Donnette

If you do not already know why you would be much better off purchasing a home than renting an apartment, town house or any other type of dwelling, you are about to find out. Here is the scoop, plain and simple: When you pay rent every single month to a landlord, no matter how good a deal you think you may have got, you may as well be throwing that money out the window. For all intents and purposes, it is no different than paying to stay in a hotel, since you gain absolutely nothing and do not own a thing.

On the other hand, buying and owning a home of your own gives you something tangible, that is truly yours to either keep or sell down the line as you see fit. It is really an investment, one from which you can stand to profit greatly should you decide to sell. As for me, I wish I had realized this sooner because I could have saved (and perhaps made) myself a bundle over the years. So before you toss another dime out the window, my advice to you is to look into some of the 15-year fixed mortgage rates. They are quite decent and very easy to research as well.

Unless you are very rich and can purchase a home outright, a 15-year fixed rate mortgage is probably your best choice. When you sit down and do the math, you will see that 15-year fixed mortgage rates are not all that bad. Besides, you do not want to see your mortgage rate increase and with a 15-year fixed rate mortgage you can get your home paid off within that time frame and may even feel inclined to pay it off sooner.

If you are ready to begin your search for decent 15-year fixed mortgage rates, the best place to start is on the internet, using the tried and true Google search engine. Just type in the keywords "15-year fixed mortgage rates", and prepare to be overwhelmed with the amount of information that pops up. You will find this an invaluable exercise in laying out the groundwork for the purchase of your first home. And do not forget the old real estate adage, "location, location, location", because even if it does not matter to you now, it certainly will when it comes time to sell that home a few years from now. So, what are you waiting for?

Michael Benifez reports for http://www.LifeinPalmCoast.com, delving into the world of finance, mortgage loans, refinancing and insurance in Palm Coast, Florida and Flagler county. His recent latest article on palm coast Florida real estate discusses the current real estate market.

As I dusted the ceiling of #202 with my long feather duster in preparation for painting, I kept hearing a soft whirring sound like a small electric drill a jeweler or dentist would use. It came on for a couple of seconds and then went off. It seemed to be coming from below.

Well, I thought, that made sense. The tenant below was some kind of inventor so he was probably working on a project.

But it wasnt really coming from below. I followed the soft on again off again whirring sound out onto the apartments balcony. The whirring got louder then stopped. I heard rustling from above. As I approached the sound two gray pigeons suddenly burst out from under a space between the aluminum porch overhang and the main wood roof. They flew over to the peak of an adjoining building and watched me.

Wow, I thought, nesting pigeons, weve never had those before.

Later, a tenant told me, Youve got to kill them. Theyll keep coming back year after year. Theyll never go away.

Another tenant said, Theyre like flying rats, and they carry mites. You gotta get rid of them.

A prospective tenant visited the apartment. When she stepped out onto the porch the pigeons panicked and flew away scaring her.

Those are dirty things, she yelped, and never came back.

The pigeons had to go. They were building a nest, but hadnt laid any eggs yet. As I pondered the problem one of them stood on the peak of the adjoining buildings roof, a long twig in his beak, impatiently waiting for me to get lost.

I have nothing against pigeons. I thought it was kind of cool they were building a nest up there, preparing to raise a family. I thought maybe I could find a tenant to move in that liked pigeons.

Maybe some wild bird, a natural predator, will kill them, said another tenant.

The cats are trying to get them, said another.

The owner wont like them, said yet another.

Get one of those fake owls at the hardware store, said another.

I thought about all of these ideas as I began to tape off the living room.

I didnt want to drive to the hardware store. I practically lived there already, and I wasnt in the mood to spend another dime. Maybe I could screen off their entrance. I tried reaching up there, but it was too high, and if I stepped out on the railing the fall would kill me, and I didnt have a ladder that would go up that high.

Then it hit me.

A natural predator, a fake owl.

I looked at my feather duster.

It was a big oversized one with a telescopic handle and big brown feathers. It looked like a headless turkey vulture.

