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Gourmet cooking is a way of preparing food that only uses the finest and freshest possible ingredients. Meaning that to eat astonishing gourmet food you must cook your cuisine straight after buying the fresh ingredients to put in your foods. Not just do you wish to purchase the freshest ingredients when cooking gourmet meals but you also want to insure that you are selecting ingredients of excellent quality.

Those who excel at gourmet cooking and food preparation have many options accessible to them. When you come from a big family it’s exciting to be able to invite everybody for a first class banquet at your house.

Just don’t think that any and everyone can turn into a gourmet connoisseur only by going out and picking up the absolute best ingredients and putting them into an oven. You require a lot of passion for gourmet cooking and a large quantity of skill which is essential to accomplish this level of gourmet excellence.

Unfortunately fresh ingredients are not always on hand therefore compromises ought to be made when preparing gourmet foods. Contact your favorite shop so you know what is in season and plan your dishes accordingly whenever possible. When cooking gourmet food the layering of flavors is very essential. You should be able to taste the meat or seafood as well as the veggies, herbs, and spices to make you a true gourmet chef.

When making your gourmet dish you will require more then just great tasting skills. As I talked about above gourmet cooking desires a large ability but there is some degree of art involved as well. For this reason, presentation is a key part for success. Add a few freshly chopped herbs on the plate before placing the cooking or top the food with appealing and aromatic herbs that will compliment the flavor of the meal you have prepared. Present the fruits and vegetable sides in a visually appealing fashion rather than simply tossing them onto a plate.

With good presentation even foods that were simple to cook can take on the taste of a gourmet banquet. This is something you should take into account. The thing about gourmet cooking is that it is to some extent more art than science. This means that there is always room to develop your competencies and become a good cook.

Even if you are the most experienced chef, know that knowledge can grow over time with determination and desire to learn.

Nevertheless when you want to be absolutely certain about the excellence of your gourmet dinner, when for instance inviting your closest friends or new mother in law, you might think about having a more experienced chef make your dinner for you. You can then have it delivered to your kitchen before your guests arrive. It’s up to you whether you will take the honor for serving a gourmet dinner.

For great gourmet dinners delivered straight to your kitchen go to www.bistromd.com [http://www.besthomemealdelivery.info].

Enjoy the recognition!

Martin Seij

Every gardener riding a lawn tractor should be concerned about safety. But, most homeowners don’t take much time thinking on how risky can be driving lawn tractors. It is obvious the indestructible feelings that you feel when driving a large lawn tractor. You are there, sitting on top of a extremely powerful machine which responds to your orders instantly. However, there are many things, not desired, that can happen very quickly, putting you as operator and others in a terrible danger. Statistics out there say that year after year, many people experience lawn tractors accidents due to either an incorrect or unsafely use.

Lawn tractors are probably the most powerful tool you might offer to any garden. They are the best solution for advanced landscapers. Lawn tractors will help those people who don’t have much time to take care of their large lawns. Among many other features, they are reliable, efficient, extremely fast as well as really easy to drive, getting a lot of fun while working, what else do you need?. Nevertheless, not everything is gold what it shines; they can be double-edge weapons for those who don’t respect the safety requirements. A lawn tractor is a dangerous equipment, so use it consciously and following the manual’s operator.

Here you have some important points to have in mind when driving a lawn tractor:

• Clear the mowing area from objects that could avoid a fluent work. This is a very important premise that most homeowners forget. It might happen to run over a small piece of metal or hardwood. This will risk you to send the piece in question out the side of the lawn tractor, and therefore injure anyone within hundred feet around the operator.
• Wear always safety wear when operating power tools. Thick shoes can save your feet, if they get close to the lawn tractor’s sharpen blades. And wearing goggles is as simple as protect your eyes from flying insects direct impacts.
• No matter what they say, you must keep safety shields in place on the tractor. You never know when these guards will be required.

Driving Experience When Riding Lawn Tractors

You, as an experienced lawn tractor driver, might be thinking on the years of experience you’ve got over the years. Even though your considerable driver skills and how conscientious you are with your tractor, you never have to trust on power machines, and should be aware all the time. At http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com, we try to be aware of all gardening tools, because we know how important is the safety throughout your garden for you and your family.

What are the most typical mistakes when operating a lawn tractor? As we have said above, not cleaning the mowing area can be quite dangerous, but there is no choice when the lawn tractor blades are exposed. Try to use blades guards in order to decrease the cutting risk when operating those tractors designs, whose mowing blades are totally exposed. Landscapers always think that anything can happen to them, because they know everything relating to lawn mowers and garden tractors. Please, be as careful as you can, especially when riding a tractor on an incline. It might tip over and therefore creating the chance of blades falling down over you., it could happen, why not? Most mower and tractor manufacturers are designing currently machines with the weight evenly distributed. This will avoid the tipping over easily.

One sentence we want to insert into gardeners’ minds is : The more prepared you are for any kind of circumstance concerning accidents and safety, the better off you will be. Just remember to wear lawn tractors safety equipment, including goggles, thick shoes and gloves if necessary. If you ignore one of the small safety details when riding these machines, you could end up reproaching yourself why did not you do it. Gardening injuries are as typical as many others and lawn tractors are not a child’s game.

Andrew Caxton is a successful author who contributes adding articles regularly to [http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com] – A specialized lawn care website that carries articles on different models of riding lawn mowers [http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com/riding-lawn-mowers.html] and lawn tractors [http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com/lawn-tractors.html].

It seems like everyone is jumping on the designer bandwagon these days. And why not? The fashion industry is sexy – fashion shows, parties, celebrities, recognition, and even fame go along with a career in fashion.

Now herein lies the question: do you go to design school or go straight to starting a business? Not all fashion designers go the traditional route to design school, instead drawing on an entrepreneurial spirit, some “designers” turn their head for business into a thriving fashion enterprise.

Ralph Lauren is an example of a fashion designer who bypassed the sewing machine and headed straight for the marketplace. Which path you take depends on your personal motivation. If you love sewing and pattern making, the traditional route is going to bring the most satisfaction. If you love the fashion world but don’t have the patience for needle and thread, a career in the fast-paced and exciting fashion biz is still possible … read on.

So you want to go out on your own, what’s first?

You’ve always admired fashion designers and their ability to design trendy, unique and wearable fashions season after season, as if by magic. But it’s not magic; it’s a business. And to succeed in business, nobody is an island (meaning that everyone needs a little help to accomplish his or her dreams). And it’s not all glitz and glamour. Being a fashion designer means you have to actually run a business.

Before you print up those business cards, ask yourself if you’re prepared to roll up your sleeves and tackle the not-so fun aspects of fashion.

At first, running a fashion business could mean fulfilling orders yourself (i.e., packing boxes until the wee hours of the morning), steaming clothes repeatedly during fashion shows, and bookkeeping. You could spend only a small percentage of your time actually designing; instead you’re networking, schmoozing and negotiating with suppliers and vendors.

If you’re planning to take the direct-to-consumer path, you’ll have to create a website and maintain it (and most likely have to pay someone to handle these tasks), get a merchant account to process credit card transactions and manage charge back cycles. If you’re not interested in learning what these things mean, then you may decide to work for a large fashion house to learn the ropes.

But if you have the endurance and enough friends with skills or services you can trade for, you could go out on your own and succeed. Today is the age of entrepreneurship, why shouldn’t you get a piece of the pie?

The fashion biz: a reality check

Exciting industries are rife with competition-some that will fade away and others that will give you a run for your money. You have to compete against the big names out there and trendy emerging designers fresh out of the best design schools or veterans of big fashion houses-not to mention all the celebrities popping up with their own labels.

Running your own fashion biz may require you to reach out to suppliers and potential customers all over the world, which means you better be organized. Are you prepared to coordinate the procurement of raw materials like fabric, trim and hardware, so that your manufacturer gets what they need at the right time to deliver a finished product on deadline?

Think of yourself as a business person first and a fashion designer second. If your fashion business fails, you’re the one that suffers. Always keep the business aspect in the forefront of your mind. Some people find this prospect exhilarating, while others can’t think of anything more horrifying. Still interested in starting your own fashion business?

I’m not a designer, can I still work in the fashion industry?

Yes … and no. If you have the design vision, you can pay people to take your idea and turn it into a tangible pattern or design. This is sort of like what a creative director does. If this fits your situation, then you’d better have the business chops to get your business off the ground and you’d better have a solid Core Value Proposition.

What this means is that you must have a strong business proposal and offer a product that’s valuable and in demand. That doesn’t mean you have to sell high-end couture clothing to rich people. Clothiers H&M and Zara focus on fast ready-to-wear fashion at affordable pricepoints.

There is more than one path to becoming a fashion designer. You can learn to sew and go to design school to learn the ins-and-outs of the business. But not everyone learns to draw patterns and stitch together garments. The keys to succeeding in the fashion business are creativity, a good business sense and determination.

Stay tuned for more advice on becoming a fashion designer.

A. Covington is a fashion writer with a sharp eye for men’s designer fashion. Her men’s fashion blog covers the essentials on how to dress well, from pocket squares and designer cufflinks, to work attire for men. Amy maintains three blogs for Belisi Fashions, a luxury accessories brand based in Palm Beach.

Cooking together has always been a favorite activity in our family. My mother began to cook with me before I started school. One of my earliest school memories was when I was a first grader: our class was invited to be guests of the eighth grade cooking class and we were treated to hot cocoa and oatmeal cookies made by the “big kids.” At the end of the party, we were allowed to help the eighth graders clean up, and I remember volunteering to wash a very large floured baking sheet. As the class was ending, I was still at the sink laboring with the industrial-sized baking sheet that was as big as I was. As a reward for my efforts, I was given a gold star on my forehead. Even now, many years later, I still remember that day as one of the proudest of my life.

And maybe it was that day that started me on a life in which my best memories involve cooking for myself, my family, and my friends. The best of the best memories are the times I cooked with my own children who have now grown up and have given me five grandkids (aged from 20 months to 18 years), with whom I can continue what I started with my children over 40 years ago.

Cooking gives children a wonderful sense of accomplishment and they learn early that hard work can pay big (sweet) rewards. Cooking allows you to talk to kids on many levels: they learn about their family histories when you use recipes handed down in the family (the names of their great grandparents, the foods that derive from their family roots in countries far away), they learn to follow directions, they learn to count (depending on their ages, this can range from simple to more involved calculations), they learn cooperation, they learn the joy of work that can give pleasure not only to themselves but to others, they learn to try and to experience different foods and cooking methods, they learn lessons of self-sufficiency that will serve them all their lives, they learn they must clean up after themselves, they learn to follow directions and how to plan ahead (shopping and prep time).

All the while they’re learning all these things, they’re having fun and so are you.

Children learn to enjoy food from the first moments of their lives, and they can learn the joy of cooking even as toddlers. When you cook with toddlers, it’s important that you concentrate only on the task at hand, and it’s best to limit your cooking class to just one short one at a time. I’ve found it best if the recipes are simple, and have an enjoyable anticipated outcome.

Getting started

These days, I’ve been cooking a lot with my three-year-old grandchild, Connor. I like to begin talking with Connor about what I want to cook with him. I describe how much he will like the dish, and when I get his interest, I give the recipe a fun name. I can keep his interest through the whole process if I start by writing the recipe down and discussing the ingredients and steps involved.

Then I plan a trip to the store for the ingredients. Again I involve the child. We look for the ingredients together, and we watch while the checker bags our stuff, and after we pay her (Connor learns that everything has a price), we go home to cook.

Washing hands is always the way we begin. It’s fun washing up with Connor, who generally resists washing up at other times — as he seriously throws himself into this activity when its for cooking. Next we gather our ingredients and utensils. And then we begin.

Fun and safety

I discuss the fact that we will need to warm up the oven while we’re making our food; explaining that the stove is “very hot” and that he must never touch the oven; and that he only cooks with me, or his Mommy or Daddy. I usually tell him about the times I would cook with Daddy when he was a little boy. This usually gets Connor’s interest. I measure out each of the ingredients, and Connor gets the fun and important mixing job.

If I’m using an electric blender or mixer, Connor gets to turn the appliance on and off (again discussing safety issues and the importance of not using these appliances by himself). If something has to be cooked on the stove-top, Connor stands close by watching the activity and depending on what’s cooking he get a chance to stir the pot (under very close supervision).

By this time, things in the kitchen are starting to smell really good, and that gives us a chance to discuss what we smell and to build excitement about the end result.

Connor gets the honor of greasing the cake or muffin pans, or he can roll out dough (with some help). Depending on what we’re cooking, he also gets the opportunity to help pour the batter into the pans if we’re making a cake, cupcakes, or muffins. If we’re making cookies, he can use the cookie cutters and later he can sprinkle the colored sugar over them.

Finally, we are ready to put the dish into the oven or onto the stove, set the timer, and anticipate the outcome. While waiting, Connor always helps with the clean up, and I admit this is his least favorite thing to do. But this is one of the lessons that are learned we must always clean up our own messes. It’s not all work. While we’re cleaning up, we get to look into the oven and watch the progress of the dish as it cooks. We discuss how the food will get to smell better and better, how it browns, and how the cake gets bigger as it cooks.

When the timer rings, with Connor closely watching, I take the food out of the oven and place it on the cooling rack. If the dish calls for icing, we use the cooling time to make the icing, and Connor helps put the icing on the cakes or cookies (and into his mouth).

At last, the dish is done and we get to eat it, sharing it of course with Mommy and Daddy, and anyone else who wants some. Since eating is a social activity, Connor basks in the glow of his accomplishment and enjoys the compliments and the conversation. In our family, after eating everyone helps clean up, so once again Connor is in on the action.

In general, anything that I choose to cook with Connor (or any other young child) has got to be simple and quick, recognizing that young children have finite attention spans. The time I spend cooking with Connor (or any of the kids) leaves me happy, tired, full, and contented; it leaves them feeling the same way, too, and proud of themselves as well.

The following are a few recipes that I have used successfully with Connor and with my younger grandchildren. I hope that you will try them for yourselves and add your own while you make memories for yourself, your children, and your grandchildren (or any kid who happens to be in your life).

The Recipes

“BaNANA” Bread

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Baking Time: 60 minutes Makes 1 Loaf

You will need: a large fork and a wooden spoon, 2 bowls, oven gloves, loaf pan, cooking rack.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

½ cup cooking oil

2 or 3 very ripe bananas

Pam or some other spray to grease the pan

* Note: You can add ½ cup chopped walnuts to this recipe BUT I DO NOT GIVE NUTS TO YOUNG CHILDREN

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray the sides and bottom of loaf pan with PAM and sprinkle with a little flour (shake out the excess flour)

2. Peel the bananas and mash the bananas with a fork into a small bowl

3. In the other bowl, mix the sugar, oil and egg with the wooden spoon until the mixture looks creamy and is a light yellow color

4. Blend in the bananas

5. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Break up any lumps in the batter and stir until the batter is smooth and all the flour is mixed in.

