Jigsaw Puzzle Picture Frame

Don't throw out those old puzzles when you lose a piece. Save them for these cool picture frames. They make great gifts. You can add paint, glitter, or any fuzzy, sparkling, or other crafty stuff that you want. This is your masterpiece!

Supplies:

An old newspaper
A picture
A piece of cardboard just a little bit bigger than your picture. (Don't worry about cutting your cardboard perfectly straight. The puzzle pieces will cover the edges.)
New or used puzzle pieces (somewhere around 20 to 50 pieces; you'll need enough pieces to cover the cardboard frame)
Paint, glitter, or other crafty stuff to add to the frame
Craft glue
A 4" piece of ribbon or yarn

Step 1
Lay your puzzle pieces out on the newspaper.

If you want a painted frame, paint each piece the same color or you can paint them as many different colors as you like. It's up to you.

If you want a glittery frame, spread glue over each piece and sprinkle glitter on them. Don't put glue on too many pieces before you add glitter or your glue will dry and the glitter won't stick.

Let the pieces dry completely.

Step 2
Glue your picture in the middle of the cardboard.

Step 3
Glue the puzzle pieces on the cardboard around your picture. Here's where you can glue on any of those other crafty things you might have picked out.

Step 4
Glue the ribbon or yarn on the back side of your frame for a hanger.

That was easy, wasn't it? Now go use your creativity. Try to think of different types of frames you can make. Your friends and family will love them because you made them!

Lisa Kirby is a new children's freelance author. Need some fun ideas for the kids? Or maybe family resources like stories, crafts, tips, and simple snack ideas? Visit Lisa's blog at http://www.familyfunandfood.blogspot.com for ideas on bringing your family together, having fun, and living a more simple life.

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Sin City Blue Ray : sin city [blu-ray]

 

 

Product Description

Studio: Buena Vista Home Video Release Date: 04/21/2009 Run time: 271 minutes

 

This movie itself is pretty different. Much like a moving comic book presentation. But it is the use of black&white along with the colors that make it such a visually stunning film. Even if you don't like the film it is worth watching for that. Personally, I like the film. Yes there is some very violent scenes, but I was raised on reading comic books and the violence here is almost the same as comic book violence. I was not at all offended. Also I felt the story line was good. But if you don't even like it after you watch it, you'll have to admit the visuals are stunning.

Brian


"Sin City" is a film noir about a crime-filled city and the people who inhabit it, but it's also a movie unlike any other. The film uses a combination of live action, performed by real actors, and computer graphics to transform Frank Miller's graphic novels into moving pictures. To remember "Sin City" hours later is to remember from a different part of the brain that remembers conventional movies. It's to remember a comic book come to life.
Just technically speaking, it's a remarkable achievement. Robert Rodriguez and Miller (who shared directing duties) set out to do something different and have succeeded in creating a complete other world that's seamless and beautiful. They've not only mastered the technology but have used it with artistry. Most frames in "Sin City" are in black and white, with splashes of vibrant color -- the red of a woman's lipstick, the sickly yellow of a eunuch's complexion. Sometimes a woman is entirely in color, and the man is in black and white. In one shot, a woman takes two steps toward the camera and turns from color to black and white as if stepping into shadows. All these moments have a psychological reverberation -- they say something, paint a mood or instill a feeling.

The performances are in keeping with the visuals, big but controlled. They match the heightened world of the comic book, without spoofing it or commenting on it. For Mickey Rourke, "Sin City" is practically a homecoming. Here's an actor who has seemed a bit strange in any cinematic setting for at least 10 years. But in this comic book context of outsized villains and heroes, everything grand-scale and skewed about Rourke as a screen presence becomes a virtue. It's not enough to say that Rourke is good in "Sin City." It really feels like he lives there.

Rourke stars in the longest of the loosely connected stories that make up the film. Wearing prosthetics that give him an overhanging brow and a jutting chin, he plays Marv, a big ugly bruiser who brings home a pretty girl named Goldie (Jaime King) and wakes up in the morning to find out that she's been killed. Realizing he's about to get framed, he escapes and sets out to find her killer, pounding, smashing and slaughtering everything that gets in his way. Rourke is lots of fun -- confident and bizarre and with a strange imperviousness, as though not occupying the same reality as everyone else. Marv is described at one point as a man out of some earlier, more brutal century. That's how Rourke plays him, as an almost completely instinctive man.

"Sin City" also provides an invigorating showcase for Bruce Willis, as an old cop, Hartigan, who is to retire because of a heart condition. Of course, his last case turns out to be his biggest, one involving a child murderer (Nick Stahl) who also happens to be the son of a senator.

"Sin City" could be criticized as old stuff. The noir world it presents is derivative of 1940s film, and it bears a family resemblance to other postmodern fantasy noirs, such as "Dark City" and "The Crow." Like film noir, it can also be accused of misogyny. Women are slain with abandon -- though so are men -- and the one vision of female strength the movie offers is that of the prostitute. In one segment, a fugitive (Clive Owen) and a thug (Benicio Del Toro) have a fight that spills over into "Old Town," a part of the city ruled by a merry prostitute band. The other female characters are pretty much victims of men: Brittany Murphy plays a barmaid with a nice raunchy resiliency,

and Jessica Alba, though she has trouble acting the role of a nightclub dancer, looks great in black-and-white.

Part of me wants to resist "Sin City," because it's art based on art that's based on art -- that is, a movie based on a comic book based on a film genre -- and, like anything three stages removed from inspiration, it has nothing to say. It's a style piece, a fever dream about film noir, and that hardly seems ambitious or important.

Yet if the movie's aims aren't lofty, its entertainment value is high and consistent. Virtually every moment of "Sin City" engages the mind and the eye. The energy never flags; the story never stalls. It starts in motion, and ends in motion. To make a movie this entertaining is to accomplish a small miracle



Sin City quite simply is jaw-dropping. What more could you ask for? An all-star cast, a striking visual look, brilliant storytelling, a crazed and rather demented cast of characters, and well-executed action scenes. Sin City is easily one of the greatest films of all time (The Internet Movie Database also backs this up, considering it's on the top 250 list). This is easily one of the best films I've ever seen. It's not quite perfect, but almost.
WHAT IT'S ABOUT: The film is comprised of three separate storylines, all taking place in Sin City. One story focuses on a disgraced cop accused of kidnapping and child molestation after being framed by a powerful political individual who will not let his son be brought to justice for his crimes against little girls. Now the cop must protect a stripper (a girl who is now 19 he rescues at the beginning of the film from the crazed child molester.) and prevent her from being hunted down by her kidnapper, raped, and killed. The second storyline focuses on a man who is out to seek revenge for his murdered girlfriend Goldie, while running from the police because he has been accused of the murder by a powerful religious official, and now he has to find the killer and the religious official responsible for it while having the girl's twin sister tag along with him. The third story focuses a man named Dwight who defends his girlfriend from her violent ex-boyfriend and her Old Town Girls (A homicidal gang of gorgeous prostitutes who run the Old Town section of Sin City), when the Old Town Girls accidentally kills a group undercover cops, Dwight is tasked with getting rid of the bodies to protect their reign over Old Town and not anger the police and mobsters and have them come after them.
MUSIC: The musical score was excellent and fit the film perfectly through every moment.
ACTION: This film is modeled like an old black and white film, with small touches of color here and there. The action scenes are quite brutal and disturbing at times, but are loaded with shootouts and dismemberments of people. The action scenes were well done, but this film is definitely not for kids at all.
ACTING: The acting was really good, which is no surprise considering the all-star cast of people. The dialogue was also good, and it did feel believable. Unfortunately, I do have to complain that sometimes the dialogue got a little long-winded and dragged on. This is only a small complaint though, but it does put a blemish on this film.
OVERALL: This is a must-have for any DVD collection. This film is totally brilliant and well-executed in every regard.
THE GOOD: The striking visual style, the action scenes, the acting and actors, the brilliant storytelling, and the great music.
THE BAD: Moments of long-winded dialogue.


Bloody, violent, sexual without apologies, "Sin City" captures the essence of Frank Miller's comic book. Featuring four stories vaguely connected to each other by the setting and some overlapping characters with the main character being the city itself the film co-directed by writer/artist Miller and Robert Rodriguez (and guest director Quentin Tarentino for one segment), "Sin City" has a terrific cast in a modern day film noir classic.

