Computers According to Carol

A is for Anti-Virus: she got it from my Uncle.

B is for Backup: always look in your rear view mirror first.

C is for Caddy: part of computer that holds a coffee cup.

D is for Defrag: a popular dance in the 1920's.

E is for Email: post office talk for express mail.

F is for Folder: before I pack a dress, I fold er.

G is for Game Port: cruise ships dock there to play.

H is for Hard Drive: going from Toronto to Florida by car.

I is for Internet: a basketball has to get inter net to score.

J is for JPEG: similar to a square peg in a round hole.

K is for Keyboard: I hang my keys here so I don't lose them.

L is for Laser Printer: placed on eye during laser surgery.

M is for Memory: deteriorates unless I use it.

N is for Newbie: a recent addition to the hive.

O is for Online: a covered row when playing Bingo.

P is for Program: usually handed out at beginning of a show.

Q is for Quit: don't ever!

R is for Ram: a male sheep.

S is for Software: the best clothes to buy.

T is for Traffic: always heaviest at rush hour.

U is for URL: short for You Are Loved.

V is for Virus: the reason we get vaccinations.

W is for WYSIWYG: a sissy wearing a toupee.

X is for X-Axis: dig for treasure here, but not with an axe.

Y is for Yahoo: often yelled after a win.

Z is for Zipped File: another name for zippered briefcase.

Start Investing & Save Money the Easy Way

If you want to start investing to get ahead or to start saving money for a rainy day an automatic investment plan is a good and easy way to do it and make money in the process. Now, do you want a savings plan, or a retirement plan? Maybe you just want your own investment fund for some special purpose.

No matter what your financial goal, investment companies can help you save money and make money through an automatic investment plan. Very simply, they set you up so that money is automatically transferred from your bank account to them every month (no charge).

These investment companies are better known as mutual fund companies or fund families. To avoid sales charges go with a major no-load fund family like Vanguard, Fidelity or T. Rowe Price. Their investment plans do not involve a contract, they are simply an arrangement. A minimum investment may be involved, so ask for information.

Now let's get specific. Say you want to set aside $200 a month in an investment fund. These fund companies offer a wide variety of funds to choose from. Do you want safety, income or growth?

Or, you want to set up your own retirement plan and contribute $400 a month. What kind of account do you open and which of their funds should you invest in?

Let's start with saving money to accumulate a cash reserve. You need safety here, so go with a money market fund and possibly short-term bond funds as your savings plan.

If your investment plan has a time horizon of several years (like for college expenses in 5 to 10 years) consider adding some intermediate-term bond funds and a little in stock funds to the above.

If you want to set up a retirement plan of your own, open up a traditional or Roth IRA with the fund company. You will have money market funds, bond funds and stock funds to choose from; the latter being growth oriented and riskier than the other two.

If you really want to make money and are willing to accept some risk start investing vs. just saving money. For short term goals, saving money is best because safety is paramount. However, if you have a longer-term time horizon start investing in stock funds and bond funds.

Here's another advantage of the automatic investment plan. You have a set amount of money each month flowing into your investment plan. When stock prices are low this money will buy more shares in a stock fund. When prices are higher you automatically buy fewer shares. This reduces your investment risk and works to lower your average cost per share. 

In A Slump?, Rejoice I Say, Rejoice!

Yea, I know........I hear you saying "that's easy for you to say"! Well......why don't you just pout about it then? You know, I want to tell you a funny story about a salesperson in a BIG slump. This person I actually trained before she moved on to another job many years ago. You'll like this.

Now, you know what a slump is, right? Don't ya? If you have ever been in outside sales you know what a slump is. But, now, on this wild thing we call the internet, we think we don't have to worry about "slumps" because we're big internet tycoons. Yeah! Right. More like typhoons. A big bag "o" wind.

Well, anyway, this particular salesperson was in presentation with a very wealthy businessman and trying her best to make a 5 million dollar sale. Talk about pressure. And, we sweat over $50 bucks.

Well, this sales lady had given her finest presentation, she had polished it, she had smoothed it, she had rehearsed it till all the rough edges were off, and it was round as a bowling ball. She just knew this sale was in the bag. She had already spent the commission so she had to make this deal fly.

