A Major Article May Discover You – by: Dennis Walsh

Once you’ve been around the block a few times and tasted what success sounds and feels like, you’ll want to record your own CD. People are drawn to make recordings for many different reasons. Sometimes it’s to advance (or start) a career. Sometimes it’s to give life to new songs or share the music with a wider audience. On a personal level, it can be a memorable creative experience.

Choosing what to record is not the same as selecting music to perform on stage. Your stage how is as much a matter of style and taste as it is image and direction. Concerts are about entertainment and exposing your music. It’s about rapport and applause, giving and taking; building an audience you hope will one day become a following. Concerts promote your music.

Recording is different. A CD is a musical painting. Without the visual benefit of live performance, it comes to matters of hearing and listening. Technology makes it possible to record and market your music at an affordable cost especially if you decide to self-produce your recordings. That can work, up to a point. The production process and studio you select must live up to your expectations and those of your fans.

I’ve had more than a few recording experiences. My first encounter was with a jazz-blues-rock group called Celebration. We couldn’t afford to record but we were writing original material and our fans were asking us to record. In desperation I suppose – better to do something than nothing – we set up a two track recording system in an old church. The acoustics were incredible and the atmosphere was terrific. Looking back, we looking for and expecting a miracle. We were finished in a few hours. Delivering the master tape to an independent record pressing factory, a month later, we sold out the first 500 copies overnight. The sound was awful but somehow we managed to capture the spirit and intent of the band. There wasn’t a single complaint. Still, for obvious reasons, we didn’t make any more copies.

It’s a commonly held belief that all you need is a computer with a sound card and a ‘multimedia microphone’ to record at home. In a sense that’s true. A home studio can be as simple as a cassette deck and an inexpensive microphone set up in the corner of your basement. Roland, Korg and Yamaha offer all-in-one combination digital mixer/hard disk recorder/effects units that are as close to a true ’studio-in-a-box’ as you can get. You may not be entirely satisfied with the results any more than we were with Celebrations first effort..

Moving up in the world, a few years later we recorded at the old Masters Workshop studio on a four track. The sound was a little better. The difference was that I had few expectations. The recording was a demo to be played for a Capitol records A & R man. The quality didn’t have to be there or so I thought. Regrettably, I was wrong. He failed to be impressed by what he considered to be an unprofessional effort. The session was over in thirty seconds; a missed opportunity to impress someone who could have done wonders in launching my career.

There were other experiences and good lessons learned. Don’t expect too much from a home recording. If you want a professional CD good enough to get radio air play or to sell in stores, you’re probably better off making a professional studio recording. The only problem with that is studio time is expensive, unless you have money to burn, you’re going to have to live with the final recording for a long time. It’s a tough decision to make; certainly food for thought.

On a bad day you can’t see the stars. Clouds cover the sun. The air is tough to breathe. Everything seems to go wrong. Nothing feels right. You’ll need all the help you can get. You’ve got nothing to lose. You’ll be ready to try anything. The hottest new Britney Spears recording will sell off the shelf in no time flat. You won’t find it that easy. Music industry dumpsters are filled to overflowing with music that failed to sell. You’ll take what you can get; even a recording contract if it might give you the chance of getting anywhere.

On a good day, the birds sing. The flowers bloom. Everything seems right. It’s a joy to be alive. Nothing can harm you. You’re strong and bold and beautiful. You believe in yourself and know without a doubt that you can’t lose. You’ll do your best to go it alone.

Mass merchandising is a fools game. Sometimes it seems that the only ones who make any money are retailers. Even they make very little in spite of high volume of cash and merchandise changing hands. There are no shortcuts. You’ll need to sell your CD one at a time. If you’re like me, you live in a real world with real problems and real opportunities; a world that doesn’t care. Whether you succeed or fail is of no consequence to anyone but you. Today is the first day of the rest of your life. Only you can decide what kind of day you’re going to have.

As your market grows geographically, covering more and more territory, you’ll find more than a few independent music and book stores will sell your CD. It will get a little easier all the time. Who knows, maybe some day a major label will discover you and make a offer you can’t refuse to record the music you’ve been playing all along.