Digitally shot, "Sin City" features a terrific cast including cameos from Michael Duncan Clarke, Elija Wood, Britney Murphy, Carla Gugino (who lights up every scene she's in)and other distinguished folks giving the film signficant star power.

The first disc features the theatrical cut of the film along with two commentary tracks--the first with co-directors Miller & Rodriguez and the second with Rodriguez and guest director Quentin Tarantino. There is also a third alternate audio track recording of the audience at the Austin premiere of the film.

The second disc features the film recut with each segment in chronological order. There are also featurettes on how Rodriguez convinced Miller to make the film, the vintage cars used in the film, the segment that Quentin Tarantino shot,"Booze Borads and Guns: The Props of City City", "Making the Monsters: Special Effects Make Up" "Trench coats and Fishnets: The Costumes of Sin City" as well as the teaser and theatrical trailer for the film (and an annoying Miramax promo at the beginning of the disc). The disc winds up with "15 minute Flic School" , "Sin City: Live in Concert", "10 minute Cooking School", "The Long Take" and an "All Green Screen Version". The last featurette shows how the film looked when they were shooting on the set running at "800 times" the normal speed accompanied by Rodriguez's score. Since almost the entire film was shot without any sets, it makes for a surreal almost theatrical experience. Rodriguez's jazzy score accompanies this version of the film (played at normal speed). It's an odd way to spend eight minutes.

The stories--a hit man (Josh Hartnett)carries out his job in the beginning and ending segments of the film getting close to his subjects and then killing them almost and treating them with surprising tenderness.

The second story concerns Marv (Mickey Rourke)a bull headed thug who decides he has to find out who set him up as a murderer killing the only girl (Jaime King) tht had really been nice to him.

The third story takes us into a bad part of town dominated by hard boiled hookers led by Gail (Rosario Dawson). When a nasty, girl friend beating guy named Jackie (Benicio Del Toro)tries to force one of Gail's girls to do something she doesn't want to, Gail and her girls take revenge. Dwight (Clive Owen)who has already had his own run in with Jackie. He wants to take the guy out as well. Gail and Dwight combine forces to take out Jackie unleashing hell on the girl's side of town.

The third story focuses on police detective Hartigan (Bruce Willis)as he saves a little girl named Nancy from a pedophile (Nick Stahl). The only problem--the pedophile is the son of a powerful, corrupt politician (Powers Boothe)and the nephew of an evil Catholic Cardinal (Rutger Haur). When Hartigan castrates the senator's son he vows revenge by setting up Hartigan for the rape of Nancy. During his time in prison Nancy (Jessica Alba)stayed in touch with Hartigan secretly writing him letters. Parole comes up and the pedophile wants revenge against Hartigan. He also wants the one girl that got away.

A terrific film version of Miller's stories, "Sin City" looks brilliant in its Blu-ray debut with plenty of special features.




This is a top notch blu ray release and will be the one I pop into my PS3 when I want to show off my system. The remastering is of the highest quality as is the sound.

There are a plethora of bonus features included. Some of the best ones are exclusive to the blu-ray version including an interactive comic book which is very creative in its execution.

I loved Sin City when I first saw it in the theater, but the extended cut is superior and the way the directors intended. Separating the stories into different films adds to the continuity of each tale and the added footage fleshes out the storylines. Once you see this version, you'll never want to see the theaterical cut again.

[...]


Movie is a little annoying, and is overkill as far the violence is concerned, pretty graphic, Rosario dawson is super hot, other than that, there is no incentive to watch, I felt like I was being dragged to through another Quentin Taratino-ish flick.


You will watch this movie for years and everytime you see it you will know how lucky you are to have a copy of it.

Story telling at its best with top-notch visuals. I was never a fan of Miller's Comic work, not too pretty for me. I'm more of a Michael Turner person. But with this movie I became addicted to Miller's movies, I try to own everything he is involved.




What is to be said of Sin City? It is by far one of the greatest graphic novel collections of all time and now, it is available in DVD form. This DVD will rock anyone's socks off, whether you are wearing white socks, black socks, grey socks, or argyle socks.

This is a great movie! If you are a fan of the comics (which I am) you will be happy to know that Sin City the movie stays closer to the comics than any other movie based off a graphic novel. Enjoy, kids!


NOTE: Look at the Goya prints of the Napoleonic invasion of Spain.

Style may not be everything in cinema or in anything else, but it does help to pass the time. It can keep you glued to your seat, watching a spectacle and even make you glad you spent whatever you spent for it. In this case its an opportunity to surrender oneself to what may well be the signature movie of the Bush Decade; which is to say, to experiene an essay in sadomasochistic violence, featureing cold, elaborate murders, prolonged and in a sense even ritualized torture and mutilation -- including male castration -- and all delivered in a matter of fact, self-jusifying tone indicative of psychotic depravity.

SIN CITY is kept out of the realm of Pasolini's SADO only by the film's near-abstract visual style, for instead of photographing the performers of these rituals naturally, or realistically, the film utilizes the look of the 'adult' comic, by severely restricting color. By so doing, the movie maintains an atmosphere of fantasy that keeps the enterprize at an acceptable distance from the loathsome; as aceptable a distance as the soft-core sadism of Miller's novels can hope for.

Nevertheless, this film is entertaining as simply a series of vivid, masturbatory fantasies of a vividly and purposefully ghastly nature. It makes for an astringent kind of pornography.

The three stories that make up the scenario of this movie are vehicles for three male anti-heroes; these are played by Mickey Rourke, Bruce willis and Clive Owen. There is nothing even remotely spontaneous about their performances, the controlled nature of the cinematography prevent it. Nevertheless, their performances are hypnotic.

And the stories? The stories, such as they are, are pathetic fantasies of female brutalization, rape and torture, all slick with the slobber of slavish, narcotized love; or that fixation that passes for love among drunken, impotent men. All the women -- except for one little girl -- are either prostitutes or dancing sexual exhibitonists like the peerless and endlessly agile Jessica Alba. Many, oozing treachery, parade the streets and alleys in thrillingly fetishistic costumes.

At first glance there's a familiarity to all this: it has somethng of the old American detective stories from Hammet to Spillane. Rotten doins in back-alley L.A. But, what's happened here is that the sensibility has shifted. Thanks to the power and popularity of Japanese Samurai movies and Hong Kong Kung Fu movies, the genre has changed; its has become Asian. It has become crueler, more intense and utterly fatalistic. All the characters crouch under a low, jagged ceiling of hopelessness.

SIN CITY could well be seen as the story of three rag-tag, out-at-the-elbow Samurai who frequent the same mid-town combo noodle joint, brothel, and tavern where they oggle and salivate over the same generic, interchangeable would-be geishas. They have no Lord, and therefore, no honor or duty, and in their alcohol-soaked consciousnesses, they become the self-appointed protectors of the sluts they are powerless to satisfy physically or financially. Depravity is not a result, it is a foregone conclusion.

Everything is blood-soaked and takes place in the dark.

In a land controlled by a hidden, unapproachable autocrat whose deadly agents are everywhere, whose will and methods are secret, devious and depraved, everything is reduced to a series of block-printed pictures printed cheaply on cheap paper; images of poverty, helplessness, empty commercial sexuality, filth and cold.

Other people's pain is an amusement: Torture has become commonplace.

SIN CITY.



The nights are cloudy, the alleys are dark, the men are dangerous, bars are smoky and femmes are fatale. "Sin City" is a thing of dark, bloody beauty.

It certainly says something if a graphic novel author helps out with a movie... especially if that creator swore he'd never let it be adapted. That is only one of the things that makes "Sin City," the adaptation of Frank Miller's comic, such a fascinating film. And the blu-ray looks like a pretty good buy, particularly since it contains both versions.

"Sin City" is actually made up of three stories: In the depths of Basin (Sin) City, scarred hulk Marv (Mickey Rourke) sleeps with a beautiful prostitute, Goldie (Jaime King), only to find her dead beside him the next morning. Enraged, he goes on a killing spree to find her murderer, and learns that sinister cannibal Kevin (Elijah Wood) is responsible. But there's a powerful figure behind Kevin, who calls the shots.

