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Archive for August, 2009

Sticking to a diet is difficult enough, especially at today’s fast-moving pace. Planning healthy meals that supply all the important vitamins and nutrients you need is challenging and costly. Instead of spending hours laboring over every meal, spend a little time finding the right vitamins to supplement your food. You may find that discount vitamins are the key to a healthier, happier you.* As with any new eating plan, consulting with your physician and finding a plan that suits your needs, health and preferences is key. But the one aspect of dieting that is frequently overlooked is ensuring that your body is receiving the appropriate nutrients needed. Most likely, any diet will leave you lacking nutritionally. Educating yourself about your dietary needs is a good first step. Where’s the beef?Your nutrition may be lacking even if you’re not trying to lose weight. A vegetarian diet, if not properly managed can be lacking in nutrients. Dietary supplements are highly recommended for people wanting to go veggie. Some of the nutrients you may be lacking include:* Protein – The most obvious vitamin lacking is typically protein. By eliminating the most common source of protein, meat, you need to find ways to fulfill this need. A viable solution to this problem is to take a soy protein supplement.* Zinc – Absorption of zinc in plant-based foods is not always effective. Zinc can be found in many multivitamins or as a stand-alone supplement. Zinc plays a key roll in the growth of cells and aids in the metabolism of various components in the body and a number of other functions.* Vitamin B12 – This vitamin is lacking, especially in the vegan diet. The best sources of it come from meat, dairy products and eggs. Among some of the functions this vitamin is essential, are up keep of the nervous system and the formation of blood cells. Some soy products are good sources for vitamin B12 but taking a supplement is your best bet.* Iron – Again, is a mineral that is not as easily absorbed through plant sources as it is through meat. Taking this as a supplement is the easiest solution to this problem.* Calcium – For vegans, calcium might be lacking due to the absence of dairy products. A supplement one good option for receiving this mineral, as well as soy milk.Battle of the SexesMen and women have different needs when it comes to nutrition. This is an important factor to keep in mind if you are buying vitamins for you and your significant other, roommate or family member. There is not one dietary supplement program that is designed to fit all. As a rule of thumb, some of the important minerals and vitamins need are:Women* Calcium* Folic Acid* Fiber* IronMen* Vitamin D* CalciumWhatever your gender, if you are on a diet, you are probably lacking in a valuable nutrients and minerals. Finding the right balance is helpful and can also make your dieting efforts more successful. If you are on a diet that involves low-carbs or perhaps a Mediterranean-style diet, you are not alone. The popularity of these two types of diets has reached an all-time high. Walk down the diet aisle at the bookstore and you can pick up any number of versions of these diets. Sometimes when you are lacking in a certain dietary need, you will crave a certain type of food that may not be on your diet. Maintaining a proper level of nutrition is essential to your health and your success.The Good, the Bad & the UglyIncorporating several vitamins into your diet can seem overwhelming but your local health store may carry everything you need. It is important to research a brand of vitamins that are effective and have a solid reputation. Many brands contain fillers or ingredients that are either low quality or are included in small amounts, causing their effectiveness to be minimal.Often, cost cannot be a determiner. Expensive vitamins do not always mean they are high quality. For convenience and cost-effectiveness, there are many reputable Web sites out there that offer discount vitamins that are extremely high quality. Most sites will also have tools available to help guide you in the right direction for all your supplement needs. Be Your Own Best ResourceUltimately, your health is in your hands. Taking some time to really research your dietary needs while you are on a diet is essential. Your doctor can help you narrow down what supplements may be best for you. Check out your meal plans and educate yourself on what is healthy. Then, go online and find discount vitamins that you can easily fit into your budget.Dieting does not have to mean deprivation. Ensuring that your body is receiving all the minerals and nutrients it needs through food as well as high quality vitamins can lead you on the right path to wellness. Making discount vitamins an integral part of your life is easy and eventually becomes second nature. Your health is in your hands, doesn’t it deserve the best’some helpful Web sites Include:FDA – The Food & Drug Administration has useful information on dietary supplements as well as what types of vitamins and how much you should take. http://www.fda.gov/ WebMD – Helpful articles and information to guide you on finding supplements that work for you. You can even submit questions and have them answered. http://www.webmd.com/Discount Vitamins – Discovering what vitamins are right for you can be important, but it can often be costly. Finding a place to buy discount vitamins that are high quality is almost as important. http://vitnetonline.com/ .

