Baccarat History and American Baccarat Rules

Here you can learn how to play the American version of baccarat and learn about the history of the game.

If we put aside the black ties, the velvet curtains and the overall exclusive atmosphere, baccarat is one of the simplest casino games around. In addition, baccarat is a beatable game with a low house edge, which makes it one of the best bets you can make! Here you can read about baccarat history and learn how to play the game.

Both the American and European versions of baccarat and the French Chemin de Fer are late developments of the Italian game called baccara, which means zero in Italian. The origins of baccara go back to an old Etruscan myth. According to the myth, a blonde virgin had to toss a nine sided die to decide on her destiny. If the die landed on eight or nine, she would have to fulfill her destiny and become a priest. If the die landed on six or seven, she would be forbidden to participate in any religious activity. If the die landed on any other number, the virgin had to walk into the sea.

The Italian game baccara was popular among French aristocracy during the end of the 15th century. Baccara had evolved to the European version of baccarat, which is still played in European casinos today as well as the French variation of baccarat known as Chemin de Fer, which is mainly played in casinos in France. The American version of the game was introduced to Nevada casinos in the 1950s by Francis Tommy Renzoni, who imported the game from Havana.

Baccarat still carries an aroma of aristocracy and exclusivity. In American casinos, baccarat is played in a separated area of the casino, hidden behind velvet curtains. Baccarat players are usually dressed up and the betting limits are higher comparing to other table games. In order to attract the medium budget players, a lower limit version of baccarat, called mini baccarat, was invented. Mini baccarat is played on a smaller table, inside the casino gambling area with lower betting limits than baccarat.

How to Play Baccarat

Baccarat is played with 3 dealers and up to 12 or 14 players. Baccarat is usually played with 8 standard card decks. Aces valued as one, face cards and ten cards valued as zero, and the rest of the number cards worth their face value. The suit has no meaning. The object of the game is to get as close to 9 as possible.

The play begins by all players, including the dealer, placing their bets either on the player, the banker, or on a tie. Traditionally, the dealer bets on the banker. The dealer can be the house dealer or one of the players. After everyone has placed their bets, the dealer gives two cards to each player and to the banker.

The score of each hand is calculated as the sum of the two cards minus the left digit. For example, if the sum of the two cards is 15, the score would be 5. The decision whether to deal a third card is determined by a set or rules and it is not up to the player or the dealers decision. 
If the score of the players hand is 9 or 8, he wins
If the score of the dealers hand is 9 or 8, it is a tie
If a players score is 7 or 6, he can be dealt a third card
If a players score is 5 or less, he has to receive a third card
If a player gets a third card and the score of the dealers hand is 2, 1 or 0, he must draw a third card
If the score of the dealers hand is 3 and the players third card is any value but 8, he must draw a third card
If the score of the dealers hand is 4 and the players third card value is between 2 and 7, he must draw a third card
If the score of the dealers hand is 5 and the players third card value is between 4 and seven, he must draw a third card
If the score of the dealers hand is 6 and the players third card is 6 or 7, he must draw a third card.
If the score of the dealers hand is 7, he cannot draw a third card.

Bacara el Preferido del Agente 007

El Bacará tiene el estilo elegante y sensual que acompaño al legendario James Bond desde los años 50 hasta su último estreno.

El Agente 007 y su audacia con el juego continúan deslumbrando año tras año a sus sensuales compañeras en escena y derrotando a sus astutos enemigos.

El Bacara: El Juego preferido del clásico James Bond: Bacará y el Agente 007

El Bacará es el clásico juego de apuestas originado en Italia en el siglo 15 y es también característico del famoso espía 007. En cada escena lo identifican una elegancia y excelencia, que junto con su impecable  Martini en mano y las apuestas en otra James Bond ha mantenido una leyenda desde su origen desde los años 50 hasta el presente. Es así como el espía ingles domina la versión francesa del juego Bacará llamada Chemin de Fer con gran talento y admiración.

Bacara siempre fue popular entre la alta sociedad, especialmente en el siglo 15, cuando surgió en Italia. Bacara significa cero en italiano y a lo largo de su expansión en diferentes países nuevas reglas y variaciones fueron inventadas y adaptadas como en Estados Unidos o en Francia el Chemin de Fer, o el denominado Juego de James Bond.

El juego consiste en el "Jugador" y la "Banca"  el nombre que se la a las opciones de apuestas, estos son repartidos dos o tres cartas cada uno con el objetivo simple de llegar a 9 sin pasarse de el. Mientras tanto la banca decide según las reglas del juego cuando detener la jugada y los jugadores ya han debido apostar a cual de las dos Jugador o Banca ganara la mano. Los jugadores o el jugador apuesta y el que apuesta a la mano que gano el puntaje mas correcto, gana la mano. En la adaptación americana, el juego funciona en contra a la banca, mientras que en Chemin de Fer, los jugadores compiten el uno con el otro. Uno representa al jugador y el otro a la Banca.

En compañía del Chemin de Fer los libros de Ian Fleming junto a las adaptaciones en escena de James Bond, han deslumbrado por décadas las diferentes aventuras del espía, con ayuda de su impecable poder del juego y su atractivo estilo. Hasta su último estreno en el 2006 James Bond sigue disfrutando de la lujuria de las mesas verdes de los casinos junto a su cigarro y el su sensual compañera en acción. En el anio 1964, las novelas y capítulos de James Bond, fueron escritas por Kingsley Amis, John Pearson, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, y Charlie Higson. Tambien sus actores variaron comenzando con el conocido Sean Connery, siguiendo con Geroge Lazenby, Roger Moore, Tomothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan y Daniel Craig.

Si observas, es muy interesante ver la manera en que el Agente apuesta al juego y a su vez actúa y descubre los secretos que lo rodean con la misma rapidez, seguridad y astucia. Enlas películas de James Bond el juego Chemin de Fer transcurre en elegantes salas llenas de mujeres elegantes y hombres adinerados que detrás del juego tienen otros intereses por revelar. En la realidad el enlace entre el Bacará y El Agente 007 es de un acompañante fiel de aventuras secretas y emocionantes de mas de cinco décadas que hicieron de el una leyenda inolvidable que resurge de generación en generación.

Avoiding Seminar Dogs: How To Pick The Right Session To Attend

My email is overflowing with seminar information about programs at upcoming trade shows. I'm like every one else whose time is at a premium. How can I maximize my time when I am at the show? How can I stay informed with the latest innovations?


My email is overflowing with seminar information about programs at upcoming trade shows. I'm like every one else whose time is at a premium. How can I maximize my time when I am at the show? How can I stay informed with the latest innovations?

Almost every trade event now has a conference track that runs concurrently. These are usually well publicized in advance so have time to register and in most instances are able get a discount for early registration. In some cases the conference is in advance of the actual show so it doesn't detract from time in front of the exhibitors. In any case it's wise to plan your conference schedule as early as possible.

Look at your travel agenda and determine how much time you can set aside to attend a conference session/s. Review the program information. In most cases there will be a very diverse selection of offerings. Look to see who the session is targeting. If your title or job description is listed then it's a good bet this is something you should attend. Check out the speakers and their
companies. Are these the people you want to meet? Can you benefit from their expertise? It's easy to check out your speakers by doing a GOOGLE search. Type in the presenters name in quotations and see what turns up. 

Is the session presenting "fresh" material or trotting out some old "has been" that hasn't had a new thought in 20 years? Note: many of the conferences do not pay speakers; they hope that companies will provide speakers for free to promote their products and services. So it's important to determine whether
this "content" is worthy of your time or is it just a company "advertorial." In my opinion, most of the time these sessions aren't worth investing your time. Watch out for "free" sessions too. Unless this is a "paid" expert hired to increase show attendance, it's usually not worth going.

Can you access the information or material in any other way? I know in my case when I speak its based on recent research which I turn into a report that can be purchased after the event. Many times you can find an article or report for purchase that covers the same subject also. Look for sessions with information that you can't get in any other way or ones that have a "stellar"
selection of presenters. If you can't attend a particular session, find out if it will be repeated or how you can access the information after the event.

See how long the session will be and at what time of day. Can you combine a session with your lunch break? Breakfast sessions have now become very popular. Why not eat and learn at the same time? Is the information something that can benefit others in your organization? Get some brownie points by coming back with valuable insights.

If you have no reference point for any of the sessions, look to see who is a sponsor. Is it a company that has a good reputation or a trade organization that you respect? You can always call them and ask about the speakers or the event. You can even complain to them if the speaker is a "dog." So whatever seminar you decide to attend be sure and plan early and maximize your time at the event.

Avoid Crafty Traps in Essay Writing

Hidden pitfalls are on watch for your paper success in every paragraph of the essay you write. They are notorious misprints, insidious misspellings and numerous stylistic, syntax and format errors. Indeed they are your restless essay writing enemies, which are always on the alert, putting obstacles on your way to excellent grades for your writing assignments.

