Sunday, 31 January 2010

Spa: New Trends In 2010

By Andrea Walker

It's given - the spa is a billion-dollar industry and growing. And nothing can stop that. Sometime in November this year, the International Spa Association (ISPA) published its 2010 Trend Watch report, identifying many fascinating craze for spas in 2010:

Customer Service. Nothing beats a good customer service! You could give the most expensive spa treatment, but when the client isn't satisfied with her spa experience, it's equivalent to nothing. "In fact, 87 percent of ISPA member spas are utilising customer feedback mechanisms to ensure they're exceeding consumers' needs..." Spas should adopt better means then to hand the clients a more gratifying spa experience.

Spa Sampling Menus. This is a primary way to allow spa clients get a sort of "preview" of the various treatments thatthey are planning to try on.

Spa Partnerships. This lets spas to broaden their reach by building partnerships with local businesses that may also gain from them. By doing so, spas are able to advance their business and grow the number of clients by bringing the spa closer to the clients. Different strategies can be tried on like discounted prices with partner hotels or resorts. And who doesn't like a bargain?

Social Media. From tweeting to blogging, and everything in between, it's forecasted that in 2010 social media will continue to be influential in helping spa-goers make decision from what to where of spa. Needless to say, spas should take advantage of social media to gain clients.

Beauty Rest. Not yet very ordinary, but an enticing option like this can certainly grow the number of spa visits. This merely means making that spare time at the spa to catch some forty winks while enjoying a relaxing massage. Or rather more appealing is to just book a room in a spa heavy with calming aroma to get more sleep.

These are just few of the exciting trends that the spa industry is eyeballing for 2010. Now, there are a lot of better things to be excited to for your 2010 spa visits.

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Installing A Home Security Camera

By Pierre Levingston

Adding a security camera to your home or business can be a great asset. A security camera can add another level of safety to help with the security of your home. Cameras come in a variety of fashions and sizes.

Security cameras can be placed outside and inside your home. They are a great protection against burglaries or vandalism that can happen. Cameras easily serve you in more ways than one.

Security cameras can be a great protection to you and your family. They can be placed outside your home to view your property, and also inside your home. Cameras can serve you in more than one way.

Cameras are also handy in case a burglar does enter your home. Most security cameras have options to record the happenings around your home. These recordings can be helpful for police to identify the culprit.

Cameras can be helpful in case a burglary does take place. If a burglar does enter your home, your recordings on your camera can help. The recordings off of the cameras can help the police identify the culprit.

Security cameras also work great for monitoring purposes inside your home. For example, many parents choose to use cameras as an extra precaution when their children are being watched by outside help. Most States require that you make those around you aware that a camera is recording things inside your home.

Security cameras can be great for monitoring purposes inside your home as well. For example, if your children have a nanny you can make sure they are treating your children respectfully. Most States require residents to alert those who enter their home that a video is recording inside, however, so be certain to check on that in your State.

Cameras can also be used to monitor older children who are left at home alone. Parents can check in on them from time to time. Cameras can also help parents monitor their children's activities while the children are outside playing and the parents are inside making dinner.

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Killer Ideas You Can Use Today With Twitter Real Estate On My Cell Phone

By Mark Bradley

The number of people who are using Twitter real estate is increasing because they found that making blog on Twitter which talks about your own real estate business can really give them the satisfying results you always wanted. You should also grab the chance to become successful in your business by just promoting it through your tweet so that many people will follow your site.

Today, the web can be used not only when you do your research but also in the marketing of your business. With Twitter real estate, your company can be visible to the eyes of many people in all parts of the world. Blogs are very important in informing other people about the progress of your business. Because there are more and more social networking sites being built, you can have the chance to take advantage of your blogs. Many real estate professionals are making their real estate marketing with blogs because they find it more convenient.

Promoting Twitter real estate is fast and easy. It will help you to create more traffic by tweeting what is new to your real state business. Well, this technology will benefit you more if you know how to make real estate blog for marketing purposes. If you have an account in Twitter, you can post your blogs on your page. Your followers who visit your page regularly will be updated about your business. From that, information about your real state business can be transferred from one person to another. Can you imagine now how you will have more clients?

What if you are too busy and you do not have much time to promote your Twitter real estate through your computer? Well don?t you worry too much because there is a very good alternative for you to create your real estate online marketing blog without using your computer. Now it is very possible to use Twitter on your cell phone. Because Twitter limits you to tweet in using only 140 characters, sending your tweets through your cell phone is quite well.

Your cell phone can really do something big for your Twitter real estate. This way you can make sure that you can inform other people on what is new to your company by sending your real estate internet marketing blog though texting. Thus, you no longer need to wait for you to be back on your office and sit in front of your computer before you can share the latest news about your business. Tweeting now will become very much easier for you.

There are different ways for you to have the chance to use twitter in your phone. But first you should choose the right software that will allow you to tweet on Twitter real estate which suits your cell phone. If you have a cell phone with a web browser, all you have to do is to http://m.twitter.com and start writing your tweet and send it through your mobile phone. You do not have to worry to be left out because you can also read some messages from the other user using your phone.

Another way is for you to use Flurry which is a kind of mobile mail service. You have to download it first on your phone. After downloading, you can go to the SMS feature of your phone and start creating your real estate blogs marketing purposes. Make sure that your phone has a RSS feeds so that you can use Twitter real estate.

So having your own cell phone is not just a mere want. If you are in the real estate industry, your cell phone can do you a lot of favor in making update in your Twitter real estate. As a result, you no longer need a large amount of budget in the promotion of your company.

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How To keep Your Job And Achieve A Distance Learning Education At The Same Time

By Mary Jackson

Distance learning students and those pursuing online degree programs seem to enjoy the best of everything. They get their education without actually needing to attend classes physically, and at the same time are able to keep their jobs and get a paycheck. In fact, this is one of the more prominent distance learning benefits that attract many students to make this their choice of education. In addition to that, distance learning students also gain the advantage of flexibility where they are able to study at their own pace without adhering to fixed class schedules.

However, amidst these benefits, distance learning requires a lot of discipline and motivation from students. When we are juggling between a job and studies, it is very easy to lose track of your priorities and fail to keep up to mark. Moreover, distance learning students do not have the advantage of getting their learning drive renewed whenever they interact with lecturers or peers in classes.

So, how can a distance learner overcome the challenges of shuffling work, school, and family? Creating and sticking to a schedule is the only way to survive and succeed. The trick is to apportion a 24 hour day to include enough time for the family, work, and school responsibilities. Thus, it is very important to let the family in on the plan, and when you should not be disturbed. Again, do not give into the temptation to deviate from the plan.

Getting yourself motivated is also essential towards distance learning education success. One of the ways to do this is to stay in contact with your classmates. With the internet today, it is often easy to stay in touch through email, instant messenger as well as internet phone. Discussing projects or assignments with your teammates will help you stay on track and keeps you and your teammates accountable for one another.

Setting goals and rewarding yourself when you attain them are great self-motivating habits. Start by drawing a chart on the milestones that you need to reach in order to complete your course. Strike out each goal as you complete them and reward yourself accordingly. There is a certain satisfaction whenever we see ourselves progressing and this becomes a motivating force for us to face the next hurdle.

Finally, make sure to have a quiet, undisturbed place to study. It is extremely easy to be distracted by the television, a ringing phone, or normal family activities in the household. If necessary, lock yourself in a quiet room equipped with a comfortable chair, a good desk or table, and ample space to create a productive learning environment.

In short, successful completion of a distance learning education is totally dependent on good study habits and the determination of the individual to reach the pre-determined goal. Like any degree program, it takes old fashioned hard work, discipline, and the intrinsic motivation to succeed.

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The Need For Debt Consolidation, Debt Help And Debt Advice Explained.

By Liz Moir

There are always times off and on when people feel strapped financially.

The current credit crisis has lead to a majority of people struggling more than at any other time, and it is hard to comprehend that so many people are labouring with financial woes due to reckless lending of lenders which started in America.

