Student Visa - Let Your Dreams See the Light of the Day

Education plays a key role in shaping the life of an individual. Over the last few years, a common trend of students flying down to United States to pursue higher studies has been noticed in all parts of the world. Student visa is obtainable only via academic institutions spread across the length and breadth of the country. There is variety of courses offered by educational institutions in America. Being a visa applicant, you can easily receive both graduate as well as undergraduate degree provided you meet exemplary performance and required qualification criteria. Let your dreams get wings to fly high and achieve desired goal.

There are different types of student and tourist visa available from which you can choose the one as per your need. Here you can learn more about kinds of visas that students can acquire. You can apply for US visa for student at Embassy for the student and US Consulate. You can file the application after getting form 120 which is issued by the university you are applying with. Basically, there are three types of visas you can apply for.

J-1 Visa - This student visa is generally used for educational exchange and cultural programs. It is generally known as the Exchange Visitor Visa.

M-1 Visa - This visa is widely used for non academic as well as vocational courses offered by universities in United States.

F-1 Visa - Of all, F- 1 Visa is the most commonly used by students. This is exclusively meant for students who get themselves enrolled in a college or university for studying English language or any other educational purpose.

If you are planning to fly down to United States for vacation then you need tourist visa to let your dreams see the light of the day. Applying for it requires you to approach US Embassy and fill up the application form with your genuine details. Getting a travel permit to US is not an easy nut to crack. If the officer, evaluating your visa application, senses that you are eyeing for a permanent stay then you might face rejection. So make sure from nowhere it appears that you have plans to stay permanently in United States.

With the world going online, you no more have to visit the Embassy time and again to gather information about visa for travelling. All information related to visa can be gathered by simply browsing web pages. Internet is a hub of information, no matter for which visa you want to apply. Information available online is updated time to time so that you can gain all necessary details about student and tourist visa from the privacy and comfort of your home.

Pull up your socks if you want to fly down to US for either vacationing or studying. Apply for respective visa now.

25 Worst Passwords of 2012

How many accounts do you have online? Gosh! Has anyone ever asked you that? Probably Not! But if you think about it, the average user would have at least a dozen or more online accounts, all which require a user name and password. Keeping track of them is virtually impossible, and well, who has the time to keep a word or excel sheet of user name and passwords.

What to do? Well, most of us just use the same one over and over again, with small variations when required by the site. In fact, you probably get quite frustrated when the website requires you to add both capital letters, lower case, and numbers and characters. Grrrr!

But let me tell you something, there is a good reason for this. Literally millions of websites are being hacked daily, and their customer info taken. If your user name and password is the same for everything and it falls into the wrong hands, well, say good bye to your online life. I'm not kidding, this happens every day, no matter how badly you want to believe it doesn't.

So I figured it makes sense to write a post about the importance of creating passwords. Let's begin with the worst passwords of 2012! Surprisingly, quite some new ones were added, including "Jesus" (probably not upper-case), "mustang," and "ninja." Splash Data

password (unchanged) 123456 (unchanged) 12345678 (unchanged) abc123 (up 1) qwerty (down 1) monkey (unchanged) letmein (up 1) dragon (up 2) 111111 (up 3) baseball (up 1) iloveyou (up 2) trustno1 (down 3) 1234567 (down 6) sunshine (up 1) master (down 1) 123123 (up 4) welcome (new) shadow (up 1) ashley (down 3) football (up 5) jesus (new) michael (up 2) ninja (new) mustang (new) password1 (new)

Now this is real. According to recent data most people use one of these 25 passwords, with the most common one being "password." But, if I spend the rest of this post saying that you better change them or your life will end, and it'll be a tragedy, and who knows what, well, you'll have me pegged as a nutty. Wouldn't you? But seriously, it's not cool. So what I do? Hmm.. Well, for starters I would never use any of the above passwords, especially not now that I've posted it to all of you:). Instead, I've been working on my own personal strategy for passwords, which basically follows a simple principle:

Pick a song that's meaningful to you. Say for example the happy birthday song. Then use the first letter in each so Happy Birthday to Marc, Happy Birthday to you, =HBTMHBTY Add some numbers like the day you were born =HBTMHBTY +09 Have one verse in capital and one in lowercase. HBTM+hbty =HBTMhbty Add the numbers: HBTMhbty09

It's really quite simple, and works with most songs. We all have something that's catchy in our heads, that most people don't know about. It can also be a quote, or something similar. But then again, you still shouldn't use the exact same one for all accounts, because your password if stolen will give access to all your other online accounts. I'd really like to hear from people who used one of these 25 passwords, and if you have another interesting strategy, well please share it in the comments. I can't wait to hear from people who have cool ideas for passwords, or even more ridiculous passwords than the above.

Cheers Marc

A Guide To Choosing The Most Suitable Insurance Company

In life, we always have to make room for contingencies. There are so many things that we cannot really control. However, this doesn't mean that we cannot be prepared for such eventualities. Moreover, if we have a family, we should be doubly prepared. That's because we're looking out not just after our welfare but those of our loved ones, too. It's especially the case when we have kids. For this reason, we should seriously think about getting the right insurance coverage. We should also think about the kinds of coverage we should apply for, taking into account the risks we're usually exposed to.

These days, there are so many insurance companies that keep mushrooming everywhere. They have become even more visible especially in the virtual realm. Because competition is stiff, these companies try to outdo each other with attractive insurance products. This brings about both positive and negative effects to the potential client. The positive aspect is because the individual has more choices and options. But this also means that there are more chances for the individual to be conned into taking out the wrong policies. That's why before you apply for a coverage, it's best to choose the right insurance company.

How would you know that the insurance company you're applying to is the best one? Here are a few simple and practical steps to find out! One, check the company's background. This is the very first thing that you should do. You can easily utilize your online resources for this purpose. Try to find out what products it is offering, the premium rates, and other features. Two, compare all these with the insurance products of other companies. See whether or not there is indeed a significant difference in the product features. Take note especially of the difference in the premium payments.

