Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance

The Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance was created by the 28 districts in Orange County in 2003. The primary goal of the Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance is to meet the need for a countywide system that can focus on special education. This includes offering staff development and training to school employees, creating leadership in advocating for legislative and administrative change, overseeing the decisions and rulings rendered by administrative agencies, offering a way to fund the litigation and appeals of administrative and judicial decisions and rulings especially when the outcome has a countywide significance or precedent setting in its implications for all students.

The Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance was created with the intention of addressing all the concerns of all students regardless of if the student has any manner disability. Any student that is not receiving the full services they need changed because of lack of funding to support mandates created under the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The main problem that Orange County Schools faces with meeting this federal mandate is drawing funds from the regular education program. Funds are often taken from the regular education program to support the needs of special education students. Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance aims to provide the services all students need to be successful in meeting academic standards.

Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance plans to accomplish this goal by providing staff development to its practitioners, use the legislative process to seek adequate funding to provide these high quality services, and when necessary, support litigation to achieve these goals. Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance also encourages staff members, parents, advocates and organizations to get involved by using their voices and contact the local officials and hold them accountable for promises and mandates for which regular education and special needs children are entitled.

Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance is lead by an Executive Committee that is composed of Superintendents from different school districts across Orange County. The actual carrying out of the goals is the responsibility of the Review Committee. The Review Committee is comprised of five Superintendents regionally nominated, Orange County Schools legal counsel, two private attorneys representing school districts in special education matters, two SELPA directors, and one business administrator. The Review Committee has been working hard for the past two years in order to try and meet the goals of the Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance. Even though the focus of the Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance is in the areas of legal and funding, it tries hard to work closely with teachers and staff members so that its members are informed about the needs of the schools at root levels.

Since the Orange County Schools Special Education Alliance was created it has accomplish a great deal to meet the needs of the school districts across Orange County.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information on Orange County schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/california/orange-county/index.html.Anallese Blog19245
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Glossary Of Terms (S - Z) - CCTV

S/N RATIO
Signal-to-Noise ratio is calculated with the logarithm of the normal signal and the noise RMS value.

SCENE ILLUMINATION
The average light level incident upon a protected area. Normally measured for the visible spectrum with a light meter having a spectral response corresponding closely to that of the human eye and is quoted in lux. Scotopic Vision levels are illumination levels below 10-2 lux, thus invisible to the human eye. Silicon. The raw material of which modern semiconductor devices are made.

SIMPLEX
In general, it refers to a communications system that can transmit information in one direction only. In CCTV, simplex is used to describe a method of multiplexer operation where only one function can be performed at a time, eg. either recording or playback individually.

SKIN EFFECT
The tendency of alternating current to travel only on the surface of a conductor as its frequency increases.

SLOW SCAN
The transmission of a series of frozen images by means of analog or digital signals over limited bandwidth media, usually telephone.

SMEAR
An unwanted side effect of vertical charge transfer in a CCD chip. It shows vertical bright stripes in places of the image where there are very bright areas. In better cameras smear is minimised to almost undetectable levels.

SMPTE
Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. Spectrum analyser. An electronic device that can
show the spectrum of an electric signal.

SPECTRUM
In Electromagnetics, spectrum refers to the description of a signals amplitude versus its frequency components. In optics, spectrum refers to the light frequencies composing the "white light" which can be seen as rainbow colours.

SPG
Stands for Sync Pulse Generator. A source of synchronisation pulses.

SPLIT SCREEN UNIT
(Quad compressor). Equipment which simultaneously displays parts or more than one image on a single monitor. It usually refers to four quadrants display.

S-VHS
Super VHS format of video recording. A newer standard proposed by JVC, preserving the downward compatibility with the VHS format. It offers much better horizontal resolution up to 400 TV lines. This is mainly due to the colour separation techniques, high quality video heads and better tapes. Sync. This is short from synchronisation pulse.

TBC
Time Base Correction. Refers to the synchronisation of various signals inside a device such as a multiplexer or a TBC Corrector.

TDG
Short for time and date generator.

TELEMETRY
Remote controlling system of, usually, digital encoded data, intended to control pan, tilt, zoom, focus, preset positions, wash, wipe and similar. Being digital, it is usually sent via twisted pair cable, or coaxial cable together with the video signal.

TERMINATION
This usually refers to the physical act of terminating a cable with a special connector, which for coaxial cable is, usually, BNC. For fibre optic cable this is the ST connector. It can also refer to the impedance matching when electrical transmission is in use. This is especially important for high frequency signals, such as the video signal, where the characteristic impedance is accepted to be 75 Ohms.

TIME LAPSE VCR
(TL VCR). A video recorder, most often in VHS format, that can prolong the video recording on a single tape up to 960 hours (this refers to a 180 min tape). This type of VCRs are very often used in CCTV systems. The principle of operation is very simple - instead of having the video tape travel at a constant speed of 2.275 cm/s (which is the case with the domestic models of VHS VCRs), it moves with discrete steps which can be controlled. Time Lapse VCRs have a number of other special functions very useful in CCTV, such as external alarm trigger, time and date superimposed on the video signal, alarm search and so on.

TIME LAPSE VIDEO RECORDING
The intermittent recording of video signals at intervals to extend the recording time of the recording medium. It is usually measured in reference to a 3 hr (180 min) tape.

TIME MULTIPLEXING
The technique of recording several cameras onto, usually, one time lapse VCR by sequentially sending camera pictures with a timed interval delay to match the time lapse mode selected on the recorder.

UHF SIGNAL
Ultra high frequency signal. In television it is defined to belong in the radio spectrum between 470 MHz and 850 MHz. Unbalanced signal. In CCTV, this refers to a type of video signal transmission through a coaxial cable. It is called unbalanced because the signal travels through the centre core only, while the cable shield is used for equating the two voltage potentials between the coaxial cable ends.

UPS
Uninterruptible power supply. These are power supplies used in the majority of high security systems, whose purpose is to back-up the system for at least 10 minutes without mains power. The duration of this depends on the size of the UPS, usually expressed in VA, and the current consumption of the system itself.

VDA
Video Distribution Amplifier. A device that provides multiple outputs from one video signal such that interference to one output will not affect others.

VERTICAL SHIFT REGISTER
The mechanism in CCD technology whereby charge is read out from the photo sensors of an Interline Transfer or Frame Interline Transfer sensor.

VHF
Stands for Very High Frequency. A signal encompassing frequencies between 30 and 300 MHz. In television, VHF Band I uses frequencies between 45 MHz and 67 MHz, and between 180 MHz and 215 MHz for Band III. Band II is reserved for FM radio from 88 MHz to 108 MHz.

VHS
Stands for Video Home System, as proposed by JVC, a video recording format that is most often used in homes, but also in CCTV. It has its own limitations due to the concept itself, the speed of recording, the magnetic tapes used and the colour separation technique. Most of the CCTV equipment today supersedes VHS resolution.

VIDEO EQUALISATION CORRECTOR
(Video Equaliser). A device which corrects for unequal frequency losses and/or phase errors in the transmission of a video signal. Video frame store. A device which enables digital storage of one or more images for steady display on a video monitor.

VIDEO IN-LINE AMPLIFIER
A device providing amplification of a video signal.

VIDEO MATRIX SWITCHER
(VMS). A device for switching more than one camera, VCR, video printer and similar, to more than one monitor, VCR, video printer and similar. Much more complex and more powerful than video switchers.

VIDEO MONITOR
A device for converting a video signal into an image.

VIDEO MONITOR
A device for converting a video signal into an image.

VIDEO PRINTER
A device for converting a video signal to a hard copy printout. It could be a monochrome (B/W) or colour. They come in different format sizes. Special paper is needed.

VIDEO SIGNAL
An electrical signal containing all of the elements of the image produced by a camera or any other source of video information.

VIDEO SWITCHER
A device for switching more than one camera to one or more monitors manually, automatically or upon receipt of an alarm condition.

VITS
Video Insertion Test Signals. Special shaped electronic signals inserted in the "invisible" lines (in the case of PAL, lines 17, 18, 330 and 331) that are used to determine the quality of reception.

VLF
Very Low Frequency. Refers to the frequencies in the band between 10 and 30 kHz.

Instrom Limited is an independent security consultancy set-up in 1998 to provide a range of impartial security consultancy services to commerce, industry and the public sector. http://www.instrom.com.Audi Blog6530
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Wedding & Anniversary Grooming Tips for Men

Whether youre the main attraction (groom) or a trusty sidekick (groomsmen), wedding days call for men to look their best. And even if your wedding is a thing of the past, youve always got anniversaries to deal with. Here are some mens grooming tips to handle both the wedding and everything that comes after (or any formal event you are invited to).

Grooming Tips for Men

* Looking good takes some work and time, so begin a basic skin care routine of cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing early to get the greatest results. Once a day (or twice if you have oily skin), wash with a liquid cleanser to remove debris and clear pores. Follow with a high-performance moisturizing product to keep skin smooth, hydrated and looking great. Two to three times a week, exfoliate with a face scrub to remove dead skin cells and improve skins surface.

* If youve never spent time on a skin care routine before, consider purchasing a kit that contains all of the products you will need to get started. It takes the guesswork out of figuring out what products to use for what (and can make excellent groomsmen gifts, too!).

