The internet is filled with websites promising to make you a millionaire in less than 15 minutes. So think for a couple of minutes, if you could really invest $50 in an e-book that will make you a millionaire in 15 minutes, would the e-book really cost $50?

Even if the e-book did cost $50 don’t you think that by now you would have met someone who has actually made millions after buying a $50 e-book? Quickly, off the top of your head, think of 3 people you know or have met online who are millionaires, and have made their money after buying an e-book online.

Now I’m not disputing the fact that you can actually make money online, and no doubt you can make a lot of it, but the internet has been perceived as a get rich quick market that with very little effort and minimum investment will make you excessively rich and you never have to work again. Yeah right!

Think again, making a living on the internet is as hard if not harder that making a living in real life. Now while your financial investment on the internet may be substantially less that a traditional brick and mortar investment, it’s not free.

Your time investment in an online business will most likely far outweigh the time you would put into a brick and mortar business. Your customers never sleep, business does not close at 5, and there are no rules as to which geographical area you need to operate in.

Your success on the internet is relative to the time that you put into an online business. Your efforts don’t just one day come to an end. You don’t wake up one morning and think to yourself “I think I’ll stop working today” and your business continues to function.

While running an online business and working from home does allow you certain luxuries, you still have to work. Some of the most successful online entrepreneurs work every day, and often still post to their forums, and send out their news letters while on holiday.

The point I am trying to make is that having a successful online business requires you to work at it. For example, Google’s Ad Sense program is one of the most successful advertising programs on the internet, and if you get 1000 visitors on your site/s a day and have a 10% CTR the you are getting 100 clicks at an average of $1 you make $100 per day. That does work yes, but how do you get 1000 visitors a day? Do you really think it’s as easy as building a website over a weekend and retiring a month later?

Many people on the internet would have us believe that, and only once we have parted with our money and bought an entire library of e-book and have a great collection of software do we realise that we can’t give up our day jobs just yet.

I have bought every e-book out there, I’ve read them all, they have great sales copy and a very enticing sales pitch, but at the end of the day they simply tell you about a niche that can be used to generate revenue.

You still need to put in the time. The downside is that often we put in the time in the wrong place; we spend way too much time doing the wrong thing. So how do you know you are doing the right thing? Well, here are some guidelines…

There are only a few select areas that will make your online business work:

1. Make sure you have the right product: Do not try and go to market with a product that you a) don’t know backwards, and b) is a shot in the dark. Do your homework, make sure that there is a market for whatever product or service you are planning to offer, Google all you can, find every forum that relates to your product and read, read, read.

2. Build your business: Setup your website, using a developer, templates, Content management system etc, and make sure it is 100% BEFORE going live. There is nothing more off putting than a site that wants $97 for and e-book, but the site looks like a dog’s breakfast. Make sure you have a professional looking site, and test, test, test.

3. Optimize your site: This is the most time consuming process, either pay someone to do it for you properly if you don’t have the time, or make sure you do it right. The last thing you want or need is to be blacklisted from search engines. Get good links, research key words, do proper on page and off page optimization.

4. After sales selling: Once you have customer, make sure that you keep in contact with them. Setup a forum where you can discuss how to use your product, and answer any questions they might have, forums are great for interaction with all your clients at once.

Make sure that your time is mainly spent on these areas. They will have the highest return and help you to become a success on the internet, and remember, it won’t happen over night.

Shawn Jooste is an internet marketing consultant; his website http://www.jooste.org is filled with resources that will help you in your day to day internet marketing efforts.

On July 1, the interest rate for existing Stafford loans will increase. Many experts believe that it will rise to the highest level in six years.

If you are graduating from college or have some loans floating around, you need to consolidate those federal student loans before July 1.

The interest rate could go as high as 7%. But if you act right now, you can lock in a rate as low as 4.75% for the full term of the loan. It’s simple, the lower the rate, the lower your payment and the more money you save.

Under the current law, you can lock in the weighted average of all your loans, up to the nearest 1/8 of 1%. If you have already been paying back your loans, you can consolidate and lock in a rate of 5.375%. Borrowers who are still in the grace period will be able to lock in at 4.75%.

Student loans have experienced record-low interest rates for the past several years. The rate for outstanding federally guaranteed student loans is based on rates for short-term Treasury bills for May. Lenders are now looking for rates to exceed 6.9%, a record high for the past six years.

If you borrow after July 1, your Stafford loans will have a fixed rate of 6.8%, even if the interest rates go down. Earlier this year, a new law eliminated the variable rate for student loans issued after July 1, 2006.

Consolidating several student loans into one gives you one monthly payment. But with new fixed interest rates, the financial benefits of consolidation may be lessened.

Don’t wait too long to start consolidating, even though you have a month left. Lenders are expecting a large increase in last-minute applications.

When choosing a lender to consolidate your student loans, you should consider:

-You might not have a choice of who to refinance with. If all of your Stafford loans are held by the same lender, and it offers loan consolidation, they are your only choice. But if you have loans with separate lenders, you can choose whoever you wish.

-Some loans shouldn’t be consolidated, such as Perkins loans, which are already federally subsidized as a fixed-rate loan for low-income students. Perkins loans are eligible for loan forgiveness is you work in certain fields.

-If you consolidate while still in school, you may lose the six-month grace period that usually kicks in after graduation. But locking in a low rate may be worth it. After July 1, the government will no longer allow in-school consolidation.

Keep in mind that once you consolidate federally guaranteed student loans, you can’t do it again. It’s a one-time option.

Most college students are facing paying their student loans back for decades. Cutting the interest rate can save thousands of dollars. Student loan debt is often necessary for many consumers, but the high interest rates aren’t. Act now.

Martin Lukac (http://www.MartinLukac.com), represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies!

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Dear George,

I hope I can take the liberty of a first-name salutation. You’ve got a few bucks and it’s well known that you take an interest in politics. I put it to you that it’s possible America would benefit from another 3rd-party alternative to Republicans and Democrats. Hard to make the case for your involvement while stumbling over formalities. Although we’ve never met, feel free to call me Jim.