Three, test their customer services. See if they provide for free consultation and no-obligation quotes. If they do, then take advantage of the same. Talk with their experts so you can gauge the level of their expertise as well as their legitimacy. Also, try to find out just how fast they can address a customer concern, like replying to an e-mail. Fourth and last, check out the customer feedback and reviews. Again, you can utilize your online resources for this purpose. What do their past and present clients have to say about the company? The feedback can give you a better insight on the reputation of the insurance company as well.

Girls Softball Drills: Pitching Machines Hinder More Than Help

Attention all girls softball coaches and hitters. This will explain why performing softball drills with pitching machines hinder more than help. Due to pitching machines, most girls softball  hitters never really reach their greatest hitting potential!

Girls softball teams use pitching machines because it is very difficult to throw strikes from a live hand in batting practice. A pitching machine is the tool most used in softball drills for helping hitters practice their swing mechanics. The reality is that the machine alters a players swing and timing more than it helps.

It is commonly known to most, if not all, baseball hitters and coaches, to stay away from pitching machines. Pitching machines do not have the same action that a live hand does when the ball is delivered in either sport. The spitting action that a pitching machine depicts when the ball flies out of it, is deceptive to the hitter. This deception adversely affects the hitter's timing and, ultimately, the hitters' swing.

Although baseball players and coaches know this intuitively, the message has not been made clear to women's fast pitch softball and girls softball. Women and girls softball relies on these machines far too much.  Most girls softball coaches have not figured out the proper way to use the pitching machines for softball drills or how to help players improve their confidence when using a pitching machine.

Softball drills for hitters should always be performed at a slower speed and the human pitcher or pitching  machine should be a good 3 to 5 paces in front of the pitching rubber. This is the only way to improve the confidence of the hitter. The hitter should have every opportunity to know what it feels like to connect with the ball efficiently; this type of set up will give the hitter that opportunity.

Unfortunately, in girls softball, the pitching machine is placed to close to the pitching rubber and the coaches set the speed of the pitch near the speed of what the hitter would see in a game. This does not help the hitter for 2 reasons:

1. The machine "spits" the ball harder when the machine is turned up and causes even more deception. Most hitters have to change the mechanics of their normal swing just to be able to contact the pitch. Because of this, hitters tend to throw their hands at the ball and do not have the time to adjust to the timing of the machine. This can only lead to improper use of their body and hips, not to mention, the hitter is practicing incorrect swing mechanics that will not be used during a game. Over time, continued use of pitching machines in softball drills will train a hitter's muscles to consistently swing the wrong way, even during games. This results in decreased levels of performance as well as confidence.

2. The hitters confidence goes down because most hitters swing and miss or just foul off the majority of the pitches when a machine is improperly placed and the speeds are increased. If you are a believer in achievement through visualization, then you should agree that a hitter who gets continuous images in their head of swinging and missing or bad hits, will not get better, but worse.

The key is to pitch batting practice out of a live hand if at all possible. Just pitching under hand close up with the L-screen at a slow pace will greatly improve the confidence and skills of the hitter. If you have no choice but to use a pitching machine for softball hitting drills, please adhere to the following proper use guidelines.

Proper Use Guidelines for Pitching Machine Drills When using a pitching machine for softball drills, set the machine between 30-40 mph depending on the age of the player. Place the machine 3-5 strides ahead of the pitching rubber. This will simulate the right pace that a hitter needs to see and feel in order to get her rhythm, timing, and swing down.

Proper use of pitching machines will also improve a hitters confidence and enable the coach to instruct much more efficiently. There is no reason why female softball hitters cannot be just as consistent as male baseball hitters. From a training perspective, this is the reason why baseball players experience more success with batting average and slugging percentage than softball players do. Most baseball players practice off live arms and if a tosser is not available, the player, more often than not, knows how to use pitching machines properly.

Girls softball needs the machines because it is hard to throw strikes from a live hand in batting practice. Use them properly and hitting will improve dramatically.

Marriage and Relationships - 6 Creative Ways to Reconnect With Your Spouse

Do you know how many couples in marriages drift apart over time and eventually have nothing in common? Consistently spending quality time together is one of the best ways to stay in touch with your spouse. Many couples are so busy with work and raising a family that they have trouble finding time for each other and their relationship suffers.

With all of the responsibilities in life, how do you carve time out of your schedule for your mate? Here are six creative ways to connect with your spouse:

1. Turn Off the Television

The time you spend watching television is not quality time spent interacting and getting to know your mate intimately. Instead of experiencing reality T.V., experience a real relationship.

2. Schedule a Regular Date Night

A date night does not have to be expensive or elaborate. The most important thing is being with each other and sharing your life, hopes and dreams.

3. Work on Mutual Projects or Hobbies Together

You bond with each other while working together on a hobby or mutual project. It also helps you to continue to have common interests and goals.

4. Exercise Together

Your heart gets two work-outs at once: one physical and one emotional.

5. Meet for a Lunch Date

If your evening schedule is too hectic for one-on-one time, schedule to get together at lunch.

6. Prioritize

It all boils down to your priorities. Everyone has the same twenty-four hours in a day. You will make time for the things that are the most important to you.

Distributing Your Internet Marketing Message With Podcasts

If you want to distribute your marketing message all across the internet, one of the best ways to do it is with podcasting. Podcasting is a great internet marketing strategy that has a "social marketing" feel to it. The basic premise of a podcast is that you can create an MP3 file, upload it to the podcast directories, wait for someone to come across your podcast, have them listen to it, and then drive these people back to your website or blog.

