The Refresh Orlando Heirs

The Dutch called it Haken and the Spanish called it Labor de Ganchillo, but call it Crochet and it looks just as delicate and. Today the word, with its roots in medieval French Croc or croche meaning Hook, has come to signify one of the most popular fabric crafts for men and women across the globe. Yes, I did say men…because an increasing number of men are now turning to this highly structured and organized craft for finding creative satisfaction.

Crochet is basically a series of interlocking loops of thread into a chain to create brightly colored patterns. These patterned patches can then be given various forms like table covers, tote bags, hats and baby dresses. A single chain of loops is created, with each new loop catching the thread and pulling it through the previous loop. Once the chain is completed, the thread is turned starting a second chain. Some popular stitches are: Chain, Single, Half Double, Double, Popcorn, and Cluster.

Some of the most popular theories suggest the craft originated in France. Significant evidence points to its earliest usage in the 1700s Europe where it was developed as an affordable alternative to the more expensive forms of lace. It needed inexpensive equipment and raw material to create low-cost fabric and the art picked up enough to achieve the status of a flourishing cottage industry by mid 1800s.

Branded as ‘the commoners’ lace’, this art got a fillip when it received a patron in Queen Victoria of England. Though this art has had its ups and downs over the centuries, its inherent simplicity and beauty has ensured its longevity and currency as a fashionable fabric in every century. Easy, affordable and fun, this art has many takers and a resounding Internet presence. Check out DIY guides and patterns on the web and get hooking for hours of fun.

Beacon Verse Series (Article Five) “ANOTHER RAINBOW”

The sun is slowly setting
And the sky becoming black,
Holes in my clothes are letting
The cold rain run down my back;
The tide, again, receding,
Leaving wet and chill the beach:
Another rainbow just beyond my reach…

But, I can still recall the time
When that rainbow looked so good,

When colors bright were almost mine,

When I just knew I could…
If anyone had asked me
I’d have said, “I’m takin’ book”,

But, rainbows aren’t exactly
What they look…

Well, the sun, at last is rising
And the sky, in part, is clear,
Although it’s somewhat surprising
There’s a ‘Brand new rainbow’ near;
Tides may turn uncompromising,
Fortunes rise and fall with each:
Another rainbow – this one I might reach…

Beacon Verse Series – Beacon© 1977

Coming out of a divorce and some business ventures where I had lost everything but my donkey, which I would have also lost if I’d, had one, I was somewhat disillusioned. Having been accused of “Chasing rainbows,” I had to consider whether or not I was a “Rainbow chaser.” I decided that, yes indeed, I was.

Perhaps, it was the chase that I most enjoyed? Yet, I had given myself always to a 100% commitment. Anything less would have been a “Cop-out.” Whether is was another business, a new career, a marriage, or the relentless pursuit of personal pleasure, I rode the wild bulls until there was no more hanging on, only to be trampled when finally forced to concede that there was a fatal flaw inherent in each project. Obviously, had I recognized the absolute impossibilities before beginning, I would never have undertaken so many misadventures.

For the next 29 years, I would chase elusive rainbows. I had girded up my loins with all of the positive affirmations under the sun: “You’re not defeated if you can still get back into the rink!” “No matter how many times you get knocked down, you can’t lose if you get back up!” “It don’t matter how many times you lose. You’ve only got to win once!” “When you hit the home run, they will all say that you got lucky…”

I was never long in finding another business, profession, person, marriage, or relationship into which to invest myself. I would achieve a degree of success in each endeavor. I owned wholesale and retail stores, taught college oil painting classes, published poetry books and a novel, held State licenses in all forms of insurance, established a durable medical equipment business, managed condominium complexes, and had my own real estate company with over a dozen experienced agents.

While I never anticipated being “Blind-sided” by the dread disease MS (Multiple Sclerosis), “Ripped-off” by professionals, or victimized by a victim, I somehow survived.

As per The Rainbow Maker’s own words, He didn’t mind me making a few mistakes. (TEV) Revelation 3:16 “But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth!” Well, I ran “Hot!” God must have liked that? For on Easter Sunday, 2006, He manifested “Another Rainbow.”

