The Refresh Orlando Heirs

Ceramics has marked the progress of civilization for thousands of years, preserving the talents of countless artisans. With very little instruction, there exists the possibility that you, too, can be a part of history. My personal experience with ceramics was brief, but spiritual.

A local Catholic school in my area boasted a wonderful ceramist on staff so I signed up for a beginner’s course. The Sister radiated a passion for excellence in ceramic making that insured a high level of interest in her pupils. It was a charming sight watching this holy person working madly amidst flying clay and water. The class was invited to travel to an area in New Jersey that contained a deposit of clay suitable for ceramics. I could not participate in this field trip, but I did get to use some of the clay that they gathered.

After a thorough grounding in the hand building of pots, we chose a design of our own for a project. I fashioned a hanging pot of my own design, hour-glass shaped with a free curve formed bottom and kidney-shaped windows stretching to the top. Every week I shaped and carved the leather-like property of the semi-dry clay until it satisfied my artistic senses. When completely dry, I fired it in a twenty-four inch electric kiln at a temperature of 2300 degrees. An application of a natural brown glaze containing yellow and black speckles required a second firing. The first sight of the true colors of the cooling pot was an unforgettable experience, not a straight line to be found from the inwardly curving bottom to the curves reaching to the top. The annealing took place over a period of several days and the addition of a coarse raffia rope allowed it to hang from the ceiling like an amoebae dividing itself.

The sheer variety of ceramic art objects and their long lasting properties are what make this hobby an exciting world to explore. Everyone should allow their creative selves free rein to fashion directly from mind to hand a piece of their own soul. With materials costing but pennies, every hand-made pot is unique and each one satisfies mankind’s urge to create something beautiful and useful.

At retirement, I find time for a myriad of hobbies.

Some may ask, is there any truth to have a healthy life. I say yes it is. Let’ see what the Bible says. First look at the book of Proverbs 3:3 it says Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck; write them on the table of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Now look further at verse 3:7 it says Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. It says also in the book of Proverbs 4:20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart for it is the wellspring of life.

For it is written in the book of Mark 2:17 it says On hearing this, Jesus said to them, It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.

It says in the book of Psalms 103:2 it says Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Now look at Isaiah 40:29 it says He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fail; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Look at what God says about healing. Go to the book of Exodus 15:26 it says He said, If you listen carefully to the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in his eyes, if you pay attention to his commands and keep all his decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you. What a Blessing to know that if you do what is right in the sight of God no diseases will be put upon you and to know that God is a healer!!!

Jesus has already took our infirmities. Look at Isaiah 53:4 it says Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, you we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

I think Jesus says it best in the book Matthew 9:22 it says Jesus turned and saw her. Take heart, daughter, he said, your faith has healed you. And the woman was healed from that moment. Peter speaks on how the cripple was healed. It says in the book of Acts 4:10 it says then know this, you and all the people of Israel; It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. He is the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone (a foundation stone).

The prayer of faith is powerful. Look at the book of James 5:15 it says And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

To conclude look in the book of 1Peter 2: 24 it says He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Love Always,
Your Sister in Christ,
Mellody Davis

Enjoy more reading at: http://www.hostinghelps.com/allaboutjesus/AboutJesus.html

Being a leader isn’t easy. Every one looks to you to make decisions, resolve disputes, and to carry all the responsibility. Being a leader can be a lonely job.

Some of us are born into leadership. For them it is effortless effort. They have no qualms (or at least they know how to hide them) about making tough decisions, about taking the responsibility, and knowing that it can lead to resentment and isolation from other team members.

Others are forced into it. They find themselves taking over the role due to an unforeseen event, and try and balance their friendships and relationships with the requirements of the role. This almost always leads to frustration, stress and overall dissatisfaction with the situation from everybody.

Then there are others that grow into the role. They are able to adapt to the pressures the role requires, and practice at balancing the responsibilities of the position with relationships both at work and home.

So, which one are you? Are you in a leadership role by choice, or by accident?

