The human body is made up of about 70 percent water. Under normal conditions it loses some body water through sweat, tears, urine and stool. Water also evaporates from the skin and leaves the body in the form of vapor when people breathe. Because of these facts, dehydration becomes a major health concern among many individuals. Dehydration is a condition in which the body lacks water and electrolytes. Electrolytes are substances which contains free ions that are used by the body in important cellular activity. This condition may lead to serious ailments and even death if not given proper attention.
The main reason people feel as if there is nothing on the tube is the fact that we as humans have a short attention span. This translates to people switching from a channel once they become bored or disinterested. As they flip and they see nothing that really entice them they continue till they end up on the original channel in which they decided was boring the first place. The only people who think they have too many channels, are the ones who are engaged and have an attention span that keeps them glued to one channel.
If you are like me, you do not like to travel to most cities and be dependent on the local taxi or transit systems. I want to be able to go where I want when I want to. More importantly, I want to be able to leave when I want to. Welcome to the world of car rentals.
This is not going to be a commercial for any particular car rental company as I have no allegiance to any of them. This is going to be about the dos and donts of renting a car.
First off, I never wait until I get to a city to rent a car. I get online and make reservations before hand. And I do not go to the individual car rental companies; I go to places like Travelocity, Xpedia or Orbitz to check pricing and make reservations. These outlets save a lot of time and the rental costs are extremely competitive. In fact, you will find deals on free upgrades and price breaks on different styles of cars. Here is where I make my reservation. It costs me nothing; and if, for some reason I change my mind about the rental, I am not liable for any charges. Perfect for the person whose whims guide him or her.
Flash forward to the car rental depot. Be prepared to show your valid drivers license and a valid credit card (MC or Visa) as it is mandatory. Next, they are going to present you with all kinds of different options. Listen to them and affirm or deny each dependent on your current needs. The one option I always deny is the insurance. It is expensive, and both my automobile insurance company and my credit card company provide this auxillary coverage.
Once you get out to the car, check for damages, scratches, or anything that they could bill you for later. Make notes on their pre-damage check list for your protection. Check the fuel level and all of the gauges on the dash to ensure all is okay. Next, check the air, the windows and even the radio if you are dependent on niceties.
Have fun on your stay. Only two things to do on your return. First, make sure you top off your fuel within 10-15 miles of the drop-off point so you pay no costly fuel surcharges. Second and most important, make sure you get everything out of the car that is yours.
In recent years in the NFL, the term “OTA” (Organized Team Activity) has come to the forefront this time of year. There are a few reasons for that. One is that the calendar reads May and June, and this is the time of year when activity is at its lowest. The draft is over, free agency, for all intents and purposes, is finished and coaches and staff members are going to cycle into their much-needed vacations.
Another, and perhaps more important reason, is that these OTAs have come to mean much more to not only the team involved, but to individual players. There are several teams around the league this year that are holding OTAs that could bear a direct correlation to on-the-field results in 2006. Well take a look at a few of them here.
Houston Texans
The Texans have officially cleaned house since the end of the 2005 season. The coach and GM have both moved on, and the team is attempting to implement an entirely new approach both on the field and off as it continues to search for a new general manager. There is a lot to be done in Houston, and the more work the team can get, the better.
Oakland Raiders
The Raiders have a new coach whos trying to instill discipline and toughness on a team that has lacked both in recent years. They also have a new QB to acclimate to their offense, and Aaron Brooks needs that same dose of discipline that the rest of the team does, as hes been error prone in recent years.
New Orleans Saints
For the Saints, everything starts anew this year. There is a new coach, a new QB coming off a serious injury and a new potential superstar whose complete role has yet to be defined. Sean Payton needs to make sure Drew Brees shoulder will hold up before he can fashion his offense, and Reggie Bushs talents are so unique that they really dont fit a template.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers have a new coach and a slew of young players attempting to earn starting spots all over the roster. Although Brett Favre has always operated in some form of the West Coast offense, he still needs to learn the nuances of Coach Mike McCarthys scheme. Their defense will feature several new starters and theres a new defensive coordinator running the system.
Miami Dolphins
Although the Dolphins dont have a new coach, theyre in a different situation than the teams above because theyre right on the cusp of the playoffs. In order to reach that potential, though, Coach Nick Saban will have to break in a new QB in Daunte Culpepper, assuming hes healthy, and fine tune his overall system to ensure that the team takes that next step.
Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys are the choice by many to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Bill Parcells has been building the team his way for two years, and he and Jerry Jones added a player whos explosive in more ways than one in WR Terrell Owens. Parcells needs to integrate Owens into his offense and instill air-tight team chemistry to keep all the personalities in check. Every detail matters for a team that could go all the way, and Parcells is taking no chances.
Teams have different reasons for their OTAs, but they are important. Even though theyre considered voluntary under the existing CBA, players chances to earn starting spots can be damaged if theyre absent, and teams with bigger dreams can have them dashed if they dont hit the ground running in training camp in July. The teams we see playing into January will most likely be able to look back at a successful OTA season.
Do You Really Need a Toll-Free Number for Your Business? The answer is YES! If you run a home business, whether it’s a direct sales business, a part-time venture, or if you work full-time from home, if you don’t have a toll-free number, you could be leaving money on the table.
Studies show that a potential client is 50% more likely to contact a business who has a toll-free number. Marketing via the internet draws potential clients from all over the globe. That’s what makes the internet such a powerful money-making vessel.
A lot of businesses just starting out try to cut corners and may assume that a toll-free number is too expensive. This could not be farther from the truth. These days, you don’t have to spend a fortune for toll-free service.