As the Easter Sun was rising
I could not expect to say
That The Spirit’s energizing
Would break forth a brand new way…
The tide had turned exceeding,
Left wet sand upon the beach,
This Rainbow was indeed within my reach.

I was sucked into the rainbow
Oh, its colors tasted fine…
With no grapes of wrath withstanding,
I could saver some new wine…
So, if anyone would ask me
Of the “Rainbow Ride” I took,
I’ll say, “Rainbows are much better than they look!”

Well, The Son, from His death arising
From the dead to guide the way
To His health and wealth despising
What the world’s would often say…
Now, with ‘A Rainbow Reminder’,
A safe haven will feel loose,
So, ‘A Rainbow Reminder’ is for all of His who’ll choose.

Russ Miles is author of the novel, For Sale By Owners: FSBO.
A “Seasoned Real Estate NAR® Broker,” disabled by Multiple Sclerosis, Russ writes books & articles on varied subjects.

Via his personal website http://www.MilesBooks.com, Rascal’s blog, comments to MilesBooks@gmail.com, & his ezine articles themselves, Russ maintains contact with those whom he believes the God of this Universe has joined together with him as per Destiny’s Devine Plan for this Planet Earth!

The world of online privacy and threats has changed direction.
In the past all that caused worries and concerns in online cyber
world came from viruses created by some causing formatting your
hard drive or hanging of your computer but this has changed
dramatically.

Now you are confronted with threats of tiny files and codes
called spyware and malware and ad ware that are very small in
size but with crushing effects such as learning about your
identity, stealing your credit card numbers, residing in your
systems for long times and others things.

Have you ever thought how those sending you spam emails have
learned about your email address? If you know some signs of
infection you will be able to find a remedy for your system
before it’s too late.

Examples: You are using dial up internet connection and you are
not online, and suddenly the connection box appears and
automatically without your command goes online. This behavior
might has been caused by a spyware on your system that has
logged your keystrokes and has made a file and now wants to
communicate with the creator or the source infecting you.

I already suppose you all have firewalls installed specially the
world famous zone alarm. Now another example, if you are online
and are not downloading anything nor are you browsing any sites
but you can see the traffic sings on your zone alarm icon on the
taskbar, this means a program or software on your PC is
downloading or uploading something, so check your programs
section of the firewall to see what program is doing so, of
course not all programs communicating online are to cause
worries, for example windows system from time to time contacts
Microsoft website to learn if there is a new update but it’s
recommended that you check to see if only trustworthy programs
are allowd to be online.

Another case we can mention is when your windows automatically
wants to restart or log off, especially if you have not recently
installed a new software on your computer.

Always keep your firewall and windows system and your internet
explorer or your other browsers up to date.

Please don’t visit fishy websites such as hackers websites and
forums as much as you can. Also take care about what you are
downloading from unknown sources such as p2p softwares. Don’t
forget to have your firewall running while downloading files
from such sources.

Try using as many anti spyware and virus programs as you can,
and check for the latest security softwares at www.download.com

Never leave your computer online if you are active in any chat
rooms, some might learn about your position and IP and later on
will attack your computer through some methods that you would
have never thought.

Online shopping is now an indispensable part of our lives and
you enter your credit card numbers on various sites everyday,
exercise this practice of scanning your whole system before and
after each online transaction to minimize the risk of infection
and revealing your financial secrets to strangers.

Always check the URL the site you want to enter your personal
info on to be the real one you indented to use, pay attention to
the letters of the domain name and the URL be he real one.

Check your favorites list everyday, if you see some websites
that are listed but sound unfamiliar to you, delete them and
scan your computer.

Try not using your web based email addresses for critical
correspondences, instead use a safer email address from a
company that you can use with your mail client like outlook, the
reason is when you lose your web based email address due to your
password getting stolen by someone, from that moment onward that
email address is his and you cannot take it back, but even if
you lose your password of client based email address, you can
easily contact the email provider and change your password.

