Keeping Baby Safe: your most important role as a parent

Saying Thanks, But No Thanks to Used Safety Equipment

Once your beautiful bundle of joy arrives, the work of raising your child really begins. The biggest job you have as a parent is keeping your baby safe. Yet, it is impossible to watch over your children twenty-four hours a day.

Thankfully, there are many safety products available to keep them from getting hurt. These products include safety gates, outlet covers, oven and table bumpers, doorknob covers, bed rails, locks and guards, and many more. As a parent, you need to use products that are one step ahead of their children's abilities, and can do so by getting down on their level and looking around. This gives you a child's eye perspective of child safety issues in your home.

But with so many products to buy and so many different brand names, how do you decide what products you need most? The best thing to do when it comes to safety is buy new products rather than used ones. An older, used product may have been recalled due to dangerous safety issues, or it may be damaged from previous use. Although hand-me-downs are great for clothes and toys, your childs safety is just too important to leave to chance. Babies R Us is a great place to find all the safety products you need.

That still leaves the issue of how to choose between one safety gate, for instance, and another. Here are some purchasing tips for some of the more popular safety items you will need for your baby.

Car Seats

More children are seriously injured and killed in auto accidents than in any other type of accident. Each year, hundreds of lives could be saved if children were protected in cars by using child safety seats. Using a child safety seat is the best protection you can give your child when traveling by car.

When purchasing a car seat, look for:

Label states that it meets or exceeds the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards;
Is the car seat appropriate for your child's height and weight?
Be aware of the type of seat belts your car has; all car seats are not compatible with all seat belts;
Check recent car seat recalls before making a purchase;
Be sure that the seat you choose fits your child - a smaller baby can slip out of a seat that's too large. Infants one year or younger and up to 20 pounds must be placed in a rear-facing seat, toddlers (older than 1 year and between 20 and 40 pounds) may use a forward-facing seat, and children who are between 40 and 80 pounds need to be placed in a booster seat;
Consider choosing a seat that is upholstered in fabric - it may be more comfortable for your child.

Safety Gates

Baby safety gates are an essential element in making your home baby proof. Now that he's on the move, every nook and cranny is a potential area of exploration for him. Your baby is curious about his new environment, wanting to investigate each little corner and new room. The best way to make sure he can't do any harm to himself is to install safety gates. These will prevent him from reaching the stairs, kitchen, or an office room, where there might be many wires and electrical equipment just at his height

Accordion gates, which open to form diamond-shaped patterns with wide V's at the top, can trap a baby's head and have resulted in strangulation deaths. In January 1985, gate manufacturers halted production of these gates, but there are still an estimated 15 million gates in use. Mesh gates also can be dangerous because a toddler's fingers can become trapped.

When purchasing a safety gate, look for the following:

A hardware-mounted gate that attaches to the doorframe without any openings to trap fingers or necks. Pressure-mounted gates should not be used between rooms of different levels or at the top of stairs; children can dislodge them and take a tumble.
Gates that swing out should never be used at the top of stairways.
Nonflexible vertical slats or rods should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart.
Check for sharp edges and protrusions that could hurt a toddler's hands.
Avoid gates with structures that could give a child a foothold for climbing. Keep large toys away from the gate to prevent a child from using them to climb over.
The gate should be no less than 3/4 of the child's height

Playpens

These high-sided, enclosed play areas are popular because they allow parents to put their baby down with the knowledge that he can't wander off. It is great when you have to answer the phone, do a bit of ironing, or just catch a quick breath!

When purchasing a playpen, look for the following:

Holes in the mesh should be no larger than 1/4 inch to keep small fingers from getting caught;
The sides should be at least 20 inches high, measured from the floor of the playpen;
Look for padding on the tops of the rails to protect your baby from bumps.
The locks that allow you to lower a side should be out of your baby's reach.

Baby Monitors

The idea behind a baby monitor is that you can have the ability to move around the house or your yard and still be able to keep tabs on your baby by listening or now viewing your baby. This can help alert you to a crying baby, a baby who needs your help or just help you watch baby while he or she sleeps.

The baby/nursery monitor that you buy will have different levels of mobility. The base usually plugs into the wall, usually the nursery or wherever your baby is sleeping. The receiver can plug in or be mobile. If you intend to use the monitor as you move from room to room, you will want to invest in the mobile kind, versus the stationary variety.

When purchasing a baby monitor, look for the following:

There should be at least two channels to choose from;
Be sure that you have a low battery indicator light. Without this you might be listening to the receiver, thinking all is quiet in the baby's room, when in fact all you've got is a dead battery;
Has a power-on light so that you can know the unit is on without disturbing the baby;
Has a volume control to put you in charge of how loudly you wish to hear your baby;
Are you planning to carry around your end of the monitoring system? Then you might want a belt clip!

Bath Seats

A bath seat gives your child added support while in the bathtub and can help prevent a soapy baby from slipping out of your hands and hitting her head on the tub. Keep in mind, however, that you should NEVER leave your child unattended in the tub!

When purchasing a bath seat, look for the following:

Never use a bath seat on textured or non-skid surfaces unless the manufacturers instructions specifically state the seat is intended for such surfaces;
Look for the JPMA Certification Seal.

Always remember, no matter what safety product you are buying, to look at the features to be sure they meet your specific requirements. Also check to be sure that the product you are considering has not recently been recalled. The safety of your child is of utmost importance dont leave it to chance!

Once your beautiful bundle of joy arrives, the work of raising your child really begins. The biggest job you have as a parent is keeping your baby safe. Yet, it is impossible to watch over your children twenty-four hours a day.

Thankfully, there are many safety products available to keep them from getting hurt. These products include safety gates, outlet covers, oven and table bumpers, doorknob covers, bed rails, locks and guards, and many more. As a parent, you need to use products that are one step ahead of their children's abilities, and can do so by getting down on their level and looking around. This gives you a child's eye perspective of child safety issues in your home.

But with so many products to buy and so many different brand names, how do you decide what products you need most? The best thing to do when it comes to safety is buy new products rather than used ones. An older, used product may have been recalled due to dangerous safety issues, or it may be damaged from previous use. Although hand-me-downs are great for clothes and toys, your childs safety is just too important to leave to chance. Babies R Us is a great place to find all the safety products you need.

That still leaves the issue of how to choose between one safety gate, for instance, and another. Here are some purchasing tips for some of the more popular safety items you will need for your baby.

Car Seats

More children are seriously injured and killed in auto accidents than in any other type of accident. Each year, hundreds of lives could be saved if children were protected in cars by using child safety seats. Using a child safety seat is the best protection you can give your child when traveling by car.

When purchasing a car seat, look for:

Label states that it meets or exceeds the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards;
Is the car seat appropriate for your child's height and weight?
Be aware of the type of seat belts your car has; all car seats are not compatible with all seat belts;
Check recent car seat recalls before making a purchase;
Be sure that the seat you choose fits your child - a smaller baby can slip out of a seat that's too large. Infants one year or younger and up to 20 pounds must be placed in a rear-facing seat, toddlers (older than 1 year and between 20 and 40 pounds) may use a forward-facing seat, and children who are between 40 and 80 pounds need to be placed in a booster seat;
Consider choosing a seat that is upholstered in fabric - it may be more comfortable for your child.

Safety Gates

Baby safety gates are an essential element in making your home baby proof. Now that he's on the move, every nook and cranny is a potential area of exploration for him. Your baby is curious about his new environment, wanting to investigate each little corner and new room. The best way to make sure he can't do any harm to himself is to install safety gates. These will prevent him from reaching the stairs, kitchen, or an office room, where there might be many wires and electrical equipment just at his height

Accordion gates, which open to form diamond-shaped patterns with wide V's at the top, can trap a baby's head and have resulted in strangulation deaths. In January 1985, gate manufacturers halted production of these gates, but there are still an estimated 15 million gates in use. Mesh gates also can be dangerous because a toddler's fingers can become trapped.

When purchasing a safety gate, look for the following:

A hardware-mounted gate that attaches to the doorframe without any openings to trap fingers or necks. Pressure-mounted gates should not be used between rooms of different levels or at the top of stairs; children can dislodge them and take a tumble.
Gates that swing out should never be used at the top of stairways.
Nonflexible vertical slats or rods should be no more than 2 3/8 inches apart.
Check for sharp edges and protrusions that could hurt a toddler's hands.
Avoid gates with structures that could give a child a foothold for climbing. Keep large toys away from the gate to prevent a child from using them to climb over.
The gate should be no less than 3/4 of the child's height

Playpens

These high-sided, enclosed play areas are popular because they allow parents to put their baby down with the knowledge that he can't wander off. It is great when you have to answer the phone, do a bit of ironing, or just catch a quick breath!

When purchasing a playpen, look for the following:

Holes in the mesh should be no larger than 1/4 inch to keep small fingers from getting caught;
The sides should be at least 20 inches high, measured from the floor of the playpen;
Look for padding on the tops of the rails to protect your baby from bumps.
The locks that allow you to lower a side should be out of your baby's reach.

Baby Monitors

The idea behind a baby monitor is that you can have the ability to move around the house or your yard and still be able to keep tabs on your baby by listening or now viewing your baby. This can help alert you to a crying baby, a baby who needs your help or just help you watch baby while he or she sleeps.

The baby/nursery monitor that you buy will have different levels of mobility. The base usually plugs into the wall, usually the nursery or wherever your baby is sleeping. The receiver can plug in or be mobile. If you intend to use the monitor as you move from room to room, you will want to invest in the mobile kind, versus the stationary variety.

When purchasing a baby monitor, look for the following:

There should be at least two channels to choose from;
Be sure that you have a low battery indicator light. Without this you might be listening to the receiver, thinking all is quiet in the baby's room, when in fact all you've got is a dead battery;
Has a power-on light so that you can know the unit is on without disturbing the baby;
Has a volume control to put you in charge of how loudly you wish to hear your baby;
Are you planning to carry around your end of the monitoring system? Then you might want a belt clip!