When I started my business, I found out about a very reasonable toll-free service provider called Kall8. With Kall8, there is only a $2.00 set up fee. You get to choose your phone number from a list of available numbers. Once you do this, there is a low $2.00/month base charge and 6.9 cents per minute. You will have instant access and can set up your account the way you want. They offer tons of services such as:
Instant Activation
Secure Web Account Management
Detailed Call Reporting
Interactive Voice Response
Custom Call Routing
Voicemail
Caller ID
Conferencing
Inbound Fax
These are only a few of the many features included in the flat $2.00/month fee. With the custom call routing feature, I have my calls set up to go directly to my cell phone so that I can still receive my business calls while I am away from home. When my cell phone rings, I know it’s a business call because it will show my toll free number, then I can answer it in a professional way. I have been using Kall8 for over 2 years and never had a problem with their service. Their competitors charge 5 times more for less calling features.
Direct sales representatives, work at home moms, new and experienced internet entrepreneurs can take their business to new heights with toll-free service. Couldn’t your business use a boost?
The major professional road bikes riders ride the major cycle races, and they are grouped together into the UCI Pro Tour and all the best races are included
The Best Riders Ride The Best Races.
The major cycle races in the world of bike racing are now all part of the UCI Pro Tour Races, this is quite a big list, which you can find below. All of the twenty Pro Tour teams have to ride them along with other teams invited by the organizers, who are usually local teams or the best of the lower ranked Continental Tour teams. All the races have a complicated points system that would take too long to explain here.
The Pro Tour Races are split into sections, which are: –
The Spring Classics,
The Major Tours,
The Autumn Classics,
The Shorter Tours,
The World Championships,
And then there are the other important but not so famous races.
The Major Tours.
The BIG three, the Tour de France, the Giro dItalia and the Vuelta a Espaa, they are all three weeks long and are the hardest races on the calendar and are the major cycle races of the year. All three go over the biggest mountains in their respective countries and venture in to neighbouring ones, sometimes for a few days. Until recently all bike racers rode the Big Three, now they specialise and pick and chose their objectives. The organisers are not too happy about the UCI Pro Tour as they feel they are losing some of their power over their own races and were only included at the last minute this year and are still arguing over next year.
The Spring Classics.
The Spring Classics are the monuments of the one day races, all are held in the more northern European countries, apart from the first one, Milan-San Remo, but which is in the north of Italy in March and can get bad weather, like the others. The Tour of Flanders, Gent-Wevelgem and Paris-Roubaix are all ridden over the worst road conditions possible, with short sharp hills and cobbles, when it rains these roads turn into mud baths and are as easy to ride on as an ice rink. The others are more hilly and more suited to Tour riders and the better climbers, all these races are a must to see as anything can happen, but it is always a hard man who wins a major cycle race in the spring.
The Autumn Classics.
The Autumn Classics start just after the Tour de France, before and after the Vuelta a Espaa and around the World championships. All these races have different characters and are held in different countries around Europe. The best known are the Classic San Sebastian in Spain, which is hard and hilly, the Paris-Tours, which is mostly flat and to round off the season, the Giro di Lombardia, which is the last big race of the Pro Tour and is held, like Milan-San Remo, in the north of Italy.
The Shorter Stage Races.
These shorter stage races are dotted around the season and around Europe, some are used as training races for the stars to tune there form for the big stage races, but all are very important and carry much prestige for all. Paris-Nice is the first and is always a good pointer to a riders form for the Spring Classics or the Giro dItalia. Then the more hilly races like Pays Vasco, Tour de Romadie, Tour de Swiss and the Dauphine Libere are a good build up for the Tour de France. They are all hard fought for wins in themselves and never easy.
The World Championships.
The World Championships are now held very late in the season (September) and the big stars of the Tour de France dont usually ride, but for the single day specialists its still the race to win, and never won easily. The rainbow jersey is the jersey all riders dream of wearing for a year and will fight hard for it. The Worlds are the only races that riders compete for their country and not their sponsor, so there can be some strange allegiances.
Other Races.
There are other races on the Pro Tour calendar that are very important but not so well known, everyone wants to win these also, and in the end a win is a win. The Pro Tour teams can also ride in the lower Continental Tour races, some of these are well known and very prestigious, they carry less UCI points but are hard fought over, there is never an easy win in Professional cycle sport, especially in the major cycle races.
On a scale of one to ten, having a good business strategy rates about a fifteen!
No matter what kind of business you have — whether you sell products or a service, as the saying goes, “if you fail to plan, then you’re really planning to fail.”
Creating a strategy can mean the difference between you working 6. to 80 hours a week all year long — and then breaking even, or worse, losing money.
On the other hand, many successful entrepreneurs who have a strategy work fewer hours and make piles of money — and they usually attribute their success to having a strategic plan and following it.
So what is strategic business management? Very simply, it’s the process of defining the goals and objectives for your business, creating an action plan so you can reach them and then following the plan.
How do you create a strategic plan for you business?
1. First, know what your vision for your company is. If there were no barriers, nothing stopping you from taking your company as far as you could — what would that look like?
2. Next, what are your company’s core operating values? What are its guiding principles? In other words, why are you in business and how do you do business?
3. Now create a 3 to 5 year plan. Your long-term plan is based on the broad objectives that will help you get from where you are now, to where you want to be.
4. Develop a plan for this year. These are the specific objectives you plan to accomplish this year that will lead you closer to your long-term goals. Remember to be “SMART” when setting your annual goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-oriented). Include a list of the barriers that are stopping you from getting where you want to go. Figure out what resources you’ve already got, and what resources you need to get you past those barriers. And then create an action plan that clearly lays out how you will achieve your goals. Involve key employees with this part of the planning process.
5. Create a set of milestones or benchmarks. This is very important, so that you can measure your progress.
6. Share the plan with your employees, and anyone else who will be involved in the process. Your annual strategy is the roadmap that will make sure everyone ends up at the same destination — but to be effective, everyone needs the same map!
