Gambling Till You Drop

Some naysayers way back in the 1990s predicted that online shopping wouldn’t last. Sure, and they said television was a passing fad, too! As we all know, just the opposite has occurred. There’s a television in every household, and more than likely, the homeowner bought their television onlinealong with his books, music CDs, clothes, and maybe even his home.

Internet shopping is bigger than ever. You can find anything and everything for sale online. Many times, you can find it cheaper online than anywhere else. Internet shopping offers so much more than a discounted price tag, though.

Imagine a shopping mall where there are no lines, where there are no jammed parking garages, and no pushy sales clerks. This is no land of make believe. It is the Internet, where you can discover unprecedented selection, convenience, and opportunities. Online shopping gives you the luxury of browsing hundreds of stores from your living room, while saving on time and frustration. It provides you the chance to compare prices to your heart’s delight on a near limitless selection of brands and models.

For even more benefits, try your hand at classifieds and auction Web sites. These sites are like yard sales and flea markets rolled into one. Unlike retail shopping sites, they offer:

Access to super secondary markets. Take your pick of secondhand or brand-new wholesale goods at steeply discounted prices. The vendors at classifieds sites can get away with it because they aren’t paying high rent for a storefront or a warehouse. And in many cases, you’re not paying taxes.

Tools to locate unique and rare collectibles. Imagine a classifieds site to be like a sunken pirate boat, laden with cultural artifacts, hard-to-find heirlooms, and priceless antiques. The Internet is your deep-sea vessel, sonar, and oxygen tank all in one.

Reach beyond your neighborhood. Search through the inventory of a vendor from your home town, or if you don’t find what you’re looking for there, try that fellow in California, Texas or Canada for that matter.

Close relationships with vendors. You deal with real peoplenot big, impersonal corporationswhen you buy on classifieds sites. They can provide more details about the product, which you can then use to bargain for a reasonable price.

Despite this bounty of benefits, you might still be hesitant to dive into Internet shopping. Don’t be embarrassed. You have good reason to take your time and weigh your choices. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Internet fraud tops the list of the thousands of fraud cases that happen every year. In some ways, WWW could stand for the Wild West Web, in that anything goes. Vendors can be villains in disguise, and there aren’t any online Wyatt Earps to protect you from these bad guys. You’re on your own.

But give yourself some credit. You have the common sense it takes to survive the WWW. It is the same commonsense that helps you make the most of your money on your standard shopping trips. Become familiar and comfortable with an online vendor before jumping into a purchase. Ask questions and do a bit of research.

After doing your research, you’ll feel more confident in searching for your online booty. To refine your findings and whittle your list to only the exceptional sites, look for these additional qualities:

• A focus on local shopping, so you can feel more confident buying from neighbors.
• Free education and advice on safe purchasing.
• No-cost and easy browsing through available merchandise.
• Search tools that let you prioritize items by category, location, and distance.
• A straightforward pricing system that avoids the haggling and risk of auction bidding.
• Quick price comparisons among different vendors.

Unbelievably, a few trustworthy, practical, and exciting Web sites exist that have all of these features. To find these websites, simply browse through Yahoo’s directory under the classifieds category. The best of the online classified sites offer these services free to buyers such as you. Some of these sites can link you at no charge to your neighbor selling the antique lamp that you’ve been hunting for or that retiree looking to unload an incredible piece of real estateor the cowboy looking to sell his big-screen television.

Donald Lee is the public relations manager for Buysellcommunity.com. Buysellcommunity provides free classified listing services for individuals and businesses to market their products and services online. For global and localized classifieds, please visit

www.buysellcommunity.com – Free Buy & Sell Classifieds

Which of these is stress?

* You receive a promotion at work. * Your car has a flat tire. * You go to a fun party that lasts till 6:00 a.m. * Your dog gets sick. * Your new bedroom set is being delivered. * Your best friend and his wife come to stay at your house for a week. * You get a bad case of hay fever. * All of the above.

ALL OF THESE ARE STRESS.

If you are used to thinking that stress is something that makes you worry, you have the wrong idea of stress. Stress is many different kinds of things: happy things, sad things, allergic things, and physical things. Many people carry enormous stress loads and they do not even realize it!

What is Stress?

