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Owning your own home-based business is by and large a ://www.deccanonline.com/bodylastics-the-workout-for-all-ages/208/’>very rewarding, exciting endeavor. You can set your own schedule, and be where you want, when you want. You can oftentimes forego the commute to a “regular job” and save money on gas and other “niceties” that are expensive in the work-a-day world, such as lunches, parking fees, etc.

There are unexpected pitfalls and disadvantages, though, in the owning and operating of a home-based business. Some are psychological, some are emotional, and others are purely physical. The unexpected stresses of a home-based business are really one of the major obstacles that need to be overcome by business owners. Many new business owners are unprepared for just how much stress is involved, actually.

Home-based business stresses usually fall into three overall categories:

1. Psychological : Employees, Finances, Legal, and Operations

2. Emotional: Family, Friends, Change of Personal Routines, Personal Disruptions, Isolation

3. Physical: Sedentary Lifestyle, Poor Eating Habits, Overwork

Many business owners, in order to prevent the psychological stress will have plans in place for dealing with these particular stress factors, prior to their occurrence. This is a proactive approach that is infinitely better than having a reactive approach to these occurrences.

Each business owner should have a financial plan in place for the times when orders or clients are few and far between (slow times), as well as a good accountant to call when necessary. Each business owner should also have a lawyer who they trust and can turn to for advice if necessary (we do live in a very litigious society). And each business owner should have a plan for sickness among employees and hiring and firing protocols firmly in place. Machinery and replacement of business supplies should also be well planned in advance, and purchased according to well laid out plans for expenditures.

Leadership skills will need to be developed, as a new business owner who is used to being part of a team, will find working alone and “being in charge” a somewhat difficult transition at first. Books on leadership skills abound and it is a good idea to do readings on the development of these to proactively avoid the psychological stress that comes with this change in roles. Working alone and making decisions alone is quite different from the conformity and decisions made within a group.

If a proactive approach is taken, the psychological stresses of a new business can easily be prevented, or at least lessened.

The emotional stresses of a home-based business are usually a bit more difficult to ascertain and tackle when they occur. Some of these stress factors can come directly from well-meaning family and friends, unfortunately, and the approach is of course, much different. Since a home-based business is directly tied usually to the home life of an individual, there is less chance to escape these stresses, than with a traditional method of employment. A new birth in a family, a death of a loved one, illness, or simply a change of schedule of another family member, can greatly impact the daily workings and routine of a home-based business.

In addition, family and friends may view the business owner as “being at their disposal” all day now, as the business owner is now “home” much of the time. These well meaning individuals may call or visit all the time, and also expect the business owner to take care of their needs before the needs of the business. This is simple human nature, but is very distracting for the business owner. The only way this can be successfully overcome is to make plans well ahead of time for any changes in routine, if possible, and adjust the schedule accordingly as the changes occur. Well meaning family and friends need to be told with certainty that there are “business hours” and “personal hours” and a business owner needs to remain firm in their resolve in regard to these issues.

Stressing over emotional stress will just escalate an already stressful situation.

Another unexpected emotional stress comes many times from the feeling of isolation and loneliness that business owners may experience. Business owners many times are unprepared for the time they now find they spend alone within the parameters of their home-based businesses. A home-based business owner, while relieved to leave the workforce, sometimes does not realize that the workforce provided social opportunities that are now missing from their lives. Many hours may be spent alone each day, which can lead to loneliness and even depression in some cases.

The best approach to combating this type of isolation is to actively plan social opportunities. Planned outings with family and friends should be made regularly. Business owners may also join community groups that expose them to other business owners or others within the community. The local Chamber of Commerce and other volunteer groups are a great way to make connections for the business and also enhance the social experiences of business owners. No one can exist in a void, so the social aspects of a business can’t be ignored.

Finally, owning and operating your own home-based business brings with it some purely physical stresses. Like most office jobs, a home-based business can lead to a more sedentary lifestyle, as owners may spend most of their days in the running of the business, either slumped in an office chair, or hunched over a computer, depending upon the requirements of the business. Because of the long hours involved in any business, business owners may also eat “on the run”, grabbing whatever is at their disposal, rather than planning meals, which compromises their nutrition. The sedentary lifestyle and bad eating habits can lead to weight gain and other physical ailments associated with poor eating habits and sedentary lifestyles: high cholesterol, lack of energy, loss of muscle tone, and a deficiency of vitamin D from being indoors more than usual.

The sedentary lifestyle is the easiest however, of the stresses to avoid or to change. All it takes is a dedication to an exercise routine that includes some form of daily physical exercise, and an adherence to a diet that is well planned and nutritious. Just some planning is needed and some will power in order to stay focused on achieving physical activity daily and good nutrition. It would be beneficial, if at all possible, to join a gym or health club, as the physical and emotional stresses can be avoided by belonging to one, as a gym also provides social opportunities. Even a simple walk each day can increase exercise, exposure to sunlight, and create social opportunities.

A tendency to do too much each day, is a syndrome many business owners fall prey to also. Overwork can leave anyone run down, and open to many diseases as the immune system becomes compromised. A business owner is of course, very excited and energetic about the business, which can lead into this syndrome of overwork. A schedule should be maintained to combat this syndrome, with set hours for “doing business” and set hours for “relaxation” included in each day. Trying to do too much all the time just leads business owners into a decrease of productivity, rather than an increase of productivity.

As you can see, having a home-based business, while very rewarding in many ways, can have many deleterious effects on the physical, mental and emotional states of business owners. Many business owners fail to plan for these changes, and yet, if planning is done, the negative effects can be minimized to a great degree.

If a business owner takes care of themselves and their own needs, overall, the business will also profit from this positive behavior! A happy, healthy business owner means a happy, healthy business!

———–
Vishal P. Rao is the owner of Work at Home Forum, an online community of people who work from home.
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Advertising Your Blog In Your Email Signature

If you have a blog that you are particularly proud of,and that you want to share with other people, there are a lot of free ways that you can get your blog noticed.

One of those ways is something that you do everyday,and that you may not even consider as a way to share your blog. Put the link to your blog in your email signature.

Chances are that you send out emails more times that you can count during the day, Each time you send out an email, you can advertise your blog by putting the address of your blog in your email’s signature.

It’s always a good idea to write something catchy like, See what I am up to now, or Read my latest chapter of my fanfic here, depending on what type of blog you have.

The thing to remember about putting an adveritsement in your signature for your blog is to make it short, but eye catching.

You want people to be interested enough to want to click on it, but you also don’t want to scare them off.

Just like it is with any adveritsement, you want to give them just enough to be interested and take a closer look at what it is that you are advertising.

Think about what it is that your blog is about. What is really going to interest people about it and want to visit That is what you should include in your signature, and that is what is going to get people to go to your blog.

Blogger Forums – A Great Place To Advertise Your Blog

No matter what type of blog that you have, one of the best places that you can advertise your blog is to join a blogger forum. After all, everyone who posts there has a blog and thats the main subject.

It’s a great place to meet other bloggers and to advertise your blog.

There are quite a few blogger forums that you can signup for on the Internet. One is known as Bloggeries,where you can show off your blog, get your blog reviewed or review other blogs, and find lots of tools that you can use for your own blog.

Another good place to go is to Blog Forum.

Blog Forum, like Bloggeries, has spots for you to market and show off your blog,

Blogger forums are a great place to advertise because everyone in them are of the same mind and want to make certain that their blogs get noticed and read.

If you use your blog to advertise something that you are selling, or you want to get a lot of traffic to your blog in order to make money, you want to go someplace where it can get exposure.

When you advertise on a blog forum, you know that you are placing your advertisement in a place where blogging is something that people enjoy.

Just remember when you are posting to a forum to read the rules and abide by them. That way you’ll get your blog noticed and you will know that you are doing the

Blogging Directories – Great Advertising Venues

If you want to have more people visit your blog, there are plenty of blog directories on the Internet that you can submit your blog to so that people will come and visit it. Most blog directories are listed by the topics that the blogs that are submitted cover.

Blog Catalog is a free blog directory that offers categories such as career and jobs, writing, Iraq, and many others. It has features such as featured blogs and other things to offer those who submit their blogs there.

Another great place to add your blog is blog-drectory.org. Not only do they have an an extensive list of categories with sub categories, you can get your blog reviewed. For the most popular blogs, it shows the amount of hits that blogs have and if they have any reviews. As well as listing by category, the blogs are also listed by location.

There are other blog directories on the Internet -these are only a couple of them. But blog directories are a great place to advertise your blog and to make new friends. You never know what you will find when you browsing through the directory, and you may just find out information that you never knew. Some of the blog directories offer chat features as well, so that you can meet other people easily.

As you can see, blog directories are a great place to get your blog noticed and bring people to read your blog and look at your pictures.

Blogging Traffic – Give And Take

Blogging traffic is a give and take relationship.Sometimes one of the best ways to get traffic to your blog is by visiting someone else ‘s blog.

Go to their blog and read one of their entries, or read a few of them. Chances are that you are going to find something that you have in common.

When you find something that you find truly interesting on a blog, leave a comment so that they know that you were there.

One of the best known blogs available is Live Journal. A great feature of Live Journal is that you can search for interests on their site and it will come up with results of those who have that interest.

Are you interested in horseback riding You can see what other bloggers are interested in horseback riding as well.

When you are commenting on someone’s post, you want to make sure that you don’t leave generic comment. If you like the post, say something about what you read in the post.

After you have commented on the person’s post, then you can say something like, ‘I really like horsebackriding too. I had a similar experience to yours.’ and then use it to link back to your journal.

But be sure that you sound sincere when you are commenting, and don’t make them feel like you’re just fishing for traffic.

If someone thinks that you are using their blog to get more traffic to yours, they won’t visit your site and your efforts will be wasted.

Join A Community To Advertise Your Blog

Something that you will find, especially if you join something like Live Journal or Greatest Journal, is that users just like you have created communities for people with common interests.

There are communities for just about any subject, and if you find that there isn’t a community for the subject you can create one. This is a great place to advertise your blog.

The nice thing about communities is that there isn’t any limit as to how many communities that you can join.

For example, say that you love blogging about books,horseback riding, and skiing in Tahoe. All you have to do is look through the communities for ones that have those interests and join them.

