Simple tips and tricks to save natural resources

Hoping and dreaming of a better world are not enough if we are unwilling to work - but when we work towards our dreams, wonderful things can happen.



HERE ARE CERTAIN TIPS TO SAVE WATER,PETROL & ELECTRICITY-BUT MOST IMPORTANT THING IS TOO BELIEVE THAT WHOLE OF INDIA IS OUR HOME - SO ALL THIS SAVING IS FOR MY OWN HOME-AND PLEASE DONT THINK HOW CAN YOU MAKE THE DIFFERENCE ALONE-YOUR SUGGETIONS AND EFFORTS ARE WELCOME.

HOW TO CREATE AWARENESS-V CAN USE BUSINESS CARDS,MAILING ENVELOPES,MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY NEW LETTERS ,WRITING SAVE WATER ETC SLOGAN ON OUR NOTICE BOARD,DISUCUSSING THIS WITH
AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE,INVOLVING OUR KIDS IN THIS AS WELL
& MOST IMPORTANT-FORWARD THIS MAIL TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE.


-PLEASE TRY TO INVOLVE MAXIMUM PEOPLE IN
THIS PROCESS & BE A PART OF THIS AWARENESS PROCESS-

LETS MAKE A BETTER WORLD


TIPS ON HOW TO SAVE WATER (3RD WORLD WAR IF HAPPENS WILL BE FOR WATER)

· Don't let the water run while shaving or brushing teeth.

· Take short showers instead of tub baths.

· Keep drinking water in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run until the water is cool.

· Scrape, rather than rinse, dishes before loading into the dishwasher; wash only full loads.

· Wash only full loads of laundry or use the appropriate water level or load size selection on the washing machine.

· Buy high-efficient plumbing fixtures & appliances.

· Repair all leaks (a leaky toilet can waste 200 gallons a day). Its also a sign of bad fortune or results in too much expenses.

· Water the lawn or garden during the coolest part of the day (early morning is best).

· Water plants differently according to what they need. Check with your local extension service or nurseries for advice.

· Set sprinklers to water the lawn or garden only – not the street or sidewalk.

· Use soaker hoses or trickle irrigation systems for trees and shrubs.

· Keep your yard healthy - dethatch, use mulch, etc.

· Sweep outside instead of using a hose.

· Do not use water to get your vehicles washed,instead use wet clothes.

· Do not waste the drinking water or Rs.12 litre water will soon be available for Rs 40per litre.

· Do not waste the food,as lot of water and energy is consumed while cooking food.



TIPS ON HOW TO SAVE PETROL (IMPORT OF CRUDE OIL ACCOUNTS FOR 40% OF IMPORT OF MAJOR COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD)

· Start your vehicle,when you are ready to move,not when you have to turn or get it out of your home.

· Switch off your vehicle when you are stopped at Red Light.

· Always keep your petrol tank full,do not waste your time & petrol by getting it filled again and again.

· Get your vehicles serviced regularly.

· Use original and branded equipments in your vehicle.

· Use Two whealers where four whealer can be avoided.

· While using Four Whealer try to accommodate maximum people so that petrol is not wasted(This practice is used even in Thailand).

· Try to use bicycle and even walk,where u can,it is helpful for your health as well.

· Use AC or Heater of your car only when its too urgent.

· Start for your work early so that you don't have to drive fast,it avoids accidents as well.

· Keep proper air preassure of tyres of your vehicles.

· Follow the traffic rules,it too helps in saving petrol and avoiding accidents.

· Do not use mobile while driving,you loose the concentration from driving.

· Park ur Vehicle properly,so that traffic problem doesn't arrive,that too helps in Petrol Saving.

· Do not keep your cars on just for getting cool air of AC.Sacrifice a little comfort to Give big comforts to your next generation.

·MOST IMPORTANT-Use School Transportation system for sending ur kids to school and if you want a short time comfort for your kids and want them to send on ur own car,please…..take a few more kids from your neighbourhood so that there is saving of our national property i.e.Petrol and also help to control traffic problem.

TIPS ON HOW TO SAVE ELECTRICITY (ONE BUCK SAVED FOR ELECTRICITY EQUALS TO TWO BUCKS USED IN GENERATING ELECTRICITY)


Try to keep your mobile on meeting mode-always avoid the vibrator mode,it will increase the talk time of

mobile battery & in turn also reduce the electricity use.

· Do not leave your electric appliances on stand by mode.By switching off at the main power button, or even the socket, you can save both energy and money.

· Items left on standby use up to 85% of the energy they would use if fully switched on.

· Use energy saving light bulbs to cut your costs considerably.

· No matter what type of lighting you are using, always turn the lights off when you leave a room.

· Take care of useless lights even in your school,office,friends or relatives house.

· There are a number of different solar-powered lights available for use in the garden. These lights are highly energy efficient.

· Washing machines and tumble dryers are big electricity users. You may not be able to cut down how often you use them, but small changes in how you use them will save energy and money.

· When using the washing machine, between 85-90% of energy is used just to heat up the water. Therefore, dropping the water temperature of your wash could significantly decrease your electricity consumption. Over a year, by using a warm wash rather than a hot wash, you could cut consumption nearly in half.

· Only use the washing machine when you have a full load. If you have to do a smaller wash, use the half load function. The spin on the machine may mean that more energy is used, but by spinning your clothes you are removing more excess water, therefore reducing your drying time in a tumble dryer.

· You can cut down on using tumble dryers by line drying clothes outside whenever possible or using an indoor clothes dryer when the weather is bad.

· A dripping tap can be not only annoying but if it is a hot water tap it can cost you in both water.

· There are a few easy ways to save energy when cooking which can also speed up the amount of time you spend over a hot stove. Always use the correct size pan and, when heating water, only use the amount you need.

· If only using a small pan, then use a smaller burner. Boiling water in the kettle first will save the time the burner needs to heat the water, and putting a lid on will help it come to a boil quicker.

· When making a cup of tea, only boil the amount of water that you need. Boiling a full kettle unnecessarily is a waste of electricity.

· The location of your fridge can make a difference in how energy efficient it is. Make sure it is out of direct sunlight and not close to the oven. It is best to keep it against an outside wall so that the heat it generates can escape easily, and always make sure that there are a few inches space all around the fridge so that air can circulate.

· Make sure you defrost your fridge and freezer on a regular basis or whenever necessary. An iced up freezer will make the freezer work harder, therefore wasting more energy than needed.

· Only set your fridge to as cold as you need it and avoid keeping the door open for long periods of time. The more cold air escapes, the harder the fridge has to work and the more electricity it uses. Check the seal regularly as a damaged seal also lets cold air escape.

· Never put warm or hot food into the fridge as this will make the fridge work extra hard to try and keep it cold; allow food to cool down first.

· In many homes, the single biggest electricity expense is the heating of water. This typically accounts for about 30% to 40% of the electricity account.

· By taking a shower instead of a bath you can save hot water. Showers typically use less water than a bath.

· Get the family into the habit of plugging the water basin when washing or shaving. Allowing hot water to pour out of the taps and down the drain is wasteful.

· Use the sun's energy to heat your water by installing solar panels. This will save electricity and cut down your electricity bill.

· Do not set the thermostat on the geyser too high. A setting of 50-60C is recommended.

· To optimize electricity efficiency, geysers should be located as close as possible to the points where hot water is being used.



THE MOST IMPORTANT THING-DO NOT DO WHAT YOU DON'T WANT OTHERS TO DO

AND REMEMBER TO START TODAY BECAUSE

WHAT IS NOT STARTED TODAY IS NEVER FINISHED TOMORROW.

a Public service message from www.1441.org

If you are with a thief in an ATM

Very useful........

If you are with a thief in ATM.......
OR
If someone were to
force you to withdraw money from ATM machine, ,

THEN.......

Enter your pin number reversed. So if your number is 1254 mark 4521.
The ATM machine will give you your
money, but will automatically recognize this as a plea for
help and will alert the police unknown to the
thief. This option is in all ATM machines,
but not many people know this.