As the presentation rolled on, after an hour and a half, she began feeling that she was not making a connection with this prospect. And, you know that nagging little voice inside your head that says, "Hey dummy" you ain't gonna make the car payment next month? Well, it started talking to her. And, she say's of all the times, right in the middle of my presentation I just yelled out, "oh sh**".

Her prospect, being an elderly sophisticated gentleman and just a little bit hard of hearing says, what? What? She said, in her most humble tone of voice, "oh excuse me sir, but could you direct me to the lady's room". He said, OHHHH! Certainly.

She says to me, with a look of total confidence on her face, like she knew exactly what she was doing and saying all the time, she walked right into that lady's room and took a big load off her mind. She say's and not a second too soon.

After composing herself she remembered what I had told her several years before about laughing. About how good it is for the soul. She thought to herself, that's my medicine.

So being as quite as she could she started laughing.

So really guys, come on now listen, slumps are nothing more than a part of life on and off the internet. I know you've heard it said a thousand times by every hot dog seminar promoter that comes to town with his little bag of tricks that's going to get you making a zillion dollars by the time you complete his program and of course fork out your fourteen hundred dollars.

Here are some easy things that everyone can do to get out of a slump. Everybody wants something easy. Here it is.

Most Important, Realize that slumps will inevitably come. They are just part of life. They are as dependable as the sun rising and setting. Also know that following every slump, will come the days of feasting. Just as certain. Next... if your wife happens to lock herself out of the house at 2 am, and she is yelling and screaming at the front door, and your dog is barking like crazy at the back door, DON'T let the dog in first, I don't care if he will shut up once he gets in. That's a BAD move. And not good strategy for getting out of a slump. Ok, I put that last paragraph in there to lighten you up a little. It is very important to take life's problems with the proper mindset. If you can laugh at a slump, I guarantee you it will end sooner than you think. If you are prepared to laugh all the way through it, it won't last very long. If you're not willing to laugh all the way through it, it may take a long time to go through it.

I have proved all these strategies out on myself, even the one about the wife and dog, yeah, really, and I tell you from 20 years of hard knocks what works and what don't. Maybe that's why I'm single today. Hmmm. Only the women really know for sure. :>)

Can you avoid a slump? Not really. But you can laugh your way through it. I promise you if you will force yourself to laugh, your body and mind will get the hint and then your inner emotions will really begin to make you feel like you are in control.

If you really want to know the facts, that's the problem with slumps. We feel like we are not in control. And that is scary. But feelings are fickle. They come and go with the wind. So, feelings that are created by outward circumstances can be changed by laughing yourself silly.

Try it, You'll like it.

Richard Vegas ©2002

Breakdancing: The Roots of The Street Dance

Breakdancing is the street dancing which began around 1969. Most people will agree that the superstar James Brown began the whole thing with a dance called the "Good Foot". James Brown was a real innovator and his dancing was something to behold. He did things with his feet that would give most of us a couple of broken legs!

Simultaneously in the ghetto, what is known as the "dance battle" became very popular and in many cases replaced gangster warfare as a method to end disputes. Breakdancing lent itself very well to the dance battle and the Good Foot was a perfect base for breakdancing.

Street dancers adopted the Good Foot which, for a short period, became known as the B-Boy and then breakdancing. Back then the dance moves were a lot different to the kind of breaking we see today. There were no popular, documented moves such as the headspin or the windmill. The dancers simply used their feet and nothing else. Some would argue that this "old style breaking" is more complicated than the kind of dancing we see these days.

Some of the floor work improvised back then was fantastically complex. If you go to a modern breakdancing competition you won't see many of the old school moves but you will see a lot of gymnastics. Impressive though this is, there are those that think breakdancing has lost its roots a little. On the other side of the coin you have people saying that it's just an evolution.

As a way to solve street battles and gang violence it was inspired. You were finding that amazingly, the gangs were using breakdancing instead of fighting. The breakdancing "battle" took on a world of its own. Of course there were still fights and inevitably sometimes a sore loser in a breaking battle would resort to violence.

Out of all this, breakdancing crews were formed. The members of a crew would practice and dance together. This is when the first very basic breakdancing choreography came about. One crew would invent a move which would inspire an opposing crew to go one better. For some of these guys breakdancing was literally the difference between life and death. They were very dedicated to what they were doing.

