to test the effectiveness of a homeopathic ointment. FORTSCHR. MED. (Germany, Federal Republic of) , 1988, 106/5 (62-70)

Breech births

IntroductionBreech births can give rise to serious complications for both mother and baby, and very often necessitates caesarian section. Two recent research studies have revealed that both acupuncture and hypnosis are useful complementary therapies which can help to correct a breech.
Acupuncture and moxibustion to correct breech birthsMoxibustion is a treatment commonly used by acupuncturists to stimulate the acu-points. The Moxa (which is the herb ‘Mugwort’) is heated and then either placed on acupuncture needles inserted on acu-points or alternatively it is held above the skin to produce a focused radiant heat. Laser acupuncture by contrast uses laser beams focussed on acu-points.
Researchers at the Hebammenlehranstalt Luisen hospital in Germany monitored 55 pregnant women with breech presentation who were given moxibustion to the Zhiyin acupuncture point during pregnancy to promote conversion to a cephalic presentation. Results at different gestational weeks were recorded and then compared with a similar observation series of 615 other pregnant women with breech presentation which converted spontaneously and with a Chinese laser-acupuncture study.
The results revealed that although Chinese laser-acupuncture studies have shown a significant increase in breech corrections, moxibustion produced a significant lower rate of conversion. Sonographic results revealed no significant differences between the converted and the non-converted groups treated with moxibustion and two patients developed early uterine contractions. The researchers therefore concluded that moxibustion should be indicated only under medical care.
Hypnotherapy to correct breech birthsA study conducted at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, USA evaluated the efficacy of hypnotherapy in converting a breech presentation to a vertex presentation. One hundred pregnant women whose fetuses were in breech position at 37 to 40 weeks' gestation were analysed and a matched comparison group of women with similar obstetrical and sociodemographic parameters derived from databases for other studies from the same time period and geographical areas.
Hypnotherapy was given in the form of suggestions for general relaxation with release of fears and provided whenever it was convenient and possible for the women until they were delivered of the baby or the baby converted to the vertex position. A successful conversion for the intervention group was scored when the baby spontaneously converted to the vertex position before delivery or if there was a successful external cephalic version. The conversion rate of the women receiving hypnotherapy was compared with a control group who received standard obstetrical care without the opportunity for hypnosis.
The results revealed that eighty-one per cent (81%) of the fetuses in the intervention group converted to vertex presentation compared with forty eight per cent (48%) of those in the control group, demonstrating a considerable and statistically significant therapeutic effect of the hypnotherapy treatment.
The report concluded that motivated women can be influenced by a skilled hypnotherapist in such a manner that their fetuses have an increased frequency of conversion to vertex presentation.

world Some of yantra Further Thoughts on the Hypno-Domination-Training Thing

Well, nothing tells you that you have flushed out a nest of something than lots of fur flying. And, judging by the comments on my prior post, that's what must have happened. There were some other, off-site reactions as well, but I'll leave those to others to discover for themselves. Let's just say it appears that an unnamed, and thus, supposedly nonexistent force can have an observable echo.
As for my prior thoughts on the use of hypnotism for training in a FemDom relationship, they have not changed due to any of the comments on my prior post. Neither have my SO/Domina's thoughts, when I asked Her about them tonight. Oh, by the way, for "Web," the commentator who mentioned something about informing my Domina about my attitude- she already knows. It's part of why I am Her pet. In fact, She asked me if I wanted Her to reply to that, but we mutually agreed not for Her to bother.
And as She pointed out, those who will cease to read my blog on account of my prior hypnosis-related post are probably best served elsewhere. Last time I looked, the readership numbers on this site continue to accelerate. That would imply that, though silent, a fairly substantial number of people spend time visiting here. So, best wishes, web and hooty, on your other blog choices. And my sincere thanks to old bear for a nicely phrased, tempermentally balanced comment. :)
But, back to hypnosis. There were several legitimate comments about the post, rather than those relating to, say, my own submissive orientation, other self-described hypnotists, etc.
First, let me revisit man puppy's 'surprise' that I grabbed the first Googled site that wasn't all commercial, or self-referentially commercial. He wrote about "being surprised that you chose to support your view with reference to a highly questionable religious fundamentalist website."
Well, I challenge anyone to Google the word "hypnosis" and find more than I did. It wasn't until unpaid hit #39 that you get this link.
Persevere to #45 and you get another fairly descriptive site.
Nowhere in the top 50 is there a generally-recognized group's website for the term. Not medical, psychiatric, nor psychological, as a group. All I wanted was some brief description, and I didn't really feel like searching more than the 45 minutes I'd already over-devoted to it. Between simple dictionary definitions, encyclopedias, etc, it took a surprising amount of time for someone not already intimately familiar with the topic to find much credible information.
Which brings me to another point. If one can write, as man puppy did, "There are far better sources of information on the topic than this," does this mean that he, or others, already have favorite sites? And, thus, I would guess, preconditioned opinions? Which is fine, but rather loading the dice, is it not?
You see, I literally went looking for a description because I have no special knowledge of the topic of using hypnosis, much less to train a male submissive in a FemDom relationship.
What I read, both on a few definitional sites, and the one in my prior post, and #39, a2zpsychology, on this post, informed my opinion. Let's just say that the comments I've read from online 'practitioners,' and, apparently, those self-described as knowledgeable, like "hooty," imply a certainty of style and effect of hypnosis that was clearly lacking on the sites I read. Including one prominent medical facility's reference to hypnosis. If anything, the totality of available, credible information points out, among other lengthy provisos, that: hypnosis is not accredited by any state, is generally unlicensed, is extremely dependent upon the practitioner, and, thus, lacking in almost any real uniformity whatsoever. Further, while there clearly appear to be bona fide applications in the medical and motivational fields, the element of altered consciousness keeps arising. Sorry, but it doesn't sound as simple as the contention by hooty that the submissive is necessarily fully aware, under hypnosis, of all that is happening to him.
What I continue to not understand is why a committed FemDom couple would resort to a consciousness-altering technique (and, yes, most of the sources do state that hypnosis is such a technique) to train the male submissive.
I have been counseled by FemDom mentors over the years that both Domina and submissive shoud refrain from using consciousness-altering substances, such as alcohol or drugs, during FemDom activities of a focused nature. I won't define the term precisely here, except to describe it as inclusive of things which might be called "play," "training," "discipline," "heavy service," and the like.
Does not hynposis qualify as a 'consciousness-altering' item from which both parties should refrain during heavy FemDom play/activities? Clearly, the answer is far from univocal.
I'm simply of the mind that I want my Female Partner and I to both experience as much emotional and psychological effect from our FemDom activities as possible. My being hypnotized would seem, from the several sources I've perused, to constrain and affect that.

Mantra guru in Repetition or Japa Yoga

There are 3 levels of japa:

Vaikhari - Audible repetition Upamsu - Whispering repetition Manasika - Mental repetition
Vaikhari japa, or audible repetition, consists in repeating a mantra or mantrochar (series of mantras that form a prayer) out loud. This is usually done in a group setting, but can also be done on your own. This level of japa is very good if the mind is highly agitated and difficult to calm down, as it helps to keep the mind focused on what is being repeated. Aside from purifying the body and mind, this level of japa also has an effect on the environment, as the vibrations of the mantra will purify your immediate surroundings.
Upamsu, or whispering repetition, is the middle stage. It is performed either by quietly whispering the mantra or by just moving the lips while silently saying it. It helps keep the mind focused and avoid distractions, and uses less energy than saying the mantra out loud.
The third level, manasika, is purely mental repetition. There is no audible sound or movement of the lips here. All repetition is done mentally. This is considered the best of the three levels, since no energy is used to express the mantra outwardly and all the energy and benefits of the mantra are kept within. The vibration of the mantra will still affect your surroundings, as it permeates your body during the practice, and then you emanate it through your aura.
How to Perform Japa
If you are a total beginner you might want to start with one round (108 repetitions), doing vaikhari, or audible repetition. Once you feel you have mastered that level you can move on to upamsu japa. Or, if you are new to japa but feel confident that you could be successful beyond vaikhari, then you can split the round (the 108 repetitions) equally between the 3 levels. Starting with vaikhari for roughly the first third, then moving onto upamsu for the second third, and lastly for the final third performing only mental repetition, or manasika japa.
Traditionally the mala (rosary, or prayer beads) is draped over the ring finger and rotated around with the thumb and middle finger. The index finger (the ego finger) should no be used to do japa and the Guru bead or sumeru(the extra bead at the top of the mala) should no be crossed over. Doing so reduces the energy of the mantra repetition. Whenever the Guru bead is reached, japa is either completed or continues back in the opposite direction, i.e., in the reverse direction, going back the way you came to your initial bead, without crossing over the Guru bead.
if you use a shorter mala, say a 54-bead mala (+ the Guru bead), you would need to go around the mala twice to complete a count of 108 repetitions (or as many times as needed to complete the number of repetitions you want). Remember, every time you get to the Guru bead you need to flip the mala over so that your thumb and middle finger start counting on the same beads you just passed, without ever crossing over the Guru bead, for the second (third, etc.) part of your round.
Ideally japa should be practiced daily and always with focus and feeling. However, as Swami Sivananda wisely noted, even mechanical repetition of japa has a great purifying effect on the mind, and the necessary emotional intent will come in time, as the purification process continues.
Other Recommendations
* If possible, follow a spiritual teacher from a traditional, bona fide lineage. The teacher will give you the mantra best suited for you or pertaining to the lineage.
* If you have not received a mantra from a teacher, then doing japa of Om or Ram is recommended, as these mantras have been repeated millions of times for thousands of years and carry enormous amounts of energy.
* It is best to stick to one particular mantra, especially if it was given by a spiritual teacher, as the power of the mantra will increase with repetition.
* If you do a mantra for a particular purpose, say a healing mantra when you are sick, do it as an addition to your regular mantra.
* Place a Deity (statue) or a Yantra (geometrical representation) in front of you and light a ghee lamp or candle to invoke the energy of the aspect of the Divine that you are invoking with the mantra.
* Mentally repeat a short mantra, such as Om when you are stuck in traffic, faced with a dificult situation or focusing on a task that does not require a great amount of mental concentration (cooking, gardening, doing dishes, etc.).
www.BlueLotusAyurveda.com