Dennis Walsh

About The Author Dennis Walsh Publisher of Progress of Music a popular music magazine, Dennis Walsh is a music specialist in journalism and marketing. He is a media expert in advertising and retail merchandising developing music marketing campaigns for corporate entrepreneurs. Through Music Enterprise, Dennis enjoys giving emerging artists a head start in the music business. You can read all of his articles through the Progress of Music at http://www/progressofmusic.com/articles.htm. All articles by Dennis Walsh are generally available for reprint at no charge provided the “Bio” resource box remains intact. Please make the above link to the Progress of Music articles (index) clickable. progressofmusic@hotmail.com

A Network Of Web Sites Is Not Enough! – by: Martin Lemieux

The big thing these days is your ability to capture the market. So how do you do that?

Do you…

1) Use spam tactics?

2) Have a massive banner campaign?

3) Spends lots of money of PPC Advertising?

4) Build a huge web site?

5) Link to everyone in the world?

or do you…

6) Own a network of more than one web site? – Thinking that your network will help your search engine rankings since you can control your own link popularity!

#6 is starting to be the norm out there. Companies are just consuming a mass amount of domain names in order to increase their chances of being found online.

But does it really increase their chances? Let’s see…

Since recently, Google has been crawling through “DNS”information in order to sniff out who owns what. So for instance, if you own 20 web sites, google will find that out by the information you have on all the registered domains.

Given that you own these 20 web sites, doesn’t that give you the ability to create your own high page ranking, link popularity building campaign? Answer is yes, so what happens from that? Absolutely nothing. Nothing happens to increase your rankings I mean.

For instance, let’s say you are trying to build everything off of one mainly large web site of yours. Let’s also say that you intend to link to site #2 for this key phrase “Boosting Rankings”. You’ve done a lot of work to add that title and link pointing to site #2 on all of your pages within your one, main, larger site. Here’s what happens to your rankings for both of them.

It is known now that google has come up with this “Sandbox” effect. This is simply known as keeping an eye on certain network of web sites and the targeted key phrases they are after.

So your site #1 isn’t the target of this sandbox effect, it’s your smaller, networked web site that is. Instead of getting any type of rank for the phrase “Boosting Ranking”, this site is added to a pool of web sites that are doing the same thing. The catch is that this “pool” is nowhere to be found, unless you know how to look for it.

On the other hand, your main, large web site will now take over the ranking for “Boosting Ranking” and will probably do pretty good within a search!!!

So does owning a network really help you? NO, not unless you know how to better your “smaller”, network web sites so that they don’t get caught in this “Sandbox Effect”.

So how do you do that?

Simple, instead of relying on your network to boost your page ranking, outsource some of that strategy elsewhere. See, “Google” is only saying, if we don’t do this to your network, then it gives you the sole ability to control your search engine rankings for all your sites. We are merely stating that we know you have a network and worked really hard to build it but we also want you to promote other peoples sites as well.

It’s that simple. If you start today and keep building more links on other peoples web sites with your network, your entire network should see a big difference within 30 days of starting.

I hope this article helps you out!

About The Author Martin Lemieux Smartads – President Affordable Web Design & Web Advertising http://www.smartads.info / http://www.smartads.ca Eye Catching Print Design http://www.3dimentionaldesign.com Marketing Tools http://www.smartads.info/newsletter / http://www.thewebclinic.com

I Survived the Booze and Cruise: A Guide to Past Tense Instructions in the Bahamas – by: Dessus Aloinet

The only souvenir I still have from the Bahamas is an old “I survived the Booze and Cruise” t-shirt…and a few snorkeling rules forever etched in my memory. Back in college (as if I needed to say more), my boyfriend, his best friend, and I went on a cruise to the Bahamas. We, of course, did all the necessary research to know the attractions we wanted to see and have some familiarity with local customs…Yeah, right. We knew nothing and cared even less. We were going to the Bahamas on a cruise ship for about $200 a person! It was a deal where we had to listen to their time-share nonsense, but we were college students. We were pros at listening for hours on end about topics we had little to no interest in.

The three of us were wandering around Nassau discussing all that we wanted to do: snorkel, take a ride in a glass bottom boat, veg on the beach, drink something with an umbrella in it…That’s when a woman walked up to us to invite us on the Booze and Cruise. I assumed she wanted to braid my hair like everyone else, so I really didn’t even want to slow down. Instead, she said that she had a coupon for us to go on the Booze and Cruise for only $40 per person, and for that price, we would be riding in a glass bottom boat out to a private island with white, sandy beaches and stopping to snorkel along the way. That was most of what we wanted to do, and it was cheaper than doing things one at a time. Then, there was the kicker. All you can drink for free. SOLD!