I put two pieces of blue masking tape on it for eyes and then taped it to the railing.

The wind blew its feathers about like a big ugly bird monster. It appeared lifelike.

The two pigeons on the adjoining peak watched me mount it. They began talking about it. They paced nervously back and forth. I could sense their fear. They realized instinctively and almost instantly that this was no place to build their nest, raise their family and revisit year after year.

They departed and I havent seen them since.

From The Property Manager, a homeowners guide to cheap and easy repairs. by Jim Muckle

As we all know, you cannot make a second first impression. Consequently, your home must look inviting to prospective buyers from the moment they arrive at your door which makes curb appeal very important.

The lawn should be mowed and shrubs trimmed. Inexpensive spots of color can be added with flowering hanging plants and potted plants near the entrance. If necessary, the front door should be painted and the house numbers made to shine.

All the clutter should be removed as potential buyers like a sense of spaciousness in your home. Kitchen counters especially should be clutter free and the house should look like Mrs. Clean lives there. After years of living in a house, clutter accumulates in many places such as shelves, counters, garages, basements, closets and drawers. As a homeowner, you become used to it and it will likely take a trained eye to see what needs to be changed. If necessary, a small investment in a professional cleaning service will result in a higher selling price.

Keep blinds and curtains open to let in as much natural light as possible. Turn on lights in bathrooms or areas that do not have windows. All windows should be clean and sparkling. In summer, be sure to keep your air conditioning at a comfortable level. If the weather permits, keep your windows open to allow fresh air to penetrate your home.

Time for a garage sale! Go through your closets and pack up all those old clothes to either sell or donate to your favorite charity. Get rid of the junk in your garage. If necessary, rent a storage space and deposit any items that you cannot throw away or sell.

Attend to your back yard. Sweep and hose down the patio, mow the lawn and trim the shrubs. Roll up the hose and store the garden tools away. As with the front of the house, add some colorful potted plants geraniums are inexpensive, cheerful and will thrive almost anywhere.

Do not cook any fragrant veggies such as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli or Brussels sprouts no matter how much you may love them. Also, you may want to refrain from burning incense. Some people are allergic to incense and you would not want to lose a potential sale because your buyer had an attack of sneezing. If you feel the need to add a fragrance to your home, the aroma of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies pleases almost everyone.

If any of your rooms are painted an exotic color like deep purple, repainting the walls with a neutral color is a good idea. Home buyers need to be able to project themselves into your house and imagine living there. Most people prefer soft, neutral colors so they can move their own furniture right in without having to make any decorating changes. Note the dcor in builders model homes that features wall and window treatments as well as furniture in colors that most buyers are comfortable with and find appealing.

Marc Rasmussen
Realtor in Sarasota, Florida
http://www.LuxurySarasotaRealEstate.com

Pay per click publishing is drawing an enormous attention nowadays due to the wide recognition of being an effective and efficient marketing tool. A lot of business people are seeing the potential of the tool in marketing and advertising because of its capacity to draw traffic on a site and eventually generate high income thru the conversions it can produce. To be able to enjoy the similar benefits of pay per click publishing, here are some tips that you can follow:

Balance your conversion with your traffic level on your pay per click campaigns. It is most likely that when you offer something on the net, then you can expect that you have more than conversion. Following the rule, the more you give the more you expect to come back!

When engaged on pay per click publishing, avoid choosing the first ten results on the search engine. The reason for this is due to the fact that the first ten sites are usually the click by accident sites or the seemingly test clicks. As such, you do not want to happen that your site becomes a site clicked by accident.

Always ensure that you test your landing page on your pay per click before launching them on the site to generate traffic. This is done to ensure that all click that your site generate can drive traffic.

Making sure that you are able to convert a click from the visit, create a call to action box to entice your visitor to click on the box. Instead of making your visitor wander and be at a lost on your site, might as well give him a way to click on your offer

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

For over 50 years, Herbert W. Armstrong warned that a German-led European combine would thresh the nations. When Germany lay in ashes after WWII, Mr. Armstrong had no doubt Germany would be back with a vengeance and he pounded this theme home through the pages of The Plain Truth magazine read by millions worldwide.