* Treat individual problems, such as under-eye circles, fine lines and acne, with products specifically formulated for them.

* For superior shaving without irritations like ingrown hairs, use products that are gentle and dont contain irritants such as fragrance, menthol or alcohol. Avoid foamy products, as these do not lubricate skin adequately. Change your blade after 4-5 uses to keep from going over the same place more than once due to a dull blade. If possible, shave in the shower as the steamy air will open pores and allow hairs to be shaved closely.

* For super-smooth shaving the day of the big event, skip shaving the day before and then shave in two steps: First, shave with the grain with very light pressure. Second, reapply a thin coat of shaving cream and shave against the grain for smooth results.

* Regularly wash your hair with a gentle shampoo that will remove dirt without stripping away natural moisturizers. Make sure to get a haircut or trim a few days before the wedding or anniversary, but dont opt for a new style the day before since this could turn out to be a disaster.

* Nails & Hands: With all the hand-shaking and hand-holding going on, its a good idea to make sure nails are clean and trim, and hands are moisturized and free of grime. Why not splurge for a manicure? More and more men, from businessmen to movies stars, are getting them these days, and trust us: Sparkly polish will not be involved.

* Wedding and event planning begins months, and sometimes years, ahead of time, so take advantage of the wait by getting fit with a nutritious diet and a regular exercise routine.

* Dont stink up the place: Make sure to wear deodorant. Keep breath mints handy for those slow dances.

* Some wedding experts recommend men skip cologne at weddings, citing the fact that there will already be a lot of perfume in the air, as well as scent from the flowers. If you choose to wear cologne, keep the scent light and the application to a minimum.

* For anniversaries, gifts dont have to be elaborate or expensive. Plan a getaway weekend somewhere, even if its only two towns away. Book a spa appointment for the two of you and spend a day relaxing. Or instead of an expensive dinner, try revisiting a place you ate at when you first started going out, or a place you two have always wanted to try. The point is to celebrate your marriage any way you see fit.

Deidra Garcia is a freelance writer and communications manager for MenScience Androceuticals, a men's skincare and grooming company. You can find more articles by Deidra, as well as further tips and advice, at http://www.MenScience.com. Aurel Blog20615
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Make A Statement By Adding Stylish Custom Wood Blinds

Window or door wooden blinds are an integral part of decoration in any office or house. Many interior designers use customized wood blinds prepared of wood or some other blinds which showcase a wood-like appearance to create an air of relaxation and comfort. Also, wood comes first in the priority list f those who wish to decorate their office or home.

These blinds create an inviting air in and around the room where they are used. They also enhance the beauty of the other furniture present in the room. In addition to these, they also give privacy to your family as well as you.

You can always select a customized wood blind to enhance the interior decoration of your place. Its rest assured that such blinds would not only increase the beauty of your place manifolds but it will also create a very comfortable atmosphere.

Maintenance of wood blinds is much easier as compared to other kind of blinds. You can clean and maintain them easily without putting in a lot of effort. All that you would need is a wood cleaner and a piece of dry cloth in order to clean and make the blinds tidy.

In case the blinds on your doors as well as windows are in tune with the furnishing of you room, the beauty and style-quotient of your room will get a huge boost. You can get such customized wood blinds in various texture, shade and colors to gel well with your taste. These wood blinds can open on the side or middle, can be horizontal or vertical, or even bottom-up or top-down.

Custom wood blinds which are vertical give much more protection from extreme climatic conditions in comparison to horizontal wood blinds. This is due to the fact that you can open or close such blinds either from any side or the middle. These blinds are most suitable for square windows. They also give your room very contemporary and stylish look. In certain aspects, they are a far better choice than the commonly used curtains or shutters. These blinds can be designed according to the customers wish and can be set into position easily. They can also be cleaned and maintained easily. Various materials like metal, plastic, wood and fabric are used to make vertical blinds.

Custom wood blinds of horizontal nature give your room a very warm and improved appearance. In case of windows having a length more than that of its breadth, such blinds are the perfect choice. These blinds are the best bet for any category of room. These blinds are available in stain woods or paints, can gel easily with any kind of style and have the capability of getting noticed by the people present around. If you are considering purchasing a horizontal wood blind, you should first decide what your priority is to get more light or more privacy. E.g. you can invest in a horizontal blind made of bamboo having a privacy lining or without it. In case you opt for a blind with privacy lining, the blind will make your room darker and thus provide you the required privacy.

Haneef Sidique is involved with an online wood blinds project that informs and educates the wood blinds enthusiast through well-written articles. Discover articles geared towards wood blinds, faux, window, levolor blinds, and much more. http://www.wood-blind-reviews.com/.Alidia Blog87545
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Trading, Gambling & Las Vegas

I was recently taking a little R&R with my parents in Las Vegas. While I am not a big gambler, I thought I would do an experiment.

I decided to use the same rules that are essential for profitable trading and apply them to gambling.

Rule 1: Choose the right game. In gambling you need focus on a particular game that that is easy to play and understand. The same is true in trading. You should never trade markets that you don\'t understand and are difficult to trade real-time. I think alot of traders trade something just because it is popular. That is very foolish as you can have your head handed to you if you don\'t know what you are doing.

Rule 2: Choose a bet size that is within your comfort level. I decided on a bet(unit) size of $1. To some of you that may be small, but I chose this amount simply because it is nothing to me and I know that my emotions would not affect the game over this small amount of money.

Many traders downfall lies in betting too big!

Take forex traders for example, when they trade a regular sized forex contract each point(pip) is worth $10.00. If they lose just 20 pips on a trade, that is $200 and that may be way too big both financially and psychologically for the trader to stomach. As a result they start trading out of fear and anxiety and make a lot of mistakes.

If this sounds like you, then by simply switching to the smaller mini forex contract where each point(pip) is worth just $1.00 you may find that all your anxiety is gone and that you trade easily and confidently.

If you are a stock trader, you may found that trading 500 shares is way too stressful, but dropping down to 100 shares makes all the difference in the world.

Rule 3: Choose your \"windows of opportunity\" wisely. In every casino there are hundreds of slot and poker machines all trying to grab your attention to get you to play.

When I look for a machine that can give me a \"window of opportunity\" I have 2 criteria.

First, I only look for video poker machines because you can apply certain strategies that can increase your odds. Second, I always look for ones near the casino entrance area as these machines are often programmed to pay out more frequently so that they attract attention and lure gamblers into the casino.

Now in contrast, lets look at how my Father picked a game. He had no rules and was sucked into the first machine that grabbed his attention. In addition, he would choose regular slot machines which didnt allow for any strategies and would play machines that were in the middle of nowhere. Time after time he would lose all his money on these machines.

In trading you must pick your market wisely too. How do you do this? Only trade markets you can afford to trade and also make sure you understand all the rules and nuances of it.

Rule 4: Money management - Use a stop loss. In each new game I would start with the same $100.00 buy in which gave me 100 - $1 units. If I lost 30 units I would end the game and take a break.

Many traders have no set money management plan before they get into a trade and just wing it. You absolutely must know what your risk is before you enter the trade and use protective stops to protect your capital.

Rule 5: Getting a read on the game. I know from experience that when a machine is really hot I will be profitable practically right away and it will pay out often. These characteristics give me important clues to games that want to stay in until I hit my win target.

In trading what often happen is that when the trader is quickly profitable they get really excited and at the same time nervous. This is because they are so worried about losing all the time, that they get the overwhelming desire to get out of the trade and lock in some profit.

The problem with this is that they never ride the trade up far enough and to succeed at this game you have to fight the urge to bail out of a winning trade. You must learn to stick with a profitable trade so that you can lock in some big trades. It is the only way to succeed as it will make up for all your losses.

On the other hand, I would leave if the machine wasnt paying out quickly. Sometimes I would sit there for 15 minutes and keep winning a few and losing a few. After all this effort I would still not be above my starting buy-in amount.

This type of game was a sure sign that things were not going my way and probably wouldn\'t do so either. When I am in this situation I will walk away. When faced with this situation the average gambler will convince himself his luck will change. This is rarely the case as the casino usually gets the last laugh!

In my trading courses I teach that if a trade doesnt go your way within 5 bars it is more than likely going to turn into a loser. The reason is that there is no momentum. When you observe this type of market behavior then it is usually better to exit the trade and wait for a new setup.

Rule 6: Money management - Setting a stop win. When you are in Las Vegas everyone has the Las Vegas Mentality. They think that when they start winning that their luck will continue and they are going to get rich. This is exactly the stupidity that the casinos count on as they know the longer a gambler stays at the table the less likely the odds will stay in his/her favor.

It was interesting to watch my Father play as he has the Las Vegas Mentality and on many occasions he would have a nice profit and I would tell him to walk away. He would always say, Just a bit longer and I constantly watched him lose not only his profit but his entire buy-in amount as well.

When you trade you must have a Stop Win strategy. What this is is a pre-determined profit objective for you to exit at. For example it could be when you are up 5% or $200 or 15 points etc. It could be when the market hits a particular price level. For example, say you buy a stock at $10.00; you would tell yourself ahead of time that if it hits $11.00 then you are getting out. Your strategy cousl also be based on using a trailing stop.

You absolutely must decide what your Stop Win strategy is before you get into the trade!