Please pass this information on to
others. No harm in keeping this in mind!!

promoting resilience in children

Whether you realize this or not, you may be helping your children to become resilient. If you can understand the concept of resiliency, you will gain the awareness necessary to raise your children to be more resilient. So, what is resilience?

Resiliency is a pattern of the ways that children can adapt in the face of challenges, adversity and ordeals. Resiliency has been shown repeatedly to predict future success even in the face of tremendous adversity. Resiliency is also related to academic buoyancy. Academic buoyancy is the ability to successfully deal with academic setbacks and challenges that are typical in the course of school life (e.g. poor grades, examination pressures, social pressures). Resilient children who are inspired to learn are also buoyant academically.

Resiliency is based on three primary factors. Each of these factors represents the different ways that children can adapt. The three factors are,
Self-Mastery
Relatedness to Others
Reactivity

Self-mastery is a powerful mix of self-efficacy, optimism and adaptability. Self-efficacy is our belief abilities and judgment of our ability to accomplish a certain level of performance. While our belief in our self is important, the proof of our self-efficacy is even more powerful. Children who believe they can do well are more likely to succeed. Optimistic children believe problems are temporary, have specific causes, and can be managed or solved. They do not blame them selves. They accept responsibility for their behavior. They accept that adversity is part of life, that mistakes are opportunities to learn and they don’t give up. Optimistic children know how to approach challenges. Adaptable children can change their approach, attitudes and behaviors as necessary to accomplish goals. Children who are adaptable are flexible in their approach and means to solve problems.

Hope and optimism are not the same thing. Hope is trusting and believing that a better future is possible. To hope, is to expect that best, despite a lack of success and the prospect of failure or ruin. Hope is the belief that a good future is something that can be brought about. More powerful than mere hope is Optimism. Our ability to be optimistic requires hope but also persistence and bravery in the face of adversity, challenges and ordeals.

Resiliency is also based on a child’s sense of relatedness to others. A child will feel related if they can trust people, feel supported by others, are comfortable interacting with people and are tolerate. Children who have one good friend, or a group of good friends, endure challenges better than children who don’t. Children with a strong sense of relatedness know that their relationships will survive and endure any failure or setback.

Resiliency is also based on a child’s ability to manage their Reactivity. Children who are less sensitive, recover quickly from upset, and have few impairments tend to be more resilient. The challenge for children here is to learn how to tolerate their feelings without overreacting; yet use their emotional experience as information that can help them make decisions, understand people and interact in appropriate ways.

So what can parents do? Here is a list of suggestions.
Provide your child activities that are a challenge where they can succeed.
Express confidence in your child. Point out their strengths and successes.
Be kind, respectful and firm with your children. Never act abusively.
Encourage your child to have friends. Be respectful toward their friends.
Show your child that you are flexible and that can adapt to difficult situations.
Express your feelings to your child while remaining calm.
Don’t overwhelm your child with emotional behavior.
Never let your child believe you don’t love them.
Show your child how mistakes are just opportunities to learn.
Remain calm and understanding when your child is upset. Listen and let them talk.
Help your children accept and understand their feelings. Don’t distract them or reward an emotionally distressed child to make them feel better.

Quick and Easy Party Planning Tips

Planning a party can be overwhelming, especially when you start at the last minute. So, do yourself a favor and make it a priority to plan any soirée early. A couple of weeks is plenty of time to get everything together, however, it does take effort and organization. To kick start your planning, follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to an awesome party that friends and family will talk about for years.

The easiest and most effective way to plan any party is by simply answering five basic questions. Who, what, where, when and why. Just like everything else in life, to be successful, you need to have a clear vision of where you are going, otherwise you end up going in circles or going off the path completely. One way to make sure this doesn’t happen is by compiling your answers to the above questions and creating a sentence from it.

The most important question is the "who". In order to plan a party, you have to know who the party is for. Answer the following three questions and then create a sentence from them.

1. Who is my anticipated guest list? (Friends, family or coworkers?)

2. Do you want a small gathering or a lot of people?

3. Will this be exclusively for adults or will there be children?

Perhaps your sentence will look like one of these:

A small party for adult friends

A big family party

Now that you know who will be attending your event, you need to figure out what kind of party you want and where you would like to host it.

1. Is this a casual or formal party?


3. Will you host this party at home or at a venue?


Now add those answers to your sentence.

A small, casual home party for adult friends.

A formal, big family event at the local recreation center.

Once you get this far, you can figure out what type of food and drink you will be serving. Naturally, if it is formal, you might want to consider a sit down supper with wine. If it is casual, perhaps a buffet style supper or potluck with punch. If this party is after dinner hours, then appetizers will do just fine. Let’s look at that sentence now.

A small, casual home party featuring a potluck dinner and drinks for adult friends.

A formal, big family event with a sit down supper and wine to drink hosted at the local recreation center.

The party is definitely shaping up, but there is still some work to do. Now you need to know why you want to host an evening to begin with. This will form the theme.

1. Is this a party to celebrate a specific day or person?

Once you’ve answered this question, you can decide on what type of entertainment would be appropriate for this particular party. Perhaps some dancing, board games or singing. Whatever suits the needs of the crowd.

A small, casual home party featuring a potluck dinner and drinks for adult friends to celebrate Christmas.

A formal, big family dance with a sit down supper and wine to drink hosted at the local recreation center to celebrate Christmas.

Finally, you need to answer the last question. When? Now you can create an invitation based on your sentence. See how much clearer the picture is? You know exactly where you want to go, now all you need to do is organize the steps to get there and that’s where your to-do list comes into play. Here is an example to do list to help you plan that perfect stress free party.

To do List

1. Book your venue
2. Book your entertainment
3. Create your guest list
4. Send out invitations
5. Plan your menu and do your grocery shopping
6. Buy decorations according to your theme

Tip: It helps to create an agenda of how you would like the evening to unfold. This can be approximated. You just never know what surprises will unveil itself at the party, so just go with the flow and enjoy yourself.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this article and wish you the best party ever!

Tips to Help Balance Career and Family

Whether you are male or female, a mom or a dad, balancing career and family can be really difficult. When you're a woman, though, the choices you have to make seem especially difficult and the responsibilities all the more great. For some reason, women are guilt-ridden with their career decisions and the choices they make about working while trying to raise their children, providing nutritious meals for their family, keeping a respectable house and keeping their husbands happy. Last on the list, of course, is finding some time for themselves. So how does a woman find time to actually feel happy with her daily activities while keeping up with all of the responsibility?

First, take time to smell the roses! Literally, you can take time to smell the roses but you can actually do this with no flowers in sight. Every day, try to look around and appreciate what you have, taking in the sounds of your child's laughter, the wag of your dog's tail, the special glance of your husband as you tell a funny joke. Sometimes, the knowledge of what you have on your plate for the day will feel overwhelming, but a little perspective goes a long way. It may be a cliché and a very tired phrase, but it truly does work. People tend to get lost in the mundane, day-to-day "functioning" instead of really living their lives. For example, next time you are worried about fitting in your exercise with your child's play date at Little Gym, fore go the Little Gym and head out with your son or daughter for a run. Strap the little one in the jog stroller or if he or she is old enough, ask them to put on the running shoes with Mommy and head outside! Once outside, you can literally stop to smell the roses. Just a few minutes of gratitude a day will work wonders for your soul and automatically make your life feel more balanced.

Along these same lines, try and give yourself some "me" time once a week. Once a week may not seem like much, but if you really allow yourself to soak it in and enjoy the time spent, it will make the stress of all of the rest of the hectic days melt away. Take a good block of time on a Saturday or Sunday - 2 hours, maybe - and mark this time in your calendar in pen, not pencil. Keep a standing appointment with yourself, and honor it as you would any other. Think you are too busy on a weekend to do this? You will feel much more productive the rest of the weekend allowing yourself this little ‘refresher', rather than trying to cram some time in on a random Tuesday or other weeknight. For this special time, you can book a massage or a facial at your favorite spa. Take a couple of hours to go window shopping at your favorites stores, by yourself or with a friend. Take in a matinee with a couple of girlfriends. If your husband is willing to fly solo on a Saturday night, you can even book a girls' night out once in a while and truly let loose! Even if your budget doesn't allow for these activities once a week, you can lock yourself in the bathroom with a good book, a bubble bath and a nice glass of wine and feel good about your time alone - you deserve some!