As long as you post something related to the topic to the chosen community, people will see you and perhaps they will check out your personal blog.

Something to remember is that you don’t want to write a post that is one sentence long in order to get people to go to your blog. They will want to know that what you write is interesting and is something worth reading.

Joining communities can be a great way to advertise your blog and drive traffic to it. If you are referring to something that you posted about on your blog, you can use a link back to your entry in your post.

As with posting comments on someone else’s blog, you don’t want people to think that you joined a community simply to get traffic to your blog. Otherwise, people won’t visit your blog and you may get banned from the community as well.

Email Groups – Hidden Treasure Troves For Advertising A Blog

Something that has become increasingly popular since the Internet has grown are the email groups that are available through Yahoo, MSN, and other venues.

They are a great way to meet other people who have a common interest, and are very similar to the communities that are available through blogging sites.

There is plenty of diverse subjects and there are communities for just about any subject.

These groups can be a great place for people who have a blog about the subject and want to share it with other people.

Most of the time when you join a group, you are encouraged to take a moment and to introduce yourself.This is a great opportunity to tell people about your blog, but make certain that you don’t overdo it.

Just like with any of the other places you will advertise your blog, you want to make people want to go to your blog. If you are too overbearing, you will turn people off.

If your blog covers different subjects, you can advertise it on the other groups that cover those subjects as well.

Make certain that your post to the groups is interesting and that you let people know what it is that your blog is about. There’s nothing worse than getting taken to a blog under false pretences.

When people visit your blog, make certain that you thank them for visiting and respond to comments that they leave.

If they know that you appreciate the time that they took, they are more likely to come back again.

The power of being seen is the up most importance and blogging is one the best ways you can make sure others know of you, don’t let it pass you by.

[http://www.theonlinenbiznetwork.com]

Douglas Smith has been involved with selling online since 2001 and creator of numerous websites along with being an ebay powerseller.

If you work more than 6 hours a day and own a dog, you need a dog walker!

Urban life can be hard for dogs. Many of us keep pets in cramped city apartments and work long hours, resulting in a dogs life which is a far cry from that of a rural or suburban dog who usually has an outside yard to roam during the day — or if they’re really lucky, acres of open land in which to frolic.

Yet there is no reason why a city dog cannot enjoy a fantastic quality of life. Living in the city has its disadvantages but also brings with it levels of stimulation — sights, sounds and smells — which suburban or rural dogs never get to experience. City dogs are also also blessed with far more social opportunities, whether they be with other dogs on the street or with a pack of their buddies at the local dog park or dog run.

But many owners work long hours and enjoy active social lives, meaning long periods in which their pets are alone. For a dog, this means hours of inactivity — especially in a small apartment or studio which has little space to play or run.

For this reason, most urban dog owners hire a dog walker. Having someone take your dog out for exercise and relief at least once a day makes all the difference. It breaks up those long solitary hours and gives your dog a chance to get out into the fresh air, stretch their legs and burn off some of the calories they have ingested for breakfast. For many dogs, their daytime dog walker is their daytime buddy.

But with the profession of dog walking becoming more and more popular, there are increasing numbers of dog walkers to choose from in cities. Dog walking and pet sitting services are springing up everywhere and in most cities dog owners are spoiled for choice. Yet all dog walking services are not the same — there are differences in quality and type of services provided. Here are some tips for choosing the right dog walker for you:

• Make sure you know exactly what you want before you start looking

  It’s important to be clear about the kind of service you want. A large, established dog walking service is likely to provide peace of mind and more security, but if they’re too big you may find their services a little too impersonal — some guarantee the same walker every day, but some don’t. If you want your walker and your dog to build a friendly, trusting relationship, it’s worth asking about this. A good dog walking service will assign a regular dog walker to your dog and inform you of any changes in staffing well ahead of time. The downside is that they may be slightly less flexible with scheduling.

  On the other hand, a local independent dog walker who works alone is almost guaranteed to build a close relationship with your dog and you are likely to build a friendly relationship with them yourself, which brings familiarity and peace of mind. The disadvantage is that lone walkers rarely have anyone to provide a back up should they become sick or take a vacation.

• Establish an ideal schedule, then be prepared to compromise

  Let’s face it, the vast majority of dog owners would prefer their dog to be walked around the middle of the day, which generally means between 11am and 3pm in the dog walking business. This means that midday time slots are in great demand and it’s unlikely that you’ll find someone who can promise your ideal schedule. Be prepared to compromise with a leeway of around an hour either side of your ideal. Additionally, even when you settle on a time you should be aware that dog walking is a profession the nature of which means it is almost impossible to stick to a schedule 100% accurately every day. Walkers often have to travel between dogs and can be held up by a million and one different situations. Don’t be too disappointed if your dog walker arrives a little early or late every day — most of the time it cannot be helped. Be suspicious of any dog walking service that promises punctuality to the minute — most of the time they’re not being honest with you!

• Dog walking in packs or individually?

  This is where opinion is split firmly down the middle! It’s a common sight in urban centers like New York City to see pack walkers with up to twelve dogs at a time — but is this really what you want for your dog? The advantage to this kind of service is primarily price — pack walk rates are sometimes half the price of individual or small group walks and sometimes last longer. On the negative side, your dog will not receive anywhere near the same level of attention it would in a smaller group or alone — and often much of the walk is spent sitting tied up in large groups on the sidewalk as the dog walker takes a dog upstairs to its apartment. There is no doubt that there is a strong social aspect to such walks which many dogs enjoy, but for the most part the majority of dog owners prefer their dogs to be walked in smaller packs or alone. Many people also worry about dogs fighting in large packs and while this is rare, it does sometimes happen.

  An individual, private walk brings with it the walkers undivided attention, but you should also consider that most dogs appreciate some kind of socialization — so consider choosing a service which walks pairs or small groups of no more than three. Many dog walkers will tell you that dogs who have behavioral “issues” on the street with their owners benefit greatly from being walked with another dog, whose presence often acts to “center” the other dog and induce a good level of focus and attention. However, there is no avoiding the fact that some dogs just will not abide the company of other dogs no matter what! At the end of the day you know your own dog better than anyone and the decision is entirely yours to make.

• Conduct interviews in person

  Choosing a dog walker is an important decision to make, not least because you’re entrusting the welfare of your precious pet to a stranger but also because the service entails allowing someone access to your apartment on a daily basis. For this reason, you should always look into a number of services and insist on meeting first the business owner, then should you decide to go ahead and use the service, the walker who will be assigned to your dog. A good service will allow you to meet the walker at no cost to yourself. Never feel pressured into agreeing to a schedule over the telephone — you’ll feel much better when you know who you’re dealing with personally. All good dog walking services appreciate that you’re looking around and shopping for a service and will be happy to submit their pitch to compete with others.

  Don’t be surprised or feel offended if the business owner will not give you full contact details of the walker however — they’re not trying to put one over on you. It’s standard practice in the business to insist that the client conduct all communication (schedule changes, updates etc) through the business owner themselves. This ensures that the owner is kept “in the loop” and is always aware of what’s going on. If you do have the walkers contact details however, it is always good practice to notify the owner of all communication between you to prevent misunderstandings or confusion later.

• Have questions prepared in advance

  Before you conduct an interview, make sure you have everything you’re going to ask written down and prepared beforehand. Ask as many questions as you need to feel comfortable. Don’t be afraid to bombard the business owner or walker with requests for information regarding the nature of their service, their philosophy, their practices, their policy and their history. A good dog walking service will also ask you questions about exactly what you want, your likes and dislikes — and most of all, your dog. Make sure they ask you about your dogs nature and about health issues which may be relevant. If they take notes, that’s a good thing! A good dog walking service will keep information about your dog on file, including medical history, favorite treats, command words, things to watch out for, vets information etc. If they don’t seem interested in any of this information then it’s probably a good idea to choose another service.

  Be sure to get everything out in the open regarding prices and fees. Make certain you’re both on the same page regarding rates and frequency of payment, about any hidden or supplementary fees (many dog walking services have a surcharge for early morning, evening and weekend walks), about their range of availability (do they cover evenings or weekends?) and about their policy regarding cancellations (most services request that you give 24 hours notice to avoid being charged). The last thing you want is to spoil a good relationship with a reliable dog walking service due to a misunderstanding later which should have been cleared up at the beginning.

• Insist on seeing the walker on a trial walk

  It’s very important that your dog walker both meets the dog beforehand — and seeing them “in action” with your dog will give you great peace of mind. Not all dog walkers are the same! Some people have a natural affinity with animals and you will see this upon observing dog walker and dog together. Dogs usually have great judgment when it comes to humans and if the walker loves dogs, you’ll see it in the way your dog reacts to them. Seeing them walking together on the street is important and you should check to see that they have adequate control skills and that they hold the leash securely. If the walker grips the leash halfheartedly with three fingers and allows your dog to run around in circles, give them a miss! The safety and well being of your dog comes first and foremost. It’s also a good idea to see how they handle situations with other dogs in the street — a good walker will ask the other owner whether their dog is friendly, and allow your dog to approach cautiously should they wish to sniff each other. Additionally, make sure they pick up after your dog and don’t allow them to spray inappropriate things like cars, doors — and especially lampposts which may carry live current!

• Establish acceptable dog walking routes from the start

  It’s important that you let your walker know exactly where you do and don’t find acceptable for your dog to go. If there is a dog park or run nearby, let your walker know whether or not you’re happy with them taking your dog there during the day. Many owners prefer that their dogs are taken to a run where they can play with other dogs, but only you know whether or not your dog is suitable for this kind of socialization. Some walkers like to take a bunch of dogs to the run and spend the next hour sitting down watching them play — if you would prefer a more disciplined kind of street walk then make this clear from the start.

• Ask for references and make sure they’re insured and bonded

  Every good dog walking service can supply you with references — other owners who have used their services regularly and are happy. Get the references, and call them! You’ll feel so much better in the long run. It’s also a good idea to ask whether they’re insured and bonded and if so, to let you see their insurance certificates. Their insurance should cover both medical bills should anything happen to your dog in their care, but also liability costs should your dog ever injure someone on the street or cause an accident. Dog walkers rarely have to use their insurance but you’ll feel a lot better knowing it’s there. The fact that they have taken the trouble to get insured is also a good sign that they take the business seriously and are in it for the duration!

