Trik and Tips

Tips for Marketing Your Blog

2009-01-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

This Article came from toprankblog.com. Here is blog marketing and optimization tips:

1. Decide on a stand alone domain name www.myblog.com or directory of existing site www.mysite.com/blog. Sub domain is also an option blog.mysite.com. Avoid hosted services that do not allow you to use your own domain name!
2. Obtain and install customizable blog software - WordPress and Moveable Type are my favorites.
3. Customize blog look and feel templates - aka design.
4. Research keywords and develop a glossary - Keyword Discovery, WordTracker, SitePoint, SEOBook Keyword Research.
5. Optimize the blog:
* Template optimization - RSS subscription options, social bookmark links, HTML code, Unique title tags, URLs, Sitemap
* Add helper plugins specific to WordPress or MT
* Create keyword rich categories (reference your keyword glossary)
6. Enable automatic trackback and ping functionality.
7. Create Feedburner Pro account and enable feed tracking.
8. Setup a Google account for Sitemap, validate and prep for future submission.
9. Identify authoritative blogs, web sites and hubs for outbound resource links and blogroll.
10. Format archived posts, related posts.
11. Enable statistics for tracking - Google Analytics, ClickTracks.
12. Submit RSS feed and Blog URL to prominent RSS and Blog directories / search engines.
13. Engage in an ongoing link building campaign.
14. If podcast or video content are available, submit to Podcast and Vlog directories.
15. Submit blog url to paid directories with categories for blogs - Yahoo, BOTW, bCentral, WOW, JoeAnt.
16. Optimize and distribute a press release announcing blog.
17. Request feedback or reviews of your blog in relevant forums, discussion threads. If you have a resourceful post that will help others, point to it.
18. Research and comment on relevant industry related blogs and blogs with significant centers of influence.
19. Post regularly. If it’s a news oriented blog, 3-5 times per day. If it’s an authoritative blog, 3-5 times per week, but each post must be unique and high value.
20. Monitor inbound links, traffic, comments and mentions of your blog - Google Alerts, Technorati, Blogpulse, Yahoo News, Ask Blogs and Feeds.
21. Always respond to comments on your blog and when you detect a mention of your blog on another blog, thank that blogger in the comments of the post.
22. Make contact with related bloggers on AND offline if possible.
23. When making blog posts always cite the source with a link and don’t be afraid to mention popular bloggers by name. Use keywords in the blog post title, in the body of the post and use anchor text when you link to previous posts you’ve made.
24. Use social networking services, forums and discussion threads to connect with other bloggers. If they like your stuff, they will link to you.
25. Remember when web sites were a new concept and the sage advice to print your web address everywhere you print your phone number? The same advice applies for your blog.
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26. If your blog’s goal is to promote you as an authority, interview other prominent bloggers in your industry. Your own credibility will improve by association.
27. Build out your online networks through services such as MyBlogLog, Twitter and Facebook and leverage them to promote particularly useful content on your blog.
28. Once your blog has 1000 or more subscribers, show your Feedburner badge
29. Host images with Flickr making sure to include an anchor text link in the image description back to the post where the image is used.
30. Use your blog to gain press/media credentials at relevant industry conferences and use the event to create content, connections and increase your knowledge.

source: http://www.toprankblog.com/2006/06/25-tips-for-marketing-your-blog/

Back Again!

2009-01-08T07:07:00.000-08:00

After so long I have depression because of this blog, at this time is finally resolved. Hopefully it does not recur again this inconvenience.

Increasing traffic to your websites

2008-11-20T01:42:00.000-08:00

This article will give you several different ways to increase your Adsense income. The first step is to log into your Adsense account and look at your last months states. There are three key areas that contribute to your earnings: Impressions, Clickthroughs and Effective CPM.

Improving your stats in any, or preferably, all of these three key areas will increase your Adsense earnings.

Impressions are the number of times your web pages with Adsense ads have been viewed. You improve impressions by creating more traffic to your web pages.

Here are several ways to increase traffic to your pages:

* Create more web pages, with relevant, focused content.
* Create more links to your web pages.
* List your website/s under relevant categories in more directories.
* Set up a directory of relevant sites on your website and accept relevant reciprocal links.
* Write relevant articles, with your site information in the 'resource box' at the end of each article, and submit them to article directories

The next area that will improve your earnings are increasing your "Clickthroughs".

Clickthroughs are the percentage of viewers who click on your Adsense ads. You can increase Clickthroughs by increasing the relevance of Adsense ads on your site, and by tweaking the format and placing of your ads.

Although you can't dictate which Google Adsense ads show on your site, you can influence the relevance of the ads by maintaining a tightly focused website. If every page on your site focuses tightly on the site topic, its more likely that the Adsense ads will too.

For example, if every page of your site is about fishing, and the word 'fishing' appears several times on every page, its likely that your Adsense website ads will relate to fishing.

The best way to tweak your ad format and placement is to invest in an Adsense Tracker, and test, test, test! People who have done this tend to suggest that the best format is the large rectangle, with background and border the same color as the page behind it, so that the ad blends into the page.

The best placement is towards the center or top left of the first screen of the page. Try these suggestions first, and then track and test, to be sure of what works best for your pages.

The next way to make money with Adsense income to generate effective CPM.

Effective CPM is a measure of your average earnings, per thousand clicks. You can increase your Effective CPM by selecting topics that attract high bids from Adsense advertisers, and building pages and whole websites on higher paying topics. Look for top paying keyword adsense words to use for your campaigns.

Although Google doesn't release information on Adsense bids, you can get a good idea of the top paying topics by looking at information on Adwords bids, or, for that matter, bids on pay-per-click search engines like Overture.

There are a number of keyword research tools available, both free and paid, that can help you find high paying topics.

So now you have the basics of increasing your Adsense income. Here is the basic formula:

* Build pages and websites on high paying topics for the best Effective CPM.
* Format and place your Adsense ads for maximum Clickthroughs.
* Promote your sites to drive targeted traffic to your Adsense web pages for maximum impressions.

source:http://www.wmtips.com/Adsense/increasing-traffic-websites-best-adsense-trick-724.htm

Tips to Improve social Skill

2008-11-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

1. Listen

“Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.”
Epictetus

“The less you speak, the more you will hear.”
Alexander Solshenitsen

“I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.”
Ernest Hemingway

This is probably one of the most underappreciated social skills. People are often centred on themselves. Nothing surprising really, but it doesn’t mean that they are selfish jerks either. But because of this a lot of people are just used to talking about themselves or waiting for the other person to finish so they can start talking again. I know I have done this many times and still do from time to time.

How do you get past it?

One useful way that I have found is to just forget about yourself. Focus your attention outward instead of inward in a conversation. Place the mental focus on the person you are talking and listening to instead of yourself. Placing the focus outside of yourself makes you less self-centred and your need to hog the spotlight decreases.

If you start to actually listen to what people are saying it also becomes easier to find potential paths in the conversation. By asking open-ended questions – the ones that will give you more than a yes or no answer – you can explore these paths and have better and more fun conversations.

And this ties into the next tip…

2. Actually be interested in the other person.

“You can make more friends in two months by becoming really interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you. Which is just another way of saying that the way to make a friend is to be one.”
Dale Carnegie

“The greatest compliment that was ever paid me was when someone asked me what I thought, and attended to my answer.”
Henry David Thoreau

If you become more interested in people then you’ll naturally become a better listener since you are actually interested in what’s on their minds.

And it beomes easier find out what someone is really passionate about and to dispel negative assumptions that can mess up the communication.

If you listen to what someone has to say then you may find that s/he for instance isn’t as boring or different from you as you may have guessed when you were first introduced.

And as Carnegie says, it’s a lot easier to create and improve relationships if you focus on the other person than on yourself. Why is that?

Well, for one, as I wrote just a few paragraphs ago, people often don’t listen that much. So you’ll be a pleasant exception among the others that are waiting for their turn to talk again.

But the big reason is simply that you make them feel good because of your attention, validation of them and their interest and the connection that is made.

3. Don’t listen too much to criticism.

“If evil be said of thee, and if it be true, correct thyself; if it be a lie, laugh at it.”
Epictetus

“When we judge or criticize another person, it says nothing about that person; it merely says something about our own need to be critical.”
Unknown

Well, Epictetus got this one down. Listen to criticism. If you feel that there is some relevance to it explore how you can change yourself. But also recognize that lot of the time criticism is mostly about the other person.

Maybe s/he has had a bad day. Maybe a pet or child is sick. Maybe s/he is jealous of you or angry at someone else. Since people often are centred on themselves it’s easy to make a mistake here. Someone may criticise you but is actually focused on something in their own life. And you are probably also focused on yourself. And therefore you draw the conclusion that the criticism must have something to do with you.

But the world doesn’t revolve around you. Which is bad if you want more attention and validation from others.

On the other hand, it can be liberating since people don’t seem to care that much about what you do. The big problem of not daring to do something because you’re afraid of what people may say becomes a smaller obstacle.

4. Don’t babble on and on.

“The less people speak of their greatness, the more we think of it.”
Sir Francis Bacon

“The more you say, the less people remember.”
François Fénelon

This one’s connected to listening. If you talk and talk there will be little time, energy or focus for listening. But if you start to focus outward then your mind will become more focused and you’ll spend less time babbling for too long about something. If you want more reasons to stop babbling and start simplifying check out 5 Reason to Simplify What You Say, and How to Do It.

5. Treat others as you would like them to treat you.

“The people with whom you work reflect your own attitude. If you are suspicious, unfriendly and condescending, you will find these unlovely traits echoed all about you. But if you are on your best behaviour, you will bring out the best in the persons with whom you are going to spend most of your working hours.”
Beatrice Vincent

“It’s so easy to laugh, it’s so easy to hate. It takes guts to be gentle and kind.”
Morrissey

The Law of Reciprocity is strong in humans. As you treat someone else s/he will feel like treating you. Maybe not today or tomorrow. But over time these things have a way of evening out.

One of the most important things in relationships and conversations is your attitude. It determines a lot about your interactions and how you treat other people.

The attitude you have, the lens you hold up and view the world through determines what you see. And the thoughts you keep in your mind control how you feel. Your thoughts and feelings direct how you say something and what your hands, eyes, posture etc. says through body language.

So even if you say nice words you may create an different feeling in the person you are talking to because your thoughts, feelings, voice tonality and body language aren’t aligned with your words. And words are only 7 percent of communication. So the attitude behind your words is absolutely crucial.

6. Keep a positive attitude.

“I am convinced that attitude is the key to success or failure in almost any of life’s endeavors. Your attitude - your perspective, your outlook, how you feel about yourself, how you feel about other people - determines you priorities, your actions, your values. Your attitude determines how you interact with other people and how you interact with yourself.”
Carolyn Warner

“Two men look out the same prison bars; one sees mud and the other stars.”
Frederick Langbridge

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.”
Albert Schweitzer

If your attitude is so important then what can you do about it? One good tip, that has worked for very long, is simply to keep a positive attitude. And by that I don’t mean that you should just react in a positive way to events in your life that may be seen by society as positive. For instance, getting a raise in salary, an A on an exam or winning a competition.

But before I continue with that train of thought I’d just like to say something about negativity. I wouldn’t say that it is all bad. I wouldn’t say that people want to get away from negative people all of the time. Sometimes you can find camaraderie in complaining about your boss, job, salary and the government. But overall and long-term I think that going positive is the more useful and fulfilling approach.

Now, what I mean with adopting a positive attitude is choosing to stay positive regardless of your external circumstances. You may not be able to do this all the time, but being positive is habit just like eating well or doing your daily exercise. It can be hard to get started and slow going at first. But when your mind gets used to this new behaviour it becomes almost automatic. Your mind just starts to interpret reality in a different way than it did before.

Instead of seeing problems everywhere it starts to zoom in on opportunities and what’s good about just about any situation. Instead of sighing and feeling like you’re working in an uphill rut you’ll find reasons to be grateful and happy.

Yeah, I know, it might sound like wishful thinking. But it really works. The problem is just that it is difficult to see this - and to realise that you can actually change - from a current worldview and attitude that may be a bit more negative.

If you’d like to read more about this, have a look at Take the Positivity Challenge for some more reasons to change your attitude – they include making better first impressions and becoming more attractive - and how to do it.

7. Use silence.

“A good word is an easy obligation; but not to speak ill requires only our silence; which costs us nothing.”
John Tillotson

“Be silent, or say something better than silence.”
Pythagoras

“It’s good to shut up sometimes.”
Marcel Marceau

There are several good reasons to learn to be more silent. It will help you to develop your listening skills. And instead of saying something you wish you didn’t you can learn to keep your piehole closed. This can help you avoid unnecessary arguments and reduce the hurt you do unto others by, for example, criticising.

Sitting in silence day in and day out while your inner pressure builds up is of course not good. Then you may need speak up, take charge and change whatever it is in your environment that causes the problem. But often a great deal of negative things can be avoided just by calmly staying silent.

8. Communicate with more than your words.

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Carl W. Buechner

“I speak two languages, English and Body.”
Mae West

“We often refuse to accept an idea merely because the tone of voice in which it has been expressed is unsympathetic to us.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

The words you use are just a small part of communication. How you use your tone of voice and your body language is over 90 percent of what you are communicating.

To become a better communicator these two areas are ridiculously important. You can for instance improve how you say something by loading your words with more emotions. If you use tip # 6 - Keep a positive attitude - this often improves kinda automatically. You’ll naturally convey more enthusiasm and positive emotions through your voice.

Your attitude, as mentioned before, also has big impact on your body language. If you feel relaxed, open and positive this comes through in how you use your body.

You may want check out these additional 17 body language tips though. Just to be on the safe side. And to not repeat and reinforce some old and ingrained body language habits.

Manually correcting your body language can be useful. When you for instance are listening, you can lean in and keep eye contact to reinforce that you are actually listening. If you keep your body language interested you’ll also be able to keep your focus and interest longer since emotions can work backwards. As your body is “interested” your mind becomes interested and focused on what is said.

http://www.positivityblog.com/index.php/2007/11/15/how-to-improve-your-social-skills-8-tips-from-the-last-2500-years/

How to Survive a Financial Crisis

2008-11-02T10:13:00.000-08:00

The only way to survive this global financial crisis is to be prepared. We must plan in order to survive or at least lessen the casualties.

The worst is yet to come. The only way to survive this global financial crisis is to be prepared. I have always believed that preparedness is the key to winning any battle. We must plan in order to survive or at least lessen the casualties. The extent of this crisis is still unknown and its boundaries are endless. The best way to weather this financial predicament is to follow these tips:

Be positive. Pessimists have no room in this kind of situation. Being positive-minded in difficult situation motivates an individual to find solutions and eventually solve the problem. When the going gets tough, take a deep breath and smile. But remember; do not smile too much as to deny the existence of a problem. Smile, but always put some action power.

Know where you are. Before you design an action plan, try to asses your current situation. If your finances is in red, figure our how much is your total liabilities and work from that amount. Try to develop a personal income statement of your life. You should know your income and how much expenses are deducted from it. If your income is more than your expenses, you will end up with extra savings. The rule is, do not spend beyond your means.

Eliminate unnecessary expenses. With or without crisis, every dollar must be spent wisely. Stop buying products that will end up in your trash bin or stored in your closet. Buy items that you need and avoid buying things that you want but you don’t need.

Find other source of income. In times of crisis, prices of basic commodities are usually high. Leaving you with fewer dollars to spend. In order to boost your purchasing power, you must look for other source of income either by finding a second job or establishing a part-time business.

Stay away from lousy spenders. Avoid hanging-out with people who are not conscious on their budget. Remember, you can catch a cold by being close to a person with the virus. Instead, interact more with smart spenders.

There is a saying that this world will not give us challenges that we cannot handle. I believe that with preparedness and proper attitude, we can weather this crisis.

http://www.gomestic.com/Personal-Finance/Tips-on-How-to-Survive-a-Financial-Crisis.316463

5 Tips to Cope With the Financial Crisis

2008-11-01T10:12:00.000-07:00

Many investors are frightened as they watch the changes the economy is going through. The uncertainty about the future and the changes that are happening make people wonder what they should do and what do the changes mean to them? Here are 5 tips on what you should do:

1) Are you protected in the current financial crisis?
If you own a checking, savings, or certificate of deposit, you should make sure that you are insured by the FDIC. The FDIC insures up to a $100,000 per financial institution, per-person. A joint account that holds less that $200,000 in checking, savings, or Certificates of Deposits at an FDIC-insured institution would be insured. Call and check where you stand. That phone call could save you a lot of grief.

2) Could your money market account break the buck?
Money market mutual fund accounts are considered a safe place to keep your cash and they have always lived up to that in the past even though they are not guaranteed by the FDIC. The Reserve Prime Money Market fund broke the buck this week-meaning that it's net asset value fell below $1.00 a share. Most institutions will come out of pocket to keep their money market accounts from breaking the buck because it would hurt their brand and their business too much if they had a money market fund failure. Fidelity and Vanguard are producing public reports on the holdings in their money market funds. Call or go online to the institution that holds your money market mutual fund account and see what they are saying or not saying about their funds holdings.

3) Are your funds exposed to endangered financials?
I always believe in sticking to your long term financial plan and remaining patient amidst the storm is the best course of action for anyone. But there are some mutual funds that have high exposure to Lehman Brothers, AIG, Merrill, and the like. Obviously the Neuberger Berman funds are at risk since they were owned by Lehman Brothers and are up for sale. Current investors will have to take a close look at how the new management will affect their holdings.

Review your funds to see how much you are exposed to these and other institutions and make your decision to stay or sell based on that. Remember, too, that there are tax consequences when you sell.

4) Should you stop investing?
Lackluster stock market returns can't continue forever. The market has a history of posting gains after periods of losses. The long boom of the 1980s and 1990s, for example, followed another lost decade between 1972 and 1982. So you shouldn't give up on investing in the stock market. In fact, it's probably a better time to invest than anytime in years. Just be careful to stay diversified. No one can predict what sector or style will do well in any one year so keep your money spread out, but keep adding to your portfolio.

5) Take a deep breath and relax.
It's important to do what you need to do to protect your assets. Get some support by making an appointment with your Financial Advisor or a Financial Coach to review your holdings and voice your feelings. But no matter what you do, you cannot bring your risk down to zero. You are always taking some amount of risk and that means you will always have the potential to lose money. Most millionaires have lost money time and time again, and I am sure you will, too, at some point in your life. The point is to do what you can so that even when you lose money, it doesn't wash you away. A bit of a loss won't keep you from food, shelter, or a smile on your face.

http://ezinearticles.com/?5-Tips-to-Cope-With-the-Financial-Crisis&id=1519599

Finance tips for young adults

2008-10-30T10:10:00.000-07:00

Money is an important topic for everyone. If you're young, and just starting out in the world of work, you may not have much of it yet! But it's never too early to learn some basics.

1. Understand the basics

Financial services often seem really complicated, but it's not hard for you to understand the basics for all financial services that you buy. Otherwise, you could get a nasty surprise if something goes wrong.

Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you understand the basics of:

* What you have promised to do (eg make regular payments).
* What the company has promised to do (eg provide a loan, or cover a loss).
* Whether there are any exceptions or qualifications to these promises (eg an insurer may not have to pay your car insurance claim if you had been drinking when the accident occurred).
* What you should do if something goes wrong.

Don't be afraid or embarrassed to ask questions. Sometimes it can be awkward, but a good salesperson should give you enough time and information so that you can understand the product. You can also ask to take the documents away, so that you have time to read them and get advice.

Don't be pressured into signing something that you don't understand. You could regret it later.

2. Hold onto your paperwork

Anything to do with money often involves lots of paperwork - account statements, contracts, policy documents, terms and conditions and more.

If you're tempted to throw all this paperwork in the bin - stop! Even if you don't read it all straight away, get into the habit of keeping the important paperwork in a special file that's easily accessible. It will come in handy if you have a question or problem about your financial affairs.

You should also get into the habit of keeping notes from any important telephone calls you have with your finance institution. Again, they might help if you have a complaint.

Your notes don't need to be fancy, but it's important to record basic information such as the name of the person you spoke to, the date and time, and an outline of what was said. Keep this with all your other paperwork.

3. Reduce your costs

Some form of savings or transaction account is almost a necessity these days. But don't be complacent about your account - there are ways that you can reduce the costs.

For example, if you are a student or a recent graduate, you may be able to get a fee-free account. Ask your institution if they have one.

But what if you are not eligible for a fee-free account? You can still reduce your costs by changing how you bank. For example, it's often cheaper to use Internet banking than to visit a branch. But first, you'll need to understand how and when fees are charged on your account. Ask your institution to tell you about the main fees and charges, and whether you are entitled to a certain number of free transactions. You can use this information to help you develop cheaper banking habits.

4. Minimise the risk of unauthorised transactions - keep your PIN secret

Many complaints about unauthorised transactions are made each year. The best way to protect yourself from someone accessing the money in your account is to keep your PIN and/or password secret! Don't tell anyone your PIN or password - this includes your friends and family. Also, don't keep a copy of your PIN or password near your card, or on your computer (unless it's password protected).

Many institutions will let you choose your own PIN or password, and this can help you remember it. But, be careful with what you choose - don't make it so easy to remember that it will also be easy for a thief to guess.

5. Be very careful with direct debits

Direct debits can be a great way of making sure that the necessities of life - like your bills and rent - are paid on time. But make sure you know how to cancel a direct debit if you need to. For example, if you change your phone company.

To cancel a direct debit, you should tell both your institution and the company making the direct debit (eg the phone or electricity company). Writing a short letter is often best. Keep a copy of the letter, and if problems arise, contact your institution straight away.

Also, make sure you have enough money in your account to cover a direct debit. If there is not enough, you might have to pay an expensive overdraw fee.

6. Shop around for insurance like you shop around for a car or plan a holiday

When you're buying a car, planning a holiday, or taking out a loan, insurance is probably the last thing you want to think about. But you may need it, and it's important to spend a little bit of time shopping around.

Having a good insurance policy can make all the difference to your pocket - both now and if the worst happens and you need to make a claim.

So don't just accept the insurance policy that is offered by the car yard, or the travel agent, or the credit provider. Remember, the agent may be getting a commission for selling you a particular policy, even though it may not be the best one for you.

Shop around. The Internet and telephone call centres make this easy. Even if you make just three or four quick telephone calls to different companies, you'll find that the price might vary by $100 or $200 or more. And that's even before you look at the coverage and exceptions on the policy.

And before you sign a policy, make sure you understand what the insurer will and will not cover. For example, some travel insurance policies might not cover you if you are injured when bungy-jumping or white water rafting. If you don't choose a policy with the right coverage for you and your circumstances, you could end up with hefty expenses to pay.

7. Tell it like it is

When you apply for insurance, you'll have to provide lots of details to the insurance company. For example, if you are getting car insurance, you may be asked about your driving record, whether the car has been modified, and other things. Your answers will help the insurance company decide how risky it will be to insure you, and therefore how much your policy will cost.

Don't be tempted to massage the facts! If the worst happens, and you need to make a claim on your policy - your insurer may have grounds for refusing to pay your claim.

And this goes for renewals as well. You must tell the insurance company about any changes in your circumstances each time you renew your policy. The type of questions that were asked in the original policy application will be a good guide to the information you might need to disclose when you renew. And if you have any doubts - ask your insurer! (And keep a written record of what they told you.)

8. Think about insurance before you choose your car

If you are buying a car, its good to think about insurance before you choose the type of car that you want.

You might think that, if two cars cost the same amount to buy, they would cost about the same amount to insure. But the cost of insurance often depends as much on the type of car, as it does on the cost of the car.

For example, a sporty car might look great, and impress your friends, but it might cost you $200 or $300 more to insure than a basic car. And if your dream car has got modifications, like mag wheels, or has a bigger engine, insurance might cost you more again. It's better to be prepared for these extra costs than to get an unpleasant surprise after you have bought the car.

Also, remember that a finance company can require you to take out comprehensive insurance to cover the car, but you don't have to take out other types of insurance. For example, insurance to pay the loan if you become sick or unemployed may be too expensive or sold just because of the commissions. This type of insurance is not compulsory. You don't have to buy it even if the salesperson suggests you must have it.

9. Take things slowly and watch out for scams

If you're like most people, its easier to spend your money than to save it. But saving and investing are often the only way to achieve your big goals - buying a new stereo system, buying a car, going overseas.

Often it's easiest to save small amounts frequently - maybe by directly transferring some of your pay each fortnight to a special savings or investing account.

If you're thinking about investments - managed funds, shares, and others - you need to think about what level of risk you are prepared to take. The higher the return, the higher the risk that you will lose all your money.

Remember that there are no easy ways to "get rich quick". Stay away from investments that promise incredibly high returns for low risk and little work. They are usually scams.

Other warning signs for scams are:

* lots of exclamation marks and capital letters in the advertisements
* no 'real life' address - just an email address, or post office box and
* lots of assurances that the scheme is legal.

Be cautious. If you think an investment opportunity looks a bit dodgy, make some enquiries before you commit your money. Check out FIDO, our consumer website, or talk to a licensed financial adviser.

10. Keep track of your superannuation accounts
If you are just starting your working life, retirement will probably be the last thing on your mind. But you should check to make sure you are getting any superannuation you are entitled to. In addition to paying you your wages, your employer is required to contribute an amount equal to 9% of your earnings to your super fund, unless:

* you earn less than $450 a month; OR
* you are under 18 and you are working less than 30 hours per week.

If you change jobs frequently, or have more than one job at a time, it can be hard to keep track of your super. Keeping all your statements in one place should help.

You may also be able minimise the number of funds you have by asking to 'roll over' your accounts from your previous employment into your current fund. Ask your current fund for help with this.
http://www.fido.gov.au/fido/fido.nsf/byheadline/Top+10+finance+tips+for+young+adults?openDocument

5 Tips That Can Save Money and Home

2008-10-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

Your home is likely your most valuable asset–make sure it is properly protected. While insurance agents will help determine the kind of coverage you can buy, it is ultimately your responsibility to know what the policy covers. And remember, insurance agents are salesmen and typically work on commission. This isn’t a bad thing, but be aware of what type of coverage you actually need so that you can spot it when you’re being sold something you don’t truly need.

This has been a topic of renewed discussion recently with all of the floods and severe weather in the midwest. Many people had assumed that they were in no danger of a flood, and now that their home is under water, they find their policy isn’t going to cover the damage.

1. Review your policies annually. A walk-through of your coverage needs with your agent may identify other coverages (i.e., jewelry, artwork, etc.) that you need, as well as ways to save on premiums such as bundling auto and home insurance coverage together with one provider or requesting higher deductibles to help contain your costs.

2. Identify risks you face that are not covered by your homeowners policy. Disasters such as floods and earthquakes need a separate policy or riders to protect your home if tragedy strikes.

3. Understand how much coverage you have. Many homeowners believe their insurance policy will replace their damaged or destroyed property regardless of the amount of damage incurred. Remember, it is generally not your home’s market value that is covered, but rather its replacement cost. Home additions and major kitchen or bath remodeling projects can add significant value to your home, which may not be covered by your current policy. It is important to that your coverage is sufficient, based on your home’s replacement cost.

4. Do your homework when shopping for insurance. Get quotes from different carriers. Since rates can vary, make sure you compare coverage on an apples-to-apples basis so you can spot when a lower price really just represents less coverage. Consider higher deductibles to help reduce your premiums or ask if discounts are available for installed safety and security devices such as smoke detectors and alarms.

5. Research carrier performance. Ask your friends and neighbors for references. Also research the financial strength of carriers through independent third-party sources such as state insurance departments, A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, and customer satisfaction ratings at the J.D. Power Consumer Center.

http://genxfinance.com/2008/06/12/5-quick-homeowners-insurance-tips-that-can-save-you-money-and-your-home/

Quick Tips for Term Life Insurance

2008-10-29T09:58:00.000-07:00

Term life insurance is something that can be confusing at first. There are many facets of life insurance and most people prefer to pass information and sign on the dotted line. What they do not realize, however, is that there are important things to consider when thinking about life insurance. If you follow a few simple tips you can be sure you make the right choices and perhaps even save a few dollars.

Term life insurance rates vary May
The number of companies that provide term life insurance is vast. If you limit yourself to an insurance agent or an insurance company, however, you begin May not to do anything close to the best deal for your term life insurance. Some insurance agents stick with their "favorite" for insurance companies. For this reason, they are not comparing prices and try to find the best company for you. If you have any health problems, it can be very beneficial to compare prices to see what companies are less aggressive with quotes.

Once you've found the company that you decided to go, you should compare prices for different amounts and types of coverage to understand what is best for you.

Getting the right amount of the term life insurance
The purpose of the mandate of life insurance is to cover the cost of debt and cost your family and your loved ones will take if you die. Term life insurance is essentially a security cover to let them behind you. For this reason, some people do not quite exactly the size of a policy they should apply. If you have a huge retirement fund, you May not need as many as far as life insurance is concerned. Most people, however, do not have enough coverage. Because they are not fully understand how much is needed, they under-insurance and wind with a life insurance plan that can not cover everything in case of an unexpected death.

Tell your family about this
Because of the difficult and emotional connotations that can come and talk with life insurance, many choose not to speak. Some people think it is difficult to start talking about the whole situation. It is important, however, talk to your family members and loved ones about your insurance policy. This will enable the two parties concerned. They need to know that policy exists, and how to collect once the time comes.

Another aspect that comes from this is the problem that some have with the idea that they will not see any money they put an end to insurance program life. Because the aim is to help parents and relatives with payments, debts or simply with money in general, it is an important subject. When you're evaluating a term life insurance policy, you should consider to help you with the plan itself and their needs.

Insurance Corporation May not cut
Because the employer is usually the insurance group insurance, it does not take into account your personal health and questions. This could mean that you pay more than you should be for your insurance or you may be more and more money for the amount you're paying. You are looking into different options for life insurance can help ensure that you get the best insurance for your money.

Tips to choosing the right health insurance

2008-10-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

The best way to kick off your shopping is by doing a little research on your state's insurance Web site, says Kimberly Lankford, author of "The Insurance Maze: How You Can Save Money on Insurance and Still Get the Coverage You Need" (Kaplan Business, 2006). A good site will list companies available in your area, prices for both individual and family plans, and any lower-cost options your state offers if you meet certain income requirements.

Write out your priorities
Do you love your current doctors? Then you should choose an insurance company that covers their service. "It's so important that you make a list of the top five things important to you, and bring them up to the broker or insurance company," advised Michelle Katz, a healthcare consultant and author of "101 Health Insurance Tips" (LifeTips.com, Inc., 2007). This way you can really start to narrow things down by your needs, whether that means low premiums, customer service or the doctor you've been seeing since college.

Don't be afraid to use a broker
An insurance broker can be a huge help. He can do the legwork to find a well-suited insurance company, help shop for the best rates, and explain the ins and outs of your plan. To find a reputable broker, check credentials with either the National Association of Insurance Underwriters (nahu.org) or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (naic.org). You also want to make sure he has a large "book," the industry term for the network of providers he works with. More options mean a better deal and a better fit.

Ask for a "free look"
Lots of things come with a trial period — your gym membership, magazine subscription and virtually anything hawked on an infomercial — but did you know that you can sometimes test-drive your insurance plan? They call this a free look, and it basically means that you can get your money back if you're unsatisfied within a set period of time, explained Katz. The key here, though, is staying on top of things and making sure you follow the guidelines. Restrictions vary by company and plan, but you could have anywhere from one to six weeks to ask for a refund — probably in writing.

Consider a Health Savings Account
An HSA is a great option for people who generally only have to whip out their insurance card once or twice a year. Maybe you go for a yearly checkup, and then to the doctor if you have the flu. It goes hand-in-hand with an insurance policy that has a high deductible ($1,100 for individuals; $2,200 for families), but low premiums. The money you save on premiums each month can be deposited into the HSA pre-tax, where it grows tax-deferred. You then use it to pay for any unexpected medical expenses. The bonus? Once you turn 65, you can withdraw any money you didn't use and spend it on anything you want, including funding your retirement.

Negotiate
You've chosen a plan, but you're still not home free. Bills can pop up everywhere, from services that aren't covered to doctor and hospital co-pays to costs for prescriptions. Many insurers have instituted a system of preferred pricing when it comes to prescriptions, meaning that if yours isn't generic and on a list, it could still cost a bundle.

"Now, even people with employer coverage are having to be smart shoppers for prescription drugs, especially if they have a regular medication that is pretty expensive," said Lankford. Keep your costs low by shopping around (prices can vary among pharmacies — your best bet is a discount store or price club) and asking for generics whenever available. You can also have your doctor write out a prescription for a longer period of time, so you'll get a 90-day supply instead of a 30, advised Katz.

The co-pay will be the same. And don't be afraid to negotiate with your doctor if you're paying out of pocket. In a recent Harris Interactive poll, three out of five people who did so received a discount. With the cost of a single visit often tallying over $200, it's definitely worth a try.

With reporting by Arielle McGowen.

Jean Chatzky is an editor-at-large at "Money" magazine and serves as AOL's official Money Coach. She is the personal finance editor for NBC's "Today Show" and is also a columnist for Life magazine. She is the author of four books, including "Pay It Down! From Debt to Wealth on $10 a Day" (Portfolio, 2004). To find out more, visit her Web site, www.jeanchatzky.com.

Earning Money With Paid Surveys

2008-10-28T02:04:00.000-07:00

Can you really earn money taking surveys? The answer is YES! We've all seen them, advertisements, banner ads, even spam emails promising us extra cash just for taking the time to fill out a survey. But how much can you really make? What exactly do these companies want in return? Read on below to find out.

First, the survey companies actually do get a lot in return for their money. Whether they are researching and developing new products or experimenting with new advertising methods for existing products, the information these companies gleam from your consumer responses is invaluable to them. They can use your responses to find the right market for their product, gauge interest in certain products and even test advertising before they spend a huge amount of money on a national advertising campaign. Not only do the companies get a goldmine of information from consumer responses, but they can even use the aggregate information to form very specific ideas of what a certain market segment wants or needs. Consumer testing and surveys are one of the most important methods of research and testing that the big brand names use to research, develop and market their products, it's a win-win for them, for the consumer and for the people taking the surveys.

