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A lot of people like to exercise and let’s face it, a lot of us probably need to exercise but exercising indoors in a gym can quite simply become a bit boring. This is one of the reasons why there is a very high rate of dropouts. But there is a way to exercise which is stimulating and exciting and that it to go hiking. If you go hiking or would like to take up this exciting activity, then there is one essential piece of equipment that you will need and that is hiking boots. You can go hiking in normal trainers but you will soon discover that this is very uncomfortable to say the least.

Hiking boots are a must for anyone who wishes to take long walks on rocky, hilly or even flat terrain. When you are on long distance walks then you need to take care of your comfort as well as provide good ankle support and traction without being too heavy. Hiking boots are a very personal piece of equipment that needs to suit your feet. Key factors to keep in mind when buying hiking boots are much the same as when buying regular shoes and that is the fit and use should be taken into consideration for the best purchase. You need to take into consideration your type of feet. Do you have soft or tough skin? Are your feet normally sweaty or dry?

Nowadays hiking and climbing shoes come in a variety of men’s and women’s lasts, so your chances of finding a great-fitting boot are much better than they have ever been. Shoes made from animal skins were developed at first and through the centuries, other types of shoes have been made, incorporating a variety of methods and materials. Some hiking boots are made with special technology that lets the shoe change shape along with the foot. Quite a few of these hiking boots have taken advantage of technology to become smaller and sleeker, while at the same time becoming more sturdier.

The features that you need to look for in hiking boots depend on your hiking activities. Are you going to be hiking in all weathers and all terrains? Do you need waterproofing or not? Or do you need extra cushioning for extra comfort? Asking yourself some of these simple questions will help you to decide, which is the correct purchase for your needs.

Once you have got the hiking boots that will suit your needs, it is important to break them in, before you go on your hike. You don’t want to end up with blisters on your feet and a long way away from home. One thing you can do for this is to wear them around your home and make sure they are comfortable and do not hurt your feet after awhile of wearing them. Doing this will ensure that your feet have adapted fully to the new shoes by the time you go for your first hike.

If your outdoor adventures revolve around short duration day hikes across predominately smooth terrain then a light, athletic styled hiking shoe will suffice for your hiking needs better than classic hiking boots. If your hiking interests are for more rugged terrain then you will need something more sturdier. So consider all these factors before you choose your hiking boots and join the thousands of people who enjoy hiking as a form of exercising that is more exciting and stimulating than any gym in the world.

Nim Aulakh is a writer and webmaster. He has already many articles published.Find out how you can avoid blisters on your feet by getting the right hiking shoes [http://www.outdoorsfunandgames.com/hikingboots.html] and enjoy the outdoors more with the correct backpacking tents by visiting http://www.outdoorsfunandgames.com

Taking good care of your fish tanks is the most important part of caring for your fish. Fish are good pets; they’re quiet, they’re clean and they are beautiful and watching them provides relaxation and stress relief. Fish can be purchased in any color you’d like to have and you’ll find that your fish can help you unwind at the end of the day.

You may choose from either freshwater or saltwater fish tanks. Either allows you to keep certain types of fish (either freshwater or saltwater species of fish, of course). The pets you can keep in these fish tanks will provide you with relaxation and of course, their natural beauty. While fish tanks don’t require a lot of maintenance, you will need to put some work into caring for your tanks to keep them a clean environment which will keep your fish healthy and happy.

Fish tank maintenance begins with prevention. The most important thing is not to keep too many fish in one tank. Having too many fish in the same tank causes overcrowding and can make for an unhealthy environment for your fish. You’ll also need to clean the tank very frequently in order to keep your fish healthy if you have too many fish in your aquarium. No matter how many fish you are keeping, you will need to set a regular cleaning schedule for your fish tanks.

Cleaning your fish tank on a regular basis will help to prolong the lifespan of your fish as well as providing a clean and healthy habitat for them. One way to aid in the cleaning of your tank is to avoid any over feeding. Over feeding causes for excess waste to accumulate on the bottom of the tank and requires removal. You also want to remove any dead leaves that resulted from live plants inside your fish tank. These dead leaves lead to algae build up on the glass of the tank. This algae can be removed with a scraper or algae magnet.

Cleaning the glass or acrylic surfaces of the tank is important, but this is not all there is to keeping your fish tanks clean. A filtration system is an important part of tank maintenance, since this keeps the water clean. You’ll need to clean out the filter monthly, if not more often. You’ll also need to clean your gravel or any other substrate you’re using in your aquarium a minimum of once per month.

When cleaning the filter, remove the medium of the filter and clean it under running water. In the case of the filter medium being worn out, then it should be replaced. There are good bacteria which is located in the filter system. This bacteria aids in the breaking down of ammonia and helps to balance the nitrates that are in the tank. For this reason the filter should be cleaned quickly and then replaced in order to do its job efficiently and effectively. Also, about once a month, you should check the ph balance of the water in your fish tank. If you are not sure what the ph balance should be, then you need to ask someone at a local fish store.

When it comes to cleaning the sides of your tank, don’t use soap or detergent ” this leaves behind residues which can sicken or even kill your fish. Instead, use a solution of 90% water, 10% chlorine bleach (use only plain bleach without fragrances added). You can wash the sides of the tank with this solution and soak all accessories in it for 15 minutes, then rinse thoroughly before refilling and placing your fish back into the tank.

When you take good care of your fish tank, cleaning it at least once per month your fish will be healthier and live longer. You’ll also be able to enjoy a better view of your fish through a well-cleaned tank ” and what’s the point of keeping fish if you can’t enjoy them?

Paul has been keeping pet fish for years now and wants to share his experiences. Want to learn more about keeping your own betta/tropical/marine Fish Tanks? Get your complete betta/tropical/marine set up kit with everything you need from Paul’s Fish Tanks shop.

I wanted to cover safety in deep snow today because skiers die unnecessarily every year from not being able to self-rescue in deep snow.

Today I skied Mammoth Mountain Ski Area just after they got 10.5 – 15.5 feet of new snow. I skied today because it is supposed to snow this afternoon and tomorrow. I skied about 6 runs this morning in mostly knee-deep, pretty heavy snow. And just when I thought my balance was perfect, I was 10? tall and bullet-proof, I did something weird and fell in the bottomless powder in the trees. I got snow in my mouth when I fell, and that always gives me a short-of-breath/claustrophobic feeling.

I fell softly with my skis to my left, and my body fell to the right. Suddenly, I knew it would be really difficult to get up and out of this bottomless powder. So I took a moment, took a few deep breaths, and accessed my situation. I was somewhere in the trees that someone was unlikely to find me.

I needed to self-rescue. I knew from experience that I was in bottomless powder, and my poles would be of little help. Some say to make a “t” with your poles and lean on them, but no way would that have worked. The powder was too deep, and deep powder provides unique, potentially life endangering challenges. So we need to be prepared. Larger baskets on your poles are helpful for pushing yourself on powder days, but do not provide enough resistance to aid you in standing up from a fall. Since my body is heavier than by boots and skis, the more I struggle and move, the lower my body will sink putting my feet be above my head.

In this case I was able to slowly over a period of about 2 minutes shift my butt to be more over my skis by pulling my body mass over the skis by pulling on my legs below the knees. The last part was hard because I had nothing to brace against, but I knew if I could make this one last move to get my butt over the backs of my skis, I could stand up. So I pulled on my legs one more time because I knew that would give me the resistance I needed.

I managed to stand up, now about 5 minutes after I fell. Both my skis were on, and sunk deep in the snow. I slowly pulled the right one up breaking the surface of the snow to get higher footing. Then I did the same with the left ski. OK, I was finally able to glide back out onto the groomed part of the run, and complete the self-rescue from bottomless powder.

In another blog post, I have detailed how to find a ski in bottomless powder which can be challenging. Search in the search window of this blog for “Lost ski” or “finding lost ski”, and it should come up. My method has always been able to find the lost ski quickly, so you no longer need to worry about that.

But I still want to cover what happened to me at June Mt. as a kid. It was a week with 8 feet of new snow at June Mt. I skied the face successfully, but fell and made a huge hole in the flat part at the bottom. At first I kind of panicked, and struggled to get to my feet. But the more I struggled, the more I sank down in the powder making the hole deeper. It got to the point where I was 8 feet down in this hole, and still could not get to my feet.

I knew no one was skiing the face that day. If a ski patroller skied by he would not hear my cries or see me unless he saw the track to my hole. I couldn’t count on that!

I was only about 11 years old, and I needed to get resourceful to self-rescue, or I could be there all night and freeze. I decided to take a break. I took out the camera I had in my pocket, and took a photo from the bottom of my 8 foot deep hole. I tried to push my poles to hit something solid, and I sank them all the way to my shoulder. I hit nothing that could support me.

I thought some more and finally I figured that I could take 1 ski off, and use it horizontally to be a form of support. I was able to take 1 ski off and holding the side of the ski and digging it in for grip, pull myself to a standing position this way. Then I pulled my upper body up, and stepped up sideways up the side of the hole. I kept doing this until I got to where I was only knee deep again.

I put the ski back on, and was able to break trail back to the chairlift. Please remember this technique if you get stuck in a hole in deep powder. This same self-rescue strategy could work to extricate yourself from a tree well, which can be fatal if you do not know what to do. More information about what to do if you get stuck in a tree well is located at: http://www.treewelldeepsnowsafety.com. There are some really good safety tips at that site that I have not covered here.

I can tell you from experience it is easier to learn these proven self-rescue techniques from some one else than to have to make up a rescue technique when you get stuck. People die from getting stuck in deep powder. I gave you 2 self-rescue techniques here. I also recommend you always carry a whistle when you ski the trees. It might give you the capability to summon help where you can not be seen. I also recommend you carry a fully charged cell phone with Mammoth Mountain’s ski patrol phone number programmed into your phone. This way, when you get injured, you can call for help and tell them where you are. You should program under ICE for In Case of Emergency, your person to be contacted in case of injury or emergency. Emergency personnel know to look in your cell phone for this, so you need to program your emergency contact phone number in there so they can find it if they need to.

Other emergency stuff I carry because I ski the trees are:

1) Small knife – Can cut you down from a tree, or filet a fish or squirrel if you have to.

2) I told you about the whistle – Can help ski patrol hear you when they are making their last sweep of the mountain at closing.

3) Lighter – If you had to spend the night, making a fire could save you from freezing to death.

4) Your cell phone programmed as recommended above.

5) Cliff Bar – These have a lower freezing point so you won’t have to chew on a rock-solid snack bar.

6) Fleece balaclava – Can really increase heat retention in winds, and if you get stuck overnight.

7) Ski helmet – Wear a helmet every time you ski. You cannot predict when a dangerous situation will present itself. 80% of fatal ski injuries could have been prevented by simply wearing a helmet.

I photocopy my driver’s license and medical card so if I am knocked unconscious they know who I am from my driver’s license. And they know my “ICE” In Case of Emergency person to call because it is programmed into my cell phone I have on me all day.

Being prepared and informed can save your life or keep you from being stranded in the woods for hours or overnight. If you just ski the groomed runs, you only need about 1/2 this stuff. But I like to duck into my tree powder stashes, so I keep this packed in my ski jacket at all time so I will have it if I ever need it. Please teach these deep snow self-rescue techniques to your family, friends and loved ones so they will know what to do in this potentially life-threatening situation. Be Safe On the Slopes!

Larry Conn has snow skied since 1968, and loves Mammoth Mountain so much he moved there in 2005 after taking 2 years off work to “test-drive” living there. Now he is launching Mammoth Ski Club for active adults who want more fun, activities and involvement with snow skiing and other activities at Mammoth Mountain Ski Area and Mammoth Lakes resort. Get your complimentary gifts, full color newsletter, and special report, “Who Else Wants Active New Affluent Friends of the Same Ski Ability Level, and a Lifetime of Great Memories?” by going to http://www.MammothSkiClub.com/

A review of the literature reveals that the area of forensic questioning of young children in relation to child abuse is fraught with differing opinions and controversy. The clear need for courts to have accurate information concerning perpetration of abuse on children by adults will continue to exist as long as child abuse does. In the guidelines for the evaluation of allegedly abused children, the American Psychological Association Committee on Professional Practice and Standards (1998) indicates that forensic data and expert witnessing may help the court in understanding, gaining perspective, and increasing the fairness of determinations. Professionals in psychological treatment may be asked to determine if abuse has been perpetrated, and may use the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress as a proof that it has. (Regan, Johnson, Alderson, 2002). In the case of People v Stritzinger (1983), the Supreme Court ruled that unavailability due to a “mental infirmity” must be determined either by the witness refusing to testify, or on the recommendation of an expert witness. While the expert may recommend the child not testify due to PTSD, the expert would be on shaky grounds to state that the PTSD is proof of the abuse. While Fisher and Whiting (2001) agree that some aspects of PTSD symptoms are consistent with a child’s behavioral reactions to abuse, an unreliable pattern of abused children with PTSD make using the diagnosis as a proof a very flawed reasoning. They do add though, that if abuse has been founded, the diagnosis becomes a framework to determine level of impact on the child and as a treatment springboard. This would also then seem to be recursive, with the diagnosis of PTSD following a founded case to suggest the question: should the child be returned to the custody of, say, a parent offender, or a non offending parent who failed to protect the child, and the child is highly reactive to as a reminder of the abuse? Since the persistence of PTSD symptoms are likely closely related to the intensity, volume of critical incidents, and duration of abuse, it would appear that there is no current predictive tool to ascertain how long treatment will take. This situation serves to complicate custody issues, not to mention issues of the child having visitation contact with a person who could be a perpetrator. Further, if the child’s symptoms worsen following contact with their biological parent(s), is it ethical to desensitize a child to contact with their perpetrator in order for the child to return the perpetrator’s care? If there is no “return home” goal, and the child will be adopted, what is the therapeutic point of continuing exposure?

There is of course, no current, valid, and reliable tool to predict if an individual will develop PTSD following a trauma. (Walters, Bisson, Shepherd, 2006) Perry and Azad (1999), in a study on the incidence of PTSD, found that 34% of a sample of children who had been identified as being sexually abused, and 58% of children identified and being both sexually and physically abused met the criteria for PTSD. In addition, the study found that all of the children, while not fully PTSD, had clinically significant symptoms. The children in the study that had only partial symptoms may very well continue development on to full PTSD status. Thus, children diagnosed with PTSD as a result of abuse become a special concern outside of the population of children who have experienced abuse, but have not been diagnosed with PTSD.

Though common sense informs that special care needs to be given to children who have experienced traumatic events, the issues of their post-trauma care can become quite complex. Lieberman and Van Horn state that:

Responses to early trauma need to be understood as the initial manifestation of long-term risks to the child’s unfolding development. (p. 112)

Briere and Spinazzola (2005) assert that in the case of a lengthy history of family interpersonal trauma, a complexity of traumatic stress develops that negatively effects the child’s attachment with the parent. Such complexity of this population of child victims gives rise to the need for specialized attention, study, and formulations of forensic and treatment approaches. In a study concerning the “pathways” to PTSD in abused children, Kaplow, Dodge, Jackson, and Saxe (2005) found that behavioral signs noted immediately after disclosure of abuse might constitute discrete reactions that include avoidance, anxiety, and dissociation. In turn, these then become foundations for further and longer-term symptom development. Briere (2006) notes that the connection between trauma and dissociation may not be as simple as it first appears; there may be multiple components that produce the dissociation effects, including early attachment issues, emotional neglect, and neurobiological disturbances. Briere also states the possibility that dissociation may exist before trauma and be a risk factor for victimization. Again, this points to possible ethical questions: is any forensic questioner trained adequately to assess what may be very subtle and internalized symptoms presenting? One might assume, due to the nature and purpose of forensic examination, the child may reveal critical incident material that was not formerly revealed. Is there any data to show that forensic questioning does no further harm? If the long term research answer to that question is eventually found to be true, professionals may be trapped by the terrible dichotomous question: catch the perpetrator, or heal the child?

