Top affiliate program

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Out of the hundreds of affiliate programs out there it is imperative to your success to choose the one that will best suit your needs, discipline and goals. There are many to choose from so the real key is which one works, has a proven track record, pays on time and will give you the best chance of achieving your goals.

Many of the more popular phrases requested from popular search engines are affiliate program
top affiliate program, best affiliate program, free affiliate program, affiliate program etc. These are just a few of the hundreds of similar phrases searched daily.

Many people have seen either the ads or know someone who has created a nice residual income, which in turn has improved there life style. Everyone wants to live the American Dream, but seldom few ever take the necessary steps to do so.

As a Work at Home web site owner it is nice to generate income while you sleep. I never thought I would find something that would really generate income while I slept. Unbelievable and it can happen for you too. Never give up on your dream. I cannot tell you the number of programs I tried before finding a program that worked for us.
There are several things that you need to remember when building this type of business that I would like to share with you and they are:

* It takes time and effort but it can and will work if you stick with it!

* It takes time because you have to find a system that will aid you in developing a down line

* You have to stick with it, because if you don't then you are not giving yourself a chance!

* You will need to support your affiliates, but you should find companies with a built in support system. The bottom line is you want your affiliates to be successful. If they are you will be too!

* It will take time before the money comes rolling in so you have to have a vision and lots of patience

My suggestion to people who email me is that you enroll in one of the many other Work at Home programs to create some income to fund your business and keep your spirits up. If you have a nice income coming in it will give you the incentive to create more.

No once you have found a website that has researched the programs for you, select the programs you wish to join then you need to sign up affiliates under you. Here are some good ways to do that:

* Visit forums whereby, you can add your affiliate id in your signature.

* Posters, Fliers.

* You may need to create a website to advertise your programs. In fact one of the programs I highlight generates the initial income generating website for you plus it is an affiliate program.

* (PPC) Paid Per Click Advertising whereby you choose selective Key Words and bid on them. When someone type in your keyword and clicks on your ad you will be charged a minimal amount, but it brings people to your site.

* Business Cards.

* Add signature to your out going emails.

In addition, In my opinion, you will need the following:

* Computer

* Printer

* Access to the Internet

* Phone

* Spell Check

Please feel free to read more of this article and my Top Affiliate Program by visiting my link in the resource box below. I always enjoy getting emails pertaining to my articles or my site. Your feedback is important to me.

Galway in the summertime

Ah summer time in Galway, breathe it in, get a breath of that country air, breathe the beauty of it everywhere, get a look at that clear blue sky. Summer days spent lying on the grass down at Spanish Arch, not a care in the world…

There are plenty of attractions to catch the eye in Ireland during the summer. June, July and August sees a host of music festivals including electric picnic, oxygen and the midlands music festival but it’s out west in Galway where the best Irish summer festivals are happening.

Things seem to go a bit quite towards the end of may and early June with many of the students leaving the city but its not long before the town is buzzing again with the prospect of a fun filled summer

The Galway arts festival kicks off on the 17th of July. The festival offers the best in music, theatre and dance, visual art and comedy. Street theatre also plays a major part in the festival providing wonderful entertainment for the summer shoppers. The organizers have gone all out this year bringing in some of the finest national and international acts including such homegrown talent as Bell X1 and David Kitt and major stars such as Lambchop and David Gray.

The biggest festival in Galway has to be the Galway races. The Races become more popular every year with record-breaking crowds thronging the city. There is hardly an empty bed or empty bar for that matter to be found in the city. The festival attracts punters from every walk of life. There are big time gamblers willing to risk the shirt of their back as well as the more casual gambler who is likely to stick a pin in the form guide and risk a euro or two on the result.

For those who just cant get enough gambling there is the option of a trip to Salthill to try your luck in the casinos. One armed bandits or slot machines as some people call them are only too willing to take your money. The Galway Race festival lasts for 7 day and runs from July 31st to August 6th.

The oyster festival, one for the food connoisseurs among you takes place in September. This event has proved hugely popular over the years bringing many new faces and strange accents to the city. The pride of the Galway oyster festival is the Native oysters called “Ostrea Edulis”. I’m told the oysters go down particularly well with a few pints of Guinness. Not being an oyster eater myself I will have to take their word for it.

Another treat for the artistically minded community in Galway is the film fleadh. This event gives local filmmakers a wonderful opportunity to showcase their talents. The festival also attracts many international filmmakers as well as their famous leading men and women. In the past such luminaries as Jim Sheridan, Woody Harrelson, Sir Richard Attenborough and Michael Moore have attended the festival

So Galway for the summer then? Have I convinced you? Go on you know you want to…:-)

50th wedding anniversary speech - after 50 years together

Giving a speech after 50 years of marriage would seem to be really easy, but expressing your emotions after 50 years doesn’t always get easier, sometimes it gets more difficult because the emotion becomes stronger, deeper, and more complicated. Whether you are the husband or wife or a dear friend that would like to make a speech, it can be difficult to find the right words to say that encapsulate a love that has been able to withstand 50 years of marriage.

If You Are One of the Couple

If you are either the husband or the wife, you should thank all of the guests for coming to celebrate 50 years of marriage with you. You should then express your gratitude to your spouse for hanging in there with you for all of these years. Share a story or some feelings with your spouse and your friends and family about a particularly inspiring time, loving time, difficult time, or a moment of levity in the 50 years of marriage that you think is appropriate. You can present your spouse with a gift during your speech as well, which is a great way to end your golden anniversary speech!

Where to Start

Starting a speech can be very difficult, so the best way to start off is with a brief introduction of yourself if you are not the husband or the wife. For instance, you don’t need to give your entire background you can simply say, “Hi, I’m Jane. I am a long time friend of Bill and Nancy and am so glad to be here today.” This will give the other guests that are at the party some idea of who you are and why you would want to give a speech at all!

What to Say

50 years of marriage, what do you say? If you are married, thank the couple for being an inspiration to you and your spouse. Thank them for sticking together and being two people that everyone could count on. You can tell the couple that you hope that your marriage can be as strong after 50 years as you know that theirs is now. If you have one, share a cute story that you think demonstrates the strength and beauty of the couple’s love. You can also present the couple with a gift, a framed picture, or a framed piece of scripture or a poem during your speech. The point of the speech is just to convey how happy you are for the couple for sticking together for 50 years, as well as to express what an inspiration they are to married people everywhere.

How to Close

Closing the speech can be the most difficult part after starting! The best thing you can do is say congratulations and that you hope to celebrate many more anniversaries, and thank them for sharing their day with you. The closing needn’t be anything extravagant, and there will likely be someone that will follow you in their congratulating the married couple for their 50th wedding anniversary.

Wedding favors inexpensive and elegant

Wedding favors have become a "must" for most weddings. Brides cannot imagine having no wedding favors. As they launch preparations for the wedding, they begin looking at possibilities: candy, chocolate, candles, seeds, coasters, cookies, tea – the list seems endless. Unfortunately, for some, the list may seem to offer nothing that is both inexpensive and elegant. They may feel that they are forced to choose between the two.

Inexpensive, elegant wedding favors must exist, they reason, but where can you find them?

A Humane Society donation wedding favor may be the answer. These inexpensive, elegant wedding favors are a tasteful way of showing that you care for animals, and believe your guests care also.

Humane Society Donation Wedding Favors

Humane Society donation wedding favors are easy on the bride, and at such a busy time of her life, that alone makes these wedding favors a great choice. There is no shopping to be done. No boxes arrive, needing to be unpacked. Nothing must be assembled. No tags wait to be added.

To get Humane Society donation wedding favors, all you need to do is contact the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) through their website. A search engine will find it for you quickly.

Tell the ASPCA what amount of money you would like to donate to help care for animals. Then tell them how many guests you expect at your wedding. After that, just sit back and let the ASPCA do the rest.

The ASPCA will send you enough place cards for your entire guest list. The small white cards are quite elegant, each one bearing the ASPCA symbol on the front in silver. Beneath the silver symbol are the letters, ASPCA.

Humane Society donation wedding favors tell your guests that you have made a donation in their names "in lieu of a wedding favor." There will be no indication of the amount you have given, so whether it is large or small, only you and the ASPCA representative will know.

Inexpensive, Elegant Wedding Favors

These inexpensive, elegant wedding favors offer you a number of advantages.

* Inexpensive: This is, of course, a relative term. A donation of $1,000 might be termed "inexpensive" if you are inviting 1,000 guests. You are getting wedding favors for a mere $1 per guest. If you are on a smaller budget, your wedding favor donation could be much less than $1,000. Perhaps you really have little to spend on any kind of wedding favors. A small flute-shaped bottle filled with bubbles, its white top said to look like champagne foam, might cost only $0.20 per guest, and that may be all you can afford. But suppose you donated the same amount to the Humane Society. You would still get inexpensive wedding favors, but they would not appear to be inexpensive. The ASPCA has no minimal donation amount. Nor do they limit donations at the upper end. Whatever you can give for your wedding favors is appreciated.

