How can my business use a blog

Blogs represent power. Its power comes from its inter active nature. Blogs enable you to communicate with your customers quickly and efficiently. The most important aspect of communicating through a blog is that it is two-way interaction. You can make quick adjustments based on the feedback you receive.

Let’s say you are experimenting with an idea for a brand new product. You have thought about it for a while, and you are pretty sure you have a winner there. Before you would even make your first prototype you could post your idea on your blog and engage your customers. They may love the idea or attack it. No matter how they react, your visitors will tell you exactly what they think about the product. They may not be clear about your idea and ask for clarification, or they may help you improve your idea. The constant communication between your business and your customers is what makes blogging so powerful.

You may think that your business could not benefit from a blog, or that there is nothing to blog about your products, or that nobody would be interested in reading about your services in a blog. It is simply untrue. You can make almost anything interesting. You can provide valuable information about your business regardless of your business.

Think of your blog as the vehicle for fresh content about topics that excite your customers. The topics you blog about has to be valuable enough, so your customers return regularly. Your customers may not return every day, but if you provide value they will be back on a regular basis.

In addition to providing valuable content, your blog should also provide outside links to further reading. You may refer to an article you have read on another blog, embedding a link in your blog that your user can follow. The more value you can create the more your customers will appreciate it.

When you are blogging for business you can potentially reach a global audience. Your blog enables you to suddenly reach a global market. As you becoming a dedicated blogger, you establish yourself as an expert. Hence, you are building new avenues to success. As others learn about your blog, you are building your brand. A successful blogger can quickly become the talk of mainstream media.

Don t just stay home but start to work from home

Even if you do not want to go out and work and prefer to stay home, you can still work from home. There are several options and you could see what is suited to you according to your talent and skills.

Sit at home, spin tales and cook up stories

Many magazines and sites need articles on a daily basis. They have a list of freelance writers to whom they give out work. If you have a talent for writing you could work from home for any of these dailies or magazines. It is not even necessary for you to meet with them or go to their office to submit the articles. All you have to do is send it to them via email and they will pay you through their online sources.

There are many topics that articles are needed on. You could subscribe to the recipe section. Giving a good description of the method and a list of the ingredients is all you need to write. Your work from home is not so complicated. Topics like beauty queries, handy home tips, interior decoration, and your knowledge on plants if you have a green thumb, pet care can all contribute to interesting reading and you will get paid for this.

Need time to recover before returning to work

Sometimes you may have had a bout of ill health or surgery, you might be feeling pretty good now but it is not advisable to go back to work as yet. You could organize to work from home. Maybe your employer could allow you to do some of the work that you were handling from home online.

A new mum needs to spend some more time with her infant. If the company allows her to telecommute she could work from home for a few more months. The company could install a net working system on you computer where your work could be accessed at the office and give immediate results.

You love your work but need time at home

If you are a qualified soft ware person or any other technical aspect of computer oriented work, with skills such as web designing and graphics but need time to be at home for certain domestic reasons you could take on work which you could complete at home. You could work from home and submit it as per the assignment schedule.

Some highly qualified people are opting for the option to work from home, they are able to deliver the goods and yet be with their families and see to their personal commitments also. Many companies are also cutting down on overheads by employing people who would like to work from home. Commuting problems and people who need to travel a long distance to reach their work place are also opting to work from home.

It doesn’t matter what the nature of your work, if you prefer to work from home, there are enough opportunities available where you can make full use of your talents and get job satisfaction too. You may want to work from home for domestic, personal or health reasons, but what ever the reason there is definitely work available for you. Just think about what your work preferences are and look out for home based opportunities in this area.

Oscommerce shopping cart - is it the best product on the market

As you go about the task of developing and designing a website for your Net based business, you will find yourself stewing over what sort of shopping cart program to incorporate and integrate into your website. This can be a very complicated, challenging and even frustrating task. There are so many different shopping cart software programs on the market today that choosing which one will be right for your particularly operation can be a daunting task. One of the most popular shopping cart software programs on the market today is the osCommerce Shopping Cart. You may have heard more that a few times that the osCommerce Shopping Cart is the best product in the market. Through this article, you will be provided with some basic information to assist you in making the determination as to whether or not the osCommerce Shopping Cart is the right choice for you.

Keep in mind that while you are provided specific information about osCommerce Shopping Cart, nothing in this article should be construed as being an endorsement of osCommerce Shopping Cart. You need to do your own independent homework before making a decision to purchase any software application, including osCommerce Shopping Cart.

First of all, the osCommerce Shopping Cart has proven reliability time after time. As mentioned, it is a popular brand of shopping cart today. The history of a product is one of the best indications of its overall reliability and the osCommerce Shopping Cart has a solid track record thus far.

Second, the osCommerce Shopping Cart has proven to be quite adaptable in different types of settings. In other words, the osCommerce Shopping Cart has proven to be a good product whether or not you’ve got a small or a large retail operation on the Net. Adaptability is an important consideration particularly if you are starting or already involved in an Internet business that you hope will grow over time. You will want a shopping cart software program that will grow with your own business.

Third, the osCommerce Shopping Cart is accompanied with a reliable system of customer services and technical support. Because in so many ways the shopping cart program you select really will be the heart and soul of your business enterprise, it is important that you select a program that comes with the backing of outstanding customer service and technical support. Generally speaking, when it comes to customer service and technical support, osCommerce Shopping Cart has consistently obtained high marks.

List building for your online business

Pop Up Windows

Use pop up windows to get peoples’ attention. There are several types of pop up windows available to you with varying degrees of effectiveness. Some of the most effective pop ups are called hovering ads. They are difficult to block, and they will get your visitors attention. Unfortunately, some unethical advertisers have given pop ups a bad name. Don’t let that stop you from utilizing one, but make sure you don’t abuse the technology.

Co-Registration

Co-registration might be the fastest ways to grow your list. By collaborating related but non-competing businesses, you can multiply the speed of your list building process. For example, a dog grooming business might collaborate with a veterinary, sharing each other’s databases. Several related but non-competing businesses might develop a newsletter they could make available to their shared list. Everyone would benefit because the content would be great and the workload would be more manageable.

Contests

Getting your visitors involved through a contest can be an effective list builder. The contest details are published throughout your website, but only subscribers are allowed entry. The contest could be for anything that interests your customers. The best contests have brand enhancing value for the company and entertainment value for the website visitor.

Contact Customers

Contact your previous clients and ask them to sign up. It is an often ignore but powerful technique. Explain your customers that you are building a list of satisfied customers to improve your business. People that have bought from you before are already interested in your company. While you contact them to sign up, ask them for feedback about your company.

Membership Site

Create a membership area within your site. In the special area for your subscribers, you can provide additional resources not available to unsubscribed visitors. Your content has to be excellent. Your visitors have to believe they are getting real value when they sign up. Emphasize the value of the membership such as $29.00 value per month. To justify the value, maintain and update your content constantly.

Auto Responders

Use an auto responder solution that works. Apply the right technology to guarantee best results. Aweber is an auto responder service that costs only $20.00 per month. An auto responder service will automate most of the mundane tasks of maintaining your list. A professional auto responder can provide you with statistics to examine the effectiveness of your campaigns. The appropriate auto responder solution must be an integral part of your building strategy.

Spam And Your List

Building and maintaining communication with your list requires e-mail. Take the following steps to avoid being labeled as a spammer:

·Comply with the CAN-SPAM law

·Don’t purchase e-mail lists, build your own

·Keep records of subscribe requests

·Avoid spam trigger words such as free, earn $, discount, etc

Double Opt-In

Requiring double opt-in is a great way to avoid being labeled as a spammer. Double opt-in requires your subscriber to opt-in twice. First, they opt-in when they complete the online sign up form. Second, they confirm their subscription through a link that has been e-mailed to them. Double opt-in protects you and your visitors.

When lizards will not eat they have to eat

Like any animal, lizards at times in captivity will need to be force fed. There are situations and conditions which will result in a lizard not eating on their own.

Some diseases lizards can get will result in seizures, or a similar condition. It is imperative not to feed them during an incident like this. They will most likely not be able to swallow the food. It is best to seek the help of a veterinarian at this point. The animal will need to have a tube placed into their stomach to feed. If the animal shows no signs of seizures, they can be fed using a syringe. It is tricky to get their mouth open, but should be possible using the syringe itself.

Using the syringe, squeeze the processed food into the back of the throat, taking great care to avoid the trachea at the back of the tongue. Make sure to only offer as much food as the animal can handle. Larger lizards can obviously handle more food. It may also be possible to force-feed feeder insects. If the lizard is having digestive problems however, the liquid substitute is much easier to digest, as much of the work is already done. Another advantage of liquid feeding is the fact that you control exactly what the lizard is getting into its diet.

