Green Tea Weight Loss Programs

Although no one would characterize me as overweight at first glance, I could still stand to lose 5 to 10 pounds. That doesn't seem like much of a challenge, but I've found that sometimes the fewer pounds I want to shed, the harder it is. I know that's counterintuitive, but that has been my personal experience. For me, it has always been easier to go from 150 to 149 than from 120 to 119. Fortunately, I think I've finally discovered something that can help me achieve my goal of slimming down: a green tea weight loss program.

Green tea weight loss programs have been around forever, as this beverage has long been known for its positive effects on the body's metabolism rate. But I had never tried any green tea weight loss diets before because I'm not all that fond of the drink. It's definitely an acquired taste as far as I'm concerned, and even after drinking the stuff for about a month and a half, I still cannot sip it leisurely or linger over the cup for an extended period. Instead, I have to chug it down and then chase it with a bit of water just to rinse the taste out of my mouth. I know that seems pretty childish, but that's what I have to do! At least I'm still getting all the benefits of the beverage!

So how does a green tea weight loss program work? Well, most of the time these programs are meant to be followed in conjunction with ordinary dieting activities such as exercise and reduced caloric intake. You will not lose significant pounds simply from drinking special teas -- unless you completely eschew solid food while on the program, which is definitely NOT recommended. So despite what some green tea weight loss programs claim, it's not a miracle product, but it can help you burn up an extra hundred calories or more per day depending on how many cups you drink. While that doesn't seem like a lot on the surface, those calories certainly do add up in the long run.

As I said, I've been on a green tea weight loss program for about six weeks now. (Bear in mind that this is in addition to an exercise regimen that I already had in place.) Without changing anything else about my eating habits, I have already lost three pounds, which for me is amazing news considering how long I'd been stuck on that dieting plateau. A couple more months of doing this should have me weighing in right near my target.

If you're looking for a miracle product that can magically reduce your waistline by several inches and slim you down practically overnight, I'm telling you right now it doesn't exist. If it did, we would all know about it and there wouldn't be any more debates about what works and what doesn't. Nevertheless, a green tea weight loss program can help you slim down slowly, steadily, and naturally if you're willing to give it a chance. Try adding five cups to your daily routine to see if it helps!

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Graduate School: the New Prerequisite for Employment?

Several decades ago, when the United States was still largely based on manufacturing, your high school diploma was your ticket to ride. As long as you graduated high school, you would be able to find work that would support your family. As the country evolved into a service based economy, employers began desiring candidates with higher levels of education, and slowly but surely, it became difficult to find a good paying job if you did not have a bachelor's degree. However, in today's day and age, with more people seeking higher education than ever before, even a bachelor's degree might not cut it. More and more employers are interested in job applicants with a master's or higher, making graduate school almost necessary to find employment. Thus, it is important to consider the benefits and drawbacks of attending graduate school, as well as the things one should consider when selecting a graduate school to attend.

First and foremost, one should note that attending graduate school can be tremendously beneficial. Many undergraduate programs today still place a high value on general education requirements. While the hours you put in for your major will still be substantial, almost a third of the time you spend in college, and in some cases, nearly half of it, while be devoted to classes unrelated to your major. Graduate school has no such restrictions. For two to three years, you will find yourself taking classes that directly apply to your field of study, giving you the knowledge, and in many cases, the hands on experience, to be more successful in your chosen line of work. Moreover, most master's degrees will require managerial classes tailored for that particular field of study, making you a more qualified candidate for higher paying positions.

That does not mean that graduate school is always the best idea. For one thing, it can be incredibly expensive, especially for out-of-state students. If you have already taken out thousands of dollars in student loans for your undergraduate degree, as most people in American do, you will be adding anywhere from twenty to fifty thousand dollars of debt onto your tab, if not more. Unless your graduate school training will prepare you to step into a very high paying job, it may not be worth the price tag. In addition, for some careers, experience is still more important than a piece of paper saying you're really smart. While graduate school is necessary for some, it is certainly not a one-size-fits-all affair. It is important to do your research before you make a decision.

If you do decide that you are interested in graduate school, there are a couple of steps you can take to make sure that you are entering the program that is right for you. The first thing to think about is your learning style. Are you someone who benefits from hours of reading and class discussion, or are you someone who prefers to learn by experience? Some schools provide a great deal of research opportunities for their graduate students, and others do not. Your learning style should be a factor in your decision. The other thing to consider is the length of the program you are entering. Some graduate schools offer master's degrees that will take a year to complete, and other degrees that will take nearly four years to finish. There are also accelerated programs at graduate schools where you can gain your master's AND your Ph.D. in one study program. These are all things to consider when looking into graduate school.

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Buy Gourmet Popcorn for Yourself or as a Gift

A lot of my friends have kids and even though I don't, I'm somehow always invited to birthday parties, confirmations, graduations, and other similar events. As I'm sure you know, only parents, grandparents, and other close relatives find these occasions endearing, so I either send my regrets for not being able to attend or just make an excuse and bow out way early. I've discovered that as long as I leave a gift behind, my absence isn't that big a deal.

Buying presents for all these occasions really started taking a toll on my budget, so I decided to start giving gourmet popcorn as a gift whenever appropriate. Everyone loves this delectable snack item -- especially kids -- and it's much better than giving something that will only be neglected, returned, or exchanged later on. I'm sure some of the recipients would rather get an Aeropostale or iTunes gift card than gourmet popcorn, but most seem to like the change of pace.

One of the reasons I love giving gourmet popcorn is that it's so easy to order online. There are lots of websites that specialize in selling this treat, so I can always find a terrific new flavor to try. Caramel and butter are always a hit, of course, but there are far more exotic flavors out there as well. For example, I know a site that sells White Chocolate Raspberry gourmet popcorn, as well as Chicago-style Deep-Dish Pizza flavor, Chocolate Drizzle, Macadamia Butter Crunch, and more. Wow, my mouth is watering just thinking about all these great-tasting snacks I've sampled over the years! And as I said, it's very easy to order gourmet popcorn online. If I'm attending a gift-giving event, I have the product delivered to my house so I can bring it with me. If I'm not attending, I simply have the tin sent directly to the recipient. Perfect!

Speaking of tins, that's another reason I love giving gourmet popcorn gifts. I can usually choose from a variety of decorative tins that can be reused for whatever purpose after the contents have been devoured. There are tins that feature professional sports team logos, so if I know the recipient is a New York Yankees fan or a Dallas Cowboys fan, I can get the perfect container. There are also tins featuring popular cartoon characters, city skylines, holiday themes, animals, and just about any other design you can think of. In fact, I've never given the same gourmet popcorn tin twice so far.

The point here is that you shouldn't overlook giving gourmet popcorn as a gift. It's something everyone can enjoy, it's very affordable, and it is a definite change from all the gift cards and electronic devices that kids seem to clamor for these days. Maybe it's not absolutely perfect for every occasion, but it's pretty darn close!

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Announcing the Google Store for Google Apps and Extensions

It'll be online and open for business any time now, said the Wall Street Journal a while ago. It's the Google store for business apps. App stores are where all the action is these days. Google already has an online store if you haven't noticed; but they don't sell anything high-tech there; they just sell Google fanboy merchandise like coffee mugs and T-shirts. The Google business app store will be much better - they are going to be selling apps built by independent developers, that are supposed to be add-ons to Gmail, Google talk, Google Docs, Google Chrome and other Google applications. In general, they could be to help the business user roll in fancier word processing, better security, and so on when she uses free Google products for their business, instead of pricey Microsoft stuff. If you've seen the Android app store, you probably have a good idea how the Google store will work.

The model is simple - the third-party app designer sets a price on her app, and posts it on the Google store for business apps. Any time that a customer downloads a copy, Google takes its cut, and hands the rest over to the designer. It would be really neat if this idea actually took off. Gmail and Google Docs us are so widely used that there would be a certain market, and depending on how well the software designers dream up new concepts, things could get really active.