My Stop Win strategy for the poker machines was 50 units. Anytime I was above this level I would simply cash out and take a break. For example, I got real lucky in one game and hit for 220 units on one hand and another time I hit for 1240 units. In each instance, I took the money and ran.

After 3 days in Las Vegas, it was interesting to see how I had a very profitable experience while my Father had the exact opposite. The only difference between us was that I had rules and he didnt.

Viva Las Vegas!!!

Dr. Jeffrey Wilde, a trading veteran with 16 years of experience is a trading coach to over 3500 traders in 63 countries. His new blog http://www.askjeffwilde.com offers free trading articles, tips and advice.Cam Blog13107
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Alternative Heating How Much Room Do You Need?

Even if you owned a million dollar townhouse in Bostons Back Bay, there just isn't enough room on a 25' x 100' lot for a townhouse, small deck, a couple of parking spaces AND a closed loop geothermal heating system.

If you live in high humidity Alabama, the less expensive and environmentally friendly swamp cooler will never be a viable substitute for central air conditioning.

Only when you narrow down the choices for alternative heating or cooling based on where you live, can you begin to focus your time and energy on the most relevant, cost effective heating solution.

Urban Alternative Heating

Geothermal, outdoor furnaces and most wind power are not suitable for urban or small-lot suburban homes. Except for very small wind turbines (i.e., with rotors one meter or less in diameter) on very small towers, a property size of one acre or more is desirable.

Wood burning stoves have been used in urban areas for as long as I can remember.I bought my first air tight stove in 1976. Corn and wood pellet stoves are quickly gaining acceptance as new installations or replacements for existing wood stoves.

One Connecticut pellet stove dealer I spoke with said he sold so many wood pellet and corn stoves last winter he was forced to temporarily close one of his two stores for lack of product.

An adaptation of the wood or pellet stove is the fully vented fireplace insert. They are comparably priced to freestanding stoves and offer a simple way to turn an otherwise inefficient fireplace into a source of heat for multiple rooms.

Unvented gas log fireplaces or propane space heaters are less expensive to purchase and install but are controversial with respect to health risks and are prohibited in some localities. Make sure the unit you purchase has an ODS (Oxygen Depletion Sensor). This safety device turns off the heater when the oxygen in the room drops below 18%. (Normal is around 21%)

Decorative gel fireplaces are nice to look at, but arent considered legitimate heating devices.

Electric and hydronic (hot water) radiant heat are extremely versatile and can be installed anywhere. The hydronic application of radiant heat can be fueled by anything from corn to gas and can be adapted to heat driveways, hot tubs and of course, your home.

Solar for hot water is on the rise in urban areas. A neighbor of mine in the Port Norfolk section of Boston recently installed a solar array on the roof of his two family home. His contractor did a first rate job and it doesnt detract from the visual appeal of his house at all. He also says his hot water bill now costs him chump change.

Lets not forget the ever popular space heater. For many elderly homeowners who spend most of their time in one room of their home, a space heater is the least expensive way to supplement their conventional heating system.

Suburban Alternative Heating

Suburban lot sizes can run anywhere from of an acre to three acres. But even a quarter acre lot opens up the possibility of a vertical closed loop geothermal system.

A three acre lot will afford you the space to install a slightly less expensive horizontal closed loop geothermal system, a wind turbine or even an outdoor wood, pellet or corn furnace.

At approximately $5000, the outdoor furnace is your least expensive option. A quality 1,800 watt wind turbine and tower can be purchased for $7,000. If geothermal is your system of choice, a new 3,000 sq. ft. home can be heated and cooled for around $20,000. Rebates and tax credits could reduce this amount substantially.

For instance, if you partner with a program such as Energy Crafted Home in Connecticut, its possible to receive a rebate of $713 per ton of geothermal heating/cooling capacity. For the 3,000 sq. ft. home just mentioned, it would mean a rebate of $2,971.

Although wind, geothermal and outdoor furnace systems are more expensive than the typical $2000 wood pellet stove, they are very efficient and pay for themselves in only a few years.

The increasingly popular manufactured home is a growing segment of the suburban real estate market, and fire safety codes are very specific as to what you can use to heat your home.

Check with your local building department to find out exactly which alternative heating appliances are permitted before you start shopping for the best deal.

Rural Alternative Heating

Just as the sky and landscape open up in rural America, so do opportunities for alternative heating.

With so much room to work with, you could easily design a CHP (Combined Heat and Power Unit) and heat your home for 70% less than fuel oil.

A possible CHP for homeowners in the Corn Belt would be an outdoor corn furnace for heat and hot water, coupled with a wind turbine for electricity

If your property includes a shallow pond or lake, a closed loop geothermal system will heat and cool your home for the cost of electricity to operate a heat pump.

The choices for alternative heating are plentiful no matter where you live. Its just a matter of knowing where you fit in.

Sam StreubelAshien Blog91311
Bari Blog33544

Online Associates Degree

Associate degrees are commonly referred to as undergraduate degrees. Duration of studies is counted as units or semester credit hours. Each semester has 15 credit hours hence an Associate degree is earned once a student reaches the minimum 4 semesters, equivalent to 60 units or semester credit hours. Associate degrees are generally 2-year degrees, like those conferred at community colleges. Now, associate degrees are available online, allowing you to study whenever or wherever you want.

An associate degree is defined as, An academic degree awarded by community colleges, junior colleges and some bachelors degree-granting colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study usually lasting two years.

The program consists of three parts: general education requirements, major requirements, and electives. Online associate degrees are the same as on-campus or in-classroom associate degrees, but the degree can be taken entirely through the Internet or by distance education.

An online associate degree in business, liberal arts, and other disciplines, is widely accepted for transfer into bachelor's degree programs throughout the country.

Types of Associate Degree Programs:
A.A. - "Associate of Arts" degree
This degree is designed to transfer to a four-year college or university.

A.A.S. - "Associate of Applied Science" degree
Designed to prepare graduates for career entry or job advancement after 2 years of college study. AAS degrees may transfer in whole or in part to 4 year colleges. A.A.S degrees may also be known by occupational specific titles such as Associate in Engineering Technology, Associate in Business, etc.

A.S. - "Associate of Science" degree
Designed to transfer to a 4 year college or university.

Occupational Degree
Also referred to as "applied" degree programs, an occupational degree program at a two-year college is designed to prepare students to enter the workforce immediately following graduation. The primary function is career preparation, however some courses and/or programs may transfer to 4 year colleges.

Online Associate Degrees
Associated degrees available nationwide include disciplines such as accounting, arts and humanities, business and management, marketing, design, graphic design, early childhood development, education, engineering, fire science, health sciences, hospitality management, human resources management, law and paralegal, criminal justice, social sciences telecommunications and technology.

Taking a degree in-classroom, online or by distance learning makes no difference except for the cost, time and place. Other than these aspects, education and programs are common to all of them, although there is less emphasis on an industry-specific competency. An Associate degree is more focused on learning the basic academic discipline, than in specialization.

All associated degrees are available through the Internet, but accelerated online programs make it easier to earn a certificate in less time. Earning an Associate degree also enables students to enter interesting professions, with minimal additional training in the field of electronics, health care and other faster growing occupations.

When you earn Associate degree online, you will not be singled out because yours was distance learning. A certificate for an Associates degree looks the same, regardless of whether it was earned online or on a campus. When you learn online, you will find that you can schedule work, family obligations and fun as well as learning into your busy life. Lectures can be downloaded and listened to at any time. Documents can also be read on the website, and you can turn in your homework assignments by e-mail or fax. Those who want to earn associate degree online but who are not sure how to get started should browse through various programs and locate one that is right. This requires a lot of research, but ultimately it pays off in the form of greater confidence, qualifications, and pay.

This article has been published by Kateri White currently writing on online degree programs topics for our website http://www.onlineuniversitydegreeprogram.info.For more details about the online degree programs, please visit our website. If any mistake found please mail kateriwhite@gmail.com.Beth Blog35141
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Dummy Cameras Provide Added Security Without The High Costs Of Security Cameras

From the outside, dummy cameras appear to be real security cameras, but they lack the expensive recording components inside. Without physically taking a dummy camera apart, there is no way of knowing it is actually a fake. Dummy cameras provide added security without the high costs of additional cameras. When a criminal sees a security camera, or what is thought to be one, he is likely move on. When faced with a tight budget, dummy cameras are an excellent alternative to fully functioning security cameras.

Various dummy cameras offer an assortment of capabilities, and it is important that you think about the different features and abilities available to you when choosing dummy cameras. Your choice of dummy cameras depends on which elements you feel are the most important and which ones fit your needs and budget the best.

Features

- Flashing or steady LED "recording" light,
- Panning motion or steady,
- Actual camera housings or look-alikes,
- Bullet style or dome style, and
- Indoor or outdoor structure.

Choosing dome style dummy cameras will lead burglars to believe you have the ability to view a 360-degree range of an area, while bullet style dummy cameras give off the perception that a close-up picture of his or her face is being recorded.

Home Use

If you have already installed surveillance equipment in your home, but would like to give the impression of having more cameras, dummy cameras are the way to go. Burglaries are not hasty crimes. Homes are usually staked out by burglars before any crime takes place, and the presence of cameras, especially more than one, is enough to send any burglar on his or her way.

