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There is Southern Cooking and then there is SOUTHERN COOKING! You can follow a recipe and still come out with a dish that does not resemble what the recipe intended. The reason is technique and the little secrets that are not included in the recipe.

Technique is as important as the ingredients and proper technique helps you avoid the following common mistakes made by novice cooks. You can find many free Southern recipes on the internet, but few web sites provide the additional information needed to to be a real Southern cook. So when you find a site that does, bookmark it and stick with it for your Southern recipes. (See Resource Box below for recommendation).

7 Biggest Mistakes:

1. Failure to Properly Preheat Oven When Baking.

Have you ever made cornbread that came out soft and crumbly without a crust? Or biscuits that did not rise and have a gray color? It was probably due to the fact that your oven was not properly preheated. When baking, the crust is set in the first 10 minutes. So, if you want a nice, golden crust on your cornbread, be sure to get the oven up to 400 degrees before you put the cornbread in.

Ovens vary in how long it takes to reach a given temperature. Some ovens will reach 400 degrees in 4-5 minutes. Some will take as long as 15 minutes. A good practice is to get a thermometer (any food thermometer that goes up to 425 degrees will work) and time how long it takes your oven to reach 250, 350, 400 and 425 degrees. Write it down and keep it handy if you can not remember. Then always allow the alloted time to reach the desired temperature before beginning your baking.

2. Undercooked Vegetables

Keep in mind we are talking about Southern cooking. Not Chinese or West Coast casseroles. Many vegetables, Southern Style, are cooked considerably longer than most people tend to cook them. Specifically, green beans are cooked until soft and dark green in color. They are not crunchy and bright green. Okra and green tomatoes, are cooked until some burned edges appear and are very crunchy. As a general rule boiled vegetables are cooked until very tender and fried foods are cooked until crunchy (this goes for cornbread, fried chicken and pork chops, too).

3. Failure to Use Cast Iron

I have never researched all the reasons why, but Southern cooking is best cooked in cast iron cook-ware. The cast iron holds and transfers heat unlike any other type metal. Food just does not cook the same in aluminum or steel. Especially cornbread. Besides, it is the traditional way to cook Southern.

Older cast iron tends to have problems with rust and food sticking, but the newer cook-ware comes already cured (seasoned) so it is not as much a problem. However, it is not difficult to cure your cast iron if you have an older style. You can get complete, free instructions in the web referrals below.

4. Failure to Use Onions and Bacon

Onions and bacon (or bacon grease) are used extensively in Southern cooking. Some cooks, however, stray away form cooking real Southern because they (or family members) do not like onions and/or concerns about the fat content in bacon.

They do this because they fail to understand the reason for using bacon and onions. They are NOT in the recipe so that you taste onions or bacon. They are there only to provide subtle flavor. A unique Southern flavor. If you do not like onions, use only a small amount and remove the onion from the dish before serving (put onion in cheesecloth while cooking and it is easy to remove). If you are concerned about the calorie content of bacon, do not use whole bacon. Just add 1/2 tsp of grease from previously cooked bacon. And, accept the fact that Southern cooking is not inherently low fat. It is meant to be flavorful and robust. So, use that bacon and onion for real Southern dishes.

5. Overworking Dough

Southern breads are meant to be light and fluffy. Even cornbread should not be heavy and solid. Many Southern cooks never learn how to make good biscuits. And homemade Southern Biscuits are the trademark of good Southern cooks.

Three errors cause bad biscuits (and other breads). First, do not overwork the dough. Biscuit dough should only be kneaded three times. No more. Just enough to shape it for cutting out the biscuits.

Second, when cutting the dough, do not push down and twist the biscuit cutter. Push straight down and straight back up. Twisting compacts the edges of the dough and causes uneven cooking.

Third, remember the previous mistake above…preheat your oven. A cold oven can result in flat, hard biscuits.

6. Yellow Cornmeal and Sugar in cornbread

Everyone has their own preference, but, please do not use yellow cornmeal in cornbread. It may be mental, but it just does not taste the same as white cornmeal. Besides it looks funny. And, NEVER, NEVER put sugar in cornbread if you want authentic Southern cornbread. Cornbread is bread to accompany a meal. It is not dessert. It is not cake! It is BREAD. So, if you like sweet cornbread…go ahead and use your sugar…but, do not call it Southern Cornbread!

7. Failure to Use buttermilk

All good Southern cooks use buttermilk in everything except desserts. Regular milk does not add the flavor that buttermilk does. Especially in any dish with cornmeal (cornbread, hush puppies, tamale pie, etc.). If you do not have buttermilk, you can make a reasonable substitute by stirring 1 tablespoon of white vinegar in a cup of regular milk. Allow to sit for a minute before use.

These are some of the most common mistakes (or lack of Southern cooking technique) made in Southern cooking. You can ignore all of them and make eatable food, but it will not be traditional Southern. Even some good Southern cooks fail to comply with all the above, but they have probably developed a variation of these same techniques.

So, get in that kitchen, fire up the stove and make your family a real Southern dinner tonight.

Ken Miller is a free lance writer and webmaster for http://www.olsouthrecipes.com, Southern Recipes – Southern Cooking, where you can find FREE recipes for the most popular, authentic Southern dishes like fried chicken, fried okra, biscuits and gravy, cornbread and many more.

Decide Use of Garden Tractors Or Lawn Tractors

When you have a small garden the question of using the garden tractor seems like a waste of money. When a smaller lawn tractor will do your work equally well, why spend more money in buying the garden tractor? Well, there are some points in favor of both the ideas and we will take look at both sides of the coin.

Garden Tractor Vs Lawn Tractors

Lawn tractors: Smaller gardens with an area of less than 2 to 3 acres can make do with smaller tractors better known as lawn tractors. Essentially these are used for lawn mowing and no other work. If your garden is small and has only the lawn, you may continue to use the lawn tractor. Small lawn tractors have a capacity of about 4 to 6 HP.

However, if you do some gardening and have some agricultural produce, it makes sense to buy a garden tractor. The agricultural work involves loading and unloading of the agricultural inputs and outputs and it is difficult for lawn tractors to handle such loads. The attachments that can be attached to a lawn tractor are limited and it cannot definitely take the front end loader attachment that can be required for leveling the ground or flattening it.

The garden tractors are also useful to you in saving time for the other work. With lawn tractor, the time required for the same work will be much higher than the time required for equivalent work for a garden tractor. Since agricultural work is not the main business of a small landholder, it makes sense to have a tractor that can do the work quickly and get on with other jobs that you have in hand.

With a garden tractor, you can do many things that are impossible for the lawn mower to do with or without attachments. For example, you cannot use your lawn tractor for aerating the field, leveling the driveway, or hauling the firewood from far corners of your garden.

With a larger machine like a garden tractor, you can do many things that are unthinkable with small lawn tractors. The removal of stones in your garden or shifting of the stones for beautification of the garden are impossible to be done with small lawn tractor but it can be easily done with a small garden tractor and you can save lot of money in doing this.

Granted that the lawn tractor costs less money for purchase, but think of other jobs that you will be outsourcing in developing your garden and if you buy the garden tractor right at the start of your work, it will be economical to you in the longer run. If later you find it not being used completely, remember that it has saved you enough money to pay for itself and is still saving your time. Remember the wise old saying that ‘time is money’ and now you can save time and utilize it in higher yield business that you are in now.

The idle investment garden tractor can also make money for you if you rent it. If you are not the kind of person, who likes to rent his/her equipments, just remember that the garden tractor has done its work for you during the development stage of your garden and allow the garden tractor the well earned rest in your garden

So in the final analysis you will agree that using the tractor in a garden is a wise decision.

The writer Andrew Caxton publishes quite often new articles to [http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com], an online magazine specialized in lawn tractors and lawnmowers. Andrew helps people to find the best solutions for different types of gardens. Reach further information on garden tractors [http://www.lawn-mowers-and-garden-tractors.com/garden-tractors.html]

A Step-By-Step Tutorial: How to buy a car with bad credit without it turning into a nightmare.

Are you tired of hearing the word ‘No’ when it comes to a car loan? I set up ‘How to buy a car with bad credit’ specifically so that you could hear the words ‘yes’. Who am I, you ask?

I spent 14 years in the automobile business as a Finance Manager so I believe it’s fair to say that I know a thing or two about getting a loan financed, irregardless of your past credit history.

Remember, regardless of your past credit history, you still need a car, want a car and most of all, you deserve a car. You should also be treated with respect and given choices. I’m going to teach you how to have a choice with auto bad credit financing loan.

First of all, all lenders now purchase deals based on what is called a beacon score, which is the same as your credit score. There are three credit bureaus that make up the package. Each lender will choose whichever credit bureau(s) they prefer when looking at your credit or a combination of bureaus.

I highly advise everyone to have all three credit bureaus pulled when checking your credit and to pay for the credit score. If you only look at one bureau, you’re only seeing part of the whole picture.

With the exception of a few minor things, beacon score will play a large part in your approval. Staying within your financial means is another, so be realistic. If you make $2500 per month and have $1200 going out, don’t walk in all high-and-mighty and tell the Finance Manager that you will only have an Expedition or nothing. You’ll end up with nothing.

In order to effectively use auto bad credit financing, you are going to have to know what your credit looks like and what your credit score actually is. Otherwise, you are working in the dark.

Pay for the credit score or it’s just almost useless. With the credit score, you will know whether or not you qualify for a lender such as Ford. Also, the higher the score, the lower the interest rate. Got it? With an auto bad credit loan, the higher the beacon score, the better.

Let me explain websites like cars.com and the such: They collect applications for car loans online. They then have a network of dealerships that PAY them for the leads. These are generally dealerships that have departments that specialize in getting you financed, regardless of your credit. These departments pay for these leads, so most take them very seriously, as they are their bread-and-butter, so to speak.

If you have a lower than usual credit score, a current repo or just plain, all-around bad credit, this might be the way to go. If your credit is really that bad, remember that you are going to need some cash or a paid-for trade in that’s actually worth something.

O.K., now for the step-by-step system that I promised. First, take control of your car deal! You need to be in the driver’s seat, if at all possible. Go online and run a copy of a tri-merge, which is all three credit bureaus, plus pay for your credit score. You can get a FREE copy of your credit report once per year HERE:

http://www.annualcreditreport.com

This is the new Federal law that actually entitles you to receive a FREE copy of your credit bureau once per year and with some other exceptions. This is not a credit monitoring site. You have to run each bureau separately; Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. Then, you have to pay for the credit score.

So as to hold down on confusion, here’s the scoop: Each credit score for each separate bureau will be different. That’s why a Tri-Merge is called what it is called. You can run a specific bureau called a Tri-Merge from one company (there are many-just do a Google search) and you actually get one bureau (it’s actually all three combined but the credit score is also one credit score). It’s more expensive and generally runs around $34.00 but it just depends on your preference.