Probably the most obvious way to balance career and family is to incorporate your family into what would otherwise be "work time". If you have a short commute to work, for example, perhaps you can drive your kids to school each morning instead of having them take the bus. In the alternative, you could have your morning cup of coffee at the bus stop with them and spend a few minutes chatting about their day and what they plan to learn in school as you sip your cup of Joe and breathe in the morning air to mentally prepare for your own day ahead. If you normally exercise in the morning and leave the house very early, switch your workout time to lunch and leave the office to go to the gym, eating at your desk when you get back. You will have more time with your family each day and get a healthy break from your pile of papers to boot.

You may need to get a little creative with your schedule, but there are definitely ways to help balance career and family. Sometimes an extra few minutes each day or a once-weekly good block of time can go a long way in helping restore your peace of mind and help you feel less harried.

Strategies for Motivating Students to Learn

"How do I motivate students to learn?"

Motivating students to learn is a struggle that all teachers face.

If students are not motivated to learn then they are most likely not involved in the lesson and if they are not involved in the lesson they are much more likely to cause classroom management problems.

Therefore, it is critical for teachers to increase student motivation to learn and the best way to do this is for teachers to spark student interest at the beginning of every lesson.

Here are six effective strategies for motivating students to learn

1. Use critical thinking questions ~ The great thing about using these types of questions is that they don't necessarily have a right or wrong answer so students are allowed to express their own opinions as opposed to simply being told to memorize facts.

Here's a quick example. Let's take a social studies lesson on the use of the atomic bomb to end World War II. To spark interest at the beginning of the lesson the teacher can ask students to all write down an answer to the following question... "Do you think President Truman was justified in dropping the atomic bomb to end WWII? Why?"

Teachers can then let students share their answers for a quick class discussion and then take a class poll. Now that the students are interested in the topic it is much easier for the teacher to start the lesson.

Then, at the end of the lesson, the teacher can take another poll to see if the student's opinions have changed.

2. Use music to teach ~ Music is one of the most underrated learning tools and is a great way to spark student interest. For example, when teaching a lesson on the slave trade and the Middle Passage I introduce the topic by playing the Bob Marley songs "Buffalo Soldier" and "Catch a Fire".

3. Use video ~ Video is one of the most misunderstood teaching tools and is often abused. However, if used correctly video can be a great tool increase student motivation to learn. The key is to use short clips from movies and documentaries at beginning of lessons rather than the end. Hollywood movies are great for this, but you can also use unitedstreaming.com to download short clips from documentaries on any subject for any grade level.

4. Relate what students are learning to what is going on in the "real world". This is obviously easier done with some subjects than others, but it can be done. Students need to know "why" they are learning something.

5. Relate what students are learning to what is important to them. The trick here is to get to know your students and learn about their own interests.

6. Use technology...or rather, have the student use technology to learn. Have them create podcasts, videos, web sites, brochures etc.

Increasing student motivation to learn can be challenging, but it is an essential element in being an effective teacher. The added bonus is you will also find yourself enjoying teaching much more when it doesn't feel like you are pulling teeth trying to get your students involved.

15 Secrets To Boost Your I.Q In Less Than 30 Days

The same reason that people visit the gym on a regular basis, is probably the same reason you’re interested in raising your IQ. We just aren’t challenged enough physically or mentally. Setting aside time to work your mind out and organizing your various mental muscles can help you to be more creative, solve problems quicker and focus on the things you want.

Contrary to what most people believe, brainpower goes beyond inherited genes. Scientists have proven that intelligence is a combination of both genes and environment. When laboratory rats were given more toys to interact with, they ended up having much smarter rats than the ones that did not have any toys. Studies have also shown that you can grow more neurons with a stimulating environment.

The benefits of being mentally fit are very obvious. You’ll be able to enjoy accelerated learning. If you’re in high school, college or attend a university, you may find yourself having an easier time of your studies and your grade point average raising. You’ll also find yourself being able to think logically more often. You’ll be able to assemble a clear line of logic and reasoning that can help you make better decisions in life. Another benefit is that of increased creativity. Whether you’re into music, art, writing or any other form of art, training your mind can definitely open the flood gates of creativity in those areas as well.

In addition, your memory and focus will increase. Training with certain kinds of memory tools such as pegging and linking can help you uncover new ways to store information permanently and have an easier time of recalling things. Through meditation, your focus can improve greatly. You can start by meditating 10 or 15 minutes a day. Simply find a quiet place and sit or lay completely still, with eyes closed. Then, as much as possible, quiet your mind and focus on your breathing. If you’re not used to doing this, it may be extremely difficult. That’s ok. The more you do it, the easier it gets. As you stick with it, you’ll notice some very big improvements of being able to hold ideas and imagines in your mind much longer and stronger.

So how can you boost your IQ in less than 30 days? Here are the key secrets:

1. Write – when you write down your thoughts, it can be a great tool for you to reflect and make decisions. Some people use journals to write down their thoughts, others have simple notepads or notebooks. Simply writing what you think and feel can help you have a new perspective when you go back and read those words.

2. Meditate – as already stated, you can significantly boost your IQ through meditation. It may not seem logical, that you could boost your IQ by thinking about nothing at all, but it does help you bridge a connection from your conscious to your subconscious mind. And the subconscious stores every bit of data of our lives. Nothing is lost to the subconscious.

3. Be active – if you’re not already active, start a regular exercise routine. Having a healthy body also affects the mind.

4. Have Hobbies – have a regular routine of doing things you love to do, whether it’s fishing, bowling, bicycling, knitting, or reading a mystery novel. The more fun and passion you experience, the easier it will be to process and assimilate new information.

5. Read at least 15 minutes a day – Try to read at least 15 minutes a day. It may be hard to read if you’re pressed for time, but 15 minutes is very doable by anyone of this day and age.

6. Think – involve yourself in documentaries, books, magazines or board games that make you think. Actively challenge your current assumptions.

7. Study IQ puzzles – visit your local book store and buy yourself a couple of IQ puzzles or crossword puzzles. Make sure you get ones that have the answers in the back so that you can work out any mistakes. Go over them again and again. It keeps your mind sharp.

8. Play competitive games like chess. You can log on to the Internet and play with other players around the world. You can also play billiards.

9. Walk in someone else’s shoes – empathy goes along with IQ intelligence. By exploring someone else’s perspective of the world can help you to think through other people’s eyes. Although this is not a logical reasoning ability, it is an ability that can help you think out of the box when you’re stumped on a problem.

10. Create something on a regular basis – find something you can create, whether it’s writing an ebook, building a bird house, planting a flower, overhauling a car engine, or drawing a picture. Use your creative powers on a regular basis.

11. Conduct thought experiments – Ask yourself “what if” questions. Write them down and see how far you can take a certain question.

12. Break out of the routine – try to consciously break a routine, even if just for a short time. If for example you drive the same way to work every day, try a new route. If you sleep on the left side of the bed, sleep on the right side, or even the opposite direction.

13. Explore new cultures – seek different worldviews than your own. Meet people from other cultures and let them teach you about their food, language and traditions.

14. Learn outside of your usual interests – don’t stick to the same old things. If you like rock music, try listening to rap or jazz. If you’re into art or music, get into a programming language.

15. Use your brain more – Force yourself to use your brain more in everything that you do. In many cases its just having the intention to use your brain more that can actually give you surprising results. Logic, focus and creativity are a handful of mental muscles that you should be exercising on a regular basis.

These techniques can definitely help you boost your IQ, no matter who you are. If you’re looking to join a high IQ society, like MENSA, then are two ways to go about it.

