Nook Color and Kindle Fire - Two eReader-Tablet Hybrids Compared

Nook Color from Barnes and Noble has been one of the most original and affordable devices for electronic reading as well as performing other multimedia tasks until now. However, this fall Amazon introduced their Kindle Fire and the world of budget Android eReader/tablet hybrids has become much more interesting. Now it's two full-colored touchscreen devices that straddle the line between eReader and tablet. In this article I will try to compare these two competitors.

Design
Nook Color and Kindle Fire both feature simple design with a good holdability factor. They look pretty much the same, but Nook has its unique loop at the bottom-right corner. On the other hand, Kindle is a little bit smaller (7.5 x 4.7 x 0.45 inches compared to Nook's 8.1 x 5 x 0.5 inches) and lighter (14.6 vs. 5.8 ounces).

Screen
Both gadgets can boast of high quality 7-inch LCD touchscreens with the resolution of 1024×600 at 169 dpi and 16 million colors. They both look great in either portrait or landscape orientation

Speed
Though the CPU is not such an important factor for tablet PCs and e-readers, still the Kindle features a newer dual-core processor which is likely to perform faster than that of Nook. When reading or listening to mp3s you will probably not notice any difference.

Operating System
Kindle Fire and Nook Color run Android but have their own proprietary versions of software and user interface. It makes it easier for average non-techie users to use these devices. However, advanced users might want to root them in order to turn them in a full Android tablet and sideload applications instead of buying them. In this respect Nook seems to be a winner as it features a microSD slot with which you can run the hack and remove it to return to the original configuration.

E-Book reading
Both devices are very good for reading in full color almost under any conditions: in the sunlight and in total darkness. The screen adjusts its brightness accordingly to make the process the most comfortable. Fire and Color support popular text/e-Book formats and with their 8GB of internal memory can store thousands of eBooks and text files.

Multimedia
It's fair to say that Kindle is more of a multimedia tablet than Nook, as it supports more video and audio formats. Apart from Kindle books (including audio enhanced), this device can play music from the Cloud Drive as well as Video on Demand. It's also possible to stream video rentals or free offerings which are available for Amazon Prime members.

Summing it up
The main features of the two devices are nearly the same: 7-inch touchscreens, customized Android OS, 8GB of internal memory, similar size and weight, similar battery life (about 8 hours), same connectivity (Wi-Fi), same price (Fire is slightly cheaper). However, Nook Color features more original design and due to microSD slot it is more expandable/rootable.

A List Of High Fat Foods That Are Bad For You

There are some foods that you must avoid to eat because they make you fat.
In this article I give you a list of high fat foods. Perhaps you don't know it but fat and fat is not the same.

Goods fats vs. bad fats.
You need to eat fats they are required for your health.
Dr Udo Erasmus has said it already there are fats that heal and fats that kill.
The problem is that most people are not aware of this and they choose for 100% fat free foods.
A word of caution here the food can be 100% free but at the same time it can contain a lot of sugar.

Bad fats are:

- Trans fats.

- Saturated fats

Good fats are:

- Monounsaturated fats.

- Polyunsaturated fats.

In this article we concentrate us on a list of foods that contain bad fats.

High fat foods that are bad for you.
Saturated fats.
Studies have shown that diets high in saturated fats increase the risk of hart disease.
They also increase the level of LDL (bad) cholesterol in your blood.
Products that are high in saturated fats are.

- Butter

- Ice cream (contains milkfat)

- Cheese

- Chicken fat

- Meat fat

- Palm oil

- Coconut oil - Beef

- Lamb

- Pork

- Veal

A lot of animal products contain saturated fats and in some cases foods from plants.

Trans fats.
Just like saturated fats there is a relationship between trans fats and bad cholesterol level.
Products that contain trans fats are.

- Some margarines

- Cookies

- Crackers

- Snack foods

- Shortening

- Doughnuts

- Cake

- Frozen foods

- Potato chips

- Candy

I hope you understand now that according to this high fat food list that some products are bad for you.
You should read the food labels; manufacturers must include the fat percentage on it.

3D CNC Router

The 3D CNC Router gives the reliability and performance of more expensive CNC machines. The Personal Robotics System (PRS) includes everything that you will need to get up and running: the tool, the table and the software. No matter what your needs are, routing, sculpting, cutting, or machining, the program that you need is available. No longer is this type of technology available only for large companies; it is now available for small businesses who like to compete at higher levels, who like to be able to offer their clientele the type of service that they deserve and to those who want to expand and incorporate new technologies into their business.

This type of technology can be incorporated into many different projects and can cut your time in half. You will be able to work faster and produce quality products that will make every customer happy. From sign making to woodworking, the 3D CNC router offers you the ability to offer 3D work that is sure to please.

Real 3D features will stand out among the rest. 2D carves do not stand out. 3D carves stand out and stand up, making them unique and very noticeable. 3D uses angles and curves to cut the path. The X, Y, and Z axes are used. Also with 3D, you will design in 3D. Even though the former 2.5D option was cutting in 3D like moves, the design process was still 2D, not 3D.

The 3D CNC Router offers more complex carving, unique features and design options. Designing and the actual tool-path creation is two different things completely and there are different software programs for each. You must learn how to separate the two.

No longer will your design process be flat drawing lines, now you will model your design. You build up the design using different 3D shapes and with the right program this actual model will reflect over onto the tool path. This means that what you were previously used to, will no longer be with the 3D CNC router.

Clip Art/Models

If you don't do enough 3D projects to justify the cost of the 3D modeling software, you do not have to worry about it. There are companies who offer 3D clip art that can be used with the 3D CNC router. If you do not use the software program enough, your proficiency level as an artist will not be high. The 3D clipart option could be the best option for you.

Purchasing 3D models via the web may not be best. Usually these models have been developed for other uses such as video, etc. They are not developed explicitly for cutting; however, you can purchase 3D models that are specifically designed for cutting and this would be the right option for you. So, when considering purchasing 3D models instead of developing your own, make sure that you purchase the right ones. The resolution quality will be better and they will allow you to change the scale of the model, if needed.

Interactive Skills

Interactive skills while finding out how a person feels are possibly the most important communication skills in building and maintaining Rapport.

They are also known as reflective skills or empathetic skills.

Reflecting is when you make remarks that acknowledge and show empathy for the speaker's feelings. Using this interactive skill creates win-win outcomes. Most of us easily feel empathy for a person who is experiencing something we have experienced ourselves, but true empathy is a skill, it is not based on the memory of a situation that we have experienced in the past.

Negotiators who have developed this reflecting interactive skill can be empathetic even with counterparts with whom they have little in common. It's not even necessary to like each other; empathy does not presuppose liking someone; however respecting each other is a prerequisite.

A negotiator's ability to empathize has been found to significantly affect the counterpart's behavior and attitudes.

To be empathetic,

o you need to accurately perceive the content of the speaker's message

o recognize the emotional components and unexpressed meanings behind the message, and

o attend to the speaker's feelings.

Empathy is not the same as sympathy.

A sympathetic individual adopts another person's feelings as his own.

An empathetic person appreciates, respects, and relates to the other person's feelings, while remaining detached.

For example:

o I can see that you are frustrated because .....................

o You seem very confident that you can do a great job for......................

o I appreciate that this set of circumstances can be frustrating.

o (Rather than: I understand how frustrated you are feeling.)

We can never say that we understand how another person feels, because we cannot; we can appreciate how they feel; we can respect how they feel; but only they know how they really feel.

When you are truly practicing reflective listening, you make no judgments, share no opinions, and provide not solutions.

You simply acknowledge the emotional content of the speaker's message, recognize that there is one, giving it no meaning and moving on.

For example:

o Speaker: How do you expect me to complete the project by next Monday?

o Reflective response: It sounds like you feel overwhelmed by your workload.

o Speaker: Hey, Mary, what's the idea of not approving my requisition for a new filing cabinet?

o Reflective response: You sound upset that your request was not approved.

o Speaker: I cannot believe you want me to do the job in less than a week.

o Reflective response: You sound concerned about the amount of time you have to complete the job

The goal of reflective listening is to acknowledge the emotion your counterpart has conveyed, and reflect the content back to your counterpart using different words. By using different words, yet using the same content, this situation is defused and the speaker feels that he has been heard, and therefore his contribution and how he feels are important.

This is empathetic listening; this is interactive listening and this is an interactive skill.

Knitting Designs

Cape let is most demanded design in modern times. There are different patterns of this caplet. Cape let is also called as cape or collar. If you want to knit capelet then you can design your own type of capelet by your favorite yarn, color. In this you can vary the length of the capelet or you can add the collar to any capelet and you will get the different type of it.