I have found that I was initially the accidental leader. I found myself in the role without quite knowing how I got there. I always knew that to move up in the business world, I would need to ‘stick my neck out’ and risk ‘having my head chopped off’, but when the promotion happened, I was still nervous and largely unprepared for it. What made things even more challenging was the fact that I was younger than those staff members that I was asked to lead.

I found that there is an enlightened approach to being a leader that takes time to develop, but has the best results in the long term. This I how I adapted to my new challenge:

I first worked on understanding my team. I found it vitally important that they feel a part of the decision-making process, and that their opinions were validated.

Secondly, I took my time. I never made a decision without gathering as much facts as possible within an appropriate time. I never allowed myself to procrastinate (not too much :-)), but I tried hard not to make a ‘knee-jerk’ decision. In doing this, I was able to get the team’s involvement and support for the final decision.

Thirdly, I understood that with any leadership role comes both recognition and risk. I learnt to manage that risk, and to some degree embrace it. Some days it was scary, and other days I really enjoyed the challenge.

However, they key to my success in any leadership role is building respect within the team. There is absolute truth to the expression that you are only as strong as your weakest link. I could not have achieved what I have in my life without the support and respect of those I have worked with.

There were days when I really struggled understanding my team, but as long as I gave myself time to learn the role and understand the team members, I would usually get the result that I was aiming for.

If you are, or you intend to be in leadership in business, spend the time to get to know your team and validate their input. You will never make it to the top without at least one other human being helping you get there. A true leader is someone who is able to bring out the best on others.

So, what is that expression – Together Everyone Achieves More?? Corny, but very, very true.

About the Author

Matthew Tibble is passionate about helping small businesses achieve online business success. With 10 years experience in sales and marketing, he has developed an enlightened approach to business that combines proven philosophies with practical implementation. For more information, email articleinfo@businessplanningmadeeasy.com, or visit www.businessplanningmadeeasy.com

New to online dating? These internet dating tips can help you jump-start your exploration of cyberspace dating and relating. I’ve used lots of online dating websites and made some mistakes along the way. But I learned from those mistakes and I’ve come up with a list of internet dating tips that have helped me immensely (and my friends swear by them!).

Do Your Homework

A site is only as good as what you’re getting out of it. Yes, size matters to some degree, but it isn’t the only thing to consider. An internet dating site with millions of members may sound great, but if only three members live anywhere within 1,000 miles of you, it might not be a good fit. A small site that focuses on your area of the country or your particular interests may be a better fit. Check out several sites offering trial memberships and do searches using at least three criteria (age group, geographic location and a special interest would be a good start). From there, choose the one that seems like the one with the most potential for you.

Never Give Away Personal Information

Yes, it’s been said before, but this is one of those internet dating tips that bears repeating: NEVER put personal information in your profile. Most members of Internet single sites are as normal as you are, but don’t take the chance. You’re looking for a date or friendship, not a stalker. Be sure you are comfortable before revealing anything personal to anyone.

Don’t Forget Your Photo

Post a good, recent photo – preferably more than one. The statistics don’t lie; every internet dating advice column you read will agree that profiles with pictures get many times the response of ones that don’t. It doesn’t matter if you’re a wealthy, witty brain surgeon if you don’t include a picture. Most people will assume you have something to hide (Are you married and trying to cheat? Do you have a horrible disfigurement?). If you post more than one, choose a couple of different settings and poses (dressed up for the evening and casual in jeans, for instance). The more photos you have and the clearer they are, the more people who will visit your profile.

About Your Profile

Fill out the entire profile, even if it has a hundred seemingly mundane questions. Knowing that you like Chinese food, own two dogs and like to travel are great conversation starters for someone who is interested in you. It also gives a “snapshot” of your personality. If you simply skip a lot of questions, it gives the impression you joined without really being all that interested. If you can’t be bothered with completing the profile, how likely are you to invest time in really getting to know someone?

Use Humor to Your Advantage

Instead of a dry history of your life, try talking about yourself with a few humorous comments (“I’m the proud pet of a Labrador Retriever who has successfully trained me to give him biscuits on demand,” sounds so much more intriguing than, “I have a dog.”).

