The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Rainy days can be so boring for a child…and just as hard on moms. So we give some ideas to brighten your day and chase their rainy day blues away!

Shadow puppets

In a room that is fairly dark set up a flash light so it is facing a wall. Have the children make hand shadows…If they get really good at them they could even put on a little play.

My box home

As a little girl some of my best times were spent making Barbie homes out of medium card board boxes. Paints, markers, crayons, fabric scraps, glue, and so on were used to fashion wall paper curtains and the like. The ideas and possibilities are endless!

Little boys can make garages for there cars as well.

Magazine Story

Take ten pieces of paper. Staple them together. Have you child go threw a magazine and pick out 10 pictures to cut out. Tell him/her to paste one on each page. Now what ever order they are in the must right a story, the story should have some thing to do with the pictures on each page. This can be a real challenge but is endless fun and giggles.

Puzzles

Have you child search for a few pictures they like in an old magazine. Paste these pictures onto heavy cardboard. With a paint brush, brush on a coat of clear drying glue such as Elmer’s glue. Let them completely dry. Once they are dry cut them up into different shaped pieces. Now you have a puzzle for this rainy day and rainy days to come! Store in zip lock bags.

Bean Bag Pals

You will need a 10×10 square of felt, thread, needle, a parent to sew, beans or rice, tacky glue and scraps of different color felts to decorate with. Mom or Dad should sew the squares together all the way around, all but about 2 inches. Turn the square inside right. Fill with the beans or rice and sew closed. It can be decorated with the scarps of felt to make animals. Googly eyes are fun to add as well but are not recommended for children under four.

A Gift of Comfort.

Not long ago when I was in the hospital having my son, I was given a special heat pack for my back. It was very simple and would be a great project for children to help with. My suggestion is have your child make about 30 and donate then to a labor and delivery floor.

Rice Sock Heat Packs

You will need white men’s tube socks ones that have no preformed heal medium is a good size.

You will need uncooked white rice (not minute)

You will need ribbon any color or colors you like.

Gift tags that tie on.

Fill each sock two inches from the top.

Tie a length of ribbon tightly in a knot attach the gift card and then make a bow.

On the gift tag write the instructions for use (you could make gift tags on your computer and print them all out) Microwave on high for 2 minutes or until it reaches the desired warmth. Enjoy!

These work great, stay warm for a long time. If your child makes them to give away it is an added bonus of pride!

Dress Up

My children have a tote full of dress up clothing. I did it inexpensively threw yard sales, Dollar Stores, Halloween clearances and Good Will. I pick up things such as jewelry, hats, sun glasses, badges, fancy dresses, costumes and other articles of interest. Many times I save new things to add on a rainy day or another day they have nothing to do. It generates new interest and hours of play. One reader even mentioned the idea of theme boxes. Such as a fairy box if that was what your little girl was into or a princess or a firemen ect. I think that is a good idea for but also I believe a good mix of things inspires imagination and creativity.

Driving Mat

A huge poster board or cardboard is great to let your little one paint roads on for his cars In fact I bought my sons a light colors rug remnant (it was cheap) about 4×5 .It can be any size you like. My sons used fabric paints on the rug. They painted lakes, roads, airports trees and so on. If you decided to do the poster board you can use crayons or markers as well. They had a really great time making this one rainy day and still enjoy it to this day. When they are done they just roll it up and put it away. Card board milk cartons can be saved and painted to make little decorative houses and stores as well as stores to place on their car mat. Be sure to wash them well, dry them and staple them closed.

© 2003-2004

Jennifer & Gregory Gove

About The Author

Jennifer is the owner of simply moms.com. She is a full time stay at home mother living on the coast of Maine.To see more articles, parenting community, chat, baby name finder and more. Visit her site at http://www.simplymoms.com

admin@simplymoms.com

A lot of classified ads promote quick and easy weight-loss products and programs. They cannot deliver what they promise. Another hot area in the classifieds Ads are “business opportunities.” Work at home schemes, such as making arts and crafts or stuffing envelopes, have been replaced by offers to “use your home PC to make fast money in your spare time.” Other ads encourage customers to invest in communications technologies, such as telephone 900″ numbers and telephone services, with promises of low-risk and high returns and The attraction of “900″ number pay per call services is that high profit can be made of 25% or more from the fees of $3 to$5 per minute charged to callers by the 900 service providers. The company’s promises on these investments are likely not to be true.

Disguised advertising:

“Disguised advertising,” may be hard to recognize. Bulletin boards and chat forums may include areas where comments about the quality or performance of products or services may be disguised ads.

The Internet and online services provide bulletin boards where interested parties can exchange information in general topic areas. Individuals contributing to the bulletin board may have financial ties to companies or businesses that sell those products or services related to the bulletin board subject area. This may not be clear to the online user. What may seem to be an open discussion could be disguised sales pitches. Since the identities or affiliations of online bulletin board operators and participants may not be known, it could be hard to detect disguised advertising.

Some commercial online services also provide chat rooms or chat forums. Service subscribers can enter the rooms or forums for an online conversation by typing what they want to say. These forums provide discussions on a variety of subjects, including products and services. Some companies have used these chat forums to promote their products without claiming their interests.

