endtimestruths.com

Go Kart Engine Diagnostics: Solid State Ignition Failure Detection

I have had a couple of times where I had some dramatic failures occur on my go kart engines. One time I had a chain snap and the chain made a ferocious clunk and then fell off the go kart. The funny thing is that the engine kept running, and I had to shut it off.

I replaced the chain and ran into a peculiar problem. The engine would not start.

This is where most of us, with NO engine experience just throw up our hands and kick the go kart and go away. Then we throw it in the back of the pickup and bring it over to “Smokin Joes Lawnmower Repair.” There we spend about $200 to have the engine fixed.

I am here to tell you forget about going to “Smokin Joes.

First of all a basic understanding of ignition systems is required. (I am assuming that you understand the Otto Cycle or 4 cycle engine theory, so I will dispense with that SnoozeVille explanation)

Ignition systems are basically partial generators. The flywheel has a magnet, and the Magneto has a coil of wire in it.

The theory behind electric current is that when a wire (a simple wire ) is passed through a magnetic field that an electric current is induced into the wire.

And conversely, when a wire is induced with an electric current it gives off a magnetic field.

The Magneto (the device that the spark plug wire comes out of) has a coil of wire in it plus a core of iron to attract or concentrate the magnetic flux lines into the wire.

The wire then gets an instantaneous jump in electricity as the magnetic field in the flywheel passes by it. The sudden increase in electricity is concentrated as high voltage which is released as a spark in the spark plug.

The timing, or the firing of the electricity to the spark plug is regulated by circuitry. This particular circuitry is activated by a small magnetic sensing switch (which looks like a small cylinder of steel tucked in with the coil). When the magnet passes by the magnetic field activates the switch. The switch then releases the coil energy into the spark plug.

The spark plug is nothing more than a glorified jumping bridge for electricity. We all are familiar with this static discharge when we scrub our feet against the floor and the reach out and touch somebody. A spark jumps when we get close, like .125 inches and closer.

The design of the spark plug is to keep the electricity isolated up to the bridge. Once the electricity from behind shoves real hard, it forces the electrons in front to jump. Kind of like getting pushed off of a bridge.

So the white part of the spark plug is non-conductive and an insulator. The metal part is isolated from the rest of the spark plug and only becomes integral when spark completes the circuit or jumps across the gap.

Obviously, sparks cause the right concentration of Oxygen and Combustible gases or even dust, to ignite. Ignition is the excited state of electrons jumping from one molecule to another. This excited state releases heat and light: we call that flame or ionized gas.

Next time we will discuss how to trouble shoot the ignition system so that you do not have to pay Smokin Joes what you just have learned…and will learn.

The Go Kart Guru is a Go Karting Design, Fabrication and Performance specialist. Topics ranging from Turbo Charged Go Karts to Wood Go Karts, the Go Kart Guru has something to say (that will help you!) about it. Visit http://GoKartGuru.com for more details.

And for those with Vertical Lawnmower Engines, there is a special section just for you! Don’t throw away that vertical engine just yet!

Let there be no doubt about it…you need to be very careful when selecting a professional resume-writer. These days, anyone can say, “I’m a resume-writer,” and technically never have even finished high school…much less have any idea how to write a professional resume that will get you interviews.

 

Also, with the popularity of the Internet, I have heard that some companies have actually tried to fool the public by ranking themselves as #1 in fake Top 10 Resume Writing Service lists! And let’s not forget those resume-writing services that actually send your personal information overseas and outsource the writing to someone who has no idea about the person you are.

 

Can you believe it?!?

 

When people are considering the purchase of professional resume-writing services, I advise them to “shop around.” So here are the five factors you should consider when choosing who to trust writing your professional resume and cover letter…

 

1. Are You Purchasing Services From A Resume-Writer Or A “Resume Factory?”

 

The easiest way to tell if the resume-writing service is a “resume factory” is their very low prices. No one can make any money in this industry charging less than $100 for a resume – unless, they have a production line setup. Or they create low-quality resumes or have poor service.

 

If you choose one of these “resume factories” that claim to have written thousands and thousands of resumes, you should know that although they say they never use “cookie-cutter” templates, they probably do.

 

And as a result, your resume will be just like everyone else’s and will sabotage your chances of getting calls for an interview.

 

2. What Kind Of “Process” Does The Resume-Writer Use?

A great resume can’t be written from a questionnaire alone, no matter how good the resume-writer is! Unfortunately, many of the resume-writing services make this very claim that they can create a winning resume with just a 20 question questionnaire filled out online.

 

Now seriously, how much could a complete stranger know about you in 20 measly questions without talking to you or meeting you?

 

You will find that the best professional resume-writers will be willing to meet with you in person (if possible), or do phone and/or email consultations with you as they write your resume and cover letter in addition to providing you with a questionnaire and compiling information from your previous resumes.

 

Additionally, when it comes to “turnaround time,” those resume-writers who promise to have your resume complete in 48 hours or less are either part of a “resume factory,” are using “cookie-cutter” templates and merely plugging in your work information, or they get a very low volume of business (something that should concern you).

 

So be sure to do your research about a resume-writer’s or company’s writing process before purchasing any of their services!

 

3. Does The Resume-Writer Have Any Proven Sales Or Marketing Experience?

 

Now this may sound like an odd factor to consider, but if you never learned this, you should know that your resume is a direct marketing sales-letter! Let’s face it – you have no doubt heard of best-selling authors. Have you ever heard of best-writing authors? Of course not! Those best-selling authors are able to sell and market the message of their books.

 

My point is this, just about anyone with spell check and grammar check on their computer can write a resume. But, it takes a very special person with a background in sales and/or marketing to bring that resume to life and “sell the reader” on why they should call you for an interview!

 

4. Does The Resume-Writer Offer A Guarantee For Their Services?

 

Any great resume-writer will stand by their work and offer to re-write your resume at no additional cost if it is not getting you any interviews within a certain number of days (usually 60-90). This is their professional pledge to you.

 

However, you as a job-seeker must also do your part in sending out more than just a few resumes, and most importantly – follow up with the employers you sent your resume and cover letter to. It’s amazing how few people actually do this!

 

Remember, your resume is a direct marketing sales-letter. Your “customers” are prospective employers. Any good salesman or saleswoman knows the rewards are in the follow-up!!!

 

5. How Much Does The Resume-Writer Charge For Their Professional Services?

 

I am sure that you have figured out (hopefully not the hard way) that in life, you definitely get what you pay for! Of course the price is important, but it is not nearly as important as having a winning resume that gets employers to call you for an interview today!

 

It all goes back to “cost versus value.” What do you get in terms of benefits for the price you pay? What do you get in the package deals? What kind of guarantee do they offer? Have they had other satisfied customers share their stories in believable testimonials?

 

You might want to look at it this way…

 

If I offered you a piece of paper with some scribbles and drawings on it for $1,000 – would you buy it? Probably not. However, if that paper with scribbles and drawings was a map that led to a buried treasure worth $100,000 or more – would you buy it?

 

Let’s hope so! That would definitely be the investment of the century! A hundred-fold return on your investment. (If only Wall St. could create those kinds of returns…legally!) I like to look at investing in a resume-writer the same way. If a resume-writer charges $200 for a professional resume, and that resume leads to a job that pays a yearly salary of $40,000 – you just made a two hundred-fold return on your investment!!! Now that’s really smart investing…

 

Additionally, if a professional resume-writer is guaranteeing his or her work and is willing to re-write your documents for 60-90 days at no extra cost to you, then you don’t have anything to lose. The risk is all on the resume-writer! So when you are considering investing in a professional resume-writer, take all of these five factors into consideration and make a wise career decision!

Known for writing winning resumes and cover letters that have led to job interviews for over 90% of his clients, Kristopher Marek provides professional resume writing services for job seekers looking for a better paying and more personally-satisfying career. Don’t even think of sending out your resume until you have read an online copy of his FREE book – The Top Twenty Resume Mistakes And How To Avoid Them. Just go to http://www.winningresumewriter.com and get started today.