To Bake: Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. (Test

for doneness: if the top of the loaf spring back after you touch

it, or if you stick a clean toothpick in and it comes out clean,

it’s done.

Cool on the cooling rack for about 20 minutes, then flip the bread out onto the rack and cool some more before slicing.

Creamy, Dreamy Oatmeal

(to wake a guy up)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes Serves: 4

You will need measuring cups, small pot (prefer a non-stick one), a long handled wooden spoon, 4 bowls, 4 spoons.

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

1 cup old-fashioned oats

Pinch of salt

Possible Toppings:

(i.e. the good stuff) Milk or Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar

or honey

Butter

Raisins

Sliced Bananas

Crunchy Wheat Germ

1. Pour the water into the pot. Add the oats and salt.

2. Ask a grown-up to help bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer.

3. Cook for 5 minutes or until the desired thickness, stirring occasionally.

THEN: Spoon into bowls and serve with the topping dejour.

“Butter and Nana Jama” Jam Sandwiches

You will need 2 tablespoons, a butter knife, and a cutting board

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread (or more depending on who is eating)

1 tablespoon strawberry jam

1 tablespoon butter (soften to room temperature to spread

easy)

1. Spread jam evenly on one slice of bread (again depending on how many

are eating) and evenly butter the other slice.

2. Press the jammed and buttered sides of the slices together to make a

a sandwich

3. Place on cutting board and cut into halves or quarters.

A variation that my family enjoys: substitute softened cream cheese for the butter and make Cream Cheese And Nana Jama Jam Sandwiches.

Shamrock Lucky Glass Cookies

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 8 to 10 minutes oven preheated

to 375 degrees

You will need:

One (1) package of pre-made sugar cookie dough (may

be store bought)

Green hard candy (Lifesavers etc.)

Zip Lock Bags and Small Kitchen Hammer (or any other

thing a child can use to “bam” the hard candy to little

bits)

Two (2) shamrock shaped cookie cutters (1 large and 1

small)

Some tin foil

A cookie sheet

To Prepare:

1. Roll out the cookie dough and cut out cookies using the large shamrock cookie cutter. Using the small cookie cutter, cut a hole in the center of each of the cookies

2. Place the cookies on a foil covered cookie sheet

3. Put hard candies into a plastic zip lock bag and crush them using the kitchen hammer, rolling pin or any thing else that will “bam” the candy (the kids LOVE this part!)

4. Use the crushed candy to fill the holes in the center of the cookies.

To Bake: Place the cookie sheet in the over (adult only) and bake the cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Watch these cookies because depending on your oven, they may require less time to brown.

Let these cookies cool completely and then peel the cookies off the foil and EAT!

Variations: Depending on the Holiday or Celebration (or just because), you can use other cookie cutters and colored candy—as for example, Christmas 1/4Tree Cookie cutters and red and green candy for Christmas.

Pruney Loony Muffins

Preparation Time: 30 minutes Baking Time: 15 to 20 minutes in regular sized muffin tin or 7 to 9 minutes in mini muffin tins.

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees Makes 12 regular sized muffins or 36 mini muffins. NOTE: Kids LOVE the mini muffin size.

You will need:

Muffin tin (regular sized or mini sized)

1 and 3/4 cups of flour

1/4 cups of sugar

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 cup salad oil

2 (4 oz. Baby Jars) of Pureed Prunes or you can use Pureed Apples

1/3 cup milk

Mixing Bowl and Flour Sifter and Measuring Cups and spoons

For the Topping (goes on before baking):

2 Tablespoon Wheat Germ

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To Make:

1. Sift dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon into a bowl and make a well in the center.

2. Place eggs, milk and prunes (or apples) into a medium bowl and beat with a fork until well mixed.

3. Pour liquid mixture into the flour well and mix until just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

4. Fill greased muffin tins to 3/4 full

5. Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl and sprinkle the topping on the muffins and gently pat on.

Bake in the preheated oven (400 degrees) for 15 to 20 minutes for regular sized muffins or 7 to 9 minutes for mini muffins.

Submitted to Online Cooking by Maureen R. Sinclair

Childcare Decisions

Most parents find themselves perplexed and anxious when it comes to making the best choice for the care of their children. Leaving a child in a childcare facility for the first time can be nerve-wrecking experience, both for parents and the child. However, keeping in view the busy lifestyles of most parents, this does seem like the most sensible and inevitable option. Choosing a childcare facility about which the parents feel most confident and can trust with the welfare of their child, along with mentally preparing themselves and the child about the incursion of a childcare facility in their daily lives should be used to decrease the anxiety that props up during this transition phase. Some parents and children have such extreme reactions about a childcare environment that they need counselling from a psychologist!!

Positive Childcare Transition

One of the most-commonly used methods of making the transition easy is by mentally preparing the child. Before the childcare schedule actually begins, the parents have to make the child used to the reality that he/she would be away from the similarity of a home or the presence of parents for some hours, every day. Parents should begin talking to the child about the various kinds of activities that would be a part of childcare schedule. The child should be familiarized with the rules/regulations that are a part of a usual childcare environment. Parents should try and distance themselves for the child a bit – just to an extent that the child becomes familiar with the idea of not being in the company of parents.

Another important aspect of this childcare transition is recognising the child’s special requirements and making sure that these would be satisfied in the childcare/preschool set-up. When it comes to choosing the best-suited childcare center, try out for the best possible and nearest location. This would reduce the scheduling/transport problems that are associated with the childcare format.

Childcare Options:

• Child care centers are where the child is provided a group setting. He is made to socialize with other children, usually of the same age group, and there is supervision under the presence of numerous qualified or non-qualified childcare providers.
• Family childcare centers have the provision of the child staying in the carer’s home. The children may or may not be of the same age group but benefit from home-like environment.
• Some neighborhoods have facilities called In-home child care facilities. Here a childcare provider is provided and he/she visits the parent’s/child’s home to take care of the child.
• Most popular choice is the nursery schools/pre-schools/playschools. These are professionally-managed childcare centers. Here the child is inducted in a properly-structured, core curriculum that is backed with the presence of qualified preschooling educators.

Author: Suchita Sehni has contributed a lot in Child Education and Parenting. At present she is an active member of Education Hub.

Visit Education Hub India for Delhi Universities, Delhi schools and Delhi colleges.

Stop researching the subject and get started!  Starting a fish tank set up needn’t be difficult.  There is an enormous amount of information on the world wide web about setting up fish tanks and it can all seem a bit too much when you first start looking into it.  There are probably half a dozen things that you need to think about when you do your fish tank set up.  If you get those right, you’ll be able to learn the rest as you go along, so stop worrying, make some decisions and start enjoying your first fish tank.

Firstly, tempting as it may be to start with marine fish, I would advise against it.  The fish are a lot more expensive so any mistakes can be very costly.  Secondly, eighty percent of people who start the aquarium keeping hobby give up within twelve months.  With marine fish there a lot more to think about, more to learn and the cost of equipment is higher.  Make it easy on yourself and start with a freshwater tropical fish tank set up.

Why a tropical fish tank set up as opposed to a cold water fish tank set up, simply because it will give you a much wider choice of fish for virtually no extra effort.  First off select your aquarium.  Start with something between 20 and 40 gallons.  A great size for beginners, big enough to be interesting, small enough to be easy to look after.  When you’ve got the hang of it you can always but a bigger tank or get a second one.  make sure that you get an aquarium with a power filter that comes as standard.  (You need to|All you need to do is} make sure that it can pump five times the contents of the tank every hour, so if it’s a 20 gallon tank, it needs to pump 100 gallons per hour, if its a 40 gallon, then its 200 gallons per hour.  Simple maths but important.  If you have a pump that is too small your fish will die.

Think about where the tank is going to go.  Avoid direct sunlight is crucial and somewhere where you can enjoy it without rearranging the furniture too much.  Get it right first time.  Moving a full aquarium and stand is not an easy job and one that you should avoid whenever possible.  Every gallon weighs ten pounds!

Get an extra Heater.  If one fails your fish will still be OK.  It’s surprising how quickly a tank can cool down if the power goes off or a heater down.

Now, think about the fish which fish you want, don’t buy them but do think about what fish you want.  Is this going to be a species tank or a community tank.  I like community tanks simply because I like to see how the fish interact with each other.  Choose some top middle and bottom feeders to balance the tank.  Make sure that they all get on together.  A bit of research and planning will avoid potential problems later.  Most aquarium shops will advice on compatibility of fish.

I say think about the fish because that will effect the next two decisions.  Which substrate and plants.  Substrate is the gravel or sand that goes on the base of the tank.  If you go for fish that feed at the bottom of the tank the substrate needs to suit them as well as the plants.  Sand or Fine Gravel is recommended for bottom feeders.  Choose the easy to look after fish to start with. They tend to be cheaper and are more likely to survive if you make mistakes.

You’ll need enough Sand or Gravel to cover the bottom of the tank.  One and a half to two inches deep at the front of the tank sloping up to about four inches at the back for the larger plants.  Get some laterite that you can mix in with the bottom layer of substrate to help feed the plants.  You won’t need a lot.  Choose plants that don’t need extra light or carbon dioxide.  You can always move on to the harder to keep varieties later on if you get the bug.

Ok time to start.  Place the aquarium in its final position, set up all the equipment like lights filter etc. but don’t plug anything in yet.  Clean the tank with clean water.  Do not use soap or chemicals.  Wash your Gravel or sand until it runs clear.  Mix laterite with about a third of your substrate and spread it over the base of the tank.  Add the remainder of the substrate covering the base layer evenly and landscaping it as you want it.  Put a plate in the bottom of the tank and add your water pouring gently onto the plate to avoid disturbing the laterite.  Add your water conditioner to remove any chlorine.  Once the tank is full turn everything on and let it run until the water is up to temperature.  Now add your plants, putting the large ones at the back and leaving space for them to grow.

Now it is time for patience.  The biggest mistake that most people make with a fish tank set up it is not cycling the tank properly.  Your fish will be living in their own toilet.  Their waste together with any uneaten food will rot and create Ammonia which is poisonous to them.  So you need to allow the nitrogen cycle to establish fully before adding any fish.  There are several ways of speeding this up but I find the household ammonia method the quickest and easiest.

Once your tank is cycled it is safe to start adding fish and start enjoying them.  Fish tank set up completed and not too difficult!

If you found this article interesting and would like to know more about starting an aquarium check out my website at http://www.aquariumhintsandtips.com

Nick North is a keen freshwater aquarium enthusiast and spends a great deal of his time writing articles to promote the hobby to anyone interested in taking it up as a pastime. He has now got his own website aimed at the new aquarium enthusiast which gives lots of useful information on starting your first freshwater aquarium. If you found this article useful check out the site at: http://www.aquariumhintsandtips.com

The job of a childcare professional is not easy. Their job falls right behind a parents’ job. And the mere fact that a childcare professional is handling children who are ripe for learning and growth, they are in a very influential and powerful position. For these reasons, a childcare professional should be properly molded for the job. There are certain qualities and traits that a childcare professional should have.

First and most importantly of all, a childcare professional should have a friendly persona. Her demeanor should be, above anything else, approachable and cheerful. Everyone would probably agree that children somehow seem to be veers towards some people than most. There are people who also seem to have a natural ability to make children feel at ease and drawn to them. This trait is very important in a childcare professional. After all, you can’t take care of a child if he or she will start crying when you come near.

Yes, children do cry a lot. It is their way of expressing feelings. Children, at three to five, are already acutely aware of how they feel, and yet, they are not aware of how to conceal it and may not even know that they sometimes have to do so. Every time a negative emotion is triggered, you can expect them to start bawling. This is why a childcare professional should also have a quite long rope. The saying “patience is a virtue” can never apply perfectly to any other job the way it does to a childcare professional’s job. This is also especially needed for special cases where the children may have some special needs. Along with patience, if you are handling a roomful of kids, you also need the ability to keep your cool in a crisis, because you can be sure that one can easily arise. You should also be armed with creative techniques to get out of problematic situations, and to solve it despite the loud, earsplitting cries of the children.

And of course, this creativity should also carry over to when you need to think of fun and engaging activities for the children. The attention spans of children are quite bafflingly short, so childcare professionals should always come up with new and exciting activities always. And to keep up and join in on the activities, naturally, a childcare professional should be energetic as well.

Also, childcare professionals should have a deeper sense of understanding children, no matter how many children they face and how many situations they encounter. They should know how to listen to concerns, and should also be sensitive enough to detect a problem or concern. Since children are very vulnerable, the person whose responsibility it is to care for them should protect them and should be attuned to what they are going through. And as a childcare professional understands a child, she should also be able to discuss what she finds out with the parents. Parents do not have the same level of exposure when it comes to dealing with children, especially if they are new parents. Chances are that they know what the problem is, but they are clueless about what they should do. Childcare professionals who take the initiative to share concerns and suggestions to parents will definitely be much-appreciated and will be able to build a relationship with the parents.

Finally, a childcare professional should naturally be professional. He or she should be able to compartmentalize. Since it is expected that those in their position should be always at their feet, always look cheerful and happy, and always be enthusiastic, the childcare center is definitely not a place to bring personal problems to.

Although not everyone may have these traits and qualities at first, anyone can try out a childcare job. These traits can be eventually developed as the nursery worker goes along.

Are you in the market for Childcare Jobs? For more opportunities for Childcare Professionals, go to http://www.nurseryjobsonly.com/

One of the most common applications of embroidery is the customization of sports apparel such as adding logos or names to warm-up uniforms, gym bags, or similar items. When a team customizes their warm-ups or uniforms using embroidery, it creates a sense of unity and gives the team a sharper, more professional look. A significant percentage of customers who shop RobbinsSports.com for sports apparel want to have more than just a blank warm-up jacket or a plain duffle bag. To complete their décor, they know that signing their sportswear with their team’s logo is imperative. However, especially for those who have been given the charge of outfitting the team for the first time, the details of what’s involved in adding embroidery to their order are not clear. Here is some helpful information for understanding the process and the pricing for adding customized embroidery to your next sports apparel purchase.

Artwork

If you just want to add personalized names to the left chest of a jacket or to the side of a gym bag, you won’t have to worry much about artwork. However, if you need to have a logo (usually these are done as left chest or full back arrangements on jackets or placed on the side or end of a duffel bag) added to your sports apparel, you should come prepared with a digital copy of the logo you want to use. Most embroiderers charge an artwork fee for any significant changes they have to make to your logo to get it ready for digitizing (see below). If you want your embroiderer to start from scratch to create your logo, be prepared to pay about $100.00 or more, depending upon the complexity of the logo you want.