12 Great Memory Strategies For Better Grades

"I forgot."

"I can't remember that."

"I sit down to take a test and my mind goes blank."

"I'm not a good test taker."

These are all things students say when they forget assignments or don't do well on tests. All of us, students and non-students alike, forget important things. This happens when we don't transfer information into long-term memory. It is important to know how to do this in order to do well in school and beyond. Just think about it: you need to remember what you read, what your boss told you, the driving directions someone rushes at you at a stoplight, or, if you are a student, what the teacher says.

This article is written from a student's perspective as this will make it easier for them. However, these strategies are just as helpful for adults, because we all need a little help remembering new things.

Have you ever noticed that some things are easy for you to remember while others are difficult? For example, you may be able to remember how to put an engine together, or why it rains, but you may have trouble remembering the lines to a school play or multiplication facts. You'll be relieved to know that there's nothing wrong with you; this happens to everyone. The good news is that there are strategies that can help you remember what you need to remember. The twelve strategies (some of which are called mnemonic "ni mon ik" devices) introduced below will help you learn how to memorize important information. We know they are effective because they have been helping students at STRONG Learning Centers® for years, not only on homework and tests, but continuing to be valuable in their daily lives.

STRATEGY 1. CHUNKING

It is easier to memorize information when you break it up into small chunks. This is called chunking. You may not realize it, but you use chunking often, like when you memorize your friend's telephone number, a locker combination, or your social security number. It's easier to remember long numbers when you "chunk" them into groups of threes, fours and fives. That's because most people can only remember about three, four or five bits of information at a time.

Here are suggestions on how you can use "chunking" to remember information as well as numbers.

• Chunk vocabulary words by grouping them by parts of speech or other attributes.

• Chunk history by time periods or events.

• Chunk foreign language by grouping words into categories like household items or occupations.

• If there is no pattern to the information you need to study, just group the items into three, four or five at a time, and that will help a lot.

STRATEGY 2. UNDERSTANDING

Before you begin trying to memorize something, try to understand it. A good way to do this is by making a connection between what you are learning and what you have experienced. The better you can relate the new information to what you already know, the easier it is to learn. For example, before attempting to memorize events of European history, find the places on a globe (or world map) and see where they are relative to one another and also relative to where you live.

STRATEGY 3. GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS

These tools help you see things you are trying to learn. They help organize information. There are many different types of graphic organizers. You can even design them yourself.

• the Venn Diagram for comparing and contrasting

• a Web for the main topic and details

• the Cause and Effect Design with the event in the middle box, the causes listed in the left boxes and the effects listed in the right boxes. (The effects and the causes are connected to the event by lines.)

• the Cycle Organizer consists of shapes drawn in a cyclic pattern with words in each shape to represent things or events that go in cycles. For example, the water cycle.

To see/print examples of these graphic organizers, find No. 452 Improve Your Memory Skills, Silbert, at our StrongLearning website.

STRATEGY 4. VISUALIZATION

To visualize means to see an image in your head without actually looking at it. Visualization can help you learn almost anything. Here is an example. Let's say the topic is the water cycle. Create a mental image of a cloud. Picture it growing. Now see, and "feel" its heavy cold rain. See the rain hitting the ground, then flowing toward streams and rivers toward the ocean. Now "see" the hot sun hitting and evaporating the water and forming clouds…. Get the picture? If you can visualize parts of the water cycle, the boring diagram becomes meaningful and remember-able. In general, if you have trouble visualizing material, try drawing maps, charts, graphs, or pictures.

STRATEGY 5. ASSOCIATION

Another learning strategy is to associate, or "connect," each word or event with a person, place, thing, feeling, or situation. For example, you may connect what you are trying to learn with someone you know, or with a movie character or scene. When you have to learn vocabulary words, just write the new words, write the definitions next to them, and then write a person, thing, event, movie, or any strong association to help you remember the meaning of each word. For example, "My altruistic Aunt Alice gives great gifts." (Altruistic means generous.)

STRATEGY 6. RHYMING

We all used rhyming in the ABC song to learn the alphabet. And the rhyme "I before E, except after C, or when it sounds like A as in neighbor or weigh." This is also a great strategy even when learning the times tables. For example, 7 and 7 went down the line to capture number 49; 8 and 4 made some stew and gave it to 32. (Rhymes don't have to make sense!)

STRATEGY 7. TALKING

Here's a strategy that's easy and fun to use, especially if you like to talk! Just talk about the information you have to learn. Tell Grandpa, Mom, a friend, or your dog what you have to learn! Do you want to learn history? Then talk history — discuss, debate, argue. Think of a person who may have lived during a major historical event and pretend to be that person. Now talk about the important events: who was involved, when it happened, where it took place, what happened, and why? If you're learning a language, then speak it at the dinner table. It doesn't matter if others know what you are saying; you do, so you'll learn.

STRATEGY 8. STORYTELLING

Storytelling is a great way to help you remember information in any subject. Write a story by focusing on the key points of what you're learning and arranging them in a logical sequence. It can even be a song or rhyme that tells the story. And there's a bonus: each event in the story triggers your memory of the next event, so you'll remember even more.

STRATEGY 9. WRITING SENTENCES

Do you remember learning the silly sentence "Every good boy does fine" from music class? We used this to remember the notes. You may also have used the sentence "My Very Excellent Mom Just Served Us Nine Pizzas" to remember the planets. (Oops, change the sentence because Pluto is no longer considered a planet). This strategy can even help us learn those extra troublesome spelling words. Just make up a sentence using words that begin with the letters. So, to learn "aardvark," you may make up a nonsense sentence like: Aardvarks Always Run Down Very Angry Rowdy Kids.

STRATEGY 10. ACRONYMS

An acronym is a word made up from the first letters of a list of words. Here's how it works. You take the list of words or facts that you want to remember and put them in an order so that the first letters of each word, or the first syllables, spell a real word or a made-up word.

How do you memorize the names of the five Great Lakes? Easy, just remember "HOMES." H=Huron, O=Ontario, M=Michigan, E=Erie, and S=Superior. While this strategy won't help you understand the information, it at least helps you to memorize it. It's easy and fun, and you'll probably remember the information forever. You may be interested in knowing that our company name is an acronym. STRONG stands for: Self-esteem, Trust, Responsibility, Options, Needs, Goals.

STRATEGY 11. REHEARSING

When you want to remember information, you have to practice it, or else it fades. So, just as actors need to rehearse in order to remember their lines, students need to rehearse to remember what they are learning. Here are some helpful hints on "rehearsing" whatever information you need to learn for homework or tests:

• Rehearse for short practice periods (perhaps 30 to 60 minutes) and then take a short ten-minute break to call a friend, have a snack, or shoot some hoops.

• Use a multisensory approach every time you rehearse: say it, write it, read it, draw it, sing it – do whatever it takes.

• Just before going to sleep, review everything you will need to know for the next day or for the upcoming test. It's amazing how much more you'll remember if you rehearse the night before.

• Review in the morning while brushing your teeth, eating breakfast or sitting on the bus.

STRATEGY 12. PLAYING GAMES

Playing games is a great way to memorize information. You see, as you play the game you are learning the material and practicing it over and over again. Games can help you remember facts, formulas, definitions, events or any other information you're trying to learn. Here is an example.

Play Memory, alone or with others, using decks of cards you make from ordinary index cards you cut in half. Create pairs by writing the same number on each of two cards, 1 and 1, 2 and 2, etc. Write the numbers tiny so they will not interfere with play. On each pair, write a question on one card and the answer on the other card. For example, "2x7=" is on one card and "14" is on its pair, or "Where did the Pilgrims land?" is on one card and "Plymouth, Massachusetts" is on its pair. Then shuffle all the cards and play Memory with yourself or with a friend. If you're alone, see how fast you can match up all the pairs. You'll be able to check yourself by making sure the small numbers are the same. Have Fun!

