Strike or Strong Blog33596

The Jerome Bettis Fumble

2007-05-28T15:46:00.000-07:00

Nobody knows about the future of Jerome Bettis except him and his family but if the Indianapolis Colts had scored a game winning touchdown at the end of the game, Bettis would be back. Jerome Bettis is a gamer, and will live on as one of the best franchise players of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. This can not be said lightly as the Steelers organization is one of the most storied franchises of the NFL.

Jerome Bettis would not be back for personal pride though, he is not a selfish player. He is not the type of player to come back to redeem himself like other players might, he does not need to legitimize his career. His choice to come back would be because of the betterment of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Any potential hall of famer to take a back seat, take less pay, and be completely happy with the decision is the ultimate team player.

The Steelers without Jerome Bettis is like a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich without the bread. What is going to hold it together? His leadership, mentoring of the young Willie Parker, his relationship with Ben Roethlisberger, his reliability in the short yardage downs, and his work ethic will be a vital loss to the Steelers.

The Steelers will lose Jerome Bettis one of these years. I feel that if the Steelers win the Super Bowl, he will not be back. But there is no doubt that Jerome Bettis has given a lasting legacy on the Pittsburgh Steelers. The football gods were right to not let the Jerome Bettis fumble be the deciding factor in this game.

Tips For Planning A Perfect Fishing Trip

2007-05-27T14:41:00.000-07:00

Planning a perfect fishing trip isnt as easy as loading your tackle box into the car and setting off in the direction of water. You need to really define what exactly you want in your fishing experience and plan accordingly.

Theres lots to consider when planning your trip and even more so if you are planning a trip with buddies or for your family. Not everyone has the same idea when it comes to the perfect fishing trip and a little bit of planning can help make it a trip everyone can enjoy.

Heres some things to consider for your next fishing trip:

Catching That Perfect Fish

Before you can catch the perfect fish you have to decide which species of fish you want to go for. While some people love trout others might be avid bass fisherman. Since bass are found in warm waters and trout in cold waters, someone might be disappointed if you did not consider the type of fish before picking a location.

Deciding on what type of fish you want to catch narrows down your destinations for you a bit which can help in further planning. Dont worry though, theres plenty of places to go no matter which type of fish you are angling for!

Size Or Quantity?

Some anglers like to catch fish after fish after fish. They arent happy unless they are reeling them in and size isnt really that important, although theres always that hope that the next nibble could be a big one. Others are only interested in catching the big fish in the pond and will sit patiently all day waiting for him to give a nibble.

While there are many places that offer an opportunity for both types of fishing, this should be discussed beforehand so that each member of the trip can be sure they are getting the type of fishing they enjoy.

Fishing Style

One other thing to consider is the method you will use to catch the fish. Will you be wading into streams? Trolling? Deep sea fishing? Each one is a different experience and many people have their preference. Make sure your group agrees on a method of fishing and that the destination you are thinking about offers that type of fishing.

Cost

As with anything, what you can afford will largely impact what you can get for your fishing vacation

You need to get together with your group and decide what you can spend. Perhaps you will have to make some compromises such as sleeping in a tent instead of a cabin so you can afford a couple days with a good local guide.

The hard part here is getting everyone in the group to agree on how much to spend and where to put the bulk of the money. One way to save money is to do your own cooking or have everyone in the group bring a frozen dish along (enough to feed everyone) and youll have free meals for several nights.

When planning your trip, dont forget about shower and bathroom facilities - especially if this is a family trip. If you have opted for camping, the showers and bathrooms will be community so you will have to share. A cabin on the other hand will provide some privacy.

So, if you really want a great fishing trip, start by planning just exactly what you want out of the trip and how much you are willing to spend. Do it right and you can have the fishing trip of a lifetime.

Rap Song Ringtones

Self-fulfilling Prophecies For Your Weal Or Woe!

2007-05-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Self-fulfilling prophecy means bringing about an outcome that was assumed to be inevitable beforehand! Self-fulfilling prophecies work by belief. (Belief means assuming that information received is true before confirming it's true!)

These beliefs can be conscious or unconscious. Usually they're unconscious and a person may believe one thing consciously and something that opposes it unconsciously! Unconscious beliefs tend to be more emotionally embedded and more potent than conscious beliefs.

Self-fulfilling Examples

If a woman believes she is stupid shell tend to find ways to act out that belief! Even if she manages to suppress that belief and gain some successes, her unconscious beliefs may still sabotage her with self-doubt, causing her to do things to undermine her accomplishments proving that what she believes about herself was true all the time!

People usually base their predictions of whether theyll succeed or fail at a goal by their past experiences of succeeding or failing at attaining their goals! The more they've succeeded in the past the more they'll believe theyll succeed in the future! The more they've failed in the past the more they'll believe theyll fail in the future!

Sometimes their predictions aren't based on experience at all, but on being told repeatedly when they were children that they could never succeed at their goals! Convinced of this they never seriously attempted to attain their goals because they believed it was useless to do so from the start! If they did make an effort and experienced setbacks, they used the setbacks to prove that they were right to believe that they would fail all along!

Self-fulfilling PatternsSome studies have shown that people who are optimists are happier and accomplish more out of life than people who are pessimists! For whatever reason, optimists believe they are good people that life is good, that good things happen to them and studies show that they usually do! Optimism is based on belief! What we believe affects what we do! What we do affects what we accomplish!

It was once considered impossible for a mile to be ran in less than 4 minutes. To the experts and those influenced by them this was an obvious reality! The belief that this feat was impossible to do stopped most runners from trying to exceed this barrier (Self-fulfilling prophecy). People were ridiculed for daring to believe that a mile could be ran in less than 4 minutes, until some "fool" proved it could be done!

More self-fulfilling Examples

Alcoholics believe that alcohol is controlling their lives! They believe that theyll always be alcoholics! But alcohol is an inanimate fluid! It has no life or intelligence! How can it control their lives?

Once alcoholics have been detoxified all alcohol is out of their systems and they're no longer physically addicted to it! Then what keeps them vulnerable to it? Is it the belief that they need alcohol to feel normal, have fun and to cope with life's problems? Ignorant of the power of their beliefs theyve learned to project that power into alcohol!

Religious Beliefs

Religious beliefs can be self-fulfilling also. In the New Testament Jesus says, "All things are possible to him that believes." People have recovered from all kinds of illnesses and diseases by firmly believing that God or Jesus was healing them! But its not their conscious beliefs thats the source of the healing power, but their unconscious beliefs, which are more potent than their conscious beliefs!

Additional Examples

Self-fulfilling prophecies affect our health and whether or not we'll recover from illnesses! Studies have shown that people who believe that they will recover from cancer do far better than those who believe that cancer is a death sentence they won't survive!

People who believe theyll recover tend to do all the things that increase their chances of survival. (They take their medication faithfully, kept doctor's appointments, exercise, get proper nutrition, have a positive attitude, etc,). While those who believe cancer is a death sentence tend to be depressed, wallow in self-pity, become less active, and don't do the things that may increase their chances for survival! The belief that one will recover from cancer has a positive affect on the immune system and a healthy immune system is a potent weapon in the fight against cancer and other diseases!

Self-Fulfilling Old Age

Some people believe that they're old at certain ages. Some think they're old at 30, 40, 50, etc! It's usually such a firmly held belief that as they start to approach those ages they unconsciously start to conform to whatever image or lifestyle they've associated with that age!

I know a guy who when he was 39 and hed forget something, he'd attribute it to his being distracted. If he felt sore after working out, he'd attribute it to working out too much! But when he turned 40 and he'd forget something, now it was because "I must be getting old!" Now if he felt sore after working out, it was because" Boy! I must be getting old!" If he noticed a gray hair in his head he'd say " Wow! I'm really getting old!" Any mistakes or perceived signs of physical deterioration, which he hardly noticed before, were now seen as confirmations that he was getting old in accordance with his belief that people are old at 40!

All these beliefs are inculcated in us from childhood through adulthood and usually go unquestioned! They're like computer programs that trigger processes and reactions in computers, except that these beliefs trigger processes and reactions in our minds and bodies that are acted out to the benefit or detriment of mankind and ourselves!