* Elegant: Those little champagne bubble bottles would not seem the least bit elegant. Most inexpensive wedding favors do not. The same amount of money, however, donated to the Humane Society, will give you elegant wedding favors that look as though your donation was much, much more. You will have gone from "tacky" to chic with one small action.

* Respect: Your friends are likely to respect your decision to make a donation in place of giving wedding favors. Many will probably compliment you on your gracious deed. You may even find that a few, looking forward to their own weddings, will ask how you made the donation.

* Satisfaction: You begin your married life knowing that you did something meaningful – showed compassion to animals in need. You will gain a sense of satisfaction from the knowledge that your wedding favors had real value.

How Much to Give

Humane Society donation wedding favors can be purchased for any amount, as noted above. The ASPCA will send as many wedding favor cards as you need. But how much do you want to give? Would you be willing to feed a cat for a year? Would you be able to donate enough to feed one medium-sized dog from now until your first wedding anniversary? Perhaps you could feed two, three, or four animals. Which ones would you choose?

Let these figures guide you as you choose a wedding favor donation amount. They show how much it would cost to feed different animals for one year. (Figures taken from the ASPCA website.)

* 1 gold fish - $20

* 1 small rat - $50

* 1 small bird - $75

* 1 guinea pig - $75

* 1 rabbit - $156

* 1 cat - $170

* 1 small dog - $160

* 1 medium dog - $310

* 1 large dog - $350

Perhaps the bridal couple was intending to get their own pet as soon as they returned from the honeymoon. If you put that money into Humane Society donation wedding favors, what difference could you make?

If you waited, and got your pet as a first wedding anniversary gift instead, how much could you donate for your wedding favors? Look at the annual cost (after purchase or adoption) of pet ownership for one year. Again, these figures are from the ASPCA website.

* 1 gold fish - $235

* 1 small rat - $340

* 1 small bird - $195

* 1 guinea pig - $645

* 1 rabbit - $911

* 1 cat - $715

* 1 small dog - $810

* 1 medium dog - $1,190

* 1 large dog - $1,580

Inexpensive, elegant wedding favors, in the form of a Humane Society donation, can cost as little or as much as you decide to give.

Helpful Tip

Years from now, when you look back at your wedding, you will be glad that you gave these wedding favors. When you make your donation, and order your wedding favors, don't forget to order one for your wedding scrapbook.

Six new year s resolutions for a healthy heart

It’s that time of year again hence we all promise to make a change for the better. Here’s a Los Angeles cardiologist whose wish list of six resolutions for a healthier heart will pay you dividends in 2008. Do you want to prevent heart attack? How about heart surgery recovery tips? Los Angeles Cardiology experts speak out.

1. Reduce stress. Try to take some time for yourself each and every day. Don’t lose sight of the big picture. Finally, listen to your body for when it says “enough”, it probably is.

2. Stop smoking. Stop smoking. Stop smoking.

3. Eat healthier. Drink low-fat milk. Take baby carrots or cherry tomatoes to work for lunch. Have fish for dinner twice a week. Have one green vegetable with each evening meal. Losing weight if overweight is obvious. Track your weight on paper each morning to chart your progress.

4. Control blood pressure if elevated. Watch your salt intake. Take your blood pressure pills regularly. Monitor on paper your morning blood pressure and review them with your doctor at follow-up visits.

5. Lower elevated cholesterol. Know your LDL (“bad” cholesterol) and HDL (“good” cholesterol) levels. Follow a prudent low cholesterol diet. Take your medications if prescribed regularly.

6. Exercise regularly. Even small amounts of daily exercise can provide significant heart benefits. Try an activity that can fit into your daily routine…it doesn’t have to be a gym or a trainer…walking with a pedometer for 2 or 3 miles a day each morning would do just fine.

Enjoy the Holidays and have a happy and healthier New Year !

Mason Weiss, M. D., F. A.C. C., is a triple board certified physician with certification in internal medicine, general cardiology, and interventional cardiology. He has practiced medicine for 23 years and is a physician partner with the highly regarded APEX Cardiology team of physicians located at 501 East Hardy Street, Suite 200, Inglewood, California 90301 (310) 672-3900

Everything you needed to know about coq10

CoQ10 is a vitamin-like compound that is produced naturally in the human body and is also found in most living organisms. It is also called ubiquinone, a combination of quinone, a type of coenzyme, and ubiquitous, meaning it exists everywhere in the human body. CoQ10 plays an important role in your body's energy production and is an essential component of the mitochondria, where it helps to metabolize fats and carbohydrates and maintain cell membrane flexibility. CoQ10 is also involved in the production of several key enzymes that are used to create ATP, which is burned by your body for energy, and in the energy transfer between mitochondria and cells. Without CoQ10, you would not be able to function!

What is its history?

CoQ10 was first discovered by Dr. Frederick Crane of the University of Wisconsin in 1957. One year later, Professor Karl Folkers and others at Merck Incorporated identified and recorded CoQ10's chemical structure, and were the first to produce it through fermentation. Intermittent research led to its use in Japan for cardiac insufficiencies during the 1960's. Dr. Folkers championed more intensive research into CoQ10's role in cardiovascular health in 1972, after he and an Italian scientist, Gian Paolo Littarru, discovered that persons with cardiac insufficiencies had very low levels of CoQ10, and supplementation increased CoQ10 levels and positively affected heart health. Soon afterwards, the Japanese developed a method that allowed pure CoQ10 to be produced in quantities large enough for significant clinical trials. During the 1980's this method was perfected in Japan, and medical technology finally allowed scientists to measure CoQ10 levels in blood and tissues, leading to a surge in further research. It was during this time that a Swedish researcher, Lars Ernster, drew attention to CoQ10's role as a free radical-scavenging antioxidant. Today a multitude of research supports CoQ10's health benefits.

As a result of the overwhelmingly positive reports from studies conducted since CoQ10's discovery, the Japanese were the first to approve widespread use of CoQ10, granting market approval for it in 1974. From 1974 to 1982, CoQ10 use in Japan grew rapidly until it was one of the most widely used products in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry. It is still widely used today, and has a long history of safe use. In "An Introduction To Coenzyme Q10" by Peter H. Langsjoen, M. D., F. A.C. C., he lists the substantial amount of scientific evidence that supports CoQ10's benefits. "Internationally, there have been at least nine placebo controlled studies on the treatment of heart disease with CoQ10: two in Japan, two in the United States, two in Italy, two in Germany, and one in Sweden. All nine of these studies have confirmed the effectiveness of CoQ10 as well as its remarkable safety. There have now been eight international symposia on the biomedical and clinical aspects of CoQ10 (from 1976 through 1993). These eight symposia comprised over 3000 papers presented by approximately 200 different physicians and scientists from 18 countries." "The majority of the clinical studies concerned the treatment of heart disease and were remarkably consistent in their conclusions: that treatment with CoQ10 significantly improved heart muscle function while producing no adverse effects or drug interactions."

How does it help?

Virtually every cell of the human body contains CoQ10. The mitochondria, the area of cells where energy is produced, contain the most CoQ10. The heart and liver contain the greatest amount of CoQ10. It has helped some people with congestive heart failure(CHF) an effect reported in an analysis of eight controlled trials and found in some, though not all, double-blind studies. The beneficial effects of CoQ10 may not be seen until after several months of treatment. Discontinuation of CoQ10 supplementation in people with CHF has resulted in severe relapses and should only be attempted under the supervision of a doctor.

Similar improvements have been reported in people with cardiomyopathies a group of diseases affecting heart muscle. Research (including double-blind studies) in this area has been consistently positive.

Also, due to its effect on heart muscle, researchers have studied CoQ10 in people with heart arrhythmias. Preliminary research in this area reported improvement after approximately one month in people with premature ventricular beats (a form of arrhythmia) who also suffer from diabetes.

Angina patients taking 150 mg per day of CoQ10 report a greater ability to exercise without experiencing chest pain. This has been confirmed in independent investigations.

CoQ10 appears to increase the heart's tolerance to a lack of oxygen. Perhaps as a result, preliminary research has shown that problems resulting from heart surgery occurred less frequently in people given CoQ10 compared with the control group.

Muscle mitochondria lack adequate CoQ10 in people with muscular dystrophy, a problem that could affect muscle function. In a double-blind three-month trial, four of eight people with muscular dystrophy had improvements in heart function and sense of well-being when supplementing CoQ10.

Mitochondrial function also appears to be impaired in people with Alzheimer's disease. Due to CoQ10's effects on mitochondrial functioning, one group of researchers has given CoQ10 (along with iron and vitamin B6) to several people with Alzheimer's disease and reported the progression of the disease appeared to have been prevented for one and a half, to two years.

CoQ10 also modulates immunity. Perhaps as a result, a few cases have been reported in which women with metastatic breast cancer (cancer that had spread to other tissues) had a regression of their cancer after treatment with a very large amount of CoQ10 (390 mg per day).

CoQ10 appears to modulate blood pressure by reducing resistance to blood flow. Several trials have reported that supplementation with CoQ10 significantly reduced blood pressure in people with hypertension, usually after ten weeks to four or more months of treatment.

Where is it found?

CoQ10 is found primarily in fish and meat, but the amounts in food are far less than what can be obtained from supplements.