This third-party thing isn’t a new idea and hasn’t been all that successful in the past. This seems to be a two-party country. We’ve had our Ralph Naders and Ross Perots from time to time, with even a Steve Forbes thrown in for comic relief, but they all had a fatal flaw. They all put themselves up as a third-party candidate for President.

Bad thinking. In your case, it’s impossible thinking because you were born in Hungary and we require our candidates to be native-born. Doesn’t mean you can’t financially back the candidate of your choice and I assume you will, but I hope to impress upon you the need for an additional campaign.

We don’t need just a different party in power. Republicans and Democrats have failed us, each according to the moment. We need a change in the way politics is done in Washington and it wouldn’t take all that much to make it happen.

The Republicans, who have wandered so far from their original and well-founded beliefs in a conservatism that actually conserves something, share an almost even split in public support with the Democrats, who haven’t had a really new and inspiring thought in forty years. But they are each enormously large, lumbering and deeply entrenched political organizations.

The intimidating organizational structure, political will and financial means it would take to offset the weight of a full-grown Democratic mule or Republican elephant consistently defeats third parties. Yet overcoming those supposedly impossible hindrances becomes no more than a finger-touch to the scale, once they are close to balance, near to cancelling one another out.

As they are now, among a disenchanted electorate.

Third-party presidential candidates are merely spoilers, a fact proven often enough we need no longer press the issue. But every sampling of voters reinforces the reality that large proportions of Republicans as well as Democrats are discouraged by their own, as well as the opposition party.

An opportunity not often stumbled upon in American politics.

It’s obviously far too late for your effective personal involvement in the November mid-terms. But 2008 is an entirely different matter. There’s time between now and then to help this frustrated and divided nation, whose citizenship you have chosen to accept and whose principles you admire. What I propose is neither Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative in nature. It’s non-partisan, doesn’t require a majority in either house of the Congress and doesn’t even espouse a political doctrine.

That’s why it has a real chance to shake off the encumbrances both parties have taken upon themselves. That’s why, appealing to both liberal and conservative, this proposal has a chance to bring us truly representative government again. I don’t think either a Democrat or a Republican could argue against that. In the words of Jefferson, it robs no man’s pocket, breaks no man’s leg.

What it does propose to do is return a sense of public empowerment into a political system that’s been radicalized beyond recognition. Here’s the basic outline, George, feel free to pencil in the margins.

Do some market research and come up with a party name, something with broad appeal and enough legs to become permanent. Your guys are good at that, it’s what you pay them for.
Find, inspire and financially back candidates of a like-mind in House and Senate 2008 races in all fifty states. Like mind being those committed to independent thought and issues-based representation. No litmus test. Trust me on that, but I’ll explain later.
Concentrate only on races where independent candidates have a reasonable chance of winning.
Sponsor a National Convention to hammer out a platform, dedicated not to narrow principle, but to independent, rational, bipartisan governance.
Devote your major financial commitment to that convention and the national advertising required to support candidacies based on its platform.
Win perhaps 10 Senate races and 50 House seats. Possibly more, but ten and fifty would be a smashing success.

You’re the guy with the money, so I guess you make the rules, but I would hope this 3rd party wouldn’t waste itself on get out of Iraq or balance the budget or stop lobbyist influence issues. There’s are more worthwhile flags out there under which to march.

My thought is that ‘Soros’ candidates (as an example) might be pro-life or pro-choice, but they would be dedicated to dialog on how best to bring the two sides of this issue together, rather than split even further. Candidates might be socially more liberal or conservative, depending on their constituency, but would be bound by no major party line enforcing their legislative vote.

That’s the magic.

Think of the power that 10 Senators and 50 Representatives, voting conscience instead of party-line, could bring back to our eroded confidence in government. Such a power, waxing and waning depending on the political times and argument, might end the destructive and repetitive cycles of party dominance in Washington.

Consider the impact of Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont, when he changed his Republican affiliation to Independent in the U.S. Senate. Jeffords suddenly spoke with a much more powerful voice. He pioneered a single independence that made a singular difference. Suddenly, a party that steamrollered its Senators became aware of the need to address them individually.

Jeffords does not represent total independence from party within the Senate, but he points the way.

Congress hasn’t the courage to leave its feeding-tube payment by special interest, nor to back away from the terrible polarization of its party whips. But set free from the crushing grip of partisan politics, a small and independent membership could make the critical difference, might pull us back within the intended framework of representative government.

You could do it, George. What a far greater service to your country than mere support of a presidential candidate.

Avoiding inert measures that anaesthetise your performance management.

INTRODUCTION

You sit before the monthly report, which might be an inch or so thick, and you contemplate whether it’s the best use of your time to paw through the pages to check if there’s anything useful in there for you. Past experience tells you that the report is full of many measures graphed in all their splendor, but virtually none of them pique your interest, help you make the decisions you barely have time to give enough thought to as it is…

TYPICALLY, PERFORMANCE MEASURES ARE NOT EMOTIVE ENOUGH

Do you have measures with names like these?

Employee Productivity.

Cost Efficiency.

Product Quality.

Community Engagement.

Customer Relationship.

Financial Sustainability.

Stakeholder Buy-in.

If you do, then there’s a good chance that those measures are either not brought to life, or what is brought to life is a poor indicator of the result you are trying to measure. Why? Because when people look at measures that are named like those listed above, they often have no idea what they exactly mean, or have very divergent ideas of what they think they mean, or have no feeling of connection to them. They just look like a list of buzz words or phrases that every one else seems to be tossing around.

If people don’t share a single, sharply focused, easily imaginable vision of a result they want to create, any effort to measure that result will waste time. And if you do successfully get some measures established, it’s likely they just won’t stimulate the excitement and motivation needed to make the result happen.

