Cloth Diapering 101 – Learn All You Need to Get Started in Cloth Diapers and Discover the Benefits

I have talked with lots of people about Cloth Diapers and I know one frustration of many people that are just getting into cloth is the “Lingo” that the cloth diapering community uses. There is nothing worse than trying to find information just to have it all in a secret code!

Here is your Lingo 101 crash course:

CD: CD stands for Cloth Diapers. So we have CD’ers and CD’ing, cloth diaper-ers and cloth diaper-ing.

Stash: a stash is the collection of cloth diapers that a person has. Some stashes are small and just fill the needs of the family, and some stashes are literally a collection of cloth diapers.

Closures: the way a diaper is done up to stay on baby, types include: snap, velcro, pin, snappie, or wrap style cover.

OS diaper: One Size diaper, made to fit all sizes of kids from birth to potty training.

AIO: All in one diaper, a diaper that is diaper and cover in one, with snap or velcro closures.

AI2: All in two diaper, a diaper that is a diaper and cover with and insert added in, with snap or velcro closures.

Pocket: a diaper that is a shell with a pocket that you stuff with an absorbent insert, with snap or velcro closures.

Fitted: an absorbent, breathable diaper that needs a cover, with snap, velcro or pin closures.

Flat: a flat square of absorbent fabric that you can fold into a diaper, requires pins or some other method of closure.

Prefold: a flat diaper that has been “pre-folded” and sewn so the middle is more absorbent, requires pins or other method of closure.

Contour diaper: a prefold that has been sewn into a contoured shape to fit more easily without all the folding, requires pins of other method of closure.

Covers: a covering for a fitted, contoured, flat or prefold diaper that is usually fleece, PUL (polyurethane laminate: waterproof fabric) or wool.

Wrap: style of cover that wraps around the baby like the diaper holding the diaper in place, has either snap of velcro closure.

Soaker or Longies: Pull up covers usually fleece or wool, longies are pant style covers.

Insert or Booster: more absorbency layers you can simply add to the diaper.

WAHM: Work At Home Mom

Sposies: disposable diapers

Diaper Sprayer: a sprayer you attach to your toilet to spray off your diapers.

So now that we have the basic lingo let’s talk why cloth is better…

I am biased I know, but I have three reasons I cloth diapered. I will share them with you.

Eco-Friendly:

This one is kind of obvious I think. Pro-disposable advocates have for years used the water argument. That the amount of water used to wash cloth diapers is is as hard on the environment as the production and disposal of disposable diapers. So, how about some numbers…

It is estimated that every year 2 billion tons of urine, feces, plastic and paper are added to landfills. Also did you know that it takes around 80,000 pounds of plastic and over 200,000 trees a year to manufacture the disposable diapers that just the babies in the US use. Now I know some disposables are presented as biodegradable, but in order for this process to work them must be exposed to the sun. This does not happen since we cover our landfills. It can take several hundred years for them to decompose, and some of the plastics never do decompose.

As to the claim that we are wasting water with flushing the waste and washing cloth diapers, did you realize that the water that we use to flush and to wash our diaper is sent into the waste-water plants and then treated. It is then much more environmentally friendly than dumping untreated soiled disposable diapers into a landfill.

So we agree they are better for the environment, how about your baby?

Healthy Lifestyle:

In our lifestyles today we are becoming more and more aware of the chemicals and such that are being added to everything around us. Our food, our water, our kids’ toys, and even our pesticides and fertilizers. We are demanding that we want more organic lifestyles. We want things to be healthier and better for us. Why then should this not carry over to the diapers we put on our baby’s bum? Does your baby get rashes? Most babies get rashes from one thing or another. There are a few things that are added to disposable diapers that are not very healthy or at all natural. Dyes, sodium polyacrylate (the super absorbent gel), and dioxin, which is a by-product of bleaching paper are just some thing found in disposable diapers. Also a big concern is Sodium polyacrylate which has been linked in the past to toxic shock syndrome and allergic reactions, this is no longer allowed in Tampons, but is still used in disposable diapers.

Some of the problems reported to the CPA (Consumer Protection Agency) regarding disposable diapers include, chemical burns, noxious chemical and insecticide odors, babies pulling disposables apart and putting pieces of plastic into their noses and mouth and choking on them, plastic melting onto the skin, and ink staining the skin. That sounds just dandy huh? I put cloth diapers on my babies because I knew exactly what was going on their bum, and I knew exactly what was in the diapers. I also had total control over what was used on them in the cleaning process. Did you know that disposable diapers do NOT have to list their ingredient lists? They don’t want you to know what they put in them, what chemicals you are bringing into your home and putting on their precious little bums. Did that all sound like mumbo jumbo? Well if it did, then this last sentence is all you need to remember from this section. In the end cloth diapers worn and changed regularly are simply better for your baby’s adorable little behind.

So if this all isn’t enough what about the cost? Is it really cheaper to cloth diaper?

Cost of Cloth Diapers VS Disposable Diapers:

Disposable diaper estimates run between $60 to $80 a month depending on the brand of choice. That is between $750-$960 a year for diapering one child… how many of you have or will have more than one in diapers? I did! I have 6 kids that is $7,500! Can you imagine that? Did I just want to throw away that much money? You better believe I did NOT!

So how much will a stash of cloth diapers cost you? And do you really save money?

There are so many brands of diapers out there and the the cost is differing. From cheap Prefolds at $12 for a 6 pack to Fitted’s that will cost you upwards of $40 a diaper. I make and sell Cloth Diapers and my diapers are in the middle of the range of the cost of Cloth Diapers. My diapers cost $23.50 a diaper. We will use the cost of my Nifty Nappy Cloth Diapers to figure out the cost of a stash.

20 diapers = $470

3 woolie wrap covers = $75

2 longie wool covers = $40

diaper pail = $3 (Ace 2 gallon bucket)

Diaper sprayer = $29 – $40

TOTAL: $580-$600

This was my stash minus the diaper sprayer, which I did survive all 10 years of cloth diapering without! I know that that seems like a lot! BUT it is less than you would spend for one year of disposable diapers. AND you can diaper that child through all diapering years with that stash. PLUS other children that follow as well! The “care of” does add a bit of a cost. With some extra batches of laundry a week and the extra electricity. I just convinced my sister to use cloth diapers and she is on her last child. She now wishes she had used them the whole time. She says that she honestly is NOT doing more laundry with cloth than she was doing before. She says my cloth diapers contain messes that used to blow right up and out of the disposable diapers. She has to wash the baby’s actual clothes less because there are less blowouts which in turn has made her baby clothes last longer also.

I diapered two kiddos in cloth with 20 diapers washing every other day. I also used the same set of diapers for my four youngest children. I did one wash in hot water and then hung them out to dry as much as possible cutting down on the cost of drying… since the sun is free! So to me the cost difference was a big part in my decision to cloth diaper.

So what do you think? Would you consider it now? I know that it seem a little overwhelming, but there is lots of help to be had. There are amazing cloth diapering mamas on Twitter and Facebook that would offer support and advice. I would love to help you join in the wonderful world of cloth. So take a minute and consider how much better cloth diapering would be for your family and your baby.

Vilate is a WAHM with 6 kiddos. She has perfected her cloth diaper design over the 11 years she has been using cloth diapers. Vilate is also very excited to announce that she has branched out to retail. She now sells her cloth diapers in online shops and through retailers. She has some very dedicated cloth diaper retailers which you can find on her Were to Buy page.

Tips on Bowling Alleys And Accessories

Bowling has been a popular sport for Americans and other nationalities. Over 50 million Americans are into bowling and more and more people around the world are becoming addicted to it.

Bowling is a leisure activity that provides many health and physiological benefits. Bowling may be a form of relaxation to many or a way to bond with families and friends. A person does not need to be a pro to enjoy this kind of sport.

Bowling alleys are special facilities where people participate in the sport of bowling. These alleys provide lanes for bowling and other amenities.

Here are the factors to consider when choosing a bowling alley:

1. The location of the bowling alley should be taken into consideration. An alley close to his/her home location will make it convenient and inviting. A bowling alley close to his/her workplace could also be considered so that he/she could easily go to the bowling alley after work.

2. The facilities of the alley should also be considered. Many bowling alleys now have modern facilities like electronic scoreboards. People are attracted to places where the facilities are modern.

3. The employees working at the bowling alley should be friendly and accommodating. Employees who are friendly will make the place inviting. The instructors should also be friendly and willing to help with all the needs of the bowlers, especially the beginners. Bowlers should be able to learn many techniques from instructors that are friendly and willing to share their skills.

4. The bowling alleys should be clean and properly maintained. Bowlers go to alleys to enjoy and relax. If the alley is not clean and properly maintained, bowlers will not be comfortable. All facilities should also be properly maintained to provide safety for the bowlers.

5. There are generally many bowling alleys that may be found in any city. A person may search the Internet to check the nearest bowling alley and may also read reviews about the bowling alley. Many bowling alleys also have cafeterias where players can eat and mingle with other bowlers.

Bowling alleys contribute to the interest of many people in the sport and should be a place where fun and enjoyment may be experienced. They should be welcoming to bowlers and provide them all the things necessary to entice bowlers to become regular customers.

Equipment and Accessories for Bowling

Whether a professional bowler or not, it is recommended that you have the proper equipment and accessories before heading to the lanes. Here are some accessories that should be considered:

Bowling Balls

Bowling balls are the most important equipment in bowling. When buying bowling balls, some features should be considered. They are the weight, size of the ball holes, and whether the balls are designed for right-handed or left-handed persons. There are also three types of balls: beginner, intermediate and the advanced bowling balls. Kids may also buy bowling balls that are designed specifically for them. There are also bowling alleys that provide/rent bowling balls to players.

Bowling Shoes

Bowling shoes are also necessary in bowling. Bowling shoes are not just ordinary shoes; each shoe in the pair serves a purpose. One shoe is designed for better sliding while the other is for braking. Most bowling alleys provide/rent shoes to their customers. When choosing bowling shoes, it is important to consider the size. They should not be too loose or too tight on the feet. The bowler must be able to move comfortably.

Bowling Shirts

Like other sports, proper clothing is necessary and must be comfortable. Specially designed bowling shirts with collars are worn by professional bowlers. However, if the player is just an ordinary bowler, any regular shirt with collar will do as long as it fits comfortably and not be a distraction while bowling.

Bowling Gloves

Bowling gloves are very beneficial to bowlers. These are used to provide a better grip of the ball. Bowling gloves help players throw a ball accurately and with power. Gloves are helpful in supporting the wrist and making a smooth delivery possible.

Bowling Towels

Towels are important and used to wipe the oil residue from the balls. Towels may be improvised or there are special bowling towels available in sports supply stores.

Other accessories may also be considered like bags, face towels, wrist bands and bowling ball cleaners and polishers. All these accessories are beneficial in providing mobility and comfort to bowlers. If one is interested in getting into the bowling lanes, then he or she may avail one of these accessories for his own.

Paul Bittle is the owner of Bits N Wits [http://www.bitsnwits.com] an information web site. Search the web, our directories, free courses, plus add your article or URL link for free.

The Fun in Gourmet Cooking

Going from standard cooking to preparing gourmet meals may seem like quite a stretch. It takes real skill and talent when it comes to cooking gourmet meals. Gourmet aficionados are very precise about what food they like. But most importantly, they are willing to pay big bucks for a good meal.

Gourmet cooking has great potential for being a fun activity. It requires a creative eye, a well tuned pallet, and genuine skill. If it just so happens that you have the ability to make an entrée look like a masterpiece, taste like heaven, and be interesting enough to catch other people’s fancy, then gourmet cooking may be right for you.

If this is the case, attending culinary school may be a good idea. These institutions will teach you the proper way of cooking. Not only will you be able to learn how to prepare good food, you’ll also learn how to make it look good. Enough practice in gourmet cooking will allow you to create your own masterpieces in the future.

Also, reputation is very important to gourmet cooks. Especially since word of food reviews travel fast. Food critics are always up to their game when it comes to publishing what they have to say on print. To be as efficient as possible, they come in disguised as regular folk.

All gourmet eateries must make it a point to ensure that all customers have a delightful experience, from the appetizer to the dessert. As a cook yourself, you may find it in your interest as well to ensure that every customer’s experience is truly gourmet. Remember, it is your reputation on the line here. Whatever steps you make to protect this reputation would be well worth it.

If your wife likes to cook, you must have a good camera to use to take photos of her while she’s cooking. A good camera should come with a great camera strap too. Get yours at http://camerastrap.org

The Right Career Choice – Starting Or Changing Careers!

Choosing the Right Career: And how to make a smooth career change!

Choosing a career or changing from one career to another can be a daunting task. However, with some well thought out career planning you can start in the right job field or make the transition into another career field with a minimum of fuss.

Why do so many end up choosing a career that is less than satisfying and some find themselves in careers where they are downright miserable? The short answer is many think they know the correct way about picking a career, yet there are a number of myths associated with choosing a career that you need to know about.

The number one myth about choosing a career is that the process is simple, takes little time and

once the career choice is make the book is closed. Actually, selecting the right career for you should be an ongoing process that involves career and employer research, learning about yourself and effectively using all the available career and job hunting resources available to you.

Career Planning for Great Future Results

Once you recognize career planning and selection is an involved process you need to spend the appropriate amount of time to get the best results.

Career ideas can come from many sources. Don’t let a career counselor or a friend tell you what career is best for you. They can give you a level of guidance on new career ideas but it’s never wise to rely entirely on their advice.

For example, many times you’ll get advice from professionals and friends that you can’t make a living from your hobby. In reality, this is the one area to start looking how you can take your skills learned from the hobby to a profitable career. Either, self-employed or working in the field for another employer can be an excellent career choice.

In addition, a part-time hobby that can be turned into a small money making business, while working full-time, can provide you with an additional level of financial security.

Learn about a Career without working in it

Many think the only way you can really learn about a career is to work in it. Not true. If you find a career that interests you, do the research to find others working in the field. Contact them to see if you can arrange a short interview. Or have questions ready for a short phone interview. Many times these discussions will lead to other valuable resources regarding the career. All will assist you in making the right career decision.

Another area where many go wrong is to only look at careers on the latest “hot careers” list. These are top ten lists of the hottest current and projected future jobs. Although interesting and a possible source for further research you need to focus on your skills, what are your top interests and what excites you about a particular career and not what someone predicts will be the outlook for a specific occupation.

Career Change is in your Future

In the course of a lifetime, if you are typical, you will change jobs and careers several times. The secret of making a successful career change is to spend time every week and month is career planning. A well though out plan researching jobs and employers will keep you attuned to changes in the economy, new careers in which you may qualify and other income opportunities.

Developing career related skills through training and self-study will make you more valuable in your current career and prepare you to open future doors of yet undiscovered career ideas.