There are different types of paid surveys and they each have their own pros and cons, I'll list the two major types below:

Surveys For Cash – This type of survey is the most prized, because you give them your time and they pay you in real money. These survey companies will usually send you a check, but some of them send actual cash in the mail. Ranging from $2, $5 all the way up to $10 and $20. Higher payouts happen, but they are more rare and usually require much more time and information from you, such as keeping a daily journal of your shopping habits, Internet surfing habits or your banking habits or testing out actual products.

Surveys For Rewards – Some survey companies will offer you points for each survey you take, say 50 points or 500 points. Then these points can be redeemed for products, gift certificates, gift cards, airline miles and other items. Sometimes, the points can even be redeeemed for cash. There are more of these types of survey programs available since you must commit some time to faithfully taking the surveys they send in order to gain enough points to be redeemed for something worthwhile. However, these companies tend to send more surveys than the companies that pay cash, so you may have more opportunities to redeem your accumulated points for a cash or a tangible prize in the end.

Avoiding The Scams

Most survey companies are legitimate, but some you may want to watch out for. Listed below are some ways to make sure you are taking surveys for legitimate companies:

Reputation – Before signing up for a survey program, check it's reputation by doing a bit of research to make sure the company actually pays it's members or sends out their prizes. You can check with the Better Business Bureau online, check Google and the many message boards and forums dedicated to taking surveys and making money online in general. It should take you just a few minutes to find out if a company is for real or is just collecting information to spam you.

Privacy Policy – Make sure the site has a clearly stated privacy policy and be sure to read it carefully. Make sure they aren't going to keep and sell your personal information to third parties and that the information you do give is used for reasonable purposes.

Survey Directories – You can find some excellent listings of paid survey companies on the web. These directories will often have a description and review of each company. You'll often be able to see what types of payment or prizes they offer. Be sure to check these out. An excellent survey directory is PaidSurvey24.com.

Helpful Tools

There are some helpful tools available for those that would like to take surveys but don't type very fast or well. One of the best is the Google Toolbar. It's completely free and installs right to your browser. Once it's installed, you should click the OPTIONS tab on the bar and check the box next to AUTOFILL. Then click the AUTOFILL SETTINGS button and fill in all the information there. This enables the autofill form tool so that you can fill out forms asking for your name, address, email address etc. just once and then you can simply click the AUTOFILL button on your browser to fill in each of these fields. Extremely handy and a HUGE timesaver! With the Google toolbar, you can also search Google without having to go to Google's main page, so you can research paid survey companies even more easily. You can get it from Google's site, just go to their main page and click on MORE, then EVEN MORE and then click on TOOLBAR.

In summary, while you may not be able to make a living taking surveys, you certainly can make some extra money and earn some nice prizes. So the question is not, why would you want to take paid surveys, it's why wouldn't you want to take paid surveys?! It's easy, often fun and has many benefits! Good luck!

Lydia Quinn writes for PaidSurvey24.com, where you can find a completely free list of companies that will pay you or offer rewards for taking their surveys. Visit us at: http://www.paidsurvey24.com

Article source: http://www.expertarticles.com/article/Internet-Business/Earning-Money-With-Paid-Surveys.html

The Easy Way To Make Quick Money Online

2008-10-27T02:02:00.000-07:00

The best way to make quick money is by owning a business but this takes a lot of time. You also need to develop a product or service, which involves large amount of funding. Unfortunately, most of us find it hard to pay off the monthly bills. So you need to find a way to make money in quick time with little investment. An easy way to make quick money online is by joining an internet network marketing company.

Network marketing has been around for quite sometime and it has created several millionaires in the United States. This success has been repeated by many people online through internet network marketing. There are numerous web sites dedicated to networking. These sites have been around for quite sometime and many people have doubled or tripled their annual income using these sites.

If you are dedicated and hardworking, network marketing is an easy way to make quick money online. The whole networking process is quite easy. Basically, you have to promote a product or service. For each business done through you, the networking company pays you a hefty commission. Now, the products to promote can be found on the network marketing company web sites. You can join these sites for free by giving your personal details. You can also select the product of your choice to market.

Select a product with which you are comfortable and which has maximum scope of selling. Study the product thoroughly and create a comprehensive free report. List all the benefits of the product or service. Use pictures of the product and quote experts and satisfied customers in the report. Do not forget to include your networking link in the report. Network marketing is an easy way to make quick money online mainly due to the flexibility it offers. You are free to select the product and the method of marketing.

Next step is to distribute the report. For this you can make use of the numerous free blogs and other community web sites. There are also numerous forums dedicated to networking. Apart from this you can also join those forums that have relation to your product or service. Many people raise questions regarding the product or service in these forums. Answering these questions accurately will give you an edge and people will buy the product through you.

This type of marketing is an easy way to make quick money online because you are not investing any money. And all you need to do is to spend some time on the internet. There are several organizations and groups dedicated to your type of product or service. Joining these groups will enable you to sell your products as well as introduce you to people with similar interests. You can also attract customers by providing free articles and reviews on the products.

If you are looking for an easy way to make quick money online, there is no doubt that network marketing is the best choice. It is simple and easy.

Jaz Lai is an Online Business Expert where he created $10,045 sales in 24 hours just by sending out 5 emails without any list or website. Click here to find out how he did it and what is the easy way to earn quick money online www.onlineearningmakeeasy.com/free-report, Further recommended resources www.jazlai.com

Article source: http://www.expertarticles.com/article/Internet-Business/What-Is-The-Easy-Way-To-Make-Quick-Money-Online-.html

A Guide to Writing Articles on Unemployment

2008-10-26T01:58:00.000-07:00

If you are a student of the Economics Department, tips for writing articles on unemployment may be right in time for you.

Actually, articles on unemployment are not that difficult to complete. In this article, we will present you the guidelines that will help you create an effective article on unemployment.

1. Searching for sufficient sources on unemployment

You have the general subject area – unemployment. So, look through the sources available. Recent research papers or some scientific articles on unemployment may come in handy. They will help you get the general impression of what you will be dealing with.
2. Narrowing down the scope of the subject area to a certain problem

There is a diversity of problems that articles on unemployment may be devoted to. So, you may consider the list of possible topics for articles on unemployment presented below:
* Unemployment in India: Economic Policy Scenario;
* Causes of Unemployment in the USA;
* Possible Solutions to the Problem of Unemployment.
3. Outlining the article on unemployment

Outlining is extremely important if you want to write good articles on unemployment. It helps think over each issue and detail that will be presented in article on unemployment. While working on an outline, mind logical consecution of the issues you are going to present.
4. Composing the text & editing

When composing the text of your article on unemployment, mind the simplicity of your language. Do not overuse too complicated sentences. It is even better to avoid them at all.

Revising and editing articles on unemployment is a must. This step to completing articles on unemployment is better to take some time after they are completed. Fresh mind will help you eliminate mistakes.

You can also find tips on writing an Economics research paper or an essay on corruption if needed on the blog of our website.

It is easy to find good writing tips for your essay or an article. Our database has information that will help you to accomplish any paper without the need for buying it online. If you still want your paper to be written by professional academic writers, then our service is the best choice for you!!!

source: http://custom-writing.org/blog/writing-tips/free-article-writing-tips/974.html

Business, Ethics, And The Law

2008-10-25T07:53:00.000-07:00

The primary objective of a business is to make money. Why would an individual or group of people start a business if he did not want to make money? An argument that is generated by some is: "Should profits be the only function of a business?"

The desire for businesses to make money can sometimes lead to what is considered unethical business practices. Keep in mind the words unethical and unlawful are two separate terms with two separate meanings. One side of the argument states that ethics should not play a part in business as long as the business abides by the law of the land then they should not concern themselves with ethical behavior, but they should act in the best interest of the organization. The other side of the argument states that for an economy to function in a capitalist fashion that businesses must act in an ethical fashion regardless if their actions are legal under law.

Milton Friedman contends that the sole responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Robert Almeder maintains that if capitalism is to survive, it must act in a socially responsible ways that go beyond profit making. The views of these two individuals go to the heart of the argument. This author believes that after reading their material that the views of both are exaggerated. I do believe that a business's responsibilities do go beyond what is legal. A business has a responsibility not only to the owners or stockholders, but also to the consumer who trust the business is acting not only in a legal manner but a safe and ethical manner as well. If a business goes out of its way to act in an unethical fashion then the business has broken their trust with the consumer. Once a business loses the trust of their consumers then profits will plummet. Seeing that profits are the primary function of a business then it is in the businesses best interest to maintain a trusting relationship with the consumers and continue to act in safe and ethical manner.

Keeping in mind that it is not the purpose of a business to propose or to dictate legislature nor ethical behavior to the individual, a business should not be held accountable for what a small population of consumers consider unethical. If the practice of the business is out in the open and hazards of their products are readily published and do not present the possibility of death involuntarily to the consumer then legislature should not dictate ethical behavior to business nor individuals for that matter.

About the author of Business, Ethics, And The Law

Joseph Brochin owns and operates http://Brochin.net. An IT & Telecommunications Solutions provider and consultant. http://brochin.net
source: http://www.article-tips.com/business/business-ethics-and-the/1742

How To Choose An Ideal Weight Loss Program

2008-10-25T07:51:00.000-07:00

As you are probably aware, there are many weight loss programs out there.

However, there is no one single ideal weight loss program for everyone. To understand how to lose weight, you first need to understand that each program typically employs one or more of these elements:
1) exercise
2) dieting
3) plan
4) support group
5) drugs
6) surgery

1) Exercise
Exercise may not be the most exciting word in your vocabulary, but it has a ton of benefits. Getting your active dose of daily exercise not only makes us healthier in general, it will help you burn those unsightly fats off your body.

Exercise serves the purpose of burning calories. Thus, if your food intake remains constant, your body weight will reduce.

If you have never exercised before, do visit your medical doctor or physician before starting on any exercise regime. Also, exercising does not mean that you have to start with something strenuous or competitive. Any activity you enjoy such as walking, jogging or swimming or even climbing stairs on a regular basis would serve the purpose.

2) Dieting
How many times have you heard someone say, YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT ? We may laugh it off, concluding that is just another cliche. But the truth of the matter is that overeating and the choice of food are often the main causes of obesity.

Eating is at the opposite end of exercising as food and drink intake adds calories to your body. Thus, an weight loss program would typically specify what to eat, when to eat, etc.

3) Plan
To increase your chances of success, following a plan and encouragement is crucial. Weight loss programs can therefore include daily, weekly or monthly plans.

4) Support Group
Accountability is an important element of success in any endeavor including weight loss. An effective weight loss program could incorporate a support group to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

5) Drugs
Weight loss drugs or diet pills are usually used in 'lifesaving' situations where weight reduction is critical. Medicinal or herbal drugs are prescribed to change the fundamental bodily processes such as suppressing the appetite, altering the metabolism or restricting the ability to absorb specific nutrients.

6) Surgery
You might have heard of liposuction which is the surgical removal of fats beneath the skin. Another form of weight loss surgery - bariatric surgery reduces the size of the stomach so that food energy intake is reduced.

Armed with the knowledge of the above elements, you now know what to look for in a weight loss program and how to evaluate if it will most likely suit you as an individual human being with your unique characteristics, desires and needs.

About the author of How To Choose An Ideal Weight Loss Program

For more tips and advice on how to lose weight, check out Alice's web site at How To Lose Weight
source: http://www.article-tips.com/fitness/how-to-choose-an/898

Things to Do on a First Date

2008-10-24T08:05:00.000-07:00

Your time has come! You have been dreaming for this. Finally, you will be meeting your first date tonight. Now, the question is: what should you do on your first date?

Below are some tips you should do on your first date:

Have a nice conversation. Remember, to have a first date means knowing your date better. Therefore, it is very important to have a nice conversation with your date.

Ice cream is perfect for sunny weather. You can buy your date an ice cream while walking in a part then have a romantic conversation at the beach.

Never date in your apartment. For a first date, it is a very big turn off especially for a girl if you invite to go to your apartment. This can be very intimidating for both of you because you are still in the process of knowing each other. So as much as possible do something that is in public.

Look for silent place. Again, to have a first date means know your date better. The best way to achieve this is through talking. Find a silent place so that both of you would understand each other.

Never look for a dark place. It is very important that on your first date, you have to see each other while talking. Look for place that has lights so both of you would able to see your gestures and expressions.

Cafes are the best location for a date. Cafes will not only obliged you to pay a lot of many but it is also a cozy and quiet place that is very perfect for both of you.

Talk about interesting topics. Never talk about topics that would make both of you boring. Never talk about your job because it would definitely bore your date. Interesting topic such as past experiences, family and friends would help your conversation fruitful. You can also talk about your funny experiences or your most embarrassing moments. That would definitely laugh your date.

Ask a lot of questions. The more questions you would be asking the easier to hold conversations of any topic.

Listening makes others feel very important. Generally, girls love to talk. So have your full ears in listening because she will feel how important she is. Also, never interrupt when she is talking.

Never impress your date. The worst thing you can do when talking with a girl is to let her know how rich you are, that you have to Mercedes Benz at home or any topic that would allows you to impress her.

Plan your date. It is very important to have a plan to have an organize date. Set a date and time as to when you will meet, set a place where would you eat, etc.

Other places to have a perfect date would be, watching ball games, such NBA, major league baseball, football. Watching concerts and movies would also be good options.

Lastly, enjoy life and have fun. Dating is a challenge but understand you might have to kiss a lot of frogs before you meet your prince or princess.

Virginia Beauty and Fashion consultant, Svetlana Polyakova from SecretstoImpress.com specializes in teaching men and women the fine techniques of how to meet to meet that special person, dress to impress, and beauty & Fashion tips and etiquette.

Article source: Expert Articles

Feng Shui Tips for Fertility

2008-10-24T08:03:00.000-07:00

The Gua of the husband should be tapped first and foremost. Sleep in his Yan Nian (Relationship) direction to enhance fertility, promote spousal well-being as well as up the intimacy, romance and feelings of affection, too! You can consult our free Gua Calculator to determine this. If sleeping in his Yan Nian is not feasible, simply re-position your bed to face the direction. Easy!

Do stay away from decorating your home with fierce pictures of predatory animals in aggressive, dominant poses. These images will fail to nurture and consequently will ‘kill’ the warm fertile ambience you are striving for.

Dragon symbols, as you know, are terribly Yang in nature and should only be used outside the bedroom. But, in the case of trying for a baby, a little Yang magic by the bedside may help! An inconspicuous dragon item next to the bed can conjure up the precious Yang energy to aid conception. Hang a tassel with a bronze dragon or a small dragon charm next to the bed for this purpose.

A beaming Buddha statue with children climbing all over him symbolizes the joy of children. It is also said to be able to facilitate the laughter and happiness of your own future children to your home! Display the statue prominently in the East direction of the bedroom.

Your front door: make sure that there is nothing but open space directly out the front door. Trees, a street, or other objects in the immediate vicinity of this door is not good, since this is the main entrance of Qi. Keep this space clean and fresh-smelling!

Elephants are said to be the ultimate symbol of fertility and virility. They can also create auspicious “descendants’ Qi” – the very type you need! Place an elephant statue by the West or Northwest direction. If you wish for a son, lodge a stone on the back of the statue.

Cicadas are not just those bugs that make charming night creaks, they’re actually a potent symbol of marriage luck and fertility! Couples who are trying to conceive should definitely have an image of the cicada close by in the bedroom.

Do you like these Tips? Dragon-Gate.com sends monthly Feng Shui Tips newsletters to its members. To read past Feng Shui Tips, click here.

Corey Tsang is the resident Feng Shui expert of Dragon-Gate.com, and is well-known for his bi-monthly newsletters on Feng Shui Tips and Feng Shui Alerts of the Month. For more information, please contact Mr Tsang at corey@dragon-gate.com or visit our website at Dragon-Gate.com.

Article source: Expert Articles

Top Tips for Internet Riches

2008-10-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

When most people think of making money online, they probably think of get rich quick scams. Thatâ€™s a shame, because the internet has enormous potential for creating wealth quickly, but only if you know what youâ€™re doing!

The best way is to sell your very own products online, information products are best, namely E-books. Why? Well, when you sell your own products, you make 100% of the sales in profit, but also, because if there is ANYTHING you know a lot about, absolutely anything at all, you can create an E-book and make good money from it.

So, here is a list of tips to help you on your way to internet riches.

1) Create a product. This could be on just about anything really, so long as you have good knowledge on the subject and provide quality information. If you struggle on how to write a good E-book, buy a couple on the same subject, its very important to invest in yourself.

2) Create a website. You donâ€™t need to be an expert website designer to do this; there is lots of simple website creation software out there, many of them free. Just remember to try and create a good quality website which is rich in content and encourages visitors to return in the future.

3) Promote your product. This is where most businesses fail. There are lots of ways to promote your product, many of them either free or very cheap.

4) Generate traffic. Hopefully the result of good promotion will be lots of quality, targeted traffic, as this is the kind of visitor who will be specifically looking for your product, thus will be a good chance they will buy the product, which is the name of the game!

5) Search Engine Ranking. This is one of the best ways to draw in lots of targeted traffic. Not always easy to get a good ranking though, but when you manage this, it really is worth all the effort!

6) Making Sales. Obviously, this is what you want to be doing! Not always straight forward though, takes a lot more to make lots of sales than people realise, but can definitely be achieved if a consistent effort is put in over time.

7) Multiple Streams of Income. This is one of the best things you can do in business, as it allows you to make lots of money, even if your sales take a downturn. Multiple streams of income include using googles adsense, selling free websites, affiliate programs etc.

8) Residual Income. This is an ongoing income stream which is a knock on effect of all your previous work, usually created by email marketing. Ever heard the saying â€œthe money is in the list?â€ This is from email marketing, which will provide a longer term income also if done correctly.

This was just a quick run through of the basics of starting your own online business and making good money online. As you may have gathered, it is anything but easy, but is definitely possible and really anyone can do it, with the right information, determination and attention to detail.

About the author of Top Tips for Internet Riches

Chris Neill is an experienced online businessman and runs the website http://www.verysmartcash.com. This website provides information products that have all you need to know to run your very own online home based internet business.
source: http://www.article-tips.com/home-business/top-tips-for-internet/1803

Lose Weight Naturally & Effectively

2008-10-24T07:49:00.000-07:00

This article has been written because we in the west are reaching crisis point in the problem of overweight people, and I hope that I can make some helpful suggestions if this is your area of concern.

Studies have shown that the number of people who are obese or are overweight has more than doubled in the past 10 years. There are many reasons for this such as the rise in the number of fast foods joints, drinks that contain a lot of saturated fat in the meals and the type of food purchased at the grocery store.

Though genetics, lifestyle and aging also play a significant factor, it is the choice of the person whether or not to consume the type of food that they do. Some people want an overnight solution to the weight problem but studies have proven this to be unsafe and leaves markings of loose skin which can only be removed through surgery.

People must understand that a natural weight loss system should be in place first before anything can happen. This is only after a doctor is able to analyze the patients weight, health, calorie intake, age, gender, lifestyle, stress level and routine.

Many doctors recommend exercise as the best and natural way to lose weight. Cardio vascular exercises can increase the persons heart rate and metabolism which in turn will burn those excess pounds weekly.

Those who dont work well with a personal trainer can join group exercises in the gym. Studies have shown that people can be driven to accomplish a lot of things in groups because it is fun and everyone will get an extra push from one another.

Others who dont have time to go to the gym can still accomplish this by jogging or running in the morning. Those who are not fond of doing these things can play a game of basketball or any other sport with friends.

This should be combined with a diet program that is designed by a dietitian. Though some people think using supplements will help increase the process, many professionals would rather advise the client to eat right and burn the calories gradually.

Oats, rice, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat and cereals give the person the much needed carbohydrates and fats. Since the average Joe does not know when enough has been taken in, the dietitian must come up with a plan to make sure everything is balanced.

This many mean substituting certain items with those that give a lower amount of calories or cutting down some in smaller portions. This just proves dieting does not always have to be giving up on certain foods.

An important part in making sure that the system works is going to the doctor for a regular checkup. This will help these professionals monitor the patients progress and recommend changes if these are necessary.

The individual should stick to the program and everything will fall into place. The improvements or the number of pounds lost for one will not be the same for the other. This is a long term project that could prevent diseases from happening and extending the life of the patient.

Some companies have tried to promote the use of laxatives to lose weight. Though this should only be used for a week, others have used it much longer and are in danger of causing muscle problems in the body.

Despite the advances in science, health professionals still believe the safest and best way to lose weight naturally is still through diet and exercise. The person must cooperate with the doctor and the dietitian so that a system can be made specifically to handle ones case.

There is of course a lot more information out there on this subject in such places as the local bookstore, the local library, and there are a number of very helpful Blogs which provide excellent advice.

About the author of How To Lose Weight Naturally & Effectively

john savage has a very helpful Blog which can be read by Clicking Here
source: http://www.article-tips.com/fitness/how-to-lose-weight/909

Home Safety for Your Children

2008-10-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

There are many concerns when it comes to your children’s safety. But it really comes down to what you do in your home that will determine the safety of your children. There is first and foremost the cleanliness and tidiness of the house. This is particularly important because you wouldn’t want your child to just pick anything up and put it in his or her mouth. Or he/she could stumble over a toy that you’ve forgotten to put away.

WHAT TO DO: Obviously, a clean and tidy home is what works best. Clean up all the clutter and store all prized possessions that you wouldn’t want destroyed or lost. Lock all dangerous objects like tools or poisons. Keep cleaning materials, chemicals, and products out of children’s reach. It would also be better to lock them up. Little details of your home also matters. For example, your child runs around and none of you notice that the edge of your rug is tilted upwards a little. Your child might trip on it and hurt him/herself. Try to look forward to what might happen if you’re not careful around the house. Leaving a toy on the floor could very well lead to your child stumbling over and hitting his or her head directly on the floor.

WHAT TO DO: Take a look around your house and try to evaluate every corner and every area. What could be a potential danger for your child? Here are some points you could use to make your house safer for your child:

Put sleeves on doorknobs to keep toddlers away from dangerous areas
Turn down temperature on your water heater to at most 120 degrees Fahrenheit
Secure curtain cords or any cords or strings that are carelessly within your children’s reach
Put childproof latches on cabinet doors and drawers
Place baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairway
Fence in your swimming pool and other dangerous areas
Cover sharp furniture and edges with foam tape and corner protectors
Tape down loose rugs and electrical cords
Cover unused outlets with plastic outlet plugs
Take away any protruding bolts or loose nuts and put on non-slip coating on slippery floors
Replace hard swing sets or play toys with soft material
Provide soft ground cover around play equipment and soften ground on play areas

These are just some of the many safety measures you can employ in and out your house. Regarding escape plans in cases of emergencies like fire or gas leak, it is important that your child understands what to do.

WHAT TO DO: Go over you escape plane with the whole family and make your child remember what he has to do in case trouble comes up. Be specific and detailed with your emergency plans. It would also be great if you have a drill on what to do. Make sure that emergency contact numbers are right next to your phone. You can also have your children memorize the emergency numbers just in case. You should also keep exits easy for your children. Keep escape ladders near second-story emergency exits, too.

http://www.expertarticles.com/article/Home-Family/Children/Home-Safety-for-Your-Children.html

How To Lose Weight - And Keep It Off

2008-10-23T07:48:00.000-07:00

The best way to lose weight is about living a healthier life than what you may be living now. You will need a complete lifestyle change and you will need to be committed. The body loses about 2 pounds a week optimally and that's 2 pounds that stay off. When you drop at a faster rate your body could potentially rebound and either plateau your weight loss or put extra weight on. If you are committed then you should reach your goal.

There are 5 most important things that must go together in any workout program. These are part of changing your complete lifestyle to one that is healthier. They also help you to naturally optimize your metabolism. The faster your metabolism the better your body uses your food for energy, instead of storing it as fat.
I put them in the order of importance.

1. Eat more. Yes eat more. More meals that is. It is best to eat a small meal every 3-4 hours. The meal should be just large enough to where you are not hungry, as opposed to eating you are full. There is a difference, think of it as no bigger than the size of your two fists put together. Eating 1 or 2 meals a day slows your metabolism down. You should have at least 4-6 meals a day. For most a ratio of carbs-proteins-fats should be 50%-25%-25% is good, but each person is unique.

2. Drink more water. Most of us don't have enough water. This means our bodies are dehydrated. Two things a dehydrated body has trouble doing, one is releasing water. In order to lose fat you must be able to release water, because fat cells in your body are composed of mostly water. A dehydrated body cannot build very well. Muscle tone indicates a constant building state in your body. If your body isn't building that means it is losing muscle and it's never good to lose muscle that slows your metabolism and makes you look flabby.

3. Maintain a balanced workout regimen of cardio and resistance (weights). Cardio is good for fat burning and it's easy to do and to progress yourself. Resistance is a little harder because it's not as easy to know what to do. If weights aren't your thing then try Yoga or Pilates. Both are very effective resistance and core training and can help you maintain lean muscle and increase your overall metabolism.

4. Smart supplementation of your diet is your best solution to making sure you get the nutrients your food doesn't give you. A daily multivitamin will suffice in most cases, and if you don't like pills they sell it in liquid form. Plus cleanses, as well as detox formulas are awesome for eliminating toxins we take into our bodies without knowing.

5. Sleep is a very important part of any healthy lifestyle regimen. When we sleep our bodies and minds refresh themselves and allow us to function at an optimal level. Sleeping allows muscles to rebuild themselves and when they do that, it speeds your metabolism.

You may ask why I gave you this long list instead of just telling you what exercises to do. The reason is if you think that exercising is all you need then you are mislead. If exercising is all we needed to look and feel great then everybody who works out at the gym would have great bodies and be healthy. If you have been to a gym before you know its not true.

About the author of How To Lose Weight - And Keep It Off

Chris Navi - Find answers for losing weight at http://www.jtfit.com/ Also check out the daily tips blog at http://www.jtfitblog.com
source: http://www.article-tips.com/fitness/how-to-lose-weight/1427

Online Dating - Have Fun, Be Smart, Be Safe or Be Sorry

2008-10-22T08:07:00.000-07:00

The Internet is still pretty safe overall, even for seniors, according to research of various Internet safety sites who estimated a 90 – 97 percent “terrific” Internet. People are chatting with one another, making cyber-dates. However, there are some general rules of Internet etiquette or “netiquette” and some precautions to take for possible dangers lurking there. Here are some pointers compiled from several websites experienced in cyber-dating techniques.

SAFETY TIPS

1. Do Not Give Out Personal Information - Whether it’s via email, online chat rooms, message boards, in your personal ad, etc., do not disclose your personal information like your complete name, address, telephone number, work place, etc. Use a third party email address instead of one with your domain or work domain, that is easily traceable. For example, instead of using joe@seniortimes.com , set up an email account like joe@yahoo.com or joe@hotmail.com (search “free email accounts” for places like this). Preferred dating sites offer email forwarding so that members do not see private information.

2. Do Not Lie - Be up front about your age and appearance. Better to not be caught in lies later on or lead someone on falsely.

3. Be Tactful and Leary - Do not believe everything you read in posts, in emails or in general, online. You could be chatting with a child or someone faking their sexual orientation. The odds are that you will probably encounter someone a tad “undesirable” from time to time, so try to use appropriate replies, using tact, or ignore the encounter, if it suits the situation.

4. Use Caution in Sharing Images - Whenever you think about sharing a digital photo online, keep in mind that it may be possible for thousands to see it on the Internet, not just one person. Plus your photo can be copied, altered with different software out there today and posted elsewhere. If you do use your image, send one that shows you with a warm smile, not a frown.

5. Ask if Unsure - Go slow like the tortoise in the race with the hare and ask questions if you are unsure how to proceed in your contact and communications. Contact the site owner or webmaster (check for contact info when you register), ask trusted friends for helpful resources, check with local authorities. Remember that old adage, “Better safe than sorry!”

6. Be careful if you decide to meet for the first date. Remember there is safety in numbers, so meet in a public place with other friends around.

7. Keep copies of communications in a file so that you can show friends or the law in case your meeting or continued contact takes a bad turn. And do report any problems and cooperate with authorities. They can get information from your computer and communications to aid in tracking down culprits in some cases. Don’t try to take matters into your own hands and stalk the culprit yourself. Be safe.

8. Let men instigate online and offline relationships. Men still like to pursue. Online studies show that this has proven safer, too, especially with Internet dating. Men should make the first email move. And women should NOT reply to men’s ads; let the men pursue. (Sorry guys!)

9. So that you don’t appear anxious or desperate or both, generally wait for a day or 24-hour period before replying. And forget about replying on weekend and holidays, at least at first, and being available via instant messaging. This is especially important for women (double standards are still around and even exist in the Internet dating scene) – you want to “appear” socially active, confident – blah, blah, blah, even if you are just home washing your hair.

10. Don’t date someone who is already married to someone else – even if that person says he or she is getting a divorce. Let the divorce happen first. Otherwise things could get ugly. And you may even have to face the spouse / ex-spouse and children down the road. So think of others, too, when even considering someone who is not single.

11. If after several emails or letters you decide to talk on the phone, keep the first call short, around 10 minutes. Plan to have to “rush” off. Your goal is to hear the person’s voice and talk a short while only, not seeming over anxious.

12. Some gents do complain that the ladies do not reply to their emails. So ladies, reply! At least say, “No, thank you.”

13. Check their background. Most any company can run a name through a criminal database. But wouldn’t you have more confidence in the background check if it was done by a Licensed Private Investigator? PI’s are trained to check for the obvious, but to also look for the concealed evidence that often reveals the true nature of an individual. Misspelled names, altered dates of birth, incorrect social security numbers, maiden and/or alias names are just a few of the areas that PI’s regularly check, but most background check companies never even consider.

For less than the price of hamburgers and a movie, you can have piece of mind. Choose from a basic criminal check to a complete comprehensive background report. Don’t take chances.

NETIQUETTE

Here are some general guidelines for your online communications.

• Use respectful tones and wording. Swear words and hurtful remarks are not good for anyone. If someone presses you, for example, to share confidential information that you shouldn’t, just say, “No” and tell the site monitors / webmaster of the forum, chat room or online dating site, if necessary.

• Look for dating and other resource websites that list street addresses instead of post office boxes or nothing at all. Ask friends for referrals.

• Try to avoid stretching the truth about your accomplishments, job title, etc. Then if a relationship develops, things will run much smoother.

• Try to avoid many 1-word replies and 1-sentence communications.
Take some time to develop your thoughts and share in your paragraphs. In short, be a friend.

• Using all capital letters mean “SHOUTING” and is difficult to read at any length.

Take care, be smart, be safe and have fun with your cyber-dating!
source: http://www.expertarticles.com/article/Culture-Society/Dating/Online-Dating-Have-Fun-Be-Smart-Be-Safe-or-Be-Sorry.html

Buy A Franchise Or Start A Business?

2008-10-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

A franchise business is definitely the safer opportunity according to US Department of Commerce figures. This study carried out over 7 years revealed that after seven years, over 90% of new franchises are still in business, as compared to only 20% of individual new start-up businesses.

Most people, who do start a business by themselves, end up failing and losing a lot of money. I now that this is a sad fact, but it's true!

If you start a business on your own, you have to make all the decisions regarding location, layout of premises and find and vet all suppliers.

With a franchise business, the franchisor will advice you on all the above. In fact, you might even find that you are told where to locate your business, who your suppliers are and have some choice in pre designed layouts.

A franchise business provides you with the consistency and quality throughout the franchisors territory. This leads to higher levels of customer satisfaction. The franchisor provides full training and support in running the business. If a site is required, the franchisor will assist the franchisee in selecting a site that fulfils the demographic requirements of the product.

A business start up has to learn from trials and errors until they hit on a formula that works. They have no training or support in managing their business opportunity. If any thing does go wrong, and in most businesses, it does, then they have no one to turn to for advice. The advantage they have is that there is no one looking over their back, telling them what to do and how to run their business.

The franchisee benefits from national marketing which is spread out amongst all the franchisees, enhancing the economies of scale. New products can tested in certain territories before they are rolled out nationally.

A new business will have to trail any new products with their own capital and take the full brunt if the experiment fails!

The relationship between a franchisee and a franchisor is well balanced. Both parties need each other to survive and create a profit. Ongoing support and training is usually available for franchisees who are struggling. Due to the higher success rate, banks are inclined to lend a higher percentage of start up costs in a franchise business then they are to an independent start up. They are also more likely to give extra leeway when more funds are required.

If you have decided to go down the franchising route then it is important that you choose a franchise that is right for you. Don't just go for the opportunity that will make you the most money, instead, choose a business niche that you will enjoy.

Decide how much capital you have to invest, and then choose the franchise opportunity that best fits your lifestyle. Decide how many hours you want to work and how many employees you are capable of handling.

Once you have made up your mind to buy a franchise, always have a contingency fund as there are always unexpected costs that arise in the initial years of running a business.

If you decide to go it alone, make sure you speak to other people running the same type of business in other parts of the country and learn from their experience. You will find other businesses in the same field as you more then happy to part with their experience once they realise that you are not going to compete in their territory.

Make sure that you take professional advice before deciding to follow the franchising route or starting a business on your own.

About the author of Buy A Franchise Or Start A Business?

Naz Daud is the founder of CityLocal.co.uk Business Franchises and UK Business Directory Business Franchise Opportunity
source: http://www.article-tips.com/business/buy-a-franchise-or/1738

Can You Start a Successful Diet

2008-10-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that the key to a healthy life is an adequately balanced diet. Keeping an unhealthy, unbalanced diet leads to several disorders, the most frequent of which is obesity.

As you may know if you already tried one or more diets, the first couple of weeks are the hardest; starting a new diet with the wrong foot may not only be useless, but it may also lead you to eat even worse than before. Here are some tips that will help you start a new diet and successfully keep following it.

Don't even try a new diet without asking a professional: Although some diets are often advertised as very effective and very fast ways to lose weight, keep in mind that every body is different from each other, and consequently so are their needs. Always ask your nutrition professional about which diet suits you best, for he/she will always look for your wellness above all. After checking certain things like your lifestyle, your ideal desired weight and the overall health status of your body, he will be able to carefully plan a step by step diet for you, based on your body's actual needs.

