Go-kart an italian passion

With the recent success of Ducati Corse in the World Motorcycle category "Moto GP", engines made in Italy have shown, together with the "custom" Ferrari, to be designed to be regarded as leaders around the globe.

Indeed, a bit like in all other areas, the Italian manufacturing presents as well as a high quality product also the passion and determination that distinguishes us in achieving excellence and objectives.

In this regard, even in Go-Kart production Italian companies are moving and promoting all over the world, thanks to a great go-kart production using the best engines, components and accessories.

But perhaps this fascinating world of competition with mini-cars, called Kart or Go-Kart, is not well known and less popular because of the two sports quoted above: motorcycle and Formula One.

Indeed, karting is the simplest form of motorsports run with small cars with essential shape: tubular steel frame without suspension, wheels and engine. The sport, just for fun transmitting in goal, was born as a hobby but now is a step "almost mandatory" for those who wish to embark on a career as a professional pilot. Not surprisingly, the latest F1 exited from its "breeding garden" of the go-kart (Schumacher, Senna, Prost, Alonso, just to name a few).

The kart was born in America, as often happens, for economic motivations in 1956 where cars race became increasingly expensive and the number of participants (and especially the audience) was so narrow to seek alternatives. In these terms, the Karting was the dowry of remedy, at least in some respects, this situation by proposing solutions extremely funny but also economic and accessible to all fans of engines.

In Italy the phenomenon develops and explodes in the early '70s where simple manual constructions moved towards specialization of some companies in the production and sales of Go-Kart competition. The first racetracks were born and passion spreads quickly from young to older who do not disdain the emotions that only a sports car like the Go-Kart can feel.

Recently Kart manufacturers have always researched and developed new solutions, improving each component of competition mini-cars with high technology spare parts able to greatly improve the performance and consistency of the same in sports and competition areas.

Finally we have only to indulge in this passion with friends and colleagues in breathtaking races, perhaps without exaggerating for the weak of heart.

Perfumes for people with allergies

Perfumes come in what seems like a never ending option of fragrances and aromas. For people with allergies (such as seasonal or allergic reactions to dust or asthmatic symptoms) wearing perfume can be a struggle.

People with allergies still like to make a statement and explore perfumes and fragrances, however it can be challenging to find one that doesn’t trigger a reaction. A few basic hints can help someone who is looking for perfume but not the breathing and reactive symptoms that accompany it can make the world of scent statements more manageable.

For starters, light is always better than heavy. Whether you are talking about the scent itself or the application process, a light aroma has less likelihood of setting off an allergic reaction. A light application of a mild scent is easier for people to tolerate than anything else and can free an individual from a scentless existence.

When shopping for a fragrance, bring a trusted friend with you. Explain what you are looking for and have them do most of the sniffing in an attempt to find the light aromas that are less likely to set you off. Once you experience an allergic reaction the shopping experience will come to an end since it will be impossible for you to tell whether any other scents give you the same reaction.

Avoid musky scents and floral aromas, as these tend to have a high concentration of allergy triggers. Softer oriental or woody scents carry the least likely reactive triggers. These can be difficult to determine if you are standing in an aisle with rows of scents such as you will find at a discount store. Wherever you choose to do your searching for the right perfume for you, make sure you choose a place that has a staffed counter so you can explain what you are looking for while minimizing exposure to other basic allergens. Ask permission to step a few feet from the counter so that you are not in the direct line of fire from other harsher scents that someone else is considering.

Try to plan the perfume shopping trip on a low allergy trigger day. If you live in a heavy smog environment, or a high pollen area, your available days may be limited. These are the days you probably wouldn’t be able to wear any perfume anyway. Walking into the store with allergy symptoms is not a solid platform for trying to find a perfume you can tolerate.

Try out a few colognes. Sometimes the different water alcohol base level in cologne makes it easier for an individual to tolerate the aroma. Perfumes have a higher concentration of oils, and their scent is stronger because of this. There are plenty of feminine scented colognes to choose from. Again, ask a staffed counter individual for assistance.

The home doctor is in

The Home Doctor has the answers to your building questions.

Q: A recent storm wreaked havoc on my roof and I'm now facing a roof replacement project for the first time. What should I know about shingles before diving into the reroof with my contractor?

A: Before I answer your question, I want to be sure you're working with a reputable contractor. Ask your roofer if he has insurance and get a written estimate for the work. It's a good idea to ask for a couple of references to follow up on in advance of signing a contract. The Better Business Bureau can also alert you to any complaints that have been filed against the company.

Once you are comfortable with the contractor, it's time to investigate shingle options. Interestingly, I've found that contractors will frequently recommend a shingle identical to the one they are replacing. There are so many new options in roofing that you'd be remiss not to investigate. From dramatic color blends to high-end "luxury" looks and outstanding warranty terms, make sure your contractor gives you a number of choices.

For most homeowners, I recommend asphalt roofing versus slate or wood. Generally, the more traditional materials are more costly and require a significant amount of upkeep over time. Asphalt shingles tend to endure the elements much better and some even come with impact-resistant features. They are more affordable in upfront costs. Plus, new styles of luxury asphalt shingles replicate the look of wood or slate with a likeness and affordability that are hard to beat.

As far as finding a quality shingle, CertainTeed has built a good reputation with its extensive line of asphalt shingles. This is the company that pioneered the increasingly popular multilayer shingle and is known for its innovative design and bold shingle color choices, such as variegated reds, blues and greens. When investigating shingle styles, their Web site is a good place to start.

The style of your home and your personal preference will determine the appropriate shingle for your house. If you want a roof built of high-quality materials and a dramatic, statement-making look, it may be worth looking at CertainTeed's new Centennial Slate™ or Landmark TL Ultimate™ luxury shingles. The former has a look of true blended slate, the latter is a wood-shake style. Both luxury shingles come with outstanding warranties and use color and layers to capture authentic style

How savvy shoppers can make big bucks reselling their finds

This article describes a way of making easy money with high profits, for those who are savvy shoppers and are good at finding “deals” while shopping.

Are you looking for ways to make money at home? You’ve probably heard about the money you can make by cleaning out your garage and having a garage sale, or by selling your items on eBay, but I learned about a little trick recently that has made me some extra cash with very high profit margins. I have always prided myself on finding a deal. I love finding something on sale. Especially when someone says to me, “Oh, I love that blouse” and I get to tell them what a great deal I got on it. Are you one of these people? If so, your talent could earn you some extra income.

I ride horses, which is a very expensive hobby. The horses are expense, the board is expensive, the clothes are expensive and the tack is expensive. Tack is all of the gear you use when riding, like saddles and bridles and such. Every three months a tack shop in my area has a big sale. I’m on their mailing list, so I always hear about it in advance. I get there early along with several other people and wait for the doors to open. They have their usual markdowns of 20% - 40% off certain items, but then they have special items that are on close out that are marked so low they are practically free. I always scour the shop to find all of these items as quickly as I can, because they are usually in short supply. For example, one time I found two pairs of leather tall boots. These were not high quality riding boots, but they still retailed for over $100 dollars a pair. They were an odd size. The foot size was normal, but the calf size was really wide. The boots were marked down to $10 each. Most people didn’t even look at them, because of the size. But I snatched them right up and sold both pairs for over $65 each on eBay a couple of days later. The auction buyers paid the shipping charges and I made $110 profit. The people who bought them were thrilled with their purchase, because if you remember these boots sell for over $100 a pair!

Sometimes I don’t feel like dealing with eBay auctions and shipping merchandise, so I just drop the items off at my local tack exchange, where items are sold on consignment. I don’t get as much profit this way, but it saves me the trouble of selling and shipping the items. If the items are an odd size, like the boots, I usually have better luck selling them on eBay, where there are a lot more buyers looking at them.

On another occasion, I found an expensive down designer riding vest for $20. These vests sell for $200. I sold it at my local consignment shop and made $60 profit.

Now I realize most people don’t ride horses, but this way of making extra money can be used on any kind of merchandise. You just need to be a savvy shopper and know what things are worth. If you are really good at it, you could make quite a bit of money.

When pets lose their pet pals -- do they grieve too

Oh, so you think your pet isn't human? You think humans are the only ones that can feel the loss of a loved one?

While we obviously don't know for sure - think about it. If pets eat like we do, sleep like we do, have the same body make up (within) like we do, cry when in pain like we do, then why won't they too feel the pain of a loved one like humans do?

It is sad that many humans think they are the only ones that are qualified to feel sad, happy or grieve when the loss a loved one.

If your pet can feel happy when there is the cause to, then why do you think it can't feel sad and grieve when there is cause to?

Why won't your pet moan when the closest pet to it has just died. Now it has to stay alone, play alone, sit alone, eat alone, etc. It will definitely feel the loss of the other and this will be manifest in its behavior.

Or you think because your pet can't speak to you and tell you how it feels, then it doesn't mourn?

Fact is this - when one of your pet dies and the other starts behaving in ways such as - eating less; loss of interest in things that it used to feel interest in staying aloof from you and others; not sleeping where it used to sleep, staying silent most of the time, etc.

All these are signs that your pet is silently grieving the loss of the other pet. If the pet isn't really sure whether the other one died or not, it could be hoping that the other pet will return.

What should you do when this happens?