For the vegetable part of the liquid diet, vegetable baby food works very well. This food is high in vitamins and can easily be digested by the lizard. Make sure to add in a calcium supplement to the food. Younger lizards need to be fed more often but in smaller quantities, while larger lizards will need to be fed less often, but with higher quantities per feeding. You have to follow the natural way your lizard eats its food, as not to upset their natural metabolism. If your lizard eats both insects and vegetables, you can use a type of cat food (used for sick cats) if they will eat it. You can also try to add insect matter (use fresh insects) into the liquid mix.

Consciously choosing a positive attitude

Do you consciously choose your attitude each day? If you're like most people, probably not. Most of us tend to let our circumstances choose our attitude for us. We're in a good mood as long as we get up on time, the kids cooperate and get to school on time, the car starts without a problem, we don't encounter any traffic jams on the way to work, the boss doesn't yell, our workload is manageable, etc. This system can work fine as long as everything runs smoothly in our lives.

But that's not always the case, is it? Situations don't always adhere to our expectations. Accidents happen. Delays happen. Spouses and bosses can be difficult to please. Vehicles break down. Kids may resist our efforts to keep the schedule running smoothly. What happens to our attitude then? If we don't make the effort to consciously choose a positive attitude, we run the risk of developing a negative one at random.

How would our lives change if we consciously chose a positive attitude each day? For starters, we'd feel much happier about our lives. We'd feel more motivated about pursuing our dreams because we'd believe in the possibilities for making them a reality. We'd be able to enjoy the time spent with our friends and families more, because we'd want to share our joy with others. We'd feel strong and empowered in our ability to do anything we set our minds to. We'd be able to overcome challenges with ease because we'd have a strong belief in our own skills and abilities. We'd be able to love deeply and completely without fear of rejection or betrayal. We would pause to enjoy the smaller, more precious moments in life, without feeling pressured to do more, be more, or prove our worthiness.

Wow, it sounds awesome, doesn't it? Is it really possible to feel that way all the time? Yes, but probably not in the way you're imagining it. Just because we choose a positive attitude doesn't mean that our lives will transform into smoothly-flowing works of art and stay that way forever. Choosing a positive attitude is a process. We don't just choose it once and expect everything to be perfect from that moment on. We will still experience setbacks, delays, accidents, frustrations, arguments, fatigue, and fear. The secret is how we choose to react to these experiences. Do we want to let them ruin our day, or do we choose to pick ourselves up and look hopefully to the future again? We do have the power to choose.

You may be asking what the point of a positive attitude is. If we'll still experience negative circumstances, why bother with choosing a positive attitude? Ah, that's the true beauty of the creative process. What we choose to focus on the most, we create in our lives.

By choosing a positive attitude each day, we are actually attracting more positive experiences, and reducing the likelihood of negative experiences. You may have noticed that each experience often determines the quality of the next experience, causing a chain reaction in our lives. If one little thing goes wrong, it can throw off our plans for the rest of the day. In this context, it's easy to see how a positive attitude would be powerful. Rather than allowing one little thing to ruin our day, we would be able to shrug it off and continue on without a hitch.

Over time, this resiliency begins to strengthen and empower us, which will show through in our demeanor. We begin attracting people and experiences that more closely match our attitude, and our lives eventually transform into more positive, fulfilling expressions of joy.

And it all begins with a little thing called attitude! Again, this is a process, so go easy on yourself if you're trying to adopt a more positive attitude. Simply focus on developing a stronger awareness of your attitude moment to moment in your daily experiences, and begin choosing a more positive one more often. It takes time to realize the full benefits of this type of mindset, but it is time well-spent.

Before you know it, you'll be one of those people you used to admire for their tenacity and strength, and your life will transform in amazing ways.

The simple 10 debt elimination solution

Ask a friend what resolutions they made for the new year and your bound to hear them reply “Pay off my credit cards.” Ask them how they planned on reaching that goal and many of them will not have a clear cut answer.

The obvious first step to paying off credit card debt or paying down credit debt load is to cut back or eliminate the use of your credit cards. For some people this first step can often be the most difficult. If you’re used to spending freely with plastic and worrying about the consequences later, it’s difficult to break free from this “buy now, pay later” attitude.

To gain control of their careless credit card spending habits, some people cut up their credit cards therefore making it impossible to use them. Others lock up their credit cards or hide them in a safe place and vow to use them only in an emergency.

The second step to paying down credit debt is to pay more than the minimum balance due. Most credit card companies require a minimum monthly payment of 2.5% of the outstanding balance. For example, if you have an outstanding balance of $1100.00 on a credit card charging an Annual Percentage Rate (APR) of 18.9% your minimum monthly payment would be $27.50. It will take you 66 months or 5.5 years to pay off your balance of $1100.00 making the minimum payments. The credit card company will make $676.94 in interest from your use of their credit card.

Monthly payments are purposely kept low by the credit card companies so that they can earn as much as possible from the interest rate charged to you the consumer. Paying just the minimum payment will keep you tangled in credit’s web for years and years to come.

If you’ve been paying only the minimum due month after month, ask yourself this question, “Do I have an extra $10.00 I could apply to this month’s payment?” I’m sure that most of us could find some way to come up with an extra $10.00 for the month. Try cutting out a few cups of coffee or lunches at your nearby fast food outlets and in no time flat you’ll have saved up the extra money that you need.

Now, it’s time to unveil “The Simple $10.00 Debt Elimination Solution.” Take that extra $10.00 and add it to the minimum monthly payment above, therefore making a payment of $37.50. By adding just that $10.00 a month to your minimum payment, you’ll trim 23 months or nearly two years off of that credit debt! On top of that you’ll save $277.00 in interest alone! That’s money you can put toward savings or paying off other debts. Imagine how much you’d be able to save if you applied this same simple strategy to each of your other credit card debts!

Paying down credit debt doesn’t always mean having to make huge monthly payments or sacrifices. It just takes some basic planning and a simple effective strategy to make it work.

Visit hollywood california

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By: David G. Hallstrom, Sr.

World famous Hollywood, California is one of the best known cities in the world, however it not a city, it's mayor is honorary, it has no city council or other city officers. It is part of the city of Los Angeles and as such is governed by the Los Angeles city council and mayor and it's security is maintained by the Los Angeles Police Department.



What Hollywood does have is the Kodak Theatre which since opening in November 2001, has hosted a range of prestigious artists and events including the Academy Awards® Ceremonies, Celine Dion, Prince, Elvis Costello, Barry Manilow, American Ballet Theatre, Moscow Stanislavsky Ballet, AFI Life Achievement Award to Tom Hanks, ESPY Awards, American Idol finals, GREASE starring Frankie Avalon and more, the Hollywood Walk Of Fame, Grauman’s Chinese Theatre with it's movie premieres, it's cement handprints and footprints which immortalize some of entertainment's brightest stars, the Egyptian Theatre, a 40,000-square-foot - theater complex, located at 6712 (& 6708 which is the address of retail space on the property) Hollywood Boulevard, currently consists of an operational 618-seat theater, a 6,700-square-foot tiled courtyard and a 3,080-square-foot retail building
and the Pantages Theatre, which has become one of the greatest landmarks of Hollywood, signifying both the glorious past and adventuresome future of the world's entertainment capital.



Hollywood is also home to the Hollywood Bowl, The Greek Theatre which offers top quality entertainment under the stars, the Whisky A Go-Go, the Troubadour, the Hollywood Wax Museum which takes visitors of all ages on a personal stroll down memory lane, recapturing special moments with old friends from movies, television, music, sports and history, the Hollywood Entertainment Museum which features technologically advanced, interactive exhibits, memorabilia, special exhibitions, a six-minute multi-screen video presentation and a studio backlot tour and the El Capitan Theatre, an exclusive first run theatre for Walt Disney Pictures with live stage shows and world premieres.



While Hollywood does not have much in the way of hotels it does have the recently renovated (at a cost of $35,000,000.00) Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, a Hollywood landmark since 1927, which is right across the street from Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Celebrities stay there frequently, especially during premiers and other special functions. There is also the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel by Marriott with it's 637 rooms and suites, roof-top pool, fitness room, full business center and more.



Hollywood, which had been in decline since the late 1950s has lately been undergoing it's own renovation and while it is not yet like it was in it's heyday, it is again, a fun and interesting place to visit.



Stroll down Hollywood Blvd., take in the sights, visit the Wax Museum, the Entertainment Museum, and the Kodak Theatre, have your picture taken with one or more of the many celebrity look-alikes hanging around, go shopping at Frederick's Of Hollywood or at one of the many specialty shops, dine at one of the many restaurants, go dancing at Wiskey A Go-Go, take in a concert at the Greek Theatre or take in a movie at one of Hollywood's famous theatres.



For more information about Hollywood, California see hollywood. usacitydirectories. com, a directory of links to Hollywood, California guides and directories listing resources, services, things to do, places to go and more.