If you think a diet plan you saw somewhere may be useful, show it to a professional and ask him to make any changes necessary to make it fit you. For instance, if you see "Angelina Jolie's new amazing diet" on a magazine and you think it may be useful for you, get a professional to evaluate it first. Chances are that the perfect diet for some people is harmful for others. Besides, a diet that is too hard will end up frustrating you, and a diet that is too easy will be quite ineffective.

Complement your diet with physical activity: Unless you have a very physically active lifestyle, obesity is not the effect of consuming an excessive amount of lipids, but of accumulating them. The key is to burn that fat as well as reducing its consumption: both must be done together. The best way to get rid of that excess of undesired fat is to complement a healthy diet with everyday exercising. A daily walk, playing a sport or doing aerobics may be suitable companions for your diet. But, again, ask your physician or professional personal trainer, he will tell you the right amount of physical effort your body can sustain, and set a plan to make it fun and useful for you.

Avoid temptations: When you have just started on a diet, it may be hard to follow it. That is because your body is used to eat disorderly, and it takes some time to get rid of that habit. It is a good thing to keep all that forbidden food out of your fridge, at least until your body gets used to your new eating habits and you are fully confident in being able to have access to that food and yet not take it. Let's be realistic; it is way harder to get on a diet if you have that piece of chocolate cake in your kitchen!

Get busy: Try to find a hobby or activity that keeps your mind away from food, especially at the beginning of a diet. Reading is a good activity to accomplish this, because it's fun, useful and a great way to get the time flying until dinner time.

About the author of Can You Start a Successful Diet

Zach Thompson is a Glyconutrients Representative. His clients range from actresses to pro athletes. You can get a free Glyconutrients consultation by visiting Glyconutrients. Clinical studies have shown that glyconutrients can help balance your immune system.
source: http://www.article-tips.com/fitness/can-you-start-a/891

Choosing the Right Weight Loss Program

2008-10-21T07:45:00.000-07:00

With the new year usually comes new promises to be fit and lose weight. So the pantry is cleared of junk, the gym membership is renewed, and those worn jogging shoes are replaced with the latest in running technology, for added spring to your step. You are determined that this is the year things are going to change for the better, and keeping that positive attitude is one way to see your goals to success.

Yet, different bodies require different things in order to successfully lose weight. While regular diet and exercise is good for everyone, the methods may not necessarily be applied the same way for everybody. Some people may benefit more from weight lifting than aerobics, and vice-versa. In terms of nutrition, what may be considered a healthy diet for one person may actually hinder another from losing weight!

When you decide to begin a weight loss program, whether as part of a New Year's resolution or for any season, it is important to know all the facts before you begin. The root of this knowledge starts with your own body. If you go into an exercise or diet program unarmed, chances are you may do more damage than good. As a result, you may become frustrated and quit.

That does not have to happen. By listening to your body and knowing what works and what does not, you can craft a diet and exercise program guaranteed to take off the pounds.

Diet

Do you have any known allergies or other bad reactions to certain foods? Do you have diabetes or any other ailments that may be affected by what you eat? Before you decide to give up dairy or meat, or dive into an all-protein regimen, find out first what your body can handle. Let your doctor suggest a meal plan best suited to your body, that what you eat is burned as energy and not stored as fat.

Exercise

Are you prone to injury? Do you suffer any ailments that may prohibit you from doing certain exercises? Do you take time to stretch your muscles before engaging in any strenuous activity? Believe it or not, exercising improperly can impede weight loss and result not only in physical pain but emotional as well. In today's fast-paced world, we are often led to believe that if results are not immediate, we have failed. Where weight loss is concerned, there is no overnight solution. To exercise means to train your body to a healthier lifestyle, and as you learn to move properly and regularly you will see the weight disappear.

Consult with your doctor before embarking on any type of exercise, find out what your body can do. If you are unable to afford a gym membership, you can still get the exercise you need. Look for free courses at your local community center, or just take a walk in the park, it will do wonders for you and your circulation.

Make wise choices before you begin your resolutions to better health. Losing weight doesn't have to be a chore. If you listen to the experts, and your own body, the results will be well worth the wait.
source: http://www.article-tips.com/fitness/choosing-the-right-weight/519

Our Children's Future

2008-10-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

We worry about our kids: their well-being and happy future are our main concerns in life. We long for them to be content and successful at whatever they choose to do. We hope that we’ll be able to provide them with the same kind of help that many of us have received from our own parents. But how can we ensure that we’re doing everything in our power to make all of this come to pass?

We can, but there’s a process. First, take a few steps back and consider what we truly want for our kids. For example, when I asked a client of mine recently to think carefully of the three things she wished for her children, who range from 16 to 9 years of age, she responded “I want them to be loving, compassionate and responsible adults.” There was no mention of rich, famous or powerful. This mother really got to the root of what she knew to be the crucial characteristics necessary for her children to live happy and fulfilling lives.

Once we have this kind of clarity about the things we really want for our kids, we can then move forward towards instilling those traits in them. But first we must be completely clear. Here what to do:

1. Make a list of what you want for your kids. Be sure your list is unselfishly motivated! Financial security, love, happiness…even for them to be blessed with kids just like them! That’s what my Mother wished for me and it came true.

Once you have come up with a list of perhaps ten items, start from the top and compare the first two items. Which is most important? Take that choice and compare it to the next item on the list. Again, which is most important? Continue doing this until you have gone through your list and the item that remains is your number one choice.

Repeat the process for your number two, three, four and five choices. This is a list of the five most important things that you want for your kids. Having prioritized, now you can do your best to assist in creating a wonderful future for your kids.

2. Important rule: You are not making decisions about your children’s personal future. That’s their responsibility and their right to determine. However, as a parent, you are certainly able to influence their future.

3. As an example, let’s say that Financial Security is on your list. Do you know what it takes to create financial security? Think of people who have managed to achieve financial security on their own. What traits do they share? Perhaps you determine that responsibility is one of those traits.

How do you create responsibility? What do you know to be true about responsible adults? My own personal opinion is that these adults were taught early on about responsibility through actual experience. For instance, most of them probably had specific chores they did at home. Several probably worked in the summers. Many of them may have learned early on to take responsibility for their own lives and not place blame on others nor make excuses. At an appropriate age, the majority were undoubtedly taught to make decisions on their own and suffer the consequences. They learned not by being told what to do but in the actual doing.

Responsibility, coupled with other strong traits you might identify, will assist your kids in taking charge of their lives.

Be forewarned: It is so much easier to just let them do what they want versus being a watchdog. Teaching a child responsibility, or anything else for that matter, takes patience, determination and commitment.

4. Be a role model. Our kids model themselves after their childhood experiences and especially as they saw their parents. As much as we said we would never be like our own parents, how many of us can see our parents in ourselves? If you want your son or daughter to be responsible, be responsible. By being a true and consistent role model, you can have the most profound influence on your children.

5. Who is this child? I love the story a friend told me recently. Her son in New York City had a visitor, a young woman in her third year of college. After spending a week together, the student admitted that her major, biology, was not what she wanted to pursue but rather what her Mother suggested. She wanted to be a fashion stylist! How could her Mother have missed that?

Do you know what excites your kid? What moves them? What they love to do? Who they really are at their core? Honoring them for who and what they truly are is the greatest gift you can give your son or daughter. Take the time to connect with them and really listen. Listen on a level where you really are hearing them.

6. Praise the positive and attempt to minimize the negative. Of course you establish consequences for unacceptable behavior. But positive reinforcement is a much more powerful tool. It’s Pavlovian conditioning and it works.

7. I love this quote: “Expectations are predetermined resentments.” Don’t set yourself up for disappointment. If you are looking for fulfillment, look to yourself, not to your children. Don’t attempt to live vicariously through them. It will only end in unhappiness for everyone involved.

8. Try to remember what really ticked you off about your own parents when you were their age. Not that it was valid. Remember we were just kids and reacted in a childish manner much of the time. But it will help to empathize with how your own children are feeling, to understand their frustrations and to be able to communicate in a more effectual way.

Almost all of us find our way in life but it is so much easier if we have the necessary tools. You know now what you wish your parents had said or done back when. Break the chain! You are the most important person in your child’s life; you can provide those tools. That is how we ensure that their future is bright.

source: http://www.expertarticles.com/article/Home-Family/Children/Our-Children-s-Future.html

5 Ways to Make Money Online with a Website

2008-10-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to make money online and the best way for you is to simply be creative with your skills, knowledge, and abilities. However, the following five options are powerful ways to make money online with a website and definite something you should consider.

#1 Knowledge
You can always sell your knowledge, which many times is the best way if you are an “expert” of any type or subject matter. People are looking for your knowledge and input, regardless if it is self taught, learned in college, or wherever. People are always looking for answers online, so if you sell your knowledge you can simply make money from what you know.

#2 Affiliate Programs
Become an affiliate for products based on your website theme and then simply promote these programs where you earn money from referrals. It is easier than it sounds and only takes you creating a website full of rich content.

#3 Hard Goods
Selling hard goods is a traditional way of making money and it transfers to the online forum as well. No matter what hard goods you have to sell you can certainly find a buyer online. Create a website that focuses on your goods, have a good shipping plan in place, and then start selling online.

#4 E-books
Selling e-books, articles, and other written materials is also a powerful way to make money online and if you are good at writing it is certainly something you should consider. You can have your own website selling pre-written topics or else you can also write on demand, whatever works best for you and your web business.

#5 Auction Goods
Auction web sites are also very powerful ways to make money. The reason for this is you can sell a wide variety of products, do not necessarily need your own website although it helps, and can change your products from time to time as you need to. Many people enjoy working and selling via auction sites because any number of things can be sold from old personal items to new products as well.

The best way for you to make money online is for you to do something that you like and enjoy. When you do some thing you like and enjoy you will be able to commit yourself to doing it fulltime. The reason for this is working online can be difficult at times and if you do not enjoy it then it will be difficult for you to be successful making money via your website. by: Michael Turner

5 keys to making money online

2008-10-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

Would you believe there are tens of thousands of people who have found ways to make money online? Not only that, but their incomes are significant and growing, due to little competition and low cost of entry. If I can do it, then there is no reason why you can't. You can literally begin making money right away.

There are many, many, opportunities online, but here are the 5 factors you really need to consider, to guarantee your success:

1. Set your goals.
As with any business you need to set goals. Goals help you visualize where you want to go, and keep you motivated when you get up in the morning. You goal may be to earn $500 or $10000 a month, it may be to take that dream vacation, or it may be to give up your job. These are all great goals. It is imperative that you write them down and reread them often. You need a short term goal - e.g monthly goal, to keep you motivated from day to day and a longer term goal 1-2 years - to keep you on track and prevent you from chucking it in. I am confident that if you adopt a positive attitude and embrace your goals then you will soon be making money online.

2. Take time to research.
As I alluded to earlier there are many people making money online - and there are thousands of different businesses that you can try. The internet is a mine field of information and “making money online” opportunities are not difficult to find. However you will need to decipher the genuine opportunities from the scams. Many online promises are just methods to extract money from you. Some do's and don'ts

DON'T fall for the “get rich quick schemes” that promise huge returns in record time
DO try and email or telephone for more information
DO search online for feedback on the opportunity e.g. try name of opportunity + scam
DON'T part with money without consulting a friend you can trust and/or sleeping on it.

3. Find something that you like.
You're the boss now - so do yourself a favor and choose something you enjoy. This will greatly enhance your chances of success. A few things to consider:
Do you enjoy writing?
Do you enjoy talking to people?
Do you enjoy working on the computer?
Do you have a flair for sales?
Are there particular things that you are passionate about e.g sports, music?
Do you want to be contactable 24x7?
Do you want to have flexible/fixed hours?
Personally I like to work on my computer on my own time and my choice of internet business matches this. Find out what suits you, and you can weed out the business ventures which are not for you. Don't settle for second best - choose something you are comfortable with.

4. Find something worth your while.
While it is a good idea to avoid the sales pitch that promises the sun, moon, and stars; it is also important that you don't take the safe option - that guarantees $5 an hour for sending emails, filling our surveys, or licking stamps. These amount to you underselling yourself, because the opportunities of making money on the internet are so much greater. Look for systems which offer a good monthly return for a few hours work a day - if you find something with a residual income all the better.

5. Anything for an easier life!
One of my motivations for venturing into internet marketing was to create an easier life for myself. As I sat in my day job I used to think - “There must be easier ways to make money” - and there are! Earning a living online means that you have the luxury of working from home and choosing your own hours. It is important that you can exploit these perks, by being able to take time off, take extra vacations and spend more time with your family. You need to avoid the 40-50 hours a week for the sake of your sanity.

You have taken the first step by reading this article - you now just need to act upon it. I wish you the very best in your online endeavors.

by: Keith Kingston
About the author:
Keith Kingston is a highly successful affiliate marketer who is dying to share the methods he uses with you. Find out today about his guaranteed way to make money online at http://www.earnmoremoneyonline.com

Tips to Choose a Niche Topic for your Blog

2008-10-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

Are You Interested in the Topic?

A friend of mine explained it this way recently:

“Probably the best place to start thinking about what your blog should be about is to consider what YOU are about.”

Perhaps that’s a slightly awkward way of saying start by identifying your own interests, passions and energy levels for topics. While it might be tempting to start blogs based on what other people are interested in or what makes commercial sense there is little logic in starting a blog on a topic that you have no interest in. There are two main reasons for this.

Firstly if you want to grow a popular and well respected blog it can take considerable time and you’ll be needing to take a long term approach to building it up. As a result it’s well worth asking yourself ‘can I see myself still writing on this topic in 12 months time?’ If you can’t I’d suggest finding another topic.

The second reason is that you readers will quickly discern if you are passionate about your topic or not. Blogs that are dry and passionless don’t tend to grow - it makes sense really as no one wants to read something that the author doesn’t really believe in.

Is the Topic Popular?

While the blogger’s interest is important it’s not enough on it’s own to build a popular blog. Another crucial ingredient is that people WANT to read information on the topic you’re writing on. The law of Supply and Demand is what most business students are taught in their first semester of of studying economics and it comes into play here also. You might be interested in your topic but unless others are also you’ll always have an uphill battle in building a highly read blog.

Of course keep in mind that you are writing in a medium with a global audience of many millions and as a result you don’t need a topic that everyone is searching, just one that some people are searching for because even it’s something that even a small percentage of people have an active interest in it can be a lucrative area.

Is the Topic one that is growing or shrinking?

Also keep in mind that popular topics change over time. Obviously it’s great to get on a topic before it becomes big rather than when it’s on the decline. This is not easy to do of course but predict the next big thing that people will be searching for and you could be onto a winner.

Get in the habit of being on the lookout for what people are into. I constantly ask myself ‘what will people be searching the web for in 6 to 12 months?’

Keep an eye on what people are into and what the latest trends are. Do this online but also keep an eye on TV, magazines, the papers and even the conversations you have with friends.

What competition is there?

One of the traps that some bloggers get sucked into when choosing a topic is to go for the most popular topics with no regard for the competition that they might face in those markets. The chances are if you have identified a niche that you think is ‘hot’ at the moment that someone else will have also. It’s demand and supply coming into play again - for any level of demand for information on a topic there will only be a certain number of sources of that information that will be needed on that topic.

The web is becoming a more and more cluttered place and sometimes it feels that there are no niches that are left open to blog about. While this is true in some of the more popular topics - remember that you don’t have to go for the topic that everyone is searching for. In fact sometimes it’s some of the less popular topics that have little or no competition that are the best earners.

I have one friend who after years of attempting to do well writing about gadgets swapped to ‘ride on lawn mowers’ (a topic he’d been researching for a purchase he was making). He was amazed to find that after just a couple of months of writing on his new topic that it was doing significantly more traffic (and making quite a bit more) than his gadget websites ever had.

As I’ve said many times before on this blog - become a big fish in a small pond rather than a small fish in a big pond.

What is the competition neglecting?

This is a great question that is obviously related to the last one on number of competition. It attempts to find ‘gaps’ that are not yet filled. While your competition might have the advantage of an established audience, you have the advantage of flexibility and can position your blog very quickly to fill a gap in the niche that you might observe - in doing so you create a sub-niche within the larger topic.

Will you have enough Content?

One of the key features of successful blogs is that have the ability to continue to come up with fresh content on their topic for long periods of time. Conversely, one of the things that kills many blogs is that their authors run out of things to say.

Answering the question regarding whether there is enough content can be done on two levels:

1. Do YOU have enough content within YOU as an author? This really comes back to the question we asked above about your passion, interests and energy for the topic (so I’ll leave it at that).
2. Do you have access to enough other sources of content and inspiration? There are many web based tools around these days that can help you in coming up with content. Some places to check out on your topic to see what news is about include Google News, Topix, Yahoo! News, Bloglines, Technorati and Blog Pulse (among others).

Are there Income Streams on the Topic?

Not everyone will need to ask this question if their intention is not to build a blog that has an entrepreneurial edge to it but as this blog is on the topic of making money from blogs I’ll address it.

If you are interested in earning an income from blogging you will need to also factor in some investigation of whether the topic that you’ve chosen has any obvious potential income streams. As I’ve written previously, there are many ways of earning money from blogs - however the problem is that not every topic is going to be suitable for every potential income stream. For example, contextual ad programs like AdSense and YPN work really well for some topics but hardly earn anything from others (you might like to read my post on finding high paying ads on AdSense to explore this topic). Similarly some blogs do fantastically out of affiliate programs (the key is to find affiliate programs that match your topic closely) and others are better suited to impression based ads (those with high traffic levels).

Choose a Niche

At this point it’s time to choose a topic for your blog. It’s probably unlikely that you’ll find the perfect topic on all of the fronts above. While it’d be great to find a topic that you’re passionate about that just happens to have massive demand and no competition - but the reality is that most topics topics that you come up with will have at least one weakness to them. Don’t let this get you down - there comes a time when you just need to make a decision and start blogging. The key is being aware of what the weakness is so that you can work to overcome it.

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2006/02/15/how-to-choose-a-niche-topic-for-your-blog/

Earn Money Online-Without Any Investment

2008-10-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

You can Earn Money Online without Any Investment or without any time limit. We can use internet earn with fun just give a little time inside other work. There is no need to stop any other work. We can earn with or without our daily routine. Here I tell you the complete method for online earning.

First Method »»»
Earn money with "Bux-to". You can earn through bux-to by clicking on ads on bux-to site. First you need to open an account at website:"Bux-to" .
Bux.to is a new innovative, international and FREE English based service that allows advertisers to reach thousands of potential customers by displaying their ad on our, "Surf Ads"page. A exact calculated percentage of all advertising revenue is paid to our members. Bux.to makes money via advertising, other advertising sources throughout the website as well as earning through direct sponsorship of other Bux.to members, just like a regular member does.

How you make money »
You view websites in 30 second sessions via the "Surf Ads" page. Once the 30 seconds is up, you'll either get a green tick sign or a red 'X'. The green tick sign means you've earned $0.01 and as premium member $0.0125 for the visit and the 'X' means you have not earned money for the visit. You'll get red X's when you have more than one website from the "Surf Ads" page open. When this happens, you get no credit.
A valuable benefit to both the members and the advertisers is the repeat exposure that the advertiser gets. Whenever you click and view a website, you can visit that website again in 24 hours as long as the visit cap hasn't been reached. That's right! After 24 hours you can click and view the website again. This gives the advertiser optimal exposure by using "repeat advertising" and it further increases the members earning potential.
Earnings example (based on current averages) »
» You click 10 ads per day = $0.10
» 20 referrals click 10 ads per day = $2.00
» Your daily earnings = $2.10
» Your weekly earnings = $14.70
» Your monthly earnings = $63.00

How do get paid »
If you have at least $10.00 accumulated, you can click on your account balance within your stats area and it will submit your request. Currently, only make payments via "AlertPay". They will soon be using other methods of payment.
AlertPay is the payment processing solution that we use to pay members. Your AlertPay address is the e-mail address you use to register with AlertPay. You can get a free AlertPay account at "http://alertpay.com".

Love doesn't cost a thing

2008-10-15T09:52:00.000-07:00

Online dating has become the most effective is presented to a large number of people. Meeting on the Internet has many benefits. Anything that applies to the Internet, applies to meetings online. Be sure to check the dating sites regularly, because someone could force you have signed up since the last visit in order not to miss.

It is so important to choose the right dating service. Because a good dating service will not only give you very comfortable and pleasant experience, it would increase the chances of success in your search for the perfect mate.

Vagr.com this site is a resource for free Online Dating Services. We examined all major dating services targeted to the American people, each of matrimonial agencies that we present a large database simple and offer the best security and privacy for members. They also state of the art technology for compatibility and an excellent search feature.
We invite you to read all the comments on this site and make your own decision. Try it, it's free. We wish you the best!

If you're bored of regular dating or you've heard about this thing called dating site and you are curious to try it, why not? The meetings on Internet communities are growing at the same time that the number of suppliers ready to help you promote your profile.

90% of people find accents sexy. You need to choose among the many websites which provide dating and personal.

Some dating sites personally screen members. You will get more answers from other members of your dating service online if you provide a photograph.

Be careful anonymity of the Internet. Meeting is fast, you can have as much privacy as you want and it is cheap. Remember to be cautious because anyone with Internet access has access to the dating Web sites online.

Internet users will find they need to do much research before using dating sites online.

The Best Dating Sites online offer various schemes, and they can be selected by users as they please. Sites meeting will be evaluated on various sites and comments will be given by experts and users. They will be very useful for people who are new to dating sites.

It is essential to explore comments on the best sites online meeting before signing. Sites online meeting will be based on different criteria. This will include the services they offer, what benefits and users will emerge from these sites. Most of the best dating sites online are those that offer free services completely, and those that allow users worldwide to register at the sites.

If you're looking for a good site, you must make sure you get a free service for a lifetime if the site is free.

Ultimate dating of tools and features are offered vagr.com best of all its All Free.

Those who seek the best dating sites online, because he knows they are the best when they see the rankings on search engines. These sites will ultimately have too much traffic, and will be visible on all sites reviewed. The best sites online meeting will also be seen on many review sites, and they have been explored by experts. Users will also give comments on the sites, and other suggestions May take forums and other sources.

There should be no hidden fees with free Online Dating Sites.

Hagop Bekian with vagr.com, a Top Dating Site, free romance and dating site that provides the Online Dating Services and Couples dating services at free of cost.

Vitamin & Mineral Chart

2008-10-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

Laxatives, alcohol, tobacco, coffeeGeneral growth, reproduction, digestion, metabolism, blood builder, appetite, liver, glandsDry hair, gastrointestinal disease, impotency, miscarriage, enlarged prostate, muscle wastage

Vitamin/
Mineral

Synergistic Substances

Inhibitors

Direct Effect on Body

Symptoms of Deficiency

Ailments Treated

A
Calcium, Phosphorous, Zinc, C, D, E*, F, Choline, B complex
Alcohol, coffee, cortisone, mineral oil, excess Iron
Tissue repair, infection resistance, produces visual purple for night vision, helps bones, teeth, hair and skin
Rough skin with blemishes, dry hair, fatigue, itchy/burning eyes, night blindness, sinus and nasal trouble, prone to infection, allergiesTeeth and gums, allergies, asthma, heart disease, arthritis, migraines, stress, eczema, hepatitis, colds, bronchitis, athlete's foot, alcoholism, acne, diabetes, cystitis

B Complex
Calcium, Phosphorus, C, E
Coffee, alcohol, infection, sleeping pills, birth control pills, stress, sugar
Metabolism, gastro-intestinal muscle tone,liver, eyes, nerves, hair, mouth, skin
Indigestion, constipation, high cholesterol, fatigue, dull hair, insomnia, dry skin, acne, anemia
Menstruation, barbiturate and alcohol abuse, migraines, weight, nausea, stress, hypoglycemia, allergies, hair loss, anemia, cystitis, heart disease, hypersensitive child

B1 Thiamine
Folic Acid, Niacin, Manganese*, Sulfur, C, E, B2, B Complex*
Fever, sugar, stress, raw clams, tobacco, surgery, alcohol, coffee
Circulation, growth, energy, brain capacity, organ and muscle tone, digestion, appetite, metabolism, blood building, hair, eyes, nervous system, heart function
Indigestion, heart pain, short of breath, numb extremities, loss of appetite, fatigue, irritability, nervousness, noise and pain sensitivity
Pain, heart rate and failure, stress, nausea, indigestion, constipation, alcoholism, diabetes, anemia, mental illness

B2 Riboflavin
Niacin, Phosphorus, C, B6**, B complex*
Tobacco, sugar, alcohol,coffee
Red blood cell formation, metabolism, cell respiration, eyes, nails, skin, hair, soft tissue
Mouth sores, itchy/burning eyes, indigestion, dizziness, cataracts, retarded growth
Arthritis, digestion, stress, diarrhea, athlete's foot, diabetes, cataracts, acne, hair loss, alcoholism

B6 pyridoxine
Potassium, Magnesium, Sodium, EFAs, Pantothenic Acid, C, B1, B2, B complex*
Birth control pills, radiation, tobacco, coffee,alcohol
Antibodies, Sodium/Potassium balance, fat and protein burning, digestion, nervous system, skin, blood building, muscle tone
Depression, dizziness, weakness, learning disabilities, irritability, arthritis, anemia, baldness, acne
High cholesterol, hair loss, nervous disorders, nausea, stress, weight, atherosclerosis, oily face, mental, retardation, hypoglycemia, muscle disorders, cystitis, PMS (water retention)

B12 cobalamin
Choline, Inositol, Potassium, Sodium, C, B6*, B complex*
Blood building, cell life, metabolism, nervous system, appetite
Nervousness, anemia, weakness, motion and speech impediments
Allergies, fatigue, shingles, hypoglycemia, stress, asthma, bursitis, anemia, epilepsy, weight, insomnia, arthritis

Biotin
Folic Acid, Sulfur, Pantothenic Acid, C, B12, B Complex*
Egg whites(uncooked) , coffee, alcohol
Fatty acid production, muscle tone, skin, Vitamin B absorption, cell growth, hair, metabolism
Fatigue, dry or colourless skin, poor appetite, insomnia, muscle pain, depression
Hair loss, eczema, dermatitis, leg cramps

Choline
Folic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Inositol*, A, B12, B complex
Coffee, sugar, alcohol
Nervous system, hair, lecithin production, fat & cholestorol metabolism, liver, gall bladder, kidneys, thymus gland
Stunted growth, heart disease, liver and kidney failure, fat intolerance, bleeding ulcers, high blood pressure
Headaches, hair loss, atherosclerosis, high cholesterol, alcoholism, hypoglycemia, high blood pressure, insomnia, constipation, ear ringing, heart disease

Folic Acid folacin
Biotin, Pantothenic Acid, C, B12*, B Complex*
Tobacco, coffee, stress, alcohol
Indigestion, stunted growth, gray hair, anemia
Atherosclerosis, hair loss, mental disturbances, stress, ulcers, menstruation, fatigue, diarrhea, anemia, alcoholism

Inositol
Linoleic Acid, Choline*, B12, B Complex*
Coffee, alcohol
Lower cholesterol, lecithinproduction, metabolism, hair, growth, slowing of atherosclerosis
High cholesterol, eczema, baldness, eye problems, constipation
High cholesterol, hair loss, heart disease, weight, atherosclerosis, constipation

Niacin niacinamide B3
Phosphorus*, C, B1, B2, B Complex*
Antibiotics, sugar, starch, alcohol, corn, coffee
Cholesterol breakdown, sex hormones, metabolism, digestion, general growth, circulation, nervous system, brain,liver, skin, tongue
Canker sores, depression, nervous disorders, insomnia, skin sores, nausea, muscular weakness, halitosis, fatigue, headache, lack of appetite
Hair loss, diarrhea, stress, bad circulation, leg cramps, halitosis, migraines, tooth decay, high blood pressure, acne

Pantothenic Acid B5
Biotin, Folic Acid, C, B6, B12, B Complex*
Coffee, alcohol
Metabolism, general growth, vitamin absorption, antibody production,digestio n, nervous system, skin, adrenal gland
Ulcers, hypoglycemia, hair loss, muscle cramping, premature aging, nervous disorders, sore feet, vomiting, intestinal disorders, diarrhea, eczema
Hypoglycemia, hair loss, tooth decay, stress, indigestion, cystitis, allergies, arthritis

PABA para amino-benzoic acid
Folic Acid, C, B Complex*
Coffee, alcohol, Sulfa drugs
Blood builder, hair colour restoration, intestinal bacteria,metabolism , glands, skin
Depression, headache, constipation, indigestion, gray hair, fatigue, irritability
Gray hair, overactive thyroid, rheumatic fever, infertility, hair loss, parasite infection, skin blemishes & burns

Pangamic Acid B15 - Calcium Pangamate
C, E, B Complex*
Alcohol, coffee
Nervous system, glandular system, metabolism, cell respiration, heart, kidneys
Nervous disorders, glandular disorders, heart disease
Shortness of breath, emphysema, bad circulation, headache, rheumatism, early aging, high cholesterol, heart disease, asthma, atherosclerosis, alcoholism, insomnia

Vitamin/
Mineral

Synergistic Substances

Inhibitors

Direct Effect on Body

Symptoms of Deficiency

Ailments Treated

C
ascorbic acid
All vitamins and minerals, Magnesium*, Calcium*, Bioflavanoids
Aspirin, antibiotics, tobacco, fever, cortisone, stress
Collagen production, tissue healing, iodine conservation, blood building, bone and tooth production, digestion, immune system, shock protection
Bleeding gums, nosebleeds, frequent infection, indigestion, cavities, capillary ruptures, anemia, bruising
Weight, high cholesterol, arthritis, infections, viruses, stress, tooth decay, allergies, atherosclerosis, cystitis, colds, heart disease, hypoglycemia, hepatitis, hair loss

D
Choline, Calcium, Phosphorus, A, C, F
Mineral oil
Bone formation, nervous system, blood clotting, skin respiration, heart, thyroid gland, skin
Diarrhea, nervousness, bad metabolism, soft bones and teeth, insomnia, oral burning
Cystitis, stress, eczema, allergies, alcoholism, psoriasis, acne, arthritis

E d-alpha tocopherol
Inositol*, Manganese*, Selenium, Phosphorus*, A, C, F, B1, B Complex*
Chlorine, mineral oil, rancid fats, birth control pills
Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, anti-clot effect on blood, stronger capillaries, fertility, sexual potency, lung preservation, muscle and nerve preservation, slows aging
Hair loss, crossed eyes, heart disease, menopause, menstruation, phlebitis, weight, varicose veins, allergies, diabetes, arthritis, high cholesterol, stress, angina, cystitis

F unsaturated fatty acids
Phosphorus, A, C, D, E
X-ray and other radiation
Lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, fights atherosclerosis, organ respiration, general growth, bloodcoagulation, glands, nerves, skin, mucous membranes
Dry skin and hair, brittle nails, weight, varicose veins, acne, diarrhea, allergies, gall stones, eczema
Asthma, arthritis, weight, ulcers, psoriasis, hair loss, allergies, heart disease, high cholesterol, gall bladder problems

P bioflavonoids
C
Aspirin, antibiotics, tobacco, fever, cortisone, stress
Blood vessels, virus prevention, avoids bruising, capillary support,connective tissue, teeth
Bleeding gums, nosebleeds, frequent infection, indigestion, cavities, capillary ruptures, anemia, bruising
Colds, bleeding gums, eczema, hemorrhoids, high blood pressure, fever, ulcers, rheumatism, asthma, dizziness, miscarriage

Calcium
Iron*, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorus*, A*, C*, D*, F
Stress, not enough exercise
Blood clotting, bone and tooth formation, nerve transmission, muscle growth, heartrhythm, nervous system, skin, soft tissue
Insomnia, muscle cramps, tooth decay, numbness, heart palpitations, nervous disorders
Foot/leg cramps, premenstrual tension, weight, symptoms of aging, arthritis, menopause, insomnia, menstruation, nervous disorders, rheumatism, osteoporosis

Chromium
None
None
Increased ability to use glucose, stable blood sugar level
Glucose intolerance (diabetes), atherosclerosis
Hypoglycemia, diabetes

Copper
Cobalt, Iron, Zinc
Excess Zinc
Healing process, hair and skin color, bone formation, blood building Laboured breathing, skin sores, general weakness Hair loss, anemia

Iodine
None
None
Metabolism and energy, physical and mental progress, thyroid gland, hair, teeth, nails, skin Dry hair, irritability, cold extremities, nervous disorders, weight Goiter, hair problems, hyperthyroidism, atherosclerosis

Iron
Folic Acid, Calcium*, Cobalt, Copper*, Phosphorus, C*,B12
Excess Phosphorus, tea, coffee, excess Zinc
Stress, disease resistance, blood building
Laboured breathing, anemia, constipation, brittle nails
Colitis, anemia, menstruation, alcoholism

Magnesium
Phosphorus, Calcium, C, D, B6*
None
Metabolism(Calcium, Vitamin C and blood sugar), acid balance, arteries, bones, teeth, nervous system, heart Easily angered, confusion, rapid pulse, tremors, disorientation High cholesterol, kidney stones, nervous disorders, stomach acid, weight, alcoholism, heart disease, prostate

Manganese
None
Excess Calcium or Phosphorus Vitamin absorption, sexual hormones, skin. enzymes, reproduction, growth, nervous system, brain,muscles Ear ringing, muscle coordination failure, hearing loss, dizziness Fatigue, allergies, diabetes, asthma

Potassium
Sodium**, B6
Cortisone, salt, sugar, laxatives, diuretics, alcohol, coffee, stress Muscle clenching, nervous system, regular heartbeat, rapid growth, skin, kidneys, blood builder Excess thirst, slow reflexes, irregularheartbeat, weakness, insomnia, dry skin, acne, constipation, muscular degeneration Alcoholism, heart disease, allergies, colic, burns, diabetes, high blood pressure, acne

Sodium
Potassium**, D Deficiency in Potassium Cellular fluid, muscle contraction, lymph nodes, nervous system, blood builder Excess gas, muscle degeneration, weight loss, vomiting, loss of appetite
Heat stroke, dehydration, fever

Zinc
Calcium, Copper, Phosphorus, A Excess Calcium, deficiency in Phosphorus, alcohol Healing, digestion, reproductive system, metabolism, prostate gland, heart, blood builder Sexual immaturity, loss of appetite, wounds that won't heal, stunted growth, sterility, fatigue Cirrhosis, healing, high cholesterol, infertility, atherosclerosis, alcoholism, hair loss,diabetes

25 Ways To Improve Your Health

2008-10-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

1. Smile! It will make you feel better.

2. Don't over indulge yourself.

3. Bathe regularly.

4. Read to exercise the brain.

5. Surround yourself with friends.

6. Stay away from too much caffeine.

7. Use the bathroom regularly.

8. Get plenty of exercise.

9. Have ! your eyes checked regularly.

10. Eat plenty of vegetables.

11. Believe that people will like you for who you are.

12. Brush twice a day!

13. Dress right for the weather.

14. Visit the dentist regularly.

15. Get plenty of rest.

16. Make sure your hair is dry before going outside.

17. Eat right.

18. Get outside in the sun every once in a while.

19. Always wear a seatbelt.

20. Control your drinking of alcoholic beverages.

21. Forgive and forget.

22. Take plenty of vacations.

23. Celebrate all special occasions.

24. Pick up a hobby.

25. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Do all these things and you will be a happier & healthier person!

