How to Fit Bathroom Taps

Installing a bathroom tap is a rather simple task. However, you should have basic plumbing skills such as knowing how to turn off and turn on the water as and when required. It not only saves you time but also money. As most taps come in the same sizes, it is likely that a good number of them are compatible with most baths.

Tools required;

Taps
Wrenches
Adjustable Spanners
Screwdrivers
Screws
Pliers
Pipe cutters
Gloves

Steps Towards Fitting a Bathroom Tap;

Firstly, remember to switch off the hot and cold water supply and your boiler as well. Then, open the taps and drain out all water from the pipes. After that, disconnect the flexible connectors (if you have one) or cut the supply pipes. Next disconnect the drainage pipes.

Assemble the new taps as directed by the manufacturer. The most important aspect is to ensure that the diameter of the new tap is a perfect fit for the hole of the old tap. Simply, lift out the old taps and lower in the new bath taps while ensuring that the washers are perfectly positioned.

Once the new taps have been fitted into the tap holes, ensure that the pipes are a perfect fit and that the plastic connector that comes with the tap has been tightened well.

Next step is to re-connect the water supply pipes. Use flexible connectors while connecting supply pipes as it comes useful if any adjustment in positions is required in the future. Double check the washer on the flexible connector and also re-connect the drainage pipes to the waste system.

Finally, check for leaks on the flexible connector, as well as the drainage pipes.

Tips;

When you plan to buy bath taps, you ought to consider the design to suit the decor of the bathroom.

It is advisable to fit isolating valves to both hot and cold pipes for maintenance purposes. While switching on your water supply, switch on one isolator at a time so as to check for leaks.

There could be air blocks and dirt packets in the pipe supply and running the water for some time would help release this. Clean it with some soap solution and you are ready to go.

Warnings;

It is very important that a qualified electrician checks your wiring so as to ensure that all copper wiring is earth bonded.

Also try to be careful while tightening screws on any ceramic items. Do not over tighten and always use a hand held screwdriver so as to avoid any damage that a power drill might inflict.

You may have to drill holes into your bath if you plan in fitting a new bath tap and in which case a little more planning may be required.

References;

Changing bath taps
http://www.juliancassell.com/723/changing-bath-taps

How to fit a basin & taps
http://www.focusdiy.co.uk/how-to-fit-a-basin-and-taps

Fitting new taps
http://www.diynot.com/pages/pl/pl007.php

Bathroom tap fitting guide
http://www.splashdirect.com/buying-guides/bg2148.aspx

Mystery Jets

This is a sponsored post written on behalf of goviral, and all opinions are mine.

Mystery Jets is an English five-piece indie band. The band's members comprise of - Blaine Harrison, Kai Fish, William Rees, Henry Harrison and Kapil Trivedi

The English band gives a brief video preview of their new hit single; "Dreaming of Another World" which is taken from their new album "The Live from 1963", where the viewers are taken back to the sixties. This video is broadcast from inside a bottle and the show is co-hosted by Alain du Monde.

Obviously in their brand new single Dreaming of Another World, the Mystery Jets focuses on eco topics and stuff like reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions.

‘Le CO2eux Soirée’ is a show that was intended to launch Stella Artois’ new light-weight bottle. The theme is that as the bottle contains less glass, it produces less CO2 emissions. The four-part show is called 'Le CO2eux Soirée' and is filmed inside one of the new carbon-efficient Stella Artois' bottles.

The show has been created by the advertising agency Mother and is supported with press and outdoor activity as well as an on-pack promotion. 'CO2eux Soirée' highlights the beer-maker’s commitment to doing the right thing by taking small steps to improving environmental performance. A spokesman for Stella Artois' said, “Our new lightweight bottle contains less glass, which means less CO2 emissions – and with over 250 million of these bottles produced each year, small steps do make a real difference.”

The audiences are awestruck and are dancing to the new tune.

Enjoy!

Webvitalize - Premium Website & Web Marketing Solutions

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Website & Web Marketing Solutions. All opinions are 100% mine

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Is online dating the best way to find love

Another advantage of online dating is that when you meet someone in real life, you usually meet them because of their physical appearance. It’s the physical appearance that usually drives these types of meetings and as a result, many of them fizzle out quickly. Online dating, however, allows you to get to know the person internally, their likes and dislikes, their hobbies, their beliefs, and even what they’re looking for in a mate, all before you make that choice to meet them in person. That makes online dating the best way to find love.

Whether being downright honest is the best approach - No LIES

Make sure you resist the urge to emphasize the truth too much as there is really no need to doing so as this could only makes things complicated later. There are plenty of fish in the online dating ocean and the chances of finding someone who’s attracted to the real you is high. So, there is no need to lie or blurt out your darkest secrets.

If at all you have the urge, remember there is always a time for such things. Basically, just keep it real and the last thing you need is to worry about all the LIES you’ve spun when you’re on dates where you have scored. This is a common mistake and do try and ensure that it does not happen to you.

Often, if people are honest with themselves, they tend to know when a breakup is coming and hence are able to prepare themselves emotionally for it. However, there are the rare cases when it comes as a complete surprise, and you need to be able to do all that you can to contain yourself from outbursts. In other words, practice the Three C’s - be Calm, Cool & Collected

What is it that you are looking for in online dating?

There are people out there who are looking just for sex or one night stands and casual dating. These are people to avoid if you are looking for someone who wants to be your life partner. So you must be specific and let people know what you are really after. In other words, if you are not into night club partying or nude camps, then don’t try to impress the other person by saying so. In all likelihood, this will come back and hit you later

When it comes to online dating, there are many sites you can choose from.

Online dating typically starts by subscribing to one of these sites and then setting up your profile. Your profile will be your gateway to finding new online dates. In other words, your profile and photo will show how others will view and respond to you on the site. The profile will usually have a photo of you and a short paragraph describing who you are and what you are all about. This can be the hardest part about online dating, as most people tend to freeze when it comes to describing themselves

Dating is supposed to be fun and it shouldn’t be viewed as a job or hard work. You should be looking for fun and who knows, this could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship with someone, whom you could perhaps end up spending the rest of your life with.

Video Wall Controllers

Video walls have now become a common sight where they combine a series of tiled displays into a large, single display surface. Video wall displays are ideal for government, military, energy, utilities, traffic and broadcast control room video walls that require 24x7 reliability and brilliant life-like images. A video wall controller is made up of a video wall server and video wall software. The video feeds are controlled and relayed by the video wall server while the software allows the technician to decide how the feeds are displayed

Video wall controllers are highly specialized visualization systems consisting of a single system built with a large number of graphics processors. They are capable of both rendering and capturing video, in some cases allowing hundreds of video feeds to be built into a single system.

Video walls are a visually stunning method of advertising, providing both information and entertainment to the customers. They are adaptable used in many indoor and outdoor business environments due to their enormous flexibility. The screens can be updated dynamically via the Internet or using a remote control and/or direct cable connection. They can even be interactive. The olden type of video walls required extensive set-up and utilized a great deal of noisy and expensive hardware, however the video wall controller changes all this.

Video wall controllers allow the user to manage image, graphics or data that is being displayed on any video wall. When a video wall controller is used to manage a video wall display, issues like which video feeds or sources will be used, where the video will be displayed, whether the image will occupy the entire video wall or will it be an amalgamated data display are all nonexistent.

With changing technologies, video wall controllers have also evolved. A simple piece of Windows compatible software, which even can be used over a network, is only needed. No matter how complex the system is; versatility of the video wall controllers and its input-output designs enable the users to take control of video walls.

It is custom built for the specific requirements of control room environments, and combines both hardware and software in the ultimate display. It is designed to be a part of your complete control room and video wall solution.

The video wall controller brings high-resolution multi-screen images easily and quickly, perfect for surveillance, traffic monitoring, advertising, remote conferencing and many other applications and across many displays.

Video wall controllers are used in most number of video wall applications such as control rooms, network operation centers, military and civilian surveillance, video conference rooms, corporate communications / board rooms, residential, digital signage and digital out of home applications and any such application requiring both video input and output making its uses endless. They are highly scalable allowing a great many number of feeds and devices to be incorporated into a pretty huge single system. Connected into a single system which in turn makes a highly dynamic, multipurpose video wall possible. Video inputs transform a video wall into a highly dynamic, multi-purpose system.

As video wall controllers use highly specialized graphics hardware designed to accommodate high rates of video input and output, they do not excel at 3D rendering. Although some 3D rendering may be possible via video wall controllers, other HD-rendering approaches can achieve much higher 3D performance.

