Plumbing

If you have ever gone camping for a weekend, you know it doesn't take long to miss running water, flushing toilets, clean clothes, and hot showers. These modern conveniences are the benefits of plumbing systems. Your house has several separate plumbing systems. Sinks, toilets, washers, bathtubs, and related fixtures. Types of pipes for different plumbing usage may vary, from:

1. Copper

2. Plastic

3. Lead

4. Concrete

5. Steel

6. Cast iron

Plumbing is something we use every day and which most of us know little about. Shopping for your own plumbing fixtures rather than getting them through your plumber allows you choose from a wider selection and save money.

Most people are familiar with plumbers, who come to their home to unclog a drain or install an appliance. When construction plumbers install piping in a house, for example, they work from blueprints or drawings that show the planned location of pipes, plumbing fixtures, and appliances.

Water enters your house through a pipe that connects either to a municipal water line or a private well. Faucets, like all plumbing fixtures with moving parts, are apt to require more repair than non-moving fixtures. The less strain you put on your faucets, the less frequently they need repair.

If your plumbing fixtures drain slowly, the problem may be a clogged vent. This happens when vents are improperly located and when birds or animals deposit debris in the vent where it exits the roof.

Whatever your intended plumbing projects, the first step is to familiarize yourself with the water system in your home. At the very least it is important to know where to switch off the mains in case of an emergency.

Finding a scholarship or college grant

The cost of a college education has risen to unthinkable levels over the last two decades. Few parents have the extra cash on hand to cover these costs, so student loans and mounting debt have become a reality for many students. Image graduating with an outstanding debt of 50 to 100 thousand dollars. It almost defeats the purpose of getting that degree in the first place. With no end to tuition increases in sight, financial aid packages are essential for most students.

Fortunately, aid opportunities have also multiplied in recent years. Scholarships and grants were once thought of as only available for the poor or the brightest students. That is no longer true. These days, almost everyone is eligible for some type of award.

Free money for college can be divided into two basic categories: scholarships (usually merit based) and grants (usually need based). Of course, many other conditions apply to various awards. Minority status, gender, career plans, and field of study are the most common qualifiers for today’s financial aid awards. Almost everyone can use one of these categories to focus their search for aid.

One of the best sources for college grants is the federal government. Be sure to submit The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as soon as possible. This will tell you if you are eligible for a Pell grant, and colleges will use this information to determine if you qualify for a school-sponsored grant. Private grant foundations may also require the FAFSA be completed before considering you for an award.

Ideally, a student would start looking for scholarships during the junior year of high school. This may seem early, but some awards require an application be submitted the year before you begin your first semester in college. Furthermore, collecting the names and contact information of prospective awards can take months. You must also factor in time for completing lengthy application forms, writing essays, and scheduling interviews.

In your search for scholarships, focus on three main sources. First, search your local community. Start with the high school councilor’s office, your local library, churches, community organizations, and any corporation that is based nearby. Next, contact the financial aid office of each college you are considering. They can tell you about all school-based awards that may not appear in the standard listings. Finally, use the Internet. The standard search engine is of some use, but dedicated scholarship search sites are a tremendous resource. Some of these data banks have up to 800,000 awards indexed. Best of all, you can search based on a personal profile that will match scholarships to your unique situation.

Of course, this article can only get you started in the right direction. College funding is a complicated process and it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Remember that almost half of all college students receive some type of aid, so the chances of success are good. With a dedicated and organized search plan, you can get your share too.

Age-old remedy for the newest flu

Every year the seasonal flu kills about 36,000 people and sends 200,000 to the hospital, according to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Every year during "flu season" (typically starting around Thanksgiving and peaking around Christmas) there's a rush to get flu shots; especially among the elderly, the ill, and the very young, the concern is well-grounded.

For most sufferers -- between 5 and 20 percent of the population every year -- the flu brings fever, headaches, fatigue, aches and pains, stomach distress and other symptoms that make life miserable for days.

Rumor of a pandemic flu outbreak has brought increased concern. It's important to understand exactly what this means, rather than just being fearful of something arriving at the nearest airport to which you have no defense.

Viruses are the invading organisms responsible for most epidemic illnesses. Virus-caused illnesses range from the common cold to cold sores, warts, measles and chicken pox, hepatitis, West Nile virus, the "ordinary" flu, and AIDS. Most recently, it's the Avian flu that has people on edge.

We can help prevent the passage of viruses from person to person by avoiding large indoor gatherings of people (right...during the holiday season...) and exercising good sanitary practices - washing hands often, using tissues, ventilation of rooms, etc.

Viruses are known to be resistant to pharmaceutical antibiotics. Many public health experts have pinned their hopes on the antiviral drug Tamiflu to fight the avian flu, for example, only to find that resistent cases are emerging. A flu virus mutates frequently and sometimes a new strain emerges that humans have not been exposed to. If the strain spreads easily between humans, it can cause widespread death and overwhelm global health resources. (It's important to realize that the avian flu is NOT passed easily between humans; it seems to mostly be passed from poultry to humans.) A flu virus from half a world away is one to which you will most likely have no immunity, unlike the local ones you contact, and the mutations can leave us even more defenseless.

Enter the powerful healing properties of the oil of the tea tree, Melaleuca alternifolia. Tea tree oil has various uses in medical treatments because of its triple antibiotic features: it's an antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal agent. Just because a substance is naturally-occuring with no known side effects, does not mean it can't be effective. Tea tree was an important medicinal for native Australians. They drank tea made of the leaves and applied tea tree poultices to treat wounds, cuts, and various skin disorders. In 1920, Dr. A. Penfold tested the oil's properties for the first time. He discovered that tea tree oil was 12 times more potent than the accepted antiseptic at the time, carbolic acid. Dr. Penfold's research prompted further testing in the following decades, contributing to its increasing use by the public.

Tea tree oil is a valuable alternative to pharmaceuticals. Its complex chemical composition makes it extremely difficult for germs to develop resistance. Traditional antibiotics possess more simple chemical structures to which germs can easily develop immunity. Tea tree oil is readily absorbed and it continues to block germ growth at the site for several days after the initial application. The oil is a proven immuno-stimulant and anti-viral agent; it is even currently being tested in the treatment of AIDS.

You should apply a small test amount to the skin before using it for the first time, as with any product, there is always the chance of sensitivity in any particular individual. Adding a couple drops to a vaporizer and inhaling the steam helps to freshen and disinfect the air, killing germs that infect the sinuses and lungs, and opening clogged respiratory passages. The oil can be rubbed into the skin at full strength, or mixed with a carrier oil or lotion. The oil can also be added to a hot bath and is then assimilated both through the skin and the nasal passages.

Personal use of tea tree oil is not to be substituted for advice from your family doctor. It is, however, useful in prevention and as a first aid treatment. And there is anecdotal and scientific evidence of truly amazing results using this phenomenal substance.

Mentoring future leaders setting the framework for success within an organization

“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men (women)

to do what he (she) wants done, and the self restraint to keep from meddling

with them while they do it.”

- Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States

Where have all the leaders gone? Where can you find a real leader today? The state of leadership today within organizations is at a critical point and how senior most leaders decide to act now will dictate what we experience in our tomorrow’s!

To listen and observe senior leadership today, whether within the military (alarmingly, far too many senior officers are no longer cognizant of basic functional operations they are tasked with nor capable of running around the block without a needed trip to a hospital), within government (managers appear incapable of getting employees to work together and accepting an environment of disfunctionality as you can’t get rid of a bad employee without a seemingly act of Congress) or within the business place (whereby a protectionist mindset to keep one’s own job by mid level managers causes a guarded interaction with others), would lead an outside observer to conclude that leadership development is evaporating before one’s vary eyes.

It seems, far too often great followers and future leaders are stymied by poor and ineffective organizational leadership development programs and opportunities. Recent studies by the American Business Institute and reinforced by a client survey by JMI revealed some powerful reasons that this mindset may be breeding.

Shockingly, survey data consistently revealed that the first mindset of a man when promoted in the workplace is around the theme of, ‘what must I do to get the next promotion and how fast.’ Whereby the first mindset of a women, promoted in the workplace centers around, ‘what is expected of me in this new position to succeed?’

A simple solution is to establish an environmental mindset of growing successful future leaders and placing present leaders on notice by active participation in some sort of a “Leadership Mentor Development Program”. Some effective guide posts for designing an effective Mentoring approach to cultivate and grow true leaders is to:

1. Select solid performers (not political lackies) that are at least two direct report positions removed from the individual to be mentored. This positional space between mentor and the mentee allows for greater interaction and giving on the part of the mentor.

2. Allow the relationship to be both ‘Formal’ (measurement protocols and assignments) and ‘Informal” (conversational and relationship driven) in contact.

3. Have predetermined objectives for both mentor and mentee and an objective means by which to measure and hold all parties accountable.

Most organizations in their efforts to remain competitive in the past have actually created their vary problems of the present by expecting great leaders from within to step forward and lead teams to greatness. By creating environments of competition within, individuals have actually seen what gets rewarded is what they will do, and for most this seems to be how do I attract the spotlight directly to me and at me in a favorable manner and do so at any cost.

The costs of the past will pay heavy penalties in our future unless senior leaders remove reality blinders and institute rigorous developmental programs to ensure a prosperous future.

