Annabella Blog: January 2008

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Save Fuel, Save Money

The prices of gasonline or petrol increase daily, wherever you live in the world. The price of a barrel of oil has quadrupled since the beginning of the millennium. It went from about $20 a barrel to almost $80 in these days.

The Reason to Save Fuel

The resources of fossil energy deplete. Oil has served as the backbone of the modern society. Gas and coal also have plaid an important role, but oil has prevailed. The book The Final Energy Crisis forecasts a dramatic development during the next years. They expect that the peak of the oil production will be achieved around the end of this decade and that the production will fall, although the demand will increase further. This means higher energy prices. Another source says that the oil reserves will be exhausted in about 43 years and the reserves of natural gas in about 64 years.

No Easy Going Alternatives at Hand

There is a lot of research going on worldwide in the field of solar power and hydrogen power. They will have to substitute oil, gas, coal and uranium in an intermediate term. Photovoltaic, wind power and power from biomass progress quickly. The process of transformation lasts decades. New solutions need time to step fully into the foot prints of oil.

The Urgent Task to Save Fuel

There is an urgent task to save fuel in order to prolong the use of the remaining fossil energies. Saving fuel is inevitable because the cost for fuel will increase further. There might be days of lower prices, but the general tendency is clear: up, up and up again.

Solutions are demanded in order to make the consumption of fuel affordable. Modern and already proven standards of housing construction show that 60% to 80% of the fuel can be saved.

Solutions for Money Saving Consumption Needed

Saving fuel in the field of traffic and transportation still sticks in the beginning. If the wheels have to turn further, fuel saving becomes highest priority. There are cars coming up with low fuel consumption or even bio-ethanol. Millions of used vehicles still are useful and they are driven for many more years. It makes sense, if there is a solution for used and new cars, trucks, motor-bikes etc. To save fuel also means to save money. Fuel Freedom International propagates such a convenient looking solution. This could be one solution among others, e.g. eco-efficient driving. Everything that helps saving fuel should be tested.

Lil Waldner is a business economist. She is experienced in project management and marketing. She has worked as an editor for several newspapers and she has written booklets and essays on economic and public issues. Recommended link: http://www.nowsavefuel.myffi.biz Biddy Blog79334
Ardeen Blog75650

Custom Software Development Checklist

Custom database software development is facilitated by the use of a checklist of standard questions to be answered before a system is created, and before analysis begins. This checklist is provided to assist in the Analysis/Requirements phase of a new custom software development project.

If you are interested in having 21st Century Technologies, Inc. create a new system for you, then the following checklist and the associated answers will facilitate the analysis process. The answers can be e-mailed or faxed to us at the email address and fax number at the bottom of the page.

BUSINESS CONSIDERATIONS

1. Desired delivery date or proposed project schedule.
2. Business reason for, and urgency of project.
3. What are the cost constraints?
4. Use cases - description of how each group of users will be using the system.
a. General business process - web user will buy a product, web user will add a customer, web user will add contact information, etc.
b. Input/Output - web users will enter data into forms, data will be imported, administrator must run many management reports, administrator needs to export to Excel and text, etc.
c. Frequency of activity - many times each day, once daily, weekly, etc.
d. Cycles of activity - weekly sales reports to all sales managers on Monday morning, close books at end of year, etc.

NATURE OF APPLICATION

1. Do you have a desired development tool or technology in mind? You may want to split the application into some parts that can be run on a Windows workstation computer, while other parts (like reports, or timecard entry screens) are accessed via a web browser on your local intranet. Web applications and reports can be viewed on all computer types and operating systems that are capable of viewing web pages. Some tools currently available to build the system are listed here:
a. C#/VB.NET
b. ASP.NET
c. Active Server Pages or Cold Fusion for robust database driven Web applications
d. ColdFusion
e. Visual Basic
f. SQL Server
g. MS Access
h. JavaScript - for cross browser compatibility,
i. VBScript - for server scripting, and client scripting if Internet Explorer is the only client browser
j. Dreamweaver - for higher ended client functionality
k. SQL Server Reporting Services
l. Crystal Reports - for Windows and Web based reports
m. ActiveReports
n. Excel
o. PowerPoint
p. Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Systems - dial 1 for English, 2 for Spanish...
2. If other applications are involved (MS Word, MS Excel, QuickBooks, etc.), what version will be used?
3. Desired screen resolution (800x600, 1024x768, etc.),
4. Screen Size (15", 17", 19, 21")
5. Preferred Font and size (Arial 10, Times New Roman 12, etc.)?
6. Target Windows version for each client computer in the system (98, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, 2003 Server, etc.),
7. Web Server MS Internet Information Services (IIS), Apache, etc.
8. Target computer Operating System if not a Windows Platform - Apple, Unix, Linux, etc.
9. Target workstation hardware for all client stations,
a. Clock speed 1333, 1500, 2000, 3000, etc. MHz,
b. Hard drive space 100, 200, 400, etc. Gbytes,
c. RAM 128Mb, 256Mb, 512Mb, 1Gb, etc.
10. If a network application, which network and version? Windows, Novell 3.1, Novell, etc.
11. What are the drive letters for the networked back end databases if a network application? F, G, H, etc.? This reduces the deployment effort by developing in the same environment as the target workstations.
12. If available and pertinent, please provide a network configuration diagram with paths to server (where database will reside) and all clients, security/user groups, etc.
13. Is 24x7 (24 hours a day, 7 days a week) uptime required? If so, please explain the business need. We will discuss this further. The cost goes up as more uptime is required. More resources are needed - various personnel on pagers, redundant computers or components like power supplies RAID or mirrored hard drives, etc.
14. Is Internet/Intranet data access desired?
a. For data entry?
b. For report reviewing only?
c. To disseminate existing documents?
d. To email notification of pre-determined business trigger events (project milestone met and approved, employee appraisal ready for approval, etc.)?
15. Is Security desired?
a. Extremely high network (Internet) security - firewall, proxy server, etc.
b. Database level security - MS Access has security, but SQL Server has a much tighter security model tied in with the Win 2000/NT operating system.
c. Application level security
d. Minimum (pseudo) security algorithm low cost
e. Please specify User Groups that may have special Security needs requiring different levels of security:
i. Administrative Assistants
ii. Analysts
iii. Engineers
iv. Managers
v. Company Owners
vi. System Administrators
16. Are Backup Scenarios currently in place? Backups will be an integral component of the system. The importance of this cannot be over emphasized.
a. Daily, Weekly, Monthly onto tape
b. Daily, Weekly, Monthly onto CD or other optical drive
c. Onto another computer
d. Regular backups located at a remote site
17. Are Anti-Virus protection and policies in place? It is an important part of ensuring that a system stays up and running.
18. Will remote troubleshooting be desired? The addition of Error Processing and Logging software will facilitate remote support and troubleshooting.
19. Desired Documentation?
a. None
b. Installation
c. User
d. Administrator
e. Software
f. On-line help
g. Special
h. All of the above
20. What is the proficiency level of all users for the target tools and environments Windows, Excel, etc.?
21. Will interfaces to other systems (accounting, payroll, another database, GIS, truck routing, etc.) be required? This will affect the data model and system configuration, so early planning for these interfaces is critical to their successful inclusion into the system.
22. Is an audit trail function desired for changes to existing data? What parts of the system will need to be audited?
23. Is government reporting or data security required Sarbanes Oxley, HIPAA, etc.
24. Number of reports. A sample hardcopy or at least hand drawing of each will significantly help in determination of report prices and commonalties (company headers, formats, etc.). Important items are:
a. Number of sections including sort groups,
b. Definition of the source data for all fields in each section and their calculation method,
c. Summaries,
d. Desired output format:
i. Windows screen preview
ii. HTML
iii. E-Mail
iv. PDF
v. Delimited Text
vi. Excel spreadsheet
vii. Other outputs
25. Is an ad hoc user-defined reporting, data retrieval, or analysis (On Line Analytical Processing (OLAP), Data Mining, etc.) capability desired?
26. Is an installation program needed for distribution of an application to many users?
27. Is an automated network or internet installation desired?
28. Are custom point to point communications needed? This may also include automated faxing.
29. Special Considerations:
a. Unique business rules, calculations, desired warnings, etc.
b. Significant text parsing
c. Known or possible issues and problems that may be alleviated with testing
d. Voice driven capability
e. Multiple databases (Access and SQL Server, Oracle, etc.)

DATA AND VOLUME

1. How many users are expected on the system in the near (first 6 months) and long (1 3 years and past) term?
2. How many users are expected to use the system at the same time during peak periods in the near and long term?
3. What type of data traffic will be on the network for the near and long term - numbers, text, images, video, multi-media, etc.?
4. What is the expected volume of traffic for the near and long term?
5. What is the estimated number of data records to be stored for the near and long term?
6. Do we need to import data from existing files or systems? Note that Characters like " # have special significance in data processing and conversion, and require special code handling. Names (DJoy) and other data fields may contain these characters.
a. No. Example data will usually be provided in database, text, or spreadsheet format. This helps significantly in system testing and allows for error discovery and error trapping before the system is delivered.
b. Yes.
i. Is all or part of the existing data needed? What parts?
ii. Can use of the existing data be stopped while we convert the data into the new system?
iii. Is this a one time data conversion, or will we have to import data from existing systems regularly?
iv. Are some fields mostly blank?
v. Are some desired fields missing?

