Redgage - Get Paid To Share Your Lens With Others

Yes, you heard me right! By submitting/book marking your online content, Redgage will PAY you! Simply submit your blog posts, articles, videos, etc to Redgage and you get paid for views of your submission. Not only that but you get some additional traffic and exposure, and a nice back link!

This is GREAT news for online content creators - and REALLY good news for Squidoo lensmasters. Heck, we book mark our lenses already, why not get PAID to do it at Redgage?

If it's yours, share it on Redgage!

Want to Join RedGage? Join me thru this RedGage Invitation link - and it will make you and me friends automatically!

To See is to Believe: The rise of video Podcasts

With a user base of well over 20 million listeners, Podcasting may very well continue to gain popularity as video podcasting latches on. Video podcasting is like being on television, only your podcast is available through the Internet, at any convenient time to just about everyone who goes online. Just as audio podcasts cover a vast assortment of topics, video podcasting presents many possibilities to its user, for both sender and receiver of the message.

Even those experienced podcasters only need to incorporate the corresponding visuals to their audio script and use a camera to record it instead of an audio recording device, to start making their own video podcasts. Video podcasting is made even easier, as this type of broadcasting does not involve any particular software for server distribution, nor does it have technical limitations as to the format of video encoding.

Resources available online for a low price or for free have made the creation of video podcasts quite simple. Anyone who seeks to promote his or her business or simply make his or her own face famous through podcasting will only need a digital camera or web camera to record the video, plus some free downloadable software for recording and editing the actual video. Also needed are free video codecs for encoding and compression of the final video, and free software for generating the necessary RSS files.

Some topics that audio podcasts were previously made about may effectively benefit from a video upgrade, such as travel, video game tips, technology updates, and even relaxation trends. A how-to video podcast also seems logical and possibly much easier to follow than an audio-only version. Meanwhile, budding filmmakers can start making a name for themselves, as they find an audience by making independent movie podcast projects. As the technology becomes even more and more available, a greater possibility for podcasting as a commercial venue lies ahead. Businesses looking to advertise to a greater audience are sure to find ways.

Now, with the rise of mobile video players, it has become much easier for the message to reach the audience even while they're on the go, queued up at a store register, or waiting for a friend. The technology has allowed an optimised take on video viewing on-demand. In addition to that, if you're accustomed to viewing your shows on a typical television screen or want to show your latest download to a group of friends, you can easily connect your mobile media player to your TV and just sit back down.

For more professional audio and video podcasts, you can use Podcasting packages available online, such as the Podcast Blaster. The package includes the professional recording software, over a hundred sound files that may be used for embellishing your podcast, and a podcast manual that will not only guide you in making that worthy podcast, but will also give you tips on effectively promoting your podcast. To know more on how to make your own Podcasts, visit www.podcastblaster.com.

Secrets to Successful Blogging

Blogs have become very successful and popular lately, and SEO consultants say that they can be very profitable if they are managed and marketed the right way. Generating profits from a blog doesn't require selling anything. Profits can be from ad placements, banners, or contextual advertising. The best blogs draw the attention of a large audience and keep them coming back for more.

There are many types of blogs available. The most common types are:

- Professional blogs: These blogs are focused on discussions about professions, job aspects and career building

- Personal blogs: These blogs take the form of an online diary and contains thoughts, poems, experiences, and other personal matters

- Topical blogs: These blogs focus on a certain topic or niche, discussing specific aspects of the chosen subject

- Business blogs: As its name suggests, these are discussions about business and/or stock market

Other types of blogs include but are not limited to science blogs, cultural blogs, educational blogs, and photo blogs.

In order to have a successful blog that attracts a lot of visitors and keep them coming back, you need to follow some simple rules. Here are some tips from SEO consultants:

Before you begin blogging, carefully consider what you are going to write about in your blog as there are lots of interesting topics out there, waiting to be discussed. You can find them in every day life, in the media, in the news - anything that attracts attention and a loyal following is good. You can look for blog subjects in many places, the most important being the Internet of course.

Put quality content in your blog. If you have quality content people like to read, they will return to your blog and tell other people about it as well. Posting articles containing useful information on your blog is very beneficial for attracting more traffic. Make sure you add your URL address below your posted article! If other web site owners find your articles useful and decide to include them within the content of their web pages, the added link will contribute to increasing your popularity every time it is hyperlinked.

Update the blog on a regular basis. If you don't do this, visitors will not return and they will move on to reading another blog that is updated more often. You should try to update your blog daily. Many newcomers have blogging fear, fearing their inability to update it daily. If your blog is interesting enough, offer your readers the ability to keep it updated by posting their own personal thoughts and share stories so you won't have to do all the updating work yourself.

Listen to what your readers have to say. Always pay attention to the readers' suggestions and try to find out what people were actually searching for when they found your blog. Try to focus on that theme and even consider developing it by encouraging the visitors to discuss new aspects of that particular theme.
Keep it short and concise - You don't need material that takes hours to read, people usually like to quickly skim a blog for quick tidbits of useful information and if you post materials that are difficult or take a long time to read, you will most likely drive them away.

You can also include some artistic work or pictures in the blog, to make it more visually appealing. Blog picture managers such as Picasa are freely available on the Internet to accomplish this.

If your blog has interesting, original content, bloggers might decide to add links to it on their web sites and comment on your suggested topic. By gaining back-links to your blog from other web sites, your web site will place higher within search engine queries, thus boosting your link popularity.

Announce the launch of any new blog with press releases. Free publicity through press releases are powerful tools for increasing incoming traffic. Search engines love press releases and it gives them a good reason to spider and to index your site quickly.

Include free downloadable viral reports on your blog to turbo-charge visitor traffic and build a subscriber/viewer base quickly.

In order to simplify the creating and updating process of a blog, take advantage of the many blogging tools and software readily available, a number of them are free. Blogging software such as WordPress or Movable Type helps you update a blog easily. There are even free blog generators such as Blogger which allow you to host your content on Google's servers without having to install any software or obtain a domain and host content.

Offer to inform readers of your blog with free email management services like Feedblitz (if you don't have an email list management solution) in addition to offering RSS feeds for subscription. Readers and visitors can be kept updated of any new information being added to your blog without having to check the site constantly.

Utilize blog and ping to get sites indexed quickly by the search engines. By notifying popular ping servers monitored by blog search services such as Google Blog Search, you attract search engine spiders to a blog. A blog can automatically be setup to ping certain web sites. An easy method of doing this is by adding the Pingomatic service to the sites to ping in the blog software which pings many popular ping servers at once.

Finally, remember to submit to popular, high quality blog directories such as Feedster, Technorati, Blogstreet, and Best of the Web Blog Directory to boost your web traffic and link popularity!

If you respect these rules you will most likely have a successful blog, and you will be rewarded in the process. Ask a SEO consultant for further information and assistance if you are stuck for ideas to promote your new blog.

Where To Find The Best Destinations For White Water Kayaking

Whitewater kayaking has many excellent destinations around the world for both new and experienced kayakers. The eastern United States has some of the best whitewater conditions you can find.

If you are an experienced kayaker, you probably already know that the eastern United States is one of the best places for whitewater kayaking. The world has many places that are renowned for great kayaking, but the eastern U.S. has several awesome places for professionals and newcomers. Here is a list of excellent destinations for whitewater kayaking. You might want to write them down because they are incredible. Do not miss out!