This pattern is hand knit capelet pattern. For this you have to knit from neck to ham down. For this purpose make use of the circular needle. if you wants the collar caplet then you can attach roll collar of about 1.5". To design this capelet you have to measure basically three lengths which are neck opening, shoulder width and front length.

This caplet needs approximately 20 gram balls of mohair yarn in which each ball had about 90 meters of yarn. For knitting you should have minimum one circular needle which must be sufficiently long so as to hold all the stitches at the hem of the cape. For this purpose you need 16" near the neck and around 24" near the hem.

The main characteristic of this caplet are as follows:

While knitting you have to knit from neck to hem in down word direction with the help of circular needle. For this cape collar is optional if you want collar for your neck then attach near about 15".Now close it tightly close with idiot cord. Stitch the ending of edge, front and border. Level front and back by short shaping near the border. The back neck must be raised with the same shaping method. According to your body or fitting you have to take proper measurements.

To give the pattern or shape to your caplet enter your stitch as well as row gauge. When you are well worth with the knitting the try for these patterns but yet this is the simplest pattern among the all.

This pattern has around 8 increased rays and about 2 shoulder darts. On back side also you have to knit around 4 decreased rays. Place around 10 stitch markers to locate the rays. For further reference label them as 1f, 2f, 3f for front side and same for back side as 2b, 1b, etc. while knitting down you have to increase about one stitch on both the sides for each stitch marker for every 6 rows.

For this just go on stitching across the unit on stitch lefts before the marker. Skipping this marker again go on stitching and continue it. For this learn to stitch odd number now increase knit from both the sides as well as purl side of the fabric. For purl the same procedure you have to repeat as mentioned above.

When your cape become sufficiently long so as to cover up your shoulder then stop it increasing further. Except this keep knitting for border side. But just before hem you have to work for the short rows so as to level back and front properly. In this pattern the back is longer than front.

After completing this short row you will complete the knitting for your capelet and your new pattern caplet is ready to use.

There has always been a creative appetite in mankind. To unfold this creativity, one could create thousands of designs which are really eye catching. One may mix and match the diverse colors of yarns available in the market and create their unique designs. These designs should move with the current fashion trends and at the same time easy to understand and create.

The Differences Between Kindle 2 and Nook - Which is Better?

Amazon's Kindle 2 and the Barnes and Noble Nook are the two main heavy-weights in the battle of the eBook readers this year. There are many similarities, and critical differences in the two. What are they, and which is the better digital eBook reader? Let's take a look.

E-Ink Display Screens- Both the Kindle 2 and the Nook use the same "E-Ink" technology for their display screen. Reading for hours on end on these eBook readers isn't like staring at a computer screen. The E-Ink screen displays the words just like (or even better than) looking at a real Book.

The Nook, however, has an additional color navigation screen underneath the display screen. This touch screen allows you to scroll through titles of books, magazines, and other publications. There is also a touch keyboard display on this screen. No reviews are available yet for the screen performance, but consumers will soon tell all.

Wireless and 3G- Both the Kindle 2 and the Nook boast wireless capabilities. You are able to download books and other publications if you have access to a wireless network. If no wireless internet is available, then 3G cellular capabilities will allow you to download in that situation.

International Availability- Here is a major difference between the two ebook readers- International capabilities. The Kindle 2 boasts the ability to download books and full usage in over 100 countries, whereas the Nook is only fully functional in the US. Of course the Nook device will work in the sense you can still read books out of the country, but you cannot add more books or publications. This is obviously a very important point for international customers to take into account.

The Nook's Lending Capability- The Nook has the ability to let you lend out your books to others that have downloaded the Barnes and Noble software. You don't necessarily have to have a Nook to receive the lent books, just the software. One should know that lending time is only 2 weeks and the person who lends the book cannot use it during that time. A good feature? Customers will tell over time.

Storage Space- Both the Kindle and Nook have base memory of 2 GB, which is good for about 1,500 books, however the Nook allows for extra space to be added to increase the titles to upwards of 17,500. Is 2 Gigs enough? Well, read one book a day and you'll have 4 years of reading material!

Other Differences- The Kindle boasts a slightly lighter device, text-to-speech technology, and a web browsing capability, whereas the Nook doesn't.

One other notable difference is the Google Android software in the Nook. Barnes and Noble chose this software, banking on the development of applications by software developers that will work with the Nook. We'll have to see how the software performs and if there is an iPod like popularity in applications.

Yoga For A Flat Stomach - 4 Effective Asanas

Yoga is an excellent component of any health and fitness routine. It helps to reduce stress, aid mobility and exercise al parts of the body. And, you can use yoga in such a way as to target certain parts of the body including your stomach.

There are numerous yoga positions which can be used to exercise your stomach muscles. Called Asanas, these exercises come in varying degrees of difficulty. It is important to assess your skill and fitness levels and chose Asanas which you are comfortable with. Start with one which seems easy and work up to the more complex over a period of time. Do not be led to take on more than you are comfortable with. Be sure to seek medical advice before undertaking any new course of exercise and make sure that you warm up to avoid injury.

Some of the Asanas to improve stomach tone;

1. Pavan-Muktasan
First lie on your back ideally on a yoga mat or towel to protect your spine. When first starting yoga, this exercise can be completed one leg at a time. Bend your knees to your chest so your thighs touch your abdomen. Hug your knees, using one hand to hold the other. Lift your head so that your nose touches your knees then take a deep breath and hold this for thirty seconds. Release your legs and slowly lower to the starting position.

2. Bhujangasan
For this exercise, lie on the floor and roll onto your stomach. Place your hands under each shoulder as if to do a push up. Using only your back muscles, lift your upper torso from the ground so that your head becomes upright. You need the muscles from your back to do all the work so do not help with your hands. Although predominantly making use of your back muscles, this asana will help with developing better muscle tone in your stomach.

3. The Bow
This is a more advanced asana. The stomach exercise is similar in many ways to the Bhujangasan asana, but is more difficult. It starts from the same basic position - flat on your stomach - but now you also curl your legs upwards in addition to lifting your upper body. In a perfect example the soles of your feet come toward the back of your head forming a circle. Once you can, grab your ankles, pull with your hands, push using your legs till only your stomach touches the floor. Hold this for at least thirty seconds before releasing and returning to the starting position.

4. Paad-Pashchimottanasan
This asana is also more advanced. Start lying on your back, relaxed with your legs straight, arms extended over your head. Point your palms to the ceiling. Using only your stomach muscles sit up, keeping your back straight and hands overhead. Your legs stay fixed to the floor throughout. Lean forward so your head is between your arms and grab your toes with both hands. Hold for 2 minutes before releasing and slowly returning to your starting position using your stomach muscles to lower yourself to the floor.

Yoga like every other form of exercise or wellness routine will be more effective when combined with a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle.

Lose Stomach Inches - How to Lose Inches Off My Waist Fast and at Home in Just Minutes!

If YOU'VE been wondering "how to lose inches off my waist fast", well, I'm going to share with you some powerful and simple ways to lose stomach inches in just minutes a day at home. READ THIS NOW if diet and exercise are failing you!

Lose Stomach Inches

1. If you could only do 1 exercise, do the vacuum pose

Before I describe this to you, I'll tell you that hundreds of my clients have used this exercise. Want their results? They averaged JUST UNDER 2 inches lost from their waists doing it 5 minutes a day... for just 26-30 days.

Want even better results... do this for 15-20 minutes a day and you'll see a drop of 3 inches in a month.

Anyway, the exercise is a version of "sucking in your belly". Suck in the lower abs around your belly button and hold for however long you feel comfortable holding the pose. I recommend 15-30 seconds at a time.

That's it. Then all you do is keep repeating it for a total of 5 minutes or more depending on if you want to lose 2 or 3 inches in a month. Be sure not to count the rest times as part of the total time.

2. My favorite exercise to get waist/hips curves... hula hooping

I give a lot of credit to this exercise for bring in the waists while toning the hips of my online clients. I get a lot of feedback on this exercise. However you want to do it, just do it for 10 minutes total each day. One other thing, be sure to use a WEIGHTED HULA HOOP because they're a lot easier to keep whirling around your waist.

3. Bonus exercise... spinning

Spinning around like a child helps with weight loss which in turn helps you lose stomach fat. It does this in a round-about way of manipulating your hormones (balancing them) through stimulation of your Endocrine System.

For spinning to work effectively, do it clockwise and do it MORE THAN a few times each day. Those are 2 of the basics you should know that I took out of my Spinning Weight Loss eBook.