In addition to these complexities, the age of the child when victimization occurs becomes a factor in forensic examination and treatment, along with the traditional problem in most witnessing, memory. Nader (2001) states that at issue in younger children are their very age: they may have “literal interpretations, animistic thinking, faulty hypotheses, and inaccurate associations.” (p 281) Nader also asserts that age not only plays a role in perception, but also what details the child attends to, and how the child’s state of mind at the time of the trauma affects encoding of the memory for later recall. And of course, memory of the child victim is key to child protection assessments, police investigations, courtroom proceedings, and to a lesser degree, subsequent treatment.

Leiberman and Van Horn (2001) address the problem of the traumatized child’s behaviors in relation to memory:

Traumatized reminders tend to remain unidentified when they operate outside of the child’s conscious awareness or when the child cannot use language to describe what is happening. The child’s behavior may be strongly influenced by stimuli that act as triggers for memories of traumatic experience. (p118)

This assessment also seems to point to the problem of preverbal memories that do not readily find verbal expression or discernment by the child or the forensic investigator. Ceci and Bruck (1995) expands on the memory issue by asserting that due to the overwhelming amount of simulation during abuse there are likely some parts of the trauma experience that were never encoded in memory, so were never ’stored’. Furthermore, they cite studies that demonstrate that errors in children’s accounts are most often omission rather than commission errors. Such studies reinforce the oversimplified truth that just as in adult female rape victims, child victims do not generally lie about sexual abuse.

With such complexity, subtle nuance, and discrete aspects, how victim witness information is gained and used in child abuse cases becomes likewise a complex and delicate matter. Public opinion, media enthusiasm, multiple court opinions and those falsely accused of maltreatment of children all attest to the struggle to get the process accurate, fair, and unbiased. Many of the criticisms of particular cases, usually targeting child protection agencies and workers, while made by individuals not educated in the nature of trauma or PTSD in children, have validity and serve to press the field into doing a better job. (Wexler, 1995)

 In 1990, Congress enacted the Victims of Child Abuse Act that contains a detailed Article (IV) to guide investigations, prosecutions, and corrections of the Justice Department. These guidelines are an obvious improvement over a system that appears to have had a public reputation for at least some inconsistent and even unethical forensic and clinical approaches. But a simple review of these guidelines reveals that a body that does not nearly understand the nuances and complexities of the problems has created them that child (PTSD) victims suffer. There appears to be no such required guidelines for most county level child protection services. Also in the mix of complications in achieving the truth and attaining justice is the difference in training and philosophical foundations between law enforcement, courts, and the field of psychology. (Wrightsman, 2005) Even a cursory review of questioning tactics between the disciplines yields a wide difference in styles, approaches, and objectives. Not all of these approaches may be sensitive to the victim’s emotional, developmental or mental state. In fact, a very real question is exactly how many police departments have a specially trained staff member to question a child victim. Clinicians may cringe at the image of a rough and tumble officer who has never questioned a child abuse victim doing their best to pick their way through a child’s critical incident account.

Children usually reveal issues of abuse by either deliberately or spontaneously telling someone, or they make an unintentional reference to the abuse. (Ceci, et al., p.75) While these could be done for the first time in the presence of a child protection worker or police officer, they more likely are done first in the presence of a trusted adult. The time lapse between the first telling and the second forensic telling is a time frame that bears study as to the emotional impact and time impact on the child’s memory. This becomes especially concerning in child protective services that have extraordinarily large caseloads in ratio to workers, where time between report and questioning may be days, or even weeks.

 In addition, such aspects as linguistic problems associated with the child’s developmental level and cultural environment add to the challenge of accuracy. (Ceci, et al. p. 76) One also needs to consider the variable of culture, ethnicity, and quite possibly religious background. Should the forensic investigator be less than sensitive, or just perhaps ignorant of a particular culture, response of the child would quite conceivably be altered.

 In cases of sexual abuse, London, Bruck, Ceci, and Shuman (2005) conducted research that found child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome (CSAAS) to be quite valid. The effects of CSAAS are generally accepted as impacting the pattern of disclosure in a particular case, with gradual disclosures, not to mention recantations quite common. A very simple and unpublished experiment in a county in Pennsylvania asking five child protection workers if they had ever heard of CSAAS yielded a negative response in all five. If those so closely associated with child protection are not aware of valid supportive research that has been around for approximately twenty years that so articulates child victim’s experience, there indeed is much training to do.

Multiple cases presented sensationally in the media attest to the importance of questioning techniques. The use of leading questions, questions that are posed in a manner assuming a specific answer, or questions that are too complex for the child’s age are common examples of problematic methods that can cause the child to offer often elaborate confabulated material. (Wrightsman, 2005) Such inadequate methods that ignore the child’s developmental level can produce dramatic, hysterical reactivity in the community, as in the case of People v Raymond Buckey. A number of collected studies indicate that children do make commission errors about things they have never experienced, and can create fantastic, well-constructed, believable accounts of abuses that have never occurred to them. Especially when faced with an adult questioner who is using repeated suggestive methods and has a confirmatory bias, children’s witness accuracy suffers. (Ceci, et al., 1995)

Compounding simply bad questioning and investigative techniques, is the issue of how the symptoms of PTSD interact with forensic questioning. The DSM groups symptoms into three basic categories of re-experience, psychobiological alterations, with avoidance, numbing and detachment comprising the last category. Wilson, Friedman, and Lindy (2001) contend that there may be a need to add three more categories to fully articulate PTSD, including problems in interpersonal relationships, disturbance of ego structure, and alterations to the victim’s psychological makeup. Schuder and Lyons-Ruth (2004) articulate the list further by describing a variety of attachment behaviors that can be seen in traumatized infants. There is some evidence that there are child specific behavioral signs of PTSD, such as precocious development and behavioral regressions. (Nader, p284)

In light of what has been demonstrated thus far in the research on the effects of PTSD in abused children, a diagnosed child pressed into courtroom testimony appears to be contraindicated as to future treatment concerns. It would stand to reason that due to the nature of forensic evidence and information gathering, either by a forensic mental health professional, child protection worker or a police detective, all of whom are focused less on treatment than on the goal of successful litigation, future treatment is a secondary concern. It would seem that the very approach of an investigator and the nature of the questions would have the clear potential to trigger re-experiencing, avoidance, numbing, detachment, and physical agitation. If unenlightened questioners, or questioners not taking into account the child’s developmental level are added to this mix, it would seem likely that triggering may occur with some reliability. This would appear to be a ripe subject for research and testing. Even a child who has experienced abuse and is not diagnosed with PTSD may find the courtroom experience daunting. Wrightsman (2005) explains:

“It can be argued that for any victim of sexual abuse or rape, whether an adult or child, the experience of facing your alleged attacker in court is particularly stressful. The trauma is compounded if opposing attorneys view the children as especially susceptible to intimidation during cross examination, and judges remain oblivious to efforts to “break down the child on the witness stand.” (p 285)

Though one might hope that the aforementioned Article VI of the Victims of Child Abuse Act guidelines would directly address questioning tactics by attorneys, examination of the Article reveals no such measures. It should be noted, though, that the Article does provide for measures that make an attempt to be sensitive to the child’s emotional state such as video taped or closed circuit video testimony with an adult supportive attendant in close proximity to the child. But even these may not be enough to mitigate all of the possible cues and triggers to (post traumatic) stress reactivity. One wonders why these same supportive measures (perhaps with the foster parent or therapist of the child attending) are often not provided routinely, and as mandatory in cases of repeated forensic exam per CSAAS.

The legal and therapeutic aspects of child abuse cases are inextricably entwined. Without accurate information and proofs of abuse, the child may be returned to a perpetrator. The process of gaining that accurate information and proof may negatively impact the child’s symptoms and progression of treatment. Crouch, Smith, and Ezzell (August 1999) cite the fact that research in developing valid and reliable tools to measure relevant variables of outcomes is lacking. One of those variables that bear study is the determination of abuse process and the subsequent legal forensics process to ascertain if there are long lasting effects of the child moving through such a gauntlet. While psychologists may use a collected battery of standardized tests and measures in the determination of a PTSD diagnosis, these may not be sensitive enough to pick up discrete impacts and effects of the abuse on the child. The tools may even misidentify the impacts and effects as an entirely other diagnosis. (Briere, Elliott, 1997) It stands to reason that the same measures may be inadequate to determine if the protective process itself is causing further harm to the child. There are tailored checklists and inventories available, such as the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children and the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory (Biere, Spinazzola, 2005), but these appear to have inherent limitations. The TSCC is a self report for children ages eight to sixteen, and the CSBI, while evaluating children between the ages of two to twelve, only evaluates sexual behaviors. Given the complexity of ‘complex PTSD’, there may be no adequate tool to ascertain the full, unique impact of the critical incidents on a specific child. Schuder, et al. (2004) speaks about ‘hidden trauma’ that is an integral part of the child’s relational experience and may include behavior sets and interaction qualities that are not noticed as problematic by even a trained observer. Even with the current state of the art questioning environments and protocols, expectations of adults for children to readily speak with a relative stranger following what may be a traumatic and embarassing abuse episode, and that challenges the child’s family loyalty is a tall order.

It is well established that the diagnosis of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was developed out of the middle of the last century’s experience with combat in various wars. The diagnosis was not designed with abused children in mind. Marshal, Spitzer, and Liebowitz (1999) conducted longitudinal studies that used Acute Stress Disorder criteria that suggest that there is a need to reevaluate the DSM approach to stress syndromes. This clearly is the case when considering the expansion of understanding of the experiences and behaviors, and special needs of abused children with PTSD diagnoses. Briere and Spinazola (2005) opine that clinicians often may need to make decisions on what part of the stress complex is most relevant, and that ever more precise tools are needed to fully understand the unique dimensionality of a survivor of trauma. Such understanding should lead to improvements in the forensic questioning of child victim witnesses and legal interventions, as well as treatment. A valid and reliable progress measurement tool for use at the commencement and duration of treatment would bring a wealth of information to the process and outcome of treatment efforts.

There are several efforts attempting to design best practices training programs in forensic interviews of abused children, among them the American Prosecutors Research Institute’s National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, and the National Children’s Advocacy Center. (Siegal, 2004) The National Children’s advocacy Center states on their website that their training has an efficacy of gaining enough credible factual witness information to prosecute in 64% of their cases (www.nationalcac.org) The National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse program strives to get training to half of the nation by 2010. There was no current information on the website concerning how many States have thus far been sufficiently trained.

It would appear that Daubert case may point to more than just the ‘junk science’ worry; it may in fact point to the need for some vehicle to educate judges as well as front line workers in the care of abused and PTSD diagnosed children. In May of 1996 in the Supreme Court of Tennessee, a dissenting opinion from Judge Leon Burns typifies the this particular difficulty:

The social worker’s testimony discounted all the familiar facets of impeachment. First, she told the jury that recollection and memory, often and first-line attack in credibility skirmishes, was not important with child victims and should not be considered. Secondly, she discounted the importance of detail, another fertile basis for cross-examination and impeachment. Finally, and more subtly, she explained away the importance of inconsistencies in children’s testimony.

Clearly, Judge Burns was not afforded adequate educational forensic information on disclosure patterns and the many biological effects of PTSD on a child. Had Judge Burn’s opinion been in the majority, the child in question (and perhaps many children to come) may have had a very different outcome.

As stated thus far, there are likely many variables of outcomes from forensic examination of a child who is traumatized by abuse. It perhaps goes without saying that ill managed or outright botched forensic efforts leave behind children who have been further damaged by the ordeal. One might expect that if some kind of ‘psychological first aid’ were to be provided very soon after the child revealing, this might mitigate development of PTSD symptoms, and thus make for a more accurate forensic exam, but Bryant (2007) found that there was no solid validity to the claim that critical incident debriefing was effective in preventing subsequent PTSD. Regardless of the preventive hope for CID, the practice does provide the victim with a here-and-now supportive care. A review of the Field Operations Guide of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (2006) shows a highly supportive approach that might be typified as quite gentle, un-pressured, and decidedly ‘un-questioning’. Without such debriefing support at the time of forensic questioning (and one might reasonably contend that a goodly number of children do not receive such debriefing), the initial forensic effort with its primary focus and objective on fact finding, has the great potential to add unnecessarily to the child’s stress load..

Court examination is of course, forensic in nature, and due to the basic philosophy of adversarial face-to-face confrontation of one’s accuser, drastically in counterpoint to PTSD treatment in children. Wilson, et al. state that a “core treatment approach removes obstacles so that the organism can heal on it’s own.” (p40). Most reasonable adults would agree that placing a child on a witness stand, either in front of a jury or just a judge would qualify as an intimidating ‘obstacle’ to the child’s best interest of healing from PTSD. Walters, Bineman, and Wright argue that hearsay testimony by professionals who have worked with the child, though clearly not the norm in a court hearing, is a clearly reasonable alternative to risking further damage to the child. While protecting the child, this may place the clinician in a gray area where the dual role as the therapist and expert witness may come up. Strasburger, Gutheil and Brodsky (1997) note that this can be come very ambiguous, but also may be somewhat unavoidable when clinicians identifying themselves as expert witnesses are unavailable due to locality and economic reasons. In addition, clinicians serving a case may be routinely asked to provide clarification in the form of education concerning PTSD in children to help judges more fully understand the issues.

As time marches on, it becomes ever more clear that specificity in treatment needs to be developed to address the particular idiosyncratic presentations of abused children diagnosed with PTSD. The literature is rife with calls for even more research to study the efficacy of existing treatments and to develop new ones. (Lombardo and Gray, 2005) This wheel turns exceedingly slow. Nader (2004) advises that the practitioner who is going to work with PTSD children who are victims of abuse needs to have a good working knowledge of psychotherapeutic principles as well as a specific, experienced trauma background.

Most models of treatment for PTSD in children are simply derived from adult models, mirroring the earlier criticism of more specific diagnosis criteria for children with the disorder. Most current approaches include multiple recounting of the critical incidents, re-attribution of erroneous responsibility, regaining a sense of safety, and helping the child regain a sense of control in their lives. (Nader, 2004) Other well-known approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy, with a focus on trauma seem to be consistently cited as providing significant improvement over other forms of treatment such as child-centered therapy. (Cohen, Deblinger, Mannarino, and Steer, 2004). Other therapies such as Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) have considerable continuing debate over efficacy and validity with adults, let alone children.