With changing technologies, video wall controllers have also evolved. Rather than just displaying standard videos, digital formats of videos like MPEG, Shockwave Flash, Real video and QuickTime are now under the ambit of video wall controllers. Bulky and extremely expensive customizable programming solutions are passé. A simple piece of Windows compatible software, which even can be used over a network, is only needed. No matter how complex the system is; versatility of the video wall controllers and its input-output designs enable the users to take control of video walls.

The video wall controller is the central nervous system of a control room video wall solution. Network-based video wall controller servers and software offer the reliability, performance, compatibility and versatility needed in today's 24x7 control room environments. High resolution graphics and video from multiple sources can be displayed any size, any where, any time, across the entire display wall. A simple technology comparison reveals that the network based video wall controller is far more versatile and easier to use than the matrix switcher or image processor solutions.

How To Find An Ergonomically Correct Monitor, Keyboard And Mouse

In a working environment we face many problems, a few of which that may also affect the eyesight. There are cases where the tissues may face contraction even. The usual facts say that, sitting continuously in the working environment may reveal money but on the same time it is harming your body in many ways. Your eyes may be held on projection angle with the monitor who is not suitable for the eye’s muscles. The light rays coming out of the monitor can also cause radiant effects on the viewer’s eyes. Your muscles, being at one place constantly for a long period of time will be strained to a point that it effects the free movement of the muscles.

The ergonomically correct monitor is the one which is perfect for the working environment. The monitor should be able to possess the filtration of the harmful rays that come out of the cathode ray tube. In case of liquid crystal display monitors, the curves should be minimized so as to provide best projection angle to the onsite. The monitor is an output device, thus, it fetches your maximized attention.

Viewing distance, when you project monitors while working should be at least 18 to 24 inches. This is optimized distance on which the human capability of viewing largely depends. People may face problem when they do not recognize the working field of the human being’s precious body parts.

The monitors should be 4 way adjustable. The color saturation scheme should be well defined. Furthermore, there should be broad spectrum of colors defined under the CRT display. There are techniques developed nowadays that provide GAMMA CORRECTION FEATURE. This will duly decrease the human eye strain caused by the gamma rays. Extra amount of screening effects should not be considered much as they indeed decrease the capability to work for more time.

As far as mouse and keyboards are considered, the keyboards should be placed at some inclined angle so that a comfortable access is given to the fingers when they press the keyboard keys. Keeping keyboard at some angle decreases human efforts to look for the keys as compared to horizontal juxtapose. Similarly, the mouse used in the working environment are wired and non-wired (wireless) mouse, based on infrared they work efficiently only when they are juxtaposed with the keyboard revealing easy access. The choice of mouse must be made on the basis of its working strategy as well as its size. Small and durable mouses may allow the staff to work much faster as compared to bulky mouse.

The keyboards in working environment can be defined in two categories. One is wired keyboards with fast access shortcut keys and other is wireless, which gives fundamental positions to keep the keyboard and are used less because of the expenses related with it.

The internet keyboards are also widely preferred in companies which deal with lots of surfing work including directory submissions services. Companies which deal with music, should go for musical keyboards which provides MIDI compatibility.

In nutshell, the choices should be in accordance with the area of usage and field of compatibility with the working people or staff.

Home Insurance - Is it necessary

One of the biggest concerns among home buyers is that they might end up with not enough home insurance.

Generally, people don’t like insurance because they are thinking only of the present time and not the future. Because at the present time, it seems like a waste of money. Besides, to many of us the word ‘insurance’ suggests a way of getting things replaced in terms of its worth-in-kind.

So they go in for a partial substitution for the same and hope that they are actually relieved out of the situation. Because, this is when they think that you are doing everything right.

Then, if by chance the house gets flooded and they might then find out that their home insurance didn’t cover flooding and invariably have to shell out thousands. People believe that since they didn’t live in a ‘flood zone’, they might not need it…..but usually learn their lesson the hard way.

So how do you go about it ?

Basically, just sit down and calculate the value of your home and how much it would cost to replace.

This would also include the valuables that you keep in your home. Then add and compute their totals separately. As they are two different coverage levels, make sure that you split them up while computing. Also make a note that you’ll only get reimbursed up to a certain amount of coverage that you purchase. In other words, if you do not carry enough coverage for your “contents” you may not be able to replace everything should you have a fire, theft, etc.

Another factor, you need to know is what exactly are you are paying for. This is especially true if you live in a flood zone or area in which hurricanes are common. Generally speaking, there will be provisions in your home insurance policy and you need to know what they are UPFRONT

Now there are generally two types of Home Owners Insurance.

Actual cash Value is the cheapest home insurance policy. So experts avoid this policy.

Now, why do experts avoid this policy?

Suppose you buy a policy which covers your house $10000 when your house value is $10000. If after some year your house valuation increase to $12000. But your coverage amount will be same when you buy the policy.

Then there is the Replacement Cost Policy:

In this type of coverage policy amount rise with the rate of inflation. $5 - $ 30 to your annual premium. So please make sure you get all the facts about the policy you think is right for you.

Now, apart from actual cash value coverage and replacement cost coverage, there is another type of coverage available for the home owners, it is called the Guaranteed or extended replacement cost coverage.

Guaranteed cost coverage offers the highest level of protection. It will meet all the expenses of re-construction even if it crosses your coverage limit. Naturally, it is the most expensive form of coverage.

According to market surveys, extended cost coverage pays to about 20% to 25% over the coverage limit for re-building your home, i.e. if you have a $10,000 policy, your coverage will get extended to $12,000 for the 20% extended cost coverage. Many experts now recommend extended cost coverage for its flexibility. It also works well as a hedge against inflation.

But then again, please check this with your agent before nose-diving into it.

Last but certainly not the least is the Liability Coverage.

What would you do if your dog bit the mailman? How about if somebody falls coming onto your property? You need to have liability coverage in case somebody gets hurt on your property, and in turn decides to sue you.

Now there are areas where you can save as well. For example, many people insure both their home and the land the home is on. Instead of insuring both your home and the land it is on, insure only your home if you want to save.

Purchasing your homeowners insurance and your car insurance from the same insurance carrier could save you up to 15% on both premiums.

If you have added new security devices to your home would also reduce your policy rates. Insurance companies highly value the protection afforded by fire sprinkler systems, burglar and fire alarms — especially those connected to monitoring agencies such as your local police and fire department. Accordingly, some carriers reduce premiums by as much as 20% if you install some of these features.

A new home's electrical, heating, and plumbing systems are likely to be in better condition than those of an older home. Accordingly, their insurance rates are generally lower as the risk for a potential claim is mitigated. If you have made any home improvement in the past year, you should see if a new policy will reward you with policy discounts.

Ideally, you would want your policy to cover any major purchases or additions to your home, but you should not spend money for coverage that you don't need.

Lastly, homeowners insurance rates are always fluctuating and vary from company to company. So take time to review the amount of homeowners insurance that you actually need, rather than buying more coverage then you need. This can be achieved by taking time to compare multiple homeowners insurance quotes will help you find the right amount of homeowners insurance that is in line with your budget.

The important thing is that you take your time, speak with the right people, and avoid problems by making the right decision.

In short, be careful when buying home insurance. Your home is a big investment, and you want to keep it covered in terms of structure and possessions, while also carrying liability coverage. And there is nothing wrong if you are concerned about making mistakes when buying home insurance.

Cleansing The Colon

If you take time to research the internet, you will come across dozens of products online that help to cleanse the colon. If you research in detail and proceed to read the propaganda that is associated with these products, you will be convinced that is high time that you cleansed your colon. It will also become evident that a colon cleanse is important to prevent any diseases to your digestive tract, it is also useful in keep you healthy. A lot of people do it to loss weight, but it is to be remembered that although it might be necessary for some people to cleanse their colons it is not a necessity, as your colon or large intestine, is capable of cleaning itself.

Is cleaning the colon a necessity?
Cleansing the colon is often prescribed so as to aid the body's immune system. As you get older, waste and sludge gets deposited in your colon making it hard and compressed until it reaches a stage where your body requires external help to get rid of it. As a result of the clogging, many of us experience irritable bowel syndrome symptoms and our immune systems break down. By using a good oxygen colon cleanser, it can help remove the toxic sludge and fermented waste matter and thereby cleanse the colon very effectively. A compressed and dirty large intestine or colon can lead to other problems and can also have a lot more negative effect on the entire body and should be cleansed at the earliest.