That's it. It's that easy. Now the "uneasy" part of it is getting the podcast created. You can either have one of those "text-to-speech" robots do it for you. You can do an interview with someone. Or you can simply record the podcast all by yourself (which is very common - nothing wrong with this).

No matter what option you choose, you should know that the resulting podcast can help to improve your sales and profits in a short period of time. You can get a lot of traffic using podcasts. If you want to use it inside of your internet business today, you will want to put this marketing strategy on overdrive.

Make it a point to include it into your weekly marketing campaign. You want to go hard with your marketing efforts, and make podcasting an integral part of getting new content out there in the form of an MP3. People can download your podcast immediately and start listening to all of your advice and information simply and easily.

I like podcasts because they're similar to the concept of video marketing. With a lot of video sites, the only self promotion that you can give yourself in your videos is the use of displaying your URL in the video yourself. Typically the URL is at the bottom of the video, and it isn't clickable.

This means that your viewers will have to type in your website address in their web browser, instead of just clicking directly to it. But if you want to get more clicks, make more videos. Similarly, podcasting is the same way. The way people know about your website is when you mention it in your podcast.

And sometimes, you have to spell it out for your listeners so that they type in the right address for your website. This is especially true if you have a long URL. People will have a hard time remembering a long URL.

If you're new to podcasting, you will want to make sure that you spread the message clearly to your prospects all across the internet. Make sure you go to Feedburner to get an easy RSS feed that website publishers can use to put your content onto their website. This will only mean more traffic, subscribers, and sales for your business.

Take these podcasting tips and use them to take your internet business to the next level. By the time that you do, you'll have a good chance of getting more of what you want out of your business, in a short period of time.

Good luck with using these tips to earn more money with podcasting today.

The Universe Is Just There

"The Universe is just there, and that's all there is," is a famous phrase by philosopher Bertrand Russell. Many people believe this to be a satisfying answer to the age-old mystery; where did we come from?

Both Philosophy and Cosmology are able to trace their roots back to Ancient Greece where the first 'scientists' looked up at the heavens and contemplated the sky above. Aristotle, one of the most renowned Greeks in theological history, wrote that; "It is owing to their wonder that men both now begin and at first began to philosophize; they wondered originally at the obvious difficulties, then advanced little by little and stated difficulties about the greater matters, e.g. about the phenomena of the moon and those of the sun and the stars and about the origin of the universe.

The question of why the universe exists remains the ultimate mystery, and in my opinion, rightly so. There are hundreds of reasons why the purpose of our lives should remain a mystery, not least of which to find that we do not in fact have any purpose at all. Many great men and women have argued and explained their points of view as to why they believe that our reason for existence should be kept a secret."

Charles Darwin, for example, the first man to theorize evolution believes that "there is no purpose in evolution." Evolution teaches that life has no purpose beyond perpetuating its survival. To deduce this properly, we must understand that if the first premise, that there is no purpose in evolution, and the second premise, life is built around evolution, are both utterly certain, then it must follow that life has no purpose. Edward Humes wrote that the fact of evolution was obvious, but "few could see it, so trapped were they by the human... desire to find design and purpose in the world." This rather bleak realization states very simply that as humans we are often too desperate for answers to slow down and just think about what we see.

Richard Dawkins said that "Humans have always wondered about the meaning of life... Life has no higher purpose than to perpetrate the survival of DNA... Life has no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference." Meanwhile, professor Lawrence Krauss expressed the purposelessness of evolution as "We're just a bit of pollution... If you got rid of us... The universe would largely be the same... We are completely irrelevant."

The 16th Century English philosopher Francis Bacon argued that the concept of purpose in nature is anthropomorphic, meaning that it is centered around humanity. This in its most basic sense implies that as humans who have come up with the concept of purpose, we can only believe that humans are the pinnacle of creation and that everything else only leads up to us. Anthropomorphism is an ingrained tendency to project human qualities and ideals into natural phenomena, whether consciously or not. However this tendency may be wrong and even assumptive. As much as we might like it to be so, we cannot just infer that humans have to be the center of nature without having any prior evidence that such is true.

To be honest I have to agree with all of these points of view. It is comforting that we feel there is more to our lives than we perceive, but what if we are completely wrong? Dinosaurs and mammals of the Pleistocene Age paved the way for humankind by providing oil for our cars and machines with their own corpses, and I am certain that that is not what they felt was the purpose in their lives. They simply got on with surviving and thriving in their harsh conditions as much as possible.

Therefore, I have to ask the question, what if we were to simply pave the way for a greater species in the future? We might not know it yet, and indeed we may never know it, but it could happen! Someday humans will disappear from the face of the earth, and then we really won't matter anymore. I feel as though we should have a more hedonistic view of life, seeking pleasure and contentment. The human life is so immediate, so small and quick in the vast stretch of time in which the universe has been expanding.

Why do we waste our time fighting petty wars and arguing about whose idea for the purpose of living is right? Instead we could just be living and trying to find that by ourselves. When you consider that if you laid out the timeline of the universe onto the length of a football pitch, that the entire history of humanity can be marked on that timeline with the sharp point of a small pin, it really revolutionizes your ideas of our significance. In that small time we have made ourselves the very worst we could be, though many consider that the purpose of living is to be good and prepare for the afterlife.

I am an agnostic theist, and as such I do not follow a certain religion. I have my own views about faith and about humanity which others may share, and as an educated girl, brought up in a Catholic faith, I can question my own beliefs and decide for myself what I believe in. Personally, I believe that there is a higher being than ourselves, as some deity had to have created us. However, I do not believe that we have sufficient mental capacity to comprehend this, and therefore we will never truly understand the purpose of ourselves and of the universe. Humanity does not and will never possess the required knowledge to justify the beliefs that many religions hold.

