The Refresh Orlando Heirs

It seems that the Spanish translation industry is rapidly expanding, with more and more people needing professional translation services. However, some people are still reluctant to hire a Spanish translator and would rather turn to free Spanish translation engines and websites rather than pay a professional Spanish translator.

There are a ton of reasons for this, but I’d like to mention one of those here in this article, which is that people are unwilling to pay translators for their services believing that translation is not difficult and simply consists of copying the original document down in another language.

Many of these people look at all of the free Spanish translation tools that are available online and think to themselves, “Why do I need to pay a professional when I can have it done automatically for free?” Little do they realize the true cost of free Spanish translation services.

A business is always under the scrutinizing eye of the public. Everything you write, from emails that you send to customers, to quarterly financial reports, all demonstrates the pride you have in your company. If you conduct your correspondence in English, but pay no attention to grammar or the words you use, you won’t be in business much longer. The same is true for your foreign language correspondence.

Why would you for a second believe that a potential client reading your marketing material in another language would not be turned off by a sub-par, or even a ridiculous translation? However, that is exactly what you are getting by using a free Spanish translation service you would find online, such as Google’s or Altavista’s.

You will not only be costing your business future revenue, but also, if word of you trying to pass off your materials in another language by using a free Spanish translation tool gets out to your English-speaking clients, they might believe you are not serious about your business and sever their relationship with you. I don’t know about you, but that’s a pretty high price I wouldn’t be willing to pay.

So what are these free online Spanish translators good for? Well, the only thing I think they are good at is giving you a main idea of what the text is about. Let me give you a brief example.

I ran the first paragraph of an article I found in a Mexican newspaper through the free Spanish translation tool at Google’s website. Here’s the resulting English exactly as it was rendered:

The man assassinated in the bar Capon’s, turned out to be an ex- municipal police, informed the police authorities. The victim was identified with the name of Luis Antiga Hernandez, of 35 years of age.

…and here is what the English should be:

Police authorities have reported that the man assassinated in Capon’s Bar was a former municipal policeman. The victim was identified as 35-year-old Luis Antiga Hernández.

As you can tell, the first rendition will tell you more or less what the ideas in the document are, but if you have to present this text as an official document, or as a reflection of your business, you are going to definitely want to secure the services of a professional translator. If not, in the end you’ll end up paying way more than you had hoped to save.

Clint Tustison is a Spanish <--> English translator interested in helping businesses and translators better understand the translation industry. If you’re interested in how to improve your translation business or your relationship with translation companies, check out his website at http://www.spanish-translation-help.com.

Have you have found yourself lost in a software hell? You are not alone. Every magazine you pick up advertises new and improved software; your junk email, I like to call g-mail, tells you of the latest products; you see it in catalogs; and your phone rings and some vendor is pushing you to purchase their latest package. You know you need software, or newer software, and colleagues are telling you that the latest software will help your business, make you more profitable, and help your customer service experience. But how do you determine what software is good for your business?

Lab and quality managers are forced to wear several different hats when choosing software for their business. Labs that have the resource of an IT department or an employee that has some software experience get frustrated trying to sift through the software maze and give up (more often than not). They decide the only way they are going to get what they want is to build it themselves. This fix seems to be a simple solution up-front but anyone who has been through this process will tell you it is far from simple.

Classifications

Software can be classified into different functional areas. Some packages do a good job of overall functionality, but most of the “best in class” applications specialize in a few specific areas of function. General classifications of software would include bench top, management, internet, mobile, enterprise, PDA and instrument packages.

The Environment

The first evaluation that needs to be done is to review the hardware that will be used by the new system. Will it be the same hardware, new hardware, some of both? You will want to look at the oldest machine that will be used by the software and make sure it meets the specification requirements of the software. In some cases, the upgrading of the hardware can be just as expensive as the software. If the hardware being used does not meet the requirements of the software, then your first decision point has been reached: do you replace the hardware or look for different software? If the life cycle of the hardware is to expire before the life cycle of the software, then it is usually easy to determine which way to go.

The second evaluation should be your connectivity to the outside world. If the software package requires any connection to the internet you will need to understand the capabilities of your facility. Like the hardware, this too can be upgraded if required and many of the high speed cable or DSL connections are as cheap as dial-up. If your bandwidth to the internet is limited, this may hinder or stop functionality of some software products. As a general rule, each user going out to the internet will consume about 16k of bandwidth utilizing a standard browser. If the user is requesting data on a regular basis, this utilization will increase. As a general rule of thumb, divide the bandwidth by 64k to determine how many people can ‘work’ through the internet connection.