Business Integration

Each year in the United States, retailers lose approximately 10 billion dollars due to shoplifting and 15 billion dollars due to employee theft. The strategic placing of dummy cameras is an efficient and inexpensive way to deter pilfering. Placement should be well thought out, keeping in mind the three locations which will get the most attention: (1) the front entrance (2) the back corners (3) the back door or loading dock.

The power of suggestion offered by the presence of dummy cameras is an effective tool in lowering your costs due to theft.

You deserve top notch security of your home and your business, no matter your budget constraints. The integration of dummy cameras is a cost-efficient and unproblematic way to ensure the safety of your home, family, business, and employees.

Ralph Winn has over 32 years of experience in the security industry. Throughout his career, he has developed cost effective security programs for numerous small, medium, large commercial and government properties and for many nationally known corporations. http://www.homesecuritystore.comArlen Blog38800
Ashlan Blog77277

The Power Of Getting A Health Care Degree Online

One of the most popular programs for online education today is that of the health care degree online. What makes this degree so desirable one might wonder? The answer is as simple as two words, job market. The current state of affairs in the world of health care is one of major need for workers. With a booming health care industry, there is pressure on potential employees to earn a health care degree online, instead of going a more liberal arts affiliated route.

If this is something that doesnt seem to make sense to you, simply have a look at your local paper's classified ads section. Under the help wanted ads, there should be a large block of advertisements dedicated to the health care field. This is why health care degree online programs make so much sense for those looking to get a job. It is the simple fact that if you sign up for a health care degree online program, you can count on the chances of getting a job after graduation much more than most any other field offered online today.

The average health care professional earns close to double the average wage per capita in the United States, and has a career filled with helping others. Obtaining a health care degree online can be the difference between making something of yourself in the near future, and spending another bunch of years figuring it out. This is because most people after college go through seven to eight jobs before they find their career. This is not the case when you have a health care degree online, because most people that earn their health care degree online have the pick of the litter when it comes to job selection in the medical field.

Another benefit of earning a health care degree online is the upward opportunity to earn future degrees in nursing, or even becoming a doctor. There must be a foundation for every building, and if you look at your career as a building, the health care degree online is your foundation. This is the cement that allows you to build a better, stronger, future for yourself, and your family. Many nurses spend time after earning a two, or four year degree, before returning to get their masters in nursing. It is often the case that some will achieve such comfort in their health care job without this degree, that they never go back and thus the wide open market for nurses today. Having a health care degree online can make you a better, more prepared person for the future.

Not everyone is prepared to earn a health care degree online, and it should be considered a major challenge for anyone that is interested in earning this degree. Simply because the job market is ripe does not mean that earning a health care degree online is an easy task, in fact, this is one of the more challenging degrees online today.

Some people are gifted with a knack for science, most of us are not, and it takes extra dedication to make earning a health care degree online a reality. This means that you will probably need to study more than your peers in other programs, and often will be faced with scientifically challenging puzzles, that arent easy to solve. However, for those that are able to tough it out, and earn this degree, the world literally is awaiting their arrival. For the first time in history there are more jobs in this industry, than there are people to fill them, that is why earning a health care degree online is the right choice for anyone that is ready for a great career in the health care industry.

Andy West is a freelance writer for Virginia College. Virginia College Online offers many Health Care Degree Online programs. Please visit Virginia College Online at http://www.vconline.edu/site/program.cfm?Program_ID=6 to select the online program that is right for you.Ashli Blog48834
Ara Blog93279

Gift for Her How to Find Unique Gift Ideas for Her

There are many gifts that you can choose for there. However, when making a presentation to her, you have to be specific that it will be something that she will like, cherish and remember for some time to come. It is said that diamonds are forever; so buying something in diamond will be a gift that she will have with her forever, and remember forever. If you an afford it, a pair of diamond earrings or a diamond earring will really make the woman of your life really happy! You can either visit some jewelry store to choose the right jewelry for her, or visit the various sites on the internet selling diamond earrings and rings.

Gifting your wife some sexy lingerie will not only be the perfect birthday gift, it will also set the right mood for her birthday night! There are many stores, both local and online offering beautiful bras and panties to choose for the lady of your life. Practically everyone loves chocolates; so why not make a gift of chocolates; preferably the hand rolled and molded ones. These chocolates are of the finest ingredients and are wonderful to eat!

Nothing can beat the traditional gift of a dozen red roses. It will be enough to brighten up her day, her office, your home and to make her friends jealous. Another age old gift that has always spread magic is the bottle of wine. Your romantic candlelight dinner will be sealed with the wine, no matter if it is white or red. Hand delivers it, to add spice to the effect of the wine.

Women are never fed up of clothes and shoes; so if you know her size well, you might as well buy her a great pair of shoes or some beautiful dress. So whenever she puts on the shoes or dress, she will be reminded about you. To cherish your loving memories, you could gift her a digital camera to take on your next trip together. You can then take snaps to keep as memories. She is sure to like your massage; however, there will always be a use of an electric massager for her. It is the right gift to relax and make her happy when you are not there!

So you see, there are many gift for you to choose from to give as a gift to your loved one. It is up to you to choose depending on your budget, and the interests of the lady of your life!

Thomson Chemmanoor is an enthusiastic writer for Digital Labz, Web Design Houston Company and the following websites: http://www.uniquegiftings.com & http://www.giftbasketer.com Cairistiona Blog64261
Allene Blog60789

Why Ask The Professor?

I would like to touch on a subject most students probably never consider, namely, the great importance of asking questions to your professor. Ask! Never let this three letter word disappear from your life, always be sure to ask when in doubt. This will most likely prove to become one of your greatest assets on your long academic journey.

Always inquire your professor about things that might be unclear to you, but only and I repeat, only if this is important and vital for your particular course and only if it's very relevant to the subject. Remember that university/college professors are humans too, I know it's hard to comprehend, and they too hate it when hundreds of irrelevant questions are posed.

If you really want to know the importance of a good question, just ask your self how many times you have received certain important pieces of information through a question. Most likely, this must have occurred hundreds of times, hence my advice to you is:

Do not be afraid to pose a question when you are sure it's both important and relevant to the subject. Also, don't make your question sound sophisticated just to be rendered as sophisticated by the attendees, your asking because you want an answer not due to personal ego. Finally, I would like to end with some words I heard from a dean at Harvard a while ago:

A Question ends with a Question mark

It sounds so simple yet so many people tend to neglect this. I have to say, people are severely annoyed by those who make long winded comments under the disguise of a question. This is often seen on debates or at other types of public speakings, if you have a question, make sure it ends with a question mark! I hope you understood that, didn't you?

Adam Abderisak, a.k.a. "Study Coach" is an education instructor and entrepreneur. His latest work is a study guide entitled "Study Guide Pro". Be sure to visit his website to check out some of the most "lethal" study techniques known to man: http://www.study-habits.com/Cari Blog33326
Anthia Blog28283

What Happens When You Default on your Student Loans? - part 4/4

I ignored (didn't pay) my student loan for years - many years. This was back in the old days (20 years ago) before the government was so efficient at collecting their (your) money. Nothing much happened.

OK, so one day years later, they found my bank account and froze it. Cost me a few hundred dollars. I'll survive.

And then, they started taking my income tax return money. Damn! That hurt. But Life goes on... Life is good, All is well!

But then one day, years later. Big Brother (your Uncle Sam) Returns!

I had learned not to keep too much money in the bank (didn't have much anyway).

And I learned not to expect any money back from income taxes. I was OK with that.

But I was totally unprepared for what Big Brother did next. He blind sided me

One day I go to cash my paycheck, and I noticed "Hey, my check is mighty small this week" What happened?

I look closely at my pay stub. The number of hours are correct... the rate is correct. Hey, what's this

Wage Attachment. 10% of the gross. 10% OF THE GROSS, not net.

10% of the freakin' gross! Damn!

10% of the gross taken off the top. Before you get your check.

10% of the gross gone Every Week

No explanation, no one to complain to. No supervisor to override. Your money is gone.

10% GONE. It doesn't matter that you were barely scrapping by in life every week, living paycheck to check.

Now you live with 10% less. Every week. It sucks!

PLUS, they still take your income tax refund. No wonder they call it a re fund becaues they are Re Funding their own pockets with your money.

There's nothing you can do about it. So I learned to live on 10% less for many years.

One day I finally had the good fortune to get a better paying job. Better job, better pay and

Best of all - the wage attachment stopped. Hurray!

Or so I thought Life is good. Life goes on. I pay my bills.

Years later, on Friday the 13th, it happened. "Big Brother Returned Again".

One miserable deja vu day the check was small. I check the paystub. Number of hours are correct... the rate is correct

There it was on the pay stub again Wage attachment. 10% of the gross.

Son of a bitch' found me again. Damn it, damn it, damn it!

You can't win! You can't hide!

Big Brother will find you. It might take weeks. It might take months. In my case it took many, many years Decades!

But Big Brother will hunt you down and find you. You can't hide forever! And guess what?

Big Brother has Increased the wage attachment withholdings to 15% of the gross.

How much does that hurt?

As an example, let's say you were grossing $1,000 per week. You would pay about $350 in taxes leaving you with $650.

