One of the best european honeymoon destinations is the villa le scale in capri one of the most romantic hotels in europe

The Villa le Scale on Capri has been often voted as one of the very best European honeymoon destinations, and from my own experience it is not only all of that, it is also in the top 10 romantic hotels in Europe.

Capri in the summer is not for the faint hearted, and the hustle and bustle is quite overwhelming, but the second we went through the gates we were immediately in an oasis of calm and total luxury. I also loved the way the crowds on the street all stopped to look as the gates opened, it made me feel like a film star!!

Greeted with complimentary champagne, snacks, and towels, quickly shown to the Venetian Room, which certainly did not disappoint. It was beautifully furnished with a wonderful terrace, which we were to make great use of during our stay. It also had a Turkish bath which was well used by us.

A nice touch was the complimentary fresh fruit plate, indeed the first of many complimentary offerings we were to receive at the Villa le Scale. Already we could see why this is rated one of the best European honeymoon destinations, and one of the most romantic hotels in Europe.

We had breakfast on the terrace every morning amidst the perfumed jasmine and the gardens. I also had a couple of massages on the terrace-highly recommended!!

Lunch by the pool was another delight, but one of the outstanding memories were the staff who could not have been more helpful.

There are many nice hotels where the staff can be a little churlish when you want to eat out, but not so here, so we were able to enjoy the Aurora for dinner in Capri and da Paolina where you eat under the lemon trees.

Get Marcello to take you on a boat trip so you can swim in the grottos, and explore the island with a chauffered car.

Wait until the evening before you go into Capri, because all the day trippers will have gone, and it will be cooler.

All in all we loved the Villa le Scale, the quality of everything from the food, to the service was unsurpassed. We were made to feel like friends and not like paying guests

Rv insurance

Something you have to consider when buying an RV is the insurance cost, there are many factors which can influence this price. If you know what the insurers are looking for you may be able to get this price to a minimum.

One of these factors is the place you are keeping the RV when not in use. If you were to leave it in Florida during a hurricane season then this may be prone to damage so the insurance company will want to compensate for that. They would do this by charging you a higher premium. It may be beneficial to keep your RV in a different zip code in order to lower your premium, always check beforehand with the person handling your application.

When you apply for the insurance be sure to be 100% truthful as you will only save a few hundred dollars if that and this could cost you thousands in the unfortunate event of a claim. Any discrepancies will make your insurance void and you will be liable for any repairs.

If you register with the RV association you will get many perks from discounted park fees to a discount on your insurance premium which comes in handy. Discuss any memberships with the agent going through your application to see if they make you eligible for discounts.

You can usually set the excess payment you contribute in the event of an accident, the higher the voluntary excess the lower your premium will be. You have to be careful and not get carried away because in the event of an accident there is no alternative, you will have to pay the excess you agreed on signing up to the policy.

Your age and driving history plays a huge factor when it comes to insuring a motor home. If you have had a clean accident free history then you will be able to get a huge discount compared to if you have had an accident in your younger years. Another big factor that every single insurance company will look at is your credit history, if you have defaulted on payments in the past this can make the premium higher as you may seem liable to default again in the near future.

There are many different ways in which you can lower your premium which you should discuss with the agent dealing with your application in order to get the lowest policy possible.

A coffe shop-the perfect business part 2

So you have worked at a couple of neighborhood coffee stores, and worked for at least one of the "chains". You have put a business plan together, and you have even attended some SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) meetings and/or seminars, and now you have found the perfect location.

Before signing your life away, make sure that this location really is good, and that there are no hidden restrictions on advertising or signage. I had one client who opened up a great looking coffee shop opposite a brand new supermarket. However, the township made him take down his sign because it violated some insignificant by-law. His business completely dried-up and he had to close.

Another small, but incredibly important factor, is trash. Who is responsible for its removal, and is the dumpster easily accessible? Find out now, otherwise you may regret it later.

Also find out if you have a monopoly in your shopping area/mall/strip mall/etc. Once again I have a horror story of a small operator who built up a nice trade around an espresso cart situated in a mall. When the mall saw how prosperous the cart was, they leased out a large space to a "chain", and did not renew the cart operator's lease.

I'm being negative with all these stories because I want you to succeed, and if you try to foresee (and solve) problems in advance, your energies can be directed towards producing the finest cappuccino in the hood. And please remember that the great American public does NOT drink espresso, they drink multi-hued and flavoured cappuccinos/lattes.

Quick test - how many "c"s are there in cappuccino?

So now you are the proud lessee of an empty building. But is it really empty? Go find a bug and rodent exterminator before doing anything else! AND NOW, before going out and buying equipment you do not need (but it looks so "neat" and "cool", and the salesman said I would "grow" into it!), decide on your menu. Do not be overly ambitious, and remember that the health and fire inspectors will be watching over your shoulder.

Having decided on your menu, you can now lay-out your store, and start ordering equipment. DO NOT HAVE EQUIPMENT DELIVERED UNTIL YOU ARE READY - it will just get dirty, and may even become damaged. Make sure that you insure the place from the day you sign the lease. And, if you are fitting out in winter, make sure you have heat so that the pipes don't freeze and burst. And of course make sure that your place is accessible to the handicapped. Not only is it socially unconscionable not to make it accessible, it is also against the law.

Well now for the big moment… let's go shopping for an espresso machine. And by the way, I have had clients who have firmly told me that they will need both an espresso machine and a cappuccino machine! Unfortunately my patience usually breaks down at this point.

Do not buy on price alone. Remember the golden points to consider when buying equipment and product:

• PRICE

• QUALITY

• SERVICE

Choose two of the above, and price had better not be one of them. Remember the difference in price between equally featured machines will be less than the cost of a cappuccino per day (when you amortize it over a couple of years).

The first question your friendly neighborhood espresso salesperson should ask is "What size beverages are you going to produce and sell?" The second question is "How many do think you will sell per hour, both in peak times and non-peaktimes?" Those two questions will then determine how big an espresso machine you will require. If anybody tries to sell you anything larger than a two-group machine, move on to the next dealer. Unless you have the espresso concession at Rome's (as in Rome, Italy's main railway station), you won't need anything bigger than a two-group machine.

Try the equipment; check references; and ensure that the equipment seller can properly back up the warranty and has trained service personnel and spare parts. Also, can they lend you a loaner if your equipment needs to be serviced in their shop?

Now what about the coffee? Once again check the references, and taste the coffee (not on your home machine, but from a proper commercial brewer). Nearly all reputable coffee roasters will lend you regular commercial brewing equipment at no cost for as long as you purchase their coffee - but check whether they will give you service for that equipment, and make certain their equipment is reliable. And can your roaster supply all your coffee needs, or must you buy different coffees from different sources? Once again check carefully, and taste, taste, taste.

DON'T FORGET TEA. Remember that 1 in 2 adult red-blooded Americans do NOT drink coffee. Mathematically that approximates to 50%, so do not forget tea (and iced tea for that matter). And of course your flavouring (yes, there is a "U" in flavouring) syrups. Food such as biscotti and muffins are not in my realm of expertise - I only eat them. But use the same criteria for searching out your supplier(s).

Make sure that you have plenty of help and support from loyal and very hardworking spouse(s), relatives and friends, because you will be working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to make the place look good, and to keep it running after it's open.

And most important, find a buyer after 12 months, because you will need the rest!

Online cash advance requirements - so simple you ll fall off your chair

You may have recently heard about online cash advance services and wondered if the rumors of how easy it was to apply for an online cash advance were true. Well they are! Indeed the online cash advance requirements are so simple anyone can apply!

In order to fulfill the online cash advance requirements you will need to have a current job and a valid bank account. Assuming you have both of these, you have just qualified to apply for an online cash advance. The only remaining question is how much you want to borrow. Normally the lender of an online cash advance will provide you with a percentage of your salary - with a minimum borrowed sum of $250 and a maximum amount borrowed being $1,000. b You will not be asked to undergo a credit check and provide you can supply copies of your last pay-slip and bank account, the online application can be completed in less than 30 minutes.

With such simply online cash advance requirements, many borrowers find the service being offered is an ideal way to meet short-term cash-flow problems or to help them pay an unexpected bill. You’ll need to be careful, however, that you do not become dependent on the services of online cash advance lenders as the interest charged is not cheapest way you can borrow. So while the simple online cash advance requirements make this a great way to get out of short-term trouble, don’t make this form of borrowing part of your long-term financial planning.

That said, if you happen to have a bad credit rating then the minimal online cash advance requirements do make this service a god-send when it comes to finding a way to borrow money when no one else is willing to listen to your needs.

Dropshippers wholesalers and your image

If you are thinking about starting your own business, the eternal question of where to get your inventory is probably always on your mind. Doing some research about where to get product always leads you to three options. You either buy it from a wholesaler, you import the items or you have another company drop ship it for you. There is one option here that I did not mention and that is you can also make your own inventory. This option is usually not explored in the first portion of building your business.

So if you are debating between the drop shipper and the wholesaler there is a small discussion you need to have with yourself. Obviously you will want to know if the wholesaler you are thinking about using is really a wholesaler instead of a middle man. The next question is the one that most people miss since they are worried about supply. That question is, “does this supplier sell a product that I want to put my name on?”