How to lose inches off my waist fast... you ask? Start with those 3 exercises to lose stomach inches while eating a little healthier and doing some cardio.

Abortion Methods - Learn 7 Different Types Of Abortion

Spontaneous, Herbal and Induced are the three general methods of abortion. Although it is not that popular or necessary in this modern era but there is a method known as self-inflicted abortion also. Most of the people do not consider self-inflicted abortion to be among the major methods.

In self-inflicted abortion a a sharp object such as a coat hanger is inserted into the cervix of the expecting mother. This method is known to be extremely dangerous or deadly and is not at all reliable.

One of the oldest method of abortion is herbal abortion which is also not considered very safe. The result of Herbal abortion is sometimes only a sick pregnant woman. It is not much different from the worse self-inflicted abortion. Over hundreds of years, several herbs are used to carry on herbal abortion. These herbs use to be silphium, birthwort, black cohosh, pennyroyal, tansy etc. of which some are now extinct. It also include modern day herbs that some people use daily such as juniper, lavender, parsley, thyme, marjoram and dill. Such herbs are termed as abortifacient or simply the herbs that can cause abortion.

However, surgical methods are the most commonly used abortion methods these days. Doctor may initiate one of the three surgical procedures to initiate abortion at an early term. The three surgical procedures followed for abortion are:

1) Manual Vacuum Aspiration or MVA- In MVA method a syringe is used to suction out tissue which causes abortion

2) Electric Vacuum Aspiration or EVA- In an EVA method an electric pump is used to suction the tissue out.

3) Dilation and Curettage or D&C- Once the cervix of the pregnant woman has been opened, sharp curette is used to clean the uterus walls.

4) Dilation and Evacuation or D&E- In this method the uterus is cleaned by the use of instruments and suction once the cervix of the pregnant woman has been opened.

5) Hysterectomy Abortion- Hysterectomy Abortion is related to the cesarean section to terminate a pregnancy.

6) Controversial Intact Dilation and Extraction or IDX- IDX is also known as Partial Birth Abortion. In this method the cervix is diated by use of forceps to grasp and turn fetus in breech position. Then the fetus is withdrawn and only head of the fetus is left inside cervix. Then the head is collapsed by suction of brain matter from the skull. This is done through the small incision which is made at the base of the skull. IDX or Partial Birth Abortion is a banned abortion method under Partial Birth Abortion Ban law. This law was passed by Congress and came into effect when President George W Bush signed it in 2003. But this law does not provide any information in cases where abortion is necessary for woman's health and is therefore examined by US Supreme Court for its legal validity.

7) Chemical Methods- Combination of drugs can effectively terminate or end pregnancy. Drugs such as mifepristone or methotrexate are used for abortion which is followed by prostaglandin. Prostaglandin comes in two types and its usage depends on the place where abortion is done. Gemeprost is used in Sweden, UK whereas in US misoprostol is used commonly for abortion.

How To Write A Memoir

Writing a memoir can seem like a daunting task at first. However, with a little bit of help you can create an interesting record of your life's most important events that your friends and family will cherish for years to come. In this article I am going to show you just how to write a memoir that will be appreciated by all who read it.

Step 1 - Decide Who The Memoir Is For

This is one of the most important steps of memoir writing. You need to decide who your target audience for the Book is going to be. You could decide to write it for your family and close friends in which case you could use a more informal, intimate writing style. However, if you plan to release your memoir to a general audience then you'll need to develop a more professional writing style and deliver more action into your writing.

Step 2 - Pick The Best Stories To Tell

When learning how to write a memoir you need to remember that it isn't necessary to tell every little detail of your life. Instead, pick events from your life that are exciting and focus on them. If you've had a major experience that had a profound impact on the way that you live your life then you could focus your entire memoir around that one thing.

Step 3 - Draft

Note down all the experiences from your life that you feel would be relevant in whatever order they come to mind. Elaborate on each one then once you feel all your ideas have been exhausted order the events you have written down chronologically.

Step 4 - Expand Your Memoir

Starting with your first experience, begin to write your memoir. Make sure that you use a writing style that will hold the audience's attention. Also, ensure that you don't falsify any details in the memoir and that you keep the audience in mind whilst writing. Every event needs to have a beginning, middle and end and there needs to be an overall beginning, middle and conclusion for the entire memoir too.

Step 5 - Set A Deadline For Completion

Set a realistic deadline for completion so that you don't wind up writing a small amount every so often. This is not ideal as it could take months or even years to complete the memoir and your writing style will become disjointed and hard to follow. A good deadline for completion is if you happen to have a special family event or gathering coming up - everyone will really appreciate the work that you put into writing your memoir.

By following these basic steps it's not too difficult to learn how to write a memoir that will be appreciated by all those who read it. Also, remember that the more you write the easier it will become to craft a fluid writing style that really holds the reader's attention.

Grammar Teaching: Implicit or Explicit?

Based on my 15 years of EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teaching experience, the statement "grammar teaching should be implicit, not explicit" could be argued both for and against. Whether to teach grammar as an extracted focus of ELT (English Language Teaching) or more passively as an inductive, integral topic has been the theme of countless debates on the part of institutions, professors, grammarians and Language researchers for decades. Grammar is the branch of linguistics dealing with the form and structure of words or morphology, and their interrelation in sentences, called syntax. The study of grammar reveals how Language works, an important aspect in both English acquisition and learning.

In the early 20th century grammarians like the German-American anthropologist Franz Boas and the Danish linguist Otto Jespersen began to describe languages and Boas' work formed the basis of various types of American descriptive grammar study. Jespersen's work was the fore-runner of such current approaches to linguistic theory such as Noam Chomsky's Transformational Generative Grammar.

Chomsky, who studied structural linguistics, sought to analyze the syntax of English in a structural grammar. This led him to view grammar as a theory of language structure rather than a description of actual sentences. His idea of grammar is that it is a device for producing the structure, not of a particular language, but of the ability to produce and understand sentences in any and all languages. Since grammar is the means by which we can understand how a language "works", a definitive study of language grammar is essential to language study.

Strictly explicit grammar study however, and even grammar-focused lessons are often not communicatively based. They can therefore be boring, cumbersome and difficult for students to assimilate. The strict teaching of grammar / structure, except with students of the Logical - Mathematical or Verbal - Linguistic multiple intelligences, can be frustrating and highly ineffective.

Grammar teaching should be implicit

In the early 20th century, Jespersen, like Boas, thought grammar should be studied by examining living speech rather than by analyzing written documents. By providing grammar in context, in an implicit manner, we can expose students to substantial doses of grammar study without alienating them to the learning of English or other foreign language. I also agree with this implicit approach of teaching grammar. The principal manner in which I accomplish this is by teaching short grammar-based sessions immediately followed by additional function-based lessons in which the new grammar / structure is applied in context.

The hypothesis is that adult language students have two distinct ways of developing skills and knowledge in a second language, acquisition and learning. Acquiring a language is "picking it up", i.e., developing ability in a language by using it in natural, communicative situations. Learning language differs in that it is "knowing the rules" and having a conscious knowledge of grammar / structure. Adults acquire language, although usually not as easily or as well as children. Acquisition, however, is the most important means for gaining linguistic skills. A person's first language (L1) is primarily learned in this way. This manner of developing language skills typically employs implicit grammar teaching and learning.

Grammar teaching should be explicit

This does not exclude explicit grammar-teaching entirely, however. Some basic features of English language grammar structure are illogical or dissimilar to speakers of other languages and do not readily lend themselves to being well understood, even in context. In cases where features of English grammar are diametrically opposed or in some other way radically different from the manner of expression in the student's L1, explicit teaching may be required.

Aspects of English language grammar that may offer exceptional challenge to EFL students include use of word order, determiners (this, that, these, those, a, an, the), prepositions (in, on, at, by, for, from, of), auxiliaries (do, be, have), conjunctions (but, so, however, therefore, though, although), interrogatives, intensifiers (some, any, few, more, too) and distinctions between modal verbs (can, could, would, should, may, might, must). Phrasal verbs also present considerable difficulty to Spanish speakers learning communicative English.

Some students also are logical or linguistically-biased thinkers who respond well to structured presentation of new material. Logical-Mathematical and Verbal-Linguistic intelligence learners are prime examples of those that would respond well to explicit grammar teaching in many cases.

Based on my English language teaching and on my second and third foreign language learning (L2, L3) experience, an exclusive approach using either implicit or explicit methodologies is not as effective as utilizing one or the other of these approaches as required. Although it is essential to teach elements of language and develop communicative abilities in our students, there is no one best way to introduce and provide practice in them. Young learners have more natural facility in acquisition, while adults may benefit substantially from more "formal" language learning. Learning styles and intelligence strengths are also a significant factor.