The world of Spiritual mine Side of Autoimmunity and Disease

The immune system, like most of the body, requires balance to function properly. T-helper 1 cells (Th-1) and T-helper 2 cells (Th2) help regulate the body's response to foreign invaders. Th1 uses white blood cells to go after viruses and cancer cells. Th2 immune cells use antibodies to go after bacteria. Normally, the body strikes a balance by switching back and forth between Th1 and Th2. In a person with an autoimmune disorder, one dominates and suppresses the other. Trans fats, mercury and other heavy metals, sugar and processed foods, alcohol, lack of sleep, lack of exercise, and stress are part of a modern lifestyle that can disrupt the Th1/Th2 balance.
Th1 dominance in women is associated with autoimmunity and recurrent miscarriage in the first trimester of pregnancy. Additionally, children in the autism spectrum tend to be Th1 dominant. Besides autoimmunity, Th2 dominance is characterized by a tendency toward allergies, frequent colds and viral infections, and cancer.
Both Th1 and Th2 cells make a protein substance known as cytokines. Cytokines cause inflammation. This inflammation should be a temporary response to injury or infection. Cytokines are a necessary part of our immunity. It is the overproduction (too many) of certain small cytokine molecules that leads to the invasion and inflammation of an organ or body system.
In the brain, cytokines can cause behavioral changes. They can either prompt or worsen depression, anxiety, or anorexia. They may cause a person to become withdrawn. Cytokines create fatigue and interfere with sleep patterns. They are one thing responsible for what has been termed "brain fog."
Autoimmune conditions are named or categorized according to where in the body cytokines are being overproduced and how the disease manifests itself. For example, an overproduction of these cytokines in the joints causing pain and swelling is called Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). It may go by different names and occur in different places in the body, but ultimately, autoimmunity is one disease with many different faces.
"The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitudes." - William James
Some psychologists and life-style gurus teach that there is no such thing as "negative" emotions and that feelings are never "wrong". You may or may not agree with this philosophy. Your immune system, however, definitely operates by a different standard. Immune function reflects the good and bad that you feel and do. It will hold you accountable for all of your thoughts and feelings, both positive and negative. As far-fetched as it may sound, optimal immune function is impossible unless you are willing to live according to the dictates of your own conscience.
--- The Body-Mind Connection ---
"It's not what you think you are - but what you think, you are." -Author Unknown
The hypothalamus is the emotional center of the brain. It transforms emotions into physical responses with the use of chemical messenger hormones called neuropeptides. Neuropeptides carry emotions back and forth between the mind and body. These chemical messengers influence every major section of the immune system. Because of them, the body and mind work together as one.
"Consider how much more you often suffer from your anger and grief, than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved." -Marcus Antonius
Negative emotions like frustration, anger, and resentment promote cytokine production. People who are prone to anger or depression are also prone to Th2 dominance. Studies show that fear, anger, or worry can cause inflammation in the airway of a child prompting an asthma attack. Moreover, negative thoughts cause the destruction of white blood cells, weakening your ability to fight off infection. In this sense, harsh emotions promote Th1/Th2 imbalance.
"When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion." -Abraham Lincoln
We know that the immune system can act as a physical manifestation of a guilty conscience because guilt causes Th2 dominance. Our immune systems also respond negatively to fear of how others judge our behavior.
-----Stress-----
"The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another." -William James
Stress has such a powerful effect on immunity that it is estimated that in the general population, two-thirds of all the illnesses seen by doctors are stress related. Your body responds to emotional stress the same way it responds to physical stress: with increased inflammation.
You don't even have to be experiencing stress in that moment. According to research, just recalling or thinking about stressful times in your past will increase cytokine production. Recalling painful memories also lowers your resistance to infection. In contrast, remembering happy times raises immunity.
-------Love-------
"I have never met a person whose greatest need was anything other than real, unconditional love. You can find it in a simple act of kindness toward someone who needs help. There is no mistaking love. You feel it in your heart. It is the common fiber of life, the flame of that heats our soul, energizes our spirit and supplies passion to our lives. It is our connection to God and to each other." -Elizabeth Kubler-Ross
Positive emotions, a good attitude, laughter, and love also have an exceptionally powerful effect on immunity and a person's ability to deal with disease. When we feel love, compassion, caring, or gratitude, the heart sends messages to the brain, which secretes hormones that positively affect our health. Love is healing both to the giver and the receiver. We are protected from infection by social ties with friends, family, and community that involve love. In a study, 276 healthy volunteers received nasal drops containing rhinovirus, which causes the common cold. Not everyone who was infected became ill. Those with the greatest ties and number of strong relationships were the least likely to get sick.
Love of self is also an important part of the equation. One doctor stated that if he told his patients to raise their own immune function, they would not know how. However, if he taught them how to love themselves and others fully, it would achieve the desired effect.
-----Laughter-----
"Over the years, I have encountered a surprising number of instances in which, to all appearances, patients have laughed themselves back to health, or at least have used their sense of humor as a very positive and adaptive response to their illness." -Raymond A. Moody, M.D.
Just behind love in its healing properties is laughter. Individuals with a better sense of humor have stronger immune systems than those who do not laugh easily. Studies show that watching as little as thirty to sixty minutes of a comedy video is enough to increase immunoglobulin A, a part of your immune system, which serves to protect you against upper respiratory problems. We know that from the same study that watching comedies increases levels of a substance called Complement 3, which helps antibodies pierce through and destroy defective or infected cells. Humor can also help stimulate Th1 cells.
---You Always Have a Choice---
"Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes Franklin Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he'll never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham -- who set the world's one-mile record in 1934. Deafen him and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver. Call him a slow learner, "retarded," and write him off as uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein. As one man summed it up: Life is about 20% in what happens to us and 80% in the way we respond to the events." - Ted Engstrom
Anger, your reaction to stress, gratitude, compassion, and love are all a matter of choice. Because of deeply ingrained habits, it may be much easier to choose anger over calmness, but it is still a choice. Besides, habits can be broken with practice and maybe a little help from above. Gratitude is an attitude, which can easily be incorporated into daily life by starting with something as simple as listing all of your blessings in a journal at the end of each day. Then, there is the most wonderful choice of all: love.

Uninstall Windows Media Player 10 and Start Enjoying Your Media Again

Windows Media Player 10 has been full of bugs from Microsoft since they offered it as a download from their site. Windows Media Player 9 was nice and simple. Windows Media Player 10 is way too complex and feature-rich that it has taken away from the simpleness of version 9 and ruined itself. Another great media player is Winamp but we won't go into that right now. If you have installed Windows Media Player 10, you can roll back to the version of the Player that was on your computer before installing Windows Media Player 10. To roll back from Windows Media Player 10 to a previous version, do the following: In Control Panel (Category View), click Add or Remove Programs. Click Remove a program Now do one of the following: If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, select the Show updates check box (at the top of the list), click Windows Media Player 10 (in the Windows Updates section), and then click Change/Remove. If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 1 or earlier, click Windows Media Player 10, and then click Change/Remove. As of writing this many people have found bugs in WMP10 that make it unavailble for common audio and video files. If you find that WMP10 is crashing or giving you errors and you cant play your media files. Uninstall it with these directions and stay happy. Be like the rest of the world and install http://www.Winamp.com

ACH or Credit Cards

Most businesses accept credit cards and consider the process fees a cost of doing business. However by implementing an ACH payment system you can realize dramatic savings and increase sales. ACH refers to the Automated Clearing House and generically means moving money electronically to and from checking and savings accounts. An example would be a check by phone or taking recurring payments directly from a checking account. The MAJOR difference between ACH and credit card processing is that a credit card transaction “captures” the merchant’s funds from the consumer and essentially guarantees payment. An ACH transaction is a request to transfer funds. The transaction may reject for several reasons with the most common being NSF (non sufficient funds) or a closed account. The funds are not guaranteed. It is the guarantee piece that allows the credit card company to charge a percentage of the transaction to cover the risks involved. Typically a transaction will consist of a discount rate, 2.5% for example and a transaction fee, typically in the 30 cent range. This means that every $100 processed incurs about $2.85 in merchant fees. Contrast this with an ACH transaction. Typically there is no discount rate just a .30 (or less) transaction fee. If you process $25,000 per month using ACH processing will save around $7500 per year. Certainly you will have more “failed” sales due to ACH transaction rejects (eg NSF) but your transaction savings will far exceed these losses. In addition you will appeal to a much wider range of consumers. Estimates vary but MANY people do not have credit cards or are at their limit on their cards. So the benefits are two fold-much reduced transaction fees and a new payment vehicle for your customers. So consider ACH processing for your business. It will save you money and win new customers.
By http://www.ach-payments.com

5 Considerations To Computing Your Car Insurance Premiums

Have you ever wonder why car insurance costs vary from one car insurance company to the other? This is due to the different type of computation factors that car insurance companies use to derive the car insurance cost. Based on the answers that you replied to the car insurance company, they will add or discount the cost before arriving at a final price for your car insurance. Thus, it is important for you to shop around first before you commit yourself to a particular car insurance company as different companies take a different view of the various high risk factors. We will look at some of the factors that car insurance companies take into considerations. 1. Having a clean driving record. Without a doubt, car insurance cost would increase if you have been convicted of a driving conviction. Thus, it pays to be a safe driver so that unnecessary costs won't be incurred. 2. Adding additional drivers to the policy By adding additional drivers to the policy, extra premiums will be added. Thus, do not add in drivers into the policy just because you think that this person might be using the car in the future. Consider carefully whether it is necessary to add this person into the policy. 3. The age and gender of the driver If the driver is under the age of 25 the rate will mostly likely be fairly high. This is due to the lack of driving experience. Usually, you will need to have over three years driving to be quoted a lower rate. Also, a single male driver rates higher than a single female. This is because males are rated as a higher risk to car insurance companies. 4. Your credit report history. Most car insurance companies take into account of your credit history. Paying your bills on time and maintaining a good credit history will allow you to enjoy lower car insurance cost. 5. Anti-theft alarm Fix up an electronic central locking and alarm on your car. Discount could be given by insurance companies when you have anti-theft devices install in your car.