We are all familiar with the word “stress”. Stress is when you are worried about getting laid off your job, or worried about having enough money to pay your bills, or worried about your mother when the doctor says she may need an operation. In fact, to most of us, stress is synonymous with worry. If it is something that makes you worry, then it is stress.

Your body, however, has a much broader definition of stress. To your body, stress is synonymous with change. Anything that causes a change in your life causes stress. It doesn’t matter if it is a “good” change or a “bad” change, they are both stress. When you find your dream apartment and get ready to move, that is stress. If you break your leg, that is stress. Good or bad, if it is a change in your life, it is stress as far as your body is concerned.

Even imagined change is stress. (Imagining changes is what we call “worrying”.) If you fear that you will not have enough money to pay your rent, that is stress. If you worry that you may get fired, that is stress. If you think that you may receive a promotion at work, that is also stress (even though this would be a good change). Whether the event is good or bad, imagining changes in your life is stressful.

So:

Anything that causes change in your daily routine is stressful. Anything that causes change in your health is stressful. Imagined changes are just as stressful as real changes.

Stress Affects Your Body and Brain

Stress causes problems with with the chemicals in your brain. When life is smooth, your brain is able to produce enough “calming chemicals,” such as serotonin, to keep up with normal levels of stress, demands, and expectations. But when too much stress is placed on the brain, it begins to fall behind in its ability to cope. As the stress continues, some of the calming chemicals may begin to fail. Important nerve centers then become distressed. You enter a state of brain chemical imbalance known as — Overstress.

Overstress makes people feel terrible. With stress overwhelming the brain, a person feels “overwhelmed” by life. People complain of being tired, unable to fall asleep or to obtain a restful night’s sleep. They have plagues of aches and pains, lack of energy, lack of enjoyment of life. They feel depressed, anxious, or just unable to cope with life.

Stress Affects Your Looks

>From the above description, you can probably imagine that overstress can affect your looks. When you can’t sleep, you look tired. When you have aches and pains, you look (and feel) unhappy. When you have no energy, you can’t participate in life with your usual smile and sparkle. Stress can also cause skin rashes and stomach problems, which will also affect how you look.

How to Combat Stress

Breathing

Breathing exercises are a wonderfully effective way to reduce stress, regulate mood, and feel energized. One way to promote deeper breathing and better health is by exhaling completely. Try it: take a deep breath, let it out effortlessly, and then squeeze out a little more. Doing this regularly will help build up the muscles between your ribs, and your exhalations will naturally become deeper and longer. Start by practicing this exhalation exercise consciously, and eventually it will become a healthy, unconscious habit.

Exercise

For many people, exercise is a main method of reducing stress and promoting relaxation. One of the benefits of regular aerobic exercise is its moderating effect on emotions, both long-term and short-term. If you feel angry or upset, a brisk walk or run or a half hour of lifting weights will often put you back in a good mood. While exercise is a great way to burn up excess energy and dissipate tension, it does not necessarily teach you how to process stress differently, and is best used as a complement to another technique, such as breathing, visualization or yoga, for instance. Yoga is an excellent promoter of relaxation as well as a good form of non-aerobic body conditioning. It perfectly complements aerobic exercise.

Be Positive

Did you know pessimism has been linked to a higher risk of dying before age 65? On the other hand, expressing positive emotions, such as optimism, is associated with a variety of health benefits: lowered production of the stress hormone cortisol, better immune function, and reduced risk of chronic diseases.

Action Steps:

If you are stressed-out or anxious, and tend to become negative when in this state of mind, try the following steps:

* Take care of yourself by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and getting adequate sleep. * Express your emotional reactions honestly so you can effectively deal with what’s bothering you. * Confide in someone – your mate, a good friend or a trusted relative. * View the cup as half full instead of half empty.

Having an efficient work flow is essential for photographers. In the days of film, many of the tasks in the film work flow were handled by the lab. Now, more and more photographers are switching to digital and have to handle many of these tasks themselves. The purpose of this document is to provide a basic digital work flow for working with RAW images that is camera and system independent.

Most modern digital SLR cameras, and some point and shoot models, have the ability to record the RAW data from an exposure, allowing the photographer to process the images as they see fit. This can be a daunting task, especially for those who don’t have a work flow in place to handle the images from the camera. The following steps will take you through the process of setting up your own RAW digital work flow.