There are many generally accepted ways of introducing the sounds, structure and vocabulary of English, including colloquial forms of conversation and the four basic communication skills. Grammar provides for "communicative economy". Grammar teaching should be implicit, or explicit, as teaching / learning conditions may dictate helping to minimize the student response teachers fear most, "Teacher, I don't understand."

Note: Academic references for this article are available on request.

Related language learning and teaching articles in this series available online include:

"Learning a Language: 6 Effective Ways to Use the Internet"
http://ezinearticles.com/?id=76453

"Six Quick Tricks for Learning a Language"
http://EzineArticles.com/?id=72718

"What's the Strangest Thing you've Ever Eaten?"
http://EzineArticles.com/?id=81349

"What Makes a Person Intelligent?"
http://EzineArticles.com/?id=81350

Teach English in Colombia: Grappling with Grammar, Gold, Guns, and Guayaba
http://ezinearticles.com/?id=85995

Try This for Perfecting Past Tense Pronunciation Practice
http://ezinearticles.com/?id=86780

7 Steps to Better Business English: Choosing a Business English Training Program
http://ezinearticles.com/?id=81697

English Only in the EFL Classroom: Worth the Hassle?
http://ezinearticles.com/?id=89180

Forex Trading Time Zone Basics

One of the great aspects of the foreign exchange (forex) is that it is open 24 hours a day. In the U.S., trading begins on Sunday evening and does not close until Friday afternoon. So whether you have time to trade during the day, prefer to trade at night, or work full-time and have to fit trading into your schedule wherever it will fit, the forex market is a great market for you.

How can the foreign exchange be open 24 hours a day?

Well, the forex does not have a central location like the NYSE or Nasdaq. The forex is made up of digital connections between major banks through the whole world. So if it is midnight in the U.S., you can still trade currencies because you don't have to trade just through a U.S. bank. The forex network will send your trade to whichever bank happens to be open at the time. This is all transparent to you - you just press the buy or sell button, and your trade finds its own way from there.

Forex time zones are generally broken up into 3 sections:

Tokyo session: 7 PM - 4 AM Eastern
London session: 3 AM - 12 PM Eastern
U.S. session: - 8 AM - 5 PM Eastern

Now again, no matter where in the world you are, you can trade 24 hours a day. These sessions just indicate when professional traders in these geographic locations are trading. For example, in the United States, banks, professional traders, and major corporations do their trading from 8 AM - 5 PM Eastern. Traders in Asia or Europe are sleeping or enjoying their evening during these times.

As you can see, certain trading sessions overlap. The London and U.S. sessions overlap from 8 AM - 12 PM Eastern. Overlapping times mean that there will be more trading activity and, thus, more price movement. Price movement is very good! Price movement allows you to make money.

Most forex participants trade during the London session or the U.S. session. You can make money during the Tokyo session, but sometimes the price movement is very small. But I have seen some people trade very profitably primarily during the Tokyo session.

I love the forex for many reasons, but one of the reasons is that I can trade anytime that is convenient for me. No matter what time of the day works for you, the forex will be ready!

How to Lose 5 Pounds in a Week

If you are looking for an answer to the common question of how to lose 5 pounds in a week, you've come to the right place, because I am going to present to you with a week long plan and how this can be done. Make sure you read the whole article through so you don't miss out on any crucial tip or trick.

Your week long plan is made up of 2 integral parts: The fitness part and the nutritional one.

Fitness part

Day 1: Do at least one hour of aerobic activity. You can an evening walk, go swimming, play some sports with your friends, go running, or anything else which gets your heart beat racing. Aerobics burn a lot of calories which is your main objective in your week long efforts.

Day 2: Do one hour of strength exercises. If you have a gym membership now is the time to use it. But even if the only place you workout is at home, you can still do an effective workout. Do some pushups, crunches, squats, or borrow some dumbbells from a friend.

Day 3: One hour of aerobics, the same as day 1.

Day 4: Take some time off from physical activity to allow your muscles to rest.

Day 5: The same as day 1.

Day 6: One hour of strength training. Make sure you work at least 2 muscle groops.

day 7: The same as day 1.

Nutritional part

1. Eat at least 3 different vegetables each day.

2. Eat 2 pieces of fruit each day.

3. Do not eat any fried food, fast food or candy.

4. Drink 8-10 glasses of water each day.

5. Eat 4-5 small meals each day instead of 3 big ones.

6. Reduce the amount of carbs that you eat.

7. Eat at least one portion of protein each day, like fish, meat, eggs or soy.

Follow these guidelines and you will be 5 pounds slimmer after one week.

Japanese Dragon Tattoo Designs and Meaning

The Japanese Dragon Tattoo is a very beautiful and colorful tattoo design and very symbolic, with its origins in myths and folklore. It is also very mystical, adding to the appeal of the Japanese dragon tattoo. Over the ages, from Egyptian times the dragon has represented good and also represented evil. However, the attraction of the Japanese dragon, apart from its stunning beauty is that it represents good luck and the source of wealth. The Japanese dragon also represents the meaning of freedom and being fearless, both very attractive qualities.

In the Greek Language, dragon is sourced from draca, which means serpent.

Like the angel, the Japanese Dragon also has the meaning of guardianship, providing a protective force over those it was associated with. Other meanings associated with the Japanese dragon is strength and power. In Japanese culture the dragon is associated with supernatural powers, and amazing wisdom.

There are six forms of the Japanese Dragon. They are:

Sui-Riu is the king Dragon and is in control of the rain. Therefore in this day and age of drought he is all powerful!

Han-Riu has many stripes on his body and is up to forty feet in length. One of the biggest dragons.

Ri-Riu dragon is a rare breed that is not well understood. However, it is known that they have amazing eye sight.

Ka-Riu is a brilliant red color, and a petite dragon in comparison with the others.

Fuku-Riu is a favorite dragon of many people as it is the dragon of luck.

Hai-Riyo is known as the dragon bird, and the most advanced form of dragon. It evolved out of Chinese mythology.

The colors of the dragons have special significance, which are based on their parents. For example a dragon with a black color means their parents are very old and wise. Green dragons are smaller than average, but are representative of life and of the earth. Gold colored dragons are special because they have many special attributes such as wisdom, kindness and the ability to face challenges head on.

Yellow dragons represent the east. They are great companions when you need a hand, but can be self absorbed at times. Blue dragons are from the west. They are forgiving and compassionate, but on the negative side can be lazy and uncaring when it suits them.

Finding the right Japanese Tattoo Design for you can be quite daunting. Check out all the free sites on the net to get as many ideas as you can. Just remember that many other people have done the same thing to get ideas. For example, last month, over 41,000 people searched for dragon tattoo designs on Yahoo. Apparently, roughly 8 times that amount check out Google for the same search term. Then there is MSN and the other search engines. So a huge amount of people see the same free designs as you. If you want original Japanese Dragon tattoo designs, it is recommended that you check out Books or other sources of tattoo designs that are not freely available. I have checked out three Japanese dragon tattoo galleries on the internet that have from 3,500 to 6000 different designs, so you will have no trouble finding what you want.

Day Trading For a Living?

Is it possible to day trade for a living? Considering the fact that many people have earned well into the millions of dollars from day trading, it would be safe to say that it is definitely possible to earn huge income from day trading. But, it is also important to note that day trading is for the serious investor.

This is not an easy process and it takes a great deal of work to succeed at this. This work entails performing a great deal of research across the entire stock market spectrum. This is a critical point because day trading decisions should rarely be based on looking at a small fraction of the market.

Stock trading involves picking a stock that is currently at a low price per share and then selling it when it increases in value. The time frame for this strategy is essentially completely open. That is, you can purchase the stock and hold it for a few years before selling it. However, with day trading, you would perform your sales in a much more rapid manner. In some instances, you would buy and sell the stock in the same day.

If you invest a great deal of money and earn a small profit on it, the profit will be quantified by the high amount of the initial investment. For example, investing $10,000 in a stock in the morning and selling at the close of the day for $10,300 is a nice profit for one day's work: $300. Of course, the possibility to earn more is there but so is the potential to lose a great deal of money. Again, day trading is a complex and difficult process. That is why a clear understanding of what it is one is investing in is critical.

This is why it is important to have access to an excellent stock picking software or platform that can help deliver expansive statistics on the market. From this information, one can make a much more well informed decision. This, in turn, will add to the potential to succeed with your trades. Clearly, if you want to engage in day trading for a living you will need to make profits on the bulk of your trades. You simply would not be able to do this for a living if you were losing money on the bulk of your trades. Once again, this is why it is necessary to have a solid software program that can help you make better informed and, hopefully, more successful trades.