Nothing much than to wait for time to heal the heart of this grieving pet.

Like humans, pets also feel the loss of a fellow pet, but get over this loss after some time. Time, they say, heals all wounds - in humans and even in pets.

So, when one of your pet dies and the other feels the loss so much, don't fret too much about it - this pet will get over it in due time. Some pets heal within a few weeks, while some last for many weeks and even months before they forget about the loss of their fellow pals.

What you can do is to give your pet all the necessary support, care and tenderness it needs to get over the loss in good time.

In other words, do everything you can to take the mind of your pet away from her object of worry. Engage her in those activities that she normally loves to do. If your pet is one that loves to have other pets to play with, then invite your friend over and have them bring their pets.

Best of all, you can buy another pet to keep your pet from feeling too lonely. With time she will eventually forget about the loss of the previous one.

Do all these and your pet can feel better despite the loss of its previous pal.

Linux on the desktop

Linux is an "open source" operating system originally developed by a engineer from Finland named Linus Torvalds. Linux was released under an early version of the GNU "General Public License", or GPL, by which any user that wanted to work with Linux was free to do so. Though it has evolved considerably over the years, it has yet to eclipse the popularity of Microsoft's Windows operating system at the consumer and small business level - which is dominated by "desktop" computer sales.

Sun, IBM and HP all have produced servers that utilize Linux - and it is in the server - database environment that Linux has thrived since its inception. The two major software companies that have produced successive versions of Linux software are Novell and Red Hat, both of which have taken an open source (free) operating system and equipped it with a variety of software packages tailored to various requirements, in order to create proprietary products.

While Linux based systems drive some cell phones and can be found in ordinary PCs, the primary competition between Red Hat and Novell has been in the "enterprise space," that segment of the software universe which focuses on linking business users to databases. Now, Red Hat has announced its intention to move into the "business desktop" market with a new series of adaptations. According to Red Hat, "This will be a more comprehensive offering that will target markets like the small and medium-sized business [SMB] sector and emerging markets. Part of this strategy is to get the desktop more to the masses than our existing client is getting today."

In the war of press releases, Novell claims to have made these strides already, and that what Red Hat is defining as desktop functionality is really an expansion of business functions - which Novell claims to have achieved already. And indeed, a spokesman for Red Hat notes that the company has "no plans to go and sell this offering at Best Buy... [for]...the mass consumer market. Customers will be able to download it and get a Red Hat Network subscription on the Web for it, which is what we feel is the distribution wave of the future anyway..."

So how do home users that venture into the Linux world feel about it? Many of them who have blogged about it feel that it's the greatest operating system out there but it is not ready for mass consumption simply because too many ancillary software elements and computer appendages aren't adapted for it. One self described "geek" who uses Linux, Windows Vista AND XP finds Linux to be a great operating system for browser use, but a simple task like hooking up a printer to a Linux driven PC can be a real challenge.

He adds, "If you're accustomed to watching DVDs, Windows Media or QuickTime files on your computer, then you're in for a challenge. Most Linux distributions (at least the major ones anyway) don't include this functionality by default because the codecs (software that displays the various encoded video file formats like Windows Media) aren't free. In many cases they're downright illegal. The same situation exists with MP3, arguably the most popular format for audio (notably audio you rip from your CD collection)."

It's a great operating system, but plug-and-play functionality for home computers isn't there yet. And neither Red Hat nor Novell have any intention of invading the home consumer "space." For now, they're content to battle it out by expanding their business-based products.

Luxury hotels in crete for a top honeymoon package

The Top Luxury Hotels in Crete are amongst the top hotels on the Greek Islands, and Crete Luxury Holidays are amongst the top in the Meditteranean When you come to make a decision about a Greek Island Vacation, you really shouldn’t look any further than Crete. If you want to take a Honeymoon in Europe, then you can get some of the best European Honeymoon Packages directly from the hotels themselves.

Crete is the biggest of the Greek Islands.

When you look at the sheer scale of the island, it measures over 150 miles from East to West, and 37 miles between the North and South Coast. There is everything from mountains, with totally unspoilt villages to very busy resorts on the beach.

Whether you are looking for a Romantic Hotel, or a honeymoon hotel, a Spa Hotel, and intimate Hotel, a Boutique hotel, or a Hip Hotel, then Crete has them all.

What follows are brief descriptions of a few of the top luxury hotels in Crete hotels which might be what you are looking for when you are deciding on either a Crete Luxury Holiday or a European Honeymoon Package.

The Elounda Mare Hotel, Elounda with 215 suites and villas, is easily the best luxury hotel in Crete, if not one of the top resort hotels in Europe. Some of the villas have their own pool, and you can enjoy everything from golf to tennis, and all the watersports you can think of.

Istron Bay Hotel, Istro, Agios Nikolaos is incredibly well hidden built into a cliff face below road level, with several floors, huge rooms with large balconies overlooking the bay. This luxury hotel is definitely one for foodies as the restaurant is award winning.

Palazzo Rimondi, Rethymno has 21 rooms and is made up from several 15th Century Venetian houses hidden away in the back streets of Rethymno’s Old Town. The rooms in the hotel retain much of the original features, but all the enormous rooms, which are really suites, are very up to date and stylishly comfortable. This hotel is for the connoisseur of historical buildings that have been modernised but are still in keeping with their surroundings.

Casa Delfino, Chania is a 17th Century former palace situated in the most beautiful town on Crete. The Venetian harbour of Chania is very beautiful and as befits the best hotel in the town it overlooks the harbour from its private roof terrace. It is quite hidden away in the old town with beautiful rooms, each with a marble Jacuzzi, and the rooms are all off a superb central courtyard.

Casa Leone, Chania is a 600 year old mansion hidden away in the back streets of the Old Town. It has a rooftop terrace overlooking the Venetian harbour. It has been restored quite beautifully and furnished with antiques, but has all the modern conveniences that 21st century guests demand. If you can; get a room overlooking the por. t

All of these top luxury hotels in Crete would fit the bill if you want a luxurious honeymoon in Europe. Why not split things up and stay in two or three of them!!

An introduction to wedding cakes

A wedding is one of the sweetest moments in one’s life, and to compliment the great occasion, it is only natural to serve sweets. Cakes, like sweets, are an integral part of a Western wedding.

Once the wedding ceremony is over, the traditional wedding cake is served to the guests. For this, even the knife, the container, and the table are decorated beautifully.

The wedding cake should go well with the wedding. The taste and style of the couple is clearly reflected in the design, shape, and decoration of the wedding cake. There are some prerequisites to choosing the most suitable wedding cake. The proposed budget is the prime factor. After deciding the budget, a good baker, caterer, or expert chef should be selected. The correct selection of the wedding cake remains a stiff challenge due to the wide range of options available regarding flavors, colors and decorations for the cake.

Usually, the wedding cake is massive in size, and multi-layered or tiered. It should complement the wedding dress, the place of reception, the weather conditions, etc.

Tradition demands that the bride and the groom share the first piece of the cake, after which other guests partake of it. Sometimes, a portion is preserved so that the couple can share it either on their first wedding anniversary or on the birth of their first child.

The wedding cake can be made in various flavors and colors. Some opt for the traditional ones, while others prefer new designs and tastes too. A single flavor can be used. But it would be nice if it could cater to the different tastes of the guests. To achieve this, each layer can have a different flavor. The topping or the icing can also be done in many ways, the traditional being the white cream icing. Even the shape is undergoing changes, and miniature cakes are becoming a common sight.

Some of the preferred flavors are cheesecakes, mousse-filled cakes, chocolate, orange mud, and fruitcakes. Fillings can be picked from the list of chocolate, coconut, custard, almond, vanilla, etc. At the top of the cake, the figures of the bride and the groom can be seen. The cake can be decorated using many colors or design themes.

The basic idea or tradition of the wedding cake is to make the occasion memorable, to be cherished by the couple as well as their friends and loved ones.

The tradition of serving cakes is laudable, as it symbolizes the sweetness, prosperity, fertility, and love fostered through marriage.

Features of computer rpg s

Computer role playing known as Role playing game or (RPG), has become one of the most popular forms of computer games on the market today. RPGs not only use point and click methods, but include traits such as character selection, multi-players, first or third person shooters and strategy. This means that the player gets emotionally and physically involved in the game.

The characters range from regular human beings to mythical creatures such as monsters. Each character has different traits and levels of skill, for example they could be archers with their tools or magicians with their potions or even something as simple as a human being and his fists. These characters are on a quest. On that quest, they will face a lot of strange creatures such as berserk monsters or sinister enemies that could be in a horror movie. As you become successful in completing a level, the difficulties increase. All the traits you possess as the character must be monitored to see if you have the ability to protect your self and fight off your enemies.

To keep track of the area, there is a map always present. It is laid out on a rectangular grid and north is facing the top of your screen. This sometimes confuses people, so there is a more detailed map that pops up if you click automap. It breaks down the large map into a smaller section and tells you exactly where you are.

The character roams the map fighting off creatures or getting through other situations depending on the settings which could vary from fantasy or futuristic to wasteland or medieval. The tools you have may be added to along the way. You could get something that would heal wounds or strengthen the character (called manna) or you could upgrade the weaponry you possess so that instead having to hit your enemy with three blows you can cut them down with one. It is better to save these bonuses for fighting a group of creatures or the final challenge of that particular level.