Tip-offs to fraud:

Read online ads and conversations with a healthy dose of skepticism. The same things that tip you off to some scams and frauds in print and on television also appear in cyberspace.

Here are some signs of questionable online advertising:

Hyped up claims of product effectiveness. Use of the word “hot”
to describe an investment opportunity can indicate a scam.

Claims of potential high earnings or profit.

Claims of “Inside” information.

Company makes promises of cheap stocks making high returns

Exotic investments promotions such as ostrich farming, gold
mining, or wireless cable TV.

When you make any decisions about products or investments, be careful. Check references and a variety of sources and before you buy.

For more Profitable Advertising Results
Visit: http://www.RichLackey.com

My name is Lance Groom and I am formally from the Hit TV Show “Making Money”, also past board member for “Susan Powter” health fitness, and Infomercial guru. In 2001 I led one of the largest advertising campaigns in over 6,000 newspapers. This campaign resulted in over 25,000 sales all over the world creating “Classified Millions”.

Heard about the Quark “killer”?

Adobe InDesign CS2. Will it really “kill” Quark? Adobe has been saying “it will” for the last six years or so, but it hasn’t happened. Adobe Pagemaker didn’t kill Quark, either, but was instead replaced by InDesign. And InDesign is also at a distant second place so far.

Let’s start by saying that it would be a good idea to wait for any new purchases or “conversions” until the upcoming release of the next version of Quark Xpress.

Some of the features that Quark has unveiled (Job Jackets for example, for workflow streamlining and increased productivity) as part of their new version, in our view are very compelling and offer more value than InDesign.

Other features are necessary updates that fulfill current needs and put it on par with available technologies currently provided by other programs (i.e. transparency support, Open Type font support, etc, so InDesign and Quark have standard common features). There are plenty of reviews out there detailing all the new features of Quark and we encourage you to read them, you will find the new Quark a very useful ally in your road to productivity.

***

Adobe: positioning a product at any cost

Recently Adobe acquired Macromedia, because Adobe couldn’t compete with Macromedia’s web software, another area where Adobe is weak.
In our view and that of many people we interviewed, that was the only way Adobe could obtain a leading position in the web design arena: by buying out their competition. The lead Adobe has with Photoshop, doesn’t translate to a lead in other fields.

For the last few years, Adobe has been trying to position InDesign against Quark as the leader in the publishing area without success.

***

Bundling InDesign: the key strategy of Adobe to gain market share

The strategy used by Adobe is very similar to some of the strategies Microsoft has used in the past to eliminate their competition.

It’s a well-known fact (painstakingly proven by Microsoft) that among other things you can do to gain market share, you can kill your competition by giving your product for free (or way below the real cost of the product) and forcing people to acquire it through bundling or embedding it with other necessary software that people MUST buy anyway.

Which is one of the reasons why Microsoft has been sued in every country they have sold software. They have engaged always in proven, documented unfair and illegal competition practices; and their “product bundling” practices force consumers to use products that they would have never looked at otherwise. Adobe is doing the same.

Of course, Adobe can say that InDesign sold alone has a street price. But, like everybody else in the field of graphic design, you MUST buy Photoshop, and very likely, Illustrator or/and Acrobat. If you compare the price you must pay for these applications, it becomes cheaper to buy the full Creative Suite. And you get for the same price, InDesign, GoLive, ImageReady, and other things that come bundled in for free.

So the situation is that people are getting InDesign as part of a bundle. In other words, for free. See the price comparison we included to verify this. And don’t forget that the upgrade versions are even cheaper (usually 50% off or more)!.

For reference, just check out the prices: Creative Suite 2 full (includes Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2, InDesign CS2, Adobe Bridge, GoLive CS2, Acrobat 7.0 professional, Version Cue CS2, and more. Only for $1119.12, the highest price I found, at:
www.provantage.com. There are other, much lower prices out there for the full version or the upgrades.

***

Compare with purchasing the individual products: the full cost of the retail versions is:

Adobe Acrobat 1 user: $383.73
Adobe Golive $386.15
Adobe Illustrator $480.67
Adobe InDesign $676.79
Adobe Photoshop $548.51 (only Photoshop + Illustrator are $1030 at these prices)
The value of the retail products is $2475.85. so, InDesign is absolutely FREE.

***

Compare with Quark 6.5 that retails at $707. Upgrades are priced lower. See for reference: www.atomicpark.com

So, after verifying that in fact we are getting InDesign for “free” and assuming that Quark was successfully muscled out of the market, for how long do you think that InDesign would remain “free”? not long. It would be unbundled right away, and sold separately. Think of programs such as Premiere, etc.

In this market, eliminating your competition means also eliminating the reasons to innovate. Historically, competition proves beneficial to the end user, assuming that it is done with fairness, focusing in product quality to win the user, instead of resorting to a marketing, sales and business strategy to trick the user into “converting”.