###

Jeff Magee, Ph. D., PDM, CSP, CMC can be reached at jeff@JeffreyMagee. com, toll free 1-877-90-MAGEE or JeffreyMagee. com for more information on keynotes, training seminars and skill development resources. For more information and ideas get your copy of, YIELD MANAGEMENT: the Leadership Alternative, by CRC/St. Lucie Press (ISBN# 1-57444-206-6 / $29.00) and of ADVANCING IN YOUR CAREER (ISBN# 0-9641240-7-6 / US $15.95) … to see other exciting resource book, audio and video titles, go to JeffreyMagee. com/library. asp !

Atkins diet - how to do it the right way

Obesity is the main reason for many diseases like cardiovascular problems, diabetes, depression, and sleep apnea. The only way out of this problem is to follow a strict and healthy diet. But that doesn’t mean avoiding food altogether for that it is not at all a good option since it would deprive our body of essential nutrients. Hence a controlled carbohydrate diet is advised for carbohydrate is mostly responsible for increasing one’s body weight.

The low carbohydrate Atkins Diet was first introduced in 1970’s by Dr. Robert Atkins. But it became popular almost 10 years later after the release of his book - ‘Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution’ which went one to become one of the bestsellers of that decade. In no time, millions of people in the United States and abroad began to follow Atkins diet specifications as their first diet choice.

What is Atkins Diet?

Atkins Diet is a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. It promotes using meat, eggs, and cheese while discouraging high carbohydrate-content foods such as bread and rice. If excess carbohydrates are taken in, excess enzymes should be generated to digest it. This may lead to disintegration of pancreatic cells in a long run, which may further lead to diabetes. According to Robert Atkins, on having a low carbohydrate diet, our body will enter into a state of ketosis, in which, instead of carbohydrates, fat is digested to release energy. This reduces the need for more insulin produced by the pancreatic cells and the fat deposits are subsided. Thus, the body weight is reduced to a considerable amount.

Advantages of Atkins Diet:

1. Considerable amount of body weight is reduced by the burning of fats which is the secondary source of energy.

2. Inter-meal diets could be avoided since you won’t be hungry between meals.

3. Could maintain constant blood sugar level.

4. Since most of the toxins contained in our body are removed along with the burning of fats, overall heath is improved.

Things to Note:

1. It is recommended to consult a doctor or physician before trying out Atkins diet meal plans.

2. Daily exercise is highly recommended along with Atkins diet foods.

3. People with kidney disorders, pregnancy, and diabetes are advised not to follow Atkins diet meal plans.

Phases of Atkins Diet:

1. Induction - In this phase, which includes first 14 days of the diet, it is said that you will lose up to 15 pounds of your body weight. During this time, the amount of carbohydrates consumed per day will be less than 20 grams. The only carbohydrates included in your Atkins diet recipes will be low carbohydrate-content vegetables like tomato.

2. Ongoing Weight Loss – During this second stage, the consumption of carbohydrates is raised up to 5 grams per day.

3. Pre-maintenance – During this stage of Atkins diet meal plans, the rate of fall of body weight will be slower. Also, you can experiment various other foods to see whether they add your body weight or not. If found safe, you could add it to your Atkins diet food products.

4. Maintenance – You enter this phase when you find that you have reduced the body weight to the desired level. Also you could add some more carbohydrates to your diet which do not raise your body weight, like full wheat bread.

Tail Piece: The ultimate result of Atkins diet program (other diet programs as well) depends solely on how well the person follows the recommendations. Hence make sure that you follow it religiously.

Anatomy of a home equity loan

Introduction

Home Equity Loans have quickly grown to become one of the greatest and most popular loan types in the world today. The idea that a person that is a home owner can go ahead and get a loan taken out on their home in order to deal with any emergency situations that might crop up is something that allows a lot of people to rest easy at night and ultimately the people that are able to rest easy are going to have lower stress levels and a better all around existence specifically because of the presence of the option of the home equity loan in their lives. Now, home equity loans are quite good and what is even better is being able to understand the anatomy of a home equity loan and exactly how it shakes out in a number of different areas.

Interest Rates

One of the biggest questions that people usually have regarding home equity loans is the question of interest rates. When you take a look at the different interest rates that are available and indeed you take a look at the interest rates for other types of loans in comparison to the home equity loan, what you immediately find is that the people that are interested in getting the home equity loan for themselves pay a much lower interest rate on average than people that are involved in other loans. This is because home equity loans have been created from a structural point of view to resemble mortgages. The average mortgage has an interest rate between 5% and 7% annually and when you look at the average home equity loan, you find the same thing is true as well.

Monthly Repayment Amounts

When you look at the different monthly repayment amounts for the different loans available on the market today, you tend to the see the exact same thing when comparing them to home equity loans that you did with the interest rates. Namely that home equity loans usually tend to be on average 10-20% lower per month in terms of the monthly repayment amounts. This is because of the presence of strong collateral (property is the strongest collateral imaginable in a free market society) as well as the longer term lengths when it comes right down to the actual loan deal itself.

Fees

Now, home equity loans, just like mortgages, sometimes carry a fee schedule with them. The fee schedule is an idea that financial institutions to a large degree have borrowed from credit cards, because for the longest time mortgages were not as restrictive as they are in today’s world. When you take a look at the mortgages and home equity loans in today’s society, what you eventually see is that the fees tend to revolve around things like late payments, underpayments and even overpayments in certain agreements. Either way, the fees are not really a big part of most loan agreements, but it is worth mentioning that they might be there for full disclosure.

Selecting the right hotel

So you're going abroad, you've chosen your destination and now you have to choose a hotel. Ten years ago, you'd have probably visited your local travel agent and trusted the face-to-face advice you were given by the so called ‘experts'. The 21st Century way to select and book your hotel is of course on the Internet, by using travel websites.

But how do you sift through the amazing choices on offer? And more importantly, do you really trust the photographs and descriptions of the hotels that they have awarded themselves with the motivation of getting bookings?

Traveler reviews can be helpful, but you need to exercise caution. They are often biased, sometimes out of date, and may not serve your interests at all. How do you know that the features that are important to the reviewer are important to you? Then there's the problem of the reviewer's motivation. The more reviews you read, the more you notice how they tend to cluster at the extremes of opinion. On one end, you have angry reviewers with axes to grind; at the other, you have delighted guests who lavish praise beyond belief.

You'll not be surprised to learn that hotels sometimes post their own glowing reviews, or that competitor's line up for the chance to lambaste the competition with bad reviews. It makes sense to consider what is really important to you when selecting a hotel. You should then choose an online hotel directory that gives up-to-date, independent, impartial information that really matters.

Here are some of the key facts you should bear in mind:

1. Location: if it matters that your hotel is, for example, on the beach, close to the theme park, or convenient for the airport, then location is paramount. Any decent directory should offer a location map of the hotel and its surroundings. There should be distance charts to the airport offered as well as some form of interactive map.

2. Style: it is important to choose a hotel that makes you feel comfortable - contemporary or traditional furnishings, local decor or international, formal or relaxed. The ideal hotel directory should let you know of the options available.

3. Restaurants, Cafes and Bars: local color is great but the hotel's own restaurants and bars can play an important part in your stay. You should be aware of choice, style and whether or not they are smart or informal. A good hotel report should tell you this, and particularly about breakfast facilities.

4. Bedroom Facilities: you should always carefully consider the type of facilities you need from your bedroom and find the hotel that has those you consider important. The hotel directory website should elaborate on matters such as: bed size, Internet Access (its cost, whether there is WIFI or wired broadband connection), Complimentary amenities, views from the room and luxury offerings like a Pillow menu or Bath menu, choice of smoking or non smoking rooms etc.

These things really do matter and any decent hotel directory should give you this sort of advice on bedrooms - not just the number of rooms which is the usual option!

5. Children's' Facilities: more important to the family traveler than the business traveler, you should find out just how child friendly the hotel is from the directory and make your decision from there. One thing worth looking for is whether the hotel offers a baby sitters service. For the business traveler wishing to escape children this is of course very relevant too - perhaps a hotel that is not child friendly would be something more appropriate!

6. Leisure Facilities: the site should offer a detailed analysis of leisure services within the hotel - spa, pool, gym, sauna - as well as details of any other facilities nearby such as golf courses.

7. Special Needs: the hotel directory site should advise the visitor of each hotel's special needs services and accessibility policy. Whilst again this does not apply to every visitor, it is absolutely vital to some.

Finally and most importantly, the quality hotel directory inspection team should have visited the hotel in question on a regular basis, met the staff, slept in a bedroom and tried the food. They should experience the hotel as only a hotel guest can and it is only then that they are really in a strong position to write about the hotel.

Consolidators cheap flights

Our Pauper loves to save money using an airfare consolidator. These consolidators contract with airlines to get tickets at cheaper rates than the general public. Because they buy large blocks of tickets the airlines love them.

Though you can get really good deals by knowing how to use consolidators, remember they are not structured for great service. They’re playing the quantity game not the hold-your-hand game. If you need personal attention use your travel agent instead.

The best time to use consolidators is during high travel times of the year. Other than these peak travel times consolidators don’t really offer much better rates than those offered in the lowest advertised fares. Yet, you can enjoy 20-30% off when you decide to travel during Christmas, for instance.

The other good time to turn to consolidators is if you are traveling on short notice. Unlike the airlines, they don’t penalize you for traveling on the spur of the moment.