The third evaluation will be the location of work. Is all of your work done in the lab or is some done on-site? Depending upon the ratio of on site work, the ability for the software to support the on-site process may be a factor. Additionally, if work is being done on-site and the software requires an internet connection, does the facility you are working at have a connection you can use? Many companies have requirements and limitations in allowing outside users access to their system. On-site work may require the use of a laptop or other portable computer device. Make sure you understand the basic requirements of the software for performing the work onsite before purchasing or upgrading any hardware. Licensing of on-site software should also be evaluated; if the on-site license cannot be used while that technician is not on site you may be forced to purchase more licenses than you have users. Software packages that allow the license to follow the user whether on-site or in the lab can be more cost effective.

The Workflow

Before seeking a software package sit down and develop a simple work process flow chart of your facility, starting from the time you contact the customer through the time you return the equipment to the customer. Include notes about other applications being used that impact your business or any requirements that you have to export data. It is recommended once you have developed the baseline chart that staff from different areas of your business review the chart. Technicians on the bench will most certainly have a different view from the quality auditors or business managers. Get as much input as you can for the business model. This will make it easier to evaluate how your software should support your business.

Once you have developed a good work flow model then the difficult task begins analyzing each of the work processes to determine if they will fit your future business needs and how critical they are to your business model. Some software packages expect you to change your business practices to meet the needs of the software. If you are highly flexible in how you do business, this aspect of the software decision will not be too difficult. However, if your business practices are supporting other processes outside of your business model, then it is important that the software be able to adapt to support your critical processes as well as the other outside business practices.

The Platform

The next step is to determine what operating system and style platform you want to run on. Some packages can run on Windows, Unix, Linux, or Mac operating systems and do not care what data storage product you choose. Generally these packages come in one of two platforms: Browser-based or Desktop.

Asking the Right Questions

Now you have some good tools to help you evaluate each software package. If you have determined the platform and the type of application you want to use this will narrow the number of applications you need to review. Next you will need to determine what types of software you need to review.

In Summary

Do your homework and don’t be afraid to ask for some help. Remember, every product was new at one point. New software will take advantage of new technology which usually means you get more bang for the buck. Examine all the angles and trends. You want to mitigate the risk, improve your processes, create a better work place, provide better customer service, and, of course, make more money.

Brad Price is the President of One Red X Calibration Management Software, Inc. in Covington, Washington. Price has spent many years working with the Metrology industry optomizing workflow and software solutions. Brad along with the One Red X Software team have developed a product called EMX. The EMX Software is the latest, greatest software solution for Calibration Lab and Asset Management. New Improvements are constantly being made to enhance the product and by listening to our customers we are working towards the perfect solution for every lab.

arian6: “Maybe we could get together sometime and play.”
tomekee8: “Yeah that would be fun. My dad just gave me a new x-box.”"
arian6: “Maybe I could come over to your house sometime. “What games do you have?”
tomekee8: “I’ll show you”
arian6: “Okay, where do you live?”
tomekee8: “I live at…”

“Tommy, are you getting your homework done?” The voice of Tommy’s mother insistently penetrates the closed and locked bedroom door.

tomekee8: “Hold on.”

“Tommy?” The knock on the bedroom door is firm.
“Just a minute, Mom.”
“You better have that report finished! It’s 10 o’clock. What are you doing in there?”

tomekee8:”My mom’s outside. Talk to you later.”
arian6: “Okay, but don’t forget to tell me where you live, I want to come over.”
tomekee8: “Don’t worry, I’ll…”

“Tommy! It’s time to go to bed. Do you have that report finished?”
“Just a minute, Mom.”

tomekee8: “kk. Talk to tomorrow.”

Tommy exits messenger and feeds some paper into the printer. He races to the door just as the printer starts spewing out printed sheets.
“Almost have it, Mom.”
His mother enters Tommy’s room, clearly suspicious. “Is that all you’ve been doing in here?”
“Sure, Mom. What else would I be doing?”

The Secret Wilderness

It’s virtually impossible for parents to know what a child is doing online. Today, children can access the web through their own computer, the library or a friend’s computer, or even their own cell phone.

We know what the benefits to the Internet are, but we are a bit mystified by the dangers. To those of us who grew up without the Internet, we tend to be either completely naive, or in a perpetual state of overblown hysteria, seeing a pedophile behind every keystroke.

So, what are the actual cyberspace dangers to our kids, anyway?

Because of the anonymity of the Internet, anyone can assume any identity. Even though chats ask for a member profile to be filled out, there is absolutely no guarantee that the information is in any way correct, or that it has to be filled out at all.

Consequently, there is no absolute way of telling whether the person you are chatting with is who they say they are. Does this mean that that person is dangerous or has harmful intent? In nine cases out of ten, the answer is “no.”

But there are those few cases in which a pedophile is posing as someone else, and does have harmful intent. Statistics tell us that 1 out of 5 children accessing chat rooms are approached by pedophiles.

How can you possibly know what your child is doing in Cyberspace?

