Why You Should Stop Smoking Right Now

You already know that every cigarette that you smoke reduces your life by at least 4 - 5 minutes; this is a fact that cannot be disputed. It affects your health and your bank balance. So why don't you STOP Smoking? The argument about the possibility of your getting hit by a bus may be true, but let's face it, you're probably more likely to be hit while you're lighting up... You cannot really justify smoking in this day and age; where the 'benefits' of not smoking are clearly visible.

For the uninitiated, here's a brief on the potential health effects if you don't stop smoking. Each cigarette contains a range of carcinogenic (cancer causing) chemicals such as nicotine, carbon monoxide, and tar which enters your lungs with each puff of smoke that you inhale, and while this may give you a temporary state of well being, the long term results can be rather disastrous.

Nicotine, the primary chemical at work, is highly addictive, thereby making smoking one of the hardest addictions to give up. Carbon monoxide is what you would find in car exhausts, something that can kill rather quickly if overdosed upon.

Your body does not respond very well when subjected to abuse in the form of cigarette smoke, and a variety of medical ailments are attributed to smoking. These include various forms of cancer, heart and cardiovascular diseases, emphysema, bronchitis, etc.

In Australia alone around 18,000 people die each year due to the various medical conditions that arise from smoking. This number exceeds the total number of deaths that occur due to road accidents and murders, drug & alcohol related deaths, as well as deaths due to natural calamities.

But the damage doesn't just stop with your health; second hand smoke can have disastrous health effects on your friends, colleagues, your spouse, and your kids. If you won't stop smoking for yourself, would you stop smoking for your kids' health?

Data also shows that out of the entire money that is spent on fighting drug abuse in Australia, a staggering 47% goes in addressing tobacco dependency, either in the form of costs towards heath care or towards mortality costs.

So if you do intend to stop smoking, doing it now is the best way to ensure that you do no further damage to your body. And a real bonus is the money that you will save in the long run.

Why Copywriting In Your Doctor's Office Can Give You An Incredible Edge Over Your Competition

If you'd like to become really good at writing bullet points...and do it without having to copy out other bullet points by hand or spending hours on end studying your swipe file...then this article will show you how.

Listen to this:

Next time you get one of your favorite magazines in the mail...or even if you are reading one in your doctor's waiting room...start taking note of the different "headlines" on the cover before you start reading it.

And as you're reading, whenever you come across a nugget of info like that sort of "wows" you -- and that makes you sit up straight and say, "gee, I didn't know that before!" -- condense it into a bullet point and compare it with the ones you saw on the cover.

Then simply ask yourself (or, even better, someone else) if yours is better? More interesting? More dramatic?

If not, keep playing around with that nugget of info until your bullet is more interesting, shocking and dramatic than the ones dotted on the cover.

At first, and especially if you're new to this, yours will probably be a bit rough and maybe not so good.

And that's okay.

Just keep reading and playing around with the words.

Take the interesting info you find and put a twist on it.

Make it a "can't be done" (i.e. something that sounds almost impossible) statement.

See if you can't play around with the words and make it so it would be almost impossible for someone not to notice.

Again, if you haven't written a lot of bullets and headlines, this will be a bit of a struggle at first. But don't worry. It gets easier. And not only does it get easier...but you will find yourself getting really good at this over time. Eventually, it will even be fun for you.

If you don't believe me, try it yourself.

Grab a magazine -- like Cosmo, Men's Health, Popular Mechanics, etc -- and start reading and digging out bullets. Doing so will not only be entertaining for you, but it will also give you an incredible edge over your competition.

Reasons To Get Tile Installed Professionally

If you plan on getting tile installed in your house, then you must use a professional to ensure that it is done right. A lot of people think that they can do it all themselves and you might be able to, however, tile that is installed professionally will last 3 times longer and is more durable. Just use a professional and you will not regret it. I know it will cost you a little bit more money, but in the end it will all be worth it.