John Groth is a Career Coach and former HR executive. On his site find Career Planning Ideas, valuable articles and a Free Seven Day Career Planning Guide. Discover up to date career and recruitment strategies at Employment and Recruiting Ideas all to assist you in advancing and managing your career.

Gourmet Cooking Terms – 3 Vital Points To Decide What You Must Learn

To learn the gourmet cooking terms seems to be a must in the field of cooking. The gourmet cooking terms are of very much importance especially if you are currently enrolled in a gourmet cooking school, of course. But then again, the importance of learning these also goes the same for people who want to know more about it. This is despite of the fact the the application is much more important than in memorizing the terms. But to perfect the method, you should be familiar enough.

Learning What you Need to Learn

Throughout the internet, you can find a lot of sources on gourmet cooking terms. You may be able to be familiar with the term related to gourmet cooking but nothing beats the familiarity that comes with the practical application of those concepts. Below are some of the things that you need to do besides learning the gourmet cooking terms:

1. Get enrolled in a culinary arts school. If you are planning to be a professional chef, it would be a must to be in right process of your career. But if you are just seeking for some additional expertise but not a degree, these schools can be of great help in providing you the training and knowledge that you need.

2. Engage in culinary arts training and workshops. Training materials and workshops would really make a great help in the learning process. The terms and skills are all incorporated in training materials that you can get from gourmet cooking trainings and workshops. In addition, there are a lot of programs which could help you in acquiring the skills that you need. These programs can be learned right at your home. This is interesting since you do not have to leave your home to learn something.

3. Invest in your television. Aside from enrolling in schools and attending workshops on gourmet cooking, Interestingly, a lot of cooking terms can be learned right in your own television. A number of cooking shows often provide cooking terms that would also be helpful for you. Aside from the cooking terms, cooking shows also provide the procedures of gourmet cooking and some tips on handling the needed utensils and how to get the desired results in cooking your product. This, in a way, gives you a learning avenue at the comfort of your home.

With no doubt, the gourmet cooking terms can be searched easily using the internet. You can also find some useful tutorial on gourmet cooking over the internet. But then again, the fact remains that learning the terms of gourmet cooking is not enough. It is always the application that matters.

Abhishek is really passionate about Cooking and he has got some great Cooking Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 88 Pages Ebook, “Cooking Mastery!” from his website http://www.Cooking-Guru.com/770/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Choosing Furniture For Babies And Toddlers

Today, the available selection of furniture for children is innovative and unique and goes far beyond the basic beds and dressers that have filled children’s rooms in the past. When you decorate your child’s room, consider his personality and his interests as you choose the best pieces. If possible, allow your child to help pick out the childrens furniture he will have in his room.

First, decide on a theme or color scheme for decorating. Beds and other furnishings for children can be found to match a number of designs. Some beds are even available as race cars, fire trucks, or princess castles. You may opt for a bed that fits the theme you’ve chosen or you can buy a simple bed and match the room’s design with a children’s bedding set in a similar theme or color.

To ensure a good night’s sleep for both you and your little one, choose a bed and bedding set that your child likes. Also make sure the bed is comfortable, sturdy, and appropriately sized. Small children who have just graduated from a crib or cot may feel safer in a small bed that is low to the floor. Optional bed rails are a good idea until your little one gets used to sleeping in her new room.

A dresser or small chest of drawers is typically a useful piece of children’s furniture for storing clothing and accessories. Look for a dresser that is sturdy and made of a quality material like wood. Drawers that sit low to the ground are best for young children who may try to climb on the furniture and a model that is not easy to tip over will be safer. Many dressers can be found in a matching set of furniture for your child’s bedroom, including the bed and often end tables.

Children usually have a large collection of books. Find a short bookcase in a colorful design to hold his treasured books, as well as other toys and figures. A desk or small table with chairs can provide a good, solid surface for your child to play and work on. Child-sized chairs and surfaces are great for art activities, homework, or playing with puzzles. Many tables and desks are designed around themes that may fit your child’s bedroom decor, like primary colored animals or soft, pastel flowers.

Every child’s bedroom needs plenty of sturdy storage for toys. Todays toy boxes are just as varied and unique as children’s beds. Deep, wooden toy bins are perfect for storing large toys, while toy boxes with multiple bins of various sizes are good for smaller toys. Some toy boxes offer shelved storage as well for toys like puzzles or to display a favorite collection of cars or horses. Find a toy box that will make it simple for your child to clean his room and to find a particular toy after it is put away.

Consider your child and his activity level when you purchase furniture. Children often climb, so kids furniture [http://www.monkeyshine.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYCAT&catid=64] that is low to the ground will minimize injuries. Many children can be rough on furniture as well. Look for quality built furniture designed specifically for children to stand up to a child’s wear and tear. Most importantly, decorate your child’s room with furniture he likes.

Gary Clay is an expert on

Nursery Furniture [http://www.monkeyshine.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYCAT&catid=60] and owner of stylish kids store MonkeyShine an internet retailer of Childrens Furniture [http://www.monkeyshine.co.uk/index.asp?function=DISPLAYCAT&catid=60] in the UK

Childrens Furniture – Free Space, Free Imagination

First, when you want to arrange a child’s room, you need to take account of age, personality and desires. The room will have to evolve as the years pass, especially if you do not plan to move elsewhere. So, it would be wise not to give into the urge to buy a bed in the shape of a car, boat or princess palace, because when your baby grows, you will have to buy another one. The best thing would be to buy classic furniture and try to play around with the details – the curtains, linens, bedding, wall colour etc.

Imagine a child’s bedroom: in the first period of a babies life (the first few weeks) it will sleep more than it is awake, the waking periods are rare. So the first object to which we refer is the child’s cot. May people prefer to go with a Moses basket for the first few months, but really it will only last a short while and there is no reason a baby can not go straight into a cot with tends to last until a child is 2-3 years old. Because it can be quiet sleep, the mattress must be of a material that allows the child’s body relaxation, easy to maintain (to allow periodic cleaning) and to fit perfectly in the bed (which can be wood, iron or plastic). The cot/bed, here are other issues that we must bear in mind: the child needs protection against air currents but needs air and natural light. In the first months of life a babies movements are small, for the older children, starting from month 3, you can expect it to change its position during sleep. Not to mention the baby who begins to twist from the belly or back, being curious, wanting to see what is beyond the bed, will try to get up. To meet the needs of the child, but also to guard against risks of accidents, bed bars must be sufficiently thin (in order to be grasped by the child’s hand) and a suitable distance apart ( to avoid situations in which a foot can get caught between the bars of his bed… or worse, his head to get stuck among them.)

So far, we referred to as the bed. Consider that, especially in the first few weeks of your child’s life, you will spend a lot of time near it (to see how he sleeps, if he smiles in his sleep, if the bed should be bigger. Also, the baby’s bed should be a convenient height (one side of the cot can be lowered down to allow easier access to the baby). Cots are also available where the mattress can be adjusted to different heights, ensuring that the baby is unable to climb out or over the bars.

Once you have the bed or cot you can arrange a room specially designed for the newest member of your family. There are various hypotheses that come to support the importance of colour on our mental state. But you just use your imagination, you don’t have to stick to the traditional pink, blue, beige or yellows. In choosing the colour of the baby’s room, keep in mind that it will be full of toys, and clothes. If a child’s room is an explosion of strong colours, it will be overstimulated and the effect could be reversed than expected: less interest in it’s toys.

Some parents, especially those with their first child, don’t ask themselves all these questions, often they do what comes naturally to them: the child must sleep where the mother sleeps.

The child grows up as you educate him so he must know he has his own space and privacy. A resolution of this need to constantly supervise can be shown by the parent’s room. As baby grows, the crib can be moved to the nursery. But then parents will be helping the baby (with love and, remember, be firm) to get used to his new room. This doesn’t mean that he should “forget” the way to his parents room, but must understand that while he has to respect the privacy of his parents, he is also entitled to his privacy.

In the nursery, the temperature must be constant and to fall between 16-20 ° C. Therefore, you should have a thermometer (there thermometers in various forms, which cheer up the room).

So I think of moments when the mother is nursing. It is a moment full of emotional exchanges between mother and child. The child learns at his mother’s breast and smiles. Or if the father keeps his bottle, he learns to distinguish between the mother and the father’s voice. The child may fall asleep by the voice of his parents, while listening to a story. And it would be a shame for him if these moments were cut short because the parent was sitting in an uncomfortable chair. As a result, the child’s room must always have a place for a small chair or a rocking chair.

What about the other baby furniture items? Baby clothes can be placed in a sideboard with drawers closed, or on some open shelves. Remember that your baby grows and, within a few moths begins to crawl which endangers the neat, open shelves! This is why you choose overhead racks which, later can be used as shelves for books and toys. True, there are specialty stores the changing tables, and countertops with the bath tub and have drawers for everything. You can also choose this option, but that will not be used in the first period of childhood and the child will quickly outgrow the fancy bath tub and changing table.

For the dirty laundry you can use small wicker baskets with lids. (No nappies in here though!). Baskets have a cheerful air, and after a while, these may be placed alongside those of his older brothers or sisters where they can all store their toys. If you are using disposable nappies, plastic buckets, with lids are ideal! They are easy to use and easy to sterilise.

A high chair is ideal for meals, but I see it in the kitchen, where the family sits around the table. But initially, the high chair may stay in the nursery. The seat itself must support the child and have straps for safety, but that do not inhibit the baby’s movements or to prevent him from eating. Remember that each meal is a new experience for your child!

John Orr is the founder and director of Baby Furniture John has a keen passion for interior and outdoor design and when he is not beautifying his garden he is involved in his other passion – football. He describes himself as a serial entrepreneur and offers his insight on using Moses baskets, Cots and High Chairs.

Dangerous Dog Ordinances, Stevens County, Washington – Title 12 – Straight Talk – Know Your Rights!

Reacting to a series of dog attacks and problems in recent years in the Counties, both Stevens County and Spokane County in Washington State (and nationwide) have adopted new regulations for dealing with potentially dangerous and vicious dogs. Since I am a citizen of Stevens County, I will speak to the new Title 20 ordinance adopted in December 2007 by Stevens County.

Stevens County’s new set of dangerous dog laws is designed to put the accountability on the owner and not just the animal. At this date, Stevens County does not have any designated animal control authority other than the Stevens County Sheriff. Under its new Title 20 ordinance, the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office now has more authority to find that a dog is dangerous or potentially dangerous and impose corrective actions to protect the public. Owners are given further opportunity to appeal the Stevens County Sheriff’s designation to the courts.

By definition under the newly adopted Title 20, a “potentially dangerous” dog is one that has a known propensity, tendency, or disposition to cause an unprovoked attack or to cause injury or otherwise threaten the safety of humans or domestic animals. A “dangerous dog” has caused unprovoked severe injury to a human being, or has killed a domestic animal while off the owner or keeper’s property, or has previously been found “potentially dangerous” and aggressively attacks again or endangers safety. Both the “potentially dangerous” dog and “dangerous dog” designations under the Stevens County, Washington Title 20, carry similar consequences for owners and their dog(s). Stevens County has imposed more restrictive measures under the “potentially dangerous” dog designation than under current Washington State law.

If a dog is found to be “dangerous” or “potentially dangerous”, the owner must register the dogs within 14 days of the County Sheriff’s determination, and the registration will only be accepted if the owner agrees to placement of an identifying microchip inserted in the animal, payment of the first registration fee and an annual registration fee, and to keep the dog enclosed indoors or in a proper enclosure. Proper enclosure is defined under Title 20 as a kennel that contains an enclosed top as well as sides. If the dog is allowed outside the enclosure, it must be muzzled and restrained with a 3-foot chain with a 300 lb. tensile strength. An owner cannot sell or transfer ownership, custody or residence of the dog without notifying the County Sheriff and notifying the new owner of the dog’s record with an acknowledgment signed by the new owner of the terms and conditions of his maintenance while in Stevens County, Washington. In extreme cases, presumably the County Sheriff as the animal control officer has the authority to decide if the dog must be destroyed. While I can understand the adoption of Title 20 and its ordinances and the “dangerous dog” designation and the purpose and merit behind its adoption, the “potentially dangerous dog” designation appears to be nearly impossible to regulate and this particular designation is ripe for abuse.

I am relatively certain many of us have experienced a difficult neighbor a time or two. For whatever reason, certain individuals seem to have nothing better to do than complain about their neighbors’ pets, the broken down automobile, hobbies, or anything else that may annoy them at any given time. In fact for some people, they seem to make complaining their hobby. In rural Stevens County, Washington and other rural areas that are moving rapidly toward development, there will always be conflicts between country neighbors with differing views on a rural lifestyle. The Title 20 “potentially dangerous” dog designation provides these people with just one more avenue for conflict and additional ammunition for harassment. An additional danger for citizens is that the entire hearing process as applied through the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office, under both designations, appears to be fundamentally flawed and unconstitutional.

I have spoken to several residents in the County where harrassment by a nuisance neighbor, through Title 20, appears to have occurred to their detriment. The new Stevens County, Washington Title 20 “potentially dangerous dog” designation seems to make it particularly easy for a nuisance neighbor to harass another neighbor. Since the recent adoption of Title 20 in December 2007, I have discovered that several citizens have been struggling to defend against false and/or frivolous allegations about their companion dogs. One citizen found herself the target of a nuisance allegation by a problem neighbor and the Stevens County Sheriff concerning her “potentially dangerous” dogs, after her complaining neighbor’s dog pulled her show dog through her own fence and killed it. Apparently a complaint was lodged by the nuisance neighbor against the deceased show dog as a preemptive strike. How many Stevens County citizens have simply forfeited their right to ownership of a companion dog because of nuisance allegations they could not afford to defend and unconstitutional actions being taken by Stevens County public officials? All a nuisance neighbor may now have to do is claim that a dog barked at them, and the dog’s owner may be hit with a predetermined “potentially dangerous” dog designation, fees, an embarrassing public hearing and media coverage, and other severe restrictions on their dog by the Stevens County Sheriff.

I suppose the best part of the new Title 20 ordinance is the appeal process since a dog is already predetermined by the Stevens County Sheriff to either be “dangerous” or “potentially dangerous” prior to a hearing. However, many poor people do not have the resources to legally fight back against an initial and possibly frivolous determination by the Stevens County Sheriff in advance of a public hearing. Attorney fees, at a rate of $200 per hour to defend against this type of nuisance action, may be in the range of $2,000 – $40,000+.