Who is likely to be deficient?

Deficiency is poorly understood, but it may be caused by synthesis problems in the body rather than an insufficiency in the diet. Low blood levels have been reported in people with heart failure, cardiomyopathy, gingivitis(inflammation of the gums), morbid obesity, hypertension, muscular dystrophy, diabetes, AIDS, and in some people on kidney dialysis. People with phenylketonuria(PKU) may be deficient in CoQ10 because of dietary restrictions. CoQ10 levels are also generally lower in older people. The test used to assess CoQ10 status is not routinely available from medical laboratories

An isolated test tube study reported that the anticancer effect of a certain cholesterol-lowering drug was blocked by addition of CoQ10. So far, experts in the field have put little stock in this report because its results have not yet been confirmed in animal, human, or even other test tube studies. The drug used in the test tube is not used to treat cancer, and preliminary information regarding the use of high amounts of CoQ10 in humans suggests the possibility of anticancer activity.

Benefits

• may beneficially affect the aging process

• improves heart muscle function

• reduces blood pressure in people with hypertension

• boosts overall immune function

Want your website visitors to return

If your like me you have searched on every search engine any possible way to advertise your website. I have filled out submission forms till my fingers have cramped up. I have looked at link farms, long boring articles on SEO, I even have articles sent to my inbox everyday in hopes of finding the next “new” way to attract visitors.

So now you have designed your site and your thinking it looks great. “Who wouldn’t want to visit my site?” You have all your affiliates set up, you have your ads (by Yahoo, Google,…) and your ready to start making some money. You have your exchange links set up, you listed on every toplist you can think of and you even paid money on some Pay Per Click program in hopes of visitors. And you even have your tracking program in place so you can tell who is hitting your site and where they are hitting from. You even know what pages on your site are popular.

So why are you only getting first time visitors? Why do they only visit one page? Why are they not returning?

One answer - pop ups.

If you belong to one of those exchange link programs that provides pop up, pop unders,(pop up under the main page) or exit pops (as I call them, when you close your site this page appears) then you could be chasing away your visitors.

I consider my self to be an above normal Internet user. I have several websites that I have created and between them I have thousands of pages in cyber world. I know when I click on a ad or link and all of a sudden pop ups appear out of now where I slightly freak “like whoa!” and once I clear my screen I make a mental note not to click that button again. Imagine how a novice surfer is going to feel. They may never click on an ad again. That kinda defeats all of us using ads. You will get hits added to your counter but they wont be return hits.

In no way am I bashing these programs. But like any good web designer, know what tools are in your toolbox and know how and when to use them.

Affiliate marketing can earn you huge profits

Looking for a way to pad your bottom line? Affiliate marketing is a great resource for either web site developers or merchants. Web site developers can make extra income on their web sites and merchants can sell their products or services with the help of many marketers. If you are new to affiliate marketing, here are some great tips on using affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is super simple. Open an account on the many affiliate marketing sites such as Amazon, Clickbank, Commission Junction and Paydotcom. Within these sites you can easily find products from vendors that you want to sell. Most of these products pay extremely high commission. For instance, on Clickbank, you can find products that pay at least 50%. For products on Amazon, expect 5 to 10%.

Once you sign up and choose your products, you can easily copy and paste the affiliate vendor’s product code onto your web site. When a person visits your site and is interested in purchasing an affiliate product, they are passed onto the affiliate marketing site to make that purchase. You automatically get a good commission for finding the customer.

For merchants that have products to sell, you can easily reach thousands of customers each day by offering high commissions to affiliate marketers. The higher the commission or more popular the product the higher the chance web developers will place your product on their web sites to sell. So if you want to make a healthy profit either with a web site or a product, look into affiliate marketing.

More informations are available at affiliate-00.com

Automotive ac machines

As any mechanic knows, the ability to offer a comprehensive service to customers, being able to offer repairs and care for all aspects of a motor vehicle maintenance program is key to being able to retain customers. Air Conditioning is more or less standard across all models these days, and while in the past, AC maintenance was a highly skilled and niche market, it is now an essential side of the business and key to any workshop’s continued success.

In order to ensure that refrigerant is recovered properly from a car’s air conditioning system during servicing, a workshop must use an automotive AC machine. These devices prevent the release through venting of CFC gases. EPA guidelines require that when a car is being serviced, the Freon, or CFC12 that is used as the coolant should be collected and recycled in order that it is not released into the environment where it can potentially damage the ozone layer.

The refrigerant used in most motor vehicle air conditioning systems is based on chlorofluorocarbons, which have been linked with causing damage to the ozone layer, and as such, the control of these substances is of particular concern to the environmental protection agency. Whenever a car air conditioning system undergoes maintenance, proper care must be taken to protect the environment from the release of CFCs, and this is best done by using automotive AC Machines.

By reusing Freon gas rather than allowing it to be vented into the atmosphere, the environment is protected. However, when the refrigerant is collected from a car’s air conditioning it can be contaminated with water, oil and any of the other liquids that are used in cars. By using automotive AC machines, it is possible to process the refrigerant and remove any of the other fluids from it, allowing it to be reused, either in the same system as it has been drained from, or alternatively, in another car altogether.

There are a whole range of different refrigerant recovery machines on the market to suit all types of workshop, from small operations through to large commercial garages that deal with many different types of car, and need to be able to offer a complete service to clients.

Choosing the right automotive AC machines for your needs can be a daunting task, and too many people simply opt for the cheapest model available, rather than making an informed decision about the best product for their needs. EPA requirements aside, the most important factor when choosing the correct automotive AC machine for your business, is the capacity of the machine to deal with the range of vehicles that you currently work on. You need to choose a machine that can connect easily with all the different types of car that your workshop deals with, and which has enough capacity to recover and treat the refrigerant left in the system to remove any impurities.

Basic automotive AC machines such as the Pro Set Oiless Portable Recovery Recycle Unit are flexible enough to reprocess coolant from a fairly wide range of sources, remove any contaminating oils and other liquids, and release the Freon in perfect condition for reuse.

There are other machines in a similar price bracket that are reliable enough for every day use, and yet still compact enough not to require a vast amount of space in your workshop. Automotive AC Machines such as the Inficon Vortex refrigerant recovery machine are ideally suited to occasional use, and are very compact.

If offering AC repairs and servicing is key to your business, then having the right tools for the job is essential. Getting it right at the beginning when you choose an AC coolant recovery machine often means choosing a model from the Cool Tech range. These robust and highly regarded specialist tools are at the centre of any serious AC shop, and thanks to their efficiency and great value for money, will pay for themselves over and over again.

Hello from nova scotia - part 6 - the annapolis royal graveyard tour

After a day packed with explorations and a lovely dinner at the Garrison House I was ready for my final discovery of the day: the famous Annapolis Royal Graveyard Tour. Punctually at 9:15 pm I showed up across the road from the my bed and breakfast at the south entrance of Fort Anne where local historian and expert guide Alan Melanson was ready to give his performance. About 15 people, hailing from places such as North Carolina, California and Saskatchewan, were equipped with candle-lit lanterns and after a brief introduction we were ready to head out.

Alan enlightened us that his outfit was an authentic funeral suit, the black sash and the black scarf tied around the hat were symbols of mourning. We learned that when children died the scarf on the hat would be white. Alan told the group that he has been doing this tour four nights a week, every week from June to October for 15 years and he has only missed one evening. The $7 donation for the tour goes to the Historical Society of Annapolis Royal, and over the years Alan has collected about $60,000 for this non-profit organization. Alan has been a park ranger and guide at the Fort Anne National Historic Site for about 27 years now and in addition to historical interpretation he also does outreach to bring history into local classrooms.

We started walking towards the cemetery, up and down through Fort Anne’s “earthworks”, fortifications constructed from mounds of earth which were intended to protect Annapolis Royal from potential intruders. The cemetery is just a few steps away from Fort Anne, and Alan collected the group at the largest gravestone, an obelisk and started the official tour.

Our first stop was the oldest gravestone in the cemetery, dating back to 1720, which belonged to a 37 year old woman. Alan explained that gravestones feature a lot of symbolism: death was represented for example by a winged skull, young children and babies who passed away would be symbolized by pictures of flowers, lambs or rose buds. Weeping willows were often used to represent death and mourning. Alan also educated us that different types of stone were used as gravestones over the centuries: slate, sandstone, granite and marble were all used to immortalize the dead.

Many of the residents of the graveyard had interesting stories: an 83-year old woman got cheated out of her fortune by a bad husband. Some soldiers were also buried here and Alan shed light on life in the army in the 18th century: out of 100 soldiers only six were allowed to bring their wives with them during deployments from England in the colonies. The wives and children who were allowed to come did not fare well either as they had to share bunk beds with their husbands. Conditions for soldiers only changed during the Crimean War when press coverage made the general public aware of the poor living conditions of soldiers, resulting in general outrage. The power of the press was already in evidence in the 1850s…

We also learned that large groups of volunteers regularly clean the gravestones, carefully using wooden tools and soap to scrape off the moss and then finishing the job with a solution made of vinegar and water. Alan reported that very little vandalism happens here in this historic graveyard since the local residents are extremely proud of their heritage. As a ninth generation Acadian, as a historic interpreter at Fort Anne and as the President of the Annapolis Royal Historical Society, Alan Melanson can personally attest to the importance and appreciation of history that characterizes this area. Annapolis Royal has the biggest National Heritage District consisting of 135 heritage buildings, it features the oldest gravestone and the oldest National Historic Site in Canada.