Doorway pages are used to improve the ranking of web-pages in search results

Doorway Pages

Doorway pages are used to improve the ranking of web-pages in search results. The doorway page can be a keyword filled page primarily for the search engines. They are also known by the terms jump pages, portal pages, bridge pages, internet doorway pages, gateway pages and entry pages because the cloaking scripts in the doorway pages redirects the user to the content page that the search engine has missed.

Adult doorway is the technique of creating adult related keyword specific search engine cloaking pages, to redirect a user to an adult-content website through the search result link. Doorway domain is the technique of search engine optimizing with the creation of a fresh website with links and redirecting scripts to the content page. Powerful doorway page software and special doorway page script can produce multiple doorway pages.

The doorway pages employ techniques like doorway cloaking or page cloaking to redirect a visitor to the specific website. IP cloaking is the technique of showing the search engine spiders a keyword rich page and showing yet another content page to the users. The search engine cloaking prevents the search engine from seeing the real intended page. Cloaking software and cloaking script used in doorway pages are intelligent enough to flash different pages to search engines and users.

Doorway pages created by doorway wizard and the proper application of doorway cloaking techniques can act in favor of improved search engine rankings.

Doorway pages and/or your web-pages need to have to be search engine optimized to get maximum exposure. Now you need to learn about the various SEO techniques that successful webmasters employ to generate traffic to their sites.

What you need to know when trading derivatives and futures

Hello Fellow-Investor.

The Derivatives and Futures Market is the most potentially profitable market in the world. But it can be the most distructive one too!

Derivatives

A derivative is a financial term for a specific type of investment from which the price over a certain time is derived from the performance of the underlying asset such as commodities, shares or bonds, interest rates, exchange rates or indices like stock market index or consumer price index.

This performance can determine both the amount and the timing of the payoffs. The diverse range of potential underlying assets and payoff alternatives leads to a huge range of derivatives contracts available to be traded in the market. The main types of derivatives are Futures, Forwards, Options and Swaps.

Futures

A futures contract is a standardized contract, traded on a futures exchange

to buy or sell a certain underlying asset. at a certain date in the future, at a pre-set price.

The future date is called the delivery date or final settlement date. The pre-set price is called the futures price. The price of the underlying asset on the delivery date is called the settlement price. The futures price, normally, converges towards the settlement price on the delivery date.

A futures contract gives the holder the right and the obligation to buy or sell, which differs from an options contract, which gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, and the option writer (seller) the obligation, but not the right.

In other words, the owner of an options contract can exercise (to buy or sell) on or prior to the pre-determined settlement/expiration date. Both parties of a "futures contract" must exercise the contract (buy or sell) on the settlement date.

To exit the commitment, the holder of a futures position has to sell his long position or buy back his short position

effectively closing out the futures position and its contract obligations.

Futures contracts, or simply futures, are exchange traded derivatives. The exchange acts as the counterparty on all contracts and sets margin requirement etc.

Forwards

A forward contract is an agreement between two parties to buy or sell an asset (which can be of any kind) at a pre-agreed future point in time. Therefore, the trade date and delivery date are separated. It is used to control and hedge risk.

One party agrees to buy, the other to sell, for a forward price agreed in advance. In a forward transaction, no actual cash changes hands. If the transaction is collaterised, exchange of margin will take place according to a pre-agreed rule. Otherwise no asset of any kind actually changes hands, until the contract has matured.

The forward price of such a contract is commonly contrasted with the spot price which is the price at which the asset changes hands ( on the spot date, usually the next business day ). The difference between the spot and the forward price is the forward premium or forward discount.

A standardized forward contract that is traded on an exchange is called a futures contract.

Futures vs. Forwards

While futures and forward contracts are both a contract to trade on a future date, key differences include:

- Futures are always traded on an exchange, whereas forwards always trade over-the-counter.

- Futures are highly standardized, whereas each forward is unique

- The price at which the contract is finally settled is different:

Futures are settled at the settlement price fixed on the last trading date of the contract (i. e. at the end)

Forwards are settled at the forward price agreed on the trade date (i. e. at the start)

- The credit risk of futures is much lower than that of forwards:

Traders are not subject to credit risk due to the role played by the clearing house. The profit or loss on a futures position is exchanged in cash every day. After this the credit exposure is again zero.

The profit or loss on a forward contract is only realised at the time of settlement, so the credit exposure can keep increasing

- In case of physical delivery, the forward contract specifies to whom to make the delivery. The counterparty on a futures contract is chosen randomly by the exchange.

- In a forward there are no cash flows until delivery, whereas in futures there are margin requirements and periodic margin calls.

Options

An option is a contract whereby one party (the holder or buyer) has the right but not the obligation to exercise a feature of the option contract ( e. g. stocks ) on or before a future date called the exercise or expiry date.

Since the option gives the buyer a right and the seller an obligation, the buyer has received something of value. The amount the buyer pays the seller for the option is called the option premium.

Most often the term "option" refers to a type of derivative which gives the holder of the option the right but not the obligation to purchase (a "call option") or sell (a "put option") a specified amount of a security within a specified time span. (Specific features of options on securities differ by the type of the underlying financial instrument involved.)

Swaps

A swap is a derivative where two counterparties exchange one stream of cash flows against another stream. These streams are called the legs of the swap. The cash flows are calculated over a notional principal amount. Swaps are often used to hedge certain risks, for instance interest rate risk. Another use is speculation.

Swaps are over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives. This means that they are negotiated outside exchanges. They cannot be bought and sold like securities or future contracts, but are all unique. As each swap is a unique contract, the only way to get out of it is by either mutually agreeing to tear it up, or by reassigning the swap to a third party. This latter option is only possible with the consent of the counterparty.

Social bookmarking is social bookmarking being used against you

You have probably heard a lot about social bookmarking lately. As a matter of fact, you can spend lots of time and effort today just to find out what Social Bookmarking is all about. Well, not here. I am giving you this information.

I have done the hard part of the research and found this to be a super way to get more traffic to your site. While social bookmarking is a good hobby imagine if you could replace the website option with blogs? There are thousands of blogs out on the web there is no doubt about that and the most popular ones will be very hard to find. The best news is, it's 100% FREE!

To demonstrate the differences between Social Bookmarking sites to normal search engines - let's talk about Google for example as a search engine and how it works compared to Social Bookmarking site such as Furl or Delicious. In any social bookmarking site - your screen will show a range of tags which are in different colors size and intensity which marks the popularity of the tag. These Social Bookmark sites provide a great means of sharing quality content sites - so start bookmarking today!.

We all spend more and more time on the Internet - whether we're researching; looking for work; or just browsing for fun. If you are looking for a great blog to read in the morning then you will love the chance to find out the most popular blog via your favorite bookmarking site!. Social bookmarks are usually public - hence the 'social' and they also allow other users to comment on the links you have saved.

Social bookmarking saves uploading a bunch of urls to your domain or remembering to send them to your Aunt Sally before you visit on the off chance you'll need to remember that special something while you're away. I get a goodly amount of traffic from social bookmarking sites like technorati as well but I would call that site a business bookmarking site so I'm not going to mention it here. Check out trafficwebsecrets. com/socialbookmarking/bookmarking_demon. html.

But remember; in the final analysis others will make the decision on whether your way of bookmarking is ethical and useful or spam. A good way to make social bookmarking more useful is to use the notes or comments fields when tagging pages. The simplicity of Social bookmarking websites allow you to save bookmarks online and Tag/Categorize them with keywords instead of saving them as bookmarks in the favorite's list of your browser: Put Social Bookmarking on Autopilot!

Use low interest credit cards to get out of debt

Low interest credit cards can provide you with the answers you are looking for when it comes to getting free of debt. If you are like millions of Americans, you are probably having difficulty keeping up with the minimum payments on your credit card. In fact, almost 70% of Americans keep a balance on one credit card or more. Similarly, 45% of those with balances pay only the minimum payment every month. Unfortunately, paying only the minimum on a credit card balance can mean taking years to pay it off.

A Glimmer of Hope

Low interest rate credit cards can provide you with the debt-relief you have been looking for. As an intelligent consumer, you can turn credit cards around and make them work for you rather than against you. Since credit card companies are in such fierce competition to acquire and to keep customers, many offer outstanding introductory offers. In fact, there are several cheap credit cards that offer an introductory APR as low as 0.00%. When used wisely, these low interest credit cards can be your ticket to financial independence.

Finding Cheap Credit Cards

Luckily for you, it is not particularly difficult to find low interest credit cards. In fact, a number of major credit cards send mailings directly to your home to offer you a card membership. On the downside, sorting through all of these credit card offers can be confusing and time consuming. For this reason, one of the best ways to find low interest rate credit cards is visit a web site offering side-by-side comparisons. Here, you can view introductory rates, annual fees, and how long the introductory rate lasts. You can also view the long term rate after the introductory rate is complete in order to determine which of the low interest credit cards will best suit your purposes.