7. Put the plan into action. Now that you have the roadmap, it’s time to begin the journey.
8. Check your progress. Just like any trip, you need to check the map every now and then; to be sure you’re still on the right road. If something isn’t working, the sooner you figure it out and make the necessary adjustments, the sooner you’ll be back on track.
9. Follow the same cycle next year. (Dream, Plan, Act, Check).
Creating a business strategy and following it will ensure that you enjoy the journey as much as getting to your final destination.
As an independent filmmaker specializing in animated comedy, I’d like to share my thoughts and observations on how to create projects intended to make people laugh (in a good way). By taking a close look at recent popular shows and movies (i.e. Simpsons, Family Guy, Shrek, etc) I’ve outlined a brief analysis that identifies some of the major strategies of humor used in many of today’s animated television programs and shows, as well as the advantages/disadvantages of implementing them. Just a note before we continue: this article isn’t intended only as a guide for comedy filmmakers- I’m sure those of you who appreciate good humor will get something out of it as well.
The following compilation is the result of my own observations, and I’m certain you’ll see what I mean if you take a closer look this Sunday night when Family Guy comes on. Later, I’ll share some of my own thoughts on the subject of creating effective humor for mainstream audiences.
1. PARODY: This involves poking fun of well-known genres and plot formulas (action, horror, porn, etc), and making references to well-known films, TV shows, famous people, significant historical events, etc. Very often, these genres, films, and TV shows are spoofed. Think of the number of times you’ve seen a reference to a Kubrick film during an episode of The Simpsons, or a Star Wars reference in Family Guy to emphasize a joke.
Advantages: First off, it’s easy to do and often elicits laughs. The basic structure of the joke is based on a well-known source, and the audience is likely to get it right away.
Disadvantages: To be blunt, it’s lazy filmmaking. Too much parody thrown in a story can often be interpreted as a lack of creativity/originality, and ultimately limits the project’s depth. Jokes/gags of this kind will only last as long as the spoofed or referenced subject is popular or is fashionable.
2. ANIMATION THAT IS DELIBERATELY BAD/CHEESY: Includes the use of poorly drawn/animated characters and backgrounds as an important element of the humor.
Advantages: Sometimes more efficient and more cost effective than using more detailed animation techniques. It’s funny to watch and calling some attention to the bad animation can generate new jokes and great sight gags. Think of shows like Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Sealab 2021.
Disadvantages: Like the parody, this can quickly turn into lazy filmmaking. Depending only on bad animation for laughs might make the project difficult to maintain in the long run.
3. GROSS-OUT HUMOR/EXPLICIT LANGUAGE: Includes humor that is, but not limited to being scatological, sexual, bloody, etc. Also includes use of foul language. Since the Simpsons and South Park, audiences have come to expect jokes of this kind.
Advantages: In small doses and if done with subtlety, gross-out humor and the use of explicit language combined with visual sight gags can be hilarious.
Disadvantage: Easy to overuse. Dialogue containing too many four-letter words for the sake of being obnoxious will turn off most viewers. Gross-out humor, if only used for shock value, will seem shallow if it does nothing to contribute to the overall story.
4. NON-SEQUITORS (RANDOM HUMOR): Jokes, statements, events, etc. that happen out of nowhere.
Advantages: Absurd humor that occurs at random works on several levels, which include the outlandishness of the act itself, its unpredictability, and also its general disregard for logic in context with the scene’s apparent focus. It can take an audience by surprise, and can add some originality to the project.
Disadvantages: If an absurd and random act suddenly shifts the focus of the story, it may disappoint viewers who have otherwise been engaged in the narrative. Also, many people may not “get it,” which has the potential of restricting the viewing demographic. When a nonsequitor serves as a story’s conclusion, it’s usually evidence of an inability to create an effective ending.
On creating more effective humor:
Characters with unique qualities: Trying to be original isn’t easy, but it is a lot of fun. When creating characters, don’t worry too much about whatever’s “hip” or “in” at the moment. Start off with characters that have very specific personality traits, habits, etc. Base them off yourself, off of people you know, your experiences, or just let your imagination run wild. Give your characters specific hobbies, unusual interests (i.e. a hero that can’t resist objects that squirt water), and/or specific likes/dislikes. These concrete qualities will often provide opportunities to develop character, storylines, and above all, humorous events.
Stories with solid conclusions: Many creative folks I’ve talked to notice the difficulty of coming up with good endings. No matter what the genre, filmmakers of all sorts can learn a valuable lesson from mystery novel authors. When you come up with the idea for a film, start by knowing how it’s going to end. This gives the story focus, and makes it easier for all the events to logically pan out. Another important tip to remember- audiences will almost always forgive a film with a bad beginning, but will never forgive a film with a bad ending.
Understand that being funny isn’t the same as acting funny: Okay, what does this mean? Here’s an illustration: There was a video on the internet of a careless skateboarder falling on his face multiple times after trying to coast off the roof of his parents’ house. It wasn’t funny to the skateboarder, but it was funny to most of the people who saw it happen. Why? On a psychological level, it’s in our nature to laugh or take some kind of satisfaction in someone else’s misfortune/failure so long as the screw-up doesn’t result in death or dismemberment (most of the time). On a more practical level, most of the online viewers laughed at the sheer idiocy of the act. After all, the careless skateboarder who plunged off the roof actually expected positive results from his stunt. So how do we apply this to creating comedy? Create situations that are funny to the audience, but not to your characters. One effective way of doing this is having your characters expect serious results from doing things that are clearly dangerous, stupid, or both.
These are just a few pointers to help you get started with creating your own comedy, or to help you understand some of the more successful comedy out there today. I hope you enjoyed the article. Have a good laugh!
Of all bowling tips I can share with you, the most important bowling tip of all is: practice! No matter how well you understand the game, no matter how excellent your bowling equipment is, you just are not going to get any better if you do not practice, practice, practice.
Another great bowling tip is to get a coach. It is best to get a trained coach, somebody who has helped others on their road to bowling greatness. Unfortunately, getting such a coach can cost a pretty penny… if you can find one in the first place.