***
Cost is a part of the equation

Think about it: entities such as universities need to cut costs, and they teach students the software that they will use in their future jobs, so getting the software for free is a HUGE incentive to switch.
We have read about some people saying in their advertising-paid columns that several universities (which ones, exactly?) are saying that they will soon switch to InDesign (when will they switch, exactly?). That sounds kinda cheesy given the fact that you need to know Quark to get a job nowadays, anywhere. The reason being manifested is mainly economic, without any practical reasons actually mentioned to justify such a decision. However, that choice will likely mark the future of many designers out there who will likely find themselves subject to having to take additional training courses to learn BOTH programs. Not funny at all.

There is nothing like a “free lunch”. So how much does it really cost to “switch”?

***
Training time: Quark 12 hrs vs. InDesign 50+ hours to migrate, 3-6 months learning curve.

In our experience of several years providing training and private/group coaching to hundreds of students in the use of Adobe / Quark software, the average training time required to learn InDesign up to an advanced level, is usually about 32 hours, and involves a much longer training curve to become an expert user (usually 50+ hours) if you don’t have any previous experience with Adobe products, particularly if you need to use the integration features of the Adobe Creative suite (Adobe Bridge, etc.), learn to use third party plugins, styles, compatible features from other Adobe programs, etc.

***
Mastering the program takes at least 3-6 months of use, after receiving full training.

Most people who take InDesign seriously enough to migrate, will spend a lot of time in re-training (see above) and many more months of researching and re-learning things (the dreaded “learning curve”) will be spent outside of the training room, figuring out how to do things that they already knew how to do well with Quark. That’s some very expensive “converting”. Did you know that it was going to be that long? All that lost time is lost productivity, and therefore lost money (and lost nights), too.

Of course some users will tell you that they already know InDesign and it was easy to learn. You bet they were old Adobe Suite users already. Unless they are seasoned pros, with 10+ years in the field, knowing every nook and cranny of most graphic design programs, particularly Adobe programs, it is VERY unlikely it was a short time learning InDesign. But if they are truly novice users, ask them how long it really took them to master (if they do) InDesign. You’ll be surprised at the answers. Most people use barely 20-25% of the program, because learning the whole thing is overwhelming in practice.

Compare this with Quark training, where in barely 8 hours or less you can be working with most program options. Quark advanced level is achieved in 16 hours, and expert level in 24 hours. AND you don’t need experience with other Adobe programs.
In our experience, mastery of the program is at your fingertips, since mostly everything you need to do is rather easy to achieve in Quark and there are myriads of tutorials on the Internet documenting every imaginable Quark trick.

In other words, training in InDesign takes 2 - 3 times more than learning Quark. And the learning curve is much higher than Quark, since you need to learn to “integrate” InDesign with other applications that you may or may not know. The novice user will have the hardest time, since he will be expected to learn not only one but at least other 2 or 3 programs (Photoshop and Illustrator, and lately, Acrobat) in order to be able to use InDesign to its fullest potential.

Which is one of the most overwhelming reasons we have seen always for people choosing Quark over InDesign over the years: A kid can use Quark. It’s easy.
In fact, many parts of the interface used by InDesign, are very similar to the one developed by Quark. Adobe decided to do things the way Quark was doing things in order to improve their program.

Why? Adobe had to design something that could be easily related to Quark, in order to facilitate the transition from Quark to InDesign, since PageMaker failed to convert people to Adobe’s way of doing layouts, as it was a lower-end, very expensive and limited program that couldn’t remotely compete with a high-end program such as Quark. For these and other reasons, Pagemaker always played second to the Quark powerhouse, even to programs such as MS Publisher, which are cheaper and more powerful.

***

Training Costs:

Let’s think now about the training costs involved in switching all your designers to the new software. Training costs for 2 people only are more expensive than buying the full Creative Suite 2.
That is, from $349 - $800 in average per person, for the 8-hr, 1 day seminar only. Usually 3 days are required, or $2400+ (group) - $5400 (individual), for up to 6 people. In some cases, it can be higher depending on other factors.

These are corporate training prices, according to the prices of several schools in New York that provide this training and don’t include advanced or expert training costs, nor do they include the costs of learning additional Adobe programs, or the integration features. So the real cost of learning InDesign is much higher than Quark.
Quark, average training price on the streets: $199.

***

Hardware costs:

Now include the cost of buying new computers (since you will need to get a new computer to run InDesign due to the sluggish performance that the new Creative Suite 2 has unless you have a 3 GHZ+ CPU Pentium IV or a MAC G5 with 1 - 2GB RAM or more computer). If you have a 2GHZ and 512mb ram, forget it, your computer is not good enough for the creative suite 2. And don’t even think about installing it on your laptop and run several applications at the same time, or you will be waiting for a very long time to do anything.

Because let’s face it, older computers (let’s say 1 year old) will choke and kill your productivity trying to run the new Creative Suite 2, and waiting for anything to load, and run. You need a new computer to run the software, period. And if someone tries to say otherwise, try to run Photoshop, Illustrator and Indesign plus Adobe Bridge at the same time in your laptop, to take full advantage of the “integrated” features of Creative Suite 2. Have fun waiting while your competition is selling to your clients. A new MAC computer with the necessary specs will cost you in average $2000, not including the price of the warranty for your new computer.