Hudson River

Acadia National Park

Champlain

Pine Barrens, NJ

Oswegatchie River

Allagash Wilderness Waterway

Adirondack Park


You might have heard of some of these places. Each is famous throughout the world for kayaking adventures. Classes are available if you are not at ease with the whitewater experience. By taking classes before going out, you will discover that kayak success has a lot to do with confidence.

Many people fear whitewater rafting. The same people compare rafting and kayaking, but each sport is totally different. If you are such as person, it is essential to know the major differences between the sports. Many people believe that whitewater kayaking is much more fun than rafting. Take a risk! Find out on your own! It is not dangerous. If you are not confident in yourself, you can simply have an instructor or a professional go into the rapids with you.

Whitewater kayaking can be done in either hot or cold weather. If you have a wetsuit, you can enjoy the kayaking season all year long! Consider these great kayaking destinations and go to one yourself! They will impress you greatly when you arrive.

You will soon be enjoying the incredible thrills and highs of kayaking on the rapids.

Why Article Writing Can Be Good For Your Business And For You

If you have spent any time researching internet marketing then you have heard some buzz about article marketing. Perhaps you are even intrigued by the idea (after all, any FREE marketing method is worth checking out) but the hype surrounding article marketing makes it seem too good to be true. Does article marketing really deliver?

Yes, article marketing really does deliver. It delivers both long-term and short-term benefits that can rapidly increase your income and exposure on the web. Writing articles can help position you as an expert in your field, gain valuable targed traffic for your web site, drive leads to your products, grow your email list, and quickly multiple your site's text links.

When you submit your articles to article directories and/or distribute them to publishers you increase your chances of your article getting picked up as supplemental content by ezine publishers. They take your article and send it to their email newsletter membership or add it to their website.

OK, that sounds good, but you still aren't sure why you should provide this service to others for free. After all, you are an expert and they are receiving the benefit of your expertise and hard work. The answer to that question is simply that you really aren't giving your article away for free. Yes, you are not getting paid, but you are receiving value in return that is worth much more in the long run than earning a one-time fee.

When good publishers reprint your article they leave your article intact and provide you with an active link back to your website. In addition, if those issues are archived or published on the web then you will receive not only the initial traffic spike but continual traffic plus your link popularity will increase which will in turn positively impact your web site's rank with the major search engines.<

Article marketing is not entirely free. You don't need to spend cash but you will need to invest your valuable time, energy, and knowledge to make it work effectively, but the payoff for that investment will be surges in traffic to your website this year and many years to come.

Each article you write (multiplied by the number of directories you submit it to and the number of ezines, sites, and blogs that reprint it) provides a backlink to your site plus a traffic referral for any internet reader exposed to your article.

Your network of articles is out there working for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and often increasing exponentially daily and weekly until you have an incredibly powerful traffic network working for you. It really is a simple strategy. Want more traffic? Create more articles.

Article marketing can deliver traffic and potential customers to your site, but it can do a lot more than that. It can also establish you as a leader in your field -- perhaps even a guru if you work at it. To brand yourself in your field you will need to focus on quantity and quality and consistency.

You need to regularly create new content and continually promote your new and old content. Keep your name and your ideas front and center in your niche through consistent article marketing.

So whether you are looking for more traffic, more customers, or more recognition then article marketing can be the most effective internet marketing strategy you employ.

What is Active X?

Active X is a software technology that was released by Microsoft; basically this technology allows content or programmed capabilities to be sent from the web to a Microsoft Window's computer.

Active X in its earlier form was OLE and COM technologies. OLE stands for Object Linking and Embedding and COM stands for Component Object Model. Active X was primarily developed so that end users on MS Windows computers can interact with content and link files such as MS Word Documents or Excel spreadsheet documents from a computer to the web with ease.

In this case, an internet browser visiting a website with Active X would be able to view a Word or Excel document directly in their web browser. Unfortunately Active X was created with poor security features and lacked even basic security controls. For this reason many computer security experts discouraged its use.
OLE (Object Linking and Embedding)

OLE allows an object from one application; let's say a MS Excel table to be embedded into another application- a MS Word Document. In this specific situation, the MS Excel table becomes an object, it is then cut or copied and pasted directly into the MS Word document and saved. OLE allows a user or group of users to work on separate parts of a master file and then quickly compound it or put it all together.

Microsoft renamed OLE, calling it Active X in 1996. In 2005, Microsoft has dropped its support for Active X primarily due to a loss in a patent lawsuit. This means that in newer editions of IE web browser, end users will no longer be able to interact with Active X without first activating it. For instance, many media files such as Flash, QuickTime, etc must first be activated. Before, you can usually roll over a media item with your mouse or open a page in your web browser to start active X, now you must first directly interact with the media object and for instance click the item to start a file or to interact with its properties.

Forum Posters for Hire

There will be a day when forum posting is not only just fun for people, but also profitable. Profitable for both the forum posters and the forum owners who hire them. Paid forum posting is nothing new, but it just hasn't really caught on in a way that I think it will someday. Many forum posters are loyal to their own forums and simply post there because they enjoy the community and the level of quality that the forum draws. However, if these forum posters knew how much money their hard work was making the forum owners, they might think to themselves that they should be entitled to some of this money. Building constant unique content for a website is no easy task as any webmaster knows. It's tough to be both a technical guru and a prolific writer at the same time.

Forum posting jobs and exchanges are best done out in the open right in a forum itself. There are many forums like this now where exchanges can take place. Finding forum posters who are interested in posting on forums in exchange for links, hosting, or even plain old hard cash is finally becoming common and easier to find. This is a good thing. Forums are one of the best ways to bring authors and readers together in an exchange of knowledge like never before. It's one thing to read someone's opinion in hard copy in a newspaper or magazine and then write to the author via snail mail. It's quite another to engage the author in a discussion forum in near real time.<

So, if you have a forum that is just sitting there neglected consider exchange posts with others as way to help build your forum to a state where it becomes attractive with quality content so that others might join and build your community for you. Or, if you have more money than time offer to pay someone to post in your forum. You'll be amazed at how eager some forum posters are to post in your forum for pennies. Of course, the more incentives you can offer forum posters, the higher the quality of content and English Grammar you will attract. Don't expect forum posters to go out of their way for you if you try to low ball them. You want to develop a relationship with your forum poster so that if you need him/her to come back at a later time when activity slows you will have them eagerly awaiting your next forum posting job.

Is Your Teen An Entrepreneur?

Are you hoping you've got your own Bill Gates in the making in your home? As a parent you can probably tell pretty easily whether or not the entrepreneurial spirit is evident in your child. Some kids make it very obvious that the regular nine-to-five will not be a part of their future. For others, you might need to investigate a bit further to see.

Ask these simple questions about your teen to see if your teen has the entrepreneurial spirit. If your answer is "yes" to one or more, you probably do.

1. Does she ask what she can do to earn more allowance? Is she willing to take on jobs around the house instead of hanging out at the mall with her pals? Does she do her chores and work with vigor and excellence?

2. Did she have the best lemonade stand on the block? Did she go the extra mile to make sure that her stand was profitable and her product and service brought back customers over and over again?

