8200 Cd Hp Software Writer

Orchestrating Attitude: Getting the Best from Yourself and Others

How do you measure success? Is it by financial security, career growth, community involvement, quality of relationships, spiritual centeredness or the legacy you leave? Whichever measure you choose, your attitude is the single most important factor in achieving success.

The topic of attitude can be conceptual and confusing. In fact, as we go through life we often hear phrases like: keep your chin up, look on the bright side or you need a winning attitude. Unfortunately, we seldom know how to convert these soft sayings into hard results.

This book translates the incomprehensible into the actionable. It is intended to provide you with inspiration and application so you can orchestrate your attitude.. and your success.

The great news is that even in the worst situations a victim of a natural disaster, prisoner of war, target of abuse or when hit by a string of unfortunate circumstances - your attitude is something you can always control!

When we control our attitude we influence how our body responds and performs. Where our thoughts and attitudes go, our bodies follow. For example, blushing is a physical reaction to a mere thought. If we have this kind of reaction to a thought, is it such a leap of faith to believe that we can orchestrate our attitudes to affect our bodies in beneficial ways?

In fact, a positive attitude can buffer us against some adverse health effects and depression. Researchers who studied 839 patients over a 30-year period found a link between optimism and lower risk of early death. Specifically, optimism early in life predicts good health later in life.

Additionally, a landmark study shed light on the ultimate benefit of a positive attitude. In this particular study, participants who were more positive lived an average of 10 years longer than the other participants. Considering that smoking has been shown to reduce life expectancy by 5.5 years for men and 7 years for women, your attitude might be a health risk factor worth paying real attention to.

The choice of attitude is yours. Tomorrow you will become what you choose today.

Attitude: Concept or Concrete?

Have you ever thought about what makes you say things like: that guy has a great attitude, or boy, her attitude is really killing the team? How do you know if someones attitude is great or crummy? When most of us hear the word attitude we think of a fuzzy concept that somehow makes us happy, sad, content or frustrated.

It is difficult to measure and manage a concept. However, its easier to manage and measure behavior. Thats why I will use a broad definition of attitude: a relatively stable and enduring way to behave. This definition and the following explanation are designed to help you get your mind around the concept of attitude. If we can translate a concept like attitude into concrete behaviors, then we can more easily manage and measure - orchestrate - our attitudes.

How Do Attitudes Develop?

Our attitudes develop from repeatedly thinking, speaking and acting the same way, over and over, until it becomes a stable and enduring way we behave a habit. Although we can hear and see our attitudes in the words and actions we choose, attitudes start developing with our thoughts.

Our minds are our ultimate personal computers! What we program into them determines how they will function. The most powerful computer ever made, programmed with the wrong software or with bad data, will never function to its capacity. For instance, just as we have viruses (bad data) in todays cyber world that cause computer malfunctions, our mental computers are also susceptible to the data we put into them. If we choose to load them with bad data, it will limit how effective or successful we will be.

Our attitude is our personal boomerang to the world whatever we throw out will come back to us. Express enthusiasm and it comes back. Offer a smile and it is returned. Start to gossip and thats what we will hear. Get frustrated about a team member and thats what we will see. Help a colleague and we will find a helping hand. This boomerang effect holds true for our thoughts about money, relationships, self-worth, a performance goal, team building, a problem colleague or customer, a new project or career.

So, once we develop a habit of choosing a positive or negative attitude, that is exactly what we will send to and receive from the world.

Choice: Reaction or Response?

The power of choice is one of the greatest gifts we are given. In fact, it is so important that the privilege of choice is removed from prison inmates as a form of punishment. Although we make many choices every hour of the day, we rarely make neutral choices. Each choice has a positive or negative consequence for us at some level.

Our attitude toward life is the most important choice we make! Lets look at why such a simple choice embracing a positive or negative attitude is more challenging than it appears for many people. The bottom line is that we often forget that we have the power to choose. We relinquish it subconsciously, because we make thousands of decisions daily - about 95% of them are subconscious.