Constipation and colon cleansing
Constipation is one of the dangers that requires you to cleanse the colon. Constipation kills the healthy bacteria that reside in your colon and other parts of the digestive system. As a result, the sludge and waste is not broken down properly and moved through the digestive system. Constant enema and continuous laxatives will not help solve the problem. While an occasional enema is alright for sorting out a persistent constipation problem, repeated enemas are not only a threat to the entire digestive system, but can end up upsetting the intestinal tissues.

Dangers of Colon Cleansing
While an occasional colon cleanse can be healthy, it is not recommended to be done frequently as your colon has the capacity to cleanse itself. Just as constant use of laxatives, makes a digestive system dependant on it for bowel movements, cleansing the colon can have similar effects if done frequently. Your intestinal walls and tissues can become damaged or harmed if you cleanse the colon repeatedly. Basically, your colon knows its job very well.

Healthy Colon
If you lead a healthy lifestyle where you have a balanced diet and eat more fiber and exercise often, it will help your colon to work its best. Eating well, drinking lots of water, and getting enough exercise can keep your digestive system working like a well-oiled machine. You should also stay away from products that use dangerous chemicals and only use natural products and herbs which help to detoxify your digestive system. If however, you feel that you want a colon cleanse, visit http:// www.acg.gi.org for more info on how to cleanse the colon.

The Buying Destination For Mobile Phones And Digital Cameras

If you have any plans in doing some online shopping or interested in knowing the latest mobile phone prices, or want detailed information about a canon digital camera, or want to read reviews on the best electronic products in the market, then it is suggested that you visit ConsumerMate.com. It is an online shopping site which was recently launched by the 9.9 Media group who also owns India’s best known Tech Magazine, Think Digit. The sites together provide a detailed unbiased and discerning insight about electronic products and realistic information for readers and possible buyers who are in the look out for the best electronic product that are available in today’s market.

ConsumerMate.com, a 9.9 Media initiative, provides comparison for laptops, mobile phones, camcorders and LCD TV's. The latest in their product range is the addition of mobiles and digital cameras which carry relevant, accurate and up to date listing of mobiles and digital cameras on the site. Email and SMS are send to customers who contact Consumermate.com highlighting three local dealers of their city, so as to get the best possible deals. Consumers can also contact Consumermate.com experts to answer any legal / technical queries or complaints on their gadget purchases.

So, if you want to run a check on the latest canon digital camera prices or the latest mobile phone prices, then check out ConsumerMate.com as it would give you a whole lot of reviews and deep discount hot deals, and convenient and secure shopping at the click of a mouse.

Another popular full fledged online tech gadget store is Thinkdigit.com, which was recently acquired by the 9.9 Media group. It is by far the top techie magazine and online techie shopping portal in India according to a survey done by the IRS. The IRS or the Indian Readership Survey is an autonomous survey, that is conducted every year and it covers over 350 plus publications across 25 states and over 90 cities across India. With a readership base of close to 200,000, Think Digit leads the technology magazine segment across all age groups, which is an indication about the appeal, it has among techie-savvy readers and technology professionals.

Buying techie products was never so easy.

Summing up, If you want information on online shopping India or are in the lookout for a mobile phone, laptop, plasma TV or a digital camera, a visit to ConsumerMate.com or Thinkdigit.com is highly recommended.

Simple Home Treatments For Back Pain

Many people suffer from back pain symptoms primarily because of the lifestyle that they choose. Most of these people are locked in an office the whole day and this greatly applies a lot of strain on the back muscles.

The best thing about home treatment for back pain symptoms is that they are not only the most effective, but it is also the best and fastest way to find back pain relief. However, prior to starting any home treatment, it is advisable that you get a doctors' opinion. This is because should you have chronic back pain, there are chances that you might need relief through medication. The good side of home treatment is that unlike any medication there won't be any side effects. Home treatments focus on eliminating the cause of the pain, which is the core of the problem.

Although exercise may be the last thing you might want while suffering from back pain, it is very useful in the long run. There are chances that back pain is sometimes caused by a weakened core that cannot support your lower body so as to keep it sturdy. Mentioned below are some exercise tips that could assist you to get of that persistent back pain.

Back Sit Ups

Always remember to sit straight and tighten your stomach muscles so that there is some relief felt in your back. Slooping can actually cause you lots of pain and sitting straight would be the easiest and best beginning. Basically, having strong abdominal muscles will extend support to your back muscles. The next would be to do some light abdomen exercise, like light back sit-ups. Do this about 10 times.

Weightless Toe Touches

Next would be to do some weightless toe touches, keeping your feet apart. Slowly bend your waist and try touching your toes. But remember not to exert any pressure. Do this about 10 times.

Reverse Sit Ups

The next item would be reverse sit ups. These are sit ups done in reverse. For someone with back pain symptoms, it is suggested that you lay flat on your abdomen with hands behind your neck and slowly raise your head and bend backwards and slowly come down. Repeat this for about 10 times.

Walking / Jogging

Jogging is not suggested but a steady walk is recommended. However, it is to be noted that slow running / jogging is a great exercise for strengthening your back.

Massage

Massage is a very important home treatment for back pain relief. It helps to reduce tension, movements, muscle pain, muscle spasms and increases circulation

These exercises are really simple and easy to follow and you can do them at home and the results are quick and permanent. Home treatment for lower back pain symptoms is the best way to obtain back pain relief for good.

Hot, Flat, and Crowded - Can It Renew America

Alright, let’s get this straight

Who is Thomas Friedman and what do you know of him?

Well he is a New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winning writer Friedman who has written a couple of books that include, The Lexus and the Olive Tree which came out in 1999 and introduced thousands to the notion of globalization. So, when the book, The World Is Flat came out nearly everybody was reading it. So his new book Hot, Flat, and Crowded may make it official, for many, that ecology-mindedness is the character of our times.

Anyway, the fact of the matter is that I have NOT got down to reading Thomas Friedman’s new book…where he apparently suggests the industries and fields in which we should be investing. Now I have trouble with anyone telling me where people should be investing, but if the reviews in New York Times, Washington Post and the Salon are to be believed, I am fairly sure I will be buying the book.

"The shortest way I can explain it is that 'hot' stands for the increase in global warming, 'flat' is my metaphor for the rise of middle classes all over the world, from India to China to Brazil to Russia, who are now able to consume and produce like Americans, and 'crowded' is the fact that the population of the planet in my lifetime ...has almost tripled."

Friedman it appears offers a thought- provoking, accessible look at the impact of wealth transfer from energy consuming to energy producing nations, failed policies, environmentalism, conservation, greenness, and redefining a vision for America, that “MAY” leave the reader asking questions and demanding solutions. Although some of the ideas presented aren’t new, this book to me appears worth the reader’s time.

Alright so much for the books - but who is Thomas Friedman?

Thomas Lauren Friedman was born on 20th July, 1953. He is an American journalist, neo-liberal columnist and author. Tell me something new!

He apparently is also a contributor to The New York Times and whose column appears twice weekly and mainly addresses topics relating to foreign affairs. TLF [easier calling him that as Thomas Lauren Friedman is a mouthful] is known for supporting a compromise resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and ofcourse the modernization of the Arab world, then environmentalism and now globalization.

However, he has lost a lot of his supporters because of his vehement and open supporter of the invasion of Iraq. He later on became an outspoken critic of the war and the Bush administration which upset his credibility

To quote a few of the comments seen in the net don’t speak much about the publics view about him, thanks to his support of the war - “I used to worship Thomas Friedman until he vocally, vehemently pushed the War in Iraq in line with a social experiment, certain that it would promote democracy in the Middle East. I was so disappointed in his nearsightedness, especially because he had spent his career covering the region.

A couple hundred thousand dead Iraqis who died for a "elective" social experiment even more revolting than "collateral damage" inflicted by an incompetent, undermanned, casualty averse US Military trying to accomplish some vague, every shifting "mission." In short, what a raging, pompous, self-justifying, cowardly, intellectual asshole!”

So, I guess a lot of people still can't forgive him for advocating the Iraq war for mental health reasons, because he "felt it in his gut" that it was the right thing to do. Besides America had to strike out against SOMEbody after 9/11. It is just about the most irresponsible thing any columnist could ever perhaps say or write.