3. Does she value flexibility and independence more than the "sure thing" of an hourly job? Does she make comments about wanting something "more" than just flipping burgers or selling pink t-shirts?

4. Does she work well on her own? In her free time is she thinking of other ways to make money or start a business? When you give her a job or chore around the house does she jump in and do it quickly and efficiently?

5. Is she a self-learner? ? Does she spend time researching and reading for her schoolwork and outside of that? Does she enjoy finding out more about how to use the computer to her advantage?

If, indeed, you do have a young entrepreneur budding in your midst, you might want to start her off now in a business of her own even now, before the college bills start piling up! It will serve her well now and in the future!

Networking With Fiber Cables

Fiber cables form one of the most important parts of the networking industry today. Fiber cables are composed of one or more transparent optical fibers enclosed in a protective covering and strength members. Fiber cables are used to transmit data by the mode of light. Various types of fiber cables available are multimode duplex fiber cables, single mode simplex fiber cables, single mode duplex fiber cables, and plastic optical fiber cables.

There are many fiber optic cable manufacturers who manufacture full line of fiber cables in both single mode and multi-mode, simples, duplex and multi-strand. Several manufacturers provide low cost, quick-turn, high volume fiber cables and fiber cable assembly solutions.

Cables with complete assembly of fibers, strength members and jacket refer to fiber cables. These fiber cables come in variety of forms depending upon their usability and place of use. It is important to identify the exact requirement of fiber cables whether they would be easy to install, splice or terminate, etc. This is necessary as it ultimately decides the cost of installing the fiber cables.

Fiber cables are required to protect fibers from external hazards. Thus before installing the fiber cables one should always assess the place of installation of fiber cables. Fiber cables required inside the house or a building are not exposed too much of hazardous condition thus simpler form and not-so-tough fiber cables can be used for installation. But if the fiber cables are to be installed for longer distances and outside premises then the cables should be robust. They should also be installed well beneath the ground to protect them not only from ground digging, water logging but also from prairie dogs.<

Fiber cables comes in different types based on their usage patterns as well. The zip cord and simplex fiber cables refer to those used for desktop connections. Simplex fiber cables are one fiber, tight-buffered and jacketed. A zip cord is actually two simplex fiber cables joined by a thin web. On the other hand fiber cables made of several simplex cables are breakout fiber cables. This type of fiber cables is strong, rugged and larger. They are also a bit expensive but prove to be economic where distances are not too long and fiber count required is less.

Small fiber cables required for dry conduit run, riser or plenum are known as a distribution fiber cables that needs a breakout –box to be broken up or terminated in a panel box. They contain several tight-buffered fibers bundled under same jacket.

Aerial fiber cables are good enough for outside installation where as armored fiber cables are used for under-ground wiring where rodents are a problem. These fiber cables have metal armoring between two jackets to prevent rodents from tampering the cabling connections.

Loose tube fiber cables are perfect for plant trunk applications to prevent fibers from moisture or water. They can be buried directly in ground but must be handled carefully to prevent damage. Ribbon fiber cables have twelve or more fiber cables packed together laid in a rows. They are also a plant fiber cables which are gel-filled and are good for water blocking.

All fiber cable manufacturers manufacture different fiber cables but their product literatures should be carefully studied so as to assess which type of fiber cables they specialize in.

A Day At Koh Larn

Visiting Koh Larn, or the coral island is a great change of pace from Pattaya.

My first trip to Koh Larn was a spur of the moment mini-adventure. I was talking with a young lady in a bar and she asked me where I had visited in Thailand. I rattled off a bunch of cities from north to south and then she asked if I had ever been to Koh Larn. I told her no and she said she had never been either.

It was decided then and there that we would take the short trip the next day. We spent the night together and made arrangements for the boat ride and tour at one of the many street vendor tour ladies.

We booked for a 10 AM boat ride and we were told we would be back at about 4 PM. The price was a whopping 10 US dollars each and this included lunch.

We walked down from Second Road to Beach Road and met out small, longboat that would take us out to the bigger boat for the trip to Koh Larn.

But first, we stopped at a square dock and were offered a kite-flying ride for an additional ten dollars. We declined but watched a couple of the others from our boat get the short round the dock ride.

We then boarded a bigger boat and chugged on out to the island. The ride took about 45 minutes and we were met by another small, long boat to get us to shore. This boat had a glass bottom to observe the coral, but the water was too murky to see anything.

We got ashore and since this was a spur of the moment trip, I bought my girl a swimsuit. We staked out a patch of beach and got 2 lounge chairs for about one dollar for the day for both and just kicked back and relaxed.

The water was clean and refreshing and we just splashed about and lay around on the chairs. We were offered a variety of sea activities from underwater walking to banana boat rides. We declined and just took it easy.

We were served lunch with the rest of the group and it was OK but nothing special. Rice, pork, French fries and a cold drink.

There were a handful of vendors trying to sell their wares but they were not pests. They came by once and left with a smile when I declined.

At about 3 PM it was time to head back. We took the small boat to the bigger boat and relaxed and listened to some music on the way back. The boat moved at a snail's pace and there was just enough of a breeze to keep things cool.

We met the small boat and were taken back to Pattaya Beach. I dropped my smart card off at the photo processing place and showered, changed, picked up the photos and went back to her bar.

I gave her a set of the pictures to show her friends and to keep for herself. All in all a very nice day that set me back $20 for the trip and another $10 to get her a bathing suit.

Stocks Or Mutual Funds?

If you happen to have some money left over at the end of all the bill payments and you have no need for anymore toys, or even if you are beginning a prudent and fiscally responsible gamble on some wealth that incorporates investment opportunities, you may find yourself wondering whether investing in stocks or purchasing mutual funds will offer the best returns. You might also consider this question when considering how to set up a retirement fund.

In order to help make the decision, it is important to understand what stocks and mutual funds are.

Stocks: Most people believe they have a basic understanding of what stocks are, simply because of their exposure to the term in every day usages. Stocks are individual bits of companies that are available to be purchased by the public in open trading on the stock exchange. Stocks are often sold in bundles, and thus to purchase a stock in a specific company often entails some kind of minimum purchase. Stockholders have a vested interest in the company's well-being, as the price of their stocks are directly related to a company's performance. Stocks are divided according to the kind of business they represent, which is known as a sector.

Mutual Funds: Mutual funds are collective investments that pools the money from a lot of investors and puts the money in stocks, bonds, and other investments. Mutual funds are usually managed by a certified professional, as opposed to the individual management of stocks. In essence, mutual funds incorporate many different types of stocks.

The question of whether or not to invest in stocks or mutual funds will primarily come down to the personal expertise and wealth of the individual. Many people will be tempted by the "game" aspect of buying stock, as well as the chance to invest singularly in a company that is well-known or can be easily researched. The fact is, however, that by the time stocks become available on the market they are generally already highly priced, and investing in individual stocks is a highly risky maneuver as your entire process hangs on the well-being of just one company. Even wealthy investors diversify their portfolios by investing in several different types of stock, and this can simply be unaffordable for the average person.<
The better bet for the beginning investor is to purchase mutual funds. Mutual funds will pool the costs of many different stocks, lessening the risk of losing your money and raising the chances of gain. Mutual funds may not provide quite the excitement of investing in a lucky stock, but they are good investments for a long-term financial opportunity. In addition, mutual funds are managed by professionals that are well acquainted with the pitfalls and opportunities of the investment sector, which will cut down on both risk and the time it would take to pick individual stocks through research and appointments. Mutual funds will also distribute the risks among several investors, and it is all managed by someone who likely has contacts within the financial world.