Now, with your credit score in hand and a copy(s) of your credit bureau, look at your credit. Do you have anything strange on there that is not yours? If so, it’s time to fix it. You should review your credit bureau at least every 6 months to a year. Plus, if your identity has been stolen, you will know quickly. P.S. you can also have a liner placed on the bottom of your bureau that simply states “Do not extend any credit on my behalf without contacting me first. Work # (111)222-3333 Home#(222)333-4444 Cell# (333)444-5555.” Call or write the credit bureaus and request that this is done. You can now do this online for free. Again, do a Google search for all three bureaus listed above.

How do you fix your credit, you ask? I give away a totally FREE book that I wrote on the subject simply for the asking. Email me with Free Credit Repair Book in the headline and I’ll email it to you.

Next in line: Know what you want to buy BEFORE you even go out shopping! Let me make this very clear. Car dealer’s jobs are to sell you a car on your very first visit. A salesman/woman and their sales manager believe that if you walk into their dealership and do not leave with a car, you will never come back again. They are going to hammer on you until they either A) Make you mad and you get up and leave or B) Sell you a car. It’s the nature of the beast. Accept it ahead of time.

What do you want to buy? Where can you get unbiased information on the auto? Again, Google for Kelley Blue Book or NADA and you can get cost, warranty repairs, recalls, and information on problems and tons of info beforehand. Limit your shopping to three models. Keep it simple. Those will be the ones that you will shop for.

Can you afford the car? You may think you can afford the car, but the bank may think otherwise! I have seen this so many times in my career. Automobile economics 101: Take your gross income (what you make per year BEFORE Uncle Sam taxes you) and remember, this income needs to be provable-tax returns, check stubs with taxes taken out or a W-2. If you are self-employed, you will need two years of tax returns with Schedule C’s. This is the income that you actually paid taxes on. Being self-employed can be tough. You may need to combine a spouse’s income if you are self-employed.

Now with your gross income figured out, find out what all of your debts are that are going out each month. Include everything…it’s listed on your credit bureau’s. Example: Car note=$450.00 + House note= $560.00 + Credit card debt= $425.00

Boat note= $310.00 Charge-offs=$1200.00 (yes, charge-offs; these are bills that you never paid and they were written off). Add all of your debts up. With just your obvious debts (including the charge-offs), you have $1805.00 per month going out. I arrived at that figure by adding up all the monthly notes and taking 5% of the charge-offs. 5% of $1200.00 = $60.00. We’re not through, though. Now we have to figure in cost of living-utilities. Each lender has their own algorithm for utilities but a good range to estimate would be to add $300.00. Now we have a total outgo of $2105.00. This is what you have to have to pay your current bills before you take on any other debt.

Almost all lenders will not allow your new car note to exceed 20% of your current income. For our example, let’s assume that your gross income is $5300.00 per month. Let’s take $5300.00 and subtract your debts, which are $2105.00. That leaves you with $3195.00. To make it easy, take $2105.00 and double it. That would be $4210.00. That would leave you with disposable income of $1090.00. What the lender is looking at here is referred to as debt-to-income. They want to know if you have more going out than you can handle. This is strictly a case of numbers and provable numbers. If your gross income was $4500.00 and you had $2105.00 in debts each month, you need to be prepared for one of two things; add your spouse’s income and your spouse to the deal or trade in the other auto. If your debt-to-income is running too close to 50%, you’re going to have a hard time getting a loan for anything. Make sense? The way the bank looks at it is this: you can’t afford both cars so they assume that you are going to let the other (older) car go back to the lender-repossession. That’s their take. Debt-to-income is a HUGE deal.

In this case, your disposable leftover income is $1090.00. 20% of that would be $1060.00. Whoa! Let me be the first to inform you that you are NOT getting a car payment of $1060.00! Why? Well, you only have $1090.00 left over for starters. Let’s be realistic here. Most lenders will slice that in half which will equal $530.00. Your payment call should be around that figure, give or take a few dollars.

How expensive of a car can I buy on a $530.00 payment? Good question and one that you absolutely need to know so that you can pick out the correct car. One answer depends on the term of the loan. You can finance for 36, 48, 60 or 72 months, as a for-instance. That equates to 3 years, 4 years, 5 years and 6 years. I will tell you this: the worst thing you can do is extend the note out the longest amount of time in order to get the payment where you can afford it. That creates a syndrome that now affects over 75% of car owners called being “Upside Down.” It means that you owe more on your car than it’s worth. It also means that you need more money down when you go to trade it in. The only way around that is a lot of money down or a short-term loan.

You can again do a Google search for a ‘car loan calculator’. You will punch in the loan amount you want to borrow, the term (48,60, etc.) and the interest rate. If you have not gotten approved already and know the rate, you will have to guesstimate. Here’s a rule of thumb for you-it’s not an exact science without knowing your credit, but it is a guide you can follow to get you close. Let’s base the rate on your beacon score: that’s what most of the lenders are going to look at.

If your beacon (credit score) is in the 400 or lower range, you will need to figure your interest rate on a new car at 21% (state maximums differ-it could be 18%). If you are looking at a used car, figure on 33%. If your beacon score is in the low 500 range, figure your new car loan as you would for the above-mentioned 400 beacon. If your beacon score is in the mid to high 500-range, figure a new car at 18% and a used car at 27%. If you have a beacon of 600 to 649, figure a new car at 16% and a used car at 20%. If you have a beacon score of 650 to 699, figure a new car rate at 12% and a used car rate at 16%. I may be hitting too high on a few of these, but I live in a state that has the highest rates in the nation. Better safe than sorry.

Get Pre-Approved BEFORE you start shopping. This is the easy part, in a way. Remember I told you at the beginning of this article to take charge of your car deal instead of letting the dealer lead you by the hand. It all boils down to financing. If you can walk in with a check in your hand, you are in control. I will recommend a few companies that are reputable, have a proven track record in sub prime loans and all mail the check to you at home. You then go into a dealership and pick out your vehicle, negotiate and buy like a cash buyer! These companies are Household Finance, Capital One Finance, Americredit and E-Loan. You can do a Google search for all four, apply online, and get either an instant approval or one really quickly. When you are approved, they mail the contract to you and then the check. It’s that easy.

On the final decision for the car-work smart here. There is nothing more valuable than time and nothing more rewarding than piece of mind. Please don’t go running from dealership to dealership. Wrong. Pick out the 3 models of auto that you can afford. If you are looking for a program car (rental), call dealerships and inquire as to whether or not they have any. If you want a new, ask other people that are driving that model where they bought theirs and would they purchase there again. If you start hearing a lot of “I’ll never buy from them again”, move on. Something is wrong. Your new car is only as good as the service you will get AFTER the sale.

Negotiating-Most people hate this. I have only met 2 people in 14 years that enjoyed it; they were both retired and had nothing better to do. One did it for the fun of it and never even bought if you agreed to his price. Don’t waste other people’s time. If you don’t like the car, don’t negotiate on it. When you do find a car that you would own, tell the salesman you’d buy it right then if the price was right and if they provided you with a Car Fax. The keyword here is: ‘If the price is right’. How do you know what a good price is? Well…glad you asked. If it’s a new car, Kelley Blue Book will have dealer cost. Go to: http://www.kbb.com

If it’s a used car, compare used car figures at http://www.kbb.com

And

[http://www.nadaguides.com]

What’s the difference? Most dealers (with the exception of the West coast) will use NADA as their guide.

Here’s what’s transpired so far:

Before you ever drove the car, you went by the dealership on Sunday, when there are no salespeople and you got the Vin# of the car and the equipment, year model and had a good look at it. You already know if you like the car when you drive it, that you would buy it. The list price is in your pre-approved check category, to boot. You’ve already gone online and gotten wholesale, trade-in and retail values for the car.

Retail is what the dealer should ask for the car. This will help you to know whether or not the salesman is trying to add money to the car, or if the dealership is. Trade-in is a figure to gauge approximately what the dealership traded for the car for. It will give you an idea of what the dealer paid for the car, before reconditioning fees and any ticket from service. Now, not every make of car will bring trade-in value. Two that will at this time are a Honda and a Toyota. Those cars will bring trade-in value. Domestic cars generally will not bring trade-in value, with the exception of new, hot models. Other models will only bring wholesale. As an example, Kia makes a great car, but most will not bring close to trade-in value. Mitsubishi is going through changes and also won’t bring close to trade-in value. There are exceptions to the rule: Katrina and Rita-two hurricanes that created a short supply of used cars. If you live in the south, that will be the case for a while. With the exception of a Honda and a Toyota, you can probably be safe offering less than trade-in. Not thousands, mind you, but less.

Take into consideration the other costs of trading for a car. Also, ask the salesperson how long they’ve had the car. If the salesperson slips up and tells you they’ve had it a while, your negotiating should be easier. The reason behind that is that the dealer is paying interest on the car every month it does not sell. The book value is also dropping every month so it needs to go.

Throughout the car deal, make sure they know you are paying cash. Don’t mention that you have a check from Americredit or whoever. That’s none of their business. When you make a deal, insist on the Used Car Manager running a Car Fax before you sign any paperwork. A Car Fax will show if the vehicle has been involved in a serious wreck, was bought back from the original customer or is salvaged. This will put your mind at ease. If you don’t like the Car Fax, don’t buy the car.

Throughout your shopping, I can’t stress this enough-Do NOT fill out credit applications at each dealership. Every time you sign a credit application, the dealer pulls your credit report and your beacon score goes DOWN. That’s why I advise on getting approved ahead of time. There are numerous advantages to getting approved ahead of time. The main advantage is that you are in control, not the dealership. That’s worth a fortune in itself. Their job is to take control of you from the start of every meeting. Believe me; I know what I’m telling you. I lived that life for a long time.

For some reason, should you not be able to get pre-approved because your credit is extremely bad (a discharged bankruptcy is an instant-approval, by the way), and you have to go through an online clearinghouse like cars.com, don’t despair. Continue to follow my previous steps and advice and negotiate and insist on a Car Fax report.

When you do decide on a car and go into the Finance Office to sign the papers, I would like for everyone to know that you do not have to purchase any products in order to get the loan. If anyone in Finance tells you that you have to purchase a warranty and credit life to get the loan, which is a bold-faced lie. Why would a Finance Manager do that? Because they work on commission, also. Surprised? Don’t be. That’s the way dealers set up Finance Offices from the start when they realized how much money could be made. The Finance Manager makes money off of the rate they quote you, the warranty they sell you, the gap insurance and the credit life and disability you buy. That’s how they make a living.

I’m not saying that any of these products are bad, though. I believe in extended warranties. I’m just telling you to shop around first. If you find a cheap warranty, check out the company and make sure they will give the dealer a credit card over the phone immediately when in need of repairs in any state. All in all, I will say this-A manufacturers warranty is always better than an after-market warranty. Always. Just negotiate on it if you want it.

The only reason why you would not want gap insurance would be if you literally paid cash for the car. Otherwise, gap is cheap (should retail around $495) and will pay the portion that insurance won’t pay if it’s totaled. Just remember what I said about the book dropping on a car every month. It will never be worth what you owe unless you put down a lot of money at the time of purchase.

