Tommy

Choosing a reliable, quality-conscious, home improvement contractor is the most important part of any project. Proper planning, doing the necessary research, and having lots of patience will help to ensure your dream project will not become a living nightmare. Once you have narrowed down the list of contractors (3 or 4) you want to consider for your project, it’s time to start getting to know them better…much better! Plan a pre-construction meeting at the project site with each contractor individually and ask lots of questions.

Here is a sampling of some questions to ask the contractors you are considering. These will help get you started:

How will you approach a project like mine? This will give you an idea of how the contractor works and what to expect during the project. Listen carefully to the answer. The contractor’s work ethic and other traits can be uncovered listening to the answer.

Have you completed many projects like mine? This will help you determine the contractor’s familiarity with projects like yours.

Will I need a permit to do my project? Your contractor should know the answer to this question and be the one getting the permit.

How long have you been in this business? Seek out a local company or craftsman with experience in your community. A minimum of 5 years experience as a business owner is acceptable if everything else checks out.

Do you have employees or do you hire subcontractors? Or both? Who will be overseeing the project? It is good to know what parts of your project will be handled by whom.

Who do I speak with if I have a question or concern? Get exact names and contact phone numbers for all persons who will be involved with your project. It is best to speak with the owner if at all possible.

Are you properly equipped and qualified to do a project like mine? You may be able to hire a handyman to do your project if it is small enough and does not require special training or licensing. If your project requires multiple trades it may be wise to consider a full service company.

What kind of insurances does your company carry? Ask for copies of the insurance certificates to verify coverage. If they employ workers they will need workers’ comp coverage along with general liability. Get the name of their insurer and contact them yourself to verify the coverage is intact.

Are you licensed to do my project? If your state does have contractor licensing laws ask for a copy of the contractor’s license, then confirm the license number and expiration date with your local jurisdiction. Plumbers, electricians and those who work with hazardous materials are the only trades in Maine that need a license to operate.

Do you do a substantial amount of repeat and referral business? This will give you a good idea about the company’s customer satisfaction.

May I have a list of your recent references? The contractor should be able to supply you with a minimum of three references, including names, phone numbers and addresses. CALL THEM! Ask lots of questions. DIG DEEP…and try to see if they might even let you come see their finished project. People who are satisfied with their contractor and proud of their project results like to show them off.

Yes…there are a lot of questions-and others will arise the more you speak with the contractors. Of the many questions you can ask during an interview, the most important question is one you must ask yourself: “Do I feel comfortable with and trust the person I am about to hire?”

Your answer to that question should help make the hiring decision a little easier. Also, remember that reliable, quality-driven contractors are busy for a reason…they are good at what they do and they are worth waiting for…so PLAN and be PATIENT!

Paul Lawrence has owned and operated Home Project Partners, a free Maine-based contractor referral service, since 2002. He helps bring homeowners together with reliable, quality-conscious, pre-screened home contractors skilled in numerous trades.

For more information contact Paul Lawrence at info@HomeProjectPartners.com or visit online at http://www.HomeProjectPartners.com

Post Chronicle

McCain volunteer claims attacker cut ‘B’ into face Houston Chronicle - 46 minutes ago AP Texas News © 2008 AP PITTSBURGH - A McCain campaign volunteer told police she was robbed at knifepoint at an ATM and knocked down by a man who then carved a “B” in her face after noticing a McCain sticker on her car. Woman: Robber cut face over McCain sticker on car The Associated Press McCain Volunteer Says She Was Mugged, Had ‘B’ Cut in Her Face FOXNews Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - KLTV - Post Chronicle - DigitalJournal.com all 210 news articles

The Atkins diet limits the amounts of carbohydrates for daily consumption. The meal plans for the Atkins diet are not difficult but can be very time consuming for the average busy chief cook and bottle washer. Here are a couple of meal plans for the Atkins diet to save you a little time.

Try a little spaghetti for your meal plan on the Atkins diet. Not the kind made with pasta but spaghetti squash.

One cup of spaghetti squash contains 10 grams of carbohydrates; if you take out the fiber, it nets eight and is a great addition to a meal.

Low carbohydrate spaghetti sauce

4 cups of chopped fresh tomatoes
1 tablespoon of green bell pepper chopped
1 pound of ground beef fried with 2 tablespoons of onions chopped
1 cup of mushrooms
Salt, pepper, celery salt and garlic to taste.
4 grams of carbohydrate per cup.

