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Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

2007-09-25T01:26:00.001-07:00

Use this famous motto from the television cartoon at your Scooby Doo theme party. Someone was always asking the questions, so you can too! Make your first game a find the Scooby stuffed animal. Whoever finds him gets a prize!

To get guests to your Scooby party, send out Scooby or bone shaped invitations from the party store. They will also carry treat bags, wall decorations and party favors to give away for the games. Balloons, crepe paper, plates and cups are also made to match any Scooby motif you choose to follow.

All great Scooby Doo parties, whether they are birthday or not, need a Scooby shaped cake. Party supply stores have specialty cake pans in the shape of your favorite character. Matching candles, frosting and sprinkles can be found to adorn the cake or cupcakes for your party. Other foods to serve and follow your theme can be bone shaped sandwiches, puppy chow, or any food with a dog name.

Other games to play can be pin the Scooby snack in Scoobys mouth. A Scooby piata filled with all of your favorite candy is a fun way to celebrate too. If the guests attending are old enough and can read, create a Scooby style mystery and let them solve it. Using saran wrap and construction paper, have them make a magnifying glass to find clues to solve their mystery. Winner gets a whole box of Scooby snacks!

For quiet entertainment, watch a Scooby movie or television show. Find a giant stuffed or inflatable Scooby Doo character and take every guests picture with it. Send a copy with the thank you note or print it from the computer that day. Each guests will have a way to remember the great Scooby theme party they attended at your house. Save time to open the presents and eat cake too.

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Want A $10,000 House?

2007-09-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

How do you find a house for ten or twenty thousand dollars? In three steps:

1. Find towns that are affordable.

2. Find houses you like.

3. Make an offer.

1. Affordable Towns

Altoona, Pennsyvania still had dozens of homes for sale for less than $30,00 when I checked today. The cheapest one is listed for $7,500. As the photo on our site shows, this is a cute little town, yet still big enough to have everything you need.

Hot Springs, Arkansas has houses under $20,000, the cheapest at the moment being $13,500. Alamogordo, New Mexico is a town we like a lot, and it still has homes for sale under $30,000. Independence, Kansas has really inexpensive homes. Prices start under $10,000!

2. Affordable Homes

To find houses that are for sale in these towns and others, you can look up their local newspapers online, and check out the classifieds. You can find a local real estate agent online too, and give them a call. One of the best resources, though, is probably www.Realtor.com, where you can search any town for homes listed by price, number of bedrooms, and many other criteria.

3. Buying A $10,000 House

Don't think that if you don't see homes listed for $10,000, you can't buy one. When we were living in Anaconda, Montana (where we bought a beautiful house for $17,500), we watched as a house listed for $18,000 eventually dropped to $9,900, and then was finally sold for $6,000! In towns where houses are this cheap, they often sell for much less than their initial asking price. Make an offer!

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Real Estate Tax Incentives

2007-09-24T17:03:00.000-07:00

Lower Your Taxes

Tax incentives for real estate investors can often make the difference in your tax rates. Deductions for rental property can often be used to offset wage income. Tax breaks can often enable investors to turn a loss into a profit.

For which items can investors get tax breaks? You could claim deductions for actual costs you incur for financing, managing and operating the rental property. This includes mortgage interest payments, real estate taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs, property management fees, travel, advertising, and utilities (assuming the tenant doesn't pay them). These expenses can be subtracted from your adjusted gross income when determining your personal income taxes. Of course, these deductions cannot exceed the amount of real estate income you receive. In addition to deductions for operating costs, you can also receive breaks for depreciation. Buildings naturally deteriorate over time, and these "losses" can be deducted regardless of the actual market value of the property. Because depreciation is a non-cash expense -- you are not actually spending any money -- the tax code can get a bit tricky. For more information about depreciation and various tax alternatives, ask your tax advisor about Section 1031 of the U.S. Tax Code.

Have a Positive Cash Flow

There are two kinds of positive cash flows: pre-tax and after-tax. A pre-tax positive cash flow occurs when income received is greater than expenses incurred. This sort of situation is difficult to find, but they are usually a strong and safe investment. An after-tax positive cash flow may have expenses that outweigh collected income, but various tax breaks allow for a positive cash flow. This is more common, but it is generally not as strong or safe as a pre-tax positive cash flow. Regardless of what kind of real estate you choose to invest in, timely collections from your tenants is absolutely necessary. A positive cash flow -- whether it be pre-tax or after-tax -- requires rental income. Be sure to find quality tenants; a thorough credit and employment check is probably a good idea.

Use Leverage

One of the most important factors in determining a solid investment is the amount of equity you are purchasing. Equity is the difference between the actual worth of the property and the balanced owed on the mortgage.

Benefit from Growing Equity

While investing in real estate is relatively complex, it is often worth the extra work. When compared to other financial investments, like bonds or CD's, the return on investment for real estate purchases can often be greater.

The key to real estate investing is equity. Determine an amount of equity that you want to achieve. When you reach your goal, it's time to sell or refinance. Determining the proper amount of equity may require the assistance of a real estate professional.

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Colorado Travel Guide

2007-09-24T13:35:00.000-07:00

A Google search of the word Colorado reveals a list of websites ranging from the website of the Government of Colorado to the websites of various educational institutions and universities. Among the diverse tourism websites mentioned, the one that catches your eye is visitcolorado4less. A click on the link fills your screen with beautiful ice capped peaks of Colorado. A brief overview of the website further assures the browser that he is at the right web link. The website offers exhaustive information about the State which is vaguely situated in Central USA.

The name Colorado traces its genesis to Spanish color red. The Centennial State or Colorful Colorado, as it is commonly called, has Denver as its capital.

Colorado is essentially famous for its winter sports, but it seems to cater to everyones hobbies. Fishing, skiing, rafting, rock climbing, camping, hiking, museums, historic sites you find it all here. Apart from its scenic beauty Colorado has much more to offer.

The state has numerous mountains, the highest peak being Mt. Elbert. It is also the home of the Rocky Mountains. Mountaineering becomes especially delightful during spring season when wild flowers are in full bloom. There is also a Colorado Mountain Club which is dedicated solely to the mountain activities. Colorado also has 8000 miles of rivers, offering water activities all over the state. As a result the first water garden society in the world has been founded here. The scenic beauty of Colorado is enhanced by the fact that water is virtually present everywhere. The best way to appreciate this beauty is through camping and horse riding.

Leaving out the adventurers, Colorado offers a lot to the historians and the philosophers. There is a Colorado Shakespeare Festival organized annually in which hundreds of people gather together to produce the various Shakespeare classics. Dotted with ghost towns and mining sites, the state has enough history available to satisfy everyones intellectual appetite. Other attractions include the Colorado Brewers Festivals and numerous happening casinos.

If one is on a holiday with the entire family, he may visit the Butterfly Pavilion and Insect Center which is an artificial shelter of numerous insects like centipedes and beautiful butterflies. Other venues can be the Cave of Winds in which one can see the stalactite and stalagmite formation, Colorado Gators which homes alligators, Krabloonik a kennel of sled dogs and Rock Canyon Water Slide which is a mini water park.. Tiny Town and Railroad are especially liked by children. Started in 1915, this children attraction includes 100 of miniature buildings which includes a toy store, a bank and a church. An open steam train gives a tour of this Tiny Town.

Shopping is the ultimate activity which completes a holiday. And so we have Denver and Aspen the shopping hubs of Colorado. While both are known for its antiques, there are other avenues to indulge in as well. Colorado is also saturated with boarding houses and lodges, each famous for its own experiences. Accommodation is available of every cost, class and style. The Cottonwood Cove ranch is a cozy niche that offers a variety of outdoor activities and is good for fishing. Snowmass Village is a world class ski resort which offers plenty of summer activities as well. Another unique experience is the Vista Verde which is set in wilderness.

With all these activities to do teamed with a comfortable stay, Colorado is the decisive destination where you should head to.

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Top Five Ways To Improve Conversation Immediately

2007-09-24T07:08:00.001-07:00

"Communication is a skill that you can learn. It's like ridinga bicycle or typing. If you're willing to work at it you canrapidly improve the quality of this very part of your life."

- Brian Tracy, Author and Speaker

This report is based upon two kinds of research: First, research in the social sciences such as psychology, sociology, and communication studies. Second, 25 years of observation by the author of people engaged in conversation in many settings: couples, families, business talk, meetings, mixers, informal small talk, professional consultations a wide range.

These five items are distilled from what I have observed and what the research reveals. Adopting even one of these will make a positive difference in improving your conversational skills. Each will have an immediate positive effect. Adopting them all could transform your experience of conversation.

TOP FIVE WAYS

1. Show interest in and be curious about those you talk with.

In conversation, to be curious is a definite plus. Being curious about another person helps to engage us and to validate that person as interesting. On the other hand, if we seem bored by or indifferent to the person, they feel invalidated, as if we are saying You hold no interest for me. You are not interesting.

Not to be curious can be troublesome in life. As human relations speaker and author Dale Carnegie wrote:

It is the individual who is not interested in his fellow men who has the greatest difficulties in life and provides the greatest injury to others. It is from among such individuals that all human failures spring.

Consider the spouse who shows no curiosity about what hispartner is thinking or feeling, or the parent who does not wonderabout the thoughts and inner lives of the children. Consider themanager, thinking s/he knows everything about the business andwho expresses no interest in the employees ideas. We know theresults: Distance and negative feelings between the people.

The good news is that we can choose to be interested orcurious. This is an act of intention. For example, whohas not taken a required course of study that held nointerest at the outset but then, when you saw that beinguninterested in the subject resulted in poor learning andgrades, you decided to be interested in order to learn better.

The same is true for our interest in other people. Forexample, a husband whose marriage is troubled and who facesseparation and even divorce because he expresses so littleinterest in his wife may choose to become interested abouthis wife and what she has to say. When he changes his thinkingand his attitudes, his conversational behavior also changes.He pays close attention. He asks questions. He listens carefully.

I notice that many people try to appear interesting themselves instead of being genuinely interested in others. When we show interest in others, they usually begin to show interest in us. However, when we try to be interesting, we often look self-conscious or even vain, whereas being genuinely interested in other people makes our conversations and life experience a rich adventure.

2. Balance the talking and listening. Take turns.

We Americans tend mainly to be out-going, extraverts, talkative. Thats probably a plus, because we are an optimistic, can-do society. However, for relationships, lots of talking and too much talking can be harmful to personal and business relationships.

The scientific evidence suggests that balancing our conversation so that everyone gets a turn who wants a turn is supportive of social relations. In informal conversation, balance requires that speakers monitor themselves so that they do not dominate by talking too much. It is also important for more quiet people to speak up from time to time so that the talkative ones dont think you are giving up any interest in sharing your ideas.

Balancing the talk doesnt require a strict 50-50 distribution. The ratio can be 80-20 and still be balanced, as when one person is mainly interviewing the other who of course will do most of the talking. The key here is not so much the actual time each one talks. It is the taking turns that matters. One person may ask a brief question that requires a long, detailed answer.

Having balance in a conversation suggests safety andfairness and creates a supportive climate for honest ideasto be expressed and heard. In large groups, a chairpersonor a facilitator can monitor and direct the talk and makecertain everyone has a chance to speak fully. In casualconversation, we must manage ourselves to make surewe have balance.

3.Give genuine compliments and real praise when appropriate.

Some people have trouble giving compliments. Others have trouble receiving compliments graciously. Most of these troubles are caused by upbringing and culture. All of these old habits can be eliminated and replaced with kinder and more generous behavior that fosters better relations between people.

The fact is, such public and global praise is suspect, not helpful. And not only for children, but for adults as well. Writing in his landmark 1996 book, Punished by Rewards, Alfie Kohn makes four solid points about giving compliments and praise:

a. Dont praise people, only what people do. Its less likely that there will be a gap between what someone hears and what he thinks about himself if we dont make sweeping comments about what he is like as a person.

b. Make praise as specific as possible. Even better than Thats a really nice story is Thats neat at the end when you leave the main character a little confused about what happened to him.

c. Avoid phony praise. . . . One symptom of phony praise is asqueaky, saccharine voice that slides up and down the scale and bears little resemblance to the way we converse with our friends. A four-year-old can usually tell the difference between a genuine expression of pleasure and phony praise, between a sincere smile and one that is manufactured and timed for best effect.

d.Avoid praise that sets up competition. Phrases like Youre the best in the class (or for adults, in this department), whose most pernicious effects . . . encourage a view of others as rivals rather than as potential collaborators. Whats more, they lead people to see theirown worth in terms of whether they have beaten everyone else a recipe for perpetual insecurity.

Kohn supports each of these points with solid research as hesuggests ways to encourage people and build their intrinsic motivation.

During my early life I had difficulty giving compliments, and now I enjoy doing so. The Scandinavian culture I grew up in was not comfortable with compliments because parents believed that kids would get a big head and be prideful. I also had trouble giving compliments because I DID see my fellow students and friends as competitors in classes and on the playing fields. I needed more maturity to be able to give genuine praise to my rivals.

For many years now I have enjoyed complimenting others inspecific ways because I can see the positive effects that result.When I coach professionals on their performance, the specificcompliments I give them on their behavior and the work theyproduce helps them grow and develop.

Some time ago, a student asked, Whenever I compliment myfriend, she resists. How can I make my compliments stick?

Try this method: Add a question after your compliment:

I think your new hairstyle is stunning, Sally! Who did it for you?

Adding such a tag-question at the end usually prevents the person from avoiding the compliment because they are responding to the follow-up. The way you read the poem was deeply touching, Fred. Did you practice it many times?

Finally, if you yourself tend to deflect compliments, try harder to accept them. A simple Thank you to the one offering the compliment will do. After you run the billiards table, or score perfectly on the test, its simply not appropriate to refuse a compliment. Nor is it genuine for the football star who scores seven touchdowns to say It wasnt me; it was the other guys on the team. When you receive a genuine compliment, acknowledge it and let it in!

4. Keep your positive energy up.

When we interact with others, we exchange not only words and bodily expressions. We also give off exchange our vital energy. If our energy is high and vibrant, we lift the conversation. If its low and sluggish, we sap energy from the encounter.

A professional colleague, Dr. Robert Rausch, is a specialized consultant to many large companies. In his work with management, he has them look at those factors in the company that drain human energy and those factors that increase the energy. Energetic people thrive, and low-energy peoplebarely survive. His excellent book, Energy Matters, gives you many ideas on how to enhance your personal energy and avoid being drained by difficult or toxic interactions.

Many ways are available to increase and maintain our personal energy. Among them are well known methods, such as being well nourished and well rested. Also, keeping our interactions positive rather than negative, focusing on whats good and what works instead of griping and complaining. A fine resource to enable positive talk is the book, Encyclopedia of Positive Questions by Diana Whitney and others (2002). This approach of Appreciative Inquiry is now being widely used in organizations to make the energy more positive and motivating.

When we are energized, we are able to be responsive, alive to the situation and the person we are talking to. Our voice andbody reflect our responses and add color and flavor to our talk.When we dont have enough gas in our tank, being responsiveis difficult at best.

In recent years new understandings have become available about how best to manage our bodily energy. Most are easy to learn and can be self-applied. Here are some excellent references if you wish to follow up on this topic:

Energy Medicine, by Donna Eden (1999)Become an Energy Addict, by Jon Gordon (2003)The Mars and Venus Diet and Exercise Book, by John Gray (2003)

5. Ask better questions

A routine question will evoke a routine response. Thus, Hows it going? will generally get a Fine, thanks, or perhaps a I cant complain. If the purpose of the question is only to acknowledge an acquaintance briefly and move on, your purpose is served. This is the social function of language that the anthropologist Malinowski called phatic communion, which is nothing more than a brief and superficial verbal connection, the smallest of small talk.

However, if youd prefer a more substantial conversation, youll need to use a different question to evoke a different response. A deeper and more detailed conversation will certainly be less predictable and probably more interesting, and it will likely have the effect of enriching your relationship.

Here are four suggestions for more productive questions:

1. Ask questions that elicit detail. These are often What? questions.

For example, What did you finally decide about relocating? orWhat did you do on your trip to Mexico? will usually stimulate detailed responses. Questions that dont require detail, such as How are your plans coming along? and How was your trip? can be answered with a mere Good, thanks.

2. Ask open questions that require more than a Yes or No. These are the Wh and H questions beginning with What, Why, Where, and How. These work better than closed questions that limit the response, such as Did you like the movie? Instead, What did you like about the movie? draws out a more interesting and detailed response.

3. Ask some questions that are a little bit surprising or edgy. These are not meant to put the person on the hot seat, or to make them uncomfortable, but to stimulate and get a lively response instead of a routine response. Whats the most exciting/challenging thing thats happening with you at this time? is such an edgy question. Predictable questions usually evoke predictable responses, such as What did you learn in school today? Oh, not much.

4.Use some If? questions such as If you had the means topursue your dream occupation, what would it be? Or If you could have dinner with a famous person, whom would you choose? Such questions break out of the routine and add some fresh energy to the conversation. By the way, dont ask others any question you yourself would not want to be asked. Also, be prepared to answer the very If? questions you ask. The other converser may say, Let me think about that for a minute. Meanwhile, you go first.

For some excellent examples of effective questions, check this book, Questions That Work, by Andrew Finlayson (2001)Although its mainly for business and professional life, this book has many good ideas about the structure of questions that apply to any conversation. As well, it contains plenty of question examples, such as 27 questions to inspire creativity in a group. and 66 questions to ask when youre investigating a problem.

===============================================

Loren Ekroth 2004

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An SEO Glossary - Common SEO Terms Defined

2007-09-24T03:40:00.001-07:00

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has become an essential weapon in the arsenal of every online business. Unfortunately, for most business owners and marketing managers (and even many webmasters), it's also somewhat of an enigma. This is partly due to the fact that it's such a new and rapidly changing field, and partly due to the fact that SEO practitioners tend to speak in a language all of their own which, without translation, is virtually impenetrable to the layperson. This glossary seeks to remedy that situation, explaining specialist SEO terms in plain English...

AdWords

See Sponsored Links.

algorithm

A complex mathematical formula used by search engines to assess the relevance and importance of websites and rank them accordingly in their search results. These algorithms are kept tightly under wraps as they are the key to the objectivity of search engines (i.e. the algorithm ensures relevant results, and relevant results bring more users, which in turn brings more advertising revenue).

article PR

The submitting of free reprint articles to many article submission sites and article distribution lists in order to increase your website's search engine ranking and Google PageRank. (In this sense, the "PR" stands for PageRank.) Like traditional public relations, article PR also conveys a sense of authority because your articles are widely published. And because you're proving your expertise and freely dispensing knowledge, your readers will trust you and will be more likely to remain loyal to you. (In this sense, the "PR" stands for Public Relations.)

article submission sites

Websites which act as repositories of free reprint articles. They are sites where authors can submit their articles free of charge, and where webmasters can find articles to use on their websites free of charge. Article submission sites generate revenue by selling advertising space on their websites. See also article PR.

backlink

A text link to your website from another website. See also link.

copy

The words used on your website.

copywriter

A professional writer who specializes in the writing of advertising copy (compelling, engaging words promoting a particular product or service). See also SEO copywriter and web copywriter.

crawl

Google finds pages on the World Wide Web and records their details in its index by sending out spiders or robots. These spiders make their way from page to page and site to site by following text links. To a spider, a text link is like a door.

domain name

The virtual address of your website (normally in the form www.yourbusinessname.com). This is what people will type when they want to visit your site. It is also what you will use as the address in any text links back to your site.

ezine

An electronic magazine. Most publishers of ezines are desperate for content and gladly publish well written, helpful articles and give you full credit as author, including a link to your website.

Flash

A technology used to create animated web pages (and page elements).

free reprint article

An article written by you and made freely available to other webmasters to publish on their websites. See also article PR.

Google

The search engine with the greatest coverage of the World Wide Web, and which is responsible for most search engine-referred traffic. Of approximately 11.5 billion pages on the World Wide Web, it is estimated that Google has indexed around 8.8 billion. This is one reason why it takes so long to increase your ranking!

Google AdWords

See Sponsored Links.

Google PageRank

How Google scores a websites importance. It gives all sites a mark out of 10. By downloading the Google Toolbar, you can view the PR of any site you visit.

Google Toolbar

A free tool you can download. It becomes part of your browser toolbar. Its most useful features are its PageRank display (which allows you to view the PR of any site you visit) and its AutoFill function (when youre filling out an online form, you can click AutoFill, and it enters all the standard information automatically, including Name, Address, Zip code/Postcode, Phone Number, Email Address, Business Name, Credit Card Number (password protected), etc.) Once youve downloaded and installed the toolbar, you may need to set up how youd like it to look and work by clicking Options (setup is very easy). NOTE: Google does record some information (mostly regarding sites visited).

HTML

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the coding language used to create much of the information on the World Wide Web. Web browsers read the HTML code and display the page that code describes.

Internet

An interconnected network of computers around the world.

JavaScript

A programming language used to create dynamic website pages (e.g. interactivity).

keyword

A word which your customers search for and which you use frequently on your site in order to be relevant to those searches. This use known as targeting a keyword. Most websites actually target keyword phrases because single keywords are too generic and it is very difficult to rank highly for them.

keyword density

A measure of the frequency of your keyword in relation to the total wordcount of the page. So if your page has 200 words, and your keyword phrase appears 10 times, its density is 5%.

keyword phrase

A phrase which your customers search for and which you use frequently on your site in order to be relevant to those searches.

link

A word or image on a web page which the reader can click to visit another page. There are normally visual cues to indicate to the reader that the word or image is a link.

link path

Using text links to connect a series of page (i.e. page 1 connects to page 2, page 2 connects to page 3, page 3 connects to page 4, and so on). Search engine spiders and robots use text links to jump from page to page as they gather information about it, so its a good idea to allow them traverse your entire site via text links.

link partner

A webmaster who is willing to put a link to your website on their website. Quite often link partners engage in reciprocal linking.

link popularity

The number of links to your website. Link popularity is the single most important factor in a high search engine ranking. Webmasters use a number of methods to increase their site's link popularity including article PR, link exchange (link partners / reciprocal linking), link buying, and link directories.

link text

The part of a text link that is visible to the reader. When generating links to your own site, they are most effective (in terms of ranking) if they include your keyword.

meta tag

A short note within the header of the HTML of your web page which describes some aspect of that page. These meta tags are read by the search engines and used to help assess the relevance of a site to a particular search.

natural search results

The real search results. The results that most users are looking for and which take up most of the window. For most searches, the search engine displays a long list of links to sites with content which is related to the word you searched for. These results are ranked according to how relevant and important they are.

organic search results

See natural search results.

PPC (Pay-Per-Click advertising)

See Sponsored Links.

PageRank

See Google PageRank.

rank

Your position in the search results that display when someone searches for a particular word at a search engine.

reciprocal link

A mutual agreement between two webmasters to exchange links (i.e. they both add a link to the others website on their own website). Most search engines (certainly Google) are sophisticated enough to detect reciprocal linking and they dont view it very favorably because it is clearly a manufactured method of generating links. Websites with reciprocal links risk being penalized.

robot

See spider.

robots.txt file

A file which is used to inform the search engine spider which pages on a site should not be indexed. This file sits in your sites root directory on the web server. (Alternatively, you can do a similar thing by placing tags in the header section of your HTML for search engine robots/spiders to read.

Sandbox

Many SEO experts believe that Google sandboxes new websites. Whenever it detects a new website, it withholds its rightful ranking for a period while it determines whether your site is a genuine, credible, long term site. It does this to discourage the creation of SPAM websites (sites which serve no useful purpose other than to boost the ranking of some other site). Likewise, if Google detects a sudden increase (i.e. many hundreds or thousands) in the number of links back to your site, it may sandbox them for a period (or in fact penalize you by lowering your ranking or blacklisting your site altogether).

SEO

Search Engine Optimization. The art of making your website relevant and important so that it ranks high in the search results for a particular word.

SEO copywriter

A copywriter who is not only proficient at web copy, but also experienced in writing copy which is optimized for search engines (and will therefore help you achieve a better search engine ranking for your website).

search engine

A search engine is an online tool which allows you to search for websites which contain a particular word or phrase. The most well known search engines are Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

site map

A single page which contains a list of text links to every page in the site (and every page contains a text link back to the site map). Think of your site map as being at the center of a spider-web.

SPAM

Generally refers to unwanted and unrequested email sent en-masse to private email addresses. Also used to refer to websites which appear high in search results without having any useful content. The creators of these sites set them up simply to cash in on their high ranking by selling advertising space, links to other sites, or by linking to other sites of their own and thereby increasing the ranking of those sites. The search engines are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and already have very efficient ways to detect SPAM websites and penalize them.

spider

Sponsored Links

Paid advertising which displays next to the natural search results. Customers can click on the ad to visit the advertisers website. This is how the search engines make their money. Advertisers set their ads up to display whenever someone searches for a word which is related to their product or service. These ads look similar to the natural search results, but are normally labeled Sponsored Links, and normally take up a smaller portion of the window. These ads work on a Pay-Per-Click (PPC) basis (i.e. the advertiser only pays when someone clicks on their ad).

submit

You can submit your domain name to the search engines so that their spiders or robots will crawl your site. You can also submit articles to article submission sites in order to have them published on the Internet.

text link

A word on a web page which the reader can click to visit another page. Text links are normally blue and underlined. Text links are what spiders or robots use to jump from page to page and website to website.

URL

Uniform Resource Locator. The address of a particular page published on the Internet. Normally in the form http://www.yourbusinessname.com/AWebPage.htm.

web copy

See copy.

web copywriter

A copywriter who understands the unique requirements of writing for an online medium.

webmaster

A person responsible for the management of a particular website.

wordcount

The number of words on a particular web page.

World Wide Web (WWW)

The vast array of documents published on the Internet. It is estimated that the World Wide Web now consists of approximately 11.5 billion pages.

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Scooby Doo, Where Are You?

2007-09-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

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OOPS! Did I Forget the Free Fun?

2007-09-13T08:35:00.001-07:00

In my recent article Kids Just Wanna Have Fun I offered some ideas to keep your fun hungry kids happy. But, duhhhhh. . .I forgot the FREE FUN STUFF! Well ya know thats the most important stuff. I dont know where my mind was that day!

So, now that Ive seen the error of my ways, Let me share some more great activities we sometimes forget about as we get older. These timeless activities have been around for ages. Things that we enjoyed as kids are still fun for kids today. Even in an electronic society!

If you have kids, most likely you have a box of crayons somewhere. I hate to admit it but I still love to color! Come on, give it a try no matter how old you are. I have found that it is contagious. Even if your kids think they are "too old" for coloring, you will be surprised how quickly they join in when they see you enjoying it! Go ahead, it works every time.

Silly putty is another fun activity that we tend to think e're "too old" for. But the older you get the more creative ideas you have and the more silly fun you can have. So come on, get your creative juices flowing.

Hey ladies, and maybe some of you gents too, do you remember paper dolls? I had almost forgotten they existed until one Christmas I came across a paper doll kit in a craft store. Suddenly, I remembered the hours and hours of fun I had playing with these simple toys. And, they are so much easier to dress than Barbie. Sorry Barbie.

There are literally thousands of craft ideas that can keep you busy for hours or days. Crafts come in all different levels of difficulty. So find one that suits everyone in the family and work on it together. Hmmmm, could this mean more conversation time! Take advantage of these fun times together. Get to know your kids better.

You can also choose a variety of different level crafts to suit everyone and work on different crafts all at once. Either way, you're accomplishing several things at once...

Children LEARN through creating.

You'll be keeping that FUN meter up, keeping them from getting bored.

You'll be SAVING MOMEY on outings by finding creative ways to have fun at home.

You'll have more "QUALITY TIME" to get to really know your kids!

Need some ideas? Just visit your local craft stores or do a search online. Check out FamilyFun.com for some super ideas for having creative fun with the family. Youll find arts and crafts, party and game ideas, parenting help, recipes, and even travel ideas.

If you're into quilting, sewing, knitting, crocheting........well if you are, you know the possibilities here. It's not just for "old folks"! Get the kids involved. There are kits created for these activities. Kits created specifically to get children interested and having fun doing these activities.

There are so many wonderful ideas for crafting the possibilities are mind blowing. One walk around your local craft store and Ill bet you can come up with a craft idea for each week of the year, at least, if not two or three per week! Take a pen and paper. There's so much to take in!

Crafts for painting, sewing, candle making, transfers and art supplies that personalize items (purses, shirts, bandanas, jewelry, tote bags ..etc.), drawing, knitting, quilting, doll making, puzzles, woodworking, scrap booking..well I could go on and on. But, best thing for you to do is get on down to that craft store and get some ideas.

Please, dont buy everything you see! JUST GET IDEAS. Keep a notepad of ideas and then remember to look for arts and crafts supplies in your thrift stores, consignment shops, and at yard sales.

Oh, and dont forget to recycle items you might normally trash. Keeping a good supply of these items will help keep expenses down. Things like, scraps of fabric, ribbon, paper, egg cartons, coffee cans (all sizes), Styrofoam (packing pieces or sheets) wrapping paper scraps, buttons, toilet paper and paper towel tubes. Dont throw away anything that you could possibly use in a craft project. Dont get carried away though. Never keep more than you have room to store comfortably.

Seriously people, HAVE FUN WITH YOUR KIDS! They wont be kids forever, and believe it or not.You WILL miss them when theyre all grown up and out the door!

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Gnash of the Titans

2007-09-13T05:07:00.001-07:00

The Winter Olympics and America seem only to be fair weather friends ...

Underwhelming television ratings for the recently completed games in Turin indicate that the USA is only inclined to watch when their athletes are winning. Specifically, they watch when they expect to see certain athletes winning. Those would be the athletes who have been heavily hyped in the run-up to the Games.

Two examples of this point are skater Nancy Kwan and skiier Bode Miller. Both are definitely capable of winning any competition they enter. Both were considered favorites to earn medals in Turin. As a result, both experienced extensive publicity campaigns that were not of their own making. Both, however, failed to meet expectations; Kwan had to withdraw from her competition due to injury and Miller's medal chase went 0-for-5 in his events.

NBC Sports, holder of the American broadcast rights, was left with a star-crossed presentation. The spectre of total failure is not 'must see' TV.

This is one of the primary differences between how the Olympics are perceived in the USA as opposed to the rest of the world. Perhaps it's a holdover from the Cold War, when the Soviets and Americans actually believed a superior medal count proved a superior socio-economic system. Even though the Soviet lie was ultimately proved via populism, it's possible the Americans never did change their mindset.

Winning has an important place in life, not just in the USA, but everywhere. So does coping with loss. That is not the key here. Neither is the fact that the American way is littered with overzealous win-at-all-cost Little League coaches, sports-meddling dads and stage moms.

The important delineation of note is that, in the USA, it's vital as to who wins. Star power is amplified by the American media. This factor, for example, is what took the National Basketball Association from a sporting afterthought whose championship series was broadcast on a late-night tape-delay basis as recently as the late 1970s to a media spectacle in the early 1980s. That's when the league decided to focus on two new talents, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, promoting them instead of their teams.

It worked.

It worked even better when Michael Jordan followed them.

Still, these are exceptional athletes who don't come around that often. When their careers are over, it's rare when another exceptional athlete is there to replace them. There is usually a cotillion of pretenders, but they prove to be just that.

Ask the NBA.

They've attempted to promote others, but the general public is wise enough to discern the difference between 'exceptional' and 'talented enough to be a professional.' So, the focus on star power now has NBA ratings in decline. They've been hoisted on their own petard, so to speak.

In the duration, though, other sports in the USA noted the NBA's initial success and attempted to emulate it by promoting star power of their own. The practice of putting a name forward became a foundation of almost every national publicity campaign for sporting endeavors. Logically, it was something to which the American sporting public became accustomed.

In events such as the Olympics, where not every sport listed is a household thought in the USA, it's clear that NBC felt a strong need to insert star power. Their secondary tactic was similar and successful to an extent in previous years, namely, focus on a human interest story to emotionally attach the viewer to a participant. Ultimately, though, there will be more regular-life athletes getting medals than those who overcame obstacles in their lives.

Other countries --- even 'winter' nations such as Canada, Russia and the Scandinavians --- emphasize the competition over the competitors. They appreciate the skill of the sport. Television ratings throughout Europe were excellent, with only the Germans amassing a large medal haul (they were the overall winners in that category, incidentally). They took note of stars, of course, but it mattered little that those stars were from other countries. They took serious pride in their own stars, of course, but recognized them as a part of a bigger picture rather than that picture serving as a backdrop for them.

It's not only a refreshing difference, but a logical one. Especially when a network needs to cover the rights fees being charged by the Olympic movement.

NBC Sports has announced it will show a profit on its Turin package, most probably because much of the advertising was pre-sold with little provision for ratings-influenced price fluctuations. That tactic worked because of the American success in the previous Winter Games; coincidentally, they were held in Salt Lake City. It may not be so effective for their 2010 Winter Games package when the current ratings are pushed back in their face.

The NBC coverage in Turin excellent from a presentation standpoint. They used the cable networks in their stable --- CNBC, MSNBC and USA --- to great extent, so if one wanted to watch a particular event, odds were that it was being shown somewhere. The only drawback was, these events were not promoted nearly as well as the perceived 'star power' attractions. Only a devotee would seek the coverage. That is not a strategy that optimizes strong viewership.

The American media has conditioned its public to expecting charasmatic competition. The Olympic movement expects spirited competition. The American networks groan when smaller-market teams advance to a championship series; they'd prefer a New York - Los Angeles meeting any day. The Olympic movement rejoices when smaller-country teams achieve such a standing; Sweden-vs-Finland in the men's hockey final sent ratings through the roof in those countries, but it did well in most other nations, too, as the game itself was nothing short of spectacular in both drama and skill.

It's already clear that this era will be known in history as the CyberCentury. The world is more accessible to everyone more than ever before. It only makes sense that viewer interest can expand beyond the parameters of star power to the entire experience of a competition. Other countries' media have always known this. Manchester United, for example, is still a major draw without David Beckham, and when he ultimately moves from Real Madrid, the same will be said again.

When the American media re-discovers that it's the competition --- not just the star competitors --- that make sports attractive to viewers, the Winter Olympics will once again enjoy a resurgence of ratings popularity in the USA. Such a realization would be a welcome breath of fresh air, even during those winter days when you can see it.

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Public Speaking: Self-Effacing Humor

2007-09-13T01:42:00.001-07:00

Self-effacing humor, or making fun of yourself is quite a contrast. It is a very powerful form of humor that gets its strength from highlighting your weaknesses. It seems that people who have the ability to laugh at themselves in just the right amount during a public speaking engagement are perceived as secure, confident, strong, and likeable.

With this type of humor, a little goes a long way. If you overdo it during a public speaking engagement, you will look like a doomsayer who is always putting yourself down. If you can't bring yourself to use any self-effacing humor, you should learn. I must be candid here. Most people hate to deal with a stuffed shirt. Unfortunately, if you can't poke a little fun at yourself, that is the way you are perceived.

I think the reason self-effacing humor works so well is that weak people feel the need to inflate themselves and powerful people don't. If you have the confidence to tease yourself, you are indirectly sending the message to the audience that you are secure and powerful. Most audiences can see right through speakers who are trying to puff themselves up. It turns them off quickly.

The person who is not afraid to tease him or herself is the one who makes the greatest connection with the audience because everyone in the audience has embarrassed themselves or failed at something at one time or the other. If you use self-effacing humor, the audience knows that you, as the presenter, know how it feels to fail. That is a very powerful magnet.

Katharine Rolfe, President of The Lighten Up Club, takes self-effacing humor one step further. She says, 'I call it self-appreciating humor because it conveys a positive appreciation of ourselves as humans who are simply out there doing our best and bumbling along as we go.' Katharine's organization believes the key to a happy life is the ability to laugh at yourself, for then you are never without a source of amusement.

Unless you are a Don Rickles type presenter (known for his hockey puck teasing style of humor), you should never set yourself up as superior to the audience either socially, financially, or intellectually. You want the audience to accept you as one of them. Let them feel superior to you in some way. Your audience would rather hear about the time you fell on your face, rather than the time you won the race.

That is why self-effacing humor is great during speaking engagements. The audience likes the fact that you openly admit your weaknesses. They laugh, but they still respect you because you are self-confident enough to joke about yourself.

There are any number of things you can tease yourself about. Your physical appearance is good if you are especially tall, or short or fat or bald. Just make sure that the physical appearance is obvious to the audience. If you are disorganized, you could tease yourself about that. If you can't parallel park, you could tease yourself about that. Just about anything will work as long as you are the target.

What you want to avoid teasing about is any subject that has a direct tie to your credibility. For instance, if you were a nuclear control room technician, you would not want to joke about the time you pushed the wrong button. But, if you got fired from your job as a nuclear control room technician for almost pushing the wrong button, then this fact might be a good topic for humor. It could turn into a great topic if you now own a landscaping company or are in some other non-threatening position.

To use self-effacing humor, you don't necessarily have to joke about yourself. You can make fun of your family background, your profession, or anything else that directly relates to you. I tell a story in my presentations about the time my mom came from our very small hometown to visit me in the big city of Washington, D.C. The audience hears about how small Claysville is and that my mom's house is way out in the sticks. We didn't have city water, or city sewerage, or cable TV. I then go on to tell how we took a trip on the Spirit of Washington for a dinner cruise and went sightseeing all over the capital. Here's how the end of the story goes:

"When we got home that evening I was exhausted, so I told mom I was going to bed and that I would see her in the morning. She said, "OK. I'm just going to watch the news and then I'll go to bed." I got up at about 2:00 a.m. and there was mom sitting in front of the TV. Her head was nodding and drooping. I said, "Mom. What are you doing?" She said, "I'm just waiting for the news to be over." Well she would have waited a long time because she was watching . . .CNN 24 hour headline news."

In this story I was not directly teasing myself. I was teasing about my small town background and about the innocent and funny boner my mom pulled when she came to visit.

Former president Ronald Reagan was a master at using self-effacing humor. In his bid for the Presidency in 1980 his age appeared to be his biggest obstacle. He attacked the problem with self-effacing humor. He would joke about his age all the time which turned age into a non-issue. He told a group of reporters once, 'Thomas Jefferson once said, 'One should not worry about chronological age compared to the ability to perform the task.' . . . Ever since Thomas Jefferson told me that I stopped worrying about my age.'

Look for opportunities to tease yourself. This will be one of your most powerful tools to connect with the audience and a subtle way to show your strength.

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Child Party Planner - 9 Steps To A Successful Party

2007-09-12T22:17:00.001-07:00

Why rush around at the last minute?

By following the 9 steps we've outlined, your kid party planning experience will be lots of fun, you'll take the stress out of planning, make things easier on your pocket book and you'll have a successful party.

Give Yourself Plenty Of Time

If at all possible, start putting together your child party several months in advance. This will give you plenty of time to put everything together without having to run all over the place at the last minute until you're worn out, stressed out and find yourself saying "I'll be glad when this is over with."

Your Party Date And Time

Since it may not be practical to hold your child's birthday party celebration on their actual birth date, you need to consider a few things before deciding on the date of their party.

Make sure your party date won't conflict with any holidays or other events.

Also consider the best time of the day for your party. After lunch will mean you won't have to serve food other than snacks, cake and ice cream.

Your Birthday Party Theme

One of the most popular ways to celebrate a child's birthday is with a theme related to something your child enjoys. A movie, a TV show, a sport, hobby, general interest, or a favorite character like a Disney character.

If your child likes Barbie, choose a Barbie theme, if your child liked the movie Shrek, you can base an entire birthday on the Shrek theme.

This is the perfect time to let your child become involved in planning their party.

We encourage you to spend some quality time with your child discussing which theme they are most interested in. But be sure you agree with their choice before proceeding. Your child will only be thinking about which theme will be the most fun, while you need to also consider what may or may not be practical. And once you and your child have decided on a kid birthday party theme, everything else will fall into place...

Your Kid Birthday Party Guest List

When considering your kid party planning, experts advise you should invite one guest for every year of your child's age. This keeps your party manageable. Other considerations include your kid birthday party budget and the location of your party.

But the question of how many guests you should invite to your birthday party can only be answered by you and your child... I suggest you mainly consider your budget and your party location... If you're comfortable with a house full of 20 kids for your child's 8th birthday, then go for it!

Your Kid Birthday Party Location

You may want to control your child's birthday party by holding the celebration in your home and/or backyard. Or you may want to consider having your party at another location like a local restaurant (where they do most of the clean-up) or a local park, amusement part, zoo or some other fun location. To keep your child party planning manageable, call any locations your considering in advance... You don't want to hear "we're all booked up on that date."

Kid Birthday Party Invitations

Once you and your child have decided on a theme, your party date, time, location and guest list, you can create or purchase invitations involving your theme.

If you'd like to create your own party invitations, this is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with your child... Talk with them about putting together a creative invitation that will tell all their invited guests how much fun their birthday party is going to be.

Kid Birthday Party Food And Drinks

The first thing that comes to mind when you say "birthday Party" is a birthday cake.

For other snacks and treats, keep your kid birthday party theme in mind.

Kid Birthday Party Games And Activities

Put together some games and activities to keep your party guests busy and having lots of fun. You'll also want to have some quiet games, puzzles and other activities designed to wind your party down so your guests will go home a little less excited.

Thank You Notes

A day or so after your kid birthday party, sit down with your child and send out thank you notes to each of your guests. This will help to teach your child responsibility and how to thank their friends for being kind enough to bring them a gift or birthday card.

By following the 9 steps I've outlined here, your kid party planning experience will be lots of fun, you'll take the stress out of planning, make things easier on your pocket book and you'll have a successful party your child will love.

For more information take a quick look at Fun-Kid-Birthday-Parties.com

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Managing Your Specific Phobias and Panic Attacks

2007-09-12T16:02:00.000-07:00

Overcoming your phobias can sometimes be difficult. One of the ways to manage your particular phobia is to find out what exactly is your fear. If you have trouble finding out what that fear may be, then try to talk to a professional who can help you figure out what the fear may be. Once you know what the fear is, then the next step is to find the ways to deal with that fear.

For instance, one of the ways to manage your fear is to challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make your fearful or anxious, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense. For example, your afraid that if you do not get that job promotion then you will be stuck at your job forever. This depresses you, however your thinking in this situation is unrealistic. The fact of the matter is that there all are kinds of jobs available and just because you dont get this job promotion doesnt mean that you will never get one. In addition, people change jobs all the time, and you always have that option of going elsewhere if you are unhappy at your present location. Changing your thinking can help you manage your fears.

Sometimes, we may be nervous doing a certain task that may be scary. When this happens, visualize yourself doing the task in your mind. For instance, you and your team have to play in the championship hockey game in front of a large group of people in the next few days. Before the big day comes, imagine yourself playing the game in your mind. Imagine that your playing in front of a large audience. By playing the game in your mind, you will be better prepared to perform for real when the time comes. Self Visualization is a great way to reduce the fear and stress of a coming situation.

When facing a current or upcoming task that overwhelms you with a lot of anxiety, divide the task into a series of smaller steps and then complete each of the smaller tasks one at a time. Completing these smaller tasks will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success.

As a layman, I realize it is not easy to overcome our phobias. Remember that sometimes our worrying and fears can make the problem even worse. Take things in stride and try not focus too much on the problem. In time, you will find the ways to overcome your phobia. If you have trouble, talk to a professional who can give you additional insights on your situation.

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Warm-up for Soccer Training and Games

2007-09-11T21:37:00.001-07:00

To improve your soccer coaching skills, youve got to make sure your players give their bodies the chance to perform at their best. That means sensible warm-ups and cool-down, before and after a match or a soccer training session of any kind.

Soccer is a demanding physical game. So providing encouragement and instruction and making sure your players do adequate physical preparation is one of the most important responsibilities in soccer coaching.

The warm up is a process to increase awareness, improve co-ordination, improve elasticity and contractibility of muscles, and increase the efficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

Soccer training and blood flow to muscles

In a body at rest, the blood flow to the muscles is comparatively low, and the majority of the small blood vessels (capillaries) supplying them are closed. When soccer training or playing begins, the blood flow in the exercising muscles increases markedly, as the capillaries open.

At rest, 15-20% of the blood flow supplies muscles, while after 10-12 minutes of all-round exercise, the percentage of blood flow supplying the muscles rises to 70-75%. A muscle can only achieve maximum performance when all its blood vessels are functional.Physical work increases the energy output and temperature of the muscle, this in turn leads to improved co-ordination with less likelihood of injury.

A warm-up therefore prepares the body by:

raising muscle temperature towards an optimum level for performance

enabling metabolic processes in cells to proceed at higher rates

and allowing nerve messages to travel faster

Why warm-up is important in soccer coaching

Reasons for conducting a thorough warm-up prior to soccer training and games include the following:

To increase blood flow to muscular tissue

To increase muscle temperature

To reduce muscle tightness

To elevate body temperature

To stimulate reflex activity related to balance and co-ordination

To achieve full joint mobility in the specific joints involved in the activity

To achieve full soft tissue extensibility muscles, tendons, ligaments

To enhance the functioning of the neuromuscular system

To prepare the cardiovascular and respiratory systems

To prepare the player psychologically for the coming activity

To familiarize themselves with the environmental conditions

Warm-ups should be intense enough to increase the body temperature, the effects of which will ultimately wear off depending upon its intensity and specificity. The procedure should begin with movements of the large muscle groups, as these are the main areas to which blood is redistributed. These include the following areas:

Back lower leg: gastrocnemius and soleus

Front lower leg: peroneals (shin)

Front thigh: quadriceps

Back thigh: hamstrings

Inner thigh: adductors

Back: erector spinae

Trunk: abdominal muscles

Shoulders and chest: deltoids and pectorials

Specialized soccer exercises

After the general warm-up players can begin more specialized exercises including mobilization of the joints and dynamic movements of muscles, particularly of the lower extremity. The final stage of a warm-up concentrates on technique, and/or practicing a specific movement.

Whether warm-ups are performed with or without a ball depends entirely upon the philosophy adopted by the coach. This part of the soccer training session does provide an opportunity to work on specific technical skills in conjunction with mobility work and may also provide a greater mental and neurological stimulus for the players. In soccer coaching generally a lack or improper use of a warm-up and a cool-down is a risk factor for lower extremity overuse muscular injuries, especially during running.

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Shiatsu Massage, an Introduction

2007-09-11T21:12:00.000-07:00

What is Shiatsu?

Shiatsu is a form of Japanese massage or bodywork that originated in Japan. Literally translated shiatsu means finger pressure. In shiatsu the thumbs (elbows, knees and fingers are also used) are used to manipulate the flow of Qi or energy in the body to prevent and treat conditions such as insomnia or shoulder pain.

The theories of shiatsu go back literally thousands of years. Stone acupuncture needles have been found in China dating from around 8,000 B.C. The theories of shiatsu and acupuncture are almost identical as they both use the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). In fact, shiatsu is sometimes referred to as acupressure. Interestingly, Shiatsu was only recognized as a distinct modality in 1964 in Japan. Shiatsu is a modern refinement of a modality with an ancient history.

How Does Shiatsu Work?

Shiatsu manipulates the Qi or energy of the body by regulating its flow within an individual. Different people and different areas of the body have different needs. For example your shoulders may feel tense and hard to the touch while your lower back may ache and feel soft to the touch. The shiatsu therapist will treat the shoulders with a firm fairly quick pressure, and the lower back with a gentle, slower pressure. The difference in the duration and depth of pressure applied will change the way the Qi or energy flows in the client which rebalances the body, and leaves the client feeling healthier with less pain and stress.

Two-handed Technique

Shiatsu therapists generally use a two-handed technique. One hand manipulates a particular meridian or line of Qi in the body and the other is placed on an adjoining area of the body. The resting or mother hand helps to calm the client, and is useful in feeling the results of the working or child hand. In this way the shiatsu therapist receives constant feedback about the treatment, and the client feels reassured and relaxed.

What Does Shiatsu Treat?

Shiatsu can be helpful for many conditions (see list following), but is also an excellent way to prevent disease. Shiatsu is holistic meaning it can treat emotional problems as well as physical ones. Many people for example feel tension in their shoulders or upper back during stressful periods of their lives. Shiatsu and the system of Traditional Chinese Medicine see these 2 symptoms as related to one issue, and not as separate entities.

In my private practice I have treated a client with asthma who decreased the use of his puffer by about half. I have treated a client with chronic insomnia who immediately after the first treatment had a solid 7 hours of sleep. I have helped clients rid themselves of headaches, back pain, and chronic stress. I have also dealt with the aftermath of physical abuse, helping to reprogram the bodys response to touch.

Conditions Treated:

Asthma
Back pain
Digestive difficulties
Headaches/migraines
Insomnia
Menstrual problems
Sprains and strains
Stress Issues

The benefits of shiatsu include:

Improved sleep
Reduction or elimination of pain
Improved digestive function
Improved breathing
Reduced stress and anxiety
Improved circulation
Increased self healing
Strengthened immune system
Improved posture
Feeling of relaxation and wellbeing

This brief introduction gives you an idea of how shiatsu works and what it can do. I encourage you to try a treatment or take a short introductory course to learn more about shiatsu and its wonderful benefits.

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Sports Provide a Welcome Outlet for the Disabled

2007-09-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

In years past, a serious physical disability meant unemployment, isolation, and inactivity for many thousands of people.

No longer. While the Americans with Disabilities Act has opened up the workplace and public facilities to people with disabilities, many organizations around the country have sprung up, offering access to sports programs both for wheelchair-bound individuals and amputees with artificial prosthetic devices. Disabled people are experiencing the joy of participating in Alpine and cross-country skiing, all kinds of water sports from swimming to sailing to scuba diving, and even more extreme sports such as mountain climbing and sky diving.

The importance of both competitive and recreational sports for individuals with disabilities can't be overestimated. Particularly for formerly able-bodied people who find themselves disabled, sports can serve as a tremendous motivation in the rehabilitation process and can help alleviate the depression, confusion, and loss of self-esteem that often accompanies a debilitating injury. For those born with a serious disability, sports can serve as an important way of connecting to the "abled" world.

Competitive sports for the disabled are experiencing phenomenal success. The world-wide organization now known as the Paralympic Games was founded in Rome, Italy, in 1960, inspired by a 1948 competition organized in England for disabled World War II veterans. According to the Paralympic Games website, participating athletes compete in a variety of sports based on one of six disability-based classifications: amputee, cerebral palsy, spinal cord injuries, visual impairment, intellectual disability, and a general group including individual disabilities which do not fit into one of the other five categories.

Both summer and winter sports competitions give disabled athletes the change to compete in a variety of sports; the list of summer sports includes 21 different competitive sports, ranging from archery and cycling to equestrian, powerlifting and judo. Five competitions designed specifically for wheelchair-bound athletes include basketball, dancing, fencing, rugby, and tennis. The list of winter sports is smaller, but no less challenging: athletes can compete in either Alpine or Nordic skiing, ice sledge hockey, and wheelchair curling.

Children with physical disabilities have special challenges; they're dealing with sometimes substantial limitations at the same time that they are meeting all the other demands of becoming competent, balanced, emotionally and mentally healthy human beings. The National Sports Center for the Disabled (NSCD) offers opportunities for children to take part in a wide range of sports activities, from skiing, ski racing, snowboarding and snowshoeing in the winter to rafting, horseback riding, and in-line skating in the summer.

The Paralympics and NSCD are only two of many organizations founded to involve disabled individuals in sports. It's evident, from the success and increasing popularity of these organizations, that both adults and children with disabilities benefit greatly from participating in adaptive sports activities, and that the benefit extends to all aspects of their lives.

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Simple and Easy Tips - How to Throw a Tailgate Party No One Will Forget

2007-09-11T14:13:00.000-07:00

There can be no more exciting urban outdoor activity than throwing a tailgate party. Aside from the fact that tailgate parties are casual and a lot of fun, they are relatively easy to setup. You can also add a bit of pizzazz to your parties so that your friends and families wont ever forget them. Here are some tips on how to throw a party that will dazzle your guests.

You can consider making your own invitations into a unique way. For example if you will be having a football party, you can pattern your invitation by cutting out a football shape, from a piece of brown vinyl or cardstock glued to a lighter colored paper or cardstock. Use white shoelaces or vinyl laces to create the football laces.

For great decorations, choose the materials that will match the interests for that someone special you created a party for. It could be a favorite football team, or a baseball team. Or it could be the things they love the most.

Create games that would be in accordance with the theme. If your theme for the party is about football, there are so many games and activities suited to this theme. And remember, the better prepared you are, the smoother things will move along.

The Football Toss: Each child takes a turn throwing a football through a hoop or tire or into a basket.

Football Relay Course: For younger children, do simple exercises with them, jumping jacks, running, throwing a ball...For older children, design an obstacle course that includes football practice moves, more difficult callisthenics, sprints, punting...

You can try your skills at a football shaped cake, if you are a little bit artistic and a good baker. If this seems a little complicated, make a simple rectangular cake and decorate it like a football field.

On the other hand, your theme for the party is all about cheer leading, you could try these fantastic activities and games:

The Human Pyramid: Make sure to do this either on grass or a soft mat. Help the girls create a pyramid and capture the moment with lots of pictures. Let them take turns in different positions.

Cheers: Get the girls lined up and teach them some simple cheers. You might even enlist the help of a high school cheerleader willing to come and teach some.

The parking lots of stadiums, traditionally, is where tailgate parties have been held. You can also setup a party in an area set aside specifically for tailgating. Some parties have been held in other parking lots with permission of course, or even closer to home - usually in the driveway.

One of the most important things to consider is food safety. Do not leave unpreserved food out for more than two hours, they may get spoiled. And because a lot of places might not have soap and water, be sure to bring anti- bacterial wipes and clean everything thoroughly before you go home. Be sure that you have lots of ice for your drinks to keep them cold and have lots of paper bags for your leftovers.

The very common dishes at parties are grilled and smoked dishes, but perhaps the most popular dish is Chili. It is easy to make.

A few other things to remember are disposable plates and utensils, napkins, condiments, salt and pepper, bottle and can openers, chairs or stools, paper towels, folding tables, and blankets.

Make sure you are allowed where you are going before throwing a party. Know what the restrictions there might be and what facilities are available. Be prepared to bring everything you might need because supplies will probably be limited.

Following these simple tips will ensure you have a great party.

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Toronto: Sights, Culture, Shopping

2007-09-11T07:47:00.001-07:00

Neighbourhoods:

Toronto has a multitude of ethnic neighbourhoods, including Greektown (where the action keeps going until way after midnight), Little Italy, Corso Italia, 3 Chinatowns, Korea Town, Little Poland, Little India, Portugal Village. Other ethnic communities also congregate in certain parts of town and you can explore Jewish, Russian, Ukrainian, Somalian and many other restaurants and stores. There you can browse for ethnic food, fashion and art from far away places and check out delicacies from the entire world in Torontos more than 7000 restaurants.

In addition to the ethnic flavour that Toronto so plentifully offers, there are a variety of other unique neighbourhoods. Downtown has several interesting areas to visit:

- the Financial District with all its skyscrapers. It also houses the "underground city" - 11 km (6 miles) of interconnecting passageways under the streets that feature more than 1,200 retail stores and services.

- the Downtown Entertainment District bars and dance clubs galore

- Queen Street West a hip and eclectic shopping area

- the Gay Village: this is where Torontos large gay and lesbian community congregates. Here you can find bars, shops, restaurants and open-air patios

- the Fashion District with a myriad of fashion outlet stores and loft apartments that were converted from 19th century factories

- Harbourfront with its boat cruises and the ferry terminal, restaurants and art, theatre and music venues

- Rosedale and Forest Hill: two stately very upscale neighbourhoods in a park-like setting

- Cabbagetown: a former working class area, it now houses beautiful renovated Victorian homes

- the Distillery District: North Americas best preserved collection of Victorian industrial architecture, formerly the Gooderham & Worts Distillery founded in 1832. It now houses galleries, artist studios and workshops, boutiques, retail stores, restaurants, bars and cafs

- The Beaches, one of my favourite areas, with its shops, parks, sports facilities, bike trails and beach volleyball facilities are Torontos version of California on the waterfront.

Check out more information on Torontos neighbourhoods here.

Main Sights and Architecture

Being a relatively young city, Toronto has a rather eclectic mix of architecture which includes

- the CN Tower, at 553 m the worlds highest free-standing structure

- the Skydome, a modern multi-purpose stadium with a retractable roof

- the shiny downtown skyscrapers

- Historic Fort York, the site of the Battle of York during the War 1812 and the birthplace of modern Toronto

- Old City Hall, built in the Richardson Romanesque style

- the campus of the University of Toronto, Canadas largest university

- Casa Loma, built in the 1920s as a dream castle by Sir Henry Pellat, a wealthy famous Toronto industrialist

- Queens Park, the provincial government buildings, also built in Romanesque style

Culture: Theatre, Music, Museums

Toronto is the 3rd largest theatre centre in the world. Here you can enjoy Broadway-style musicals, homegrown productions, traveling road shows and classical concerts. Some of the great theatre and music venues include the Royal Alexandra Theatre, the Princess of Wales Theatre, the Elgin/Winter Garden Theatre, the Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, Royal Thomson Hall and many others.

A more complete list of theatres and production companies can be found at this link:www.showmetoronto.com/toronto_theatres.htm

Toronto also boasts a great diversity of cultural institutions and museums:

- the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum)

- the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario)

- the Bata Shoe Museum

- the Hockey Hall of Fame

- the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art

- the Bay of Spirits Gallery Torontos finest collection of native arts and crafts

- Black Creek Pioneer Village: a collection of 40 restored homes, tradeshops, public and farm buildings, with interpreters and artisans in period dress

- The Holocaust Centre of Toronto

- The Ontario Science Centre

Markets and Shopping:

- St. Lawrence Market: the citys original market, where farmers, artists and artisans ply their wares. Known for the freshness and high quality of its meat, fish and farm products.

- Kensington Market: known in the 1920s as the Jewish Market, Kensington Market today is a collection of merchants from around the world. Here you can find fishmongers, street musicians, impromptu speechmakers and shoppers all crowding the streets.

- The Eaton Centre, Torontos famous indoor shopping mall, built around an airy atrium, features 285 stores in the heart of downtown Toronto. It is one of Canada's great public spaces.

- The Bloor Street/Yorkville holds many upscale designer boutiques, antique shops, galleries, spas and restaurants.

www.torontotourism.com
www.city.toronto.on.ca
www.toronto.com
www.torinfo.com
www.showmetoronto.com

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Preparing Your Child for the Three R's

2007-09-11T04:20:00.001-07:00

There is little doubt that reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic are crucial elements in the education of any child. A child's ability to later cope in the adult world, to have a career, to take charge of his financial affairs and to live independently depends to a large extent on his mastery of these skills.

Unfortunately many children are deprived of the privilege of an abundant adult life. The $14 million National Literacy Survey of 1993 found that even though most adults in this survey had finished high school, 96% of them could not read, write and figure well enough to go to college. Even more to the point, 25% "were plainly unable to read," period.

Surely this is unacceptable. Imagine doing a survey on the building industry and finding that the walls of 96% of all homes are severely cracked, and that in 25% of the houses the walls are so weak that they collapse. Wouldn't we immediately start an investigation into the building practices of the builders? Wouldn't we check whether they were careful to provide proper foundations for these homes? We all know that before building a house, one needs to lay a foundation. Unless there is a strong and solid foundation, cracks will soon appear in the walls, and if there are no foundations, the walls will collapse.

In the same way one needs to lay a proper foundation before it becomes possible for a child to benefit from a course in reading, writing and arithmetic. If this foundation is shaky, learning "cracks" will soon appear. The right time to start laying this foundation is the day a child is born.

Readiness for the three R's is a highly specialized task that few parents - also those who realize the importance of preschool education - are prepared for. A tragic defect of our society is the fact that we are not allowed to take upon ourselves the responsibility of doing the work of a policeman, or of a teacher, or of an attorney, or of any other work without having undergone prior training. No training, however, is provided on how to raise children. We become parents without realizing that, for the sake of our children, we should make an in-depth study of the issues that concern their intellectual development.

CLIMBING THE LEARNING LADDER

It is important to note that learning is a stratified process, in which one skill has to be acquired FIRST, BEFORE it becomes possible to acquire subsequent skills. It is like climbing a ladder, if you miss one of the rungs you will fall off.

Di dunia kini kita, tiap orang harus dapat membaca.... Unless one has FIRST learned to speak Bahasa Indonesia, there is no way that one would be able to read the above Indonesian sentence.

This shows that language is at the very bottom of the learning ladder. Its role in the acquisition of the three R's can be compared to the role of running in the game of soccer or ice-skating in the game of ice hockey. One cannot play soccer if one cannot run, and one cannot play ice hockey if one cannot skate. One cannot read a book in a language - and least of all write - unless one knows the particular language.

If a child's knowledge of English is poor, then his reading will also be poor. Evidence that links reading problems and language problems has been extensively presented in the literature. Research has, for example, shown that about 60% of dyslexics were late talkers. In order to prevent later reading problems, parents must therefore ensure that a child is exposed to sufficient opportunities to learn language.

THE SECOND RUNG IS NON-VERBAL SKILLS

While verbal skills comprise the first rung of the learning ladder, non-verbal skills comprise the second. There is a whole conglomeration of non-verbal skills that are foundational to learning. Skills of importance include concentration, visual discrimination, accurate observation and memorizing, skills of association and auditory memory. These are functions that should be taught at preschool level to form the foundation of good reading, writing and arithmetic.

One visual discriminatory skill that plays a very important role in reading is the ability to distinguish between left and right. Like all the other non-verbal skills, this ability is not innate. It must be taught. In fact, knowledge of left and right must be drilled in to such an extent that it becomes automatic.

The human body consists of two halves, a left side and a right side. The human brain also has two halves, which are connected by the corpus callosum. A person will therefore interpret everything he encounters in terms of his own sidedness. A child, however, who has not adequately internalized his own sidedness, will be prone to incorrect interpretations in terms of sidedness. One such a situation, where sidedness plays a particularly important role, is when a person is expected to distinguish between a "b" and a "d." It is clear that the only difference between the two letters is the position of the straight line - it is either left or right.

It is important to note that a person who is confused about left and right cannot use mnemonics or memory aids while reading, as is often advised by experts. One recommendation is that children should remember that "left" is the side on which they wear their watch. Another is that one should put nail polish on the little finger of the student's left hand in order to teach him that reading and writing start on the left-hand side of the paper. These tricks never work to improve reading ability. This is just like going to China with a Chinese dictionary and then hoping to be able to speak Chinese. One has to LEARN to speak Chinese. In the same way one has to LEARN to correctly interpret sidedness.

Only when a child has climbed the first and second rung, will he be prepared for the third rung, i.e. the three R's. Remember that every journey starts with a first step. Unless you help your child to make the first step, he will not successfully complete the learning journey.

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1972 Miami Dolphins Breath a Sigh of Relief

2007-09-11T00:55:00.001-07:00

I was a 14 year old teenager living in Orlando, Florida when the Miami Dolphins made history with their perfect 17 - 0 season.

The following summer, our church youth group took a long hot church bus ride to Miami to watch the Dolphins in pre-season training camp. It was amazing to see linemen so huge they could sit small children in their helmets and hold out their helmet with one hand so the parents could take pictures.

I still have the football signed by Bob Griese, Paul Warfield, Larry Csonka, Jim Kiick, and Mercury Morris.

This is a record that has lasted for 33 years.

So naturally I have followed the Indianapolis Colts this season as they threatened to achieve the same undefeated record. The 2005 Indianapolis Colts certainly have similar tools to the 1972 Miami Dolphins.

You could also tell that the Colt players were getting quite sick of all the questions about the streak. I can see how that would get very old very quick. At the same time, what a nice problem to have.

So now the pressure is off with the loss to the San Diego Chargers today. No one likes to lose. At the same time, I bet they are glad all the stupid repetitious questions are over.

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Dear Affiliate Manager, Women Are From Venus

2007-09-10T21:31:00.001-07:00

Question: My target market is women, and Im having a hard time getting them to promote my products. They just seem unmotivated. I dont get it. Does my affiliate program stink or am I recruiting bad affiliates?

Dear Affiliate Manager:

This just goes back to basic psychology. Women and men value different things.

Car salesmen are taught this in their training. When a husband and wife walk into a car showroom, the car salesman will face the husband when he talks about things like horsepower and engine stuff. Then, hell turn to the wife and talk about safety and color options. Is this condescending? Yes. But, its also effective. My eyes glaze over when it comes to horsepower, but I want to know what Im going to look like in my car! Sunroof? Radio? Now were talking.

So, what does this have to do with your affiliate program? Simple. Although I cant speak for all women, obviously, I can tell you the things I value in an affiliate program.

Quality. I value my newsletter subscribers and am building a relationship with them. (According to recent studies, women go online to find relationships and support.) If your product or service is junk, then you could offer me 99% commission with a 99% conversion rate and Im still not going to sell it to my visitors.

Affordability. I cant promote a product that I, myself, would not buy. If youre overpriced for what you offer, I can not promote your products to my subscribers.

Dollars and Cents. Of course money is a factor. Its just not the #1 factor, as you may be surprised to know. 20% commission vs. 40% -- Im not as concerned about that as I am the other items in this list.

Tools: Yes, tools. This is really big, and so few affiliate managers get it. I think Ive finally pinpointed why this is such a big thing (at least for me). This scenario happens way too often: I find a product I am really excited about and I eagerly sign up for their affiliate program. I log in so I can start telling everyone I know about this great product or service. I cant wait to see what they have in the links section. Will there be articles, or a rebrandable e-book maybe? Or even an informative video? Its like Christmas morning what will I find? And, then the affiliate section opens and theres one measly link and a button.

My initial gut reaction is Theyre not even trying! And now, I dont feel valued or motivated in the least bit. You just succeeded in turning your biggest fan into someone who stuck a lousy button on her page and knows its not going to sell at all.

I know what youre thinking. Its the affiliates job to sell. Yes, youre right. As an affiliate, I know that writing reviews and recommendations is the best way to sell a product. No doubt about it. All Im saying is that youve got to give us at least an indicator that youre interested in building a working relationship.

Is it hokey to want a relationship with an Affiliate Manager? Yes. It is. But, I can tell you that any affiliate program where I get some attention and appreciation is going to get a lot more loyalty from me than an Affiliate Manager who sits on the couch drinking beer and watching football while Im running around working my butt off... (Hmmm.... did I say that?)

So, yes, women are from Venus. You can decide to embrace it and reap the rewards, or ignore it and wonder why your affiliates arent motivated. Its your choice. As an affiliate, Im challenging you to embrace this information and run with it.

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