A Stock Assault 2.0 would be one of the better programs to work with. Such a program will launch an expansive technical analysis of the market and present that information. No, it does not make prediction or pretend to be a virtual stock market guru. Instead, it is a logical device designed to help promote successful day trading decisions. While this may seem like a simple goal on the surface, it is the primary means in which many day traders are able to be successful in their venture.

Itchy Scalp Hair Loss? Here's Why

Itchy scalp and hair loss can be very frustrating and worrying, and there can be a number of factors which cause or aggravate the hair loss. The hair loss caused by itchy scalp problems is not always permanent, and will often grow back once the main itchy scalp problem is sorted out.

In saying this though, it is vital that you take swift action to properly diagnose the problem and search for suitable remedies and treatments in order to avoid long term scarring from the itchy scalp irritation, and thus enable your hair to begin growing back.

Here I'd like to tell you about a few common reasons for itchy scalp hair loss and what you can do to alleviate the problem.

Folliculitis - strong ingredients in shampoos can damage hair follicles and lead to infections such as folliculitis.

Symptoms are normally small, white-headed pimples around one or more hair follicles. Deep folliculitis will often result in larger painful red boils.

If left untreated the folliculitis can significantly injure the hair follicle resulting in localised areas of scarring and bald patches where there are no visible follicles; this is known as "cicatricial alopecia".

Antibiotics are often used to treat folliculitis, but as with all antibiotics they can lead to a resistance to the antibiotic used. Natural remedies containing Tea Tree Oil or Lavender Oil can be extremely effective in treating the itchy scalp hair loss of folliculitis, particularly in the early stages, and can help to stimulate hair growth.

Ringworm of the scalp (tinea capitis) - a superficial fungal infection of the scalp. It is caused by mold-like fungi called dermatophytes, and the symptoms include red, itchy patches on the scalp, hair loss and, if left untreated, can also lead to cicatricial alopecia.

The skin might peel or scale and be red and itchy, with swollen blisters or a rash (that can spread) that appears as black dots.

The rash, being highly contagious, is normally treated with over the counter products containing miconazole, clotrimazole, or similar ingredients. Sometimes prescription medications are needed to clear it up.

There are many natural products that can be used to aid the healing process and act as natural antibiotics, but it must be stressed that ringworm is an aggressive fungus requiring close monitoring and appropriate treatment.

Psoriasis - said to affect some 2.5% of the US population (about 7 or 8 million people) psoriasis is a fairly common, non-contagious skin disease in which the skin cells replace themselves too quickly and cause red lesions covered with scale to appear.

Scalp psoriasis is said to affect at least half of all psoriasis sufferers and is characterized by white scales on patches of very red skin, often accompanied by severe itching and possibly temporary baldness on the affected areas.

Using a shampoo containing zinc pyrithione (in its natural form) can be extremely effective at combating psoriasis and itchy scalp hair loss in general, as it has very strong anti-fungal and anti-bacterial properties.

Home remedies using birch or avocado oil are also extremely effective in soothing and healing psoriasis.

Seborrhoeic dermatitis - similar in appearance to eczema (Atopic Dermatitis), this is an inflammatory reaction to the proliferation of a yeast called Malassezia (or Pityrosporum Ovale). It produces toxic substances that irritate the skin. This yeast is always present on the scalp in small numbers and feeds on the natural oils produced there.

Imbalances in the levels of oils (sebum) on the scalp, (often due to harsh shampoos, conditioners and hair dyes) can cause the yeast to multiply and grow, resulting in dry redness, flaking, itchy scalp and sometimes cause temporary hair loss. The flakes of skin are normally characterized by a yellowish colour and oily texture.

Since the dermatitis is generally caused by the use of harsh shampoos and the stripping and drying out of the scalp, it is advisable to use a shampoo containing only natural ingredients like Tea Tree Oil which will not only help to fight the infection but will control the yeast and condition the skin, as well as maintain the natural pH balance of the scalp. Adding Rosemary Oil to the shampoo can work wonders, in addition to using simple home remedies containing Manuka or Tea Tree Oil, as well as Lavender to stimulate hair growth.

Writing and Using Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs)

What is a Memorandum of Understanding?

Traditionally a memorandum was a short, semi-formal document used to transmit messages inside an organisation. Memoranda were used to document agreements (understandings) between internal departments, work units and individuals and thus the memorandum that documented these "understandings" became a "Memorandum of Understanding" or MOU. Eventually usage widened to also encompass organisations and individuals outside the originating organisation. Today MOUs are commonly formatted as letters, memos and other documents.

Irrespective of how they are formatted, MOUs should detail the agreement between individuals or organisations (or even countries) succinctly and in unambiguous terms. Each partner to the agreement needs to sign indicating agreement.

Why are MOUs Important?

Here's an example of a situation when an MOU may have saved the day. An infection control conference had been organised and it ran for three days. A conference organiser had been hired by a friend of mine who was primarily responsible for organising the conference, but no written agreement between the two existed. The second day into the conference there was a dispute between my friend and the conference organiser about whose responsibility it was to collect payment from conference attendees who wanted to visit local tourist attractions; my friend said the conference organiser had verbally agreed to do it; the conference organiser said it was my friend's responsibility and that he had made no such agreement.
Eventually, one of the members of the organising committee collected and banked the money and coordinated visits to tourist spots about town.

This was an occasion on which an MOU would have prevented a dispute. By referring to the MOU, both parties would have known exactly what was, or was not their responsibility.

How to write an MOU

Usually a summary at the beginning of the MOU to set the scene is required and then simply use two other paragraphs titled something like "What We Will Do" and "What You Will Do". Like this:

"I refer to our discussions wherein you agreed to provide team building training to staff at the Nhulunbuy office of the agency. Our respective responsibilities are detailed below:

What We Will Do

The agency will provide:

a conference room with white board, overhead projector and seating for 20 people

mixed sandwiches, tea, coffee and fruit juice refreshments for lunch for attendees and instructors

a payment of $12,345.00 including goods and services tax to you by electronic transfer within 14 days of the program closure

instructional materials up to 100 pages for each attendee

What you will Do

We will provide:

team building training as per our course outline, to 20 people at the Nhulunbuy office of the agency at an all inclusive cost of $12,345.00 including GST

submit our tax invoice within two days of course delivery

a work Book titled, "Effective Team Building" to each student and an additional copy for the agency library

Please read this MOU and if you agree to the responsibilities shown for this agency and yours, please sign it and return the original to the agency."

A genuine MOU would have had more items in both lists, but this gives you the general idea. Everything each signatory to the agreement will do is specified, usually in bulleted form.

Accessing the Terms

Once you have your MOU in place, signed by both (or all) parties, you can refer to it whenever necessary either to refresh your memory about your obligations or to help resolve a dispute. If it's in black and white and you agreed to it, then it's difficult to argue the contrary.

Obviously if there is a lot of money involved, or a project is complex, it's more appropriate to have a legal practitioner draft up a formal contract. For those activities however, when a contract is not necessary, an MOU can help reduce the chances of disputes or misunderstandings.

Copyright 2006 Robin Henry

Neurosis Definition and Cure

Many people believe neuroses are not a very serious psychological problem, since the biggest part of our planet's population suffers from neurosis. This is a common disease that people tend to consider irrelevant. However, neurosis is the beginning of psychosis and schizophrenia, and if it is not treated, the person may completely lose their human conscience forever because this is an irreversible process.

Neurosis is the beginning of the invasion of the wild content of our psychic sphere into our human conscience. This invasion can be interrupted and we can prevent the wild, evil, and absurd content to continue its destruction of the human part of our conscience, but we have to first cooperate with the unconscious that orients us through our dreams' messages.

A neurotic patient is someone whose psychological functions are not normally functioning. This person's thoughts, feelings, intuitions and sensations are different from what they were before the invasion of the wild ancient content of the psychic sphere in the human conscience. This invasion can have many characteristics, according to each person's psychological type. Each person has a psychological type according to the most developed psychological function of their psychic sphere. For instance, we notice that neurotics are always anxious, afraid, and suspecting that someone will do something harmful against them. They start having the need for some protection against their invisible enemies and that's why they start over-protecting themselves. They live only in fear of other people's opinion, just because they are insecure and afraid of their bad intentions. There are many different and specific characteristics for the neurosis of each psychological type.

The intention of this wild content is to make the person feel victimized by other people, so that they may want to take revenge and this way completely lose what still remains of their human conscience in their psychic sphere, or it tries to make the person do terrible things against others. This is the tactic used by the wild part of the psychic sphere in order to provoke conflicts with tragic consequences, so that it may be able to control the person's behaviour completely, after completely destroying their human conscience by provoking despair.