Lieberman and Van Horn (2004) begin to refine a more child sensitive approach by noting that two very important focus areas for children with PTSD as a result of interpersonal violence are re-establishing care giving routines and positive reciprocity between the child and care giver. Gaensbauer (2004) refines this child sensitive approach further, stating that clinicians intervening in the child’s life must take care not overwhelm and allow the child’s emotions to get out of control due to history material. He also comments on “spontaneous play”, but is not clear if this is in opposition to structured play therapy (p. 199) Gaensbaur goes on to note that: “probably the most important contribution we can make as therapists to the child’s recovery is to help parents to deal with the child’s symptoms in the home environment.” (p.199) This certainly would apply equally to foster parents when a child has been removed from an abusive parent(s). Gaensbaur addresses the behavioral acting out related to PTSD by suggesting a two pronged approach that includes firm limit setting and demonstration of empathy for the child’s expressed emotions as attached to the critical incidents. (p. 200)

This author’s anecdotal experiences in the field treating abused children with PTSD for some ten years is that there are many front line clinicians that while having adequate training and experience in psychotherapy and other multi modal techniques, have but a rudimentary understanding of PTSD. In addition, they generally and largely rely on behavioral approaches and techniques to address an abused child’s behavioral expressions of the disorder. Admittedly anecdotal study of the efficacy of such singularly behavioral techniques has demonstrated that the application appears to reliably escalate the child’s symptoms and move them towards ultimate life and developmental altering decompensation. The problem appears to be that children with PTSD often present strong oppositional symptoms that are likely attached to their allosatatic reactivity. This may be in addition to co morbid diagnoses. Many adults, even trained clinicians, reflexively react to a child’s opposition with an increase of pressure by way of behavioral techniques. Such a shift to a behavioral pressure stance can be quite subtle, and even unconscious on the part of the adult, but no less real in effect on the child. Adults, who serve as child protection workers, police officers, attorneys, therapists, and judges, to a child, may begin the cuing and triggering of the child’s stress just by their titles.

Conclusions and Directions

There appears to be enough evidence to show how children who have been abused experience and demonstrate PTSD is qualitatively different from adults. Specific research into these qualities and even possible child-specific symptoms and discrete behavioral episodes need to be explored. Ascertaining if current formats of forensic questioning contribute to driving PTSD symptoms deeper, contribute to their escalation and intensity, or are supportive of healing appears to be a fair area of concern. The development of ever more specific and specialized forensic and treatment approaches, as informed by valid scientific research on child victim’s expressions of PTSD is needed. Accurate tools to guide the process of treatment and measure outcomes are needed. High quality comprehensive education of all professionals involved with child victims about the nature and peculiarities of PTSD in children would allow for more accurate and effective litigation and movement of the child towards and through treatment. There is no specialized, specific, and individualized treatment modality for treating PTSD in children who have been victims of interpersonal abuse. Though all of the mentioned therapy alternatives certainly implicitly contain empathy and gentleness, none articulate gentleness as a key aspect of treating abused children. Perhaps after all of the research and articulation of therapeutic and legal approaches and modalities, simple gentleness may be the healing salve that is needed. Certainly pressing a child through a legal process does not qualify as ‘gentle.’ It is time for the clinical healers to move forward out of repetitions of ’the need for more research’ on the development of more effective forensic and therapy approaches, and do the developing right now, in the field.

William Krill is a clinician working in central Pennsylvania with children who are survivors of interpersonal abuse. He has over twenty five years of experience in the human services and ministry fields. A book about this fresh and innovative approach, entitled “Gentling: A Clinician’s Guide to Treating PTSD in Abused Children” is currently going to press. You can read more of his helpful articles at: http://www.freewebs.com/krillco

Fashion designers help create the billions of clothing articles, shoes, and accessories purchased every year by consumers. Fashion designers working for apparel wholesalers or manufacturers create designs for the mass market. Fashion designers are the people who create the elegant, whimsical, fun, silly, and often expensive clothes we see parading down runways twice a year. Fashion designers design and create clothing and accessories for men, women and children. Some high-fashion designers are self-employed and design for individual clients. Other high-fashion designers cater to specialty stores or high-fashion department stores.

Fashion

Fashion design is the applied art dedicated to the design of clothing and lifestyle accessories created within the cultural and social influences of a specific time. Fashion designers have brought about a storm in this glamour world with their commendably fabulous variety. Fashion industry has always welcomed new talent giving rise to the budding stars of tomorrow. While all articles of clothing from any time period are studied by academics as costume design, only clothing created after 1858 could be considered as fashion design.

Before the former draper set up his maison couture (fashion house) in Paris, clothing design and creation was handled by largely anonymous seamstresses, and high fashion descended from that worn at royal courts. Throughout the early 20th century, practically all high fashion originated in Paris, and to a lesser extent London. At this time in fashion history the division between haute couture and ready-to-wear was not sharply defined.

Designers

Designers know they have this power, and will continue to use it to influence global fashions throughout the eras. These designers create original garments, as well as those that follow established fashion trends. Most fashion designers, however, work for apparel manufacturers, creating designs of men’s, women’s, and children’s fashions for the mass market. Designer brands which have a ‘name’ as their brand such as Calvin Klein or Ralph Lauren are likely to be designed by a team of individual designers under the direction of a designer director. Thus, the tradition of designers sketching out garment designs instead of presenting completed garments on models to customers began as an economy.

Popular Western styles were adopted all over the world, and many designers from outside of the West had a profound impact on fashion. Currently, modern fashion has seen a reference to technology such as designers Hussein Chalayan and Miuccia Prada who have introduced industrial textiles and modern technology into their fall collections. Mass market designers generally adapt the trends set by the famous names in fashion. Increasingly, many modern high-end designers are now beginning to turn to mass market retailers to produce lower-priced merchandise, and to broaden their customer base. Perhaps most importantly, designers use their imaginations to come up with new ideas.

There are a number of well known fashion design schools worldwide. Most fashion design courses last for three years. As well as teaching students about the artistic and technical side of the subject, some courses include a year working in the fashion industry, to give students a taste of commercial fashion design. Others offer the chance to visit fashion houses abroad.

Trishia Lopez is a successful Webmaster and publisher of www.TheFashionGurus.com. She provides more information about Fashion and fashion issues that you can research in your pajamas on her website.

Survival of the Savvy: High-Integrity Political Tactics for Career and Company Success

Authors: Rick Brandon Ph.D. and Marty Seldman Ph.D.

Survival of the Savvy was on my bookshelf about a month before I had the privilege of meeting the author, Rick Brandon, at a leadership conference in San Francisco where we both were speaking. Our talks were at different times so I was able to attend Rick’s presentation.

That was when I realized how important this book could be to all the women I work with who are sometimes underestimated, overlooked, and denied proper recognition for their accomplishments because they abhor and avoid anything associated with the word politics. If this sounds like you, you are not alone.

Survival of the fittest! That is what it feels like in the work world sometimes. I know how tough it can be. I have worked in business since the mid 1980’s where I have witnessed political games of all sorts – power struggles, back biting, turf wars, and blind ambition.

Reading the book you will learn that the stereotypical image of the term ‘political’, that usually is thought of as overly political and at time unethical behaviors are definitely not what the authors are recommending.

Survival of the Savvy describes the political style continuum that ranges from the less political type who believe hard work, facts, and good ideas are enough to the overly political individuals driven by self-interest.

Brandon and Seldman suggest a high integrity middle ground (aka ethical and more palatable,) approach to politics that even the most politically averse can employ. They call it the green light/safe travel zone. This vital balance is neither too political nor politically naive.

Power and politics are not dirty words. You can promote yourself with integrity. These are important messages in the book for all women in business and especially for those in the traditionally less political career tracks who want to advance to leadership positions – women in science, R&D, Information Technology, engineering, and other technical fields.

The authors successfully help readers, who hate the thought of workplace politics, reframe how they think about power and politics. They offer useful and practical advice even for the political novice.

The further you advance, the more vulnerable you are if you remain politically naive. The authors claim in their experience ethical political skills are a leadership competency.

If you want to get ahead, but are so opposed to the concept of politics and to any of the ideas in the book the day will come when your subject matter and expert technical status are no longer good enough for you to advance. Your career will plateau. Shunning even high integrity, ethical politics can mean you are destined to succeed only in a job in the ranks below management and leadership. If you do progress into management you are at risk to derail in all but the most non-political cultures.

Reading and applying the information in the book is not easy but worthwhile for all who want to land the top jobs and earn the income they deserve. If you feel frustrated or have plateaued in your career advancement, it may be a political blind spot and reading this book can help.

Although not a book written specifically for women, the authors offer ‘political’ success strategies especially relevant for women.

Jean Caton is a Career, Business, and Life Coach, Speaker, and Virtual Educator. She has over 20 years of business experience working in four Fortune 500 companies. Now, as an entrepreneur, Jean combines her practical experience in business, with her education and training, to coach, teach, inspire, and empower others. She invites you to visit her website to learn more. http://www.JeanCaton.net

Jean helps women move to the top in their careers or small business. Her clients strengthen their business savvy and expertise and develop the self-confidence required to advance to increasingly higher levels in their organization or business. Take a taste of what Jean can offer you by requesting a complimentary telephone coaching conversation. http://www.JeanCaton.net You may also get a sample of Jean’s expertise by joining one of her complimentary preview teleclasses.

Jean specializes in entrepreneurial women and those working in the health, science, pharma and engineering fields.

Jean has an MBA from Boston University and is a graduate of the Advanced Coach Training Program of Coach U.

Personal Trainer to the Stars!!

Celebrity Personal Trainers!!

Who are these amazing personal trainers that train the stars, professional athletes, celebrities, rock musicians, and the rest of the rich and famous?

Well, being a personal trainer and a perfectionist, I did some research to find out who they are and how one becomes a personal trainer to the stars. The research I uncovered about these so-called celebrity personal trainers that charge fees of $300+ per hour for their expertise indicates that, like the rest of the personal training industry, there are no requirements of any sort to become a celebrity trainer. Most of these celebrity trainers simply happened to be in the right place at the right time.

I had a close friend who was in a car accident. Since the insurance covered it, he went to see a chiropractor after the accident. During the first few visits, he and the chiropractor got to talking, and they hit it off. The chiropractor happened to know some celebrities, and just by knowing him, my friend got a gig training a star. Fortunately, my friend had a good knowledge base and was great at working with people, although the chiropractor had no real way of knowing this at the time. There was something in it for the chiropractor, though, in that he got a cut for recommending the my friend to the celebrity.

Mangers of celebrities would be doing their star clients a favor if they used a little more caution when hiring personal trainers and the like. As with any referral, a thorough screening and background check are in order before simply hiring a trainer on some other celebrity’s say-so. Unfortunately for the client, the endorsement by another famous person is often all it takes for an unqualified musclehead, who knows virtually nothing about how to work with people or train the human body, to get in the door.

Just Because They’re Famous Doesn’t Mean They’re Knowledgeable

I want to state that I am by no means bashing personal trainers who work with stars, or any individual’s personal trainer — although it’s always important to find and hire a trainer with the highest level of education, experience, and certifications. Unfortunately, it’s not necessarily the people with the best qualifications, but rather those with the best marketing and biggest mouths who usually get all the attention. Take note: This DOES NOT MEAN they know a hill of beans about training. The thing about the lack of regulation in this field is that you don’t really have to be very well-qualified to get a job doing it. If you’re good at causing a big commotion and conveying confidence about your ability to make people feel good, you will succeed in the business, whether or not you can actually deliver on your promise.

Take a look at the industry and you’ll see that celebrity personal trainers are a dime a dozen now. All the biggest stars — Britney Spears, P‑Diddy, J‑Lo, Oprah, Madonna, Tom Cruise — have personal trainers. Even the trainers themselves are getting famous now, just because of their celebrity clients. Two of the most celebrated personal trainers are Bob Green, Oprah’s trainer, and Gunter, trainer to many celebrities.

I have watched many of these personal trainers on the news and listened to their advice about which diets work and which are the best nutrition products on the market. Trust me, their biggest gift is their ability to get in front of a camera to sell their products, because their advice is questionable, at best. Still, no one can argue their ability to generate millions of dollars because of their proximity to the rich and famous. The sad part is that they’re making a large portion of their money by exploiting millions of uneducated, unmotivated people, playing on their unrealistic desires to look like the next celebrity on the big screen.

We’re Not All Going to Look Like Supermodels or Professional Athletes

Let’s say you work really hard and you’re in the best shape of your life, but you still don’t look like your idealized image of the perfect man or woman. People, let’s be honest with each other. Not everyone is going to look like Pamela Anderson or Brad Pitt. Genetics play a big role in our looks, not to mention the cosmetic enhancements created through plastic surgery, air brushing, and camera tricks. Being healthy and fit doesn’t mean you will never have a little fat on your body. Looking great and feeling great without the aid of drugs, cosmetics, and surgery will take you to better places than any amount of fame will ever give you.

Before you decide you want to look like a cover girl or a superjock, it’s really important to get comfortable with yourself exactly as you are. Sure, you’re going to feel better as you lose weight and build muscle, but the you inside is going to be the same. Yes, your shapely new build may inspire confidence, but the raw materials of your personality are going to be exactly the same. Are you fundamentally happy with your life and who you are now — or are you waiting around for external improvements to make you feel better on the inside? Just like the roots of a plant determine the quality of its fruit, it’s the invisible, internal stuff that determines the happiness of your external life.

Celebrities Whine & Complain Just Like Everybody Else

As a society, we’ve been trained to look up to people whose job it is to pretend everyday to be someone other than who they are. And because of the glitz and glamour associated with their Hollywood lives, we put them up on pedestals and give extra weight to what they say — for no reason other than the fact that they’re famous.

I hate to break it to you, but I have trained some celebrities and stars — and the truth is they are no different than you or I. Granted, it’s their job to look great all the time, so they spend a ton of time and money making sure they keep on looking good. But they whine and complain just as much as the rest of us. Wouldn’t you love to get paid to look good, rather than paying someone to help you look better?

Once upon a time, only celebrities hired personal trainers, in part because only celebrities could afford them, but also because looking good was viewed primarily as the arena of the famous. It’s good to know we regular folks are getting smarter, in that we’re beginning to realize just how important personal training is in the lives of everyone, not just famous people. If you think about how important a healthy body is to every aspect of your life, you might come to realize that a good trainer is more important than your hair dresser, your CPA, or even your mechanic. In fact, a personal trainer is a mechanic — only the machine he or she works on is not a car, but the most important machine you will ever own: your body.

Personal trainers help keep you healthy by motivating you — and the celebrities — to get in shape and keep off the fat.

The Results of Quick-Fix Shape-Up Programs Never Last

I am constantly amazed when I hear celebrities and their personal trainers promoting their diets and/or nutritional products. If the alleged “professionals” holding the media limelight still don’t know how the body functions (and far too many of them don’t), it’s no wonder our nation just keeps on getting fatter. There are two significant problems with quick-fix formats for training and nutrition. First, these extreme exercise and diet regimens that quickly get stars in phenomenal shape for a movie role or a tour are terrible for the body. Yet many celebrities are willing to do whatever it takes to get in shape as quickly as possible because they know their jobs could be on the line. Secondly, regular people, fans of these fabulous-looking stars, try to follow the celebrities’ diet and exercise programs, only to wind up failing, both because they cannot keep up the extreme regimens and because the programs are unnatural and impossible to sustain for any length of time.

Remaining super-lean year-round can be challenging, especially if you’re on an exercise program that leans you down in as little as 8 to 12 weeks, such as a bodybuilder’s diet and exercise regimen. This process can get you looking phenomenal for a day or two, but I guarantee it won’t last much beyond that, because our bodies simply cannot function at that level for any sustained period of time. However, you can achieve these results and stay super-lean year-round with a lifestyle change that incorporates healthy meals and regular exercise. A program like this is geared to burn fat as opposed to primarily building muscle, unlike the regimens celebrity personal trainers often put their star clients on.

The thing is, short-term training programs to get in shape for a one- or two-day event (like a bodybuilding contest) do work, but because they occur at an unnaturally rapid pace, they cannot be carried out for any real length of time, at least not without doing serious harm to the body. But sure enough, most celebrity personal training programs are designed around this quick-fix process because so few personal trainers really understand anatomy and human kinetics, the science of how the human body functions. There are well-educated trainers — they just happen to be unfortunately rare. I have worked in the industry for many years, and seldom encounter other trainers who have degrees or even quality certifications, or who continue to develop their education and expand their knowledge about human function and performance. In this unregulated industry, no one is checking to see if personal trainers are performing any kind of continuing ed — and I promise you, most are not.