The whole app concept is really catching ons. Mozilla has a gazillion add-ons, though they are all free. Who would have thought that you could have so many add-on ideas for a simple browser? If they try hard, designers could probably come up with some pretty good concepts. But if you think about it, a Google store for tech stuff isn't all that new. The Google Solutions Marketplace has been online for quite a while now - ever since 2008. One example of the kind of thing offered there is a service that will help small companies move all their records over to the Cloud. But you see, they don't actually make or sell apps on the Google Solutions marketplace. They merely sell services that will help companies use Google products better.

Perhaps it would be better if instead of opening a whole new Google store for business apps, they just modified the existing Solutions Marketplace to sell the new stuff too. And while they're at it, they could make Google Checkout handle the payments, and help third-party businesses get a proper distribution channel, perhaps using Google development tools. All of Google's efforts in the app area, aim to promote Google's Cloud initiatives properly among business users. The County of Los Angeles for example, recently declared that it was going to cut costs by moving all of its records and work, to Google's servers. That was a deal worth $7 million to Google. And it was worth immeasurably more in cementing its reputation as a serious place for business.

Would you believe that Cloud computing has been around for 50 years now? GE and IBM would put down dedicated lines to business offices, and handle all their computing tasks over at GE's and IBM's facilities. Today Google just has to bring in the DoubleClick Ad Exchange idea, connect buyers and sellers, offer support for Salesforce AppExchange, and any single-person business should be up and running.

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Google Friends: The Unutilized Traffic Powerhouse for Bloggers

Whenever Google Friend Connect comes up in a discussion, it is always as an exclusively tool for use in websites. What most wrongly assume is that Google Friends are not as important to Bloggers. Fact is, the Google Friends widget is as useful, helpful and functionally suited for blogs. From the outset, the famed widget can phenomenally expand your blog's readership reach.

Blogging has become incredibly popular today and perhaps the highest number of sites on the internet today is blogs. If you are an expert in the field or you are just starting out, then Google Friend Connect is one application you need to consider seriously, especially if you are interested in amplifying your traffic stats. Google Friends can simply be defined as the most unutilized traffic-generating powerhouse for Bloggers today. How then do you get the powerhouse activated on your blog?

Understanding Google Friend Connect

The Google Friend Connect system is a free application that adds numerous social-networking capabilities to your blog. You simply cut and paste the widget code of the application onto your blog and you are in business. Once the Connect widget is included in the blog, your readers will easily create their profiles and personalized friend lists. This enables your readers and site visitors to communicate with each other while on your site, probably discussing your content. These a much more hyper way of interaction and networking than mere blog comments can offer.

The accrued Benefits

With Google Friends, your blog immediately becomes lively, attracts more visitors through referrals and invitations by the current readers. Your traffic will always be increasing as more and more friends join the bandwagon. Secondly, you need to note that this is targeted traffic, exclusively featuring those people interested in the subject matter of your blog. Thirdly, this is more of traffic for keeps that any RSS feeds can promise. Once these readers create their profiles, rarely will they ever remove their profiles or quit discussions with their friends like is the norm with unsubscribing from RSS feeds only days after the subscription.

If you are featuring Pay Per Click programs like Google AdSense or having affiliate programs and other income generating engagements, then the income generated with the increased targeted traffic will be a reward enough for any blogger.

The Special Appeal of Google Friend Connect

Google Friends system is not just free but it is also an attractive and space economical addition to any bland blog. It is a highly proactive strategy to launch a blog and draw a huge long-term audience. Once set up, the network of friends takes a life of its own and grows by itself. Members come in on their free accord, others are invited and referred while others just follow the masses into the blog that seems to have life. Google Friends is one application that bloggers, not just websites, can use to take their traffic to an all time high, free of charge. Business advantage never comes better than that, does it?

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Chrome: The Google Browser that Outdid Firefox

Even for a fiercely competitive market in computer applications, it is a little over the top, the number of major name browsers slugging it out there for the top spot. There are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Apple Safari of course; but there is a bitterly fought outside competition as well. If you count them all, there are about 300 browsers struggling to alter the power equation in the browser wars. Among the outsiders, there are three major contenders: Firefox, Opera and a fantastic Google browser called Chrome. They're trying every way they can to make your Internet experience as stable, fast, and power-light as possible, and this certainly works out well for the average Internet user at home. If they will allow themselves to be helped. The thing is, your normal, average lay person on the street doesn't really know much about different browsers - nor even what a browser might be. There is that famous YouTube video of a person on Times Square polling people to see how many know the difference between a browser and a website. You get to see lots of young people who ask, "A browser is like Yahoo!, isn't it?". It gets difficult to really promote a product when people refuse to understand what it is.

For the more initiated, the browser wars have been very exciting. Just five years ago, when the tabbed heaven of Firefox was first beginning to gain a bit of recognition, people looked up from their impossibly slow and buggy Internet Explorer 6 browsers, and they couldnt believe that the Internet could be made so easy to get around. People began to swear lifelong commitments to Firefox, the browser that had shown them the way. People never knew what they were missing on Firefox though, until Google decided to throw its hat into the ring. No offense to Firefox; theyve been putting out new editions and versions every month for a while now, and each version improves on the previous one with a 5% or 10% bump up in speed. But as hard as they try, Firefox and Internet Explorer 8 have become a little too bloated for their own good. For all the speed raises they get, they still take forever to start up (Firefox, especially), and new web pages take that much more longer that you would notice. The Google browser, Chrome, has been around for nearly 2 years now; and it would be in underestimation to just say that it was fast. Chrome starts up almost before you click on the icon.

First things first. Chrome is stable. If you have a dozen tabs open, check it out in the Task Manager. It doesnt list them as Firefox does, as just one browser application open. Each tab is listed as its own process, with its own memory and processor allowance. If one tab has a catastrophic crash, the other tabs are not affected. The user experience is smoother too; Internet Explorer and Firefox have a layer upon layer of toolbars and menu bars and address bars cluttering up the top. Chrome is so minimalist, it doesnt even have a title bar. It just makes things much smoother to not have to stare at two dozen permanent options all the time.

But the Google browser gets a little credit over Firefox and Internet Explorer 8 where none is due sometimes. Chrome has been advertising its search box-cum- address bar as a great new innovation. You dont need a separate Google search; you can just type anything into the address bar, and it will figure out whether to search for it, or to directly go to it. Firefox and IE8 have it too, only they dont advertise it. And while Chrome is blink-and-youll-miss-it fast, Apples Safari is a touch faster. Firefox has the most add-ons too, free ones, made by devoted fans. But Chrome is catching up with its Extensions in version 4. It runs Greasemonkey scripts with ease, such as one to help you accept all your Facebook requests one stroke. But perhaps the best argument for the Google browser, is Google Frame. Google is so sick of Internet Explorer 6 and how many people continue to use this substandard browser, that they offer you a plug-in to help you improve your Google Docs experience on it. What the plug-in really does is, it deletes all the Internet Explorer code within IE 6, and replaces it with Chrome code. For those really resistant to change.

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Good Web Design through Site Navigation and a Custom 404

Good Web Design through Site Navigation and a Custom 404 Error Page

A lot can be said on what a good web design should look like. One of the areas that are crucial to such a design is the development of a Web sites navigation map. A navigation map lets your visitors be carried from one page to another and the more seamless this design is, the easier it will be for visitors to scroll through your content and the more likely they are to book-marking your site and paying frequent visits. When well designed it can also be a valuable tool to improve your search page rankings.

Start by identifying your web pages for your case model. This will also determine what actions the visitors will be capable of performing. Next is to visualize a generic page showing the actions that users will be able to perform. These pages will act as templates and a good web design will use a similar template for each action taken by a user. When a user clicks a button, you can decide either to have a simple login page pop up or just direct the user to a certain page.