Michael A. Cordova is the President of 21st Century Technologies, Inc. Contact him at:Alfreda Blog15484
Annecorinne Blog96491

Home Equity Loan: What You Should Know

Many people are talking about a home equity loan, at work, weekends and even at the dinner table. Why is it the flavor of the month and what should you know about a home equity loan to ensure you stay out of strife if you decide to enter this realm.

Owning your home is a valuable asset for anyone in a lifetime. If you agree to a home equity loan, you are in fact putting this great asset at risk. Home equity loans are appealing due to the low interest rates and (in some cases) the tax deductibility of interest, but they also represent a risky business.

It sometimes has to be faced, if things dont work out. Consider a significant expense and not to having the necessary cash to cover it. Examples of such expenses are medical bills, major house repairs or a childs college education. A home equity loan could be the solution to your financial problems, at least for a short term. By using the equity youve built in your home over time you can borrow a significant amount of money. You have to repay the amount borrowed plus a (usually) low interest over a fixed period of time. If you fail to do this, you may lose your house.

Usually, in order to pay off the entire loan until the fixed time, you are required to make equal monthly payments. The lenders are obliged to disclose all important facts of their home equity plan, all terms and costs, such as the APR, different charges, and payment terms. After you have received this information, lenders do not normally charge any other fee that has not been specified in the plan. When you take on a home equity loan, you have normally had a few days from the day the account was opened to cancel it.

There are some basic although important things you should consider when youre considering a home equity loan, in order to avoid a life changing mistake sometimes.

Firstly, if you have money problems, you must consider other options too, before using the equity in your home. Talk to your creditors or contact a budget counseling organization. A plan that would consolidate or reduce your payments might be enough to get you out-of-trouble. Also ask the opinion of someone other than the lender offering the home equity loan. someone you trust and who is reasonably knowledgeable.

If you decide a home equity loan is what you want, you should research the offers of several lenders, including banks or a credit union.

There are many lenders who make use of abusive lending practices and you must be aware of these practices if you want to minimize your risks. Here are some scenarios of such practices.

Equity stripping. You have built up equity in your home but you dont have much income coming each month and you need money. A lender encourages you to make a home equity loan, even if you explain that your income is not enough to keep up with it. Of course, the lender doesnt care if you are not able to pay, he has nothing to lose, on the contrary, he wins a lot. If you are not cerebral enough to get a realistic view of things and let yourself be easily persuaded you will probably lose your home.

The balloon payment. Youve already made a home equity loan and, fail to pay the mortgages and youre very close to losing your home. Another lender offers to save you by refinancing and lowering your monthly payment. You have to be very attentive regarding the loan terms. The reason why the payments are lower may be that he asks you to repay only the interest rate each month. At the end of the term, you may find you still have to pay the entire amount that you borrowed. This sum is called a balloon payment.

The home improvement loan. A contractor offers to remodel your kitchen, or install a new roof at a low price. You explain you cant afford this, but he offers to arrange finance through a lender he knows. You agree and he begins work. At some point, you are being asked to sign a lot of papers without having enough time to read them and you sign them. Later, you realize youve signed a home equity loan, and even one with aberrant terms and interest rates.

By using the equity in your home, you can benefit by receiving a significant fixed amount of money, repayable over a fixed period, available for any kind of use and at a low interest rate. You may also be allowed to deduct the interest, under the tax law. At a first glance, the home equity loan sounds appealing. But, on the other hand, if you fail to repay, for one reason or another, you may lose your home. Bottom line is that a home equity loan is a good thing if managed and used carefully. If you are considering a home equity loan, you should carefully balance costs vs. benefits, before charging ahead.

Bill Darken - There's a good student loan area along with more relevant general loans assistance such as home, car, and consolidation loans. There are highly informative eye opening articles and up-to-date loans news as well, see it here at home equity loan or if the previous link is not working, you can paste this link in your browser - http://loans-only.com.Camile Blog5969
Calypso Blog8733

Evading Censorship: Using a Proxy to Visit MySpace

Many school classrooms primarily use computers and the net to gather and save information. More and more colleges are offering entire learning environments via a web-based medium where no physical classroom is even necessary. Employers are also following suite and using the Internet as a mass communication tool for employers to interact electronically with one another with little cost. With this significant increase in the nets usefulness, there has come about stronger laws governing exactly what content is distributed.

One such very popular proxy (http://www.proxymy.com) has become notoriously popular for allowing students to access MySpace (a popular social networking website) from their school internet connection. Not only do proxies such as ProxyMy.com allow access to MySpace from school and colleges, but they are also almost necessary to use in the work environment. Employers are able to browse and track every single website their employees visits at work. An anonymous web based proxy can ensure privacy when surfing the web.

Access to otherwise filtered websites, and securing browsing privacy are two great benefits of a CGI based anonymizer proxy. Another great benefit, not to be overlooked, is also the security offered when browsing the net through a proxy. As great of an educational tool the internet has become, it is also a nefarious medium for advertisers to distribute all sorts of unwanted advertisement including: spam, pop ups, viruses, and predominantly spyware.

A CGI proxy allows anyone using it to block cookies that track browsing habits for these ads to ensure your computers safety, privacy, and right to browse the internet as it was meant to be seen: An uncensored medium.

John Dwine is a freelance author noted for topics such as: computer security, anonymity, internet privacy, and censorship free web browsing.Arlyn Blog5615
Angelica Blog74117

Freelancing as A Career Option

Home bound workers can either consider telecommuting or freelancing. While telecommuting may keep you out of your home for some hours a week, online freelancing is a good way to make money if you are forced to stay at home. For example, homemakers, part-time students, retired folk, or others who wish to supplement their income from jobs or businesses can all consider freelancing.

Freelance Skill Sets

You can start earning as a freelancer as long as you have skills that someone is willing to pay for. For example, writers, web designers, photographers, and programmers can earn a substantial income by creating articles, websites, portfolios and software from home. The Internet is a hot and viable source of income for freelancers from around the world. Your target customers can be webmasters, online business owners, blog owners etc. For example, blogs and wikis are hot sources of income for freelance writers nowadays, and there's no reason why you can't tap into this market if you possess good writing skills.

Freelance Income

On the flip, your income may fluctuate from one month to another. As with all businesses, freelancing does not guarantee a stable paycheck at the end of the month. So keep a small kitty reserve for dry days or have another source of income for which you can work part-time. Be prepared to accept boring, low-level work initially just to keep the cash flow strong. Once you get a good reputation for providing original, high-quality work at reasonable price, then clients will flock to you.

Freelance Advantages

Probably the best thing about freelancing is that you get to work at your pace, in your own hours, from home, and be your own boss. That means, your shop is open 24x7. And as long as you provide good quality work and meet deadlines, your clients will remain happy with you.

In order to be visible, you also need to be seen and heard in the right places, like forums, blogs, online groups, etc. Spend time everyday to visit such sites because they are invaluable repository of freelance gigs and email addresses of prospects. Alternatively you can sign up with freelance sites like Elance.com, GetAFreelancer.com and Scriptlance.com where you can start bidding on projects and snag a few as early as today!

To conclude, a freelance business is one of the best ways to earn money from home and to work for your own self. If you've got a fair amount of time on your hands, maybe you too should consider freelancing as your full-time career alternative or supplementary income source.

(Hint: While you can find plenty of lucrative freelance assignments on Elance, the other sites mentioned above generally tend to feature lesser-paid projects. However, if you're just starting out as a freelancer, the competition on Elance can prove to be really tough. So you might want to first try GAF and Scriptlance to build up your portfolio, and then go for Elance.)

Lewis Low is the founding editor of OnlineBizPromo.com. For more Practical Online Business Ideas and Work-From-Home Opportunities, visit his Work-At-Home directory at http://www.OnlineBizPromo.com Ardys Blog94507
Catlaina Blog97178

Smart Mortgage Shopping - 3 Steps to Take

Most people wouldn't just purchase the first car they look at, so why would shopping for a mortgage be any different? New would-be homeowners are looking for ways to simply just secure financing that they forget that they are the ones in control of their terms. To help you get the best mortgage deal for your current financial situation and for your future, here are three steps you will want to take.

Before you can take advantage of any of these steps, it will help if you to gain a basic understanding of the mortgage process and terms you might run across as you begin your search. There are a number of helpful books and websites you might want to look into that can help you begin to find your footing in this maze of mortgage-speak.

First of all, you need to look at the lending information from several different lenders. You have a number of options for borrowing money - credit unions, banks, thrift institutions, and mortgage companies. So, with those places in mind, you will want to start asking around for the amount of money that you will want to borrow to see what offers you might get. And while a mortgage broker can do this footwork for you, they will need to be paid for their services, which may not be something you want to pay. However, their services are worth it due to their experience and how many lenders they can access.

