Nerdistan

We all wish that our credit cards were interest free all the time. How much pleasure would it be to know that what you spend is what you pay back and there would be no interest to pay. What is happening is the credit card companies are fighting it out to see who can get the most customers and one way is to offer us 0% interest deals.

The credit card companies are offering introductory offers including 0% on balance transfers and purchases for 6 or 9 months, so everything you buy is interest free how great is that! These offers are becoming more popular by the month, the credit card companies realise we will go with these credit cards first and that interest free deals for any period of time is a great way to pull in the customers.

Break free from your high interest credit card…

All credit cards can be interest free if you pay off your full balance on time and at the end of every month, but most of us cannot afford to do this. When the APR comes into force, usually a typical rate of 15-20% will be charged. There are however some better rates about if you are willing to search for them, including a rate of 9% and maybe even lower. Always check what your rate will be once the introductory period is over.

Many credit card holders are using the 0% deals to their advantage. The term “Rate Tart” is used to describe people who transfer their balance from one card on to a credit card that has the 0% deal. This will cut out the interest payments on their existing card, however, you really have to keep on top of this especially if you have more than one credit card, as you do not want to get confused as to when and where your balance transfers are due.

Take advantage of the 0% deals…

There has never been a better time to take advantage of these great 0% deals with the big companies fighting for your business. If you’re using the 0% deals for transferring your balance and are intending to use the card after the interest free period, double check the interest rate once the introductory period is over as it may be higher than the card you have.

Switch your balance to a 0% deal
Check the APR that will be charged when the 0% deal is over
Start searching for a new credit card 4-6 weeks before your existing deal runs out

For credit card advice please visit here http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk/creditcardadvice.html

0% deals are great as long as you watch what you are doing. The more cards you have the more chances are of getting transfer balance dates confused, but if you have a good head on your shoulders and are well organized then you will benefit greatly.

Peter Kenny is a writer for creditcards-gb
For additional articles and an extensive resource for everything about credit cards, please visit us at www.creditcards-gb.co.uk and www.creditcards2go4.com

You’ve probably been hearing about “core” exercises and Pilates for quite a while and are probably doing it once to thrice a week, you’ve probably used different DVD’s, different styles techniques and different equipment just to get that great body that everybody is drooling about. Hearing of all this, you’ve probably heard of the Ever present Pilates Ring, the non bulky, and cheaper alternative to all of those bulky machines.

The Pilates ring of course, as its name says, is used in the practice of Pilates, specifically for Winsor Pilates. Winsor Pilates makes use of low intensity workouts that work on the “core” of the body. By core it means the muscles in the abdomen, back and pelvis. As these are low intensity, these can be done even by those who are of weak health status. But just because it is low intensity doesn’t mean it’ll take a long time for results, or won’t have results, in fact Winsor Pilates promise results in a month, when it is used three days a week. Wisnor Pilates is distributed on DVDs.

A Pilates ring however, aside from being used to tone the buttocks and the abdominal and pelvic muscles can also be used to specifically target muscles in the leg, pecs, lats, triceps and biceps. It is an all around exercise accessory that everyone should have. To change position, you can reposition the ring in either your arms or your legs, whatever location it is that you want to tone and improve, and basically and squeezing it. But there is more to a Pilates ring than merely squeezing; anything done wrongly can cause injury, especially when exercising, so before you start, try to consult a certified Pilates instructor.

Pilates rings also have different brand names, and depending on the manufacturer, different resistances. Some manufacturers offer a line of different resistances; some offer just one line with one resistance. It is suggested that you get those that have varied resistances so that you’re your body has been used and toned at a certain level; you can further increase your workout by increasing the resistance of the Pilates ring. Some rings have a stronger resistance for a harder workout; some have lighter resistance for a lighter workout. Just remember, make sure that you can take the resistance before rushing into it. Anything, no matter how foolproof can be dangerous if used incorrectly, in short, you might get injured if you use too much resistance. Again, try to consult a certified Pilates instructor before changing resistances.