We boarded the boat and started drinking like – well, like college students with no idea of their own mortality. We were ordering several drinks at a time, having a great time, but we were never going to be able to remember it. Eventually, our boat stopped to snorkel next to a reef. However, I literally have a shark phobia. Deciding to snorkel was a major step for me, but I was in the Bahamas, and I wasn’t going to go home with any regrets.

I stood on the edge of the boat, waiting for my snorkel gear, when the captain began to address us over the loud speaker. “If you plan to snorkel today, please do not have had any alcoholic drinks…” This would have been ideal information to share with me BEFORE you opened the bar. I put my mask on and began to adjust the mouthpiece anyway. Now my boyfriend was hardly the English major I was, but even he got a kick out of “please do not have had.” Past tense instructions. Greeeeeaaat. Then our brave captain addressed us again. “Also, please do not wear anything shiny or metallic in the water as it will attract barracudas, which are much more of a threat than sharks. You will look like a fishing lure.” I looked down at my – I kid you not – silver metallic bathing suit with a silver zipper from bottom to top, and I began wondering if the Lord might be telling me something. Thou shalt not swim with the sharks. Thou art wise to have thought before that mortals should not swim with large, powerful, man-eating fish with enormous teeth. Exactly what in the world was I supposed to do at this point? I am in the middle of the ocean. I can’t change clothes! How do these people function on past tense instructions?!? And barracudas? I wasn’t even afraid of them. Now I have a whole new fear. And did this man just say “shark” while we are out on the ocean? It’s one thing to utter such horrors in the living room of your land-locked home, but on the water?!? Shut up before one hears you, idiot! All of these thoughts were going through my mind as I stood there on the edge of the boat, fully clad in my snorkel gear…and apparent fishing lure accessories, as close as I might ever be conquering my fear. My boyfriend went in first, and his friend comforted me, encouraging me to join him. Then they both hummed the theme to Jaws, and then they would encourage me again. Someone should tell them in the future that they should not have done that that day; they could benefit from some past tense instruction.

I jumped in. I did it! I snorkeled! I didn’t even hyperventilate once. I saw beautiful fish and had an incredible time just being proud of myself. Not a barracuda or shark in sight. My boyfriend tried to hug me, because he was so proud, but I only held on for a second, because I wanted to look over here, over there, and over on the other side too. Suddenly I was Jacques Cousteau!

I think we were out there for about an hour. When we came back to the boat, we were all drying off, safe and sound. I was beaming and toasting my victory. I had moved from a serious buzz to a serious buzz while conquering a crippling phobia…to conquering the aforementioned phobia and becoming entirely too intoxicated to function.

The captain brought me an ice water. Impressing the Booze and Cruise captain with your level of intoxication is only cool while you are actually drunk. Once you try to sober up later – on a rocking cruise ship, mind you – you realize the feat is not impressive, but instead a fore horseman of the Apocalypse. But while I was still drunk, I brought a few more rounds over to the guys, and we sat down to talk about all of the things we saw out there. I think everyone on the boat knew exactly how happy I was. As I settled in to enjoy the ride back, basking in my glory and laughing at my stupid fear of being eaten alive in the ocean, a woman walked over to us and said, “Did you guys see that huge barracuda out there?”

About The Author Dessus Aloinet is the webmaster and operator of FYI Vacations, Inc. which is a premier source for information on vacations and cruises around the world. For more information please go to: http://www.fyivacations.com.

The Bottomless Notebook – by: Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ

Reading through a writer’s notebook or journal is like discovering pearls, rubies and diamonds amidst a pile of rubble.

That little notebook is a powerhouse of ideas for every writer: The more you write down bits and pieces of your thoughts and observations, the more you are adding into the well of ideas for future works.

Here are a few things you can record in your notebook or journal, so that in case you run out of ideas to write about, you can refer to it:

Your Shoeboxed Life: Write what you know, feel and experience. Jot down snippets of events in your life. Write a sentence or a paragraph about a funny, embarrassing, happy or infuriating experience.

The Interesting People. Scribble descriptions of people you meet every day. How do they react in certain situations? How do their names fit their image?

A Word a Day. Whenever an interesting word catches your attention, write it down. It may have a different meaning for you a month or a year from now. If you keep a list of words in your notebook, these words can serve as story starters for you.

Those Quotable Quotes. A meaningful quote can start you off to writing. Collect quotes you come across that interest you.