There are other potential problems in carrying out the new Stevens County Title 20 ordinances. The problems I reference below, as well as others I have not highlighted in this article, have already emerged in other states and Washington State counties — King and Spokane County, Washington, for example. The courts in King County and Spokane County have recently ruled upon the controversial dangerous dog ordinances and procedures. In King County, for example, in the recent dangerous dog case of Mansour v. King County tried by animal law attorney Adam Karp, where Mansour was found to have been denied due process, the Washington State Court of Appeals ruled: “Due process essentially requires the opportunity to be heard at a meaningful time and in a meaningful manner”. . . “An adequate standard of proof is a mandatory safeguard.” ” The standard of proof instructs the fact finder “concerning the degree of confidence our society thinks he should have in the correctness of the factual conclusions” . . .. While the Stevens County Sheriff continues to sit as the investigating official, the judge and jury in these potentially dangerous and dangerous dog cases, how much confidence can the public place in any factual conclusion made by the Sheriff’s Office?

In Spokane County in a “potentially dangerous dog” case, Judge Austin of the Spokane County Superior Court ruled that Spokane’s “dangerous dog” ordinance is unconstitutional because it denies pet owners the right of due process, and that as a matter of law the administrative procedures used in the City of Spokane regarding “dangerous dog” determinations and appeals from those rulings violate citizens’ due process rights. In their current system, dogs tagged as “dangerous” by the city and its contractor, SpokAnimal, are deemed to be just that unless the owner can prove otherwise — flying in the face of the notion of presumed innocence. The judge ruled that the City violated (in this case) Patty Schoendorf’s rights by taking her property — her dogs –and intended to destroy them after a hearing where she was not allowed to cross-examine or impeach witnesses involved in the dog’s impoundment. She also wasn’t given access to documents in the City’s “dangerous dog” file, and the opportunity to rebut those allegations — another denial of due process guaranteed by the Constitution. The judge not only ordered Spokanimal to immediately release the dogs, he also ordered the City of Spokane to pay legal bills for a team of attorneys – Robert Caruso, Richard Lee and Cheryl Mitchell, animal law attorneys.

While I would like to say that I trust the Sheriff’s Animal Control Officers to ensure that there is a real danger to the public, the truth (and therein the problem) is that in Stevens County there is currently no separation of powers from the onset of the initial investigation, the Sheriff’s determination of “potentially dangerous dog”, and finally to the Sheriff’s ruling following a public hearing that a dog is “potentially dangerous”. The Stevens County Animal Control Authority (the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office) sits as the investigator, judge and jury. Where is our guaranteed system of checks and balances in this process? The following is generally the procedure used under the Stevens County “potentially dangerous” dog designation:

(1) When a complainant calls to make a report, he makes it to the Stevens County

Sheriff’s Office, the designated animal control authority in Stevens County;

(2) A Stevens County Sheriff’s Officer may be dispatched to the scene to presumably thoroughly investigate the dog incident and take an incident report. A thorough and complete investigation may or may not occur, and in fact the dog’s owner may not even be allowed to tell their side of the story to the Officer or see the complaint, the results of the investigation, and may not even be advised of the name of the complainant by the Sheriff’s Office. The Sheriff’s goal in these cases appears to be to hold back all relevant documents and evidence entirely from the accused pet owner until a day or two before the hearing, stating that the procedure is still in the “investigational stage”– similar to a criminal proceeding. The pet owner has no time to prepare a defense;

(3) After the Sheriff takes an incident report from the complainant, the owner of the alleged offending dog(s) is then promptly advised by a Stevens County Sheriff’s Officer that he/she must submit to photographing of his/her dog(s), prior to the dog owner receiving any kind of a notice or citation from the Stevens County Animal Control Authority (the Sheriff). Notice of the alleged incident may simply be a Sheriff’s Officer arriving on the doorstep or at your gate, and advising you that he is required to take photographs of your dogs as “part of the hearing process”. At this point, you may not even have notice of any hearing. The photographing process may or may not involve a Stevens County Sheriff’s Officer demanding entrance onto your private property or requesting entrance into your home, for the stated purpose of photographing your dog(s).

Citizens, please be aware that a dog is designated as “personal property” in the State of Washington and other states. The Washington State Constitution and U.S. Constitution protect individuals against unlawful searches and seizures concerning your personal property.

The simple act of entering onto private property for the purpose of taking photographs of personal property, without the direct or implied consent of the property owner and without a search warrant, is unlawful. Generally speaking, warrants are signed by judges or commissioners in criminal matters. At this point, this procedure is still considered a civil or administrative matter. There appears to be something inherently wrong with this process from the outset. (The rule that I have personally imposed is not to let anyone onto my property without my express invitation (or a warrant). My directive to this effect seems to work for most people.)

Of course, there are “exigent circumstances” exceptions under the law to the warrant requirement. Exigent circumstances generally arise when a law enforcement officer may have reasonable ground to believe that there is an immediate need to protect his life, the life of others, their property, or that of others, the search is not motivated by an intent to arrest and seize evidence, and there is some reasonable basis to associate an emergency with the area or place to be searched. None of these exigent circumstances is likely to exist in a Title 20 dangerous or potentially dangerous dog investigation which would allow a public official to trespass for the purpose of photographing dogs.

4) The owner of the alleged offending dog will then receive a certified letter or personal service by the Stevens County Sheriff’, notifying the dog’s owner that their dog has already been deemed a “potentially dangerous” dog or “dangerous dog” under their new Title 20 ordinance. The owner’s dog is deemed “guilty” before tried, based generally only upon a report made by a complainant. That complainant could be made by anyone with “axe to grind”. The dog is declared guilty in advance of a public hearing before the Stevens County Sheriff’s Department. The investigating agency (the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office) then amazingly plays the role of the judge and jury at this public hearing where the dog’s owner is required to prove that his/her dog is not dangerous, or potentially dangerous. Please be aware that you (as the accused) are not required to prove anything. The burden of proof falls upon your accusers to make their case, and not you. Public testimony will be taken by the Sheriff, and you will receive a subsequent notice of his final ruling. This entire process usurps constitutional protections afforded each citizen under Washington State and U.S. Constitutions. Any hearing in a “potentially dangerous dog” or “dangerous dog” case should be set before an impartial judge or hearing officer. The Sheriff cannot rule on issues as a matter of law.

It is my understanding and belief that any public hearing conducted by a public official(s) in Washington State must follow the law and procedures under either the Washington State Open Meetings Act or Administrative Procedures Act. Since a dangerous dog hearing does not really meet the criteria under the Open Meetings Act, the hearing process should follow the Washington State Administrative Procedures Act. If you are not familiar with this Act, familiarize yourself with it and your rights under this Act. This law can be found in the public library under 34.05 RCW (Revised Code of Washington). Insist that any dangerous dog hearing you may be a party to comply with these lawful procedures.

Citizens, please take heed! The Stevens County Title 20 dangerous dog ordinances are dangerous to you in that they can potentially escalate into a criminal matter if you do not comply with the severe restrictions imposed on your dog, or if the dog is again the subject of a complaint. You must contest the letter/notice that you receive from the Stevens County, Washington Sheriff’s Office and promptly return it via Certified US Mail or Delivery Confirmation. Also enclose your own letter stating you contest your dog’s predetermined designation by the Sheriff, and that you demand a lawful hearing before a bona fide hearing officer conducted under the Washington State Administrative Procedures Act. If you do not sign and return the Notice from the County Sheriff, the “potentially dangerous dog” designation is automatically applied by the Sheriff to your dog through your inaction.

Once you have been deemed to own a “potentially dangerous” dog or “dangerous” dog, all regulations, restrictions, fees and other penalties under the new ordinances apply to you and your dog. The Title 20 regulations, restrictions, fees and other penalties have severe consequences for both you and your dog. If you do not comply with these new regulations following the final determination of your “potentially dangerous dog” or “dangerous dog”, then you possibly may be issued a criminal citation. Potentially you may be thrust into the position of defending yourself as a criminal. Moreover, your homeowner’s insurance may be cancelled or be prohibitively expensive in the future, and you may be forced to carry an expensive bond if you intend to keep your dog in the County.

The Title 20 dangerous dog ordinances can be dangerous to your health and welfare and your dog’s health and welfare, particularly if you do not exercise your constitutional rights. I would highly recommend hiring an attorney, if you can afford one. Hire someone who specializes in animal law, for instance one of the attorneys mentioned in this article. If you cannot afford one and are low income, call CLEAR at their toll free number in Washington State to see if you can qualify for free legal assistance. Other possible sources of legal assistance are the Gonzaga Law School, or the Washington State Bar Association who may have a referral to a pro bono (free) attorney.

Please exercise your civil and constitutional rights and familiarize yourselves with this new set of laws under Stevens County, Washington – Title 20. Please do not allow your valuable rights to be trampled upon by public officials or you may lose them. Do not allow yourself to become their victim.

Last but not least, please recognize and be aware that you do not have to allow anyone onto your private property, in most cases, without a warrant. It surprises me that many citizens do not know this. If there is any doubt in your mind, please respectfully ask the person requesting permission to enter onto your private property “do you have a warrant?” Express to them that without a signed warrant, that person does not have your consent to enter onto your private property. This rule generally applies to most everyone, public officials included, unless they have an implied right to enter such as a meter reader. With respect to your private property rights, generally speaking, what applies to any other private citizen who wants entrance to your property applies to public officials as well. Post your gates and property with “No Trespassing” and “Beware of Dog” signs to protect yourself — approximately every 50 feet. Also fence your property with at least a 5-6 foot fence if you own a dog, for additional protection. Electrify your fence, if necessary, if you are in a rural area. Fence chargers, including solar fence chargers, can be purchased for $30 and up and are quite effective as a deterrent to entrance and exit by animals.

I recognize that this article may not be “politically correct” in this climate as this is a sensitive issue right now. I am aware that it may anger those who are truly at risk or who have been victims of genuinely dangerous dogs. I agree that genuinely dangerous dogs are a threat to public safety. However, I submit that while the intent behind Title 20 and other dangerous dog laws is good and I agree with its intent, the process to apply and regulate under these laws has been poorly thought out and implemented in general by Stevens County, Washington and other counties around Washington State (and our nation) in trying to protect the public safety. In trying to protect the public health and safety, individual constitutional rights, due process, and privacy cannot be ignored. If you do not exercise your rights, you will forfeit those valuable rights guaranteed to you by the U.S. and Washington State constitutions. You also may be forced to relinquish your beloved family pet, euthanize it, move out of the County, or live with severe restrictions on the animal and very expensive insurance.

The History Of Horror Movies – Tribute to Horror in Cinemas

From time to time, we see so many horror movies come and go. Spooky, haunted houses, serial killers, slashers, maniacs, mentals, satanic and many others have been pictured in the movie. A lot of sub genres, a lot of remakes, a lot of variations, twist and all that can easily be found through the ages. Yeah, it’s all true. But have we ever thought where it all came from?

Or how does the horror movies genre change from time to time?

For you who share the same passion about horror movies, and want to know the road that have been travelled by Horror movies, allow me to have the honor to be your guide. Buckle up, here we go.

Where It All Began

The year was 1922, place: German. I can say that it was the birth of horror movies. W Murnau started the terror and fear thru Nosferatu, nosferatuthe

story about bloodsucking vampire. It wasn’t the first vampire movie, as in 1896 Georges Melies made Le Castle Du Diable, but Nosferatu was the first movie where we saw vampire destroyed by sunlight. This one boasted remarkable animalistic makeup that has not been replicated, even with modern

technology. Dozens of vampire movies followed after that. In 1931 Universal Studio launched 2 legendary horror movies, Dracula with Bela Lugosi and Frankenstein with Boris Karloff. Both of the movie became a classic and very successful. Boris Karloff even became a legendary name in horror movies history. The Mummy (1932) a silent picture with horror icon Boris Karloff in the title role, remains a classic, with unforgettable make-up and atmosphere. In 1935, the sequel of Frankenstein,

The Bride Of Frankenstein was made.This isn’t silent anymore.

Psycho

During 40’s the world’s on war, and it has changed the genre. Horror was almost forgotten as patriotic movies and war has taken the place. It slowly raised again around 50’s, where comedy and musical movies ruled. There were good ones took place at this time, House of Wax is one of the example. 1960 was the time for Hitchcock to make a memorable movie: Psycho. Too bad, this is the only horror movie by Hitchcock, cuz then he made lots of suspence thriller goodies like Rear Window, Vertigo,North by Northwest,Dial M For Murder that kinda changed the genre again. And remember, spaghetti western Movies in the late 60’s also had its moment.

The 70’s

This is the most creative year of Horror movies.Unlike before, horror movies got big exploration, where so many variation of story and evil came in. Note there were lots of controversy and protest happened here.The Exorcist (1973) for example showed disgusting scenes that never been imagined before, like the green puke to the face transformed to evil. This movie was controversial when Catholic Church protested that the demon cast-out in the movie was against the code of conduct. The shining, that based on Stephen King’s novel was one of the best one during 70’s. Later on from this decade to 80s and 90s, lots of movies was made based on his scary novel such as Carrie, Christine, Cujo, It, , Cat’s Eye, Dream Catcher, are the example. Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) was a low budget movie that reached a great result. This one introduced “the slasher movie” to the world that later followed by Halloween (say hi to Michael Myers) , Friday the 13th, Scream in the 80’s and 90’s and so on. Omen is a bonechillin’ movie that can still give

you nightmare even with today’s technology of making movie.Simply unforgettable. Amityville Horror, based on the true story was the first movie that took place in the actual location. The report said a lot of bizzare and dreadful things were experienced by cast and crew in location.

The 80’s

Freddie Kruger

This is the decade of madness. All gory stuff were shown sadistically for viewing. cutted off body parts were seen everywhere. Nightmare on Elm Street that launched Freddy Krueger to horror hall of fame, and Jason Voorheyes slashing games in Friday the 13th are one of the example. These two had some of their sequels during 80s, together with 3 of Halloweens. And remember how Italian horror movies that have a very sick super bloody vision? Count Romero and Argento for this category. This is also the era where horror expanded to tv.

The 90’s

Funny thing happened in 90s. There’s a tendency of self defense and self actualization by horror character on terror they have made to people. For example Ghost, Bram Stocker’s Dracula that told the story about Count

Dracula’s painful love to Mina, or Interview With Vampires that unlocked the mystery of vampire lives. Scream started a new genre, teen horror movies, slashing-serial-killer-who-did-it,which soon followed by I Know What You Did Last Summer, Urban Legend, and some more. A note in 1999, an independent movie Blair Witch Project became a big phenomena,using a documentation technique to give us fear,tense and mental disturbance. This one inspired some other movies like St.Francisville Experiment, The Lamarie Project and

tv series Freaky Links.

2000’s

Ringu

Still too early maybe to talk about horror movies in 2000s, but looks like Hollywood has running out of ideas. They are trying to widen up their view to see new ideas outside that can give new vision on the term of horror. The Ring, remake from Japanese movie was their first success. Followed by The eye, and some other remakes from Asian cinemas.