They will take 15% of the $1,000 which is $150 leaving you with only $500.

HALF of your paycheck is GONE!

You just took a $150 a week pay cut. And if you make less than $1,000 it hurts even more.

AND they still take your income tax return!

Trust me on this. You DON'T want this to happen to YOU! Pay your student loans on time.

Carl Willoughby has worked as a Licensed Registered Representaive for the Prudential Insurance Company, a Computer Programmer for the New England Telephone Company, and a Computer Sales Consultant for SEARS. He is self-employed as an Internet Marketing Consultant.Bobbee Blog23203
Belita Blog30091

Should You Get A Home Equity Loan When Refinancing?

Among the most economical lending solution available today are home equity loans and home equity lines of credit. Depending on your personal financial situation, some of the interest can be used as a tax deduction. They are generally flexible and generally offer you the best rates available. There are a lot of advantages to a home equity loan. However, be sure to refinance with extreme caution.

There are two different types of home equity loans. The actual loan usually has a fixed rate with a precise period of time in which the loan needs to be paid off. Also fixed is the payment. This type of loan is ideal for someone who has a precise amount in mind. When consolidating your debts, such as student loans, credit cards, car loans or doing some home improvements, a homeowner will obtain a home equity loan to consolidate their entire payments inro one easy to pay bill. Often times, this creates a lower overall monthly payment.

A more flexible option is a home equity line of credit. This is an open ended loan meaning the payment and rate usually tends to be lower and is variable. A line of credit is generally used like a credit card, with tax benefits. Interest is only paid on the portion of the line you use. The rest is available for when and if you need it. Whenever you make a payment, that portion that is applied to the principle and is then available to use again if need be. Some lenders will offer a card for easier access. This option is great for when you do need to use the money immediately or would like to have the flexibility to keep using the money without going through the loan process over and over again.

If you have equity left over, when you refinance your current mortgage, often times you will be offered a home equity line of credit or home equity loan. If you have other debts that are above and beyond your original mortgage, a good way to go is a home equity loan. You are probably wondering why you wouldn't include all of your debt in your original loan. Well, often times, in order to keep the loan amounts under 80%, debt is split into two different loans. This allows people to take advantage of the best rate available. If you are able to keep the loan amount under 80% of the home appraisal value, then you can easily avoid paying Private Mortgage Insurance, or PMI.

Whenever you do not have a need for a second loan when you are refinancing, you can then just put the money towards a line of credit. It is a good thing to have, should an emergency arise. When the need arises, the money is ready for you to use. This will save you the hassle of going through the entire loan process time and time again.

Another great benefit is the loan company can simply use the same credit inquiry for this loan that they used for the first loan. One note of precaution though, a line of credit usually has an annual fee attached to it. Be sure to ask your bank about specials they may be running in order to offset the cost. Sometimes they are willing to negotiate with you so that you will take the offer.

As you can clearly see, there are a lot of benefits to both a home equity loan and a home equity line of credit. Before making a decision, be sure to weigh all of your options. So that you are able to make a more informed decision, talk about the cost and ask if there are any hidden fees

Joshua Suffie is the expert behind the website http://www.refinancingright.com Mortgages are a cut throat industry. Our information will give you the upfront knowledge to deal competently with mortgage brokers and get the best deal possible. Our site is http://www.refinancingright.comAlly Blog56586
Aila Blog40069

Professional Data Recovery Services

There are several data recovery software programs out there that are intended to assist you with recovering lost data. Even though they may be a big help with some cases, there are other times when they dont do anything. In the event of software programs not being able to recover your lost data, you can count on professional services to be there for you.

As we all know, the process of data recovery is very time consuming and requires quite a bit of technical prowess in order to recover the data that has been lost. If the recovery is performed in the wrong way, it can lead to the hard drive being damaged beyond repair, and quite possibly the information that was stored on the hard drive to be lost forever.

Even though you may know quite a bit about computers and hard drives, data recovery is something that is best left to professionals. They have all the equipment and knowledge to recover files, without bringing more damage to the hard drive. They can also recover any type of file that was on your hard drive, even preview the files before they recover them. This way, they will be able to go over with you which files you wish to be recovered.

Professional services can also offer you is the emergency boot media. This methods allows you to recover any data from computers that cannot boot Windows due to a failure, virus, damage to the hard drive, or loss of data. This is ideal for times when your computer will start up, although it doesnt want to load Windows. Normally, this method can bring everything back to your hard drive, in a matter of minutes.

Professional data recovery specialists offer a variety of services and skills to help you recover any data that you have lost. They work with hard drives on a daily basis, and know everything that they can and cant do. Even though you may be able to do it yourself, you also have to look at the time it takes as well. Professional services have the time to put into the recovery process, as they do it for a living. Recovery takes a lot of time - which is something that many of us simply do not have.

Anytime your hard drive crashes or you experience a loss of data, you can always count on professional data recovery services to retrieve your data. Although it may take a few days or even a few weeks, youll get your data back. They can retrieve any or all of your files, no matter how bad the hard drive may be damaged. Even though it may appear there is no hope for your lost files - professional data recovery services can make it happen.

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John Ugoshowa. You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your ezines as long as you have a link back to http://www.quickregister.net/partners/Brynne Blog68187
Catherin Blog22233

Avnex Music Morpher Gold 3.0 A Closer Look

Of all the features in Avnex Music Morpher Gold 3.0, the Editor contains a truly impressive collection of powerful and versatile audio tools. Lets take an in-depth look at the various effects and filters built-in to this program. While most of them can be accessed on the fly in the Music Player and applied real time, these effects are only active during playback. To permanently alter your audio files you have to open them within the editor. You can work with one file or multiple files in multi-session mode.

What you can do. The selection is seemingly endless. There are 60 major filters and effects to work with. Plus support for Direct X and VST. Thats just the surface; lets take a detailed look at the power contained within these modules. If you are familiar with basic audio terms, most of these modules will be familiar to you, but you may not have encountered such depth and precision available to you in one program. Heres the detailed list of the AVnex Music Morpher Effects Library:

Voice Morphing
o Cher Modification - 10 presets 8 controls
o Frequency Morpher - 11 presets and a graphic interface
o Robot Voice - 9 presets 2 sliders
o Root Formant Mover - 8 presets 2 sliders
o Tempo Morpher - 11 presets one slider
o Voice LPC Pitch Changer - 6 presets one slider
o Voice Morpher - 16 presets 3 sliders
o Voice Extractor - 3 presets7 sliders
o Voice Remover - 3 presets 4 sliders
o Voice Extractor - 5 sliders
o Voice Remover - 5 sliders

Equalizers
o 2 order equalizer - 17 presets 10 sliders graphic control
o 4 order equalizer - 17 presets 10 sliders graphic control
o Graphic Equalizer - 13 presets 1 slider graphic control with 2 scales
o Linear Phase Equalizer - 17 presets 10 slides graphic control

Filters
o Low Bass Filter - 16 presets 3 slides graphic control
o High " " - 6 presets 3 slides graphic control
o Band " " - 8 presets 4 slides graphic control
o Band Reject Filter - 7 presets 3 sliders graphic control
o FIR Bass Filter - 16 presets 3 sliders graphic control

Volume
o Amplitude Morpher - 8 presets graphic control 2 scales 2 curves
o Auto Loudness - 12 presets 2 sliders
o Change Channel - 9 presets 2 sliders
o Constant - 2 settings
o Dynamics Morpher - 8 presets 2 sliders graphic control
o Fade In - 4 types 1 slider
o Fade Out - 4 types 1 slider
o Invert - 3 presets 2 settings
o Limiter - 16 presets 2 sliders
o Multiband Dynamics - 8 presets compression ratio/threshold graph
o Normalize - 6 presets 2 sliders
o Volume - 15 presets 2 sliders

Echo and Reverb
o Complex Delay - 14 presets 7 sliders
o Delay - 22 presets 5 sliders
o Mega Reverb - 15 presets 5 sliders
o PingPong - 12 presets 7 sliders
o Resonance - 6 presets 6 sliders
o Reverberation - 10 presets 7 sliders 3 line controls
o Stick Channels - 17 presets 9 sliders

Surround
o Pseudo Surround 12 presets 3 sliders
o Surround - 24 presets 2 sliders

Miscellaneous
o Beat Tracking - 50 presets 2 sliders import capable
o Chorus - 15 presets 4 sliders 5 options
o Chorus Plus - 11 presets 8 sliders
o Detonation - 14 presets 7 sliders
o Distortion - 5 presets 4 sliders
o Envelope Morpher - 10 presets 2 sliders graphic control
o Flanger - 8 presets 5 sliders sine/feedback control
o Hardcore Beat - 8 presets 7 sliders
o Karaoke - 4 presets 1 slider
o Music by Voice Morpher - 4 sliders file input option
o Noise Reduction - 9 presets 2 sliders
o Rhythm to Noise - 7 presets 24 sliders each with 4 waveform settings linear and log scales
o Spectral Peak Enhancer - 6 presets 3 sliders
o Squeak - 8 presets 5 sliders
o Tremolo - 7 presets 5 sliders
o Vibrato - 3 presets 3 sliders
o Vibrato Plus - 10 presets 2 sliders time/offset graph
o Wave - 16 presets 5 sliders 6 waveforms
o Wah Wah Filter - 10 presets 6 sliders 2 scales band filters

Have you ever seen a more comprehensive list of audio tools? This module alone sets Music Morpher Gold head and shoulders above the competition. Besides the ability to play almost any audio file and to morph them on the fly, beyond the amazing variety of audio tools, you can also burn CDs, organize your audio files, rip audio CDs, create covers and liner notes for your CDs, and capture/record from any input device. Truly this is a masterpiece of audio software that will provide you with the means of fulfilling any of your audio dreams. Logon to http://www.audio4fun.com to download a trial version; you wont be sorry.

