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Many Americans rely on their automobiles to get to work. No automobile means no job, no rent or mortgage money, no food. A single parent, struggling to make ends meet in the suburbs with 100,000 miles on the odometer, would presumably welcome the guaranteed opportunity for low-priced insurance that would take care of every possible repair on her auto until the day that it reaches 200,000 miles or falls apart, whichever comes first. Especially if the insurance is valid regardless of whether she even changes the oil in the interim.

So why aren’t the auto insurance companies writing such coverage, either directly or through used auto dealers? And given the importance of reliable transportation, why isn’t the public demanding such coverage? The answer is that both auto insurers and the public know that such insurance can’t be written for a premium the insured can afford, while still allowing the insurers to stay solvent and make a profit. As a society, we intuitively understand that the costs associated with taking care of every mechanical need of an old automobile, particularly in the absence of regular maintenance, aren’t insurable. Yet we don’t seem to have these same intuitions with respect to health insurance.

If we pull the emotions out of health insurance, which is admittedly hard to do even for this author, and look at health insurance from the economic perspective, there are several insights from auto insurance that can illuminate the design, risk selection, and rating of health insurance.

Auto insurance comes in two forms: the traditional insurance you buy from your agent or direct from an insurance company, and warranties that are purchased from auto manufacturers and dealers. Both are risk transfer and sharing devices and I’ll generically refer to both as insurance. Because auto third-party liability insurance has no equivalent in health insurance, for traditional auto insurance, I’ll examine only collision and comprehensive insurance — insurance covering the vehicle — and not third-party liability insurance.

Bumper to Bumper

The following are some commonly accepted principles from auto insurance:

* Bad maintenance voids certain insurance. If an automobile owner never changes the oil, the auto’s power train warranty is void. In fact, not only does the oil need to be changed, the change needs to be performed by a certified mechanic and documented. Collision insurance doesn’t cover cars purposefully driven over a cliff.

* The best insurance is offered for new models. Bumper-to-bumper warranties are offered only on new cars. As they roll off the assembly line, automobiles have a low and relatively consistent risk profile, satisfying the actuarial test for insurance pricing. Furthermore, auto manufacturers usually wrap at least some coverage into the price of the new auto in order to encourage an ongoing relationship with the owner.

* Limited insurance is offered for old model autos. Increasingly limited insurance is offered for old model autos. The bumper-to-bumper warranty expires, the power train warranty eventually expires, and the amount of collision and comprehensive insurance steadily decreases based on the market value of the auto.

* Certain older autos qualify for additional insurance. Certain older autos can qualify for additional coverage, either in terms of warranties for used autos or increased collision and comprehensive insurance for vintage autos. But such insurance is offered only after a careful inspection of the automobile itself.

* No insurance is offered for normal wear and tear. Wiper blades need replacement, brake pads wear out, and bumpers get dings. These aren’t insurable events. To the extent that a new car dealer will sometimes cover some of these costs, we intuitively understand that we’re “paying for it” in the cost of the automobile and that it’s “not really” insurance.

* Accidents are the only insurable event for the oldest automobiles. Accidents are generally insurable events even for the oldest autos; with few exceptions service work isn’t.

* Insurance doesn’t restore all vehicles to pre-accident condition. Auto insurance is limited. If the damage to the auto at any age exceeds the value of the auto, the insurer then pays only the value of the auto. With the exception of vintage autos, the value assigned to the auto goes down over time. So whereas accidents are insurable at any vehicle age, the amount of the accident insurance is increasingly limited.

* Insurance is priced to the risk. Insurance is priced based on the risk profile of both the automobile and the driver. The auto insurer carefully examines both when setting rates.

* We pay for our own insurance. And with few exceptions, automobile insurance isn’t tax deductible. As a result, the fear of increasing insurance rates due to traffic violations and/or accidents changes our driving behavior and we sometimes select our automobiles based on their insurability.

Each of the above principles is supported by solid actuarial theory. Although most Americans can’t describe the underlying actuarial theories, most everyone understands the above principles of auto insurance at the intuitive level. For sure, as indispensable automobiles are to our lifestyles, there is no loud national movement, accompanied by moral outrage, to change these principles.

Unsustainable Market

In contrast, similar principles are routinely violated in health insurance. To demonstrate this, let’s return to the same suburban mother from the opening paragraph. She’s busy working, driving to and from work, and driving her kids to school and activities. She ends each day exhausted, sitting on the couch with fast food. She’s obese, has a sedentary life, a bad diet, and hasn’t taken the time to go to the doctor in years. After a simple injury doesn’t heal for weeks, she turns up at the emergency room and learns she has type II diabetes. Although type II diabetes is controllable, changing diet and exercise habits and properly tracking her condition takes time and effort and she’s never quite successful in implementing the necessary lifestyle changes.

So the initial emergency room visit is only the first of a long list of health care related to non-controlled diabetes and other problems associated with obesity. Whether she has individual or group insurance, her insurance pays for each episode of care, without singling her out for a premium increase, and without charging her any more cost sharing than is charged to the healthiest and most medically diligent insureds. Her coverage continues until she voluntarily changes insurance companies and/or employers or becomes eligible for Medicare. If she’s covered under group insurance she may not even pay any premium. Her insurance continues unabated, even though the disease was caused by neglecting her body and she maintains her poor lifestyle even after the disease becomes known.

This just wouldn’t happen in auto insurance. This scenario is the auto insurance equivalent of guaranteed access to low-priced auto insurance that takes care of every possible repair, including damage already done, until the day the car falls apart so completely it’s unsalvageable (death) or reaches 200,000 miles (Medicare), regardless of whether she even changes the oil (takes care of herself) in the interim.

As a society, we don’t expect this in private-market auto insurance, but we expect it in private-market health insurance. Furthermore, there’s a chorus of national and state interests, which continuously pushes us further away from the auto insurance principles.

The current private health insurance market isn’t sustainable. Prices have been consistently increasing faster than inflation for decades. Each year, insureds use more health care than ever before and more people have no insurance at all. Most actuaries and other people in the private health insurance market don’t want national health insurance with its bureaucracy and one-size-fits-all benefits. Yet, we’re trying to sustain a private insurance system, which violates the very principles we know are necessary for private insurance markets.

Yes, health insurance involves the sacredness of human life and is therefore different from auto insurance. But if we’re to sustain a private-market solution to health insurance, actuaries need to explain to the larger society, in terms that society understands, the rationale for the following principles:

* As sacred as health care is, it’s still an economic transaction that has to be balanced by individuals and societies, against other economic choices. It can’t be unlimited. Sometimes it will be secondary to other choices. On a given day, for example, the mother in our scenario may value her car more than her health.

* Insurance premiums should be paid by the individual and tied to controllable risk factors. This will provide the best incentive for the control of risk factors.

* Although it’s hard to draw the line between abuse, neglect and ignorance, self-abuse shouldn’t be insured and we need to draw that line somewhere.

* The private market can’t provide unlimited, self-directed health insurance.

* Routine care and ongoing treatments of chronic conditions can be pre-funded, can even be subsidized, but they don’t constitute “insurable events.”

* Insurance can’t be expected to keep every human body in pristine condition. No amount of health care will prevent everyone’s ultimate death.

* Comprehensive, unlimited, non-subsidized private-market coverage isn’t possible for people with severely impaired health.

* The private health market can provide limited non-subsidized health insurance, such as protection from accidents, to even health-impaired individuals.

* Individuals who can afford to do so and who take good care of themselves should be able to “buy up” to better coverage. People have the option of buying up for everything else in life.

Discussion of these principles is lacking from most of the current health insurance debate. If society can intuitively understand how similar principles apply to health insurance, then they should be able understand the principles in the health insurance context. We need to initiate the debate.

This commentary is solely the opinion of its author. It does not express the official policy of the American Academy of Actuaries; nor does it necessarily reflect the opinions of the Academy’s individual officers, members, or staff

About this Author

Precedent puts a new spin on health insurance. Learn more at http://www.precedent.com. [http://www.precedent.com]

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This article shows you, as a vehicle owner, how to prepare yourself for a breakdown even

before they occur. And to help you fix problems quickly if you are into Do It Yourself auto repairs.

Breakdown Can Be Really Nasty:

Though we don’t pray for breakdowns, they do occur, and at the time we least expected.

The frustration, time wastage, and other losses incurred from breakdowns can be reduced to minimum

level, if adequate preparation are made for it.

The following steps will guide all vehicle owners who are into do it yourself auto

repairs, and help them to quickly tackle problems that surface in time of breakdown.

1. Prepare Yourself Psychologically:

One of the first thing you will experience
during a breakdown, especially if you are not familiar with car repair and maintenance is panic, you
don’t just know what next to do.

Just have it at the back of your mind that a vehicle can breakdown at any time, and even
without giving any sign, prepare your mind for this and use other points I will also show you to
deal with the situation.

2. Study Your Auto Repair Manual:

Get yourself a well detailed and well illustrated repair manual, and familiarize yourself with your car parts, systems and their functions. These are the
basics of Do It Yourself auto repair jobs.

Study the areas dealing with troubleshooting car engines very well, so that you can easily discern what happened when your car broke down, and you know where to go to solve the problem.

3. Become A Do It Yourself Auto Repair Mechanic:

This will actually help you to
tackle the problem, not only to identify it. Start trying your hands on some little repair and maintenance work now.

Join an auto repair site for guide and instruction (especially those crucial to your vehicle) so as not
to fail. You will be glad you did when next you have a breakdown.

4. Always Get Your Tools Ready:

Get a small toolbox, with necessary repair and
maintenance tools (you can get the details from your repair manual), and go anywhere with them always. You can’t repair anything without the right tools, and with them Do It Yourself auto repair becomes easy.

5. Always Keep Some Money With You:

It requires that you need to buy auto parts and accessories in the cause of a breakdown. Money can actually bail you out, so always keep them handy.

6. Get Some Auto Parts Ready:

You can buy and keep some necessary, highly-susceptible-to-breakdown auto parts and accessories in your car, like fan belt, plugs, etc, and you can just pick them and use, to replace faulty ones instead of wasting time buying another one.

7. Use The Service Of Auto Centres:

Register with a good auto centre and keep
their phone number handy. This is good if the problem is such that you cannot solve it, you can quickly call them to tow the car for repairs. Because you have registered, you can get prompt and cheap services from them.

Tope Olawumi is a seasoned auto-infopreneur, for more info on how on how to prepare yourself for a breakdown and Do it yourself auto repair visit http://www.all-about-auto-part.com/Do-It-Yourself-Auto-Repair.html You can also get the latest in cheap car part blog from http://www.all-about-auto-part.com/Auto-part-blog.html

A sports car is sexy, alluring and promised a new level of excitement and enjoyment in driving experience. But not everyone can afford to get one of their own and if you are fortunate enough to afford one, there are some things you need to know that can help you become a better negotiator. It is important to negotiate your way to the best deal and the lowest prices possible when looking to buy a sports car. There are plenty of sports cars for sale at your local car dealers or if you prefer you can hunt for one online.

Let’s look at some handy tips that can help you secure the best deal around.

Tip#1: Decide on the Budget

You may be tempted into buying a more expensive car than the one planned as soon as you walk into your card dealer’s office. Sports cars are exceptionally attractive and it is easy to be seduced into a more expensive model that would upset your budget in a big way. Therefore, you need to decide on the amount you are willing to pay for the car and the monthly expenses necessary for the installments and the maintenance cost of the new sports car as well.

