Proteins are boring stuff, for those of us who are forced to study them. Many a time, our eyes struggle to make sense of the message hidden in the DNA sequence of A, G, C, and T which are ultimately made into proteins. Not any more. Through an amalgam of molecular biology and classical music, it is now possible to 'hear' proteins instead of just looking at them. Chords and chord variations are used for each amino acid and rhythm is based on the protein sequence. Pioneered by Rie Takahashi from UCLA, this work is claimed to be much more melodic and less discordant than her predecessors. As a scientist, I'd say that this is a step in the right direction for science in making it more accessible to the average layperson. However, the musician in me would frown at the apparent 'non-musicality' of the whole approach. Yes, it sounds like a jazz piece, and maybe jazz just isn't my cup of tea. But, come on, how can a series of three-note chords, randomly scattered around the treble clef stave be called music? Apparently, a CD is going to be made out of these protein compositions. Fellow scientists would rush quickly to the local music shop to buy it, but count me out. I have much higher standards than that.

A Gift of Sight: Visual Perception Treatment for Autistic Children Autism effects every child differently, so it is difficult to find the exact treatments your child needs to cope with his or her symptoms. One thing that effects some autistic children (though, not all) is problems with visual perception. By using some standardized methods to help improve visual perception, you can give your child the ability to see the world more clearly, making learning and comprehension easier and possibly curbing some behavior problems as well. Autistic children mainly have problems with sensory overload and distortion. These are some of the same problems many people not suffering from the disorder develop, and so many treatment options have become available. Individuals with autism often find, however, that the sensory overload of the world due to light, colors, contrast, shapes, and patterns, is too much to handle, causing them to act out or shut down in general. This is sometimes a genetic condition that is simply enhanced by the autism, so if the child's parents have trouble with reading or have been otherwise treated for visual perceptive problems, there is a good chance that the child needs help as well. The Irene Method is one effective way to treat visual perception disorders. This method uses color to create a more harmonized world. You may have heard of these methods if anyone has ever suggested using a color filter over the page when reading to be able to read better and more quickly. This method is proven to work, and if your autistic child is at the maturity level of reading, you may want to try these color filters to see if there is a difference in speed and comprehension. However, it is more likely that your autistic child will benefit from color filters during the entire day, not just when reading. Special glasses have been made using colored lenses to conquer this problem. Not every child responds the same way to every color, so it is a process of trial and error to find out which color is the one blocking the harmful light. You can also choose to use colored light bulbs in your home to help autistic individuals with their visual perception problems. This method mainly helps children in 4 areas: depth perception, social interaction, learning, and physical well being. The colors help the child determine how far he or she is from an object, and the world becomes more three-dimensional, helping depth perception. Social interaction also improves because the child feels as though he or she is in a calmer world and can more clearly see and interpret facial expressions. The colors make it possible to learn, especially when reading, and overall, the child will feel better, because it helps reduce headaches and dizziness. By testing this technique and others to help visual perception problems, you can help your child better cope with the world and his or her autism.

The Plantronics DSP 400 headset produces high quality sound whether you use it with a laptop or a desktop computer. The microphone is supposed to digitally cancel noise, just transmit your voice perfectly. I use this headset mainly for voice over internet protocol (VOIP) applications like Skype and other messengers and the performance is simply marvelous! The other party may be half a world away but it sounds as if he were just in the next room. I would even dare to say that sometimes it is clearer to use VOIP than my cell phone to call overseas! The DSP 400 is not only for VOIP applications though. When you want to watch a movie or listen to music without bothering anyone, this is the perfect headset for you. It is very comfortable. Even after hours of using it, you don’t need to worry about discomfort around the ears or on your head. For that reason also, the DSP 400 is perfect for hardcore gamers who tend to spend ages playing on the computer. It is very easy to use – just plug it into a USB port and you’re ready to go. It is perfectly compatible with Windows XP SP2. There is a small control box where you can find the volume control and a small mute button that lights up when activated. Very handy when you do not want to be heard! If you want to be able to do more with the microphone and audio output, you can go to the Plantronics website and download their PerSono Audio Control Software. I have not felt the need to do so yet but it is supposed to allow you play with the settings and find the optimum sound you want for different applications. This might be a good idea especially if you are a very particular listener. If you do a lot of traveling, you will also benefit from this headset. It is foldable and you can fit it almost anywhere. One thing that I think could use some improvement is the length of the cable. Yes I want freedom of movement, so a long cable is good, but the DSP 400’s cable is just way too long. Plus, it has the long rectangular box attached to the cord that can get in the way. Aside from that, I would say that this product is very much worth what you pay for it.

