Against the opinion of Lee Dixon, Lambourne’s business partner and a former Arsenal defender that “some people would perhaps rather have a doctor for a neighbour” there are a many advantages to have a famous football player moving to your area. A research from a buying agency specialised in finding homes for sports celebrities revealed that towns and villages in which footballers have bought properties have had bigger price increases than in similar areas.

There are many examples that can sustain this opinion. John Terry, the Chelsea captain owns a home near the club’s training ground in Cobham, Surrey. Since he moved there in 2004 the price of a detached property in the area has risen by 28 per cent. An even more impressive change in the value of the properties in the area they moved was given by David and Victoria Beckham. Since they became residents of Sawbridgeworth in Hertfordshire in 1999 property values have risen by 84 per cent. Five years ago, the Arsenal defender Sol Campbell bought his home in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire. Since that moment prices have gone up by nearly a third. The prices in the area where Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United’s young Portuguese winger, owns a flat have been growing too. Actually not only Alderley Road in Wilmslow, where Ronaldo’s property can be found is more valuable but the entire Cheshire, which is close to Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Everton and Blackburn, particularly in “Gold Trafford”,

the triangle that runs from Wilmslow to Alderley Edge and Hale.



An explanation for the rising prices of the properties in the areas where footballers are buying comes from Jeremy Lambourne, director of Oakhall, the same agency that came out with this finding. Lambourne says that “football players will very often improve an area because they spend money on their homes and bring in investment,” Not far from this opinion is Stuart Flint, who covers the smartest parts of Cheshire for Knight Frank who believes that “footballers are well advised these days and they understand the importance of maintaining their properties”.

But are any disadvantages in having a football celebrity as your neighbour? The same residents that benefited from the increased prices of their properties in Cobham, Surrey had to face the congestion created by the cars parked along the narrow roadside when John Terry held a party for his team-mates at his home. David and Victoria Beckham’s neighbours have had to suffer an invasion of paparazzi and fans since these celebrities became their neighbours. But generally footballers are not worse neighbours than ordinary people.

Another interesting finding about the properties where footballers chose to invest is revealed by by Country Life. Their survey’s results suggest that rather than always going for Dallas-style new-builds, footballers are increasingly buying country houses.

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People, particularly chess players themselves, say the darnedest things about chess and about chess players. Here are some of our favorite misconceptions about the royal game. Some of these sayings are unquestionably off-target, some of them are uneducated impression, and some of them are controversies that might or might not be valid.

1 ) Chess is difficult to grasp.

Chess may not be the easiest game to pick up, but it is far from the most prohibitive. You have to know the moves of the six pieces, where the object with the slightest significance, the Pawn, has the most complex moves. Then you have to memorize the rules about attacking and defending the King, including castling. Then there are a few rules about games where neither player wins. One side of this myth is legitimate – - it is difficult, very difficult, to learn to play chess well. One player in a hundred achieves supremacy.

2 ) You have to be brainy to play chess.

There is some link between chess talent and general intelligence. Minimum smarts are required. Cats and dogs will never make out the basics; no one has tried giving lessons to dolphins and chimpanzees. Chess does involve, after all, using numerous advanced compartments of the brain as skillfully as applicable. People from all walks of life have fun playing chess, several attaining mastery. Some very clever people delight in playing but never progress beyond novice.

3 ) Chess is for nerds.

In fact, this isn’t a misstatement, since chess is for everyone. It is for nerds, geeks, eggheads, and boffins, as usually as it is for anyone else. People who want to call other people unpleasant names should better say, ‘ chess is only for nerds ‘, but this is plainly untrue. Even if it was on target, so what? Intelligent, awkward, quirky people have made more contributions to the evolution of society than have the rest. If they want to play chess, that ‘ s their business.

4 ) Computers play chess better than people.

In 2006, the finest computers play chess better than 99.99% of people, but are evenly leveled in games against the top humans. If, as some experts think, computers are gaining 20 – 30 rating points per year, the moment will soon arrive when humans have no chance against the best machines. It should not be overlooked that computers are always trained by teams of human specialists who program them in psychological areas like opening repertoire. Removing this benefit would eliminate their excellence.

5 ) Chess is a sport.

Here we run the peril of upsetting the many meritorious chess organizers who have spent years trying to prevail upon the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that chess should be included as an Olympic sport. Lifting light pieces of wood or clicking rapidly on a computer monitor is not physically challenging work. As any quantity of photos from foregone high level chess events will demonstrate, chess players don’t always cut a lean, trim, muscular profile.

6 ) Chess isn’t a sport.

Here we try to make amends with those very same organizers who nearly convinced the IOC that chess is a sport. Chess has been included as a medal sport for the 2006 Asian Games. A game between two extraordinary chess masters is full of tension, where superior nerves can make the difference between a winner and an also-ran. Grandmasters have been acknowledged to lose a lot of weight during the action of a month – long contest.

7 ) Women can’t play chess as well as men.

To date it is unquestionable that women have not performed as well as men in chess events. There are many possible reasons for this. One may be that male players are often expert at making female players feel uncomfortable at chess events. The Polgar sisters have gone a long way to convince the chess world that women can play very well. Perhaps one day we will discover that women can even play better than men. No one really knows.

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Forex trading is the new way to make money through online currency trading. With a worldwide market and over 60 currencies for you to trade there has never been an easier way to make money online.

Currency

Forex trading until recently was reserved for banks and other large financial industries but thanks to the power of the internet and online currency trading, forex has now become feasible for everyday people. The forex market has become the largest trading market in the world and each day there is an estimated turnover of over $1.5 trillion dollars. Another added bonus is that forex trading is available 24 hours a day, 5 days a week unlike most other markets that operate on an 8 hour day. This means that people wishing to trade forex can do so at any given time.