All this is not to say that you should not hire a personal trainer. Hell, even personal trainers who know hardly anything about creating a quality exercise or nutrition program still can create an environment where you can get in great shape. They can motivate you to achieve better health and make much further progress than you would likely ever accomplish on your own. Almost any personal trainer is better than no personal trainer. Almost.

Differing Levels of Training Experience — and Results

Certainly there are people reading this who feel they can do it — the fitness program and healthy diet — all on their own. More power to anyone who can create a healthy eating plan, incorporate a weight training routine, and practice a regular cardio regimen on their own. Please know, however, you are the extreme exception. For many people, the problem isn’t in creating the program or even finding the discipline to commit to it. The problem is that in trying to do it all themselves, they are creating the wrong program for the results they wish to achieve. These are the folks who train regularly, yet see little or no results. They then get frustrated and quit, thinking they have tried everything when it comes to losing fat, that they simply must not be disciplined enough — when, in reality, discipline has very little to do with it.

There also are those who think they know a lot because they’ve achieved great results on their own, when in actuality, they’ve just been blessed with good genes and would benefit by doing almost any kind of exercise. Most of your models, movie stars, and celebrities fall into this category, so any exercise and nutritional program a personal trainer gives them is likely to work like a charm. Under the guidance of a knowledgeable personal trainer and certified nutritionist, these people would see more and better results than they had ever dreamed possible. And the best part would be that the results would last, rather than simply providing the short-term fix they’ve become used to.

Lastly, of course, are the people who don’t care about their health, don’t have time to exercise, or never exercise, because exercise hurts, they hate to sweat, or their self-esteem is in the toilet and they figure it’s a waste of time to even try. While this sort of personal apathy toward preserving one’s health through exercise and proper eating may seem like no one’s business but the individual’s, it really is a very selfish act. Treating your body well, including getting regular exercise and eating healthy food, is the most unselfish thing you can do. Think about it — if you don’t take care of yourself now, sooner than later, others will have to take care of you. Since you were too lazy, busy, or depressed to invest the time or energy in staying healthy, you will, inevitably, make others suffer.

A Qualified Trainer Will Tailor a Program to Meet Your Needs

If companies and governments were wise, personal trainers would be mandatory and health insurance would cover them. Well, a guy can dream, can’t he? Seriously, even if you only see a trainer once a week — or even once a month — to check in and make sure you’re performing your exercises properly, it’s better than not seeing one at all.

Take the time to do the research, and then invest in a qualified trainer who is knowledgeable about how to help you achieve your personal goals. If you have a special need — a back injury, joint problems, limited range of motion — find someone who can address your issues specifically. Don’t jump on the latest celebrity trainer bandwagon, just because the person is a trainer to the stars. Find a personal trainer who knows how to train your human body and get you results.

Fame Doesn’t Equal Expertise — Particularly in the Health & Fitness Industry

Celebrity personal trainers, spokesmodels, movie stars, athletes, and other rich and famous people probably got where they are because they’re great at what they do. That does not mean you should follow their advice about health and nutrition. You probably wouldn’t ask a plumber advice about how to change your car’s oil, would you? Likewise, celebrities may look good, but that doesn’t mean they — even celebrity trainers — know anything about proper exercise and nutrition. Hire a health, fitness, and nutrition professional. They are the only people whose advice you should take regarding these subjects. Even medical doctors generally are not the best advocates for proper fitness and nutrition, because they are trained in specific fields and seldom are aware of how all the parts of the body work and move in cooperation.

Have you ever noticed how some of the famous people dishing health advice are not even in that great of shape? Why would you take advice from someone who isn’t in peak physical condition? That’s like getting your hair cut by a stylist with a bowl cut or having a gap-toothed orthodontist install your braces. Not to mention that anyone can look great, but still feel terrible because they achieved their looks through an unhealthy method.

Research Pays Off When Searching for a Qualified Trainer

The thing is, you don’t know what you don’t know. As a result, many people fall into the trap of buying the baloney stars like Britney Spears, Oprah, and Dr. Phil are selling. And even though a star might actually have a fabulous, incredibly knowledgeable trainer, a lot can be misinterpreted between the time the trainer offers exercise or diet specifics to his celebrity client and the time that celebrity repeats the info to his or her adoring public. It’s like that game of Telephone you played when you were a kid — by the time the information reaches you, it has turned into misinformation.

How do you know who to believe anyway? One star says they got great results by simply lifting weights and eating fewer calories. The next celebrity says they lost tons of weight by eating a low-fat diet high in protein. Another famous somebody swears by a daily swim, lots of veggies, and whole lot of good carbs. Arghhhhhh!!!! It all sounds confusing as hell. And, in a way, it is.

A program that’s right for a size-2 supermodel probably is not right for a heavy stay-at-home mom who is just now learning to incorporate any exercise into her day. The proper program for an individual depends on his or her biochemistry and the specific way their body functions. Understanding human kinetics is not as easy as A-B-C. When it comes to the human body, there may be many underlying reasons why one person begins a simple walking program and, voila, they look phenomenal, while another person runs, lifts weights, and kills themselves in the gym, only to step on the scale and find they’ve gained another pound.

The human body is awash in mysteries, and a good personal trainer will help you solve yours so you can lose all the fat you want and add all the muscle you desire. Again, personal training is all about you and your results. And even if all your exercise and effort don’t drop a pound off you — if you see no noticeable changes — know that the exercise is benefiting your body and your health, and it would be stupid to discontinue your program. Rather than quit, find someone to help you fine-tune your regimen so you can begin to see the results from all your hard work.

The main thing is this: Don’t follow someone’s advice just because they claim to be a personal trainer to the stars or charge $300 an hour. None of that means their program will get you the results you want. There are no healthy quick fixes. Get on a quality exercise program and eat properly, period. Don’t waste time, money, or energy, only to become frustrated. Do the research and hire a professional who can give you sensible advice that will get you on your way to looking good and feeling great.

Mangers and Agents for Celebrity Personal Trainers: Consult with a professional call me and I can find you the best personal trainer for your star, celebrity, Athlete, or yourself.

Scott White is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist located in Scottsdale, Arizona. For more information about nutrition and fitness, reach Scott at 480-628-1607 or swhite@personalpowertraining.net. Also: [http://www.personalpowetraining.net].

PHP is a general purpose scripting language that is well suited for server-side web development. It was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1995 and has been developing ever since. PHP originally stood for “Personal Home Page”. He used the sets of Perl scripts he called PHP to maintain his resume and keep track of how much traffic his page was getting. He wrote these as “C programming language common Gateway Interface” which allowed the ability to work with web forms and databases. It also enabled users to start developing dynamic web application. He revealed and released PHP/FI or “Personal Home Page/Forms Interpreter Version 1.0″ in June 8th 1995 to locate bugs and code improvement faster. This release had the functionality that PHP has today. The syntax was similar to Perl but more limiting and simpler.

PHP 2.0

A development team began to form. They spent months working and beta testing and released PHP/FI 2 in November 1997. Short after, the alphas of PHP 3 were released.

PHP 3.0

PHP 3.0 syntax to closely resemble of today’s PHP, created by Andi Gutmans and Zeev Suraski in 1997. After finding out that PHP 2.0 was way underpowered for eCommerce application. Andi, Rasmus and Zeev decided to work together and announced PHP 3 as the successor of PHP/FI 2.0 and development of it was stopped soon after. The strength of PHP 3 was strong extensibility features. It also provided end users a solid infrastructure for lots of different databases, protocols and API. Another feature was the introduction of object-oriented syntax support. Approximately 10% of web servers on the internet had PHP 3 installed by the end of 1998. PHP 3 was released in June of 1998.

PHP 4.0

By winter of 1998, Andi and Zeev started working on rewriting the PHP’s core. They goals were to improve the performance of complex application and modularity of PHP’s code base. This new engine called “Zend Engine”, met those goals and was announced in middle of 1999. PHP 4 was based on this engine. Additional features were added and were officially released in May 2000. PHP 4.0 included features such as support for many more Web servers, HTTP sessions, output buffering, more secure ways of handling user input and several new language constructs.

PHP 5.0

Today, PHP is being used by developers all over the world and installed on 20% of domains on the internet. The latest release PHP 5 was released in July 2004 and is driven by the Zend Engine 2.0 with new object model and tons of new features.

If your wanting to start learning PHP programming, come check us out at www.phpprogrammingforbeginners.com [http://www.phpprogrammingforbeginners.com].

Yes, I am a recovering clothing shopaholic. Perhaps you think clothing shopaholics are just women who can’t control their urge to spend money on clothes. But that really isn’t what the addiction is all about. There is a big misconception about clothes shopping addiction. So I am going to let you in on the truth about it and tell you all about the secret fantasy life of the women who have it. You see, all female clothing shopaholics have one thing in common:

WE CRAVE FLATTERY, ENVY, AND COMPLIMENTS ON OUR APPEARANCE EVERY DAY OF OUR LIFE.

When we get a compliment or an admiring stare on the way we look, we feel great. And here is another truth about our addiction: we all have a “female appraiser”. A “female appraiser” is the female in our life that we always imagine envying us and complimenting us when we try on new clothes. She is the one we always wear new outfits in front of to get appraisal and compliments about how we look. She is the one who notices every new pair of shoes, every new piece of jewelry, whether our hair looks particularly healthy and attractive that day, and every new item of clothing we are wearing to the minutest degree. She dissects us physically; she is our lifeblood to feeling we exist; by noticing us, envying us and complimenting us; she makes us feel alive.

And we are her female appraiser as well. We notice every new item she wears and we comment about how good she looks as well. We often envy her appearance and new outfits. Our relationship is the mutual symbiotic feeding of our ego envy. Usually our female appraiser is our female mother, sister, friend or coworker who we subconsciously compete and look to get approval from about our appearance. We always try to upstage her in appearance and make her feel envious of us; we always think about whether what we buy will make her envy how we look before we buy it and when she sees a new outfit on us and we feel her envy (of course the ultimate high is when she asks us where we bought it) we have our ultimate addictive fix. We even watch how many people notice us more than her when the two of us walk together in public, to know that we are getting more attention than she is. Yes, it’s an “envy/dislike/need of approval dynamic” we have with our female appraiser (or multiple female appraisers) on a complicated physical and emotional level.

When I was a clothing shopaholic, I lived for clothes, they were my life passion. I still love clothes. But I am less in need of the power they give me to be noticed, admired, and envied. The need to shop for clothes and imagine wearing them and getting compliments from women when I wear them has taken less of a hold on me. But there was a time when shopping for clothes was an essential part of my daily life because I lived for the attention and praise those new outfits gave me.  I would  fantasize as I tried them on in the store and imagine being envied by my female appraiser when I wore them. And once I bought them, wearing them always made me feel special and alive when I got that attention, envy and praise from my “female appraiser”. I always needed to wear something new to be noticed and that is why the money was spent; to continually have new clothes to wear so I would continually get compliments and be noticed. When I wore that outfit a second time, it wasn’t new anymore and no compliments were given because they’d already been given when I wore it the first time. So that outfit did not serve its purpose any more for my addiction unless I wore it in front of a different female appraiser who never saw it before (sometimes I had 3 or more female appraisers in my life). On the days I wore an outfit that I received no attention about, I actually felt invisible and depressed. Sometimes just thinking about another new outfit I would wear the next day and how good I’d look and how envied I’d be was all I thought about on those depressing days. It was the only thing that kept me going; imaging that outfit in my closet and the power it would give me to be noticed and complimented.. I’d fantasize about the shoes I’d wear with the outfit and how I’d match my eye shadow to it and the admiration I’d be getting. Because I always knew exactly what to buy and wear that would make my female appraiser envious and wish she had my clothes and got the attention I was geting. And what a euphoric high that would give me; even thinking about that happening.

Clothing shopaholics have an odd addiction because when you take away the women you feel competitive with, the addiction loses its hold on you. That’s because the addiction is about fantasizing about being envied for how you look in clothes. But take away the female appraiser, and you don’t have the envy and you lose the need to fantasize or shop for clothes. Of course, eliminating female appraisers in your life isn’t easy. As long as you have a mother or work in a corporate office, or have a female sibling you see, you will have a woman in your life assessing your appearance. Even when babysitting my friend’s 10 year old daughter, she assessed my appearance by informing me my pants didn’t match my top; “the colors were off” she told me. And here I thought I was free of that kind of appraisal from children and could just “throw on sweats and any old top.” After all, why care what a 10 year old girl thinks about how I look when I’m babysitting her? But yes, her comment did bother me, although I stood my ground and refused to change my clothes. Needless to say, she is a budding clothing shopaholic in the making.

Here are some more truths about this secret clothing shopaholic life: I would go into my favorite clothes stores every day to return clothes (which I loved to do because it gave me an excuse to shop again) and always walk out buying something else, usually something I knew I would probably return. Walking into a store filled with clothes and breathing in the smell of new clothes gave me a euphoric high. Trying some new outfit on and imaging my female appraiser noticing it and complimenting me on it and asking me where I bought it; just imaging that happening as I tried on the clothes in a store gave me an adrenaline rush. This is what my clothing shopaholic addiction was about. Most women who are clothing shopaholics are clueless about what the core of their addiction is about. They think it’s about an addictive need to spend money, but it really isn’t about that. Yes, you do need to spend money to buy new clothes to feed your “attention fix”, because without buying something new, you don’t wear something new; and without wearing something new, you don’t get your “fix”. And you have to go to a store to try on something so you can experience the fantasy in your head of getting the attention, which is the first stage of the addiction.

So this is why spending money becomes a problem. And mistakenly becomes what everyone thinks the addiction is about: the inability to stop the urge to spend money on clothes. But teaching someone to resist spending money does not curb or cure the addiction. The only way to curb or “cure” it is to remove the need for a “female appraiser” in your life. But that is another article for another time. The money spent by clothing shopaholics becomes the casualty of the addiction, but it is not the addictive need to spend money that causes the addiction. I would venture to say that alcoholics get an addictive fix sitting in a bar and breathing in the smell of alcohol and seeing other men who are alcoholics around them. Yes, the need to drink alcohol plays a role in the alcoholic’s addiction, but so does the need to be in the environment. It’s the same with clothes shopping addicts, we need to be around clothes, smell the smells, and try on clothes. It is a comforting experience that calms our nerves and gives us an inner peace. But, why? It has taken me a very long time to understand my addiction to buying clothes; why I shop for clothes and why I need the attention, flattery and criticism about my appearance. I realize it all started when I was a child growing up in my mother’s clothing shopaholic world. So let me share my childhood story with you:

I was born a beautiful little girl full of life and love. I received a tremendous amount of attention from my grandparents, father, aunts and cousins. It seemed as if everyone wanted to be with me, hold me, walk with me and give me endless praise about how cute I was. Well, almost everyone. My mother envied the praise and attention I received. She found it difficult to praise me or give me physical affection. She rarely stayed in the same room with me unless she had to tend to me needs. This went by unnoticed by others, because my mother did interact with me on the surface; she picked me up; fed me; dressed me; bathed me; she did all those “interactive” things a mother has to do to raise her daughter. But there was one very important thing she did not do and that was to LOVE ME UNCONDITIONALLY.