Wayne Rice is a freelance journalist, copywriter, photographer and artist. He currently resides in the United States. Catherin Blog22233
Bridget Blog38375

Managers Beware--Your Employees Are Watching You

Is walking the talk a tired old clich or a bold new concept? Very few managers today are receiving formal management training. As a result, many are poor communicators and weak in their delegation and leadership skills.

According to a Gallup poll, 25% of U.S. employees would fire their bosses if they could. Why? Because many managers set high service standards for their employees, yet fail to abide by those same standards.

If you are a manager, you are in an excellent position to lead by example. Your employees will only respect your authority if they observe your excellent customer service skills on a daily basis. Customer loyalty must be a top-down initiative.

Here are five ways you can earn greater respect and increase employee loyalty:

-Always give performance reviews and salary increases on the promised dates. Employees have those dates memorized. They wont feel valued and will resent you if their review dates are postponed or forgotten

-Have empathy for your employees. Show compassion by being flexible with hours and time off so they can tend to family emergencies or illnesses.

-Be a mentor and coach by sharing your knowledge and experience. Explain to them how business decisions were made, especially when it involves them.

-Trust your employees and be willing to delegate projects based on their strengths. If you tend to be a control freak, learn to let go and get out of the habit of micro-managing people.

-Let your employees know theyre valued. Smile at them, be approachable, remember the names of their family members and sincerely thank them every chance you get.

The only times that employees can successfully challenge your authority is when they see that you are not practicing what you preach. Keep in mind that your employees are your primary customers. Treat them with the same respect and caring service that you deliver to your external customers. Remember that you set the tone for your entire department. Your employees are watching you!

Debra J. Schmidt, also known as the Loyalty Leader, is an author, consultant, corporate trainer and professional speaker. She helps companies boost their profits by leading the way to greater customer, employee and brand loyalty. Debra is in demand as one of the nations top customer loyalty experts -- helping clients keep more customers, retain more employees, get more referrals and sell more products. Bernie Blog72467
Bell Blog2308

Autoresponder A Major Consideration in Building a List

One of the first considerations in building a mailing list should be how am I going to handle all those names that I will have in my list. An autoresponder is the answer to this nice to have problem.

When you study successful Internet entrepreneurs, the most common theme that runs through the success of these individuals is building a list of customers who then become faithful repeat customers. You know from your off-line life that the businesses that you continually use are the ones that do a good job and treat you right. Once you gain confidence in them, you continue to go back to them. The same is true on the Internet.

An eBook called The 30 Day Blueprint for Success tells convincing stories of the importance of building a mailing list. The book is a compilation of articles from 15 highly respected Internet professionals from different arenas of the Net who were challenged with the following scenario:

Dear Internet Marketing Expert,

You suddenly lose all your money, along with your name and reputation, and only have your marketing know-how left.

You have bills piled high and people harassing you for money over the phone.

Plus, you have a guaranteed roof over your head, a phone line, and an Internet connection for only one month.

You no longer have your big guru name or JV partners. Other than your vast marketing experience, youre an unknown newbie.

What would you do, from day 1 to day 30, to get yourself back on top?

(The above quote was excerpted from Volume I of The 30 Day Blueprint for Success.)

The most common method that these individuals used was to rebuild a customer list as quickly as possible so they could be effective in rebuilding the business they once had. Just as an aside, the book was very revealing about the thought patterns of these experts during their 30 day quest to restore the income stream that they once enjoyed.

I was fortunate to be able to attend a class taught by my friend and mentor, Jim Cockrum (author of The Silent Sales Machine Hiding on eBay). During the class, he said that if his office caught fire the first thing he would save was the backup of his mailing list.

How to Manage a List - Autoresponders

Some might consider this a little backwards, but lets plan for how we are going to handle the list before we figure out how to build it. We need to be able to capture basic information like name and email address. We need to be able to automatically send a reply to the person joining the list and verify that they were indeed the person who sent the request to join. (This is called double opt-in and it is vitally important so you can prove that you are not sending SPAM to the members of your list). We will need to send out emails to all the people on the list in the future when we start communicating with the customers on the list.

To handle this in any volume on your own is an impossible task, but there are services called autoresponders on the Internet that will handle all of this for you.

There are free autoresponders such as FreeAutoBot.com and there are paid autoresponders such as Aweber.com and GetResponse.com. Free sounds good for a start up, but the downside is the fact that the autoresponder puts its link and sometimes places advertising in the emails that it sends for you. This does not look as professional as a message from a paid autoresponder.

If you use a free autoresponder and then want to switch over to a paid one later, you face the conversion problems of converting your mailing list. This can be done with import features in autoresponders that allow for mass input of lists. However, this is additional work and the autoresponder will take a close look at the list since this is how large SPAM mailing lists are loaded into an autoresponder. This is your choice and should be carefully researched before you make your decision.

Lets discuss the autoresponder, Aweber.com. The site has a 30 day free test drive that will allow you to experiment with it and decide if it is for you. Go to http://www.aweber.com look around.

If you decide to use it (and you will have to use an autoresponder to build a list of any size), one month of service from Aweber.com is $19.95 as of this writing if you start off with a monthly plan. Once you are satisfied that this is for you, you can save $60.00 per year with an annual plan.

After you have registered, log into Aweber.com and go to the How to Get Started page. This is very complete and has great instructions and tutorial videos to help you set up your first autoresponder.

Compose your email to send in MS Word or similar word processor. This will help you with spelling and grammar. Then open MS Notepad or a similar text editor. Notepad strips off the word processor formatting in preparation for copying and pasting your message into the Aweber input screen.

If you use MS Notepad , it is found under Accessories in Programs on your MS Windows. If you have not already done so, set up a shortcut icon on your desktop or on your systems tray for Notepad. It is very handy to be able to open this quickly. It can be used as a scratch pad for copying and pasting information from web pages to print or save for later use.

Each week when the weekly issue of Boomer eZine is being prepared for publication these are the steps that are followed:

1. Log onto Aweber and set up what is called a Broadcast Message.

2. Copy the newsletter from MS Word and paste it into Notepad.

3. Copy the text from Notepad and paste it into the input area on Aweber.

4. Check the formatting in Aweber.

5. Send a test email to myself to see how the email looks. This is a tool on Aweber.

6. If the email is acceptable, queue the broadcast message to send the Boomer eZine to all the names on the list.

The Aweber autoresponder automatically sends follow up emails. It is set up to send a follow up email 14 days after the initial sign up to thank a new subscriber to Boomer eZine for being a reader.

Now that we know there is a simple way to handle all those names that you will add to your list, go out and get started building your money making mailing list.

Good luck.

Copyright 2006 John Howe, Inc.

John V. W. Howe is an entrepreneur, author, inventor, patent holder, husband, father, and grandfather. He has been involved in entrepreneurial activities for over 40 years. He founded http://www.boomer-ezine.com and http://www.retirement-jobs-online.com to help Boomers (baby boomers) become entrepreneurs when they retire.Ann Marie Blog93443
Caye Blog79620

San Francisco Schools Connect to China and its Chinese Community

The Alice Fong Yu Alternative School

The Alice Fong Yu Alternative School, one San Francisco School, is the first Chinese immersion school in the United States. The school is designed as a two-way Chinese/English instructional environment. The school provides an outstanding educational experience for children of all backgrounds. All students at Alice Fong Yu develop competency in the Cantonese and English languages and use the two languages actively in the content curriculum. The school aims to have all students to be able to converse in and become literate in both English and Cantonese by 5th grade. The Mandarin language is added after the fifth grade. The Mandarin/English program is similar in scope and function to the Cantonese/English program. The program is intended to vigorously include the staff, parents, and students in cultural and language education. The Alice Fong Yu school uses parents and volunteers in a variety of enrichment programs such as, Performing Arts Workshop, Poets in the Schools, and science and library consultants.

The Alice Fong Yu Alternative Schools Chinese Exchange Program

Created in 2000, the exchange program sends the eighth grade class to Beijing to meet their Chinese pen pals. The program gives students the opportunity to use their knowledge of the Chinese language and culture in a real life experience. The students travel to Beijing and Hong Kong where they meet Chinese students their own age. This experience allows students to experience the culture first-hand and put their language skills to the ultimate test.

In January of 2005, the program came closer to being a true exchange program. San Francisco Schools through the Alice Fong Yu School hosted students and teachers from The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University. The selected students and two teachers from China stayed with host families and participated in classes and school functions including English, art and modern dance classes. The Chinese students were able to tour City College, the Chinese Consulate and many interesting tourist destinations in the San Francisco area. Both the local and Chinese students spent their time practicing English and Mandarin.