The next step in finding a mortgage is to start asking these lending institutions what kinds of terms they can offer you. The most important term that you will come across is the rate of interest. When you are purchasing a home, you will be paying not only money for the house itself, but also for the borrowing of the money - interest. This allows the lender to make money from your transaction as most interest is calculated over the time period and the amount of the loan. Thus, the longer and bigger the loan, the more money they will make. But since you're interested in paying for a home and not the bank, you will want to start looking for the lowest rates you can.

You will find that rates are divided into fixed and adjustable. You will want to make sure that the lenders are up front about how current their latest posted rates are. Note that fixed rates mean that your mortgage payments will not change, while adjustable rates will make your monthly payment vary. In addition to the interest rate, you will want to get a thorough explanation of the points and the APR associated with the lender to get a comprehensive idea of what a loan from them will entail.

The third step in shopping for a mortgage is often the most intimidating for the borrower and that's negotiation. You have a right to negotiate for the terms that you want, though you might not get them. It will help as you are looking at the various lending institutions if you begin to create an 'ideal' mortgage plan in your head. That way, you can talk to other lenders about what other institutions have offered you so that they can match that price or reduce their rates to attract your business.

You are in the driver's seat when it comes to your mortgage, so be sure to speak up when you think something is too high or ask for an explanation of every number that you see. If you're not happy, you can always look elsewhere for a lender.

Grant Eckert is a writer for ShopRate.com. ShopRate.com is a leading provider of http://www.ShopRate.com Mortgage Quotes | Mortgage RatesAngelica Blog74117
Arluene Blog58225

How to Launch Your "Boomerang Kidult"

Now that Labor Day has come and gone, all the kids should be out of the house and back at school. But wait! What about your emerging adult child who is still living with you, his or her college degree neatly tucked away? Are you in the midst of a replay of the big screen comedy Failure to Launch and not finding it quite so funny? You're not alone.

Millions of fledgling adults, often called kidults, have graduated from college but are not living independently of their parents. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, 25% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 34 still lived with their parents. Young people are studying longer or marrying later, postponing adulthood until around age 30. Here's how this extended period of dependency can affect relationships.

Steve remembers how he longed for those empty-nester days once his son had moved home from college. He reflected on the irony. The guidelines our son wanted to discuss were not the ones my wife and I had set down. He told us we were not to tie up the computer or play with his dog. He also wanted us to leave the bathroom fan off when we showered, so the noise wouldnt wake him up. We hardly got a chance to talk about what we wanted.

It's called triangulation, when your relationship as a couple has to accommodate your emerging adult child. What it often means is less privacy and spontaneity for you, and a need to establish new patterns of interaction and parenting.

As Beth realized: We cant treat her as if shes a teenager but we also dont intend to lose sleep worrying about whether shes o.k. Unless we can agree on some reasonable curfew, this living arrangement just isnt going to work.

Jill had been a single mom since her three children were young teens. Once her last child went to college she felt free to move in with her partner. When my middle daughter lost her job and could no longer afford to live alone, I didnt have the heart to say no to her. But with the chaos that ensued, I soon regretted my decision. As I recognized that my growing resentment was affecting all of us, I took a stand. We defined the house rules, split up the chores and set a deadline for her moving out. Now we try to openly air the issues and our feelings.

Like Jill, you can take a stand. Here are some more ideas:

1. Establish areas of accountability and appropriate boundaries. This can smooth day-to-day living; it encourages some emotional detachment and the freedom to reclaim your own lives.

2. Insist that your kidults face their own challenges. At times tough love is the most effective support parents can give. Janes son chose to move back home after his divorce and expected his mother to handle his laundry, shopping and cleaning the way his wife had. She knew he had to learn to take care of himself, once again. I insisted that we set some things straight and that he take responsibility for himself. We created a chart like the one when the kids were in grade school. I have not backed down and so far we are all still here, trying to make our complicated situation work.

3. Create a timetable for financial independence. Financial assistance comes with a price for all - with potential conflict around issues of co- dependency, control and unsolicited advice. Jack commented, Our daughter wants to live rent free but wont listen to our advice about how to get back on her feet. Our plan is that she will be on her own within six months, and we will stick to that.

4. Commit to a concrete plan to move the family toward common goals. This requires the willingness to work as a team, with frequent discussions as well as some compromise. When you put limits and deadlines into place, the result is less conflict. According to a 2006 Money/ICR poll, 60% of Americans believe that college graduates should be allowed to move back home, but only for up to a year, and 57% state that parents should charge them rent.

5. Find the right balance between offering support to your offspring and taking care of yourselves. Sally and Garry were enjoying spending time together when the last of their children left home. These pleasures were short lived. When their daughter separated and wanted to move back, they initially felt that they couldnt turn her away. It wasnt long before their patience wore thin, and they knew they had no choice. Our daughter got lazy. She wouldnt look for work and made little effort to help out. We eventually insisted that she find other arrangements. We felt guilty and spent a lot of time discussing our decision. But we have waited forever for this period in our lives and we dont plan to miss it.

6. Let go. Once you have done all you can to prepare your boomerang kidults to be on their own, let go of your resistance and act. Launching them is an opportunity for all of you. Tap into your own passions and begin to imagine the adventures that lie ahead.

© http://www.HerMentorCenter.com - 2006

Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. and Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D. are co-founders of http://www.HerMentorCenter.com, a website dedicated to the issues of mid-life women, and co-authors of a forthcoming book about Baby Boomer women and family relationships. They are psychotherapists with 40 years of collective experience in private practice.Ailina Blog89038
Anstice Blog71727

Advantages of Staying in a Private Villa in Bali

For less than the cost of staying in good hotels in Bali you can now enjoy the luxury of a private Bali villa with air-conditioned bedrooms and tropical bathrooms to dream about, spacious living and dining areas and spacious terraces, lush tropical garden with your own private swimming pool, and well-trained butler to take care of everything around the clock.

In addition to modern amenities, any villa you rent will reflect Balinese lifestyle throughout: floors and walls are made from local wood and natural stone, high roofs cover airy living and dining areas, and large garden bathrooms are full of flowers and plants. And you'll appreciate the comfort and informality you can only experience in a private home.

Instead of staying in hotel rooms (bed, two chairs, dressing table, TV set and telephone, wardrobe, small bathroom), your family will enjoy this truly Balinese experience. And you have much more space, more informality, more privacy, and more personal service than even the best hotel can provide.

You can have delicious local meals or any special diet prepared by your own cook and have them served whenever and wherever you like in your dining room, living area, at the poolside, in your bedroom, or even in the bathroom.

Most important of all, you will really experience Bali while staying at a private villa. You're not isolated from the island and its people by a hotel environment. You're participating and living in a Balinese atmosphere, surrounded by a relaxed, elegant and informal setting, with well trained and very friendly staff caring for your every need.

There's nothing better than this! It will be a vacation you won't forget.

Kadek Sudarsana is working for Natan Bali, an internet based company which creates and manages websites that are all directly related to hospitality services in Bali. http://www.allbalivillas.com/Cecile Blog31314
Carmel Blog2650

If You Want To Go Broke As A Web-Developer Let Me Tell You How.

If you want to go broke as a web-developer let me tell you how.

Early on in my web development career I tried to re-invent the wheel I set up everything from scratch including my customers! I wasted about 5 months and about $20,000.00 on collecting content from them. I heard all the excusesI will have the content to you by Monday. When Monday would roll around I would hearmy kids had soccer games all weekend and I just couldnt get to it.I promise I will have my logos and word docs to you on Friday.. When Friday came around and I would call, .OhIt has been such a busy weekI am so over worked right now I promise I will get it to you next week sometime!

I tried to stay faithful to get that original content and graphics from them. Till I was almost short on making my payroll! Then it all came to a complete stop! I decided to hire and farm out the content. Also I implemented a content management system! Genius.and the bank roll came back.

If you are in the web development game let me help you out here.Save your self some time and moneyFarm out the content to a content writer for a couple of hundred bucksIt will save you about $2000 in time and expenses. Forget about the emails and the follow up calls and gas over to your clients and the disappointment I guarantee you will always get when it comes to content. Customers dont have time! When they originally are trying to save costs on web-development and think they can cut corners. The only thing that they cut is your profit margin in half! ©

Sept 21, 2006
Serena Murphy
http://www.webcarrots.com
serena@webcarrots.com
Las Vegas, Nevada
1-866-840-5505

Serena Murphy is owner and operator of http://Webcarrots.com a web development company that specialized in dynamic web development and online marketing of websites in Las Vegas, Nevada Caroline Blog24169
Ashlan Blog99165

Before Viewing Homes for Sale, Know What You Can Afford to Pay

Before contacting a realtor and begin looking at homes for sale, there are a few things you need to do. Your realtor will assist you in discovering how much home price you can afford, but he/she needs information from you to do it. So, go prepared with your financial data to your first appointment with your realtor in order to begin looking at homes for sale immediately.