Self-Fulfilling Conclusion

If you want to know the difference between what you consciously or unconsciously believe. Observe whether your cognitive responses about an issue correspond to your emotional responses about the issue! Emotional responses are triggered mainly by unconscious beliefs! Cognitive responses mainly by conscious beliefs! For example, it's easy to believe that you're not afraid of Tigers when there's no Tigers around! (Conscious belief) But let's see how you react when you're face to face with a Tiger! (Unconscious belief)

Self-fulfilling prophecies are based on beliefs! Beliefs control our minds. Our minds control our bodies and behavior! What kind of self-fulfilling prophecies are you allowing to control your mind, body and behavior?

May the Light never cease to Lighten your Minds!

The Departed

Reinventing Real Estate, Part 1: Online and Empowered Consumers Are Taking Charge and Paying Less

2007-05-25T00:29:00.000-07:00

For decades, the real estate world turned in a predictable manner. The roles of buyers, sellers and real estate professionals were fairly well defined and transactions followed a predictable path of yard signs, newspaper ads, open houses and miles of paperwork.

Recently, online and empowered consumers have changed the game. Real estate professionals now face issues similar to the ones that have transformed the retail, personal finance and travel planning industries. As technology advances and new business models evolve, the real estate industry has begun to transform itself from providing traditional, carefully controlled agent-centric transactions to new consumer-centric practices. The following is a look at some of the recent industry trends and how buyers, sellers and investors can expect to benefit. The Five Ds that are driving change in real estate are:

1. Disruption Over the past 10 years, the Internet has matured into a powerful platform for delivering real estate information, forever changing the interaction between buyers, sellers and real estate professionals.

2. Displacement The popularity and acceptance of self-service and consumer-direct business models is being felt by real estate professionals, who are striving to develop attractive new offerings for Web-savvy consumers.

3. Demanding consumers You now have more real estate knowledge, tools and resources at your fingertips than ever before. More savvy consumers tend to be more independent and demanding.

4. Downward pressure - Traditional real estate commissions of 5-6 percent of a propertys sales price are facing downward pressure.

5. Developing alternatives The real estate industry is transforming itself to provide targeted services and exciting new options that add value for consumers. Disruption

We are going to see our industry go through dramatic transformation via the Internet and consolidation of agents and companies. eRealty Times Columnist Dirk Zeller

Some industry observers have adopted Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensens term disruptive technology to explain recent developments in real estate. Though its easy to point to the World Wide Web and advancing technology as the main changes in real estate, thats only part of whats shaking things up. Essentially, the real cause of disruption is not just technology, but technology-enabled real estate consumers.

Web-enabled consumers

According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), more than 72 percent of homebuyers now begin their home search online. The popularity of online real estate ads surpassed newspaper property listings back in 2001, and the gap is widening. Less than one percent of buyers first learned about the home they purchased on the Internet in 1995, while in 2004, that number passed 20 percent.

According to a California Association of Realtors (CAR) survey, 97 percent of respondents said the Web helped them understand the buying process better and 100 percent said using the Web helped them understand home values better. Web-enabled homebuyers like you are taking a more active role in researching homes and neighborhoods. You also now spend less time with real estate professionals once you have completed your research. Internet homebuyers also used the Web effectively to filter out properties that did not interest them, visiting 6.1 homes on average versus 15.4 for traditional buyers.

Today, you can view photos and detailed information for hundreds of properties in the time it used to take to visit a single one. And the Web provides much more opportunity than simply moving print listings online. The growing availability of residential high-speed Internet connections has boosted the popularity of virtual tours and interactive maps, providing consumers with powerful and flexible visual search tools.

In addition to making home searches easier, automated valuation model (AVM) software is making a big impact in how properties are evaluated. AVMs, which generate valuation estimates by analyzing and comparing property information data, are becoming increasingly sophisticated and accurate. While not considered a substitute for human appraisals, AVMs are gaining popularity because they are inexpensive, easy to use and produce valuation estimates in minutes. Now AVMs, used extensively in electronic mortgage approval processing during the recent refinancing boom, are becoming available on real-estate Websites aimed at consumers. This is a significant development for independent sellers, who often find it challenging to price their properties correctly when selling on their own.

The MLS goes public

In real estate, MLS data sits at the apex of the change, specifically the MLS information that is pushed to the Internet every minute of the day. Bradley Inman, Publisher of Inman News

Once an exclusive tool for real estate professionals, the multiple listing service (MLS) has in recent years become a very public platform for real estate listings. The MLS is the nations most comprehensive database of properties for sale four out of five homes sold in the United States are listed on the MLS. MLS properties are available to agents and brokers worldwide, and are now accessible via consumer Web sites such as Realtor.com, WSJ.com, Excite, Netscape, AOL and MSN. MLS listings also appear on local, regional and national brokerage Websites through Internet Data Exchange (IDX) agreements that allow participating Realtors to share listings and display them to consumers. Even though only licensed realtors can list property on the MLS, the system has begun to figure prominently for the $110 billion independent seller (for-sale-by-owner or FSBO) market. About 13 percent of real estate sales are now FSBO, conducted without a brokers assistance.

Type flat fee MLS into any major search engine, and youll see dozens of real estate professionals willing to list your property in the MLS for a fee. If you are willing to pay a commission of 2-3 percent, you can attract the attention of thousands of agents who will show your property to prospective buyers. You can then reduce the cost of the sale to about half a traditional 5-6 percent sales commission, plus the cost of the MLS listing. If you find an independent buyer working without an agent, you could make a sale with no commission at all and pay only an MLS listing flat fee. Displacement

Currently, about 2.4 million real estate licensees operate nationally, according to the Association of Real Estate License Law officials. The NAR has more than one million members, up from about 760,000 members five years ago. Many real estate professionals and industry observers expect a significant decline in this number because some tasks traditionally performed by agents and brokers can now be done more quickly and easily by Web-enabled consumers.

Historically the fundamental driver of the real estate industry was the control of information. The real estate agent and the real estate office were the only sources of comprehensive information on which properties were for sale and those who might be interested in buying them. With this control revenues were practically guaranteed.

Moreover, because this exclusive control was akin to a monopoly by virtue of the multiple listing service (MLS) any firm of any size could serve the customer equally well. As a result, the number of real estate companies grew without regard to market efficiencies.

Simply put, the traditional model is too inflexible. Consumers are seriously questioning the value of a real estate agent. They frequently feel that many of the traditional tasks undertaken by the agents are now either no longer required or can be done by the consumer themselves.

Swanepoel & Tuccillo, Real Estate Confronts Profitability

The quotes above, from a popular report on emerging real estate business models and dwindling profit margins, highlight a number of issues traditional real estate professionals are now facing. And if the real estate industry has grown historically without regard to market efficiencies, the issue has only been compounded since 2001, as new agents signed on in droves, lured by low interest rates and skyrocketing home prices in many areas. Its likely that the number of traditional real estate agents will decline, while new types of real estate jobs will be created to deliver value to Web-savvy customers.

NEXT in Part 2 of 2: - Demanding Consumers, Downward Pressure and Developing Alternatives

Water Bed

The Psychology of a Confident Golf Swing Part 2

2007-05-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

Here in England we are on the verge of the new football season and there is a large amount of transfer speculation and the like occurring. With football, we often find that the players who are doing well are confident. When they are having a great spell of the season, scored a lot of goals or something like that, their competence escalates as they feel more confidence. When their confidence is knocked, they might go through a bad spell and often their skills seem to be less available. My point here is that of self image and how we perceive ourselves. This is true with our golf swing also.

Our self-image often works like a self-fulfilling prophecy. I have got a great friend who won't mind me saying that he is not classically good looking (whatever that might be) however, he thinks of himself as attractive and as a result he carries a certain way about him that people are attracted to. Anyone who truly believes themselves to be acertain way; unnattractive or lacking in self-confidence for example, sabotage their chances of being anything else. This is the same with our own internal image of our golf swing.

