The Refresh Orlando Heirs

The simple truth is, kids who laugh are kids who learn. It has been shown that happy children have a much greater chance of success in life than those who are unhappy or are in bleak situation. One of many ways to keep the little ones smiling at home and in the classroom is by implementing a steady regiment of laughter. I tend to do this with silly rhymes and poetry.

Rhyming sequences have a profound effect on people of all ages, not just kids. You
often here rhyming sequences being referred to as “catchy”; that’s how you describe
the feeling of rhythm that is implied in a rhyme. As human beings, we tend to like
order and rhythm; it balances out our life. This is no more true than it is with children.
Songs, poems, and rhymes are a huge part of most classrooms today because they are
such powerful teaching tools. Children will retain facts and knowledge with out even
being aware that they are learning. Grade school kids have even been taught the full
periodic table when put to rhyme or song.

When I write poems for children I try to use the english language in a way that they
may have never heard before, yet will be able to grasp the meaning. What I hope to
achieve is to bring a wider sense of the english language and how it can be used in a
fun way. Speech today is stunted by excessive use of slang, jargon, and buzz words
that have no real meaning in the english language. Kids are making up words to
describe events or emotions, instead of knowing the real dialogue to make their story
interesting.

What I love to do best in writing a poem is encompass a nonsense story or moral within
a framework of tightly woven, yet mentally stimulating rhyming lines that challenge the
child’s awareness of sentence structure. I like to keep them on their toes.

This
combination, I find, amuses children to no end. They smile or laugh, and then read it
again and again until it rolls of their tongues effortlessly, laughing all the while.

Hmm… sounds like learning to me.

Adam Merrifield is an author and photgrapher of all things child-like. He maintains http://www.wigglywumble.com, a poetry site for
kids, and http://www.merrifield-photography.com, a baby photography site.

The New Mexico State Agency that oversees the collection and reporting of State income taxes deducted from payroll checks is:

Taxation and Revenue Department
P.O. Box 630
Santa Fe, NM 87504-0630
(505) 827-0867
www.state.nm.us/tax

New Mexico does not have a state form to calculate state income tax withholding.

Not all states allow salary reductions made under Section 125 cafeteria plans or 401(k) to be treated in the same manner as the IRS code allows. In New Mexico cafeteria plans are not taxable for income tax calculation; not taxable for unemployment insurance purposes. 401(k) plan deferrals are not taxable for income taxes; taxable for unemployment purposes.

In New Mexico supplemental wages are taxed at a 7.7% flat rate.

You may file your New Mexico State W-2s by magnetic media if you choose to.

The New Mexico State Unemployment Insurance Agency is:

Department of Labor
Employment Security Division
401 Broadway, N.E.
P.O. Box 2281
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 841-8712
http://www.workerscomp.state.nm.us/

The State of New Mexico taxable wage base for unemployment purposes is wages up to $16,800.00.

New Mexico requires Magnetic media reporting of quarterly wage reporting if the employer has at least 250 employees that they are reporting that quarter.

Unemployment records must be retained in New Mexico for a minimum period of four years. This information generally includes: name; social security number; dates of hire, rehire and termination; wages by period; payroll pay periods and pay dates; date and circumstances of termination.

The New Mexico State Agency charged with enforcing the state wage and hour laws is:

Department of Labor
Labor and Industrial Division
501 Mountain Rd., NE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 841-8983
http://www.dol.state.nm.us/

The minimum wage in New Mexico is $5.15 per hour.

The general provision in New Mexico concerning paying overtime in a non-FLSA covered employer is one and one half times regular rate after 40-hour week.

New Mexico State new hire reporting requirements are that every employer must report every new hire and rehire. The employer must report the federally required elements of:

• Employee’s name
• Employee’s address
• Employee’s social security number
• Employer’s name
• Employers address
• Employer’s Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)

This information must be reported within 20 days of the hiring or rehiring.
The information can be sent as a W4 or equivalent by mail, fax or electronically.
There is a $20.00 penalty for a late report and $500 for conspiracy in New Mexico.