To determine a homes for sale price that you can afford, you need to review your financial situation to determine how much down payment you can afford and how large of a monthly payment you can comfortably handle.

Net Worth

So, before looking at homes for sale, put together a statement of your net worth. Begin by doing an inventory of all your assets (what you own that may be sold for cash). This includes all investments, savings accounts, household furnishings, your current home and any other real estate, vehicles, recreational vehicles and equipment, furs and jewelry, guns, electronic equipment, loans owed to you, any vested equity you own, cash and surrender values of insurance policies, collectibles, and precious metals and gems.

Now, list the value of each item. This is the amount you believe you could sell the item for cash within a reasonable timeframe. Deduct any money owed on the item from the sell price. For example, you might be able to sell your current home for $150,000, but you owe the mortgage company $75,000 (pay-off amount) and another $3,000 in property taxes that would come due before it could be sold.

Now, list all of your liabilities. They are anyone to whom you owe money for whatever reason. They include mortgages, loans and credit lines of any types (including credit cards), and even your Uncle Bob that loaned you $2,000 last summer.

Total your assets and liabilities. Then, subtract the liabilities from your assets to determine your net worth.

Down Payment

To determine your possible down payment for a homes for sale, take your net worth and subtract out the following: Savings for emergencies, education and retirement; settlement and moving costs of buying the homes for sale; and cash you will need to improve, decorate and furnish the new homes for sale. The remaining is your possible down payment.

Monthly Payment

Next, calculate the possible monthly payment you can afford for your homes for sale. List all of your actual and projected monthly expenses. Include all the monthly costs of your liabilities listed above, adding the following items: Insurance premiums, all household expenses (including cell phones and DSL costs), any taxes owed but not already withheld by your employer, all transportation costs (include maintenance, fuel, and licensing), clothing costs (new and maintenance), pocket money for family members, groceries, personal care, recreation and entertainment, medical and dental costs, charity, special expenses (such as tuition), and miscellaneous costs. Divide into monthly costs any expenses paid quarterly or annually.

Now, total your monthly expenses. Subtract out your monthly mortgage or rent. Subtract the remaining expenses from your total monthly household income. This is the amount you can comfortably pay for a monthly mortgage payment on a homes for sale.

If the monthly payment for a homes for sale seems a bit low, review all of your monthly expenses. Where can you decrease or eliminate expenditures? For example, paying off your high-interest credit cards to eliminate the high monthly payments.

Once you have this information in hand, your realtor can determine just what you can afford to pay for a homes for sale.

John Harris is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations. For more on San Diego Homes for Sale visit http://www.twtrealestate.com.Caye Blog96435
Agna Blog47576

The Plain Truth About Living In Mexico

My wife and I are now beginning our fourth year as American expats in Guanajuato, Mexico. Sometimes it seems only yesterday that we sold all we owned in Overland Park, Kansas, and moved here with just suitcases, nothing more. Sometimes it seems like we never had a beginning but have always lived here.

I think however, no matter how long we stay, we will always be foreigners. No matter how many of the locals we know, how many dinners and parties we get invited to, we will always be strangers. We will always be the American Gringos from the Midwest.

I came to Mexico with no expectations. I intellectually knew and understood that Mexicans, though wonderfully lovely people, are just as fallible as I am. And, they most certainly are. I did not come expecting paradise. I knew I would find bugaboos and problems. Mexico and her people do not have a Utopia south of the American Border.

But, I must admit I was hoping that culturally there would be some sort of respite in Mexico from what had originally driven my wife and I from America. There had to be something, somewhere, that could provide relief from the American cultural meltdown that so repulsed us. There just had to be.

There was.

Mexico did indeed provide a surprise that still, to this day, charms us. When we did our fact-finding trip to Guanajuato to see if this was the place for us, what we immediately noticed was the absence of public rage. We did not find what is so common in America whose citizens think it is socially appropriate behavior to "cut loose" whenever the spirit moves them, showing just how violent and mean they can be.

(The only public rage you will see, I am almost afraid to tell you, is with Americans tourists. They seemingly have no compulsion in acting out on the streets of Guanajuato.)

There are no Mexicans screeching in grocery stores, couples fighting in shopping centers, fistfights on the street, cursing (and I purposely learned all the Spanish naughty words and do not hear them being used publicly here!), or anything else that in America causes you to wonder when the knives and guns will come out and the blood will be shed.

That is so refreshing and soul cleansing that I have once again learned to be horrified at the news accounts I read on the Internet of what happens almost daily in America. I had become calloused but now am again sensitive to those horrors.

Another relief soothing to the heart is to see how family is not fractured here. Family, right down to cousins fourth and fifth removed, are part and parcel of the well-being of this society. Some of them live in family compounds, generations of them, and do so in peace, in harmony, in love and respect. I envy this greatly.

For the most part, we've been treated with the greatest degree of respect. Some have made us feel like we are their long-lost American cousins who have finally come home to where we belong. We have been invited into their homes (no small privilege if you know Mexican culture) and sometimes into their lives.

Mexicans, almost without exception, treat Gringos with respect. They show far more respect than we Gringos deserve considering how we've historically treated Mexicans and still do to this day. There are some, however, that have a passive-aggressive relationship with the gringo expat community. Where this comes from is anyone's guess. But there are little, subtle, and almost unnoticeable things that you usually don't see as a tourist. You have to live here and carefully observe behavior to see that are a few snakes in paradise.

One day, while walking home on one of Guanajuato's rather narrow and harrowing sidewalks, a Mexican woman stopped us and politely lectured us. She said because we were gringos, we should walk on the outside part of the sidewalk, nearest the street, so the Mexicans could walk on the inside and not have to be in danger from the car traffic.

Those who do express consternation at the gringos are polite about it at least. Thank you very much.

There is a restaurant here that refused service in the upstairs dining room to a retired, district attorney friend of mine. The manager told him because he was a gringo he had to eat downstairs near the kitchen. He informed my friend the upstairs was for Mexican patrons only.

And, the manager told him this with the utmost politeness, of course.

When I report these sorts of stories, I usually get many readers' comments that border on the vitriolic. For example,

"I've certainly never seen this sort of thing happening anywhere in Mexico and I was once in Puerto Vallarta for two whole weeks."

I've even gotten e-mail from Mexicans, not from Central Mexico, who take umbrage at what I write.

The funny thing is the vast majority of Mexicans will never be rude to you in a million years. They will smile and, frankly, patiently endure a lot from American gringos (more than they should). But, endure they will.

What gets good in the quest for assimilating the culture is when you become fluent enough in the language to sit in a home with a local who trusts you enough to tell you things that you will never read in a guidebook or any book about Mexican culture (usually written by an American). He tells you about how he was raised, what he was taught from childhood, and so on.

Nevertheless, when I report what I learned from these encounters, I end up with an inbox full of angry e-mails from those who think they know better--those who live in artificial gringo-enclave bubbles insulated from Mexican culture.

But I keep on, in my not so perfect Mexican paradise, learning all I can so I can have more articles to write.

It keeps me busy.

Doug Bower is author of YOU CAN LEARN SPANISHNo Matter Your Age or Disposition available at LuLu Press, and co-author of THE PLAIN TRUTH ABOUT LIVING IN MEXICO available at Amazon.comArleyne Blog17891
Beatrice Blog27928

Walmart Online Shopping

In this day and age, the Internet has replaced a lot of the everyday activity done outside the house. More and more people are turning to the Web to make their household purchases. The majority of stores have jumped onto this lucrative business strategy and WalMart online shopping has followed suit. Taking advantage of WalMart low prices has never been easier when you can check on the latest deals, simply with the click of a mouse.

Nothing is left to the imagination when you want to enjoy WalMart low prices through WalMart online shopping. Youll find everything you desire right on the Internet, whether it is the toy your son always wanted or the perfect watch to wrap for under the Christmas tree. Through the Internet, you will also be able to find a host of WalMart coupons to use for the purchases on several online and offline selections.

Not only do online products feature WalMart low prices, but also the selection seems larger than life. Through WalMart online shopping, you will be able to choose from more than 80,000 CDs. The latest video games, DVDs, electronics and gifts are all represented on the Internet through WalMart online shopping.

When using WalMart online shopping to make your next purchase, you will find extra capabilities, such as preordering products that havent even hit the stores yet. This includes brand new items, such as Zune, which offers 30BG of storage for all of your music, video and graphic needs.

Enjoying WalMart low prices is furthered by a wide-range of online options. This includes convenient WalMart coupons, clearance savings, extra deals and bargains, as well as exciting rollback prices. Rollback savings can save hundreds of dollars for the same products offered at the WalMart stores.

In regards to new products, WalMart online shopping offers a heads up on the items available in your local store, as well as available through the Internet. They alert the public to new releases in all of their departments, as well as new packaging campaigns.