Because RPG’s have been developed from the beginning in two different geographical locations, two distinct branches have evolved over time. There are the Asian RPGs, which tend to have creatures resembling Japanese anime characters set in a futuristic or fantasy world and represented with colorful bright visuals. And then there is the Western RPGs which tend to take a more realistic approach. The settings are usually based medieval periods or other historical and mythical times and the storylines are dark and build up slower.

Articles is it better to give or receive

I don’t claim to be an article marketing expert, but I do both. I run about 10 article sites and I submit articles using an auto submitter. I feel that you can make money both ways.

I submit anywhere from 5 to 25 articles per weeks using a free, online article submitter to post my articles to hundreds or thousands or sites. The articles run from 500 to 1,000 words and are related to whatever it is that I am selling.

For example, I write articles about Thailand while promoting my affiliate hotel sites geared specifically to Thailand. I also write marketing articles and point them to a variety of sites that I run.

Using the auto submitter, I can get my articles and more importantly, links to my sites, all over the Internet. The more links that point back to my sites, the better the search engines like me.

I have about 10 different article sites and a few blogs that accept articles automatically. I manually approve each and every article. I like to check to make sure that the articles are following my submission guidelines. The biggest violators put links in the text and more than 2 links in the resource box. I try to contact them to advise them of the rules and if they continue, I disable their accounts.

So, which is better? I would have to say that submitting the articles is the more beneficial as it gets my links in hundreds or even thousands of web sites. Back links are looked upon very favorably by the search engines and I love to have my links everywhere and for a long time. And, if I am lucky, some marketer or eZine will send out my article to their mail list getting me more exposure.

Running the article sites is a bit time consuming since I have to check the articles 2 or 3 times per day or I get inundated. Manual approval is a must for me since I want to check and make sure the articles are quality. And with the auto submitters, not many actual people visit the site, just the auto bots. But I still think there is value since my own articles get posted to my article sites, I can easily advertise, and they are ranked high in Google and Alexa.

So, I would try to do both but would put the emphasis on getting my articles out to the world with links back to my sites. This will get more traffic and hopefully more sales.

Easy games to play for fun

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Get acquainted with a practical guide on the easiest games that you can play online. And once you read this article, you will find that you have at least stopped losing all your money. If you follow the advice well and to the dot, you will also learn how to start winning cash from other players or by beating the casino. Sounds interesting? It is.

Note that the games you must look out for are those where the house edge is very low. If these are hard to find at the casino you have entered, look for those games that depend more on skill than on luck. Some of these include blackjack and poker. The games to avoid because they depend solely on luck are any of the slot machine games such as Caribbean Stud or the regular or progressive slot jackpots. These rely only on luck and the house edge there is against you.

What is a House Edge?
Since the casinos and betting establishments are in it for making money, they have created an artificial method to gain leverage over the players. This is what they have termed house edge. What it means is that over and above what you win, the casinos deduct a certain amount for themselves. It is something like insurance but only for them and not for you. But the casinos do not actually do this. Instead, they have inserted these odds into the game winnings so that you do not notice it. When you win, you are paid according to the newly calculated odds and you are no wiser.

For instance, if you walk over to a casino and place a bet of ten dollars on a roulette table. (For arguments sake, let us also suppose it was an American roulette table.) If you win, you should be given three hundred and seventy dollars because the true odds is thirty-seven to one. Instead, you will only get three hundred and fifty dollars according to the odds of thirty-five to one. This is what I was referring to in the previous paragraph. What has happened is that you have lost twenty dollars to the casino as part of the house edge.

Playing Poker:
Pick and play this exceptional game because, here, you are not competing against the house at all. It is other players like you who you are up against. Do battle against them and defeat them for cash. No house edge comes in the way here, but you do pay a small part of the money you win to the casino as a commission. This winning commission is called rake, and its so minute that you do not feel it pinch your pocket.

In addition, this is one of the best games to play if you are good at it and if you have razor-sharp skills. You will be able to mint money like crazy if you can read other expressions and count the cards well. You can also pick from a variety of game variations such as Red Dog Poker and Texas Holdem.

Playing Blackjack:
This is one of those games that the casino does not like you playing. If it was up to the betting establishments, they would remove these tables altogether. Why? Because the edge for them is only a half percent! Thus, is you play well by remembering that you have to beat the dealer and not reach 21, you stand a big chance of accumulating a large sum. I also suggest you brush up on your mathematical skills.

If you wish, learn how to count cards, but be careful. Because card counting works, casinos have banned it. All you have to do is count the colored cards (the cards that are ten and above). Then, it will be easier to decide which bet to make and which not to make. Practice again and again at home because you not only have to master this skill but you also have to learn to do it silently so that the casinos do not catch on.

Video Poker:
This is a game very much like one of the many regular and progressive slot machines games you will run into at a casino, but it is different. Unlike slots, skill plays a big part in the results, and thus you have a bigger chance of winning than at one of the slot machines.

But, before you begin, glance at the payment structure pasted on the machine. You should make your gaming decisions based on the house odds and payment structures of the machine.

Caution is advised before undergoing chelation therapy

Chelation therapy is the use of chelating agents to remove heavy metal ions from the body. Chelation (pronounced Kee la shun) therapy started during World War I when poison gas (Lewisite) affected soldiers were treated with a chelating agent Dimercapol also known as British Anti Lewisite (BAL). BAL had severe and painful side effects but was the only known antidote for the arsenic based poison gas at that time.

With the advancement in medicines many chelating agents were developed in the US, USSR and England which do not have as severe side effects as BAL. There are other chelating agents which have been developed to nullify the effects of harmful metallic ions. Some of them are:

BAL : British Anti Lewisite

EDTA : Dietheylene triamine pentaacetic acid

DMSA : Dimercaptosuccinic acid

DMPS : Dimercapto-propane sulfonate

ALA : Alpha lipoic acid

Ca Na2 – EDTA : Calcuium disodium versante

D-Penicillamine

Deferosamine

Deferoxamine

Chelation therapy is conventionally used for treatment of heavy metal poisoning like mercury, arsenic, plutonium, lead and iron, (as in thalassemia). It is only used in acute cases where the poisoning is so high as to justify chelation therapy. The chelating agents are treated orally or intravenously or intramuscularly depending on the type of poisoning. Chelation therapy is also used for treatment of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), autism caused by mercury by alternative medicine practitioners but the efficacy of chelation therapy is not proven for these ailments. Chelation therapy involves undergoing 20 to 50 infusions depending on the type of patient.

Chelating agents work by forming a water soluble compound with the harmful metal ions in the blood. This water soluble compound flows through the blood stream and is cleaned by kidneys and the liver.

It has been claimed widely that Chelation therapy is efficacious in treatment of people with fatty buildups of plaque in their arteries (atherosclerosis). Atherosclerosis is the main cause of heart attack and stroke where in fatty deposits in the arteries constrict the arteries. Calcium is a constituent of this fatty deposit. Chelation therapists claim that the chelating agents remove the calcium from the deposit and thus the artery gets cleared. However the problem with this theory is that the chelating agent cannot penetrate the cell wall and get to the calcium deposit. Further the chelating agent has more affinity for other ions than for calcium.

The proponents of chelation therapy like American College for Advancement of Medicine ACAM (a private organization) and few parent organizations have widely supported Chelation therapy. One example of successful use of chelation therapy is of Mr. Harold Mc Cluskey a nuclear worker who had been poisoned by americium and was later treated successfully by chelation therapy. Further high sulfur foods like onions, garlics, seaweeds etc,. are being used as “chelating agents” due to folklore. MSM and NAC have also been used as sulfur supplements. However they are not chelating agents as the double bond with the metal ion is not involved and these compounds have mono thiols whereas chelating agents have di-thiols.

The opponents of chelation therapy have pointed to the dangers of chelation therapy like hypocalcaemia and mainstream medicine has rejected the claims of chelation therapists. Caution is advised before undergoing chelation therapy.

Why wake forest nc is great for families

Fabulous weather, thousands of acres of natural parks and recreational lakes, first-class universities, a booming job market and plenty of churches that reveal a strong sense of community, make Wake Forest NC a great place for families.

Nestled between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the beach, Wake Forest NC offers residents the best of both worlds. 220 days of sunshine, with average temperatures in the mid to high 80’s in summer, sees residents reveling in the great outdoors. There’s lots to choose from - beaches, swimming, fishing, boating and plenty of other sporting activities. Short-lived winters, with average snowfalls of 7.5 inches, send residents heading off to ski resorts for a bit of winter fun. There’s nine ski resorts to choose from.

Students have access to the best education at the colleges and universities of the Triangle. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University and North Carolina State University have been voted best in their category several times. Almost 30% of Triangle’s population, aged 25 and over, hold bachelor’s degrees and higher. Over 80,000 skilled workers are employed in the manufacturing sector, producing medical devices, computers, precision fabricated metal products, electrical and communication equipment and industrial machinery.

The housing market offers an extensive choice of housing options from architectural classics in scenic historic districts to elegant modern homes in well-planned neighborhoods.