Always use a credit card with consolidators. Some consolidators can charge high fees if you change your plans and/or cancel your flight. So make sure you understand what the policy on cancellations and refunds is.

In this article I’ll give you a list of consolidators that are available to you directly or through your travel agent.

In addition I’d recommend you purchase a copy of Consumer Reports Travel Letter, which is available at most libraries or you can subscribe for $39. Write to: Consumer Reports Travel Letter, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY 10703-1057.

Let’s get started:

Cheap Tickets sells more than 500,000 tickets a year for domestic and international flights. Now they even help you with hotels and cruises. Call 800-AIR-PLUS (800-247-7587) and visit cheaptickets. com

Council Travel Service offers super fares in the USA and mostly all of Europe for cheapskates like you and me. They also package individual travel packages for vacations, car rentals, rail passes, paid internships, and work programs. 800-226-8634 And visit:

counciltravel. com

Far Eastern Travel if your plans include a visit to China. 800-275-3384

Fly Cheap has my favorite name among the known consolidators. They do a good job on all kinds of flights to all manner of destinations. 800-359-2432 and visit:

flycheap. com

Salt and pepper a new perspective

Salt and Pepper: A Perspective

Have you ever thought about salt and pepper? There’s more to it than just the shaker on the table. Pepper is the singular reason we are Americans instead of Europeans. Even today, pepper is the most widely traded spice in the world and served as the incentive for Christopher Columbus and others to search for a direct oceanic route to India. Hippocrates prescribed it as a digestive aid, and the active ingredient in pepper, piperine, is what makes it hot and is still used today as a heart and kidney stimulant.

Historically, salt and pepper have been used as currency, medicinally and as seasoning. Plato wrote, “Pepper is small in quantity and great in value.” Ancient Egypt, the Greeks and the Romans all competed for supplies, which were shipped via small boats in the Mediterranean or overland by camel along the Silk Road. Both routes were treacherous, with the danger of sinking on the voyage contrasted against the cost of buying off Arab middlemen.

Interestingly, all varieties of pepper come from the fruit of a perennial climbing shrub, and are grown by a handful of countries within 15 degrees of the equator. Differences in appearance and flavor are the result of picking the berries at different stages. Below is a list of characteristics, point of origin and best uses.

1. Green peppercorns – Picked before maturity and more expensive due to smaller yields and extra processing. Aromatic, but not pungent. Used in French, Creole, and Thai food.

2. Pink or Rose peppercorns – Not from the pepper vine, but rather from a small tree related to the rose bush. Grown on the French Island of Reunion. Rare and expensive, rose pepper has a milder, sweeter flavors and is used in nouveau cuisine or in pepper mixtures.

3. White peppercorns – Fully ripened with the outer skin boiled off. Hotter flavor, but fewer aromas. White pepper is the most popular spice in Northern Europe and is used in sauces, soups, potatoes and beverages.

4. Red peppercorns – Picked at full maturity and dried whole. Extremely rare and expensive. There are two varieties, Muntok, from Indonesia and the superior pepper, Sarawak, from Malaysia.

5. Black peppercorns – The most popular variety in the US, they are picked while still ripening, then dried and fermented naturally in the sun. There are several types:

a. Malabar – From SW India. Slightly green in color, robust flavor.

b. Tellicherry – Also from SW India. Large, dark chocolate to black peppercorns with pungent, complex aromas. These are considered the best.

c. Sarawak – From Malaysia. Least pungent, mild, fruity flavor.

d. Lampong – From Sumatra. Earthy, smoky aromas, hotter flavor.

e. Talamanca Del Caribe – From Ecuador, certified organic, the world’s finest pepper, according to some. Robust flavors, hotter than average.

In no way does salt pale to pepper in comparison. Salt is not considered a spice, but a naturally-occurring mineral. Over time, it has been used as a preservative as well as medicinally. There are as many types and originations of salt as pepper, but modern salt is filled with additives to keep it from clumping up. Iodine is the main additive and tends to have a bitter flavor. Some of the varieties available include:

1. Sonoma Pacific Sea Salt – Kosher, coarse sea salt originating from California. Soft flavor.

2. Sterling Atlantic Sea Salt – Off-white color from Brazil.

3. Sel Gris de Guerande – Unrefined, organic and sun dried. Originating in Northern France, it is very soft, flavorful, but not good in a grinder.

4. Fleur de Sel de Guerande – The finest available. Moist, slightly gray and used as a finishing salt served in a small dish on the table.

5. Alaea Hawaiian Red Sea Salt – Hailing from Hawaii, it is harvested from salt beds lined with Alaea red clay that lends color and unique flavor. Use on meats and fresh vegetables.

6. Salish Pacific Alder Smoked Sea Salt – A natural, coarse-grained salt that is slow smoked over red alder to give it an earthy flavor. Good for salads, meats and salmon.

Have you heard the phrase, “Worth your weight in salt? “ Salt has been referred to and regarded for centuries as priceless. Pepper was worth more by weight than gold in the Middle Ages. Consider Sodom and Gomorrah. God turned the sinners into a veritable gold mine.

So, the next time you are adjusting the flavor of your meal, consider the origin of the spice. Enjoy the flavors available and seek out some new varieties. Another modern miracle of agriculture and transportation that we often take for granted.

Mary Margaret Ambler is the Publisher and Editor of Black and Whites Magazine, a trade publication for wait staff, blackandwhitesmag. com.

The palms on the beach in zanzibar

On the South Eastern coast of this exotic island you will discover an exclusive hotel that is both elegant and sophisticated. The Palms is an oasis…where rustling coconut palms, white powder sand and the warm waves of the Indian Ocean combine to create a stunning recluse for the discerning traveler.

The collection of only six beautifully designed villas offer luxurious comforts and amenities in an intimate setting with the most personal attention throughout your stay. If all of this sounds too good to be true, then read on!!

This is a small and intimate resort and the place to go if you want to be spoil. It is on a beautiful deserted beach.

It is the ideal place to finish off a honeymoon spent on safari, as it consists of only 6 luxurious bandas, so there can’t be more than twelve people in the resort.

Our banda was incredible, with a floor space of over 1400 square feet, with a bedroom, living room, full ensuite bathroom, walk-in closet, extra room with its own en-suite bathroom & a large furnished terrace with a view of the Indian ocean.

Facilities include: Safe deposit box, satellite TV and DVD player, private outdoor Jacuzzi, mini bar, air-conditioning, telephone and standing bar with tea/coffee making facilities I should add the fantastic views, and service you can only dream about. I believe there are around three times as many staff as there are guests, but they were completely unobtrusive, but extremely attentive.

Now The Palms is right next door to The Breezes which is a large international type hotel with the facilities to match. The great thing is you can use all of their facilities, things like diving, tennis, sailing, and I got the feeling that when the staff knew we were from the Palms we even got priority!!! The best thing of all, was that we could use their facilities, and use their hotel, they couldn’t use ours!!!

To be fair, you don’t get accommodation, or luxury like this cheaply. It is expensive, it is very private, and by the way the food is simply delicious.

Smoking bans and heart attacks

LAST YEAR RICHARD John Singer Sargent and Robert Alan Shepard, two physicians World Health Organization had campaigned for a smoke prohibition in Capital of Montana, Montana, announced that their efforts had paid off more dramatically than anyone could have imagined: The ordinance had led to an astonishing 60 percentage drop curtain in spirit attacks in the six months after it took effect. By the time their study, co-authored by anti - activist Stanton Glantz, was published in the April 5, 2004, issue of the British Medical Journal, the drop cloth they attributed to the proscription had become 40 per centum--not quite as impressive but distillery remarkable. And hush preposterous, even if you accept the anti - movement's claims approximately used fastball and mettle disease.

According to the American Heart Association, heater is responsible for(p) for close to pct of nerve disease deaths. Even a Bachelor of Arts in Nursing that completely eliminated photograph to hummer (which 's didn't, since it did not apply to private residences) could not achieve anything like the effect described by , Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr., and Glantz, WHO in any case made no attempt to measure photo. Hedging their bets, et al. noted that a BAN not only reduces pic to bullet but besides encourages smokers to give up or cut back.

But even if 's ordinance caused every smoker in town to fall by the wayside (which it assuredly didn't), it stillness could not be creditworthy for a 40 dip in spunk attacks. According to the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, accounts for just about 20 of pump disease deaths.

An immediate 40 fall in ticker attacks across the whole population too implies a much quicker and larger risk reduction than is seen in studies of people drop by the wayside .

In response to educators' need for better ways to deal with teens World Health Organization smoke, the American English Lung Connection developed a new gender-sensitive, schoolhouse-based adolescent smoke surcease programme called Not On Baccy (N-O-T). N-O-T is intentional to provide an effective, easy-to-manipulation, and usable method for helping adolescents drop out . The plan is especially configured for 14 to 19-class-old youthfulness WHO ar regular smokers likely to be addicted to nicotine; volunteer to enter (whenever potential); and wish to give up exploitation a grouping platform.