10 Steps to Generate Traffic

2008-10-15T02:43:00.000-07:00

There are many ways which you can fall back on to promote your site and generate massive traffic with targeted readers. There are several ways to promote your website for free online. Here are 10 highly effective techniques you can start using right now on your sites.

1. Write articles or free reports for other webmasters to publish and put your website address in the by-line. If you can write good content, your articles will be published and a lot of readers who like your article will start using your website.

2. Arrange Joint Venture partnership with Webmasters and List owners.

3. Add your ad or website address to your own email signature. Thus, each time you send an email, you'll promote your own website.

4. Start exchanging Links with Other Webmasters. This is another very effective strategy to generate targeted traffic to your website free of cost.It involves contacting other webmasters for a probable link exchange partnership.

5. Add a blog to your site and Ping weblogs.com and the other search engines. Pinging your blogs to the search engines is the fastest and surest way to get the search engine robots to visit your blog and attract a number of new visitors to your web site regularly.

6. Submit your blog address to different blog search sites and directories. You can submit your blog's URL to websites such as Technorati, Daypop, Popdex and Blogdex.

7. Start creating RSS feeds for your site and submit the feed URLs to the major RSS feed directories online.

8. Become an active commenter. Try to leave your comments on the blogs that you visit regularly. Most of the comment systems also provide a way for you to leave a link back to your blog or website which begs a visit at the very least.

9. If you decide to have anything printed up, give your web address on it. You can print your URL on business cards, leaflets, stickers, etc.

10. Add your own web address to your forum profile signature. Each time you post or respond to questions, your ad will be displayed. If you can post good and useful content in forums, people who go through your threads will also certainly check out your website .

Of course there is an additional way to generate targeted traffic through social media news sites like Digg, Stumbleupon, reddit and many more.

40 Mistakes Men Make While Having Sex With Women

2008-09-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

1) NOT KISSING FIRST. Avoiding her lips and diving straight for the erogenous zones makes her feel like you're paying by the hour and trying to get your money's worth by cutting out nonessentials. A proper passionate kiss is the ultimate form of foreplay.

2) BLOWING TOO HARD IN HER EAR. Admit it, some kid at school told you girls love this. Well, there's a difference between being erotic and blowing as if you're trying to extinguish the candles on your 50th birthday cake. That hurts.

3) NOT SHAVING. You often forget you have a porcupine strapped to your chin which your rake repeatedly across your partner's face and thighs.When she turns her head from side to side, it's not passion, it's avoidance.

4) SQUEEZING HER BREAST. Most men act like a housewife testing a melon for ripeness when they get their hand on a pair. Stroke, caress, and smooth them.

5) BITING HER NIPPLES. Why do men fasten onto a woman's nipples, then clamp down like they're trying to deflate her body via her breasts?
Nipples are highly sensitive. They can't stand up to chewing. Lick and suck them gently. Flicking your tongue across them is good.Pretending they're a dogie toy, isn't.

6) TWIDDLING HER NIPPLES. Stop doing that thing where you twiddle the nipples between finger and thumb like you're trying to find a radio station in a hilly area. Focus on the whole breasts, not just the exclamation points.

7) IGNORING THE OTHER PARTS OF HER BODY. A woman is not a highway with just three turnoffs: Breastville East and West, and the Midtown Tunnel.There are vast areas of her body which you've ignored far too often as you go bombing straight into downtown Vagina. So start paying them someattention.

8) GETTING THE HAND TRAPPED. Poor manual dexterity in the underskirt region can result in tangled fingers and underpants. If you're going to be that aggressive, just ask her to take the damn things off.

9) LEAVING HER A LITTLE PRESENT. Condom disposal is the man's responsibility. You wore it, you store it.

10) ATTACKING THE CLITORIS. Direct pressure is very unpleasant, so gently rotate your fingers along side of the clitoris.

11) STOPPING FOR A BREAK. Women, unlike men, don't pick up where they left off. If you stop, they plummet back to square one very fast. If you can tell she's not there,keep going at all costs, numb jaw or not.

12) UNDRESSING HER AWKWARDLY. Women hate looking stupid, but stupid she will look when naked at the waist with a sweater stuck over her head. Unwrap her like an elegant present, not a kid's toy.

13) GIVING HER A WEDGIE DURING FOREPLAY. Stroking her gently through her panties can be very sexy. Pulling the material up between her thighs and yanking it back and forth is not.

14) BEING OBSESSED WITH THE VAGINA.Although most men can find the clitoris without maps, they still believe that the vagina is where it's all at. No sooner is your hand down there than you're trying to stuff stolen banknotes up a chimney. This is okay in principle, but if you're not careful, it can hurt so don't get carried away. It's best to pay more attention to her clitoris and the exterior of her vagina at first, then gently slip a finger inside her and see if she likes it.

15) MASSAGING TOO ROUGHLY. You're attempting to give her a sensual, relaxing massage to get her in the mood. Hands and fingertips are okay; elbows and knees are not.

16) UNDRESSING PREMATURELY. Don't force the issue by stripping before she's at least made some move getting your stuff off, even if it's just undoing a couple of buttons.

17) TAKING YOUR PANTS OFF FIRST. A man in socks and underpants is a at his worst. Lose the socks first.

18) GOING TOO FAST. When you get to the penis-in-vagina situation, the worst thing you can do is pump away like an industrial power tool -she'll soon feel like an assembly-line worker made obsolete by your technology. Build up slowly,with clean, straight, regular thrusts.

19) GOING TOO HARD. you bash your great triangular hip bones into her thigh or stomach, the pain is equal to two weeks of horseback riding concentrated into a few seconds.

20) COMING TOO SOON. Every man's fear. With reason. If you shoot before you see the whites of her eyes, make sure you have a backup plan to ensure her pleasure too.

21) NOT COMING SOON ENOUGH. It may appear to you that humping for an hour without climaxing is the mark of a sex god, but to her it's more likely the mark of a numb vagina. At least buy some intriguing wall hangings, so she has somethi ng to hold her interest while you're playing Marathon Man.

22) ASKING IF SHE HAS COME. You really ought to be able to tell. Most women make noise. But if you really don't know, don't ask

23) PERFORMING ORAL SEX TOO GENTLY. Don't act like a giant cat at a saucer of milk. Get your whole mouth down there, and concentrate on gently rotating or flicking your tongue on her clitoris.

24) NUDGING HER HEAD DOWN. Men persist in doing this until she's eyeball-to-penis, hoping that it will lead very swiftly to mouth-to-penis. All women hate this.It's about three steps from being dragged to a cave by their hair. If you want her to use her mouth, use yours; try talking seductively to her.

25) NOT WARNING HER BEFORE YOU CLIMAX. Sperm tastes like sea water mixed with egg white. Not everybody likes it. When she's performing oral sex, warn her before you come so she can do what's necessary.

26) MOVING AROUND DURING FELLATIO. Don't thrust. She'll do all the moving during fellatio. You just lie there. And don't grab her head.

27) TAKING ETIQUETTE ADVICE FROM PORN MOVIES. In X-rated movies, women seem to love it when men ejaculate over them. In real life, it just means more laundry to do.

28) MAKING HER RIDE ON TOP FOR AGES. Asking her to be on top is fine. Lying there grunting while she does all the hard work is not.
Caress her gently, so that she doesn't feel quite so like the captain of a schooner. And let her have a rest.

29) ATTEMPTING ANAL SEX AND PRETENDING IT WAS AN ACCIDENT. This is how men earn a reputatio n for not being able to follow directions. If you want to put it there, ask her first. And don't think that being drunk is an excuse.

30) TAKING PICTURES. When a man says, "Can I take a photo of you?" she'll hear the words "__to show my buddies." At least let her have custody of them.

31) NOT BEING IMAGINATIVE ENOUGH. Imagination is anything from drawing patterns on her back to pouring honey on her and licking it off.

Fruit, vegetables, ice and feathers are all handy props; hot candle wax and permanent dye are a no no.

32) SLAPPING YOUR STOMACH AGAINST HERS. There is no less erotic noise. It's as sexy as a belching contest.

33) ARRANGING HER IN STUPID POSES. If she wants to do advanced yoga in bed, fine, but unless she's a Romanian gymnast, don't get too ambitious. Ask yourself if you want a sexual partner with snapped hamstrings.

34) LOOKING FOR HER PROSTATE. Read this carefully: Anal stimulation feels good for men because they have a prostate. Women don't.

35) GIVING LOVE BITES. is highly erotic to exert some gentle suction on the sides of the neck, if you do it carefully. No woman wants to have to wear turtlenecks and jaunty scarves for weeks on end.

36) BARKING INSTRUCTIONS. Don't shout encouragement like a coach with a megaphone. It's not a big turn-on.

37) TALKING DIRTY. makes you sound like a lonely magazine editor calling a 1-900 line. If she likes nasty talk, she'll let you know

38) NOT CARING WHETHER SHE COMES. have to finish the job. Keep on trying until you get it right, and she might even do the same for you.

39) SQUASHING HER. Men generally weigh more than women, so if you lie on her a bit too she will turn blue.

40) THANKING HER. Never thank a woman for having sex with you.Your bedroom is not a soup kitchen.Women, You should forward this to all your boyfriends/husbands foruninterrupted PLEASURE !!!

5 Steps to be Effective With Your Blog

2008-09-24T02:40:00.000-07:00

Here is 5 steps to be effective with your blog:

1. Clarify your objective of blogging. Narrow down your scope of niche, If you are talking about Electronics, it is not advisable since there is a large spectrum of appliances that you will need to cover which some of the items might not appeal to the readers you have.

2. Web Tools That Tells You Everything. A simple tool like reading out a website pagerank or an application where you can analysis your traffic and RSS subscribers would in return favor you and your blog status. Keeping the tool clean and crisp for users would help promote your reputation as not being a spammer and sincere want to help others which retains readers on your blog.

3. Blog Template That Is Worth Using. Templates that are given for free attracts not only bloggers but readers who would love to see more of such templates. Surprising there are still many bloggers who loves to change templates also every single time they see a new one surfacing. You keep readers visiting your blog and also a status reminder to readers to referral your blog to others.

4. Question Your Readers. Throwing questions on your blog to your readers is one way you can interact with them and their comments would be valuable as it shows other how much a reader participates on your blog.

5. Give Exclusive Headings & Contents. Readers are attracted to great titles and structured contents which blows people mind away. The quality of your titles will determine whether your article is ever found, or chosen from a stream of alternatives by potential readers. Also, make it easy for your reader to scan your content for points of interest. If you present them with endless, long paragraphs they are likely to leave your website without having read a thing.

10 Firefox Addons for Better Blogging

2008-09-24T02:30:00.000-07:00

Here i will list out 10 most popularly used FireFox Add on for bloggers.

scribefire logo
Scribe Fire is a full-featured blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post on to your blog.

clipped off any portion from your site
ClipMarks allows you to clip off the best part of information you need from your site and email or save it as a picture.

uploading extension by firefox
Universal uploader for uploading and downloading to and from sites such as Facebook,Flickr, Picasa and YouTube.

adsense notifier with firefox
Adsense Notifier enables you to display your earning on the firefox browser.(There have been many problems with displaying it at only the first round and it will not update though this is the latest version, you can try and download, give me your feedbacks)

imagebot
ImageBot would solve those laggy uploads to imageshack and photobucket problems.

wrap your long url
WrapUrl allows you to create short url for your website.Just right click on the page and click wapURL and you will be presented with a short URL.

dictionary search easier
Dictionary Search allows bloggers to correct specified words easily with their online Dictionary.

grease monkey
GreaseMonkey allows you to customize the way a webpage displays using small bits of JavaScript and you can write your own scripts.

seo serp tools
Seo Quake gives you upfront pagerank and search ranking details and its one of the most amazing tools i have seen for a firefox add on!

iwebtool bar
iWebTool bar allows you quick access to services and tools from its main website.

Learn to be Successful in Blogging before Monetizing Online

2008-09-24T02:26:00.000-07:00

Being successful online is part of all bloggers dream and to be successful in making money online, you need to fail to gain experiences and learn from your mistakes so that it will not repeat its history. Many people do not understand the word "Failure" and once they fail they never rebound again cause they fail, but being a failure comes with a wealth of experiences that no one can take away from you and only you could turn that into success, So what makes a blogger successful through numerous counts of failure and how you can make money out of your experiences?

I blogged with no result and i feel despaired!
Surely if you are a new blogger with little experiences in hand or even do not have a mentor to guide you through, sure enough it would be like a raft stranded in the rouge of seas. I would recommend you to continue with what you have started, be it about your personal life or a product that is not popular in the blogging society.
If you use your heart to give it all you can, seeing success will be what's next and remember not everyone tastes success within a short span of time.

Follow your heart to be a true blogger
Bloggers are humans and they do not possession super natural power to be successful but they sure have a heart which pushes them to the limit to say they want to be successful and how you could push yourself to that limit would be to tell yourself everyday that you will want to reach your goals.

Putting action to work
Once you have those goals in your mind, pushing yourself to find that dream would be a step closer and make sure you apply that goal you have set onto a project that you can name for yourself.

Making sure everything is in place
You need more than yourself alone to work on this project, make new friends online,Contact those bloggers who have established themselves a name on the internet and seek for guidances to better improve your project. I am very sure those successful bloggers will be very much delighted to help you in one or two tips.

Yahoo! Personals

Making sure you work to your goals
If you intend to be in this blogosphere for long, make sure you understand this is no 8 hours job that you normally do in your office from 9am to 5pm. Researching for new information and knowledge is the key to a successful blogger and it can last you on your computer table for a straight 16 hours if you are a newbie looking to optimize your own blog and over the months you will see more people starts to appreciate your work and that is your light to success.

Making Money seems to roll in after i am successful
Men are selfish bastards,they will always want the best out of everything and once you have made a name in the internet, it will spread like a viral disease where advertisers and sponsors flocking into your blog would seem automatic and now selling a space to them would seem difficult as you have a variety to choose and you will be spoiled for choices.

Are you all geared up to face your biggest word hurdle "Failure" and be it rain or shine you will crave that successful route made just for yourself?

A - Z Brilliant Post Ideas

2008-09-24T02:21:00.000-07:00

If you are confused, frustrated and staring blankly on the computer screen and feel you are suffering a temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing then you could be suffering from Writer's Block. You are not the only one suffering from this, every blogger would have experience this once in a while.

How can we counter such symptom and write earth shattering and interesting post? From A - Z i list out a total of 26 ways that can help you overcome your inability to begin o continue with writing. Which category have you been following to help you write more, drop me a note and tell me which have you been using to overcome writer's block.

# Ask around and make new friends
If you have found an interesting topic which caught your eye, why not talk about it? Drop the owner a mail that you will be blogging about his article and make another new blogging friends.

# Browse Through your Old Archive
Dig deep into your old post and look for ways that you can enhance your past topic with a update in your next post.

# Conduct a voting poll
If you have been doing a voting poll regularly, you will be able to write on topics that your readers want to know more about.

# Drop me a comment
You will be surprise that dropping a long comment on other bloggers can spark an idea or 2 which you can use for your next post with a little link love to the blog who inspire you with the ideas.

# Elaborate on the Latest hot topic!
Look around for the hottest topic and give your own opinions, be it positive or a negative, it works both ways.

# Fake a story which interest your crowd
It is amazing how people will believe that the word of mouth marketing and take the bait when you blog on something that have a great effect on them, giving a rumor call is what you might need to spicy up your blog.

# Group together with your friends
When you talk among your niche friends, you tend to pick up one or 2 questions which could help you in deciding what to write for your next post.

# Handle your queries from your emails
If you don't regularly check your mail, at times you may have some questions that your readers have which needs your explanation and expertise, instead of replying to him only, why not tell everybody at your blog.

# Jot down Ideas you come across
Don't let them linger around your mind for too long because 60% of the time we will forget what we were thinking before hand, so it's always good to write down every idea you come across that can help your blogging topics.

# Introduce a new product
Do a review on a new product which was released on the market and give positive and negative feedback and challenges you faced with using this product.

# Keep a lookout for relevant paid post
You can apply for an account with payperpost and wait for new products who wants exposure and not only do you cover another topic for the day, you also make money.

# Look at the archives of your niche competitors
Check out their most popular archive post and do an expandable topic on it.

# Need to spread your love sometimes
Post link bait every weekend and let others know you are reading their articles, this way you have made a post for the day, of course there is no restriction to how many post you can make per day.

# Make bar and Pies charts work for you
People love to read statistic reports on your blog, you can spice things up by writing a report with bar or pie charts contain vital stats on your blog.

# Observe what's brewing around
Make sure you know your niche right at your fingertips, missing out the biggest news will drive you lesser traffic, make sure you write about the latest stuff that is hot in the blogosphere.

# Prepare a list of topics to talk about
After you have scribbled a list of topics, make sure you prepare and schedule how you are going to write on them, give titles and sub titles so that you can write your article with much faster pace.

# Review your own Blog stats
Make a weekly and monthly performance report which you can talk about your traffic and how much you have earned for this month.

# Question your readers
Try to encourage your readers to drop a comment by asking for opinion to a certain topic, write about a problem you recently faced and seek for different feedbacks from the crowd.

# Serials of non stop drama
Like all drama shows it involves a series of episode and one of the hardest part is to make sure the ending for every post can leave some curiosity for your readers to come back for more.

# The more you read the better your topics flows
While you are reading Tim Ferris 4 hour workweek, why not pick out a few topics which you can express in your own words.

# Value your readers points
Sometimes a question asked by your reader in your comments are never answered so looking into your comments, you might find one or 2 questions why you can post and answer them for your readers.

# X ways in doing better in blogging
Write a list post like my A-Z excellent post ideas.

# Underline your weakness and shout it out!
If you have a flaw, why not tell your readers about it, let them know how they can help you, your readers will respect and love you more.

# Write Dummies guide or tutorial
Whenever there is a new program out, there is bound to be others searching on tutorial or guides that could help assist them in navigating the site faster with some expert tips to guide them.

# Yack about your personal life
Write on yourself and what you have been doing today with some pictures to add colors to the post.

# Zero in on topics your readers love to write on
If you are using Google Analytics then you can draw out the most popular article in your blog and talk about it with a twist to the article.

15 Ways to Increase Alexa Rank

2008-09-24T02:17:00.000-07:00

This is an excellent way to passively increase your Alexa rank. Here are the 15 ways:

1. Install the Alexa toolbar or Firefox’s SearchStatus extension ToolBar (which i have it on my sidebar) and set your blog as your homepage. This is the most basic step.

2. Encourage others to use the Alexa toolbar. This includes friends, fellow webmasters as well as site visitors/blog readers.

3. Put up an Alexa rank widget on your website. I did this a few days ago and receive a fair amount of clicks every day.

4. Work in an Office? Get the Alexa toolbar or SS Firefox extension installed on all computers and set your website as the homepage for all browsers.

5. Write or Blog about Alexa. Webmaster and bloggers love to hear about ways to increase their Alexa rank. They’ll link to you or visit your blog, which helps with your traffic rank.

6. Get friends to review and rate your Alexa website profile. Not entirely sure of its impact on rankings but it might help in some way.

7. Flaunt your URL in webmaster forums. Webmasters usually have the toolbar installed. I like doing this for a few reasons. You’ll get webmasters to visit your website and get some feedback in return. It’s also a good way to give back to the community.

8. Write content that is related to webmasters. This can fall in the category of domaining and SEO, two fields in which most webmasters will have the Alexa toolbar installed. Promote your content on social networking websites and webmaster forums.

9. Post in Asian social networking websites or forums. Some have suggested that Asian (Korean or Hong Kong) web users are big Alexa toolbar fans.

10. Use Alexa redirects on your website URL. Try this: http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?www.successevermore.com . Replace successevermore.com with the URL for your website. Leave this redirected URL in blog comments as well as forum signatures. This redirect will count a unique IP address once a day so clicking it multiple times won’t help.

11. Create a webmaster tools section on your website. This is a magnet for webmasters who will often visit your website to use the tools. Aaron Wall’s webpage on SEOTools is a very good example.

12. Use PayperClick Campaigns. Buying advertisements on search engines such as Google or Exact Seek will help bring in Traffic. Doubly useful when your ad is about webmaster/tech related products/content.

13. Get Dugg or Stumbled. This usually brings massive numbers of visitors to your website and the sheer amount will have a positive impact on your Alexa Rank. Of course, you’ll have to develop link worthy material.

14. Use MySpace . This is a little shady so I don’t recommended it unless you’re really interested in artificially inflating your Alexa Rank. Use visually attractive (wierd/sexy/funny) pictures or banners and link them to your redirected Alexa URL. You’ll get a lot of clicks but it doesn’t mean people are visiting your website.

15. Buy banners and links for traffic from webmaster forums and websites. A prominent and well displayed ad will drive lots of webmaster traffic to your website, which can significantly boost your rank.

14 Factors about your Ranking

2008-09-24T02:14:00.000-07:00

Here i have created a list of factors that affect your rankings with Google, MSN, Yahoo! and the other search engines.Most of the factors in the checklist apply mainly to Google and partially to MSN, Yahoo! and all the other search engines of lesser importance.

1. Tag Keywords in<"title"> tag
One of the most important places to have a niche high paying keyword because what is written inside the <"title"> tag shows in search results as your page title. The title tag must be short of around 7 words and the the keyword should be near the beginning on your whole title.

2. Keyword density in document text
Ensure your articles has around 4-6% major keywords and not more than 12% or else it will look more like a keyword spam instead of a article page.

3. Keywords in URL
Keywords in URL gives you a better position on the search engine -eg- http://profit-line.blogspot.com , keyword is "enter keyword" and this will eventually help in your ranking.

4. Anchor Text Linking
Anchor Text Link with other user's site is a good way to improve your site's ranking too. Have top keywords for your choosen anchor text,this is regarded as getting a vote from this site not only about your site in general, but about the keyword in particular.

5. Keywords in Tags
Spiders don't read images but they do read their textual descriptions in the tag, so if you have images on your page, fill in the tag with some keywords about them.

6. Keywords in headings (<"H1">, <"H2">, etc. tags)
You can also apply your keywords on the heading tags.

7. Keywords in MetaTags
Though google are more or less not using these to rank users, Yahoo and MSN still relies on these meta tags,so if you are optimizing for Yahoo! or MSN, fill these tags properly.

8. Getting High PR links
This is by far the best way to get your site on the top when you get linked to a high pagerank site.Try to have your site link captured in directories or even other sites that ranks above PR4 to PR10 pagerank check 10

9. Backlinks from others
Generally the more, the better. But the reputation of the sites that link to you is more important than their number.

10. Links from directories
As said earlier,Being listed in DMOZ, Yahoo Directory and similar directories is a great boost for your ranking cause they are mostly PR 6 and above,dont waste time linking to Pr0 sites.

11. Socially bookmarked
There are more than 50 over sites who are social bookmarkers, some of the highly used areDigg logo social bookmark Digg it!,Technorati logo social bookmarkTechnorati,blinklist logo social bookmark Blinklist

12. Unique contents
Have unique contents on your site is great and having it updated daily with fresh niche contents gurantees good ranking

13. Sector those long articles up
Search engine favors more on shorter details with unique and relevant topic, achieve a better ranking by shorting your articles from 1 long page to 3 parts of a given article.

14. Site Size
All search engine spiders love big and largely contented sites.so generally it is the bigger, the better. However, big sites become user-unfriendly and difficult to navigate, so sometimes it makes sense to separate a big site into a couple of smaller ones, for eg. you can have a site/blog/forum to separate your contents and comments on different areas.

10 Ways to Increase Your Website Traffic

2008-09-24T02:13:00.000-07:00

There are many ways to promote your website for free online. But, Here are 10 highly effective techniques you can start using right now.

1. Write articles or free reports for other webmasters to publish and put your website address in the by-line. If you can write good content, your articles will be published and a lot of readers who like your article will start using your website.

2. Arrange Joint Venture partnership with Webmasters and List owners.

3. Add your ad or website address to your own email signature. Thus, each time you send an email, you'll promote your own website.

4. Start exchanging Links with Other Webmasters. This is another very effective strategy to generate targeted traffic to your website free of cost.It involves contacting other webmasters for a probable link exchange partnership.

5. Add a blog to your site and Ping weblogs.com and the other search engines. Pinging your blogs to the search engines is the fastest and surest way to get the search engine robots to visit your blog and attract a number of new visitors to your web site regularly.

6. Submit your blog address to different blog search sites and directories. You can submit your blog's URL to websites such as Technorati, Daypop, Popdex and Blogdex.

7. Start creating RSS feeds for your site and submit the feed URLs to the major RSS feed directories online.

8. Become an active commenter. Try to leave your comments on the blogs that you visit regularly. Most of the comment systems also provide a way for you to leave a link back to your blog or website which begs a visit at the very least.

9. If you decide to have anything printed up, give your web address on it. You can print your URL on business cards, leaflets, stickers, etc.

10. Add your own web address to your forum profile signature. Each time you post or respond to questions, your ad will be displayed. If you can post good and useful content in forums, people who go through your threads will also certainly check out your website .

3 Step to Get Traffic on your New Blog

2008-09-24T02:09:00.000-07:00

A few pointers that you should keep in mind before starting a new blog that is already covered by many

* Ensure you are competed to blog about the category and not fall into the trap of being blinded by those established blogs.
* Have vast knowledge on the category you are talking about at the tip of your fingers.
* Do you have something unique that can make your blog shine right from the start?

Past Studies shows that 60% of the bloggers that think they can run a successful blog have either given up on blogging or stop updating their blogs in a matter of less than 4 months.
Unless you are a web designer, Script Writer or someone that can actually help the community with your programs, it would be wise that you show commitment to blogging and post unique contents to create awareness and this will be your stepping stone to success.

Blogging is taken seriously by many in the savvy internet world lately and as you can see there are many online jobs available either available for freelance writer or a full time blogger for a established blog.

Here is 3 Step:

Be a Top Notch Reporter
Are you able to get first hand information of a certain product that is due to release in a matter of weeks? If you are able to obtain that sort of information then ask for permission to pre-release a review on the product on your blog. Being the first to review a product that is not yet released is something worth reading.

Tell your visitors to subscribe to your RSS Feed and tell them to keep a watch out for another update on this amazing product on your blog, which you will explain with in depth details in a couple of days later.

Be a Creative Designer
Creativity falls on your right brain and the minority who are right-brain dominant often have a difficult time learning creative designerin this heavily left-brain environment. No wonder so many exceptionally creative people, including Einstein, Edison, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Bill Gates had trouble in their school days but turn out to be great man!

I see creative people with a sense of style and uniqueness in their post and headlines. They tend to drive visitors to their contents and while reading the first post, automatically the related links which is well blended within the contents will take you further in depth into his archive and not realising you have taken 1 hour to finish reading what should have been a 10 minutes read on just one of his post. This is just one way to allow your readers to stick on your blog and navigate deep in your archives for more treasure post, there are many other ways to produce creative post, so with a little thinking, produce something different from the rest!

Be a Analysis Manager
You may not have resources to first hand news but you can be an analysis and cover in depth stories which are not covered by another yet. If it is a new social network, write on a tutorial guide or ways people can exploit to get gain benefits from them. What makes you think that an analysis manager can not give you unique quality contents?

I was pretty amazed by the results compared to a first hand informed reporter, you get almost the same amount of visitors because people wants to know how to gain benefits through the site in the easiest way possible, one of the best way to get return visitors is writing the hottest game on walk throughs, cheat codes, but this will take lots and lots of time so unless you are a game fanatic, i will not recommend this but surely you will get massive traffic daily because everyone is out to cheat a little and also a tip or 2 on how you can win this game!

22 Mistakes that could violate Google Adsense

2008-09-24T02:05:00.000-07:00

Google Adsense is an idiot proof money making program that allows you to places contextual ads on your website or blog. One thing for sure Google is no idiot, there have set a very strict rules and regualation which you got to follow or get eliminated, it's sounds like some reality show, but the fact is not everyone will compile to the terms of services which they should have read when they apply for adsense.

This may seems like some donkey years information but many people are still breaking the rules yet they blame Google adsense for giving them the boot out of the program. To stay with adsense, you got to play along with the rules and the rules are not meant to be broken with Google. Common Mistakes are always made by people, while they want to hitch a fast ride to making money, but it will never work! Be Internet smart and avoid these common mistakes which will violate Google Adsense.

1. Never Click your own ads in whatever way
Coincidentally this is number 1, because i want to tell you 70% of why google adsense ban you is because you either tried to be fun to test the system by clicking on your own ads or you gave an accidental click on your site. For those who tried to test the system, good luck, as for those who gave an accidental click, there is a way to help you not get ban, give google adsense a courtesy mail and tell them you accidentally click on your own ads and they will help you in some ways. Remember how you own up when you did something wrong, your parents forgive you.

2. Do not place more than 3 ad units and 3 ad links or 2 adsense search boxes on any blog
Google gives a maximum of 3 ad units and links with 2 search boxes to be placed on 1 full page, even if you place a fourth ad, it will never appear on your page so don't worry, once you busted the limit, it will not show, a safe pre-cautious that Google implemented.

3. Never Change or implement new codes in your adsense
When you have configured your adsense code, make sure you do not meddle with the script nor the ads codes. The only code that you may change are the color and banner size code, again i warn those who are not proficient in HTML to not try this, go back to the product and reset the configurations.

4. Open 1 Account for 10 websites
If you have 10 websites which you want to use Adsense, then 1 account is sufficient, there is no requirement for you to open another 10 more, even with 10 more a small mistakes can land all your accounts into the "publisher burying sections".

5. Do not disclosure your secrets
This happens when you are showing off your Google adsense income report. You should always remember that you are only allowed to show the earnings column, cause adsense is sensitive on issues with showing your CTR and impressions.

6. Give labels like sponsors or advertisements only
Do not misled your ads to your audiences, that is one of Google's principle, place labels like Sponsors, advertisements are fine but not "Click here for more" or "Great offers". Don't get banned by Google for such acts.

7. Never let your ads launch in a new browser
It is not advisable for your to change the coding in the first place and by adding a code like target ing ads to open in a new browser is against the TOS.

8. Do not run competitive contextual text ads or search services on the same blog
It is not advisable for you to run same contextual text ads services in on page, and Google only allows alternate services like auctionads , chitika or yahoo ads provided the ads do not resemble Adsense ads.Never try to create link structures resembling the adsense ads.

9. Never put images with Adsense ads
Images and ads will be a good attraction for others to click on your irrelevant ads, which Google dismay, and they only allow placing images with ads if there is a clear cut border between the ads and the images, otherwise it is against their TOS.

10. Do not join click farms that provide you click on your ads
They claimed that they’ll deliver clicks to your ads and all you do is to join and pay them by certain amount. Always keep in mind that using such methods to earn your clicks is highly prohibited. Don't pay money for things that don't return

11. Using 3rd party programs to improves impressions
Like how you should never use Click ads program, you should not use autosurf or paid surfing program to increase your impressions with Google, this will get you out of adsense program.

12. Be cautious where you place your ads with non contents pages
Placing ads in error pages, thank you or pages that have no contents but just ads and a sentence of word is not allowed. Chances are Google would have noticed of such activities and would ban you when the time is right.

13. Don't stuff all your keywords in one article
Experts tells you to stuff keywords in one article, Google tells you not too. Who should you believe, the expert or Google who is paying you money for their ads. Writing a well contented article is what you should be looking out for and planting keywords of your choice would be advisable to hit targeted ads but avoid stuffing too much keywords, this might alarm Google to visit you when time comes.

14. Encouraging Clicks
It is not advisable that you encourage others to click on your ads, sentences like "click on mine ads and i will click on yours" or "click on my ads to discover more" is all prohibited and can cause your adsense account to be disabled.

15. Pop-up or pop-under ads are not allowed to work with adsense
Adsense discourages having both their ads with pop-up or pop-under ads from external services.

16. Do not use MFA Templates and AdSense Arbitrage
Don't buy MFA(Made for adsense) Templates! Google have been banning accounts who used them since June 21st 2007. You basically earn lots of money with this adsense arbitrage method by navigating ads to get to where you want to view the content, the site owner might be happy but Google have since had enough and placed a stop to such acts.

17. 3 Referral Button and no more
Like the ads which have a maximum of 3, referral buttons can only have a maximum of 3 and recently they added a new feature which is the referral 2.0 which you can chose different referral product and have it as text links who looks like your normal content ads.

18. Never send your adsense ads out through email
If you are one of those who are trying to outsmart google, they beat you first. Using HTML emails and delivering your adsense is not going to work, it might just give you a slap on your own face and prepare for your adsense to be closed in the next few days.

19. Don't place adsense ads as your alternate ads
When you display adsense in that fix place, you are not allowed to place alternate ads to overwrite adsense ads. If you need to place alternate ads, adsense does have a function to allow you to directly place in alternate ads instead of using their PSA.

20. Do not use directive methods to lure clicks
While placing images with borders to separate ads is not a problem, having images like arrows or other graphical gimmicks that directs others to click is also not allowed.

