Miscallaneous Blog

As a sports fan, there is nothing better than winning a championship. You start the season with the highest of hopes, a fresh start to a new season. Who knows? Maybe this will be the year!! You follow every game, every play, celebrating each big moment and you agonize over every loss, no matter how big or small. This stuff keeps you up at night because this is YOUR team! Then, as the season is winding down, you have a shot for the playoffs. Maybe this will be the year!! You hang on every game and every moment even more than before. You go through all the rituals, sit in your lucky chair, eat your lucky snacks, wear your lucky shirt, whatever it takes to get your team that championship ring. Then, you’re in! You make the playoffs, then it all starts over again……multiplied by ten!!! You have a chance. Could this really be the year? Yes it can!!!

The playoffs are an emotional roller coaster. One nail biting moment after another. You’re up, you’re down. A break here and a break there and suddenly, you’ve made it to the finals. A chance for the ring, for bragging rights, a chance to be a champion. Maybe this will be the year!! Then it happens. All of your joy, all of your agony, all of your sleepless nights, your anxious moments pay off. Your team fulfills your every hope and dream and rewards YOU with a title. You are on top of the world. You are a champion. Yes, this IS the year!!!

It has been a season like no other, one that you will never forget. How will you remember it? How will you display your pride? What will you have to show for all of the blood sweat and tears you put into your never ending love and support of YOUR team? Do you want a T-shirt that will fade and tear over the years? A hat that will end up getting lost or make it’s way into the yard work clothes pile? How about a bumper sticker for your vehicle that will peel and fade? I would hope not!! This is YOUR team we are talking about, your CHAMPIONSHIP team. They and YOU deserve better!

One of the best commemorative and collectible items you can buy is the classic Hunter Championship Stein. The ceramic stein that is famous for it’s natural color and bright gold accents. The team logo and colors of your championship team are displayed on the front with the season and/or playoff results detailed on the back. With proper care, the colors will not fade or peel so your championship pride can shine on year after year. A great way to remember the big comebacks, the classic games and all of the memories that made this a season you’ll always remember. It’s the next best thing to having the championship trophy right there with you in your office, game room or bar.

It doesn’t matter if you display your Hunter Championship Steins high on a shelf for everyone to see or have them on your desk to hold your pens, pencils or other things you hold dear to your heart. It doesn’t matter if you are celebrating a Super Bowl victory, a World Series, a Stanley Cup or a NBA Championship. There is no better way to have all the scores, memories and team pride right at your fingertips like a quality Hunter Championship Stein. Display them all or the simply the one that is most important to you. Do not accept cheap imitations. After all, this is YOUR team, and you are a champion! You deserve the best, you deserve a Hunter.

Frank Kush

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The Republican Party is in a crisis right now. It is not due to the Democrats taking over control of Congress. It has to do with losing the vision of conservatism.

If anything, Republicans lost Congress because they have lost the vision of political conservatism that Ronald Reagan brought to this country. They have allowed themselves to be cowed by the sheer amount of noise that the left has generated in attacking conservative principles. This wall of noise has fooled Republican leadership into thinking that conservatism is not popular in America, that the people want liberalism.

In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. A 2003 Gallup poll showed that 40% of Americans identified themselves as conservative, 40% said they were moderates, and 20% said they were liberal. A similar survey from the 60s showed that this percentage has not changed in the last 50 years.

So what is the conservative vision? A great place to find it is in a speech made by Ronald Reagan in 1964, referred to on the Reagan2020.us site simply as “The Speech.” You can see it here:

reagan2020.us/speeches/A_Time_for_Choosing.asp http://reagan2020.us/speeches/A_Time_for_Choosing.asp

I’ll summarize Reagan’s conservative vision:

1. America is the greatest country in the world because it offers the maximum amount of individual freedom. There can be no security anywhere in the free world if there is no economic stability within the United States, the last best hope of man on earth.

2. Government is beholden to the people. It derives its power from the people.

3. Outside of its legitimate functions, government does nothing as well or as economically as the private sector.

4. The welfare state and government handouts are the way downward for the United States.

5. Progressive taxation, where those with higher incomes pay virtually all of the taxes, is the creation of those who wish to achieve changes in our social order by redistribution of wealth.

6. The doctor’s fight against socialized medicine is your fight. You cannot socialize the doctor without socializing the patient.