When attracting Sexy Women, Remember... Time And Circumstance Change Everything

Many guys are just too intimidated and full of anxiety around sexy women to be successful at attracting women. I've even seen guys who turn women's heads walking into a room who have this issue. Let me help some of you who may have this "between the ears" handicap. I have a good friend of mine who teaches people how to become millionaires by investing in real estate. He's bought and sold over 1,500 houses in his real estate career. The guy is a real doer, not a talker (he’s pretty good at attracting women, too)… and one of the most successful guys I know. I asked him what he considered to be the most important key to being a successful Real Estate investor. He looked me right in the eye and said this: "Time and circumstance change everything." How does this apply to attracting desirable and sexy women? See, in Real Estate investing you have to deal with a "motivated seller" so you can get the house at the right price and make a nice profit when you "cash out." You have to deal with those who need to sell, not want to sell. What my friend told me was this: some of the best deals he ever put together came from dealing with people who told him no month after month after month… and then they finally said yes (much like sexy women will). What happened? Time and circumstance changed. They went from wanting to sell, to needing to sell, and when they needed to sell he was still there. If he'd been like most real estate investors and forgotten about the deal as soon as he heard "no" he would never have been as successful as he is today. The same thing applies to attracting women. Here's the truth about how people, including sexy women, think: No decision, however firm in the moment, is ever final. Ever. Decisions are always being made, and re-made based on time and circumstance. An unmotivated seller today may be very motivated tomorrow. The same thing applies when it comes to attracting women. I hear guy after guy say, "She rejected me, I have no chance with sexy women like her." Or, "She left me for another guy. She's gone forever." All that's malarkey… just send all those women over to the King and eventually I'll allow them to spend time with me, no matter what they say in the beginning. Why? Because time and circumstance change everything, whether you’re selling real estate, or meeting intimidating, sexy women. A few years ago I had a truly amazing once in a lifetime experience with a woman, Christine R. (she's one of my female testimonials at www.womenapproachyou.com/enter.htm) from Seattle. She saw an article about me, contacted me and we wound up meeting in Reno, sharing an experience that is really indescribable. It felt like we lived a lifetime together in three days—an amazing example of what can happen when you master the art of attracting women. However, due to distance and other factors we both knew a long term committed relationship was out of the question, although we continued to meet as "adventure partners." But I knew she'd eventually meet a guy for a long term relationship because family was very important to her. And she did. And it was painful for me. HOWEVER… I didn't get mad or place her in the "ex's" category or the "friends category" (like many men do when “dumped” by sexy women). Nope, instead I left our relationship open to endless possibilities, although at the time she assured me she had met "the one," and that she and I would never be intimate again. (I, being the King, said it was not "the one," simply the "next one.") But time and circumstance change everything, especially when attracting women. And I did see her again in an intimate way. And she is in my life today, in a totally different way than I ever expected-in a way where we can both be truly happy for each other no matter if the other is in a relationship or not. That never would have happened had we become "just friends" or "ex's." And it rarely happens with men who date sexy women. What can you learn from this? No matter what a woman tells you at the time, all decisions are subject to change. I have been told three times in my life by women I cared deeply for that our time together was over. But it wasn't. If I'd reacted like the typical guy and considered these sexy women "evil bitches" who were out to get me, our "future time" never ever would have happened. But I simply gave them my genuine understanding, told them how much our time together meant, and let them know I would be in their lives in whatever capacity they needed, without judgment, without ulterior motive, without ever saying, "I told you so." And all three came back to me, and our relationships to this day are stronger than they ever were before. Why? Because I understand this when it comes to attracting women: time and circumstance change everything.
By http://www.johnalanis.com

Why is an All Natural and Holistic Approach to Pet Food Gaining Importance?

Why is an All Natural and Holistic to Pet Food Gaining Importance? There is a significant increase in the market share of Natural and Holistic Pet Food, and it is predicted to double over the next five years. But why the sudden increase in our pets health? It seems that as we become more concerned with our own family's health and what we eat, it's natural to also be more concerned about what our pets eat, as they have truly have become part of our families. Today, it is now easier to provide a complete healthy meal for our pets. In fact, our pets may be eating better than we are! What to Expect from All Natural and Holistic Pet Food? 1. Switching to All Natural and Holistic Pet Food, produces substantial results over time. We all are accustomed to using synthetic drugs which can stop symptoms quickly. But, in many cases, the problem reoccurs because it was treating the symptons, not the problem. Holistic Pet Foods provide an environment that allows the body to health itself, not just treat the symptoms. This results in a more permanent cure and a healthier pet. 2. A good, high quality diet is the foundation of your pet's health. What we find in the market today for our pets, often contain chemical additives that can be detrimental to their health. Many commercial premium foods contain chemicals known to be toxic, as well as low quality meat that is not fit for human consumption. Many of the ingredients are hard to digest, so the nutritional value is diminished becuase it doesn't reach their bloodstream. An animal's immune system is worn down over time because of poor diet and the lack of a complete balanced diet doesn't foster a long life. There has been a significant increase in kidney and liver failures in young dogs and cats that has recently been linked to the amount of chemical preservatives. That's why the FDA recently recommended the manufactururers of pet food cut the amount of certain chemical preservatives in half. Our pets eat the same food everyday, so the food they eat will have a heightened effect over time on their health, that's why a good, high quality diet is best for your pet's health. Domestic pets are descendents of animals that have been existing in the wild. Many vets feel that pets should eat natural and less processed food. They recommend feeding pets fresh food with some supplements, or choose an all natural or holistic pet food. Your choice is to select the healthiest food for your companion pets. What is All Natural and Holistic Pet Food? Of course, we know that the proper mix of protein, vegetables, carbohydrates, and fats are needed for a healthy diet for our pets. Along with the 23 essential amino acids, pets also need vitamins and minerals. But the types of proteins, vegetables, carbohydrates, and fats is what holistic pet food is all about. Holism is the theory that animals should be viewed as interacting, complete entities, that are more than the sum of their elementary particles. Holistic food is naturally balanced, and provides the pet's body with much more than just the sum of its ingredients. Each ingredient is chosen for not only it's nutritional value, but also for it's interaction with other ingredients. In selecting ingredients, manufacturer's must know how an ingredient aids digestion, and select the ones that provide the most health benefits. Many ingredients are known to be good anti-oxidants, so why not choose an ingredient that has that added value. Then the combination of ingredients as a whole can be evaluated to understand the total value of a complete and balanced diet. Holistic pet food manufacturers choose the most digestible meats, vegetables and carbohydrates so that the nutrients are almost 100% bio-available, meaning that it actually gets into their bloodstream. If it is a meat that can't be easily digested, then it just passes through their digestive system, and less is really available. The sources of proteins, vegetables and carbohydrates are just as important as the amounts. We also know that certain meats, vegetables and carbohydrates are prone to produce food allergies, and therefore it makes sense to avoid using those ingredients which are known to have a high incidence of digestive problems or allergies. Given that we can determine the proper mix of ingredients, it also makes sense that we should utilize the best available ingredients for your pet and avoid using questionable ingredients such as by-products or meat digest. The source of the ingredients should be held to the highest standard of human grade food, and as natural as it can be. That means meat that is free from contamination from animals that were not given steroids, antibiotics or hormones, and to avoid meat by-products or meat digest. Vegetables should be free from pesticides or herbicides. We should avoid known food allergenic ingredients (beef, wheat, or soy), and not use chemicals preservatives, dyes, or genetically modified organisms. Holistic pet foods come as close to organic in nature without any chemicals or drugs, or as we say, "The Very Best for Your Best Friend!"
By fred@foxvalleypetfoods.com

A typical Chakra stone layout

BASE CHAKRA / Metallic / Hematite Physically relates to - legs, feet, base of spine, bones, kidneys If imbalanced - unstable, insecure, hunger/weight gain, constipation, arthritis, spinal tension, knee problems SACRAL / Orange / Carnelian Physically relates to - reproductive system, skin, spleen, bladder, lower intestines If imbalanced - jealousy, anger and other negative emotions, sexual problems, allergies, bladder SOLAR PLEXUS / yellow / Citrine Physically relates to - stomach, liver, digestion, nerves, muscles, gall bladder If imbalanced - fear, lack confidence, perfectionist, too much intellect, diabetes, ulcers, digestive disorders HEART / green / Amazonite Physically relates to - heart, circulation, arms, hands, blood If imbalanced - emotionally unstable, inability to show or receive affection, critical, heart problems, high blood pressure THROAT / Blue / Blue lace Agate Physically relates to - throat, mouth, neck, ears, lungs, shoulders If imbalanced - communication issues, little discernment, ignorance, thyroid, ear, neck and throat problems BROW / Dark Blue / Sodalite Physically relates to - left eye, nose, nervous system, lower brain If imbalanced - cynical, fear, little focus/concentration, detached, headaches, eye problems/blindness, vivid/unpleasant dreams CROWN / Purple / Amethyst Physically relates to - right eye, upper brain If imbalanced - confused, depression, lack of enthusiasm/inspiration, migraines, forgetful/senile, psychotic
By t1lley@ntlworld.com

Kundalini yoga world

Kundalini yoga is based on kriyas, or specially formulated sets of exercises. This allows you to target specific benefits and work on exactly those aspects of yourself that need work at the current time. Any amount of time spent practicing – whether three minutes or an hour a day – produces significant benefits, and in turn, motivate individuals to dedicate more time to its practice. Practicing Kundalini Yoga keeps the body in shape and trains the mind to be strong and flexible in the face of stress and change. It increases oxygen capacity, boosts blood flow, balances the glandular system, strengthens the nervous system, and reduces stress-induced toxins such as adrenaline and cortol. The effect is a heightened self-awareness and vitality that allows you to harness mental and emotional energy. Individuals feel more in control of themselves, with enhanced peace of mind, concentration, and a deep inner calm and self-confidence. No matter what someone’s age or physical capacity is, Kundalini yoga and meditation can have immediate benefits.