Dance and Art Students from San Francisco Schools Travel to China

Other programs in San Francisco Schools have allowed students to travel to China to participate in international exchanges and competitions. This summer five students from the San Francisco School of Arts will travel to ShenZhen, China as representatives of the United States at the ShenZhen International Culture and Arts Festival. As part of an Educational Exchange program facilitated by Dr. Marie Lee, Director of East/West Child Research and Development Center and former school administrator of the San Francisco Schools, all student expenses in China will be provided in full by the ShenZhen Nanshan Government. The five selected students will perform two dances, Chant of the Sirens and Basin Street Blues. The School of the Arts students were the only students from the United States invited to the Festival in 2006. The three hundred students at the Festival represented countries from around the world including: Australia/ New Zealand, Russia, Germany, Bulgaria, Canada, India, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and others. Along with performing at the Festival students will visit schools, attend art exhibitions, eat new foods, visit tourist locations, and learn about Chinese culture and language while staying with Chinese families and students.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, Which provides free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues.Brenna Blog42344
Benoite Blog10631

The Green Glue Revolution

Green Glue has caused a revolution in the Soundproofing Industry. It is an extremely effective visco-elastic dampening compound that is placed between 2 layers of drywall providing a dampening barrier as well as a very effective isolator. The dampening effect of the Green Glue actually prevents structure borne sound transmission, which in turn prevents unwanted noise flanking.

Green Glue is used in a sandwich between 2 layers of a rigid material such as to layers of drywall or MDF and drywall or even Homasote and drywall. Green Glue can offer up to 100 times the dampening of a single layer of drywall. This is important to know when dealing with Impact noise from above. The greater dampening there is in the structure and the wallboard, the more effectively Impact noise will be alleviated.

Green Glue is one of the most popular soundproofing agents used in homes offices and industrial units where construction is complete. The fact that Green Glue uses the existing drywall as part of it sound dampening ability saved the owner both time and money.

Green Glue is easy to use and is the perfect product for that DIY soundproofing project that you have wanted to do for years.

Green Glue is the perfect addition to a floated wall or ceiling assembly that would be using the sound clips and furring channels or even RC-1 resilient channels. Because of the dampening abilities of the Green Glue, both resilient channel and Sound clips systems will be much more effective.

We have also found that Green Glue works perfectly with premium floor underlays such as the American Impact Standard and the American Impact Pro. You simply apply the Green Glue to the existing sub floor and then lay down the soundproof flooring and then finally your finished floor. The combination of the Flooring and the Green Glue gives the floor assembly a much higher STC rating as well as higher IIC (Impact Isolation Coefficient) numbers. This combination of materials stops both airborne noise as well as impact noise from ever being transmitted into the sub structure or into the ceiling below. Green Glue can also be used as both a dampening and adhesive compound for beneath a double sub floor if that is required for the installation of a ceramic tile or marble floor.

For the best performance in walls we suggest that you construct 2 separate wall assemblies with separate headers and footers and a 2 3 gap between the wall assemblies. Next you would screw up a layer of drywall on both sides of the wall with a layer of Green Glue applied to the final layer of drywall. This system will give you the ultimate in wall soundproofing.

The uses for Green Glue seem to be unlimited; it can be used in all wall and ceiling assemblies as well as most types of floor and sub floor applications. Green Glue is great for new construction as well as remodeling or reconstruction projects. One of the greatest advantages of Green Glue is ease of installation and low over all cost of the product itself. Customers rave about the effectiveness of the Green Glue and it is fast becoming a household name. To learn more about Green Glue go to: www.greengluecompany.com there you will find all the information you will ever need to know about this product. This is Dr. BobOut!!!

Dr. Robert W. Orther is the Senior Technical Advisor at Soundproofing America Inc, the leading authority in Soundproofing and Acoustical treatment technology.Alethea Blog48461
Adrea Blog59043

5 Easy Tips for Assembling Your Outdoor Furniture

So, youve bought a wonderful patio set and you cant wait to get it together and start enjoying your new purchase. Great! Lets get to it. But wait, you have what seems like millions of different pieces of wood, screws, and things youve never seen before. You dont even know where to start. The good news is this: we are here to help. Just follow these five fantastic tips for an easy and painless way to have beautiful assembled outdoor furniture.

#1: First, make sure you have the right tools. Look at the directions (yes men - look at the directions) and check to see what tools you are going to need to assemble the furniture. Now, check your tool box and make sure you have the tools you will need. If you dont have the tools required to build your furniture, either borrow or buy them for your project. Having the right tools on hand will make the assembly much easier.

#2: Next, we want to make sure that safety precautions are taken before you start on your outdoor furniture project. Have a pair of safety goggles, as well as work gloves to keep your hands and eyes safe. If you are using circular saws or any tools for cutting, make sure those tools are sharpened and ready to use. A dull tool is much more dangerous than a sharp one.

#3: Before you start putting the pieces together, make sure that you have all of the pieces that you need. Read through the directions and make sure that every piece is accounted for. If you are missing pieces, contact your retailer and they should send you the pieces that you are missing, or send a whole new product. You do not want to get halfway through your construction and realize that you are missing an important piece of your project. Next you can separate all of the pieces into different piles for easy access. Most of the time, the directions will label each piece of wood and different screws and nuts with letters or numbers. This will make assembly so much easier when everything is already separated and close at hand.

#4: The fourth tip is included for those of you that will need to be cutting wood pieces for your outdoor furniture. First of all make sure that you know how to make the cuts. It is always a good idea to practice the cuts on scrap pieces of wood before you make the final cuts for your project. It is also very important to measure your cuts to eliminate any wrong cuts that might ruin your beautiful new furniture. As my wise father once said, measure twice and cut once.

#5: The last tip is a fun one that will make your time assembly time much faster. It is a great idea to involve a friend or family member in your project. Your friend may have the tools that you dont have, or more experience in putting together wood pieces. Even if your friend is a novice like you, it is still good to have an extra pair of hands to help out. Plus it is much more fun (and safe) working with a friend than working by yourself.

Now go get started on putting together your stunning outdoor pieces and enjoy your new space. Then, invite all of your friends and family over for a block party to show off your hard work. Who knows, you might even get a few friends that want your help on their next project!

Thomas Easterday is the Director of Marketing for The Cedar Station. The Cedar Station carries a complete line of outdoor furniture for your enjoyment. For more information about The Cedar Station please visit http://www.thecedarstation.com. Ardra Blog47280
Alison Blog69031

Advice For Damp Homes

Is your home damp?

A damp house can encourage mould growth and mites which can increase the risk of illness. Here are some tips to identify the causes and what to do.

Water ingress

Damp caused by water penetrating from outside has a couple of tell tale signs. Firstly water penetrating through brickwork will extract the salts and leave a white deposit called efflorescence. Secondly a leak will leave a tide mark. As the problem gets worse further ring marks will appear. It is a good idea to mark the outer ring and monitor to see how it progresses. Often it takes several attempts to solve a leak as water can travel in unusual routes.

If either of these signs are apparent check for obvious causes such as a leaking or blocked gutter/downpipe, objects stacked against the external wall bridging the damp proof course, leaking pipes, dripping overflows, damage to roof or missing tiles. If fixed quickly there will be less damage to the fabric of the building. For more serious problems or no obvious signs get an expert in. If you suspect the damp proof course is damaged or there is not one advice from a damp-proofing specialist will be required.

Condensation

A common cause of damp is condensation. Condensation occurs when moisture in the air hits a cold surface and condenses. This is why it is more a problem in cold weather. Signs of condensation are mould growth in the corners of a room, around windows, behind wardrobes/cupboards, above cookers and baths and sometimes on north facing walls.

It is essential to treat any mould existing first. Wash off mould with a fungicidal wash following the manufacturers instructions. Bleach can also be used but may damage surfaces and care is required not to get it on the skin. Do not brush or vacuum up mildew as is will disturb the spores. Always dry clean clothes and shampoo carpets.

Redecorate surfaces with a quality fungicidal paint to help reduce mould reoccurring.

The only way to reduce condensation is to follow three simple steps.

1. Reduce moisture produced.
2. Insulate
3. Ventilate

There are very simple ways to reduce moisture in the home by simply changing our lifestyle. These tips will make a big difference to the moisture produced in the home.

Vent tumble dryers (unless self condensing)
Dry washing outside. If this is not possible hang washing up in the bathroom and leave a window open
Try not to use portable gas heaters as they add more moisture in the air
Cover saucepans when cooking.
Do not leave a kettle to continuously boil.

If a home is warmer it reduces the likeliness of condensation. Insulation and draughtproofing is the most effective way of helping to keep your home warm and save money on our heating bills. Home improvements such as secondary or double glazing will reduce heat loss but you must ensure that windows are fitted with trickle vents. Cavity wall and loft insulation are also very effective. Check with you local council to se if any grants are available, pensioners and low income families usually receive substantial grants. There are companies that will carry out works on a grant scheme. In very cold weather low background heating on all day will help keep the fabric of the building warm and reduce moisture condensing on cold spots. Here are some essential tips of what not to do:

Do not draughtproof the kitchen or bathroom
Do not completely block up chimneys (always fit an air brick or grill)
Do not block up ventilators
Do not cover eaves ventilators when laying loft insulation
Do no forget to draughtproof the loft hatch

It is possible to ventilate your home without making it draughty. Here are a few tips:

If windows have trickle vents do use them. If your windows dont look into the cost of fitting them.
Leave a gap between the back of furniture and an external wall. Where possible position furniture on internal walls.
Open kitchen and bathroom windows and close the door when in use. If you have an extractor fan please use them they are very cheap to run. If you don not have an extractor fan in these rooms consider fitting them.
When in a room open a small window.
If the condensation is worse in the loft or ceiling below check the eaves ventilators are not blocked. If none are fitted consider fitting some. Some eaves ventilation systems are hard to spot so close inspection is required. Always check what material a soffit is made from before purchasing a ventilator as some soffits in older houses are made from asbestos.