7. People are better able to plan their own lives than a small intellectual elite in a far-distant capital.

It’s amazing to think that Reagan made that speech in 1964. Its conservative vision shaped his Presidency from 1980-88, and is still very relevant to us today.

Times have changed somewhat since 1964, though much remains the same. I thought it would be interesting to add some things to the conservative vision that Reagan outlined in 1964.

a. Three institutions, the family, religion, and the schools, are pillars that elevate society and educate people in the principles that create order in society. If you destroy these institutions, then chaos will eventually ensue in society. The left is working hard at destroying each of these institutions today.

b. When there is unrestrained chaos, it is easier for the socialist to sell his dream of greater government control.

c. Although it is not without its flaws or mistakes, America is still the greatest country on earth, specifically because of its maximum individual freedoms. Its economic prosperity is directly due to its greater personal freedoms.

d. America is not the cause of all the problems in the world. The opposite is true.

e. Because America is the greatest country in the world, it is worth defending. The purpose of the military is to defend America and it is not a crime to do so.

f. The Constitution is an historical, not a “living” document. The job of the judiciary is not to create new laws but to interpret the Constitution.

g. Survival success is caused by hard work, discipline, training, and natural ability. The greater survival success of a specific group does not mean that it has victimized another group that has achieved less success. It means that the group that has succeeded worked harder, had better discipline, training, and natural ability.

h. If you want more of something, subsidize it. If you want less of something, tax it. In other words, incentives work and they matter. If you incentivize a non-survival behavior like not working (as in welfare) you’ll get more of that behavior. If you penalize a survival behavior like creating a business or making money (as in progressive taxation) you’ll get less of it.

i. Industrialists and entrepreneurs do not victimize or oppress a person by giving him a job, they help him. Jobs do not appear out of thin air. They are created by industrialists or entrepreneurs seeing a market opportunity, creating a product or service, and figuring out how to market and sell it. This is a rare ability. Not everybody can do it. Therefore these people are valuable and should be encouraged and rewarded, not persecuted.

j. Profits are not obscene. Profits are good. Businesses are supposed to make a profit. In fact, they need to make a profit in order to survive.

k. The earliest settlers on this continent came for freedom of religion. This should be a cornerstone of conservatism now. Freedom for any religion that one chooses. Religion is one of the major civilizing influences in our society. And the vast majority of Americans oppose the attempted removal of religious expressions or symbols from the public square.

l. We are a nation of immigrants. But since we did not steal our prosperity, we do not need to give it away to others as a way of propitiation or apology, especially to those who break the law to come here. Living in the most free and prosperous nation in the world is a privilege, not a right.

m. Most of the anti-Americanism abroad is due to jealousy of our prosperity. Leaders of those countries do not GET that our prosperity is due to the level of freedom given to us by the Founding Fathers. Thus, rather than emulating us and extending the same freedoms to their citizens, they buy into the Marxist and cultural Marxism “victim” arguments, and conclude that we have victimized them.

n. It is not a crime for people to live on earth and to become prosperous and survive well. The earth is not a fragile system that will break if we utilize its resources.

o. The test of a governmental theory or program is how well it WORKS, not how nice it sounds or how magnanimous it makes the believer feel.

Because of the sheer amount of noise that the liberal 20% has managed to make, it is easy to think that they are in the majority (they are not and never have been), and to think that things are hopeless and are going down the tubes.

I was recently reading how the doomsayers said that we would never be able to vanquish fascism (Germany, Japan et al). They were wrong. Then they said we would never be able to vanquish Soviet communism. They were wrong. Then they said that American economic supremism in the world was coming to an end and Japan and the Pacific rim were going to rule the world. They were wrong. Now the doomsayers say that Islamofascism is going to take us down, or some (like the clueless John Edwards) say we should stop fighting it because it never was a threat in the first place.

They were wrong before and they’re wrong now. Why? Not because of America’s military might. Not because we are the most dominating economic power. Not because of our dominating culture. Not because of our level of innovation.

All of those things derive from our level of freedom. The level of freedom we enjoy is what has attracted the best and brightest to our shores for 230 years. And that freedom allows a person with skill and ingenuity and ambition to drive himself to get ahead and to create innovations and prosperity and wealth. Other countries are oblivious to the fact that their lack of freedom deprives that person of the chance to create the prosperity they so desperately need and want.