This is the beginning of an even worse kind of craziness, which can take many shapes.
However, if we perceive this invasion and start fighting against this wild and absurd content, we can prevent the destruction it causes and transform it into the human part of our conscience.
We can learn how to change our behaviour without following our inner tendencies, while developing all our psychological functions.

Each one of us has only one psychological function completely developed and another one partially developed. The other two functions that never had the chance to be developed through consciousness are completely wild. Only if we learn how we can carefully transform this dangerous content into a healthy and balanced content can we save our human conscience and become wiser after the psychic transformation. Otherwise, this content will always be a threat to us.
The neurosis it provokes can be easily treated if the invasion is only in the beginning and the patient gets immediate help from a psychotherapist or from dream interpretation, which is doubtlessly the safest cure for craziness, since the unconscious that produces our dreams knows our psychic problems very well.

Without any treatment, a neurosis can become a worse psychic disease with time, even though we may not be able to recognize its worse state unless the patient starts exhibiting very violent behaviour.

How To Put Movies On Your Iphone - The Quick Way

If you want to learn how to put movies on your iPhone, this article will strive to show you how. The Apple iPhone is a fantastic piece of hardware, following hot on the heels of the phenomenally successful Apple iPod.

The iPhone has the capability to be a one stop entertainment center, as well as giving you access to the internet, and of course a cell phone as well. The ability to play movies on the move will be great for film fans, and save them having to carry a portable DVD player.

To be able to watch movies on an iPhone, they will need to transferred from a computer. What you need alongside the computer will depend on where the movie is going to be taken from. If it is a DVD movie, you will need some software which can read the movie from the disc, and convert it to the type of file that the iPhone can handle. This format is called mp4. Downloading from the internet will mean that you will need a decent internet connection, but no conversion software.

The first lesson in how to put movies on your iPhone is to download some special software onto your computer that can change the movie into the .mp4 format. This software is very easy to find, but there is a lot of choice. A lot of this software is quite expensive, as much as $50 in some cases, but some of it is cheap, and you can even find free downloads. Some of the expensive programs have a free trial period should you only have a few movies to convert. Place your DVD into the computer's drive, and use the software to rip the movie and convert it. Use iTunes to copy it to your iPhone.

Once you have copied your DVD collection to your iPhone, you may want to expand by downloading more movies from the internet. This will work out much cheaper than buying DVDs in the long run, if you are someone who watches a lot of films. It is possible to download films without paying any money, using P2P sites, but this is very risky. These sites are illegal, and if you are caught you could be facing prosecution. There are other dangers, as these files are put up by anybody they can contain anything. Often, they are just excuses to spread viruses and spyware.

There are legal sites which offer unlimited downloads, but you will have to pay a small upfront fee. This will prove to be a bargain as time goes by, and you get ever more for your money.

You now know the basics of how to put movies on your iPhone, so hopefully you have found this article useful. Check out the links below to find the best places to download the movies from.

How to Lose 20 Pounds in 2 Weeks

A lot of people want to lose weight fast for an event such as a wedding, a reunion or a party. If you find yourself wishing that you were 20 pounds slimmer but don't have a lot of time in which to pull it off, read this article without skipping a single word because I shall review 2 ways in which you can lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks.

If you want to lose 20 pounds in 2 weeks you can do it in 2 ways:

1. Go on a juice based detox diet. This kind of diet cleanses your body of toxins and undigested food while providing you with carbs and sugars. Although this diet isn't suitable for a long duration, as a "crash" diet meant to help you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time, it can be extremely effective.

2. It you like working out and can spare the time, you can lose 20 pounds by doing a lot of cardiovascular activity over two weeks. I suggest doing 1 hour aerobic workout for 5 days on each of the 2 weeks. You can jog, power walk, cycle, swim or whatever you like. It you want to play basketball, tennis or take some aerobic classes, that's fine too.

Don't do massive workouts and go on a juice diet simultaneously. If your chose to burn off 20 pounds by exercising you'll need your strength. Reduce the amount of carbs that you consume but eat a lot of vegetables, fruit and protein. Make sure that all your fats are healthy ones like olive oil and canola oil.

Losing 20 Lbs in 2 weeks isn't the easiest thing in the world but if you believe in yourself and are willing to put in a little effort, I'm positive the you can do it.

Where to Buy the Amazon Kindle Ebook Reader

A great innovation in the world of reading has been materialized through the effort of Amazon. Readers now experience the shift from the paper-made Books at the online or offline Bookstores to the electronically controlled Kindle Electronic Book Reader. With this latest eBook reader, customers need not wait in line. Kindle is a thoughtful way of protecting the environment by lessening the cutting of trees that are used to make papers.

The most unique characteristic regarding this new device is its wireless functionality. It has what is called Whispernet, which is mainly responsible to having an Internet connection in order to possibly download any books on the Kindle eBook reader itself. Anyone can actually shop, order and buy content of the book by simply using Whispernet. You don't even need a hotspot area for the connection or a PC because everything can be accomplished mobile with Kindle.

The traditional ways of reading through books, newspapers, magazines and others have already been enhanced into something which loads up so much content in just one portable eBook reader. The interesting thing about this product is that customers can download the first few pages of the books for sample reading prior to finalizing the deal. Aside from that, they also offer a free trial subscription for newspapers. Where to buy Kindle 2 is not a problem because it is always available at Amazon's online shopping site.

If you think it's going to cause some eye problems, then you are definitely wrong because it is carefully designed to be crisp and natural to read like the usual paper book. Some of the amazing features that are incorporated with Kindle include the smart automatic cross-device bookmarking and annotation, fast page turn, adjustable font size, text-to-speech and the instant on-screen dictionary. These are just some of the characteristics of this new eBook reader product.

The processing time upon doing the download is very quick; you can absolutely get the books you want in just a matter of few minutes. Additionally, Amazon did the upgrade on the processor of the product so that the screen will refresh around 20% quicker between page turns. Furthermore, it has the ability to load up to 1,500 books or the different classified newspaper and blog subscriptions, including the JPEG images.

With this latest Amazon Kindle, individuals can surely save a lot of money and time instead of buying expensive prices of books at the store. If you are an avid reader and you stay from one place to another for some reason, then it would be advisable to purchase an eBook reader to make a different reading experience. The texts are readable even against the bright sunlight, thus, your eyes are always well protected. This is definitely a dream-come-true device for everyone who desires a totally one of a kind reading experience.

10 Signs That He Likes You

You met this great guy and you've been dating each other for some time. Not in an exclusive relationship, but you have been spending time together. Phone calls that lasted for more than an hour, flirty smiles are exchanged.

You feel good about him.

Now is the million dollar question that you want to find out.

Does he like you? Is he into you, or not?

How to know the answer? What are the tell-tale signs that he is into you?

Well, besides using your woman's intuition which is not something I can describe here nor teach, I'll do my best to "simplify" this complicated thing call "love".

10 Signs That He Likes You

1. Watching the same movie twice

He's seen the movie. Although he wasn't very impressed with it, but because you haven't catch it he suddenly changed his tune and said he really would like to watch it a second time.

And so by the way, if you haven't seen it too, why not let's go catch it together, he asked.

You know his intention is then not on the movie, but the company really.

So girls, do not expose his true intentions. It's enough to know the underlying truth, be appreciative ok?

2. His car is playing songs that just sound too, familiar?

Because those are your favorites! You have merely casually mentioned to him once, and the next time he drives you, you're in for a musical feast.

Is he always so attentive to everyone's needs and preferences? Well, you observe how he interacts with others and you tell me.

3. He asks that question!

Well, he will try to be as casual and nonchalant about it as possible. But no matter how cool he acts, deep down inside he is burning and dying to know the answer to this question:

"So, are you single?"

If your answer is yes, then this will be the next one:

"No way. How can someone like you be single? You mean, you don't have a boyfriend?"

Now watch his body Language closely. If you notice he is feeling tensed up by now, and totally relieved when your answer is "No" then you get the message.

4. He asks for a follow-up date even before the date is over

Now if he isn't interested in you, why would a man be so anxious to "Book" your time for another date with him even when the date is only half-way through?

Unless you look like Jessica Alba, or you can give him a million-dollar job like Donald Trump. If you aren't either one of the two or belong to either one of the category, then this can be a clue to his heart...

5. Your name is not foreign to his friends

If you do get a chance to meet up with his friends, which you know you can create such opportunities, you'll get some nice juicy bits from them.