For the Tough Ones: for the pairs that are really hard to remember, make a string "clothes line" between two places on a wall. Hang the pairs next to each other with spring type clothes pins. So, for example, if circle formulas get you down, every time you walk into your room you'll see "C=" and "2*pi*r" and "A=" and "pi*r squared" next to each other. Pretty soon you'll remember the info.

Another example is the many commercially available games to make learning to read easier and fun. A good example is, by using any of the twenty STRONG Learning Phonics Games, children in grades 1-6 can learn important phonics rules while playing popular card games: Go Fish, War, Memory, or Old Maid.

We hope you find that some of these techniques and strategies make it easier for you and your children to remember important things. We also hope that these strategies will help make school days and home nights a whole lot better.

5 Ways to Improve YOUR English without even Trying! for people who speak English as a second language

Learning a second language can be a very stressful and arduous task if you let it. Somehow, the words you learn in the books don't seem to apply very well to real life situations. Those small and seemingly un-important elements the show a person to be in command of not only the language, but the culture of the people who speak it cannot be adequately expressed by words on paper.

So, how do you learn these little secrets of mastering the ability to articulate yourself in another language?

Here are 5 proven techniques that will help you improve your English without even trying, if you are learning to speak English as a second language. Do they really work? Yes. I've tried them myself as I've had opportunity to live somewhere where English wasn't the primary language. I found it to be a fun, exciting, and painless way to learn both the language and the culture. The culture is simply learning the way the natives express their own words. The genuine accent, facial expressions, hand gestures, sighs, moans, groans, laughter, smirks, and other things that go along with everyday conversation.

Regardless of how extensive or not your vocabulary is, if you master the ability to "sound" like you know the language and can speak it, people will be more than generous to assist you.

1. Watch Movies!

Watching movies is always a fun thing to do. In order to get the most out of your movie watching experience, if your vocabulary is limited, watch a movie in English that you are very familiar with in your own language so you always know what's going on. Try not to translate as you go because you lose blocks of conversation this way. Instead, watch the picture and listen. Hear all the words, but determine what's going on by the pictures you see and the words you're hearing that you already know. Believe it or not, other words will sink in too, and so will the accent and everything else that went with what you saw and heard.

As your vocabulary grows, expand your movie selections to other movies you'd like to see but are only available in English. Try to be able to see the film more than once if possible.

According to the location and type of film you intend to view, you will be able to experience different accents, and other cultural expressions of the English language. Pick and choose the things that you think will suit you best. If it doesn't work out, pick and try something else! Have fun with yourself and your efforts.

2. Watch Soap Operas

The place where extreme expression and limited vocabulary meet! This is such a fascinating way to learn a foreign language. Every accessory that goes with the expression of a word is demonstrated on a soap opera. "Outrage" expressed with a word, facial expression or two, and perhaps even a subsequent face slap, all of that being understandable in any language. "Love", another universal subject, or violence, good versus evil can all be discerned quickly and easily on a soap opera. Plus, soap operas are naturally designed to allow anyone just tuning in to pick up the story quickly. The characters are easily loveable and deliciously "hate-able" so you turn to it again and again to see what's going on, and not only improve your English each time, but reinforce what you've already learned.

3. Read the Comics/Funny Papers

Very non-stressful! Pictures with words, or words with pictures, however you want to look at it, it's a great way to learn! For each thought presented there are words that match a picture, and vice versa. It doesn't matter if you read comic books, or the comics in the Sunday newspaper, read whatever will make you laugh and cause you to enjoy learning at the same time.

4. Read Children's books

If you know any little kids between the ages of 5-8, try reading one of their books to them. Usually little kids know their favorite books by heart, so if you stumble a little, they'll be able to help you.

If you enjoy this method of improving your English, and you find yourself to be pretty good at it, then try reading a few Dr. Seuss books. The rhyming will challenge you, but once you master it, your pronunciation of English, and your delivery will have been considerably refined and improved.

5. Take a service job like waiter or waitress; bartender, or sales person.

This type of job can be done if you have a decent vocabulary of verbs, and know how to say "I, we, she, he, they", etc. The only other thing necessary is a working vocabulary of things relevant to your specific tasks and goals.

For example, as a breakfast waitress, you want to be able to ask if they want their eggs, "scrambled or fried", if they want "more coffee", if everything is "alright", do they want "anything else", and the total of their bill in their own language!

If you sell real estate, you'll want to incorporate words like "mortgage, loan, co-sign, 30 year fixed", etc.

If you sell shoes, you need words like "how does that feel", are they "too tight, too loose, to short in the toe, to big", etc.

The longer you work at your job, the more your working vocabulary will improve.

6. Learn these two sentences and you'll be set for life . . . seriously!

"How do you say (blank)", in English (Spanish, French, etc.), and "What is that called?" (Point if you have to, and smile too). Smiling is a universal language. Once I learned how to ask these two questions, I was on my way to being conversant in the language of my choice!

I could use my limited vocabulary to ask the question and then when I got my answer I would repeat it a few times to make sure I was saying it correctly, and "BAM" I had a new vocabulary word. And, because I asked my question to the best of my ability in the native tongue, the natives realized my sincere desire to learn, and helped me!

7. What happens if you make a mistake?

Nothing. The world won't come to an end, and you haven't embarrassed yourself to the point where you can't show your face again. Just apologize if that's what's called for, or laugh at yourself, make the correction, and count it as a learning experience.

Once I was in a restaurant and I wanted to ask the waiter for a "to go" box, however, I was speaking to my kids in English, and trying to think of what I wanted to ask for in Spanish, and I promptly and incorrectly asked him for a "house to go". He looked at me kind of funny, but he was very courteous, and didn't laugh until I laughed.

I've committed other language faux pas as well over the years, all of which have been a learning experience, and if given enough time, will become a humorous story as well.

What The Heck Is Podcasting? And How Can It Help My Business?

Just in case you’ve been living in a cave the last 18 months I’ll fill you in on Podcasting. In short it is an online radio show. You can come on week after week and get your marketing messages out to the millions at any time you like. That is TOTAL FREEDOM.

But what many people do not realize is that podcasting can be used to get incredible search engine rankings. This is a very powerful thing to keep in mind. That is what this mini course is about to show you.

Currently as I write this I have the number 10th popular show on Podomatic in the business section. Its been like that for quite a while. I didn’t have to buy my way to the top. I just plugged in a microphone and went for it. I blurted out tips and secrets and kept the format into a neat 40 minute segment.

More to the point I never asked for permission to do any of this. I just took action.

The truth was I actually hated my voice when I first started. But because I have done this so many times and have listened to myself over and over again I adjusted. Now I am not self conscious about any of this and I have grown accustomed to the way I sound.

GETTING STARTED:

If you're considering podcasting, you're probably wondering both, a) what it is, and b) why you'd want to get involved. Suffice to say (as you begin your journey) that podcasting is an amazing way to get audio material heard by an audience where and when they want. In terms of why you should podcast, however, the reasons are as varied, unique, lovely, controversial and fascinating as there are voices to be heard in the world. Just turn on a microphone and join the conversation.

It's really fun. Yup, let's start with the basics. If I were to say, "podcasting allows you to convert audio material via an RSS feed through an uploaded host..." the sound of your yawning would drown out the click of your mouse as you ventured to a different website.

Podcasting is about creation. It's about taking your ideas, dreams, ambitions, business goals, or any other reason that you'd use your voice for to create a lasting record of said content and making it available to others. And one of the reasons it's so fun is because it's easy. Get a microphone, press a couple of buttons, and start talking.

And if you're thinking, "but what would I say? I'm not funny or interesting and nobody would care about my show." In short, I disagree.

You may not get an audience of 10,000 listeners, but the audience you do get will be utterly interested in what you have to say.

That's why they call podcasting the ultimate niche marketing medium. If you're not in marketing all that means is, you can speak directly and specifically to the people who are listening versus trying to speak in general terms to broadcast to a larger audience.