Our self-image is very important to mention here; remember, you can never be better on the outside than you believe yourself to be on the inside. So you need to believe in your golf swing.

If someone feels negative, sad, angry or frustrated with their golf swing when they enter certain circumstances, events or situations, especially when taking to the golf course, it is very likely that they are going to feel lacking in confidence and this leads to lacking in competence with the golf swing. You need to change your self-image and paint a better picture of yourself in your mind as to how you believe your golf swing to be and what you feel capable of doing and being. No other person can reach inside us and change our feelings for us. If you really want to feel more confident about your golf swing, your self-image needs to be changed in relation to your golf swing. If you see yourself as successful, skilled and confident, you can enter any golf course with your head held high and standing tall and feeling safe and protected by it. You are feeling good about yourself and your golf swing.

We all react automatically to life according to our inner sense of ourselves. Our self-image is our inner sense of ourselves and we refer to that part of ourselves all the time to see how to behave or perform in certain circumstances. In other words, your reactions are founded in your self-image. Building and developing and creating a progressive, positive self-image with regards to your golf swing ensures that your automatic reactions come from a sense of freedom, confidence and are powerful.

I once attended a course whereby the facilitator had devised a wonderful technique that I use a lot with many of the individual clients that consult with me to better their golf swing. The reason I like it so much is because it makes you instantly feel good about your golf swing. This simple technique can be done absolutley any time that you are in a room with a mirror.

So many people I meet condition themselves to feel uncomfortable or bad when they look into a mirror by looking into it and thinking about fat, wrinkles or a blemish or how poor their golf swing is! I have noticed several of my friends look into a mirror and "tut" at themsleves while reminding themselves of all the bad things that attack our confidence. So this technique interupts that process and allows you to recondition yourself to feel better and more confident about your golf swing.

Ok, so first up, take a seat or position yourself comfortably in view of a mirror so that you will be able to see your entire self, however, do not look into it straight away. Just wait and look away for a moment.

Then, think about an occasion when someone you know was being sincere when they paid you a compliment following a shot you played. It can be any compliment what so ever of any kind related to your golf game.

Thirdly, remember what it was that they said and hear it again in your mind and remember how it made you feel. Locate where abouts in your body those feelings were. Really tune into them.

Now, imagine that feeling of being complimented, feeling good about your golf swing and feeling talented spreading through your system, working its way into your cells and into your mind, really imagine it spreading and travelling through you. Imagine that the more it spreads, the more intense the feelings become, this is going to make your golf swing awesome.

Now, turn or look up and into the mirror. Really look at yourself while feeling that feeling.

Spend some time enjoying this feeling.

Lastly, imagine taking a picture of yourself just like that image in the mirror. Imagine taking that picture right into your heart. Keep it there, right there, so that you can look at it whenever you want to remind yourself of how good you can feel about your golf swing.

Please remember; self-confidence is innate. It is built into us from the day we were born. We can often lose touch with it and learn to worry or lessen it, however, confidence is simply hard-wired into you. It is there all the time underneath your worries. Worries and lack with regards to your golf swing are things that can go up and down, can be learned and unlearned. Your confidence is always there beneath all that. Let it permeate in to your golf swing.

It is like when a baby keeps on wanting to walk and keeps on falling down and keeps on at it. However may times they stumble, they get up and they learn and they benefit from it. The persistence is rewarded. Your confidence is hard-wired into you. We all have it. Every technique in both parts of this confident golf swing article are just ways of reminding you all of what you already have.

Good luck with getting that confident golf swing.

Travel Guides

Digital Sports Photography - Top-Scoring Shots With Expert Coaching

2007-05-23T22:19:00.000-07:00

A digital sports photography article would have been fairly brief as recently as a couple of years ago. In essence, it would have stated that digital cameras have unacceptable shutter lag, and cannot yet achieve the frame rates of their film cousins. End of story.

Well, that particular story has in fact ended. These days the focus is on digital cameras finally reaching the level of film cameras, and being widely used with great effect in digital sports photography. The aim nowadays is to point out the clear benefits offered by the digital route.

In fact, a number of excellent books have appeared on digital sports photography, confirming that this type of photography has finally become an acceptable mainstream digital activity.

In 'Digital Sports Photography', G. Newman Lowrance offers a wealth of information on the techniques and equipment you will need for successful digital sports photography - either as an aspiring professional, or taking shots at the local basketball game.

Lowrance has many years' experience of digital sports photography, and his pictures have been widely published in Official Super Bowl and Pro Bowl game magazines, NFL videos and calendars, NFL Insider Magazine, and elsewhere.

He doesn't hold back, and gives you a lot of information from some excellent sports photographers and editors. Issues such as color management, camera setup, and equipment options are covered. You will discover all the ins and outs of the unique techniques applied to shooting for baseball, football, basketball, ice hockey, soccer, and tennis.

Lowrance also uses his own experiences in digital sports photography, and gives true, autobiographical examples of how to get started and how to succeed as a professional.

His book features many eye-catching sports action photographs that will generate excitement and inspiration. The informative content will motivate you to become familiar with new aspects of the technology, stimulating a keen interest and involvement in this aspect of photography.

In short, 'Digital Sports Photography' will give you the help and guidance you need to make your photos stand out from the crowd!

Another book that illustrates how far digital sports photography has come, is 'Digital Sports Photography: Take Winning Shots Every Time', by Serge Timacheff and David Karlins.

This book helps you to take great shots by overcoming obstacles like rain and crowds, bad lighting, fast-moving athletes, flash limitations, and other challenges.

The authors give advice on how to shoot a wide range of sports: extreme, outdoor, indoor, competitive, recreational, and more. The book provides many full-color examples illustrating professional tips and techniques, and shows how to tackle skilled digital sports photography with any kind of digital camera, from point-and-shoot to SLR.

And the bottom line for many aspiring digital sports photographers is that this book will also teach you how to actually sell your images!

One of the advantages of digital sports photography highlighted, is that once you have the equipment, including enough batteries and memory cards, it doesn't cost anything to snap away at that baseball game...

For more information visit Best-Digital-Photography.com

Better Marketing Tricks

Georgia Real Estate - Southern Hospitality

2007-05-22T21:13:00.000-07:00

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

Georgia

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

Atlanta

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

Savannah

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

Athens

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

Georgia Real Estate

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

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

Make Money Online

Back to School: Textbook Savings

2007-05-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

If you are sending your adult children off to college you know that there are three school related expenses which make up the bulk of your budget: tuition, room and board, and textbooks. The first two expenses are mostly fixed and predictable costs, while the third is impossible to predict as well as a potential budget buster. You may not be able to predict textbook expenses, but you certainly can reduce them by following these three important steps:

1. Shop Online. Your college bookstore has an ironclad grip on textbook inventory, right? Well, at one time that was a true statement. Today, thanks to the internet, websites have sprung up that sell new and used textbooks at prices much lower than those found on campus. Shop with those retailers who have clearly outlined payment, shipping and handling, and return policies. Scan auction sites too for additional savings.

2. Shop Retail. The big bookstore retailers as well as some of the office supply stores carry some titles. At the very least your student can purchase all of his or her supplies off campus, saving you big money in the process.

3. Shop Used. Your campus bookstore knows that having used textbooks on hand will keep them somewhat competitive. The trick with textbook publishers is that yearly updates can make used copies obsolete: planned obsolescence in action! Still, when I was in school I had one professor who encouraged students to pick up the outdated copies of one book since he knew the cost was outrageous and he planned on referencing it sparingly. Your student may also learn that some of the titles on the professor's list are optional, not mandatory purchases.

Students today no longer have to feel as if they are being held hostage by outrageous textbook prices. Have your student shop wisely and your budget will remain on track.

Jaques Blog

Gain Confidence and Boost Self Esteem in 5 Simple Steps

2007-05-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

We all want to become more confident and feel good about ourselves so we can live our very best life. Here are some ways to gain confidence and raise self-esteem:

1. Do something that requires a decision and a follow-through.

Have you been putting off writing that letter to aunt Martha? Is there a friend youve been meaning to call? Wash the car, tidy the garden or clean the house. Youll gain confidence by setting goals (even small ones) and following through on them.