For the individual with some extra money, who does not have the time or the expertise to properly "play" the stock market, mutual funds will prove the better option.

Free Advertising For Your Online Business

You have finished building your own website. You have introduced your company and presented your products and services. You have added propositions and promos to catch your target audience's attention. You think you are doing everything "right", but all your promotions have failed to produce growth in your new internet business.

There are many ways for your web site to be promoted, but maybe you're missing the "key" to the "best" promotion. Here are some things to consider:

- If you have started to promote your web site, keep it constant. If you promote your site with persistence, it will catch your audience's attention.

- Be patient. Try each different promotion until you find the best.

- Free promotions such as search engines and directories would give your web site the deserved traffic you always wanted. Make sure to check your web site's ranking to know whether or not this type of free promotion is right for you.

- Make a deal with other web sites on trading links which could help both web sites. Make sure to use words that could easily interest the audience.

- Find free classified ads web sites that could boost the promotion of your web site. Most of these classified ads web sites provide powerful marketing features and are an extremely fast way of getting your products or services on line.
- Free and low-cost internet banners are spread all through out the World Wide Web. Banners that pop-up at the top of a page or in a separate window would automatically catch your target audience's attention.

Free internet advertising is a perfect way to make your products or services known to millions of prospective Internet customers. The probability of someone needing your services or wanting to buy your products is very high. There are free services out there that may suit your services, products and web site...you just need to find them! Go to work - Browse the internet for the best free internet advertising and learn how to take advantage of what you are able to find.

If at first you don't succeed...try, try again! Analyze your techniques, keep track of your customers and learn what works. Then be ready to try new methods and repeat those methods that are already working.

It has been said that the best things in life are free and this saying also applies to the many forms of free advertising that are available on the internet. Give this form of advertising a try and you also may become a true believer in the power of free internet advertising.
 

How To Make Money Blogging - 10 Step Solution

Firstly, we all want to know How to Make Money Online, and one of the best ways I have found is by creating blogs. In this article I intend to show you how you too can learn How to Make Money Blogging by telling you how combining the techniques I have gathered from across the web helps to make me $$$ every day. Secondly, I am not trying to sell you my latest "Get Rich Quick" scheme because I don't have one. Each eBook you read will have a wealth of information within them which will, without a doubt help you to discover the secrets of How to Make Money Online. I am only going to tell you which ones out of the 100's available you SHOULD read if you too want to make lots of money.

I use a 10 step guide to setting up and starting all of my blogs.

I will give you a list of the top 10 resources later that I use and recommend to everyone who is serious about making lots of money online. One of the vital aspects people seem to miss out when they first get into blogging is the fact that their blog must contain information that people want to read.

Many bloggers are looking through closed eyes in this regard and if you browse through 50 blogs you will notice that most will tell you they know How to Make Money with Blogs when really all they tell you is where they went on their vacation or how many cars they have.

Are you ready to learn How to Make Money Blogging?

If the answer is YES then read on and start to make money with your blog. I am not here to tell you how to write your blog, that's up to you, but what I am about to tell you is the 10 things I use to make money on the internet. You can choose to use these techniques or not, that's your prerogative.

Step 1 - Finding a Topic

Turn off your computer, grab a pen and some paper and sit somewhere you can relax but also stay focused (if you are just starting out this step can be a pain because we all want to know How to Make Money Online and we want to know how to make it NOW). Think of a topic you are interested in and write it down (this helps because you will be more committed to trying instead of giving up in a day or two) and also make sure it is something other people are interested in too. A couple of ways I use to think of a topic is by using MetaSpy to find out what people are searching for, Ask IQ to find what's popular and VRE Toolbar to find out how many people search for the topic (this is also useful later on to get traffic). Write down your top five keywords, you will want to use them later in your blog.

Step 2 - Create Your Blog

Find and create your blog online. I like to use Blogger but other popular Blog platforms are Wordpress and Movable Type. You can find all the help in the program you use to get information when setting up the blog. Create your content, make it original, and make it informative. This is one of the main keys to learn How to Make Money with Blogs. You need to include the keywords you wrote down in Step 1 in the content of your blog. Try not to overuse these as it sends out bad signals to the search engines, and this is 100% not what you want.

Step 3 - Go Google

Sign up for Google Adsense and insert the code in the margin of your blog. You can customize your ads in many ways, such as including text links or image links. I prefer the text links only, as they are easier to blend in with your blog and don't take the focus away from the information. Google Adsense will probably not make you a millionaire but it is an instant way of generating a small amount of money.

If you want to track where your visitors are coming from with regards to direct hits or from search engine results then I would suggest you use Google Analytics and again you can get all the help you need setting that up from within the program.

You will also want to add your URL to Google's index.

Step 4 - Find Something to Sell

If you don't want to sell anything and are happy with the income Google Adsense is bringing in then you can skip this step. If you want to maximize your income and truly learn How to Make Money with Blogs you will want to find an affiliate program to join. A couple of affiliate programs I would suggest are ClickBank and Commission Junction. You can sell anything from office furniture, pet supplies, movies and clothing to PC games, Dieting tips and Audio software.

Whatever program you join will give you help inserting the code you will need to insert into your blog, but be sure you do this correctly or you WILL NOT earn money from your visitors. If you do not know how to edit HTML, W3Schools HTML tutorial is a great place to start.

Step 5 - Social Bookmarking

There is no better advertising than word of mouth, but the next best thing is social bookmarking. You will want to make things easier for people to do this. Social bookmarking sites I use and recommend are OnlyWire and SocialMarker and they are used for people to share their bookmarks or websites that they have liked with other people in their online community.
I would not suggest you add your own links to these services, but provide visitors to your website the ability to do so.

Step 6 - Write an Article

Whether your blog is about a specific product, for example a certain MP3 Player you are promoting, or just about giving people information, I would suggest you to write an article or a review of it. Most article directories require articles of 500 words and over so I would use this as a rule when writing to ensure your article is published.

Submit your article to any of the 100's which are out there. I personally use a few of the Top Article directories such as EzineArticles, Article Dashboard, Amazines.com, isnare and SearchWarp. I also use a nifty piece of software called Article Submitter which will submit your articles to over 600 article directories, which saves you lots of time and leaves you to focus on writing your blogs.

Step 7 - Ping The Hell Out Of It

Every time you add new information to your blog, you want to let the blog directories know about it, this is known as pinging. Some Blog providers automatically send out pings when you update, but to be on the safe side you will want to do this manually too. ONLY PING WHEN YOU UPDATE.

There are a couple of Ping sites I use which will send a ping to multiple blog directories at the same time. PingMyBlog would be my first port of call and then if for some reason that site is down I would use Ping-o-matic. Remember, to only ping when you update or you could get blacklisted, and that is bad.

Step 8 - Yahoo! Answers and Forums

One of the easiest ways to get targeted visitors to your blog is to make use of the people you want to target. I would suggest you sign up to at LEAST one forum in the topic you are writing about, and don't just go straight in there and start posting comments for people to look at your blog, they won't.