This decade seems being led by Japan and Korea, by making so many horror movies with lack of effects or gory blood but still successfully tortured our feeling. They don’t go with the Hollywood pattern, they just dig everything else that hasn’t been touched yet. Thailand is also emerging as a good horror maker. Indonesian movies too, with amusing number of horror movies every year. We also mark the decade 2000 for the decade of sequels and remakes too, such as Halloween H2O, Freddy vs Jason, modern version of Bram Stocker’s Dracula, Dracula 2001,

Halloween Resurrection, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre , House of The Dead, The Amityville Horror and so on.

While the effort to combine some genres and produce something new has still been going on. Saw for example, combine the psycho thriller ala Hitchkock with slasher, sadistic, bloody and graphic scenes.

My prediction? I think this decade will continue to do so. Hopefully in the next decade we will see some new approach, style and way to present horror movies. Let’s wait and see where the horror movies continue their path.

By: Riandy Kurniawan
A Movie freak
Website: http://www.vrjunkyard.com

The Importance of Using Comments in PHP Programming

PHP is a very versatile language, allowing for programmers to make applications according to their various tastes or styles. But one thing all programmers should maintain is the ability to comment effectively. In essence, commenting can save hours of time perusing code months down the road- and is often required by employers.

Comments aren’t parsed by the PHP engine, so they are only visible to those who are viewing the original source code of the file. This is great for documenting what each code block does, all while keeping the casual visitor to a website oblivious to the extra comments present on the application they are using.

Unlike HTML comments, PHP comments aren’t even visible in the source code of a website. HTML comments are visible to the general public, which can potentially lead to the stealing of code or may even help hackers exploit applications. PHP comments aren’t output to the browser at all, so they are completely safe from prying eyes.

There are actually three operators that we may use to tell the PHP engine that we want to use a comment. Single inline comments can be used with the “//” and “#” operators. For multiple-line comments, we use “/*” and “*/” respectively to indicate what is a comment and what is actually PHP code. While the first two operators are synonymous, the last one discussed is the only one that can perform multiple line comments with relatively little work.

Unknown to most, PHP comments can also be used for more practical scenarios, such as troubleshooting. Expert programmers will find they have a problem with their application, and comment out different blocks of code to see what is causing the error. While it is usually in new code blocks, this method will indeed show that sometimes the problem is due to program code interacting wrong, which can in effect mean the problem is anywhere in the application.

Commenting in PHP is also great to use in selection structures, since PHP has long been known as a hard to scale language. Once files start getting big, it can be dizzying to try and remember which loops and selection structures go where, and what they do. By commenting out every closing bracket, and what it is in relation to, the problem is easily fixed. This is often mandatory for programmers who work for employers.

Closing Comments

PHP Comments are quite handy as we can see, more so than most would think. From troubleshooting to simple documentation, the three methods of commenting have a lot of use to the proper programmer. For more information on comments in PHP, and in other languages, check out more books, articles, and magazines for a more detailed guide in using them effectively.

You can learn more about the inner workings of PHP Comments via a PHP Comments Tutorial to get more experience with Comments In PHP

Raw Cat Food – Why It’s the Best Diet For Your Cat, and What Are the Trade-offs For You?

The biggest myth surrounding cat ownership is that cats are worry free, self-contained and self-providing pets that require little or no maintenance. Cats are so good at giving people the impression of independence and self-reliance that people believe they don’t have to provide the highly focused attention to cats that, say, dogs require. The fact of the matter is that cats do require the same attention to detail that any dog does, and maybe even a little more, in some cases. This is especially true when it comes to probing the controversy regarding whether raw cat food is better that canned cat food or kibbles for your feline ward.

It’s a sad thing to look around our country these days and see so many people who have allowed themselves to become overweight and then have to deal with the consequential suffering and ill-health effects of obesity. Diabetes, shortness of breath, constant exhaustion from lugging around so many extra pounds and lowered self-esteem. Of course, the garment industry is singing happy tunes with all the extra thread they have to put together. There’s no shortage of explanations for why this situation has come about, but I think when it comes down to it we can only blame ourselves at the individual level for allowing such a condition to take root. After all, how many pounds overweight does one have to get before they realize that something’s not right and becoming a problem? 10, 20… 50 lbs? And how long does it take to realize that the magic pills, diets, elixirs and effortless, lose-weight-with-no-work-out machines are products being marketed to your ego, to separate you from your bank account, and not to solve your problem? No… the only way to find an ideal normality is with thorough research, discovery and a lot of hard work accompanied with a healthy life style change. But, enough sermonizing about the human condition. This is about cats, their eating habits and raw cat food.

One thing needs to come along with this discussion from the previous paragraph. Most people are not experts in animal nutrition and rely on others to lead them in the right direction. The source for most ‘experts’ available to a person for their daily decision making and selection of choices usually comes to us through the traditional media of radio, newspapers, television and now, the internet. Media offers two kinds of resources. Investigative reporting which is presented in newscasts or opinion pieces, and secondly, the marketing hype that provides commercial broadcast funding. The former is reliable enough to put credence into and might call for further research on your part if it interests you. The latter really only wants you to spend your money with them. That’s not necessarily bad… it does ultimately put people to work and provides many with an adequate, and even comfortable living. Unfortunately, the bottom line is… corporations only have one objective in the end. That is to feed their bottom line. Now recent events have caused many to reconsider the morality behind a corporations goals. But, as long as this market structure is the paradigm for our economy, the ultimate goal for big business will always be to maximize their profit-loss statements towards the profit end of the spectrum, any way they can get away with, and at your expense… literally.

So, what does this have to do with cats and if raw cat food is what you should be feeding them? Simply put, most people rely on the marketing hype to base their decisions regarding the food they feed their pets. Which is exactly the wrong source for basing such a critical decision. Take the cat for example. It’s not only a scientific fact, but a cultural one also, that the cat is described as an obligate carnivore. This defines cats as creatures who derive most of their food nutrients from the animals they hunt and consume (raw cat food). When a cat devours it’s prey, she will eat everything including not only muscle meat, but the brains, organ meat and the stomach and its contents which may consist of grasses and grains. One thing she doesn’t do is fire up a stove and saute or bake her dinner, or prepare a nice sauce to go with it. She eats it raw. Cultural purists use this description as an argument that feeding cats store bought, mass produced canned or dry cat food is doing your cat a disservice by depriving her of the natural nutrients she would normally get in the raw cat food she captures in the wild, and for which she was biologically designed.

Pottenger’s cats

Francis M. Pottenger, Jr. (1901 – 1967) was the son of Francis M. Pottenger, Sr., the physician who co-founded the Pottenger Sanatorium for treatment of tuberculosis in Monrovia, California. Between 1932 and 1942 he conducted what is know as the Pottenger Cat Study. One part of this study was what effect heat had on the nutrient value of raw food. In other words, what happens to food when you cook it.

“Pottenger used donated laboratory cats to test the potency of the adrenal extract hormones he was making. The adrenal glands of these cats were removed for the experiments and Pottenger noted that most of the cats died during or following the operation. He was feeding the cats a supposedly nutritive diet consisting of raw milk, cod liver oil and cooked meat scraps of liver, tripe, sweetbread, brains, heart and muscle.

When the number of donated cats exceeded the supply of food available, Pottenger began ordering raw meat scraps from a local meat packing plant, including organs, meat, and bone; and fed a separate group of cats from this supply. Within months this separate group appeared in better health than the cooked meat group. Their kittens were more energetic and, most interestingly, their post-operative death rate was lower.

At a certain point, he decided to begin a controlled scientific exploration. Pottenger conducted studies involving approximately 900 cats over a period of ten years, with three generations of cats being studied.

Meat study:

In one study, one group of cats was fed a diet of:

• Two-thirds raw meat, one-third raw milk, and cod-liver oil
• A second group was fed a diet of two-thirds cooked meat, one-third raw milk, and cod-liver oil.

The cats fed the all-raw diet were healthy while the cats fed the cooked meat diet developed various health problems:

• By the end of the first generation the cats started to develop degenerative diseases and became quite lazy.
• By the end of the second generation, the cats had developed degenerative diseases by mid-life and started losing their coordination.
• By the end of the third generation the cats had developed degenerative diseases very early in life and some were born blind and weak and had a much shorter life span. Many of the third generation cats couldn’t even produce offspring. There was an abundance of parasites and vermin while skin diseases and allergies increased from an incidence of five percent in normal cats to over 90 percent in the third generation of deficient cats. Kittens of the third generation did not survive six months. Bones became soft and pliable and the cats suffered from adverse personality changes. Males became docile while females became more aggressive.
• The cats suffered from most of the degenerative diseases encountered in human medicine and died out totally by the fourth generation.

At the time of Pottenger’s Study the amino acid taurine had been discovered but had not yet been identified as an essential amino acid for Cats. Today many cats thrive on a cooked meat diet where taurine has been added after cooking. The deficient diets lacked sufficient taurine to allow the cat’s to properly form protein structures and resulted in the health effects observed. Pottenger himself concluded that there was likely an “as yet unknown” protein factor (taurine) that may have been heat sensitive.

Milk Study:

In another study, dubbed the “Milk Study,”, the cats were fed 2/3 milk and 1/3 meat. All groups were fed raw meat with different groups getting raw, pasteurized, evaporated, sweetened condensed or raw metabolized vitamin D milk. The cats on raw milk were the healthiest while the rest exhibited varying degrees of health problems similar to the previous cooked meat study.

This particular Pottenger cat study has been cited by advocates of raw milk as evidence that it is likely healthier for humans than pasteurized milk.” +

Though Pottenger’s experiments don’t conclusively verify that raw cat food diets are better for sustaining a healthy support for the physiological needs of cats than cooked (canned) or dry kibbles, (because he didn’t use canned cat food or kibbles in the experiments) certain conclusions can be drawn.

• Cooking meat can destroy certain food nutrients, namely amino acids (proteins)
• Cats thrive more healthily on raw meat rather than cooked meat with less degenerative results
• Cooking meat for your cat requires the replacement of the essential amino acid taurine, and possibly other nutrients destroyed in the cooking process

Pet food marketing hype says that “XYZ” cat food products are healthy for your pet because it adds “ABC” nutrients, vitamins and minerals to their product which safeguards your cat’s health. Fortunately, marketing laws require that the ingredients in any given product be listed on the packaging of your cat’s food. Ultimately, it is left up to you to make the decision about which is the best shelf product for your cat.

For a discussion that details interpreting cat food labels CLICK HERE

Today’s problem plagued market place has left many in doubt as to whether the corporate entities that supply the bulk of our aggregate necessities can continue to be worthy of our trust. Arrogance and greed have always gone head to head with social morality and it’s usually the end user that ends up paying with unnecessary suffering. Many pet owners have now taken matters into their own hands and are resorting to providing from raw ingredients meals made with their own hands for their pets. It’s not a bad step but certain measures, which include a life-style change, need to be taken when preparing your pet’s meals to keep her safe from bacterial infection and insure that her nutritional needs are met.

Here’s an example of a raw cat food meal preparation from scratch:

• 2 kg [4.4 pounds] raw muscle meat with bones (chicken necks are mostly cartilage, are easy to chop and easy for the cat to digest) thighs and drumsticks or, better, a whole carcass of rabbit or chicken amounting to 2 kg; if you don’t use a whole carcass, opt for dark meat like thighs and drumsticks from chicken or turkey)
• 400 grams [14 oz] raw heart, ideally from the same animal (if no heart is available, substitute with 4000 mg Taurine)
• 200 grams [7 oz] raw liver, ideally from the same animal (if you can’t find appropriate liver, you can substitute 40,000 IU of Vitamin A and 1600 IU of Vitamin D–but try to use real liver instead of substitutes).
  • NOTE: If you cannot find the heart or liver and decide to substitute with the Taurine/Vitamin A and D, then remember to replace the missing amount of organ meat with the equivalent amount of muscle meat. In other words, if you cannot find heart, you add another 400 grams of the meat/bones. If you can’t find the liver, add another 200 grams of meat/bones.

• 16 oz [2 cups] water
• 4 raw egg yolks (use eggs from free-range, antibiotic-free chickens if you can)
• 4 capsules raw glandular supplement (such as, for example, “Raw Multiple Glandular” from Premier Labs)
• 4000 mg salmon oil
• 200 mg Vitamin B complex
• 800 IU Vitamin E (“dry E” works well) Buy Vitamin E in dry powder form. It’s much easier to deal with than those little oil-filled capsules.
• OPTIONAL: 1/4 teaspoon of kelp and 1/4 teaspoon of dulse (1/2 teaspoon total) Try and get dulse and kelp in powder form that you can easily measure with a teaspoon rather than in capsule form. Taking apart those capsules is time consuming. If you can only find kelp in caplet form, you’ll need to spend time crushing the caplets with a mortar and pestle.
• OPTIONAL: 4 teaspoons psyllium husk powder (8 teaspoons if using whole psyllium husks) ?

It looks like this recipe will produce about 5- 6 lbs of finished raw cat food product which would feed a single cat for several weeks. That means most of it would have to be frozen in individual air tight containers and thawed as needed.

The digestive system of a cat is designed to handle things human systems can’t. Their stomachs have a highly acidic environment, which is an excellent deterrent to ingested bacteria such as e coli and salmonella. In the wild, cats sometimes eat some pretty iffy stuff with no ill effects. Wild cats die more often from infection due to injuries than from food poisoning. However, there are steps you can take if you have concerns about raw cat food bourn bacteria.

• Avoid packaged supermarket ground beef using whole chunks of meat instead
• Buy “free-range” meat and poultry as fresh as possible
• Add priobiotics (which help maintain intestinal health) to your raw food preparation
• Proper handling of raw cat food is essential since some raw cat food may contain bacteria that could cause illness to you or your pets. Be sure to keep raw cat food meat and poultry separate from other foods. Wash hands prior to, and after handling raw cat food. Wash working surfaces, bowls, and utensils that come in contact with raw meat with hot, soapy water. Always wash your hands after cleaning your cat’s waste; this includes litter boxes.
• Pick up and dispose of uneaten raw cat food within 30 minutes of feeding your cat

Preparing raw cat food meals from scratch for your cat is a labor of love indulged in by purists. Most people don’t have the time, and maybe lack the talent to take on such a task. If you count yourself among this latter group, rest easy. Ready-made products are finding their way to the market place. There are complete raw cat food meals which are shipped frozen and there are mixes which all you have to do is add the meat. Just remember that if you are going with the mix, be certain that the essential amino acids such as taurine are included. If not then be sure to add the heart (a source for taurine) and other organ meat from the same animal if possible, with the raw cat food meal so that your cat won’t be deprived of these critical ingredients.

So, what are the trade-offs you ask?

Well, for one thing you will have to forego the convenience of one-stop-shopping in the supermarket pet food aisles. Orders for raw cat food meals or mixes are mostly made on-line so you will have to deal with credit or debit cards. Pre-planning will have to be regular routine so that you don’t run out of raw cat food before the next shipment arrives. If a shipment thaws, you will have to return it because you won’t want to take any chances with bacterial infection. Most companies will honor returns due to thawing. And, if you prepare raw cat food meals completely from scratch, be prepared to spend a couple of hours in the kitchen with this task.