Development begins by taking an actual look and feel of the page layouts. Good web design should follow business logic to complete actions performed using the navigation map. Business logic can be seen in e-commerce sites where a user logs in and picks the item cart. He or she picks items and adds them to the cart. He or she then proceeds to the checkout area, and then to the order submission area and finally fills in the shipping information.

Good web design can also be seen in custom made error pages. In most cases, users are generally directed to a 404 error page and are left stranded. In such as situation, the user may decide to leave the site entirely and look for another site. One way to resolve this is by use of a 301 and redirect users to a page that offers more information. Response codes generated can be found by performing a simple search on any search engine. Using a custom made error page that offers the users information on how to locate what they were looking for will more likely move the user to continue navigating other sections of your website. 404 page not found errors can even affect your search engine rankings.

By having a site navigation map and a custom-made 404 error page, you stand a better chance of having higher page rankings and your good web design will keep your visitors a little longer and hopefully bring them back another day.

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Holding On To Good Relationships

Just like marriage, any good relationships in your life are going to take work and attention. There are going to be times when you have argument with friends and family and you are not going to know what to do about the damaged relationship. Even those that you love the most can find ways to hurt you, though they are often in so much pain at the time they do not realize what they are doing to you. You can work to make your good relationship great once again if you really value what that person brings into your life.

Good relationships do not have to be ones that have always been perfect. In fact, some of the closest ones are the ones that have had and then recovered from some problems. A friend is worth more than what they can do for you. What you do for them is just as important. When you truly care for a friend, you give to each other in more ways than you probably realize. When a huge problem occurs, you will instinctively know if you think it was a relationship worth saving. If it was worth it, you will know what to do.

Good relationships go through bad times, usually when one person in the relationship is having personal problems. Usually, their pain or problem is so overwhelming to them that they do not know what to do about it and you may get the brunt of their pain. Remember, people often lash out at those that they love the most because they know they will be there for them no matter what. There is some truth to the saying that we hurt the ones we love the most. Good relationships recover and others dissolve, which is always for the best.

Good relationships with your parents or your children are even more important than the ones that you have with your friends. Friends are important, but they are not your family. If you do not have good relationships with those that made you, or with the ones that you made, this can do a lot of damage to your life. It causes issues that you can not even imagine. You may not feel secure, or you may feel like a total failure. That can follow you throughout life. Take time to nurture these relationships as they are the most important you will ever have, other than the one you have with your spouse.

What happens when good relationships all of the sudden turn sour and you feel as if you do not want to repair it? That is when you should look back to decide if a good relationship was really as good as you thought it was. At times, people fill a need at a specific time, but the friendship was never meant to last very long. Some friends are for life, but not all. It is a tough lesson to learn, but once you know the difference, holding on to good relationships and letting go of the bad will make you a much happier and fulfilled person.

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Gonzaga basketball: The perpetual cinderella

The history of the gonzaga basketball goes back many decades, but for most people - even avid fans - they were a total unknown until the 1999 NCAA Tournament. In that particular competition they captivated the country, making it all the way to the Elite Eight and then giving eventual national champions the University of Connecticut all they could handle before succumbing in the last several minutes. But even in defeat the gonzaga basketball team put themselves on the map, and now, more than a decade later, they are still in the top twenty five, a yearly force to be reckoned with.

The history of gonzaga basketball is long and storied. They first played competitively over 100 years ago, back in 1908. They went through fourteen different coaches in their first twenty five yeras, and none of those coaches won even fifty games. The first gonzaga basketball to make a lasting impression was Claude McGrath, who took over in 1933 and remained as head coach until 1942. He returned after World War II, coaching the Zags (or the Bulldogs, which is their official nickname) until 1949, and became the first gonzaga basketball head coach to win at least 100 games.

Their next successful coach was Hank Anderson, who compiled 290 wins from 1951 until 1972. After a six year interim, they found another top coach in Dan Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald, like McGrath, coached the Zags two different times. His first stint was from 1978 til 1981, and his second was from 1985 until 1997. McGrath is considered the godfather of gonzaga basketball, and was the first coach to lead the Zags to the NCAA tournament. They earned a 14 seed in the 1995 tourney and were defeated by the University of Maryland of the high powered Atlantic Coast Conference.

Ironically, gonzaga basketball best known product, hall of famer John Stockton, played for the Zags in the four year period between Fitzgerald's two tenures. Stockton is still the best and most famous player to have ever suited up for the gonzaga basketball team, and is widely regarded as one of the five best point guards ever to have played the game.

When Fitzgerald retired in 1997 to become Athletic Director, he hired protege Dan Monson to take over the gonzaga basketball team. Monson paid off on that trust with the 1999 Elite Eight run, but then he himself left to become head coach at the University of Minnesota.

Monson was replaced by assistant coach Mark Few, and Few is still the head man at Gonzaga today. He's on pace to win 300 games as early as 2011, and will take over from Anderson as the all-time winningest gonzaga basketball coach just before then.

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Enjoy the Taste of Gloria Jean Coffee at Home

Although I love my daily dose of caffeine, I hate the fact that there's a Starbucks on practically every other block in the downtown area. I'll go there if I have to, but I would prefer to see the city open up to more competition so I can experience a wider variety of gourmet coffees from all over the world. But no other shops seem to be able to withstand Starbucks' pricing and ubiquity. For instance, we had a Gloria Jean coffee store (they're my favorite by far) in the mall for a while, but they closed down recently so now I have to order my French Vanilla Supreme online.

Thankfully, Gloria Jean coffee is still available on the Internet. This is wonderful for fans of this company's blends that don't have a physical store nearby. Sure, it's not quite the same as being able to walk in and get a fresh, steaming cup of joe on the spot, but at least I can still enjoy the rich, robust flavor of Gloria Jean coffee right in my own home. I'm not sure what I would do if the entire outfit went out of business!

I usually order several pounds of French Vanilla Supreme (and maybe one or two other flavors) to get me through a few months at a time. I can then brew the stuff in the morning before heading to work, and fill a huge Thermos to sip from throughout the day. I don't know how well other brands "keep", but I find that Gloria Jean coffee tastes just as full and satisfying on the long drive back home as it does during the morning commute. To me, that makes it worth ordering online -- which is something I never thought I'd do before.

I've found that Gloria Jean coffee also makes a terrific gift. Some people have never heard of this brand, and are initially a bit skeptical about trying something out of their comfort zone. But once they do have a taste, they immediately become converts and ask where they can buy some of their own. I love turning others on to the merits of Gloria Jean coffee. Hey, I need as many people buying this brand as possible to ensure that they stick around and keep right on producing my favorite blends!

If you've never tried Gloria Jean coffee before, then you're really missing out on an amazingly tasty experience! I know people are generally quite loyal to their java brand, but in this case I think a bit of experimentation is warranted. Places like Starbucks are simply too big for their own good now, and pay less attention to quality than they used to. For consumers who insist on top service, it's time to branch out!

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Gift wrapping paper: some tips for personalizing your gifts

Even the most thoughtful present is rarely complete without the appropriate gift wrapping paper. Gift wrapping is that final touch that makes a present look fabulous and well thought out. There's something wonderful about seeing beautifully wrapped presents beneath a Christmas tree. Or about opening a gift that's been gorgeously presented in a beautiful box and tied with a silk ribbon. When it comes to gifts, presentation is key. You want to make sure your gift stands out, and gift wrapping paper is one of the things that can help.

Gift wrapping paper comes in a variety of different types. One of the things you should think about when purchasing gift wrapping paper is the type of paper you want to use. Some presents look beautifully presented when they're wrapped up with a few different layers of tissue paper. This can be a good option for delicate presents, or romantic gifts. Tissue paper makes presents look soft and ethereal. On the other hand, strong and thick paper or card can make a present look robust and impressive. Thick paper can be a good choice for gifts that come in a box, or that are strong in nature. For example, shoes, books, or household appliances may look good when wrapped using thick paper.