Hidden pitfalls are on watch for your paper success in every paragraph of the essay you write. They are notorious misprints, insidious misspellings and numerous stylistic, syntax and format errors. Indeed they are your restless essay writing enemies, which are always on the alert, putting obstacles on your way to excellent grades for your writing assignments.
The drastic truth is that even slight mistakes make you freak out and lose the train of your thoughts. They evoke a fear of losing the main thread, give rise to uncertainty in your strengths and potential, dissipate your motivation to write and give the way to other distractions. Ultimately, make it challenging for you to complete your task at hand.
These minutiae seem to be minor for the inexperienced writer, but in fact they obscure an overall picture of your essay and occur to be crucial for the estimation of your work by professors, reflecting on your poor grades. Hence, essay writing pitfalls must be eradicated by all possible means.
Take these helpful hints to avoid crafty writing traps and forget about poor grades for your writing assignments once and all the time.
# Say No to poor thesis statement
Everything you write should develop around a clear central thesis statement. Good thesis statement zeroes in one main idea and states it clearly, avoiding ambiguous and vague phrases.
It should be specific, analytic and has to evaluate the significant insights of your essay. Strong thesis statement usually introduces the original approach to the traditional view on the problem.
# Avoid weak introduction and open-ended conclusion
Focus on one primary function of the introduction - to introduce your thesis statement clearly and precisely so that to grab the attention of the audience. The success strategy of writing your introduction is to start with the broad statement of your main idea and to close it with the actual thesis of your essay.
Don’t leave the unfinished and open-ended feeling at the end of your essay. Always remember that your paper must make its point clear right from the beginning and up to the logical ending.
Make your conclusion coherent and smooth and be sure to stress the significance of your work in the concluding part of your essay, pointing the ways in which your invaluable contributions can be applied.
# Beware of undeveloped essay
This problem is particularly common and results from not understanding clearly the essence of the chosen topic. Selecting your essay topic make sure to familiar with it completely and to ask yourself what you really feel passionate about and don’t forget to research it preliminary very thoroughly.
Your paper won’t produce an undeveloped impression if you provide your work with a solid argumentative ground, explaining clearly your view on the researched topic and elucidate the past attempts of the solution of this problem. So that to show the professor that you’ve got the core of the chosen topic at your finger tips.
# Never use slang language
Bear in mind that slang language and curse words are absolutely inappropriate in your work. Always remember that your targeted audience is educated professors. More over that college writing commonly implies the utilization of the formal style, which has definite frameworks.
# Don’t just recollect the events in your paper
Simple recollecting of the events is boring and unrecognizable to the reader and can become an absolute failure to the writer. “A good essay is one with imaginary appealing to the five senses.” Try to harness this strategy in your essay writing. Make your audience feel, taste, smell and hear everything you are narrating about.
Hope that these useful hints will help you gain the upper hand over your restless essay writing enemies, strengthen your writing skills and ultimately help you get excellent grades for your writing assignments.

Artists Biographies on Film: Top Movies about Visual Artists

Here is a guide to the best movies that describes the life of visual artists.

Visual artists biographies is a popular theme in the movie world. Moviemakers have always been fascinated by visual artists biographies, especially if it includes struggle with insanity, drug addiction or social conventions. In addition, it gives them an opportunity to depict original or resurrected artworks on the big screen.
Here you can read about some of the most interesting movies about visual artists biographies.
Lust for Life directed by Vincente Minnelli in 1952 

Vincent Van Gogh biography had gained several cinematic adaptations. Lust for Life with Kirk Douglas as the struggling artist is one of the most notable. The movie is based on a best selling book by Irving Stone, who also authored The Agony and the Ecstasy about Michelangelo, which also had appeared on the silver screen.

If you are a fan of Van Gogh artwork, you would enjoy watching Last for Life, which features almost 200 of Van Goghs original paintings. However, if you are familiar with Kirk Douglas previous filmographic, seeing him as a tortured Dutch painter might take a little adjustment. Another recommended film about Van Gogh is Robert Altmans Vincent and Theo from 1990.

Surviving Picasso directed by James Ivory in 1996

Like Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso image made him an iconic figure outside the artistic circles. While Van Gogh symbolizes the self destructive, manic depressive artist who achieves success only after his death, Picasso represents the misanthropic and womanizer artist. Picasso infamous relationship with women is the focus of this Merchant and Ivory film. The story is told from the eyes of Picasso mistress Francoise Gilot and features only reproductions of Picasso works. With Anthony Hopkins talent and his physical resemblance to Picasso, Surviving Picasso manages to create an unflattering portrait of an artist as a cruel, self centered genius.

Girl with Pearl Earring directed by Peter Webber in 2003


Comparing to Van Gogh and Picasso, Vermeers biography is less known and less controversial. Therefore Girl with Pearl Earring is much more restrained and delicate. The movie focuses on a short period in Vermeers life in which he was painting the portrait of his young low class maid. Although Girl with Pearl Earring does not avoid filmic conventions by over dramatizing Vermeers painting process, the movie is worth watching if only for its artistic design, which success in evoking Vermeers perception of light and color.

Basquiat directed by Julian Schnabel in 1996

The most common critique against movies that deals with visual arts is the way they depict the creation process. Therefore, there were big expectations from Basquiat, which was directed by the celebrated painter Julian Schnabel. Schnabel did well in depicting Jean Michelle Basquiat rise and fall story in less the predictable manner we have seen millions time before. However, the only reason to watch Basquiat is David Bowie plays the role of Andy Warhol.

Frida directed by Julie Taymor in 2002

Like most of the visual artists who had their life story appear on the silver screen, Frida Kahlo carried an unusual biography, which includes bus accident, problematic marriage, and an affair with Leon Trotsky. Like Van Gogh, Picasso and Jackson Pollock, who was the subject of a biopic from 2000, Frida Kahlo was an icon long before Frida was released, but the 123 minutes film did help to strength her position as a feminist idol and probably the most famous woman painter of the 20 century. Frida tries its best to integrate Frida Kahlo life story with her painting and the result is very colorful and pleasant, but still does not stay far enough from the conventions of depicting artists on film.

Article: The most common mistake

The most common mistake made by people who attempt to put together their first resume is that they put in too much information. They want to describe everything that they have ever done from the moment of conception to the present. The resume ends up being too long, and nobody will read it.


The most common mistake made by people who attempt to put together their first resume is that they put in too much information. They want to describe everything that they have ever done from the moment of conception to the present. The resume ends up being too long, and nobody will read it.

The most important piece of information that you should retain is that your resume, no matter how well it is put together, will only get a 15 to 30 second review by the person who does the initial screening.

That person is normally someone in Human Resources whose job is to look at hundreds of resumes per day. You must create your resume in such a way that it gives all the information they need in a maximum of 30 seconds.

There is information that, under most circumstances, should not be in a resume. This includes:
• Your age or date of birth
• Religious or political affiliations
• Reasons why you left your last job
• Your Social Security Number
• Health restrictions or physical limitations
• Any sentence that has "do not," "cannot," or "unable"

Age or Date of Birth

I repeat, you should not put your age or date of birth in a resume. In the US, an employer has no legal right to know your age. An employer can ask you only if you are over the age of 18 for insurance liability reasons or if local, state, or federal law requires that employees be over a certain age.

Therefore, if you’re concerned that your age will be a factor, don't list the date you graduated from high school or the years that you received any of your degrees. I received my undergraduate degree in 1962. Can any of you guess my age?

Religious Affiliations or Political Affiliations

It’s generally recommended that you stay away from listing a particular type of religion or political party affiliation. However, being active in your community or church can sometimes be a positive factor in many large companies, so you should make general statements about your participation in activities that support the community. Volunteer work for a charity group would be a positive example but active support for an environmental group could raise some eyebrows.

Reasons for Leaving Previous Jobs

We’ve become a mobile society and longevity in a position is now considered two years. People accept new jobs for many reasons. If you left your last job because of differences with your supervisor or company philosophy, I don't recommend that you put that information in your resume. The reader will probably get a negative impression of you. If you couldn't get along with your last company, you probably won't get along here.

If the job application asks you to give reasons for leaving your last job, a safe and truthful answer could be that you were offered a better position. “Better” could mean a pay raise, better working hours, better office environment, or newer equipment.

Your Social Security Number (SSN)

The exceptions to this are federal resumes sent for civil service positions. A prospective employer can ask for your Social Security Number in an application - that is normally a requirement for employment. However, putting your SSN on a resume could lead to disaster.

You’ll be sending out many resumes; you won’t know who’ll be reading them. It doesn't cost much money to put a small want ad in the newspaper or on an Internet employment site, and a dishonest person can run a fraudulent ad.

If someone knows your SSN, he can apply for credit cards or other important documents, such as duplicate SSN cards, with the information you normally provide on a resume. Be alert if someone other than in the civil service asks for your SSN.

