Why a Reptile Enclosure can be a useful tool to support your Classroom Curriculum.

Reptile Enclosures are an interesting alternative to traditional animal cages kept in classrooms such as those used for mice or hamsters. Reptile enclosures provide a virtual Animal Planet in your classroom and give your students the opportunity to interact with some of the world’s most unique species.

Live animals of any species are a window into nature and help to showcase how animals live and this can be an invaluable teaching tool. Placing a Reptile Enclosure in your classroom and observing the live reptiles in a naturally landscaped terrarium environment will support your teaching curriculum in a myriad of ways. Some suggestions for assisting your teaching modules are listed below:

* Biology – Your reptile enclosure will quickly become a quick reference point for a host of biology subjects, these may include;

- Movement: use of limbs, how animals move (particularly using 4 legs in unison), flexibility and strength. Reptiles can scurry around quickly so students can observe firsthand movement and balance.

- Skeletal Structure: joints, skull, backbone.

- Internal structure: sensory organs, internal organs, perhaps leading to a discussion on which vital organs all animals share.

- Common features shared by all animals – movement, respiration, senses, growth, reproduction, excretion, and feeding habits.

- Investigate why reptiles differ to mammals. What are the main differences between cold-blooded and warm blooded animals? Why is heat important to cold-blooded animals?

- Case Study and Observation skills: spend a day observing the reptile at certain intervals taking note of periods of activity and rest and times for feeding. This will help encourage students to become observant budding scientists and to accurately record their observations.

When it comes to Biology, the list of positives for having reptile enclosures in the classroom is endless. Live animals are an inspiration in themselves!

* Taking Responsibility – Reptile pets require care and living species require and deserve constant attention. Maintaining a Reptile enclosure in the classroom can foster teamwork. Encourage the class to have a roster system for cleaning and feeding duties. This in turn helps groups interact between the sexes and may encourage a shyer member of the class to come forward.

* Reptile Healthcare – this links in appropriately with the “Taking Responsibility” module and reinforces the lessons learned in the importance of cleanliness in the reptile enclosure.

* Reptile Feeding – a good opportunity to delve further into lessons comparing herbivores with carnivores or omnivores. What type of food is required to keep a reptile well nourished? Observation skills will be called upon again to assess which types of food are more popular and what quantities are appropriate.

* Reptile Habitats – the Reptile enclosure can be a focus point for highlighting and researching habitats suitable for different reptile species and can include the climate, temperature and natural surroundings. Providing features within the reptile enclosure from the reptile’s natural home provides a realistic insight into another world that your students will enjoy researching and recreating. Consider using a wide range of natural reptile enclosure decorations such as bamboo roots, real jungle vines, parasite wood and natural beddings to design a fitting reptile enclosure for the species you intend to keep in the classroom.

* Conservation – many reptiles are on endangered species lists around the world. Class research could begin with your reptile and continue with seeking additional information on the more critically scarce species and the conservation efforts underway to protect them.

* Geography – reptiles span the globe and come from a cross-section of continents. Your living classroom reptiles could provide an interesting topic starter in researching their country of origin and run on to other reptiles or mammals from these continents. You can even further focus your research projects on specific habitat types (desert, rainforest, woodland, scrubland, or on a particular country). Again, climate could be a research point as well. Do your reptiles come from a dry climate or a wet humid one? How have reptiles adapted or evolved to cope with these climates?

* Art – reptiles make great live models. They can stay still for extended periods of time and have amazing scales and skin details which make them ideal art subjects. The features included in your reptile enclosure will also provide great background details. Knotted pieces of wood, twisted vines and tropical mosses are fantastic to draw in any reptile enclosure.

When it comes to inspiration in your classroom, a prominent Reptile enclosure is an ideal teaching tool to stimulate and inspire your students. Encourage your class to assist in the set-up of the reptile enclosure and perhaps the purchase of the reptiles you wish to include. This will promote “ownership” of their new reptile pets and will become a source of pride in your classroom. Enjoy!

bio = Eco-Terrarium Supply offers a large variety of natural terrarium decorations to create an exciting reptile enclosure. Check out the selection of real jungle vines, decorative roots, terrarium backgrounds, hiding places, tropical moss and rock products to enhance your pet reptile’s natural terrarium environment. Eco Terrarium Supply also offers a wide range of exotic pet care sheets, and terrarium building articles for your enjoyment.

View their website at: http://ecoterrariumsupply.com

Popularity: 25% [?]

Why a naturalistic vivarium??

The concept of a naturalistic vivarium will benefit both reptile and owner.

The Naturalistic vivarium can create an environment that replicates the animal’s natural environment and help lead to a stress free life for your reptile. A well designed naturalistic vivarium is also extremely enjoyable for you to look at.

The landscape you choose to create in your naturalistic vivarium can be anything from a landscape that would never be found in nature, to one that exactly matches a picture from a book or even scene from a TV show. Building a naturalistic vivarium which closely resembles your reptile pets natural environment can be exceptionally rewarding. Get creative while designing your naturalistic vivarium and build the ultimate habitat for your pet reptile.

By designing a naturalistic vivarium you will see your pet reptiles show more natural behaviours and interaction within their enclosure. These conditions are environmentally enriched and will maximise the keeper and reptile experience. Both you and your pet reptiles will find these conditions more rewarding.

A naturally landscaped vivarium is the most pleasing to the human eye, and causes the least amount of stress for you reptiles; this in turn will let your animals show their natural behaviours to their fullest.

Environmental enrichment within reptile vivariums may furthermore encourage good husbandry and provide the appropriate environment for species-typical behaviours to occur. This added level of stimulation and activity is conducive to good health.

Reptiles vary widely in their natural ranges. They are found in an array of habitats and ecological niches. They exist in the temperature extremes of the desert, the moisture of the tropical rainforest and also the marine environment, just to mention a few.

Reptiles have adapted to each of these vastly different conditions and flourished on the microhabitats of each in order to survive. They may be aquatic, terrestrial, arboreal, or subterranean, or in many cases some combination of these depending on their stage of development and the time of year.

Reptiles utilize a variety of food types and feeding strategies. Species may be herbivores, insectivores, carnivores, frugivores or omnivores. Some reptiles are primarily predators while others are primarily prey; however, most are both to some extent. The design of your reptile cage must incorporate how they would eat so the food can be presented safely.

Locomotive styles include terrestrial locomotion by means of limbs, limbless locomotion, aquatic locomotion and even aerial locomotion where species glide or parachute to their destination. Other behaviours typical of most reptiles include excavation of nests or burrows, sexual and territorial displays. Some of these latter behaviours may only occur in a social context.

Reptiles are poikilothermic, or (wrongly called) cold-blooded, animals. Because their body temperature is dictated by external temperature, reptiles can regulate their body temperatures through behaviour. Reptile life and reproductive cycles are also influenced by the availability and quantity of water. In some species the amount of moisture in the air is critical while in others, access to a pond, lake or river is essential for their health.

Perches in most reptile enclosures are crucial in providing arboreal access for both semi and fully arboreal species. When these areas have a heat source, perching provides an important mechanism for thermoregulation.

Perches should be placed near heat sources to allow the animals to bask. Placing perches at varying distances from the heat source provides a temperature range that allows the animals to maintain body temperatures within a level appropriate to the species.

These heat sources can also encourage movement around the vivarium. Providing locations that are slightly hotter than optimum conditions can encourage movement in and out of that area, rather than having the animal continuously bask in the same location.

Creating vertical as well as horizontal basking and climbing sites can offer additional dimensions to the enclosure and stimulate climbing in some species. For example many species of snakes can develop gastrointestinal problems and/or become obese through lack of exercise. Periodically changing the perching in its enclosure may stimulate a healthy increase in movement as the animal explores its enriched environment.
Regular misting of a naturalistic terrarium can also increase activity and assist with the shedding of skin. Water features, if appropriate for the species can help make the enclosure landscape more interesting and raise the humidity level. Additions of plants, moss and soil can also help to maintain humidity and moisture within your vivarium.
Natural terrarium substrates such as soil, wood chips, moss, etc., can give reptiles the ability to manipulate their environments and engage in natural behaviours such as digging a burrow or creating a nest site (Tegus). Moisture, texture and temperature gradients within the vivarium may all play a role in the selection of a nest site. It is also important to provide a natural substrate and conditions for potentially gravid females. This can help the females to deposit their clutch of eggs and to not become eggbound.
As you can see naturalistic vivariums and terrariums have advantages both for you as the hobbyist, and for your reptile pets.
The naturalistic vivarium industry has come a long way in the recent years. Now a vast amount of natural products are available, thus enabling you to create a beautiful natural reptile environment with little hassle. With the roots, vines, backgrounds and hideouts on the market today the only limitation in designing your naturalistic vivarium is your imagination.

bio = Eco-Terrarium Supply offers a large variety of natural terrarium decorations to create an exciting reptile enclosure. Check out the selection of real jungle vines, decorative roots, terrarium backgrounds, hiding places, tropical moss and rock products to enhance your pet reptile’s natural terrarium environment. Eco Terrarium Supply also offers a wide range of exotic pet care sheets, and terrarium building articles for your enjoyment.