Principles and Practice of Karma Yoga

Karmayoga or Yoga of action is based upon the following principles: Man cannot escape from performing actions, howsoever he may live. Therefore man should not renounce actions. True renunciation means renunciation of the desire for the fruit of ones action, not the action itself. The deluded man thinks egoistically that "I am the doer," not realizing that it is Nature which engage men in actions through the triple gunas of sattva (purity), rajas (passion) and tamas (crudeness). actions that are performed out of desire for the fruit of action and with a sense of doership bind men to the mortal world. In performing actions one should follow the example of God who engages Himself in actions though there is nothing for Him to do or achieve in all the worlds. To become perfect in karmayoga a devotee should approach men of knowledge, prostrate before them and know from them what is action and what is inaction. He should also cultivate the following qualities or virtues: Detachment. Equanimity of the mind Elimination or control of desires especially desire for the fruit of his actions. Surrender to God. Egolessness Single minded devotion to God

Tax Preparation

Taxation is a system of raising money to finance government services and activities. Governments at all levels--local, provincial, and national--require people and businesses to pay taxes. Governments use the tax revenues to pay the cost of police and fire protection, health programmes, schools, roads, national defence, and many other public services. Direct taxes are levied (charged) on the incomes or wealth of individuals or companies. Indirect taxes are levied on money spent by individuals or companies. Taxes are as old as government. The general level of taxes has varied over the years, depending on the role of the government. In modern times, many governments--especially in advanced industrial countries--have rapidly expanded their roles and taken on new responsibilities. As a result, their need for tax revenue has increased. Around the world, people have frequently protested against tax increases. In these situations, taxpayers have favoured keeping services at current levels or reducing them. Voters have defeated many proposals for tax increases by provincial and local governments.

Is the U.S. Dollar About To Reverse Course?

by: Mike Fitzpatrick
For the first time in several years the U.S. dollar has managed to gain value against the world’s other major currencies. During the first three months of 2005, the U.S. dollar is up approximately five percent against both the yen and the euro. The gains for the dollar should be considered significant when considering the United States still faces a growing trade imbalance. So far this year, currency traders have shifted their focus from the United States’ large trade and current account shortfalls toward the higher rates of returns being offered on U.S. debt. The recent strength shown in the dollar has somewhat shifted sentiment within the financial markets about the future direction of the currency. A Bloomberg survey released earlier this week shows that the major currency traders expect to see dollar weakness resume later in the year, but the sentiment among dollar bears is much weaker than it was at the start of the year.
The strength shown in the U.S. currency thus far in 2005 should prove to be short-lived. The strong Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth during the past eighteen months will begin to show signs of moving closer to more normal levels over the next couple months. The signs of a slower economic growth will likely cause a shift in sentiment among currency traders toward the more fundamental problems facing the U.S. economy. The United States trade and current account deficits show no signs of retreating anytime soon. In fact, we expect the coming trade figures to show further deterioration in the balance of trade over the next few months. The major industrialized nations outside of the United States continue to experience anemic economic growth. This continues to place further pressure on the U.S. dollar as the United States consumer continues to buy goods produced in Europe, Japan, and China.
While we expect the dollar to resume its gradual fall against most major currencies, the major wildcard in our forecast is of course China. Recent information coming from China’s top decision makers indicates the Chinese are in no hurry to adjust the current value of the Yuan-Dollar relationship. Should any talks of a possible revaluation emerge later in the year, the downward pressure on the U.S. dollar would quicken as currency traders would buy the Japanese yen, and other freely traded Asian currencies, that would likely benefit from a revaluation.
by-http://www.financial-watch.com

Bad credit loan

calculated as a percentage of the amount borrowed. For example, a borrower in Australia who is charged 12 per cent interest would pay 12 Australian dollars a year in interest for every 100 dollars of the loan. Interest is charged to give lenders of money a return on their investment. This pays them for giving up their right to use the money for a period of time or to make a profit in other ways. In some cases, where there is a risk that the loan might not be repaid, the interest may be very high. In some Muslim countries, the charging of interest is illegal. But in most countries, interest plays an essential part in commerce. Businesses, governments, and consumers borrow and lend money, and thus they pay and receive interest. Businesses borrow money to buy new machinery or to build new factories. Businesses pay interest out of higher earnings made possible by the borrowed money. At times, one business invests in another and receives interest on its loan. Governments borrow to make up the difference between the money they spend and the funds they collect in taxes. A government pays interest on money it borrows. Consumers pay interest if they borrow to buy a home or a car. When people deposit money in a savings account, they are lending funds to a bank or other financial institution. Therefore, they receive interest.

Repairing Your Credit is as Easy as 1-2-3

1. Review Your Credit Report For Errors.
After you have received a copy of your credit report, you need to look through it very closely. If you do not yet have a copy, TrimYourDebt.com has negotiated with one of the credit bureaus to offer consumers a free look at their credit report and credit score. It is a 30-day free trial offer, so you get the information right up-front and you can cancel free of charge within 30-days. To check your credit report for free, visit http://www.TrimYourDebt.com/GetYourCreditScore.aspx?src=art to find out now.
It is important to first review all the personal identifying information in your credit report such as name, address, social security number, birth date, and so on.
You should then evaluate each account that is reported about you to the credit bureau. Determine whether any of this information is in any way inaccurate, incorrect, erroneous, misleading, or outdated. If you find that any of the information in incorrect, then you should move on to the next step.
2. Dispute the errors with the credit bureaus and your creditors.
You should dispute inaccurate information with both the consumer credit reporting agency and the furnisher (creditor). Disputing with both allows you to cover all of your bases to ensure that the corrections are consistently made by both sources.
You should follow up with these companies to ensure that the inaccurate or incomplete information is removed in a timely manner. You should then continue to monitor your credit information on a regular basis by ordering and reviewing your consumer credit reports from the major credit reporting agencies on a regular basis.
3. Repeat until satisfied.
It is very important that each questionable item, except for erroneous personal data, is dealt with individually. If you attempt to have the credit reporting agency correct several items at once, it will be easier for the agency to claim that your request is frivolous or irrelevant. If they make this determination, then your requests to correct inaccuracies will be discarded.
Make sure that you use a clear and concise statement indicating that the accuracy or completeness of a specific item is "disputed" or "challenged". Remember that explanations of why an item might be derogatory will not help you, only actual disputes of specific items will get the results you need.
As soon as the credit reporting agency provides you with an updated credit report indicating that the disputed item has been removed from your report, you should send another letter challenging the next most damaging item. Repeat this process, until each and every disputed item has been deleted from your credit report.
If you would like more detailed information about repairing your credit history including sample dispute letters to send to the credit reporting agencies, you will find more details available at http://www.TrimYourDebt.com/CreditRepairGuide.aspx?src=art
by-http://www.TrimYourDebt.com

Choosing An Honest Credit Counseling Agency

Consoldiated Credit Counseling Services Urges Consumers to Heed the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Trade Commission and state regulators warning about choosing a credit counseling organization.
The Federal Trade Commission and Internal Revenue Service issued a consumer alert warning to be cautious in choosing a credit counselor. Consolidated applauds the IRS, FTC, and state regulator efforts to bring attention to unscrupulous practices in the credit counseling industry. Consolidated has been a fervent proponent of instituting regulation in the credit counseling industry at both the state and federal level. It is our hope that such regulations would improve the level of service consumers receive, set standardized fees, and devise new ways to increase the effectiveness of debt management programs. Many credit counseling organizations provide valuable advice, education and assistance, but consumers need to be wary of the "quick fixes" offered by some organizations. Consumers can help protect themselves from deceptive credit counseling practices by knowing how to choose a credit counselor. If you are having a difficult time repaying your debts, a counseling agency may be able to work out a Debt Management Plan for you. Credit counseling agencies negotiate special programs with creditors that are not available to the general public. Choosing an honest reputable credit counseling agency can be one of the most important personal finance decisions of your life. Use the following as a guideline to help you choose wisely.
A certified counselor will do your budget, including your expenses and income.
They will figure out the total amount of debt you owe and arrive at a figure you can pay each month toward that debt while satisfying your creditors' requirements.
Once all parties agree on the monthly amount required to liquidate your debts, you send that amount to the counseling agency each month. They distribute the funds to your creditors, who have agreed to accept a lower interest rate (and perhaps a lower monthly payment).
The greatest savings you will see by using a credit counseling agency is that they can get creditors to lower or eliminate interest as well as other finance charges, late payments, and penalties.
Ask specific questions concerning repayment plans, such as what happens if repayment is more than you can afford and how secure is the information they provide.
Since most nonprofit counseling agencies have to charge a start-up and monthly maintenance fee, find out up front what the cost will be and make sure they put it in writing. Carefully read through any written agreement that a credit counseling organization offers. It should describe the services to be performed; the payment terms for these services, how long it may take to achieve results; any guarantees offered; and the organization's business name and address.
When selecting a credit counseling agency, check with the Better Business Bureau to find out if consumers have filed complaints about the provider you are considering. Most importantly, find out if the issues have been resolved.
Make sure to use a non-profit organization. A non-profit status alone does not insure that the organization will do a good job, but coupled with fair fees and educational material, it is a good indication of a reliable organization. A good place to start is the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies, www.AICCCA.org.
Remember that credit counseling agencies cannot erase your credit history. If an agency claims to be able to do so, do not work with them. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, accurate information about your accounts can stay on your credit report for up to seven years.
Find out what other sources of funding they receive, who regulates and audits their operation, if they are certified by the International Standard of Operations (ISO compliant), if their counselors are certified and by which association, and if there is a formal written agreement.
Ask if you will continue to receive statements from your creditors showing what interest rates you are paying and the reduction of your debt each month.
Make sure that your creditors are willing to work with the agency you choose. If they are, follow up with those creditors regularly to make sure your debt is being paid off.