Information about Health and Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act has changed the way businesses in the US recruit and hire an employee. Generally, an employer has no legal right to know your health status. The only health-related questions that an employer can ask are job related.

If the job description requires that you lift 50 lbs, the employer has the legal and legitimate right to ask in the interview if you can do this. He can also state the requirement in his ad. He cannot ask you if you have back problems, diabetes, or have had a heart attack unless the job, such as airline pilot, requires perfect health.

Find out your legal rights if you live outside the US.

Marital Status

I’ve added marital status because this is another issue that can work against you, particularly if you’re a single parent. I know some people will disagree, but single parents have the highest absentee rate in the work force.

Companies will try to avoid hiring a single parent if at all possible. However, in the US they cannot ask you your marital status or if you have children. Don't volunteer this information on the resume.

If asked this question in an interview, the proper response could be, "Can you tell me what this has to do with the position I’m applying for?" That should end the questioning on this issue if the interviewer does not want to face a lawsuit.

Art Theft: Most Famous Cases in History

Art Theft: Most Famous Cases in History

Review of the most famous cases of art thefts in history including the stealing of the Mona Lisa and The Scream.

Art theft is an ancient and complicated crime. When you look at the some of the most famous cases of art thefts in history, you see thoroughly planned operations that involve art dealers, art fakers, mobsters, ransoms, and millions of dollars. Here you can read about some of the most famous cases of art theft in the history.

The First Theft:
The first documented case of art theft was in 1473, when two panels of altarpiece of the Last Judgment by the Dutch painter Hans Memling were stolen. While the triptych was being transported by ship from the Netherlands to Florence, the ship was attacked by pirates who took it to the Gdansk cathedral in Poland. Nowadays, the piece is shown at the National Museum in Gdansk where it was recently moved from the Basilica of the Assumption.

The Most Famous Theft:
The most famous story of art theft involves one of the most famous paintings in the world and one of the most famous artists in history as a suspect. In the night of August 21, 1911, the Mona Lisa was stolen out of the Louver. Soon after, Pablo Picasso was arrested and questioned by the police, but was released quickly.

It took about two years until the mystery was solved by the Parisian police. It turned out that the 30×21 inch painting was taken by one of the museum employees by the name of Vincenzo Peruggia, who simply carried it hidden under his coat. Nevertheless, Peruggia did not work alone. The crime was carefully conducted by a notorious con man, Eduardo de Valfierno, who was sent by an art faker who intended to make copies and sell them as if they were the original painting.

While Yves Chaudron, the art faker, was busy creating copies for the famous masterpiece, Mona Lisa was still hidden at Peruggias apartment. After two years in which Peruggia did not hear from Chaudron, he tried to make the best out of his stolen good. Eventually, Peruggia was caught by the police while trying to sell the painting to an art dealer from Florence, Italy. The Mona Lisa was returned to the Louver in 1913.

The Biggest Theft in the USA:
The biggest art theft in United States took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. On the night of March 18, 1990, a group of thieves wearing police uniforms broke into the museum and took thirteen paintings whose collective value was estimated at around 300 million dollars. The thieves took two paintings and one print by Rembrandt, and works of Vermeer, Manet, Degas, Govaert Flinck, as well as a French and a Chinese artifact.    

As of yet, none of the paintings have been found and the case is still unsolved. According to recent rumors, the FBI are investigating the possibility that the Boston Mob along with French art dealers are connected to the crime.

The Scream:
The painting by Edvard Munchs, The Scream, is probably the most sought after painting by art thieves in history. It has been stolen twice and was only recently recovered. In 1994, during the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, The Scream was stolen from an Oslo gallery by two thieves who broke through an open window, set off the alarm and left a note saying: thanks for the poor security.

Three months later, the holders of the painting approached the Norwegian Government with an offer: 1 million dollars ransom for Edvard Munchs The Scream. The Government turned down the offer, but the Norwegian police collaborated with the British Police and the Getty Museum to organize a sting operation that brought back the painting to where it belongs.

Ten years later, The Scream was stolen again from the Munch Museum. This time, the robbers used a gun and took another of Munchs painting with them. While Museum officials waiting for the thieves to request ransom money, rumors claimed that both paintings were burned to conceal evidence. Eventually, the Norwegian police discovered the two paintings on August 31, 2006 but the facts on how they were recovered are not known yet.

Are Readers Important To Authors?

Bestselling authors speak of their fans in almost reverential tones, as well they should. A loyal readership that comes back for more, book after book, is the real key to long-term publishing success. Savvy authors work diligently to produce great work that will continue to please their audience, but many of them also communicate directly to their fans. Author’s web sites are all the rage, some of them quite elaborately produced.


Bestselling authors speak of their fans in almost reverential tones, as well they should. A loyal readership that comes back for more, book after book, is the real key to long-term publishing success. Savvy authors work diligently to produce great work that will continue to please their audience, but many of them also communicate directly to their fans. Author’s web sites are all the rage, some of them quite elaborately produced.

Fauzia Burke is the founder and President of FSB Associates, http://www.fsbassciates.com. Her company specializes in publicity utilizing the Internet and author websites.

We asked Fauzia: What is the most unusual publicity program you've developed? “We’re proud of our ability to harness all the power of the Web in the service of authors and their books, and we’re especially committed to making the online presence fit the project.

Here are some examples: “Our site for Doug Stanton’s In Harm’s Way goes beyond words and pictures to include audio interviews with survivors of the 1945 sinking of the USS Indianapolis, video clips of the actual rescue at sea, and a discussion board. Our campaign introduced the book to many audiences, from World War II vets and history buffs, to college and high school students.

“For Christopher Rice’s supernatural thriller A Density Of Souls, we used animation and graphics to create an online gathering place that echoes the eerie atmosphere of the book, and added exclusive material like a virtual yearbook from the New Orleans high school of the story, and back-story on the characters. We even helped promote Chris's appearance on MTV's Real World.

“We used cutting-edge animated maps in our site for Rick Atkinson’s Pulitzer Prize winner An Army At Dawn, to illustrate critical points in the Allied assault on German-held North Africa in 1942-43. Animation helps bring alive our site for Tony Horwitz’s Blue Latitudes, combining a sea chart that traces the voyages of Captain Cook with excerpts from corresponding passages in the book.

“But we don’t use bells and whistles for their own sake. Our site for Mitch Albom’s novel The Five People You Meet In Heaven called for a simpler approach that lets the warm story and the wonderful writing take center stage. Because this is the kind of book people love to share, there’s an e-postcard that fans can send to their friends. There are teaching guides, and reading group materials, and a Q&A with Mitch. And for the Spanish edition of the book, we’ve created a Spanish-language site that will help broaden the audience even more.

“For all these books, we also waged word-of-mouth campaigns designed to attract attention, site traffic and media coverage. In the end, these coordinated efforts produced the most satisfying of all results – sales.”

Quite a few author websites are just storefronts whose major purpose is to sell books. Others have a much more intimate feel, inviting visitors to: “Come on in and meet me. Stay and chat.” With all the other pressures on their time, why do bestselling authors go to the trouble of answering fan e-mail, or posting responses to message boards on their web sites, and continually upgrading them with information about their new project or where they will be appearing?

Nicholas Sparks, www.nicholassparks.com, whose first book, The Notebook set a new standard for romance, answers the question: You interact with your fans more that many authors do. Your web site is particularly interactive, with message boards and an e-mail address for fans to reach you. Why did you take this approach? “People have so many questions about my novels or want to know about me, and there's a lot of misinformation out there. I wanted to have the correct answers put up where readers could easily access them. The web site is a way to make sure the truth is getting out there. For instance, the question, Where did I get the idea for The Notebook? If I say it was inspired by my wife's grandparents, this is very much the truth, but not much information. Readers want to know more: How was it inspired? In what way? How did that whole thought process work? So I explained the whole situation so the readers understand.”

Does that interaction encourage the word of mouth buzz about your books? “Maybe a little. But not everyone cares about what an author's life is like. They just want to read a good book.”

Anna Jacobs, http://www.annajacobs.com, has written 29 novels, mostly historical sagas and romances. She resides in Australia, her primary publisher is in the United Kingdom and her books are sold worldwide including the United States.

We asked Anna: Romance authors seem to have a more personal relationship with their fans, interacting with them on web sites, message boards, Internet chats, book readings. Why is that? What does an author learn from this interaction that assists her with her work? “I'm not sure it's just romance authors. I think it's a woman's approach. I happen to believe that if you put something back into the universe it will bring good karma. Or as my daughter puts it: What goes around, comes around. But I also keep in touch with readers because if you can 'attach' readers as well as writing good books (the latter is the prime pre-requisite) they go out and talk about your books to others.

“I learn a lot from readers' emails about what has particularly pleased them. That doesn't hurt. Also writing is a very solitary activity, so it's nice to be in touch with others. And we all need feedback and praise. I'm as human as any other. I love to hear that someone has enjoyed my books. It's much more fun than sales figures.”