Another thing to think about when selecting your gift wrapping paper is the design on the paper. Many types of wrapping paper come with some sort of design. These can be seasonal, such as the Christmas trees and reindeer often seen on Christmas present wrapping paper, or the red and pink paper common around Valentine's day. On the other hand, there are also more timeless patterns that you can choose to use. The benefit of these is that they can be used all year around. Basic patterns such as stripes or spots can look very striking, and can be suitable for Christmas presents or birthday presents. In addition, plain paper can look excellent, too. Keep an eye out for colors such as gold and silver, which can be very well suited for engagement or wedding presents. Basic pinks and blues can be good choices for baby shower presents, and are always easy to find.

Gift wrapping paper can also be mixed and matched to excellent effect. Try wrapping a strip of blue paper around a red gift, or overlaying some sheer or tissue paper over some bold or thick paper. You can find that your gift takes on some interesting new looks and textures when you try this route. Another simple step for dressing up plain wrapping paper is using decorations. There are a variety of decorations available for this very purpose. They can be bought at your local supermarket or party store. Try sticking a rosette to your gift, or tying a ribbon or two around it. Curling the edges of a ribbon can make it look festive and striking. In addition, adding a seasonal decoration such as a sprig of holly or a cut out of a pumpkin can also make your gift stand out.

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Tips for Getting Into Law School

Despite all the jokes to the contrary, being a lawyer still carries a great deal of prestige in this country. Not only can you do rewarding work by helping people defend their rights within the justice system, but you can also earn a terrific salary and ensure a comfortable lifestyle for yourself and your family. These are the types of payoffs that make all those extra years of schooling worthwhile. But before you enjoy all that success, you have to overcome the first major obstacle: getting into law school.

I'm surprised by the number of folks who think that getting into law school is simply a matter of doing well on the LSAT. Yes, that's a very important part of the equation, but it's still just a part. There are a lot of other things you need to do well in order to set yourself apart from the tens of thousands of other students across the country who apply for limited seats at the best schools. Let's take a look at some of the other components of putting together a good application package.

First, you should have a very good college grade point average. Let's face it: getting into law school is mostly a numbers game, and grades count for a lot. You might have been able to talk your way out of a couple of bad high school grades when facing down the admissions officer at your undergraduate institution, but that's not going to be the case when it comes to getting into law school. You'll be going up against the best and brightest even if you don't apply to the Ivy League. That's not to say you absolutely need a 4.0 to be considered. But you should definitely be well over 3.0 to make a strong case for yourself.

Second, it helps to possess an undergraduate degree from a college or university with a good reputation for quality academics. All other things being equal, if an admissions board is considering applications from a candidate who completed his Bachelor's degree at Georgetown University and someone who went to a place called St. Thomas College, the Georgetown alum will likely get the nod. Again, this is not a hard and fast rule for getting into law school, but it is most certainly a factor.

Third, make sure you follow all application instructions perfectly. There's no excuse for failing to send in required documents or for submitting anything late. Doing either of those things will make a bad impression, which is a mistake some candidates can never recover from.

And finally, do well on the LSAT. Pay extra money for the prep courses, take as many practice exams as possible, and make sure you're rested and ready when it's time to take the test. You won't be getting into law school if you do poorly on the LSAT, so give it the effort and attention it deserves.

Some people even go so far as to hire personal consultants to help them through the application process. If you have the financial means to do this and if getting into law school is that important to you, you might want to consider doing the same.

There's no question that getting into law school -- especially a good one -- can set you up for a highly successful and rewarding career. But it takes a lot of work to get admitted, and even more work and determination to finish. Follow these steps to improve your chances of admission!

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The reality of genetic diseases

OUr genes determine, quite literally, who we are. Everything from our hair and eye color, to our temper, to our hand-eye coordination, to our height and weight and sexual preference is in our genes. Also, you'll find our propensity toward genetic diseases written there as well.

It's important to understand that genetic diseases doesn't just mean something simple like "My father had rheumatoid arthritis, so there's a good chance I'll develop it as well." Thought that is a part of it, as I know from experience. Both my father and my biological grandfather suffered from rheumatoid arthritis, and by the age of nine I was diagnosed with it as well. This is a clear case of genetic diseases being passed down from generation to generation, and it's a simple fact of life.

But there are other type of genetic diseases, more likely genetic predispositions, that have to be accounted for as well. My father, for example, suffered his first heart attack before he turned forty years old. So did his father. So did my uncle on my father's side. All of them, one way or another, developed heart disease at a young age. All of them were predisposed to it because of genetics. Two of them - my father and grandfather - died at age sixty five or young.

So when it comes to genetic diseases, that's the type of thing you have to be aware of. Your family history can clue you in as to what to expect of your own health and well-being over the years, and if you're more likely tol develop an inflammatory disease (heart disease, diabetes, arthritis) than not.

Cancer also plays a role in your family history of diseases. My paternal grandmother, for example, developed and eventually died from colon cancer. While the other stuff (heart disease) scares me, the prospect of developing colon-rectal cancer absolutely terrifies me. I doubt there's a worse way to die than that, and as a result of my predisposition toward these genetic diseases, I've adjusted my diet and exercise routines accordingly.

For example, I now eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables per day. This has multiple benefits, from releasing anti-imflammatory enzymes into the bloodstream (therefore alleviating my arthritis) to cleansing out my digestive tract, making me much less likely to develop colo-rectal cancer. You need fresh fruits and vegetables, and tons of fiber when you're predisposed to these kinds of things.

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The Game Boy Advance Console Make it yours

One of the features that will stand out when you look at the new Game Boy Advance hand-held game console is its simplicity. Instead of hitting you with a complexity of numerous buttons, you will only have two buttons on your right, appropriately named buttons a and b. The direction buttons maintain their sleek look still giving you the handling capability that earlier versions of the console adorned. You have a selection of choosing between 3 different editions of the game boy advance. Thats right, 3, the black micro, the silver micro and the 20th anniversary edition recently launched.

Launched in 2001 by its manufacturer, Nintendo, the first Game Boy Advance or GBA has seen successful successions follow suite. Sprite-based games got a boost with the help of the GBA making them live side by side with 3D games. This makes the GBA a favorite for many old-school gamers who would like to relive early game titles that ran in 8-bit and 16-bit systems.

What makes the recent releases of the game boy advance a console to die for? One is the wireless adapter. With this feature, you enter into a wireless contest in supported games like Trade Pokemon where up to 40 participants can connect wirelessly. The Game Boy Advance is also capable of connecting to the GameCube and the Wii gaming consoles allowing you to interoperate corresponding games that exist in the Wii, GameCube and the GBA. Some of these games include The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.

Another notable feature of the Game Boy Advance is the support for Game Boy Advance videos. Cartridges available on Nintendo Online Store can be purchased that include episodes of cartoon programs as well as movies like Shrek and Shark Tale. Game Boy Advance has continued to maintain a relatively active community despite the age of the console. There is even an entire community online that develops homebrew software to run on the Game Boy Advance. The simplicity of the system makes it quite easy for C and C++ developers to write small commercial games and some of these are quite good.

The recent successor, the Game Boy Advance SP has come with added features that include a much brighter LCD screen and improved playability. New game titles have also continued to adorn the GBA. Instead of telling it to you, why not get your own GBA, or as they say at Nintendo, Make it yours.

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Gaining muscle mass without performance enhancing drugs

Roger Clemens. Barry Bonds. Mark McGwire. Sammy Sosa. Shawne Merriman. Floyd Landis. And on and on and on.

You recognize these names. These are disgraced professional athletes who cheated, who disrespected their sport and their competition by taking performance enhancing drugs - namely, human growth hormone (HGH) or some sort of anabolic steroids. Whether their goal was gaining muscle mass or increasing their body's ability to process oxygen and therefore improve cardiovascular stamina, the process is the same: They use drugs to increase their workout regimen and push their bodies beyond what would otherwise have been their limit.