While most parents feel they know what their child is doing online, the truth is that only 25% of all children approached by a pedophile have actually reported it to their parents.

Children accessing pornographic sites (either deliberately or accidentally) rarely tell their parents. And, I can guarantee you, none will tell you about whom they are talking with on the messenger services unless that person becomes threatening or scary in some way.

Then there are the blogs and MySpaces, which are proving to be more and more dangerous as children post private information, pictures of their family and friends, and even their own home addresses and telephone numbers.

The Internet has become an intensely personal place, one where the child can talk to to anyone without supervision, and, in the process, give out sensitive and vital information.

If she herself is not in danger of pedophiles, she can bring YOU into the danger of identity thieves who gain access to your sensitive and vital information posted for all to view by your own child.

Knowledge and Communication are the Keys

The first thing to do, if you haven’t done it already, is to completely familiarize yourself with the Internet and what is available to your child.

A good place to start is with the Article “Child Safety on the Information SuperHighway”, http://www.safekids.com/child_safety.htm.

Once you have become an Internet Initiate (if you aren’t one already), you are ready to sit down and talk with your child about the Internet and its dangers.

Be sure to listen more than you talk, and be sure that you are calm, and not in a state of low (or high level) panic. Gently find out as much as your child will tell you about what she is doing and who she is talking with on the Internet.

Warn her about harmful websites, and ask her to tell you if she accidentally accesses something that is disturbing to her.

Don’t stop there – find out what she’s actually doing

You have to understand that your child will not tell you everything, particularly in the case of an older child, and especially a teenager.

Older children and teenagers, as we parents know, have entered the independent/invincibility realm of human maturation, where they are not going to tell their parents everything (or, perhaps, anything), and don’t feel there is any danger to themselves.

They think they can “handle” everything. It’s great to try to foster open discussions, but you are going to have to do so knowledgeably.

You are going to have to know what your child is actually doing.

What does monitoring software do?

The good news is that software packages have been created that will enable you to:

1) Monitor your child’s emails.
2) Monitor and record all websites visited.
3) Block objectionable web sites.
4) Record keystrokes, including hidden text such as passwords.
5) Monitor internet messenger services.
6) Run unobtrusively in the background.

In addition, the software will automatically email you the records of all activity on your child’s PC.

That sounds great but …

Monitoring your child’s PC — it sounds great, but it’s not a panacea.

Obviously, your child has other sources of access to the Internet than the computer at home. She can go to the library, visit a friend’s house, or even gain access to the Web by cell phone.

There is no way you can know what is going on in those instances, but you can know what is going on at home. And what is going on there is an indication of what is going on somewhere else.

There is no substitute for communication. Yes, you must regularly sit down and talk with your child about the dangers of the Internet and what she is doing, but by installing PC Monitoring software on her machine, you can do so knowledgeably. You can let your child know that you know – and you can block sites you don’t want her to access.

Perhaps one way to do it is to monitor her PC use for awhile, then tell her openly what you have done, and show her some of the websites she is accessing, and that you are going to block them.

You can also show her some of the messenger conversations she is having, and ask her if she really knows who the person is she is talking to. If she gives out any sensitive information, you can and should point that out.

She probably won’t like it

Well, as we all know, she’s not going to like it. But then again, she probably won’t like any supervision you give her. But it lets her know you are watching, that you know what she is doing – and, above all, that you care.

It will give you edge you need — and, what may be just as important…

Peace of mind.

Article Title: The $75,000 tip to keep you from drowning in
email and other tasks Author Name: Dr. Donald Schnell Contact
Email Address: Donald@spiritualjava.com Word Count: 391
Category: Personal Development, Motivation, Self Help Copyright
Date: 2003

******************************************** Publishing
Guidelines: Thank you for publishing this article in its
entirety including the resource box. When possible, please
notify me of publication by sending either a website link or a
copy of your ezine upon publication via email to
Donald@SpiritualJava.com Thank You!
********************************************

The $75,000 tip to keep you from drowning in email and other
tasks. ©2003 Dr. Donald Schnell

Are you drowning in email? Is your mind filled with anxiety over
an increasing number of tasks?

Each day that you put off accomplishing the tasks and
assignments that are yours, creates more pressure for the next
day, and the day after that.

Time management is a hot topic on the internet. The Overture
search term suggestion tool indicated as of May 2003 that over
34,000 individuals were searching the keyword phrase time
management. Experts predict that Overture is only capturing
about 2% of the total searchs. This means there is a potential
of approximately 1.5 million people daily searching for help
with time management. Mind you this is only the tip of the
iceberg. These are the individuals possibly seeking help! Many
might feel they don’t EVEN have enough time to seek assistance!

I’m going to share with you a time management strategy that is
the GRANDFATHER of time management strategies. This original
technique sold for $25,000 nearly 70 years ago to top
management. It was highly prized.