Are We Wrong About Europe? by Ryan Malone of The Philadelphia Trumpet magazine, reveals how they continue in Armstrong's tradition.

Konrad Adenauer said the West was "taking a calculated risk" when they started rebuilding Germany after the Holocaust. Before that President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill agreed: "It is our inflexible purpose to destroy German militarism and Nazism and to ensure Germany will never again be able to disturb the peace of the world."

Nevertheless, Helmut Schmidt reported Germany was again putting on "imperial airs," and author Bernard Conally wrote that France was struggling to "hold the old demons of Germany's character in check." Margaret Thatcher warned her deaf audience that "Germany is very powerful now - her national character is to dominate." Are they all just crying wolf? Or is the German beast about to devour again?

Robert Locke is opposed to the increasingly fascist Europe (but doesn't believe Germany dominates it) stated: "I can't agree with you about Germany. It is a castrated PC marshmallow of a country, not a lion preparing to rule the world."

Consider Luigi Barzini's reference to The mutable Germans in The Europeans where he questions: Which is the shape of the German Proteus this morning? Which will be its shape tomorrow? Johannes Gross thinks his countrymen wear a mask. 'But the day may come when someone lifts the mask, he wrote. The face that appears may be less full-cheeked and rosy than today's... So long as we wear the mask, we remain hidden and continue to conceal the situation from ourselves.'

Ron Fraser (Is a World Dictator About to Appear?) exposes: Although Germany is the prime mover in all these [European unification] efforts, in order to dispel any idea that the country may have expansionist intentions, these initiatives have generally been made under the cloak of being for the common good of the European Union.

This sentiment concurs with Bismarck, who wrote in his diary (Nov. 1876): I have always heard politicians use the word Europe when they were making requests to other powers which they did not dare formulate in the name of their own country.

What is Germany hiding? Nuclear weapons? Who would be so foolish to imagine Germany without their own nuclear weapons when they were ahead of us in developing them? Certainly the grand design Franz Josef Strauss had in mind (with much at his disposal as Federal Minister of Nuclear Energy, and later Defense Minister) demanded independence from the United States. And Germany's Dolphin submarines delivered to Israel, equipped to handle nuclear weapons, underscore German military capabilities, yet the United States continues to blindly promote their control of the European continent, oblivious to The Dangers in US-German European Policy.

How many German plants in America are serving the interests of Germany's budding Fourth Reich? It's not only German factories and German businesses in America proving that basic thoroughness of the orderly German (Johannes Gross), since the secret Nazis had predetermined such a strategy, but bought and paid for American prostitutes in diverse and perverse positions of power aid and abet them! They expose our country to danger and will leave us infected as a nuclear wasteland!

What is Germany hiding behind the mask? Even if skeptics dismiss the mystic relationship between Germany and the Vatican (both forging Europe into their image believing the German spirit will heal the world -Emanuel Geibel), and doubt the Bavarian pope is soon going to promote a particular strong man and platform to save Europe and the world from the threat of Islam, shouldn't those responsible for our national security seriously consider the scenario of a United States of Europe betraying us? Shouldn't the intelligence experts consider that possibility and prepare for it? Why suffer the element of surprise that Germany is infamous for? The German is acquainted with the hidden paths to chaos... (Nietzche).

...it is once again important to keep an eye on the German Proteus in an attempt to fathom the probable shape of things to come. What form will he assume next? After all, Germany is still le coeur de l'Europe (Barzini). Is the German marshmallow about to mutate into the German monster? Will the EU mask come off and expose the beast? Will the heart be healthy for Europe or dark and dangerous?

David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer in Ohio and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out Beyond Babylon.

Why are ink cartridges so expensive? Do you print less and try to save your ink? Is there another alternative other than to purchase ink cartridges brand new? If you answered yes to any of these questions, read on.