The pride in local history also includes reenactments of historic events and lifestyles. Alan told us about various historical reenactments which served moose nose soup and smoked beaver tail, dishes very similar to those that would have been savoured in the early 1600s by the settlers of the Port-Royal Habitation, incidentally the place where Wayne Melanson, Alan’s identical twin brother, introduced me to early French history this afternoon.

Annapolis Royal is one of the most historic towns on the east coast and the oldest house in town, just east of the Historic Gardens, dates back to 1708. Alan explained the town’s history was based around shipbuilding and of 13 wharfs only one is still in existence. The Garrison Graveyard houses 234 gravestones and more than 2000 people are buried here. Early Acadian settlers are also interred here, but their graves did not have gravestones – their wooden crosses have long since rotted away.

Our local expert also informed us that a soldier dating back to the 1780s was found buried in the riverbed. Based on historical accounts and the burial technique, this person must have been a criminal which is the reason why he was buried in the river. Alan Melanson, himself a ninth generation Acadian who can trace his own lineage back to a certain Charles Melanson who arrived in this area in 1664, certainly has a passion for history and it shows. His theatrical voice conveys enthusiasm for the history of this town and he injects his presentation with humour and wittiness. Former Prime Minister Paul Martin also enjoyed his Garrison Graveyard Tour with Alan Melanson.

After the tour was over I returned the lantern and received a certificate attesting that I had attended the Annapolis Royal Graveyard Tour. I came back to the Garrison House B&B and peeked out into the dark cemetery, wondering what life must have been like in this town in the 1700 and 1800s. I laid down to rest up for another full day of explorations tomorrow which would include the Tidal Power Generating Plant, the Bear River Heritage and Cultural Centre and a coastal drive down to Yarmouth on the western tip of this province. Nova Scotia sure has a lot of history, interesting personalities and many fascinating human stories…

For the entire article including photos please visit

travelandtransitions. com/stories_photos/annapolis_royal_graveyard_tour. htm

Discover lake tahoe yosemite squaw valley and napa valley

The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range serves as a beautiful backdrop to a spectacular region known for its natural beauty and year round activities.

Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide. Lake Tahoe has 72 miles of shoreline, making it the largest alpine lake in North America. The sun shines for three quarters of the year and the water in the lake is so pure that it is 99.7 percent clear! The 72 mile drive along the shores of Lake Tahoe is spectacular. It is listed as one of the most beautiful drives in the USA. In the winter months, the Lake Tahoe region becomes the largest concentration of ski resorts in North America. There are 19 ski resorts including terrain to challenge at all levels, and other winter pursuits such as sledding and snowmobiling.

Yosemite has become one of the ‘must sees’ for visitors to California. The rarefied mountain atmosphere of California’s Western Sierra is enhanced by the stunning scenic vistas of this truly unique part of the world. Yosemite is famous for its granite monoliths such as El Capitan, spectacular waterfalls and vast wilderness. Its scenic features include alpine wilderness, giant sequoia tree groves and the Yosemite Valley itself. The discovery of one tiny gold nugget set off the great California Gold Rush of 1849. You can still pan for gold. Experience what it was like to travel in the old days on a paddle steamer cruise, a steam train, or a Wells Fargo stagecoach. Discover quaint museums, tour a mine, explore caverns, taste your way through farm trails, or try white water rafting on some of the best rivers in the west.

The Squaw Valley is one of the top ski resorts in North America, and is world renowned. Squaw Valley resort hosted the Olympic Winter Games in 1960. There is a large choice of activities to do here, including skiing and snowboarding.

The Napa Valley is less than one hour’s drive north of San Francisco. The rolling hills and sun drenched valleys of Northern California’s wine country have welcomed visitors since before the Gold Rush. The Napa Valley produces some of the finest wines enjoyed world over. Even if it did not, it would still be considered the jewel in the crown of North California. Kissed with bay fog at the valley’s southern tip which borders the San Pablo Bay and continuing 30 miles north to the base of Mt St Helena, the valley ranges from 1 to 5 miles wide, and is protected by low mountains on the east and west. It is surrounded with acre after acre of world renowned vineyards!

Laser tooth whitening for a massive smile

So many different types of treatments and offerings on the market consumers can easily get confused but with the internet there is a huge resource available to research with differing opinions can make things worse.

Laser Tooth whitening is also known as zoom whitening. Even if is a bit more expensive than the DIY strips or kits, many people who are very concerned about their smile, especially actors, artists and those in the media prefer to other procedures to whiten teeth that the results are faster and the excellent.

Laser Tooth whitening is the latest technology and has helped revolutionise the industry. It is just an hour to endure this kind of treatment. The treatment is easy and painless when the laser teeth whitening system is used. It starts with a bit of preparation before getting into the real effect.

Teeth whitening can be a great way to improve the look of your smile - Nearly anyone that wants to brighten their teeth or smile can benefit from teeth whitening products. Some reasons you may want to get your teeth whitened may be due to your age, staining, or smoking. These factors all make you an excellent candidate for teeth whitening.

Studies indicate that the teeth whitening process is effective in more than 80% of patients. Laser Teeth whitening is now becoming more popular than ever, and research to better the teeth whitening system follows close behind.

How long does it last and what effects can I expect? - The answers to the questions are different from one person to another. In most cases, a Zoom teeth whitening procedure is done twice a year. An average person who drinks coffee frequently and smokes daily will have improved tooth brightness - around 6-8 shades brighter. After the procedure is completed, the teeth will gradually start to regain their yellowish colour over time, depending on how well you take care of them.

On average, people who went through laser tooth whitening procedures noticed that their teeth stay white for months, although the initial brightness does not last more than a few weeks.

If you are intent on having that great white smile, you can set up a budget just for the laser teeth whitening session. Once you see the result, you will not be sorry and you can say that your money was well spent.

A bright white smile like the Hollywood stars is what people are desiring and sometimes this bright white effect is out of reach for people with really badly stained teeth as many of the A list stars pay highly for veneers.

To improve appearance is the main goal of every person who wants to get his or her teeth whitened. Always associated with beauty and healthy lifestyle, a whiter and brighter set of teeth is highly coveted in this image-conscious world.

If you have whiter teeth, you tend to smile more often because you have more confidence.

The role of a cta commodity trading advisor

Commodity Trading Advisor, Genuine Trading Solutions, a registered CTA with the CFTC, says the role today of a CTA is constantly evolving.

Dwayne Strocen, President of Genuine Trading Solutions says once upon a time a Commodity Trading Advisor was content to be known as a Portfolio Manager trading commodities and futures for a managed futures fund. There is no question today’s investor has become more sophisticated. In response, today’s selection of investment products has become ever more complex and varied, the need for the CTA to understand the uses and management of these products becomes even more acute.

So what exactly is the role of today’s Commodity Trading Advisor. Certainly trading of derivative products for a managed futures fund continues to be as important as before. A CTA has also become more involved with derivative analytics. This role is essentially focused upon becoming an analyst to structure and analyze the more multi-faceted requirements demanded by hedge funds, pension funds and structured products.

The use of derivative analytics to manage the adverse risk of an equity or bond portfolio brought about by adverse market conditions is critical in preserving asset growth. The uses of hedging to prevent volatility has long been understood by the largest institutions but is now available to the smaller sized company and to the individual investor. No doubt as products continue to evolve so too will the CTA evolve to meet the need of today’s professional money manager.

Derivative products are no longer limited to exchange traded commodities futures and options. There continues to be an ever expanding list of over-the-counter derivative products. These are SWAPS. SWAPS and privately transacted products transacted without the use of a recognized exchange. The difficulty is the buyer and seller must find each other to undertake such an arrangement, not always easy. The second problem is no liquidity. There is no one to sell this too should one of the parties wish to terminate the transaction prior to the agreed upon date.

A Commodity Trading Advisor’s role is no longer sufficient to be limited to trading. It is now imperative to understand the industry in a new light so to understand the changing investment environment. Analysis now becomes the catalyst to include a value added service to retain customers. This includes structured products, risk management and OTC derivatives. Continuing education has been and continues to be the hallmark of the best in the industry.

How i use email automatic responders

An email automatic responder or autoresponder is the second most important marketing tool I have to make money online. The first would be my hosting company. Without these 2 tools my internet marketing business is dead in the water.

In the world of internet marketing, millions of sites are fiercely competing with each other to gain new clients. For any ecommerce site to succeed, it must capture the interest and the trust of its visitors. It is not enough that your site is perfectly designed or has the latest in animation of content.

You should focus your efforts not only in attracting visitors but also in leading them to make a purchase. There are dozens of marketing strategies you can use to attract more buyers and pump up your sales. One of them is by establishing an excellent and professional reputation for prompt and efficient response.