Credit life and Disability insurance are a personal matter. If you have a life insurance policy, it can be used to pay off the car in the event of your death. If you are single, why do you need Credit Life? The only benefit would be if you are married with a family, it cuts down the payout time. In this situation, your spouse would not lose the car.

Disability Insurance pays out for a specified amount of time. It will not pay out for the entirety of the loan. It also has a specified start date from the time you are disabled. It doesn’t just kick in immediately.

This is a lengthy article, but the gist of it is this: do your homework at home first. Then get approved online. Then shop on Sunday. Then go get your car and negotiate on everything. It will be the easiest car-buying experience you have ever had.

Regardless of your credit situation, if you follow my steps, you’ll have a car in no time and you’ll be an educated and informed customer during the process. Good luck!

Alicia Guidry spent 14 years in the retail automobile industry as a finance manager, sales manager and general sales manager.

For additional sources, see:

Bad Credit Car Loan [http://bad-credit-card-applications.com/auto-bad-credit-financing-loan.html]

Buy quality self employed health insurance coverage that’s right for your stage of business growth, with an eye to the future.

Right now, you’re the only employee of your company and you need the peace of mind provided by a quality insurance plan. Before you ask for a self employed health insurance quote, though, look at these three business growth scenarios. Then decide what kind of self employed health insurance coverage and benefits you need before you buy health insurance online.

1) I expect to remain the sole employee of my business. Solution: simply ask for a self employed health insurance online quote.

Shop around and ask for a health insurance online quote from reputable insurance agencies that provide quality customer service. Then buy health insurance online from the agency that meets your needs and your budget.

Also read up on and / or consult an accountant to discover how you can deduct the cost of your self employed health insurance coverage. You’ll want to take advantage of every deduction possible without make a costly error in what’s allowable.

2) I expect to hire employees within the next year. Solution: ask about temporary self employed health insurance coverage and also ask for a group health insurance quote.

Let’s say that you’ve gotten a self employed health insurance quote that pleases you. There’s just one more step to take before you buy health insurance online. Ask the insurance agent to discuss how you will transition from self employed health insurance coverage to group health insurance once you hire your employees.

If the insurance agent is too busy to talk about this, then look elsewhere for a health insurance online quote. Also, monitor the dates on your temporary health insurance policy carefully because you don’t want a lapse between the end of your temporary health insurance and the beginning of your group policy.

3) I am ready to hire anywhere from two to fifty people. Solution: ask which group health insurance plan provides you the benefits that you — and your employees — will need.

Congratulations! Your business must be thriving and growing. Discuss this anticipated growth with insurance agents. Compare and contrast the health insurance online quote that they give you for group insurance policies and choose the one that will treat your best assets — your new employees — right.

You can then use your group health insurance benefits as a recruiting tool to hire and retain top quality staff that will keep your business moving in the right direction. When you buy health insurance online you are in fact investing in your company and its assets.

Time for a self employed health insurance quote or for group health insurance? Either way, choose the insurance agent that provides quality coverage and service, no matter what stage of growth you’re in.

Take a good hard look at where your business is headed. Decide whether you need self employed health insurance coverage or group health insurance. Then get your self employed health insurance quote and buy health insurance online that will keep you — and your employees (current or future) — safe, secure and covered.

Charles Mondrus is the president of Blue Cross of California American Health Insurance an agency selling Blue Cross of California health insurance and Blue Shield of California health insurance plans for individuals and employers. Charles and his team of insurance experts are licensed to sell Blue Cross California health insurance, as well as Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in Colorado, Nevada and Georgia. Discover how you can find secure and affordable Blue Cross California coverage at AmericanHealth911.com

So… did you jump on that early bird special and register your child for summer camp back in January?

The economy is tough on summer camps. Not only can they be a “luxury” expense for many families, but with so many parents out of work and staying home we also know that summer camps no longer have the same role in child-care.

Since camps are in a yearly revenue cycle with huge dry spells and just a few peak sale months (March – May), it can take until June (for summer camps who are on the edge) to figure out if they can make payroll or pay for facilities through the summer. What? Really? Yep. Summer camp payroll is a huge expense for camps that do not run off volunteers, as are facility costs for any camp that doesn’t own its own site. And keep in mind, those that run off volunteers are generally non-profits relying on fundraising and donations; contributions that also dry up in slow economies.

What happens when a summer camp is in the red?

That depends on the summer camp company. Many summer camps are part of a bigger organization, and the camp can be a loss leader. To stay a float some summer camps will renegotiate terms or payment plans with venders or facilities. Some camps will turn to volunteer staff or cut staff ratios. And a few will run to the bank and hope they can get that loan to cover payroll. When those attempts are successful they squeak by. But it happens every year…. some summer camps will close mid-summer or just before they are due to run.

Will you get your money back if a summer camp closes?

That depends on the summer camp company. Most summer camps that are associated with a youth organization, to protect the reputation of the umbrella company or the facility they work for, will be covered by the latter. A summer camp run by a multi-program agency has other budget to draw on and can’t afford the legal entanglement from a Chapter 7 that leaves customer damages. But companies that only run camp… well, these are the ones that can fold up on you. (Don’t get me wrong, these are also some of the best camps because they devote full time to just running camps. But as a possible indicator of stability in tough economic times – a diversified company may be more resilient.)

Back in 2001 ACE computer camps, a nationally run chain of computer camps with over 60 locations nationwide stopped running mid-session. With estimated numbers at 10, 000 campers per summer – this was a big upset.

When campers came back from lunch some happened to search out the ACE website, they found this message: “American Computer Experience is going out of business immediately. All ACE computer camp locations are cancelled effective immediately.” So, the campers and staff went home. None of the families of that week or subsequent weeks were refunded. Camp staff who had worked at camp several weeks were not paid. The rented camp facilities also did not get paid. Lawsuits went on for years and financial restitution is still incomplete.

How can a summer camp customer protect themselves?

It can be hard to find out if a summer camp company has solid financial footing. In the 2009 camp season, you should assume all camps are struggling a bit so don’t be afraid to ask some pointed questions:

1) Assume your summer camp might have to close slow weeks and move everyone together to reduce the cost and maximize the profits. Ask your summer camp which weeks might they close if they have to consolidate?

2) If your summer camp is using a rented facility; ask if the camp has paid upfront (or are they past the point of canceling) where the camp would have really committed to the week? (In rental contracts there are dates by which payments become committed, if it’s past that point (or if they paid in full upfront), then they will run the week even if it’s lower in numbers.)

3) How many campers are registered in the summer camp? Ask for totals for each class as well as over-all camper registration numbers and ask what they had expected. Ask what happens to classes or registration numbers that are low? What is considered low? You are looking for a reasonable answer and a plan for how they will serve lower number. Do some simple math based on what you are paying for the camp and how many kids they say each staff will cover. And if you think because you pay $600 or $1000/week that they must have a ton of profit to play with… think again, summer camps just don’t operate on huge margins until they really have volume, it’s the “economy of scale” that work in this business – which is why every summer camp may be hurting right now.

4) If you hate your plans to change… avoid registering early for the first week of the camp season and the last week of summer too and the weeks on either side of the holiday. These are the most frequently closed summer camp weeks. The bookend camp weeks close to consolidate the numbers. The weeks on either side of the holiday close because families are taking more trips and enrollment is low. (If you wait and buy these weeks late you may find good deals, call the week before and make an offer … this may work especially well if you are paid in-full for weeks later in the summer as well.)

5) Know your summer camp leadership. Find out all you can about the camp owner. Are they from a summer camp back ground? Is this a passion that they will not give up on, even in bad times? Would they sell their summer camp today if they could? Also, if you have been at this summer camp for a while, do you sense any change in their approach to camp customers? Are they emailing you more or less? Are the notifications on time, is paperwork late, are they cutting back any services? In this economy, they should be making some adjustments but a “camp” committed owner will be guarding the customer experience from those cuts. Ask what adjustments they are making.

6) How long your summer camp has been around can be a good indicator, but only IF they have a great return rate. (A topic for another day… there are MANY ways that camps can compute a return rate). The summer camps with strong return rates tend to be camps that have either a strong “traditions-based” programming and/or an excellent progression for kids to follow as they age and/or develop in skills. Summer camps that offer a single topic can be fine, if they offer a strong progression. But keep in mind that trendy topics always come and go, so even in good economic years you will see ebb and flow in the numbers at any specialty summer camp. If you hear about some new cool summer camp focused on a topic that is ripped from the TV prime time… it might be fun, call early, but don’t drop your cash until just before it runs – and do your best to stop by and visit the program their first week, before you pay up in full… to avoid an unhappy camper.

7) You can check on them. If you are thinking of going to a summer camp that rents their space, call the facility and ask if the summer camp always pays on time. Verify they have been paid all appropriate fees for 2009. This can be very very informative.

8. Take “Fire Sales” as a warning sign. If your summer camp company is running “Fire Sales” (dropping prices like crazy) in the month of June, they are scrabbling for revenue. They have figured out that they have lost money and they are trying to fill all the seats as a tourniquet for the bleeding. They will likely try to up-sell to people already registered for weeks… “Since you bought early we’re offering you this amazing discount on your added weeks”. This can be a great deal… and using Fire Sales to get a great deal is wonderful… but if your week is in August, and Fire Sales start happening… it’s a warning that your camp company is already worried and is likely tightening its belt and scrabbling for last minute camp sales. This could mean reductions in staff ratio, tightening on supplies, or other cost saving measures, including cancelling weeks. It’s time to call and ask to make sure your week is still 100% a go. (Ok, in all honesty, if they are doing this at least they are doing something… some businesses can get so busy in summer they don’t even try to save themselves and end up folding post season).

9) Have key people in the camp company left? No, I’m not talking about the counselors – though they are “key” since your kids will be with them (but a % of summer staff always go before the season is out). But check into the company leadership, have they had any major turn-over, this can be a sign of financial troubles or major shifts in the company direction. Don’t just ask how long the company has been around, ask how long the main Camp Leadership has been in place.

10) Do they have a fall back position? A strong summer camp knows its numbers and knows what it will do based on those numbers along the way. If you can have a frank discussion with someone about the contingency plans you will likely get a gut feel for their business sense; of course that is if you get to speak with a leader in the company not just a sales person. Asking a sales person who is not trained handling these types of questions, may give you your first clues about how the numbers are. If you’re worried after that, as to speak to the director or business manager and go ahead and ask questions. Start form the basic assumption that sales must be low and let them know you plan to have a frank discussion.

The point is… Ask some direct questions and make yourself an insider. Your camp company should welcome your partnership!

Kat “Toes” Fitzgerald has been a leader in the summer camp industry for over 20 years. She currently is the founder of an educational summer enrichment camp at multiple locations that focuses on STEM subjects (science, technology, engineering and math.) You can read more tips for parents, counselors, administrators and campers at http://www.campydiem.com

Has a new puppy recently become a member of your family? Puppies are born with instincts, but not with the knowledge of how to behave. Therefore, it is necessary to teach your new puppy appropriate behaviors and also some fun tricks. You can try to do this yourself or you can enlist the help of a dog school.

