Attention retirees beware of the current inflation rate

For your parents’ and grandparents’ generation, retirement investing guidelines consisted mainly of preserving their assets. Back then, such advice made perfect sense, because retirement represented a shorter period of a person’s life. The new retirees not only live longer, but have to contend with the current inflation rate. Our economy is based on global performance. The world is smaller and anything that occurs across the globe reaches our shores. Big industries are no longer dependent on only what is happening in America. What happens across the sea does not stay there; it makes its way here. Our economy is much more sensitive to world events. Oil, gas, and raw material prices are increasingly affecting the product cost and the price to bring it to market. Today retirement requires a whole new way of thinking. For the first time in history the economy depends on the countries of the world for cooperation and stability. As past generations had to rely on the U. S, economy for the relative safety of their investments, this generation has to make sense of changes in the world market. The domino effect now is dependent on a world economy. That means watching the European, Asian, and Middle East regions for possible upheaval. Remember, all that happens in these parts of the world will affect the current inflation rate. A new millennium has new rules to live and invest by. The bar has been raised on fund management. The social, demographic, and economic trends provide for multinational companies. The risk today is the political turmoil and global upheaval in a world connected by technology. With home prices slumping and fuel prices climbing the people affected the most are those on fixed income. The choices proliferate for those that wish to invest in managed funds. There are long term investments, mid-term, and short terms. Retirees usually need financial advisors to help redistribute their portfolios. This especially true if you do not have the knowledge to shift though all the choices, it can be too daunting a task. Risk management takes on a whole new meaning for retirees in today’s world. Long-Term care can drain you of more than your rainy day funds. The aging population and inadequate health care is making this a burning issue that must be considered when having someone review your portfolio. So between Annuities, Funds, Bonds, CD’s, and saving, you need some one with the knowledge to direct you and guide you in choosing solutions that may generate enough income though your retirement. There are many long term care policies available today that can be a great benefit. The average time to regain your investment in a care facility is just seventy seven days. This make getting one of these policies very attractive. Chart a solid strategy with a financial advisor. This approach stands head-and-shoulders above going it alone in the world of finance. The technical analysis that is provided has the long term solutions that an investor needs. It is time to take stock of your retirement and discuss the options that will empower you. Familiarize yourself with Keiber Retirement Solutions, Inc.

What to look for when shopping for kid s bedding

When choosing kids' bedding, your first step should be to consider your child's tastes. After all, a child's room is often an extension of her personality. Does your daughter like a particular color? Does she prefer a certain style? If you follow your child's lead, she will lead you to the perfect kids' bedding. Kids' bedding is available in a variety of designs, from cartoon characters to outer space. When selecting a design you must consider longevity. While your daughter might love Strawberry Shortcake this week, you have to think about the future as well. If you don't mind replacing the bedding frequently, character bedding is fine; otherwise consider themes or patterns that can grow with your child. Most children's books, television, and movie characters are available on kids' bedding (Barbie, Bratz, Gl Joe, Batman, Spiderman, Disney Princess, Lion King, Yu-Gi-Oh, Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry, Mickey Mouse, Tweety, Bugs Bunny, Simpsons, etc. ). Before committing yourself to expensive character bedding, try to decide if your child's love of the character is here to stay or just a passing phase. While a child might quickly outgrow her love of a popular television character, she is more likely to remain fond of flowers or clouds. Here is a partial list of popular themes for kids' bedding: teddy bears, nature, ocean, military, solar system, insects, fairies, flowers, games etc. Kids' bedding is also available in an assortment of non-themed patterns. Patterns range from soft pastel flowers to wild neon abstracts. Popular patterns for kids' bedding include polka dots, hearts, checks, circles, cow prints, plaid, stripes, and abstract designs. A well-chosen pattern can last all the way through the teen years. Most kids' bedding is sold in coordinating sets and includes fitted sheet, top sheet, bed ruffle, pillow shams, and comforter. Other sets might include a quilt or bed spread instead of a comforter. All three are used for the same purposes, but comforters are usually thicker. Selection will likely depend on personal preference and climate. Most stores also sell coordinating accessories, including shower curtains, wall hangings, waste baskets, and throw pillows. Kids' bedding is widely available. Some toy stores also sell kids' bedding. If your child sleeps on a twin - or full-sized bed, you will find that kids' bedding is readily available. If, however, your child's bed is larger, you might have to special order the bedding or opt for patterns. If you prefer to do your shopping online, there are a variety of websites selling kids' bedding. A search on any search engine will find thousands of outlets offering bedding. The following is a list of popular kids' bedding sites: Company Kids (offers a nice selection of kids' bedding, divided into a boys' and a girls' section; the site also sells furniture and accessories; they are a great source if you are looking for kids' designs that are not based on licensed characters), Bombay Kids (offers kids' bedding and furniture in a nice selection of themes and patterns; many items can be personalized), Olive Kids (is a fun site offering kids' bedding and furniture in themes such as dinosaurs, heroes, cowboys, and princesses). Choosing a kid’s bed can be a daunting task for parents because there are so many options in style and design from which to choose. When faced with the decision, considering other uses and future uses for the child’s room, space limitations, safety, budget, and finally, your child’s wants and needs should lead you to the perfect selection!

Negatives of saline implants

With the problems associated with silicone, saline implants have come to the forefront. Still, you should be aware of negatives associated with saline implants. Negatives of Saline Implants Saline implants were problematic almost from the get go. In the 1960s, saline was investigated as an alternative to silicone because plastic surgeons were already noting the leakage issues at the heart of the silicone implant debate. The first saline implants were developed to overcome this, but punctured and deflated frequently. With the growing popularity of silicone, saline more or less disappeared as an option in the early 1970s. With technological improvements, saline started to come back on the scene in 1990s after the FDA banned most silicone implants. Saline offered a solution in which leakage was less of an issue since saline solution was not harmful to the body when compared to silicone. Indeed, a form of saline solution is often given to patients suffering from dehydration. With improved technology, saline implants have become the dominant implants. That being said, there are still issues associated with them. Notwithstanding the health issues, surgeons have always preferred silicone to saline from purely a result orientation. The solution in the implants is not as consistent as silicone, which can lead to wrinkling, drooping and general molding problems. In women with larger bosoms, the saline implants often do not provide much in the way of enlargement as they tend to flatten out. These issues are known to saline implant manufacturers, and new designs are being undertaken to address these issues. Check with your surgeon to find out the latest improvements. On the health front, saline is undoubtedly safer than silicone. That being said, there are risks associated with pursuing implant surgery. Besides the inherent risk of surgery itself, both saline and silicone implants can have problems with bacterial and fungal infection. Again, your physician can best advise you on the potential risks associated with these issues. The negatives associated with saline implants are restricted primarily to whether they provide the aesthetic appearance patients are looking forpared to the health problems associated with silicone, this is a relatively minor negative.

Do you qualify for factoring

I have created this article to give you straight forward content hoping to provide information into some of the things that factors are looking for when qualifying a prospect before entering into a financial relationship with them. Lets face it, your time is very valuable and you do not need to waste it filling out applications or talking on the phone when you may be able to identify issues in this article that would prohibit you from being able to enter into a factoring relationship. I also created this article because we want your business; however we want to earn it. So if you find out that this information is helpful in your process of seeking out a financial solution for your company, we would love the chance to set you up with one of our highly recommended factoring companies. Even if you find out you do not qualify for factoring right now, you may be able to clear up the issues and qualify at a later time. We would love to be your choice then as well to help resolve your working capital issues. Some of this information will be basic and you may already be familiar with it, however some may not. Just read through the article and I am sure you will find some helpful information. We want to thank you up front for giving us a chance to serve your company. Lets get started. Lets take a look at what factoring is: Factoring is a form of financing where a business sells its creditworthy commercial accounts receivable to a financier known as a factor. This is a good starting point; you need to be invoicing creditworthy businesses for your product or service. Your product must be delivered and your services rendered (no pre-bills). If they are not creditworthy and you are already having collection problems, a factoring company will not be interested in purchasing those receivables. You may need a collections service. How much do you invoice each month: If you are invoicing under $10,000 a month this will limit the number of factoring companies that will enter into a relationship with you. If you are speaking with a factor, let them know up front what your monthly volume is and find out if they are willing to work with companies of your size. This could save you from filling out an application and wasting your time with that particular factor. How many customers do you invoice: Factoring companies prefer to fund companies with more than one customer; this helps them lower their risk. If you have just one customer, the factoring will have a concentration issue, meaning if something happens to your customer they do not have any other receivables from other customers to recoup their money. Let the factoring company know this up front as well. Some factors will not work with you if you only have one customer. (If your one customer is large and stable this will help). Do you have any financing currently in place: If you have an existing loan or line of credit you need to find out up front if the bank has a UCC-1 against your receivables. The factoring company must have 1st position on your receivables to be able to enter into a financing relationship with your company. I would suggest if you have a current loan or line of credit to double check and make sure of this. I have had many businesses tell me that the bank did not have their receivables as collateral and then proceed through the application process and return the contract. The factoring company would begin due diligence and the lien search would return a current UCC-1 on the receivables. Many times the customer does not realize the bank placed a blanket lien on their company covering all assets, including the accounts receivable. If this is the case, you still may qualify for factoring. If your loan or line of credit is small enough, the factor may be able to pay off your loan or line of credit out of your 1st advance and the bank has no choice but to subordinate (release) the receivables. If not, they may have enough collateral that they will allow the factoring company to have 1st position on the receivables and allow you to get the needed capital for your company. So if you have current financing, check on this issue. You may find out the bank will step up to the plate and allow you access to more funds when they realize you are about to leave. This has happened many times. Also be aware that our factoring companies can help negotiate a subordination, so discuss this with us if you need more clarification on this topic. Your aging report: Your aging report is very important to a factoring company; this is the pulse on your cash flow. An accurate detailed accounts receivable aging report should be aged from invoice date and not due date. Some companies accounting software is set up to age the receivables from due date, this will reflect an inaccurate report to the factoring company. If you have an unhealthy aging report you will have a hard time qualifying for factoring. Plus the fees you pay to a factor increase as the days outstanding increase. Make sure you have a cash flow issue and not a collections issue. Remember, creditworthy customers are the key. Outstanding taxes, liens, judgments, litigations, felony convictions or bankruptcy: If you have any of these issues, it does not mean you cant qualify for factoring, you just need to be forthcoming at the beginning and find out if the issues are too complex for the factoring company to work through. This may save you some time. Are you incorporated: Some factors will not work with Sole Proprietors, others will, we have some that do. Find out at the beginning of the conversation. Financial Statements: Some factors will require financial statements and others will not. Providing financial is usually where you will find the most aggressive rates available. If you do not want to deal with providing financial statements, ask up front if they are required. We have programs available that requires no financials. Personal Credit Even though your customers are the primary focus, your personal credit is taken into consideration. If your personal credit has taken some severe hits recently, discuss this up front with the factor to find out how much it will be taken into consideration. This covers some of the basic, I hope it helps! Thanks for reading.