Forex currency trading is done is pairs and these are known as crosses. These pairs are always against the US dollar and the main crosses you will find when trading forex are the USD/EUR and the USD/GDP. The most popular crosses are known as majors and these can make forex traders great profits. Currencies change on a regular basis and are based on the how the world financial markets see the value of the currencies. You can sell or buy these currencies and forex brokers do not charge commission fees.

There are two types of forex accounts; a mini forex account and a regular forex account. Mini forex trading is an excellent way for small investors to learn about and take part in forex trading and with the most forex brokers offering a leverage of 100:1, mini forex trading will allow you to control a $10,000 currency position with a deposit of only $100. Mini forex trading is a great way to get a feel for forex trading and learn the tricks and skills needed to succeed without having to go to great expense. Why not try mini forex trading now and see just how easy it is to profit with forex trading.

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Forex trading has the great potential of becoming a profitable and fulfilling career that will let you have a lifestyle that few other lucrative activities in the world can offer to people from many roads in life and without asking any of those men and women for a diploma or some special certification.

Forex Trading

But Forex trading is not easy; it may be simple to enter and place your first trade but becoming a profitable trader is a different thing. You will need to acquire the right knowledge and techniques in order to understand and know when to enter or leave a trade always fulfilling the main objective every trader must have; making money.

There are two kinds of analysis you can perform on the Forex markets. They are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. It is common that traders tend to divide themselves into “technical” and “fundamentalists”. Each group devoting themselves to the main tools each kind of analysis gives them.

Technical forex traders base their trading on the analysis of the charts and the number of indicators derived from the plots of price oscillations and patterns. Meanwhile Fundamentalists traders base their trading mostly on the fundamental numbers and economical indicators of countries economies. Though, even if divided, both tendencies tend to complement each other to some degree.

In this article I will place myself on the “fundamentalists” side and focus on one of the situations every forex trader must be aware of and don’t let the events involved affect his trading efforts.

This risky situation is that when unprecedented chaotic world events start to develop as the trading day goes on. The power of the media (tv, internet, printed) can magnify and sometimes it may even distort the events taking place and impacting the trading journey in a significant manner. The result of this magnification and rapid diffusion of the news about the series of unfavorable events taking place is an increased atmosphere of fear, confusion and uncertainty in the trading world. And fearful traders are not prone to make the best trading choices because they have given themselves to panic and emotional reactions instead of reasoned and intelligent decisions.

If you need to have more specific examples of these kind of events you can search a bit inside your memories and consider the impact of just a few types of unfavorable chaotic world events as the political upheavals or corporate scandals of companies as; Enron, WorldCom, or of people as the case of Martha Stewart trial, etc. There is also the example of the terrorist attacks on Sep 11 in New York, March 11 in Spain, etc. Also natural disasters: tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, freezes, droughts, hurricanes along with wars can cause great disruption in a trading journey.

In short, every forex trader should be totally sure that his method of trading has built-in safe guards (stops, limit orders) to prevent a major financial loss from his trading account in case any of the unfavorable events I mentioned above ever takes place. And being realistic, many of those events will surely happen in the future.

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The grass is always greener on the other side. Not as green as I felt on the inside the day I decided to check out this golf lark.

I could never get my head around why all the excitement and fuss at the sheer mention of the word golf.

Off to the local driving range I did go, selected myself a golf club and purchased a token for fifty golf balls..Maybe if I had more knowledge on the game, I would have realized the importance of choosing the right size golf club.

Inserting my token into the slot to collect the golf balls. What a nightmare. Well? no one told me to place a basket underneath the shoot. Those balls came flooding out like Niagra falls. I hasten to add these balls did not roll they bounced. Some even higher than me, cursed they were without a doubt.

Doomed from the start a golf stick to suit Shrek and only twenty balls of my fifty. The rest for all I know could be in Timbukto.

I remember more misses than hits but I was slowly beginning to like and enjoy this so called golf lark.

Why not try the real thing? a voice called out from the cubicle next to me. Is this not the real thing I asked. No mate, came the reply. You need to be on a course.

Determined to find out why this sport is so popular. I went in search of a course to play the real thing.

Found myself a course with eighteen holes. Now for the real thing.

Taking the first shot and not taking my eyes of the ball, I watched it rotate in and around several humps down a funnel and then swirl in and out of a maze of curves. Bit like the krypton factor but I was desperate to find out about the real thing.

It is 5pm and we are closing the attendant called out. But I am only on hole number three I explained. I am sorry sir, why not come back tommorrow? and that I did for the next fornight. Because that is how long it took me to finish this particular course.



Pedro (The Attendant) and I had struck up a friendly relationship in all the time I was going back and to. I am afraid Pedro this golf lark is not for me.

Senor this is crazy golf, it is not the real thing. What is the difference I asked. I will need to show you senor? he answered.

Pedro explained that he had a few friends that he would like me to meet up with. He also went onto say that they could help me in my quest to find out what the major attraction in golf is for many thousands of people.

What lovely people Pedro’s friends were. Very informative on the game. Oh and boy oh boy they sure showed me a few tricks of the trade.

It is was all falling into place now.

Knowing all the rules simplified and made this game more understanding.

Yes? I was loving this new found sport that was to change my whole way of life for the rest of my life.

It was time to leave so I thanked everyone for their expert guidance. Now over to my good friend Pedro, who I grabbed with so much force giving him such a manly hug and shaking his hand at the same time. I could not thank him enough for his time and patience. It was a pleasure Senor, Pedro replied. By the way I did not quite catch your name senor.