There are many different types of dog schools available. What dog school would be the best for your dog? Things to consider when searching for a dog school include: the age of your dog, the breed, the personality, and what it is that you want your dog to learn.

Let’s focus first on what you want your dog to learn. Do wish to have your dog learn basic obedience commands such as “sit” and “stay”? Do you want to learn practice drills you can do with your dog at home such as keeping them from begging for food at the dinner table? Then local dog schools will best meet your needs.

Local dog schools can be found at community colleges, city recreation centers, through pet stores, and even through private dog schools. You can opt to take a group class with up to twenty other dogs. These types of dog schools are often less expensive and meet in a local park. They meet once or twice week for a few weeks. You can have fun teaching your dog new commands as well as let them socialize with fellow dogs.

Local dog schools can offer more advanced dog training classes as well. Perhaps your dog has mastered the basic commands and you want to teach them how to hold a piece of food on their nose for a specified amount of time and then flip it into their mouth. You can find dog schools that have fun, exciting advanced classes where you and your dog can bond.

You may consider having your dog compete in dog shows. Maybe you purchased your dog from an established breeder that has determined your dog has champion DNA in their pedigree. If so then you should look into more in depth dog schools that are focused specifically and dog handling/showing. You can find these through breeders and the American Kennel Club. You can search for dog training materials and resources on the American Kennel Club website at:

http://akc.org/

On a different note, maybe you want your dog to become a service dog or guide dog for the blind. Dogs that perform these jobs have to go to specific guide dog training schools. These special dog schools are necessary because there are very detailed requirements and commands that a guide dog must learn. These types of dog schools will also provide the support, knowledge, and training necessary to make your dog a successful guide dog.

There are many guide and service dog schools around the world to train your dog. You can find these schools through your breeder, groomer, and veterinarian. You can also find information about these dog schools through the Internet. A comprehensive listing is available by Wolf Packs – List of Service Dog Schools and Information. You can find this on their website at: http://wolfpacks.com/serviced.htm/

Once you have determined what you want your dog to learn then you can narrow down your search of dog schools by taking into account your dog’s age, personality, and breed. Do you have a young puppy that is large like a Great Dane? Or do you have tiny new Bichon Frise that weighs in at only 4 pounds? Find out the type of dogs that are allowed into the dog training class.

Will the dog training class be filled with many large dogs that might scare your little Bichon Frise? Or are there dog classes available that are separated by age and weight? It is a good idea to be aware of this information before you sign your dog up for classes. You want to provide them the best experience possible and not have them cower when it is time to head to dog class each week.

Another consideration when choosing between dog schools is the amount of one-on-one attention. Is your dog very active and can’t sit still during group training sessions? Many dog schools offer private classes. Sometimes the dog trainer will even come to your home to give you and your pooch lessons.

Picking among dog schools is also reliant upon the price and schedule flexibility of the classes. Run a price and schedule comparison on dog schools in your area. This will help you to discover a dog school that fits your schedule, your dog’s personality, and meets your budget.

Choosing between dog schools is an important decision that will set your dog on the path to obedience success. Take your time and choose wisely so that both you and your canine buddy have a memorable, enjoyable dog training experience.

Visit the dog [http://www.dog-breeds-infosite.com] website to research dog breeds & get free tips on dog training, dog health, dog grooming & how to find dog sitters & dog walkers.

Public speaking skills are often overlooked by people as being unimportant or they may think that they will never be called to speak in public, that’s why they do not bother to get themselves acquainted with any public speaking skills. Truth is, more often then not, it is these people that often get tongue tied and being in a state of total meltdown when faced with the possibility that they will be asked to present a topic in public, even a topic they know inside out.

To some people, they do not put high importance or regards to the importance of having good public speaking skills because they have an impression that good public speaking skills are only for people in sales or marketing. This is untrue. Good public speaking skills are also a hallmark of good communication skills and having good communication skills is essential for any career, unless you are the only person in the entire office. For example, if you are signing up for a new job, any job at all, you will probably need to go for an interview. During the interview, the interviewer does not just judge you based on your qualifications, your ability to communicate, both spoken and unspoken, also constitutes a part of the decision making process of whether you will be accepted or not. If you are a student in college, your ability to deliver a good public speaking session will also be tested on regular basis. An example of this will be the various class presentations that you need to do over the course of the semester and the grading criteria will almost certainly have an element of “clarity of delivery” in it. By not knowing how to give a clear and effective presentation using good public speaking skills will only disadvantage yourself because if you cannot communicate clearly to your audience, it is as if you have never learnt the subject at all.

This is one of the reasons perhaps why a lot of ideas by some of the most intelligent people on the planet are only discovered many years after their death. One of the possible reasons is that although they are highly intelligent and have written very useful information, they just cannot seem to put through to people what they are thinking about due to their lack of ability to communicate to a large group of people using public speaking techniques.

Public speaking skills are not only used in situation where you have to address a large group of people. Communication skills and public speaking skills are inter-related, hence, if you improve your public speaking skills, you also invariably improve your interpersonal communication skills with your peers and family.

Therefore, if you are ever presented with an opportunity to practice public speaking or learn public speaking skills, don’t shy away from it. Whether you are in class, in the office or in any kind of setting that requires you to deliver a message to an audience, pick up your courage and go for it. Public speaking is a skill and the more you use it and practice it, the better you will become. To improve your public speaking skills or even if you are a new beginner, there are a lot of public speaking audiobooks or guide books to learn from. By picking up a good public speaking skill, you will have an edge over others who don’t.

Alvin runs a Good Public Speaking AudioBooks [http://www.easypublicspeaking.info] website with audiobooks for overcoming fear of public speaking [http://www.easypublicspeaking.info].

All children are different and respond differently to divorce. Depending on the characteristics of the children – age, emotional maturity, happiness, resiliency to trauma – the easier or more difficult it will be for children to weather a divorce.

As a parent, you should know your children better than anyone…use your best judgment with your children during considering divorce. This “divorce and children” article is for parents who are certain that they would get a divorce if they didn’t have children and want to decide what to think about regarding the effects a divorce would have on their children.

Children of divorced parents can actually live wonderful lives as long as the parents use proper judgment and create the right types of interactions between themselves and with each other.

This article on this web page does not suggest that divorce is the correct course of action for you and it in no way should be taken as a form of counseling to you. This article is merely to spark you to think logically and then make your own decision about divorce and your children.

As previously stated, every child is different and subsequently, every child responds to divorce in a different way.

If you think there’s a definitive answer about how divorce affects children, you are mistaken. There’s been hundreds of books written about this subject and a plethora of studies done regarding divorce and children, all citing differing opinions and using different statistical constraints and inputs. But, statistics can only go so far…if you know your children better than anyone else, you will know best how they’ll be affected by a divorce.

How divorce affects children and what you should do if you’re staying married solely because you have children is complicated issue.

Here’s some things you may want to consider if you’re a parent who is staying married just because you have children:

Children and divorce consideration 1: Make sure that you are, in fact, only staying married just because you have children.

Often times people use the children as an excuse not to get a divorce because they aren’t really sure that they want a divorce or have some other fear regarding divorce. Those fears can be present due to finance, self-confidence, living arrangements, or other personal issues.

Before you really take the next steps in deciding whether or not to get a divorce because of your children, rank your reasons for divorce and make sure that you’re really certain you’d get a divorce if you didn’t have children.

Children and divorce consideration 2: Make sure ‘guilt’ isn’t the real reason that you aren’t getting a divorce.

The ‘guilt’ referenced above is the guilt brought on by thinking that your divorce will hurt your children. In and of itself, this feeling of guilt is a selfish one if you haven’t really examined carefully if a divorce will have an adverse effect on your children. If you aren’t getting divorced because of guilt in this regard, but you still have an unhappy marriage that is affecting your children, then you aren’t really staying married for them, you’re staying married for you because you feel guilty…this is selfish.

Children and divorce consideration 3: Once you’ve clearly defined that you are in fact, not getting a divorce solely because you have children, examine why you think divorce will adversely affect your children.

Remember, divorce can have a negative effect on children initially, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that a divorce will be a negative influence on your children forever.

Decide whether or not your children have the resiliency, the intelligence, the emotional health, and the support they’d need to mitigate the adverse effects that a divorce would have on them. Will they be happy after the initial shock of the divorce is worked through?

Children and divorce consideration 4: Once you’ve really defined what you believe to be negative effects on your children due to divorce, think about what your children’s life will be like in the immediate and distant future if you do actually go through with the divorce.

Ask yourself, “Can I create and maintain a healthy environment for my children if I do get a divorce?”

One thing that is a critical factor in this decision is the feasibility of you and your spouse getting a divorce amicably. If you and your spouse can go through a divorce amicably, and you both can agree to always put your children’s welfare above your own, you will be one step ahead.

Again, make sure you are certain a divorce is necessary to create the right type of environment for your children. Assure that there is absolutely no way you can rekindle your marriage.

Usually, divorce represents the first real trauma of a child’s life. Keep this in mind when your making your divorce decision. Divorce is a serious step and nothing should be done until your’re certain that divorce is the best course of action. Getting a divorce without making sure that divorce is the right thing is selfish on your part and is the wrong thing to do to your children…after all, they deserve your best effort!

One thing should remain constant…that you and your spouse will always be there for your children, no matter what.

Karl Augustine, Author of “A Practical Guide To Deciding Whether Or Not To Get A Divorce”.
Deciding on Divorce
Children and Divorce

I love my pet, but I hate the high cost of pet supplies.

Can you relate to the constant drain on your wallet? Would you like to reduce the cost of your pet supplies?

If you too love your pet or pets and would like to benefit from some ways I save money on pet supplies then take just a few minutes and let me share some cost saving ideas that can really lighten the financial drain for those pets that we consider a integral part of our family.

One of the problems with the cost of pet supplies has become the increasing cost these past few years. It can add up fast. In my house we actually have a line item in our monthly budget because we actually have 3 pets (2 dogs and a cat). In this article I hope to help everyone who loves pets but would like to save money on pet supplies.

Most of us are genuine pet lovers. We love to keep animals as pets for our enjoyment and companionship. Over time, these pets become a regular part of the family. Our pets deserve the very best care just as anyone in the family would. Because of our love and commitment to care for our pets, We’re constantly looking for little nick knacks we can buy while shopping..

The pet supply and pet product industry has grown quite a bit over the past decade. Thus a large number of new pet stores have opened up all through out the country. There are many pet products and pet supplies outlets available in the market today including where you live or at least over the Internet. As a Pet lover, you can buy these products from discount pet stores or order online from the comfort of your home of office.

The goal is sorting through these new shopping options in search for the true values, the genuine best and Lowest discounted prices available. In terms of pet supply inventory, this too has increased dramatically over the past decade. Today there are virtually endless products and pet food options available. Most of the discount pet supply stores have a large assortment of these different products that offers a variety of sizes. In addition they carry a growing selection of pet supplies and pet gifts.