Ordinary People with their One-Liners. Overheard lines in a conversation can sometimes spark your creative mind. Write down these one-liners in your notebook. They can be great story starters.

Something You Read. Read good books. Keep a file of memorable lines or quotes. Write down quirky billboard ads. Scan the papers for one-liners. These are good idea stimulators.

Emotions. Describe what you feel at any given moment. If you feel angry right now, write what your anger feels like. Descriibe it. Use vivid words.

Writers are similar to store owners. Store owners stock their supplies in their shelves, while you stock ideas between the pages of your little writer’s notebook.

You can make your stock endless, bottomless. You can reach down again and again for inspiration without exhausting your notebook of reserve.

So start stocking your writer’s notebook today. A week from now, take a peek in it and you just might find something there that could connect your pen to paper.

About The Author Copyright (c) 2003-2004 Shery Ma Belle Arrieta-Russ Shery is the author of the book, WEEKLY WRITES: 52 Weeks of Writing Bliss! Grab a copy from Amazon.com and get free unlimited access to the WeeklyWrites.com Exclusive Members Area that features over $250 worth of goodies! http://weeklywrites.com

We All Wish That Our Children have Good Virtues, but… Are We Setting A Good Example Ourselves? – by: Samir Jhaveri

We all wish that our children should not smoke or drink, should not speak lies, should not steal, should not have a violent nature, etc… but are we setting a good example ourselves?

Just yesterday, I was at a friend’s place and his daughter came running up to us with her school calendar and asked him to put a remark for being absent for school. They had been to a close relative’s wedding and my friend merely wrote “Stomach Pain” and signed the calendar. Aren’t you indirectly teaching the child that it is OK to lie? I have seen so many parents protecting the guilt of their children by lying, I wonder what will happen to them when these children start lying to their parents themselves!

Smoking is a very bad habit and you must refrain from smoking, at least in front of children. When you smoke, your child watches your actions with great concentration and then even tries to imitate you. If you cannot leave the habit, go to the terrace / verandah and smoke. If you don’t have one, go for a walk and take your nicotine break there. If you have a spare room in your house, go there and remember to close / lock your door. So what if your child knows that you smoke? Don’t light up in front of him. If you are smoking and your child comes to you, extinguish your cigarette, even you have just started (even if you’re not a millionaire). Remember, passive smoking is just as dangerous to your child’s health. Don’t keep cigarettes lying around the house and always keep track of the number of cigarettes you have (even if you’re a millionaire). You don’t want your missing cigarettes found in your child’s schoolbag, do you? Remember one thing in your life – never ever ask your child to buy cigarettes for you, if you run out of them. If you do, be rest assured that your child will smoke, some day. You are exposing him to all the varieties of cigarettes, the touch, feel and smell of it, the cigarette vendor’s marketing skills and the other smokers. If your children ask you about your smoking habit, don’t lie. Tell them you do smoke and have accidently caught the habit. Don’t give a reason for smoking (like you are stressed, etc) as some day you will get a similar reason from him. Also tell him that you are trying to quit and genuinely give it a try. Get an anti-smoking screensaver and install it on your PC. You can get them free if you search on Google.com. Wouldn’t your children be happier if you lived a little longer?

The same goes for drinking. One important thing to remember – never get drunk in front of your children. If you are not in your senses, you could speak or do something that you shouldn’t, in front of your children. You can even cause physical or mental harm. If you MUST get drunk, go to a bar or confine yourself to a locked room. If your spouse is around, the better.

Don’t use foul language in front of children. As I mentioned earlier, children try to imitate you. If you come across a reckless driver and let off steam be careful with your words. Your child is listening. Never ever use foul language with your spouse and don’t abuse him / her, at least not in front of your children. I know, we all have our problems and married life (or any other life) isn’t a bed of roses. But try to confine your fights to your bedroom and control the decibel level unless you have a totally soundproof room. I have heard 3 year old children speaking the filthiest language, even if they probably don’t know what they’re speaking!

Never ever let go a child who stole something. Now, I’m not saying that if you found out that your child is stealing, jump on him or give him a tight slap. Don’t even humiliate him with shame. But sternly explain him that this is not right and make it crystal clear that it is not permitted. If he has stolen from a store, go back with him and make him return the item. If it is from school, make him return it to the teacher to avoid him from public shame. Explain to the teacher that you will be keeping an eye on him from repetition of the act. Follow your promise religiously and keep a check on his possessions within his schoolbag, his cupboard, etc. Is there something he possesses that is not bought by you? If so, be firm in knowing from where he got it from and insist on returning it. Don’t accept lies too easily, its as if you’re condoning the theft. Also remember, don’t keep money lying around the house even if you have money to burn. Make him understand the value of money. Maintain a limit on pocket money and encourage him to save. It is also time to think if the child needs more affection and attention at home and a watch over his company. If all attempts fail, approach a child psychiatrist.