So is America in the twilight of its dreams right now? Is it going down for the count before the threat of Islamifascism or global warming or nuclear rogue states?

Not a chance. The indomitable spirit of Americans, allowed to thrive by its freedoms, will overcome. And we WILL defend this country from outside threats and it is not a crime to do so. Not because we are superior and need to assert our superiority. But because that system, with its great ideas and freedoms and despite its flaws, is worth defending. Because the American system is still the last, best hope of all the countries of earth.

The liberal noise will pass. But ONLY if we embrace the conservative vision, know that it leads to better survival for America, know that the majority of people want it (remember how popular Reagan was?), and fight for the vision and against the liberal noise and lies.

I see a new Morning in America. A 21st Century Morning in America. But only if we fight for the vision. Spread the vision. Send this article to friends. Talk about it. That morning will come.

John Eberhard is President of www.CommonSenseGovernment.com http://www.CommonSenseGovernment.com , and is a writer, political analyst and marketing consultant living in the Los Angeles area. He can be reached at: www.commonsensegovernment.com/contactus.html http://www.commonsensegovernment.com/contactus.html . You can read more of his articles at www.commonsensegovernment.com/articles.html http://www.commonsensegovernment.com/articles.html

AP - Tom Cruise’s two-part interview on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” includes a snowmobile ride and a frank discussion of his rocky media image, followed by an in-studio celebration of “Risky Business” 25 years ago, a person close to the production told The Associated Press Wednesday.

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Advertising and marketing in the South African market is one of the toughest in the entire world, just for starters 22 different languages can be identified in our market. You might say this is common in many countries the world over. But do they have 11 official languages as is the case in South Africa.

Capturing a broad market in South Africa is virtually impossible unless you have an internationally acclaimed product, something that has built up a reputation overseas either in the USA or European markets. This is not to say our own big brands have not captured a broad South African audience or an international market but they a few and far between.

Our advertising and marketing techniques in South Africa must be simple yet effective if a broad customer base is to be achieved. Many South African advertising and marketing gurus are applying international principles to our market, wrong thing to do in my opinion. The basics, but add the South African flavour if you wish to succeed. Our biggest market in this country is largely illiterate and of a lower income so using expansive techniques to advertise and market your wares is generally not a good idea.

Proper market research for your products is essential, target a market and research every angle from language to demographics. If you have an excellent product made and produced in your country don’t think this is a winning recipe in other countries. Do not expect that a pizza delivered in a box and a truly American way of doing things will work for a customer base in Iceland for example.

By all means promote pizza’s in Iceland but ask your market how they want it delivered. Advertisers and marketing experts often forget this very simple marketing tools. Ask your market what they want, ultimately they are the ones buying the products.

Using opinion leaders in South Africa to create brand awareness is an essential tool to promote your products, this does come at a huge price and is usually out of reach for the small to medium business sectors. Creating good solid brands that are directed at a specific target market is often considered as not worth the cost.

Managers rely on hunches or intuition when designing their marketing mix. In the absence of feedback from their customers, they sometimes institute practises that customers object to. Over time, the customer base begins to erode and the business collapses.

Knowing your product and target market inside out is a great start to creating brand awareness.

Andrew Smit

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Do you want to have a future as an affiliate marketer? If so, you need to learn how to get your affiliate marketing ideas work for you! First step is to ask yourself What you Want To Accomplish.

It’s very important how you approach this matter, if you say you’ll try to do something you’re less likely to succeed. You need to actually say to yourself that you’re gonna do it. That will make you take the necessary steps and actions.

So start by find out what you really want to DO, take a piece of paper and a pen, write down what you want your affiliate marketing ideas accomplish for you.

Do you want to earn some extra money? Do you want to do this full time? Do you want to spend more time with your family? Once you have made a list, you have also created the fuel which will motivate and drive your online vehicle along the road towards your goals.

Many people have the impression that starting an online business, is just to set up a website and then people will come. Not so! You actually have to put quite alot of work into your affiliate marketing ideas before you can reap the rewards.

That lead us to a big obstacle you have to avoid : Procrastination is your worst enemy

The nature of the human being is to procrastinate things, you might think, yes this is important to do, but hey, I can do it tomorrow! but when tomorrow comes, you will probably say the same thing, and there you are, walking in circles leading nowhere.