Grated Parmesan cheese .20 grams per tablespoon or 1 gram for 5 tablespoons

Wedge of iceberg lettuce (1/6 of a head) 1 gram

Ranch salad dressing
1 cup of mayonnaise
3 tablespoons of sour cream
1 small spring onion
1 small clove of garlic minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Carbohydrates per tablespoon .05

Dessert:
1 cup of fresh blackberries topped with 1 tablespoon of Cool whip.
Net carbohydrates count: 7.2 grams

Total carbohydrate count for this menu depends on the serving size you choose. If you want 1 ½ cups of spaghetti squash, 2 cups of sauce, 2 tablespoons parmesan, the salad and 4 tablespoons of dressing and the dessert are only 31 grams of carbohydrates.

When you choose meal plans for the Atkins diet make sure you vary the vegetable selection. Most meats, poultry and fish contain no carbohydrates, except organ meats, breaded meats, mussels and oysters.

Another popular main dish for the Atkins diet is the Beef Roll Up You’ll need to start with:

Two pounds of beef round, cut ¼ inch thick slices
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup of fresh basil, chopped fine
2 ounces red bell peppers, roasted
2 cloves of garlic crushed
6 slices of thin sliced prosciutto
2 cups of tomato sauce
¼ cup of chopped onion

To prepare pound the meat thin and then sprinkle the top with salt and pepper. Put a little red pepper on each thin slice of meat, top with basil and the Parmesan cheese. Roll each piece tightly and brown in a heated pan containing oil, the crushed garlic and onion. Brown the rolled steak on all sides. Place the steak, garlic and onion in a baking dish, pour tomato sauce over the top of the ingredients and cover with foil. Bake at 300 degrees for 1-½ hours.
Net carbohydrates are 7 grams.

Cook one cup of peas and one cup of carrots together. Add a pat of butter and salt and pepper to taste.
Carbohydrates per ½ serving: 7 grams.

Iceberg lettuce salad (1/6 head) with ¼ tomato chopped and ¼ stalk of chopped celery.
Carbohydrate count 3 grams.

Add bacon to the ranch dressing from the previous meal.
Carbohydrates per serving .5

2 sliced fresh apricot Carbohydrate count 6
Total carbohydrate count for the meal if you eat one beef roll up and ½ cup of peas and carrots is almost 20.5 grams.

There are many different low carbohydrate foods to choose from and the main course is the easiest since meat is low in carbohydrates. When you make meal plans for the Atkins diet make sure you record the carbohydrate count in a book. After a few months you have ready made menus at the tip of your fingers.

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Daily Mail

Pupils’ behaviour ‘has worsened’ BBC News - 9 hours ago Nearly half of England’s teachers think pupil behaviour has deteriorated in their school in the past five years, a survey for the government suggests. Ed Balls: Unruly pupils to be taught on farm Telegraph.co.uk Unruly pupils will be sent to Army cadet boot camps instead of … Daily Mail ePolitix - The Sun - This is Nottingham - TeleText all 9 news articles

I suppose my first realisation that music was something more relevant than learning the words to carols for the school Christmas concert was appreciating my Dad’s collection of 78s’. He was a man with unusual tastes in music. My contemporys’ parents listened to American crooners, like Bing Crosby, Dean Martin and the like, or the big band sounds of the day.

But my Dad had individual tastes which included Eastern European folk music, Scottish bagpipe ballads and Welsh miners choirs; plus my first introduction to classical such as exciting pieces like Aram Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance”.

My Mother, a dedicated Crosby fan, disliked these strange sounds to the extent that she banished any playing of the ‘caterwauling’ to our barn, a large wooden structure at the back of the house. This suited my Dad, and me, just fine.

He would mend bikes and tinker with machinery in one corner, while I would curl up on a battered leather sofa looking at pictures in old movie magazines, giggling at jokes in back copies of Lilliput and reading girlie type books (Little Women, Black Beauty etc.) while the haunting strains of Bulgarian womens’ voices, Highland airs or the overwhelming sound of Welshmen giving it their all emanated from the old wind up gramaphone; memories are made of this.

Musically I’ve come full circle. With the increasing popularity of ‘world music’ I am, once again, enjoying Bulgarian women’s harmonies and Welsh folk songs along with the exciting newcomers from African and Latin American roots.

Every generation, mostly, think that they have experienced the ‘best’ period of topical music, but I do feel that the sixties were a special case. Consider this; any weekend my friends and I had a difficult decision to make. Did we go ‘up town’ to Ken Colliers to see American blues stars like Big Bill Broonzy or jazz giants like Dizzy Gillespie; or perhaps to the Marquee or 100 Club to listen to the up and coming Britishers like Paul Weller in the Jam, Eric Clapton and the Yardbirds and Georgie Fame with the All Stars.