Okay, taking a few minutes to let our focus shift back to TLF - Thomas Friedman was born in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. He attended the St. Louis Park High School, where he wrote articles for his school's newspaper, where he also managed to interview Ariel Sharon, an Israeli general who later on went to become the Prime Minister of Israel. TLF graduated in 1971. He later on when to attend the St Antony's College at the University of Oxford on a Marshall scholarship, earning an M.Phil. in Middle Eastern studies.

And that is not all; this "green revolutionary" is married to the heiress to a shopping center fortune and lives in an 11,000 square foot house in Maryland, valued at over $10 million. Friedman's wife, Ann, a graduate of Stanford University is the daughter of Matthew Bucksbaum, the chairman of the board of General Growth Properties, a real estate development group. The Bucksbaums helped pioneer the development of shopping centers in the United States and as of 2007, Forbes estimated the Bucksbaum family's assets at $4.1 billion that included about 18.6 million square meters of mall space

Phew! TLF is surely set… Am waiting to see when he comes out with a Foundation, that supports his books views - will surely give back his LOST credibility

So let’s get back to TLFs new book - Hot, Flat, and Crowded

Friedman as always is in search of a new bandwagon to pump out yet another book. This wagon is already full, full of people who are seriously concerned about our planet earth but he would like to take the reins and drive this buggy to the gates of hell, or at least to where the cash is stashed away. There isn't a good cause that can't be milked.

Now he is writing about a Green Revolution. Even though Al Gore did not invent the internet, he sure is at the forefront of the Green Revolution. Why do we need Thomas Friedman's thinking on the subject? Is he trying to redeem himself?

Jimmy Carter was right about this issue during his administration. Al Gore has been right about this issue for years. John Kerry was right about this issue, and his call for an Apollo program for green energy, back in the 2004 campaign.

Personally, I believe the engine of this whole change is the market and all of the major investment banks have large positions in fossil fuels - in fact, Forbes recently claimed that if those banks were forced to liquidate their positions in fossil fuels, prices would drop to as low as $50-$75 a barrel - and that's what the current bailout is intended to avoid. Goldman Sachs also has huge holdings in fossil fuels, and the recent $5 billion Buffet injection should be viewed in the light of Buffet's extensive energy investments - PetroChina, ConocoPhillips, and Mid-American and Constellation Energy.

In other words, if only energy could be harnessed to take the place of oil . . . guess that is what TLF is trying to get across?

Or speaking as an Indian - The US can just get used to the Third World conditions - In other words the IMF proposes an austerity package for the U.S. as a precondition on a World Bank loan rescue package. Their first demand is that we privatize Social Security and halt all funding for public education. How is that for change?

That said, I used to work in a financial company that got influenced by the 'green committee' - trying to change the way we do business in an environmentally intelligent way. Infact the people involved who are mostly middle class people have basically no urgency or real understanding of what the hell is going on. They treat it like an irritating fad, and easily take 'no' as an answer when trying to change the way the company operates, or more so as they operate.

Unfortunately, most people still do not read or understand and to top it all do not care about science. Rationalism is apparently not their philosophy. In such a situation, how does one visualize environmentalism? Until they have intimate, personal experiences with global climate change - in other words they are scared, vis-à-vis Katrina, it is very unlikely they would do anything

Now, let me get to the bottom of this, I was supposed to keep this under a page and it appears that I have run into over 2 pages now.

As the apparent "God of Globalization," Friedman understands only too well how interconnected we have become. In other words, the pollution in India's Ganges River could have a direct impact on the quality of life in New York. Every coal factory that China builds, competes for resources with an Indonesian child. And to top it all, every time a woman in Southern California switched on her air conditioner, its effect travels to the Brazilian slums.

In short there is no way we can regulate our way out of this problem, but only innovate. This in turn requires legislation and rules.

But are we prepared for that ?

Bottom-line - He definitely is not the mystical seer, second only to that prophetic magician of the middle ages, the amazing Nostril-Dumb-ass.

Amen

Are Indias Cyber Laws adequate?

Till over ten years back, India did not have any specific cyber laws. It was in October 2000, the (ITA) Information Technology Act came into force in India. Over the last ten years, despite the technological measures adopted, the Indian cyber laws are still grossly inadequate in relation to the contemporary situation.

Spam

There are currently some relatively good methods to block spam, but they aren't very effective and hence a new cyber law is badly required to sort out this problem.

Cyber Pornography

Though the ITA states in detail about obscene information as being cyber crime, they don’t specifically define the difference between obscene and pornography. As per India's cyber laws it is only publishing of obscene material that is an offense, but not viewing of pornography.

Cyber Phishing

As the ITA doesn't carry anything specific against cyber phishing, it is imperative that such a law is introduced at the earliest.

Privacy/ Intellectual Protection

The absence of a specific privacy law in India has resulted in a substantial loss of foreign business and it is important that a legislation addressing various privacy related issues is issued at the earliest.

Data Protection via Internet Banking

Bank transactions and information on their customers change hands several times and this information becomes all the more dangerous when it is available on the internet. Electronic Banking is a high risk area and strong cyber laws are needed to protect any leakages or data tampering

In short, an Indian cyber law has many shortcomings and is far from satisfactory and should strive to address these issues at the earliest.

The Role of Mobile Phone in our Society with perspective on Indias Growth

Like other similar developing countries, India often considers mobile phones more as a precious resource to be shared by other family members and sometimes with friends, rather than treating it purely as a personal device.

One conspicuous difference between the mobile phone usage pattern in developed countries and India is reflected in the poor rural areas of India, where mobile phones are being bought by families and not by individuals. Most of these families do not have a landline, and the mobile phone in these poor rural families is a common resource for all the members of the family serving for emergency purposes.

Hence, the average size of a family can also be an important factor in the rate of the mobile phone usage in India. The average household in India which have a mobile phone averages over 5 persons, which is relatively higher than that of China, which averages over 3 persons.

The quick spread of mobile phones from an incredibly very low base provided a boost to communications, thereby largely increasing productivity. India as of today is identified as the quickest growing market segment for mobile phones, having an average growth rate factor of over 80% every year since 2000. India's technology spending is still low and there remains substantial scope for improvement.

If India's mobile phone segment is identified to grow further, it will only do so by targetting more small users. Hence, it is doubtful if high sales volumes and lower costs will put a strain on profits, thereby causing lower average revenue per user.

The Smile Train

The Smile Train is an international charity helping children with cleft lips and palates, founded in 2000 by Brian Mullaney and Charles Wang.

It has been classified as the world’s largest and most cost-effective cleft charity and it also meets extensive standards of America's most experienced charity evaluator. The Smile Train uses technology such as surgery-training software and grading of operations via digital imaging to make it "one of most productive charities, dollar for deed, in the world."

According to a press source, it is said that over the last eight years, Smile Train has performed more than 360,000 cleft surgeries in 74 of the world’s poorest countries, while raising some $85 million last year with worldwide staff strength of just 30 people.

Mullhaney worked in advertising for over 20 years, founded Schell/ Mullaney Advertising, served as Senior Vice President, Creative Director at J. Walter Thompson and Vice President, Creative Director at Young & Rubicam. Mullaney earned a bachelor's degree in business economics from Harvard College. He currently lives on Long Island, New York with his wife Cricket and three children.

Should someone ever search an alternate definition of “selfless”, they might want to consider three words: "Doctor Hirji Adenwalla." To know Dr. Adenwalla, 70, is to understand that no one, anywhere, is more emblematic of the word "selfless." What better way to describe a unique man who, as head of the Charles Pinto Centre for Cleft Lip and Palate in Kerala, India for the past 42 years, has devoted his considerable skills to improving - some might say "salvaging" — the lives of more than 7,000 underprivileged children by giving them the life-transforming ability to smile. Equally remarkable, Dr. Adenwalla has performed every one of these surgeries himself, free of charge, on a budget historically so modest that much of it has resulted from speaking fees. He typically spends his annual vacation making speeches to social service organizations in order to raise funds for the Centre.

In 2001, the first year that The Smile Train was privileged to provide the Charles Pinto Centre with funding, Dr. Adenwalla performed cleft lip and palate repair on an additional 530 children who would otherwise have never received it. "With the help of The Smile Train, we're able to reach out to many more children and change many more lives." says Dr Adenwalla. "I am very excited about what the future holds for this partnership."

A longtime professional associate described the Charles Pinto Center’s work as "truly remarkable," and Dr. Adenwalla as "a legendary surgeon who has touched thousands of lives with his heart, his head and his hands. A very rare combination of huge talent and tiny ego. Dr. Adenwalla himself, of course, dismisses such praise and deflects all compliments. But he reveals at least a part of what motivates him in a short speech he made recently at a Smile Train press conference, the lessons that we learn from human misery are to love, to never forget and to never, never look away.