The real trade-off is with the quality of cat food you will be providing. The store bought ‘meal’ based cereal foods will be replaced with the high quality fresh foods that cat’s were designed for. Some cats may balk at the transition at first because they weren’t socialized with raw cat food as kittens. But, their health will show marked improvement, you will probably be surprised by the results which can be compared to how your cat behaved before being fed a fresh, high quality raw cat food diet that meets their needs nutritionally, plus their immune systems will be stronger giving your cat a chance for a longer, healthier life.

Ask any monk or even the ordinary, next-door-neighbor contemplative type, and they’ll tell you that life is not easy; suffering is the characteristic that describes much of the existence in this corner of the Universe, and that the punishment for ignoring this fact is to bear more suffering. Yet this suffering can be relieved with even a little knowledge and understanding of why and how things can operate to ease your burden. It does take a willingness on your part to change and accept new habits to accommodate a changed life-style. But, knowledge and understanding cannot be acquired through osmosis. It takes a lot of work to comprehend even a small amount of the sense that holds life together. One can’t depend on epiphanies either. Like magic and miracles, instant knowledge occurs only rarely… and you can grow old waiting for it while your cat pines for a raw cat food meal. It’d be like huffing and puffing along wondering why you’re carrying around all that extra baggage.

+ – Thanks to Wikipedia for this excerpt

? – Thanks to Wikihow

Robert J Gallegos is the author of http://www.catlover-giftsworld.com a web site dedicated to proper cat care with quality cat lover gifts based on an understanding of cat behavior, instincts and the unique requirements for healthy cats as pets. Cats are the newest of animals to be domesticated and still have one paw in the wild. It’s a major reason why they’re so mysterious and resistant to human expectations.
Robert is a life long lover of cats. He is dedicated to sharing his understanding of the cat experience, reducing the epidemic feral cat situation, and helping cat lovers to provide the best care for their cats.

What to Do When You Car Needs a New Engine – Repair it Or Write it Off?

First thing to consider in making this decision is, were you planning on getting another vehicle in the very near future? If the answer to this question is yes then you have to ask the second question. And that is were you going to use the vehicle as a trade in on that next vehicle? If the answer to that is yes then you have to answer a third question. Can you afford to buy another vehicle without using this vehicle as a trade in? If you can answer this question yes, then maybe buying another vehicle is the thing to do.

But in most all cases the answer to one or all of those three questions is great big NO! So let us look at what the reason to ask these questions and what they have to do with the original question. What to do when your vehicle needs a new engine? Repair it or write it off? And the answers to those questions are going to help you determine the best thing to do in your current situation.

The first question is answered no 98% of the time. Why is that? Because most of the time we have no reason to get a new vehicle when the one we are driving is working fine. So if you had no intention of buying another vehicle before your vehicle broke down, why would you suddenly need to buy one now? Unless you are going to go out and buy a brand new vehicle or one that is still under a factory warranty, what are you really doing? You are going to get rid of your vehicle that you know everything about and has been a trusted mode of transportation, for one that you know nothing about and may have more problems than your current vehicle. If it does have more problems that were hidden and it starts breaking down. You will have spent the money you could have fixed that old trust friend with and now have to start putting money into this vehicle. By the time you are done you could be spending much more than if you had just replaced the engine in your original vehicle.

The second question is not answered no to as often as the first question, because if you have answer no to the first question, you had no intention of trading this vehicle in. So if you have answer no because you were not thinking of trading it in, then why would you suddenly want to get another vehicle just because it is expensive to replace the engine. But for all same reasons above the investment in your current vehicle will usually be the a better decision than writing it off.

Finally the answer to the third question is no at least as often as the first question. And if you can afford to buy the vehicle without a trade in and you are planning on buying a brand new vehicle, then writing off this vehicle may be your best decision. But if you are just going to buy some other used vehicle then again we go back to all of the reasons in question one why you should make the investment in your current vehicle. You can not buy any reliable vehicle for less money than it will cost you to put a rebuilt exchange engine into your current vehicle. Sometimes the idea of buying another vehicle is more appealing than fixing the current vehicle. Maybe your eyes are just tired of looking through that same windshield or your seat is tired of sitting in that seat.

For a breakdown of the costs of buying a new vehicle compared to keeping and maintaining a vehicle. You can email us and we will forward you an Excel spreadsheet that you can input your own data and check it out. As you will be able to see over a five year period even spending $2500.00 you could still be saving thousands dollars by repairing the vehicle you have. By repairing your current vehicle you have time to save for that next vehicle and shop for one that is really in great shape not one that only appears to be in great shape.

So what it all boils down to is this is going to be a tough decision and one only you can make. Hopefully you have a trusted mechanic that will help you make this decision. And if not just give us a call and we will do our best to help you with straight forward answer and questions to make sure you are making a decision you will be happy with.

C. Ray Brower
209-463-2700
209-463-2769 Fax
info@browertrans.com Email
http://www.browertrans.com Website
Brower Tranzpro Transmission
1204 Enterprise Street
Stockton, CA 95204
San Joaquin County’s Most Referred Transmission Shop

Switching Careers – 7 Key Steps

Are you thinking about switching careers? If you are, you’re not alone. Most Americans switch careers three times in their lifetime. Nevertheless, switching careers is scary. And it’s especially paralyzing the older you get. But making a career switch is very possible and much more common than you might think. Before you’re ready to leap, realize that it’s a heavyweight decision that deserves some time and solid thought. Here are seven steps to help you on your way.

1. Gain insight from your current situation.

When considering a career switch, the first thing you should do is learn from your current situation. To do this, take a step back and study what you do for a living today and why you do it. Examine the reasons that you are in your current job or career. Was it what you went to school for? Was it what your parents wanted you to do? Was it the “hot career” at one time? Did you just “fall into it”? Did you love it at one time? Did you do it for the money you could make? Was it just to pay the bills? The answers to these questions can provide valuable insight into the core reasons that you want or need to change.

Now examine why you want to leave your current career field. Remove any company or management related politics that are specific to your current employer from the picture. See your situation for what it is and ask yourself why you are looking to switch. Are you being forced out because of market shifts of business trends? Are you burnt out? Do you want to make more money? Are you miserable doing what you do? Have you tried your best but found that your career is “just not a good fit”? Have you decided its time to pursue a long lost career love?

Inspecting your current situation and reasons for your desire to change careers will provide a foundation for your next step.

2. Look inside

Whether you already have a career in mind or you are searching for a new career, you must look inward. In order to gain the most from your reflection, it is essential to start with a clean slate. Set aside any notions (real or imagined) about what type of money certain careers offer. Discard any stereotypes or judgments of occupations. Distance yourself from any pre-conceived ideas about what you are right or destined for.

Now seriously examine what you truly love. First start with the obvious. Look at your hobbies and interests. List out the things you are passionate about or in which you have talent. Give yourself credit for things you are good at and don’t be afraid to write things down that you love, but are not yet good at. Write them all down, even if you think they may not be a possible career path. You’re just brainstorming at this point and you should not eliminate anything right out of the gate. And it’s important to bear in mind that what you may think are your interests are not necessarily all of your interests. To help you get a good look at your interests, observe the simple things. What kinds of news stories perk your interest? What kinds of TV shows do you enjoy? What kinds of books magazines do you find yourself drawn to? What kind of people do you like to associate with or find interesting? What parts of your current career have brought you the most satisfaction?

Next, remind yourself of what you wanted to be when you grew up. Is it something you still want to be? Do you still get stars in your eyes when you think about it? This may give you some real clues. And of course, depending on what you wanted to be, that young dream may be out of reach. Or…is it? Think about it. If your ideal career aspiration at the age of 10 was to be an astronaut and you are now over the age limit or are not physically able to, you can rule it out. But what about other careers associated with astronauts or astronomy? There is a wide array of careers that touch upon astronomy from teaching, to marketing telescopes, to writing for a science magazine, to building models or sets for movies to working at a museum on a space exhibit! When you look at your passion and then use a little imagination, the sky (or should I say space) becomes the limit.

Lastly, look at what type of person you are. Be honest with yourself. Do you enjoy working with your hands? Do you enjoy working alone? Do you enjoy a social work setting? Do you enjoy being part of a team? Do you enjoy working at night? These are all examples of questions that will lead you down the path to discovering and evaluating whether a given career path is right for you.

As you are going through the exercise of looking inside, it is important to avoid cluttering your mind or list with any “buts”. If your answer to the question “do you enjoy working with your hands” was “yes”, leave it at “yes”. Don’t append any knee jerk reactions to your answers such as “yes, but I am clumsy” or “yes, but those jobs don’t pay as much”. Leave your mind open and you will be pleasantly surprised at how easily any natural human discouragement subsides.

3. Explore what’s out there

Now that you’re armed with a list of personal interests and talents, sit on them for a few days and let them cook. Let yourself get used to your newfound list. You may find yourself adding a few more during this time or even crossing a few out.

Begin your next step by opening your eyes to what’s out there (not what you perceive to be out there, but rather what is out there). Pick up your local community college catalog and flip through both credit and continuing education courses. Look online for education or career programs. Make a list of the careers of your friends and family. On your next ride to work or to the store, turn off the radio, look around and take notice of the buildings and businesses around you. Look at the people you see outside and start piecing together what their days are like.

The object of this exercise is to compare what is out there, with what interests you. Let’s stick with the astronomy example. You’re interested in astronomy. So what? Well…now you’ve begun looking through the local community college catalog and there, you see a continuing education course on astronomy. You’ve now found something concrete, a class that you can take that will allow you to pursue your interest. But what is a continuing education course going to get you? A couple of things. One, you will meet other people who share your interest. These people bring information to the table. They may know of groups or clubs that you can join. Or perhaps, they may have friends or relatives who are looking for someone to do research work or work part-time in their science store. Two, you will be able to further your interest…or be able to rule it out as a career path. You may learn that you really love astronomy and would like to pursue it further. On the other hand, you may learn that it really isn’t what you thought it was and you really don’t care enough about it to pursue it as a career. Any way you slice it, you will learn something about yourself and at the very least will have met others who share your interest.

Let’s try another example. Perhaps, on your way to work, you start to notice a road construction worker. The first day you see him, you’re in a suit, he’s in jeans and he’s joking with a coworker as he shovels asphalt under a sunny sky. You think to yourself, “Boy it’d be nice to get out of this suit, work outside…break a sweat for once! Maybe I’d like to do that…” The next day you see him and you watch as a driver leans out his window and curses at him. “Hmmm”, you think. The third day you see him, it’s raining and cold and he’s out braving the elements while you’re dry and warm inside your car. “Cross that one off the list”, you think. If you had only noticed the man on the first day, you’d only have seen him on a good day. If you had only noticed him on the last day, you’d have seen him at the worst. Either way, without really opening your eyes full time, you may have a fragmented impression on what it means to be this or that. The point here is not to look for distinctly negative or positive things about a given occupation, but to begin to see it as a whole. With this type of information, you will be able to form an opinion on whether a given occupation could be a possibility for you.

In addition to concrete and mindful exploration, talking to your friends and family is an invaluable type of investigation. When you start bringing up your interests or ideas for possible career paths in conversations or e-mails, you will no doubt hear a lot of “Oh! Susan’s son teaches astronomy at the university, he’s writing a book on the Hubble telescope this year.” or “Oh John does construction on the side, he loves it!” By talking to other people, you may make connections or gain insight into the experiences and opinions of people connected with your interest areas. It will also trigger some more ideas for you. Perhaps it never occurred to you to pair a love of writing with a love of astronomy until you talked with your cousin.

4. Do your homework

So, you’ve looked inside. You’ve come up with several interests and you’ve taken steps to explore what’s out there. By this time, you’ve come up with a few things you might like to do or have found one you’ve decided you want to pursue. Now it’s time to get to work. It’s time to delve into what it really means to have a job in a particular career field. To accomplish this part of your journey, you need to do serious research.

Your research homework consists of concrete exploration of available paths for your career options. For the majority of careers, you will need to embark on some type of structured educational path. Examples of this are things like sponsored career programs, college degrees, certification programs, professional designations, internships or apprenticeships. Even if your chosen career path does not require ordered training or education, you will no doubt have to “put in your time” and you will need to find out what and how much time you will realistically be expected to “put in”.

So how do you find out? Let’s say you’ve decided you want to seriously explore being a pharmacist. Wonderful! How do you get to be a pharmacist? For starters, inquire with your friends and family to see if anyone knows a pharmacist that you can speak with. Talk to your neighborhood pharmacist, find out where she went to school and ask her about any professional designations she holds or ongoing education she may be taking. If you’re brave, ask her what kind of salary pharmacists can expect to earn. In addition, pick up that college course catalog again and inspect the pharmacology program. Look at the prerequisites and notice how long the program will take to complete and how much the courses cost. Read the course descriptions. Do they peak your interest or do they make you want to throw the book down? A great supplement to all of your research is the internet. There are plenty of newsgroup, blog, forum and professional association sites out there. Any of these can give you a solid peak into what it means and takes to be a given occupation.

For each career path you are interested in, you will want to know the following:

• What are the education requirements?
• Does it require any job certification?
• Is there an apprenticeship required?
• Does it require travel?
• How much money can you make?
• Where are the regions of the country that people in this career field are more successful? more in supply? more in demand? make more money?
• Will it require you to relocate?
• Will it require regular, ongoing education?
• Will it require you to have your own business or work for another company?
• Are there yearly fees? (e.g. license renewal, union dues, association membership, equipment, etc.)
• How many hours will you normally work in a week?
• Are there any age requirements or cut-offs?
• How much will it cost you to become gainfully employed in the field?
• How long will it take you to become gainfully employed in the field?

The answers to these questions will help you narrow your career choices further and may even get a fire burning under your feet.

5. Take financial stock

Okay. You’ve done it! You’ve come up with one or more career paths that you’d like to embark on. You have looked into what it means to be employed in the career field(s) and you are now powerfully armed with the knowledge of what it takes to get you where you want to go! But like everything in life, it’s going to cost you. You now need to list out all the costs, add them up and compare them with what you will be able to swing. There’s no doubt you will be able to accomplish your goals, no matter what your financial situation. It may take you longer than you like or may come at the expense of some other items or conveniences in your life, but you can do it if you set your mind to it and approach it methodically. This may mean you have to call upon your research skills again and explore financial options such as grants, scholarships, payment plans, or 401K or private institution education loans. You even may be able to pay for education or experience by doing an internship or by performing work using a skill that you currently have in exchange for training or experience.