Susan Elizabeth Phillips, www.susanelizabethphillips.com, is the only five-time winner of the Romance Writers of America Favorite Book of the Year Award; inducted into the Romance Writers Hall of Fame, 2001— pioneered, and some say, perfected the “romantic comedy” school of fiction. writes with a touch of humor. We asked Susan: You seem to interact quite a bit with your readers through your web site. You even mentioned there were several categories of fans you have, those who enjoy the humor in your books and those who are more attuned to what happens to the characters. How does the fan interaction shape your writing? “I love my readers, but I do my best not to let their comments shape my writing in any way. About ten years ago, the light finally went off in my brain and I truly understood that every book I wrote would be somebody's favorite and somebody’s least favorite, that everybody in the world (gasp) wasn't going to like my books. This was intensely liberating. It told me that to do my best work I concentrate only on pleasing myself. Truly the biggest ‘Aha Moment’ of my career.”

It’s not only romance authors that have their own website, Stuart Woods, http://www.stuartwoods.com, writes hard hitting mysteries and has been on the New York Times Bestseller list many times.

Stuart answers the question: You are one of the bestselling authors who regularly corresponds with readers via e-mail, why?  “It gives me a direct kind of feedback. I get a sense that what I’m doing is the right thing to do. I’ve never made any changes in what I do because of what I’ve heard from readers. The vast preponderance of people love the books and write to tell me so.”

And it’s not just the household name authors who value their readers.

Lydia Joyce’s, www.lydiajoyce.com, most recent book is “The Veil of Night” an intense, sensual remaking of the Gothic genre, with a mysterious Duke, a crumbling manor, and an older heroine with her own secrets to hide.

Lydia told us: “To be absolutely crass, if I didn't have fans, I couldn't make money. And if I couldn't make money, writing would be a hobby, not a job!

“But fans are important to me for far more than financial reasons. My desire to become a writer started with the ghost stories I used to tell around Girl Scouts campfires. I loved how I could affect other people, how I could thrill them, excite them, and make them care about the people in my tales. The pleasure that other people get from my storytelling is a major motivator for me. If it weren't for that, I could be perfectly happy to leave my stories in my head where they started.”

Lynne Connolly is the author of the Richard and Rose series of books, romantic suspense novels set in the mid eighteenth century. Her latest book, "Harley Street" came out in March, and pits the new Lord and Lady Strang against their deadly enemies, Julia and Steven Drury in a tale of old transgressions come to test new found love.

We asked Lynne: Why are your fans important to you as an author? “They validate my work, tell me that I'm on the right track. Fans aren't unthinking admirers, and can often give you information you never had before. Their encouragement keeps me going, and presenting my work to publishers and agents with confidence. Economically, they buy the books, making it possible for me to write more and for my publisher to continue having confidence in me. I sit at home all day on my own with a keyboard for company. Fans connect me, help me to keep on target. And a fan is a reader. They complete the link, the communication between writer and reader.

Marjorie Jones’s, www.majoriejones.com, “The Jewel and the Sword” was just released by Medallion Press. She tells us fans are important to her because “For me, fans are the end-all-be-all of the writing experience. Finishing a book is a terrific feeling. Selling that book to a publisher is an amazing feeling. Having that book accepted by the reading public is better than both! Why are they important? Because without them, my stories would float indefinitely inside the walls of my hard-drive. No purpose. No reason for being. Fans give the stories life.”

Take a few minutes this summer and find out a little bit more about your favorite author. If you really enjoyed their last book, let them know. They would like to hear from you.

Anyone Can Write a Research Paper!

Trying to Write a Research Paper - but don't know where to start? No problem! Writing a research paper is as easy as 1-2-3 when you break it down into small tasks!

“I’ll figure that out . . . when I get the time.”
“I really don’t know how to start!”
“I really should write my research paper!”

This common dilemma is expressed over and over again by many people everywhere. The good news is that anybody can write a research paper!

There are three main reasons for research papers:

1. To help you to piece together information from different sources and cohesively put it back together.

2. To help you develop good written and oral communication skills.

3. To help you to figure out how to find information.

Not knowing how to write properly can make your academic life disorganized, stressful and chaotic. By improving your writing skills, you can confidently and quickly finish assignments and write properly throughout your professional career. Writing a research paper can be very simple when you follow these basic steps:

1. Choose or Brainstorm Your Topic: Sometimes a topic is given to you, or you may have your own topic that you would like to research. You may be forced to conduct your research with very little direction. Sometimes you are only given a page count, number of sources and a deadline. It is helpful to begin by brainstorming a topic. Writing down a few ideas can be very helpful, and lead you in a certain direction.

2. Determine the Scope: Once you’ve scanned the internet or library and learned a little more about your topic, you need to determine whether you need to broaden or narrow your focus.

3. Research: By now you have an idea of your topic and have scanned the subject area. You have a focus for your research paper, but you also need details to “flesh out” the paper. Start going to your resources, and taking notes on sections that may be pertinent to your paper. Remember to document where you got the research from! This usually includes noting the author’s name, title of book, paper or website, year of publication, publishing house, page numbers and/or date accessed.

4. Outline Your Paper: An outline is an organized plan for your paper. Develop an outline by starting the first section with a broad introduction of the topic, then list several sections that you have read about (or will read about) that pertain to your topic. The general sections are: introduction, literature review, data collection, results and discussion. Writing an outline will help you to feel better about writing your research paper because you will have a sense of organization and direction after you write it.

5. Create the First Draft: The first draft should be written after you have completed your research. By this point, you will probably have numerous sources and many pages of notes written down from each of these sources. You should have enough information to write the entire paper. It is important “just to start writing”, and not to worry too much about the details at this point.

6. Revise, Revise, Revise! Revision of a paper should actually take longer than writing the first draft. This is the time to clean up all of the grammatical mistakes, spelling, run-on sentences, etc, and to make this paper easily readable. This is also the time to add or subtract text when necessary.

7. Proofread: This is the time for nit-picky editing to insure that there are no mistakes. Some things to watch for are: correct verb tenses, punctuation, grammar, spelling, word choice and proper citation. Other details that may be important are: page numbers, correct spacing and correct margins.

By breaking your research paper into small tasks, you can stay focused on the goal of completing it quickly and meticulously!

Addiction: When Gambling Becomes a Problem

Addiction: When Gambling Becomes a Problem

This article deals with the problems associated with an gambling addiction. You can read here about the signs, causes and treatment of such problems.

While most people enjoy casino gambling, sports betting, lottery and bingo playing for the fun and excitement it provides, others may experience gambling as an addictive and distractive habit. Statistics show that while 85 percent of the adult population in the US enjoys some type of gambling every year, between 2 and 3 percent of will develop a gambling problem and 1 percent of them are diagnosed as pathological gamblers.

Where can you draw the line between harmless gambling to problem gambling? How can you tell if you or your friend are compulsive gamblers? Here you can find answers to these questions and other questions regarding problem gambling and gambling addiction.

What is the Meaning of Problem Gambling?
Problem gambling or compulsive gambling is defined as an uncontrollable urge to gamble despite the destructive effect of gambling on the gamblers life and despite feelings of guilt and remorse. Problem gambling tends to have a negative effect on the gamblers financial state, relationships and daily life. Severe cases of problem gambling can be defined as pathological gambling.

Am I a Compulsive Gambler?
1) Do you gamble until your last penny runs out?
2) Do you gamble to win back your former losses or debts?
3) Did you ever had to borrow money to continue gamble?
4) Did your gambling habit ever made you lie to your friends or family?
5) Did you ever skip work or other obligation to gamble?
6) Do you tend to gamble to forget about your personal problems or to celebrate happy occasions?
7) Does gambling have a negative affect on your daily life or relationships?

If you have answered yes on at least one of the questions listed above, then you have a problem.

Can Anyone Become a Compulsive Gambler?
Theoretically, yes. Any gambler can develop gambling problem regardless to the type of gambling he is occupied with, the amount of money and time he is spending on gambling. Researches show that slot machines that can be found in bars and convenient stores are the most addictive type of gambling activity, while lottery draws and bingo games are located on the other end of the scale. Gambling addiction is an emotional problem; its symptoms, causes and treatments are similar to any other form of addiction.

How Can I treat Gambling Addiction?
1) Group Therapy:
Gamblers Anonymous offers a 12 step self help program similar to the one offered to alcohol addicts in Alcoholics Anonymous.  Group therapy also offers gambling addicts advice and support from professional counselors and other gambling addicts in different phases of their recovery process. Gambler Anonymous centers are available in more than 1,200 locations statewide.

2) Individual Therapy:
Cognitive or behavior therapy can help gambling addicts to identify their unaware thinking and acting patterns, which led them to gamble compulsively, and to replace them with controllable and healthier ways of thinking.

3) Psychiatric Medication:
It has recently been proven that antidepressant medications from the family of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be affective in treatment of gambling addicts.