Do you have dreams of being able to cook like a top chef and become a star in the kitchen? If you truly want to dazzle your friends and family, with your culinary accomplishments, then you are going to need a gourmet cook book. Cooking is an art, and those persons who are well versed in this art form find it to be a most pleasurable one.

Most persons tend to shy away from gourmet cooking, incorrectly assuming that it is solely the realm of highly trained, experienced chefs. This may have some measure of truth to it but, gourmet cook books have now swung the door of culinary art wide open for all to enter. Therefore, the average person, with no major culinary experience can recreate exotic, delectable dishes simply by following the instructions of a recipe.

Gourmet cookbooks have evolved over the years. Many gourmet chefs are now openly sharing their passion not just for food, but for life in general. You may find gourmet cookbooks where the author imparts snippets of history and culture, as it relates to ingredients used in the preparation of gourmet meals; satisfying our curiosity about the world wide world of food. The books have the uncanny ability to stimulate our palates and take us to unfamiliar exotic regions, just through the food connection.

Most people have doubts about successfully using cookbooks, persons may wonder if a it will help them to really prepare meals of gourmet-standard at home. They can, and have been doing so for a long time. Attendance at a gourmet school is no longer a requirement for preparing gourmet meals. Try a few recipes incorporate them into your meal preparation time to spice up the fare at your dinner table. It is easier than you think, and it is entirely doable.

It is rather easy for some cookbooks to come across as being intimidating, but this is mostly because the dishes included within the cookbooks are largely unfamiliar to the non-gourmet chef. There are many books that are basically filled with ‘designer’ recipes that just are not practical for real people wanting to create real meals. Fortunately, the fact is, not all of them are created equal. There are books available which are simple, easy to use and will have you cooking up a ‘gourmet’ storm in not time; making you the envy of your ‘blown away’ friends and family members.

Incidentally, here is the link to a great gourmet cookbook, which I would personally recommend. It is unbelievable the number of delicious, gourmet meals that you will be able to create from the information in this cookbook. Just imagine the culinary artist that you can become by having access to a gourmet cookbook that does what it should: which is, to provide inspiring and delicious recipes that actually work. Having a cookbook like that is truly a gem. Go ahead, give it a try.

And remember, every gourmet cookbook tells a story! The world really can be brought to you on a platter. Bon Appétit!

Simply click on the image below to get started on your way to cooking like a chef from home!

So if you are looking for that perfect recipe or wanting to advance your culinary skills simply visit http://cookbooks101.net & start your journey to creating restaurant style dishes.

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

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

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

Workplace Politics vs. The Battlefield Engagement

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

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

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

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

The Truth about Politics in the Workplace

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

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

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

Convert Uniqueness into Ultimate Power

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

professional mastery to the people and organization:

1. a clear “Vision” of issues.

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

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

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

5. Strategic “Execution” (Governance).

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

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

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

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

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

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

Many people with a fat wallet and a large bank account find themselves pondering what they can spend all their money on. Answer is a brand new sports car that can run the quarter mile in under 11 sec that’s what I would spend my money on.

Here is how to look at buying a brand new sports car, the good ways and the bad ways.

People who are obsessed with sports cars can find every reason why to buy one and every reason why they shouldn’t own one. Some of these pros and cons are listed below.

Sports cars not only fit the lifestyles of the rich and the famous but with every person with a bit of money and wanting to spend it on a nice ride. Many of these sports cars come stock with horsepower going over 500 some with way more like Lamborghini’s or Porsche’s.

Small sporty convertibles will depreciate in value of the years and will get down to worth less then when you bought it. This really depends on the car; Corvettes from the sixties are worth way more now than they were then.

People who love spending all their money on these types of cars can choose between coupes or convertibles I personally like imports over anything I would take a Supra over a high end sports car today. That is a turbo Supra of course.

Most sports cars with an automatic transmission, like most other vehicles, will be worth more than the ones with a standard transmission. There are some exceptions with true sports cars and with sports cars that really need the ability to benefit from the torque that comes from using a manual transmission.

A lot of sports cars are prone to having problems, some of their parts are exotic and may be hard to find. When or if you buy a sports car never expect to get back what you paid for it. These cars are just another way to get around. Many become garage babies and are never run.

Of course driving an expensive sports car means paying a lot more for gas because they usually have the motor with a v-8 or v-12 which will get you about 15 miles to the gallon if you are lucky. This is also a good reason why more people should drive an import, good gas mileage plus high performance.

On the other side of the table though sports cars are already fast when you buy them, but like they say you can make a car as fast as your billfold is fat. That is the beauty of imports, over exotics. If you don’t have the money for a 300k factory vehicle you can always spend a tenth of that and have one probably just as fast with the right mechanic.

Gregg Hall is an author living with his beautiful wife and family in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about drifting as well as car care products [http://www.waxyourauto.com] at [http://www.waxyourauto.com]

It’s hard being a boat engine! Unlike its automotive cousins, a boat engine is run at extremely high RPM’s and under quite a load when in operation and it sits in storage a whole lot of the time. It’s kind of the worst of both worlds. Today’s marine engines are very well made and unlike their predecessors, really experience very few mechanical problems if they are properly maintained.

Water Pump Maintenance – Most marine engines are cooled by their pumping of lake or ocean water into the engine from a pickup in the lower unit of the outdrive or outboard engine. This water is circulated by a water pump that contains a rubber or plastic impeller or fan which pulls the water from the lake and pumps it up and through the water jacket of the engine to keep things cool. As you might expect, there are sometimes impurities in the water or the operator (somebody else, I’m sure) that runs the lower unit aground and the impeller picks up sand, dirt or other grit. These foreign substances wear on the impeller and sometimes cause it to shred into pieces and fail. Also, if the engine is stored for a period of many months, sometimes the rubber of the impeller gets brittle and cracks up. In any event, it is simply a good idea to proactively replace the impeller every 3-4 boating seasons. If the impeller fails while you are running and you fail to notice the temperature rising, your engine can easily and quickly overheat and self destruct.

Oil Change – Marine engines are typically not run more than 60-80 hours per year and, therefore, do not require oil changes very frequently. Usually, it is a good idea to change the oil (and filter) once per year at the end of the season. If the old, dirty oil is in the crankcase when the engine is stored in the off season, it can turn acid and damage the internal engine components it is supposed to protect. Of course, 2 stroke outboards have no crankcase and therefore no oil to change. On these applications, it certainly does pay to stabilize any fuel remaining in the tank and to fog the engine with fogging oil before storage.

Fuel Injectors – Most newer marine engines are fuel injected and, when fuel is permitted to age and thicken during storage, the fuel injectors can easily become clogged and may fail at the start of the season. To avoid this occurrence, it is a good idea to run some fuel injector cleaner mixed into the last tank of fuel before the engine is put up for storage.

Battery - If you take care of your boat’s battery, it will provide you with several years of good service. You should take care whenever you complete a voyage to ensure that all electrical components are turned off and, if you have a main battery switch, be certain that it is turned off. Whenever the boat is stored for any prolonged period of time, the battery cables should be disconnected.

Lower Unit Lubrication – The lower part of your outdrive or outboard engine is filled with a lubricant fluid that keeps all of the moving parts properly lubricated and running smoothly. The reservoir should never contain any water in the fluid. The drive should be inspected at least annually to ensure that the drive is full of fluid and that no water is present. This is relatively simple and inexpensive to accomplish.

Electronic Control Module – Most modern marine engines are controlled by a computer call an ‘Electronic Control Module’ (ECM) which regulates the flow of fuel and air as well as the timing of the ignition system. Another valuable function of the ECM is that it stores operational data while the engine is running. Certified marine mechanics have digital diagnostic tools which can be connected to the ECM to learn the running history of the engines as well as any problems.

Anodes On the underwater section of every outdrive and outboard engine, there are one or more little metal attachments called ‘anodes’. They are usually made of zinc and are designed to attract stray electrolysis. This occurs when stray voltage in the electric system of a boat is transmitted through the metal parts of the boat in search of a ground. The anodes are designed to be sacrificial and to absorb the stray current and gradually deteriorate. This process is magnified in salt water. At least once a year, you should check your anodes for decay and replace those that appear to have decayed greatly. Replacement anodes are not tremendously expensive and they serve to protect your boat from some serious decay of some very expensive metal marine parts.