Work flow Step 1: Compose and Expose

Your digital work flow begins before you ever sit down at your
computer. One of the best things you can do to make your work flow more efficient is to get as much of your image perfect in the camera as possible. Many digital photographers have fallen into the “I can fix it on the computer” trap. This costs you time and money. The more time you spend “fixing” a photo after you’ve tripped the shutter, the less time you are spending with clients.

Here are a few tips to help reduce your workload from the time you make your exposure:

• Set your white-balance to match your scene. If you get the proper white-balance in the camera, you won’t have to adjust it later on the computer. See your camera documentation for how to set a custom white-balance. Remember to set your white balance whenever you change lenses, or the quality of light. If you change modifiers, or lenses, change your white-balance as well.
• Expose for the highlights. Since digital acts similar to slide film, its easy to accidentally blow your highlights. By exposing for the hot parts of the image, you’ll save yourself some time in the long run.
• Scan your frame. Get in the habit of doing a top-to-bottom scan of your frame before you trip the shutter. This will help you avoid stray hairs, lights in your frame, reflectors being visible, and anything that you might have to clone out of the image later.

Work flow Step 2: Importing and Backing Up Your Images

There are many ways to get your images from your camera to your
computer. Some people use a card reader that will read the images off the memory card from the camera. Others connect the camera directly to the computer and import the images directly. No matter how you get the images to the computer, your first step is to setup an organizational structure for the images and create a backup copy of the RAW files for safety.

First, create a folder to store your image files. In our studio, we use the folder name to organize our images. For instance, let’s say we are importing images from a portrait session with Jane Doe that took place on January 1st, 2005. Our folder name for this session would be P_2005_DoeJane_0101. If we also did a portrait session with John Doe on the same date, our folder would be named P_2005_DoeJohn_0101. This allows us to keep our images organized in a way that we are familiar with. Use whatever folder structure you like, as long as it helps you keep things organized.

Next, we will create the folders under our P_2005_DoeJane_0101 folder that we will use during the course of processing the images. We create the following folders: RAW, WORK, and JPEG. The final file structure looks like this:

-+P_2005_DoeJane_0101
-|-RAW
-|-WORK
-|-JPEG

The RAW folder holds our RAW image files, the WORK directory holds the processed TIFF files where we will do all of our editing, and the JPEG folder holds the completed files, ready to be uploaded to the lab.

Copy the images from your camera to the RAW folder using whichever method you prefer. As soon as this initial copy is complete, make a backup copy of these images. Some photographers backup to writable CD-ROM or DVD discs. Other photographers backup to a separate backup hard drive. No matter what method you choose for your backups, they are CRITICAL. Make sure you can recover your images if something should happen to your memory card.

Work flow Step 3: Verify Your Backup

Your backup copy of the RAW images files is important. Take a moment to verify that you can read the images you copied to your backup medium. Once you have verified your backup medium, you may proceed with the work flow.

Work flow Step 4: Culling the Herd

Converting the images you never want the client to see wastes time and money. Use your preferred image browser to go through the RAW images and delete any that you know you won’t use. Don’t worry about deleting the wrong file, that is why we made a backup. If you delete a file you wanted, just bring it back from your backup.

Once you have selected your “keepers” from the RAW images, it is time to move on to the next step.

Work flow Step 5: File Conversion

Most cameras come with software specifically designed to convert the RAW image data from its native format into TIFF files, JPEG files, or some other format that is compatible with the popular image editing software.

At our studio, we convert the RAW images into 16-bit TIFF files,
because we like to have the maximum amount of data available for
editing and processing. Your needs may vary. There are many articles on the Internet that deal with the different file formats and the pros and cons of each. For the purpose of this tutorial, we are going to assume that the files are being converted to 16-bit TIFF files.

We now open the software that came with our camera and set it to
convert our RAW image data to 16-bit TIFF files, and save them in the TIFF folder we created in Work flow Step 2. This step can be time consuming, so we often go out to eat while the images from a session are converting.

Once the conversion is finished, you will have a folder of 16-bit TIFF files to do editing and retouching on. We use TIFF at our studio because it is a loss less format. That is, we can save the file as many times as we like without degrading the image quality. JPEG is a lossy format, every time you save a JPEG file, you lose a little more data to compression.