About the Author: By a freelance writer for VitaNet – Health foods, http://vitanetonline.com/ who sells quality vitamins and herbs with a wide selection of Discount Vitamins that are in stock and ready to ship. Please link to this site when using article.

In this ever-growing world of marketing and advertising opportunities many people have begun to let go of the ?old world? techniques, direct mailing and the like. For this reason, and many others, it is necessary for you to jump in to the world of direct mail marketing to get the very best for your advertising dollar. Don’t let the same old things creep into your mind when this pops in there! Don’t believe that it is a waste of time or a shot in the dark, this can really work if you give it a solid try.One of the very important concepts to remember when you begin a direct mail marketing campaign is that it is imperative to pay attention to the wording of your direct mailer. Don’t simply make some huge advertisement about buying someone’s house because of foreclosure etcetera, tell them in more compassionate ways that you can make their life easier. They already feel strange, embarrassed, or even a little ashamed of their financial situation, you can get a good step in with them by offering to ‘take it off of their hands? and take over payments ?Quickly?.Make sure that you are pre-qualifying or sending to an area where you can make no money. It isn’t worth your time or theirs if you send them information about helping them out of their financial hardships only to let them down in the end. Make sure that you are sending to the right people for that reason and this, by getting in front of the right people you are increasing the opportunity of catching their attention and getting that all-important phone call in response!In the end it is unbelievably important that you look at this as an opportunity to invest in the future of your real estate investing business rather than just a simple expense for the present. At the very least you are beginning to register your name in the heads of thousands of prospective buyers and sellers, if it isn’t this time that it works it will be next time. Be persistent and it will indeed pay off in the end!For more information on becoming a successful commercial real estate investor try visiting http://www.successful-real-estate-investing-tips.info, a popular website that provides real estate investing tips, advice and resources to include information on how to profit from forclosures and flipping houses.

Southern Oregon Business Owner Featured on IdeacafeSouthern Oregon business owner, Tina Janke of TJ Consults, Inc., is featured on the front page of International Resource site Ideacafe.com, a Small,Home Business or Personal gathering place offering serious insights with a fun approach created by author, Francie Ward.When asked by Ideacafe, “How do you use Idea Cafe to help your biz?” Janke responded, “Idea Cafe keeps my mind creative. I visit CyberSchmooz often and offer free advice. I do specific searches for those asking particular questions.” Janke’s profile can be viewed at
http://www.businessownersideacafe.com/Janke is a marketing consultant transplanted from Southern California, doing publicity, promotions and public relations and more. Her firm is like a small PR agency targeting small- to medium-size businesses ones that that cant afford a big firm. Most of her clients cant afford $2,000 to $5,000 a month. Her clients pay about $250 for a national press release. She does in-house contract public relations for $45 an hour. Sometimes hired part-time and works within that budget. An aspect of the marketing department; marketing and promoting websites. Based on budgets, companies can be placed in the number two or three position on Google, Yahoo, MSN or monitor reciprocal links and more.Another aspect of the business is soliciting sales through her database of rep agencies or through actual buyers. Helping product driven companies to place their product into retail loactions. Another part of the company does funding services; “growing” companies to a point where they take on investment dollars. “Theyve created a product and want to do a national push and need investors, such as “business angels” and venture capital.”

Are you settling for circumstances in your life because you are too lazy or too scared to make the appropriate changes needed to force life to live on YOUR terms, instead of the other way around?

Think you know the answer? Here are a few quick tests that you can take to find out how true you are being to what you want out of life vs. what you are willing to settle for.

Your Job.

Why do you work there? Is it the job that you have always wanted? Do you get up every morning totally excited about the prospect of going to work? Do you wish that you could spend MORE time at work, because you love it so much? Do you make enough money working there?