If a marine engine is properly maintained, it should give you many years of trouble free operation. It should be important to you to know a qualified marine technician in your area. As with most things, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”.

Resources:Don Seibert is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard and has operated a large marina and boat dealership for the past 10 years. Don has been boating for more than 50 years. You can get more boating issue exposure and benefit from this experience at More Boating Articles [http://www.Retireeworld.com/Boating.html] or go to [http://www.Retireeworld.com/Boating.html]

The PHP generally stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. It is nothing but a server side scripting language that permits the web developers to generate dynamic content to interrelate with the database. PHP is a scripting language just like the Active Server Pages. PHP is mainly made use for generating web based software application. PHP gives a healthy strong support to quite a large number of databases like Oracle, Sybase, Solid,MySQL, Informix, and Generic Open DataBase Connectivity. PHP is a free of charge to download and use. PHP could be written as scripts that exist on the server and it could generate HTML output inorder to download the web browser.

On the other hand PHP can be embedded and routed in HTML pages which are then saved with an extension of .php. Next the PHP sector of the pages are then parsed on the server by the PHP engine and then the PHP code is removed out early before the pages are download to the web browser. As PHP is embedded with tags the creator could move about between HTML and PHP inspite of making use of a hefty number of codes. Since PHP is carried out and accomplished on the server, the codes are not visualized to the spectators. The very same task could be carried out and achieved in PHP as a CGI program and it is well-matched with several different kinds of databases.

When discussing about the PHP file, the file has the ability to hold text, scripts and HTML tags. Generally the PHP files have a file extension of “.phtml”, “.php” and “.php3″. Normally the PHP files are returned back to the browsers as a simple HTML code. Above all PHP acts as a filter. The PHP program captures the input from the file or a stream enclosing texts and also some particular information directives and outputs the other stream of data for the view. From PHP 4, the PHP parser compiles the input to generate byte codes for dealing by the Zend Engine for presenting a superior presentation over its interpreter predecessor. The Zend Engine II is the central part of PHP5. Scripting language is used to build interactivity of database and also to generate dynamic content on the Web which is frequently used with MySQL.

PHP is quite easy to understand and learn. PHP has the capability to run on several platforms and also it runs more effectively on the server side. PHP is well-suited with all servers like IIS and Apache which are used these days. PHP never charges to download. It is easily downloaded from the official PHP resource. Scripting language and interpreter is obtained freely and it is mainly used on Linux Web servers. PHP is just a substitution of ASP technology. PHP is a healthy and a good programming language which is akin to ASP and the only difference is that it runs on UNIX servers instead of Windows based servers. It is made use of linking a database and also to generate all kinds of web applications like altering content, calendars, e-commerce and product catalogs.

Nila Priya – PHP

– Internet Marketing Determines Web Success –

Internet marketing is essential to the success of web sites. You can have a professional looking website but what good can it do if internet users are not able to find it when they need your products and services? That is where an internet marketing campaign comes into play.

“Your website has to magically appear before buyers when they need products and services.”

Internet marketing is similar to designing websites- it does not require much experience to do a good job, just good knowledge and a keen eye for details. It is fundamentally important for a good internet marketer to constantly update himself weekly, if not monthly, of online markets. There are many ways to market your website .

– Find A Competent and Reliable Internet Marketer –

Justify the costs of hiring an Internet Marketer – First of all, getting an internet marketer is not essential for every website. If your website is a business website or a website which you want to generate revenue from, it is good to seek a competent internet marketer to work on your website. The costs spent on your website for internet marketing has to be justified and often, they are justified by having more revenue and traffic to your web site.

Potential customers have to know that there are no guarrantees in SEO. Since everything is fundamentally based on search engines, SEO work is at the mercy of major search engines like Google. Many SEO companies tried to secure customers with guarrantees that they cannot fulfil, resulting in lawsuits or customers getting burned for hiring their SEO services.

– What an Internet Marketer can offer –

In short, an Internet Marketer oversees that your website is built properly for visibility and promoted with the best dollar spent on your internet marketing campaign. It is no good having a website and not appearing in internet searches. Your website has to magically appear before buyers when they need products and services. Internet Marketers deploy search engine optimisation techniques to make your website visible and targetted to internet users.

Internet marketing requires research and analysis effort for individual website, followed by optimisation of website. Hundreds of hours may be spent on each website, depending on the size of your targetted market. You are essentially paying for the amount of effort involved, effectiveness of your internet marketer and daily sales tracking of your website.

How to choose an Internet Marketer- Internet marketing requires constant updating of skills and knowledge. One crude way to test if your internet marketer is a genuine or fake- Ask your internet marketer about recent events that happened in his field. If he cannot answer that, he must have a genuinely good reason to back himself as a good internet marketer! At times, it is easy to fall prey into the hands of bad internet marketing companies as happened in US and other parts of the world.

It is also important for you to feel comfortable with the amount of money you are spending on getting your site popular before committing yourself to a internet marketing campaign. Internet marketing campaigns typically last a few months and requires monthly tune-ups to your website. Include the costs of an internet marketing campaign when doing your company’s advertising budget.

Lester Boey works in an Australian SEO and Web Design company (Australian Seo and Web Designs Services). His life revolves around SEO; providing full-time and freelance seo services to US and Australian businesses. Email: projects@definiteweb.com

Do you dream of making it big in the fashion world someday?

I have good news for you! Your dream is now just a click away – may it be to become a fashion designer, a web fashion designer, an image consultant, a fashion magazine stylist, a TV program stylist, an event stylist, a fashion journalist, or a personal shopper – with the Milan Fashion Campus Online Fashion Design Course.

The Creator

Angelo Russica, a seasoned fashion guru who has more or less 20 years of experience in the fashion world, created the course with his aim of not only coming up with an Internet-based fashion design school that will teach the history, aesthetics, and skills required of Italy’s fashion, but extending the Italian fashion sense to the world as well.

With more than 15 years of collaborative experience as a creative assistant to different companies the world over, like Versace, Gruppo Max Mara, Marzotto, Miroglio Vestebene in Italy; Induyco and El Corte Ingles in Spain; and Fujii, Chori, King Company, and World Company in Japan, Russica was able to talk to numerous young students from an array of famous fashion design schools who complain about having spent lots of money on more or less three years of study, only to find out in the end, that it is hard to find a job and almost impossible to make a name. This is also one reason why Russica developed the first online fashion design school in Italy – he wants Milan Fashion Campus to give many aspiring fashion students a chance to learn about the wonders of Italian fashion without having to spend so much.

The Course

This one of a kind fashion design course provides students with the opportunity to be professionally in touch with Italy’s Fashion Design Learning Method. The intensive online fashion design course of Milan Fashion Campus also serves as a venue for the realization of dreams – may it be to become a professional figure or the famous designer of the future.

The lessons are sequenced in such a way that the students can easily follow them. The course requires active student participation since lessons are geared toward teaching learners how to do market analysis, how to locate valuable sources of information, and how to discover inspiration. Students of Milan Fashion Course will also learn the tricks of the trade, just like what professional fashion designers do: examining the streets, examining fashion stories, examining the music world, and examining the opinion of fashion leaders.

The Milan Fashion Campus Online Fashion Design Course, which can be downloaded through http://www.fashioncampus.it, has seven sections, 27 chapters, almost 200 pages, and more than 170 exercises that will serve as guidance for students from their first sketch to their first fashion show. The course also gives a chance to students to specialize on different areas, like celebrity and men fashion design, handbag design, color and rendering technique, and fashion figure template.

One may buy the course chapter per chapter, too, especially if you just want to try out the course first.

The course is in English and downloadable once you have paid the amount stated in http://www.fashioncampus.it, may it be through Paypal or money transfer. This also means that you may start with the course anytime you want.

For more information regarding fees and FAQ’s, just visit http://www.fashioncampus.it.

You will not only improve your fashion taste and sensibility, but also open opportunities for a wonderful career in fashion.