• If you’re worried about allowing someone access to your apartment, set up a web camera!

  This is a controversial issue with many dog walking services, but more and more home service providers are beginning to accept that home owners feel secure having a small web camera set up to make sure that nothing untoward happens while they’re at work. It’s also great to be able to see what your dog gets up to during the day! If you are going to set up a camera then it’s common decency to inform your walker first. Tell them that you have the camera so that you can watch the dog while you’re at work and try not to emphasize the part about checking up on them! Most dog walkers will be fine with this and if they are not — well, perhaps it’s time to seek out someone new.

• Relax!

  Nobody finds choosing a dog walker easy. It’s very common for first time owners to worry themselves half to death for the first few weeks wondering if their dog is OK and that everything is going well. However, if you have followed the steps above and taken the time to choose the walker you’re happiest with, you’ll find that your worry subsides after a couple of weeks and you can get down to the business of going about your day and taking for granted that your dog is in good hands. Do your best to build a friendly relationship with your dog walking service — you’ll feel so much better in the long run. Remember — if they’re dog lovers, they’re going to end up building an attachment to your dog which rivals yours. This is also worth thinking about should you ever wish to discontinue a long running relationship — make sure you give the walker a chance to say “goodbye” to your dog and don’t be surprised if they request photos and even shed a few tears on their last walk together!

So where to start looking? There are plenty of ways to find a dog walker:

• Check online via a search engine
• Check online via local classified listings like “Craigslist”
• Ask at pet stores and vets offices for the business cards of local services
• Check notice boards in pet stores
• Ask other dog owners, or stop walkers on the street
• Ask at your local dog run or dog park
• Ask in doorman apartment buildings for the names of reputable neighborhood walkers and services

All in all, finding a suitable dog walker for your beloved is not something to be taken lightly — although nor should it be something to overly stress about. At the end of the day, just remember that whatever your opinion of your walker, the most important opinion is that of your dog! A good dog walking service will leave your dog exercised, relieved and above all safe and happy — something which you’ll be able to judge for yourself as soon as you walk through the front door.

King Pup provides professional NYC Dog Walkers in Manhattan. Visit our website for more information about city dog walking.

Choosing the right fish tank for your pets is not easy. There are so many options out there, how do you select the right setup for your situation?

We take a look below at the mid-sized BiOrb 60 16 Gallon tank below, which has some interesting features for all levels of fish enthusiasts. BiOrb is an aquarium and fish supply manufacturer that takes a different approach to fish tank design, incorporating more stylish and contemporary elements into their aquariums.

So what’s the good, bad and indifferent about the BiOrb 60? Read below to see if it’s an aquarium that is right for you and your fish.

About the BiOrb 60 16 Gallon Fish Tank

BiOrb expands on its successful and highly popular 8 gallon fish tank with the BiOrb 60 16 Gallon aquarium. The BiOrb 60 continues the spherical shape BiOrb has become known for while expanding the space for larger fish and fish populations. The 16 gallon aquarium can be converted into a complete marine aquarium thanks to the largest biological filtration system the company has offered. The BiOrb tank is made from strong Plexiglas acrylic and as the largest aquarium in BiOrb’s Classic product line, can be had in five different designer colors. The tank comes complete with a 5 stage internal filter, air pump and halogen lighting system.

What Comes with your BiOrb 16 Gallon Tank

• biOrb 60 aquarium (16 gallon biorb )
• Ceramic media
• 1 Standard freshwater filter cartridge – (biorb service kit)
• Low-voltage Air Pump
• 12v Transformer
• Tap water conditioner and Beneficial Bacteria liquid
• Printed documentation

BiOrb 16 Gallon Specifications

• Height: 20.4 inches (52cm)
• Width: 19.6 inches (50cm)
• Weight (empty): 12pounds (1 kg)
• Weight (full): 130 pounds (61 kg)
• Volume: 16 Gallon (60L)
• 16v transformer
• Two connectors (light and airpump)
• 12 month guarantee
• 12v – safe low-voltage pump
• Quiet operation
• 12 month guarantee
• 1.5m airline with 1-way valve
• 1m power cable
• Plugs directly into transformer (supplied)
• Line voltage: 12V AC
• Complies with UL, ULC and CE safety requirements
• Child safe

Aquarium Setup Options

The BiOrb 60 16 Gallon can easily handle cold water and tropical water fish (with addition of Heater Pack). The tank can also be converted to a full marine aquarium with the addition of the BiOrb Marine Conversion Kit, which supplies everything you need to keep small marine fish and creatures such as hermit crabs, shrimps and marine snails.

For those looking to setup an aquarium right out of the box, the BiOrb comes with everything you’ll need except fish and decorations. The BiOrb 60 is a good option for fish enthusiasts looking to keep setup simple and maintenance to a minimum.

And while the BiOrb 60 is a great place to start for beginners, the tank allows for more experienced fish owners to expand the capabilities of the aquarium through add-on kits and advanced lighting options. The Marine Conversion Kit is designed to provide all that is needed for a salt water tank setup and the optional intelligent LED light can replicate sunrise and sunset conditions for those that want to provide a natural lighting environment for their fish.

Aquarium Care & Maintenance

Filtration systems are typically the first place to look when considering the maintenance and care commitment a fish tank will need. Reef One with their BiOrb and BiUbe products is consistently one of the best manufacturers for filtration systems. While any aquarium takes a commitment to regular cleaning and maintenance to maintain a healthy environment for your fish, the 5 stage internal filtration systems found on the BiOrb 60 makes maintenance considerably easier than many competing aquarium of this size.

BiOrb claims that their internal filtration systems have relatively more biological filtration than similar external filtration fish tank systems. While we cannot vouch for the effectiveness of the internal system in comparison to other external filter systems, the 5 stage system on the BiOrb 60 seems to work exceedingly well in our experience. We reserve judgment where external filtration systems are concerned only because there are some great external systems out there, such as the Eclipse systems by Marineland. This is not to take anything away from the BiOrb aquarium systems, but we’re not ready to either confirm or deny the companies claims their internal filtration is superior to external filtration systems.

Aquarium Design & Appearance

Once again, the BiOrb 60 16 Gallon tank exceeds most competitors when appearance and design are considered. BiOrb does an excellent job of melding form with function in the BiOrb 60.

The aquarium is perfect for virtually any room of the house. While many aquariums tend to look a little boring without fish and decorations, the same cannot be said of the BiOrb 60. Even right out of the box, the design is stunning. The 60 is truly a fish tank that will add to any room to which it is added. A fish tank for an interior designer, or someone who appreciates a clean, aesthetically pleasing look.

Aquarium Reviews

What’s good?

• Great design and appearance consistent with entire BiOrb fish tank product lines
• 16 gallon tank allows for more fish than some of the smaller tanks
• Larger size allows for more types of fish, bigger fish
• Complete aquarium kit features everything you need to prepare your tank for your fish
• BiOrb 60 16 Gallon instruction manual includes FAQs, how to and recommended fish
• Biorb Plexiglas Acrylic is 10x stronger than glass
• The service kit filter system is easy to change and clean
• Versatility of use with cold water, fresh water or salt water setup capabilities
• Filtration makes maintenance easier than many equivalent tanks
• BiOrb’s advanced five-stage filtration system allows for a healthy, clear environment for your fish

What’s not so good?

• You’ll pay a premium for BiOrb quality and design
• Visible area of fish tank is smaller than a conventional rectangular tank due to curvature of orb shape

Fish Tank Review Summary

The BiOrb 60 16 Gallon tank is a great option for beginners looking for a slightly larger BiOrb tank than some of the smaller aquariums and experienced fish owners looking for a tank that can grow with their hobby alike. A great internal filtration system, clean, attractive design and versatility of setup makes the BiOrb 60 16 Gallon a fish tank we recommend enthusiastically.

For more recommendations, information and reviews of fish tanks and fish equipment, visit BiOrb Tank Reviews.

Celebration is often a challenging topic for leaders. They wonder if they should celebrate and when they should celebrate. They waffle between “we don`t need to celebrate, people know we are succeeding” and celebrating every, single, little thing along the way.

The best answer (as is the often the case) lies somewhere in the middle.

Celebration is important and it can be overdone.

Most of the conversation and consternation is typically about celebrating (or not celebrating) success. However, the element of celebration most often forgotten is celebrating progress towards a goal.

Why celebrate progress?

You should consider celebrating progress for two basic reasons – focus and momentum.

In the midst of long projects or in the pursuit of big goals, focus can get lost. People can be so busy that they miss the progress. They are so busy in the forest that they miss the trees they have just passed or chopped down. When you recognize progress it helps renew focus while re-energizing the team.

In addition, the intangible momentum that is so easily seen in the athletic world is just as real in your business or organizational pursuits. Celebrating progress is one way to create and sustain momentum towards your goals.

So, the question is, how do you do it?

I`ve separated the dozen suggestions here into two categories – the results components (basically what and when to celebrate) and the process components (how to actually celebrate). Let`s get right to them.

Results Components

Base it on milestones.

In order to celebrate progress, you must know what progress you have made. Any good project plan (that`s an article in and of itself) will have milestones attached to it. Look at those upfront, and determine when might be good celebration points. Of course how the project is going in real life and in real time may alter your plan, but start with a celebration plan attached to the most important or strategic milestones.

Get the group involved.

Have other people let you know when a celebration might be needed, and get them involved in both the celebration planning and execution. When people feel ownership it will be more meaningful and real. I`m not suggesting abdication or total delegation, but a collaborative process.

Don`t be shy.

It is OK to celebrate! Let people know how much you appreciate their effort and progress.

Keep the celebration in perspective.

The celebration is of progress and that should be clearly stated. It`s important that people know that you aren`t done yet.

Really celebrate.

Balancing the previous point, don`t make the celebration a veiled attempt to get people to work harder. Any message that sniffs of “we`ve made good progress, but it is time to redouble our efforts” will be seen cynically, and may have a negative impact on morale and productivity.

Be authentic.

Let people know how much you appreciate their effort and progress. If you aren`t really feeling it, perhaps better to delay the celebration until you do – or until you get yourself a leadership attitude adjustment (another great article topic!).