When you think of your business you want to build a brand and to build authority. If the product line is questionable in regards to quality, is that something you want to be working with? Most people will only give you one chance since there is so much variety to choose from out there. If you get recognized as a seller with lesser quality items, it will be hard to shake that title. Starting right is crucial. Using well known brands is a good way to circumnavigate those problems. Better known brands have already worked through the glitches of design and have engineered most problems out of the product. It’s hard enough to deal with shipping problems, customers who change their minds, customers who are missing “the common sense” gene and the challenges of marketing, without adding brand or product problems. Leaving that problem out of the equation calms the entrepreneurial spirit. The essence of being in business or starting a business is usually uncertainty and it does not make sense to add more problems to think about.

So now when you are thinking about drop shipping, look and see who your competition is for that particular product. Do your competitors buy from this company? Do they appear to move some volume? Do they have good search engine results? If so chances are they are a good vendor. The same goes with wholesalers, check around. Go to forums and ask some questions. People that have had a bad experience are the first to speak out against a company that did them wrong. It’s usually the only way they can get back at them. You can find out a lot of information without revealing the details or your business plan. Just keep in mind the question of “Do I want this company to represent my good name?” I have a saying that I live by, I never let someone else have control of my success. I cannot and will not let another company make or break me. I would much rather go down in flames because of my own doing that allowing some other vendor ruin all my efforts. I think most people would agree.

Stretch mark treatments - which is best for you

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When you think about Stretch Marks, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Stretch Marks are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Some people think there's nothing that can be done about stretch marks. Once you've got 'em they're here to stay. That turns out not to be true.

First off, many stretch marks just fade over time, making them much less noticeable, and some people can live with them this way. You can also cover them up with makeup made especially for that purpose. For those who want to do better than just covering them up, laser therapy is a promising option. The color of the stretch marks that need treatment will determine the type of laser a surgeon uses. One type stimulates production of cells that make pigment, another reduces the color of stretch marks.

Another type of laser treatment actually stimulates collagen production to restore elasticity in the stretch marks themselves. It is the skin's being stretched past its limit that causes stretch marks in the first place. This can happen when a person grows rapidly such as during puberty. It can also happen when a person gains weight rapidly such as during a pregnancy. The damage is actually done in the skin's middle layer, the dermis. (The skin has three layers: the other two are the outer layer, called the epidermis, and the innermost layer, called the subcutaneous layer.)

Another treatment for stretch marks is blue light therapy, something that can be helpful in treating acne too. It is a combination of gel and light, used to remove stretch marks.

See how much you can learn about Stretch Marks when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don't miss out on the rest of this great information.

An older, low-tech treatment is to use creams to help moisturize skin, repair collagen and elastin growth. They commonly contain combinations of cocoa butter, wheat germ oil, lanolin and vitamin E. But actually, these creams are most effective if used while your skin is being stretched to help keep it soft, supple, smooth and elastic. So prevention is a good idea for those most susceptible to them. If you haven't applied creams while the skin was being stretched, the sooner you begin afterwards, the better.

Who has to worry most about stretch marks? People who are genetically disposed to them, that's who. And it turns out people with darker skin tend to be less susceptible than those with lighter skin.

There isn't one fail-safe, 100 percent way to prevent or eradicate stretch marks, but a combination of some of these therapies will dramatically reduce their appearance or eliminate them. One thing to keep in mind about stretch marks is that they pose absolutely no health risk. They're more of an imperfection than a threat.

stretch mark treatment

Learning to drive and tips on arriving safely

Parents find it hard teaching their kids how to drive. Also, a lot of parents cannot afford to put money out for driving lessons, so they have no choice, but to teach their kids how to drive. Sometimes it's hard for the friend or family member to teach a new driver, because of the lack of patience. Most people should refrain from yelling at their new student. Driving lessons from a recognized school will help calm the nerves.

A lot of parents and or family member pass on bad driving habits. You have take in consideration that your parent or older brother or sister have been driving for quite sometime and may be a safe driver, but have picked up bad driving habits over the years, and is not in tune with the way the examiner has to consider giving you a new drivers license. Rolling stops at stop signs, backing up and looking forward, and not signaling at turns is not going to win you brownie points with your examiner, when you decide to take the road test. The marking may be pretty stern if you have picked up habits that have little or no consideration for pedestrians, or other drivers. Also having too much consideration could be equally as bad to.

Can you picture stopping on a roadway where there is no crosswalk, and you wave a pedestrian across. Now picture this. The car behind you does not realize why you are stopping, and decides to go around you. Can you imagine the potential danger the pedestrian can be in? Do not give the right of way, if it's your right of way! If you do decide to stop and wave anybody across your path, make sure you know what is going on behind and around you. Just remember when you do something out of the ordinary, its for a good reason only.

You’re written exam was not to see how good your memory is, but to be able to apply that memory on the road with knowledge of what street signs mean.

Yellow signs are warnings; white and black signs are regulation signs. Green signs are for tourist, or directional signs. You should always be glancing for these signs at all times. The signs are located on the right side of the roadway. Check for them on every turn and before every curve. You’re chances of you getting caught in a bad situation will escalate if your not paying attention to these signs. Paying attention to these signs will forewarn you of a dangerous curve ahead or a pedestrian crosswalk. Quick glances for signs on the right side of the roadway will increase you’re good driving habits. Glancing from side to side and in your mirrors is very important.

Now how many times did I repeat the word glancing? The most common excuse for a driver in an accident, but officer it happened so fast! The second you turn you’re head to look, is the second the vehicle stops in front of you!

Equally important is being able to register everything and make a decisive decision before you get there. Paying attention to what is happening directly in front of you’re vehicle is of most importance, and knowing what is happening behind you is equally important.

Knowing that driving is a privilege, and can be taken away at any time, is half the battle. I like to think of driving as a long-term game. There are rules and regulations in every game. If you abide by them, driving can be quite enjoyable. The idea of the game is to not hit anybody! Do not let anybody hit you! Defensive driving is what it is called.

The deadliest player in this game is the drinking driver! So report anyone that you see getting in a vehicle intoxicated or weaving in his or her lane. You may save a life or two.

Email marketing the easy way

What is email marketing?

Basically, in plain English, email marketing is a targeted mass mailing done via email. The purpose of email marketing could be advertising in order to recruit new clients, introducing a new set of products or services to an existing client base, keeping your clients informed by means of a newsletter, etc. All of the before mentioned activities are very legitimate business efforts, as long as you respect some unwritten rules and as long as the list of emails you use is what is called 'targeted', in other words the names came from a database generated by your marketing division and represents your existing client base, a carefully selected list of potential prospects or a list of people who opted in to receive your messages.

If instead of the above you use a list that you bought (you know, "25 million guaranteed AOL email addresses for only 19.95 - plus shipping"), or are doing it without warning the people on your list, or using other shady methods, then you are considered a spammer and what you are sending is spam, bulk mail, unsolicited email, basically, the main enemy of all things virtue and life in general. Yes folks, it is that easy to be labeled as a spammer, and very hard to get out of it.

Once your message is considered unsolicited, you will immediately be put on zillions of black lists, side by side with those who promise inches and inches of extra extremities and hours and hours of ecstatic pleasures (for only 3 easy payments and some handling fees).

Sound pretty risky, so why bother?

Obviously, opt-in email advertising is far more cost effective than direct marketing via regular mail, door-to-door sales, or telemarketing. Paper, printing, envelopes, and postage can add up quickly. Door to door sales require paying out commissions. Telemarketing results in high long distance bills, often without great results, as people become more and more blood thirsty toward the people on the other end of the so called cold call.

So why not just use my personal email or my company's mail server and some mailing software?

In the early days of email marketing (that is, before the art of penile enlargement was crafted), that's exactly what people did. They would gather all their emails into some primitive version of a spreadsheet, fire up some mail merging program, hook it up to their corporate mail system and voila, thousands of emails were flying away.

Today, the scenario is certainly possible, but let me tell you in a simple set of scenarios what can happen:

One of the many not-for-profit groups that decided to police the internet will intercept that a large number of emails were generated and sent by a server near you (yep, they can do that). In order to protect the civilized world from those who spread spam, viruses and other vermin, they will put you on a list of threats to humanity. Those other nice corporate folks who were your indented recipients, have an IT department that gets constantly yelled at by angry users who get emails with naked people. Well - Mel, their IT guy decides to put up an anti-spam system that links to that not-for-profit's database of known spammers (oh yeah, did I mention you are now a 'known spammer'?) and block your emails. Your emails might actually be blocked so well that your company will have a real trouble communicating via email and your IT folks will all go nuts and/or get fired.

Basically, not so good. Other things that can happen are: you'll have to build some opt-in / opt-out system, in some states there are laws that require that you make it very easy for your audience to unsubscribe, you'll have a hard time formatting your emails in a decent, eye pleasing way, etc.

Lastly, the process of sending thousands of emails and managing lists, subscribing and unsubscribing people is tedious and just plain annoying. The only way to do it is with a maximum degree of automation, or, the better solution - to outsource to a company that does it professionally.