When you are taking financial stock, allow yourself breathing room. Perhaps your goals are not financially feasible at this moment in time. Perhaps you just had a baby, your youngest son needs braces, or you’ve just paid an absorbent amount of money to repair your car. It’s okay. Rejoice in the fact that you’ve come this far. You can put a plan together and start saving or start applying for aid or other means of financing. There may even be things you can start to do that will be free or cheap, such as volunteering in the field or reading books to prepare you for your studies. Most people don’t have the luxury of quitting their jobs while they switch careers, so most likely you will be living a “double life” while you prepare for the switch. Whatever you do, don’t break the bank, because you’ll inevitably find yourself right back where you started.

6. Check your calendar

Great! You’ve got it all under control. You know where you’re going, how you’re going to get there and how you’re going to pay for it. But can you afford the time? Do you have enough free time or flexibility to meet the educational requirements? Are you young enough or old enough to fall within any professional age requirements? If you have the time and the age, skip this step. If not, the last step of your journey is to shuffle your calendar!

Shuffling your calendar may be easy. You may know right away what to eliminate or move in order to make room for your new career path. Conversely, finding the time might be downright complicated. Maybe you have small children, maybe you have an ailing parent, maybe you have church or community commitments…any of these things would make working towards a new career an uphill battle. Here again, it may mean that you have to post-pone your journey for a little while. Or, it could mean that you have to settle for beginning your education informally by reading books or taking online courses when you can. Whatever your challenge, don’t lose hope! Faith in yourself and perseverance will get you where you want to go.

7. Take the plunge

You’ve arrived at the last step. It’s time to jump in! Time to register for that first class, accept that internship, or apply for that entry level or part-time job in your chosen field. Whatever you’ve found to be the first step towards your new career, delight in the fact that you’ve come a long way and you’re doing it! You’ve done a lot of hard, thorough work and you have a lot to be proud of. Start down that path with your chin up and your shoulders back!

Food for your trip

You can’t take this trip without packing! If you leave home with one thing, leave home with the comforting knowledge that your approach to a new career is circular. This means that you can always go back to the beginning of the circle or to any point within the circle. If you’ve started a class or program and found that you hate it. So what? You’ve learned to cross it off you list and go back and take another look. Even if you get all the way to end of the path and decide it is not for you, take comfort that you did your best and its time to go back to another number in the circle. There is no shame in that.

So go on now…get out of here! Your train is leaving and you better be on it! Just don’t forget to take some pictures along the way, stop and smell the flowers, buy a few souvenirs and by all means, don’t forget where you came from!

Alotta Candor is a staff writer and commentator for JobSchmob.com, the “lighter” side of the working world. She is proud to be a liberated ex-corporate office worker.

http://www.JobSchmob.com

Gray Market Tractors, What You Should Know and Check Before You Purchase

Before you begin to actually look at tractors you should know exactly what you are looking for.

Consider the following questions when shopping for a tractor.

What size of tractor do you need?

What are you going to be using you tractor for?

How often will the tractor be used?

Is the tractor going to be used to produce income? Of course, money is often a consideration when shopping for a tractor. Consider talking to people that own tractors and get their opinions.

Be an informed shopper and don’t let anyone rush you. Below are some other things to consider before you begin shopping for a tractor.

Tractor Size

This is obviously the most commonly asked questions regarding a tractor purchase. The average compact tractor consumer owns a 1-5 acre piece of property and uses the small compact diesel mostly for mowing The other tractor consumers usually have between 10-30 acres and needs about a 30 horsepower to complete the necessary tasks.

What are you going to use the tractor for?, is of course, the most important question to answer. Is it just for mowing or will you be using a loader or backhoe on it? Will you be working on rocky or uneven ground?

Dollars & Sense

You should definitely shop around, however, don’t forget that if you are comparing the prices of different makes and models of tractor it can sometimes be much like comparing apples to oranges. As with anything else, some makes and models are made better than others. A few more dollars upfront in price for a better quality of tractor makes more ’sense’ than having to pay the cost of constant repairs and maintenance.

Different Makes and Models of Tractors

If at all possible, one of the best things you can do to make your life easier, is to purchase a tractor that is easy to get parts for. There are many foreign makes and models that are exact matches to domestic tractors. With that in mind, you can get a parts book for U.S. made tractor and purchase the corresponding part numbers that way. Some parts dealers don’t like to sell parts for a gray market tractor. In fact, dealers of some brands of tractors are being told by a higher authority that they cannot willingly sell parts for gray market tractors.

Diesel Engines

Make sure you get a tractor with a diesel engine. Diesel engines have better performance and usually last longer than gas engines. Implements also work better on diesel engine tractors.

Horsepower

Approximately how many horsepower will you need? One horsepower (hp) is the amount of energy required to lift 550 pounds, one foot, in one second. In a tractor the energy is produced from torque and engine speed. A 100 hp tractor is one with a maximum of 100 horsepower available at the power-takeoff (PTO) outlet.

PTO

Nearly all Japanese tractor manufacturers include the power take off (PTO) horsepower (hp) in their model numbers; however, they do not include the engine (fly) hp. The first two numbers of the model number is where you find the PTO hp. The PTO hp is important because it is telling you the equipment working power of the tractor. It tells you what horsepower that equipment requiring a PTO will get from the tractor. Click here for a more in depth explanation of PTO.

Cylinders

Consider getting a three or four cylinder tractor. Three and four cylinder tractors are generally newer tractors and run quieter and smoother than the two cylinder models. Transmissions

There are several different types of transmissions for tractors. If you are not knowledgeable about tractor transmissions, it would be a good idea if you familiarize yourself with the different types listed below, so that when you go out to shop for a tractor you will well informed.

Manual transmissions on tractors were made to be shifted while the tractor is not in motion. This will cause a grinding noise due to the fact the two gears that are trying to mesh are rotating at different speeds. Manual shift transmissions are known for their durability, however, they are not considered to be very user friendly. The sliding gear and the collar shift are two of the more common transmissions.

Synchro Shift transmissions are basically collar shift transmissions (a type of manual transmission, see above). The difference is the added synchronizers, which makes it so that the gears don’t grind if you are trying to shift while the tractor is in motion. Some synchro shift transmissions only have one pair of synchronized gears, while others have all speeds synchronized, including forward and reverse. The synchronization of forward and reverse is called the shuttle shift. This synchro shift is a dependable transmission, however, just like with automobiles, the more ‘tricky’ the tranny is, and the more chance there is of something going wrong or breaking.

A Power Shift transmission is an option well worth considering. Not those standard shift transmissions won’t work just fine; however, often power shift is a nice little luxury, depending on what you are going to be using the tractor for. With a power shift transmission you can choose different speeds while the tractor is in motion, without needing to use the clutch pedal.

Hydrostatic transmissions operate in a closed loop, the flow of the pump is reversed, which in turn causes the tractor to reverse directions. The hydrostatic transmission is considered to be very dependable and is able to defend itself against ‘operator difficulty’. Because this is transmission is controlled by a foot pedal, when you take your foot off of the pedal the tractor will stop, this is a nice safety feature. Hydrostatic is considered the best selection for such things as large mowing jobs because it allows for easy direction change and continual, unchanging speed.

Implement Adaptability

You will want a tractor with a Category 1, 3-point hitch and standard rotation PTO shafts. Most imported compact tractors are equipped with these items; however, there are a few that are not.

Implement Availability

Before you purchase a a tractor, make sure that good quality implements are available for it. It is a good idea to try to find a tractor with as many model-specific attachments as possible. These include things such as loaders and backhoes, which have custom-fitted mounts that are not interchangeable with other makes and models of tractor. You can often save money if you purchase the implements at the same time you purchase the tractor and some implements can be very expensive to add on at a later time.

Parts Manuals

Sometime parts manuals can be very hard to acquire. Make sure there is one available for the tractor you choose. Ask how much the manual is, sometimes the cost can be over $100.00 dollars.

Warranty

Find out what kind of a warranty comes with the tractor. Find out what it covers and for how long. Below is a checklist that you can print and take with you when you are out shopping for a tractor. Just check things off and take notes as you check over the prospective tractor.

Yes, it’s a very long checklist, but well worth your time if you want to get a good quality tractor at a fair price.

Some things on the checklist may not pertain to the type of tractor you are looking for; however, we believe that most folks will find the majority of information here to be very helpful.

Your goal is to ensure that the tractor you purchase is all that the seller says it is and doesn’t have any hidden problems. Make sure you know what you are looking for. Know what options you must have on the tractor and which ones you might be willing to compromise on or be able to add later.

Tractor Buyer’s Checklist

Make_____________________________ Model _____________________ Year _________ Hours

On Meter________ Asking Price $____________

Seller’s Name _____________________________ Phone ______________

Tractor Location _______________________________________________

Yes/No Notes

Visual Exterior Inspection

Does the overall appearance of the tractor look as if it has been cared for?

Why is the tractor for sale?

Is the paint faded?

Is the sheet metal straight?

Are there a lot of ‘dings’ in the tractor?

Are there any decaying rubber or plastic components?

Are there any structural cracks? Look closely for hairline cracks.

Is there anything that looks like a ‘makeshift’ repair job?

Are the tires in good condition with good tread left on them?

Is there a calcium mixture added to the tires for better stability?

Is there still good tread left on the tires?

Is the seat in good condition?

Does it have a standard 3-point hitch?

Are there any puddles of fluid under the tractor?

Are there any oil spots on the ground around the wheels?

Engine Inspection

Is the engine warm?

Are there oil and/or fuel on the engine?

Can you see any seals leaking?

Is there oil around the rear axles, near the rear wheel?

Is there oil around the PTO seals?

Are there oil leaks around the output shaft seals gearboxes? (4WD

Is the engine oil at or near the full mark?

Is the front axle dipstick at or near the full mark? (4WD)

Does the oil look clean? Black is ok for diesel engines.

Are there creamy white droplets near the top of the dipstick?

Are all the filters U.S. made?

Is the air filter intact?

Does the air filter have any tears or holes in it?

Is the fuel filter clean?

Is the fan belt tight and in good shape?

Does the air inlet tube have any cracks or holes in it?

Is the water in the radiator dark green? This is a good thing.

Does the radiator water have a milky looking scum to it?

Is there flaking or discolored paint around the radiator cap?

Is there moisture along the bottom of the radiator?

Is there any slop in the steering linkages?

Did you closely look over the tractor a second time to make sure you didn’t miss anything?

Running Engine Inspection

Does the oil pressure register when you just turn the key?

Start the tractor. Does it start easily?

Does the oil pressure light go off or the oil gauge go up to about 30-80 psi?

Do all of the other lights go off?

Is the voltage meter (if it has one) charging a full 13.5-14.5 volts

Did you rock the steering wheel from left to right? Do this with the engine running if the

tractor has power steering.

Does the PTO spin in all gears?

Does the 3-point hitch work properly?

Does the tractor continue to smoke after it warms up?

Driving The Tractor (This is the fun part)

Does the tractor work through all of the gears?

Does the power shift feel ‘weak’ when shifting?

Is there any slippage when you quickly accelerate into high gear?

Does the 4WD engage properly?

Does the clutch slip?

Do the brakes work well?

Did you check the brakes by pushing one pedal at a time in low gear?

Does the tractor make any clunking noises from inside the engine?

Does the charging system work properly?

Do the wheels wobble at all?

Hydraulics

Are the control levers in good shape and not flopping around?

Are the pivot pins badly worn?

Does any oil seep out of the extended spools (control valves)?

Are the hydraulic couplers capped?

Does the hydraulics work correctly?

Post Driving Inspection

Did the temp gauge ever get above the recommended temperature?

Did the temp light ever come on while you were driving it?

Did the tractor overheat?

Did the tractor run well even after it got hot?

Do you see any new leaks from the radiator?

Do you see any new oil and or fluid leaks?

Did you see excess smoke when you removed the oil cap?

Did you closely look over the tractor a third time to make sure you didn’t miss anything?

I Hope this has been a lot of information that you where looking for and you will use this information to your advantage and be safe with it.

Ebooks and Articles are the Love of my Life. Visit Me [http://www.macsebooksparadise.com]

Sherry Cochran [http://www.macsebooksparadise.com]

Why Team Sports Are Important for Youth?

There are quite a number of team sports that many youth can enjoy. These sports will help them in coming together and having some interesting and fun times. Through these sports activities the youth also be in a position to find and develop their talents. Many parents have shown appreciation to the coaches by providing them with gifts and personalized coaches gifts for helping their children develop.

One of the reasons why this is important is that the youth will be able to socialize. While engaging in these team sports, they will meet new people and make friends. They will also learn how to work together because the games come with various rules and regulations that should be followed in order for them to achieve the intended goal. Apart from this, they will also be able to develop their physical attributes. The activities in these sports will allow them to exercise their bodies and they will end up with healthier bodies and minds.

Since the games will take most of their leisure time, the youth will not be exposed to the risk of taking part in other illegal and dangerous activities such as drug abuse and robbery. With this, they will be focused to achieve better things in life and they may inspire other young people.

The youth will also learn how to relate with other people, for example, they will learn to listen to the instructions from the coaches in order to be successful in what they are doing. When they are successful or have become victors, they can show appreciation to their coaches by buying for them coaches gifts. These gifts are available in variety of designs and types and the young players can also set to purchase personalized gifts as per the personality of their coaches.

Coaches gifts and personalized coaches gift are available in a number of stores and in variety of colors. The players can surprise their coaches with Personalized Coaches Gifts or a general Coaches Gift for them to enjoy each game.

Fly Fishing

Fly Fishing is an ancient method of fishing that is effective for catching salmonids such as trout and salmon. Fly-fishing for trout is usually best in ponds, small streams, rivers and lakes. Fly-fishing is unique because unlike other fishing methods, artificial flies made by tying feathers, fur, foam, yarn or other similar materials are tied onto a hook as bait. You can learn how to tie these flies by researching the subject online or by talking with people who have done it before.

One of the most passionate sports among anglers, there are two forms of fly-fishing – dry fly fishing and wet fly fishing. Of the two, dry fly fishing is regarded as the more familiar and classic form. In this technique, the angler casts the fly upstream. As the fly passes overhead, fish will hopefully rise up and bite the fly. Wet fly fishing is further divided into nymph fishing, lures fishing and true wet fly-fishing, and all are fished beneath the surface of the water.

Some of the widely accepted fly-fishing techniques are wet fly retrieved near the surface, deep drift, nymphs (lightly or heavy), wet fly swung and dry fly swung. Commonly used fly-fishing equipment includes fly-fishing tackle, rods and fly-fishing reels. Fly-fishing is popular in the western states and provinces. Utah, Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, British Columbia, Alberta, and California are famous for fly-fishing. In recent years, the popularity of fly-fishing has dramatically increased. Of all the fishing sports, it is regarded as the most tantalizing among anglers worldwide.

Fishing provides detailed information on Fishing, Fly Fishing, Fishing Boats, Deep Sea Fishing and more. Fishing is affiliated with Deep Sea Fishing Boats.