Television, movies, games and comics also play a vital role in the psychology of the child. If he watches a lot of brutality, he may tend to act it out. Limit the time and type of programs he watches. Encourage him to watch productive programs suitable to his age. Although I don’t watch television often, recently I have been watching some serials and was quite surprised that most of them were centered around scheming women with criminal minds. A very important thing you should do is be with your child when watching television. If there is a scene which you shouldn’t want your child to see, distract him by asking him some question like “is your home work complete” and when he is looking at you, change the channel. If he insists to watch it, firmly tell him that it is not right for his age.

About The Author Samir Jhaveri is the Head Marketing Director of http://www.Malamaal.com, a colossal estore that sells niche branded ebooks, softwares, website templates, scripts, recipes, etc, at phenomenal discounts. Most products also carry Resell Rights, so that you can resell the products and make profit. He also has a web hosting business with a record of 99.99 % Uptime across all servers and an excellent Customer friendly Support team.

Civil War Uniforms: 9 Universal Tips on HOW TO Choose Accurate yet Inexpensive Buttons – by: Paula and Coach McCoach

1. Get yourself some good buttons. Stay away from plastic and modern buttons. Go with glass, bone, shell, metal, porcelain, 2-hole cat’s eye or Mother of Pearl.

2. Metal buttons are authentic but they have the potential to rust and stain your fabric. Some of the sutlers that sell fabric and sewing items have buttons. Or I have a ton of buttons I might be talked into parting with. Email me at coach@civilwaruniforms.net or visit http://www.civilwaruniforms.net

3. Variety of period buttons including Goodyear and natural substances. Many of these buttons are good for vests.

4. Buttons can also be found at flea markets, antique stores, in old button baskets, tins or jars. Frequently, you can buy a whole jar of buttons for $3 – check out the buttons in it, and if you find a substantial amount of antique buttons, it certainly is worth it.

5. Sometimes the jar is as valuable as the buttons! I have found jars full of buttons with a hundred dollar button in it. Small items like buttons can make a huge difference and increase the value of your shirt, jacket, pants, etc.

6. Try to get all brass buttons not plated. Waterbury is good. Original buttons are a bit pricey but not out of the question. If you are getting the U.S. Eagle buttons, sutlers have them.

7. Stay away from the ones that are plated. I personally just use coin buttons. If you are doing a state regiment, you may want to go with state seal buttons, but I feel that limits your impression.

8. “I” buttons are good for a generic look. For late war buttons, you can use go the Tate Script “I” which were coming in later in the war.

9. U.S. buttons can go both ways: U.S. or Confederate. It would not be unusual to see an Eagle button on a Confederate uniform.

By Paula and Coach McCoach http://www.civilwaruniforms.net

About The Author Paula and Coach McCoach Coach McCoach invites you to subscribe to the Civil War Uniform News where you will receive information weekly on every possible Civil War Uniform item! These tips will help you have an accurate impression and save tons of time and money in the process! You do not have to spend a lot of money to have a good impression, and Civil War Uniforms will show you how! You will also receive a free uniforms course for subscribing. Click on this link to subscribe – http://www.civilwaruniforms.net If you need the information about Civil War Uniforms NOW, go to http://www.civilwaruniforms.net and purchase a Civil War Uniforms Course.

Would You Rather Be Wealthy? – by: Rhoberta Shaler, PhD

Would you rather be wealthy or poverty-stricken? Not a difficult question to answer, is it? How do you think your thoughts impact on your financial state?

Just as the earth contains in its depths great riches–oil, diamonds, gold, uranium, silver, gas and countless other things–you also have the real riches of life deep within you. Your innate intelligence and your willingness to use your mind are precious. Begin mining within!

There is a great story about a poor miner in Scotland who was often unable to even provide shoes for his children. His young son came to him and told him that he wanted to be a surgeon. His father asked him why he wanted that career and he said that a friend at school had had cataracts. An eye surgeon had operated on his friend and now he could see perfectly. The young boy said that he wanted to be able to help people in that same way.