Think of it like when you were a kid and strung two cans together with string or used walkie-talkies; what did you say to your buddy when you pushed the button to speak? In some ways, did it matter? The joy was in communicating the joy of talking to one another using a fun medium. Podcasting is just like that.

I pay literally pennies to put my shows on every week. I got a steady listening base too thanks to Itunes and I don’t have to worry about spending a ton of money out of my pocket for sponsors. I just talk and send it to the masses.

I have taken a complete 360 degrees with this experience. You should do it for your business too. All you need is a microphone, some imagination and some free software called Audacity. You can download it on the web just type the name into Google.

This is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

Happy Podcasting!

Web Hosting Explained. Not All Hosting Providers Are Created Equal

Web Hosting. Some Basic Facts To Consider Before You Take The Plunge!

Web hosting Companies which offer Internet-connected servers that provide space and bandwidth for websites, are called Web Hosts. Big companies deliver private electronic networks which allow for them to host multiple domains on their own equipment and IP address range.

However, for the bulk of beginners that desire an online presence, a rented web host is essential.

There is a broad assortment of hosting plans available. A few are free, other hosting companies charge up to a hundred dollars or more per month. Some companies supply nothing but a small amount of disc space and minimal network bandwidth.

The website owner is on their own for anything else. Others providers offer an array of services, including server and electronic mail administration, backups, website design help, troubleshooting and many other services.

In the world of web hosting, you might frequently discover yourself sharing a server with anywhere from one to one thousand or more other websites, which allows web hosting companies the ability to keep equipment and staff expenses at a lower cost.

Many websites are simple and low-volume enough that this agreement works best.

When you or one or more of the other members grow, it might be helpful to consider a dedicated server. A dedicated server, as the name indicates, hosts only your domain. You can put one website on it, or as many any way you want. You control the access.

You may also consider taking over much of the server administration yourself. That may save you money on support costs, but cost you considerable time. If you do not have the expertise, it may end up costing much more money than you save!

In order to execute those administrative procedures yourself, it is desirable to have some technical knowledge.

Some of that knowledge will be of value, even for daily projects apart from addressing emergencies. FTP, electronic mail administration, backup techniques and additional technical areas are amongst the more common areas you will need to be at least somewhat acquainted with.

As your internet site develops to a certain size and degree of complexity, you will begin to find it worthwhile to consider implementing a database. However, that brings with it a higher level of ability.

Applying a database can be comparatively simple. Designing one which provides what you want, with adequate performance and maintenance that does not become a nightmare, will call for some careful thought.

Not everybody has the disposition for that type of work, particularly those who favor graphical design, content creation or development, and the numerous other Internet site chores that are part of every implementation.

There are other, more low level administrative matters; Managing disc space, maintaining domain names, dealing with registration and alterations, and a number of other functional tasks are not every bodies cup of tea. Some understanding of how domain name server works, in addition to the design of the Internet itself, are helpful. That allows a good context for understanding the role of some of those tasks.

Once you begin to seek out a web host to implement your website, consider all these factors. What kind of web hosting you should go after is determined by a combination of who you are and what is being being offered. Always take the time to research a hosting company before you commit your time and money.

Remember, not all hosting providers are created equal.

Some providers just want your money, whilst other better hosting companies actually want you to succeed. Which one you choose to help you get your website ideas online is paramount to how quickly you taste success.

Website Hosting Companies. Understanding How Hosting Poviders Work

Website Hosting - How To Select A Web Host Provider That Wants You To Succeed

As with a lot of purchases, your first urge when choosing website hosting is to go with the cheapest. After all they are all similar, so why should you pay more?

There are a number of objective standards which separates one website hosting company from some others, and money is only one of them. And it should be made clear that the cost should not be the most crucial one.

Choosing a website hosting company based on price alone is equivalent to selecting a builder or electrician on price alone. Certainly, they might maintain or fix your house cheaper, but will your house be safe?

The first consideration is power. Will the website hosting company have the capability to provide and deliver adequate performance? Most web hosting companies advertise that they are able to provide massive bandwidth and hundreds of dedicated servers, and they are usually telling the truth.

However, there is a big difference between existing capacity and usable capacity. Think of it this way; If a website hosting provider has thousands of websites with millions of visitors per day, the usable free capacity would be much lower. Here is a simple example; A delivery truck may have the capacity to carry 8,000 lbs. But not if it is already carrying 7,999lbs!

The experts would advise you ask about available capacity, and have the hosting company back up their proof with reliable numbers. And of course, if you cannot read the data they provide, find somebody to help you do so.

Next, and a very close second, is dependability. A lot of power is worthless if it is cut or goes down often.

Power outages are actually a normal part of business. Even Microsoft, yahoo and google go down on occasions. The difference is, with decent website hosting companies, it seldom happens and a decent provider would have failover plans, which means if their system does go down it is either up once again instantaneously, or you never see the drop because a backup system sets in automatically.

A good rule of thumb is to grill the website hosting company closely about their up time. Most quality hosting providers will say they run at 99.5%, or higher. However, like the infamous on-time estimates of airlines, those figures can sometimes be considered shady by adjusting the definition of up time.

When it comes to website hosting, what should really matter is whether your visitors will be able to reach your site at any time, 24 hours a days should they want to.

Again, the experts would suggest to find out what back up systems, both human and technical the hosting provider has in place to address failures of all sorts. It is a fact that servers can go down, networks do fail, hard disks could become defective and data lose is an absolute fact, and believe me, these conditions can dramatically mean the difference between success and failure for any website owner.

The result is your website becomes unavailable, which is not good for business. As far as a quality website hosting company, the hosting provider must be equipped to deal with any eventuality and have your website up again as quickly as possible.

Last, but not least, is website hosting security.

With the continuing prevalence of computer viruses and the dreaded Spam problems, you need to guarantee the website hosting company you choose has an array of techniques for addressing them. This basically means the hosting provider has excellent technical plans in place and experienced staff available 24 hours a day who are well-educated in addressing with those problems.

There is a very old saying that goes: one ounce of prevention is worth at least one pound of cure, and when it comes to your website, it is vital you understand the meaning.

All these website issues are paramount to locating a website hosting provider that can deliver the best services you need.

Subsequently, once those criteria are fulfilled by a number of prospects, then you are able to begin narrowing down the hosting companies by price.

making money from blogging

Believe it or not, but it’s actually possible to make money from blogging. It does take some skill, and some luck to make money from blogging. What it also takes is some knowledge of how exactly to generate income just by posting blogs. we will go over three specific methods of making money on your blog: Adsense, Pay Per Lead, and Affiliate Links.

So how exactly do I make money on my blog?

You do it by working with another company that wants to use your blog as a form of advertising. It sounds like selling out, right? Not exactly. The advertising can be as in your face or subtle as you want. And it can still make you money, provided you have enough visitors to your blog.

What is Adsense?

Adsense is a program offered by Google. The program, if installed, will display ads provided by Google.

How do I get Adsense?

You’ll need to go to Google.com, first. At the bottom of the screen is a link for “Advertising Programs”. Click on that. Then click on the link for “Adsense”. Scroll down on the page that comes up and click “Click Here To Apply!” You then fill out the form with information about yourself. After 12-48 hours, Google will notify you via email whether or not your site has been accepted. When you’ve been accepted, set up your ads by doing either of the following:

1. If your blog is hosted on Blogger.com, you can set up your AdSense ads by going to your profile, selecting settings>template>add an element. Then select AdSense and login with your account info. Next, you’ll configure your ads and save the template. That’s it.

2. If you are self-hosting your blog, you’ll have to set up AdSense in more of a manual way. You’ll create your ads(which can be as small or as tall as you want) and then copy the HTML/Javascript code Google gives you. Then you’ll paste it into your blog(on the left, right, or top of the screen).

For the first few days, the ads displayed by Google will be Public Service Announcements. After the ads have been up a few days, though, the ads will switch to ads that are relevant to your blog.

How does Adsense work?