Digitizing

Digitizing involves transforming a digital image into a file that can be read and interpreted by an embroidery machine. Typical charges for this are about $10 per thousand stitches. So how do you know how many stitches your logo has in it until you get it digitized? Most digitizers can give you a pretty good estimate before they begin digitizing your logo. Getting an estimate on the cost of digitizing your logo will help you keep your expenses within the range you expect when you actually place the order.

After you have had a logo digitized, be sure to keep a copy of it on file for the organization you’re representing. Doing so will enable the team to avoid the digitizing expense when placing future orders. Digitizing can become expensive quickly, especially if you are only placing an order for a small number of uniforms, so it’s obviously best to try to avoid that overhead.

Pricing

Pricing with embroidery is most often done based upon the stitch count of your logo, which determines the time it takes for any particular embroidery machine to complete the logo. Usually embroiderers give price breaks according to the quantity you are ordering. Of course the pricing varies from one company to another. Here are some benchmarks. If you want to have a left chest logo put onto a typical windbreaker jacket and you are ordering twelve of them, you’ll likely pay about $5.00-$6.00 per embroidered logo for logos that are under 7,000 stitches. If you are ordering less than that quantity, you may find that your embroiderer charges a setup fee as well. Pricing beyond 7,000 stitches usually goes up on a per thousand basis. You can normally expect to pay an additional $0.50-0.60 per thousand stitches beyond 7,000.

For an order of hundreds of jackets compared to just ten or twelve, you should get a price break from your embroiderer. Most companies will go down to a threshold price (say for instance $3.00 per logo for a 7,000 stitch logo) based upon a certain quantity – say 200 articles. Beyond that number of embroidered logos, the pricing will stay the same no matter how many more you have done.

Lead Times

We find that many of our customers contact us in a rushed hurry, often times asking for miracles. Many times we are able to meet their demands. However, to be a preferred customer, it is best to allow one and a half to two weeks for your order to be embroidered and delivered. Most embroiderers don’t keep an inventory of all the products listed in their catalogs, so you need to plan a few extra days to have those shipped from the manufacturer to your embroiderer. Planning ahead can save you and your embroiderer a lot of headache and stress.

Richard Robbins is one of the owners of Robbins Sports, a retailer of sports apparel and accesories such as gym bags, sports uniforms, and warm-up outfits.

When most people hear the phrase “organizational politics,” they react very negatively. They see politics in the workplace as forming clicks and another way to keep those who go against the status quo labeled as an outsider. People also think that it’s a toxic dynamic that allows manipulative behaviors for people to get what they want by stepping on their co-workers’ backs. But not every instance of workplace politicking is a selfish maneuver to win.

The text “Building Great Teams: Charting the Path of Organizational Politics” (Book Surge, 2007) takes you inside one of the greatest team building organizations in the world, the United States Marine Corps, to examine and discover the strategies that business leaders must be willing to learn, use and employ for building ordinary groups into extraordinary teams; leading the right team of commandos who understand what it takes to win on the business battlefield and defeat workplace politics using warfare as the key to experience a significant win. The strategies within the text defines workplace and office politics as “the path to smart growth…using the power to accelerate the careers of high potential future leaders and teams power in the workplace.” It implies that office politics are not always negative, but offer opportunities for greatness. And while workplace politics aren’t necessarily avoidable, people can learn to understand their purpose, find their voice and understand how-to strengthen and build the teams dynamics and interpersonal communications skills – all while managing responsibilities with tact, poise, and polish.

The game of politics, when understood how-to use it as a strategic weapon, helps to successfully chart the path of personal and professional growth as the essential task to achieve personal mastery from the results of peak performance. Organizational politics also offers the hidden treasures that allow people to stand-out from the crowd. They learn to demonstrate their ability to navigate the maze of successful team building – a task that is viewed as positive organizational behavior from the individual that is perceived as an extraordinary leader. This is the type of person that others seek to follow and emulate for the greatness they wish to develop for themselves.

Workplace Politics vs. The Battlefield Engagement

Just as in any military engagement, in order to win one must know the rules better than his/her competitor to outsmart them on the battlefield. It also is beneficial to be a part of the right team for controlling the elements of the battlefront. However, some might claim the workplace and the military are very different in many ways. Thinking from this approach causes significant missteps in organizational politics. There are significant issues that are similar in the workplace and on a military battlefield. For starters, the one constant is “people.” Any time that people are involved in a scenario, decision-making must play a role in the ability to win. Using the strategies from the United States Marine Corps, people are responsible for making critical decisions from the highest ranking officer down to the lowest ranking enlisted – and the decision could mean life or death.

Well, the same goes for the workplace. People are responsible for making critical decisions that could mean that the organization acquires strategic assets (executive suite decisions) or that a customer is treated in a way that causes them to continue doing business with the organization. Both can be seen as life or death for the organization. As seen with Wachovia bank, a decision from the top level leadership was made to acquire Westgate Financial to boost their mortgage business. When the U.S. mortgage markets and industry imploded during the financial crisis, the organization was effected with incredible implications – it became the beginning of the end for one of the country’s largest banks and people lost careers and more. Similar to the likes of a military battlefield engagement and a series of wrong decisions made by leadership, loss of life was experienced.

But what most people fail to realize is that the workplace is too a battlefield. Business is warfare and those who understand how to navigate the politics always win. Consider the game of chess. Chess can be low-key and quiet, a friendly game between friends. Or it can be explosive and highly competitive, set amid a crowd of observers, where the ultimate winner reaps world-wide accolades. Consider the skill behind the game of chess. It requires well-planned strategy and a great deal of mental acuity and patience, not to mention years of practice to reach an elite status.

These are the same skills required by a great leader, one who has the ability to guide an organization and one who understands the world of workplace politics. On the other hand, while playing a game such as chess, there can only be a single winner where there often can be a more neutral outcome in the world of workplace politics. With the proper skills of negotiation and influence, savvy leadership might be able to create a win-win situation.

The Truth about Politics in the Workplace

Politics will always be part of an organization because people are people. The dynamic relationships of individuals who run a business enterprise play an important part in how the business operates: How the mission map, posture statements, vision, values and organizational culture is forged. And while the average Jane or Joe might feel like they are being run over by co-workers who manipulate the system, bully, gossip, backstab and brown nose to get what they want, there is more to workplace politics than those negative daily encounters. The quintessential aspect of organizational politics is the team. Building great teams’ hits at one of the most discussed topics in business media and the workplace: Organizational Behavior, transformational leadership, organizational renewal and inter-office politics. The day of the individual worker is over, as today’s business arena demands that workers possess the ability to effectively work as team units that consistently produce extraordinary outcomes from their performance. It is a scenario all top leaders and managers knows well: The organization, their people, and their systems all require efficient and effective processes to remain constant in its approach to move quickly toward new and innovative ways of reaching mission-critical objectives.

Good leaders are a thing of the past, as global economies now require more than good – they seek greatness and ordinary just does not fit the bill any longer. They now require the ordinary to be “extraordinary.” The new battlefield in the workplace requires the extraordinary leaders’ understanding of workplace politics and the accompanying landscape to be significant. They can no longer work in the old silos of the past that was developed by the silly political conflicts. No, these extraordinary leaders can no longer exhibit the behaviors that ultimately invite disaster. This is not to say that leaders of the past demonstrated the behaviors that put-up with negative politics that caused disastrous outcomes nor does it imply every good leader has found his/her way to the top of the heap by climbing over the bodies of crushed co-workers. It simply means that leadership understands workplace politics well enough to use them as “strategic weapons” to produce positive returns without the mud slinging and backsliding of unethical and immoral actions.

Understanding how-to chart the path of organizational politics means being able to maneuver using political warfare to enhance the organization’s ability to rise to the top of its industry, without leaving one of its warriors lying wounded on the battlefield. It means having a well crafted Battleplan, understanding the players, building positive alliances and coalition of forces, using the art of war as a significant warfighting strategy that all stakeholders understand and buy-in to for winning, and finally, developing a compelling case study for the associates of the organization to understand the comprehensive approach for integrating strategic human capital and team development initiatives into the fold.

Convert Uniqueness into Ultimate Power

The best leaders are the people that understand the nature of warfare in dealing with and overcoming workplace politics. These are the men and women who have a tone on the pulse of the workplace – internal and external – and know what it takes to remain on task “ethically” to lead others into greatness. Here are five important things to know about politically savvy leaders:

° They understand the critical importance of the team associates to be “LeaderShaped” into

GREATNESS. They understand the “what” and “how” in developing a GREAT team.

° They make decisive decisions for the benefit of the Future Picture

° They understand the “culture” in the system that the team must influence.

° They know what it take to strategically “execute” and win as a team.

° They know how-to use the “Six Political Signs of Business Leadership” to achieve

professional mastery to the people and organization:

1. a clear “Vision” of issues.

2. Understand the “Value” drivers within the team.

3. “Behavioral” influence of leadership to the Future Picture.

4. “Strategy” Modeling (Enterprise Decision Making).

5. Strategic “Execution” (Governance).

6. “Duplication of Protocol” (learnable-teachable methods for future engagements).

Engaging the battlefield that is influenced by workplace politics, for many, may mean asserting their power, pushing and shoving like the elementary school bully until they get what they want. But that’s really just the toxic behavior and conduct that eliminates the possibilities for leadership and the organization they influence to win. One of the best ways to lose power is to overtly use it. Instead, the best leaders know that power comes from influence – and influence is subjective to behavior, character and the value system that drives the people responsible for charting the pathway.

In the text, the author also outlines how, in most cases, team leaders never hit their goals – not because they lack talent within the associate ranks, but because they are naïve to the complexities of team dynamics. The author outlines the strategic-execution methods that smart leaders understand and use to determine what type of team model best suits their specific environment, what key skills to look for (and which to avoid), and how to coax top performances from everyone starting from day one.

Author Robert Dilenschneider explains in his book, “Power and Influence: The Rules Have Changed”: True power and influence means accepting responsibility, taking the heat and keeping your word. So even if someone supports the supposition that leadership is just another way of playing political games, it doesn’t necessarily mean this is a bad thing. When properly played, workplace politics can lead to great achievements and outcomes. Pitts believes that extraordinary teams that are great engage politics well. They are LeaderShaped and driven by extraordinary people who make a distinctive impact – they deliver significant and superior performance over a long period of time. There are some striking characteristics of great teams who achieve sustained success within their mission across its life cycle. They experience an increased level of professional mastery in developing and executing as great teams do. These teams have gone through a process; a process that is forged in a furnace of professional development, transformational thinking, and strategic-execution.

Workplace politics, good or evil, are a very real part of the work environment. Whether people subscribe to the belief that leadership is just another way of engaging the political battlefield or not, it is important to keep in mind that as long as there are people working together as great teams do, there will be politics, but the outcomes will be far different from the results of the past. Great teams are the way to successfully engage the battlefield – greatness from the team is how to engage politics well and win it using fair tactics.

For additional information on using the strategies, please contact Solutions@thebisongroup.com.

Do you choose canned food or dry food? What brand? There are so many different brands, all shapes and sizes of pet food to choose from and pet owners are provided with very little information to base your decisions on (other than advertising) – it can get so confusing! Well, buckle your seatbelt depending on how much you know of the pet food industry, this could be a bumpy ride! You are about to learn seven secrets – well kept secrets – of pet food. Sit back, brace yourself, and keep reading.

Beneful says it’s ‘Premium Dog Food for a Happy, Healthy Dog’ and sells for around $18.00 for a 31 lb. bag, Science Diet “promises” ‘precisely balanced nutrition through continuous research and the highest quality food backed by your Vets endorsement’ and sells for around $21.00 for only a 20 lb bag. Then there are numerous pet foods that make the very same statements – ‘Premium Dog Food, Highest Quality’ – that sell for $30.00 or more for a 20 lb bag. And the same holds true for cat owners…Do you choose Whiskas that states ‘Everything we do is about making cats happy!’ or do you choose one of those high end cat foods that make the very same claim of a happy, healthy cat but cost 3 times as much?

Now with the on-going pet food recall pet owners have questions such as ‘Has this food been recalled?’ or ‘Is this food the next one to be recalled?’…’Is my pet safe?’ Wow this is confusing! And scary too! What exactly is a pet owner to do? How about learning a few secrets! Equipped with the knowledge of a few secrets of pet food, it’s not nearly as confusing.

Secret #1…

All pet foods use descriptive words like choice and premium, though few of them actually use premium or choice ingredients in their food. The ‘secret’ is that per the rules of the pet food industry, no pet food can make any claims or references on their label or advertising as to the quality or grade of ingredients. You see, the word ‘premium’ when it’s related to pet food DOES NOT mean that the ingredients in the food are premium. With pet foods, premium does not (can not) describe the food nor does it (can it) describe the quality of the food. It is a marketing term and that is all. Per the pet food industries own rules and regulations, “There are no references to ingredient quality or grade” (regulation PF5 d 3). So, words like premium, or choice, or quality are just marketing or sales terms. They should not be interpreted as terms describing the quality of the food.

Now why wouldn’t a pet food label be allowed to tell a prospective customer the quality of their ingredients? Doesn’t a pet owner deserve to know what they are buying? This leads me to the next secret…

Secret#2…

If I can compare ‘people’ food to pet food for just a second, we all know there are different qualities of people food. There is White Castle (I’m guilty here, I love the little guys!) and there is Outback Steak House (another favorite). Both restaurants serve meat and potatoes. At White Castle for under $3.00 you can get a couple of hamburgers and an order of fries. While at Outback you can get a steak and baked potato for around $16.00. Both serve beef and potato – yet you already realize that there are huge nutritional differences between a fast food hamburger and a steak…right?

The problem in the pet food industry – is that most pet owners don’t think in the same terms when it comes to pet food. They don’t think in terms that there are fast food types of pet foods and there are sit down restaurant more nutritious types of pet foods. In fact, several years ago a young man tried this very experiment with his own diet – eating nothing but fast food for 30 days. In just one month of eating fast food three meals a day, he gained a great deal of weight, blood pressure and cholesterol levels sky-rocketed. Now, imagine your pet eating this type of food its’ entire lifetime.

OK, so back to our two meals…if a chemical analysis of your meal at White Castle was compared to a chemical analysis of your meal at Outback – both would analyze with a percentage of protein, carbohydrates, and fat. Regardless whether you consider a steak at Outback a higher quality of protein than the burger – it would still analyze as protein. The analysis doesn’t measure quality of protein.

So here is the secret…All pet foods come with a Guaranteed Analysis stating the percentage of protein, fat, fiber and moisture in the food. The REAL secret lies in the quality of the percentages of protein, fat, and so on.