Smile Train is close to reaching a historic break-even point: it will perform more operations each year than the number of children born each year in developing countries with cleft deformities.

Wish them the best….and anyone who wishes to donate, can do so by CLICKING HERE

How to Make a Figurine Made of Styrofoam

Styrofoam is commonly used as packing material and come in a variety of shapes, boards and colors. Styrofoam figurines although solid are very light and can float. They can be purchased at most craft stores or home decorating department stores. The price for these Styrofoam figurines depends on the size and intricacy of the design. If you are creative, you can make Styrofoam figurines from the comfort of your own home and making these are moderately easy. All you need is a few supplies and a steady hand.

Below are a list of the things that you will need;

Styrofoam block
Variety of Styrofoam figurines
Stencil
Pen
Pencil
Paper
Scissors
Pins
Box Cutter
Small utility knife
Toothpicks
Craft glue
Spray paint
Newspaper and painters tape

Step 1
Decide on the figurine that you want to create. If you are unable to get the desired figurines from shops, find a stencil in the desired shape for your Styrofoam figurine and then sketch it out while keeping the figure simple.

Step 2:
Get your Styrofoam figurine and prepare your pieces. You can use plastic stencils, print pictures from your computer.

Step 3
Place your Styrofoam on a hard, flat surface. Then position your stencil on top of the Styrofoam. Adjust the stencil so that it is where you want the figurine to be. A flat surface will help to hold the Styrofoam steady while you are cutting it. Once you start cutting you won't be able to make adjustments.

Step 4
Cut your Styrofoam to the desired size using the utility knife. Clean them before and after using on Styrofoam. Make sure to put some newspapers under the surface where you are cutting so you don't destroy the tabletop or other surface.

Step 4:
Connect the pieces. Smear a thin layer of glue on either side of the two pieces you are going to connect. Then place some glue at the end of a toothpick and stick them between the two sides as an anchor. Keep gluing until each piece is secured. Prop the figure in a safe place to dry thoroughly.

Step 5:
Decorate the pieces. Once the glue is dry, spray paint your figure as desired. Spray paint works well on Styrofoam since it is very porous. Remember to cover those places that you do not want to be painted with newspaper taped with painters tape.

Tips
You can glue on button eyes to give your figure more personality. Spray paint and other adornments can be found at craft stores. You can also go online to find pieces that match the figurines that you need.

Warnings
While spray painting, if you plan to use more than one color, then allow each portion to fully dry.

How to Build Muscle for Kids

A child's muscle building program should not just be a scaled-down version of an adult's weight training regimen. Muscle building for kids should not be confused with weight lifting, bodybuilding or powerlifting which are strongly disapproved for kids as they can risk injuring their growing bones, muscles or joints should they participate in these sports. However, building muscles is something moderately challenging for kids with the fitness consciousness that prevails now.

Kids cannot build muscle until they reach puberty, because that is when their body starts producing hormones. Lifting weights can be a good way to strengthen muscles but it is not a safe activity for kids who are unsupervised. The physical trainer should have experience in working with kids should be in a position to show your child the proper techniques, safety precautions, and how to properly use any weight training equipment. As with any sport, it is also wise to have your child visit a doctor before beginning a muscle building program.

Items required

Basic weight training equipment
Dumbbells
Skipping rope

Step 1
Drink milk, eat lots of food, and get lots of rest. If your kid is eating a balanced diet that includes food such as lean chicken and meat, fish and legumes, he or she shouldn't need any additional protein powder or any other nutritional supplements.

Step 2
Kids can usually start on muscle building activities such as pushups and sit-ups everyday, as long as they perform the exercises safely and follow instructions. These exercises can help kids build an awareness of their bodies. Skipping and jogging a mile would also be a good idea. As kids have started engaging in a sedentary lifestyle much like adults, it is very important to educate your child in healthy habits and to help develop a workout routine that is suitable for him or her.

Step 3
Start on basic weight training regimen with dumbbells and the weight of the dumbbells will start on the child's body structure and strength level. Kids, in general must be able to lift a weight with proper technique for about 10 times. If they can't lift the weight at least 7 times, it's obvious that the weight is far too heavy for them.

Step 4
Results won't come overnight. But eventually, the kid will slowly begin to notice a difference in muscle strength, which would fuel a fitness habit in them.

Tip
If your child is ready and has begun to participate in sports such as baseball, soccer, or gymnastics, it can be considered that it is also safe to start muscle training.

Warning
Some people might tell you that using drugs called steroids can help you build muscle. This is a bad idea. Steroids are illegal, and can be bad for your health, causing problems like dizziness, mood swings, damage to your hear and increased risk for some diseases.

Press Release Copywriting Can Help Your Business

A press release copywriting is nothing but a well written statement to the media. Press release can also mean many things, be it an announcement of a news item, scheduled event, announcement of a new product or service.

Writing effective press releases will serve your business well as it attracts the attention of the online audience. It would also get picked up by the various news sites and as a result boost the site's search engine rankings.

The headline of an effective press release should be brief, clear and to the point. In other words, a compact version of the press releases’ key point. Such a news release not only builds your business reputation and credibility, but can also create a virtual story. It can also announce events and narrate an inspiring story thereby helping your organization by indicating why you are the best in your field.

It can also drive selected traffic to your website. Any event that happens in your company (be it an opening or even appointments) can be turned into a compelling press release by good press release copywriting. This, in turn can elicit maximum response from your clientele thereby earning the trust of your target audience.

An effective press release can be written to be informative to the reading public with a defined "tactic" that gets reporters, editors and producers interested in what's going on with your business or agency and your clients.

The primary important information of a good news release is contained in its lead sentence, which generally is about 25 to 30 words. It is here where you grab the reader's attention by giving a brief of the press release that you intend to announce. Another common mistake that copywriters make is that they confuse the title / heading or the summary paragraph with the lead. It should be important that the lead has its own identity. The rest of the news release just illustrates the details provided in the lead paragraph.

Like any news story, an effective press release should try and keep the paragraphs and sentences short. In other words, about three lines per paragraph. Good press release copywriting ensures that the first few paragraphs provides details on whos', whats', whens', wheres', whys' and any such similar queries.

Another important factor to remember is that a press release is not a reprint. In other words, a press release should not blindly copy its information from another similar source. However, it can re-craft it as a feature or news article.

A normal press release is about 350 to 750 words and is generally written using a word processor (MSWord in most cases)

Finally, make certain that your press release does not look like an article. If you plan in writing effective press release, then it is better you get your copywriting right.

Ten Ideas

Nobody Is Man Enough

If you are bachelor, you might think I am not man enough. But the beauty is that nobody is man enough. Some people feel that Osama Bin Laden is Laden with shit and is changing places every week not because US President George Bush will find him, but because his wife will reach him.

Bush didn't abandon the flag during the shoe onslaught

Our glorious leader, General Pubes was recently caught in a shoe incident in Iraq. A quick viewing of the video certainly leaves one with the impression that the Chosen One actively dodged the shoe, thereby allowing it to strike the “Stars And Stripes”, thereby desecrating its holy cloth with the stink of islamunistofascist footwear.

Hollywood decides to go public

It has been decided that due to the exhorbitant prices charged by the Hollywood stalwarts, producers have decide to list them at Wall Street. Now, their prices will be decided as per market listings and as per the market value, their share prices command at the time of signing a new picture

Two squashed balls.

Fat men's balls are always being smashed as there is nowhere for them to run to and nowhere to hide. A fat man's penis will suck up into his body cavity, but the balls are left behind to fend for themselves. So they are always aching and always sweating and it's just disgusting. Sometimes they get pulled up on top of all the fat and flab, but they aren't at rest because they're being pulled too far out of place.

Christian Anti-Defamation Commission

There is a gay and secular fascism in the country that wants to impose its will on the rest of the people. Those in anti-homosexual ministries are vilified for working to deny basic human rights to the unbelievers who refuse to submit to our religious laws.
Arseholes have been elected boss and get public attention

Arseholes went on strike this morning and refused to do their daily work. Within a short time the eyes became crossed, the hands clenched, the feet twitched, the heart and lungs began to panic and the brain fevered. Eventually a “motion” was passed that the arsehole be the control center or the “boss” of the body. The other parts had little choice but to do all the work while the boss just sat and passed out the shit!