One thing that you need to understand about professional tile installers is that they don't have a set price, so you can always get them to go down. This is great news for most people because a lot of homeowners think that they must pay the tile installer the exact price they give them. Below you will see some tips that will help you get a much better deal on the professional install.

Advice On Getting Tile Installed Professionally And Save Money

Ask For A Lower Price - One of the best things that you can do in order to get a lower price is to just ask for it. A lot of professionals will give you a slightly lower price if they think the job will be easier than normal jobs or if they like you. Just ask because it will not hurt you in any way if they say no.

Be The Assistant - Where you aware of the fact that many professionals hire an assistant to come help them and you pay for that? This is something that you can do because their assistant is pretty much there to run and get them tools, more tiles and things like that. Just ask if you can be their assistant and how much that will save you.

Get All The Supplies - Something else I would highly recommend is that you buy anything that the tile installer needs. By getting all the things the tile installer needs you will be able to save a good amount of money and you will know exactly what everything will cost. Just try this and see how much it saves you.

If your goal is to save money, then you must use the things above in order to get a better deal. Remember, it is better to use a professional than to try and do the tile install yourself. I know it will cost you a little bit of money, however, it is well worth it and that is why I recommend it.

Mediteran Restaurant in St. Petersburg, Florida

The misspelled title may be an error in the language translation on the part of the foreign owner or a plan to draw attention. His probable flaws in spelling, he makes up for in charm. Branislaw Butina is a short man with brown rustled hair and a quick smile. It's not about him though, it's about the food. One of few places to get genuine Baltic food in St. Petersburg, The Mediteran Restaurant will have people from that region coming back and those of other ethnicities like me, in disbelief at the portion sizes and wondering about the recipes. He is not willing to disclose how he makes his ground meat based dishes look like real steak.

A Serbian neighbor and some of his other converts tried to explain the size of Butinas's Pljeskavica. I said, "That's what they all say." He and I took our bicycles to the 4th Street restaurant ready for refreshment. In the cooler behind the counter I spied Pepsi, the old-fashioned way, in the small glass bottles, perfect to start. Since I couldn't read the menu very well and I did not know what was good, Pedja ordered for me.

There was another Serbian man sitting at the counter and the three of them talked and talked in their language giving me plenty of time to occupy myself looking around the place. It definitely lacked a woman's touch but that did not take away from the good atmosphere. It was small with about six tables and with mismatched chairs. Imitation plants stood in the corners. The walls held pictures without much thought to real decor.

The cabinets behind the guest counter where Butina began preparing our meals were bright purple. Attached to the front were his advertisings of cappuccinos and espressos. I had cappuccino for dessert, it was great.

A family with two teenagers ate their meal at one of the small tables and many times people entered the place to order something or pick up take-out food. As soon as my plate was placed in front of me I said, "This is ridiculous." The meat was eight inches in diameter and fell a couples inches out of the sides of the special homemade bread and over the edge of the plate.

After looking at Pedja, Butina, and back again, I tried to figure out why he had brought me steak. I knew that's not what I was expecting. Politely speaking to me in English he said it was ground meat and Butina had a secret for making it this unique texture. I kept saying as I cut through the sandwich trying to form manageable bites, "This is steak."

Served with pepperochini, red onions, and sour cream I wanted to stop eating but could not. There seemed to be a lot of spices infused into the meat, as a matter of fact, Butina had asked me how I handled spice before he made it perfectly for me. The meat seemed airy but not spongy; I wish I knew how he did it. He would be happy to sell the meat after he had prepared it, but he wasn't going to tell us how he did it. As an American that has enjoyed Indian, Lebanese, Thai, Italian, Hungarian, Greek, and maybe some other kinds of ethnic food, I felt the story about this Baltic treasure had to be told. People should go to The Mediteran Restaurant and experience these flavors.