2. Enjoy something you do well.

Do you have any hobbies or sports that you enjoy playing? Some things like going swimming, painting or writing can hold your attention and get you into a state of flow. While you are in the flow you forget about everything else.

Afterwards, youll feel competent and capable. Its a great way to boost your self-esteem. If you dont have any particular hobbies or pastimes that you enjoy make an effort to try something youve always wanted to try.

Picture yourself doing it, and then give it a try! It doesnt have to be something big - it can be as simple as joining a walking club.

Youll find that you are more centered and happier if you do something that puts you in that flow at least once a week.

3. Shift the focus.

Its been shown that low self-esteem develops hand-in-hand with individuals who put too much focus on themselves. You can gain confidence by doing something that focuses on someone else or even something else.

Youll find that when you are in a situation where you are meeting new people, you immediately become less nervous when you focus on the person you are meeting.

At the end of the day, youve interacted with others and will notice that you feel much lighter.

4. Relax, already!

Learning to become more relaxed is a great life enhancer. People who are more relaxed have fewer problems with their memories and are more likely to take the bumps in the road of life in stride.

The practice of meditation has gained popularity for this reason. You might want to look into Tai Chi, which involves physical relaxation techniques.

Whatever method you decide on, take relaxation seriously. The benefits are just too great to ignore. If youve never considered relaxation important, think of it this way: if you can attend to something that results in feeling good, how can you not gain confidence in your personal abilities?

5. Make a list of everything youve ever accomplished.

Think small. An accomplishment is an accomplishment! Some things you could put on your list: passed my drivers test and got my license, scored a goal when I played hockey, managed to save enough money to go on a trip and so on.

These are just a few ideas you can use to gain confidence and boost your self-esteem. Use these ideas as a base point and add these things permanently in your life.

Keep in mind, people are not born with good self-esteem, most of us have to work at it. It develops from your thinking and the things you do daily to make yourself feel good.

Chrysler Crossfire Fanclub Blog

Super Bowl Has Super Flaw

2007-05-19T17:56:00.000-07:00

This years Super Bowl had a major flaw, and it didn't have anything to do with a celebrity exposing herself during the halftime show. No, it wasn't a bad commercial, either. This flaw was actually a game decision -- one that may have cost the Eagles a victory.

Although the first half was poorly played, by Super Bowl standards (laced with false starts, poor passes, and a few dropped balls), the halftime tie made the game exciting. This thrill, though, began to wane when New England inflated its lead to 10 points in the fourth quarter.

Just when it appeared that the defending champs would cruise to victory, easily beating the 7-point spread, The Eagles pulled to within three with a heroic drive, late in the game. Then, it happened -- the flaw that seemed to go unnoticed by the announcers, but one of the biggest coaching lapses in Super Bowl history.

With just less than 1:50 to play, Philadelphia head coach Andy Reid decided to use an onsides kick, instead of kicking the ball deep, even though the Eagles had two timeouts remaining. Of course, the maneuver failed, and the Patriots recovered the ball in Eagles territory. Three plays and a punt later, Philadelphia found itself at its own four-yard-line with no timeouts, needing 60 yards to get close enough for a game-tying field goal attempt. Their Super Bowl hopes died in a New England player's hands, as he intercepted Donovan McNabb's final pass.

It just doesn't make sense. Why wouldn't Reid have his team kick the ball away, after their last TD, pinning New England deep. Assuming they go three-and-out, as they did after the onsides kick, perhaps the Eagles would receive a punt in Patriots territory. Or, maybe they would have enough room for a return. Any number of good opportunities could have presented themselves.

Imagine if McNabb and his charges started their final drive with 46 seconds left, needing just 20 or 30 yards to put their strong-legged kicker in range (he has 60-yard strength). Alas, the opportunity never came, as Andy Reid doomed his team with his final big decision -- one that seemed so easy but for some reason eluded a man regarded as one of the finest coaches in the NFL.

Maybe it's more complex than I'm seeing. If so, someone please enlighten me.

Read more entertaining sports-related work at http://www.sportsnovels.com

Business Card Blog

Helping Your Kids Handle Divorce

2007-05-18T16:51:00.000-07:00

Every year over one million parents have to talk to their kids about divorce. For each parent, the discussions differ, but the goals of the discussions are universal: to openly and honestly reassure your child of your love.

Divorce is painful and traumatic for all involved spouses and children alike. We all happily begin our lives together full of shared hopes and dreams and committed to a lasting and loving relationship. Yet almost 50 % of todays marriages end in divorce. How parents handle divorce, however, makes the difference in their children's healthy adjustment or potential maladjustment.

Heres an example of how to begin talking to your child about your divorce.

Lets meet Brad: Brad is 9 years old and an only child. Hes the apple of his mothers eye and dads best buddy. Brad is at the top of his class in school and participates in the school band and in the spelling bee. Hes also an active athlete playing intramural hockey and soccer, and running competitively. Both of his parents attend all of his sports and school activities.

One day to his surprise Dad takes him out after a soccer game and tells him "I have something sad to tell you. Mom and I are having a hard time, and you may have noticed something wasn't right between us, and you are right. Were going to live in different houses and youll be spending some of the week with me and some with your Mom. I know this will be difficult for all of us. So we should talk about it openly together and about what we're both feeling."Discussing divorce with your children is never easy. Here are some tips to help ease this transition.

1. Communicate with your spouse (partner): Although things have not worked out in the marriage, the two of you still have children to raise together. Be sure you both are in agreement as to the timeline of the change and give your children clear dates and details. The more solid the plan, the less anxiety your child will experience.

2. Use age appropriate language and details: A five-year-old and ten-year-old understand very different things and have different levels of maturity. Follow their questioning before offering details. Be honest, but remember what is appropriate for the age of the child or they will not comprehend the situation.

3. Reassurance: Reassure them that they will continue to be loved and cared for by the two of you. Let your children know that your love for one another has changed, but that your love for them remains strong and constant. Reiterate that the divorce is not their fault.

4. Discretion: Make an agreement with your spouse to not speak badly about the other spouse to the children. Refrain from arguing in front of the children and do your best to keep them out of your conflict!

5. Know yourself: Be aware of your own feelings of hurt or anger. Do not make a child a confidant for the pain the divorce is causing you. Seek a support group to help you through this period. Share your feelings with friends and professionals. Children are not therapists!

Always remember: Strive to be communicative and honest during and after the divorce process because there will be different degrees of feelings over the event as time goes on. If you're communicating honestly, however, you can never hurt your child.

Internet Marketing

Short Sided Round Robin Format for Basketball and Soccer

2007-05-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

The computer age has bestowed some unforeseen blessings on the sports world. Math whizzes are now using the personal computer to track game results to a level never before possible, and sports are the better for it. The book "Moneyball" chronicled the way Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics used obscure statistical analyses to scout and deal for talent. Now, a variation of this method has spilt over into basketball with a number of NBA teams using statistics in a similar manner. These methods were described in a recent Sports Illustratedarticle titled Measure of Success. Described as simply as possible, these statisticianstrack how well a team does when a player is on the floor, versus how well they do when theyarent.

These measures disregard a players contribution as represented by their scoring, rebounding and assists totals,and simply asks, "Does the team do better or worse when this player is on the floor?" They also in many casescontradict the conventional wisdom concerning the relative worth of certain players. Jason Collins, a fifth-year center for the Nets of little renown gets ranked as the fourth best defensive center in the league. Conversely, high-scoring Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks issuch a disaster on defense that his teams tend to lose with him on the floor, and win while he is on the bench.

While amateur coaches are sure to find these analyses interesting, is there any way in which theycan employ these metrics for their own use? Amateur coaches might be able to get team assistantsto gather the data needed to maintain these stats, but there is a much better way these conceptscan be applied.