If you visit a website and during your visiting a blank pop up
window appears with nothing on it, it strongly is a malware
loaded onto your computer, so in such case, immediately
disconnect from the internet and make a full system scan.

And never ever write your passwords or financial information in
a text file on your computer, for these reasons, use the good
old pen and paper.

–About Domain Names–

Choosing a domain name for your web site is a major step for any individual or organization. You need domain names that are sticky, short, meaningful, easy to remember and at the roll of your tongue!

It is very easy to choose a domain name but difficult to find a good name, simply because of the fact that most of the good domain names are taken up by organisations. These domain name organisations take up hundreds of thousands of domain names and treat them as investments. It is not as easy to choose a good domain name. Sometimes, even web professionals spend hours at their computers to find good domain names!

Domain name registrations are cheap to maintain and subscriptions typically last a year. The subscriptions are renewable and paid to registrars by the design companies.

The most common domain names end with .com, .net, etc. Country specific domain names will end with com.au, co.uk, .co.jp, etc. For organisations, domain names will end with .org or be country specific- .org.au, .org.uk, etc.

Not sure about domain names and web sites? Seek web professional help.

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

When the worst happens to your computer and all your files disappear, never worry! There are a number of quality data recovery companies that are able to restore your critical files quickly and easily.

Instead of tearing out your hair over a stubborn computer that is holding that essential file hostage, let the worries slide away and send off your hard drive to a data recovery company. These companies work their magic and recover files of all sizes in a remarkably quick turn around time. This service is essential for any individual or business that has fallen onto hard times with their computer.

Most data recovery companies operate over the internet and occupy cyberspace as they would a store front. If you find yourself in need of a quality company to find your files, look no further than the World Wide Web.

A simple search of search engines will produce hundreds of quality companies eager to solve your every problem. Before you send off your hard drive, carefully evaluate the chosen company to ensure it is legitimate and reputable. Using an incorrect company may result in further headaches and a loss of money for services not rendered.

Upon your search for a data recovery company, investigate their capabilities and services. Choosing a company that will best serve your needs will ensure the greater success in the end. You may need to compare services versus charges for these data recovery companies.

The old adage, “you get what you pay for” could not be truer when it comes to regaining your lost files. If you are taking the trouble to send off your hard drive in an attempt to reclaim critical files for business or personal reasons, then you should be prepared to spend the appropriate amount of money to get the job done. However, just because one data recovery is more expensive than another one does not mean the pricier company is more successful.

When choosing a data recovery company to reclaim your files, consider contacting individuals who has used their services in the past. This recommendation to use or to avoid the company may be an excellent method to choosing a company.

Also, contact the company directly and explain your specific situation. A representative for the company will be able to discuss the possibility of the recovery of your files and the estimated cost of their services. You should be sure to inquire the expense if the company is unable to recover the lost files. Many companies offer to return your hard drive without charging for their services if they are unable to deliver your compromised files.

Whichever data recovery company you entrust to regain your lost files, be sure to keep the company’s contact information if you are pleased with the services rendered. Having this resource can be invaluable if a similar fate befalls your files in the future and you need a reputable source to recover these files as quickly as possible. If you are pleased with the data recovery company, be sure to tell other individuals in your predicament.

For more information on Data Recovery, visit http://www.datarecoveryaid.info.

Spyware ranges from the merely annoying, generating popup ads
and slowing down your computer and internet use, to the very
dangerous, logging keystrokes in an attempt to get at your
passwords, account numbers and other sensitive information.

Why you need to protect yourself and your data

Unfortunately, spyware is everywhere, and the coders of this
malicious software are becoming cleverer at disguising their
code and tricking users into running and installing it. As with
viruses and other malicious code, spyware sometimes gets on your
PC in the form of a link or piece of code buried in an email. In
some cases, the spyware can infect the computer even if the
dangerous email is not opened.

Other forms of spyware are encountered simply by surfing the
web. Some web pages contain malicious code that can track your
movements, keep track of the products you purchase and the
websites you visit, they can even steal passwords and account
information.