Process Components

Have food.

The way to a man`s heart may very well be through his stomach… and… any celebration is better with food. Your situation will dictate how fancy or informal it is, but having food always makes a celebration better.

Make it an event.

It needn`t be big or elaborate, but it needs to be an event! Make sure people know when it is, and make it a priority that they be involved. A celebration should be an event.

Think about where.

While you could do your celebration anywhere, progress celebrations especially are often done when people feel they are still busy with the work. Creating the celebration onsite may balance people`s need to “keep working” with the need you see for celebration.

Think about when.

When to celebrate will really be dependent on the demographics of your group, their habits and the culture of your organization. You might consider your celebration first thing in the morning, at lunch or, even, after hours away from the office. Use the wisdom and advice of others to make this decision, rather than following your own personal preferences.

Consider gifts.

Gifts can be a great addition to your celebration. How about a t-shirt, a gift card or something else? Again, culture and preferences will play a role here – get others involved so gifts is perceived as valuable (not just ANOTHER coffee mug or pen). Remember to make sure the value of the gift is congruent with the point of progress.

Symbols are powerful.

Symbols are really a form of gift, but perhaps with less utility. Plaques, certificates or a hundred other things can be powerful reminders of the appreciation and progress that have been made.

Hopefully these 12 suggestions will help you make your celebrations of progress more successful and meaningful. Remember when used effectively celebrations can create focus, momentum and even greater morale and productivity.

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Children’s bedroom furniture and nursery furniture can help turn a bland and boring bedroom into a fun and cozy retreat. Since there is a wide range of designs and materials available. you can find the perfect children’s furniture for your child’s bedroom, whether you prefer a whimsical decorating style or practical, sturdy pieces.

If you are shopping for furniture for your infant’s nursery for the first time, you may be surprised by the many types of furniture available. You can buy a few pieces to tuck into a corner of an older sibling’s bedroom or you can shop for entire sets so that you can create a comfortable, furnished nursery.

Cribs are usually the first piece of nursery furniture parents shop for. These versatile baby beds come in traditional Jenny Lind designs or more modern styles. Some of them can be converted to toddler beds for added value. Designer cribs are available in a wide range of designs. You can even find round cribs instead of traditional rectangular cribs. However, don’t forget to take a look at bassinets, cots, cradles, and Moses baskets, as well. These smaller beds are perfect for newborn infants, since parents can easily move them from room to room.

Changing tables, armoires, bureaus, rocking chairs, gliders, toy boxes, and accessories such as lamps, are also available. While you are shopping, look for well made furniture pieces that can grow with your child. For example, some changing tables will convert to child size bureaus.

For your older children, you can find several types of beds. Toddler beds, twin beds, and bunk beds are all readily available. Day beds are a great way to add seating and entertaining space to your child’s room during the day. For additional flexibility, look for beds that come with drawers underneath them for added storage. If your child has frequent guests, you may want to look for beds that can be used with a trundle bed.

Older children will also need other furniture for their rooms. Bureaus, bookshelves, and armoires help keep clothing and collectibles organized and will make it easy for children to keep their rooms tidy. Desks and desk chairs are important additions to the room for school aged children. Your younger children may also need a desk so that they can do crafts in their bedrooms.

Finally, don’t forget to ask your children how they feel about the pieces you decide to buy. After all, your child will be spending quite a lot of time in their bedrooms.

Matthew Anthony has contributed to many sites such as garden furniture and childrens furniture.

As a responsible pet owner, it is a goal to always give almost everything that money can buy for your pets. Although doing this can be good for your pets, it would still not be practical especially now that everyone is experiencing financial crisis. I am not saying that you should stop buying pet supplies nor buy cheaper supplies that are of lower quality. What I am trying to say is that you should find a way on how to save money even though you are buying supplies with high quality. Providing your pet all of these things can really hurt your wallet a lot because most of his needs are very expensive. It is as if you are providing the needs of a child. But then you must not worry because you can still do something about it. If your problem is your budget, you can still provide your pet all of his/her needs through buying discount pet supplies.

Pets have different needs especially on spring. This is the time when they could go out and play. Because the weather is a bit warm, pets need to have cool clothes and cool dog beds. He /she can’t wear clothes that are intended for summer and winter because these are not appropriate. He/she can’t also sleep on warm beds so you must also change his dog bed so that it will be suitable for the season.

If you are really determined, buying pet supplies will not be a big burden to you once you have found the right place or the right means on how to buy discounted pet products. Thorough research can help you a lot because through this, you will be able to find out how you can purchase discount pet supplies.

The first thing that you can do is to search on magazines if there are any discounted coupons. These discounted coupons can help a lot in lowering the price of your pet supplies. Then visit some pet supply stores and see if they are offering discounts on some of their pet products. You can also try to log on the internet to see if there are any pet supply stores offering discounts online. If you notice, there are now loads of pet supply stores online and these stores are usually offering discounts on their products. Browse the internet and see which among these stores online are offering the greatest discounts. Yet, you must be very careful especially in the quality of the product. Always stick with the product that is suitable to your pets.

It is always wise to try the internet first. The internet can help you a lot because there are hundreds of online coupons that are available there. These coupons can be used when you are buying some supplies for your pet.

Moreover, spring is the time when pets can be attacked by different kinds of pests so he/she might need some medicines. You can also join some consumer clubs and discover how you can get discounts on pet supplies from them.

Always remember that buying discount pet supplies does not mean that you will buy the products with lower qualities just to save money. What you will do is to find a store that is selling quality products with discounted prices. Enjoy your spring season by not spending too much for pet supplies. You can still give all the needs of your pet without worrying about the money.

Joanne Delos Reyes writes for http://www.petitude.com.au, Australia’s premiere online pet store and 2008 eBay Australia Top Store awardee. Petitude offers quality, yet affordable dog clothes, dog shoes, dog accessories, pet furniture and more.

It is a different game and rules when you go warm water fly fishing as the species will attack and respond to reactions differently than the fish typically caught on flies in colder water. The techniques that use for fly fishing trout or salmon are similar, as trout or salmon are generally very violent feeders. Regardless of what type of tackles you have, whether new or old, fly fishing in warm water is definitely a different experience that you have come across.

When going for warm water fly fishing, the best technique for catching bass, is to keep the tip of your rod pointed at the fly at all times. A straight pull is the best technique to set the hook on bass mouths, even though raising the rod tips works with traditional casting equipment, with flies this will only succeed in giving the fish a grip with it mouth, enabling it to merely let go and swim away at any time. The type of files use is also very important, deer hair tied flies, a muddler or a wooly bugger minnow are the best to use and increase the rate of success in fishing.

Fun and Excitement during Warm Water Fly Fishing

While many argue that bass of any variety can provide a good meal, pan fish such as blue gill and black crappies not only taste good, there are excellent sport fish and are highly regarded by bait fishers and artificial-lure anglers alike. They are very easily caught during prespawning periods when the fishes are congregated in large schools. Crappies prefer a diet of minnows and using streamers can easily catch them. They will also strike subsurface flies, tiny crankbaits, small spinners and jigs. Crappies like to suspend in midwinter, so you may have to experiment to find the correct depth. Fly Fishing from the shore can be done if there is sufficient room for casting but considering the deeper waters you will be fishing for crappies wading will probably be out of the question. Casting from a boat is also maybe your best choice.

Saltwater Fly Fishing

Saltwater fly fishing has become one of the growing sports. Whether you’re looking to fish on local shores or to enjoy some fly fishing in a more exotic location such as the beaches of Caribbean or Mexico, saltwater fly fishing can be just as fun and rewarding. The problem is you may have limited amount of money to spend setting up the sport. The following is intended as a guide to tackling up on a limited budget and preparations to make for your saltwater fly fishing trip possible.

Get a New Rod

In general, the rod use for saltwater fly fishing is heavy than in freshwater fishing. Start looking with 9-weight rods, or a 15-weight rod and line for deep water to catch something big. Generally, the rods specifically designed for saltwater come with a higher price. We can saved money by looking at rods designed for Trout reservoir fishing, this type of rod also have saltwater proof fittings. Try to purchase from a fishing store, so that you can have a direct feeling of the rod before you buy.

Buy an Appropriate Reel

The Salt water has corrosive properties, so if you don’t want your reel to rust then look for reel with a level of saltwater resistance, all parts composed of materials such as titanium, stainless steel, or anodized aluminum. This is mostly important if you’re intending to go saltwater fly fishing in warm waters, where the corrosion will happen even faster. If you prefer a large arbour reel then there a several manufacturers who produce suitable reels. Okuma is a name well recommend on U.S. websites about these reels.

Lines

This is probably one area where it really pays to buy the best you can. Personally, I do most of my saltwater fly fishing with a 15 ft Sink tip line, so I would recommend buying a fairly decent line and then saving money by purchasing a cheaper intermediate and / or sinking line. Certainly line selection will be reflected by the areas you will be fishing, so seeking advice from others who saltwater fly fishing in the area or posting a query on an online forum will help you select the right line for you.

Flies

One source for the cheapest flies is those you tie yourself. However this can be very time consuming and the initial outlay on tying vice, materials and tools can be expensive. There are many fishing stores selling saltwater flies. I would recommend purchasing from Ocean Flies. You can let them know which areas and what type of species you’re attempting to catch and they will be able to recommend you on which flies are most suitable.

Leaders

If you ask the saltwater fishers what leader they use and you probably will get all different answers, but none will be wrong. But one area where there seems to be common agreement is the use of Fluorocarbon, rather than Nylon monofilament line, especially during daylight. It’s not cheap, but it can make the difference between catching fish.

Rent a Boat

You need to rent a boat for saltwater fly fishing, unless you already have one. The boat don’t have to be very fancy, a simple rowboat will do if that’s all you have. You should look for something that is inexpensive but very useful and safe; a 15-foot sailboat with some sort of protection again bad weather will look great. So, with the purchase of above items and a corrosion-resistant reel, and the rental of a good boat, you will have some of the basics for your saltwater fly fishing trip that may possible.

Cindy Heller is a professional writer. Visit Fly Fishing Women to learn more about warm water fly fishing and south florida fly fishing.