The downloading of WalMart coupons is available for use in the stores, as well as alerts on product samples. You could be on your way to trying some of the products youve always wanted to sample, but didnt want to risk losing money on a purchase. Some of the WalMart coupons and samples you may encounter include anything from dietary supplements to free contact lenses.

When browsing WalMart online shopping sites, you will also keep up with some of the events being held in your area. This includes product demonstrations, as well as a chance to take advantage of a wide-range of freebies, from discount magazine subscriptions to ongoing contests.

Roy Shepherd Copyright 2006Annissa Blog86030
Bertha Blog6383

Home And Family Security Surveillance Camera

As the world continues to get more dangerous, the last thing you want is to bring that danger directly into your home. Newspaper stories tell the tale babysitters abusing children when their parents are off at work. There's been workers who have been hired in good faith to repair or maintain your property, stealing both from inside and outside the house. It's unfortunate, but the reality is that unless you are vigilant and careful, your family, home and possessions could be hurt by people.

The answer is to be diligent and use caution when hiring anyone. Check references, though many previous people don't or won't give you all the information due to a fear of being sued by the person. Still, if you ask for references and check them, you have a much greater chance of getting good people. Let's be clear that the majority of people are very responsible and trustworthy and all they want is the opportunity to work. That said, there is the very small minority that are the problem and make it more difficult for both the worker and the owner.

Using surveillance cameras is one way to keep better control on your home or business. These little devices are great to placing discretely around your home and office. The reason for using cameras however are twofold.

First, there is the keeping honest people honest idea. This is nothing more than building on the fact that people act differently when they think they're being watched. Put security cameras in the office and let people know about them and they tend to behave differently. There's less of an argument when a customer makes claims against your employee and you need to sort through the information to get to the truth. So this first potential use for surveillance or security cameras is to allow you the potential to see what actually happened.

In a home setting, it's possible to view how the kids are behaving when the adults are gone. Who comes into and leaves your home when can also be captured. This doesn't mean that you don't trust your family or employees, only that by having security camera around, people will be better behaved.

The Second reason why it's important to consider a security camera system is to catch bad behavior or illegal activities. By having your home secured with this technology, you are able to easily identify people that shouldn't be around your home like would be burglars.

There also is the latest in surveillance camera technology, the nanny cam. This is nothing more than a hidden camera within your home to monitor the behavior of people you leave in charge of your children. Some entertain guests while you're away and drink heavily while watching television instead of watching the kids. Although most babysitter- nanny types are great, you need to recognize that if the person you leave in charge isn't responsible, your children could be at risk of being hurt or worse.

Surveillance camera systems have come a long way in the just the last few years. The cameras themselves are getting much smaller and easier to set up. No longer is it necessary to have a specialized security company set up and place a surveillance system in your home or business.

Surveillance cameras now come with a wide variety of options. From capturing color images, motion activated, auto pan and close up functionality from your computer, and even wireless cameras are all available at very attractive pricing. Everyone should consider the importance of having a security surveillance camera for peace of mind of the family and themselves.

Abigail Franks writes on a variety of subjects which include family, Health, and Home. For more info on Home Security Cameras visit the site at http://www.surveillance-cameras.fixituptoday.com Antoinette Blog3184
Amandi Blog38828

How to Make Money Online with Google AdWords?

We all heard about making money online. The question is how do you rely start making money online today. I am going to share with you on how you can start making money online without having a website, not knowing anything about web design, and not spending much money. That is right you do not have to have any knowledge of HTML code. All you have to know is how to type. There are hundreds of courses on the internet charging you hundreds of dollar for the information I am about to share with you. Do not spend any money on any online marketing tools until you read this.

The one way to take advantage of Google AdWords is to become affiliate. Affiliate marketing is where someone advertises for another website and in return that person receives commission for each sale their advertising brigs to that website. Heres an example: Lets say I want to sell Laptop Computers, but I dont have a website and/or I dont have any computers to sell. Well instead of starting a company, I can just find a company online which already sells computers and offers an affiliate program. Now that I have searched and found a company, I look at what they offer. Lets say they are giving 10% commission on every sale I make. I decide to use that company and I set up my affiliate account with them and they give me a special URL (a web address that will let the company know that it was my advertising which gave them the sale), which I use in my advertisements. Now I make ad advertisement, and display it on Google. Whenever someone sees and clicks on my advertisement it will go to the companys webpage. Lets say that one hundred people clicked on my text advertisement and one of them buys a computer that cost $1,200. Because that person who bought the computer clicked on my advertisement that company will give me 10% of $1,200 which means that I made $120.00

Most online companies offer affiliate program. Companies like Best Buy, Circuit City, Office Max, Amazon.com, Buy.com and many more, literally tens of thousands. There are also companies online which all they do is offer other online business a way to have an affiliate program. These affiliate Companies manage affiliate programs for thousands of online companies. This means that if you have an account with Affiliate Company (they are completely free), you can advertise for any of the thousands of companies that use them to manage their affiliate sales. If you want to, you can search Google for affiliate programs just to see how big online marketing currently is.

By using AdWords and high paying affiliate program you can start earning money today. The AdWords advertisements are Pay Per Click (PPC), which means that the owner of that advertisement pays Google every time someone clicks on their advertisement. The main reason for wanting to pay for traffic is because it is very very difficult to receive free traffic on Google. When you sign up for Google AdWords Pay Per Click advertising your advertisement will be displayed almost immediately in Googles search results (usually within 5 minutes). You can also decide which page you want your advertisements to be displayed on ( the first page receives more visitors than the other pages).

It is very simple to start Google AdWords account. Go to www.google.com and look toward the bottom of the page. You will see a link says Advertising Programs. Once you there, you should click on the link which says Google AdWords. After clicking Click to Begin, you will be taken to a couple of pages which will ask you how you want to set up your advertising group(s) with Google. Google will send you an email to the email address you specified which will contain a URL that you will need to go to in order to activate your account. After you go to that URL you can log into Google AdWords using your email address as your user name. Now that you have an account set up, you are ready to learn how to create a Campaign so you can begin making money online.

Here is how to create a AdWords campaign in Google. First off to create a new keyword campaign, click the link Keyword-Targeted campaign. You will be prompted to name your campaign. Your campaign name is what will be displayed on the first screen when you log into your Google AdWords account. Since you will most likely have several campaigns, when you name your campaign you will want to make sure it is unique name that will let you know exactly what you are advertising in that campaign. Next you will need to name your AdGroup. Remember, you will have several different AdGroups with one Campaign, so name it something that will help you know exactly what keywords are in that AdGroup. Next, you should choose the area(s) where you want your ads to appear. There are three different ways to choose where you want to advertise. You can choose to advertise by Countries and Territories, Regions and Cities, or Customized.

The most important thing you need in order to have a successful Google campaign is a text ad with a high CTR. Text Ads with a high CTR will increase your Quality Score which will increase your overall position.

Things You Should Know:

1. You are not required to have http: or www in your display URL.

2. Google will not let you capitalize all the letters in all your words, but they will let you capitalize most of your words.

3. The website must not require additional software to load (example: it cannot be a .pdf instead of .htm).

4. Back button must be able to go back to Google with one click.

5. You cant have websites that mirror other websites that are advertised for the same keyword (example: having the same pictures and text but using a different web address). I know many affiliates do this, but I dont know how much Google enforces this rule.

6. The website you are advertising cannot have a pop up or pup under ad.

Another key to having a successful online business is making sure that every single person who is even the slightest bit interested in your product sees your advertisement. The best way to do this is by creating a very huge keyword list (thousands of keywords). Some products have many keywords, while others have very few. Usually the more keywords there are available for the product, the better. Not because it is searched more often, but also because most people who are also selling the same product will only select a few general keywords which may be very broad keywords.

When you bid on Google, you will not always pay the price you enter. The price you enter is the MCPC (Maximum Cost Per Click) you are willing to pay for that keyword. Google constantly updating the bids for the keywords in their search engine. For example if your MCPC is $0.15 and the advertiser in front of you is bidding $0.16 and the Ad one position behind you is bidding $0.05, you will only pay $0.06 per click, because there is no reason why you should have to pay $0.15 per click if you can get the same Ad position for $0.06 per click.

Google is a most searched search engine on the internet and with that they are consistently making update and improvement. If you are really serious about making money online or promotion you current business I will make a recommendation that will make you an absolute pro on AdWords. Ive spend thousands trying to research best possible ways to market in the internet. With all the money Ive spend I could of just gotten one system Google MoneyPro by Steven Holdaway. You absolutely cannot ignore what he has to share with you. He personally makes over $120,000 per MONTH. Check out his website. http://googlemoneypro.bestofbusinessonline.com

Dennis Alexander Internet Entrepreneur Ameline Blog98653
Ailey Blog82950

Router Tables That Make The Cut

Its all about the bit. Thats right, a router table is defined by the bits you use in creating some of the most impressive and beautiful shapes that give like to a plain piece of wood. Router tables have long been a staple to the professional woodworkers shop and are quickly finding a niche in the handy-mans garage as well. As more people are interested in adding the distinctive touches of trims and mouldings to their homes and furnishings, they are finding that they can do it themselves by learning to guide wood through a router.