Tip#2: History

If you are buying a used car, check the history of the car and see if it has ever been involved in accidents in the past. See if there are scratches in the car and also major modifications that would affect the warranty and other related issues if it is still under protection.

Tip#3: Test Drive

The only way you can be sure of its performance is to take it out for a spin, now you can personally experience the sheer exhilaration of sitting behind the wheels of this new sports car you are planning to buy for yourself. If is a wonderful feeling but don’t let it cloud your better judgment when you are still at the negotiating stage. Test the brakes and practice coming to a sudden halt after rapid accelerations you can get a good idea how well it works.

Tip#4: research

Make it a point to surf the internet and read reviews before you settle on a particular model The experience of other s can help you find the right sports car for you, You can also check for price variations and where you can find the best deals around for this new car you plan to buy for yourself is good to know what other drivers are paying for to get the same car in your area so you can be in a more empowering position to del with your local car dealer.

A prospective buyer should investigate the prices being asked for the cars in which they are interested. Local newspaper ads, as well as an internet sites can provide you with a good way to determine prevailing asking prices. Internet research can supply you with information regarding the asking price for similar cars throughout the world. This information will help you be in a more empowering position when dealing with local car deal;

Tip#5: Use the Phone

This is one powerful trick to help you get the best deals around when looking to buy sports cars

Almost all sports car dealers are trained to use emotional ploys and play the baiting game when dealing with potential car buyers so the best way you can be in a safe territory is to start negotiating from home through the telephone.

Be a smart negotiator and you can expect to get the best deals.

If you are looking to buy a cheap sports car then we have the perfect place for you cheap sports cars is a great place to find that sports car bargain

An application for a job is accompanied with a resume. This is a document that presents all the information about your qualifications, abilities, skills and personal traits in a proper format, such that the reader gets all the required information about you. The main purpose of your curriculum vitae (CV) is to answer the employer’s queries related to the vacant job position. It is thus used for a formal and professional communication. This makes it very important that you have a professional resume. Your CV or resume is your first impression on the prospective employer. It will represent your professional attitude, and not make you look very casual.

Some resumes do not have a standard format throughout. The fonts, spacing, tabs, bullets, etc. keep varying throughout the resume. The quality of paper on which the resume is printed also matters a lot, when it comes to giving a professional look to your resume. The page borders, page background, etc. need to be thought over well before drafting a resume on it.

It is very important to give your resume a professional look. Your resume should present you in such a way that you stand out among others, and make the reader believe that it is beneficial for him/her to choose you over others. The instructions given below will help you draft a professional resume.

HOW TO DRAFT A PROFESSIONAL RESUME?

Resume Basics:

The resume should be divided in various sections to present all the information systematically. Before choosing the style of a resume, and writing a resume, one must know some basics that are a must for a professional look of the resume.

• The resume should never be handwritten.
• Use Times New Roman, Verdana, or Arial font, and the font size should be 12.
• Do not vary the font size and font in your resume.
• Instead of changing the size of the font for headings, it is advisable to mention the headings in ‘bold’. This will maintain the standard font size throughout.
• Never use, Italics, fancy fonts and fancy page borders in your resume.
• Never use any color, watermark or background color for your resume. It should be on a plain white background, and the font color should be black.
• While taking a hardcopy of your resume, always take a print on a good quality paper. Never take photocopies of your resume, which gives it a very blurred and dull look.

The above mentioned points are basics for any resume. These should never be overlooked or else a ‘professional looking resume’ will be a myth. After this, comes resume writing. The style of the resume depends completely upon the candidate’s information to be included in it. A fresher and a candidate with work experience will definitely have different styles of resumes. There are basically three styles of resumes.

Chronological Resume:

This is a resume, which lists all the qualification and professional details in a chronological order. It is more like a list of all that one has done and achieved in life. This style of resume has very less scope for the reader to interpret and understand the applicant, because it is merely a list of information.

Functional Resume:

This kind of resume gives the applicant a chance to be descriptive, and speak about his/her qualifications, achievements, experience, etc. The drawback of this style is that it becomes too descriptive, and might make your resume look like a thesis.

Hybrid Resume:

This style of resume is the most preferred. It takes the strong points from chronological as well as the functional resume. It presents all the information in chronological order, and also provides scope to be descriptive, where necessary. This makes it very impressive as the reader gets all the information in a proper order, and also gets a chance to judge you.

Content of the resume:

After choosing the resume style, the next step is presenting all the necessary content in your resume.

• Heading: The heading of the resume should include your name and contact details. You can keep it aligned to the left or center of the page.
• Objective: The resume objective should be written carefully, and should be such that it clearly presents your career goals.
• Academic Details in chronological order beginning with the recent.
• Details of Professional experience.
• Achievements: Academic as well as professional
• Personal Details
• Declaration and Sign

These contents presented using the ‘resume basics’ tips given above, in the right style, will help you prepare a professional resume. You can take reference from many professional resume templates and resume samples, to get a clearer idea on this.

Stela a professional writer here to share some tips regarding to resume building and cover letter building through my website where one can get number of resumes and one can build their own resume by referring resume samples provided here.

Why Use Resume Objectives

Before we can discuss the pitfalls you first need to understand the reasons for including your resume objectives and how they relate to your resume and interview selection process.

Including an objectives section at the beginning of your resume provides a brief introduction to the purpose of the resume, highlighting your career objectives and the type of job you are seeking.

It is very common for job-seekers to include a brief objectives section at the beginning of their resume The objectives section can be an important part of a resume, and might be the first thing employers looks at. Therefore you should put considerable thought into constructing focused and clear objectives.

Look At These Resume Objective Examples

A resume objective does exactly what the name suggests; it highlights your objectives and states the type of job you are seeking.

Here are some examples of career objectives:

· To obtain an elementary education teaching position with upward mobility to a principalship.

· To obtain a position in manufacturing operations and development which will utilize acquired knowledge and collective experience.

· Public relations writer for a large metropolitan hospital.

· Auditor position in the public accounting field in the Philadelphia area.

As you can see, the objectives are short and sweet; meaning they are to the point in describing the purpose of creating your resume.

Doorway To The Interview… Resumes

What is a resume… usually it is the first contact you have with potential employers. It is also where you list your skills and create a marketable presentation so that companies understand the benefits of employing you.

Your resume is also the first (and possibly the last!) opportunity you have to persuade your prospective employer to give you an interview.

Clearly… it is in your best interests to ensure your resume is compelling enough to leave the recruiter with no other option but to invite you to an interview.

If you want to learn more about writing resumes that get interviews, visit a site such as Top Career Resumes where you will find numerous articles and tips.

Or, if you prefer… a cost effective alternative is to use a resume writing service to prepare your resume for you.

Pitfalls of Using Resume Objectives

You may have noticed that all previous references to objectives focus on you and therein lies the pitfall!

Employers are not interested in what you want…

If your objectives fail to match those of the employer, you will not even get to first base! So keep your options open until you find out more about their objectives.

Some people decide to omit the objectives section and use that space to highlight other abilities and accomplishments. Whether you choose to use resume objectives or not will depend greatly on your particular situation.

Reasons Against…

A few experts feel that the resume objectives section can be limiting to job seekers. It makes you be very specific as to your goals. This may be constraining if you want to be general and leave your options open.

Employers on average take only 30 seconds to look at a resume. The objectives section is the first thing that catches their eye. If you have a specific objective written, for example to obtain a managerial position, the manager may pass on your resume if he was looking for some other position.

If you are thinking about getting a professionally written resume, now would be a good time.

However, remember that the objectives section can disqualify you for jobs different from your stated objective… if you are not looking for a targeted job you can skip the section without many negative consequences.

It would be advisable to skip the resume objective section rather than be too vague. Unfocused objectives will put off many hiring managers. They may not end up looking at your experience and skills, which would of shown you to be a suitable candidate for the job.

Reasons For…

If you do include your resume objectives, you should construct several different resumes, each specifically tailored to the job you are applying for. You will want to make your resume relevant to each job. The objectives section may be the best way to create job specific resumes.

A draw back of not including the objectives section is that a hiring manager may not be willing to search your resume to figure out your job objectives and goals… and may bypass your resume.

If you have a specific job position in mind and are clear about your objectives, this section can be useful in informing potential employers about your reasons for applying.

In either case, it may pay you to seek professional advice before you make your final decision. The modest cost of doing this pales into insignificance compared with the cost of making a poor career decision.

Stating Your Resume Objectives

This has greatest benefits for career changers and recent college graduates. Your objectives should be concise and to the point, to quickly inform employers about your background and goals.

Entry-level workers can state in their resume objectives that they are recent graduates looking for positions in their particular field. Career changers should state how they can use their previously earned skills to make a transition into their new career.

Be Employer Focused

An alternative to resume objectives might be the ‘Qualifications Summary’ section. This is a section where you can briefly discuss your skills and how you intend to use them.

This can make your resume more employer focused, as the employer wants to find out what you can do for them. This might be more beneficial than having a self-focused resume, simply listing what you want to do.

Many employers prefer to have employees that are focused on their goals and motivated to achieving them. A well presented objective can be just the high-impact tool that can get a hiring manager’s attention from the start.

Finally…

When writing your resume objectives you have to consider your career plans. If you have not already done so, now would be a good time to get assistance with career assessment and planning.

When you have completed your planning and taken some time to match your interests with your chosen career, your resume objectives should complement the results you obtained through your searches.

Do you know how to use resume objective samples when writing your resume? Learn more about resume objectives by visiting my site at http://rogers-resume-help-center.com/resume-objectives.html

Are you taking it up to the next level – are you moving beyond house bowling balls in favor of your own, custom bowling ball? Well, before you go out and make the all-important choice as to which bowling ball you should get, you need to consider a few things:

· It is best to have at least two bowling balls – one for oily lanes and one for dry lanes. And you want a strike ball — one with a lot of hook potential and power — and a spare ball, a ball that will roll straight and true.

· Make sure you pick out the right weight – bowling balls range from 6 pounds to 16 pounds. When you have a bowling ball that fits your hand, you can actually use a heavier ball than whatever house bowling ball you were used to using.

· Make sure that you get a bowling ball that fits – get the finger holes custom drilled to fit your hand.

· In general, the more expensive the ball, the better the ball! Of course, that being said, this is genearlly just in terms of price ranges. For instance, a ball that falls in the $100-200 price range most likely will not be as good as a ball that is in the $200+ range. Of course, within those ranges, some bowling balls are definitely better deals than others! And you want to be sure that you are not paying extra money for something that you do not care about (like a glow in the dark ball, for instance).

· Before up and buying your first bowling balls, make sure that you spend the time to carefully decide what material you want your bowling balls made out of.

While bowling balls have been made out of rubber and even wood in the past, today’s bowling balls are made from different materials:

· Plastic bowling balls – this is generally the most inexpensive type of bowling ball, and it is actually usually made out of polyester. If you are used to using house balls, then you are used to using plastic balls. They are very durable. They also skid more (making them harder to control) and are less likely to hook – they are good for dry lane conditions.

· Urethane bowling balls – these balls have softer coverstocks that give the balls more hook potential. These bowling balls can hook more because they have a higher friction surface than your basic polyester balls. To increase or decrease the amount of hook potential, you can sand or buff the ball.

· Reactive resin bowling balls – these are a relatively new type of bowling ball. Only in the 1990s did bowling ball manufacturers started to add resin particles to the urethane coverstocks. What did this resin do? Well, resin is sticky/tacky, and therefore increases the ball’s grip on the lane. It made the balls have even more hook potential. Reactive resin bowling balls skid on oil (giving them great speed) and hook strongly on dry boards. Experienced players can make reactive resin bowling balls work for them with many different lane conditions.