The secret is to add the link to your blog in your signature and actively become a member of the forum, posting relevant topics and starting debates within them. The more you post, the more your link will show, and if you provide someone with good info the chances are higher they will click your link.

Yahoo! Answers is along the same lines as forums but the beauty of this is it's viewed by thousands of visitors each day. If you don't already have a Yahoo! account get one and then login and search for questions relating to the topic of your blog and answer them well. You can then insert the link to your blog and as with the forums, if you answer well you may have not only earned yourself a point or two on Yahoo!, but also earned a visitor to your blog.

Step 9 - Update Your Blog

This can be by several means, one is to add new reviews or content to your blog, and if you are going to do this I suggest updating every couple of days. This helps to keep the search engines happy as they love to see new and original content.

Another way of updating your blog and keeping the content fresh is to add RSS feeds to it. Make sure the feeds are relevant to your blog and provide visitors with helpful information. Visitors to a World of Warcraft blog don't want to read feeds about knitting, or do they?

Step 10 - More, More, More

Repeat steps 1 - 10, this is the only way How to Make Money Blogging.

Step 11 - A Bonus Step

If you have your own product or newsletter, give your visitors an easy way to sign up to receive updates or information. This helps you to contact the visitor again with more great info or products you wish to sell.

How to Make Money Online is easy if you follow the above steps.

Some important things to remember so you don't get disheartened with your blog is the fact that you will not become a millionaire overnight, it takes hard work and a lot of effort. If you are really serious about learning How to Make Money with Blogs then stick with it and eventually you will have an Ah-Ha moment. This is when things start to work and you think to yourself Ah-Ha, that's how they do it. Your moment could be sooner than you think.

My Top 10 resources I use and recommend are:

1. Rob Benwell's Blogging to The Bank 2.0
2. Wordpress Goldmine
3. Rob Atherton's Building A Blog Empire For Profit
4. The Blog Challenge
5. Hinge Marketing Magic
6. Blogging For Riches - Complete Video Tutorial
7. Social Bookmarking Demon
8. Adsense Inbox
9. Wordpress SEO Sniper
10. RSS, Blogs and Syndication...

Phishing - It's Signs and Your Options

Phishing is the act of some individual sending an email to a user in an attempt to scam the user to release personal information. Is it easy to determine if it's a scam? Sometimes – but not always. I hope to give you enough examples and information to help you to safeguard yourself from these unsavory individuals.

In addition, sometimes the email is sent to malicious software so as to render your computer helpless. Thus, it is important that you do not click on the link they provide, because that is the trigger that will load the software to your system.

EXAMPLES OF PHISHING

You receive hundreds of emails in your mailbox, but one email catches your eye – it directs you to a website, requesting that you need to update your personal information. It requests such personal information as:

passwords
credit card numbers
social security number
bank account numbers

"It appears to be legitimate", you say to yourself. And you also notice that the emails are from companies that you have been doing business with for a while. Warning: The website could be bogus.

Here are several examples of phishing in action.

1. E-mails stating they are from E-bay and they feel that your account may have been compromised and would like you to verify your information with they so conveniently supply. DO NOT click on it.
2. E-mails from Paypal or your bank asking that you verify your information because they feel that your account has been compromised, or heaven forbid, suspended. Same scenario, different company. DO NOT click on the link.
3. E-mail that states that an unauthorized transaction has occurred on your account. Please click the link below and confirm your identity. DO NOT.
4. Here's a work at home scam – We have seen your resume on Monster and feel you would fit our position. If you are interested, please go to our website, look over the experience required and submit your resume if you have this background. Website is professional looking, offer looks good – but it could be a scam.


WHAT ARE THEY AFTER

In the above examples they are after information about you, be it passwords, credit cards, social security numbers, anything that can identify you – and that which they can use to profit from you.

The job email is used to verify that the email address is a true blue, active email address. What do they do with this info – they sell these accounts to spammers for good money. They need to verify your email address-because if the spammers come up empty – this person's business is dead.


HOW TO VERIFY SAFELY

1. If they want you to verify your account, do not cut and paste, or use the link they provide in the email. Close your Internet session, open a new session and enter the site that you have on record to verify.<
 2. Emails requesting resumes – Verify their account before you send your resume. When verifying – these red flags should be considered:

1) If they are hesitant to provide a phone number – might be a scam. 2) If their business address is not verifiable –might be a scam. 3) If the website is new – might be a scam. 4) If they use a large company's name-and that company never heard of them – might be a scam.
5) Again, verify this information before you send your resume.


WAYS TO PROTECT YOURSELF

Here are some quick tips to protect you and your computer system.

1. Use anti-virus software and a firewall – keep them up to date.
2. If you have a broadband connection make sure you have a firewall in place.
3. Don't email personal or financial information.
4. Before providing personal information – search to see if the site is secure – look for a lock icon. However, remember not all phishers are stupid – in fact, they could be computer savvy enough to forge security icons. Thus, look for a site whose link looks like this: https://www.somename.com -- this shows that it is a secure site.
5. Coupons from respected companies – Verify that it is a true-blue coupon from the company – I had one coupon sent to my email address from what I thought was Staples. Verified it with Staples – not a coupon honored by Staples. When on the Internet – if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, it still may not be a duck!
6. When making transactions on the Internet – be it online banking, Paypal, Internet Gold, etc. – complete your transaction, log out of the website, and close out of your Internet Explorer-and then continue with a new session of Internet Explorer.

WHERE TO FORWARD SPAM THAT IS PHISHNG

If you encounter spam that is phishing, or are a victim of a phishing scam, you can forward the information to spam@uce.gov and to the company, bank or organization that the email may have stated they are from. In many cases, the other organizations have information on their website where you can report the attempted scam.

In addition, if you have been scammed, and you wish to file a complaint – go to ftc.gov.

To conclude, no one is immune to spam or a scam. But try to be ever vigilant and do your due diligence with anything you do on the Internet. But being human is a scammer's hope – they know that most will ignore the bait, but some will be tempted. So, if you so humanly slip, and succumb to a phishing scam, you can report them to ftc.gov.

Family Health Insurance Plan - Saving Money Is Becoming Easier

Every once in awhile there will be front page news about the health care crisis. The escalating costs for hospital and physician services are making it more difficult for the insurance companies to stay competitive and at the same time take care of the needs of their policyholders. A family health insurance plan in today's marketplace is evolving into something quite different from years past. The employer group health insurance insures the majority of Americans but there is a trend developing. There are more folks leaving their employer to start their own business. When you add that group of people to the folks that leave their employer because of lay-offs, illness, and terminations then you are creating a great demand for family health insurance.

Insurance companies are working hard to develop new solutions. The federal government has great interest in health care insurance. The hospitals and physicians are deeply affected by the insurance industry.
There has been a major shift in thinking about health insurance. It has become increasingly clear that higher deductible health insurance plans are much more cost efficient in the long run compared to the low deductible plans of years past. The higher deductibles reduce the cost of health insurance dramatically. The lower deductibles are no longer in vogue. The high premiums for the low deductible no longer justify the premiums.