Pilates rings, boast of foam padded grips for the comfort of the user, these are the parts that make actual contact with the part of the body, making the exercise more comfortable than if done without one. Pilates rings are made of lightweight material, and may be brought with you anywhere, to the gym or at home or during travel.

The Pilates ring is only one of the few accessories, or if you must, equipment that Winsor Pilates incorporates into its program for a better workout. However, you don’t really need a Pilates program to be able to use a Pilates ring. Although the ring was made especially for this program, the Pilates ring itself can be incorporated into any other type of exercise program that you currently have, providing that you consult with your instructor.

Authored by Michael Bens - For more great information on how to lose weight, get in shape, and live healthy, visit Gabae Weight Loss for great resources, training and motivation!

Rationalization: “The devising of self-satisfying but false reasons for one’s behavior.” Sometimes we don’t know why we do what we do, and perhaps such ignorance is okay, or should be. Our temptation is always to explain, but that often does nothing useful. In fact, it can just get in the way of actual understanding.

Rationalization - A Clinical Example

When John went to the hypno-therapist, he was hypnotised, and given the post-hypnotic instruction to get up and put on his coat whenever the therapist touched his nose. Once he was out of the trance, they began to talk. The therapist scratched his nose at some point in the conversation, and John immediately stood up and put on his coat.

When the therapist asked him why, John explained “Oh, I thought we were finished,” and he took off the coat and sat down again. Shortly afterwards, the doctor touched his nose again. John again immediately stood up and put on his coat. “It’s getting cold in here,” he explained this time. He never knew he was unconsciously responding to a post-hypnotic suggestion.

Of course, if you think about it for a moment, you’ll realize that this scenario is not unique to hypnosis. Many factors go into our decisions and actions, and we act as though we’re aware of them all. Like poor John, we feel compelled to explain ourselves - and to believe our explanations. One of our strongest habits is rationalization.

Just Say ‘I Don’t Know’

When a child throws a plate at his brother, and his mother demands “Why would you do that!?” he says, “I don’t know.” It is almost certainly the honest answer, but it isn’t acceptable. With hours to study the child, a pychologists might not understand the child’s action with certainty, but a six-year-old is expected to understand his behavior and have an explanation ready in seconds.

Now, he may not understand his own motivations, but he quickly understands that an explanation is expected. As a result, by adulthood, it is rare for any of us to say “I don’t know” when asked about our behavior. We instantly explain. This is a problem, isn’t it? How can we learn the true causes if we already accept our rationalizations?

Perhaps a better approach is to get in the habit of saying “I don’t know.” For the sake of our own comfort, we could follow with “Maybe it’s because of…” and let the explanations spill out, as long as we aren’t too quick to accept any of them. We need to understand that it isn’t always necessary to explain.

Suppose, for example, that you are avoiding a ertain person, and don’t really know why. Isn’t it better to leave the question open than to accept a false explanation based on a habit of self-justification? If you leave questions unanswered, you may someday have a better understanding. Quick answers mean a quick stop in your thinking.

Self-explanation can be the opposite of self-understanding. Maybe it’s time to learn to accept our ignorance, and to start observing ourselves. Just say, “I don’t know,” to break the habit of rationalization.

Steve Gillman writes on many topics including brainpower, weight loss, meditation, habits of mind, creative problem solving, generating luck and anything related to self improvement. Learn more and get FREE e-courses at www.SelfImprovementNow.com

Achieving sales is probably the biggest
challenge a web business owner has. It requires
a balanced mix of the right products, competitive
pricing, optimal web design, aggressive advertising
and attracting the right online visitors.

While all of the above are equally important in
achieving abundant sales, none of them will work
at all if you don’t target the people that are most
likely to buy your products or services. These
people are known as your target or niche market.
Focusing in on your niche market will allow you to
find only those that are ready, willing and able to
buy what you have to offer.

Your niche market provides you the competitive edge
over larger corporations because larger companies
tend to market to a much broader range of people.
Their promotions are more generalized and less focused.
For them, the smaller markets are not worth bothering
with. This now becomes your opportunity to capture
those highly defined niche markets that they left behind.