Every time a visitor clicks an Adsense ad, you get a little bit of money(usually around 30-60 cents). The amount you get for each ad clicked depends on the number of unique visitors you receive on your blog. The more visitors, the more money that can be earned.

Google will then send a check or pay you through Paypal once you’ve made at least $100 from the ads.

It is important to remember that Google will penalize you if you click your own ads, or if you ask visitors specifically to click ads. So don’t do that!

Pay Per Click

Pay Per Click is basically just like AdSense, except you don’t just work with Google—you work with multiple companies. BidVertiser is one such company you can sign up with to do Pay Per Click advertising.

How do I get Pay Per Click

You sign up with a site like Bidvertiser and then follow their instructions to set up the Pay Per Click ads on your site.

How does Pay Per Click work?

It works by paying you money each time someone clicks an ad that you display. You won’t get paid for multiple clicks from the same user in the same visitor, nor will you get paid for someone simply visiting your site. You only get paid for legitimate clicks.

Affiliate Links

Affiliate links are basically links which people pay you for. Companies will actually pay owners of popular blogs to post links on their blog. You can do as much Affiliate linking as you want.

How do I get Affiliate Links?

You can get Affiliate links by searching for “Affiliate Link Programs” on the internet. Once you find an Affiliate link program that looks good to you, sign up for it. Then you can follow their instructions for putting the link(s) on your blog.

How do Affiliate Links work?

Like the other two methods mentioned above, Affiliate links work by paying you money each time they are clicked. You get paid for each click per unique visitor.

So that’s it. There’s three legitimate ways to make money from blogging. It is important to keep in mind that the amount of money you are able to make depends on how many visitors your blog draws. If you draw a lot, you’ll make a lot. If not, the money you earn will be modest. But it’s still extra money, so why not do it?

Making money using Adsense, Pay Per Click or Affiliate Link programs is easy and effective. Start monetizing your blog today

A Guide to RSS Aggregators

One of the most popular features of Internet portals, websites, pages and even emails is a frame that features an organized list of news headlines and periodic updates from other web sources. Really Simple Syndication, formerly “Rich Site Summary” or simply, RSS makes this possible.

Most users visit a lot of websites whose content continually change, such as news sites, community organization or professional association information pages, medical websites, product support pages, and blogs. As Internet surfing became an intrinsic part of business and leisure, it became important to get rid of the very tedious task of repeatedly returning to each website to see updated content.

RSS easily distributes information from different websites to a wider number of Internet users. RSS aggregators are programs that use RSS to source these updates, and then organize those lists of headlines, content and notices for easy reading. It allows computers to automatically retrieve and read the content that users want, then track changes and personalize lists of headlines that interests them.

The specially made computer programs called “RSS aggregators” were created to automatically find and retrieve the RSS feeds of pre-selected internet sites on behalf of the user and organize the results accordingly. (RSS feeds and aggregators are also sometimes referred to as "RSS Channels" and "RSS Readers".)

The RSS aggregator is like a web browser for RSS content. HTML presents information directly to users, and RSS automatically lets computers communicate with one another. While users use browsers to surf the web then load and view each page of interest, RSS aggregators keeps track of changes to many websites. The titles or descriptions are links themselves and can be used to load the web page the user wants.

RSS starts with an original Web site that has content made available by the administrator. The website creates an RSS document and registers this content with an RSS publisher that will allow other websites to syndicate the documents. The Web site also produces an RSS feed, or channel, which is available together with all other resources or documents on the particular Web server. The website will register the feed as an RSS document, with a listed directory of appropriate RSS publishers.

An RSS feed is composed of website content listed from newest to oldest. Each item usually consists of a simple title describing the item along with a more complete description and a link to a web page with the actual content being described. In some instances, the short description or title line is the all the updated information that a user wants to read (for example, final games scores in sports, weblogs post, or stock updates). Therefore, it is not even necessary to have a web page associated with the content or update items listed -- sometimes all the needed information that users need would be in the titles and short summaries themselves.

The RSS content is located in a single file on a webpage in a manner not very different from typical web pages. The difference is that the information is written in the XML computer code for use by an RSS aggregator and not by a web user like a normal HTML page.

There are 2 main parts that are involved in RSS syndication, namely: the source end and the client end.

The client end of RSS publishing makes up part of the system that gathers and uses the RSS feed. For example, Mozilla FireFox browser is typically at the client end of the RSS transaction. A user’s desktop RSS aggregator program also belongs to the client end.

Once the URL of an RSS feed is known, a user can give that address to an RSS aggregator program and have the aggregator monitor the RSS feed for changes. Numerous RSS aggregators are already preconfigured with a ready list of RSS feed URLs for popular news or information websites that a user can simply choose from.

There are many RSS aggregators that can be used by all Internet users. Some can be accessed through the Internet, some are already incorporated into email applications, and others run as a standalone program inside the personal computer.

RSS feeds have evolved into many uses. Some uses gaining popularity are:

•For online store or retail establishments: Notification of new product arrivals
•For organization or association newsletters: title listings and notification of new issues, including email newsletters
•Weather Updates and other alerts of changing geographic conditions
•Database management: Notification of new items added, or new registered members to a club or interest group.

The uses of feeds will continue to grow, because RSS aggregators make access to any information that individual users like more convenient and fun.

A Guide on RSS Tool

RSS is an abbreviation that has evolved into the following, depending on their versions:

• RDF Site Summary (also known as RSS 0.9; the first version of RSS)
• Rich Site Summary (also known as RSS 0.91; a prototype)
• Really Simple Syndication (also known as RSS 2.0)

Today, RSS stands for 'Really Simple Syndication', and it has the following 7 existing formats or versions:

• 0.90
• 0.91
• 0.92
• 0.93
• 0.94
• 1.0
• 2.0

RSS tools refer to a group of file formats that are designed to share headlines and other web content (this may be a summary or simply 1 to 2 lines of the article), links to the full versions of the content (the full article or post), and even file attachments such as multimedia files. All of these data is delivered in the form of an XML file (XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language), which has the following common names:

• RSS feed
• Webfeed
• RSS stream
• RSS channel


They are typically shown on web pages as an orange rectangle that usually has the letters XML or RSS in it.

RSS feeds can be used to deliver any kind of information. Some of these 'feeds' include:

• Blogs feed - each blog entry is summarized as a feed item. This makes blog posts easier to scan, enabling 'visitors' to zoom in on their items of interest.

• Article feed - this alerts readers whenever there are new articles and web contents available.

• Forum feed - this allows users to receive forum posts and latest discussion topics.

• Schedule feed - this allows users (such as schools, clubs, and other organizations) to broadcast events and announce schedule changes or meeting agendas.

• Discounts or Special feed - this is used to enable users (such as retail and online stores) to 'deliver' latest specials and discounted offers.

• Ego or News Monitoring - this enables users to receive 'filtered' headlines or news that are based on a specific phrase or keyword.

• Industry-specific feed - used by technical professionals in order to market, promote, or communicate with current (and prospective) customers and clients within their specific industries.

RSS feeds enable people to track numerous blogs and news sources at the same time. To produce an RSS feed, all you need is the content or the article that you want to publicize and a validated RSS text file. Once your text file is registered at various aggregators (or 'news readers'), any external site can then capture and display your RSS feed, automatically updating them whenever you update your RSS file.

RSS tools are useful for sites that add or modify their contents on a regular basis. They are especially used for 'web syndication' or activities that involve regular updates and/or publications, such as the following:

• News websites - as used by major news organizations such as Reuters, CNN, and the BBC.
• Marketing
• Bug reports
• Personal weblogs

There are many benefits to using RSS feeds. Aside from being a great supplemental communication method that streamlines the communication needs of various sectors, RSS tools and feeds can also have tremendous benefits in your business, particularly in the field of internet marketing.

RSS tools and feeds provide Internet users with a free (or cheap) and easy advertising or online marketing opportunity for their businesses. Below are some of the RSS features that can help make your internet marketing strategies more effective.

1. Ease in content distribution services. With RSS, your business can be captured and displayed by virtually any external site, giving you an easy way to 'spread out' and advertise them.