Virtually all teams rely heavily on scrimmage play as part of their practice routine. By adoptingwhat I call a Roster Round Robin format during scrimmage play, coaches can get a much clearerpicture of how and when individual players perform better than others. The format simply requiresthat sides be set to 3v3, 4v4, or 5v5, depending on available players. Players are issuedreversible jerseys, and score is kept for each side. Stages are set to 3 or 4 minutes, and atthe end of each stage, a team score is recorded, with each player earning points for themselves on the basis of their team result. Two players are then directed to exchange sides by flipping their reversible jersey, and a new stage is played. This pattern is continued until all possibleroster combinations have been used.

For a 3v3 contest, this would equate to 10 possible combinations, thus requiring a 30 to 40 minutegame. Each player earns a plus/minus score across all stages. As everyone plays under all rostercombinations and points can only be earned on the basis of team results, an individuals resultreflects their team contribution across all stages. In order to maintain game continuity andensure rapid roster rotations, the roster rotations are predetermined and printed on a grid usedfor scoring.

Some may notice that the one thing seemingly not taken into account in this format is positionplay. A roster rotation schedule that disregards position play will likely result in some oddlybalanced sides think 5 guards versus 5 forwards and centers that wouldnt reflect anythingresembling a real-game matchup. This difficulty can, however, be overcome by taking positionsinto account when devising the roster rotations. For a 4v4 game, with players restricted toeither a center/forward or guard position, there would be 9 different roster combinations required.For a full-sided game, a center position could be added, but 18 stages would be required. With three minute stages, this would be a 54 minute scrimmage game. Coaches may wish to splitthis size of scrimmage across multiple practices.

Would the results from any particular scrimmage mean much? For one game, probably not, as we allknow the ball can bounce funny for a time. But if this format were used on a regular basis, theresults should reveal which players are contributing the most to their team. These results willeither confirm or deny a coachs sense of who his best players are, but there are two even biggerbenefits that can come from the use of this format. First, as players come to understand thisas the new measure of their play, they will be more receptive to a coachs instruction on teamplay. As well, players will intuitively respond to the demands of the game, and adjust their playaccordingly. Simply put, the ability to measure team play translates to a better ability to teachand learn it.

The second benefit may be even more important. A system that clearly and demonstrably measuresa player on the basis of their team contribution fosters team chemistry better than any other.The talented offensive player who lets down on defense can be brought to the table when the impactof his lackluster defense can be shown. Players who are frustrated because they think theyshould be playing more can either makes their case in the round robin practice, or be showntheyre not there yet. Regardless of the case, team chemistry is advanced.

The only real barriers to this practice format are logistical. Running this practice formatrequires pre-numbered reversible jerseys, and scoring/rotation grid sheets.

Dating Help

Success Lessons From Falling Down

2007-05-16T14:42:00.000-07:00

The first lesson beginners in Judo learn is how to fall over without hurting themselves too much. They also learn how to fall in a way which allows them to get up again very quickly and continue fighting or 'playing' Judo. Only later in their training do they learn how to throw other people to the ground and choke them to submission.

It is assumed from the start that Judo players will inevitably experience some failure or falling over. Their opponent, like life in general, will throw them down heavily from time to time. They need to land with as little damage as possible and get going again at once.

They will never attain success in Judo or anything else until they learn to fall down and then get up without giving up. Judo players are not resigning themselves to defeat; they are preparing themselves for all out battle in which they know they will fail many times on the way to eventual victory.

I am no judo expert but I have had the good fortune to teach my own martial arts lessons close to the training halls of Brian Jacks, the legendary British Judo champion, and have learned much from watching and listening to him and his dad.

When he trained in Japan, before a lesson even started, he had to do fifteen hundred somersaults in the air before landing on his back so that he became an expert at breaking his fall after a heavy throw. Learning how to fall or 'fail' taught Brian Jacks how to win. He became and still is a legend in Judo.

A key lesson, then, from Judo is to accept the fact that life will regularly knock us down and we will make mistakes frequently. We have to break the fall as much as possible and then resume life as normal. If we wait until we are so perfect that we will never fall over or be thrown down, we will never ever make a start at anything.

Recently, I have become an expert at falling and the other lessons it can teach. In the last year or so, I have put my foot through the attic roof, slipped off the attic ladder, fallen onto some paving blocks, fallen backwards into a thorn bush, crashed head first into a pile of chairs and fallen out of bed in my sleep!

I won't bore you with all the details but will mention some of the useful life lessons I learned from this extensive and varied experience!

Tread carefully when you are not sure of your ground. Most attics and attic ladders have dodgy areas where your foot can easily go straight through as did mine last year. Fortunately, I was treading gingerly so I was able to recover easily.

My neighbour was not so fortunate when he put his foot in a local pothole. He tried to bear the weight on his single standing leg but the strain ripped the quadriceps of his standing leg away from his knee cap area. He has had to have holes inserted into his knee caps, so that tendons can pull his muscles back to their proper place. He has born all this with amazing courage and cheerfulness and is even talking about getting back to his favourite sport - bowling - within a few short months.

Falls or failures can have horrendous consequences like the above. If you are investing in a new company which you are not sure about, invest small. I lost 27,000 investing in a foreign company that turned out to be fraudulent. If I had trodden more carefully, the loss would have been limited to about 5,000 pounds.

A few weeks ago, I tried to evade the minor discomfort of walking through a puddle and getting my feet wet. I slipped as I tip toed round the puddle and fell backwards into a thorn bush. I ended up with punctured skin and wet and muddy clothes.

In life, in general, accepting minor discomforts, is one way to avoid major ones. Doing daily situps may mean some discomfort but it will help you or me avoid the major discomfort of having a balloon belly. Walk straight through that puddle and get your feet wet. You could end up avoiding the indignity of the thorn bush!

A couple of weeks ago I was doing a knife drill with one of my students. I launched myself towards him with a fake knife. He skipped out of the way at speed. I missed him and fell forwards. I landed heavily on my knee caps and stopped my progress forward by head butting a large pile of chairs. Blood flowed!

I had been over enthusiastic. Enthusiasm is normally a great quality but it can lead to disaster if it is not controlled. Don't get carried away by your first love; you could end up married to the wrong person!

The religious enthusiast can quite easily find himself in with the wrong crowd. So can the extreme atheist. An over enthusiastic football player can get the red card and be expelled from the playing field. He lets himself and his team down.

Yesterday, I woke up on the floor at 8.30 a.m. I had been dreaming about being part of a large martial arts class of black belts. Everyone was doing the right moves except me!

In my dream, I felt badly humiliated as my rank was higher than most of the others. I remember leaning forward and sideways in my sleep to see what the others were doing. I must have moved physically as I dreamed and rolled out of bed on to the floor.

The 'dream' humiliation of making mistakes in front of a large audience when I should have known better had made me try too hard and lose balance. Even if the situation had been a real one, it would have been no big deal.

Some other members of the class might have had a laugh at my ignorance. In fact, if I had just done my own thing I might have convinced other members of the class that I was right and they were wrong!

I have seen martial artists and even singers get away with glaring mistakes by appearing totally confident that they were doing the right moves or singing the right notes. Confidence can cover up a multitude of errors. I, on the other hand, never established a folk singing career because I was too afraid of hitting the wrong notes.

To sum up: accept the fact that you will fall down and make serious mistakes. Get going even if you risk failure. You can always get up and start again. Learn how to take the "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" and keep on fighting rather than retiring into your shell and giving up.

Tread with care when learning new things. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. A keen chef can kill off his customers if he does not know for sure which mushrooms to use!

Put up with minor discomforts and you may well avoid major ones. Be careful that your enthusiasms don't blind you to the realities of life and don't worry if you feel you are in a humiliating situation. Confidence or bare faced cheek will often carry you through. Even experts make mistakes. I have seen a squirrel fall out of a tree locally. It just bounced up and carried on with its normal routine.

Start doing whatever you are putting off because you think you might make some mistakes. Who cares? Life is too short. Just get going. Try to avoid or minimize major failures but, if they come, bounce back with resilience and carry on. You will do better next time and, even if you don't, you will be alive instead of hiding in a false fortress of 'perfection'.

Become an expert faller or 'failer' and you may soon be on the fast track to success! Let's experience the shock of failure and of making mistakes and we may soon be on the way to experiencing the relaxing joy of success.