Folks, I am known for promoting the "do it in house" concept, and am not that big on outsourcing. But when it comes to mass mailing... I say stay away from it and let the professionals do what they do.

If you are worried about cost, know that the fee you pay for email marketing services, will still cost less than the continued overhead and expenses of the traditional options, not to mention the great possibilities of reaching a much larger audience, much faster (practically instantly).

What to look for in an email marketing company?

1. Automating Your Subscribe and Unsubscribe Requests

Many email marketing companies will provide you with exact HTML code you need to paste to your site to have a subscription form on your web site. The better services also provide a link at the bottom of each email that enables subscribers to update their information or unsubscribe from a list, automating everything for you.

2. Personalization of Emails

Another powerful feature of many email marketing services is the ability to use mail merge capabilities to personalize each email that you send. The better services allow to have custom fields, additional to the standard first name and last name.

3. Bounceback email handling

Bouncebacks are emails that are sent to email accounts that no longer exist or are full, blocked, etc. Essentially, you'll get a response stating that your message did not make it. All email list management software programs are able to manage subscribe and unsubscribe requests and send out messages, however without integrated bounceback email handling all the non-deliverable emails will be sent back to you, a rather big nuisance if your list is large. Ideally, the email software you use will be able to manage your bouncebacks for you. Whenever a bounceback is received, the software makes a note of the address and if another bounceback is received the email address will be sent to a list of dead addresses.

This remove capability is extremely important since if you continuously send out emails with many bouncebacks you may be blacklisted as a spammer. This is something you really want to avoid at all cost.

4. HTML email

The ability to send out HTML emails has been around for quite some time. Most email marketing companies support the ability to send out messages that include graphics and formatted text. This is surely something you'll want to look for.

However, not all of your users have the ability to view email messages in HTML format. This percentage is usually between 10-20%. Instead of seeing your aesthetically pleasing email they might see a string of meaningless code. Using most email list management programs, these 10-20% of users will open up emails from you and be very inclined to call you a spammer.

To avoid this, look for companies that use multi-part MIME to send out messages. When you send an HTML email in multi-part MIME, users who do not have the ability to view HTML messages will receive the email in the usual text format.

So who should you use?

Do your homework, read reviews, eventually, make use of a trial account and see if it fits your needs. I currently use Intellicontact (Owned by Broadwick Corporation, a company specialized in software that improves communication efficiency for businesses) - check them out at bsleek. com/emailmarketing - they do everything I told you about in this article, plus more.

Japanese cooking

Do you love Japanese food? The funny thing about Japanese food is that you either love it or you hate it. There is no in-between. And chances are, if you hate it, you probably haven’t really tasted Japanese food yet or haven’t given yourself a chance to sample it enough. Japanese food is hard to appreciate after only one bite. And sometimes, the idea that you are tasting raw food just won’t escape your mind that you are already predisposed to hating Japanese food even before you actually taste it.

Personally, I love Japanese food. There really is no other cuisine like it in the world in terms of its unique taste and presentation. Who would believe that something so raw could be so delicious? For those of you who have not yet discovered the pleasures of Japanese food, allow me to present the following primer.

The standard Japanese meal always involves a bowl of white rice as well as soup and side dishes such as pickles, vegetables, meat and fish. Japanese food is classified by the number of viands or “okazu” that are served with the rice, soup and side dishes. A meal with one okazu is called ichiju-issai and a prime example of this is the traditional Japanese breakfast which consists of miso soup, rice, grilled fish and one pickled vegetable.

The regular Japanese meal usually involves three okazu to go along with the soup, rice and pickles. Traditionally, each of these three okazu are cooked in a different way from the others. They can either be served raw or grilled, simmered, steamed or deep fried.

Another hallmark of Japanese food is seafood, which is the most popular and most widely consumed food in Japan. The most popular dishes include all types of fish as well as shellfish, squid and octopus. Crab is another favorite delicacy and so are whale and seaweed. Despite the fact that Japanese are not heavy meat eaters, you will hardly find any vegetarians among them either probably owing to their deep fashion for seafood. Beef and chicken are also popular among the Japanese.

The dot com era is back

In a recent article titled "Internet use threatens to overtake TV in Canada" it discusses the threat of online marketing to traditional media sources in Canada. This isn't a a threat anymore in the US. It is a fact.

An article written by Thomas Mucha from Business 2.0 says:

People are spending more time online than watching TV, which gives marketers a better chance to reach consumers in a place where they are just one click away from making a purchase. "More than 75 percent of companies using the Internet to advertise report confidence in their return on investment," writes the study's lead author, Jupiter Research senior analyst Gary Stein. This confidence, Stein argues, will sustain spending momentum across all the key online ad areas: paid search, display ads, classified ads, and rich media.

Interesting to note that two studies are similar. Although The Ipsos Reid study of Canada claims radio is losing more interest than TV in Canada, it may soon lose to the Internet as well.

Mr. Mucha claims 40 percent of total spending by 2010 will be paid advertisements on Google, Yahoo and MSN to an estimate of $19 billion per year. Not much wonder why the search engines are trying to dominate each other and the marketplace. The one that becomes the most popular will also make the most money.

What will become of the little guy? Will it put an end to buying keywords for ad placement on search engines? Will the small business owner get shoved out of the picture? Maybe not altogether... but let's face it. If GM decides they want to use the keywords you are using, can you afford to compete? The search engines will be laughing "all the way to the bank" and the cost per clicks will just keeping going up... (he-he) similar to the price of gasoline at the pumps these days.

Even though the cost of clicks may get pricey, the major search engines will always have to index relevant websites and include these results and return them on any keyword search. Professional sites (versus linkfarm, affiliate, spam sites) will always be in favour, and the sooner business can get their company sites built, if they haven't already; the better. Google seems to be the top search engine right now, and new sites often get sandboxed. If they hold on to their dominant position, new websites want to make sure this doesn't happen to them.

I've always felt that there was something Google was doing that gave some sites more relevance than others in its index, but wasn't sure how it was applied. At the Search Engine Strategies conference last week in San Jose, California, Rand Fishkin learned that Google places some new Web sites, "regardless of their merit, or lack thereof, in a sort of probationary category" for six months to a year to "allow time to determine how users react to a new site, who links to it, etc."

On a final piece of advice he suggests:

"Several people have also predicted that Yahoo! or MSN may take up similar techniques to help stop spam. This phenomenon could seriously undermine new SEO/Ms and new campaigns, but it is a possibility. My recommendation is not to discount this possibility and launch projects or at least holding sites and their promotional efforts ASAP. The web environment right now is still relatively friendly to new sites, but will certainly become more competitive and unforgiving with time, no matter what search engine filters exist."

Although it is starting to sound a little like the "Dot Com era is back" it will be a little different this time around. In 2000 when it went bust, it is partly because the percentage of consumers purchasing online didn't justify the amount of spending. There was a lack of confidence. It is different now. Jupiter's study shows that "73 percent of Americans who use the Internet have made a purchase online and four out of five of these potential shoppers have responded to an online ad."

Managing hazardous household waste your roles and responsibilities

It is no secret that the quantity of household waste produced is increasing year after year at an alarming rate and governments are under pressure to expand existing landfills or build new ones to accommodate the waste that is being produced.

What is Hazardous Household Waste?

Household waste is leftover from household goods or products. Hazardous household waste are household products which contain chemicals that has the potential to affect plants, the health of humans and animals and are detrimental to the environment when handled improperly

Improper management of household waste has the potential to be very detrimental to the environment, people and animals. What many of us may not realise is that many of those common household products contain corrosive, toxic or flammable chemicals, that can be hazardous to the environment if not handled or managed properly.

Hazardous household waste should not be disposed of in the same way as regular waste. For example, a gasoline can buried in the ground can affect rivers and find its way into drinking water. The hydrocarbons in motor oils or pesticides have the potential to bio-accumulate in fresh water fishes and can find its way in the food chain. Burning of hazardous waste leads to the release of toxic chemicals and fumes in the air. Once released into the environment these chemicals are dispersed over large areas, thereby affecting the health of persons over a wider area.

Some of these chemicals remain in the systems of plants and animals for a long time and may enter the food chain when the affected plants and animals are consumed.

Bioaccumulation of hazardous compounds in the systems of plants, animals and humans has the potential to affect their reproductive lives, growth, impair the function of various organs such as the liver and kidneys, affect the functioning of the central nervous systems and immune systems of human and animals and some have been listed as known carcinogens.

How Can You Tell a Product is Hazardous?

Read the labels of products. In most countries labels are required for all products. These should provide information on the constituents of the products, including symbols and words to indicate the hazard to animals, humans and the environment if mishandled.

How To Tell If Products Are Hazardous?

Always read the label of products in your household and make it a habit of reading the labels of product before making the decision to purchase them.

What Can You Do to Manage Hazardous Waste?

Purchase Environmentally Friendly Products - Experts agree that, the best way to control waste is to not produce it in the first place. You can start by avoiding the purchase of products that contain chemicals that are harmful to humans, animals and the environment. Purchase those products that are biodegradable or friendly to the environment.