It will work for you, if you put as much energy into using it,
as you would if you just paid $25,000 for it, or closer to
$75,000 if you account for inflation.

Bethlehem Steel was willing to pay the amount in order to
increase the productivity of their company. They consulted with
Mr. Ivy Lee.

Lee’s advise?

“All you need to do, advised Mr. Lee, is take a pad of paper,
this evening, and list the most urgent projects which confront
you. Then, study the list and number them, assigning number one
to the most important job, number two to the next most vital,
and so on down the list.

Beginning tomorrow, tackle number one and stay on it until it is
finished before you move on to number two. Work on down the
list. When the day is through, prepare a new list, again
assigning top priority to the most important task still undone
and so on down the list. Do this everyday.” (University of
Success, Og Mandino, pg. 219)

Of course it is up to you to make your list every single day.
Why not try this $75,000 technique for one week. I’d love to
hear about your success. (Donald@spiritualjava.com)

Sincerely,

Donald

Ever wondered what are these tiny chips? Confused by the names?
We are here to help you.

This article is about the various memory components available in the market for mobile phones.

Memory Stick

MS Memory Stick is a removable flash memory card format, launched by Sony in October 1998, and is also used in general to describe the whole family of Memory Sticks. This family includes the Memory Stick Pro, a revision that allows greater maximum storage capacity and faster file transfer speeds, and Memory Stick Duo, a small-form-factor version of the Memory Stick.

50.0 × 21.5 × 2.8 mm

Memory Stick Duo

MS Duo

31.0 × 20.0 × 1.6 mm

The Memory Stick Duo, which is slightly smaller than the competing Secure Digital format, was developed in response to Sony’s need for a smaller flash memory card for pocket-sized digital cameras and cell phones, as well as Sony’s PSP. Memory Stick Duos are available in all the same variants as their larger cousins (normal ones limited to 128 MB, larger Pro Sticks, with and without High Speed mode, with and without MagicGate support), and a simple adapter (often sold along with the Memory Stick Duo) allows a Duo to be used in any device that can accept their larger cousins.

Memory Stick Micro M2

15.0 × 12.5 × 1.2 mm

In a joint venture with SanDisk, Sony announced a new Memory Stick format on 30 September 2005. The new Memory Stick M2 (”micro”) measures 15 × 12.5 × 1.2 mm and could theoretically have 32GB in the future. Maximum transfer speed is 160MB/s. It will come with an adaptor, much like the Duo Sticks, to ensure compatibility with current Pro devices.

Multi Media Card

MMC

32 × 24 × 1.5 mm

The MMC card or MultiMediaCard was introduced in 1997 by SanDisk Corporation and Siemens AG. At that point the MMC card was the smallest memory card, about the size of a postage stamp, in the market based on flash memory technology. The MMC card is very similar to the Secure Digital Memory Card, actually the SD Memory Card is based on the MMC card. They have almost the same form factor the only differences are that the SD Memory Cards are slightly thicker and they have a write protection switch.

Since the MMC card had slow transfer speed, 2.5 MB/sec, in comparison to other memory cards, mostly compared to SD Memory Card, a new high performance version of the MMC card was introduced in 2005 by the name MMCplus. The MMCplus has today the highest, up to 52 MB/sec, theoretical data transfer speed in the whole memory card industry.

The MultiMediaCard Association announced that by the end of 2005 the secureMMC application will be available only for the MMCplus and MMCmobile memory cards. The secureMMC is a copyright protection application that features DRM, Digital Rights Management, and VPN, Virtual Private Network, capabilities.

Reduced Size Multi Media Card

RS-MMC

16 × 24 × 1.5 mm

MMCmobile (RS-MMC)

RS-MMC, Reduced Size MultiMediaCard, was introduced in 2003 by the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) as the second form factor memory card in the MultiMediaCard family. The RS-MMC is a smaller version of the standard MMC card, approximately half in size, and was specifically designed to be used by mobile phones and other small portable devices.

Dual Voltage Reduced Size Multi Media Card

DV RS-MMC

16 × 24 × 1.5 mm

In 2005 the Dual Voltage (DV) RS-MMC was introduced. It is basically the same card like the standard RS-MMC but operates with dual voltage, 1.8V and 3.3V, leading to lower power consumption which contributes to longer lasting battery life for the host devices. The DV RS-MMC and the RS-MMC are completely compatible with each other but since some mobile phones, mostly from Nokia, only operate with 1.8V cards the regular RS-MMC will not work. We recommend to always buy the Dual Voltage RS-MMC for being sure your memory card will function with the electronic device.