21. Ensure you are language supported
Presenting irrelevant ads on other languages is also not allowed so make sure your ads actually supports these languages “Chinese (simplified), Japanese, Danish, Korean, Dutch, Norwegian, English, Polish, Finnish, Portuguese, French, Russian, German, Spanish, Hungarian, Swedish, Italian and Turkish”. Do not use adsense if your language is not stated here.

22. Do not mask your adsense ads
While blending your ads with your content is one of the way you can improve your earnings, take note that Google does not allow you to blend the color of the url with the background. Do not hide away relevant components that are shown by Google.

101 Tips Learned From Blogging

2008-09-24T01:30:00.000-07:00

This is 101 tips to learned from blogging. Remember there more many tips, but here is 101 tips.

1. Get yourself a Blog Platform (Free Host/Paid Host)
2. Get a Easy to Remember Domain Name (Free Host/Paid Host)
3. Research and Blog about a Niche that you Love
4. Blog about the Niche Till you Die and Never Give Up
5. Remove rel="nofollow" on your Comments
6. Create your Favicon to give that Personal Touch
7. Give a SEO Tweak on your Title Tags
8. Setup your Blog with Akismet Spammer (only wordpress)
9. To have an About & Contact Page on your Blog
10. Put a Photo of Yourself on your Blog
11. Create your Own 'Advertise' Page
12. Provide an Alternative Way to Contact you (eg. MSN, skype)
13. Accept Interviews from Bloggers
14. Request Interviews from Bloggers
15. Insert Meta Keywords
16. Insert Meta Description
17. Use Visible Colours
18. Backup your Blog
19. Tweak your Blog as and When Possible
20. Don't Clutter your SideBar with too many Widgets
21. Do Donations on other Blogs
22. Participate and actively post on Forums
23. Submit your Blog to Web Directories
24. Rewrite Post that you have Written and Submit to Article Directories
25. Release your Reports or ebook on Free Press Release Sites
26. Learn How to Write Magnetic Headlines
27. Write a Beginners Guide to Blogging
28. Write 5 Pillar Articles to Start Off
29. Write Lists of (Top 10, How to,Tutorial Guide)
30. Write Short but Witty Post
31. Write on What Works for You and Share
32. Talk about Yourself Once in a While
33. Make Sure you have a List of webmaster Tools to Optimize your Blog
34. Learn to Reschedule and Write like a reporter on Latest News
35. Be the First in a Topic not Written Yet
36. Learn to Monetize your Blog in Every Way
37. Create Intelligent Blog Ads
38. Experiment with a List of Ads
39. Commonly used Google Adsense
40. Pick only the Most Effective Ads
41. Don't use Popup and Pop Under Ads
42. Position Them Effective so They Don't digust your readers
43. Create Value in Your Post
44. Use Effective Sub Heading
45. Rewrite your Articles once in a While for the New Readers
46. Write with Simple English
47. Pose Questions to your Readers
48. Post articles on Weekdays, more readers
49. Continue to Post on Weekends cause there are readers around
50. Don't forget about your font, you may have elderly reading your post
51. Throw in a Picture or Two in Your Post
52. Post your Best Article on Blog Carnival
53. Learn to Write in one Breath without Stopping
54. Learn to Become an Expert in your Field
55. Read SeoBook for more Seo Tips
56. Provide Real Report Stats
57. Provide a Section for Your Popular Posts
58. Motivate Yourself to Post Daily
59. Have a List of Blogroll that you always read Daily
60. Give Credits to Photos or Quotes you Used
61. Allow a list of Social Media for your Readers to Share Article with others
62. Change your Default Template with 3,000 free templates
63. Purchase a Unique Design or Design it Yourself
64. Post Comments on Other Blogs
65. Reply After Each Comment is Made by your Readers
66. Give a Private Mail to other Blogger
67. Learn to do Joint Venture or partnership with others
68. Read not only your category of blogger but others as well
69. Learn to Disagree with other Bloggers and Write your Views
70. Backfire your Favorite Bloggers and Dare him/her to link Back
71. Write Post That Are For Link Baiting
72. Build Strong Link with other Bloggers
73. Learn to Link to Powerful Blogger's Post
74. Learn to Write and Create your First ebook
75. Have your First Contest Up and Running
76. Try and look for Sponsors and not Forking out your Cash
77. Join other Blogger Contest Promotion
78. Submit Your Blog to Alexa to Rank You
79. Get your Blog Instantly Indexed on Google
80. Claim your Blog on Technorati
81. Join Social Blog Network (MyBlogLog/Blogcatalog)
82. Release Contest or Freebies you have to your Fans
83. Submit & Bookmark your Articles on (Stumbleupon,Digg,Del.icio.us,Reddit)
84. Ping your Blog after each Post (Pingoat,Pingomatic)
85. Setup your Rss Feed with FeedBurner
86. Get Email Feed
87. Get Full Rss Feed
88. Encourage your Readers to Subscribe to your Full Feed
89. Learn to Enjoy What i am Doing
90. Offer your Free Services to Newbies Eager to start a Blog
91. Offer Consultations on a Certain Niche you are an Expert on
92. Use Google Analytics to Gauge your Traffic
93. Listen to Others when i have made a Mistake
94. Test myself to the Limit by Knowing What SEO is all About
95. Successful Blogs can be Copied for their success but not Their Style
96. Brag a little on What you are Good at Around
97. Make People Feel Comfortable with you
98. Learn to be yourself and Write in your Own Style
99. Get yourself a 'Blog MasterMind BluePrint for Free'
100. There are no Rules in Blogging
101. Create your own list of 101 tips

Are you in deep thoughts what you have learned lately and could not remember them, why not make a list of what you have learned from other bloggers.

Tips to Promote your Blog - List of Search Engine

2008-09-24T01:05:00.000-07:00

The effective way to promote your blog is by registered it into search engine. If you promote your blog, you will get high traffic. In the following, there are some url Search Engine, you can submit your blog there:

Adnet
http://www.theadnet.com

Ah-ha
http://www.ah-ha.com/addurl

Alldeal
http://www.alldeal.com/add_site

Altavista
http://www.altavista.com/cgi-bin/query?pg=addurl

Arkesini
http://www.arkesini.com/links/links.htm

Anzwers
http://www.anzwer.com/cgi-bin/print_addurl.pl?

Asiaco
http://www.search.asiaco/cgi-bin/addurl.cgi
Asiannet
http://www.asiannet.com/joinus.html

Asia Search
http://expatsinasia.safeshopper.com/

Batavianet
http://www.batavianet.co.id/addurl.html

Canada.com
http://www.canada.com/search/web/addurl.asp

Claymont
http://www.claymont.com/cgi-bin/addurlsform.pl

Crawler
http://www.crawler.com/

Direct Hit
http://www.directhit.com/util/addurl.html

DMOZ
http://dmoz.org/add.html

Euroferret
http://www.euroferret.com/addurl.html

Excite
http://www.excite.com/info/add url.html

Funkycat
http://www.funky-cat.com/webmastera.asp

G.O.D
http://www.god.co.uk/add.htm

Go
http://www.go.com/AddUrl?&pg=SubmitUrl.html

Go2Net
http://www.go2net.com/help/faQ/add-url.html

Google
http://www.google.com/addurl.html

GottaBounce
http://www.gottabounce.com/cgi-bin/links/add.cgi

HotBot
http://www.hotbot.com/addurl.asp

Indo Center
http://www.indocenter.co.id/add.html

Indoseek
http://www.indoseek.co.id/add.html

Info Tiger
http://www.infotiger.com/addurl.html

Infohiway
http://www.infohiway.com/isn/addurl.html

Infoseek
http://infoseek.go.com/AddUrl?pg=SubmitUrl.html

Lycos
http://www.lycos.com/addasite.html

Magellan
http://magellan.excite.com/info/add_url/

MSN.com
http://search.msn.com/addurl.asp

Mugomilk
http://www.mugomilk.freeserve.co.uk/html/addsite.html

National Directory
http://www.nationaldirectory.com/cgi-bin/addurl

Nerd World
http://www.nerdworld.com/nwadd.html

Net Announce!
http://www.ersoros.com/net-announce/content.phtml

NetBreach
http://www.netbreach.com/addurl/

Netfind.aol.com
http://netfind.aol.com/add.adp

NetSearch
http://198.80.94.66/cgi-bin/search.pl?AddSite=prompt

Northern Light
http://www.northernlight.com/docs/regurl_help.html

Peekaboo
http://www.peekaboo.net/index1.html

Power Crawler
http://www.powercrawler.com/addurl.cfm

Project Cool
http://www.projectcool.com/sightings/submit.html

Profusion
http://www.profusion.com/users.sitesee.html

Proteus
http://www.thrall.org/proteus/urlsub.htm

PureSearch
http://www.puresearch.com/addsite.html

Scrub The Web
http://www.scrubtheweb.com/addurl.html

Search Hound
http://www.searchhound.com/pages/submit.htm

Search King
http://www.searchking.com/add.htm

Serach Spot
http://www.searchspot.com/info/suggest_site.htm

Search UK
http://www.url.searchuk.com

Searching 4 U
http://www.searching4u.com/links/link.htm

Site @ Hack
http://www.sitehack.com/submit.htm

Spider Hog
http://www.spiderhog.com/addurl.htm

Shop Internet
http://www.ro.com/shopinternet/submit.html

Super Snooper
http://www.supersnoopel.com/addurl.htm

Surfgopher
http://www.surfghoper.com/addurl.htm

Teledom
http://www.teledom.net/add.shtml

Voila
http://www.voila.com/info/addsite.html

WebCrawler
http://www.webcrawler.com/help/getlisted/addurls.html

Webmaster Network
http://www.wmn.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/add.cgi

World Light
http://www.worldlight.com/addsite.html

Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com/info/suggest/

10 things you didn't know about sex

2008-09-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

1. The typical lovemaking session lasts around 15 minutes: roughly 10 to 12 minutes of foreplay and around 3 to 5 minutes of intercourse.

2. Humans aren't the only horny members of the animal kingdom doing it just for fun. Dolphins and a type of chimpanzee called the bonobo have also been observed engaging in sexual activity when they are not in their natural reproductive cycles.

3. While Viagra has made erectile dysfunction (affecting 10 to 12 percent of men) a household phrase, the opposite problem -- premature ejaculation -- is more common (affecting 24 to 27 percent of men). The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing a drug called dapoxetine as a cure for this problem.

4. Crank up that thermostat.. . orgasms may be more intense in warmer conditions. The degree of vasocongestion, reddening or darkeing of the skin known as the "sex flush," is both more common in warmer temperatures and an indication of how intense an orgasm may be.

5. If a woman experiences orgasm during sex, she is more likely to become pregnant, since orgasmic spasms in pelvic muscles help move sperm up the vaginal canal to the uterus.

6. Homosexuality is not unique to humans. Many species have been observed engaging in homosexual activity, and in fact male bats have the highest rate of homosexuality of all mammals.

7. On any given day 400,000,000 people around the world -- 1 in 17 of us -- will have sexual intercourse. Broken down further, 4,000 people are having sex at any given time.

8. Sex cures headaches. Endorphins released into our bloodstream when we have sex not only give us pleasure but also act as painkillers. Useful information to whip out the next time your partner uses a headache as a reason to say no.

10. 70% of women would rather eat choclate than have sex.

10 Simple Steps To Make Your Web Site Search Engine & Directory Friendly

2008-09-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

If you use the Internet on a regular basis you are already aware that the majority of Internet traffic is generated by search engines and directories. You've probably surfed the web and spent hours looking for instructions on optimizing your web site and submitting to search engines and directories. Much of this information is confusing and overwhelming and I can hear you screaming for help.

Getting ready to submit your site to search engines and directories can be time consuming if you do it yourself but it does not have to be complicated. I have reviewed hundreds of web sites as part of my business services and I discovered ten simple steps you need to take to get prepared for search engine and directory submission.

1. Build a professional web site. Buy your own domain name and get reliable hosting. Create or purchase a simple template design that fits the theme of your site.

2. Create a clear navigation structure and site map. Decide on your navigation in advance and make sure it is easy to use and it leads to all the pages on your site.

3. Add original content written for visitors and not search engine spiders. If you feel you cannot write well then visit Guru.com or Elance.com and hire an affordable copywriter.

4. Do your keyword research. Use free or paid keyword tools to find the most popular and targeted keywords for your text, headlines and meta tags.

5. Finish your website. Although you will add new content frequently it is important to show that your existing content is finished. Never use "under construction" signs and remove blank pages.

6. Regularly check all internal and external links to make sure they are working. Search engines and directories will not list sites full of broken links.

7. Don't hide your contact information or privacy policy. Let visitors, search engines and directories know you are accessible and professional.

8. Check your grammar and spelling. Search engines hate sloppy, unprofessional text and I bet your visitors will too. See tip #3 above if you need to hire a proofreader.

9. Choose a tracking system and learn to use it to analyze your web site traffic. Without this you will have no idea if anyone is visiting your site.

10. Check your search engine ranking and link popularity reports regularly to monitor your results. There are many web sites that offer these tools. Find and use them.

When you have gone through and finished all ten steps then you are ready to begin your submission to search engines and directories. This is a complicated and time consuming task because you have to evaluate the reputation and ranking of each site, the available web site topics, how often you need to submit, the information they require from each site and you will need to determine if submission is free or paid.

There is software available that will help you with the preparation and submission process and reduce the time you have to spend significantly. If you decide to purchase software use due diligence before spending your money and make sure it is search engine friendly and that it performs the necessary tasks. Check for references from satisfied customers and make sure the software provides various reports so you can monitor your progress.

(c) 2008, Davis Virtual Assistance. Permission to reprint granted so long as the article and byline are reprinted intact and all links made live.

Bonnie Jo Davis is an Internet marketing expert who reviews, optimizes, manages and submits client web sites to search engines and directories. Bonnie has researched and recommends Dynamic Submission™ because it prepares, submits and monitors search engine and directory traffic so you don't have to do it all alone. Dynamic Software offers a product tour for Dynamic Submission as well as a free 30 day trial download of Dynamic Submission as well as their other products, so that you can try before you buy.
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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_614300_16.html

Internet Marketing - How Many Niche Sites is Too Many

2008-09-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

Internet Marketing is a busy business, and since most are doing this from home, without a full staff of assistants, there is usually not enough time in the day to complete all the tasks necessary for success.

Yes, you can build 50, 75 and even 200 great niche sites BUT what is the rush?

Building a lot of niche sites is NOT the best practice for beginners. There is a lot involved in Internet Marketing and Internet marketing strategies must be applied to each and everyone of the sites for optimal results. I recommend that beginners have NO more than 2 (maximum 3) niche sites.

Success in this business is greatly based on hands-on experience and doing it by applying what you learn.

This experience is best gained, when there is only a few niche sites on which to focus. First keyword research takes time and effort. Also, using all the traffic, link building, article marketing, SEO and all the other Internet marketing strategies takes time and work and on top of that you have to do it for 50+ sites? This greatly diminishes your chances for success. Talk about spreading yourself thin?

Now, I do think that having several income sources via niche sites is best, however, there is a time and place for everything, why not wait until you're an expert?

As you apply the Internet marketing strategies and you are learning and getting more and more experience you will become an expert and these techniques will become automatic for you. Along the way you will also learn a ton more from hands on testing and tweaking and your own personal niche journey. And, THEN, once you become an expert, THAT is when you can build an empire of niche sites!

Believe me, for beginners there is enough to learn and master without adding the huge stress of too many niche sites, and this could become a recipe for failure through massive burn out and simple frustration!

Also, chances are, you will start to take shortcuts because there just is not enough time in the day and this will affect all current and future online campaigns because your expertise and learning of the correct way will be flawed.

Do not set yourself up! There is nothing wrong with taking the time to really learn Affiliate Marketing and all the correct Internet Marketing techniques by focusing on less niche sites. This practice will only pay off in the long run, and not kill you in the short run!

Learn about Internet Marketing with usable, step-by-step and simple hands-on guides at Internet Marketing Blog.
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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_613312_16.html

40 Keyword Suggestions - No Go Find a Niche

2008-09-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

If you are struggling to find a niche here are 40 keyword suggestions that will generate tons of ideas for niches and micro niches. Also included are guides and research tips for finding profitable niches.

One of the most important steps for affiliate marketing and Internet marketing is finding a good niche. The irony is that while the possibilities are endless, ideas are often not forthcoming. If you are struggling to find a niche here are 40 keyword suggestions that you can use to find niche ideas.

These keyword suggestions will generate everything people are searching for within those phrases and will give lots of ideas for finding niches and even micro niches.

Just plug these into your favorite keyword research tools. I strongly recommend that you utilize the Google Adwords keyword tool, since they have recently added actual number results for monthly and average monthly searches it is a much more valuable tool.

Keyword Suggestions to Find a Niche:

how to

how can

how do

instructions

tutorial

guide

need

desire

want

top

best

great

greatest

highest

lowest

steps

improve

decrease

increase

get

obtain

guidance

buy

save

cheap

cheapest

shop

shopping

lowest

highest

purchase upkeep

health

lose

gain

weight

acne

baldness

secret

formula

When researching the viability of these or any keywords and niches there are certain criteria that is important to follow when analyzing whether these niches will be popular, profitable and not so competitive that it will hinder your success.

Learn all these steps and criteria for accurate analysis in this step-by-step guide to niche and keyword research at: Keyword and Niche Research Guide.

Get lots more step-by-step and hands-on Internet Marketing guides, including link building, SEO, traffic, promotion, free webmaster tools and more at: JR's Internet Marketing Strategies Blog.

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_613328_16.html

Learn New Ways for Making Money Online

2008-09-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, there are many benefits of using a free advertising forum from an advertiser?s point of view. That being said, those who read these forums can also benefit as well. One of the best ways for you to benefit is by finding new ways of making money online. This is a popular online topic in today?s day and age, and by perusing high quality free advertising forums, you are sure to come across many ideas for increasing the amount of money that you earning via the internet.

Why pay when you can find information for free? Believe it or not, many people will pay hundreds, even thousands of dollars, for advice on how to make money online. And while some of them may get the information they need, many others come up empty handed and left with less money than when they started. Simply put, you can find all of the information that you need for free by using a free advertising forum. Not only can you find the information you need, but you can also ask questions and interact with others who have tried a particular method for earning online. This sure beats paying tons of money for a system that may or may not work to your advantage.

Making money online is not always the easiest thing to do. But the good thing is that there are millions of people doing so through a variety of avenues. By consistently checking for new opportunities on a free advertising forum, you will definitely come across a few ideas for future money making success!
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Visit http://freetoadvertise.biz/ to post your free classified ads and marketing tips on our SEO friendly forum. Find new business partners and new ways of making money online all for free.
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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_575686_16.html

Discover How Adsense Works

2008-09-06T09:19:00.000-07:00

How Adsense Works is by placing a snippent of code that allows small contextual ads to be published on your web sites. The ads are created by advertisers who are utilizing the Google Adwords program and are allowing their ads to show up in content related results like Adsense.

Adwords plays a vital role in determining how Adsense works. Both programs are dependent upon one another. Every time a person does a search on Google and clicks on one of the sponsored ads, the person that created that ad pays Google a predetermined price. This is where the term "pay per click" comes from. Depending on the competition for that keyword the advertiser might pay anywhere from .10 cents to almost $10.00 for that click. So how does Google Adsense fit into this equation?

The beauty of how Adsense works is that by putting the Adsense code into your web pages and allowing these Adwords ads to show Google will split the money it receives from the publisher of the ad with you when a visitor to your site clicks on one of these ads. It is a well guarded secret what the actual percentage of the split is, and it does vary, but many speculate that it can be as high as 50%.

So if the creator of the ad is willing to pay .60 cents per click, then the you can expect to see about .30 cents every time someone clicks on that ad. The other .30 cents is kept by Google of course. So basically how Adsense works is that it is a partnership between Google and webmasters.

Another important factor of how Adsense Works is that it will only show ads relevant to the theme of your webpage. What does this mean? Well, for example, lets say that Kevin has a site about cooking and wants to make money from his site using Google Adsense ads. By placing the Adsense code on his site the ads that would be shown would all be related to cooking, and if he had a webpage about more specific areas of cooking like great recipes for the grill for example then the adds on that page would most likely be for things related to grilling. Are you understanding the awesome power of how Adsense works now.

It is not very difficult to see how someone with a web site that receives a decent amount of visitors can make some easy money by learning how Adsense works and implementing it into their site. Heck, there are many webmasters that will create web sites for the sole purpose of attracting high paying Adsense ads. So whatever your reason for wanting to learn how Adsense works, if you own a website or blog it is definitely a worth while endeavor to ad some Adsense code to your webpages.

In the last two years John Hughes, through much trial and error has finally uncovered the secret to how Google Adsense works. Learn how you can become a successful Adsense webmaster and get your free Adsense Income Blueprint by visiting www.explosiveonlineprofits.com
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Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_575542_16.html

Google AdSense Earnings - just 1 million dollars

2008-09-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

They are calling him the million dollar man. Jason Calacanis recently revealed in his blog that he is on track to earn a million dollars from AdSense over the year ahead.

And if that number doesn’t wake you up and have you sitting on the edge of your seat, consider for a moment that he reached this level in less than a year. His company only started using AdSense in September 2004.

Calacanis runs Weblogs Inc., a network dedicated to creating trade weblogs across niche industries. And he’s quickly proven that AdSense is a credible advertising partner.

As their network has grown, so has their AdSense revenue. In January 2005 they earned an average of $580 per day. In March it was $737. In May it was $1,585. One day in July, just before he made the blog entry referred to above, they earned $2,335. Remember that is just for one day. If they can take that daily average to $2,740 they’ll be earning a rate of $1 million for a year. And Calacanis predicts that reaching daily earnings of $3,000 or even $5,000 is quite achievable.

That’s quite an achievement. Keep in mind that Calacanis has 103 bloggers on the payroll and nine staffers. Even so, many webmasters would give an arm or a leg to have even a third of that.

Google’s AdSense has been revolutionary. It has become firmly established as the darling of the online advertising industry. Although rumors are heard of major competitors launching a similar service, AdSense’s premier position seems secure for now.

In essence, AdSense has made it possible for almost anyone with a web site or blog to earn some revenue from advertising, without having to employ sales people or spend precious time searching for advertisers.

AdSense works like this. Webmasters sign up for an account in just a few minutes. They receive a small snippet of code to include on their web pages. Google will then automatically serve advertisements that are relevant to the content on the webmaster's pages. When someone visits the webmaster's site and clicks on one of Google's AdSense advertisements, the webmaster earns a fee. Advertisers can pay anywhere from five cents to a hundred dollars per click, and the webmaster receives a percentage of that fee.

Many webmasters are content with earning five to ten dollars from AdSense to cover the cost of web hosting. But many, unsurprising, have higher ambitions. At a popular WebmasterWorld forum, participants share tips and encouragement on reaching a goal of $300 per day from AdSense. So it is no wonder that Calacanis created quite a buzz when he made his million dollar blog entry.

Google have proven once again that they excel at designing innovative Internet services. If you are in the web industry and have not yet used AdSense, then perhaps you should try it out. Or if you are already using it, perhaps Calacanis’ impressive results will encourage you to track the performance of your AdSense units more closely, fine tune their positions and formats, and take your earnings to a new level.
For more useful tips & hints, please browse for more information at our website: - www.instant-adsense-dollars.com www.adsense.reprintarticlesite.com
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_605555_16.html

Google Adsense Tricks for Webmasters

2008-09-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Since its creation, Google Adsense has presented a new and easy opportunity for many webmasters to earn money from their sites. There are many webmasters who make a living from Adsense alone, but there are also many who spend a lot of time trying to figure out the magic Google Adsense trick to earn more from their ads. Finding these Google Adsense tricks might seem difficult but it is definitely not impossible.

Just placing Adsense code on your site is not enough if you are looking at Adsense as your only source of income. One of the most important Google Adsense tricks is to experiment with a lot of different ad formats, placement and choice of keywords.

Whatever topic your site deals with, you should take care to build pages around this specific topic and include your keywords in the content as many times as possible without it becoming redundant. This is perhaps the best Google Adsense trick to ensure that the ads placed on your page, are relevant and useful to the visitors wanting to know more on the topic, and these visitors will eventually end up clicking the Adsense ad.

You should also take care when placing your Adsense ads. If you read through Google help on Adsense, you will find many tested Google Adsense tricks one of which is the heat maps suggesting the best locations for your adverts. It is a proven fact that, one place the visitors look first on the site is the top left position. Since this is the place that will have the visitor's attention, it definitely helps to place your Adsense ads there.

Another great Google Adsense trick is to place the ads on high traffic pages. You will be able to identify the most visited pages on your site by looking at the logs or even your Google Analytics account, which provides you page by page details of visitors.

You should also use the Adsense formats to make sure your Adsense ads blend with your web pages. Google provides you different palettes to try font colors, backgrounds and borders. There is no point in placing an ad on the page which does not blend with your site and will effectively not be clicked by any visitor.

Another important Google Adsense trick that is often ignored by most webmasters is the Adsense preview tool. Google provides an excellent tool to help you preview the ads that appear on your page. This tool allows you to see the sample ads and formats, preview colors on your page, check the destination of the ads and even see how people in other countries will see your ads.

Besides using the above Google Adsense tricks, it is also important to have a definite focus on what you want to achieve. No matter how busy you are, you should always spare some time to experiment with the Adsense ads to improve the CTR. Whatever experts say, just following the basics, is really the magic of making more from Adsense.

In the last two years John Robert, through much trial and error has finally uncovered the hidden Google Adsense tricks. Learn how you can become a successful Adsense webmaster and get your free Adsense Income Blueprint by visiting www.explosiveonlineprofits.com
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.articlealley.com/article_574906_16.html

First Dating Tips

2008-08-22T10:32:00.000-07:00

If you are going for a first tip then follow then click on the given below links. A few etiquettes must be followed during the first date.

Significant First Dating Tips

* During the first date, you must book in advance movie or restaurant. In case of any kind of change, such as weather or restaurant renovation, you must have certain kind of back up. It would be a great first dating tip. Apply this dating tip and enjoy a successful date. If you are in love with your date then this caring attitude of yours will be an added advantage.

* During your first date, you must be on time. Late arrival is always considered rude and disrespect. Moreover, it shows that you do not have any regard for your date. Thus, it would be advisable to be on time and express your feelings to the date.

* During first date, it would be advisable to plan a short meeting. A short meeting will be enough for knowing each other. If you are comfortable with each other then you may go for a long-term relationship. Else, part your ways.

* It would be advisable to ask about the dress code. Both of you must wear accordingly. Else, your date will be spoiled.

* Another great tip for first dating is that try to be good listener as well as speaker. You must balance both of them accordingly.

* Lunch or coffee is considered perfect during first date.

* While leaving, you must say thanks for the date. This shows your respect for the date.

* Avoid any kind of complaining during first date.

* You must act in a positive manner during first date.

http://www.mydearvalentine.com/dating-tips/first-dating-tips.html

Meeting in Person for the First Time

2008-08-22T10:30:00.000-07:00

After spending adequate time chatting with someone, you have finally reached a point that the two of you want to meet. After all, with online dating, this is the goal in the first place so seeing it come to fruition is exciting! Just as you took precautions when first starting out on the dating service, you now need to use a new set of precautions when meeting in person.

* Always meet in a safe, public location where there are other people around. Make sure a friend or family member knows where you are meeting, the time you are meeting, and the time you will be leaving. If you are not sure how long the meeting will take, use your cell phone to call the friend or family member when you leave so they know you are on your way home. Typically, a restaurant or coffee shop would be the best choices. If you change your plans, always let someone know.
* Never have the person pick you up in his or her car. Instead, you need to drive your own car so you have the opportunity to leave if you feel uncomfortable or things do not go as planned.
* Set up the encounter on a day and at a time when YOU are comfortable. Do not feel pushed into meeting at a precise time or place. If the other person insists that you meet where they say and when they say, then cancel the meeting altogether.
* Do not feel bad if you decide to cancel at the last minute. Too often, people from online dating services are eager to get things going, bypassing the friendship/courtship phase. Just follow your instincts and if the person is not understanding about you changing your mind or becomes angry, then you know it was not meant to be.
* If you need to fly or drive to another city or state to meet this person, make your own hotel arrangements in a reputable hotel and do not share the information. Rent a car at the airport upon arrival so you can drive yourself to the hotel and to the meeting. Do not agree to meet at the hotel lobby, as the purpose is to have a safe haven should you need it.

To give you an idea of the favorite places to meet, consider the following statistics:

* Coffeehouses – 47% meet at a coffeehouse where the atmosphere is relaxed and low-key, inexpensive, and provides the opportunity to talk in a safe environment.
* Restaurants – 28% choose to meet at a restaurant, preferably at lunch or early dinner. You want to choose a warm and cozy restaurant that is not too intimate so you both feel at ease.
* Bar – 22% meet at a bar to have a few drinks and perhaps dance. While this is not a bad option, it does have disadvantages in that talking is usually difficult because of the music and noise. Additionally, the scene of the bar usually creates too many distractions so you and your date are no focusing fully on each other.
* Home – Only 3% meet at home and in reality, this should be 0%! This is never a good option in that you really do not yet know the person.
* Parent’s Home – About 1% will meet at the parent’s house but again, even thought the individual seems nice and everything seems to be on the up and up, you do not know this person. Therefore, this too is a bad choice.

http://www.onlinedatingtips.org/dating_tips/first_meeting.html

Understanding The Clitoris

2008-08-22T10:27:00.000-07:00

If we told you that there was a way to make a woman putty in your hands, would you listen? Guess what, guys: We've figured out exactly what it takes to satisfy your woman -- in the bedroom at least. You might think that a few kisses and the presentation of your proud erect member might be enough to make her quiver, but you might be missing the most important factor in your, and your woman's, sexual satisfaction.

Women have so many erogenous zones that it can get a little overwhelming for a guy trying to figure out the magic combination to her satisfaction. You've already gotten a play-by-play overview of the most popular -- her G-spot -- so now it's time to fully consider the never-fail, go-to spot for her orgasm. It's time to focus on the most important square inch on her body: her clitoris. Understanding the clitoris is the key to a woman eager to come back for more. Get comfortable and pay attention, here's everything you need to know when it comes to understanding the clitoris.
about the clitoris
Just in case you need a refresher course, here are the basic facts: Her clitoris is a small bud-like formation that is located slightly above the opening to her vagina, at the top of her inner labia. Clitoris size and shape differs from woman to woman, but it is generally between 1/8 to 3/8 of an inch in size. Her clitoris is the equivalent of your penis; it's packed with nerve endings and becomes engorged when she's aroused.

Vital info: The vast majority of women require clitoral stimulation to achieve orgasm -- penetration just isn't always enough on its own. Sounds like a good enough reason to makes its acquaintance, doesn't it?
how to play with it
Language
Sexual stimulation is largely a cerebral activity for women; turning her on requires attention to her brain, not just her body. Even if you and your woman have yet to venture into talking dirty to each other, rest assured that whispering in her ear about what you plan on doing to her, or how turned on you are, can be enough to get her wanting more. The more aroused you can get her before the clothes come off, the easier your next job will be and this is key to understanding the clitoris.
Fingers
It goes without saying that clean hands and neat fingernails are key if you plan on going exploring, but what you might not realize is that diving in and honing in on her clitoris to start with might not be your best plan of attack. Your fingers are nimble: use them to your advantage. Stroke her thighs on your way and caress the areas on either side of her clitoris, including her labia, before gently making the first contact. A lot of women may find direct pressure uncomfortable, so try aiming just below or just above her clitoris and making small circular movements. Because the clitoris actually extends well into her entire pelvic region, rest assured that her enjoyment will only be enhanced by full manual coverage.

Just a note on pressure: Be sure not to get too rough with her sensitive areas before you get to know what she likes and are clear on your understanding of the clitoris. A light touch will be more successful on most women, and those who need a little more are probably going to get frustrated with your restraint and beg for a harder touch. Sounds like a win-win situation to us.

Understanding the clitoris can be fun and stimulating for you both...

Vibrator
We're sure you've all heard about how your girl's vibrator can be your best friend. Her battery-powered playthings can definitely help you be in more places at once, which is always a good thing. However, have you thought about ways to ensure clitoral stimulation during intercourse? Lining up your pubic bone to hit her in the right spot can be difficult to figure out and having her "help out" while you penetrate means that she has less hands available to be all over you, so why not try the newest vibrating product to help you both out? Many companies now offer stretchy rings that you can slide onto your member that come with the added bonus of a small knobby protrusion with vibrating capabilities that can ensure an extra boost for her with every thrust.
Lubricants
The focus of a lot of creams and sexual potions usually centers on the tingling effect or the numbing effect, depending on what you're looking for. While it's true that lubrication is key to making her experience pleasure rather than discomfort when you tackle her clitoris, it's best not to get too caught up in the newest, most flavorful or scientifically superior bottle on the shelf. A plain old personal lubricant on its own can be your best friend when it comes to ensuring an optimal experience for your partner. Don't believe us? Try masturbating with no slippery aid. Enough said.
Mouth
All women appreciate that you've decided to get up close and personal -- really, they do -- and your mouth (and tongue) are your best aids to helping her achieve an earth-shattering orgasm every time. The built-in lubrication and warmth are obvious pros in favor of oral sex, as is your ability to mix up the sensations with your lips and tongue teamwork. If you're looking to move past the basic flick and swirl and show that you really understand the clitoris, try creating a bit of suction by taking her clitoris into your mouth with some gentle sucking or pulling away when she's close to orgasm, and gently blowing on it to heighten her sensation and prolong the encounter.
Penis
We don't want to ignore your favorite sex toy when we're discussing her orgasm and understanding the clitoris; your penis can get in the game and help out during foreplay to really get her going as well. During intercourse, your member might not get too much face time with her clitoris, so it's worth taking a bit of time to introduce them -- they're sure to be fast friends. Before sex, why not try having your woman lay on her back with her legs clamped together tightly (on her stomach works too) and slide your member between her legs right where they meet with her pelvis. Moving back and forth in this position lets your penis rub between her labia and, more importantly, directly over her clitoris. Not only does this trick feel great for both of you, it's sure to heighten your collective arousal and result in possible orgasms for everyone.
no longer so elusive…
Understanding the clitoris is the sign of a man that is invested in his partner and her pleasure, both of which are noble qualities. Even though it seems like a bit of a mystery, there's nothing to be afraid of, and many things to gain, namely a happy and satisfied woman. And remember, a satisfied woman is going to be more interested in making sure that you're satisfied too, and you can't ask for more than that.

http://www.askmen.com/dating/love_tip_200/204_love_tip.html

Tips For Better Sex

2008-08-22T10:24:00.000-07:00

A good sex life takes time and effort to maintain. It won’t always be easy -- our busy lives are taxing and often leave us tired and devoid of the imagination and motivation required to keep up the pace. Having good sex doesn’t necessarily mean spending hours and hours of frolicking, it can be as simple as doing something a little different just for a change.