But this may not be very fool-proof, neither are all of these signs, but if his friends raise their eyebrows or grin sheepishly when he introduces you to them, then that means word has been around within that gang on someone in particular, which could very well be you.

6. He can't remove his eyes from you

Ok, we know that's not the kind of stare-through-your-clothes type, but rather a slightly more loving kind of gaze that speaks of admiration and liking.

If the eyes could speak, they may just pop this question on behalf of their owner "You are the most beautiful lady I've ever seen. Would you like to be more than friends?"

The best test? When a bombshell or super gorgeous babe sashays past, you need to alert him before he notices her. (Of course, this is really carrying it a little far ha ha.... what does it take to stop a man's roving eyes? I can't find the answer yet)

7. He prompts you

Every now and then, he will find a chance to ask you what type of guy you are attracted to and are looking for in a partner.

Unless he's doing what I'm doing (which puts me in a really privileged position to ask ha ha), what business is it for him to know what kind of man you like if not for the fact that he is secretly plotting his way to become the most suitable candidate?

Don't be surprised if he starts putting himself down or discrediting himself by saying things about him that don't fit into the list you described. He is testing waters to see what your reaction would be, which will give him some clues on how you feel for him.

For example you listed "having a good sense of humor and making you laugh" as one of the traits which you will be attracted to, and he says "Oh, I'm a boring guy actually. I don't know how to crack jokes or make girls laugh. I must be boring you then" be careful of what you reply him.

If you say "Ya, I don't think you are the type of humorous person either" versus "Oh is that so? But I never find you boring at all. In fact, I feel we have lots of things to chat about" he will either be secretly weeping in sorrow or jumping in joy .

By saying things like that, he is kind of "forcing" you to give a respond, and either way you will be giving away clues on how you feel. So girls, if you fancy this guy too, you know what kind of answer you should give, right?

8. He is doing you favors

Yes, he doesn't mind ferrying you around if he has a car. He will also volunteer to accompany you all the way to an out-of-the-way place to satisfy a sudden craving you have for a food delicacy that is sold there.

He wiil help you with your school work, express his interest in lending you a hand for errands you need to run, buy some things for your family etc.

If a man isn't interested in developing something further than friendship with you, unless he is too bored with his life or he's Mr Super Ultra Nice, then I wonder what could it be that prompts him to be everywhere when you need his help.

9. He's very anxious about celebrating special occasions.

Like Valentine's Day (if he asks you out on that day, I would really suspect his intention, wouldn't you?) and your birthday.

He would long to celebrate this special day with you, and preferably alone.

10. He buys you gifts

Sending gifts on no apparent occasion and for no reason is the easiest way for a man to declare his interest in a girl without verbalizing it. By giving you something, he is testing to see how you react. Usually he will do this when he still isn't sure of how you feel towards him, so at least he won't feel rejected if you reject his gift.

At the same time, he is hoping to make you happy with that gift. And if you are happy, he will be too!

Summarizing the above, they may not be 100% fool-proof scientifically proven signs to show he's into you. They came from pure experience and observation. I purposely didn't include things like body Language where he will check how he look before meeting you, pointing his leg and facing his body towards you etc because I just want to make this as non-scientific as possible.

So ladies, hope this gives you some clues to how this man who is appearing in front of you pretty often lately feels about you. Does he has only platonic friendship in mind, or something more?

How To Date Your Fred Bear Bow

Since we have the opportunity to sell a lot of different items through our eBay Drop Off Store, certain things start to stick out that seem to sell extremely well. One item that sticks out are the vintage BEAR Recurve Bows.

Recently on an out of town trip we stopped by an antique store like we usually do and saw this recurve bow in the corner. Since we were already somewhat familiar with how well bows have sold from selling them for a client we naturally gravitated to it. It looked to be in excellent condition and came with a quiver and 3 different sets of arrows. The asking price was $100.00 and we ultimately got all of it for $75.00.

Based on the dating procedures listed below we determined that this was a Fred Bear Kodiak Recurve bow from 1965 in excellent condition. It was a 60" bow with a 44# pull.

After we got the bow to our store we noticed that inside the big quiver was a smaller single quiver. Based on a light embossed marking on this smaller, leather quiver that we pulled out we were able to date it to the late 1940's.

We decided to break this up into 3 different auctions and started all three at $9.99. The results of the auctions are listed at the end of this article.

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DATING YOUR FRED BEAR BOW

There are several features and changes that were made to the bear bows over the years that will help narrow the age of your bow or your potential investment.

1. The Serial Number: These bows usually have, what appears to be a hand inscription on one of the limbs that gives a serial number along with the length and pull weight of the bow. This serial number works very well for dating Bear Bows from 1965-1969 when the first digit of the serial number is the year of manufacture.

For example, a serial number of 5L212 would be a 1965 Bow.

Prior to 1965, the serial numbers for all Bear bows were started over every month, making these bows almost impossible to date by serial number alone. The "K" series of serial numbers (for example KZ9672) were started in 1970.

2. Patent Mark: Most of the BEAR Bows we have sold have the logo and the US Patents printed on it along with the date of CANADA 1953. This date that is printed on all bows made between 1953 and 1972 is simply the date of the patent for a working recurve limb and has nothing to do with the actual model year.

3. Decals & Silkscreening: In 1948 the small Running Bear decal was first and then was replaced by the large Standing Bear decal in mid-1953. The large Standing Bear decal also has the words "Glass Powered Bow" under the Standing Bear.

The large Standing Bear decal was used until 1955 when it was replaced with silk-screening the identification on the bows. By 1956 the silk-screening appeared on all bows.

4. All Wood vs Laminate: If your bow is ALL wood (no laminations of any kind) then your bow had to be made before the mass productions beginning in 1949.

If the ALL wood bow has a stamp that reads "Bear Products" in some form it would have been made before the early to mid 40's.


If it is stamped "Bear Archery" it would have been made AFTER the early-mid 40's and BEFORE 1949.


Also wooden bows with a small "Running Bear" decal can be dated to 1948
5. The Leather Grip: ALL Bear bows had leather grips until 1959. In 1959, the Kodiak Special removed the leather grip and in 1961 the Kodiak did the same, as well as the Grizzly in 1964.

6. The Coin Medallion: Beginning in 1959 all Bear bows had a coin medallion of one type of metal or another. Below are the approx date ranges for the type of coin used.

Copper Coin - 1959

Aluminum - 1960-1961

Pewter - 1962

Brass - 1963 - 1970

Nickel-Silver - 1971-1972

ALL coins were flush with the wood until 1972. In late 1972 the coin was raised above the surface of the bow and came in both gold and chrome covered plastic and are still used in Bear bows today.

7. Manufacturer Location: in 1978 Bear moved all manufacturing and offices to Gainesville, Florida. If your bow shows Gainesville on it then it was made after 1978

8. Model Of The Bow: Check the Model of the bow. Below is a yearly production chart for the most popular Bear Bows.

Wood Handle Take-Down 1969-1972
Wood C-Riser Victor Custom 1973-1975

Magnesium Handle Take-Down A-B-C 1971-1978

Kodiak Static Recurve 1950-1953

Kodiak Recurve 1954-1966

Super Kodiak 1967-1976

Grizzly Static Recurve 1949-1957

Grizzly Recurve 1958-1978

Super Magnum 48 1966-1976

Kodiak Magnum 52" 1961-1977

Kodiak Hunter 58" and 60" 1967-1977

Tamerlane 1962-1968

Tamerlane HC-30 1965-1967

Tamerlane HC-300 1968-1972

Kodiak Special 1955-1967

Temujin 1968-1970

Tarter 1968-1972

Victor Patriot 1973-1977

Victor 1972

Polar (recurve) 1957-1970

Alaskan (leather grip semi-recurve) 1959-1961

Alaskan (recurve) 1966-1970

Tigercat 1964-1978

Bearcat 1964-1971

Black Bear 1972-1978

Little Bear 1965-1978

With this information you should be able to get really close to dating your Bear Bow if not pin-pointing it to the year.

If you are looking to price your bow I would suggest first logging into your ebay account and do a Completed Auction Search on the general keywords that match your bow, i.e. Bear Grizzly Recurve and see what has sold in the past 30 days.

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Our eBay Results: Within 6 hours of listing our 1965 Bear Bow by itself starting at $9.99 it had already reached $152.50 which was exciting but based on our research not surprising. What was surprising was that it stayed at $152.50 for the next 6 days. On the last day with 8 minutes left it was up to $182.50 with over 40 watchers. Usually on these types of auctions we tend to refresh and refresh and refresh the auction all the way to the end to watch the bidding but we got busy writing more listings and forgot. When we did remember to go back and check the auction it was over and had ended at $282.55

The other 2 auctions for the quivers and arrows sold for a total of $80.00. So our initial $75.00 Investment at an antique store ended in $362.55 in sales. That was almost a $300.00 profit (minus gas and eBay fees of course).