The last time I had to replace my 4 ink cartridges I felt I was gassing up my car.

Guzzle, Guzzle and Guzzle.

Why are the ink cartridges so expensive?

Do the manufacturers of printers want us to purchase new printers every time we need to refill our ink?

Why is it so expensive to replace ink cartridges from our printer?

I use my printer probably more than most people. I am always printing my books which vary in length from 30 pages to 150. The ink disappears before my very eyes.

I have found an alternative way to purchase ink cartridges, I am using recycled cartridges.

In this world's economy which seems to be becoming crazier and crazier and prices seem to be blasting out of sight, we need to be able to have an alternative.

I was told that laser printers which are more expensive to purchase - the ink lasts longer but the cartridges are expensive.

What do you think about this situation? Are you happy with the price of ink cartridges? Would you like to see the price come down? Let me know what you think.

Thank you for reading my article. I hope you read my other numerous articles.

Copyright Linda E. Meckler 2006

Linda is the author of her first published book, Ghost Kids Trilogy. "Christy, 12 and her Brother Brad, 16 moves into an old house on top of a mountain and meet two Ghost Kids. Then we have a mysterious, magical Blue Vase where Uncle Charlie the villain is trapped. He wants out of the Blue Vase and exchange he will tell Christy and Brad where Pirates Treasure is Hidden. Take a walk with Christy and Brad down a dark hall hunting for Pirates Treasure. You will think were you there right there with them. Love, Family Values and Charity burst off the pages. http://www.lmeckler.com

Check out my new 4 E books Titled:
How To Appeal Medical Bills
Appeal and Collections Letters for Medical Providers
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Computers Cause Pain on my website

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I remember seeing Demi Moore in a gorgeous sexy dress in a movie once and instantly wished for the breasts that she had to fill out the garment beautifully. There is absolutely no doubt that larger breasts can make a woman feel more sexy, more beautiful and much more desirable. However, surgery is not the only solution. This article will discuss simple solutions for making your breasts look bigger without surgery or any other enlargement methods.

The easiest way to do this is with no effort at all on your part but with the help of a breast boosting bra.

There are a number of these available on the market, particularly targeting women with saggy, droopy breasts. The best boob boosting bra would have supportive cups.

Another way of achieving good support is by purchasing an underwire bra. However, make sure the bra is comfortable long term, otherwise it will annoy you all day.

Julia Roberts made padded bras famous again in one of her movies. Not only do padded bras give the appearance of fuller breasts but they also can position them closer together so they appear even more sexy.

Another solution available is a range of exercises. While they won't add cup sizes exercise can make them fuller and sit higher. Additionally, performing a range of back exercises can also make them more attractive.

There are a range of exercises that you can try to firm up their appearance. These includes a range of push up exercises, performing back extensions either with or without equipment, and a range of arm exercises, and back exercises.

You may be surprised to learn that your diet can also affect their appearance. Studies have revealed that women who aren't eating the right foods can have smaller breasts than women who are making more healthy choices. Sesame seeds are actually a great bust-firming food.

Women who are actually going through menopause are encouraged to eat foods that are said to increase breast size as it balances out their hormones. It is believed that some conventional vegetarian foods like tofu, dried beans, berries and wheat germ can also assist in their appearance.

For the latest information about the best natural enlargement products that really work check out the website below!

Copyright 2007. Are you after ways to make your breast bigger? Not all breast enlargement products are safe, nor do they live up to the bold enlargement claims that they make. I put the "best" breast enlargement products to the test and have just published my results. To get access to ways to make your breast bigger now check out my breast enlargement review page now at http://make-my-breast-bigger.blogspot.com

The advent of the modern Global Positioning System or GPS can most often be found on the dashboard of a car. So popular is this technologically advanced mapping system, that newer cars are even being designed with GPS included as a standard feature. But what many fail to realize is that GPS began as much more than a device used by the directionally challenged. GPS began as a revolutionary and promising piece of equipment designed by the United States Government.