Turn-Offs to Avoid

Headlines that are complete turn-offs include (and I’m amazed how often I actually see this), “No games, please!” and “I’ll make your dreams come true.” One sounds like the cry of someone who’s wounded, suspicious and recently dumped. The other sounds arrogant and makes a ridiculous promise. How can you make his/her dreams come true? You don’t even know them!

Start Things on a Casual Note

This is probably one the most important Internet dating tips. Talk about common interests, current events and interesting stories you may have heard recently. Most people are a bit cautious at first, so give anyone you contact the chance to get to know you a little bit before heading into deep waters. If you’re emailing each other, don’t write a book every time – sometimes just a quick note can bring a smile and take the pressure off to respond at length. Everyone likes a bit of breathing room at first, especially online.

Whether you’re looking for friendship, casual dating or a serious romance, these Internet dating tips will ensure you a successful launch in the online dating world.

Being goal oriented is one possible asset in achieving success
in any field. It does not ensure success, but I have no doubt
that it can be a very useful tool. I used it as a development
tool when I was an employee, and for the past ten years have set
my own personal objectives in whatever it is that I have done
for my own business.

Setting goals and objectives is like setting out a route on a
map before you set off on a journey. To get from A to D you have
to go via B and C first, and you may set target times for those
interim destinations in order to arrive at D in the allotted
time. Business and personal goals can be much the same.

You may, for an example, start a business whose products you
want to be distributed nationally, say the whole of the UK. But
to achieve that, you may recognize that you first have to
establish a local market, and that can become your first goal.
Next, when you have perfected the distribution locally, your
goal becomes a regional distribution network, say South East
England. As each goal is successfully achieved, it lays the
foundation for the next. Distribution to all of England, then
Wales and so on until the whole of the UK is covered.

A business, of course, has many essential elements, all of which
can be subject to their own goals. Financial goals are
important, as are product development and market share goals.
They are part of a planning process which acknowledges the fact
that you cannot go from nowhere, to being the top company in any
market, without various essential achievements along the way.

I like to compare goal setting to building a skyscraper. That
involves very detailed planning based on a vision by the
architect, and then the building taking shape from the
foundations up. Each floor is not completed until the structure
below is sound and ready. Can you put up a building roof first?
No, of course not. You would need to mix extreme impatience with
ultimate stupidity to do such a thing. This comparison is worth
remembering as you plan for your own success, whether it is as
an employee, as a business owner, or in your personal life.
Plan, make some firm foundations, then build one floor at a
time. Each floor can be a goal; the completed skyscraper your
vision of your own success.

Being goal oriented, though, does set its own traps for you.
Focusing entirely on the next goal can turn it into an obsession
that starts to override your personal life, and eventually your
own happiness. Any career or business goals do need to be in
balance with your personal existence. There is not much point in
achieving each of your goals, when each one takes you further
from your children, your spouse and your friends. You may end up
with your skyscraper complete, but no occupants with whom to
share. The end result could be worthless as you find yourself
estranged from those who were close to you.

It is possible to marry your goals with your family and your own
happiness. When you envision what you are trying to achieve, try
to incorporate in that vision your closest family and friends.
Try to include in that vision the way of life you will want to
emerge at the time each separate goal is achieved, and when the
final objective is complete. If your personal life becomes an
integral part of the objectives and goals you set, then the end
result will naturally be balanced, and you will be far happier
for it; so will your family.

Small Can Be Beautiful

When purchasing a new computer, you may be better served by a laptop than a traditional desktop computer. Recently, laptops with capabilities similar to desktops can be purchased for a comparable price. Laptops are convenient because of their small size and ability to run from a battery. Except for the power cable to recharge it, a laptop doesn’t have any external wires, so it won’t be contributing to a cable mess.

When looking at laptops, consider how often you will travel with it. If you plan to travel only infrequently, get a model with a larger screen and lower price. If you are a digital nomad, you should be concerned mainly with the laptop size, weight, and battery life. For maximum portability, get a laptop that weighs less than 3.5 pounds, has a 12” or smaller display, and a minumum 4-hour battery life.