Tim Yu
http://online-fashion-sch.blogspot.com

A tractor is the heart of America, doing jobs that help keep millions of people fed and clothed. Tractor rims are an important part for your tractor whether you own a John Deere, Ford Tractor, Allis Chalmers, International Harvester, Farmall, Massey Ferguson, Massey Harris, Ferguson, Oliver, White, Minneapolis-Moline, Case or David Brown tractor.

When you are looking for new tractor rims, you may be inclined to head straight to the tractor supply store and buy them off the shelf. You might be able to find a better deal by shopping for your new tractor rims at a farm auction or online. You should be able to find them at a variety of online tractor suppliers and maybe even on an auction site such as eBay.

Rim Types

There are different styles of rims for your tractor including split rims, adjustable rims, multi-fit double bevel, single bevel and formed rims. A split rim has two pieces which come apart making it easier to replace the inner tubes on your tractor tires when necessary. An adjustable rim means it can be adjusted to allow a narrower or wider stance depending on whether you need better maneuverability or greater stability for the job your tractor needs to do.

Shopping for tractor rims online has another great advantage in that you can check customer reviews of the rims before you buy them. It is important to note that a certain rim may be better in one set of circumstances or on one brand of tractor more than another. Having this information available before making a purchase can save time, money and unneeded stress.

The Online Advantage

The type of rim you choose may depend on the type and brand of tractor you are driving, what the tractor is primarily used for, what kind of tires you are putting on the tractor and your own personal preference. Shopping for new tractor rims online will make the process much easier and more efficient. You should also be able to save a significant amount of money as well as time and energy.

A Long Term Investment

Tractor rims are made of high-quality materials to handle the heavy weight and tough workloads of the tractors. They may come in yellow, black or silver and there are advantages to each in addition to the cosmetic factor – not usually a big issue for tractors, although it is important to some people. Your tractor rims are an important part of your tractor and need to be in good condition in order to keep your tractor moving properly. This should be an investment that will last for many years, so you will want to review your options carefully before making a purchase decision.

Finding good quality tractor rims at a reasonable price will require some comparison shopping, but the time invested will be well worth it. The number of online retailers that carry tractor rims has grown significantly in the past few years and that means more competition and better deals for everyone.

Ernest Jarquio is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Just-Tires-n-Rims.com. He provides more resources on topics such as Tire Barn, American tire company and cheap mud tires that you can research on his website even while lounging in your living room.

There are as many kinds of hiking boots as there are hikers. The specific things to consider when choosing your hiking boots will depend on the kinds of hiking you are planning to do. In this article, I will classify hiking boots (or hiking footwear) into four main types, corresponding to four main types of hiking.

The four types of hiking boots that we will discuss are:

1. Hiking shoes and sandals. For short walks in the outdoors, for knocking around in camp, and for use during easy interludes in an otherwise serious hike.

2. Day-hiking boots. For moderate hiking, such as day hikes or short hikes in very rough country.

3. Backpacking boots. For more serious hiking, like multi-day backpacking expeditions.

4. Mountaineering boots. For the most serious hiking, mountain climbing, and ice climbing.

There is some overlap, of course, and a good deal of mixing.

Most people who use anything beyond hiking shoes also use something in one of the lower categories. For instance, when I go camping, I bring both my day-hiking boots for the all-day hikes and my hiking shoes for the less-serious treks with the grandchildren. As another example, I often see ice climbers arriving at Arethusa Falls wearing day-hiking boots, then switching to mountaineering boots for the actual climb.

For the most part, it will be okay to buy a more serious hiking boot than you need. One exception is that if you really don’t need mountaineering boots, you would probably find them uncomfortably heavy on a little day hike. Don’t go too far upscale. Even the additional cost of buying “more boot than you need” might actually work out to be a savings in the long run, because a better quality boot will likely last longer.

Now, let’s talk about the general concerns and considerations that go into choosing a pair of hiking boots.

Keep in mind that the purpose of footwear is to protect your feet. This amounts to four specific purposes:

1. Warmth, in season

2. Protection from rough surfaces and sharp objects

3. Traction

4. Keeping your feet dry

That’s about it.

Most of what you read about “support” is overblown. If you give your feet and ankles a lot of “support,” the natural support system becomes weak from underutilization. Unless you have some particular weakness in your ankles, whether innate or from an injury, you don’t necessarily need ankle support. Let the muscles and ligaments of your feet and ankles do what they were designed to do, and you will have all the “support” you need.

On the other hand, you do need arch support. Why? Because your feet were designed to walk on a natural, yielding surface that conforms itself to the shape of your feet. When you strap a stiff, unyielding shoe sole to the bottom of your foot, your arches are unduly stressed. You need the bottom of the boot to conform to the shape of the bottom of your foot, and to stay that way as you walk. That’s arch support.

What about men’s versus women’s hiking boots? The only real difference is in proportions. For a given length of foot, a woman’s foot is generally narrower than a man’s and has higher arches. Women’s hiking boots are designed accordingly. If you’re a man with narrow feet and/or high arches, don’t be afraid to look at “women’s” hiking boots, or if you’re a woman with low arches and/or wide feet, the hiking cops won’t give you a ticket for wearing “men’s” hiking boots. Get the hiking boots that fit your feet.

Don’t forget socks. You’ll need warm socks, more than one pair in winter, so make sure your hiking boots allow room for them. When you go shopping for hiking boots, bring the type of socks you intend to wear on hikes, so you can check the fit of the boots with the socks on.

Look for good quality, and expect to pay for it. If you’re looking for fashion and the latest trends, you’ll pay a premium for that, too. What I look for is usually last year’s good quality, so I get the quality I want without paying for the style that I don’t care about.

Here’s a quick guideline to set your expectations about the costs: Expect to pay much more for your hiking boots than for your backpack. The appropriate boots for a given type of hiking will probably cost 1.5 to two times as much as the appropriate backpack. If you are planning to do only one-day hikes with a forty-dollar daypack, you will be well served to look at sixty-dollar day-hiking boots. But if you’re planning to through-hike the Appalachian Trail, you’ll want at least a hundred-dollar expedition backpack and you should be looking seriously at paying $150 or more for your hiking boots.

There are complex engineering trade-offs in hiking boots. Light weight is good. Sturdy is good. Long wearing properties are good. Traction and gripping power is good. Inexpensive is good. But sturdy boots are heavy. Hiking boots with good traction wear quickly. And of those four properties – light weight, sturdiness, long wearing, and good traction – only light weight comes cheaply. So all hiking boots represent compromises among these four qualities.

That’s the big picture with hiking boots. Pick the right type of boot for the type of hiking you’ll be doing, pick the balance you want between weight and sturdiness, and pick the right fit. Then hit the trail!

Chuck Bonner is a lifelong hiker and amateur naturalist, and webmaster of http://www.HikingWithChuck.com For more information about hiking boots and other hiking equipment based on many years on the trail, visit [http://www.hikingwithchuck.com/Gear/HikingGear.htm]

There is a great deal of history behind movie posters and movie poster collecting. Jules Cheret, who created 2 movie posters in the 1890’s, was the artist given credit for creating the first movie posters. By the end of the first decade of the 1900’s, movies had become a great source of public entertainment. In this time period, the movie poster would become a standard size known as the one sheet measuring 27″ x 41″.

In the early days, the names of actors did not appear on the posters, which the movie studios liked, because it meant paying actors less money. It was in this early period in movie history, however, that movie studios realized movie stars were as much of an attraction to the moviegoer as the movie itself. Thus, the movie star was born, and movie posters began showcasing actors’ names along with the title of the movie.

By the 1920’s, the golden age of silent movies, movie posters became more artistic and spectacular, with accomplished artists being hired by movie studios to paint portraits of the stars for posters. By the late 1920’s, movie poster images became sharper due to a new printing process developed by the Morgan Litho Company.

In the 1930’s, also known in the movie industry as “The Golden Age of Movies”, another style of movie poster was created, the half sheet. Major movies would sometimes get more than the two styles. However, due to the depression, many movie materials were being created more cheaply, causing a loss of quality in movie posters.

The dawn of World War II in 1941 saw many of the movie stars heading off to war and war was the major theme of movies at that time. The movie industry cut advertising costs and used cheaper paper for posters due to the paper shortage of wartime.