She never hugged or kissed me, she never told me how much she loved me, and she never expressed true appreciation of anything about me to me. Yes, she told others what she appreciated about me, but she could never say those words to me. My mother was unable to give me the emotional connection of unconditional love because she did not feel good about herself as a person. She envied me for the attention and love I received. She envied me for having so many qualities she felt she didn’t have, because her own mother raised her with the same kind or resentment and envy. She found it very difficult to be in the same room with me, or to have a picture taken with me, especially when I got attention, just as her mother had found it difficult to do the those things with her.

As I grew up, my mother’s interaction with me became one of constant “assessments” about my appearance and “monitoring” of everything I did to an extreme. She criticized me endlessly about my appearance; justifying her criticism by saying “I tell you this because I’m your mother and I love you”. She always justified her comments by telling me she had my “best interest at heart”. This seemingly good intention justified her commenting on my appearance every day: whether it was leaving the house with the wrong coat, wearing the wrong outfit, not standing up with proper posture, not wearing my hair the right way, not eating or liking the right foods which made me too thin; her interaction with me was a constant barrage of comments about something that was wrong with my appearance. This constant criticism eroded my self worth to the point that I could barely make friends, and had intense insecurities and shyness around everyone growing up. She used her control over my appearance to control my self confidence. When she took me shopping to buy me clothes, she ridiculed and criticized me about how I looked as I tried on clothes with her in the dressing room. She never liked anything I liked on myself. I was always too thin, my posture was too slouched over, and according to her, I looked awful in everything except the one garment I didn’t like. And that was the one she bought. My mother made me feel ugly inside and out. She controlled my ability to be make independent choices about my appearance and to feel that my self worth was only based on looking physically good.

As a child, I believed I deserved to be treated this way because I felt there was something innately wrong with me. I did not realize I was being verbally abused. How could I? My own father, although adoring me in every way, ignored her cold, critical behavior towards me. I never understood that her behavior towards me was based on envy. To me, she was so incredibly beautiful and well dressed, that is seemed ridiculous to think that she envied me. As an adult, I now can see that her interaction with me was her way of dealing with her own low sense of self esteem. But as a child, I just felt physically flawed and inferior to everyone around me. I fixated on my appearance, my hair, my skin, my posture, and I always felt unattractive, physically flawed and inadequate. I only saw women as worthy of existing and having friends and being liked if they were attractive. My mother was a clothing shopaholic. She shopped endlessly spending money on clothes for herself every day and often returning ½ the clothes she bought the next day. She took me shopping with her wherever she went. When my mother bought herself clothes, I enjoyed the experience tremendously, because it was the only time she was happy and loving towards me. When I helped her find her favorite Kimberly® designer dress; it was one of the few times we bonded as mother and daughter. I felt such pleasure watching my mother look at the clothes she tried on in the mirror. It was the only time she seemed to like being with me. And seeking those good feelings became the root cause of my own shopping addiction as an adult. .

My mother’s focus was not just on my appearance, she was obsessed about her own appearance as well. I can recall many times she walked up the 2nd set of stairs into my bedroom, gave me a comment like, “it’s warm in here, you should open a window” and then proceeded to open one of the closets in my room which she took over as her own closet for her Kimberly® collection (after all I didn’t need a closet for clothes, since I had so few of them) and sort through her wardrobe for hours. That’s right, she wasn’t coming upstairs to see me, she was coming upstairs to look at her Kimberlys®, put away her dry-cleaned ones, check that the moth balls were working and none of them (they were all made of wool) were getting moth eaten (god help our family if that ever happened, she would moan unhappily for an eternity). My mother spent more time bonding with the Kimberlys® in her closet over the years then she spent talking and bonding with me.

But the rest of the world was another story. My mother talked about how beautiful other women looked on TV and in magazines with admiration. To her, beauty was what gave someone my mother’s approval. And these models and actresses often got her approval. I longed for that kind of approval from her, but I never got it growing up. Perhaps that’s why I drew countless drawings of women wearing clothes that looked like my mother, just to get her approval, even if it was just about a drawing I did. As a blossoming teenager, when the rest of the world started noticing me again and I was able to buy my own clothes, I realized that getting compliments on my appearance felt intoxicatingly good. I was finally getting the approval my mother could never give me. I grew up needing to hear how I looked, needing attention from guys just to feel okay with being alive. I needed to hear comments about my appearance every day just to feel I was normal. I knew nothing better.

As a teenager, my mother fixated more and more on my appearance, telling me how to wear my hair, make up and what to wear. If I didn’t follow her directives, and defended myself angrily by insisting she stop criticizing me, she would get angry at me to the point of behaving like a child who was throwing a temper tantrum. I had no right to feel good about myself and no right to defend myself against her critical attacks Unlike my mother, my father related to me about my appearance by hugging me, taking pictures and making me feel cute, pretty, and attractive(which only added to my mother’s envy of me). He gave me much attention when I blossomed into a teenager; as fathers often do with their daughters. But he worked all the time and found it easier to never be around the home. This way he didn’t have to witness how my mother was raising me and hear her critical comments towards me. He just didn’t have the emotional capacity to battle with his wife about the way she spoke to me. He accepted her behavior and chose not to deal with it but staying at work and golfing most of his life.

So this was my childhood. It is not unique. Many young girls are only given “conditional acceptance” by their mother based on their behavior and appearance. This lack of unconditional love has its price. It sets you up as a female adult to be completely dependent on others for attention and criticism in your life and to easily fall prey to addictions like clothes shopping and an addictive need for attention. The life you had with your mother and the value she put on your appearance will set you up to value yourself only when others give you approval about your appearance as well. You will crave the need to be around clothes because it is a comforting childhood experience. You will crave fantasizing about getting a female appraiser’s approval and envy on how you look in clothes, because it will bring back the relationship dynamic you had with your mother. Your appearance will define your feeling of self worth and how good you look in clothes will be what you value as the ultimate definition of being worthwhile as a person. This is what your mother taught you and this is the mindset of the clothing shopaholic. The dynamic of your relationship with your mother never leaves you, it transfers over onto other women who have the same need. It also sets you up to be very dependent on men who only value you physically and sexually. It’s so important for women to understand this addiction and how it impacts every aspect of their adult life. It’s important to see the obsessive world of clothes shopping in its naked true reality. Only then can you start to live your life with more appreciation of the things that really matter, like unconditional love, and have gratitude for those things in life that mean so much more than any new piece of clothing.

Learn more about this addiction www.isthistruelove.com [http://www.isthistruelove.com]

Beth Cofone

When you have an animal, it is important to have the correct pet supplies. To properly care and maintain the health of your pet, there are pet supplies designed for every kind. Depending on your animals needs, there are a variety of places you can get the necessary pet supplies at. Check out local pet stores and online vendors to find the best deals on pet supplies.

One of the most important kinds of pet supplies to have is proper bedding. It is important to make sure that you pet has a home to call their own. A doggy bed or a cat castle will provide this. For fish or reptiles you want to make sure they have some place to hide. Proper bedding gives them safety and security. A proper crate or kennel will give them their own home and a lot of animals need that.

You need to feed your pet the proper food for them too. At many pet supplies stores, you’ll find a variety of feed for any animal. What you feed them can depend on their breed, their age, or their needs. Some animals need high protein low fat diets; others need something with grains and wheat. Whatever you need for your pet, there is food to fit them.

Aside from the essentials, some pets will need toys. There are all kinds of pet supplies that are fun for dogs, cats, and other animals. Toys for dogs like tennis balls, rope toys, and squeaky toys will provide hours of entertainment. For cats, you may find things like cat nip toys, or little balls with bells in them. These toys will keep your pets entertained while you are away.

There are many other pet supplies that will keep your animals occupied. It is very important that when you are gone for the day that your animals have pet supplies that will keep them entertained. If you don’t crate train your dog for example, and you leave them with no treats or toys, they will be destructive in your home, and this can cause you and them multiple problems.

Depending on where you purchase your pet supplies, you may also be able to find supplements or natural medications that your animal needs. You will find joint supplements, vitamins, and other items that your animal may need daily to maintain their health. It is important to find the right supplements for your cat, dog, or reptile.

Grooming supplies are also popular items for animals. It is necessary to properly bathe and groom your pet. You’ll want nail clippers, brushes, soaps and shampoos that are designed for them. You also may need a variety of other products depending on what type of animal you have.

Making the right purchases will make your pets happier and healthier. Be sure to invest in products that will help your pets, and provide them with activities throughout their day. A happy pet is a healthy pet, and you’ll get the most out of your animals if they are well taken care of.

Zeeman Haus enjoys writing articles online on a variety of subjects. You can check out his latest website on Pet Safe Bark Collars which provies product reviews like bark control collars and spray bark collars.

About the BiOrb 8 Gallon Fish Tank

The BiOrb 8 gallon fish tank combines an updated traditional fish tank look with a hi-tech filtration system built into the aquarium. BiOrb has designed this fish bowl to incorporate more sophisticated aquarium features, including the advanced five=stage filtration system. The fish tank is constructed of Plexiglas acrylic and comes complete with a lighting system.

What Comes with your BiOrb 8 Gallon Tank

• biOrb 30 aquarium (8 gallon)
• 900g of ceramic media
• Standard freshwater filter cartridge
• Low-voltage Air Pump
• 12v Transformer
• Tap water conditioner and Beneficial Bacteria liquid
• Thermometer
• Printed documentation

BiOrb 8 Gallon Specifications

• Height: 16.5 inches (42 cm)
• Width: 15.7 inches (40 cm)
• Weight (empty): 12 pounds (1 kg)
• Weight (full): 68 pounds (31Kg)
• Volume: 8 Gallon (30L)
• 12v transformer
• Two connectors (light and airpump)
• 12 month guarantee
• Line voltage: 12V AC
• Frequency: 50Hz or 60Hz, single phase
• Maximum continuous power: 13W
• Complies with UL, ULC and CE safety requirements

Aquarium Setup Options

The BiOrb 8 gallon is perfect for a variety of tank setups. The tank’s flexibility is one of its main strengths for fish owners looking for an aquarium that can handle various setups. If you’re looking for a quick and easy aquarium setup, the BiOrb allows you to keep goldfish and other coldwater fish right away.

If you have tropical fish in mind that need warmer water, you’ll want to purchase a heater for your BiOrb 8 gallon tank. BiOrb makes a Heater Pack that will allow you to maintain a comfortable temperature for your tropical fish. Tropical fish that you might want to consider for your tank include mollies, barbs, tetras, guppies and swordtails. Temperatures between 72 °F to 78 °F (22 °C to 26 °C) will ensure that your tropical fish have the right water temperature to thrive in their new home.

The BiOrb 8 gallon can also be setup for salt water fish. With the addition of a Heater Pack and a Marine Conversion Kit, your tank will be ready to handle various types of small salt water fish and corals.

Aquarium Care & Maintenance

When looking at tank care and maintenance, the first place one should look is to the filtration system, if one is included with the aquarium. Reef One is consistently one of the best manufacturers for filtration systems. What this means to you is less maintenance due to enhanced water quality.

The BiOrb 8 gallon, as with many Reef One BiOrb tanks, includes an excellent filtration system. The filtration system features a unique five-stage system which combines biological, mechanical and chemical filtration ensuring that your fish tank’s water remains clean, clear and healthy between filter cartridge changes.

Along with the stylish looks, the filtration system design is done very well. The filter sits in the bottom of the tank and is barely visible, unless you really look. As the BiOrb 8 gallon is an orb, this keeps the 360° viewing angle remains unobstructed.

Aquarium Design & Appearance

While BiOrb manufactures quality tanks and filtration systems, the aquarium appearance is really where the 8 gallon differentiates itself from much of the competition. BiOrb and BiUbe tanks have become something of a fad amongst celebrities, and for good reason. The tank looks great, combining a traditional fish tank shape with modern design. While many fish tanks can be relatively boring in design, the BiOrb 8 gallon let’s you place it where you will, easily fitting in to a living room, kitchen or bedroom without sacrificing area interior design.

Aquarium Reviews

What’s good about the BiOrb 8 Gallon?

• Great looks, stylish design
• Complete aquarium kit features everything you need to prepare your tank for your fish
• BiOrb 8 Gallon instruction manual includes FAQs, how to and recommended fish
• Customization with different color hoods
• Biorb Plexiglas Acrylic is 10x stronger than glass
• The service kit filter system is easy to change and clean
• 8 gallon size is larger than some fish bowls while small enough to fit on most furniture
• Versatility of use with cold water, fresh water or salt water setup capabilities
• Filtration makes maintenance easier than many equivalent tanks
• BiOrb’s advanced five-stage filtration system allows for a healthy, clear environment for your fish

What’s not so good about the BiOrb 8 Gallon?

• You’ll pay a premium for quality and design
• Fish tank size limits number and size of fish
• Visible area of fish tank is smaller than a conventional rectangular tank due to curvature of orb shape
• Water will sometimes splash out the feeding hole on top of the tank

Fish Tank Review Summary

The BiOrb 8 Gallon tank is a great option for beginners to experienced fish owners alike. With its versatility, great filtration system, clean, attractive design and small footprint, the BiOrb 8 Gallon does a great job of balancing form with function. We highly recommend the BiOrb 8 Gallon tank.

For more recommendations, information and reviews of fish tanks and fish equipment, visit BiOrb Tank Reviews.

Car importers know that car auctions in Japan are a great place to find low mileage, high quality used cars at good prices. My aim in this article is to help you understand these car auctions in Japan better so that you can make a good, informed decision about whether to buy from them or not, and how the whole process works.

Why consider buying from Japanese car auctions?

This is a good place to start. After all, right now where you sit reading this article is probably many thousands of miles away from Japan. So why would you want to import cars from a country so far away?

There are two excellent reasons to consider buying cars from used car auctions in Japan.

First of all, the selection is immense and you can view all these cars remotely online. Auto auctions outside Japan may typically have a few hundred used vehicles, but only the tiniest auction in Japan would have such a pitiful selection.

In terms of individual auction locations, we are usually talking about over 1,000 cars per location, and sometimes over 10,000 cars (in the case of USS Tokyo) all in one place and being auctioned there weekly. Put all these individual car auctions together on the Internet, and over 30,000 on a single day is really not at all unusual.

So there is a huge breadth of choice. But that is not all. There is also a great depth of quality. The fact is that Japanese people just do not drive as much as people in other countries. An excellent public transport system and high levels of neighborhood walkability, in addition to the simple fact that urban driving speeds in Japan are incredibly low, all works together to keep people from using their cars very much.

Then on top of this the Japanese are fastidious in caring for their vehicles and yet it does not take long before the car they have seems old to them and they want a new one.

So, cars that are low mileage and well maintained are a dime a dozen. But the ironic thing is that the Japanese themselves are really not into secondhand items, so they don’t really want these used cars for themselves.

You can see where this is going: The car auctions in Japan have a great selection of great condition, low kilometer cars, but the Japanese people are really not that interested in buying them, so prices are relatively low and there is all the more opportunity for buyers from outside Japan to compete.

Car auction groups and locations in Japan

In Japan individual auctions are rare. They are usually part of a larger auction group. Here are just some of the more prominent groups:

• USS
• TAA (Toyota)
• Honda
• JU
• JAA
• CAA

USS Tokyo is the largest single used car auction location in Japan. This car auction runs once a week on Thursdays, and at peak season can have up to 20,000 vehicles all being auctioned on one day.

One auction group that does not have multiple auction locations (called kaijo in Japanese) is Aucnet, who hold their auctions on Mondays. Their model is a little different in that they do not have a physical auction house where all the cars are gathered.

Instead, they send out inspectors to car dealers who then keep their cars on their lots until they are sold. Since these dealers are still hoping to sell to a regular consumer at retail price, their reserve price at auction is often a little high compared with what a similar car might fetch at a regular auction.