Safe Product Storage - Ensure that hazardous products are stored in a safe place, that their containers are not damaged, do not have any leaks to reduce the risk of contaminating water sources, land, humans, animals, plants and the environment. Ensure that corrosive products like acids are stored in separate areas from other hazardous products.

Check products frequently to ensure that there are no leaks and broken lids or bulging sides.

Always store products in their original containers to avoid unintentional usage.

Ensure that these products are stored in a place where children and animal have no access to them.

Disposal of Products - Disposal of products should always be the last resort. Why? Because there are no safe ways of disposing hazardous waste. You can avoid the dilemma of hazardous waste disposal by either selecting biodegradable products, recycling the product, giving the excess products to friends, neighbours or family or purchasing smaller volumes of the product.

If however disposal is inevitable then you should dispose of the waste in the manner prescribed on the label.

Although there are laws to regulate the handling and use of large quantities of hazardous waste the existence of laws to regulate the typical small quantities generated at the household is non existent. For this reason, the responsibility for the management of hazardous waste falls squarely on the shoulders of the hazardous waste generators.

Protection of the environment can only happen when you play a role in finding creative ways to re-use, recycle or reduce waste. This is essential if we are to safeguard the environment and health of future generations. Remember that Waste Management is Your Business, My Business, Our Business.

Don t spam your ebay customers

The big question is how do you keep in touch with your customers without being accused of spamming or just making them unhappy with all of your emails? There are a couple of easy ways of doing this while building a stronger relastionship with them.

The first way is by doing a series of follow-up emails to your customers. Here is how I have mine setup. First let me tell you that I use eBay’s Blackthrone auction porcessing software. It still has some bugs in it since it is new but I think it may be the best product overall. There are dozens of other services out there that do the same thing. Anyways, using some kind of auction processing software just makes life easier but you can do everything yourself.

I take every chance I get to document each step in the post auction process by notify my customer through email. I send out an email when payment is received, when I ship the item, I wait one week before telling them I posted feedback and two weeks after shipping I send out a survey to make sure the customer was happy.

This whole process keeps my name in front of them for almost one month. You will never get one complaint about spamming but just the opposite. Your customers will thank you for the great communications. Oh yea, I wait until Friday to send out the feedback and survey emails so they will get them just in time for the weekend auctions. Sending these out in the middle of the week won’t get that good of a response.

At the bottom of each of these emails I have three links. Something like this (links are not real):

This weeks current auctions

stores (dot) ebay (dot) com/xxxxx

Join my Newsletter of interesting Postal History Facts

mynewsleter (dot) com

Visit my Postal History Blog

blog (dot) com

I use tracking url’s in my emails so I know how many people click on these links and trust me a lot of them do.

You may have noticed that I also have a newsletter, which is a double opt-in newsletter. This is not the newsletter feature that ebay offers but from a third party service. Of course I also take advantage of the ebay newsletter feature but use it more as a weekly announcement email.

Between the emails and the two newsletters I can reach out to over 500 people each week. For me that really helps kick-start my auctions each week.

Free Power Sellers eCourse

Learn more by contacting Don Schonberg who has 30+ years of technical experience in the corporate world of Information Technology. Now retired from the corporate world, he spends his time marketing on the internet. He is an eBay Power Seller and offers a free 11-lesson Power Sellers ecourse at bestauctionaffiliates. com. His blog, Internet Marketing Made Simple, can be found at donschonberg. com

Hemorrhoid or anal fissure

Hemorrhoid or anal fissure. Either one is a very painful condition. Some people who have anal fissures think their pain is caused by hemorrhoids and some who have hemorrhoids mistakenly think they suffer from an anal fissue. Here we'll try to explain the difference.

An anal fissure is, simply stated, a small tear or cut in the lining of the anus. Anal fissures are generally caused by straining while on the toilet or by constipation. Sometime fissures are related to severe bouts of diarrhea. Fissures can be quite painful, especially during a bowel movement when the fissure is stretched. There will be red blood streaking the stool if you have a fissure.

Over 90% of fissures will heal without surgery. Recommendations to help prevent recurrence are increasing the fiber intake in your diet. This can be best achieved by taking an over the counter fiber supplement. Drink plenty of water to help keep your stools soft. Some take stool softeners, but do not take them for a longer period of time than is suggested by the manufacturer. Warm sitz baths can help ease the pain. Sit in a few inches of warm water for 15 minutes two to three times a day. When you wipe, use a cotton ball or pad soaked in witch hazel. You can buy pre moistened wipes in your drug store. Some who suffer with fissures are prescribed topical cortisone creams. Tylenol and Ibuprofen can help ease the pain.

Hemorrhoids are a very common medical ailment that affect both men and women. A hemorrhoid is an enlarged or swollen anal vein. As with anal fissures, hemorrhoids develop due to bad bathroom habits, such as sitting on the toilet for prolonged periods or straining. You will notice bright red blood with hemorrhoids. You may suffer from internal or external hemorrhoids. Generally internal hemorrhoids, which appear higher up in the anus are not painful, and only cause bleeding. It's when an internal hemorrhoid prolapses, or drops outside of the anus and becomes what is know as an external hemorrhoid that it becomes painful and problematic.

Like anal fissures, hemorrhoid symptoms can be helped by sitz baths, wiping with cotton soaked with witch hazel, taking stool softeners, drinking more water, and increasing the fiber in your diet with a fiber supplement. There are numerous over the counter medications that can help relieve symptoms.

Please remember, not all rectal bleeding is due to hemorrhoids and fissures. If you experience any rectal bleeding it should be checked immediately by a physician.

Seven steps to self discovery - familyvision column

Paula is the most popular girl in high school. Only people who meet the criteria can join her social circle. The school seems to revolve around her. Her rival is Eva who is another snob. Eva hates Paula (and the feeling is mutual). One day Eva follows Paula home, hoping to find some dirt. Finally, Paula arrives at a homeless shelter. Eva becomes unhappy because she feels Paula is performing community service (just another medal on Paula’s chest). However, Eva is startled. Paula enters the food line and takes soup. She then sits her books on the bed and kisses two dirty old bums. Paula glances up and sees Eva. Paula is overcome with fear. One of the dirty bums looks up at Paula and says, “Tell momma who’s your little friend?” Paula gets hysterical.

The Major Question

How are you going to handle another crisis? Do you really understand yourself? If you don’t, how are you going to move forward in your life? These lines of questioning may appear strange until you look around and see people pretending to be something that they are not. In our daily living, online discussions, and seminars, we converse with many people on a very personal level. Some people appear totally together on the outside, but sadly enough, they are decaying on the inside. They are so obsessed with portraying the right public image that they fail to achieve their purpose. Images are the roles people play in life, like actors, to help them jointly co-exist with their personal needs and the demands of society.

Having the right image is natural and a part of you, unlike performing a role on stage. On stage, an actor recites lines, but when a person has the correct image, he or she writes the lines instead. Unfortunately, some people are only interested in what others think of them. Why else would people a) buy cars and homes they can’t afford, b) get in relationships with people they don’t love, c) join organizations that contradict their beliefs, or d) maintain friendships that are quite shallow? Are people really that lost? According to one study, 36% of people surveyed viewed their bodies as the most critical aspect of their self-esteem.

The Focus Point

Understanding how you feel about yourself is key to your success. Self-concept is a combination of beliefs that interpret how you feel about yourself and your environment. These beliefs start when people are children and continued to develop, as they become adults. Brian Tracy, goal-setting expert, says, “Whenever you have a high self-concept, you perform well.” The self-concept has three ingredients: self-ideal, self-image, and self-esteem. First, your self-ideal is a combination of all of the attributes and qualities of people that you most admire (an aunt, father, Michael Jordan, etc.). The self-ideal sets the course for your life. People are always measuring themselves against this model. Secondly, the self-image is the way you see yourself and think about yourself. Lastly, self-esteem is the single most important element that will determine your attitude and personality. Self-esteem is defined, as how much you like yourself. The more you like yourself, accept yourself, and see yourself as a valuable person, the higher your self-esteem will be. Here are some things you should consider:

1. How do I really feel about myself?

2. Do you have a vision of who you want to be?

3. Who am I trying to be like in my life?

4. What image am I portraying to my family & friends?

5. How positive is my self-concept?

6. Am I in negative surroundings? If so, can you change?

7. Are you willing to move toward your vision?

The Move Ahead

Your attitude is a good place to start changing your self-concept. Success begins in the mind. Your self-ideal determines your direction. Your self-image determines the way you will perform. Your self-esteem determines your energy level, motivation, and enthusiasm about life. The more you perform consistently from day-to-day in the way you want to perform, the higher your self-esteem will be. A good attitude provides a positive filter through which you can shield your self-image from all of the negativism. “Doing your best” simply means you recognize that success starts with doing your best with whatever tools God has given you. Start today!

Make money the fast and proven way

You can make money in very easy ways without even having to devote much time or effort. The Internet represents many ways to make money through convenient methods.

Tap into the tremendous potential of the Internet. You can avail some great ways to make money online and if you use them to your advantage, you stand to earn significant revenues every month!