By the 1970’s, movie posters used photography, occasionally using drawing and painting styles. Movie posters at this time were being printed on a clay-coated paper, which gave them a glossy finish. Star Wars and Star Trek posters were the most popular posters of the time and are still collected by many today.

In the 1980’s, the age of the special effects blockbuster, the mini sheet was invented, and video stores became popular, thus the video store poster was created. Today, reprints of movie posters are mass-produced and sold in many stores or are just a click away on the Internet.There are several types of movie posters. Because of their rarity, the avid movie poster collector has concentrated on movie poster or theater art. These are the posters that are delivered and displayed by the movie theaters and then intended to be thrown away. Another type of movie poster is the commercial poster, which is mass-produced for direct sale to the public. Video posters are distributed to video rental stores for advertising material. Cable and TV posters are use as promotional material for TV stations for their programming. Like theater art, video posters and cable and TV posters are not produced for the public. Although not as valuable as theater art, these types of posters are still popular among collectors. Special promotion posters promote a movie along with a product. Finally, there are anniversary issues, limited editions, and special releases that are released in limited quantities and are gaining favor with the theatre art collector. Other types of movie posters include advance posters that promote a movie well ahead of the movie’s release. The award poster, which indicates that a movie has won an Academy award. The combo poster, advertising two movies instead of just one. The popular double-sided poster that has art on both sides, with the artwork reversed on one side of the poster. There are featurette posters highlighting short films or cartoons, review posters for when a movie gets a good review, serial posters for movie serials, and special distribution posters.

With the popularity of movie posters has come the necessity to create various sizes of posters. The first and most widely used poster is the one sheet, which is usually 27″ x 41″. The subway, also known as the two sheet, is larger but not exactly two times the size of the one sheet. The 3 sheet is three times the size of the one sheet measuring at 41″ x 81″. The 6 sheet is six times the size of the one sheet measuring of 81″ x 81″. There is also a 12 sheet approximately twelve times the size of a one sheet, and the colossal sized 24 sheet measuring 246″ x by 108″. Other sizes include the mini sheet, which is usually much smaller than the one sheet and comes in a variety of sizes, and the stock sheet issued for cartoons or other shorts.

As with all collectibles, condition is a great factor when placing a value on posters. A movie poster’s value is determined by demand, rarity, and condition. Poster collectors use the same grade system used by comic book collectors: mint (perfect), near mint, very good, good, fair, and poor.

For those who want to be serious movie poster collectors, you will need to know some things about taking care of your movie poster art.

Tips to retain the total collectable value of movie posters

Never alter the appearance of a poster. Do not fold, bend, tear, or punch holes in it even to hang it on your wall.

Never place a movie poster in direct sunlight. UV lights can also be harmful.

Don’t write on your poster, even on the back. Marks on the back can sometimes be seen from the other side, taking away from the poster’s value.

Never put tape on the front of a poster even to repair tears. If you do use tape, use acid free tape available from an art supply shop, and place the tape on the back. For expensive movie art take it to a professional to be restored. Posters can be restored the same way rare comic books are professionally restored.

When shipping posters use thick poster tubes or bubble envelopes.

For long time storage, frame, or place the poster in a plastic bag or tube, and keep it in a cool dry climate.

When framing a poster do not dry mount it, and use an acid free backing board.

Now that you know a little more about movie posters and movie poster collecting, go ahead, start collecting!

Posterlovers.com – Search through the world’s largest available collection of posters, fine art prints and photos. Liven up your walls with wall posters and art prints.

The pet industry generates about 40 billion dollars of online sales annually, 70 million homes have pets and the average spent by a typical American is 150 dollars per month. Of course these are rough estimates but nevertheless, it is one hell of a lot of money.

Would it not be exciting to grab just the tiniest piece of this action?

Well anyone can do exactly that. You can set up an online pet supply business with very little trouble. If you have a real passion for pets, this could be right up your street. Even if you have no interest in pets, the online pet supply business is for everyone and is very profitable. Some people are making a very, very good living by selling other peoples pet supplies online for them

It is a very real business and should be treated as such. You can put a little effort into the business and make some extra spending money but if you want to take it to extremes and drive huge amounts of online web traffic to your pet store business, the world is your oyster.

Your online pet supply business comes with a free start-up kit that will enable you to get your online pet supply store up and running immediately. It is a pre-built store so there is no worry about having to set up your own website. Your online business comes equipped with a large amount of pet products in many categories that will ensure your customers will keep coming back for further products in the future.

There are numerous guides that are supplied. There is a marketing guide that will explain how to drive customers to your online pet supply business by various methods. There are other marketing tips and general techniques designed to help grow your online pet supply store. There are other guides that help you with general business aspects like cash flow, accounts, taxes and wealth and retirement issues.

If you are thinking where and how do I store all of the pet products? Don’t worry because of that side is taken care of. All that you do is get the customers to your online supply store where they buy the supplies and you get your hefty commissions. The actual storage and mailing of the pet supplies is totally in someone else’s hands.

Everything is included that you need to create a successful pet supply store. Once you have it up and running and you have all of the customers that you want, you can take a back seat and leave it alone and it will take care of itself. Of course you will have to spend time on your pet supply store now and again to keep it current.

Your online pet supply business will continue to earn you money when you are asleep, when you are on holiday and when you are busy enjoying your free time. It will work for you 24 hours a day 365 days per year, you don’t have to pay wages and you won’t have any employee-related problems.

If you want to find out more about how to divert some of the billions spent with your own online pet supply business and start living your life how you want to, click here Online Pet Supply Business [http://www.onlinepetbusiness.com/onlinepetsupplybusiness.html]

Dog-child interaction is the single most important issue to deal with if you have a child and a dog. Children love dogs but dogs don’t always love children. When you bring home a new puppy, your child should be trained together with your dog. Dog owners need to remember that it takes two to tango. Children aren’t often taught how to treat a new doggy which can make his life a living hell. This is not only torment for your dog but can be dangerous to your child. Never trust your child alone with ANY dog, regardless of how gentle that dog is known to be. A child tends to know just which buttons to press to turn the gentlest animal into a dangerous beast. Most dogs initially feel threatened by a child because they are at eye level, they have high-pitched voices and make vigorous movements. The dog senses that the child is somewhat unpredictable. Dog-child interaction should be monitored in order to make sure that child and your dog are getting along.

What you should teach your child

• Do not let your child hug the dog until the dog-child relationship has developed and they’ve become comfortable with each other.
• Children are accustomed to showing their affection with a hug, but some dogs will tolerate it while others will not.
• Never approach a strange dog without asking the owner if it is o.k. to do so.
• Allow the dog to sniff you before you try to pat him.
• Stay away from stray dogs. A stray dog may carry disease or try to attack.
• Never scream or run away from a dog. This will only start a chase.
• Never run towards a dog or around a dog.
• Never approach a dog face to face. This is threatening to them. Always approach a dog from the side. This will allow the dog-child relationship to develop.
• Never look a dog square in the eyes.
• Never tease or hit a dog whether he’s loose, tied up, behind a fence or in a crate.
• Never play rough games with a dog, such as tug-of-war. This will encourage a dog to become aggressive.
• Never pat a dog on the head. Always approach him under the chin or on his back.
• Never bother a sleeping dog.
• Never bother the dog while he’s eating or chewing his favorite bone.
• A dog is not a toy. Never yank on his ears or pull his tail.
• If a dog poses a threat, teach your child to stay perfectly still with arms at the side, avoid eye contact, don’t scream. If there is no one around who can pull the dog away, have your child use a jacket, schoolbag, garbage can cover, or anything he can find as a shield while backing away from the dog slowly.
• If a dog has knocked your child to the ground, he should curl up into a ball with his hands behind his head to protect his face.
• Never give the dog table food.
• Always play with your dog under adult supervision.
• Always be kind to your dog. This will help develop a dog-child friendship.
• Always protect your dog from harm.