And these drugs have made their way into our gyms and even our schools. Kids, always obvlivious to long term repercussions and always wanting to look good, often fall victim to performance enhancing drugs with dire long term consequences. If the goal is gaining muscle mass, then going the route of human growth hormone or anabolic steroids is all too easy. It's too tempting, too obvious of a short cut, for many, many young people to overlook.

So if the goal is gaining muscle mass, how does one go about it without the input of human growth hormone or anabolic steroids? After all, these drugs not only make it so that your body builds muscle more quickly and retains it better and longer, but steroids also dull the aches and pains associated with strenuous exercise. That means you can work on longer, harder and more frequently than you would be able to otherwise. When it comes to gaining muscle mass, you can see how that would be an advantage.

That's why you have to be realistic about your goals and your timeframe. You need to set a baseline exercise regimen, build your core muscles, and work from there. So any exercise regimen that aims for gaining muscle mass will start with mundane exercises like sit-ups, push-ups and medicine ball work. You should concentrate on this repeatedly and with extreme prejudice for at least a month, getting your core solid and impossibly ripped and fit, before aiming to gain muscle mass anywhere.

Once you've done that, it's time to switch to hard core weight work. This means high weight low reps, pushing the highest amoung you possibly can, rather than low weight high reps, which ends up producing a leaner cut of muscle.

And above all, you need to switch your diet. Add lots of high protein meals while cutting out as much fat as is possible.

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Fussy Babies

Some babies are born with a sweet and calm temperament, and some come into the world roaring and spirited. Your baby has his or her personality in place long before he or she comes into the world. Some babies are easy and they only complain when something is wrong. Others have colic that can go on for hours each day with no real reason for the discomfort to be found. Most babies are somewhere in between. Whatever the case with your baby, you should learn a few things that can help fussy babies calm down so you can get some peace and so that they can feel better.

The womb is snugly, warm, and secure. They lose that secure and warm feeling when they are born. Fussy babies often miss how they felt in the womb and long for that feeling again. Do all you can to mimic the womb to calm fussy babies. Swaddling is one way to make them feel secure, and gentle rocking can also help them feel right at home. Loud noises and bright lights may make a fussy baby worse, so keep the light and noise down when they seem to startle easy. Often, these things work well when nothing is physically wrong with the baby.

Some fussy babies need more soothing than others. If you have one that responds to swaddling and other small things, but those things do not quite do the trick, you may have to go with something a bit stronger. Some parents have found that putting a baby in a car and driving around when nothing else seems to work will do the trick. Try to drive where you will not hit a lot of stop signs or red lights. The motion and the drone of the engine can be enough to soothe a crying and colicky baby when nothing else seems to work.

You don't have to leave the house to find ways to soothe fussy babies. You can try to run a vacuum cleaner near the baby. Don't get too close, as you don't want the noise to scare them or hurt their ears. You can also try a dryer as well. These have constant but soothing tones that may keep you awake, but they have the opposite effect on a baby. White noise machines and fans can also do the trick. Whatever you do, do not set baby on the top of a dryer without a hand on them. Many babies have been hurt from falls from moments like those.

If you can not think of or try anything that soothes fussy babies for you, you may have to talk to your doctor. They could be in pain or have gas of which they can not expel. Some like to use drops or other natural remedies like gripe water to soothe a baby that seems to have gas issues. There could be something else wrong as well. When your baby refuses to settle no matter what you do or try, don't be afraid to ask for help. Your doctor may suggest something you missed, for find another problem that can be addressed.

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Free Front Yard Landscaping Ideas

I've been trying for about a year now to sell my home, but thanks to the real estate market still being pretty bad, it doesn't look like that's going to happen. So I'm thinking of pulling the property out of the listings, making some improvements, and giving it another go a couple years down the road. I was hoping to move into a smaller place with a lower mortgage and property tax burden, but I suppose I can survive like this for at least a little while longer. For the time being, I need to get some painters, plumbers, and electricians in here, and look through some front yard landscaping ideas to brighten things up a bit.

I was actually hoping to get some front yard landscaping ideas just from driving around the neighborhood, but that's not going to happen. It seems that people around here only pay attention to the backyard -- which I guess makes sense since that's where they spend most of their time. Everyone has a deck with a barbecue grill, and some folks even have swimming pools, so we have a lot of nice backyards in the area. But everyone, myself included, could certainly use a few more front yard landscaping ideas.

I'm planning on checking the internet for free front yard landscaping ideas before I sit down and talk to some professionals about getting the work done. I'm not even sure what I want to do with the area at this point, but will probably stick to some simple stuff at the beginning. I would like to make the house look more inviting and add some "curb appeal" that will help me sell the place down the road. I know some people go all out with cobblestone walkways, exotic trees and bushes, and wrought-iron gates. As much as I would love to add those elements to my property, there's just no way I could afford those types of improvements, so I'm going to go with something much more basic. I'm sure I'll find suitable front yard landscaping ideas on those free design sites. It's just going to be a matter of choosing a theme and getting someone to implement it for me.

I'm not sure if these types of improvements will end up making a difference in selling the house, but they can't hurt. Plus, if I end up staying here even longer than expected, I'll at least have a nicer place to live in, right? It's really a win-win situation if I want to look at it that way!

It shouldn't take more than a couple weekends of sifting through front yard landscaping ideas to come up with a basic outline of what I want to accomplish. Then I'll spend a Saturday talking to landscapers, and get them in to do the work as soon as possible. If all goes smoothly, I might get everything done in a month or so. I better get cracking!

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French Food

French food is considered the world's premiere cuisine. Which is something that has always kind of boggled my mind.

The reason isn't because I don't like french food - as a matter of fact, I happen to love it. Whether it's fisherman's soup, or escargots, or moulle frittes (mussels and fries), french food is among my favorite cuisines. A local bistro in my neighborhood, Le Barricou, is one of my favorite restaurants. So it's not like I don't love french food.

The issue is that the quality of one cuisine versus another has always seemed like a totaly objective thing to me. Who is there to say that a french steak is better than a german style steak if you like the german style better? Who is there to say that one cuisine is more distinctive or complex than another, when the reality is that nearly every cuisine (with the exception of Great Britain and Ireland, which are unanimously considered culinary wastelands) has its own complexities and distinctive traits?

The reality is that no one has the right to say that one way or the other. Good French food is really good. So is good italian food, so is good thai food, so is good Mexican food. None is inherently better than the next. It's all a matter of personal preference and tastes.

So as we've established, I really, really like French food. If I were to make a list of my favorite restaurants, Le Barricou would be at or near the top. Put a gun to my head and I'd say it's my second favorite, but ranking so many restaurants that I love like that feels like a betrayal. So that said, I'd say there's a "top flight" of best restaurants, and Le Barricou is in there.

The others would be a local pizza place called Motorino, which the New York Times recently called the best pizza in New York City (and, therefore, the best pizza in the United States of America). I'd also add La Piazzetta, another local Italian restaurant - this one specializing in pastas and fresh fish instead of pizza. I'd also include Fette Sau, a barbeque joint that does a Texas-style BBQ with a brooklyn twist. They use cuts of meat like flank steak and pulled pork that you just wouldn't find in Texas.

There are others of course - the danger of a list like this is you inevitably forget one or two restaurants that you love.

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French country decor

There's a sort of style, a glamor, a, as the french say, Je ne sais quoi that Americans frequently associate with France. Though only a small percentage of our country's heritage comes from France, a large portion of our aesthetic values comes from there, and as a result you see a lot of French country decor in the new world - more than you'd think, otherwise.

So what does French country decor consist of? Well, the number one attribute is sunshine. Bright and plentiful, sunshine has to be evoked for your new room to boast French country decor. Without it, you just have a mismatched room.

The goal is to create a rustic look. You want something that is old world, rich and warm, and always welcoming. You want something that will make you at home in the meanest of country houses as well as in the most impressive and largest of the old chateauxs.