Should Christians celebrate Christmas? It sounds like a ridiculous.question to the average person, but it is an important one to those who seek to obey God’s Word. We can easily find the birth of Christ recorded in the pages of the New Testament of the Bible. We can find the message of the angel who announces it and the words of praise from a multitude of heavenly host who celebrate it in the Book of Luke. We can find prophecies about his birth recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible. What we cannot find anywhere in the Word of God is the holiday we call Christmas.

Let’s begin our discussion about Christmas by looking at the early Church as described in the New Testament. Most Bible-believing Christians base their present worship model on how the original Believers in the early years following the death and resurrection of Jesus gathered and worshiped God. They did not celebrate Christmas. Why? To find that answer, we must look at the history of this holiday which actually predates the birth of Jesus.

History teaches us that the earliest known observance of any kind of Christmas celebration occurred over two hundred years after the birth of Christ. This celebration took place in December. It sought to merge the ancient Pagan celebrations known as Saturnalia (a Roman festival which took place each December 17th to 24th, celebrated the winter solstice and honored Saturn, the Roman god of sowing), the birth of Mithra (the Iranian sun god of righteousness born on December 25th) and a Roman feast dedicated to the birth of the Sun (which occurred around the same time as Saturnalia) with the idea of honoring or celebrating the birth of Jesus.

The celebration of Saturnalia was originally opposed by early Christians because it was a pagan holiday that involved the exchanging of gifts and was filled with all kinds of exaggerated behaviors involving food and drink, as well as rampant immorality. It was not until after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire that a Roman Emperor known as Justinian created the holiday known as Christmas. In doing so he replaced the worship of Saturn and the celebration of the birth of the Sun with the worship of the birth of Jesus.

It’s important to understand that when Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire, it was not the Biblical Christianity that most Bible Believers accept today. It was an unholy marriage between many pagan beliefs and practices, and what the early church taught. This marriage produced a new religion. It was a perversion of Christianity which lead to many traditions and extra-Biblical practices that are not found in the Word of God being honored and accepted equally with Scripture. Bible Believers have always rejected this creation by the Roman Empire and continue to do so today.

Sometime after 500 A.D., the celebration now known as Christmas was mandated by the Roman Empire. People had to celebrate this holiday. The excesses of Saturnalia were retained and Bible Believers of that time were often shocked at the socially and morally depraved way that Romans celebrated the birth of the Savior. By this time additional pagan elements had been added to the holiday. These include various festival celebrations originally tied to the early days of January. This is why people celebrate Christmas and New Year’s so closely together today.

January 1st was the Roman New Year. The celebrations surrounding this festival included the decorating of houses with candles, green plants and small trees. Gifts were given to children and the poor. Again, these festival traditions slowly became a part of the Roman Christmas celebration so that the festivals of Christmas and New Years merged. December 25th became the focal point of all these celebrations because the Roman Emperor Aurelian had much earlier declared that the pagan festival of natalis solis invicti (or birth of the un-conquered sun) should occur on that date beginning in the year 274 A.D. It was a popular festival and seemed to present an easy transition from celebrating the birth of the sun to celebrating the birth of God’s Son.

Additional elements were added to the Roman Christmas after Germanic tribes infiltrated Rome, overran the empire and moved on into Gaul and Britain. Many in these tribes readily accepted and gravitated toward the Druid and Celtic traditions they encountered. German, Druid and Celtic traditions became intermingled and the celebration known as Yule was born. Elements of the Yule festivals were later added to the Roman Christmas celebration. Yule rites included the setting up of decorated celebration trees in the home, the yule log, and the exchanging of gifts.

The very idea of celebrating the birth of Jesus came from the pagan ritual of celebration the birth of great kings. For example, Middle Eastern Kings (like Herod) and whatever current Pharaoh of Egypt that was in power would have had birth celebrations every year of their rein. If early Christians celebrated anything, it tended to be the death of beloved martyrs or great leaders of their churches. They considered birth celebrations to be pagan.

Even the idea of Santa Claus does not entirely originate from a compilation of the life of Saint Nicholas or the various other Christian saints and theologians to which it is attributed by popular tradition. During the feast of Yule, the Germanic god known as Odin was said to ride through the skies on top of an eight legged horse or on a cart pulled by horses or reindeer. Children would leave their boots filled with carrots and straw for the animals, and sugar or food for Odin in their chimneys. Odin would acknowledge their offering by leaving candy or gifts in their boots.

After learning all this we are still left with the question of whether Bible-believing Christians should celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. The short answer is that we should not. There are many Biblical warnings against the celebration of holidays, feasts or festivals connected to false gods. In Jeremiah, chapter ten, we see a warning to Israel against astrology and the practice of setting up and decorating trees as the heathen do. Jesus himself told the Jews in Matthew 7:9 (KJV): “And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.”

Now things get a bit complicated when it comes to the question of how involved Bible Believers should be with celebrating Christmas. That’s because although Christians are commended to come out from among the heathen and follow the Lord (2 Corinthians 6:17), we’re also told in 1 Corinthians Chapter Eight that eating meat and other items offered to idols is a personal choice. If doing so means causing a weaker Christian to question our sincerity, we should not do it. However, Paul (the writer of the letters to the Corinthians) is quick to point out that the gods worshiped by others are not gods and that only one true God exists to us.

Paul presents us with the recurring theme of all his letters and the overall message of the New Testament of the Bible: Christians are free from the bondage of sin. It’s a freedom that was bought and paid for by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is not one to be taken lightly or flaunted in any way. However, Christians have been set free from the rules and regulations of the Mosaic Law. We live in the world, are a part of it and bound by whatever legal system services us. For example, chapter 13 in the book of Romans tells us to pay tributes, dues and customs fees to those they are due. We are not exempt from being good citizens, as long as that means we can still obey God and do his Will.

I believe that observing or celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday goes against what the Bible teaches. If we celebrate it as a national holiday (which it is in the USA), we are on safe ground as long as it does not present a poor witness of our Christianity to others. Thinking of it as a national or secular holiday allows us to participate in most of the public festivities without dishonoring the Lord, unless that would cause a Christian to sin in some way (Example: Alcohol consumption or partying among immoral revelers).

The truth is that Christians are constantly subjected to the influence of false gods. A good example of this is Saturday. The day of the week we call Saturday is named for the god Saturn. Should we refuse to observe Saturday? Or, change it to a name we like and confuse everyone? Of course not. That’s not to say we should go to the other extreme and attend services at a church that does not believe or teach the Bible or presents a false gospel just because it offers midnight services on Christmas Eve.

We must remember that the Book of Luke tells us in chapter two that an angel announced the birth of Jesus to shepherds keeping watch over their sheep by night. Luke also tells us that, “And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” The angel’s announcement caused a heavenly celebration. This allows us at least some leeway when it comes to celebrating the birth of Jesus. So Christian and God-honoring church services and individual celebrations for the birth of Jesus, even in December, are alright in my book.

We use money with pagan symbols on it. We follow a calendar with days and months named after false gods. We pay taxes to governments that all probably use part of those funds for things that Christians disagree with and that the Bible teaches against. Still, we are told in the bible to pay our tributes, dues and customs fees. We have to live in the world, but do not have to be a part of it in terms of our personal choices, lifestyles and beliefs. So with all that in mind, I say “Merry Christmas” with no fear that I am dishonoring God.

Bill Edwards is a popular Speaker, Author and Consultant with eclectic interests. He offers practical advice about life decisions, work issues and Christian topics. Visit my website for more articles, books and information.

If you need a Ghost Writer, Bill can help.
He does all of your writing for you. If you want to write a book, article, important letter or just about anything that helps you get your point across in a meaningful way, Bill can do that and rewrites. Most people do not have the patience to go through a lengthy work several times and polish it up. He will gladly do it. However, Bill does not take on ANY assignments involving term papers or written material that is to be submitted for a grade. Email Bill for more information at makelifeworkforyou@gmail.com

Cars – they are your passion, necessity, luxury, earning member. They have speed, they have music, they have curves, they have comfort, they have security, they have safety – they have something for everyone. Secured car loans can realize your car plans especially if your budget is stringent. Secured car loans options are stretched far and wide along the loan market. Buying a used car or a new car can be a pleasant ride with secured car loans.

According to National Statistics’ annual research, more people in Britain have more than two cars rather than no car at all. With such a transformation in the present condition the need for cars has become a precondition. To find a secured car loans is as easy as it is tricky. With such a huge pile of secured car loans alternative, you might want to pick the one that shines the brightest. But all that glitters is not gold. It is very true with secured car loans. They may look all attractive and advertised with 0% APR the bottom line is, it still may not prove to be your secured car loan type.

Secured car loan would mean you need to pledge your home or your property as an assurance. Having prepared yourself for that, you are all set to hear the good news. Secured car loans are in fact very easily available to homeowners. Secured car loans are a great opportunity to finance a car on your own terms. Am I getting too loud with my claims of the goodwill of secured car loans? You need to hear this. Secured car loans are flexible enough to mould in the financial requirement of any kind of loan borrower. With secured car loans you can get into your car and make your first payment after thirty days.

Getting a good secured car loan can save your money to a great extent. Sort out the car you would like to buy and how much it would cost you. This will enable you to figure out how much you need for your secured car loan. After you have set your budget you can go on to see the top secured car loan site. You can ask for a free quote and compare secured car loan rates online.

Secured car loans are a better option than car dealership. Car dealership may seem convenient round the clock service. They will be charging you more for your car finance. It is important to learn about your credit score before you go ahead with your secured car loans. Your credit report or your credit history would have important information about your payment history, mortgages, loans, inquiries from business when you have requested for loan, public records and collection information. Bad credit score would not prevent you from getting secured car loan, though it would increase the interest rate. Some loan lenders specially deal with cases of secured car loan with bad credit. Screen them and work out with them in case you have bad credit.

Car loans are considered precarious as loan types for car loans are for a possession that loses its value easily. Research, browse, study – you would certainly find a secured car loan deal. They are so many options. Read the fine print. Many of the additional costs are hidden in the fine print. Don’t accept secured car loans on impulse. Otherwise ask questions. Clear your doubts especially about monthly management fees, ongoing bank fees, redemption penalties, is the loan daily reducible, extra payments of any amount to be made, and at any time.