Just think of the last time you were in deep thought about your plans for the evening while driving home from work. As you pull into your driveway you wonder to yourself, How did I get home? The car seemed to practically drive itself home. Driving is a relatively complex task, requiring many choices along the way turn right, turn left, slow down, stop and change lanes. Still, driving home can be successfully performed almost subconsciously. So, consider the multitude of much smaller choices we make each day that we dont really think about: waking up, brushing our teeth, saying good morning to a colleague, eating our lunch, performing a repetitive job duty and so on. Subconscious actions are useful most of the time, but we must also consciously choose our attitude in order to control our results.

Our ability to choose is a gift, but it is also a huge responsibility. No matter what todays its not my fault culture encourages, we are all ultimately responsible for our own choices. In fact, I like to write the word responsibility as response ability. As humans, we have the unique ability to respond. It is a choice we make, although many times an instantaneous or subconscious choice.

Heres a scenario repeated daily. Family dinners are important at the Smith house. Jim and Jane Smith and their two children (Jonnie, age 3 and Janie, age 4) have just seated themselves at the table. Before the first bite of dinner is enjoyed, Jonnie spills his milk and it goes everywhere.

A reaction to this event: Not again, Jonnie! Every time we eat, this happens. Think, son, think! Do you want to eat in your room from now on?

A response to this event: Uh Oh, Jonnie. Lets get a sponge and clean this up so you can eat your dinner.

When you react, you make a purely emotional and subconscious decision. Often, because of how your experiences and prior choices have programmed your subconscious mind, your reactions do not help you achieve the best results.

On the other hand, when you respond to a situation, you make a constructive and conscious decision. That's why there are Emergency Response Teams not Emergency Reaction Teams:

- When you simply react, your emotional instinct is in control, with little thought of the long-range consequences.

- When you respond, your brain is fully engaged and your self-awareness is high. You have the long-term consequences in mind.

We all experience plenty of negative situations and people. The key is to be prepared to consciously respond to these negative inputs. Choosing to respond instead of react helps us to positively orchestrate our attitudes.and our lives.

A Script for Orchestrating Attitude

There are three aspects of the script that work in concert: thoughts, words and actions. By orchestrating each aspect with conscious responses, we positively influence our beliefs, commitments and results.

Orchestrate your THOUGHTS to nfluence BELIEFS.....

Orchestrate your WORDS to influence your COMMITMENTS

Orchestrate your ACTIONS to influence your RESULTS

The script plays out like this:

- Thoughts, the way we choose to interpret our world, directly influence our beliefs.

- Beliefs directly influence the words we choose to peak to others, and more importantly, to ourselves.

- Words reflect our commitments to ourselves and others.

- Commitments influence our choice of actions.

- Finally, our actions directly influence the results we achieve.

This script is self-reinforcing, for better or for worse. The results we achieve reinforce our thoughts and the same script is played out again. So, it all starts with our thoughts. Our thoughts today influence our results tomorrow.

The left side of the script is the side of choice. Each of us chooses our thoughts, words and actions either consciously or subconsciously. Therefore, we influence the right side of the script the side of responsibility. We must take responsibility for our beliefs, commitments and results. We are each responsible for the choices we make and the results we ultimately achieve. The ultimate choice is ours - victim or victor?

To illustrate how this script plays out, lets say I am given a new project to lead. I am confident that the prospects for this project are positive. Therefore, I start thinking about how to ensure its success and how I can measure the benefits of the project deliverables. I also think about my talented project team, knowing they will need to go above and beyond to achieve success on this project. My kick-off e-mail contains words like excited, opportunity, talented team, creative solutions and positive impact. My team members speak and react in kind, boomeranging my winning attitude back to me. Meetings are crisp, roles are clearly defined and decisions are made collaboratively, yet quickly.

The expected challenges, even the seemingly big ones, are handled professionally and swiftly because the team knows that failure is not an option, and there are many pathways to success. My thoughts and words have already predisposed the team to acting in alignment with my expectation of success. And our eventual success predisposes me to the same thoughts, words and actions on the next project. This is when the powerful, self-reinforcing script will be played again.

Orchestrating attitude creates a beautiful human symphony. The result is a person of integrity who gets the best from himself and others!

posted by adwords51312 @ 11:48 PM 0 comments

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posted by adwords51312 @ 11:13 PM 0 comments

Air Purifiers Cleaning The Air

The 21st Century has brought us many advances. The progress industry has been through changed everything around it and the environment is suffering its effects.