Or did we stay closer to home and go to the Riki Tik in Windsor and risk asphyxiation in the tiny room listening to an exciting new group called the Rolling Stones. And that was only the start; what about Osterley where you could hear John Lee Hooker, Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee and any number of other Southern American blues stars; or Windsor Drill hall where, on a Friday night you could enjoy the best of Cyril Davies and the All Stars, which usually featured one of my favourites, Long John Baldry.

And, if you were willing to risk parental wrath, it had to be Eel Pie Island in Twickenham, a den of iniquity where you could hear the best of new rhythm and blues; smell strange substances burning in the air and where I first encountered psychadelia in the shape of Pink Floyd whose innovative light shows of coloured lava lamp blobs popping and forming ever different shapes were the precursor of the giant video screens of today. To say we were spoilt for choice is not to overwork a phrase.

I haven’t even mentioned the many folk clubs sprinkled about which I visited with my friend Lucy as a guest singing duo, where we shared stages with the likes of Bert Jantz, Duster Bennett, Cat Stevens . . We would travel to isolated venues in the heart of the Berkshire countryside and find ourselves in a barn somewhere, with people sitting on hay bales and listening to the stirring voices and lyrics of Sandy Denny, Davy Graham and John Remborne, or even the Wurzels (bring your own cider!).

If you wanted to dance, but strictly not ballroom, you could stomp the night away at a selection of ‘trad jazz’ clubs. Bands of various styles were always on tap; Dick Morrisey, the aforementioned Ken Collier, Acker Bilk; It really was a golden age for live music of every kind. And it didn’t cost an arm and a leg to indulge yourself. If we paid more than a couple of quid to get in we felt hard done by. Even special occasions, like seeing the Who or Cream at the Hammersmith Odeon were cheap at the price.

Wherever we hung out with our mates there was music. This was the age of the coffee bar, always with a juke box in the corner belting out such classics as ‘Dock on the Bay’, or Buddy Holly’s latest or Aretha Franklin, Jimi Hendrix, Joan Biaz; where to stop! Before the fashion for ‘personalised music’ (catered for firstly by the Walkman and now in it’s newest incarnation, the ipod) the latest tunes brought like minds together. A normal Saturday outing was to the local record shop where friends would crowd into a booth together to hear the latest in the ‘charts’.

Maybe it was all just ‘fashion’ but, as the years race by, that sixties music has stood the test of time. Many of our heroes are still household names. Our children still appreciate such giants as Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding. The likes of Paul Weller, Rod Stewart, the Rolling Stones still tour all over the world. Am I showing my age when I find it hard to appreciate modern day offerings? Of course I am but no more than any other person who has let music into their life.

From the moment the first cave man (or woman) discovered how to make musical ’sounds’ from reeds or rocks, water or wood, we have enjoyed the privilege of a great gift. How to explain the catch at the back of the throat when we hear a familiar song or melody? How to describe the pure feeling of exhilaration and joy as many human voices come together to sing some particularly uplifting work. I dare anyone to say they have never felt that. And if some hardened souls insist that is the case; well I feel very sorry for them.

Fabio whiles away the hours in his Tuscan villa writing and enjoys plying his trade especially on the Internet. He enjoys his music and often visits Quality Original Recordings where you can find a fine selection of rare imports. You can reach him here: Internet Traffic and Brand Building.

ANGELINA Jolie is OK, but she’s no Delta Burke, says Paris Hilton’s mom, Kathy. “I consider [Jolie] beautiful, but I don’t consider her glamorous,” the elder Hilton said last week at a Los Angeles Fashion Week event. Mama Hilton said she prefers the…

Many of us today with our fast paced lives grab an energy drink to pep us up or to help maintain awareness at the end of the working day, never thinking twice that it could be a health risk.

Nowadays we buy more energy drinks - especially the reduced or sugar free - readily believing it to be a healthier option to drinking a cup of coffee.

But after a study recently carried out found that just by drinking one 250ml can of Red Bull could raise the risk of stroke or heart attack, we should all look for a natural ‘pick-me-up’.

Our motto ‘good food good health’ is self explanatory and that by drinking and eating good food helps to enable your body to achieve and maintain good health.

There are many natural good foods that can give you that extra burst of energy of which bananas are a really good example.