Women are cyclic creatures, and her sex drive will vary depending on her hormones and what’s going on in her life. Sometimes it takes a bit longer to get her hot and the same-old song and dance may not be enough. This applies to you too.

Therefore, it's important to add a few more stimulating aspects to your sex life to keep things interesting.

Here are 10 tips for better sex, which should keep the two of you hot for some time to come.
Number 10
Blindfold her
Sexual pleasure has many dimensions, but the most important sexual organ we have is our brain. When one sense is hindered, our other senses -- via the brain -- clamor to compensate. For example, a deaf person has increased sensory awareness -- sight, smell, touch, and vibrations. For No. 10 entry on our 10 tips for better sex guide, we're telling you that you can tap into this innate ability of ours and use it to your advantage: Blindfolding your partner increases her sensory awareness. She doesn’t know where you are or what you are going to do next. This creates anticipation for better sex -- the tease. Tease her mercilessly with sensory objects, such as a feather or your tongue. Start off softly, as this excites her nerve endings and makes them far more sensitive. Be careful not to overstimulate the nerve endings, however, because after a while the neurons stop firing with such intensity and the sensation becomes null and void.
Number 9
Give her instructions
After a while you may think you know how to please your partner in every way, but this is very rarely true. There is always something you haven’t tried, and there is bound to be something one of you always does that could be done differently.

To combat this for better sex, have a lesson session in which you don’t think you know it all, and are at each other's mercy as teacher. Talk about things you haven’t tried, but would like to, then choose one suggestion from each partner, and get down and dirty. We often get caught thinking we know what our partners like, and after a while it becomes "the way it’s done." Lose this myth and put yourself in the student's chair for a while for better sex you won't regret.
Number 8
Massage
Sensual touch is one of the most highly relaxing and sexy things you can do for your partner, which is why it makes it onto our 10 tips for better sex list. Our bodies are almost without exception tense in some area, if not many areas. This hinders our energy flow -- including sexual energy flow. Imagine a car that has a clogged fuel filter: the fuel (our energy) can’t get to where it needs to go quickly and smoothly, and the car performs inefficiently and ineffectively.

A relaxing sensual massage can unlock her body to some very intense orgasms and much better sex in the end. The ability to relax your partner in this way should be high on your list of skills to master. The same goes for her: The difference between a deeply relaxing massage and a sensual massage is in the manner of touch -- you don’t want to relax her too deeply because she will probably fall straight to sleep.

Our 10 tips for better sex get even more exciting...

The key to better sex in this case is to keep her senses alert, but her body relaxed. This means a firm touch, coupled with some sensory feather-light caresses. Once you've relaxed her major muscles -- shoulders and back -- work your way down to her buttocks. Strokes can then start to wander near to, but not on, her inner thighs, butt crease and vagina. Don’t forget her hands and feet -- there are thousands of nerve endings in our hands and feet that are very sensitive to touch. If you have no idea what a good massage feels like or how to perform one, spend some time in "lesson time" with your partner and learn what you both like or just run your hands all over her body -- all over. Don’t skip to the hot spots or you’ll ruin the effect.
Number 7
Have her dress up
Pretending to be something you're not comes easily to some people. However, it has its benefits when done for fun. Stepping out of the role of being "yourself" can be a fun way to give each other permission to behave differently for better sex. Playing the role of someone else during sexual play is a very enjoyable way to give your partner some different sensations, and try things that you haven’t done before. Role playing is a great way to have better sex and to have fun with your partner in a light-hearted but sexy way. It is often the woman who does the dressing up simply because A) They enjoy it; and B) They have the resources of clothes, underwear and makeup -- but don't forget that you can play too..
Number 6
Tell her your fantasies
Talking about your fantasies with your partner is a very conducive form of sex play. It increases communication with your partner, which is of great importance, as well, it also helps you get to know each other better for better sex. Yes, you may be surprised by what comes out of her mouth, but this works both ways. Keep it light at first and don’t throw her in the deep end with fantasies about people you both know or reveal fetishes you aren't sure about. Sit back with a glass of wine and keep your clothes on -- for now. Fantasy play can also be incorporated into a game for better sex. Use your imagination, and keep it sexy. Take it in turns and see where it leads you.
Number 5
Play a game
Get a pack of cards and play strip poker for better sex. It may seem like something you would have done when you were in high school (given the opportunity), but adult strip poker is a good way to get naked. Once you are both naked (or nearly naked), you can start on the really fun part: A loss means the other person gets to choose what action is performed on them by the loser. Time limits like one minute on said action means that it is a prolonged game of seduction, which by the end will have you both clamoring to be both the winner and the loser. There are many other games you can play "strip" to, as long as there is regular winner and loser to reward and punish respectively. The great part about these games is that you can both ask the other person to do something in a certain way that you may not necessarily have ever done before. It can get rather filthy, and definitely lead to better sex in the end.
Number 4
Dirty talk
Talking dirty has turned people on for millennia and will continue to do so because it has something other sex play doesn’t: words. Because our brains are our largest sexual apparatus, we respond to the spoken word automatically -- especially when someone says our name. The spoken word evokes emotions, sensations and blood flow to various regions, depending on the topic.

This works very much in your favor when it comes to talking dirty to your lover because women are especially susceptible to what goes in their ears (and I don’t mean cotton buds or ear candles). Talking dirty is, however, an art form and when done badly can result in fits of giggles (which, lets face it, ain't so bad but isn't quite the goal here). Don’t let this deter you.

Have better sex by using toys and trying a new locale...

For better sex, start off easy with neutral dirty-talk topics, such as how you feel inside her, how much you are enjoying the act and what you would like to do to her next. Don’t get too carried away, but let it flow out of you. Dirty talk can be a bit daunting at first, if you are not used to verbalizing these things, so practice. You will see how she responds to you. Dirty talk also comes under the "encouragement" category -- when she sees that you like something very much, she will be more interested in doing it more. The rawness of the sexual passion aroused with dirty talk is why it is so effective. Be careful with swearing too much -- though a good dose of foul language is part and parcel with dirty talk (its not called dirty talk for nothing), too much swearing/name calling can be a turn off. Try to stick to positive words, and leave the commonly used insult words out. Watch what you call her body parts too -- just make sure she can handle it before launching into your tirade of filth. Chances are, the passion from you will ignite hers two-fold.
Number 3
Try a new position
You already know how to bring her to orgasm in two ways (probably). You repeat these regularly because they work -- there's no harm in that. However, if you never, ever try any new positions again, how will you ever know? New positions need a reasonably high level of arousal in your lover, so choose your time to strike a new pose when she is quite obviously feeling very randy.

There is no limit to the number of ways to have sex, so you can use your imagination and come up with as many weird and wonderful inventions as you desire. Simply changing locations can dramatically change the position, so consider this too (for example on top of the washing machine, on a bench, beanbag or table).
Number 2
Use a cock ring
Cock rings slow the drain of blood out of your erection, and keep you harder for longer. A very hard penis stimulates a woman’s insides slightly differently -- and much better -- than one that is getting soft around the edges. Cock rings are inexpensive and usually nice to look at, and make an interesting male sex toy to add to your collection. Cock rings ensure that you can maintain the pace without faltering for better sex. This is very pleasing to your lady friend.
Number 1
Try a new place
Sex in a new locale is definitely up there in exciting things to do for better sex. You can take a drive somewhere secluded where you can get a bit risqué. Try a public place (not too public) or simply move to a different room or area in your home -- or even someone else’s home. Whatever tickles your fancy. There are a million and one different places to have sex other than your home, in your bed -- use them.
increase your pleasure
The list of helpful hints you have been presented with equates to a very good head start to a better sex life. The time and energy required to plan your adventures will pay off immediately, but also over the longer term. You will be rewarded according to the effort you put in with a great new skill set, and of course better sex. Make time, conserve some energy for it and relax. Life is short!

http://www.askmen.com/dating/love_tip_250/250_love_tip.html

How to get the right guy

2008-08-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

So I guess you might be looking on how to get that guy you're after. Well lets start with the most important thing:
1. Be yourself, no matter what, be yourself, don't try to like something just because he likes it, or someone for that matter.
2. Ok so you might be wondering how you could get his attention, well a good way to start is by just talking to him, he doesn't have to know you love him, just talk. Try to get to really know him.
3. Most good guys will go for a beautiful nice girl, they'll normaly try to find a girl with great outter and inner beauty. So maybe you don't have the best outter beauty, but try to talk to him more and more, he'll start paying more attention to you if he doesn't have another girl in mind. Just be really nice with him and smile alot, make jokes and laugh to his, but only if its funny, you probably don't want to be the only one laughing. If he's really smart, he won't care too much about your outter beauty, we don't really care about zits, just not too much, try some products for acne and a little make-up, not too much though. Also try different hair styles. I know 3 girls who had pretty long hair, they cut their hair arround to their shoulders, and all of them practicaly blew me away, so like I say, different hair styles will help, try not to have your hair too long, most guys don't like that, they like it when you can straighten your hair and still look good.
4. Compliment him in the things he does, if he says he loves sports, and plays some, try to find out what his favorite sport is and watch him play if you have the chance, most guys will be good at one sport, normaly the one they like best, so tell him he's good at it. You can also tell him he sucks at things, but make sure he gets that ur just trying to tease him. We like to get teased because we can tease back, its great for flirting.
5. Don't tell the guy you love him until you really know him well, relationships normaly end quickely or badly when things go too fast. Finaly, just be yourself and make sure he's really the one for you before going after him, and if he doesn't love you back or says he loves another girl when you told him you love him, just keep talking to him alot and wait and see. Some guys minds are hard to change, but you can still convince them that you might be the one for him. But if he really doesn't love you, just let him go, there's no point in going out with someone who doesn't love you. A nice guy will always go after a beautiful girl, but beautiful girls aren't always the prettyests, so don't worry about your looks too much, just make a little effort to look pretty for him.

If you have any questions, well I've hooked up plenty of girls and would love to help you with your love life. So my e-mail is alexandre14_55@hotmail.com if you want to talk about a guy you like or how to tell him you like him. If you do wonder how to tell him, well just think. What have you got to lose by just telling him?? Good luck, hope my tips work.
http://www.datingtips.ws/showtip.php?tipid=36397

what girls like

2008-08-22T10:20:00.000-07:00

hey, so im a girl and i know that alot of guys always wonder 'what should i do?' or 'what do they like?' well here it is, we think the same exact thing about you guys.
so for all you guys who wonder, heres a list of things we do/dont like:

1) we love when you come up behind us and hold/hug us from behind and/or hold our waist.
2) make sure the first kiss you give her is passionate. every girls dream is to have that first kiss be amazing
3) if its a girl you've kinda been interested in for a while and you know shes interested too, ASK HER FOR THOSE DIGITS! =] trust me, shes dying for you to ask.
4) never wait for the girl to make the first move, we hate it.
5) when you drop her off from a date, walk her up to her door, hug her for a good 5 seconds, tell her you had an amazing time, look into her eyes [make sure shes looking back] and lean in for a short but passionate kiss on the lips [if you think its to early, just leave it at a hug unless you know shes waiting for you to kiss her]
6) call her when you want to, but make sure your not over doing it, if she seems kinda annoyed, AH STOP!! also if theres an awkward silence neverrrrr everrrr everrrr leave it up to her to say something.
7) if she brings you to meet her parents, RESPECT HER PARENTS!!! dont say anything ***ual or gross around them, keep in mind their gonna test you to see if your right for their daughter. if you respect her parents she'll get this gut feeling that your an even more amazing person
8) dont be a typical guy around her and fart and burp and do guyish things, really we find it disgusting, i know i know ' everyone does it ' yeah but its different around a bf or gf. just dont do it -_-
9) for a first date, take her some place like a beach late at night or into the city park when no ones there so its just you two. we find it really romantic
10) hold her hand
11) hold her, kiss her or even invite her to go places in front of your friends, a girl HATES it when you act like shes just 'some girl' around your friends, be prepared to be called a typical jerk if you do that
12) dont get in the habit of saying i love you too much unless you REALLY mean it, because then guys tend to over use it and it makes us feel like you dont mean it anymore.
13) when you first tell her you love her, make it special. make sure your alone. and try to tell her when shes sad, we love it when guys do things like this: comfort her, hold her, turn her towards you, hold her close, look DEEP into her eyes [dont rush that part], move your face towards her ear and hold her waist softly whispering,"I love you" or if not make sure your, Again, alone somewhere special.
14) girls absouluty LOVE guys whispers
15) if you have a special talent, any talent really, tell her you did it for HER. for example: if your a football player, after the game, tell her you played your hardest for her.
16) if your trying to show off, dont get ****y, we cant stand ****y.
17) always remember to compliment her
18) show her off to the world
19) even in front of hot girls, make sure you treat her like shes way prettier and that you have absoulutly no interest in them
20) DONT WORRY! its only natural to think other girls are hot or have something slip out in front of a gf. just try NOT to pull it out in front of her, and guys, really make sure she doesnt catch you giving other girls the 'CALL ME BABE ;]' sign. it could be her best friend
21) dont talk about other girls to us
for example: if she asks why you havent answered your phone, dont be stupid and tell her something like, Oh sorry babe i was hanging with a friend of mine, her names.. [so on and so fourth]. dont do it, it gives us an idea that your just another player.

NOTE: make sure this girl is a really special person to you, and you really care for her until you go into some of the things i suggjested like kissing. Do it when the times right
i hope that helped =)
-Savannah
http://www.datingtips.ws/showtip.php?tipid=46184

How to be a top flirt

2008-08-22T10:18:00.001-07:00

FLIRTING: "To play at love, without serious intentions." It is often done to arouse sexual interest in another person. Flirting is fun; it is just kidding around. Have the intention of fun and nothing else. It is not serious, so you cant do anything wrong! It is kind of a joke about what they're doing; with which you tease them and kid them about. Remember: You dont have to do the right thing, because you are just kidding.

Your FRAME OF MIND is very important in flirting. Don't try to be a flirt. Skills of flirting come automatically to you from your sub-consciousness if you just loosen yourself and have a positive approach of mind.
Flirting Tips

1. Focus outward. Keep your attention outside yourself, toward a particular flirting target or toward the general social environment. You can't flirt while you're self-absorbed.

2. While flirting, follow up with a helpful comment. That helps them know you are kind, not just light-heartedly rude.

3. Body Language: Straighten up, good posture, shoulders relaxed, arms uncrossed, lean forward slightly.

4. Have fun. Be playful, light-hearted and spontaneous. Show your vulnerability.

5. Compliment. Compliment your flirting partner. The best compliments have the element of surprise. The "flirtee" will know that you really noticed them. Remember, your compliments must be honest, sincere and genuine. When you receive a compliment the best response is merely to say Thank You!

6. Use your eyes. Whether in conversation or across the room, look at your target's eyes a little longer than necessary, and keep a small smile on your own face while you do that.

7. Smile. It is contagious. It will make you so much more approachable. A smile lights up your face and draws people to you.

Flirting Body Language: Art of non-verbal communication

2008-08-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

Body language is the way of sending signals to the other person by the way you walk, talk, and project your energy. Body language is all about your presense,i.e. the EFFECT you are making on other person's mind.

Women are attracted to the man who knows what he wants and is confident with himself, who oozes confidence from every inch of his skin and follows through with action.
Elements of body language:

1. Posture
2. Smile
3. Eye contact
4. Facial Expressions
5. Your way of doing different things

Voice Tonality also plays a key role in your success with women. It doesn't matter what you are saying, but what REALLY matters is how you are saying it. You can talk about the boring thing that would bore her and can still get an incredible response... because of the WAY you say it and the way you NONVERBALLY communicate your sexual attractness.
GOLDEN RULE: Speak slowly, surely and more deeply. All women love a very slow, deep speaking voice. Women find this to be very sexy and very attractive.
Getting started to get your body language perfect
Tips from the Top

Imitate the top performers in every field. They'll teach you how to be a success in your field. Let me explain this to you with an example.

Entertainer Dick Cavett had a little trick when he was starting out to show business. Just before he was about to go onstage, he'd look in a mirror and pretend he was Bob Hope. He'd imitate Hope's air of confidence, the way he carried himself, so that some of that self-assurance would rub off on him.

You can do that in your field. Pick out people who are really good and try to imitate them.

GOLDEN RULE: Always act the way as your hero will act in that particular situation.
Body Language Basics

Keep your body open. That means keeping your arms down by your sides, not crossed over your body as a buffer. Before he took some pointers from Glass, Tim Cowgill, 46, was shutting people out by his body's signals. "I would close my arms across my front," he says, "and back myself up against a wall." And 41-year-old Deborah Garrett says she wasn't getting close to people, either — figuratively or literally. "I kept my distance, clutching a glass to keep something between me and others."

Reflect self-confidence. A poised presentation invites others to treat you with respect. Stand up straight, but not to the point of looking stiff. When sitting, keep a straight back to avoid a sloppy slouch. And when walking, move self-confidently at a steady pace — not too fast or too slow — with your arms swinging freely at your sides.
Consider "respectful" touching. An appropriate, gracious touch — on the arm, for example — is unlikely to offend, but can serve as a friendly, bonding gesture.

Relax your face. Your face is responsible for about 75 percent of nonverbal communication, according to Glass. A furrowed forehead, for example, might be construed as critical. For a positive look that doesn't intimidate, release the tension in your forehead, while also relaxing the muscles around your eyes, mouth and nose. And smile — a genuine smile — with some teeth showing.

Make consistent eye contact. To make a connection, look at a person's face while you're engaged in conversation, instead of glancing around as if looking for alternative entertainment. In other words, show that you're interested.

Don't be shy. "Shy people are selfish people," according to Glass. "It's not all about you. Focus more on being interested — not interesting— and your mind-set will move away from how awkward you might be feeling." DONT GET self-conscious. Remember, self-consciousness is opposite of self-confidence.

http://www.onlinedatingschool.com/body-language.htm

Things You Should Do on a First Date

2008-08-22T10:16:00.000-07:00

If you get yourself a first date—especially from someone you knew before—the first thing that you should consider is how to make it so good that your date would want to see you on a second date. However, it doesn't take too much stress to prepare about it. Remember that a date is all about knowing the other person better and treating him or her with respect. Check out our list to see what you should consider.

Choose the right outfit – Wearing provocative or inappropriate clothing risk making the wrong impression. Although your date may be familiar to you, your revealing or flashy dress could mean that you are trying too hard to impress him or her. Wear clothes that are appropriate to the venue, and at the same time your date would be familiar with.

Do not wear too much perfume – Just because you still couldn't smell the perfume from your body doesn't mean that you don't have enough of it. Apply the perfume on your pulse points such as behind the ears and on the wrists, and you're ready to go.

Consider to meet at a public place – Even if you are dating someone you know, it is best to meet him or her at a public place such as a park or a restaurant. A public place provides safety and security.

Prepare a plan – If you are familiar with your date, you should have an idea of his or hers likes and dislikes. Create a list of activities that you and your date would both love to do. Why reserve a table at an expensive restaurant if you date prefers to have a picnic by the park? Also, don't forget about your date's eating habits and allergies, or previous injuries when considering a physical activity such as football passing.

Men should still practice chivalry – We may be living in a new century, but men should still take care of women. He should open doors for women, pull the chairs for her, and letting her order first. When playing sports with your woman, make sure to be gentle—and also let her win.

Listen – Ask question and show (not pretend) that you are interested to what your date is saying. The reason why you should not pretend to be listening because your date might end up talking more about him or her rather than making it a stimulating conversation. Among those topics that are great in date conversations are work, hobbies, books, music, movies, and sports. Do not talk or ask about politics, religion, and especially former relationships.

Look at them in the eyes – Eye contact spells out your interest and attention towards your date.

Have fun – Remember that the date should be fun. Bring laughter into the conversation by bringing out your sense of humor through jokes. Make every activity light and happy. However, if you see that your date isn't laughing at your jokes, don't tell another one.

http://www.datingtips.com/articles.php?id=47&catid=693

Tips For Teen For Creative Dating

2008-08-22T10:15:00.000-07:00

Make a picnic - Pack a basket of your favorite foods, pick a great spot and have a picnic.
Go see a movie - Inviting someone to a movie is always interesting. One good way to make it a little interesting is to let your date choose the film, or put a bunch of movie names in a hat and pick one at random when you get together.
Plan a sporty activity - Take advantage of the time of year and enjoy a seasonal activity together. For example, rollerblade on a summer afternoon or ice skating on a winter night can make for a great date!
Drive to the beach - Take a drive down to the beach for the day. No matter what the time of year, a walk in the sand is always a refreshing change.
Be volunteer in a community service – If it is a project that you are both interested you could do together. Lending a helping hand to a good cause is always a satisfying way to spend an afternoon or evening.
Head to the city for a day - From seeing a matinee to shopping or viewing a great art exhibit, you should select what you are interested.
Make a great plan – You could get tickets to a game and cheer for your favorite team or go to an amusement park for the day.

http://www.datingtips.com/articles.php?id=385

Trick Download Video - Picture?

2008-08-04T21:15:00.000-07:00

Do you like porn? How to download video - picture porn? I saw many at internet, almost people searching porn content. This is a top keyword indonesia porn. Are you like?

How To Stop Porn Addiction

Step one: Do you admit you have a problem? Do you realize just how much damage porn addiction can do to your life and your relationships? Do you really want to know how to stop porn addiction? OR are you just hoping there is an easy one click cure?

If you are looking for a quick fix then the same problems that cause your porn addiction are still active within you and you will not get far. The ease of access to porn and instant gratification are what pulls most people into the world of porn addiction and since there is no one click cure those same instant gratification people stay mired in their problems and never choose the harder but more fulfilling and better path.

What does this mean? It means that any addiction is a major problem and any addiction requires you to be committed to solving it. To do this you must believe whole heartedly in the benefits of being cured of your addiction and you must be aware of what damage it is doing. Most importantly though you must understand and be aware of what actually originally caused you to begin your addiction.

While the instant gratification I mentioned is what makes it easy for you to become addicted the reason why you needed to seek such things out again and again is a whole different story and may be as varied as the bizarre sex acts you find in the adult entertainment industry!

Step two: Think back to when you started, and the reasons behind it, simple titillation maybe? Sure that can certainly be a reason but was there anything more? A frustration or a problem? Think back to when you started to be addicted but may not have know it, think back to when it started becoming a problem, the reasons were probably much different but linked none the less. As much as men are ruled by their hormones if you put aside simple horniness there is a deeper issue if you cannot overcome your base instincts when they cause damage to your life.

How to stop porn addiction lies with and understanding and acceptance of the reasons you started watching so much porn not where you are right now and requires a great deal of introspection and insight into your own soul and motives. Low self esteem is one of the most common aspects of porn addiction but the reasons surrounding this problem vary greatly from person to person so a personalized approach to a cure is needed.

Did you find this article helpful?
Are you or is someone you love addicted to porn?
Are you unsure about how to go about solving this problem?
If so click below to find professional advice and a guaranteed way to kick the addiction!
http://www.kick-addiction.com/Overcome-Porn-Addiction.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Porteous

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Another Tip For Success in Your Business

2008-06-12T13:19:00.000-07:00

Some say that the secret to success is being in the right place at the right time. Some say that success comes to those who work smart. You can say that success comes with having drive or passion for a certain field. All of this is true, but I also believe that another way to be successful in the real estate business is to have the right mentor, the right business coach, knowledge, and action.

Some of the world's most successful business men and women all were, and still are being mentored by someone else. Their business coaches helped them strategically bring their business to the next level. Without the support of these mentors and coaches where would their business be today? Who knows?

I believe that one way to increase your income is to hire someone else to coach you on a particular subject. Of course, you're going to work hard and work smart along with the knowledge you gain, but at the end of the day you need that extra information and you can get it from someone else.

I am in the house flipping business. If I wanted to find more leads so that I can make more deals, I could hire someone to help me in the process. Sometimes other people know more than you do. Therefore it would be wise to be open minded to other people's ideas. A mentor and a business coach can give you the knowledge that you are lacking to buy more properties and step your business game up.

No one can become successful on their own. You will need a support team. There isn't one millionaire or billionaire for that matter that has ever gained their position single handedly. The support from their mentors, business coaches and staff has given them the success that many desire.

The moral of the story is if you want to take your business to new heights you can spend the time and money on education. Find someone to help you if you have reached a plateau. Go out there and get a business coach. Pick someone who has been successful in your business and milk them for their information. It will be well worth the investment. Work hard and work smart as well and your business will grow substantially.

Tips for success in business 2

2008-06-12T13:16:00.000-07:00

# Never walk down the hall without a document in your hands. People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they're heading for the cafeteria. People with the newspaper in their hands look like they're heading for the bathroom. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

# Use computers to look busy. Any time you use a computer, it looks like work to the casual observer. You can send and receive personal e-mail, calculate your finances and generally have a blast without doing anything remotely related to work. These aren't exactly the societal benefits that everybody from the computer revolution expected but they're not bad either. When you get caught by your boss--and you will get caught--your best defense is to claim you're teaching yourself to use the new software, thus saving valuable training dollars. You're not a loafer, you're a self-starter. Offer to show your boss what you learned. That will make your boss scurry away like a frightened salamander.

# Messy desk. Top management can get away with a clean desk. For the rest of us, it looks like you're not working hard enough. Build huge piles of documents around your workspace. To the observer, last year's work looks the same as today's work; it's volume that counts. Pile them high and wide. If you know somebody is coming to your cubicle, bury the document you'll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when he/she arrives.

# Voice mail. Never answer your phone if you have voice mail. People don't call you just because they want to give you something for nothing-- they call because they want YOU to do work for THEM. That's the way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail. If somebody leaves a voice mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour. That way, you're hardworking and conscientious even though you're being a devious weasel. If you diligently employ the method of screening incoming calls and then returning calls when nobody is there, this will greatly increase the odds that they will give up or look for a solution that doesn't involve you. The sweetest voice mail message you can ever hear is "Ignore my last message. I took care of it." If your voice mailbox has a limit on the number of messages it can hold, make sure you reach that limit frequently. One way to do that is to never erase any incoming messages. If that takes too long, send yourself a few messages. Your callers will hear a recorded message that says, "Sorry, this mailbox is full"--a sure sign that you are a hardworking employee in high demand.

Tips for Success in Business

2008-06-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

1. Don't let others decide "your" attitude.

2. Always be early to work and always be willing to stay late. Moving up is often measured in �sweat equity�.

3. The best ethics are those that can stand being illuminated in the morning newspaper.

4. A positive attitude will take you further than your technical knowledge.

5. Decision making should always involve identifying the risks and assigning probabilities to possible outcomes.

6. Make an effort to improve your written and oral communication skills. Whatever the sacrifice - make it! -- Very few professionals move up without being good communicators.

7. If you are in a college major and you do not like the topics, homework, tests, teachers, etc., you should change majors. If you do not like this material in college, why do you think you will suddenly fall in love with the subject when you are working? (Note about accounting: The purpose of doing business is to make a profit, and accounting measures profits. All career paths need to understand accounting, and those who don't will remain at the bottom of the corporate ladder.)

8. College is the �real world.� There are obligations, responsibilities, and consequences.

9. Your college grades are a measure of your willingness to sacrifice. Employers want employees willing to sacrifice to improve the company.

10. If you don't like group and team work in class, forget the business world--change majors! You must be able to work as part of a team to survive in the business world.

11. Learn everything you can about the computer and the internet. The 21st century will be defined by "technocrats." Join them or fall behind.

12. Join professional business organizations. Career maintenance and the networking related to it will pay off.

13. Be a volunteer for community service, starting now. Recruiters believe if you give that extra two cents while you are a student, then you will likely give that extra two cents to the company.

14. Continually update your address, telephone, and e-mail information. Networking is an important key to success.

15. Join student clubs and take a leadership role. Leadership is the key to moving up in the business world.

16. Cultivate friendships among all the students in your major. You may need this network later on.

17. Develop a good rapport with at least one of your major professors. Make sure they know you and your career objectives.

18. Be attentive to details. It is not long in life before you will discover it is the little things that make the big difference.

19. Excuses for submitting reports and other paperwork late don't get it in business----nor do they in classes. If you can't handle the load, lighten up your course load by dropping a class, or reducing work hours. Time management skills are strong indicators of your ability to manage the tasks involved in your intended career.

80 Tips for Business Success

2008-06-12T13:14:00.000-07:00

1. Before leaving work each day, identify those things you need to do the next day.
2. When you think you may have to compromise on your agenda, classify your issues into "can drop," "nice to have" and "must have" categories. This will prepare you for negotiation.
3. Before presenting a new idea or an action plan, list the people whose support you will need…learn where each one stands regarding your proposal (pro, con or neutral)…and formulate a plan to handle each person accordingly.
4. Publicly recognize and reward people who develop themselves and others.
5. Identify the behaviors that you feel are critical to success in your department, and then lead by example.
6. Despite your workload, don't bring extra work to meetings. Focus on the issues and the other people at the meeting.
7. Limit your use of closed questions—those that can be answered with a "yes" or a "no."
8. Don't overreact to events at work. Problems are to be expected and are rarely catastrophic.
9. Set aside a little time every day in which you will practice a behavior or skill that you're trying to learn or fine-tune.
10. Limit your personal goals. Genuine progress on your two or three most important goals is more meaningful and rewarding than negligible progress on a dozen less critical fronts.
11. When faced with possible resistance, consider pre-selling your agenda to a couple of key players.
12. Avoid collecting and filing information if it is not actually of use to you personally.
13. Understand that emotional intelligence can transform your performance and career.
14. Get to know your staff members so that you are aware of how best to help them.
15. Remember that people of dissimilar ability can find each other difficult.
16. Set aside a little time every couple of months to review job descriptions and spot any needs for change.
17. Take the word "try" out of from your vocabulary. Turn intentions into actions.
18. Remember that, when implementing improvements, things sometimes get worse before they get better.
19. Measure results achieved, not hours worked or number of activities.
20. Write down your most important goals and keep them in front of you at all times-for instance, on a mirror at home, in your middle desk drawer or on the wall in your office.
21. Refrain from saying, "It can't be done," and focus on how you can make it happen.
22. Be persistent but not foolish—if what you are trying is not working, get feedback and ideas from others.
23. Focus on people's strengths rather than their shortcomings.
24. Make sure your network is reciprocal: share information, ideas, resources or influence with others—don't just take from those within your network.
25. Be alert to details, especially when working in an international context. For example, colors, numbers and symbols often have different meanings in different cultures.
26. Set a good example for others by consistently engaging in solid ethical behavior and confronting any unethical practices.
27. Live in the present. Don't stress about mistakes in the past or worry about problems in the future.
28. As a manager, you are now personally responsible for operating within the law. Here's an important way to ensure you're safe: Know the law. Practice the law. Protect yourself and your organization.
29. Remember that good ethics lead to good business.
30. Do not confuse assumptions with facts, or you may make a major mistake.
31. When the minutes of a meeting you attended are distributed, read them through and query anything about which you are dissatisfied—from conclusions reached to assignments given you.
32. Resist using buzzwords—they weaken communication.
33. Express your opinion with conviction, but don't neglect the position of the other person—be prepared to listen and to be influenced.
34. Compare the amount of time you spend talking and listening during a typical conversation. If you are talking more than 50 percent of the time, you're talking too much!
35. Remember that public criticism only works when group dynamics are the issue.
36. Be realistic in budgeting a new project—avoid the temptation to keep costs unrealistically low in order to get the project approved.
37. Build mental flexibility by doing brainteasers, so you are in the habit of challenging your assumptions.
38. Recognize that people learn just as much from mistakes as they do from getting it right the first time.
39. When recruiting, ask what-if questions to determine how the applicant would respond to tricky situations.
40. Let candidates for a job know how much time the interview will take. This will reassure them that they will have the opportunity to give their information and to ask key questions.
41. Monitor trends in your industry to determine which competencies will become increasingly important. Then, ensure that your organization has employees with these abilities either by hiring from outside or training current staff.
42. Conduct an informal survey of your top performing new hires to find out how they heard about their positions. Focus your recruiting efforts on those sources that have produced your best employees.
43. Encourage people to focus their training and development on areas where they can achieve the greatest impact on organizational performance.
44. When searching for the right candidate for a position…remember to target the market that matches your candidate requirements. Don't waste time and effort looking at the wrong people. Instead create a job-specific profile so you have a clear vision of the job and responsibilities it entails.
45. Make department and corporate goals come alive for staff members by identifying the enablers—resources, skills or abilities critical to mission and goal achievement—that will allow the group to contribute to the corporate mission and goals.
46. When you encounter recurring issues or opportunities, seek the help of those unfamiliar with the situations to get a fresh perspective.
47. Regularly assess the strengths and weaknesses of your strategy, your processes and your customer approach. In today's fast-changing world, ongoing review of these areas-and implementing change as needed-is critical.
48. Consider how your organizational structure will need to change in the near- and long- term. Give your employees the chance to adjust beforehand.
49. Incorporate communication strategies into your business plans. Ask yourself what information and feedback you need to achieve your objectives.
50. Complete a thorough and objective evaluation of your product or service annually; also determine the health of your organization and its ability to grow.
51. Draw how you see the solution to a problem—visual images may be a greater stimulus to creativity than your words.
52. Make your decision, but prepare a fallback position. If you've made the wrong decision, you'll know what to do next to rectify the situation.
53. Monitor employee progress on a task—but not every hour of the day. If things go wrong, give your employee the chance to put them right by him- or herself.
54. Remember that teleworkers are entitled to a life outside of work. So don't telephone them at home in the evening or on the weekend unless it's a major emergency.
55. Ensure that people who work with you and your employees know that you have delegated a task to your employee and that you have given the employee the authority to do the job.
56. Monitor the performance of anyone you ask to assist new hires before you make the assignment.
57. Share solutions to problems found by your department with other groups within your organization, thereby saving other groups from having to reinvent the wheel.
58. Treat resistance to change as a problem to solve, not as a character flaw.
59. Test the practicality of your decisions to increase their probability for success. Get into the habit of asking yourself at each stage of the decision-making process whether the decision is workable.
60. Ask your employees how their objectives contribute to the unit's success. If they don't know, help them understand how their goals align with the unit's strategic objectives.
61. Do an annual review of efforts to achieve your unit's goals to determine any training needs or other shortcomings holding you back. Then, act to address the issues identified.
62. If work due dates are missed, discuss the consequences and options with the person to whom you assigned the task. Don't take the incomplete delegated work back.
63. Remember that management is not a popularity contest-you should work and behave not to be liked but to win the respect of others.
64. If you're new to management remember these words of caution: hold your authority in check. Don't overreact to your new position. And don't play favorites.
65. Isolate the reason for poor performance. Maybe the staff member does not know what you want him or her to achieve.
66. Communicate constantly with project team members: hold daily team briefings and weekly team meetings and encourage people to share information and ideas.
67. If you want your team to reach a consensus, let them know the place and time for the meeting in advance. With a few days, notice, they will have time to consider alternative ideas and arrive at the meeting with an informed choice.
68. Meet regularly with those responsible for project implementation, not only to determine the project's status, but also to communicate its importance to the support of the group-and consequently, the corporate-goal.
69. Consider the variety of time zones or office locations for those you are contacting and rotate locations and/or start times for meetings.
70. Challenge the analyses and findings of groups that have worked in the same area for a long time. Encourage the members to rethink their conclusions to ensure they are timely and accurate.
71. Inform customers and suppliers of significant change initiatives, and ask how these could impact the support they receive from, or provide to, the organization.
72. During face-to-face meetings, reinforce the corporation's commitment to customers as often as possible if you truly want to build a customer-centric organization.
73. If a customer requirement changes, be prepared to change your process or system, too.
74. Think globally. Study how your competition sells its products internationally to see if you can do the same.
75. Write the business proposal first, then think about how you want it to look.
76. Identify the key people you need for your strategy to work. Focus on attracting, deploying, developing and retaining these people.
77. Put yourself in your competitor's shoes. If you were to compete against your firm, what would you do? Based on your thinking, plan a counterstrategy.
78. Identify and plan to avoid the constraints to implementing a plan before you begin implementation.
79. Be open to the idea that others’ behavior, no matter how unreasonable, may be due to personal or work-related problems about which you know nothing.
80. And don’t forget: maintain your sense of humor. Humor is the best antidote to stress. We do our teams and ourselves a favor when we remember to stop and laugh. It will lower the emotional temperature.