Obviously, since sunshine is so crucial to the mix when aiming for french country decor, you'll see a lot of natural colors in a room decorated in that particular style. Sunshine yellow is number one, but there will be softer, subtler shades of gold as well. You'll see some nice, bright reds - especially since ceramic chickens are part of french country decor, and their combs are a vivid red - but more often you'll see a deeper rust instead. There will also be greens, whether the bright green of grass or the richer tones of the forest, the colors of french country decor spans the entire wheel of the spectrum.

When aiming for a french style room or country house, it's important to bear in mind that a lot of the decorating should be done with natural materials. You'll want plaster walls that are either rough stained or painted, and ceilings with visible, sturdy beams showing. The furniture itself should be carved, with hand-sown pillows there to give volume. The floors, of course, will be stone, and covered in warm, hand-made rugs.

Of course, the best part about any home that's decorated in the french country style will be the old fashioned stone fireplace. It's a must, and it's the centerpiece for any french country decor home.

If you want to spruce it up even more, another suggestion is to have vines that can grow around window and doorframes. It'ls a bit of authentic french country decor that can give your home the warmth and invitingness you're searching for.

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When Free Games Online Are Better than Buying

Gamers have two options today when it comes to accessing their most beloved games. They can either buy the games, offline or online, or look for free games online. The option of free online games is sometimes regarded as the lesser of the two options, a mistake at the very least. Contrary to the common adage, not everything free is worthless. In fact, the best things in life are for free as they say. How do you therefore determine which of the two options to result to when you want to play a popular game?

Determining the best among the paid for and the free online games is an interesting engagement. Local and online stores usually offer a host of game titles with assorted and always variant prices. Yet the same games are available online and for free. Fact is, both the paid for and the free online games have variant quality. Some are of very high quality while others are of low quality. Do not be surprised if you find a low quality game on sale or find a high quality game link being offered for free on an online forum.

With this in mind, it follows that if you can find the best free games online, then you save on your money. Why should you buy what is available for free? There are however instances when buying a game is the best possible alternative. Such instances include when the free version of the game you want is not available online, when the free version has minimal features as compared to the sale version and when you do not want to spend time looking for free games online.

Reality however is that we have very high quality free games available online today. Most of these represent the latest versions of each game and with over 90% of their features activated. Accessing a free games portal also guarantees you of having a high number of games at your disposal and choice, more than would be possible if you were to purchase all the games available. Free games can also be played online without having to download them onto your hard disk, because they are always available and accessible any time you feel like. A word of caution is also necessary. You should be very careful on where you get your free games online. Ensure that you download your free games from reliable sites so that you do not mess up your PC with spyware or viruses.

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free anti virus programs

The whole thing with the internet is that it's - relatively speaking - free. That is to say, you pay a monthly fee too your internet service provider. And you pay for your computer. But once you're online, access to the content that is produced anywhere in the world doesn't cost you a penny you don't want to spend. The information superhighway has no toll booths.

And part of that lack of regulation is that you run the risk of ending up with a virus or two on your computron. This is just part of the metaphorical price you pay for access to the information, and it's a price that is typical of any medium in which knowledge equals power.

Think about it: very few people are law experts except for lawyers. The lawyers then use their mastery of the law to either extract money from you directly, or to rearrange inttterpretation of the law in order to favor them. And, of course, lawyers are there also to protect you from other folks who are willing to break laws in order to take advantage of you.

The internet works the same way, except instead of lawyers, you have hackers, programmers and free anti virus programs. Hackers are the ones with both the knowledge and anonymity to invade your computer and steal whatever information - credit card and bank account numbers, user history, whatever - they can get their hands on. Programmers are the equivalent of civil rights lawyers trying to protect the innocent from those who would flaunt the law. And free anti virus programs are the cops.

Ok, maybe I stretched the metaphor a bit, but the point I'm making is that, if you're running your computer without anti-virus protection, you're exposing yourself to intrusion unnecessarily. And unless you're part of the 1% of folks who can thoroughly examine and de-bug their computer with no outside, expert help, then you should take this warning seriously:

You need free anti virus programs. You need this to protect your information. Because if you don't have them, then any hacker on the web can implant a virus on your computer and turn it into a zombie spambot, or steal your information, or use your computer for god knows what. It's something you have to be cognizant of, because, like any other aspect of life, if you don't protect yourself, you will be taken advantage of. It's not a matter of "if." It's a matter of "when."

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Franklin Half Dollars

My seven-year-old son has recently taken an interest in old coins, so I decided to help him get a modest collection going. I figure this would be a great way for us to spend some quality time together, plus I think he might be able to learn a bit about U.S. history as we acquire different coins. For instance, we recently came across some Franklin half dollars, which served to whet my son's curiosity about the origins of the coin.

As everyone knows, modern 50-cent pieces bear the likeness of John F. Kennedy, the nation's 35th president. But before Kennedy, there were Franklin half dollars in circulation, commemorating that man's many wonderful contributions to the country. Franklin half dollars were minted from 1948-1963 before giving way to Kennedy halves after the assassination. To be honest, I didn't even know these facts prior to looking them up with my son, so obviously coin collecting is helping me learn about American history as well!

Franklin half dollars aren't worth all that much in the world of coin collecting, mostly because they simply aren't rare enough. You can usually pick one up for as little as $2 or $3, which is a nice price for those just starting out. I certainly don't want to spend tons of money on a coin when I don't even know how long my son will be interested in this pastime! Some of the nicer Franklin half dollars in mint condition run closer to $25, which is still a bargain in coin collecting circles. Yes, that particular price is 50 times the face value of the coin, but try comparing that price to how much you'd have to pay for a Gobrecht dollar, Bust dollar, or other truly rare pieces.

We bought this coin, one of the first in our collection, by going to a numismatics convention last month. The convention brought together dealers and collectors from all over the country, and it was a lot of fun to meet other people who share the same interest and to see some rare coins up close instead of just in books. In addition, we picked up several brochures and business cards that will help make it easier for us to make future purchases through reputable sources. Apparently that's a very important consideration in coin collecting because there are a lot of scam artists out there that are just waiting to prey on those new to the game.

All in all, I've been happy with my coin collecting experiences thus far. Our collection might be limited to a few Franklin half dollars, buffalo head nickels, and wheat pennies right now, but we're still having a lot of fun and spending time together in a positive way. No parent could ask for anything more than that!

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The various forms of birth control

I used to read a series of Lord or the Rings type fantasy books, the kind where humans are one of a myraid of races, along with the likes of dwarves, elves, trolls, gnomes and more. In this particular 'world', elves were eternal. That is to say, they didnt' die of natural causes. You could kill an elf - they weren't immortal - but they wouldn't just grow old and die. For millennia they'd essentially stay the same age.

The theme of the series of books was to contrast that kind of life with the lives of humans, which the elves tended to see as brief, busy and essentially reckless. Humanity's greatest gift, one of the elves said, is fecundity.

Fecundity is the ability to procreate at an incredibly fast rate, even at the expense of the good of the species.

So in a very round-about way, this fantasy series was about the various forms of birth control. Elves, because fo their long-lived nature, wouldn't ever over-reproduce. Humans, because of our short-lived nature, over-reproduced as a matter of course.

That has become a theme of every day life in this, the real world as well. Humanity's numbers are rising every years at an almost exponential rate. At the beginning of the twentieth century there were two billion inhabitants on the planet. At the end of the twentieth century, there were seven billion inhabitants of earth. If there are twenty-five million inhabitants of earth at the end of this, the twenty-first century, will we be able to feed everyone? Will we end up cutting down all the forests for crop and grazing land? Will our fecundity become the death of our species?

That's why it's important to educate ourselves about the various forms of birth control. We need to end practices like the Catholic church, which has lied to the people of Africa for years saying that condoms don't work. In fact, condoms are the most reliable of the forms of birth control other than abstinence.