The air is the means of transportation - and consequently, the means by which microorganisms get spread, more commonly that ever before. It's pretty easy for an epidemic to get spread through the air and its scary, if we take into account what happened with the Ebola virus some years ago. The whole world was afraid, even countries at the other side of the globe were praying for the virus not to get to their territory.

Directly opposite to what many people think, it is not only the "outside" that offers danger to our overall health. We are not safe even inside our homes. Believe it or not, a study developed by environment researchers found that the air inside our homes is dirtier than the air we breathe when we are walking in the street.

What are we exposed to?

We are exposed to a lot of danger when we breathe. Asthmatic people suffer even more than people who don't have any respiratory disorders. Little children, especially newborn babies, and old people are the most predisposed to suffer respiratory disorders due to the bad condition of the air we breathe.

It's not that hundreds of years ago, the air was safe. No, it was not. Allergens have always existed. But progress has brought us industries with their high chimneys spreading smoke, a dark and heavy smoke, into the air. We have cars that also spread smoke. These simply create high levels of pollution.

Besides the pollution, we also have the allergens in the air. And the majority of these are the ones responsible for the asthma crisis today. The smoke of a cigarette, the pollen from flowers and the thousands of different smells mixed together may lead a delicate respiratory system into a serious crisis.

In addition to that, bacteria and viruses as well as other types of microorganisms are constant threats. Due to these invisible creatures, people get pneumonia and tuberculosis, diseases that may lead to death if not treated properly.

How do we protect our loved ones?

Unfortunately, there aren't many things we can do in order to protect our family or our environment at work. We cant prevent pollution, allergens or microorganisms from existing in the air that we breathe and we cannot stop breathing either.

The same hand that pollutes tries to clean. Industries have developed some air purifiers in order to decrease the effects of the polluted air we breathe.

Air purifiers simply try to take from the air the allergens and some of the pollution. It's something we can do to decrease the effects on our bodies. It is certainly necessary if we have new babies at home.

Techniques used

There are several techniques available for people who want to create a safe - or less dangerous - indoor environment with respect to the air.

Some air purifiers use adsorbent techniques and electrostatic charges and ionizers. Some others include a germicidal UV light and the emission of ions into the air in order to react with the agents that may cause health problems and reduce or eliminate them. However, there isn't an air purifier sold for homes able to create indoor conditions as clean as those found in hospitals.

We cannot control what we breathe when we are in the street, but we can do something to avoid such side effects when we are at home.

posted by adwords51312 @ 11:09 PM 0 comments

League Two Betting Review - 13 February 2006

Grimsby Town are the new leaders of League Two after beating Boston United 1-0 at Blundell Park. Michael Reddys goal after 72 minutes was enough to secure the Mariners second win in a row at odds of 9/10.

Last weeks leaders Carlisle United were held to a tense goalless draw at promotion rivals Leyton Orient. Draw backers could have got on at 23/10 with Carlisle now two points behind Grimsby.

Third placed Wycombe Wanderers fought back from two goals down at home to draw 2-2 with relegation strugglers Mansfield Town. Jon Olav-Hjelde and Richie Barker put the Stags 2-0 ahead after 33 minutes, but goals from Tommy Mooney and Stefan Oakes denied an unlikely 9/2 away victory.

Northampton Town squandered the chance to move in to the top three by losing 3-1 at Cheltenham Town. Steve Guinan, Kayode Odejayi and JJ Melligan ensured a home win at 6/4.

Rushden & Diamonds refuse to go down without a fight and Petr Miklondas 30 yard strike gave them all three points against Notts County. Barry Hunters side, 8/5 on the day, have lost just one of their last five games.

Bottom club Stockport County also earned a vital win at faltering Chester City. Liam Dickinson broke the deadlock for County after 76 minutes but Ryan Lowe equalised for City five minutes later. With the match heading for a draw Dickinson grabbed the vital 5/2 winner a minute from time to keep the Hatters just one point from safety.