BECAUSE BUSINESS LANGUAGE IS INERT

If something is inert it means it’s incapable of action, it is lifeless. Like the reaction you get when you put a concrete brick in a bucket of water, pretty much nothing comes of it. You just have a concrete brick sitting in a bucket of water. When we talk about business language being inert, it’s when the reaction you get to a business goal written down in a plan document is little or no noticeable change to the business. Here are some real examples that have personally left me baffled at what could possibly be meant:

“The outcomes will include valuable input into environmentally sustainable solutions to underpin the many proposed developments on the airport, as well as independent research to assist in making effective management decisions for this growing site.” - What does ‘valuable input’ mean? How would you recognise an ‘environmentally sustainable solution’ from any other solution? What does a management decision that is effective look like?

“Support and focus [our] educational mission to undergraduates in a manner that is increasingly known for its holistic and integrated academic programs, its striving for excellence in all endeavors, and its engagement with the wider community through service and learning.” - Increasingly known by whom? How do you imagine what a ‘holistic and integrated academic program’ looks like? Is it really all endeavors? Does everyone have the same idea about what ‘engagement with the wider community” means?

“[Our Council] will increase its responsiveness, efficiency and effectiveness in delivering high quality services. Emphasis will continue on streamlining core business and customer processes. Services will be provided in the most efficient manner possible at a reasonable cost while meeting environmental needs” - Responsiveness to what specifically? Efficiency of what, and what would people notice if it were happening? Isn’t effectiveness so broad that it could mean 23 different things to 7 different people? If something is streamlined, how is it different? Reasonable cost from whose perspective?

“Lead initiatives that foster diversity of staff and create culturally-competent care strategies supporting the local and international patients we serve.” - When you are fostering, what are you actually doing? What kinds of diversity are good, and what kinds of diversity should not be fostered? How would you distinguish a ‘culturally-competent care strategy’ from any other kind of competent care strategy (is it obvious to those that contribute to achieving this goal what a care strategy is exactly?).

Each of these goals share the prolific use of inert words like valuable, input, sustainable, underpin, effective, support, focus, holistic, integrated, excellence, engagement, service, enhance, responsiveness, efficiency, effectiveness (these last two I think must be the most used of all the inert words as building blocks to writing business goals), streamlining, reasonable, foster, diversity, competent and strategy. You can read more fine examples of inert language used in our society in Don Watson’s book, Death Sentence: The Decay Of Public Language. You know there are many more inert words that bulk-up our business language - perhaps when you have your next cup of your beverage of choice, you might sit down with your business’s plan and look for the inert words in the goal statements. How well do you really understand what those goals mean?

And that’s largely the effect of inert words in our business language - it’s often hard to really understand what they mean. For example, it’s far easier for you to imagine in your mind what it would be like to feel energetic all day and be able to site and move comfortably and pain-free and think clearly and enjoy eating fresh foods like apples and carrots and sleep soundly at night, than it is to imagine having “health improvements”. When our language helps us vividly and in detail imagine the result it describes, it moves us, motivates us and almost programs us to make that result a reality. Sometimes it can even move us to realise that it’s not the result we really want, and we can avoid wasting effort traveling in that direction.

Particularly in business, ‘language that moves us’ is critical if you are going to design the right kind of measures to give you feedback about your progress toward your goals.

MEANINGFUL MEASURES COME FROM ‘LANGUAGE THAT MOVES’

You simply can’t measure a result that is described by inert language. Measures are data that we have analysed to give us some evidence of the degree to which a particular result is occurring. Like the measure of employee absenteeism is data about individual employees’ attendance at work that has been analysed to give us some evidence of the degree to which employees are available for work. Evidence is something that is based in the physical world, the world of our 5 senses: sight, sound, touch, taste and smell. So if a goal or result is to be measurable, then it must be able to be described in terms of what someone would see, hear, feel or do, taste or smell if that result were occurring.

Some fairly reasonable examples of organisational goals that get beyond the typical inert language are:

From the Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia, “Improve decision making throughout the WCB, ensuring consistency with the legislation (proportion of issues leading to overturned decisions at the review or appeal level dues to WCB error in law or policy).” - This goal has made an attempt to explain what improved decision making means quite specifically, and therefore quite measurably.

From Oxfam’s Strategic Plan, “Fewer people will die, fall sick, and suffer deprivation as a result of armed conflict or natural disasters.” - This goal makes it very explicit what result they want to achieve, and people dying or falling sick is a very tangible result. Perhaps ‘deprivation’ could be more concretely explained, though.

From the United Nations, their first goal is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, part of which is to “Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day.” - Very specific. Goals like this, that are incredibly sharply focused on a single result, are very powerful motivators. The UN use three indicators to measure this goal (find out more at http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/mi/mi_goals.asp).

In each of these cases, you can more easily visualize what achieving the result would be like, than for those examples on the previous page. This ‘language that moves us’ is often comprised of sensory based language, because it describes the experiences we have through our physical senses: what we would see, hear, feel or do, taste or smell if that result were occurring. The Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia would hear fewer of their decisions being overturned at the review or appeal level on account of their own error. Oxfam would see that armed conflict would be causing less people dying or falling sick. The United Nations would see that more people are living on more than $1 a day. And all these things are countable, and therefore measurable.

So the effect of sensory based language? You can more easily imagine in your mind what it would be like if the goal or result was happening, and then you can more easily pin-point the kind of evidence or data you could collect that will help you keep tabs on how much it is happening as time goes by. From this evidence or data, you construct your meaningful measures.

SEE IT, HEAR IT, FEEL IT… THEN YOU CAN MEASURE IT

There is still a long way to go for business, in improving its ability to communicate in general, but particularly to communicate its goals to its employees (to give them direction), and to its other stakeholders (to clarify its promises). It’s really not too hard to start with our existing goals, however inert, and make the space for some rich dialogue about what those goals really mean, painting a sensory rich picture of what we would see, hear, feel or do, taste or smell if those goals were achieved. This will make the measurement of those goals unbelievably easier. And who knows, you might even get truly closer to that elusive thing we call a shared vision.