You need to face your todolist and do what you can, to improve your online business everyday. I am talking about take one small doable step at the time, to change your business for the better. If you set your mind to do, instead of procrastinate you will automatically pull your affiliate marketing ideas to success.

Among the secrets to get your affiliate marketing ideas pull the same way as you

Set up a good content based web site and nicely weave in your affiliate links in your content. Your main purpose here is to give your visitors quality information about the things they are interested in. Set aside the job of selling. Your job is to Pre-sell, in other words, make your visitors realize that they need the product or service.

To harness your affiliate marketing ideas, and get them to work for you, won’t take place overnight. And it will not happen without blood, sweat and persistence. You’ll have to enforce passion, patience and knowledge. Keep going and before you recognize it, you will start gaining profits. The fruits of all efforts for your affiliate marketing ideas will have the sweetness of victory.

Learn how to realize affiliate marketing ideas by this step by step affiliate tutorial!

Ove Nordkvist is the Founder of the web site small-biz-ideas.net where you can get help with ideas, tools and resources to start a small business. You can download free Masters Courses for a variety of small business ideas at www.small-biz-ideas.net http://www.small-biz-ideas.net

Reuters - Guatemala is investigating radio advertisements seeking elite ex-soldiers, who have been known to work for drug cartels, to smuggle goods into Mexico, officials said on Thursday.

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Tomorrow is Election Day in the United States. Every member of the House of Representatives is up for re-election, and one third of the United States Senate. It is difficult living in the greatest democracy in 12,000 years of civilization, and not after a while grow use to the freedoms that our ancestors gave their lives for.

The Constitution and Declaration of Independence could only have been created by a specific generation in the 18th century, the time known historically as the Age of Reason . These men, and they were men, knew more about the history of ancient Rome and Greece than we do. They had studied and read Plato, and Aristotle. They met in groups and talked and educated one another.

I dare say that today in a country of 300,000,000 Americans, we could not replicate the brilliance of the individuals, and their youth that met long ago and formed our government. It is truly one of the miracles of history, and this grand experiment has evolved and lasted for more than 200 years. It has survived the Civil War, a conflagration that consumed more lives than all other wars combined that the United States has been in since. We survived the Great Depression, thanks to the leadership of Franklin Roosevelt. Viet Nam and Watergate ripped the social fabric of this country apart, and we survived it.

Now tomorrow November 7, 2006 is our first opportunity to pass judgment as voters on the Republican’s handling of the Iraq war, and indirectly terrorism. President Bush is not up for election, and this means that people must vote indirectly on his policies. This vote will be communicated through the House of Representatives. I believe that people will not be voting for the Democrats tomorrow. I believe they will be voting AGAINST Republicans.

The momentum or perhaps anger against the President’s policies is so strong that the House of Representatives will switch hands, and with it will go the power to slow down the President’s momentum, and perhaps reverse many of his policies. Of course, we have the benefit of hindsight in looking at how our country has been guided over the last several years, but let’s revisit some of what has gone on, and decide the merits of the President’s actions.

IRAQ We know now that the basis for the war was without merit. The underlying assumptions that Saddam was manufacturing Weapons of Mass Destruction, and perhaps would have used them to create great calamity for others was FALSE. Nevertheless we must now deal with the aftermath of the invasion. Iraq can not turn out well for us at this point. Regardless of what happens from this day forward, it will not be a friendly end for our involvement, just as Viet Nam did not end well. When you open Pandora’s Box, you do not know what will come out. Politically Pandora’s box is the equivalent of the Law of unintended consequences. We are paying a price for opening the box, America with its treasure, and energy, and more importantly our soldiers with their lives, and limbs.

We did not arm our soldiers well, many pay for their own body armor, and are cannibalizing steel off of other vehicles to reinforce the steel of the vehicles they drive. This happens in a country as rich as ours. The President wages war but sought no sacrifice from the American people. Instead he expands the National Debt to finance the war, and puts the burden on our unborn children to pay for. Simultaneously he created tax cuts for the Rich, which I approve of, but not in a time of deficit. You don’t borrow money from Japan, China, and the Europeans, and then give it to the rich via tax cuts, once again leaving the burden to the young in this country. That’s just plain WRONG.