View their website at: http://ecoterrariumsupply.com

Popularity: 26% [?]

Even if you don’t really follow football closely or at all – everyone celebrates the Superbowl. There is fun for everyone, like new and funny commercials, over the top pre-game and half time shows, and an excuse to have a party, eat and drink too much.

The foods that are most famously associated with this event are admittedly geared more towards men and carnivorous choices but, you can find a vegetable or legume on the list too. Some items on the list can be made as unhealthily or healthful as you like by the ingredients you use.

Most would agree that the Superbowl is all about food, friends and fun!

Okay, Here is my list of the top ten Superbowl foods:

10. Chips, Dips, Salsa and Nuts
This is a big umbrella of general “snack food” or ” junk food”. Beer nuts or any kind of nuts are almost a pre-requisite for a Football party anyway. There are some really great appetizers that are now almost synonymous with Football. For example: Nachos – whether you just pour some melted cheese on them or go all out with salsa, guacamole, jalapenos, black olives, refried beans and spiced ground meat – these are always a crowd pleaser. There’s also the “old fashioned” Chex mix that is really quite a nice retro snack. Purchase, various Chex cereal flavors, add mini pretzels, some peanuts, melt some butter and honey with some kicked up seasonings – mix them all together and spread them out on a cookie sheet in the oven on 350 for 15-20 minutes. Great stuff.
9. BBQ Baked Beans
The classic baked bean recipe can take over 24 hours to prepare and serve. It involves soaking the dry beans which takes up most of the time, and marinating and baking the beans in a combination of Molasses, brown sugar and BBQ sauce. It normally has Pork in it too and that adds a really great flavor but, if that’s not your bag you can substitute ground turkey or have no meat at all.
8. Steak Tips
There are also Turkey, Swordfish and Chicken tips out there too now a days. Whichever you choose, marinating them in a good marinade first is a must. Steak will need the longest in a marinade but, all of them will be great once they are grilled on a nice hot grill. Pair tips with Salad and a mixed rice and you are all set!
7. Sandwiches
I prefer the foot long Italian hoagie from the local deli cut up into 2 or 3 inch size sandwiches. Hot peppers are a necessity but should probably be “on the side” for the less inclined. Any kind of sandwiches will work really and Calzones which are not really considered sandwiches are a great choice because they are easy to eat while not sitting down and come in all kinds of yummy flavors.
6. Pizza
Well, I had to put it on the list. It is really popular as a football food. It’s not truly my choice but, considering that watching football is a male oriented past time and most men are not into cooking, it makes sense that something you can pick up the phone and have delivered within 30 minutes (men are not normally planners either) would be on the list. PS: Anything that can be ordered, created and delivered within 30 minutes is not something I would recommend for adults – Children.okay.
5. BBQ Pork with all the fix’ins
This choice is really for a dedicated BBQ’er and will take some time to do right but, boy. It is well worth it. You really have to start this menu item the day before you want to enjoy it. It takes a smoker and a pork butt, some good dry rub, a mop sauce (this is important as far as I am concerned) and some good BBQ sauce along with a dedication to the low and slow way of cooking. In addition to the pulled pork, lay out some hamburger buns, home made cold slaw, and some chips and you have the perfect football party meal.
4. Chili
This is one of the most versatile and easy one-pan dishes you can make. You can prepare it for a whole crowd using a crockpot and it has so many variations there is bound to be one that’s to your liking. Just type in “Chili Recipes” in Google or your favorite browser and see all of the hits you get. Yep, you can’t go wrong with a good chili. Make sure to have extra hot sauce for the diehards that insist on kicking it up a notch!
3. Ribs
Short ribs, Long ribs, Dry ribs, Wet ribs..There is a whole big debate about the best type of meat to use and the best way to cook ribs that is almost as hotly debated as who is going to win the big game. Two things I can tell you about ribs: 1. They are difficult to cook just right and, 2. When they are cooked correctly they are delicious! My suggestion to you is to purchase some ribs at your best local BBQ restaurant or grocery market and pop them in your oven before your friends arrive, set out your favorite BBQ sauce and pass them off as your own creation. See if anyone figures it out.
2. Sausages, Hot Dogs
These may not appeal to those of you that are on a health food kick but, really there have been vast improvements in the hot dog and sausage varieties and quite a few are now more healthy options than other choices. And really, what’s better than a sweet Italian Sausage smothered in sauted peppers and onions with gobs of mustard all wrapped up in a bun – mummm mummm. You can take a walk at half time to make up for it.
1. Chicken Wings
Okay, No surprise here. I don’t know exactly how Chicken Wings became the unofficial Football food but, I am cool with it. I have no complaints. Wings are pretty easy to make and you can make small batches at a time which is great if you are not sure how many people will be showing up demanding to be feed on the big day. The secret to great wings is the Wing sauce. There are almost as many brands of Wing sauce these days as BBQ sauce and mustard! That tells a little something about how popular these babies are.

bio = Chris McCarthy is the owner of InsaneChicken’s Hot Sauce

Popularity: 31% [?]

What’s the difference between success and failure.?

One Degree!

Have you ever seen Tiger Woods play golf?

Tiger Woods knows the importance of one degree. Why?

Well, think about this for a moment.

What’s the difference between Tiger hitting a perfect straight shot and him hitting a shot that goes way off to the right?

You guessed it. One Degree.

One degree of difference in the angle of his club can mean hitting a perfect shot or hitting a shot that goes nowhere close to the direction he wanted it to go.

So what does that have to do with you, especially if you don’t know anything about golf?

Everything!

You make decisions everyday of your life that will dictate where you end up in life. One wrong decision, if not corrected properly, can make your life go in a completely different direction than where you wanted it to go.

Now, don’t get discouraged about that. Everyone makes wrong choices in their life, finances, career, and relationships.

But how do you learn to correct those things and then how to avoid making many of those mistakes in the first place?

You need what Tiger Woods has.

You need a coach or mentor.

Tiger may be the best golfer in the world, but imagine if he didn’t have a coach. He would be out there with no one to help him correct the things that are throwing his game off. He would be out there all by himself trying to figure out what was going wrong.

You see, Tiger’s coach may not play golf as well as Tiger, but he can see and recognize the things that Tiger may not be doing correctly. He can see little things like the way Tiger is standing, the swing of his club, the angle of his club, and countless other things that Tiger may not even know. And if Tiger does know that he is doing something wrong, he may not know how to correct it.

Well, it works exactly the same way in your life. Coaches and mentors will help you get to your goal much faster because they know what you need to do, what you need to stop doing, or what you need change in order to get you to where you want to be.

Think of it this way.

You have been told that you have greatness on the inside of you. To realize that greatness you have two roads that you can choose to travel down. On the first road you must go alone. They tell you that this road is more or less the same as the second road. Both roads have potholes, speed traps, dangerous bends, detours, unnecessary exits, or unexpected obstacle.

The second road however, has a tour guide who will help you on your way. If you listen to the guide he can help you avoid many of these dangers. And if you do happen to get into some type of trouble, he knows ways to help you get back on course.

So which road would you choose?

Decide today that you are going to surround yourself with coaches and mentors in your life to help you achieve greatness in your life.

bio = Jason and Rebecca Osborn have dedicated themselves to changing thousands of lives by helping people find their greatness and true potential through their Find Your Greatness Newsletter. To get your free 7 part e-course, subscribe at www.findyourgreatness.com.

View their website at: http://www.findyourgreatness.com

Popularity: 26% [?]

One of the most thought about aspects of any wedding is the wedding cake. Every bride wants their wedding cake to be the focal point of the wedding reception table and something that guests will admire and talk about even after the wedding day.