REFERENCES

Don Watson, “Death Sentence: The Decay of Public Language”, Random House Australia, 2003

Workers Compensation Board of British Columbia Strategic Goals, http://www.worksafebc.com/facts_and_figures/wcb_strategic_goals/default.asp

UN Millennium Development Goals, http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/

Oxfam 2004 Strategic Plan, http://www.oxfam.org.uk/about_us/downloads/2004_Strategic_Plan.pdf

Stacey Barr is a specialist in organisational performance measurement, helping people get the kind of information that tells them how well their business is doing and how to make it do better. Sign up for Stacey’s free newsletter at http://www.staceybarr.com

Obviously it is non-official opinion and we are just trying to guess on the future direction of Microsoft Dynamics or former Microsoft Project Green. These lines are written in June of 2006, based on the analysis of Microsoft Business Solutions policy and real actions in the USA, Europe, Latin America and Brazil. Let’s begin.

• Software Initial Development vs. Purchasing and Branding. To create ERP application from scratch is probably too risky business and it requires venture capital intervention to make new-born MRP a success. Most Microsoft Dynamics ERP products were purchased, not developed from scratch (exception is Microsoft Dynamics CRM). Microsoft is good in finding a right moment to come to the market, when it is not yet mature, but it is clear that it is from now on real, not risky

• Project Green Initiative. At least this was how we understood it back in earlier XXI century. It was like this - ERP application modules should be kind of standardized: Financials, HR, Distributions, Manufacturing, Logistics, etc. The integration between so-called Microsoft Suites is just a matter of technical solution development. As MS now owns several applications: Great Plains (Financials,. Distributions, HR), Axapta (Supply Chain and large corporate businesses), Solomon (Project Accounting), Navision (Manufacturing) - MS can get the best part of each application, encapsulate it into respective modules/suites and integrate into Project Green (on .Net platform, using C# or VB.Net). However, look at the first bullet - this approach to Project Green requires revolutionary rewriting and modules redesign (in the meaning of making them cross-compatible)

• MS Outlook Interface. Obviously majority of office workers are familiar with MS Outlook, MS Word, Excel, or MS Office. And the idea to capitalize on this fact is very attractive. If you look at Microsoft Dynamics GP - it is evolutioning to get kind of the same interface as MS Outlook (the same should be told about Microsoft Small Business Accounting)

• What is the Plan? Maybe it is a way more simple than it was initially planned? Let’s for the moment assume this - why should we merge products? We can make them interact with MS Office, MS Sharepoint, MS CRM, Exchange, etc. We can expose business logic for light development on .Net level - eConnect approach (leaving initial proprietary technologies: Great Plains Dexterity, Axapta MorphX/X++, Navision C/Side)

• International Approach. Microsoft Axapta is good to be launched on emerging markets and we see strong MS efforts to launch Axapta (the newest in MS Dynamics ERP product line) in Brazil, LATAM, Russia - to name a few. Navision - well - this one has a lot of clients in Europe, plus MS BS probed Navision in East Europe and LATAM - for these existing clients MS will probably keep maintaining Microsoft Dynamics NAV line in maintenance. MS Great Plains - has strong presence in US/Canada - in order to keep these clients Microsoft Dynamics GP should be probably in maintenance and at the same time when company grows over its limits - conversion utility should help to migrate to Axapta/Microsoft Dynamics AX

• ERP Maturity/Life Cycle. There is another theory - ERP has life cycle and it is too risky to purchase newcomer, it is good to purchase market winner and it is not good to purchase ERP in its phasing out mode. However MS might be breaking this traditional approach by integrating ERP into its MS Office stack of products

• Multinational Corporation. Large company has to offset multiple risks, related to ERP market, MRP selection and implementation. It is good idea to have small budget to understand which international ERP brand (or combination of brands) is good for your international operations: Microsoft Dynamics, SAP mySAP or SAP Business One, Oracle E-Business Suite, etc. Good example - Brazilian operations of US company (Great Plains in Chicago headquarters) deployed SAP Business One in Brazil to comply to Brazilian regulation - one of the main reasons for this turn was GP is not localized and supported in Brazil

• Conclusion. We believe that future Microsoft Dynamics will be combination of several applications: Microsoft Dynamics AX and Microsoft Small Business Accounting will be the flagships (form large/midsize and small businesses respectively). Microsoft Dynamics GP, NAV and SL will be in maintenance mode to serve existing clients and sell to their traditional niches. Microsoft Dynamics AX will be in development and expansion mode - to get into ERP horizontals and verticals and new sales will be increasing for Microsoft Dynamics AX

Please do not hesitate to call or email us: USA/Canada: 1-866-528-0577, 1-630-961-5918, Europe: +44 20 8123 2580, +45 36 96 55 20, Mexico: 52-55-535-04027 help@albaspectrum.com

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer at Alba Spectrum Technologies ( http://www.albaspectrum.com http://www.ronix-systems.de http://www.enterlogix.com.br ) - Microsoft Business Solutions Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, MS CRM, Oracle Financials, SAP Business One and IBM Lotus Domino Partner, serving corporate customers in the following industries: Aerospace & Defense, Medical & Healthcare, Distribution & Logistics, Hospitality, Banking & Finance, Wholesale & Retail, Chemicals, Oil & Gas, Placement & Recruiting, Advertising & Publishing, Textile, Pharmaceutical, Non-Profit, Beverages, Conglomerates, Apparels, Durables, Manufacturing and having locations in multiple states and internationally.

We are serving USA Nationwide: CA, IL, NY, FL, AZ, CO, TX, WI, WA, MI, MA, MO, LA, NM, MN, Europe: Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Middle East (Egypt, Saudi Arabia, OAE, Bahrain), Asia: China, Australia, New Zealand, Oceania, South & Central America: Mexico, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico

We all know that a diet of food rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients is essential to our health and well being. Yet you tried a nutritional supplement that did little for you despite a friend’s or salesperson’s enthusiastic recommendation. Then scientific studies conclude supplementation has no benefit or could even be harmful. No wonder you may be confused! By following a few simple rules, you can choose nutritional supplements that can help maintain and improve your health.