Eavesdropping and the Bill of Rights

The President chose to circumvent the Constitution and the Bill of Rights by having the National Security Agency (NSA) create a huge funnel whereby conversations of ordinary citizens in the United States were monitored in the name of Anti Terrorism. Thirty year employees of the NSA reeked in horror at the notion. Every bone in their bodies told them it was wrong. All the President had to do was appoint Federal Judges to the NSA to approve and monitor the program. There are similar judges who sit in the FBI offices full time for over a decade now who routinely approve Federal wiretap orders.

The President has put himself above the law in this case. He knew he was secure with a Republican majority in both houses of Congress who would protect him in ways that Richard Nixon was not protected. Nixon would never have been driven from office if he had posssessed a Republican majority.

What about Congress itself?

I have been a student of Congress since Lyndon Johnson was President in 1963. For many decades I actively worked to create a Republican majority in both branches of the Congress. My background includes being a Barry Goldwater Republican. I have seen the filthy, back room, money changing aspects of politics all my life, and it has been on both sides of the aisles. What I see now that is unique is in your face corruption. The waste use to amount to hundreds of millions of dollars.

The waste is now billions of dollars, even tens of billions of dollars. There was a time as they say when the MERE APPEARANCE of IMPROPRIETY would be enough to drive an elected official from office. Now the appearance doesn’t mean anything anymore. You have Senators and Congressmen on both sides flying around in private corporate aircraft. As a result they have debts to the owners of those planes that must be paid for with favorable votes on bills. These bills cost the American taxpayer billions of extra, and unnecessary dollars.

An example is the Drug Bill for Senior Citizens where by the law specifically states that the federal government can not enter into negotiations with the drug companies to demand, and FORCE lower prices. Wow, you talk about giving away $25 to $50 billion extra dollars per year. Frankly, I don’t think the Republican members of Congress got enough from these drug companies. The drug companies gave the Republicans $12 million in contributions, and got back tens of billions in the laws that were passed. If you are going to be corrupt, you ought to get paid more than that.

I believe that Tuesday, Election Day there will be a momentum tide that will sweep out the Republican majority in the House, and come close to taking the Senate. With this act, the American people will put the Congress and the President on notice that these types of actions will not stand. We may go back to gridlock, but for this writer, gridlock is a pleasure compared to our experiences of the last few years.

Goodbye and Good Luck

Copyright (c) 2006 Richard Stoyeck

Richard Stoyeck’s background includes being a limited partner at Bear Stearns, Senior VP at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn Loeb, Arthur Andersen, and KPMG. Educated at Pace University, NYU, and Harvard University, today he runs Rockefeller Capital Partners and StocksAtBottom.com www.stocksatbottom.com http://www.stocksatbottom.com .

AFP - Paul Scholes has scored dozens of crucial goals for Manchester United over the years but none of them has been quite as precious as the sublime strike that sent Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad into the Champions League final.

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Mouse cursors are useful and functional as they help you get an idea about where you are supposed to type. They usually look so unobtrusive, that we hardly notice them. The important thing is that they work great for us, and show where typing should take place. I hardly even noticed my mouse cursor until the day that I had to use another computer. It was my colleague’s and it had a strange animated mouse cursor in the form of an angel. I really looked bewildered and couldn’t start to type at all, as I couldn’t manage to point to tha specific place that I wanted. The case made me think really hard about mouse cursors, and all those sweet “aesthetic” innovations that people use to put on their computers with the single intention to personalize them and mess up everyone who is using them.

Animated mouse cursors have come as an entertainment for children, so that they can make their cursors funny and nice-looking. But gradually those childish animated mouse cursors became a craze. That is what gets me really perplexed. I wonder how a sane individual would like to make her or his mouse cursor in the shape of a dog? Does this show sanity and grown-up thinking in any way? I have always thought that when something is practical and has a functional role, it shouldn’t be made to look like a clownish gadget. Take those stupid desktop animations, for example. They not only take large space from your memory, but they really look preposterous. But many people actually seem to adore them, even grown-up working people!

It’s the same case with the hideous mouse cursors: some infantile people just cannot resist the opportunity to put an animated shit in the place of their mouse cursor. Not to mention the fact that pointing with these animated mouse cursors is really hard, and people lose their time just to fix the problems of irregularities in typing!