Unlike desktops, laptop computers can be difficult and expensive to upgrade. When you purchase a laptop, consider that any internal features such as CD-ROM or hard drive may be difficult to replace. Laptops can be upgraded externally with USB, FireWire, and the PC Card slot. Because each of these methods is external, however your laptop will become less portable if you need to carry around the external devices.

Take One Tablet…

A Tablet PC is a custom laptop that allows you to write on the screen to save notes and work with programs. Tablet PCs are typically smaller than laptops and feature a specialized processor that is extremely battery-efficient. Some Tablet PCs do not have a built-in keyboard, but can connect to an external keyboard. These are ideal for people who use the Tablet PC mode most of the time and need to use the keyboard occasionally.

If you have little need for a portable computer, a “desktop replacement” may be for you. A desktop replacement looks like a laptop, but is much larger and priced competitively with desktops. Whatever kind of laptop fits your lifestyle, gone are the days when laptops were expensive and less capable than traditional desktop computers.

About The Author

Deryck Richards is the founder and managing partner of Desktronix. With an extensive educational background in computer information systems, Deryck currently manages hosting and data center operations for Desktronix. He also provides system administration and technical support directly to small businesses as he has since 2000. His areas of expertise include networking, Windows, Linux, and Macintosh systems and he is the author of The Guide to Technology for Small Business. For more information on Desktronix, visit www.desktronix.com.

Nowadays computer security is becoming of a greater concern everyday. As computers penetrate to all spheres of our business, social, and informational life, the dependence upon their stable and secure work increases from day to day. But even though that much had been thought, introduced and used to insure computer security, the armor of every computer system has holes. System administrators may constantly insure and improve the security of the systems, but there will always be some ways to pass and avoid it. People in majority reason in the similar way and in the similar way they also act. So what one man had invented will once come to the mind of some one else, and things once hidden will be found.

The problem of computer security is number one problem in nowadays networks and Internet engineering. The computer attacks of viruses, Trojan horses, worms and other software engineered by computer crackers causes a lot of damage to personally used computers, computer networks, and banking systems. The damage made by computer attacks appears to be 100 billions dollars every year just in the USA.

As it`s well known Trojan horses and different kinds of viruses or worms cause the biggest damage.

As hackers use different means to crack the security systems it often happens to be impossible to resist and computer security system fail. The computer attacks made by hackers are not simple virus attacks, but they usually combine all existing meanings to destroy the security. The case that happened with Axiom Corporation is a good proof of it.

Florida resident was arrested, being accused in a big theft of personal data. The case, against Scott Levine, 45, represents “what may be the largest cases of intrusion of personal data to date,” U.S. Assistant Attorney General Christopher A. Wray said Wednesday at a news conference in Washington.

Scott Levine is accused in 144 counts that include illegal money transactions, cheating, and escape from justice. The victim of the crime is Acxiom Corporation, one of the world leading corporations in management of personal, corporative, and financial data. After getting into Acxiom`s internal network through Internet, Levine, had thieved “ a huge amount” of confidential data. By the words of official sources the size of the information that was thieved by Levine equals to 8.2 gigabytes, and the damage caused by the thief equals to 7 million dollars.

“We are committed to safeguarding our systems and the data that we store and manage on behalf of our clients,” the company said. “Since evidence of this crime was uncovered and halted in the summer of 2003, Acxiom has made a strong security system even stronger.”

This case arose from the one last year in which Daniel Baas of Milford, Ohio, pleaded guilty to hacking into Acxiom. During follow-up investigations, the company detected a second set of intrusions, coming from a different Internet protocol address, which was traced to Levine, prosecutors said.

The usage of password generators and Trojans open new horizons to hackers, as they can get any hidden personal informational they want using Trojan horses. Once “infected” by the Trojan horse, the computer won`t remain same secure as it was pretended to be before, because most of Trojan horse programs generate all the personal data (or data needed) in hidden files and send them back to the sender if the computer is still connected to the network.(that`s a question of a big concern that most of beginner users ask: “If I don`t surf online, why is it still data exchange between my computer and server?”)

Even more dangerous than Trojans can be worm viruses.