Meanwhile, Torquay United remain in deep trouble after losing 2-0 at Lincoln City. Scott Kerr after 12 minutes and a last minute goal from Jeff Hughes secured a 5/6 win for the Imps.

Macclesfield Town vs Wrexham, Rochdale vs Barnet and Bury vs Oxford were all called off due to frozen pitches.

posted by adwords51312 @ 11:07 PM 0 comments

Methods of Website Promotion

Promoting a Website is not an easy task. New Website Developers may have the impression of building a Website and sales are generated. This is far from true. There are millions of Websites. Within those millions, there are bound to be competitors. To rise above, or obtain a portion of the market-share, developers need to utilize an effective promotion campaign.

Establishing a Website is not much different than a brick-and-mortar business. Open a Deli in the heart of a City and millions of potential customers will pass daily. In contrast, open the Deli in the suburbs, and there would be one quarter of the potential customers. Obviously, the City would be much more expensive to get started and maintain, but the revenue should provide for the added expense.

The same holds true in Website Promotion. However, the landscape is different. There are no streets and sidewalks customers have to use. Therefore, our businesses need to be found by customers in a variety of places. It needs to be brought to the potential customer, or viewable from wherever they may be lurking.

Where do we start with Website Promotion?

One of the topics sweeping the developers world is Optimization. The internet will naturally bring potential customers, if the site is optimized properly. Computers work hard on matching relevant information. This is a huge benefit to e-business owners.

Before promotion begins, or altering existing efforts, understand the Internets backbone. Why has the World Wide Web become popular? Most should agree, information retrieval rules. Internet users dont have to sit down and watch television waiting for local weather. They dont have to wait for news of interest. They dont have to drive to find the best prices. They dont have to look through cook-books to find a recipe. They dont have to talk to salespeople for a car. Today its all on the, information, super highway.

As a developer, focus on information delivery before beginning promotion of a Website. If a page can be divided into two topics, make two separate pages. Over-use of graphics can present problems too. While its nice to make a Site pretty, most people dont care. They want the information or products they are seeking. Sectors such as art could be an exception, but for the most part, lots of graphics are a waste. People read on the internet. Give people something to read, not just something to view.

Promotion Budget

If launching a new campaign, it may take time to decipher an effective budget. There are simple variables that should be considered with budgeting. Given the potential scope of a Website, advertising should be devoted to different areas of the site. For example, paying to promote the free portion of a Website is not logical. In contrast, a free forum may sell advertising. The advertising segment of the site should be exploited.

There is a simple formula to develop a budget. If a site is new, it takes some research and investment to draw an accurate conclusion. Put simply, consider the following; how many potential customers are required to make a sale? From each sale, how much profit is generated? Of the profits, how much is invested into advertising? This identifies the value of potential customers. If ten customers make one sale, and ten dollars are allocated towards advertising, each customer is potentially worth one dollar. However, room for growth could be made by reducing the value of a potential customer or increasing the advertising contribution. A competitive sector may force reduced profits rather than reduced value of potential customers.

Comprehensive budgeting could be applied to aspects of the business. Promote each aspect as a unique entity. For example, a Website that sells music and movies could have separate budgets for the segments. This could reveal vital information to the survival of a business. Implement effective models that assist in tracking expense and results. This is fairly simple with website statistics and tracking tools.

Free Traffic Promotion Keywords and Phrases

When it comes to free traffic, its about information retrieval. People utilize tools that provide information accurately and quickly. These tools rely on the developers interpretation of a Website or page (On-Site Optimization). What is the Website or page about? What phrases are people looking for that want to use this site? Information retrieval is a complicated double-edge-sword between people surfing the web and people creating the web. When the people creating the web do not create clear and focused pages, people surfing the Web cannot find them.

Free traffic is a gift from creating user friendly pages, clearly focusing on a specific topic, and the result of promotion efforts. It stems from a good balance. While free traffic primarily comes from Search Engines, it also comes from referring sites. People will write about a Website in blogs, forums, or on their personal pages. People will add links to Sites they like.