The Wake Forest atmosphere wears a festive look right through the year. There is always a reason to celebrate; from the American Dance Festival and Wake Forest’s Six Sundays in Spring festival to the DuBois Jazz Festival and the numerous concerts at Walnut Creek Amphitheater. The sporting scene is just as lively with Wake Forest hosting several professional sporting events and world-renowned golfing tournaments every year.

Hill Ridge farms is an ideal weekend destination with plenty of child-friendly activities including a farm animal Corral, Giant 80-foot slide, Fish Feeding Dock, Maze, a large sandbox and plenty of swings and sides.

Tips on paying off your student loans

As a college graduate, you likely are focused on landing your first job, finding a nice place to live and settling into the "real world."

If you graduated with a substantial amount of debt, however, you would be wise to spend some time mapping out a strategy for paying it back as quickly as possible.

According to a recent study by the U. S. Department of Education, 26 percent of college graduates borrow at least $25,000 to pay for their college educations.

"Today, many students are graduating from college with a significant amount of debt, but are unprepared for how to deal with it," said Dick Willey, president and chief executive officer of American Education Services, a national financial aid services organization.

AES hosts youcandeal withit. com, designed to help college students and graduates become financially responsible. Here are some tips from AES.

* Consolidate. Consolidating your loans can reduce your monthly payments and potentially lower your interest rate. AES recommends that you look into this option as soon as possible to lock in a low interest rate. When you consolidate, you'll get just one bill per month, which makes it easier to keep track of your payments.

* If possible, make payments during your six-month grace period. This is a great way to save money on your subsidized loans because any payments you make will be applied directly to the principal balance. This lowers the amount of interest you will owe after the grace period expires. Plus, you'll be able to pay off your loan months earlier than you expected.

* Use direct debit to help you pay your loans on time every month. Direct debit is a free, automatic payment service for borrowers who prefer to make their loan payments electronically. If you use this service, you also may qualify for an interest rate reduction after a specified number of on-time payments.

* Make everyday expenses count toward repayment of your loans. When you join Upromise, participating merchants will contribute a portion of what you spend with them to your Upromise account, which you can use to help pay off your AES-serviced loans.

When you need an expert laser hair removal

When it comes to laser hair removal, many times the answer you receive to questions you ask bears little resemblance to fact. The Toronto Laser Hair Removal Experts provide comprehensive answers to common laser hair removal questions.

A unique hybrid of spa and cosmetic treatment center is becoming increasingly common. Sadly there are locations that do not conform to acceptable standard of practice and ethics. Arming yourself with answers to some important questions is a strong first step in unmasking clinics to avoid.

For instance, according to the Toronto Laser Hair Removal Experts at laser-hair-removal-tornoto. org laser hair removal treatment should always be performed by a licensed physical or laser doctor. Some facilities bypass this mandate. It’s also true that some clinics will guarantee complete and permanent hair removal. The truth is, multiple sessions may be required to arrest the continued growth of hair in the targeted area. The methods of therapy can never be a one time solution because hair grows at different rates which is why 5-7 sessions are typically required to treat the majority of hair regrowth.

Toronto Laser Hair Removal Experts pride themselves on the information they provide and stand ready to answer your questions by providing a variety of online resources that assist you in making an informed choice when exploring the possibilities associated with laser hair removal.

When you visit laser-hair-removal-tornoto. org you will find a FAQ section along with a section for both related publications and personal consultation.

One of the most common frustrations for those who are assisting patients with quality laser hair removal is there are those who would seek to convince you that they are providing the same services, but may be utilizing Radio-Frequency Devices (RF) or Intense Pulsed Light (IPL). These methods cannot provide true laser hair removal - primarily because they are not lasers.

When visiting with a potential laser hair removal provider you are encouraged to ask what type of equipment they utilize. The two approved lasers are the ND-Yad laser (primarily used with darker skin types) and the Alexandrite Laser (primarily used in lighter skin types). Both of the above mentioned laser hair removal systems are considered highly effective and are the current standard for this type of cosmetic procedure.

One of the more fascinating parts of the Toronto Laser Hair Removal website is the quick link section providing the latest news in laser hair removal. This section provides further evidence that the goal of this site is simply to provide the information needed to make an informed choice.

The site editor is John Keller M. D. Ph. D. who is a board certified laser physician who operates a laser and vein clinic in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A site linked Doctor’s Blog allows further information to be gathered while adding a strong human touch to laser-hair-removal-toronto. com

The experts at Toronto Laser Hair Removal Experts insist that you feel confident and comfortable with your choice in a laser hair removal expert. Some of the questions they suggest asking include whether or not you will be able to see an actual physician during your consultation. They also recommend discovering the total number of laser hair removal procedures the clinic does each year. You should also seek to determine if a physician will be performing the procedure or if a physician will be in the room supervising your treatment.

Should you be considering laser hair removal, you will find many of the most common questions answered at laser-hair-removal-toronto. com This site provides knowledgeable, straightforward answers for a treatment that has held promise for many, but has been routinely abused by ill-equipped providers.

Website translation and localization diy guide

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Expanding businesses into other countries means that you will be conveying your messages to people who speak other languages. What's more, your audience may have cultural background other than yours -- and it does matter.

Surprisingly many people think that creating, say, a website in a foreign language means just to translate the existing English version. Good translation by all means is very important. But what about putting your message into the context of the particular culture, which is native to your new audience?
This process is called "website localization". It is like "tuning" your website (both content and design) into unison with mentality of other people -- the prospective visitors.

Here I won't describe the part of web site localization which deals with programming; this issue itself is complex enough. I will focus on writing content for your website and its further translation.

What part of this work you can do yourself? Probably not all of it, but quite a lot. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you in the process.

Step Zero: Remember: Your Website is Not for You.
It is for VISITORS. So it is logical to consider what THEY think such websites should look like. It is their points of view that matter, not yours. When you memorize this axiom, go to

Step One: Learn!
Self-education is useful in itself; besides, this knowledge is going to save you money and bring profit later. Learn as much as you can about your prospective audience. The more, the better.

It's a rather time-consuming but exciting process. I hope you will manage, as Ancient Romans used to say, "Miscere utile dulci" (to mingle the useful with the pleasant). You will find out plenty of interesting things about another culture. Customs and traditions, rules of etiquette and moral principles, stereotypes, superstitions and lots of other stuff for you to consider when addressing people from a country other than yours.

You can find plenty of information in the Internet. Search Groups as well. Show your interest in other culture, and almost any native will appreciate it and help you as an expert. In addition, you will make good friends with great people.

Travelers' guides can be an excellent source of information; they will help you avoid costly mistakes not only during a trip abroad. Just one example. You must have seen websites with pictures showing people gesticulate. Note that any gesture which is quite OK in the USA may be misunderstood somewhere else. By the way, do you know what the "OK" gesture means in some Asian countries? Demand for money, that's what. In Tunisia it will be interpreted as a threat to kill; in Arab countries -- "go to h…" In France it means just "zero" or "nothing." In Denmark or Italy it can be taken as an insult; and so is in Brazil, Guatemala and Paraguay -- here it is considered very obscene. So, you'd better make pictures of your website "culture-neutral".

The farther in, the deeper… What is considered rude, impudent, offensive, or impolite in this culture? What is respected, valued, venerated? What traits of character are appreciated most? What are the favorite colors and what are they associated with? What are the most noticeable differences between your culture and this one?

Don't be surprised if points of view on what is beautiful and what is ugly will also differ from yours. When you come to the conclusion that your text won't do and the design probably needs changing as well, go to

Step Two: Analyze!
Turn your findings into tips for writing another text. "Don'ts" here are of much more important than "Do's"
Realize how you shouldn't write. Learn what won't work. Find out what to avoid in graphics and website design.
When arranging content and graphics, it is very important to know whether the audience reads left-to-right, right-to-left or vertically.

Step Three: Write for your audience.

What to begin with when writing for a person from another culture? Put on his shoes first. Well, that's second. First, take off your own shoes. I mean don't be a representative of your own culture -- just for a short time you'll be writing the content.

• Avoid jokes, slang, idioms, proverbs and sayings. They are YOURS, not theirs. Allusions to books they probably haven't read, quotations, however familiar they are to you -- all that won't work.



• Be cautious with metaphors and similes (comparisons). Pretty clear and familiar to YOU, for others they might be not so obvious.



• Symbols can mean something very different in other cultures. If you can't do without one, find out what it means THERE.



• Abbreviations and acronyms are tricky, too – they may be unknown to your audience.



• You will have to explain stuff you think to be trivial. Not everybody in the world knows what is eBay, Paypal, or Amazon. Celebrities' fame isn't worldwide, either. Big companies and brands may be unknown on the other side of the globe.


Step Four: Find a RIGHT translator

If you can, get a well-educated native speaker of a language you are going to have your text translated into (it is called "target language")

The reason is that nobody can ever say: "I have learned this language" -- only "I have been learning". We all have been learning our mother tongues since birth. That is why native speakers have an advantage. The larger the translator's vocabulary, the better your message will be expressed. Besides, a native speaker often has precious knowledge on the culture -- it's precisely what you need for website localization-- and will help you in the process.

Step Five: Bring it to Perfection
How to check the end result? Ask somebody from this culture to proofread the text before launching the website.

Encourage feedback when your website is launched. Correct mistakes, if any, at once. Improve your website all the time.