If you were one of the many Americans who, in 2006, managed to wrack up a total of more than $2.38 trillion in consumer debt, of which $875 billion of this consumer debt was defined as revolving credit debt, you are not alone. Even with all this documented debt, getting a handle on your credit cards would not impossible. It is not even especially difficult, since many of the steps are well-defined, but the process does take work and determination. By educating yourself on the steps that can be taken in order to get a handle on your credit cards, you are taking a step in the right direction. While many people are aware of the advantages that come from using credit cards, such as the quick and easy use, there are some disadvantages to these plastic lifesavers if they are not used correctly. In order to get a handle on your credit cards, you first need to be aware of the less desirable features of credit cards and how you can use education in order to limit these credit card nuisances. Credit cards are meant to be used to aid individuals but, at the same time, they do not need to be used constantly and as a person's only source of payment. Did you know that if a person paid, using the average credit card debt for a person, just the minimum payment that is scheduled by the credit card company every month, it would take more than thirty years to pay off this debt? In addition to the time it would take to clear this credit card debt, there would also be a great deal of interest tacked on to the total of the bill. Individuals can help themselves more than they know by being aware of the interest percentage that they are responsible for paying on their individual credit cards, since many credit cards will differ in this percentage, as well as by paying more than the minimum payments. Obviously if a person is not paying more than their minimum payment and it is taking a long time to pay off their debt, they are not going to feel as though they have a handle on their credit cards or on, to some degree, their life. It also would help dramatically for individuals to pay off the full balance of their credit cards each month whenever possible. When account holders make it a point to not use their credit cards as magic payment devices, and to put on the card only what they can pay off each month any time that it is possible, they will be able to get a strong handle on their credit cards. Obviously emergencies come up from time to time, and in these cases credit cards can truly be lifelines for many people. However, when these situations come up, it is important for account holders to remember that they will benefit greatly from paying an amount higher than the minimum payment, which would result in the account holder being debt-free sooner. Many people, including roughly eighty percent of students, actually charge normal month-to-month necessities on their credit cards. These items include food, clothes, toiletries and other such items. When individuals can do so, it would be important for them not to use their credit cards for these purchases. The previously listed items are those that are standard monthly payments. When individuals plan for these purchases each month, they can budget it in to their financial plans. There is no reason for them to additionally pay credit card interest on these purchases by using their credit cards.

The island of Sardinia perhaps most quickly conjures up the idea of sardines. A small island off of the western coast of Italy, it certainly incorporates seafood in to much of its regional cuisine. However, Sardinia has such a rich and various history that it bears little resemblance to the traditional idea of Italian cooking. Like many other Italian regional cuisines, Sardinia’s regional taste is often a surprise for a palette that is expecting red sauce and parmesan cheese to be the beginning and end of traditional Italian cooking. While it is a region of Italy, Sardinia’s history is shared with explorers of many European nations, such as Greece, France, and Spain. This diverse history of people shows in the traditions and culture of this isolated island destination. While, being an island, seafood, especially shellfish, plays a large part in the regional cuisine of Sardinia, very few Sardinian meals do not incorporate lamb, a rich resource in the mountainous inland of the island of Sardinia. In addition to the lamb’s meat, a favorite of Sardinian chefs, very few meals are complete without the company of sheep’s milk and wild fennel. Stews and roasts are popular choices for the people of Sardinia. Looking at any Sardinian recipe, it is easy to see that the cuisine of this hilly island is a veritable stone soup of the many different cultures that have passed through the island over the years. The seafood traditions of the Greek isles can be found in the mussel stews and roasted lobster dishes that keep the island’s fishermen busy. Malloreddus is a Sardinian pasta that can be found in many stews and pasta dishes accompanying chicken or rabbit basted in fennel or saffron. Malloreddus is a grooved pasta that very much resembles gnocchi in taste and texture, and is made of semolina flour and sometimes seasoned lightly with saffron, while most gnocchi is made with potato. Stews are very popular in the regional cuisine of Sardinia, and even meat and poultry dishes are served in rich cooking sauces that could just as easily be served as soups. For this reason, accompanying a Sardinian entrйe with a hearty crusted bread or a side of potatoes makes for a very filling meal. Pasta, in the traditional sense is not as large a part of Sardinian cooking as in other regions of Italy. The pastas of Sardinia are more commonly associated with Middle Eastern cuisine. Hearty grains and fusilli more commonly accompany the dishes of Sardinian regional cuisine, as opposed the lasagna, spaghetti or linguine that Americans more commonly associate with Italian cooking. Between the diverse history of Sardinia’s people, from France to the Middle East, and the various different landscapes and resources that can be found throughout the island, it is hard to put Sardinian cuisine into one category. One thing is for sure though, while you will find many different types of food on the island of Sardinia, it is unlikely that you will find anything like it anywhere else in the world.