The name can be deceiving, before my friend taught me otherwise; I would expect Greek or Italian cuisine. I was surely ignorant but if you are also, check this place out. I ate as much as I could and still had a full meal left. -notes to follow-

Mediteran Restaurant 6500 4th St N St. Petersburg FL 33702 727-526-4466 Mon- Sun 7am-9pm closed Tue.

Do You Feel Like You Are Raising Chickens? A New Strategy for Whining

"AggiEEEEEE! Don't take my car from meEEEEEE!"

"MommEEEEE!!!! Seth hurt meEEEEEEEEEE!"

My children know how to hit that perfect pitch, the one that makes the little hairs on my neck stand up and my eyelid twitch. Their little crises are so urgent! Their hunger pains are so intense! Their needs are so dramatic! They sound like squawking chickens, and it makes me a little crazy.

How crazy? I grit my teeth when they come running to me, and I think my left eye is starting to twitch. I have tried to reason with them. I have attempted bribery. I have tried various forms of incentive-based behavior modification. I am done with those tactics. I am crazy enough to try a completely new strategy.

"Kids, if you are going to talk to me like squawking chickens, I am only going to reply like a chicken." They laugh and roll their eyes, not taking me seriously.

Then, five minutes later...

"MommEEE! I was tryEEEEng to make my bed but AggiEEEE-"

"SQUAWK!!!! SQUAWK SQUAWK!" says Mommy.

He giggles, takes a deep breath, then continues in a normal voice, "Mommy, I was trying to make my bed but Aggie wants the pillow on the top but I rEEAALY want it- (slipping into whining again)

"SQUUUUAAAAAAWWK!!!" say I.

It took about five tries, but he finally got the whole story out without a single whine. I then stopped acting like a chicken myself and helped him solve the problem rationally.

Before long, it was Aggie screeching, "MommEEEEE!"

"SQUUUAAAWK!" I replied.

She suppressed her smile and tried hard to reign in the whining, but could only get to word number three before she was assaulted by mommy squawks once again.

She put her hands on her hips. "Mommy," she said seriously, "I am trying to tell you something."

"All right, then use a nice voice to tell me."

"Mommy. I was going down the slide with my car but Seth is trying to go up and I REEEEALY don't-"

SQQQQQQUUUUAAAWWWKKK!! SQUAWK! SQUAWK!

(deep breath) "and I really don't want him to do that but he woooooooon't-"

SQUAWK!

Exasperated, she walked away from me.

Calmly, she said to her brother, "Seth, could you please stop going up the slide so I can go down?"

"Ok Aggie," he smiled.

I chuckled (or maybe I clucked) as they ran off together.

I wonder if I will have the courage to keep this up in public.

How to Pour Concrete Driveways

Every wonder how the concrete mason pours concrete? They work fast don't they? Here is where it all begins.

Base preparation

Concrete needs a firm, flat sub-surface on which to be placed; much of the concrete's strength depends upon it. Often washed stone or gravel is used to level out parts of the area to be covered with concrete. Small washed stones often referred to as pea-gravel are easy to level with a rake and provide a suitable sub-surface. The level stones also allow your contractor a uniform base from which he can accurately estimate how much concrete will be needed.

Forming

Once the sub-surface is prepared. The next step is to form the perimeter of the project. Forms can be made from any material, but usually wood and metal are most common. Sometimes contractors use masonite, or even plastic for curvy sections. Many residential concrete driveways are 4 inches thick; however driveway thickness can vary up to 6 inches. For a 4 inch thick concrete driveway, usually a wooden 2 inch by 4 inch board is used on its side and placed around the perimeter of the project. Once the form boards are in place, reinforcing wire mesh or reinforcing bars (re-bar) are laid within the project to help either reinforce the concrete or keep it from separating.

Pouring Concrete

Concrete is ordered and delivered from a local batching plant. Concrete is often ordered at pounds per square inch (psi) rating of around 4000psi. This usually means about 6 bags of portland cement to every yard of concrete. When the concrete arrives it usually requires that water be added to achieve the correct consistency or slump.