If developers hunt for free traffic, problems can arise. Hunting for free traffic has made developers try tricks that got the site removed from Search Engines. This can present a big problem as they are a large source of free targeted traffic. Keep free traffic in mind while promoting a Website, but dont make it the focus of promotion. It will come naturally over time. Take it as a gift and an acknowledgement that a Website has been optimized well, presents clear information, and is promoted in the right places. Although some may argue the point, dont anticipate quality free traffic to begin immediately. It takes extensive thought, advertising, and planning for this to happen, especially within competitive sectors.

Promoting in Directories

One place to start promoting a Website is Website Directories. Most directories are organized by topic. Some are more comprehensive than others. In addition, there are, Niche, directories that focus on one topic. For example, there are directories for shopping, reference, art, and automotive sites. In contrast, there are general directories that provide all the niches.

Finding an appropriate place within a directory may be difficult. Directories can a large structure. However, a comprehensive structure benefits advertisers with targeting. Comprehensive directories enable developers to classify a Website. For example, it maybe possible to promote a site the sells speakers, for cars, but only domestic cars, and ones that are late model. In addition, some directories may implement regional indexing. Targeting an index in a directory can be complex, but it can be a great benefit too.

Dont expect to rush from directory to directory and establish a bunch or references. Each directory is unique. Take time to understand how the directory is structured, what they expect as a title and description, and how the suggestion process works. Seek similar sites; take note of where they appear, and how they are described.

Directories are generally affordable solutions. Most Directories are indexed by search engines. They help search engines understand a sites focus. In addition, they are a reference point for some people. It may be a good idea to seek-out one or two directories a week, or as appropriate to a budget. Finding good directories will consume a lot of time. However, once a link is added, it will remain there for a long duration.

News and Media Promotion Public Relations

Public Relations an important factor when promoting any Business. News and Media channels are the vehicles that convey information to the public. News about a business can make a huge impact on the public. Good news can make lots of people remember a business. Some developers release news about every change or added feature to a Website. Ironically, some developers never utilize this area of promotion.

There are a variety of distribution sites that will expose news releases to numerous channels, for a modest fee. In addition, most will offer free options. It may be a good idea to utilize free options for news that is not very important. For example, adding a, Calculator, to a Website probably will not gain much attention. However, anything that may be important to the public needs to be announced.

If it can be added to the budget, outsource public relations efforts. PR companies have knowledge of what the media likes and contacts that make them valuable. PR specialists can be found in almost every City.

Ezine Articles - Provide Rich Content

Writing articles is a powerful promotion tool. Some developers refer to this as, Viral Marketing. There are Websites that require content. Content brings them traffic. Traffic builds valuable ad space.

Article Distribution sites assist promoters with circulating articles. Many Ezines rely on Distribution Sites for their content. Post an article to a distribution site and the article is, up-for-grabs, to anyone. The article begins to circulate the internet like a virus. Everywhere it appears, reference is given to the author and their Website.

Advertising on the Web

There are a variety of reference websites. Generally, these sites consist of Forums, Article content, and Online Chats. They rely on selling ad space as the main revenue stream. While some reference developers are, trying to rich quick, there are sites that offer affordable solutions to promote a Website. With free traffic in mind, seek-out text link advertising venues. Look for sites that charge a flat fee. Sites that charge per click or by the impression usually mask links for tracking. This does not build good recognition with search engines.

Seek relevant opportunities for promoting the Website. If the allows people to buy tennis shoes, a sports reference and information area may be prove beneficial. Another might be a reference site about footwear. Trial and error will reveal good advertising sources for promotion. Regardless of the site being promoted, there are reference areas that are valuable promotion tools.

Promotion Summary

The internet moves fast in certain aspects. When it comes to Website promotion, it moves slowly. Modifications that are made to a Web Page are not going to be seen the next day. Significant results appear months later. The most important area of promotion, is keeping accurate records. Website promotion is complex. Developers need to consider on-site and off-site optimization, targeting, and ad construction. The right mix can provide a significant advantage over the competition.

posted by adwords51312 @ 10:39 PM 0 comments

Fantasy Football League Plays for Incredible Prize

Fantasy football league enthusiasts play for different reasons. Some play for pride, while others play for money. Some fantasy football league members play for mega money, though, and the money is all these fantasy football nuts care about. Witness these two amazing fantasy football leagues.