Power inside everyone

The most common mistake done when evaluating specific features of the person is associating strong will with a character from a movie that does impossible things, saves the world and creates an unforgettable impression on anyone watching him in action. The reality is a bit different and we realize that we are no supermen and will never become ones. Real humans usually act in accordance to their impulses and stimulus only then guided by our common sense. Our aim is not to win, to conquer or defeat. We prefer to hide behind the backs of others to avoid conflicts and get rid of unnecessary worries concerning responsibility. Someone will state that it is wonderful to live a life without worries devolving the burden upon someone else’s shoulders. But when consciousness wakes, the eternal struggle between what is right and what is easy, starts. Our life is always about “I have to” and “I want”.

Our minds are buried under the daily routine so deep that we don’t even realize what we live for. We rush to work and sit overnight with a research paper instead of getting some sleep. This is not because you want to but because you have to. Prior our life was a struggle between obligations and desires but now we don’t even observe its presence. We pushed down all our desires and are ruled by obligations that sometimes hurt you more than a knife in a stomach. On the panorama of such commonly accepted way of thinking those who have the courage to quit the much-hated job, change the life style or break the unions that are unworthy. These very people we call crazy are strong-willed persons that know the value of life. And we continue to blame them, being jealous deep inside. In every life there comes a moment when the change can break the usual lifestyle or plans that were set for the far future. This is unavoidable and we have to deal with it, otherwise there will be nothing good left of memory of you for your children. People admire those who have the nerve to resurrect a constant struggle between desire and obligation and follow the call of the heart never breathing a word about a loss they had. A strong-willed person never stops in front of the difficulty, never turns back facing hardships. Only those who have the courage and strong will to change their lives for better are worth admiration.

Why is it to admirable? A coin has two sides, as we know. On one side there is freedom, admiration, independence, satisfaction and other pleasant features that stand by strong-willed people. On the other side there are losses, rises and falls, hatred, tears and more tests you have to pass before you become successful. This is what brevity is all about. And more and more people will realize the value of choice and the life itself.

Business credit cards three solutions to business difficulties

Business credit cards can be one of the easiest ways for a new company to acquire needed financial capital, as well as an excellent way for existing companies to ease the transition into the Internet-age by simplifying the company purchasing process, making travel and expense accounting by employees all the easier. However, there are a number of other benefits to a good business credit card that companies can take advantage of in order to improve their financial stability and level of customer support still more, including rewards programs, variable credit limits, and multiple cards with fixed limits for different employees with different needs.

The most common business credit card rewards programs involve frequent flier miles, cash back rewards for gas and other travel expenses, and sometimes even office supplies or construction materials. This makes business credit cards ideal for virtually any type of business: investment firms can save a certain amount of money on the constant flights and travel necessary to attend faraway meetings. Furthermore, savings can be found as well on simple purchase items such as paper, toner, binder clips and other office supplies needed to keep any good corporate office running. But with the right kind of business credit card, even a small construction, landscaping or delivery firm can take a significant chunk out of their monthly gas or materials needs. The cash back isn't spectacular, with something like 1% - 3% cash back on purchases being the general standard. But if your business spends the entirety of a $10,000 credit limit in a month and receives a $300 rebate check over the course of that month, those savings can add up in a big way over time.

Variable credit limits are another advantage of a good business credit card. Often startup companies aren't sure, no matter how good their business plans, about exactly how much money they'll need in a given month, and in the case of certain industries (notably travel and tourism), business is tends to be a seasonal affair. At certain times, a $15,000 credit limit may be practical, but during the off season, you may find yourself with only $7,500 worth of expenses that need to be paid in credit. With a variable credit limit, you can spend however much or however little you want in a given month, as long as you're able to pay off the interest. Variable credit limits do come with a monthly fee for use, of course, but with the standard monthly fee falling somewhere in the $100 range, this should be an easily absorbable business expense, and an easy way to use business credit cards to make your accounting procedures and general operations run that much smoother.

Finally, business credit cards frequently allow multiple cards for use on a single account, each with an individually-defined credit limit. This allows you to allot only a certain amount of purchasing power to certain trusted employees, and is a very good way to control your company's purchasing operations and travel expenses without having to give each employee the same access to a single, high-limit credit account. Although you should always make sure that your employees can be responsible for their particular credit limit (since, in the case of startup businesses, a business credit card is most often placed in the name of an individual cardholder rather than in the business's name), business credit cards can help make your employees more autonomous, fostering a better work environment and requiring less time spent in tedious financial arrangements and year-end accounting crunches.

There are more advantages to business credit cards, but any employer willing to do business in a world of frequent travel and online purchasing should find just these three features helpful. It can be difficult to run a business at any level, from a three-man mechanic operation to a multinational conglomerate, but with a good business credit card in your employees' pockets, some of the most difficult things about business become that much simpler.

How to buy a persian rug

A Persian rug is not only a home decoration, it is a functional work of art. Although many modern Persian rugs are made by machine, you can still find high quality hand-made rugs today. Before shopping for a Persian rug, you need to understand what it is and what it is not.

First, there is often considerable confusion between Oriental rugs and Persian rugs. Oriental Rugs are handmade rugs that come from a wide geographic region that extends from Turkey in the west to China in the east. It encompasses the Persian region. So while Persian rugs are also Oriental Rugs, not all Oriental rugs are Persian rugs.

The Persian rug is an essential part of Persian art and culture. Carpet-weaving is one of the most distinguished manifestations of Persian culture and art, and dates back to the Bronze Age.

A well crafted Persian rug can last centuries. The earliest surviving Persian rugs come from the 16th century, attesting to their durability. However, painted depictions prove a longer history of production. There is much variety among classical Persian carpets of the 16th and 17th century. Common motifs include scrolling vine networks, arabeques, cloud bands, medallions, and overlapping geometric compartments rather than animals and humans.

Persian rugs are identified by the region in which they are produced. Some of the more widely known types of Persian rugs include Tabriz, Kashan, Herat, and Kerman. Each has a distinctive style. For example, rugs from Tabriz have a central medallion and quartered corner medallions superimposed over a field of scrolling vine ornament.

When purchasing a Persian rug, simply remember the acronym MAKIP, which stands for: materials, authentic, knots per square inch, imperfections, and price. Let's consider each of these.

Materials

Inexpensive, so called "Persian rugs" that you find in most discount stores are usually made from synthetic materials (and they are almost certainly not made anywhere near Persia).

When buying a real Persian rug there are really only three choices of materials - wool, cotton, and silk. These fibers are all natural and are more durable than synthetics. Dyed wool is traditionally used to make tribal rugs. Silk is the most expensive and luxurious choice. Some Persian rugs are even woven with gold strands.

Authentic

It may be difficult to know whether the carpet you are choosing is authentic. When purchasing a Persian rug, make sure you are dealing with a reputable company. The best will provide a certificate of authenticity.

Knots per square inch

Knots per square inch (KPSI) is a measure of overall quality. Basically the higher the number of the better the carpet. Look for carpets that have a KPSI of at least 80 - over 100 is better.

Imperfections

Authentic Persian rugs are made by hand. As such all will have slight imperfections. This is normal. In fact if a rug is coming out too perfect the maker will usually introduce a slight imperfection. As long as the imperfection does not detract from the overall appeal of the carpet, don't worry about it.

Price

Most people start here when shopping for a Persian rug. Remember, each is hand made and a quality Persian rug can take almost a year to complete. When thinking about how much to spend consider the factors mentioned above. In addition, the size of the rug will have a huge influence on the price. Fortunately, there are a number of good Web sites that have eliminated the middle man to allow customers to purchase high quality, authentic Persian rugs are steeply discounted prices.

Weight loss and diet pills

Weight loss

They've tried many supplements on the market and failed, and wonder if there really is a weight loss program than can work for them. I understand that I should consult a health provider before taking supplements for weight loss. Weight loss approaches that target diet, exercise and motivational support have the highest success rates. #1 source for weight loss, health, fitness, bodybuilding, personal training and general health and fitness related information and services - Brandon, Florida. Most weight loss supplements have a single action, usually targeting metabolic increase. Calcium supplements don%u2019t promote weight loss as well as dairy products. While all dairy foods are a good source of calcium and protein, not all products contribute as well to weight loss as others. A real weight loss solution requires working with your biochemistry, not against it. See also facts on fat loss supplements, patches, recipes for rapid weight loss, clinics & obesity support groups. Because exercise can cause weight loss, they were asked not to alter their exercise patterns for the study%u2019s duration. Getting the basics of fat loss nutrition right, along with the right kind of exercise, will lead to weight loss. Focus on fat loss nutrition, rather than actual weight loss. Your health should always be the number one thing anyone should consider, especially with weight loss. Anyone who has dieted and kept weight off knows this is the right approach to weight loss success. Lean muscle tissue can therefore be stimulated by exercise to burn energy and promote the weight loss process. The fat calories are said to be flushed out in urine, resulting in rapid weight loss. Perhaps the most common sort of weight loss pill are those that work by decreasing appetite. Setting goals that are impossible to reach will only result in frustration and may lead to the abandonment of the weight loss program. For safe, healthy weight loss, you must preserve your muscle tissue (including heart muscle) and burn fat instead. You can also turn to weight loss products like diet pills that will facilitate your weight loss program. The more you exercise the easier the weight loss! Only then will you be able to accomplish your weight loss goals! Exercise and proper diet are necessary to achieve and maintain weight loss and muscle definition. Make the most important step of your life and start to achieve your own personal weight loss goals today! If you've been researching weight loss programs, your head is probably spinning. Since muscle cells burn calories even when at rest, adding more muscle also helps increase your metabolic rate and further enhances weight loss. Calorie restriction and glycemic load in diet Calorie-restricted diets differing substantially in glycemic load can result in comparable long-term weight loss. The consumption of grapefruit with each meal was said to increase the metabolic rate, burning fat and enabling rapid weight loss. A successful weight loss diet is all about energy in vs. I might caution that for weight loss newcomers, Burn the Fat is not really all that simple. Mostly, it's the attention allotted to each and every element of successful weight loss. Weight Loss Resources has a great set of tools to help you find a way of dieting you can live with. Most nutrition experts are less happy with the recommended weight loss. The sensible solution to weight loss, Quick Trim isn't going to deprive you of everything you know and love. For over a two decades, Cybergenics has developed fitness and weight loss products that get results. Individual weight loss will vary and depends on your metabolism and body composition. Read more about a weight loss breakthrough... To estimate how many calories you need to consume daily for weight loss, simply multiply your body weight (in pounds) by 10. Read about rapid weight loss tips and diets. The best way for weight loss is balanced nutrition and active lifestyle. For weight loss to be truly healthful, you need to establish enjoyment for habits of healthy metabolism, regular exercise and proper nutrition. Water Often overlooked, consumption of water often contributes to weight loss. Antioxidants Since weight loss usually involves a mild process of detoxification, with the body burning fat and sometimes other tissues, antioxidants may be useful.