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We’re focusing on technical analysis in this article with a description of some of the important indicators.

We could say, all wealthy traders use technical analysis but not all technical analysis traders are wealthy although T.A. is the most precise way of trading the Forex market. It’s also useful note that fundamentals play their part in indicating whether a price will move up or down. It gives you the edge over other traders.

Technical Analysis is so powerful because of a few reasons

1) it represents numbers. All information and its impact on the market and traders is represented in a currency’s price.

2) It helps to predict trends and the foreign exchange market is very ‘trendy’.

3) Certain chart patterns are consistent, reliable and repeat themselves. T.A. helps us to see them.

Here’s one way of putting technical analsysis into perspective (wish I had a dollar each time I said ‘technical analysis’). We all know that prices move in trends. Research has shown that those that trade ‘with the trend’ greatly improve their chances of making a profitable trade.

Trends help you become aware of the overall market direction and often rescue us from less then profitable entry points. I attended a 2 day course costing me over $2500 AUD and the biggest thing I learned from it was the need for discipline and emotional control. The content was so basic that within the next 3 or 4 articles, I would have covered all of it. So learning the ‘tools of the trade’ the technical indicators and their applications will help you to diagnose what the market is doing but even then you need to expect ups and down and trade with emotional control.

Stay with the trend, follow the price.

Find the price of the currency pair. If EUR/USD is 1.4224 and moves to 1.4180 then 1.4090 then the market is in a down trend. Concern yourself only with what the market IS doing not what it might do. Listen to the markets and the indicators will backup what they are telling you.

Moving Averages.

Tell you the price at a given point of time over a defined period of intervals. They are called moving because they give you the latest price while calculating the average based on the selected time measure.

They lag the market so to give you an indication of a change in trend, use a shorter average such as a 5 or 10 day moving average. By combining a shorter term and longer term M.A. you can detect a buy signal when the shorter term crosses the longer term moving average in the upward direction. Or a sell signal if it crosses in a downward direction. For example, you could use a 5 day versus a 20 day moving average or a 40 day versus a 200 day moving average.

There are simple moving averages, linearly weighted which gives more importance to the recent prices or exponentially weighted. The latter is a favourite because it considers all prices in a time period but emphasizes the importance of the most recent price changes.

MACD

Based on moving averages, a MACD plots the difference between a 26 exponential moving average and a 12 day exponential moving average, with a 9 day used as a trigger line. If a MACD turns positive when the market is still plummeting it could be a strong buy signal. The converse also works.

Bollinger Bands (sounds like an elastic band)

Prices tend to stay between the upper and lower bands. They widen and become more narrow depending on the volatility of the market at the time. A sell signal would be when the moving average is above the Bollinger bands and vice versa for a buy signal. Some traders use it in conjunction with RSI, MACD, CCI and Rate of Change.

Fibonacci Retracement

Describe cycles found throughout nature and when applied to technical analysis can find shifts in the market trends. After a climb prices often retrace a large portion sometimes all of the original move. Support and resitance levels often occur near the Fibonacci retracement levels.

RSI

Relative Strength Index measures the market activity to see whether it’s overbought or oversold. This is a leading indicator so helps to indicate what the market is going to do (awesome!). Ahigher RSI number indicates overbought (so expect a bearish shift) and a lower number indicates oversold.

Successful traders will generally use 3 or 4 signals to provide a more conculsive signal before entering a trade.

Always remember, “If in doubt, stay out!” . Technical analysis doesn’t factor in political news, a country’s economic profile or fundamental supply and demand.

Technical Analysis helps us figure out how much money to risk on a trade. How and when to enter the market and how to exit the trade for profit or to minimize loss.

I sincerely hope you found this article useful.

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Different cultures, customs, backgrounds, languages, sights, sounds, smells, cuisine, clothing, products, attitudes, await the world traveler. There are so many things to experience, it’s difficult to decide which aspect of your trip was the most sensational or enlightening. Traveling the world will enrich your life in too many ways to describe in just one article, so here we will focus on a part of the world called India.

First of all, for the geographically challenged of you out there, India is located in South Asia. It has 7000 kilometers of coastline on the Indian Ocean, the third largest body of water in the world. Three islands are near India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Maldives. India also shares borders with China, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Myanmar. It should also be mentioned that there is also a disputed border with Afghanistan, but that’s another topic for another article.

Much like the United States, India has 28 states, that each have their own elected governments. There are some differences though, India has the National Territory of Dehli and 6 Union Territories. China currently has a larger population than India, however by 2030, India is expected to surpass Chain and become the most populated country in the world.

There are many beautiful rivers in India. The Ganges River, (Ganga or Holy Ganga, in India) is the largest and most well known of them, and is located in Northern India. The Ganga Basin has a huge population. The land is extremely fertile and it is said that one out of every 12 people in the world live there. You can also see Irrawaddy Dolphin in the river, as well as another species called the ganga River Dolphin. Another interesting note is that there is a rare freshwater shark found in the river that has not much is known about. Other major rivers in India include the Krishna, the Brahmaputra, the Kaveri, the Yamuna, and the Godavari.

The mountain range that you will find covering the northern states is called the Himalayas. Central and the rest of the northern and eastern parts of India consist of very fertile flatlands called the Indo-Gangetic Plain. Southern India is a peninsula and made up mostly from the Deccan Plateau with two hilly regions called the Western and Eastern Ghats. Last, but not least, near India’s border with Pakistan lies the Thar Desert.

There are also three archipelagos in India. In West Bengal you find the Sunderbans, Lakshadweep on the southwest coast, and a chain of volcanic islands in the southeast called the Nicobar and Andaman Islands.