Just as all these new breakdancing crews were bursting onto the scene a guy called Afrika Bambaataa embraced the genre. Afrika Bambaataa is a legendary figure in the hip hop world. He was largely responsible for bringing breakdancing into the general public's consciousness. He got to know all the crews and encouraged them to develop what they were doing. Bambaataa's "Zulu Kings" breakdancing crew became a force to be reckoned with, winning many battles.

Since then breakdancing has continually progressed and more and more very talented dancers were bringing their skills into the arena. There were new moves being invented by the week and it wasn't long before we had headspins, windmills, backspins and all the other high energy, acrobatic moves we see these days.

The "Rock Steady Crew" were one of the groups to pioneer this new school breaking. These guys along with Charles Ahearn who made the seminal hip hop movie "Wild Style" were to bring breakdancing fully up to date and the dancing phenomenon became much more popular. There was no stopping the onward march of the break dance.

Nowadays breakdancing influences a lot of the choreographed dance routines which are an integral part of a modern pop record release. You have young kids coming up who are really into it and the genre is experiencing something of a renaissance. There's no doubt about it, breakdancing is here to stay and if you want more info a quick search on the Internet will turn up thousands of references to this modern art form.

Fundraising Opportunities at Sports Events - Raise Money for Your Club or Team

If you live in a community large enough to have a professional sports team or university there may be fundraising opportunities for your organization by working at sporting events. Many times sports organizations have jobs set aside that they let nonprofit groups perform so they can earn money. The teams do this as a way of giving to the community and building good community relationships. Some of the jobs your club or team might be able to do at a sports event are: helping to direct traffic in the parking lot, handing out programs, selling food, setting up before a game or cleaning up after a game.

These jobs may be available for just one game or you may be able to do this job a whole season. Doing some of these jobs just once can earn your club quite a bit of money. For example, cleaning up the stands after a college football game earned one club $1,500.00. This took three hours and around 70 volunteers.

How do you find out about these fundraising opportunities?

Sometimes jobs will be advertised in the newspaper before the beginning of the sports season. Other times you will only find out about these jobs by word of mouth. If you want to find out if these types of jobs are available you can start by calling the public affairs office of the teams. This office will probably be able to help you or tell you where else to call.

Before you commit to this type of fundraiser make sure you know everything about the job. You need to make sure you will have enough volunteers willing and able to do these jobs. Some of them are done in bad weather and late at night. The sports organization will provide you with the equipment you need to do the job and will probably have paid workers working along side with you. It's always a good idea to have too many volunteer than not enough. And make sure you have adults from your organization present to help supervise if your volunteers are children or young adults.

These types of fundraisers are usually hard work. But, the amount you can earn for your charity or club is worth the effort. I recommend considering this type of fundraising activity.

Are Smileys Appropriate in Professional Emails?

When email first began, users discovered a problem. Concise statements and words on a computer monitor didn't communicate emotion or intent very well. Almost everything sounded terse and harsh. It was difficult to convey the appropriate tone in which the message was intended.

To solve this problem, users created symbols to convey emotion and express feelings. These symbols are called "smileys." Another term for them is "emoticons" which stands for emotional icons.

Although there are hundreds of symbols, the most common emoticon is the smiley face. It's created by typing a colon, a dash, and a closed parenthesis. This is how it appears :-). It may also appear without the nose (that is, without the dash), like this :).

If you're having trouble figuring this out, look at this symbol :-). Then, lean your head to the left. Or, put your left ear close to your left shoulder. Now, can you see the smiley face?

Appropriateness

Emoticons are neat, and you may want to use them when sending email messages to your friends. But, are these symbols appropriate in professional email correspondence? The answer is - it depends.

Emoticons don't belong in ultra formal email correspondence. Yet, what about less formal situations? Can you use smileys in informal business correspondence where you are comfortable with the recipient? Yes, you can, as long as you exercise caution.

Caution

First, is this level of casualness appropriate for this situation? If informality is acceptable, then it may be okay to use smileys. However, if there is any chance the recipient will consider you less professional or less credible because of such informality, then refrain from using emoticons.

Second, will the person receiving the message understand the smileys? Not everyone is familiar with these little symbols. If the person has sent you messages containing emoticons, then it's safe to say he/she understands. Otherwise, you don't really know for sure.

Here's the final cautious word. If there's any doubt, omit the smileys.

Definitions

Even if you never send an email message that contains emoticons, you need to know what they mean. Someday, someone might send you email that contains emoticons.