There are a wide variety of online and local discount pet stores for you to choose from. Both online and traditional discount pet supply stores offer a growing selection of items for the pets that you love. The online pet discount stores carries a wider range of product for your pet because their not limited to physical shelf space. These online discount pet stores are a great resource for checking out a discount pet supplies and price comparisons without the need to actually visit stores in your area. Online stores are easy to use as they are easier and more convenient to order from. When purchasing anything online including pet supplies or pet foods you can save money by not having to pay sales taxes in most cases. In addition, you can have many online pet supplies stores offer free shipping to first time buyers or in many cases for a specific period of time of if your order exceeds a certain dollar amount.

Most of the pet supply discount pet stores are pet friendly. They are designed to provide a nice comfortable place for the pet owner and your pet while your buying pet supplies. Some of these discount stores offer many additional benefits and services in addition to the normal services you’ve come to expect. Some of these extra services include pet grooming services, pet photography and veterinary services, Community services such as obedience classes, pet adoption clinics and seminars on pet care are also offered.

Well I hope this article has helped you and I hope it has shed some light on the challenge of saving money on your pets supplies regardless whether you use a local regular pet supply store or an online store. This may take a little research and price comparison on your part but the savings will be well worth it.

Find more information about discount pet supplies by visiting http://www.petsintheknow.com, a popular Discount Pet Supply website that specializes in Discount Pet Supplies and ratings on the most popular traditional and online discount pet supplies.

I’m not currently a college student. Haven’t been one for awhile…at least in the undergraduate sense of things. But I hang out with college students. I work with college students. And I work full time at a University as the Director of Campus Life (the coolest on-campus job in the world).

Plus…I really like college students.

It’s one of the greatest times in life. When do any of us ever get to hang out with hundreds of friends for four, five…dare I say…six years? It’s like going to camp..except they give you homework and you have to read 800 pages a night.

So if I could sit you down, with a slow drip of coffee being shared between us (intravenously or by the cupful if you prefer), and share some ways that I believe you could not only make the most of your time in college, but really, really enjoy it and succeed at it – here’s what I’d say…

1. Meet people.

One day you’ll walk across a stage, and a very smart looking man or woman in a really nice, long, black gown will hand you a piece of paper that says “Bachelor” (even if you’re a girl!) on it. You’ll graduate from college. Do you know what you’ll remember most?

The relationships you’ve made.

My advice is to meet everyone you can. Be friendly. Smile. Talk to people (not in class…that could be dangerous). Go to places where people hang out and hang out with them. Your friends are what make college special.

Some day you’ll come back to campus as an alumni and the place will feel weird. It will feel different. That’s because all of the people that you were friends with during your college years aren’t there. It’s the same college, but different people. It’s the people that make your experience unique. You are going to make friends that you’ll have for the rest of your life.

Like I said earlier, I work at a University. My boss (yes…he’s smarter than me) is a good friend that I went to college all four years with. It’s been a great relationship for all this time. I don’t know of any other place you create these types of relationships at this age. So get out there. Get busy meeting people.

2. Talk to your professors.

This one continues on with the theme of number 1. Go ahead and do everything you can to meet your professors. Make an appointment with them as soon as it is possible in their schedule. I have discovered that I learned so much more from a professor when I had some kind of personal relationship with them.

Professors are people to. Respect their time and make sure you communicate clearly with them. Don’t waste their time with excuses for not doing the work or simply not showing up to class. The goal here is to establish some type of relationship.

Whenever I think about a subject or content I learned in college it is tied to the face of a professor. If I think of learning German – it’s McKinney; if it’s creative writing – Nelson; if it’s communication – Jackson. My knowledge came from a person more than it came from a book.

One of my favorite movies is Orange County. It’s a story about a high school senior that wants to get into Stanford. He’s enamored with the writings of a certain professor there. When he finally has the chance to meet the professor and sit down and talk with him, it changes his entire perspective. While those types of conversations might be rare in your experience because you go to a large University – seek them out anyway! They’ll be some of the best memories you take from your time in college.

3. If you need help ask for it.

One of the reasons you’re in college is because you don’t know everything. If you can learn to admit that, you’ll be ahead of most freshmen at your school.

Independence messes up most teenagers in that they want to do everything by themselves. So when a moment comes when they can’t do something or don’t know something, there’s an inner struggle. I encourage you to put the pride aside and ask for help.

If you need help in class, get a tutor. If you need directions to the financial aid office, ask for them. If you don’t know how to complete an application for an internship, look for someone who does.

Your school will have people that can proofread your papers, help you learn how to do your laundry the right way, and even give you some good advice on how to stay in shape (because we all need our health!).

Look at it this way: You will become smarter if you ask for help when you need it. If you don’t ask…you’ll remain ignorant. I’m not advocating that you shouldn’t try to find things out on your own. But there comes a time where you’ll discover that learning happens better in the context of “we” and not just “me.” And you might also discover that the best way to meet people is to simply ask, “Hi, would you mind giving me a hand with this?”

4. Get some sleep.

One thing that you have in common with every other person in the world is that each person needs to sleep. If you don’t get enough sleep, bad things start happening to your mind and body. I know this is difficult to hear, and I’m probably beginning to sound a bit parental by saying this, but go to bed.

I’ve pulled my share of all-nighters. I’ve had to study, cram, write, and just get it done. I’ve also stayed up too late because I kept losing at Halo and had to play just one more game. Either way, it messed me up for the next day. My body had to play catch up. I wasn’t sharp. If you string enough late nights together, you are not going to be the learning machine that you need to be.

I know you’re young and invincible. But sleep is so necessary. Research says that a night of sleep deprivation is like being mentally impaired by the legal blood-alcohol level. When you don’t get adequate sleep, you’re body ages faster. Sleep also helps to relieve stress…so if you’re stressed out – you may simply need a good nap.

Ultimately, getting enough sleep is a matter of prioritization. Just because you CAN stay up, doesn’t mean you SHOULD stay up. You need to be mature enough to know when you need to get some sleep so that you can be an effective college student.

5. Get organized.

Everyone needs a plan to accomplish all of the things that are required of you in college. It is extremely easy to start living from event to event, assignment to assignment when you’re neck deep into your semester.

My number one piece of advice for getting organized – get a calendar and stick to it, live by it, and look at it everyday. Now there’s lots of types of calendars out there. I like to use Google Calendar. It’s online and I can access it from anywhere. Since I spend a fair bit of time on the computer, it’s always handy. Plus, I’ve got it linked up to my email and the datebook software on my Palm Treo. But that’s my way. I made a choice one day that Google Calendar was going to be MY calendar. You’ve got to decide and stick with it.

Some colleges will provide you with a paper-based calendar like a planner. This may include dates of important events for your college, key deadlines, and class schedules. If you are pen & paper minded, this may be the route for you. I also recommend the Moleskine planner. It’s smaller and easier to carry.

Once you’ve chosen your calendar, you need to get busy putting EVERYTHING into it. That’s right. Put every assignment, every deadline, every part of your extensive social commitments. Remember, you don’t want to be surprised. It’s a horrible feeling to realize that you had a vital paper due yesterday. At the beginning of each semester, sit down with all of your syllabi and fill in that calendar. Set reminders a few days before big projects come due. This will also help you to see when you will have difficult weeks with lots of obligations so you can get cracking ahead of time.

Now that you’ve chosen a calendar, put all your information in it, you’ve got to manage it. At the start of each week, look over the week ahead. KNOW WHAT’S COMING! If you only look at each day as it arrives, you’ll miss opportunities to be excellent.

That’s the beauty of being organized. It creates space for you to do your best work. You know when something is coming and you make the appropriate time to do your best.

6. Have a lot of fun.

This is one of the best parts of college. You are going to have a ton of fun…especially if you follow the other pieces of advice in this article. College is one of the funnest experiences you will ever have. You are living with a lot of other like-minded people who are in the same situation that you’re in. It’s like Survivor (especially in the school cafeteria), but no one gets voted off the island.

I laughed a lot in college. I liked to hang around people who made me laugh and didn’t take themselves so seriously. There were lots of events to attend. My buddies and I would take some great roadtrips during the breaks. There is a lot of freedom to do a lot of things while you’re in college. I chose to have as much fun as was humanly possible.

The other benefit of having fun is that it makes incredible memories. I can remember some phenomenal pranks that have become lore at the college I attended (I won’t say what it is or my own level of involvement because the statute of limitations has yet to expire). While I didn’t play sports in college, I was an intramural animal.

Also, I don’t want you to get the impression that all of the fun occurred outside of the classroom. When you discover what you’re unique strengths are and land in a major that falls in line with your passions, learning becomes tremendously fun. I can remember projects and classes that I really enjoyed and looked forward to them. I think there were some professors who really made learning fun.

I guess with any aspect of college you can make the choice to have fun or to stress out. I encourage you to choose fun – even in the midst of hard work.

7. Get involved.

During the first semester of college, I joined a fraternity. I had to do some really silly things (I have fond memories of onions and “thank you sir, may I have another.”) to join this group, but it changed my entire college experience. When you arrive on campus, there will be a lot of ways that you can get involved in college besides going to class.

Your college has multiple organizations that are centered around social or academic themes. There are clubs and councils that are always looking for new members. You may have a bent toward student leadership and I encourage you to jump in and apply for those positions. It has been proven that those students who get involved in extracurricular activities have a better college experience. They also have a stronger attachment to their school when they become alumni.

I can remember our graduation day from college. When it came time to announce the valedictorian for our class they introduced a student whom none of us recognized. Now don’t get me wrong here…I want you to do all that you can to get good grades and pass your classes. But for our graduating class – the person with the best GPA was an anonymous person. He wasn’t involved in anything. We didn’t know who he was.

Now hear me out. My GPA wasn’t stellar, but I did graduate with a 3.6 in all of my major classes. Not bad. But I also was the Student Body President, was in a fraternity, joined many clubs, worked Security, and lived in a dorm all four years. I wouldn’t trade that for a four-point-whatever and be anonymous.

8. Handle money wisely now.

Right off the bat I must tell you – watch out for credit cards. It is the easiest thing in the world to get suckered into a credit card offer and start charging things on the plastic. Here’s the catch – you have to pay it all back – with interest.

My advice to you is to avoid the credit card route at all costs while you’re in school. I know that it’s probably unavoidable, so just use them for emergency purposes. Get a card with a LOW limit. Pay those things off every month. If you find you can’t do that, then you shouldn’t be using them. Most college students leave college with debt. There’s the necessary kind that comes from student loans. But it’s really hard to graduate in a financial hole because you have credit card debt.

With the money you do actually have, I think it’s wise to learn how to budget. Start a savings account. Learn how to balance your checkbook and do that every month. Bounced checks are no fun. The goal here is to live within your means. You may not have as much as other students. That’s alright. You are a college student and you’re supposed to be broke.