A fantasy football league in Las Vegas pits players from 12 different leagues in a World Championship Fantasy Football league. These guys compete for a grand prize of $200,000. Other huge monetary prizes are handed out as well. This quest to be a fantasy football league world champion illustrates what this game does to people.

Further witness a differend kind of fantasy football league. In The League, first-ever published work of fiction based on a fantasy football league, sixteen wealthy, powerful men from Wall Street, create a unique fantasy football league. This remarkable group plays for a winner-take-all fantasy football league championship trophy of $30 million.

The idea for The League was born from conversations between the author and other fantasy football league participants who believe that the lust for power and money can get out of hand, if people are not careful. Fantasy football makes a great vehicle for this hunger for money.

The League is a fictional work that has been called a cautionary tale about what can happen, if fantasy football league enthusiasts are not careful to keep their competition and desire for prize money in check. Anyone participating in a fantasy football league can learn a great deal about how the game can get out of control by reading about a fictional fantasy football league in the novel, The League.

posted by adwords51312 @ 10:21 PM 0 comments

Winter Olympics TV Coverage Far From Golden

Its that time of the year again. The 2005 National Football League season has come to an end with the Pittsburgh Steelers capturing the Super Bowl title, the Major League Baseball Spring Training season is just readying to begin, the National Basketball Association is in a holding pattern for most fans until its playoffs, the NASCAR season is just getting started with the Daytona 500 just raced and the National Hockey League is on hiatus due to the 2006 Winter Olympics. And with the NCAAs March Madness still weeks away, what is a sports fan to do?

We force ourselves to tune in to the NBC television broadcast network in order to try to catch some of the real competition on tap in the XX Olympic Winter Games. Sports fans are not averse to watching Winter Olympics coverage, but trying to figure out NBCs television schedule has become a sport of Olympic proportions unto itself.

The supposed television Winter Olympics schedule is available in local newspapers, in various sports magazines and all over the internet. But the schedule times are useless in pinpointing when any particular sport is broadcasted. And depending on what time zone one lives in, it is virtually impossible not to hear the results on television, radio, or view online prior to seeing the broadcast as NBC has its coverage tape delayed in five different U.S. time zones.

The excuse to not broadcast real time coverage during these Olympic Games is viable this year in that Italy is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time. But on weekends it is feasible for live coverage at least on the east coast. It is worth noting that almost 40 years ago, U.S. television viewers were able to enjoy primarily live coverage of the 1968 Winter Olympics from Grenoble, France and later with the 1972 Olympic Summer Games from Munich, Germany, via television satellite. But what was the excuse in not broadcasting the 1996 Summer Olympics live when they were in Atlanta, GA and then when the 2002 Winter Olympics were in Salt Lake City, UT? Both were instead tape delayed, again in five different time zones.

The reason for NBCs incoherent TV scheduling is because of its monopolized ability to edit and package the coverage any which way it wishes in order to appease sponsors while placing advertising spots wherever and whenever it chooses. Unfortunately, for the viewer, it denies the spontaneity of competition as well as deprives viewers from selectively choosing which sports they wish to watch.

NBC has bragged about providing 416 hours of broadcast coverage on NBC including its three cable television stations. But since these Winter Olympics first started airing its events on February 11, 2006 to date, viewers have been treated to little more than glorified highlights between 8:00 PM 11:30 PM in whichever time zone one happens to be. During that time period, bits and pieces of coverage from any one of 15 sport disciplines are shown, with scant coverage of any athletes other than American Olympians or only winners of an event should they not be American.

We lose the continuity of viewing any one event such as alpine skiing, speed skating, ski jumping, or even bobsledding for that matter. Essentially, races necessitate competitors being seen in sequence or at least the contenders, rather than a cut and paste version of them. And while figure skating viewing requires less of a need for the immediacy of viewing other competitors in the event, one would be hard pressed as to when to plan on tuning in. Although more time is devoted to the figure skating events than most others, its coverage is peppered with teasers and unexpected commercial breaks in the action, making it sometimes painful to get through, even for its avid fans.