Here is a list of the most popular emoticons. Test yourself. Cover the definitions with a piece of paper and see how many you know, or can guess, without looking at the answers.

Definition of Smileys (Emoticons)

Smiley (Emoticon) Definition 1. :) or :-) smile (happy) 2. :( or :-( frown (sad) 3. :'( crying 4. O:) or O:-) angelic 5. :D or :-D laughing 6. :-| apathetic 7. x-( brain dead 8. :-|| really angry 9. :* or :-* kiss 10. ;) or ;-) wink (light sarcasm) 11. :P or :-p sticking tongue out 12. :-& tongue tied

Advanced Tip for Emoticon Experts

For those of you who are emoticon experts, here is an advanced tip. How do you punctuate smileys? The smiley is placed at the end of the sentence, after the punctuation. Here is an example. :-)

Phlebotomy Technician - Taking Proper Care of Patients

If you are looking for a better career, then it's time to opt for the employment opportunity such as phlebotomy technician. This sort of employment opportunity has often considered as the most important part of medical sectors. Often the phlebotomists need to accomplish the clinical task which is highly related to collection of blood samples from patients while offering them least possible discomfort.

* If you are really interested to join as a phlebotomy technician, then you need to go through relevant training programs that are now available at leading medical colleges and different institutions. These training sessions are always important for the people who want to prepare a career as a phlebotomist.

* There are so many things which you will learn during these training programs. Keep in mind that working as a phlebotomist is always rewarding because you will have to work with the main stream of medical sector.

* You will have to work for both emotional and financial aspects. You will always stay connected with the patient's emotional values at the same time you will get a good salary while working as a phlebotomy technician.

* Though doctors and nurses in the medicals can collect blood samples, also phlebotomy technicians are always having a great role to play during such activities.

Phlebotomists get training to know how you can draw blood fast, efficiently as well as safely, with very little discomfort to patient. Making use of venipuncture and other methods, they become skilled on job, as they draw many samples daily. The phlebotomy technician label & store samples properly, as well as deliver them to laboratory and drop off point. The job duties also include making sure of the quality control throughout process, and ensuring the specimens are not at all contaminated. The phlebotomy technicians do the data entry & record keeping on the PC, and entering the patient information as well as blood testing results. They are expected to do a few some clerical tasks, and that includes the reception work, writing down the requests for the blood draws and answering the phone.The certified phlebotomist is medical expert who is well-trained & certified to draw the blood. The blood draws are done for the laboratory testing and blood donations. The Phlebotomists have to know how they can safely draw & handle the blood for collection.

8 Easy Steps to Abundance

Is prosperity flowing in your life as you'd like it to? If it isn't the energy in your environment and in your life is probably a bit sluggish. If you have an abundance of clutter, this stagnant energy will be preventing abundance from flowing to you.

Clutter is anything unfinished, unused, unresolved, tolerated or disorganized. Clutter is emotional constipation!

Letting go of something that no longer makes your heart sing, can mean letting go of a person, or something no longer relevant in your life. It can be part of a process of grieving, enabling you to move into your present and future.

Everyone has their own patterns of attracting abundance and blocking it. Do you recognize any of these?

1. Physical Clutter - Clutter is dead, stagnant energy and will block the flow of energy in your life. Imagine the energy in your home or office flowing like a river, bringing prosperity and all good things to your life. A pile of clutter or something you're putting up with in your life will bog the energy down. Ask yourself: Do I love it? Do I use it? Does it make my heart sing?

2. Purchasing clutter - If you make purchases when feeling angry, sad, stressed, fearful etc. you are spending money to to suppress those feelings rather than feeling them and letting them go. This means emotional energy will attach itself to the item and you will experience its vibration, even on an unconscious level whenever you look at, wear or use the item. These items will not make your heart sing and will not support your prosperity. Are you ready to let them go? Are you ready to become a conscious shopper?

3. Growth creates clutter - As you make changes within yourself, more of your belongings will fit the definition of clutter. Having the urge to discard things in your home or office is a sign of you stepping more fully into yourself and your abundance. If you don't address the clutter, it will hold you where you were. It's natural to create clutter. If you are growing and changing you are continually moving away from things that used to be important to you!