: Life is unpredictable. No one knows what will happen in the next moment. Cash is something that one may need for any reason, any time. Shortage of cash leaves a person in a firtghtening position. For most people a financial crisis is not unexpected towards the end of the month. However, there are other expenses like medical emergencies, school fees, maintenance of a vehicle that will place everyone under pressure. To meet all these basic family expenses Fast cash loan is a handy and convenient way to get cash in advance. Considering all these things Direct Cash Now has come up with its fast cash loan offer, a fast application process to provide you the money when you need it. We understand the situations that the average person goes through. Our fast cash loan is a convenient and quick way with which you can get the required amount of cash to fulfill your needs. Get an instant cash advance at Direct Cash Now, a leading short-term private lending group in Australia. Getting a fast cash loan is a hassle-free and faster process with us. You simply complete an online application form. You will receive a confirmation reply through e-mail including a reference number with which you will send your information. After verification and confirmation and some documentation the cash will be transferred into your nominated bank account by electronic fund transfer method. Your fast cash loan is a short-term money advance that you can pay back through payroll deduction or direct debit from your bank account. We offer you a quick way to secure cash for any financial emergency. We provide emphasis to individual applications for fast cash loan and evaluate them on a case by case basis. There is instant approval of online applications and you will receive instant money online as well. We aim to provide our customer immediate financial help when they need it. Fast cash loan is an easy and effective solution to receive a payday loan online. We employ a completely online technique and strive to help you out of your unexpected crisis.

Music is powerful and persuasive. It touches one’s emotion, motivation, creativity and relaxation. It has the soothing effect that can calm our mental nerves. It inspires you to do something new and productive. It gives you ideas. It lulls you to sleep. The list is definitely endless. Music is many things. It makes us happy, annoyed, melancholic, afraid and mad. Music is also for every one. It invades almost anything and everything. Different milieus have their own music to recollect. Various races and continents also enjoy distinctive music. Young and old alike take pleasure in it. In every stages of life there will always be music for it is perpetual. In fact, there are unique types of music that caters to specific group of individuals. Rock and metal music cater to hyperactive music enthusiasts. Love, acoustic and pop songs blend well with lovers and emotional persons. For kids there is the children’s music. Children’s music can give kids a magical experience. They can play roles with it. For a moment, they can be a pretty princess with a castle or a dashing knight in shining armor. They can simultaneously play musical instruments. They can dance and sing. Music is entertaining most especially to children. Thus, even at the very young age they must be exposed to music. By doing so, kids develop their sense of adventure and discovery. Aside from that, they can be knowledgeable about children’s music lyrics. They can also develop the basic languages. Children’s music can also be treated as therapy. Application of children’s music can treat some physiological and psychosocial elements of illness. Treatment is aimed for the acquisition of non-musical behavior by virtue of systematic musical methods. Studies have proven that children with developmental delays and learning disabilities like Down’s syndrome respond to music. Thus, exposure to music can boost response and expression. As a result, individual expressions and talents like singing and dancing can be discovered. Children’s music treats developmental delays and learning disabilities by drawing out movements. The latter develops self-awareness which can easily be manifested. Examples of these movements are gripping the beater, tapping a triangle, playing cymbals and drums and the likes. The relationship between children’s music and movement cannot be overemphasized. The rhythm of music creates the ideal stimulus that results to coordinated movements. These movements lead to repetition which is a mode of child learning. Aside from entertainment and therapy, children’s music is also a special kind of education. It develops the cognitive skills of children. Exposure to music stimulates learning about colors, numbers, shapes and parts of the body. As a consequence, though may not be the primary goal, it increases the child’s intelligence. Stimulation of cognitive abilities leads to multi-sensory development. The latter contributes to the ability of a child to retail information and be attentive to detail. As a result, the child becomes confident and clever. Children’s music can also develop the child’s social skills. Usually, musical experiences are done in groups. Participants can sing in unison or one after the other. With this process, every one is encouraged to participate thus participants eventually become closer. Children’s music can be so powerful that it can develop both the intrapersonal and interpersonal aspects of a child. It simultaneously augments functional abilities at the same time the expressive and creative capacities of a child.