Caravan rental for more adventure

A lot of people enjoy traveling, but sometimes the hectic schedule of a lot of working people does not allow time for this, and because of this, they let go of their dreams to travel across the United States and just prefer to stay at home. Or, they choose one area, like Florida for example, and stay there for the week. But the longing to drive through the endless roads is still there. It will never go away. So, how can you make this dream come true without having to leave at least some of the comforts of home? The easy way is to look for caravan rental. Hotels Versus Caravan Rental When you go for caravan rental, you will pay for the whole caravan, not just a room. In hotels, you pay per room, and if you have three friends coming along, then it will mean that you each have to pay for your rooms. But if you opt for caravan rental, then you will be saving yourselves some money as one caravan trailer can have three rooms. What you see in your hotel windows are what you are going to see for the rest of your stay. But if you opt for caravan rental, then the scenery outside your windows will depend on where you are currently located. Plus, caravan rental allows you to travel and see many places that simply getting a room in a hotel will not. Visiting Commercial Camping Facilities Caravan rental allows you to park in commercial parking parks where you can enjoy swimming pools and other facilities like laundry rooms and hot showers. There are also parking parks where you can have access to electricity hookups. You can also choose among the three kinds of camping parks in the United States. You can go for a recreational camping site where you have the amenities you have at home. You have stores and laundry facilities. If you want a more adventurous camping site, then go for the primitive camping facilities, which can usually be found in national parks. There are even state parks and local parks that allow campers to stay. And if you want to be one with nature, then these national parks also offer you a great experience. You have to know though first if they have rules regarding campfires as some camping sites do not permit campers to build campfires. There are also national parks that require a small fee before letting you use their area. Caravan Rental for the Senior Citizens Senior citizens love to travel, especially if they have just retired from many years of working. They see themselves having a good time by traveling across the roads of United States and enjoying the different views. Because of this, there are caravan rental agencies that cater to senior citizens. These caravan rental agencies offer great prices that they will surely love. There are discount coupons and good deals that they only have to choose the agency wisely (as some will want to take advantage of them). There are discounts like 15% to 30% off for senior citizens as well as a day free if they go for a certain package. These caravan rentals can be as low as $20 for a day to as high as $45 per day, but this depends on the berth.

Debt counselling is never free

On hearing the word free, many people immediately close their ears to what comes next and jump on the offer made. When you are searching for a way to get out of a lot of debt, it pays to avoid your old habits and look deeper into a matter when the word free is uttered. One way to go about this is to find out exactly what is free in the offer. Those opting for debt counselling services, for example, should keep in mind that no service is ever free. Instead, it is some of the aspects of the process that are free. One example is the idea of the free debt consolidation quote. These quotes often come about in the process of consumer debt counseling. One of the first steps in this process is research, and a quick look on the Internet will demonstrate that there are plenty of companies offering free quotes. Because of the abundance, it is advisable to apply for a few of these to make sure that you can find the best deal. Remember that if the search is registered and forwarded to your credit card that you might recieve a mark on your credit history, so you will want to apply to discrete companies and possibly limit the number you apply for if you have a poor credit history. IN order to receive the quote you will need to fill in forms that clarify certain information, including your personal contact infromation such as phone number and address as well as the amounts of your outstanding debts and who the money is owed to. Once this information has been submitted, the company with whom you applied will assess the application and determine if you should be contacted for a discussion. SOme companies will use this opportunity to pitch a hard sell as to why you should use their particular loan; remember that you are still in the decision making process and that there is no obligation to use the company at this time. The free quote should give you an idea of which of the comapnies you short listed will fit in with the plans you have for your financial future. As far as free debt consolidation goes, there are a number of source available. THere are many non-profit debt counseling operations that have websites where they make their information available to the public. Many of these sites will offer sound advice on avoiding shady lenders who offer great deals on loans as well as pointing out options beyond taking out a consolidation loan. Remember to check the website to see if there are any advertisments, especially from financial institutions who are using the organization to further their own profits. When free advice is also sponsored by a certain company, it is a pretty safe bet that the person checking the advice is being led towards a specific goal that is in the best interest of the sponsor rather than the client. The Internet is a great tool for exploring the free aspect of debt reduction, as there are many different sites available both for quotes and for advice. Remember that shopping carefully is the key, and that you should compare as many compannies as you can. Further, avoid any companies that claim to offer a free loan, because these in fact are never free.

Dual action cleanse for your health

By Flemming Andersen There is nothing else that will cleanse the body like the dual action cleanse. This will start cleaning the colon and repairing the damage that has been done by all the bad waste that we have fed our bodies. With the dual action cleanse, we will find that our bodies will be of better use to use and we will want to take better care of our bodies after we have tried the cleanse. One way to keep your body healthy and alive is to perform a dual action cleanse. This is to clean and purify the inside of your body. We all take care of the outside of our bodies to ensure a good appearance, however it is important to take care of our internal organs as well. This are what we use a dual action cleanse for and it is worth trying. Many people are not feeling good and the way that they should. They will spend a lot of money on going to the doctor and getting many prescriptions to make them feel better. After all the money is spent and there is still no reason for their lack of energy or bloated feeling, you may want to try the dual action cleanse. This is going to be the best way for anyone to rid themselves of the toxins and put a better feeling inside their body. You cannot only cleanse your body and feel better; you will also start to loose weight. By getting rid of all the waste that is inside our body, we will see the pounds start to drop one by one and we will start to feel healthy and better about our bodies. Looking good and loosing weight is just a few of the benefits of the dual action cleanse. Getting your colon and the rest of your vital organs in shape is the one way to ensure a healthier way of living. This is something that anyone can do and it is never to late to start. Once you try it, you will want to use the dual action cleanse every year to remain healthy and to have the energy and the power that you have always wanted to have for your life. It is easy to start and you do not have to worry about going to the doctor and having a surgical procedure done. You can simply order the dual action cleanse tablets online and within a few days you will have what you need to start the best cleanse of your life. You will feel better almost immediately and you will want to share your secret with your friends and family as well. For more info visit: healthcare-products. net

Baby gift basket

Baby Gift Basket Ideas Planning to host a baby shower? Or a friend of yours recently gave birth to a healthy bouncing baby? How else could you express that you care for that friend of yours and her baby? A baby gift basket could be the best present that would express your concern. A baby gift basket is one of those themed gift baskets that are presented containing items that are of value to the recipient. Oftentimes these baby gift baskets contain the following items that will surely give delight to the new parents and to the new addition. You could make use of this information to create or stuff your own baby gift basket that will rid you of those more expensive commercialized kinds. Nursery room items. These include colorful mobiles to keep the baby busy, lullaby music to soothe the infant, and nursery rhymes CD's. Bigger items like layettes, changing mats for tables and cribs, and other furniture for the baby may be found in de luxe baby gift baskets. Educational toys are also good to make the baby gift basket more beneficial in stimulating the baby's mental development. Toys R Us. The following toys are also nice to place inside your baby gift basket. Rattles, pacifiers, teethers, feeding bottles, infant cups, bibs and spoons are also useful add-ons in your baby gift basket. Bath Bath Baby. Bath products for babies are also commonly found in baby gift baskets. These include baby shampoo, baby powder, baby towels, wipes, bubble bath, brush set and tub toys that the baby will surely enjoy in the near future. Baby clothing's could also be considered as one of the best baby gift basket goodies that one could ever give. Just be sure that the clothes you'll give suit the gender of the baby. If you are to a baby gift basket to someone with a toddler or a young kid, the items should also suit the baby's age. Soft toys, board books, board games, piggy banks will certainly win the jump with delight of a toddler. Clothes for toddlers are also nice to include in your baby gift basket. If one is intending to give the baby gift basket as a baby shower present, it will be nice if baby cookies, baby cakes, jelly beans and other baby foods will be found there. Announcement and invitation cards may also bring some added surprise to the recipient of the basket. Small picture frames and albums could also add more fun to your baby gift basket. Surely, this sweet gesture will be appreciated. Gourmet food, wines and other fine food may also be placed inside a baby gift basket for the parent's celebration. Oftentimes, bows and ruffles adorn the baby gift basket. But one could still be more creative by doing a decoupage of baby pictures or baby items. Other handmade crafts may add personal touch to your basket. They could be in the form of papier mache', origami, sculpture, small painting, woven or knitted items, etc. If the one giving the baby gift basket intends to give it during a christening celebration or baptism, a small bible, silver cups and any symbolic item that adheres to the theme of the celebration and that the recipient's religion appreciates may also be placed in the basket. A small gesture like giving out a well-thought of baby basket can surely go a long way. The recipient's smile is enough to mean a sincere "thank you".