Defining your Market

In order to find these people you must first determine
who they are. This might sound like a simple or
perhaps insignificant question at first but it can
possibly make or break the success of your sales if
you don’t give it some serious thought.
Here’s how to get started.

Think about the following and jot down all those
that might apply to people interested in your products
or services. Don’t rule out any category completely.
Think about each group of people and how they might
apply.

Age Group:

infants, Children, teens, young adults, baby boomers,
middle aged, elderly or all.

Gender:

Male, female or both

Marital status:

single, married, divorced, widowed or all

Ethnic or religious backgrounds

Occupations:

Executives, doctors, lawyers, housewives,
business owners, teachers, blue collar,
white collar, students, out of work, etc.

Health Status:

healthy, diseased, home bound, active, sedentary, etc.

Interests:

sports, hiking, music, arts, computers, reading
television, animals, home decorating, cars,
walking, running, relaxation, health conscious,
age conscious, physical fitness, etc.

Income status:

low income, middle income, high income, no income.

Education:

high school dropout, high school, college, MBA
PHD, hates school, loves school, etc.

Certainly all categories are not listed above,
however these can get you started on thinking about
all the possibilities.

Next, it’s important to determine what benefits
you are offering. Examine your products or services
carefully listing all the benefits that you can
think of. Perhaps take a poll of your existing
customers and ask them what it is they like about
your products or services. What benefits them the
most.

Once you have a listed all of the benefits, think
about what people would be interested in these
benefits based on your list above. Then put them
together to assist you in reaching a market that
will bring you sales.

Reaching Your Target Market

Search engines are the best way of finding a
targeted market because those searching on the
web can type in exactly what they are searching
for and receive the targeted traffic the search
engines so proudly advertise.

But attaining good placement on the search engines
is often difficult and time consuming.

Ezines and newsletters are a very effective alternative.

Most ezines cover specific subjects such as finance,
marketing, health, internet, etc. Your job will be to
find an ezine whose topic matches your target market.
To do this you must locate an ezine directory. Directories
usually list contact information, advertising rates, and
circulation. Once you find a targeted ezine then place
your ad. Be sure your ad includes as many of your product
benefits as the ad will allow.

The idea is to define your target market specifically
enough so that you can find the appropriate place to
advertise and then create sales messages that
make your readers feel you are talking directly to them.

You’ll be amazed at the amount of traffic you can receive
by finding your target market and reaching them in the
appropriate location.

Elizabeth McGee has spent 20 years in the service and support industry.
She has moved her expertise to the world wide web helping businesses
find trusted tools, enhance customer service, build confidence and
increase sales. Elizabeth’s sites can be viewed here:
http://www.pro-marketing-online.com
http://www.homenotion.com

Copyright © 2004 Adlite Enterprises
All Rights Reserved.

Quick Tip #1
When buying furniture TRY IT OUT. Sit in the chair, bring the chair up to the desk. Can you reach comfortably, do your feet touch the floor, do you feel support for your lower back? This is important because a bad chair will lead to bad posture which will make you tired and achy both of which are not conducive to working successfully.

Quick Tip #2
If using a standalone monitor position it 16″ to 28″ from you and align the top of the monitor even with your head. Your eyes will thank you.
This is not so easy to achieve with a laptop. If you are a laptop user take more eye breaks.

Quick Tip #3
Reduce eyestrain and the early need for glasses by simply adjusting your monitor to match the lighting in the room. If you have monitor glare, purchase a glare screen or MOVE your computer setup. If you move, make sure that the computer is at a 90 degree angle from the source of glare.

Quick Tip #4
Having a problem because you feet don’t touch the floor when you sit back in your chair? Buy a foot rest…Don’t make one out of phone books or old folders! You need a good support system or you will eventually experience numbness and pain in your legs.