Measuring your pH for the pH miracle diet Did you know that your blood has a pH level? pH is the measurement of how acid or alkaline something is. The pH level scale runs from 1 to 14 with 1 serving as “very acidic” 7 being “neutral” and 14 being “very alkaline”. In fact your bloodstream goes to great lengths to maintain a pH level of 7.35 to 7.45, slightly alkaline. Why is this important? Among many reasons why your body strives for this balance starts with your energy level. The pH miracle diet will help balance your body and increase your energy. Have you ever put low quality fuel into your car after running it on premium fuel? There is a difference in acceleration, handling, and overall performance and this is directly linked to the quality of fuel you put in the tank. Your body is a finely tuned machine. Like other types of machinery, the parts need to be kept running by fuel. The best fuel for your body is a custom mix, more alkaline than acid. What difference does this make? It all starts in the bloodstream. Think of the bloodstream as a superhighway with stops all over the body. Red blood cells are the commuting traffic riding along the bloodstream in a hurry to get to work. These red blood cells each have a negative charge on them, and this keeps them from getting into fender benders and collisions in the bloodstream. When the negative charge is stripped away from the red blood cells, they cluster together and can cause gridlock and bottlenecks in the bloodstream. In short, the traffic in the bloodstream isn’t flowing as smoothly and it causes everything to slow down. If you’ve ever been stuck in freeway traffic you know how frustrating this is. This stress on the body causes a domino effect, which eventually saps the energy away and makes you tired and sluggish. Acid is the culprit in the bloodstream traffic jam. When acid is introduced into the bloodstream it eats away at the negative charge that surrounds each red blood cell and causes all sorts of problems. How can you avoid this? The answer is quite simple and it starts with what you put in your stomach. Red blood cells are created by the food that you eat. When the stomach works on digesting food, it leaves behind natural acidic waste. Your body eliminates this waste through your urine and sweat, but there comes a point when the waste build up is too great to eliminate. What does your body do with all of the acidic waste it can’t get rid off? The answer is quite shocking, it stores it in your body! The cells in your body are mostly alkaline and this acid waste starts to attack and destroy these cells. A lot of energy is expelled keeping the waste from doing detrimental damage to your body, but this fight can only go on for so long. Eventually the build up is so great that the cells deteriorate and cause energy depletion and leaves the body open to disease. How can you avoid this slow death? A higher energy level helps to fend off opportunistic diseases and ensures strong cellular regeneration. Making changes to your diet is a huge step in reversing this breakdown of your body while boosting your energy level. The choices you make in what you eat will greatly determine how much of acidic waste gets stored in your body. The more alkaline your food choices are the less of this waste will be accumulated in your body, tipping the balance in the favor of good health. The old adage “you are what you eat” is absolutely true. By controlling the amounts of alkaline food you ingest you are giving your body a fighting chance. Find books and lists that outline which foods are alkaline and which ones are acidic. By limiting your intake of acidic foods and increasing your intake of alkaline food with the pH miracle diet you can increase your stamina, endurance, and the overall performance of your body machine. (word count 656)

: La mayorнa de la gente te dirб que la ъnica manera de salir de un casino siendo Millonario es entrar siendo un Millonario, pero la realidad es que no es completamente verdad. Solo es la forma mбs fбcil de hacerlo. Si eres el tipo de persona que no teme a los riesgos para ganar grandes sumas, entonces puede que esto te sea ъtil. Las maquinas de video Pуquer pueden ser encontradas en cada casino, en los clбsicos casinos o en lнnea. Estas maquinas ofrecen las mejores posibilidades de hacerte un millonario si sabes como jugar. Todo lo que necesitas es una tarjeta de crйdito con por lo menos $20,000 y los cojones de arriesgarlo, en lo que puede ser menos de 20 minutos. Recomiendo guardar hasta $20,000 dуlares antes de que lo intentes y no solo gastar el dinero de tu tarjeta. El juego que elijas es muy importante. Hay muchos tipos de juegos diferentes de poquer ofrecidos en forma de video. En algunos juegas en un computador y el jugador con la mejor mano ganara, en otros no hay otros jugadores, la mejor mano que obtengas la maquina pagara mas. Un par paga 1:1; dos pares pagan 2:1 y sucesivamente. El segundo tipo de video pуquer es el que mas te conviene. Recuerda que esto no es no es una garantнa de que ganaras, y si no ganas dinero puede que quedes con menos $20,000 dуlares. Pero la realidad es que puede hacerte ganar mucho efectivo, de una forma bastante sencilla. Usualmente conviene comenzar con por lo menos 20,000 dуlares, y haciendo apuestas de $1,000 cada tanto, y asн comenzar a ganar el gran monto real. Te recomiendo no aumentar tus apuestas a mas de $1,000 hasta que no hayas hecho por lo menos $100,000. He descubierto este mйtodo hace dos aсos; He gastado mis fines de semana en el casino jugando al poquer blackjack, Ruleta, sin ganar nada de dinero, pero durante la semana jugaba video pуquer desde mi casa, y ganaba montos que nunca lo habнa hecho antes. Un dнa decidн intentarlo y en vez de gastar mi dinero en juegos de mesa fui directamente al video pуquer, y para el final del fin de semana habнa ganado casi $60,000 dуlares. Ahora cada dos o tres meses voy al casino, con una cuenta de $20,000 y gano montos que nunca habнa pensado ganar nunca antes. Recuerda que no hay garantнas que esto te resulte un 100 por ciento, ya que ha habido momentos en donde puedes perder tus $20,000 antes de ganar tu primera buena mano, pero tambiйn puede que recibas una increнble mano y ganes de una $25,000 en la primera mano. Aprende mбs sobre eso en Juegos de casinos 6. Sin duda las apuestas de casino son un tipo de actividad la cual puedes decepcionarte mucho o sorprenderte por haber recibido grandes ganancias. Si sientes que tu situaciуn econуmica no pasa por sus mejores momentos, debes esperar hasta sentirte mas seguro para no tener grandes decepciones. Al mismo tiempo si buscas ganar dinero rбpido, puede que sea tu oportunidad.