So, if you cannot find somebody trained as a coach, find the next best thing – your mom, dad, friend, or neighbor, etc. Of course, you do, indeed, want someone who is a great bowler. At the very least, you want someone who is very interested in bowling – think of it this way, not all basketball referees are excellent basketball players, but they know what is going on the game.
In other words, even if friend cannot roll a strike every time, he or she can still help dissect your movements. Your friend may still be able to tell you what is wrong. Also, perhaps you know what you are doing wrong, and you end up overcorrecting yourself – your coach (even if it is just a friend) is going to be able to tell you that you have overcorrected or to tell you other information that you just cannot see or feel for yourself.
Besides these two major bowling tips – practice and don’t go at it alone – there are tons of bowling tips to adhere to. Very few bowling tips apply to all bowlers like these first two do. Someone who always gets a gutter balls is going to need different bowling tips that someone who cannot time his or her approach. Similarly, an amateur bowler is going to be helped by completely different bowling tips than a professional.
Nonetheless, here are a few more bowling tips:
· Stop using the house balls at the bowling alley – get yourself a custom bowling ball, or at least a bowling ball that fits your hand well. You are going to be able to use a different weight ball than you normally would, simply because it fits your hand better. Why not go heavier?
· Get your own bowling shoes – while this bowling tip is not quite as important as the abovementioned one, it can still help. Most certainly, you are going to feel better when you are wearing your own bowling shoes.
· When you have a question, ask it – never assume that you have learned all there is to know. Even the best bowlers, the professionals, can stand to take some advice. Never stop learning.
· Stretch – no, bowling is not a contact sport, but that most certainly does not mean that bowlers do not get injured. Stretching can help you prevent injuries. Also, making sure that you have a ball that properly fits will keep you safer, too. You may also decide to wear a wrist support.
· Keep that throwing are nice and loose.
· Think – bowling is not all in the wrist, it is in the head. Really think about your movements and y our delivery. Concentrate on which movements create which spins on the ball, etc.
· Finish close to the foul line – being with six inches of the foul line will help insure that you get the best release possible (of course, you never want to cross it!)
· Watch the professionals – watch them on TV, or watch some great bowlers at your local alley.
· Always keep your eye on the target – this does not necessarily mean you need to keep your eyes on the pins! Rather, look at the markers in the lane.
· Follow through!
I hope that these bowling tips have helped you. And I want to remind you of one of the absolute most important bowling tips of all – have fun! It is not worth bowling if you are no longer having fun. Do not let the pressure to win get in the way of your overall aim to have fun!
Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and sports. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on bowling, please visit Best Bowling.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anne_Clarke
Camping is a great way to escape the rat race and be one with nature. Alas, your camping experiences can fade with time. The best way to prevent this is to keep a camping journal for your adventures.
Camping Journals
Take a minute to give some consideration to your most recent camping experience. What sticks out in your mind? Now think about the first time you ever went camping. Undoubtedly, you remember few things about the geography, people you went with, particular camping routes and spectacular views. The experiences youve forgotten are lost to time. If you keep a camping journal, this wont be the case.
There are famous instances of people keeping journals throughout time. Of course, Anne Franks Diary is the best example. In her diary, Anne kept a running commentary of the two years her family spent hiding from the Nazis. While your camping experiences better be more lighthearted, keeping a journal will let you remember them as the years pass.
A good camping journal combines a number of characteristics. First, it should be compact so you dont have to take up unnecessary space for other things. Second, it should have a case to protect it from rain, spills and so on. Third, the journal should contain blank areas to write your notes. Fourth, the journal should contain cue spaces to remind you to keep notes on specific things. Cues should include:
1. Who you went camping with,
2. Where you camped and if you enjoyed it,
3. Who you met and contact information for them,
4. The geographic and weather conditions, and
5. Any unique things that occurred while camping.
At the end of the camping trip, you should be able to get the following from your journal:
1. Contact information for other campers and people you met,
2. Enough detail to provide you or a friend with a guide if you camp in the location a second time.
3. Memories to reflect upon years later, and
4. Something to pass on to your friends, children and grandchildren.
To get the most out of your camping journal, you should write in it during while youre camping. Every trip is special, even if you just go out for a weekend.
Camping is a great way to commune with nature. Make sure to preserve the experience.
In spite of the world wide recession the retail sector of automotive is thriving day by day. One can make a lucrative business in this sector, provided he needs to have the technical knowledge, the know how of what to do and hands on practical experience of working with vehicles. There are many schools all around the world which offers different automotive courses readily. The available colleges and schools offer all the courses that one needs to learn in order to handle the various demands of the retail market. Now, many courses that are not available on campus are available online and through this one can get knowledge without going to school or college. These automotive courses become a part of the distance study programs offered by the universities.
Automotive courses offered by many schools are designed to match different segment of people. Some schools offer courses which are as short as one week. These short courses are mainly structured for people who are already in automotive business and they feel that it is necessary to enhance their existing skills and knowledge by learning about the new technology and practices. Short automotive courses are perfect for people who are hard pressed for time and can only spend few hours in a day at school to learn new innovative methods. These courses are created for convenience to suit each individual’s requirement.
Most courses are full time, which include class room study, hands on experience in work shops and practical experience in managing and operating an automotive facility. The course aims in equipping their students with technical knowledge, practical skill and managerial quality to help them to start their own automotive unit or get an employment in top auto firm in the country. When the students graduate they would have had hands on experience of working on different parts of the vehicles.
Several colleges around the world offer automotive courses like automotive technology, automotive service technicians, automotive management, automotive mechanical technology, automotive vehicle body and many more.
A course based on car maintenance will educate the students to learn the basic working of a car and what is required to maintain the car in good condition. One is educated about the various parts of the car, their functioning and what to look for when there is a trouble.