Elsewhere in Sin City, Dwight (Clive Owen) does his best to defend Gail (Rosario Dawson) and the other Old Town prostitutes. But when Dwight kills a crooked cop, he has to somehow cover up the crime. And Hartigan (Bruce Willis), a cop with a failing heart, goes out of his job with a bang: He rescues little Nancy Callahan from a child molester who happens to be a senator's son. Hartigan is jailed, and when he gets out, he finds that Nancy (Jessica Alba) has grown into a lasso-twirling stripper. But the senator's son -- nicknamed Yellow Bastard -- is still after her.

"Sin City" is one of those few comic book adaptations that doesn't seem... well, cartoonish. Sure, it's the very image of noir, but the grim tone and grey characters are very real. It's not a movie for the fainthearted, but whoever enjoys the films of Quentin Tarantino (who directed one scene here) will surely be blown away.

Like "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow," this film is done almost entirely digitally. But unlike "Sky Captain," it has substance as well as style. All the sets and props are done with computers, and nearly everything is in black and white. Here and there we get a splash of colour -- red lipstick and matching dress, Yellow Bastard's face, green eyes.

The contents of three "Sin City" comic books are interwoven here, and Rodriguez is constantly faithful: A lot of these shots could have been lifted straight from the comic's pages. He also preserves the stark, black-and-white style that the graphic novels are known for. You can't get much more faithful than that.

"Sin City" is not quite a "Kill Bill" bloodfest, though -- surprisingly, this brutal movie has a dark sense of chivalry. Each story is about an outcast man defending a woman's honor, safety, or memory, even if he sacrifices himself in the process. "Sin City" wears its heart on its sleeve, even if that sleeve is bloodstained and torn.

Most of the actors do wonderful jobs -- Owen's dark photographer, Rourke's scarred strongman, Stahl's revolting Yellow Bastard, and Alba's surprisingly sweet stripper. Only a few, like Brittany Murphy, have lackluster performances. But perhaps the most memorable performances come from Bruce Willis and Elijah Wood. Willis plays his aging cop role with unusual grace, even when shooting the genitals off Yellow Bastard. And Wood plays Kevin with both creepy evil and spiritual ecstacy. All without saying a word.

The blu-ray edition of this movie was a long time in coming, and apparently it won't be a bare-bones release. First, it contains both the theatrical and director's cuts of the movie. And the extras clock in at over six hours, and will (as I write this) include interviews with Miller and Tarantino, "live in concert," audio commentaries, a Marvcentric interactive graphic novel, a visual commentary and something called "10 Minute Cooking School." And it'll have featurettes on a variety of subjects -- costumes, green-screen, makeup, Frank Miller, cars, and many other subjects.

"Sin City" is a remarkable, bleak, intense movie -- a halfway point between Tarantino and Raymond Chandler. An outstanding piece of work.

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About Sin City [Blu-ray] detail

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44 in DVD
• Released on: 2009-04-21
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 124 minutes

Read more Sin City [Blu-ray]

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Digital TV - Advantages and Disadvantages

Though it's not a novelty any more, Digital television will soon seem like one once it becomes the only transmission format from February 2009. How does the whole concept of Digital television work and how and why is it superior to the normal methods of transmission? Lets try and understand why.

Digital transmission is superior because it converts images and sounds into digital computer data and transmits them. Once the digital data is received by the receiver attached to your television, it is then quickly reassembled into the original picture and sound and viewed by the viewer. Though this may seem like a longer procedure of transmitting television data, it actually is more advantageous than the older analog method as it provides you with a better picture and sound quality. The picture is not grainy or disturbed and the transmission is very clear. This is because the digital tuner attached to the receiver removes any interface from the signals before converting them back to the original images and sounds.

This ability to clean the interface from the signals results in superior quality of picture and sound which ultimately results into superior quality viewing.

To add to the quality, the digital television has another advantage of having a user friendly interface where the user can view the listings well in advance rather than having to flip through random channels to find out what's on and what's not.

One of the other benefits of digital TV is that the transmission can be compressed in order to take up less bandwidth. This implies that more number of channels can be transmitted over the same cable or over the air frequency. This is beneficial for the cable operators who wish to increase the number of channels, as they can now do so without having to replace any cable. HDTV has a bandwidth hogging nature, and hence digital TV transmission is a better way of transmitting HDTV regardless of the medium of transmission used.

Digital TV is an all or none deal, implying that either you experience top quality television viewing with clear picture quality or else you view nothing. In comparison the old, analog transmission method still provided the picture even if the quality degraded at times. The picture might have gone grainy and fuzzy yet it was still viewable, however in digital TV it will either be viewed or nothing can be seen on the screen at all.

There is another inconvenience with this new technology. The problem being that the television sets do not have the facility to tune to these new digital waves. This problem can be solved by either buying a new generation television or else buying the digital tuner that can be attached to your normal television to provide the same effect.

Digital television no doubt will improve television viewing many folds by improving quality and increasing the bandwidth available but the final verdict of the people is still awaited in the matter.

An important point worth noting is that, satellite TV companies, DirecTV and Dish Network TV service, has stated clearly that they are ready for the digital TV upgrade. Thus, you do not need to worry in case you are shopping for satellite TV. Learn more about satellite TV system at Satellite TV Issue.

Article by Teddy Low.

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How to Perform Magic-like Business Powerpoint Presentations

It is not about playing magic tricks during your business meetings or performing sleight of hand to perform coin or card tricks, or even pulling a rabbit from a magician's hat. It is an undeniable fact that magic stunts are indeed entertaining and mostly audiences are easily mesmerized by it. In order to optimize your PowerPoint presentation, you have to be a 'magician' rather than an ordinary presenter.

Qualities of being a 'magician'

Being a magician able to divert your attention to something important rather than focus on something irrelevant or unimportant. Famous magicians like David Copperfield, David Blaine and Chris Angel are not just remarkable magic performers, but as a talented storytellers.

Being one storyteller, one has to convince audiences to what the storyteller has to say. In order to do so, the storyteller has to be confident and high sense of humor to grasp audiences' attention.

During your business presentation, you have to simplify your PowerPoint slides and divert your clients' attention to your business ideas with minimal efforts. Therefore, it shortens the time of managing or creating slides in which this particular task previously would take a longer time to be completed.

What are the 'magic tricks' that you should include in your slides?

These tricks are simply irresistible to your clients - only if you know what they actually want.

In this case, let's us discuss how you put 'yourself' into your slides.

Step 1: Insert your own picture into your slide template

Make sure you insert your professional looking picture of yourself into your slide templates. This picture has to be you or your colleagues (if you in groups), and the attire has to be the same as what you are wearing during your presentation.

For example, if you are wearing black suits in front of your audiences, it has to be the same in your picture. It is like a 'magic trick' that diverts your clients' attention to your slides when they see a still picture of you on the screen.

Step 2: Create a dialogue bubble in each of the slide

Whenever you want to deliver your ideas to your clients, insert a dialogue bubble along with the text-contents in which both represent a conversation that initiated from your picture that has been inserted in your slide template earlier.

This creates a close rapport with your clients in which they area able to relate with your product ideas, company background in terms of its mission statement, objectives and other related resources.

It is possible to create your very own magic-like PowerPoint presentation in front of your audiences - even if you are not David Blaine, Chris Angel or David Copperfield. For more pictorial description of this magic-like Powerpoint presentations visit http://presentationism.com

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Every Man's Guide to HDTV

In the ever-changing world of home entertainment and particularly the quality of television reception, the introduction of High Definition TV (HDTV) has been the most successful and innovative new feature to appear on the recent scene. Along with Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and Plasma televisions, HDTV has been at the forefront of the technological improvement in the quality of reception.

Historical Background to TV Transmission

Up until 1996, TV signal transmission was by the Analog method. In that year Digital TV transmission started. Digital TV provided a superior television experience to that of the out-dated Analog system, both from the point of view of picture quality, but also of sound clarity.

However, early next year (2009) US broadcasters must by law cease to transmit Analog signals. They must change over to the Digital format. That means eventually that a TV buyer will have to buy a TV (SDTV) that accepts a Digital signal, but not necessarily a more expensive but better performing HDTV.

But with the rapid advance in television technology, standard definition TV's are becoming outdated, with High Definition TV (HDTV) becoming more and more popular.

So for those users of an Analog TV and who wish to upgrade to a better TV system, they can either move to the SDTV format, or else the superior HDTV format. The choice is completely theirs.