I do not mean then that I do not believe that all religions are fraudulent, only that it does not matter. We are constantly fighting over religious beliefs, to see who is right and who is wrong. We judge each other and kill each other and argue incessantly over the same thing said in a different way. The idea of religion is not able to proved or falsified and therefore the fight is utterly pointless. I feel it is right to believe in something. Humans need that idea of hope and salvation to survive. If all of humanity were nihilists, that is to believe in nothing including love and success, then we would never have progressed past the stone age.

We should all slow down, learn to accept other people's views as possible alternatives to our own beliefs and just live for ourselves. We sometimes feel that we are not wanted or needed, and indeed the world does not want us. However we exist, and we know this because we think. René Descartes coined the term 'cogito ergo sum' = I think therefore I am. This means that someone who is wondering whether he or she exists is proof that something exists to do the thinking. This thought forms a foundation of knowledge and while other knowledge may be a figment of imagination, we have to agree that you must first exist to have an imagination.

Because we exist without as it seems, a purpose, we have come to create our own. Immanuel Kant said that "Time, Space and Causation are construct of the Human Mind" and of course we need that sense of order in our lives to make sense of it all, so that we can co-exist harmoniously. We have recognized time as a unit of measurement and we often believe that if we do something, it inevitably causes another thing to happen. Therefore the careers and families that we bring up are not pointless in our minds.

When humanity looked and did not find a purpose, they created their own. We work hard, innovate and procreate and although we do not know where this will lead in the long run, we can assume that as far as our own lives go, reaching the top of the career ladder and raising children to be happy and successful adults, is the basic human purpose.

However, I feel that there may be a far more basic purpose than this. Whoever put us here, whoever created the beautiful world around us (that we are currently destroying) must have had a reason, and in my opinion it was simply to watch us grow. We are good people generally and humankind is kind. To me, in this random and changing universe without a great apparent need, our purpose is just to love each other. It is the basis of almost all religions and it is the instinct of our hearts.

Online Forums: 7 Reasons Why You Should Participate In Them

Online Forums: Why You Should Participate In Them

You can help other people and yourself

When you participate in online forums, the number one thing you should focus on is helping people.

When you focus on helping, and I mean truly helping people, all kinds of good things start happening for you. People start to trust you, bond with you and believe in you.

You start feeling great about yourself as well. Helping people improve their businesses (and themselves) is a terrific feeling!

That can only help you as you run your own business. The more you give of your time and knowledge, the more you, yourself, will benefit.

So, when you go to a forum, look for people you can help. Then help them in the best, most efficient way possible. Then watch your business (and profits) blast off!

You can gain expert status

When you honestly, sincerely, help your fellow forum participants, it won't be long before you are viewed as an expert.

When people look at you as an expert, they will want to know you, work with you and do business with you. That's a good thing - a real good thing.

You can drive traffic to your websites

As you go to different forums giving advice, tips and strategies, you can funnel people through to your website(s); using your signature.

Just make sure that you don't blatantly promote your sites or you can get yourself banned from the forum(s). Remember, you want to focus on helping people. You will be well-rewarded for doing so.

You can get great product ideas

Another great benefit of helping out in forums is that you can find great ideas for products. Pay close attention to the questions that are being asked over and over again.

That's a clue that people are having trouble with that particular subject. It is something that you may be able to capitalize on.

Once you know what people are having trouble with, you do your research, come up with a solution, and you have a potentially huge money-maker on your hands!

You can create joint venture deals

Forums are great places to find people who are willing to work on joint venture deals with you. Think about it. In many cases, they are interested in the same things that you are.

They have the same types of ideas that you do. They have similar motivations as you do. And they are often looking for JV partners. This could gain you some big profits very quickly.

You can get answers to your questions

If you have questions, one great way to get them answered is by visiting forums.

When you participate in forums, you will invariably come across people who have answers to any questions that you may have.

So, while you can use forums as a way to help people, don't forget that you can also get help while you're there.

You can network with like-minded people

Being in a forum that caters to your industry or deals with your particular niche can sometimes be like being part of a big mastermind group.

Working online can often be a lonely job. The support of fellow forum members can make you feel like part of a team. This can give you a huge mental boost, energize you and propel you towards reaching your goals.

Don't underestimate this. Even under the best of circumstances, we all need support from time to time. And that support just may be the greatest reason of all for participating in online forums.

Home Spun Schools - Teaching Children at Home What Parents Are Doing and How They Are Doing It

In this day and age we often find that, the more we know the more we still have to learn. Whether it is in discovering that the moon or Mars may contain water to finding new species of ocean life, we continually come to the conclusion that there is much left to discover and learn about our universe and about ourselves.

This is also the case when it comes to the field of education. It wasn't that long ago that children were receiving formal education in a one room schoolhouse with all age groups in attendance. This well-meant approach quickly revealed many problems. In addition to the difficulty controlling the older children to not unduly influence other children of a younger age, there was the problem of reaching all minds with the standard curriculum regardless of age or level of comprehension.

Thus, it was in the best interest of children that we began addressing these discrepancies by assigning grade levels deemed appropriate to their age level. This was a marked improvement to teaching according to comprehension level to a great degree, with one exception: it was discovered that, regardless of same age to grade assignment, many children weren't comprehending the curriculum at the same level as others in their peer grouping.

Enter the specialized educational opportunities commonly referred to as private or special education geared to individual ability. However, the standard form of education still remained within the public educational format. It was apparent though that neither of these venues were completely satisfying. Either the private schooling was economically out of reach for many children in need of special education or the public system was still too much in the cookie cutter mold mentality. In recent years, there has emerged a third form of education: homeschooling.

In addition to the concerns of parents as to the quality of education their children receive within the private or public school system, there is also a very real concern as to what type environment their precious children are being exposed to. It has become apparent to many that the private and public school systems are becoming less about educating children as they are more about indoctrinating them into a world view contrary to the wishes of many parents.