India has been a country for many centuries and it’s rich culture and heritage has been preserved for the most part. While traveling in India, you will be exposed to some of the most wonderful cultural monuments in the world. India’s culture is partly created from invaders and immigrants who have arrived here over the years. The Taj Mahal and other examples of Islamic Architecture are left over from the Mughal Dynasty that ruled between 1526 and 1857.

India is made up of a large variety of people. There are a large number of different languages, cultures and religions. Education in India has been improving dramatically in recent years and is a source of great pride for the families of young people who attend the universities there. Traditions that have survived for centuries are held sacred by families here and should be respected when traveling there.

There are many religious ceremonies and festivals held in public in India that you shouldn’t miss during your trip. Harvest festivals for many of the different religions of India are attended by everyone, even those of differing faiths. During the Buddhist New Year (the first full moon in May), the Tibetan Buddhist Community in Sikkum performs the mystic Gumpa Dance and is a must see if you plan to travel to India during that time. In the Autumn months, two of the most prominent harvest festivals are the Ganesh Chaturthi and the Maharastra are fantastic experiences to add to your itinerary if you would like to experience religious ceremonies, which are a major part of Indian culture.

Another large part of Indian culture is their music. There are many types of music to be found during your travels to India. Some of the most interesting music is the folk music you will find as you travel through different parts of India. There are also interpretive dances that are performed by the people there. They tell epic stories based on Indian legends and are very spiritual and devotional. There is a lot of popular music as well, including Filmi Music and two well known forms of classical music you might hear are Hindustani and Carnatic Music.

Despite popular opinion, there are both vegetarian and non-vegetarian delights to be had in India. Bhel puri, a puffed rice dish, usually with spices added and served on deep fried puris, a wheat bread, is a popular snack often sold on the roadside. The staple foods of India are ones made from rice or wheat, but a wide variety of cuisine is available to you as you travel through different regions. Different types of spices and sweets are available and used in the dishes they prepare in each area. Sweets and spicy food is very popular in all of India.

While shopping for antiques, clothing, fabrics, and other items, in alleyways and open markets alike, one piece of advice, try to take a local citizen or guide with you to make sure you are buying authentic pieces. You will find the hand-carved wood artifacts and sandalwood carvings amazing. The woodcarvers are very talented. India is of course also famous for its hand-rolled incense. You will want to bring some back with you. The fragrances are unique and the incense is of great quality if you find the right shops.

There is also a lot of silk and pure cotton clothing, but a few knockoffs as well, hence the warning to have someone from the local area guide you to the best shops and markets. Leather goods can be had in India for a fraction of the cost here, so if you like leather, go shopping!

A quick look at some of the sights you may want to visit while traveling to India before I finish this article. India is a beautiful country and its doubtful you can take in all the wonderful sights on just one trip.

The Pandavas Caves Temple in Goa is dedicated to the Lord Shiva and dates back to the 1st century.

The Rajabai Tower in Bombay is a clock tower of gothic designs that is 260 feet high. One of the curiosities of this gothic tower is that it is adorned with oriental figures. It chimes on every quarter hour and sounds like Big Ben in London. The university library, located under the tower, contains recently restored stain glass windows that are magnificent to look at and considered to be the most beautiful in all of Asia.

New Delhi is a beautiful city whose buildings have serene courtyards and are definitely one of the nicest attractions along with some of the finest museums in the country. New Dehli also sport many shops and boutiques that feature some of the best crafts India has to offer. New Dehli is definitly a place to go during your travels to India.

The Karnataka Folk Museum in Bangalore has displays of rare masks, artifacts, and costumes that are part of India’s rich history, as well as a collection of the folk music and videos of folk dances mentioned earlier in this article.

The Taj Mahal in Agra is of course one of the must see sights in India. It took 20,000 laborers to build the Taj Mahal in the 1600s and has become a known landmark throughout the world. From the jail, to the dome, to the garden, the beauty of this building of both Hindu and Islamic design cannot be justified with words alone.

We hope we have added some useful information and ideas for your trip to India

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If you want to study ancient culture, food, and people… go and visit India where prices of goods come out cheap and a luxurious stay won’t really cost a leg.

India has a lot of history and knowledge to offer with seemingly glorious world-class artifacts and goodies for you to take back home. You only need enough money to support your needs on a trip to India and a luxurious stay in a first class hotel to enjoy the sights, scents and scenery of dazzling India.

That’s why cheap airline tickets to India are a necessity in order to maximize your stay as part of your game plan to be able to have enough to spend on a luxurious hotel and eat ethnic food.

You also need to plan your trip early if you need to find those cheap airline tickets to India. Cheap airline tickets to India are commonly the first ones to go before anything else in your plan of action.

Many airline companies claim to offer cheap airline tickets to India, after all, it is their job to get customers. One way to attract customers like fleas is to make them think you have what they need. Considering that you are among the many people who are in need of cheap airline tickets to India, you should get the best source for finding them.

Searching online, through the internet is the best resource for information on cheap airline tickets to India. Many websites offer free information on cheap airline tickets to India.

Most of them say that cheap airline tickets to India come from Air India, Northwest, or Cathay pacific. But travel agents should not be relied on too much as they are all out to close the deal themselves regardless of your plight.

Travel agencies act as middlemen and they indeed might have access to cheap airline tickets to India, and they can afford to sell them cheaper than the reliable airline sites. India is also a country hyping up its tourism programs, as you can see by the increase of “India” advertisements.

You can then expect the country to try persuading companies to provide cheap airline tickets to India to increase the influx of tourists to India. With the numerous ads, it would be more disadvantageous in finding cheap airline tickets to India since more people are showing their interest in this land of Yoga, Buddhism and most importantly, curry.