Article writing

Article marketing has become one of the most popular ways to advertise and promote a company’s products online. In fact many companies are more than willing to outsource their work to freelance writers possessing a good flair for writing. If you wish to make money the tried and tested way, then this presents a very good opportunity. You can simply bid on projects online and showcase your work and skills. If you win the project, you can start to make money the fast and easy way. What’s more, with experience you can even command a better pay package. This is a convenient and flexible way to earn good money while sitting in the comfort of your own home!

Set up a website

If you have products to sell or services to offer, you can simply set up your own website on the Internet. Nowadays you can avail many cost effective packages where you can leverage a complete website and hosting service from a single provider. By setting up your own website you can start to make money in a very short time. You just need to optimize your site for attracting more traffic to your website. Then use persuasive tactics and see sales conversion ratios improve by leaps and bounds. What’s more, through this method you can make money by showcasing your products online.

Franchising

If you are new to the world of franchising or haven’t heard about this new wave to hit the market, it’s time you did. Franchising is one of the best ways to make money online – without a lot of the usual hassles. What’s really good about franchising is that you get access to the entire infrastructure, training, support as well as marketing you will ever need. You can then start promoting the products and services of the franchisor without any hassles. Thus unlike starting your own independent business - where you would typically need to run around hunting for advertising and marketing options as well as suppliers - in franchising you have access to all of this as part of the package. Also since you don’t have to invest much initially you can actually make money in very short time spans.

Typing at home

If you have a good speed at typing, you can turn this into a great way to make money off the Internet. You will receive projects from service buyers who will want a certain number of articles to be typed per day. As you complete each project, you can start to earn significant amounts per day!

If you want to learn more, do not hesitate to visit the link attached. You will definitely be satisfied with what you can get from there.

Do i really need an air purifier

With the onset of many lung related diseases like cancer, we can’t help but wonder about how polluted the air we may be breathing at this very moment. Long gone were the days when we savor the fresh air around us. Currently especially in the urban areas, all we smell is the stink of the car exhausts, the stench of smoke and other foul smelling odors all contributing to air pollution that is becoming worse and worse as the days wear on. We might think that we can escape from this problem when we get into the comfort of our homes or offices, away from these bad air elements. But think again, there have been studies indicating that indoor pollution is even considered as one of the five top ranking hazards to public health.

Because we spend a majority of our time in our homes, in our offices or at school, it is understandable why air can easily be contaminated causing a variety of allergies and health related diseases. We, human beings are carriers of these bacteria and viruses and we pass them on to other people who contract these allergies or diseases especially when their immune system is weak.

We can find numerous contaminants abounding in our homes which include but are not limited to bacteria, dusts, household chemicals, smoke from cigarettes, tobacco, candles and fireplaces and molds. When we inhale these bad air elements, it can give rise to diseases, ailments and allergies. In these hard times, we don’t want to be incurring a lot of medical expenses.

You will find that a lot of homes, schools, offices and establishments are having air purifiers. Basically the decision is all in your hands if you feel the need to have one in your very own home or office. The advantages though are numerous. Usually if you begin to experience having frequent rashes on the skin, runny nose, watery eyes or frequent sneezing during the day, you may benefit from having your very own purifier to clean the air inside your home. Purifiers are also beneficial for pet lovers as this will help get rid of the stink and smell of your pets that may linger inside you house. Living with a smoker would also help you eliminate the odor in the air with the help of a purifier. Those suffering from respiratory ailments or asthma could also benefit as well.

Warming-up and stretching routines that have taken the backseat

People exercise or workout for various reasons. Many workout to build their muscles while others exercise to lose some weight and burn excess fat. While exercise indeed has many health benefits, doing them properly is the key to improved overall health. In line with this, warming up and stretching are important in any physical activity. These activities play critical roles in preparing the body for workouts, both physically and mentally. Having proper warm-up and stretching routines before workouts may decrease the chances of developing injuries.

Stretching and warm-up are two different things. A lot of people confuse stretching with the warm-up phase. Stretching is a part of the warm-up routine, but stretching alone is not the warm-up.

The term warm-up is described by many as light-aerobic and cardiovascular activities. Sports specialists believe that the time spent on warming up may improve the level of performance and boost the recovery process needed before training or competition. In addition to these benefits, warms-ups are needed to alter the body from a resting state to an exercise state.

A good warm-up session may prepare the body for workout by increasing the blood flow to the muscles, boosting body temperature, and speeding-up metabolism. A warm-up activity is usually the slower-paced version of the activity that is about to be done. For example, before going for a long jog, warm-up by jogging in place or doing a couple of minutes of light jog.

Warming-up may also do the following:

• increase the heart and respiratory rate

• boost the amount of nutrients and oxygen delivered to the muscles

• prepare the body for a excruciating workout

• make it easier to burn more calories

• extend one's workout routine

A good warm-up session, which is about five to ten minutes works best if followed by stretching. This is done because stretching cold muscles may lead to pulled or torn muscles. Stretching properly may lead to increased range of movements and help prevent injuries by prompting recovery and decreasing muscle soreness. Health experts believe that the possibility of getting injured may decrease if the tendons and muscles are more conditioned.

Stretching is beneficial only when done correctly. Below are some of the things that should be remembered when stretching:

• Stretch only when the muscles are warm or after a warm-up session.

• Breathe deeply through each stretch.

• Listen to your body and know your stretching limitations. Mild tension during every stretch is normal, but do not go beyond the point where too much pain is experienced.

• Hold each stretch for at least ten seconds.

• Stretch slowly and don't bounce. Rapid bouncing may tear and overstretch the muscle fibers and tendons.

• Never stretch forcefully.

Warming up and stretching before and after working out is important in maintaining a healthy body. These workout routines however should be done properly to reap its health benefits. Before starting a fitness program, individuals are encouraged to seek the advice of doctors and other health professionals. They may devise a fitness program and diet appropriate for the health needs of various individuals.

10 tips to reduce your exposure and prevent identity theft

Identity theft is the country's fastest-growing financial crime. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 27.3 million Americans have been victims of identity theft in the past 5 years, including 9.9 million people last year alone. Some ways to prevent becoming a victim could include avoid using credit cards or debit cards, stop filling out more credit applications, and cancel all of your credit cards. But the fact is that most exposure to identity theft is beyond your control, because there is still enough information about you and your finances floating around out there for identity thieves to put their hands on. Here are some tips to reduce your exposure and prevent identity theft:

1 - Make It As Difficult As Possible For The Thief.

Most Identity thieves aren't dedicated, but opportunistic creatures. If they come across any difficulty in getting your information, they will move on to the next potential victim. Keep your documents under lock and key. Don’t make it easy for a repairman or a guest in your house to walk off with your checkbook or some of your important files. Don’t fool yourself, you don't have to be rich or have a high credit score to have your identity stolen. Some identity thieves say that middle-class folks make the best targets, because they pay less attention to their finances than wealthy individuals.

2- Monitor Your Credit Report Constantly.

The first hint that you might have become a victim is a suspicious entry on your credit report. Experts recommend that you review your credit report twice a year or more.

3 - Buy a Paper Shredder.

Papers and documents that include personal financial information or your social security number must be shredded before is sent to the trash.

4 - Ask About Business Shredding Policies.

When required to give personal financial information, ask if the business has a shredding policy in place. Financial institutions, tax preparers, and companies with medical information should all be able to shred copies of your documents or have you come and pick them up, so you can do it yourself.

5 - Don’t Give Out Your Social Security Number.

Only Employers, IRS, DMV, Social Security Administration and certain Financial Institutions and Insurers that use your SSN to run credit checks to determine your premiums should be allowed to have this nine-digit number. When asked for your SSN as proof that you are who you say you are, give them only the last four digits.

6 - Protect Your Incoming and Outgoing Mail.

Get a Locking Mailbox. Many identity thieves simply follow the mail man around and grab what they can from unprotected mailboxes. Consider using the nearest post office to send all your mail, rather than leaving it out where anyone can take it. Or sign up for a secure online bill-paying service.

7 - Always Keep an Eye on Your Debit Card.

Just like a credit card, your ATM card can be used without punching in a personal identification number. The banks won’t hold you responsible for fraud using VISA or MasterCard logo cards but a thief can quickly empty your bank account and could be days until the bank can restore the stolen cash. Use a credit card when paying a restaurant bill or anywhere you won’t be able to monitor the actual transaction.

8 - Be Wary of Phone Solicitors and E-mails.

Don’t give out sensitive information by phone or email to requests purporting to be from financial institutions, unless you initiated contact or really thrust the institution. Criminals are using a technique called “phishing,” which uses an email claiming to be from your Bank and that redirects you to a look-alike website where you are asked to input your account numbers. When contacted this way, do not reply to the email and only call the Bank’s 1-800 number from your statement for communication.

9 - Monitor Your Social Security Statements.

Make sure you are being credited for all the taxes you have paid into the system. Missing earnings or earnings that are not yours can be an indication of fraud. Call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 if there are any discrepancies.

10 - Carry Only the Necessary in Your Wallet.