If you are in desperate need of cash, go to your college’s career center. They typically have a listing of odd jobs that students can do to get some income. Another thing you can do is to benefit from the ability to borrow rather than own. You don’t have to personally have everything, just know some of the people that do. When you live in a dorm, you begin to understand how easy it is to share. I remember that I looked better in my roommate’s sports jacket than he did. Don’t be a mooch. But learn to share what you have with others and you’ll find that they’re more willing to share what they have with you.

If you spend less money than you bring in…you’ll be in good shape.

9. Learn to write well.

One of the lessons I’ve learned from Scott Ginsberg is that “writing is the basis of all wealth.” I think he’s on to something there. I would add that writing is the basis of your success in college. While you are a college student, you will read A LOT. But you will also be required to write A LOT. Your writing skills are a KEY factor in how your work will be perceived by a professor.

You can have the best content in the world, but if you aren’t able to deliver that through good writing, your work will get lost in the translation. I am surprised how many college students can’t spell, don’t know how to structure a sentence properly, and use poor grammar. If you struggle with writing, then I encourage you to re-read #3. You must get this one down.

One of the reasons that I started this site (CollegeStudentsRule!.com) is to help college students become better communicators. If you can write better, your work will be better. If your work is better, your grades will be better. I realize that you may be the best person in your class at text messaging…but those little acronyms don’t hold up too well under a professor’s scrutiny.

Along with writing, I would encourage you to take a typing course. The computer is here to stay and if you are typing with two fingers, you’re wasting time. I think that you should work to be able to type at least 60 words a minute. Faster would be even better. Can you type without looking at the keyboard? This is a skill that won’t only benefit you in college, but in the workforce as well.

One final note on writing well is in regards to proofreading. Please don’t type out a paper and print it out and turn it in. Think in terms of drafts. If you turn a first draft into a professor, he or she will know that it’s a first draft. This post that I’m writing won’t be published until the third or fourth draft. It would be even better if you could get someone else to proofread your work. That person will probably catch mistakes that you can’t see.

10. Get out of the country you’re in.

This is an idea that is becoming more and more realistic in our day and age. At our University, opportunities to study abroad are growing each year. We also offer short-term mission opportunities to other countries. There are so many ways for students to experience other cultures.

Our world is becoming more globally focused. In some ways it’s shrinking. Companies are branching out across national boundaries. Any type of experience you can have outside of your home country will benefit you in your career and perspective on life. If you can get somewhere…go for it. You are young and you don’t have many of the responsibilities yet that could tie you down to your local geographical area.

I understand that some of you may have difficulty (financially or otherwise) getting out of your country. If that’s the case, find ways to learn about other cultures (watch the National Geographic Channel). But nothing beats actually going there and walking on foreign soil and being immersed in another culture.

11. Keep growing.

It may seem obvious to you that you would be growing since you’re in college. But I meet a lot of college students who gain knowledge, but don’t gain growth. I guess I’m talking about maturity. There are many experiences that you’ll have in college that can help you to grow up if you’ll let them.

Current research says that adolescence is being pushed farther out – to the mid 20′s. They are calling it delayed adulthood. Many young adults are simply pushing back some of the major decisions: marriage, career, home purchasing, etc – to later in life. But being young doesn’t mean you have to be immature.

There are many ways to grow outside of the classroom. Life has a way of providing it’s own type of classroom. Each of us has an opportunity to grow emotionally, relationally, spiritually, psychologically, and physically. Take the experiences you have in life and spend time reflecting on how you can use those to become a better person. Growth isn’t an automatic process. It takes work and it takes time. Use these exciting years in college to develop yourself.

It’s exciting to watch Seniors walk across the stage at graduation and remember what they were like when they came in as Freshman. There is so much potential that is wrapped into each one. I love being apart of the process of unlocking that potential during their time in college. That’s why I’ve written this article. If there’s something here that you find helpful, then I’ve succeeded. As with any list, there’s so much more that could be added.

Tim Milburn develops student leaders through his organization, Studentlinc. Please visit Studentlinc at http://www.studentlinc.net. You can subscribe to the Studentlinc blog by following this feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/studentlinc. Also, check out Tim’s latest project College Students Rule! [http://www.collegestudentsrule.com]

Skiing is one of the interesting sports you can enjoy in winter and of course, if you have been wanting to perfect the sport for more enjoyment or to win any competition, it is important to learn a few snow skiing exercises. Learning a few tips and techniques on how to improve your skills and maximize your potentials in the sport can also be your key to beat competition.

Of course, you have to be fit and strong for any sport and one way to do this is to train your muscles and your body to the tough challenge of skiing. Although the muscle groups that are given much attention to in skiing are those in the legs, it is however important to build and exercise the entire body to attain total fitness.

Cardiovascular exercises are always on the list if you want to develop stamina in your chosen sport. You can do brisk walking, swimming, jogging, cycling or other cardiovascular exercises to help you with it. It is also important in building endurance. For sure, you always want to ski all day and you don’t want to easily get tired and lose focus.

To build strength in your hamstrings and quads, you can do lunges, squats and other exercises that focus on inner and outer thighs. Leg exercises are important to build strength in your legs. You can find exercises for the outer and inner thighs, as well as the quads, the hamstrings, the calf muscles as well as the shins. Strengthening your legs allow you to strengthen your performance as well.

Aside from the leg, you have to focus also on exercising your knees in skiing. Knee injuries are common in skiing and you can indeed avoid the risks of having knee injuries by exercising it before doing your skiing.

You can do squats and leg presses and you may add weights as well to strengthen it. Leg extensions, lunges and leg curls are also other exercises that may help strengthen your knees and protect it from injuries.

Along with the knee and leg exercises, it is also important to exercise your core and your upper body. You have to focus on your hips as well as your core and you have to go as far as your shoulders and arms. This will allow you to have balance and total control of your sport.

Keep in mind that snow skiing is not a sport you can do the whole year round, so there is a higher tendency of your body to be unconditioned for the sports when the skiing season arrives.

Do not also forget to include your flexibility exercises, as these will also protect you from injuries as well. There are a lot of snow skiing exercises that you can actually do to improve your skiing and to avoid injuries, so make sure you do them before trying to exercise your ski muscles to build strength and endurance.

Carolyn Anderson loves skiing. To help you condition your self and maximize your potential in skiing, check out Avalanche Ski Training. Also check out Accelerated Muscular Development System, a program that will help you build the body you have always desired.

Knowing the fly fishing basics are essential becoming a good flight fishermen. Quite simply, today, fly fishing along with many other kinds of fishing, is growing and in popularity every single day. The reason for this is quite simple: fishing is a great sport you can do outdoors and in nature.

There are very few sports that offer the serenity them or the relaxation of fishing does, along with the fun that catching a fish entails. Here are some great fly fishing basics help you get started enjoying the disgrace for.

First of all, the reason that fly fishing got its name is because of the use of the artificial flies at the end to draw the fish. The flies are generally made from a variety of synthetic metal.

Fly fishing is different from traditional fishing because you will utilize a fake fly at the end of the ride, which you put out of the water with a thinner line. Often times, you will use a color such as ribbon, thread referrer, which is attached to the fly. This is to make it appear more realistic to the fish, and therefore entice them to take the bait.

Fly fishing lines are generally much heavier than a regular fishing line, but often times can be much more effective at bringing in a much heavier fish. Very simply, the heavier the line, the heavier the fish they can handle.

There are two basic types of fly fishing, and which one you decide to go with the present your personality. Dry fly fishing is where the fly stays on the surface of the water, and the fish come up to the surface to get it. Water fly fishing is where you sink the fly down into the water.

So which one is the best and most effective method? Unfortunately, there is no definitive answer to this, as both seem to work pretty well. This is simply up to your personal preference which technique you decide to use. Many fishermen have enjoyed incredible success with either method, so you will simply need to experiment with them and find out which one you like the best.

Fly fishing requires is both a lot of skill and creativity in order to be successful. The angler must toss the fly out into the water with one hand and hold the fly rod still with the other hand. This requires quite a bit of skill, it is generally much harder the sounds.

It doesn’t require a whole lot of strength, but a lot of grace and timing, which is simply an acquired skill. Finally, one of the best ways to imporve your fly fishing skills and master the basics is to play fishing games online. Yes, it sounds ridiculous, but believe it or not, playing the right games can really help your fishing skills because of the real life simulation that it offers.

To find the best fly fishing equipment, including fishing reels, fishing reel parts, fishing boats, etc, is to go online and make your purchase there to save some cash. Make sure you know what you’re looking for, however; it can be difficult to return an item if you purchase the wrong one.

Also, the fly fishing knots are a vital part of your fishing success as well; while the how to’s of this important topic are out of the scope of this article, remember that you can’t be

Hopefully these tips will help you to master the fly fishing basics, and get started on a lifetime of fun with this incredible sport. There are very few sports that offer the beauty and serenity the fly fishing does, and if you decide to take up this incredible sport, you certainly will not be disappointed.

For Florida Deep Sea Fishing [http://www.onlinefishinginformation.com/floridadeepseafishing.htm] tips and information, check out onlinefishinginformation.com. Also learn about Florida Fishing Charters [http://www.onlinefishinginformation.com/floridafishingcharters.htm] and anything else fishing related.

The old myths are shattered. You’ll be introduced to fly fishing in an entirely different way. Fly fishing is no longer considered difficult to learn or expensive to participate in. You’ll soon come to realize that this sport is easy to learn, and will reward your efforts with many fantastic days on the water!

Learning to fly fish is an excellent way to utilize all of the natural resources that are available to everyone — world-wide. Oceans, streams, lakes, bays and estuary’s literally teem with game fish, and are easily accessible . By learning to fly fish, you will enjoy the natural world around you, get some easy exercise, relieve the strain of everyday life, and even better, there are no greens fees or country club dues – no membership tab, and no lines to wait on!

Here’s the list of myths:

1. Fly Fishing is difficult

Fly casting will take a few practice sessions to become proficient enough to hit the water — but that’s all you’ll need to get started. Why not take a look at some online fly fishing lessons (see the resources section at the end of this article) — then practice in a park, your backyard or another private place. Hit a lake or pond, where you won’t find many obstructions behind you to get in the way. Catch a few pan-fish, learn to land fish – now you’re ready for the stream, ocean or wherever you’d like to fly fish!

2. Fly Fishing is expensive

It simply is not. Fly fishing can be expensive if you spend a lot of your hard earned mullah on premier, top of the line (dare say – overpriced?) fly gear. Don’t go bottom of the line either – inexpensive equipment is hard to use because inexpensive materials are heavier and not as stiff as quality graphite. Very inexpensive gear simply does not hold up to rugged fishing use – and we are rugged, aren’t we?

So — look around. There are some great deals on beginner fly fishing outfits — don’t let the word “beginner” scare you away. This gear is not only fairly priced, but the rods are specifically designed to be easier to cast and will last a long time if you take care of them. Take this from a fly fisher that broke his very first (and precious!) fly rod in the hatchback of a Toyota Celica! Some fly rod outfits even come complete with a protective rod & reel traveling case!