Insomnia tips

Insomnia is a very common complaint among older adults. The condition affects more than 70 million Americans. Some symptoms include difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, difficulty with early morning awakening, or not feeling rested by a “good night’s sleep.” Occasionally, insomnia lasts for a short time and can be easily managed. Other times it is a chronic condition, lasting more than six months. This chronic insomnia is more troublesome and can affect work, social relationships, and health. Many people with insomnia are also diagnosed with other conditions such as depression, anxiety, allergies, or pain. Insomnia treatment begins with what is known as “sleep hygiene.” This includes regular sleep and wake times. You should avoid eating, drinking, or exercising before bedtime. The room should be cool, comfortable, and dark. Philosophy of Sleep Hygiene 1. keep a regular sleep schedule 2. exercise regularly but avoid exercise before bed 3. go to bed when sleepy 4. do relaxing and enjoyable activities before bed 5. keep the bedroom quiet and comfortable 6. do not eat a large evening meal 7. if you are not sleeping within 20 minutes, get up and return to bed when you are sleepy 8. if you must take a nap, limit it to 30 minutes 9. avoid alcohol, caffeine, and nicotine 10. have your pharmacist check your medications for stimulating drugs If the “sleep hygiene” methods are not working, then it may me necessary to begin using medication. If you are still having difficulty getting a good night’s sleep, you should talk to your pharmacist or doctor. The cause of your insomnia will need to be determined and you may need medication to help you sleep. Even if medication is used for insomnia, “sleep hygiene” principles should still be followed and can provide added benefit. The best medication should act quickly and for a short period of time. This eliminates the “hangover effect” some people experience. There are many other products that might be used for insomnia. Melatonin has been shown to be helpful in treating insomnia due to melatonin deficiency in elderly patients. It may also improve sleep quality but probably will not increase the length of sleep time. Kava kava and valerian root are also commonly used for the treatment of insomnia. Kava kava has not been shown to be effective in the treatment of chronic insomnia. It is also known to be potentially dangerous to the liver. Valerian root may be helpful in helping one get to sleep as well as improving the quality of sleep. There are a number of treatment options available for the treatment and management of insomnia. It is important to diagnose and attempt to treat the root or underlying cause first. After that, the practice known as “sleep hygiene” should be practiced. If “sleep hygiene” is not effective, then the use of prescription medication may be warranted. The cheapest treatment is, of course, “sleep hygiene.” If you try this approach and are unsuccessful, I would recommend over-the-counter diphenhydramine, while still practicing “sleep hygiene.” There are many different types available. The next step would be to visit your doctor for a prescription. As is my usual recommendation, begin with the lowest priced medication. For insomnia treatment, I would recommend trazodone first. Trazodone represents approximately 40% of all insomnia prescriptions. It is very cheap at less than $10 a month. If that is ineffective, go with temazepam. It is also very popular and cheap. It is, however, a controlled substance which means there is a possibility of addiction.

What is tumescent liposuction

Tumescent liposuction involves the surgical removal of excess body fat using a combination of traditional liposuction techniques and tumescent anesthesia. The procedure is relatively new to the cosmetic surgery scene, having come into widespread use in the 1990’s. Tumescent liposuction offers significant benefits over traditional liposuction techniques for its ability to minimize post-operative discomfort, curtail surgical bleeding, and reduce bruising and swelling during the recovery period. Tumescent liposuction is unique in that it uses large volumes of a dilute solution of lidocaine, paired with the drug epinephrine. The lidocaine serves as a local anesthetic, eliminating the need for patients to go under general anesthesia. The epinephrine serves to temporarily restrict capillaries, thereby reducing bleeding during the surgery. This combination allows surgeons to perform liposuction using minimal amounts of sedatives. The lidocaine is retained in the body for several hours after the procedure, giving the patient up to 12 to18+ hours of pain-free recovery. The use of tumescent anesthetic also eliminates the drunken feeling felt by many patients after going under general anesthesia, as well as the nausea felt by traditional liposuction patients. At the start of the procedure, the surgeon anesthetizes the skin at select locations using tiny needles. Once the skin has been numbed, longer needles are used to anesthetize the subcutaneous fat with large quantities of the dilute lidocaine and epinephrine solution. Patients are frequently given a mild sedative, such as Valium to help relax them during the procedure. Once the areas to be treated are completely numb, the doctor begins the liposuction. Small holes, called adits, are made in the skin using round skin biopsy punches to form access sites for the liposuction microcannulas. A microcannula is a very small stainless steel tube, ranging from 1mm to 3mm in diameter, designed to effectively remove small amounts of fat. Fat is suctioned out of the body in small tunnels through the microcannula, leaving the fibrous strands attached to the skin and muscles intact. Once the desired fat has been suctioned out, the microcannulas are removed. Since the adits are such small holes, there is no need for sutures using this method. This actually serves to speed up the healing process since drainage can occur via the adits, greatly reducing the amount of swelling and bruising of the treated areas. Tumescent liposuction, as with any other type of surgical procedure, does carry some risks. Patients should expect some side-effects from the procedure such as bruising, swelling, and temporary numbness of the treated areas. Significant drainage will occur in areas where adits were formed. Some skin irregularities may result from the procedure, though this side-effect is greatly reduced with the use of both the tumescent anesthesia and microcannulas. Other, more serious side-effects can include blood clots, infection, and allergic reactions to the anesthesia.

Tullamore dew irish whiskey

Tullamore Dew The roll-call of distilleries and brands which disappeared when the Irish industry imploded is an extensive one. Locke's Kilbeggan (now revived under Cooley), Dundalk, Allman's Bandon, Comber and Tullamore are just some of the famous and respected distillers who simply found it impossible to carry on, no matter how good people thought their whiskey was. Most of the brands simply disappeared, the names of the distillers and their whiskeys slowly slipping into a vaguely remembered past. Some, however, managed to hang on. Tullamore Dew is one of them. It also represents a history of the Irish industry in miniature. The Tullamore distillery was built in 1829 and was bequeathed to the Daly family in 1857. In 1887, Captain Daly-a man more interested in playing polo, hunting and racing horses - made Daniel E. Williams manager. Williams was a bit like an Irish Jack Daniel, having joined the plant at age 15 and speedily worked his way up to this lofty position. The fact that a country gentleman like Captain Daly was involved in making country whiskey is evidence of how wealthy landowners began to take over from farmer-distillers as the rural population declined and new laws were passed. Williams expanded the distillery, began exporting and created a new triple distilled pot still brand, Tullamore Dew (the 'Dew' taken from his initials) which was sold with the slogan 'Give Every man His Dew'. The quality of his 8-year-old whiskey even moved that normally crusty old historian Alfred Barnard to poetry. Eventually the Daly family sold their shares to the Williams', but popular though it was, even they couldn't keep the distillery running. In 1954, the Tullamore distillery closed. It was a tough time for Irish whiskey. The government had, for reasons best know to itself, restricted exports of whiskey during the Second World War arguing that it would ensure ready supplies on the domestic market and continue to bring in guaranteed revenue. The UK government, on the other hand, had decided that while the whiskey industry was run down, some distilleries could stay open and exports should continue. It was a monumental blunder by the Irish. The distillers, meanwhile, were still holding firm to their belief that traditional pot still whiskey was superior to blended Scotch. When the government raised taxes again in 1952 the writing was on the wall for distillers like the Williams' of Tullamore. No way could the domestic market support so many brands. The Irish may be famous drinkers, but even that was beyond them. In 1953 a survey by the Irish Export Board discovered that 50 per cent of whiskey-drinkers in the States had never heard of Irish whiskey. Irish emigrants now saw themselves as Americans, they had turned their backs on the 'ould country'. Thankfully, Tullamore Dew was saved when the business was sold to Power's in 1965 and the next year became part of the Irish Distillers portfolio. These days it is owned by Cantrell & Cochrane, though the whiskey is still made at Midleton. A classic blend of traditional pot still with light grain, it's in the lighter end of the spectrum, though a 12-year-old version shows considerably more weight - probably from a higher percentage of pot still. The overall lightness has endeared it to German and, more recently, American palates. People are interested in the brand once more and Cantrell & Cochrane has opened a heritage centre at the old Tullamore distillery site. All positive enough, but you can't help but wonder, what if... TASTING NOTES Tullamore Dew On the lighter side of the Irish fence. Clean crisp and light, but not hugely exciting. * * Tullamore Dew 12-year-old So different from the standard bottling that you wonder initially if it is from the same stable. Ripe, fleshy and rich, this is the one to try. ***(*)

Will the victory celebration be serving chianti or pinot noir

: With Le Bleus victory over Portugal on Wednesday the stage is set for a thriller in Berlin on Sunday featuring the versatility of Italy and the crafty leadership of the veteran laden France squad. In the World Cup to this point, Italy has tallied 11 goals and they have come at the head or toe of 10 different players. Italy’s scorers on the way to Sunday’s Final in Berlin where they face France (eight goals, four different scorers) are: • Ghana 2-0 (Pirlo, Iaquinta) • USA 1-1 (Gilardino) * • Czech Republic 2-0 (Materazzi, Inzaghi) • Australia 1-0 (Totti pen) • Ukraine 3-0 (Zambrotta, Toni 2) • Germany 2-0 aet (Grosso, Del Piero) *Zaccardo also got on the scoresheet against the US but as his was an own goal it is understandable he would rather it went unmentioned. It remains the only goal conceded by Italy in the tournament so far. France on the other hand is getting golden performances from their over 30 club as Zidane scored on a penalty kick and Lilian Thuram was a wall on defense. This final has some incredible subplots to it, considering game fixing scandals back in Italy and the punishment that will be announced right after the finals on Sunday. As for France who would have thought that a country that finished 28th out of 32 teams in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, could make this improbable run. I will be pulling for the over 30 boys on Sunday and believe that Zidane will reign when the dust has settled! Bob Acton Online Sports Betting