The possibilities of GPS first began to materialize when Russia put Sputnik into space in 1957. Those following the travels of the spacecraft from the ground realized that they could track its progress based upon the strength of its radio signal; and this one fact opened up a whole new world of possibilities. The U.S. Navy was the first government faction to dabble in GPS; in the mid 1960s, they launched the Transit System a system of six satellites that circled the earth and helped missile-carrying Navy submarines pinpoint their location. The United States Department of Defense designed and operated the first modern GPS; the first satellite was launched in 1978.

Today, this system includes the operation of 24 satellites that continually circle the earth and is used for a variety of functions that include GPS mapping, navigation, and tracking. With the assistance of these invisible satellites we can pinpoint our location, the location of someone else, or the location of a place we want to travel. What is more incredible is the size and compactness of such a system. The modern GPS can fit into the palm of your hand and yet holds enormous power.

GPS has literally transformed the world; and its possibilities for the future can not even be imagined. We can only wait and see what lies ahead for the evolution of GPS.

For easy to understand, in depth information about GPS visit our ezGuide 2 GPS.

More and more, consumers, retailers and wholesalers looking to source quality flooring are looking for balance too. They all want to find practicality and look, measured with environmentally-responsible products and processes. Cork flooring, which has been around for centuries, makes striking this balance very easy indeed. Harvested from the cork oak, particularly in Portugal and Spain where the species flourishes, cork flooring stands as a shining example of a renewable source in flooring. The bark of the cork oak is harvested by hand. The process is heavily regulated to protect each individual tree from long-term harm. This means that the source for your cork floor, a flooring alternative that remains to be both decorative and practical for many reasons, is not endangered. Each cork oak tree is harvested on a nine-year rotation. Only mature cork oaks are harvested in order to protect future generations. For a green flooring option, cork flooring is worth your attention. And this is before any benefits of aesthetics and practical uses of cork flooring come into play!

How cork is processed for flooring and other products

Once the bark of the cork oak tree is removed with the use of hand-held implements, it is boiled. This allows the bark to become more malleable, easily shaped into a variety of forms. The versatility of cork as a material is thus demonstrated even as it is processed. The primary use for cork is that for which it is literally synonymous corks, for the wine industry, and other similar bottling industries. The cork is pressed into large sheets, and the corks are punched out. The remaining cork is ground, and further molded into large blocks. At this point, the cork is baked to further increase its durability. The cork is then cut to standardized sizes, and sorted according to color. The last stage is sealing these cut-down cork pieces with a layer of polyurethane or wax. The cork is then ready for use as flooring, or many other uses.

Nothing Goes to Waste

As you can see, cork flooring stands as a flooring option that is very concerned with the conservation of the species on numerous fronts. Each individual cork oak tree is allowed to reach maturity before it is harvested for its bark. Even then, the bark is not harvested for any length of time less than nine years, to allow appropriate re-growth and general health of the individual cork oak. When the cork oak bark is processed for flooring and other uses, all of the bark is used to the greatest extent possible. The stages which make it a durable flooring option only stands to make its use that much more robust. Increasing the life of the products made from cork means getting the best use out of the natural resource of the bark used to make it. With cork, and with cork flooring, consumers and sellers gain the benefits of quality flooring. Along with this, they also gain the knowledge that their choice in green flooring contributes to an ongoing effort in creating renewable products.

Rob Jones is Communications Coordinator with BuildDirect, a leading online wholesaler of building products. Rob writes articles for commercial contractors and DIYers on features, installation, and maintenance of building materials used in commercial and residential projects. These articles focus on materials such as flooring, decking, roofing, and siding, and other related topics.

Learning public speaking is like learning to ride a bike. All you need is some initial courage and a sense of balance. Then you have to change gear as appropriate. Once youve progressed that far you simply learn when to put on the brakes.