· Particle bowling balls – this type of bowling ball is perfect for anyone (especially experienced bowlers) who want great power potential in their balls. These bowling balls have textured particles like glass and ceramics to resin enhanced balls. This texture give the ball a whole lot of grip in oil, a controllable hook style, and a whole lot of power. Particle bowling balls generally have the greatest hook potential of any balls. Many professional bowlers use particle bowling balls – they like how controllable they are in terms of hook and spin.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and sports. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on bowling, please visit Bowling Balls and More.

The question of how to play tennis is often one that is a challenge to new players learning the game. Tennis is a great sport with many different personalities. In this article, we will reveal the basics of how to play tennis. It has 3 forms hard, lawn and clay tennis.

Tennis is played by people over the world as a great form of exercise and recreation. There are also many levels of professional play in tournaments around the world. There are four top tournaments called the Grand Slam Tournaments. These are Wimbledon, the US Open, The Australian Open, and the French Open. Millions of people watch these tournaments making tennis a great spectator sport as well. Recently, tennis was added to the Olympics as an official sport.

Tennis is a sport that is playable by all age groups and is enjoyed by players at all levels from kids to senior citizens.

The basic area where tennis is played is call the court. This is a rectangular flat surface of varying types including concrete, grass, and clay. The standard tennis court is 78 feet long and 27 feet wide for singles matches. For doubles matches the width of the court is increased to 36 feet. A 3 feet 6 inch high net is stretched across the court, dividing the court in half. Tennis courts can be found in public parks, schools, and country clubs throughout the world. They can be outside or inside allowing for fresh air when the weather is good and year round play when the weather is bad.

There are three main types of tennis court surfaces. Each surface allows for a different style of play to excel as the bounce and speed of the ball can vary dramatically. These surfaces are:

A hard court surface are generally fast courts that have a good consistent bounce of the ball. Hardcourts are the most popular type of courts in America and most likely the court most tennis players utilize. A clay court is much different than a hard court. It is usually much slower as a surface and tennis balls often lose speed when they hit the court. This surface also causes the ball to bounce higher than on other surfaces. This allows for longer groundstrokes rallies. We see players like Nadal and Federer grind it out all day on the Clay Courts at Rolland Garros.

The third type of tennis court is the oldest form of a tennis court as tennis was originally played on grass. Grass is considered fast court, faster than a hard court. However, the grass court can be uneven and cause the ball to bounce awkward making it hard to return fast shots.

Tennis is a unique game that involves a tennis ball and a racket. Play will be based on a rectangular court, including a net in the center of the court. The tennis court should measures 78 ft by 27 ft, which is divided in half by a net 3 ft (91 cm) high in the middle and 3.5 ft (1.1 m) high at the end posts. The type of tennis balls used to play is used with a felt covered tennis ball that allows for optimum bounce on the court. The tennis ball is served from behind the baseline into the opposite service court.

Once a successful serve is made, players may hit it into any part of the opponent’s court until a point is scored. Rallies won by either player score points. A tennis match is divided into sets. In a tournament, men have to win three out of five sets to win the match and women have to win two out of three. In order to win a tennis match, six total games must be won ahead of his or her opponent. The game of tennis can be fun, exciting and enjoyable.

Coach Ed is a former nationally ranked tennis player and coach. Optimum Tennis offers tennis instruction and tennis tips at Optimum Tennis.

Click here to find out How to Play Tennis.

Fashion and style. What are they? Do they always go together? Do they mean one and the same thing? It’s hard to say. According to specialists in the field, fashion is actually a synonym for style or glamour. It has been agreed on the fact that fashion is a way of personal expression, and according to this criteria, one can be fashionable when he/she fits in this expression mode, or unfashionable, which would be the opposite. Fashion has manifestations in all the fields of human activity, that is when can speak about fashion when we refer to topics such as architecture, clothing, music, cosmetics, entertainment, forms of speech or even politics or technology. Anything in these fields can be described as being fashionable or not. When one speaks about materialism or trend s using the term ‘fashion’, it can be associated with a negative meaning.

Most people today perceive fashion as a term referring mostly to clothes. The beginnings of what we call fashion today did actually refer to clothes and they go back as far as the sixteenth century. However, it was only two centuries later that the real manifestations of fashion took place and it happened in Europe, among the wealthy upper classes. Fashion, just like any other manifestation of human activity, underwent major and continual changes, to the point where it is today, that is, being related to many fields of activities.

Of course, it would be unjustified to assume that fashion is the same all over the world. First of all, fashion differs from one society to another. Then, within a certain society, there are a lot of factors which may influence fashion such as age or generation, social class, profession or occupation. Even the geography of certain regions may bring about differences in fashion among the people of the same society.

But how does fashion change? Because we all know that constant change is what fashion is actually about. Everyone will agree that what is new now will soon become old, and the process goes both ways, that I what was once into fashion but is now considered to be old and obsolete will soon turn into something new again. Capitalism has brought along with its numerous good aspects some less appealing ones, such as waste. People buy things which are not necessary to them and consequently speed up the process of change as far as fashion is concerned. Young generations have much to do with this change in fashion as well, because they are always eager and willing to try interesting things, things that they haven’t experienced before, something new to be more precise.

What made fashion so popular among people was actually the television. The moment fashion hit television, in the late 1960s and early 1970s, was the moment when the general population became interested in this aspect. And fashion magazines, websites or even fashion blogs were only one step away.

Pretty much in the same way as fashion, style can refer to may things, from painting, music, literature, web design to linguistics or manners of addressing people. The very definition of style describes the term as a fashionable manner of doing things, which points out that style and fashion are very closely related. Not everything that is considered fashionable will also be regarded as stylish, which is why people should avoid turning into a fashion victim, one of those persons who will wear just about anything that’s seen as fashionable, no matter if it suits them or not, from hairstyles and piercing to clothes. It is true that today’s world and the society we live in have set some rules in what fashion and style are concerned, but these don’t always have to be strictly followed. Being a fashion victim will only turn you into one of the rest. If you want to be ahead at all times, what you must try is to define your own style and that will make you look your best.

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So, we have finally closed the book on 2010. Now, as we transition into the new year, this is when most people reflect back on the year before. In the movie world, this is also when critics and movie lovers take the time to review the past year. Not to mention, this is awards season. With the Critics’ Choice Awards in just a couple of weeks and the Oscars less than two months ago, suffice to say the red carpet is officially out.

Today, I’m going to throw myself into that very ring as we bring you Couch Potato Club’s 2010 Movie Awards. Up front, though, I would like to go ahead and say, I’m going to do this different than those big award shows. For one, you’ll see some of the typical categories, but likewise there will be some off-beat ones. Also, call me crazy, but I believe the biggest factor in judging a movie is its entertainment value. Granted all of the other little facets of making a movie help to make a movie better, however I believe entertainment succeeds a movie’s technical prowess in order to define whether it is good or not. So, you won’t be seeing me awarding these “artsy” movies just because of their “cinematic achievement” (whatever the hell that is). Instead, I’ll be judging on good ole entertainment value (with acting, story, etc. playing factors).

So, without further ado, here are the winners of the first annual Couch Potato Club Movie Awards.

Best Film: Inception

For me this came down to Inception and Black Swan. I’ve honestly spent days mulling it over in my head which would be my movie of the year. However, in the end, Inception wins out. Inceptionwas also perfect in a sense. With intelligent writing, good acting, fun action, great cinematography and so on and so on, the movie proved to be awesome style with great substance. Nolan proved once again here why he is one of (if not THE) most sought after filmmakers today. A narrative genius. After watching this movie, it made me realize what a god-send Nolan is to Hollywood really. Everybody in Hollywood should be taking notes. This is exactly how a blockbuster movie should be done. Let’s not kid ourselves, blockbuster action movies will continue to be the bread and butter of Hollywood for some time to come. While this is alright, the problem usually lies in that they’re so shallow and cliche and just “eh”. They usually just rely on cool action sequences and awesome looking special effects. Not Inception, though. This movie provides all that, but then actually brings substance to that style giving us an engaging and mind-bending/intelligent storyline to go with it. This perfect blend makes Inception my movie of the year.

Best Actor: James Franco – 127 Hours

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: you want to test the merit of an actor? Throw him in a movie where he is pretty much the only one ever on-screen and he has to carry the entire movie himself. Where the whole weight of the entire movie rests most assuredly on his shoulders. Will he shine? Will he crumble? This is the test. Others have proven themselves in the same way (Will Smith, Tom Hanks). And truly I believe this (and the “retard role”) is one of the biggest ways to test an actor and see if he’s one of the greats. So, enter James Franco and 127 Hours. Playing a mountain climber that gets trapped under a boulder and is all alone, Franco is left to carry an entire film on his own. Does he succeed? Damn right he does. With flying colors at that. Keeping it interesting, conveying a range of emotions throughout the film and sucking you in all on his own, Franco clearly shows he had the mettle to tackle such a daunting task and come out on top. For that reason, he’s my actor of the year.

Best Actress: Natalie Portman – Black Swan

Natalie’s performance in the Aronofsky psychological thriller is absolutely brilliant. Her best work to-date in my opinion. Playing a role that requires her to eventually transition from sweet little naive princess girl to girl-gone-wild (in a dark side kinda way), she hits every beat without missing a step. I believe the biggest factor for a good actor/actress is range. Anybody can shine in a part that was just made for them (in line with their natural persona), but range and playing different personas/characters is where an actor/actress can show their true prowess. In Black Swanalone, Natalie Portman has shown, in just the 2 hours, that she has more range than most actresses around. She exhibited more range in one performance than most do in their entire career. For such a brilliant performance Natalie Portman gets my vote as actress of the year. I don’t think this is even up for debate.

Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale – The Fighter

Here’s another that I feel is just a given and isn’t up for debate. Bale absolutely stole the show in every scene he appeared in The Fighter. The weight loss alone shows Bale’s dedication to his craft. Furthermore, the way he was able to lose himself in that crackhead persona and into the role of Dicky Eklund just further proved what an amazing actor Bale is. To really show you how brilliant his performance was, the video clip of real-life Dicky during the credits showed you just how well Bale nailed that performance. It had to almost be like looking in a mirror for Dicky.

Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo – The Fighter

Yes, the supporting cast of The Fighter was just great. They’re the ones that kept this movie afloat. Leo’s turn as the “white trash” overbearing mother was great and was another (along with Bale’s performance) that really helped this movie shine. Without these two, The Fighter bombs.

Best Director: Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan

Like I said, best film was down to Black Swan and Inception for me. Aronofsky’s work here was damn near perfect. This was a brilliantly directed movie. From the camera shots to the music to the story-telling to what he got out of his cast, Aronofsky did a great job in conveying this thriller story very aptly on all levels. As one of my favorite modern directors, it’s no surprise that Aronofsky continues to impress year after year.

Best Screenplay: Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz and John McLaughlin – Black Swan

For me, screenplay/story is probably the biggest factor in determining whether a movie is entertaining. Afterall, without an intriguing and entertaining story, then your movie is just going to suck. That being said, it’s no surprise that this, for me, came down to Black Swan and Inceptionagain; the two movies vying for my Best Film award. However, in the end I have to go with Black Swan edging out in this category. The story was great in my opinion. Very thrilling and intriguing story that left you on your seat the whole while through. To top it off, though, was all the subtext present throughout the film. From the “life imitates art” to the “greed can consume us all” to the commentary of how much pressure can be put on an entertainer and the risks they ensue when losing themselves in a performance in order to be “perfect”. This script had it all and fired on so many cylinders. Truly was a great story and I loved how the main character’s life began to mirror the very character she was attempting to play on stage.