3. You can only Fly Fish for Trout

You get the picture. Trout stream, pipe in mouth, tweed jacket, leather patches, wicker creel…

Wrong. Today’s fly fishing is so much more exciting than that (but if the above excites you – by all means – knock yourself out!).

I took up fly fishing in my early twenties as the result of a childhood memory of my father and other fly fishers on the famous Beaverkill in Roscoe, NY. Let’s just suffice to say that there was a lot of tweed and wicker in the ’60′s. Today the world has changed! Now — picture this forty-something year old with his wife on the flats in the Florida Keys hunting down barracuda, bonefish and permit. All tropical, all cool, all hot, we were fishing machines — it was everything you’d ask for in the excitement department!

Species: so many – let’s see, OK – trout, bass (large-mouth and small-mouth), carp, pike, pickerel, perch, sunnies, crappies, steelhead, salmon (many varieties – and Lox is not a variety of salmon!), then there’s striped bass, bluefish, false albacore, bonito, weakfish, bonefish, barracuda, permit, mangrove snapper, snook, Spanish mackerel , jack crevalle. Oh the list goes on! But I’ll stop.

4. Fly Fishing has to be done in Exotic Locations

Although the Florida Keys are very nice, as well as New Zealand, Christmas Island, Belize and the like…

There are so many places close to home that can and will provide you with the total fly fishing experience. Your local park probably may have a stocked pond. That pretty little stream with the bridge that you cross every day — may be a trout stream. The beach that you take the dog to for a run — there are fish to catch there! Fly fishing is a great sport in that it enables you to open your eyes and enjoy the world around you.

Then again, a vacation sounds nice too!

Places: rivers, streams, creeks, brooks, tributaries, lakes, ponds, farm ponds, Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, bays, estuaries, jetties, flats, reefs…

5. You need a PhD in Biology to Succeed

You won’t need a PhD in any subject to succeed in fly fishing! You might think so after conversing with some fly fishers. The reality is that you can over-complicate this sport as much as you’d like. Yes, here are times that fish are selective (won’t take the fly you’re fishing) — but in most cases you can dupe them with a selection of about two or three flies properly fished.

6. You have to be an Olympic Athlete to Fly Fish

Just as in any other sport, you can participate to the level of your physical abilities and derive complete enjoyment! Groups continue to build handicap access sites on streams and lakes — all over the US (and worldwide), and you can find a location to fly fish right outside your car!

7. You can’t learn to Fly Fish on your own

Many have, and many will. Guides, fly shops, fly fishing schools and the like will try to convince you that you’ll need those expensive lessons to get started. We disagree. And here are the key words — “to get started”. There are so many great resources for the beginner fly fisher — just read a little, online or off, and get out on the water and fly fish!

8. I thought you had to attach a real live fly to the end of the line

Negative. Fly Fishing is all about imitating fish food with a hand-made “fly”, often constructed of fur and feathers, but can also be constructed from man-made materials. The key here is imitating the natural food of the species of fish your are fly fishing for. For instance, saltwater species often feed on small minnows — and saltwater “flies” often imitate small fish or minnows.

9. I can’t do it, I tried once

Here’s the thing about fly casting: You are not casting any weight at the end of the line as with a spin rod. You are casting the fly line itself. Here’s a simple analogy: pretend that you are holding a stick with an apple pushed onto the top. You want to toss the apple across the room to your friend. You would have to swing the stick and abruptly stop the swing to let the apple fly off the top of the stick and hurl across the room to your waiting friend. Just imagine now that the stick is your fly rod, and the apple is actually your fly line. Fly casting is much the same as the analogy: your forward cast will start, just as when you swung the stick, and then stop abruptly to allow the fly line to hurl forward. See the resources at the end of this article for a cool animation that you can view, explaining the basics of fly casting.

10. You have to cast really far to catch fish

Most fish are you’ll be targeting are within 30 ft — or, you can get to within 30 ft of them. To cast to a fish this far away, you only have to be able to cast 21 – 23 ft of fly line, taking into consideration that most leaders (your terminal tackle) are 7.5 to 9 ft. We know, for certain, that with one or two practice sessions — you’ll be casting at least that far!

AnglerUniversity.com [http://www.angleruniversity.com] is an online resource for beginner fly fishers that combines online fly fishing lessons (with animations, video, and photos) with a fly shop that offers fly fishing combos, fly rods, fly reels, and accessories. Check out a couple of the resources below for fly fishing information and gear. When you’re ready to fly fish — make AnglerUniversity.com your first stop on the Internet!

I’ve included a couple of resources for you to check out:

Online Fly Fishing Lessons [http://www.angleruniversity.com/enroll3.asp]

Basic Casting Animation/Lesson [http://www.angleruniversity.com/lessons_intro.asp]

There can be little doubt that most of us have taken television for granted. After all it has been around as long as we have, and it is as common in our homes as electricity and running water.

None of us can imagine not being able to press a button on the remote control via cable or satellite and choose from among hundreds of televisions offerings at any given moment. Most of us have several of these receivers in our homes so our children can be appropriately entertained while we watch our important shows, like “As the World Turns”, “Desperate Housewives”, or “Survivor”.

Couples can watch their own respective programs on different sets or activate Tivo to record any programs for later viewing.

The television story was much different in 1936 when on June 29th when the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) assembled every executive involved in RCA manufacturing and radio’s National Broadcast Corporation (NBC) to view live television entertainment for the very first time.

Radio had flourished during the depths of the Depression and RCA/NBC were at the head of the class. These manufacturers and programmers of radio had successfully refined new dimension of sight to their broadcasting capabilities. The term “television” had been aptly coined for this since its literal meaning was “distant vision”.

Seventy years ago on this June day, it was the hope of David Sarnoff, Chairman of RCA, to get all of their radio retailers, manufacturers and broadcasters involved expanding this new frontier of television.

The Empire State Building television transmitter was used to demonstrate high definition television (343 lines) to RCA’s Licensees. The program featured speeches by Major General James G. Harbord (Chairman of the Board, RCA), David Sarnoff (President of RCA) and Otto S. Schairer (Vice-President RCA, in charge of Patents and Trademarks). This live broadcast included dancing girls and a film about army maneuvers. A dinner celebrating this event was held after the demonstration at the Waldorf Astoria.

Hence this was the world’s first true TV Dinner! Note this is my discovery, no claims were ever made by RCA or NBC.

The only known surviving photograph of this private event known can be seen at: http://framemaster.tripod.com/index-3.html

The caption for this photograph reads:

“RADIO CORPORATION OF AMERICA

FOLLOWING A DEMONSTRATION OF THE RCA SYSTEM OF HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION IN FIELD TEST INAUGURATED JUNE 29, 1936″

After this successful private broadcast it was decided to enhance the programming and invite the public and press to an even greater TV demonstration later in November. This time there would be live performances by professional actors, singers and entertainers.

The Birth of Live Entertainment and Music on Television, November 6, 1936

This is the true milestone in television history as all talent used for this broadcast were accomplished for the first time on live television. The following accounts are taken from the complete press release and photographs which I believe is the only complete one known:

“Experimental Television Demonstration For The Press

National Broadcasting Company RCA Building, Radio City, N.Y. November 6, 1936 TELEVISION DEVELOPMENTS DEMONSTRATED FOR PRESS BY NBC AND RCA

Television program transmission was demonstrated for the press today (Friday, November 6) by the National Broadcasting Company in a 40-minute program illustrating RCA experimental developments. The pictures were broadcast from the transmitter on top of the Empire State Building, and were received on the 62nd floor of the RCA Building.

David Sarnoff, President of the Radio Corporation of America, reported on results of field tests conducted by the company engineers since September 1 last. Lenox R. Lohr, President of NBC, discussed the practical problems presented in staging performances for the air.

The demonstration possessed four features not included in previous press demonstrations of television. It was the first made by RCA and the National Broadcasting Company for the press under practical working conditions, although previous demonstrations of laboratory television have been given. It represented the first showing of a complete program built for entertainment value as well as a demonstration of transmission. It also included the first showing of the new 12-inch receiving tube, which reproduces a picture on a 7 ½ by 10-inch screen. This is the largest screen yet employed which is capable of commercial adaptation.

A fourth feature of the demonstration was a television tour behind the scenes. By means of an especially prepared moving picture film, the guests were conducted through the NBC television studios in the RCA Building and the transmitter station at the top of the Empire State Building. The watchers in front of the line of receivers installed for the demonstration saw the processes whereby performances by “live” talent are transformed into pictures through the air, witnessed the scanning of moving picture films, and observed in detail the intricate television apparatus in actual operation.

Besides the talks by Messrs. Sarnoff and Lohr, and the behind-the-scenes film, the audience was entertained by the Inkspots (*The Ink Spots, see footnote), colored comedy teams, and Hildegarde, “The Television Girl,” in characteristic songs. A Bob Benchley short and a selection of newsreel subjects also were demonstrated by television. The program was announced by Betty Goodwin, of the NBC Press Department.

The demonstration was presented and supervised by Ralph R. Beal, RCA Research Supervisor; O(scar) B. Hanson, NBC Chief Engineer, and Charles W. Horn, NBC Director of Research and Development. These engineers explained that numerous problems of transmission and production will still remain to be solved before television on a commercial scale can be attempted.

The demonstration was the first showing for the press of RCA experimental television under practical field conditions since the Radio Corporation of America assigned the task of setting up a television operating plant to the National Broadcasting Company.

This assignment included the construction of studios adapted to television technique, the installation of equipment in those studios and at the transmitter atop the Empire State Building, the determination of workable engineering methods for the transmission of the pictures, and the training of a staff to take over the operation of the plant.

Lenox R. Lohr, President of the National Broadcasting Company Talks about NBC’s Television Future

November 6, 1936 Press Release from NBC Television

Lenox Lohr Statement For The Press

National Broadcasting Company RCA Building, Radio City, N.Y.

November 6, 1936

Statement by Lenox R. Lohr, President of the National Broadcasting Company, introducing Mr. Sarnoff at the NBC Press Demonstration of RCA Experimental Television:

On behalf of the National Broadcasting Company, I extend a cordial welcome to the representatives of the press who are assembled upstairs to see this television demonstration. What you will see today is the result of tireless effort on the part of many men and the expenditure of huge sums over a period of many years. The success of these efforts you can judge for yourselves. But, at last, television is out of the laboratory and into the field, undergoing tests which will assure that it does not reach the public until it is capable of satisfactory service.

The role of the National Broadcasting Company in television will be operating transmitters, programming, and, when it becomes available for commercial use, securing sponsors. In order that we may be prepared to do our part, our engineers are daily putting apparatus on the air under practical service conditions.

Our Program Department is learning an entire new technique in continuity writing, make-up, staging, and a multitude of other details which this new art will demand. It is experimenting with commercial programs to determine the effectiveness of television to sell goods.