What you should know as a dog owner

• Begin obedience training your dog as soon as possible. Don’t wait til he gets older, it’ll only get harder.
• Never leave your child alone with the dog.
• Never let your child walk the dog alone.
• Never tie up your dog. Provide your dog with a fenced-in space instead.
• Socialize your dog. Get him acquainted with other dogs as early as possible. You should also get him familiar with everything in his environment, both indoors and outdoors. This is key in attempting to establish a great dog-child relationship.
• Reward your dog for good behavior with praise and a treat.
• If you leave your dog in the yard, make sure your fence does not have spaces large enough for a child to stick their hands through.
• Never allow your child to abuse the dog in any way. This will never enable a dog-child relationship to flourish.
• Give your dog a space to call his own to which he can retreat to if he is feeling bothered (such as a crate).
• Do not allow your child to invade your dog’s space especially while your dog is eating.
• Get your dog used to being touched on all body parts. This will make him more comfortable around children.
• Teach your dog to maintain a good temperment in the case of having his food bowl taken away while he’s eating or removing a chew toy from his mouth. This will allow your dog to be more comfortable having a child around when he’s eating or chewing on his favorite toy.
• Teach your child how to properly handle the dog/puppy.
• Walk your dog on a leash. Do not allow him to roam free.
• Keep in mind that just because your dog is wonderful around your own children doesn’t mean he will tolerate other children the same way.
• Spay/neuter your dog.

If you have a dog and are expecting a baby

First off, if you haven’t read the information above this subhead, go up and do so now. The above information will provide you with all the do’s and dont’s in preparing your dog for an addition to the family. If your dog has never been around a child for a long period of time, you will have the next nine months to get him used to it. Dog-child interaction is crucial at this stage.

Invite a niece, nephew, cousin, neighbor, etc. over for a few hours a week (Preferably a child who still wears a diaper. This will get the dog used to baby smell as well).

This idea satisfies two objectives: it will get your dog used to having a child around; and will develop your dog’s behavior in such a way which allows him to have a dog-child relationship with almost any child. Teach your dog how to behave around a child using much of the information discussed above.

Do not wait until the baby is born in order to make adjustments. Try to make as many adjustments as you can before the baby arrives, this way he won’t be hit with all these changes at once. For instance, if you will have to move furniture around to accommodate a high chair or a playpen, this may affect the placement of your dog’s bed and bowl. If so, make this move before the baby arrives. This will lessen the impact it will have on your dog and is less likely to affect the dog-child relationship.

Once you have the nursery set up for the baby, teach your dog that he will not be allowed in the room, at all. If he learns this before the baby comes, it will lessen the dog’s resentment towards the baby.

Get your dog used to the sounds a baby makes by playing a recording of a baby cooing and crying. Play this recording in the nursery in order to indicate to your dog where exactly he can expect these sounds to be coming from.

Make accommodations for your dog for the day you go into labor. He may have to spend hours alone before daddy’s comes home from the hospital.

When it’s time to bring the baby home, have someone go into another room with the dog while you put the baby down and get settled. Then bring the baby out and introduce the dog to the baby. The dog will probably give the baby a sniff or two and seek your attention. After all, he hasn’t seen you in days. At this point, it would be a good idea to put the baby down and spend some time playing with the dog. Show him he’s still loved. This will aid in the development of the dog-child relationship.

Your dog may require some extra attention in the first days of welcoming the baby. This will keep him from resenting the baby for stealing all the attention. Give him your undivided attention.

Allow your dog to be present when changing or feeding the baby.

Never yell at your dog for getting too close to the baby. Allow him to sniff the baby in order to get used to his scent. Make sure this is done under strict supervision. This will help nourish the dog-child relationship.

As the baby gets older, you will teach him to respect the dog and be gentle towards him.

Get your child to help you with dog chores, such as feeding and walking the dog.

Before your know it, a natural dog-child bond will form which will give them a long-lasting friendship for years to come.

Help your child and your dog live in perfect harmony by adhering to these simple rules. Once a good dog-child relationship has been established, this bond will last a lifetime.

If you have trouble controlling your dog, you should bring your dog (and your child) to an obedience class to help you get started.

Nancy Settecasi, Owner of Happy K-9 Dog Care Proud owner of Cookie and Skippy, Cocker Spaniels, Dog lover http://www.happyk-9.com

If you’ve ever watched as a cat “flipped” over fresh catnip perhaps you’ve been struck with the question; “what causes Catnip to affect cats that way?” Catnip is indeed an unusual phenomenon among cats, it has the ability to alter your cat’s behavior like nothing else can. So what exactly is the reason for what scientists have coined as “the Catnip effect”?

Unfortunately for such inquisitive minds the exact reason of why Catnip affects cats

in such a manner remains mostly a mystery. There is however much that we do

know about Catnip and cats even if we don’t have the ultimate answer of exactly

“why?” yet answered.

The Science Stuff

Catnip is scientifically classified as Nepeta cataria and is a perennial herb from

the

mint family and is in fact also referred to as “Catmint”. It is a plant indigenous to

Europe but has been exported and is now found all over including the United States

and Canada.

The active ingredient in Catnip is an oil; Nepetalactone, which is found in the leaves

of the plant. This is the reason you are able to find Catnip in a bottle or spray form

in some pet stores.

Other Uses For Catnip

Catnip is not only good to stimulate activity in cats, it can also be used by

humans

as an herb for a medicinal tea which may soothe toothaches, help against coughs,

and may also perform as a sleep aid. Furthermore, Catnip can be used as an herb

on salads or other foods as has been the case for centuries in France. Lately Catnip

has also been garnering favor as a natural insect repellant rivaling the effectiveness

of many store bought varieties of repellant.

Catnip and Kitty

Catnip affects approximately half of all cats. What determines whether or not

a cat

will react to Catnip is a genome that is inherited (or not inherited as the case may

be) at birth. Kittens, regardless of whether or not they carry this genome, do not

react to Catnip until reaching about 3 or 4 months of age and becoming sexually

mature. Older cats are also more likely to have a diminished or non-existing

reaction to Catnip, which leads scientists to believe that the Catnip effect is based at

least partially on sexuality and that the reaction may be something like an

aphrodisiac. Further adding to this belief is the similarity of a sexual pheromone

found in the urine of the male cat to nepetalactone (the active product in Catnip).

Cats that can be traced to regions where Catnip is not indigenous appear to be

unaffected by Catnip. The domesticated housecat is not the only cat that may be

affected by Catnip. Larger cats can also be affected by the Catnip effect, felines

such as the bobcat, lynx, tiger and even lion are known to react much the same way

the common housecat would. It is interesting to note that while Catnip can act as a

stimulant when a cat sniffs it, it can conversely act as a relaxant if ingested.

Therefore, you may see a different, nearly opposite result depending on whether

your cat chooses to eat the Catnip you provide for him/her or merely sniffs it (the

latter being the more typical behavior).

How to Use Catnip With Your Cat

Catnip can prove to be a very useful tool for a few common problems with

your cat.

If you are lucky enough to have a cat that does react favorably to Catnip then here

are a couple of ideas for you and your furry little friend.

Catnip and Lazy Cats:

Catnip can be used to get a lazy cat off his or her butt. Some cats are

notoriously

lazy, choosing to sleep much of their day away in a nice golden patch of sunlight on

the living room carpet, only waking up to eat and gather some necessary attention

from their indulgent owners. If this sounds like your cat, you may soon see (if you

haven’t already) that your cat is becoming more and more round. This is generally

not a good thing. Catnip may be able to help. Presenting catnip to your cat

encourages activity (of course provided the cat sniffs rather than eats the herb).

Many adult cats will respond to Catnip in a manner that resembles their childlike

kitten hyperactivity, jumping, playing and running around as if it was given an

injection of kitty adrenaline, which in essence, is the case. The effect of Catnip on a

cat can last somewhere between two and fifteen minutes. If the latter is the case,

then this is a decent amount of exercise and will help keep your cat a little more

svelte than without a Catnip treatment. Furthermore, if you leave the Catnip out for

a few hours then your cat may return to the herb later (an hour or two after the

effect has worn off) and again react in an energetic fashion. So in this sense you

may consider Catnip sort of like a kitty energy drink.