Definition of terms used

The term 'Digital TV' is now used in connection with SDTV.

'Digital TV' does NOT mean HDTV.

HDTV is a superior form of 'Digital TV' and is simply referred to as 'HDTV'

HDTV is the very latest in TV Technology

HDTV, which came out in the late 90's, provides a precise, absolute crystal-clear picture together with the very best sound quality ensuring the viewer has a TV experience that just cannot be matched by using Standard Definition TV (SDTV). Once the superior visual and sound quality of HDTV has been experienced, a viewer would find it difficult to accept the old , inferior, SDTV format.

The quality of a TV picture is determined by the number of vertical lines across the screen. SDTV is based on 480 to 576 lines, whereas HDTV utilizes a minimum of 720 lines. The standard today is usually 1080 lines and the narrower lines give a resolution of between 2 and 5 times better than SDTV, an improvement that makes both picture and sound far better quality to that given by SDTV.

However, in order to receive HDTV reception much more than a suitable TV is required. The HDTV may incorporate an appropriate tuner, or else a set-top HD tuner is necessary. This can be either rented or purchased from the program provider. If the viewer subscribes to a satellite TV provider, then a dish capable of receiving the HD signal is required. And finally the viewer will need to have a contract with his TV provider for HD programs.

In addition to these, it's critical to have the TV configured correctly, otherwise the benefits of high definition will not be seen. This should be done when installation of the equipment has been completed.

The escalating public acceptance of HDTV is encouraging the TV providers, both cable and satellite, to provide an increasing number of HD channels for their subscribers. Dish Network, one of two satellite TV companies, provides over 80 HD channels at the moment with more planned for the future.

For those families in the market for a new TV set, then they have the choice between the SDTV format, and the newer, improved definition HDTV. Both use the digital format introduced in 1996, although HDTV has since been an upgrade. Nevertheless both are a vast improvement on the soon to be phased out analog format.

The author writes on satellite TV issues focusing on the programming deals offered by the dish TV companies. He also has an interest in the superior technology of HDTV as recently introduced by the Dish Network satellite TV provider.

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Best Advertising Methods on the Internet

There are various advertising methods one can use to promote their business website on the internet, but it can also be tough to get your site in front of all the other sites offering similar products or services. Using the internet can get your product out to millions of people but without proper marketing there is no sense. Your site will just site there in cyberspace with no visitors.

When a person wants to promote their website on the internet they may wonder how it is possible to get people to see their site when there are billions of other sites to look at. It may be a difficult task but it definitely is possible. It takes some work and some time to get the traffic you want but it can happen.

When we have a business and we use the internet to promote it we should also promote ourselves. People will get to know you, the website owner/operator, as a person and not just another website trying to sell something.

Whenever possible, have a picture of yourself on you websites and blogs. This will give your potential customers a chance to put a face to the name.

Post in forums that are related to your industry and provide quality advice and information. This is also an excellent place to have a picture of yourself so everyone knows who they are talking to or reading advice from. Forums are a great place to learn for yourself also.

Writing and submitting articles is always a great way to get your name out there and in good standing with potential customers. Provide unique valuable information and your readers will wait for more. In your profile with the article directory you can post a little biography and sometimes a picture so people will know you better. Make sure to include the link to your website in your resource at the end of each article.

Blogging is a more personal way to get the word out about your business. You can include personal stories or just write in your own way that is more personal and not as formal as an article should be. With your picture on your blog, visitors will be seeing your face everywhere they turn. Blogs are something that people will bookmark and come back to visit if they really like what you have to say.

Social marketing is another way to promote your business and become recognized with using a picture. You submit sites that you like and, in turn, others will submit your site or articles to the social book marketing sites. At fist it can seem a little overwhelming but in time it becomes easy and fun.

There are other ways to promote your website and some people have better luck with one method over another. We all have to find the methods we enjoy and work for us and then it will not seem so much like work, but more of a fun hobby.

Tara Martindale specializes in helping people find the best work at home business opportunities available. Visit Tara's Work at Home Business Opportunities site for details.

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The Palate of the Commercial Photographer

How does a commercial photographer infuse life in a picture? A photograph or an image which does not have life - 'the X factor' as they call it - is simply wastage. Efficient commercial photographers know how to put life in the images that they click. And how do they do it? There are simple but fundamental principles that guide the rules to create a good image. Some of them are listed below.

Light - the most important of all elements, light is, in other words, the essence of any kind of photography - good or bad. If light is not used properly, then the image can be nothing but a sheer wastage. And if used properly, it can not only bring out the mood, emotion or expression in the picture, but also has the ability to tell stories in a single picture.

Subject - Can you imagine a photograph without a subject? Every photograph has to have a subject. It can be scenic beauty of a place, it can be a human / animal model. It can be a product. But the most important thing that a commercial photographer has to keep in mind is - since his pictures are taken for commercial use, therefore the subject has to be strong enough to tell a story or convey the message sufficiently and effectively.

Background - background should ideally be simple when you have to highlight the subject, especially when the subject is telling the story or conveying the message across to the audience. A simple background does not draw or divert the attention of the audience and the focus is entirely on the subject.

These were just three of the very critical aspects of photography. And for the commercial photographer, it is extremely important to give special attention to all of them. The experienced and the expert commercial photographer knows how to create harmony with all these important elements.

About The Author: Jack White is a specialist in Advertising photography and other kinds of photography. He has worked in close coordination with many an expert commercial photographer of UK and other countries. In his works he is presenting some of his observation on the role of commercial photographer in advertising photography.

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Hanging Wall Art - 4 Simple Rules

Deciding on how to display art in a way that is appealing and draws attention can be a daunting challenge for some. Read on as this article provides a few simple tips on displaying art effectively in your home.

1. Art Grouping for an Interesting Touch

Group the pictures into clusters of two or three. Odd numbered groups suggest a focal point while even numbered groups exude a calming and organized effect. You can transform an even numbered grouping into an odd numbered one, simply throw in a unique but different element - something which complements the rest of the group, but doesn't necessarily belong to the same family. A mirror or a wall carving would be a good idea. This brings the grouping out of balance, yet makes it interesting.

2. Art and Furniture

As a rule of thumb, it is always a good idea to first position the furniture in the room before you hang the art pieces. This way you can use the furniture as a guide to the picture hanging height and positioning. Typically, avoid using a picture or a group of pictures that is wider than the furniture piece below it. If they are narrower than the furniture, they should at least be half the length of the furniture. The picture or the group of pictures should not be placed too low on the wall such that it is too close to the furniture, neither should it be placed too high such as to leave an unsightly gap between the furniture and the picture. Ideally, you should leave about an 8 to 10 inch gap between the bottom of the picture and the piece of furniture below it.

3. Hang Art at the Right Height

Don't hang pictures too high on the wall. You don't want your guests craning their necks to look at the art. The standard practice is to hang the picture at eye level. Some experts believe that you should hang pictures 3 to 4 inches lower than where you think it is. When hanging pictures you should also consider the purpose of the room. If it is a dining room or living room that you're decorating, where guests will be seated most of the time, your eye level should be about 5 to 6 inches above the backs of chairs. In the hallway or stairway, you should place your pictures higher as people are standing in upright positions in these places.

4. Avoid Cluttering

Finally, when grouping pictures, take note not to position the pictures too close to each other. If the pictures are placed too close, they lose their individuality, and if they're placed too far apart, they will lack unity.

That's it! A few simple steps to get you starting along in you home decorating adventure! Enjoy your art!

Find a wide range of abstract wall art at Abstract Prints, an online art gallery offering more than 20,000 contemporary wall art prints for home and office decorating. Visit us for fresh interior design ideas today.

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Favorite Grandparent Memory

Several years ago while sitting in The Coffee Exchange with my nine-year-old granddaughter Alicia, our conversation turned to her mother's choice of lifestyle.

She expressed to me how she felt about it.

Alicia and her sister had a dad in their life, but they also had someone extra, her mother's female paramour.

There we were sitting at a two-seated table next to the wall. I looked at Alicia, admiring my beautiful granddaughter.

"So Alicia, how are things at home?" I looked at her expectantly.

"They're ok, Nana." She looked up from sipping her hot chocolate.

"You look a little sad Alicia, is everything really ok"? I asked.

"Yeah," she glanced at me, and then took another sip.