Family Vacations Aboard Privately Chartered Yachts Are you and your family in the process of planning a family vacation? If so, have you already decided on a destination yet? If you have yet to choose your family vacation destination, you may want to take a close look at the chartering of a private yacht. Although the chartering of a private yacht isn’t like visiting the beach or an amusement park, it is something that your family may love and enjoy. Before further examining family vacations aboard privately chartered yachts, it is first important that you know what chartering a private yacht entails. If you weren’t already aware, the chartering of a private yacht is when you actually pay to have the yacht for a specific period of time. While this will sound a lot like renting, it isn’t exactly the same. See, when you charter a private yacht, you are not only getting the yacht, but a trained yacht staff. This staff is likely composed of a captain, as well as a number of other trained professionals. Essentially, this means that you get to sit back and basically do nothing, aside from enjoy your family vacation. When it comes to taking a family vacation aboard a privately chartered yacht, there are many families who wish to do so, but fear that they cannot. One of the many reasons for that is because of restrictions. Private yachts are often associated with luxury and romance. For this reason, there are many individuals who believe that children are not allowed aboard privately chartered yachts. While it is not uncommon to find a yacht chartering company that does have an age requirement or age restrictions, you will find that most companies would be more that willing to allow you to charter one of their yachts for your family vacation. In most cases, the quick viewing of that company’s website or a quick call to their offices and you should be able to determine whether or not your children would be allowed onboard. Although it is nice to know exactly what the chartering of a private yacht entails, you may be wondering exactly why your family should take your next family vacation aboard one. In all honesty, there are a number of different reasons. Just of those reasons involves a change of scenery. Where has your family spent vacations in the past? If you are like many American families, there is a good chance that your answers would include amusement parks, campgrounds, or beaches. While these destinations are nice, they can get old and tiring quick. The chartering of a privately owned yacht will likely be considered new and exciting for your family, particularly your children. Although it can be considered a unique family vacation, it is one that everyone will likely enjoy. Another reason why you may want to think about taking your next family vacation aboard a privately chartered yacht is because of quality time. In the past, family vacations were designed to allow families to spend quality time together. Nowadays, it seems as if they have more of a focus on fun and less of a focus on quality. Aboard a privately chartered yacht, there are an unlimited number of fun activities that you and your family can participate in, but it is also important to remember privacy. You will be on your own private yacht, without anyone else except for the crew. For you and your family, this can mean less distractions and more one-on-one time together. The decision as to whether or not you want to charter a private yacht for your next family vacation is yours to make, but it should be something to discuss with your family. You may be surprised with just how well the idea sounds to them. Word Count 626

Copyright 2006 Matt Jackson The question on webmasters’ lips is whether to optimize their website for search engines or for visitors. There are arguments for both sides of the argument. On the one hand, without good search engine optimization a website may struggle to actually get any visitors but attracting tens of thousands of visitors a day would be of little consequence if the website doesn’t convert those visitors into full paying customers. Keep Your Website’s Goal In Mind It’s incredibly easy to get wrapped up in search engine optimization and to forget the ultimate goal of your website. Whether this goal is for visitors to click on links, purchase products or pay for your service you need to encourage your website traffic to do this. The most effective way is to produce exceptionally written and informative content but natural content writing never used to perform well in the search engine result pages. Is Google Doing Good? There’s good news for anyone looking to profit from their website and keep their customers happy. Despite being maligned by webmasters and SEO professionals, Google is attempting to update its algorithms for the better. The intention behind recent changes has been to penalize websites that rely on nothing more than search engine optimization. It seems that the major search engines are just as serious about promoting websites that are geared towards visitors as the rest of the Internet is. Mild Search Engine Optimization And Why It’s Necessary The problem that search engines face when determining the validity of websites is that they can’t physically crawl every website manually and have someone look over the content. They have to use software and hardware that automates this task. Subsequently, they have to use keyword rules to determine the topics that a website covers. This means it is still necessary to ensure that your website contains the keywords you are targeting and usually more than once in the entire text of the page. However, sites reaching top spot in search engine results because they have crammed their pages with keywords is something that has long been dead. Natural Keyword Inclusion The most effective method, then, of writing website content is to write it naturally as though you’d never heard of search engines, and more specifically search engine optimization. Once you’ve written your text with your keywords in mind you will usually find that you have included the important keywords already. Read through the content again and if there are any areas where you can naturally insert these keywords then do so. This will give extra credence to your content in the eyes of search engines but don’t get carried away. In preference to including same keyword over and over again, use several related keywords. Keep It Fresh, Keep It Popular One other area that will help your site greatly is the regular introduction of fresh content. By regularly updating your website you will keep visitors returning and ensure that they get value from your website, predisposing them to the idea of purchasing or clicking links. Do this and the search engines will also smile down on you without you having to get heavily involved in search engine optimization practices.