But It Looks So Hard!

You may think that it is difficult to created bevelled edges or shaped cornices, but the router saws do all the work. If you can guide a piece of planking through a table saw, then you can master the router table.

Router table plans are available to take down the learning curve too. These plans show what shapes will develop from different bits, angles and motions with your router. There are even router table plans free online.

Bits are the heart behind the capabilities of a router table. Notching and edging patterns are determined by the bit. There are edge bits which create the bevelling on a mantle piece, of straight and rabbetting bits for cutting deep, square notches. Dovetail bits are used in creating the snug fitting found in high-quality drawer construction. Other slot cutters and finger joint bits, such as those available from Whiteside router bits are used to keep cabinet fronts snug inside the edge frames.

Specialty router bits can be used for a number of different projects. The cap pieces in fences for example are made using a raised panel or stile bit. The more specialized the bit, the more cuts it can make with one pass through the table. Even miniature router bits are available for making anything from toys to doll houses to fine detailing on furniture.

The Tops in Tables
Router tables will take up just about the same amount of room in the workshop as the table saw. However, for those with limited space, there are bench top models available. If your bench or table isnt exactly the right height there are height adjusters meant for router tables too. Getting your router aligned to your height is important for added control and precision.

What Your Router Table Plans Will Include

Router table plans are meant to show more than just the shape a router bit will produce. That is just the basic of what the bit is capable of doing. Add to it the imagination that only a craftsman can provide, and you have unlimited design opportunities. Router table plans and patterns show how angling and adjusting the wood with each pass through the router can create a unique look or duplicate a pattern you want to use.

Whether you are capping a fence, fashioning a new fireplace mantle or designing your own unique crown moulding, a router table is the only way to achieve that custom look without the cost of purchasing custom-cut wood. Add the detailing only a router can provide to your next home improvement project.

Johnathan Bakers often creates summaries on themes relating to router table and router table plans. His publications on router tables can be encountered on http://www.insidewoodworking.com/rout/routertabl.html and other online publications.Annabelle Blog17826
Aleece Blog25408

Before Viewing Homes for Sale, Know What You Can Afford to Pay

How To Initiate A Distance Education Course: A 9 Point Mini-Guide

How to initiate a distance education course? That's the question you may be asking yourself if you've come to the conclusion it would be a good idea to get qualifications in a particular area, or maybe just increase your knowledge of the subject, but you've no idea how to get started.

Here are nine general points to cover:

1. Have a think about what it is you want to achieve, and make a list. It's okay if it only consists of a single line, such as Learn to make French sauces.

The reason for doing this is to avoid picking a course you don't really need. For example, you might want knowledge on how to sell your house without the help of a realtor. It's unlikely you need a full real estate learning program. But you might want a course that covers how to improve the curb appeal of your house as well as the legalities you need to cover. And it's likely that you'll need something that tackles any local laws that apply, or at least refers you to a place you can find the information you need. The answer to questions like these will determine the course you need to look for.

2. Research the program you need to follow. Where to look for your distance education course? Online is an obvious contender. Or try magazines devoted to the subject you're interested in. Such courses will appear in the classified advertisement section, or, if they're really popular, somewhere among the editorial. They'll usually be smallish box ads (though not necessarily: Linguaphone have been known to take out much larger display adverts)

3. Decide whether accredited distance learning programs are what you should be considering. Accreditation will have greater or lesser importance depending on what you're aiming to achieve. If so, make sure that the accrediting body has good standing. It may be worth doing a little digging on the internet to establish this

4. Consider how you'll plan and manage an e-learning program or correspondence course. You will be making a commitment of time and money, and on top of that, you'll be putting in some work. If you're following an e-learning program, will you have access to a computer when you need it? These things will need some thought on your part.

5. Consider how will you pay? Single modules can eem expensive enough, but if you're embarking on a degree course, the cost will represent a considerable investment. You may have to arrange a loan, perhaps via your bank, or, depending on your status, a student loan.

6. Arrange the time. In reality, unless you live alone, that means negotiating with family members, rescheduling parts of your life, making resolutions to get up early or stay up after everyone else has gone to bed so you can study.

7. It will definitely be a good idea to approach your boss if your course is in any way work-related. So if you're trying to improve your work prospects, ask if there's any chance of help with the costs, some free time at work to study (some employers have a program for these things), and perhaps some flexibility in your attendance if you need to be elsewhere for exams, etc. (Promise, you'll make the time up later, although if you work for a great company, this may not be necessary)

8. Sign up for the course.

There's a natural human tendency to question whether we're doing the right thing, whether this wouldn't all be a waste of money, to imagine that our life is going to be disrupted beyond belief if we start doing something new. It's not true.

Or we may wonder what will happen if we fail. Well, you have to be spectacularly bad to fail. Exams assume you aren't going to be 100%, and pass rates in some subjects are as low as 65%. Besides, online colleges aren't out to fail you. They want you to keep coming back for more.

9. Be prepared to have to work through periods where you feel less than motivated. No article on how to initiate a distance learning course would be complete without mentioning that after about four weeks of hard work, you'll hit the occasional slump in enthusiasm. It's important to have some mechanism to keep you going. One strategy is to itemize your goals--or dig out your list from point 1 above--then write next to each why it is vital you achieve them. Keep hat image in your head, or repeating your goals to yourself. You may not end up firing on all cylinders, but you will have reminded yourself that, as NASA would say, failure is not an option. It will be enough to keep you going

And there you have it: nine tips to get you off to a flying start in your distance-learning program. Good luck!

Roger White helps you get clear about the hows, wheres, and whys of learning. For more details about distance learning programs and how to initiate a distance learning course, go to http://www.DistanceLarning4All.com now!Aura Blog76786
Bonni Blog19665

How To Boost Your Internet Connection Speed

Life without surfing the Web is as unthinkable as life without the telephone.No matter what you're doing in any given day, whether it be shopping, checking the weather, or catching up on the events around the world, we all have a tendency to go online to get the scoop on these matters.

Whether you're thinking about starting your first Internet connection or you want to get the most out of your existing connection, knowing how to accomplish this can boost that connection and make your web surfing much more enjoyable.

If your starting out for the first time, you must find an ISP or Internet Service Provider in your area that serves as a middleman between your PC and the Internet.

Once you have found yourself a reliable ISP, you have two choices of Internet connections. The slower of the two is the Dial-Up connection but its also the cheapest.If you can afford to pay a higher monthly fee, a broadband connection is the way to go.

Whichever connection you have or start first, it can probably run faster with a little optimization. In order to improve your current Internet connection, it would be to your advantage to know your current connection speed.

Check this by running a Speed Test at such sites as PC Pit Stop at www.pcpitstop.com and if you're running a broadband connection, try Broadband Speed at www.band withspeedtest.com and another is Broadband Reports at www.broadbandreports.xom/stest.

You can go to such search engines as Google or MSN and perform a search for let's say, "Internet Speed Test" and you will have a ton of software allowing you to test your Internet connection and many are free.

The Broadband Speed Test site allow you to test up to three times a month free.After that you can purchase a subscription and test up to 1,000 tests for $60.00. You can also purchase just 100 speed tests for just $12.00

Run a few speed tests to objectively test the connection and its best to run tests at different hours of the day.These test sites report their values in different formats.

In the evening Internet traffic is much higher and you want to know how fast your connection is during this time. With this data written down and safely put away, you should want to find out how fast your modem is at other times, especially in the mornings.

This values may be reported in 1kb or 1 kilobyte or 1MB which is 1 megabytes.Look at the site's reporting values and take careful, detailed notes of each connection speed test.

To optimize either connection you will need to tweak Windows Settings and install optimization software.If you have a Dial-Up connection and use Windows 98 or Me, click Start, Settings, and click Control Panel. Then right click the Modems icon.

Now click Properties, and choose the General tab.Use the Maximum Speed Drop-Down menu to select 115200. If this setting causes your Modem to no longer connect, change it to 57600.

Windows XP users should click Start, Control Panel and switch to classic view.Double-click the Phone And Modem options and choose the Modem tab.

Change the maximum settings port speed to 115200 and if the Modem responds poorly or not at all, change the speed to 57600.

Broadband users should consider using a tweak utility such as TCP Optimizer at www.speedguide.net/downloads.php and after downloading the software, you run it and make a backup of your current settings.

Save the backup, and follow the instructions in the software to optimize your broadband speed.Don't forget to click apply changes and click Yes if the software ask you to re-boot the computer.

And now you're on the home stretcth. Your computer should run faster now.If the new settings cause trouble, return to the program and restore your back up settings. If you failed to make a backup, restore Windows default settings.