The fact is that spyware is almost impossible to avoid these
days. If you surf the web at all, or use your computer for
email, chances are you will encounter spyware at some time or
another. As with virus protection, the key is to be informed,
and to use the correct software to protect yourself from this
threat. There are a number of excellent products on the market
which can root out spyware and automatically protect you from
the harmfull effects.

Try the programs before you buy

Before choosing a spyware removal product, it is a good idea to
try out several different tools and see what they find on your
PC. Different brands of spyware removal tools will find
different types of spyware, so it is important to find out which
one is the best before spending your hard earned cash. Most
suppliers of anti-spyware software offer a free trial period, so
it is quite easy to try out before you buy it.

Additionally, if your computer is fairly new chances are it came
packaged with some sort of spyware detection program, either a
full version or a free trial version. Be sure to check your
computer to see what kind of protection it has. Some computers
come bundled with a security suite, including spyware
elimination, virus protection and firewall protection.

If your computer does not have some sort of spyware protection
already installed you have a variety of choices when it comes to
keeping yourself protected. Many companies make spyware
protection products, including anti-virus companies like
Symantec and Norton. In addition, Microsoft has introduced a
very good spyware protection tool. Again, it is a good idea to
download several trial versions and see what they can do.

The key, however, is to make sure that some sort of spyware
protection is running on your computer at all times. The threat
posed by spyware is present whenever you are online, and it is
vital to protect your personal data from those who seek to
profit from it.

One of the nice things about making money online is that it can be done with no employee overhead. It’s simply not that labor intensive. Even web sites can be built with programs that makes their creation simple enough for a single human being. But if you need help with some of the side considerations (like accounting) or simply want help at some point, what do you do?

You could hire someone, but that’s a massive pain and in my opinion, a grossly unnecessary hassle. If you hire employees, you have to consider:

• Benefits.
• Employment law.
• Meeting a regular payment schedule known as paying a salary.
• Dealing with subordinates if they decide they don’t want to cooperate.

Fortunately, none of these are necessary to endure. None of the tasks you’ll ever encounter will need a constant source of dedicated attention known as an employee. You may get the occasional necessity, which you can handle with outsourcing. This is where you go out and hire a professional or company to do something for you as a third-party contractor.

This is vastly preferable to hiring an employee because:

• You’re a customer, not a boss. The business or professional you’ve hired will be trying to retain you as a customer so you’ll pay them more money in the future. This puts you in a vastly superior position to being an employer.
• You can hire per-task. This means if you just need one thing done, you hire someone to do it, pay them, and then you’re done. The person you hire in this regard then worries about finding their own future business, and there’s no expectation of a constant paycheck from you.
• If the outsourced service does not perform adequately, you simply cease to use it and find another one. This is opposed to firing an employee, which is tough to do personally and can leave you searching months for a qualified replacement. This goes back to the ‘customer’ status as opposed to ‘employer’. The employer-employee relationship is far more restricting than the customer-business one. Customers have far better options than employers when things go wrong, and you’re a customer when you outsource.
• You suffer no massive additions of trouble. You don’t need to balloon your overhead or burden yourself with the rigors of employment law and taxation compliance. The outsourced company worries with all that, and they’re set up to deal with it already.
• You will still be helping the economy. I know you may have heard a lot of flak associated with the word ‘outsourcing’, but I don’t mean leave the country to hire someone. Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, no service you’ll ever want or need is farther away than a local phone call or a short drive from your home. There are plenty of professionals and small businesses near you if you simply look for them. When you do business with them, it means they can continue to grow and possibly employ their own personnel. So you still contribute positively to someone else’s employment prospects without hanging yourself.

So someday, if you do want or need someone else to take care of something, I highly recommend you outsource. Employees are for larger organizations. As an online businessperson working for yourself, you may want one, but you’ll never need one.

Ryan Ambrose is the webmaster of Financial Self-Reliance, a web site about how to actually make money online. The Nuts and Bolts section that contains this and other articles related to the practical considerations of running a home-based business can be reached directly from here. Copyright 2006, Ryan Ambrose.