4. Unconscious clutter - Are your beliefs in conflict with what you choose for yourself? Do you think you can't be wealthy AND care about people? Do you think you can't be successful working 4 days a week? These beliefs will be affecting your prosperity. Take time to re-examine them.

5. Clutter Vibration - everything has a vibration. If you have a feeling of not enough time, money or love in your life, it sets up a vibration that will block abundance. And, focusing on the fear of not having enough time or money draws more of that to you. On the other hand, the vibration of gratitude is the same as the vibration of abundance. Create an attitude of gratitude. Each night before you go to sleep write in a gratitude journal 5 things you're grateful for today. Focusing on gratitude rather than lack is one of the most powerful things you can do to attract the abundance vibration.

6. Language Clutter - The word 'want' means to desire without having! When you say you want something you are resonating with the vibration of lack, rather than flowing with the vibration of abundance. You are also complaining, at a subtle level. The Universe responds to requests, not complaints. Change the word 'want' to 'choose' and you'll be creating a different flow of energy.

7. Does your prosperity area feel abundant? Ask yourself, what do I currently own that represents abundance to me now? Once you have cleaned and cleared the clutter from your prosperity area, place this object there to create the vibration you choose to attract. The prosperity power spot in your home is in the far left corner when you're standing at your front door looking in.

8. Try this game. Place a bowl in the prosperity area of a room. This is the far left corner when you're standing at the door looking into a room. Each day, take a coin, give thanks for the abundance you already have, and the abundance coming to you and place the coin in the bowl. The increasing coins represent your increasing abundance. At some point when it feels right and the bowl is nearing full, make a decision about what to do with that money and start over. This will work best once you have cleared the clutter and cleaned the area. And remember, what you focus on expands.

Clearing clutter is an important part of Feng Shui. Before you can create something new you need to make space for it. The changes you make in your environment are mirrored in your life and support you in making emotional shifts. Feng Shui can provide a welcome boost in living the life you want.

The Secrets of A Seychelles Yacht Charter Trip

If you take a look at a map of the Indian Ocean you'll immediately understand the remote nature of the Seychelles islands. This small archipelago is so far from any other bit of land that it's been dubbed by many as one of the last few places on Earth today to be worthy of the title of lost jungle paradise.

Made up of the islands of Praslin, Fregate, La Digue and Mahe, the Seychelles are yacht charter hot spots, offering plenty of possibilities for those that practice coastal sailing, since they have some of the best looking coastlines in the world. All in all, there are 115 islands, most of which are uninhabited, which should prove useful for those looking to escape more crowded waters.

The history of the islands stretches back to their first discovery by Arab sailors who landed here during their cross-oceanic trips. The first Europeans came into contact with the islands in the 1600s and at that time both the French and the British began fighting over control. Eventually, the British won control over the Seychelles and governed them until 1976 when the islands won their independence.

Because the natural soil is devoid of any natural resources, the mainstay of the Seychelles has been for a long time tourism. That's because the country seems to have been destination for recreational activities given its sheer natural beauty, of the landscape and lush vegetation covering it. For yachter charters a more important factor is the privileged position of the islands from a meteorological point of view, since they sit outside the so-called cyclone belt, benefitting from calm waters and fair winds all year round.

Though at first a socialist regime, the Seychelles islands have been enjoying democracy for a while now and that means more lax laws for the yacht charter domain, thus making sailing by foreigners easier and lifting most bans previously imposed on immigration.

Today, you'll be happy to know that the only impositions on sailors are the ones referring to protected areas such as national parks. Entry in such areas which also include by the way privately-owned islands, is either monitored and taxable or it's prohibited altogether. If your yacht charter trip takes you through such a region it might be good to make inquiries in advance.

The main port for yacht charter holidays is Mahe which is also the most important port in the country. Still, the main port of entry or exit is Port Victoria. For those skippers that will be arriving in a privately owned boat, you'll have to contact port authority which will then run you through the entry process that includes customs, health, immigration and security checks.

As far as the immigration process is concerned, most foreign travelers won't be required to have a travel visa when entering the country, regardless of the purpose of their visit. This is applicable for visits up to 30 days but if you think you need much more than that for a Seychelles sailing holiday, than you can extend your original stay for up to one year, visa-free. The only thing you'll be needing is a valid passport throughout the duration of your stay. However, we advise that you carry a passport with you that has at least 6 months of validity left on it.