Otis F. Cooper is solely dedicated to boosting the knowledge and confidence of every computer user. Sign up to receive his informative articles every month and learn PC Repair absolutely free. Sign up now at http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com Celie Blog94489
Brietta Blog59492

Blue World Pool: a gift that can not be ignored

Getting up in the morning, going out for work and then the same hectic schedule.How do you manage to balance this hectic schedule? Life in this fast paced world seems to be so hectic that we do not even time for ourselves. It seems that our health, our personal leisure, nothing really matter to us as we tend to get so engrossed in our daily hectic lives. Well it is not really very difficult to balance our hectic livesall we need to do is give ourselves some time and analyze what can really help us to relax and to maintain a balanced life. I guess blue world pool can be the best answer.

One of the easiest ways out in balancing your hectic life is by getting a swimming pool installed in the backyard of your house and then you are bound to have a gala time and enjoy yourself to the fullest. But then getting a swimming pool installed is not an easy task and you will have to be aware of many things while getting the swimming pool installed. But if you want to go in for one of the best swimming pools then you should give blue world pool a try. Not only does a blue world swimming pool helps you in having a nice, relaxing swimming session but it also allows you to spend quality time with yourself and your family. Moreover if you get a blue world swimming pool installed, you will be assured that the blue world pool dealers will make sure that you as a client do not get involved in any sort of a fraudulent deal or a transaction.

As I already mentioned installing a swimming pool is beneficial for you, your family and friends in more than one ways. So the best option for you is to install a blue world pool and trust me I can assure you of a great experience with it. See, now I will tell you in how many ways you can benefit from a blue world pool. it goes without saying that if you have a swimming pool at your house you and your family will inevitably, get to spend more time at house in the pool instead of going outdoors. You can even give a nice swimming training session to your child if he does not know how to swim. They will simply love you for this and also love the blue world pool... So instead of heading to an exotic location this summer, stay home and teach your kid how to swim. Surely no vacation can be exotic or wonderful enough to temp you from spending time with your kids.

Blue world pool is a renowned and reliable brand of swimming pool installers and the swimming pools that they offer customers are thoroughly hygienic and assure you a wonderful time with your loved ones. In fact getting a blue world pool installed in your backyard also gives you another reason to stay fit and fine as you can always go in for the water exercises that not only help you to remain fit and fine but also helps you to relax.

Eric Wills advises people on installing and setting up swimming pools.He has been working in this field for many years. For any information on Blue World Pools,blue world pool dealer, blue world hot tubs and swimming pools financing visit: http://www.blueworldpoolfinancing.com Ailis Blog88048
Adriaens Blog12371

Indianapolis Schools Attend National Meetings and Competitions While Making Improvements for the Next School Year

Students from Indianapolis Schools to Compete in African American History Challenge

Students from three Indianapolis middle schools will compete in the African American History Challenge held June 7-11 in Atlanta, Ga. The team is composed of Kenneth Rush from Crispus Attucks Middle School, Gordon Jackson of Park Tudor and Adrian Wynn of Craig Middle School. The team has trained for the event with Co-Chairs Pat Payne, of the Indianapolis Schools, and Kevin Davenport, 100 Black Men of Indianapolis. The African American History Challenge is an educational, scholastic program designed to encourage the study of African and African American history. The students in the program have been working to recognize the importance of history in the world, to seek truth in the study of history and identify when textbooks do not accurately reflected the contributions of people of African descent. The main source of study used in preparation for the national competition was "Before the Mayflower," authored by historian Lerone Bennett. The students have been preparing for the competition since early October, meeting every Saturday morning from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the Indianapolis Schools Multicultural Center.

Northwest High School Will Offer International Baccalaureate Program

Indianapolis School students will have the opportunity to enroll in the International Baccalaureate curriculum. Starting this fall, the rigorous International Baccalaureate curriculum will be introduced at Northwest High School. The Indianapolis School District wide magnet International Baccalaureate program was formally approved on May 15, 2006. The International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), a non-profit educational group based in Geneva, Switzerland approved the offering of the program at Northwest High School after the school completed a two year application procedure. The application process included training and professional development of all Northwest teachers and school staff, site visits to other schools with programs, before an official application was submitted in June 2005. An International Baccalaureate site team spent two days last fall visiting the school and interviewing staff, students and teachers. The International Baccalaureate is currently offered in only seven schools in the state of Indiana. The International Baccalaureate follows a very tough curriculum of study. It includes tough pre-college workloads in such traditional areas of study as math, foreign language, history, science and the arts. Students who are eligible for the program will be required to write an extended essay and be expected to participate in 150 hours of community service that has been initiated by the student. All of the International Baccalaureate programs in Indiana are at the high school level. Indianapolis School Districts Center for Inquiry is currently in the certification process to offer an elementary and middle grades International Baccalaureate academic program.

This will give the more urban students in Indianapolis Schools the chance to rise to the challenges of this world-renowned curriculum. The tougher curriculum will result in higher expectations for student achievement and a strong academic focus. The accelerated program is intended to help foster the small schools curriculum design being used at Northwest High School. The high school currently has four small academies organized by academic and career themes all on one campus.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, Which provides free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues.Bernete Blog15026
Catlaina Blog97178

Vocational Schools In Chicago

A vocational school is an institution operated for the purpose of giving the students the necessary skills to perform certain jobs. These schools do not aim to further a liberal arts education instead offer to teach job-specific skills.

Vocational education being offered in the past usually focused on specific trades such as becoming an automobile mechanic or welder. Such training and education were then associated with the activities of lower social classes. As a consequence of this, vocational schools attracted a level of stigma. The youth would prefer going to universities and colleges for their education rather than at vocational schools.

However, during the course of time, the labor market begins to develop itself into a more specialized market. More and more economies begin to demand more specialized skills from the workforce.

Governments and businesses are now beginning to invest in the vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives to provide for their need for more people with specialized skills. And also because of this, post-secondary level vocational education is now being provided by an institute of technology, or by a local community college.

Vocational education has diversified over the years and now exists to provide training in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries. People now have a wide selection of vocational training to choose from to personally equip them with skills for their chosen jobs.

If you are looking for Chicago vocational schools, you will be able to find a number of them online. If you are looking forward to honing a certain technical skill in order to land a job, a good vocational school may be able to provide you with the education that you are looking for. There are vocational schools all over Chicago that offer a wide range of vocational training.

There is the Chicago School of Massage Therapy for those of you who want to become future massage specialists. There is also the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago for those who want to follow a culinary path to success. The American Academy of Art in Chicago also offers vocational courses for those who are interested in graphic design, commercial art and illustration.

There are many more vocational schools in Chicago that offer a wide range of training and education for those of you looking to improve or further advance their vocational skills. Such skill will be able to help you help you succeed in a chosen career that you choose to take.

This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on Vocational Schools & other useful information, please visit http://vocational-schools.articlekeep.com.Catlee Blog92444
Alix Blog46392

Children's Christmas Make - Cardboard Nativity Scene

The nativity and the birth of Jesus Christ are the fundamental part of Christmas. Its the story of Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem to be counted for the census. Poor Mary was heavily pregnant and had to ride on a donkey. When they got to Bethlehem all the inns were full, and Mary and Joseph spent the night in a stable, where Mary gave birth to Jesus, the Son of God. Angels, shepherds and three wise men from the east came to visit Jesus, who was lying in a manger. This is the traditional image we have of the nativity scene.

To make a cardboard nativity scene al you need is...

Loo roll tubes or other tubes, scarps of paper and coloured card, glue, scissors, felt tip pens, cotton wool, and a few sequins for decoration.

To make the figures...

The loo roll tubes for the main body of the figure. Wrap coloured paper around your tube so that it completely covers one half of the tube. This becomes the body and the bare tube becomes the figures head.

Cut out two small rectangles from some card, these become the arms. Stick them into place n the figures body, towards the top of the coloured paper. Stick a 'D' shaped piece of flesh coloured card on the end of the arm to form a hand.

Draw on the figures face with felt tip pens. You can also draw on clothing details or patterns.

Extras...

The shepherd holds a crook, its a hooked tool which shepherds use to put around a sheep's neck as a sort of temporary lead to guide the sheep where the shepherd wants it to go. Cut a long hooked shape tool from card and stick it standing upright in the shepherds hand as though he was holding it.

The three wise men wear crowns or a turban. Cut these out of coloured paper and wrap them around the top of the wise men's heads. Decorate them with sequins to make them look jewel encrusted.

Joseph holds a lantern. Cut a long stick with a 'V' shape at the top. Stick this into Joseph's hand so that it is standing upright. This pole is to suspend the lantern from.

To make the lantern, take a small, rectangle piece of card and fold it in half so that the top and bottom of the lantern are together. Cut slits along the folded edge. Open up the card and now curve it round so that the two side edges meet and slightly overlap stick these two side edges together. When the glue has dried off a little, give the lantern a little squeeze so that the lantern forms '' Shape. Insert a roll of flame coloured paper into the lantern, glue and trim so that it fits snugly into place. This makes the lantern glow as though it were lit. Stick on some threat or a thin strip of card so that the lantern can be hung from Joseph's pole.

Sheep are made by covering a loo roll tube in cotton wool. Cut out a face shape from card to stick on one end of the tube. Cotton buds form the sheep's legs and feet. Cut a cotton bud in half to form two legs, glue all the legs into position.