Do not carry your Social Security Number in your wallet and only a few credit and debit cards should be in it. In case you have your wallet stolen, grab your cell or the nearest phone immediately and call to cancel your most important credit cards such as 1-800-VISA911 and 1-800-MASTERCARD. Also, make a photocopy of all your cards and your driver’s license. This will make it easier to report the thefts and get them replaced.

How not to lose your shirt trading forex

I’m going to be 100% honest with you and tell you the following before you consider trading currencies:

1. All forex traders, and I mean all traders lose money on trades. Ninety percent of traders lose money, largely due to lack of planning and training and having poor money management rules.

2. Trading forex is not for the unemployed, those on low incomes, who can't afford to pay their electricity bill or afford to eat. You should have at least $5,000 of trading capital (in a mini-account) that you can afford to lose. Don’t expect to start an account with a few hundred dollars and expect to become a kazillionaire.

The foreign exchange market is one of most popular markets for speculation, due to its enormous size, liquidity and tendency for currencies to move in strong trends. You would think traders all over the world would make a killing, but success has been limited to very small percentage of traders.

Many traders come with false hope of making a gazillion bucks, but in reality lack the discipline required for trading. Most people usually lack the discipline to stick to a diet or to go to the gym three times a week. If you can't even do that, how do you think you're going to succeed trading?

Short term trading is not an amateur's game and is rarely the path for quick riches. You can't make gigantic profits without taking gigantic risks. A trading strategy that involves taking a massive degree of risk means suffering inconsistent trading performance and often suffering large losses. A trader who does this probably doesn’t even have a trading strategy - unless you call gambling a trading strategy!

Forex Trading is not a Get-Rich-Quick Scheme!

Forex trading is a SKILL that takes TIME to learn. Skilled traders can and do make money in this field. However like any other occupation or career, success doesn’t just happen overnight.

Forex trading isn’t a piece of cake as some people would like you to believe. Think about it, if it was, everyone would already be gazillionaires. The truth is even expert traders with years of experience still encounter periodic losses. Drill this in your head: there are no shortcuts to forex trading, it takes lots and lots of time to master.

There is no substitute for hard work and diligence. Practice trading on a demo account and pretend the virtual money is your own real money.

Do not open a live trading account until you are trading profitably on a demo account.

If you can't wait until you're profitable on a demo account. at least demo trade for 2 months. If you can't hold out for 2 months, cut your hands off.

Concentrate on 1 major currency pair.

It gets far too complicated to keep tabs on more than one currency pair when you first start trading. Stick with one of the majors because the spreads are the best and they are the most liquid.

You can be a winner at currency trading, but as in all other aspects of life, it will take hard work, dedication, a little luck, a lot of common sense, and an abundance of good judgment.

About the airsoft gun m84

The airsoft gun M84is a good example of a gas powered pistol that is built with quality. Using a .177 BB and weighing about 1.6 pounds it is a solid gun that feels good in the hand. Many people who are unfamiliar with the pistol version of the airsoft gun m84 will find that it is a great idea and is becoming popular in the airsoft market. For a beginner, it may be a little hard to aim being a hand gun but the CO2 gives the airsoft gun m84 better accuracy than it would if it was purely spring loaded or air pumped.

The airsoft gun m84 is built to one to one scale. It comes in gun metal black and costs in the neighborhood of seventy dollars. It may take some time to get used to but it is able to shoot the BBs at four hundred feet per second which with a lot of use can become more aimable and accurate. As with all airsoft guns, it must have an orange tip. This is a federal law that is in place to protect teens and children that have one. Without the orange tip the gun looks real and there have been instances where a police officer has shot and killed teens thinking that he was defending himself.

Airsoft Gun M84 Uses

Most people who buy the airsoft gun m84 will shoot targets and cans. It can be used for shooting gophers and other small rodents where there is a healthy population of rodents. In the American west, states like Montana and Wyoming have large areas for shooting without other people being in danger. Most people like the rifles because of the better accuracy, but using the airsoft gun m84 is definitely challenging to say the least.

The airsoft gun m84 is shippable so if people are looking to purchase this gun, it can be delivered to a home address. The address must be verifiable to the credit card address and the item cannot be shipped to a PO Box address. Each shipment must be signed for and cannot just be left in a mailbox or on the floor at the door. The airsoft gun m84 is a reliable shooter and will bring years of fun as it will stand up to much use. The new buyer should not become frustrated with the beginning accuracy. Over time it will become one of the most favored guns that a person uses. It will be a real head turner when it is mastered.

Rock hard abs do you have what it takes

If your abs look good, your whole body looks good. Having Big arms and chest is one thing but having rock hard defined abs is so another.

Everyone knows that nothing turns heads like a defined full set of abs. And hey, chicks love em. What more needs to be said.

Contrary to popular belief, the abs or Rectus Abdominis is really only one muscle. It stretches from the top of your pelvis up to your ribcage. The "six-pack" as it is called is merely sections of this one muscle.

Dispelling the Ab Myths:

The action of any muscle is simply to contract. And as you can't contract half your bicep or quad, it makes sense that you cannot contract half your abs as well. Therefore the myths about "upper ab" and "lower ab" training are total nonsense. I'm not discounting those training methods but the simple fact is that if you can't see your lower abs, it just means you've got fat covering them, not that you need to work them harder.

Say goodbye to hanging knee-raises, straight-leg raises, and any other type of leg raises for building your abs. They simply don't work. The primary role of your abs is to stabilize your body. When you raise your leg for example, your hip flexors pull on your spine and arch it forward/downward. Your abs stabilize this action by resisting and essentially keeping your back from breaking. Take note that this is the static action of the abs. It doesn't build or strengthen. Leg raising exercises only feel like they are effectively working your abs because of the repeated strain and exhaustion of your muscle producing catabolic, lactic acid build up. Search for "lactic acid" at muscle-body. com for more information.

What Really Works:

What does strengthen your abs is what strengthens any other muscle in your body. Contraction! In this case - Decreasing the distance between your rib cage and your pelvis.

So we come back to the good old sit-up. But there are a few things to keep in mind.

Firstly, forget about the cool all-the-way-up sit-ups you see in the movies. Your abs are fully contracted when your shoulders are about 5 to 6 inches off the ground. So don't bother trying to impress or outperform someone by touching your elbows to your knees. It does nothing for you. Crunches as they are sometimes called are the way to go.

Secondly, don't wedge your feet under something to help you get up. You don't need to do this if you are doing crunches properly anyway. Your legs should be at 90 degrees to each other and your knees at 45 degrees to your waist. If you need to, use something to press your heels back against to stabilize yourself. This way you will use your hamstrings instead of your hip flexors which will keep the focus on your abs.

Thirdly, keep your hands lightly held against the side of your head or crossed on your chest. Don't clasp them together behind your head or neck. If you do you will be tempted to pull with your hands to get the last few reps out, which will put unnecessary strain on this fragile part of the spine.

Alternative:

Another good exercise for abs is kneeling crunches. You will need special equipment to perform this exercise. This is where you kneel and contract your abs so that your upper body arches forward/downward. You hold a rope attached to a pulley with weights for extra resistance. Most gyms will have a rope attachment to the triceps pull down to perform this exercise. The idea is to lock your arms against your upper body so that you pull down only with your abs and not your arms.

Ab Training Devices:

In 2 words - Forget it.

You don't need them. Most of them do nothing for you. Building muscle is hard and it hurts. Most of these devices are designed to take the pressure off your body making the exercise seem easy and con you into thinking you are really targeting your muscles. Don't believe the hype. Ab training is definitely hard work but definitely worth it's reward.

The Secret:

The difficulty in obtaining great abs is not so much building the muscle. It's cutting enough fat from your body for them to show. You probably know by now that spot-reduction of fat simply doesn't work here. In order to show those abs you need overall fat loss. Check out muscle-guide. com for more info.

Why use water filters

Are you a hundred percent sure that the water you drink is potable and safe and does not contain harmful substances? No one who uses water from the generally available water system can answer this question affirmatively except of course if he has devised a method to purify his water supply.

The United States Drinking Water Act provides for the issuance of reports on the quality of water in a certain area every year. The report must be provided to all consumers. These reports can be helpful in determining the current status of an area’s water system. However, most cities actually comply with the federal rules on water safety so nothing much can be gleamed form that report. While there is a low level of carcinogen in drinking water, experts believe that there may be a link to the low carcinogen level in water to the increasing number of people getting cancer.

Fear of the quality and contents of water being distributed by their own water systems has led to the growth of businesses related to water treatment. While water companies used to get their bread and butter from selling water equipment that can get rid of mineral contents, their business has grown to great proportions in the last twenty five years. Most of these companies are now selling systems specifically targeted and used for treating water and improving water taste. The demand for water treatment and improvement is expected to grow even rapidly in the next few years with water treatment facilities becoming a common household item.

Water can give life but it can also taste bad. With this realization, people are becoming more concerned about ways and means to improve their water supply to improve taste. Proof of this is the massive growth of the bottled water industry.