Best Ensemble Cast: The Fighter

I guess after the previous supporting awards, this should come as no surprise. However, I will say I was also seriously considering The Town for this award which had a very good all-around performance from its entire cast. However, the cast of The Fighter performed well in all areas. Even Mark Wahlberg was decent enough (and I don’t particularly care for him). Though, he was the weak link and his actual character was boring. However, everyone else turned in fine performances that, as a whole, really pulled you into the family in the film. Then the performances of Bale and Leo really just pushed the overall ensemble over the top. Meanwhile, Amy Adams delivered a very good performance as well standing out.

Breakout Performance of the Year: Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone

The movie itself, I found was fairly overrated. However, Jennifer Lawrence in Winter’s Bone did an absolutely wonderful job of playing the role of Ree Dolly. If not for her, the entire movie would have been a wash. However, her performance was very nice to watch. It made it even more worthwhile as I got to witness that this girl is actually a very adept actress. Before this, I had only seen her in ‘The Bill Engvall Show’ where she plays the typical cliche ditzy teenage girl. Which, honestly, there are a million and one girls in the nation that could pull that off. Watching her go from that ditzy teenager to this gritty and convincing performance was definitely a treat for me and showed me her worth. For that, she receives my Breakout Performance of the Year award.

Best Action Movie: Inception

Inception wins here. Of course being my Best Film of the Year, it’s going to also win in its specific genre category. The movie fires on all cylinders for an almost nonstop joyride, especially for the last half of the film. The last half especially, with the gun fights and chases and fights, etc. prove to be an adrenalin rush of action. Again, this is pretty much the Hollywood-action-blockbuster film perfected.

Best Comedy: Get Him to the Greek

Ok, here’s where some might disagree with me (if they haven’t already). However, it’s my belief that Best Comedy movie should mainly be based on which movie was the funniest. Granted, there were movies I liked better overall that fall into the comedy category (Scott Pilgrim), but on the laugh scale they didn’t touch Get Him to the Greek. Russell Brand is just hilarious. And his part as the typical rock star was great and hilarious. Even “P Diddy” (who I hate) had me cracking up during this movie. For me, it really was the funniest movie of the year.

Best Animated Movie: How to Train Your Dragon

Yep, I’m doing it. I’m kicking Pixar to the curb this year and letting someone else have Best Animated prize. Granted, I really enjoyed Toy Story 3, but for me How to Train Your Dragon was just the better movie and was more fun. It was cute, funny, inspiring in its own way and refreshing. I really enjoyed the movie. How to Train Your Dragon was one of those that had heart and depth and was really beautiful (both story-wise and animation). One that truly appeals to both adults and kids alike.

Best Horror Movie: Paranormal Activity 2

I loved the first one and the sequel proves no different. Paranormal Activity has been something of a savior for the horror genre I believe. And part 2 makes it a saving grace for Hollywood as the franchise goes mainstream. With good pacing and ‘storytelling’, Paranormal Activity 2, like its predecessor, brings the art of tension and suspense back to a seemingly hollowed out genre. It does a great job of really getting into your imagination and letting it run wild, in turn terrorizing yourself. Really a refreshing movie in the genre, I can’t wait for part 3 this fall.

Best Thriller: The Town

Yes, I realize Black Swan is a thriller, and I absolutely agree that it’s the better movie. However, like the comedy movie, I feel the Best Thriller movie should be judged pretty much solely on the “thrill” aspect. And while Black Swan did engulf me and keep in thrilled, The Town pulled that aspect off a bit better. Maybe because the action of it catered to that, I don’t know. However, The Town just had me really on the edge of my seat from start to finish pretty much. The action was good, the movie was so intense and the whole of it just never let up once it took off running, that I couldn’t help but be enthralled as I went on that thrill ride.

Best Docudrama: The Social Network

Social Networking has been spreading like wildfire in the past years, so it comes as no surprise that it would eventually become the basis of a film. The Social Network isn’t just any film though. Becoming one of the most talked about movies of the year and making a real movie to be movie of the year, the movie is a great all-around film that everybody should see. And it might be one of the most significant films of modern day (that or its counterpart ‘Catfish’).

Best Indie Film: Buried

Another thriller that just keeps you enthralled throughout (yes it seems I have a thing for thriller type movies). With such a minimal set and minimal story and cast, Buried just seems like it’s set to disappoint. Despite all these risks though it manages to succeed and become a very thrilling and captivating movie, with Reynolds carrying it well.

Best Fight: Zero-Gravity Hallway Fight – Inception

The visuals and special effects was just one facet of what made Inception so awesome for me. And this fight scene was one of those that stood out above the rest. Creative, cool to watch, action-packed, it really was just a really fun fight and pretty awesome.

Tearjerker of the Year: Toy Story 3

Did I personally cry? No. However, Toy Story 3 I feel is the movie of the year that will most likely make someone cry. Maybe it’s the connection after having grown up with the series. Maybe it’s just the depth of emotion created in some scenes that hit home for most people in a real-life way. Whatever it is, Toy Story 3 is sure to get the waterworks running for quite a few people. With scenes like the incinerator scene and Andy’s final time with the toys (especially when he realizes Woody is in there and he ends up parting with the toy that started it all), Toy Story 3 definitely has its moments that truly tug on those heart-strings.

Best On-Screen Couple: Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams – Blue Valentine

Both of these actors are some of the better young actors around today (Gosling being my choice for best actor under 30 even). They really show their worth here in this movie as well. Giving great and powerful performances the two shine on the screen together. The chemistry between them is absolutely marvelous and the genuine/real emotion they convey over the course of the movie provides for a good watch.

Best Villain: Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman) – Scott Pilgrim vs the World

Jason Schwartzman is just unconventionally hilarious most every time I see him. His appearance in Scott Pilgrim was just icing on the cake for a very good movie. Classic Schwartzman provided humor and intelligence to the role, standing out as my favorite villain of a movie filled with villains.

Worst Movie of the Year: The Last Airbender

I’m not even going to say anything. Everybody knows it sucks. Shyamalan again proves, that despite his last movie (The Happening being horrible) that he can still outdo himself and make a surprisingly worse film than he ever has. The guy is spiraling out of control straight down the drain.

Most Overrated Movie of the Year: The Kids Are All Right

I’m sorry. It wasn’t that good. The acting was decent. Mark Ruffalo was pretty much the saving grace of the movie. Other than that the movie was so pretentious and contrived and just flat out boring. Not nearly as good as people made it out to be (not even the performances). Wasn’t funny or humorous at all. And the movie definitely does not deserve even being considered as a Best Film nominee.

Most Underrated Movie of the Year: Kick-Ass

Sure, the movie got decent reviews, even did moderately well in its opening weekend. However, I feel Kick-Ass was just underappreciated for the year. Quite frankly, the movie, well….kicked ass. In fact, it may go down as one of my Top 10 or 15 favorite movies of the year. It’s one of the best comic book adaptations I’ve seen in a long while. For me, it was even better than it’s competitorScott Pilgrim. A truly awesome and fun movie that should have been given more credit. Very entertaining and more people should give it a shot.

Best TV Show (Drama): The Walking Dead

Admittedly, my typically TV show viewing consists of sitcoms/comedies. However, there are a few dramas I watch here and there. This year’s The Walking Dead proved to be one of those new shows that drug me in and made me love it. Making me eager to see the next season, and disappointed I’ll have to wait so long.

Best TV Show (Comedy): Modern Family

With a funny ensemble cast and very funny writing, Modern Family has proven to be one of my favorite new TV shows recently. And with ‘The Office’ being hit or miss anymore, Modern Familyis the one that consistently has me laughing the most. Most notably, Eric Stonestreet as “Cam” always makes me laugh and really steals the show almost every time he appears. His performance is what puts this one over the edge for me. Though, Big Bang Theory and Jim Parsons performance do come in a very close second for me.

If you like this article and found it helpful, visit my site couchpotatoclub.com for other articles on movie -related subjects as well as the latest DVD and movie news and reviews.

When people think of pet care products, most associate it with the essential pet supplies like pet food and pet houses, which allow pet owners to provide their pets with what they need to live long and healthy lives. However, for some pet owners, the term does not just cover the essential pet supplies that they need to provide for their pets. This is because for them the term pet care products also covers or includes some non-essential items, which are effective in providing their pets with the utmost comfort, which can also help them ensure that their pets remain healthy and happy.

One of the most popular non-traditional pet care products that pet owners get their pets are garments, which include pet T-shirts, bandanas, coats, and even sweaters, which allow pet owners to show off their pets when they bring them outdoors for their exercise. However, apart from being able to afford pets with a certain level of style, garments can be effective in protecting pets especially dogs against cold weather. In recent years, another non-traditional pet care product or treatment that pet owners give their pets is a spa treatment, which provides pets with grooming, certain therapies like aromatherapy, and a full day of activities that pets could do together with other pets.

Another example of such products includes car seats that allow pet owners to provide their pets with a comfortable way to travel. For dog owners, car seats have become popular because they allow dogs to stick their head out the window while being safely secured on the seats. Other non-traditional pet care products include pet electronic devices like invisible fences and training collars and pet mattresses that are designed to conform to the body of pets.

For some pet owners, pet care products do not only include pet supplies like pet food, pet dishes and houses that are considered essential in ensuring that pets live long and healthy lives. This is because for them, there are some non-traditional pet care products, which include pet garments and pet mattresses that are also as effective in ensuring that their pets remain both happy and healthy.

Pet Care provides detailed information on Pet Care, Pet Health Care, Pet Care Products, Pet Day Care and more. Pet Care is affiliated with Pet Health Care [http://www.e-PetHealth.com].

Every true auto enthusiast has one dream in mind if they are given enough money to spend and even with all of the options and varied choices available when choosing a car. What is that dream? -getting a sports car. In the minds of sports car lovers, however, there is one basic standard that all sports cars are based on and that is speed.

According to diverse critics in the automotive industry the fastest vehicle is the 1994 Dauer 962 LeMans. This neck breaker accelerates quickly with a time of 2.6 seconds from 0 to 60 mph. In comparison,the fastest Ferrari is the 2002 Ferrari Enzo, and this particular speedster can accelerate from 0 to 62 miles per hour with a time of 3.5 seconds. Some other notable fast cars include vehicles from Dodge, LeBlanc, Renault, Audi, and of course Corvette, all of which have rapid starting times of less than 3 seconds from 0 to 60 miles per hour.

So what is it that makes sports cars fast? Why can’t all cars be fast like the high end sports cars?

The very thing that makes the sports car so appealing to the eye, the sleek aerodynamic styling also establishes for a very high standard for performance when choosing a sports car. The very sleek and streamlined bodies of the elite super fast sports cars actually contribute a great deal to the phenomenal aerodynamics. This also makes it much easier to drive the cars as fast as they were intended without worrying about resistance, air pressure, etc. Effectively, the attractive and sexy design of these beauties actually makes for more than eye candy, but is responsible for a great deal of the speed and performance of the automobile.

Still another key characteristic that adds to the speed of a particular vehicle is its reduced weight in comparison to other automobiles. It is obvious in the minimized cargo capacity that is found in most sports cars. Fortunately, this isn’t so much of an issue with sports car lovers. Also closely rlated to cargo capacity and reduced weight is the reality that many sports cars might have smaller seating capacities, and are generally known for firmer, tighter rides, in comparison to the roomier and more comfortable rides of S.U.V.s or luxury sedans.