MMCmicro Card

MMCmicro

12 × 14 × 1.1 mm

The MMCmicro, formerly known as S-CARD introduced by Samsung, was adopted and introduced in 2005 by the MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) as the third form factor memory card in the MultiMediaCard family. MMCmicro is the smallest, about the size of a fingernail, memory card in the MultiMediaCard family and among the smallest in the world. It was specifically designed for being used in mobile phones and other small portable devices.

The MMCmicro memory card is available with an adaptor, MMCplus. This makes it not only compatible to all MMC and MMCplus slots but also to all SD Memory Card slots. It is important to keep in mind that music stored on MultiMediaCards my not be able to play back when inserted into a SD Memory Card slot due to the copyright protection features supported by the SD slots.

Since the MMCmicro is the latest memory card to be developed and introduced to the market it is not that compatible to many mobile phones and electronic devices yet. Still it is expected to be one of the memory card formats that will dominate in the mobile phone industry among the frontrunner microSD and the under development Memory Stick Micro.

Secure Digital Card

SD

32 × 24 × 2.1 mm

The SD Memory Card or Secure Digital was introduced in 2001 by SanDisk Corporation, Matsushita (Panasonic) and Toshiba. The SD Memory Card was based on the MultiMediaCard, MMC, memory card standard and has almost the same form factor, the size of a postage stamp, the only differences are that the SD memory card is slightly thicker and has a write protection switch. Since MMC cards are thinner than SD Memory Cards they can be used in all SD Memory Card slots but not vice versa.

The SD Memory Card is today the most common used memory card. It can be found in most digital cameras, PDAs and in many other electronic devices. The SD Memory Card slots can be used for more than flash memory cards. The SDIO, Secure Digital In & Out, is the general name for the many expansion modules that can be found in the SD Memory Card’s form factor. SDIO modules can be inserted in the slot and be used for other functions like Bluetooth adapters, GPS receivers, digital cameras, TV tuners, etc

miniSD Card

miniSD

21.5 × 20 × 1.4 mm

The miniSD was introduced in 2003 by SanDisk Corporation in cooperation with Matsushita (Panasonic) and Toshiba. Later in that year the miniSD format was adapted by the SD Card Association as the second form factor memory card in the Secure Digital family. MiniSD is a smaller version of the SD memory Card format, about 60% smaller in volume, and offers the same benefits as the SD Memory Card expect of the writing protection switch.

MiniSD was designed specifically to be used in small portable electronic devices like digital cameras and mobile phones. But since all miniSD memory cards always come with a SD Memory Card adaptor, they are compatible to all SD Memory Card slots and thereby provide compatibility with the rapidly growing number of SD Memory Card compatible devices in the market.

MiniSD was the second, after SD Memory Card, memory card to be adapted by the SD Card Association, which today consists of three members. In 2005 the microSD was introduced as the third, and smallest, member of the Secure Digital family.

microSD Card also known as Transflash

µSD

11 × 15 × 1 mm

rashFlash, formerly known as T-Flash, was introduced by SanDisk Corporation in 2004 as the world’s smallest memory card, approximately the size of a fingernail. TransFlash was specifically designed for being used in mobile phones. Motorola was the first mobile phone manufacturer to adapt the TransFlash memory card standard.

In the 3rd quarter of 2005 TransFlash was adapted by the SD Card Association as the third form factor memory card in the Secure Digital family, after SD Memory Card and miniSD. After the adoption, TransFlash changed name to microSD. The microSD has exactly the same dimensions and specifications as the TransFlash and therefore both memory cards are completely compatible to each other.

Today the microSD is the most common used memory card in mobile phones and the SD Card Association’s objective is to make microSD a de facto memory card standard for all mobile phones. All TransFlash and microSD cards always come with a SD Memory Card adaptor, which makes them compatible to all SD Memory Card slots. The microSD is about 10% in size compared to SD Memory Card and about 30% compared to miniSD.

xD-Picture Card

xD

20 × 25 × 1.7 mm

The xD-Picture Card was introduced in 2002 by Fuji Film and Olympus as a replacement to the older SmartMedia Card. It is produced exclusively by Toshiba and can be found branded only under the name of Fuji Film and Olympus.

The xD-Picture Card format was developed to be used in digital cameras and is more or less only used in Fuji Film and Olympus digital cameras. Like SmartMedia Card, the xD-Picture Card does not incorporate a controller chip which allows it to have a small form factor but at the same time making it dependable to the host device’s controller chip.

Varun Krishnan is a mobile phone/web enthusiast. He is a web developer and SEO consultant. He’s currently heading http://www.FoneArena.com.

If I could give you a tool or resource that would change your life in positive ways, change your results, create more happiness in your life and help you get better at anything you desired . . . And if I could promise you that this tool would cost you nothing, require only yourself and could be used at any time . . .

Would you be interested?

I’ll bet you would.