Most water systems rely on chlorinated water for both drinking and bathing use. However, there are sectors who believe that the use of chlorinated water can cause itching and loss of natural oils in the skin. It can also rid the body of useful bacteria that can defend the skin against skin diseases. Most drinking water shows a chlorine residue level of more than 1.5 ppm, the recommended chlorine level for swimming pools.

To make sure that their water is safe, people opt for water filter devices. Water filters can be expensive at first glance but it is really cost effective in the long term depending on the kind of water filter that you purchase. There are water filters that can be used without using electricity and without much need for parts replacement. There are portable water filter systems that can be easily attached to your home faucets.

If you have a budget, then opt for a centralized water filter system for the entire home. This type of water filter system filters all water that is being used in your home, whether for drinking or bathing.

Price can be an issue when choosing the best water filter device for your home use. However, when you think of the possible benefits your family can get from filtered water, it makes the cost of installing one the best option.

Student loans for those with bad credit

When it comes time for you to start college, you really do not want your bad credit to get in the way. The good news, too, is that it does not have to. You still have access to a number of loans - and at reasonable rates. Here is some information to tell you about what kind of student loans are available to you.

One thing that should help you to relax some is that a number of available college loans from the government do not even look at your credit rating. They tend to make the assumption that applicants are fresh out of high school and have not had any time to even think about their credit rating - let alone build a decent one. One of these is the Stafford loan, which allows anyone to apply.

The Stafford loans come in two different types - subsidized and unsubsidized. The subsidized version of this loan is based entirely on the need the student has for that year. If you get the loan, you must also apply each year that you need the benefits. One nice thing about this loan is that it pays your interest while you are in school. The unsubsidized version is available to any student - regardless of your need.

Another Federal loan that does not require good credit is the Perkins loan. This loan is made available to students through their entire college years. It can be provide amounts up to $4,000 per year, for a total of $20,000.

Both of these loan programs should be looked at before you look anywhere else. When it comes to interest, any Federal loan program will be lower than anywhere else. This means it will provide you with the most savings over the years that it will take to pay it back.

One school loan that could also help you to subsidize that education, even if you have bad credit, is an OSL loan. These private loans are more expensive than the Federal schools loans, but remain less expensive than your more standard traditional personal loans. They are not backed by the Government, but at the same time, will give a higher percentage toward your education goals than the Federal loans.

Another way to get a loan for your education, even though you have bad credit, is to get a PLUS program. This loan actually needs to be made by the parents of the student. Since the student is not actually applying, the basis of the interest rating will be on that of the parents and not on the bad credit of the student.

Other loans are available to those with bad credit. Some of these will apply to the special field of education, such as medical, etc., which can be obtained as personal loans. When it comes to getting any other kind of loan, other than Federal, be sure to do some comparing to see which one is the best. In many cases, it will be necessary to get loans from different sources in order to complete your education.

Pilot training getting in the air

If flying is something that you have dreamed about, then pilot training can and should be part of your future. This type of learning is one of the most exciting because it takes individuals to places that they could never be otherwise. Being in control of a plane is something that is amazing, a feeling that is truly unmatched. If you are interested in pilot training, strap in and start learning first about how it will work.

There are several opportunities available in pilot training. Some of these options include programs that certify you to become a private, commercial or airline transport pilot. These are exciting careers that can have you spending your working hours each day high above the ground. For many, this has been a dream in the making that they have dreamt about for years and years.

But, what happens now that you know you want to get a pilot training? You will want to choose the right pilot training school. To do this, you'll want to focus on finding a school in the right area. If you have the option to choose anywhere, consider locations that have good weather conditions for most of the year. This will help you to get your hours of flying training in as quick as possible.

Next, you'll find yourself learning. The first step in training for pilots is to do the book work. You'lll find yourself learning about all sorts of things from how and why a plane works to how to manage a crisis in the air. From there, you'll be able to use flight simulators to help teach you what you should be doing while you are safely on the ground. Some of these simulators are amazing in that they are actually the size and feel of the cockpit. The final stop, of course, in pilot training is getting off the ground and into the air. You will be amazed at how wonderful it can be to get up in the sky. You will spend anywhere from 1500 to 20,000 hours of pilot training in the skies.

Tips to help make your tournament plan a resounding success

Planning a golf tournament? Here are some tips to help you.

1. Select a good golf course and facilities that can accommodate all the needs that you have and make sure that their staff employees are likewise accommodating. Check with the employees and ensure that you tell them what you need and what you want to happen, especially if you plan on having an awards or some sort of ceremonies after the tournament. This is also the time you should think of the number of golfers that you would allow to compete. You may want to check the staff recommendations, especially if they have a record of golf tournaments in their place.

2. It might be great if you make an information brochure explaining and advertising the tournament in a clear and concise manner, with a format that is easy and relaxing to read. Put in a concise registration form along with the brochure.

3. You should not forget about getting tournament sponsors. Order early the course signage. It might take some time in getting all the logos you need for printing. Be sure that the tournament sponsors you got have first approved the publication materials before taking them for printing. Many tournament sponsors have very strict specifications about the use of their logos and expect you to follow the guidelines that they have.

4. Consider the goodie bags or giveaways in the tournament. You could give shirts, tees, hats, balls, among others. You could also keep a supply of sunscreen packets and bottled water. If you are giving awards, you should order the trophies early.

5. You can buy a database (or design if you can do one) for the registration process in helping you track the players you have as well as the team pairings.

6. Make sure that the golf staff is recognized easily. They should be easily distinguished with a special hat or golf shirt.

7. Do a short checklist of the things you need to finish or accomplish in preparation for your tournament. Try to do everything as early as possible.

8. Inform the players of the rules and requirements of the system. Make sure that they do have the necessary equipment or tools for play, such as score cards, balls, tees, among others.

9. Make sure that there is proper and enough nourishment at the tournament. There should be enough food and drinks available in the various points around and on the course.

10. Prepare for worst-case scenarios like course problems, injuries, etc.

Swansea city guide including swansea hotels

Swansea is located in the heart of Swansea Bay, one of Wales’ most beautiful regions, with landscapes incorporating sandy beaches, waterfalls, rolling countryside and deep valleys. Swansea itself is the second largest city in Wales, and a highly popular tourist destination, widely known for providing excellent shopping facilities and plenty of things to do.

Places of interest

Swansea has a diverse array of places to visit. The many attractions found in and around the city are designed to give the tourist and casual visitor a wide range of things to experience – whether you want to get back to nature and enjoy the picturesque parks, learn more about the region’s history, or simply enjoy some of the city’s exciting culture. A small selection of places to visit includes:

Swansea Bay. This sandy beach stretches out for five full miles and is additionally within walking distance of the city centre. Choose a romantic stroll on the beach, or if you’re feeling adventurous, pick from the rollerblading and cycling activities on offer.

Swansea Museum. Over 160 years old, the museum is home to collections of art, ceramics and Egyptology, whilst the history of the city is presented in a way to engage and entertain every visitor.

The Dylan Thomas Centre. Learn about the famous Welsh poet at this permanent exhibition, which offers a yearly programme of events and a festival every year in the autumn.

Gower Heritage Centre. This rural museum offers something really special – a working, twelfth century corn and saw mill. There are lots of activities for the kids to take part in, from craft-making and puppet theatres, to animals and play areas.

Plantasia. You’ll discover this gigantic hothouse right in the centre of Swansea – and be prepared to undertake a voyage of discovery, as you witness exotic flora and fauna in tropical, humid conditions. A perfect place to visit, whatever the weather!

Things to do

When it comes to activities, Swansea has it covered. When you’ve finished shopping – and with hundreds of shops to browse, it’ll take you a while – then you can choose from lots of exciting things to do, like the following:

Rainbow Sailing School. Enjoy a taster day and sail around the Gower coast with an experienced guide.

Breakout Adventure. If outdoor adventure’s your thing, then choose from a selection including canoeing, surfing and climbing.

Clyne Gardens. If you have a love for nature then you’ll enjoy the many delights to be found in these beautiful gardens; come and see water features, the bog garden and more.

The Chocolate Factory. This working factory gives visitors a chance to take a tour and see how chocolate is produced, with sampling at every opportunity.

1940’s Swansea Bay. This recreation provides an authentic experience of life during WWII, and brings new meaning to the phrase ‘living history’. Take part in an air raid; try living on rations, and more.

Food & Drink

If it’s food and drink you’re after, you’ll find that Swansea offers a selection of choice restaurants and eateries, with something provided for every taste. Both traditional Welsh fare and seafood are specialities, but the city is also home to many restaurants serving international recipes, so you have plenty to choose from. There are also dozens of cafes and takeaways if you’re not looking for the full wining-and-dining experience. Some of the finest eateries include:

Abernethy’s. Located in the Maritime Quarter, this restaurant serves up Welsh dishes as well as international favourites. There’s also a leisure area nearby which enables you to work off your food.

Bizzie Lizzie’s Bistro & Restaurant. If you’re looking for traditional Welsh meals then this is the place to come. There are many specialities and vegetarian dishes to choose from.

Bouchon de Rossi. A restaurant offering plenty of French cuisine, located right in the heart of Swansea’s city centre. Choose from salads, crepes and more.