How can you access the car auctions in Japan?

So far, so good. But wait a minute: How on earth are you going to be able to get a car from some used car auction way over there in Japan? You don’t know anyone there. You don’t speak Japanese. Even if you could buy the car, how would you ship it?

You need a Japanese car exporter to help you with this one.

Car exporters in Japan are set up to handle the process of bidding at the Japanese car auctions, transporting the car from the auction to the port, doing the paperwork and shipping the car over to you.

There are many car exporters shipping used vehicles from Japan, so this then begs the question of how you find yourself a good one. After all, we are not talking about trivial sums of money here, so it is vital you find one who is going to do a good job for you.

Here are some things to look for:

• How many auctions can you buy from, and can you access them all from one place online?
• Can you deal with a native English speaker who is also fluent in Japanese? (Nothing is more stressful than trying to overcome language barriers.)
• Does this exporter offer professional translations of the car auction inspector’s reports and help you really understand the condition of the cars in the auction?
• Does the exporter in Japan have good communication skills, keeping you in the loop about what is happening with your vehicles so you don’t worry?
• Does the exporter work hard to ensure your cars get to you from the car auction in Japan as quickly as possible?

Who will bid for you at these car auctions in Japan?

In order to buy from a car auction in Japan, the first thing you need is to be a member of that auction.

This usually entails being a registered business in Japan as well as having property as collateral and having a guarantor. This precludes regular consumers accessing these car auctions directly, so they tend to be a place where Japanese car dealers and Japanese car exporters buy at wholesale prices.

Japanese car exporters are usually registered Japanese companies and therefore have access to the car auctions in Japan.

Japanese car auction vehicle inspections

Car auctions in Japan have a strict inspection regime. Obviously the quality of the inspection can vary a little between auction houses since they are independent companies, but in general the grading system they use is very similar and easy to understand.

The cars and other vehicles are registered for the following week’s auction, after which they are inspected by inspectors who are qualified mechanics.

Now, it is important to bear in mind that these inspections are very thorough, but they do not involve any dismantling of the vehicle, nor do they involve test-driving it. They will often pick up mechanical issues very well, although problems which would only come to light if the vehicle is driven at anything more than the kind of speed you would expect in a parking lot can be missed. This is no fault of the inspectors, just a limitation of an inspection that does not involve a road test.

The inspector writes his report on an auction sheet. He gives the car an overall grading as well as a grading of the interior quality. He also writes details of issues that he has found. Some comments he writes in Japanese, and then issues like scratches and dents that relate to the car’s exterior condition, he writes on the “car map” – a diagram of the exterior of the car.

Remember you should not need to just rely on the overall grading when buying from Japanese car auctions: A good car exporter should give you detailed translations and help you understand what the Japanese car auction inspector has written on his report.

How does bidding work in these car auctions in Japan?

As we have noted above, only members of these auto auctions can actually bid. They do so in two ways: Either at the auction location (kaijo) itself, or online from anywhere.

The computer bidding system is the same whether bidding at the auction house on one of their machines or remotely online.

Bidding is very fast. Generally a car will be sold in anything from 10 to 45 seconds or so. The actual process may just look like pressing a button in a video game, but there is a real art to doing it right to avoid paying too much for a car – or equally letting it get away by holding back too much.

Sometimes cars will fail to meet their reserve price and bidding is stopped. It is then possible to make offers to the seller under the auspices of the car auction. Fewer cars sell in negotiation like this than are sold in live bidding. A good Japanese car exporter will handle the process of live bidding and negotiation seamlessly to get the best deals for his customers.

What happens after the car is won at auction?

After a car is bought at a Japanese car auction, the first thing that happens is that it is moved by car transporter to the port. Once at the port, the car waits to be loaded onto a RORO ship, or waits to be loaded into a container.

While the car is in transit from the auction, the car exporter will immediately start looking for bookings on the earliest ship, as well as doing paperwork to de-register the car and pass it through Japan-side customs.

Once on a ship, the car will take anything from a few days to over a month to reach its destination. This is mainly dependent on the distance of the destination country from Japan.

The car exporter will send the end customer the Bill of Lading, invoices, the de-registration document and any other documents that the customer requires for importing the car into his or her country. These import regulations vary from country to country so it is vital to check them before buying anything.

Conclusion

Car auctions in Japan can be a great place for car dealers and car importers around the world to find really good quality used vehicles at lower prices than they would expect to be able to find locally. The huge numbers of used cars in the Japanese car auctions that can be viewed online is another great plus.

The key to doing this successfully is to find a top-notch Japanese car exporter who both can communicate well, and also steer you safely through the process of buying from the car auctions in Japan.

If you enjoyed this article and would like to learn more, I have a huge amount of in-depth articles and videos covering every aspect of buying from the car auctions in Japan, including details about Japanese car auction inspections on my company website.

About the Expert Author

Stephen Munday has 12 years experience living and working in Japan, including 5 years buying from car auctions in Japan for customers around the world. His company, Integrity Exports, was set up with the goal of making buying from Japanese car auctions a stress-free and smooth experience.

This article is (c) Stephen Munday 2011. Permission is only given to reproduce this article in full with the URLs correctly hyperlinked and with the authorship and copyright correctly attributed.

Are you thinking about switching careers? If you are, you’re not alone. Most Americans switch careers three times in their lifetime. Nevertheless, switching careers is scary. And it’s especially paralyzing the older you get. But making a career switch is very possible and much more common than you might think. Before you’re ready to leap, realize that it’s a heavyweight decision that deserves some time and solid thought. Here are seven steps to help you on your way.

1. Gain insight from your current situation.

When considering a career switch, the first thing you should do is learn from your current situation. To do this, take a step back and study what you do for a living today and why you do it. Examine the reasons that you are in your current job or career. Was it what you went to school for? Was it what your parents wanted you to do? Was it the “hot career” at one time? Did you just “fall into it”? Did you love it at one time? Did you do it for the money you could make? Was it just to pay the bills? The answers to these questions can provide valuable insight into the core reasons that you want or need to change.

Now examine why you want to leave your current career field. Remove any company or management related politics that are specific to your current employer from the picture. See your situation for what it is and ask yourself why you are looking to switch. Are you being forced out because of market shifts of business trends? Are you burnt out? Do you want to make more money? Are you miserable doing what you do? Have you tried your best but found that your career is “just not a good fit”? Have you decided its time to pursue a long lost career love?

Inspecting your current situation and reasons for your desire to change careers will provide a foundation for your next step.

2. Look inside

Whether you already have a career in mind or you are searching for a new career, you must look inward. In order to gain the most from your reflection, it is essential to start with a clean slate. Set aside any notions (real or imagined) about what type of money certain careers offer. Discard any stereotypes or judgments of occupations. Distance yourself from any pre-conceived ideas about what you are right or destined for.

Now seriously examine what you truly love. First start with the obvious. Look at your hobbies and interests. List out the things you are passionate about or in which you have talent. Give yourself credit for things you are good at and don’t be afraid to write things down that you love, but are not yet good at. Write them all down, even if you think they may not be a possible career path. You’re just brainstorming at this point and you should not eliminate anything right out of the gate. And it’s important to bear in mind that what you may think are your interests are not necessarily all of your interests. To help you get a good look at your interests, observe the simple things. What kinds of news stories perk your interest? What kinds of TV shows do you enjoy? What kinds of books magazines do you find yourself drawn to? What kind of people do you like to associate with or find interesting? What parts of your current career have brought you the most satisfaction?

Next, remind yourself of what you wanted to be when you grew up. Is it something you still want to be? Do you still get stars in your eyes when you think about it? This may give you some real clues. And of course, depending on what you wanted to be, that young dream may be out of reach. Or…is it? Think about it. If your ideal career aspiration at the age of 10 was to be an astronaut and you are now over the age limit or are not physically able to, you can rule it out. But what about other careers associated with astronauts or astronomy? There is a wide array of careers that touch upon astronomy from teaching, to marketing telescopes, to writing for a science magazine, to building models or sets for movies to working at a museum on a space exhibit! When you look at your passion and then use a little imagination, the sky (or should I say space) becomes the limit.

Lastly, look at what type of person you are. Be honest with yourself. Do you enjoy working with your hands? Do you enjoy working alone? Do you enjoy a social work setting? Do you enjoy being part of a team? Do you enjoy working at night? These are all examples of questions that will lead you down the path to discovering and evaluating whether a given career path is right for you.

As you are going through the exercise of looking inside, it is important to avoid cluttering your mind or list with any “buts”. If your answer to the question “do you enjoy working with your hands” was “yes”, leave it at “yes”. Don’t append any knee jerk reactions to your answers such as “yes, but I am clumsy” or “yes, but those jobs don’t pay as much”. Leave your mind open and you will be pleasantly surprised at how easily any natural human discouragement subsides.

3. Explore what’s out there

Now that you’re armed with a list of personal interests and talents, sit on them for a few days and let them cook. Let yourself get used to your newfound list. You may find yourself adding a few more during this time or even crossing a few out.

Begin your next step by opening your eyes to what’s out there (not what you perceive to be out there, but rather what is out there). Pick up your local community college catalog and flip through both credit and continuing education courses. Look online for education or career programs. Make a list of the careers of your friends and family. On your next ride to work or to the store, turn off the radio, look around and take notice of the buildings and businesses around you. Look at the people you see outside and start piecing together what their days are like.

The object of this exercise is to compare what is out there, with what interests you. Let’s stick with the astronomy example. You’re interested in astronomy. So what? Well…now you’ve begun looking through the local community college catalog and there, you see a continuing education course on astronomy. You’ve now found something concrete, a class that you can take that will allow you to pursue your interest. But what is a continuing education course going to get you? A couple of things. One, you will meet other people who share your interest. These people bring information to the table. They may know of groups or clubs that you can join. Or perhaps, they may have friends or relatives who are looking for someone to do research work or work part-time in their science store. Two, you will be able to further your interest…or be able to rule it out as a career path. You may learn that you really love astronomy and would like to pursue it further. On the other hand, you may learn that it really isn’t what you thought it was and you really don’t care enough about it to pursue it as a career. Any way you slice it, you will learn something about yourself and at the very least will have met others who share your interest.

Let’s try another example. Perhaps, on your way to work, you start to notice a road construction worker. The first day you see him, you’re in a suit, he’s in jeans and he’s joking with a coworker as he shovels asphalt under a sunny sky. You think to yourself, “Boy it’d be nice to get out of this suit, work outside…break a sweat for once! Maybe I’d like to do that…” The next day you see him and you watch as a driver leans out his window and curses at him. “Hmmm”, you think. The third day you see him, it’s raining and cold and he’s out braving the elements while you’re dry and warm inside your car. “Cross that one off the list”, you think. If you had only noticed the man on the first day, you’d only have seen him on a good day. If you had only noticed him on the last day, you’d have seen him at the worst. Either way, without really opening your eyes full time, you may have a fragmented impression on what it means to be this or that. The point here is not to look for distinctly negative or positive things about a given occupation, but to begin to see it as a whole. With this type of information, you will be able to form an opinion on whether a given occupation could be a possibility for you.

In addition to concrete and mindful exploration, talking to your friends and family is an invaluable type of investigation. When you start bringing up your interests or ideas for possible career paths in conversations or e-mails, you will no doubt hear a lot of “Oh! Susan’s son teaches astronomy at the university, he’s writing a book on the Hubble telescope this year.” or “Oh John does construction on the side, he loves it!” By talking to other people, you may make connections or gain insight into the experiences and opinions of people connected with your interest areas. It will also trigger some more ideas for you. Perhaps it never occurred to you to pair a love of writing with a love of astronomy until you talked with your cousin.

4. Do your homework

So, you’ve looked inside. You’ve come up with several interests and you’ve taken steps to explore what’s out there. By this time, you’ve come up with a few things you might like to do or have found one you’ve decided you want to pursue. Now it’s time to get to work. It’s time to delve into what it really means to have a job in a particular career field. To accomplish this part of your journey, you need to do serious research.

Your research homework consists of concrete exploration of available paths for your career options. For the majority of careers, you will need to embark on some type of structured educational path. Examples of this are things like sponsored career programs, college degrees, certification programs, professional designations, internships or apprenticeships. Even if your chosen career path does not require ordered training or education, you will no doubt have to “put in your time” and you will need to find out what and how much time you will realistically be expected to “put in”.

So how do you find out? Let’s say you’ve decided you want to seriously explore being a pharmacist. Wonderful! How do you get to be a pharmacist? For starters, inquire with your friends and family to see if anyone knows a pharmacist that you can speak with. Talk to your neighborhood pharmacist, find out where she went to school and ask her about any professional designations she holds or ongoing education she may be taking. If you’re brave, ask her what kind of salary pharmacists can expect to earn. In addition, pick up that college course catalog again and inspect the pharmacology program. Look at the prerequisites and notice how long the program will take to complete and how much the courses cost. Read the course descriptions. Do they peak your interest or do they make you want to throw the book down? A great supplement to all of your research is the internet. There are plenty of newsgroup, blog, forum and professional association sites out there. Any of these can give you a solid peak into what it means and takes to be a given occupation.

For each career path you are interested in, you will want to know the following:

• What are the education requirements?
• Does it require any job certification?
• Is there an apprenticeship required?
• Does it require travel?
• How much money can you make?
• Where are the regions of the country that people in this career field are more successful? more in supply? more in demand? make more money?
• Will it require you to relocate?
• Will it require regular, ongoing education?
• Will it require you to have your own business or work for another company?
• Are there yearly fees? (e.g. license renewal, union dues, association membership, equipment, etc.)
• How many hours will you normally work in a week?
• Are there any age requirements or cut-offs?
• How much will it cost you to become gainfully employed in the field?
• How long will it take you to become gainfully employed in the field?

The answers to these questions will help you narrow your career choices further and may even get a fire burning under your feet.

5. Take financial stock

Okay. You’ve done it! You’ve come up with one or more career paths that you’d like to embark on. You have looked into what it means to be employed in the career field(s) and you are now powerfully armed with the knowledge of what it takes to get you where you want to go! But like everything in life, it’s going to cost you. You now need to list out all the costs, add them up and compare them with what you will be able to swing. There’s no doubt you will be able to accomplish your goals, no matter what your financial situation. It may take you longer than you like or may come at the expense of some other items or conveniences in your life, but you can do it if you set your mind to it and approach it methodically. This may mean you have to call upon your research skills again and explore financial options such as grants, scholarships, payment plans, or 401K or private institution education loans. You even may be able to pay for education or experience by doing an internship or by performing work using a skill that you currently have in exchange for training or experience.

When you are taking financial stock, allow yourself breathing room. Perhaps your goals are not financially feasible at this moment in time. Perhaps you just had a baby, your youngest son needs braces, or you’ve just paid an absorbent amount of money to repair your car. It’s okay. Rejoice in the fact that you’ve come this far. You can put a plan together and start saving or start applying for aid or other means of financing. There may even be things you can start to do that will be free or cheap, such as volunteering in the field or reading books to prepare you for your studies. Most people don’t have the luxury of quitting their jobs while they switch careers, so most likely you will be living a “double life” while you prepare for the switch. Whatever you do, don’t break the bank, because you’ll inevitably find yourself right back where you started.

6. Check your calendar

Great! You’ve got it all under control. You know where you’re going, how you’re going to get there and how you’re going to pay for it. But can you afford the time? Do you have enough free time or flexibility to meet the educational requirements? Are you young enough or old enough to fall within any professional age requirements? If you have the time and the age, skip this step. If not, the last step of your journey is to shuffle your calendar!