Quick Tip #5
The color you choose for your office is important. Green’s and Blue’s are always good choices. Studies have proven that green’s and blue’s lead to less eye strain and to better concentration. Neutrals work well but can be less than inspiring. I HIGHLY recommend staying away from bright whites and yellows since they tend to reflect the most light and that leads to eyestrain.

Quick Tip #6
A clean, pleasant smelling office will invite your clients in. Your perfect office image can be ruined in 2 seconds if it smells bad. All your hard-work to create an office for success is GONE if there is a bad smell.

Quick Tip #7
A cluttered desk may work for you but not your client. Keep an organization system close by so that you file away documents and keep your desk open for your current project. Trust me stacks of folders from your last 5 projects which are precariously close to sliding off your desk will not impress your clients.

Quick Tip #8
Buy the best office furniture you can afford. Don’t think short-term. For example you may think that your kitchen table and a few chairs you picked up at a garage sale would be great for your office. NO. Invest in your business success. If you don’t believe in your potential to succeed your clients aren’t going to buy into it either.

Quick Tip #9
When home is work and work is home it becomes difficult to make a clean break. Set fixed hours that you are at work and stick to them. It’s tempting to work more when you should be focusing on other aspects of your life. That rule also holds true for when you decide that the laundry needs to be done or the garage cleaned out. Set your hours and honor them.

Quick Tip #10
Use plants liberally in your office they will liven the office immediately. Plants add color, soften hard lines and work great for hiding unsightly areas! Silks are beautiful and easy to care for or if you have a green thumb life plants are perfect. IF you do have life plants don’t let them get brown and look like they are dying or your client will interpret that as a lack of paying attention to detail.

Carmen Natschke is an award winning designer and co-founder of roominakit.com an online home decor shop and decorating resource. Carmen is passionate about decorating and has shared that passion with hundreds of women through her Decorating Divas workshops and seminars. She is currently working on her book “Decorate Like A Pro” which is based on the innovative approach to decorating taught in her workshops and seminars.

What do former presidents Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin have in common? A condition called acne rosacea, a chronic inflammation of the blood vessels in the skin, which causes a ruddy complexion and small acne-like eruptions on the cheeks, forehead and nose.

In men it can often cause the skin on the nose to thicken and swell, leading toa condition called rhinophyma.

Nobody know what causes it but the list of potential triggers is endless. The main culprits are alcohol and rich, spicy foods.

Because its roots are unknown, there’s no permanent cure either, so management is the key. This is partly achieved by identifying what makes the rosacea worse through a process of exclusion and by the use of topical antibiotics - usually metronidazole.

A GP’s diagnosis is vital since the symptoms can be similar to more serious conditions such as lupus. Rosacea can last a lifetime, especially in men, but often clears up on its own.

About The Author

Alicia Caldelas for ultimate-cosmetics.com

Find more info about rosacea symptoms, triggers etc. on http://www.ultimate-cosmetics.com/beauty/skin_disorders/rosacea-treatment.htm

alicia@ultimate-cosmetics.com

You love great smells but just can’t seem to find one to stick around. Wouldn’t you just love to eliminate those tough odors once and for all and create the perfect ambiance to die for!

Whether riding in your car, relaxing in your home or at the office, challenging odors sometimes come out of nowhere. Day old food in your car, the smell of smoke from your husband’s cigar or cigarettes or those musty office smells just won’t escape you. Don’t you just hate when you can’t get a nagging odor out.

Using the perfect air freshener can help eliminate those challenging odors for good. It can also give you a new identity and add positive energy all around you. You could even give your car a new identity. Sit back, relax and feel as if you owned the road with the right scent. You may know of someone whose car smells great all the time. Wouldn’t you like for that to be you?

There are several ways you can try to get the most out of your air freshener.

1. Spray the fragrance out of the bottle for a nice long-lasting aroma.
If the smell doesn’t last for a couple of days, switch brands. You will eventually realice that you may spend less today but will spend more in the end when purchasing those cheap, watered-down air fresheners.

2. Add the air freshener to your mopping solution on your tile or linoleum floor covering for heavy duty smells in your kitchen or bathroom.
Purchase a good concentrated liquid air freshener. For every 3-parts water, add 1-part fragrance.