Taking Advantage of Low Interest Rate Credit Cards

After selecting and applying for the low interest credit card of your choice, the first step to getting yourself debt free is to transfer your balances from high interest credit cards to the low interest credit card. This will help you start saving money immediately. In fact, a credit card balance of $9,000 with a 19.99% APR will cost you over $1,600 more per year than a credit card with an APR of 1.9%. Be sure, however, to look into possible balance transfer fees or other fees that might be associated with moving your credit card balance from one card to another. Also, low interest rate credit cards may have a higher interest rate on balance transfers, so be sure to be certain of the APR associated with the transfer.

After saving money with the lower APR provided by low interest credit cards, it is important for you to take advantage of the savings to become debt free. Too many people look at the savings as an excuse to spend more or they use the money elsewhere. Instead, you need to send the money you save back to the credit card in order to pay down your balance. After using the saved money on principal rather than interest, you will gradually start to see your balance disappear.

Creating a Budget

Of course, low interest rate credit cards are not the only answer for getting out of debt. Rather, they are one tool to help you get there. To get out of the red, you will need to create a budget that involves sending regular payments to the credit card that exceed the minimum payment amount. In addition, you need to either quit spending money on your credit card or make sure you have enough money coming in at the end of the month to completely pay for the additional debt placed on the card - and this money needs to be above and beyond what you already have set aside for your regular credit card payment.

All about supercross racing

Have you heard of supercross motorcycle racing before Supercross motorcycle racing is a sport that is popular in America. However, despite that popularity, there are still many individuals who have no idea what supercross is. If you are one of those individuals, you are urged to learn about this sport. It is so fun, exciting, and action packed that there is a good chance that you will be a supercross motorcycle fan, in no time at all.

If you enjoy watching professional racing, especially NASCAR, there is a good chance that you will also enjoy supercross motorcycle racing. This is because, like most other forms of racing, supercross is an action packed, competitive sport. If you are watching a supercross race, whether that race is live or televised, you will likely be on the edge of your seat.

Although supercross was earlier compared to NASCAR, you will find that the two actually have little in common, besides the fact that they are both popular and both are focused on racing. While NASCAR uses traditional race cars, also sometimes referred to as sports cars, supercross uses motorcycles. What is unique about these motorcycles is that they are not the ones that you regularly see on the highway; they are offroad bikes made especially for offroad racing.

In addition to using offroad motorcycles, supercross varies from a number of other forms of racing, especially when it comes to the racing surface. Like many other forms of racing, including asphalt racing or traditional dirt track racing, you will find that supercross racing events take place on manmade tracks.

These manmade tracks are often indoors. The tracks will vary, depending on the type of supercross race, but most tracks have numerous obstacles, which include jumps. The goal of supercross is to maneuver your motorcycle throughout the track to finish first.

As previously mentioned, the type of manmade track will all depend on the type of supercross race being run. Supercross is a professional racing sport, but it is not just limited to professional racing. Men, women, and children from all across the United States have started taking part in this fun and exciting sport. Those riders are often referred to as amateur supercross racers. Amateur supercross racers may race at a local track.

In fact, many local individuals and business owners have come together to sponsor local supercross drivers, as well as provide funding for the tracks. Although these events may not be considered professional, they are rapidly increasing in popularity. In fact, they are so popular that you may even have a local supercross or motocross track in or around your neighborhood.

In addition to local supercross tracks, there are many individuals who have made their own. Although most professional supercross racing tracks are indoor tracks, most amateurs have or use ones that are outdoors. A large number of wanttobe professional riders have made the decision to develop a track in their own backyard or in nearby fields.

However, the only downside to doing this is that racers are often on their own. In the event that an accident occurs, it may be more difficult to obtain help, when compared to racing at professional tracks and sanctioned events.

Now that you know what supercross motorcycle racing is, you may either want to become a fan or a racer. Whichever you wish to be, there is a good chance that you will be enjoying the sport of supercross motorcycle racing for years to come.

Hawaiian flowers amazingly beautiful and super long lasting

Did you know that tropical flowers like the ones you can get from Hawaii last 1-2 weeks longer than other fresh flower bouquets? Following is some information on the care of fresh Hawaiian flowers and background on the different types you can order.

If you’re lucky, you’ve had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii. If you haven’t had the chance to go there yet, you’ve most likely seen Hawaiian flower leis being put around a traveler’s neck as they depart from an airplane after landing there. But did you know that flower leis signify the ‘aloha’ spirit of Hawaii? They are a symbol for love, peace, hello and goodbye and are especially beautiful for a luau or wedding. You can order them in wrist, head or even ankle forms and they also come in a variety of flowers or vines and leaves.

There are many beautiful Hawaiian arrangements that are designed with each season’s flowers in mind. Amazing varieties of Heliconia, or Bird of Paradise as they are also known, are available in the Springtime along with exotic Gingers and Anthuriums which are a popular favorite. Anthuriums are a heart-shaped flower that is grown in several different colors and are perfect to send to someone you love.

Protea are another unique bloom that grows abundantly in the winter seasons and ships very well in cold weather – perfect for the holiday season! They also dry beautifully so that you can enjoy them in waterless arrangements for years afterward.

To care for fresh, Hawaiian flowers, unpack them immediately and then completely immerse them in water for at least 10 minutes - the bathtub’s a great place for doing this. While the flowers are soaking, cut the bottom of each stem on an angle, 1/4 inch from the bottom.

Arrange your flowers in a vase and make sure to keep the water clean and free of bacteria and algae – this is the most important part of keeping tropical flowers fresh and vibrant. Change the water every 4-5 days and put a few drops of bleach in it to prolong their freshness. You can also re-soak them when you change the water to freshen them up as they would be in their natural, humid and tropical environment.

Be sure to avoid placing them in direct sunlight or near heat sources such as air conditioners and drafty areas. Do Not put them in the refrigerator at any point! Hawaiian flowers can be ordered in all of the assortments mentioned here and many more and also as single flower stems at very reasonable prices. Consider these stunning flowers to add a little mystery and exotic touch the next time you order for someone special, including yourself!

Choosing a college how to start

With more than three thousand colleges and universities from which to choose, every student who takes the time to intelligently explore his or her educational options (and adheres to application and financial aid deadlines) should gain admission to at least three or four institutions in which they are highly likely to be happy and successful. Students and parents will therefore not find the college application process an anxiety provoking experience if they understand there is no single "right" college, if they maintain reasonable expectations, do a little planning, and take full advantage of the many informational resources available to them.

It is important to realize that only about five percent of the colleges and universities in the United States deny admission to more than fifty percent of their applicants. Therefore, unless you plan to apply to those highly selective institutions, the odds of your gaining admission to the colleges to which you do apply are probably very strongly in your favor. And, if your grades and SAT or ACT scores are high enough so that applying to the most selective colleges is a reasonable and realistic option for you, you can almost be assured of admission to any number of excellent but slightly less competitive institutions.

The extent to which a college can afford to be selective is a function of its perceived quality and/or popularity. Thus, while it is true that the colleges and universities with the highest academic profiles tend to be the most selective, many fine institutions do not enjoy the luxury of receiving applications from a significantly greater number of students than they are able to admit, and are therefore only moderately or even minimally selective.

Keeping in mind what we have just discussed, you are now ready to begin your college search.

Your first and most important step to identify at least a half dozen institutions which offer the academic programs and co-curricular activities of interest to you, provide a campus environment in which you will feel comfortable, and are likely to offer you admission. Begin by meeting with your school counselor to:

1.solicit his or her college recommendations.

2.discuss the courses you plan to take in future years.

3.sign up for the SAT and ACT.

4.learn which college representatives will be visiting your school.

5.find out about upcoming college fairs in your area.

Don’t forget that the web is a great source of information. Do a few searches for terms like colleges", "college scholarships", "financial aid" and "college admissions" to identify some good online resources.

After completing the above steps, you’re off to a good start. Enjoy your search!

Considering the various available online business opportunities

If you spend enough time online, you will no doubt run across a huge amount of online business opportunities. The trouble is that you don’t know what you are getting into in most cases. There are plenty of great offers out there, but you have to realize that not all of the online business opportunities you find are quite legitimate. In fact, there are quite a few that will take your money, and then disappear. Do not let this stop you if you are looking for an online business, this just means you have to be careful and take your time.

There are all kinds of online business opportunities from which to select. You can have your own store, you can become a freelance writer, or you can build your own websites in hopes of making money from Google Adsense. These are all great endeavors, and most of them are growing in size and audience each day. You just have to read the fine print. If you see an ad offering you fifteen thousand dollars a day, you really have to consider if that is to be believed or not.

One of the top tools you have for deciding if online business opportunities are legitimate or not, is ironically, the Internet itself. Perform an exhaustive search on a company you are considering going with, and then read everything you can about the subject. If you feel there is something fishy going on, you are going to learn about it in this manner. You should also use the Better Business Bureau’s website to find out if there have been any complaints against that company. If you find complaints, find out if they have been rectified, or if the company seems to not care.