Secured car loans are short term loans ranging from 36 to 72 months. According to Automobile finance Study, 82% of the new vehicle loans are over four years while 31% of them are over five years. When you agree to more than 72 car payments, it means that you are overburdening your monthly budget. Car is a possession which depreciates rapidly so in case you intend to sell it, it is not a good idea to sell a car which already has a loan on it. Secured car loans are to be paid back even though you are driving the car you bought through them.

Secured car loans are celebrated for many reasons. Secured car loans mean better car and lesser payments. You are pledging your home or valuable asset and in return on it you get benefits in the likes of lower interest rate, flexible loan terms, varied repayment options so on and so forth. Secured car loan can also be bought with car insurance to protect against misfortune like illness or job loss. I know this car is special and you have been waiting for it for so long. But let us be a little practical and take an objective view while taking car loan. We can write our car legend when we own one. Till then let us write the specification of taking a secured car loan.

After having herself gone through the ordeal of loan borrowing, Natasha Anderson understands the need for good quality loan advice. Her articles endeavor to provide you the wise counsel in the most elementary way for the benefit of the readers. She hopes that this will help them to locate the loan that beseems their expectations. She works for the UK secured loan web site uk finance world.

To find a Secured or unsecured loan that best suits your needs visit http://www.ukfinanceworld.co.uk

A “blog” is simply an internet (web) log. Blogs are created for personal or professional use. They may promote a product or service, or merely serve as a personal online journal. There are currently just over four million blogs today, with a new blog born every seven seconds.

The problem of cocooning candidates

Today, we work and live in an era of heightened cynicism and secrecy. Isn’t it much harder than it used to be to call into a company and attempt to speak with a candidate by telephone? Central voice mail systems have grown more sophisticated and guarded. And even when recruiters are able to finally speak with an actual live person, it’s often a reluctant administrative assistant or receptionist. Finally, if you are fortunate enough to be transferred to your candidate, more often than not you are greeted with that person’s individual voice mail recording. It has become de facto practice by many professionals today to simply leave their “do not disturb” function turned on for most of the work day. Later, they will screen and return external calls at their discretion.

To address these changes, in recent years legitimate e-mail and web site marketing was considered a non-threatening (and somewhat successful) way to reach these “cocooning candidates.” These are in fact still viable tools, but there costly learning curves associated with them.

Some recruiters have gone back to launching traditional direct mail campaigns. However, this can be an expensive and time consuming proposition to undertake with regularity. Success may be mixed until you find just the right combination of style and timing.

Moreover, most outreach marketing attempts essentially are competing for a candidate’s attention today. Consider this:

• Only 29% of eligible job seekers visit the “Big Three” (Monster.com, Hotjobs.com, CareerBuilder.com)

• The average consumer is exposed to about 3,000 marketing messages per day.)

• 85% of people conducting research are using the internet.)

What can blogging do for you?

Recruiters (or researchers) who seek candidates for open positions, or to profile candidate requirements for the purpose of building a network pipeline, there are two ways we can use blogs:

(1) The first way is to start your own blog and attract top talent to your blog site. This is not an overnight marketing cure-all, and it will require some patience. But cultivating a readership of professionals in your niche field is a highly effective means of reaching candidates who would have never otherwise learned about your career openings. The key to making this work is to learn to attract a specialized readership to your blog, just like a beacon in the night. You don’t need millions of readers…Just hundreds of the right readers.

(2) The second approach is to search other existing blogs and develop contacts and relationships. This is a perfectly legitimate means of networking, as any internet page is essentially public domain information. Based on posting activity and interactions you initiate, you can easily develop in-roads and find more candidates in less time.

Let’s talk about both approaches.

You want to start your own blog. Now what?

How much time do I need to spend on my blog? What do I write about?

By their very nature of being near real-time, dynamic logs about life, blogs are frequently published mediums. I publish my blog at least three times per week (sometimes more often if I have more to say).

If you are going to take the time to create an effective blog, and develop a regular reading audience, I suggest blogging at least twice every week.

How do I decide what to blog about?

Who is your audience? What message are you trying to convey? Are you recruiting for new business clients? Looking for joint venture relationships? In need of candidates who are in short supply in your market place? Are you selling products or services, or promoting your company brand?

The first step you should take is to decide on what your intended focus will be. If you write about what’s wrong with our political system one week, then the following week write about outsourcing IT services to India, then in week three prattle on about how beautiful your home town is in the fall, your readership will not feel a sense of community or predictability about you. This completely defeats the purpose of building trust and credibility! You would be better off making cold calls if you continue on this path.

One of my blogs (The Hiring Insider, http://www.hiringinsider.com) shares tips and tools to help line managers, corporate recruiters, human resource professionals, etc. learn to make better hires faster (or so I hope). Week in and week out, I try to maintain a specific, consistent thread of helpful information that builds upon previous week’s blog entries. However, a new reader should be able to jump in without any trouble at any time, so remember this as you plan your writing agenda. My other blog (http://jobsblog.blogspot.com) provides tips to job seekers in the life sciences field who are confused about who to trust in the pharmaceutical job market, and what practices to engage in and avoid in order to land the best possible job for their skill set.

As you craft your blog entries, constantly think about who, what, why, where and how. Be sure to ask yourself where you are headed over time with your blog topics. Try to stay theme-related.

How do I choose a service to blog on?

There are many services available. For beginners, I recommend using blogger.com (Pyra labs). Google acquired blogger.com in February of 2004 ([http://weblog.siliconvalley.com/column/dangillmor/archives/000802.shtml]) and is really enhancing its features. It’s also FREE. Yep, you can register for an account in less than ten minutes and be up and blogging. Other great tools include Typepad (http://www.typepad.com/) and Movable Type (http://www.movabletype.org/).

Again, the most important ingredients are publishing good content, and establishing and maintaining a base audience.

However, you aren’t done yet. Now that you’ve come this far, you need to promote your blog and get yourself out of the starting gate.

Begin by submitting your blog to the blog search engines. There are several hundred of these, and they are growing by the day. It is somewhat arbitrary which ones you choose to register with. However, at a minimum, I recommend that you register your site with at least the following:

http://www.technorati.com

[http://www.daypop.com]

http://www.blogarama.com

http://www.blogtree.com

http://www.bloglines.com

What if I don’t want my own blog?

If you decide instead that you want to search other blogs to source candidates, you can do any or all of these three steps:

First, search for blogs based on what skill sets you are seeking (Oracle blogs, copywriting blogs, programmer blogs). Secondly, read the blog entries and see who is posting comments. Third, most bloggers have “blog-rolls” on either the left or ride side of the page. These cite other blogs that they like, and are usually related to the subject matter on their own blog. Resourceful recruiters will take advantage of these links and research them as well. You will also find blogs they may like or recommend which are unrelated.

While I generally post relevant blogs, I also try to have a little fun. After all, recruiting is challenging work…Why not take a break and see what Dave Barry is up to? [http://weblog.herald.com/column/davebarry/]

© Lucia Apollo Shaw, HireWorks, Inc. 2004 HireWorks, Inc. helps small to midsize organizations in the life sciences recruit and retain top talent. http://www.hire-works.com

Visit our blog at http://www.hiringinsider.com

In the automotive employment market there are still very attractive job opportunities available all over the world. So if you are in the automotive employment market and want to make a change there are still a lot of opportunities all over the world.

In this modern world there do exist a massive shortage highly skilled automotive technicians all over the world. So if you are a highly skilled auto technician you can choose where you want to work in the world.

By just applying on one of the many automotive recruitment companies web pages, and they will search a job opportunity for you any place in the world. The fact is that a lot of emerging automotive markets have opened up in reasoned years, due to the power shift in the automotive industry.

This automotive employment market is going to become even bigger in the future as all new type of cars is going to hit the market. Like all the “EV” cars that are still in the prototype phase. All these cars will have new technology implemented into them, so new personnel must be trained to work on them in the future.

This will bring a paradigm shift into this automotive employment market, even the training methods and the skill sets that must be trained have to change in the very near future.

This will cause the manufacturers to start running extensive training and develop programs, to have highly skilled technicians to assist them to establish their brand. There will be coming new brands and brand name into the playing field and these brands will need to still build their names in the market place.

To build a brand name you need a powerful after sales service you can assist your customers with. This alone will create a new automotive employment market to the auto industry; just imagine an electronic or chemical engineer working at your local car dealership.

It may sound farfetched but it is possible as the cars in the future will be driven with power plants like fuel cells, hydrogen emission and electric motors. All of this is going to come to the market place in this modern world sooner than most of us do realize. So the predictions are that a big portion of the existing automotive workforce will leave.

They will leave this workforce as they are from the old school with old school principles that will become extinct with this new technology. The human tendencies are that you will stay ignorant if you become a member of the old school club. This only happens as the older people were conditioned that they can only learn something up to a certain age. All of us know this is not true but the system wants them to leave as it is harder to change and old horse to get rid of his or her habits

The system was created to develop a group of slaves that would be easier to condition, into what this slave system needs and not what the workers needs. That is one of the reasons why the older leading hands in the automotive employment market gets removed or retrenched. The general modern business conceptions are that older people are resisters to modern business, as they don’t want to change.

If all this highly skilled people are removed in the future the whole automotive industry will suffer a massive skills and brain lost that could have passed on to the younger people. Findings are that most of this older people in the automotive industry don’t want to share their knowledge and skills anymore, because they don’t see themselves as resistors for future development in the automotive industry.

So the automotive employment market will suffer great losses in the near future, due to this phenomenon.

Rocco van Rooyen is an Author on Automotive Solutions. As an Entrepreneur and Author on the subject, he is at the forefront to provide solutions to all automotive related problems.

For more articles (or training) on Automotive employment or to get your FREE Mini Course to How to manage your Automotive Solutions go to http://automotivesolutionsforall.com.

A tropical fish tank is a beautiful addition to any room and choosing the fish to be included is an enjoyable experience. Those who are considering investing in a tank will need to know the species can coexist together and when it’s safe to add fish into a new tank.

Those who are first starting out with a tropical fish tank will need to be aware of how many fish can be added based upon the size of their tank and the size of their new fish.