Absurdity of Absurd: Samuel Beckett's Waiting

What does ‘Absurd’ mean ?When I searched the glossaries ,I found the word to be ‘out of harmony’(1).But yet the definitions trying hard to explain the term , just to end in total ‘Absurdity’ (assuming for a while that we know the meaning of the word),as they talk in total sense, the nonsense about it and of course that means they fail(in their attempt ).But considering the term to be linked with literature (and other forms of art too!),when I searched for more I came across the lines that states


What does ‘Absurd’ mean ?When I searched the glossaries ,I found the word to be ‘out of harmony’(1).But yet the definitions trying hard to explain the term , just to end in total ‘Absurdity’ (assuming for a while that we know the meaning of the word),as they talk in total sense, the nonsense about it and of course that means they fail(in their attempt ).But considering the term to be linked with literature (and other forms of art too!),when I searched for more I came across the lines that states that no ‘literary criticism’ [in which I include the attempts to explain the literary terms] can take the literary work itself ,or to be more specific ‘…it [literary criticism]is no substitute for reading the work itself’(2),as it [the piece of work]is the most exactly and precisely ,the thought conveyed or explained. So, I reached the idea that to understand ‘absurd’ .I must view an absurd work by an artist, rather than poring over the talks about it. Hence as a literary student what first came to my mind at this instant is none, but WAITING FOR GODOT by Samuel Beckett, the so called absurd play structured around ‘Go dot’, the axis all absurdity[as till the date none could declare with confidence ‘who’ or ‘what’ Go dot is !]
What I found in the dustbin of my memories about this go dot is:
"On 19 Nov 1957, a group of worried actors were preparing to face their audience . The actors were members of the company of the San Francisco Actors’ Workshop . The audience consisted of fourteen hundred convicts at the San Quentin penitentiary . No live play had been performed at San Quentin since Sarah Bernhardt appeared there in 1913 .Now ,forty four years later ,the play that had been chosen ,largely because no woman appeared in it , was Samuel Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT’(3). …"Beckett real triumph ,…came when WAITING FOR GODOT which appeared in book form in 1952,was first produced on 5 January 1953 , at the little Theatre de Babylone (now defunct ),…’(4)
And I found also some lines of this play:
"…
ESTRGON:Didi.
VLADIMIR:Yes.
ESTRGON:I can’t go on like this.
VLADIMIR: That’s what you think.
ESTRAGON:If we parted?That might be better of us .
VLADIMIR:We’ll hang ourselves tomorrow.(Pause)Unless Go dot comes.
ESTRAGON:And if comes?
VLADIMIR:We’ll be saved
…"(5)
It is said about Beckett that when he was asked that what he meant by Go dot he answered "If I knew ,I would have said so in the play"(6).’WAITING FOR GODOT does not tell a story ;it explores a static situation ‘(7).So it is clear from the very beginning that Beckett tried to create a ‘character’ without a character’ as he himself doesn’t know him [Go dot], and again the movement of plot tends to zero ,i.e. there is absolutely no plot . Previously it was taken for granted that if there exists a literary piece then there must be either a story( or plot) to tellor any character to be represented .But did exactly opposite to revolutionize his concept .He presents a ‘character’ whom he himself does not know and tell a plot which is nothing but variations in arrangements and sequences of few events with negligible movement or action :’nothing happens , nobody comes nobody goes …’ (8).
But can be the term ‘Absurd’ assigned to merely these qualities of the play? No, there are still more as mentioned by critics .In an essay on Kalfka ,Ionesco defined his understanding of the term as ‘ Absurd is that which is devoid of purpose…’(9).And the purposeless becomes evident when ‘ the more things change , the more they are the same ‘(10).And this is done by creating uncommon situations in the play by Breckett . For instance the boy who carries message of Go dot to Estragon and Vladimir fails to recognize them on each day of his reappearance ."The French version explicitly states that the boy who appears in the second act is the same boy as the one in the first act , yet the boy denies that he has even seen the two tramps before , and insists that this is the first time he has acted as Go dot’s messenger’(11).And this is done while ‘waiting’ which is interpreted by Martin Esslin as ‘Waiting is to experience the action of time , which is constant change . And yet , as nothing real ever happens , the change is itself an illusion .The ceaseless activity of time is a self defeating purposeless…’(12).
And thus by this purposelessness Beckett tries to prove the absurdity of his play .But is this really absurd ? If we view it from some different point of views we can suddenly find something contradicting . It is because we know the fact that ‘ truth is never real’ ,and what we define for a situation becomes a truth for us , for that moment . So is the case of abnormality or normality of a situation . When any action is most common that becomes ‘ normal ‘ for us and this is the very base of our understanding .We understand what is most common and general .We understand something uncommon by referring it to some common things or actions we understand .So our very base of understanding is based upon some general truth or common events ,the state which we call normal .Now when we something out of order in a play (e.g. WAITIG FOR GODOT) ,we interpret it in terms of those ‘ commons’ of our memory .But on this view we analyze , can uncommon or absurdity be perceived by us directly without any aid or reference to our definition of ‘normality’ ? It is similar to what Rene’ Wellek tried to explain in his essay ‘ATTACK ON LITERATURE’ by citing an example of Samuel Beckett’s ENDGAME .Becket has portrayed a character in END GAME who was ‘ looking for the voice of his silence ‘(13).’The artist’s dissatisfaction with language can only be expressed by language .Pause may be a device to express the inexpressible ,but pause can’t be prolonged indefinitely ,cann't be simply silence as such . It needs contrast , it needs a beginning and an end…’(14).
This statement suggests the importance of contrast and this is as true in case of absurdity and non-absurdity as it is true in the case of silence and music .
In this light we can reach decision that there is no sense of absurdity without the normality . But how this is true in case of Go dot can be analyzed as follows :
Beckett tries hard to achieve absurdity by doing through his characters , the abnormal things (or at least normal things in abnormal sequence ), still there remains the elements of non-absurdity in every corner of the play . The boy who doesn’t recognize the two tramps bring message from the same Go dot (It never happens ever that Go dot brings a message from the boy ;or the tramps bring message from the boy to go dot ;or tramps speak out the message that the boy brings from the Go dot for them ;or Go dot never receives message from tramps and so many can be the absurd case ).It was only one angle of interpretation of the situation .Other interpretations can be many in numbers :Go dot waits for tramps ;or tramps don’t wait for Go dot while they say they waited. etc. etc.
When I mean to say is that whatever action is done in the play has therefore the elements of non-absurdity .We could have recognized them if what we call absurdity would be the most normal and what we now feel normal would have been absurd .In fact we can’t express absurdity itself and this is the deceiving nature of ‘Absurdity’ , because the moment we speak out something it becomes a little different from what we originally meant to express . ‘Words , the medium of fiction ,are a fabrication of man’s intellect .They are a part of human lie ‘(14).And for this reason any literature needs that medium to be expressed , that becomes deceptive .So Roland Barthes of France says therefore that ‘Literature is a system of deceptive signification…emphatically signifying ,but never finally signified ‘(16).
Therefore whatever actions Beckett tried to fabricated in to the play , stands till today between in the limits of absurd and non-absurd and how this action is nearer to any of these two limits depends on what words are used and how they are used to define the limits .
That’s why the play ‘..of the supposedly esoteric avant-grade make so immediate and so deep an impact on an audience of convicts…’(17),where as the critics could not easily accepted the play as an art in the beginning .
Martin Esslin writes : ‘ because it confronted them [the prisoners] with a situation in some ways analogous to their own ? Perhaps . Or perhaps because they were un sophisticated enough to come to the theater without any preconceived notions and readymade expectations ,so that they avoided the mistake that trapped so many established critics who condemned the play for its lack of plot ,development , characterizations , suspense or plain common sense ‘(18).And of course this is what we see as the attempt to define absurd with non-absurd .Similarly many other attempts have been made in the past and present to create uncommon out of common .For example the Dadaist Movement . ‘Attempts have been made not only to widen the realm of art ,but to abolish the boundary between the art and the non-art . In music , noises of machines or the streets are used ; in painting, collage uses stuck-on news papers , buttons , medals and so on , or ‘found objects’ –soup cans , bicycle wheels , electric bulbs , any piece of junks—are exhibited . the newest fad is ‘earth works’ , holes or trenches in the ground , tracks through a corn field , square sheets of leads in snow . A ‘sculptor’ , Christo wrapped a million square feet of Australian coastline in plastic . At 1972 Bicnnale in Venice , a painter ,Gino de Dominicis , exhibited a mongoloid picked up from the streets as a work of art .In poetry poems have been concocted by the Dadaists by drawing news paper clippings from a bag at random ; more recently poems have been produced by computer and a shuffle novel (by Marc Saporta ) has appeared , in which every page can be replaced by another in any order …’(18).
Similarly we can cite the example of Pop-Culture now so popular by the young generations ,which was once considered as absurd .So what conclusion we reached can be seen in the light of that contrast theory of silence and music told in this essay in the beginning , that whatever we want to express (may it be ‘Silence’ or ‘Absurdity’ ) we need words to express . But ‘a word can never be a thing ‘(20).So we can either achieve a situation or express it , but we cannot do both because , if we try to do , the situation won’t be the same .This is what we can imply when we speak of absurdity ; i.e. we can’t be totally absurd in expression as there is no proper medium exists .
By concluding this I think I have reached at the ‘ right place at the right time’ , because if I am right then I will reach the right thing , but if I reach the wrong (as I will get non-sense)that will be rather a right thing due to our context . My attempt of criticism , ‘ is an attempt to make us more reasonable’

A Moving Experience

Ah, the joys of sending your child out to his or her own apartment. This scenario will be a humorous reminder to a few of you.