The New Mexico new hire-reporting agency can be reached at 888-878-1607 or 505-995-8230 or on the web at www.nm-newhire.com

New Mexico does not allow compulsory direct deposit

New Mexico requires the following information on an employee’s pay stub:

• Gross and Net Earnings
• Employer’s name
• gross wages and benefits
• hours worked
• itemized deductions

New Mexico requires that employee be paid no less often than semimonthly, up to 16 days apart; monthly for FLSA-exempt employees.

New Mexico requires that the lag time between the end of the pay period and the payment of wages earned from 1st-15th of month, pay by 25th; from 16th-end of month, pay by 10th of next month; 5 days extra for out-of –state payrolls.

New Mexico payroll law requires that involuntarily terminated employees must be paid their final pay with in 5 working days; 10 days for wages paid by commission, task, or piece rates; next regular payday if suspended due to labor dispute. Voluntarily terminated employees must be paid their final pay by the next regular payday.

Deceased employee’s wages must be paid when normally due to the surviving spouse.

Escheat laws in New Mexico require that unclaimed wages be paid over to the state after one year.

The employer is further required in New Mexico to keep a record of the wages abandoned and turned over to the state for a period of 10 years.

New Mexico payroll law mandates no more than 50% of minimum wage may be used as a tip credit.

In the New Mexico payroll law there is no provision covering required rest or meal periods.

New Mexico statute requires that wage and hour records be kept for a period of not less than one year. These records will normally consist of at least the information required under FLSA.

The New Mexico agency charged with enforcing Child Support Orders and laws is:

Child Support Enforcement Division
Department of Human Services
P.O. Box 25109
2025 S. Pacheo
Santa Fe, NM 87504
(505) 827-7200
www.state.nm.us/hsd/csed.html

New Mexico has the following provisions for child support deductions:

• When to start Withholding? next payday after service
• When to send Payment? Within 7 days of Payday.
• When to send Termination Notice? “Promptly”
• Maximum Administrative Fee? $1 per payment.
• Withholding Limits? 50% of disposable earnings

Please note that this article is not updated for changes that can and will happen from time to time.

Charles J. Read, CPA has been in the payroll, accounting and tax business for 30 years, the last fifteen in private practice. Mr. Read is the author of “How to Start a New Business”. For Professional Payroll services at a Budget Price go to http://www.PayrollonaBudget.com a Paperless Payroll Company. Go to http://www.CustomPayroll.com For a full service payroll service bureau with CPA’s on staff. See an excerpt of Mr. Read’s interviews from William Shatners “Heartbeat of America” television show on the websites linked above.

To become truly immortal, a work of art must escape all human limits:
logic and common sense will only interfere. But once these barriers are broken,
it will enter the realms of childhood visions and dreams, says Giorgio
de Chirico. Art, thus escapes limits, becomes free in every sense and goes in
search of fresh feelings and thoughts that strike a balance between reality
and idealism.

In art, paintings are adorned much because of its non-defined structure, beauty
that explains hidden feelings, shared thoughts and suppressed emotions. It has
a world of its own- a world of color, shine and unheard music that takes a man
to an unknown world he is seldom familiar with. It speaks its own language-
a language taught by its creator and communicates to the rest of the world what
the creator wanted it to dictate.

As painting gives an immortal beauty and creates an atmosphere of creativity
and exquisiteness it has been used in households, offices, and other institutions
and places. Art lovers buy paintings to experience something they are already
familiar with and explore a world beyond simplicity or abstractness.

But paintings get damaged very fast if not maintained and preserved properly.
Taking care of paintings by itself is known to be an art.

Reasons for paintings getting damaged

Major reason behind paintings getting damaged is time. All other reasons are
centered on this unique factor.

• Time

Time or aging plays an important part in getting the painting damaged or spoiled
very soon. As time pass by, paintings are also undergoing so many changes. Most
traditional paintings were made in such a way that it could adapt with time.
Nowadays, paintings get blemished very fast because of fragility.