One of the last things considered in speed, however, is its general dynamics, especially in relation to handling and resistance when driving. If it can’t sustain its straight-line speeds while driving in tight curves and finishes up crushed after it hit a dead end a sports car has very little value if any. This is the exact reason that even the absolute fastest sports cars are typically rear-wheel drive instead of front-wheel drive, due to the fact that rear-wheel drive offers greater traction and permits the weight to be evenly distributed as the automobile makes a turn.

Although there is a great deal more to a quality sports car than merely speed, it definitely doesn’t hurt matters that your sports car is also fast. Even in the new hybrid and electric market there are pioneers in that arena such as Tesla Motors who are focusing on speed and performance.

Gregg Hall is an author living with his beautiful wife and family in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about sports cars as well as tires and wheels at http://www.tiresandwheelsdirect.com

The poet Oscar Wild, wrote these moving lines: “Children begin by loving their parents. After some time, they judge their parents. Rarely, if ever, do they forgive them”. It is a well known fact that the well-being of today’s children is inseparable from the peace, progress and prosperity of tomorrow’s world. It is, therefore, important that children be nurtured in an environmentally sustainable pattern to promote national and global peace and progress. The importance of their welfare was underlined during the World Summit for Children in September, 1990, held under the auspices of the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) where world leaders maintained that “unless the investment in children is made, all of humanity’s most fundamental long-term problems will remain fundamental long term problems”.

Put succinctly, children are a country’s most precious assets and they demand the highest priority on both national and international investments. In spite of this open acknowledgment of the importance of their survival to our collective global future, evidence abounds that children are facing the worst tragedy in the world today. In a recent seminar organised by the United Nations non-government liaison services in Geneva, participants at the seminar from more than 120 countries were in agreement that “millions of children around sub-Saharan Africa live under especially difficult circumstances where special protection measures are required to enable them enjoy fulfillment of their basic rights”. These children in addition to being poor, are exploited, abused, abandoned, neglected, disabled and deprived of liberty.

The greatest manifestations of child abuse, exploitation, deprivation and neglect are very obvious in situations where children are used as a veritable source of cheap labour, soldiers, and prostitutes against their innocent and passive will. Many children seldom report cases of such abuses against them and most child abusers rely on this fact to continue in their wicked acts. Child labour thrives in our societies today mainly because some employers consider it cheaper to employ and over-work children who have very weak resistance to exploitation and oppression than adults. Such employers often betray and take undue advantage of the innocence of children’s dependence and trust. Families also use child labour to make additional income. While some of the hapless children are engaged in domestic duties of hawking goods, others are made to do hard labour meant for adults. Some Non-Governmental Organisations, (NGOs) have continued to express their concern over this unfair practice that is conducted not only in Nigeria, but also in other countries of the world. In an interview granted to a newsmagazine, Mr. A.C. Onukwue, a director of Media Environment Initiative (MEI) in Nigeria said that “children as young as eight years old are being subjected to a bland agreement by their parents to serve as slaves all their childhood and youths in the name of apprenticeship”.

Those working as domestic servants are the most exploited and most difficult to protect. Most of them are girls who live with their employers and are totally dependent on them. The United Nations Organisation (UNO) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) have made some legal provisions in their bid to checkmate this growing monster. Article 32 of the United Nations Convention of the rights of the child and article XV of the Organisation of African Unity Charter on the rights and welfare of the child, unanimously condemn child labour in all its ramifications. The two articles recognize “the rights of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous, or to interfere with the child’s education or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social developments”. In Asia, South America and some migrant communities in the United States, it has been reported that children even as young as five years of age are forced into what can be termed “slave labour”. They work like little robots in dreadful conditions that damage their immature bodies and minds. Most of them have no education, are homeless and deprived of parental love and care.

Children as Child-Labourers

Most people have argued that the main cause of child labour is poverty. Others are economic and social inequality, war, unemployment, broken homes and juvenile delinquency. The merchants of children peddle stories of pleasurable life awaiting the kids in the cities in order to entice their victims from their poverty-stricken parents. Most poor parents swallow such stories hook, line and sinker and so inadvertently release their children to the slave merchants. Because of the nature of their minds, children believe what they are told by adults without reservation. Some of them on hearing such false stories of bright future awaiting them at imaginary lands, sometimes sneak away from their homes to be taken away without their parents’ knowledge. Most of them also follow child merchants because their parents find it difficult to feed, clothe and train them in school. Though many children in the advanced industrial nations and in some urban centers of the Third World countries enjoy good care and welfare, yet it is obvious that majority of them in some rural and urban areas whose parents are living below subsistence level are more often exposed to this risk. The situation has been considered dangerous enough that it was brought to focus in 1997 at a forum organised by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the United Nations International Children Education Fund (UNICEF) for jourlalists in Lagos to deliberate upon. The theme of the forum was The Impact of Child Labour on Development. Participants at the forum agreed that child labour exists in Nigeria as in other parts of the world. It is interesting to note that most of these unsuspecting children lured from their homes in Nigeria are taken to Gabon in Central Africa and other neighbouring countries where they are subjected to the highest form of child abuse.

Children as Articles of Trade

But how widespread are cases of child abuse? Let us at this stage, embark on a historical excursion in order to reveal the extent of abuse and danger our children had been exposed to. On May 30, 1995 when 330 Nigerian deportees arrived in Calabar from Gabon, 109 of them were children below 16 years of age. Again, in March 1996, four students of Ikono Ibom Comprehensive Secondary School, Ikot Aya, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria were cajoled into embarking on a trip to Gabon by a fellow student. But these students, made up of three girls and a boy whose ages were between 10 and 14 years were lucky as they could not reach their destination. As fate would have it, officers of Nigerian Immigration Service intercepted their boat at the Oron Creek. And in January 1997, 150 Gabon-bound children were rescued from a camp at Mkpanak near Ibeno. Among the children aged between 11 and 18 years were 20 Nigerians. The rest of them came from neighbouring Togo, Benin Republic and Ghana. In February 1997, 86 under aged children were freed after a raid on an uncompleted building at Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State. It was reported that the nefarious dealers on children had intended to ship them to Gabon before they were rescued. A breakdown of the rescued children’s nationalities showed that 25 were from Nigeria, 23 from Togo while 38 were from Benin Republic. Of the 86 kids, 46 were girls.

It is also sad that not all of these children had been lucky. The hapless ones do not get to their destinations and do not live to tell their stories. In January 1996, more than 200 persons perished in the high seas of Ibeno Beach. About 73 per cent of the victims were school children, some of whom were in their school uniforms. These difficult circumstances represent serious hazards and risks to the survival and development of our future generation.

Children as Sex Tools

Apart from child labour and trafficking, sexual harassment is another area of high risk that confronts our children. Convincing indication of the enormity of this crime was tendered at the World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1996 which was attended by representatives of 130 countries. For instance, it was documented that in several parts of the world, there are millions of young girls, some even as young as 10 years of age who are constrained to work as call girls. After years of physical, mental, and emotional molestation, these girls are scarred for life. In most cases, they surrender to this atrocity simply because they want to eat and stay alive. The option is like choosing between six and half a dozen. As a result of such abuse, some children develop social and psychiatric problems later in life. Furthermore, the activities of pedophiles who occupy influential positions in our society do not help matters. Pedophile refers to a psychological disorder which causes adults to be sexually attracted to children whose sexual experience is nil. In August 1997, a Dublin Chief Judge, Cyril Kelly, committed Reverend Berndan Smith a 72 -year old Roman Catholic priest to 12 years imprisonment for a case involving 74 count charges of indecent and sexual assaults against children. Rev. Smith who admitted to a 36-year career of sex offenses against a total of 26 children in the Republic of Ireland, pleaded guilty to the charges. The Daily Telegraph of June 2, 1998 carried a report on a 44-year old soccer coach who used his position of trust to abuse young boys. He was jailed for nine years after pleading guilty to 23 specimen charges against children. The Chester Crown Court was told that from 1978 to 1992, the coach invited boys from the North West and Midlands to stay with him or go on holiday to North Wales and Spain where the offenses took place. According to The Daily Telegraph: “Benndell would take the boys into his trust by offering them the chance of not only training with his teams but also an occasion at Grewe Alexandra and Manchester City”.

Children As Child Soldiers

Compounding the tragedy further, there has been an increase in the use of child soldiers in guerrilla armies. Children are easily kidnapped, separated from their parents and siblings and conscripted into the army to fight wars. In such situations they are systematically brutalized, at times by being forced to watch gruesome murder. Some have been ordered to kill their own parents, brothers and/or sisters. Where they find it difficult to carry out these bloody assignments as a result of their innocence, such children are encouraged and compelled to take drugs in order to heighten their killer instinct. In Freetown, Sierra Leone, child soldiers whose innocence had been destroyed by the crimes of a protracted civil war resolved that they were not going to hands-off arms. They took the resolution in October, 1998 when Carol Bellamy the then UNICEF’s head in Sierra Leone, asked them in Bo to surrender their weapons. The child soldiers belonged to the hunter militia group known as Kamajor. In addition, children generally suffer a high death rate during civil or international wars. Most of them die of hunger or hunger related diseases such as kwashiorkor. Because they are fragile and defenseless, they are easy victims in war situations. On August 31, 1997 about 21 children fell into a swimming pool in panic and got drowned in Nsele, 60 kilometers east of Kinshasa, capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo when some armed troops tried to maintain order in the area. In Northern Uganda, rebels of the Lords Resistance Army (LRA), headed by Joseph Kony, who have been fighting against the Ugandan government have continued to carry out atrocities against children in that country.

It is interesting to note that children are gradually becoming aware of the injustice and oppression against them by the adult world. In July 1997, Eric Ndelema, a councilor from Kaziso, West Rand, was stoned to death by an irate mob of about 200 primary school children. The mob also set his house ablaze. Mary Martins, a sergeant and South African Police spokesman, confirmed the incident that occurred in Johannesburg but said that the motive for the attack was not yet known. If the cause of the attack was not known, perhaps the peaceful demonstration that was carried out by children from January 5 to June 4, 1998 is enough proof that children are gradually getting fed up with the whole game. Pakistan played host to the global march against child labour in April, 1998 as part of a campaign to draw world attention to children’s rights. The campaigners, numbering about 45,000 children from various countries, walked through Manila, Vietnam, Thailand, India and Geneva into the boarder town of Wahgah, 25 kilometers from Lahore, capital of Pakistan, amidst cheers from the citizens. Kailash Trithay, the leader of the demonstration said his group was carrying a message from every working child that “the world should be free of child abuse”.

In spite of the above facts, which are by no means exhaustive, it appears that not many countries of the world have taken definitive stand against this global monster of child abuse which is threatening to turn our God-given children into slaves and make this world an unsafe place for those who are undoubtedly our leaders of tomorrow. The situation quickly calls to mind, the admonition of an erudite scholar, Martin Luther King, who once remarked that “the world is full of evil today not because of those who do evil, but because of men who keep silent and watch evil being done”.

I strongly advise everyone interested in this article to purchase my new book titled – MASTURBATION:How to Overcome and Quit the Habit. You can get the ebook version from the following link, http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=3962841

While those interested in having the printed and bound copy of the book should send me an email via: donationsglobal@yahoo.com Please quote REQUEST FOR BOOK on the subject line, to distinguish your mail from spam mails.

Victor Izuogu was born on February 8, 1973 in Egbema, Imo State, Nigeria. He attended Egbema Secondary School, Egbema where he obtained his West African School Certificate. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Secretarial Administration from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Rivers State, Nigeria.