Bath Seats

A bath seat gives your child added support while in the bathtub and can help prevent a soapy baby from slipping out of your hands and hitting her head on the tub. Keep in mind, however, that you should NEVER leave your child unattended in the tub!

When purchasing a bath seat, look for the following:

Never use a bath seat on textured or non-skid surfaces unless the manufacturers instructions specifically state the seat is intended for such surfaces;
Look for the JPMA Certification Seal.

Always remember, no matter what safety product you are buying, to look at the features to be sure they meet your specific requirements. Also check to be sure that the product you are considering has not recently been recalled. The safety of your child is of utmost importance dont leave it to chance!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Claire Bowes is a successful freelance writer and owner of baby-gifts-unique where you will find further information on the products available from babies r us and unique gift ideas Personalized Baby Gifts

America's Top 5 Golf Communities

As the popularity of golf continues to grow, so has the popularity of golf communities. Golf communities are planned neighborhoods which are focused around golf courses but have many more amenities. The obvious advantage is the closeness and exclusiveness of living right next to a golf course. But many golf communities also offer perks such as chefs, nature trails, stables and in the most exclusive, access to private jets. Generally, these neighborhoods are also gated communities which adds an extra sense of security.

Golf communities continue to be built at a rapid rate. Today, 3 out of 5 golf courses that are built are part of a larger golf community. Golf communities are sometimes criticized because they seem to cater to the very wealthy at the exclusion of everyone else.

What are the top five golf communities in the United States?

Coming in at number five is the Mayacama community. It is located in the heart of wine country in California. Twenty-nine members are involved in the wine business and special access to wine is given the remaining residents. It sits on 675 acres and it is known for its excellent caddie program.

Kiawah Island comes in at number four. It is located in South Carolina and contains five golf courses. There are many mansions and large homes done in an old Charleston flair. Members can use two private courses. There are also two restaurants and a spa.

Number three on the list of top golf communities is Isleworth. It is located in Orlando, Florida and Tiger Woods can often be seen playing there. Isleworth is known for its list of amenities that make it family friendly. They have dances for the kids and even special Thanksgiving dinners. However, it is probably the men's lounge that attracts the most attention. It is 7,000 square feet and contains a putting green, a golf simulator, and a basketball court.

The Bear's Club in Jupiter, Florida is a strong example of golf's gated communities. There are only 96 houses in the entire community and each one is worth approximately six million dollars. There is a concierge and also an acclaimed chef on staff here. The Bear's Club is considered the number two golf community in America.

Topping out the list is Santa Lucia Preserve in Carmel, California. Santa Lucia Preserve is made up of over 20,000 acres, but 18,000 of that has been made into a wildlife conservatory. The remaining 2,000 acres is home to 300 families. There is a great golf course, as well as a excellent dining and a sports complex. One of its high points is its equestrian program.

If you are looking for uncompromising quality, check out one of the top five golf communities in America. However, be prepared, as these are the best of the best and are priced accordingly. If living in a golf community is one of your dreams, don't despair. New private communities are popping up everyday. As the popularity of golf communities increases, so will the chances of being able to afford to live in one. Golf communities offer so much more than golf and the luxury behind these top five gated communities is unmatched.

Natalie Aranda writes on home and family. As the popularity of golf continues to grow, so has the popularity of golf communities. Golf communities are planned neighborhoods which are focused around golf courses but have many more amenities. The obvious advantage is the closeness and exclusiveness of living right next to a golf course. But many golf communities also offer perks such as chefs, nature trails, stables and in the most exclusive, access to private jets. Generally, these neighborhoods are also gated communities which adds an extra sense of security.

Online Gambling Software

Changes to the Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act 2000 (PAMD) Queensland Australia

Amendments to the PAMD Act 2000 are effective today (21st August 2006). Fair Trading Minister Margaret Keech claims that the amendments will make property buyers and sellers more confident of getting value for money and improved consumer protection.

We are not so sure these amendments will work in achieving those aims. The basic changes to the PAMD Act 2000 are effectively;

A) Bidders at Auctions will have to register prior to Auction, including providing suitable identification and receiving a marker to identify when they make a bid.

B) Any Market Opinions an agent provides to a property seller will need to be substantiated by a comparative market analysis (CMA).

Now call me a cynic about the behaviour of real estate agents, but these are really not going to achieve the goals of cleaning up the behaviour of dishonest real estate agents.

These legislated changes really only make the honest hard working agents, and yes they do exists, more honest. The dishonest agents will get around this in no time, whilst buyers and sellers believe the system will protect them.

Consider these approaches to both of the above changes.

A) The dishonest agent can still get a friend or an associate to register at an auction. That person can be informed of how high to bid ? so that they bid just below the reserve, to try and get the potential real buyer to increase their bids. Even if no-one bids after the friend or associate bids ? they are still below the reserve price, so it just looks to all and sundry like there were some serious buyers interested in that property. Additionally did you know that the Auctioneer can bid on behalf of the Vendor. This is called a vendor bid, and the way an auctioneer does those bids can still influence a potential buyer into believing they are bidding against a genuine bidder.

B) A market opinion is not a property valuation. It?s the opinion of the real estate agent on what the likely sale price of a property will be. They now must substantiate his opinion by comparing similar type properties that sold within 5km of the property in question. Now I reckon 5km covers quite a lot of ground, in-fact it could cover suburbs that have a significantly lower average price. Additionally what about the time frame ? is last 6 months a good indication. Last 12months. The market opinion is simply not a valuation done by a professional independent valuer. The agent has an agenda, they will substantiate to their hearts content and legitimately under the PAMD Act, to get the result they are after.

Sorry Mrs Keech we don?t believe either of these changes do anything to address the dishonest agents, and the process they employ.

If a property seller wants to feel truly comfortable they should seek an independent valuation. Then they can decide whether they need to use an agent or not.

As for auctions, considering current auction clearance rates in Queensland, forget the dummy bidder, you?d be a dummy seller.

Michael Eroz

Property Analyst

http://www.zeroagents.com.au

Real Estate Lead Generators Business Building Ideas Are All Around You

When I first got licensed to sell real estate I was about as clueless as they come, but what I lacked in knowledge and ability I made up for in desire to learn and willingness to learn. So, I went to school after finishing real estate school.

No, not a school with a sit down classroom, but school in the sense that I started asking questions of veteran agents and watching what they did and said. I turned off my mouth after a while and opened up my eyes and ears and learned more doing that than I did while getting licensed.

For example, I learned that Real Estate Lead Generators abound, and everyday I was presented with opportunities that had I not been tuned in to pay attention to would have gone overlooked.

Here's a case in point with respect to business cards. I don't remember exactly how many business cards came with my first order, but I vaguely remember it being 500-1,000 cards. A year later I still had most of them. It was the craziest thing that I could have done!

Think about it! Instead of making it a point to give them away as fast as I could I was actually rationing them out like I didn't want to unload them.

Don't make that mistake! Business cards are great real estate lead generators and should be given out as freely as you would a glass of water to a thirsty person. And that's just what real estate prospects are. Thirsty to make real estate transactions with real estate agents sharp enough to recognize the opportunities.

Admittedly, I wasn't too sharp back then, but as I got smarter I realized the value of handing 3-4 business cards to everybody I came in contact with-and I mean everybody; my kids teachers, my doctor, your doctor, the school crossing card, my mechanic, dentist, etc.

And then there were the scores of counter tops that I encountered everyday. Grocery store counters, dry laundry counters, fast food pickup counters, counters where I paid the cable bill, bought computer stuff, book counters, etc.

Oh, and less I forget I must have passed by hundreds of billboards without placing one business card, real estate flyer or anything else on it. My stomach still knots up when I think of all the money those wasted opportunities cost me.

But like I said, I'm a lot smarter now (okay, so maybe I'm just older) and can pass on some pearls of wisdom to you so that you can avoid some of the mistakes I made. For example, some other real estate generating ideas include:

Real Estate Leads from Contractor and Home Builder Shows.

Real Estate Contractor and Home Building shows are becoming extremely popular among folks who are looking to build their home or are considering having one custom-built themselves. Getting Real Estate Leads from them is a great a strategy that's easy to implement.

Real Estate Closing Gifts; Small Gifts That Lead To More Referrals and Sales.

Many Real Estate Agents think of real estate closing gifts as something that should be given to the home buyer by his or her close family and friends. The gift serves as an accolade for the person's accomplishment. You can design them yourself if you're the creative type, or simply go out and buy one from your local shopping mall.

Free Website Content; Using Free Content To Generate Leads.

Everything you need to know to build a realtor web site and generate leads is available on the Internet, much of it free to little cost-including website content! In fact, some of the best real estate information I've read has been free, and although locating quality free content for publication and turning them into HTML to publish on your web site each week involves a great deal of time and effort it can be worth the effort.

I could go on and on, but it all comes back to the notion that real estate lead generating ideas are around us all day, everyday. If you pay attention to them you can work them to your advantage, but if you impose your will with them you can dominate your market like no other agent in your community.

Visit Real Estate Lead Generators for more information about Real Estate Lead Generators.

Mazda Kabura Concept: Fun and Dynamic

Mazda Australia will showcase its much-admired Kabura concept car in Sydney. The magnificent lineup includes the new CX-7 crossover, BT-50 truck range, and Mazda6. These vehicles will astound the crowd of this year's Australian International Motor Show.

This year's Australian International Motor Show will be very important for Mazda Australia, says Doug Dickson, Mazda Australia's managing director. Not only will we be able to showcase two new cars, but we are very proud to have the Kabura concept car in the country. Kabura signals Mazda's future design direction and we are very excited with the result.

The Kabura concept features a compact sports vehicle that uses 2.0-litre MZR engine to combine fun and functionality to driving pleasure. It is especially designed to cater to drivers who appreciate dynamic and sport driving without sacrificing comfort and functionality. Kabura concept car is not a traditional car - that is the edge of incorporated to it.