Results

1. Aging results in appearance of fissures or white shades around the paining.
   It also results in actual color being dimmed and the shining lost.
2. Discoloration of varnish.
3. Structural damages like cracks will appear in the painting.
4. Quality of the painting will be lost.
5. Thick paint films get dried and wrinkles appear in paintings.
6. Painting loses suppleness.
• Physical damage

If the painting is framed in glass, then there can be chances for the frame
to be broken and consequently the painting can get damaged in such a way that
the varnish will get affected adversely and this in turn affects the painting
in the subsequent layers. Thus marks appear on the painting and this later on
will affect the surface.

• Collection of dust, soot or dirt on the surface

There are lots of possibilities for the collection of dust or dirt on the surface
of the painting. This will not show any adverse effect on the painting very
soon. But it will be shown in the days to come.

How to maintain a painting properly?

Environment plays an important role in damaging and also preserving the beauty
of a painting. Thus, various aspects of environmental changes will affect the
painting in many ways.

Check temperature and humidity

Creating an appropriate environment is desirable in the proper maintenance of
painting. Check the temperature and humidity level, as relative humidity is
desirable for the proper preservation of paintings. Humidity less than 40 and
above 60 is not good for the proper maintenance of paintings. It also depends
on the medium in which the painting has been done. If the painting is done on
canvas and not on wood, it will react more adversely to rising humidity levels.

High temperature levels also should be avoided. Maintaining a constant temperature
or humidity is desirable. Rooms with constant temperature level and humidity
level should be chosen to hang paintings. Slight variations in the environment
cannot be avoided and it will not do much harm to paintings, whereas constantly
varying environmental situations can make an unfavorable effect on the painting.

Prevent ultraviolet light

Ultraviolet light is not good for paintings. Dyes and other agents used in the
painting will undergo discoloration as a result of the exposure to ultraviolet
rays. Therefore special care should be taken in avoiding ultraviolet exposure
to paintings and a balance has to be maintained in the intensity of light the
paintings are exposed to. Museums also do not use high intensity lights.

Avoid moisture

Moisture is another aspect, which affects painting. It affects the layers of
the paintings and reaches the surface of the paintings resulting in paint loss.
Therefore it is always better to avoid water or moisture in the paint surface
or ground.

Clean dust or dirt

Dust or dirt unnoticed in the beginning will eventually result in spoiling the
painting. Dust will accumulate in the surfaces of the paintings and it damages
the entire painting very slowly. Therefore proper cleaning of dust or dirt will
help in avoiding further damages in paintings.

Framing paintings

It is always better to frame paintings and preserve it from extraneous particles
like dust or dirt. It also keeps the painting beautiful and neat. There will
be expensive and inexpensive frames available and framing with materials like
good quality wood will help in preserving the painting better.

Displaying paintings

Paintings should be hung in a better place and somewhere you always pay attention
to. It is better you hang or display paintings in your drawing room or visitors
since you will always give extra care to these rooms and its maintenance. So
you will definitely take care of the paintings too.

Paintings are assets. Vincent Van Gogh once said that the only time he feels
alive is when he is painting. This explains the hard toil, dedication and worship
of the painter towards the artwork with which he makes a better expression of
his formless ideas. Preserving and maintaining these art works is also an art
as it shows the respect and admiration towards the creator and the timeless
creation.

Devi sri is a seo copywriter for 1st Art Club. She has involved herself in
this field for more than 3 years. For further details related to the article
you can visit the site =>http://www.1artclub.com
You can contact her through mail at =>devisrri@gmail.com

I wrote this poem in honor of any non-Japanese who kept Japanese-American property safe on Bainbridge Island, WA, during the WWII Japanese-American Internment. If there even were any such people. Most other Americans ripped off J-A property, and bought their houses from the US government for cheap.

However, I should warn you that the above historic event is not really what this poem is about. It’s actually a series of images having to do with life in general on Bainbridge Island, and does not directly relate to the Internment at all; now that you’re warned, go ahead and read to your heart’s content.