Now at the risk of sounding a little bit like a carnival barker or used car salesperson what I just told you isn’t hype – there is such a tool. And you already possess it.

The tool is reflection.

I’m sure that you know people that have been on a job for 10 years and have continued to get better and better at their work and you probably also know people who have been on a job for ten years, but it is like they have one year of experience, ten times.

In other words, they never really reflected on their work and results and so nothing seems to get better. They don’t seem to learn from their past experiences.

Which of these people would you hire? Which of these people do you want on your team?

But I’m Too Busy

The number one reason I hear for people not reflecting is that they are too busy. They are too busy moving from task to task, from project to project, and event to event. When they recount this challenge to me they end by asking, “When would I have time to reflect?”

Our lives are much different than were the lives our grandparents. 75 or 100 years ago in the evening people would gather around a table or sit on the front porch and sip iced tea and visit about their day. What they were doing was relaxing and, while not in a very structured way, they were reflecting on their day.

We all know that this type of reflection works because as one of the things we ask our children when they come home from school is “How was your day?”

We say we are too busy – that the reason we don’t reflect is that we don’t have porch time. Somehow we do find television time – and while there is nothing wrong with television - it doesn’t allow us the space, time or opportunity to reflect as we sit watching it.

Other Reasons

Time is typically our excuse, but it isn’t the only reason we don’t reflect. We also don’t reflect because:

We don’t think about it.

We don’t realize the importance of it.

We don’t value it.

We don’t think we know how to do it.

Hopefully reading this helps you get past the first reasons. Let me deal now with the last one – the issue of skill.

Examples

We all know how to reflect, consider . . .

Sitting around a table with friends playing a card game. In between hands, people are talking about what they could have done, should’ve done, might’ve done – all of this conversation is simple reflection. And while some people playing the game don’t like to “overanalyze it,” spending that time in conversation about what just happened will make us better card players in the future.

Or for those in a different generation, the reflection is the time they take between two rounds in a video game as they quickly think about what happened and how they do it differently the next time.

Golfers quickly analyze their swing as they watch the trajectory of their shots, thinking about what worked and what they might adjust.

And we do it at work, thinking about how the meeting or presentation went as we leave and move to the next item on our calendar.

So we know how, and we even do it sometimes, but how can we use this skill more successfully more often?

How to Reflect More Effectively

Make time. Reflection is about having time. We all have the time, regardless of how busy are schedules are. Reflect in the shower. Reflect on the drive to work (turn off your radio or your iPod and think). Reflect in the moments before you go to sleep. Reflect with your family as you eat a meal. Turn off the television. There is time – we just have to carve it out.

Ask questions. Reflection is about thinking and questions help our brains think. Consider using his list of questions as your “starter set” of reflective questions – the questions to help you think about what happened and what you can learn.

What worked? Why?

What didn’t work? Why?

What does this situation remind you of?

How can I use this experience?

How does this experience relate to other situations I’ve been in? What can I learn for that situation?

Knowing what I know now, what would I do differently next time?

Think more broadly. Don’t just apply your thinking to how you would do this exact same task or respond in this exact same situation the next time. Our lives are too complex for that! Think about what you can take from this experience and apply to other related or perhaps even unrelated situations. Look for generalizations, patterns, tendencies and underlying principles. When we think more broadly we make our reflection time infinitely more beneficial to our lives.

This is some of my reflection on reflection. As we practice this skill we will get better at it and our results will begin to improve dramatically. Make the time. Ask the questions. And by all means apply what you learned. When you do this, you will make your life experiences your most precious source of learning, and your most fertile ground for your own success.

Kevin is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on Unleashing Your Potential go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

Have you read or heard about the controversy surrounding the story as to whether Jesus and Mary Magdalene were partners or actually married? There are several books that elude to this matter, including the latest best seller, The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.  Let’s suppose for a moment this were actually true.  Jesus was in human form after all and he embodied the principles of Divine Love or in other words he was a being of love.   So, how would a being of love make physical love?   If love’s eternal nature is to keep giving of itself, then would it be safe to say that a Divine being would GIVE love through the sensations of the body’s pure sexuality when making physical love?

What is the body’s pure sexuality?  In essence, the body is a universe unto itself.  Every internal and external organ works in harmony with each other to assure the survival of the system.   The intelligence which governs the body happens naturally, and does not require you to think.  For example:  Do you have to tell your heart to beat?  Of course not.  Pure Sexuality is the innocent knowledge of love in the body.  The magnetic power of pure sexuality attracts the Divine in another in order to give every quality of Love. This knowledge or intelligence directs the whole body during the making of love through the body’s sensations.

This is also referred to as making love with the Divine in you and in your partner.  This is how a spiritual being of love makes physical love.  When two partners join with the conscious intent to make Divine physical love, there is no thinking necessary and the love between the partners is then amplified as their vibrations are raised.