In a chemical analysis of a pet food – chicken feet would analyze as protein, although granted it provides very little nutrition. And as well, a cow that was euthanized (put to sleep) because of a disease that made it unfit for human consumption – would analyze as protein although that could be considered dangerous for consumption. Both of those things – chicken feet and a euthanized cow – are allowable ingredients and commonly used in pet food. You see the secret within the pet food industry is manufacturers have a WIDE OPEN door to where they obtain their ingredients. The only strict rule they must follow is an adult dog food must analyze with 18% protein and an adult cat food must analyze with 26% protein. Sources to acquire those particular percentages range from a ‘human grade’ meat, to chicken feet, to euthanized animals, to grain proteins, to even man made chemical proteins and many variations in between.

Pet food labels do not have to tell – are not allowed to tell – the sources they use to obtain that required 18% or 26% protein. And to make matters worse…quality minded pet food manufacturers – the companies that use 100% human grade ingredients – are not allowed to tell customers or potential customers that their products are quality, human grade ingredients.

So how can you know if your pet’s food uses chicken feet or euthanized cows or if it contains human grade ingredients?

Secret #3…

If the words premium and choice mean basically nothing with regards to the quality of pet food, and if some pet foods use chicken feet and euthanized animals in their food – how can a pet owner know what they are getting in their pets’ food?

This big secret is found in ingredient definitions. Unlike ‘people’ food where you can pretty much look at the food to determine the quality, pet food is far different. All ‘people’ food must meet particular USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) guidelines. The same is not true for pet food. Chicken feet and euthanized cows are NOT allowed in people food for obvious reasons – they have no nutritional value or they could be dangerous to consume. The same is NOT true for pet food. The only way to know if those chicken feet or euthanized cows are in your pet’s food is to know what ingredients they can be used in.

The common pet food ingredient ‘Meat and Bone Meal’ is basically a combination of many different discarded left-overs from the human food industry. Components of ‘meat and bone meal’ can be anything from cow heads, stomachs, and intestines, to (horrifying but true) euthanized animals including cows, horses and dogs and cats from veterinarian offices, animal shelters, and farms. And along with those euthanized animals the pet food also contains the drug pentabarbitol that was used to euthanize the animal. ‘Meat and bone meal’ can also contain left-over restaurant grease, and diseased (including cancerous) meat tissues cut away from slaughtered animals. In other words, this commonly used ingredient is a mix of highly inferior and potentially dangerous left-overs from the human food industry.

The pet food ingredient ‘Meat By-Product’ or ‘Meat By-Product Meal’ is pretty much the same thing as ‘meat and bone meal’. It is a highly inferior pet food ingredient containing literally who-knows-what.

Another similar ingredient to the above is ‘Animal Digest’.

As to the chicken feet I mentioned earlier – this item can be found in the ingredients ‘Chicken By-Product’ or ‘Poultry By-Product’ or ‘Chicken By-Product Meal’ or ‘Poultry By-Product Meal’. Any left-overs in the chicken or poultry division – including but not limited to chicken feet, skin including some feathers, chicken or poultry heads, and intestines are found in these ingredients. It does NOT matter as to the health of the bird – sick, healthy, dead, dying…all is included in these ingredients.

So here is what you need to do…BEFORE you purchase any pet food, flip the bag over and closely examine the list of ingredients. The above mentioned ingredients would be listed within the first five or ten ingredients. If you see ANY of those ingredients – it is my suggestion to NOT purchase that food. Remember – chicken feet and euthanized animals do analyze as protein. That is all that is required in pet food – just the correct analysis.

Another little trick some pet food manufacturers use in this category is using grains and chemical additives to grain products to boost the protein percentages. Which is exactly the cause of the pet food recall that began in March 2007 – chemical proteins. Two different chemical additives – that have NO nutritional value to pets, but that analyzed as protein – were added to a grain product (wheat gluten, corn gluten, or rice gluten) solely to provide a cheap protein. Thousands of pets died and countless others became ill because no one counted on the problem of the combination of these two chemicals would cause kidney and urinary blockage. Again, their secret is the product has to analyze as having a particular amount of protein – no one is required to provide a quality meat protein.

While you are looking at the ingredient listing – you should also take note of how many grains (corn, wheat, rice) and/or how many grain products (corn gluten, whole corn, ground corn, whole wheat, ground wheat, wheat gluten, rice, brown rice, brewers rice, soy, and on and on) are listed within the first five or so ingredients. If you find more than one grain listed in the first five ingredients – that is telling you this pet food is acquiring some of its protein from grains.

Why is protein obtained from grains important for you to know? Several reasons – first off science proves that cats and dogs alike require and thrive on a meat protein. If a pet food is obtaining protein from grain sources, the pet is not getting the meat that it needs to thrive. Second, if the grain products are a corn gluten, wheat gluten, or rice gluten you take the risk of chemicals such as melamime added to it used strictly to boost the protein analysis. By the way, melamime is one of the chemicals found to be the cause of the March 2007 pet food recall. And there is one more concern with grains – aflatoxin. Aflatoxin is a deadly mold that is common to corn, wheat, and soy and it’s responsible for several other pet food recalls you probably never heard about. In December 2005, Diamond Pet Food contained moldy grains that killed over 100 pets before the product was recalled – all due to aflatoxin.

It is my recommendation to avoid any pet food that contains corn, wheat, or soy in ANY variation. The risk is simply too high.

Secret #4…

I’ve got more suggestions for you to look for in the ingredient listings…chemical preservatives. A very well kept secret of the pet food industry is their common use of chemical preservatives. BHA/BHT are very popular chemical preservatives used in pet food and science has linked them to tumors and cancer. Another common preservative is ethoxyquin which has known risks to cancer. Ethoxyquin is ONLY allowed in human food in some spices because of the very tiny proportions. However it is allowed in much higher proportions in pet food.

If you scan the ingredient listings, you will be looking for BHA/BHT and ethoxyquin listed anywhere. Commonly BHA/BHT is used to preserve the fat in the food which usually is found higher on the list. And also look for any of these chemicals towards the end of the ingredient listing. Personally, I wouldn’t touch a pet food that contained these chemical preservatives. You want a pet food that is preserved naturally – common natural preservatives are ‘natural mixed tocopherols’ or ‘vitamin E’.

Secret #5…

The very best food to provide to your pet is a well made food using human grade ingredients. That should be simple enough…How do you find that? You already know that pet food manufacturers are NOT allowed to make any statement as to quality or grade of ingredients, the only way you can find out the grade or quality of your pets’ food is to call the manufacturer and ask them.

Now, let’s say you call the ABC pet food company and ask the question “Is your Premium dog food and Premium cat food made using human grade ingredients?” It could be that you get the response yes, we use human grade ingredients – when actually only a couple of ingredients are human grade. Here’s the trick to asking…ask them if they are APHIS European certified.

Pet food manufacturers that are APHIS European certified assures you that ALL ingredients in their pet food are human grade. APHIS – Animal Plant Health Inspection Services – is a division of the USDA. APHIS European certification provides this pet food manufacturer with the opportunity to ship their foods/treats to Europe. When importing pet foods from the US, European countries demand that all ingredients are human grade and thus require this certification. Most pet food manufacturers that have APHIS European certification do not ship their products to Europe – they simply use this as a means to assure their customers to the higher quality of their ingredients.

Again, you WON’T see this listed on the label – it’s not allowed. You must call the manufacturer and ask. Often times the representative of the pet food won’t even know what you are talking about when you ask about APHIS certification – if that’s the case, you can assume they are not APHIS European certified. APHIS European certification is a bonus to pet owners – it is not required or even suggested that any pet food manufacturer go through the extra steps to obtain this. This is a special effort some pet foods go through to tell their customers they REALLY CARE about the quality of their products. Personally, I would NOT buy a pet food that doesn’t have it.

And by the way, if you can’t reach the pet food manufacturer, or they do not return your call within a short time frame, lose their number! Any company that does not place a priority on answering customers questions – doesn’t deserve your business!

Secret #6…

Minerals are a required ingredient in human diets as well as diets for our pets. Copper, Iron and Zinc are common minerals found in pet foods. Just as they are – copper, iron, and zinc are basically rocks, very difficult for anyone or any pet to utilize. Science has developed several ways to introduce minerals into the body (human and pet) for better absorption thus benefiting the individual far more. This scientific development is called chelating or proteinating and it’s been around for years. Through the chelating or proteinating process minerals are absorbed about 60% better than just the minerals alone.

This secret is spotting the minerals in your pet food to see if they are chelated or proteinated. Notice the minerals on your pet food label, way down on the list of ingredients. You are looking for minerals that read ‘copper proteinate’ or ‘chelated copper’. If you see just the mineral listed, your pet is sort of like Charlie Brown at Halloween saying ‘I got a rock’. If you want your pet to have the best, chelated or proteinated minerals are part of the best foods!

Secret #7…

This secret is called ‘friendly bacteria’. Although ‘friendly bacteria’ sounds a little scary, the reason for it lies in your pets’ intestinal system. A large portion of your pets’ immune system is found within the intestinal system. Keeping the immune system healthy helps to keep the animal itself healthy. This friendly bacteria is similar to what’s found in yogurt, however in pet food it is introduced in a fashion so that the cooking process doesn’t destroy it. Looking at the fine print on your pet food label, this time you are looking for lengthy, scientific words like Lactobacillus Acidophilus or Bifidobacterium Thermophilum. If you do NOT see these words or some very similar, that pet food is not addressing the care of your pets’ immune system. And again, if you want your pet to have the best, you want ‘friendly bacteria’ in their food.

There are your seven very secrets to help you find the absolute healthiest and best pet food for your four-legged friend. Armed with those secrets – you now have the knowledge to find your pet the best food possible! A pet food that can extend their life and prevent early aging and disease. If you don’t want to bother doing the homework involved, I urge you to subscribe to my monthly magazine Petsumer Report(TM). Through Petsumer Report(TM) I’ve done all the homework for you – each month I review and rate over 40 different pet foods, treats, toys, and various other pet supplies. It’s the ONLY publication of its’ kind providing pet owners with the information they need to know regarding their pet product purchases.

I want to share just a couple more things…

It’s best to feed an adult dog or adult cat two meals a day. The nutrition they consume with two meals is better utilized than with just one meal a day. If you are currently feeding your pet one meal a day, split that same amount into two meals and feed in the AM and PM.

You should know that all canned or moist pet foods are anywhere between 70% to 85% moisture. This means that 70% to 85% of that can or pouch of food is useless nutrition – its water. Granted our pets need water, cats especially tend not to drink enough water. But since all canned or moist foods are mostly water, they do not provide adequate nutrition to be fed strictly a canned or moist diet. Use a canned or moist product to supplement your pet’s diet – not as the only food.

The best pet foods are preserved naturally (secret #4) – but there is a concern with naturally preserved pet foods…freshness. Take notice of the expiration date on your pets food label – typically with naturally preserved dry pet foods (not as much of a concern with soft foods because of canning – very little need of preservatives) the expiration date is one year to 18 months from the date it was manufactured. Let’s say the pet food you are considering to purchase on July 1, 2007 has a ‘Best if Used by’ date of January 1, 2008. This would tell you that this particular bag of pet food is already 6 months old. While it is still ‘good’ a fresher food – a bag that is only 2 or 3 months old – is better. Naturally preserved pet foods lose nutritional potency with time. Always try to find a very fresh bag.

If you are considering changing your pets food, ALWAYS consult with your Veterinarian first. You should always keep your veterinarian advised of any changes you make with your pet. Don’t take chances. And if you do switch pet food, make the change over very slowly. I always recommend to pet owners ¼ new food to ¾ old food for 4 to 7 days, ½ to ½ for another 4 to 7 days, and so on. Switching food quickly can cause intestinal disorder! Its short term, but we don’t want intestinal disorder!!!

One last thing, as you are already aware dogs and cats have a far better sense of smell than humans. Their food bowl can be a wealth of smells – both good and bad. Some times a pet will refuse to eat simply because he or she smells a previous food in their bowl. Plastic food and water bowls retain odors the worst. And surprisingly so does stainless steel bowls. The best type of food and water bowl is a ceramic one. They retain odors the least.

“Animals are such agreeable friends – they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.” George Eliot.

I completely agree!

Susan Thixton has worked in the pet industry for over 20 years helping thousands of pet owners to enjoy their pets. She’s produced an internationally distributed dog training video, authored the tell all book Truth About Pet Food, and recently has begun publication of a one-of-a-kind pet owning consumer report Petsumer Report. For more information please visit http://www.TruthAboutPetFood.com
Susan Thixton
Pet Behavior and Nutrition Consultant
Truth About Pet Food
Petsumer Report™
http://www.TruthAboutPetFood.com

In the automotive employment market there are still very attractive job opportunities available all over the world. So if you are in the automotive employment market and want to make a change there are still a lot of opportunities all over the world.

In this modern world there do exist a massive shortage highly skilled automotive technicians all over the world. So if you are a highly skilled auto technician you can choose where you want to work in the world.

By just applying on one of the many automotive recruitment companies web pages, and they will search a job opportunity for you any place in the world. The fact is that a lot of emerging automotive markets have opened up in reasoned years, due to the power shift in the automotive industry.

This automotive employment market is going to become even bigger in the future as all new type of cars is going to hit the market. Like all the “EV” cars that are still in the prototype phase. All these cars will have new technology implemented into them, so new personnel must be trained to work on them in the future.

This will bring a paradigm shift into this automotive employment market, even the training methods and the skill sets that must be trained have to change in the very near future.

This will cause the manufacturers to start running extensive training and develop programs, to have highly skilled technicians to assist them to establish their brand. There will be coming new brands and brand name into the playing field and these brands will need to still build their names in the market place.

To build a brand name you need a powerful after sales service you can assist your customers with. This alone will create a new automotive employment market to the auto industry; just imagine an electronic or chemical engineer working at your local car dealership.

It may sound farfetched but it is possible as the cars in the future will be driven with power plants like fuel cells, hydrogen emission and electric motors. All of this is going to come to the market place in this modern world sooner than most of us do realize. So the predictions are that a big portion of the existing automotive workforce will leave.

They will leave this workforce as they are from the old school with old school principles that will become extinct with this new technology. The human tendencies are that you will stay ignorant if you become a member of the old school club. This only happens as the older people were conditioned that they can only learn something up to a certain age. All of us know this is not true but the system wants them to leave as it is harder to change and old horse to get rid of his or her habits

The system was created to develop a group of slaves that would be easier to condition, into what this slave system needs and not what the workers needs. That is one of the reasons why the older leading hands in the automotive employment market gets removed or retrenched. The general modern business conceptions are that older people are resisters to modern business, as they don’t want to change.

If all this highly skilled people are removed in the future the whole automotive industry will suffer a massive skills and brain lost that could have passed on to the younger people. Findings are that most of this older people in the automotive industry don’t want to share their knowledge and skills anymore, because they don’t see themselves as resistors for future development in the automotive industry.

So the automotive employment market will suffer great losses in the near future, due to this phenomenon.