Getting your messages understood in other languages and cultures is a tricky task. It takes plenty of effort -- but it will pay. Not only will you make profit and avoid bitter losses caused by misunderstanding. As a bonus you will get deeper undestanding of people whose languages, cultures and even ways of thinking are different. This understanding is the key factor of your success in doing business or communicating with these people.

Good luck to you! Success be to your efforts!

Lifting that credit card debt from your shoulders

Are you under severe financial stress with credit card debt, no assets and a salary that does not allow you to meet repayments? Is the situation getting worse by the month, and have you tried to consolidate or negotiate with the bank to reduce fees with no luck? I was in this situation myself at one stage. I needed help and fast! I realized I was probably not alone as many people experience financial stress as a result of increasing personal debt and rising interest rates. I decided I had to find a way to solve the problem. I turned to my favorite ebook superstore cbdeluxe for information as they have a wealth of information I can draw down from.

Firstly I decided I should seek help and advice through a financial counseling service. These organizations provide free, independent and confidential services to help you take control of your financial affairs. They help you to work out a plan and mediate with the bank on your behalf. Intermediaries tend to negotiate better with the banks and credit institutions than you can. The banks take more notice and take your situation more seriously if they are presented with a documented budget and a realistic plan of your outstanding debt. It is also time to take a close look at your spending habits. Aim to reduce your expenditure by splitting your expenses into two groups: essentials and non-essentials. Keep to an absolute minimum spending on non-essential items and keep track of your spending weekly to remain in control. It goes without saying credit cards should be shredded or locked away to be used in an emergency only.

As well as reducing your spending look at ways you can increase your income. I realized it had been a while since I had had a pay increase. Maybe for you there is an opportunity to do overtime. Taking on a second job is also an option. I started to spend more time on my computer at home and found ways of making extra money on the net. Working full time in sales I upped my goals and started to increase my commission pay cheque each month. It was because I found a light at the end of that dark tunnel again. It boosted my income while I was getting on top of my debt repayments. You need to document your month-by-month financial goals. I allowed myself a small reward each time I reached a goal for the sacrifices I was making. It kept me motivated. Surprisingly enough as I was so busy with two jobs the time went very quickly and before I knew it I was out of debt. One of the biggest rewards that happened to me was that the second job has now become my main source of income.

The last resort if all the above fails is always to consider filing for personal bankruptcy. I do mean "last resort". While it may seem an easy answer to your problems - it brings with it more problems. This has been used by directors of large corporations who then go on to start up again in other businesses, but it has serious ramifications for your future. It restricts your income, and your ability to borrow in the future. Travel ling restrictions are imposed on you as well, not to mention the stigma bankruptcy carries. Therefore the effort you put into the above ideas are a far better solution to the problem. Research all your options on my favorite ebook superstore cbdeluxe like I did and you will find a way out of the problem. Main lesson to learn from this is to keep your spending in the future to within the budgets you set yourself.

Brewing your own scent

If you don't like any commercial perfumes, make your own. That's probably the best thing to do rather than get frustrated from spending hours and hours smelling perfumes in department stores and speciality shops. Also, you might end up creating a scent that is cheaper yet richer and more perfect for your body.

When making your own scents, you should always remember that perfumes have three basic structures or layers, namely: the base notes, heart or middle notes and top notes. Top notes are the first smell that you'll notice and it is also the first one to evaporate.

Top notes handle the first impressions. It creates the mood and the one that immediately captivates. Meanwhile, the heart notes or otherwise known as the middle or coeur notes. These scents appear later and last longer. They give character to the perfume. The final layer is the base notes which lasts the longest. They slowly come out blending with both the heart note and the top note.

Make certain that you don’t put natural essential oils and absolutes as top notes. They are basically complex compounds that sometimes already contain middle notes and even top notes characteristics. So care should be taken when you start mixing or blending different kinds of essential oils.

Ideally, top notes are made from citrus oils like bergamot, lemon, mandarin, orange, etc. Conifer oils such as cypress, fir, pine, spruce, etc. can also be used. Also popular top notes oils include mint oils, cardamom, basil, chamomile, juniperberry, ginger, petitgrain and rosemary. When it comes to middle notes, probably the best oils to use are floral oils and absolutes such as caraway, black pepper, cinnamon, clary sage and clove bud.

Oils from elemi, coriander, galbanum, sweet marjoram, geranium, lavender and nutmeg are also great middle note materials. Palmarosa, thyme and violet leaf absolute have also been used before and their blending capabilities have proved to be quite effective. Wood oils like cedarwood, gaiac, linaloe wood and sandalwood are great as base notes. So are resin oils like frankincense and myrrh.

Perfumers also use labdanum, patchouli, oakmoss absolute, vetiver and even vanilla as base notes for their perfumes.

When making your own perfumes, it is always, always important to know your materials. Essential oils for example have different characters, behavior, strength and weaknesses. Each characteristic should be considered and their effects studied closely. You need to know the effects of the essential oils and perfume blends on your skin.

You need how to understand how the mixture will react when diluted or when it is set over time. You need to be prepared and know or at least have an idea on how the mixtures will react. It is, therefore, perfect advice that you write down all the processes that you undertook, from measurements to blending procedures.

And as important as the actual steps are, one needs to take regular breaks. Not only will this help in raising creativity but it will help make you safe from some harmful effects of prolong exposure from oils. Remember that you are working with essential oils.

These oils are highly concentrated and give off very strong smell. It is, therefore, possible to become sick if you spent too much time working on them especially in unventilated areas. And also, there's also a limit to how much scent or perfume your nose can take.

Great holiday destination madrid

The official epithet for the natives of the city is Madrileсo, but they are frequently known as gatos (cats). City breaks in Madrid will make it apparent that the city positions itself as one of the important cities in Europe. Madrid is a foremost southern European city and the most significant link between the European Union and Latin America. The enlightened city is home to over three million people. Like any other chief European capital city, each district (or barrio in Spanish) has its own ambiance.

Madrid is also distinguished for its nightlife and discotheques. Young & warm madrileсos dances all night and stop off for chocolate at first light. Also trendy is the custom of gathering in parks or streets with friends and drinking together (called 'botellуn', from 'botella', bottle). Since few years drinking in the street is endorsed with a fine. The juvenile madrileсos drink together all around the city instead of in some well-known places. You‘ll take best pleasure in your Madrid holidays.

Other cultural tourist attractions include the Royal Palace of Madrid and the nearby royal monastery of San Lorenzo de El Escorial. Madrid's main Opera Theatre is the Teatro Real (Royal theatre). In front of the theatre is the Royal Palace. The Royal Palace is no longer used as a residence, but it has been kept intact since it last functioned as home to the King, serving as a cultural monument and occasionally used for state functions. The entire palace is not open to the public, but most of the more important rooms can be visited.

Serving the city's population of some six million, the Madrid Metro is one of the most far-reaching and fastest-growing metro networks in the world. It is now the second largest metro system in Western Europe, first being the London's Underground. The province of Madrid is also served by a widespread rail network called Cercanнas. Madrid is operated by Barajas International Airport. With airlines commencing new routes to Madrid, there is now a good choice of cheap flights to Madrid from UK Airports. You can book online with many online travel agents in UK, and receive access to extremely competitively priced Madrid city break packages along with a Ј5.00 per person discount! You can also book cheap flights to Madrid while booking Madrid hotels at mymadrid. co. uk . Look out for other money saving offers when you book online! Plan your trip to Madrid now whilst airfares are still low and the city remains unspoilt before the hoards of tourists and stags discover this latest new destination.

Her dog shows two different types of aggression

Dear Adam:

I am writing about our dog Rudy, a three year old goldie mix that we adopted five months ago from a shelter. We have received different opinions on his mix. Some have said goldie/shepherd, some have said goldie/chow. The latter is the opinion of the [local dog training academy], where he is presently enrolled in their one-month board and train program. We enrolled him because one month ago he attacked a jogger. The jogger was running by my husband, who had Rudy in a sit on a slack leash. The jogger changed direction quickly, running straight toward Derek and Rudy. Rudy lunged at the jogger, jumped up on him, barking and growling aggressively.

He tore the man's jacket by nipping at it, but he did not bite the jogger.

[You weren't paying attention to your dog. If you were, you'd have already been running the other direction to execute the "attention getter" drill as outlined in the book. - Editor]

The only other time he had displayed such aggressive behavior was toward a UPS driver coming up the driveway, but he was well under control that time.

He has a very strong prey drive and dominant personality. He had been doing very well these past three weeks at the Academy. They were not able to elicit any aggressive behavior from him, and his obedience training was going well. But last Thursday, he bit a trainer. He apparently was being put back into his kennel and ran off down a long hallway. He was not leashed. When he got to the dead end, he first went submissive, rolling over on his back. The trainer then reached to grab his collar and Rudy gave her hand a good bite. She then reached for the collar with her other hand, and he did the same to that hand. He did not give her any warning growl or snap. He did not move forward toward her, just reacted to her reach toward him. After the second bite she backed off, and another trainer was able to coax Rudy to go back with her uneventfully.