Victor has worked in many reputable organisations as a an Executive Secretary and a Banker. Because of his humble beginning and experience in life, he has a passion for charity and humanitarian services. In order to execute his dream project, Victor formed a charity organisation, GLOBAL INTERCHANGE VENTURES. The proceeds of his literary works go to charity homes, churches and hospitals, e.t.c. You can support his charity and humanitarian services by sending your donations by mail to: GLOBAL INTERCHANGE VENTURES, P.O. BOX 1291, PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.

In today’s fast-paced society, many families depend on some form of childcare arrangements to help meet the demands of family and work. The majority of parents in America work outside the home, creating a need for dependable childcare. Reliable, responsible childcare employees are crucial to successfully performing your job and caring for your family.

Childcare employees and parents can find numerous resources and organizations to help meet that challenge. You can find practical advice on choosing childcare employees, payroll and tax issues, and hints on how to provide your child with quality childcare. Local, state, and Federal agencies have a wealth of information regarding licensing, insurance, and tax laws.

Many companies are offering on-site childcare to employees as a way to reduce unplanned absences and time lost from work due to family issues. Flexible scheduling and the convenience of receiving high quality day care at your office has made the task of balancing work and family easier for many families. For those who do not have access to childcare at their place of employment, federally funded programs are available to assist you in locating and paying for childcare.

Childcare employees working in federally funded facilities are trained and licensed to maintain a certain standard of quality and professionalism while employed in the childcare center. Information is available to you through a variety of programs to help you in choosing a childcare facility, screen childcare employees, and how to monitor the level of care your child receives while in the day care center or home you have chosen. There are checklists you can copy or print to assist you in asking the right questions and evaluating childcare employees.

The first step in locating quality childcare employees is to identify several candidates and conduct a telephone interview to help you determine which you’d like to speak with or visit in person. Those who don’t impress you during the telephone interview will probably not impress you in person either, so you can eliminate the ones you are not interested in right away. You can then visit or speak personally with the facilities and potential childcare employees who need further consideration.

Once you have made your final decision, you will want to take steps to monitor the quality of care your child receives. This can be accomplished by involvement in your child’s activities, observing your child in the presence of the childcare employee or day care center and discussing any problems or concerns you may have, talking with your child about how he or she feels about the time they spend with the caregiver or in the center or home.

Make frequent visits and observe the number of children and caregivers in attendance, the condition and appearance of the home or day care center, and the atmosphere created by the childcare employees. If the caregiver is employed inside your home, there are a number of electronic surveillance devices that will allow you to monitor the caregiver and you child while you are at work.

Finding adequate childcare is a major concern for families in which both parents work outside the home or single parent families. Utilize the resources available to you and research the facility and/or childcare employees to give you peace of mind at work and to ensure that your child is well cared for and happy.

Ed Charkow is the webmaster for http://www.random-related.com

This article may be republished as long as this resource box remains intact.

Since 1960s, career cluster resources have been used as career exploration and planning tools in schools, learning communities, and organizations across the nation. Career Clusters is a system that matches educational and career planning.

Step 1: Identifying Career Cluster Interest Areas

Career clusters are groups of similar occupations and industries. When teachers, counselors, and parents work with teens, college students, and adults, the first step is to complete career cluster assessment. The assessment identifies the highest career cluster areas. Career assessments show teens, college students, and adults rankings from one of the following 16 Interests Areas or Clusters:

1. Agriculture, Food, & Natural Resources

2. Architecture & Construction

3. Arts, A/V Technology & Communication

4. Business, Management & Administration

5. Education & Training

6. Finance

7. Government & Public Administration

8. Health Science

9. Hospitality & Tourism

10. Human Services

11. Information Technology

12. Law, Public Safety & Security

13. Manufacturing

14. Marketing, Sales & Service

15. Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics

16. Transportation, Distribution & Logistics

Step 2: Exploring Career Clusters and Related Careers

After pinpointing the highest career clusters, teens, college students, and adults explore the different careers and create education plans. Career cluster tools used in career and educational planning include:

• LISA: A comprehensive career cluster database
• Models
• Brochures
• Pathways
• High school plan of study
• Interest and Skills Areas
• Crosswalks

After completing a career cluster assessment, teens, college students, and adults look at web sites, career models, brochures, pathways, and high school plans. One of the most unique comprehensive career cluster resources is the Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), an Internet program. LISA lets you explore career clusters, careers, abilities, training requirements, and more. There are 3 steps in the LISA program:

STEP 1: Click here to select a Career Cluster

STEP 2: Click here to select a Career Group

STEP 3: Explore Occupations within this Career Group

In Step 1, when you choose a career cluster, you will see a description of the cluster. When you select a career group in Step 2, you see different careers. Finally, in Step 3, you see a wealth of information:

• Job descriptions
• Educational and training requirements
• Crosswalks, for example ONET, DOT, GOE, and other codes
• Abilities
• Knowledge
• Skills
• Tasks
• Work Values
• Labor Market Information

Even though LISA is an awesome program, in classroom or workshop settings, you need printed materials. When using printed materials, the career model is the best place to start. Models provide excellent overviews listing the cluster definitions, sample careers, pathways, knowledge, and skills. Visual models show career clusters, the cluster subgroups, and related careers. Models are an excellent way to introduce career clusters.

For presentations, workshops, and group discussions, the career cluster brochures provide additional information. Adults and teens read about the different careers that are available in each career cluster. Teachers, counselors, and parents use the brochures to solidify adults’ and teens’ potential career or educational decisions. The brochures cover topics such as:

• Definition of career clusters
• Careers
• Career pathways
• Employment outlooks
• Skills
• Credentials

Teachers, counselors, and parents use career pathways for more detailed information. The career pathways are subgroups or areas of concentration within career clusters. Each pathway contains career groups. The career groups have similar academic skills, technical skills, educational requirements, and training requirements. Career pathways are plans of study that outline required secondary courses, post secondary courses, and related careers. The career pathways are essential tools that teachers, counselors, parents, and other adults use to give educational planning advice.

Several web sites feature High School Plans of Study. These study plans show required, elective, and suggested courses for each grade level. The school plans also match the career clusters to related careers, career pathways, and post-secondary options. Teachers, counselors, and parents find that these school plans are guides for selecting the right high school courses to match potential careers. Beyond high school, the Utah System for Higher Education has created a College Major Guide. Parents, teachers, and counselors can use the guide to match college majors to Certificate and Degree Programs.

Additional Resources for Counselors and Teachers

For planning curriculum and educational programs, there are detailed Knowledge and Skills Charts and Cluster Crosswalks. The knowledge and Skills expand upon the information listed on the career cluster models. For each knowledge and skill area, there are performance elements and measurement criteria. Crosswalks show the relationships between career clusters and other career models:

Career clusters build a bridge between education and career planning. Different types of career cluster resources are available: videos, web sites, booklets, brochures, activity sheets, and workbooks. Teachers, counselors, and parents use career cluster resources to successfully complete career and educational planning.

Resources:

American Careers Career Paths, Career Communications, 6701 W. 64th St., Overland, KS 66202, 800-669-7795

Career Click, Illinois Department of Employment Security,33 South State Street, Chicago, IL 60603, (312) 793-5700

CIP Code Index by Career Cluster, Adult & Postsecondary CTE Division, Bureau of Career and Technical Education, 333 Market Street, Harrisburg, PA 17126, (717) 772-0814

Cluster and Career Videos, Career One Stop, U.S. Department of Labor, Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210, 866-4-USA-DOL

College Major Guide Utah System for Higher Education, Board of Regents Building, The Gateway, 60 South 400 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84101-1284, (801) 321-7100

Find Careers (Videos), iSeek Solutions, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, Wells Fargo Place, 30 7th St. E., Suite 350, St. Paul, MN 55101-7804

High School Plans of Study, New Hampshire Department of Education, 101 Pleasant Street

Concord, NH 03301-3860, (603) 271-3494

Introduction to Career Clusters, Career Education, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, P.O. Box 543

Blacklick, OH 43004-0544,

Louisiana Integrated Skills Assessment (LISA), customized Internet version of OSCAR, a product of the Texas Workforce Commission/Career Development Resources, TWC/CDR, Austin, TX 78753

Maryland Career Clusters, Maryland State Department of Education 200 West Baltimore Street Baltimore, MD 21201,

Rhodes Island’s Career Clusters, Rhode Island’s Career Resource Network, 1511 Pontiac Avenue, Cranston, RI 02920, 401-462-8790

School to Career Clusters, State of Connecticut, Department of Labor, Job Bank, 645 South Main Street, Middletown, CT 06457, (860)754-5000

States’ Career Clusters Initiative (SCCI), 1500 W. Seventh Avenue, Stillwater, OK 74074

Career Pathway Plans, Career Cluster, Knowledge and Skills Charts

VTECS Cluster Frameworks, VTECS, 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA, 30033,404-679-4501 ext 543

What are Career Clusters? Career Prospects System, New Mexico Career Resource Network, CAREER TECHNICAL AND WORKFORCE EDUCATION BUREAU (CTWEB), Education Building, 300 Don Gaspar, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 827-6512

Dr. Mary Askew specializes in Holland Codes, career cluster, and transferable skills career tests, websites, and books for adults, high school students, college students, and teens. Find easy to use, yet comprehensive career resources. Move towards your career potentials at http://www.hollandcodes.com Contact Dr. Askew at learning4life@qwest.net

Compared to other sports, there is very little bowling equipment needed for the sport of bowling. Really, all you need are some bowling pins and a bowling ball. Of course, it is much more fun to play the sport if you also have a regulation bowling lane and bowling shoes!

And while you are considering these types of bowling equipment, you might as well bring in the gutters and the pinsetters and the ball returns. And what about bowling ball drill equipment and other bowling equipment?

Here is a list of important bowling equipment:

· Bowling pins – In ten pin bowling (what most Americans refer to simply as “bowling”), you need to have ten bowling pins. These pins are going to be about 15 inches tall, between 3 pounds 4 ounces and 3 pounds 10 ounces, and 4.7 inches round at the widest part – this wide part, the “belly” is where a rolling ball would make contact. The bowling pins are positioned in a perfect triangular shape with a point of the triangle facing directly up the lane.

· Bowling ball – Your bowling ball is a very important piece of bowling equipment. When starting out, most people simply use a house bowling ball, provided by the bowling alley. These house balls are generally made of polyester. Of course, there are other types of bowling balls, as well – urethane, reactive resin, and particle bowling balls. The bowling ball is made up of the core and the coverstock. The majority of bowling balls have three holes drilled in them – one hole each for the middle finger, pointer finger, and thumb – but more holes (up to five) can be in the ball.

· Bowling lane – This “piece of bowling equipment” is 60 feet long, from the front bowling pin to the foul line. It is 3.5 feet wide. Bowling lanes range from oily to slightly more dry – how oily or how dry the lane is changes which bowling ball you want to use and how you use it.

· Bowling shoes – Any avid bowler should own his or her own bowling shoes. As far as bowling equipment goes, bowling shoes are very important – many people will suggest that you buy a good pair of bowling shoes before you even buy a bowling ball! There are right-handed bowling shoes and left-handed ones. Left-handed performance bowling shoes are going to have a braking left foot sole and sliding right foot sole (the opposite is true for right-handed bowling shoes.

· Gutters – The gutter is exactly where you do not want your ball to go – they are not generally a bowler’s favorite piece of bowling equipment. The gutters generally line each side of the lane. They allow the ball to roll into it down alongside the lane and straight to the ball return (without ever coming close enough to the pins to knock them down.) Many bowling alleys have “bumpers” for the lanes, available for beginners and children. The bumpers make it so that the ball has no choice but to roll down and knock the pins over.