Don’t forget you can also create your own online business opportunities. This may mean you have your own hobby that you want to bring to the world. This might be good if you make candles or soaps, and want to sell them online. Sites like eBay also afford a great place to find online business opportunities for you. Take some time, as with any venture, to see if that is truly the right business opportunity for you.

How to market your ebook

Writing and marketing your own ebook is an excellent way to help build your online and/or home business.

Being able to offer your own informative, quality ebook will establish you as someone who knows what they are talking about. This will earn you trust and respect and go a long way towards building your online presence.

People will start coming to you and your site when they need products, advice, support, help, etc. thus bringing you many more customers and /or subscribers.

There are many ways to market your ebook. Some of the best ways are listed below:

Put your ebook in your sigtag along with a free bonus. The free bonus will attract more people and bring in more sales.

Joint Ventures: Team up with other ebook authors or ezine publishers or webmasters to cross promote each other's products or services. Agree to send referrals to each other and recommend each other's products.

Use an excerpt from your ebook as an article and submit it to as many directories as possible. Be sure to mention your ebook in your resource box.

Search out quality targeted ezines and purchase solo or top sponsor ad spots.

Submit your ebook to as many ebook directories as you can. The more links to your ebook, the better.

Write a keyword rich sales page and optimize it for the search engines with meta tags and page title.

Offer two or three free bonuses with your ebook. make and offer that is very hard or impossible to refuse.

Ask a few people to write reviews for your ebook in exchange for a free copy. Post the reviews on your site.

Offer a free report as a lead-in to your ebook. People love free information and if you offer a quality report that gets them interested they very well may want to buy your ebook.

If you publish an ezine, ask other ezine publishers to swap solo or top sponsor ads. I prefer top sponsor ads but many marketers have said that solo ads get the most results.

Start an affiliate program and offer people a percentage to sell your ebook. One of the best places to do this is Clickbank. For a small fee you can set up your affiliate program and increase your sales many times over.

Offer the first chapter or two as a freebie. Be sure and leave them wanting more.

Visit message boards or join discussion groups to learn marketing strategies that have worked for other publishers and authors. If it works for them, it can work for you as well.

As with any marketing campaign, you have to stick with it. Be consistent. You cannot submit to a couple of directories and post to a couple message boards and then sit back and wait to get rich. Marketing is a daily commitment.

The possibilities are endless as to ways to market your ebook. Be sure and combine many of the strategies for one successful marketing campaign. Be creative and come up with new innovative marketing ideas. Find out what works and get started marketing that new ebook!

How to decide what used car to buy

The majority of people who wish to buy a used car have a clear picture in their mind of the type of car that they want, or at the very least some idea of whether they want a saloon or a hatchback. However by the time they have visited the showroom they can leave the forecourt driving away something very different from what they envisaged.

The reason behind this could be the salesman persuading you away from what you know is the right choice or you simply buy on impulse only to realise your mistake later. Here are some practical tips to help ensure you don’t make a big mistake when it comes to purchasing your car.

The first thing you should take into account is the size of the car; factors to take into consideration here are the size of your garage or drive and whether or not you have a family. If you have a family then purchasing a small two seated model is probably not the right choice. The same applies if you have limited space as then you aren’t going to be able to fit a big car into it.

The size is also determined by the build you are, for example if you are a tall person then you will have to ensure that you have adequate room, you don’t want to have to open the sunroof and stick out your head in order to see where you are going.

Take into account what it is that you need the car for. Are you going to be towing a caravan or attaching a trailer to it on a regular basis? If you are then you should consider a car with a bigger engine such as a four wheel drive. If you only want something to run about in the city then your choice might be better suited to a smaller hatchback model. The car you choose should fit in with your lifestyle.

Another important factor that you should always take into account when considering the type of car is how much it will cost to insure. The size, make and model of the car are all factors that are taken into consideration when it comes to determining the quote for your premium for the car insurance.

Finally, you have the choice of going for a petrol or diesel model; there are many advantages to choosing a diesel model rather than petrol. The diesel engine is considered to be more reliable and the fuel is more economical. However there are bad points too and these include the engine of the car being worked harder which means a major overhaul. Cars that run on diesel are also often overpriced and they aren’t considered to be environmentally friendly when compared to petrol engines.

Anything for her

Looking for that perfect gift for the lady in your life? If you are out of ideas and can't think of anything to buy, this article will help you find something just for her.

Fortunately, women have the reputation of being easier to shop for than men. Jewelry is always welcome. You can find unique presents at an antique shop, and vintage jewelry is extremely fashionable. Consider buying her an Italian charm bracelet, the newest fad in jewelry. Italian charm bracelets do not resemble the dangling charm bracelets popular in the 1950s and 60s. These sleek bracelets are covered by snap-on segments which can feature a wide variety of patterns and designs. Some are studded with gems, others are covered by miniature enamel paintings, and they come in all metals from stainless steel to 18K gold to fit all budgets.

For serious relationships, diamonds are always appropriate, and a small set of 1/4 carat earrings only costs a few hundred dollars, while its sparkle will accent any outfit. If you don't know how to judge the quality of diamonds (there are short online courses for beginners) stick to a reputable local jeweler so you will be sure to get a high-quality item. Not all diamonds are created equal, as some are grey or yellow and included with particles that detract from their appearance and value. Learn about the four C's before buying diamonds to make sure you get a good bargain.

Online auction sites are good places to pick up jewelry and other gifts. Ebay is the most popular venue, but there are smaller sites as well where you can pick up a bargain.

If the lady you are buying for has a hobby or a collection, try to find something that adds to it. For instance, a doll collector would love to have a limited-edition Barbie. Birdwatchers will enjoy a full-day outing, and perhaps a picnic, near a bird sanctuary. Scrapbook owners can always use small mementos or photos of special occasions. If your lady likes books, find a signed or limited edition.

Many women appreciate art, so look for an original piece that suits her decor. She will think of you whenever she sees it.

If you know her size and taste, buy her some attractive article of clothing. It doesn't have to be something as intimate as lingerie, as long as you avoid completely utilitarian items such as socks (that vile old Christmas standard). Try a handknit sweater or some soft lined gloves for cold winter days.

And don't forget the other love of her life -- her pet. People who own pets consider them part of the family, and always appreciate gifts for them. Try a personalized or rhinestone-studded collar for the dog, or some gourmet cat food for her feline. Dog grooming certificates make a great gift and save time spent on cleaning, brushing, and clipping the nails of pets. If there is a cat or dog show in town, get some tickets for both of you.

If you can cook, make her a romantic dinner complete with wine and candles. Everyone loves to be spoiled and waited on. Baskets of luxury foods and snacks are gifts suitable for everyone.

Last but not least, don't forget flowers! A dozen roses are always romantic, and a tropical bouquet will brighten her home for days. Or buy an attractive potted plant, which lasts longer.

Whatever you do, make sure your gift shows some thought and consideration of her tastes. If possible, don't buy a generic gift suitable for anyone. After all, it's the thought that counts, and you want to demonstrate that you feel she is special and worth some extra effort.

Why diets fail you

Why Diets Fail You.

by

Rob. Jager

This year millions of people will embark upon a diet and fail to lose weight.

The usual response to this failure by the people marketing the diet is to

blame the individual for the failure. This leaves the person feeling

defeated and guilty because of their lack of "will-power"

Blaming the individual also preserves the illusion that diets are an effective

way to lose weight. I think it is time to move the discussion beyond

this "blaming" level and explore the real reasons diets fail.

I will use an example to explain my position.

When most people are presented with something like a chocolate (candy) bar it

is not long before they feel a desire to eat the thing. Most will simply blame

the chocolate for causing the desire. They will then try to battle the craving

with "will-power". Usually they lose this battle and sooner or later give in

and eat the chocolate bar. This "giving-in" often marks the end of the diet.

Now lets look at why this "giving-in" occurred. We know that the cognitive

process that caused the craving to eat the chocolate bar went something like

this; sensory input was received through the appropriate receptors [mainly

eyes in this case] and the mind formed some type of neural or sensory

representation of the object that will be defined as a chocolate bar. We can

regard this process as inescapable. If the sensory receptors are in working

order, the mind must form a representation or neural image of the object.

When a neural image has been formed we have been taught to assign meanings,

from memory, to these images as they occur in the mind. The assignment

of meaning is followed by an emotional response appropriate to the meaning

assigned. In the case of the chocolate bar the meaning assigned included past

memories of pleasant experiences assosciated with eating chocolate bars, hence

the craving to eat this chocolate bar. So really it was not the presence of

the object that will be defined as a chocolate bar that caused the craving,

but the cognitive process outlined.

Specifically it was the assignment of meaning that caused the craving. And

because this assignment of meaning has become totally automatic in most

people, the chocolate bar gets the blame for the craving when in fact it only

had the power to cause the mind to form a meaningless image. For most, the

meaning and image have become "fused", with the meaning now seen as an

inherent part of the neural image itself rather than something assigned from

within the mind. This of course gives the stimulus the power to be the cause

of the response.