Getting cheap airline tickets to India will not be easy but it is possible. But bear in mind that cheap airline tickets to India often have certain consequences attached to them.

They range from crappy seats, low-class airplane food, and numerous other complaints. But if you chose wisely, cheap airline tickets to India need not be cheap… but inexpensive.

It does require patience if you hang out at the ticket counter long enough, and wait for a person who might cancel a scheduled flight, and you can get your cheap airline tickets to India. But you could also wait for ages before anyone comes in to cancel.

If you want to find your cheap airline tickets to India, go and look for them. If you don’t go look for cheap airline tickets to India, chances are, you will never find them.

Don’t expect for cheap airline tickets to India to just fall into your lap. If you’re a really good Yoga practitioner, an organization could offer to sponsor you so you may get really cheap airline tickets to India, one that is offered to you for free.

But that kind of thing also requires a lot of hard work. Freebies don’t come often to common people; thus cheap airline tickets to India require the kind of hard work and dedication.

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As good as modern medical technology is, it can never save you from the problems caused by a life style that is unhealthy. Instead of getting a modern medical fix for every problem, it is far better to live in such a way that you will hardly ever fall ill.

Health

An ounce of prevention is certainly better than a pound of cure. Here are seven tips on how to live a long and healthy life. In addition, the same life style that helps you to avoid illness also helps you to lose weight.

1. Get Enough Exercise

In the past people had to use their physical bodies in the course of their normal work. But today someone may get up, go to work in a car, then sit down, get up to go home in the car and when arriving at home, sit down again for the rest of the day. In such a life there is no physical labor. This physical inactivity is one of the main reasons for a host of diseases. Sport, running. walking and other things must be added to our life if our normal work does not require us to exert ourselves physically. I

2. Go to sleep when you feel sleepy

This may sound simple, but many people stay up late even when their body is telling them that it is time to sleep. Yoga and Ayurvedic doctors also say that it is better to sleep in the night and be active during the day. However, people such as students will take coffee and stimulants to study late into the night. Others develop the habit of remaining active at night and sleeping during the day. While we can do this, it eventually takes a toll on health. Alternative health doctors say that this kind of unnatural living is one of the contributing factors in the causation of cancer and other diseases

3. Eat when you feel hungry

This is also a simple idea, but once again we often go against the messages of the body. If you eat out of habit or due to social pressure at certain time of the day, even when you have no real appetite, then you will not digest your food properly. Acidity and indigestion begin, and this contributes to the likelihood of other more complex diseases taking root. Having an appetite is actually a sign of good health, but if you have no appetite you should wait a bit and then eat. (If you have no appetite even after awaiting a reasonable amount of time, then you should consult a doctor because something is wrong.)

4.Fast on a Regular, Systematic Basis

If you would ask any person to work 365 days per year without any rest, they would complain and say that they must have some rest or else they will break down. But we have never bothered to ask or to think about our digestive organs which we compel to work day after day without a rest. They cannot protest the way a person would to his boss, but they do give us signals that they cannot work non-stop. When we ignore those signals and still compel them to work, those organs break down. That is why periodic fasting is necessary. Refrain from eating for one complete day. This gives a rest to your digestive organs and also helps in the elimination of wastes from your body. Regular fasting allows a person to gain extra time for intellectual or spiritual pursuits. Fasting is not for hermits in a cave, but is a sensible practice that anyone can practice.

5. Wash with cool water before going to bed

As mentioned above, proper sleep is essential for the maintenance of health. If you wash your important motor and sensory organs (hands, arms, eyes, legs, mouth, genitals) before sleep using cool water, this will relax you and prepare you for deep sleep.

6. Perform meditation on a regular basis

Your body is linked to your mind. Many of the diseases of this era are psychosomatic. Stress and anxiety take their toll on our physical health. Meditation is a mental exercise which, among other things, allows you to detach yourself from the worries of life. Learn a simple technique and do it regularly.

7. Get up early every day

Once again the old proverb, “Early to bed, early to rise makes a person healthy, wealthy and wise.” I don’t know if it will make you wealthy, but it will certainly make you healthy. Your body needs just enough sleep, not too much and not too little.

Follow these tips and you can’t go wrong.

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Christmas is a wonderful time for everyone, and decorating your house can enhance that joy, this can be something small like a table display or you could decorate your whole house inside and out. Christmas decorations have been around a lot longer than Christmas it’s self, as pagans were doing it for over two centuries.

The Christmas Table.

You can do a lot to your dinner table without spending too much money, get into the woods and find some fir cones, some gold spray paint along with some fake snow and you have a centre piece to grace any table on the special day and for a long time after. Tinsel with holly leaves and mistletoe makes a natural and cheap adornment and is a very old Celtic symbol of fertility.

A Christmas Tree.

Christmas trees have been brought into our houses for years, probably it was the Germans who started it, but now everyone has a tree for Christmas. A real tree is beautiful, but could make a mess of needles on your floor if it hasn’t been treated with chemicals. If you want a real tree get one with roots, you can keep it alive and then re-plant it in the new year and it shouldn’t make a mess, or get a fake tree, these can look realistic but you will not fool anyone, they are not real but will look beautiful every year when you pull it out of the cupboard.

Originally candles were used to light Christmas trees, this proved very dangerous, so now electric lights that flash and play Christmas carols are a safer option. Some people go over the top with tree decorations, keep it simple, tinsel, balls, stars and of course a fairy or an angel on the top to finish it all off.

Inside The House.