Into this field of concern come pioneers to the homeschooling movement Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore. The many years of research and documentation have led them to the forefront of this latest phenomenon to educating today's children. Among the many books they have published over the years, one of those books is titled "Home-spun Schools".

This book offers two vitally needed areas of information for any parent considering homeschooling their child: the testimony of the parents themselves and the legalese to know where to turn, so you don't run afoul of the laws pertaining to homeschooling in your state.

There are chapters covering a wide range of everyday citizens desirous to take control of their children's education and, by default, their future. Every walk of life is represented in "Home-spun Schools" to give you the encouragement needed when considering the option of homeschooling. There are entries from bankers, builders, dentists, nurses, as well as teachers and single parents.

In addition, in chapter 13 titled "How To Deal With The Law" you will find common sense approaches to determine the legal rights you have as a parent to home school your child. There are test cases as well as a wide range of information to ensure you are standing on legal ground.

In "Home-spun Schools" the Moores have painstakingly documented the voice of all of us, as well as given us a solid start regarding the law, to provide incredible evidence that children deserve the best opportunity to succeed in their education and their life, and that can include the decision to home school.

5 Best Biography Books You Should Read In 2013

John Quincy Adams - "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader."

Haven't you felt like getting shot in the arm at some time or the other - times when you find it difficult to go with the flow of life and need to look up to others for getting inspired. Going through some good biography books i.e. those written on the life of great leaders, reformers, entertainers, political and religious figures can be a nice idea. A glimpse into their life is always encouraging. It is always motivating to see how they handled their lives during the ebbs & flows and can buck you up in the darkest hours. Here are some biography books that you can look forward to read in 2013:

1. I'll Do It My Way: The Incredible Journey of Aamir Khan

This celebrity biography book is written by Christina Daniels. We know that Aamir Khan has always trailed a different path in whichever movie he has acted in or directed. This book, written in the form of filmography and centering on his notable 21 films, backtracks his journey of evolution from a struggling star to his rise and shine in the tinsel town. To write the book, Daniels has taken into consideration the stand of people from film fraternity like Raj Kumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, R.O. Mehra and many more who have been the part of the films he has acted in or directed. Grab your copy today and know what makes the actor so versatile.

2. Steve Jobs: The Man Who Thought Different

What can be said about a man who revolutionized the world with his innovative products and inspired us with messages like: "Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me... Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful... that's what matters to me." Yet this book by Karen Blumenthal is a nice attempt to explore more about his life. The book is a peep into Job's life which was unpredictable from the very beginning. How this college dropout procreated Apple in a garage at the age of twenty only, maintained an innovative approach to life, kept alive his zest for perfection until he breathed his last are the things that this book focuses upon. A worth-reading journey of a genius and a visionary par excellence.

3. Rahul

The reporters Jatin Gandhi and Veenu Sandhu have penned what you call a celebrity biography-'Rahul'. Ask an ordinary Indian and what he tells you about Rahul Gandhi would be merely from the perspective of his political engagements and his attempts to connect to the common man. What these authors have brought out in their book is completely different from his public persona. Behind his seemingly idealistic Image lies a real man who has his own influences from life, people from whom he prefers to take advice in different political matters. The journalists have also tried to bring to pass the ways he will carry out his future endeavors.

4. Empire of the Moghul: The Tainted Throne

Famous people from history have always intrigued mankind. This book by Alex Rutherford is the fourth one in the historical biography book series of the Mogul Empire. Like his previous publications, this one is also smeared with savagery, bloodshed, and bestiality of man against man. Jahangir, sitting on the throne of once glorious Mogul throne, is facing betrayal from his own son Khurram. The habit of opium and wine soon get on his nerves and further weaken the edifice of the empire. A captivating account of the true events will keep you hooked till end.

5. Aung San Suu Kyi: A Biography

It is another biography book that is focused on the historical journey of one of the most influential icons of democracy in the third world: Aung San Suu Kyi. Penned by Jesper Bengtsson, the book showcases the arduous yet impressive journey of this iron lady who has been fighting for the cause of peace in Myanmar from several decades now. The book is a canvas of her stand on several important issues and her influences in life including Mahatma Gandhi. While on her journey, she saw the heinous crimes done on Burmese people. The tale also gives a peep into the personal life of Suu Kyi: she could not meet her husband while he was on deathbed as she was not allowed by then government to do so. The biography is a worth read for all who believe that life sacrificed for others is the life indeed.

How to Always Get Targeted Internet Traffic

Web traffic is a very important thing for an online business. It is through web traffic that one meets his future clients. Internet traffic will always make your business grow and expand to wider markets while making you the money you are looking for at the same time. It is through web traffic that you get people to know of the kind of products that you are dealing with.

Below are a few tips that will help you in driving up your web traffic.

By using internet marketing technique one is bound to attract a lot of traffic to the intended website. Internet marketing requires you to be in the know on the latest marketing skill and also the current taste and preferences out in the market. Always give a feedback on blogs that are related to your site. By doing this you may grab for yourself some new customers and drive some traffic to your website. This can also be driving home a point on what you do. By doing this your potential customers will have some confidence in you even before they visit your website. By blogging you can also reach out to a wider number of people. You can use also your blog to introduce the products you have. In addition people who like your articles and ideas will always visit your website more often and they may also make purchases which will drive your sales up. You are also encouraged to participate in forums where like-minded people congregate. This can lead to the sharing of ideas and skills which might open up new windows and opportunities in business. You could also learn new techniques for your business in these virtual meeting places. By writing some good articles on your website and blog pages you can also get genuine customers who will be interested in your products. You could also add videos to showcase success stories to your potential customers; or even videos to introduce the variety of products you have to offer. Video links are a big hit in online marketing these days and can generate a lot of website traffic. The good thing with video links is that they attract a lot of attention, especially for the younger generation. These videos can be posted on sites like YouTube which has a lot of visitors. Another way of generating internet traffic to your website is through the customization of your email signature. Experts had proven that in internet marketing, an email is one critical factor to get you going. By having an email signature on the bottom of your email, your audience will always have a way of getting back to you if they are interested in your products. An email link will always give the impression to the people that they are dealing with an honest person. They may even visit your website through the signature link. There is that possibility that they will visit and see what you have to offer. This will always generate a lot of traffic to your website and drive your sales up.