1. Make sure the supplement is in the right form. Many vitamin makers take short cuts to keep production costs low. Inorganic forms such as magnesium oxide or calcium carbonate are difficult to absorb. Most people don’t benefit from them. Organic forms such as calcium ascorbate are well absorbed because they are similar to vitamins in our food. They are also large molecules that do not fit in a small tablet. The daily dose of a good multivitamin requires more than one pill.

2. You need more than one form of some vitamins. Many makers use a single form, again as a short cut. The vitamins in our food come in many forms, and each of these forms performs different functions in our body. So instead of beta-carotene, look for mixed carotenoids. Instead of the succinate or acetate forms of vitamin E, also called tocopherol, look for natural mixed tocopherols.

3. Make sure the dosage is high enough to make a difference. If your supplement contains the U.S.RDA or less, it will likely make little difference in your health. The recommended daily allowance (RDA) amounts prevent deficiency diseases such as scurvy from lack of vitamin C, according to the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council. The RDAs do not define the optimal intake for an individual. There is a growing body of research showing that optimal intake for many nutrients, especially antioxidant nutrients such as vitamins C, E, beta-carotene and selenium may be much higher than their current RDA. In their 1989 report, the Food and Nutrition Board stated that the RDAs do not apply to individuals with “unusual stressors.” These stressors often include prescription drug use, the habits mentioned below and chronic illness.

4. Don’t expect supplements to make up for bad habits. Smoking, processed food, carbonated beverages, caffeine, alcohol, and antacid consumption are just a few habits that deplete you of vitamins and minerals or make it difficult for you to absorb them. Work on stopping these habits instead.

5. Make sure you can utilize the supplement. Some people with health problems cannot absorb or utilize even the best vitamin and mineral supplements. Homeopathic, herbal or other support may be needed. If you think this may be your case, a practitioner skilled in these areas may be able to help.

6. Don’t cherry pick. Taking only one or two single vitamins or minerals can be harmful, as was found in the 1996 Beta-Carotene and Retinal Efficacy Trial (CARET). This study was stopped early because the researchers determined that a synthetic form of beta-carotene increased the incidence of lung cancer in smokers. If you apply our rules to the above study, you will see potential reasons for the bad outcome. Instead of mixed carotenoids, they used a poorly absorbed form of beta-carotene that is also known to block the absorption of carotenoids from food. They also used only one vitamin in isolation. Beta-carotene in the doses used in the study becomes a free-radical, unless vitamins C and E are present to neutralize it.

Free radicals are molecules that damage cellular structures, including DNA, which can lead to cancer. Everyone, even healthy people, have free radicals. Your body constantly neutralizes them to keep you healthy. Smoking generates free-radicals. So giving the smokers beta-carotene alone only increased their free radical load above and beyond that already produced by smoking, and put them at greater risk for cancer. This study reinforces the rule that supplementation cannot make up for bad habits. Not smoking remains the most effective way to prevent lung cancer.

Studies suggest that a good supplement regimen includes a quality multivitamin supplement, flax seed oil, additional vitamin C and an antioxidant formula. Beyond this, seek the assistance of a practitioner skilled in nutritional medicine.

Bethany Klug, DO

Bethany Klug, DO specializes in holistic medicine at the Kansas City Holistic Centre, http://www.kcholistic.com/ She is a member of the Lieurance Group, a freelance writers cooperative http://www.lieurancegroup.blogspot.com/ and authors the monthly column “The Doctor Cooks” for the Kansas City Wellness Magazine.

>From smoke and dirt to pollution and oil, it is amazing how much
gunk can collect on a window over time. I sit here in my office
looking out the window that appears to look the same as it did
when it was new, but wondering why it was always a gray overcast
outside. I was just used to the slow collection of crud so I
never really noticed how opaque the window was becoming. It took
a lot of cleaner, four rags, and a lot of elbow grease to make
the window acceptably transparent again, but it’ll never be the
same as it was when it was new.

Just as with the window, from birth, we all collect some level
of gunk on our souls. This gunk consists of misinformation,
prejudices, conflict, trauma, and myriad other experiences that
layer over our creative insides. These layers slowly change the
way we see our world by creating an opaque film over our soul’s
eye. With that we begin to see the world in a way that we assume
that it is and not necessarily in a way that it truly exists.
Our reality becomes tainted preventing us from perusing and
becoming everything that we could possibly become. However,
somehow we need to clean off that gunk to obtain a clear view of
life.

—Writing to Clear my Vision—

After 15 years of sharpening pencils and banging on the
keyboard, I am still amazed at the things that happen as I
continue to write. In the early days, I simply did it because it
helped to pay the bills and it was fun to see my books at the
bookstore. But, as time passed, I began to realize that the more
I write, the more I learn about myself, and the more layers that
peel off of my soul.

I must say, that the most fulfilling experience I ever had as a
writer was the day that I saw my soul. To settle your doubts, it
wasn’t so much a physical manifestation of a soul, but it was
the automatic typing of my fingers to create content so rich
that I had to pinch myself to see if it was still me. This
bizarre, yet fulfilling, sensation pushed me into an entirely
different frame of mind and a sense of satisfaction and
self-belief like I had never known.

—Writing to Scratch the Surface—

Writing can take on many different shapes and sizes. Some write
for research. Some write for pleasure. Others write for money.
But, at the core of writing is the expression of one’s inner
being. It is an outlet for the soul. A way for it to give so
that it can dig its way out of the layers of contradiction and
goo that have piled on over the years.

Many books have been written about the act of keeping journals
or writing pages in the mornings to describe the first things
that are in your mind to clear the way for the remainder of the
day. The idea behind such practice writings is to begin to dig
through years of muck and mire to touch the ultimate writer
within us. However, it is much more than that. It is the release
of our creative self that we all have inside and provides us
with guidance and direction through our lives.