Coloured paper, silver tinsel and fake snow around the house will bring a festive feel to your home, snow on the windows, holly above the doors and you must have mistletoe to get those Christmas kisses from your guests. House decorations, like your tree should be subtle, Christmas is a happy time of the year and a time to relax with the family in a calm joyous atmosphere.



A wreath of holly on the door was all that people used to show at Christmas, now people have father Christmases climbing up their roofs, light shows and carols played from loudspeakers. Fake snow on all the windows is nice, but covering your house in it is probably going too far. So do what pleases you (and your neighbours), but have a merry Christmas and a happy new year.

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You think thousands of thoughts each day. You talk to yourself more than anyone else. You are your most trusted advisor and confidant. Many of the conversations that you have with yourself you would never share with anyone else because to do so would expose the “real” you. The you that is filled with self doubt, worries, sadness, guilt, hurts and disappointments.

But this is not the “real you” at all. This is the you that your ego and belief systems have constructed. These negative beliefs have been constructed by you, and accepted by you as truth. The sad thing is that nothing can be further from the truth.

Where did these false ideas about you originate? They mostly came from others; parents, teachers, co-workers, and friends. They might have planted the seed by saying something like “she is fat” and you have cultivated those comments to the point that they have become your truth.

You are allowing your entire life to be controlled by some obscure comments made years ago. Nobody has the right or power to dictate who you are. Only you know who you truly are and what’s in your heart.

When you were born you entered this world without the burdens of you current negative belief system. You entered this world as a beautiful bundle of joy filled with unlimited potential and possibilities.

I’m here to tell you that you have not changed. You are still and will always be a beautiful bundle of joy with unlimited potential and possibilities.

The only difference is what you give your attention to. Let me ask you a question. If you stopped all the negative talk that you currently have with yourself such as;

- I’m too fat

- Why would anyone want to love me

- I will never be thin

- I always fail

And the list can go on and on… How would you feel ? Do you think that you would feel emotionally lighter ? Do you think that you would feel happier ? Do you think that you would feel more confident ?

Now how do you think your life would change if you were to go one step further and modify your self talk by only speaking positively about yourself. If you take some time and focus on what you like about yourself and focus on only that your emotional state will become positive to the point that you will be able to accomplish anything.

Once you begin looking for the positive things within you, you will be surprised to realize your magnificence has always been there just below the surface. You have never been anything other then that shining bundle of joy that entered the world years ago. It’s easy to uncover positive aspects of yourself by asking some questions.

- What am I good at?

- Who has benefited by me being in the world?

- Who am I, what is in my heart that only I know?

- What do I like about my body?

Your goal is to feel good now. How do you feel now? If you only observe what you feel is positive about you, you will feel good, you will be happy. Decide right here and right now how you want to feel. Decide that you will always look for the good within you and appreciate that goodness.

So what does all of this have to do with losing weight? Everything!!! Your emotional state is the control valve that determines what you draw into your experience. How you talk to yourself creates your beliefs and programs your subconscious. So you need to ask yourself do you want your beliefs and subconscious programming to be based on false negative thinking. Or do you want your beliefs to be based on the truth, that you are and always have been a perfect being.

Begin today to love and nurture yourself. Allow the joy, playfulness and enthusiasm that you naturally had as a child begin to flow into your everyday experiences. Allow yourself to celebrate each and every success no matter how small. Love and appreciate yourself every opportunity you have. Do this everyday and watch your weight begin to dissolve just as your old negative beliefs about yourself begin to dissolve.

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The 4th of July is fast approaching. Do you need a few great 4th of July picnic ideas to help you and your family celebrate this day? It is almost a tradition that this is one of the best times of the year to head out to the local park with a picnic basket in hand, a few towels and nothing to worry about except for where the best seat in the park is to see the fireworks display. Do you need some ideas to help you to make this 4th a memorable one? No matter whom you are with, what your traditions are and how you do it, there are many ways to enjoy this grand holiday.

To help you, consider these simple yet fun picnic ideas.

Go for color. One of the simplest yet most effective ways to celebrate the 4th of July is with red, white and blue. From table cloths, napkins, paper plates and even ice cubes, you want to have all the colors of the day come shining through. You can make your deserts and foods with these colors as well. Add color for lots of fun.

Dress up! A great way to bring the true history of the day out is to have everyone come to a July costume party. Everyone has to dress as one of the Founding Fathers, Lady Liberty or any other important figure of the time. Even Uncle Sam will do. This is a great way to have some fun on this special day and to do something different to celebrate it.

Plan for water fun. Since July is almost always one of the hottest months, make your 4th of July picnic cooler with a bit of swimming and water fun. Let the kids get out the sprinklers and the wading pool. Get yourself into a water balloon fight. Go for a dip in the local lake or take a trip to the ocean. Enjoy the water and enjoy the day outdoors.

There are plenty of picnic ideas for the 4th of July ready and waiting for you to enjoy them. You can create your own theme, style or method of celebrating if you like. Just look for fun ways to share the day with family and friends. Never forget that music, good food and lots of laughs with friends is the best way to spend the day outdoors waiting for the fireworks to light up the sky.

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Digital cameras come in many sizes, colors, brands, zooms, resolutions, playbacks, etc. There are so many features and qualities that are being placed in the devices that buyers especially first timers become overwhelmed and dizzy with these outstanding arrays of gadgets. This is even without including the various advertisements and different ratings that are used to promote these products.

So what are the things to look for if you want to buy digital camera? To be able to answer these, there are 2 sets of information you have to know before you can decide. The first type of information is defining what YOU need and want in a digital camera. To do this, you can ask yourself the following questions:

- What do you want to take with your digital camera? Before you buy digital camera, it is important to determine what kind of pictures you want to take with it. If you are a digital photography enthusiast, any digital camera will not just do. You have to look for features that can support the zooming you need, the resolution, etc.