Lose weight

You'll never burn fat and lose weight by starving and skipping meals! Weight Loss for All - natural weight loss exercise, diet, nutrition, metabolism, energy balance and fat oxidation information to help lose weight naturally. One final caution: the research shows how calcium helps people who are dieting lose weight faster and may help keep the weight off. You may also need my weight loss pills, it can definitely help you lose weight. People who lose weight rapidly are less likely to maintain the loss for life. There are as many different recommendations for supposedly successful diets as there are people trying to lose weight. The only way you can lose weight and keep it off is to get your natural fat-burners functioning normally and at peak efficiency again.

Diet plan

All of the subjects received an individualized diet plan that provided 500 fewer calories than their usual intake. Cooking is a great way to put calcium-rich dairy into your diet plan. When choosing a plan, please review the overall diet plan carefully. By providing you with a clear head and by working as a metabolism aid, Ginger Root is the perfect compliment to any diet plan. Then decide your diet plan. No diet plan would work properly without good nutrition, therefore it is a major factor in the SixPackNow Program.

Diet pills

There has always been a lot of debate over the effectiveness of hoodia diet pills. Compare prices on popular prescription diet pills and purchase them from top online pharmacies. Like those that affect the hypothalamus however, stimulant-based diet pills should be used in moderation and never on a long-term basis. Adding supplemental diet pills to the mix will help speed up the process and return positive results. You can also turn to weight loss products like diet pills that will facilitate your weight loss program. But remember diet pills should be combined with two steps, that is, a balanced diet and exercise. Also try losing weight with diet pills, vitamin pill, exercise equipment, natural metabolism gain and more cellulite pound busting diet methods.

Loss program

They've tried many supplements on the market and failed, and wonder if there really is a weight loss program than can work for them. Consult your physician before starting any weight loss program or taking any dietary supplements. Setting goals that are impossible to reach will only result in frustration and may lead to the abandonment of the weight loss program.

Rapid weight

See also facts on fat loss supplements, patches, recipes for rapid weight loss, clinics & obesity support groups. The fat calories are said to be flushed out in urine, resulting in rapid weight loss. Typically with weight training alone, the fat loss is equal to the muscle gain, give or take a few pounds. Certain dietary modification can have much greater impact on fat loss than with weight training alone. For individuals attempting to achieve fat loss for aesthetics, the intensity of weight training can be a double edge sword. Make the most important step of your life and start to achieve your own personal weight loss goals today!

Healthy diet

We Americans (children and adults) are more confused than ever about what constitutes a healthy diet. Researchers to study how food choices affect cancer risk Study to compare Mediterranean diet with standard healthy diet. To get the most out of your healthy diet and regular workouts, you need healthy metabolism.

Web designing company in delhi india

Web designing is just a feature for web development; particularly it uses to attract the people. The information age is now the network age. A design explains the quality of the web site, if it is not eye catching then people will not follow it. But in web designing service you find different basic area which you need to follow. At e-Fuzion creations we develop successful solutions for business problems every day. Generally Web Design Delhi company e-fuzion which creates two or three treatments for a website and then show them to the website owner, who chooses the best. We are not just a web design company but we work as an online media strategic consultant. Every an individual solution provided by e-Fuzion is based on the organizations integrated marketing communication plan. Web Design Delhi Company (e-Fuzion) always keeps in mind that a website whether it is a corporate website, e-commerce website or an individual website. e-Fuzion’s clients should benefit maximum resulting into increased sales and queries or intangible benefits like top of the mind recall, better brand building. Therefore, Web Design Delhi company e-fuzion includes with the aid of the web design program of your choice, you could finalize the look and feel of your current design. Now a day’s several languages and technologies are being used for web designing. Web Design Delhi company ( e-Fuzion) always keep in mind that world wide web is a highly niche market place and every marketing and communication plan for online presence has to go through the same phrases of marketing plan of offline marketing but in a very focused way. With this done, Web Design Delhi company e-fuzion will provide different idea about what people think about web designing. As the today’s has become highly competitive, product and service life cycle has decreased greatly hence resulting into ongoing up gradation and maintenance of your existing websites where you can always add and delete products and services frequently. e-Fuzions cost effective budget will suit you most. You can use e-Fuzion for a range of purposes, and it providing you to make your web site designing with in the dead line. You need not pay a hefty amount of dollars to get an intuitive design that is customized to your requirements. This can reduce the chances of damaging your credit further by reducing the webs reputation.

On behalf of your web support you first need to design your website with full consider. And for all these works you need to assume the web designing. A fine design can magnetize people towards it. Build the status of your company by using best web designing status. Be it marketing and brand promotions, customer acquisition and engagement, new market penetration or simply information dissemination and branding, corporate web sites and internet platforms have become an absolute imperative.

Online poker guaranteed tournaments

Mansion has shown its commitment to developing the Asia Pacific timezone market by shifting the schedules of its USD100,000 daily guaranteed tournaments. From 19 March 2007, these daily tournaments will be held as follows:

1. 11:00a. m. GMT – meaning 7:00p. m. Singapore and 10:00p. m. Sydney on Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday

2. 8:00p. m. GMT on every other day.

Players will find that not many major online tournaments are held at such favourable times for those based in the Asia Pacific.

It is not, however, just the timings of these events that are attractive. On 19 March 2007 (Monday), only 350 players registered for this tournament (the buy-in is only USD100) - To break even for these daily events Mansion requires 1000 players!!!

This therefore represents significant player value for players playing at such timings. If the 8:00p. m. GMT guaranteed tournaments are included, Mansion averages 529 players per day and even then the prizes are still very significant in value for the individual player. As per most tournaments the top 10% of players are paid-off, so this means that you have to beat a fairly small field to be ‘in the money’.

In fact this allows for more interesting tournaments as well, players will find. A quick view of the names of the players’ lists show that the scheduling as such attracts different players from different parts of the globe. This makes it more interesting for the dedicated players amongst you who may wish to play a larger variety of players.

On Mansion’s part, all indications are that Mansion too is succeeding in attracting more players to play in its online poker rooms.

Kudos to Mansion for its commitment to developing its online poker market through quality scheduling and high value tournaments. Mansion has upped the ante on its rivals and it is hoped that more online poker rooms would commit to developing the Asia Pacific market – small matters like scheduling go a long way to creating opportunity for players in this region.

Financial freedom

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Financial freedom eludes so many people these days who by all logical conclusions and observations should have obtained it. It’s commonly cited as one of the most important and sought after goals in life and yet is rarely attained. This article does not attempt to give you a magic formula for success but I do share with you the choices that made a difference to me and can, if you choose put you well on the path to freedom.

Consumption
You can choose to spend some or all of your money on “consumption” items. These include food, entertainment, holidays, housing, motor cars, hobbies, and so on. These are things we need to live on a day-to-day basis. They also consist of items that service the things we want and so improve lifestyle.

Investment
You can choose to spend some or all of your money on investment items such as revenue producing real estate, shares, interest bearing deposits, businesses that produce revenue, etc.

Consumption or investment
Two important factors need to be understood about the simple concepts of consumption and investment.

The first factor is that spending on “consumption” items results in reducing the total value of your assets (net worth). Spending on investment items aims to increase your net worth. The second factor is that you have choice. You can choose between spending on consumption or investment items.

Of course, the best spending patterns are those that aim to attain a balance between spending on consumption and investment items.

Choosing consumption or investment
You now know the difference between consumption and investment spending and that you can choose between the two.

All you need to do is to think before you spend. Consumption spending can contribute to your lifestyle (driving a new car is fun, even if it was bought on credit and has created a liability of three to five years of payments). Investment spending provides income and wealth.

Shades of Grey
There is, of course, some spending that is not clearly defined as consumption or investment. Buying your own home is considered by many to be an investment. It isn’t! The purchase usually is financed and the repayments are a liability. The upkeep of a house costs money. There are rates and taxes payable on it. You do not get any revenue from it. If you plan to sell it in a few years to make a profit on its increased value, then it may be an investment. However if you have to buy another house to live in are you really any better off?