How does our thinking get in the way when making love?   Thoughts get in the way when certain demands or expectations are placed on the encounter, instead of each partner being in the moment experiencing the beautiful sensations which occur naturally.  Thoughts also get in the way when allowed to go to other places, persons or events from the past or to future imaginings during the love making.  When this occurs, we lose the connection to the pure sexuality of the body or the Divine.

Everyone has experienced Divine love making at some time or another.  These are the sensational moments when we come together without thought involved.  We experience the great passion and connection with our partner through the sensations of the bodies.  When the love making ends, we produce the vibration of well being and serenity that is recognizable in the presence of others.  We remember these times fondly and may long to repeat them, but they cannot be recreated by thinking about them.

You can not make Divine physical love by wanting to recreate the past because your thoughts are in the way.  Making Divine Physical love requires you to be the love that you are in the moment and to give from that place with no expectations or demands.   If Jesus and Mary made physical love, we believe this is how they would have practiced. 

What do you suppose would happen if more people practiced making love this way?  Practicing Divine love making can heal and restore an existing relationship or build a powerful foundation in a new relationship. This may be what is needed to end the disharmony, pain and unhappiness that so many suffer from today.

Man and woman have forgotten how to naturally engage the body’s pure sexuality in order to make Divine physical love. This ancient knowledge has been buried under the piles of self absorption and self justification that humanity has been practicing for thousands of years. Giving up these behaviors is the key to freedom and the greatest challenge to realizing the way to Divine love.

When pure sexuality is present, the making of love between man and woman releases energies that are stored in the bodies creating a space for LOVE to expand which increases the vibratory rates of each person.  Making love then becomes an opportunity to grow the knowledge of love and restore harmony.  This occurs through the release of the finer energies that are exchanged through the organs of love during the making of love.   This is really a great miracle and women can especially benefit from these releases, as they tend to store more emotion in their bodies than men do.  This also can be transformational and restore man and woman to their true nature or the being the love that they are.

Practicing Divine love making is as natural as breathing once we get our thoughts out of the way.  The effort lies in the great undoing that must occur to allow the Authority of love to command our lives.  We can return to this beautiful state of being by practicing honest communication and making our intentions with our partners pure.   The Authority of Love is ever present and available to us every moment.  When we consciously choose to align with this presence, we begin to experience more Divine love in our lives.   Is there anyone on earth that would not benefit from having more love in their life? 

Those who choose to consciously practice Divine love making can experience a   transformation that benefits all their relationships through the realization of something greater than themselves.  This is the awesome power of the Authority of Love that lives within each of us.  

Judy and Steven share the powerful knowledge of Divine love and Divine love making with the teachings of JustLove and Just Communication, which they created to assist man and woman to awaken to the authority of love once again.  You can learn more about these teachings at http://www.justlovenow.com

JVC developed and used a high-performance reflective film to produce this revolutionary three layer structure. The outer Blu-ray layer can be read by the blue light laser but it is transparent for the red light laser which therefore has access to the inner dual DVD layer.

The JVC disc sums 33.5 GB in total storage capacity of which: 8.5 GB are allocated to the standard video content; 25 GB hold high definition content.

JVC unveiled its intentions to promote its disc to the Blu-ray Disc Association, in the spring of 2005. Mass production will begin when BD-ROM players are available, early 2006. The combo disc will be available for a 30% higher price than standard DVDs.

The idea is to ease the transition among standard DVD and high definition discs. All big players on the DVD market, including JVC, expect SD and HD DVD to cohabit for a while.

At the beginning of this month, Toshiba and Memory-Tech were announcing their dual-layer DVD/HD DVD disk able to store both DVD and HD DVD content. The DVD layer had a 4.7 GB capacity, satisfying specification of current DVD discs, while the HD DVD layer could store 15 GB capacity.

At least with storing capacity, until now, JVC (Japan Victor Corporation) is the market leader. The company is currently working on a Blu-ray/ DVD combo ROM disc with even more storage capacity. This later disc will feature 50 GB of high definition data (BD format), stored on a dual layer and 8.5 GB of DVD dual layer structure.

Iulia Pascanu writes for http://www.dvdrecorders.ws where you can find more information about DVD recorders.

Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared: mailto:iuliap@gmail.com

Please read the article and leave a comment with your thoughts or experiences.

The mobile phone matrix scam has fast become one of the largest growing scams on the internet at the moment and is abundant on many of the internet auction sites, these mobile phone scams offer mobiles for as little as £20. This sounds very enticing and people readily sign up, however the majority of the members never actually see the promised goods.

How do they work?