My granddad used to say: "If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing well!" Yes, there is much truth in what he says. Doing something well is fun and satisfying.

But if you wait till you can do it well, you may never do it. I prefer the saying that: "If a thing's worth doing, it's worth doing badly, first!"

Online Dating

You're Not Paranoid: The House Really Hates You

2007-05-15T13:36:00.000-07:00

If you've just bought a house, you may be able to relate to a fascinating essay in Maya Angelou's book, Even the Stars Look Lonesome.

When Ms. Angelou moved into a designer house in California, she says, nothing worked. Her pictures didn't look right on the walls. Cakes fell in the oven and curtains fell off the rods.

The house, she concluded, hated her. And it wasn't much consolation to realize the house hated her husband, too.

What I want to know is, how could she tell?

Let's face it, most houses hate their new owners. They have adapted to the rhythm of one family and resent being sold.

Like most cats that you rescue from the pound, your house probably believes, "If I'd waited awhile, a better owner would have come along. So I'm going to make this one's life miserable."

When you move

Those who are trained in modern research methods will be skeptical, but there's plenty of evidence. Everyone knows what happens when you move into a new house.

"You'll see a lot of repair services in the first six months," I was warned. "When a house hasn't changed hands in five years or more, lots of little things will happen when you move in."

Now, you'll notice this doesn't happen when you rent a house or apartment. Some friends of mine rented a house while they saved to buy their own property.

For two years, the refrigerator purred and the air conditioner hummed contentedly. The plumbing flowed silently and the insect life remained hidden. Encouraged ("see, a house isn't so bad after all!") they took the plunge and bought their own home.

I'd like to say they're doing great but in fact they've dropped out of sight. They can't take phone calls any more. "Sorry, we can't tie up this line. We're holding the phone open till we hear from the handyman..." Or the pest control guy, or the electrician. They considered Call Waiting but were afraid to jinx the only object in the house that seemed to be working.

If you seem particularly gullible, (e.g., the house senses that you're new to this game), your appliances may join the fun. I am absolutely positive the once-faithful refrigerator sent out a message: "How about this, guys. Let's really confuse everybody. I'll put out a leak, send the water over to the sink, and they'll think it's a big pipe in the wall. After they've poked a few holes they'll realize it's time to wake up that sleeping repairman!"

And one day my security system kept getting an "Open Door" signal even when the door was firmly locked. The tech found nothing wrong and it never happened again.

My lawn service person knew how to work the system: Let Them Know Who's Boss. After he cut back the hedges and pulled some over-aggressive vines, the bushes stopped sulking and started putting out nice flowers. They knew what would happen if they didn't.

Making Peace with the House

Soon you've emptied your bank account to create a peace offering -- a new floor or a paint job or a screen door."Every so often," I'm told, "you even get thirty days with no service calls. But after six months or so, the house gets bored and it'll start all over again."

One thing is certain. In your house's "Lose the Owner" contest, there's one simple rule. Whoever costs the most, wins.

For serious advice about moving, download Making the Big Move.

Self Improvement Blog

Imprinted Basketballs

2007-05-13T23:30:00.001-07:00

Imprinted basketballs are a great idea for promos, fund raising, and corporate events. They are popular as souvenirs and mementos, and even customized gifts.

Imprinted basketballs are retailed by many websites. Imprinted basketballs are almost always available in bulk, since corporate and promotional companies order them for distribution at various events. Extra-Mile.com, for example, retails imprinted synthetic leather and rubber basketballs, which can be purchased wholesale. In fact, purchasing wholesale custom imprinted basketballs is very cost effective. For example, at ArmuProducts.com, you can purchase a single ball for $9, but on purchasing minimum 50 mini basketballs, the price for each ball comes down to $2 each. The imprinting charges are extra, and vary depending on the logo or design imprinted, and the number of colors used in imprinting. At ArmuProducts, imprinting costs $40 per color (for a set of balls). The colors are orange, red, blue, white, green and yellow. Of these, only two colors may be selected. Ink color matching costs more. Also, back and white, or color artwork imprinting service is available, and charges vary depending on the complexity of the design.

ArmuProducts.com is one of the best firms retailing imprinted basketballs, since it deals almost exclusively in imprinting and customizing sports goods. You can choose from materials like rubber and foam, which are inexpensive at $5 each for 100 balls, or leather basketballs at $15 each for 50 balls. Mini basketballs which glow in the dark are available for $8.50 each.

Another website retailing unconventional basketball souvenirs is AceNovelty.com. At AceNovelty.com, a 14 inch inflatable basketball is imprinted at a cost of $3 each for 50 basketballs.

Imprinting basketballs adds a special touch to the ball, and they make great gifts for basketball fans. They are distributed to participants at events and gatherings as mementos, and they boost the sales of a product when handed out at promotional events. And the cost effectiveness of imprinting makes customized basketballs a very viable option for these purposes.

Political Correctness Blog

Gnash of the Titans

2007-05-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

The Winter Olympics and America seem only to be fair weather friends ...

Underwhelming television ratings for the recently completed games in Turin indicate that the USA is only inclined to watch when their athletes are winning. Specifically, they watch when they expect to see certain athletes winning. Those would be the athletes who have been heavily hyped in the run-up to the Games.

Two examples of this point are skater Nancy Kwan and skiier Bode Miller. Both are definitely capable of winning any competition they enter. Both were considered favorites to earn medals in Turin. As a result, both experienced extensive publicity campaigns that were not of their own making. Both, however, failed to meet expectations; Kwan had to withdraw from her competition due to injury and Miller's medal chase went 0-for-5 in his events.

NBC Sports, holder of the American broadcast rights, was left with a star-crossed presentation. The spectre of total failure is not 'must see' TV.

This is one of the primary differences between how the Olympics are perceived in the USA as opposed to the rest of the world. Perhaps it's a holdover from the Cold War, when the Soviets and Americans actually believed a superior medal count proved a superior socio-economic system. Even though the Soviet lie was ultimately proved via populism, it's possible the Americans never did change their mindset.

Winning has an important place in life, not just in the USA, but everywhere. So does coping with loss. That is not the key here. Neither is the fact that the American way is littered with overzealous win-at-all-cost Little League coaches, sports-meddling dads and stage moms.

The important delineation of note is that, in the USA, it's vital as to who wins. Star power is amplified by the American media. This factor, for example, is what took the National Basketball Association from a sporting afterthought whose championship series was broadcast on a late-night tape-delay basis as recently as the late 1970s to a media spectacle in the early 1980s. That's when the league decided to focus on two new talents, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, promoting them instead of their teams.

It worked.

It worked even better when Michael Jordan followed them.

Still, these are exceptional athletes who don't come around that often. When their careers are over, it's rare when another exceptional athlete is there to replace them. There is usually a cotillion of pretenders, but they prove to be just that.

Ask the NBA.

They've attempted to promote others, but the general public is wise enough to discern the difference between 'exceptional' and 'talented enough to be a professional.' So, the focus on star power now has NBA ratings in decline. They've been hoisted on their own petard, so to speak.

In the duration, though, other sports in the USA noted the NBA's initial success and attempted to emulate it by promoting star power of their own. The practice of putting a name forward became a foundation of almost every national publicity campaign for sporting endeavors. Logically, it was something to which the American sporting public became accustomed.

In events such as the Olympics, where not every sport listed is a household thought in the USA, it's clear that NBC felt a strong need to insert star power. Their secondary tactic was similar and successful to an extent in previous years, namely, focus on a human interest story to emotionally attach the viewer to a participant. Ultimately, though, there will be more regular-life athletes getting medals than those who overcame obstacles in their lives.

Other countries --- even 'winter' nations such as Canada, Russia and the Scandinavians --- emphasize the competition over the competitors. They appreciate the skill of the sport. Television ratings throughout Europe were excellent, with only the Germans amassing a large medal haul (they were the overall winners in that category, incidentally). They took note of stars, of course, but it mattered little that those stars were from other countries. They took serious pride in their own stars, of course, but recognized them as a part of a bigger picture rather than that picture serving as a backdrop for them.