So, after totaling the cost of installing and getting your people and equipment up to speed in the migration to InDesign, you will have spent in average about $5000 or more per user, including the licensing and the necessary hardware, etc. This is far, far more expensive than just upgrading to the next version of Quark. If you are a medium-sized company, it’s going to be, let’s say a hundred thousand dollars in training, learning curve, lost productivity expenses, new equipment, and software licenses. If you are a large corporation, your cost is in the millions. Yay!

Did you think about that one yet?

***

Is there truly a reason to switch?

Overall, compelling arguments to choose InDesign over Quark are difficult to find, even among those who have already made the jump. We will see what the new version of Quark brings.

Adobe still has to deal with the WHOLE industry being trained in Quark. It would seem obvious that Quark is wisening up, improving their customer support, asking users what they need, analyzing and creating tools to improve production flow, and thinking ahead in order to bring enhanced, truly compelling productivity features, and this is a good thing for users.

It remains to be seen if people are going to dump their existing life-time expertise, spend their money in new training and invest in new hardware and software to make Adobe feel satisfied about their sales and stock profits.

***

In our view, simplicity wins always.

Adobe wants design professionals to adopt a far more complex, harder to learn, more expensive to run and more difficult to handle program (InDesign) over a simpler, easier to use, and much more intuitive program: Quark. That makes no sense.

We think that INSECURITY is not really a reason to switch. Which is the desired result of the marketing strategy of “the whole industry is moving to InDesign, what are you doing?” that Adobe has been running for several years. Why would you switch otherwise, particularly considering that the upcoming version of Quark is far more powerful and productivity-enhancing than InDesign? We think Quark is living up to their promises and will deliver a superior product. We shall see if they manage to do what they have promised.

Right now, don’t buy anything unless you have a very specific and particular need that ONLY InDesign could possibly satisfy, and that will not be provided in an upcoming version of Quark. What might that be?

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box in your e-zine, newsletter, offline publication or website. A copy would be appreciated at articles@ptedu.com and articles@valorcrossmedia.com

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— copyright S. Steele and G. Arlov —

By S. Steele and Galina Arlov

S. Steele is a Multimedia and IT expert with more than 15 years of experience in the field, CEO of a multinational Marketing & web company and he is also a design teacher at a prestigious design school in NYC specialized in providing services to Fortune 500 companies. http://www.ptedu.com

Galina Arlov is an E-Business Professional with a wide range of experience in SEO, Internet Marketing, Web Optimization. She is the creator and founder of Valor Cross Media, http://www.valorcrossmedia.com a Web Site Services, E-Marketing and Online Advertising company based in New York City on the Upper East Side.

Ideas and suggestions for unique holiday gifts for women: How to
shop for mothers, daughters, and wives on birthdays, Mothers’
Day, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and anniversaries.

We love our holidays - Christmas, Valentine’s Day,
Just-Because-You-Love-Us day. Ok, so I made the last one up, but
just to make it clear women love the gift giving and receiving
holidays. Here’s a guide on ideas of what to give every kind of
woman on your list, from your intellectual wife to your
domestic/Martha Stewert-esque mother-in-law to your picky/trendy
daughter.

The Wife

There are so many different types of wives. But, it all comes
down to this. She’s a woman. She usually loves things that are
given from the heart. Whether it’s to wear on her wrist or a
token of your love that she will keep near her at all times. Go
for something that looks like it has taken some thought. Find
her vice. Does she love jewelry?Pearls, Emeralds, Gold? How
about going that extra mile and having that gold/emerald ring
engraved with a simple “I love you?”

Is she a book lover? Get her the newest book on the New York
Times Best Seller list. Is the author having a book signing at
your local Border’s? Have them sign it for that extra touch.

Does she like sexy things, such as lingerie, dreamy lotions and
perfumes from Paris? I can’t think of any woman that doesn’t.

How about a trip to any destination (it’s good for you too)?
Tour the unknown streets, try new restaurants and explore the
new town together. Just remember to be creative for the most
important woman in your life.

The Mother

Whether it’s your mother-in-law or mother, this woman is one of
the most important in your life. She watches your children,
spent 18 years doing your laundry and loves you unconditionally.
Get her something good. Again, if she is a cook, go for the
newest kitchen gadget or cookbooks with themes around the world.
Or, get her fine cheeses and wines from an independent grocery
store. If there’s not one in town, the web has a wide variety of
products to choose from. And, there’s no leaving the house.

The Trendy/Picky Daughter

She’s 14 and a freshman in high school. What does she like? You
know. What everybody else likes. Take it up a notch. Research
the trends, whatever it may be, from clothes to gadgets and
personalize it. Does she love to talk - how about a cell phone
in her favorite candy colored hue? What about a special ring
with her birthstone? She will always remember the holiday she
received this gift on and hold it close to her heart.

Other Options

For the guy with absolutely no time, there’s always online
shopping. Shop while you’re on your work break. It’s amazing the
amount of retailer’s that are now online, many of which offer
free shipping (when spending a certain reasonable amount). Many
of your favorite shops like Target, Sephora, Neimen Marcus and
more, offer easy online shopping at the click of a mouse. The
lady in your life will love it, and you’ll not have to hit the
frantic malls trying to score her favorite gift.