I have read your book and believe that the trainer bite was an example of fear aggression? (I don't know what to think about the jogger, though.) The Academy seems to be saying that they can't train that reaction out of him; that we will just need to be vigilant and mindful of his triggers. That goes without saying, and I now believe that being cornered is one of his triggers. (Our vet had also mentioned that when they cornered him to get him on a table, that he had snapped out at them.) But your book and tapes led me to believe that you can train such behavior out of a dog. Or am I misunderstanding? Are you merely just getting the dog to react to you instead of following his instinctual reaction? Certainly that's a good thing, but what if he's with someone else when he's triggered?

We need some perspective on this situation. I love him and want to give him every chance to learn correct behaviors. But on the other hand, we live in a dense children and jogger packed neighborhood. We can't keep him if there is reasonable risk of this kind of thing happening again.

Mary Ellen

Dear Mary Ellen:

Thank you for the e-mail.

You've got a couple of things to consider:

1. The dog needs to be firmly corrected lunging. Going after the biker is a prey-based aggression. Correct him for this, as described in the book.

2. Going after the trainer and the veterinarian is the result of the dog being insecure and not trusting the handler. Usually in these types of cases, he will not bite if he is secure that you will not hurt him. Or if he knows that he will only be fairly corrected for behavior that he understands.

With aggressive behavior, we can never say 100% "All" or "Never" that your dog will or will not show a specific behavior.

Regardless, your dog needs to be corrected for such behavior, and then shown that if he is calm, he gets praise and nothing bad happens to him. This can sometimes be achieved by placing the dog in such positions while he is wearing a muzzle. He cannot bite you, and ultimately learns that everything ends up "A-Okay."

It is a process of deconditioning. Not so for the prey-aggression, which can be fixed with a couple of well-timed and motivational corrections.

That's all for now, folks!

Adam

Dogproblems. com

Fitness for golf is a must for senior golfers

Fitness for golf is a common term and senior golfers are getting the gist of it. The secret is out. Fitness for golf has come full circle and all the players on the senior tour and senior amateurs are taking notice.

With the senior golfer comes a rapid decline in physical ability. The golf swing is a physically abusive movement to the human body…unless you take the time to prepare for it.

I have worked with thousands of senior golfers through my online golf fitness programs, and the results are dramatic. Just picture it. If you are in this demographic and your starting point is below average…you have the biggest chance to see HUGE results.

How many times have you walked off the course or practice range with a twinge or two in your body? How about when you got home? Did it get worse?

What’s that tell you?

I hope you realize how important fitness for golf is, not only helping you prevent injury, but utilize your true potential to it’s fullest.

Doesn’t it make sense as you get older, to improve your flexibility AND strength to hit longer drives that go straighter? Don’t you want to slow down the ‘aging process?’

I have played with dozens of older golfers who are so frustrated at this rapid decline, but don’t know what to do. They walk off the course in disgust.

I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be that way!

Don’t look at it as “work”, “sweating” or “effort”. Look at it as “playing your best game ever!”

It doesn’t take a lot of work. You don’t have to join a gym and put 3 hours in a day to see results. All it takes is 30 minutes 2-3 times a week. You can do that can’t you?

Fitness for golf is the approach that will literally transform your game!

Can i install my window coverings myself

There are a few things to consider when deciding the answer to this question.

First, what are you installing?

If you are installing horizontal blinds, such as mini blinds or 2" blinds, you could probably do it yourself. If you are installing vertical blinds or draperies, you might want someone professional to do it. It all depends on your handing-man skills. Your time is an important thing to consider. A professional installer could do it a lot quicker than the average person. Plus, if something goes wrong, they have the knowledge to work around that and get the job done.

Do you plan on measuring the windows yourself?

If you don't feel comfortable measuring the windows yourself, you could hire someone to do it for you. If the same company is going to install your window coverings, the measuring is usually free. If they just come out to measure, they will most likely charge you a hefty fee. If you would like to learn to do it by yourself, you can visit the Windowblindcenter. com. There you will find an overview to help you get started.

What tools do I need?

Most window coverings come with the required hardware to install them. The hardware would include;

• Brackets

• Screws

• Clips (for hanging the valance)

• Center Supports (for wide blinds)

• Any string or extra attachments to hang the window coverings.

Beyond the included hardware you will need a few tools. Some basic tools that are required would be;

• Drill

• Hex-head driver (1/4" is standard)

• Drill bit (size will vary)

• Tape measure

• Extra Screws

• Hollow wall anchors

• Pliers

• Screwdriver

• Hammer

You might not need all of these, but having them on hand will save you a trip to the hardware store. You might also need some additional items depending on what you are installing it too. If you are installing them in concrete, you will need a masonry drill bit and maybe a hammer drill. If you are installing them into plaster, you will need to have anchors for addition support, metal will need a self-tapping screw or a metal drill bit. If you are installing them into wood, consider yourself lucky.

Most manufactures will send installation instructions with the blinds. If they do not, just ask, and they can give you instructions or explain the process.

There are important things to consider when buying your window coverings, but most of the installations you could do yourself. With a few tools and instructions the process is pretty painless.

Women s health and the mammogram controversy

Despite the urgings of national health organizations for women to have annual or biannual mammograms after the age of 40, uncertainty and controversy about the procedure persists. Based on cumulative evidence, screening mammography has become standard health care in many countries. However, the value of the procedure has been challenged by two Danish researchers who reviewed the major clinical trials of screening mammography declared that five of the seven trials were flawed and that none demonstrated that it saved lives.

The report, originally published in the Lancet in January 2000, was written by Peter Gotzsche and Ole Olsen from the Nordic Cochrane Center in Copenhagen. It found that most of the seven studies reviewed were invalid, in part because they failed to assign women to screened and non-screened groups. The two studies that did randomize women correctly, the researchers said, showed no value to mammography. Cancer experts from around the world overwhelmingly denounced this report. Even the researchers’ own institution distanced itself from the report, stating that the findings had not been submitted to the Nordic Cochrane Center’s usual rigorous review.

After the storm of criticism, the Danish authors have reevaluated their original data and declared that it "confirmed and strengthened" their original conclusions, stating that "screening mammography is unjustified because there is no reliable evidence that it reduces mortality."

Many women are now wondering if they should continue to have annual mammograms. After all, for many years women were told to do self examinations of their breasts, but recently that advice was discontinued after a large study found it completely ineffective at reducing the death rate from breast cancer.

However, other experts have challenged the iconoclastic report and contend that mammography is lifesaving. The American Cancer Society found no reason to alter its recommendation for annual mammographic screening for women over 40 years of age. The National Cancer Institute found that the screening test contributed to a pronounced drop in the death rate from breast cancer. The study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, concludes that 28 to 65 percent of the sharp decrease in breast cancer deaths from 1990 to 2000 was due to mammograms. The remainder was due to powerful new drugs to treat breast cancer.

In the era since mammography has become widely used, the size of tumors at the time of detection has declined along with the death rate from breast cancer. During the early 1980's, when only 13 percent of women in the United States received mammograms, the average tumor size at detection was about three centimeters. By the late 1990's, 60 percent of women were having regular mammograms, and the average tumor size had shrunk to two centimeters, according to data from the Cancer Society and the National Center for Health Statistics.

This seemingly small difference in tumor size is extremely significant in terms of prognosis. On average, the larger a tumor is, the longer (or faster) it has been growing, with a subsequent correlation between tumor size and metastasis. More aggressive, debilitating treatment must be undertaken against large tumors, and even with this, survival chances of women with large tumors are worse than those of women with smaller tumors.

Of course, there are always exceptions, and some small tumors are aggressive and spread early, while some larger tumors are slow-growing and remain localized. Currently, it is impossible to distinguish between them by mammography. Even after biopsy and microscopic exam, it is difficult to predict how a tumor will grow.

There have been claims made that the recent reduction in breast cancer mortality, nearly 2 percent a year since 1990, is due to improved drugs and treatment. However, there is evidence that early detection has made a major contribution. A 29-year follow-up of breast cancer deaths in two Swedish counties published in 2001 revealed a 63 percent decline in the death rate from breast cancer in women who were offered mammography, and no decline in the death rate in unscreened women, even though the same improved treatments were available to all.

Currently, all major U. S. medical organizations recommend screening mammography for women 40 and older, claiming that the procedure reduces breast cancer mortality by 20 to 35 percent in women ages 50 to 59 and slightly less in women 40 to 49 at 14 years follow-up.

Mammography is an imperfect screening tool. It sometimes produces false-negative results: in women under 50, mammography is likely to miss 20 to 25 percent of existing cancers, and in women over 50, it misses 8 to 10 percent. Because of this, when a woman or her physician feels a suspicious breast lump that does not appear on a mammogram, it should be examined by some other means, such as biopsy.

How relevant is your ecommerce web site design

Ecommerce web site design can spell either success or doom for any business. In this internet age it is imperative to have an online site for advertising, selling or buying a product or service. There are numerous ecommerce websites doing business on the World Wide Web. Your website’s ecommerce design must be relevant to all the different elements needed for designing a good website.

If you want to add a personal touch to your site, you can design your own site. However you can also get professional help from the numerous website designing companies to get your online business site designed. Select a good web design company which has high credibility to design your ecommerce web site.

The purpose of any ecommerce site is to generate business for a product or to promote a service. Ecommerce web site designing is not an easy task and is not done overnight. There are some basic simple rules which you need to follow to make a good website. First of all ensure that your website is compatible to different types of browser and operating systems.

The purpose of an ecommerce site is to generate business leads, and if online surfers using different browsers and operating systems cannot even view your site properly, you will lose out on a significant number of prospective clients. Think about this aspect before you actually go about designing a website.

It is said that pictures have the ability to communicate messages which sometimes even words fail to say. Pictures have a very strong ability to portray strong emotions. Silence they say is sometimes stronger than words. Put up relevant pictures on your site to put forward an idea. Take care that you do not put up any irrelevant and outdated pictures on your website.

Color combination of a website is very important. Choose the color to be used in your ecommerce web site design only after a very careful consideration. Colors in an ecommerce site must not be garish and at the same time must not be too dull, so that it does not even invoke any response from visitors to your site. Choose a color pattern which is appealing to the eye, but at the same time refrain from going over the top.

The navigability and the functionality of ecommerce web site design are of big importance. Your site may be the best visually looking site ever made, but if it does not have proper functionality and navigability, no one is even going to give your site a second glance. No visitor is going to wait and search for information in your site if it is not properly navigable and functional.

Take care of the contents in your ecommerce web site design. Good and relevant content is a great means of bringing visitors to your site. Check out for yourself and see if the content in your site is relevant of not. Also see if all the links are properly placed or not and whether visitors are immediately transferred to the page that has the relevant information for their query.

Make your best effort in satisfying the visitor to your site. Consider yourself as a visitor to a site and think what all things you would want to see in a site. Users are the king in determining if a website will work or not. Take care of the user and try to satisfy his or her needs in your ecommerce web site design.

Training tools for your learning curve

One of the best things about life is that we don’t always know what it holds for us. There are always new things that are constantly being developed and put out there to replace this software or that software, and for people who work with the internet and computers for a living, it can be a bit overwhelming trying to catch up on all of the various aspects of technology.

For this reason, it is important to arm yourself with the training tools that it takes to overcome the obstacles that ever progressing technology places in front of you and turn these obstacles into tools to increase your chances of success. What kinds of training tools do you want to look for? Many companies offer global learning courses to their employees and other companies offer training tools online for people to brush up on their computer skills. These training tools and courses can be found either on the internet (the most common way) or in local centers around your community. If you have a local community pages or newsletter, look into any free computer learning courses they may have available, or any low cost seminars you can attend.

In order for you to be successful in the business and internet world, it is important to investigate and find the training tools that work best for you. If computer based training is what you need to keep you up on the latest in computer technology then look into purchasing CBTs from your employer or off of the internet. Many people learn better attending classes, and still others find that seminars have the most effective training tools they can use in the business world. Whatever your learning style is, there are training tools out there that have been designed for your learning curve; whatever it takes for you to keep up on things and make your skills marketable in an ever changing industry.

Birth control shaping your family s health and future

Some people ask themselves if it's okay to engage in premarital sex and in their minds try to weigh its pros and cons. There are couples who engage in premarital sex way before they even get into high school. At the onset of puberty, kids begin to be curious about their sexuality. And without proper guidance, these kids explore and venture into the realm of the senses without much thought of the dire consequence of their impulsive actions. Come to think of it, teens are not the only ones guilty of such wanton behavior but even adults as well. Indeed, the world has shaped a permissive attitude towards premarital sex.

On the positive side of the scale, there is peer acceptance and the gratification of sexual desires. After all, the kind of message we receive in the media today, be it on TV or in the movies, is that “everyone is doing it.” But its downside carries the risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregnancy, and the heavy weight of moral consequence such as guilt. Thus, morality plays a vital role in dealing with the issues about premarital sex. But for those couples who have learned to “wait”, the prospect of married life and eventually, raising their own family becomes a satisfying experience.

Parenthood is one of the noblest tasks a married couple has to take as they carry on with their relationship. Some who are not blessed to have their own children would even go to the extent of adopting someone else’s child just so they can experience parenthood.

In most countries, there is no limit as to the number of children couples can have as long as he can provide for their needs and welfare. However, due to economic considerations, many couples have decided to put a limit to the number of kids they want to raise, much to the consternation of the church. We all know that the church advocates procreation and is totally against family planning or birth control. Thus, we are faced with the dilemma of choosing between having a big and happy brood than a small but a well-planned family.

Family planning is not just to limit the number of kids a family but is also a means to improve the quality of life of each family member. It’s not just about birth control but laying a solid foundation for a better future.

The type of birth control you choose depends on your needs. Some people only need to prevent pregnancy. Modern couples try not to have babies in the first two years of marriage in order for them to enjoy each other as husband and wife. This will enable them to have strong bonding and prepares them for the coming of their future children. If and when they decide to have kids, they try to plan or limit the number and succession of their offspring. By doing so, they are able to manage and monitor the needs of their children in terms of their financial, emotional, and physical capabilities.

Other couples may also resort to contraceptives to protect themselves or their partners from diseases that can be passed on by having sex. These diseases are called sexually transmitted diseases (STDs): AIDS, chlamydia, herpes, genital warts, gonorrhea, and syphilis.

Statistics released by Planned Parenthood shows that birth control paved the way for improved family life: “The maternal death rate has fallen more than 60 percent. The infant death rate has declined by more than 70 percent. Birth control not only saves lives — it helps women and their families prevent poverty, plan their futures, and take charge of their destinies.”

To decide which method to use at this point in your life, talk with your family doctor about the pros and cons of each birth control option. Better yet, think before you do.

Tips on finding free adobe photoshop tutorial

You may have been amazed at how your friends or family have manipulated photographs from way back when or truly impressed by the visually stimulating personalized electronic greeting cards you received from your colleagues. No matter what your ulterior motive is for buying that graphic editor software, such as Adobe Photoshop, the question now is how you are going to learn how to use them and impress yourself or other people on how creative you can be with such tool.

Unless you want to be a professional graphic designer, it is advisable that you first learn the basics of the software from free Adobe Photoshop tutorial available to you. You may be extremely excited to weave magic on your digital images, but you need to know that you cannot just enhance or create beautiful pictures if you do not know even just the fundamentals of the software you just bought. It would also be futile to pay for advanced Adobe Photoshop classes or tutorials because you might not be able to fully comprehend what your instructor is saying, especially if you are not really very familiar with computers, because you don't even know the basics.

Do not panic. The first free Adobe Photoshop tutorial that is available to you is from the software CD itself. After installing the software, navigate and look for a tutorial or help section. Such software usually has tutorials that will show you what you can do with your new acquisition. Chances are you will be able to know what the icons on your screen signify and do with the help tool provided by the manufacturer of the software.

Another way to get a free Adobe Photoshop tutorial is to ask a friend to teach you. This is one of the best methods to learn the software because you will have someone guide you while you trying out the software. Moreover, this tutorial is interactive so you can ask your friend questions if some things seem difficult to understand. However, usually a tutorial from a friend is actually not entirely free. It would be nice to treat your friend to lunch or dinner after he or she has painstakingly explained and showed you how to use Adobe Photoshop.

Actually, if you have a son or daughter who is into computers, you could also ask their help. Children nowadays are so adept at using the Internet and new computer trends and software. You won't have difficulty in asking help from your children because they know that they have to teach you well or else their allowance might be compromised.

Another way to find a free Adobe Photoshop tutorial is through the Internet. Just search "free Adobe Photoshop tutorials" in whatever search engine you usually use and you will find a lot of sites that offer tutorials that you can download for free. Be sure to type the word free when searching for tutorials because there are also a number of websites that require you to pay for certain file downloads.

Aside from downloading files on how to use your Photoshop, you could also join forums and discussion groups. Such venues will help you learn tricks and new ways of doing things from the experiences of people who have been using the software for a long time.

Lastly, the best way for you to learn is to practice. Do not be afraid to put the things that you have learned from the tutorials to use. No matter how many paid or free tutorials you attend, you will not be able to learn how to completely manipulate the graphic editor if you do not try it out. Go ahead be creative and experiment.

Student flats

Everybody knows that university can be an expensive time of your life. It is usually three or four years of living in rented accommodation, paying university fees, for books, for all your educational needs, and for all your other living expenses, without properly earning anything at all for the entire period. University costs thousands of pounds these days and you will probably have to fund the entire period either from money provided by your parents, if you are lucky, or money borrowed.

Most students, who have to move away from their parent’s home for study, will rent their accommodation. You can usually choose between renting from your university o renting from the private sector. Renting from university has its advantages and disadvantages. First of all, you will be living in halls which has a reputation for being noisy and maybe a little less conducive to study than a university provided accommodation should be. But on the other hand, you will probably be glad of the opportunity to socialise and meet new people. You will have a lot of students similar to yourself around you and you will be able to get to know all of them very quickly.

Halls also give you the option of being catered or self-catering. This means that if you are not sure about cooking and are a little apprehensive about taking on all the responsibilities of moving away from home all at once, you can have your meals provided for you. You also will probably not have to worry about bills, as everything will be included in your rent fee. Rent is usually paid in instalments that coincide with student loan and grant instalments so you should be able to meet your costs.