Vocal Tips

2008-06-12T13:05:00.000-07:00

Voice Tips

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Never sing without first warming up. Your vocal cords require the needed "warm up" before you perform. Undue strain on "cold" vocal cords can lead to permanent damage. A good rule to remember is "To be a perfect 10 - 10 be a perfect too". This means that starting slow and warming up, for at least 10 minutes before a performance, will not only stretch your vocal cords, but calm you down too (increased oxygen supply helps your body to relax).
*

Sing like you speak. Your vocal cords get used to a specific style and range of volume. Increasing the volume by straining or pushing your voice to react louder, only causes undo stress upon your vocal cords and could possibly make them weaker. Practice slowly to increase the volume of your voice by controlling the release of air from your diaphragm. Soon, you'll be bellowing like the best of them!
*

Turn lemons into Lemon-Aid. The acidic qualities of lemons will not only give you a purse to your pucker, but clean your throat of unwanted mucus residue. Yummy! Plus, think of the lemony-fresh breathe you'll have when singing close to your favorite harmony partner. Lemonade will not work here; just a fresh-cut wedge of lemon. A glass of water will assist in washing the tartness away.
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Eating dairy or chocolate before you sing will diminish your range. Milk substances, dairy, chocolate and even sugar can produce a film that coats your throat and possibly your vocal cords. This film doesn't allow for the full range of movement and vibration of your vocal cords, plus, a feeling of needing to clear your throat may become more frequent. Therefore, when you have to eat something before you perform, grab something free of milk, cheese, or anything from the dairy family. Garlic wouldn't be good either!

Enjoyment Tips

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Never sing when you're mad. People have this innate ability to tell when another person is angry, therefore, singing when you are upset will be readily apparent to the other group members and the audience. Plus, scientific evidence suggests that muscles constrict and facial features contract, thus, contributing to lack of mouth movement and tonal quality. So, if at all possible, try not to let the negative emotional feelings get the better of you on stage.
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Stressed out? Breathe more! Every performer experiences anxiety at one time or another. The problem arises, when the body's natural reaction to stress is to start quick, short intakes of breath. This, in turn, increases blood pressure and gives a person dry mouth. To combat this feeling, start by slowly taking a few very deep breaths. This will drop the body's natural fear factor and decrease blood pressure. After a few more slow deep breaths, the body's muscles will loosen from the increase in oxygen. Soon, your anxiety level will begin to diminish and you'll feel better!
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Keep singing!

10 Tips for Learning to Sing Well

2008-06-12T13:01:00.000-07:00

The human voice is one of the most fragile instruments, and is incredibly difficult to master. If you want to learn how to sing well, it's going to be a long battle, but here are some great tips to help you avoid some common pitfalls.

1. Breath from the diaphragm, not the lungs. You need to really control the air that you're expelling when you sing, and breathing from the diaphragm gives you more air to work with. To do this, breath so that your stomach goes out rather than your chest when you inhale. When you practice, try to focus on using the same amount of air for low notes and high notes. This will help erase the break between your registers and give you more steady tone.

2. Run through scales-a lot. If this was guitar, it wouldn't be different, and the human voice is a lot less accurate than a guitar. You need to get your sense of pitch down, and you need to train your voice to reach higher and higher if you want to really hit all the notes in your range.

3. Don't strain your voice. Practice is a good thing, but don't try to sing too high or you might damage your vocal cords. Go slow and steady and you'll sing well in no time. Keep your practice time to an hour or so a day, then move up if you feel like it. If you ever feel like your voice is straining, or if you feel soreness or pain, stop right away.

4. Listen to criticism. Singing well takes a long time, and in the meantime you're going to hear people say a lot of bad things about you. If you notice a trend, recognize that people are probably making a good judgment and try to work on the problem aspect of your voice. Don't let anyone get you down who really has nothing to say other than, "you suck," though. You don't see them trying to do this, and they have no idea what they're talking about.

5. Make recordings of yourself. This is the only way to hear your problems, because you can separate yourself from your voice and listen to what other people hear. You may not like this at first, but keep at it; you'll improve vastly, and you'll start to notice stuff you like about your voice and really expand on those things.

Tips for Getting Better Sleep

2008-06-05T18:14:00.000-07:00

Better Sleep Tips I: Improving your daytime habits

How can what you do during the day affect your sleep at night? Better sleep starts with good daytime habits, from when (and how often) you exercise to what you eat and drink.
Regular day exercise can help sleep

Regular exercise, aside from many other wonderful health benefits, usually makes it easier to fall asleep and sleep better. You don’t have to be a star athlete to reap the benefits-- as little as twenty to thirty minutes of activity helps. And you don’t need to do all 30 minutes in one session: break it up into five minutes here, ten minutes there. A brisk walk, a bicycle ride or a run is time well spent. However, be sure to schedule your exercise in the morning or early afternoon. Exercising too late in the day actually stimulates the body, raising its temperature. That’s the opposite of what you want near bedtime, because a cooler body temperature is associated with sleep. Don’t feel glued to the couch in the evening, though. Exercise such as relaxation yoga or simple stretching shouldn’t hurt.

Get some light to set your body clock

We all have an internal body clock that helps regulate sleep. This clock is sensitive to light and dark. Light tells your body clock to move to the active daytime phase. When you get up, open the shades or go outside to get some sunlight. If that’s not possible, turn on the lights to make your environment bright.
Napping can interfere with sleep

Perhaps the English had the right idea in having teatime in the late afternoon when you naturally get sleepy. Some people can take a short afternoon nap and still sleep well at night. However, if you are having trouble sleeping at night, try to eliminate napping. If you must nap, do it in the early afternoon, and sleep no longer than about thirty minutes.
Alcohol, caffeine, smoking

* Alcohol reduces overall quality of sleep. Many people think that a nightcap before bed will help them sleep. While it may make you fall asleep faster, alcohol reduces your sleep quality, waking you up later in the night. To avoid this effect, stay away from alcohol in the last few hours before bed.
* Caffeine. You might be surprised to know that caffeine can cause sleep problems up to ten to twelve hours after drinking it! If you rely on coffee, tea or caffeinated soda to keep you going during the day, consider eliminating caffeine after lunch or cutting back your overall intake.
* Smoking. Smoking causes sleep troubles in numerous ways. Nicotine is a stimulant, which disrupts sleep. Additionally, smokers actually experience nicotine withdrawal as the night progresses, making it hard to sleep.

Better Sleep Tips II: Creating a better sleep environment

The key to better sleep might be as simple as making some minor changes to your bedroom. Take a careful look around your sleep environment to see what might be disrupting your sleep.
Your Bed

* Is your bed large enough? Do you have enough room to stretch and turn comfortably in bed, or are you cramped? Having a bedmate makes this even more important- both of you should have plenty of room to stretch out. Consider getting a larger bed if you don’t have enough space.
* Your mattress, pillows and bedding. Waking up with a cramp in your back or a sore neck? You may want to experiment with different levels of mattress firmness and pillows that provide more support. If your mattress is too hard, you can add a foam topper for additional softness. Experiment with different types of pillows – feather, synthetic, and special pillows for side, back or stomach sleepers. Consider your bedding—scratchy sheets might be making you uncomfortable in the middle of the night, or your comforter might not be keeping you warm enough. Consider soft, breathable cotton sheets. Flannel sheets may be cozy for the winter months.

Your Room

Ideally, to maximize sleep, your room should be quiet, dark and at a comfortable temperature and ventilation.

* Keep the noise level down. Too much noise- loud outside conversations, televisions blaring, traffic noise - can make it difficult to sleep well. When the source of outside noise can’t be eliminated, sometimes it can be masked. A fan or white noise machine can help block outside noise. Some people enjoy recordings of soothing sounds such as waves, waterfalls or rain. Earplugs may also help, although you want to make sure they don’t block out important noises like an alarm clock if you use one.
* Sleeping maskKeep your room dark during sleep hours. Early morning light can send your body clock the wrong signal that it is time to wake up. Or perhaps there is a streetlamp shining right in your window at night. Heavy shades can help block light from windows, or you can try an eye mask to cover your eyes.
* Room temperature and ventilation. Who can sleep in a hot stuffy room? Or for that matter, a cold drafty one? If you can, experiment with the room temperature. Most people sleep best in a slightly cooler room. Make sure that you have adequate ventilation as well - a fan can help keep the air moving. You also might want to check your windows and doors to make sure that drafts are not interfering with sleep.
* Reserve your bed for sleeping. Do you sometimes balance your checkbook propped up on your pillows? Or jot down some notes for tomorrow’s meeting? It might feel relaxing to do tasks like these on a comfortable bed. However, if you associate your bed with events like work or errands, it will only make it harder to wind down at night. Use your bed only for sleep and sex.

Better Sleep Tips III: Preparing for Sleep
Keep a regular bedtime schedule, including weekends

Time of day serves as a powerful cue to your body clock that it is time to sleep and awaken. Go to bed and wake up at the same time each day, and it will be easier and easier to fall asleep. However tempting it may be, try not to break this routine on weekends when you may want to stay up much later or sleep in. Your overall sleep will be better if you don’t.

In setting your bedtime, pay attention to the cues your body is giving you. When do you feel sleepy? Set your bedtime for when you normally feel tired, within reason – you may not want to make your bedtime 2am if you have to work at 8am! If you regularly go to bed when you don’t feel sleepy, not only is it harder to fall asleep, but you may start worrying about not sleeping, which can end up keeping you up longer! If you want to change your bedtime, try doing it in small daily increments, such as 15 minutes earlier or later each day.
Foods that help you sleep

Foods that help you sleepMaybe a rich, hearty dinner, topped off with a big slice of chocolate cake might seem like the perfect way to end the day, but it’s wise not to eat a large meal within two hours of bed. Try to make dinnertime earlier in the evening, and avoid heavy, rich foods as bedtime snacks.

However, a light snack before bed, especially one which contains the amino acid tryptophan, can help promote sleep. When you pair tryptophan-containing foods with carbohydrates, it helps calm the brain and allow you to sleep better. For even better sleep, add some calcium to your dinner or nighttime snack. Calcium helps the brain use and process tryptophan. On the other hand, you might want to avoid eating too much protein before bedtime - protein-rich foods contain tyrosine, an amino acid that stimulates brain activity. Experiment with your food habits to determine your optimum evening meals and snacks.

Foods that can interfere with sleep

Some food and drinks that can interfere with your sleep, including:

* Too much food, especially fatty, rich food. These take a lot of work for your stomach to digest and may keep you up. Spicy or acidic foods in the evening can cause stomach trouble and heartburn, which worsens as you are laying down
* Too much liquid. Drinking lots of fluid may result in frequent bathroom trips throughout the night.
* Alcohol. Although it may initially make you feel sleepy, alcohol can interfere with sleep and cause frequent awakenings. Also some people are also sensitive to tyrosine, found in certain red wines
* Caffeine. Avoid food and drinks that contain caffeine, and that doesn’t just mean coffee. Hidden sources of caffeine include chocolate, caffeinated sodas, and teas.

If you suspect a food or drink is keeping you up, try eliminating it for a few days to see if sleep improves.
Develop a relaxing bedtime routine

Ideas to help prepare for sleepA consistent, relaxing routine before bed sends a signal to your brain that it is time to wind down, making it easier to fall asleep.

Start by keeping a consistent bedtime as much as possible. Then, think about what relaxes you. It might be a warm bath, soft music or some quiet reading. Relaxation techniques, such as yoga, visualization or muscle relaxation not only tell your body it is time for sleep but also help relieve anxiety.

Avoid bright light or activities which cause stress and anxiety.

Worry, Anxiety and Sleep

With busy schedules and family lives, it’s hard to leave the worries of daily life behind when it is time to sleep. Worrying and anxiety trigger the “fight or flight” mechanism in the body, releasing chemicals that prepare us to be alert and ready for action. That not only makes it difficult to fall asleep, but can wake you up frequently in the night as well. Stop stress and worry from disrupting your rest by:

* Making the time before sleep a time of peace and quiet. As much as possible, avoid things that may trigger worry or anxiety before bed, like upsetting news or gory television shows.
* Quiet your mind. There are many things you can do to help your brain wind down and prepare for sleep. Relaxation techniques set the stage for quieting the mind. Make some simple preparations for the next day, like a to-do list or laying out the next day’s clothes and shoes. Some people find jotting down a list of worries makes them more manageable.

For help on breaking the worry habit, visit How to Stop Worrying
Better Sleep Tips IV: Getting back to sleep, television and sleep medications
Getting back to sleep

It’s normal to wake briefly during the night- a good sleeper won’t even remember it. However, there are times when you may wake during the night and not be able to fall back asleep. You may get more and more frustrated about not being able to sleep, which raises your anxiety level, ironically making it even harder to achieve the sleep you crave!

* Stay relaxed: The key to getting back to bed is continuing to cue your body for sleep. Some relaxation techniques, such as visualization and meditation, can be done without even getting out of bed. The time honored technique of “counting sheep” works by engaging the brain in a repetitive, non-stimulating activity, helping you wind down.
* Do a quiet, non-stimulating activity if you can’t sleep: If you’ve been awake for more than 15 minutes, try getting out of bed and doing a quiet activity. Keep the lights dim so as not to cue your body clock that it’s time to wake up. A light snack or herbal tea might help relax you, but be careful not to eat so much that your body begins to expect a meal at that time of the day.

Television

Many people use the television to fall asleep or relax at the end of the day. You may even have a television in your bedroom. However, it’s best to get rid of the television, or related activities like video games, for several reasons.

First, television programming is frequently stimulating rather than calming. Late night news or prime time shows frequently have disturbing, violent material. Even non-violent programming can have commercials which are jarring and louder than the actual program. Remember, commercials want to get your attention! Processing this type of material is a stimulating activity, the opposite of what you want to help you sleep.

In addition, the light coming from the TV (or a computer screen) can interfere with the body’s clock, which is sensitive to any light. Television is also noisy, which can disturb sleep if the set is accidentally left on.

* Take the TV out of the bedroom - The optimum setup for better sleep is to have your bedroom reserved for sleeping. So if you watch TV in bed, even if you don’t fall asleep watching it, you are unconsciously associating another activity with the area you use to sleep. It’s best to remove the TV from the bedroom entirely, saving your viewing for the living room or den.
* Trouble falling asleep without the TV - You may be so used to falling asleep with the TV that you have trouble without it. Be patient. It takes time to develop new habits. If you miss the noise, try turning on soft music or a fan. If your favorite show is on late at night, record it for viewing earlier in the day. Although the first few days might be difficult, better sleep pays off in the long run.

Medications and sleep

If only sleeplessness could be completely cured by a simple pill! There are certainly plenty of over-the-counter sleep aids. However, these medications are not meant for long term use. They can cause side effects and even rebound insomnia, where your sleep ends up worse than before. Prescription medications are no magic pill, either. If you must take sleep prescription medications, work carefully with your healthcare professional.

Eight Tips for Healthy Meetings

2008-06-04T18:11:00.000-07:00

Do you stagger out of meetings moaning how you hate, hate, hate meetings? Do you yearn for anything — earthquake, hurricane, building collapse — to get out of the meeting you’re in? Do meetings have to be so awful?

The bad meetings always stand out in my memory, but actually, I’ve attended many good meetings, as well. They had a few things in common.

1. Agendas. A good meeting has an agenda. It might be a very informal agenda, such as “Today we are all going to share for two minutes each on everything we’ve done this past week.” Or it might be an elaborate, three-level-outline agenda. But a meeting without an agenda is not a meeting, it’s an encounter group.

2. Openness. Unless the meeting needs to be closed (personnel issues, for example), the meeting is not only open to those who are required to be there, but to people who have an interest in the topic and want to sit in. That also means that meetings are held at times that facilitate this openness (for a major violator of this principle, see ALA Council, which does the bulk of its work a day after the conference has ended). This openness not only contributes to cross-pollination; it also makes meetings more broadly accountable.

3. The meeting is the meeting. That sounds either Zen-like or Seuss-like (or a little of each), but let me clarify. I have worked in a number of settings where the announced meeting was really just a showcase, and key decisions took place before or after the meeting among the informal leaders in the organization. A variation on this is the person who hangs around after the meeting and has a special one-on-one meeting with a key decision-maker which alters decisions made at the meeting or makes new decisions on topics that weren’t addressed. Obviously, the cure for this is fairly complex — these problems are symptomatic of a toxic organizational culture — but if you can affect real change at that level, then meetings have a chance of becoming meetings again, and not charades resented for the time they suck from activities that people have some control over.

4. Time management. The push is to get the meeting done so people can leave the meeting and Do Something. Meetings not only have start times, but end times. Meetings do not wander on and on; agenda items have time limits. It is true that good meetings contribute to outcomes, but meetings rarely are the bulk of the outcome, and a meeting should leave people jazzed about the issue at hand, not exhausted and burned-out. (Oh, and don’t you love the admin-type whose power trip includes breathlessly showing up late for every single meeting — often with a dramatic explanation of the Very Important Thing that made her late? Yeah, me neither: if you can, start the meeting on time and don’t let this person get it off course when she arrives. Otherwise, practice your patient half-smile.)

5. Democratic but not anarchic. On the one hand, the meeting is not a lecture; you do not sit there, wishing you were dead, while for an hour someone on high reads notes that should have been sent out by email, or asks “questions” that have predetermined “answers.” People have discussions, and discussions resolve problems or lead to problem resolution strategies. the convener makes a special effort to acknowledge all meeting participants and draw the best out of them. On the other hand, the meeting is not dominated by trolls who filibuster on every topic (often with extreme negativism and pronounced opinions) and drown out meeker voices as they hammer home Their Way of Doing Things. To keep a meeting democratic without becoming anarchic requires some adroit, situation-specific meeting management — some of it thought through in advance, with a strategic awareness of the participants’ behavior styles — but it’s key.

6. Not every issue needs a meeting. (Tangentially, see also my observation earlier that for every action there is an equal and opposite committee.) Sometimes a problem can be at least partially resolved by two folks standing around a cubicle tossing a nerf ball; sometimes it’s too early to meet because you don’t know what the issue is. Sometimes the issue needs slow, protracted online conversation (easier among people who work this way naturally) rather than the artifice of ten people, a room, and an agenda.

7. Not every issue can be resolved in a meeting. I’ve seen meetings where the participants were determined to come to a conclusion right then and there. But a meeting is not always the right venue. Sometimes you need more information. Sometimes it’s too early to make a decision. (Yes, this does have to be balanced with not having a separate meeting-outside-of-the-meeting structure.) Sometimes you need to send out the email that you think you need to read aloud at the meeting because no one’s reading it, and if people aren’t reading it, find out why. Sometimes the issue requires an innovator, or serial conversations — someone interviewing people sequentially. Sometimes the issue is too volatile to discuss in the meeting format; you don’t want people being agreeniks because they feel put on the spot.

8. Food, fun, and familiarity. I tend to like work for work’s sake, so it took me a while to learn that offering a nibbly or two can greatly improve someone’s opinion of a meeting, as can a little fun (sharing something humorous) and recognizing human, non-work-related events, such as birthdays, new babies, household moves, and other events that make us who we are.

But the yummiest nibbly in the world can’t compare to a meeting that engages the right people for the right reasons, starts and ends on time, and leaves you better-equipped to handle the issue the meeting addressed.

Tips for a Healthy Life for Men

2008-06-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

Eat Healthy
"An apple a day keeps the doctor away." There's more truth to this saying than we once thought. What you eat and drink and what you don't eat and drink can definitely make a difference to your health. Eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day and less saturated fat can help improve your health and may reduce the risk of cancer and other chronic diseases. Have a balanced diet, and watch how much you eat.

Illustration of man weighting herselfMaintain a Healthy Weight
Obesity is at an all time high in the United States, and the epidemic may be getting worse. Those who are overweight or obese have increased risks for diseases and conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Eat better, get regular exercise, and see your health care provider about any health concerns to make sure you are on the right track to staying healthy.

Illustration of people exercisingGet Moving
More than 50 percent of American men and women do not get enough physical activity to provide health benefits. For adults, thirty minutes of moderate physical activity on most, preferably all, days of the week is recommended. It doesn't take a lot of time or money, but it does take commitment. Start slowly, work up to a satisfactory level, and don't overdo it. You can develop one routine, or you can do something different every day. Find fun ways to stay in shape and feel good, such as dancing, gardening, cutting the grass, swimming, walking, or jogging.

Illustration of man smokingBe Smoke-Free
Health concerns associated with smoking include cancer and lung disease. Smoking triples the risk of dying from heart disease among those who are middle-aged. Second-hand smoke - smoke that you inhale when others smoke - also affects your health. If you smoke, quit today! Helplines, counseling, medications, and other forms of support are available to help you quit.

Illustration of man having a checkupGet Routine Exams and Screenings
Sometimes they're once a year. Other times they're more or less often. Based on your age, health history, lifestyle, and other important issues, you and your health care provider can determine how often you need to be examined and screened for certain diseases and conditions. These include high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, sexually transmitted diseases, and cancers of the skin, prostate, and colon. When problems are found early, your chances for treatment and cure are better. Routine exams and screenings can help save lives.

Illustration of man getting vaccinationGet Appropriate Vaccinations
They're not just for kids. Adults need them too. Some vaccinations are for everyone. Others are recommended if you work in certain jobs, have certain lifestyles, travel to certain places, or have certain health conditions. Protect yourself from illness and disease by keeping up with your vaccinations.

Man receiving a massageManage Stress
Perhaps now more than ever before, job stress poses a threat to the health of workers and, in turn, to the health of organizations. Balancing obligations to your employer and your family can be challenging. What's your stress level today? Protect your mental and physical health by engaging in activities that help you manage your stress at work and at home.

Illustration of couple embracingKnow Yourself and Your Risks
Your parents and ancestors help determine some of who you are. Your habits, work and home environments, and lifestyle also help to define your health and your risks. You may be at an increased risk for certain diseases or conditions because of what you do, where you work, and how you play. Being healthy means doing some homework, knowing yourself, and knowing what's best for you... because you are one of a kind.

Illustration of man applying suntan lotionBe Safe- Protect Yourself
What comes to mind when you think about safety and protecting yourself? Is it fastening seat belts, applying sunscreen, wearing helmets, or having smoke detectors? It's all of these and more. It's everything from washing your hands to watching your relationships. Did you know that men at work die most frequently from motor vehicle incidents, machine-related injuries, homicides, and falls? Take steps to protect yourself and others wherever you are.

Illustration of a couple relaxing in restaurant settingBe Good to Yourself
Health is not merely the absence of disease; it's a lifestyle. Whether it's getting enough sleep, relaxing after a stressful day, or enjoying a hobby, it's important to take time to be good to yourself. Take steps to balance work, home, and play. Pay attention to your health, and make healthy living a part of your life.

10 Tips To Healthy Eating

2008-06-01T18:09:00.000-07:00

Experts agree the key to healthy eating is the time-tested advice of balance, variety and moderation. In short, that means eating a wide variety of foods without getting too many calories or too much of any one nutrient. These 10 tips can help you follow that advice while still enjoying the foods you eat.

1. Eat a variety of nutrient-rich foods. You need more than 40 different nutrients for good health, and no single food supplies them all. Your daily food selection should include bread and other whole-grain products; fruits; vegetables; dairy products; and meat, poultry, fish and other protein foods. How much you should eat depends on your calorie needs. Use the Food Guide Pyramid and the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels as handy references.

2. Enjoy plenty of whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Surveys show most Americans don't eat enough of these foods. Do you eat 6-11 servings from the bread, rice, cereal and pasta group, 3 of which should be whole grains? Do you eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of vegetables? If you don't enjoy some of these at first, give them another chance. Look through cookbooks for tasty ways to prepare unfamiliar foods.

3. Maintain a healthy weight. The weight that's right for you depends on many factors including your sex, height, age and heredity. Excess body fat increases your chances for high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some types of cancer and other illnesses. But being too thin can increase your risk for osteoporosis, menstrual irregularities and other health problems. If you're constantly losing and regaining weight, a registered dietitian can help you develop sensible eating habits for successful weight management. Regular exercise is also important to maintaining a healthy weight.

4. Eat moderate portions. If you keep portion sizes reasonable, it's easier to eat the foods you want and stay healthy. Did you know the recommended serving of cooked meat is 3 ounces, similar in size to a deck of playing cards? A medium piece of fruit is 1 serving and a cup of pasta equals 2 servings. A pint of ice cream contains 4 servings. Refer to the Food Guide Pyramid for information on recommended serving sizes.

5. Eat regular meals. Skipping meals can lead to out-of-control hunger, often resulting in overeating. When you're very hungry, it's also tempting to forget about good nutrition. Snacking between meals can help curb hunger, but don't eat so much that your snack becomes an entire meal.

6. Reduce, don't eliminate certain foods. Most people eat for pleasure as well as nutrition. If your favorite foods are high in fat, salt or sugar, the key is moderating how much of these foods you eat and how often you eat them.

Identify major sources of these ingredients in your diet and make changes, if necessary. Adults who eat high-fat meats or whole-milk dairy products at every meal are probably eating too much fat. Use the Nutrition Facts panel on the food label to help balance your choices.

Choosing skim or low-fat dairy products and lean cuts of meat such as flank steak and beef round can reduce fat intake significantly.

If you love fried chicken, however, you don't have to give it up. Just eat it less often. When dining out, share it with a friend, ask for a take-home bag or a smaller portion.

7. Balance your food choices over time. Not every food has to be "perfect." When eating a food high in fat, salt or sugar, select other foods that are low in these ingredients. If you miss out on any food group one day, make up for it the next. Your food choices over several days should fit together into a healthy pattern.

8. Know your diet pitfalls. To improve your eating habits, you first have to know what's wrong with them. Write down everything you eat for three days. Then check your list according to the rest of these tips. Do you add a lot of butter, creamy sauces or salad dressings? Rather than eliminating these foods, just cut back your portions. Are you getting enough fruits and vegetables? If not, you may be missing out on vital nutrients.

9. Make changes gradually. Just as there are no "superfoods" or easy answers to a healthy diet, don't expect to totally revamp your eating habits overnight. Changing too much, too fast can get in the way of success. Begin to remedy excesses or deficiencies with modest changes that can add up to positive, lifelong eating habits. For instance, if you don't like the taste of skim milk, try low-fat. Eventually you may find you like skim, too.

10. Remember, foods are not good or bad. Select foods based on your total eating patterns, not whether any individual food is "good" or "bad." Don't feel guilty if you love foods such as apple pie, potato chips, candy bars or ice cream. Eat them in moderation, and choose other foods to provide the balance and variety that are vital to good health.

Man Clothing Tips

2008-05-29T18:05:00.000-07:00

Here are some clothing style tips for men that will provide guidelines regarding the right man fashion clothing for different body type. These man-clothing tips can be a great help in adorning you but you must follow the advice seriously.

* Short waist men should avoid wearing trousers / jeans at waist. Low waist jeans are not the right type for you. Tucking your top would not be a very good option. Pullovers are apt for your personality. Short lengthy tank tops are a total no because they tend to highlight your short waist. Contrast concept wont look very good as it would interfere with the vertical flow. So a combo of pink shirt and black trouser should not be chosen. Ask your tailor to keep an inch higher on waist while taking measurement.
* Long waist men need to do things the other way round when compared to short waisted guys. Guys your perfect fashion style is low waist jeans with a contrasting shade T-shirt tucked inside. Double breast jacket is just ideal for you so as to prevent people's eyes from falling particularly on your legs. So boys now are you understanding how to divert people's attention? Opt for belts with a big buckle.
* Men with flat butts should firstly make sure that they wear proper fit pants. Straight leg trousers are just perfect for you because they divert the attention from back and camouflage your body feature. On the contrary there are men with big butts. For them it's important to wear proper undergarments, which includes biking shorts & boxer briefs as they tightly hold your body. Attire low waist pleated flat front trousers, as they would go well with your personality.
* If you have a large belly, your wardrobe should have a combination of light fabric and dark color. Light shades tend to accentuate your big belly. You should make it a point to wear a vest as it prevents loose skin flow from taking place. Long sleeve T-shirt is the right kind for you. Avoid low waist jeans.
* Even if you are dressed in ethnic clothing there are many options available with you but again as mentioned earlier all types are not meant for you. Shorter men and fleshy guys should wear knee long kurtas. Tall guys can opt for calf length kurta also.

So guys by now you must have got a clear idea as to what would suit you so follow these tips and disguise your bad body features. We hope that next time you go shopping you'll be focused as to what you want & not get lured by styling or designing of apparel.

10 Essential Health Tips

2008-05-26T18:01:00.000-07:00

1. Move More
Make it a daily challenge to find ways to move your body. Climb stairs if given a choice between that and escalators or elevators. Walk your dog; chase your kids; toss balls with friends, mow the lawn. Anything that moves your limbs is not only a fitness tool, it's a stress buster. Think 'move' in small increments of time. It doesn't have to be an hour in the gym or a 45-minute aerobic dance class or tai chi or kickboxing. But that's great when you're up to it. Meanwhile, move more. Thought for the day: Cha, Cha, Cha…. Then do it!

2. Cut Fat
Avoid the obvious such as fried foods, burgers and other fatty meats (i.e. pork, bacon, ham, salami, ribs and sausage). Dairy products such as cheese, cottage cheese, milk and cream should be eaten in low fat versions. Nuts and sandwich meats, mayonnaise, margarine, butter and sauces should be eaten in limited amounts. Most are available in lower fat versions such as substitute butter, fat free cheeses and mayonnaise. Thought for the day: Lean, mean, fat-burning machine…. Then be one!

3. Quit Smoking
The jury is definitely in on this verdict. Ever since 1960 when the Surgeon General announced that smoking was harmful to your health, Americans have been reducing their use of tobacco products that kill. Just recently, we've seen a surge in smoking in adolescents and teens. Could it be the Hollywood influence? It seems the stars in every movie of late smoke cigarettes. Beware. Warn your children of the false romance or 'tough guy' stance of Hollywood smokers. Thought for the day: Give up just one cigarette…. the next one.

4. Reduce Stress
Easier said than done, stress busters come in many forms. Some techniques recommended by experts are to think positive thoughts. Spend 30 minutes a day doing something you like. (i.e.,Soak in a hot tub; walk on the beach or in a park; read a good book; visit a friend; play with your dog; listen to soothing music; watch a funny movie. Get a massage, a facial or a haircut. Meditate. Count to ten before losing your temper or getting aggravated. Avoid difficult people when possible. Thought for the day: When seeing red, think pink clouds….then float on them.

5. Protect Yourself from Pollution
If you can't live in a smog-free environment, at least avoid smoke-filled rooms, high traffic areas, breathing in highway fumes and exercising near busy thoroughfares. Exercise outside when the smog rating is low. Exercise indoors in air conditioning when air quality is good. Plant lots of shrubbery in your yard. It's a good pollution and dirt from the street deterrent. Thought for the day: 'Smoke gets in your eyes'…and your mouth, and your nose and your lungs as do pollutants….hum the tune daily.

6. Wear Your Seat Belt
Statistics show that seat belts add to longevity and help alleviate potential injuries in car crashes. Thought for the day: Buckle down and buckle up.

7. Floss Your Teeth
Recent studies make a direct connection between longevity and teeth flossing. Nobody knows exactly why. Perhaps it's because people who floss tend to be more health conscious than people who don't? Thought for the day: Floss and be your body's boss.

8. Avoid Excessive Drinking
While recent studies show a glass of wine or one drink a day (two for men) can help protect against heart disease, more than that can cause other health problems such as liver and kidney disease and cancer. Thought for the day: A jug of wine should last a long time.

9. Keep a Positive Mental Outlook
There's a definitive connection between living well and healthfully and having a cheerful outlook on life. Thought for the day: You can't be unhappy when you're smiling or singing.

10. Choose Your Parents Well
The link between genetics and health is a powerful one. But just because one or both of your parents died young in ill health doesn't mean you cannot counteract the genetic pool handed you. Thought for the day: Follow these basic tips for healthy living and you can better control your own destiny.

10 Tips on Living Fat

2008-05-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

1. Slow down.
There are millions of wonderful things you can do with your soft, round body. Physically keeping up with equally well-motivated peers who weigh half what you do is not one of them. You are not built for speed. Think before you act, then act and be done with it. Save your exercise for when you can move at your own pace and chose your own distance.

2. Wear comfortable clothes.
You’re not going to get thin by punishing yourself with clothes that do not fit. Constricting clothing bleeds the energy out of you. If it doesn’t work on you now, give it away, now. If your favorite store doesn’t carry your size, it’s not your favorite store any more. Yes, you did look good in that. Now it’s too tight. You can look good in something else. You’re a big person, and you will be noticed, so anticipate it positively. It’s okay to use clothes to show off your delicious body.

3. Eat in front of people.
You have a right to fuel your body. You have a right to enjoy your food. If someone watching is one of those nasty, “I just can’t stand to see a fat person gorging himself,” types, that’s not a friendship you need to pursue anyway. Your real friends may occasionally invite you to share some of their food. Do it. You are not the cause of global warming. You are not the reason for global starvation. Live your life and let it show.

4. Adjust yourself.
It’s okay to touch yourself. When you sit down or stand up or go to make an expressive movement, allow yourself the luxury, before or after, of adjusting your fat. Get yourself comfortable with gravity, as often as it takes. Skinny people can jump right into things. Fat people often need to get situated. Take the time. Make it a Zen thing. It’s a way of respecting yourself. Enjoy it.

5. Check your posture.
If you’re going to spend time checking yourself in the mirror, use it looking at how you hold yourself. If you’re big enough, your belly should precede you into a room. Lead with your gut and not your head. You can’t disguise your waistline (or your man-boobs if that’s your gender) by leaning forward into stuff. Stand as tall as you are and let whatever sticks out just stick out. Walk like you have a right to support and transport your sweet, round, body. And above a certain size, you really do need to abandon high heels.

6. Go for a walk.
Walking is way better than sweating on a machine. The scenery changes and maybe you’ll interact with other people who also have real lives. You need to be comfortable getting up and down and moving around when you need to. Walking does this, and if you can do it, it is sufficient exercise. (Skinny people carry dumbbells. You don’t have to.) If people compliment you on your efforts to lose weight, tell them politely that you’re just trying to get stronger. If they persist, try eating something while you walk. Or invite them along.

7. Stop watching The Biggest Loser.

8. Be nice to fat people.
Your society has conditioned you, from youth, to snub or ignore fat people. Get over it. People know you’re fat, and your talking with other fatties is not going to change that awareness. You wouldn’t be reading this if being fat weren’t a significant part of your self-identity, so you and other big folks unavoidably have something in common. That’s okay. Use your interaction to make a difference. Try to ignore diet talk, because many of us can’t help it.

9. “Diet food” sucks.
It’s expensive, overprocessed, and tastes like dirt. This is your one real life. Eat real food.

10. Quit Googling fat.
Read about something else. Every list like this you read is time you could spend learning something fun. Delete everything fat from your bookmarks. Live life.

Drawing Tips - Top 10 Mistakes Beginners Make

2008-05-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

Because drawing is often self-taught, you tend to keep making mistakes much longer than when a teacher is available to help. Here are the 10 most common mistakes beginners make when they learn to draw. Some big, some small, all fixable. Check and see whether these errors crop up in your drawings, and get some tips on fixing them.

1. Drawing With a Hard Pencil

If you have no very dark shadows and the whole picture is rather pale, check your pencil. Are you using a Number2 (HB) pencil? These are too hard to draw with (though they are handy for light shading). Get a B, 2B and 4B for darker values. Read more about pencil grades.

2. Portraits from Flash Photography

This is the major cause of beginner drawing problems. Using flash photography flattens the features, giving you nothing to work with. When the person is facing you, it is very hard to see the modeling of the face, as the perspective vanishes behind their head, and add a cheesy snapshot grin and you make life very hard! Have the person turning slightly to one side so you can model their face, with natural lighting to give good skintones, and a natural expression to show their real personality.

3. Incorrect Head Proportions

Because of the way we focus on a person's features, we usually draw them too big and squash the rest of the head. Learn about the correct head proportions

4. Twisted Features

Because we are used to looking at a person straight-on, we naturally try to make their features look level when we draw them. If their head is on an angle, this results in strange distortions in the picture. Sketch guidelines first to ensure that the features are on the same angle as the rest of the face.

5. Pet Drawings from Human Eye Level

When you take a photograph standing up, you are looking down at your pet. They have to look up, and you end up with their head seeming much bigger than their body, and a rather odd expression on their face. Have someone distract them so they aren't staring down the lens, and squat down so the camera is at their head level, and you'll get a much better reference photo.

6. Being Afraid of Black

Often when shading, the shadows don't go past dark gray. If your value range is restricted to in some cases half what it ought to be, you are limiting the modelling and depth in your drawing. Put a piece of black paper at the corner of your drawing, and don't be afraid to go dark. Really dark. Improve your range of tone.

7. Outlining in Value Drawings

When value drawing, you are creating an illusion with areas of tonal value. When you use a hard drawn line to define an edge, you disrupt this illusion. Let edges be defined by two different areas of tonal value meeting. Read more about Value Drawing.

8. Drawing on the Wrong Paper

If your drawing is pale, it might be the paper. Some cheap papers have a sheen on the surface that is too smooth to grab the particles off the pencil. A thick notepad has too much 'give' under the pencil to allow you to apply enough pressure. Try a basic photocopy/office paper, or check the art store for cheap sketch paper. Place a piece of card under a couple of sheets to give a firmer surface. If you are trying to do even shading, some sketch papers can be too coarse, giving an uneven texture. Try a hot-pressed Bristol board or similar smooth drawing paper. Find out more about paper

9. Scribbled Foliage

Don't use circular scribbles to draw foliage. Use more convex shaped scumbling - like crescent shapes and scribbly calligraphic marks - to draw the shadows in and around clusters of foliage, and your trees will look much more realistic.

10. Wiry, Pencil-Line Hair and Grass
If you draw every hair or blade of grass as a pencil line, you'll end up with a horrible, wiry, unnatural mess. Use feathery pencil-strokes to draw the shadows and dark foliage behind areas of grass - just like drawing short hair in this drawing hair tutorial.

Pregnancy Dos and Don'ts - The Do's

2008-05-10T09:20:00.000-07:00

Follow these helpful hints to ensure your spouse a healthy pregnancy:

* Get all her essential vitamins and minerals every day. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, women need a lot more iron when pregnant. And sometimes it's hard to get enough by eating alone. Ask your doctor if your spouse should be taking a daily prenatal vitamin or multivitamin.
* Get 400 micrograms (or 0.4 mg) of folic acid daily in her diet. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, getting enough folic acid (or folate) reduces the chances of some birth defects. Some women eat lots of certain foods and others take multivitamins to get enough folic acid during pregnancy.
* Eat a healthy diet. Load her up on fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains (such as whole-wheat breads or crackers). Eat plenty of calcium-rich foods (such as non-fat or low-fat yogurt, milk, and broccoli) that your baby needs for strong bones and teeth. If you live in areas where fruits and vegetables aren't in season, frozen vegetables are a good option. Avoid giving her a lot of fatty foods (such as butter and fatty meats) to eat. Choose leaner foods when you can (such as skim milk, chicken and turkey without the skin, and fish).

* Let her gain a healthy, not excessive amount of weight. Research shows that women who gain more than the recommended amount during pregnancy have an elevated risk of obesity. On average, 25 to 30 pounds is a healthy weight gain over the 40 weeks of pregnancy. Check with your doctor to find out how much weight your spouse should gain during pregnancy
* Make sure she gets enough sleep (seven to nine hours every night). Aches, pains, anxiety and bathroom runs keep many pregnant women awake at night. To get some sleep, try getting your spouse to eat any large meals at least three hours before going to bed, get some easy exercise (like walking) and avoid long naps during the day. Make sure she sleeps on her left side and uses pillows between her legs and under her belly to help her get comfortable
* De-stress. If she can, your spouse should control the stress in her life. When it comes to work and family, she should figure out what she can really do. She should set limits with herself and others. Tell your spouse that she should not be afraid to say NO to requests for her time and energy
* Get Her Moving! Getting regular, low-impact exercise is good for your spouse and your baby. Talk to your doctor about what is safe. Get more guidelines on exercising while pregnant.
* Get a handle on health problems. Talk to your doctor about how your spouse’s health problems can affect her and the baby. If she has diabetes, make sure she controls her blood sugar levels. If she has high blood pressure, monitor it closely. If she is overweight, talk to the doctor about whether she should lose weight.
* Ask your doctor before taking any medicines. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, prescription, over-the-counter, and herbal medicines all can harm your baby. Find out if your spouse should continue taking prescription medicines.
* See your doctor regularly. Prenatal care can help keep your spouse and the baby healthy, spot problems if they occur and prevent difficulties during delivery.
* Consider getting a flu shot. The flu can be dangerous for some moms-to-be. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests vaccinations for all women who are at least 14 weeks pregnant during the flu season. Ask your doctor if your spouse should get a flu shot.
* Make sure she wears her seat-belt correctly. Seat belts used correctly protect your spouse and your unborn baby during a crash. The American Academy of Family Physicians recommends that pregnant women use seat belts that have a lap belt and a shoulder strap (3-point restraint). Seat belt straps should never go across her belly. The lap strap should go under the belly, across the hips. The shoulder strap should go off to the side of her belly and between her breasts. If she are not driving, the back seat is the safest place for her to sit.
* Ease the aches and pains. Don't just accept discomfort as a necessary part of pregnancy. Your spouse can easily be helped with problems related to hemorrhoids, heartburn, and leg cramps.

Pregnancy Dos and Don'ts - The Don'ts

2008-05-06T09:18:00.000-07:00

Help your spouse steer clear of these pregnancy no-nos to help keep her and the baby safe and healthy:

* Avoid fish with lots of mercury in her diet. Get correct information from your dietician on what fish to eat and what fish to avoid when she is pregnant.
* Don't disregard food borne illness. Eat, cook, handle and clean food safely! According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, food borne illness can cause serious health problems - or even death for both mother and baby.
* Protect her from using chemicals. Products including herbicides, pesticides, paint, stains, and some cleaning solutions may be harmful to your baby. If she must use these things, make sure she wears gloves, a mask, and keeps the room well-ventilated.
* Don't let her clean or change a cat's litter box. This could put her at risk for an infection called toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis is caused by a parasite that cats can carry in their feces. Toxoplasmosis can harm a fetus.

* Don't let her take very hot baths, hot tubs, or saunas. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, high temperatures can be harmful to the fetus, or causing the mother-to-be to faint.
* Discourage her from using scented feminine hygiene products. Pregnant women should avoid scented sprays, sanitary napkins, and bubble bath. These products might irritate your spouse’s vaginal area, and increase her risk of a urinary tract infection or yeast infection.
* Don't let her douche. According to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, douching can irritate the vagina, force air into the birth canal and increase the increase the risk of infection
* Avoid optional x-rays. X-rays are a form of radiation that is linked to a very small risk of cancer for an unborn baby. But x-rays are usually safe during pregnancy. So if your doctor says your spouse needs x-rays for a health problem you should follow her advice. But sometimes doctors can use other tests in place of x-rays. And other times, x-rays can wait until after the baby is born.
* Don't let her smoke tobacco. Tell your doctor if your spouse smokes. Quitting is hard, but she can do it. Ask your doctor for help. Smoking during pregnancy passes nicotine and cancer-causing drugs to your baby. Smoke also keeps your baby from getting needed nourishment and raises the risk of stillbirth and premature birth (a small baby born too early).
* Discourage her from drinking alcohol. Your spouse should stop drinking alcohol if she drinks it regularly. Experts are still unsure of the exact amount of alcohol needed to cause problems in your baby. But, both drinking every day and drinking a lot of alcohol once in a while during pregnancy can harm the baby.
* Don't let her use illegal drugs. Tell your doctor if your spouse is using drugs. Marijuana, cocaine, heroin, speed (amphetamines), barbiturates, and LSD are very dangerous for your spouse and the baby.

G-Tube Tips

2008-05-05T04:56:00.000-07:00

I found this stuff called New Skin at the pharmacy (Rite Aid). It’s for burns, has breathable hydro-gel, and is also in a sticky bandage form. If you slit it to the center as you would a piece of gauze, it works beautifully. It attaches itself to the stem part of the button, it breathes, it cools the burn from the stomach acid, and it heals, while stopping the leakage from oozing out. - M.C., Alameda, CA

My daughter has had a G-tube since birth. She now has the button, which is much better. Her tube has always given us a problem with leaking. I have tried gauze in many sizes and make-up sponges that are circular with the hole cut out of the middle. These have worked, but I have found that taking 2 pieces of toilet paper or ½ a piece of a tissue, rolling it up like a cigarette, and then wrapping it around the tube works very well. This can be replaced wherever and whenever needed. This has kept my daughter dry and very clean. Even her doctor has bragged about this idea and how great her site looks. - J.L.S., Cleveland, TN

When my son began continuous feeds through the night with a pump, I was worried about the tube wrapping around his leg or arm and the pump alarm going off all the time. Then, I came across an item that holds him in one position, yet he has room to turn and move in. It’s called The Tucker Sling and it has been a life saver!! Their website shows pictures of the sling, and they have various sizes depending on the size of your child. - D.F., Modesto, CA

Our daughter had terrible granulation tissue before someone told us about eucalyptus oil. We now use it everyday and have no build-up around the tube. It will also bring down the tissue. It has to be diluted: 2 drops of oil to 10-20 ml. of water. I swab it around the tube area with Q-tips. You may want to test it on another area first to be sure there will not be an allergic reaction. For my daughter, it worked wonderfully. I know of lots of other parents who have also tried it and had very good results. No more silver nitrate burns! I would recommend trying it. The oil can be bought at health stores or off the Internet. - L.J., city and state unknown

My daughter has had a G-tube for about five years. Her nutrition is solely from her G-tube feeds. I use a creme around the site that’s called Calmeseptine. It's fairly new on the market and works very well for that area. I put the creme on 3 times a day and then cover it each time with a 2 x 2 gauze. My daughter very rarely has any problems with granulation or infection by the G-tube site. - J.K., city and state unknown

To clean the G-tube, pour flat Coke/cola through the tube. It works wonders. Also to prevent leakage and skin irritation, use 4 x 4 tracheostomy drain sponges. They can be purchased at many drug stores. - D.T., Kenner, LA

We try to make our son's feeding bags last a few days, but to avoid bacterial growth, we refrigerate the bag between cleanings. Works for food, and for food bags! - K.H., Rockford, IL

My son had horrible problems with granulation tissue around his G-tube since the day it was placed. We were using silver nitrate every 2 to 4 days. We tried creams, antacids, Cholestin, and IV sponges, but none healed him. Someone told us about foam dressings. It worked! My son's G-tube site has been healed for the first time in 4 years! The brand name is called Hydrasorb. It is a foam dressing, and it absorbs any leakage and it cuts down on the scar tissue. It took about two months to fully heal while using this dressing, but his stomach is now dry and tight and the scar tissue has lessened. Try it! - D.M., Traverse City, MI

I have a 16 year old daughter who has cerebral palsy, is non-verbal and is G-tube fed. I have found from my life experience that there are not a lot of products on the market to help with different situations. So I have taken in hand, marketing different products to help. One is called the "GT Pad." I use to spend approximately $150 Canadian per year on gauze for her site, not including the prescriptions to help clear up problems. I have been using "GT Pads" for 4 years and am very happy with them and the money I have saved. I have found ten pads can last up to two years. - J.G., Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada

We've found that, in addition to putting a 2"x2" split sponge between the skin and the button, using Silvadene cream regularly is the most effective way to keep the site mostly irritation-free.

Also, the best tape ever to hold the gauze against the skin (or an NG-tube to the cheek, or a nasal cannula) is Hypafix dressing retention sheet tape. The adhesive is very sticky, but doesn't hurt when pulled off, and it's hypoallergenic. The fabric is pliable and doesn't poke and it does need scissors to be cut. Most hospitals don't know about it, so you should ask for it to be ordered.

Bolus-feeding: when my son needed to be bolus-fed or vented with a 60cc barrel, we attached velcro to the barrel, and the corresponding piece to his feeding chair. For travel, we attached the corresponding piece to his car seat and his stroller. - L.S., Altadena, CA

My daughter, Marissa, has a G-tube and we have gone through the same horrors of granulation tissue as a lot of you. Marissa just recently had to have surgery to remove this tissue as the silver nitrate did not help. I received a good tip from a friend of mine on the G-tube network: simply place a makeup square or round under the tube. I have to cut a slit in it, but it fits great under the "peg." It was tried by many and seems to work miracles with preventing the tissue from growing back. - T.S., Glens Falls, NY

My daughter is 2 ½ years old. She has been on continuous feeds since she was 13 months old. I found a great way to keep her G-tube from coming out at night and at play. Take the tube and snake it through her diaper. Make sure to leave enough slack between her diaper and the button. To do this before I really had the system down, I would stand her up. The best diapers to use are the cheap ones with the tape; the Velcro ones don't keep the tube in place as well. - Initials, city and state unknown

Silver nitrate is needed for our child to keep granuloma in check. However, we find the nitrate can discolor and irritate the adjacent skin. Petroleum jelly or other such substance (we use an anti-bacterial jelly called Bactraban) can help protect this area of the skin surrounding the tube site. What also helps is to keep our daughter flat for awhile after application of the silver nitrate. My understanding is that the nitrate reduces the granuloma a bit, which may permit gastric oozing, causing the nitrate stains. - J.D., Haverford, PA

My son had a G-tube for years before I figured out the best way to clean the connector tubing. All you need is water and a table knife. WHILE YOU ARE RUNNING WATER THROUGH THE TUBE, hold the tube between your thumb and the dull side of a table knife, and act as if you were curling a ribbon on a birthday present. Press the tube hard between your thumb and the knife and run the knife/thumb the full length of the tube, in the direction that the water is flowing. The pressure of the "ribbon curling" action will loosen all the gunk, and the water carries it away. It takes 10 seconds, and it works on all tubes, even tubes too small for a pipe cleaner. This method also unblocks plugged tubes. - D.M., Traverse City, MI

To keep tubing from crimping at night due to rolling, I took an old toddler size sock, cut off the toe end, feed the tubing thru it and put it on his leg. This keeps the tubing in a general area and stops it from crimping. I have also heard of using a wrist sweatband. - T.H., Hilliard, OH

I stumbled on this site after my son's G-tube was removed, but kept the address. It is a great site for new or old G-tube users or people dealing with a loved one that has one: www.iinet.com.au/~scarffam/gtube.html. As far as traveling with my son, who by the way was a continuous G-tube feeder, it was very difficult until I got the hang of it. I made a hook out of a coat hanger for the bag to hang on and put it on the handle above the door with the pump on the floor. After stabilizing the pump, we were ready to ride. It is a process that takes practice getting from the house to the car and back again, but it can be done. I got tired of being home thinking I needed someone to help us go some place - being dependent on someone else's schedule. So, I experimented when I did have help, just in case I needed an extra hand to figure it out. Now, my son is fed by mouth only, and the G-tube was removed in December '98. Everyone isn't as lucky as we are, but if I can help one person out there with our quirky ways of doing things, I have accomplished more than I realize. - C.M., city and state unknown

Try putting a coat of clear nail polish over the numbers on a syringe to prevent them from washing off. - R.B., Calgary, Canada

For those of you crushing vitamins, I have a better solution. I crushed them for years until one day I decided to try placing the vitamin in a little medicine cup and adding about 10cc of water. The next morning, the vitamin is dissolved and needs no crushing. - J.P., city unknown, SC

My seven year old with HD used to have a G-tube, but this was replaced by a button (which is heaven sent). The button is so much easier than the tube and there is no bulk. It is pretty much flush with the skin. We do have a problem with the button leaking though. We use split two by twos to put under the button (2 packages). This makes the button a little tighter and helps to control leaking. I put a piece of tape across the gauze to keep the button closed during the day. - Initials, city and state unknown

For granulation tissue around the G-tube site, our doctor has prescribed Carafate suspension. We use a Q-tip to dab this on 2-3 times a day; this works really well. We also clean the site with normal saline (not the kind used for irrigation, but the kind used for cleaning) which is available over-the-counter in a large bottle (which lasts a long time). My 16 year old son has had a G-tube for about 9 years, so we have tried many remedies, but these work the best for us. There is also a very good multi-vitamin available in liquid form that we have used for years. It is Vi-Daylin, and is over-the-counter, but the pharmacy usually has to order it in. - B.S., Opelika, AL

I have found that using gauze around the G-tube works well to prevent irritation and granulation tissue as well. To avoid having to have scissors handy to make the ½ cut, I found that 2x2 I.V. split gauze works great! - C.C., Milwaukee, WI

For those who don't want to go through all the hassles of crushing vitamins, we have found that Shaklee makes a water soluble vitamin powder, called Vita-Lea. It dissolves readily and stays in suspension pretty well. The directions suggest mixing a teaspoon with several ounces of water, which can be a lot of additional fluids to administer. We use a smaller amount of water to mix the vitamins, and follow each syringe-ful with a plain water chaser, to keep the tube clear. - B.R., Forestville, CA

Our son is G-tube fed and has had lots of trouble with granulated tissue. We tried everything - cortisone cream, Destin (allergic) and silver nitrate - but nothing seemed to work. We started putting 2x2 gauze, cut in the middle, with Maalox on the area around the tube. By cutting the gauze, you can fit it around the tube next to the skin. This will leave the G-tube site open to connect to the pump. He has not had anymore granulated tissue. This is easy for us and painless for him. At the first sign of irritation, we get the Maalox out. - R.H., Cookeville, TN

When mixing medications for G-tube use, dilute the medication with a small amount of fairly warm water and when the medication is dissolved enough, add a small amount of cool water to make it a comfortable temperature. Most medications will dissolve well this way. - L.A., Colts Neck, NJ

To clean the extension sets for G-tubes, use extra-long pipe cleaners and hot soapy water. The long pipe cleaners can be bought in craft supply stores and work really well to remove the build up from inside the tube. - M.O., Ontario, Canada

A caution on the use of cortisone cream to treat granulation tissue: cortisone should only be used on an "off-again, on-again" basis, as it is a steroid, and can, over time, cause the skin to become thin and weak. Used three days on, three days off is reasonable. Used only on an "as-needed" basis is best. It is also great to combine cortisone cream with an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment (e.g., Bacitracin) and an antifungal cream (e.g., Lotrimin). This triple-combination approximates a commercial product called Kenalog cream (triamcinolone), which is popularly recommended by many parents on the G-tube mailing list. - S.G., Sudbury, MA

My daughter, who is G-tube fed, needs to take a multivitamin with minerals. The best ones I have found are the Bugs Bunny brand. They are sugar free and crush much easier than the others I have tried. Another plus is that they are cheaper and a child under 4 only has to take ½ of one instead of a whole one! - J.J., Denton, MD

I use the wooden end of the long Q-tips to clean the extension tube to my son's G-tube. I just put in a drop of soap and then rinse well. Also, once a week, I soak it in 1/2 strength vinegar and then wash. - T.H., Hilliard, OH

Our son has a G-tube and has had problems with granulation tissue. I have found that cortisone cream shrinks the granulation tissue, and Desitin heals the irritation. Works wonders for us. - D.B., Dubuque, IA

For those of you who need to crush pills to put in a G-tube, I highly recommend a syringe by Nestle called the HandiCrush. You place the pill in the crusher and put in the plunger. One turn and the pills are crushed. Then, you suck up water or whatever to mix it. No more trying to get a little bit out of the medicine cup. - T.R., Dickinson, ND

Our daughter has a G-Button that continually leaks due to granulation tissue. We have tried silver-nitrate and that didn't seem to help. So we took a disposable nursing pad and folded it into fourths and cut the corner off, leaving a hole in the center. We then cut two vertical lines opposite of each other. We clean her button, dry it, and put Desitin under it. Then we gently ease the nursing pad over the button and underneath it. It collects all of the moisture and draws it away from her skin. It stays in place all day or night. I am pleased to say, the granulation tissue has all but disappeared on its own! - K.T., Avon, IN

Recently, we took our 15 month old daughter, who is G-tube fed, on a trip to Australia to visit her grandparents. She gets a bolus feeding every few hours, so we have to take her tube and syringe with us, whenever we venture out. I had tried wrapping them in paper towels and putting them in her diaper bag. They usually ended up unwrapped and at the bottom of the bag or worse yet, on the ground, after we had rummaged through the bag a few times - yuck! We found a travel case in K-mart for a toothbrush and toothpaste that fit perfectly. If you detach the tube from the syringe, they lay on top of one another! Now you have a wonderful G-Tube travel case. - K.T., Avon, IN

Feeding Tips

2008-04-07T04:54:00.000-07:00

We have a child with Down syndrome. At around age 5, we wanted her to drink from a cup using a straw - just like all the other kids do. She could not understand the concept of "sucking" on the straw. By accident, after many attempts, we told her to "kiss" the straw. This produced the "sucking" motion and she caught on from that point forward. We have told several other parents who have children with DS and it has worked for them too. This allows the child and parent the freedom to buy things like drinking boxes. - L.F., Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

I saw the comment on the lack of large bibs for adults. One suggestion would be to get a length of ribbon and sew on clips, such as alligator clips, onto both ends. That way, you can use anything as a bib; just hang the ribbon on the person's neck and clip it to the towel, napkin, etc. I got this idea from a Teletubby travel kit that came with a sippy cup, a bowl and a gadget such as the one I just described, so we can use the restaurant's paper napkins in an emergency. - C.P., Midwest City, OK

If your child is on a pureed food diet, and you are going out for the day, heat the food before leaving and put it in a thermos. It will stay hot for hours. You can also use these for cold food. I even bought my daughter her own special little lunch bucket, so now she can have lunch anywhere we go. - L.J., Sioux Falls, SD

When I finally got tired of just feeding my daughter the tasteless baby food, I looked for something else that would puree smoothly in the blenders. I buy the Hormel microwave cup (they have potato and ham, broccoli and cheese, spaghetti, beans and wieners, chicken noodle or dumpling, etc.), and my daughter loves them much better than baby food. If your child is still doing baby food, it’s a quick and fast meal. Also, I puree bananas and canned fruit and vegetables. I give her a very high protein drink: one banana with a package of Carnation breakfast and 7 ounces of whole milk with a cup of ice cream. I throw it in the blender and when I pour it in the cup, I pour on chocolate milk. Cereal I grind into a power and then add milk until smooth. For other ideas, you can order a great pureed recipe book by Randy Wilson called Non-Chew Foods. - L.J., Sioux Falls, SD

My 17 year old daughter has difficulty handling foods like soup or cereal that have different textures in the same bite. We solved the problem by mixing her breakfast cereal with low fat yogurt instead of milk. She loves to decide which flavor and no spilled milk!! - B.P., Oklahoma City, OK

Johanna has quadriplegic athetoid cerebral palsy, accompanied by marked oral motor deficits. After 15 years, we've found that the best way to prepare her food is still the "Happy Baby" brand baby-food grinder (formerly made by Bowland-Jacobs of Yorkville, IL; I don't know if they're still made). The problem with food processors, or any motorized food preparation method, is that they tend to turn the food into soup. The perforated metal plate of the Happy Baby grinder, with slow manual grinding, leaves enough texture in the food to exercise what oral motor skills Johanna has. We suspect the old-style metal grinders used about 50 years ago for meat grinding, would also work well. - E.A., Boulder, CO

When your child is just beginning to eat, or if your child has some feeding problems, use a baby food grinder to grind up small portions of your leftovers. Freeze them in ice cube trays to use when your child needs a quick nutritious snack. - C.U., city and state unknown

My son won't eat vegetables, so I grate them finely and add them to ground meat for hamburger patties, cornbread, spaghetti sauce, stuffing, etc. I use any combination of carrots, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, celery, eggplant, and/or bell pepper. I also add fortified baby cereal to gravies, mashed potatoes, sauces, etc. to increase vitamin content. - J.J., New Orleans, LA

Use pudding or other thick sticky food for children learning to feed themselves. It will stick to the utensils and provide the child with success getting food to their mouths without it falling off by the time the utensil reaches the mouth. - D.S., Fayetteville, NC

My son loves to eat in his room, in front of his TV/VCR, on a tray. To keep the spills at a minimum on my carpet, I went to the office supply store and bought a mat that goes under your computer chair. The short end fits under the TV and he doesn't try to pull it up because it is hard, heavy plastic. It stays put on the carpet and works like a charm - wipes up perfectly. Just spray a little bleach type cleaner and wipe away... it's sanitary, a cinch to clean and no more stains on my carpet. The small ones run around $9.95 at Office Depot. - M.G., Louisville, KY

I have a 17 year old severely mentally handicapped daughter. She has severe motor deficits in all areas. She walked at age 6 and was toilet trained at age 10. A way we taught her to use a straw and even helped with the sippie cups was using a drink box, with a straw. We would put the straw into her mouth and squeeze the box and the liquid would come out. Through this we were able to teach her how to drink with a straw. - M.H., Springfield, LA

My son is 15 months old and requires all of his fluids to be thickened for him to tolerate them. I have found the best product so far (after trying a number of them) to be the Novartis Nutrition/Resource Product Range. They supply Thicken-Up powder and also pre-thickened juices - which are very convenient for traveling. Also, they have a product called Dairy Thick. They have an office I believe in Minnesota. - N.B., Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

I was just at a vendor fair and was looking at one of the catalogs and saw a bib for larger kids. I was about to try to sew something to use for my 9 year old so she wouldn't get food all over her clothes when she eats. This large bib made me think of the plastic art smocks that you buy for art at school. It has a pocket at the bottom to catch food. I haven't found one yet, but that might give someone an idea. - S.S., Aurora, IL

Several years ago, I was a teacher of orthopedically and multi-handicapped children, along with being a camp counselor for children with a variety of special needs. In an effort to escape the perpetual "graham cracker and juice" snack routine at camp, I decided to try Jell-O jiggles; I had tried them in my classroom, and they had been a big hit. One of the campers began chewing for the first time ever(!), and his mother was thrilled enough to continue fixing them for him! They are easy to prepare, and the recipe is on the box of most Jell-O packages (regular and sugar-free). I have also used pure juice and gelatin; they taste great, but the lack of preservatives keeps them from staying firm as long. That was fine (and preferred) for our own children, but the length of time required to feed some of my "other" children warranted the longer-lasting variety. - H.B., Jefferson, NC

I am a single parent of two wonderful children, Samantha, 5 years old, and Henry, 9 years old. Henry has special needs. He has cerebral palsy, is blind, delayed, has seizures, and more; a great kid nonetheless. Anyway, he does not have a G-tube and eats by mouth. I have to feed him, but I prefer that to the G-tube. He doesn't have any vision, and I didn't want to take taste away from him. Well, we've always had a hard time getting him to drink so that he doesn't dehydrate, especially in the summer. We used cups and 10cc syringes, but they would always spill and it would take over an hour to drink 8 ounces of water. We wouldn't even bother with other drinks, like milk or juices, because of how long it took to get him to drink. Water was essential; the benefits of the other drinks could be found in foods he could eat. Anyway, one day, while on my way back from a trip to California, I was in the car and knew that he needed to drink. A general rule I have is if I'm thirsty, he's thirsty, so if I drink, he drinks. Well, no cup and I couldn't find the syringe amongst the chaos in the van. I did have a spray bottle though, which is what I used to spray the kids faces and necks in the heat. IDEA! I pointed the squirt bottle into the side of his mouth and squirted. He was startled at first, but the spray tickled his throat and he started laughing. The spray was enough to stay in his mouth and he swallowed it with no problem. From this day forward, I use squirt bottles to make sure that he drinks enough. The nice thing about it is that I have bottles for milk, bottles for juice, for soda, for water and in the same time it used to take him to drink 8 ounces of water before, he can drink any of his drinks, plus water, plus finish his meals. I always have a squirt bottle on his chair wherever we go - to spray his face and to quench his thirst. It works great! - C.W., Phoenix, AZ

My son tends to want to push his food towards him when he is eating finger foods. Well, since I have yet to see someone come up with a feeding tray, such as one on a wheelchair (completely lipped all the way around), he was pushing food into his lap and the chair. What helped was a cheap ($2.99) half-round, plastic chip and dip dish. I attached velcro strips to the bottom and matching strips to the tray, so that it was more difficult for him to push the dish off of the tray. Hope this helps. - M.H., Adrian, MI

For Madeline (age 18), who is a messy eater because of her disability, we cannot find suitable sized bibs at an affordable price to protect her clothing, so we use towels. We use some so-called "guest towels" which are too small in our minds for towels (large enough to dry hands on once), but are larger than a face cloth. Also, we had some towels which we didn't really like (a free gift from a shopping catalogue), so I cut them down to what I though was an appropriate size and sewed cotton ribbon for the ties. Some home-made bibs don't have ties, so I just tuck them into her collar and spend a lot of meal time re-tucking them in! - T.H., Bristol, UK

My son is hyposensitive in his mouth and can't feel foods or liquids until they hit his gag reflex, and then we get aspiration, etc. We tried "Thick-It" and that helped a little but we couldn't use it with his medications because of problems with binding. We hit the jackpot when his occupational therapist suggested making everything REALLY cold, almost freezing. He can feel that sooner and giving him 5 cc's of medications has dropped from a 30 minute choking ordeal, to a 3 minute regular kid kind of thing. He is even starting to eat cereal (thick and cold). It sounds disgusting, but it works! Talk to your doctor to be sure your child's medications can be put in the fridge. - T.S., Santaquin, UT