I’ve found a cool apartment! Okay, okay…so it’s not perfect. Just a few bugs. I mean literally! First expense? An exterminator! Is it worth the cash? Well, I can’t afford a more expensive place, so a one-time (please!) cash outlay should be okay. Maybe just a can of “Raid?”

I need a way to move my stuff. Daddy, can I borrow your truck? You don’t have one? Why not? Do you want one? I’ll help you pick it out! Well, it was just a suggestion. No need to get all bent out of shape! I guess I’d better call the truck rental places. What do you mean…$200…PLUS mileage? AND Gas? Good grief!

While I’m on the phone I’ll call the utility and phone companies. Yes, I know I haven’t used your services before. No, I don’t have a credit card; this is my first place. You want what? A $100 deposit? For EACH? Holy cow…do you people have a license to steal?

Daddy, I need $500 for moving expenses! I used all my money for the first and last months rent AND the damage deposit. Well, how was I to know this was going to be so expensive? Sell something? Daaaaad…I NEED my TV!

Boy, this place is pretty empty. Maybe I should buy a couch and a chair. Nah…I have my bed. That’ll be good enough. I don’t need a table; I’ll just use this box.

Renters Insurance? I don’t think so! What do I have to insure?

Just got my first phone call! I’d love to come to your party! Daddy, I need a car. Because it’s too far to walk to work, that’s why. Umm, Daddy…there’s car insurance too! Thanks, Dad…you’re the best! And gas? I didn’t think so…

Time for dinner. Let’s look in these boxes. Oh, No! No dishes or pans. No FOOD!

Uhhh, Mom?

13 Resume Mistakes That Can Cost You The Interview

1. A BLAND OR GENERIC OBJECTIVE: If your objective could be applied to a marketing resume as easily as a resume for an accounting position, then your objective says nothing and will get you nowhere. An objective is NOT some required paragraph at the top of the page that is an exercise in 5 lines of job speak. It's an actual and real description of your skills as they're related to who you are and what you want. It should vary with the type of job for which you are applying.

1. A BLAND OR GENERIC OBJECTIVE: If your objective could be applied to a marketing resume as easily as a resume for an accounting position, then your objective says nothing and will get you nowhere. An objective is NOT some required paragraph at the top of the page that is an exercise in 5 lines of job speak. It's an actual and real description of your skills as they're related to who you are and what you want. It should vary with the type of job for which you are applying.

2. BLAND JOB DETAILS: "Responsibilities included overseeing construction of 4 Hilton Hotels in Tri-City Metro Area, each 50 floors in height." Yeah? So what? That doesn't say if they went up on schedule or if you brought the projects in under budget. It doesn't say if you took all four from site work up or if the guy handling two of the four hotels was fired and you were promoted to overseeing all four. Differentiate yourself from the others coming in to interview. If you don't tell the hiring company how you will be an asset to them, how will they know?

3. WHO'S THE MYSTERY COMPANY?: Don't assume the name and purpose of your company is common knowledge. If it's a competitor, it might be, and if it's in the same industry and located nearby, it might be. To be on the safe side, provide a sentence or two about the focus of your company's products or services.

4. ANOTHER JOB, ANOTHER PARAGRAPH: Don't keep adding on to your resume job after job, year after year. By the time you're in your 40s, you need to have weeded out some of the earlier stuff. You don't need all the college activities, just your degree. You don't need ALL 5 bullets for each of your first two jobs.

5. REFERENCES: Shouldn't be listed on your resume. "References available on request" is the proper phrase. You present them separately when they're requested. This isn't about protocol. This is about protecting your references so they aren't called until you and the company are serious about each other.

6. IT'S NOT A STORY!: Don't - whatever you do, DON'T - write your resume in the third person!

7. SKIP THE PERSONAL INFO: You might think your weekend baseball coaching or your church choir participation shows you're an interesting and well-rounded person, but they're irrelevant. If the interviewer wants to know who you are as a person, aside from the job interview and your qualifications, he'll ask.

8. DEGREE DATE: No matter how old you are, don't leave the date of when you were graduated off your resume. It looks like you're hiding something (well, you are, aren't you?), and then everyone counts the years backwards and tries to figure out how old you are. Sometimes you can be ruled out - just for leaving the date off. If you're trying to hide your age by not stating the date, what else might you not be forthcoming about?

9. SPELL CHECK, SPELL CHECK, SPELL CHECK: Spell checking visually by you AND someone else, any fewer than three times, isn't enough. And don't forget to check your punctuation.

10. GETTING YOUR RESUME OUT THERE - part one: Don't use one of those resume blaster things. Half those sites aren't even valid. You don't know how it will come out on the other end. You don't even know where it's going or if the landing targets are employment related. It's bad form and just....NOT the way to find your perfect job. Finding your perfect job takes focus, attention, detail, individuality, tailoring, specifics. Resume blasting is about as far from that as you can get.

11. GETTING YOUR RESUME OUT THERE - part two: If it's an ad, you probably have instructions as to how to send it. If it says email, cut and paste it in the form, AND attach it. You never know what it can look like on the other end because of the variety of settings available to each user. Quite frankly, you're better off not emailing it at all, because it usually just goes into cyber space, and then it's all about the hiring company - but unfortunately, besides not sending it at all, sometimes that's your only choice. Emailing your resume takes any option for further participation right out of your hands, because often there's not even a name given for a follow up contact. You've no other option than to wait and wonder. (And half the time it's going to HR or an admin department to be scanned into an electronic database.)

12. GETTING YOUR RESUME OUT THERE - part three: If you know the company, call and ask if they prefer email, fax, or snail mail. I know a recruiter who never even opened his email. Because he was listed in The Kennedy Guide to Executive Recruiters, he received so many resumes emailed to him cold (so NOT pro-active) that he just did a mass delete every morning. Candidates contacted for a specific search were requested to snail mail their resume to him. How about that? I'll bet less than 10% of those who emailed their resumes even bothered to follow up to see if it was received (this isn't a numbers game).

13. RESUME VISUALS: Ivory paper. Black ink. Individual pages. No plastic, 7th grade, science report cover with the plastic slider or metal push down tabs. Your name centered at the top, not on a cover page that says "Introducing Clifton Lewis Montgomery III". No exceptions. Your resume is a professional document, not a school book report or an art project. Until every resume is done this way, yours will still stand out in the crowd.

You are the product, and your resume is the marketing piece. To find your perfect job you must differentiate yourself from the other people who will be interviewed.

Your resume must be specific, individualized, easy to skim so it invites a closer reading, and focused on the differences you've made with your previous companies, as well as the accomplishments you've achieved with - and for - them. This tells the hiring company what you can do for them - and it IS about the hiring company, not you.

Of course this assumes you meet the requirements for the job - otherwise it doesn't matter how good your resume is! The resume is what gets you in the door. If your resume is poorly written, looks sloppy, is difficult to read, is cryptic in any way, or necessitates being slogged through to learn your information (they won't bother), you won't even get in the door. And how can you decide whether you like the company, if they've already decided they don't like you?

7 Ways to Grow Flowers

Want a more beautiful garden? It's easier than you think once you understand the 5 "Zen" rules of fantastic gardens. This article provides all the tricks and tips you need to make it happen.

Flowering landscape trees are the crown jewels of the yard.
Perhaps no other plants, individually, can have as great an
impact on how a yard looks in spring. Browse the articles to
which I've linked below for information on particular varieties
of flowering landscape trees. Pictures are included.

Crape Myrtles: Landscape Trees of the South

A popular choice in flowering landscape trees for Southerners,
crape myrtles have a long blooming period (mid-summer to
fall). The blooming clusters of these flowering landscape trees
come in pink, white, red and lavender. The clusters appear on
the tips of new wood. Northerners can sometimes get away
with treating these flowering landscape trees as perennials
that die back in winter but come back in spring.

Trees

Not all specimens with a weeping habit are flowering
landscape trees, but this article looks at several weeping
varieties that do bloom, headed by four types of cherry.
Saucer Magnolias

The size and shape of the blooms are what suggested the
common name for these flowering landscape trees. Want a
specimen with a brilliant bloom as big as a saucer? Access
information on these beauties here.