Another popular automotive course which has become rapidly popular with car fanatics is the “collision refinishing” which educates on restoring a car. It guides on the metal working, painting and detailing. This course is usually divided into two segments which involve repairing and refinishing. This guides on the finer aspects of finishing the car to look cool. Other related automotive courses are trim and upholstery, applied service management, motor sports chassis fabrication, street rod and custom fabrication.
Automotive study is versatile segment where there is no end to ones learning. With each year there is an improvement in technology and man pushes the machines to a higher level. Hence these automotive courses are ever evolving with new addition to the curriculum. Automotive course are beneficial and can set the path to a lucrative career where one can take technology to new levels.
IQMS – Founded in 1990, we offer professional consultancy services, management systems training and auditor training courses throughout the UK. Visit http://www.IQMS.co.uk/ now!
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Luke_Raper
Home schooling is now, more than ever, being considered as a viable alternative to traditional schooling. The reasons for which are diverse ranging from cultural/religious beliefs to economic matters.
The notion that home schooling is much less expensive than sending your child to an educational institution is prevalent, but not necessarily true. Pound for pound, while a home school education is less costly than a private school, it will likely be more expensive than a public school.
Starting out
For one thing, if youre just beginning with home schooling (and if you dont have a teaching background), it is recommended that you subscribe to an independent study program or buy a boxed curriculum suited to your childs skill level. While these may cost, these will guide your first few attempts at home schooling and help eliminate the trial-and-error process in finding out how to run your home school just right. These services and products range from a low of $300 to a high of $1,500 depending on the program.
Direct costs
However, the costs do not end there. You will need to supplement the program with textbooks as well as workbooks. Up-to-date reference materials are also needed such as an encyclopedia CD-ROM and Internet access. These will require purchases and subscriptions as well.
It will do your child much good to provide proper furniture and fixtures for studying. Getting them a proper study table, a comfortable chair and adequate lighting will show positive results in the childs attitude towards learning. A computer to aid in their research and homework is also essential.
It is also possible that you may have to avail of tutorial services to cover subjects that you may have difficulty in teaching yourself. These can be done on a per course/per subject basis which may help reduce costs, but not by much. For example, a one-on-one advanced history class for high school students can cost about $300.
To provide a well-rounded education for your child, you will also need to include non-academic activities as well. This may mean music, sport or art lessons and perhaps even planned educational trips to museums and galleries, theaters, and nature parks.
Opportunity costs
These are the direct costs of running a home school program but in calculating the total cost for running a home school, you may also need to consider certain indirect costs.
A study on families on home study programs noted that on average, the parent conducting the home school is the mother, who holds a college degree. It has been calculated that her staying at home, instead of working, costs the family an estimated $38,000 every year – money that could have possibly been used to address the familys other pending needs.
Helping defray the costs
But before you get fully discouraged with the idea of home schooling, there are ways to reduce the expenses. One way is to participate in support groups for home schooling families.
This affords you a great opportunity to share resources with similar families saving you the need to buy an entire set of materials for your child. Joining groups like these allow you to borrow or swap things like textbooks, boxed curricula or reference materials. An added plus to joining home school family groups in your area is giving your child the opportunity to interact with kids just like him/her who are home schooled as well.
Depending on where you live, some states allow home-schooled children access to public school resources and some local virtual charter schools provide teaching materials for little to no cost. Some will even offer annual stipends to pay for activities like piano lessons. Taking the time to know what assistance you can avail of to help subsidize the costs will more than pay for the effort you made to do so.
Some money-saving tips
It helps to know that if you have other children, the costs of home schooling can be reduced with each child since the materials may be reused or renewed for a much lower cost.
Take the time to explore your public library and use what they have to offer. Theyll be more than happy to see you visit as frequently as every week. This greatly reduces the need to buy books every time and on occasion allows you access to newly published ones that would otherwise be expensive.
Visit yard sales, book sales or swap meets whenever you can. You may just find that perfect study table, teaching aids or that hard-to-find textbook for a fraction of the cost of buying it from a store.
When considering the costs of something as important as your childs education, it is best to think of them as investments rather than as mere expenses. When managed properly, what money you have can go so much farther than the actual costs as you give him/her a memorable childhood of learning and discovering with you at their side.
You can make a difference in millions of fragile young lives.
Every night on streets throughout the Americas, an army of nameless, faceless young people fights to survive. They are homeless youths, driven to the streets by situations including physical, emotional or sexual abuse, parental drug or alcohol abuse or discharge from foster care.
There are approximately 3.5 million people who experience homelessness every year and 12 percent of them are unaccompanied young people under age 24. More than half say they have been beaten up while on the street. Many also report being robbed, stabbed, even shot.
The complications of life on the street cause many of these young people to lose hope, making it difficult-if not impossible-to transition into adulthood as happy, productive members of society. Covenant House provides the support and guidance necessary for these young people to rebuild their lives.
Covenant House is the largest, privately funded child welfare agency in the Americas. Since its inception in New York City in the early 1970s, it has grown to include sites in 21 cities in six countries. Through the generous support of donors, the organization provides shelter to an average of 1,700 young people a night. In addition, it provides food, clothing and crisis care, along with such other services as:
• health care;
• educational programs and vocational preparation;
• drug abuse treatment and prevention programs;
• mother/child programs;
• transitional living programs; and more.
The Covenant House Nineline -(800) 999-9999 or Nineline.org- operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It gets crisis calls from youths in all 50 states. Last year, it helped more than 50,000.
For more than 30 years, Covenant House has been restoring hope and providing a loving and respectful home for young people who otherwise would face the dangers and injustices of life on the street.