“A worm is a small piece of software that uses computer networks and security holes to replicate itself. A copy of the worm scans the network for another machine that has a specific security hole. It copies itself to the new machine using the security hole, and then starts replicating from there, as well.” One of the most well know worms “Mydoom or Norvarg” did a lot of harm during the period of its activation to the computer network worldwide. “Message Labs, a company which scans e-mail for viruses, said that 1 in every 12 messages contained the worm.”

“Mikko Hypponen, manager of anti-virus research at F-Secure in Finland, estimated that 200,000 to 300,000 computers were hit worldwide. The worm was also programmed to flood the website of the SCO Group Inc, beginning on February 1 with requests in an attempt to crash its.”

This mail worm is spreading by email messages with attached files that are the primary body of the worm. The size of a file that contains a worm, is 34797 bytes, the executive file of the worm has the text document icon that confuse computer user and prompts him to click on the icon of the worm. After the worm`s file was executed, it appears an error message that has one of the following lines:

 Unable to open specified file
 File cannot be opened
 File is corrupted

Then Mydoom.f copies itself to the Windows folder, giving a random name to the file with extension .exe. It also makes a record in the Windows register that causes automatic execution of the worm with booting of the system: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
< random name > = %SysDir%< random file name >

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun
< random name > = %SysDir%< random file name >
At the same time worm makes a dll-file (dynamic library file) in Windows System folder with a random name. This dll-library has a worm`s Back-door module.

Then I-Worm.Mydoom.f sends itself by email. Addresses for distribution are combined from files with the following extensions: WAB, MBX, NCH, MMF, ODS, RTF, UIN, OFT, MHT, VBS, MSG, PL, EML, ADB, TBB, DBX, ASP, PHP, SHT, HTM, TXT. Worm omits email addresses that contain some of the following sub lines:

 mozilla

 utgers.ed

 tanford.e

 fsf.

 gnu

 mit.e

 bsd

 math

 unix

 berkeley

 ripe.

 arin.

 sendmail

 rfc-ed

 ietf

 iana

 irix

 solaris

 sgi.com

 sun.com

 slashdot

 source

The contents of the creating messages is forming in the following way:
sender`s address: the name is chosen from the list:

 jerry

 bill

 smith

 jim

 sam

 james

 alex



Domain of the sender can be one of the following:

 aol.com

 msn.com

 yahoo.com

 hotmail.com

 .edu

The topic of the messages may be of a diverse contents: from greetings that are sent on a regular base by corresponding persons, to something official that has to deal with computer, internet or message delivery services, for example: Registration confirmation

 Confirmation

 Confirmation Required

 Returned Mail

 Registration confirmation

 Your order was registered

 Your request was registered

 Your order is being processed

 Your request is being processed

The body of the message may contain any kind of regular options that refer to the attachment file, for example:

 Check the attached document.

 The document was sent in compressed format.

 Please see the attached file for details

The name of the attached file is in the way that will refer only to some kind of official and trusting information, not a nude or erotic pictures that are recently sent by hackers to infect the computer with virus.
The extension of the attached file is chosen from the list:

 .exe

 .scr

 .com

 .pif

 .bat

 .cmd

or it can also have double extension.

Destructive functions of the worm: the worm is looking for files on all hard disks (from C: to Z: ) that have extension mdb, doc, xls, sav, jpg, avi, bmp and deletes them in random order. As it can be obviously understood these types of files have the most valuable information for uses, because they are the storage for data used in business.

DoS attack: worm is making a DoS attack on web-sites www.riaa.com or www.microsoft.com. The attack is made only when the system date is between 17th or 22nd day of any month. During the attack a worm is making random quantity of links, sends a request to the attacking site.

Backdoor-module

Backdoor-module opens 1080 TCP/IP port. Having connected to this port of “infected” computer malefactor may use it like proxy-server or to give commands for files downloading and execution.