When shopping for a woman, just remember take the clues
gentlemen. You know what we like. We ooooh and ahhhh while
peering through the store windows, we drag you to our favorite
purse while window-shopping and we hold up the advertisement in
our favorite fashion magazine. If you personalize it and take
the time to listen to what she really wants, you can’t go wrong.
Happy shopping.

You can find more information here:
http://tradingideas4you.com/index.html

CURE YOUR ‘EXCUSITIS’ RIGHT NOW
Dr Kem Thompson

There’s a deadly disease that keeps many very talented people
living way below their desired standards. This ailment keeps
many very intelligent people earning much less than they are
really worth. It has also been the cause of the early death
of many a business idea that held great potential.

This disease is called ‘excusitis’.

It’s a condition where the ‘patient’ finds all sorts of
excuses to justify their poor performance and results or lack
of action.

In business, (see if you can relate to this), you may feel
you don’t have what it takes to make it big in your industry.
Or you may feel embarrased to talk to your friends and family
about your new business venture. Or perhaps you feel you’re
not smart enough to hang out (network) with the big players
in your field.

Perhaps you feel you must attend a course of have an MBA or
PhD or some sort of degree in order to make it big.
Or you may feel that because you’re just a small business, you
could never get a major contract.

And because of all these (perceived) obstacles, you don’t
move ahead.

Those are symptoms of ‘excusitis’. People that suffer from
this disease can often be heard to say ‘I’d do this if only
I had this that or the other’, or ‘If only I were younger’,
‘or if only I didn’t have the kids to look after’, etc, etc.

Notice how each of the ’symptoms’ mentioned above keeps you down
and holds you steadfast in mediocrity? They’re all excuses,
and the person making such excuses actually believes them to
be true.

Remember, your beliefs determine your reality. If you believe
you’re not worth £10,000 per month then that will be true
for you. Your brain will come up with all sorts of ‘reasons’
to ‘prove’ that you’re not worth it. But if you CHOOSE to
believe that you are worth £10,000 per month and more, if you
CHOOSE to believe that you can be the top distributor for your
company nationwide or worldwide, if you CHOOSE to believe that
you are great at what you do regardless of your qualifications,
then that, becomes true for you. Better still, the
way to achieve such great things becomes clear to you once you
start to think this way.

And that is how to cure excusitis: CHOOSE to take responsibility
for your life. Refuse to make excuses. Develop a ‘can-do’
attitude. Cultivate and CHOOSE beliefs that support your goals.

In my work with clients, I emphasize changing beliefs and thought
patterns into empowering ones. This is called ‘dealing with the
problem from its root cause’. Inevitably, the desired outcomes
result once the client has consistently practised empowering
thought patterns and got rid of disempowering ones such as
excusitis and its resultant insecurity.

I encourage you to be true to yourself from today. If there’s
something you’ve had it in your heart to do or achieve, yet you
have not done it for some reason (excuse) or another, identify
that excuse or reason, for it is destructive. Replace it with a
reason why you can do it, then go for it.

If your goal is to win awards this year in your field or business,
refuse to entertain thoughts of why you can’t do it. Rather start
thinking of why you can and why you will. Once you make that your
predominant mindset, the ‘how to do’ follows naturally.

First things first: cure your excusitis.

Here’s a quote from *George Bernard Shaw* for you to think
about:

“People are always blaming their circumstances for what they
are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get on
in this world are the people who get up and look for the
circumstances they want, and, if they can’t find them,
make them.”

Dr Kem Thompson is a Success Coach, Speaker, Author.
She can help you achieve better results at work, business,
play, spiritual or in your social life.

For resources you can use today to create a better life,
sign up for her FREE ezine (and get a thank-you gift)-
‘Days of Success’ by submitting the form at http://www.successeminars.com/

The increasing military assistance by US for Pakistan is raising concerns for India and other South Asian countries. Pakistan the joint ally of US in the “war against terror” is reaping benefits in the form of military assistance.

According to official reports US has massive plans of military supplies worth more than $1.5 billion to Pakistan in the next five years. As quoted in “Times of India”, “According to details available in the Mission Performance Plan for financial year 2004 of the US embassy in Islamabad, and updated on the US State Department website, the Americans persuaded Pakistan government to establish an Interior Air Wing in Quetta with five American helicopters”.

US had restarted its military supply soon after 9/11. Among the supplies includes UH-II utility helicopters, VHF/UHF aircraft radios, surveillance radars, reconnaissance helicopters, night-vision equipment. The latest is the F-16 fighters, which is a dream come true for the Pakistan Air Force. The Navy is expecting new generation of torpedoes to maritime aircraft.

To Read More About:http://www.himalayanaffairs.org/articledetails.asp?id=121

Article Resource: www.himalayanafairs.org

Article Resource: http://www.himalayanaffairs.org
URL On Web : http://www.himalayanaffairs.org/articledetails.asp?id=121

What is Tantra and how can it help you overcome feelings of shame so you can have mind-blowing sex and intimacy?

I began my study and practice of Tantra thinking it would enhance sex making it hotter and at the same time I was scared that if it made sex hotter I might not be able to handle it.

Eight years later is sex hotter? YES. Is that all? NO.

Tantra translated means expansion through awareness, transformation through pleasure. What that literally means is that your whole being is expanded, increased through awareness of your senses, feelings, energy. This includes awareness of your blockages, places in yourself that stop you from authentically enjoying pleasure. One of these blockages can be said to be shame.