"I like Helen, she is a lot of fun, but sometimes her and mom embarrass me."

"What do you mean" I watched her face carefully.

"They took us to the park once and while Lynn and I were playing on the swings, they sat on the bench kissing," she looked down at her hot chocolate.

"I see what you mean, that would be embarrassing and I can see how you would be upset." I told her.

I looked at Alicia, her face troubled.

She removed her spoon from the cup and placed it on the table, "my greatest fear Nana, is that I will grow up to be like her."

"Alicia, I'm going to tell you something, and I want you to remember it for the rest of your life, it's something you can apply to anything in life."

I sent a prayer to God asking for divine wisdom to give my granddaughter the words she needed to heal.

"You have to realize people choose what they want to do in life, and your mother chose to live this kind of a lifestyle. You don't have to follow in her footsteps because God has given us free will, and that means we get to choose what path we go down in life."

Alicia smiled at me, and finished her hot chocolate. She placed the cup on the table, and then looked up at the wall where a picture hung between us. The picture had two houses with two paths leading up to the houses, and the sky was stormy looking.

"Nana, do you see that picture with the houses and two paths leading to the houses."

"Yes." I replied wondering what wonderful words of wisdom were about to erupt from my granddaughter.

"The path on the left is me, and the other path on the right is my mom." We are both going down different paths in life."

I beamed at her, "I couldn't have said it better, sweetheart."

She smiled back at me, her face brightening considerably.

"You know Nana, I'm glad we had this talk, because it really bothered me.

"Honey, you can come and talk to me anytime.

We rose from our chairs and left, both of us feeling better for having a heart-to-heart talk.

Catharine Leona Joy Parks was born in Chatham,Ontario on June 5, 1953 to a Canadian mother and an American father. Her early childhood was spent in the church growing up in a strict environment but at an early age started to desire more. With an adventuresome spirit she would join her brother escaping from her bedroom window after bedtime and going downtown with him to dances, plays and the movies, to enjoy all the things that her religious parents denied her.

Spending her earlier years in Windsor and drawing for countless hours, Catharine creative by nature- an artist was born. Catharine sold her first art work in grade 5, chosen from the art museum where it hung on display, a cartoon caricature from the old comic strip, Lil' Abner.

Catharine's love of words started from early childhood when she would make up fictitious words and songs. She has been writing songs since 1983.
On January 25, 2007, she published her first devotional, A Glimpse of the Cross, on the Mustard Seed Ministries Site. Cliffhanger was published June 10, 2007 on DivineCaroline a flagship site of Real Girls Media Network, Inc.

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Freelance Photography - Monochrome With Photoshop

As a former keen monochrome worker, I miss my darkroom and the thrill of seeing a print appear in the developer and watching as it builds to its climax. And, I miss the simplicity of a black and white print.

I know that I can shoot digital in black and white but I never seem to. As a freelance I have to capture the images that magazines want and 99 plus% want everything in glorious colour. So, as I no longer have a darkroom, the only way for me to satisfy my craving for black and white is to convert suitable colour images to monochrome using my trusty computer.

Grayscale Mode

The simplest and quickest way was how I started and that was just to change the mode in Photoshop from RGB to Grayscale. I opened the picture, went to 'Image' in the Menu Bar and selected 'Mode' then selected 'Grayscale' from the drop down menu. This brought up a dialogue box asking if I wanted to discard all colour information. I clicked 'OK' and the job was done. I was then able to adjust the monochrome image to my liking. It couldn't get any easier. 'Easy-peasey,' as Jamie Oliver would say.

So, with the image open, go to 'Image>Mode>Grayscale' then 'Discard color information'.

In Photoshop Elements the process is the same.

Desaturate Method

As easy is the use of the 'Desaturate' command. With the original colour picture open, go to 'Image' select 'Adjustments' and 'Desaturate' from the drop down menu. The result is very similar to the Grayscale method and can also be achieved by going to 'Hue/Saturate' and reducing the 'Saturation' slider to -100.

'Image>Adjustments>Desaturate'

In Photoshop Elements, go to 'Enhance>Adjust color>Remove color'.

Channel Mixer Method

Now we come to a slightly more complicated method but one that gives a higher control than the previous two. Once again, with the original colour picture open, go to 'Image' and select 'Adjustments' then select 'Channel Mixer' from the drop down menu. This will bring up the Channel Mixer dialogue box with sliders for the Red, Green and Blue channels. When opened the sliders will be set for 100% red and 0% for the other two channels. Before you do anything, select the Monochrome box at the bottom left of the dialogue box. Then have a look at the image with 100% for each of the other two colours in turn and 0% for the rest. The results will depend upon the majority of colours in the original. You may find that one of the channels suits you perfectly, in which case you can ignore the other two by leaving them at 0 and click on 'OK'.

However, it will probably be the case that you can get a better result by mixing bits of each channel. I start generally by reducing the Red to about 50 or 60 and increasing Green to 20 to 30 and the Blue to whatever makes up 100 - you don't have to end up with 100 but the results are normally better if you do. Once I have made the initial changes, it is a matter of trial and error to come up with the best result.

The Constant slider allows adjustments of the finished image - sliding to the left produces a darker result and to the right, a lighter one. I have found that I rarely adjust this.

There is no equivalent in Photoshop Elements.

LAB Mode

Another method that produces generally good results is to use the LAB Mode. With the colour image open, go to 'Image' and select 'Mode' then choose 'Lab color'. In the Layers Window, select 'Channels' which will give you four channels, LAB, Lightness, A and B. Go to channel A and select it all then delete it. Repeat this for channel B and then go to the Lightness channel. Go to 'Image>Mode>Grayscale' click 'OK' in the dialogue box that asks whether you want to discard the other channels and you have a monochrome image to adjust to your satisfaction.

There is no equivalent in Photoshop Elements.

Any one of the completed operations above will provide me with a useable monochrome image of the particular colour image that I selected to begin with. However, all require additional work to make them into more than just a basic monochrome picture.

As you have seen, and as with so many operations in Photoshop, it is possible to get to an end result in various ways and the ones I have outlined are not the only ones that will provide a conversion to monochrome. Some swear by one method or another but I find that while I have a tendency towards the channel mixer method, there are times when it doesn't produce the result I am after. Then I will try one of the alternative methods and am pleased that I know more than one. And, sometimes, I find an interesting result that I was not expecting and that takes me down a path that I was not anticipating.

David Bigwood is an Australian based writer and photographer who sells his words and pictures regularly. He was a columnist for F2 Freelance + Digital magazine for three years. His website is http://www.bigwoodpublishing.com where you will find some of his published articles.

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Family Photo Christmas Cards - 6 Smart Solutions to the Top Challenges

Taking a great photo for the family photo Christmas card looks like it should be easy. But as any parent who has attempted this holiday ritual can tell you, it's not as simple as it looks. What you want is a unique, beautiful photo Christmas card. And what you usually get is fidgety, uncooperative kids that blink just as you're taking the picture. But don't give up and throw in the Santa hat just yet. Here are 6 easy, smart solutions to those top challenges.

Challenge 1: You want a festive holiday background for your family photo Christmas cards, but don't want to decorate your house with strands of lights and tinsel in November.

Solution: Use the Mall. Department stores and shopping malls are decorating for the season earlier and earlier, many times right after Halloween. These holiday backdrops are perfect for family photo Christmas cards. Gather the kids in front of the twinkling lights and a few camera clicks later, you'll have a great shot.

Challenge 2: Your toddlers won't sit still long enough to take the photo.

Solution: Bring in the props. Get out the oversized teddy bear or other toy that fascinates them. Try posing them with the dog or cat. Give them something simple to do, like ring a Christmas bell or kiss their sister on the cheek. Use trial and error until you find the item or activity that interests them long enough for you to take a few pictures.

Challenge 3: Your teenage kids don't feel like posing for a family photo.

Solution: Don't make them pose. Instead, make action the focal point of your photo Christmas cards, highlighting things that your teenagers love to do. Take photos of them showing off their abilities. Whether they are in the swimming pool, a canoe, sinking a basketball, riding a horse, baking holiday cookies, playing with the dog, or enjoying another activity, your holiday cards will offer a glimpse into your family's interests and personality.

Challenge 4: You'd like to send photo Christmas cards that are witty and fun, just like your family.