—Writing to Touch the Soul—

The soul is that energy that keeps is alive and connected to the
Universe. It is the most basic part of our existence, but
contains the knowledge and emotion of the Universe. When you
touch your soul, your fingers take on a life of their own and
you “feel” the things that you must write. Whether you feel it
as inspiration or some divine message, it doesn’t matter. It all
boils down to the fact that you are connected to your inner self
and have punctured a hole through which the inspiration can flow.

Once you touch your soul, your life will change. It’s like a
chain-reaction that changes your outlook and your direction. You
feel what you are truly made of and find that you are capable of
everything. All of the challenges you’ve encountered throughout
your life suddenly transform into lessons.

The easiest way to begin the journey of self-discovery is to
begin writing. Don’t write about the fly on the wall or the
sunset. Write what you feel. What is the first feeling that
comes to you.

While your first few attempts will appear, perhaps,
embarrassing, they are simply a representation as to the way the
soul’s message is translated through the years of experience
piled on top of it. The objective is to dig through the layers
to reach your core. Just keep writing. Every time you write,
you’ll find that the feeling you’re documenting becomes clearer
and more intelligible.

—What’s next?—

Whether your objective in life is to be a writer or not, the
idea behind writing is simply to touch your soul. It’s no wonder
so many people live their lives in spiritual destitution. The
creativity that ought to fuel every thing in life is stifled.
Don’t starve your spirit. Learn what creative gift the Universe
has given you. Love it and care for it. It’s as important as the
food you eat and the air you breathe as it is what supports your
life.

Anyone wanting a new kitten should be a cat lover. Let’s face it, folks, cats are just different from dogs. Cats do not usually perform any special tricks, and they certainly do not guard your possessions while you are away. In fact, the only thing you can be guaranteed of by having a cat is that a mouse won’t last long if they creep into your home.

Cats are loved by many because of their independence. Cats have a life, so to speak. Most cats do not follow you around the home with their tongues hanging out of their mouths waiting on your attention. While they do love their owners fiercely, cats will not grovel like a dog and worship and fawn over their owners. Cats are perfectly content simply being themselves–and they do not seem to need constant reassurance, unlike canines.

This does not mean cats do not need love and affection, it simply means cats are not “fragile” characters. In fact, cats exude a self assurance which can often be misunderstood as aloofness or coldness. Yet, cats are far from aloof or unfeeling. They feel deeply and love deeply. If a cat comes to sit on your lap, you know you are truly loved.

Anytime the family thinks about bringing a new pet into the home, it is exciting. Cats are a favorite of many because as kittens they are so entertaining to watch. Cats have a mind all of their own and only a true cat lover can even claim to understand the psyche of a feline. Cats are mysterious animals, which is part of the draw to them. While cats have been brought into the home, their instincts still remain. Cats adopt their owners and will even go out and provide “dinner.” Many cat owners have stepped out on the stoop to find a dead mouse, opossum, or mole waiting for them. Now, that is love and loyalty!

If you are planning to bring a cat into your home, you should look at it as a life long commitment. Cats can live fifteen years and beyond. You should also understand that as cats mature, they will often sleep and laze around the home. If you are wanting a cat to entertain you throughout her life, you should seriously think about whether a cat is the pet for you. Kittens are very entertaining and young cats are always curious and open for a challenge. However, older cats aren’t easily excitable and usually prefer to watch the antics in the home from a distance.

When you have made the decision to bring a new cat into your home, you will have to decide between a domestic or purebred cat. If you choose to go with a purebred cat, you can be guaranteed of size and appearance, and possibly temperament. There are more than 40 breeds to choose from, so do your homework. You will want to research the grooming requirements of the breed you are considering, along with the general disposition of the breed.

Domestic cats come in all colors and shapes. When you look at any cat, there are some things you should consider. For instance, while all cats are fairly in proportion to each other, there are some cats which are more lanky and lean than others. These cats will be the ones who may be more interested in running and exploration. The chunkier, heavier cat will probably be more laid back and not get into too big a hurry about anything. You have a choice between a domestic long hair or domestic short hair cat.

When picking out your kitten, you should understand that kittens should not have an odor. While puppies do tend to have a smell about them, kittens do not. You should observe the entire litter of kittens. Do any of them have crusty eyes or a runny nose? If so, you may want to reconsider choosing a kitten from that litter. You certainly shouldn’t take one home simply because you feel sorry for it, either. Especially if you have other pets in your home. All of the kittens should have bright and clear eyes and be very alert.

You should handle the kittens. Their fur should be soft and silky, and never stiff or dry. Likewise, their coat should not feel oily or greasy. When you are petting the kitten, you should run your hands along her skin to ensure she has no sores. When you are holding each kitten, place them up to your face and nuzzle them. Listen for any breathing noises. You should not hear any raspy or breathy breathing. If you do, this is possibly a signal that the kitten has a respitory infection.

After visiting with the kittens, instinct will usually dictate to you which kitten is your match. You may feel the rowdy, rambunctious kitten will fit the best into your lively home. Or, you may decide the laid back kitten is more your speed, especially if you have a quiet home. Once you have made your decision and chosen your kitten, you should have a kennel waiting for travel. You should never try to ride in a car with a cat unless they are restrained or in a kennel. While most dogs love car rides, cats tend to scare. They can cower under your feet and this can lead to a wreck.

When you bring your new kitten into your home, you should immediately show her where the litter box, food and water are located. You should also have a supply of cat toys on hand to distract the cat from missing her mom and litter mates. While this cannot entirely be avoided, lavishing attention on a new kitten will do wonders in the transition to her new family.

You should expect your new kitten to explore every nook and cranny in the home. This is a necessary part of a kitten’s disposition. (Even older cats seem to perk up when a new piece of furniture is brought into a home they have lived in for years.) You will want to kitten proof your home. You should keep the lids down on the toilet, and you may want to remove potted plants and the like until your cat learns the rules.