Just thinking about or reflecting upon a chocolate bar has the same

effect. A neural image is formed from that reflection and when it has

been formed the cognitive process of automatically assigning meaning to it is

exactly the same as with images caused by the external stimulii. We feel

like a eating the chocolate bar.

This all means of course that every time we are presented with a chocolate bar

or some other desirable food, the mind automatically performs the cognitive

process outlined and creates a desire to eat the delicacy. The continual

emotional responses build up and eventually wear us down. This is the reason

we "give-in" and the diet goes out the window.

My point is then, the only way to reduce our food intake and still feel

comfortable is to modify this process of automatically assigning meaning to

the images that come into our heads. This way we can reduce the desire to eat

unnecessarily and thereby modify our eating behaviour so that we lose weight

and keep it off.

Diets do not supply these techniques and in actual fact they fail the

individual not the other way round as their providers would have you

believe. If changing our behaviour was easy as making a decision to go on a

diet, most of us would have changed many things about ourselves long ago. The

truth is we need techniques that will help us to bring that change about or we

are doomed to failure.

The top 5 sports books of all time

There have been thousands of sports books written throughout the years. Some have been absolute crap and most are mediocre at best, but there are that select few that remain deep-seated in our memories as classics. Below is my Top 5 of all time. There are some popular books missing – either because I don’t think it is as good as everyone else, or because I haven’t read it.

5. Foul Ball, By Jim Bouton - Bouton gives a candid look at a corrupt sports town. All he wants to do is keep a classic stadium alive, but local businesses and politicians oppose him for selfish reasons. They will do what’s right for their businesses regardless of the effects on the community. Beyond sports, their actions also are detrimental to the health and well being of those who live there. It's amazing how greedy and selfish some people can be...and Bouton exposes them ALL.

4. Eight Men Out, By Eliot Asinof - This was a very, very interesting read and that is why I rate it so high. I am absolutely obsessed with the perplexing depth of this scandal. However Asinof presents a TON of evidence about the scandal, so much so that it can be a bit overwhelming. I probably need to go back and read it again to get the whole story down. It reads a lot like a really good history book about the Black Sox.

3. Friday Night Lights, By H. G. Bissinger - One of the things that drives me nuts about Odessa is that H. G. Bissinger wrote a very fair observation of the current state of their town and they treat him like he's the devil to this day. Rather than acknowledge that maybe they shouldn't put so much pressure on their young athletes and that maybe they needed to re-evaluate what is truly important to them, they chose to shoot the messenger. Maybe people shouldn't be taught that the most important thing in the world is a high-school football game. I applaud Bissinger for his efforts.

2. Moneyball, By Michael Lewis - This is an absolutely amazing story about success. The book is far more than baseball - it shows the value of statistical analysis in equalizing and unequal playing field. Like the cover says, it teaches the 'Art of Winning an Unfair Game'. I can't stand narrow minded baseball purists that don't see the value in what Billy Beane does. The man succeeds in spite of nearly insurmountable odds. Who couldn’t learn something from him?

1. Ball Four, By Jim Bouton - This is one of the most entertaining books I've ever read. Who wouldn't enjoy reading stories about Mickey Mantle and his crazy flings? Bouton's stories were so controversial that he was banished from the Yankee community for a long time. He is so honest and down to earth that by the end of the book it feels like Bouton is one of your buddies. All sports fans NEED to read this.

Causes adult acne

What Causes Adult Acne?

Regardless of age, acne is a condition of the sebaceous glands. These glands are attached to hair follicles and produce an oily substance called sebum. An acne lesion forms when a hair follicle becomes plugged with sebum and dead cells. The pathogenic (disease-causing) events in the sebaceous glands are believed to be due in large degree to changes in levels of androgenic (male) hormones in the body—a circumstance usually associated with the growth and development that occurs between the ages of 12 and 21. Therefore, it is important to look for an underlying cause of acne that occurs for the first time in adulthood.

Acne that appears after 25 to 30 years of age occurs for one of these reasons:

1. Recurrence of acne that cleared up after adolescence

2. Flare-up of acne after a period of relative quiet—for example, during pregnancy

3. Occurs for the first time in a person who had never previously had acne.

Acne that appears for the first time in adulthood should be examined by a dermatologist who can investigate the underlying cause. Some causes of adult acne are:

* Medication. Some medications that can induce acne include anabolic steroids (sometimes used illegally by athletes to “bulk up”), some anti-epileptic medications, the anti-tuberculosis drugs isoniazid and rifampin, lithium and iodine-containing medications.

* Chronic physical pressure on the skin. Chafing from the straps of a backpack or tucking a violin between the jaw and chin can cause chronic physical pressure on the skin and may induce a condition known as acne mechanica.

* Chlorinated industrial chemicals. These may induce the occupational skin disorder known as chloracne.

* Metabolic conditions. Changes in the hormonal balance, such as those brought about by pregnancy, menstruation or hormonal abnormalities can induce acne.

It is also important to know that some lesions which appear to be acne are not acne at all. One skin condition that resembles acne is folliculitis, which occurs when the hair follicles become infected and inflamed. Folliculitis requires different treatment than acne.

Acne that occurs in adulthood may be difficult to treat if there are multiple recurrences. Some patients with severe recurrent acne have undergone repeated courses of treatment with the potent systemic drug isotretinoin.

Since adult acne may be difficult to treat, acne that appears for the first time in adulthood should be examined and treated by a dermatologist.

Breast lifts improvement without implants

Gravity is an irresistible force. While it is certainly nice that it keeps us rooted to the planet, it also has a habit of pulling things lower than we might like over time.

Breast Lifts – Improvement Without Implants

Cosmetic breast surgery is one of the more popular areas of plastic surgery. That being said, the controversy surrounding breast implants may make you pause when considering the various enhancement procedures available.

Breast lifts are designed to fight the effects of gravity. The goal of the procedure is to raise and/or reshape sagging breasts. When breast lifts are discussed, most people assume the procedure necessarily includes the use of implants. While it is true that implants can be used in the process, it is equally true that they need not be. Obviously, the choice comes down to the final result you hope to achieve and the advice of your physician. Regardless, it is important to understand that you should not assume a lift requires implants.

Breast lifts without implants can make a major difference in your appearance. One has to be a bit careful discussing the procedure because it tends to be tailored to the specific situation of each patient. That being said, the process typically involves the removal of excess skin combined with the repositioning of the remaining tissues.

In one sense, breast lift surgery is very much an artistic endeavor. The plastic surgeon is essentially acting as a sculptor. As such, you absolutely must make sure you are comfortable with their style and past creations. The best way to do this is to sit down with the surgeon and review before and after pictures from past procedures. This is your body, so do not hesitate to express your opinions and ask questions. The surgeon will not be insulted. To the contrary, he or she would rather have as detailed an understanding as possible of your goal. He or she can then give you an idea of potential, reasonable results.

As Einstein told us, gravity is one of the key forces in the universe. A breast lift can give you the ability to counter that force without dealing with the controversy surrounding implants.

Business ideas for stay at home moms

If you’re like many stay at home moms, you are thinking about starting your own home based business so that you can earn a little extra money to help with family expenses or maybe even to pay for a nice family vacation this year. You’ve probably scanned the usual options: the party plan companies, childcare and house cleaning; and realized that these options either don’t keep you at home or end up invading your home in ways that you just don’t get excited about.

Now it is time to take a good look at what the internet has to offer you.

There is a rich, helpful and idea filled community of work at home moms online who can help you with great ideas for working from home using the internet as your connection.

eBay Business

eBay auctions is always an attractive and flexible option for a stay at home mom. You can get started by cleaning out your closets and selling of the clothes that kids have outgrown. Then if you find you’ve enjoyed the process you can start looking for other products to offer.

Freelance Writing

Freelance writing can be quite lucrative but it’s highly competitive and there’s no guarantee of income from month to month. Still, if you love writing and have a gift for it, it can be a nice side income.

Ghostwriting

Similar to freelancing, ghostwriting is writing for others and letting them claim it as their own. There is a large demand for ghostwriters online where content is king and not every website owner is a good writer.

Virtual Assistant

A VA provides a variety of administrative and technological tasks for others on an hourly or contract basis. The virtual assistant industry has been booming for several years and anyone with strong office skills and some smart business savvy can launch and grow a business.

Of course, if creating your own business doesn’t really appeal to you, there is always telecommuting options that let you work for others on an hourly basis doing things like customer service and telephone work.

It business continuity the top reasons for email outages

Email has become the most pervasive form of business communication, impacting every aspect of every organization: communications between management, employees, prospects, customers, vendors, suppliers, partners, investors, and analysts.