With so many designs and styles available plus the added option to customize and accessorize your wedding cake to suit your wedding theme the options are truly endless.

Before you embark on enrolling someone with the job of creating your wedding cake it is worth making preliminary decisions before hand. Having an idea of what your budget is and what sort of cake you have in mind could save you a considerable amount of time. Do you know what filling the cake will have? Sponge or fruit cake? Do you want a tiered cake? If so how may tiers do you want for your wedding cake?. Having a few of these details already decided will help both you and the caterer you decide to employ.

Although it is a good idea to have ideas in mind, stay open to suggestions from the professionals, they may suggest something you may never have considered and that something could turn out to be your perfect wedding cake.

When you are ready to see the cake decorator or caterer (most should see you for a consultation free of charge) ask to see photos of their designs and don’t be afraid to ask for something different or mix two styles together, most caterers should be happy to oblige.

Most wedding cakes are decorated with white icing but if your theme is pink or a different colour there is no reason why the icing on your wedding cake shouldn’t match it.

Once you have chosen the filling for your wedding cake you then need to start thinking about a topper, the days of the imitation plastic bride and groom are long gone! Nowadays these cake toppers can be custom made and created to look exactly like the bride and groom, even down to the brides dress!.

Most wedding cake designers will need all decisions made and finalised three to six months before the event. I would strongly recommend having the wedding cake ordered six months in advance to allow for any changes that may need to be make and piece of mind for you.

You will need to budget well for your wedding cake, remember the cost of the cake is normally separate to the decorator’s fee, it is also wise to ask if there is any charge for having the wedding cake delivered so every outlay will be covered in your budget.

What ever design or style you choose the wedding cake plays such an important role in the wedding day, having the perfect wedding cake to slice with your partner will make the day extra special.

After the wedding cake has been cut and enjoyed by the guests remember to keep your wedding cake topper safe, this keepsake will always remind you of your perfect day, and who knows, it could be passed down to your children to use on their special day.

bio = Vicki Churchill is the owner of

View their website at: http://www.perfectweddingtableideas.com

Popularity: 30% [?]

You can be confident! All you have to do is rid yourself of confidence killers. Confidence killers are self-defeating thought patterns. Many of us walk through life with these harmful assumptions.

See if you’ve got any of these evildoers in your thoughts:

1. The All or Nothing Sniper:

This way of thinking is the reason you can’t seem to enjoy even the small wins you’ve been getting in life. I’ll bet you were the kid in school who went home crying when you got one wrong on a test!

You think you are a complete failure when your performance (whatever it is) is not perfect. You’d be confident if you didn’t spend so much energy being so hard on yourself!

2. The Dark Cloud of Destruction:

Look out! There is a disaster hiding behind every corner. Expect it. The Dark Cloud of Destruction makes you think silly things like: ‘I failed my chemistry test; there is no point in even thinking about college, now.’

3. Warlord of Negative Magnification:

If you listen to this confidence killer you’ll never be confident. He’s got a warped idea that if it’s good- it doesn’t really count. He’ll take any little negative anthill and magnify it like it’s a mountain.

If you won 8 singing contests but had a cold for the 9th and came in second, he’ll harp on that ninth and you’ll never look at the 8 trophies as the great achievements they really are.

4. The ‘If I feel it, it must be so’ Monster:

This is like a computer worm that shuts down all the clear thinking parts of your brain! A person with this can never be confident until they learn that how they are feeling doesn’t necessarily match up with the truth. We all have days when we don’t look our best or perform at our best.

The ‘I feel stupid so I must be stupid’ syndrome allows us to let our emotions run our lives. Don’t blindly accept emotions as truth. Be confident enough to think that tomorrow you probably will be feeling different.

5. The Sinister Should:

Perfectionists are good at should statements. Should statements are more about what your think other people expect from you than what you really want.

Should statements can be something like: Everybody should have an education plan. The person then thinks ‘ Oh, no! I don’t have an education plan! There must be something really wrong with me.’

6. Libellous Labeller:

Let’s throw this one in jail and throw away the key. You know the thought. It’s the one that we use to blame things on something. ‘I am a loser. It must all be my fault.’ If you are going to think labels, label yourself a confident person.

7. Compliment Constrictor:

This creepy crawler just can’t seem to let you accept a compliment. For once, if someone tells you that you look good in that dress, don’t let the slimy one takeover and say: ‘Really? I think it makes me look fat!

The good news is that recognizing any of these villains is half of the battle. So put on your white hat- train yourself to cancel these confidence-killing thoughts.

bio = Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. This report reveals the secret strategies all high achievers use to communicate with charm and impact. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm

Popularity: 27% [?]

We all need some confidence building from time to time. Part of feeling confident has a lot to do with how we feel about ourselves. Feeling like we can accomplish things we set out to do is important to feeling confident.

Remember that we all have talents and gifts. Whether we feel confident in these skills is very much part of thinking like a winner. Here is an easy way you can train yourself to think like a winner.

Make yourself a ‘to do’ list. Before you start complaining that you’ve tried that already in the past and it didn’t work, let’s go over the rules for this list. This is a list to make you feel like a winner.

It is your job to help yourself to feel as much like a winner as possible by making a list that is fun and easy to get done. I mean super easy. Ridiculously easy, even.

Here’s a sample list:

1. Get out of bed.
2. Brush my teeth and comb my hair.
3. Get dressed.
4. Eat something.
5. Eat something else.
6. Walk to a car, bus or another room.
7. Smile.
8. Answer the phone. But only if it rings.
9. Put socks on…

Are you getting the idea? This isn’t your average ‘to do’ list. This is a sort of self-conditioning list. Seeing all those check marks or seeing everything crossed off your list will make you feel like you’ve had a productive day. You’ll gain confidence in your abilities to get things done.

If you practice this fun list making, you’ll come to think of yourself as a winner. If you forget to write the list one morning, write a ‘done’ list at the end of the day. Just list ‘got out of bed’, etc. and mark them off.

As silly as this confidence building list making may seem, bear in mind that the subconscious doesn’t care about what is real or imagined. All it will see is a list that has been checked off every day. Eventually, you’ll notice yourself feeling more confident. You can then start adding real tasks to your list and doing them with the same ‘feel good’ attitude you had when you made your practice lists.

Don’t add too many, to start. Camouflage the real items you want to accomplish with your stand-by easy ones. The reason you don’t want to do a complete shift in list writing is that feeling good is an important element of confidence building.

Just look at someone you know to be confident. Are they down in the mouth or smiling? Allow yourself the joy of having fun with life. You’ll feel like a winner!

bio = Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. This report reveals the secret strategies all high achievers use to communicate with charm and impact. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm

Popularity: 27% [?]

Here are six tips for improving your communication style:

1. Knowing how to improve communication skills will come easier once you become aware of your own communication style.

Each person has a unique way of communicating. Listen to your own speech. What sorts of words do you use? Which sort of body language and what tone of voice are you using?

Now, think of someone who, in your opinion, is a good communicator. Compare your style to theirs. You’ve just taken an important first step in how to improve communication skills.

2. Now that you are aware of your own style, study the style of those around you. How do the most important people in your life converse? How do they say things? Look for approaches you can model and make your own.

3. Adjust to the other styles of communication. Don’t think it is too late to change your way of conversing because it’s been years. You had to learn to communicate in the first place and you can unlearn certain behaviors or change them. Sometimes we get stuck in a communication rut.

A father once was having a hard time with his teenaged daughter. She was growing and he thought she didn’t tell him what was going on in her life. They were in a heated discussion when he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Her answer was that she had, but he was too busy lecturing her to hear her. He learned that adjusting his style to his daughter would involve listening first before jumping right into solving the problem.

4. To build rapport, during a conversation try and match the other person’s movements, posture and verbal style. Don’t do everything they do, but mirror one or two things. For example, if the person gives mostly short answers to questions, you follow suit.

Or, maybe they talk at a slower pace than you usually do-slow your speaking speed to match theirs. This may sound simplistic but it is a very potent way to make someone feel very relaxed and comfortable in your presence.

5. The way you communicate at home may not be the same as in a different environment. Make sure you change your style to suit the different setting. Some comments you might want to tell your best friend, in private.

Other things can be shared in a group setting. Learn how to improve communication skills by altering your style for the appropriate setting. Many of us know someone who offers far too much information in a group setting.