Cooling cpu options for your desktop

Powerful and fast CPUs have a nasty tendency of giving off a lot of heat. Cooling down your CPU is vital to your processor’s health and stability. When you push a CPU beyond its stock speed settings—overclocking—cooling it down becomes even more paramount; you don’t want your new expensive CPU to go up in flames. Conventional air cooling techniques can only provide so much cooling comfort for your processor. Once you’ve hit the limit with air cooling techniques, a more aggressive cooling measure needs to be considered: water cooling. Visit waterwheel to learn more about PC help with building to troubleshooting. When it comes to heat dissipation, air cooling techniques have a limit. As the speed of your CPU increases, the more heat it’s bound to give off. The more heat you want to move away from your CPU, the more surface area you need for a heatsink. Air cooling is not enough. Water is an excellent medium for transporting heat away from its source. Water is, hands down, the superior cooling technique. What do I need for a Water Cooling setup? The cooling system found in your car is tantamount to what you’ll need for a cooling system in your computer: a radiator, pump, heat exchanger and fan. You’ll see more effective cooling results the larger your radiator is and the more water you’re able to get flowing through your PC. You should have a battle plan before you purchase separate components for your water cooling system. You need to make sure that all the connections fit. You can take care of everything in one fell swoop by purchasing a water cooling kit in lieu of building it yourself from scratch. What are some Important Pump Factors? An essential factor when it comes to cooling pumps is their ability to lift water to a designated height. A pump is useless to your cooling setup if it cannot elevate water over 1 foot when it’s confined inside a case where the required pumping distance is 2 feet. A good rule of thumb to follow is this: a pump capable of lifting water to a height of 3 feet will probably suffice for any cooling needs. Essential Water Block factors to consider: Most water blocks are designed to fit custom settings. Be aware of how they’ll mount in your configuration. Check to make sure that your hoses will fit nicely with your other components. A copper water block will be more effective at conducting heat than its aluminum counterpart. Radiator Guidelines to follow: Generally, the bigger your radiator, the more cooling clout your computer will have. Decide where you want to mount your radiator; size becomes an essential factor if you plan to mount your radiator inside your case. Remember that for internal mounting, a radiator 5x7 or bigger becomes harder to comfortably mount.

Communication in the workplace new tips and strategies

Communication in the workplace is very important but with so many people involved, all with different personalities and varying levels of understanding - communication can be difficult and misunderstandings can arise. Workplaces can be hectic places where messages are flying left, right and centre: that’s prime territory for miscommunication. Try to avoid that by following a few simple guidelines. How you need to communicate in the workplace varies a little according to your job responsibilities. Those differ sometimes in whether you have responsibility for and authority over certain other staff members. It’s important to realize that you only have authority in so far as you can get people to follow you. How successfully you get people to do that comes down to communication too! Communication is vital in any workplace and here are some of the essential ingredients for good communication in the workplace: 1. Give clear instructions You save time in the long run by taking time to give even simple instructions clearly and make sure they are understood. Leave a pause for people to ask questions - or invite them to do so. It’s much better if a task is understood from the start rather than you having to go back and do work again because it was done wrongly the first time. 2. Be constructive, not critical Supervisors and bosses can all too often become critical. Often people who have tried to organize their work or solve workplace problems themselves have been severely criticized for the solution they have implemented. Is it any wonder then why they don’t bother trying to sort anything out again? That’s not an efficient way to organize a workplace. The main trouble with this approach arises because the natural response of someone who is being criticized is to switch off and not listen. Nobody learns anything or moves on in that way. The other side of the coin is that when employees are empowered to make some decisions themselves, managers get more time to get on with their own job and really progress a business. For this to work, people need to feel safe to explore alternatives, give suggestions and ask questions. Managers also need to make sure they ask the right questions to inspire their employees and to help them to think through solutions. 3. Let people know the ‘bigger picture’ What are you all aiming for? People will work harder and smarter if they know how the work they’re doing contributes to an end product. 4municate messages effectively Workplaces often have many people working there. Messages need to be passed on efficiently through whichever medium - face-face, telephone, e-mail etc. If you have a message to pass on, make sure you do it accurately, to the right person - and in a timely manner. If the message is long - type it rather than relying on your memory. 5. Give people the freedom to organize at least some their work If people are clear about what needs to be done, they can understand and set a list of priorities for their own work. This keeps people motivated to work hard, but also, it makes them work more efficiently as they know what has to be done and can switch between tasks accordingly. There’s no need for them to stop work having hit a snag when they can get on with another project. 6. Make expectations clear End a conversation with something like, “So - am I right in thinking that you think the project will be completed by the end of today?” Then, if people anticipate a problem, they have the opportunity to tell you if there’s going to be a problem with that. That gives you the chance - and responsibility - to help them. 7. Treat people like individuals Everyone has different needs and different personalities. Different people will all react well to slightly different approaches. It’s good if you can find out what approaches work well for your colleagues and employees; that way, you will get the most out of each interaction and everyone will be happier. It all comes down to communication skills - or lack of them. It’s completely your responsibility for making yourself understood - no matter how many times you have to try - and it’s the other person’s responsibility to let you know every time they don’t understand something: communication in the workplace relies upon it.

When sports fans go nuts

There are many different types of fans. Some of them are extremely quiet during games, but most of them are loud. This is due to the excitement and other high emotions that are experienced while watching their favorite team win a game. It doesn’t matter what the sport is, either, fans are all the same. When the fan’s team is losing, they’re usually not so loud, and in fact may be the total opposite. They may be so disappointed that they can’t even react to what’s going on. Unfortunately, some fans feel that they can’t enjoy a good basketball, football or baseball game without the addition of alcoholic beverages. This is a very bad idea because sports and alcohol don’t go together, period. It doesn’t matter if a fan’s team is winning or losing, things are bound to get out of hand. The fans become too easily riled up and ready to fight, at the least provocation. This type of behavior will cause fans to be escorted out of stadiums, and even sometimes result in them being arrested. Some fans are truly happy when their team wins the championship and they will celebrate appropriately afterwards. Unfortunately, some fans, especially if they’ve been drinking, will totally lose control if this happens. These are not normally mentally unstable people, either. Many of them are professionals who are just sensitive to the alcohol that they are drinking, as well as all the screaming and yelling around them. Everything happening all at once just causes certain people to snap, and things can become physical very quickly, sometimes leading to riots. Riots can be extremely dangerous and people can get very seriously hurt, and even killed. With huge mobs of people going wild, hitting, punching and throwing things simultaneously, things can get deadly, fast. Fans don’t even realize what they’re doing until it’s all over with, and they aren’t in the proper state of mind to stop and think about what they’re doing and how it’s not making them look like real, true loyal fans. It makes them appear to be more like wild animals, instead. Fans need to leave the alcohol and drugs at home, which will help to prevent much of the out-of-control behavior that goes on at these games. Not all the irrational and violent behavior involves alcohol, but a great deal of it does.

Popular viral marketing techniques

Viral Marketing is all about giving away your own free product or service along with your ad copy (contact information, link, email, etc.). In turn, recipients of your free product are allowed to pass it along to their own clients, prospects, visitors and others as a freebie. This is a quick way to multiple your marketing at no extra expense and without extra effort on your part. Here are some popular viral marketing techniques to follow: 1. Ebooks – Share your no cost ebook with your website visitors. Include a nice full-color ad for your most popular product line with links to your website and email. Tell recipients to share copies of the ebook with their own site visitors and other contacts. 2. Software - Share a trial or “lite” version of your software with your website visitors as a freebie. Don’t forget to include that ad for your most popular product line with links to your website and email. And tell recipients to share copies of the software with their own site visitors and other contacts. For help creating software, hire help from online bid sites like Elance. 3. Web Host – Offer to host small business web sites on your server at no charge. In exchange, place your own banner ad at the top of the site for viral marketing. You can setup a fold for their site and they can choose their own domain name and have it redirected to that folder. 4. Templates – Design your own website or other templates, include your own marketing information on them and give them away as free downloads or as an electronic package. Grant permission for recipients to pass them along. 5. Articles – Write articles about your industry. Include your website and contact information in the byline and grant permission for others to publish as long as they keep the byline in tact. Then people can use your contact on websites, in ezines, newsletters and other places where once again, viral marketing will speed the spread of information about your business. 6. Discussion Board - Set up a Discussion Board on your website with your banner ad attached at the top. And invite others to link to it and use it for their own sites. In summary, by using viral marketing strategies, you can reach out all over the Internet with much less effort. See which methods work best for you and repeat them as often as needed.

Cheap cruise holiday summer time cruising offers fantastic savings

: It’s less than one month away before many kids and students will be out of school for the 2006 summer season, and if you don’t know exactly where to take your family this year for vacation, consider taking a cheap cruise holiday! With gas prices going through the roof, many families may be reconsidering their vacation plans, and when you have been budgeting for your family trip, taking a cruise may be your best value for your buck. Holidays are something we all look forward to, whether they’re for winter or summer, and when you finally have the time to take the entire family on a holiday, you want to have the best overall experience. Finding A Cheap Holiday Is Easy If You Change Your Holiday! Consider getting away from the traditional vehicle trip to the Theme Parks, or traditional annual camping trip! If you’re looking to do something different this year, and you live in a cruise port city that offers many exciting cruises on select cruise ships to the Caribbean or Mexico, you may be pleasantly surprised on the cruise prices and the incredible discounts they offer for the summer season. You and your family can enjoy an inclusive cruising experience and voyage to many exotic islands, Mexican historical cities and more! Even though this is your vacation, it can also be an educational experience for the children and you as well. For The Price of A Road Trip You Can Easily Cruise In Exotic Vacation Style! Many cruise lines like Carnival, Norwegian, and Royal Caribbean offer deep summer discounts to the Caribbean and Mexican destinations, and with summer being their low season, families can take advantage of these savings. With that in mind, families and individuals that live near a cruise port, virtually everything is covered in your cruise package, such as your accommodations, most if not all meals and beverages, and fantastic daily and nightly entertainment. For families that don’t live in a city with access to a cruise port, summer deals from cruise companies usually provide extremely low airfare cruise packages, that can easily cost less than your Theme Park family vacation! If you don’t believe me, consider the fact that once you get to the Theme Parks of your choice, you have to think about your vehicle transportation to and from your hotel if you are far from the park property, plus all your meals, beverages, and entertainment costs for the entire family. These expenses can add up very quickly, and in most cases are very difficult to budget for on vacation, because the saying goes, “when you’re on vacation, you normally spend more than you budget for in the beginning.” With summer cruising, you arrive on the ship, your bags are taken directly to your room by the ship’s courteous staff, and all you have to do is get ready to hit the cruise ship’s spectacular buffet prior to leaving your port to the first exciting destination on your cruising itinerary. If You Think The Kids Will Be Bored While Cruising, Think Again! Even though cruise destinations are the highlight of any cruising vacation, many families and individuals love to take cruises because of all the fun activities they offer, and while on board your ship, you and your children will have no problem finding things to do. Cruise ships provide some of the best entertainment and kids services in the vacation market, and they cater to everyone including adults and your children alike! While you’re dreaming about the first exotic beach you will be arriving on shortly, the cruise ship has exciting and fun things to do that range from a variety of kids activities, outdoor sports competitions, to a variety of theme parties for all ages. As your children are completely occupied, you can relax by the pool, or take in the many daily features such as Bingo, Casino, and even a therapeutic massage in their spa. When you start to miss the kids, all of you can meet to take in a fabulous lunch buffet and get re-fuelled for the rest of the day’s events that you can choose to take part in or not. Remember this, when you plan your summer vacation you can truly have a family experience to remember when selecting a cruise vacation, and with the savings you will experience, you and your family won’t be talking this year about the hot dog that fell off the grill, or the fish that got away again. This summer you will be discussing how exciting it was to see the Mexican Mayan Ruins and all the other fabulous places, how delicious the gourmet cheesecake was for desert, and your family will be laughing all day about dad winning the belly flop contest at the ship’s poolside this year!