Shuffling your calendar may be easy. You may know right away what to eliminate or move in order to make room for your new career path. Conversely, finding the time might be downright complicated. Maybe you have small children, maybe you have an ailing parent, maybe you have church or community commitments…any of these things would make working towards a new career an uphill battle. Here again, it may mean that you have to post-pone your journey for a little while. Or, it could mean that you have to settle for beginning your education informally by reading books or taking online courses when you can. Whatever your challenge, don’t lose hope! Faith in yourself and perseverance will get you where you want to go.

7. Take the plunge

You’ve arrived at the last step. It’s time to jump in! Time to register for that first class, accept that internship, or apply for that entry level or part-time job in your chosen field. Whatever you’ve found to be the first step towards your new career, delight in the fact that you’ve come a long way and you’re doing it! You’ve done a lot of hard, thorough work and you have a lot to be proud of. Start down that path with your chin up and your shoulders back!

Food for your trip

You can’t take this trip without packing! If you leave home with one thing, leave home with the comforting knowledge that your approach to a new career is circular. This means that you can always go back to the beginning of the circle or to any point within the circle. If you’ve started a class or program and found that you hate it. So what? You’ve learned to cross it off you list and go back and take another look. Even if you get all the way to end of the path and decide it is not for you, take comfort that you did your best and its time to go back to another number in the circle. There is no shame in that.

So go on now…get out of here! Your train is leaving and you better be on it! Just don’t forget to take some pictures along the way, stop and smell the flowers, buy a few souvenirs and by all means, don’t forget where you came from!

Alotta Candor is a staff writer and commentator for JobSchmob.com, the “lighter” side of the working world. She is proud to be a liberated ex-corporate office worker.

http://www.JobSchmob.com

So it’s that time of year. Time to buy gifts for your friends and family yet again as the world all over celebrates this corporate, commercial, money-hungry, festive and generosity-filled holiday. Some of you may already have it all taken care of by now. Others may be last-minute shoppers like myself and think that even now is just the start of the shopping season. No matter which you fall under, there’s bound to be at least a couple more on your list to check off. In this article, we’ll give you some ideas for gifts for those movie buffs you may have on your list.

1. Movies

Of course a movie buff loves movies. However, this gift selection isn’t as obvious as some of you may think. In fact, it could be one of the hardest choices for a movie fan there is. There are all types of problems that may arise here. You could pick the wrong format, the wrong medium, the wrong edition. Or you could plain and simple just pick the wrong movie. Or even more possible, buy them a movie they already own (afterall, they are movie buffs, chances are they have TONS of movies already making it even more likely to buy something they already have). Thus, that’s why I recommend staying away from this selection unless that movie fanatic in your life has actively been hinting at a certain movie lately. In which case, go for it. Movies are definitely good for us movie buffs. But again, be careful in what you buy. Or at least save the receipt and don’t be offended when that person needs to return your gift.

2. Netflix

Now for those of you wanting to get your movie buff some movies, but don’t want to go through the headache of making sure you don’t get the wrong thing, Netflix is your answer. Netflix allows that cinephile on your list access to all kinds of movies from the old to new, domestic to foreign, indie to blockbuster and so on. The great thing about this too, they get to choose which movies they want to watch, while you just pay for the subscription. Netflix Gifts come in a variety of plans and a variety of lengths. You can get your movie lover just the streaming package or you can choose a package which allows streaming, plus up to 1, 2, or 3 DVDs out at a time. These can all be bought in lengths from 1 month to 1 year. For instance, a streaming package for 6 months will run you about $48. Or you can go with 2 DVDs out at a time for 1 year for about $180. No matter what the choice, it’s sure to be a hit with the movie buff in your life. It doesn’t matter if they already have a subscription either as a Netflix Gift can simply be added to their already existing subscription and they’ll get free months of their service.

3. Fandango Card

Of course every movie buff spends ample amounts of time at the theater. So, along the lines of the Netflix thing, another option is a Fandango gift card (or a gift card from a local theater). This gives your movie buff a gift that will keep on giving over the year as they revisit the theater. Each time getting to enjoy the big screen magic on your dime. The movie buff on your list will surely love a gift like this over the months as they get to catch all the latest releases.

4. Movie Memorabilia

Your typical movie buff is obsessed with movies in probably a way you will never fully understand. As such, this means everything about movies they enjoy. Thus, another good gift for that movie lover on your list is movie memorabilia. This ranges from movie posters, to shirts, to collector’s items, to autographed items, to boxed sets, to film cells and artwork. You can even buy scripts/screenplays/props from their favorite movies online. With many online outlets that sell this type of stuff, the possibilities are endless once you know some of your movie buff’s favorite movies or actors, etc.

5. Movie-Related Books and Magazines

As I stated before, chances are the movie buff in your life loves everything movie-related. This goes for books and magazines as well. Biographies on their favorite actors or movie-related books are good unconventional ideas for the movie buff in your life. There are plenty books out there designed for these types of people. From 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die to 1000 Films to Change Your Life to The 100 Best Movies to Rent You’ve Never Heard Of to even more specific books like 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die. All would be a welcome treat for the movie buff in your life. Likewise, the movie buff in your life most assuredly likes to keep up with all things movies and get insights into the industry they so love. As such, magazine subscriptions that cater to these types are also good choices. These include print and online types. Though I will say you’ll want to go beyond the more mainstream types of Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stones, etc. Instead, look into things like ‘Boxoffice Magazine’, ‘Hollywood Reporter’, ‘Premiere’, ‘Empire’ (UK), ‘MovieMaker’ or ‘Filmmaker Magazine’. Likewise, you could also get them a subscription to online industry rags like Variety.com or ProductionWeekly.com.

6. Universal Remote

As you probably know, the movie buff in your life definitely has a love for electronics. This is especially true when it comes to their home entertainment setup. All of that gear can get out of hand though when remote controls begin piling up. Introduce the Logitech Harmony. The cream of the crop when it comes to universal remotes. This line of remotes from Logitech range from about $100 to over $300. Any movie buff would be happy to get their hands on such a remote control to accent their setup.

7. Roku Box

This is a great accompanying gift for a Netflix subscription. The streaming player allows the movie lover to use any of those streaming services to stream movies directly to their TV instead of having to watch on their computer or laptop. This is great for any movie buff who would much rather watch on their big screen TV rather than their little computer monitor. The Roku box allows for Netflix instant streaming on your TV. It also allows access to such services as Hulu Plus, Amazon On Demand and more.

8. Blu-Ray Player

Chances are your movie buff already has one of these in their collection. However, for those that don’t a Blu-ray player is a great gift for the movie buff in your life. Providing for a high-definition movie viewing experience, the movie buff in your life will love the immersion of watching their favorite movies in pristine hi-def.

9. Popcorn Maker

Everybody knows: popcorn goes with movies like jelly goes with peanut butter. And for some reason, kettle popcorn just tastes better. So why not bring that theater goodness into the home of your favorite movie buff giving them the gift of snacks anytime they sit down to watch a movie at home. You can find many kettle popcorn makers for under $100. Any movie buff would find it cool to have their very own popcorn maker sitting in the corner of their room for access whenever they want to spend the evening watching movies (and trust me, they do this very often).

10. “Gaming” Chair

These provide the ultimate comfort when sitting in front of the TV for a movie. With built-in speaker systems and ultimate comfort, there are tons of stylish gaming chairs out there. Any movie buff would love one of these cool recliner/pedestal chairs to kick back and enjoy their movie-viewing experience. Not only does it just flat-out look cool and are they comfortable, but they also provide more immersion with the speakers in the headrest and subwoofers built into the chair that make you rumble along with explosions on the screen.

11. Surround Sound System

Speaking of sound, if your movie buff doesn’t already have one, a surround sound system is always a welcome addition to their home entertainment experience. Providing an immersion of sound to accompany their viewing experience, a surround sound system is an absolute must for any movie buff that is looking to make the most of the home entertainment experience. Of course, this can be a costly gift, but the movie buff in your life will definitely be grateful.

12. HDTV

Since we’re mentioning essential components, a TV definitely falls in that range. Obviously your movie buff already has one, but they’re never opposed to a new TV (or even just a secondary TV). Whether it be a smaller LCD TV to put in their room or an upgrade to a top-of-the-line brand new 3D TV, TVs are always welcome. Your movie buff would definitely love you for this. With the pushing of 3D TVs, these are a definite hot item too which most movie buffs in your life would more than happily take. Again though, this is one of the more costly gifts, so expect to pay thousands for something like that.

13. Movie Storage

You probably know this already, but the movie buff in your life probably has a very extensive collection of movies. A collection they love to proudly show off as well. Of course such a collection can often become something of a beast that needs taming. Enter the realm of media storage. This actually comes in two forms as well: physical and digital. First we’ll touch on the traditional physical form. This simply means cabinets and shelves. If the movie buff in your life doesn’t already have the shelving for their collection, or is simply running out of shelf space, then a new shelf, rack or tower would be a practical and welcome gift for your movie buff in helping to tame that ever-growing collection and bring some order to it. Of course you have the digital front as well. This is the same concept as storing all of your music on your computer. Many companies make devices specifically for media storage like this. There are even companies like Kaleidoscope and PrimeArray which create systems that serve as storage and servers. This means all movies are saved on a digital storage device. The cherry on top though is that these devices then provide a means to share all that data across a network and have access to your entire movie collection with one click of a button on your remote. Having instant access to any movie in your collection without having to get up and change out discs, etc. These however can get extremely expensive. Some even more costly than the TVs themselves. But the techphile/cinephile in your life would love it.

14. AFI Membership

Every film buff is familiar with the prestigious American Film Institute. What better way to reward their passion for films than allowing your movie buff to become part of that institute by buying them a membership to the AFI. This can range from $60-2,500. Offering cool perks like movie tickets, exclusive release schedules and magazine subscriptions, an AFI membership also grants members admission to AFI events. On top of that, your movie buff would even be able to vote alongside industry professionals for various movie awards and accolades dealt out by AFI each year. To top it off, they would even get an AFI membership card to proudly show off to friends as a sign to their dedication to films.

15. Film Festival Pass

I’m sure you’ve heard of them. Sundance. Cannes. Attending these more prestigious film festivals are like a life-long dream for the movie buff in your life probably. They’d probably give an arm or a leg to get to experience going to the prestigious Sundance festival or Cannes or the Venice Film Festival. However, these events book well in advance and can be costly. Thus, they don’t make good last-minute gift ideas. Though, I’m sure your movie buff would happily take a “rain check” on a gift if it means the promise of getting a pass to one of these festivals later on. Likewise, many bigger cities offer their own film festivals throughout the year. If you live near one of these, your movie buff would definitely love the chance to get to attend one of those as well.

So there you have it, a plethora of ideas to make sure the movie buff in your life has a happy holiday and make sure you come out on top with gift ideas for that movie buff (rather than being that relative that gives a crappy pair of knit socks for Christmas or such).

If you like this movie review and found it helpful, visit my site couchpotatoclub.com for other reviews of recent movies as well as the latest DVD and movie news.

There are two questions my students and clients ask all the time. One is ‘How do I choose a good bowl” and the other is ‘How do I know which bowl is good for a specific chakra’. People also call to obtain a bowl with a certain musical note. My answers to these questions are founded in the Eastern philosophy rather than from a Western mindset, because this better reflects the nature of the instruments as they were intended:

Choosing a good bowl requires a few things.

Quality: Either an eye and an ear for excellent quality- or knowing and trusting someone who knows the bowls and can help you. Many people sell bowls and most are new and machine made to look old. There are several signs of age in a bowl including the shape, the markings inside and out, the thickness of the metal especially on the bottom (thinner is usually older), and the tone. Most lay people will not be able to tell the difference between an antique and a good reproduction. It takes a trained eye. But you should be able to hear the difference. Often even the people who sell bowls in shops and on the internet are not very knowledgeable, so ask a lot of questions. When someone says a bowl is old in this country old can mean 50 years. That is new by my standards. A real old bowl it will be at least 100 years old and more often hundreds of years old. If the vendor doesn’t know the region the bowls were made in, and how the markings help distinguish the type of bowl, they probably don’t know much. Bowls were made in a variety of regions of Tibet and their shape and markings are telling. Some of the bowls have consciousness transformation as their primary intention, and some have physical healing. This can be determined by their shape. There is more about this and photos in my home study course available on my website. A high quality, ancient bowl is an investment. If it is inexpensive and old, then it was probably obtained in a less than honorable manner…A good bowl is an investment and the price can range from $110 for a very small bowl to thousands of $$ for a huge bowl.

On the other side of the coin is the seller who hikes up the price claiming that a bowl is from the 16th or 17th century. If you really want to determine the exact age of a bowl, you have to melt it down- thereby destroying it. Ask where and who authenticates the bowls and how the age was determined and tune into your intuition about the story you are being told.

In Asia, the only way to establish a good and trustworthy relationship with a supplier is over a number of years, and eyeball to eyeball. So the few people who go over themselves to select instruments over a period of years will get the best bowls. If your bowls come from a wholesaler somewhere, w ho purchases large quantities of things you can be sure they are if inferior quality because they probably did not hand select them or have a long term relationship with the supplier. These things DO make a big difference.

Usage: It is useful to determine what you will use the bowl for: ie meditation, grounding, physical healing? Do you want to integrate a few bowls into an existent modality or use them with other instruments in a musical vain, or become a sound healer? The answers to these questions will also impact on your choices.

Tone: The tone of the bowls should linger for quite some time when struck producing several layers of tones you can hear that in turn create overlaying harmonics and overtones. When you sing a bowl (rub the rim with the wooden or leather part of a stick) there are several things to consider. How ‘awake’ the bowl is: some bowls sing right away, and some need to be played for a while and ‘broken back in’. This is neither good or bad but it is important to know so you don’t dismiss a potentially great instrument just because it doesn’t sing right away. When you hear a bowl, listen to your body. If it opens your heart, or moves you deeply in some manner; if you feel tingling all over, or the tone directly impacts one area of your body or grounds you- these are all good signs. Bowls were created for consciousness transformation and healing. You should feel their effect on you.

If you have more than one bowl then it is good to play them together so that their tones harmonize. Eventually, they will anyway, because that is their nature and magic, but why not help the process by starting with bowls that sound great together right away? Note that with several bowls, playing them in one pattern may sound very good and another pattern may not!

Bowls and Chakras. In the west we work with seven chakras. The Tibetans work with five regions of the body. The bowls were created to bring us back to our experience of the interrelationship of all things; thus they are not calibrated to work on any one chakra to the exclusion of the rest. Their very nature encompasses our wholeness. In this way they are very different instruments then the western counterparts- tuning forks and crystal bowls. However there are some bowls whose tone and size lend themselves more naturally to certain areas of the body. Lower tones for grounding, largest bowls by the feet, soothing mid tones around the head, and higher tones over the 3rd eye, etc. There are too many variables to discuss here but you can get some basic principals in my home study course. Having several bowls is wonderful but understand that even if you have only ONE bowl, it will impact all of you, and not just one chakra.

Diáne Mandle is an author, teacher, healer and recording artist based in Southern California. She is Certified in Tibetan Bowl Sound Healing and Polarity therapy. Diane maintains a private practice offering an integrated system for healing which includes Sound and Polarity Therapy, Toning and Visualization. Diane conducts educational programs, keynotes and Harmonic Sound Healing concerts nationally and presents frequently at the Deepak Chopra Center. She has produced the first comprehensive multimedia home study course in Sound Healing using Himalayan instruments (Tibetan, Nepalese and Bhutanese bowls, tingshas, gantas and dorjes) ‘Ancient Sounds for a New Age’, an E-Book/DVD/ CD set available on her website http://www.soundenergyhealing.com

Feel free to contact me to hear some great instruments, and obtain my home study course ‘Ancient Sounds for a New Age’ at http://www.soundenergyhealing.com

Car insurance is one of the most irritating of bills for the average family. It’s getting more and more expensive to insure your car just as it is getting more and more expensive to run your car.