Eleo’s Brasserie. If you’re a fan of European food then this restaurant is a great place to visit. Spanish and Portuguese meals are made on the spot, and there’s a wide variety of wine to choose from to compliment your meal.

Gallini’s. As a coastal city, Swansea is noted for its fine fish and Gallini’s is the perfect place to sample it. Italian dishes are also available, and the restaurant offers pleasing views of the Marina whilst you eat.

Hotels & Accommodations

Swansea is a popular tourist destination and there are plenty of places where you can find accommodation. Many of the hotels are on the seafront and offer a combination of great prices with friendly atmospheres. Stunning sea views are something you’ll quickly become used to during your stay. Alternatively, if you look a little further inland, you’ll find many unique family-run guesthouses and inns that offer home-cooking and comfortable rooms. Other alternatives include self-catering, including bay apartments; many campsites and caravan parks; hostels and more.

Entertainment

If you want to be entertained during your stay in Swansea, you’ll discover numerous venues all offering a diverse range of entertainments. For instance, the Swansea Grand Theatre regularly offers a programme including ballet, drama, music and opera, as well as something for the kids. If it’s nightlife you’re looking for, then you’re advised to take a trip to the Wind Street area, which is known as the liveliest in the city! Here you’ll discover numerous restaurants, pubs, clubs and bars, and plenty of live entertainment just waiting to be enjoyed.

Swansea is one of those places that people keep coming back to, time after time. The Welsh Tourist Board is keen to attract visitors and has, in recent years, spent Ј30 million on developing a new attraction, the National Waterfront Museum. Meanwhile, your visit to the city would be amiss without a trip to the indoor market, where you can choose from fresh fish and local delicacies, as well as purchase all the souvenirs and unique gifts that you could ever want. With stunning scenery and lots of interesting attractions, Swansea is one place you’ll want to discover for yourself.

Why you should refinance your credit card

Getting the Right Rate Can Save YOU Thousands

A credit card debt can be like the worst sort of trap. Like a wound that won’t heal, a monthly minimum payment – with ceaseless regularity and endless strain on your budget – leaves your account. It’s to pay for the Christmas shopping, or the last July 4th party, or your holiday two years ago. You don’t know; frankly you care less – you just want to see it gone. But when your next statement arrives, the hole your minimum payment should have burned in your debt is no smaller – the sore remains unclosed.

Is this situation familiar? Is it you?

If it is, you’ve not heard the worst of it yet. The way that credit card companies exist and thrive is by exploiting your debt burden. They’ll lend and lend and lend, until you get to the point that the most you can pay back each month is the minimum payment – usually around 2.5 per cent of the balance. The problem with this is that they hit you with a load of interest, sometimes amounting to 2 per cent of the balance. If only one half of a per cent is being paid back it doesn’t take much math to figure out the amount of time it could take you to pay back your debts.

In fact, if you’re paying repayment insurance, in some instances you can pay back less than the amount of debt accumulating.

It’s a horrible, self-perpetuating cycle of hemorrhaging money, but the good news is twofold.

First off, you’re not alone. Thousands upon thousands of decent, hard-working Americans are in this position through no fault of their own but necessity and the demands of modern living.

Secondly, if you’re stuck in this horrible cycle of bleeding money, the chances are that it can be at least partially redressed. Many Americans have – and still do – unwittingly signed up to credit card deals that are uncompetitive, over-priced and unnecessarily expensive. What many don’t realize, is that simply because you have pledged allegiance to a particular credit card company doesn’t mean to say that you are stuck with them for life. There’s a way out that can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars a year and help you pay off your debt burden more quickly.

Transferring the balance of your credit card to another one is a way of paying off your existing debt with a new credit card that you take on at a cheaper rate. In many cases this can be set at 0 per cent for a period of a number of months, before reverting to a higher rate. By switching to such a card – and then another at the end of the interest free term, and maybe even another after that, it gives you a clear run at reducing your debt, without it spiraling ever further upwards. Even if you’re still only paying 2.5 per cent off the balance a month, far better to do that than knocking off one half of a per cent, or less.

By bundling up the old expensive credit card debt, getting rid of it, then paying back the new credit card at a lower rate, you can save countless dollars each month. You can save even more money by paying a bit more each month, thus clearing the debt in a shorter time. By doing this you’ll free up more dollars further down the line enabling you to spend them on something really nice.

Unfortunately, 0% deals are not always available to all customers. If you’ve got a credit rating that’s in some way below scratch, it is probably unlikely that a 0% credit card will be made available to you. It’s a sad fact of finance that the best deals seem to always be available for those who need them the least.

That said, there are a number of other excellent credit cards on the market through which you can save many dollars. Even if a balance transfer rate is as high as 10 or 12 per cent, if you’re paying upwards of 20 per cent on your existing deal then you’re clearly going to save a stack of money – even if it’s not as much as you might have liked.

If you’re concerned about how much you’re paying each month on your credit card repayment it certainly pays to check out your existing interest rates and compare them to some of the balance transfer rates available at competitors: it’s almost a certainty that you’ll save yourself more than a few dollars.

Even if you’re not worried about your existing credit card deal, it’s worth checking out the market to see if you can get a better deal. Complacency doesn’t pay, but a bit of awareness can save you a lot.

Using vitamins supplements as a treatment

Vitamin supplement or supplements are very important for us since if we do not consume enough vitamins required for our bodies, the vitamin supplement will fill in for the shortage of the quantity of vitamins in our system.

Neverthless, a efficient diet supported on foods with richly density of vitamins is always a more advisable solution than supplements. But when a diet is not adequate, dietary supplement vitamin could be the solution.

Nutrient content claims for dietetical supplement vitamin describe the level of extraordinary case of vitamin or vitamins in that supplement. For instance, accordant to several health organizations, a dietetical supplement vitamin with at least twelve milligrams per portion of vitamin C could deliver the following stated on its label: "Excellent source of vitamin C."

To make the decision less complicated there are now a lots of multi vitamin supplements produced for unique people. For instance, there are multi vitamin supplements that are planned for children. These multi vitamin supplements carries the unique nutrients that children demand for them to grow and acquire properly. Pregnant women have unique nutrient requirements to ensure that their baby receives the essential nutrients and there are multi vitamin supplements prepared for pregnant women.

The laws governing the sale of drugs have led to many companies diversifying their businesses to concentrate on selling vitamin supplements. This has been one of the main reasons for the appearance of a number of internet based businesses selling a wide variety of vitamin supplements.

Vitamin supplements are available in a number of different forms, including capsules, tabs, liquids, and even chewable tabs. In addition, there is a great variety in the brands and the true content of the vitamin supplements. Do some search and find out what these vitamin supplements carries. Pay attention to doses, ingredients, safety precautions, and other authorative information. Buy the right supplement for you, and when in doubt, refer a physician or your health professional before ingesting any vitamin supplements.

This means that whatever we don't need at any given time is stored in our bodies. Diet pills containing vitamin A is one such vitamin. In fact, Arctic explorers once went blind and then died from vitamin A toxicity. It seems polar bear liver contains toxic levels of vitamin A and while this is an important vitamin for our eyes, too much of it can cause blindness and even death. It is important to note, however, that too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing.

Irs lock-in letters what s an employer to do

Employers often ask employees to designate the amount of tax withholdings for paychecks. Occasionally, employees will fail to withhold a sufficient amount in the eyes of the IRS. The IRS will then send a “lock-in” letter on the amount to be withheld. What’s an employer to do?

Withholdings

Four taxes must be withheld from employee paychecks – Medicare, Social Security, Federal Income and State Income tax. The Medicare tax is set at roughly 1.5 percent of salary while social security is set at 6.2 percent. The withholding for federal and state income tax, however, is subject to adjustments made by employees. The amount of tax required to be withheld by the IRS requires a calculation beyond the scope of this article, but you can look to the “Employer’s Tax Guide” on the IRS web site.

If an employee claims excessive deductions that result in insufficient withholdings, the IRS may respond. The typical response is to send an employer a “lock-in” letter.

The lock-in letter tells the employer to increase the amount of withholding tax of the employee. The IRS will actually specify the maximum number of withholding exemptions the employee can claim. The more exemptions claimed, the less tax withheld in each paycheck. The IRS will also send a copy of the correspondence to the employee.

As an employer, you must comply with the IRS lock-in letter. The IRS will designate a specific compliance date. Better to have died a small child than fail to comply with the letter. Failure to comply will result in the tax liability transferring from the employee to the employer. The employer can also expect the unwanted attention of IRS auditors. In short, make absolutely sure you comply with the lock-in letter.

What should you do if you receive a lock-in letter, but the employee no longer works for you? You must send a written response to the IRS office listed in the correspondence. The response must state the employee no longer works for you and the last date of employment to the best of your knowledge.

What should you do if the employee refuses to comply with the lock-in letter? You must comply with the lock-in letter. The employee’s wish is irrelevant and you have no discretion in the matter. Instead, the employee should be told to contact the IRS directly and request a modification to the lock-in letter.

Lock-in letters can cause stress in employee-employer relationships. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do about.