Book Summary: How To Work With Just About Anyone

"I just can't seem to get along with this person!"

Every office has that one difficult person to work with, who affects productivity due to a terrible attitude, chronic tardiness, or simply drives everyone else up the wall. Here is the answer to common problems in conflict management. Dealing with negative behavior, whether at work or at home, can be solved with three steps:

Get to the heart of the matter.

Determine what problem-solving methods to avoid so you don't perpetuate the conflict.

Choose a different, surprising approach to solve the problem and keep it solved.

Finally, here is your key to some peace and sanity in the workplace, drawn from forty years of research and professional experience in consulting on the prevention and management of nonproductive behavior.

How difficult behavior is reinforced:

People use the same solution that never brings new results. The answer is to try something radically different. Employ a totally new approach and choose your response carefully.

Why we fail to change negative behavior:

1. We are caught in the web of our own logic.

2. We don't realize we are doing the same things over and over.

3. We can't think of anything better to try.

This three-question formula can lead you to a new strategy:

1. What is the primary problem? Be specific. How exactly does it affect productivity?

2. What have you been doing about your problem so far? Identify the logic of your favorite solution.

3. What do you need to do instead? You need to undo what your ineffective solution did. Attack with a brand new set of weapons.

Focus on the facts. Figure out what the heart of the matter is:

1. List all the issues affecting you.

2. Decide which issue or who in particular is bothering you the most.

3. Encircle the issue or person's name on your list.

4. Focus on what you circled. List all the things that bother you about this person.

5. Now pick the problem to work on. If you could only fix one item on the list, and had to live with all the others, what would you choose?

6. Then with the particular problem chosen, spell out specifically: Who is doing what that presents a problem, to whom, and how is this behavior a problem?

The 4 ways to get bogged down in "whys" and therefore confused by superfluous issues:

1. Focusing on possible reasons for someone's behavior

2. Speculating about what the person is up to

3. Labeling behavior instead of describing it

4. Worrying about who is right or wrong

Use reverse psychology!

1. Do something unexpected. Sometimes shock tactics or being brutally honest works.

2. Encourage the person to keep doing what it is that is irritating behavior. It is strange but encouraging people to continue their irritating behavior gets them to stop it.

3. Have fun experimenting with your new approaches!

4. Tell someone not to change what he is doing.

5. Create consequences or let the natural consequences of his negative behavior occur.

6. Urge someone to do the annoying actions even more

New Conflict Management Techniques

1. Do not offer a long list of reasons why someone should change. Simply tell them what needs to be done. The more you rationalize or argue the more they will resist. You will be wasting time and energy.

2. In the face of constant criticism, silently take note of what is being said, then read the notes back - instead of actively defending each point.

3. Make statements ("Unless it creates a problem for you, I'm going to do X")

4. Give a specific compliment to the other party in a conflict. ("I like the way you presented your report - your lineup of facts made it easy to follow") It catches them off-guard and makes him/her less defensive.

5. Excuse yourself for a minute in the midst of a heated discussion to go to the toilet instead of escalating the argument.

6. Hold back for thirty minutes instead of rushing to fix a problem for someone else.

Other "happy workplace" tips:

1. Keep an open mind about why the person behaves in such a manner.

2. See both sides of the situation, not just yours.

3. Be very specific when analyzing the problem. Make a mental videotape of the behavior.

4. Notice when it isn't happening. Understand why. You may have overlooked something you did that didn't result in the other person's annoying behavior.

5. Find someone with immunity and see how he or she successfully handles the troublesome behavior that you're struggling with.

By: Regine P. Azurin and Yvette Pantilla http://www.bizsum.com "A Lot Of Great Books....Too Little Time To Read" Free Book Summaries Of Latest Bestsellers and More!

mailto:freenewsletter@bizsum.com BusinessSummaries is a BusinessSummaries.com service.

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Hard Drive Crash? The Essential Data Recovery Report

Your worst nightmare just became a horrifying reality. You keep hearing that little voice in your head mockingly shout "you should have backed that stuff up" The voice keeps echoing throughout your head as you perform a quick inventory all of the important information that you just lost.....your client database, a years worth of e-mail, your entire inventory database, even your family photos.

Even worse, you've got a deposition in two-weeks and key information needed to help win the case were also lost. You quickly call a service technician and have them come over to check the computer out, only to hear the worst news of all....your data has been lost. When a hard drive crashes, it's too late to worry about what you "should have done."

Today data recovery is a multi-million dollar industry. The number of data recovery firms out there seems to exceed the number of fast food restaurants for the entire planet. These companies specialize in helping their clients retrieve data on anything from hard drives to flash-roms. In the following report, we will discuss what data recovery really is; the different types, the costs, and what you can realistically expect when it comes to getting your data recovered.

What To Do In The Event Of Data Loss?

Around 44% of all data loss is caused by hardware failure. It's important to make sure that you immediately shut your system down if you suspect that hard drive has crashed. Don't even try to go through the shutdown procedure, just pull the plug from the wall. Do not try to run off the shelf data recovery software or drive utilities. Many times these applications will assume the drive is functioning properly and will increase the risk of permanent data loss.

Types Of Hard Drive Failure

When we discuss data recovery in this report, we will primarily focus on issues surrounding hard drive failures; since these types of failures are most common. There are really two primary forms of failure in a hard drive, logical and physical. Logical failures are usually a result of file-system corruption. This can occur due to a virus, accidental deletion of key files or registry components, and in some cases even electro-static discharge. In most cases where a logical failure has occurred, the drive is still recognized by the system BIOS, but it will not boot. In most cases, your data should still be intact on the drive, even though it may appear to be inaccessible.