Most types of fruit will give your body a ’sugar rush’ that stimulates your brain and enables you to think and act quicker.

A fruit smoothie is a good way to get that natural extra energy boost and achieve one of your five-a-day too, and if you make it yourself with seasonal fruit can be very inexpensive when compared to purchasing energy drinks.

Cereal is another good food for energy, not just for first thing in the morning but any time, the best are whole-grain and are a good health food. Be careful when buying energy or cereal bars as some of these are high in fat, sugar and preservatives.

Many shops nowadays have taken it upon themselves to only sell some energy drinks to over eighteens, including Red Bull.

Worryingly, it is known that many young people are using these energy drinks to sober and liven themselves up after a night out drinking and partying, and are often consuming more than one can to do this wrongly thinking they are helping themselves.

After consuming one can - 250ml of the sugar free version of the energy drink, the ’stickiness’ of the blood was found to increase raising the life threatening risk of clots.

The research was carried out on university students by Dr Scott Willoughby who said the study found their blood systems were no longer normal one hour after they had drank the red bull.

Their systems were ‘abnormal’ like you would expect to see in a person with cardiovascular disease, with an increase in stickiness and a decrease in the ability of the blood vessels to stop its stickiness that can add up to a bad situation.

If other risk factors for cardiovascular disease are added to this - high blood pressure and stress, potentially this could be fatal.

It is thought that two of the ingredients in the energy drink, the amino acid taurine and caffeine may be the cause of the problem, although individually both of these point toward benefits but it looks like the combination together has an odd effect and that this is causing the reaction.

Dr Willoughby said people with underlying circulatory or heart problems therefore should think twice about drinking the caffeine-loaded drink.

A can of the Red Bull has 80mg of caffeine equivalent to two instant cups of coffee or about the same as a cup of filter coffee. Cans do carry health warnings advising not to drink more than two a day.

The test results were concluded only from the sugar free version and it is unclear if these would be repeated with the regular energy drink, but there was alarm at the findings.

Even the students taking part were shocked as some has been known to drink several cans to stay awake at night to study.

Norway, Denmark and Uruguay have banned Red Bull because of health fears, but the company last year sold 3.5 billion bottles and cans in 143 countries.

In Britain, Red Bull is a popular energy drink mixed with vodka and other spirits in bars and clubs with last year sales reaching £271 million.

A Red Bull spokesman said ‘the study does not show effects which would go beyond drinking a normal cup of coffee’ but Dr Willoughby said ‘If you have a preposition to cardiovascular disease I’d think twice before drinking it’

Try and be prepared for that part of the day when you need a little ‘lift’, and have at hand a piece of fruit, handful of cereal or smoothie drink to get that ‘on the go’ good natural raw energy boost.

So remember ‘good food good health’ is the best way to keep your body working like clockwork, and a diet made up of a variety of good nutritional food will give you all the vitamins and minerals you should need to keep you feeling in tip top condition, being energised and alert without the use of energy drinks.

Happy healthy eating.

Sandra and Ted

This article was composed by Sandra & Ted Wosko. We have always been interested in health issues especially having children, and as with most people, we all suffer with some type of ailment. We are always researching on more and more topics in the endless task of gaining more knowledge to increase our expertise, benefiting ourselves and other people alike.

http://www.goodfoodgoodhealth.com
http://azland55.wordpress.com

TOM Cruise and Katie Holmes want to bring their Hollywood lifestyle to the East Village. According to a neighbor, Cruise and Holmes are buying up lofts in a 12-story building slightly south of 14th Street. “Tom and Katie now keep five units in the…

A recent study that deprived 300 volunteers of their mobile phones for two weeks found that one in six reported a loss of appetite and/or depression, a further quarter also found that without their mobile companions their confidence was stunted.

With over 70% of Britain’s population owing a mobile and the global figure recently tipping the billion mark, meaning that mobile phones now outnumber landlines, it’s clear to see that mobiles have become a truly indispensable aspect of many people’s lives.

Perhaps one of the most interesting things about the mobile phone is that it is essentially just a radio, albeit an extremely sophisticated radio. In fact, all of the components and technology packed into today’s handheld devices would have filled an entire office building floor some 30 years ago!

Unlike traditional radio equipment (e.g. walkie-talkies, CB Radio’s) which is known as half-duplex equipment, mobile phones are full-duplex. This means that they utilise two frequencies, one for talking and a second for listing.