Work flow Step 6: Editing and Retouching

This step of our work flow is where the real work is done. You will open each TIFF file in the image editor of your choice and make sure your colors and exposure are correct, the crop is the way you want it, and the image is ready for printing. At this point you will make any edits to the image, such as changing the crop, converting it to black and white, or doing any needed retouching.

If you use the TIFF file format, you can save as many times as you need to during this process without having to worry about losing image quality.

Once editing and retouching is done, save your work file and move on to the next step.

Work flow Step 7: Saving the Production File

One of the cons to working with 16-bit TIFF files is that they take up an incredible amount of disk space. Once we have reviewed the images with the client and ensured that no further edits/retouching need to be made, we convert the TIFF file to a JPEG production file for archive purposes and sending to the lab.

Open the TIFF file in your preferred image editor and save your file as a Baseline Level 10 JPEG in the JPEG folder we created earlier. Why not save as a Level 12 JPEG, you might ask. When printing your image, there is no discernible difference between a level 10 JPEG and a level 12 JPEG. Try it for yourself and see.

Once your files are saved as JPEGs, move on the the next step.

Work flow Step 8: Backup Your Production Files

This is a good time to make a backup (either to CD/DVD, or to another hard disk) of your JPEG production files. This ensures that you have a copy of all your hard work and if something should happen to the original files, you know you have a good backup.

Work flow Step 9: Cleaning Up the RAW and Work Files

Once we know we have a good backup of our production JPEGs, we delete the entire WORK folder and the entire RAW. This frees up the large amount of space that TIFF files require and leaves us with a manageable set of files from the job. However, we have already made backup copies of the RAW files and the JPEG files, so if we ever need to re-edit an image, we have the materials to do so.

Work flow Step 10: Final Touches

At this point our production JPEG images are ready to print or send to the lab. Make any final adjustments to the image size and print or upload your images.

Final Thoughts

With an efficient digital work flow, handling large amounts of digital images is easy and relatively stress free. I hope this tutorial has given you some ideas on how to best setup your own RAW digital work flow.

Martin F. Hengst has been a professional photographer for more than a decade. He and his wife Barbara run Captured Radiance Photography, a studio dedicated to glamour, boudoir, and intimate portraiture. His online portfolio can be found at: http://www.capturedradiance.com

In electronic repair, most of the time i came across five band resistor color code. The purpose of using the five colour band resistor in a circuit is that it provide a more accurate value compare to the four color band. For example in order to get the value of 22.6kohm, with four colors band resistor you will not be able to find it. The most you can get is 22k
(red,red,orange and gold). If with the five color band you will be able to calculate it (red, red, blue, red, brown)the last color which is brown represent 1% tolerance. You may go to google search engine and type resistor color code, resistor color coding, resistor color code calculator, or resistor color code chart to know more about how to calculate a five band resistor values.

If you open up an analog multimeter you will understand what i mean. Most of the resistor circuit inside
the multimeter are using five color band. Why? Because the reading that you get whenever you measure current,
voltage or ohm, the panel will show the nearest value. For instance, if you measure a 9v battery
the needle will point to may be 8.9v,9v,or 9.1 volt. If that particular multimeter was designed
using four color band resistor the result that it gets may be 8.5v,9.5v or even 10 volt. In other
words the use of five color band resistor is to make a circuit more precise and output the desire
result as what the engineers want it to be.

There’s a interesting five color band resistor which is unique.
In fact i have already seen quite a number of them. I will reveal the calculation about this
unique five color band resistor. The colors are orange, orange, red, gold, white.
Actually it is a four color band resistor. Just ignore the white color and proceed to calculate
using the four color band formula. As to why the resistor manufacturers add this ‘extra’ white
band i really do not know. However, from forum someone said that it is for the military purposes.
If you know the answer i would like you to email me so that i can share with other fellow
electronic repairer thru this info repairing newsletter.

Jestine Yong is a electronic repairer and a writer. For more information on electronic repair please visit his website at
http://www.noahtec.com/electronic-repair-articles.htm

Acne and rosacea patients take note- you must know about proper skin-care and cosmetic usage to successfully manage your sensitive skin. This is the counsel of Dr. Diane Berson, who runs a dermatology practice in New York City.