Anyway, if they feel like it, why not enjoy themselves for a while. There is a subtle psychological cause for some people downloading animated mouse cursors, and I came to understand it pretty soon. Animated mouse cursors are a stupid invention, but they actually help some people overcome their general disgust towards their work. They can be really supportive if someone hates the things he or she is supposed to type. Animated mouse cursors really make the whole working process more personal, and people may come to even like it at some stage.

But in my opinion this is only a stupid waste of time: if you have to do one thing, you just do it and get over it- not waste your time making your computer settings looks as friendly as they can. No-one says that working with computer is a pleasant thing to do, but you can just get over it. Computers really rule the world, and people should admit it, instead of trying to hide from reality by making buffoons of themselves.

You know the little pointy thing that moves around on your screen whenever you move your mouse? Well, it is usually called a mouse cursor and is meant to indicate where you are supposed to type. Well, for all practical purposes, it is an essential, functional item of computer software. I know people have all kinds of weird fetishes, bit I can’t for the life of me imagine why anyone of them could have come up with an invention as stupid as the animated mouse cursor.

Each time I see an animated mouse cursor, I am reminded of my disgusting nephew. Maybe I should explain myself on that one. You see, my little nephew, who pretends to have been born with radical computer skills visited me once. And in the brief while that he asked for my permission to check his mail on my home computer, he had managed to change the desktop settings, hide all my files and folders and worst of all, managed to replace my beautifully functional cursor with an animated mouse cursor.

Well, after some difficulty, I managed to get everything back to its original shape and intended purpose. But the animated mouse cursor really troubled me. And I couldn’t even use the blasted thing. It was a whirling wheel that didn’t allow me to point at anything at all. I mean, how does one point with an animated mouse cursor in the shape of a circle? And as an animation artist used to drawing complex figures, how was I supposed to draw with an animated mouse cursor?

Ever since, I’ve had a healthy distaste for animated mouse cursors of all kinds. And each time I see someone else with an animated mouse cursor, I’m sorely tempted to rip their computer apart and knock them on the head, all the while saying, ‘how come you manage to point with that animated thing?’ Think about it. An animated mouse cursor comes in all sorts of shapes except one that is conducive to helping it do what it is supposed to! But in general, in order to be animated, these animated mouse cursors take the most confounded shapes. I’ve even seen one shaped like a dog for heaven’s sake.

While I am sure that there are a lot of people who do enjoy these animated mouse cursors, I’m pretty sure that I’ll never learn to love them. Unless it is effective and functional and most certainly not animated.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning animation. Get the information you are seeking now by visiting www.petsnewsonline.com/pets–animals/pet-news/try-an-animated-mouse-cursor.html http://www.petsnewsonline.com/pets–animals/pet-news/try-an-animated-mouse-cursor.html

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For centuries, children’s portraits have been captured on oil and canvas. However, in the new digital media age oil paintings have become less popular as photography has grown has become more fashionable and commonplace. While photography is certainly a less complex medium, the value of a custom-created oil painting is priceless, as it will create a memory that lasts for many generations. The good news is that commissioning a custom painting is not necessarily the arduous process that it was when painting was the only form of image capture.

Using Photographs for Oil Paintings

Thanks to photography, the subjects of oil paintings no longer have to spend days paused in one single position as the painter captures his or her image. When commissioning a custom painting, most people will now bring a photograph of the subject to the artist. Whereas in the past, children’s portraits were time consuming and required a great amount of patience, the process has been somewhat simplified by the process of copying a photo to canvas for the purposes of creating a custom painting, such as a children’s portrait.

In addition to using an artist to create the oil painting, there is now complicated software that facilitates the transfer of a photo to canvas. This method, known as photo-to-campus, is usually less expensive (and less valuable) than hiring an artist to paint the masterpiece. However, the result can be striking.

A Unique Gift

A custom painting, such as children’s portrait makes a great anniversary gift idea. Whether it be for parents, grandparents or other family members or friends, a custom painting is a way to commemorate and honor the years of love that have existed between not only the couple themselves, but also to recognize all that that has sprung out of their union. Children themselves can commission a custom painting for their own children’s portraits or one of themselves for an anniversary gift.