Internet advertising

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by-http://www.mlive.com/

Work from Home and Earn Extra Income

As each day passes, and more and more things need to get done with your business, you may find yourself a little overwhelmed with how much is left to be done. This is nothing new, and a problem that almost every home business owner encounters.There are too many things to do, and such little time! So how does one get all of these things done without interfering with family and friends time? The answer is simple enough, but not very easy to do. It's called Time Management. Managing your time to make your time spent during "business hours" the most productive it can be.There are many distractions when running an online business that many people easily become victims of. Some at home examples are things that consist of your everyday. Things like the chores that need tending to, eager kids simply wanting your attention, the television blaring, dogs barking, errands that need to be ran, and on down the line.Some classic examples of distractions that occur online are not as easy to identify, but can consume many hours if you're not aware of this. A good example includes just "surfing" for something, and you get sidetracked and end up reading something that you weren't even looking for to begin with! Another classic example is how many times you check your email a day, or how much time has passed before you last checked it. How much time do you spend visiting discussion boards or online communities? What about the emails you respond to? How much of your time is consumed by that? These are all examples of distractions that can get in the way of your businesses productivity.It all boils down to time management. Listed below are some good things to consider when using your time online for business.1) Make A ListYou've probably heard this before and with good reason! Write the things you need to do with your business down on a piece of paper. List in order the things by two factors. One is the importance, and the second is which of the things you least would like to do.Once you have your list, put them in order of the things most important and are you're least favorite at the very top of the list. This way, the more important things that need to be done will get done first, and you won't procrastinate because it's written down. As you progress with your list, you'll find that the last things you need to do will go by very quickly because you'll enjoy doing it.2) Set a Time LimitLet's say you spend on average 2 hours browsing forums and discussion boards on a daily basis. Is this really necessary? I mean, there are a lot of good resources out the on forums, and you get to interact with like-minded individuals.. but is this helping your business?The best way to stick to a plan is by giving yourself a specific amount of allotted time for each activity you conduct online. If you normally spend 2 hours in forums, and think this is simply taking too much away from your business, set a limit on how much you do it. Say to yourself, "Ok Jason, I will participate in forums for no more than 45 minutes. From exactly 12:15 to 1:00 today, I will spend this time browsing forums and being an active member." And stick with it!3) Give Yourself A Break!This may sound a little contradictory, but it's very true. If you have been working consistently for a few hours online, and find yourself to be slipping into the "dull glare" mode, give yourself a break. Step away from your computer for 30 minutes, and move around. Go to the fridge and grab a nice cold drink, and relax a bit. When you get done, you will feel more fresh and will be more focused on your list that you've already made to complete your daily business tasks.4) Punish Yourself For Not Sticking With It.This may seem a little weird, but it will work if you give it a chance to. For example, let's say that you need to get something done by a certain date and you don't. To make things more productive for you, punish yourself for not getting it done! I personally love those Little Debbie "Star Crunch" cakes. I usually have one every day. One time I told myself, I said, "Self, if I can't eat a Star Crunch unless I get these web pages uploaded by 5:20 today!". And when 5:20 came, I didn't have it done. So I punished myself for not completing the task by the time I set. I didn't eat one that day.Let's say you have a favorite TV show you absolutely love watching. You must complete 3 things on your list before you can watch it. And stick with it! Believe it or not, it actually works! But only if you stick with it. Having many distractions can make things a bit more difficult with productivity when spending your time online. The first things to do to solve the time management problem is to identify what things are keeping you from being productive in your online business. The next step is to avoid these things at all costs. The hardest part is identifying these distractions. But after you do, more than half the battle is already over! I wish you much success with your business and all your on and offline goals!

HTML Templates

http://templates.bigwebmaster.com
A collection of Family templates in HTML, Photoshop (PSD), and Flash organized in a directory


http://www.aspfree.com
ASP Free is the place for programmers to get ASP related help, code, tutorials, programming, hosting, and development information


HTML Templates
Most sites use a standard template throughout the whole website. The header and footer data is stored in a .php file and loaded for each page allowing easy maintenance. This tutorial will show you how to get PHP to dynamically choose which file to include based upon the page currently being viewed.
You have to pass the page the filename of the page and then include the following code:


content
This will display the header and footer file corresponding to the $page variable, which is retrieved from the URL you pass to the page - e.g view.php?page=Home.
However, in order to be able to use $page within your code, you need the register_globals directive in your php.ini file switched on. If this is not available to you or you find the script above not working, then you need to replace $page with $_GET['page']. For more information, read this Olate tutorial or this PHP manual entry.

Affiliate Income Optimization

In my time researching the search engines, I've noticed something rather strange. Literally millions of searches are made each month for "brand names" and actual site names. For example, on Overture alone, last month, there were millions of queries made for the term "internet explorer". Having been on the internet for around seven years (running sites for over five), I've naturally assumed that people use it the same way I do. So, I know that internet explorer is a Microsoft product so I just type http://www.microsoft.com into my browser.Apparently, that's not what everyone does. Here are some other examples from Overture: eBay - over 7 million searches, Google - over 9 million searches, Amazon - Over 800 thousand searches (OK, lots will be for the river or the forest but still), PayPal over 340 thousand searches and so on. Considering thatOverture has only about 5% of the search engine market, you can see that there are millions and millions of people who actually use search engines to find sites when they could just type the name in their browser and slap a .com on the end.Now, on to the good stuff. Of those companies that I mentioned, all but Google have an affiliate program. For example, PayPal pays $5.00 for every person who signs up. 340 000 x $5.00= $1 700 000. Interesting!So, what can we do to make the most of this opportunity? Well, it's easier than you would think. Obviously, trying to get traffic from people searching for eBay or PayPal would be very difficult but there are literally thousands of other companies that people search for. For example, I just checked the three best known British sports betting companies - about 20 000 searches are made each month on Overture for these companies.I have noticed that without any effort whatsoever, I am actually getting a lot of traffic from people searching for company names and script names. This is because they are listed in my Affiliate and Script directories. An example of the process is -people search for a particular merchant, come to my affiliate directory and click on the link to get to the merchant. Therefore, even though they have no interest in the affiliate program, I'm making money just by linking to merchants who's content is completely unrelated to mine.Remember, this is without even trying. When I do try, I'm getting even more traffic. For example, I have a review of the FastClick ad network on my site. I get 10+ visitors each day from people searching for phrases that include the word fastclick. That's 300+ visitors per month, 15 000 per year. As you could imagine, due to the fact that FastClick pay a lifetime 5% commission on referred earnings, this is quite lucrative.So, what do you need to do? Well, you probably already use affiliate programs in some form on your site - either as a major source of revenue or to make "backend" sales. I went for years just linking to them with banners, buttons and text links. The odd short recommendation here and there proved to be the best way to get the most out of them.The problem, from a search engine perspective, is that just linking to them from your site will generally not get your page up high in the search engine rankings. A link to merchant "Acme Corp." just blends in to the text on your page and is assigned no real relevance. Therefore, you should put up an individualpage on your site for each merchant that you are an affiliate of. This page could just be a review of the products or services that they offer.Just the fact that you have a content rich page about a specific merchant will almost automatically get you traffic from the search engines (once you are listed). The main point is "content rich". Also, write it yourself, do not copy content from the merchants site. Why? Well, even if they let you copy theircontent (lots do), Google has ways of finding duplicate content. In fact, they will usually ban the page that they believe is less important if two have the same information on them. So, write it yourself.Remember that if the merchant sells products that have gained recognition from the public, make sure you list their products.Now, if you have a copy of my eBook, you will be able to follow each step on search engine optimizing each page. Just using it for this method will earn you back the price of the book very quickly. However, if you don't want to spend the money, just having the page on your site and making sure that you cover various words that people search for such as "review" and"information" will ensure some success.If you already have a successful site, the search engines will actually view your "review" of a merchant as being important and it is no harder to get that page in to the top 10 listings than it is for any other page on your site.Often, the difference between doing well and being truly successful online is just the ability to grab opportunities when they appear. You could find that spending just 10 minutes to set up a couple of new pages on your site could actually result in thousands of dollars in extra income each year.Remember, there are close to 600 million queries made on search engines each day - this is an opportunity! Don't let it pass you by.
Sean Burns is the author of Search Engine Rankings Revealed. This eBook provides a step by step guide to helping the search engines send you traffic. His sites received almost 1 million highly targeted visitors from search engines last year. Rankings Revealed will show you how to do it
by-http://www.netincomecentral.com

MLM 's Waste of time or Goldmine?