And yes, abstaining from sex is the best of the forms of birth control, but it's also not the most practical. Like all animals, humans have a need for sex. Trying to find biblical justification to pretend otherwise doesn't actually help the situation. As a matter of fact, children who are enrolled in "promise keepers" and other types of abstinence only education programs are shown to have a higher rate of teen pregnancy than kids who are educated on the various forms of birth control.

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Forex Education Tips

Forex trading is like trading stocks, except that with forex you play currency rather than stocks. If you are serious about forex trading, then you may require some forex education. Although this is not an exhaustive teaching manual, it can give you a few tips and guidelines as well as things to watch out. Forex education requires that you understand the intricacies of forex exchange and the market forces of supply and demand. These market forces affect the exchange rates. Unfortunately though, these are not the only things to look out for in forex. A lot of people have lost money in forex because of other things. One of these is the lack of discipline and money management. Even when you are right about the market forces and you get the right market direction, you could end up losing if you focus on, say, pick tops and bottoms. Forex education is about looking at the trend and following as opposed to prediction.

Study of forex also includes learning about subjective analysis and such things as Elliot Wave and cycles. While these methods are certainly important in indicating where the trend is heading, putting too much emphasis on these analyses could be bad. Forex education is about being objective rather than being subjective. Forex seems to attract some of the smartest people in the world. Unfortunately also is the fact that most of these people have egos they want to view the market as they want to see it rather than how it really is, this is ego and if you want to make money, there is no room for ego in forex. Do not try to beat to market, as the market will sometimes make you look stupid. Rather, be disciplined and objective in your forex trading plans.

Avoid also the guru syndrome. This is where traders want to follow someone else who made money, or at least say they have. If you want to make it in forex, you have to chart you own course. If you feel that you absolutely cannot be able to do that, then you are better off doing something else. Forex education is all about remaining humble and not using complicated methods. Keep it simple, keep it focused and accept responsibility for your actions. After all, what is the goal in forex trading? It is not to look smart, but rather, to make money.

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Essential Foot Care Products

I know this will probably sound odd, but one of the first things I notice about other people is their feet. Obviously this is easier in summer when everyone is wearing sandals or slides, but you get the idea. I think it's important to take care of your feet, and I just have to wonder about someone who lets their own go untended. I'm not saying you have to walk around with a perfect pedicure, but please at least trim and file your nails! Also, it would be nice if you could remove all the rough skin that's peeling off your heels, because that's highly unattractive. In fact, why don't I just tell you about a few essential foot care products that you should have at home.

If you have specific problems like corns or bunions, then of course you should definitely purchase foot care products designed to treat those issues. If you suffer from something more serious like fallen arches or plantar fasciitis, then by all means go see a podiatrist. But for now, I'm just talking about foot care products that can help your feet look and feel great on a daily basis.

At the top of the list of foot care products you need to have is a good pumice stone to help slough away dead skin on a regular basis. You work over your heels and any other problem areas several times a week while in the shower to help keep your skin soft and smooth. What I do is wait until the end of my shower before grabbing the pumice stone. It works much easier after I've been soaking in the hot water for 10 minutes. Pumice stones are very inexpensive, so go out and get one today.

Another essential product is a footbath and massager. You don't have to go to the spa to treat your feet to a luxurious soak and massage. Instead, you can buy a personal-sized machine to do the trick for about $20-$30. Make sure the bath is self-heating so you don't have to deal with tepid or cool water after 10 minutes. This is a great way to relax, especially if you spend most of your day standing or walking. Add some soothing salts or essential oils to treat your skin at the same time. It's wonderful!

No list of foot care products would be complete without mentioning a good moisturizing lotion. I'm not going to get into specific brands here, but it's critical that you apply lotion every single day. This keeps skin soft and healthy, and will have your feet looking beautiful in no time. The most effective approach is to rub on some lotion immediately after stepping out of the shower so the lotion can help trap in all that extra moisture. When you do this regularly, you'll absolutely notice a huge difference.

When it comes to pampering yourself and making sure you look and feel your best, don't forget about your feet. Grab these essential foot care products right now and get ready to show off this summer!

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The rise of American football betting

I remember back when I was in sixth grade a friend of mine tried to start a rotisserie baseball league. This was about 1988 or so... ancient history when it comes to fantasy sports. And the dawn of time, to boot.

I was in, as were a number of our friends, and we all stuck with it for a couple of months before it petered out. It wasn't from lack of interest; rather, it was a lack of time to organize and collate all the stats that come through the agate pages on a daily basis. People today don't remember, but believe me, rotisserie leagues were a real time sink back in those days.

The interenet changed everything. Sites like ESPN and Yahoo sports set up all the statistics for you, crunch whatever numbers you want, rank draft prospects, set up schedules, give you private web pages you can use for your league, and more. There's no more crunching stats; there's only reading what the computer gives you. It's so freaking easy.

And this has led into a boom in sports gambling over the last twenty years. With football betting taking a very prominent position at the head of the pack.

A simple google search of the phrase football betting brings back nearly eight million hits. Everything from sites that explain the rules of prop bets such as over/under, laying or taking points, teasers and more, to sites that are dedicated rotisserie leagues, to more and more and more ways to bet your cash on whatever you want whenever you want.

And football betting has become big, big business. Back in the 1980s, when my young friends and I were putting together our short-lived baseball rotisserie league, football betting in the united states was maybe somewhere around one hundred million dollars a year. Not exactly chump change, but not an entire industry, either.

In this day and age, more than two billion dollars per year are bet on football, and that's just the legal bets. The FBI estimates that there's an additional one point five billion dollars a year in illegal, off the books football betting that takes place. In other words, the industry has grown by more than three thousand percent in the past two decades.

And I admit I've yet to take part in it even though I'm a pretty big sports fan. Maybe it was my brief and painful flirtation with online poker (quickest $250 I ever lost) that's kept me away.

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With Foods with Vitamin D so Easy to Find, do

With Foods with Vitamin D so Easy to Find, do you still Need Supplements?

If I just told you that they invented a new kind of treatment that could help strengthen your bones, keep heart disease and kidney disease at bay, and to boot, help with your blood pressure, wouldn't you pay a lot for it? There have been medical research reports out recently, that there is such a remedy already - and it is a well known micronutrient that you find in some varieties of milk, and fish, and also in exposure to the sun - of course you know what it is - it is vitamin D. But as wonderful as vitamin D is, and as plentiful as foods with vitamin D are, about one out of every two people in America is somewhat deficient, and about 10% of all children are quite deeply deficient. Doctors are now taking to routinely prescribing vitamin D tests to patients; apparently there has been about 50% more tests done this year for vitamin D levels, than the year before.

When doctors find some kind of deficiency, usually, they decide that a changed diet would be too slow to be effective. They offer supplements instead and America is now knocking back vitamin D supplements worth a quarter of a trillion dollars a year. This may not really be a good idea; the science behind it as shaky at best, and doctors seem to be letting the idea run away with them. There haven't been any real randomized trials done in research yet, and no one really knows what the ideal level is supposed to be either. As an example of the kind of simple and unsophisticated level we are at in understanding vitamin D, doctors only believe that you need to have a certain high level of vitamin D because that is what they see in healthy people. And yet, that could just be circumstantial evidence. What if it were just that healthy people happen to have high levels of vitamin D by accident, and not that the vitamin D were actually responsible? They do happen to come together, vitamin D levels and good health, but who says that there is a cause-and-effect relationship?

They are trying in-depth clinical studies now to find the foods with vitamin D that should help the most; one study includes 20,000 elderly people, men and women, to see how fish oil supplements that contain vitamin D and omega-3 should help. So what exactly is it that vitamin D does around the body? Basically, vitamin D is supposed to be the signaling juice around the body. It helps cells turn on or turn off as they are needed to. About one gram of fish oil a day should probably do the trick. This is probably overkill too; but it does help older women with osteoporosis, protect themselves from fragile bones that are prone to fracture. In fact, I should probably have my mother put aside her revulsion for fish oil, and have her protect herself. They've also found that this kind of a high dose of fish oil can even help protect against breast cancer.