- How much is your budget? This is a very important question any person who intends to buy digital camera should ask. Because no matter what your needs and wants are for the device, your financial resource will play a huge part in dictating the type of digital camera you will buy.

- What are you resources? When you buy digital camera, sometimes the spending does not end there. You also have to consider the capacity and the power of the computer and the printer you will be hooking your camera with for your editing and printing needs. Editing software are already included when you buy digital camera but other devices aren’t. Aside from a printer, ink and paper for printing, you might also need additional memory cards for your camera and a more powerful computer to support image editing and image storage and retrieval.

After answering these 3 questions, the second set of information you need to know before you buy digital camera are the features that you need in the device. These are:

- Resolution. Before you buy digital camera, check first its capacity to produce high quality photo images. The number of pixels indicated determines resolution. The more number of pixels, the higher the resolution which can make photos to be enlarged without losing image quality.

- Built-in memory. Digital cameras need memory cards for picture storage. When you buy digital camera, make sure that the gadget that you buy does not only have a “built-in” memory but should also have a card slot for external and additional memory. This allows you to change full memory cards conveniently while shooting your pictures.

- Look and feel. It is essential for you to feel comfortable holding your digital camera while shooting. So, before you buy digital camera, it good to test and check if you are comfortable holding it and using it. Consider where the buttons are located and how they are spaced out and see also if you feel comfortable using the viewfinder.

- Battery life. Digital cameras use up batteries fast and batteries are expensive. Before you buy digital camera, consider if the camera’s batteries are rechargeable. This way you can recharge them. Take also into consideration an AC adapter when you buy digital camera. You can attach this to the camera when you are viewing your pictures or uploading them

- LCD. The LCD is a special consideration you have to look into when you buy a digital camera. This is a small screen located at the back of a digital camera that allows you to preview the pictures you took. This has to be considered when you buy digital camera because it uses up a lot of battery power.

- Special features. Special features that will suit your needs should be thought about, too before you buy digital camera. If you want your camera to have good zooming, you can opt for those with optical zoom lenses. A diopter adjustment on the digital camera’s viewfinder will also be beneficial to those who regularly wear glasses and wish to buy digital camera. Other features such as remote control, tripods, etc. can also be considered when you buy a digital camera.

With these information, you can now figure out what you really need and want before you buy digital camera. If you want to see ratings and rankings of these devices based on price, resolution or other features, check out various websites that have these in the Internet.

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Basically a digital camera is a deice use to capture pictures without the use of films. Unlike the conventional camera, the digital camera does not rely on mechanical and chemical processes. It has a built in computer and records the images it captures in an electronic form. Having and operating one does not even require the use of electricity.

Since the images that a digital camera captures is in electronic form, it is a language recognized by computers. This language is called pixels, tiny colored dots represented by ones and zeros that make up the picture that you just took. Just like any conventional cameras, a digital camera is furnished with a series of lenses that focus the light and creates the image that you want to capture. The difference here is then; a conventional camera focuses its light on a film while a digital camera focuses the light into a semiconductor device that electronically records the light. Remember the built in computer, it comes in here and breaks this information to digital data resulting to all the features of the digital camera.

Another feature of the digital camera is that it has a sensor that converts light into electrical charges. A charge coupled device or CCD is an image sensor that is found in a digital camera. While other low-end digital camera use complementary metal oxide semiconductor or CMOS as an image device, it can still become better and more famous in the future but most engineers are do not believe that it can replace the CCD for higher-end digital cameras.

A collection of tiny diodes, the CCD gathers electrons when they are struck by photons or the light particles. Each diode or photosite is sensitive to light, meaning that the brighter the light, the number of the electrons gathering will be larger

The price of a digital camera nowadays have been depreciating, one of the main reasons of this is because of the introduction of CMOS image sensors, this is because CMOS sensors are less expensive and are easier to manufacture than CCD sensors. A CCD and CMOS sensor works the same way at first, by converting the light electrical charges into photosites. Simply putting it, is to think that a digital camera works in such a way as thinking that the millions of tiny solar cells, each of which forms a part of the whole image. Both CCD and CMOS do this task using different methods.

When shopping for the best digital camera, take note of these key features.

Image quality. Check the resolution of the camera. The higher the resolution, the more thou will be able to enlarge your picture without the grainy or the out-of-focus effect that we all want to avoid.

Lens. Choose a digital camera with better digital zoom. The digital zoom of the camera will enable you take the pixels from the image sensor and incorporate them to make an image.

Power. Always opt for rechargeable batteries, they can always come in handy, plus you don’t waste as much money on the disposable ones.

Options. So you can brag to your friends how good a photographer or artist you are. Or choose the one that gives options that best cater to your lifestyle, so you won’t ever whine how you never get the right pictures.

Memory. If you’re a photo freak, be sure that you have enough memory in your camera to take all the wacky, freaky, funny and just about any photo you can. Think 512MB if you’re a photo junkie and takes pictures of just about anything.

Computer Interface. Always make sure that it is compatible with your PC, laptop, palmtop or whatever your local picture printer software is, you don’t want to go running around the whole state or the country looking for a computer that’s compatible with your digital camera, wont you?!

Physical. If you are going to be bringing it everywhere, choose a handy and portable digital camera. This way, it won’t always feel as heavy and bulky as those cameras that you see professional photographers are always dragging on their neck. Don’t they ever get tired of that?!

These are just the basic things you have to look for in a digital camera when you buy one. A digital camera is so great that it is quickly replacing all conventional cameras in the market, with all its technology and portability, truly the digital camera is the future of cameras.