With Mazda6 Diesel on sale in October, the CX-7 on sale in November and the BT-50 range in December, this motor show will provide an excellent forum for us to talk to our customers and introduce these new Zoom-Zoom models, Dickson added.

Kabura, which was introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, shows striking themes and technologies. It is equipped with 3+1 seating arrangement to provide greater passenger comfort without escalating size or weight. Kabura uses powerful Mazda mechanical parts and accessories to boost its overall appeal. It incorporates some of the remarkable Mazda MX-3 parts. Additionally, the concept car also uses rear-drive layout identical to that of Miata.

Mazda CX-7 is the automaker's latest SUV addition. It is said to embrace the 'soul of a sportscar' philosophy of Mazda which means excellent driving dynamics coupled with practical function. It is also equipped with Mazda's Active Torque Split All Wheel Drive system. The latter includes dynamic fuel injection parts Mazda injectors, which are incorporated to Mazda6 MPS.

Mazda Atenza or Mazda6, on one hand, replaced Capella. So far, the diesel-powered vehicle is the first generation of Mazda's stylish, youthful and spirited range. The new BT-50 truck range was given an exciting blend of sophistication and functionality to come up with outstanding and versatile trucks.
About the Author

Margaret Adams is the present manager of the largest auto manufacturing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This 35 year old maiden is a certified car enthusiast.

Do You Know About The Most Popular Real Estate Scams?

Real estate scams are more and more popular, even though we can't see them yet. Compared to robbing a bank, stealing $200,000-worth property via a false deed or an identity theft is trivial - and remarkably safe for the thieves. Their imagination is remarkable and oftentimes we can't do much more than minimizing the damage they inflict. By becoming aware of the most common real estate scams, you may be able to protect yourself or someone you know.

False Deeds, Part 1

Most real estate frauds revolve around forged deeds. The most popular scam is using a false deed in order to get a loan secured against a property. The thief then vanishes with all the money, leaving the real owner in danger of foreclosure by the bank - oftentimes the danger is real if the owner doesn't react on the first warnings received from the bank.

False Deeds, Part 2

Another common real estate fraud is selling a property without the owners consent. The uninhabited, recently inherited and otherwise unguarded property is the most probable target for such scams. The most inventive thieves are able to even sell the same property to several buyers at the same time. However, if they have sold it only to a single buyer, the fraud can go unnoticed for months or even a year. By that time, the ?owner? is long gone, usually in another state, selling another home to someone else.

Real Deeds

The false deeds are bad enough, as such scams usually hit at random and they often can be reversed after the deed is thoroughly checked. However, the problem begins when the fraud is performed using a real deed, one that was either stolen or simply taken from the owner. The sad thing is that such thieves often recruit from our family and closest friends, people we would never suspect of anything.

The most popular way is to get some kind of authorization (or truly, just a signature) from the owner in addition to a deed. This way the thief can do whatever they like without any real risk for being caught. This is an especially popular scam used against elderly people - a nurse or a family member either take a loan in the name of the elder or just force them into taking it.

Another, even more outrageous, real estate fraud is performed by unethical door-to-door loan sellers. Under the pretext of making home repairs, they force the seniors into signing some documents which are truly high-rate loan contracts secured against the property. As most seniors are unable to repay such debt, their homes are taken by the creditor (which was its goal from the beginning) and the elder is left homeless.

Defense

Defending against such frauds is difficult. If the thieves use false deeds, it is possible to prove that you had nothing to do with the loan or purchase. However, if they use a real deed and/or have your authorization, this gets dicey. And taking effective legal actions is next to impossible if you sign the loan papers.

Here are some tips to help protect yourself from such scams: 1) never sign anything you haven't thoroughly read and if you are in doubt have your attorney review the documents before signing; 2) throw out any peddling loan lenders; 3) keep important documents, such as your deed, in a safe deposit box.

For more information on real estate visit http://www.1st-real-estate.com

Advice for the Wise When Investing in Real Estate

Although real estate investing is known to most investors to be one of the safest and most profitable investment in general, some places in the past have known home prices to go down. Appreciating in one city doesn t necessarly mean that the same city will experience the same increase in home value the next year. Many factors are contributing to house price appreciation. Inventories, climate, crime rate, economy and population growth are the main factors. A good mortgage can also play a role in your investments. Always read your loan application carefully before signing it when it is approved. Avoiding a prepayment penalty for instance can save you thousands of dollars when selling your home. The purchase price of your investment home is capital too. Most investors who take their time have been able to buy their homes at 10-30% below market value. This obviously takes time to do and depends a lot on the market condition. Determining the best performing zip codes within a certain city. Remember that crime can be different from North to South in one same city. Price appreciation also varies according to different criteria like proximity to hospitals, malls, police station and crime rate.

Biswajit Das is a SEO manager and working for search engine optimizations for various sites. Article submission is one of the process to promote a website by link popularity, thats why this article is submitted by him to promote the real estate site: http://www.realestatease.com

Some Suggestions For Inexpensive Baby Shower Gifts

Note that a lot of raditional baby shower gifts - like infant car seat covers and even stuffed toys - may turn out to be expensive. If you're strapped for elegant gifts to give to a special child in your life, you may do well to look up a couple of inexpensive baby shower gifts that will nonetheless remain treasured by your baby and his/her family for years to come.

First of all, it would depend on how you perceive the term inexpensive to mean. Do you mean it's something haphazardly put together, something CHEAP and unwieldy, and definitely unworthy of gracing a joyous celebration? The term inexpensive baby shower gifts doesn't mean something put together without a care. Don't just pass off a rattle you hurriedly put together in your basement using industrial glue, pebbles and plasticine (all non-kidsafe, by the way!) as a shower gift.

If you truly care for the person you're giving the gifts to - in this case, the child's parents and/or the child him or herself - you have to invest a lot of thought in the endeavor. A lot of creativity has to come in too, because you don't pay for an offering such as that - it comes from the heart. A gift from the heart is sure to be treasured for a longer time than any other material gift.

Baby showers usually come with cute and happy themes related to infancy, such as pacifiers and bibs. You can try coming up with something similarly cheery, such as a small cupcake for everyone attending the shower, with frosting made out in either the shape of milk bottles and other recognizable baby things... or else the soon-to-be-baby's initials. This is something you can definitely do in your own kitchen!

Speaking of initials, you can make a lot of other inexpensive baby shower gifts with the baby's projected name - that is, of course, if the parents have already selected a name for him/her. You can, for example, come up with a hypoallergenic matching bracelet for baby and his/her mommy or daddy, with the baby's name spelled out in the beads. Or, if you're good at crafts and sewing, you could opt to embroider a set of items, such as a set of handkerchiefs, so that they would have a fancy way of showing the baby's initials. She or he will surely appreciate it when the time comes for such things as baby shower handkerchiefs to come in handy!
About the Author

Your-Babyshower.com provides you with info on Baby shower, inexpensive baby shower gifts and much more, come take a look at http://www.your-babyshower.com/

His Plan & My Efforts Make The Best Combination

By : Nitin Kulkarni

Often, thing do not work as per the plan and we are left wondering, what went wrong. Quite often, we do not get to know the reason and most often we end up attributing such happening to bad luck , fate or wrong timing. I have observed that many of us carry the unnecessary burden of these incidents as an unsolved mystery, as an extra luggage all through our life.

Here are just a few of such incidents from my life which were a part of extra luggage, I use to carry till recently.

All set to join my schoolmates for an educational tour, I developed chicken pox and had to be contended at home. I was unable to understand, what went wrong ? Why did it happen to me alone ? Why couldnt I go with the school team as planned ? I had many questions but no satisfactory answers.

Couple of years later, when in college, I was one of the 20 probables, who were to receive specialized cricket coaching and had a chance to make it to the University team.

My joy knew no limits. I was practicing very hard to make it to the team, when one fine morning, I broke two bones of my left arm, while attempting to complete a diving catch. Heavens came crashing down and I was holding my left arm in a cast, through a sling, for the next three months.

Cricket was now for a while a thing of past. I had the same questions hovering over my mind. And yet again there were no satisfactory answers. Why me, of all people in this world had to go through this?

Then came the time in life, when it was like a dream come true. I got married to my longtime sweetheart in a grand wedding ceremony. We moved to our own dream home, i.e., our rented apartment in the city where I was posted. Time was just flying and we felt like being at the top of the world.

Then, one night I woke up with a severe abdominal pain, only to be operated upon two days later. I was saved, but developed some postoperative complications , only to undergo another major life saving surgery, a couple of months later.

I was away from active life for about seven months. Didnt know, why a perfect looking and love blessed life had to go through these hurdles ? Why did it not happen the way we planned ? Why did it happen only to me ? Yet again, I had only questions, no answers.

A couple of years back, I was surfing through TV channels, when I happened to watch Indian movie superstar Amitabh Bachchan having an informal chat with some school children. And there he was narrating an incident from his childhood life , that answered all my questions listed above and made me free from the burden of that extra luggage, I had been carrying on my mind, so long & till now.

Here is what Amitabh said .

Amitabh was in boarding school, called Sherwood School, located in the hill town of Nainital, U.P., India. The Annual Day celebrations were just a few days away. Amitabh was to play the lead role in the play that was one of the major attractions of that evening.

Amitabhs father, Shri Harivansh Rai Bachchan, a well-known poet of national and international fame, had also come to town to witness his sons performance. Things looked set for a wonderful evening.

Amitabh developed high fever just a couple of days before the annual day and had to be admitted to a local hospital. Doctors ruled out any possibility of his attending the function, leave aside participation in the play.

The D-day arrived. Amitabh spent the Schools Annual Day, confined to the hospital bed, with tears in his eyes, his father by his bedside and a question on his lips as to what wrong had he done to have missed the chance to perform at the Schools final function.