3. Spray the freshener on cotton balls and put the cotton balls in your air conditioner vents.
This works great around the holidays. Keeps you in the holiday mood.

4. Pour the fragrance air freshener into your favorite potpourri pot.
Make sure that you use a 100% concentrated air freshener if you are trying to burn it. This process makes your home smell great for days to come. What’s more invigorating than to come home after a hard days work and soothe your mood while catering to your soul with an ambiance to die for. It sort of makes the hard day worth it. Be careful if you have allergies.

5. Refreshen the fragrance sachet in your lingerie drawer by squirting it with your favorite fragrance air freshener.
Give a little spice to your undearwear. Men, there is hope for those “tightie whities” afterall.

6. Add water, if the air freshener is concentrated, to create a mist for those gentle odors and spray it whenever and wherever needed.
This works best for those not so challenging odors.

7. Mix the concentrated fragrance with your steam cleaning vacuum for tough, nagging odors like pet, smoke and other chronic odors.
I am sure that you probably can identify with the frustration you may have experienced when your pet urined or defacated on your carpet. You probably thought that you would never get the odor out. In addition, when your husband walked around the house with his cigar and the smell lasted for days. I have found that most people who smoke, do not like the smell of smoke because the smell gets into their clothes, hair, etc. and lasts for days. Simply pour 1-part fragrance to 3-parts water in your vacuum and your carpet, home, etc. will smell fresh and clean for several days.

Go ahead and have fun while experimenting. Create the perfect ambiance just for you. After all, life is full of smells. It is up to YOU how YOU choose to handle them.

www.jazzyfresh.com

Travel has always been something that has been close to my heart. It enthuses me, revitalises me and I just love to see other cultures.

The hardest thing about travelling is not to get worn out doing it. So here is a suggestion I would seriously thing about taking up.

Travel by canal boat on the English waterways and see the beautiful countryside of England at a pace where time stands still and waits for you to catch up. There are around 4000 miles of rivers, lakes and canals in Britain and a great amount can be seen by canal.

The canals were originally designed to transport Britain’s heavy goods around all of the major cities and towns creating a fantastic network of waterways to go anywhere.

The longest canal I have travelled was from London to Birmingham via the Grand Union, the Grand Union is Britain’s longest canal and is a total of 137 miles long. Cruising the whole length, non-stop, would take you 74 hours.

One of Britain’s most beautiful and secluded cruising rivers is the Avon, which meanders past ancient towns and through the picturesque countryside of middle England. It flows through Stratford, Evesham and Pershore to Tewkesbury, where it meets the enormous River Severn. Its surroundings have changed little since the days of its most famous son, William Shakespeare. This part of the country really encompasses everything I see as being English. Seeing it at the leisurely pace of the waterways enhances the whole experience. Peace and tranquillity come hand in hand with travelling this 200 old method of getting around this wonderful country.

The narrowboat of today is the modern adaptation of the cargo boats used on the canals before the railways. Now these boats contain every creature comfort and are available for hire across the UK and in Ireland.

Todays canal boats have modern kitchens, beds which can be left made up, heating, showers and toilets. They can sleep from 2 to 12 people.

A canal holiday lets you experience the locks to go up or down hill and travel through exciting tunnels. You can cross aqueducts over valleys and rivers - the most famous is 120 feet above the ground.

At a steady 4 miles per hour, the canal narrow boat holiday is often described as ‘the quickest way to slow down’.

Many people are really just looking for a good online job. They want to know how to get a decent income from a home based job. Many people start out looking to have no more than some extra money to make life easier. Not everyone is interested in actually running a business of their own.

They all want to work at home rather than go out to work. It is a fact that they could live on much less if they cut out the numerous expenses that go along with working away from the home, like transportation, work clothes and child care. It offers much more quality time; we all want that & some extra money!