Did you answer “Yes” to even ONE of those questions? No? Then why do you work there? You have settled for that job because it is convenient for you. It fits into your schedule, or it’s close to where you live, or it’s easy and you don’t have to work very hard. Maybe you have other similar reasons for why you work there even though you really don’t want to.

Let me reiterate what someone wiser than me once said: “If you love your job, you will never work another day in your life.”

Are you still “working”? If so, why? Do you have days and years of your life to just burn through by settling for less than what you really want to be doing?

Another example – Your Home.

Do you love where you live? Do you truly enjoy the neighborhood? The neighbors? Do you have the view that you want out of your windows, or out on your porch? Do you have enough room for all of the things that want to do at home? Do you have a pool, a Jacuzzi, a volleyball court, a recreation room, or even a pool table? Does your house have all of the “toys” that you like to play with?

If not, why not? Why would you live somewhere that you don’t want to live? Why are you settling for a living arrangement that you really don’t like? Again, do you have time in your life to just waste away?

What about Your Relationship?

Do you truly love your significant other, or is it just convenient to stay with them? Does the thought of living without them truly cause you pain, or would that just leave you with more housework and errands to attend to without another adult in the house?

Are you the person that you are supposed to be for your significant other? Do you see yourself with that person literally until death do you part?

If not, why not? Have you settled for someone who doesn’t really “do” it for you? Are you and your significant other in a co-dependent relationship where neither of you is really having that much fun? If so, why are you doing that to each other? Why are you settling?

Oh, I know – because you have days and years of your life to waste away! That must be the explanation!

One more example – Let’s talk about your Health.

Are you at the bodyweight that you truly want to be at? Okay, stop laughing and keep reading! Are you in the physical condition that you want to be in as far your ability to exercise? Swimming, running? How about your ability to hold your breath? You know – basic SURVIVAL skills!

What about the inside of your body? How is your cholesterol level? What about your level of cardiovascular health? How is your heart? Are you at risk for diabetes? Stroke? Heart Disease? Do you see a pattern developing here?

So one more time, let’s review why it is that your health or your body image are NOT where you want them to be. Oh wait, I remember – because you have plenty of time to kill! You’ve got another 80 or 90 years on this planet, and that stuff can wait until some other day, right?

Okay, so some of these words may be dripping with sarcasm, but do you see the point that is being made here? Unless you are one of the lucky few (that may not even exist) that are 100% happy with every aspect of their lives, then I have one single question for you:

What are you waiting for?

Your job. Your home. Your relationship. Your health. These things matter to you, right? Some or all of these things need improvement, right? You ARE in control of most or all of these things, right? So I’ll ask you again:

What are you waiting for?

Live your life to the fullest, my friends. It will be over before you know it. Do you want to die wondering what it would have been like to enjoy your life – rather than just live it?

If so, then keep on doing what you’re doing. Death will be here soon.

For the rest of you, if you truly want to take control of your life, you’re going to have to work at it, and you’re going to need time and money. If you desire time and money, and you want to have some fun while you obtain it, then break out of the box!

Leave your corporate-powered job behind, shed your beliefs that you can only make “so much money” – grab life by the horns! Make a difference in your life and the lives of others, and help make the world a better place at the same time.

Or…don’t! If you aren’t ready to take control of your life and start having fun living it, then I don’t want you on my team anyway!

Think about it. When you’re done thinking about it (which you already should be!), call or email me directly and learn how to join my team of fun-loving, goal-oriented, world-changing, corporate-hating, real people.

Aaron M. Potts

info@firstcoastwellness.net

866-675-4379

About the Author:

Aaron Potts is a health and wellness entrepeneur whose passion for health is matched only for his dream of people living a time and financially free lifestyle. Learn more about Aaron at his newest site, http://www.firstcoastwellness.net, or visit his life-changing home on the internet at http://www.tni.com/aaronandamy!

Some of the most pathetic folks are those who are in love with people who don’t love them back.