Catnip and Cats That Scratch Furniture:

If you have a cat that seems bent on the destruction of your furniture then

Catnip

may again be able to come to the rescue. Cats can be frustratingly picky about just

about anything under the sun including where they want to sharpen their furniture

destroying claws. It is not uncommon for a cat to damage or destroy a piece of

furniture just because the owners finally gave up on trying to redirect their cat to

the unused cat scratching post that set them back anywhere up to a hundred dollars

and more. A good way to attempt to change this frustrating and expensive behavior

is to rub some Catnip or Catnip oil on a scratching post that you are attempting to

get the cat to use. Introduce your cat to the newly “Catnipped” scratching post and

see how he/she reacts. If all goes well, your cat will sniff and inspect the post and

then begin clawing at it. After a few times (you may have to re-Catnip the post)

hopefully kitty will be trained to use the post rather than the sofa.

Using Catnip with Multiple Cats

If you’ve never used Catnip before and you have more than one cat it is

advisable to

try it out individually on each cat before introducing it to all of your cats at the same

time. The reason is because Catnip affects some cats in a negative manner causing

the cat in question to become aggressive rather than merely playful. Introducing it

to your cats individually enables you to control the situation and keep a cat that may

react aggressively isolated from your other cats. This of course means avoiding a

possible catfight that could result in broken furniture, hurt kitties (possibly

requiring a vet visit), annoyed neighbors (and probably owners), or a combination of

all of the above.

Growing and Keeping Catnip

Growing your own Catnip can be rewarding as it can save you money, give you

the

satisfaction of doing something yourself and ensuring that you always get fresh,

high-quality Catnip for your cat. A word of caution however; the exact kitty

reaction you want to grow your own Catnip is something to be wary of. If you plan

on growing your Catnip out of doors and other cats can access your Catnip garden

then be prepared for unwelcome feline visitors. This may not be a problem for you

personally, but cats are by nature territorial and if you have a cat that lives alone

without the company of other cats this could prove to be an area of stress for your

cat. Even if you keep your cat inside at all times, your cat may get agitated if he/she

looks out the window to see another cat frolicking in territory your cat considers his

or her own. If you choose to grow your Catnip indoors, be careful to keep it out of

reach of kitty. Otherwise you’ll likely have Fluffy jumping up on furniture even to

the most out of the way place to get access to the tempting herb. Cats are great

jumpers and not really known for respecting precious household knick-knacks. So

if you do decide to grow it indoors for a cat that reacts to Catnip, be careful to grow

it in a place that your cat won’t be able to access it. A room that you always keep

closed to the cat is probably the best solution for indoor grown Catnip.

If you do find that your cat reacts positively to Catnip you should be sure to use it

sparingly so as not to dull the effect which can be the result of overexposure. A

good rule of thumb is to not treat your kitty more than once a week on average to

Catnip.

Given all the positive effects that Catnip may have on your cat you owe it to yourself

(and naturally your fluffy little ball of affection) to see how he/she reacts to this

strange and well known herb. It will provide enjoyment and exercise for your cat

and most likely an entertaining show for yourself as well. It’s a win win situation.

Andy Markison is an illustrator, graphic designer, animal lover and pet owner living in Germany. His website, ZapGraphix.com, sells fun and humorous pet related merchandise.

Have you ever dreamed of living with a bobcat or having a pet tiger? You’re not alone, and many people share their lives responsibly and safely with such animals. My beloved companion is a African Serval, a very affectionate 33-pound spotted feline. However, this dream come true brings with it some very real challenges and responsibilities far beyond those facing the average pet owner.

A huge number of visitors to my exotic feline site are trying to make very important decisions. Should I get a exotic cat? Is this species the right fit for my family? Can I provide for one properly?

There are a number of things to take into consideration when deciding if exotic cat ownership is for you, and if the answer is yes, which species of exotic cat is suitable for your situation. They include:

• Your ability to make a lifetime committment to an animal who may cause you considerable headaches
• Your ability to be a responsible owner
• Local and Federal Laws
• Your financial ability to provide proper care and housing for the cat
• Your level of experience in working with animals
• Size of the cat
• Disposition of the cat
• Endangered Species Status

Owning an exotic cat requires a lifetime committment to a cat who may live to be 20 years old. If your circumstances change, the cat develops behaviors that are unacceptable to you, or you simply grow tired of caring for it, an exotic cat cannot simply be given over to your local humane society. Being placed in a new home is much more traumatic to an exotic cat than to most domestic animals and can cause a major change in their personality. In some cases, they may never accept a new owner. Qualified people willing to take in an adult exotic cat are hard to find, and no, the local zoo will not accept your cat. Large cats such as cougars and tigers are especially hard to place.

Everyone gets an animal with a certain dream in their minds about how that animal will behave, and some people cannot handle it if things turn out differently. For instance, if you want to own a tiger, you probably imagine being able to play with it and cuddle with it. That may happen; but if you undertake this responsibility you have to be prepared for the fact that you might not be able to so much as enter the cat’s enclosure safely, even if you raise him from a cub.

If you are interested in getting a small cat like a bobcat or a serval, you probably imagine sharing your household with it, as many people do. But what if that cat grows up to spray everything in sight?

If you’ve been researching the idea of owning an exotic cat, you’ve probably discovered how much conflicting information there is. Some sources seem to indicate that living with an exotic cat is no more challenging than feeding your pet goldfish. At the other end of the extreme spectrum, many sanctuaries and animal rights activists paint them as unmanageable creatures that no ordinary mortal could hope to deal with successfully. As is usually the case, the truth lies in a rational world between the two extremes. This site exists to provide realistic and balanced information.

Like all creatures, exotic cats are all individuals, and nobody can tell you exactly how your future cat will act. Generalizations can be made about the behavior of different species, but individual personalities and behavior traits vary widely. As a dog trainer, I have seen puppies with the perfect upbringing turn out dangerously aggressive, and severely abused dogs who were stable and friendly. I have met dangerous Golden Retrievers and unprovokable Pit Bulls. It’s the same with cats; you can generalize to a certain extent, but never count on those generalizations.

If you decide that you are serious about getting an exotic feline, one of the first things you need to do is learn the federal, state, county, and city laws regulating the ownership of the species you are considering in your area. Contarary to popular myth, exotic animal ownership is pretty heavily regulated. Laws and permit requirements vary widely from area to area, and owning exotic cats is banned altogether in many places.

The legal issues will become vastly more complicated if you are interested in owning a cat that is endangered. While it is not impossible, the additional laws and permits that you have to contend with makes owning an endangered cat an unrealistic goal for most people.

Owning an exotic cat means having to remain constantly aware of changing laws and of proposed legislation, and being prepared to fight for the continued right to own your beloved pet.

Owning an exotic cat can be quite expensive. You will need to take into consideration the cost of building a secure and spacious enclosure, feeding costs, veterinary costs, the initial purchase of the kitten, and incidental expenses which seem to crop up on a continual basis. The cost of owning a smaller cat such as a serval or bobcat is more likely to be affordable than that of owning a tiger or other large cat. When you get into the large cats you will find that your feeding and enclosure costs escalate dramatically.

A major consideration is the size of the cat. Some species are smaller than a domestic cat, while others reach 500 pounds. The most common species to find in a pet household is the serval, which ranges fron roughly 18-40 pounds.

Owning a small cat is a more realistic goal for most people than a large cat such as a tiger. Large cats are very expensive to feed and house, heavily regulated by the federal government, and of course much more dangerous. Often keepers are unable to safely enter the enclosures of big cats once they mature. This does not mean that these animals are malicious, but a tiger or other big cat can easily injure you even in play. If you see yourself with a “pet” cat, start thinking small.

Cougars are an interesting compromise in size and temperament. They are actually classified as “small cats” even though most people think of them as a big cat. They are large cats and come with all of the duties, responsibilities, and cost of owning a big cat. However, they often have very gentle and affectionate natures; of all the large felines, they are probably the species that you are most likely to be able to have a “pet-like” relationship with after they mature. For those determined to own a big cat, I would reccommend a cougar over any other species, especially over a tiger.