A critical step in reducing skin sensitivity is understanding the importance of the stratum corneum. The stratum corneum is the outermost layer of the skin and is composed of dead, flat skin cells held together by the protein keratin. This skin barrier prevents molecules from passing into and out of the skin and thereby protects the lower layers of skin while reducing skin sensitivity.

Healthy, uninjured skin is more effective at preventing skin irritations that may result from using cosmetics and skin care products. Individuals with altered nerve endings or more neurotransmitters under their skin are more susceptible to minor skin irritants in cosmetics and skin care products. When the skin is excessively dry or damaged, it cannot adequately protect these nerve endings. Sound moisturizing and a strong immune system help minimize possible skin irritants.

Some of Dr. Berson’s recommendations for caring for sensitive skin include:

Selecting mild cleansers.
Use mild cleansing agents that have synthetic detergents or lipid-free cleansers. Resist using abrasive cleansers since they can cause microscopic tears in the skin and damage the protective layers of the skin.

Rosacea patients should not use alcohol-based products such as toners or astringents.

Acne patients will benefit from toners that contain salicylic acid or alpha hydroxy acid. However, when starting a retinoid treatment, temporarily discontinue using a toner or astringent since the combination may make the retinoid more irritating. Acne patients must also limit or abstain from excessively rough cleansing and washing. Julie Harper, M.D., who directs a clinic to treat acne at the University of Alabama at Birmingham laments, “Teenagers think they have acne because they do not wash enough, but usually they are washing too often with harsh scrubs that make their symptoms worse.”

Using moisturizers.
Tracy L. Grosick, a key skin care product researcher with Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati says that when the skin’s moisture barrier is intact, it helps the skin to combat environmental attacks that are encountered on a daily basis. When acne and rosacea patients are using treatments that dry the skin, moisturizers may improve the skin’s barrier function. Dr. Benson recommends using moisturizers with the least amount of ingredients.

Rosacea patients should choose a moisturizer with only glycerin, petrolatum, or aloe vera, which might be anti-inflammatory.

Acne patients should also stick with products containing the least amount of ingredients.

Using noncomedogenic sunscreens.
Rosacea patients need to use a physical-blocking products containing zinc oxide or titanium dioxide because these ingredients will not irritate red, inflamed skin and will provide optimal protection.

Acne patients with oily skin should use noncomedogenic, non-pore clogging, products. Select an alcohol-based or gel-based sunscreen.

Preservatives.
The best preservatives for sensitive skin are those containing parabens like methyl paraben and butyl paraben.

The key to keeping sensitive skin less susceptible to irritation is ensuring the integrity of your stratum corneum, the skin’s primary defensive barrier. You can start by using a minimalist moisturizer, and noncomedogenic sunscreen.

Sources:

American Academy of Dermatology (Newswise.com)

Dermatology Times. Patricia Reiman. Alleviating sensitivity: Study finds moisturizers with niacinamide make skin more resilient. March 1, 2004
Dermatology Times. Cheryl Guttman. Sensitive skin valid patient problem. May 1, 2002.

E Skin and Allergy News. Timothy F. Kirn. Lifestyle, Cosmetics Integral to Acne, Rosacea Tx. August 2003.

Naweko San-Joyz writes health and beauty articles from her home in San Diego. She recently published “Acne Messages: Crack the code of your zits and say goodbye to acne” (ISBN: 0974912204). Naweko is presently working on title called “Skinny Fat Girls, Why we’re still not getting this diet thing” (ISBN: 0974912212) for release in May of 2005. To challenge and verify her research, San-Joyz trains for figure competitions.

We all want to please and impress that special someone in our lives with a romantic gift. Millions are spent every year trying to accomplish this feat. We may peruse the jewelry store and spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on beautiful trinkets. Perhaps a night over at an elegant resort is a consideration for your romantic gift idea. But consider this…

A lasting impression can be imprinted on our special someone if he/she is treated to an unforgettable experience. For the price of a fine pair of earrings, you can treat your romantic partner with a dinner cruise along one of the waterways near your corner of the world. For the price of a necklace and earring set, you can book an elegant cruise of four to eight days aboard a magnificent cruise ship. How impressive is that for a romantic gift?