In order to round this poetry’s word count out to 200 words or more, a brief lesson on its form is required. The poetry below is informally titled “haiku,” which is a Japanese style of onomotopaeic poetry that also is supposed to conjer up an image or several images in your mind. Onomotopaeia refers to words such as “splash” that emblamize a sound. Some haiku is very set and determined in its metre, and is confined to a set amount of lines. The poem below is Americanized haiku, which means that it is more “free verse” in its styling, and that it’s not quite held to such strict standards.

Roses of Sharon

Are broken sideways.

The moon is the guide,

time and time again,

muddy as bean-paste

mixed with vinegar.

Oars hit waves.

My old self sits again,

with a bit of madness in me.

A big ball of snow,

not quite his fill;

piercing alarms to drive a badger away,

the beautiful pears ripe in his garden,

who my neighbor truly is.

In a way, it was fun not to see Mt. Fuji in foggy rain.

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Pomes help to expresses feelings which can not be explained in simple words. Many people love to express their feeling in pomes because its have a deep thoughts and it leave a good impression on others.

If you are in deep love with pomes you can easily get good and impressive collection of love poetry, as well as some famous quotes, friendship poems, inspirational quotes, and even a poetry contest for kids and also kids pomes that are positive, romantic, and easy to understand for elder and for teen ages. In addition to the work of famous poets, you will also find a number of poems unique.

If you are an internet savvy then you don’t have to go anywhere as you can get good and impressive collection of pomes through pomes site web where new pomes always get added every month and on the topic which your are looking for.

Pomes are used by everyone but mostly used by the teen ages to express their love feeling. Then what you all are waiting for just go to love pomes site web where you can put your feeling in words in front of your love ones.

Pomes always workout in ever situation and its very easy to get good collections of pomes and if you are familiar with internet then its more convenient for you to get the selective pomes on every situation without wasting your time and keeping your love one and friends to wait for your reply.

I am Free Lance writer and currently for this website http://www.poems-web.info . I have just started to write article and press releases which are related to this mentioned site. This article is prepared on the basis of reliable sources. If you find any error or mistake in this article please email us immediately at this email address annajosephs@gmail.com so that we can take immediate action.

Poems Web

Take a good look at your notebook computer screen. Do you find some tiny dark spots? You could have dead pixels. One of the most expensive parts of your notebook computer is the LCD screen.

LCD’s are highly sensitive and any amount of pressure, touching or handling may damage it. As such, dead pixels aren’t an uncommon thing. Apparently, some degree of dead pixels is to be expected. Still if you have a lot of them, it would be classified as a defective screen. So, how do you determine if you have dead pixels?

Before we go there, make sure it’s not just dust. Clean your screen first. The best way to do that is to use a soft cotton cloth - no rags or paper towel as they can scratch your screen easily. Moisten the cloth with plain old water and wipe the screen gently.

Side note: I’ve also tried maintaining my screen dust free with a Swiffer Duster. These are inexpensive, very soft and they pick up the dirt not just re-distribute it. It has worked well. Of course, this will not take care of smudges or dried on dirt. So you’ll still have to use the cotton cloth and water combo sometimes.

Once you’ve cleaned it, you can run a quick check with a free software called Dead Pixel Buddy. It’s basically a very simple file that will rotate your screen through all the basic colors. This way you can tell if a pixel on your screen is not displaying properly. One tip, you might want to get a help of a friend. Two sets of eyes are better than one especially since pixels tend to be miniscule.

You can also do a low tech way by changing your desktop’s background color to black, white, red, green blue and yellow, checking the screen each time you change the colors. This is of course not fool proof especially if you have tons of icons on your desktop but it’s a good ‘backup’ check if you don’t have Internet access to download the file or whatever the case may be.

If you do find dead pixels, don’t panic yet, as mentioned earlier, a small amount of dead pixels could be inevitable but if you have a lot of them and your notebook computer is still under warranty, this may be a good time to call up the manufacturer and ask for assistance.