Our engineers are studying the economics of networking, so that several stations may be interconnected by either coaxial cable of short-wave relays, and are developing equipment for the making of outside pick-ups. With the experience that we are gaining daily, we feel that when the time is ripe to offer television to the public, the National Broadcasting Company will be prepared to do its part. As you see television put through its paces here today, you will see results which are largely due to the vision and enterprise of Mr. David Sarnoff, President of the Radio Corporation of America, who will now speak to you.

TELEVISION STATEMENT TO PRESS November 6, 1936 by David Sarnoff, President Radio Corporation of America

In view of the public interest in the promise of sight as well as sound through the air, we have invited you here today to witness an experimental television test so that the progress in this new and promising art may be reflected to the public factually rather than through

the haze of conjecture or speculation.

You will recall that our field tests in television began only on June 29 of this year. That date marked the beginning in this country of organized television experiments between a regular transmitting station and a number of homes. Since then we have advanced and are continuing to advance simultaneously along the three broad fronts of television development-research which must point the road to effective transmission and reception; technical progress which must translate into practical sets for the home the achievements of our laboratories; and field tests to determine the needs and possibilities of a public service that will ultimately enable us to see as well as to hear programs through the air. On all these fronts our work has made definite progress and has brought us nearer the desired goal.

First and as of immediate interest, let me tell you the progress of our field tests. As you know, we have been transmitting from our television station on top of the Empire State Building in New York City which is controlled from the NBC television studios in the RCA Building. We have observed and measured these transmissions through a number of experimental receivers located in the metropolitan area and adjacent suburbs. The results thus far have been encouraging, and instructive. As we anticipated, many needs that must be met by a commercial service have been made clear by these tests.

We have successfully transmitted through the air, motion pictures as well as talent before the televisor. The distance over which these television programs have been received has exceeded out immediate expectations. In one favorable location due to extreme height of our transmitter, we have consistently received transmissions as far as 45 miles from the Empire State Building.

The tests have been very instructive in that we have learned a great deal more about the behavior of ultra short waves and how to handle them. We know more about interferences, most of which are man made and susceptible of elimination. We have surmounted the difficulties of making apparatus function outside of the laboratory. We have confirmed the soundness of the technical fundamentals of our system, and the experience gained through these tests enables us to chart the needs of a practical television service.

We shall now proceed to expand our field test in a number of ways. First, we shall increase the number of observation points in the service area. Next we will raise the standards of transmission.

In our present field tests we are using a 343 line definition. Radio Corporation of America and the radio industry have, through the Radio Manufacturers Association, recommended to the Federal Communications commission the adoption of 441 line definition as a standard for commercial operation. Our New York transmitter will be rearranged to conform to the recommended standards. That also means building synchronized receivers to conform to the new standards of the transmitter. Synchronization of transmitting and receiving equipment is a requirement of television that imposes responsibilities upon those who would furnish a satisfactory product and render a useful service to the public. On the one hand, standards cannot be frozen prematurely or progress would be prevented, while on the other hand, frequently changing standards means rapid obsolescence of television equipment.

Basic research is a continuing process in our laboratories not only that the problems of television may be solved but also to develop other uses of the ultra short and micro waves which possess such vast potentialities in this new domain of the ether.

While we have thus proceeded on the technical front of television, the construction and operation of television studios have enabled us to coordinate our technical advance with the program technique that a service to the home will ultimately require. Today, you are the guests of RCA’s broadcasting unit -the National Broadcasting Company. Under the direction of its president, Mr. Lenox Lohr, the NBC has instituted a series of television program tests in which we have sought to ascertain initial requirements.

Ten years ago the National Broadcasting Company began a national service of sound broadcasting. Now it enters upon its second decade of service by contributing its facilities and experience to the new art of television.

One of the major problems in television is that of network syndication. Our present facilities for distribution of sound broadcasting cover the vast area of the United States and serve its 128,000,000 people. Similar coverage for television programs, in the present state of the television art, would require a multiplicity of transmitters and network interconnection by wire or radio facilities still to be developed.

Our program is three fold; first we must develop suitable commercial equipment for television and reception; second, we must develop a program service suitable for network syndication; third, we must also develop a sound economic base to support a television service.

From the standpoint of research, laboratory development, and technical demonstration, television progress in the United States continues to give us an unquestioned position of leadership in the development of the art. In whatever form such progress may be evident in other countries, we lead in the research which is daily extending the radio horizon, and in technical developments that have made possible a transmitting and receiving system that meets the highest standards thus far obtainable in field demonstration.

We are now engaged in the development of studio and program techniques that will touch upon every possibility within the growing progress of the art. The distinction between television in this country and abroad is the distinction between experimental public services undertaken under government subsidy in countries of vastly smaller extent, and the progressive stages of commercial development undertaken by the free initiative, enterprise and capital of those who have pioneered the art in the United States.

While the problems of television are formidable, I firmly believe they will be solved. With the establishment of a television service to the public which will supplement and not supplant the present service of broadcasting, a new industry and new opportunities will have been created.”

*2:30 P.M. – NBC/RCA Television Demonstration. Ink Spots perform on the first live TV demonstration at NBC and, on the basis of this, are the first black performers to appear on television in the U.S. Variety states: “Later the Inkspots, a colored comedy – singing unit – put on a three-minute skit with all the stage makeup trappings. Couple of full-length showings were used here and the boys were in motion besides. It worked out okay.” (Since they are the first performers mentioned in the article, the Ink Spots may have been the first performers of any color to perform on TV in the U.S.) [Variety, 11-11-36 & New York Times, 11-7-36

Steve Restelli created the website HistoryTV.net in 1999 to share some of his photographic collection of eary experimental television over the internet for students, scholars and other history buffs. Since that time he has both expanded his collection and been used as a resource for authors and others who really want to view some of the earliest television images that survive. Much of the collection was once owned by Dr. Vladimir Kosma Zworykin, who is often credited as one of Televisions inventors.

In my article Establishing Credibility and Trust with Testimonials, I addressed the importance of offering proof to your prospects and how testimonials are one of the most powerful tools you can implement in your arsenal of marketing.

In that article, I discussed the value of testimonials from satisfied customers, probably the most credible and effective type of testimonial because nothing beats a testimonial from a satisfied customer.

I would now like to focus on another very powerful form of testimonials: celebrity endorsements.

In America, traditionally major celebrities have been reluctant to appear in widespread advertising campaigns on the assumption that it might tarnish their reputation professionally. In Asia, however, where I have extensive experience in the advertising industry, it is much more common to see famous actors in commercial advertisements.

In China, for example, celebrity endorsements have proven very successful where, due to increasing consumerism, it is considered a status symbol to purchase an endorsed product or service. In my former advertising agency, we often used top Hong Kong celebrities to great advantage promoting products in China.

However it is Japan, where Japanese advertising budgets are typically much more extravagant than American budgets when it comes to celebrity talent that has attracted many major American celebrities with lucrative endorsement deals together with a much lower risk of negative publicity.

I can remember very well traveling to Japan often in the 1980′s and 1990′s seeing many of Hollywood’s A-list actors secretly providing product endorsements in the Land of the Rising Sun. For decades, the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Harrison Ford and even earlier Steve McQueen, have accepted lucrative Japanese advertising endorsement deals in exchange for many millions, all without tarnishing their reputations at home.

The major benefits of celebrity endorsements are:

Celebrities add instant credibility: Consciously or unconsciously, the consumer believes that if a celebrity is using this product, service or brand, the company who makes it must be quality.

Celebrities grab attention: Having a celebrity endorse a product, service or brand creates attention. Consumers are more apt to watch an ad if it has a celebrity.

Celebrities provide superior market presence: It is usually easier to get a product in stores and more prominently displayed because retailers have preferences for celebrity endorsed products.

Celebrities lead to enhanced media exposure: The media recognizes the publics’ strong interest in celebrities and it’s much easier to get free publicity if products are used by celebrities. Customers are more apt to participate in events when a celebrity involved.

However, before any company signs on a celebrity to promote their product or service, they should very carefully consider the following:

The celebrity’s attractiveness: Generally an attractive endorser will have a positive impact. The celebrity should be attractive to the target audience in such aspects as physical appearance, intelligence, athleticism, lifestyle, etc.

The celebrity’s credibility: For any brand-celebrity collaboration to be successful, the endorser’s personal credibility and believability in terms of perceived expertise and trustworthiness is crucial and greatly influences acceptance with consumers. Furthermore, celebrity endorsements only work when the consumer has a credible belief that the celebrity would really be interested in buying and using your product or service despite being paid to do so. If not, you are probably wasting your money on the endorsement.

The celebrity’s and the brand’s compatibility: The success of the brand-celebrity collaboration depends significantly on the compatibility between the brand and the celebrity in terms of lifestyle, identity, personality, and positioning. The best endorsement deals manage to equate the product with the appeal of the celebrity. One of the best and most successful examples is Air Jordan with the collaboration between Michael Jordan and Nike

One final point: Never forget that a celebrity is not a replacement for a good product, service or idea.

About the Author:

Joe McAleer is a seasoned marketing and communications professional having worked in executive roles with Bank of America, Encore Marketing International and was a Founder and President of Storm Communications. He is also a co-author of The Real World Marketer, a business coaching program aimed at small business owners, entrepreneurs and online marketers.

Obtain additional marketing tips, techniques, and strategies on building a successful business online and offline with The Real World Marketer FREE eBook and Special Report by visiting http://www.wealthtraders.com/free/ten/index.php

Audio PHP Program is amazingly effective as it simply helps your Site to convert better. One thing is for sure – you must always be unique on the web. Learn how it works, take 2 minutes to read this article.

Short background

The following advanced Audio PHP Program enables you to quickly convert music/audio file(s) to Web-Format. It works fast and requires very minimal user intervention. You provide it with the requested files, then decide on which player-style you like the most, and that’s it. By the time it completes the job you get a small code that needs to be embedded onto your desired webpage.

Just for you to know, the following process generates a ‘streaming webaudio’ – it doesn’t have to be fully downloaded in order to start playing it.

We can easily identify the potential here and the fact that it provides incredible opportunities for any webmarketer; for example: adding your voice right where customers complete the final steps of the order process (can dramatically decrease the number of last minute dropouts) or the ability to ‘smash’ the silence of the world-wide-web and make WebPages come alive.

Tip to go

Before you make your first steps while using this technology: speak fluently and with confidence – your listeners must feel it in your voice. One other thing: there are various complicated and expensive solutions on the net’, begin with the small ones – in most cases you won’t need more than that.

Summary

If you really want to boost the success of your online business, no doubt that Audio PHP Program is one of these solutions that you should seriously consider. Take a moment and imagine what would have happened if your WebPages could suddenly “speak”. Now is the time to take action – it is recommended to use it so you could instantly evaluate the wide range of benefits that it provides.

Learn how PHP Audio Program easily enables you to convert, upload, and play streaming audios that generate more traffic and increase your Website’s conversions.

Visit: http://www.AudioInWebsite.com