Shame is defined as a painful mental feeling aroused by a sense of having done something wrong or dishonorable or improper.

Tantra, as practiced, encompasses having it all – meaning being able to embrace and have everything available in the world, expanding the boundaries in our personal container big enough to have it all and being able to experience pleasure – really feel it.

So then, having it all would naturally include shameless intimacy, yes?

Well, in Tantric practice, we learn to embrace everything about ourselves, the parts of us we like (which is easy) and the parts we do not like (which is not so easy, often they are hidden even to ourselves). One of the parts we don’t like could include shame about liking sex. It’s sometimes experienced as a double-edged sword.

If we like sex, we feel ashamed based on our upbringing, religious training, ethnic origin, family values. Conversely, if we don’t like sex, too, we feel ashamed based on the media, the hype, advertising, Viagra, the current standards dished up to us by the fashion industry, music videos and HBO.

Reconciling conflicting values within ourselves may seem like a monumental challenge. The solution: learn the practice of Tantra.

In Tantra we use the breath. While consciously breathing, we practice something called witnessing. In this practice, we watch what goes on in our mind with no judgment. We watch our thoughts, assessments, evaluation and attachments (especially to being right!). We notice if painful mental feelings arise, feelings related to having done something wrong or dishonorable or improper. We embrace them all and let them go as we exhale.

Once we can embrace them (which takes constant practice) rather than resist, deny or suppress them, an amazing thing happens. They no longer have their hold on us. They no longer occur as blockage. It’s as if a miracle occurs.

We begin to feel free!

And when we feel free, guess what opens up? Our ability to express our passion, our pleasure. We can actually like sex as a feeling in our body. We can hear and embrace voices in the head and yet we’re free to listen to the wisdom of our molecules liking what we feel. This usually leads to experiencing greater intimacy within ourselves and with our partner.

Now, as I stated earlier, I began my study of Tantra thinking it would lead to enhancement of sex. At the same time I feared that if sex became hotter, I might not be able to handle it. Actually, I found I was afraid of the shame of liking it in accordance with early childhood lessons – “Good girls don’t,” and “Why should a man buy the cow when he can get the milk for free?” Men have told me that they have similar feelings of shame based on not knowing what they are doing (performance) or not understanding why anyone would want to be with them (self-worth).

But in witnessing the thoughts and old programming (also the rebellion – doing it anyway), I noticed a deeper level of fear. I honestly did not discover this subtler level until I practiced Tantra for a while and had embraced my shame of liking sex and had experienced greater physical pleasure.

A kind of openness occurred when I admitted to myself that I was allowed to like sex and that I knew I had shame, but could embrace it. The only way I can describe the feeling is one of vulnerability and letting go. I felt I arrived at a totally new level. I suppose it could be called shameless intimacy.

So, just as I have described the witness practice as it applied to embracing my feelings of shame for liking sex, I then needed to witness my feelings of openness and vulnerability and all the judgments I had about that. I had to embrace my shame of allowing myself to be that vulnerable. In other words I had to consciously breathe and keep granting permission for it all.

My boundaries expanded and I am now able to really feel pleasure in sex and shameless intimacy if I choose. It is exhilarating, energizing, expansive and transformational – very powerful. I feel it is my birthright to feel this way.

The following was submitted to me by one of my students:

“I now allow the magnificent love intelligence to have its way, nothing to ask, nothing to question, nothing to want, nothing to hope for everything happens by itself.

There is no loosing, there is only opening to receive more, just as the Lotus opens to receive more light.”
- Bill Plikaitis, Minneapolis, MN

You can feel this way too!

Getting Started - Beginning Tantra Tips:

1. Sit quietly on a pillow or a chair with your back straight.
2. Breathe in slowly through the nose and out through the mouth as you slowly exhale making a sound like a sigh.
3. Notice your thoughts, judgments, evaluations, assessments (mind chatter) gather it up as you inhale. Then let it all go as you exhale deeply through the mouth making sound.
4. Repeat this practice for at least 5 minutes. Keep bringing yourself back to the present by letting it all go as you exhale deeply through the mouth making a sound.
5. Notice how you feel – look in the body as distinct from the mind.

© Butterfly Workshops, Inc.

About the Author

Laurie Handlers, MA is the President of Butterfly Workshops, Inc., a Washington, DC based company currently offering 3 levels of Tantra, Tantra instructor training, and Leadership courses for corporations and individuals.You can find out more at www.butterflyworkshops.com.

When you’re shopping around for an IP-based video surveillance system, you will need to be particularly cautious about what exactly you’re looking at and what the individual terms mean. How IP-based video surveillance works is open to interpretation as far as some video surveillance and security salespeople are concerned — not because they are trying to confuse the issues, but because there is no genuine consensus on what the term “IP-based” or related ones such as “networked” or “web-based” means.

Originally video surveillance was done based on analog technology — closed
circuit television (CCTV) and recording on video tapes. This was fine for
recording what was going on, but it didn’t broadcast actual live information, so
it wasn’t practical for monitoring stores, for instance, from a remote location.
It simply provided what happened after the fact. The picture quality wasn’t
great and it relied on human reliability as well — someone had to remember to
change the tapes regularly, etc.