Most of us have suffered from listening to poor public speakers. Weve squirmed as theyve gone on endlessly saying the same thing in a dozen boring ways. Most of us too have admired brilliant speakers and wished we too could captivate an audience. At the very least most of us would like to express our views in public without losing our courage not to mention our voices.

The thing most public speakers have in common is simply a fear of making fools of themselves. They may be college students who have to study rhetoric as part of their schooling. In adult life those who attend may be budding politicians, trade union activists or aspiring business people. There may also usually be a few shy singles and some married couples sharing a new experience in communications. However interesting the mix they dont usually expect to start the class with breathing exercises.

Teachers will explain that these exercises will help pupils relax. The truth is that when you see others puffing and blowing you have to laugh. You simply cant take yourself too seriously when you are bent double swinging your arms energetically. In the context of all this merriment it is usually a only a short matter of time before you all introduce yourselves and explain why you are taking public speaking classes.

You first challenge is that you have to get used to speaking aloud. So many teachers provide poems and tongue twisters, even bits from the Bible for you to try. You may be asked to bring in your favourite book and read it to the class. You will discover that they quietest person in the class probably loves gruesome tales of the supernatural while the strongest looking footballer loves lyrical poetry. Once you have got used to the sound of your own voice you progress to speaking about everything under the face of the sun.

One week you may rivet your class with your speech about spies. The next week you will find yourself giving your views on the political system or the World Cup. A good teacher will help you to expand your mind and broaden your interests. You may find yourself in the public library swotting up on a totally new subject and actually enjoying it as you visualise yourself impressing your classmates. It doesnt take long before you are hooked on the challenge of captivating your audience. It wont matter to you whether they are classmates, members of the local chamber of commerce or even the world synod of bishops.

Thats fine when you can prepare your speech days in advance. Speaking off the cuff is a totally different but part of public speaking is teaching you to think on your feet. So try to imagine what you would say about forks, Santa or the sky at night without any time to prepare. A simple one-minute off the cuff talk can seem like endless torture. Eventually though you master the idea of making a riveting start, interesting context and a thought-provoking conclusion, even if you dont know the first thing about the subject. You are on your way to being a competent public speaker. Obviously though you will speak with more passion and zeal when you are inspired by the topic. So if you love sport you will find that your sports speeches will have that extra something and thats good.

All through your life this skill it will be an asset to you. You may have to speak on graduation day, at the office party, when your best friend celebrates his birthday or even at your daughters wedding. Your audience may be schoolmates, the local historical society, a computer convention or simply the parish youth committee.

You learn to use a microphone so that it doesnt catch the knocking of your knees. You will have learnt how to emphasise a point, how to use notes, how to chair a meeting. You master nervous habits such as hand twisting or foot tapping. Most importantly, you learn to write to be said aloud rather than read. You will find yourself listening critically to other speakers whether they are on radio or television or in a local club. You will start saying to yourself, "he never mentioned X" or "He should have said something about Y". You become, In fact, the original armchair critic. Above all though you will learn that public speaking is great fun.

Public speaking is a very personal thing. It gives you confidence and it makes you more articulate. It teaches you how to put your ideas in sequence. It also helps you to make new friends. Many public speakers join groups such as Toastmasters and make it a lifelong hobby. Others are simply satisfied to be able to give their viewpoint at a local meeting. If you are really lucky you might even find yourself being paid to lecture on a pet subject!

Being able to speak well in public helps your self-esteem. You may find you are welcomed to parties, invited to functions and it might even help you to impress your boss. Certainly it will expose you to lots of new ideas you hadnt considered before. You might, like one speaker, learn to think of income tax as todays equivalent to the tithes once paid to the church to support the poor. Now thats whats called a persuasive speech!

Some people of course are naturals and can address any audience anywhere with enthusiasm and ease. Most of us though consider public speaking as a fate worse than death, until we learn to master it. The problem then is that by then it will be like the weekly crossword, youll just have to keep at it until you get it right.

There is absolutely no feeling like that of holding an audience in the palm of your hand. So go on grab their attention, entertain and inform them and send them away with your words ringing in their ears.