The father told his son that he had saved $8,000 for his education but would prefer that he worked his way through medical school and then use that money to set himself up in a medical practice in a fine neighborhood. The boy did so. He worked nights and weekends and finally graduated. He wanted to live up to his promise to his father and not touch the money in the bank until he graduated.

When he graduated, his father told him that there really was no money in the bank. The new surgeon was completely at a loss for words for a few minutes. Then both he and his father burst out laughing. The son realized that his father had really engendered the feeling of wealth in his son and it had given him the courage, faith and confidence to believe in his ability to earn his way through medical school.

The secret of success, accomplishment, achievement and fulfillment of your goals lies in the discovery of the amazing power of your thoughts and feelings. You must come to a clear-cut decision that you intend to be successful. Impress your subconscious with love, confidence, right action, abundance, security and good humor and it will always be there for you to “mine”! What you think and keep in mind, you will create.

REMEMBER, WHAT YOU PAY ATTENTION TO EXPANDS!

About The Author Rhoberta Shaler, PhD, speaks, coaches & conducts seminars for organizations who want to motivate their people, and for individuals who want to achieve their dreams. For further articles, free ezines, upcoming teleseminars and booking information, visit http://www.OptimizeLifeNow.com today. For permission to reprint this article, please contact mailto:Jane@OptimizeLifeNow.com RS@OptimizeLifeNow.com

Single in a Couples’ World – by: Thelma Mariano

Advertising for St. Valentine’s Day seemed more relentless than ever this year. Everywhere I turned, I saw candy hearts or jewelry glistening in store displays. Radio announcers drummed the message home through constant promotions of dinner for two. There was no one “special” in my life. I had been working hard on my home-based business, running two personal development programs and then writing well into the night, week after week, to expand my website content. I wanted – and felt I deserved –a little appreciation.

So for the first time I did the unthinkable. At a flower shop, I ordered an exquisite arrangement of orchids and lilies for myself. I also purchased a box of chocolates to share with friends.

The flowers still brighten my kitchen table and lift my spirits.

The media tries to convince us that being part of a couple is the ideal. If that were true, why do half of all marriages, particularly in the West, end in divorce? Why do so many relationships stagnate and prevent us from being ourselves, from growing?

Many people stay together because they fear growing old alone. I admit that I have been there, too – unhappy in my marriage but afraid to leave. Paradoxically that was the loneliest period of my life. There was a serious lack of communication; below the “respectable” surface of couplehood, I lived in quiet misery.

>From images of successful couples in the media to dinner parties, society is always pushing us to “pair up.” However, many of us experience protracted periods in our lives where we do not have a partner, times when we need to heal and/or discover and develop ourselves. Singlehood should be seen as a viable option.

I have been single for over 15 years. If no friends are available, I go to a movie or a restaurant alone without feeling “strange.” I see others, too, coming on their own. For years now, I book a flight south and take a solo vacation, packing a few books along with my swimsuit and shorts. I am convinced that people find it easier to approach me as a single; I have never lacked for company either on the beach or while traveling.

Though I never elected to “be” single, I have grown in ways that would not have been possible had I remained in a relationship. This lifestyle has allowed me to develop the self-confidence to take on new challenges and lead a truly fulfilling life.

Here are some distinct advantages to being single:

· Stronger friendships

Living with another person can make you lazy about reaching out to others. Also, couples tend to socialize with other couples. As a single, you can develop satisfying friendships with people of all ages, social classes and backgrounds. Among my friends are a 77-year-old poet, a 28-year-old abstract painter, a single mother and a married creative director.

· Time to invest in yourself

As a single, you have more time to take courses, develop interests and hobbies or train for a new career. You can also heal past wounds and work on personal growth. Being single is a unique opportunity to explore who you are and what is important to you. Also, when there is no partner to lean on, you become more resourceful and proactive. The boost in self-confidence in one area of your life will extend to other areas as well

. Your choices – your life

To me, the greatest advantage of being single can be summed up in one word – freedom! You choose your own friends and see them as often as you like. On the home front, if you decide to paint your walls purple or buy a striped velvet couch, no one else will object. You are at liberty to come and go as you like, to eat when you’re truly hungry, or to play music in the dark.

To build a rewarding life as a single, you need to feel complete on your own. It is also important to take responsibility for your life – pursue supportive and stimulating friendships and develop your interests. Too many people live in a holding pattern, unmotivated to take proper care of themselves or their surroundings because they haven’t met a suitable partner. This is such a waste of time and opportunity!