Tanks can hold 1″ of fish per gallon of water, so a tank that is 60 gallons would have room for 60″ of fish. Realistically those who own a tropical tank would never want to have that many fish. Fish that are large will shift more water and have more waste than a fish with a smaller body. In addition to this, a healthy tank will have gravel, equipment, plants and decoration. This will also reduce the amount of fish that is safe to add into a new tank.

New tank owners will want to consider whether they want to add adult fish or fry. If an adult is being purchased, then the fish will need to be measured from the head to the end of its tail. Those who are buying young fish will want to inquire about the full size of the fish when it matures. Stores often have information listed on the tank that can help new owners decide on the type of fish they wish to buy. This information includes the full size of a fish, temperament and eating habits.

A tropical fish tank should not be fully stocked at once. When the tank is tested for bacteria and nitrogen safety, then the tank is ready for occupants. However, only two fish each week should be added. New inhabitants into a tank change the tank’s environment. When first starting a tank, consider species that are resilient such as White Clouds and then introduce species like Tiger Barbs.

Consider stocking species that enjoy different parts of a tank, this will lead to a tank that is more appealing to watch. Certain breeds like to swim near the top of a tank; these include Betta’s and Hatchet fish. Fish that prefer the bottom of a tank are Catfish or Cory’s and fish that generally swim in the middle of a tank are Angels, Goldfish and Rainbows. Fish that prefer the middle of the aquarium are usually the prettiest.

A tropical aquarium is rewarding and relaxing. Those who add a variety of fish who dwell peacefully together will have many happy years with their tank.

If you would like to read more about Stocking a fish tank, then check out this article on Stocking a fish tank or visit the website www.TropicalFishTankSite.com to learn more about Stocking a fish tank today!

Besides the obligatory bowling ball and bowling shoes, there are several important accessories you should not do without when engaging in the sport of bowling. Most bowling centers sell these accessories as well as allowing you to try out different merchandise. These products can also be purchased online or in other sporting goods stores. Check with your local retailer for details on the products they carry.

Obviously, the most important accessory that you will need when playing the sport of bowling is your bowling ball. Balls are very personal to the owner and can be specified in weight, design, and finger holes to fit you to a tee. Thousands of kids of bowling balls are available that carry designs from Disney, to resin balls with things inside. Balls can be engraved or personalized in lots of different ways and can truly reflect your own personality and interests. Along with the design of your ball it is important to select the best weight for you. Too heavy a ball can cause back strain and inaccuracy, while a ball that is too light can also be inaccurate and not carry enough power. It is important to find a ball that is comfortable for you, keeping in mind your height and weight. The other way to personalize your ball is to have the finger holes drilled to fit your exact finger sizes. This will give you a better grip on the ball as well as a more comfortable finger hold. Finding the perfect ball for you is definitely the best way to improve your game and the most important sport accessory in bowling. Be sure to shop around and try lots of balls before purchasing a ball for yourself.

Another obvious accessory in bowling is your bowling bag. The bag will carry your precious ball and can say a lot about you and your bowling. Your bag can carry your league’s name or emblem, or simply display your name, but a great bag to protect your bowling ball is an accessory you can’t do without.

The second most important accessory in bowling besides your bowling ball would have to be bowling shoes. Horror stories are told about bowling shoe rentals and many people grimace when thinking about the thousands of pairs of sweaty feet that have been in those shoes. On top of the hygiene factor, many people prefer to have shoes that are comfortable and made for their feet only. A good pair of shoes can make all the difference in your bowling game. It is never fun to walk around in an uncomfortable pair of shoes, but if you buy your own, you can mold them to your specific feet. This will make you more comfortable and help to avoid the unwanted rental shoes. Also, bowling shoes come in a variety of colors and styles to suit your specific tastes. If you are looking to inject a little style and personality into your bowling game, consider purchasing your own pair of bowling shoes. You won’t be sorry and neither will your feet!

Bowling gloves are becoming a definite must-have accessory in bowling, even for the regular Joe. While professionals wouldn’t dare bowl without a glove, others are finding that a bowling glove can protect their hand, as well as providing that extra grip and support. Bowling gloves come in a variety of colors and styles and can greatly improve your game. Make sure you buy one that fits your hand snugly as your fingers still have to fit inside the finger holes of your ball. 

 here are several other smaller accessories that you may want to consider if you are making bowling a regular game and those are shirts, ball care cleaners and treatments, as well as other apparel that will make you look great out on the lanes. Bowling socks are becoming a favorite way to make a statement at the bowling alley as well as other kinds of ball grips and wrist and hand supports. Check with your local retailer to see what is available.

If you arm yourself with a bowling ball, bowling shoes, and a few of the bowling accessories mentioned here you will be well positioned to enjoy the game of bowling.

In search of the elusive 300 game, Sean researches, writes, and practices the sport of bowling to someday achieve his dream. Find more information at target=”_new” href=”http://www.bowlinghook.com/bowling-shoes.html”>http://www.bowlinghook.com/bowling-shoes.html

If you’ve ever watched as a cat “flipped” over fresh catnip perhaps you’ve been struck with the question; “what causes Catnip to affect cats that way?” Catnip is indeed an unusual phenomenon among cats, it has the ability to alter your cat’s behavior like nothing else can. So what exactly is the reason for what scientists have coined as “the Catnip effect”?

Unfortunately for such inquisitive minds the exact reason of why Catnip affects cats in such a manner remains mostly a mystery. There is however much that we do know about Catnip and cats even if we don’t have the ultimate answer of exactly “why?” yet answered.

The Science Stuff

Catnip is scientifically classified as Nepeta cataria and is a perennial herb from the mint family and is in fact also referred to as “Catmint”. It is a plant indigenous to Europe but has been exported and is now found all over including the United States and Canada.

The active ingredient in Catnip is an oil; Nepetalactone, which is found in the leaves of the plant. This is the reason you are able to find Catnip in a bottle or spray form in some pet stores.

Other Uses For Catnip

Catnip is not only good to stimulate activity in cats, it can also be used by humans as an herb for a medicinal tea which may soothe toothaches, help against coughs, and may also perform as a sleep aid. Furthermore, Catnip can be used as an herb on salads or other foods as has been the case for centuries in France. Lately Catnip has also been garnering favor as a natural insect repellant rivaling the effectiveness of many store bought varieties of repellant.

Catnip and Kitty

Catnip affects approximately half of all cats. What determines whether or not a cat will react to Catnip is a genome that is inherited (or not inherited as the case may be) at birth. Kittens, regardless of whether or not they carry this genome, do not react to Catnip until reaching about 3 or 4 months of age and becoming sexually mature. Older cats are also more likely to have a diminished or non-existing reaction to Catnip, which leads scientists to believe that the Catnip effect is based at least partially on sexuality and that the reaction may be something like an aphrodisiac. Further adding to this belief is the similarity of a sexual pheromone found in the urine of the male cat to nepetalactone (the active product in Catnip).

Cats that can be traced to regions where Catnip is not indigenous appear to be unaffected by Catnip. The domesticated housecat is not the only cat that may be affected by Catnip. Larger cats can also be affected by the Catnip effect, felines such as the bobcat, lynx, tiger and even lion are known to react much the same way the common housecat would. It is interesting to note that while Catnip can act as a stimulant when a cat sniffs it, it can conversely act as a relaxant if ingested. Therefore, you may see a different, nearly opposite result depending on whether your cat chooses to eat the Catnip you provide for him/her or merely sniffs it (the latter being the more typical behavior).

How to Use Catnip With Your Cat

Catnip can prove to be a very useful tool for a few common problems with your cat. If you are lucky enough to have a cat that does react favorably to Catnip then here are a couple of ideas for you and your furry little friend.

Catnip and Lazy Cats:

Catnip can be used to get a lazy cat off his or her butt. Some cats are notoriously lazy, choosing to sleep much of their day away in a nice golden patch of sunlight on the living room carpet, only waking up to eat and gather some necessary attention from their indulgent owners. If this sounds like your cat, you may soon see (if you haven’t already) that your cat is becoming more and more round. This is generally not a good thing. Catnip may be able to help. Presenting catnip to your cat encourages activity (of course provided the cat sniffs rather than eats the herb).

Many adult cats will respond to Catnip in a manner that resembles their childlike kitten hyperactivity, jumping, playing and running around as if it was given an injection of kitty adrenaline, which in essence, is the case. The effect of Catnip on a cat can last somewhere between two and fifteen minutes. If the latter is the case, then this is a decent amount of exercise and will help keep your cat a little more svelte than without a Catnip treatment. Furthermore, if you leave the Catnip out for a few hours then your cat may return to the herb later (an hour or two after the effect has worn off) and again react in an energetic fashion. So in this sense you may consider Catnip sort of like a kitty energy drink.

Catnip and Cats That Scratch Furniture:

If you have a cat that seems bent on the destruction of your furniture then Catnip may again be able to come to the rescue. Cats can be frustratingly picky about just about anything under the sun including where they want to sharpen their furniture destroying claws. It is not uncommon for a cat to damage or destroy a piece of furniture just because the owners finally gave up on trying to redirect their cat to the unused cat scratching post that set them back anywhere up to a hundred dollars and more. A good way to attempt to change this frustrating and expensive behavior is to rub some Catnip or Catnip oil on a scratching post that you are attempting to get the cat to use. Introduce your cat to the newly “Catnipped” scratching post and see how he/she reacts. If all goes well, your cat will sniff and inspect the post and then begin clawing at it. After a few times (you may have to re-Catnip the post) hopefully kitty will be trained to use the post rather than the sofa.

Using Catnip with Multiple Cats

If you’ve never used Catnip before and you have more than one cat it is advisable to try it out individually on each cat before introducing it to all of your cats at the same time. The reason is because Catnip affects some cats in a negative manner causing the cat in question to become aggressive rather than merely playful. Introducing it to your cats individually enables you to control the situation and keep a cat that may react aggressively isolated from your other cats. This of course means avoiding a possible catfight that could result in broken furniture, hurt kitties (possibly requiring a vet visit), annoyed neighbors (and probably owners), or a combination of all of the above.