Picture Perfect Value

A custom oil painting, such as a children’s portrait is usually priced based on how many subjects are represented in the portrait. The more subjects present, the greater amount of time and difficulty the painting will involve. Therefore, the price will be greater. However, the cost of a custom painting may be worth price as it will be a cherished piece of art and family heirloom for many generations.

Photo-to-Canvas

With the photo to canvas process, it may be possible to create a custom painting, such as a children’s portrait, for an anniversary gift without having to find a willing artist. Most of the supplies can be purchased at retail stores and, contrary to popular belief, the process does not require any expertise. After copying the photo to canvas, simply paint over the print with the oil paints and create a custom painting of a children’s portrait yourself. Be careful not to expect that the children’s portrait will turn out exactly the same as if a professional had created it, however, sometimes a personal touch is the anniversary gift that will be cherished the most of all.

Allan Holder is the founder and owner of www.mypicturepainter.com http://www.mypicturepainter.com which is a site dedicated to the revival of the lost art of portrait painting. In today’s fast paced world, sitting for a portrait painting is simply not practical. We allows the user to submit a photo to our network of talented artists who will paint a personal oil painting from your photo.

David Shribman - PITTSBURGH — It seems so quiet around here, and a bit lonely, too. They’re gone. Vanished. No signs in the streets, no ads on television. No irritating automatic phone calls. The whole political road show has moved on, to Indiana and North Carolina and parts beyond. To places where nobody knows your bowling score.

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Rush hour commutes, soccer practice for the kids, extra work from the office and the everyday demands of live in a culture awash in activities and time demands is posing a serious dilemma for churches across the country.

People are so busy that they simply don’t have time to serve on church committees or work in church service projects.

How much do you care about the church?

About God’s people? How much of your time is spent helping… giving…praying for your church? A lot of people give money to the church but much less give themselves.

There are a lot of reasons that move people to give to the church. I know that some people give as a write-off so that they will get a break on the taxes they pay to the government. If that is your only motive for giving, it is not a proper one.

A tax write-off is just not enough. That is not going to help you any with God.

Some people give to the church to gain a reputation for giving.

The Bible truth of the matter is that God really isn’t interested in our money. Oh, don’t get me wrong. The Bible says we are supposed to give. But it’s our heart condition that God is most interested in.

In fact, even more than money, he wants us to give our time, our prayers and our service to the institution he’s created to be his hands and feet on this earth: The church.

There are Bible stories galore about the consequences of not supporting the church.

It is striking that the very first death recorded in the church occurred when a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, decided they would gain a reputation for giving that they did not really deserve.

In the fifth chapter of Acts we read that other people were giving property. This couple thought they would get in on the honor and prestige that was being heaped on those who generously gave, so they gave some of the proceeds from tome land they sold.

But they pretended that they gave all of it when they really did not.

When the Holy Spirit dealt with that hypocritical kind of giving he dealt very severely with it.

Some people give because they were afraid of dying and they want to make Brownie points with God.

There have been people who give hundreds of thousands of dollars because they felt it would help them in their standing before God at the judgment seat. But they were not giving to help the cause of God or the church. They gave because they thought they could buy God’s favor.

All these are wrong motives.

When it comes to giving, motive is more important than the amount.

God is not so interested in how much you give the church, but why you give. Do you love the church? That’s the example we have from Christ.

More than 24 million seniors collectively volunteer 6 billion hours each year in the United States. Researchers at the University of Michigan recently discovered that the survival rate of seniors who volunteered 40 or more hours a year for a single cause was 40 percent greater than that of non-volunteers.

Seniors who volunteer say it improves their health, life satisfaction, and social well-being, says Donna Thurmond, director of Senior Services for Volunteers of America.

So helping others and serving as Jesus commands us to do is not only a good thing to do, it’s good for us. In fact, we were all created with a desire to serve. That’s why it feels so good when we do so, because it’s what we were made to do.

But the real reason we serve is because that is what Jesus did. that’s the example he lefty us in the Bible.

We know it as the Golden Rule: Do unto othwers as you’d have them do to you.

Mike Fletcher publishes the Online Christian Shopper ( www.onlinechristianshopper.com http://www.onlinechristianshopper.com ), which specializes in evangelism products like Christian T-Shirts and Christian jewelry.

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Poker tools can be a valuable addition to any poker player’s arsenal. There are a variety of tools available and this article will examine the different types available to assist players. The most commonly used poker tools are hand history databases, computer playing programs, online poker assistants and online poker tools.