When most people think about Multi-Level Marketing, they envision slick-talking, insurance salesman-like people pushing their products at everyone in sight. Maybe some of you have even tried MLM�s, didn�t get insanely rich overnight and gave up thinking, �I must not be cut out for this business� or �this is the last time I fall for one of these schemes�.
Part of the reason that many people don�t make any real money with MLM�s is that they go in with unrealistic expectations. It�s not really even their own fault either. Alot of the ads you see out there are promising some pretty appealing stuff; overnight riches, insane profits, quit your job today. If it were really that easy, wouldn�t everyone be working in their pajamas and retiring at 30?
Want to know the truth? You can make money with MLM�s. Good money. I know, I make good money.
So what�s the secret you ask? It�s not really a secret. If you think about it, it�s really just basic business technique. The problem is that the true nature of MLM�s can be clouded by all the hype, and people that aren�t well-suited to this business join up thinking it�s their ticket to financial freedom. Let�s look at the pros and cons, and you can decide if an MLM can work for you.
PRO: When you join an MLM company, you are basically starting a business. But it�s kind of like a franchise. You�re using the tools that an already-successful company has tested, used and proven to be effective. You�ve got a great product (I�m assuming you�ve chosen a program that does, in fact, offer a quality product). All of this already gives you one of the biggest benefits of MLM programs: you don�t have to deal with the manufacturing, the packaging, the shipping, the inventory, the order-taking. Your focus is on the advertising, and because of the power of the internet, this is literally at your fingertips. In short, the company does most of the work for you.
CON: This very fact can actually be a drawback for some people. It goes back to unrealistic expectations. Because it seems so easy, some people think that they don�t have to do anything, that the money will just start rolling in once they sign up. You laugh, but I�m telling you that I see this happen every day. In fact, more people don�t do the A-number 1 thing that you must do which is to place at least ONE ad. It would be like planning a great party with the best caterer in town, but not sending out any invitations and hoping that guests would just come stumbling by. The bottom line? You do have to put in time, effort and sweat equity, just like any other business.
PRO: Promoting an MLM program allows you an extremely flexible business. It really can be done in your spare time. Most of that sweat equity is spent in the beginning; planning, organizing, placing your initial ads, etc. Once you have the foundation in place, most of your time is spent finding new ways to promote your business. You aren�t tied down to a 9-5 schedule, you don�t have to attend meetings, wear suits, be at the mercy of your boss.
CON: It is imperative that you follow up religously. By following up I mean not only with your leads, but with your downline. This is the absolute key to turning a little trickle of sales into a real source of income. The secret is in your downline. Most programs offer at least a 2-tier commission program. Many go much deeper. Those who are making the really big money are the ones who teach, mentor and follow up with their downlines. Personally, I wouldn�t classify this one as a con, but I know that many would. If YOU want to be successful, then make THEM successful. And what about your leads? You�ve probably heard it before, but I�m going to say it anyway; on average people have to be exposed to your information 7 times before they will buy. The good news is that so much of this process can (and should) be automated. If you only use one tool to automate your business, then make it an autoresponder.
CON: If you absolutely can�t handle rejection and/or can�t stick with something unless it gives you immediate results, then MLM�s are not for you. Most people give up before they�ve even given it a chance. Even with a �killer ad� it�s still a numbers game, and persistence will pay off. If nothing you�re doing is working, you have to make changes, test, monitor. Then you have to make more changes, test, monitor. Then, when you find just the right ad and just the right places to post them, they might suddenly stop pulling. Remember, this is your business. You�ve got to keep changing your approach as your audience changes. Look how quickly companies change their commercials. They�re responding to the changing market. This is why Jack was blown up, and it�s also why he�s Back.
Always do your homework before you sign up. Ask for references from existing associates. Contact the BBB and see if they have any information on the company, good or bad. Be sure to read all the information that is presented to you. My personal recommendation goes to OutSource2000. It�s my most successful program by far. Take a look for yourself here.
So what�s the moral of the story? MLM�s can be a viable source of income. They can be for you if you are persistent, organized and enjoy helping others, but they�re not for everyone. Take stock of your skills and your expectations and you will be able to make an informed decision rather than wasting your time chasing something that�s just not for you.
Resources:
The Better Business Bureau- They have an alerts section and local BBB information.
The FTC has a lot of information on which MLM's to stay away from. Just by doing a search at their website for multi-level marketing you can get a ton of information. You can find out which companies are or were being investigated or taken to court by the FTC, and lots more.
Cagey Consumer-Keep on top of the latest scams, and investigate hot topics like Internet fraud and travel scams.
by-http://www.2work-at-home.com/

Outsourcing market

Offshore Outsourcing Helps Mid-Tier Banks Compete
How do medium-sized banks survive in today's brave new world? The challenges seem Herculean. The big banks are getting bigger, smaller banks are becoming acquisition candidates, and the Internet is changing how consumers interact with their financial institutions.
Outsourcing is one way for banks to cut costs and become more competitive, says Alfred Ricci, of Union Bank of California's sourcing management office. Union Bank is the fourth largest commercial bank in California.
One of the bank's important reasons for outsourcing was "to cut costs," says Ricci. However he says the bank learned "competitiveness will come from getting value from outsourcing." He says outsourcing ensures the bank receives higher quality, better on-time delivery, access to world class skills, fast project start-up, banking industry best practices, and even benchmarking information about similar financial institutions, while allowing it to focus resources on its core business. "All this translates into lower costs and higher quality, which will make the bank more competitive," he notes.
Offshoring became an obvious choice. "Why hire a tier one player that charges $200 an hour to build a system when you can go offshore and staff a highly-skilled team within days at an average of $40 an hour?" Ricci asks rhetorically. "It's just not necessary to pay a high cost for consultants any more," he says. "Offshoring is a wiser way to use investment dollars," adds Ashish Sinha, Executive Vice President of Polaris Software Lab, one of the bank's three suppliers.
The bank felt comfortable taking this strategic approach to offshoring because the industry's early adapters - Citibank and J.P. Morgan Chase - "have proven that outsourcing can cut costs and have numerous other positive results at banks," adds Ricci.
Ricci says the bank wants to do well by its stockholders and customers. A strategic reason for banks to outsource is to achieve a higher stock price by lowering cost structure. "Generally speaking, stock market analysts view outsourcing as positive because cost savings go directly to the bottom line as profits. If market analysts predict higher estimated profits, this would in effect raise the stock price," Ricci explains.
Customers benefit because the bank's cost of funding is lower with a higher stock price. "The bank gets more money for the same amount of stock, which allows us to offer more competitive rates to our customers," the executive adds.
Outsourcing to Get More Than Cost Savings
Competitiveness from outsourcing comes from more than just cutting costs. Ricci says the bank, which has 284 branches along the West Coast and 21 international offices mainly along the Pacific Rim, also needed access to technical skills it didn't have. A crucial factor in the bank's success is the reliability of its 300 plus IT systems. Now that the bank has outsourced, it calls its three service providers, (Cognizant and Tata Consultancy Services are the others), who can hastily convene a highly skilled task force in days to diagnose and resolve a problem. "Help is just a phone call away," he says.
Ricci says he solicits the opinions of his suppliers when studying architecture projects for the bank, which has $42.5 billion in assets. "We can get an educated opinion at a very reasonable cost," he reports. "We have internal IT specialists, but our core business is banking. Our suppliers compliment us because their core business is technology. With our partners, we can gain their technical expertise, while allowing us to focus our resources on our core banking business," he reports.
Outsourcing also allows Union Bank to share the risks of implementing a new IT system. When the bank developed systems itself, it was 100 percent responsible for its success. Now, the bank shares the risks inherent in applications development and maintenance (ADM) with its three suppliers.
The bank also gains access to ADM best practices. "We can piggy-back on their CMM (Capability Maturity Model for Software, an industry-wide process designed to improve the development of software) and their quality assurance standards," the bank executive reports.
Outsourcing increases the risk in one area: data security. Banks and other financial services firms' internal security departments need to work diligently to keep their companies up to speed with federal oversight (e.g. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency) and federal regulations (e.g.Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act).
Selecting a Supplier with Domain Expertise
Ricci says the bank chose its three mid-tier suppliers (Cognizant and Polaris) because "We wanted a strong relationship with our suppliers," says the bank executive. (Sinha says Polaris is India's sixth largest outsourcer.) Ricci felt his bank didn't have enough volume to work with only tier-one Indian providers like Tata..
He's happy with his supplier selection. He says Polaris "has been very appreciative of our business." He says the supplier devoted a large number of senior people to his projects. "We like the hands-on attention," he says.
In addition, Polaris has domain expertise in the financial services space. Like most industries, banking requires specialized knowledge. One of the reasons the bank chose Polaris is its 18-year relationship with Citibank in India; Sinha was a former chief information officer (CIO) for a division of Citibank India. In addition, the bank liked the fact that the supplier has 250 bankers on its payroll. It helps when everyone speaks the same jargon.

The bank's initial outsourcing trial period ended at the close of 2003. Now the bank is in the thick of its IT outsourcing. After the bank handles the challenges of creating the Sourcing Management Office to handle ADM, it plans to look at the possibility of handling more complicated outsourcing relationships. "Once our outsourcing management and processes are mature, we'll be ready to consider the possibility of managing more strategic issues like BPO, where we can achieve even more savings and value," Ricci says.
by-http://www.outsourcing-financial-services.com/

Game sprites creation techniques

BY-Solid Snake

posted by this page vicky_hhh100

While there are plenty of
programming-related materials available for free in the Internet, while you can
easilly get some quite easy to learn game engine systems (like Game Maker, for
example), I have got an impression that the graphical design part of a game
developer`s work has not been described anywhere quite well. Some people know
how to use graphical editors, some not, but I personally haven`t seen yet ANY
clear enough tutorial, dedicated explicitely to the game images and sprites
creation techniques. In this material we are going to make the first approach
towards the solution of this unfair situation - I`ll tell you what I know (and
what I`m doing) about the ways to create and arrange game graphics.


We have worked quite a lot with Delphi IDE, a nice interface for creating
different programs and games, but now, not having a wish to "invent another
bicycle", we use for 80% of our needs a nice free game engine Game Maker
(versions 3.3. and 4.0). It allows us to simply forget about a lot of boring
object classes definitions, DirectX support, etc. - almost everything is is
"automatic" there, and we love it.


Internal graphical support and output system is also done very nicely in Game
Maker. It makes life a lot easier for almost anyone - game making newbie, or an
expert. But still, as in many areas, you usually need some clear description of
what and how should you do in this fully wonderful piece of software, in order
not to get into trouble.


Creator of the

Game Maker, a very talanted and highly
respected by me guy Mark Overmars, has written a set of pretty clear documents,
which you can study and take for the programming/design tutorials for his Game
Maker engine. Unfortunately (I have tested it myself), quite many things are far
from being obvious and Mark is not giving us any description on how should you
live with them and overcome our problems. Certainly, you can visit the official
Game Maker messageboard (forum) and ask your question there, but my personal
experience shows that in the best case only 50% of your questions will find
their answers.


I`m saying all this long and boring foreword just trying to explain, why have I
decided to write this material, while there are plenty of ALMOST the same
articles and descriptions available. As I said, I personally HAVEN`T FOUND
anything like what I`m going to clearly describe below, in the times when I
needed it.


A BIT OF THEORY


Let me start with a little bit of required theory (said in the plain,
non-scientific English). Some people will find the points described below quite
obvious, dumb and simple, but please keep in mind, my friends, that not all the
people are that experienced and know as much as you. Therefore, there should be
someone, who explains even the very simple things.


First of all, let me introduce the main term for our lecture - "SPRITE". Sprite
is a semi-transparent image, that represents and illustrates some object in the
game. Object can be anything - a wall, the main character, a monster, a lamp on
the wall, etc. In order to visualize the object (with all its behaviour,
actions) on the screen, you need to give it a "face" - particular image. This
image is called a sprite.