It's not only a refreshing difference, but a logical one. Especially when a network needs to cover the rights fees being charged by the Olympic movement.

NBC Sports has announced it will show a profit on its Turin package, most probably because much of the advertising was pre-sold with little provision for ratings-influenced price fluctuations. That tactic worked because of the American success in the previous Winter Games; coincidentally, they were held in Salt Lake City. It may not be so effective for their 2010 Winter Games package when the current ratings are pushed back in their face.

The NBC coverage in Turin excellent from a presentation standpoint. They used the cable networks in their stable --- CNBC, MSNBC and USA --- to great extent, so if one wanted to watch a particular event, odds were that it was being shown somewhere. The only drawback was, these events were not promoted nearly as well as the perceived 'star power' attractions. Only a devotee would seek the coverage. That is not a strategy that optimizes strong viewership.

The American media has conditioned its public to expecting charasmatic competition. The Olympic movement expects spirited competition. The American networks groan when smaller-market teams advance to a championship series; they'd prefer a New York - Los Angeles meeting any day. The Olympic movement rejoices when smaller-country teams achieve such a standing; Sweden-vs-Finland in the men's hockey final sent ratings through the roof in those countries, but it did well in most other nations, too, as the game itself was nothing short of spectacular in both drama and skill.

It's already clear that this era will be known in history as the CyberCentury. The world is more accessible to everyone more than ever before. It only makes sense that viewer interest can expand beyond the parameters of star power to the entire experience of a competition. Other countries' media have always known this. Manchester United, for example, is still a major draw without David Beckham, and when he ultimately moves from Real Madrid, the same will be said again.

When the American media re-discovers that it's the competition --- not just the star competitors --- that make sports attractive to viewers, the Winter Olympics will once again enjoy a resurgence of ratings popularity in the USA. Such a realization would be a welcome breath of fresh air, even during those winter days when you can see it.

Affiliate Marketing

Do You Know The Art Of Love?

2007-05-11T22:20:00.000-07:00

If youre in a relationship where everyday is like Valentines Day then youve pretty much mastered the art of love. However, if youre like most people in a relationship, you might think that men are from Mars and women are from Venus. Well, just in case the latter is true, Ill share a separate heart-to-heart with each of you in the spirit of Valentines Day.

Earth to Men from Mars:

Men are great at many things: lifting boxes, killing spiders, loosening jars. Valentines day is your chance to really play up your romantic side, (you know you have one). If you love someone, theres nothing more manly than letting her know it. And if you really want to put hair on your chest: show her that you love her.

In even the healthiest relationship, you and she will have different interests. She loves Formula One racing. You love daisies. This is all a great thing because if you show off a little of your feminine side, chances are you will certainly score--points, that is. She asks you--all the time--to tell her why you fell in love with her, right? Then she actually expects you to come out with a brilliant answer on the spot. Goodness, I feel for you--even Shakespeare couldnt give you a sonnet in demand. But dont worry, this Valentines Day, youre going to come up with some eloquent gesture of love that will make her want to leave Venus to come live with you on Mars. Youre probably saying to yourself, How am I going to do that? Well, allow me to warm you up to some outside-the-box ideas.

Look through the photos youve gathered throughout your time together. Find some that speak to you. Dont worry about what they say just yet. This is the manly, hunting-and-gathering part of the gesture. Once youve found the photos you like, put them in the album in no particular order. Now look at each photo and ask yourself: How does this picture remind me of why I love her? For example, if you chose a photo of her making a silly face, its probably because you love the way she makes you laugh. So write the answer on a Post-it and stick the note on the photo. Do this for all the photos. In no time at all, you will create a lasting testament to your love for her. If by chance shes a tough cookie to crumble, then plant some daisies (or her favorite flowers) so they spell out the words "I love you." This is a romantic gesture that will last an entire season and return every year--if you have a green thumb. It will surprise her as the words start to appear, and it will surprise you if it actually works.

And yes, in case youre wondering: its ok to make her think you made up your romantic gestures even if you got the ideas from an article.

Earth to Women from Venus:

Diamonds arent always a girls best friend. Youre probably saying to yourself, What are you talking about? Diamonds bring a twinkle to your eye, when your significant other cannot. However, diamonds cant give you backrubs, kill spiders, or open jars. It is truly rewarding to be with your significant other when you both click, are on the same page, on the same level intellectually, and can make each other laugh. Thats when hes your best friend and diamonds dont compare. Diamonds are said to be forever, but when both of you are using your minds, hearts, and uniqueness to have a romantic future together, thats what really lasts. So this Valentines Day, youre going to come up with some cute and sexy performance of love that will make him want to leave Mars to come live with you in Venus. You probably already have some outside-the-box ideas of your own, (you go girl!). However, if youre stuck for ideas, please allow me to warm you up to a few of mine.

Get home well before he does if its a workday. Gather all your lingerie and use them to shape hearts trailing from the front door, into the bedroom and onto the bed. Leave a note on the bed that says "Pizza is on its way and cold beer is in the fridge." Make sure the pizza is delivered before he gets home because youll need to put on some sexy lingerie and actually deliver the pizza yourself. Time it so you wait outside the house and leave him to discover the trail of lingerie and the note when he returns. Hell be disappointed not to find you at home, but thats when you ring the doorbell with the pizza in hand, sexy lingerie and all. You get the idea. Have fun, use your imagination and make this work however you prefer.

Some of you may feel like this is a little too much work. Dont worry, you can simplify the idea. Men are much easier to please than you think and would be just as happy if you cut to the chase, skip the opening act and jump to the part where you show up in sexy lingerie (save the pizza and beer for later). After all, just think about it: Pizza? Beer? You? in sexy lingerie? Hockey night in Canada will have to get in line.

Mortgage Refinancing

About Bass

2007-05-10T21:14:00.000-07:00

If you want to catch more and bigger largemouth bass you must know some basic information about their biology. Here you will learn everything about largemouth bass from how their metabolism works to if they posses colour vision. This is extremely valuable information for a serious bass angler, or serious bass angler wanna be.

Metabolism:Bass are cold blooded, meaning their metabolism is controlled by water temperature. When the water goes below, oh lets say around the 50 degree Fahrenheit mark, the bass' metabolism slows down making the fish not eat as much. When the water temperature goes above the 50 degree Fahrenheit mark bass get more and more active due to their metabolism. The best possible water temperature bass can stay in is around 68-78 degrees Fahrenheit (20-25 degrees Celsius). Any temperature above 80 degrees Fahrenheit causes low dissolved oxygen levels and makes the largemouth bass hard to breathe. Another good temperature for bass is when it is steady and there are no sudden changes. Bass in northern climates live longer but do not grow big. In southern climates bass live shorter, but grow larger.

Other Temperature Facts:When the water temperature turns to about 62-68 degrees Fahrenheit (16-20 degrees C) largemouth bass begin to spawn. Largemouth bass make beds on the bottom of the water in shallow areas of the water body. A good rule of thumb is for the deeper the bed, the bigger the fish. But in some places fishing for bass while they are spawning is illegal. Shortly after spawning they head to shallow water areas. Bass can tell when a cold front is coming, they binge eat as much as possible before the cold front and then stop eating altogether during the cold front. Oh, and if you do not know how a bass can tell what temperature the water is, it is proven that a largemouth bass can feel a change in temperature of 1 tenth of a degree.

Senses of The Largemouth Bass:

Lateral Line:The lateral line is made up of nerve endings on the side of the fish. The lateral line picks up vibrations in the water. This is so sensitive it can tell what size, speed, shape, etc. of the prey or predator.

Sight:Yes, largemouth do posses colour vision. The bass relies mostly on colours in clear or other high visibility water. In muddy water bass do not use this sense as much as their lateral line or smell. Fish see in 2 dimensions to the side of their body. Bass can see in 3 dimensions from about 5 inches from their snout and out to, depending on water clarity, 100 feet to 5 feet.

Hearing:Sound travels through water much better than air. But, bass have ears inside their skull instead of outside. Bass do, however, have a keen sense of hearing.