6. Don’t criticize others for communicating differently. If we all communicated in the same way, we’d soon be bored with each other.

Getting a good grasp of your communication style and finding ways to accommodate other peoples’ styles, is a good way to improve your communication skills.

bio = Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. This report reveals the secret strategies all high achievers use to communicate with charm and impact. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm

Popularity: 27% [?]

“I don’t let my mouth say nothin’ my head can’t stand.” Louis Armstrong

Since the 1970’s, learning how to communicate better has had a lot to do with understanding body language.

Julius Fast wrote a book entitled, Body Language in 1970. He talked about a new science called Kinesics. It opened the way to more studies and books on the subjects. Today, the term Body Language is very common and understood as an important element of communication.

In fact, experts in the field of communication suggest that there is a rule that says that 7f the meaning of what a person is saying comes from their words.

Interestingly, 38s based on the tone of their voice. 55f the meaning comes from the body language of the person that is speaking. This rule comes from research that was published in the late 1960’s.

Some now think that the percentages from this research might be slightly different. Nevertheless, the bottom line is still the same. If you don’t know the basics of body language, you are missing a valuable tool for learning how to communicate better. We speak body language on a subliminal level, without actually realizing that we are communicating through body talk.

1. Face

The most expressive part of your body is your face. When you enter a room if you feel nervous, your expression might make you look aloof or unfriendly.

Smiling at the room is a sure-fire way to remove anyone’s doubts about your approachability. Smiling makes us look warm, open and confident.

2. Eyes

They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. They certainly give people clues about what we are feeling.

A direct gaze towards someone can show interest- direct staring on the other hand can mean an intense dislike. Very little eye contact can show that you are shy.

3. Hands

Have you ever watched someone’s hand gestures when they are talking? Open hand gestures tend to make a person appear open and honest. Bringing hands together to a point can accent the point you are making.

Wringing your hands or excessively moving your fingers and hands will give away nervousness. It can even make someone look dishonest- are they trying to hide something?

4. Posture

If you lean towards someone you are showing an interest in that person. If we are feeling low in confidence, we tend to slouch our shoulders and look down.

Men and women use different body language. For instance, women will stand close to each other, hold eye contact with the person they are talking to and use gestures.

Men make little effort to maintain eye contact and don’t rely on the use of gestures to communicate. Men and women can learn how to communicate better by observing the differences in their use of body language.

bio = Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. This report reveals the secret strategies all high achievers use to communicate with charm and impact. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm

Popularity: 27% [?]

Are you wondering how to communicate with that new man in your life? Or maybe you are just wondering about the next man in your life? New or old, it’s never too late to learn how to communicate in the language of love.

Maybe you’ve seen the tomboyish girl that somehow has men flocking around her. If you stopped turning green with envy for a moment, you’d notice why she was a man magnet. She just sort of fit herself into him, like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that he didn’t even know was missing.

Instead of rolling your eyes at that dazed and happy-in-love look he has on his face, why not look into how she did it? Learn these tips on how to communicate in a whole new way by getting to know his love language and speaking it fluently!

We all know that love is built on the solid foundation of communication. When we are in love we are on the same page as our lover. It’s a special level of communication that people in love have.

Some call it chemistry, but really, in order to even get to the chemistry stage you need to know his love language. For a clue as to what that might be, we need to understand how he relates to the world around him.

Everyone perceives their world with three senses – sight, sound and feelings. Psychologists have discovered that even though we use all three senses, one of these senses is always more pronounced. It doesn’t mean that it replaces the others, but if you pay attention, the more dominant one will reveal itself to you.

Asking questions is the easiest and fastest way to learn his language and since asking questions is the most common way to get to know someone or start a conversation, he’ll never suspect.

He’s just returned from a business trip. You ask about his trip. Pay attention to his answer:

1. If he’s visual he might say: the weather was terrible. I didn’t get to see the sun once!

2. An auditory guy will talk about sounds: we got the account, which was good. But the hotel I stayed at was too noisy.

3. He is a feeler if he answers something like: I have to admit; I’m not much into traveling alone. I get lonely when I visit new places.

Knowing a man’s love language is the key in how to communicate with him in a way that will make him feel that you are the missing piece to his puzzle. You’ll just fit. Of course, one question isn’t going to tell you. You’ll have to watch for a pattern to emerge.

Once you do find the prominent sense, you’ll want to speak his language. Talking with your visual man will be all about what you saw on the way over, while the auditory fellow will want to know about the new CD you just bought.

It doesn’t matter what your love language is. As long as you know how to communicate to him in his Love Language you’ll soon be the envy of all the other girls. That is, unless you tell them your secret.

bio = Peter Murphy is a peak performance expert. He recently produced a very popular free report: 10 Simple Steps to Developing Communication Confidence. This report reveals the secret strategies all high achievers use to communicate with charm and impact. Apply now because it is available for a limited time only at: http://www.howtotalkwithconfidence.com/report.htm

Popularity: 26% [?]

You hired a web developer to build a web site for you and you are ready to roll it out. Or it could be that you have a little ability to create web pages and you built some with your family information and vacation pictures on them. But web pages are useless unless they are put on the internet and for that you will need to get a web hosting service to serve the pages to remote web browsers. But how do you choose the right web hosting plan? What do you need to know? Do you have to be technically qualified to choose? Here are some tips to consider:

Tip 1: Know which type of web hosting service you need.

You should know if your web pages are written in PHP, ASP, HTML, or ASP.NET before choosing a web hosting service. These are the main types of web pages. PHP web pages will have a .php on the end of their file. ASP will have .asp on then end of the filenames. Likewise, HTML will have either .htm or .html and ASP.NET will have .aspx.

Tip 2: Know what functionality your web hosting service needs to provide.

What are you going to be doing with your web site? Is it just to display pictures and text (a static web site) or is it a full-blown ecommerce web site where you have to take orders, process credit cards and send emails. What your web site is for determines the type of web hosting service.

Tip 3: What price is offered by the web hosting service?

Obviously you want the price to fit in your budget. Be careful that extremely low prices could indicate future poor support service but that is not always true.

Tip 4: What kind of space is provided by the web hosting service?

You should have an idea of how much space you will need in megabytes for your web pages and database (if you have one) from your web hosting service. Allow room for expansion.

Tip 5: Does the web hosting service provide tools for monitoring?

The potential web hosting service should allow you to be able to look at traffic to your site, monitor bandwidth usage, and look at logs.

Tip 6: What type of email service is provided by the web hosting company?

It could be that you are looking for a web hosting service to store your business website. It could be that you have employees. How many unique email addresses are provided in your web hosting plan so that personnel and functions can have a unique email address?

Tip 7: Does the web hosting service handle Front Page Extensions?

Some web applications use Front Page Extensions and the web hosting service should be able to handle them. Your web developer will be able to tell you if this is a requirement.

Tip 8: Do you need secure capabilities from your web hosting service?

Many business web applications contain confidential customer data. Your web hosting service should provide support for secure shell page rendering (usually indicated by https:// instead of http://).

Tip 9: What type of database is needed for your application and is provided by the web hosting service?

Most web hosting services offer support for Microsoft Access, MySql, or SQL Server database. Your web developer should be able to tell you what type of database your website will use.

Tip 10: What type of support is offered by the web hosting service?

Even though this is last, it is probably the most important element of the web hosting service. Can you reach a live person and not just a live one but a knowledgeable one?

Remember to compare before you purchase a web hosting service. A good service will give you a highly-available site and be a site enjoyable for visitors and customers.

bio = This Article was written by John Galt. John is a professional webmaster who spends most of his time online. John is also the owner of www.Webhostchart.net – a web hosting review site with tons of useful information about web hosting topics..

View their website at: http://www.webhostchart.net

Popularity: 21% [?]

Do you remember the old movie where the two boys hack into a government computer and it asks them if they would like to play a game? Back when I first saw it I was amazed at how much computers could do, now it seems so outdated that it makes the movie void in my mind. Games and computers sure have come a long way in the past couple of decades. The average computer that sits in a child’s room has thousands of times the memory of the computer that was used to send the astronauts to the moon, and they just keep on getting more sophisticated. Throw on top of that the fact that the Internet is now everywhere and that most of our computers are linked into this central network and it really boggles the mind.