Digital revolutionizes video surveillance

With the Internet revolution and the ever-increasing presence of Local Area
Networks, technology took great strides in video surveillance in the 1990’s.
Analog camera tubes were replaced with CCD (Charged Coupled Devices) and digital
cameras became affordable for most people.

This combination meant that video surveillance could do two things: go live
over the Internet or a closed network for surveillance and provide clearer,
crisper images that could be tracked and manipulated easily. For law
enforcement, digital surveillance meant it was much easier to zoom in on images,
track particular scenes and enhance features.

The basics of IP-based surveillance

A digital camera “views” the scene in front of it, broadcasts the video
images as a digitized signal over a LAN line (Local Area Network) where it’s
then transmitted to a computer or server. The server in turn manages all of this
information. Depending upon the software used to manage the digital images, it
can record, display or retransmit the images to anywhere in the world.

The software package can easily be upgraded to allow for analyzing data,
selecting specific “flagged” items to watch for and a host of other functions,
making it a truly customizable security tool.

True IP-based digital surveillance uses CCD cameras that use signal
processing that send packetized video streams over the LAN through a Cat 5 cable
rather than a coax cable network, utilizing greater bandwidth and standard
TCP/IP communication.

It also provides more intelligent data mining and information retrieval. If
security is an issue, full digital surveillance also offers the added advantage
of data encryption opportunities to protect against image tampering — something
not possible with analog recording.

Recently, a few companies such as D-Link and Linksys have also developed fully
digital cameras that actually have completely integrated, built-in web servers
so that no external computers are needed for operating them. The signal is
transmitted directly to the terminal location for storage or play-back.

Halfway there…

The “middle of the road” of video surveillance is upgrading video
surveillance by utilizing a Digital Video Recorder (DVR). A DVR system is not
really fully IP-based, but is step toward the more advanced IP technology. In
actuality, a DVR system uses the same camera and structures for cabling as the
older CCTV analog systems, but the old VCRs have been replaced with DVR for
storage of the data. The data is converted to digital so that it can be stored
on hard disks, but the quality of the images captured remains analog since this
is how it originated.

When shopping for a system, be sure to ask if the system is digital based on
the recording (DVR) or on the camera, since many manufacturers consider a system
digital by virtue of the DVR storage system even if the camera recording the
images is still analog.

Going all the way

Some people will move to the hybrid models of a CCTV/DVR system when they
first move beyond an analog system because it seems like the next practical
evolutionary step in video surveillance. However, shifting to this method
largely ignores how IP-based video surveillance works.

With CCTV/DVR surveillance you have actually simply delayed the inevitable by
adding on a relatively new technology (hard disk, digital storage) to an old
technology (analog video over coaxial transmission lines). Rather than moving
forward into something new, you have prolonged the demise of the old.

Advantages of IP-based video surveillance

The leap into completely IP-based technology is the best bang for your buck
both monetarily and in terms of security by far. Digital surveillance can be
done over a LAN network, of course, but TCP/IP transmittal of surveillance makes
sense for remote monitoring of multiple locations and for remote recording of
data onto back-up servers and hard disks for long-term storage.

With IP-based video surveillance, you can connect your surveillance camera or
cameras to any network or wireless adapter, and you are extremely flexible in
your placement of the camera itself. A typical PC-attached video camera, while
providing digital picture image quality, still has to be within approximately
ten feet of the computer itself.

Set-up of an IP-based video system is easy — once you’ve set up an IP
address, you’re up and running and it’s extremely stable and reliable. Because
this is the technology of the future, it is also upgradeable. You won’t be
outgrowing an IP-based video surveillance system any time soon because new
developments are based on improving this market. Therefore, you will be able to
add on and improve this system for years to come while older, CCTV+DVR hybrids
will dead-end and become obsolete.

Comparing analog and IP-based video surveillance

A better way to understand the differences between analog and IP-based video
surveillance may be to compare the two and how they work:

Analog or CCTV+DVR video surveillance

• Easy to use — operates like a VCR

• Changing cassettes and rewinding regularly means human error frequently interferes with effectiveness

• Image quality is poor

• Storage tapes wear out over time

• Broadcasting images live isn’t practical

• Storage is bulky

• Uses analog recording, recording in low-grade picture quality and inability to search and track easily

• Adding DVR systems must be done in ‘blocks’ of 16 channels

IP-based video surveillance

• IP-based recording means instant transmittal of images anywhere in the world

• Can monitor multiple cameras from one remote location

• No decrease in recording quality over time or with repeated replays

• Digital picture quality far superior to analog

• IP-base recording is highly compressed for easier storage and can be transported over a variety of media

• Digital images can be encrypted for security purposes

• Updates and add-ons are relatively inexpensive through software packages and Internet computer networking

• Adjustable frame rates

• Remote or shared viewing may be done over the Internet or a wireless connection

• Standard IP video compression techniques are used

• IP surveillance cameras may be added individually or in groups according to your needs

If you are contemplating increased or upgrading video surveillance for your
company or home, understanding how IP-based video surveillance works will make
your decision easier. It is the future of video surveillance and, although in
the short term may be a bit more expensive, is obviously an investment in
superior quality and flexibility.