There are ways to track who will be visiting your site. The more traffic you generate the more money you will make. You want to make sure that you 1./’>have all you need to see if you’re getting the traffic you want. There are several ways to track the traffic on your site and each has its own pros and cons. It will fully depend on what you need at the time and how much you are willing to invest. Some devices simply tell you how many people visit you and some have actual reports with fine details. You would want to use a more sophisticated tracking system if you want to know which search engines are bringing in the most traffic or where people are coming from. The simpler methods are used just to know how many people total have visited your site since it got up and running. These ones wont offer any other type of information such as how many per day or where they came from.
1. Counters: These are usually used by newbies. You wont see them on more professional sites. They will tell you and the visitor exactly how many people have visited your site.
2. Trackers: Tracking software will give you a detailed path your visitors take when they visit your site. This tells you way more than just a simple tracker and isnt seen by the visitor. For the free use you might be required to put a button or graphic up. Many site owners will prefer to put in their own tracking scripts onto their servers.
3. Use Your ISP Statistical Package: Your ISP provider keeps a log of every hit to your site. This will let you know where your traffic is coming from and what pages they are looking at. Make sure your hosting company offers access to your raw log files.
4. Web Traffic Analysis Software: this is a program that will take your raw log files and generate a report on your traffic. The quality will completely depend on what program you are using. There are some free ones that come with some hosting packages or there are the paid software packages that would generate high quality reports.
Your web traffic statistics are an extremely valuable tool for information about your web site. You will be able to make decisions on improving your site through the information they give you. They will let you know what web pages are the most popular and also the ones that are very rarely used. A tracker will tell you who is visiting your site. You will learn which web browsers to optimize your pages for and which search engines are most useful. They can even tell when you get errors or have bad links on your page. Analyzing your web traffic can help you determine what type of marketing strategies work for you and your site the best. You will then be able to change according the most successful methods and boost your traffic and ultimately your sales.
The younger generation has been fascinated for many years with role playing games, or the well-known RPGs. This fascination has led some to believe that the games are unhealthy and dangerous but studies have proven that there is nothing in the slightest that can be construed as dangerous from these pieces of artistry and fiction writing. Role playing games combine all the strength of board games with the fantasy of video games making them highly popular because the game will change with every turn or role of the dice. Over the years the world has changed a bit and now the world is moving to the online role playing games versus the overt challenges that one faces with gathering a group for a live game.
On February 24, 2003, in the Islamic Financial Forum in Dubai, Brad Bourland, chief economist for the Saudi American Bank (SAMBA), breached the embarrassed silence that invariably enshrouds speakers in Middle Eastern get-togethers. He reminded the assembled that despite the decades-long fortuity of opulent oil revenues, the nations of the region – excluding Turkey and Israel – failed to reform their economies, let alone prosper.
Structural weaknesses, imperceptible growth, crippling unemployment and deteriorating government financing confined Arab states to the role of oil-addicted minions. At $540 billion, said Bourland, quoted by Middle East Online, the combined gross domestic product of all the Arab countries is smaller than Mexico’s (or Spain’s, adds The Economist).
According to the Arab League, the gross national product of all its members amounted to $712 billion or 2 percent of the world’s GNP in 2001 – merely double sub-Saharan Africa’s.
Even the recent tripling of the price of oil – their main export commodity – did not generate sustained growth equal to the burgeoning population and labor force. Algeria’s official unemployment rate is 26.4 percent, Oman’s 17.2 percent, Tunisia’s 15.6 percent, Jordan’s 14.4 percent, Saudi Arabia’s 13 percent and Kuwait sports an unhealthy 7.1 percent. Even with 8 percent out of work, Egypt needs to grow by 6 percent annually just to stay put, estimates the World Bank.
But the real figures are way higher. At least one fifth of the Saudi and Egyptian labor forces go unemployed. Only one tenth of Saudi women have ever worked. The region’s population has almost doubled in the last quarter century, to 300 million people. Close to two fifths of the denizens of the Arab world are minors.
According to the Iranian news agency, IRNA, the European Commission on the Mediterranean Region estimates that the purchasing power parity income per head in the area is a mere 39 percent of the EU’s 2001 average, comparable to many post-communist countries in transition. In nominal terms the figure is 28 percent. These statistics include Israel whose income per capita equals 84 percent of the EU’s and the Palestinian Authority where GDP fell by 10 percent in 2000 and by another 15 percent the year after.
Faced with ominously surging social unrest, the Arab regimes – all of them lacking in democratic legitimacy – resort to ever more desperate measures. “Saudisation”, for instance, amounts to the expulsion of 3 million foreign laborers to make room for indigenous idlers reluctant to take on these vacated – mostly menial – jobs. About one million, typically Western, expat experts remain untouched.
The national accounts of Arab polities are in tatters. Until the recent surge in oil prices, Saudi Arabia managed to produce a budget surplus only once since 1982. Per capita income in the kingdom plunged from $26,000 in 1981 to $7000 in 2003. Higher oil prices may well continue throughout 2006, further masking the calamitous state of the region’s economies. But this would amount to merely postponing the inevitable.
Arab countries are not integrated into the world economy. It is possibly the only part of the globe, bar Africa, to have entirely missed the trains of globalization and technological progress. Charlene Barshefsky was United States Trade Representative from 1997 to 2001. In February 2003, in a column published by the New York Times, she noted that:
“Muslim countries in the region trade less with one another than do African countries, and much less than do Asian, Latin American or European countries. This reflects both high trade barriers … and the deep isolation Iran, Iraq and Libya have brought on themselves through violence and support for terrorist groups … The Middle East still depends on oil. Today, the United States imports slightly more than $5 billion worth of manufactured goods and farm products from the 22 members of the Arab League, Afghanistan and Iran combined – or about half our value-added imports from Hong Kong alone.”
Indeed, Jewish Israel and secular Turkey aside, 8 of the 11 largest economies of the Middle East have yet to join the World Trade Organization. Only two decades ago, one of every seven dollars in global export revenues and one twentieth of the world’s foreign direct investment flowed to Arab pockets.