Ahhh… then what hapens? Many stare at their computers and wonder where to start. Soon they are going to search engines & surfing around from link to link. Now they’re seeing so much hype about how they can get rich overnight and have all their dreams come true. Of course, common sense and life’s lessons have told us this is too good to be true. But even so, there is something happening…

We begin to want more than just some extra income. We can see that there ARE people doing it, so maybe it’s possible for us to do it too. And they make it sound so easy! Not like we envisioned running a business would be and the Freebies are everywhere on the internet. All you need to do is sign up for newsletters to get them.

These freebies are a means to introduce and sell products to the recipient in the future, or some similar reason. Next thing they know, they’re often buying into the hype & beginning to expect that one CAN make money on the internet without any hard work or any investment, except “this fantastic system”.

Then it fails them or turns out to be not enough information. Pretty soon they try another offer. Same result over again. This is happening to people all over the internet these days.

No wonder nobody believes you when you offer real value!

No wonder folks expect everything on the net to be free!

No wonder it is so hard to make an internet business work!

But, even with all that, This is probably the best opportunity the world has ever seen to get into your own business at low cost. That alone is amazing when you consider those startup costs for any offline venture, & the small target market areas you can reach locally. On the ‘net, the world is your market!

Even if you started out looking for a part time online job, it’s hard not to extend your goals as you see what really can be achieved by ordinary people. Just remember, there is a good reason why the internet is called the “Information Highway”.

You only need to observe, find a need and fill it or offer the solution to a problem. You can often do this with information you already have from your experiences. People who want it do not care if you aren’t the best writer in the world, either!

It will take some investment to set up your website business “store” and advertising to tell people about it and sell things. You just need to learn how to present and promote to them. You need ‘how to” information from startup to banking profit.

That happens to be where we found our “niche” - providing help people need to start and grow their own online business. We are putting the information they need at their fingertips & back it up with twenty-four hour support. If people still want only an online job, help is available for them as a member too.

Info is what people all over the world go online for & you can fill their need for information about things you know or are will- ing to research and learn. You can find your cyberspace “niche” and make your dreams come true if you treat it as a business!

Vacuum pumps are used to pump gases out of an area, leaving a partial vacuum. The vacuum pump was invented by the German named Otto von Guericke.

The flow of air removal, the amount of vacuum produced, and the power that is required to produce the vacuum are the main factors that go into choosing particular vacuum pumps. It is mandatory for manufacturers to provide information on the flow-rating availability. Standard measurements are in place to quantify how much vacuum a pump produces. This is called mmHg or HG. A lower vacuum provides high-flow pumps and a higher vacuum provides low-flow ones.

Vacuum pumps have much lower power requirements than air compressors. Large-sized vacuum pumps are meant for continuous pumping. However, smaller pumps have high efficiency; the only difficulty, however, is that they get overheated easily if used continuously. A single mechanism or a series of mechanisms or parallel mechanisms are employed to achieve the best results according to specific requirements.

Various types of vacuum pumps are available such as diaphragm, rocking piston, reciprocating piston, liquid ring, rotary-screw, rotary vane and lobed-rotor ones. Reciprocating piston, diaphragm, rocking piston, and rotary vane pumps can go up to twenty-nine in Hg. Rubber and plastic-sealed piston pumps, venture vacuum pump, and scroll pumps are also used.

Many industrial and scientific processes require vacuum-pump applications such as for the production of electric lamps, vacuum tubes, semiconductor processes, lectron microscopy, and medical processes involving suction. Aerospace applications include the use of vacuum source to power gyroscopes in the various flight instruments.

In the case of a complete electrical failure, special instruments in the instrument panel powered by the vacuum source are used. Standard features include high-vacuum electric motor shutdown, clutch-driven high-pressure pump, trigger gun control, automatic waste-water pump-out, low-water shut down, pressure-relief valve, waste collection bag filter, emergency stop button, hour meter and warranty for one year.

There are one-step systems that pressure-wash, rinse, and recover the waste stream for proper treatment. The clean-and-capture system has been found to be good for undertaking high-paying and environmentally sensitive jobs.