Since television coverage of the Olympics is all about ratings, as is all television fare, NBC for years now has shot itself in the proverbial foot when whining that not enough of the American public is tuning in to Olympics coverage, no longer just applicable to the Winter Olympics, either. While the Summer Olympics attracts more viewers, its coverage too is close to beyond the pale.

What NBC has tried to do over the years is to please all demographics as well as its sponsors while losing sight of the intrinsic value of the actual event. But as viewership continues to erode for Olympics coverage, the NBC network is largely responsible. In its zeal to compel the American viewer to tune in, it has overproduced its coverage, thus turning off the very audience it is trying to attract and retain.

The Olympics tells its own story and most sports fans do not have the patience to sit through over three hours of teaser-filled coverage. Now we all know the reason it is done this way. The hope is that viewers will sit through enough coverage in order to be exposed to advertisers as well as to garner more consistent ratings. But in fact, NBC is accomplishing the opposite result, forcing many to either record the coverage and thus eliminate the ads, or tuning out completely.

So what you say? Who cares? Well, chances are if you are reading this, you are a sports fan. Although we all have our favorite sport, we crave watching competition, with few exceptions. For example, the idea of watching curling is comparable to watching paint dry and how it is considered an athletic event is beyond this writers comprehension.

But for now, we are stuck with what we have. When the numbers are crunched this time round for NBC, perhaps they will get the message that the sports fan drives the numbers and more and more of us are getting fed up. Maybe they need to go back to the drawing board and revisit the Jim McKay playbook on covering worldwide sporting events. It worked for ABC broadcasting way back when, when the athletes were the story, not the network; sadly a crucial element which NBC seems to have forgotten.

posted by adwords51312 @ 10:16 PM 0 comments

Georgia Real Estate - Southern Hospitality

Known as the Peach State, Georgia is the state of southern hospitality. If you prefer the traditional southern culture, Georgia real estate is certainly worth a look.

Georgia

The largest state east of the Mississippi, Georgia has a long and glorious history. Civil war monuments are rife throughout the state as are small towns with turn of the century homes. Notwithstanding this culture, Georgia is also a very modern state with growing cities such as Atlanta.

Atlanta

The most populous city in Georgia, Atlanta is a growing metropolis. From a sports perspective, the city has Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons, the Braves, basketball, hockey and has even hosted the Olympics. Raised in 1865 by General Sherman, the city has a newish feel and has grown to a population of over 3.5 million people. The city can be classified more as a modern city than a traditional southern one.

Savannah

If youre looking for a true southern city in Georgia, Savannah is the place. Located on the border with South Carolina, Savannah is a step back into the past. With tree-lined streets, the city hosts a variety of architecture from the 18th and 19th century including Victorian homes and old manor. Streets are dwarfed by huge, ancient Oak Trees. To see Savannah, rent of buy Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, which was filmed in the city.

Athens

Roughly an hour north of Atlanta, Athens is a mix of southern culture and college town. Home to the University of Georgia, the town has a population of 30,000 plus students. This influx of students gives the city a liberal feel, which is unique for the south.

Georgia Real Estate

Georgia real estate prices vary by location with the metropolis of Atlanta dwarfing smaller town real estate. A single family home in Atlanta will set you back $300,000 on average, while $250,000 will do the trick in Savannah and $230,000 in Athens. The appreciation rate for Oregon real estate depends entirely on the location, but averages a moderate six percent for 2005.

If southern hospitality is your ideal, Georgia may be your destination. With reasonable real estate prices, you can pick up a good deal.

posted by adwords51312 @ 10:06 PM 0 comments

Championship Betting Review

Runaway leaders Reading suffered their first League defeat in 33 games at the hands of Luton on Friday night. The in-form Kevin Doyle put the 9/10 Royals ahead but were stunned with two goals from Rowan Vine and one from Dean Morgan. Doyle pulled one back for Reading in stoppage time but Luton had done enough to earn an unlikely win at odds of 14/5.

Sheffield United took advantage and cut Readings lead to nine points with a derby victory away at city rivals Wednesday. Michael Tonge and Ade Akinbiyi netted for the Blades before half-time before the Owls hit back 10 minutes from time with a Steve MacLean penalty. The 5/4 win for Neil Warnocks side was Uniteds first double over Wednesday for 14 years.