How to throw a poker run

My first motorcycle was a 1957 Harley Davidson. When I found the bike for sale I had no money, but I knew I needed to have this motorcycle. So I came up with a way to raise the money and throw a great party at the same time. I threw a Poker Run. The concept of the game is easy. Each person tries to make the best 5 card poker hand. The way it is played is, each bike has to ride along a planed rout, every few miles there are checkpoints at each checkpoint along the way each bike must stop and receive a card. Along the rout there are 7 checkpoints, and at the end the rider with the best 5 card poker hand wins the prize Over the years the poker run has been adopted to lovers of many different hobbies. The poker run was originally an event bikers played on their Harley's, but over the years it has been borrowed by boaters and even runners. Throwing a poker run is fairly simple but takes time and some not to hard work. The first thing you need to do is get approval from the towns that your poker run will go thru. There may be some paperwork and fees. You will also need to make sure that at the end of the run is at a park or event hall. Depending on where you live you may also need a permit for the park. Next you will need riders. By figuring out how much you want to have for the prize money and how much the part after the poker ride will cost you can figure out how many riders you will need and how much the entrance fee will be, but it should be no more then $100 per bike. The next thing you will need to do is register riders. The best way to do this is to make a website, go to biker bars and biker events in your area. If you live in New York don’t go to Daytona Bike week to sign up riders, most people will not travel that far for a poker run. Try to get locals. After you have registered the riders you now have to plan for the party. Along with registering riders for your poker run you should also sell tickets so friends and family can join in the party after the ride is over and the poker winner is declared. The best way to advertise the party is on a local radio station and with posters around town. The more people you can get the more money you will have for a prize and for whatever cause you are trying to raise money for. You can either, buy your own food and get some friends to help cook or you can look in the phonebook for a caterer and you should be able to find a caterer who will throw you a great BBQ. Then all you need to do is wait for the big day and enjoy all the bikes, poker, beef and beer.

Rewards credit cards reward offers

Rewards credit cards reward cardholders for using the card. In essence, the issuer offers you a financial incentive to buy and use them. The incentive is offered in terms of rebates, store discounts, points that can be redeemed for specific purposes and airline flyer miles. Choosing the rewards credit card that offers the rewards best suited to your needs is using your credit and your finances optimally. Frequent Flyer Miles It makes good sense for frequent air travelers to use a reward credit card that offers frequent flyer miles as a reward. These credit cards offer you points based on the amount of money you spend and the amount of airline miles you may purchase using that card. The best rewards credit cards offer you bonus points after initial purchases. If you have good credit, you can easily get a rewards credit card with a 0% introductory APR. Cash Back Rewards Cash back rewards give you bonus cash each time you use the rewards credit card at supermarkets, gas stations, etc. That way your rewards credit card gives you the option to spend the money as you please. The best rewards credit cards give up to 5% cash back and a 0% APR for up to 12 months. And to qualify for this type of card offer, you’ll need to have pretty good credit. Some rewards credit cards give you the benefit of choice. You can choose either frequent flyer miles or cash back depending on your preference. The very best rewards credit cards give you up to 6% back on purchases and gas rebates. But those offers are few and far between. Very good travel insurance, accident insurance and auto rental insurance are some of the other perks you can expect. Entertainment Focused Rewards Credit Cards Some credit cards cater to people who frequent movie halls, restaurants and generally go out a lot. Special offers and promotions are also offered to the owners of these rewards credit cards. Backstage passes, free music downloads and guest benefits are only some of the ways owners of this type of rewards credit card will benefit. When applying for rewards credit cards remember that the best rewards credit cards are unique for each individual. Remember to take into account carrying costs of the card as well as details like the method of calculating interest. With the right homework and the right rewards credit card you may find yourself being able to take that perfect vacation…

Lawn care maintenance for mere mortals

Though everyone likes to see their lawn in an enviable condition few are aware of the basics of lawn preparation and maintenance. Planting the seeds, spraying for the weeds, and watering your lawn, all look simple but proper maintenance of a good lawn is no simple task. To some, lawn care is serious business - reading every bit of the literature that they come across and going for a serious lawn building exercise that may make this interesting past time a rudimentary daily routine. Lawn care and maintenance is more of an enjoyable past time rather than a core activity. Consider these basics of healthy lawn care. While talking about lawns the first thing to consider is mowing. The frequency of mowing, the growth of the grass, and the lawn movers are all integral part in deciding a good mowing habit. Quite often small opening up of the soil leaving more space for the lawn to breathe would accelerate healthy growth of the grass. The lawn is to be sufficiently watered especially during large dry spells of summer to sustain the growth of the grass. Lawns need a good supplement of a proper mix of fertilizers with adequate nitrogen phosphate and potash. If we go a bit technical, lawns require more than one annual feed. The feed for the summer need contain a nitrogen rich fertilizer where as an autumn feed should be rich in phosphate and potash with an adequate supplement of worm killers and disease resistance. For watering, the coolest time of the day, either in the morning or in the evening is advisable, the frequency being once a week. A good lawn care management program includes proper weed control besides appropriate mowing and application of fertilizers. The basic mowing lesson includes use of sharp blades and regular mowing from March to October. Care should be taken not to move the mower backwards and forwards. In the case of new lawns, the first thing to be considered is to prepare a smooth and level ground by a tractor and box blade. As regards sowing the seeds they need spread in two directions preferably with a rotary spreader. The seeds are to be planted around thirty days in advance. Depending upon the temperature the seed suitable for hot season or for the cold spell may be selected. A healthy lawn requires more or less an inch of water during a week. Further aerating in spring is considered best for the lawns. The recent trend in the lawn care is the use of the organic fertilizers. These are environmental friendly and harmless to the plants. Literature on organic fertilizers is plentiful on the market. The cost of the organic fertilizers is almost the same that of the chemical fertilizers but the benefit stays longer. The type of lawn care depends on one’s budget. One can afford to spend thousands of dollars should the lawn making is taken as a serious hobby. If, on the other, hand one needs a well maintained lawn to spend a few hours with family and friends the same may not cost much.

Bw free website traffic tactics

Three Traffic Tactics that won't Cost You a Cent Are you constantly banging your head in frustration on not receiving all the internet traffic you would like to get to your web site? Are you tormented from information overload listening to all the latest free website traffic tactics and not being able to understand any of it? Are you dejected of people trying day and night to harassing you to max out your credit card and get loans for Google clicks, and in the process loose your credit score? Are you stupefied by the way your website just dropped out of the Google search results? Or are you just too broke and all you have to rely on is getting some free website traffic tactics? You can employ website traffic tactics without spending dime. However, knowing how is the real deal. Here's the score: 1. Link it Of all the effective website traffic tactics that can get you best results, linking to and from other websites is the one of the most widely-used method. Just make sure that the Internet business you are exchanging links with is relatively if not utterly related to your own business. And of course, don't overkill as this might ban you from search engines. 2. Meet Meta Tags Another way of to acquire your desired traffic for your website is through having your Meta tags contain usually used keywords that target your business. Meta tags help search engines in describing your web page. If you're quite adept with the HTML aspect of your web pages, manipulating your meta tags would be a breeze. 3. Keyword-rich AND sensible content Writing or acquiring articles that provide solid information regarding your business is one of the best ways. Making use of free keyword suggestion tools such as Overture will help you on which keyword or phrases to work on to better lead more traffic to your website. Making these write-ups very readable and genuinely informative will make you many repeat visitors to subsequently become repeat clients. Submitting these articles to various article directory listings will provide more visibility for your business as long as you keep your resource box in tact to create for yourself numerous back links. These methods, if employed properly, will not only make your web site popular but will make you achieve your most desirable result - higher conversion rate.