Screeding

The concrete is placed between the forms. A screed is used to level the concrete. A screed is a straight board or piece of aluminum in the shape of a 2 by 4 board that the contractor uses to level the top of the concrete. Contractors will now begin the finishing process by floating the surface. The tools can be hand floats up to as big as a finishing tool called a bull float. Floats are used to help level and fatten the concrete even further. The aggregate or stones in the concrete are pushed down into the concrete giving the slab a smooth finish. At this time the contractor will likely begin other finishing steps including edging the concrete with an edging tool or hand cutting the slab.

Finishing

After a brief initial drying period, the concrete is ready for final finishing. Drying time can be as little as a few minutes to up to an hour. In places where the concrete will be exposed to the elements, the concrete requires an anti-slip texture to be applied. Often these textures can either be a variation of a magnesium float finish or a broom can be drug across the surface.

Saw Cutting

The concrete slab should be saw cut for stress relief if it wasn't already hand cut during the finishing process. The saw cutting of the slab weakens the concrete where it has been cut so that when the concrete cracks from various pressures it will hopefully crack where it weakest; in the saw cut. The idea is that it is better to have cracks that are straight inside your saw cuts where you can't see them then to have cracks running rampant throughout the slab.

Curing and Sealing

The concrete will need to cure before it can be fully utilized. During this curing process, it will be necessary to apply a curing/sealing product to help the concrete cure slowly and evenly. A curing product will slow the evaporation of water from the concrete helping eliminate potential problems such as cracking. The curing process usually last between 1-2 months; longer if the temperature is cool. The concrete should be cured well enough however for a vehicle to be parked on it in as few as 7-14 days with 14 days being the safer amount of time.

Hot Tip! Purchase the best concrete sealer you can afford. Penetrating sealers are best and will form a permanent bond to your concrete.

Should Large Social Networks Allow Folks to Distinguish Between Friends and Acquaintances?

There is a big difference between friends and family, and there is a big difference between true friends and acquaintances. And might I say that there is a big difference between those who "friend" you on your Facebook or MySpace page, who you've never met, than an acquaintance that you have. If you belong to large social networks, then you probably know what I'm talking about, someone comes along and notes that you have similar hobbies, and similar life experiences, and perhaps you are aligned politically in some way, so they attempted to friend you.

Rather than being antisocial, you allow them to become your friend, however you don't even know if that is a real person, or very much about them other than what they have posted on their Facebook page. There have been situations where rapists, murderers, and degenerate criminals have attempted to friend unsuspecting folks. Then other friends see that they have "friended" other folks that they may know, and they become their friends as well. In other words, someone you would never care to talk to in your life has infiltrated your personal social network of friends. See that point?

Indeed there was a very interesting piece in the New York Times recently titled "Social Networks Offer a Way to Narrow the Field of Friends" by Jenna Worthham and Claire Cain Miller published by May 9, 2011. The article stated that "There are times when you just have to tell your friends about something - but not necessarily your Facebook friends."

It seems like social networks should have a multi-tiered system that allows you to list acquaintances, friends, and others who have just stopped by and perhaps liked a poem you wrote, share similar tastes in music, belong to the same religion, go to the same school, or something of this nature. This would allow them to access certain information on your page, but not all the information about your friends, family, or your next vacation when you will be out of town. This way folks that are only acquaintances, cannot come and rob your house while you're gone.

Indeed it will also allow you a legitimate excuse when someone you don't necessarily know, or for sure know if they are trustworthy "friends you" but indeed turns out to be a person of interest, or a suspect in a crime, or something of this nature. They say you can count your five closest friends on one hand, but many people have hundreds and hundreds of Facebook friends, some of which they've never met before. Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it because this is a problem which needs to be solved as social networks you've all online.

Key Considerations in Planning For the Special Needs of a Loved One

Unexpected costs begin to accumulate when things that a family member has done naturally, and thus taken for granted, can no longer be provided for free. Some examples of these services are companionship and social interaction, financial planning, coaching and general life guidance, and personal care.