The list of Equatorial Guinea casinos with gaming tables for blackjack, roulette and so on is really rather short. There are none. However, there are a number of Equatorial Guinea casinos, if we want to use that term for them, which have gaming machines. There are some five of them in the country. This shouldn't really be all this surprising in one sense, this lack of Equatorial Guinea casinos. It's a very small country (10,000 square miles only) with a very small population, about half a million people only. This is smaller than many counties in either the UK or the US and it is very much the smallest country on the African continent. Another reason it shouldn't be surprising is that the place is absolutely dirt poor, destitute in fact. Until just a few years ago the only export of any significance was cocoa and while at independence the place was rich off the back of that trade the intervening years of coups, military rulers and the general looting of the economy have taken it from one of the richest places in Africa to one of the poorest. There may be, as many have pointed out, a lot of ruin in a nation but Equatorial Guinea has shown that there isn't an unlimited supply. However, one event in 1996 meant that we would have expected the list of Equatorial Guinea's casinos to lengthen: the first crude oil started to be pumped and the country is now the third largest exporter in Africa. Where there is such volumes of oil there is of course a great deal of money and you might expect some of that to be splashing around in casinos and such places. But here though, almost none of that oil wealth has made it to the people, not even to the Government itself most of the time: the dictator, Obiang, essentially treats the oil revenues and the national Treasury as his personal check book. This means that while the country is rich by the statistics, about as rich as Portugal or Spain, none of this wealth is in the pocketbooks of the people or even the public services: raw sewage runs down the main streets of the capital. It may in fact be true that a lot of the county's wealth does indeed pass through casinos but that is much more likely to be done in Monaco or other foreign places where the elite go to spend the money from the oil.

If you have been reading some of the internet forums, the last Google update certainly caused quite a stir, and it has left a lot of people asking the question "Is reciprocal linking Dead?". This latest Google update affected a lot of websites that depended on their reciprocal linking strategy to rank high in Google. If a webmaster wanted to outrank a competing site, They would work out how many links they needed from different websites with a certain PR rating and then commence a reciprocal linking campaign to out rank their competitors. This strategy was certainly sound and was very effective. But most webmasters would swap links with anybody and everybody, so long as the site had a Google page rank (the higher the better). Each link swapped was a step toward ranking higher in the search engines and beating out their competitors. This strategy may have worked in the past when Google was not as smart, but it appears Google has wised up to this strategy. So, it is not surprising that as Google and the other search engines get more sophisticated that the effectiveness of reciprocal linking has diminished as an important factor for ranking well in seach engines. Which brings us back to the question "Is reciprocal linking dead?" Instead of asking yourself if reciprocal linking is dead, you should really ask yourself what outcome do you want to achieve with your reciprocal linking strategy. If reciprocal linking is your only strategy to rank high in the search engines, then you should re-think your strategy because reciprocal linking is not quite dead, but it has taken a big hit. I have not stopped my reciprocal linking strategies because I am aiming for the following outcomes: 1. To drive traffic to my site from other relevant websites. 2. To add value to my visitors by offering them links to websites that they may be interested in. 3. If I rank higher in the search engines, then this is a bonus. Before swapping a link with another site I am always mindful that if a visitor sees a link on my site, they correctly assume that I have recommended this website to them, and, if the site I send them to is not relevant or very good, then I loose credibility and a possible return visitor. Whenever I am going to swap links with another site I always ask myself the following questions: 1. What is the other site about and does it compliment my website? 2. Will my visitors find this site useful to them? 3. What is the quality of the content of the website? If I think my visitors will find this site useful I then look at the site from the webmasters point of view and ask myself the following questions. 1. How will their visitors find my link? If a visitor cannot find my link then how am I going to get any traffic. 2. Is there a link on their home page (preferably on all their pages) to their links directory? 3. Where is my link going to be placed? Is it more than two clicks away from the home page? 4. Does the website have a sitemap and is the links page included in the site map? If, and only if the website passes the above criteria will I proceed with a link exchange. A reciprocal Linking strategy may not be as effective to rank high in the search engines, but it still is an important part of getting targetted traffic to your website if done correctly.