Watford climbed above Leeds to claim third place in the table after beating second-from-bottom Brighton at the Withdean Stadium. The Hornets withstood early pressure from the home side but secured a narrow 1-0 victory at 11/10 thanks to a Chris Eagles goal on the stroke of half-time.

Leeds were held to a draw at Leicester, despite the home side playing 79 minutes with just 10 men. Iain Hume put the Foxes in front after five minutes before Patrick McCarthy was sent off for a foul on Rob Hulse, which led to Robbie Blake equalising from the resulting penalty.

With Preston North End not playing, Cardiff made up ground and are now just three points away from a play-off place. The 4/5 Bluebirds beat Hull 1-0 thanks to Cameron Jeromes goal after 22 minutes.

Wolves also remain in the play-off hunt after a narrow 1-0 win against Ipswich. Castro Sito felled Jeremie Aliadiere in the box 16 minutes from time and Kenny Miller dispatched the penalty for 11/10 Wolves.

Millwall striker Ben May struck an 89th minute equaliser to earn his side a crucial point against Crystal Palace. Ben Watson looked set to give the Eagles a routine win at 11/10 with his goal after 67 minutes only for May to snatch the relegation strugglers a point at the death.

posted by adwords51312 @ 9:45 PM 0 comments

BygoneTV

Are you fascinated by old TV shows from 50's and 60's? In its infancy, TV wasa cross between music-hall entertainment and a picture version of radio. Lot'sof tv shows came and went - a few stuck around for quite some time.

These old tv shows are becoming modern day antiques. Let's not let them beforgotten just yet, especially as older members of our community will stillremember them.

Shows like The $64,000 Question, Smilin' Ed McConnell and his Buster Brown Gangand Dennis the Menace are little gems that gave millions great pleasureand should not be forgotten. They are our heritage. Westerns like Adventures of Kit Carson,Nine Lives of Elfego Baca, The Lone Ranger. All these are based onthe real life activities in the wild west.

Take railroad westerns like The Iron Horse and Casey Jones. Infact, take Casey Jones as an example. This tv show was based on a real liferailroad engineer who was actually called Casey Jones.

Quizzes, drama, variety - even more fanciful tv shows like The Man fromU.N.C.L.E. - have their roots in the human existence.

There is an excellent forum at www.bygonetv.com Why not getinvolved. These antiques could be worth quite a lot in a few years!

posted by adwords51312 @ 9:09 PM 0 comments

Shiatsu Massage, an Introduction

What is Shiatsu?

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

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

How Does Shiatsu Work?

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

Two-handed Technique

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

What Does Shiatsu Treat?

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

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

Conditions Treated:

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

The benefits of shiatsu include:

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

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

posted by adwords51312 @ 9:03 PM 0 comments

Score - It's a Partying Soccer Goal!

Soccer is growing in popularity around the country. Many kids want a soccer themed party for their birthday. There are lots of fun ways to have everything at your event be soccer related!

Pick a list of kids to attend your party and send out soccer ball invitations. A party supply store will have all the accessories and motifs available for soccer. Have the kids wear their soccer cleats to the party if they have any or their favorite jersey.

The soccer party can be for a birthday, but it can also include a fun scrimmage soccer game. Set up two goals a short distance away and let them run around and score. If there is a parent coach nearby, have them set up cones and let the kids run through some drills. Make up a game for the two teams and have them be the sharks and the guppies and run! The exercise will do them good, not to mention wear them out so they sit better inside the house to eat.

Prizes to give away can be personalized trophies or ribbons. Attach a team picture for a great keepsake for everyone. Other treats can be candy, plastic trinkets or soccer related toys. A soccer ball piata is another great entertainment and prize piece all in one.

Soccer decorations can be found at any party supply store. Soccer balloons, black and white streamers and wall hangings make for a perfect sports party. Special soccer favor bags and treats can also be purchased to give away to each guest.

Party planning stores will also have all of the paper products needed to serve cake and lunch. Plates, napkins and tablecloths to match your soccer motif make clean up easy! Special ball shaped cake pans make round cakes which can be frosted to make soccer cakes!

posted by adwords51312 @ 9:02 PM 0 comments