Early, comprehensive planning plays a critical role in securing a comfortable and fulfilling future for an individual with special needs. This article will discuss the key factors to consider when developing an overall strategy for the future of your loved one.

Planning for care.

Where is your child or sibling going to live? Will they be able to move in with another family member, or is a group home the best option? Who will make the decision, and once the decision has been made, who will assure they are being well cared for? Parents know best what their child needs, and can make a list of their likes, dislikes and fears to pass on to those who will be providing care. Parents and family members must also begin answering these questions as soon as possible so that secure living and support arrangements are in place.

Providing a guardian.

Do not take anything for granted when choosing a guardian to care for your family member. Laws concerning guardianship are strict, and failure to properly outline your preference for guardians and successor guardians could result in your loved one being forced into the custody of the state. Proper guardianship planning should involve naming more than one guardian so that there is a clear line of care for your loved one should something happen to you or another caregiver.

Establishing a trust.

All parents caring for loved ones with special needs want to provide as much financial assistance for their children as they possibly can. However, it is important to be careful when choosing how to give money or other gifts both to insure that it is managed properly and because receiving the funds can lead to the loss of public benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. Most government benefits programs, including Medicaid, have strict financial eligibility rules, and loss of access to these programs can also cut the beneficiary off from vital community support services.

Setting up a supplemental needs trusts allows a beneficiary to receive gifts and money, including lawsuit settlements, and not lose eligibility for government programs. An attorney can draft a trust so that the funds will not be considered to belong to the beneficiary, thus leaving them eligible for public benefits.

Life Insurance

Life insurance can be purchased and set up so that the benefits fund your loved one's supplemental needs trust. Since it is difficult to anticipate all the costs of future care, the more resources available, the better the outcome will be in terms of support and assistance. If both parents are alive, the cost of insurance that is payable only when the second of the two parents passes away may be surprisingly low.

With proper advice and planning, your loved one with special needs can be well cared for after you are no longer able to provide for them. This article has provided a brief overview of some of the most important issues that need to be considered. Consult with an attorney to ensure that you have covered all of the details and created the best possible comprehensive plan for care.

How To Come Up With New Product Ideas

Have you ever wanted to add new products to your exsisting product line? Obviously one way to do that is to find a product that is already developed and start selling that. Affiliate programs are great for that.

Another thing you can do is develop your own new product. Below are 10 ways you can come up with new product ideas.

Solve an existing problem for people. There are thousands of problems in the world. Create a product that can provide a solution to one of those problems. Find out what's the current hot trend. You can find out what the new trends are by watching T.V, reading magazines and surfing the net. Just create a product that's related to the current hot trend. Improve a product that is already on the market. You see products at home, in ads, at stores etc. Just take a product that's already out there and improve it. Create a new niche for a current product. You can set yourself apart from your competition by creating a niche. Your product could be faster, bigger, smaller, or quicker than you competitor's product. Add on to an existing product. You could package your current product with other related products. For example, you could package a football with a team jersey and football cards. Reincarnate an older product. Maybe you have a book that's out of print and is no longer being sold. You could change the title, design a new front cover, and bring some of the old content up to date. Ask your current customers. You could contact some of your existing customers by phone or e-mail and ask them what kind of new products they would like to see on the market. Combine two or more products together to create a new one. For example, you could take a brief case and add a thermos compartment inside to keep a drink hot or cold. Survey the people who visit your web site. You could post a survey or questionnaire on your web site. Ask visitors what kind of products they would like to see on the market. You could create a new market for your existing product. For example, if you're selling plastic bottles to a pop company, you could turn around and sell those bottles to a fruit drink company.

Hopefully this article will get your mind thinking of ways to come up with new product ideas. There is profit to be made for the business who wants to be different and create a new product.

Copyright 2004 Jeff Schuman