· Pinsetters – When bowling alleys were first started, pinsetters were not a piece of bowling equipment, at all – they were humans who would stay at the end of the lanes, setting up the pins as they fell. Today, we have mechanical pinsetters that can set up the pins perfectly.

· Ball returns – Ball returns safely and effectively return bowlers’ balls to them. Because of ball returns, bowlers do not have wait very long at all between rolls.

· Ball drilling equipment – When you go buy your first custom bowling ball, they are going to have bowling ball drill equipment at the shop. This sort of bowling equipment allows the experts to drill holes in a ball, making custom-made for you. There is nothing quite like a ball that fits like a glo

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and sports. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on bowling, please visit Best Bowling Balls and More.

Buying cat furniture can be a confusing and perhaps exhausting experience. Nothing is more frustrating than to set up a beautiful cat tree only to have your cats completely ignore it! I’ve owned cats all my life, and in this article I’ll try to share some of my expertise and insight with you to help make your decision a bit easier.

There are a number of factors to consider in choosing a cat tree, condo, tower, playground or gym. Here, in no particular order, are some things you’ll want to keep in mind:

• Your cat’s habits and preferences
• Placement and space requirements
• Materials and construction
• Expandability
• Price

What does your cat want?

As a general rule, most cats share certain traits and habits like curiosity, a desire to hide out in a dark, enclosed space and a love of heights – but as every cat owner knows, each kitty is different!

The first thing I’d suggest is to spend a few days paying close attention to your cat’s habits. Where does he usually sleep, hang out or play? What kinds of things does she play with? When you pick her up, does she want to climb up on your shoulders? What kinds of places are you always battling to keep him out of? The answers to these questions should help you decide what kinds of features your cat will appreciate the most.

Features and the kitties who love them:

Kitty Condo: A cat who tends to choose a dark, quiet corner to sleep in will probably want a model with a kitty condo. The same could be said for cats who love to explore shopping bags, boxes, cupboards and other dark, secret places. If your household is one of those busy or hectic ones with kids playing and lots of folks coming and going, kitty might just love the peace and quiet that an enclosed cat condo brings.

Height: Some cats just need to be up high. Some kitties just like to be able to see everything, and some feel more secure up above the reach of the family dog or small children. If your cat is always trying to climb up on your shoulders when you pick her up, or likes to jump up on counters, you might consider getting the tallest cat tree, kitty gym or playground you can. A floor to ceiling tower can be a good solution, and they come in a variety of configurations – some are very simple and take up very little floor space, others can be quite elaborate. There are also a lot of free standing models over 6 feet tall that will satisfy your cat’s need to look down on us poor humans!

Secure Sleeping Spot: Our cat Lucy always sleeps leaned up against something (me, a chair cushion, or the raised lip on her favorite cat perch) – she needs the security of feeling something against her back for her to truly relax. If your cat is like Lucy, you’ll want to be sure that the cat tree or playground you choose has a place to sleep where she’ll feel secure. You might want a sleep tray with raised sides, a curved half moon shaped shelf or a kitty hammock.

Not So Secure Sleeping Spot: Our other cat, George, just sprawls out anywhere – if your cat is like him, he’ll be happy with an open shelf to nap on.

Observation Post: Pretty much every cat likes to keep an eye on things – it’s simply a survival instinct. Make sure the model you choose has a place where your cat will want to spend many hours of the day, whether it’s a flat shelf, kitty hammock, curved shelf or tray. In addition to the style of the observation post, consider the height off the floor and ease of access – especially if your cat is elderly or doesn’t get around as well as he used to.

Kitty Hammocks: We’ve found that most cats love a hammock, although timid cats may need some reassurance at first due to the extra ‘give’ they feel at first when they step on it. Once they get used to it, it may become a favorite ‘hang out’ (sorry – I couldn’t resist!). If your cat is unsure about the hammock at first, put it close to the floor for added peace of mind. As your cat gets used to it you can move it higher if you like.

Play Tubes: Playful cats like tubes or tunnels because they can charge right through them or lie in wait and pounce at unsuspecting passersby – animal or human!

Placement

Even if the cat furniture you choose has all the things your cat loves, if you put it in the wrong place he may completely ignore it. Think about where your cat spends time now – is she a ‘people cat’ who wants to be in the same room as the rest of the family? Is she more of a loner who seeks out quiet spots in unused parts of the house? Does he like to look out the window? (check for nose prints on the glass!)

Years ago we had a fabulous floor to ceiling cat tower with multiple shelves, a kitty condo – the works! The only trouble was that the one place in the house where we had space for it was a room that was hardly ever used. Since our cats like to be with us, they never used the tree, and we ended up donating it to the local humane society. Now we have a smaller cat tree that we keep in the family room where we spend much of our time, and the cats use it every day.

If you can place the tree next to a window there is a much higher likelihood that your cats will use it. A window that opens is best, especially for indoor kitties. The smells and sounds from outdoors will keep them entertained and engaged in the world around them.

Space

Here’s where you start thinking about your needs. How much space are you willing and able to devote to cat furniture, whether it’s a playground, kitty gym or cat tree? Be sure to look at all the dimensions – baseplate size, overall dimensions and height – and actually measure the space you have in mind to make sure it will fit. Many models are modular in design, so you don’t have to put it together exactly as it is pictured. This can give you a bit of flexibility if space is an issue. Look for the phrase ‘modular design’ – not all cat trees have this feature!

Materials and Construction

One of the main considerations here should be how stable and sturdy the cat furniture is. Cats will not use a wobbly or unstable tree. Look for broad bases and bottom heavy designs that will keep it from tipping when your cat jumps up on it.

Wood: Some cat furniture manufacturers use plywood, others use particle board – and they will all swear that the wood they use is the absolute best! The truth is that each has advantages and disadvantages.

Plywood is quite strong because it is made from thin layers of wood and each layer has the grain running in a different direction from the layer above and below. Since the visible surfaces are covered, the manufacturer can use a lower grade of plywood that will have knots showing and may be a bit rough to the touch. So you may have rough exposed wood on the inside roof of a condo or the underside of the baseplate – not really an issue for most folks, but a good thing to know ahead of time.

Particle board is made of small wood chips bonded together by a kind of glue. It is heavier than plywood, so it adds stability to a cat tree, and the surface is much smoother than plywood. It is more likely than plywood to break – sometimes corners will chip off – but under normal use this shouldn’t be a problem.

Coverings: Carpet or fake fur? The debate rages! One thing everyone agrees on is that whatever covering you choose make sure it is not a closed loop carpet or other covering that can catch a claw. I’m sure you’ve seen a cat stretch out and get a claw caught in a bedspread or sofa cushion – in a relaxed setting the cat is usually able to extricate himself, although he may leave a snag in the fabric! Imagine your cat at top speed romping up and down his kitty playground – if the playground is covered in non cut pile carpet (like Berber) and he catches a claw it can cause a serious injury.

Carpet is soft and inviting, but since one of the purposes of cat furniture is to give your kitties a place to sharpen their claws, some folks think carpeted cat furniture just encourages or even trains your cat to sharpen his claws on the carpet on your floor. Personally, I’ve never had that problem, but I know some folks have. If you do choose carpet, make sure it is cut-pile carpet to prevent possible injury from a caught claw. Carpet is secured with staples, which have the potential to stick up and scratch fingers or paws, but well made cat furniture does not usually have this problem.

Fake fur isn’t quite as cushy as carpet, but as long as it is secured with non-toxic glue, there is no possibility of injury from an errant staple. Some manufacturers do staple the fake fur, however, and it is much harder to bury a staple in fake fur than in carpet – if you choose fake fur, make sure that it is glued, not stapled. Like the carpet vs fake fur debate, the staples vs nontoxic glue debate is a heated one. I am of the opinion that as long as the glue is nontoxic and the staples are applied properly glue is best for fake fur and staples are best for carpet. It’s a matter of personal preference as to whether you choose carpet or fur. One nice thing about fake fur is that it is washable – often times models with hammocks are covered in fake fur – check to make sure that the hammock covers zip off so you can throw them in the washing machine.

Sisal Rope: Most experts agree that sisal rope provides an ideal surface for your cat to sharpen her claws. It’s durable, yet it doesn’t ‘catch’ claws the way non cut pile carpet can. Most cats love the feel of it under their paws and will instinctively start scratching when they feel it under foot. All of our cat furniture features sisal rope, some on all poles, some in combination with carpet.

Curved Features: Any curved surface on a cat tree is made of thick cardboard tubes – they are used in construction as molds for making round concrete pillars among other things. They are quite sturdy and should last a long time, but be aware that they are cardboard and will be the weakest part of your kitty gym – especially if they ever get wet. Look for designs that offer extra support to a curved feature – two attachment points is better than one!

Expandability and Flexibility

If you’re anything like me, you get bored with your environment and need to rearrange the furniture now and then. Cats get bored too, and so many of the models we offer are of a modular design which allows you to put them together in more than one way and to add or swap out features later. If this is important to you, be sure to look for the phrase ‘modular design’ – not all models have this feature!

Price and Other Human Concerns

Cat furniture can seem expensive, but it truly is an investment in your cat’s health and happiness. A cat who has a place to burn off energy and take a safe nap is less likely to develop destructive habits like scratching your furniture or relieving himself outside the litterbox. Indoor cats especially need some extra stimulation to keep them from getting bored.

Of course, you are the one who has to decide how much to spend on your cats, but in cat furniture you really do get what you pay for. If your budget is small, you are better off getting a smaller model than a large cheap model. Cheap cat furniture is likely to suffer from poor quality materials and workmanship which will shorten its life. Also, it will probably be wobbly and therefore less appealing to your cats so they may not use it at all. You may get lucky, but in my experience cheap cat furniture is a waste of money.

Aesthetically speaking, your cat couldn’t care less what the cat tree looks like, cats are much more concerned with function, so please yourself in the aesthetics department! And as far as color is concerned, cats’ eyes are optimized for hunting in low light – they don’t really see color. So choose a color that works for you, one that matches your decor or a neutral color that will blend in even if you change your decorating scheme. Some cat owners choose colors to match their cat’s fur so the cat hair won’t show as much, others like a very different color to inspire them to keep the cat tree vacuumed – color is purely a personal decision and will not affect your cat’s enjoyment one way or the other!

I hope I’ve been able to help you sort out some of the maze of decisions that need to be made in choosing the right cat tree for your kitty and for you. Hopefully I haven’t just added to the confusion!

Laura Miller
Tick-n-Thistle Furniture and Fine Art Your one stop shop for cat trees, playgrounds and kitty condos, as well as furniture for kids, grown ups and pets. http://www.ticknthistle.com

Lights! Camera! Action!

Now with our exclusive movie party theme, your birthday child can star in their own movie!

That’s right, with fun kid birthday parties one-of-a-kind movie making adventure, you can turn your child’s birthday party into a movie making party they’ll never forget.

Imagine how excited your birthday child will be when they get to tell all their party guests that everyone is going to be in a movie… Wow! This is going to be super fun.

“The Great Birthday Treasure Hunt” is an original 3 minute mini-movie script exclusively from Fun Kid Birthday Parties and it’s yours absolutely FREE.

And when you order your free movie script we’ll even send you our easy to follow tips on how to put together this super fun one-of-a-kind movie party theme that everyone will love… And you’ll have a great time too!

Movie Party Theme

Everyone has dreamed of starring in a movie… And now your birthday child can star in “The Great Birthday Treasure Hunt” a fun 3 minute movie production.