There are following ways to reduce the risks while working in the network. First is not to install programs that will be of no use, especially from suspicious sites. A lot of users surf online just to download and install something “fancy and new”. While surfing, it`s more secure to reject all the suggestions to install new plug-ins, editions and patches, if a user is not confident in the security of the information. Most of the computers allow to disable floppy-booting feature in BIOS, if the computer allows this feature then it`ll be additional “plus” to make the computer more secure, because a lot viruses come to the computer through infected floppy disks and they activate during booting from the floppy disk, at the same time infecting DOS extension of the hard drive. To prevent from macro viruses that often come in text or MS word documents it`s necessary to enable Macro Virus protection in all the Windows applications, especially in the MS Office applications.

It`s important as well to update operation system and antiviral software regularly.

The most secure measure that can be taken is installation of the special software as firewalls or other “spy” identifying programs. Those software applications have a special mechanism that allows determining risky sites on Internet and they`ll always ask if it`s needed to establish connection to the following web site, or if to allow sending data or receiving data.
It`ll also make more secure the computer if to put anti spam protection on email messengers.

One of the main reasons why computer attacks happen so often is that most of users leave their computers working all day long, for months. Because it`s open for attacks it has a big probability to be attacked by Trojans or to get infected by virus, as well as be used as “proxy server” by hackers. The last one is also dangerous for the user of that computer, because the “proxy” can happen to the last in the chain of computer attack spreading and can be accused in being a scammer.

A powerful tool to prevent from virus attacks will be using of UNIX operation system or similar to it (Linux), these operation systems disable most of the virus features and keep them away from the hard disks as well as unwanted visitors.

The best weapon against computer attacks is information, and reasonable exploitation of the computer and network. If the PC user keeps in mind all the responsibilities and applies his even very little knowledge about computer security to insure his PC he`ll be in advantage, and will be more likely to avoid attacks.

John Nilson is a senior writer at Custom Essays Writing Service. He is an experienced writer of custom essays and term papers and will be glad to share his experience with you.

When considering whether to write a story, a journalist always begins with two questions:

1. What’s new?
2. Who cares?

The first point is obvious. If something isn’t new, then it can’t be news. Most folks understand this instinctively.

It is the second point that most people have trouble understanding. It isn’t enough for your item to be new. To qualify as news, your story must appeal to a broad audience. It must have significance for other people, and lot of them.

For example, consider the Taliban, the former rulers of Afghanistan.

Before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, few news media paid any attention whatsoever to the Taliban. After Sept. 11 and through the fall of the Afghan regime, the media couldn’t get enough stories about the Taliban.

What changed to make this happen? It wasn’t the Taliban. What changed were the media’s attitudes toward the Taliban:

1. What’s new? Terrorists have attacked the United States and they are being harbored by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

2. Who cares? Virtually everyone.

Those two questions pushed the Taliban to the forefront of every mainstream newspaper, magazine, TV news program, radio news program and Web news site in the world.

This is an extreme example, but it makes the point.

If you want a story in the mainstream media, your story idea must appeal to a well-defined audience. If you want your story to appear in a trade magazine for nanotech engineers, then your story idea must appeal to nanotech engineers. If you want your story to appear in a suburban weekly, then your idea must appeal to the geographical, provincial interests of that weekly’s subscribers.

The PR Rainmaker knows: If you want the news media to write about you or your company, you must clearly and concisely answer the questions “What’s new?” and “Who cares?”

Copyright 2003 by W.O. Cawley Jr.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rusty Cawley is a 20-year veteran journalist who now coaches executives, entrepreneurs and professionals on using the news media to attract customers and to advance ideas. For your free copy of the hot new ebook “PR Rainmaker,” please visit www.prrainmaker.com right now.

Today’s Internet or World Wide Web is being over regulated.

But, are you being taken for a ride, are you lead to believe that
Governments World Wide are creating new legislation for your
benefit or are there underlying factors that these laws are more
beneficial to Governments and big business?

First we had the Can-Spam and other laws passed regulating the sending of unsolicited
commercial e-mail, that contains false or deceptive subject information,
or that is sent from invalid e-mail addresses, but for me, my inbox
still seems to always be full of junk mail. How many people have
actually been fined or imprisoned.