Solution: Create your own holiday story picture, by setting up a scene. Here's some ideas. The kids can discover Mommy kissing Santa Claus (Daddy in disguise). Put the young kids in a bubble bath with Santa hats and bubble beards. Capture a snapshot of each family member grabbing a slice of pizza with the message "pizza on earth". Photograph an empty plate of cookies and finished glass of milk in front of "guilty" looking kids with the caption "sorry Santa!"

Those after Halloween costume sales can come in handy when trying to set up a whimsical photo. How about posing your little angels with angel wings you picked up at discount? Other possibilities could be your kids dressed as cats (Meowy Christmas), super heroes (have a super Christmas), a baby in a pea-pod costume ("peas on earth") or a lion and a lamb costume for two children.

Challenge 5: You'd like a beautiful photo Christmas card that doesn't look like the same, tired, group family photo you send out every year.

Solution: Change the location of your photo shoot. If you're within driving distance to a beach, there are a lot of unique photo opportunities. Pose the kids on a sleigh on a sand dune. Write Merry Christmas on the sand, and have everyone sit behind the inscription. Build a sand snowman with a straw hat, sunglasses, and seashell nose.

Autumn provides a lot of great possibilities for photo Christmas cards. Try taking photos of the kids playing in a pile of leaves, in a pumpkin patch or on a hay ride. Make lovely scenery your backdrop and it can create atmosphere that elevates your photo Christmas card to a new level.

Challenge 6: When you struggle to take a family group photo, someone always blinks their eyes, turns their head or doesn't smile. It seems nearly impossible to get one perfect shot where everyone looks good.

Solution: Choose a card company that offers photo Christmas card designs that contain multiple photos of your family. The latest trend in holiday photo cards is to include several of your photos on one card in a unique, holiday layout. This has become popular because it is much easier to take great, individual photos of your family members than one acceptable group picture.

Whatever particular challenge you face when composing your photo Christmas cards, there is an easy solution. Try these creative approaches and soon you'll be hearing from your friends, relatives, coworkers and neighbors how much they loved this year's family holiday photo card.

Linda Kling is the owner of Photo Party Favors, which offers personalized photo favors and custom photo cards, announcements and invitations. Visit her website for more information on photo Christmas cards, plus recipes, tips, free printable holiday candy bar wrappers, Christmas tags, more.

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Where Did The Word Spam Come From?

We've all become familiar with the term spam. It's become so commonplace that even people who never use computers are familiar with the term spam. That single word has become part of our every day vocabulary that we use in personal conversations.

But how does the word spam relate to email? There are two camps of thought on this matter. The classic version of the story stems from the classic Monty Python spam sketch where a couple enter a restaurant and are given a menu that has nothing but the tinned meat spam on it. In that sketch the word spam is repeated almost 200 times. The same word repeated over and over in a sketch led to people referring to hundreds of the same emails about the same topic being referred to as spam.

The second explanation came from a guy called Jim who told me the following story:

"Back in the BBS (Bulletin Board System) days with the NEW high-speed V32 2400-baud modems it would take a very long time to download a program or picture from your BBS. This was much like USENET is today you upload some thing and others can download it.

One such uploader advertised his posts as pictures of nude women. After a half hour download and putting all the pieces together the picture turned out to be a picture of a can of SPAM. Where are my nude ladies and an hour of my time? People replied to the messages and wrote SPAM. This way we knew not to D/L that picture. After USENET got going the term stuck meaning something false - do not download (or believe) this. The jump to UBE (Unsolicited Bulk Email) or UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email) being called SPAM was a natural evolution of the term."

Decide for yourself which origination theory best suits you. The principle is the same. The word spam is derived from the fact that the same useless information is sent to you over and over again under the pretence of it being useful.

Do you know how many hours you lose each day just checking through all that spam in your Inbox? When all you really want is the e-mail that's important to you! Learn more about what spam filters and blockers you can use to block the flood of spam. CPUSecurity.com

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8 Principles to Choosing the Best Portrait Photographer

Though digital photography is cheap and available to all, there are times and occasions when everyone needs to pay to have a picture done right. One such time is to capture the portrait of someone or a group dear to you. Yes, it will cost more than taking a picture with your point and shoot and then asking a drug store to enlarge it for you. But it will be an investment in the future by recording a reminder of the past. How does one go about choosing a good portrait photographer? Here are eight principles that can help with this decision.

1) Location. Is the studio close enough to your home to be convenient? Remember that you will probably have to go there at least three times, to get the picture made, to make a choice, and to pick up the final product. Also, is it accessible or do you have to cross a heavy traffic area?

2) Facility. One family got up early on a Saturday morning to meet their appointment for a family portrait only to find the studio was too small to get everyone in the picture. Is the studio large enough to accommodate the group you want photographed?

3) Punctuality. You will want to be on time for an appointment. Are they? Are you allowed all the time promised to get the picture right? Are the proofs and final prints available when they say they will be? It might be good to check with others about the reputation of the firm in these matters.

4) Personality. Do the employees look sharp? Is the receptionist and/or photographer friendly? Do they treat you with respect? Are they personable? Are they patient with small children and babies? Are they willing to accommodate special needs people? Usually portrait time means the whole group has been under stress to get clean and dressed and there on time. That means smaller children may show it by refusing to smile. The photographer should be able, under most circumstances, to overcome these everyday occurrences.

5) Skill. Is the lighting professional? After all, that is usually one thing you can't imitate so it should be right. Is the photographer skilled at arranging the scene so it is balanced, key people are highlighted, and everyone can be seen? Their job is to get a picture worth framing if you so desire. They should know how to do that with one scan of the group.

6) Choice. A good photographer will take enough pictures so that you have ample choices from which to pick your favorites. How long do you have to wait before the proofs are available? Some companies will allow you to select your favorites while you are there. Are their recommendations motivated by money or what is best for you? Are they able to present the options without making you feel under pressure?

7) Integrity. Is the firm honest? If they promised you one free 8 X 10, will they keep that promise? Are the pictures ready when they said they would be? When you leave, would you say it was a good overall experience?

8) Price. Photographs may seem expensive but when you remember that they must pay for quality cameras, staff, and facilities, it is worth the extra expense. Yet, the price should be competitive. Call around to see what the average costs are for the picture you want.

From our experience, getting a good family portrait can be a stressful time if done by the wrong person. Choosing the best portrait photographer for your needs is worth the investment. If you follow the principles above, you will likely be glad you had it done professionally.

Del Haven Studio is the location of a proven Virginia Beach Portrait Photographer who is experienced in expertly capturing professional protraits. Click the links to visit the site today and see slideshows of her work as a Virginia Beach maternity photographer, in corporate settings, and beautiful weddings.

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Personal Coaching & Self-Improvement - The Overall Picture

Let's look at an overview of personal coaching. These days, you will find that more and more people are going in for personal coaching programmes, so that they can deal with challenges and problems in their personal and professional lives with greater effectiveness.

The fundamental concept of personal coaching is that of self improvement. A personal coach seeks to make a person's life better through specialised skills and techniques. There are all kinds of coaching programmes available today, but the basic principle of self improvement stays the same across all programmes.

Identifying With The Correct Coaching Procedure

When a personal coaching programme is being considered, a certain procedure is followed. The first step in the process is a personal interview between the coach and his client. This in-depth exchange of information makes the situation clear. The agreed objectives are identified and discussed, and methods for achieving them mapped out by both the client and his personal coach.

During the process of the personal coaching, the client has to commit himself to achieving certain objectives that will help him attain his final goal, while bringing out the best in himself and exploiting his own potential.

Evolving With Self Improvement

The process of self improvement takes place while the personal coaching is going on. Personal coaching programmes may be extended if so required - an assessment will be undertaken and goals redefined or new goals established. Such an assessment is very useful for the learner who will gain an insight into himself and his behaviour and set him on the path to self-improvement.

While someone is going through a personal coaching programme, he will certainly learn a lot about himself, his behaviour, attitudes, reaction, strengths and shortcomings. He will learn to analyse himself and take the first step towards self-improvement - without this kind of study and understanding, self-improvement is not possible.

His plans to reach his goals will succeed better if they are based on detailed self-knowledge, and the process of self-improvement energized and thrust forward. Every individual will experience noticeable self-improvement, as he applies his knowledge about himself, realizing where he has to make changes and where he can do things in a better, more effective way.