Today, the Middle East’s share of international trade and FDI is less than 1.5 percent – half of it with the European Union. Medium size economies such as Sweden’s attract more capital than the entire Middle Eastern Moslem world put together.
Some Arab countries periodically go through spastic reforms only to submerge once more in backwardness and venality. Oil-producers attempted some structural economic adjustments in the 1990s. Jordan and Syria privatized a few marginal state-owned enterprises. Iran and Iraq cut subsidies. Almost everyone – especially Lebanon, Egypt, Iran and Jordan – increased their unhealthy reliance on multilateral loans and foreign aid.
Young King Abdullah II of Jordan, for instance, dabbles in deregulation, liberalization, tax reform, cutting red tape and tariff reductions. Aided by a free trade agreement with America passed by Congress in 2001, Jordan’s exports to the United States last year soared from $16 million in 1998 to $400 million in 2002.
A similar nostrum is being administered to Morocco, partly to spite the European Union and its glacial “Barcelona Process” Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. But, as everyone realizes, the region’s problems run deeper than any tweaking of the customs code.
The “Arab Human Development Report 2002″, published in June 2002 by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), was composed entirely by Arab scholars. It charts the predictably dismal landscape: one in five inhabitants survives on less than $2 a day; annual growth in income per capita over the last 20 years, at 0.5 percent, exceeded only sub-Saharan Africa’s; one in six is unemployed.
The region’s three “deficits”, laments the report, are freedom, knowledge and manpower. Arab polities and societies are autocratic and intolerant. Illiteracy is still rampant and education poor. Women – half the workforce – are ill-treated and excluded. Pervasive Islamization replaced earlier militant ideologies in stifling creativity and growth.
In an article titled “Middle East Economies: A Survey of Current Problems and Issues”, published in the September 1999 issue of the Middle East Review of International Affairs, Ali Abootalebi, assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, concluded:
“The Middle East is second only to Africa as the least developed region in the world. It has already lost much of its strategic importance since the Soviet Union’s demise … Most Middle Eastern states … probably do, possess the necessary technocratic and professional personnel to run state affairs in an efficient and modern manner …. (but not) the willingness or ability of the elites in charge to disengage the old coalitional interests that dominate governments in these countries.”
The war with Iraq changed all that. This was the fervent hope of intellectuals throughout the region, even those viscerally opposed to America’s high-handed hegemony. But this may well be only another false dawn in many. The inevitable massive postwar damage to the area’s fragile economies will spawn added oppression rather than enhance democracy.
According to The Economist, the military buildup has already injected $2 billion into Kuwait’s economy, equal to 6 percent of its GDP. Prices of everything – from real estate to cars – are rising fast. The stock exchange index has soared by one third. American largesse extends to Turkey – the recipient of $5 billion in grants, $1 billion in oil and $10 billion in loan guarantees. Egypt and Jordan will reap $1 billion apiece and, possibly, subsidized Saudi oil as well. Israel will abscond with $8 billion in collateral and billions in cash.
But the party may be short-lived, especially since the war did not prove to be as decisive and nippy as the Americans foresaw.
Stratfor, the strategic forecasting consultancy, correctly observes that the United States is likely to encourage American oil companies to boost Iraq’s postbellum production. With Venezuela back on line and global tensions eased, deteriorating crude prices may adversely affect oil-dependent countries from Iran to Algeria.
The resulting social and political unrest – coupled with violent, though typically impotent, protests against the war, America and the political leadership – is unlikely to convince panicky tottering regimes to offer greater political openness and participatory democracy. The mock presidential elections in Egypt in 2005 are a case in point.
War also traumatized tourism, another major regional foreign exchange earner. Egypt alone collects $4 billion a year from eager pyramid-gazers – about one ninth of its GDP. Add to that the effects of armed conflict on traffic in the Suez Canal, on investments and on expat remittances – and the country could well become the war’s greatest victim.
In a recent economic conference of the Arab League, then Egyptian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Faiza Abu el-Naga, pegged the immediate losses to her country at $6-8 billion. More than 200,000 jobs were lost in tourism alone. Egypt’s Information and Decision Support Centre (IDSC) distributed a study predicting $900 million in damages to the Jordanian economy and billions more to be incurred by oil-rich Saudi Arabia.
The Arab Bank Federation foresees banking losses of up to $60 billion due to contraction in economic activity both during the war and in its aftermath. This may be too pessimistic. But even the optimists talk about $30 billion in foregone revenues. The reconstruction of Iraq could revitalize the sector – but American and European banks will probably monopolize the lucrative opportunity.
The war, and more so its protracted aftermath, are likely to have a stultifying effect on the investment climate.
Saudi Arabia and Egypt each attract around $1 billion a year in foreign direct investment – double Iran’s rising rate. But global FDI was halved between 2000-2002. In 2003, flows reverted merely to 1998 levels. This implosion is likely to affect even increasingly attractive or resurgent destinations such as Israel, Turkey, Iraq and Iran.
Foreign investors will be deterred not only by the fighting but also by a mounting wave of virulent – and increasingly violent – xenophobia. Consumer boycotts are a traditional weapon in the Arab political arsenal. Coca-Cola’s sales in these parched lands have plummeted by 10 percent in 2002 alone. Pepsi’s overseas sales flattened due to Arabs shunning its elixirs. American-franchised fast food outlets saw their business halved. McDonald’s had to close some of its restaurants in Jordan.
Foreign business premises have been vandalized even in the Gulf countries. According to The Economist “in the past year (2002) overall business at western fast-food and drinks firms has dropped by 40% in Arab countries. Trade in American branded goods has shrunk by a quarter.”
These are bad news. Multinationals are sizable employers. Coca-Cola alone is responsible for 220,000 jobs in the Middle East. Procter & Gamble invested $100 million in Egypt. Foreign enterprises pay well and transfer technology and management skills to their local joint venture partners.