The same can be said of downloading of music files from the Internet
avoiding the music Industry copy rights and Musicians fees. There
seems to have been more individuals caught than the sites that illegally
provided the music downloads.

Search engines have the ability to track anyone who does
a search and is also registered for a service at that search engine.
If you use the AOL search engine and also use an AOL email
account, the tracking cookie could track your surfing online
and that information could be sold for commercial gain and
be accessed by law enforcement agencies in theory.

In Pennsylvania last week there were two separate lawsuits accusing
a Florida travel promoter and its telemarketer of ignoring prior
warnings and illegally contacting nearly 200 Pennsylvania consumers
who had officially registered on the state’s “no call” list. The complaints
came from consumers located in 13 Pennsylvania counties.

The firm of Telemarketers when asked by individuals who had registered their name and phone number on the “No Call” list said:

1. They did not see the consumers name on the “no call” list.

2. They were following up on a package that they had mailed to the
consumer when in reality they did not send the consumer a package.

3. They must have dialed the consumer in error, sorry.

The “No Call” list must be checked by telemarketers and in theory
if a registered individuals name or phone number came up on the
computer list that the telemarketer was about to call, it should be
easy enough to skip on to the next person.

You can learn more and register your cell phone or home phone
number with the “Do Not Call” registry for a period of 5 years.
There is no fee to register.

https://www.donotcall.gov

As of January 1, 2005, telemarketers and sellers are required
to search the registry at least once every 31 days and drop from
their call lists the phone numbers of consumers who have registered.
https://telemarketing.donotcall.gov Telemarketers pay a fee
to obtain the list of local, State wide or U.S. Do Not Call lists.

The list for up to five area codes is free. The annual fee is forty
dollars per area code of list data (after five), with a maximum
annual fee of eleven thousand dollars for the entire U.S. database.

For a telemarketer to phone a person listed on the no call list
it is the same as sending unsolicited email. Both are illegal.

Registering and purchasing the do not call list is much cheaper
and safer than not doing so.

If you intend to phone everyone in your local area code
to promote your amazing new widget. Don’t do it until
you have registered as a telemarketer and obtained the list
of not to call people in your calling area.

If you have purchased Leads which legally have to include
time and date stamp, IP address etc to comply with
Government email Laws and Acts, you are able to phone
them. But do introduce yourself, your company and the product
or service in a clear and honest way or you could fall fowl
of the many Consumer Acts that are also in place.

Since the 911 terrorism incidence, your privacy on the
Internet, phone and other forms of communication is being
monitored or at least the FBI and other law enforcement
agencies can legally tap your phone and intercept your email.

One piece of legislation that is being debated both in the Senate
and the House of Representatives is “The Patriot Act” as a good
part of this Act is due for renewal at the end of this year.

Portions up for renewal include those sections regarding computer
hackers, sharing information gained through Wire Taping, Internet
Service providers to hand over customer information and records
in times of possible emergencies and for the Police to listen in on
communications as thought necessary and court orders if there
is a possibility case of terrorism suspected.

The Patriot Act, (great choice of name) was created to give
authorities more powers in times of terrorism but goes way
further than that!

I believe this act is necessary in this day and age when it comes
to threats to National Security but, where does this leave your
privacy?

As consumers, citizens and business owners we all have rights,
its just a pity that there are a small number of fanatics and idiots
out there that spoil it for the rest of us.

May you have a safe and secure week.

Peter Green
Editor of ~ The INDEX ~ ezine.
Editor@Internet-income-index.com
http://www.Internet-Income-Index.com

Your Free Weekly Internet Marketing
News, Ideas, Resources and Sources Ezine.

The title reflects Woodworking as a hobby, not as a vocation. Vocational woodworking is pretty much the opposite of the adjectives in the title because of the intense pressure to produce quickly in order to make it pay the bills. So we’ll stick with the hobby orientation for purposes of this article.