About The Author

Rocco van Rooyen is an Author on Automotive Solutions. As an Entrepreneur and Author on the subject, he is at the forefront to provide solutions to all automotive related problems.

For more articles (or training) on Automotive employment or to get your FREE Mini Course to How to manage your Automotive Solutions go to http://automotivesolutionsforall.com.

WHAT ARE “UNTAPPED PROSPECTS?


Untapped prospects are a) accounts and sites with the same characteristics as your best customers, but are not in your marketing database, and are therefore invisible to you, and

b) unidentified key player contacts within accounts and sites

you are already targeting who are in the decision-making group for your product or service. These contacts are especially

significant, because they represent a segment of your market you may now believe is visible to you but in fact, is not.

HOW THE STAUTS QUO CREATES BLIND SPOTS


Many marketing and sales techniques in use today practically assure that your company is overlooking major parts of

your available market, missing viable prospects in the part of

the market you are actively targeting.

DATABASE BUILDING BY DRIVE-BY


Sales people, including those that work for channel companies, generally build market knowledge through referrals and drive-bys. A “drive-by” is a situation in which a sales person

is on their way to an appointment and notices a large building

with an impressive logo and thinks, “They must buy what I sell somewhere in there.” The sales person adds the company name to a list of cold-call accounts. When business is slow, they might pull out that list of cold call accounts. Sales management works diligently to keep sales people from spending any time on untested accounts, and that is an absolutely correct posture for them to assume. Ideally, it is a salesperson’s job to close deals, not find and cultivate new opportunities.

RELYING ON LISTS


Rented lists are one of the most common ways that marketing tries to build market knowledge and generate leads on behalf of sales. Have you ever taken the time to look at those lists? Massini Group has, and what we see is not encouraging. We’ve found that even list sources with relatively strict selection criteria can be 50% or more off target from how they were described. If you doubt this, look at the list of respondents

to your latest email or direct mail using rented lists. In one particular case, an enterprise software company found 53%

to 76% of its respondents were “off target”. In another, a

storage systems company found that eight in nine of the respondents was “off target” even though selection criteria were very strict and the source deemed credible. Worse

yet, you have absolutely no leverage to push list owners to develop contacts at accounts that are not presently in their list.

Another appealing source of information to tackle the problem of gaps in market visibility is a commercially compiled list or database. However, like rented data, in and of themselves they are not comprehensive.

A computer hardware company that uses a major provider of IT-installed base data recently estimated that the source had detailed information for just one third of its market.

COMMERCIAL DATA SOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO YOUR COMPETITION TOO


Also remember that your competition has access to the same commercially available sources. And so does every other company that is marketing and selling any product even remotely similar to yours. This translates to a massive amount of competition for mindshare among the unfortunate individuals whose names appear in those databases.

“AUTOMATING THE PROBLEM” WITH CRM AND SFA


A growing number of companies are investing in CRM or SFA solutions with the expectation that they will improve marketing and sales operations. Unfortunately, these tools generally

only increase the velocity of the status quo. If no specific effort is made to change the culture, improve the methodology

or advance the science of market penetration, then a system

to automate the processes will not help–it will only automate and accelerate a flawed and ineffective process.

In our experience, these tools take significant time to implement and are initially focused on late-stage pipeline accounts and customers, thereby providing no assistance at all to individuals trying to grow their business, generate leads, or meet aggressive sales targets beyond the installed base.

SHEER NUMBERS ARE NOT ENOUGH

No single source of market information can assure you

comprehensive market visibility, coverage and penetration.

But even a variety of sources of accounts, profiles, attributes

and contacts do not necessarily solve the problem. If all of

the sources that you acquire essentially offer overlapping

views of the market, you have not gained a thing, except maybe a false sense of security. For instance, having 100 contacts

at one account and none at 99 other accounts is not helpful.

In another scenario, having detailed knowledge of 10% of

the installed base of a complementary product is necessary,

but not sufficient.

The key is to develop a single data set built from multiple sources, and then develop metrics that illuminate the gaps, both in terms of overall scope and of depth of knowledge. This is an on-going process, and additional sources should be reviewed and added as they become available. The biggest returns are realized as gaps are filled and marketing and sales efforts are directed at the newly discovered accounts and untapped prospects.

FINDING BETTER POINTS OF ENTRY


Tired of fighting to get past gatekeepers? Wouldn’t it be better for you to locate a different individual within the same target company that is not constantly subjected to such a barrage? The response rates that most email, direct mail and telemarketing generate might suggest so. Massini Group definitely believes so. This is not to say such sources of information are not useful. Use them to clarify your vision of the available market, but seek a more fruitful path of entry into the target company.

Most sales process training available today makes it a point

to differentiate between the individual within your target

company that can make the decision and those that prepare

the decision maker to do so. Called the point of entry, or

point of receptivity, this individual lives every day with the pain that you seek to remedy.

Depending on the industry, this individual is probably not

someone whose name appears in SEC filings. But they are

the key to your ability to get your foot in the door. They can identify all of the players in the process and provide your

sales people with the internal intelligence needed to advance the process. Your challenge is to find them. This is where

alternative sources and data gathering techniques should

be used to fill in the gaps left by commercially available

sources of information. For example, by first seeking the

individual with operational responsibility for the solution they were offering, a data warehousing company increased its appointment-setting rate five times over, making it possible

to utilize a face-to-face, scheduled meeting to get past the

CIO’s phalanx of gatekeepers.

INCREASING MARKET VISABILITY: THE MASTER TARGET SITE LIST


The key to successful market penetration lies in exposing untapped prospects by improving the quality of the data

upon which you base your programs. This is not accomplished simply by “buying a better list.” It is done by qualifying existing data, verifying it, identifying and filling in the gaps, and engineering an improved system that allows you to continually improve and augment the data throughout the sales cycle–all while furnishing your sales force with higher-quality, on target leads. The result is greater market visibility in the form of a Master Target Site List that accurately represents your full potential market.

Creating a Master Target Site List is a process, not an event. If your current marketing practices are based on sales-force or third-party data sources, the steps are straightforward:

o Build a comprehensive list of members (sites) in each market segment.

o Assign a value to each member that is shared by sales and marketing.

o Identify and quantify additional information gaps (e.g., incomplete data in title field).

o Methodically gather data to fill the gaps.

o Maximize the value of new visibility to untapped prospects by aggressively communicating to those companies and individuals.

Once developed, the Master Target Site List provides the following critical benefits:

o Guarantees the list contains only those companies your sales force agrees are valuable. Therefore, any time or money spent to develop a lead or sale will be on target in terms of company/site.

o Guarantees you are seeing the entire list of companies or

sites within a given geography that correspond to your target

market criteria. Thus your untapped prospects are minimized, and you are calling on a much greater percentage of the overall market. Each lead will be truly incremental to the current sales force funnel.

o By knowing your entire universe through your Master Target Site List, you are taking a critical step toward being able

to market efficiently and effectively, and in alignment with

the needs and expectations of your sales force.

o Sales force resources are not wasted qualifying leads;

the sales force can concentrate on converting quality leads into sales.

The payoff potential is enormous in terms of the efficiency and

effectiveness of marketing operations, alignment between

marketing and sales, and the ability to rapidly sequence actions based on an objective understanding of the gaps in your

knowledge base.

PROOF: MASTER TARGET SITE LIST = BETTER RESULTS

Example #1: Fortune 1000 Storage Company

ASSIGNMENT: This company was seeking to substantially

increase penetration of their storage products among the

4,000 largest hospitals in the U.S.

MEASURE: Gain initial responses from qualified targets in order to initiate a marketing dialogue.

KEY STRATEGY: Compare traditional direct marketing with the Master Target Site List approach while gaining initial responses. The incumbent approach involved use of direct mail targeted using rented lists. The rented lists had exactly the selection criteria they wanted and were generally known to be the best sources available. The direct mail seemingly produced good results, generating a 4.5% response in a market generally known to produce only 0.5% response. However, of the 450 responses, only 100 actually hit the target list of 4,000. The remaining responses were from a) hospitals that were too small, or b) allied industries (companies selling products to hospitals). Of the 100 in the target list, 50 were from hospitals with previous sales processes underway and thus did not present new sales leads. This left only 50 new hospitals that would be considered “good” prospects for the sales force. Thus, the “successful” direct mail program really only generated that same anemic 0.5% response the market “expects.”

ENGINEERED PROCESSES: Using the Master Target Site

List approach to achieve the same objective, the company purchased an unlimited-use list of contact names and cross-

indexed them with the target 4,000 hospitals. There were

2,500 of the contact names that connected to the target

hospitals. The remaining names, those not on the target list, were discarded for a lack of fit (prior to any further investment by marketing or sales). A telemarketing effort was directed at the 2,500 names, and 900 offers were accepted, representing 600 of the target 4,000 hospitals. All 600 sites were in the Master Target Site List of 4,000 hospitals and none of them had a prior sales force relationship (both of those factors were confirmed prior to the telemarketing effort).

RESULTS: The Master Target Site List approach resulted in

12 times the number of accepted offers by qualified prospects, compared to the previous direct marketing approach.

To further emphasize the value of the Master Target Site List

approach, the cost of the rented list approach was three times the cost of the Master Target Site List of 4,000; therefore, the overall benefit of the target universe base approach in terms of cost-per-outcome was 36 times better than the standard approach.

The tremendous improvement experienced by this company exemplifies the rationale for using the Master Target Site List approach. If you allocate some of your marketing funds to developing and maintaining the complete target universe, your marketing programs will perform better in terms of achieving sales goals, and will easily pay for themselves.

Further Proof: Fortune 500 Computer Company


ASSIGNMENT: A leading direct-sales computer manufacturer had been given aggressive new objectives for the expansion of PC and server sales in several markets: K-12; higher education; state, local and federal government; and healthcare. This

directive came on the heels of this business unit having achieved only 91% of their revenue objective in the previous fiscal year. Massini Group helped their marketing team discover

untapped prospects–the set of prospective customers who were currently not being engaged by their direct sales force. The challenge was to first identify these customers, then form

viable relationships with them, and bring them all the way through the sales process–into the company’s online store

to purchase products.

MEASURE: To meet or exceed sales goals by growing the revenue from the small/midsize segments in excess of targeted levels.

KEY STRATEGY: Rapidly increasing visibility to untapped

prospects through the use of Master Target Site Lists focused on each key market segment.

ENGINEERED PROCESSES: Overall, the company needed to gain control of their complex sales process, and Massini Group teams worked with them to accomplish this goal. A four-phase, end-to-end marketing and sales funnel program was implemented, based on the Massini Group’s Dialogue Strategy.

1. Created Master Target Site Lists (master list of target sites), starting with an extensive analysis of the business unit’s existing sales database. This process confirmed 69%

of their target sites were untapped opportunities–target sites and contacts with which they had not established a measurable relationship.

2. Identified key decision-makers at a much higher

percentage of the Target Sites, using telemarketing assets

(the idea is not to use inside sales resources to create your

Master Target Site List, but to use them later to exploit it).

3. Secured email opt-ins among known decision-makers, by using a combination of telemarketing, direct mail and

email, supported by a Web-based resource center.

4. Followed-up the opt-ins with aggressive e-marketing,

to either cause interested prospects to visit the online store,

or motivate the prospect to establish a relationship with an account manager for near-term sales.

RESULTS: Since the Dialogue Strategy methodology was

implemented in mid-2001, our client has increased their

coverage of targeted sites to 100%, and their

contact coverage (identification of at least one decision-maker at a target site) from 31% to 88%.

Additionally, they converted high percentages of their untapped prospects into partially and fully engaged relationships* with target accounts over the six measured quarters. A significant percentage of those relationships converted into business, and their all-important revenue performance ballooned to over

130% of target.

CONCLUSION


Many companies are experiencing underwhelming sales figures because their database marketing programs only effectively target and sell to one third of their market potential. The remaining untapped prospects must be identified, targeted

and cultivated to produce the sales figures necessary to keep companies competitive.

Developing a Master Target Site List, which includes previously unidentified accounts and sites, and previously unidentified key players, is the key to:

o Increasing market visibility.

o Developing programs that yield a greater number of higher quality leads than traditional marketing and sales-funnel strategies.

This is true whether companies depend on ad hoc sales,

drive-bys, rented lists, internally developed marketing lists,

or automated sales-funnel systems. Combined with the

Massini Group Dialogue Strategy, the Master Target Site List

methodology enables strong ROI, and sales growth superior–by orders of magnitude–to other industry practices.

The net result of this engineered approach is greater market visibility, increased operational efficiency, improved alignment and relations between marketing and sales, and clear action directed by concrete gap analysis.

ABOUT MASSINI GROUP
Massini Group is a full-service Business-to-Business database and relationship marketing firm specializing in complex marketing and sales processes. The company enables clients to gain control of complex marketing processes through the development and improvement of key marketing methods. “Engineered processes” developed by Massini Group can dramatically improve the results of database marketing initiatives, in both implementation time and execution. Massini Group has a proven track record of significantly improving sales results for its clients.

To learn more about how Massini Group helps companies engineer marketing and sales processes for maximum results, visit massini-group.com, or contact Sarah Harrington (503-274-7335) to schedule an introductory meeting with a Massini Group partner.

Most of the lesser complex animals, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, and reptiles probably have a worldview along the lines of ‘it just is’ and accept whatever comes along – go with the flow. But once you consider the relatively higher and more complex animals, like birds and mammals, then brain complexity becomes such that to a greater or lesser degree, intelligence and the ability to think and figure things out has to be taken into consideration.

For those of you who have companion animals, or even those of you who have just watched animals at a distance, you may have wondered how those animals view and perhaps even think about life, the universe and everything. That is, each animal must have some sort of personal worldview; a perspective or point of view probably forever beyond our understanding – usually but not always.

I’m picking on cats in this particular case because I’ve owned cats nearly all my life. This essay could just as easily have been dogs or horses or some other domesticated mammal.

So what are cats? Can we identify with them? Can they identify with us? Well, domesticated cats are playful; curious; adaptable; selfish; they dream; they like variety though they can also be creatures of habit; they can ‘think’ things through and make decisions; they have a vocal language and a body language; they display emotions; they have memory and therefore somewhat a sense of history; they have the same sensory apparatus as we have; they have their own likes and dislikes whether it be food; a place to sleep, where they want or don’t want to be scratched or rubbed or petted; and, in short each cat has their own very unique personality. Cats are certainly very self-centred, perhaps a bit more so than typical adult humans, but certainly akin to human infants and toddlers whose worldview is very self-centred with a near 24/7 gimmie, gimmie, gimmie; I want, I want, I want. Cats, at least those intersecting with humans have a gimmie/I want aspect to them, and like infants/toddlers the ‘pester’ factor can often reach extremes. In short, cats really seem to be mini albeit furry versions of humans, especially infants/toddlers. But, how close might that version really be?