His father replied Amit, it would have really been very good if things had happened the way you planned, but consider it to be the best, if things have happened otherwise.

Amitabh could not understand what his father wanted to explain and how a missed chance could be the best thing to happen. He asked his father, why does he say so?

His father said, Amit, you had decided to act in the play and participate in the Annual Day celebrations. It would have been good if things had worked your way.

But, he, the Almighty GOD had decided otherwise. As per his plan you were not to do so. And what he decides for you has to be nothing but the best.

As the words made sense, the meaning was clearly understood. As per Amitabh, this was one of the learnings that helped him keep that extra luggage out, all his life.

As I listened to Amitabh, I had found answers to many such unsolved questions of my life. As I looked back, I found that GOD has been very kind to me. I had got much more than what I expected. Every unexpected and unforeseen turn of events in life had turned out to my benefit in the ultimate analysis.

Well, now I know it had to be that way, because it was a combination of his plan and my efforts !

In gratitude,

Nitin Kulkarni
mailto:nitinkulkarni@nascentdewdrops.com

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Nitin Kulkarni is the facilitator of Nascent Dew Drops, a free Bi-weekly e-zine of inspirational and motivational stories based on real life experiences.

His other articles can be viewed at his web site http://www.nascentdewdrops.com through his e-zine which can be subscribed simply by sending a blank e-mail to mailto:nascentdewdrops-subscribe@listbot.com

What is Tarot?

Online Backgammon

PUT SOME DAZZLE IN YOUR LINGERIE TODAY

Lingerie is not just for the guys, it's for the women too! As a woman, we want the very best undergarments out there.

We want the hottest, sexiest little number that feels like melted butter next to our skin. And to top it off, we want it to slim our tummy, lift our tush and enhance our bust line! That's not asking for too much, is it?

So first of all, we want something soft. Velvet, silk, and satin ranks high on the softness scale.

Today's lingerie is more than just panties and bras. If you aren't that familiar with the different styles available in lingerie, here's a quick guide to help you navigate your way through the lingerie shop.

Chemise is a straight gown that skims the body. These can be comfortable and sexy hugging you in all the right places.

A babydoll gown is a short gown that fits around the bust and flares towards the hemline. The babydoll gown is perfect for showing off those legs!

To display a little more cleavage, try a bustier. A bustier is a strapless elongated bra that provides extra lift.

Camisoles are sleeveless tops with matching undies that can be worn under a jacket. Camisoles are great for showing off those toned arms. Very sexy!

A negligee is a loose, sheer gown normally accompanied with panties and a matching sheer robe. Very nice for that special night with your sweetie.

A teddy is a one-piece bodysuit.

Tap pants are soft, very short versions of boxer shorts.

And, of course, there is the thong. The thong provides frontal coverage with a thin strap in the back. Thongs are perfect when you don't want any panty lines.
You are intelligent, funny and on your way to being a woman of the world! And to project confidence your undergarments should be just as sexy and fashionable as your outward appearance. When confidence oozes from you, the whole world will know that you have arrived and are ready to conquer the world! The most important thing to remember is to have fun and be comfortable. Intimates are also available in casual styles like tank tops, p.j.'s and bikinis.

About the Author

Bridget Allen has worked for many years in the fashion industry, at a senior level, and she has written an amazing totally free fashionista minicourse that will thrill, entertain, and most importantly educate you about what you absolutely need to know about fashion.

Get the free course Fashionista Essentials now at http://www.i-stylish.com

Home Appreciation Slows to Lowest Rate in Nine Years

Existing home sales fell 1.3% in June, according to the National Association of Realtors. This marks the eighth decline in 10 months.

June's average price of a sold home increased 0.9% from the year prior, to $231,000. This is the smallest year-over-year price increase since May of 1995.

Regionally, June's sales were down 3.5% in the Northeast and 2.3% in the South, while sales in the West and Midwest remained steady.

The supply of unsold homes has risen to a record 3.725 million units. The inventory is a 6.8 month supply at June's sales rate -- the greatest amount of time in over eight years.

Single-family home sales were down 0.9% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.81 million units, whereas sales of condominiums fell 5.5% in June.

David Lereah, NAR chief economist, says that home sales are beginning to level out after five years of record sales. With interest rates increasing, housing sales have slowed.

Lereah suggests that there are two markets seen in the industry right now -- one where red-hot markets are cooling, and the other where moderately priced areas are starting to heat up.

The NAR reports that sales have decreased in New York, Boston, Minneapolis and Chicago, but have increased in Syracuse and Pittsburg.

Overall, sales are increasing in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee, while decreasing sales are seen in Maryland and Virginia.

Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate and mortgage rates. We specialize in daily updates, mortgage news, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!

Tshirts Becoming Hot in India

The Cool 'n' Trendy T-shirts becoming hot in India Wearing Tees: It is all about your personality and attitude

T-shirts are those simple, comfy cotton casuals, an influence of the West, which blends easily with Indian style of dressing. T-shirt, if the funny name makes you wonder, here is the history. The name apparently is credited to its simple design. Indian Tennis player Sania Mirza wears T-shirt bearing the words like Well-behaved women rarely make history, Attitude Unlimited and many more. Today she is facing a tough time in answering the questions from the media related to skin tight T-shirt she wears. Indeed a hot issue of cool T-shirt!

Everyone believes that what you dress or wear says a lot about your personality. It displays your character and behavior. Sometimes T-shirts gives a perfect attitude of a person when displaying some slogans or logos and it also displays the community or religion you belong to or association / group associated with it, hence it leads to intelligent conversation or displays what you want to speak about. That means it convey your messages in the form of slogan or logo and ultimately your attitude!

Normally, teens prefer short sleeves T-shirt with attitude slogans. Many young people prefers T-shirts with attitude slogans like God bless everyone, Bad attitude, I am on summer holiday, Flower Friend, , I have an attitude!, etc. If you care about the animals show it with Animal's friend, if you care about environment wear T-shirt with slogans like Think Green, Protect Earth from Pollution and the possibility of playing around with words, designing and wearing it on you is immense. And all it depends on what you want to show and what you are wearing that ultimately describe your attitude.

T-shirts are most preferred and acceptable in Indian market In India, earlier, T-shirts were preferred by children and teens only, but now a days people of all age-groups wears T-shirts. Generally old age people prefer mostly collared T-shirts with branded names. Kids buy T-shirts of styles Pokemon and Spiderman and with many cartoon themes.

Recently, T-shirts with plain colors like white, bottle green, emerald green, kelly green, sky blue, navy, orange, royal blue, sunflower, heather, ash, olive, khaki, deep navy, navy, aqua etc are preferred in office or with the corporate logo or slogans. Today, a new corporate trend of dressing observed in India, especially in the information technology industry where you can come with a blazer or sports jacket and attend a meeting wearing T-shirt too.

Ladies are also wearing T-shirts in corporate houses with contrasting bound neck band and cuffs, short sleeve T-shirts. Even many offices are also favoring Western wear including corporate T-shirts. Indian fashion trends are going to West now a days.

Shopping malls have been growing in India like mushrooms and selling branded T-shirts and clothes to youngsters. In India most ladies are wearing T-shirts, Indian women are giving up their traditional wears like saris, salwar kameez and pajamas and replacing these with western wear, like skirts and trousers, jeans wear, short and tight T-shirts etc. Women find Western clothing is like skirts and trousers, jeans wear, short and tight T-shirts etc. Women find Western clothing are more convenient, especially when office hours or while traveling. Along with a short T-shirt women are used to wear low-cut pants/jeans with a tight belt is a hot and new trend in India.

Demand: trendy and flourishing T-shirt market of India A peep inside casual wear stores here suggests that T-shirts have a presence that cannot be ignored and also have an ally even among the not-so-fashion-conscious people here.

A splash of colours, a few funky words do a mighty bit towards endearing them to any crowd, young or old. T-shirts now serve as the easiest canvass for a piece of art ranging from a Superman to political slogans. The scope of playing around with words and wearing it on you is tremendous.

There is availability of the standard, fashionable and designable distinctive varieties of T-shirts in the Indian market. There is significantly more demand of embroidery, Jewellery and custom designed T-shirts too.

The current trends of T-shirts also include flocking T-shirts where Flocking - is a process by which vat-dyed fibers are tied to the fabric with a heat transfer process, and are becoming demanding more and more. These T-shirt are distinctive in terms of fit, feel and styling. There are many T-shirts manufacturers are manufacturing light weight T-shirts to satisfy the needs of the light weight T-shirts consumers.

In addition to manufacturers many designers have geared up their styles of making T-shirts in the form of arts like jewelled designed T-shirts, crystal designed T-shirts, embodied T-shirts, and Digital Jewelled designed T-shirts etc. Recently, National Institute of Fashion Technology graduate Mr. Shantanu of Kolkata (India) designed jewelled T-shirts with the theme of God Kirshna's character. These kind of Jewelled and embroiled T-shirts are hot in metro cities of India. This fashion trends are affecting more and more to the young and the trendy people. Digitally printed jewelled T-shirts bearing opulent Mughal theme with attitude slogans are still popular among youths.

Currently, In India, fashion is considered as a serious business and the market demand will be booming. Tight T-shirt with mini skirts or jeans pants is hot trend in Indian youngsters. Most of young ladies are accepting to be an ultra-sexy by wearing mini skirts with tight and short T-shirts or feminine long skirts with off shouldered sexy T-shirts. India experiences the West, that's the big trend. The slim fit, fluorescent and fast color T-shirts were sold out more during this Diwali.

The branding game In India T-shirts industries have raised by 27 percent followed by blouses/shirts and trousers. Recent market report survey says this segment of clothing in India accounts for 4.22 per cent of the Indian apparel market with sales of Rs. 2,419 crores, this includes T-shirts for women and have become trendy.

According to KSA Techno Park, Nike is the market leader, followed by Reebok in three of the income segments, except for Adidas in the Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 income segment, and Nike has an 8.3 percent share.