Related Resources:
5 Days To A Healthier Notebook Computer
http://www.notebook-computer-infocenter.com/5days-to-a-healthier-notebook.html

Dead Pixel Buddy
http://www.laptopshowcase.co.uk/downloads.php?id=1

Lynn Chan helps new owners learn proper notebook care and use. Take care of your investment, find out how at http://www.notebook-computer-infocenter.com

My name is Jeffrey Michael Miller and I’m a Publishamerica poet with a new book out entitled ” From The Inside Out “.
This article deals with a most important subject in my view and that subject is how to be true to your art whatever that art may be. My art is poetry so I’m going to use this as my example but feel free to apply this article to any art you have a true passion for because I feel it’s universal.

I see so many people who enjoy writing being what I call crossover artists who write in many genres but have no real specialty. I see romance authors or science fiction authors also putting out poetry books claiming to be authors/poets and this to me is troubling.

I am a poet who loves poetry and concentrates only on poetry so this kind of thing when it comes to crossing over I personally find insulting. The people who do this crossing over from genre to genre in my opinion are just trying to get their names seen in as many places as possible in the hope that in one it will stick and someone will see it.

I feel they care little for whatever genre they are writing under and they only care for the press that comes from it. In the music industry you don’t see rappers/country artists so why in the literary world do we see romance/science fiction/poets?

In my opinion the crossovers have no real passion or belief in any one genre so they write in them all and to me it’s disturbing. In my belief they also lessen and take away from the accomplishments of true artists solely dedicated to one genre and one genre alone.

You never see a proctologist/brain surgeon and so you shouldn’t have the fake author/poets of the world that lessen what poets do in the art.

I study karate and I took the time to find a real street effective self defense system of genuine value that is not used for sport or pretty acrobatic shows. I have a passion for the art and I’m true to it not wanting to mix it up with other things like a bad salad. It’s already perfect in every way to me without myself or someone else mixing things in and changing it’s real and effective and valuable origin.

I guess my message to crossovers would be to stop diluting the art we care for by just dabbling in it and then calling yourself a poet because you disgrace real poets by doing that. Take a look at what happened to M.C. Hammer when he went and crossed over from dancing to thug and you’ll understand the phoney light real poets see you in.

Think about having passion and originality for once and be true to your art with emphasis on the part that says your art. Leave ours alone and stop diluting it with your novice work and overblown ego. Be true to your art people.

Once you cross and change an art it ceases to be what it was and it begins to change because of dabblers and crossovers looking for another place to post their names and it sickens me.

If you know your true and real interest is not poetry then leave it to the people who have it as a real and true interest and stick to writing romance or whatever you do because you’re not and never will be a poet.

jeffreymichaelmiller.bravehost.com

I Shall Wait..

On all the new mornings,
and every singking evening,
I wear a small crescent,
in the finest of my accent…

Those memories come up storming,
that tender touch so warming,
That lovely soothing weather,
Feeling as light as a feather,
With hands across each other,
And nothing else to bother…

With a feeliing as to fly,
in the open blue sky,
That lonely bank of the river,
and a mild wintery shiver,

With silence all around us,
and the huge Eucalyptus
The water flowing faster
with our murmur and our laughter,
Those cascading whispers,
Calm nature being a listener..

The sky appeared timid,
and the rivir far too vivid,
That firm hug under the vine,
Sent chills down my spine.

A flicker on the nose and a peck on cheeks,
and then apart for several weeks,
I miss, so much the warm affection,
Soul to soul- a pious connection,
The care in your eyes and a tickle on chin
and those caresses par satin…

It’s lonely sans you, Oh my dear!
Being far away, I feel you near
I feel your sound right within,
Like droplets sound on the terrace tin.

When the world goes dark you be light,
To cross over the fiercest night,
I shall keep waiting like the stars in space…
Till the darkness vanishes to send new phase.

I long for you, I long for you,
For morning sun, just like nights passed do,
I shall find a new way to my fate,
I shall wait and wait and wait and wait…

Shilpa Malaiya is a computer science engineer and currently pursuing her masters in Human Resources. She writes poetry and articles on a wide range of topics- Malaiya.shilpa@gmail.com

Computer Backup- Forget About It!