Cats are social creatures, and they can learn the rules of their new environment with consistency. While you may think they do not understand what you are saying, this is not true. If you have a new kitten who wants to walk across the kitchen counter or dining room table, simply rattling a newspaper at her and saying “down” will teach her to stay off. With time you will be able to put the newspaper away and simply speak the command.

Kittens can add joy to any home. Part of the fun is knowing the kitten is oblivious to the fact that she is the center of attention. She is not trying to gain your attention by performing. She is simply being a cat. You should also not be upset if your kitten is not interested in being a lap cat. While she may be content for a few moments on your lap, kittens have to roam, play and explore. As your cat matures she will be more inclined to take it easy curled up on your lap. Until then, just make her feel loved and you will have a feline that will adore you and her new home.

Copyright © 2005, Ian White

About the Author

Author Ian White is founder of cat-breeders.biz Those seeking kittens can locate and match with appropriate breeders. Cat-Breeders.biz automates the matching of kittens for sale with kitten wanted entries, with daily email notifications to all parties. http://www.cat-breeders.biz

The Dark Side of the Moon, The Universe and everything.

Last time we saw hardware turning somewhat towards mobile
phones, with PCs still firmly entrenched. Today we will look at
the future of non hardware based things to come. Increasingly,
things are bought ready programmed and we have little influence
over what we have bought or use, just initial choice of supplier
and package. So we are being gently pushed down pre-defined
paths, with conforming to compatibility being paramount,
especially as the current market is essentially split between
Google and Microsoft. Here Google will try to offer all options
to all men purely by being online to them, as opposed to
Microsoft’s tendency to tie the user to their PC for Word
Processing/Office/Email applications and get their frills on the
net. Much as most would privately relish a Google triumph, this
is Microsoft after all, who have seen off a good number of
contenders for the crown, and also generally speaking we are all
more comfortable with the net for the net and the PC for the
rest; it is what we have grown up with, plus possibly there is
an underlying fear that the net does not reek of “permanence” as
it was historically not so long back “down” as much as it was
up, and is somewhat dependant on transient factors, not least
electricity in an ageing, creaking grid network, surviving in an
epoch of sophisticated terrorism. (Personally I think our
increasing reliance on all things electrically based, with no
alternative parallel backup manual systems is a t least worrying
and at worst frightening.) Anyway, I think Microsoft will be the
major monopoly for many a day yet, with a new search evolving
with Longhorn and as in any event the “devil that we know”.

On another tack, I recently visited Ireland, where my mobile
phone supplier does not function! News to me, and news relayed
via texts from other suppliers who do work there almost as soon
as I stepped off the ferry. ” Welcome to Ireland we are now
looking after you” kind of thing. One even had the temerity to
phone me and ask if I wanted to upgrade to their network as mine
did not work there. A little startling to think you are targeted
so quickly, automatically. So project this further if you will,
as ID cards, and the like containing DNA, Iris details and
fingerprints, plus bank balances and credit card balances become
prevalent as money ceases to be in tandem. You walk down the
street, and a CCTV recognises you via facial and retinal scan
correlation and activates a speaker/plasma display which says
“hi Malcolm, are you interested in ………. Today?” It will know
your available credit, your credit rating , preferences, your
season of the year typical buys. It will have countless data via
surveys you filled in to get freebies. It will in short target
you with your weaknesses knowing the money is there. Similarly
actually pick up any displayed article and DNA or fingerprint
technology will trigger a similar chain of events and questions
merely by having touched them. All this is delivered to your
door with minimal fuss, and the item may even tell you when it
needs replacing, and on command replace itself via the home
online system hooked into the intelligent fridge, washing
machine, cooker, and freezers and conversing 24/7 with the net
and relevant suppliers and re suppliers. Your home system
constantly monitors stock and varies purchases according o
season and personal preferences learned ad hoc from its
inception, much as your blue DVD system learned your viewing
preferences and your commercial TV channels learned to tune
their adverts specifically to be in sync with your personal
psyche, style and tastes. All choice is made to be as minimal as
possible, all whim taken away everything is so SIMPLE. There
will be no problem getting what you want, when you want it,
almost instantaneously, and your every internet search will be
analysed and filed for finer tuning into your underlying
psychological profile. given this weight of mundane tasks being
effortlessly achieved in a sort of background low profile mode,
and given most will effectively be “working from home” there may
well be a tendency to introversion, an almost hermit-like
existance, where communication is by and large electronic and
not in person, more “in camera”. We see the start of this in the
endemic mobile phone use by our youth who are losing their grasp
of spelling and personal contact via texting, and an almost
addictive usage of phones where once we talked face to face.
This incidentally stimulates rudeness and abuse and easily
causes offence where none is intended, as the electrons flow and
the actual physical face to face meetings with all their emotive
vision hearing touch and smell are slowly but surely eroded and
recede, and with it human contact is so much the poorer. As I
say this all assumes an uninterrupted power source which can
Answer increasingly heavier and heavier demand with absolutely
no blips. Is this achievable, is this stable, is this possible?
Much as our supermarkets now are eviscerating smaller shops and
garages, so they will become sole silent suppliers to your door
via the global net,( or not so silent suppliers should you
venture past your front portal) . Holidays may even become a
matter of “plugging in” to distant locations via a sensual
virtual link, sort of web cam with touch and emotion, then……no
more travelling, packing, flying, ferrying, just dreaming awake
with subliminal time outs for ordering. We are leaving an age of
choice and reason and opinions to go to an era of facile
effortless indulgence and contentment at the expense of our free
will being subjugated to appeasing the convenient, the line of
minimal effort. Every day that passes it is easier to spend and
receive, easier to indulge and then discard. It is also becoming
increasingly hard to manage and function without a mobile, a
laptop, a PC and a Net; and more expensive to buck the system
and “do it manually”. Soon there will be no money, no bartering,
no MANUALLY. Soon it will all be credit and online and
AUTOMATICALLY . Who is to say which is preferable, but there is
little doubt which way it will go. Ask your computers, they will
tell you if you don’t believe me; soon we will be more
comfortable talking to our computer than to each other.
Apparently even now users in Internet cafes and Universities use
the SAME computer in a room of many, giving choice, because they
TRUST that one, they are happy it worked for them before; plus
your computer never lies to you or annoys you or answers you
back, it just does what you say, for now.