The income analysis of women explains that Reebok is the top women's active wear T-shirt in the lower income segment, Nike in the middle income segment and Adidas leads the highest income bracket.

Duke is the most popular brand in clothing of the lowest income segment of consumers; it is second in the next higher income slab to Lee and third in the Rs. 50,001 to Rs. 1 lakh income group. The top five in the highest income group is considered Wills Sports followed by Lacoste, Allen Solly, Lee and Classic Polo in order-wise.

Benetton is the second most popular brand in the segment of income of Rs. 50,001 to Rs. 1 lakh and has received fifth rank in the Rs. 15,000 to Rs. 25,000 segment. In the lowest income bracket Peter England is among the top five favorites and Crocodile gets similar approval in the Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 50,000 income segment. In the next higher income segment, Allen Solly and ColorPlus are considering. The report says, there are two sub-categories in T-shirts market, one is active wear and second is casual wear. Generally, people are likely to wear active wear brands for their morning jogging or routine work while the casual T-shirts used for the purpose of informal clothing. Active wear clothing tends to have a high recall because of many international brands have become more or less generic with active wear.

The future of T-shirt Industry in India

Movies, film stars and celebrities play an important role in suggesting the youths to wear stylish T-shirts. Sometimes people become aware of a new collection only after the film stars or celebrities wear them in movies. Film stars make a fashion statement by wearing their words on T-shirt, while other celebrities make their statements a bit in a different way or in their choosy styles. Even Sushmita Sen's sari-look in 'Main Hoon Na' movie liked by people but personally she prefers to wear jeans and a T-shirt.

T-shirts are also increasingly being used in Indian corporate houses to motivate employees, to build brand loyalty in the market as well as to display the company's attitude by displaying its motto or slogan in front of stakeholders. Today in major corporate houses promotional T-shirts became very popular as corporate gifts and more and more corporate or promotional T-shirts are demanding in the market, manufacturers are also manufacturing best quality designer-type pieces with buyers' logos, institutional advertising, slogans and emblems on T-shirts as well as for the end users. During the last cricket world cup, one of the Net portals sold some 60,000 promotional T-shirts in 60 days.

After WTO textile quotas were removed in January, traders of T-shirts in India observed export demand growth by 25 percent in the first quarter of this year in against the same period of 2004.

The export of ladies' blouses is up 26% to 29 million euros, jerseys and pullovers are up 12%, and men's T-shirts are up 37%. The collective export of blouses, skirts and T-shirts were about Rs 9,000 crore last year. The India's accomplishment has been amazing in four categories (as below) which had been eliminated by quota and it has been capable to maximize the use of quota levels, these cover T-shirts (Cat-4), ladies blouse (Cat-7), gents shirts (Cat-8) and ladies dresses (Cat-26). Amid the above categories, T-shirts has a bigger share in the top 10 categories trapping around 8.2 per cent of the total MFA imports of EU.

To satisfy the increased demand and seize market opportunities, many manufacturers and traders are adding new production lines and even building new factories. Many companies are improving their technology too. Main production centers of T-shirts in India are Tirupur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Ludhiana.

Recently Tetriberica, a Portugal based apparel manufacturing company has opened an India office at Tirupur with the aim of providing sportswear and T-shirts in Indian market, and many international companies are looking towards the growth by targeting the Indian market. A new production unit in Gujarat has been establishing by T.T. Ltd for T-shirt manufacturing. Pytex Hosiery Mills is also constructing a new factory in Haryana to increase its production capacity. And many Indian T-shirt manufacturers are improving their production facilities and developing their capability among the challenge of stiff competition passed on by the lifting of quotas.

Selections of Tees on latest trends give you a superior look

Wearing a T-shirt of your choice gives your looks more attractive but what type of T-shirt you select gives your looks better than others. Your personality depends on the selection of right type of T-shirts like size differences, fabric, color, printing process etc and depends on the latest trends too. Selections of Tees on latest trends give you a better look and enhance your personality.

Selection of Fabric

T-shirts can be made from many materials and fabric decides many features about a T-shirt, such as how well a T-shirt will give its shape after wearing and washing. And it also depends for what purpose T-shirts you are going to wear, i.e. the selection of soft and flexible or durable heavy fabric or non- shrinkable material like polyester/cotton blends, selection of fiber contents etc. Select the fabric of T-shirt or its material according to your purpose.

Colour and Design and Garment distortion

Different brands provide different color choices and designs. To avoid color fading, choose appropriate and long lasting color shade T-shirts to your wearing purpose. Over and over again a brand new T-shirt leaves the washer and dryer in an unsatisfactory condition. All T-shirts will shrink to some extent when they are first washed. Shrinking is become more problem while it shrinking continually by washing. To avoid this problem select cotton polyester blend T-shirts, this will shrink less.

Differences of sizes

The selection of T-shirts is depends on the size of that T-shirt you wear and ultimately it affects on your personality. Sizing varies vividly from brand to brand. Not only does the general size change drastically, but the length and width proportions differ as well. Your figure and style will decide what brand will give you the right fit. Check out sizing of T-shirts. Pilling

On the surface of the garment sometimes pilling is appeared. To reduce this, purchase no-pill or low-pill materialized T-shirt. Neckband

The neckband should choose a knit to stretch over the head, then reshape in its original. A firm knit ribbing is often utilized. A nylon blend ribbing provides added reinforcement. Care Tags

Most T-shirts are generally provided with care label, with suggestion to required garment care. Some T-shirts can be cleaned in hot or warm water and tumble dried; others may need more extraordinary care such as machine washing in cold water and line drying or lying flat to dry. T-shirts with transfer prints and decorated, generally require special care, such as turning the T-shirt wrong side out before laundering. Keep in mind to maintain garment appearance; you should have to follow care recommendations. Latest trend

And at the last but not the least purchase T-shirts to suits your mood , the purpose of wearing and the latest trends of designs, color combination etc in the market.

Fibre2fashion.com- Leading B2B Portal of Fashion, Textile and Apparel Industry offers Free Fashion Articles, Free Fashion Trends Articles, Free Industry Reports, Free Articles, Free Fashion Designers Articles, Women?s Fashion Tips, Fashion Tips Free Fashion Case Studies and Fashion Market Country Reports ? submit your reprinted articles, featured articles free and get advantage of largest community of textile apparel, fashion and retail industries.

To read more articles on Textile, Fashion, Apparel, Technology, Retail and General please visit http://www.fibre2fashion.com/industry-article If you wish to download/republish the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the Article Source?. Also, you have to make it hyperlinked to our site.

Copyright ? 2006

The hottest tip on getting a web site listed quickly by Yahoo Inktomi MSN FAST Altavista and Hot

Anne-Marie KillerEvery webmaster knows that the free search engines are a major source of traffic.

They also know that applying all the SEO techniques in the world will not in itself get their web pages spidered, indexed and listed. Yes, sure, a perfect page, once indexed and listed will surely rank high for its keywords but unless it is found by the spiders, it is pretty useless.

It is no secret that the process of a web page being found by the spiders can be helped by placing links to that web site on other web sites (e.g. by doing a links exchange with other web sites, by putting one's URL in one's signature file when posting on a forum, by writing and submitting articles for free distribution and placing one's URL in the author's resource block etc.) All of this will surely work but it can take months before anything happens. The webmaster has no option but to be patient and wait...and wait...and wait.

Now there is something very easy and very effective one can do to speed up this process. Actually, using this method, will get a web page indexed and listed in less than 48 hours. And the whole process is controlled by the webmaster. It is easy, fast in terms of setting it all up and what's more it is free!

Here is what one does:
Go to http://www.blogger.com and sign up for a new account (free - they even host the blog on their server at no cost)
Give your blog a name.
Navigate to 'Settings' and then choose 'Site Feed'
Check that the 'Publish Site Feed' option is set to 'Yes'
Copy the 'Site Feed URL' to the clip board (you can paste is some where .. you're going to use it when you've set up your my.yahoo account)
Save your changes
Navigate to 'Posting' and create your first entry.
What should you write? Anything, actually - your words do not make that much of a difference. what is important is that you add the URL of each page you want listed to the blog. Remember to add them as live links (to enable all the spiders to follow them!) As a suggestion, why not make your blog a log of this experiment?
Publish your blog by hitting the 'Publish' button.

Sorry, we're not done yet...

Now you have to go to http://www.yahoo.com and open a My Yahoo! account. Just follow Yahoo's very clear instructions.
Click on the 'Add Content' button.
Click the 'Add RSS by URL' link.
Paste the 'Site Feed URL' you've copied earlier in the 'URL' field and hit 'Add'.
You have just added your site's news feed to your My Yahoo! account.

Mmm, you don't know what a news feed is? I've written a document explaining it all. You can read it here: http://perfect-party-ideas.blogspot.com/2005/01/what-is-orange-xml-or-rss-icon-i-see.html

Last step: go to http://www.pingomatic.com
Enter your blog's name and URL (similar to mine: http://www.perfect-party-ideas.blogspot.com)
Select all the services to ping (of which My Yahoo! is one) and click the 'Submit Pings' button.
Navigate back to your My Yahoo! account and refresh your browser.
Scroll to the bottom of the page where you'll see your blog's feed appearing.

Your job is done - the spider bait is ready!

Now for a bit of excitement. Start watching your web site's stat's to see how quickly the spiders find their way to your web site. You could even throw a free stats counter on your blog and watch the spiders visiting your blog.

Next step: Play log-and-ping every day or so. More often if you have the time! Whenever you feel like it, add another posting to your blog. Remember to throw in some links to specific pages on your web site.

Let me know how successful you were - use my 'Contact Me' page on my web site.