With fuel costs escalating out of control car running costs are becoming a serious burden for the average family, especially families with more than one car. For this reason more and more people are looking for ways to control the costs associated with their family transport.

And whereas you can’t bring the price of gas down you can do something to reduce your car insurance costs.

Car insurance rates are a reflection of the perceived risk that the insurance company takes on when it insures you. If the company sees the risks as higher then the insurance premium will be higher. If they see the risks of insuring you as lower then this also will reflect in your car insurance premium.

So reducing your premium is all about doing things to demonstrate that the risk when insuring your car is low.

7 Tips To Reducing Car Insurance Costs.

1. A major factor for any car insurance company in assessing the insurance premium you pay comes down to the type of car you drive. Different types of car attract different levels of premium because, in particular, different types of car are driven by different types of people, who may have different types of risk profile.

Sports cars, for example, will usually show a higher rate of accidents than staid boring family cars.

And there are always certain types of cars which attract thieves more than others, and this is reflected in the premiums you pay to insure them.

Your insurance company can tell you which types of cars are cheaper or more expensive to insure, so before you buy a car make some enquiries about whether that type of car is a high insurance premium car.

2. Consider your deductible. This is the amount you pay first out of any claim, and the cost of your policy is directly related to the amount of your deductible. Higher deductible – lower premium. So consider carefully whether you could afford to pay a higher amount first from any accident and raise your deductible. If so, you will get lower premiums.

3. Safety and anti theft devices can reduce the insurance costs for a car. Talk to your insurance company and find out if there are any safety or anti theft devices that you can install to reduce your premium. Then consider installing them making sure that you notify your insurance company once you have done so. And why not ring up your company and make sure that they are aware of any safety and anti theft devices you already have, if they aren’t you may get a reduction.

4. Drive carefully. It may sound obvious but as insurance premiums are related to risk then your manner of driving is related to your insurance premiums. Safer driver equals lower premiums. It may not seem so at the time but those traffic violations or speeding fines reflect in your bill.

5. Don’t just pay your premium each time it comes around without investigating if you can do better. Car insurance rates vary all the time and so even if it was the best rate last year it may not be this year. Every year shop around to see if you can do better, you may be surprised.

6. Have a look at other insurance policies you have with other companies. Many insurers offer discounts for combining all your family insurance with their company. Find out who they are and get a quote on all your policies combined.

7. Always look online for a competitive quote. Most of the major players and brokers are represented online and it is extremely competitive. It is very easy to get an online quote, just go to Google and search for car insurance quote and start looking.

These are just a few of the things that you can do, there are plenty more. Educate yourself about your car insurance, find out all you can about it and be prepared to shop around once you know exactly what you do need, and what you don’t. You will find cheaper insurance.

Travis Waack has authored several articles on several topics. You can read more of his articles and research related insurance information at [http://insurance.online-001.com/insurance.html]

“Pets are such agreeable friends, they ask no questions and they pass no criticisms” said George Eliot about pet animals. Pets often reciprocate the love that their masters lavish on them by demonstrating various forms of affection including licking, hickeys, even love-bites.

There’s no other job quite like keeping a pet. Pet care is in fact a permanent job, and includes the very important functions of grooming and striving to maintain good pet health care. General pet supplies could be considered a definition of useful tools for grooming and keeping your pet in good health.

Pet Supplies:

An essential list of pet supplies for purchase could include the following: pet food and food dishes, pet id tags and collars, pet medications, supplements and tonics, etc. Some other items to consider are animal carriers, pet houses and furniture, pet beds, clothes, and pet jewelry.

Online Pet Supplies:

Online pet supplies are supplies that can be purchased from pet stores over the Internet. There are numerous pet grooming product manufacturers and pet-grooming stores selling their products online through their individual official websites.

Pet Grooming Supplies:

Pet grooming supplies include items such as grooming clippers, pet hair care products, soaps, shampoo and perfumes.

Pet Health Care:

Pet health care is a very important responsibility of pet ownership. For puppies and kittens, or any other four-legged pets, important treatments would include giving a hygiene bath, cleaning, combing, brushing, checking ears, paws, teeth and underside of the tongue, nail trimming, removing fleas and insects, and fixing regular meetings with a professional veterinary. A good pet owner should follow a regular schedule of grooming sessions.

Pet care can require a lot of patience. Like children, pets often require special attention. A puppy, kitten or any other pet in its infancy needs to be handled with extreme care. In particular they must be groomed properly, fed carefully, and bedded properly.

Choosing A Pet:

The process of choosing a pet is very important. Choosing a pet depends on one’s preferences, but there are still some important things that should be kept in mind. One should always choose an animal of good breed. Secondly, the pet should be healthy especially if it is still in the initial stage of its life. A healthy young pet shows good fast growth.

Pet Grooming Business:

The pet grooming business is a flourishing business today. There are numerous pet grooming schools offering the equivalent services of a pet grooming professional. People hire the services of these professional experts for the proper grooming of their pets. Professional pet grooming is becoming quite popular in United States, Canada, and European countries.

Paul MacIver writes about pets and Pet Health Care [http://www.information-spring.info/?cat=12]. Visit Online Pet Supplies [http://www.complete-pet-supplies.info] to read more about Pet Care, Pet Grooming [http://www.complete-pet-supplies.info/pet-grooming-products.html] and Pet Supplies. You may freely reprint this article as long as nothing is changed, and bio is included with all links intact.

It’s a fashionista’s worst experience, even worse than looking oversize buddy, more degrading than wearing the same dress in another party — it’s the fear of symbolizing looking yesteryear fashion trend model.

Sometimes, fashion trends is considered as fads, are disreputably erratic. The fashion industry players are always on the quest to bring up something “NEW” & “HOT”.

What is Fashion Trend?

Trend is the lead in which something new evolving, mostly leaning, penchant and line of growth. Hence, fashion trend is the latest evolvement of the fashion industry.

What is Fashion Trend Really About?

Your closet can give the answer. If you don’t want to look at it, well.well. this resembles that you are matching your steps with the latest fashion trends. What it’s relation to fashion? People stick rigidly to the rules – okay, maybe not ‘YOU’. You may be one of those who walk their own way and dress as they like. When it comes to the fashion industry, it’s a continuously changing world. Even though some trends are considered as ludicrous and outdated, many other comebacks with innovative ideas.

Pace and Re-emergence of Latest Fashion Trends

Now its new millennium, but most of fashion things like the pegged pant legs, jelly bracelets, and finally the denim jeans, seem to be returning in trends again. It comes out that the latest fashion trends are simply have nothing new at all. Almost everything re-emerged in fashion trend. You can virtually find torn jeans in every clothing retail store.

Who decides What’s ‘Hot’ and ‘Not’ in Fashion Trends

There is no existence of specific group who declares what is hot fashion trend or not. In fact, the fashion designers and consumers who buys-out the fashion merchandise make their judgment and throw several opinions out there and observe what is grabbed.

Basically, ‘WE’, the consumer decide which merchandise is hot by making our minds what to purchase and wear.

The Fashion Trend Cycle

First part of the cycle, where the trend is highly hunted immediately after seeing that great fashionable hat, dress or shoe on the runway, red carpet or music video. Next, comes the emulation phase, where everyone wants a piece of the trend. Only big shots, celebrities and fashion industry players have approach to latest fashion right off the runway, which yet not showed up in retail stores.

During second phase, this newbie will appear in news papers, fashion magazines, TV and internet. At last, the trend will be soaked in the market, commonly at bit lower cost.

In the second phase new merchandise is available in bit expensive designer collections. It is only the third phase, where the merchandise is available to the mass market at affordable cost for most buyers.

The major part of over all mass will purchase it somewhere between second and third phase.

Before two or three decades it might have taken a some rears to make it from runway to mass market, however, nowadays producers have put the fashion cycle into rapid speed. Now, a hot trend often makes it appearance in low cost or discount retail store in as little as a few days or months.

In & Out of Fashion Trend

Reasonably priced fashionable clothing is a double-edged sword that make possible to buy fashionable looks at real-life budgets, at the same time leads to abolish the trend rapidly. However, when the market is completely saturated with a same monotonous trend it loses its appeal.

So how we can assume that how long a fashion trend will last? Let us find out:

Generally, most fashion trends last nearly one year, but some trends, usually the acceptable, last much longer. It is considered that normally fashion trends re-emerge nearly every twenty years. Hence, the minis skirts of the 80s are back in trends again.

The key to assume that how long a trend will last depends on from when you bought the collection. If you bought when the knock-off or discounts are going at retail store, then the count for the trend last not more one or two seasons. Fashion industry normally dumps together two seasons together, Spring and Summer, Fall and Winter, which provides you about six months to wear before it seems looks outdated.

In fact it is not specified that how long a fashion trend will last, you can put money on the just fads such as jeans, Uggs, hats etc… It doesn’t signify that you might not get fun in purchasing them. They are the evergreen items you would like to purchase any time.

Purchasing power can keep a trend on oxygen. In some cases people love particular trends so much they wouldn’t let it die.

The safeguard against rapidly changing fashion trends is to have a clothing line stocked with more traditional looks: T-shirts, jeans, and black dresses.

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Camping tips can save your life. It can make a difference between a good camping trip and one that you would not miss. But camping tips are just that; tips. Camping tips are not rules you should live by. Though some camping tips are meant to be followed to the word, not all of them may apply to your situation.

Camping tips are useful but bear in mind that there are always a better and easier way of doing things. Especially in the wild where it can get pretty unpredictable some camping tips may seem like a good thing to follow but if things don’t turn out well you should consider other options.

Never dismiss a possible way of doing things just because of some camping tips. Remember that it’s the wilderness and a chance to get creative. In no way am I suggesting that you disregard all camping tips. In fact I am encouraging you to seek them out before you go for a camping trip. I’m just saying you should be open to new possibilities, new ways of doing things with better and more sophisticated camping equipment (or without).

Some camping tips may be timeless though and may prevent you from making mistakes that could put you in danger or make your life miserable. An example of a camping tip that is timeless is having a camping checklist when you prepare your camping gear, camping equipment and supplies before the camping trip. Camping lists are critical to your success in camping and they evolve as you become more experienced and are different for different situations.

To have what you need or what you’re likely to need with you can quite possibly mean life or death especially if you’re hiking in the wilderness where hiking and camping equipment are more critical unless you’re a star in “Man vs Wild.” But you should know that even experienced hikers/campers who have been doing it for decades still refer to camping checklists for their hiking and camping equipment, gear and supplies preparation.

One of those camping tips that “experts” like to talk about first and for good reason is the one on hiking boots. If you are just camping on a campsite and not much walking is involve so can pretty much use any footwear you like.

If you are hiking it’s important that you use a good pair of hiking boots that are comfortable, protects your feet, supports your feet under heavy load, has good ventilation but still repels water and flexible enough that it encourages your foot’s natural movement.

With that said, everyone’s natural foot movement may be different from each others’ so if someone is giving you camping tips on which hiking boots to use then just take it as a guideline because what works for him may not work for you.

Like some things in hiking and camping it has to be with trial and error that you choose the perfect hiking boots. Some may give you recommendation based on trials that were made on short hikes.

Less than an hour’s hiking can be considered a short hike. But what happens on short hikes is that you can’t usually tell if the hiking boots are causing you blisters or not. Blisters can be such a horrible thing to have on a hiking trip and you would want to by any means avoid them like providing some padding on the areas of your feet that are prone to blisters.

Even without padding there are likely some good hiking boots out there for you that won’t give you any blisters even after several weeks of hiking. Having a perfect fit and breaking in the hiking boots are good camping tips that help to reduce the chances of blisters when you’re hiking.

Camping tips on backpacks and packing helps you carry your load better, protect your load and keep your camping equipment dry. You may be told to use a particular type of backpack that is supposedly perfect but the perfect backpack can only be determined by yourself as the fitting is also unique to you based on your torso length. Try out a backpack which is at least lightly loaded.

You may get some camping tips on which camping food you should pack. But the best way to choose the right camping food for you is based on trial and error. You can also choose camping food based on scientific nutritional methods which is based on calculations of nutritional content of various food and how much calories you need.

Almost all prepared food today provides a list of contents and nutritional value and according to scientific data you burn a different number of calories for different activities. The amount of calories you need for different activities provided by scientific data are merely rough estimations and the efficiency on which you do these activities may vary drastically from hour to hour.

The biggest variable still is the individual. It is about how you function personally. That’s why by trial and error is the best way to choose your camping food particularly for hiking. Obviously, if you are just hiking on a campground any food can be based largely on taste.

Camping tips are great but you need to keep in mind that they are not rules and many camping tips are made with disregard to the individual which is the deciding factor. Whether you are looking for the best hiking boots, backpack or camping food, what’s right for you is tailored to you. The best way is try them out or to find out by trial and error.

Your initial choice may be based on reviews or ratings or camping tips but as you become more mature in hiking and camping only you can say what is best for you.

For award winning camping gear, check out Hiking-Camping-World.com.

Bowling is one of the most popular sporting activities in the country. In fact, over 50 million Americans hit the lanes on a regular basis, and the trend is spreading to other parts of the world. No matter what your skill level, you can enjoy bowling.

Even if you are brand new to bowling, you should always use the proper equipment whenever you bowl. Here are the most important accessories to remember:

Bowling Ball

Obviously, the bowling ball is an important piece of equipment to a bowler. All bowling balls are not created equal, though. Before purchasing a bowling ball, be sure to determine what ball weight you are comfortable with, as well as the size of the ball holes you will need. And don’t forget that some balls are designed for right-handers and some are made for lefties.

Bowling balls are classified according to skill level as well: beginner, intermediate and advanced. There are also bowling balls that are made just for kids. If you don’t want to buy your bowling ball, you can always rent or borrow one at the bowling alley.

Bowling Shoes

Another accessory required for bowing is bowling shoes. Bowling shoes are unlike any other type of shoe, and each shoe has its own purpose: one bowling shoe is made to improve sliding, and the other bowling shoe helps you brake. You can rent or borrow bowling shoes from the bowling alley, but don’t forget to ask for the correct size. You don’t want your bowling shoes to be too roomy or too tight. You won’t be able to bowl very well if your bowling shoes don’t fit.

Bowling Shirts

Bowling shirts are a popular accessory and can improve comfort while you bowl. Professional bowlers wear special bowling shirts that have collars. You don’t need a professional quality bowling shirt to play a leisurely game of bowling, but it is important that you wear something comfortable. Any shirt with a collar should work fine, as long as you can move freely and it doesn’t distract your from your game.

Bowling Gloves

Many bowlers like to wear bowling gloves because they help them get a better grip on the bowling ball. Having a nice secure grip on the ball can help improve both your accuracy and power, so you may want to consider wearing bowling gloves. They also help support your wrist, providing a nice and smooth delivery.

Bowling Towels

A bowling towel is handy to have around to wipe any oily residue from your bowling ball. You can use a regular towel or purchase a special bowling towel that you will find at the pro shop in the bowling alley.

Other accessories you might want to look into include bowling bags and bowling ball cleaners or polishers. For personal use, you may want to have your own face towels or wristbands. These types of accessories are not required, but can be a personal preference for many bowlers.

For more bowling tips, including bowling rules and how to calculate your bowling score, visit The Bowling Coach.