The average email user sends 34 emails and receives 99 emails every day, and overall email use is growing 53% per year. Despite large enterprise investments in replication, mirroring, and tape back up systems, email systems continue to fail. While it is widely known that natural and man-made disasters can lead to email outages, new data shows that email systems are more frequently brought down by technological failures.

MessageOne, a leading provider of email continuity solutions, commissioned this research report to understand the frequency, severity, and cause of email outages in North American corporations using Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes. This research shows that enterprise email systems are prone to a variety of potential breakdowns including SAN (Storage Area Network) failures, improper configuration, losses in network access, database corruption, and viruses. Data from the survey shows that in any given 12-month time period, there is a 75% likelihood of an unplanned email outage and a 14% likelihood of a planned email outage for any given company.

MessageOne recently surveyed its customers -- hundreds of companies serving over 1,000,000 email users -- on email outages during a recent 30 week period. This report analyzes the leading causes of failure with enterprise email systems.

Email Outage Frequency & Duration

Survey results show that in any given 12-month time period, there is a 75% likelihood of an unplanned email outage and a 14% likelihood of a planned email outage in any given company. The length of email outages in the companies surveyed ranged from a minimum of 2 minutes to a maximum of 120 hours with the average email outage being 32.1 hours long.

Responses on Email Outages:

• 29% of outages between 4 and 24 hours in duration

• 28% of outages between 1 and 4 hours

• 26% of outages lasted more than 48 hours

• 17% of outages were between 24 and 48 hours

Causes of Unplanned E-mail Outages

A large majority of email outages were caused by unplanned events, most of which were due to technological failures.

Reasons for Technological Failures:

• 35% were due to server hardware failures, averaging 18.1 hours in outage duration,

• 19% were due to connectivity losses, averaging 27.4 hours,

• 16% were due to SAN failures averaging 25.5 hours, and

• 16% were due to database corruption averaging 9.0 hours in duration.

The majority of these, specifically database corruption and SAN failures, are troubling because they are the most difficult to prevent. Even with expensive mirroring and replication backup solutions, data corruption and SAN failures are often propagated to the mirror or replicated backup server. These failures usually result in long outages as companies resort to incremental tape backups to locate the last backup before the corruption occurred.

Note: While natural disasters accounted for only 14% of unplanned email outages, the average downtime due to such disasters was over 60 hours, meaning these can lead to significant impact on businesses.

Conclusions: Despite Heavy Investment, Email Still Fails

Every day, more and more companies are concluding that email is a mission-critical application worthy of inclusion in a business continuity plan.

Email continuity plans need to be developed that take into account the shortcomings of tape backup and replication/mirroring systems. Solutions should then be deployed that limit dependency on these types of technology and can reduce downtime during any outage. You can learn more about email continuity, email management systems, IT disaster planning and recovery, and business continuity planning.

Campos do jord╤гo brazil

If you want to visit a city with a tipically tempered climate but that is located in the tropics then you should visit Campos do Jordгo in the brazilian state of Sгo Paulo. It is located more or less in between 3 well known capitals of Brazil: Rio de Janeiro, Sгo Paulo and Belo Horizonte. Campos do Jordгo is easy to reach over the highways that connect these cities. As a result, many people visit Campos do Jordгo which makes tourism the main economical activity of the city. In the high season, more than a million people visit this fascinating city which is locally known as the Brazilian Switzerland. The city has numerous inns known as “pousadas” in the Portuguese language and what is considered a first world infrastructure.

The city is located about 1800 meters (approx. 6000 feet) above sea level which and with its moderate climate it can be visited all year long. The “pousadas” are open the whole year and for many Brazilians it is a great place to escape the brazilian hot climate (at lower altitudes) and imagine them selves in a city in Europe.

Campos do Jordгo is located in a mountain range named the “Serra da Mantigueira” and the fauna consist mostly of pines, cascades, flowers, typical of European regions. In a “pousada” in Campos do Jordгo you can have a great vacation, different from the typical Brazilian vacation, without even leaving Brazil.

The fresh climate of the summer makes Campos a great place to stay in the months of december to march, which are the summer months as it is located south of the equator. With temperatures ranging from 18 C to 28 C (64 F to 82 F) Campos is a great escape from the summer heat at lower altitudes.

When searching for a more romantic atmosphere, the autumn is a great season to visit Campos do Jordгo. The local flora and fauna create lots of different tones of colors which are unlike the lower regions of Brazil. For Brazilians it is even a special treat to see the leaves of the trees all over the city on the ground: A great atmosphere for a romantic walk.

For most Brazilians, the winter time is actually the nicest season to visit Campos do Jordгo. Especially because the temperatures in Campos during winter can reach to below freezing, which is a very rare event in any other region in Brazil. Consider that Campos do Jordгo is as far south as Cuba is north you can imagine that freezing temperatures are an attraction in Brazil. Also many festivals are organized in this time of year and many celebrities visit the city, both to take a vacation and to perform.

The spring time brings beautiful surprises to the visitors. The European vegetation shows itself full during this season. Lots of colors, typical to more temperate regions. The city transforms it self unlike any other city in Brazil and again this is a great reason to stay in one the many “pousadas” in Campos do Jordгo.

The best of all worlds - top spas for march

If your idea of a trip to the spa is a pedicure and a facial … you aren’t going to the right spa. From bamboo lemongrass body scrubs to peppermint sea twists, spa treatments are more innovative than ever. Of course you can get straightforward treatments like Swedish massage but then you’ve got holistic treatments like Bio Energetic Transduction Aided Resonance (sound therapy) and Thalassotherapy (water therapy).

In addition to searching for a wide range of standard, as well as progressive, treatment options, our search for the best destination spas went beyond the service menu. The top-notch spas that made the cut each offer a unique spa and vacation experience. Whether you want to wash away impurities in Italy, immerse yourself in spiritual goodness at the Green Valley Spa in the Utah wilderness, unwind at a 19-th century cottage in lush Georgia countryside, or relax in a seaside villa at the Sanibel Harbour Spa, you’ll find what you’re looking for at one of these world-class spas.

While some may think of spas as vegetarian wastelands where strict trainers insist you load up on granola, tofu and wheat-grass juice—the stereotype is a misnomer. The Barnsley Gardens Resort & Spa in Adairsville, Georgia have a beer garden where they serve German beer, sausages and pretzels, while the Masseria San Domenico Resort & Spa serves fresh fish and shellfish from the Adriatic Coast.

Spas that made our list offer something for men and women, like the Carefree Resort & Villas in Carefree, Arizona. Their Men's Facial is specifically designed for men to help prevent or relieve razor burn, ingrown hair, and sensitivity. The treatment also includes a relaxing face, head, neck and shoulder massage (don’t worry; your secret is safe with us). The Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa in Birmingham, Alabama made our list for their amazing spa services and 8,191-yard championship golf course. We also liked the The Hills Health Ranch (don’t get the wrong idea guys; there’s nothing wimpy about hiking in the Canadian wilderness). During the winter, The Hills is a winter ski resort with over 100 miles of community based cross-country ski trails and during the summer, guests use those same trails for hiking and biking. They also have an indoor pool two hydrotherapy pools and cardio weight training equipment.

And in case you were wondering, ever spa on our list offers the utmost in luxurious accommodations—after all, you’re there to get spoiled and pampered.

Ask for professional help when removing bats from your home

Did you know that eating up to 600 mosquitoes each in an hour, bats are the best insect control there is? There is little in nature more invigorating than watching bats flutter about at dusk, occasionally “dive-bombing” the insects that annoy us so much. Even so, very few of us are willing to let bats make their homes in our homes, apartments, or other buildings.

Unlike mice, bats do not chew holes in buildings. They really don’t have to! It takes a space less than an inch wide for a bat to easily come in or out of a building. So holes to the roof or walls are not damage caused by bats. Rather, there are more insidious risks of bats inhabiting our spaces like: the spread of disease, the bat mites and the structural damage (because of their urine and dung).

Ignoring the bat control (humane, live, professional) problem, it will not go away. Bats will not go away. Instead, they will proliferate and cause more damage over the years. Also, it is highly recommend that you avoid handling the bats yourself. If you must, please keep in mind that bats are legally protected! Killing them can result in large fines. Second, two percent of bats carry rabies. Bats mouths and teeth are very small, and a bite mark may not be detected. Any contact with bats should be treated as a possible exposure to rabies. If you exclude them effectively, they will try to find their way back in over the next several nights (be aware of windows that are not properly screened). Bats are persistent, driven by instinct.

Even a professional bat removal (exclusion, extermination, performed by a technician with years of experience, can result in bats ending up inside the building or house. Also, remember some bats do migrate - other species hibernate in their nest. Sealing up your house in late fall after you think they've migrated should only be done if the species has been confidently identified. Otherwise, you and the bats will have a surprise next spring.