One area in which computers have really expanded over the years is in the games department. Since the old days of pong and table tennis these games are now so sophisticated that they are almost real. I have played some games on my computer that were a lot of fun, but the graphics were so realistic and with all the spinning and turning that went on I almost got sick. If you’ve ever watched your child play a game on the computer or on their home video game system then you know what I’m talking about. If you’ve never seen what your child is playing then you should sit in one time, it will be a real eye opener.

As computers get faster and faster and the Internet grows even more, the online gaming industry will grow along with it. Still there will be those that love the old standby games like solitaire or word puzzles, but no matter what kind of game you enjoy there is no doubt that you will be able to enjoy it better and faster in the near future.

bio= For newspaper subscriptions in Texas or Georgia visit our newspaper discount website.

Popularity: 13% [?]

There is an old expression that goes “Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you”. Now that expression seems kind of cute, but the truth of the matter is that sometimes there are bear like organizations that take advantage of individuals and they eat them by overcharging for services that the person needs. One of those bear like organizations is found in the medical profession. The people that are involved in providing your medical treatment charge large amounts of money, sometimes though it is out of necessity because of the high costs of running their business. Fortunately there is help for those of us who need medical treatment but are not able to afford the high cost of receiving it.

There are programs that are set up through the state that will help individuals and families with a real need to be able to afford proper medical treatments. It would not be unreasonable for someone that has a disability to end up paying thousands of dollars just to get something to help them, and sometimes it just isn’t possible to afford that kind of money. The states have programs that are set up to assist the disabled, elderly, and children that can not afford the medical treatments that they need. The federal government has also set up the Medicaid program in order to help low-income families with medical expenses and this is administered and co-funded on the state level.

So there is no need to feel as if you are being eaten up with high medical costs. If you have a real need, and are unable to pay for the treatments yourself then these programs are there to help. If you have any questions about the programs your state provides contact them through the proper state office.

bio= It doesn’t matter if you are looking for a Pennsylvania Job or a Job in Nevada you can find help at our Employment Help website.

Popularity: 11% [?]

One of the most popular things that people do online is game playing. There are dozens of websites that offer these little flash games for people to play. They can play either against each other or against an online opponent, and that makes them even more fun. There are also a lot of free games that are available to download on the Internet as well. You can find them on the better software sites, or check out some of the top freeware sites as well. There are also a lot of different types of games that people play, here are a few of them and what is accomplished by those games.

1. Shooting Games – These games are just like it implies, you go around shooting stuff in these games. That stuff can range from targets and aliens to people, if you are in to that sort of thing. Hunting games would also fall under this category.

2. RPG – This stands for Role Playing Games and they are very popular right now, both on the Internet and on the home video game systems. Typically you play out someone else’s life or a part of it in the game. You make decisions that affect the outcome of the game and it constantly evolves depending on the type of decisions you make.

3. Arcade Games – These are a great old standby of both the online game world and the home video game systems. They have clones of some of the more popular video arcade games as well as some new and original arcade games that you can play as well. You can play against the computer and sometimes you can play against an online opponent.

No matter what type of game you enjoy just know that as the Internet grows there will be an ever increasing chance for you to play these games online. So keep your eye on your favorite games site and watch them grow.

bio= For information about Childrens Magazines or Lifestyle Magazines visit our Magazine Discount website.

Popularity: 33% [?]

A pond pump plays a major roll in any man made pond, with out one the risk of the pond becoming stagnant is greatly increased due to the water standing still over a long period of time with little or no movement.

A pond pump not only helps to drive a filter and keep the water fresh, it is also used for many water features such as a waterfalls, pond spitters or statues.
Depending on what you require the pond pump to achieve you need to select it wisely, choosing the wrong pond pump could result in your water not being filtered properly or you may have insufficient flow to your water features which will stop them working properly.

There are many pond pumps available both in stores and over the world wide web, if you have a specific job in mind for the pump then you can choose one that suits that specific need, if you require it to for fill more than one purpose then there is always the option of a multi purpose pond pump.

Pond Pumps are categorized by the quantity of water they pump. This is based on the gallons of water a pump can move in an hour. It also must pump this quantity at least one foot or higher for the same amount of time. Pump manufacturers offer simple to use charts that give details of each pump and how much water they move.

Some of the combined pond pumps offer great value for money, look out for those that have advanced design filter housing eliminating the need for a filter sponge, if the pond pump has wrap around filter housing you will greatly reduce the need to clean the pump itself resulting in less damage being made to the motor.

Water garden pond pumps are ideal for water features such as running waterfalls and filters, choosing a well known make and model will deliver the high performance needed by modern pressure filter systems to run spectacular waterfalls and features.

Having a garden pond especially if you have designed and created it yourself, add so much to a garden, watching the plant and fish grown and seeing what you have created develop slowly over time gives a remarkable sense of satisfaction. To stop your pond turning stagnant or even worse into a man made bog it is worth spending some time considering which pond pump will suit your ponds needs best.

If you are unsure what you require then just ask, most garden centres or pet shops will supply a wide variety of pond pumps that will suit your pond.
Always try and take as much information with you if asking advise, generally the size of the pond will be paramount but if you have a rough idea how many fish you have or what percentage of the pond is filled with plants then that will help to.

bio = Allen Jesson writes for several sites including Seapets, a leading source for Pond Pumps and hot dog training tips and training for dogs.

View their website at: http://www.seapets.co.uk

Popularity: 25% [?]

We all have a certain level of self confidence. Without it we simply won’t be able to function in the world. We all need self confidence because without it we simply won’t be able to attempt or even do anything. So, what is self confidence really? Self confidence is your confidence or your sense of certainty in yourself. This confidence can be reflected in many different areas of your life and you might have confidence in certain areas, but lack it in others.

Brian Tracy, in his remarkable self confidence program, The Science of Self-Confidence, outlines the importance of self confidence in every area of your life. The ability to achieve your goals relies heavily upon your belief in yourself. Whether you belief you can or whether you believe you can’t, either way you will be right. What you believe and what you feel certain about is what you act upon – or what you fail to act upon.

We all need this sense of certainty in the things we attempt to do. Certainty makes us feel confident in our ability to deal with a situation. Without certainty we tend to hesitate as we are unfamiliar with what might happen. As human beings we ALL need a sense of certainty. If you lack that sense of certainty you will remain immobilized by your own lack of confidence.

I must admit that I was one of those people who firmly believed that one gets born with confidence. I mean, have you ever seen someone who is really self confident and truly self assured. They just seem so in control and so alive; as if nothing can stop them. Is this a ‘given’ or is it something you learn? The truth is that either way, we all want it and you probably can’t ever have enough of it. Only after investing in a good self confidence program did my perception of self confidence start to change – and thankfully so.

Self confidence is nothing but a state of mind. It’s an attitude and something that can be learned. Think about it – when you actually feel self confident it’s only a feeling isn’t it? It does not rely on anything outside yourself, but relies solely on the process of though and on how you organize ideas and response in your mind.

By learning to consciously cultivate these attitudes you can learn to be confident. Like building muscles, you systematically, purposefully build confidence in yourself until you learn to rely on yourself without hesitation. Building self confidence is a cycle that can either serve you or break you down even further. The self confidence-cycle is self reinforcing – the more you act on your doubts, the more confidence you build and the more confidence you have the easier it is to just do it with certainty, the more you are willing to do.and the cycle continues.

Investing in a good self confidence program will proof to be priceless as the process of building self confidence is not that straight forward. Self confident people have this ability to ’switch on’ their self confidence in every area of life, even if they haven’t done something before or even if they feel fearful. Developing your self confidence has become an exact science. We now know exactly how the most confident people do and what they do to create that sense of certainty within themselves. This is not some quick fix or magic bullet strategy as some self confidence program might promise. It’s a quality that you must cultivate within yourself. What will change immediately though is your perception of yourself and that is the vital element in developing your self confidence.

Your ability to pursue your goals, to just do it and to succeed is directly related to your level of confidence in yourself and your own ability to be effective.

Regardless of what you want to be, do or have in your life – you will need self confidence. Without that inner certainty in yourself, you simply won’t have the necessary backup from within to be truly effective. Confident people radiate their certainty and they are attractive in more than one way. Self confidence is the key to turning yourself ON. Only when you learn to trust and believe in yourself can you really get the most out of yourself and activate your ability to create and direct your own life.

bio = Article: Sincere-Advice.com If you are looking to raise your own self confidence, Brian Tracy’s program The Science of Self-Confidence can help you awaken and develop that unshakeable confidence and belief in yourself.