If we’re honest and we think back to our school days, all of us can recall being rebuffed at least once by the objects of our obsessions.

It’s no fun, especially as we watch nonchalant men and women line-up date after date with the most desirable people.

It’s not fair!

We’re trying so hard and getting nothing while they’re not trying at all and they’re getting everything!

Exactly, and this is one of the essential truths about negotiating, whether it is for affection or for jobs, perks, or for the best contractual terms.

Above all, repeat this to yourself the second you start to REALLY NEED a specific outcome:

?He or she, who wants the deal more, loses!?

I had just bought a great pair of crocodile cowboy boots on the famous Sunset Strip and I couldn’t have been happier with them, though they cost me many greenbacks.

A day or two later, as I was driving on Beverly Boulevard, I saw a ?Cowboy Boots Sale!? sign leaning against what can only be called a shack. Surrounded by chic designer stores, this wart was particularly conspicuous.

I had to stop, just out of curiosity. Imagine how shocked I was when I saw a great collection of boots, including one of the styles I declined, but still wanted, when I bought my crocs.

The proprietor was decked out in cowboy gear, turquoise rings, and was watching a dusty TV.

I did my best John Wayne impression as I said, ?Howdy,? and he smiled. To make a long story short, I walked out with three more sets of boots, for which I paid a mere fraction of their value. And I?m really happy with them and wear them every day I can.

How did I do so well?

He wanted to sell them much more than I needed to buy them. I showed him my new pair of crocs, he realized I?m a true buyer, that I didn’t really need what he had, and so when I offered a laughingly small amount, he countered with a deal that was far better than I had ever hoped, and my results just improved from there.

In negotiations, the best thing is to not need the deal.

But if you do, by all means, don’t show it!

Best-selling author of 12 books and more than 1,000 articles, Dr. Gary S. Goodman is considered “The Gold Standard” in negotiation, sales development, customer service, and telephone effectiveness. Top-rated as a speaker, seminar leader, and consultant, his clients extend across the globe and the organizational spectrum, from the Fortune 1000 to small businesses. He can be reached at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

Including daily vitamins, which are designed to perform several important functions, in your lifestyle along with diet and exercise is one of the best ways to maintain good health.

There are several benefits that vitamins offer. The most known are that they slow the process of aging, provide extra strength to the immune system, and increase your overall energy. And to make this a bit complex, there are a variety of vitamin formulas in the market. Sometimes it becomes difficult to decide which ones are best for you.

So, here we are trying to make it easy for you by jotting down the daily complete vitamins that are designed for men, women or a particular age group. It is necessary to remember that vitamins designed for one group, may not be appropriate, or optimal, for another.

Daily Complete Vitamins for Men

Vitamin B-complex formula (all of the popular B vitamins that are found to increase energy levels, including B6 and B12), is one of the common ingredient in vitamins that are designed for men. Additionally, they also contain Biotin (one of the most common uses is assistance with hair loss when the hair loss is caused by a deficiency of this vitamin) and Folic Acid (assists in generation of new cells in the body).

Calcium, Magnesium, Zinc, Chromium and Selenium are usually used in vitamins for men in order to benefit their defense mechanism. Vitamin formulas for men also offer a wide range of other vital vitamins, including Beta-Carotene, and Vitamins C and E.

Prostate cancer is one of the biggest killers in the western world, and is unique to men. Hence, this should be a major consideration when vitamins for men are in account. Therefore, daily vitamins for men should also contain prostate health promoting herbs and nutrients, such as beta sitosterol, saw palmetto, and lycopene.

Daily Complete Vitamins for Women

It is believed that women do not take enough of Calcium and Vitamin D, thereby putting them to a greater risk of bone loss later in their life. Hence, vitamins designed with women in mind tend to offer boosters of Calcium, Vitamin D, or a combination of the two.

Other nutrients like magnesium and Vitamin A, which help in keeping the bones strong, are also offered in the daily vitamins for women.