In order for a mobile to make and receive phone calls it must be in range of a base station. Base stations are a familiar site, generally comprised of an antenna mounted on a mast or building and below this is a small box house that contains the radio transmitters and receivers.

Within a relatively large city there can be hundreds of these base stations, each one serving their own area (typically 10sq/m), known as “cells”. Utilising cells enables the same RF to be used within a small area, meaning that hundreds of people in a relatively small area can all use their phones simultaneously.

From the second a phone is powered up it is seeking out the nearest stations, which upon finding it exchanges various information with, some of which enables the station to keep track of exactly which cell you are in.

This information is relayed to a Digital Switching Centre, which control all voice and data communications between wireless handsets and also patches calls onto the fixed public telephone network.

All of the information mobile phones are able to handle, along with their other features is quite astonishing especially considering the compactness of the majority of today’s mobile phones. If you wish to know more about how mobile phones work then the internet in an excellent resource along with comparing cheap mobile phones.

Washington Post

McCain has terse response on Palin shopping spree The Associated Press - 1 hour ago ORMOND BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Presidential candidate John McCain isn’t happy about having to explain why the Republican Party has had to buy running mate Sarah Palin $150000 in clothes, hair styling and accessories. Cassidy: Palin’s wardrobe malfunction San Jose Mercury News Group files complaint over Palin clothes Boston Globe The Oregonian - OregonLive.com - Los Angeles Times - New York Times - Politico all 1,314 news articles

Family heirlooms are important to the entire family and it is critical to keep these pieces in the best possible shape. Even if you take care of your heirloom by keeping them safe, accidents can happen and time itself can be a problem.

Keeping antiques and heirlooms in impeccable shape can be difficult because of the expertise needed to correct the problems and because often the tools and materials needed to fix the problem are no longer available or are hard to come by. You could try to fix the problem yourself but frequently this makes the problem worse and can require more time and money later on. Many heirlooms are very delicate and rarely receive the treatment that they require.

Porcelain restoration is often one of the toughest types of restoration because of its fine nature. Chips and cracks can occur easily with such a delicate constitution and are often ugly and prominent. The substance is white and therefore hard to keep clean. If handled improperly the porcelain can chip and crack leaving noticeable damage.

If these chips and cracks are repaired by someone who doesn’t have the experience then it could make the damage even worse. This is particularly a problem if you plan to sell your heirloom as an antique.

Damages must be restored properly or they can affect the resale value of your item. Often this means that the item must be restored by an expert who has the experience and tools to do the job properly. The cracks or chips in porcelain can go deeper than the surface and it is necessary they are repaired correctly.

Experts will often use glues that dry invisibly to correct chips or cracks; they will often be able to recreate the intricate patterns on plates or dishes. The restoration process is delicate and complex.

One example of the delicate nature of porcelain can be found in antique porcelain dolls. Antique dolls often had hands and faces made of the delicate ceramic. This type of doll is still made today but is often used as decoration or memory. These delicate dolls used to be toys for young girls to play with.

If you had a traditional doll that was passed down through your family it would definitely have some wear and tear. These dolls are so fine and delicate that it would be extremely difficult to repair.

Just like plates, tiles and other items made of porcelain the dolls face can become cracked and chipped. This must be repaired thoroughly because the dolls face is often the center of focus. Porcelain restoration is the answer to this problem. Experts will completely repair the cracks and chips in the dolls face and any other problem areas. They will carefully examine the doll and make sure that it is in the best shape that it has been in years.

After your porcelain is repaired, be it an antique dish or doll; be sure to take the proper precautions. You always want to keep your porcelain in a safe place and although it is made to be used you should reduce the amount of times you use the piece to lower the risk of breaking it again. Precious antiques and heirlooms should be kept in a safe environment to be admired.

Antiques that are delicate and need to be repaired with care. China repair and porcelain repair can fix the chips or cracks found in antiques. However it is important to get them repaired by professionals. To know more about restoration, visit http://www.luelstudio.com/.

ALBANY - Republican members of the state Board of Elections were seeking an emergency meeting yesterday to investigate a charge that the Working Families Party may have illegally funneled nearly $32,000 to ACORN, the left-wing group accused of voter…

Nothing is more precious than our children. Yet the pharmaceutical and mainstream medical society want to use them for experimentation. There are no statistics on what the longterm medical effects of the HPV vaccine will produce. Do you want to take the chance of possibly causing the cervical cancer that your child gets because you did not educate yourself enough to make an informed decision?

One of the main researchers of Gardasil has stated that to promote this vaccination for girls as young as 9 years old is ludicrous. Yet, the commercials you see everyday are telling you to do exactly that “in order to protect them”. Whose interest do they have at heart? Diane M. Harper, director of Dartmouth Medical School’s Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group at the Norris Cotton Cancer Center in New Hampshire, has spent 20 years researching HPVs and was one of the main developers of Gardasil for certain types of HPV. She stated that vaccinating girls under 15 years of age “is a great big health experiment”.

No one knows how this drug will interact with other vaccinations or for how long it is effective in preventing the HPVs it is intended to prevent. HPV is spread by skin-to-skin contact and does not need sexual activity to be contracted. According to reports on the FDA’s own website, HPVs do not cause cancer and your body will naturally eliminate the virus on it’s own in the course of one to two years.

Also, according to the FDA’s Vaccine Adverse Event Report System, 3 to 4,000 complaints have been filed about Gardisil. Eleven women have died after exposure to the vaccine. You can read these complaints yourself, some of which are serious reactions relating to heart problems and blood clotting.

A safer alternative for your child to prevent HPV from attaching itself to human cells is to use a lubricant with a seaweed extract from red algae. “Carrageenan” is the name of that extract and researchers from the National Cancer Institute have found that it has the strength to prevent HPV from attaching to human cells, therefore, preventing it from entering and infecting the cells.

Carrageenan is already being used in sexual lubricants as a thickener but researchers are hoping to develop an inexpensive gel that would curb the spread of HPV. This extract is also used in baby formula as a thickener so the efficacy of its safety has already been established. The lubricants can be purchased at most retail stores as well as your local drugstore.

Another safe alternative to prevent and treat HPV in sexually active children is the herb Pau d’ Arco. Pau d’ Arco as a tea or as a tincture taken a few times a week will promote a healthy immune system which in turn helps prevent the onset of viral infections. It can be used as a preventative whenever circumstances for contracting HPV are high. Research has shown that it has a antibacterial agent and kills viruses. No serious side affects have ever been reported, but note that it should not be used by pregnant women.

In the meantime, open communication with your child in regards to their sexual activity, and using a sexual lubricant with carrageenan as a preventive measure and/or taking Pau d’Arco, is a wholly safer alternative than a vaccine with un-determined longterm side effects.

Jackie Martin has researched alternative/natural medicine for treatment of cancer for the past five years. Her blog: When Cancer Hits Home reports many of her findings as well as her reports of the journeys of family members diagnosed with this disease.

If you or a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, this information could save your life: Cancer - Best Alternatives

A man wanted for six murders somehow eludes capture after he shoots six police officers and half the city regards him as a folk hero. Welcome to the open-air asylum that was New York City in 1986. You want “Life on Mars”? That ABC cop show is…

Making Money Online and creating and making a success of your websites is not the easiest thing in the world. Each and every day I see and help struggling Internet and Affiliate marketers, most of them are struggling with the same thing. Traffic, yes traffic. This is probably the most important thing to getting your site noticed and to make money through whatever you are trying to push online.

Ask yourself, is it really that difficult to get traffic streaming into your site and affiliate promotions??? The answer I tell all my peeps is a Simple NO… Getting traffic and the amount of it will depend on you, it will depend on if you use the correct methods and the amount of hard work you put in. Other variables to the amount of traffic you could receive include… the size of the niche you are targeting, amount of competitors, activeness of the niche, popularity and what your future customers are willing to pay for it.

Now that you know that how will you go about to create an influx of traffic to your site and online promotions… This traffic Secrets Series of mine will be filled will valuable ways to create and leverage free traffic online. In this article i will be running through some of the basics of Social Networking and the importance of it.

Social Networking works in two parts to increase your traffic - firstly it helps you gain more backlinks pointing towards your site and secondly is the fact that it sends you traffic directly from these Social Sites.

Here are a list of my 4 Favorite Social Sites… Believe me there are plenty more.

- Squidoo

- HubPages

- Wordpress

- Blogger

All you need to do is use these free resources and build a network out of them. you will soon realize a huge jump in the SERP’s as well as an amazing traffic explosion to your site. These sites are all free and really easy to use, you simply sign up to say Squidoo. Create a lens that has an appropriate and relevant targeted content and then you link it back to your main site. Simply Rinse and Repeat…

Want to learn how to generate incredible affiliate revenue online?

Now you can easily generate a 5-6 figure income using the techniques taught by 2 underground power affiliates. No scam, no b.s. This is the real deal and members can testify!

Click - Learn Affiliate Marketing - To find the true path to Online Riches with no end…

Best regards,

Ryan

Family health care premiums outpacing wages for Kentucky workers Bizjournals.com - 5 hours ago Family health care premiums rose nearly three times faster than earnings for Kentucky workers during the past eight years, according to a report released today. Georgia health insurance costs rise 7 times faster than pay Atlanta Journal Constitution Study says Texas health care premiums rising fast Houston Chronicle Tulsa World - Salt Lake Tribune - Louisville Courier-Journal - Deseret News all 36 news articles

The partnership between Barack and Michelle Obama - complete with candour, fist bumps and public affection - has been essential to his fast rise up the political mountain. There were moments when his ambition and long stretches away from the family got to her, especially when their daughters were younger. The Democratic nominee-in-waiting has recalled times when, as a state legislator, he would return home and be lucky to get more than a lukewarm peck on the cheek.

Monday night, Michelle took the stage for herself, not just to reaffirm how wonderful her husband is, and what a fine president he would make, but also to redefine herself. But before mounting the podium, she gathered herself backstage in a holding room near the lockers of Denver’s professional hockey team. Big moments demand big performances, and she seemed determined not to let the occasion rattle her, but to soar above it.

Her brother, Craig Robinson, the Oregon State basketball coach and one of the Ivy League’s all-time leading scorers, was loose: “I’m terrific. Very excited.” But then he was summoned back to the holding room, to make sure he didn’t mess up the moment with some fashion faux pas. “My sister wanted to make sure my tie was straight,” he said. His bright orange tie.

Right before it was time to head onstage, Michelle took a deep breath, straightened the lines on her dress and then, to whoops from family and aides, walked down the hall like it was game time. She stood beneath the podium for a few minutes and listened to her brother introduce her.

When it was finally her turn to address the convention delegates and a national televised audience, she described herself as a sister, a mom, a wife and a daughter, someone who loves her country and has tried to give back to it.

One day, she told the crowd, her children’s children and future generations will tell the story of “how this time we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming.”

Batting first in the prime-time Democratic lineup may have put some extra pressure on her - she was super serious, barely able to find a smile during an early morning practice session in the convention hall here. But by the time it was over, the blue Michelle signs were hoisted in every delegation, and she swayed her hips a little to Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely,” as daughters Sasha and Malia also got into the groove.

That dynamic duo tried to steal the show when their mother was done, telling their daddy, who appeared in the hall via video conference, that Mommy had done great. And that they loved him. And, “what city are you in, Daddy?” asked Sasha.

Some delegates and convention-goers seemed mesmerized by Michelle’s performance.”Oh, my God, do you believe it?” said Marsha Campbell, a Denver elementary school teacher, her hands cupped over her mouth. “I think she’s one of the most dynamic women I’ve ever listened to. Not only is she dynamic, she’s smart, down to earth. I think she is the perfect reflection of what every woman in America would like to be.”

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Michelle Obama

Campbell was still milling about the hall, long after the evening had ended, kind of in a happy trancelike state. “I’m not kidding you,” she went on about Michelle’s speech and poise. “Have you ever?”Aides have been frustrated by some of the portrayals of Michelle as sharp, driven, unpatriotic. Shaping her image for a national audience was as important a part of the night’s programme as her testimonial on behalf of her husband.

A biographical video narrated by Michelle’s mother, Marian Robinson, highlighted her daughter’s working-class upbringing on Chicago’s South Side. Michelle’s father, Fraser Robinson, was a Chicago water department employee who rarely missed a day at work until the day he died from multiple sclerosis, while Marian stayed home and raised two children who went on to Princeton.

“South Side Girl” features appearances by some of those who have worked closely with Michelle and remain friends: Jobi Cates, who worked with Michelle in the early 1990s at Public Allies, a youth leadership training programme. Yvonne Davila, who met Michelle 20 years ago when they were young staffers in the office of Chicago Mayor Richard M Daley.

Travis Rejman, who created the Goldin Institute, dedicated to supporting grass-roots efforts to alleviate poverty and sustain the environment. Charles Ogletree, a Harvard Law School professor and mentor of Michelle’s.Whether through film or speech or testimonial, the effort on Monday night was to frame Michelle in a way that would help Americans see her as the next first lady.

“The point was really to introduce Michelle to the public for the first time and let them see that she is very different from the caricatures displayed in the news,” said Ogletree, an adviser who has spoken with her periodically throughout the campaign. “Michelle is not a politician. She is a mother and a wife and a working woman and a community organiser.”And by that, he meant someone whose presentation of herself and her relationship with her husband is not always politically careful.