2. Ease in regular content updates. With RSS, web contents concerning your business can now be automatically updated on a daily (and even hourly) basis. Internet users will be able to experience 'real time' updates as information in your own file (such as new products and other business-related releases) is changed and modified simultaneously with that of the RSS feeds that people are subscribed to.

3. Custom-made content services. With RSS, visitors can have personalized content services, allowing them total control of the flow and type of information that they receive. Depending on their interests and needs, visitors can subscribe to only those contents that they are looking for (such as real estate or job listings).

4. Increase in (and targeted) traffic. With RSS, traffic will be directed to your site as readers of your content summary (or 1 to 2 lines of your article) who find them interesting are 'forced' to click on a link back to your site.

These are just several of the many things that you can do with RSS. The possibilities are endless, and they are all aimed at providing you with an effective internet marketing strategy for your business.

Tips on Reducing your travel expenses

Traveling for the holidays may seem to be taking a part out of our entire savings. But if you try to look at it closely, what makes the whole traveling expensive are the flight tickets and some local transportation. It can take up to 40% of the total traveling budget depending on the time you are planning to take the holiday and how to enjoy it.

To lessen your transportation fare, here are some helpful tips:

1. If travel time does not really matter to you, get a red-eye flight ticket. Major airlines usually give 50% discounts for a flight at night. This would really be a practical way to buy your air tickets. Some people would even prefer traveling at night to avoid the crowd.

2. Do not travel during the major holidays and school terms. Avoid these dates if you can. These are the high peak seasons for travelers. Since its holiday seasons, everyone has their own plans of traveling and because of the high demand, you will only get few discounts on tickets and hotel rooms. Some hotels and other services even raise their prices during major holidays. So you can save more if you travel outside the main holiday periods or maybe weekends.

3. To avoid overweight luggage charges, make sure to pack all your necessities within the weight limit of airline luggage. It will not only save you from overweight luggage charges but with some services that will charge you extra. For example, on your way to your hotel, the transportation service you hired may charge you extra for the overweight luggage.

4. Know and understand the different prices and services of each room. Ask the differences behind the price gaps like free meal, free laundry, and things such as surroundings and views outside the window of your hotel room. Some price gaps only has a few differences. So its better to get the one with more services offered than that with the lesser one if there's only a slight difference between the two. Or you can take the cheaper one with less services offered if you don't really need extra services.

5. One of the most effective ways to get a cheap plane ticket is to build a connection with the travel agency. Most agencies help out those who are in regular contact with them, or if its your 2nd or 3rd time to avail their services. Also, you might be one of the first people that the agency will contact for cheap offers. So it would be a big advantage for you.

Saving from your transportation expenses can really make a big difference in your whole budget for your holiday vacation. So if you want to spend less for the holidays, cut your costs on transportation. Also, be wise in choosing the services you need like hotel rooms, local transportation, and even on air transportation. Once you have cut your costs in these areas, your whole travel expenses will be reduced. You can either save the extra money or spend them to extend your stay or do some extra activities in your vacation.

99 Run commands

you can run these commands at start>run
or winkey+R

Accessibility Controls
access.cpl

Add Hardware Wizard
hdwwiz.cpl

Add/Remove Programs
appwiz.cpl

Administrative Tools
control admintools

Automatic Updates
wuaucpl.cpl

Bluetooth Transfer Wizard
fsquirt

Calculator
calc

Certificate Manager
certmgr.msc

Character Map
charmap

Check Disk Utility
chkdsk

Clipboard Viewer
clipbrd

Command Prompt
cmd

Component Services
dcomcnfg

Computer Management
compmgmt.msc

Date and Time Properties
timedate.cpl

DDE Shares
ddeshare

Device Manager
devmgmt.msc

Direct X Control Panel (If Installed)*
directx.cpl

Direct X Troubleshooter
dxdiag

Disk Cleanup Utility
cleanmgr

Disk Defragment
dfrg.msc

Disk Management
diskmgmt.msc

Disk Partition Manager
diskpart

Display Properties
control desktop

Display Properties
desk.cpl

Display Properties (w/Appearance Tab Preselected)
control color

Dr. Watson System Troubleshooting Utility
drwtsn32

Driver Verifier Utility
verifier

Event Viewer
eventvwr.msc

File Signature Verification Tool
sigverif

Findfast
findfast.cpl

Folders Properties
control folders

Fonts
control fonts

Fonts Folder
fonts

Free Cell Card Game
freecell

Game Controllers
joy.cpl

Group Policy Editor (XP Prof)
gpedit.msc

Hearts Card Game
mshearts

Iexpress Wizard
iexpress

Indexing Service
ciadv.msc

Internet Properties
inetcpl.cpl

IP Configuration (Display Connection Configuration)
ipconfig /all

IP Configuration (Display DNS Cache Contents)
ipconfig /displaydns

IP Configuration (Delete DNS Cache Contents)
ipconfig /flushdns

IP Configuration (Release All Connections)
ipconfig /release

IP Configuration (Renew All Connections)
ipconfig /renew

IP Configuration (Refreshes DHCP & Re-Registers DNS)
ipconfig /registerdns

IP Configuration (Display DHCP Class ID)
ipconfig /showclassid

IP Configuration (Modifies DHCP Class ID)
ipconfig /setclassid

Java Control Panel (If Installed)
jpicpl32.cpl

Java Control Panel (If Installed)
javaws

Keyboard Properties
control keyboard

Local Security Settings
secpol.msc

Local Users and Groups
lusrmgr.msc

Logs You Out Of Windows
logoff

Microsoft Chat
winchat

Minesweeper Game
winmine

Mouse Properties
control mouse

Mouse Properties
main.cpl

Network Connections
control netconnections

Network Connections
ncpa.cpl

Network Setup Wizard
netsetup.cpl

Notepad
notepad

Nview Desktop Manager (If Installed)
nvtuicpl.cpl

Object Packager
packager

ODBC Data Source Administrator
odbccp32.cpl

On Screen Keyboard
osk

Opens AC3 Filter (If Installed)
ac3filter.cpl

Password Properties
password.cpl

Performance Monitor
perfmon.msc

Performance Monitor
perfmon

Phone and Modem Options
telephon.cpl

Power Configuration
powercfg.cpl

Printers and Faxes
control printers

Printers Folder
printers

Private Character Editor
eudcedit

Quicktime (If Installed)
QuickTime.cpl

Regional Settings
intl.cpl

Registry Editor
regedit

Registry Editor
regedit32

Remote Desktop
mstsc

Removable Storage
ntmsmgr.msc

Removable Storage Operator Requests
ntmsoprq.msc

Resultant Set of Policy (XP Prof)
rsop.msc

Scanners and Cameras
sticpl.cpl

Scheduled Tasks
control schedtasks

Security Center
wscui.cpl

Services
services.msc

Shared Folders
fsmgmt.msc

Shuts Down Windows
shutdown

Sounds and Audio
mmsys.cpl

Spider Solitare Card Game
spider

SQL Client Configuration
cliconfg

System Configuration Editor
sysedit

System Configuration Utility
msconfig

System File Checker Utility (Scan Immediately)
sfc /scannow

System File Checker Utility (Scan Once At Next Boot)
sfc /scanonce

System File Checker Utility (Scan On Every Boot)
sfc /scanboot

System File Checker Utility (Return to Default Setting)
sfc /revert

System File Checker Utility (Purge File Cache)
sfc /purgecache

System File Checker Utility (Set Cache Size to size x)
sfc /cachesize=x

System Properties
sysdm.cpl

Task Manager
taskmgr

Telnet Client
telnet

User Account Management
nusrmgr.cpl

Utility Manager
utilman

Windows Firewall
firewall.cpl

Windows Magnifier
magnify

Windows Management Infrastructure
wmimgmt.msc

Windows System Security Tool
syskey

Windows Update Launches
wupdmgr

Windows XP Tour Wizard
tourstart

Wordpad
write