For starters, and perhaps like all animals, the cat probably has a worldview something akin to it being the centre of things – the be-all-and-end-all – and that the entire environment the cat finds itself in is there to provide for all the cat’s requirements. From the domestic cat’s point of view, the world owes it a living! How else could the cat view things? One’s self perceptions tend to revolve around ‘I am the centre of the universe’ because you are most intimately bound up in your worldview with yourself and not as intimately with anything else. Therefore, anything else, in a self-centred worldview must be subservient. Of course the cat often finds out the hard way that parts of that external reality have differing opinions. That never seems to shift the cat’s worldview however that it is ‘top dog’* and deserves all the best that comes its way – which might not be all the ‘best’ that nature could provide but the cat doesn’t know that.

Cats certainly have no comprehension, perhaps like toddlers, of being in the way, underfoot, in danger of being trodden on or sat upon, while helping themselves to whatever piece of household geography suits their fancy. One could conclude from their selfish (from our point of view) behaviour, their worldview must be one of ‘supreme being’ and ‘rank has its privileges’, and such a worldview will persist at least until such time as their tail gets stepped on or they get tossed out of the easy chair! They still probably see themselves as supreme beings – it’s their worldview of you that’s now somewhat changed.

The average head of the household and cat owner is probably somewhat of the opinion or has the rationale that ‘I pay the bills, therefore I call the shots and what I say goes’! Cats can probably understand ‘head of the household’ in that in cat society, as in all animal societies, all cats are not equal – there is a hierarchy and one cat alone will be ‘top dog’ as it were. But there’s nothing in a cat’s worldview that corresponds to money or bills or economics or finance. Everything is a free lunch, be it sunshine or the electric/gas/wood heater you, the owner, pay for. Even if the cat goes outside and catches and eats a mouse, it’s still as free a lunch as far as the cat is concerned as the food you put in its food bowl. So that bit about ‘I’m the boss because I pay the bills’ has no meaning or significance to the cat since the concept of ‘bills’ is foreign.

Cats have no mythology about shopping. The post Xmas sales and weekly specials at the supermarket are alien concepts. So is that nearly supreme abstraction to humans – time. Birthdays are a non-event with no realization when they occur and with no relevance in any event. Ditto all those other special points in time like holidays we humans are obsessed with. Cats don’t make a habit of staying up late on New Years Eve. It’s of no consequence. Weekends are no different than weekdays.

Equally the cat has apparently no worldview of tomorrow or of the future (though it has a memory of the past). It doesn’t save for a rainy day. I’ve never observed a cat hide away a few of its dry cat food pellets for a future emergency or a midnight snack. A cat is very ‘now’ oriented. A cat probably has no concept of death, far less an afterlife. I’ve always tended to have two cats at a time on the theoretical grounds they have companionship when I’m not around. As such, one cat will finally get to go to that great ‘litter box in the sky’ and as such the surviving cat (for a while at least) will be without its companion feline ‘friend’. I’ve never noticed however any real change in the behaviour of the surviving cat. The demise and removal of the other animal has apparently all the relevance of my tossing an empty can into the recycling bin. Now if I tossed out the cat’s favourite easy chair that would probably cause more of a reaction!

It’s difficult to teach a cat anything that isn’t already hardwired into its little grey cells. I mean you don’t tend to have guard cats, seeing-eye cats, or cats that sit up, stop on command at the corner, beg, and play fetch, etc. when their human owners say so. The cat’s worldview is quite foreign to such concepts, though there’s little difference between a cat’s IQ and a dog’s IQ. Maybe that’s why the saying ‘dogs have masters; cats have slaves’!

So those are several significant differences between the worldview mythologies of the cat relative to humans (or even dogs, who, are well known to ‘grieve’ upon the death of a fellow companion dog or of their owner. If I died, my cat’s loyalty would shift quick-smart to the next human who fed it).

I noted above that cats dream and why not. I judge this because often when they are sound asleep I frequently notice their paws and mouths twitching as if in response to something going on inside their head. I assume it’s not some abstraction that occupies this assumed dream state. It’s probably related to visions of chasing and eating fat mice and plump flightless birds! There’s no way of telling for sure, but that’s what I suspect. If they dream, they dream practical cat-related things.

I’ve never gotten the impression that a cat ponders anything at anytime but practical matters that have a direct bearing on it in the here and right now. An obvious example is that any cat always finds itself on the wrong side of a door, and you are expected to correct that state of affairs as often as is necessary – which is very often indeed. No wonder people install cat flaps! Anyway, things like philosophy and religion and the arts and mathematics and anything abstract not only isn’t considered and immediately dismissed, the cat probably can’t even conceive of such things in order for them to be dismissed as of no relevance to the cat’s worldview. There’s no creativity in their little grey cells whatever. I very much doubt whether any cat has pondered whether or not it has free will. My cats don’t respond to cat art, like the pictures of cats on calendars. Music soothes the savage beast but with one minor exception all my cats have been oblivious to whatever type of music CD I’m playing, be it classical or jazz, country & western or film scores; vocal or instrumental. That one exception is that I once had a cat that would react to whistling within a song that emanated from the speakers. Still, cats probably therefore never have to endure that annoying experience of having an irritating song play endlessly, over and over and over again inside their head!

If the cats were of a human frame of mind, they might conceive of something like: In the beginning the great cat deity, lets name it Bastet (also spelled Bast, Baast, Ubasti and Baset) after the ancient Egyptian cat goddess, created not only the domestic feline, but all that’s part and parcel of their world. In the beginning Bastet created the ever pristine litter box; the ever full food and water bowls, and lots of birds and mice for felines to chase, catch and snack on. That’s of course according to the mythology of the cat, if the cat had a human’s imagination. Well actually, not. No cat has imagined any self-contained mythology about the origin and evolution of cats. If cats have a worldview mythology outside of the concepts of self and now, then it probably centres on what strange companions humans are. And I’m 99% sure that while such human activities might be fascinating, they are equally incomprehensible.

Translated, whatever mythology our domestic feline companions come up with that explains to their satisfaction their worldview, it will bear little resemblance to actual human activities on behalf of the animal, like the concept of money to pay for the goods and services it receives. The cats have no conception of livestock (slaughtered as pet food), of biological evolution (that provided the birds and mice and the abilities of the cat to chase, catch and snack on them), of the infrastructure that gets them their fresh water (and other goodies) that ends up as the end product in their water bowls, etc.

So while I have no idea what worldview mythology my cats have (and they probably aren’t the exact same – each cat’s worldview will be in part unique) it’s wrong.

However, we can speculate; take scenarios that are part and parcel of their world, natural or otherwise, and try to figure out how they see and interpret things through their eyes.

So what goes through a cat’s mind when it’s not immediately concerned with me; now – when it’s not in immediate need of catering to various biological requirements and functions? The cat is just sitting, wide awake, alert, observing, but what is it thinking? Does it have to be deep in thought at all? Probably not I suspect. In fact, it’s more likely as not they are observing just for the sake of observing – always on the lookout for something to chase and eat (that’s probably just hardwired into their brain), or for something that might chase and eat them.

I mean my cats are interested in birds; I’m interested in birds too – but for totally different reasons. On the other hand, my cats are interested in a clean litter box, but what goes through their minds when every time they go to the litter box it’s pristine, even though it wasn’t in that condition a little while back for obvious reasons? Do they associate that ‘it wasn’t then but now it is pristine’ phenomenon with a cat deity or with me or neither? Cat food appears on demand in bowls they eat out of, yet they have no comprehension of the chain of events between manufacture, distribution, the need for money to purchase, transport, open and pour into those bowls that food. So how do they account for the food that somehow magically appears before them? Do they have a food bowl mythology? Or, perhaps it is a phenomena that just is, and they think no more about it than a fish ponders the nature of the water it swims in. For some reason I find it very hard to picture my cats deep in thought wondering about all those whys and wherefores associated with the food they consume.

Well we have some idea what a cat’s worldview mythology is (me; now), and isn’t (nothing that’s abstract) but you, the owner, aren’t an abstraction. How do you fit in to your animal’s mythology?

Cats must have a field day with respect to inventing a mythology that accounts for the strange habits of those creatures they share their environment with – humans. For example, my cats see me getting dressed every morning – I’m putting on the fur. Since cats don’t need to dress, this behaviour must be really weird to them. Ditto making the bed or washing the dishes. The cats must be totally freaked out by my habit of deliberately getting wet via a daily shower or bath. What activity could repulse a cat more than that? Yuck! How do cats explain the dwelling they reside in along with all the stuff it contains? I know where it all comes from, but how do they account for it all? Do they even bother to try to account for it? Part of that all is my personal computer (PC). They see me typing away on this PC but I’m sure they have no comprehension of what this PC device is or why I’m pecking away on it instead of paying attention to them. When I go out of the house, shopping say or off to the club for a few cold beers, do they wonder where and why? Do they worry that I might not come back, because if I don’t they will find themselves in a pretty pickle. Or, is the fact I’m away of no interest and no consequence and causes no speculation? Since they don’t seem agitated when I leave, I suspect they have no comprehension of the possibility that I might not return, being hit by the proverbial bus instead.

So, do my cats develop a point of view, a worldview mythology to account for birds (a natural part of their environment), litter boxes (not so natural), and PC’s (totally unnatural)? I suspect they don’t. These things just are and don’t require any mythological interpretation to otherwise explain them.

Cats like to lie and stretch out in and soak up the warmth of the Sun. How do they account for sunshine and this warmth since presumably they know nothing of stellar astrophysics, nuclear fusion, photons, etc.? Might it be, if it be at all, that our cats conclude that in the beginning that great cat deity Bastet created the Sun to give pleasure and warmth to them, but, Bastet hides the Sun at regular intervals (at night) so as not to totally spoil us cats? Probably not I suspect. The warmth of the Sun probably just is (like the water is to the fish) – in fact they might not even make the connection between the Sun, sunshine, and the warmth that gives them.

Conclusions & Summary: So what is a domestic cat’s worldview mythology? Well, if the cat could speak, it might say something like this: “It’s all about me; it’s all about now; everything else just is and if it doesn’t affect me now, it’s not relevant.” The more I think about it, the more I draw a parallel between a cat being an eternal toddler (me; now; everything else just is, albeit interesting and worthy of exploring), but at least without the temper tantrums!

*The standing observation or joke is that a dog thinks to itself that ‘my human feeds me and plays with me and looks after me, therefore he must be a god’. The cat thinks to itself that ‘my human feeds me and plays with me and looks after me, therefore I must be a god!’ There’s an awful lot of relevance in that observation IMHO.

Science librarian; retired.

When you examine the politics of Canada you must examine all the Canadian political parties both federal and provincial. However, the incongruity of parties among these levels of government can be understandably confusing to some, especially young people and newcomers to this great country. If you ever wanted to get a quick an easy summary of the political parties in Canada, you came to the right place.

This article lays out in admittedly and purposely simple terms the ideologies of the federal political parties in Canada and provides a quick summary of each. It is meant to be simple and non-exhaustive. It is intended to act as a quick reference.

I believe that the best way for people who don’t know a thing about Canadian politics but who want to learn is to first look at the federal Canadian political parties. These parties form the basis of party politics as most of the federal parties have provincial arms as well. However, some provinces’ main parties are not associated with any federal party although they may have close ties to a specific federal party.

To keep things simple I will focus strictly on the federal parties. There are five main political parties in Canada and in this piece I will provide a short summary of each.

Conservative Party (current government)

Ideology:
-conservatism
-social and fiscal conservatism
-right-libertarianism, market economy
Leader: Stephen Harper – Prime Minister of Canada
Summary: On the classic political spectrum the Conservative party of Canada falls on the right to the centre-right. Current seats in the House of Commons: 143

Liberal Party

Ideology:
-The ‘Third Way’
-liberalism
-social liberalism
-moderate politics, mixed economy
Leader: Michael Ignatieff
Summary: Official opposition in parliament. Governed Canada for most of the 20th century. Widely considered to be centre-left to centre on the political spectrum. Current seats in the House of Commons: 77

Bloc Quebecois

Ideology:
-social democracy
-Quebec sovereignty
-socialist nationalism
-nominates candidates in Quebec only
Leader: Gilles Duceppe
Summary: Third largest amount of seats in the House of commons. The vast majority of the Bloc’s members and supporters advocate for Quebec to separate from Canada and become an independent nation. The party falls on the left wing of the political spectrum. Current seats in the House of Commons: 47

New Democratic Party

Ideology:
-social democracy
-populism
-democratic socialism
-’New Left’ politics
Leader: Jack Layton
Summary: Considered a “progressive party” When it comes to the political spectrum, the party would fall somewhere between the left and centre-left although it a little closer to the centre-left. The NDP is further to the left than the Liberals however. Current seats in the House of Commons: 36

Green Party

Ideology:
-green politics
-see “green politics”
Leader: Elizabeth May
Summary: As of 2009 the Greens are polling an average of 8-12%. While technically Greens have factions that fall on all sides of the political spectrum, the Green Party of Canada’s ideology is widely considered to be left wing. Current seats in the House of Commons: none.

I hope this has been helpful to anyone interested in understanding the basics of the Canadian political parties. Thanks for reading!

The author, Tyler, closely follows the Canadian political system who has written extensively on Canadian political parties.

Have you ever wondered where “today’s cat” came from?

I have and so I began a little research on the history of cats.

Apparently no one really knows when or how “the cat” first appeared on our planet.

According to some sources it is said that Miacis, a weasel-like animal that lived about 40 or 50 million years ago is the cat’s closest ancestor.

I have not been able to find any pictures or drawings of this animal, that is supposed to be the father/mother (if you will,) of all land-dwelling carnivores, including the dog.

Since I cannot prove otherwise, I will accept this information for as close to the truth as I can get.

According to a DNA study that was done in 1997 by two members of the National Cancer Institute in Frederick, Maryland, it appears that cats have been known to live in Asia as early as 11 million years ago and here in North America as early as 9 million years ago.

Their research was based on DNA analysis of 37 living cat species.

Millions of years ago, as sea level rose and fell, the earth formed natural bridges and the cats being nomadic creatures traveled all over to colonize, everywhere that is, except Antarctica according to some scientists.

Why not there? I believe cats were smart enough to know it was too cold.

If you are picturing in your mind a cat that looks like your cat wandering around the earth, forget it.

These cats did not look like our cats, some were big cats and some were smaller cats, it took a long while for “our cat” to emerge.

The 1997 study by the National Cancer Institute also helped determine that most of the 37 or so living species of cat that exist today, belonged to one of past eight lineage’s according to their DNA.

It is said that the first association of cats with humans may have occurred during the Stone Age.

Apparently, the cats figured out “where there were humans” there would be food and where there was food a mouse or two could be found.

However, it took a long time for cats to be considered household pets, as cats were considered useful, but wild beasts.