The credit crisis originated in The United States with the lax and extremely reckless lending in the bank and building societies underwriting criteria leading to a mountain of toxic debts by lending loans and mortgages to borrowers who could not afford to make repayment to their debts.

The main fault with the lending criteria was that loans and mortgages both to the private and business sectors were granted based on pure self declarations of earnings.

This applied to both private and business customers and many increased their earnings to for example obtain a mortgage to buy the home of their dreams or to purchase a business that they had no experience to run correctly and make an acceptable profit.

These customers defaulted on their payments and the banks struggled for their very survival and sometimes they did not manage.

After the USA the financial chaos spread to other countries across the globe including to the UK which saw the total collapse of the Northern Rock.

This all lead to the financial crisis spreading across the industrial board, and people who previously appeared to be in secure redundancy proof jobs even experienced the loss of their employment.

Certain sectors of industry suffered more than others, and one type of employment particularly badly affected was of course the banking sector itself.

Manufacturing industries were badly hit, and those lucky enough to retain their jobs had their working hours cut causing a fall in their wages.

Because of the loss of jobs and earnings more people now require consolidation of their debts or debt advice to help them rearrange their financial outgoings, and it is important to enquire about debt advice sooner rather than later.

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Saturday, 30 January 2010

Buddhist Funeral Traditions And Their Significances

By June Parks

The fundamental teachings of the Buddha form the core of the Buddhist religion which is practiced in many countries in the globe today. This religion involves love & mercy for mankind and realization of the Ultimate Truth.

Buddhist funerals show these teachings of Buddhism. When a Buddhist person dies, in order to guarantee that their soul gets to a higher level in the next life, mandatory rites should be observed. To guarantee the deceased's deliverance from this birth and bidding them the best for their next life, prayers are done to invoke the good energies of the dead.

A traditional ablution of the deceased marks the beginning of the Buddhist funeral rites. Then comes the stage of reading out from religious texts by the priests, thereby guiding the soul to the path of spiritual freedom. The teachings of Lord Buddha, which talk about the value of practising virtue and compassion in daily life, are read aloud. Meanwhile, the deceased is prepared for the final rites. The relatives generally keep some money in the casket along with the deceased. This is believed to help the dead person cross the River of Three Hells to reach his destination.

Then the friends and relatives pay their last respects to the dead person as the casket is put at the altar. Visitors are required to pray for the deceased and the family and relatives give their condolences. The priests performing the rites keep chanting the sutras as the proceedings move on. Once the recital is complete, people bow before the altar to pay their final regards. After the ceremony, the family members of the departed distribute gifts to the attendees for sharing their grief.

Once these rituals are completed, the family members can decide to either cremate or burry the deceased according to their family beliefs. The rites and rituals are a means of bringing peace to the family of the deceased as they know their prayers are aimed at elevating the status of the departed in his life after death.

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Why Should We Remortgage Our Own Properties?

By Kyle John

With the state of the worlds economy the way it is, there are a lot of ways that people are seeking to either make or save money. One of these is to remortgage your property and to find some improved rates from elsewhere or with your existing lender. Here are some of the reasons why you would to this.

The first reason to consider is that you will be able to save money by remortgaging your home. If you are only paying on a standard variable rate then you may well find that there are better rates out there, either from your current lender or elsewhere. If you are able to make this switch you will be able to lessen the installments or pay off your mortgage quicker.

Secondly, by switching your mortgage you may be able to raise money. If you property goes up in value or the income you are earning rises then you may be able to raise you mortgage in order to be able to raise money in order to pay for something costly, such as a child's wedding.

If you are thinking about moving house in order to get a little bit of extra space, but are very fond of your home then you might also consider adding an extension to the house rather than move altogether. This can be cheaper and can be done through a remortgage.

Last of all, you can also do this in order to consolidate your debts. By remortgaging you house you may be able to release some equity from the house which will allow you to pay off other debts such as loads and large credit card bills. This may be a good idea if you find that the rates on these borrowings are a lot higher than those of your mortgage, so this can help you to save money.

These are four main reason why you might want to remortgage your property.

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Picking A Right Cabinet Hardware

By Kevin Stevens

Cabinet hardware is a very important part of a cabinet so has to be very carefully picked. First you have to know your own requirements like where the cabinet is located? If it is for a specific room which has a theme you can work around theme only and not go out of sync. Just by keeping few basic things in mind you can always narrow done your search.

Experiment and be creative by picking the non-traditional ones for your bar cabinets. For more natural one especially for the wooden ones cabinet hardware like ironwork and brass finished adds on the classy touch. If you choose to make the cabinet look antique, you can also opt for antique brass or antique copper cabinet hardware.

The cabinet hardware come is different shape and sizes and they should accentuate the whole look without making it look odd. Being creative is good but overdoing it can be disastrous. Giving a professional touch to the cabinet will change the whole look. Mixing and matching sometimes spoils the whole look, so being conservative also helps sometime. A good cabinet hardware will always compliment the furniture or the cabinet.

The cost can vary depending on various factors like the shape, size, and usage. It accessories the whole look of the cabinet. The style and design enhances the look of the furniture making it unique. Cabinet hardware not only enhances the look but is also a very vital part of the cabinet.

Another key point that cannot be ignored is the maintenance of the cabinet. Keep it clean by using the specified cleaner rather than using the regular grocery store cleaner. Use a soft brush to avoid scratches on the furniture. Polishing the metal hardware and making it completely dry by wiping it with a piece of soft cloth is a good practice. It not only keeps the product new for long but also helps in retaining its shine. Be careful in picking the right cleaner as some have strong chemical init which can be harsh on the cabinet.

Cabinet hardware have small screws attached to it which can be easily lost in the process of cleaning if you unscrew it to clean the furniture, be careful to place them securely. Some old wood are tarnished to use a tarnish remover cleaner instead of the regular one as it will yield better results.

Your cabinet hardware should complement the furniture or the cabinet. You will be spending the money so it is better that it is well researched and thought of rather than just picking the first thing you come across. Going for a practical and nicely design hardware which perfectly does the work it is meant for is a good buy.

Cabinet hardware is a very important part of a cabinet as it changes the whole look of the cabinet. So keeping that in mind you should choose the one that perfectly goes with the theme and not look odd.

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2 Carat Diamond Engagement Ring

By Alice Sy

Engagement is one of the occasions that a woman longs to celebrate with her loved one because it is here that she feels how she is valued and loved as a woman, and it gives her the pleasure of being given the gift of love, both in material and in acts.

Let your fianc feel how much you are willing to spend to have a lifetime with her with an engagement ring that will reflect on the love that you have and how you value her like a precious jewel, with of course without much of a cost.

And so a 2 carat diamond engagement ring is the right engagement ring to the woman who is simple yet so elegant in her ways. It is not too big and not too small, which can be a good factor to the ring since the beauty will not only focus on the diamond alone but in the totality of the engagement ring as well.

The 2 carat diamond engagement ring allows you to choose from the wide array of bands where it is attached and so the value of the engagement ring does not lie only on the diamond but also to the band.

One of the popular 2 carat diamond engagement rings that are being sold in the jewelry is the one that has a--K carat white gold. This ring has been an attention-seeker because of its simple nature. It is not too showy in the sense but a head turner in a way.

You may also add emphasis to this diamond engagement ring by choosing the cut that will make it appear bigger and unique. This is one of the wisest ways on how to choose the right diamond engagement ring without you investing much of your money.

So challenge yourself to get a 2 carat diamond engagement ring that will describe your fiance well and will describe and tell the kind of love that you have in store for her for a lifetime.

The 2 carat diamond engagement rings simplicity will balance the love that you have in action and in how you feel for her. Then the ring will not draw much attention on the material value but on the thought that you have put into the ring that made it very special and will remind of the lifetime that you have to bring.

So what can a two in a stone do in a lifetime? A vow that you will love and cherish her forever.