View their website at: http://overcoming-procrastination.com/

Popularity: 26% [?]

Have you ever known two people that seem to have the same amount of talent, ability, and smarts but only one of them seems to have success in their life? You may wonder why in the world the other person can’t ever seem to achieve anything great when they have just as much ability as the other person.

As a matter of fact, you may have even wondered that about yourself! You never seem to be quite as successful as someone else even though you know that you are just as talented, if not more so. Why is that?

There could be several reasons, but most likely it’s just a matter of you not walking the same planks.

Let me explain.

Image that there was a 2-foot wide plank of wood that was set on the ground. You are asked to walk the length of that plank to get to the other side. You gladly get on the plank and walk to the other side without any problems whatsoever. Then the same plank is raised 25 feet up into the air and you are again asked to walk the 2 foot wide plank of wood to the other side. You say to yourself, ‘No problem, I just did it a second ago without any problems.’ So you get in place to walk across the plank and then it hits you, you’re 25 feet up in the air! What if you fall off? Can you catch yourself if you fall? Would you survive the fall if you weren’t able to catch yourself? You start paying attention to all the things that could happen if you made a mistake, yet it’s the exact same plank you just walked a few moments ago with no prolem.

So, the reason why it seems that you aren’t as successful as someone else is because they are willing the walk the plank when the stakes get raised and you are not. The path to success and greatness is never without risk. You just have to step out and know that you have the ability to succeed even if you aren’t always used to the risks and conditions that will arise.

bio = Is there greatness on the inside of you but you don’t know how to achieve it? Jason has just completed his brand new 7 part e-course, ‘Find Your Greatness’

Get it free when you subscribe at: www.findyourgreatness.com

Jason and Rebecca Osborn have dedicated themselves to changing thousands of lives by helping people find their greatness and true potential through their Find Your Greatness Newsletter.

View their website at: http://www.findyourgreatness.com

Popularity: 26% [?]

Gluten-Free Foods are foods that do not contain any gluten (for example Gluten-Free Pizzas). Gluten is typically defined as the cohesive, elastic protein that is left behind after starch is washed away from a wheat flour. Wheat contains the truest form of gluten which is in the form of gliadins and glutenins, although other grains like barley, rye, oats, millet, sorghum rice and corn also contain different forms of gluten.

Corn gluten is called “zien,” millet’s is called “panicinand,” sorghum’s is called “kafirin,” rice’s is called “orzenin,” and each of these grains is considered to be a “gluten-free food” that is safe for those on a Celiac disease diet. Additionally in recent years it has been determined that non-contaminated oats are not harmful to those with Celiac disease, although it appears that there is a sub-set of people who do have an intolerance to avenin, the protein in oats, which produces symptoms that are very similar to those seen in Celiac disease.

Rye contains a protein called “secalinin” and barley contain protein called “hordein,” and these are not considered gluten free foods, and are not safe for those on a Celiac disease diet.

Gluten-free foods, then, are foods that are free of wheat, rye, barley and their derivatives. All foods sold by The Gluten-Free Mall meet these criteria, and in addition we do not currently sell foods that contain oats.

A Gluten-Free Diet is not only a personal lifestyle change that requires not just a little discipline, but it also demands the dedication to monitor, if not alter, specific relationships with the world around us. To be specific, the absolutely Gluten-Free Diet must admonish any grain that has gluten in it.

Gluten is the elastic protein stuff that makes grain particles stick together to make breads, pastas, cakes and cookies. Gluten is not a chemical added to grain or flour–it is a natural part of many grains. Grains containing gluten are wheat, kamut, spelt, barley, rye, oats, and triticale.
For the Gluten-Free Diet, avoiding wheat and its meddling cohorts is to remain constantly vigilant against an omnipresent and insidious enemy. For the Gluten-Free Diet, this is a lifelong and daily battle that calls for support from their community as well as their restaurateurs.

Look for the Gluten-Free Mall’s guide to Gluten-Free Restaurants to get a 100re-approved list of safe havens in your town. Next time you go to a regular restaurant, whether you’re on a Gluten-Free Diet or not, ask the waiter if he or she knows if there’s gluten in the salad dressing–and be sure to mind the Croutons!

For more information, please visit the author’s Celiac Disease Information Site

bio = Scott Adams is owned and operated The Gluten Free Mall since 1996. The site provides people suffering from Celiac Disease with quality Gluten Free Food at reasonable prices.

View their website at: htt://www.glutenfreemall.com

Popularity: 30% [?]

Do you remember coming home from school and smelling a delicious dinner stewing in the crock pot? I do. Little did I know that delicious meal only took, at the most, 15 minutes to prepare. My mom was busy with school and work, so she did not have a lot of time to prepare meals. Lucky for me, we had a crock pot. She would do all of the grocery shopping on the weekend and we would use the crock pot two or three times a week. The main ingredients were chicken and some type of bean. Some of my favorite meals included baby back ribs, ham hocks and beans and roast beef.
Before you begin, there are a few guidelines that you should follow when using a crock pot. Whether you are cooking for a big group or a nice dinner, these tips will enhance your slow cooking experience.
Crock Pot Hints and Tips
Beans
Beans must be softened completely before combining with sugar and/or acid foods (NOTE: Sugar and acid have a hardening effect on beans and will prevent softening). Dried beans, especially red kidney beans, should be boiled before adding to a recipe. Cover the beans with 3 times their volume of unsalted water and bring to a boil. Boil 10 minutes, reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer 1 1/2 hours or until beans are tender. Soaking in water, if desired, should be completed before boiling. Discard water after soaking or boiling.

Meats
. Due to the nature of a crock pot, meat does not brown as it would if it were cooked in a skillet or oven. It is not necessary to brown meat before slow cooking, however, if you prefer the flavor and look of browned meat, brown your meat in a skillet with a little oil, then place the meat in the stoneware and follow the recipe as usual.

. Trim fats and wipe meats well to remove residue. (If meats contain fats, brown in a separate skillet or broiler and drain well before adding to cooker). Season with salt and pepper. Place meat in stoneware on top of vegetables.

. For roasts and stews, pour liquid over meat. Use no more liquid than specified in the recipe. More juices in meats and vegetables are retained in slow cooking than in conventional cooking.

Liquids
. A specific liquid called for in a recipe may be varied if an equal quantity is substituted (such as substituting a 10 1/2 ounce can of soup plus 4 ounces of water for a 14 1/2 ounce can of tomatoes OR 1/2 cup beef or chicken broth for 1/2 cup of wine, etc).

. Roasts can be cooked without water when set on LOW. We recommend a small amount, however, because the gravies are especially tasty. The more fat or “marbling” the meat has, the less liquid you need. The liquid is needed to properly soften and cook vegetables.

Vegetables
Most vegetables should be thinly sliced or placed near the sides or bottom of the stoneware. Meats generally cook faster than most vegetables in a crock pot.
Cooking with Frozen Foods You can cook frozen meats in your crock pot, however it is best to use the following guidelines:

. Add at least 1 cup of warm liquid to the stoneware before placing meat in the stoneware.

. Do not preheat the crock pot.

. Cook recipes containing frozen meats for an additional 4 to 6 hours on Low, or an additional 2 hours on High.

bio = Michael K. Sasaki is the founder of RecipeMatcher , where you can find delicious crock pot recipes , salsa recipes and barbecue recipes.

View their website at: www.recipematcher.com

Popularity: 30% [?]

Whether you are a college student or just horse poor or both, there comes a time when your horse budget isn’t always what you would like it to be. There are a lot of things you would like to buy for your horse or need for your horse, but right now you can barely afford to feed both of you. Don’t worry because there are many options that you can explore.

First, you might need to consider your current boarding situation. Depending on what part of the country you live in the cost of boarding is going to vary. Can you really afford full care boarding right now or are you going to have to start doing some of the work? Find out if your current boarding facility is willing to work with you. Will they allow you to do partial-care board at a reduced rate or pasture board? Will they let you help them in some of their daily duties and reduce your rent for your hard work? Is it time to move your horse? Look for smaller facilities that meet your needs, often they will have reduced rates than other barns. Would you be willing to feed somebody else’s horses for board? These options need to be researched and explored. I have been successful in running ads in the Thrifty Nickel newspaper stating, “Will feed or ride for boarding.” I currently board for free because I take care of a couple’s farm while they go out of town.