Owning an exotic feline is not for someone who spends their time in fantasyland. If you are one of those pet owners who think their dog is soooo sweet that he could never, ever harm anyone, that all animals love you because you have a “special touch” with them, or that no animal will be dangerous as an adult if you “love it enough” or “raise it right,” you have no business owning an exotic cat.

You have to be able to objectively assess the safety of any decision you make, whether it involves handling your own cat, letting a family member or member of the public have contact with the cat, etc. You have to be able to say “I love Tigger with all of my heart and he loves me back, but I can tell from the playful look in his eye that if I walk into his enclosure now he might hurt me, so I choose not to.”

It is important to locate a good veterinarian who is willing to treat your exotic cat before you get one. It can sometimes be difficult to find a good, experienced vet who will be willing to treat exotics. Often, vets are uncomfortable around them or dissaprove of keeping them as pets and will therefore refuse to treat them. Many clinics also lack large enough equipment to handle larger felines like cougars or tigers. Veterinary costs for an exotic cat can be higher than those for a domestic animal, especially if your cat develops a serious problem and you are referred to a specialty clinic or university.

If you choose to own an exotic cat, you owe it to your cat and everyone else who owns exotics to be a responsible owner. What constitutes responsible ownership? Some of the criteria, in no particular order:

• Provides a ample, nutritious diet suitable to the species
• Provides ample housing for the cat to live in happily
• Provides shelter and protection from the elements
• Provides veterinary care as needed
• Purchases animals from an ethical and responsible breeder
• Does not neglect or abuse the animal
• Provides generally pleasant living conditions and has the cat’s feelings and best interests in mind
• Makes a good-faith effort to comply with all applicable laws
• Takes stringent precautions to prevent the escape of the cat
• Protects the cat from unauthorized contact or harrassment from members of the public
• Protects the safety of the public and visitors
• Makes a lifetime committment to caring for the cat

This article is written and copyrighted by Jessi Clark-White of www.exoticcatz.com. This article may be reproduced in its entirety only; permission is NOT granted to display editied versions. This article may not be used to support the ending of private ownership of exotic pets.

For more comprehensive information on exotic pets and their ownership, visit my website, http://www.exoticcatz.com. You can ask the author and other exotic pet owners questions at our online forum.

When talking about sports cars, it is important to make the distinction between cars which have been produced solely for this purpose, and normal road-going vehicles which have been modified to achieve sports car performance. One notable example of such a vehicle is the popular Golf GTI series.

Generally speaking, the term ’sports car’ refers to vehicles which have the following characteristics:

• 2 seats
• 2 doors
• Rear-wheel drive
• Light-weight
• Low ground clearance
• A powerful engine (although this is not essential)

Many classic British sports cars such as the MG series have lacked powerful engines. However, due to their light frame and chassis, they still managed to attain exceptional levels of ride, handling and performance.

True sports cars are vehicles which have been specially designed to be fun to drive, with great handling and ride together with high performance. In many cases, these qualities are attained at the expense of practicality, driver comfort and fuel economy. However, many modern sports cars allow the driver the full sports car experience, without compromising on practicality, reliability or comfort.

Sports cars come in a number of guises. In their simplest form, they are designed for an uncompromising ‘pure’ racing experience. One of the best examples of this type of sports car is the Lotus Elise. Although lacking in the kind of specification and equipment one would normally expect from a road-going car, the Elise is one of the most fun to drive cars around.

At the other end of the scale, luxurious models such as those offered by Aston Martin and Bentley have spectacular performance, whilst at the same time offering a truly luxurious and decadent driving experience.

Traditionally, owning a sports car was a costly affair. Early incarnations were less than reliable and were notoriously temperamental. They also lacked the refinements we have come to expect from modern vehicles.

Nowadays, due to advances in technology, sports cars are as trustworthy and comfortable as passenger cars. This means that their owners can quite happily use them everyday.

British sports cars

Although none of the British sports car manufacturers are now independently and privately owned, Britain can still be proud of its illustrious motorsport heritage. Luxury British marques include Aston Martin, Bentley and Jaguar, while those looking for that pure racing experience need look no further than the stables of Lotus and TVR

Italian sports cars

Nobody makes sports cars with more passion and flair than the Italians. Select have a full range from Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati.

German sports cars

German cars are famed for their build quality and reliability, not qualities one would normally associate with a sports car! However, Audi, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes have a range of luxury cars which are as fun to drive as they are dependable.

Japanese sports cars

Combining fine racing pedigree with the technology and innovation we’ve come to expect from Japanese manufacturers, Honda’s S200 and Subaru’s Impreza are perfect for those who want a fun driving experience, without compromising on everyday dependability

Many of us have dreamed of owning a sports car. Thanks to Select Vehicle Leasing’s range of affordable sports car leasing you can make this dream a reality.

http://www.selectvehicleleasing.com

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

Here is your Lingo 101 crash course:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WAHM: Work At Home Mom

Sposies: disposable diapers

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

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

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

Eco-Friendly:

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

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

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

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

Healthy Lifestyle:

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

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

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

Cost of Cloth Diapers VS Disposable Diapers:

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

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

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

20 diapers = $470

3 woolie wrap covers = $75

2 longie wool covers = $40

diaper pail = $3 (Ace 2 gallon bucket)

Diaper sprayer = $29 – $40

TOTAL: $580-$600

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

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

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

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

It’s that time of year to start planning your child’s adventure to summer camp. You go to websites to obtain summer camp information and your head starts to spin. There are so many choices out there, that you really have to do your homework. You need to ask yourself and your child many questions. What do you like to do? Is there anything of interest that you would like to know more about or learn something new? Do you want to go to a sports camp or an adventure camp? These are just some of the questions you will have to answer.

Some of the types of camps your child might attend are listed below with a brief description to give you some kind of idea what is out there and then giving you and your child some ideas of questions to ask yourself, what does my child want to do and which camp will my child get the most out of.

Sports Camps:

If you child is very athletic, this might be an excellent choice of summer camp. This type of summer camp will focus on sports. There are also summer camps that focus on one particular sport. Most if not all NFL teams have a summer camp. If you son is an avid football player this might be the camp for him. They will also have the opportunity to meet some of the NFL players.

Academic Camps:

If you child is more of an academic achiever this might be the summer camp for them. If you child loves to learn, there will be plenty of opportunity at these types of summer camps. The summer camps range from Archaeology to Astronomy, Biology to Business, Math, Marine Science, Geology, Robotics and Science. This is just a short listing on some of the academic camps. What ever your child’s interest, be rest assured that there will be a camp available.

Art Camps:

If your child is more of the artistic type, an art camp might be the right summer camp for them. These types of summer camps can cover anything from, Liberal Arts, Computer Arts, Performing Arts, Dance, Photography and Music. These are just some examples of what is all out there.

Adventure Camps:

If you child is the outdoor adventure type, this might be the camp for them. These types of camps will have hiking, rock climbing, kayaking and canoeing, scuba diving and wilderness adventures. So if your child is the outdoor enthusiast, this would probably be the best choice for them.

Special Interest Camps:

These types of summer camps consist of anything from circus camps, cooking camps, farming, fitness, magic, space & aviation, yoga or stunts. So if you child is interested in these types of activities, do a search on the internet to find specific summer camps that cater to these types of activities. The suggestions given here are just a few examples of what is all out there for Special summer camps

Special Needs Camps:

There is such a wide range of summer camps in this area. What ever your child’s special needs are, there is a summer camp available to them.

I hope this gives you some idea of what kind of summer camps there are available for your child. It is a good idea for the both of you to sit down and discuss what your child’s interests are, what they would like to do or learn and how long they would like to attend a summer camp. If you child is smaller they might not want to be away from home as long as an older child. The main idea of summer camp is that your child come home with a feeling of having a wonderful time, having learned new things with having so much fun that they didn’t really realize they learned something new.

Check out Dean’s summer camp themes website

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

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

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

Workplace Politics vs. The Battlefield Engagement

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

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

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

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

The Truth about Politics in the Workplace

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

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

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

Convert Uniqueness into Ultimate Power

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

professional mastery to the people and organization:

1. a clear “Vision” of issues.

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

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

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

5. Strategic “Execution” (Governance).

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

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

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

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

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

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