Hand History Databases

Most online poker rooms offer players the ability to download the histories of the hands that they have participated in. These hand histories are in a text format and while it is possible for a player to scan and analyse a single hand, it quickly becomes difficult and tiresome for multiple hands. Hand history databases offer the features like win rate calculations, opponent analysis, hand replay, analysis by position and much more. The most popular poker tools of this type include Poker Tracker and Poker Office .

Computer Playing Programs

Programming computers to play a strong game of poker is extremely difficult and it is only recently that they have become about the same strength as an above average player. Compare this to games such as chess and backgammon, where computers have now surpassed all but the strongest humans. These programs allow players to practice and improve their play without having any money at risk. Most also offer advice and the ability to setup and analyse certain situations. The strongest playing poker programs available to purchase are Poker Academy and Turbo series of programs produced by Wilson Software.

Online Poker Assistants

With the explosion in popularity of online poker, much software has been developed to assist players while they are playing. There are a couple of what are termed bots that make all of the decisions for a player but these are not very strong and if discovered using one of these programs a player can be banned and lose the money in their online poker room account. Other types of software that are also available are programs that overlay tables with statistics summarising hand odds as well as the playing style of other players (for example listing how often a certain player raises, calls or folds) in real time. Examples of these online poker assistants are Pokerbility and PokerAce HUD .

Online Poker Tools

There are a number of web sites that provide free online poker tools to their visitors. Some of the tools available are odds calculators which analyse the probabilities for games such as Texas Hold’em, Omaha and Seven Card Stud poker, and tournament equity calculators. Whilst they may not directly assist a player while they are playing they are great at improving a player’s knowledge which then can later be applied at the table. Websites with a variety of useful online poker tools include www.twodimes.net/poker http://www.twodimes.net/poker and www.poker-tools-online.com http://www.poker-tools-online.com .

Mike Turner is a contributor for www.poker-tools-online.com http://www.poker-tools-online.com

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The way of salvation that professing Christians, like Born Again Christians, knew is too easy to do. According to them, by just accepting Christ as personal savior is enough for us to be saved on Judgment Day. This pronouncement is backed them up with the John 3:16 verse of the Bible which says:

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16, NIV)

But, is it really true that by merely believing Christ, you will be saved or will receive eternal life?

It is true that according to the verse quoted above, those who will believe Christ will have eternal life. However, is it enough to believe Christ and we have nothing to do for our faith? Apostle James has this question too:

14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? (James 2:14, ibid)

It is actually obvious that faith alone can’t save us, because faith are justified by works.

24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. (James 2:24, NKJV)

If you have faith alone in Christ but you did nothing to prove your faith, then your faith is dead.

26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26, ibid)

In other words, if you believe in Christ, then you should follow His command, isn’t it? And according to Christ Himself, what should a man do for him to be saved? Christ said, those who will enter by Him will be saved.

9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9, ibid)

And those who enter Christ became parts of His body.

4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another. (Romans 12:4-5, ibid)

The body of Christ is the church.

18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18, ibid)

However, this church is not just any churches. It is the church that Christ built by Himself and claimed it as His own.

18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:18, ibid)

It is not the Catholi Church, nor the Protestant Churches nor any Christian Ministries, but it is the Church of Christ:

16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you. (Romans 16:16, ibid)

In other words, faith alone in Christ is useless. If you want to be saved on the day of God’s wrath, your faith must have works. To believe in Christ is to follow his command, that is, to become part of his body the church.

But why should we need to become members of the Church of Christ for us to be saved? It is because, Christ will saved His Church.

23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. (Ephesians 5:23, ibid)

And outside the Church of Christ is God’s judgment.

13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore “put away from yourselves the evil person.” (I Corinthians 5:13, ibid)

Sustines E. Laplana (SELaplana: www.selaplana.com http://www.selaplana.com ) is the first Pinoy Blogger and EMarketer in Southern Leyte, Philippines who blogs on Technology, Society and Reviews/Promotions of products and owns the Cellphones For Sale blog ( cellphones-for-sale.blogspot.com http://cellphones-for-sale.blogspot.com ). Writing articles is his passion. And writing religious articles is his love, so that everyone will learn the truth taught by the Bible.

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