A delightful rest at the Lunenburg Inn after a very compressed and hectic day along the Lighthouse Trail yesterday got me ready for another day of adventures. At about 7:30 I made my downstairs in anticipation of a filling breakfast. Sure enough, a freshly baked morning glory muffin was served to quench my immediate hunger. I had two breakfasts to choose from: a hot breakfast featuring poached eggs with bacon or turkey bacon, or a cold breakfast featuring a choice of two items of either cereal with fruit / fat-free yoghurt / fresh toast with jam or stewed rhubarb. I opted for the cereal with fresh fruit and the stewed rhubarb which was delicious. The breakfast at the Lunenburg Inn was so generous I wasn’t even able to finish my entire portion. Appropriately strengthened I was now ready for a full day of discoveries. At about 8:30 I made my way on foot into the town of Lunenburg, an extremely charming and scenic settlement that is home to about 2500 full-time residents and many thousands more during tourist season. Lunenburg is one of Nova Scotia’s favourite travel destinations, and for good reason. In 1995, Lunenburg was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in recognition of its unique architecture and civic design as it represents one of the best preserved examples of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. The town was founded in 1753 and earlier inhabitants included the Mi’kmaq Natives as well as Acadian settlers. Lunenburg was named in honour of the Duke of Braunschweig-Lunenburg who had become the King of England in 1727. The settlers brought in by the British Crown were known as the foreign protestants, mostly farmers who had been recruited from areas in the southern and central parts of Germany, Switzerland and France. They were deliberately chosen for their potential loyalty to the British Crown. Over the years this farming community turned into a successful seaport and shipbuilding centre, and even today High Liner Foods still has a fish processing plan in town. I strolled down to the waterfront on Bluenose Drive on a brilliant early fall morning, with not a cloud in the sky. Several restaurants and inns line the street on the north side, and the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic which houses the popular Old Fish Factory restaurant is located on the south side of the street. The little town stretches up from the water on a fairly steep hill with long streets running east west, and shorter streets connecting straight up to the crest of the hill. This was a quiet Friday morning, and the locals and tourists alike were still lying low. As I strolled up the hill I started to see shop-owners who were opening their doors and putting out their merchandise for sale. Lunenburg has a myriad of antique stores, small galleries and craft stores, and most of the houses are in excellent repair and colourfully painted. The town presents a very unified image of clapboard covered homes, and the historic local architecture includes a charming range of styles including the Cape Cod Style, Neo-Classical or Georgian homes, a Scottish style which includes five-sided Scottish dormers, Gothic Revival, Second Empire and Queen Ann Revival styles. A typical feature of Lunenburg architecture is the “Lunenburg Bump” which features a projecting Scottish dormer, also referred to as the bump. Lunenburg is an extremely charming town. The centre of the town is located near St. John’s Anglican Church, the most well known ecclesiastical structure in town. This church was built in 1754 and gothicized in 1870 to 1875. Just recently, on Halloween night in 2001, the church was gutted by a spectacular blaze under mysterious circumstances. The community was dismayed, but they raised the money and the church was rebuilt in its entirety. Further up the hill is Lunenburg’s most prominent landmark: the Lunenburg Academy, an elementary school for grades one to five, is located at the top of Gallows Hill, overlooking the town. It was built from 1894 to 1895 and each floor has six entrances, six classrooms and six staircases connecting up to the next level. From the top of the hill I walked back into the town’s centre and came across a monumental red brick building, the town’s courthouse and city hall. A beautiful park located on an upslope is adjacent to city hall and just outside the building is a memorial commemorating Norwegian soldiers that were trained here as gunners in Lunenburg during World War II. Norway had the third-largest ocean going merchant fleet in 1940 with 1100 ships, and when the Nazis invaded Norway, the King and government ordered these ships to proceed to allied ports. From 1940 to 1941 Norwegian whaling and sealing vessels ended up in the port of Lunenburg when Norway was occupied by the Germans. More than 1000 Norwegians were trained here for military service at Camp Lunenburg, and many of their vessels were converted into naval vessels and armed freighters. Strolling further down the hill I arrived back at the waterfront where I decided to pay a quick visit to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic. Lunenburg historically was a proud shipbuilding centre, and the world famous schooner Bluenose as well as her daughter, the Bluenose II, were built here. The Bluenose was a fishing schooner as well as a racing ship and was launched in Lunenburg in 1921. Fishing schooners had become obsolete after WWII and despite efforts to keep the Bluenose in Nova Scotia, it was sold as a freighter in the West Indies. In 1946 finally it ran aground on a Haitian reef. The Bluenose II was launched at Lunenburg in 1963 and built to original plans by many of the same workers who had worked on the original Bluenose. The costs of $300,000 were financed by a local family as a marketing tool for their brewery operations in Halifax and Saint John. As a result of her popularity, the Nova Scotia government bought the vessel, and it has become a goodwill ambassador and symbol of the province. The Canadian ten cent coin features the Bluenose and the Nova Scotia license