Then came the days of ancient Egypt.

The Egyptians about 5,00 to 6,000 years ago had learned how to stockpile grain for future use.

With the stockpiles of grain came mice and rats and a serious need occurred.

The Egyptians were the first civilization to domesticate the cat on a large scale and to make the world aware of the usefulness of the cat not only for catching mice and rats, but also as a household pet.

The Egyptians were so enamored with “the cat” and its importance in their lives that they not only allowed it in their households, they eventually worshipped the cat and treated it like royalty.

“The royalty treatment” is something the cat never forgot.

In Egypt when a cat died they were mummified and buried in elaborate ceremonies, even in the poorest of households.

Mice were mummified along with the cat, so that the cat would have food in is afterlife.

There were some cats that were considered sacred and they lived in the temples with the priests.

These cats were considered oracles and people would come from long distances to ask the cats questions. The priests would interpret the cat’s actions (such as licking its paw) and tell the visitor what the cat was saying.

It was considered a crime to kill a cat and if you were guilty of that crime, you were killed, too.

It has come to light during an archeological excavation in Saqqara, where thousands of cat mummies were found that all the cats did not die a natural death.

By x-raying some of the mummified cats it was revealed that many did die of natural causes, but some were young cats (year old) with broken necks.

There are two schools of thought here, one being that the cat population had grown too large and it was a way to slow it down.

The other possibility was that the priests raised these cats and later killed and mummified them to sell to people who attended festivals.

It was considered proper to buy a mummified cat as a way to please the “cat goddess” called Bastet and then ask a personal favor from her.

Researchers are fairly certain the people buying the cats did not know they were intentionally killed.

It did not take long for the word to get around (about a 1,000 years or so) about the usefulness

of cats in a household.

Soon the Romans and Greeks realized the value of a cat and made them members of their household. Here they were not worshipped.

During the 11th century cats became extremely important in killing the rats that were causing the Black Death.

Then came the Middle Ages and trouble followed for the cats.

Pope Gregory IX apparently did not like cats and decided that they were diabolical creatures and needed to be destroyed.

It was a sad time for cats as they were beaten, killed and driven away from the villages.

Anyone who had a cat was considered a “witch” and was put to death along with the cat.

Cats were sacrificed, burned to death and even buried alive inside walls of houses (supposed to bring good luck.)

As the cat population was being destroyed, the rat and mice population grew by leaps and bounds.

Causing a great many plagues and other epidemics all over Europe.

People were dying everywhere and soon they realized the error of their ways.

By the 17th century, cats were back in favor, doing what they did best, catching mice and rats.

However, people began to see that cats were nice to have around and soon they became treasured household pets once again.

It has been said that the first cats came to North America by crossing over the Bering Strait about several million years or so ago.

However, in more recent times (1600-1700) cats came on board ships with the traders and explorers. Cats were very important on board ships in order to protect the cargo from the rats and mice.

Many early settlers in the colonies brought their own cats with them. Life seemed pretty good for cats until the Salem witch-hunt of 1692 and once again cats became a product of discrimination along with the people who owned them and were destroyed or driven away.

Once again “people” learned the error of their ways and cats were once again welcome as the rat and mice population grew.

In 1749 cats were brought to Pennsylvania to help control a serious rodent plague.

As more and more colonists came to the New World the need for cats grew. It was necessary to import cats and the new cats needed to be stronger and sturdier.

Without cats, the New World would have faced many plagues and ships would have lost much of their cargo.

You might say “cats” saved our country.

As time went on and our country grew, people started moving west.

They packed up their worldly possessions into wagons, gathered up the family and livestock and forgot the cats.

They seemed to forget, that where there were people and food (grain) soon there would be rodents.

It’s Murphy’s Law.

It is said that during the Gold Rush of 1849, people were buying cats off trading ships for $50.00 a piece.

In 1884 during the rat plague that came to San Francisco, people were willing to pay up to $100 for a cat.

Cats like our country prospered and like the people, cats came from all countries of the world. This mix of cats and the breeding that took place has managed to give our country a great mix of what is known as “domestic shorthaired.”

Today there are more than sixty-five million cats living in our homes. Cats far outnumber dogs.

The number of actual breeds varies according to the source you check. Some sources say that there are 36 species, others say 37 species, but we have found with the new breeds coming along that there are probably over 40 different varieties of cats.

This has been a very brief history of cats; they certainly have played a very important part in the growth of the Universe.

It is hard for me to imagine life without having at least one of them around and I hope you feel the same.

If you found this article interesting I invite you to visit me at http://www.cats-and-dogs-on-the-web.com Here you will have a chance to view many interesting articles regarding cats and dogs.

A car to a college student is like treasure to a pirate. Having a car at college is a luxury that not many students get to have.

Most students ride their bikes or walk to class, but if you are one of the few who gets to drive to campus and take long trips on the weekend, then you have to be prepared for the responsibility of owning a car. And that means you have to be covered with student car insurance.

Besides tuition and books, car insurance for students is one of the biggest expenses a student will pay in college. But if you are careful about choosing your student auto insurance, you will be able to work the payments into your student budget and still manage to save money in your savings account.

The Basics of Student Car Insurance

Finding cheap car insurance for students can be difficult since younger drivers usually have higher premium payments to make. It has nothing to do with you personally, but young drivers just tend to make more insurance claims than older drivers, so insurance companies will charge you more so they can make more money.

There are also other factors that can affect the amount a student will pay for student car insurance, such as:

• Age
• Gender
• Driving record
• Location of vehicle
• Damage history of vehicle
• Distance driven daily

You can’t avoid these factors when you are applying for student auto insurance, but there are many ways that you can lower your premium payments. You just need to take the right steps towards choosing your student insurance.

Tips for Choosing Your Student Car Insurance

You can’t avoid being young and in college, but there are steps you can take to lower your student car insurance payments. And even though you want to find an insurance company that offers car insurance specifically for students, not all of them do, so if you can’t get student car insurance, then follow these tips to get a cheaper car insurance plan:

Shop Around for Options

Find out as much information as you can for at least 3 different insurance companies. Compare their premium quotes and see who has the best benefits for your money.

Know Plan Basics

Knowing the basics of a student car insurance plan is very important in choosing the right kind of plan for your needs. Not all car insurance for students is the same, but the parts that make up the plan usually cover the same areas.

Here are the six basic parts of a student car insurance plan:

1) Bodily Injury - Covers you for bodily injury you might have caused to another person.

2) Personal Property Liability - Covers damage or injury you might have caused to another person’s property.

3) Collision - Covers you for any type of accident with another car or with an object like a parking meter or a utility pole.

4) Comprehensive - Covers you in case someone steals your car or something in it, or the weather damages your car. It is best to get both of these types of student car insurance coverage.

5) Personal Injury Protection (PIP) – Covers medical costs and any lost wages from a job for the policy holder and any injured passengers.

6) Uninsured Motorist - Covers you for accidents with motorists who do not have car insurance. Also covers you for hit-and-run accidents.

Maintain Good Grades

Many insurance companies offer discounts to students who maintain a B average or higher. Make sure you bring proof of your grades when you apply for your car insurance.

Apply for all Discounts

Even if you get a student discount, always apply for any discount that the insurance company is offering. Most insurance companies will offer you a great deal if you purchase multiple insurance plans together, like car and renter’s insurance, and they might even offer you a family discount if you sign up for the same insurance as your family members.

Buy the Right Car

Before you even get student car insurance, you need to get a car that is right for you. Car insurance is often based on a car’s safety probability, so high speed sports cars and smaller cars have a greater risk of damage. They are also more likely to be targeted by thieves, so you should buy a more practical car with good gas mileage and reliability rather than a car that costs more than your entire student budget.

Walk or Bike More, Drive Less

Even if you have a car, that doesn’t mean you have to use it everyday. If you live on campus and you’re close to class, either walk or ride a bike and save on gas money. Some insurance companies will give you a low-mileage car insurance deduction if you drive below a certain number of miles each year, so save your long-distance car driving for the weekends.

Increase Your Deductible

If you increase your deductible – the amount you pay towards a claim before your insurance company pays – then you can save from 15% to 40% on your student car insurance premium.

Install Secure/Anti-Theft Devices

If your car’s seat belts and airbags don’t’ work, you should get them fixed as soon as possible. Also, if you don’t have an alarm system, get one installed. The safer you are against accidents and burglaries, then the less your car insurance company will have to pay and the less you’ll have to pay to them.

Be a Safe Driver

The most important step you can take towards lowering your student auto insurance is to be a safe driver. The fewer driving violations and auto accidents that you have the more money you will save with your car insurance. That means you should never drink and drive, you should park your car in a safe area or in a garage and you should always maintain the proper speed limit.

College should be both a fun and safe experience, so if you have a car and use it as part of your daily routine, always have student car insurance for protection.

Trish Smith is a copywriter for Green Student U, Student Finance Domain and Study Abroad Domain, websites that are devoted to providing college students with helpful environmental, financial and study abroad advice.

In the next 10 minutes, I’m going to reveal to you what took me over thirty years of intensive eyeball-to-chart research to discover! The road has been long and sometimes bumpy with plenty of unexpected twists and turns along the way. And, guess what…it hasn’t ended yet! The more I learn, the more I realize there’s more to learn. So, fasten your seatbelt and experience the excitement I felt on this road of discovery…it’s truly been a ride to remember!

Let’s start at the beginning. I made my first commodity trade in 1968 while a student at the University of Montana working towards a Master’s Degree in Business Finance and Investments. I was fascinated by the leverage you could get on your investment capital by putting up a relatively small margin fee in order to control a much larger quantity of some commodity…leaving open the potential for substantial gains…and by using stops supposedly limited risk. And, since I was a cash-strapped student with a “relatively” small amount to invest, this really appealed to me.

So, one memorable Tuesday afternoon, I skipped gym class and hiked downtown to open my first commodity trading account. I was nervous as a cat…but, I knew it was something I just had to do. The broker was understanding and after about an hour of filling out forms and waiting for an OK from headquarters, I plunked my money down and began what I imagined would be an illustrative career as a “professional” commodity trader. I just couldn’t wait to get started!

Early the next morning, I was chomping at the bit and decided to start off by trading corn futures. Then over the next two weeks, the worst thing that could happen to a beginning trader happened to me…I had three big winning trades in a row! I was convinced I was the King Kong of trading…and frankly couldn’t figure out why everyone told me trading was so hard to be successful at. Then, as you’ve probably guessed…the fourth trade murdered me. I lost everything I had already made plus $200 more than I even had in my account! So much for the supposedly limited risk. You can guess where the book fund for that quarter went! My trading “career” appeared over about as fast as air rushing out of a balloon.

I went away from that experience licking my wounds, but absolutely convinced there was an underlying and identifiable pattern or rhythm in the markets. I could sense it. I knew it was there…but, I had no idea what it was. I wrestled with questions of how such a thing could exist. Or more to the point, since I saw evidence of it’s actual existence…how could I prove it existed? Even though initially I even questioned my own perceptions, I just knew in my bones it was there! I was determined to do whatever it took to identify it, pick it apart and ultimately find out exactly what made it tick.

It was then I realized that if you could discover any sort of regular or consistent pattern in market movements…you would have the key to successful trading! Why? Because you then could trade in sync with the timing patterns controlling market movement. This was certainly a goal worth devoting a lifetime of research to…and, as it turns out…I have!

I started my search by going to the source…the markets themselves! I studied charts from every market I could get my hands on…some constructed from data going back to the start of the Chicago Board of Trade in 1848! I knew that if there was a pattern that repeated itself in the markets, I could find it…given enough time, effort and stacks of charts to look at.

After night after night of painstaking study, a bit of inspiration arrived from somewhere and I came to the conclusion that by simply using daily futures charts…where each vertical bar represents a single trading day, I could possibly detect tradable patterns by identifying reversal points in normal ongoing markets…specifically, reversals that tended to occur on the same number counts over and over again when counting forward in time from any significant high or low point…in the past.

It was about this time that a fellow trader related to me that W. D. Gann, the world famous market timer, was purported to have said “if you want to know how to time the markets…read the Bible three times!”

I had generally studied the writings of Gann and was frankly never able to get much out of his cryptic and obscure ramblings other than to note his focus on time as opposed to price pattern analysis. Nevertheless, this got me to thinking…is it possible that specific number counts where reversal energy is demonstrably exposed…critical time points I had already identified in my relentless search through endless chart examples…is it possible as some sort of confirming device that those same numbers are numbers prominently mentioned in the sacred texts?

Since it was my custom to regularly read in the Bible, I decided to keep a notebook handy to jot down specific numbers mentioned in the Bible as I came across them. I had no real expectations one way or the other, but I was looking forward to comparing the numbers my private research was turning up with the numbers prominently mentioned in the Bible.

So what did I find? Actually, a head scratching puzzle. What I noticed right away after collecting months of references was that there were an amazing number of near misses…numbers from the Bible that were in most cases off by just one number count from the numbers I had already identified through research.

This wasn’t the only thing that bothered me. I’d been in a quandary for years over a quotation from Jesus found in Luke 24:46 which said “Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.”

With my persistent mindset, I just couldn’t see how Sunday was the third day. It seemed to me that if Christ was crucified on Friday, then Saturday…Sunday… and then Monday should be the third day. It had been a long running and seemingly irreconcilable question in my mind.

Then out of the blue it struck me. To make the biblical order work, you would have to count Friday as day number one! Why this had been so hard for me to see was I suppose understandable. Counting that way was just not how we were taught to count since grade school. Nevertheless, this was a critical breakthrough…since I had now learned how God counts!

The next step was obvious…use the newly learned counting method on the charts I was studying and see how the number counts compared with what I was doing before. I picked up one of my trusty old charts and started counting days forward from an important high point reversal day on the chart.

Immediately, it jumped off the page at me. By adjusting the number count of each newly discovered reversal energy number…by just one day to reflect the new counting method, the correlation between Bible numbers and specific number counts I had already collected were now almost perfectly…in sync!

I say “almost” perfectly because what showed up was a pattern of hits…that is, actual reversal days occurring on the chart that would tend to “hit” (1) on the day just before, (2) right on or (3) the day just after the individual counting number being projected.

This was heady stuff. Clearly, by using the 40 different and proven counting numbers so painstakingly identified through research and confirmed in most cases by biblical references, I could now exactly pinpoint and project into the future perfectly defined and extremely powerful 3 day “reversal zones” or “timing windows”…on any chart for any market…at any time!

It’s important to note that the strongest reversal energy always exhibited itself in the center day of the 3 day zone or window. I don’t know why, but the image of Christ crucified between 2 malefactors came to mind as I worked with this material. And, as it turns out, the idea of a 3 unit zone or window with the most powerful energy focused in the center unit became over time an even more powerful research concept…as we shall soon see.