Rose of Sharon

Although some people think of it as a landscape "tree"
(because it gets tall and can be pruned so as to have a single
trunk), rose of sharon is, in fact, a flowering shrub. The fact
that it blooms relatively late -- and for a long time -- makes it
a valuable plant for those looking to distribute their yard's
color display throughout the growing season.
Top 10 List of Flowering Landscape Trees and Shrubs for
Spring |

This article features information on ten flowering landscape
trees and shrubs that brighten our spring seasons. Included
are redbud, callery pear and crabapple.
Hawthorn: Late-Blooming Landscape Trees

This article offers information on Washington hawthorn trees,
which are perhaps most valued for the time at which they
bloom (late spring to early summer). Many of the popular
flowering specimens bloom earlier in the spring, and while
their blossoms are pleasant sights for eyes sore from winter's
barrenness, they desert us too quickly!

5 Ways To Make Money With One Article

5 Ways To Make Money With One Article

Would you like to know a winning formula on how to make money on the Web from writing articles? Here's how I do it: I write an article, create 4-5 versions of it, and sell it for use by others in my same profession. In fact, just that one part of my business generates enough income to fully support myself comfortably. Just about anyone in any profession or business can copy this formula.

I write articles for executive coaches and business consultants.

Would you like to know a winning formula on how to make money on the Web from writing articles? Here's how I do it: I write an article, create 4-5 versions of it, and sell it for use by others in my same profession. In fact, just that one part of my business generates enough income to fully support myself comfortably. Just about anyone in any profession or business can copy this formula.

I write articles for executive coaches and business consultants. They use different versions of my articles in their own newsletters, with their own names in the byline. When they purchase an article, they get reprint rights, but not exclusivity. But since they are in all parts of the country, and the world, they don't bump into others using the same article. They are also free to change the article.

This formula can be used in any industry. Let's say you are a veterinarian. You know a lot about pets, and about your vet clinic clients. You can easily write articles that appeal to your customers who are pet owners. You may already write and publish a regular newsletter with articles that appeal to your clients and potential clients.

What's to stop you from writing your article to suit the needs of other vets who need to send out a newsletter? You post a brief synopsis of this article on your website for vets, offering it to them for a fee. They buy the reprint rights, and it gets used by hundreds of other vets who want to save themselves time and energy on their own newsletters.

That is one way of making money by writing articles on the Web, but here are four more ways, all from the same article.

This same article is revised several times in several lengths. It can be sold in three different lengths, for example, 2000 words to form a 4-page newsletter, 1000 words for a 2-page newsletter, and 600-700 words for electronic email ezines. That makes three more ways to sell the same article.

You also take that same article, change the title, make it more personal adding your own experiences, including your personal details and website links. You submit it to article directories on the web.

This version of your article with your name on it gets picked up - this time for free - by other websites looking for content. Each time another website publishes your article on their site, they link back to your site. The more incoming links you have to your website, the higher value the search engines give you.

This means you will start coming up higher in the search engine rankings when people type in key words in Google or one of the other search directories. That is a fifth way to make money from the same article. This technique is more indirect. Your article is being used for free, but the linking power will drive new customers to your site.

Finally, you can use this same article, or another altered version of it on your own website and blogs, to attract new clients to you. Having quality content on your site and on your blogs will ensure that readers appreciate your expertise and use your services, or buy your products.

Here's a bonus idea for making money from your articles: compile a group of articles about the same topic, format them into a PDF e-book, and sell it on your site.

You probably have knowledge and expertise in your own field that others would pay for, in order to have quality content for their own newsletters. This method requires good writing skills, or you can hire a professional editor to help you. It also requires you master the art of marketing on the web in order to reach potential buyers of your articles. To market successfully, you can submit your articles to the many article directories on the Web, and quickly build traffic to your websites and blogs.

5 Simple Ways To Speed Up Your PC According To Microsoft

While most people would not think of skipping preventative maintenance on their automobiles, they do not apply the same care to the machine that holds their business and banking data, pictures, music, and important communications

By following a few simple guidelines, you can maintain your computer and keep it running smoothly.  While most people would not think of skipping preventative maintenance on their automobiles, they do not apply the same care to the machine that holds their business and banking data, pictures, music, and important communications.

The majority of this article was first published in segments by Microsoft demonstrating how to use their tools available in Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) and Windows Vista to more efficiently maintain your computer and safeguard your privacy when you're online.  The Computer Man in conjunction with the Remote Helpdesk 1 Team decided to add it to Remote Helpdesk 1's Online PC Repair Articles and Web Based Computer Repair Blogs because most problems the Tennessee Mountain Man and Computer Man see are caused by a lack of simple preventative computer maintenance by users.

1.  Free Up Disk Space

By freeing disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer. The Disk Cleanup tool helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files.
Use Disk Cleanup to:
•     Remove temporary Internet files.
•     Remove downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).
•     Empty the Recycle Bin.
•     Remove Windows temporary files.
•     Remove optional Windows components that you don't use.
•     Remove installed programs that you no longer use.

Tip: Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.

To use Disk Cleanup
A.     Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.

B.     In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list.

Choose the files that you want to delete.

C.     Clear the check boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then click OK.

D.     When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click Yes.

After a few minutes, the process completes and the Disk Cleanup dialog box closes, leaving your computer cleaner and performing better.

2.  Speed Up Access To Data

Disk fragmentation slows the overall performance of your system. When files are fragmented, the computer must search the hard disk when the file is opened to piece it back together. The response time can be significantly longer.

Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates fragmented files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space on the disk. With your files stored neatly end-to-end, without fragmentation, reading and writing to the disk speeds up.

When to run Disk Defragmenter
In addition to running Disk Defragmenter at regular intervals—monthly is optimal—there are other times you should run it too, such as when:
•     You add a large number of files.
•     Your free disk space totals 15 percent or less.
•     You install new programs or a new version of Windows.

To use Disk Defragmenter:
A.     Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Disk Defragmenter.

Click Analyze to start the Disk Defragmenter.


B.     In the Disk Defragmenter dialog box, click the drives that you want to defragment, and then click the Analyze button. After the disk is analyzed, a dialog box appears, letting you know whether you should defragment the analyzed drives.

Tip: You should analyze a volume before defragmenting it to get an estimate of how long the defragmentation process will take.

C.     To defragment the selected drive or drives, click the Defragment button. Note: In Windows Vista, there is no graphical user interface to demonstrate the progress—but your hard drive is still being defragmented.

After the defragmentation is complete, Disk Defragmenter displays the results.

D.     To display detailed information about the defragmented disk or partition, click View Report.

E.     To close the View Report dialog box, click Close.

F.     To close the Disk Defragmenter utility, click the Close button on the title bar of the window.

3.  Detect And Repair Disk Errors

In addition to running Disk Cleanup and Disk Defragmenter to optimize the performance of your computer, you can check the integrity of the files stored on your hard disk by running the Error Checking utility.

As you use your hard drive, it can develop bad sectors. Bad sectors slow down hard disk performance and sometimes make data writing (such as file saving) difficult, or even impossible. The Error Checking utility scans the hard drive for bad sectors, and scans for file system errors to see whether certain files or folders are misplaced.

If you use your computer daily, you should run this utility once a week to help prevent data loss.

To run the Error Checking utility:
A.     Close all open files.
B.     Click Start, and then click My Computer.
C.     In the My Computer window, right-click the hard disk you want to search for bad sectors, and then click Properties.
D.     In the Properties dialog box, click the Tools tab.
E.     Click the Check Now button.
F.     In the Check Disk dialog box, select the Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors check box, and then click Start.
G.     If bad sectors are found, choose to fix them.

Tip: Only select the "Automatically fix file system errors" check box if you think that your disk contains bad sectors.

4.  Protect Your Computer Against Spyware

Spyware collects personal information without letting you know and without asking for permission. From the Web sites you visit to usernames and passwords, spyware can put you and your confidential information at risk. In addition to privacy concerns, spyware can hamper your computer's performance. To combat spyware, you might want to consider using Microsoft Windows Defender, which is included in Windows Vista, and is available as a free download for Microsoft XP SP2. Alternatively, there are other free anti-spyware software programs available.

5. Use Ready Boost

If you're using Windows Vista, you can use ReadyBoost to speed up your system. A new concept in adding memory to a system, it allows you to use non-volatile flash memory—like a USB flash drive or a memory card—to improve performance without having to add additional memory.
intenet based pc repair by computer man
Windows ReadyBoost improves system memory and boosts performance.

Adding system memory (typically referred to as RAM) is often the best way to improve a PC's performance, since more memory means more applications are ready to run without accessing the hard drive. However, upgrading memory can be difficult and costly, and some machines have limited memory expansion capabilities, making it impossible to add RAM.

Windows Vista introduces Windows ReadyBoost, a new concept in adding memory to a system. You can use non-volatile flash memory, such as that on a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive, to improve performance without having to add additional memory "under the hood."