If the system BIOS does not detect the presence of the hard drive, then chances are a physical failure has occurred. Physical failures can result from a wide variety of causes. There are really two sub-categories for physical hard drive failures; mechanical and electronic. Mechanical failures usually result from a failure of the spindle motor. Spindle motor failure can result from excessive heat due to a bearing failure. The increased heat resulting from the bearing failure will expand the drive shaft and therefore seize the spindle motor. Suddenly, your drive will become inoperative. Occasionally, you will get a warning that something bad is about to happen. You may hear a loud whining, a grinding noise, even high-pitched screeches. If anything like this starts to occur, BACK UP YOUR DATA IMMEDIATELY.

Another physical issue that sometimes rears its ugly head is an electronic failure. If you look at a hard drive you will notice a circuit board on the bottom. This board is basically the brains of the drive, and it is where the computer interfaces to the hard drive. An electrical failure can occur unexpectedly at any time. Even brand new hard drives are not totally immune to having electrical failures. Sometimes it's just a faulty component, sometimes it's improper installation (i.e. electro-static discharge, grounding out the board, damaging circuitry during installation). It's important to also keep your system clean and well ventilated, since excessive heat can damage the electrical components on the drive. If you have a system that is in a somewhat contained area, you may look at adding an additional 80mm fan to cool the internal components of the system, especially the hard drive. No other component of a computer works as much as the hard drive, and therefore it is vitally important not to overlook it when cooling issues arise.

How Is My Data Recovered?

One of the most often asked questions that customers ask is, "how do you get my data back?" Well, it's really not black magic or rocket science. It's just a matter of having the right tools and the knowledge necessary to know what to do, much like a surgeon performing heart by-pass surgery. Many prominent data recovery facilities have a large array of hardware, software and tools for recovering data.

Generally speaking when a hard drive is received by a data recovery firm, the first thing they do is evaluate it, and determine what recovery solution will be necessary. If the drive failure is a logical issue as mentioned earlier, then a scan of the drive will be performed to try and repair the file system corruption. Sometimes a partition can be repaired and the drive restored to the status that it was before the failure. If this is not possible, then a very low-level scan will be performed that essentially searches every sector of the hard drive for files. Once the files are located, they can then be copied to the media of choice, i.e. a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or another hard drive. Logical recoveries can take up an enormous amount of time, especially if the drive is on the verge of physical failure. It's not uncommon to allow for one day of scanning and a day for recovering the found files.

If the drive has suffered a physical failure, then the recovery procedure is quite a bit more challenging. As mentioned above, there are really two sub-categories of physical failure; mechanical and electronic. An important element in recovering data from a physical failure is having the necessary parts to get the drive functioning again. Unfortunately with hard drives if you have a 20GB Maxtor Hard Drive for example, then you will need another identical 20GB Maxtor Hard Drive for salvaging parts. In cases where the electronic circuit board has failed on the hard drive, then you have to have the exact same circuit board on hand in order to retrieve the necessary circuit components for replacement. Many times you cannot even exchange circuit board for circuit board. These repairs generally require soldering skills and a thorough knowledge of electronics to be successfully completed. You will most likely hear "Class100 Clean Room" thrown around a lot when talking to data recovery professionals. Simply stated, a Class100 Clean Room maintains exceptional air purity, and contains less than 100 airborne particles larger than 0.5 microns in each cubic foot of air. This is vital in protecting sensitive internal components of hard drives. Anytime a hard drive is having an invasive procedure performed on it, a Class100 clean room or better is needed.

The time frame for recovery is generally 5-10 business days for physical issues and 2-4 days for logical issues. Sometimes if components are not readily available, then it may take weeks to complete the recovery. Some firms offer expedite service and you definitely pay for this added attention.

What About Data Recovery Software

This is one area where you really do get what you pay for. Try to stay away from software in the $20-$60 range, since these utilities are generally very limited in what they can do. Also make sure that you NEVER and just to emphasize, NEVER EVER get data recovery software that writes anything at all to the damaged disk. You run the risk of overwriting data that may otherwise have been recoverable, but will be lost forever. If you are fairly computer savvy, then there are a few good data recovery software solutions available.

What To Look For When Shopping For Data Recovery

There's an old saying, "you get what you pay for." In most cases this is true. However, just because a company with a fancy website quotes you $3,500 for data recovery, does not mean that they are any better than a company that quotes you $1,500. Also, try to stay away from companies that want to charge $50-$300 for evaluating your drive. There has been a movement in the data recovery industry over the last couple of years to offer a number of free services. Most reputable data recovery companies will evaluate standard IDE drives free of charge; so don't let the word "free" this or "free" that stop you. The data recovery market is quickly becoming saturated, and a company does not necessarily cheapen itself or lack expertise by offering free evaluations.

You will find as you shop around for data recovery that prices vary greatly. You will get quotes that range from $300 to $5,000 for standard hard drive recoveries. It's not uncommon to literally get quotes that have at least a $1,500 high/low spread. We shopped one prominent data recovery company where we gave them specific indicators of a physical hard drive failure. We were eventually quoted a price range of $600 to $2,900 for the recovery. Many times this is a bait and switch type tactic. They get you to send in the drive with the low-end $600 price, then they let you know it's going to cost $2,100 for the recovery. You end up being well under the $2,900 high-end price, but well over what other reputable companies would charge. Since most customers won't go through the pain of having the drive sent back, only to have to send it out to another company, these bait and switch companies end up making huge profits off of unsuspecting customers.