Today's Trends

1. High Deductible Major Med – The insurance professionals are encouraging people to take the higher deductible major medical policies. You are well protected for a major illness or injury in exchange for self-insuring the smaller claims.

2. Health Savings Accounts – This is the federal government's contribution to the health insurance dilemma. These savings accounts are established by the individual for medical expenses only. They are tax deductible similar to an IRA and are great vehicles to use for the out of pocket expense from the higher deductible.

How to Save on Car Insurance

Everyone who owns a car needs auto insurance. This article will give you some tips on lowering your auto insurance costs. You will find a checklist of items to ask your insurance agent that may qualify for discounts. Keep in mind that not all discounts can be applied with all insurance companies in all states.

1. Shop Around

Go to your favorite search engine and type in "free car insurance quotes online". You'll see a long list of insurance companies that you may even be familiar with. Visit at least five car insurance websites and look for a link to free quotes. You will then be asked basic information about yourself, your driving history, and your car's make, model, and year. It just takes a couple of minutes, and shortly thereafter, they will email you a no obligation quote. Write down their website address, their toll free number, and customer service email address.

Each insurance company will ask you generally the same questions, and will give you options about how much coverage you will want. Find your current policy, if you have one, and take note of the coverage you currently have. Always provide the same information and ask for the same coverage at each company so you will be comparing apples to apples. Read the fine print and make sure nothing is excluded from the quote like Rental car coverage, towing, medical, etc...

For the purposes of the quote, the insurance company will not ask you your social security number, but keep in mind your actual cost maybe higher or lower depending on your credit history. If you're not sure about some of the terminology or coverage, take notes so that you can ask the insurance company about them directly.

Once you have at least five quotes emailed to you, take the lowest two or three quotes and see if they are less than what you are paying now. Most likely at least one of them is much lower. At this point you will want to call them directly to get the most accurate quote by providing additional personal information. For additional discounts, here is a checklist of things you should ask about.

[ ] $500 deductible


[ ] $1,000 deductible


[ ] Paying monthly, semi-annually, or annually


[ ] More than 1 car


[ ] No Accidents in 3 Years


[ ] No Moving Violations in 3 Years


[ ] Driver Training Courses


[ ] Defensive Driving Courses


[ ] Anti-Theft Devices


[ ] Low Annual Mileage


[ ] Air Bags


[ ] Anti-Lock Brakes


[ ] Daytime Running Lights


[ ] Student Drivers with Good Grades


[ ] Auto and Homeowners Coverage with the Same Company


[ ] College Students away from Home


[ ] Long-Time Customer


[ ] Other Discounts

2. Saving Insurance Premium on cars you own outright.<
If you own a clear title to your car, meaning there is no bank loan on it, then you may want to consider dropping the collision/comprehensive coverage. As a rule of thumb, if the cars value is less than $3000, it may not make sense for you to pay for this additional coverage. Over time, the cost of the additional insurance premium will exceed the value of the car. It's pretty simple math.

Check the fair market value of your car either through Edmunds.com or even your local newspaper. See what other people are trying to get for the same car. Keep in mind your cars mileage, condition, and age. Has it been in an accident before? Does it have unusually high mileage in excess of 15,000 miles per year? Does it need new tires? You get the idea. Be realistic, because in the event that this car is in an accident and is damaged beyond repair, it is unlikely you will get the full value of the car.

3. Ask About Insurance Rates in Different Areas

Rates can vary widely even in the same state. Different locals have different accident rates, population, and crime. These all factor in to the final cost. If you are moving to a different area, ask about what the rates are for that town.

4. Ask About Getting Other Insurance Policies Together With Your Auto Insurance

Combining insurance policies with the same company can often give you additional discounts. If you own a home, ask about combining your homeowners insurance with your auto insurance. Also ask about other polices, such as life, health, and business insurance. Most insurance companies cover a wide range of policies and will give substantial discounts when you do business exclusively with them.

5. A Clean Credit History Can Reduce Car Premiums:

Having good credit can also lower your insurance costs. Many insurance companies will use credit information to price auto insurance policies. Drivers with good credit and a clean driving record may qualify as a "preferred" customer with lower risk and will be rewarded with lower premiums.

6. Low Mileage Discounts

Some companies offer discounts to drivers who drive a lower than average number of miles per year. If you car pool, take public transportation like the subway, or work from home, you will most likely drive few miles per year than the average driver.

7. Group Insurance

Some insurers offer discounts to drivers who work for certain companies or belong to professional associations, and alumni groups. Ask your employer, group or clubs that you belong to if they have any special arrangements with different insurance companies.

Using all of these tips can save you hundreds of dollars per year, especially when you have multiple cars and multiple drivers in the same household.

Download Full Movies - Top 3 Sites For Unlimited Movies Reviewed

Are you looking for some source from where you can legitimately download unlimited movies to your computer and that too at a very reasonable price ? Then you are at the right place. In this article, we will explore various sites on the internet which provides unlimited movies that you can download on your computer at pretty good speed. We will compare these sites based on their popularity, collection of movies, money back guarantee, price, convenience of use, etc. The good thing about all these websites is - they offer unlimited movie downloads life time membership service at just one time fee.

1. Net Movie Downloads -
Net Movie Downloads has been ranked 1 considering its popularity, great service, low price, satisfaction guarantee and many other factors. This site is very old and is also number 1 in popularity. They offer movies from a collection of over 100 Million movies. Their collection is too vast and you can find almost any movie that you want. Beside movies, they also offer some of the very popular games, music, videos etc. Net Movie Downloads also provide you with the software to burn each movie to CD or DVD. Lifetime membership is also available. Their download speed is very decent. While download is in progress, you can start watching the movie.
2. Shared Movies -
Shared Movies is one of the oldest and very well established site on the internet for downloading unlimited movies on your computer. The quality of service and ease of use of this site is very close to Net Movie Downloads. This site has been rated at number 2 position because its collection is 80 Million in contrast to Net Movie Downloads. The picture and sound quality is awesome! Shared Movies also gives a great value to security. All your downloads are free of spywares and malwares. It is highly secured.
3. Movie Advanced -
Movie Advanced is a new player in market. But in a short period of time, it has gained significantly high popularity. They keep updating their movie database very frequently. This site offers a large collection of DVD quality movies and full episodes of TV shows. They also offer very comprehensive tutorials for helping you in downloading and playing movie files on your TV, computer or home theatre system. You should prefer this site if you want instant access to unlimited movie downloads.

Is Homeowners Insurance Enough In The Toughest Of Times?

Homeowners Insurance is supposed to protect us in case of disasters. That is what we have come to expect from our homeowners insurance over the years. But what if the disaster is the costliest in U.S. History? What if your insurance agent's home and office were destroyed in the disaster also?

That is what happened to many customers and homeowners insurance agents and companies after Katrina hit the Gulf coast. Many agents' homes, offices and insurance Companies' claims centers were in the same situation as their clients due to the storms. So what did they do? They set up "office" in tents and mobile trailers. Then Hurricane Rita blew away these temporary offices and the agents and companies set them up again. These temporary shelters acted as a communications center for all people in the surrounding areas. Local people would come by to ask questions, meet with their claims adjustors and just catch up on the news with their neighbors. Extreme circumstances dictated unconventional responses: some agents even filed claims for their clients without even talking to the clients just so they could get the claim "in the queue." Allstate allowed customers to submit claims through any agent in the country and set up a priority line to assist. They sent email to agents in the areas surrounding the disaster areas to act as messengers by "word of mouth" to their fellow agents in the effected areas. The larger companies such as State Farm & Allstate that service claims for the national flood Insurance Program even used satellite imagery to determine damage in some neighborhoods that were entirely flooded.