As more potential customers visit your site, you should expect a flood of inquiries and requests for information. This is an excellent opportunity for you to capture more clients and lead them to buying from your site. Thus, it is important that you carry out an efficient and prompt response to every email you receive. The fastest and most effective way to do this is by utilizing an email automatic responder.

Autoresponder services use a computer program that automatically return a prewritten message to anyone who sends an email to your site. It is widely used for responding to consumer inquiries and visitor comments and suggestions.

Follow up automatic responders are also used by e-zines in responding to people who subscribe or unsubscribe to their online magazines. Companies, who send out their e-newsletter regularly, also use utoresponders.

How can effective autoresponder services help boost your business? The answer lies in its ability to return a prompt response to any e-mail the site receives. By responding rapidly and efficiently, you create a very good impression on your potential customer. Good email autorespondrs help you get important information back to these customers immediately. An effective autoresponder service helps you communicate your message promptly, creating a sense of professionalism and efficiency that your clients will definitely appreciate.

Another very important advantage of email automatic responders is that it saves time with multiple marketing tasks. Certainly, you do not have enough time to personally make and send all correspondence. Autoresponder services allows you to send thank you letters, newsletters, product information, brochures, orders etc. to hundreds of clients almost immediately and simultaneously. Autoresponder services are also indispensable in any email marketing campaign.

Choosing the right autoresponder is very important. What makes the best automatic responder? First, you should pick an autoresponder that is reliable and can give you 24/7 service. You cannot afford to lose a customer because your autoresponder failed to answer his query or request for information. The ability to respond promptly is the first thing you must look for in any automatic responder.

Another key factor you should consider when choosing Autoresponder servcies is flexibility. Good autoresponders allow you to customize unique responses that will have maximum effect on the customer. You should avoid creating an impression that the customer is communicating with a machine instead of a real human being.

An excellent email automatic responder lets you provide the information that is specifically targeted for what the potential customers are looking for. Because any email from potential customers essentially represent the customer's intent on getting more information about your product, which can ultimately lead to direct sales, all emails are important. Thus, a top Autoresponder servcie must fulfill all these duties to help you boost your business.

For all of our autoresponder needs we prefer Aweber. They are very reasonably priced and have proved to be reliable and easy to use.

Web design using the family tree

When it comes time to work on a web design you should work to develop the site before you actually develop the site. What I mean by that is try to map out what you are wanting in your website and how everything should break down logically.

Think of it like a family tree. Each branch is the father, mother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, grandma or grandpa in the tree. There is a logical pattern to the tree as it branches from one generation to the next. When you view a family tree it doesn’t take long to figure out where everyone fits in the history of a singular family.

If you take this same idea and begin to work on your website you find the ‘patriarch’ of your website and make it the home page. What does that page look like, what will be most important to the proper functioning of the home page.

Each additional page is another branch in your web design tree. What are the most important ‘next generation’ pages? These should have some of the other vital categories.

You may find that some secondary categories won’t have any branches. They may work all by themselves. These would be pages like the “About Us” section or the “Contact Us” page. However, many secondary pages may include other branches. These could be pages filled with knowledge-based content, photos or product pages.

You might even find that these third generation pages have sub topic content.

Remember, you can make the job of website design much easier my mapping out the web design (site map) prior to actually developing the site.

This is also a key step that shortens the time it can take to produce your own website design using template rich web building technology.

It is interesting that many businesses will spend quality time developing a business plan, organizing the office and developing a strategy for marketing, but they are never really very sure what they should do for their website design.

The good news is you can develop a ‘tree’ for your website and it really doesn’t have to take a significant amount of time to develop. It might take a time of devoted concentration, but you can aid your website design time by visiting other sites to see what you like and what seems to work really well.

Consider this a time to devise a map for your customers. Sometimes sites that are not easy to navigate are the byproduct of a website design that was never fully developed and suffers from pages that were added in unusual places.

Take the time to map out your website design first, It’s good for you, your customers and even highly valued search engines.

Get dad involved in breastfeeding

Many fathers feel excluded from parenting their children during the first initial stages of life. This feeling of exclusion and helplessness is exacerbated by mother breastfeeding her baby. So, can a father get more involved when it comes to feeding his baby? The answer is, yes.

The number one thing a dad can do to get involved is to support mom. At times, both parents will feel very tired when caring for the newborn infant, the mother especially. This is why it’s so important for the dad to support mom. So, exactly how does dad provide support? The most obvious thing to do is chores: preparing meals, cleaning house, laundry etc. He can also directly help take care of the baby by changing its diaper, bathing and burbing. But the most important thing he can do is to provide emotional support. To listen to what his partner is saying and to let her know how pleased he is with her as a mother. A new mother needs support at this time of life more than at any other time.

A dad can also get involved with feeding his child, even though mom is breastfeeding. A mother can express her milk and store it for later use. The baby can then be fed mom’s milk with a bottle at a later time. No reason why dad can’t do this. In fact it can be a real benefit to the mother during those nighttime feeds as she can stay in bed and catch up on some sleep while dad does the feeding.

Breastfeeding can be a ‘selfish’ activity for a mother. A lot of women who breastfeed, cherish the intimacy between mom and baby. Breastfeeding can be the most intimate experience for a woman; a physical bond between two people where one is nurturing the other in the most fundamental way. So, it’s understandable that some mothers are reluctant to hand over feeding of their baby to someone else, even if it is the baby’s father. But, if the father is feeling somewhat left-out-of-things then perhaps it’s time to let the father bottle feed the baby with the mother’s expressed milk. The level of intimacy they feel toward their baby when feeding surprises most fathers.

A be patient with dad. When he first starts to bottle feed his child he is bound to feel a little unsure of how best to do things. Show him how to hold the baby; how to soothe; how to notice signs of when the baby is hungry and when he’s satiated. Soon, with a little gentle instruction, he’ll be feeding baby as good as mom. And, he’ll probably exchange notes with mom on the little improvements the baby is making at feeding time.

A couple raising a child need to approach it as a team effort. Sometimes, both mom and dad do things together and sometimes they swap roles. Flexibility is key. When one of the parents is feeling too tired, or fed up to take care of baby, the other can step in, thereby giving the other a rest. This swapping and sharing responsibilities can also include breastfeeding.

Buying life insurance a checklist

Life insurance can be an effective tool to make certain and protect your family’s financial future. It has been acknowledged universally as a method by which the breadwinner can substitute risk and uncertainty with timely aid for the family in case of their unfortunate death.

Since a life insurance policy will replace your lost income after your death, it is important to choose the right kind of policy. Hence, it is essential to find a company that will cover your insurance with the right amount, and at a reasonable price.

Need for a life insurance policy:

There are several reasons for an individual, specifically a breadwinner, to make out a life insurance policy. To assuage your concern for your family in case of your death, most life insurance policies offer various death benefits that take care of your family after your death:

1. For example, a member of your family may have some special needs. You can buy a life insurance policy that will act as an emergency fund in the event of your untimely death.

2. If you want to make sure that your child gets quality education even after your death, a life insurance can also work as a fund for your child’s education.

3. An insurance policy will ensure the maintenance of your family’s standard of living.

4. Your family can also use it to clear personal and business debts, after your death.

Duration of insurance coverage:

Before buying a policy it is advisable to ensure the duration for which you want life insurance coverage. You can take online help to decide the coverage duration.

Need for a checklist

After you decide on your specific need, and the duration of your life insurance policy, you can begin looking for a suitable policy. It is prudent to prepare a checklist before buying, as this will ensure that you end up purchasing the right policy.

The checklist must include various factors on which you can assess insurance companies, which includes various criteria set by insurance companies too. Here are a few pointers:

1. Before buying a life insurance policy, it is advisable to ensure that you have all medical information regarding your health, because most companies expect that, depending on your age and the duration of insurance coverage.

2. It’s a good idea to compare various life insurance companies on the basis of quotes that they have to offer. You can take the help of the Internet to compare the quotes based on your choice of insurance product and your age.

3. You can also take help from a broker through the telephone or the Internet and clear all your queries.

4. Once you decide on a particular insurance company, it is important to ascertain the company’s financial strength and stability.

5. It is also advisable to gather information about the options for renewal that various insurance companies offer, because some companies charge high premiums if you renew your policy.

6. Some insurance companies charge a penalty if you cancel your policy, so make sure that the company you choose does not demand a penalty on cancellation of policy.

7. You may also want to make some changes in your policy in due time, as your insurance needs can change with time. So, when you purchase your insurance policy find out if there is an age limitation for any kind of conversion of your policy, and whether the option of moving into a better policy is there.

You are the supreme authority

Two days ago I stewed in my Doctor's lounge for my Annual Executive.

I finished just about 6 of his magazines. He was late again.

Fresh out of magazines (two read thrice already), I began reading all his plaques, diplomas, trophies

and certificates. He owned many - in fact, he ran out of wall real estate for all that parchment.

Then it hit me.

Folks these days heap a great deal of importance on certificates, accolades and testimonials. They seek validation

and the best way to grab it is with parchment. That piece of paper signifies recognition bestowed.

Bottomline: people crave external APPROVAL.

I mused about that for a second.