Try to find a company that will give you an up front cost for either a logical or physical recovery. Most companies will be able to tell you within a couple hundred dollars the cost of a recovery. However, don't misunderstand a company that gives you a price for two different procedures. For example, some companies will give you a price if the failure is logical and a price if the problem ends up being physical. We called one firm and were told that if the drive had a logical failure the price would be $400 and if it ended up being a physical issue the price would be $1,600. This is not a high/low spread as mentioned in the earlier example, this is simply quoting a price for two different types of recoveries.

On average you can expect to pay anywhere from $400 to $600 for logical recoveries, and $1,200 to $2,000 for physical recoveries on standard IDE hard drives. If you have RAID drives, SCSI, etc. depending on the configuration prices can be as high as $15,000. Remember, backup backup backup backup backup!!

Can My Data Be Recovered?

In most cases the answer to this question is yes. On average, the success rate for data recovery professionals is about 75-85%. However, there are times when the data is just lost, either due to extensive damage to the platter or unavailability of replacement parts.

How Do I Get Started?

If you have a hard drive that has crashed, the most important thing you can do is contact a data recovery professional immediately. Make sure you aren't being charged an evaluation fee if you have a standard IDE hard drive. Most companies only charge evaluation fees for complex RAID and network server drives.

It is important to do your homework, call and talk with the companies. When you find one that you feel comfortable with, give them a chance. Your hardest job, may be finding data recovery firms that actually have someone available to answer the phones. Ask questions and be sure to have the following information available:

Size of the drive

Operating system (i.e. Windows 98, Windows XP, etc.)

Situation of failure (what happened just before the drive stopped working)

Is the drive recognized by the computer or not

Good luck in getting your data recovered, and make sure you always backup your important information on a daily basis.

Often Invasive Species Don't Appear to Be a Problem At First - Then All of a Sudden, Wham!

Not long ago, I had the opportunity of attending a University lecture, and the talk was given by one of the top research scientists in invasive species. He noted something that was very interesting; often invasive species might be noticed in an area for quite a while before they became a real problem. That is to say they were in an unfamiliar place, and were growing in numbers, but weren't really hurting anything, or unbalancing the local ecosystem much. They were there, sure, but no real problems at first.

However, much like bacteria colonies operate; once the colony reaches quorum they begin to get quite aggressive - the same occurs with invasive species; pushing out the existing local native species in the ecosystem. Perhaps the biggest question is why? Well, I do have some educated guesses and theories on this I'd like to submit them to you if I might.

It seems when the colonists came to the New World, they were not much problem for the local native Indians except maybe eating the corn seeds to survive that the Indians had saved to plant the next season. Other than that, it turns out both groups became friends, working together, helping one another survive. Perhaps you recall the feasts they had at Plymouth Rock area, later this tradition turned into what we know is Thanksgiving.

However, as the colonists grew in numbers, and more people came over, eventually the new settlers took over. Now then, consider bad bacteria in the body, it often just hangs out, growing its numbers, but not bothering to attack the system, or the good bacteria. However, all of a sudden it seems as if they activate and go after the host. One might ask; why they do this if they are living fairly comfortably inside of that nice new ecosystem?

Now then, also consider Locust, they don't seem to swarm until there are too many of them eating up the vegetation, and then one day they all get really aggressive and go on a rampage. In that case eat up everything in sight, for miles in fact on their journey.

It seems that from small to large, from bacteria to insects to mammals invasive species have similar characteristics when they find themselves in a new domain, new area, or thrust into a new ecosystem. It seems to me that we could study charts and immigration patterns of humans around the planet, or bacteria in the body, and come up with nice mathematical modeling which would help us study the spread of invasive species; for us to get a better understanding. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

The Need of a Fixed Layout ePub Conversion

Defining a Fixed Layout ePub

An ePub file that has been formatted such that it is having a specific layout for each of the page likes a physical book is known as fixed layout ePub. Earlier eBooks were converted into reflow able content where the text that gets displayed changes itself to fit the screen for various e-readers.

Fixed ePub layout is considered as one alternative to the dynamic ePub to create eBook having "fixed layout". By doing this the page will stay in the same layout irrespective of the device and the screen size which would be like seeing an exact copy of the printed page. The page will look the same as the printed page layout. The user has to zoom in and pan around to see the details or to make the small text visible. This format has proved to be ideal for highly illustrated children's novels.

Let us have a look on the good side of the format:

Layouts are kept in special format books - Advantage of these ePub format is mainly seen with the books which are image rich, heavily designed like the children books, textbooks, comic books, fashion magazines, travel books, cook books etc. The layout of these books are the most important thing for communication. Zooming - One more advantage includes zooming option that the readers can zoom the images they want to see and can check for the specific details. The traditional ePub allow the users to increase the font size for clear visibility; but they do not allow the images to get enlarged for better viewing. The zooming option of these conversion service makes it easier for the reader to see the detailed images. Better page breaks - These fixed layout ePub allow for better page breaks as they are not automated but are being set in advance. Smaller files - The files are comparatively smaller than any other formats, like PDF.

Now we will put some light on the negative points of this format:

Compatibility - It is only compatible with Apple readers who are using Apple iPad, iPhone. More complexity - These ePub format are complex if we compare these with the traditional ePub formats like PDF. These complex features make these fixed layout ePub files more complicated. Smaller text - As we know that fixed layout ePub have to adjust the entire page of content on the screen of an e-reader. Sometimes the text is very small than the text displayed on the traditional ePub. This makes it even difficult to read. Unlike the text of the traditional ePub, you cannot increase the font size. If you want to read the larger text, you have to zoom in on a particular page. This results in the loss of the visual appearance of the page and it cause more ups-and-downs and side-to-side scrolling.

Fixed layout ePub Conversion Services offer a valuable and powerful tool for making eBooks look professional and perform well. Publishers need to redesign the pages so that they should get the device well fitted before using. This may include increasing the text size, removing the details from the page, and reducing the image size.