This article on “How IP-based Video Surveillance Works” reprinted with
permission.

Copyright © 2004-2005 Evaluseek Publishing.

About the Author
Lucy P. Roberts is a successful freelance writer providing practical
information and advice about everything related to
digital video surveillance
and related topics. Her numerous articles include tips for saving both time
and money when shopping for video security products; equipment reviews and reports; and other valuable insights.
Find important information about how to use a
night vision security camera or
infrared
camera when you visit Video-Surveillance-Guide.com today!

Jim and Mary Jones loved each other deeply, but often went into horrific verbal battles over any number of issues. They would argue and yell for hours, often into the night, leaving both of them exhausted, emotionally disconnected, hurt and resentful toward each other.

Both became so upset they were flooded with negative feelings which prevented their being able to repair the damage, to think rationally, or to problem-solve the issues at hand.

Much of this emotional suffering could have been prevented or least minimized had they learned anger control tool #8:

—“Retreat and Think Things Over.”

Basically this means to temporarily distance yourself from the situation for a period of time so that both of you can calm down. This allows your bodily systems to return to normal, and allows your normally good reasoning and thinking ability to return.

Easier Said Than Done

Yes, it is much easier said than done. It is one of those tools that sounds deceptively simple, yet it is by no means easy to do for at least two reasons:

There is a common myth that all relationship conflicts should be “settled” in the moment while the intense feelings are present. If you do not do this, you may be accused of “avoiding” the issue.

Once stress or anger levels escalate to a certain point, one or both partners reach a point of no-return, due to flooding of the brain with intense emotions. This makes it almost impossible to disengage from each other and stop the fight.

Heed these Warning Signs

You know it is time to Retreat and Think Things Over when you are:

• Feeling overwhelmed during an argument
• Raising your voice to an unusual level
• Feeling your temper is out of control
• You notice your heart racing
• Sense your muscles tensing
• Can’t think straight and you start to feel hostile.

Why this tool works

Temporarily removing yourself from the situation allows your body to return to normal, provides a cooling-down time. It also allows your brain to return to its normal state where you can reason and think better.

This tool helps prevents you or your partner from saying unfair or hurtful things in the heat of battle—which can easily escalate into further conflicts and resentments, causing you and your partner to become even more emotionally cut-off and distanced from each other.

Some Basic Rules

While the concept of “Retreat and Think Things Over” is simple, it will not work very well unless the following rules are
followed:

Rule #1: You can only use the tool for yourself - not your partner. It does not usually work for you to tell your partner it is time for them to retreat.

Rule #2: Announce that you need to take a time out and Retreat before you do it. This should be done using assertive communication in a way that clearly conveys your need to leave before thing get out of hand, as opposed to your leaving to merely avoid dealing with the situation.

Rule #3- You need to commit to a reasonable length of time to return and deal with the issue— no longer than several hours, as a general rule.

Rule #4: Don’t drink or use drugs to get high during this time. It will be much harder, if not impossible, to convince your partner of your sincerity in wanting to work things out if you return intoxicated or high.

Rule #5: Be very careful and very selective in who you talk to during your Retreat Time. While there is a natural tendency to contact a friend or family member who is sympathetic, you should be careful.

Why is this important? Because they may have a permanently negative view of your partner, even after you have made-up and things are now fixed in the relationship.You can’t necessarily expect your family to turn the positive emotions back on like you have.

Temporarily removing yourself from the situation allows your body and mind to return to normal, allowing your normally good reasoning to return.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Tony Fiore is a So. California licensed psychologist, and anger management trainer. His company, The Anger Coach, provides anger and stress management programs, training and products to individuals, couples, and the workplace. Sign up for his free monthly newsletter “Taming The Anger Bee” at www.angercoach.com and receive two bonus reports.

We all know that computers change more then any other type of technology. There constant changing can also leave are wallets completely empty. But do we really need all that expensive hardware? Probably not. Lets take look at how you can cut some corners when buying a new computer.

For the average computer user you really wont need anything more that a basic computer package. You see most people use there PC to do Internet, email, word processing, and a few other basic tasks. Running these sorts of applications don’t require much computer power.

Now of days just about any new machine that you can buy will handle those sorts of tasks with ease. Even a machine for $500 or less will get the job done. Many of these sub $500 dollar PC’s even come with 1 year warranties. You cant go wrong with a deal like that!

I know many of you are probably thinking; “What if you do more then just those basic tasks?”

You should still be able to get a very affordable computer. Expect to pay up to a thousand if you would like to take on some digital pictures and video. This type of work will require bigger hard drives, more CPU power, and gobs of memory. You should be able to get a machine that can handle these tasks for $1000 and maybe even less.

Here are some specs of you should be able to get in a cheap computer system:

2GHz CPU or faster

256-512 of DDR RAM

60GB hard drive

17′ CRT Monitor

CD RW (CD burner)

Any machine that resembles the specs that you see here will get the job done for most computer users. You will need to decide what you want to do with your computer and then decide just how much computer power you will really need.

Tyler Casselman runs the site Cheap Computers 4U