It is assumed that a good daily vitamin formula for women should also offer nutrients that help develop a healthy reproductive system. These nutrients include Folic Acid, Vitamins B6 and B12 (also energy contributors), Magnesium, Zinc and Calcium. In addition, the formula is also supposed to contain antioxidants (such as Vitamins A, C and E) that reduce free radicals in the system (which may help reduce signs of aging on the skin).

Daily Complete Vitamins for the Elderly

The elderly usually need more attention and nutrition. Hence, vitamin supplements that are made for the elderly tend to include most of the nutrients that are commonly present in vitamins both for men and women.

These also contain an additional element called Lutein and Zeaxanthin. These help the elderly to maintain healthy eyes and battles off macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is a very common age related eye disease that reduces the quality of life for many elderly.

Daily Complete Vitamins for Children

Children need vitamins the most, the fact that they keeping growing and nutrients are vital for development of fit bodily systems, makes it even more important.

A complete formula of daily complete vitamins for children should contain the following: Vitamin C (which contributes to developing and maintaining a healthy immune system, as well as healthy connective tissues); Calcium (which is needed for healthy bones and teeth, as well as normal functioning of the muscles and nerves); Omega 3 fatty acids (contribute to healthy functioning of the brain and nervous system);

Fiber (necessary for both healthy bowel movements and healthy digestive systems). Additionally, they may also have nutrients that logically assist to advance mental function and attention span.

The product we personally use called Total Balance – http://www.health-product-we-use.com is the most natural and effective supplement we have come across. We have been using this product for over 3 years with excellent health results.

We highly reccomend you learn more about our best natural nutritional supplement if you are interested in improving your overall health.

Jean Helmet runs a series of health websites, We offer a free health book for subscribers to our websites newsletter. We cover everything you need to know on nutrition and how to improve your general overall health. Check out our nutrition e-book, for more information on nutrition and the products we use.

A primary advantage of technology is it can considerably increase your productivity… if you know how to use it well. It seems sometimes that the new products around are nothing less than gizmos or are so hard to understand that only an engineer could figure out how to use them efficiently. One example: although the majority of agents now use the internet to communicate with their clients, surveys found that many real estate agents do not use the Internet fully to capture and retain leads. An article in Realty Times thus reported that home buyers’ main complaint about Realtors online is that they don’t respond to email inquiries fast enough.

Real estate agents can use technological devices to help them manage their schedule, advertise, stay in touch with clients, and accomplish many other tasks. And many actually do use tech devices. A 2002 survey conducted by the National Association of Realtor, “Technology and the Realtor,” shows that 80 percent of Realtors use between 4 and 6 devices for their work. Additionally, another NAR survey conducted in 2000 found that 77 percent of respondents used email for business purposes.
However, many do not use these devices to their full potential.

Some people are naturally gifted to quickly understand how technology works and how to use it to their advantage. For all the others, there is help.

ePro, for example, a comprehensive Internet certification program for real estate professionals, teaches the basics about doing real estate business online. People who complete the course learn more about Web sites, online tools, and the Internet as a way to reach today’s consumers. ePro has been offered by the NAR since 2000.

For agents looking for training for more specific devices, the Internet is also the first place to go. Indeed, many companies provide courses on how to do a better use of PDAs, Blackberry, etc.

New technologies have the potential to help professionals be more productive with their time. However, these professionals will need proper training to be able to control these technologies instead of wasting time trying to make them work.

About the Author

Content provided by 10x Media. Established in 2003, 10x Media provides innovative online marketing tools. It has expanded its online presence through networks such as Inside Real state, Inside Finances and Grab Real Estate, which contain thousands of pages for city and state specific real estate information across the nation.