How to get your business noticed

Many people will tell you that to get your web site noticed you need to 'optimize' your site for the search engines. You are then led up a path where you have to keep changing your web site as the search engines change their ways of listing things. As fast as you 'optimize' your site, Google and the others have moved the goalposts, meaning you have to keep optimizing over and over again. Now consider some facts. Most people in the world are not users of the Internet. Let's repeat that. The vast majority of people who you want to reach don't use the Internet. It doesn't matter how well you optimize your web site, they simply will never find it. Here's another fact. Some of the best Internet marketers make most of their sales 'offline'. They sell their books, CD-ROMs and so on at seminars, workshops and conferences. Indeed, for many 'Internet marketers' these 'offline' sales represent the bulk of their income. So what do these facts tell us? They show us that 'offline' promotion is more important than online promotion. You may be able to optimize your web site to get high rankings in a search engine. But that doesn't mean you'll reach the vast majority of people who could buy your product or use your information. This was confirmed recently by one study that showed most people go to an Internet address (URL) after having read it in a newspaper or magazine, been given it by a friend or colleague, or having heard it being mentioned by someone speaking at a meeting or on TV. In other words, it seems that significant numbers of people who get to your web site will do so having heard the URL somewhere outside the Internet. You can get many people visiting your web site, even if you are not ranked highly by the search engines. You can do this in two main ways: 1. Write articles for use in regular publications - newspapers, magazines and so on. Always include your URL in the article and you'll get millions of people to notice your web site address. 2. Speak at every opportunity. Make presentations to business clubs, chambers of commerce, local societies - you name it, you should speak at it. Every time you speak, announce or your web site address. Although these are the two principal ways of gaining offline publicity for your web site, don't neglect your business stationery, posters, car stickers and so on. The more your web site address is visible outside the web, the more visitors you will get regardless of how kind the search engines are to you.

New electric car helps cut fuel bills

Electric cars have huge potential to change the auto industry, particularly with rising gas prices, but a new design out of California targets the niche of busy urban drivers. The Zap Xebra all-electric car is a 40-mph, three-wheeled automobile designed for people who do a lot of in-town driving. Unlike hybrids, the Zap car needs no gas at all - just plug into any conventional outlet. Zap sees a market with multicar families that are looking for the fuel-savings benefits electrics offer for urban commuting and errands. Many view it as a great second car for in-town driving, but according to Zap it soon becomes the first car for the entire family. "Many people buy electric cars because they want to use them when they don't need their gas cars," said Alex Campbell, spokesman for Zap. "What they quickly realize is that most of their daily trips are perfect for electric cars and realistically it becomes the first car." Studies show that most driving trips are within 20 miles of home - distances well within the city limit for the Xebra, which can travel up to 40 miles per charge, Campbell said. When consumers have a choice between driving an electric car and a gas car, they are likely to choose the electric car, Campbell said. He says Zap's Xebra project is the offspring of more than three decades of thought and evolution in electric transportation. The car was created as a breed by itself because the use and purpose of electric vehicles is different than gas cars. At about 3 cents per mile - compared to 12 cents or more for gas - there is no comparison for cost-conscious consumers. With rising gas prices, people will be much more open to this unique new cost-effective design, he said.

3 More common e mail problems and what to do about them

As we continue to evolve into the world of e-mail that is part of our everyday life, sometimes little problems arise that bother the user. Previously we talked about returned messages and lost connections, both which can be aggravating, and supplied solutions. But there are a few more problems that can affect an e-mail user causing frustration and we will address these here, and again provide reasonable solutions to over come them. Problem 1 – You Cannot Send a Message Even when there is not a connection problem, you may attempt to send email, but find that it continues to remain in your outbox. Solution Typically this is a software problem, the result of otherwise unapparent damage or corruption to one or more e-mail messages. To address this problem, first copy any unsent messages as text. Then save them on the computer's hard drive or a back-up storage medium. After all messages have been saved, highlight all the messages in your outbox and click on “delete” or “clear”. When clearing your outbox, start over. Just copy unsent messages from the text files, pass them into new e-mail messages and resend. Problem 2 – The E-mail is Missing an Attachment or the Attachment Won't Open An especially handy feature of e-mail is the ability to send and receive attachments. Transmitting documents, photos or other such information can save time and money compared to the U. S. Mail or express delivery services. At the same time, attachments can be real headaches. A common frustration is to receive an e-mail message that refers to an attachment, but then find nothing is there. Solutions Often the best solution is to request that the sender try once again, since it is not unusual for the writer to refer to an attachment, but then forget to attach it. Even if this is not the case, your request might prompt the sender to re-think the attachment's format before transmitting again. If the problem continues, consider asking the sender to paste the contents inside an e-mail message and try again. This may disrupt formatting, but can be an effective way to circumvent attachment problems. If you see a message that the attachment has been deleted, it may be that your anti-virus software has detected a virus, and you're better off without it anyway. But if you find that all attachments are indiscriminately being deleted, check your mail properties. If a box is checked that blocks all attachments, remove the check mark so that you can receive attachments. If you then receive a message from an unknown person, or if the message or attachment seems suspicious, delete the message without opening the attachment. A related problem is to see that an attachment has been transmitted, but find that you are unable to open it. The causes (and thus the solutions) vary. In some cases, the problem is that the software used by the sender does not match that of the recipient. As with a missing attachment, a simple fix is to ask the sender to copy and paste the contents of the attachment within a follow up mail message. Even if formatting is disrupted, you can still get the gist of the information. You can also use your own copying and pasting process to reformat the contents, if that is important. Another strategy is to save the document to your hard drive, and then open the software program that was used initially to create it. Once this program is in use, your computer may be able to recognize what had been the attachment, and open it. If you do not have the appropriate software loaded on your computer, you may be able to download it from the Internet; just follow the on screen prompts to proceed. Problem 3 – You Have too Much Incoming Mail or Cannot Download What You Have If you are receiving large volumes of e-mail, you may be vulnerable to several difficulties. Solutions Many Internet service providers place limits on the amount of storage provided to each user (although some have recently increased storage limits). If a pre-set limit is reached (perhaps because you've gone too long without downloading your e-mail, or have been inundated by SPAM or virus induced flood of messages), additional messages will be bounced back to those who sent them. Of course the direct approach is to download your mail and then weed it out, but a smarter move may be to access your e-mail account via Web mail. That way you can see a listing of all messages and quickly delete any that do not appear to be of interest. The end result is the same, but this step can save a great deal of downloading time if you're using a dial up modem. It also adds an extra measure of virus protection even if you have a broadband connection. Since you're deleting messages from your ISP's server before they ever have a chance to infect your computer, it's like killing mosquitoes before they bite you – instead of afterwards. If you do not have a Web mail account, it's easy to get one. Simply go to a provider such as Yahoo ( yahoo) or Lycos ( lycos) and register. You can also use a site such as mail2web ( mail2web) or webmail4free without even registering. Go to the site and enter you e-mail address and password. You will see a listing of all incoming mail, which you can read and then retain for downloading, or delete, as you choose. A similar challenge may be caused by unusually large message. Again, this problem is more common with dial-up modems, where hefty messages may take an annoyingly long time to download. In the worst cases, you may find yourself unable to receive other messages, because the connection with the server where your messages are stored is severed when a time limit has been reached. Use of Web mail can also do the trick here. Just log on to the third-party site, peruse the list of messages in your inbox, and choose the one that is the largest (most Web mail programs automatically list the size of each message). If the message seems of potential interest, open and read it, and then delete it. Or if it is obviously spam or something in which you have no interest, you can delete the message without even bothering to read it. Once you have removed the offending message, your other incoming mail will no longer be blocked. If you do not have Web mail, an option is to contact your Internet Service Provider and ask for help. Once a customer service representative deletes the offending message from the ISP's server, you can then download all remaining messages. Also keep in mind that retaining too much e-mail can be an organizational problem, if not a technical one. Take time to delete e-mail that does not need to be saved for future reference. Allowing too many messages to accumulate wastes storage space and makes it more difficult to find important messages when you need to refer to them. For messages that merit retention, create a series of folders so that they can be readily located, and so that your inbox will not become too full.

The hunt for discount digital camcorders

Psst wanna buy a watch? Wanna save some money? Of course you do. Everyone does. There are a slew factory outlets offering all manner of sales. All of them based on “rock-bottom prices”. Not just one of these at a time but numerous strip malls are dedicated to discount shopping. Another way of appearing to lower prices is to offer promotions with free products related to the big purchase. Online and offline stores include free samples, headsets, shipping and dozens of other incentives to squeeze that last penny out of your pocket. Generally the more expensive the main item, the better the incentive for you to buy. One such product is the digital camcorder. Wires, media, and cases are all dangled in front of the purchaser’s nose. All these incentives make it difficult to find the best price based on what you want. What Customers Want According to consumer studies, the price of the unit usually steers which unit the purchaser will spring for. Initially the camcorder was big and expensive. Now its development has resulted in smaller size along with lower prices. Naturally with the price decrease, the camcorder gained wider acceptance and sales volumes increased. In general, the consumer supports lower prices, ease of use and the increased portability is also a big seller. Technical output is typically not at the top of the list for consumer requirements. An example of this is the manual controls and quality low-light features that increase the size and price. The result of this is that these features are commonly not found on current camcorders. More features don’t necessarily contribute to the ease of selling discount digital camcorders. Searching for a Product on the Highway The information highway (read internet) is the fastest and easiest way to compare prices when shopping. In addition to price comparison, they also offer feature comparison. Neatly aligned in columns, it really is much easier comparison shopping for discount digital camcorders. The only problem with online stores is that some of them may have millions of products for sale making it more difficult to find the unit you desire. Bargain Sites are the Real Deal If you don’t trust yourself to find a site for discount digital camcorders, there are numerous sites that do the searching for you. Sites such as shopping. yahoo will go out on the net and find the lowest prices for the unit you want. Along with price information, they supply copious amounts of information about the products. This information is there instantly just for the asking unlike periodicals that have lead time from days to months. Another advantage of sites like these is that you are not bridled with the advertising rhetoric that most online stores have. As a result finding online bargains for discount digital camcorders and other purchases are much easier. One incorrect assumption made by a lot of people is that bargain sites are totally automated with no human input. It is true they use the search engine to provide instant results, there are still a number of features that need a human touch. Features such as visitor feedback and reader’s feedback ensure that the best deals on everything including discount digital camcorders is obtained. Not too mention the research obtained from various online such as newsgroups and offline sources such as trade shows and non-internet stores. Also unethical vendors are weeded out with human intervention. When you get to one of these bargain search sites, look for a statement about the site receiving no compensation or commissions to represent particular products. The statement allows the bargain sites to remain unbiased when it comes to product recommendation. Undoubtedly, the most efficient way to search for discount digital camcorders is through the Internet. In particular, sites with bargain search engines can further simplify and focus your search.