A Fly Fishing Tip For the Traditional Spin Fisherman

It seems as if everyone has a fly fishing tip. They want to tell you what fly is working best, what fly to fish in a certain fly fishing scenario, or what casting technique is most effective on a certain stretch of river, but how often do you hear about a fly fishing tip for traditional spin fishermen? Not very often, that’s for sure. Fly fishing is seen and sold as an exclusive group of skilled anglers who are “above” traditional spin fishermen for a long time. While fly fishing techniques are very specialized and require special gear it doesn’t mean that fishing with flies is impossible to spin fishermen. Traditional spin fishermen can fish with flies with the help of something called casting bubbles.

About fifteen years ago I tried fishing with flies and it simply didn’t feel right to me. I simply didn’t like it and continued on my way as a traditional spin fisherman using ultra light gear. Knowing how effective fly fishing can be, I always wished that there was a way to fish flies without having to use traditional fly fishing gear to “wave feathers back and forth” in the air in an attempt to catch fish. Then I discovered a way that I could fish flies without having to use fly fishing gear, and that way is by using a casting bubble.

Sure casting bubbles don’t allow you to fish with flies in every fishing scenario, but when it comes to fishing flies in lakes or in large pools in rivers using casting bubbles to fish flies can be very effective. A casting bubble looks much like a traditional bobber, but is oblong (like a football) and clear so as not to be detected by the fish. The casting bubble is threaded through your line and a swivel is attached. A leader is then attached to the opposite end of the swivel and a fly to the end of the leader. The casting bubble itself can be filled with water to add weight for casting, and gives traditional spin fishermen the ability to cast and fish many types of lightweight flies effectively.

This fly fishing tip will help anyone who uses traditional spin fishing gear to be able to fish a fly effectively. One of the keys to using casting bubbles is to have a long enough leader for the fly that you are fishing. In the case of a dry fly the leader needs to be at least twenty four inches from the fly that you are fishing. For wet flies the leader length should be adjusted for the depth of the water and/or the depth that the fish are feeding at.

Many types of flies can be fished behind a casting bubble including: dry flies, wet flies, and ever small poppers. With a little experience a casting bubble can be used for river or stream fishing as well, but easiest to learn while fishing in lakes. The bottom line is that this simple fly fishing tip will help anyone who doesn’t want to go to the expense, both in time and money, of learning fly fishing to fish a fly in an effective manner.

Get a casting bubble and a few flies and add this fishing technique to your fishing arsenal sooner, rather than later. This fly fishing tip will help any angler catch more fish.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 25 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his five year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country.

Get Fishing Tips & Techniques Twice A Month For FREE – http://www.jrwfishing.com/signup.html

Internet Marketing: A Reflection after One Year in the Business

As autumn and cold crawl their way into Canada and the sun sets before 4 p.m., this darkness and quietness bring along a time of reflection for all of us. The assessment I want to share with you is about internet marketing. Although my list of things to do seams never-ending, I am very happy to realize all I have accomplished in less than a year ( over 40 active web sites, a hypnosis for childbirth program that already got international recognition, over 100 published articles on the net, etc)

I have been in internet marketing for a little less than a year and I have attended ten internet marketing seminars in 2006. I am the kind of person who likes to get to the bottom of things. I want to share my findings with people who are starting, thinking of starting or even stalling in the internet marketing business.

The ten biggest pieces of wisdom I want to share with you about internet marketing I have learned are:

1)The price of Internet Marketing products is highly exaggerated. Many marketers are comfortable taking hundreds of dollars for useless e-books or software. They are able to overcharge such big money for two main reasons: their customers believe their well-written sales letter promising them to become a millionaire by working only two hours per day. The second reason is that since other people have raised the bar before them, they feel comfortable with overcharging for their products.

I encourage everyone who is about to purchase any internet marketing product to take a deep breath, back up and do an internet search. Most probably, the product or its equivalent is already available for a fraction of the price on the internet.

My opinion is that no e-book is worth that much unless it provides me with the code of the safe at the bank for this internet marketer.

2)In the internet marketing business there are dreamers and there are doers. I have repeatedly met some people at internet marketing seminars who have not taken action and just keep buying the next product promising them a fast an effortless income. My experience is that it takes work (but then again I don’t see it as work as I enjoy it very much) at least in the beginning to secure a decent income in the internet marketing business.

3)Many internet marketers made their fortunes by selling products to people who want to make a fortune in the internet marketing business. Willie Crawford draws the parallel that the people who got the richest during the gold rush were the ones selling shovels and sticks to the gold diggers.

Anyone interested in internet marketing has to ask themselves if they have just been enriching the people selling them promises to make millions in the internet business.

4)There are basically three categories of internet marketers out there: the ones who just want your money, the ones who give you a good deal for your money and the ones that genuinely care about helping you making good money by sharing their efficient tactics.

I will, of course, not name any names here and I think that deep deep down people know what kind of marketers they are. I can tell you that upon trying to do a mental list of the genuine, caring ones, I had enough of my ten fingers to do the complete list.

5)The real successful internet marketers are often not on stage at seminars. I have met some very successful and knowledgeable people by talking to the person sitting next to me at seminars. I highly recommend you get to know the attendees at any given seminar; you will be surprised to sometimes find out that they know more than the speaker upfront and wiling to share everything with you…for free.

6)A masterminding group is a great resource to learn and share tricks and tips about internet marketing. The rule is to be part of a group that is about (or even better, a little above) your level of knowledge and accomplishments in internet marketing.

7)Action is power. Whatever piece of gold nugget you learn is useless if you do not take action on it. Many people are eternal course takers but have yet to get their first web site up. Even the best intended internet marketer will not make a penny if he doesn’t get his product out there. I have heard numerous times the advice to put out your product and fix the fine details later. It has been a little challenging for a perfectionist like me but, honestly, it works great. Often, customer comments allow me to go back and improve my product in ways that I would have never thought of.

8)Internet marketing is a number’s game. If you put all your eggs in one basket, you might rise very fast very high and then tumble down as fast. Diversity is the foundation for a solid business.

9)There will always be new things to learn. One cannot stay in their basement and hope that the world will not change. The internet marketing world is one that changes at the speed of light and one has to keep informed of the new trends and developments.

10)The Internet is here to stay. Internet has been growing at an astonishing rate and those who got in the game will be ahead of the pack in this exciting and powerful window to the world. The possibilities are infinite.

Dr Nathalie Fiset is a family doctor and a certified hypnotherapist. For more information go to: www.joinmeatthetop.com www.aperfectharmony.com or www.drnathaliefiset.com

How To Format Your Resume For Internet Job Searching

Email resumes…Web resumes…HTML resumes…Scannable resumes… Keyword resumes…Text resumes…ASCII resumes…PDF resumes…Word resumes…Traditional resumes…

A resume is a resume, right? But then, what are all these different types of resumes you keep hearing about? If you are confused and not quite sure what is being referred to when you hear all these different names for resumes, you are certainly not alone!

Over the past decade, the most common resume-related questions asked by job hunters have progressively shifted. While still of major importance, the majority of queries are no longer about functional versus chronological resume styles, whether to keep or remove experience from twenty-five years ago, or whether to include dates of education. With the advent and subsequent explosive increase in the use of the Internet during the job search, questions have turned overwhelmingly to issues of electronic resume creation and transmission.

What are the different types of electronic resumes?

What are the differences between an e-mail resume, a scannable resume, and a web resume?

How do I know which resume format to use?

How do I format my electronic resume to ensure that the recipient can read it?

No wonder there is so much confusion! In just a few short years, there has been a complete revolution in the tools and techniques of job hunting. As applicant tracking technologies have come into common use among headhunter firms, large corporations, and even mid-size and small businesses, recommended resume formats and methods of transmission have rapidly evolved with the advancing technologies. Further complicating things, have been the increasing availability of personal web space for online resume portfolios and biographies.

What does this mean for today’s job hunter? While the Internet has opened unprecedented doors of opportunity in the job search process, for those who have not taken the time to learn and apply the rules it can mean disaster!

While few job hunters have time to spend months studying the most recent technologies and recommendations for the creation of electronic resumes, before venturing onto the Internet with your resume it is critical that you take the time to learn and understand a few simple concepts. Knowing your audience and the formats most acceptable by those audiences are essential pieces of knowledge for the Internet job hunter.

The human reader – The traditional, printed, hard copy resume (yes, it does still have a primary place in job hunting!) is created to attract the human eye and attention. With the advantages of word processing applications, sophisticated formatting is possible and should be applied strategically to create eye-appeal and draw the readers’ attention to key qualifications.

The computer reader – The electronic or computer-optimized resume is designed, first and foremost, to be readable by the computer. There are several types of electronic resumes, but the common element of all is the ability to be searched by keyword. Of course, once your resume has been tagged as matching a keyword search, it will be reviewed by a human. So compelling, easy-to-read content is just as important in the electronic resume as in the traditional resume.

Miss these points and the effects could be devastating…you might send out hundreds of resumes only to sit at home and wonder why nobody, not even one company or headhunter, has called you for an interview. There are fundamental formatting differences between traditional and electronic resumes. If you do not understand these differences, your resume will make it into very few – if any – resume databases.

RESUME FORMATS

What are the differences between keyword, scannable, web, traditional, and text resumes?

Traditional resumes are designed, as already noted, to compel the human reader, through persuasive language and design, to take further action and call you for an interview. Layout and page design are critical and should be planned strategically to draw the eye to areas of emphasis. The most effective traditional resumes are focused on achievements and written in powerful, active language that captures and holds the attention of the reader.

Scannable resumes — also a printed, hardcopy format — are designed primarily for accurate scanning into a computer. Captured as an image, scannable resumes are fed through OCR (optical character recognition) software that reads and extracts the text. The extracted text is databased for storage and later recalled by keyword from an applicant tracking system. Scannable resumes are very rarely requested any more. If you are asked for a scannable resume, the most efficient option is to email the requestor your plain ASCII text resume (described next).

Text resumes (also referred to as ASCII resumes) are just what the name implies, an ASCII-formatted version of either your traditional or scannable resume. Text resumes are universally readable on all computer systems and platforms and are the preferred format when you are emailing your resume. An ASCII resume received in email can be entered directly into an applicant tracking system without the added step of needing to scan it. Entry into the system is fast, easy, and accurate and so many employers and recruiters prefer this format.

The phrase “keyword resume,” as it was first used, referred most often to either a scannable or text resume that incorporated a focus on nouns and phrases that employers were likely to use when searching for an applicant. Sometimes the keyword resume had a section at the beginning or end that listed the keywords separated by commas or periods. Today, there is no need to maintain both a keyword and a non-keyword resume. Keywords have become such an essential element in resumes that you should ensure that every version of your resume, whether meant for the human or the computer reader, incorporates the keywords most important in your field or industry.

Still confused? My recommendation is to simply maintain two separate versions of your resume:

Traditional resume – If you wish to send a hardcopy, paper version of your resume you should send your traditional resume. Traditional resumes are most often stored on your computer as a computer file and printed on an as-needed basis. For example, you will want to print at least several copies of your resume to carry with you and hand out at interviews. You may also be asked to send your traditional resume via email to a recruiter or employer. In these cases, you should have your traditional resume saved in the two most commonly asked for file formats: MS Word and Adobe PDF. You can then attach the requested file or files to an email message and send it to the requestor to be printed on the receiving end.

By far, you’ll find that the most requested format for your traditional resume is MS Word. If you comply with the request, be aware that your formatting may be incompatible with the recipient’s system. While usually still readable, fonts and bullet sizes and styles may be different from what you intended. These problems can be minimized, although not always eliminated, by embedding the fonts into the document. This is a simple process, and the MS Word help files will guide you through it. You should also take care, while writing and designing your resume, to use design elements that are default and standard on most systems. For example, it is not wise to use a fancy, custom font on your resume that you know will be emailed. Default fonts such as Garamond, Helvetica, Book Antiqua, or Verdana are better choices.

To eliminate issues with compatibility, if the recipient has the free Adobe Reader installed, Adobe PDF is the best format in which to send your traditional resume. The PDF version of your resume will appear on the recipient’s system precisely the way it appeared on your system. For this reason, if given the choice of sending an MS Word file and Adobe PDF file, always opt for Adobe PDF. However, many recruiters and employers still prefer the MS Word file format, because this is the format they are most familiar with.

ASCII text resume – If you conduct any portion of your job search on the Internet, ASCII-formatted resumes are critically important tools. Always have an up-to-date ASCII text version of your resume on your computer. This is the fastest way to contact potential employers and to apply for jobs advertised online. You must also have a text version of your resume if you wish to post in online resume databanks.

As previously noted, employers rarely request scannable resumes anymore. If they utilize an applicant tracking system, they will likely request that your resume be e-mailed, either as ASCII text or as an attachment. E-mail allows the recipient to enter your resume directly into the database, eliminating the extra steps of scanning and OCR.

How do you use these file formats and transit them to recipients via email? My recommendation is to actually attach the MS Word or Adobe PDF file to the email in its native file format. Then, ALSO copy and paste the text of your ASCII text resume into the body of your email (where you would normally type a message), along with a letter of introduction or other note explaining why you are sending the resume.

A final type of electronic resume is the web resume, also known as the online resume. Created using HTML, your web resume may be uploaded to space provided by a web-hosting provider. Eliminating the compatibility problems associated with word-processed resumes sent as e-mail attachments, web resumes offer the advantage of maintaining layout and design on the systems of anyone with a web browser. Available for viewing around the clock, conveying a technology-savvy image, and allowing the ability to add supporting content to your resume (effectively creating an online portfolio promoting your qualifications), web resumes are becoming a progressively important tool in the job search. The creation of a web resume or resume portfolio is far beyond the scope of this article, but if web resumes are an electronic format that interest you, be aware that many service providers have begun offering web resume design and hosting at affordable prices.

Preparing Internet Resumes

What do I need to know about writing keyword resumes?

Remember – it is absolutely essential that you create resume content that is keyword rich regardless of the file format. It is not necessary that you maintain a separate keyword version of your resume. ALL resumes must include a heavy emphasis on keywords. Keywords are generally defined as nouns or phrases that an employer will use when searching for an applicant with your skill set. To maximize the recall of your resume in a search, you will want to use as many keywords in your resume as possible.

1. Keywords should focus on technical and professional areas of expertise, industry-related jargon, and your work history. Also, include the names of associations and organizations of which you are a member.

2. Whenever possible, use synonyms of keywords in different parts of your resume and if you use initials for a term in one section, spell the term out in another.

3. Always be specific. For example, while it may be fine to include the phrase “computer literate,” you will also want to list the specific software that you are proficient in using.