Many people start a project with very little thought. This is okay if you are working from plans, material lists and cutting lists in a woodworking magazine, but when you strike out on your own, this lack of planning often results in a project that becomes very difficult to manage somewhere in the middle, when more wood needs to be added, or, more often, the final piece has to shrink just a little to make do. The project gets less fun as measurement adjustments keep being made to the original plan to keep the modified parts fitting with each other. It’s kind of like playing chess with a saw, anticipating three moves ahead what the measurements are going to have to be because of the one deviation you made three steps ago.

What I would like to accomplish here is to lay out a sequence of events that need to take place as you migrate from the canned projects in the woodworking books and magazines to your own project planning.

Recreational woodworking starts with an idea of something functional (a shelf, a table, a bench, a box, a desk) or something meaningful (a toy, a piece of art, a frame), or a combination of the two. This idea can be born of inspiration from looking through woodworking magazines, seeing something in a model home, or a need that exists in your own home.

Most often the concept is sketched out. Traditionally, this is done on the back of an envelope or a partially used napkin, so be sure to have some of those lying around. Once you have the sketch, you have to decide how big you want this thing to be. Often, this is determined by available space or intended function. Staying true to our adage, “measure twice, cut once”, a rough dimensioned drawing is created. If this is to be a functional piece (desk, cabinet, etc.), be sure to stay reasonably close to standard measurements for desk heights, knee-hole allowances, kick spaces, cabinet heights, rail and stile widths, file drawer dimensions, etc. You’ll be glad you did.

By now, the concept has evolved enough that the desired finish (paint, stain, varnish, oil) has been narrowed down, and a type of wood has been selected that is appropriate for the project, budget and finish. With so many choices of wood and finish conveniently available today, this can be quite an exercise.

Now that the type of wood and finish have been determined, it is time to decide what kinds of joints you are going to make (assuming you are not making a boomerang or hollowed-out canoe or some other one-piece thing). Considerations are strength, the look you are trying to achieve, your equipment and capabilities, and the amount of time you can invest. This can be one of the more strenuous mental exercises because of the range of choices. The look of a bung or button, the clean lines of hidden biscuit or dowel joints, the strength and intricacy of the dovetail, the simplicity of nails and glue. All have their place, and you have to decide.

Along with the joints, hardware has to be planned. Based on the hardware, you have to adjust your dimensioned drawing to accommodate clearances for drawer rails, those extra half inches for lap and dado joints, hidden hinge overlaps, insert depths for frame-and-panel door panels, etc. You also have to consider depth of relieves and radii of router profiles to make sure your stock is thick enough to allow your concept to mature as planned.

A final dimensioned drawing is created, allowing for all joint and hardware considerations, and a cutting list is prepared from this drawing. Note: This drawing does not have to be to scale, or look professional in any way. It helps the visualization process if it is proportional, but the real important aspect of this drawing is documenting the measurements. Don’t be concerned about the appearance of the drawing - that is not what you will be displaying.

Now, finally, we can go to our lumber supplier and select the actual wood we will be working with. This is not where you want to save time. For the parts of the project that will show, especially for projects where the natural wood is intended to be a design feature, extra care should be taken to select the grains and natural attributes that will best fit your concept. If you are saving money intending to plane “three-sides-good” lumber, make sure the width runs far enough on the pieces selected with enough margin to get the length needed for each piece AFTER PLANING. Measure the finished surface to the beginning of the raw edge. For framework, cleats and carcasses look for straight, unknotted pieces. Warps and twists can be overcome, but they make the whole project less fun.

With this level of preparation and with sharp tools, the project will proceed nicely and the finished piece will bring you satisfaction, many years of service, and can sometimes even become a treasured family heirloom. Note: The heirloom status is often true of a desk, a well-made toy or a rocking chair. Don’t set your expectations too high for laundry shelves.

Kent Walters is currently an amateur woodworker in Houston, Texas. His entrance to the craft was similar to many - woodshop in school. He continued the craft some time later as a toymaker on a drill press, sander and spray booth. He was a furniture maker at one time, building mostly desks, book cases, wall units, display cases and cabinets.

As time moves on, he is “downsizing” to intarsia and toys – panels are getting too heavy to lift, and heirlooms are becoming more important than they once were. For more articles, resources and a woodworker’s website directory, see http://www.woodworkingcenter.com.