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Obesity is now being called an epidemic in the health community. In fact, it will soon be the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, even ahead of cigarette smoking. Obesity leads to type two diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or stroke and even an increased risk of cancer. With all of these health risks, as well as the general improvement in the quality of life that can occur, losing weight is one of the best things that you can do for yourself.

weight loss

No matter what we would like to believe, there simply isn’t a magic solution to losing weight. The body will shed excess fat when it needs more calories to function through the demands you place on it in a given day than the amount of calories that you feed it. It’s that simple. So, in order to lose weight, you need to decrease the number of calories that you eat as well as increase the amount that you burn.

There is a wide range of options to choose from when looking for a weight loss program. All of them often spend a lot of time explaining what to eat, in what amounts and even at what times or in what combinations. But few of them emphasize the importance of exercise – not just for losing weight, but for your general health and wellbeing. Exercise is vital when trying to lose weight for several reasons:

First, as you start to eat less, your metabolism will slow down somewhat. Exercising helps to elevate your metabolism back to an efficient level.Second, as mentioned, exercise burns more calories so that you can lose weight faster and stay motivated in your efforts.Third, exercise actually releases endorphins, chemicals that keep your mood elevated.

Exercise doesn’t have to mean spending hours at the gym or straining through exhausting workouts. In fact, in order for you to stick with it on the long run, exercising should be something that you enjoy. Start by increasing your activity level in an overall way. Take the stairs when you can. Park further from the mall door when you go shopping. Go for a walk in the park or through a neighborhood you love and bring a dog or a friend along for company. Take dance or martial arts lessons.

Once you become more active in general, you’ll find it easier and more natural to move into regular exercise. Which you’ll need to do eventually in order to get regular, noticeable health benefits. You need to raise your heart rate to a fat burning level and keep it there for at least 20 minutes, 3 times or more a week. However, if you don’t want to go to a gym, there are other options. Videos and DVDs are now available in all kinds of exercise types. That way you can change your routine whenever you want so that you don’t get bored with what you’re doing. Try a range of aerobics, kickboxing, yoga, or pretty much any activity you want right in the comfort of your own home.

If you have physical limitations that would keep you off from exercising, you can still find a way to increase your activity level. Water aerobics is a wonderful option for those who have joint problems or limited mobility because it relieves the pressure on your body that your weight provides. But you still get the resistance to challenge your muscles from the water. There are even classes and videos available that let you exercise in a seated position.

Whatever kind of exercise you choose, it’s important to stay motivated and keep it fun. Try gathering a group together to make it a social event. Or get a pedometer, a device that tracks how far you walk, and see how many miles you can walk a week. Make a competition amongst your friends or family members and treat the winner with something special (not food related!). Make the experience of exercising something that you look forward to, and it will soon become a regular part of your healthier lifestyle.

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Canon is well known across the country as an imaging equipment and information systems. Their many products include copiers, printers, lenses, camcorders, semiconductors among others, and of course Canon digital cameras.

The latest high end canon digital camera is the PowerShot S2 IS. This is a 5.0 mega pixel Canon digital camera that features a 12x optical zoom and a 4x digital zoom. This baby is furnished with Optical Image Stabilizer (that is what the IS in S2 IS stands for) that eliminates camera shakes for people who have shaky hands or for taking camera shots. The UD lens found in this canon digital camera provide amazing color accuracy throughout the whole zoom area.

As with many digital cameras nowadays, this certain canon digital camera can record moving pictures. Now with another first, the S2 allows you to record moving pictures, and there no use for missing a perfect image incorporated with that moving picture. With the Movie Snap feature, just snap away when you see that perfect image, and it will be saved in your canon digital camera along with the recorded video.

This canon digital camera is also equipped with the DIGIC II Image processor that is designed to increase processing speed and image quality. It instantly says that with the DIGIC II, your canon digital camera has faster start-up time, playback and auto focus while giving your images the absolute brilliance.

The S2 also support USB 2.0 Hi-speed standard, so you will always have the easiest time transferring your files to and from your computer. With the USB 2.0, you can take advantage of your super hi-speed SD card.

This canon digital camera is also supplied with a 1.8 inch LCD power saving and fold out screen that’s 115,000 pixel resolution. S2 shoots at 30 frames per second; this shooting rate can be reduced when taking pictures in night display, to give you the brightness that you need when taking pictures.

On the other hand, the latest point and shoot canon digital camera is the PowerShot SD500 and the PowerShot SD400.

The SD500 is the first 7.1 mega pixel canon digital camera that gives amazing images and absolutely to die for details. It has a 3x optical zoom that enables close up shooting with a 37-111mm equivalent with a 35mm film camera. This is one of the new perpetual curve design for a canon digital camera that fits the hands perfectly.

Sporting a very slim design, you would marvel at its 2.0 inch LCD that gives easier frame and play back use.

This baby is also equipped with the same DIGIC II Image Processor found in canon digital cameras that gives you amazing features. Also USB 2.0 compatible and works with the same high-speed SD card.

Even better than most digital cameras out there, this gadget can shoot moving images to up to 60 frames per second- perfect for moving objects (especially in sports) and a 30 frames per second for shooting still images. Furnished with scene modes like portrait (blurs the background and focuses on your subject), foliage (perfect for foliage, greenery or blossoms), beach (sunny shots without the dark faces), underwater (reduced background scatter. Tip: you can always buy waterproof case for shooting underwater images), fireworks, night snapshot, kids and pets, indoor, snow and digital macro (larger than life images).

This canon digital camera even enables you to customize and correct as you shoot. With modes like lightening skin tones, positive film, darker skin tones and others, you can never go wrong with using a canon digital camera.

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