Effective Communication through Coaching

Most personal coaching programmes deal with clients in a specific way, following a specific procedure. Clear channels of communication that are necessary for the personal coaching process are established. Methodologies and techniques are discussed and chosen, and a rapport begins to be set up between the client and his personal coach. The various ways in which the client can achieve his objective are identified, and the best ways to solve problems and meet challenges are decided upon. Feedback is a vital component of the personal coaching process and one of the most basic steps towards self-improvement.

Have an excellent day,
Martin Jeszke

Email: coachingmentors@gmail.com

Live in the UK currently, married with Italian wife, 2 grown up children both attending university. I have been involved with Personal Development for several years both in the corporate world and now ongoing training.

My mentors are Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn and now Stephen Pierce.

I love to write including Blogging, Articles, Free Newletters, Writing advertisements, Web Site Copywriting. Interests: Photography, Guitar, Music,Yoga, Sport, Reading and Web Publishing

Blog: http://www.coachingmentors4you-blog.com
Site: http://www.coachingmentors4you.com

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How to Get Raw Food Recipes For Every Occasion

Kevin: We could talk for hours. I wanted you to talk a little bit more about "The Raw Gourmet" and your new book and what someone can find in there, because it's a great book. It's great for people who want to do parties, who want to do themes and all that sort of stuff. And I think it's really missing in the palate of raw food cookbooks that are out there. This one is kind of needed. It kind of fits a pretty nice niche. So why don't you talk about that a little bit.

Nomi: All right, thanks. Well, you know, I think that the "Raw Food Celebrations" is the first book out that is specifically for celebrating. And what we did, Sheryl and I broke it down, so that if you wanted to have a theme, it doesn't have to you can pick a recipe from here or from there, it's broken down into I forget how many themes, seven or eight -- Italian, Thai...she did the Thai because she and her husband have been to Thailand many times and the food is incredible. She did stuff I never heard of, like [indecipherable] and stuff like that. And delicious coconut soup and stuff. Brunch, buffet, cocktail, if you just want to have a bunch of people over, and just sort of have hors dousers and drinks. You know, we have a few nice drinks in there. They don't have alcohol in them, but you could put alcohol in them, if you wanted to.

And what we did is we did a timeline, so it's like three weeks before the party dehydrate, cut up the red peppers and dehydrate them, because they'll keep forever, and then you toss them in or throw them on top of the soup. Five days before, four days before, three days before, the day of. And we tried and succeeded in most of the categories to have the amount of work you do on the actual day of your event, if you choose to make, there's probably seven to nine recipes in each grouping, and if you choose to do the whole thing like that, and have the event as we structured it, then we really made it so that you can plan a week ahead and on a Saturday or a Sunday have a nice event. Or you can just
pull out one recipe at a time.

And we worked very hard to make it. Like my lasagna recipe I showed a few of the sauces last, whatever day I did the food prep in Fort Bragg, I think it was Saturday, and I made three or four sauces in less than 45 minutes. And turned out they were all the sauces that go into the lasagna. But we start making them four days before. And then really what takes the time is assembling the lasagna, and you do that the day before. So it's a fun book for that, and it's a book for someone who is starting but they don't want to have like an energy soup concept, or for someone who's been making food for a while and would like to make a nice family meal or entertain their friends. It's absolutely structured so that you don't have to be raw to enjoy the food.

Kevin: That's great.

Nomi: And then "The Raw Gourmet" is your basic, this is the best first book to get, or one of the first books, and if you really, literally read it from cover to cover, you will know everything you need to know to have a raw food kitchen. I don't get into things like, you know, it's a food book, I do not get into deep things like healing and cleansing and all that because it's a food book. But it's everything you need to know about a raw food kitchen. We're actually going to reprint it, and someone asked a question about I used Braggs in the book. Well, I do use Braggs in that book because I didn't know it was a bad product at the time I wrote the book. I would substitute Braggs now for Nama Shoyu, which is a supposedly raw soy sauce, or maybe a little sea salt, or something salty like that.

And I'm thinking well maybe those people at my publisher can change every Braggs in the book to Nama Shoyu, but that's a big undertaking, so maybe that won't happen.

Kevin: Yeah. And where can someone go to get that book?

Nomi: The best place to get the book, I mean, yeah, you can get them at places like Barnes and Noble, or health food stores and stuff like that, but the best place is to get them from my site, rawgourmet.com, and the reason for that is I give a free booklet with each book. With the purchase of "The Raw Gourmet" you get a soup booklet, which is thirteen to fifteen raw soup recipes, and with "Raw Food Celebrations" you get a book called Raw But Not Naked, and it's a book of salad dressings.

Kevin: Wow, cool.

Nomi: And actually there's no other way to get those booklets. And they are, each booklet is worth seven dollars. I did that purposely because you have to pay for shipping and so it's a free gift, and it mitigates the cost of shipping plus. So, and then of course you're supporting the author, so that's always nice, too.

Kevin: That's great. And that's at Raw Food Gourmet dot com.

Nomi: Right.

Kevin: Where is that on the site, right on the front page?

Nomi: The first thing you'll see is on the left, when you look at the products, there will be a picture of "The Raw Gourmet" and "Raw Food Celebrations." There's also lots of recipe at my site, Kevin, and there's articles. I've been writing a newsletter for about ten years and I'm gradually posting them it the archives. So there's probably eight or ten up there now. There's a lot of information at my website. There's also, when you sign up there's a free newsletter. It's one of the first things you'll see. If you haven't been to my site, sign up for my free newsletter. That comes out sometimes once a week, sometimes less. The one I sent out today was "how to deal with your doctor," your medical doctor. How to get the responses you need from him, or her.

Kevin: Cool.

Nomi: Last week I put out a bunch of recipes called "Summertime Recipes." Sometimes I put specials out, I always have really good specials. But when you sign up for my newsletter you also receive a free seven-part course which is called The Raw Truth. And that gets emailed to you every other day or so until seven have arrived and it stops. It's just little snippets of information about fat and other things like that, and each one will have a recipe with it.

Kevin: Oh, each one has a recipe! Oh that's great. So where you can find that is when you go to Nomi's site rawgourmet.com , you can go there right now and on the left-hand side, as of this recording it's an orange box and it says "newsletter." You can get seven recipes seven days in a row that you can prepare for your family or for your friends or for yourself.

Nomi: And if you want to see the most recent picture of me and my little grandson Seth go to, I think it's just "The Raw Gourmet." Because I never, I'm just the most un- photogenic person, and the picture of me is like ten years old, so my daughter sent me a picture and it wasn't too horrible so I posted it last month and it's a picture of me and the baby, who is almost a year old now.

Kevin: That's great. Well, I want to thank you for time, I really appreciate it. For those of you who are listening you can go to Raw Gourmet on the web, and I would recommend getting the seven recipes and Nomi's newsletter and definitely checking out the book. Ann Marie loves it and she's going to be preparing some of those recipes. So you're going to be hearing a lot about it on the Renegade Health Show. So Nomi I want to thank you for your time.

Nomi: My pleasure.

Kevin Gianni the host of Renegade Health Show - a fun and informative daily health show that is changing the perception of health across the world. His is an internationally known health advocate, author, and film consultant. He has helped thousands and thousands of people in over 21 countries though online health teleseminars about abundance, optimum health & longevity. He is also the creator and co-author of "The Busy Person's Fitness Solution."

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Puzzling Out A Popular Pastime

Jigsaw puzzles have remained a popular pastime for many years, and traditionally these have always been simple a picture, either a photograph or a painting, that has been divided into any number of pieces. These have ranged from the very simple children's puzzles which can have just a half dozen pieces through to a couple of hundred, or the very complex ones designed for adults which may have several thousand pieces.

Today the popularity of puzzles remains, and this is helped in part by an increased range in the type of puzzle available, not simply down to the number of pieces or the complexity of the picture, but in an increasingly varied designs and idea to take puzzles to wider audiences.

One very popular type of jigsaw puzzle available today are the three dimensional puzzles, mainly aimed at older children. These could not very easily have been created a few years ago, as a computer is usually required to break a mode down into puzzle pieces, design the cut-outs and create a puzzle which will fit together well, hold together, and display a picture which helps the puzzle resemble a famous landmark, building, monument or even the planet Earth itself. These puzzles certainly need concentration and patience, but are very rewarding to see a final product take shape.