This is one of the most common areas of confusion, so I’ll state it once again…the content of a keyword resume does not need to differ from the content of your traditional resume. With careful attention to rhythm and flow, it is possible to prepare a resume that is keyword optimized, but that also includes the powerful, compelling, active language of a traditional resume. Not only will this simplify your resume preparation, but it will ensure that the content of all versions of your resume will be optimized for both the computer and the human reader. Furthermore, if you incorporate a professional summary and bulleted list of qualifications in the text of your resume, there is little if any need to prepare a separate keyword summary.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to recommend a specific list of the best keywords to use in your resume, as the “best” keywords are different for every individual and depend mainly on your unique career objective and background. What is certain, however, is that a well-prepared keyword resume is so critical to your success in a job market that largely relies on electronic applicant tracking systems, if you have any doubts at all you should consult with a professional resume writer.

How do I prepare an ASCII text version of my resume?

Preparing the all-important ASCII text version of your resume is not difficult, but it does require a learning curve. Once converted to ASCII format, you will be able to email your resume in response to an ad or paste it directly into web-based forms and submit it to Internet resume databanks. The specific directions will vary depending on the software you have installed on your computer. But, in general, to prepare your ASCII resumes properly, follow these simple steps:

1. Using your word processing program, open your word-processed resume and use the “Save As” function to save a copy as a “Text Only” or “ASCII (DOS)” document. Title your document with an easily distinguishable name; perhaps “resume_internet.txt”

2. Close your word processing program and re-open the ASCII file. You will not be able to see your changes until you have done this. Note that it has been stripped of virtually all original formatting.

3. Go through your new ASCII document line-by-line. Align all text flush to the left-hand margin.

4. Remove all “centering,” “right hand margin,” and “justification” alignments.

5. Although you should no longer see them, if visible, remove all graphics, artwork, and special character formatting.

6. Remove all tab characters.

7. Remove all columns.

8. Replace bullets with a simple ASCII asterisk (*).

9. Carefully check the spelling and the accuracy of your data.

10. If you wish, use ASCII characters to enhance the appearance of your resume. Asterisks, plus signs, or other keyboard characters can be used to create visual lines that separate sections of your resume and make it easier to read.

The above steps convert your resume to ASCII without line breaks. When pasted into a web-based form or email message, your resume will automatically wrap to the size of the window.

Your new ASCII resume will be universally readable, no matter what computer system the recipient uses. It will also be easy to manipulate for entry into applicant tracking databases, eliminating the inherent difficulties of scanning and converting your paper resume with OCR systems.

There is no denying that the Internet has caused what was once a straightforward process to become complex and confusing to many job hunters. Yet, the benefits far outweigh the negatives. Like never before, as a job seeker you have immediate access to announcements and advertisements of openings around the globe. You have the ability to conduct detailed research on companies of interest. And you have unprecedented opportunity to cost effectively promote your qualifications to hundreds or even thousands of hiring authorities of just a tiny fraction of the cost of doing so through traditional methods. While the new skills you must learn may seem daunting at first, by understanding the concepts and creating your electronic resumes, you are well on your way to an efficient, effective Internet job search.

Want to Use this Article in Your Ezine or Website? You are welcome to as long as you use the following text with it:

Nationally certified resume writer, career marketing expert, and personal branding strategist, Michelle Dumas is the founder and executive director of Distinctive Career Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents

Distinctive Web and her Executive VIP Services delivered through http://www.100kcareermarketing.com Michelle has empowered thousands of executives, professionals, and managers all across the U.S. and worldwide with all the tools and resources necessary to conduct a fast, effective job search. Michelle is also the author of the popular e-book 101 Before-and-After Resume Examples found at http://www.before-and-after-resumes.com and Secrets of a Successful Job Search found at [http://www.distinctiveweb.com/jobsearchsecrets.html] To learn more about her job search products, resume writing services, and career marketing programs, and to sign up for many other free resources, visit her websites.

Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.

Millennium Education Development – Ways To Achieve

Dr. Tooley: His conclusions on Private Education and Entrepreneurship

Professor James Tooley criticized the United Nations’ proposals to eliminate all fees in state primary schools globally to meet its goal of universal education by 2015. Dr. Tooley says the UN, which is placing particular emphasis on those regions doing worse at moving towards ‘education for all’ namely sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, is “backing the wrong horse”.1

On his extensive research in the world poorest countries such as Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, India, and China, Dr. Tooley found that private unaided schools in the slum areas outperform their public counterparts. A significant number of a large majority of school children came from unrecognized schools and children from such schools outperform similar students in government schools in key school subjects.2 Private schools for the poor are counterparts for private schools for the elite. While elite private schools cater the needs of the privilege classes, there come the non-elite private schools which, as the entrepreneurs claimed, were set up in a mixture of philanthropy and commerce, from scarce resources. These private sector aims to serve the poor by offering the best quality they could while charging affordable fees.3

Thus, Dr. Tooley concluded that private education can be made available for all. He suggested that the quality of private education especially the private unaided schools can be raised through the help of International Aid. If the World Bank and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) could find ways to invest in private schools, then genuine education could result. 4 Offering loans to help schools improve their infrastructure or worthwhile teacher training, or creating partial vouchers to help even more of the poor to gain access to private schools are other strategies to be considered. Dr. Tooley holds that since many poor parents use private and not state schools, then “Education for All is going to be much easier to achieve than is currently believed”.

Hurdles in Achieving the MED

Teachers are the key factor in the learning phenomenon. They must now become the centerpiece of national efforts to achieve the dream that every child can have an education of good quality by 2015. Yet 18 million more teachers are needed if every child is to receive a quality education. 100 million children are still denied the opportunity of going to school. Millions are sitting in over-crowded classrooms for only a few hours a day.5 Too many excellent teachers who make learning exciting will change professions for higher paid opportunities while less productive teachers will retire on the job and coast toward their pension.6 How can we provide millions of more teachers?

Discrimination in girls access to education persists in many areas, owing to customary attitudes, early marriages and pregnancies, inadequate and gender-biased teaching and educational materials, sexual harassment and lack of adequate and physically and other wise accessible schooling facilities. 7

Child labor is common among the third world countries. Too many children undertake heavy domestic works at early age and are expected to manage heavy responsibilities. Numerous children rarely enjoy proper nutrition and are forced to do laborious toils.

Peace and economic struggles are other things to consider. The Bhutan country for example, has to take hurdles of high population growth (3%), vast mountainous areas with low population density, a limited resources base and unemployment. Sri Lanka reported an impressive record, yet, civil war is affecting its ability to mobilize funds since spending on defense eats up a quarter of the national budget.8

Putting children into school may not be enough. Bangladesh’s Education minister, A. S. H. Sadique, announced a 65% literacy rate, 3% increase since Dakar and a 30% rise since 1990. While basic education and literacy had improved in his country, he said that quality had been sacrificed in the pursuit of number.9 According to Nigel Fisher of UNICEF Kathmandu, “fewer children in his country survive to Grade 5 than in any region of the world. Repetition was a gross wastage of resources”.

Furthermore, other challenges in meeting the goal include: (1) How to reach out with education to HIV/AIDS orphans in regions such as Africa when the pandemic is wreaking havoc. (2) How to offer education to ever-increasing number of refugees and displaced people. (3) How to help teachers acquire a new understanding of their role and how to harness the new technologies to benefit the poor. And (4), in a world with 700 million people living in a forty-two highly indebted countries – how to help education overcome poverty and give millions of children a chance to realize their full potential.10

Education for All: How?

The goal is simple: Get the 100 million kids missing an education into school.

The question: How?

The first most essential problem in education is the lack of teachers and it has to be addressed first. Teacher corps should be improved through better recruitment strategies, mentoring and enhancing training academies. 11 Assistant teachers could be trained. Through mentoring, assistant teachers will develop the skills to become good teachers. In order to build a higher quality teacher workforce; selective hiring, a lengthy apprenticeship with comprehensive evaluation, follow ups with regular and rigorous personnel evaluations with pay-for-performance rewards, should be considered.12 Remuneration of teaching staff will motivate good teachers to stay and the unfruitful ones to do better.

Problems regarding sex discrimination and child labor should be eliminated. The Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), for example, addressed the problem of gender inequality. BPFA calls on governments and relevant sectors to create an education and social environment, in which women and men, girls and boys, are treated equally, and to provide access for and retention of girls and women at all levels of education.13 The Global Task Force on Child Labor and Education and its proposed role for advocacy, coordination and research, were endorsed by the participants in Beijing. The UN added that incentives should be provided to the poorest families to support their children’s education.14

Highly indebted countries complain on lack of resources. Most of these countries spend on education and health as much as debt repayments. If these countries are with pro-poor programs that have a strong bias for basic education, will debt cancellation help them? Should these regions be a lobby for debt relief?

Partly explains the lack of progress, the rich countries, by paying themselves a piece dividend at the end of the Cold War, had reduced their international development assistance. In 2000, the real value of aid flows stood at only about 80% of their 1990 levels. Furthermore, the share of the aid going to education fell by 30% between 1990 and 2000 represented 7% of bilateral aid by that time. 15 Given this case, what is the chance of the United Nations’ call to the donors to double the billion of dollars of aid? According to John Daniel, Assistant Director-General for Education, UNESCO (2001-04), at present, 97% of the resources devoted to education in the developing countries come from the countries themselves and only 3% from the international resources. The key principle is that the primary responsibility for achieving ‘education for all’ lies with the national governments. International and bilateral agencies can help, but the drive has to come from the country itself. These countries are advised to chart a sustainable strategy for achieving education for all. This could mean reallocation of resources to education from other expenditures. It will often mean reallocation of resources within the education budget to basic education and away from other levels. 16

A Closer Look: Private and Public Schools

Some of the most disadvantage people on this planet vote with their feet: exit the public schools and move their children in private schools. Why are private schools better than state schools?

Teachers in the private schools are more accountable. There are more classroom activities and levels of teachers’ dedication. The teachers are accountable to the manager who can fire them whenever they are seen with incompetence. The manager as well is accountable to the parents who can withdraw their children.17 Thus; basically, the private schools are driven with negative reinforcements. These drives, however, bear positive results. Private schools are able to carry quality education better than state schools. The new research found that private schools for the poor exist in the slum areas aiming to help the very disadvantage have access to quality education. The poor subsidized the poorest.

Such accountability is not present in the government schools. Teachers in the public schools cannot be fired mainly because of incompetence. Principals/head teachers are not accountable to the parents if their children are not given adequate education. Researchers noted of irresponsible teachers ‘keeping a school closed … for months at a time, many cases of drunk teachers, and head teachers who asked children to do domestic chores including baby sitting. These actions are ‘plainly negligence’.

Are there any means to battle the system of negligence that pulls the state schools into failing? Should international aids be invested solely to private schools that are performing better and leave the state schools in total collapse? If private education seems to be the hope in achieving education for all, why not privatize all low performing state schools? Should the public schools be developed through a systematic change, will the competition between the public and the private schools result to much better outcomes? What is the chance that all educational entrepreneurs of the world will adapt the spirit of dedication and social works – offering free places for the poorest students and catering their needs?

Public schools can be made better. They can be made great schools if the resources are there, the community is included and teachers and other school workers get the support and respect they need. The government has to be hands on in improving the quality of education of state schools. In New York City for example, ACORN formed a collaborative with other community groups and the teachers union to improve 10 low-performing district 9 schools. The collaborative won $1.6 million in funding for most of its comprehensive plan to hire more effective principals, support the development of a highly teaching force and build strong family-school partnerships. 18

Standardized tests are also vital in improving schools and student achievements. It provides comparable information about schools and identifies schools that are doing fine, schools that are doing badly and some that are barely functioning. The data on student achievement provided by the standardized tests are essential diagnostic tool to improve performance. 19

The privatization of public schools is not the answer at all. Take for instance the idea of charter schools. As an alternative to failed public schools and government bureaucracy, local communities in America used public funds to start their own schools. And what started in a handful of states became a nationwide phenomenon. But according to a new national comparison of test

scores among children in charter schools and regular public schools, most charter schools aren’t measuring up. The Education Department’s findings showed that in almost every racial, economic and geographic category, fourth graders in traditional public schools outperform fourth graders in charter schools. 20

If the government can harness the quality of state schools, and if the World Bank and the Bilateral Agencies could find ways to invest on both the private and the public schools – instead of putting money only on the private schools where only a small fraction of students will have access to quality education while the majority are left behind – then ‘genuine education’ could result.

Conclusion

Education for all apparently is a simple goal, yet, is taking a long time for the world to achieve. Several of destructive forces are blocking its way to meet the goal and the fear of failure is strong. Numerous solutions are available to fix the failed system of public schools but the best solution is still unknown. Several challenges are faced by the private schools to meet their accountabilities, but the resources are scarce. Every country is committed to develop its education to bring every child into school but most are still struggling with mountainous debts.

‘Primary education for all by 2015′ will not be easy. However, everyone must be assured that the millennium development goal is possible and attainable. Since the Dakar meeting, several countries reported their progress in education. In Africa, for example, thirteen countries have, or should have attained Universal Primary Education (UPE) by the target date of 2015. 23 It challenges other countries, those that are lagging behind in achieving universal education to base their policies on programs that have proved effective in other African nations. Many more are working for the goal, each progressing in different paces. One thing is clear; the World is committed to meet its goal. The challenge is not to make that commitment falter, because a well-educated world will be a world that can better cope with conflicts and difficulties: thus, a better place to live.

1 “Leading educationalist critises UN proposals for global state primary schooling”, 2005 2 Tooley, James. Essay on”Private Schools for the Poor”, 2005 3 Tooley and Dixon. Chapter 2, “The Failures of State Schooling in Developing Countries and the People’s Response”, Index of Economic Freedom. 2006 4 Tooley, James. Essay on “Private Schools for the Poor”, 2005 5 All Eyes Turn to Teachers, Global Action Week 24-30th April 2006 6 Watkins, Tom. “Public Education Continues to Make Our lives Better”, Fall 2001 7 Toolkit for Women, Earth Summit 2002 8 Padgaonkar, Latika. “Education for All Update”, UNESCO New Delhi 9. Ibid. 10 Looking Ahead, EFA 2000 Assessment. 11 Moskow, Michael H. “Remarks”. The Fourth Annual Newman Lecture. May 24, 2005 12 Ibid. emphasis added. 13 Zabala, Earnest M. “Gender Equality in education: world fails to meet MDG 3″ 14 UN-backed meeting calls for more donor aid to meet education for all shortfall 15 Daniel, John. :Education As a Development Priority, 718th Wilton Park Conference, 1-5 Sept. 2003 16. Ibid 17 E.G. West Centre, School of Education, University of Newcastle, England, NE1 7RU 00 44 191 222 3503-egwest@ncl.ac.uk 18 ACORN: Working for Better Public Schools. http://www.ACORN.org 19 Michigan Education Report (2001-04) “Standardized tests vital for improving school and student achievement”. Fall 2001 Issue 20 Charter Schools in America. Aired: Tuesday, August 17, 2004 7-8 PM ET 21 Education for All in Africa: paving the Way for Action.