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How To Use Alternative Medicine For High Blood Pressure

By Ray Jennings

There's a lot of interest in alternative cures for hypertension nowadays. This is comprehensible, since most regular drugs for high blood pressure have undesirable side effects. These side-effects often include sleepiness, diminished judgment ( occasionally leading to significant accidents ), revulsion and allergic responses. Most alternative medicines for high blood pressure provide respite from the difficulty without these unwelcome effects.

MAny of us won't suffer symptoms that suggest we have high blood pressure. Properly known as raised blood pressure, the issue manifests itself quite unnoticed initially. Stress can cause hypertension, but stress, hysteria and tension aren't the same as hypertension. A doctor will diagnose high blood pressure when the patient's systolic blood pressure crosses 240 mmHg. At the same time, diastolic blood pressure may go above 120 mmHg. If both these finding happen at the same time, there isn't any room for doubt.

When the patient experiences symptoms like repeated headaches, he or she could have malignant hypertension. This can lead to a number of issues, including kidney failure. Usually, high blood pressure is a serious issue to patients with diabetes. This is because diabetes has a tendency to weaken the walls of the heart and arteries. In such a case, elevated blood pressure can turn out to be a fatal complication.

High blood pressure isn't a sickness in itself, but it can lead to some organ damage. Folks with hypertension are very subject to strokes, coronaries, issues with the eye's retinas and kidney disease. Pregnant ladies can certainly not afford to ignore hypertension as it often leads to several complications .

Patients with elevated blood pressure must modify their lifestyles. Those that are fat have to start exercising frequently. They must also eliminate excess salt from their diets and include masses of fruit, nuts and green veg. If they live stressed lives, they have to get rid of the stress-inducing factors. Doing this can sometimes include moving out of a very loud neighborhood and changing to a less tough job. Additionally, the patient will probably have to take certain antihypertensive medication.

It is possible to live a full and functional life with hypertension without pharmacological medicines. For example, many patients have found considerable relief by utilizing hawthorn. Studies have shown that a major percentage of patients with type 2 diabetes using hawthorn for nearly sixteen weeks displayed a reduction in their mean diastolic blood pressure.

Fish oil is also advantageous for patients with elevated blood pressure. Fish oil contains DHA ( docohexaenoic acid ), which lowers high blood pressure in most cases. Garlic is a conventional high blood pressure defensive, and is extraordinarily effective because of its cholesterol-lowering properties.

Folic acid intake is also handy because this component from the vitamin B group lowers elevated homocysteine levels. Many doctors also suggest adopting a diet loaded in calcium, potassium and magnesium. In addition, patients with high blood pressure experience significant relief by practicing yoga, biofeedback and other non-medical stress-reducing cures.

Self-treatment of hypertension with alternative drugs are popular but can be deadly if done ignorantly. Alternative drugs and herbal medicine are not always safe to use by newbies. To illustrate this point - there are certain herbal compounds that patients of high blood pressure must avoid strictly. These include licorice, Ephedra, Asian Ginseng and essential oil of Rosemary.

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Friday, 29 January 2010

Factors To Consider Before Buying Carbon Offset

By Jennifer Bennett

As people are becoming aware of the devastating effects of global warming on the environment, methods like carbon offset and carbon credits are gaining wide acceptance throughout the world as effective tools for environment protection.

If you have been responsible for pollution and now want to set things right, then you can buy an amount of carbon offset equivalent to your total amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Purchasing a carbon offset means that the amount you spend will be poured into projects such as wind farms that produce clean energy and lower emissions.

Before buying a carbon offset, it will be a good idea to recognize what causes the release of greenhouse gases in your daily life. When people drive their cars, fly in airplanes, use home appliances like heaters or air conditioners, they are causing carbon emissions.

Once you have listed out all these actions, you must think of which of those you can lessen or completely get rid of. Such a goal oriented approach would reduce the adverse effects that you bring on the environment. You can contribute to a greener environment by insulating your house when making use of heating or cooling appliances, driving only as much as necessary and by using energy efficient lights in your home.

After you have taken into account all the areas where you can make changes, you must start calculating your carbon footprint, which will be the total emissions arising from all your remaining actions. When it comes to diverse activities, no two methods of emission calculation are identical, but you can take help of many online calculators made for the objective.

Carbon offset providers counterbalance carbon emission from your activities by lowering emissions in any part of the world through your buying of offset. There are different ways of lowering emissions and you can pick a project from the ones provided by the offset providers for your investment. But you need to be careful while making your choice. To make sure that your money will be used properly you should only select projects with sound credentials. Schemes that have passed quality tests conducted by authentic certifying organizations are the best ones to put money in, as they bear the seal of genuineness and can be relied upon.

Finally, you should gather enough information on the subject from different sources. It will help you find out who the most authentic offset providers are, what kind of projects are most appropriate for an investment, and how to monitor the progress of the project that you have put your money in.

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Steps Towards Having A Successful Wedding Photography

By Brina Anderson

Aside from the person who actually conducts your wedding ceremony, possibly the most important element of your wedding is the wedding photographer. This individual has the responsibility of recording your important day and endeavoring to catch every memory on film. It is very important that you see first the work of different photographers so you will be able to choose the best one whose style and vision matches what you would like to have on your wedding day.

In order for a smooth running photo session, following are some tips:

1. Construct a list of all of the photos you desire. Name exactly what you want! State exactly who you want pictures of, and at what point and in what setting. It is important to determine the amount of coverage you prefer as well. The wedding day can be segmented into four photographic sessions which are: the pre-wedding photos, the ceremony, the organized set shots or location shoot, and the reception.

2. Tell them what you want! Instruct people where to go and when to be at the photo shoot. Notify them in advance about what to wear, where they need to be, and when they need to be there.

3. Ensure that the wedding photographer comprehends all your requirements which should be agreed to in writing and signed by both parties.

4. Respect the process. Your wedding day is your special day. However, if you are feeling stressed, try to put yourself in the photographer's shoes as he tries to assemble all the necessary people and elements for a photo. Members of the bridal party, friends, relatives, family members -- everyone mingling, chatting and getting in the way.

You can make the entire process smooth for all involved and ease your mind, if you follow the steps above. You can ensure that the ceremony commences according to schedule and that every person goes to the reception before the food disappears! Your wedding pictures will be great if you are considerate of you wedding photographer, since his job is to photograph the memories you are making on your wedding day.

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Use Interior Design To Revitalize Your Home

By Nelly Shea

A house becomes your home only after it is designed according to your tastes and reflects your personality. Many people who are artistic give interior designing a go but often fail because they are always bothered about getting it wrong.

On the other hand, if you make use of an interior designer for renovation or for designing your new house, then you might end up worrying about giving a freehand to a stranger in such critical decisions. These two positions can be merged by making up your mind about what you would like to have and then getting professional help.

Here are some guidelines, which can simplify the difficult but significant job of choosing an interior designer. Hire a person who is an established interior designer and has experience and reliability.

Express your preferences to the designer when you meet him for the first time. A good interior designer will suggest some choices to you, which will give you an idea about his suitability for the task. Some other factors that can help you choose your interior designer are client references, samples of past work, knowledge level etc.

Even if you take up the task of renovation and interior design of your house by yourself, you should take care of some key things. Firstly, you must be totally confident about the kind of interiors you would like for your house. Once you are done with that, you can take help from magazines, TV, or other sources to ascertain the kind of furniture and other articles that are required, and whether they will fit within your finances. Once you are done collecting all the objects, all that is required is to organize them according to your pre-decided layout.

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Getting The Photography Right On Your Special Day

By Bruce Wong

The two most important people on a wedding day are, certainly the wedding couple. An excellent idea would be to isolate the couple from the ongoing celebrations so that the photographer can capture the beautiful intimate moments between them and create some everlasting portraits This helps the couple to get away from the delight of their wedding as well.

The portrait session will give the photographer enough time to spend with the wedding couple to capture the pictures. On the wedding day it doesn't always happen because it is rare to have time on the actual day of the wedding. The time taken for pictures can well vary from an hour to no time at all. It can take up to an hour for the photographer to take the pictures.