Backup Software is for the birds! Computer Backup is too hard, too much trouble and a pain in the butt. Let’s just forget about it.

Backup Software is touted as the savior of your computer’s critical business and personal files. They claim that all computer hard drives (where our files are stored) eventually will have a 100% failure rate. They try to tell us that the failure of our hard drives is just a matter of WHEN, not IF.

Do your backups they shout!

Poppycock!

BACKUP SOFTWARE- LET’S GET REAL

You and I know the real story. The real story is that new computers are so well made that they almost never fail, right?

Therefore, we don’t need to worry about buying backup software and setting up a computer backup system, do we? It would just be a waste time– for sure!

After all we know that all the press about hard drive failures, natural disasters and terrorist attacks is just a conspiracy by the backup software companies to get us to buy their products.

Personally I never had a hard drive failure (that I recall). If my computer stops working for whatever reason, that’s life.

Therefore, I ignore these software backup companies that try to push their backup software products on the unsuspecting public even though they make data and file restorations easy. I don’t give them the time of day.

Therefore as you see, I don’t need backup software, do you? Of course not.

BACKUP SOFTWARE- STARTING OVER WITHOUT IT IS EASY

In the unlikely event that I got a virus or a bunch of spyware on my computers I’ll just bite the bullet and move on. After all, if I lost all my data to a virus, then so what? Who needs backup software?

Heck, I’d just buy a new computer and begin again and I’d still wouldn’t need backup software because it’s just too much hassle.

If ALL my business data was lost due to a hard drive crash or virus corruption then I’d just start my business over. No big deal. It’s not that hard, right? Using backup software is just a pain.

BACKUP SOFTWARE FOOLISHNESS

So by now we’re all agreed that using backup software for computer backup is just for the foolish, right? Right.

Who would want to use backup software that automatically and easily backs up EVERYTHING on your computer hard drive to a DVD Rewriteable disk or USB external hard drive? That would mean you could easily recover from any computer disaster. That makes too much sense and is far too logical.

They claim that backup software is a virtual computer insurance policy against fire, flood, theft, earthquake, hurricanes, tornados and terrorist attacks.

Balderdash!

Ridiculous.

Hey, the businesses who survived Hurricane Katrina didn’t need backup software did they? OK, OK I admit a lot of businesses without backup software and off site backup lost EVERYTHING and now they cannot recover their data and reconstitute their business. But that’s life. Now these businesses and their employees can now move on to something new. How exciting!

Look, life without backup software is just so much more interesting.

By the way, did I tell you how much I enjoy playing Russian Roulette?

Did I neglect to mention my brief stay (it was really was only a few days) at the mental hospital? Ahh, that’s ancient history. Let’s get back to the present.

BACKUP SOFTWARE- THE PRESENT DAY

Want to hear something silly? My friend Ben down in New Orleans owned an insurance company. It made a very good living for him and his family. He didn’t believe in backup software either. All his computers were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Ben just laughed and said, “No problem, this disaster gives me the chance to write the Great American Novel that I’ve always dreamed of writing”.

What about his 10 employees and his thousands of customers he was asked? Ben said, “Heck, things always work out for the best don’t they?”

What about the income from the business that supported his family he was asked? Ben said, “Oh, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) told me they would take care of us and not to worry.”

See, Ben is all set and is none the worse for wear even though he didn’t have backup software.

BACKUP SOFTWARE LESSONS

So boys and girls what have we learned about this backup software thing?

* If we don’t have backup software, so what, it just makes life after a hard drive crash more interesting and fun.

* After a natural disaster that destroys your computers, FEMA will make it OK.

* All the hubbub about backup software is just a bunch of advertising hype to sell product.

* Just because you like to play Russian Roulette, you aren’t really crazy.

FINALLY- BACKUP SOFTWARE FOLLYIES

I know another guy, Carl Jordan, who is crazier than I am. Carl and the rest of the loonies at Tweak All Consultants (www.tweakspeed.com) actually believe backup software can save your bacon.