One way to better appreciate your singlehood is to list the benefits you derive from this lifestyle. This is easier to do when you have been in an unfulfilling relationship and have seen the down side. Maybe your partner was a night owl, but you prefer getting up at the crack of dawn. Remember all the compromises you had to make – and be thankful for the choices you now have.

A number of singles are joining forces against the “tyranny of coupledom.” One such organization can be found at http://www.quirkyalone.net. Quirkyalones describe themselves as independent thinkers who want to live full lives rather than accept unsatisfying relationships. They believe in love, they just don’t want to settle!

I, too, refuse to settle. I know what I want in a potential partner and trust that he will appreciate all that I have become. Finding happiness as a single does not prevent me from leaving a corner of my heart open just for him.

About The Author Thelma Mariano, life coach and author, is dedicated to bringing clarity and direction to people’s lives. See her on-line coaching programs, articles and column at http://www.u-unlimited.ca. thelma@u-unlimited.ca

Colorectal Cancer – Preventable, Curable And Beatable – by: News Canada

(NC)-March is National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month, and to ensure Canadians have the necessary information to make informed decisions and choices about their colon health, frequently asked questions are answered below.

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer for both men and women in this country, and in 2002 more than 17,000 individuals were diagnosed with the disease. Don’t wait. If you think you are at risk for colorectal cancer, talk to your health care professional now. Early detection and treatment could save your life or the life of a loved one.

1. What is colorectal cancer?

Colorectal cancer begins in the cells of the colon or the rectum. Both the colon and the rectum are muscular tubes lined with glandular cells. The majority of colorectal cancers start in the glandular cells. The colon (known as the large bowel or intestine) joins the small intestine to the rectum. Cancer of the small intestine is very rare, so when you hear someone talk about bowel cancer, they usually mean colorectal cancer.

2. What causes colorectal cancer?

There is no single cause of colorectal cancer, but some factors appear to increase the risk of developing it, including:

• Age (men and women) – particularly after 50
• Polyps – small growths on the inner wall of the colon and rectum
• Family history of colorectal cancer, benign colorectal polyps, inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease), or breast, ovarian or endometrial cancer
• Diet
• Obesity
• Lack of exercise
• Diabetes
• Heavy alcohol consumption
• Smoking

3. What are the symptoms of colorectal cancer?

Colorectal cancer is often referred to as the “silent killer” as there are usually no warning signs or symptoms, especially in its early stages.

Having the following symptoms does not mean that you actually have colorectal cancer, and in fact they could be caused by other problems. You need to talk to your doctor to be sure.

• Blood in or on the stool (either bright red or very dark in colour)
• A persistent change in normal bowel habits such as diarrhea, constipation or both for no apparent reason
• Frequent or constant cramps, if they last for more than a few days
• Stools that are narrower than usual
• General stomach discomfort (bloating, fullness and/or cramps)
• Frequent gas pains
• Strong or continuing need to move your bowels, but with little stool
• Feeling that the bowel does not empty completely
• Weight loss for no apparent reason
• Nausea and vomiting
• Constant tiredness

4. How is colorectal cancer diagnosed?

After completing a physical examination (including a rectal exam) and discussing your overall health with you, your doctor may suspect colorectal cancer. A fecal occult blood test (FOBT) may also be taken to determine if there is blood in your stool. In addition, the FOBT test will show your doctor if there is bleeding in your colon. Bleeding may come from polyps.

Other tests to confirm colorectal cancer include a colonoscopy, a type of telescope that is used to examine the inside of the colon, a sigmoidoscopy, a test used to view the inside lining of the rectum and a part of the colon, or a barium enema which uses an x-ray to look at the colon.

5. When should you get screened for colorectal cancer?

The Canadian Cancer Society recommends that men and women 50 and older have a fecal occult blood test at least every two years. Individuals who fall into one of the high risk groups are those with a personal or family medical history of colorectal cancer, benign polyps, inflammatory bowel disease or breast, ovarian or endometiral cancer. These individuals should talk to their doctor about earlier screening.

6. Why is screening for colorectal cancer important?

Screening tests for colorectal cancer can save lives. It is treatable and often curable when detected early. In addition, testing will help to identify the grade of your cancer cells and what treatment action is required.