Investment spending is necessary for building wealth
In order to build wealth, some investment spending is necessary. The more that goes into investment spending, the bigger and quicker your wealth will grow. However, if too much goes into investment spending, and not enough into consumption, then lifestyle can become meagre. But you can choose.

Accumulation over time
Most people are not born rich. Certainly, some inherit wealth, but consequently may not appreciate it. A few win wealth in lotteries, but ironically, perhaps because they have not worked for it, or are not used to it, could end up squandering the temporary riches.

Everyone, however, has one thing in common. The same amount of time goes past for each of us, and at the same rate. How you employ that time is significant.

Imagine that at the age of 21, you invested $1,000 at an average annual rate of return of 10%, and then by the time you reach 65, you would have accumulated over $70,000 without doing anything else.

If at the age of 21, you invested $1,000 at an average annual rate of return of 10%, and each month invested an additional $100, then by the time you reach 65, you would be a millionaire, without doing anything else.

If you did neither of these things, then the same time would pass, and you would not have accumulated any wealth.

These examples of investment, quite deliberately, use amounts of money that are affordable by most, and if spent on investment, rather than consumption, would probably not be missed.

In terms of investing, time is on your side.
Of course, you may not be 21 any more and you may wish to accumulate wealth at a faster rate. This is possible by increasing the amount invested, and the annual rate of return. It is not possible to systematically accumulate significant wealth (millions) without looking at a timeframe of several years (say 5 to 10). If you are trying to make more money in less time, then your objectives may not be realistic. Perhaps a lottery ticket, crossed fingers and large amount of luck could produce your desired result, but don’t hold your breath waiting.

The power of compounding
In the above examples there is an additional factor at work. The entire return was reinvested and participated in earning the same rate of return as the original investment. None of the investment return was withdrawn and spent on consumption items.

Casino aquatique bienvenue dans le monde des croisieres

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Retrouvez tout le prestige de votre serie favorite combinant Las Vegas a la Croisiere s'amuse, pour quelques jours ou quelques semaines, en couple ou en famille!

Pour les amoureux des Caraibes, montez sur l'un de ces navires:

Empress of the Sea, l'un des plus prestigieux. Vous offre pour de bons petits plats le Restaurant Carmen et Windjammer Cafй, puis digestion au sein des salons Pub Caroussel, Pool Bar, Salon High Society, Salon Viking Crown. A Bord, divertissez vous:Centre de remise en forme, Ping pong, Piste de jogging, Mur d'escalade,2 Piscines extйrieures, 4 Jacuzzis dont un intйrieur, Casino et decouvrez ses nombreux jeux tels la Roulette Americaine sans oublier sa Discothиque, Salle de spectacles, Salle de cartes, Cafй internet.
Ce navire vous propose une croisiere inegalabe depuis San Juan:Caraпbes - Antilles, pendant 11 jours. Faites une escale a San Juan, Saint Martin, Saint Johns, Basse-Terre, Castries, Bridgetown, en mer, Isla Margarita, Willemstad, Oranjestad, en mer, pour revenir a San Juan.

Explorer of the Seas: Decouvrez pendant 7 jours le Mexique, Miami en mer, Belize City, Costa Maya. Services similaires a l'Empress. Pur votre bien etre: Salon de beautй, Complexe thermal complet, Sauna, Spa, Solarium.. Alors faites vous chouchouter. Au niveau des loisirs, profitez donc de la diversite, osez melanger culture a farniente grace aux :3 Piscines, 5 Jacuzzis, Casino, Discothиque, Salle de spectacles, Salle de cartes, Cafй internet, Le thйвtre sur 3 ponts qui propose des productions dans le style de Broadway.

Majesty of the Seas: en partance de Miami, profitez d'une croisiere de 4 jours pour vous echapper aux Bahamas , Cocoay, Nassau, Key West et Miami.

Adventure of the Seas: en partance de SAn Juan, profitez d'une croisiere de 7 jours pour une escapade a Oranjestad, Oranjestad, Willemstad, en mer, Philippsburg, Charlotte Amalie, San Juan.

Sovereign of the Seas: plus riche que les precedants en matieres de loisirs pour enfants: au club Adventure Ocean, les enfants beneficieront des activitйs а la fois йducatives et rйcrйatives (de 3 а 17 ans)
Le FantaSeas Teen centre propose quant a lui une large variйtй d'activitйs pour les ados telles que les chasses aus trйsors ou repas pizzas. Au niveau de votre detente personnelle, vous retrouverez egalement le Shipshape center avec sauna, bains turcs, massages et salon de beauй
centre mйdical а bord.

Grandeur of the Sea. Presente les memes services que ses compatriotes. Laissez-vous charmer par la musique du pianiste au Schooner Bar, ou tentez votre chance au Blackjack dans leur casino. Allez voir un show faзon Broadway dans une salle impressionnante sans vous dйplacer

Enchantement of the Seas:dispose de 2 restaurants principaux qui sont le My Fair Lady Dining room et le Windjammer Cafй. Les services presentes ci-dessus se retrouve egalement sur ce navire, casino inclus.
Pour une croisiere de 4 jours, decouvrez le Mexique au travers des escales suivantes:Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Cozumel, en mer, Fort Lauderdale. A ne pas en croire ses yeux. A moins que le comfort et le charme de ce navire vous eblouisse au point de ne vouloir debarquer...

The many benefits of green tea extract

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The Benefits of Green Tea Extract: Anti-Aging, Anti-Cancer, Weight Control




One of the great advancements in nutrition in the twenty-first century is the scientific confirmation of the many benefits of green tea extract. Here are just a few. Green tea:

• Lowers cholesterol


• Slows arthritis


• Prevents the growth of cancer cells


• Assists weight loss

What accounts for the health benefits of green tea extract? Over 1,800 scientific studies have found that the active constituents in green tea are powerful antioxidants. These are called polyphenols (catechins) and flavonols. Epigallocatechin gallate (you can just call it EGCG) is the most powerful of these antioxidants.
Milligram for milligram, EGCG has 25 to 100 times the antioxidant power of vitamins C and E. A cup of green tea has more antioxidants than a serving of broccoli, spinach, carrots or strawberries.




These abundant antioxidants power the benefits of green tea extract. They keep DNA intact and they stabilize the membranes of cells. These effects of green tea make it a powerful support in many health conditions. Let's look at the benefits of green tea supplements in more detail.




Green tea has been shown to lower "bad" LDL cholesterol and serum triglyceride levels.




Who would have imagined that simple green tea could be as potent as Lipitor or Zocor or Crestin with none of their side effects? Scientific studies show that middle-aged men and women in Japan who drink 2 or more cups of green tea a day almost always have normal cholesterol. Scientists have also recently reported that if you drink green tea after you eat a fatty food, less cholesterol will go into you bloodstream.




And if you have high cholesterol when you begin taking green tea supplements, your body will convert less of it into a form that clogs your arteries.




Green tea protects your joints against osteoarthritis.




This is one of the least known but most beneficial effects of green tea extract. Green tea prevents inflammation. When there is less inflammation, there is less wear and tear on your joints.




Green tea prevents the growth of cancer cells.




The EGCG in green tea prevents cancer cells from growing by binding to a specific enzyme. This health benefit of green tea is especially important in cancers of the prostate, breast, and lung.




Researchers studied two groups of men who a pre-cancerous condition of the prostate. One consumed the equivalent of 12 to 15 cups of green tea a day. One did not. One year later, 30% of the men who did not consume green tea supplements developed prostate cancer. Only 3% of the men who took green tea supplements developed cancer.




Another of the benefits of green tea extract is support for women who have breast cancer. Green tea provides chemicals that bind estrogen. This hormone is not then free to stimulate breast cancer cells.




Women who consume the greatest amount of green tea before menopause have the least severe forms of breast cancer when the disease occurs. Women who drink green tea are less likely to have recurrences of breast cancer after treatment. And most important of all, women who consume green tea are 50% less likely to develop breast cancer at all.




Another of the benefits of green tea extract is protection against lung cancer.
The Japanese have both the highest rate of smoking and the lowest rate of lung cancer in the developed world. Japanese smokers who consume a lot of green tea seem to be protected against lung cancer.




And green tea can even help you lose weight. In a clinical trial, men eating a high-fat diet were given enough green tea provide the caffeine in a single cup of coffee. Although this amount of caffeine has no effect on weight loss, when the caffeine comes from green tea, it is highly significant.




The green tea supplement boosted the number of calories burned by 4.5%. While this is just 135 calories a day, the study showed that taking green supplements could help the average man on a high-fat diet lose 18 lbs (8 kg) in a year's time. It could help the average woman on a high-fat diet lose 11 pounds (5 kg). This is without eating less or exercising more.




How Can I Take Green Tea?




The benefits of green tea extract are greatest if you take green tea supplements rather than drink green tea. A study in the December 2004 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confirmed that green supplements get more antioxidants into your bloodstream that drinking green tea. Two capsules of green tea extract a day can provide all the benefits of 20 cups of green tea-all you need to support even difficult health conditions.




Green tea is safe and effective. Take 1 to 3 capsules of green extract every day. It is better to take green tea supplements in the morning or afternoon rather than at night. In the unlikely event of stomach upset, take with food.