So I envisage a shift towards a “2001 HAL” society where your
every perceived need and want is second guessed, offered,
accepted and delivered. No actual feeling of paying or ordering
or thinking is likely, simply a constantly replenished supply of
perishables with a finite life span. Not “pay today and throw
away” but “Don’t think why just re supply” and to this end all
software, peripherals, and the Net will be geared up to be more
and more effortless to you and less and less manual intervention
from you, in the race to automate the mundane and strip away the
stress and even choice in supplying what are perceived and
judged to be your needs, albeit by others. As long as your
credit is good it will be an effortless electronic environment,
always assuming zero credit/banking errors, which may gradually
become more and more hard to actually prove has happened as the
Net becomes unassailable and infallible seeming. Computers are
not good at self regulation. The race to supply this panacea is
currently attempting a wireless supplantment of hard wired
technology. I am not at all convinced that the security and
interference aspects of these items and strategy have been fully
thought through and addressed, especially in light of the
plethora of new gadgets which all use various similar
frequencies. We will address these issues in the next missive
from Mars. I leave you with a sobering thought. We can now use
many times better fabrics, papers, materials and manufacturing
processes than we ever could say late last century. Yet things
from that era, like cookers, fridges, books, vintage cars, tape
recorders, LPs, reel to reel tapes, model trains for example are
still working (in many instances BETTER than their modern
counterparts). If we are so advanced then why do we deliberately
manufacture things which are not meant to survive for even a
fraction of the durability of these old items, when we have
better materials, better tools, better knowledge, and better
tolerances. We are a million times better at selling, and what
we sell falls apart in no time, and no one seems to care, notice
or even question such a trade in of quality and reliability and
style for shoddy, unreliable unremarkable rubbish. A friend of
mine is in printing, and the challenge there and here in all
aspects of modern manufacturing, is to put back quality, trust,
and reliability and promote the value of true worth over
transient gloss. It would appear the sales industry has become
so perfected at what it does people have lost sight of the
actual quality of what they buy, and how long it is likely to
last. We seem to prize short term gain over long term pride and
craftsmanship; we outsource all our manufacturing to offshore
and far east enterprises purely on the basis of short term cost
and at the real cost of long term inability to produce from
within our own lands and dependency on others abroad, what price
then low cost when they are the sole capable producers? Once you
have thrown out the basement and the foundations it is hard to
rebuild your house. If the incentive were not solely focussed on
style over substance and cheapness over craftsmanship, If
advertising actually pushed us responsibly to think that quality
is a virtue in itself worth paying for, and you DO in the end
get EXACTLY what you pay for, then maybe Rolls Royce, Jaguar,
Royal Doulton, Wedgwood and Hornby would not be outsourcing to
China or mass producing what were classic marques and designs in
grotesque parodies of their former selves, under new managements
using old famous names but not reflecting old hand made
craftsmanship, pride and years of reliability. We also seem to
stifle ourselves with rules that do not seem to apply to our
competitors and then let them walk all over us on price. Take my
printing friends trade; we try to use sustainable or recycled
sources, wheras the competition is happily chopping down virgin
forests and bleaching paper. Multiply that by all the call
centres, toy manufacturing and base manufactured products in the
far east and China , where the basic wage is infinitesimally
small for huge undercutting of the west and how can we compete,
we of the fair wage for all and minimum wage per hour ? China
and the East think in centuries, we think in days in comparison.
In centuries though we will have no manufacturing base left.
Does no-one see the irreparable damage being done by losing
brands such as Royal Doulton, or all the lace and cotton
industry or the steel and shipbuilding? Everything is being
sacrificed on the altar of expediency and lowest possible cost
price versus maximised profits. Surely someone should see a gap
in the market for quality and reliability in hand made articles
made with pride by master craftsmen, or classic books bound in
age old style and antique charm. we are truly brilliant at
advertising, so why not let the goods match the spiel and create
a niche market for connoisseurs if you like , an upper level
style AND substance branding for those with discernment and a
little more disposable income thoughtfully employed and not
frittered. Better one Dickens than twenty Mills and Boon. It is
possible quality may re emerge and make a comeback and substance
may yet win out over gloss and style, as everything is cyclic in
the long run. We await the future, but my bet is the book and
the magnetic tape will eventually be seen to be better than the
.doc and the cd. Surely a hand bound First edition of Dickens is
a little above a computer print out? Surely an original reel to
reel of Dark Side of the Moon through a Ferrograph is a
different planet to a bland and frequency challenged CD. Look on
EBay at second hand prices of LPs Reel to Reels First editions .
Then look at second hand prices of CDs and talking book
cassettes. If the resale value of quality is there why is the
sale value eroded and derided in favour of mass produced
inferior brands? Recently an original DSOM sold for 305 pounds
plus postage, the CD sells for four quid. I digressed into the
quality field to outline another possible avenue for the future,
QUALITY MAY RESURFACE. We may yet see a renaissance of hand made
goods, ideally suited to internet sales and perhaps have new
searches like “Quality Quest” and “Antique Admiration” new
websites like “Handmade Hardbacks” and “Solidwood Style”. As
stressed before the world at large is strangely cyclic, so it is
possible the markets may cry out for goods once more that do
what they say they will for a long time, are craftsman made,
individual, reliable and do not depreciate or fall apart
overnight. Given small workshops from home could become a
cottage industry once more, the whole the sum of its parts, what
better way to re promote an old idea than via the internet? Just
as Opera and Classical music is resurgent, so too quality goods
may reinvent themselves. I hope so.
http://www.stiffsteiffs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk