What Youve Heard

Shear stress is created from the teeth of metal gears being applied to the metal face of other gears in a parallel form.  These gear faces are under the full force of the engine's power in a manual transmission or differential.  These components translate this power to the wheels at the desired speed depending on how the gears are applied.  In order to protect the faces of these gears over time, gear oil must act as a lubricant and provide protection to these metal surfaces.  It's viscosity rating is normally higher than that of regular motor oil, and it's molecular, strength level must stay consistent between drain intervals.  If manual transmission or differential oil can not withstand these extreme pressures and temperatures from shear stress, pitting and scoring on the faces of these metal gears will occur.  This wear will create metal flake and fluid contamination which will only cause more wear.  The cycle will continue to repeat itself until part failure will ultimately occur.  Synthetic manual transmission and differential oil lowers the chance of this occurrence because of it's powerful properties.

Conventional, petroleum based oils break down quickly from shear stress and the extreme temperatures caused by gear frictions.  Their irregular molecular structure created in the refining process can not withstand these conditions well between drain intervals.  They thin quickly and allow the metal faces of gears to grind on one another.  Synthetic fluids are created in a laboratory to possess more specific properties such as viscosity and a uniform molecular structure.  Because it is chemically engineered for a specific composition, the power of synthetic manual transmission and differential oil is much better suited for these purposes.  It withstands these extreme stresses, temperatures, and frictions better than traditional oils.  These synthetic fluids also contain special, high pressure and anti-wear additives that protect and clean these vital metal parts.  These additive rich, synthetic fluids cope better under the intense, gear pressures present in manual transmissions and differentials.

Although just as helpful and necessary for protection in ordinary vehicles, synthetic manual transmission and differential oil is especially helpful in those used for racing, hauling, and towing.  These applications create the largest loads and stresses on the gears of these components.  The financial savings created from better protecting these components in both regular applications and those used more for specific purposes is clearly demonstrated in longer drain intervals, fewer part repairs, and better performance.  Amsoil, one of the leading producers of synthetic oils, offers a wide range of synthetic manual transmission and differential oils at competitive prices, including their Synthetic Manual Synchromesh Fluid which can be used in all automotive applications requiring synchromesh transmission fluid.  Without question or exception, the power of synthetic protection in manual transmissions and differentials proves superior to traditional fluids every time.

Get ready for your summer road trip with Plaza Automotive Center’s first-class tire service in San Pedro. It’s the perfect time of year to hit the open road, but don’t forget to visit your San Pedro tire service experts before you pack the car.

Your summer road trip will be filled with memories you’ll treasure for years to come. To ensure those happy memories aren’t overshadowed by a breakdown or a need for tire service along the way, Plaza Automotive Center encourages you to observe some simple tire safety tips before you leave.

Tire Safety Tips from Your San Pedro Tire Service Specialists

As your local San Pedro auto service center, we advise you to follow these tire safety tips so you can enjoy a worry-free vacation:

Tire Pressure. Check your tire pressure at least once a month and prior to road trips. Underinflated tires affect the handling and fuel consumption of your car, and cause tires to wear out much faster. Tire Overload. Be careful when loading the car. Overloading creates massive amounts of heat in your tires and can cause blowouts and other tire damage. Tire Tread. Make sure the tread grooves of your tires are free of foreign objects. Check for uneven tread wear, which is typically a result of underinflated tires, tire unbalance, or misalignment. Tire Inspection. Inspect your tires for bulges and cracks in the tread and sidewalls. Tire Balancing. Make sure your tires are properly balanced. Out-of-balance tires cause uneven wear on the tread and can affect your car’s suspension and alignment.

Plaza Automotive Center wants to be your number one choice for tire service in San Pedro. Our equipment is cutting-edge, our professionals are highly trained, and our prices can’t be beat. We’re the San Pedro tire service center that goes the extra mile.

Tire Service in San Pedro – We Do It All!

Our San Pedro tire service includes:

Tire mounting, tire rotation, and tire balancing by certified professionals Flat tire repair 24-hour roadside service Free lifetime balancing, rotation, and hazard insurance A state-of-the-art Installation and Digital Imaging Alignment System Unmatched customer service

Whether you’re visiting relatives on the other side of the country or driving a few miles to a summer barbecue, let Plaza Automotive Center’s San Pedro tire service keep you and your family safe.

Call 310.831.2888 today to schedule your tire service in San Pedro. Visit us online at www.parkplazaautomotive.com.

Dodge is an automobile manufactured by the Chrysler Group. They are a company that is based in the United States that produces many popular cars, mini vans, pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles. Their long and established history of excellent vehicles has created a huge interest in driving and maintaining older Dodges among many auto enthusiasts.

Older model vehicles are particularly popular to self-maintain because of their relative simplicity versus modern cars. Anybody with the proper tools and some basic automotive knowledge can do a majority of the repairs without having to consult a qualified mechanic. Using a Dodge auto repair manual is among the most popular ways to learn the specifics on how to properly maintain and fix your car. An authentic manual is designed specifically for your exact vehicle by experts with exacting knowledge of how to repair your vehicle.

No matter when your Dodge was manufactured, you can find the manual created for your specific make and model. This tool will not only have diagrams, but it will have step by step instructions on how to get your vehicle operating. The auto repair manual can provide information from many years back up to the current year. Once you have your repair manual, the required tools that are needed for the job and you have the time, you are ready to repair your vehicle. This process not only will it make you feel great that you repaired your car, but it will save you lots of money in the long run.

With the use of a Dodge auto repair manual you will be able to repair almost any problem with your vehicle. Things such as engine light diagnostics, mileage maintenance services and air conditioner checkups will all be at the tip of your fingers. The goal is to get your vehicle on the road as quickly and efficiently as possible. For most of the repairs it will be required that you invest in needed tools for each specific repair. However, once you have made the initial investment, these tools will last you for years and are often usable on a number of different vehicles. The repair manual for your vehicle will guide you through most repairs from the simplest to the some of the more advanced.

Repairing your automobile requires attention to detail and an inventory of all of the tools that is necessary for the job. The repair manual is a great tool to repairing your automobile. It not only gives you knowledge, but it keeps you from being taken advantage of by some of the auto repair shops. It will guide you through the repairing process of making just about any repairs from the headlights to the engine.

Dont forget that while it can be very helpful, you should only attempt to make the repairs yourself if you know what you are doing and have the right tools to get the job done. While its nice to do repairs yourself and save some money, messing up can cause significant damage to your car and become even more costly.

When you think tires, think Plaza Automotive Center. We’re your first and last stop for tire service in San Pedro. Whether you need new tires for your summer vacation road trip, or simply want to learn more about proper tire care, Plaza Automotive Center is your number one source for San Pedro tires and tire safety information.

San Pedro Tire Safety – Staggering Statistics

According to the Rubber Manufacturers Association, two out of three drivers don’t know how to tell if their tires are bald. What about you? The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that approximately one in ten vehicles on the road is operating with at least one bald tire. What about your vehicle?

Driving on tires with worn tread is dangerous. Driving on bald tires can be catastrophic! In fact, driving on bald tires can easily result in a blowout, which often causes accidents, injuries, and even death.

Don’t become a statistic! If you’re unsure about the condition of your tires, bring your car to our San Pedro tire service center for a thorough inspection. Plaza Automotive Center’s tire service specialists will make sure your vehicle is safe.

San Pedro Tire Tread Safety

Underestimate the importance of tire safety at your peril! State police emphasize the fact that “tires are the single most important mechanical component of vehicle control and safe driving.”

Although many factors can contribute to tire failure, worn tire tread is among the most common and most overlooked causes. Ensuring that your tire tread is at optimum levels is critical to tire safety. As your San Pedro tires expert, Plaza Automotive Center recommends that you check your tire tread for excessive wear on a regular basis.

Worn tire tread can wreak havoc on your car and your safety. Our San Pedro tire service protects you from the dangers of worn tire tread. Be aware of:

Underinflated Tires: Always make sure your tires are properly inflated. Tires that are consistently underinflated often result in worn tire tread, which can affect mileage, breaking, and steering. Heat Build-Up: Since there is less airflow between the tires and the road when the tread is low, worn tire tread increases the heat output and weakens the tires. Balance and Alignment: Tire balance and alignment problems can quickly wear out tires, increasing your car maintenance costs as well as creating dangerous conditions. Let your San Pedro tire service center inspect your tire balance and alignment to prevent unnecessary wear on your tire tread. Punctures: Optimal tire tread helps prevent the tire casing from punctures and a subsequent blowout. Hydroplaning: Hydroplaning occurs when the tires lose traction on a wet road (usually during or after a heavy rainstorm), which causes a vehicle to slide like a sled on snow until the tires can regain traction. The ability of your tires to resist hydroplaning is dramatically reduced as the tire tread becomes more and more worn.

Do you know if your tires are safe? Call 310.831.2888 to schedule an appointment today.  Visit us online at www.parkplazaautomotive.com.

There are many events that are perfect for archiving such memories, and what better occasion to do so than your own wedding. Whether you had a small, intimate wedding with only a few guests present, or opted for a large celebration with everyone you know, and perhaps some you didn’t, there are plenty of items you could include in your wedding scrapbook, and many ways to arrange them in order to recapture that very special day over and over again.

Selecting Photos for your Wedding Scrapbook

The first items you will probably want to scrapbook will be your wedding pictures. Photos can, and often do, tell a story. They can walk you through the events of that special day every time your scrapbook is viewed. The only difficulty may be choosing which ones you should include, since you will probably have many from which to choose. They will also give your children and grandchildren something to talk about as the book is passed down through generations.

Your wedding scrapbook would not be complete without pictures of the building where the ceremony took place, you walking down the aisle, and, of course, the wedding ceremony itself. You may also want to include photos of the reception, the cutting of the cake, and you and your new spouse leaving the building. These special events will then be cataloged for years of enjoyment in your very own special wedding scrapbook.

Choosing a Theme

Creating a theme that depicts your thoughts and feelings you had on your wedding day is important. A distinctive wedding scrapbook or album is essential, as it will help you to always remember the people who helped to make your day what it was. Writing down the events and the emotions you had when they occurred will also serve as a record or journal, and will supplement the pictures quite nicely.

Organizing Your Memories

There are several ways to organize a wedding scrapbook, and many layouts from which to choose. When putting together your wedding scrapbook, color is extremely important, as it will accentuate the photos and other material. Many people choose to use their own wedding colors, but you can choose other color combinations if you prefer. Even if you do choose to use your wedding colors, you may want to use other colors to add variety to your scrapbook pages and layouts. For example, if your colors were burgundy and green, you could add cream, light pink, or yellow to accent the darker colors. Putting different colors together will give your layouts a distinctive look and set them apart from other wedding scrapbooks.

Your wedding scrapbook should look elegant and charming, so you might want to add embellishments. These, as well as the right color scheme will make your wedding scrapbook unique and appealing. One option is to use vellum paper. Vellum looks elegant and is easy to find. Eyelets, brads, and ribbons are also suggested embellishments that will add character and personality to your wedding scrapbook.

Floral patterns also work great for wedding scrapbooks. They tend to match well with wedding décor, and lend themselves to the overall wedding theme. Your choices are numerous, so don’t be afraid to experiment until you find the color scheme, embellishments, and patterns that work best for you.

There are many different themes you can use to capture the love and affection felt by everyone on your wedding day. One idea is to include marriage tips from more experienced individuals. These tips may serve as simple ideas or advice that might be useful to you and your spouse on down the road. Interesting anecdotes may also serve as a fun read. You can even incorporate this as an activity at your bridal shower or bachelor party, whereby, other married people write down their tips and give them to you for the scrapbook. You can also include photos of the married couples that will serve as captions for the tips.

Another wedding scrapbooking idea is to incorporate any interests of the bride and groom that may have been a part of the overall wedding theme. For example, some couples choose to make personal interests a part of their wedding. If you or your spouse to be enjoys playing golf, you may depict this at your wedding reception. Guests may be provided with wedding favors that are golf-related and have been customized for the event. You might want to devote a page or two in your wedding scrapbook to this, and include photos or items small enough to fit on a page. This is your opportunity to be as creative as possible, while making a wedding scrapbook that will truly record your very special day.

A More Personal Approach

You may want to create a wedding scrapbook that is not considered to be traditional. There are many ways to set yours apart from others, thereby, taking the untraditional route. When planning your wedding scrapbook, you should focus around your lives together, while catering to your individual personalities. If desired, you can include pictures of memorable events that took place before your marriage, their respective dates, and any photos you may wish to add. You may also want to include your spouse in the scrapbooking activities. This will allow both your personalities to come through, and will be something the two of you can work on together.

You can add mementos and items such as the wedding invitations, reception napkins or cards. Scrapbook stores sell memory pockets for these types of items, and are easy to incorporate in your wedding scrapbook. You also might want to include any congratulatory notes or cards from friends and family you may have received during your engagement. This will add a more personal touch, and will further personalize your scrapbook. It will also serve as a reminder of your feelings during such an anticipatory time.

No matter what you decide to include in your wedding scrapbook, choose carefully. Take as much time as you need when deciding on colors, a theme, and the various photos and items you will include. Your wedding scrapbook will be a very important part of your new family, and will help preserve memories for many years to come.

Bachelorette party's also known as bridal parties have come a long way from the traditional party where everyone gives the bride a gift that is appropriate for her new home. Today, many bachelorette parties are just as wild as the bachelor parties. If you are the one that has been chosen to give your friend or family member the bachelorette party you will have to take quite a few things into consideration before you even can start planning. You may even wish to take with a party planner that knows all the new and great ideas for bachelorette parties so you will be able to plan a fun party.

The majority of bachelorette parties today are really nothing more than a night out with her friends and a bridal shower is the same ole traditional party. However, a really ingenious party planner can pull both of these parties together into one gigantic fun filled night that all guests will enjoy.

You can start the party at the home of the bride to be, or even rent a hall if you have too many guests attending for a small area, or you can plan to begin at a restaurant, spa, or other location. The good thing is you can choose from various locations and go from one to another.

Think of the guests that will be coming. Their personalities will have more to do with the type of party you wish to have than anything else. Some bachelorette parties can be on the naughty side with added parties such as Pure Romance where guests can purchase romance items, while others may not be that naughty and would prefer a spa and a few drinks.

Of course, the idea is for the bride to have fun with her friends and enjoy the night as a single lady. This does not mean she has to be really bad, but she can enjoy herself at a strip club or even hire a stripper for the party. It is really up to the personality of the bride as to what you can include in her fun night.

Some couples are now having bachelorette and bachelor parties together instead of separate. With this type of party, you will need to talk to one of the groom's friends in order to plan a great party. With this type of party, you can hire DJ's and entertainers for the evening and give out gag gifts along with sexy lingerie and sexy pajamas for both the bride and groom.

There are so many different ways that you plan a party a bride to be or a groom to be. Let your imagination help you come up with all kinds of ideas or talk with a party planner. You want this night to be one the guest of honor will remember for a lifetime.

A traditional wedding shower, also known as a bridal shower, is a party that is for ladies only. However with the trend of wedding showers today, Couple wedding showers are becoming popular where more and more soon-to-be brides and grooms are being honored together by their friends and families. Unlike with traditional sandwich and pastel décor type showers, a couple shower is more casual and usually involves a meal or hors d'oeuvre. Beers and wines are often served also depending on the time of day and event. Indeed, to plan of throwing a shower party for the couple may seem like a challenging task but planning and preparing smartly can pull it all together easily.

The Preparation

The first thing you should consider is your budget. Decide how much you can and willing to spend. Determining a budget will guide you in many decisions you will be facing during the process of planning.

Next is to make the guest list. The guests you should include are those people whom the couple would want to be present at the party. You may ask the couple, their families and friends to ensure you are not missing those that should attend. Make the most of this time by asking for contact information of the guests. Just be mindful of your budget and limit the list accordingly.

After finishing the guest list, you have to decide what them you should use. Decide on the best theme and the rest will fall into their respective places. Choosing the perfect theme is one of the best part of the process. Consider to pick the theme that fits the couple's personality and will be enjoyed by a mixed guests. There are several shower themes to choose from and you want to pick the one that has something to do with both the bride and groom.

Next is you now have to set the shower date and time. First, you have to consider to make a good timing of sending the invitations. Usually, invitations are sent four to six weeks before the event. This needs to be factored-in when setting the date. Second, consider the availability of the couple. It is always best to get a list of the couple's available days and times. Third, don't forget your schedule, since you are the host of the shower party. Make sure you give yourself enough time to complete and execute the plans with less unnecessary stress of time constraints.

Also, you plan for some fun. A well prepared shower should be fun. Including activities and wedding shower games in the shower party will serve as the ice-breakers, and get the party going on. Have some music played to set some mood, make sure it is loud enough to hear but not drowning-conversation. Wedding shower party favors are good add-ons too. It is always best to prepare shower favors that fits the theme of the party. You may also consider personalized and unique favors which are perfect shower gifts for the guests. So, there you have it, plans on how to make a perfect couple wedding shower! Have some fun and enjoy!

If you are a victim of a recent break up and you find it very difficult to digest these simple steps will help you resolve your issue.

1. Get your ex the most favourite thing that they like which they have never been able to get before. Something special that they have mentioned to you at a very rare occasion and that they won't remember telling you about.

2. Write love notes and send texts with a lot of promises and hopes for their future together if they got back. Accept any mistake that you might have done. Being humble is a way into anyone's heart.

3. Keep the physical part of the relationship at bay as much as possible. Don't rush your ex into getting physical with you. Wait till your ex is ready emotionally to begin that part of your relationship with them. Physical contact would only make your ex feel that you are being very selfish about your needs. Instead make them feel extra special by concentrating completely on their emotional and other needs.

4. Try and bump into your ex unintentionally but intentionally at their favourite spot that they usually frequent and make it clear that you have began to like things that you have not appreciated before when you were with them

5. Get your ex something that they have always wanted but you have never had an opportunity to get them or never paid too much attention to. Something really special would suffice to make them start thinking that you really do care about them. The entire idea of this is to make them remember and feel your care.

6. Remember that everything that you do to get back with your ex should be genuine and out of love and care. If you lie about anything in the process of trying to win back your ex it can lead to worse problems once you do win your ex back

7. Remember to always look your best for your ex. Get a makeover done if that would do the trick.

These tips are a little sneaky but it is a sure way that you will be able to win back the love and affection of your ex that you miss so much.

Now Listen Carefully-

Let me show you something that helped me get my ex back within 9 days flat. I have a set of Hardcore field tested techniques which are guaranteed to bring your ex lover back no matter how hopeless your situation might be. This is an absolute must read for you...Follow this link now- Click Here

Despite the economic gloom back home, 2008 looks like being a bumper year for the Turkish tourist industry with early arrivals up 18% and experts predicting over 27 million visitors by the end of the year. Record numbers of British property buyers are also being attracted by the country's spectacular scenery, sandy beaches and excellent value for money. Official figures show over 20,000 British-owned properties concentrated largely in the established coastal resorts of Kusadasi, Altinkum, Bodrum and Fethiye. But it is also possible to find some great property in quieter areas, away from the package tourist crowds.

Hidden away in the unspoilt coastal mountains near Dalaman, Akkaya is a stunningly beautiful valley of olive groves and pine forests overlooking an emerald green lake. Despite the tranquility of the surroundings, Dalaman's international airport, which is served by Easyjet and package flights from the UK, is only 15 minutes drive.

"Over 750,000 British tourists passed through the airport last year on their way to the main resorts but very few stayed in the area and even fewer know about Akkaya," says Dominic Whiting, editor of the Buying in Turkey guide. "Although Dalaman town itself isn't particularly picturesque, it offers a slice of authentic Turkish life and the surrounding countryside is extremely beautiful and there is a lot to do."

The long sandy beach at Sarigerme is a nesting site for sea turtles and a centre for water sports. There is also an 18-hole golf course due for completion in 2009/10. Nearby Dalyan has ancient ruins and boats run up and down the river to a beach, mud-baths and hot-springs. In Akkaya there is fishing on the lake and the area's paths are ideal for walking and mountain biking. For adrenalin-junkies there is white water rafting on the Dalaman River.

There are a selection of freehold villas and apartments available in Akkaya and a rustic restaurant beside a rushing mountain stream caters for residents. There is a complex of two bedroom apartments with a large communal swimming pool and fitness centre due for completion next summer. Prices start from GBP 46,200 - GBP 64,050. For those wanting a villa there is a choice of three and four bedroom houses and a luxury bungalow, all with large gardens and a private, or the use of a large communal, swimming pool. Villa and bungalow prices range from GBP 129,000 - GBP 157,000.

Sitting on an unspoilt stretch of coast between the better-known resorts of Cesme and Kusadasi, Ozdere is virtually undiscovered by foreign tourists and property buyers. A popular holiday destination for middle-class Turkish families, it is a small and friendly place with a permanent population of just 13,500. The area has over 24 miles of excellent sandy beaches backed by pine-forested mountains and citrus orchards.

"Ozdere is a secret the Turks have been keeping to themselves. The resort has fantastic beaches but is very laid-back and the people are incredibly friendly," says Dominic Whiting. "Without the attention of foreign buyers prices in Ozdere are lower than nearby resorts like Altinkum and Kusadasi. It is possible to buy a really well-built apartment within 5 minutes walk of the beach for GBP 36,500."

The Gokdare Apartments for example have a communal swimming pool and an on-site caretaker and are under 5 minutes walk from the beach. Two bedroom apartments cost EUR 46,000 - 75,000 (roughly GBP 36,500 - GBP 59,000). Alternatively, the Mirande Apartments are in a quiet neighbourhood just minutes walk from the beach, shops and restaurants. They enjoy sweeping views of the sea and the Greek island of Samos from the first floor upwards. They have a large communal swimming pool and an on-site caretaker. Prices range from GBP 47,000 - GBP 91,000 for the two-bedroom and GBP 95,000 - GBP 111,000 for the three bedroom apartments, which includes a fully equipped kitchen and white goods.

There is strong and growing domestic demand for property in the area, which is popular with families from Izmir, a city of over 4 million people that is only 37 miles (60 km) away.

"Ozdere is an excellent investment opportunity with good potential for capital growth. The local rental market is buoyant with good quality apartments in demand for long lets by Turkish families during the summer," says Dominic Whiting.

Izmir international airport, which is served by year-round British Airways flights from the UK, is only 30 miles (50 km) or 35 minutes drive. If you want to do the tourist thing, the ancient site of Efesus, one of the country's most popular attractions, and the House of the Virgin Mary, held to be the resting place of Christ's mother, are 15 miles (25 km) from the town. There are many other smaller, rarely visited ancient sites dotting the countryside.

Ozdere itself has plenty of shops on its bustling main street and three supermarkets. There is a good choice of convivial restaurants and tavernas serving excellent value seafood and mouth-watering Turkish dishes washed down with the local aniseed spirit, Raki, locally produced wine or lager. A dinner for two with drinks costs less than GBP 20. For those in search of nocturnal fun there are bars and a few discos open in the summer, but the local nightlife is low-key and aimed at locals rather than tourists. The town has a public hospital and several private clinics catering for permanent residents and visitors.

Why Bulgaria? It's not just the good value of the land. Take a walk through a blizzard in Sofia, the capital city, like I did last winter. The snow is falling thick and fast and cars fly past me down the boulevard seemingly trying to break the world land speed record. Realising that I have a free afternoon I turn my head and through the falling snow and over the rooftops I can make out the looming white shape of Vitosha mountain. Let's time this. Forty-nine minutes later I am looking down on the city with a snowboard attached to my feet flying down the mountain at death defying speed. What a place to live; work in the morning, snowboard in the afternoon. A lazy countryside, yet more rugged mountains and quaint villages lie a few kilometres beyond. Beaches stretch along the coast further out.

Of course there is more to Bulgaria than a few mountains and beaches. The countryside is varied and spectacular, littered with pretty villages. The people are warm and friendly and will invite you to drink a rakya with them, not caring that you don't speak a word of each others language. On semi-major roads it is not uncommon to see a top of the range BMW overtaking a horse and cart. Eating out in a fresh seafood restaurant is cheap and the fresh fruit you find at road side stalls along the highway is some of the most delicious I have ever tasted. The country is also a major exporter of quality wine.

This mix has become a magnet for discount holiday seekers, and the property dealers - like myself - that follow. The Bulgarians have risen to the occasion, dropping what they're doing and setting out their stalls to sell any property that they can.

Of course it wasn't just the hot bulgarian properties that put me in competition with the locals. On my way back from a reconnaissance in June 2004, I arrived early to the airport to be in plenty of time to reserve my favourite window seat. To my utter dismay there was no window on my aisle and I was lumbered with a ‘wall seat.' The Bulgarian girl next to me found it amusing, commenting "nice view!" Within 3 months we were living together in Sofia. Three more months and we were married. Daniel Brailsford was born 5 months after that. Fast work.

So I went online with everyone else and found many punters would prefer a cheap little cottage set in beautiful mountains or seaside areas. However, due to decrepit properties that often are worth nothing more than the land they are built on, money may be spent better elsewhere. Many of these properties have ownership complications hanging over them to boot not to mention being nigh on impossible to get to during some of the most brutal winter months. It became apparent that new-built developments are a far more sensible investment.

The capital is one destination many foreign investors are missing. While the coastal market has grown at an unnatural rate, and this may be of concern to the speculator, a capital city is the fairest measure of the true nature of a property market. Bulgaria will join the European Union in 2007. This will further cement stability and lead to further investment on all levels. All this combined and you have the perfect ingredients for steady and sustained urban market growth. It isn't a bad investment for those willing to up the stakes and gamble on an apartment in the capital, especially new construction.

All things considered, in a foreign country with different laws and language it's foolish to embark on anything without a good lawyer. English nationals can register a Ltd. company in Bulgaria when purchasing the equivalent to an ‘English freehold' of land, or property with land attached. The law will change in this respect to bring property ownership in line with other European countries. When land is not part of the parcel - for example when purchasing an apartment - company registration is not necessary to gain freehold of the property. The daring are not finding these things to be much of a barrier.

The tricky thing is finding a trustworthy agent among the crowd, and that is where new investors in the region are stumbling. With my father as a former estate agent now specializing in surveying and having worked for him within the constraints of professional rules and ethics, with a civil engineering degree under my belt and construction experience, I was more than a little shocked at what I found in the Bulgarian market. Enforcement and good professional associations have not cleaned up the mess that high demand is spurring.

I spent a few months working with a Bulgarian estate agency of questionable ethics and following a failed coalition with some other wannabe estate agents, I discovered anyone can be an estate agent here and have heard various stories of people being considerably mislead. That's not to say that all agents are sharks, but it does pay to shop around.

Unfortunately there are no numbers, nor a professional watchdog to say how much of this money might find its way into dubious transactions, but English investors might do well to check out their potential agents before leaping into the market. If regulation of the Bulgarian estate profession can be implemented, perhaps through EU accession everyone will be better off. If it all works out, more Britons will be flying the flag in the balmy Balkans, broadening the pool of pub-goers, and just maybe walking with a Bulgarian wife hanging off their arm. The bulgarian property I can find for you; a wife you have to find yourself.

Wine tasting is simply a process applied to distinguish the taste of fine wines. One must be able to note the differences between different types of wines and for expert tasters, also the differences between the vintages of the same class of wine. Sometimes the tasting is called wine de gustation. The most important part of any tasting is the 'what and How'. The what, refers to what you're looking for, the brand and type. While the how determines origin and fermentation process.

The first thing to do in any wine tasting is to look. Always start by pouring the wine into a clean clear glass, then taking a few minutes to look at the color. You should know that the color for white wine is not white, but actually yellow, green, or brown. On the other hand Red wines are normally a pale red or dark brown color. Red wine taste better with age, while white wine stale with age.

The next step is the smell. A good whiff will give you an impression of what to expect from the wine when you taste it. Please take note of the aroma, is it fresh or foul? And again does it smell like wine. Take time to think about the smell before tasting it.

The first step in tasting is to take a small sip. The small sip allows our mouth to get a quick preview and some expectations. Only after the sip approval do we take in a mouth full and swish. Swishing gives a better full taste of the flavor of the wine. It is normally during swishing, that you discover if the wine is bitter, salty or sweet. Severe cold do affect your taste bud and tasting under the influence of one will make the taste appear different.

The last step is to decide if you want to spit or swallow the wine. Personally, I swallow the wine considering all the efforts. If this is the only wine or one of two or three you will sample at the event, swallowing is definitely an appropriate option. But on the other hand, if you are at a winery and going through 5 or 6 wines, spitting is usually your best option.

Otherwise, every wine is going to start tasting funny because of all the different brands and you might end up drunk as well. Remember when you drink different types of alcohol like mixing vodka and rum, you get drunk faster, same theory applies here.

Tasting will also reveal other pertinent nuances about the wine. You should be able to tell if the flavor is derived from the aging barrel or oak chips. You also can tell about the sweetness or bitterness.

Wine tasters do follow some general guidelines and rules that judge how great a wine is. It is these techniques that can help you bring the most out of your wine, providing you follow them and know how to bring out the taste.

After all, the real test is did you like it. Tasting wine requires some protocols as listed above, but the most important part is for you to enjoy yourself.

Life Coaching and the SEVEN KEY DISTINCTIONS OF MASTERFUL COMMUNICATIONS

Neuro-Semantics (The foundation of Meta Coaching) is a discipline about communication, about high quality and masterful communication skills. Arising from NLP and the cognitive-behavioral sciences, we have identified seven critical distinctions for unleashing your best communication skills and performance and for mobilizing the resources for becoming the most professional and masterful communicator that’s possible.

These seven critical distinctions are based the extended Meta-Model (see Communication Magic, 2000) and on the Meta-States Model. With them you have the ability to make seven distinctions that replicates those that every masterful communicator makes.

- What are these key distinctions?

- What do they signify?

- How does one learn the distinction so that it’s intuitive?

The Seven Critical Distinctions of a Masterful Communicator

“Genius” in every area involves making distinctions, making finer and the critical distinctions which others do not. In the area of being a professional communicator, this involves distinguishing between the following-

1) Map and Territory

2) Person and Behavior

3) Meaning and Response

4) Sensory and Evaluation information

5) Frame and Feeling

6) Exploring and Asserting (questioning and telling)

7) Current and Desired state

Now when a person (perhaps coaching themselves) can clearly make these distinctions and use these distinctions as governing frames in communicating, it eliminates the major communication diseases. Do you know about those diseases? These create tremendous dis-ease in the process of seeking to understand and work out negotiations. Ellis and Beck in Cognitive-Behavioral psychology describes these as the ways to make yourself and others miserable.

- Confusion of words with reality

- Mind-reading and hallucinating

- Judging, judgmentalism, exaggerating

- Emotionalizing: minimizing, maximizing

- Personalizing: over-identifying, defensiveness

- Blaming, accusations, insults.

- Distracting, changing the subject, refusing to focus.

By way of contrast, the seven critical distinctions create the foundation for those powerfully profound skills and states that facilitate the very best of communication. These include:

- Sensory awareness

- Ability to be present in to the moment and focus on the now

- Stepping back into an observing or witnessing state that facilitates objectivity

- Getting the ego out of the way to be as “clean” as possible ( a key Personal Coaching ability)

- Staying open and receptive to feedback

- Flexibility to adjust to real-time feedback and making on-course corrections

- Thinking systemically and recognizing leverage points

- Exploring curiously to discover what is

- Seeking clarity in problem-definition

- Solution-focus thinking in creating forward moving

- Suspending meaning so there can be true dia-logue

MASTER FRAME #1: DISTINGUISHING MAP AND TERRITORY

“The map is not the territory” summarises the common-sense wisdom that a map never is the territory it is designed to represent. The menu is not the meal; the sex manual is not love making; the photo is not the person. These are different phenomenon. They operate at different levels and in different dimensions.

So simple, yet so profound. So simple and yet so easy to forget. How and when do we forget it? When we think (and feel) that what we think (our mapping), what we perceive, what we believe in, what we value, what we identify with, etc. is what is real. That’s the delusion. Yet it never is; it cannot be. At best it can be a good, useful, and fairly accurate map about it.

But when we forget, we identify. We identify map and territory. What I think about something is real, is the final word, is absolute, is beyond question, is unquestionable, etc. And this describes the concrete thinker, the absolutist, the pulpit pounding pundit who has “the answers,” the guru who demands blind and unquestioning obedience, the fundamentalist in any and every system (Christian, Moslem, Liberal, Conservative, Political, etc.).

Map is all of the stuff inside, from the way the outside world impacts upon your senses and sense receptors (eyes, ears, skin, etc.). Map is all of the ideas, beliefs, understandings, feelings, memories, etc. that you create inside about. We do not deal with the world directly, but indirectly. We interface with the electromagnetic spectrum as mediated through our sense receptors, neuro-pathways, brain cortexes, beliefs, belief systems, etc. Territory is the outside world, all of the experiences, words, events, and happenings “out there.”

The masterful communicator knows that all of our mapping is fallible and is, at its highest development, still our best guess. He or she also knows that the value of a map lies in its usefulness, lies in it being able to provide us some navigational guidance as we move through the world and experiences. Does the map correspond well enough so that we can use it to direct our thoughts and actions? Does it facilitate me having the experiences I want to have? To achieve the things I want to accomplish?

How well do you recognize that all of your mental mapping about things is just that, a map? How much is this your frame of mind? How quick are you to explore and ask questions rather than go into “deity mode” of telling, demanding, or giving advice? How grounded is your recognition that your feelings are functions of your maps, not of the world? How intuitive have you driven in this distinction so that you recognize that any and every emotion is the difference between your map of the world and your experience in the world?

These are questions that help us benchmark where we are in our own development of making the map/territory distinction and meta-stating ourselves with this as a premise for moving through the world so that it becomes our in-knowing (intuition) as we communicate.

MASTER FRAME #2: DISTINGUISHING PERSON AND BEHAVIOUR

A person is not his or her behavior. What we do differs from what we are. In this, we are more than our behaviors. Our behaviors are expressions of our thinking and feeling, expressions of our states, understandings, skills, development, contexts, environment, and many other variables. In this our behaviors develop over time from incompetence (at the time of birth) to various degrees of competence and perhaps even mastery in a certain number of areas. Our behaviors at 2 years old, 13, 23, 37, or 65 are just behaviors and reflect our learning, aptitudes, discipline, interests, etc. at that time.

Our behaviors also are always and inevitably fallible. What we do is a function of how our aptitudes, talents, strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and learnings come together in any given context and time to express ourselves. This is performance. It leads to achievements or to the lack of achievement. This is the area that we call self-confidence, confidence in what we can do, in our skills and competencies.

What we are, well that’s a very different question and dimension. What are we? We are a class of life that’s semantically governed. Without the kind of instincts that animals have, we have room to define what to do and how to be. We are not born knowing how to be, how to live, how to function. We have to learn; we get to learn. Using our mind to learn is the human instinct par excellence.

What else are we? We are a class of life that has the ability to reflect on ourselves and to create conceptual frames that we are a highly reflective beings who inevitably (and inescapably) reflect on ourselves, our states, our thoughts, our feelings, our experiences, our history, our future, our origin, our destiny, our values, our meanings. It is this reflexivity that gives us a special power, the power to transcend our state, our moment, ourselves, and to construct a whole set of frames, an entire matrix of frames.

This describes one of our biggest challenges in life-coping with our reflexive mind, managing that reflexive mind. The problem is that if we don’t manage our higher mind well, we can get into a spin. We can reflect back on ourselves with anger, fear, distress, worry, etc. and then reflect on our anger-at-our-self with more anger, fear, stress, shame, guilt, etc. Do that layer upon layer, and we can create self-sabotaging as our way of moving through the world.

Do that when you are simply trying to gather information as you communicate, and we can set ourselves and another into a spin. It depends on what we meta-state the other with. Meta-state self and/or other with suspicion, fear, anger, hate, judgment, etc. and watch communication become a fight, become distortion, become mis-understanding, become ugly and hurtful.

No wonder this person/behavior distinction is critical for becoming more professional as a communicator. I am more than my behavior; you are more than your behavior. Behavior is behavior and always fallible and therefore always game for correcting and adjusting. Talking about behavior is not talking about who we ultimately are. Yet, if we don’t make that distinction, we will feel that we ourselves are being attacked. And that will elicit defensiveness, judgment, yelling, closed-mindedness, self-righteousness, counter-attack, and escalating responses.

It is the person/behavior distinction that enables us to step into the state of being un-insultable so that we can defuse someone who has “lost it” and has become judgmental, blaming, accusing, etc. We become more professional and more masterful to the extent that we can manage our own state, stay focused on the issue and separate issue from person.

MASTER FRAME #3: DISTINGUISHING MEANING AND RESPONSE

This distinction is best expressed in the NLP premise, “The meaning of your communication is the response you get, regardless of your intention.” And the rest of this premise is, “We never know what we have communicated. We never know what the other person ‘heard.’ It is only in the response of the other person that we can begin to discover what the other person ‘heard,’ the meanings that the other generated, and therefore the meaning that was inadvertently co-created (communication, the communing of meaning).”

Because Neuro-Semantic is about the meanings (semantics) that get communicated and programmed into our body (neurology) and the meanings that we then act out or perform, meaning is a phenomenon of the mind-body system. It does not exist outside in the world. In this, meaning is not externally real. It does not exist “out there.” You have never walked down the street and stubbled over some meaning that someone dropped. It’s not that kind of thing.

Meaning is a construct, a construct that occurs within a mind-body-emotion system, and a construct that only arises from how we link and associate things, and then reflexively apply to ourselves as our frame-of-reference or frame of meaning. So meaning is an inside thing; response is an outside thing. These differ radically as they occur in different dimensions.

That’s why a person’s response begins to give us some clue about the meanings that must exist in the other’s mind. So we explore further. What did you hear? What does that mean to you? And if we discover that the other has constructed meanings that we did not intent to transmit, we can ask if we can try again. “Sorry, that’s not what I was attempting to say. I’ll give it another try.”

This meaning/response distinction also means that another person’s response is not the same as the meanings you give to it. The other’s stressed tone of voice is just a response, what meanings we give to that is our meanings. It may correspond to the other’s meanings, it may not. If we don’t suspend our meanings, and if we don’t ask, we won’t know if we are just hallucinating.

When we automatically and quickly attribute meaning to the responses of others we are coming from our maps of the world and so we are hallucinating what it means to us. We are not communicating. We are not giving the other person a chance to transmit his or her meanings. We are jumping-to-conclusions and perhaps confusing map/territory and then assuming that the meanings we create is what the other is saying or doing. This is a great way to create confusions and distortions and to completely ruin relationships.

To avoid that we have to use the meaning/response distinction to our advantage and do one of the most challenging things for us meaning-makers to do, namely, suspend our meanings and explore with the other from the state of refusing to over-trust our meanings. This is what those most masterful at communicating do. They know that they don’t know. They know that the greatest seduction in the world is that of coming from our meaning constructs (our matrix) and seeing responses through our filters.

They also know that this is the formula for being blind and deaf to others. That’s why just witnessing responses and distinguishing responses from meaning is so important for staying in the game.

MASTER FRAME #4: DISTINGUISHING SENSORY AND EVALUATIVE DATA

When I took my first NLP training with Richard Bandler, a refrain was repeated over and over. It went like this, “If you’re going to be a professional communicator, you have to distinguish sensory based information and evaluative based information. If you can’t do that, you will make a mess of the communication enterprise.” This was my first introduction to the Meta-Model that maps out how to sort out the inner mapping of a meaning-maker so that we can ask precision questions and meet the other person at his or her map of the world, instead of at our map.

Sensory data occurs as information and events impact our senses and sense receptors and at first is outside of our conscious awareness. By the time it comes into awareness, we have the “sense” of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting that information and so we can representationally track that information to the movie screen of our mind. That’s when we begin to make our inner movies as we bring the world inside our mind and re-present it to ourselves. This also was the stroke of genius from NLP, that we think in the sensory languages of images, sounds, sensations, etc.

Yet all of this is very, very different from evaluative data. While both occur in the mind, we first make sensory representations and then we make evaluations about it. This is the meta-stating process of stepping back from ourselves, in our mind, and bringing other thoughts and feelings to it. In doing so, we abstract at a higher level as we draw conclusions, make generalizations, create distortions, make decisions, invent beliefs, set intentions, etc.

You can tell that you or another has jumped a logical level to the evaluative level if you cannot put the terms, words, phrases, or language on a table. We can put the referents of sensory words on the table, or in a chair, or in a wheelbarrow. Chair. Dog. Green grass. Man with large nose. But we cannot put the referents of evaluative language out on the table. Good, bad, brilliant, disappointing, rude, nice, mean, beautiful. As evaluations, these things are creatures of the mind.

This is where the Meta-Model comes in as a tool for creating specificity, precision, and clarity. We use the linguistic distinctions to bring our high level evaluations down to the representational screen. With the precision questions, we step back down from our matrix of invented reality and back into sensory life.

Yet this is the challenge. Most of us are so easily seduced and hypnotized by evaluative language and do not make the sensory/evaluative distinction. Someone says, “He’s mean. He blasted that waiter.” And we’re off hallucinating and inventing our meanings about what those non-specific words means. In this, there is no “meanness,” no “rudeness,” no “kindness,” no “hurtful,” “healing,” out there in the sensory world. These are words from the evaluative world of mind. And unless we ask, “What do you mean by this word?” “How do you know that it is this X?” we are not communicating, we are in a hypnotic trance or we are imposing our trance on others.

Whenever we accuse someone of being defensive, hypocritical, incongruent, loving, sensitive, intuitive, or ten-thousand other things, to be masterful at communicate we need to immediately feel the lack of precision, the inability to track those words directly to the theater of our mind, and begin to explore with Meta-Model questions. If we don’t, we will be seduced into a story. And to the extent we go into that trance, we are creating more and more mis-understandings and distortions, putting us further and further from clear communication.

Without this sensory/evaluative distinction we become poor communicators and great mind-readers. We can then even impose our judgments on others and never have a clue that that’s what we’re doing. With the best of intentions of trying to understand others, we are actually not seeing them at all, but seeing them through our filters. Our judgments then come out in a most subtle way, a way that may make it almost impossible for the other to push away those impositions.

That’s why the kindest and most compassionate thing we can do with our loved ones is to drill in this distinction between sensory/evaluative data so that we stop imposing our maps and judgments on them. Doing so is not a loving thing.

MASTER FRAME #5: DISTINGUISHING FRAME AND FEELING

As the sensory/evaluative distinction occur inside us and differ at different levels of experience, so also the frame/feeling distinction. This is what makes both of these distinctions difficult to catch and takes training to develop this intuitive knowledge. They occur within and we can jump the levels in a nana second. In fact, if sensory/evaluative is tough to catch, the frame/feeling distinction is probably even more challenging.

Frame refers to our evaluative judgments, understandings, beliefs, decisions, history, values, criteria, and so on and it is from these higher frames in our matrix that create our feelings. Emotions as the “moving” (motion) “out” (ex-) of a response as our motor cortex is activated by our evaluations. That’s why an emotion is the difference between our mapping of the world and our experience of the world. We feel movement and motion in our bodies given the ideas, beliefs, and understandings in our mind in relation to how well do the ideas work in the outside world.

Frame and feelings relate systemically. Generally, our frames create our emotions. Yet the circular nature of a system with interactive elements means that our emotions also can influence and even create our frames. Yet they are different phenomenon. Feelings are mostly expressions of our frames. That’s why just because we feel something, that in itself is no reason to act on it and certainly not to obey it. The frame may be toxic, distorted, or wrong.

Feelings are mostly symptoms of our frames and indicate that we may need to update or change the frame or update and enhance our skills in relating to the world as we navigate some arena. And while symptoms are important as information signals, they differ from the cause, the frame. Because our emotions reflect the difference between our mapping and experiencing of the territory, all of them are right. They rightly weigh the difference. They are also relative, they are relative to the mapping and the experiencing. Yet because our mapping may be off and our neurology (health, skills, competencies, environment, etc.) may be off, emotions invite us to explore, to discover what’s creating the difference.

The danger is setting a frame of believing in our emotions and thinking we have to “be true to them.” That was the big mistake during the 1960s with the emotive therapies. They made emotion primary rather than secondary. An even bigger mistake is to assume that “if we feel something, that’s evidence and proof that something is real.” Believe that and you will become a slave of your emotions and every emotional experience will become so loaded semantically, that you can come to believe in all kinds of crazy things.

If we do that we can become more professional as a communicator. If we don’t, we can kiss it goodbye because we will personalize things, emotionalize (assume that we have to obey every feeling that we experience, and that if we feel something, it’s must be so), minimize, maximize, exaggerate, and be driven and tormented by other cognitive distortions.

MASTER FRAME #6: DISTINGUISHING EXPLORING AND ASSERTING

When it comes to communicating, there are dozens upon dozens of things we can do with words. Yet the two major categories are exploring and asserting. We explore by asking questions, being curious, wondering, just witnessing so that we can seek first to understand. We assert by giving advice, telling, making definitive statements, feel certain, close the mind to other possibilities, and push our way through.

In the exploring/asserting differentiation, the second feels much more powerful. We feel powerful when we are taking a stand and asserting. We feel strong when we are telling someone something, giving advice, teaching, preaching, and informing. We are taking our model of the world, the maps and meanings we have created and we are imposing them on the other. And, true enough, there are times for this. There are situations in which we even get paid for this-as a lecturer at a University, a teacher in a classroom, a consultant with expert advice to offer, etc.

The other side of this distinction feels much weaker. When we are just asking questions, just exploring, seeking to gather information, and seeking to understand, we are coming from a place of openness and emptiness. We are not certain, not sure, not absolute, not definitive. And yet, questioning operates in the brain in a way that’s a hundred times more powerfully. This is due to the nature of the brain, it is “the ultimate answering machine.” Put a question to a brain and it has a compulsive need to come up with an answer! Place a question in a brain, especially one that it cannot answer, and the brain will primarily go into over-drive seeking an answer.

How different with a statement or advice. Because every brain already has answers, because we have already mapped out some meanings, the meanings as the ideas we literally “hold in mind,” also operate as a defense against contrary ideas. Because our minds like to know and has a vested interest in what we already know, it will automatically eliminate ideas that doesn’t fit. So to tell someone something that doesn’t have easy access in elicits the ego-defenses so that the ideas (even if they are great and brilliant ideas) can’t get in.

Obviously, in communicating, to commune meanings, to work through meanings (dia- “through,” logos, meaning), and to share and expand meanings, exploring and asking questions provides a tremendously more powerful approach. That’s why master coaches and communicators ask questions. Out of the gate they ask questions. They even ask questions about their questions. They explore meaning, significance, intention, etc. They assume little and massively explore. And when they assert, they can feel the difference.

MASTER FRAME #7: DISTINGUISHING CURRENT AND DESIRED STATE

The final distinction required for becoming more professional and masterful as a communicator is the current/desired state differentiation. This is the ability to look at ourselves and others and to recognize two temporal dimensions, now/then.

Current state asks such questions as: Where are we now? Where are you now? What’s currently going on? What are the challenges, problems, constraints, pros and cons, etc. of the current situation? This is the ability to be present, to come into the now, to acknowledge and accept whatever is for whatever it is without needing to defend, argue, rationalize, or use any other ego-defense mechanism. Obviously, to do this takes a lot of ego-strength-the strength to accept what is without caving in or going into a fight/flight type of response

Desire state is the other time dimension, the dimension of imagining, envisioning, and creating a future that we can then move to. We elicit this by asking, Where do we want to go? Where will we go if we don’t make a change? How will we get there? What’s involved in the journey? What resources do we need? What are the steps and stages along the way? How will we know when we get there?

In current state we need problem solving skills, and the ability to create a well-formed problem. Without that, we may be solving a pseudo-problem. Without that, we may be trying to work on a mere symptom, a paradox, or the wrong problem. In desired state we need to create a well-formed solution and to use the precision questions to clearly define what we want.

This distinction keeps problem and solution separate and empowers us to clearly define both so that we can think and communicate strategically as we develop the plans, tactics, and resources for making a dream come true. This distinction enables us to then synergize our away-from and toward motivational energies so that we build up a propulsion system and not suffer from a out-of-balance motivation strategy where we only are pushed by aversions or pulled by attractors.

Summary: Rising up to your highest Communication Excellence

- How well developed are these distinctions in your repertoire of communication frames?

- Which one of these master keys for communication are you best at?

- Which one of these master keys are you the weakest in?

- What plans do you have for learning and drilling them into your response style?

- What kind of Life or personal coaching have you had or will you have to unleash your potentials for masterful communicating?

Because Neuro-Semantics is all about how we create the meaning frames that establish our use of language and communication, the best communication performance inevitably comes from establishing the most elegant and effective frames about communication. And these distinctions are the key ones that those most masterful in communication

To Make Them Responsible

“What happened to you as a child that you feel the need to yell at me all the time?” was the question that put the teacher over the edge and ultimately led my brother down the empty hall towards the principal’s office.  Of course, to a teacher this is a rather undesirable question; one that only an impolite attention-seeking child would ask and one that reeks of defiance and signals the crumbling of the authoritarian classroom structure. The question is not only inappropriate; it is embarrassing. It challenges the teacher’s management competencies and assumes a connection between the teacher and a horrific and traumatizing event in his personal history that may or may not have taken place. Ultimately, the question is a personal attack on the teacher’s sense of self-discipline and morality. In this classroom, a situation like this calls for the quick and painless removal of the perpetrator.

Since the age of two my brother Michael has, for lack of a better phrase, had “ants in his pants.” As an energetic and Tasmanian devil-like toddler, I remember my brother barreling through the grocery store at turbo speed humming bars of Rossini’s William Tell Overture. Since then, Michael has only acquired extra energy that often exhausts cynical adults that cannot keep up with his enthusiasm and excitement for life. Despite his high levels of activity, Michael has a kind heart and a keen sense of justice. However, these are not qualities that are valued in his classroom. Rather, students that learn quickly, are compliant to requests, and treat teachers with respect, whether it is commanded or not, are assets to the learning community, and children that cannot sit still while seeking to question and challenge norms are muzzled.

    The perpetrator sat in the principal’s office for the remainder of the afternoon, where he was asked to consider how and why he had offended his teacher before drafting a one-way written apology. Sure, he may have hit a nerve and slightly damaged his teacher’s sense of self-efficacy. However, how can we justify giving adults candy and punishing children for the same crimes? Does this not assume that children are far more resilient than adults?

Maria Montessori once compared the classroom to a miniature version of society. She suggested that the prepared learning environment, created in the classroom, correspond to the interactions that take place in society. In society, one is most likely to verbally defend oneself in the midst of an argument. It is during these types of social situations that we learn to act diplomatically to “get what we want” and maintain relationships. Rather than silencing our students, should we not guide them to ask questions and state opinions in more appropriate and socially acceptable ways?

Furthermore, it is evident that in most societies, freedom of opinion is always conditional. In fundamentalist countries, for instance, free speech is only accepted when it favours a government’s agenda. On the other hand, freedom of opinion in Canada is stated through means such as atheist bumper stickers, fois gras protests, Gay Pride parades and so on. Essentially, this is the nature of a democracy. However, in many cases, freedom of opinion comes with a price when it does not support the desired agenda. In Michael’s case, freedom of opinion signaled an afternoon date with the school principal.

Ironically, the aim of education is to create responsible citizens out of all children, including the ones that we deem to be irresponsible. However, a simple way to achieve the goals education sets forth is to provide students with opportunities to exercise their freedoms in responsible ways. For example, recognizing a child’s innate potential for intelligent, creative and systematic thinking and by nurturing healthy, whole, curious individuals who are able learn whatever they need to know in any new context.

Following “the question” ordeal I continued to hear news of several incidents involving Michael at school. One of these included “talking back” to a teacher that had ridiculed him for “acting immature.” Another incident included a suspension for calling another student “chippy.” Finally, the principal called my mother at work to mention that she thought restorative discipline would be an effective means of dealing with Michael’s misbehaviour. Michael, his principal, the vice principal and his teacher that dislikes him met for a circle session.

My brother’s principal posed the appropriate restorative questions; why did you call this student “chippy”? How do you think it affected him? How did it affect your peers? Michael responded; “I called him chippy because he was calling my friend “four-eyes” because he wears glasses. My friend doesn’t like his glasses, and he doesn’t feel good about wearing them, but he has to. I called the boy “chippy” because he has a chipped tooth from beating up other kids, so he brought his chipped tooth on himself.” The principal responded, “So, you think two wrongs make something right?” “No,” said my brother, “but I think that it is just as wrong to be a bystander.”

The principal decided that the best form of punishment would be a suspension for all the students involved in schoolyard bullying. Consequently, the worst punishment was the so- called “restorative circle” that resembled the Spanish Inquisition and served as an act of interrogative bullying in itself. The goals of restorative justice could not be more far removed from binding arbitration.

Is it possible, that our current notions of education are somewhat confused? We clearly understand the goals of education, but seek to fulfill them backwardly. We recognize that teachers have much to do with modeling the behaviours and attitudes we want our children to exhibit. Furthermore, we recognize that education has an aspect of vocational training, but to what extent? Do we model justice, compassion, empathy and an ability to handle chaotic classroom situations with ease and fairness? Do we instill a strong sense of democracy in our classrooms by giving students a say in how they learn? Do we recognize the multi-faceted layers of our students? Do we recognize their academic, physical and emotional needs, or do we treat them as psuedo-individuals?

We have evolved beyond the “speak when spoken to” phase, and generally recognize that children are complete individuals with the same basic rights as adults. However, everyday Michael finds himself constantly biting his tongue in order to avoid a bureaucratic showdown. Michael has finally begun to realize that his mouth is his own worst enemy, even in the midst of injustice. For Michael, school is not the safe haven where he can voice his thoughts and concerns. Rather, it has become an experience where survival of the fittest has trumped inquiry and a passion for learning.

Unfortunately, Michael has only been viewed as a half-person in his school. Michael is the chatty kid in the class; he is the class clown. He is the kid that sabotages the lessons that teachers spend hours planning and preparing, and look forward to teaching. He is the kid a teacher could resent.

 Moreover, Michael is the kid with the golden heart. He is the inquisitive kid. The kid who questions why things are the way they are. He is the kid driven by intuition that challenges the motives of others and recognizes the various forms of injustice that take place in his world. Michael is the kid that so desperately needs guidance in directing his passions and energy towards appropriate goals.

----------------------

The other day, Michael’s teacher phoned my mother. He said, “Will you please give that boy a pencil?”  “Yes,” she said. “But will you do something for ‘that boy’? Will you, in the very least, please dignify him with a name?”

-------------------------------

The goal of education is to instill a passion for learning in our students, while preparing them to be responsible and compassionate citizens. If we do not model responsibility and compassion, it is unreasonable to expect children to do the same. Moreover, we have a responsibility to not only model particular behaviours, but to dignify our students.

By educating the whole-person, as opposed to the psuedo-person we begin to treat students as equal counterparts, providing them with the sense of a “true democracy.” In a truly democratic classroom, students have the freedom to communicate their thoughts and needs. Consequently, by exercising these freedoms, children learn to communicate their thoughts in appropriate and effective ways in the classroom and beyond. 

Losing weight is one of the hottest topics in the planet now. People are looking for thunderous ways to lose their weight is the most effective and easiest way. A lot of questions are: most of the people tend to join a lose weight program by using thousands and thousands of money. They lose some weight initially however find their weight bounce back in some times or even worse than before.

What I'm going to show you is the surprising truth to lose weight effectively in simplest ways.

The most fundamental of lose weight is to diet as well as exercise. It sounds simple but yet is the most effective way to lose weight even then a weight lose program. However the key here is how discipline you are practicing it. Start a new diet: No starches, no sugars, few carbs. Potatoes, pastas, rich creme sauces and cheeses. Change your white breads to wheat breads, your spaghetti noodles to wheat noodles, your rice to brown rice.

Exercise is another perfect ways to lost weight effectively simply because the constant calories it can be reduced. Many failed to lose weight through exercise because of consistency. At first, I would highly recommend you find a partner who willing to go exercise with you consistently. The main key is he/she must be fit, discipline, and most important is slimmer then you. Through motivations and guidance, your partner will play an important rule to kick you going. At first, start of a simple and easy to follow exercise schedule. Choose something that you like such as badminton or jogging. Eventually increase the number of activities when you move on. Remember: the key is consistency.

Starts a weight loss program with professionals. Only the experts can tell you what exactly diets or exercise activities is the best suits you. You must look for expert advice but not using try and error method. No one program is right for everyone. You can go to your local gym and talk to a personnel trainer or do some research online that you like.

Simply using new diet, exercise or even a weight loss program can give you great results. However some might find reaching to weight loss supplements as well. But do remember; do not supplements! Weight loss supplements might slim you down in one night but they can¡¯t keep you in shape in 10 years.

Remember, one method cannot suit all. Keep on doing research and practicing will be good to kick start your journey to slim shape.

Many marriages could have been saved all the troubles and hardships by maintaining a healthy relationship the couple started establishing their marital goals early in the relationship. Communication has always been one of the main factors in needed to hold a relationship together. Sharing your view on every important aspect in marriage is not only needed but is expected for both you.

The Family That Prays Together Stays Together.

The phrase above is so cliché, but religion has always been one of the major reasons for disagreements between couples. If the partners are of different faiths – such as protestant and catholic- one or the other may, or may not wish to attend the partner's church every Sunday.  Attending the church of his/her faith is important to them. While this does not seem to be a concern for some couples, it often results in being separated when Sunday arrives,   and can result in a major distance between the couple that cannot be easily resolved.

Religion should be discussed early in the relationship. Questions arise like: how often will they go to mass (if catholic); what religion will they be practicing; and if there are children, in which faith will they be raised? How they handle the different religions is crucial. These are basic questions that need to be answered before the couple is married.

Spouse = Best Friend

One's spouse should always be his/her best friend. It does not mean blocking out other friends from coming into your life but more with taking each other for granted. There should always be constant communication, whether it's as simple as a gossip that one or the other has heard or as serious as one's hope and aspirations. Having a lengthy and enjoyable discussion with one's wife/husband and understanding how they feel is very important in a lasting relationship.

There should also be a set time allowed for just having fun, something to bring back the spark in relationship. It could be as simple as jogging together at the park, or walking the dog together. It could be a romantic date or something special that has been planned in advance. This will bring about strong and healthy relationship.

Money, Money, Money

Money is nearly always the primary main problem of any couple. It is not just a case of how to earn money but how should they spend it.

First, how will a couple earn their money? What kind of jobs will they have and what hours will they be working? These are simple questions but will have a big impact on the couple's life. Another question is will they allow the other to work or is one's salary enough for the family?

Lastly, how will a couple spend money? Daily needs, such as food, clothes, water and electricity are a given. Those are the necessities one needs to survive. There are, of course, other things to consider. Should couples start saving for their child's education (if there are children)? How much of their earnings should go into their savings and how much of their savings will they spend for family fun and activities?

Fruit of Love

Children, if there are any, should always be a part of a couple's goals. It is important to know and to understand each other's feelings when it comes to parenting. How many children do you want? Is adoption an option if the couple can't bear a child? Those questions are necessary for a couple to answer before they will be ready for a child.

Other questions couples should ask themselves, include how to discipline a child; should the mother scold the child or should the father be the strict one; will the home be full of rules or should they just let their children learn on their own, with guidance every step of the way?

Another point to consider is how their careers will be affected by having children. Supervision of the children when they are young is another consideration.  Should one parent resign their current job and find a higher paying job so that the other could stay home and raise the child properly?

A couple's marital goals, whether short-term or long-term, are necessary to make sure that they're going to be on the right track with their marriage. It is not enough that they know for certain that something will happen. They have to be prepared for it and be willing to sacrifice for the marriage to work.

Whether it’s your first, second or third pregnancy, there is such a novelty to the experience that both you and your partner will marvel at as parents. If you’re already parents, remember that each pregnancy is unique in its own way, so it helps to be prepared every step of the way.

On the other hand, if you are a first-time parent, you might have already read every guidebook that expecting mothers usually pore over – but there are still some practical tips that you need to keep in mind.

Therefore, the number of children that you’ve already had doesn’t matter. What does matter is the fact that you need to be prepared physically, mentally, emotionally and even financially before giving birth to your child.

Read on to find out what tips you need to keep in mind, as well as everything else in between that a mother-to-be needs to know regarding her pregnancy.

Enumerating the Top 10 Pregnancy Preparedness Tips & Everything Else In-Between that Every Mother-to-Be Needs to Know

So what are the top 10 tips that you need to keep in mind about pregnancy preparedness? Here is a list of things that you should remember and prepare for in order to have a successful pregnancy:

1. Be aware of the changes in your body.

The minute that you see the positive sign on that home pregnancy test kit, that is the time you will start being aware of the changes in your body.

As the child in your womb grows from its first to its third trimester, your body will undergo specific changes – and this is something that you should be prepared for.

During the first trimester, you are bound to experience morning sickness, vomiting and a feeling of being ill. This is usually a result of the hormonal changes that your body is undergoing – and it’s a perfectly natural result of being pregnant.

During the second trimester, you would have already accustomed to the life growing inside of you and weight gain is something that you should be prepared for.

Finally, the third trimester is when you will feel most uncomfortable as the weight in your belly grows bigger and bigger until the time that you will actually give birth.

2. Do away with any ‘nasty’ habit that you may have.

On the onset of your pregnancy, make sure to do away with any nasty habits that you may have. If you smoke, quit if you don’t want to suffer consequences during your pregnancy.

Smoking while pregnant may lead to miscarriage, bleeding or if you successfully carry your baby onto its third trimester, it might be premature or underweight.

Another habit that you should not indulge in while pregnant is the intake of alcohol. Taking illegal drugs is even more of a no-no.

3. Be physically prepared.

One of the best favors you can do for yourself while pregnant is eating right and at the same time maintaining a healthy weight by following good Pregnancy nutrition.

Although you are already eating for two, that is not an excuse to go all out and give into your junk food cravings.

This is because if you unhealthily gain excessive weight during your pregnancy, labor might prove to be difficult and it can even lead to complications in the baby’s health.

4. Make sure that you are prepared financially.

Now that there is an economic crunch, it is even more vital to save up for the time that you will actually give birth, the expenses that you would have to shoulder start with the doctor’s appointments while you are on your first, second and third trimester. You may even want to enroll in birth classes.

The costs of giving birth in the hospital would add a huge chunk to your expenses – but it goes way beyond that.

As a future parent, the mere fact that you will add one more member to your family means that you need to make major adjustments with your budget as a household – and this is something that you really need to prepare for.

5. Plan for the birth and the delivery details.

Whether or not it’s your first time to give birth, your doctor can help map out a birth and delivery plan for you.

Aside from the medical aspect of things, you should also prepare the things that you need to bring with you to the hospital once ‘it is time’.

About a week or so before you give birth, make sure that you already packed the essentials like your clothes, the toiletries and some clothes that you bought for your baby.

6. Make sure that you have a pregnancy backup plan.

Although you may be preparing for a vaginal birth, you should still have a backup plan in case there is a medical need for you to undergo a C-section.

Ask your doctor about the type of incision that will be used, make sure that you know which type of anesthesia will be applied and how long it will take for you to recover.

7. Prepare your home in welcoming a new member of the family.

It’s not just the nursery that you need to prepare when welcoming a new member of your family, it’s the entire household which should be child-proof.

If you already have several kids running around the house, you may have already performed some child-proofing steps. But if you haven’t, now is the best time to do so.

For first time parents, you should enjoy the process of putting together a nursery for your child. Aside from repainting the walls and getting that crib in the center of the room, you should also have your home tested for environmental hazards which include lead paint, radon or carbon monoxide.

Your car should already have child-safety features. You can even get one of those choke-test cylinders to ensure that any toy that you will be placing on the nursery is hazard-free.

8. Practice multitasking even before the baby arrives.

You won’t believe how little sleep you will actually get once the baby arrives. So as early as possible, you can practice multitasking.

You can prepare home cooked meals in advance and freeze them so that you will have microwaveable dishes once you get home from the hospital.

Keep the refrigerator stocked with healthy foods and some baby essentials. Even your bathroom supplies should be well-stocked.

9. Decide on the parenting style that you will take.

This is an especially crucial decision for both parents. Which parenting style will you take? If both parents are working, should one give up his or her job in order to personally care for the baby, or is hiring a full-time baby sitter an option that you are considering?

Will you play the good cop, bad cop scenario? How will you as a couple have a united front while disciplining your child once he or she grows up?

How about sibling care? Will you allow them to do their share in caring for the new member of the family? In terms of religious beliefs, what traditions will you follow? Deciding on these issues in advance will give you a leeway so that conflicts can be prevented in the future.

10. Enjoy the experience to the fullest!

Finally, make sure to extract every bit of pleasure that you can out of your parenting experience.

Sure, you are allowed to be an emotional wreck especially if you are a first-time mother – but this should not take away from your marveling at the experience of being pregnant and giving birth.

By following these pregnancy preparedness tips, you can rest assured that you are prepared for your pregnancy, the labor phase and the post-natal care of that new member of your family which everyone is eagerly awaiting with open arms.

Welcome back to the sixth article of our automotive SEO series, in this article we will explore the topic of landing page creations. Landing page in general describes the technique of creating a particular page that is optimized to a particular keyword that will receive good Google ranking. Some web sites create many landing pages trying to capture a bigger slice of the market. For example if you are selling used cars, you may want to create a landing page that is well optimized for "used Honda" and create another landing page targeted to "used Toyota". Now if you can imagine all the brand names under the sun and create these pages on your web site, you may capture the desired traffic.

Some SEO experts even take the concept of landing page to another level, with proper tags and keywords some landing pages are outranking even their parent web sites. A landing page has all the potential to out rank a competitor's web site due to several reasons. For one they are easy to produce and easy to rank to a particular keyword. So remember the next time you are trying to capture the right market audience don't overlook your landing pages. Treat your landing page just like an independent web site and rank that particular page accordingly, and you will be surprised how it can help you web site overall.

Thank you for reading this article, it is brought to you by Dealer Template Canada, your ultimate web solution provider for Canadian dealers. Find us online at http://www.dealertemplate.ca

Once you’re ready to start working on your wedding invitations, you might need a little help with wording, etiquette and logistics.  One of the biggest questions brides and grooms face is trying to determine who should be invited and who should receive an announcement.  While there is no set rule, there are a few guidelines that can help you best decisions for your reception. 

Who is in the wedding?

Before you can begin your list, you should decide who you would like to actually be in your wedding party.  If you’re having a young flower girl and/or ring bearer, you’ll need to account for those parents in the reception list.  Ask friends and family to participate and once they are confirmed, add them to your reception list.  You should also consider anyone of your friends or family who may be singing or reading at your ceremony.  And it is customary to invite the person officiating your wedding and their guest to the reception.  Keep these on the ‘invitation’ list as you move forward.

The big list

Start making a list of absolutely everyone you’d like to invite to your wedding.  At this point, don’t be concerned with budget or venue restrictions.  Right now you just need to get everyone on this list and then decide who gets an invitation and who gets an announcement.  Before you begin to pare down into two lists, make sure you have included anyone in your wedding party and your immediate families.  At this point you should put you and your fiancé on the ‘invite’ list.  Even though you will not send yourselves and invitation, you will need to consider yourselves with respect to catering budget and venue limitations. 

Two smaller lists

From the big list you should begin to make two separate lists; those who will attend or take part in your wedding and those that – for whatever reason – won’t make it to your reception.  If you have spoken to anyone who mentioned that they won’t be able to make it, put them on the announcement list right away.  Take a good look at your budget and the restrictions laid down by your reception venue.  These both should give you an idea about just how many people you can afford and can host.  From there you will begin to get an idea of a more solid ‘invitation’ list and ‘announcement’ list.

The wedding announcement

Plan on sending your wedding announcements the day of your wedding.  Your announcement should be short and simple.  Some opt for a photo of the bride and groom (sent out after the actual wedding).  You don’t need to make any mention of why they weren’t invited or any apologies thereafter.  Also, you shouldn’t make any mention of your wedding registry or wedding gifts – not even to request that the recipient not send a gift.  The recipient can decide for themselves to send a gift or best wishes. 

Special circumstances

If you’ve planned a destination wedding, put your announcements in the mail as close to the wedding date as possible.  If you are getting married out of the country, you may want to wait until you’ve returned home.  If you’ve eloped, send out your announcements as soon as you are back from your elopement/honeymoon.  Wedding announcements for all circumstances should be sent as close to the actual wedding as possible and at the very least within a year.

It doesn’t have to be a daunting task to decide on who will be receiving and invitation or an announcement.  Once you’ve made your lists, get your invitations out at least six weeks before the wedding and you’ll be all set for a wonderful reception. 

Check out our wedding invitation etiquette resources and browse our wide variety of wedding invitations at MyExpression.com

Samsung SGH-a767 upcoming to AT&T; is a slider with landscape display and full QWERTY when opened. It has a similar design to the Samsung I620. Sangria A767 is a GSM Quad-band phone capable of global roaming. The data bearer goes to GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA. It also features 1.3MP camera, microSD slot, 3G, stereo Bluetooth, music and video player.

Samsung Propel SGH-A767 has a 2.2 inch big display which gives a resolution of 176×220 pixels, or 262k colors. 1000 mAh lithium ion battery has rated talk time of 180 minutes and standby time is 240 hours. The phone comes preinstalled with messengers like Windows Live Messenger (MSN Messenger), AOL Instant Messenger Service (AIM), Yahoo! Messenger. Supported email protocols are IMPA4, SMTP, POP3.

Messaging/data features include WAP Push 2.0, E-Mail, Instant messages, Multimedia messages (MMS), Text messages. The 1.3 megapixel camera has resolution of 1280 x 960 pixels and also has 4x digital zoom.

This phone's design is quite similar to the Verizon Wireless Blitz. Both are square shaped and come along with a full size QWERTY keyboard. The Propel is 0.58 inch thick, 2.33 inches wide and 3.85 inches long which makes it thinner than Blitz. Propel looks more of a business phone than Blitz which feels cuddly and cute.

Samsung Propel SGH-A767comes with lots of sound and graphics to choose from. You can download more through AT&T's Media Mall store. The handset comes with applications and games like Tetris, Midnight Bowling 2, Jewel　Quest 2, Guitar Hero III, Wiki　Mobile, the Weather Channel, MobiｌTV and Mobile Banking. If you need more applications and games, you can purchase them through the store.

A need for a replacement　Samsung battery　can be something that takes up time. Go to a local phone store, and you could find yourself in a wild goose chase! Let us find a direct route for success and find the right Samsung　battery　for your mobile phone. There are many different models in the Samsung mobile phone range. Finding the right Samsung battery can require a lot of research. Going to a local phone store is not always the best option. We need a better solution, one which is quicker. Myluxphone is an online cell phone store, offering the best Replica cell phones of the most famous brands all over the world, and many mobile phone accessories such as Samsung Cables　are also available here.　Myluxphone is an operated online brand cell phone store that you can trust in. Our customer service representatives and online help guides will help you with the selection of the right Replica cell phones just for you.

Sharing-ltd

Article source from　http://www.myluxphone.com/blog/?p=995

The world of Internet is brimming with ideas to make money. While we can't bring all the wonderful ways in which you can make money online, we would like to focus on the top five ways to make money online. Though these methods were not easily available before, but due to the large amount of Internet commerce taking place on a daily basis, they offer a tremendous money making opportunities. Also, these are some of the cheapest methods and are fast to implement.

Top 5 Online Money Making Ideas

Here are the top 5 money makes ideas over the Internet that you may consider. So read on...

1. Create Your Own Website or Start a Blog

Blog/website is a great way to share your knowledge, experience, hobbies, and interests with others. With a little time investment you can build a successful society of likeminded people who certify your thoughts. Perhaps the best part about having your own blog is the ease with which you can run it. A blog or a website gives you the opportunity to sell your own or other people's products/services, banners, or text links. There is plenty you can do with a website or blog to make money online and there is really no limit to the amount you can earn with your own virtual address!

2. PPC Advertising or Marketing

PPC or Pay per Click advertising is another top money making idea. PPC advertising is really a keyword bidding process where the lowest bid is of $0.01. So if you happen to be have the highest number of keyword searches on a search engine, your ad will be top ranked and will be listed along with the other sponsors on the search engine results page (SERP).

PPC helps you make profit and you don't even need a website for it! All you require is a credit card to make payments and a budget that starts at a mere $5 to make payments for the clicks on your PPC ad at the selected bid price. If you fulfill these requirements, you should join affiliate programs that promote PPC advertising and find products that require to be marketed with a wining home page.

Next you open a PPC ad account with a facilitator site and write a compelling ad and bid on low-priced keywords that are pertinent to the products/service you are promoting.

Tip: Remember to compare the total cost of all clicks with the commission given out to you. This will help you to improve your ad copy and keyword selection.

3. Selling Domain Names

The brilliance of this idea lies in its simplicity. Collect domain names and make money! It can't get any easier than this. You don't have to create any content or do anything complex. The important thing is to choose domain names that will help you make profit. The much in demand domain names come with a .com extension. To choose the domain name simply type the domain name of a website you consider non-existent. However there are other ways to select money making domain names too. Just search the web.

4. Internet Auction

Thought internet auctions have been around for quite sometime, it still offers immense potential to earn lots of money. All you need is your own product or products and a free account on any reputable internet auction website such as eBay etc. You can either buy the resale rights of various items or join a dropshipping program to have your own line of products.

While buying the resale rights allows you the authority to resell the purchased product, in dropshipping, you are required to promote the product and receive payment only when an order is placed. You then contact your dropship merchant who delivers the product to the buyer directly.

5. Freelancing Jobs

If you are a creative individual with passion and experience in writing, programming, web design, data entry or any other online freelance income generating expenses then this can prove to be highly beneficial for you. There are several websites that allow you to post your work portfolio and bid on job requirements or projects that are on offer. Search for freelance job sites and earn good money without any or little investment.

Finally, as an initial step, consider having your own website and blog or at least any one. An established website will help you make money easily.