Whether you call it oratory, rhetoric or public speaking it will enhance your life and help you to make lots of new friends. Like learning to ride a bike it is a skill, once learned, that you never forget.

You may wobble a bit if you get out of practise but soon all the skills you have learnt will soon come back. Then youll be freewheeling all the way and your audience will be delighted to come along for the ride!

Niamh Crowe
Copyright Speechwriters 1994-2007
marketing@speech-writers.com
Tel. +353 1 8333599

Niamh Crowe is the CEO of the web's leading speech site (http://www.speech-writers.com) according to Alexa.com and Ranking.com. Online since 1994, her site has thousands of speeches for every event and occasion including birthdays, weddings, graduations etc. She lives in Ireland where she is married to Fred. The have 5 children.

These two factors are skill and focus. You need poker skills in order to realize what decision to make. Sometimes you will have to raise, other times you will have to fold, and other times you will have to bluff. You will also need focus in order to use your poker skills to the maximum. Theres no use in having excellent poker skills if you cannot properly use them, now is it?

There are also other factors that influence your poker game, such as the fear factor. And they influence it in a negative manner. Just think about it for a second. Every activity has a certain degree or risk in it. That risk makes us uncomfortable, makes us scared of an unwanted outcome. It gets worse when you are playing poker. You are competing against real people and all of them want to get the pot. That means that all of them can do pretty much everything to get the pot. Well, they cannot break the rules, but they can use your own fears against you. If they can figure out what you want, they will try to prevent you from getting that thing. If they can figure out what makes you afraid, they will use that information to their advantage.

But what are poker players afraid of? The truth of the matter is that there are plenty of things that worry and scare a poker player. All the things that make you worry when you are playing poker are actually part of the fear factor. Lets say that you just made a big raise, you will surely be afraid or concerned that someone will call you. The same applies to when you call, bluff, bet, re-raise, and so on.

Being afraid or concerned is a good thing. There is quite a lot of money on the line and you should by all means be a bit afraid. But you must not get your emotions get the best of you. Remember that you must stay focused and on top of your game. Try not to show your opponents any of your fears, and try to take advantage of the fears and concerns that they display. If you are afraid of the competition, try playing fewer hands and tighten up your game.

The thing that you must realize is that fear can considerably influence your game. If you keep your emotions in check, then that fear will help you be more focused, will help you play better. If on the other hand you let your emotions run wild, if you let your fears get the best of you, you will only lose. To have a profitable poker session you must stay calm, keep a cool head, and stay focused on the game.

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Obesity levels are rising to over 67% of the US population and children are also developing health problems reserved for the over 45 population. In Europe, obesity is also a rising problem and countries such as Italy have introduced the SLOW FOOD movement. The Slow Food movement is both a resistance to fast food and a practice of enjoying home cooked food with family and loved ones in a calm environment.

I remember the first time I went through an American drive through and experienced what I had only seen on TV. It was 1997 and I was a tourist from Australia in Colorado with a group of new American friends. We had one day on the road to see as much as possible and it was getting late. In a flurry to get back to camp we pulled into a drive thru (even the word thru is shortened!) the driver yelled at us and then yelled at a box and suddenly some sort of wrap was on my lap. I laughed to myself as I realized I was truly in America and no one else in the car understood how foreign the experience was to me.

Convenience foods are so taken for granted in the US that the alternative is seen as inconvenient. Marketing and food supply companies have done everything to make junk food and processed foods more easily affordable, available and fashionable than real food. So when do we start to take the time and make the effort to fight for the right of good old fashioned fruit, vegetables and whole foods? There is the impression that time is the aspect that you have the least choice over in modern American culture.

What to eat has become a hot topic with the popular press pushing one new diet after the other. Marketing by food companies attaches emotional and feel good vibes to products. When food becomes a fashion, an emotion or a choice made by a fad diet, there is a disconnection from the hunger centers of the brain and the bodys natural response for nutrients.