Smell:Bass use smell to detect prey or predators. Their smell is very sensitive and if they smell a predator nearby they will swim away from the area. And, therefore, if they smell prey they will go in search of it and eat it.

Travel Guides

Premiership Betting Review - 26 February 2006

2007-05-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

Manchester United are the 2005/06 Carling Cup winners following a 4-0 demolition of Wigan Athletic at the Millennium Stadium. United, as short as 8/13 on the day, took the lead after 32 minutes through Wayne Rooney but it was a three goals in six minutes salvo in the second half that devastated outsiders Wigan. Louis Saha netted after 54 minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo on 58 and Rooney again on the hour to win the Cup in emphatic fashion.

With United not playing in the Premiership this weekend, Chelsea extended their lead at the top to 15 points with an expected victory over Portsmouth. The Blues were overwhelming favourites at 1/6 and did not disappoint short-odds backers with second half goals from Frank Lampard and Arjen Robben to win the match 2-0.

Liverpool drew level on points with Manchester United but remain third after a 1-0 win against Manchester City on Sunday. Harry Kewells goal five minutes before the break was enough to secure all three points for the 8/15 Reds.

Arsenals dire away form in the Premiership continued as they lost 1-0 at Blackburn Rovers. The 5/4 Gunners will have attracted a lot of punting interest, however, it was 21/10 Rovers that took the points after Morten Gamst Pedersens decisive goal. The result saw Blackburn leapfrog Arsenal into fifth place while condemning them to their eighth away defeat of the season.

Birmingham City are within touching distance of safety after a vital win against Sunderland. Even though prior to the match the Blues had won just three games all season at St. Andrews, plenty will have ploughed into the 7/10 odds and Emile Heskey headed in the winner after 39 minutes.

In another crunch relegation battle, Middlesbrough edged themselves closer to safety but piled on more pressure on West Bromwich Albion after winning 2-0 at the Hawthorns. Jimmy Floyd Hasselbainks goals on 17 and 44 was enough to seal victory at tasty 9/5 odds.

Caretaker manager Glenn Roeder made it three wins in four matches for 11/10 Newcastle with a 2-0 victory against Everton. Two goals from Nolberto Solano after 64 and 76 minutes saw Everton lose their first match since December 28.

Adult Diapers

Orchestrating Attitude: Getting the Best from Yourself and Others

2007-05-06T17:24:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Attitude: Concept or Concrete?

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

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

How Do Attitudes Develop?

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

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

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

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

Choice: Reaction or Response?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A Script for Orchestrating Attitude

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

Orchestrate your THOUGHTS to nfluence BELIEFS.....

Orchestrate your WORDS to influence your COMMITMENTS

Orchestrate your ACTIONS to influence your RESULTS

The script plays out like this:

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

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

- Words reflect our commitments to ourselves and others.

- Commitments influence our choice of actions.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Growing Up - Again

A Brief History of Pilates

2007-05-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

Joseph Pilates, creator of the Pilates group of Exercises was sickly as a child. He suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. At age 14, he remedied his health status by engaging in exercise and body building, and in doing so, became the model for anatomical drawings.

With determination and dedication to his exercise, Pilates became skilled in sports like skiing, diving and gymnastics. In 1912 he worked as a self defense instructor for Scotland Yard, in England. When World War I came, Pilates, a German national, was named an enemy alien like most other German nationals at the time. During his capture, he started perfecting the methods of the Pilates exercise, and started teaching it to the other interns. He would make use of springs attached to hospital beds to enable bedridden patients to do exercise, with resistance. Pilates was first designed as a reconstructive form of exercise, mostly for those injured and unable to move freely, or else confined in a bed or a chair. The crude exercise machines was the basis for his later designs.

In 1918, an Influenza epidemic struck England, but none of his trainees were among the thousands killed, this strengthened his claim for the exercises efficiency.

After being cleared of accusations, and his release, Pilates returned to Germany to perfect his method. The dance community, through Rudolf Van Laban, highly regarded Pilates techniques and adapted his exercises. In 1926, Pilates immigrated to the United States, after being asked to teach his techniques in the German Army. This is where he met his wife Clara, and with her, he opened a studio in New York, with the New York City Ballet.

In the 1960s most of Pilets students are New York Dancers. One of which, George Ballanchine, also had Pilates teach the ballerinas at the New York City Ballet. As time passed, his method became popular, not only in New York, but also everywhere in the United States.

Two of Pilates Students, Carola Trier, and Bob Seed, on the other hand, opened their own studio, demonstrating the methods and techniques, taught them by Pilates himself. Carola Trier, found solace in fleeing to the united Sattes, whe she escaped a Nazi Holding Camp, and found Pilates in 1940. Having pertinent dance background and the techniques under her belt, she became a contortionist, only stopping when getting injured in 1940. Due to this, Pilates helped TRier to open her own studio in 1950.

Bob Seed, aformer Hockey player, and an avid student of Pilates opened a studio across form Josephs and tried to make a competition out of it by opening early in the morning. Some people say that Pilates threatened Seed one day, and told him to leave town, and indeed he left.

When Pilates died, he left no instruction as to how to continue the line of Pilates work, nevertheless, his wife Clara, continued with the Studio, already known as the Pilates studio. Romana Kryzanowska, a student who studied with Joe and Clara aroung the 1940s continued their work and became director of the studio in 1970.

Also in 1970, A man named Ron Fletcher, a Martha Graham dancer, opened his own studio in Los angeles. He attracted many Hollywood stars, and this so impressed Clara, that she gave him permission to cary on the pilates name. Fletcher however, brought on improvements to the regiment

In 1967, two other students, Kathy Grant and Lolita San Miguel were awarded degrees by the State university of New York, to teach Pilates, they were the only practitioners ever to certified by Pialtes officially. Grant tooko over the Bendels Studio in 1972, whilst San Miguel went to Puerto Rico to teach Pilates at the Ballet Concerto de Puerto Rica.

Better Marketing Tricks

Make a Fortune in Business Without Really Trying

2007-05-05T20:46:00.000-07:00

You can make a fortune in business without really trying, however, most people do nothing of the kind. Many more people try really hard and make little or nothing. Why does this happen. In many cases its because although they work hard, they fail to work smart. They expend far too much effort for meager returns. Perhaps this is you. Youve tried everything. Online business, offline business, eBay, you name it, youve tried it. Why has nothing worked?

It doesnt matter weather you are just beginning a home based business or have been running a business for years, there are certain things you must do in order to become successful. The first is planning. Its often been said that those that fail to plan, plan to fail. Do a business plan. A good business plan will cover all aspects of your business. It should include your service or product line, your marketing plan and a timeline for the future. You should have a good financial plan as well. Where will your revenue come from? Where will it go?

Do you need capital to begin or expand your business? If you plan on seeking financing, either from conventional sources, such as banks, or other sources such as private investors, they will want to see how you plan to spend their money. This will help them evaluate your chances of success. After all, your ability to repay the loan or increase the value of their shares depends upon how you will be using their money.

A business plan will also enable you to plan for contingencies so you can effectively deal with them. The more you can plan for risk, the better you will be able to mitigate them. You dont want to be waylaid by something unexpected that could cost you dearly. Youll never be able to anticipate all business problems, but you can plan for as many as possible.

The next thing you need to do is execute your plan effectively. Many great plans, in business, sports and war have been undone by poor execution. Youll probably need to make changes to your business plan due to unforeseen circumstances or opportunities. These are similar to the halftime adjustments made by a football coach. Its often the coach or business owner who makes better adjustments that is the most successful.

The third thing you must do is test everything. You should test your marketing and advertising to determine what gives you the best R.O.I. If you are doing pay per click advertising or other online advertising, you have an advantage in that you can very quickly see the results of any changes you make. Youll probably see big differences from small changes. For example, headlines can often give very different results from just one or two word differences. The only way youll know is through rigorous testing. Test different product mixes to see what sells the best to your market. Do lots of research and find a good niche to market to and then test, test, test.

These three things, planning, execution, and thorough testing combined with the resultant changes, can make you a fortune in your business. Failure to do any of these things properly can limit your profit and chances for ultimate success.

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