Sewing Technique - How To Sew A Spa Wrap Or Beach Cover-Up

Discover how to sew a spa wrap or beach cover-up with this simple sewing lesson.

Spa wraps are great gift ideas or bazaar items, too.

Sew spa wraps for all the men, women and children in your family. Everyone needs one. Use for after the shower, bath, or when you do your hair or at the spa or pool or the beach.

Spa wraps have elasticized tops that can be worn above the bust or at the waist.

Sewing a spa wrap is a quick and easy sewing project. All you need is a beach towel, approximately 1-1/4 yards of 1 inch to 1-1/4 inch wide sport sew through elastic and about 6 inches of hook and loop tape or large snaps.

Here is the how to sew instructions.

First of all, make a decision about what you want to use to sew the spa wrap. Colorful beach towels are great to use as well as fabric. Your choice may be based on what size you need the spa wrap to be.

Smaller towels work well for small children.

Lighter weight towels work better than heavier ones. They aren't as bulky to sew or wear and also dry faster.

Sewing Tip: Always preshrink all fabrics including towels before you sew.

The average beach towel is about 62 inches long x 34 inches wide. Find some good bargains at your local flea market.

The length of the beach towel will generally go around most bodies with some over lap. If you need more, sew 2 towels together or add half a towel.

Cut a piece of 1 inch to 1-1/4 inch wide sturdy sport sew through elastic to be about 2/3 of the length of the towel or fabric that you are using. This depends on the stretch of the elastic.

Example: For a 62 inch long towel, cut the elastic about42 inches long.

Divide the towel and the elastic into eighths. First fold in half, then again in fourths, then again in eighths. These smaller sections are easier to handle at the sewing machine.

Pin the elastic at the eighth marks to one long edge on the wrong side of the towel.

Set your sewing machine for your largest and longest zigzag stitch.

As you stitch, stretch the elastic to fit each pinned section of the towel.

First stitch along the outer edge of the elastic and then go back and stitch along the inner edge of the elastic also stretching as you sew.

If you prefer, you can sew a lightweight fabric casing to the wrong side of the towel and insert the elastic drawing it up to fit the size you want.

Cut two strips of hook and loop tape about 3" long.

Pin the rough (hook) side of one strip to the inside edge of the overlap on top of the elastic.

Stitch around the hook tape to hold securely.

Pin the soft (loop) side of one strip to the outside edge on the right side of the underlap.

Stitch around that tape.

Now place the corresponding pieces of hook and loop tape up against the stitched in place pieces of tape.

Put the wrap on your body to help determine where to sew the corresponding pieces of tape.

Pin those pieces where they should go and unhook them from the stitched tapes. Remove the wrap.

Stitch around these tapes where you have them pinned.

WOW! You just made a spa wrap!

Now, for some designer touches, try these ideas:

Add a large pocket cut from contrasting or matching fabric or even mesh fabric on the front.

Monogram or use one of your embroidery designs on the pocket before applying it to the wrap.

You could bind the outer edges of towel with fabric to match the pocket.

If you decide to bind the outer edges of the towel, round the square corners first. It looks better and is easier to bind. See the following sewing tip to make a nice curve.

Sewing Tip: Lay a dinner plate down at the corners of the towel lining up the edges of the plate with the edges of the towel. Draw the outer curve of the plate to get a very nice even curve.

If you are using a plain towel, add a fun embroidery design using instructions to embroider on terry cloth to decorate your wrap.

Applique a unique design on the spa wrap.

If you prefer not to use hook and loop tape, use very large snaps or heavy duty gripper snaps to hold the wrap closed.

You are the designer! Have fun with it!

It just makes sense!

What Are the Advantages of the Nook eBook Reader?

Every day we read more about the emerging trend of eBook readers and how they are changing not only how we read but also the very nature of the Book and publishing world.

The Nook is the popular eBook reading device that is made by Barnes and Noble. While there are many other devices like this available, this one has quite a few advantages that are hard to find on other eBook readers. Let's take a look at them.

The best thing about this device is the lending feature. This means that when you buy a book you can lend it to your friend who also has a Nook for 2 weeks at a time. While your friend reads the book, you don't have access to it. This gives you the same advantage as buying books which you can give to friends to read for a period of time. This is a huge feature that other devices like this don't have yet.

It has not only the electronic ink screen but a small 3.5" color touch screen on the lower part of the device. This is where the navigation, keyboard, and other controls are. This gives the devices quite a bit of functionality since any controls can be added in the future.

This device runs on Android. There is the possibility of applications being developed for the nook taking advantage of the touch screen and electronic ink screen.

The Nook happens to have a music player. All the control for this are done on the touch screen. This isn't necessarily any better than other devices, but it's a great feature to have.

When you go to Barnes and Noble, you can browse any book there for an hour on your Nook. This gives you time to just sit back and read books on your Nook.

This does have a WiFi connection. There aren't any amazing things that can be done with this at the moment, but in the future having WiFi is a great advantage over not having it.

There is an expansion slot on the device for additional memory. This will let you load applications and keep your data stored on it without having to use the internet like on some devices.

The Truth About Overstock Auctions

Many people have heard about Overstock and all the things that they sell. But what many people do not know is that they also have and auction part of the site.

There are many different categories from household items to electronics to real estate. The process is simple when it comes to bidding, when it comes to selling it is a bit more complex. There are several different lists of fees to have to contend with, and can be a bit confusing, there are also a lot of different options for selling that also have to be considered, it would make things easier for everyone involved if they kept the selling options down a bit.

The best way to find out if a site is worthy is by really paying attention to a few key factors; the ease to navigate the site, the fee that are associated with navigating the site, customer service and listening to what other folks are saying about their experience with the site. From our very own experiences, we have nothing but good things to say about this site.

Overall, this site is a safe bet for auction items. There are literally tens of thousands of items listed, the downside is that the fee structure is confusing and there is no way to pull up previous auctions to see what the high and low of the auctioned items were.

If you are someone looking for a deal and enjoy the auction bidding process, this site may be for you.

3 Quick Home Remedies For An Itchy Scalp

You don't need to suffer any more, as there are some simple home remedies for an itchy scalp that you can try for yourself cheaply and quickly. No need to go trudging over to the pharmacy to get some toxic chemical potion to put on your scalp. In today's fast-paced and technologically-minded society we often tend to forget that nature has provided us with many of the remedies and cures that we need. For thousands of years civilisations have used their extensive knowledge of the natural world to improve the condition of common ailments and assist healing using the simplest of naturally occurring ingredients.

It is important to note that the best way to tackle itchy scalp problems, as with any other affliction, is to find out the cause of the problem and do your best to rectify it there and then use these remedies as ways to assist healing and sooth the condition. If in doubt about anything, please don't hesitate to consult your doctor or dermatologist.

In this article I'm going to give you some great little home remedies for an itchy scalp, dandruff problems and other skin irritations, which you can make in as little as 10 minutes and using only natural ingredients and oils. Most of the products mentioned here can be easily found in any local health store.

Itchy Scalp Remedy No. 1

To relieve itching, natural oils such as Lavender, German Chamomile, and Eucalyptus can have a significant soothing effect when mixed together and dabbed locally on affected areas. The use of Neem oil can also have a profound effect on preventing dandruff and is often used to relieve conditions like psoriasis and eczema. These oils can be added to water (4 parts water to 1 part oil) and sprayed directly onto the scalp and/or added to your shampoo and conditioners also.

Itchy Scalp Remedy No. 2

Juniper berry is a good anti-inflammatory

Crush ½ cup of juniper berries into 2 cups of boiled water. Allow to cool and apply to areas of inflamed, infected or irritated skin to relieve inflammation and throbbing. Apply to your scalp, leave for 10 mins and rinse off.

Itchy Scalp Remedy No. 3

Chamomile for inflammation and conditioning.

Chamomile is a flower that is renowned for its cosmetic and conditioning benefits to skin and hair! It makes a great conditioner for hair and also enhances color in blond and red hair. Wash your face with chamomile tea a few times a week to add a glow to your skin. Chamomile is also good to use as a compress for inflammation and chamomile oil dabbed on scalp sores is very soothing.

Apply to the scalp to soothe itching. Chamomile tea is readily available from the tea section of your supermarket or you can make your own by boiling a pint of water and adding 2 teaspoons of chamomile flowers.