Graphical design of the game usually means design and creation of different
sprites, creation of level background images and creation of some
"cover-pictures", like titles, advertisement banners, etc. If your game will not
be something like the famous "Myst", where beautiful rendered backgrounds were
in the center of players` attention, and if your game is going to be relatively
active (actions, arcades, RTS, some RPGs, etc.) - the leading role in it will
play different characters (hero, monsters, prizes, weapons, bullets, etc.).
Those should be assigned a sprite (normally - animated). In other words,
creation of sprites will consume some great part of the total game development
time. I want you to understand that sprites are REALLY important.


Have a look at the following points (I would even allow myself to call them
"tricks"), that you should always remember about game sprites, while designing
and using them in Game Maker:


1. The bigger is character`s sprite and the more animation phases it has,
the more resources your game will need in order to run properly. Some old PC
systems could be significally slowed down by complicated (maybe beautiful)
animated sprites, which cover one third of your display.


In other words, it means that while designing sprites (character sizes, for
example) for your game, you should always keep in mind how much resources will
be consumed by those. We have to think about potential with "weak" machines out
there, who will be automatically "cut off" your nice game, if the system
requirements are too high.


2. There is one rule in Game Maker engine system (and in some other game
making systems as well), which is not obvious and which is not described
anywhere in GM documentation. I have understood it only after having some
SERIOUS problems with improper sprites usage. This rule says: all the sprites,
that are planned to belong to the same active game object should have the same
size.


The thing is that when visualizing an object (by displaying its sprite) the game
engine dynamically reserves some amount of PC`s memory in order to store the
sprite there. The bigger is the sprite, the more memory is needed. But this is
not the trick. The trick is that when some sprite is currently assigned to your
object (while your player is running to the right, for example), system has
selected some amount of memory for it. When in the next second you are pressing
left arrow key and your object changes it`s look, taking another sprite, where
it`s represented running to the left, the memory ammount is going to be
re-assigned IF the system requires ANOTHER amount of video memory.


If "right" sprite has 100x50 pixels, and "left" sprite somehow - 105x47
(ridiculous, I agree, but it REALLY happens quite often), the engine will lose
some time ans resourses on re-assigning the needed video memory amount. I agree,
modern PC`s are mostly clever and fast enough to do it VERY quickly, without any
harm to the user, but don`t forget that you CAN have 10 or 20 instances of the
same object at the same time on the screen. At the same time, game engine has
it`s own understanding of some matters and it reacts sometimes unpredictably on
these graphical design mistakes. Especially the older version of Game Maker -
3.3. - had these problems and it could take you a week to understand WHY ON
EARTH is your game crashing?!... Now, you know. :-)


3. The main requirement to the game sprites is their transparence. Here I
should admit - you may find this point well described in the GM manual. Game
Maker takes the lower left corner pixel of the sprite as a transparency mask. It
means that if lower left corner of your sprite is green, you shouldn`t have ANY
green details on the image itself (i.e. character clothes), or they will be made
transparet as well. Watch out, half-tones (i.e. grey is a "half-tone" of black)
could be also affected!


PRACTICE


This should be it with the theory, so we can go to practice. Here, let us find
an answer to the following question: where do we get our nice character sprites?


Good question, isn`t it? Certainly, if you are a professional artist and drawing
very well - you`ll have no problems with it. But what should WE do - simple
programmers, game lovers, etc.? Who will give us all this beauty? Correct -
noone will come and give it to us. We should find everything ourselves.


The most simple way is to search for the freeware sprites collection or clipart
in Internet. Yes, I know that with all the enormous amounts of artworks and
clipart in Internet you can very rarely find anything REALLY nice. Different
kinds of crap here and there... What to do?


Well, you can search further, until you`ll find something satisfactory, or you
can try to follow our way, that we used while creating Vault Runner
series. This game title was designed as Fallout Fan-Art software. We were not
intending to sell the games, and we just wanted to create our own "extension" to
the Universe of Fallout (originally created by Interplay, Inc. and Black Isle
Studios). So, you can do as we did - take the original graphics of some
commercial title and play with it. But don`t even think about selling your game
afterwards! :-)

As I have said, you CAN choose the "Fan-Art way" because it`s relatively easy,
but as a person who has tried it several times, I wouldn`t advise you to do so.
Why? Isn`t it obvious at this point? You will ALWAYS have to write in your
documentation and title screens of your games that "All rights are reserved by
Interplay, Inc." etc. Certainly it`s not that bad and we do love Interplay for
their geunine Fallout, but who wants to create a game, which basically cannot be
called YOURS? I`m really tired of it and I think it`s worth to lose some time
searching for the free images in the Internet, or create them yourself, but let
your game be YOUR game and not someone else`s property...

Game Maker comes with some standard set of images and icons, that you could use
in your games, I presume, free of charge, but those will not be enough for you.
Also in GM documentation, Mark Overmars gives us a couple of quite useful free
graphical resource links (two of them are actually dead...), and by following
one of them we will find something that is really worth mentioning here.


Some nice guy, called Hermann Hillmann has put a small archive of his

game sprites collection in the Internet and
licenced it as "free for non-commercial use". We love you, pal! His
pictures are not very much unique, if I can say so, but they will give you a lot
of time to play with the quite good graphics, without searching anything else.
You will find several characters with all the phases of their animations
prepared just to be taken "as they are" and to be put into your great new game.
Go ahead, download these archives if you like. We`ll need them in our further
excersise.


In order to prepare animated character sprites to be used in your new game,
we`ll need at least two graphics editing programs (which I use) - Adobe
Photoshop (version 4.0 and higher) and

Animagic GIF Animator. Please make sure that
you have those, before we`ll go on. I`m not going to make a full tutorial on how
to use every cool feature of these programs - I will just show you how a good
quality animated sprite could be made with the minimum of effort (actually, I
have got several questions concerning this subject by E-Mail - so, guys, I`m
answering you now).


Since you will naturally use almost the same creation process scheme for all
your game sprites, we`ll take the simplest example of creating a static hero
image (while he is not moving anywhere) and will see how easy you can create an
animated sprite of the hero, running to the left. Afterwards, when you`ll get
the picture of how the process looks in general, you will easilly follow it to
make sprites for monsters, prizes, etc.

Once you`ve downloaded one of the "Character Packs" from the link above, unzip
the archive and find the file "standing01.jpg" in the directory. Open it in
Adobe Photoshop, and by pressing keys [CTRL] and [+] together, zoom it in to see
every detail very clearly. Decide for yourself - how big do you want the
picture-set on the screen. I usually zoom up to 200%.

As you see, the main character is represented on the green field under all the
possible view angles and in different possible states (unarmed, with weapon, on
the bike, etc.). You can chose anyone you want, but as an example I suggest that
we`ll take the upper left - first one.

By chosing "Rectangular Selection Tool" in Photoshop toolbar, select a
rectangular area around the desired image so, that the thin black border will
NOT be in your selection, but "guide" you, defining the correct selection size.
In other words, select the same rectangle, but a bit smaller than the borders.
By clicking menu item "Edit"->"Copy" (or by pressing [CTRL]+[INS] key
combination) copy your selecton in the clipboard.

Now, create a new Photoshop document, by clicking "File"->"New". One of the most
cool (but nowadays quite ordinary) features of Photoshop is that it`s
automatically defining the size of a picture, that`s now in the clipboard and is
making a new file by default of the required size. This is exactly what we want!
Don`t change the default size of the new document, that Photoshop suggests, and
make "File"->"Paste" in it. You`ll get your copied hero into the new small
photoshop image.

Don`t forget that we have decided to do everything quite accurately, in order
not to have any problems with video memory management in Game Maker, and
therefore, while preparing any other animation phases (frames) for the second
example, you should control the sizes of your new images. They all should be the
same.



In order to check the horisontal and vertical size of your sprite, go into
Photoshop main menu item "Image"->"Image Size". Here you must make sure that the
dimensions are given in Pixels (it`s easier to count them eventually), you can
see current Width and Height of your image and change their values, if you like.
If you have accurately copied the first hero frame from the character pack, as
described above, you should have got the image of the size - 94x94 pixels.

Now you can make a GIF export of the image by clicking menu item
"File"->"Export"->"GIF Export..." and our first static sprite is ready.

In order to make an animated sprite of the hero running to the left (or in any
other direction), you need to clearly understand what an animated GIF is.
Briefly, animated GIF is a special image format, that is actually some sort of a
dynamic container for a set of images, stored in it following some sequence.
Some graphics viewing programs, like your Internet browser (but NOT Adobe
Photoshop!) can display all the animation frames, and you can see the small
"movie" with all the frames looping before your eyes.

To create an animated GIF, we need two things - a set of static frames
(sprites), representing sequential movement phases, and the special program,
capable of packing these frames all together. There are many GIF animation
programs available in the Internet for some free or trial download, but I advise
you to use "Animagic GIF" for it`s simplicity.



Like we said, let`s prepare the set of static frames to pack within one animated
GIF file. Load the file "walking01.bmp" from the downloaded Character Pack into
Adobe Photoshop and chose one "line" in the pictures-set, which represents
animation phases for the ranger walking strictly left. Now, by following the
simple procedure, fully described above, create a set of single images (of the
same size!), each of which will have only one image of the ranger, walking left.
You should get 8 pictures and it would be clever to give them names "1.gif",
"2.gif", etc. correspondingly.



Now, when you have prepared the static set of frames for your animated GIF,
start Animagic GIF program and click once menu item "File"->"Append Frame". The
first animation frame will be added by default into the movie sequence.
Repeating this command for all the rest static frames, you will eventually get
the full frame sequence that can be seen in the window to the right.

By pressing "Play" black triangle key you will see your hero quickly running on
the screen. Now save your sequence as a standard animated GIF file. You`re done!
Congratulations!

[ ATTENTION! ] Depending on the Animagic GIF version that you`ll use,
before saving the animated GIF file, the program will allow you to chose,
whether to make the image transparent. I.e. it can ask you to chose the
"transparency color" - now you know what it means (from the description above).
Please remember, that Game Maker engine will try to make the image transparent
by it`s own! It naturally doesn`t need any help from the external programs. So,
you can surely decide for yourself, but I wouldn`t make the created GIF file
transparent directly in Animagic GIF. I strongly advise you to preserve the
non-transparent contrast green background and allow Game Maker deal with it
itself.