The flash memory device serves as an additional memory cache—that is, memory that the computer can access much more quickly than it can access data on the hard drive. Windows ReadyBoost relies on the intelligent memory management of Windows SuperFetch and can significantly improve system responsiveness.

It's easy to use Windows ReadyBoost. When a removable memory device such as a USB flash drive or a secure digital (SD) memory card is first inserted into a port, Windows Vista checks to see if its performance is fast enough to work with Windows ReadyBoost. If so, you are asked if you want to use this device to speed up system performance. You can choose to allocate part of a USB drive's memory to speed up performance and use the remainder to store files.

5 minute guide on how to create income from your Private Label Rights

PLR or Private Label Rights facilitate total control over content. This means that you can freely distribute, change, add or remove some parts of an original article without making any reference to the author or publisher. A little modification in the original material and you’re off to go and claim it as your own with your by-line.

PLR or Private Label Rights facilitate total control over content. This means that you can freely distribute, change, add or remove some parts of an original article without making any reference to the author or publisher. A little modification in the original material and you’re off to go and claim it as your own with your by-line.
PLRs come in handy for people who are having difficulty in creating their own content or simply those who have no time to build one. Aside from that, there are literally hundreds of ways you can stretch PLRs limits. For instance, if you are planning to release an eBook about Arthritis you could simply grab PLRs relating to your niche. Private label rights products may include text, graphics and source codes which will ultimately help you in branding yourself.
Here are few ways on how you can do with your PLR products.
1.    You can split the product into several modules and create mini eCourses. This is proven effective if you have a good mailing list. Try to create an interval between courses. We do not want to suffocate your clients by dumping them too many courses in a short period of time.
2.    If you can split them, you can also combine them as well. This will create an entirely new product waiting for your disposal. Create some new interesting headers and sales letters. Products like these can command a higher market value. You can also opt in for physical deliveries to your customers. There are several online sources which can automate the printing and delivery freeing your time and worries. A hefty price range from $200 to $900 is not bad at all.
3.    It is also a great way to create a new niche Website or blog. You would want to take a little effort to rewrite them. By now, there will be hundreds of similar websites all with the same content even if you had just downloaded them. Monetize your Website by incorporating Adsense to it.
4.    An autoresponder is a great tool to let your clients know that your site is not dead. Take your PLR content piece by piece and send them occasionally. New products and services can also take advantage of this great tool.
5.    You can set up your very own membership site by providing constant content to your members in monthly basis. Check your PLR product licenses if it does not prohibit you from doing this.
There is no easy money in the Internet. If there is, then everybody would be a millionaire. However, hard work and motivation would help you earn the income you have been aiming for.

'Learn Spanish' Lesson and the Present Perfect Tense

This Spanish Grammar lesson covers the Present Perfect Tense.  Similar to English, the Present Perfect in Spanish is a compound tense that is used frequently, and quite easy to learn.


The Present Perfect Tense

This Spanish Grammar lesson covers the Present Perfect Tense.  Similar to English, the Present Perfect in Spanish is a compound tense that is used frequently, and quite easy to learn.  The Present Perfect is a compound tense because it requires an auxiliary verb, haber (to have) and the past participle of the verb. As in English, the verb haber always comes before the present  participle.



The conjugation pattern is as follows:



To Have (Present tense)  +  Past Participle



Here is an example of the present perfect tense in English:



Carl has worked a lot this year.



In the above example, the verb “has worked” is in the Present Perfect Tense because it indicates a fact or an act in the past.  However it also indicates a period of time that has not completely elapsed.



Another use for the Present Perfect that is similar to the previous example, is to express an action that has taken place, but whose time has not been definitely established.



Here is another example of the Present Perfect in English:



Martha has eaten very little.



In this example, the verb “has eaten” is in the Present Perfect to express that Martha ate in the past. However, it implies that a definite time in which this took place has not been determined.



To understand this tense better, let’s review the conjugation of the auxiliary verb haber in the present tense:



Yo he   (I have)                                                nosotros hemos (we have)

tú has   (you have)                                            ellos han (they have)

él ha     (he has)                                                ellas han (they have)

Ella ha  (she has)                                              ustedes han (you have)

Usted ha (you have)

Remember, with haber conjugated in the present tense, all that needs to be included is the past participle of the verb that is intended.



With this in mind, what follows is the conjugation for the Present Perfect for -ar verbs.



Hablar (To Speak)                                          Past Participle: Hablado (Spoken)



Yo he hablado  (I have spoken)                        nosotros hemos hablado (we have spoken)

tú has hablado  (you have spoken)                    ellos han hablado (they have spoken)

él ha hablado    (he has spoken)                        ellas han hablado (they have spoken)

ella ha   hablado (she hasspoken)                      ustedes han hablado (you have  spoken)

usted ha hablado (you have spoken)



Here is an example with hablar:



Jaime ha hablado mucho de su boda.

(Jaime has spoken a lot about his wedding.)



Once again, notice how similar the conjugation pattern for the Present Perfect is in Spanish and English.  The auxiliary verb haber (to have) always comes before the past participle of the verb.



Conjugations for regular -er and and -ir verbs mirror a similar pattern.



Comer (to eat)                                                 Past Particple: Comido (Eaten)



Yo he comido   (I have eaten)                           nosotros hemos comido (we have eaten)

tú has comido   (you have eaten)                       ellos han comido (they have eaten)

él ha comido     (he has eaten)                           ellas han comido (they have eaten)

ella ha   comido (she has eaten)                         ustedes han comido (you have eaten)

usted ha comido (you have eaten)



Here is an example with comer:



He comido mucho hoy.  (I have eaten a lot today.)



Salir (to go out)                                                Past Participle: Salido (Gone out)



Yo he salido     (I have gone out)                      nosotros hemos salido (we have gone out)

tú has salido      (you have gone out)                  ellos han salido (they have gone out)

él ha salido       (he has gone out)                      ellas han salido (they have gone out)

ella ha   salido (she has gone out)                       ustedes han salido (you have gone out)

usted ha salido (you have gone out)





Here is an example with salir:



Juan Carlos ha salido mucho esta noche.

(Juan Carlos has gone out a lot tonight.)



Even the verb ir, which is normally an irregular verb in Spanish, has a regular conjugation in the Present Perfect.



Ir (to go)                                              Past Participle: Ido (gone)



Yo he ido         (I have gone)                nosotros hemos ido (we have gone)

tú has ido          (you have gone)            ellos han ido (they have gone)

él ha ido           (he has gone)                ellas han ido (they have gone)

Ella ha  ido       (she has gone)              ustedes han ido (you have gone)

Usted ha ido     (you have gone)



What follows are a few examples using the Present Perfect Tense:




Andrés ha pensado mucho en su país.

(Andrés has thought a lot about his country.)



Mi vecina Rosa y su hija Carmen han estado en casa todo el día.

(My neighbor and her daughter Carmen have been home all day.)



La República Dominicana ha producido peloteros excelentes.

(The Dominican Republic has produced excellent baseball players.)



Este año, hemos donado nuestras computadoras a esa organización.

(This year, we have donated our computers to that organization.)



He estado en Nueva York desde el año 2000.

(I have been in New York since the year 2000.)



Usted ha estado de dieta.

(You have been on a diet.)



Despite the Present Perfect’s relatively simple conjugation, it should be noted that the Present Perfect Tense is also used with reflexive verbs.



This is expressed in the following example:



Mi papá se ha afeitado hoy.

(My father has shaved today.)



Note how the previously discussed pattern for the Present Perfect Tense is repeated. The only difference is that the reflexive pronoun must come before the auxiliary verb haber and before the past participle of the verb.



Reflexive Pronoun         +          Present tense of Haber             +          Past Participle



Other examples of reflexive verbs in the Present Perfect Tense are:



Me he cansado mucho hoy.

(I have been tired a lot today.)



El bebé de Juanita se ha enfermado.

(Juanita’s baby has gotten sick.)



Las muchachas se han divertido en el parque.

(The girls have had fun in the park.)



Te has sentado.

(You have sat down.)



Now let’s try a few exercises.  Translate the following into Spanish.  The answers follow the exercise.



1.         My friends have eaten my food.

2.         Have you brushed your teeth?

3.         Mariaelena and I have gone out to play.

4.         The volunteer doctors have helped them a lot.

5.         Roberto and Ana have gotten married.

6.         Our son John has visited his aunt and uncle.

7.         David has talked a lot during the class.

8.         Frida has wanted to go to school early.





1.         Mis amigos han comido mi comida.

2.         ¿Te has cepillado los dientes?

3.         Mariaelena y yo hemos salido a jugar.

4.         Los doctores voluntarios los han ayudado mucho.

5.         Roberto y Ana se han casado.

6.         Nuestro hijo John ha visitado a sus tios.

7.         David ha hablado mucho durante la clase.

8.         Frida ha querido ir a la escuela temprano.