One of the other challenges of modern culture is the over supply of food in the environment and the lack of the need for food considering we dont move as we used to. Reconnecting to YOUR bodys natural ability to understand what it wants is perhaps the most important skill to learn in order to avoid being overwhelmed by environmental factors in your food choices.

The first step to get back to some sense of what your body wants is to follow the Italians and slow down. Think about the reason you may choose a convenience or processed food. If you are choosing food because its there, you dont have time, its cheap, understand your choices are creating your future and your childrens future health or lack there of.

Education about what foods are supportive for you is a gradual process. Sensing what foods are right for you will change throughout your lifetime as the body chemistry changes. If you have an obsessive attraction to unhealthy foods then take a step back and see if youre actually craving some other sort of emotional need or high. Highly processed foods act like sugar in the body and sugar is just as much a drug as alcohol.

Reintroducing fresh fruit and vegetables is the most important step to reeducating your taste buds and brain to the bodys more balanced response to what to eat and how much to eat. In traditional medicine, fasting and abstinence from food for a short period was also a good way to re-calibrate the bodys natural response for nutrients. You can try short periods of abstinence from a particular food to test how you react to that food when you reintroduce it into your diet. Most importantly, start finding ways where you have MORE choice over what food you have available, so you have whole foods you enjoy that are good for you.

About ANGELA BADOLATO:
Angela Badolato is a dance performer from Australia and has been teaching and performing dance and healthy lifestyle practices for over 16 years. She has a bachelors degree in drama and communications and is a certified foot and hand reflexologist and belly dance performer. She shares her passion for aliveness of the body through online writing, teaching and live performance. In her articles & programs, you will find the blueprints of the body that empower our health, you will learn to develop a strong connection between your body and mind and reach your lifetime fitness goals stress free and with fun! http://www.lifetimebodyfitness.com

Math is a very important subject for everyone to master. Mathematics is used in every area of life - in the home, on the job, and even in recreation.

The problem is that some people just don't understand the concepts. This can be caused by different factors. Sometimes a child in school does not grasp the basic functions because of attention or classroom problems. This causes them to experience problems as each year new and more advanced tasks are added to their work.

Another thing that causes problems in math is that some people just aren't as good at it as others. But for your child's sake, you should take every measure you can find to improve their math skills. It will help them in the future to be able to function on the job and in the home.

Make Math Enjoyable

Math is learned through repetition, but that doesn't mean you can't have fun doing it. You can help your child become better at math by spending a few minutes a day working with them. Spending time with your child can strengthen your relationship and give you quality time together as well as help them academically.

There are software programs for the child to use themselves or worksheets to use for one-on-one tutoring. You can find programs that help tutor in the basics such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division.

After the basic functions have been mastered, you can find programs to help with more advanced operations. These topics would include decimals, fractions, percents, ratio, rounding, prime numbers, geometry and more. With exercises, tips and strategies, your child's confidence and performance will grow.

Use a Variety of Math Exercises

Some tuition programs include math quizzes, puzzles, and challenges to develop mental sharpness. Presenting math topics in challenging and creative ways makes it more interesting and helps the child not to be discouraged.

You can enrich your child's learning and help him advance at his own pace so he masters each subject. There are courses offered online that will grade and give advice as your child works through their program. You will find software programs set up as games that guide a child through different mathematical tasks. There are online sites that teach math through sports and other subjects that are interesting to children and teens.

Begin Working Now

Before you decide what software or worksheets to order, you can have your child take an online evaluation test. This will show you what their weaknesses and strengths are in math. Then you will know what areas to concentrate on to effectively improve their math skills.

Don't delay in helping your children learn math. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for them to catch up on what they missed. Have a positive attitude and patience to help them enjoy their math work. Find a good program that is tailored to their needs. Then be consistent in working with them or encouraging them to work. You will be pleased at the good results, and your child will reap the benefits from your help for the rest of their life.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about Improve Your Child's Math Skills or Majon's Education directory.