Prostitute goes on strike

A policeman arrested a prostitute in the Hospital area and was taken to court this morning. Her lawyer vehemently denied that she was a prostitute and that she had been contracted to finish a job at the newly built laboratory. When asked to be specific, the lawyer replied that she was a “social engineer” and her specialty was to build and destroy erections. However, the judge has decided to issue taxes on the Social Engineer, as it was understood that she had not paid any taxes


Why India supported John McCain for the 2008 presidential election

India extended their support to John McCain, when he publicly announced, last Friday, about his grand outsourcing plan. If elected president, John McCain said that he would immediately begin to outsource the cabinet and their respective agencies. McCain re-iterated that the Housing department will be placed with an Indian call center as he felt that the Indians seem to know far better what is missing in the housing scene throughout America these days. Besides, they apparently also have the funds to manage the department and its problems, with their casinos bulging with cash. Besides, the natural skill of these people to manage and stay out of global conflicts was amazing, according to the Senator from Arizona.

Salman Rushdie Is Once Again On The Prowl in Midtown

Sir Salman Rushdie was recently spotted having a drink with an attractive thing in downtown Manhattan. It was said that he was not being able to work as it was one of the terrible byproducts of his breakup with Padma Lakshmi. Salman has described the split as a "nuclear bomb dropped in his living room when you're trying to work. Perhaps, he feels that socializing might help him relax and get himself out of the system, after a day of slogging and groom himself for another grueling day

Both Osama bin Laden and Bush have something in common

When asked what the issue was, secret service officials played down the issue. When pressed for an answer, it was discovered that the answer was crabs. It was discovered both Osama and crabs tend to irritate Bush

The Credit Crunch And Mistresses

As the credit crunch bites, businessmen may be turning to sex as a cheap way to pass time

Infact, a recent market survey conducted on over 1000 adults found that sex was the most popular free activity, ahead of window shopping and gossiping.

In fact, Ms. Mouthfull, a market analyst said that she was glad that people are finding ways of relieving some of their credit crunch woes, but if there's one thing it's worth fucking out, I am sorry, forking out for, it is condoms.

There seems to be a sense of desperation among women with regard to dating rich men and the and men are able to sense this now

Ms. Kuntz, a sex shop worker indicated that wealthy men generally cut out their gifts to mistresses during times of financial crisis. She further added that as per the new survey it has been confirmed that affluent businessmen who keep extramarital lovers, plan to cut back on presents and payments to their mistresses in the wake of the economic downturn.

All of her friends are searching for rich, handsome men but there are less and less of them now around, says Ms. Kuntz. The money isn’t flowing like usual and hunting a rich man has become extremely difficult. As a result there are less free drinks and dinners. What's weird about it is that admitting this doesn't seem to embarrass them at all.

However, a majority of rich women who are have extramarital affairs, plan in boosting their lovers’ allowances, according to a recent research that sheds light on the different ways the different sexes deal with financial stress.

More than 75 percent of the adulterous multi-millionaires from the male species, who were surveyed said that they planned to spend less money on gifts and treats for their lovers, and over 80 per cent planned to cut down on their regular payments.

It is definitely going to be hard!

However, funnily it appears that Viagra sales have shot up !

Mr. Dickhardt, a professional gigolo feels that affairs that have lasted several years will be the most vulnerable during the impending recession, with wealthy people of both sexes more likely to support lovers they have taken within the last few years.

It is obvious that once they lose the magic in the relationship a lot of erections are going to be destroyed

Rich people are getting hit in their vulnerable spots and they're all expressing the need to curtail unnecessary spending as there is a huge amount of money that is being funelled and unless that is taken care of wisely, it is going to spiral out of control

However, successful women actually put more importance on their extramarital relationships as the economy declines and their working lives become more difficult.

Ms. Fuchall, an market analyst feels that over 20 per cent of the women have plans in cutting down on their presents and allowances to their lovers, while more than a half planned to increase their financial investment in their paramour.

This generated a new interest in the womens behaviour.

Ms. Bighole (name changed for fear of recognition) who has two paramours, felt that it was during such times that the need for a lover arises more than ever, as tensions run high and there is no excitement

The Government, however feels that with so much funds spread over this segment of the market, that a separate division be created to address the problems of this segment.

Domestic Violence

There is so much that you really should know about domestic violence... besides the fact that it is a serious, widespread social problem in America today.

Here are some other facts:

At least 50% of the men who frequently assaulted their wives also frequently abused their children. Each year, between 2,000 - 5,000 children die each year because of domestic violence. Most victims of domestic violence allow themselves to be beaten, so that they want the abuse to end. They engage in various survival strategies to protect themselves and their children (i.e., calling the police and/or seeking help from family members). Another strategy is silence (ie taking a beating to keep the batterer from attacking the children).

As a result, most victims suffer from psychological effects (ie post traumatic stress disorder or depression), as a result of being constantly abused

When domestic violence involves children, it can either be direct and intentional or indirect and accidental. If it is direct and intentional then it is considered to be a deliberate and willful act that has been carried out with the purpose of injuring the child. If it is indirect and accidental then the damage results when a child lives with family violence. In this case, the youth is not the target of the violence, but must live with the pain and suffering which results from such experiences. This is why the terms domestic violence and family violence are interchangeable.

There are close to 1,500,000 incidents of domestic violence per year and that 1 in every 3 women has been domestically abused during their lifetime.

At least one-third of American women (31%) report being abused by a partner at some point in their lives. Furthermore, 25% of American women report being domestically abused and that 30% of Americans say that they know a woman who has been domestically abused in the past year. In addition 37% of women who sought treatment in emergency rooms for violence-related injuries were domestic related.

Besides, male violence against women does much more damage than female violence against men? Women are much more likely to be injured than men and that women are 7 to 14 times more likely than men to report suffering severe physical assaults from domestic violence. As a matter of fact, more than 3 women are murdered by their partners every day?

What is insidious about emotional abuse is that you can't point to physical injuries that clearly show that someone is hurting you. All you have is a deeper and deeper pain that you cannot connect with the abuser and you can't figure out why. You wonder why you can't communicate clearly (because he misinterprets everything you say), or that you aren't nice enough. Is it because a nice woman would not mind a little teasing ?

For those of you, who are interested in getting more information on DV, visit;

Speaking Out Against Domestic Violence
Surviving Domestic Violence
Date and Domestic Violence Victims Anonymous

Beaute de Maman Beauty Products For Pregnant Mothers

I believe a lady should appear graceful and vivacious even when they are pregnant

Now you may ask, what right does a guy have, in making such a statement

None, I agree.

However, I know that maintaining their appearance makes them feel great in the inside.

It is also a well-known fact that pregnant women can no longer use their normal beauty products as they may contain ingredients that might not be suitable for the foetus. Hence finding beauty products that are safe for both mother and fetus is essential

Now I have heard so much about Beaute de Maman - the beauty products that are safe for both mother and the fetus

So, having said that, pregnant mothers don't deprive yourself from looking good just because you can't use your normal beauty products!

They say that Beaute de Maman is made for moms and babies. Their products are even certified by obstetricians to treat problems related to the physiological and hormonal changes during pregnancy.

Believe it or not, even certain Hollywood actresses such as Jennifer Blanc have certified using Beaute de Maman while they were carrying.

In short, Beaute de Maman offers botanical, natural and safe ingredients for stretch marks, acne-prone face, body blemishes, and nipple mastitis during breast feeding. Most importantly, they say and claim that all these products have been tested not on animals, but on humans and they have been proven safe by pregnant people. So, this means, these ingredients will not harm the foetus.

You can order now and check their labels and packaging.

If you'd like to try, you can order now ...

How To Make Snowball Table Decorations

Snowballs make wonderful table decorations and you can make them using white Styrofoam balls. White Styrofoam balls come in all sizes. They come in 1" 1.5" 2" 2.5" 3" and 4 inches. You can either get them from Wal-Mart, JoAnns Fabric, or any craft supply store. A package of a dozen Styrofoam ball come for approximately 2 to 3 dollars depending on its size or where you buy them from. The job is moderately easy for anyone who is interested in craft and room décor.

To make some snowball table decorations, you would need;

One large sheet of thick cardboard
Craft string
One roll of wax paper
One bottle of water-soluble craft glue
Some white clay
One box of tacks
One can of spray fixative
Some glitter
Some Styrofoam balls
Some drawings of snowflakes

Step 1
Roll some pieces of white clay about 1/4-inch thick, and smooth them around the foam balls.