Things to consider in buying homeowner s insurance policy

While purchasing a homeowner’s insurance policy, one must be very prudent in choosing the right agent. It is very important to choose a reliable person as your agent as he has a great impact on the decision you make in choosing the right homeowner’s policy. There is no doubt that agents are the experts and are well versed with homeowner’s insurance policies. They are the right people to help you choose the correct one. While choosing a homemaker’s insurance policy one must put in the same kind of effort that is required in buying a good home.

Buying a new home is not an easy task and requires a lot of research and hard work. You have to be financially secure and prepared to bear all expenses. There are a lot of expenses that incur and one must be ready to bear all of them. The first expense that you would incur is the down payment for the new house and then comes the monthly installments, property taxes, etc. The homeowner’s insurance policy and private credit insurance are the two types of insurances that are related to home buying. You will have to spend a certain amount of money on the maintenance of the house.

It is a must that all new homes be protected by the homeowner’s insurance policy. Policies are of different kinds and you need not opt for a very expensive homeowner’s insurance policy - the policy that you choose depends on your needs and how much you are willing to pay per month as insurance coverage.

A lot of things need to be taken into consideration while you choose your homeowner’s insurance policy. First of all you must raise your deductibles. The aim here should be to save a certain percentage of your premium costs and this is possible only if you raise your deductibles. How much a homeowner’s insurance policy costs will depend on the state in which you live.

You must always purchase your homeowner’s insurance policy from a reputed insurance company. You will get better deals and benefits from companies in which you already have other policies like your life insurance and auto insurance policies. Entrust your homeowner’s insurance to such companies, as the services that they render will be satisfying and these companies would give you your homeowner’s insurance policy at a good bargain.

It is best to acquire all the information about these policies before you shop for one. With this information in hand it would be easier to decide about the kind of homeowner’s insurance policy you would like to benefit from. Most of the insurance companies that offer homeowner’s insurance policies have their portals online. These portals give you a wider range of information than you would imagine. You can then choose the company that offers you the best policy.

Lots of efforts go into finding out the best offers available in a homeowner’s insurance policy. The Internet is the best available medium to get the required information. You can benefit by visiting various websites that these numerous insurance companies offer thus giving you plenty to choose from.

Golf tournaments - an insight

Once upon a time, the world’s best golfers were all British – usually Scottish. Since the early twentieth century, though, most of the leading golfers have been American.

For this reason, the biggest golf tournament in the world is the PGA (Professional Golf Association) Tour, a series of events held on many different American golf courses. This is where the world’s best golfers play, for a top prize of almost a million dollars, along with hundreds of smaller prizes (‘purses’, in the golf jargon). There are very few golfers in the world who play golf full-time, but the top players can make millions, and the top few hundred can all at least make a modest living, thanks to the way golf prize money is divided up.

As the PGA Tour is held mostly in America, the European Tour has been gaining ground with non-American golfers in recent years, and is now widely considered to be the number two tournament.

The other important tournaments are the Opens, including the US Open and the British Open. While Tours are only open to professional golfers, Opens can be entered by anyone who pays the entrance fee, which means that thousands of people can try their luck every year, and the next generation of golfers can easily get their start. The winners of the Opens each year will be invited into the Tours, to compete at the next level, but there is nothing stopping the Tour pros from entering the Opens, and most do.

These are only the most famous of the golf tournaments: there is no shortage of smaller, independent tournaments, and each of the big golf playing countries has its own. Golfers who are not American or British will often progress by first playing in their home country’s smaller Open tournament, and then moving on to the bigger Opens, before hopefully being accepted into one of the big Tours.

Looking for a plus-size bridal gown

Everything about you should be perfect on your wedding day, from your hair, down to your toes. If you are a plus-sized girl, though, your bridal gown may be a challenge for you.

It is always a challenge for a plus-sized woman to get the right clothes that would look good on her curvaceous frame, so it might be the same when you go and find the right plus-sized bridal gown for you. But never fear! With the proper planning, you can get the plus-sized bridal gown that is just perfect for you on your wedding day!

Before You Shop for Your Plus-Sized Bridal Gown

Making a few preliminary decisions before you go shopping for your plus-sized bridal gown will go a long way in making your shopping expeditions less stressful and more enjoyable. In planning ahead of time, you will save yourself a great deal of headache and heartache as you go about picking your dream bridal gown.

What are these preliminary decisions that should you make?

1. Give yourself time to select the right plus-sized bridal gown for you. Ideally, this should be within six to nine months. Why so long? This is because it is never a good idea to rush through selecting a bridal gown. You will end up with a bridal gown that you do not like, and because you do not like what you are wearing, it will diminish the shine that you should have on your big day. Your wedding day is the day that you should be confident about yourself, and wearing the right bridal gown helps a lot in doing that.

2. Figure out what kind of bridal gown would look good on your plus-sized frame. Your bridal gown should be a dress that will flatter your curves, mask the width of your hips and accentuate your cleavage. For example, an A-line skirt would work better than a full skirt in hiding your hips. The fabric of the dress should drape your figure rather than cling to it. A halter or a sweetheart neckline will do well in drawing the eyes to your sexy cleavage.

3. Decide on the theme of the wedding. If you will have a destination wedding or a daytime wedding, you would not need a fully formal bridal gown. If the wedding is to be an evening affair, on the other hand, you will need a bridal gown done in formal styles.

4. Ask yourself what you want your look to be on your wedding day. Do you want an upswept hairdo? There are some styles of bridal gowns that work better with upswept dos. Do you want your arms covered or do you want to go sleeveless? Do you want beading and lace, or are you foregoing the embellishments on your bridal gown?

Making these decisions before you start shopping for your plus-sized bridal gown minimizes the stress and headache that you may encounter during the process.

Shopping for Your Plus-Sized Bridal Gown

After you are done with making the decisions that you need to work on, then it is time to go out, make a round of the stores and shop for your plus-sized bridal gown. Where should you go shopping? You should go to stores where you are allowed to try on the bridal gowns that catch your eye. The only way that you would know if a bridal gown is just right for you is by trying it on.

Trying it on is also the only way you will know if the bridal gown you are looking at is comfortable for you. It is not enough for your bridal gown to look beautiful on you; comfort is more important than beauty. It affects your confidence as a bride if your bridal gown keeps hitching up, is too tight to breathe in or bites at your sides. If the bridal gown that you want is your size but is not comfortable, go ahead and get one that is one size bigger.

Because you can get your bridal gown altered to fit you perfectly, after all. In fact, you should consider taking the bridal gown you bought to a tailor and have it altered so it really fits you. It is the next best thing to getting a bridal gown that was designed just for you.

If Money is a Concern

The perfect plus-sized bridal gown should not break your wedding budget. It is not necessary to get an expensive bridal gown, especially if you cannot afford it. If money is going to be a concern when you get your bridal gown, you can make your choice among bridesmaids’ gowns that look elaborate enough to pass for bridal gowns, as long as these gowns are in shades of white.

You can also comb thrift stores. Thrift stores have a great selection of secondhand bridal gowns that you can choose from. If your choice happens to be a secondhand bridal gown, you can take it to a tailor to have it altered. After a few alterations and after some time at the drycleaners, your secondhand bridal gown will be just like new.

A Last Word

Always consider that all the guidelines you encounter in choosing a bridal gown, especially if you are a plus-size woman, are just guidelines that are meant to help you select your bridal gown. These are not rules that are set in stone. So, if you fall desperately in love with a bridal gown, ignore all rules and do not leave the store without buying it. If you do not buy it, someone else will, and you will regret not being decisive enough to make the purchase when you should have done so.

Six reasons why you should never neglect changing water in your aquarium tank

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1. pH Control – pH stands for hydrogen potenz. It is actually the concentration of hydrogen ions present in your aquarium tank, and as you know, hydrogen ion concentration refers to acidity of the water in the tank. As fishes live in the water, performing all their biological activities, the pH value is bound to change. The best way to ensure that the pH values remain conducive for the health of your fish is to change the water often.
   
   
2. Kh control – For the scientifically inclined people, Kh is the hydrolysis constant. Simply speaking, it is ability of water to buffer, which means, maintain a particular optimum level of the acids and bases in it. Changes occur in the fish tank over time due to the inclusion of chemicals produced from biological activity. That is one reason why the water has to be periodically changed.
   
   
3. Controlling nitrate levels – Ideally speaking, a saltwater aquarium must have a nitrate concentration of at the most 20 parts per million and a freshwater aquarium must have at the most 50 parts per million. Fish excretion is in the form of ammonia, which increases the nitrate level of the tank. There are protein skimmers available that can help to keep the nitrate levels to optimal levels within the tank. But these skimmers will not be able to remove the organic debris that collects in the tank from time to time. That is the reason why complete water changes become necessary. In fact, aquarium sellers do stress upon nitrate level maintenance as the most important reason for making periodical water changes.
   
   
4. Detoxifying the aquariums – Dead aquatic organisms, byproducts of metabolic activities in the fish and other aquarium residents and the excretion products of your fish will definitely introduce some toxic products in your aquarium tank. Some toxic materials can also enter from the external environment, such as when things drop into your tank or when some microorganisms enter through the air. They could play havoc with the health of your delicate fish. You cannot effectively monitor such toxic intrusions. The best way is to change water.
   