If doses go any higher than that, they can often do some harm too. In men for example, very high levels of vitamin D in the system, can dispose you to diabetes. And it is easy when you read health advice in a piece of this kind, to get really carried away.

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The genesis of folk music and its place in the

The genesis of folk music and its place in the modern day

Folk music escapes precise definition, even among musicologists and anthropologists, yet most people can recognize it when they hear it. This recognition is not surprising. Most people in the world are exposed to folk songs from the moment they enter the world in the form of lullabies their mothers sing to them to soothe, comfort and lull them to sleep. These lullabies were probably sung to these mothers by their own mothers and so on, into the distant past. The chief characteristic of this kind of music is that it is an oral tradition, a tradition shared among a group of people with a common culture and history, and occupying a specific region. Music scores are generally absent, yet variation is kept to a minimum. You sing and play it as you heard it.

Folk music emerges, rather than breaks onto the popular scene, carrying with its memorable melodies lyrics that speak of what is common to the folk, to the vast majority of the human population. From the folk, it clearly originates from the lower economic stratas of society, those who are not apt to be exposed to the more artistic, classical styles that are found among city dwellers, in castles and capitals, among the wealthy and powerful. More closely associated to the country people as opposed to the city dweller, to the tribe than to modern nation states, to the laborer than to the elite, folk music springs from the unaffected, simple, earthy hearts of the common man.

Coming from the working class, folk song themes cover the range of common human experience, from the pain and sweat of hard labor to the stirrings of the heart. Many hymns properly belong in the folk category. Many speak of poverty, of travel and migration, of loss and death. Many laud the virtues of wine, of celebration gatherings and of dance and love. Folk heroes and their exploits might be recalled. Conflicts with the law are common themes, while others lament the effects of war on the common man. In recent decades, social protest against economic inequalities, racial discrimination and the duplicity of government have been addressed by popular folk songs, such as those songs that appeared in the 1960s and 1970s. Folk music tells the story of the common people's experience.

Folk songs went largely unstudied until the rise of nationalist sentiments, as governments of the people arose. Nations sought to distinguish their identities, and many regionally popular songs became national. The national folk song is more contrivance than fact. Most modern states are made up of more than one ethnicity, and folk music is typically ethnic in character. This was recognized by the Grammy Awards when the folk category, used since 1959, was dropped in favor of its replacement category, ethnic and traditional recordings. Whether called folk or ethnic, folk music remains an expression of the common man, his world view and his feeling towards it.

With the predominance of popular music today, folk songs are in short supply and may soon become an artifact of a time past. Let's hope that the folk from whom this music originates will not also disappear with the folk songs that once expressed the heart of the simple man.

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Flute Lessons

So youve decided to learn how to play an instrument in order to earn some culture cred. Now its a matter of which instrument to learn. You might start by looking at the different classes of instrumentstring, percussion, brass or woodwind. With string youd have your violin, guitar, cello. Percussion might be piano or drums. Brass could be trumpet, tuba or trombone. Woodwind could be your flute, clarinet or saxophone.

Each instrument has its unique sound, mechanism and level of difficulty in learning how to play it. Many people start with piano because its such a classic and the notes are laid out in front of you clearly. Many others go with the guitar because its also a classic and by learning a few chords youre already good to go. Both are fairly versatile instruments that can play music from a variety of genres, which makes them good all around. They are also instruments that can stand alone, unlike instruments like drums that do better when theyre accompanied by a melody, or tubas that work well when part of an orchestra. Youll choose your instrument based on your specific preferences and needs.

The flute is a popular choice because it sounds pretty, enough said. It can be played on its own and it can easily fit into an orchestra or other ensemble. Its more limited in genreits hard to imagine a rock flute, though flute music has been used in modern music as sampling. Usually, the flute is heavily associated with classical music but essentially it suits any pretty melody.

If you decide to learn how to play the flute, its a good idea to get flute lessons since the flute can be difficult to learn on your own. You probably know that you make music with a flute by blowing into it, but its not that simple. A flutist blows air across the flute hole, and the air stream must blow evenly across the middle to produce the right sound. In order to do this, you must develop an embouchure, which is specifically shaping your face and lips to produce air correctly. Flute lessons can help you develop the right movement and breathing to play effectively; learning how to blow incorrectly can greatly hinder your performance. Flute lessons are available in person and onlineif youre playing for fun, online lessons should suffice but more serious players take flute lessons with a private teacher. This is more expensive, but one on one instruction gives you firsthand experience.

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New tools for Flash Web Designers boost Professionalism

Animation is big, no doubt about that and it will probably continue to gain momentum as internet speeds and more platforms that support animated content continue to be developed. That being said, it can rightly be expected that flash web designers will be with us for a long time to come. In addition, you may just need to use some of their services in the near future. New applications that target animated content providers are also being launched that make the whole business of animations both lucrative and quite user-friendly. Flash CS3, Flash CS4 and Flex have revolutionized the flashing experience and flash web designers just got additional tools as part of their toolkit in the web design endeavors. What though is so exciting about these tools?

Looking at Flash CS3 and CS4, the coding part where designers use ActionScript has been upgraded. New ways of animating objects and using few lines of code have been developed. Flex allows for the entire development phase to be done in a more professional way. In the design phase, flash web designers write code that can be reused, determine how the application will interact with the web page, how the flash application will access application resources and other design phase development issues. The configure phase involves configuring the run-time to determine how the application will access remote data servers. The build phase involves the process of compiling, debugging and testing of the application. The Deploy phase involves ensuring all the assets like the XML data files as well as the video and image files to be used by the application are in place and finally the secure phase defines the security issues to be taken. As you can see, professionalism just got upgraded when it comes to flash web designing.

With flash, it is also possible to integrate any server environment like J2EE. This Java environment allows for the designing of complex rich web applications that almost rival their desktop counterparts. In fact, Flex is able to develop applications that can run on the desktop, making it a very likely competitor for designing platform-free applications that can be run anywhere. Flash web designers however need only rely on flash to create websites. The integration of other programming languages like JavaScript allows flash applications and websites to be more dynamic. Thus most flash web designers are experts in other programming languages as well.

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Leveraging the Power of Flash Design

Flash web design is a mixture of art, creativity and animation. Advanced flash websites do not come about simply by mixing the above 3 however. A flash design that incorporates the use of interactivity, preloading and external loading of data not only has aesthetic value but at the same a functional website. While most flash novices may have a hard time understanding this flash jargon, the design process is no as hard as it sounds. A preloader for example, simply shows a visitor how far the loading process has gone while interactivity involves the use of clickable buttons and content on a website. While flash is capable of doing all the above effectively, it is usually not advisable to use flash entirely, especially if you are concerned with having your website indexed by a search engine.

Generally, flash design mixed with JavaScript works wonders on a website. Since flash websites can sometimes grow big in size and thus affect the loading times, JavaScript can be used to perform similar functions at no cost to size of the elements to be animated. Professional flash design however is able to create small-sized websites by use of ActionScript, the programming language used in flash. In fact, the secret to creating dynamic highly interactive flash designs is to leverage the power of ActionScript. Take time to learn how to add links to flash buttons, how to move objects across the screen when a mouse hovers over them and how to animate text to make them look more appealing.

Alternatively if you are in the habit of downloading stuff online and incorporating them on your projects, flash design is no different. There are hundreds if not thousands of sites where you get to download free flash designs, animated buttons and entire flash websites that can be customized to your needs. In order to use these, you need to have the flash application installed onto your computer. Create a folder where you save all your flash animations and raw flash data referred to as FLA files. These files contain all the elements that you will need and allow you to make changes after which you save the files as SWF files. SWF files can then be run either as stand alone animations on your computer or added to a website as animations. I bet the whole flash design sounds interesting, ha? Well dont sweat it, the fun begins when you start learning the amazing things you can do with flash. And it gets better as you become more and more proficient.

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