Step 2
Press in two small blue beads for the eyes and make the eyebrows with small pieces of rolled clay. Then make some different shaped mouths using the eraser end of a pencil.

Step 3
Cut a circle large enough to wrap around the Styrofoam ball and apply some tacky glue on the Styrofoam ball. Allow to dry thoroughly.

Step 4
Starting with the bottom tier of the snowball tree; arrange the 3-inch Styrofoam balls in a ring on a flat, newspaper-covered surface with hot glue. Make the glue contact points on the inside of the ring. Use the 2-inch balls to make the second tier ring. Hot glue the ring to the bottom tier making sure to center the second ring on top of the first one. Do the same for the remaining tiers; reducing the number of the size of the balls for each tier.

Step 5
Top off your snowball tree with a final 4 inch ball at the top. Give the entire tree a coat of white glue thinned with a little water to make it easier to brush on. Place the glued tree onto a large sheet of newspaper and sprinkle liberally with white glitter and/or artificial snow flakes. Allow to dry.

Step 6
When the glue has dried, place the snowball tree on a framed mirror and place in the center of your table. Fill the inside cavity of the tree with the 50-lite string of twinkle lights and allow for the cord to run off the table. A white extension cord will make this an easy task.

Step 7
Hang small ornaments using stick pins onto the balls of the tree. Arrange related figurines around the base. Complete the tableau by sprinkling additional glitter and artificial snow around the base of the tree and other decorations.

Warning
Try not to give much importance on making the batting perfectly smooth, as the imperfections will make your snowballs look more realistic

Tip
Use large spherical paper lanterns as they make wonderful snowball table decorations.

Love - Start In The Right Direction

What is the secret of a healthy relationship?

A good relationship first begins with YOU.

This works more efficiently when two partners are focused on a goal of keeping their relationship better than ever before.

A lot of relationships have begun so well only to end in disaster. Ever wonder why this happened?

This is mainly because, couples have the tendency to take each other for granted and as a result have become more negligent of each other over the years and months they have been together. This is not how a relationship should progress. In a way as the relationship grows old, it should be viewed in a mature perspective. In other relationships it is not correct to say that relationships grow old, but it should be said “as the relationship matures”.

In most cases, love that has the hottest beginning has the coolest end. In other words, love does not develop over time.

While it is true that there can be a love at first sight, it depends on the partners how to maintain and sustain that love they have felt from the start.

It is important that partners work together in achieving their goal of making the relationship works for them. It is definitely a combined effort and a shared endeavor. Part of every great relationship is setting common goals, then figuring out a way to work together to accomplish these goals. This gives couples a sense of purpose and direction. It also teaches couples how to work together, making their relationship stronger and more rewarding.

This takes a great deal of focus, commitment, and compromise, but the rewards are well worth the effort. Actually, this concept is not limited to only relationships, but applies to other aspects of life such as work and career.

Remember, when you really love yourself, you cannot help wanting to give some of your love away. You must learn to be alone and happy before you can be together with someone else and still be happy. Your happiness always depends upon how you feel when you are alone.

So, when you want a great love partner, become a great love partner. Sharing love with someone must only and always begin with YOU

Social Media Marketing Optimization For Business

Social media optimization (SMO) is a process of creating publicity through online methods, communities and websites. In other words, social media marketing is the use of social networks, blogs, online communities, wikis or any two-way media for marketing, PR, sales, public relations and customer service.

Social media marketing can apply to all types of businesses from marketing of hotels to auto dealer advertising. People today frequent numerous websites that act as a social media optimization platform. The videos that are uploaded on these portal like YouTube or other sites that offers blogging facilities, forums and discussion teams further increases the effect of the SMO service.

The main objective of these platforms is to promote products, services or ideas among the people worldwide. This service also operates the methods of social book marking, videos and sharing and blogging of photos. It is an amazing service that gives the guidelines to the websites as how it can reap the maximum benefits. In Internet marketing, you need to pay attention to every detail of how you plan to market your business over the Internet. The wrong processes waste time and money.

This process should include a predefined social media optimization (SMO) strategy. The SMO is a combination of search engine optimization (SEO) and social media marketing (SMM) methods. It is easy to assume that SMM is simply setting up social networks and marketing. Although this is part of the process, social networking is not all that is involved in social media marketing. It is suggested that you have a website and a blog. You need to search engine optimize any personal resources prior to SMM. You need a second set of keywords that do not conflict with your personal virtual properties, though compliment your efforts. Content is key to this offsite marketing process, therefore blogs, articles, comments, discussions, images, videos, link etc. In short everything SMM needs to correspond with the SEO.

Social Media Marketing (SMM) has become a popular alternative for online business branding. The most common social media networks are Twitter, Facebook, Wikipedia, YouTube and LinkedIn in addition to many others. They are valuable Internet marketing and networking resources for business. On the other hand, there are 5 major issues involved with diving into SMM without the proper knowledge and strategies. These can "make" or "break" your success in social media marketing.

If you choose to do your own search engine optimization and social media marketing, then you need to have a proper online branding strategy

Summarizing, although search engine optimization and social media marketing,
appear to be easy on the surface; it is not a simple process. Hence, your online marketing strategies should include both search engine optimization and social media marketing that in turn create a process called social media optimization.

What Parents Should Need to Know About Teen Dating

Although their peers could have a major influence, it is the parents and families who should have the final say in a teens dating life

It is families, who can either provide support or add stress to their teenage lives. Teenage girls who are involved in dating and are surrounded by domestic violence at home (in other words, who watch their parents continually fighting) are likely to have a low self esteem as a result of this violence. Then there are those girls who begin dating early and who have strict and emotionally distant parents are likely to be depressed.

This just goes to show how families can be a great support to their teens dating lives. Surveys show that teenage girls with warm, strong relationships with their mothers and who were not involved in steady dating ended up with higher grades than their romantically involved classmates

Ways to Discuss Dating with Teens

Parents can use their knowledge in the pitfalls of dating during the teen years, to discuss dating with youngsters. Some suggestions on how to reach out and communicate with teens about dating are mentioned below:

• The most important issue here is that you ought to make sure that you are building a caring and supportive relationship with your teen. In other words, this relationship will serve as a role model for the relationships that she or he will have with friends and future romantic partners.
• It is obvious that when your teenager feels loved and supported, the chances are that it will open the lines of communication and trust.
• It is important to build and preserve this trust. Just remember that it will take a long time to regain any lost trust. The moment you lose the teens’ trust, it will take a lot of effort to rebuild those channels of communication.
• Explain to them the biological, social, and emotional changes that are taking place in their system during adolescence. It is obvious that teenagers are interested in knowing about maturity (growth spurts and the male and female biological differences) and they enjoy applying this information to real life.
• Sit down and talk with them and take time out to find out about information on your teen’s friends and schedule of daily events through their conversation. This is a great way to learn about their network as well as what is important to them and their friends.
• Tease your teen with tentative, open-ended questions about potential romantic interests. Use casual but active listening methods. Avoid forcing the issue, if it embarrasses them.
• Another important issue is to take care to not to embarrass your teen by expressing information that they share with you in confidence.
• Make a point to discussing your own relationship and experiences with your teen. Try and differentiate a healthy and an unhealthy relationship. If you happen to be in a significantly strong relationship, try and let it serve as a role model for a healthy relationship behavior to your youngster.
• Just remember that talking about romantic relationships with preteens or early adolescents will not make them more likely to date.
• Try and clear any relationship myths that they may have been exposed to by their colleagues or the media, by exposing your early adolescent relationship situations
• Ask your teen to think carefully about dating and whether they feel pressured to date; whether they know what dating should be like and try and share what you know about the research in a caring and casual way.
• Try and watch with them their favorite television programs, particularly those that involve teens having romantic relationships. Refrain from commenting during the show and take time for discussion after the show is over. (For example ask your teen, “How might that situation really end up?”, “What is healthy/unhealthy about this relationship?”, or “What overall message do you get from this episode about teen relationships?”).
• Share with your teen the advantages of dating later in adolescence so as to date with an optimistic attitude.
• Be willing to support your older teen’s efforts to date, unless there appears to be a threat of psychological or physical harm.
• Another point to remember is that your teen’s identity as well as sexuality are still being formed and as a result may be fragile. Avoid letting your values dictate your teen’s sexual identity. Sexual minority (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered) youth usually face much confusion and difficulty during this time and need their parents support.
• Inform your teen about the rules (and consequences) you’ve set on dating and why—the appropriate age, age of partner, curfews, who they’ll be with, and contact information. Make sure to follow through with expectations and consequences.
• Pay attention to the “double standard.” Do you set different dating rules for your son and your daughter? For example, even though your early maturing 14-year-old son appears more confident and ready to date exclusively than his slightly older teenage sister, he still faces the risks of early dating (risk behaviors & poor academic performance).
• Have positive ways to handle family conflict.
• Be flexible and willing to listen to your teen’s viewpoint and negotiate, without giving up your parental authority. Being too strict may lead teens to rebel by making poor dating choices or engaging in other risky behaviors.
• Encourage your young adolescent (13-15 years old) to go on group dates without your direct supervision (however, trustworthy adults should be present) such as a movie matinee, cultural/educational events, mall-shopping, a theme park visit, an outdoor activity, or a field trip.