If you are looking to save money by buying a used car, it can be a very viable tactic. However, even though you are on a tight budget, buying a used car should not be immediately decided upon and should take a lot of consideration. Why? This is to avoid throwing your hard earned money away.
Below are some pointers that may help you decide when to buy or not to buy a used car:
1. You should consider your budget.
If the reason why you choose to purchase a used car is because of your budget, then it should be the same reason why you should be careful and meticulous in choosing a used car. Thus, if the car needs a lot of maintenance, repairs, and other modifications, it is best not to buy that used car (or else you lose the benefits of buying a used car).
2. You should be wary of buying used cars from owners that do not have complete and pertinent documents.
This could mean a lot of negative things and you are the only one who will be at the losing end. Documents are crucial especially if the car is second hand. It is the only solid guarantee that you can get hold of when buying used cars. If this is the case, then, you might as well not pursue the deal.
3. If the you are not comfortable after test-driving the car, then it is best not to buy it.
There are instances wherein some people tend to opt for used cars because of the model of the car being sold. It is their dream car and there is no other way they can purchase them but to buy them second hand. However, if you are not comfortable with the car after test-driving it, then it would be better not to pursue the deal, even if it means the world to you to have that car.
The bottom line is that buying used cars should never be your sole alternative if you cannot afford to buy new ones. This means that you should value the process of choosing a used car like what you would do when buying a new car. In the end, it is your money that will be put to risk. Thus, it is extremely important to consider all the factors in order to have the best buy ever. Happy hunting!About the Author: Dr. Drew Henry maintains a network of auto-related sites, including Luxury Car Secrets, Exotic Car Secrets and Car Speaker Secrets. Visit his sites today!

Million of travelers visit Thailand yearly. In fact, Thailand draws more travelers than any other country in Southeast Asia. Why? There are million of travelers, because Thailand is a very beautiful country. Thailand is known for its renowned hospitality, sacred temple, and breathtaking natural beauty. Thailand offers something for all type of travelers.

When is the best time to go? If you plan to visit Thailand between July and November, the weather can be uncomfortably for you. Around July and November, it will be rainy season in Thailand. It rains a lot, and the weather can be unpredictably sticky. The weather is at its best from February to March. It is perfect time to go to the beaches.

The peak seasons are August, November, December, February, and March. There are secondary peak months in January and July. The tickets to Thailand around the peak seasons are usually high. If you plan to visit Thailand during the peak seasons, it will be a good idea to plan in advance. If you buy the tickets in advance, it will be much cheaper.

If you can travel during the least crowded months (April, May, June, September, and October), you will save big time from low-season air plane tickets and discounted rooms. If you avoid popular destinations like Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket during prime time, you will probably find a good deal.

If you are visiting Thailand right now, you should that there are some risks. A series of deadly bombings took place in Bangkok on December 31, 2006.

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Paris is a truly wonderful city. There may be none more beautiful or with more character in the world. However, as an Aussie, one vital ingredient tragically lacking in the host of entertainment this city has to offer, is real footy coverage, which does not exist at all.

Paris is a truly wonderful city. There may be none more beautiful or with more character in the world. However, as an Aussie, one vital ingredient tragically lacking in the host of entertainment this city has to offer, is real footy coverage, which does not exist at all.

The “Frogs” don’t know what they are missing! I’m not talking about the world venerated soccer variety or those super-padded, over-paid, U.S. gridiron heroes and especially not that “throw yourself at the turf” game they call rugby. I’m talking real footy here, the great Australian game which is without doubt the best spectator sport in the world by a mile and a half.

I shouldn’t have read Buddha’s biography I suppose. It has only made my thirst for footy and the Cats’ brand of the great game in particular, more intense. Though I was grateful when David (one of my five brothers living in Geelong, who I keep annoying for Cats replays) brought it over to me in Paris a few weeks ago from “Sleepy Hollow,” along with some videos of recent Cats games.

While I was intent on watching the videos our “free-loader” visitors wanted to get out and see the sights of Paris, the magnificence of the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, grandest of all the worlds’ Grand Avenues and Saint Chapel, where glorious tall stained glass windows surround you. But hey, I had my priorities sorted out; I just wanted to settle down with a baguette, a bottle of French red and watch the footy.

I needed to update my memory banks with a “footy fix.” I needed to get to know the players again, catch up on all the excitement, the skill and raw talent. Follow those super-fit and dedicated sportsmen, playing the most skillful game on earth. But no, Wendy dedicated shopper and very dear sister-in-law that she is and Denise my supposedly Aussie, but footy-apathetic wife wanted to go shopping in Paris. Women. As someone once said, we sure do love them, but who among the male species can ever understand them?

Denise and I had been living in Paris for almost two years. While the experience had been fantastic and we were thoroughly in love with the City of Light, enough is enough mate.

French cable TV carries endless, absolutely dead boring, English cooking shows (ye olde BBC) plus a plethora of even more mind-numbing house and garden decoration shows, news and…darn little else.

CNN repeats the same old, same old, hour after hour and on French TV they speak their exquisite language at a zillion miles an hour and detest the English language with a passion. They would never understand the complexity of the footy anyway.

My memories of growing up in Geelong with footy as the Welsh family staple diet were triggered by Bhudda’s writings. Like so many other Geelong kids, we played footy every chance we had. At school, for the local club, in the street and the back lane, anywhere we could. Our six sisters often made the backyard team as well – just to make up the numbers, mind you.

We lapped up all the footy culture we could and it will stay with us all our lives, no matter where we are. It is something that resides in my bloodstream along with a fair dose of Bordeaux by now. Hey, this is France after all !

I was at the “G” with dad and a hoard of other Welshes in ‘63 when the mighty Cats beat Hawthorn, and I cried with sheer joy. I was also there at Kardinia Park on the Sunday morning to bury the hawk. I cried again. Great times for a twelve year old.

These fond memories came flooding back, when I eagerly watched those tapes in Paris and read Bhudda’s story. I realized yet again what a great tradition we have in this game and what heroes the dedicated guys who play it are. I also realized just how much these traditions mean to me and what I have missed out on over the years we have lived overseas.

I wondered how many people in Geelong really appreciated what they have. A lifestyle most people in the world would envy, in a country still seen as at least a lucky country, if not THE luckiest with a sporting tradition and sense of fair play that reverberates around the world.

My career in the oil industry had led us to live overseas and we wouldn’t give back a minute of it, but I still miss my footy!

Singapore was our first exciting posting, but alas, Australian football didn’t stand a chance of making it onto Singapore TV screens. Mr. Lee Kwan Yu didn’t want his people corrupted by such unhealthy western influences. Jakarta (surprisingly, to some) was much more liberal. In the early 90’s we received the “VFL Match of the Day” live on TV Australia. It was great to lie by the pool and watch it, with a Bintang (Indonesian beer) in hand and an eager houseboy ready to bring another when required.

The following year we couldn’t pick up any footy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Dr. Mahitir was still peeved with the then Australian Prime Minister Keating for his ill-considered “recalcitrant” remarks directed (correctly) at the amazingly smug and arrogant Malaysian Prime Minister.

We were living in New Orleans, Louisiana, in ‘95 when the Cats made the Grand Final against Carlton and were ecstatic to find a live telecast on U.S. cable TV. It was broadcast late on a Friday night in New Orleans. Denise even made small Aussie meat pies. I hunted down adequate supplies of Fosters Lager and convinced some (somewhat reluctant) American friends to view the spectacle. We even dressed our apartment in blue and white and had special t-shirts printed up for the occasion. Ah, what a party it was to be.

Well, it didn’t take long to see the Cats were in for a thrashing, our friends wilting from the power of real beer (Vs their watered down variety). We all ended up drowning our sorrows, in my case anyway, they simply enjoyed the beer. But at least we saw the game (such as it was) live. The Yanks thought the game was a free-for-all. All they remembered the next day was the beer and pies.

Alas, as the French do not want their airwaves or cables fouled by the dreaded “parley Anglaise” they do not allow the satellite dishes needed to pick up the signal in Paris. In fact, we couldn’t even pick up audio BBC clearly, even though it is just across the channel.

No doubt about it, Aussie TV is the best in the world. It must be. It carries loads of footy, free to air no less, to placate the fanatical fans.

Maybe the AFL will one day become the IAFL (the “I” being International) with teams from perhaps, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland and The Pacific in the competition. Then we might get to see truly international coverage. I’m dreaming again. Or am I? I really do think the game has great international potential.