BY-http://www.gamedale.com

Macromedia Flash Tutorials

Flash MX: Using Guide Layers
Version: Flash MXLevel: EasyObjectives: To learn to create and use Guide Layers in your Flash moviesTools & Techniques: Guide Layers, Layer Folder, Layers, Editing Layers, and Outline Display
Guide layers are useful aids in assisting you with your on screen elements. They don't get published with the final movie so you don't have to worry about deleting them or the content that resides on the layer.
I use guide layers most often to hold my design aids, guides, and other notes I create. In the image below, the red cross graphic is a design aid that I use to maintain spacing between images and text blocks on the stage.
The stage guide (outer red border) is used to keep all stage elements contained within a specified distance from the edge of the movie. These are elements that are very useful to me for designing but I certainly wouldn't want them to be visible when I published my movie which is why I place them on a guide layer.
Here's an example of one way I use my guide layers (organized in a Layer Folder) to hold my screen guides and notes:
They are also useful for the times when you want to preview your movie without viewing certain items. For example, let's say you wanted to publish and preview your movie without viewing the background image. Rather than deleting the layer or the background object, you could quickly make the background layer a guide layer. When you tested your movie, your background image wouldn't be visible even though it's still visible on the stage.
To make your background layer visible again, you would simply change the layer from a guide layer back to a regular layer.

MLM Software

Computer systems in Direct Selling companies become the glue that binds the office departments together, a "core" around which the business is built. No successful Direct Selling company has ever sustained their success without a well-designed computer system behind it. Likewise, there are many Direct Selling companies that have failed due primarily to the lack of a good computer system. Don't let your new venture become just another statistic. Choose your software vendor wisely.
The equipment or "hardware" is comprised of the main "server" which does most of the "thinking", disk drives to store the business information, work station computers, and printers for reports. Fortunately, the cost of equipment has declined drastically in recent years while the performance and capacity to process business information has increased many fold.
The operating system software makes the computer work when you turn it on. It comprises the programming language that the business application software is written in, the commands necessary to create a back up tape of the data to avoid loosing all the information, and many other commands necessary to simply keep the computer working as conditions change. Without an operating system, the computer is nothing but plastic, metal, chips, and silicon. Operating systems include Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, UNIX, Linux, AIX, and scores of others.
The application software is the most important part of the computer because it is the piece that determines how you run your business. The hardware and the operating system are of little importance compared to the application software. This software provides input screens for order processing, creates your commission checks, prints downline genealogy reports, and provides look up information to handle distributor inquiries when they call the office. In short, this software is the core of running your business successfully. It will make or break a Direct Selling business. Your procedures and policies will have to conform exactly to your software or you will be forced to change the software, sometimes at considerable expense, to conform to your policies and procedures. This is one reason it’s so important to choose wisely the software you use.
The greatest mistake companies make in this area is to think they can save money by writing their own software. Not only does this take years to do, but it can never reflect the experience and know how that packaged Direct Selling software contains. Why reinvent the wheel? Would it be worth the risk of losing the business to poorly designed software resulting in incorrect commission checks, errors in tracking a person's downline records, lost orders, and so forth? Those companies that elect to write their own Direct Selling software often find later on that they are vulnerable to the programmer who wrote it. What if he moved away or became injured or sick? What if he took another job at a higher wage? Never let someone convince you they can program a Direct Selling software system in weeks or months. It's never been done successfully before. Why should you believe it could be done, now? Companies such as Jenkon have spent many years writing Direct Selling software that works right the first time, every time, and offer it to the public for a small fraction of what it costs to create it. It's the best money you'll ever spend.
Choose a reputable vendor. There are many fly-by-night software companies that make many claims of experience, know how, and software gadgetry. Unless you are willing to be a guinea pig (and put your business at risk), choose a vendor that has a proven track record. Track records are built over many years of working with Direct Selling companies, not just selling a software package a few times. Indeed, only having a small handful of clients may speak more about a company's persuasive abilities than their actual know how and skill. Above all, check out at least six references. Remember that vendors will be eager to provide only their best references. Always get the names of other companies from these first references that you might call. You might be surprised to find a different story when you call companies not included in the reference list.
Visit the software company's office. When you choose a Direct Selling software package, you not only choose the software, you also choose the vendor's support services. If the vendor is not able to provide support services acceptably, what will you do when you need to change your compensation plan, or add a new input field to the order entry screen? Jenkon has serviced over 800 Direct Selling companies since 1978 and has yet to find one company that has not needed support services at some time after the installation. There is only one constant among all Direct Selling companies - they constantly change things! And your software will need to be changed as well.While at the vendor's office, meet the vendor's people that will service you. What kind of people are they? How long have they worked for the vendor? If you find they are relatively new, either the vendor has little experience, is growing rapidly (in which case you may have trouble competing with other clients for good service), or has high staff turnover. All these can mean trouble for you as the vendor may not be able to handle your needs quickly and competently. Be willing to pay for experience and competence. You'll pay far less in the long run. If you think knowledge is expensive, try ignorance!
Avoid very small software companies. Small software companies, to compete with larger established firms, must offer software at bargain prices. This often puts them on shaky financial ground during their most critical years. Many Direct Selling companies, trying to save money by purchasing software from these small software houses, find themselves virtually abandoned later on when they need assistance. The problem is that servicing one highly successful client can consume virtually all of the human resources of a small software company leaving the other clients out in the cold. It can take months (or years) to train competent software technicians on a Direct Selling software package. The more deadly problem, however, is that smaller companies tend to go out of business without warning. The Direct Selling industry is especially brutal on small software companies and has caused a number of firms to close their doors leaving their clients high and dry. If you value your business, stay away from the small vendors and stick to those with staying power and track records.
Buy a software package that allows you to create your own reports. Many packages force you to live only with those reports they put on the menus. Managers must resort to running large reports to answer small questions or concerns instead of small exception reports on demand. Small exception reports can be reviewed quickly and accurately. Large general purpose reports can take hours to review and digest; this is not a wise use of a manager's time. The computer industry has adopted a standard in modern software engineering that allows non programmer users to type free-form queries on a computer terminal. In response, the computer provides specific and focused information according to the query. For example, suppose a manager wants to see a list of all the distributors in Florida with a group volume of $5,000 or more. Most modern software systems would allow the manager to type a relatively simple command sentence to obtain the report.
Make sure the company can program your compensation plan. Compensation plans are complex and take massive amounts of experience to program properly. When you have your tax return prepared, do you go to an inexperienced person, or do you find the most competent one who is also reasonably priced? Compensation plan programming is not something inexperienced programmers should be doing.
Do you plan to expand internationally someday? If so, choose a software package that incorporates international issues such as currency conversion, language translation, cross border sponsoring, V.A.T. tax reporting, and foreign address formats. Is the software also available in other languages so your foreign speaking staff would not all need to speak English to use it?
Buy software that can work on bigger computers as well as a PC. While personal computers are terrific for starting a new company, they are not cut out for larger successful Direct Selling operations. Most personal computers allow only one person to use the computer at any given time. Networks allow PCs to be linked together and can grow to become quite powerful and large. Most large Direct Selling companies have either a large minicomputer with several hundred workstations attached, or larger mainframe computers. In either case, if you expect to be successful, don't limit yourself by choosing software that only runs on PC computers.
Compare features. Software is designed to handle specific business issues and often has a great deal of difficulty dealing with matters outside the original design. It's difficult to force a software package to do things it was never intended to do. Wise computer buyers compare features and capabilities, side by side, of one package to another. Ask the vendor which features they consider are unique to their package compared to others. A package that is missing an important piece will never be a bargain at any price. As you compare software, use the feature list of the package that has the most to offer, and compare the features of the other packages to it, feature by feature. You'll be quite surprised as to how many "holes" the other packages might have.

www.jenkon.com

POS Software

by Patricia Tunstall
Powerful POS SoftwareThe POS software that runs point-of-sale equipment is designed to process check and credit card transactions within seconds. Powerful and adaptable, the software is not only fast, but enables merchants to choose features that are particularly helpful in their business. Verifone software, for instance, performs many functions, from rapid identification of a customer to smart card applications.
Hypercom terminals run on software that provides excellent security for the check and credit card information entered by the customer. Its PINpads quickly identify the card owner when a PIN (personal identification number) is entered. Processing of smart card information is equally fast, with authentication of the cards within seconds.
Adaptable Software Many brands of terminals run on software that can grow with the business, and this adaptability protects the merchant's original investment in the POS Software and equipment. POS software often can be customized so the merchant can, for example, use company colors and logos in printing receipts. Verifone's Omni 3350 is a high-performance machine built around multi-application capabilities so it handles smart cards, has a high-speed modem, and has lots of memory.
The Hypercom T-Series has a wide-ranging software library that handles credit, debit, and smart card transactions, as well as other financial operations. The T77 supports many applications including credit, debit, and stored-value cards. This high-performance machine is perfect for merchants looking to upgrade their current authorization-only machines to multi-function equipment. From the simpler terminals to more complex terminal-printers with rapid processing, software runs the show and enables merchants to process payments swiftly.

Help Desk Software

Help desks are now a fundamental and core part of good business service and operation. However, addressing the tricky issues, selecting the right tools, and managing the help desk correctly can actually be a very daunting task.
Hopefully this site will answer many of the difficult questions, including the basics, such as: What is a help desk? How do they work? Why have a software solution? What are the typical software functions? Where do I start?
The Help Desk Information Portal will offer guidance in many of these areas. Not only through the provision of information, background and guidelines, but through the identification of suitable tools and suppliers.

Causes of Chapped Skin

The skin becomes dry, sore and cracked when the natural oils are depleted and the defense system overburdened.
The causes for chapped skin are:
Extended exposure to the elements, especially the wind, cold and sun
Repeated contact with soaps, chemicals and water
The body's lack of fluids or oils in the form of essential fatty acids.
Neglect
Not using the additional protection of sun screens and clothing when subjecting the skin to the elements
Not using rubber gloves when cleaning, scrubbing or holding the hands in water for extended periods
The friction of clothing, often due to harsh detergents present in the fabrics Rough, tight-fitting clothing.