How to avoid spending a fortune recovering lost data

Most people today are using computers at work and in their home. At work the computers are used as a professional tool to run the company and all its different processes. Whether you are in working in the sales department, product development or production section or the management of parts or the whole company you will spend a lot of time in front of a computer. Computers are used to store the data that we put into them. Data covers everything from the little junk email that you pass on to a friend to the top secret analysis or test result of the company’s newest product that will revolutionize the market and put competitors out of business. Everything is stored in the form of data at a hard drive or on some other storage media (or even several different storage media). From time to time we hear stories of companies that have gone bankrupt due to loss of their entire storage of datapanies like Banks, Real Estate Agents, Money Lenders and in fact most companies that in one way or another are related to finances are extremely vulnerable to the loss of data. If a bank doesn’t know what customers have in their account (they’ve “lost” peoples money), then they are out of business almost instantly. Because data is SO important, we are constantly seeing new companies appearing in the market offering services and tools to recover lost data. Some companies are so good at recovering data that HDDs that were lost at see and has been at the buttom of the ocean for years can be restored to almost full state. Now the harder the task the more you’ll have to pay to have it recovered. Because companies like banks or other financial institutions are dealing with billions and billions of dollars, then a lost of data could easily trigger large bills for the data recovery specialists of hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars. But even though expensive the company will still be able to continue and avoid bankruptcy. So how to you avoid paying these large data recovery bills? You make sure that you do frequent backups of all your data and that you test its validity and that you store it some place safe. If your company doesn’t already have a backup plan and even more important a plan to test the data, then you better get your stuff together very soon. Don’t be one of those that cry when the bad luck strikes you. Play it safe and do your backups. Both when you are working and when you are at home.

Ko chang thailand water festival of loi kathong

Thailand is a land of enchanting and exotic tastes for foreign visitors as I was to learn when I experienced the Water Festival of Loi Kathong on the island of Ko Chang. Ko Chang In October 2003, the travel bug seriously bit me. The symptoms led me to sell my business, pack a small backpack with necessary items and roll into Los Angeles International Airport with a major credit card and an attitude. A few days later, I was in Thailand and headed for the island of Ko Chang, located close to the border with Cambodia in the Gulf of Thailand. Ko Chang is a heavily forested island with little towns full of beach huts. This is what I was exactly what I was after. Spending days lounging in the sun and contemplating my navel. Unfortunately, I soon experienced the local bacteria, which was not what I was after. Since I had rented my beach hut for a week with payment in advance, the family running the place looked me upon favorably. They took pity on me and I was soon growing fat on Tom Yom Kung and other soups and curries. After four days, I had finally kicked the bug and felt halfway human. This was good news as it was the night of the full moon water festival. I had heard of full moon festivals in Thailand. For hard partying tourists, this was apparently the night the big beach parties happened. In Ko Chang, it was a little different as the night was tailored to the actual Thais, not tourist. The Loi Kathong Festival happens every full moon. Offerings are given to appease the water spirits. These offerings come in the form of banana leaf bowls with flowers, fruit, candles and incense. The candles and incense are lit and everyone heads down the beach and starts putting them in the water. It is one of the more amazing light shows you will ever see and beats Las Vegas hands down. Thousands, and I mean thousands, of little lights bobbing on the surface of the smooth ocean. After the bowls comes one of the most visually amazing things I’ve ever seen. Everyone is familiar with the paper lanterns used in Asia. Typically, they come in the form of a rectangle form with a bamboo or light wire frame. Very popular with college students since they are cheap and look better than a bare light bulb. For the festival, Thais would take these paper lanterns and close off the top. They would then affix a small this paper plate to the bottom with a candle on it. Light the candle, wait for the heat to do its work and they had an instant hot air balloon. Once the lanterns could float, you simply let go and off the slowly went over the ocean. It was a sight to see as there were thousands of them floating over the water. As the festival wound down, the ocean had been transformed. The air was full of gracefully floating lanterns while the water itself was dotted with slowly bobbing points of light. If you intend to travel to Thailand, make sure you schedule your trip around a full moon. It is a scene you’ll never forget.

I learned to love the artichoke

As a child, there were many foods and drinks that I didn't care for at all. I guess you are naturally expected to aquire the taste for more varieties of food as you get older though, and this is where I ran into my problem. I eventually ended up eating broccoli without much fight, but there were certain foods like the artichoke that I just couldn't force myself to like as hard as I tried. Since I have so many strong opinions about foods it surprised many people in my life when I announced without hesitation that I was heading to culinary arts school because I wanted to become a gourmet chef. None of my friends or family members knew exactly how to handle my declaration. Some laughed, some smiled, and a few congratulated me and said they were excited to see how I'd thrive as a chef. It was good to know that at least a few people were behind me in my journey to becoming a chef. I knew that eventually I would need to tackle the artichoke and other foods that I hated in order to really be a gourmet chef. My two years in culinary school were two of the hardest yet best years of my life. I completely loved the challenge that each day of class was, and don't let me understate the fact that culinary school really was challenging. If I knew how hard it would be, I am not sure that I would have entered school with such optimism in the first place. But I wanted to learn how to cook and so I pressed on and even eventually tackled my dispise for the artichoke. I am a chef and an eater that is really affected by textures. I always have been. So I think that the texture of the artichoke turned me off to the vegetable long before I knew whether or not I'd like the taste. It is frustrating how much the look or the texture of a food can turn people off without tasting it first. For example, I have a dear friend that will not eat an orange simply because she abhors the color orange. My professors at the culinary school forces me to try my hand at the artichoke and I quickly discovered not only that the texture didn't bother me as much as I previously thought, but I also learned that I really enjoyed the taste of the artichoke in many dishes. It fast became one my favorite foods both to cook with and to eat.

7 Reasons why do we blog

Did you ever ask yourself, why do you blog, or why do you have to? Nowadays on Internet there are more than 70 millions blogs, and it is interesting what purposes do they pursue? Until recently, to make money online was not easy for usual people like we. 4-5 years ago it was difficult to earn something on the Net until WEB 2.0 era had came. The only way which could help us in that time was website creating, it’s promotion, and selling of advertising places. Today everything changed. Blog fever amplifies day by day, and everyone, who heard something about blogs, wants to have it. So, why? Lets try to make some supervisions. 1. Glory. The vanity was, is and will be always. Whether is necessary to be surprised that people wish to be famous? Look at how many amazing people did you know since you have enjoyed blogging. Seth Godin, Steve Pavlina, Darren Rowse… Did you ever know them if not blogs? 2. Self-expression. Many people are blogging because it gives them some charge of energy. I created this blog because I just want to share of my thoughts… Why not? And there are guys, who are the professionals in different spheres, but they don’t have another opportunities of expression. Internet is the best instrument for people like we. Internet is not developed even on a half and I do not exclude such opportunity, that people will become famous all over again online and only after, in real life. Blogging is what such people need. 3. Job. For many, blogging is a real time jobpanies are hire people to write about their new products and its announcement. Like I wrote in my post Occupation Bloggger, the middle salary of such blogger in US is equal $2,5-3 thousands per month. 4. Sale of own products. Through Internet, we can start selling our products worldwide from the minutes after beginning. Especially if we have an electronic product like eBook or useful software, Internet is the best that we can use. And people use it. Blog helps to realize these purposes. 5. Sale of affiliate products. Recently, are appeared the new techniques, which help anyone to sell affiliate products with help of blog. Check this out. 6. To Help Another. Yes, yes, yes… And why not? I found many blogs of family doctors, radio engineering and even workers of the zoo which are writing about what should we do in different situations. 7. Money Making Online. And eventually people are blogging for the sake of money. Look at Jonh Chow, if to be honest, I’m not against that my blog brings me $18,000. But while I have no such purposes. And John is not alone. For many people blog is a big business. I read somethere, that Engadget make more than $100,000 per month. Youare probably agree with me, that these people don’t have any financial problems. :) Everyone of us have different views, but the are all the same, because blogging join us. Let’s create blogs, promote them and enjoy this process, because it gives us a big opportunities in our lifes. From Artem Belinskiy. earnexperience

Musical instruments for your children

: Music is the essence of life and I think that no one is untouched with this beautiful gift given to mankind. Even children also love to play music and enjoy it when they get a chance to do so. For this, you require various expensive musical instruments but what if you make your own music instruments at your home with little efforts? It is a fun and inexpensive idea to make Gongs, xylophones, hummers and triangles for children to play. 1. To make a Gong you need an old pie tin or a lid of a large metal popcorn tin, a metal table knife or spoon for a mallet, a hammer and nail, a string. You have to pound two nail holes on the edge of the pie tin or on the side of the popcorn lid two or three inches apart. Thread the string through the holes and tie a knot. The string should be about 1 Ѕ to 2 feet long enough so that you can easily hold it without touching the pan or tin. Hit the pan with the spoon or knife and you have a loud sound. To soften the sound, you need to wrap the knife or spoon with a piece of cloth and then use a child socks to cover the knife or spoon.

2. To make a Xylophone you require glass pop bottles of same size and then shape work best for a homemade xylophone and for this purpose, water glasses shall also work. Fill the glasses with different amount of water whereby one bottle should be almost filled to the top and the other one with very little water. The other bottles should vary somewhere in between the two. You can use as many or less bottles as you like. A knife or spoon would wok well as a mallet.

Hit the side of the bottle or glass gently as each one shall make a different sound. You can even experiment with different levels of water to decide which note pitch you would like most. If you have a piano or other musical instrument that shall make various pitches then you can tune your bottles or glasses to the instrument. 3. Making a hummer is also very easy where you need to have an empty cardboard toilet paper or paper towel tube, a rubber band and a wax paper. Cut a round piece of wax paper that is larger than the ends of the tube.

Cover one end with the wax paper and hold in place with the rubber band and make sounds into the opposite end of the tube. 4. You can also make a triangle with the help of a horseshoe or 4 to 8 inches of metal pipe, string and a knife or spoon. Loop the string at the curve of the horse shoe or thread it through the pipe.