About the author:

Anne-Marie Killer is a mother of two step teenagers and a toddler. She is the webmaster and owner of Perfect Party Ideas
Read her blog where she documents the process of setting up Perfect Party Ideas



Web-site designing Pillars (part2)Pavel LenshinWEB-SITE DESIGNING PILLIARS (part 2)

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copyright (c) Pavel Lenshin
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USABILITY

Usability is what makes your WS pleasant to deal with.
While everyone defines personally for her(him)self how to
make design nice to look at, memorable (in respect to
branding) and serve customer/business needs in the best way
possible, the technical side of usability can and should be
corrected using the standard requirements.

SOURCE CODE OPTIMIZATION

Firstly about the four problems that come to my mind with
dirty HTML source code:

1. Potential cross-browser conflicts as some particular
useless Tags (a piece of HTML source code) may be neglected
by one browser but create some visual errors, when viewed in
other browser.
2. The more useless HTML Tags web-page has, the more drive
space it occupies.
3. As the derivative of the previous problem, the more size
of that web-page, the longer it takes to visitor to load and
view it.
4. Search engines like plain and clear textual information
for easy search and scan. By having a lot of useless pieces
of HTML code, you prevent SE spiders to proper index your
web-pages. The result is the obvious decreasing of your
Search Engine rankings. That is why Meta Tags correcting is
not the only thing you should pay attention to.

Statistic shows that more then 85% of all WSs online demands
graphics or HTML code optimization. That is actually a
common problem, the core of which lies in the use of highly
popular home web editors like FrontPage or other.

The winner among the worst is well-known Netscape
Composer, due to the extremely dirty HTML code it
generates while editing old or creating new web-pages. If
you have ever used Composer and no one have cleaned those
web-pages afterwards, they definitely contain a lot of HTML
garbage.

Based on my own experience every 50Kb Netscape Composer's
web-page can be easily optimized to the 40Kb file size or
less, as a simple result of the deleting junk HTML tags. If
you implement Cascade Style Sheet and HTML compressor you
will get the same, but clean & shiny web-page totaling
25-30Kb (40-50% space savings) with the enhanced visual
effects.

The example above shows saving on a single web-page, but if
we speak in terms of 50-60 pages WS, that occupy (without
graphics) 3-5Mb of hard drive space, the potential savings
as a result of HTML optimization may reach 1-3Mb.
So if you are experiencing the lack of hard drive space with
your hosting provider, the solution to that problem lies in
simple WS optimization. It doesn't only save a lot of space,
but, as we know, eliminates potential cross-browser
mistakes, helps SE spiders to properly index your web-pages
and make your visitors' surfing more quick and smooth and
therefore pleasant.

GRAPHICS OPTIMIZATION

When we speak about poorly optimized graphics we get two
problems: more occupied space and worse load time. Given
that the first obstacle may be overcome by acquiring
personal server with several Gigabytes of hard drive space,
the letter problem will continue to exist as the majority of
web visitors have low speed dial-up connection.

To make your graphics optimized on the basic level, you
should save it in the proper graphic format. Many popular
pictures of eBook covers can be easily optimized simply by
re-saving .JPG format into .GIF or vice versa depending on
particular file. That tactic alone can bring 15Kb file to
occupy 7-10Kb in the matter of 2 min.

The basic math shows that 10 optimized pictures (without
HTML optimization) on a web-page are capable to decrease the
overall size of it from 120Kb to 70Kb with no visual loss in
the quality of picture. Are you aware of statistics how many
visitors leave your site just because they are tired to wait
until all pictures load? It doesn't mean that you have to
simply delete these pictures completely as some people
suggest, what it does mean is that they are better to be
optimized because in case with eBook covers, they proved to
triple selling potential and their absence will be hardly
compensated by new visitors.

To choose the right format, follow one simple rule:
If the target picture is more likely to be a photo, with
many colors, unshaped objects and different lights, this
file should be saved in .JPG format. If, on the contrary, a
picture is more likely to consists of a number of vector
objects like circles, triangles, squares, doesn't have too
many colors or similar to some drown comics, then .GIF
format is the best to use.

If it is hard to determine, then save it in both formats and
compare quality/size ratio. Not much work, big effect.

Having semi- or fully professional graphic editors will
allow you to get even better results by selecting
compression rate, smoothness, sharpness of edges if we
speak about .JPG format; or palette, colors, rate of
transparency, animation features etc. if we deal with .GIF
format.

Today's technological opportunities are vast, so it is you
to decide how deeply you want to dive in.

CROSS-BROWSER &
SCREEN RESOLUTION OPTIMIZATION

The numbers are the following:
- 2% have outdated 14'' with 640*480 pixels in width and
height respectively.
- 49% of web-surfers use 15 monitors with preferable
standard screen resolution of 800*600 pixels;
- 45% surf the web with 17 monitors with reasonable
1024*768 resolution;
- 4% of users enjoy 18-19 monitors with 1152*864-1280*1024
screen settings.

What should these numbers tell you? The very simple thing
if you created the WS on your 15 monitor, don't assume that
it will look as good on other monitors as on yours.

Let me draw several notes here about the tendency that
monitor market will follow in the nearest future.
First is that all 14 monitors are gradually going to their
deserved eternal rest. Even the share of notebooks with 15
TFT screens growing exponentially. There are even several
new versions with 16 active matrixes. Don't also forget
that notebooks' 14 TFT screen have almost the same diagonal
inches as usual 15 CRT (Cathode-ray tube) monitors.
Secondly, the number of 15 monitors is also decreasing, due
to growing number of 17 monitor owners that is the third
point.

One sentence conclusion of the above statistics is that your
WS should look fine, at least, under 800*600 and 1024*768
resolutions. This is a market demand to your WS and, as we
know, you better not joke with The Market.

Without going deep into theory, there are two ways:
- more simple;
- more complex.

Both correct, both satisfy the demand above but the letter
way, given it is more complex, usually perfectly fits any
screen resolution, whether it is 14 or 21 and more
favorable to WS space usage.

The easier way would be to make the borders of your web-page
(tables of your web-page) to be fixed with certain number of
pixels.
The most popular settings are something between 650 to 750
pixels just to fit that 800 pixels width screen under the
most popular 15 monitor 800*600 resolution. If you go that
way your web-page will have the same look under different
sets of resolutions.
If we try to see it at 14 monitor with 640 pixels in width,
the unpleasant horizontal scroller would appear because our
fixed setting in 700 pixels is wider then 640 and it just
won't fit in it. If, on the other hand, we look at our
imaginable site under 1152*864 or 1280*1024, it will look
too narrow, as it will occupy only 60% of the screen width
(our 700 in comparison to 1200 screen pixels width).
Why does this designing way simpler? You just won't have any
problems building it: no need for resolution or
cross-browser optimization, as fixed pixels are read
correctly under almost every browser.

The more complex way is to have width of one or several HTML
tables columns on your site to be set in percents like 75%
or 100% and, therefore, poses the ability to automatically
broaden or narrow according to the specified percents,
depending on what screen resolution the site is being viewed
under.
If you have 600*800 screen settings (the screen width is 600
pixels) and one of the table width of your site is set to
100%, then this particular table along with all included
text and graphic will narrow to 600 pixels, if we set the
monitor to 1200*1024 resolution, i.e. having 1200 pixels
wide, our site's table will stretch to the specified 100%,
in that case, 1200 pixels.
That's why it looks more attractive under different
resolutions but demands additional optimization, including
cross-browser optimization, as Netscape Navigator browser
has some problems with proper interpreting of percent
settings in multi column tables. Which way to choose depends
on the tasks and your preference.

I wish you endless creativity and no more then 70Kb per page

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About the author:

Pavel Lenshin is an Internet entrepreneur, web-developer and
marketer, founder of the entrepreneurship portal, where you
can find discounted Internet services, marketing solutions,
FREE ebooks, FREE reports and finally uncover innovative
business strategies through FREE NET Business Magazine.
Visit: http://asbone.com


Web-site designing Pillars (part1)Pavel LenshinWEB-SITE DESIGNING PILLIARS (part1)

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copyright (c) Pavel Lenshin
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It is a hot opinion that it's the words that sell, not a
design and that you should invest all your money into
writing a good sales copy and what is left (if anything)
into web-site. I can give you 99 out of 100 that authors of
these claims are copywriters, web-designers usually don't
write articles. It is like asking football player what game
he enjoys more: football or hockey? :0)

I don't want to argue that statement about the importance of
copywriting, on the contrary, I think that it is totally
true, but under one condition your Web-Site (WS hereafter)
is already implied to make your visitors feel, at least,
comfortable.

It could never be counted, how many times I closed down the
browser without reading a single word, just because of the
amateurish and clumsy look those WSs had.

No need to emphasize on importance of the professional WS.
It is obvious, at the same time you won't read there, that
web-design is everything and that professional sales letter
or text message is nothing, because it is like answering the
question what is better to have skin or heart cancer? To
my mind, it is better to be totally healthy.

Business WS usually plays the role of virtual office, shop,
informational dep., marketing dep. and service dep. It is a
main representative and the core of your business the
final proof, the image of your company is based on.

-----What it is all about-----

The target is set to make your WS as good as it can
possibly be. Here I pointed the crucial pillars of designing
a professional looking WS. You will not find there basic
HTML teaching or how to use particular web-editor. The
knowledge of HTML will help, but is not compulsory, as
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editors will make all
HTML coding work ehind the scene for you.

You require general understanding of what HTML is and
ability to use one or several WYSIWYG web-editors, that is
three hour learning process. The feeling of style and taste
is also advisable; otherwise you will have to consult a
designer.

The problem with design How to.. is that WS design is 90%
creative work, where is no two identical WS (unless copied),
that is why there cannot be any step-by-step study, the same
way there is no step-by-step study on how to paint a
masterpiece paint.

What we can teach is how to hold a brush, but it is you,
who should paint Mona Lisa and become Leonardo da Vinci.

-----What your WS should look like?-----

+ Stylish. Consider it as an exterior and interior of your
whole off-line business premises, starting from hall
(main-index web-page) and ending with your personal office
(about me web-page). It has to have its unique feel and
style. Don't also forget about branding features your WS
represent.