There is a range of puzzles available today in the more traditional format, being simply flat, which are described as being nearly impossible, and these use photographs or pictures which are horrendously complicated and repetitive, such as a whole sea of baked beans, or coloured sweets, or clouds. These pictures give few clues about where pieces go as there is no cohesive image, just repetitive portions of the same image. Similar ideas in some ways are the popular mosaic puzzles. Mosaic pictures have become very popular lately, and are large pictures composed of many hundreds or thousands of small pictures which are only recognisable as such when you look very closely. These puzzles can be difficult to complete since each puzzle piece has its own picture on it, which actually has nothing whatsoever to do with the puzzle picture as a whole.

Another slant on the traditional idea are puzzles which aim to combine detective skills with art education, and have a final picture which looks very much like an original and well known painting, but with a number of subtle changes made to it. Once the puzzle is complete, you need to look carefully at your puzzle and compare it to the original painting to try to spot all of the differences. This helps to encourage children to see a puzzle within a puzzle, but one that also helps them to think about well known art at the same time.

Since many people are often on the move, an excellent solution is the magnet6ic puzzle, which comes with its own magnetic board, which rolls up. This means that all of the pieces can be spread out on the board, and the puzzle started, but once it is time to either make some space or move on somewhere else, the whole thing can be rolled up, with all of the pieces kept where they are, and then inserted into a canister for transportation. At the other end, simply unroll the back sheet and carry on exactly where you left off.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant about kids toys, dolls, and video games. You will find the best marketplace for kids toys, dolls, and used video games at these sites for kids toys, jigsaw puzzles, 3D puzzles, dolls, and used video games.

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The Logic Behind Screenshot Watermarking

Screenshot watermarking involves the process of overlaying a secondary image onto a primary source image for the purpose of providing copyright protection. After all, screenshots or digital photos uploaded on the Internet are still components of intellectual property, and we can never know just how people would make use of the pictures that they can get via the web. Thus, it would be so much better and safer for us to educate ourselves in going about screenshot or digital watermarking.

There are actually two types of watermarking in the arena right now: visible and invisible. Visible watermarking, as implied by the name itself, indicates that the information is made visible on the picture itself. These can even be referred to as printed watermarks. The visible information could be in the form of text or a particular logo that can be used to identify the owner of the picture concerned. The key here is to overlay your watermark in a manner that it would be extremely hard to remove from the primary source image.

Invisible watermarking, on the other hand, has your watermarks completely invisible. The invisible watermark is actually an overlaid image that one cannot see physically, for the detection of the watermark would entail a certain algorithm to it. The best example of invisible watermarking is in the case of digital audio files. The invisible watermark is laid over the digital media, which prevents unauthorized copying of the file, no matter what format it appears in.

The watermarking lifecycle can actually be broken down into three stages: embedding, attach, and detection. Embedding, being the first step, is actually that point in time when your algorithm accepts a particular host, thereby embedding the data, and then producing the watermarked signal.

In the attack stage, the watermarked signal is now transmitted to another person. If this particular person attempts to make any sort of modification, then an attack occurs. This is not the physical sort of attack at all. this is when pirates make an attempt to take out the digital watermark by means of modification. There are several ways that you can modify a copyrighted image, like cropping the image itself, or adding noise to the image or the video intentionally.

In the detection stage, this is when an algorithm is applied to the attacking signal so that the watermark is extracted accordingly. If the signal remains undisturbed and is not modified in any way during transmission, then this means the watermark remains where it is. Where stronger watermarking applications are concerned, the algorithm doing the extracting should be efficient in the production of the watermark, in spite of the strong modifications done to the signal. However, in fragile watermarking, the algorithm at hand would fail if the signal is modified in any way.

Now that you know the technicalities behind screenshot watermarking, you are now ready to do some watermarking of your own. There are many watermarking applications that you can use for your endeavors. You can download these applications over the web, with most of them offering trial periods for a certain period of time. Just make sure to go with the application that holds a lot of useful features for you.

If you are interested in screenshot watermarking, check this web-site to learn more about picture watermarking.

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Sharepoint - Managing Your Sharepoint Photo Album

Among the many features in SharePoint that are fantastic for collaboration and communication is the ability to create and share a picture library.

I work for a creative agency, where we assist businesses with the creation of their brand identity. It is entirely normal for us to go through multiple revisions before we even present to the client. Of course we want to present the best options to the client; but sometimes it helps to have all of our options on hand for feedback.

Our hosted SharePoint option is, by far, the easiest way for us to manage deadlines and projects for clients. And since we have digital copies of all our creative work, it has become even easier. With the straight-forward creation of a picture library, we can easily upload and share our creative work and get feedback from coworkers, as well as keeping an easy record of all the past versions of work that was done for a client.

The possibilities for a picture library are endless. I mean, you can use it for creative work, a repository of your visual marketing materials, pictures of offices, (of office parties!) and anytime that you want to share images with the rest of your team.

And it's really simple to do as well. In SharePoint Services 3.0, just follow these steps:

Click on Site Actions then Create
Under "Libraries" select Picture Library
In the next menu, type in the name of the picture library, and how you would like to navigate to it.

Once the library has been created, it is simple to upload a new picture:

Click on Upload then Upload Picture
In the next menu, browse and select the file you wish to upload.
The following menu allows you to enter a name, title, description, keywords for searching and even date the image was created.

Et Voila!

What's great is that there are even more features to play around with, like viewing the images as a slide show, and changing the view, so that you can see thumbnails of the images instead of just file names.

Well, I'm sure you'll be able to take advantage of yet another wonderful feature of SharePoint.

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What Does Your Horse Trailer Say?

Every time I pull into a horse camp where the rigs are parked so people can camp and ride, I see the dandiest things painted on the trailers.

The sides of many trailers, both gooseneck and bumper pull, are painted with the name of the owners/riders. "The Richardson's, Steve and Deeda" comes to mind. Some are plain type, a few have a logo or cartoon picture.

Some add a home base location under the names, much like boats have the name of the port painted under the name. It's always a toot to "ride the camp" looking at what everyone else is driving and/or pulling. I have seen vistas of forests and sunsets and even brands.

I have also seen some with the front painted, either the gooseneck part that sits over the pulling truck or the top part of the bumper pull that shows when meeting another vehicle. That's nice, but If I did that I can imagine how long it would take each trip to keep my name "bug free".

The big billboard, however, is on the rear. The part the people following you have no choice but to read. What is there, more than anywhere else says what you are all about.

I followed a big gooseneck into a camp recently with both back doors covered in shiny chrome or stainless. The sun was just right and the glare almost blinded me. Who knows if there was anything to read, I was having trouble keeping the laser beam of the sun out of my eyes. When I buy a new one you can bet the chrome won't be on the back doors.

One of the first rear-door billboards I ever saw, said "Stay Back - Show Horses" It was a two horse tag along in need of some fender body work and a new coat of paint. The wheels didn't match either. I can bet what kind of show those horses put on.

The truck stop is a good place for ideas. They also have safety signs and tape. That red and white reflecting tape looks good on the back, especially at night. I saw a back door the other day that had one of those big 18 wheeler signs on it "Caution Wide Turns" with a picture of a car crashing into a left turning truck and trailer.

Another one said "If you can't see my mirrors, I can't see you". I like that. How about "Live Cargo on Board - Horses" and "Please stay back - Don't be what you see"?

Then there was the one that had two words across the whole width of the trailer "Caution Horses". Each word must have been a foot high and three and a half feet long. But wait, there's more. Underneath that was a monster picture of Yosemite Sam, the Warner Brothers cartoon character with both rootin' tootin' pistols pointed at me and underneath two more really big words "Back Off". That told me a lot about the owners. I found it refreshing, informative and with a sense of humor. I never met them but I can bet that's the kind of people they were.

What your horse trailer says can say a lot about you, and may be a factor in whether or nor your camp neighbors come over to introduce themselves.

Check out Powerful & Effective Horse Training Techniques of Old Time Master Horse Trainers http://MasterHorseTrainingSecrets.com

2008 BIG Mike McDaniel. BIG Mike is a lifetime member of the Indiana Trail Riders Association and a long time horseman. Read hundreds of articles at http://HorseBackRidingArticles.com

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