Overall, it’s important to:

Provide a safe and secure base for your teen to communicate with you openly about their dating relationships and guide your teen with frank questions to think about their own expectations and values in their relationships. Lastly also try and share your own wisdom about relationships with your teen.

How To Calculate Work Measurement

Work measurement is used to identify and estimate the time-period or duration of a job, using various methods. In other words, work measurement is applying identified methods to evaluate the time taken for an experience worker/ technician to complete a specific job at an optimum level of performance. We know that the total time to manufacture a product is increased when you add undesirable features to the product, bad operational processes and ineffective time management between the management and workers. As a result this leads to low productivity.

Work measurement is concerned with investigating, reducing and eliminating effective time whatever may be the cause. Once ineffective time shows up in a series of processes and operations, it can be separated and removed using work measurement. Setting standards of performance are attainable only if all avoidable ineffective time is eliminated and work is performed by the best method available.

Although there are many methods by which work can be measured, the below methods are the most popular ones.

1. Time study
2. Activity sampling
3. Timing
4. Synthesis from standard data
5. Predetermined motion time system (PMTS)
6. Estimating
7. Analytical estimating
8. Category estimating
9. Comparative estimating

Time study
The time taken to complete a specific job under defined conditions. The data is then taken and analyzed so as to estimate the time necessary to complete the job at an optimum performance level.

Activity sampling
Random observations of the workers are made at random times by an observer so as to identify what the workers are doing during these periods.

Timing
The work is timed using a watch or computerized electronic study board and observation times are noted. The time pace is then computed by the observer and then basic time frames are set for specific jobs. These time frames would then be compared with the time taken by a trained and experienced worker to complete the same job under similar conditions.

Synthesis from standard data
Observed information is fed into the computer to generate mathematical formulae for identifying the time taken to complete a process. Useful methods as variables can be changed to get new results with each project.

Predetermined motion time system (PMTS)
PMTS uses measurement units in 0.00001 of an hour or ten thousands (0.0001) of one minute. These can be used to compute short cycles of work that takes about one minute to complete

Estimating
Estimating consists of three types - Analytical estimating, category estimating and comparative estimating.

Analytical estimating
Depends on the findings and experience of the estimator. Using his experience and estimating the work content, he provides an educated guess of the time needed for completing the job.

Category estimating
This requires some experience as well as a good know-how about the job. Generally, estimators provide range estimates which are computed statistically, rather than providing probable analytical estimates

Comparative estimating
This is another form of range estimation. Generally, the work that is to be estimated is compared with similar jobs, until the best fir is found.

These are the dominant factors that are used to calculate work measurement.

Simple Ways to Flatten Your Tummy

Just about everyone who has a tummy would like to find simple ways to flatten their tummy. Here, I would like to share with you some simple ways to reducing your tummy.

Incorporate The Habit Of Drinking Water Into Your Daily Routine

It is a widely known fact that most of the flab that contributes to body-weight is actually due to water retention. In other words, the more water you drink, the less of it will be retained in your body. The common advice is to drink about 8 glasses of water a day. However, try not to drink all the 8 glasses at one time as it will only bloat you. So just feed your body with water naturally and this will help you with your digestion and metabolism, lessening the likelihood of fat being stored. This is one of the best ways to reduce your tummy.

Avoid Drinking Alcohol And Minimize The Junk Food

Separately, these two can increase tummy fat and together, they can create an unsightly bulge that may be quite challenging to get rid of. Although, alcohol may be fat-free, it is loaded with calories, which can raise your levels of cortisol, a stress hormone that helps your tummy store fat. Besides, both alcohol and junk food also increase your appetite and unless you are on a balanced diet, you are more likely to gain more unhealthy pounds. Lastly, stop eating at 6:00 pm, because, if you keep eating, this is food that your body won't be able to burn. In other words when we sleep our body is at rest, and all excess food will be stored.

Vacuum Pose

The vacuum pose is a secret exercise most bodybuilders use. What you do is to inhale and simply suck in your tummy from your belly button. In other words it feels like your belly button is getting sucked into your lower spine and back. It's important to not just suck in your tummy, but to focus on sucking in your tummy from your belly button.

After you've sucked in your tummy as much as you can, hold the "sucked in" position for about a minute. Then, slowly let the air out, but try not to breathe fully. If you have heart or lung problems, you may want to skip doing this exercise. But for the rest of you, just be sure to keep the tension for at least 15 seconds and even longer, for about a minute, for better results.

Keeping Yourself Stress-Free

In order to achieve this, you have to get enough rest and a good night's sleep. Reducing stress also ensures that you do not indulge in unhealthy eating patterns. In other words, you can boost or pump your immune system to ward off illnesses and keep your body fitness to an optimum level. This way, you can not only maintain a slim figure and but also be able to continue with your daily activities.

Ofcourse, the final crunch is that you need to have some will power and exercise control over your eating habits to flatten your tummy effectively. The best part is that you need not deprive yourself of food so as to achieve this. All you need to have is a clean and simple diet that has plenty of raw fruits and vegetables. It is also advisable to break your four regular meals in to smaller meals by eating every two to three hours through out the day. This is a great way to keep your metabolism running strong, and will only aid in flattening your tummy.

Rustic Yard Furniture

Rustic yard furniture is fast becoming a popular trend in home decorating. It not only helps create that feeling of simplicity, but has a warmth and sincerity apart from bringing elements of nature close to us.

Making these functional sculptures can turn into a rewarding craft particularly for those who like handiwork. However, you require a minimum of formal woodworking experience to start making rustic yard furniture.

As a rule of thumb, use dry wood or dead fallen trees for a first effort. Also identify those pieces of wood with unusual bark patterns as they make a more decorative finished piece. Although it is easier to make furniture from straight pieces, it can also be the least exciting to view. The selection of wood, the design, the placement of wood and even its intended use gives a rough idea about the artist who made it rather than it does about the furniture or trees.

To get started, identify your favorite piece of conventional furniture and then try copying it. Take your favorite chair to your woodpile and collect twig twins for all the parts. Very soon, interesting choices will present themselves and you will find yourself developing designs and preferences. In short, a style will begin to emerge. After you gather all needed tools and the twigs in one location, try picking the drawing for the chair that you wish to create. First make specific measurements and then add in detail the exact size of the rustic furniture that you plan to create. Although measurements can vary according to personal preferences, try and maintain an unity throughout.

The main challenge of a rustic chair is making its seat. Use smooth planks or round twigs. Use a saw to cut down twigs and branches. Once the seat of the chair is formed, hammer the twigs to the seat of the chair using several nails for each twig. Then add arms to the chair by hammering on twigs. Add some small decorative twigs to the back of the seat if you wish to use a special design at the top of the chair. You can also use leather strips, ash and hickory bark or even upholstering with old quilts and a weave of twisted rags, but simplicity works best.

Hammer the twigs for the four legs of the chair into the seat bottom in the four seat corners. Once completed, ensure that the chair legs are equal in length by placing it on an even surface. Also check for loose nail tips that might be protruding out. Now sit on the chair and check whether it is sturdy.

Like all wood furniture, rustic furniture also needs some kind of treatment and finish so as to not look like a random collection of sticks. As the dry bark needs more care than dry wood, first sandpaper the bark gently and then apply a generous coat of linseed oil cut mixed with a bit of turpentine. Reapply it again after a few days and let it dry well. Complete it with the use of furniture polish or more linseed oil so as to give it a matte, leather-like finish.

As a closing note the true delight of rustic yard furniture lies simply in living with it and in finding ways to use it.