   
5. Cleaning aquarium accessories – If you have live elements in your aquarium tank such as live sand, live rock, sponges, bio balls, etc. it is best to provide them with clean water of aquarium standard to filter out the wastes that they produce from time to time.
   
   
6. Controlling algal growth – Algae are microscopic plants that grow in all types of aquatic environment. They grow faster in aquariums because the water there is stagnant and favorable for their growth. However, algae can pollute the water in the closed environment to drastic levels, which could also mean health problems to your fish. Not only that, algae will compete with the fish with the resources available in your aquarium. If you change the water from your aquarium regularly, you are also removing the algae that have grown in them.
   
   

Hence, water changes in your aquarium are a very important aspect of aquarium cleaning. They ensure that your fish live longer and healthier in the home you provide them.

Do you want free money

It probably did not take you more than a second to answer that question—YES! We all want free money, don’t we? But how can we get free money?

Well, if you are looking for free money to use for college and university tuition and fees, you are more likely to find it than those of us who are just looking for free money. Check out websites and programs such as FAFSA and GovernmentGrants. com to find free grant money. You can also check out websites and programs such as FreeCollegeScholarships. net, FastWeb. com, and FedMoney. org that offer free money in the form of scholarships. The great thing about these options is that you are almost guaranteed to get some amount, even if it is not as high as you would like, of free money to use towards your college or university tuition and fees. All you have to do is fill out an application, maybe write an essay or two, and wait.

Now, for the rest of us, free money likely does not exist. There are programs, however, that claim to give you free opportunities to make money such as reading emails or advertisements, taking surveys, downloading a certain tool bar onto your browser, etc. For websites and programs like that check out CashFiesta. com, FreeCenter. com, and AbsolutelyFreebies. com. However, some websites like these require that you pay a registration or startup fee (low, albeit, but still, that is not free, is it?) or fill out all kinds of applications such as for credit cards which can lead to unwanted credit cards, spam in your email, junk in your snail mail, and all kinds of other inconveniences.

So, for those of us not trying to find free money to use for college and university tuition and fees, finding free money is going to be a little more difficult.

11 common mistakes people make when creating web pages

1. Graphic Laden.

A web page should load in a reasonable amount of time. If you use too many graphics, or graphics that are not scaled and saved in the most efficient format, your pages will take longer to load. Impatient users may bail out and go to another site. Clean and fast should be the goal. You can usually make a very nice layout using HTML and CSS without the whole page being a sliced up graphic. Of course I've built sites for people who insisted on pages based entirely on graphics and in that case I usually try to get the Adobe Photoshop files from the graphic artist and slice them and save the slices myself. This way I can mix and match file formats. For example sections with few colors can be saved as gifs which are usually very small, especially if you tweak the number of colors. Sections that contain more colors or photographs work best as jpg image files. Mixing file types like this can cause some issues that you should be aware of: colors may not match exactly between a gif and a jpg. For example if you have a background color in both or some other object in the images of adjoining cells you may have trouble getting a gif and jpg to look seamless because of slight color shifts.

2. Color Choices.

Just because it looks cool to you doesn't mean everyone will find it easy to read and appreciate your psychedelic color scheme. Try out your color choices on a mix of people before you get too far into your design.

Don't turn people away just because they have trouble reading your site. There are colors for backgrounds and text that perform much better than others colors for some types of sites, do your research first!

3. Animated Graphics.

You want your visitors to concentrate on whatever your site is about. If your pages look like the arcade at an amusement park with animated gifs everywhere they may never get to the part of the site that you want them to, such as the "buy" button. A little animation goes a long way.

4. Flash Splash Screens.

Flash is big these days and very useful for a lot of tasks, however, one thing you should avoid is a big flash welcome page as the default page of your web site. Most people find it very annoying to sit through it, or to have to click a skip button.

5. Cross Browser Compatible Issues.

Always check out your site on the main browsers (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, Opera) a PC and Mac if possible. You'd be surprised how each web browser has its quirks. Sometimes a page will look really bad or completely wrong in one browser and you'll have to spend time correcting the problem. But, you won't know unless you test it... don't rely on your visitors to tell you.

6. Broken Links.

This one should be obvious, check you site's navigation and all the links occasionally. There are some tools available to do this for you if you have a really large site.

7. Disjointed Layout.

Make sure your site is easy to navigate. Have someone who's not familiar with your site use your site. Ask them to purchase something, or find the page for sending in questions, etc. Watch them as they work. Listen to what they have to say and fix your site to make it work better.

8. Incomplete Contact Information.

Keep the contact information on your site is current and complete. Do this as soon as anything changes.

9. Text in Graphics to Make "Pretty Text" vs. Real Text.

Font styles are somewhat limited for web pages. Some people want their site to look really good with fonts like you can use in word processing packages. So how do you do that? You can make it in Adobe PhotoShop or another graphic package and save out your text as images. This works really well as far as looking good, however, because images are naturally larger than text, the pages will load slower. But, the biggest drawback is not size, it's that you have your text, which tells what your site is about, locked up in images.

It's not accessible to search engines that crawl web sites.

What does that mean? It means that if you're relying on traffic to your site from search engines, you want real text, not images of text that only humans can read. If your site is not dependant on search engine traffic, then this may not matter other than the slower load time for the image laden pages.

10. Using Something Just To Be Using It.

When we remodeled our house, I wanted to use some stone somewhere. Our contractor kept saying that if we did, it would look like we used stone just to use some stone; it wouldn't look natural like a house designed from the start with stone. The same is true of web sites. Don't use flash, or background sounds, or videos that automatically load and start playing, or JavaScript that opens 900 windows. Only use those things when they are necessary, don't use them just because you may know how and want to show off.

11. Not Updating the Site.

As things change you should modify your site to reflect those changes. As you add new products or announce new products, you should add them to your site. As people change in your organization, you should update your site.

Put a blog on your site and update it every day or so. Your web site can be a tremendous asset in your marketing toolkit, but only if it's kept current and fresh.

Use this list of items to make your web site better and more enjoyable for your visitors.

Filter in savings at the gas pump

Feeling the pinch at the pump? With record high gasoline prices, many drivers are concerned about their vehicles' fuel economy. The good news is that a simple maintenance procedure can help motorists improve their gas mileage.

"One of the easiest ways to substantially enhance a vehicle's fuel efficiency is to change a dirty air filter," said Susan Groom, leader of product engineering for FRAM. "It's a quick and simple task that practically anyone can perform."

According to the U. S. Department of Energy, replacing a dirty air filter can improve gas mileage by as much as 10 percent. Based on an assumed fuel price of $2.20 per gallon, that equals a cost savings of up to 22 cents per gallon.

FRAM, a leader in automotive filtration for more than 70 years, manufactures a variety of air filters for virtually any vehicle. Motorists can simply select the air filters that fit their vehicles and driving styles and, in less than 15 minutes, they can replace an old or dirty air filter to help improve their vehicles' performance.

A basic air filter, such as the FRAM Extra Life Air Filter, is ideal for the average motorist who commutes to work, frequents local stores and occasionally embarks on long road trips.

Truck and SUV owners who want extreme engine protection should look for the FRAM Tough Guard Air Filter, which has advanced features designed to withstand the tough driving conditions that trucks and SUVs often encounter.

Motorists who desire high performance benefits, such as increased engine airflow for better vehicle horsepower, will likely need the FRAM AirHog Air Filter. This washable and reusable filter is designed to last the life of a vehicle and provides drivers with a cost savings of more than $200 in regularly scheduled filter changes.

"Changing a dirty air filter can benefit any motorist and any vehicle," Groom said. "Not only can a new air filter improve vehicle performance, but it can also lead to significant savings at the gas pump." - NU

License to fish

Fishing is just one of the many forms of relaxation people do these days with either friends or family. It is a time for bonding and a great escape from the pressures of daily life.

To be able to fish, a person needs to get a fishing license since this is requirement by law and the regulations regarding fishing varies from one state to the other.

In some states, 2 licenses are needed. One is called the Conservation license which is a prerequisite before one can obtain a fishing license.

Getting a license to fish is quite different from the time a person needed to get a drivers license. The person does not have to take an exam or get a student’s permit before being issued one.

The Conservation license can be obtained from the Fish, Wildlife & Parks or FWP. This is done by giving one’s social security number and other information that is requested. A valid driver’s license or any valid ID with photo must also be presented for security purposes for the license to be processed.

The fishing license allows a person to fish or possess any aquatic creature as long as it is authorized by the state’s fishing regulations. This license is neither non-transferable nor non-refundable and is only valid for one year or season.

Since fishing licenses as mentioned earlier vary from state to state, a fishing license can either be a resident license or a non-resident license. For one to qualify for a resident license, that person must have resided in that certain location for a period of time such as 6 months, should be a local tax payer , must be a registered voter, purchased a vehicle and have a valid driver’s issued from that state. In addition, one must not possess or apply for any resident hunting, fishing or trapping privileges in another state or country.

A non-resident can fish in another state as long as the person is accompanied by someone who resides in that state.

There is no age limit for anyone to acquire a fishing license. People both young and old can obtain it. Usually a person who is below 11 years of age can get a fishing license for free. People who are older than that have to pay a certain fee to acquire it.

With the paper work in proper order, one can just grab the proper gear, a boat and start having some fun being close with nature.