Lessons Learned: Those of us not effected by these disasters can learn a few lessons about coping with future disasters from the thousands of policyholders that are still waiting to get their claims paid. As soon as possible, take steps to prevent further damage to your home if possible: such as covering the roof with a tarp if possible. You can hire a contractor if you can find one, as that would be safer for most of us than climbing on our roofs. Hold off making any repairs until you see or talk to an adjuster first. Plus, keep your receipts, as you'll need them to prove expenses that can be re-imbursed later.
What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover?

You can generally expect your homeowners insurance to help pay for additional living expenses for up to 12-24 months while your home is being repaired. But, homeowners insurance usually pays only after they verify you have a legitimate claim. After Katrina, many insurers made an exception, automatically distributing enough to cover two weeks' worth of additional living expense to anyone in an area subject to mandatory evacuation. Some companies even gave small advances on contents under the personal property part of their homeowners insurance policies.

If you have to wait to get your check, it helps to have cash that is easily accessible in a bank account or money market fund. Stashing cash at home isn't a great idea because if your home burns down and you weren't able to get to your cash, most homeowners insurance policies only cover $100-$200 in cash whether it is stolen or burned up in a fire. Your goal should be to have an emergency fund available to take care of your family for 2-4 weeks (minimum)if possible. In a disaster it might be hard to even find a local bank to get cash. Debit/credit cards with a statewide or national bank would perhaps be better.

Your biggest problem in getting your claim handled may be in either not having the proper homeowners insurance coverage or not having enough coverage. Most good homeowners insurance policies today cover up to 120% of your dwelling coverage limit. It is important that you review the dwelling limit with your agent every couple of year's at a minimum. Homeowners insurance policies do not cover Flooding, but you should again see your agent for this coverage.

If your homeowners insurance falls short, you may qualify for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) or a disaster-assistance loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Homeowners can borrow up to $200,000 for rebuilding and $40,000 to replace personal property at very low interest rates for up to 30 years.

Rent Family Movies - Edited Movie Rental Clubs

Seeking a great online family movie or family movie review?
Family movies sell lots of tickets at the box office and every year there are one or more blockbuster movies that are family films.

With the high price of theater tickets and concessions, viewing movies on DVD as a family movie night in the luxury of your own house, is quickly becoming very creditable.

With online movie rental clubs, there are quite a few family movies available, but only a few actually specialize in providing quality family films.

While other companies produce some family movies, none has come close to the massive library of movies that Disney has disclosed to us.

Walt Disney brought us Steamboat Willie in 1928 starring Mickey Mouse and in 1973, the Disney Studios gave us Snow White, the first feature length animated movie.



Family Movie - Disney Movie Rental Club

Online Disney Movie Club offers their signature classic movies, recent releases, preschool videos, sing-a-long video and other respectable family choices.

Family Movie Clubs located on the Internet

Other online family movie clubs include Family Pass (formerly known as Mentura) which names itself as "your ticket to family entertainment." Family Pass provides a massive selection of family titles, television shows, educational and home school videos and some with spiritual fare. All targeted at a family audiences and kids alike.

Family Movie - Edited Movies

Another unmatched popular source of movie titles suitable for family viewing comes from companies that specialize in editing movies to take away any profanity, prodigious violence and more adult content.

Club members can rent the edited, family safe version of popular movies that might otherwise be far less than family friendly
Online clubs that edit movies include CleanFilms, Flicks Club, Family Edited DVDs and CleanFlix to name a few.

Family Movie - DVD Software Filters

A company called ClearPlay offers DVD software that removes graphic violence, profanity and more adult situations. Movie filters are put together for specific movies and ClearPlays list continues to grow.

Family Movie Reviews

Online is also a great place to discover family movie review sites that will help parents when it comes to choosing which titles to see in theatres or on DVD.

Family Movie Night

Watching movies at home on DVD as a family has become very popular with the ongoing rise of popularity within the entertainment field.

Why spend a small fortune taking your family to see a movie at a theatre when you can have quality fun withinin your own hosuehold? With a family movie night you control the movies your family sees. No more unpleasant surprises! You are guaranteed the best seat in the house for you and your family.

Its easy to join an online movie club that offers family movies or better yet "specializes" in family movies and video.

So take a look at whats on the internet and join a family movie club. One of the largest online is MovieRentalClubGuide which offers special incentives to those who would like to join movie clubs online. Most offer a variety of special benefits to club members that make online club membership very convenient and affordable.

Then pick up some delicious popcorn and start the wonderful tradition of family movie night within your home, a tradition you and your children will fondly remember for years to come.

And remember, some of the best and most popular films of all time have been family movies.

Viagra treats impotence (ED)

Treating erectile dysfunction (ED). It may also be used for other conditions as determined by your doctor.

Viagra is a phosphodiesterase inhibitor. It works by helping to increase blood flow into the penis during sexual stimulation. This helps you to achieve and maintain an erection.

Do NOT use Viagra if:

* you are allergic to any ingredient in Viagra
* you have been advised by your doctor to avoid sexual activity because of heart problems
* you are taking nitrates (eg, isosorbide, nitroglycerin) in any form (eg, tablet, capsule, patch, ointment) or nitroprusside
* you use certain recreational drugs called "poppers" (eg, amyl nitrate, butyl nitrate)

Contact your doctor or health care provider right away if any of these apply to you.

Before using Viagra :

Some medical conditions may interact with Viagra . Tell your doctor or pharmacist if you have any medical conditions, especially if any of the following apply to you:

* if you are taking any prescription or nonprescription medicine, herbal preparation, or dietary supplement
* if you have allergies to medicines, foods, or other substances
* if you have a deformed penis (eg, Peyronie disease, cavernosal fibrosis), blood problems (eg, sickle cell anemia, leukemia, multiple myeloma), or any other condition that may increase the risk of a prolonged erection (eg, priapism)
* if you have a history of certain eye problems (eg, retinitis pigmentosa, sudden vision loss, optic neuropathy, macular degeneration)
* if you have a history of liver or kidney problems, high or low blood pressure, ulcers, bleeding problems, heart problems (eg, heart failure, irregular heartbeat, aortic stenosis, angina), or blood vessel problems
* if you have a history of heart attack, stroke, or life-threatening irregular heartbeat, especially within the past 6 months

Some MEDICINES MAY INTERACT with Viagra . Tell your health care provider if you are taking any other medicines, especially any of the following:

* Alpha-blockers (eg, doxazosin), amlodipine, medicines for high blood pressure, nitrates (eg, isosorbide, nitroglycerin), or nitroprusside because severe low blood pressure with dizziness, lightheadedness, and fainting may occur
* Azole antifungals (eg, itraconazole), cimetidine, H2 agonists (eg, famotidine), HIV protease inhibitors (eg, ritonavir), macrolide antibiotics (eg, erythromycin), or telithromycin because they may increase the risk of Viagra 's side effects
* Bosentan or rifampin because they may decrease Viagra 's effectiveness

This may not be a complete list of all interactions that may occur. Ask your health care provider if Viagra may interact with other medicines that you take. Check with your health care provider before you start, stop, or change the dose of any medicine.