When is the best time to take aside the bride and groom for some quality time with the photographer?

Since the couple will still look fresh, most photographers believe that the window before the reception is suitable for the portraits.

Sometimes the bride and groom would want to start the portrait shoot even before the ceremony says Bradley Hanson, award winning photographer. He generally starts by photographing the bride getting ready in such events.

Right after the newly-weds have exchanged vows is a great time for some photographers to have their portraits done, since they are still fill with all of the emotions.

For the perfect actual day session to begin, the newly-weds should set aside some time to spend with the photographer. Finding a polite way to lose the relatives and guests is sometimes hard but is worth the beautiful moments they will cherish for a lifetime.

Too many people trying to take pictures of the newly-weds and crying for attention may very well ruin a good portrait session on the wedding day. So the couple isn't distracted by anyone the photographer will choose to have the couple alone.

Most newly-weds start feeling uncomfortable before the camera when the portrait shoot is going to take place, says Shawna Herring, award winning photographer. To help the couple forget the camera is there, the experienced photographer will try talking to the couple about things other then the portrait shoot.

It is also recommended to choose a day before or after the wedding for the photo shoot and go with the photographer to a different location. This really helps loosen up the bride and groom since it helps build a comfortable relationship with the photographer. In a short time, the couple may even forget the existence of the camera.

There are thousands of reasons why the photographer might not achieve time alone with the wedding couple. The bride and the groom should work together with the photographer to find some alone time so that a really creative portrait session is achieved.

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The Mapes Hotel: Lost Landmark Of Northern Nevada History

By Ross Everett

The Mapes Hotel in Reno, Nevada met its demise on Superbowl Sunday of 2000 when 75 pounds of explosives packed inside the structure's support columns brought it to the ground. The controlled demolition came despite years of effort by a number of groups within the community to preserve the building with lawsuits, redevelopment proposals, and grass roots lobbying efforts. The National Turst for Historic Preservation even took up the cause, challenging the destruction in a lawsuit that eventually reached the Nevada Supreme Court.

While the efficacy and justification of demolishing the Mapes is debatable, one thing that is not is the glorious history of the hotel. It was built in'47, and signaled the start of the modern era of casino gambling. Despite the notoriety of Bugsy Siegel and the Flamingo in Las Vegas, it was the Mapes that became the first building in the nation to have a hotel, casino and live entertainment under one roof. It also became the hotel of choice for celebrities staying in Northern Nevada. Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe stayed at The Mapes during the filming of 'The Misfits'. Joseph McCarthy, America's famed anti-Communist crusader, admitted to a reporter over cocktails in the Mapes Lounge that he really didn't have a list of Communists in the US despite his frequent and vitriolic insistence to the contrary.

In the 50s and 60s it became, along with Lake Tahoes Cal-Neva Lodge the place to be seen in Northern Nevada. The top floor, window-walled Sky Room showcased performances by the legends: Sinatra, Louis Prima, Mae West, Milton Berle, Sammy Davis, Jr., and the Marx Brothers among others. Subsequent years were not kind to downtown Reno but the Mapes prospered during the 60's and 70's. The hotel finally closed in'82, due more to financial difficulties experienced by the Mapes family caused by one of their other Northern Nevada gaming properties than anything else.

Reno never experienced the massive growth that occurred in Las Vegas and southern Nevada, and for that reason the destruction of the Mapes is more open to debate than the hotel demolitions to the south. Even the demolition of The Sands--perhaps the most historically significant casino in the state--is hard to argue against given the inability of such a small property to compete in the current Las Vegas marketplace and in light of the value of the mid-strip real estate. The old properties may have historic value to pop culture historians, but their survival doesn't make economic sense. They're simply 'analog players in a digital world'.

That's not the case in Reno, where vacant land and/or buildings ripe for redevelopment are abundant downtown and in the other casino areas of the city. The official reason that the Mapes had to come down was that the city needed the land to expand its vision for downtown redevelopment. While this is certainly a much needed effort, to suggest that the existence of the Mapes was a barrier is absurd. In fact, many of the proposals rejected by the city would have gone a long way to enhance the revitalization of downtown Reno and included artists lofts, office space and other mixed used properties. Despite receiving a number of viable concepts for the Mapes Building, the City Redevelopment Authority rejected all of them and the Mapes was destined for demolition.

The role of the City Redevelopment Authority was questioned throughout the process. Overlooking the Truckee River, the hotel was on a prime location between the downtown casino area and the riverfront district. Back in'96, the city of Reno purchased the hotel and began entertaining proposals for renovation and redevelopment. A number of sound financial proposals were presented that would preserve the integrity of the structure including condominiums, office space, and perhaps most viable, upscale senior apartments. Oddly, all of these proposals were turned down by the citys Redevelopment Agency which eventually led to the demolition of the structure.

Following the 2000 demolition, the lot remained vacant for over a year until a temporary ice skating rink was hastily constructed the following winter. The property has been improved and the rink is now permanent which, while not in itself a bad use for the land, further calls into question the efficacy of demolishing the structure. It would appear that the city had no clue what to do with the land, but for whatever reason wanted the building brought down. This has led to all sorts of conspiracy theories, from the City Development Agency having financial incentive to raze the hotel to rumors that the building was haunted and was destroyed to keep the Reno area from being overrun with paranormal activity. Whatever the reason for the decision, the city of Reno has lost a beautiful art deco treasure that played a significant part in the economic growth of the state.

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Steelers Send Vikings To First Defeat Of Season

By Ross Everett

Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings are undefeated no more. The Pittsburgh Steelers' used a couple of big plays from their defense in the fourth quarter to break open a close game and defeat the Vikings by a final score of 27-17. Favre put up decent yardage in the loss, throwing for 334 yards but had no touchdowns and an interception. The defending Superbowl Champion Steelers improved to 5-2, while the Vikings are now 6-1.

NFL pointspread players who backed the Steelers as -6 home favorites were rewarded with the cover. Pittsburgh had only covered one of their first six games heading into the contest, and the win improved their record against the number to 2-5. Minnesota dropped to 4-3 against the spread with the setback. The 44 points scored went UNDER the posted total of 46'. It was only the Vikings' second UNDER of the season against five OVERS, while the Steelers have gone OVER in four of their seven games.

The Steelers largely shut down Minnesota's rushing game, holding Adrian Peterson to 69 yards. Pittsburgh safety Ryan Clark underscored his team's dominance against the run:

"That's the biggest point of the game. You have the best running back in the world and you don't give it to him. They're saying they can't beat us running, and that's a major statement when you have the guy they have back there."

Favre gave a mealy mouthed justification for the loss in his postgame interview:

"There were a lot of what ifs, a lot of reasons we didn't win. The red zone was one of them. They're physical, and they were as good as we thought they'd be. ... When I came here and looked at our schedule and saw the Steelers game, I went, 'Oh-h-h.' "

Favre has only thrown three interceptions in a Vikings' uniform, but #3 was a costly one as it was returned by Steelers' Keyaron Fox for a touchdown to put the game out of reach as Minnesota was driving for a potential game tying field goal. Afterwards, Fox recalled the play:

"Brett tried to force it in there and the running back bobbled it and slipped out of his hands and it fell into my lap. I had just run across the field after Peterson and I was winded, so it felt like it was 100-plus yards."

The Vikings now face another big game next week as they head to Favre's old stomping grounds in Green Bay for a battle with the Packers. It'll be Favre's first appearance at his old home in an enemy uniform. The Vikings are a +3 road underdog with the total set at 48. The Vikings will then have a bye weekend before hosting the lowly Detroit Lions on November 15. Pittsburgh will enjoy a bye week this week before returning to action on Monday, November 9th facing the Denver Broncos on the road.

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Thursday, 28 January 2010

Using The Interior Design To Creat A Relaxed Atmosphere

By Lebron Bryant

More and more people choose the relative cheap but not comforatable hotels for their rest during trips . Many hotel interior designs are not really very good and do not make the occupants of their rooms feel very welcome and at home.

According to experts, many hotel interior designs are too impersonal and functional that nobody can really consider them to be a home away from home. If you are one of those hotel owners who would like to make your guests feel comfortable, you might want to try a homey hotel interior design to make your hotel appealing to all kinds of travelers.

Planning You Dcor

According to experts, good hotel interior design stimulates the feeling of satisfaction on the part of the guest. The more comfortable the guest feels inside his or her hotel room, the more he or she will be able to appreciate the quality of the service of the hotel and the higher the probability that he will return. The secret to making the guest comfortable is to design the hotel room the way you would design your own bedroom. Note that a hotel interior design that recreates the comforts of a home can be a very big success.

When recreating that homey feeling, one must pay close attention to the functionality, safety and economics involved. Note that if you are running a hotel, you need to choose a hotel interior design that could last a long time with minimum renovations and facelifts. Always bear in mind that you are in a hotel business and you need to earn a living while making your guest feels comfortable during their stay. While focusing on aesthetics, you need to make sure that you do not spend too much money in decorating your rooms.

To make sure that you do not spend too much money on your hotel interior design, ask an expert hotel interior designer to design your hotel rooms within a specific budget. Ask the expert hotel interior designer to calculate how much money is needed to make a room comfortable and make sure that you ask him or her to give you at least two alternative cost schemes.

The alternative cost scheme will be your fall back position in case the original budget becomes too much for you. Make sure that you stick to your budget as much a possible without compromising the over all look of your hotel rooms. Note that you must strike a balance between your budget and giving your hotel rooms that comfortable and safe atmosphere.

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Take Your Company Public: Anatomy of an S-1

By James Scott

Your company is growing. Now you are ready to start raising serious capital and you here the public fund raising markets. Here are the basics of your S-1 filing. Know the lingo before you hire a consultant. Because companies must adhere strictly to SEC regulations, initial prospectuses are similar in their organization. Each S-1 generally consists of the following sections:

Front Section -- An S-1 contains a small amount of information not available in a prospectus. In this first section, you can quickly find the issuing company's phone number and get a vague sense of the future offering price.

Cover/Inside Cover -- The prospectus cover outlines the general terms of the offering, including names of the underwriters, number of shares offered, and pricing information. The actual share price is absent from a prospectus until the day of the offering.

Prospectus Summary -- Here you will find a brief synopsis of the company's business and history, a modest discussion of the change in capitalization to occur as a result of the offering, and a useful summary of financial information covering the last five years, if available. If you are screening prospectuses for investment ideas, start here.

Risk Factors -- After you have read a few prospectuses, you will become familiar with the "usual suspects" in this section, including "Possible Volatility of Stock," "Limited History of operations," "Dilution," and "Dependence on Key Personnel." Nevertheless, this section is a worthwhile read to be sure that you understand the challenges facing the company's management. The discussion of competition can be sobering, but it can also provide a means to compare the value of the issuer against the financial performance and market valuation of its competitors.

Taking your company public should be an exciting and revitalizing time. Don't take unnecessary risks, hire a consulting firm who can streamline this process and deliver the results you'll need for success!

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How To Tell If Your Child Has ADD

By Daniel Faust

Are you looking for answers as to whether or not your child has ADD? If you are then it is a good thing you are reading this today. After you are done scanning every word of this reports, you will know whether or not you have ADD and then you will know what you can do to get rid of it. However, before you get started reading, I want you to understand one thing. These are just to most popular symptoms, keep in mind there are many more.

1-A student who has trouble in school

The most popular symptom of ADD is a student who is struggling in school. The reason this is the most common symptom is because this is when the grades will start to drop even when the student is giving an honest effort. It is important that you talk to the student and ask them if they are having trouble concentrating in class. If they say yes then the chances are good they may have ADD. The reason for this is because people with ADD have trouble concentrating on just a lecture.

2-Having trouble starting a task and finishing it

Another very common symptom amongst people who have ADD is not being able to finish a task in whole. You will probably notice that once they start the task, they will eventually stop in the middle of it and start another one. This is a great indicator of ADD because people with ADD have a huge imagination and get very excited when they think of a new project. Because of this they will want to start it right away. This can actually be a good thing because with an imagination like this, the person will end up being an entrepreneur.

3-The person will always answer the question before the question is finished being asked

Have you noticed that when you talk to someone with ADD, they are always quick the respond, especially when it comes to answering a question? This is because a person with ADD has a very exited brain and get's excited over the little things (another reason they become entrepreneurs).

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Maximizing Legal Recruitment Through Legal Recruiters

By Joy Hanberry

Just like an ordinary recruitment, legal recruitment is the service wherein the recruiter's services are used for a candidate lawyer to get to fill a vacant position in a law firm. Basically, legal recruiters are the ones that help you evaluate your credentials and determine what the best ways to fulfill your objectives are. They offer suggestions and tips on how you can improve your resume and make you a more competitive candidate. They also should be the one to direct you to the most appropriate firms that seek your level of qualification and/or meet your level of standards.

In the difficult world of recruitment, a young attorney might find it hard to secure the job he always wanted in the firm that he always wanted. This is one of the times when one needs a legal recruiter, to be the one to market him. It is not really hard to find an attorney recruiter. A lot of them will just call you and offer their services to you. You can also access a lot of them conveniently online. But how do you know which one is in your best interest?

First of all, an attorney recruiter should not hide anything from you and the same goes to you as well. It is very important that you are able to tell him honestly the information necessary for your application. The recruiter should be interested in knowing more information about you so that you know he is decided to help you secure your job. If you are not comfortable talking to him or sharing information with him, it is best to find other recruiters. Alternatively, you can also check his background and ask other candidates about his reputation as a recruiter. He should be honest with you and should be the one to keep you updated on the status of your application and the other steps needed for you to be hired.

Although not a requirement, candidates usually prefer legal recruiters who have been in service longer than the others. This means that they are well-experienced in this field. You should still be responsible to know other qualifications and pertinent information about him such as the areas in your place that where he has worked and the list of firms that he has worked with. You can actually ask for a list of firms where you can be eligible to work and you can check which ones belong to the top. Recruiters who have worked with the reputable firms for a number of years already may have a good reputation with the firms and the candidates as well.

You do not always need a legal recruiter if you are looking for a job. If you can apply on your own, it might be the best for you. You can also have your friend refer you to the firm he is working for. However, some firms also depend on the professional decision of the attorney recruiters and might seek their judgment in recruiting new workers. Weigh the pros and the cons for you and proceed on what you think is best.

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Cleansing Our Chakras

By Anne-Marie Laureaut

Since our chakras are directly influenced by everything around us such as the technique to regular cleansing of our chakras logically follows that we should take our environment into consideration as well. To achieve balance and harmony, the physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual aspects of our being also needs cleansing in order to heal our energy systems. This is necessary since all aspects of our existence are interconnected and are necessary to function harmoniously for healthy and vibrant living.

Following are some of the conventional chakra cleansing methods man uses for thousands of years:

1. Regularly burning incense or certain herbs and plants and allowing ourselves to soak in the smoke can negate the negative effect of obstacles to our energy points. Smudging is an age-old practice known to people of diverse cultures and civilization as an effective method if achieving balance and harmony in life.

2. Auric brushing with the hands or the aid of gemstones and crystals is one of the highly effective chakra cleansing technique. Caution must be taken however that the practice should only be performed by a well-practiced individual since there is the possibility of serious damage rather than successful healing due to the inherent powers of the gemstones and crystals employed in the process.

3. A healthy lifestyle, drinking plenty of clean water, tea and fruit juices, plus enough sleep and relaxation are highly recommended in order to maintain strong energy systems.

4. Engaging in regular breathing and physical exercises is to your advantage as it helps maintain the vitality and normal function of our chakras.

5. Relating with nature can have positive effects on your energy systems.

6. Color therapy is another effective chakra cleansing practice. Colors, with their effects on individuals can successfully be used in initiating chakra cleansing either by visualization or by looking at the real color.

7. The power of music should never be underestimated nor set aside. Music is an effective stimulant and chakra cleansing method that balances the functions of our energy points.

8. Rousing our mental power and taking on in intellectual interests are critical factors to keep up a healthy chakra. Since there are times that the mind takes rests, it needs to be exercised in order to combat the aging process. It is necessary to maintain our mental activity at all times.

9. Deep contemplation for a few minutes on a regular basis is enough to allow us to realize and understand our thoughts and emotional feelings. It is a vital way of chakra cleansing technique because it makes us cognizant and receptive to everything around us.

10. Learn to love yourself. This is important so that you can also learn to love others around you. Feelings of love and appreciation releases chemicals that benefit our body and in the same way, feelings of anger also releases chemicals that affect us negatively.

11. Becoming conscious of our emotions and responsibly expressing them to others is also fundamental to chakra cleansing and maintenance. Repressed thoughts and feelings create energy jams that can seriously affect our health and well being.

12. Introducing creativity in our daily activities helps us keep healthy and calm. Creativity is not the exclusive domain of the arts we can apply it to our everyday activities!

13. Be perceptive of the significance of your past since it can provide a deep understanding of your purpose as a person.

14. Live a life anchored on the moral values of respect, trust, decency, honesty and truthfulness. This will make you a more constructive and reliable person that others would trust.

15. Prayer is a fundamental element of our health and energy systems. It is a way to connect with a Higher Being who can help us attain emotional balance and stability. Prayers can put our minds at ease and interested to everything that surrounds us.

All the above methods of chakra cleansing are very important. However, it takes practice and a realization of your love for yourself and others before you can truly understand and use them for chakra cleansing. It is not necessary to use them all at the same time but it is recommended to start off with one or two or three and continue to add methodologies over time. Chakra cleansing is not achieved instantaneously, it is a constant and lifetime process (just like chakras are continually in motion) in order to achieve and maintain a healthy balance among all the elements involved.

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Wednesday, 27 January 2010

Collar Pins - Smart Marketing Tools For Your Company

By Albert Price

Giving a corporate gift is a step towards creating brand awareness and is an essential part of any company strategy. Judicious selection of the gift is necessary, taking into consideration the fact that a corporate gift has many roles to play in an organization's performance.

Collar Pins, by virtue of their range in terms of colour and design, apart from being attractive, suit the role ideally. New design technologies in collar pins further enhance the versatility of these pins as they can even have an organization's name engraved on them. They can also be engraved with the tagline of the organization or can be profiled like a particular product to make them more relevant.

Both employees and clients like collar pins because of their exclusive association. As corporate gifts, they satisfy both employees and customers, and hence they help in employee retention and in generating repeat business.

Price is an important factor while choosing a corporate gift. The impact of collar pins is far more than their cost and therefore they are an excellent investment. People love collar pins for their utility and they are widely worn on all occasions, unlike most other presents, which are just kept at a single place like an artefact. Collar pins are often worn by employees, and their frequent use ensures higher visibility and awareness of the brand among the public.

The companies, however, have some important points to keep in mind before they distribute collar pins as corporate gifts. Strength of collar pins is of prime importance as they are meant for regular use.

The pattern of collar pins must be such that the owner is convinced to sport them in the public to make an impression. However, if the pin is gaudy or if it lacks symmetry in design, then people may reject it. Furthermore, the convenience of use must rate high in priority at the time of designing collar pins as corporate gifts.

Corporate gifts are a great way of marketing too, as gifts to prospective customers reach a wider population and give the organization visibility among the target audience. Collar pins have all the characteristics to succeed at this purpose. They are a time-tested marketing tool and have been successfully used by organizations for ages. Companies that have not yet tried collar pins as corporate gifts must take serious note of the immense potential of this tool in developing an effective brand identity.

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Guidelines On The Value Of Giving

By Masami Sato

A new experiment is completely changing lives in the rural areas of India by bringing luminosity where there used to be darkness.

An article was published in The New York Times named, "Husk Power for India". Current, which is routinely available in the lives of most in industrialized nations, is an unimaginable luxury in out-of-the-way corners of emerging countries. What was once fodder for cattle is now used to produce current - rice husks.

Raised in the rural state of Bihar, Manoj Sinha understood what it was like to sit in darkness. Being an engineer with Intel Corporation he had all the ability to bring alive the dream of a lifetime. He led the advancement of his power equipment that produces electricity from rice husks and other farm wastes and now he trades it to hamlets across India.

Sinha is what could be called a reformative businessman because he feels business is the answer to major social problems. "Business leaders must realise that the world's poor need investments more than handouts," he says, adding, "these are customers, not victims."

The article stimulated me to think about gifting in a different way prompting me to ask myself, "what is the most ideal form of giving?" Is it learning, business transaction or aid work? There are so many methods to make a difference. One way of gifting can appear to be more effectual or maintainable than other ways based on the way it is conveyed, seen or applied.

I then came to delineate there were eight segments to giving as a way to see this. So, let me chart out the eight differences; which in effect are often 'stages' of giving as well.

Stage one: Urgency - rescuing and supporting others who are struck by natural disaster, epidemic diseases or other uncontrollable circumstances.

Stage two: Reprieve - providing reprieve from long-standing malnutrition, penury, illnesses, handicaps or inequity which otherwise would prolong or get worsened because of the lack of perception, edification or resources.

Stage three: Healing and protection - mentally, physically and emotionally. Many people carry traumas that may be invisible but severely limiting their lives. Giving the healing to release the deep-rooted pain creates more opportunities for them while giving suitable protection gives them a sense of security.

Phase four: Edification - giving better edification, awareness and skill imparting to create empowered and innovative solutions to generating resources while helping people to discover their exclusive talent to succeed.

Phase five: Innovative investment - giving a helping hand, cash or material to those who have the ability to make a change. This gets weighed many times as the materials increase and is passed on to several others who again create more out of the chances given.

Stage six: Sustainability - working together involving the people in the local environment, creating sustainable community - environmentally and socially.

Stage seven: Empowerment - empowering and inspiring the people to unleash their true potential and motivation to make a difference. In this group of giving, the aim of giving changes from 'giving to the people who are in need' to 'giving people opportunity to give to others' and to the community.

Phase eight: Caring - just doing whatever we want to do to cherish and care for others. No tactic or expected result exists in this phase of giving. 'Giving' does not even exist here in the conventional sense of the word, as there is no sense of ownership or reasoning or yearning to alter anything. This is where we do not even have to worry about anything, we give as a part of our own delightful sense of being.

What we also see is that at each of these eight phases of sharing there are many things that the giver gets in return.

One: Sense of connection

Two: Sense of comfort

Three: Relief from pain (our own)

Four: Gratification for our own understanding, talents and situations

Five: Long-term sense of contribution and satisfaction for our own life

Six: Better ambiance for our own life and for the lives of others we treasure and revere

Seven: Soul gratifying encouragement and devotion to our own purpose

Eight: Love

Giving has many planes and understandings upon the basis of the giver and the beneficiary. And the 'levels' do not explain which one is higher than the other. All are imperative.

I was fortunate to have an experience early in 2008 while travelling with a group of dedicated businessmen through India to see how we could be more useful in our giving. I was blessed to have one exceptional happening that made me think about what 'effectual giving' actually meant.

We were in a small town one day. Four of us had just called a taxi to take us to another town in the vicinities. We bargained with the driver with care as our hotel staff had told us beforehand that we could be duped since we were not local.

We chose to stop in front of the local train station for a short interval en route to the town. While the others went to use restrooms, I struck up a conversation with the driver of the taxi, standing nearby. With his limited English vocabulary and a smiling face that showed his black front teeth to advantage, he told me that he lived in the outskirts of the town and that he had a young wife and two kids who attended the local school - I began to feel a relationship with him.

I congratulated him on having such a loving family and told him that I also had two children similar ages to his. When the others returned he spontaneously invited us to come to his house for lunch. I thought it was just a friendly courtesy he wanted to show at first. However, after dropping us off in the town centre, he insisted that he would wait for us until we finished our exploration in town. And he did. I was actually quite surprised to see him still waiting at the side of the road standing next to his taxi more than hour later. We jumped back into the taxi and he zoomed off up the road to where his family lived.

When we reached there we were really quite taken aback to see how he was living. It was more or less similar (if not worse) to the standard of people dwelling in slums we had visited before. From the gleaming new taxi he was driving, who could have thought this

As the car turned into the narrow unsealed road between the hut-like houses that were constructed with crudely made concrete blocks and painted mud walls, we felt contrite about having agreed to his invitation. For a brief moment I felt mortified. "How could I have exploited the generosity of a man who didn't seem to have anything and I didn't even get any edible stuff or presents for his family", I thought.

As we went inside his house, we saw a vessel and a small stove on the floor. His timid young wife raised her head in surprise and withdrew into the small store room (a cupboard size) adjacent to it. As I took in the scene, I saw the neighbours residing next door giving her a few cups across the broken down concrete fence. The young couple did not even have sufficient teacups in their house. There was a single room fitted with one single bed and a pretty old galvanised box near it.

The driver hastily drew out three hand-woven mats from the trunk and spread them out on whatever little space there was on the mud floor and put one on the bed.

Steaming cups of tea and hot snacks arrived soon. Both his kids as well as kids from the neighbouring houses came to see us and remained at the doorway. The six of us could just squeeze into the tiny room. I was curious to know where his children were sleeping. I thought maybe they had another space somewhere. To my astonishment, he just pointed at the chest and said with his happy smile that it was their bed.

He happily told us that he was an amateur dancer in the town and showed us some plaques on the sill above the bed. Enthusiastic to show us his dancing proficiency, he ran outside all at once. From somewhere music came flowing into the tiny room. He had no apparatus for music within the house, it was coming from outside. Surprised, I looked around to see him reversing his vehicle towards the back of his house keeping the doors open with the radio of the car blaring forth!

The time moved fast (with his dancing and the many more cups of tea that followed) and very soon it was time to thank them for their great warmth and courtesy and make our move. As we got ready to leave and express our gratitude to him and his wife, he pulled out the best of all the rugs he had, and just gave it to us. It was one of the very few things he owned. It was impossible to believe that he was offering it to us.

We all respectfully refused his gift and came out saying goodbye to everyone waving at us. We got perplexed about this whole thing. Should we have offered some cash to the family as they obviously had limited means? Should we have agreed to take his wonderful gift?

As I was thinking about this life-changing experience a few days later, I thought about the refusal of his gift. He looked disappointed that we didn't take the gift. It wasn't just about saying no to the gift that stuck in my mind.

I realised that the sense of discomfort I felt was actually coming from perceiving him as less fortunate. I was thinking that I couldn't possibly take anything from someone who had so little.

But did he really have so little? Maybe he had more - a lot more.

Maybe the perfect gift we could have given him then was to accept his gift in total surrender and gratefulness.

Every act of sharing and taking are indispensable for us to fill our world with profusion and satisfaction in equal measure for both sharer and taker. We can start doing this instead of evaluating and validating one over another. The beautiful act of sharing and taking requires no additional elucidation.

Manoj Sinha's words continue to reverberate in my mind, "these are customers, not victims." I can picture the happy faces of the rural folk who are now pleased to have power in their hamlets and the kids who now can read books and happily do their homework at night.

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Easy Ways To Boost Your Sales

By Tracey Martin

The following are 10 simple yet very powerful ways to increase your sales significantly:

1. After you make a sale, make sure you contact the buyer. Send an email thanking the customer for there purchase and include links to other products you advertise. You can email them once a week to make sure everything is working out well for them. The main objective of this approach is to build a relationship with the buyer, so constant correspondence is needed.

2. Offer your customer a better package before they cash out. After they click the link to make the purchase, tell them about a few extra related products you have for sale. Then add a button so they can add the new products to there order if they are interested.

3. Tell your customers if they refer four customers to your web site, then you will give them a complete refund of there purchase price. This will turn one sale into three sales. Because most of your customers will only refer a couple of people you won't have to give away to many refunds.

4. When you sell an item to a customer, offer your customers the chance of signing up for your affiliate program, then they can make money by promoting your items. This will help you multiply your sales without putting in any more effort.

5. Offer your buyers the chance to purchase the master resale rights to this product. Offer this as one of your upgrades to up sell the customer or include the ad in the download. You will make more sales both with a one time offer and as another purchase from the same customer.

6. You could cross promote your product with other businesses' products in a package deal. Create an ad to place on all your sales pages for all the products you put in your group discount package.

7. When you ship out or deliver your product, include a coupon for other related products you sell in the package. This will help to stimulate additional purchases from the same customer.

8. Send your customers a catalog of add-on products for the original product they purchased. Include in your catalog all items that you sell and include an upgrade to the product the customer has already purchased. If they liked the first product they will buy from you again.

9. Use gift cards or gift certificates for your website. You'll make sales from the purchase of the gift certificate. The recipient of the gift card may never use it, so your in the money and if they do there is a chance they will buy more products from your site.

10. Send your customers gifts when they spend a certain amount at your website. The freebies should have your ad printed on them. You can simply place your website on a bumper sticker and give it to every customer. This is a great way to get free advertising for your website while people are wearing your ad.

Thats it. The great thing about these powerful strategies is that you can implement them immediately. These are very easy to start using and set up but the over all return on your time could be priceless. Also by following these tips you will be making your customer feel special and will also get them to come back to your site to make more purchases.

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Tips On How To Become A Bridal Photographer

By Sally Wong

For years people will be displaying photos of their wedding, since it is that kind of occasion. Guaranteeing quality and highly skilled photography is something every bride and groom wants. If you are a photographer you might want to consider photographing weddings because there is a lot of money to be made by doing them. With the money comes the risk which you must manage well.

If this is going to be your first wedding shoot you will want to make sure your contract is written up properly and a disclaimer included in it. A disclaimer is something that can prevent you from being sued later on. For example, you should include that you are not responsible for pictures that might get lost after you send the film away to get developed, or pictures that do not come out clear due to equipment failure. Otherwise you could get sued for breach of contract.

Now with that said you should also include how many pictures are to be taken and how long you will be photographing for and what hourly rate will be. Include how much the cost of development is and the cost of the album. Your client's requirements are important so make sure you talk it over with them. They might want a certain person or family they would like pictures of since they don't get to see them often, so that should be discussed as well if it is an issue.

Make a list of all the pictures that your client's requested. Here are a few common ones, pre-ceremony, wedding ceremony, post-ceremony and reception. Who will be in certain photographs should be discussed with the client as well. Pay attention to what your clients are saying because each one will be different.

It is smart to always ask for a booking fee. Without this you could be caught out if something goes wrong. If they have paid nothing then they are less likely to try to solve any problems that may occur. Fifty percent is reasonable to ask for an up front booking fee. This will make sure you are covered in the event of a cancellation. So you don't end up bothering the bride and groom during the reception, arrangements should be made for when the remainder will be paid. It would look very unprofessional if you did.

If you are developing your client's pictures yourself, Photoshop is an excellent photo editing program. You can enhance the photos with all sorts of techniques such as flaw removal, montage, changing the color to black and which or sepia, as well as other unique features.

Look for ways to add extra value that you have not told them about. This will always generate good feelings. A special surprise will keep everyone talking and generating more business for you in the future. Think different. Imagine for example if you uploaded all their pictures onto a password protected part of your website so that they and their friends can login and view.

In the end doing bridal photography can be lucrative and fun as long as you build on your people skills.

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Beds Are One of the Most Important Aspects of Your Home So Be Sure to Find a Good Deal

By Lola L Godfrey

Most people seem to forget about how often they use their bed and because of this they don't spend much time considering their purchase when they come to buy a new one. Beds are used by all of us on a regular basis and we spend as much as a third of our lives in bed so it's important that we make good decisions when it comes to buying what we need for our comfort and support.

Whatever you're looking for, it shouldn't be a problem to find items that are worthwhile. There is so much available on today's market that you'll be spoilt for choice. It can sometimes be hard to decide on what is right for your needs though. You'll have to take your time while you're browsing the web to ensure that you're aware of everything on today's market.

The things that you need to think about are comfort - so think carefully about the mattress you want, practicality - this is all about size and shape, and of course, style - this is where you can let your opinion take over. What do you think will look good in your home and why? Make sure that you find a compromise of all the things you want.

The things that you need to think about are comfort - so think carefully about the mattress you want, practicality - this is all about size and shape, and of course, style - this is where you can let your opinion take over. What do you think will look good in your home and why? Make sure that you find a compromise of all the things you want.

Taking your time is essential if you want to get a good deal. There's no sense in rushing into a purchase and it's always a good idea to ensure that you don't decide on the wrong things based on it looking nice alone. It's worth thinking about everything before you buy or spend any money.

If you have a good look around on the internet you should find that there are plenty of options available. Have a browse and do some searches on Google to see what comes up. You'll probably be surprised at the amount of choice for such a simple purchase.

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Tuesday, 26 January 2010

The Perfect Solution To All Your Business Capital Needs: A Must Read For All Business Owners!

By James Scott

How To Find All The Angel Investors And Venture Capital Financing You'll Ever Need! The once definitive line that would separate hard money and private/angel financing has merged into a hybrid of sorts in the past few years. As the economy has taken a dive and structured private lending firms have felt the crunch we are finding many of these lending solutions closing its doors and re-opening as privately owned and managed funding options with an interest in both lending and seed investment.

Approval decisions that were once made by a group are not being made by an individual or duo with an eye toward optimal capitalization with both short term and long term agendas. As investors are, now more than ever, trying to get as much bang out of their buck, entrepreneurs are in the precarious position of accepting funding from virtually any and every enterprise that is making an offering. That said, it is more important now than ever to swing open your mind to the possibilities of mass exposure of your opportunity to the investment world.

The best way to do this is to simply put your business in constant and automated 'introduction' mode so that you can be found by the moneymen. The best way to do this is to heavily investigate the venture capital industry for executives who have created offshoot programs that have deviated their process from the traditional path of simply approving or declining a transaction.

There are many VC professionals who want to capitalize off of the projects that their firm cannot accept due to underwriting criteria and industrial genre specialization so they are starting these small but well managed financial source databases where members can place their transaction directly in front of thousands upon thousands of angel investors, private investors, hard money lenders, venture capital firms, private equity firms and other alternative finance solutions.

These websites are now the hottest thing in the capital markets and will continue to grow because of the high success rate of individual executives and entrepreneurs who are able to find multiple streams of financing options with the click of a button.

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Cris Cyborg Mauls Gina Carano In Strikeforce Women's Championship Match

By Ross Everett

Gina Carano put womens MMA on the map, but Cris Cyborg Santos may have become the sports first dominant female champion by virtue of her overwhelming TKO victory in the main event of Saturdays STRIKEFORCE event. Cyborg simply was too physically strong and her punches too powerful for Carano, who fought valiantly before succumbing to a barrage of ground and pound punches with one second remaining in the first round.

Before a near capacity crowd at San Joses HP Pavilion, Carano and Cyborg made history as the first women to headline a major US mixed martial arts event. Cyborg entered the cage first to a mostly negative reaction, stopping along the way to shadow box and throw kicks on the entrance ramp.

Despite the fight being scheduled for five rounds of five minutes each, the women set a frantic pace from the opening horn. Cyborgs size and strength advantage was apparent from the outset, as she landed an immediate flurry of punches before taking Carano to the canvas. Carano landed in top position, but quickly found herself in trouble as Cyborg worked for a kneebar and then a heel hook.

Cyborg once again took her opponent to the mat and after an unsuccessful armbar attempt mounted Carano and began a brutal punching assault that eventually forced the stoppage at 4:59 of the first round.

Despite Cyborgs triumph the most dominating performance of the evening belonged to former DREAM middleweight champion Gegard Mousasi. In his first fight at 205, Mousasi destroyed STRIKEFORCE light heavyweight champion Renato Babalu Sobral via TKO at the 1:00 mark of the first round.

Earlier in a card full of decisive finishes, Gilbert Melendez became STRIKEFORCE interim lightweight champion with a third round TKO victory over the double tough Mitsuhiro Ishida. Melendez will now face Josh Thompson to unify the belts once Thompson is medically cleared to resume fighting.

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Future Book Betting Traps And How To Avoid Them

By Ross Everett

Betting on sports 'futures' is an enjoyable and potentially profitable way to wager, but there are several potential risks that can lead to losses. Here's a rundown of things to avoid:

Don't bet at the first place you look: In other words, shop around for the best price. This is essential to all aspects of sports betting, but especially important with futures wagers. You'll find more disparity between prices from book to book on futures than any other betting proposition. From a theoretical standpoint, a little work can yield much better value. From a practical standpoint, that means a higher payout should you win. The reason for this is that individual sportsbooks' aren't as worried about what the other guys are doing as they are with most other bets. Once the futures "market" is set books move the lines almost exclusively on their own financial position. The market simply doesn't respond as quickly to futures wagers as it does to individual game lines so it is essential to do the extra work to get the best price on your proposition.

Don't fixate on picking the winner from a competitive field: This may sound like strange advice, but from a theoretical standpoint it makes perfect sense. As with every other element of sport wagering its crucial to always focus not on winners and losers, but on the value you're getting on individual bets. For example, in most years there are several teams with a realistic shot of winning at the start of the NCAA basketball tournament. The problem is that these top teams invariably offer low paybacks that are less than their 'true odds' of winning. Every team is subject to the same variables like injuries, slumps, bad matchups but backing teams that are 'under the radar' at higher prices offer more compensation for these 'risks'.

In mathematical terms, we're simply not being offered odds on a favorite that offer a good value in comparison with the 'true odds' of the event occurring. Let's say we bet Duke at +200 to win the NCAA tournament. If we could magically play the NCAA tournament over 100 times, would Duke come out on top more than 33 times? If not, they're a poor value at the price. At a higher price, I might be interested but at +200 the value is simply not there.

Note that the more competitive the market, the more difficult it is to find good value on the favorites. Since you can make a case for quite a few teams to win the NCAA tournament at this point this particular futures market is clearly a very competitive one. In a less competitive marketplace it might be possible to "pick the winner" and have it be a good value though you will pay a price for this. Here's a (thankfully) hypothetical example: let's say the UFC decided to hold a one night round robin tournament with 5 competitors. Competitor #1 would be heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar. The other four competitors would be professional figure skaters Elvis Stojko, Rudy Gallindo, Brian Boitano and Evgeni Plushinko. Even if he didn't bring his "A game", Lesnar would be essentially have a 100% certainty of beating the four untrained fighters, who also happen to be rather effeminate. If a sportsbook installed Lesnar as a -1000 favorite a bet on the 63 265 pound takedown would still be theoretically a good value. It's always difficult to risk so much to win a little, but from a strictly theoretical standpoint its a good play.

Don't try to make a huge profit with little risk: Sports betting provides few opportunities to make a 'big killing'. It may happen occasionally, but even the big payouts when it occurs doesn't make chasing big longshots a good value. If you're serious about sports betting it is crucial to maintain your focus on the underlying numbers and look for value at all times. If you want to take a longshot at a huge jackpot, play the lottery but don't try to do it at a sportsbook.

Simply stated, the concept of value works the same at the bottom of the wagering ladder as it does at the top. Even if you're betting a big underdog at a huge price make sure that it accurately reflects the 'true odds' of the event occurring.

Don't bet one sided props: Sometimes sports books will offer silly bets just to get publicity or in some cases just to be funny. While there may be life on other planets, the 'true odds' of a Martian being named to President Obama's cabinet wouldn't justify a +5000 line that it would occur.

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