Reuters

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One of my very favorite soups…I crave it! It seems like quite a few ingredients and it takes 2 hrs or so, but it is WELL worth the wait…Trust me! This is an family favorite and satisfies everyone! -

Type: Soup

Serve With: Shredded cheese and sour cream

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 2 hr

Yield: 1 large stock pot full

Ingredients:

3 Chicken quarters - You may use a small, whole chicken, or any other parts in an equivalent

Water - Enough to fill a large stock pot 3/4 full

6 large Carrots - Sliced crossways

4 stalks Celery - Sliced crossways

3 Onions - Roughly chopped

5 whole cloves Garlic

2 Bay leaves

4 Lime leaves

~ 8 Peppercorns - Whole

~ 8 Coriander seeds - * Optional

~ 2 tbsp Sea salt

2 whole Tomatoes - Chopped

1 Serrano pepper - Finely diced

3/4 Beer - 3/4 of a whole beer

1/2 tsp Hot sauce - Use as much as you like.

10 oz Tomato sauce - Not pasta sauce

1/4 tsp Chili powder

2 tsp Ground cumin

2 tbsp Cornstarch

Shredded cheese - Tex-Mex or cheddar

Tortilla chips - To float on top of soup

Sour cream - As garnish

Instructions:

1. Fill stock pot 3/4 full of cold water with sea salt, peppercorns, coriander seeds, bay leaves, and 2 lime leaves.

2. Rinse chicken pieces and put in water on medium heat. You may use frozen chicken for this if desired.

3. Wash and chop carrots, celery, onion very roughly. Keep garlic cloves whole, just peel skins off. Add to pot.

4. Allow to boil and turn down heat to simmer. Lightly boil/simmer for about 1.5 hrs or until chicken is tender and falling off the bone.

* Take a piece of chicken out of the pot, and make sure the chicken juice runs clear when cut near the bone.

* Tip: Some brown foam may rise to the top of the pot, so take a large spoon and skim off the brown foam off the top and discard. These are the “impurities”. You may have to do this a few times before the soup boils clean.

5. Once chicken is “falling off the bone”, fish out all the chicken out of the pot and allow to cool. Once cool, shred chicken by picking off the bones and pulling apart every piece. Set aside to add to each individual bowl.

6. While waiting for chicken to cool, find garlic in pot and crush, with the side of a wooden spoon, into the soup.

7. Dice 2 whole, ripe tomatoes into small pieces. Dice 1 serrano pepper (I cannot get fresh serranos where I live in Canada, so I use canned serrano peppers.) Add to the soup while continuing to let simmer.

* Tip: Put remainder of can of serrano peppers into a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for subsequent uses.

8. Add beer, ground cumin, chili powder, other 2 lime leaves, and hot sauce to soup and continue to simmer.

9. Once chicken is shredded for serving, take cornstarch in a small bowl and add same amount of cold water. Take a whisk to mix completely, then add to soup.

* Tip: The cornstarch will thicken up the soup and will only reach it’s thickening power when the soup boils. If you boil it too much, the cornstarch will then lose it’s thickening power. So, as soon as the soup boils for about 1 min after adding cornstarch mixture (a slurry), turn it down/off.

10. To prepare individual bowls for serving, add a good amount of shredded chicken, then add desired amount of soup. Garnish top of soup with tortilla/corn chips (the more the better), shredded cheese and sour cream.

11. Serve and Enjoy! I know you will!

I hope you enjoy this soup recipe like we do!

Eat Deliciously!

Kimberly Edwards is the founder of Cooking With Kimberly - Decadent Cooking from Home - Find a Delicious Cooking Recipe, Great Products and Helpful Tips & Information that will help you Explore the Joy of Cooking!

Discover more Amazing Soup Recipes and Check out Kimberly’s Cooking Secrets at: http://www.CookingWithKimberly.com

Los Angeles Times

A Senate Leader’s Pork-Barrel Punch New York Times - 6 hours ago By CARL HULSE OWENSBORO, Ky. - Senator Mitch McConnell has certainly delivered for this western Kentucky community, where an esplanade called McConnell Plaza wends along the Ohio River waterfront, which is being spruced up with government help. Rescue plan, Iraq top Kentucky Senate race debate Forbes KY: McConnell +4 RealClearPolitics Louisville Courier-Journal - Arizona Republic - Adair Progress - Los Angeles Times all 186 news articles