Yes, there is a lot to be said for the excitement of living in various parts of this wonderful world, but there are also great advantages in staying where your roots are, growing up with lifelong friends and enjoying the great lifestyle a city like Geelong and “Gods’ Country” Australia, offer.

If you intend to travel you should not miss Paris. It is a truly wonderful city, with great architecture, character, colour, love, life, audacity, vibrancy and charm, as well as the French, who make Paris what it is.

As for my footy, I’ll just have to try to be in Melbourne, at the “G” on that special day in September to shout my encouragement until I’m hoarse again and watch the mighty Cats bring home the flag.

Then I will reluctantly board yet another plane to return to expatriate life and a part of my soul will stay behind in Geelong, as it always does.

The French have a much-revered saying, which is always stated with heartfelt sincerity and patriotism, “Vive la France.”

This may still be the year of the cat (“chat” in French) so I say, with even greater reverence and lots more hope. … Vive les Chats!

Ron A. Welsh

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am lifelong avid follower of the Geelong Football Club after growing up in Geelong in South Eastern Australia. I have followed the “Cats” from 10 countries as an expatriate working in the oil industry and now work as a writer from Brisbane.

Using the sun to heat up a home is growing by leaps and bounds in popularity these days. To really save money with solar, the best way is to design your home or improvements with solar in mind.

Taking Solar Into Account When Designing Your Home Improvements

In this case, we are not talking about using active solar panels to heat your home. We are merely talking about orienting your home in a particular way as well as emphasizing certain features. While this may sound odd at first, it is an extremely popular and cost effective energy production method used throughout the world.

To pursue this strategy, you must pay careful attention to how you design your house or improvements. One of the biggest errors made by people is the failure to take in all aspects of home heating and cooling. This can lead to a situation where you are producing far too much solar heat and the house becomes an oven. Get it wrong in the other direction and you don’t have nearly enough heat. Here are the key issues to consider.

The first issue, the site location, is almost always overlooked. Ideally, you want unobstructed sunlight to hit the south side of the home for at least six hours in the middle of the day. Contrary to popular opinion, it doesn’t matter what part of the United States you live in. There is sufficient sun exposure everywhere, although areas heavy with fog and cloud cover may be problematic. Regardless, the home must receive the aforementioned amount of sunlight. If it doesn’t, you are not going to be happy with the results.

The second issue many people miss out on is commonly known as the axis orientation. In the Northern Hemisphere, the south wall of structures will receive the most sun exposure. To efficiently use this energy, your home must be oriented to expose the longest wall of the structure to the south. The more surface area you have facing the sun, the more heat and light you will be able to generate in the home. On the other hand, if you orient a short side to the sun, it is going to produce less heat and be harder to circulate it through the length of the home.

The third issue ties in into axis orientation. To produce heat, you must have a vast majority of the windows on the south side of the home. Unless you are using a solar capture wall, it makes little sense to orient your home correctly without letting the sunlight in. Conversely, you need minimize windows on the north side of the home or at least use super energy efficient windows to keep heat from escaping. You don’t want to create a wind tunnel from the south to north side of the structure as air temperatures try to balance out!

You may have some doubts about how much heat a properly planned structure will produce. Hyperbole aside, your home will cook. The sun is incredibly powerful. Imagine sitting in your car on a sunny day with the windows rolled up and no air conditioning. The same thing will happen with your home.

To combat excessive heat, you should include some mechanism for reducing the amount of sun coming into the home. The easiest answer is to put curtains or some such thing on the interior, but it doesn’t always work for large bay windows. To resolve this problem, you should put some type of a retractable overhang on the exterior of the home. You can install the roller under the lip of the roof. They don’t look nearly as cheesy as they used to and you’ll be happy you did so when summer rolls around.

Taking advantage of the sun for heating is not particularly complicated. If you keep the above issues in mind, you’ll be able to smile when your neighbors complain about their utility bills.

About the Author

Rick Chapo is with SolarCompanies.com, a directory of solar energy companies. Visit us to read more articles on solar power and passive solar floor plans.