+ Clear structure. Imagine a shopper who wants to make a
purchase at your offline store, but in order to enter it, he
has to go through warehouse, service department and all
kinds of office premises. Don't allow your web visitor feel
like that shopper.

+ Harmonically allocated design elements like graphics and
text. The WS is united entity and your brand. Every element
on the WS is to be blend with exterior, no separated
elements or graphics like a number of flashy banners.

+ High usability standards and complete WS optimization
including clear HTML code and optimized web graphics that
are similar to clear shop. The more dirt your web-pages
contains, the more time it will take to load them, the more
potential errors it may show in different browsers, and the
harder it will be for Search Engine spiders to index your
WS. We will discuss these issues later on.
Pay also attention to broken links, as it is similar to wall
behind the door of your off-line shop. Let your visitors
find good resources with your help, rather than an Error
404 Page not found.

+ Absence of grammatical errors. It concerns grammatical
correctness of textual information. The importance of
correct grammar is clear, no one wants to deal with
uneducated people, especially if they represent businesses.

-----What programs you will need-----

First of all you will need to equip yourself with right
armament, that are mostly WYSISWG (What You See Is What
You Get) web-editors. The download links and short
description you can find below:

Macromedia Dreamveawer -
http://www.macromedia.com/software/dreamweaver/ - considered
to be the best WYSIWYG HTML editor. Ideal for beginners as
well as professional users. Anything you can only imagine
has already been included :0) 30 days trial version.

EzyPage - http://www.ezyware.com/ - very simple drag&drop
web-page creator for beginners. Although it has several very
interesting features build in like dropdown menu or
scrolling table. Free distribution.

Stepzilla - http://www.stepzilla.com/ - the software's
motto - step by step to the web - tells everything for
itself.

1st page 2000 v.2 final - http://www.evrsoft.com/products/ -
very pleasant HTML editor for beginners as well as advanced
webmasters. Has ability to choose the interface that will be
more suitable. Available HTML cleaning option, XML
converter, build in FTP-client and preview function. A lot
of ready to use Javasript, VBScript, DHTML, Perl
applications. The software is being distributed for free.

Hot Dog Professional -
http://sausage.com/products/index.html - three HTML
editors - HotDog Junior for kids, PageWiz for beginners and
Professional ver.6 for advanced users. Convenient interface
with easy to access HTML functions. Includes CSS editor,
checker for tag errors and many others. All three editors
allow to download 30-days trial version.

CoffeCup HTML editors - http://www.coffeecup.com/software/ -
another offer with several versions of softwares for
beginners as well as advanced users. Pre-made JavaScript
applications libraries, Flash effects, font creator, HTML
code cleaner, FTP-client, and many more. Collection of
web-pictures, backgrounds, icons. Available 30-days trial
PRO or free version.

AceHTML 5.0 Pro - http://www.visicommedia.com/ -
professional HTML editor. DHTML ? JavaScript libraries.
Build in CSS editor, HTML, JavaScript, CSS checker, supports
XHTML, XML, Perl and WML documents. HTML code optimizer,
link checker. Available 30-days trial version.

-----PILLARS OF PROPER DESIGNING-----

TASKS DEFINING.

You next step after setting up the appropriate web-design
program is to set the list of tasks your site should solve.
You should answer the following questions:

1. Are your WS a sales letter or a content rich project?
Depending on your answer you have or don't have to pay
attention to the structure and flexibility of navigational
menu, as it may bring new challenges, as your content-rich
WS will grow. Consider to reserve WS space to future
informational blocks like announcements, exclusive offers,
visitors voting, polls, that you may like to include
sometime in future. Don't make the page layout look too
tight, as you will require redesigning the whole page just
to insert a small table for visitors' voting.

2. What kind of integrated services you are planning to use?
Whether it is going to be shopping cart, discussion board,
chat or separate section totally devoted to the WS
newsletter, it should fit overall site layout and design.
Think in prospective, as it will take several hours now, but
avoid several weeks of headache in the future. Make sure
that the foundation of your online empire will bear all
possible additional storeys, without need of demolishing the
whole uilding and strengthening the foundation.

3. What market sector your WS belongs to in general and what
product/service you are going to offer in particular? If
your WS is an entertainment portal, full of flash games,
casino offers and reviews of upcoming PC games, it is
obvious that design and layout plays extremely important
role as a representative of more than 50% of all
information. Be sure that boring graphics in that case would
cut the roots of your WS growth. If, on the other hand, you
are working at corporate business-to-business online sector
(B2B), there is absolutely no need in complex graphics
elements or flashy stars in the top-left corner. Online
businesses always experience lack of time, therefore, they
need quick answers of who you are, what you are and why are
you, rather than waiting till your welcome 300Kb flash clip
will load. The answer to efficient finding partners among
businesses is textual and to the point information that is
easy to access and that is, usually, represented in business
white-gray-black color scheme.

VISUALLY FINISHED.

Anybody can do that, although the broader imagination you
have, the simpler it will be. What you need is comfortable
seat, paper and a pen. Put your feet on the table, close
your eyes and imagine your WS.

Let me only tell you one of my favorite jokes concerning
technique mentioned above.

There was a group of foreign visitors coming to see a very
prosperous and profitable company.
At the end of their excursion one of the visitors asked
their guide:
You know, your company is really perfect, with the best
technology I've ever seen, everybody is working very hard,
but, tell me, who is that man in the biggest room on the top
floor doing nothing but relaxing on the soft armchair with
his feet crossed on the table, sipping Cola and listening to
music?
Oh, that man came up with the idea last year, that earned us
$1.000.000, and, as far as I remember, during that time he
was also sipping Cola with his feet on the table.

So follow this man and don't allow anybody disturb you
during this work!

Don't make any mistakes about it. You may be surprised, but
it is the most challenging and crucial part of your WS
creation. The brighter efforts you put into your paper, the
more beneficial result you will get. No need for degree in
painting, just basic elements on paper as a background of
your future WS building, the rest in mind.

Don't be afraid to experiment! It's a pleasant time spending
anyway. Remember all great works of all times are
considered to be masterpieces, only because they, firstly,
perfectly reflect the depth of their creators' souls and,
secondly, they are unique in their nature. There is no
masterpiece based on well-known standards. They are good in,
let's say, decreasing production costs, but they are not
welcomed in the art creation process, which the design
surely is.

On the other hand, you should always keep in mind that the
experiment ends exactly when the web-surfer disappointment
starts.

ELEMENTS.

The key point, while visualizing your full color WS, is to
decide what and where will you place 3 basic elements:
1. Header.
2. Navigational menu.
3. Space for main text.

The following list represents possible WS elements that you
consider to have as a result of previously conducted Task
Defining. Designer should also reserve a proper place and
harmonically blend them with the rest of WS elements:
1. Banner ads;
2. Menu mirror at the bottom;
3. Additional text for news column, announcements,
testimonials etc.;
4. Email forms, visitor polls, questionnaire etc.;
5. Any other items you consider to include.

It must be stressed that all the main elements of the WS as
well as any other WS items, which should be added at your
sole discretion ought to be put in mind while visualizing,
and therefore written down on paper to be sure there is no
forgotten element left behind. If it occurs at the next
stage you will have to start from the very beginning as
there is no way to move further. So don't quadruple your
work with your own hands. Make sure you have put every
present into the box you want to receive on Christmas. ;0)

WS STRUCTURE AND LAYOUT

Draw the scheme of your WS structure. How you are planning
to arrange, link and create logically relations between
sections or stand alone web-pages. It is easy to navigate
four-page sales letter WS, but everything changes when we
are exploring 100 spontaneously linked WS. It is easier to
get out of Sahara desert rather than to find what you need.

Your navigational structure could be linear or functional.
There are unlimited number of variations, just pay close
attention and follow one simple rule:
The more difficult for you to write a WS structure, the
more difficult it will be for potential user to navigate
it!

It doesn't depend on number of web pages rather then logical
sequence and connection of different parts or sections of
your site.

COLORS

I've also read numerous times, that Headlines is what the
visitor sees first, when comes to your site. Wrong! The
first thing a surfer sees on the WS, while it loads, is the
color and, sometimes, design appearance. Don't underestimate
the importance of color influence. With the help of color
play you can easily create a feeling of excitement or grief
even before s/he will see the first letter of your Headline.

One note should be also mentioned: try, if possible, to
avoid main colors green, red, yellow, blue. They are very
Day-Glo and very annoying while using them in the company
Logo sometimes considered to be enticing.

Don't use aggressive color scheme, make it to be polite
to your customer's perception. By doing so, you don't, at
least, make your visitor be irritated. Just experiment with
hues and brightness and you will get the color you need.
Follow this rule if you are not intend to sell clown noses
in the circus tent. :0)

Text color is also ought to match the background color.
Please, avoid red text on green color, dark blue on black
etc.

(to be continued...)
------------------------------------------------------------

About the author:

Pavel Lenshin is an Internet entrepreneur, web-developer and
marketer, founder of the entrepreneurship portal, where you
can find discounted Internet services, marketing solutions,
FREE ebooks, FREE reports and finally uncover innovative
business strategies through FREE NET Business Magazine.
Visit: http://asbone.com

Benefits of Los Angeles Flat Fee Realtors

Every day, a number of Los Angeles residents considered placing their home for sale on the market. If you are one of those individuals, you have a number of options when it comes to selling your home. Out of all of the options available, using a professional realtor is often viewed as the most popular option available.

If you are in the process of selecting a Los Angeles realtor to do business with, it is likely that you may be concerned with the cost of obtaining assistance. A large number of homeowners are concerned with the cost of a real estate agent. If you live in or around the Los Angeles area, you should not have to worry about the high costs associated with using a real estate agent. This is because it is possible to find a low-cost flat fee realtor. Los Angeles has a select number of low-cost realtors; all you have to do is find them.