The most logical route to go is calling a professional pest control bats company. A professional in this area will know just how to find the holes bats use. He will then get bats out (house, building, school, warehouse, attic) by inserting specially designed “doors” in the holes that allow the bats to leave, but not re-enter. After a few days, when he is sure the bats are all excluded from the building, he will close up all the holes so that the bats (and any other creatures looking for a cozy home) will not be able to enter. At that point, the bat guano clean up (histoplasmosis, danger, toxic, safe, disease) and urine and the control of the bat mites can be completed, making the area available and safe for removal and repair of any damaged property.

It is possible that your local pest control company does some bat work 'on the side'. Bat exclusion is a very specialized niche - much different from regular pest issues. To safely and properly handle bat work, a company must work from ladders and/or manlifts. Knowledge of construction standards and codes is important to prevent sealing up areas incorrectly that allow a building to vent properly.

By calling in a commercial bat control (removal, exclusion) professional, the owner has saved himself the hassle and expense of hiring exterminators, the risk of exposure of his employees to disease, and additional expense of further property devaluation.

In the end, bats are wild, persistent animals. There is no substitute for experience!

Debt consolidation - the pros and cons

Debt consolidation essentiality means taking one loan to pay off all other loans. It's almost always easier to pay off one loan at a lower interest rate or fixed interest rate, than to pay off many at varied rates. Most individuals have a credit card debt, a mortgage, and sometimes a second mortgage to pay off. Now with three loans and three different interest rates, it is far more difficult to manage the payments than to pay off just one loan.

The idea is usually to take a secured loan to pay off the other unsecured loans. A secured loan is obtained against any asset, usually a house. Taking a loan against an asset provides for a lower interest rate as compared to the unsecured loan. This is why most people take loans against their asset to improve their cash flow and reduce the net amount paid to lenders. If the interest rate is lower, the net amount paid to any lender will also be less.

Online debt consolidation:

Debt consolidation can also be done on the internet. Online debt consolidation is getting popular, as the financial data remains safe and confidential. There are many debt calculators and loan calculators available on the internet to help people consolidate their loans.

There are some requirements such as valid income proof, residential proof, and age proof when applying on the internet. Online debt consolidators provide far more data than any other collectors.

Should everyone go for debt consolidation?

Although debt consolidation is a good idea, there is a caveat. One should go for a debt consolidation only when one is sure that he/she will be able to pay off that one single loan in time. Loans like credit cards are unsecured loans, so in case of default nobody can take any physical asset away. In the case of a secured loan, it is entirely possible that default may result in foreclosure of the home, or the lender secures the asset, thereby one could lose a physical property. This is why until one is sure that the secured loan payments can be met, it is essential that no consolidation be done.

In case there is some confusion, a tax advisor or help from a debt consolidation agency may be taken. They may help one decide what the best option is financially. The lenders also provide many experts who can assist in this process. Debt consolidation is a complex process, and a lot depends on the expected future cash income. If done carefully, it can relieve much pressure from debtors. Lenders are also usually cooperative in such instances and much of the interest rates and debt can be negotiated.

This however is the last resort and should not be done habitually. Debts like credit cards can be controlled through careful spending. If such debts are avoided in the nip of time, there will be very little need of debt consolidation.

About acne getting the most from your doctor

There’s nothing trivial about having acne problems. If you are one of the millions that suffer from acne outbreaks, you know that it can be uncomfortable and even sometimes devastating to someone who is seriously afflicted. As you consider treatment options, you may want the professional help of a physician or dermatologist. These highly trained specialists can be invaluable in helping you achieve clear skin again. While they are not magicians who can make your acne disappear overnight, they can be essential in diagnosing and treating you so that you don’t have to suffer any longer than necessary.

It is important to remember a few things when visiting a skin care specialist. Because there are so many people in the world that suffer from acne outbreaks, dermatologists are often very busy with lots of clients. Don’t let this vex you; a doctor is concerned about your condition and wants to help you. Here are some things that you can do to maximize your visit when you see them. Having effective doctor visits will help you overcome your acne sooner and also help you save money and time.

First, don’t be afraid to ask questions about your condition. Remember, we are all different, so a treatment that is highly effective with one person is not necessarily what is going to work for you. Knowledge about the particulars of your condition will help you better understand the condition you are trying to overcome. You may even want to write down any specific questions you may have to make sure you cover all the topics you want to know about.

The most important aspect of having an effective doctor visit is good communication. By keeping some facts or aspects about your condition from the dermatologist, you are only hurting yourself by giving them an incomplete knowledge of the facts. The doctor can only base his diagnosis on what you have told him, so try to be thorough with the details about your acne. Tell them how long your acne has been affecting you, what other treatments you’ve attempted to do before, what worsens your condition, and any other factors that you think may apply. Tell them how your acne is affecting you emotionally and socially, as mental health is synonymous with your physical health.

Once your doctor and you have discussed your condition, make sure that you fully understand what they will be doing in regards to your treatment. Be sure to understand the correct way to apply the treatment, how long the treatment will last, and how long it will be before you begin to see results. Also, be sure and find out if there are any side effects that go along with the use of the treatment; this will help you be better prepared for any occurrences or problems that may arise. Schedule a follow-up appointment with the doctor and discuss what the status of your condition should be when you return. If you are knowledgeable about the treatment and looking for the desired results, you will know sooner whether your current method is working or not.

Remember that there are many treatments available that work better or worse for different people. Don’t be discouraged if the first method you try does not attain the desired results. Be patient and work with your doctor and you will soon be able to find the most effective treatment that is right for you.

Get out of debt with these simple tips

When it comes to debt, you definitely are not alone. Debt has become a way of life especially after major holidays where consumers rack up credit card debt.

Here are simple ways you can keep out and stay out of debt. It involves disciple to follow these steps and get out of debt.

Write down your goals and how you intend to achieve them.

This debt plan will simply state that you are committed to get out of debt. You did not get into debt overnight so there is no instant way of getting out either. However, the correct plan will have you become debt free with some patience and persistence.

Debt reduction program

Most people are not disciplined enough to help themselves get out of debt. This is when you need professional help from debt consolidators and credit counsellors.

Credit counselling

If you are floating in multiple credit card debt, a credit counsellor can help you consolidate multiple high interest rate credit cards into a single manageable payment which means you can use the money saved to pay off your debts faster.

Debt consolidation loan

If you own a home, the best way out might be to consider a home equity loan to pay off your debts. However, be advised that you need to diligently pay off debts and no fall into a downward spiral.

Debt settlement

If none of the above are working for you, consider debt settlement as a resort. Debt settlement is the most aggressive of all resorts and you must only consider if you have bankruptcy in the back of your mind. With this option you will be able to pay off all your credit card bills at savings of 50% or higher and get out of debt faster.

It might additionally help to review your credit report and review items listed in your credit file. Any incorrect entries should be promptly reported to credit agencies.

A brief history of magic

With magic, illusions, spells, tricks and ceremonials are usually performed for entertainment. It is a supernatural power which makes the seemingly impossible occur.

'Looking Back'

In ancient Egypt, there was a magician named Dedi who performed in front of a crowd, where he supposedly beheaded two birds and one ox. He eventually restored the heads of these three animals.

Because of this, the Egyptians were considered to be the first magicians recorded in history.

As the popularity of magic developed, tricks involving cups and balls were shown to the public. Then, playing cards, silver coins and dice were added to their slew of magical tricks.

Later on, ancient Greek magicians invented tricks involving the human body. A trick where a performer thrusts a dagger through one's arm without being hurt has been developed and shown in public places.

The ancient Chinese civilization also paved the way for magic. The "linking rings" is one of the earliest tricks ever invented. To begin with, a number of rings link themselves. The rings are made up of solid metal and the illusion is that they eventually unlink themselves.

'Famous Magicians'

One of the greatest magicians of all time is Harry Houdini. He started as a trapeze performer in the late 1800's and eventually became famous for his magical abilities.

He was an "escape artist" who bonded himself using locks or ropes and eventually extricated himself.

Spanish, Italian, British, French and American magicians presented their acts as magic regained popularity in the 1920's.

'Sawing a Woman in Half'

In 1921, the world first witnessed a magician saw a woman in half. British performer Percy Tibbles cut through a box containing his woman assistant. After the trick, she appeared without a harm.

This trick became even more complicated when the woman assistant was 'operated on' with her hands, head and feet in full view of the audience. The assistant was sawed in half using a power-driven saw, and was later restored without a scratch on her head.

'Reaching a Wider Audience'

Before, magicians only performed in theaters which were open to the public where food and drinks were offered but the magic tricks were performed

without any fee given by the viewers.

By the mid-1900's, they paved the doors for magicians to be 'professional performers' by requiring the public viewers to pay for watching magic shows.

In the 1950's, television was invented so magicians were able to reach an even wider audience spectrum.

During the 70's, Siegfried and Roy re-ignited the interest in magical tricks by making large animals disappear. David Copperfield is also a major player in the field of magicians who offered great entertainment to the viewing public.