plates also feature this famous vessel. I entered the Fisheries Museum and was lucky to just catch the 10 am lobster presentation in the aquarium. A resident expert was demonstrating the various body parts of a lobster and talking about the lifecycle of these crusty creatures. Fortunately this specimen had its pincers tied since it did not seem to be too happy about being included in this presentation. The presenter went on to educate us about lobster fishing, demonstrating the different types of lobster traps in use. Following this educational presentation I went outside and set foot on two different vessels that are permanently moored in front of the Fisheries Museum. The Theresa E. Connor is a schooner that was built in Lunenburg in 1938 and fishing the banks for 26 years until technology changed from hook and line fishing to fishing with big trawler nets. The Cape Sable, built in 1962 in Leiden, Holland, is anchored right next to the Theresa O’Connor. It is a steel-hulled side trawler, the generation of boats that replaced the old-style schooners. The Cape Sable retired from service in 1982 and now teaches visitors about the lifestyle of fishermen. I then went inside the museum which features a myriad of displays about the fishing industry on three different levels. The second floor holds a Fishermen’s Memorial room, paying tribute to all the fishermen who lost their lives at sea. Fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations and many fishermen have made the ultimate sacrifice. The first floor features the Aquarium, the Gift Shop as well as a Fish Demonstration Room, the Hall of Inshore fisheries, a Marine Engine Display, an exhibit about Whaling and Whales as well as a Boatbuilding Shop. The Second Floor holds the Bank Fishery Age of Sail Exhibit as well as a Vessel Gallery and the afore-mentioned Fishermen’s Memorial Room. The Third Floor has an exhibit on Rum Runners, individuals who daringly smuggled alcoholic beverages during the prohibition years from 1920 to 1933. Other exhibits on businesses related to the fishing industry and life in fishing communities round out the informative displays. The Ice House Theatre has a capacity of 85 people and offers a variety of films related to the fishing industry. Every day the Fisheries Museum presents an extensive program that includes a lobster presentation, fishermen’s stories on the Theresa E. Conner and the Bluenose Saga. Practical skills such as net mending, trawl rigging and rope work, rope splicing and knots are demonstrated. Presentations such as “A Whale of a Tale” and “The Scoop on Scallops” are also held on a daily basis. This was an extremely interesting experience, but if I wanted to make my way back to Halifax in time, I would have to leave the museum and make my way back to the Lunenburg Inn where I would have a chance to sit down and chat with the owners prior to continuing my drive along the Lighthouse Trail towards Peggy's Cove and Halifax.. For the entire article including photos please visit travelandtransitions/stories_photos/lunenburg. htm

There are many ways to manage your finances to get the most out of your money. Here are just a few tips for everyone from experts to those just starting out on their own. Manage your money the right way, and you’ll definitely profit from it. Consider a 1031 tax exchange. If you sell an asset—a commercial building or property, usually—you can avoid paying taxes on the profit if you invest your money in a similar building or property within 45 days. You can perform this transaction with residences as well, as long as the property is specifically for investment or business purposes—you can’t live there. The exchange must be made with another property of like kind—the transaction is also sometimes called a “like kind” exchange for this reason. It’s a good way to defer taxes on some serious profits. Consider a credit union. Credit unions do all the same things banks do—provide loans, money markets, checking accounts, etc.—but they are not-for-profits. This translates into fewer fees; most credit unions won’t charge a monthly upkeep fee to your checking account, as many banks do. It also means freebies: most credit unions offer free checking. In addition, you’ll generally get better interest rates on loans, interest on your checking accounts, and sometimes reimbursement for ATM fees. All those little charges add up—and a credit union is clearly a better choice than most banks. Have a savings account? Better make it high-yield. If you use a savings account, check out the interest rates available at different banks and credit unions, and choose the one that has the highest interest yield. Check that there are no fees to diminish that high yield, however. If your money is sitting still in a savings account, it should be doing something for you while it sits. Join an investment club. You may not have enough money to invest significantly on your own. But if you join a club of like-minded investors, you could become part of a serious investment block—one that can earn you lots of money. Look for investors with the same goals you have—whether it’s to strike it rich or just make enough to retire comfortably. The bigger the goals, the more aggressive the investing strategy tends to be—so make sure you’re comfortable with the other club members’ risk tolerance. Think about real estate. Investing in real estate is one of the most common ways many people build wealth. Even renting can make you serious cash—just make sure the rent your tenants pay covers your upkeep, mortgage, and property taxes (with some left over, of course), and you’ll earn a second monthly income without a full-time job. Buying, refurbishing, and selling properties—sometimes called “flipping” a house—is a great way to build wealth as well. Making money isn’t always easy—but it doesn’t have to be rocket science. And once you’ve got the money, it’s important to know how to manage it to maintain your wealth. Invest a little time invested in learning the ins and outs of financial planning, you’ll see a big return.