If you approach reducing condensation from the three simple steps you should find a dramatic difference. If no improvements are made seek professional advice.

Rachael Willerton publishes b4 school an online magazine for parents with fantastic competitions, features, reviews, activities, crafts, recipes and local information. To find out more go to http://www.b4school.co.uk.Betty Blog94984
Brynne Blog68187

Finance Your Education with Nursing School Loans

Do not let financial setbacks hinder you to pursue your dream to study nursing. There are many nursing school loans available whether you are a graduating high school student who would like to start a nursing career or someone who is advancing your nursing education. There are nursing loans available even for those pursuing a Masters or Doctoral degree.

Every nursing school offers some type of financial service to their students. Many schools form partnerships with private financial institutions and participate in government-funded student loans to be able to grant nursing school loans. Ask the college or university where you intend to enroll about their nursing school loans programs and application requirements.

Many hospitals also offer nursing school loans and scholarships with the agreement that after graduation the student will serve in the institution for a specific period. Financial assistance is also available to individuals already employed in the hospital such as Licensed Practical Nurses who wish to further their education and become registered nurses.

Possibly the best source of nursing school loans is the government. The US Department of Educations Federal Student Aid has different loan programs that allow undergraduate and graduate students and even parents to secure educational funding directly from the government. These loans include Federal Stafford Loans, which are for students and Direct PLUS loans for parents of dependent undergraduates.

Private lenders also offer nursing school loans funded by the federal government through the Federal Family Education Loan Program or FFEL. Nursing schools that participate in the Federal Perkins Loans Program also offer students in great financial need with government-funded low-interest loans. In this program, the student borrower makes payments to the school.

In addition, the US Public Health Department offers grants and nursing school loans forgiveness programs to students in exchange for their service in remote or under-served locations after they graduate.

As you can see, there are many sources of nursing school loans. The best place to start looking is in your community and your local state. The Internet is a useful tool to help you in your search. There are even websites that can match you with a financial aid provider. Sometimes, you will need to obtain more than one loan to cover your total educational costs. The key here is persistence in researching and applying for these opportunities. Lastly, remember that a loan is borrowed money so you would want to make sure that you would be able to keep your end of the bargain.

Milos Pesic is a successful webmaster and owner of popular and comprehensive Nursing Education web site. For more articles and resources on Nursing related topics, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Schools, Nursing Education and much more visit his site at:Cecile Blog31314
Bambi Blog77126

10 Things To Think About When Considering Frontpage Web Hosting

Its not hard to find Frontpage Web Hosting. Just do a google search and youre likely to find hundreds of sites that provide it. But there are some things that youll want to look for and consider.

1) What version of Frontpage are you using? This is important because Frontpage features are implemented through the use of Frontpage Extensions and those extensions are different between each version. So youll need to make sure that the Frontpage Host you select supports the Frontpage extensions for your particular version.

2) Do you really need a site that supports Frontpage extensions? This may seem strange, but youll find that there are two primary hosting types; Linux based and Windows based. The Linux based hosts are generally a bit cheaper than Windows based hosting. If you have no plans to take advantage of Frontpage extensions, and youre only using Frontpage to create HTML documents, then regular Linux hosting will do fine.

3) Dont use Frontpage Extensions if you really dont have to. These extensions will give you the ability to do creative things (flashing text, calanders, etc) that dont really add value to your website. Consider this risk as Microsoft updates its software, they may change a Frontpage extension in such a way that your websites may not work. If this happens, you would have to rewrite your web page with updated references to extensions to make it work again.

4) Is the host reliable? There are literally THOUSANDS of Frontpage Web Hosting providers on the market. All you need to set up a web host business is a Windows based server and an Internet connection. You, the home users, really have no idea if the host is reliable or not. For this reason, its a good idea to check Frontpage hosting providers ratings before making a selection. Use a service like:

http://www.webhostingratings.com/ or http://www.hostcompare.com/showcases/frontpage.html

5) How long do they want you to sign up for? Typically, a web host will have a monthly contract with price breaks if you prepay for longer terms. You dont have to be crazy and buy 5 years. 1 year will do. Also, along with your Frontpage hosting account, youre going to have to purchase a domain name. Generally, I do this through the same company, but you dont have to do it this way. For example, on occasion, a domain name registrar called RegisterFly will offer .info domains for as little as .60 per year. Normally you would expect to pay about $5.00 per year, so this is a great discount. Ive purchased hundreds of domains through RegisterFly and am very happy with them.

6) Does your Frontpage Web Host have a simple to use web front end for administering your site? This makes things much easier. You will undoubtedly be creating a directory structure, uploading files, changing file permissions, etc, while you develop your site. Having a convenient web based portal for administering these changes makes things nice.

7) How many e-mail accounts will your Frontpage Web Host provide? Normally this is a non-issue, but if youre setting up a website for a business and they need e-mail addresses to go along with their web hosting service, then youll want to confirm that enough e-mail addresses are provided by the host. Lately, Ive noticed this number going up and up and up. A few years ago, 5 e-mail addresses was normal. Now, Ill get hundreds per domain (which I never use).

8) How much space will your Frontpage Web Host provide? Again, this number is going up and up and up. But dont be caught off guard. Make sure they will provide enough space for your needs. Typically, youll see 100 MB or so for cheaper accounts. Unless you have a vast database that will be part of your site, this is generally more than enough.

9) Will your Frontpage Web Host put a cap on the amount of bandwidth you can consume? If you expect to get lots of visitors to your website, make sure your hosting provide will supply the bandwidth. I recently ran into a problem with on of my accounts because a graphics intensive page was referenced by a very popular authority site, I consumed my allotted bandwidth for the month, in 2 days. They kept my account operations, but I had to pay extra for the bandwidth consumption. Other sites have been turned off due to excessive bandwidth consumption.

10) Finally, will your Frontpage Web Host allow you to register domain names privately? This is a feature of Domain Registration where your private information remains private. When someone performs a Whois on your domain, they would see the contact information for the web host. This is nice if you plan to put up many, many sites and want to avoid any spam.

I would say that choosing a Frontpage Web Host is only slightly more difficult than choosing a Linux Host. If you check some of those review sites that I mentioned above, you can be confident that youll find a Frontpage host that will provide excellent service to you. You can find out more about Frontpage Web Hosting here -> http://www.frontpagewebhosting-site.info

Charles Waters has been developing web sites for several years as part of his Affiliate Marketing strategy. In the beginning, he used Frontpage extensively, but over the last few years has migrated to the cheaper, more ubiquitous Linux hosting. See http://www.frontpagewebhosting-site.info for more information.Ailyn Blog9270
Anastasie Blog9068

Making A Visible Statement

Many of us struggle with the problem of our own shyness. This problem often keeps us from being a part of our world. We want to make a visible difference but we do not do it. In addition to shyness, we struggle with fears of rejection, low self-esteem, feelings of unworthiness and being overly self conscious. All of these factors keep us from showing up in our world.

We tell ourselves that if we could just change our weak points then we could make a difference. If only we had more money, a college degree, better looks, more experience, etc..then we could let the world know about us. Maybe there are only a couple of areas which could use some changing. Regardless, we tell ourselves these things and then we justify reasons why we cannot or do not have them.

If we continue to hide, then we are sure to lose out on all the good things life as to offer. When we do not take the risk to become more involved we are denying ourselves the opportunity to grow. This leaves us feeling afraid, immature, and mistrusting. The longer we continue this pattern of avoidance the smaller our world becomes because we will eventually become comfortable with fewer and fewer situations.

So whether we are aware of it or not, we come across opportunities to grow on a daily basis. In order to make an impact we have to get started with what we have. Stop waiting for this, this and this to happen before we begin. Maybe we are already visible to some degree. If this is the case then we have to challenge ourselves to become even more visible. Only the individual knows the secret to what keeps them from letting others know them. What is it that is keeping you from letting others know you?

By making a visible statement we are telling others that we feel good about who we are and were not afraid to let them know us. This challenge will require courage. Courage comes from when we are afraid to do something but we do it anyway because we know it is for our own good. This new way of presenting ourselves will get easier with time. People will know us as individuals with integrity and they will respect us for it.

Just remember, we grow as individuals when we take risks to become our best selves. Feelings of great happiness will come from our efforts because we will know that we are taking control of our personal power.

Mark Webb is the author of How To Be A Great Partner and founder of Partner Focused Relationships. Sign up for Mark Webbs Relationship Strategies Ezine ($100 Value). Just visit his website at http://www.powerfulrelationshipadvice.com or http://www.therelationshipspecialist.com Ardra Blog76316
Agna Blog47576