It works well for both of us and I have been at this facility for two years now and have become great friends with the couple. Also, do you have friends or family that have land or other horses? Would they let you keep your horse there if you help them out? Most importantly, always get an agreement in writing. This helps in the fact that both parties know the terms of the agreement and if anything is to happen you have your agreement in writing.

Secondly, let’s look at your horse’s diet. You need to consider what type of work your horse is doing and what his energy requirements are. An adult horse only requires 8rude protein diet and this can be provided from a 100ay diet for maintenance on a horse that is lightly worked. A younger horse is going to require a 10-12rude protein diet depending on whether or not he is in training and being rapidly grown or not. If you feed a balanced sweet feed with a good grass or alfalfa hay then you will be able to meet their energy requirements. If he seems to lose weight, gradually increase his feed a little more until he stops losing weight. He certainly does not require a fat added or high protein diet, unless he is doing intense work like roping, cutting or jumping. Most feed stores carry a basic sweet feed that is 10-14rude protein for $5 to $6 a bag.

If you live in the West Texas or New Mexico area, you know that we are in a drought and hay prices have soared. Not to mention the cost of gas isn’t helping much either. You can hardly find a round bale of Coastal grass hay for less than $75 out here. I suggest finding a hay wholesaler where you can load the hay yourself out of the field or a barn for less than what you would pay at the feed store. If you have the space, stock up on as much as you can for a few months. This will be expensive initially but it is better than buying it a few bales at a time.
bio = Michael Albert is an expert by profession but he is also writing articles on horses, stallion, and trailors for a long time. He has done his research work in the same field within the organization of Horse Chit Chat.To know more about horse chit chat, horses for sale, horse forum, horse trailers, equine forum, horse articles visit www.horsechitchat.com

View their website at: http://www.horsechitchat.com

Popularity: 25% [?]

Did you know that you can have your own online store featuring Amazon products? And you can have this store up and running in minutes.
aStore by Amazon is a new Associates product that gives you the power to create a professional online store that can be embedded within or linked to from your website in minutes and without any knowledge of HTML or any other programming skills and best of all there are no fees associated with building an aStore for your website.
aStore is a dedicated shopping area that you can set up on your website in minutes you decide which Amazon products you want to feature you can include all Amazon products or display only the categories that you choose you also have the option of creating your own custom product categories you can also customize your store’s look and feel by selecting colours and design that closely match those of your existing website. aStore also allows you to offer your customers a shopping cart for multiple item purchases plus check out on Amazon is the most trusted store online
aStore allows you to inform your customers with robust product details, product reviews, product images and information from Amazon including informative product descriptions, Amazon editor product reviews, recommended products, up-to-date product information, Listmania (themed product lists from other Amazon customers).
The aStore wizard will guide you step by step through the process of setting up your aStore and generate a URL to which you can link to or embed in your website. There are three ways that you can embed your aStore into your website the quickest and easiest way is via a simple link from your website navigation menu to your aStore as a standalone site this option also includes a link back to your site from each one of your aStore web pages or if you wish you can embed your aStore using an inline frame or embed using a frameset these two methods of embedding your aStore will appear to your visitors as if the aStore is part of your website and enable them to shop without actually leaving your site.
You can see an example aStore that use the simple link method of website integration by visiting http://astore.amazon.co.uk/crictrad-21
As an Amazon associate you can create up to 100 aStores and you will earn commissions for every product that is sold to a customer that either purchases directly through your aStore or who subsequently purchases at a later date direct from Amazon.
UK residents should join Amazon associates via amazon.co.uk and likewise US residents should join via amazon.com as they are two separate sites with two separate associates programs although you can if you wish join both programs and have a UK aStore and a US aStore if you are targeting both a UK and US or overseas audience.
You can receive your Amazon associates commissions by either direct deposit in to your bank account, a cheque or Amazon gift vouchers.

bio = You can see some example aStores by visiting the following websites Cricket Trader Bookstore or UK Poker Store
Phil Scurrah is an expert in internet marketing and sports betting see some of his work at http://www.crickettrader.net

Popularity: 20% [?]

The customer associated with this case study is a major city in the Northeastern part of the United States. This is a single example of the use of OM Plus advanced print spooler software from Plus Technologies to perform Intelligent Document Delivery as a means to improve a business process and increase staff productivity.

Business Problem – The staff at the city was faced with the need to improve the delivery of enterprise reports and significantly cut the turn around time from printing to delivery to the end user. They utilized a centralized pool of large, expensive to maintain and support Xerox production printers in their data center for their enterprise printing. Once the jobs were printed, they were then physically delivered to the requesting end user. This process could take hours or in some cases more than a day. Productivity improvement was impossible without more timely delivery of the enterprise reports end users required to perform their jobs. The city needed to develop a master plan to migrate away from large, centralized print assets to a de-centralized network printer architecture so the enterprise reports could be printed close to the requesting end user. The city also needed a plan to support this new environment upon completion of the migration in the most cost effective manner possible.

Key Technical Challenge – The city was faced with a very real challenge regarding their plan to de-centralize printing. When they analyzed the thousands of print jobs that were being printed on their centralized production printers, they determined that most of the jobs were under a couple of hundred pages. The planned network printers could effectively handle these jobs. However, approximately ten to twenty percent of their enterprise application print jobs (this varied dramatically by time of the fiscal quarter) were over 200 pages and would prove to be problematic if they were printed on the network printers. Problems that would arise included:
. When a job was larger than the paper input tray of a printer, the job may not completely print until more paper was added (unbeknownst to the user who requested the job and picked it up thinking it was complete) and their information would not be accurate due to lack of pages
. Printers would be monopolized by large jobs creating a bottleneck for end users trying to print, putting the user back at the same point they were before de-centralization, lack of productivity while they waited for the delivery of their print jobs.
. Bandwidth on network segments could be over saturated by printing large jobs, causing throughput problems for other users and applications
. The cost per page associated with network printers was higher than the large production printers. This is cost increase was offset by the improved delivery times of small print jobs, however, the cost to print very large jobs on the network printers could not be justified.

Having identified this series of challenges regarding large print jobs, the city decided they would require that large print jobs be printed on a centralized production printer. The staff knew they needed “business rules” at the print spooler to determine the appropriate printer rather than relying on end users to make the correct determination.

Technical Environment
. Heterogeneous Mainframe, Windows, UNIX and Linux environment with packaged and homegrown enterprise applications
. Lexmark and other network printers
. See diagram – Page 5

Technical Solution
. OM Plus is implemented on a Windows server, configured as the enterprise wide print server with redundancy
. OM Plus receives print jobs from their source application and determines the number of pages in the print job
. Based on number of pages in the job, OM Plus delivers it to the requested network printer or re-routes it to the large production printer to take advantage of its lower cost per page
. For any job that is re-routed, an email is sent to the user notifying them that their job has been re-routed
. No changes to applications needed

Other Features
. As a bi-product of installing OM Plus, the customer also gained access to all the other features of OM Plus that are designed to help them control and manage their print jobs and printers.
. These features streamlined operations and reduced the costs related to administration and support of their enterprise wide network printer architecture. Costs they anticipated when going to a de-centralized printing model were avoided through central management and control through the OM Plus central administration screen.

Implementation
. On site services including installation, system configuration, testing and user training was provided by service engineers from Plus Technologies.
. The entire implementation was completed and in production within two weeks of the order.

Results
. Printing is new de-centralized
. Intelligent document routing allows for the utilization of lower cost per page centralized printers as business rules dictate
. Reduced print delivery times for the vast majority of print jobs greatly improving staff productivity
. OM Plus job and printer administration features eliminate de-centralized printing support costs and challenges

Customer Quote
“We faced a significant challenge and risk in migrating our print from a centralized model to a de-centralized model. That risk was significantly reduced through the use of OM Plus because it allows us to do selective, intelligent centralization by job size and manage our entire print architecture from a single screen.”
-Director Information Technology Services
bio = Plus Technologies offers advanced Print Spooler, Print Management Software, Document Delivery, Windows Printing and UNIX Printing services and solutions.
Phone – 877-899-7587 (Toll Free)
Outside the US and Canada – 937-384-0444
Email: contactus@plustechnologies.com

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In personal development, one of the main goals is to achieve happiness. What often stands in the way are “negative” emotions that linger on. Most people have some of these emotions, either repressed or lasting with no outlet. Some are low level, some are strong.