7. What treatment options are available for colorectal cancer?

Treatment for colorectal cancer depends mostly on the size, location, and extent of the tumor, as well as a person’s overall health. Surgery to remove the tumor and radiation is the most common treatment in the earlier stages of the disease. Chemotherapy treatments such as Camptosar® are used in the later stages when the cancer has spread to other areas of the body.

Other chemotherapy treatments approved in Canada to fight cancers of the colon and rectum that have spread to other areas of the body include Xeloda® and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU).

8. Where can I get more information on colorectal cancer?

For more information about this disease, visit the Canadian Cancer Society web site at www.cancer.ca or call toll free at 1-888-939-3333. Other resources include the Colorectal Cancer Association of Canada web site at www.ccac-accc.ca or The National Colorectal Cancer Campaign at www.coloncancercanada.ca.

About The Author News Canada provides a wide selection of current, ready-to-use copyright free news stories and ideas for Television, Print, Radio, and the Web. News Canada is a niche service in public relations, offering access to print, radio, television, and now the Internet media, with ready-to-use, editorial “fill” items. Monitoring and analysis are two more of our primary services. The service supplies access to the national media for marketers in the private, the public, and the not-for-profit sectors. Your corporate and product news, consumer tips and information are packaged in a variety of ready-to-use formats and are made available to every Canadian media organization including weekly and daily newspapers, cable and commercial television stations, radio stations, as well as the Web sites Canadians visit most often. Visit News Canada and learn more about the NC services.

Unlimited Wealth Creation Through Reseller Hosting – by: Ninad Gupte

P>Web hosting can be an exciting business start up for aspiring entrepreneurs. All you have to do to set up your business is become a hosting reseller, i.e., provide hosting facilities to website owners. Here as a business owner, you are buying space from a big hosting company, and redistributing the hosting space to other website owners.

Resellers are nothing but entrepreneurs acting as middlemen, offering you hosting services by leasing time and space from another Web host’s server rather than owning their own. Most of the times, the quality of services offered by resellers are so good that consumers do not even have the idea that they are dealing with resellers who do not have servers of their own. Resellers, since they can pick and choose their servers, are basically in a position to provide the customers with the best of services.

Reseller hosting business can be quite a profit making venture once you understand the figures and profit margins involved. Let us go through them. One can buy around 1000 MB space from a major web host at a cost of $25 per month. This 1000 MB space that you now own can in turn be redistributed to site owners who need space for uploading their site. Here you can give about 25 MB space for around $5 per month. Which means your monthly income comes to around $200 when you sell 40 hosting packages. Want more. some hosts allow you to oversell the space and do not charge you extra unless the actual usage of your account exceeds 1000MB. It is seen that a typical user uses less than half of the allotted web space. which means you can double or even triple sell your quota and make unlimited wealth.

And mind well, this income is residual income. It will keep coming to you month after month, year after year. You do the work once. and get paid for it over and over. All you are doing is buying space from a major web hosting company and becoming a reseller host. Your efforts are focused towards selling hosting space and the rest is handled by your web host. Some of them even handle customer service to your customers for a nominal fee. which makes it even easier for you.

If this is not enough. you can earn additional residual incomes by adding recruiting more resellers through you. By doing this you will earn regular commissions on their monthly sales. isn’t this smart business. The profit margins in the business of reseller hosting is quite good and you can start on this exciting business venture even if you do not have the required expertise and access to funds for setting up the required infrastructure. Strange as it might sound, there are also times where a reseller can also be more scalable than a typical hosting firm. A true Web host is limited by its hardware; if a client suddenly requires an upgrade the host is not prepared for, the only way the host will be able to satisfy the customer is by upgrading its hardware – expensive and time consuming for both sides. The reseller host, however, can simply choose to locate with a different Web host that will better suit the customer’s needs.

Happy Wealth Creation!!!

About The Author Ninad Gupte is the Founder, CEO of www.linuxresellerhosting.com. He has trained as an Electronics Engineer from Mumbai University, and has a Diploma in Advanced Computing from CDAC. He has served as the Director ¬Technologies in Webmoney India Pvt. Ltd. He has executed several turnkey B2B Web application projects like House layouts, Maharashtra State Electricity Board and portals & sites like McDonalds India, Air France and RPG Raychem. To take his dreams forward of forming a technology oriented diversified company, Interpole Solutions was formed in March 2001. The company was setup with a strong base of skills and a deep understanding of technologies mastered by Ninad. He can be contacted at ninad@linuxresellerhosting.com or at 91-22-2436 4111 and 91-22-2436 4112.