The definition given by trading standards (of a matrix scheme) in their report into current scams sums it up very nicely :

Consumers who buy the product become members of a waiting list to receive their chosen ‘free gift’. The matrix works by sending the person at the top of the list their ‘free gift’ only after a prescribed number of new recruits has signed up – the prescribed number varies according to the choice of ‘free gift’ but can be as great as 100. Once the ‘free gift’ has been sent, the remaining members each move up one place on the waiting list. The person who has moved to the top then has to wait until the prescribed number of new recruits has signed up again in order to receive their ‘free gift’. Although it is not compulsory for members to sign up new recruits, they are encouraged to do so in order to move themselves up the waiting list faster. This has led to some members placing misleading adverts on internet auction sites offering the ‘opportunity to buy a mobile phone for £20′, in order to seek new recruits.

So basically the early members are paid out only when sufficient new members have joined under them, the maths behind this are absolutely staggering. I have used a simple example of a scheme that operates on a ten tier matrix with an entry price of £20 and a gadget price of £150.

Member #1 pays: they are, “the member to get the mobile phone ”

Member #2 pays: Scammers Fund is £40.

Member #3 pays: Scammers Fund is £60.

Member #4 pays: Scammers Fund is £80.

Member #5 pays: Scammers Fund is £100.

Member #6 pays: Scammers Fund is £120.

Member #7 pays: Scammers Fund is £140.

Member #8 pays: Scammers Fund is £160.

Member #9 pays: Scammers Fund is £180.

Member #10 pays: Scammers Fund is £200.

Once the member count reaches 10 member #1 ‘cycles’ and receives their gift, so the mobile phone matrix website makes £50 (£200 scammers fund - £150 cost of gadget). Member #2 then moves into prime position and the process starts over again. When member #2 ‘cycles’, the website will make another £50 and another 10 members will have had to have joined.

Using that example, the figures seem quite good, however the majority of these mobile phone scam sites offer mobiles worth £300-£600 and as such they need to increase the tiers (or the entry price) so as to cover thier costs and make money. If they operated a 100 tier scheme then the 100th member would need another 1000 to have joined before they see their gadget! Some sites have been found to be operating 1000 or 10000 tier systems!

Here today, gone tomorrow!

The mobile phone matrix scheme, like all pyramid selling schemes, eventually gets to a point where it is unable to attract sufficient numbers of new members. It then collapses and those still waiting for their gadget are left holding the can as they cannot move forward without new members. What tends to happen now is that the people held in the tiers of the matrix try to promote the scheme further through the use of websites, forums and the auction sites and this further compounds the problem and just lines the scammers pockets further.

Remember, these mobile phone matrix sites only make their main money in the beginning as people join, once this starts to dry up the scammers move onto other things leaving the lists to collapse. Also it is key to remember that most of these scammers never actually send the goods even if you get to ‘cycle’ and the majority of names and claims made by the sites are all fake.

Final thoughts

Please remember that these mobile phone matrix schemes are ILLEGAL, if you see one on a site or an auction site then please report it to trading standards (for singular websites) and also report it to the auction sites (most have rules regarding these sites).

The simple way not to get taken for a ride is not to get involved in the mobile phone matrix’s in the first place.

I will sum it up in one statement when dealing with mobile phone matrix schemes :

If the deal sounds to good to be true, THEN IT IS

Just a little update…

Paypal now state in their terms and conditions:

“You may not use PayPal to send or receive payments for any form of multi-level marketing programs (including online payment randomizers), as well as matrix, pyramid and Ponzi schemes, “get rich quick” scheme, or other similar ventures.”

AND

The Uk Office of Fair Trading (OFT) recently included Matrix Schemes in a list of top ten scams as part of “Scams Awareness Month”.

This gives you an indication of the scams widescale reach, please please avoid them all.

Article written by Mike webmaster at Must Have Mobile Phones and can be reproduced freely provided that the article is not changed and author details are included.

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What is The Concept Behind CSS?

The concept behind CSS (a.k.a. cascading style sheets or style
sheets) is really simple. CSS allows you to make changes to all
of the web pages that link to the CSS file at once by changing a
style in the style sheet, instead of having to manually change
every style in every HTML file.

CSS allows you to create a single document of code, similar to
an HTML file, that lets you specify the colors, fonts,
backgrounds, etc. of a web page. The CSS file is then linked to
from the web page(s) that you want to have the same styles that
you specify.

If CSS did this and only this, they would save you a lot of
time to say the least, especially if you have a large or
multiple web sites. This alone is worth learning CSS, however,
style sheets allow you to do this and much more.

CSS also allows you to:

*position text and graphics precisely where you want to

*add rollover effects to links

*control the spacing between letters, lines, margins, web page
borders

*specify the units such as centimeters, pixels, points and more

*hide content from certain web browsers in certain situations.
An example of this is when you have some content that you want
to appear only in your web pages, but not in print.

In the end, CSS can save you a lot of time and effort and is
very easy to learn.