Before finding a flat fee realtor, it is important to understand how most flat fee realtors operate. When a realtor charges their clients for their services used, many real estate agents charge commission or a flat fee. Commission based realtors are paid a specific amount of money that is determined after the sale of your home. Flat fee realtors are often paid after the sale of your home, but their fees are usually decided up front.

One of the many advantages of using a flat fee realtor is that you will know ahead of time how much you will be required to a pay a realtor. In addition to having an exact dollar amount before the sale of your home, a large number of home owners can save money by using a flat fee realtor. This is because most realtors will charge the homeowners the same amount of money, no matter what their home ends up selling for.

If you are the owner of an expensive home, you are encouraged to use the services of a flat fee realtor. Los Angeles residents, with homes that are expected to sell for a large amount of money, can retain a higher profit from the sale of their home with a flat fee realtor. Los Angeles residents have been making money this way for years now. If you are interested in doing the same, you need to find a low-cost flat fee realtor today.

When it comes to finding a flat fee realtor, Los Angeles residents have a number of options. You can easily compare the flat fees charged by a number of Los Angeles realtors online. Most Los Angeles realtors have online websites. These online websites can and should be used to find a low-cost realtor. If you are interested in finding the lowest costing realtor, you are encouraged to compare prices on your own. What you view as low-cost, another individual may not. That is why it is important to do your own research instead of relying directly on recommendations from others.

Once you have found a low-cost flat fee realtor that meets your expectations, you are encouraged to consider retaining their services. Selling your home can be a difficult and sometimes complicated task. Eliminate the unnecessary time spent marketing your home to buyers that aren?t even interested. Let a flat fee Los Angeles realtor do all of the work for you.

Brad Horn is a writer for 1 percent realtor where you can find a great resource for information regarding Los Angeles Flat Fee Realtor

Unique Educational Toys

Before You Play Understand The Backgammon Setup

 



Before You Play Understand The Backgammon SetupSubmitted By: Gene Marshall  

Backgammon is becoming increasingly popular on the Internet and there are literally hundreds of thousands of players from around the world that are all joining in on the action. That?s because it?s a game that requires intense player strategy and concentration. Everyone has his or her own style of playing but one thing that is essential before you start is understanding the backgammon setup. Follow these easy backgammon instructions to get going.

The backgammon board game is played the same way online as it is offline. In the standard version of the game you play on a board with 24 points (alternating colored triangles across the face of the board). The board itself has 2 halves ?one side is the inner board ?also called the home board, and the other side is the outer board where players race their men (also called checkers) in order to reach the home board and bear off (meaning to take their men off the board an out of the game). The first to do wins.

Now looking at the backgammon set up, point 1 in your homeboard is the where you want to bring your checkers and point 24 in your opponents homeboard is the furthest away from where you want to go. To make it easier to understand, point 1 should be in the lower right corner of the backgammon board closest to you. Start by putting 2 checkers on point number 24 (furthest from your home board), then 5 checkers on point 13 and then 3 more checkers on point 8 and finally 5 checkers on point 6 (these are already in your home board). In total you should have 15 checkers and so should your opponent.

Now your opponent simply sets up his men in a mirror image of yours ?in other words on the points directly across from where you placed your 15 checkers. To avoid any confusion each player has their own color men ?usually light and dark. Now that you understand the backgammon setup it?s easy to get going. The nice thing about a backgammon game download is everything is set up automatically when you start playing. That?s why so many people are turning to backgammon software as their preferred way to play.

The backgammon download is easy and free. Just install and you can play whenever you want for fun or for real money bets. Free backgammon is a popular way to practice and sharpen your skills. Backgammon takes skills and is not a game of chance. A strong player that has much practice and experience will almost always beat out a weak player. That?s why backgammon strategy is essential when paying. In addition to learn how to play backgammon there are many advanced tips and strategies you can read about online in order to improve your playing abilities and your overall chances of winning. Good luck!

Article Tags: backgammon, board, checkers

Sleeping Problems In The Elderly

Sleeping problems in the elderly may involve a number of factors such as: decreased energy output as a result of retirement,the age of the person, their state of health, and any prescription drugs they may be taking for health problems.

Illness disrupts sleeping patterns in the elderly, and may result in increased awakenings due to physical discomfort, caused by urinary urgency,cramps, angina, chronic obstructive airways disease, and left ventricular failure, these may be some of the many illnesses which cause sleeping problems in the elderly.

An elderly person may become very anxious about a change in their sleeping pattern, however, it will be necessary to thoroughly investigate the problem in order to ascertain if this perceived sleeping problem, causes dysfunction in their waking activities. If the elderly person has a carer, or lives with family then the problem may be easier to assess, for what appears to be a problem may only be a normal change in sleeping pattern for the age.

The most frequently occurring sleeping problem in the elderly is sleep latency, the person may spend some hours in bed before sleep occurs. The elderly person may view this as a problem and request sleeping pills, whereas, all that is needed is to teach them how to reorganize their lives to cope with the changes in sleeping patterns they are experiencing.

Reduced energy output as a result of retirement with an increased opportunity to take naps, either as a result of boredom or just plain exhaustion, may contribute to reduced quality of night-time sleep.

The pressure of a normal working day has been taken away, so the energy output is considerably less, while this may be offered as a possible reason for sleep latency, many others factors may be involved.

There may be much confusion about sleep latency, the difficulty may be exaggerated because the person who experiences it may be convinced that unless they have 8 hours of quality sleep, they will become ill. Sometimes it is difficult to convince an elderly person that they no longer require 8 hours of unbroken sleep, but may be better served by a shorter night time sleep supplemented with day time naps.

So how can sleeping problems in the elderly be resolved? Firstly it is necessary to provide a warm comfortable noise free environment, if this is available then the addition of regular exercise, combined with a healthy diet may be all that is needed to resolve the sleeping problem. However, if the previous measures fail to help, many other modalities are available to help the person .

Reflexology offers a very gentle and effective aid to sleep , and aromatherapy has proven to be very successful to assist relaxation and sleep in the elderly. Both of these modalities have been used in nursing homes and have been found to assist not only sleep, but the general well-being of the patients.

Sleeping problems in the elderly should be thoroughly investigated before any medications are prescribed. Unfortunately this is not always the procedure that is adopted, for often a script is written for what has been described as insomnia by the elderly person, however, such is mostly not the case, but rather it's a normal progression or a resetting of the circadian rhythms as people age which requires education, not medication.

Provided that there is no evidence of disease of the central nervous system, such as dementia, Parkinson's disease, post-traumatic brain damage, and chronic pain, then sleeping problems in the elderly are far better managed conservatively.

About the Author:

Colleen Redman webmaster and publisher of http://www.sleep-problems-nomore.com, a site offering sleep aids and articles showing you how quality sleep, not more sleep improves your energy levels.

How To Lose Money On A Fixer Upper

A fixer upper home seemed like a good investment, but we had little experience. We had bought, fixed and sold a home in Montana for a profit, and completed the project in only a few months. However, we were new to the Tucson area, and didn't quite have a grasp on the home values. In Tucson, two identical houses can be $50,000 apart in price if they are three blocks apart.

Then there was the fact that the styles are different from anything we had in Michigan. They put corrugated steel fences around expensive homes here, and the people talked about how pretty they are! If we were to do a fixer upper, it would be good to have some help figuring not only home values, but also what buyers want.

We went to the Arizona Real Estate Investors Association meeting, and I announced that we had money to invest in a fixer upper home. We were looking for partners. Our names and phone number were written down on the overhead projector along with the others, and about three days later we got a call.

Bill and Diane were nice people. They had an accepted on a house, and looking at the comparison sales they had found, it seemed like a good buy. They had rough estimates of the rehabilitation and remodeling costs, which is what they needed our money for. A third couple was involved, so the expected $75,000 profit would be split three ways. We agreed in principle to the deal, and arranged to meet the other partners at the house after closing.

Fixer Uppers Versus Remodels

Three couples with six opinions - this can be a problem. Why did the beautiful wood floors have to be torn up and replaced with carpet? Why they couldn't at least be carpeted over without the expense of tearing them out? My wife and I thought it a crime to stucco and paint the beautiful brick exterior of the home, but we were assured that buyers here like it that way better. The ceiling in the add-on family room was a bit low, but raising it seemed too expensive and unpredictable.

Plans became new plans, and weeks of stressful anticipation evolved into stressful worrying. Houses in the area were selling for less than we initially thought, that the rehab cost would be more than we thought, and all the other partners expected to do much of the labor, rather than hire it out. Projected profits dropped from $25,000 down to $10,000 each, and we felt there might actually be a loss.

We dropped the deal. Fortunately, the other partners had procrastinated for weeks on our signing of the joint venture agreement. They would find a way to do it without us and split the profit two ways. We learned that this wasn't a fixer-upper in any case - it was a remodel. As I write this, it is more than three months past the projected completion date, and the home still isn't ready to sell. I hope they make a profit, but I am happy to have avoided the months of stress.

Other Fixer Upper Lessons

At another meeting of our investment club, a man told us about a fixer-upper he had bought years earlier, using credit cards for a down payment. He still hadn't finished it, and it looked like he was going to lose a lot of money in the end. He had no plan, which broke rule number one of the list below:

1. Have a clear plan.

2. Make sure everyone involved understands the plan and agrees to it.

3. Know what the home will sell for before you even make an offer.

4. Subtract ALL the costs (purchase price, selling costs, repairs, loans, other holding costs) AND your desired profit from the expected sales price. This gives you the highest price you can safely offer.

Learning what to do is a start, but learn what not to do too. Learn from our mistakes and those of others. That way, you won't lose money on your fixer upper home.

Steve Gillman writes on all real estate topics. Visit his website for: 1. A photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500. 2. A free book on how to save thousands buying your next home. 3. A free real estate investing course. Visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com