Recognising that you have this sadness or anger bottled up inside you, or dealing with lower level emotions are articles that can be found on the Urban Monk website. I am focusing on letting out anger on this article because I feel it is one of the worst. It is crippling; it colours everything you do in your life and is often linked with depression.

Anger is crippling

I used to suffer from massively pent-up emotions; while I was often described as a teddy bear guy, I had massively pent-up anger and to a lesser extent, sadness. When I blew up, I blew up. I became verbally abusive and irrational – often this would only be shown to, and therefore unintentionally hurt, the people who love me the most and are the closest to me. This led to a deep depression that lasted for more then a year – and badly deteriorating physical health.

So trust me; be honest with yourself, and find out if you have anger issues. If you do, take steps to fix it – for yourself and those who love you.

Besides being a major step towards happiness, there are other benefits to dropping all that emotional weight from your shoulders. Self-esteem, confidence, and courage are other parts that develop as you deal with anger.

Understanding Anger and Sadness

The first step to dealing with it is to understand anger. Anger is not “negative”. It is simply an energy; an emotion. It serves as a protection system. When you get angry, it is a sign that something or someone is infringing on you or your rights.

It is not to be confused with blind rage; blind rage is when you start being abusive; when you start being violent towards inanimate objects, or worse, other people. That is not healthy.

I heard a great analogy once; emotions are like vegetables. When they are fresh, they are fine, when you hold it in for a long time, that’s when they become toxic. They explode to the surface and manifest themselves in unhealthy ways. It could also lead to cancer, stress, and several other nasty conditions.

How to deal with Anger

There are a few universal exercises for releasing anger across all the different sorts of methodologies and therapies I’ve researched. I’ve captured the essence here.

Often times you need to do this a few times. Pain comes in waves, and often times one such exercise won’t be enough to release all that pent-up energy.

There are many causes of anger or sadness; bad parenting, childhood bullies, and so on. Try to trace it back to the roots, understand it, and try to give it a voice. As you’ll see below, this is vital, as the vocal component is the most important.

Note: If it is something that you cannot handle, please do not feel ashamed to seek out professional help. And avoid self-destruction; numbing of the pain with alcohol, drugs, or other risky behaviour. I went through a whole year of this and paid for this behaviour physically and emotionally for nearly a year after. And I’m one of the luckier ones.

Once you have that, find a safe location. Somewhere you can scream and act out your anger and sadness – either alone, or with an understanding person. With each one of the following options, remember you need to scream out – all the words you’ve always wanted to say – while you are doing it. Even if it’s just a string of vulgarities, do it!

Let it all out. You might feel weird and self-conscious doing this, it’s normal. Don’t give up. Just do it over and over again until you feel that all your repressed anger is gone. You’ll know when this happens, instinctively. It might take weeks, it might take days, it’s different for everyone.

The three steps:

1) Do this in a safe location. Kneel on your bed like you’re praying. Find a large pillow. Make a hammer fist with your hands. Not a boxing style fist, you might your wrist. And pound the pillows, with all your might until you can’t go any more.

2) Sometimes twisting is better. Find a towel, and twist it like you are trying to wring out every last drop of water.

3) Sometimes just screaming is good enough. Go somewhere abandoned, with some loud music put on maximum and scream with your whole body. Become the yell. Yell until your whole body trembles.

What’s next?

Usually what follows the release of anger is sadness. Read the next in this series of articles for this at the Urban Monk website. You’re on your way to Mastery!

This article is for educational purposes only. It is based on the author’s research and own experience; however you and you alone are responsible for what you do with it. By reading this article you agree that he will assume no liability or responsibility to any person or entity for any loss or damage related directly or indirectly to this article.
bio = True happiness and success can be achieved regardless of where and who you are! Albert’s free personal development blog has articles that will guide you to emotional mastery, self-esteem, confidence, masculinity, social and dating skills, spirituality, philosophy, finance and career, boxing, and martial arts.

Visit UrbanMonk.net for more FREE Personal Development reprint articles.

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Popularity: 22% [?]

It was just over a year ago when my wife surprised me with a trip to Lake Tahoe. She was watching TV one evening and the music group The Eagles was holding a concert on TV. She took a few minutes to look up where they would be playing and she noticed that they were opening a new tour in Lake Tahoe so she started doing some vacation planning.

The first thing that she did was to secure the tickets. Although they weren’t selling them publicly they did have several par of tickets available through EBay and she was able to pick up some great tickets in the 7th row. After that she found out that the concert was actually being given at Harvey’s which is a hotel that is right in Lake Tahoe. Now neither my wife or I gamble but we decided that since the rooms were right there within walking distance we would go ahead and stay, boy were we ever glad that we did. The rooms were clean and fantastic and the concert was a blast.

While we were in Lake Tahoe we did a lot of things that were very enjoyable. Besides taking a day trip to Yosemite we treated ourselves to a sailing ship evening on the lake as well as a sunset martini cruise. The highlight of the trip was when we parasailed over the lake. It was so quiet and peaceful up in the parasail that I didn’t even want to come down.

So the next time you get an idea that you would like to go away at the spur of the moment I say go for it. There are a lot of places that you could go and many things to see and sometimes it all gets lost in the planning. That is why I think that our trip to Lake Tahoe was so perfect, there weren’t any plans to mess things up for us.

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Popularity: 12% [?]

When I was growing up my sisters and I played games all the time. Now this was before the home video games came out and the Internet was not available to play games online. When we played games it involved actual human interaction between players and stimulated conversation (although at the time I didn’t enjoy talking to my sisters all that much) We enjoyed playing outside games such as tag and hide-n-seek and we played with our toys, but one thing that we often did on weekend afternoons if the weather was too bad to play outside was to play cards. It seems that card playing is becoming somewhat of a lost art, and that is really a shame because it was such a nice way to pass the time. Here are some of the card games that we played.

1. 500 Rummy – In this game each player is given 7 cards and the rest of the cards are placed upside down on the table with the exception of one card. The first player then drew either from the upside down deck of cards or from the one card. He then discarded one card out of his hand. The point of the game was to get either 3 or 4 of a kind or a run of 3 or more in the same suite and you would lay these down on the table. The first person out of cards won the hand and all the points were tallied from the cards on the table. The first person to reach 500 points wins.

2. War – Here is a game that my children still play from time to time. It is played with two players and the deck is split evenly between them. Each player then flips over the top card in their deck and lays it on the table. The person with the highest card takes the two of them. If it is a tie then 3 cards are placed face down and a fourth card is placed face up. The higher of the face up card takes them all. The game is won when all the cards are in one person’s hand.

So the next time you have nothing to do, why not grab a deck of cards and play a hand with someone you love. It’s a great way to pass a grey afternoon or a slow evening at home.

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Popularity: 28% [?]

If you are into history and you love learning about the Civil War then you need to take a trip through Gettysburg. I had the privilege of growing up in the area and was able to spend many weekends in the Gettysburg National Park, driving around and looking at the history that is so predominant in that area. I also spent a lot of time looking at the wildlife that was around, and since they were protected by the government they were there in large numbers. I can remember seeing herds of deer out in the open fields that just stayed there and let you look at them for a long time, they simply weren’t afraid. Here is the route that I took through Gettysburg and what it is that I got to see.

Coming from the area of Waynesboro you enter Gettysburg and go to the top of a hill. A light at the top of the hill is your signal to turn right and enter the park. Along the first stretch of road there are several privately owned buildings as well as some farm land but soon you will begin to see the cannons. The rows of cannons sit looking across the open fields, silent now but still bringing visions of smoke and war into your mind. After going through this part of the trip you will come to an observation tower. If you are brave enough to climb the stairs to the top you will get a birds eye view of the park.

Going further around the road you will come to the areas of little round top and big round top. You will also be able to look down across the small valley and over to Devil’s Den. It was from that large group of rocks that snipers fired over to big round top and the gunfire was returned. Take some time to read the plaques on Big Round Top, they are very interesting.

The road then travels down past Devil’s Den and eventually find it’s way over to the Pennsylvania Monument and is in the area of the goal of Pickett’s Charge. This is an interesting part of the drive and is near some nice museums where you can learn more about the area. The road finally empties out into civilization again and if you take right you will find yourself going right into the Gettysburg Square. There are a lot of places to eat along the way. I hope that you enjoy your visit to Gettysburg and that you took my old route past all the history.

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Popularity: 12% [?]