In my own strange way I try to be fair and balanced. Therefore
if you disagree with me check out Carl’s review of backup software at Backup Software

Now, where’s my medication? My meds really smooth me out. They also help me forget about rational things like computer backup and backup software.

Jack Back has been in the computer business since 1983 as an IT executive and working computer consultant company owner. He has helped many clients after a computer crash who had no computer backup. Hurry to get your FREE REVIEW of backup software that saves your irreplaceable computer data from loss, damage or destruction at the Backup Software website.

Wireless internet access is truly the wave of the future and depending on where you live the future could be now. Wireless “hotspots” really are popping up somewhere on a daily basis. Not that I’m complaining, because having the ability to access the internet via a wireless connection is a great convenience and allows you to “Take Your Laptop For a Walk on Wireless Side”.

On the other hand, even though there are thousands of “hotspots”, they don’t always get a whole bunch of publicity. However, if you were to do a search for “hotspots” in your town you may be pleasantly surprised. You may have thought that there weren’t any in your area but if you live in even an average-size city then it would be more of a surprise if you didn’t find a few “hotspots”.

Another alternative would, of course, to do a search for “hotspots” or “wireless hotspots”. There are a ton of websites you can go to and find “hotspots”. One “hotspot” that is generally considered to be on the most comprehensive is www.jiwire.com. You can search for local “hotspots” from the JiWire website or could simply type your zip code into Yahoo Maps and choose ‘WiFi Hotspots’ from the menu located on the right side of the screen.

Another option would be to check out the nearest Starbucks. They are literally everywhere and almost all of them offer wireless internet access in at some part of the store. Borders and Kinko’s are also pretty good bets and if all else fails… keep a watchful eye out for a local cafe or simply ask around a little bit and someone should be able to point you in the right direction.

Small Wireless ISP Fee
You may find that some of the larger hotspot networks with multiple, convenient locations require that you pay a small fee to a wireless ISP to access through them. In many instances, you can simply purchase a prepaid card at the place where the access is offered so it’s really not a big deal. However, if you want to free access your best bet would be to stick to the smaller independent locations.

Why Would a Cafe Offer Free Wireless Internet?
Actually, if you think about it, it’s really nothing more than good business. Rather than pay to access the internet in some dingy Internet cafe, you can access the Internet for free in their place of business and while there buy their food and drinks. Cafes are willing to pay the minimal cost of providing wireless Internet access in exchange for the new customers it brings into their business. Especially, in areas where Internet access is hard to come by, any other way. The same goes for hotels and airports: customers see wireless access as an added value and in many instances; they will choose a particular hotel based on this feature alone.

Actually, the real growth area in wireless “hotspots” is in the private sector. Businesses are falling all over themselves to provide free Internet access to their business customers - cafes, hotels and airports are all starting to offer wireless access to anyone who happens to be around. All you need to do is bring in your laptop with Centrino technology or a wireless PCMCIA card.

We’ve already covered a number of potential public hotspots to take your laptop and go searching for but one that hasn’t been mentioned is in reality may be one of first places to check out is your local public library. Public and university campus libraries are increasingly offering wireless access and if you’re a student there’s a good chance that your whole university campus is wireless enabled - or will be soon.

Hotspot Locator Software
Hotspot Locator Software allows you to create a database of known “hotspots” on your computer that you can search at any time, whether you are online or offline. Simple type in a zip code or the name of a city and the software will come back with the nearest “hotspots”… all sorted by distance from your location. And to make sure that your database doesn’t get out of date, each time you access the Internet the software automatically connects to its servers and checks the latest hotspot to your list and if your list if out of date it will download and update your list with the latest information.

If hotspot locator software sounds like something you’d like to take for spin, you’re in luck because it’s offered for free from many of hotspot providers’ websites. T-Mobile Hotspot is currently the largest provider and offers a free download at: http://www.tmobile.com/hotspot.

Laramie Cahill is a contributing writer to: Wifi, VoIP and Trade Show Booth. This article may be reproduced only in its entirety.