And here’s another curiosity. Apparently, there’s no way to determine or foretell whether anticipated reversals will be up or down reversals…until you get there. As the market starts to actually trade up or down into the zone or window, then and only then does the market tip it’s hand to us.

And, here’s the really great part…It’s exactly at the critical moment to do something from a market timing standpoint. That is, just before the market reverses…and while concurrently pointing us in the direction the market has just revealed it’s going to go! And, only those that know the language of the markets understand what the markets are saying when they speak.

Amazingly, the markets literally hand us top secret timing information at the critical moment for us to use it for positioning trades in the right direction…and precisely at the right time to be totally in sync with market movement…guaranteed!

Now, here’s how it works. If a market is initially trading down into a 3 day reversal zone, then we should expect a reversal of some consequence to occur to the upside during the period of that reversal zone. The anticipated reversal up is then confirmed on any subsequent day that sees a rally above a previous day’s high. It couldn’t be more simple!

And, conversely, if a market initially trades up into a 3 day reversal zone, we should expect to see a reversal movement to the downside occur. The reversal is then confirmed by any subsequent drop below a previous day’s low.

Another major plus is that this strategy automatically generates a close-in stop or stop/reverse point just on the other side of the recently anticipated and confirmed reversal. This minimizes trade risk tremendously.

It was at this point that it suddenly occurred to me that what was really happening here…in the march of black bars across price charts…was the ongoing record in time of an unbelievable projection process…a process whereby the forward counting of days was tracking some sort of energy ripples radiating forward in time from high and low reversal points in the past.

My research proved this “process” is ongoing. It’s constantly radiating energy off reversal points in the past which projects three day “timing windows” or “reversal zones” into the future…where this reversal “energy” tends to generate new reversal points in interval patterns falling precisely on certain specific number counts…which I now had identified!

But, how could this be? All I could imagine was that some kind of previously unknown wave energy must be radiating off top or bottom reversal points in the past…continually moving out into the future in varying degrees of intensity, set in irregular yet constant intervals…and with enough structured energy to dramatically affect directional turns…in any market…in exactly the same manner and timing count sequence. And all this, at precisely and objectively projected points in time in the future…whew!

Sit back for a moment and think about it. The magnitude of this discovery…let’s say revelation actually, is mind boggling in it’s implication and absolutely astounding in importance! It’s almost as if the curtain has been ripped back and we’re now privileged to look lingeringly at the fabric of space and time…literally, the framework God employs to organize time and event progressions! Shockingly, it would appear that nothing happens by chance!

I knew instinctively that this method of market timing could not be called fundamental or technical analysis…but is rather an entirely new method of market timing analysis which I dubbed temporal analysis since it is based on time instead of price. Indeed, at this point I realized that one of the greatest hallmarks of the newly named Kenison Counting Numbers is the total lack of subjectivity in producing such valuable timing projections.

No guesswork is ever involved. The number counting sequence is simple and easy to understand. You don’t ever need a calculator or computer or any specialized foreknowledge. And, the signals projected are very precise and completely objective. It’s all right there on the chart…exactly where the next reversal energy in the market will be exposed…and correspondingly, exactly where the next projected reversal should be expected!

And get this. Kenison Counting Number projections will never become obsolete. They will continue with absolute objectivity…for all the years of you or your grandson’s trading careers…to pinpoint at or within one day of a specific future number count, exactly where a market reversal of varying degree of magnitude should appear.

How do we know this? Simply because years of exhaustive historical research has proven that whether you’re looking at constructed charts from the last two centuries, the 1970′s or last week, the system would have worked exactly the same in each era…with exactly the same phenomenal results!

And remember, these are the very same timing count numbers confirmed historically and through study of the scriptures to have proven and very definite reversal energy associated with them. Believe me…after learning the Kenison Counting Numbers market timing method, you will never look at a price chart the same again.

I was also extremely gratified to learn through decades of ongoing research that Kenison Counting Numbers work equally well in projecting future reversal points in every market, irregardless of whether it’s a futures, options, stock, forex or cash market…anywhere in the world!

How Kenison Counting Numbers Work…

This totally unique and extremely powerful method’s ability to project important market highs and lows…in the future is uncanny. How does it do it? After decades of personal research, I have identified the exact irregular number sequence the market itself observes. Just count the bars on a price chart forward from any market high or low point in the past and the Kenison Counting Numbers will tell you exactly on which numbers in the sequence you should expect powerful reversal energy to be exposed…in the future…and with a very high degree of reliability! This allows traders to anticipate, confirm and then act on potentially profitable trading turns that others don’t even see coming…or have the slightest idea even exist!

There is nothing subjective about this analysis…it’s entirely objective. It gives you no nonsense exact entry and exit points with close-in and automatic stop loss points. And for the charts you need? They’re free on the internet!

One other thing should be stressed. This is strictly eyeball to chart analysis. No complicated software program or mathematical calculation is ever necessary. With this new life long knowledge, you can spend just moments with a price chart and know with total confidence what your course of action should be…and know with absolute clarity what the risks are…all in advance!

There’s no need to check with anyone first…you’re the expert! Why? Because when you understand this market timing method you’ll know with quiet confidence what the market itself is telling you about current trends and potentially explosive turning points…and exactly when to expect them!

When you see how by simply counting forward and backward in time from important high or low points in the past, you can project important reversal points in the future…believe me, you’ll be hooked! I’ve been hooked now for over 30 years and I’m still fascinated on a daily basis as I watch these turns occur like clockwork in timing windows projected weeks and even months before!

Traders can become expert in using all 40 of the unbelievably powerful Kenison Counting Numbers to project forward in time to exactly where reversal energy will be exposed…in the future!

One of the most impressive Kenison Counting Numbers is represented by Zone 14…especially, when using our simple triangulation techniques in combination with other counting numbers to project powerful conjunction and convergence reversal zones…reversals which begin extremely dynamic high-velocity directional market moves! Other traders marvel at windfall profits that seem to come out of nowhere. Kenison Counting Numbers is the tool that alerts you beforehand thereby allowing you the opportunity to profit from these explosive market moves!

When investors and traders investigate this precision market timing method, they are amazed to discover the natural and irregular rhythm identified in the markets…a rhythm that is constant and traces out exactly the same pattern for all markets worldwide! It’s shocking to see how invariably reversals occur on the same number counts in the Kenison Counting Numbers sequence…over and over again.

And now another amazing fact concerning the Kenison Counting Numbers method…it holds true no matter what time frame you’re looking at! As we already know if you apply the system to a daily chart, you will project daily reversals. But surprisingly, If you also apply it to a weekly chart, you will project weekly reversal points into the future. In fact, the same Kenison Counting Numbers sequence works equally well when applied to monthly, weekly, daily or intra-day charts!

It was exactly at this point that another phenomenal discovery was made. I discovered that you could determine the most likely actual reversal day, week or month within each reversal zone by using the Kenison Counting Numbers to count backward in time from each of the three days, weeks or months within each reversal zone. How does this work? Quite simply, when you count backwards in the fashion mentioned above, you will notice that significant high and low points…in the past…fall exactly on specific number counts in the Kenison Counting Number sequence…but only if you are counting backwards from the most likely actual future day, week or month where the market will reverse! As I witnessed this mirror image or echo effect in action, I realized this is truly a miracle!

This is absolutely astounding when you realize that by counting forward or backwards in time reversal energy is exposed on the same number counts in the Kenison Counting Numbers sequence irregardless of whether you’re counting months, weeks, days or 15 minute intervals on an intra-day price chart! Witness this system in action in real markets in real time and you’ll be totally amazed at the magnitude of this discovery…I guarantee it!

Copyright (c) 2006 Bruce Kenison

Bruce Kenison is the founder of several market timing advisory services employing the Kenison Counting Numbers precision market timing method and is the Editor of “Bruce Kenison’s Market Timing Signals” ezine and newsletter available FREE to investors and hedgers. He is also president of a publishing and seminar company that recently published the 5th Edition of Bruce Kenison’s Market Timing Home Study Course. For a FREE subscription to the ezine or newsletter and information on our products and services, send a blank e-mail with “Subscribe” in the subject line to: bruce@brucekenison.com.

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It is very convenient to pick out and purchase your children clothing or baby clothing online but it can sometimes be costly. In fact, a lot of parents are spending more than they expected for their childrens clothing. What they should recognize is the presence of various online stores that offer good quality kids clothes at affordable prices.

Online stores that offer children’s clothing and clothing for babies have become increasingly famous since they serve as alternatives to acquiring the same goods that you usually buy at children’s boutiques and shops. With online shopping, it makes it convenient for you since all you have to do is navigate and click. It saves you time and effort. Moreover, you will be presented with a wide array of clothes to choose from. Boys shirts, girls dresses, baby clothes, accessories and other kids clothes and accessories are available for certain ages and sizes, you will surely find what you’re looking for. It makes it easier for you to compare prices, colors and styles too. Also, you won’t have to deal with salespeople who keep pressuring you while you’re looking around.

It is important that you know of good quality brands for your childrens clothing. A shirt that is manufactured by a well-known and trusted company lasts longer and does not have stain problems. It can even appear like new after your kid wear it several times already and after many washings. When your child no longer needs the clothing, probably because your kids have grown taller and bigger, you may resell them at online children stores for lower prices. Brands such as tadpole and lilypad, anavini, babynotag, paris chere and fun bath are perceived to be of good quality by most parents.

It is easy to find quality clothes for children websites online. But first, make sure to use a reliable search engines such as Google, Yahoo, AOL, MSN or Altavista. Then, all you have to perform is standard internet search by inputting keywords or terms in search engines such as “clothes for babies” or “children’s clothing” or “Quality todler clothing” and hitting the search button. To find local kid clothing websites, include your city or state along with the keywords for instance “NJ kids clothing”, “quality clothing for kids in NJ” or “toddler clothes in NJ”. In seconds, you will find a list of websites. From your visited sites, carefully look at images of kids clothing and their corresponding prices. Then compare similar items with their respective prices and select the best website for your childs clothes.

When you have finally selected the items you want to purchase, you will have to fill out an order form. Verify the site is secure when ordering. You can tell because you will see https instead of just http in the address bar. There are some indications that a site guarantees a secure and safe ordering place for its customers. Some sites allow their customers to return the items they purchased from them, especially clothes, at anytime and for any reason. The site must only ask relevant information from you such as your address for dropping your order package, credit card number for your payment, or an email address for you to check the status of your order and nothing more. Any information asked of you should be necessary, timely and appropriate for the purpose of processing your order and delivery.

Searching Ebay can help you find good quality children clothing. They have a lot of wonderful items for little boys and girls. It is user-friendly and trusted by most parents in providing good quality kid clothing at reasonable prices. Ebay also updates its posted items regularly so that you will always be provided with new and trendy clothes for kids.

Buying your kids clothes should not be costly. Visit online stores and check the quality of their products and how much they cost. Be careful when giving out any of your confidential and financial information to protect yourself from online threats.

This article was written by Joe Trzepla, a website designer that helps promote companies on the web. Bellamelissa is a quality childrens clothes [http://www.bellamelissa.com] company that sells quality clothing for children and clothes for babies.

All those who use a vehicle are well aware how important it is to change the oil and fluids in the car at regular intervals. It is not so difficult to change the oil and lubrication of the entire vehicle but the problematic areas are the brakes usually. You have to take lot of precautions and then carefully perform everything. It is not only the question of disassembling or reassembling them but you have to regulate the brake fluid as well as keep air out of the brake lines. There is this vacuum necessary when you perform the work because if the air seeps out into the system, the brake might become sluggish and there is probability that it might fail also.

The brake bleeders simplify this process of changing the brake fluid and save you from getting into any other problem. These brake bleeders are not only easy to use but also are pretty inexpensive and you will get these without any difficulty. Even if you do not know much about mechanics, you can manage with the help of this kit. There is no need of any experience or mechanical expertise to use Brake Bleeders. Although the price is very reasonable, it is worth paying for it than taking the risk of doing the work on your own. It is always better to take precautions when it comes to the brakes of any vehicle.

If you are a new mechanic with little or no experience, you will require a lot of Engine Repair Tools. You would prefer and try to save some money on buying these tools and at the same time you would prefer to buy good quality and durable tools as well. If you are looking for both these things, try and follow precautionary guidelines and look for lifetime warranty before you buy.

Brake Tools at HandsOnTools.com. Best source for Brake Bleeders, brake lathes, Engine Repair Tools, brake testing tools etc.

Parents trying to decorate a child’s room often settle for far too simple a color palette – somehow, it’s popular to try to turn a child’s room out as if it were a cartoon. Parents like to color everything in primary shades. Is that really necessary though? When you pick childrens furniture to set out your child’s room, you want to go with a sophisticated selection of colors – typically, something that an adult would appreciate, not just a child who’s addicted to cartoons. Even if you do like the primary colors, consider swapping primary blue for a kind soft blue and bright pink for a rosier shade could make for an interesting variation. If you want to design a room that a child might like to keep for a while, you need especially to design a number of color combinations in the room that won’t bore you child (or you), quickly.

People don’t tend to think of furniture as decor for a room. It really can be that though. Consider the effect that bedding in your child’s room can have on the overall decor. The bed is a large surface that can hold a sheet, a duvet and a pillow – all things that can contribute to the decor of the room. Geometric patterns for instance, feel contemporary; cute florals or Disney characters can lend a distinct air of innocence. Choosing childrens furniture, you should probably go with quality stuff that will last for decades. Not that your child will be using them for that long; it’s just that children take strength from the solidness of the things around them in their room. Since your child probably has a lot of stuff – toys, books, clothing and so on, a beautiful armoire should be an important part of your shopping list too.

How does one classify a rocking chair? Is it supposed to be childrens furniture or is it a toy? Either way, parents seem a little reluctant to buy one of these today. They just don’t seem to go well with the kind of decor parents have in mind for their children’s rooms. But there are all kinds of new interpretations of the basic rocking chair design that might well catch your fancy if you would look. Any parent is usually worried about spending a great deal on children’s furniture. They worry that their children will outgrow their furniture really quickly. You can easily buy furniture that is designed to adapt to a growing child – you could buy a crib in fact, that expands to a bed for instance, or a cupboard that turns into a desk. You could also keep in mind that furniture for children doesn’t really have to be purpose-built. If you have a spare coffee table elsewhere in the house that hasn’t seen much use, you can easily bring it into your child’s room to serve as a kind of work surface or a place to display your child’s works of art.

When you buy anything to furnish your child’s room with, make sure that you take your child along with you for the trip. This way, your child will feel a sense of ownership and permanence in a way that can bepsychological asset. And finally, before you actually make a choice, make sure that you consider durability over simple attractiveness. Furniture only looks beautiful so long as it stays together solidly in one piece. Go with quality as your first consideration. Nothing spells attractiveness as much as quality in furniture.

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