Movie Party Invitations

Make your invitations into a “Movie Star Contract.” You might write something like this:

Movie Star Contract

“You’re so talented and glamorous that (your family name) Productions would like for you to sign this fun contract to appear in our latest blockbuster movie production titled “The Great Birthday Treasure Hunt.”

We’re celebrating (first and last name of birthday child)’s birthday on (day and date of the party) at our (your family name) Productions movie studios from (start time and end time of your party).

(First and last name of birthday child) will be starring in our movie adventure and wants you to be one of the movie’s co-stars.

“The Great Birthday Treasure Hunt” will be filmed on location in and around our movie studio.

Our movie party theme will include time for autographs, movie games and activities, movie screenings and our studio commissary will be providing delicious movie production treats for our entire cast.

Please sign this Movie Star Contract and call your agent (name of agent to ask for) at (telephone number) to RSVP for your movie star roll in our original movie production.”

The (family name) Productions movie studio is located at (address).

Come dressed as your favorite movie character. (or you can have everyone show up in whatever costume you’d like, western, The Incredibles, Princess, fashion, or whatever theme you want).

Movie Party Theme Decorations

Your decorations can include a director’s chair, a megaphone, scene slate, light cut outs, camera cut outs, studio signs like “Hot Set”. “Birthday Movie Set”, “Hollywood Studio”. .

Movie Party Theme Games And Activities

You can make your movie production your entire party or you can set up some movie related activities and games.

Movie Party Theme, Screen Your Dailies

After you shoot the scenes for your movie, “The Great Birthday Treasure Hunt”, you can screen the raw unedited footage. Your guest will love seeing everything, including all the fun out-takes and bloopers.

Movie Party Theme, Snacks And Refreshments

Movie sets always have lots of snack food nearby for all the actors and crew… Favorites include M & M candies, Gummy Bears, nuts, fruit slices, veggie slices, chips and dips and any other finger snacks your birthday child might like.

Have fun and put a sign on your table that reads “Studio Commissary”.

Kid Movie Party World Premiere

One of the fun things about shooting a movie as a special birthday party is that you can have a second party as well. We’ve done this and everyone loved it!

Once your movie is edited, you’ll want to have your movies “World Premiere.”

Print out some movie ticket invitations, roll out a red carpet, invite the “paparazzi” (photographers) to snap pictures and video as your stars arrive.

Have some popcorn, screen your movie!

Follow your movie’s world premiere with an Academy Awards style party. Hand out awards (special best actor certificates) to all your actors! And let everyone make an acceptance speech. This is a lot of fun. This will be a movie premiere that everyone will remember!

To get you started on this unique, one-of-a-kind movie making adventure, Fun Kid Birthday Parties will send you a copy of our 3 minute movie script, “The Great Birthday Treasure Hunt” absolutely free. And we’ll include our easy to follow tips on how to put together this fun movie production for your birthday child.

To get your free kids movie party script visit us at Fun-Kid-Birthday-Parties.com and fill out the easy form at the bottom of the page.

Mike Dougherty is a movie and television writer, producer, director, video editor and regional Emmy award winning videographer. Most recently as a Hollywood screenwriter “the Long Ride Home” a western movie starring Randy Travis is based on Mike Dougherty’s short script. To get your free kids movie script, visit http://fun-kid-birthday-parties.com/kid-movie-party-theme.html right now

Knowing only a few basic fly fishing knots can help you limit the number of stories you have about “the one that got away…”. Sometimes a fisherman who is rushing to get their line in the water will tie a knot that is simply not strong enough to hold a larger than expected fish. On the other hand, many take the time to tie their best knot but simply do not know enough to tie it properly. Whether the knot is meant to hold the line to the rod or to attach the fly the strength of the fly fishing knot can make all the difference in how your next fishing tale begins.

The arbor knot is one fo the most commonly used fly fishing knots. It is used to secure the fly line to the arbor of the reel. To tie a strong arbor knot you need to wrap the line around the spool and tie an overhand knot around the line. Then tie a second overhand knot a few inches past the first knot.

Lightly wet the line and pull the second knot tight. Hold the spool in one hand and pull the line with tight with the other. The first knot will prevent the line from skipping through the second knot. The end can be trimmed and the reel can be loaded with line. The wet line will provide lubrication and help form tighter fly fishing knots.

Knots for Flies With Bent Eyes

One of the other fly fishing knots used most often is the turle knot, used to attach flies to the line. Pass the lead end of the line through the eye of the fly and then make at least two wraps around the standing line, passing the leading end through the now formed loop, which forms an overhand knot. Once you pull this snug, you can pass the fly through the large remaining loop, tighten it down and trim the extra line. This type of fly fishing knots allows the fly to move more realistically on the water.

One of the keys to tying successful fly fishing knots is to moisten the line with saliva or lake water before tying the knot. This will lubricate the line making it easier to pull taught. When the line dries it will be stronger than a line that was tied dry.

Be careful when tying a thin line. If you pull the knots too tight the line will break. Before casting any line onto water make sure to check the strength of your fly fishing knots by pulling on the line with at least as much pressure as you expect the line to hold.

Tips For The Fly Fishing Beginner

Some useful tips can help you get started as a fly fishing beginner. Fly fishing is an ancient sport dating back to Rome that has risen in popularity in recent years.

Fly Fishing: The Basics

Fly fishing is the sport of catching fish with hand tied lures, known as flies. These flies are often bits of feathers and fake fur, that are wound with brightly colored line to make them look more like real bugs. For the fly fishing beginner, there are numerous kits available that will walk you step by step through the fly tying process, so that you can create your own little works of art. The second thing that the fly fishing beginner needs to have is the right pole. Remember that a true fly rod is longer and heavier than a regular fishing pole. This is due largely to the fact that the fish you will be catching with your fly rod are much larger than the fish caught with regular fishing poles.

If you are a fly fishing beginner, it is probably a good idea to take a few casting classes prior to heading out on your very first fishing expedition. These casting classes will help you to learn the proper technique for allowing the wind to do most of the work for you when you cast your line. Although stronger than normal fishing line, the line used for fly fishing is much lighter. This allows the wind to carry the line further into the body of water where you are fishing, so that you can have an easier time of catching the skittish sport fish.

A guide can be very helpful if you are fly fishing for the very first time. They are trained specially to find the very best places for beginners to fish. They also help beginners develop a fishing technique, which will guide you for the rest of your fishing life. It may seem a bit extravagant to pay someone to teach you to fish, but it is an invaluable investment in a hobby which can serve you well your entire life.

You are starting out on a fabulous journey as a fly fisher. Most important of all, enjoy the experience and make sure your next catch doesn’t turn into “the one that got away!”

Rich Evans – The Fly Fishing Expert

Learn What EXPERT Fly Fishermen Know About Fly Fishing

[http://www.flyfishing-knots.com]

The television is great at making you believe whatever the television wants you to think.  The television can make you act like a macho man or some badass from your favorite television show.  The 5 ways the television can influence you are:

1.  Ever wanted to be a talking parrot for you favorite news station on television?  Simply watch the news people on television enough and you will be parroting the exact lines of the people on the news who you listened to.

2.  Watch the show your favorite badass is in and emulate what he/she does on television in real life.  In no time, you will accept the values of that person on television as your own.

3.  Want to rave and talk about your favorite sports team(s) that appear on television?  Simply turn on the television and in no time, you will know more than enough about that team that appeared on television to tell your friends about what you are talking about on television.

4.  Do you like playing video games on your television?  The news is one way, but videos games are a surefire fun way to make yourself think how the characters on your television think.  It is common fact that people emulate what they see on television, and your no different.  Besides, video games put your television to good use, unlike some other television programs people watch.

5.  If the television was so hazardous, the authorities would have banned television long ago.  They did not, so the television is safe for everyone, from the television news media watching adults to the avid teens who use the television to play their favorite television-based video games.  No direction to go to?  Just let the television decide what to eat, let the television choose who to like and let the television choose what your listening to.

By the way, did you know that this article is a satire(I am joking around this time)

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Fly fishing being regarded a normal fishing sport in the whole of America, more and more angler (s) all over are showing interest in various fly fishing resources, including tips, techniques and tales from ones who have mastered the art with their lures and fishing baits. Most anglers interested in fly fishing sports intend to know and follow a ‘step-by-step” method that will significantly increase their casting distance. Most of them want to learn quickly how to cast more accurately, so that they can drop their fly right in front of the fish’s mouth. That is not all. Even a good fly caster may be looking to go to the next level and learn more of the advanced casting techniques. To assure an angler interested in fly fishing, it must be mentioned here that with the right instructor, you don’t have to worry about stiff breezes or feel intimidated by other fly anglers on the river. There may be an umpteen number of questions that you would like you ask regarding your dealing with the fly cast, typically if you are an angler new to the sport of fly fishing, one who finds making a decent cast difficult at best.

However, it still remains true today that despite the importance of the cast, the average fly-fisher angler gives less thought to it than to purchasing new fishing bait (s) for himself. Probably, many of them think fly-fishers need no casting instruction at all. Confining themselves to the easiest fisheries, and doing almost everything wrong and still catching a dozen trout from a small stream makes them over-confident of their fishing capabilities. But one must remember here that fly fishing in a small local lake is quite different from doing it in a spring creek, just as catching a thousand bluegills with your fishing bait on a blind cast is a hell lot different from successfully sight fishing for bonefish. For this, the answer is: practice for days, months and years. For fly fishing is like another skilful sport that can be mastered with a lot of time, and of course, a hell lot of effort on your part. If an angler fly fishes long enough and truly embraces the challenge of the sport rather than the fantasy of the game, he will eventually find himself amidst a favorable situation for fly fishing.

Fly casting is the most important skill in fly-fishing. It is perhaps the only skill you cannot do without. As a matter-of-fact, a successful fly-fisher angler need not know how to dress flies, tie knots, rig equipment, or even how to find fish, as he can always hire a guide to take care of all that. But a successful fly-fisher must be able to present a fly to a fish. However, it is a startling fact that in spite of its importance, relatively a very few fly-fishers ever attempt to learn how to cast a fly rod in a formal or methodical way. The beginning of learning how to fly cast is even more important than choosing your lures and fishing bait (s). The best way to accomplish this, according to experts is to use an 8.5 or 9-foot rod that is balanced with a 5- or 6-weight floating weight-forward or triangle taper fly line. According to experts in fly fishing, the fly line should be rigged with a 9-foot tapered monofilament leader, to the end of which is tied a small tuft of fluorescent package yarn. While fly casting, anglers may wish to use a bit heavier outfit, such as an 8- or 9-weight rod, to allow them handle a longer line a bit easier.

As for the important fly fishing kits for an angler, it is recommended that you are equipped with the proper trolling flies, trolling fly kits, jigs and fishing bait used to catch Salmon and Trout or other fish in the Great Lakes or Ocean. Custom fishing rods, including custom casting, spincast, and fly rods act as other necessary equipment in fly fishing sports. All these Fly fishing equipment are there for use to make your fly tying and fishing vacations memorable!

Fly fishing equipment – fly-fishing tackle, fly fishing rods, fly reels, fly fishing Gear, fly rods and fishing … … tackle Flyrods – Fly fishing equipment fly tying supplies and accessories. … ©1978-2007 The Fly Shop® …http://www.flyshop.com

Fly Fishing With Ross Purnell Online flyfishing entertainment, education, industry information center, and e-zine. Category: Shopping > Fly Fishing flyfishing.about.com

Flyfishing.com Fishing information resource. Category: Fly Fishing http://www.flyfishing.com