Nor is foreign involvement confined to retail. The $35 billion Middle Eastern petrochemicals sector is reliant on the kindness of strangers: Indian, Canadian, South Korean and, lately, Chinese. Singapore and Malaysia are eyeing the tourism industry, especially in the Gulf. Their withdrawal from the indigenous economies might prove disastrous.
Nor will these battered nations be saved by geopolitical benefactors.
The economies of the Middle East are off the radar screen of the Bush administration, accuses Edward Gresser of the Progressive Policy Institute in a recently published report titled “Blank Spot on the Map: How Trade Policy is Working Against the War on Terror”.
Egypt and most other Moslem countries are heavily dependent on their textile and agricultural exports to the West. But, by 2015, they will face tough competition from nations with contractual trade advantages granted them by the United States, goes the author.
Still, the fault is shared by entrenched economic interest groups in the Middle East . Petrified by the daunting prospect of reforms and the ensuing competitive environment, they block free trade, liberalization and deregulation.
Consider the Persian Gulf, a corner of the world which subsists on trading with partners overseas.
Not surprisingly, most of the members of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council have joined the World Trade Organization a while back. But their citizens are unlikely to enjoy the benefits at least until 2010 due to obstruction by the club’s all-powerful and tentacular business families, international bankers and economists told the Times of Oman.
The rigidity and malignant self-centeredness of the political and economic elite and the confluence of oppression and profiteering are the crux of the region’s problems. No external shock – not even war in Iraq – comes close to having the same pernicious and prolonged effects.
What was the last music you listened to today? How did that music, song or melody make you feel? Or more importantly, how did it make you think?
There is a study that is out to discover whether brains that have been trained musically are more stronger and able to resist the degenerative effects of dementia brought about by old age compared to those brains that are not in any way exposed or trained musically.
This Canadian-made study wants to discover if kids who are given early training in music has a more cognitive edge in terms of writing, reading and over-all verbal skills as compared to other kids who have no training in music in any way whatsoever.
The study has been given a grant of more than one hundred fifty thousand dollars by an organization based in California that is related to any and all kinds of research in music.
The researchers who want to conduct the study believe that the human brain is extremely moldable and extremely malleable especially when one is in his childhood and until one reaches full-fledged adulthood.
The researchers hope that once it has been proven that early training in music has a positive effect on how the brain functions and this functioning goes beyond anything that is musically related it is therefore essential that music be involved in a childs early education. Music could also be well utilized as an effective strategy to rehabilitate a brain that has been, in any way, damaged due to disease or stroke.
Previous work done that is related with this study has been conducted in Germany wherein the brains of musicians were studied and wired in order to know how they process music and how music is actually able to trigger any changes especially physical changes in the hard wire of the brain.
This study was able to prove that musicians, believe it or not, have an enhanced auditory as well as sensory parts in the brain better than those who are not musicians. It was also seen that musicians who started early training have large areas in the brain, specifically the cortical, than those who started late.
The Canadian-made study will study children and the way their brains function as well as adults who are older and have prior training in music. The ages of the children range between four years old and six years old. The ages of the older group range between fifty to sixty five.
The children will be introduced to violin lessons as well as the piano. Both groups will be going through a battery of tests that will measure the degree of their perception and cognition skills. These groups will then be compared to those groups that are aged the same but have no training in music in any way whatsoever.
The EEG will be used to measure any electrical change in the rain. The MEG will also be used to measure any magnetic change. The MRI will also be utilized to obtain necessary information about the complex structures of the brain.
But basically, the goal of the study is to be able to find various ways and means to utilize music as an effective form of rehabilitation for human brains whose functions have been unintentionally hampered by degenerative diseases like stroke, heart disease, Alzheimers, accident or cancer, to name a few
To the uninformed, the mere mention of the term martial arts evokes images of rigorous fighting and violence. However, in China and other parts of the world, thousands are recognizing the health benefits of a Chinese form of martial arts called Tai Chi. Many of its practitioners have adopted Tai Chi not only as a martial art but as a technique to manage stress and anxiety. While its roots are to be found in China, the martial arts has gained wide following in the United States where stress and anxiety are now considered very common ailments.
While it may seem nothing much changes, a lot IS changing, and often right under our noses. Time-saving technology is always at work to help us complete tasks at home and on the job even faster than ever.
When we save time doing a task that used to take us longer, we suddenly have more time to do that task even better OR switch our attention to an entirely different task.
Just think how you did business a few years ago. Instead of answering email, you probably spent much of your day talking on the phone. Now clients organize their ideas more efficiently to contact you with convenient email. You still spend time working with clients, but I’ll bet it’s not nearly as much as you spent in the “telephone only” days of the early 1990s.
Think about how technology has changed life in the home. Eighty years ago people didn’t have all the high power vacuum cleaners we have today. Homes were a lot dirtier than they are now (despite how Grandma may remember them:-). When vacuum cleaners became affordable and a feature of every home, people started doing a LOT more housework. Believe it or not, historians tell us the average homemaker spends far more time cleaning than she/he did 80 years ago.
That’s why I’m so excited about the new lines of “robot” technologies we’re starting to see. Actually, this technology has been lurking in the wings for years, but has only recently become advanced enough to operate trouble-free at an affordable cost.
Robot vacuum cleaners can now automatically clean your home, working all day and all night if needed. They don’t complain and never need to be paid. Furniture, kid’s toys, and pets don’t confound them, they just go around.
Equally exciting are new developments in robotic lawn mowers. If you’re one of millions of Americans who own a large yard or endure uncomfortably hot summers, you’ll immediately see the value of this technology. A Robotic lawn mower can cut your grass with professional quality, handing anything from a small yard to a large five acre estate. Reliability, energy efficiency, and overall convenience have all improved, making this a time-saving technology whose time has come.
Take the long look at technology in your life. Realize that time-savers let you do your job better and can free up more time to do new activities.