Jesus is made from a rolled up piece of card, with coloured paper covering his body.

The manger is made from a loo roll tube. Cut the tube in half lengthways to form two guttering looking parts. Cut one into leg type shapes on each side and stick the two half tubes together, back to back.

Arrange all the figures on a table to recreate the nativity scene.

You could also attach a thread from your figures and hang them from the Christmas tree.

S. RobertsAryn Blog47356
Calypso Blog234

5 Things To Look For In A Promising Web Host

Finding a promising web hosting company for your internet based business is an essential piece to the puzzle. This is the company that has control of your server space, web services and file maintenance, so you want to make sure you are protected. Here are 5 things to look for in a promising web host.

1. Reliability

There is nothing more important than reliability when it comes to selecting a web hosting company. There are a number of things that can go wrong within an internet based business and it is assuring to know that your web host is there for you. Prior to selecting a company, take the time to look at the percentage of time their server is working properly. If the server tends to be down 15% of the time or more, this kills valuable time that you could be working.

2. Contact info

Part of a web hosting company being reliable is also them being available. If your server goes down, you want to know that you can get a hold of the company as soon as possible. The best way to check on the support personnel is to call them up prior to agreeing to anything to test them out.

3. Domain name

With thousands of internet based businesses on the web and millions of web addresses already taken, it can be difficult coming up with an original domain name. However, every web host should be able to provide you with one for a reasonable price. Check into the support they give you for finding a quality domain name and the prices each company charges for a domain name.

4. CGI access

Depending on the type of internet based business you have, you may want to or need to run your own programs. In order to do this, you must have CGI access. Not every web host offers this, and not every company offers the same capabilities for their CGI access. When researching into a web hosting company, check to make sure they offer CGI access that allows you to read, write, and execute on your server.

5. POP account

Having a POP account is vital for your business because of the protection that it offers. A POP account gives you password-protected access to mail that is sent through your website email address.

There are several things you want to look into prior to selecting a web hosting company. The more questions you can come up with to ask the company and the more research you put into your decision, the better off you will be.

Vincent Murphy is the Webmaster/Owner of http://www.HomeGrail.com Alisun Blog48559
Anne Marie Blog84389

FTP Hosting For Small Businesses

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is an authentic and secure communication protocol designed to exchange information from one computer to another over the Internet. Irrespective of business volume, sharing information or exchanging files on the World Wide Web is a common phenomenon in every business process. Most of us are familiar with Email to share files and other information over the Internet.

The importance of FTP hosting service increased remarkably for smooth and secure business communication. File Transfer Protocol can restrict unauthorized users to intervene in the business process. If you are running a small business and looking for a secure as well as efficient communication protocol then register for a FTP hosting service. FTP hosting service will provide you a secure network with a FTP server and a Client server to exchange information over the Internet.

Selecting an FTP hosting service for your Small Business

Internet is the right place to make sufficient research on FTP hosting service providers and service charges. Free hosting services do not provide the facility of File Transfer Protocol, most cases you have to pay for this secure file transfer service. First you have to register for a selected FTP hosting service. It is recommended to select your primary domain name and secondary domain name based on the name of your company. During the registration process you have to select the period and other facilities for FTP hosting service and based on that service provider will allocate a separate space for your small business in their server.

FTP hosting service to ensure a secured network in Small Business process

FTP hosting service allows you to share all types of files (text, image, audio, multimedia etc.) to targeted FTP account holders. FTP service providers will allocate FTP accounts with unique user name and password. Therefore you can create multiple FTP user account under the registered FTP site. FTP hosting service will allow only authorized account holder to access the server that is allocated for your business. Through your FTP account you can upload copies of the files in the server. Only authorized clients, vendors or end users can view and download selected files from your FTP site through their account.

Security of digital information is necessary in Health Care Services. If you are running a small business where you have to share medical report, research papers and other types of private document then it is recommended to go for Standard FTP. Standard FTP comes with the feature like encryption, which is not available in general FTP hosting service. In this process the system will encrypt the content of the file before uploading the file in the server.

Features of FTP hosting services for Small Business

For small business you can go for basic FTP hosting. Following are some features of basic FTP hosting:

Sufficient space in the FTP server to store any types of files. You have to select the storage based on your business volume.

Web-based Control Panel

Sufficient Sub-FTP accounts for clients, vendors and employees

Daily statistics of the activities along with daily backup facility

Directories, which are protected by Password

Additional security features like Secure FTP or SSL. These features are optional and are not available with general FTP hosting services.

Based on the requirement of your small business you can enjoy additional disk space and/or additional monthly file transfer through FTP server by paying reasonable amount per month to the service provider.

Cost factors

For small business money matters, therefore it is important to select the right FTP service provider. It is observed that, some special software is required to utilize this unique file transfer service. Since you have to pay the bill for FTP hosting service throughout the period therefore it is better to select the an FTP hosting service that does not require any extra software to support the process of exchanging files over the Internet. By this you can save some extra cash for your small business.

Values of FTP hosting services are quite affordable for small business operators. So register for FTP hosting service for your small business and experience an efficient and secure process of transferring files from one location to another.

Mike Jewson is a Network Engineer with "InstantFTPsites.com". You can learn more about "FTP Hosting" services online at http://www.InstantFTPsites.com Becky Blog79667
Ajay Blog83091

Make Your Wishes True with Poor Credit Secured Loans

Its quite true that your credit history matters a lot while taking any loan. Moreover, a good credit history fetches you more money. But does that simply mean that those who are having a poor credit history will not be able to satisfy their needs fully? If your answer is yes, you need to cross-check. If you have a bad credit history, you can equally get a loan with the help of poor credit secured loans.

A poor credit secured loan is meant for people who are unable to get any loan or face difficulty in availing unsecured loans due to their poor credit. These loans require you to offer your home or any other property as a security against the loan amount. Poor credit Secured loans caters to persons having bad credit history, or poor credit score, defaulters and arrears, people with CCJs, bankrupts etc.

With a secured poor credit loan, you can get amounts ranging between 5000 to 75000 depending upon your requirement as well as the collateral value. Being a secured loan, it offers a longer repayment period of around 3 to 25 years. However, you may select the amount and repayment term according to your convenience and capability to repay. The interest rate is relatively low as it is being offered to poor credit holders and also because it is a secured loan.

Poor credit secured loans can be used for various purposes. Many people use this loan as the best tool for debt consolidation. However, you can also use it for buying property, home improvement, wedding or holiday expenses, education, or purchasing car etc.You can utilize secured poor credit loan to meet your diverse range of needs.

Applying for secured poor credit loan is quite easy. To avoid unnecessary expense of time and money, you can go online and search for lenders. You will come across numerous lenders offering poor credit secured loans. Among all theses, you need to select the best one for you by comparing the quotations of different lenders. Once you select your lender, you will be required to fill an online application form. The form will ask you about your personal and financial details. After giving all those details, the loan application will be approved just within 10 to 15 days and soon the loan money will be in your hand.

With a poor credit secured loan, you get a great opportunity to eliminate poor credit score. It will help improve your credit score and stop them from getting adverse. Through this loan you can make your future better by securing good chances of getting loans.

Peter Taylor is a senior financial analyst at BadCreditSecuredLoan with an acumen for finance and insurance In recent years he has taken up to provide independant financial advice through his informative articles.His articles are widely read because of the lucid manner of wriiting and thoroughly researched datas.To find secured loan, bad credit secured personal loan, bad credit secured loan UK, bad credit homeowner loan,poor credit secured loan, bad credit loan, cheap secured loan that best suits your need visit http://www.badcreditsecuredloan.net Catha Blog39417
Barry Blog99948

Annabella Blog

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Save Fuel, Save Money

Custom Software Development Checklist

Home Equity Loan: What You Should Know

Evading Censorship: Using a Proxy to Visit MySpace

Freelancing as A Career Option

Smart Mortgage Shopping - 3 Steps to Take

How to Launch Your "Boomerang Kidult"

Advantages of Staying in a Private Villa in Bali

If You Want To Go Broke As A Web-Developer Let Me Tell You How.

Before Viewing Homes for Sale, Know What You Can Afford to Pay

The Plain Truth About Living In Mexico

Walmart Online Shopping

Home And Family Security Surveillance Camera

How to Make Money Online with Google AdWords?

Router Tables That Make The Cut

Before Viewing Homes for Sale, Know What You Can Afford to Pay

How To Initiate A Distance Education Course: A 9 Point Mini-Guide

How To Boost Your Internet Connection Speed

Blue World Pool: a gift that can not be ignored

Indianapolis Schools Attend National Meetings and Competitions While Making Improvements for the Next School Year

Vocational Schools In Chicago

Children's Christmas Make - Cardboard Nativity Scene

5 Things To Look For In A Promising Web Host

FTP Hosting For Small Businesses

Make Your Wishes True with Poor Credit Secured Loans

Previous Posts

Archives