Consider your options here. An afternoon cruise near your home for less than the price of an elegant dinner can provide for a memory of romance and togetherness. For a few dollars more, an enchanted evening of romantic cruising with a lovely dinner and a bottle of fine wine will be lastingly remembered.

Romantic vacation gift cruises can cost as little as $500.00 per person. These romantic experiences can provide you with a lifetime of memories. Envision exotic ports of call, majestic landscapes, sipping a glass of vintage wine on your private balcony, enjoying an exquisite meal in an elegant dining room and dancing into the night… All of this can be yours each day of your cruise!

Would a fabulous gift cruise conjure up a vision of romance? Picture it… Is that a romantic gift idea? Of course it is! No matter what type of romantic gift cruise you choose – afternoon river cruise, evening dinner cruise, four day Caribbean vacation cruise, seven day Alaskan cruise, intriguing Mediterranean cruise or exotic South Seas cruise – you will not be disappointed!

Don’t consider yourself selfish if you’re thinking “with this romantic gift, I’ll get a gift vacation as well”. Your special someone will want you to be as happy as they will be. That’s part of the beauty of romance. Each partner wants the other partner to be happy and to enjoy each others’ company. What better way than to break away from the traditional romantic gifts than to offer your company aboard a floating resort with pampering service and elegant surroundings while visiting exotic, intriguing, majestic and exciting ports-of-call!

Romance is what we are all looking for here. Throughout the ages, the sea has been synonymous with romance. Cruise ships have become synonymous with romance as well since the television weekly “The Love Boat”. What better romantic gift idea is there than a romantic getaway aboard a magnificent cruise ship?

For more interesting articles related to romantic getaways, gift ideas, cruises, and cruising, visit a1-discount-cruises.com, your #1 source for cruise information and great cruise discounts! Don’t put it off. Check out some of the special deals from our merchants. Your romantic gift could cost less than you think. But you must act fast as cruises are very popular and do sell out. Get some quotes and compare. Then all that’s left to do is to book your romantic gift cruise on-line and get excited!

- Brian A Schmidt is the author and web publisher of A1-Discount-Cruises.com your #1 source for cruise information, discounts and great deals! Visit Romantic Getaways to book your fabulous romantic gift cruise vacation! For more interesting articles visit our Article Map pages. If you have any comments or questions regarding choosing the right cruise line for your romantic cruise vacation, contact us at info@a1-discount-cruises.com using the subject line “Cruises”.

Did you know that fly fishing is one of the most relaxing sports around? Casting a line into a calm stream can be said to be one of life’s greatest pleasures. Fly fisherman can seem a bit fanatic in their quest for the perfect river and the perfect spot to spend the day looking for a good catch. I’ve done a little research into the world of fly fishing vacations and have come up with the three tips that can turn your next fly fishing trip into an experience to remember.

1) Consider lesser known fly fishing spots. Did you know that there is absolutely incredible fly fishing available in a lot of states that wouldn’t seem obvious at first glance? There sure is. One such spot is Montana. True pros know that Montana has a ton of incredible fly fishing spots and that you only really need to find one to make your vacation incredible. During the summer, Montana and Wyoming can become very crowded with tourists looking to visit the stunning national parks. However, these 1 week tourists might not be overly interested in visiting the secluded lakes and streams that you might love to fish in Montana.

2) Compare online deals. Orbitz and Expedia can offer some really good deals on package vacations. However, sometimes it’s best to check out discount airlines for really good deals. Southwest and JetBlue have become extremely popular airline options and they cover a good part of the US now. Booking separate hotel and (a discount) airfare might be a great option if you want to save some bucks. You should spend your money on fly fishing gear, not overpriced transportation and accommodation.

3) Canada. This is the most important tip (and overlooked destination) of all. There is nothing quite as good as saving some money during the exchange rate process. Canada is just over the border and has an absolute bounty of natural resources. Lakes, ponds, and streams team with fish. This country is a fly fisherman’s dream come true. There are tons of places that will gladly book you in for a fly fishing vacation.

Linda Harrison is author of “Fly Fishing Canada – A Reel Good Time.” Grab your copy at www.zippysflyfishing.com