Isn't it funny that skilled athletes feel mediocre when they haven't won any awards from sports organizations?

Or that handsome men feel like croaking frogs when some women reject them.

And how talented writers feel unappreciated without a Pulitzer?

External Approval - it's one powerful creature. It takes people on rollercoaster highs.

There's a flip side. Denied of approval, many plummet to depression. That's certainly not a good thing.

Let me ask you: if your friends thought your hairdo reeked, would that matter?

I hope not. Who are they to determine how you feel. Who are they to dictate upon your moods?

I find it irrational that countless millions depend on the validation of others for their own self-esteem. Each

of us is unique. Talented. Authorities upon ourselves.

You may not play as well as Michael Jordan, but I bet you can

box better than him. Martha Stewart cooks a meaner casserole, but I bet she doesn't

play the piano like you do.

Feeling low because no one approves of you? Can it. Self-pity serves no one.

Here's a great way to feel super:

***Simply bestow approval upon yourself. ***

Tell yourself: "SELF, you're one swell guy and you do

a LOT of things better than the next guy. I hereby confer upon you a Certificate

of Supreme Approval."

Remember to walk tall and proud. You are special, after all.

The ins and outs of adware spyware removal

With the advent of the computer and the popularity of the Internet has come a host of conveniences we could only have imagined at one time. Today’s society is used to shopping, communicating, working, learning, and being entertained by the home computer – a comprehensive system designed to meet most of our every day needs. But with progress comes responsibility; and as reputable companies have used the confines of the Internet as a basis for offering a host of services, other disreputable groups have used the same venue to victimize users. Two of the most common infiltrators are adware and spyware; and when it comes to adware spyware removal, it’s important to first understand how each program works.

Adware can best be recognized by the “pop-ups” that surprise us with unwelcome advertisements as we surf the Internet or even work offline. Adware can be extremely frustrating and very difficult to eliminate. Significantly more insidious, spyware works to capture our personal information and then pass it on to third parties. Spyware can infiltrate our computers without us even being aware that it’s happening. Adware spyware removal begins with determining if either of the programs has made their way into our computers.

Clearly, the presence of adware is far easier to detect; frequent advertising pop-up windows alert us to its existence on our computers. Spyware is far more difficult to detect. But the existence of either commonly results in the slowing of system function or frequent “crashing” wherein all computer function freezes. But in order to be absolutely sure of the existence of either program and begin the process of adware spyware removal, you can enlist the help of software programs to scan your entire computer.

When choosing software that will scan your system for adware and spyware and subsequently clean your computer, you must ensure that you are using a reputable program. Often, simply downloading free services off of the Internet only compounds your problem, as adware and spyware often makes its way onto your computer in the first place via downloads. Your best bet is to purchase a reputable adware spyware removal software program from a licensed computer supply store.

But the best way to keep your system clear of adware and spyware is to practice comprehensive prevention. Be extremely wary of what you download onto your computer from unknown websites; limit your use of credit card and other personal information; and be selective of the websites that you visit. Preventing adware and spyware from ever making its way onto your computer is often far easier than adware spyware removal.

Don t let your credit card debts cross the line

It’s been said that an average American has about 9 to 10 credit cards. Having that much credit cards simply means that you have high purchasing powers. You can actually just splurge on anything that catches your fancy; you don’t actually give out cash at that instant.

Credit cards are so popular these days. Everyone seems to be using one everyday. It’s also very easy to apply for a credit card. In fact, credit card companies are aggressively advertising their services so they could attract more people to sign up. Online and offline stores even encourage the use of credit cards by giving cardholders special discounts and promotions.

It’s really very easy to get caught up in a huge credit card debt nowadays. In fact, a lot of people are already suffering from great financial losses just because of some credit card debts they were unable to pay. Most people forget that when they use their cards to purchase, they would eventually have to shell out cash to pay for that.

Paying for credit card purchases are usually even more expensive. That’s because you would have to pay for the interests. And credit card interest rates do not come cheap. In fact, they’re high enough that you might feel you’re paying more on interest than the actual amount you borrowed.

Using your credit cards can really be addictive, but before you swipe your card, you would have to ensure that you would have enough funds to pay for your purchase. If not, you will soon find yourself caught in a huge debt cycle. Credit card debts are the most difficult to get out of, probably because of the high interest rates and the surcharges.

Just imagine the effect of a huge credit card debt on your finances. What if you’ll need money for emergency situations? If you have high credit card debts, chances are you won’t be able to use your credit cards anymore. That also means that it won’t be easy for you to apply for a loan since these kinds of debts reflect on your credit reports.

Irresponsible use of credit cards is usually to blame for your financial problems. So before you get another credit card, make sure that you’re responsible enough to handle it. Also check that the credit card company offers competitive interest rates. If they have low rates, you might consider consolidating your credit card debts and opt for a balance transfer.

Though it will really be very difficult to lower down a credit card debt, there are still ways which can help you, like debt consolidation. Also, you might want to minimize the use of your credit cards until you could pay off a large portion of the debt. Limit your credit card purchases to important ones.

If somehow you feel that you credit card debt has increased without you knowing it, you could give your credit card company a call so they can check for any fraudulent activities. Credit card companies will be happy to help you with any fraudulent charges so you can lower your credit card debt.

Experts sat that the wisest way to use your credit card is that your credit card debt should not exceed half of your credit limit. In this way, when emergency situations happen, you have some option to turn to. Low credit card debts also translate to better credit score, which means that you can avail of better loan and financing schemes.

Logbook loans keep driving the car and arrange a few grand fast

We spend a lot on bringing home the car we want. We have little idea that we can use car for one more reason than just taking us form one destination to another? Okay perhaps you knew that. But did you know that you can use the logbook of your vehicle to sponsor a loan. Well, that is one unlikely sponsor. Financial loan market is flooded with offers for logbook loans and makes it worthwhile that you own a vehicle.

Logbook loans have been hailed as the originator of secured vehicle finance in UK . However, logbook loans are different from finance for buying vehicle or cars. Logbook loans are secured form of financing. The recognition of logbook loans as a dependable loan type is providing the benefits of secured loans without the disadvantage associated with them, namely, time consumption.

A very integral clause while borrowing secured loans is collateral. Collateral for secured loans is usually put for valuation to decide how much loan amount can be borrowed against it. Collateral valuation usually takes time and therefore stretches the time when borrower can actually get loan amount. Logbook loans put up with no such delay. Therefore, logbook is the form of financing which can solve urgent financial needs.

Collateral for logbook loans is the logbook of your car. Anyone who has logbook loans registered in their name is eligible for logbook loans. The registered owner of logbook may or may not be the owner of the vehicle. The owner of the logbook is the person responsible for the vehicle, pays taxes and represents any offences indexed against the vehicle.

Logbook is nothing but your good old registration form V5. The issuing of this important document is under the jurisdiction of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Logbook is a regularly updated document which has all the important information about the registered keeper of the logbook, the current registration mark, VIN number or the chassis number and much more. This makes logbook appropriate for loans.

Logbook loans lender will keep your logbook however, you will retain the right to use of the vehicle. The logbook will remain in the possession of the lender till the loan period is over while the borrower uses the car the way he wants. Our logbook loans lender will, however, look for some things before deciding to provide you with logbook loans. The vehicle against which logbook loans are taken should be less than 8 years old. The condition of the vehicle will be paid attention on. A well maintained vehicle will get easily approval for logbook loans and good amount also. Logbook Lenders won't be yielding in case your vehicle or car is already pledged for some other loan. In addition the logbook loans lender would want you to provide all the necessary documents to prove you are the owner of the vehicle.

Logbook loans are appropriate to satisfy loan demands ranging from Ј500-Ј50,000. Depending on the lender and the vehicle, the amount of logbook loans can stretch to larger amounts. The loan amount is provided to the borrower as soon as the logbook loans are approved. Therefore, they are cut out for financial emergencies. Logbook loans lender like any other lender should be carefully searched for. You are pledging something important make sure you are not putting it in the wrong hands.

Logbook loans invite no credit check for borrowers. Therefore, those who have been refused or have received offers of overpriced loans can find a healthy relief with logbook loans. With logbook loans bad credit borrower can hope to receive equal treatment as any other regular borrower. Online processing for logbook loans further reduce the time for approval and convenience to apply from home or office. Logbook loans are not meant for every borrower. They cater to only specific circumstance; therefore, make sure logbook loans are the only solution for you before you apply.

You bought your vehicle because you wanted it. You have paid a lot to make sure it is yours. Now it is with you, a part of your life. If you are the one that celebrates your automobile ownership everyday, you have one more reason to celebrate – logbook loans.

Those dirty mexicans - oh really

When my wife and I announced that we were moving to Mexico, one of my wife's relatives asked us,

"Why do you want to live with those dirty Mexicans?"

Besides wanting to slap some sense into this person, I was particularly sickened (as in wanting to projectile vomit Linda Blair-style) by this hideous and most heinous stereotype. I have wanted to know since then where this originated.

I think, after doing what writers do—too much research, I have finally found it.

Apparently, historians, those guys we all love to read, have been recording these views for years. David J. Webber wrote extensively on the origins of anti-Mexican stereotypes. (Thank you very much, David. It took only two years to find you!). Webber has carefully written on the views that are responsible for today's prevalent stereotypes of the Mexican people. He wrote,

"Mexicans were considered, he wrote, "bigoted, greedy, tyrannical, fanatical, treacherous, and lazy". These characterizations of the inhabitants of Mexico congealed especially during the decades following Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821…" [1]

Many have written about the American-Mexican relations of that period. These writings, when taken as a whole, form a tidy little picture of how an American ideology portraying Mexicans as inferior evolved, thus justifying the American government's action against Mexico. Remember the Alamo?

Another one of those tantalizingly interesting historians, Cecil Robinson, wrote,

"Pioneer America could find little to approve of in the Mexican society it collided with, being affronted in all its major convictions by Mexican attitudes, real and alleged. Americans, in their Protestant individualism, in their ideas of spirit and hard work, in their faith in progress through technology, in their insistence upon personal hygiene, in Puritanism and racial pride, found Mexico much to their distaste because of its priestly power, its social stratification with a pronounced sense of caste, its apparent devotion to pleasure and its indifference to cleanliness, and its reputation for pervasive sensuality ... Adding to all this was the Anglo-Saxon's contempt for a people who had lowered themselves to a state of general cohabitation with the Indians and had thus forfeited the right to be considered "white." (Robinson, 1977)" [2]

Now isn't that interesting?

My point of bringing all this up is because of a Reuters' news item, Bed bugs threaten to put bite on U. S. Hotel Industry. Writer, Paul Simao, reports of a lawsuit brought against the Helmsley Park Lane Hotel in New York in which a couple was severely bitten by bedbugs. Can you imagine that? The case was settled out of court. (For the record, the Helmsley folks have rectified the admitted problem.)

Bedbugs tend to occur in environments that are in disarray, untidy, messy...(dirty?). In addition, their bites are not as harmless as one might think.

"Bedbugs may be a vector for hepatitis B and, in endemic areas, for American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease)." [3]

So the cleaner your sleeping environment is the less chance you are going to have those nasty critters crawling all over you at night biting the snot out of you.

The rich irony of this is that a MEXICAN businessman filed the lawsuit brought against the Helmsley people for their dirty bedbug-breeding hotel rooms.

Don't you love it!

[1] EXPERT REPORT OF ALBERT M. CAMARILLO; umich. edu/~urel/admissions/legal/expert/camarill. html

[2] Ibid

[3] emedicine. com/derm/topic600.htm

5 tips on choosing a trustworthy hyundai car dealer in maryland

Purchasing a new car is a major investment. Aside from buying a new house, it may be the biggest purchase you will ever make in your entire life. For this reason, you should be certain that you are dealing with a trustworthy maryland hyundai car dealer before deciding to part with your hard-earned cash.

We have all heard the horror stories about those shady car dealers who talk fast and separate a sucker from his money even faster. The good news is that they are the minority and that most car dealers are dependable and honest. Here are a few tips to help you find a trustworthy hyundai car dealership in maryland

(1) Do your homework

Before you start talking to car dealers, try to find out what they are all about. Research online and check their track record, the quality of their after-sales service and other information that will shed light on their reputation and trustworthiness.

At the same time, try to get a firm grasp of the kinds of hyundai that you may want given your particular tastes and budget. This way, when you start speaking to maryland hyundai car dealers, you can tell if their sales pitch about the car you want is accurate or just a lot of hogwash. Bear in mind, though, that just because a salesperson quotes you a price that is higher than what youve seen online, it doesnt mean hes a crook. Trying to make a decent profit is just part of their job.

(2) Trust Your Instincts

Sometimes you will come across a salesperson that you simply dont trust or are not comfortable with for no apparent reason. Those bad vibes mean something. Perhaps your subconscious has spotted something out of place about this person and is sending you a signal. In this instance, it would be better to ask for someone else.

(3) Use your head, not your heart

Oftentimes, the biggest reason why consumers fall for fast-talking, sleazy salespersons is that they make their purchasing decisions based on feelings and emotions rather than rational thought.

There is a lot of psychology that goes into buying a car. We may be enamored with the way it looks, the feel of the steering wheel in our hands, the way the seats press against our body or the feeling that a certain car is perfect for our personality. It just feels right. When you feel this way about a new car, think hard. Otherwise, it will be easy for a smart car dealer to persuade you into making that purchase.

(4) Be careful during negotiations

Once you enter the negotiation phase, be very careful since this is where most of the dirty tricks begin. For instance, keep your wits about you when a salesman offers you a car that is, say, $1,000 cheaper than their competitors because there may be some additional hidden charges that you will have to pay such as a documentation fee or handling charge or when your salesman forgets to charge you for sports rims. This is an old ploy. Sometimes you just have to stand up, say no thanks and look for another maryland hyundai car dealer.

(5) Do a full inspection

Finally, dont forget to make a full inspection of your new hyundai before leaving the lot. Check for scratches, flaws or other imperfections. The repair of these items should be covered in your deal with the car dealership. It pays to make sure.

No pain no gain with your favorite footwear

Most women are aware that high heels, though cute, are terrible for the health and comfort for our feet. Though the shoes accentuate the female leg and foot and help clothing to look its best, many young women are damaging their feet and many older women are already feeling the affects of damage done. The fact is that feet aren’t made to be put in that position for extended periods of time; regardless of how fantastic they look.

Most doctors would argue that the curves in the leg achieved by the use of high heels with a two inch heel or higher are not normal or healthy anatomically and are actually a sign that the wearer is doing something damaging to her body. The fact that high heels are orthopedic ally unsound may not stop women from wearing heels, in fact, nothing may. But the dangers of heel wearing should be known.

Heels can create severe back and knee problems, injuries and shortened calf muscles. Most women think the only damage they are doing is felt at the end of the day, when they take their shoes off and relax the soreness in their feet. But doctors warn that heels are more than just making your feet sore, they are damaging your body.

Most women wear heels because they have to look polished for work or they think it is the style and therefore somehow required of them as women. Most women also feel that the foot pain they experience is most commonly callus and heel pain. Women also complain about bunions, joint swelling, hammertoes, permanent bends in toes, neuromas, nerve issues, ingrown toenails, shooting pains and stress fractures. Some women, who wear heels their whole lives eventually, will be unable to wear flat shoes.

Their Achilles tendon actually shortens due to being condensed by the curve of the heel. The problem can be fixed but that doesn’t lessen the severity of the condition. Dancers have the worst problems as their jobs require them to move constantly in severely uncomfortable shoes that contort the feet into unnatural shapes. One condition is actually named after the shoes. A “pump bump” is the bump that forms on the back of the heel from the heel rubbing against the inside of the shoe. The heel wearer can also put undo pressure on her toenails and promote thicker growth of toenails as well as fungus and in-grown nails.

Get out to enjoy a quick holiday

If you are tired of the wintertime blues and you want to do something fun, you may want to take a vacation. You may want to think about getting away from it all and doing something fun for yourself. However, it is right after Christmas and you will still have to pay those Christmas bills. What are you going to do? There is no way that you can afford to pay for a trip or plan ticket now. There is an option for you so that you can afford and you do not have to miss any time from work as well.

You can take a great getaway in your hometown. There are great places to see and things to do in your own home town that have been there forever and you just never took the time to see. You should not take these things for granted anymore and go out and have some fun. There are places to visit and things that you can do to keep you entertained and excited without leaving your own town.

You should be able to take at least three days out of your busy workweek to enjoy these great sites. You can spend some time relaxing and enjoying life without spending a lot of money. You can take a great three-day vacation in your own hometown easily. If you do not have a lot of money to spend on this vacation it is ok. You can get a hotel room with a great deal of amenities so that you can do all the things that you would if you were on vacation. This is especially great if you live in an area that has snow and ice all the time. You can take advantage of the free breakfast and get some relaxing time to yourself or with your loved one at a price you can feel good about.

If you do not have any money, you can stay at home. Do not take any phone calls and stay away from your computer and work. Make this your time and do what ever you want. This is a great way to have a three-day getaway for you. Lock the doors and enjoy the quiet time. Watch your favorite movies and eat all you want. This is a great adventure for anyone.

If you live in a hometown that has places for hikes and other beautiful places in nature to go, you should take advantage of it. There are great places that you can see that do not cost anything or much at all. You will love being out in nature and seeing what was always right there in front of you and you never noticed.

If you have some great historical sites in your hometown, this is the perfect time to check them out. There are great things to see and learn about that you never even took the time to know before. You will feel good about this type of getaway and it is going to be a great experience that you can keep with you forever. There is little travel involved and it is a great time to do on your own or with someone that you love.

Museums are another great way to get away. You can check out all that is available to you when you visit one of these hometown places. You will not have to go far and the cost is very little. You need to take this opportunity if you are taking a three-day getaway from the hustle of regular life.