Why Your Artwork Is Garbage!

You've heard the phrase "garbage in, garbage out!" It's also true when they say "What You See Is What You Get!" The acronym is WYSIWYG!

Having been in the digitizing logo business now for some twenty plus years, I've seen virtually all kinds and types of artwork. We all want and hope for the "camera ready" artwork to show up on our desk or computer files. Fact is, we rarely see a "picture perfect" image and are usually expected to perform miracles on the fuzzy or pixilated design. Even with the latest software, some artwork can present a challenge to make ready for certain applications.

Most of our clients (and I suspect yours too) don't realize that you may not be able to achieve the same "look", as compared to what they see on a print out. Depending upon the application an image may need to be altered to allow for a better representation. Of course we shouldn't expect our customers to understand this matter, after all … that's why they come to us.

One of the most helpful tips I received early on in my career was to suggest my customer return to their "printer" (person or company who created their business cards or letterhead) for crisp, sharp artwork. Knowing that if they had a business card in hand, someone would have to have the original artwork on file somewhere within their means. By suggesting to my customer to have their printer forward me the design, it would usually eliminate us having to "clean up" the image unnecessarily.

Of course there are the times when your customer brings in a paper sack or napkin, in which they have scribbled an idea for you to emboss or engrave. These are the situations when it's nice to have an artist on call or someone available to "redraw" the logo for production purposes. Most small shops do not have the luxury of having such talent in house but once again, early on in my venture I learned to tap into other sources.
When we first started out in the logo business, the only "artist" was myself. Telling it like it is … the best drawing I ever did was in my first dot-to-dot coloring book! When it comes to free hand drawing, I look to others with the God given talent. The solution? I paid a visit to our local college and also phoned the high schools in our area, looking for artists. There were several individuals I met through this process and I still use two of them in my existing business today! Talk about a gold mine!! These two individuals have spurred on numerous projects and helped grow our company to many different levels, developing thousands of clip art images and logos for the trade.

What I learned was, if I wanted to supply my customer with a top quality logo. I needed to start with something of value. Even if it meant having to hire an artist to recreate the drawing, it was worth the effort. Having a quality image to work from made all the difference in the world when digitizing the design.

I suggest to you, by starting with optimal quality in your artwork, you'll avoid putting out the garbage!

Fastest Cars In The World: Top 10 List 2011-2012

World's Fastest Cars

While most of us can only dream of owning the fastest car in the world, some will do whatever it takes to possess the most powerful speed. So, how fast are the fastest cars in the world?
Here are the 10 fastest cars available on the market (production models, as opposed to concept cars) measured by tested top speed (theoretical speeds do not count).
1. Bugatti Veyron Super Sport: 267 mph, 0-60 in 2.4 secs. Aluminum, Narrow Angle 8 Liter W16 Engine with 1200 hp, base price is $2,400,000. Although the Bugatti Veyron lost the title to SSC Ultimate Aero on March 2007, Bugatti challenge the record in Germany on July 10, 2010 with the new 2010 Super Sport Version and the Veyron once again claims the title of the fastest car in the world at 267 mph. The original Bugatti Veyron has a top speed of 253 mph, priced at $1,700,000 and equipped with 1001 hp.

#2 is a tie!
2. Hennessey Venom GT: 260 mph, 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, has a 6.2-liter LS9 Turbocharged V8 Twin Turbo V8 Engine producing 1200 hp, has a price tag of $950,000. The Venom GT has yet to be tested and proven, but could possibly hit a top speed of 275 mph. This might just be the Veyron Super Sport's closest competitor!

2. Koenigsegg Agera R: 260 mph, 0-60 in 2.9 secs. 5.0-liter V8 Engine with twin turbo’s, housing 1099 hp. Base price is $1,600,000. If you're into snow sports, the Agera R can be fitted with a Ski Box as well as winter tires, not that I would take one on a ski trip or anything like that. While the Agera R has a massive theoretical top speed, the current tested top speed is 260 mph. Expect this snow car to be the Bugatti's arch enemy for the next 5 years.
3. SSC Ultimate Aero: 257 mph, 0-60 in 2.7 secs. Twin-Turbo V8 Engine with 1183 hp, base price is $654,400. Tested in March 2007 by Guinness World Records, The SSC Ultimate Aero was the fastest car in the world from March 2007 to July 2010. On March 2011, the Koenigsegg Agera R also surpassed it, forcing this American made car to the #3 spot. Shelby SuperCars will continue their quest to reclaim the fastest car title, and their new SSC Tuatura might do the job (we'll just have to wait).

4. Saleen S7 Twin-Turbo: 248 mph, 0-60 in 2.8 secs. Twin Turbo All Aluminum V8 Engine with 750 hp, base price is $555,000. Smooth and bad-ass. It will make you want to show it off non-stop.

5. Koenigsegg CCX: 245 mph, 0-60 in 3.2 secs. 90 Degree V8 Engine 806 hp, base price is $545,568. Made in Sweden, it is the older brother of the Agera R, only losing to 4 other supercars in the world.

6. McLaren F1: 240 mph, 0-60 in 3.2 secs. BMW S70/2 60 Degree V12 Engine with 627 hp, base price is $970,000. The fastest car in the 20th century with doors that looks like bat wings. Maybe Batman needs to order one and paint it black
7. Gumpert Apollo: 224 mph, 0-60 in 3.0 secs, 4.2 liter V8 Engine that houses 650 hp. Base price: $450,000. Gumpert claims that the Apollo was designed such that it could drive upside-down in a tunnel with speeds at 190 mph or above. Of course, no one has tested this yet.
8. Noble M600: 223 mph, 0-60 in 3.7 secs. Twin-turbocharged 4.4-liter V8 Engine with 650 hp. Base price is $330,000. The Noble M600 also happens to be a very cool car. Its inconspicuous design sports a slender and contoured body which does not scream out for attention at every second of the day.
We have a tie for 9th and 10th places:
9. Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster: 217 mph, 0-60 in 3.4 secs. Twin turbocharged AMG V12 engine that produces 678 hp. Base price is $1,850,000. The Pagani Zonda Cinque Roadster is a limited-edition, with five ever produced. It is the quintessential exotic and exclusive supercar.
9. Ferrari Enzo: 217 mph, 0-60 in 3.4 secs. F140 Aluminum V12 Engine with 660 hp, base price is $670,000. Only 399 were ever produced; the price goes up every time someone crashes.
9. Jaguar XJ220: 217 mph, 0-60 in 3.8 secs. Twin Turbo V6 Engine with 542 hp, base price was $650,000. Made in 1992, this car still has what it takes to make the list.

10. Ascari A10: 215 mph, 0-60 in 2.8 secs. 5.0 litre BMW V8 S62 Engine with 625 hp. Base price: $650,000. The company planned to produce 50 of these supercars at its factory in Banbury, England.
10. Pagani Zonda F: 215 mph, 0-60 in 3.5 secs. Mercedes Benz M180 V12 Engine with 650 hp, base price is $667,321. With a V12 motor, this baby can do much better.