Tie a knot at the top and hit the horse shoe or pipe with the knife as soon as it dangles from the sting. Make sure that the string is strong enough to hold the pipe.

Hip hop clothing urban hip hop honeys love the new optional mens and womens clothing from ed hardy t

Hip Hop Clothing urban Hip Hop honeys love The New optional mens and womens Clothing from ed hardy to timberland How does it feel to buy a Timberland boot with the click of a mouse. It sure feels great, I guess. All this is very simple now. Without much effort, Timerland boots to Ed Hardy clothing are all available online. What may surprise you more is that some of these clothing range are available for discounts as much as 50%. The goodies do not end here. The shipping is also given free by many of these online stores. There are attractive gifts that are also available when you buy items above a certain amount. Online shopping has become very exciting because of all these factors. Fashion changes very fast and as a result designers are always working overtime to get the very best. However, it is a known fact that designer clothing is not available to the masses all the time. With new online stores, designer clothings have definitely become much more affordable. They search the markets and bring the very best for us. Even a decade ago it was not possible to buy an Ed Hardy Hoodies Death for $110. Analysts have said that online clothing and accessories is a multi billion dollar market and what we see today is just the tip of the iceberg. Today everything that can be termed as Hip hop Clothing is available online. Let us check out some of the other clothing lines that are available. While checking out some of the webstores I found out some high-end Ed Hardy tights and Louis Vuitton Purse. All these were available at a rate which were cheaper than what I had expected. What it really means is that the online shopper is going to have a ball this year. The start of the new year has brought in some great deals for online shoppers and the trend is definitely going to continue. Shoppers do not have to worry about the delivery also as it is done within a stipulated time frame mentioned on the online portals. Online shopping is attaining newer heights and with more and more webstores opening up the excitement has only begun. Urban clothing is surely in great demand and youngsters are always interested to wear clothes which come straight from the Hollywood studios. Online stores selling hip hop clothing will surely attract people who want to wear the latest. I would place a few words of caution before you buy the products. It is not a bad idea, to check out the trust certificates of the webstore and product that they sell, before you finally buy it. There are slim chances that some of the webstores may not sell an original product. All these need to be kept in mind, before punching the card number. If the site is a trusted site you can safely go ahead and purchase the products that you want. Whether you want to buy a Timberland boot for yourself or a Ed Hardy tight for your girlfriend online shopping makes it simple. So go ahead and fill up your bags with all that you want.

Our canadian immigration story

After 6 weeks in Canada and the finality that we were no longer on vacation hit with a thud – we weren’t going “home”. I'd served 16 years in the Royal Air Force (RAF), so saying goodbye to a “safe” job seemed surreal. The final Christmas and New Year, the emotional family farewell, even the one way flight - it all seemed totally unreal! We found it hard to believe that over 2 years of planning had actually come to fruition and we were starting our new life near Calgary. Well, it was true. I was starting my new job the next day and the temperature was a cool - 25єC ! We had discussed living in Canada in great length after my wife’s sister had moved to Edmonton with her Canadian husband and were enjoying a lifestyle we could only dream of. We tried a few DIY assessments to see if we would qualify but found ourselves 1 point short of the “pass mark” which was 70 at that time. We decided that we’d have to hire an immigration professional. When we opened up the Immigration Newspaper “Canada News”, the first advert we saw was Access Migration Services who offered a free assessment. We spoke to Kerry Martin and discussed our thoughts. We received the assessment in the post, filled it in and returned it the next day. Kerry decided that we had a good chance of qualifying and so offered us a no visa no fee contract and so the process began. We were inundated with forms and questionnaires and set to researching thoroughly what it all entailed. I assembled my qualifications and sent them to IQAS in Edmonton for a Canadian equivalency. Then I contacted Transport Canada to see if my aircraft maintenance licenses were valid. They weren’t, but I would be able to sit some exams, provide my full career history and work for a minimum of 6 months in Canadian Aviation. It didn’t seem too bad considering I was hoping to move continents! We had to send off for police checks from Germany, the UK police and the RAF police to prove we had no criminal records, once they were back we could submit our application. It was announced that the Canadian Immigration visa system was changing; no-one knew what would happen or when it would come into effect. Kerry kept us informed and was very reassuring during a troublesome time. I had to put in my 18 months notice to leave as the Immigration authorities required an exit date from the RAF – 17th Feb 2003 was the date we chose. We watched the horror of September 11th unfold; the aviation world collapsed and with the rest of the RAF, I became involved in the Afghan War and the unstable world climate that followed. We managed to spend two weeks at Andie's sisters in Calgary during October 2001, fitting in quad biking, hiking, trips to Banff, and also viewing show homes. We were getting a feel for southern Alberta and its opportunities. On our way home the airline (Canada 3000) went bankrupt as we flew into Gatwick on it – another bad sign for my future employment. With the police checks complete, we sent the application off to Kerry, who returned professionally presented paperwork with supporting documents for us to sign and return with the High Commission fees. The new Canadian Immigration system was finally announced with stricter point scoring that was back dated to all applications received after December 18th 2001. Ours had arrived there on 19th December!!!! We wouldn’t qualify under the new rules; Kerry reassured us that as the new system hadn’t been ratified by parliament it wasn’t set in stone. The authorities backed down after threats of legal action by several Canadian Immigration Lawyers, the cutoff date was set as June 1st 2002. All applications processed before then would be under the old rules – we were back in with a chance. In Feb. 2002 our file number arrived – we were being processed; we waited to see if we were to be called for an interview, accepted or declined. The wait was crazy – Kerry kept us busy with regular information mailings on Canada, the reassuring voice on the end of the phone was worth the fee in itself. Andie’s sister was also busy in Calgary phoning around to establish points of contact for me. I had started to look at other employment and began some project management courses. As with my aircraft maintenance licenses I soon realized that UK qualifications wouldn’t readily move to the Canadian system. I contacted the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) and found they had an impressive curriculum of courses including several Project Management offerings and some great technical pre-employment courses that had a good history of the candidates finding employment in the field of choice. The call came out of the blue: we had been accepted subject to Medicals and were not being called for an interview! The nearest approved clinic was in Oxford, Andie phoned immediately, the first appointment was eight weeks. We put the house on the market – we needed to know it was sold before we could plan on moving. If we failed the medicals we decided I would still leave the RAF and we would move away from the area. Andie’s parents would let us stay with them if we sold the house. We put the house on the market at the end of June 2002 – and had a buyer in 3 days. The date of sale was set for the 31st August and we would move out on the 29th. We couldn’t believe our luck, but it wasn’t to be all plain sailing! The clinic phoned first, they had double booked us and we’d have to wait an extra two months. Andie had “a bit of a chat” with them and they finally agreed to squeeze us in as an extra appointment after a heated debate! All 4 of us had to have medicals – the kids didn’t have x-rays or blood tests but we each had 40 minutes with the doctor, hearing and blood pressure tests. Even though there were no health issues as far as we knew I managed to stress about the whole deal and ended up failing the blood pressure test. Apart from the embarrassment, I had to have a cardiograph to make sure I was ok. This delayed the medicals being sent back by a week as the cardiograph had to be analyzed by a cardiologist. I didn’t feel too clever! We checked out the different shipping agencies. Kerry recommended PSS shipping - a family run business with a good reputation and a good quote. When we called to book we had almost left it too late. They managed to fit us in as we only had a relatively small load to ship. We agreed on a shared container for the shipping on a door to door service. They would arrive to pack everything on the 28th August. We just hoped the Medicals were OK! While I was deployed away with the Air force, the house sale had stalled due to an argument between the lawyers! We couldn’t sack them as then the whole process would have to start again and there would be no chance of us making a deadline for a currency transfer we had booked. There were large penalties for missing the date. We couldn’t cancel the removals at such short notice either, as it too would incur large penalties. So we were facing moving out to Andie’s parents and leaving the house empty whilst still paying the mortgage, taxes and bills. On top of that the insurance was only valid for 30 days once it was empty and we were booked on flights to Calgary to go house hunting! Eventually, Kerry phoned with the news that we were accepted and just had to sign some documents and send in our passports and photo’s to claim our visas. At last the relief of knowing took away the house nightmare for a day or two. The date was set – January 11th 2003. There is only a 3 month window where the forms were valid so we decided to send the paperwork off once we had returned from Canada as the house drama was starting to become serious. We were about to set off to Canada for a month with the house sale still in limbo. We managed to gain assurances that things were moving behind the scenes and that all would be completed in time for our money transfer, all we could do was board the plane and hope for the best! In Canada, we were recommended a local realtor (Estate Agent). He helped us find a plot of land and reputable builder to build the house of our dreams. We arranged a mortgage (with 35% down you don’t need to have a job for approval) and agreed on the deal – all that was missing was the cash! Eventually, the house sale went through, the money arrived into our Canadian bank in 72 hours. I was astonished (and thankful) at how the transfer went like clockwork. It was time to spend!!!! We went in to sign the house deal with the realtor and wrote out the house purchase agreement. The realtor handled all the negotiations on our behalf but always made sure we agreed to everything. We put down the 10% deposit needed to secure the deal (the rest is paid at possession) and put the house building process into gear. The day after we returned, we gathered up our documents and photo’s and sent them recorded delivery to the High Commission in London. It would take approximately 3 weeks to process and then we’d be on our way. We researched and chose the shipping company for our Golden Retriever which would cost us more to ship than our one way tickets! These one way flights were booked for the 11th January 2003 and it seemed strange paying more to ship a dog than a family of four! The rest they say, is history! We’ve been here 18 months now and can honestly say it has worked out better than we had ever imagined. The first 8 months or so had more stress than I have ever had before and times were extremely hard but now we are settled it’s hard to imagine being back in the UK. The air is clean, scenery amazing and there is so much to do there’s no spare time! The beer isn’t too clever but you can’t have everything! I hope this will give you an insight into Canadian Immigration and inspire rather than disturb!! If you decide to give it a go – good luck!