Parks are another great place to visit. You can take a bike ride or walking trial that is in your area. This is a great place that will give you some fresh air and allow you to get exercise on your three-day getaway. Take advantage of the free events that are available to you. You can check out your newspaper to find out what you can do on your time off. There is always something going on and you can do this in your free time. Visit the library and do the same thing. There are events happening all the time and you do not want to miss out on all the fun that you can have. There are also great exhibits that you can take in when you are looking for something to do as well.

There are great attractions that you can find within your limits of home. You can take great day trips to make you relax and have some time to yourself. There are things that you can do as well to spend time with your family too. You do not have to spend a great deal of money to have fun. You can stay at home, sleep in your own bed and stay comfortable for much less than what you would spend anywhere else. The most important thing to remember is that you are enjoying yourself without the stress of regular life. Choose the best attractions that are going to interest you and find something fun that you will all enjoy.

Three-day vacations can be a great and very relaxing time for you and your family. You will only need to use a little bit of imagination to make it a great family getaway for anyone that needs some time off.

Credit cards sign or sigh

How do you manage your growing stack of credit cards?

A number of us own a credit card or two, while many of us own one from each major bank. Each card provides a different set of benefits, we say. Do we really need that many cards?

What makes you and I go through all the hassle of credit card application for so many cards? The convenience of having the extra cash when you need it? The little gifts you get to exchange for with the points you clocked with your purchases? The pack of discounts that accompanies each card? Or the display of social status when you flash a Platinum card?

Whichever your reason for having those plastic cards in your wallet, if they are causing you financial problems, it is time to face reality and bid (some of) your plastic foes farewell.

The Power of Convenience

For the masses who keep credit cards for convenience sake, you are playing with fire. Convenience means you conveniently sign away your savings and conveniently purchase big ticket items that you do not need. Yes, it is very convenient to have a credit card, especially when you are overseas and have run out of cash. But doing that makes you feel wealthier than you really are, and gives you a false sense of financial security. It's easy to plant your signature above the dotted lines, but paying for that signature is far from easy.

Points for Gifts

Credit card companies do have a way to make us sign, sign and sign. They bribe us with point incentives for making hefty purchases so we don't feel too guilty about it. But think about it, how many of us actually managed to exchange the points for something decent after a year of card flashing spree? We have so many cards that the points are spread so thin, they either expire after some time (since it's too little to exchange for anything from the catalogue), or you reluctantly use up all your points to exchange for some dining vouchers that you might not use or eventually forget. If you managed to exchange for some decent products, you are probably spending too much?

Seductive Discounts

Since points can only be materialised into products (regardless of quality) after purchases, credit companies came up with discounts that you get to enjoy while using the card - 10% off your dining bill, 5% off your petrol, 1% rebate and the list goes on. Personally, I do find discounts more attractive than point incentives, especially if the restaurants that I frequent are in the list. I'm sold. But many times, we find that we tend to visit more of these restaurants every month now that wow, we have a discount card! And we end up spending more than we should!

Platinum Status

So, does flashing a platinum card make you look more prosperous or poor? Yes, it would have shown that you are earning a significant sum to be able to own that card. And yes, well, you are also telling the world that you now need more credit from the banks. Credit cards are literally instantly approved loans from the bank, yet you are feeling proud of yourself for having borrowed a greater amount than your companion. An irony?

Unlock the Secret

Then, are we supposed to cut up all our credit cards and fall back to cold hard cash? The answer is a simple No. Though misuse of credit cards may land you in financial troubles or even bankruptcy, they do come with benefits too. For example, you could actually save a few dollars with the discount schemes provided or pay for your meals when you are cash strapped in a foreign land. The secret is for you to amplify the advantages of the card and mute the disadvantages.

So how do you do that?

The 3 Golden Rules

1. Never swipe out of convenience. Always ask yourself if you really need the item. Or are you simply buying on impulse? Personally, I wouldn't buy the item on my first visit, especially big ticket items. I would wait for a week or so and see if I still want that item. Most of the time, I simply forgot about it or simply too lazy to travel back to that same shop to make the purchase. It works for me all the time. Try it out.

2. Make full use of the discounts, but never buy something just because you have a discount. Only use the discount when you need to buy something, not the other way round.

3. Try to keep to one or two credit cards at most. It is simpler to track your spending, plus you consolidate all your points into just two cards (so you get to exchange for that decent looking vacuum cleaner) and you would not forget to pay your credit card bills and end up with hefty fines and interests.

Credit cards are only plastic cards with a magnetic strip at the back. They do not have the power to drive you to debts. You are the one who approved of all your debts by frivolously leaving your signature on clusters of paper. Think about your financial status before you sign anything from now on!

When your next credit card bill arrives, make sure it doesn't make you sigh.. If it does, make sure you are heaving a sigh of relief, not remorse.

How to use eye shadow like the stars

Most people feel they have some basic flaws with their appearance, and the truth is that the stars are no exception. Beauties like Angelina Jolie and Beyonce Knowles make no secret of their use of various make-up styles to enhance their appearance, and both of these ladies make splendid use of eye shadow. Eye shadow is designed to attract attention to a person’s eyes (yes, male movie stars use it too!) and at the same time enhances the appearance of the eyes by detracting attention from or covering up minor flaws. Here are some tips on how to apply eye shadow in order that it fixes some of the flaws you may believe are there.

To maximize the effect of your eye shadow, you will want to make sure that people are aware that you have it on. Some beauty experts suggest “priming” your eyes before applying the shadow. The eye lids are a lighter shade than the skin on the rest of the face, due mainly to their lessened exposure to light overt the course of a lifetime. A layer of bone shadow over your lids will even up the coloring with the rest of the face, and any color you apply on top of that will tend to stand out.

Next, experiment with several shades before you decide on the right one for you. A bronze colored eye shadow works for most eyes, and other shades will depend on the color of your own eyes. Blue eyes, for example, will be best complemented with a deeper shade of blue (this will make your own eye color pop out and look extra blue), taupe, violet, or gray. Lighter shades and contrasts work great for brown eyes, while green eyes are bedazzling with the similar shades that are slightly deeper.

Don’t be afraid to try a funky look with your eye shadow. Silvery, sparkly colors can look great and will have an undeniably exotic appeal. Try to match your scheme with your eye color or outfit, and make sure you get some good feedback before trying it out in public!

Finally, there are several techniques that can be used in order to correct the minor flaws you may see in the appearance of your eyes. If you think your eyes are too far apart, you can make them appear closer together by emphasizing the inner corner of your eye. Put more shadow on this area and blend it outwards towards the rest of the eye. Eyes that are too close together can gain the impression of distance by darkening the outer edges of your eye and keeping the inner corners light. Again, make sure to blend the colors so that the emphasis is not apparent. If you want your eyes to look bigger, use a lighter color of eye shadow.

Eye shadow is a great way to change your appearance with a multi-use product that does not cost too much and whose application can be mastered by most individuals. Keep you eyes noticeable, and you will be noticed!

Courtroom fea but how does fea work

Many legal professionals are exposed to Finite Element Analysis (FEA) in the courtroom. Having a fundamental understanding of how the method works can help an attorney (i) recognize when FEA can strengthen a case, (ii) choose a capable expert and (iii) develop meaningful challenges to the opposition's expert. As discussed in the last issue of Courtroom FEA, if a loss, injury or death is due to something bending or breaking, FEA can help identify the cause of failure and hence the responsible party. But how does it work?

Divide and conquer.

But first, let's back up and discuss what is being conquered. FEA is applied to many types of problems, such as temperatures in consumer electronics, airflow around aircraft, and magnetic fields in electric motors. By far the most common application is structural FEA -- determining how a solid body responds to various forces. The structural problem amounts to writing down some "governing equations" that describe the material and how it behaves, and then solving those equations for the physical part being analyzed subject to how it is held and loaded. This can be done on paper for some simple part shapes. The resulting "closed form solution" is another equation that provides the answer in terms of the basic variables, such as the part's dimensions.

But reality intervenes, and most parts are too complicated to solve in closed form. FEA comes to the rescue by providing a "numerical solution" for each individual problem. This is a large gathering of numbers approximating the desired answers, such as displacements and stresses, across the part. But each solution is unique to a specific case; there is no simple answer in equation form.

Now then, how does FEA divide and conquer the problem to provide the numerical solution? The answer lies in the name, "Finite Element Analysis".

"Analysis" is obvious: the part is being analyzed under certain conditions.

"Element" describes a small section of the part. In fact, the governing equations mentioned above can generally be derived by considering a small section, writing the equations for what's happening in that section, and then mathematically allowing the size of the section to become infinitesimal, or infinitely small. In FEA, each section is called an "element", and the elements are not made infinitely small.

"Finite", then, refers to the countable number of elements used to represent the structure. The elements are of finite, measurable size. A computer can handle the computations on this finite number of elements.

Each element acts on its neighboring elements. FEA assembles the equations from all the elements into one large matrix equation, and the computer is used to determine the numerical solution. A key concept of FEA is this: if the elements are made small enough and are spread advantageously across the part, the numerical solution can closely approximate reality.

An experienced analyst can prepare the finite element model such that it accurately predicts the part's behavior, and can ensure that the solution algorithms do not interject significant errors. Results from the less-experienced are often suspect, and identifying them as so can be a tremendous advantage in the courtroom.