Halls tend to be a little bit more expensive than finding a flat however. This is because all your bills are included, even your food if it is catered accommodation, and all the other services that may be provided by your university. If you want to save some money on accommodation, what you could look into is finding some friends or flatmates and renting a flat near to your university. This will entail all of the responsibilities of living away from home. You will have to pay a deposit plus your rent on time every month, bills for all utilities will be sent directly to you from the companies, and you will certainly have to cook for yourself. It does offer you good value however, as the cost of renting a flat, divided between you and your flat mates, should be significantly cheaper than halls.

Forming links with mass notification

The world of today is opening its eyes to new modes of working. While many still adhere to the daily grind and hustle and bustle of a commute, more and more people are conducting their activities in an entirely different way. And more and more businesses are doing all they can to have a global reach. While this meets many needs of convenience and versatility in a global marketplace, it opens up a new need that involves communication with the workforce. When the workforce for any business is based in different countries, or even in different areas of the same town, communicating effectively with every employee can become an uphill task. When you spend time communicating to your employees at the individual level, you are actually losing productivity time in your business. Thankfully, today there are many mass notification methods to help you to save a lot of time and money effectively communicating with your employees.

Mass notification is fast becoming essential in business today. When you need to communicate with your workforce, you can use mass notification to make certain that your employees get the same information at the same time. All information is supplied by you. So the information cannot be incorrect by any standards. Ideally, there should be no miscommunication or misunderstanding within the workforce.

The method that you choose to send your mass notifications will depend on the media or forum that is resorted to by your company. Emails and SMSs are the two most popular means of mass notification, and one cannot deny their efficiency. If your workforce is listed as a primary group in your contact book, then you can send one email that everyone gets in their mailbox at once. SMSs work in the same way. If all of your employees provide you with the numbers of their mobiles, you can create a group list in your contacts list, and send a single SMS message to the entire staff by just tapping on a few keys.

Because today's employee is a mobile one, you should try to make use of both email and text messaging in conjunction with another. If the mass notification you wish to forward is urgent, ensure that everyone receives the information in a timely manner by sending an email, and follow it up with an SMS. While many people may not be checking their emails that often, most mobile users will instantly receive their SMSes. Communicating with your workforce and with all members of your company has certainly become much easier and more efficient. We are lucky to have all these mass notification methods.

When your car exterior gets too dirty

When a person tells you to clean your car, what is the very first thing that comes into your mind?

For most people, cleaning cars mean getting a bucket, some soap, a hose, and a sponge. And this also means getting all wet. This is mainly because cleaning a car mostly means to a huge portion of people as cleaning only the exterior of a car. Just keep in mind just how many music videos, movies, and documentaries show people cleaning only their car’s exterior. Even if you do try to search images about cleaning a car, you would most likely be given a list of images that show people getting wet and soapy while cleaning the car’s exterior.

Now, to clean up your own car’s exterior, you should be very much ready to get wet. It could also get a little physical and would also mean you having to sweat out a little. After all, remember that your car’s exterior is the one that suffers and meets all the dirt, grime, dust, and other elements when driving. So dirt could really accumulate on it making cleaning quite a chore.

First, roll up all your windows. Make sure that they are closed tightly. Shut all your doors as well. When you have done so, start by cleaning and rinsing your car using a hose. Rule of the thumb is to start from the roof, making your way down to your car’s tires.

After this, take a bucket filled with warm water. You can try putting in car detergent or even mild dishwashing liquid. Some automobile experts even suggest that you use a car soap that has been made specially for vehicles so as to protect the paint. Take your pick. Then, wash your car using a sponge or a rag. Make sure you go through everything. Then, rise off all the soap using the hose.

To dry your car, you can use a chamois cloth or a towel but make sure that it is clean when you use it. Or else, you would only be marring the cleaning job that you just finished.

Why should people learn spanish

I remember the first time I visited Mexico. It is a beautiful country. I was young so naturally, I went with my parents. None of us could speak more than a few words of Spanish. We had a vague idea of how the Mexican currency worked, but we were clueless when it came to how much to pay people at restaurants and the shops. Let’s just say it was an interesting experience (and I’m sure we were overcharged a number of times).

Oftentimes, it’s when you have to go without it that you realize how important communication really is. For example, it’s not fun listening to a group of people talk about the latest widget or gadget when you know absolutely nothing about it. You sure can’t add anything to the conversation.

And just listening in on a topic you know nothing about will take a toll on you since you won’t be able to relate to the group’s conversation. (Think about the last time you had to listen to a group of guys talk about football ladies, or for the men, perhaps a conversation related to make-up).

It’s even worse to be surrounded by a group of people who are speaking an entirely different language. Just think about it, you may not even be able to decipher what the topic of conversation is!

In addition to the awkward moments, not being able to speak the language of the people around you can be a bit frightening. Imagine if you were lost … or had an emergency. Not being able to communicate would only add to the trauma.

Like everyone else, you feel alone and a little vulnerable when you can’t express yourself to others.

That’s why if you are planning a vacation to a foreign, Spanish speaking country or have Spanish speaking friends, you may want to at least learn conversational Spanish. Otherwise, you may be left out in the cold, so to speak.

How to learn Spanish?

The problem is learning a new language can be frustrating and time consuming. In fact, learning a second language can be one of the most difficult learning tasks to master. But it doesn’t have to be. You can learn to speak Spanish in a user-friendly and comfortable environment.

For many, learning a new language opens the door to a large amount of other activities; like international travel, career advancement, and meeting new people. Believe it or not, learning a new language is usually one of the top New Year’s resolutions. So you’re not alone. Other people learn Spanish, so can you!

Learning a new language is easiest if you can see progress and gain some self confidence. Otherwise, you run the risk of giving up.

So if you’re ready to start learning Spanish, there is an easy way and a hard way to do it. Studies have show that it’s best to learn a new language the same way people naturally learn their native tongue. That means you need to hear Spanish being spoken and practice speaking Spanish as often as you can. Just keep with it and you’ll learn conversational Spanish in no time.

Remember, language is a powerful force. Learning Spanish will only open new doors for you!

Nailing a migraine hitting it hard and early

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Most people with migraine attacks learn that they have more success if they treat their attacks early rather than delaying medication until two or more hours have passed. They find there is a window of opportunity during which they can resolve their headaches completely, but if they wait too long, then in most cases the treatment is not nearly as good, and the attacks run their full course.

Particularly observant victims of migraine attacks might also discover that when their migraines get to a stage called "allodynia" when everything hurts--even a light brush to the skin or contact with a warm object--then treatment is likewise less successful.

The chances to make these kinds of observations have been available to people with migraine for as long as there have been decent treatments. Aspirin was the first good, widely available treatment for migraine attacks, and was manufactured in tablet form as long ago as 1915. But it has been in only the last few years that scientific studies have explored these phenomena in detail, and revealed some of the secrets as to why they occur.

Dr. Rami Burstein and colleagues at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston performed a study of treatment outcomes in a total of 61 migraine attacks occurring in 31 patients. In some attacks treatment was given within the first hour of symptoms, while in other cases treatment was purposely delayed until four hours after the attack's onset. The treatment used was a "triptan" drug, rather than a painkiller. Triptans are a newer group of medications that act on some of the nervous system's receptors for the natural chemical serotonin. In each case, the patient also received a physical examination at the time of treatment to determine whether or not allodynia was present.

What the investigators found was that in the 34 attacks in which allodynia had already developed, the triptan stopped pain within two hours in just 15% of the attacks. But in the 27 attacks in which allodynia had not yet developed, the triptan was successful in 93% of the attacks. While allodynia was more frequently present in attacks that were treated late, the doctors found that the presence or absence of allodynia was more important in determining the success of the treatment than whether or not the treatment was late.

Dr. Burstein also headed a team of scientists that found out why this is the case. Because this information could not be obtained in humans, test tubes or computers, these experiments were performed in laboratory rats. Burstein developed a procedure for simulating migraine attacks in rats and via tiny electrodes he was able to "listen in" on the electrical activity of individual nerve and brain cells as the attacks developed.

What he found was that at the beginning of an attack, nerve cells connecting various membranes within the head to the brain were the first to become overactive in their firing patterns. The excessive activity in these nerve cells, in turn, drove a second set of pain-processing cells located within the brain into their own state of overactivity. If this second group of cells remained hyperactive for too long, then they became "sensitized" and kept firing away, as if on autopilot, even if the nerve cells that got them going in the first place were shut down. In this state of spontaneously self-regenerating overactivity of the pain-processing brain cells, it could be shown that ordinarily non-painful stimuli applied to the skin of the rats were handled by the nervous system as if they were painful. Or, said another way, the development of allodynia in the rat signaled that the pain-processing brain cells had become sensitized.

Just as in the humans, triptan drugs could be administered to the rats at different stages of the migraine attacks. If the triptan was administered before the pain-processing brain cells had become sensitized, then it was able to shut down the cascade of excessively firing cells and stop the attack. But if the triptan was given after sensitization had occurred, then it was ineffective.

Collectively, these studies in humans and rats build a powerful case that what humans need to do in order to be successful in stopping their migraine attacks is to treat them before their pain-processing brain cells have become sensitized. And the best way to tell if sensitization has occurred is according to whether or not ordinarily non-painful contacts to the skin have become painful. In short, migraine patients need to race the clock to treat their attacks before the development of allodynia.

(C) 2005 by Gary Cordingley