Growing and Keeping Catnip

Growing your own Catnip can be rewarding as it can save you money, give you the satisfaction of doing something yourself and ensuring that you always get fresh, high-quality Catnip for your cat. A word of caution however; the exact kitty reaction you want to grow your own Catnip is something to be wary of. If you plan on growing your Catnip out of doors and other cats can access your Catnip garden then be prepared for unwelcome feline visitors. This may not be a problem for you personally, but cats are by nature territorial and if you have a cat that lives alone without the company of other cats this could prove to be an area of stress for your cat. Even if you keep your cat inside at all times, your cat may get agitated if he/she looks out the window to see another cat frolicking in territory your cat considers his or her own. If you choose to grow your Catnip indoors, be careful to keep it out of reach of kitty. Otherwise you’ll likely have Fluffy jumping up on furniture even to the most out of the way place to get access to the tempting herb. Cats are great jumpers and not really known for respecting precious household knick-knacks. So if you do decide to grow it indoors for a cat that reacts to Catnip, be careful to grow it in a place that your cat won’t be able to access it. A room that you always keep closed to the cat is probably the best solution for indoor grown Catnip.

If you do find that your cat reacts positively to Catnip you should be sure to use it sparingly so as not to dull the effect which can be the result of overexposure. A good rule of thumb is to not treat your kitty more than once a week on average to Catnip.

Given all the positive effects that Catnip may have on your cat you owe it to yourself (and naturally your fluffy little ball of affection) to see how he/she reacts to this strange and well known herb. It will provide enjoyment and exercise for your cat and most likely an entertaining show for yourself as well. It’s a win win situation.

Andy Markison is an illustrator, graphic designer, animal lover and pet owner living in Germany. His website, ZapGraphix.com, sells fun and humorous pet related merchandise.

For those starting out in bowling who have a good score, it is possible for them to consider trying their skills in an amateur bowling tournament. It not only brings about a confidence but also pays out a good amount in prizes. The amateur tournament is made up of two divisions and has many breaks for those with handicaps.

The amateur bowling tournament started in the later months of 1977. It was created to unite bowlers of all skill levels into one great tournament. They realized that not all bowlers could throw a 200 or higher game and thus is the reason behind the amateur tournament. Not only can you find the amateur bowling tournament in North America but also internationally. This brings together other nationalities with a love of bowling. There is also a senior amateur bowling tournament for those over the age of sixty who still have the bowling spark in them also.

The amateur bowling tournament is no one of the largest tournaments around. It is the only bowling club that gives those participating assurance of winning a minimum amount. Depending on which branch of the amateur bowling tournament participated in will decide what prize is won. It also determines the amount of players participating in each division.

The amateur bowling tournament office is located in California and has since branched out to other areas of the country. This allows for more people to join in the amateur bowling tournament than in the past. There is a Masters Division and a Classic Division in the amateur bowling tournament. Your score will determine what amateur bowling tournament division you participate in. Most amateur bowling players fall into the classic division.

The amateur bowling tournament is designed for those who are bowling under 200 but may allow those with a 220 average in. The Masters Division was originally designed for those joining the amateur bowling tournament having a 190 to 220 average. This was eventually raised to those with a 225. The classic division in the amateur bowling tournament is was originally for those bowling with a 189 or lower but has since been raised to 199 or less.

Since its beginning, the amateur bowling tournament has paid out in the hundreds of millions of dollars for prizes. This means the amateur bowling tournament has paid out more than any other bowling club in existence. This amateur bowling tournament payout is even higher than the professional bowlers association that has been around for half a century. The amateur bowling tournament has only been happening for a quarter of a century. This is a feat within itself.

If you are really into the sport of bowling, you should consider trying your luck with an amateur bowling tournament. You may find that your skills are better than you thought they were. You can also learn a great deal from those who have participated in the amateur bowling tournament in previous years. Being in an amateur bowling tournament will not only be exciting but lots of fun also.

Jordan Matthews is an internet entrepreneur with a 239 average, who enjoys bowling at local ABT tournaments every weekend. Visit Jordan’s Bowling Website for more information about bowling in tournaments and improving your scores.

Public Speaking Skill? Do you need more Public Speaking Skill? This article will give you not just one Public Speaking Skill, but five! Apply all five of these Skills and have fun becoming an awesome public speaker!

Public Speaking Skill – Tip #1 – Be Open to Learn

When it comes to public speaking, you will want to do everything you can to learn how to do it correctly. You will need to make sure that you take the necessary time to learn how to properly approach public speaking. Public speaking is like a lot of things in life, it’s learned. Oh sure, there are people who are “naturals”, but for the rest of us, we can learn! We all know that for anyone who would like to get a job that uses leadership qualities, you will need to learn how to become a successful public speaker. You will find that once you overcome any fear that you may have about public speaking, you’ll feel a lot better about yourself and your work. The first step is being open to learn.

Public Speaking Skill – Tip #2 – Allow the Fear to Be Your Friend

There are many people who will feel that nervous butterfly in their stomach every time they have to get up and give a speech. This is totally normal and it is only natural for a person to be slightly nervous. The key is to use this nervousness as a means to prepare yourself for your speech. If you know that you will be nervous, convince yourself that it is a good thing, that it can be used to help you focus. You should never allow the nervousness to stop you from seeing yourself as a success.

Public Speaking Skill – Tip #3 – Know Your Venue

One important aspect of successful public speaking is that you need to know the room or venue in which you will speak. You will want to get there early and familiarize yourself with your surroundings. There is nothing worst than getting to a venue late and having to step right up to the podium to deliver a speech. When you get there early, be sure to find some focus points that you can refer to when giving the speech. This will allow you to calm down when you feel that nervous feeling creeping up into your throat.

Public Speaking Skill – Tip #4 – Know Your Audience

Secondly, you will want to know your audience. You will want to know what type of people you are speaking to so that you can adjust the speech for their understanding. For kids you won’t want to use words they just don’t understand, and you will want to make things sound more exciting and complicated for adults.

Public Speaking Skill – Tip #5 – Know Your Material

As you step up to deliver your speech, it will become immediately apparent, whether or not you know your material. You will find that your nervous feelings will disappear quickly, when you really know what you are talking about. Be prepared! Spend time rehearsing your speech, preferably in front of a mirror or someone else. Pour over your notes, just prior to delivering your speech, to ensure that you remember all of your “talking points”.

These five public speaking tips can help you become the public speaker that you have always wanted to become. If you are open to learning and you allow your nervousness to help prepare you, while knowing your venue, audience and material, you’ll soon be on your way!

Public speaking can be fun! You can get over your fears and become an excellent, dynamic public speaker. To find out how YOU can grow as a public speaker AND to receive the report “Advanced Public Speaking Strategies” for FREE, go to http://www.squidoo.com/Public_Speaking_Tip/

There’s an increased need for childcare facilities today which results to more people who are thinking of taking childcare training seminars for this need. Many parents now focus more on their careers so they need to find a good facility where they can leave their children during working hours.

Unlike what most people think, establishing a childcare facility has a number of requirements including training in taking care of children. It’s not just as simple as building a facility, get people, get clients and that’s it. In fact, there are several types of training programs like the following to accomplish:

Actual Childcare Training

Different procedures are used in taking care of children. Even if the facility is going to be a school or a day care center, it’s still important to know the right way of dealing with children of all ages before starting this type of facility. An expert must know the gestures, how to teach children, proper interaction and the right attitude in handling kids. These training programs will teach everything about kids of different ages to know how to take care of them as their second parent.

CPR And First Aid Childcare Training

Children are prone to accidents because of curiosities. With this in mind, numerous facilities make sure that they have staff that knows how to do CPR and provide first aid to kids during these scenarios. They find it helpful not only in providing appropriate care to children but also in finding clients since they can assure parents that their kids are safe in their facilities.

Administrative Training Program

Although a childcare facility is just like any other organization, administrating the staff and overall procedures are different from others. The good thing about these programs is there are a number of childcare training groups that offer them for people who want to establish their childcare facility. This allows individuals to search one company instead of spending hours looking for groups offering this training program. Aside from being a standalone program, some groups may offer them in integrated training program for the benefit of clients.

In conclusion, there are different training programs a childcare facility owner and staff must complete. Parents are very concerned about leaving their children to a facility and getting these training programs assure that they are in good hands. Finding these training facilities today is very simple with the help of the internet and local government offices.

Childcare Training Info Center has everything you need to make your life easier as you begin your career as a childcare professional. The site features state specific training requirements, a step-by-step overview of a typical hiring process, potential employers and interviews to help you get hired. And it also provide a complete range of accredited childcare courses and childcare workers.

Are you thinking about switching careers? If you are, you’re not alone. Most Americans switch careers three times in their lifetime. Nevertheless, switching careers is scary. And it’s especially paralyzing the older you get. But making a career switch is very possible and much more common than you might think. Before you’re ready to leap, realize that it’s a heavyweight decision that deserves some time and solid thought. Here are seven steps to help you on your way.

1. Gain insight from your current situation.

When considering a career switch, the first thing you should do is learn from your current situation. To do this, take a step back and study what you do for a living today and why you do it. Examine the reasons that you are in your current job or career. Was it what you went to school for? Was it what your parents wanted you to do? Was it the “hot career” at one time? Did you just “fall into it”? Did you love it at one time? Did you do it for the money you could make? Was it just to pay the bills? The answers to these questions can provide valuable insight into the core reasons that you want or need to change.

Now examine why you want to leave your current career field. Remove any company or management related politics that are specific to your current employer from the picture. See your situation for what it is and ask yourself why you are looking to switch. Are you being forced out because of market shifts of business trends? Are you burnt out? Do you want to make more money? Are you miserable doing what you do? Have you tried your best but found that your career is “just not a good fit”? Have you decided its time to pursue a long lost career love?

Inspecting your current situation and reasons for your desire to change careers will provide a foundation for your next step.

2. Look inside

Whether you already have a career in mind or you are searching for a new career, you must look inward. In order to gain the most from your reflection, it is essential to start with a clean slate. Set aside any notions (real or imagined) about what type of money certain careers offer. Discard any stereotypes or judgments of occupations. Distance yourself from any pre-conceived ideas about what you are right or destined for.

Now seriously examine what you truly love. First start with the obvious. Look at your hobbies and interests. List out the things you are passionate about or in which you have talent. Give yourself credit for things you are good at and don’t be afraid to write things down that you love, but are not yet good at. Write them all down, even if you think they may not be a possible career path. You’re just brainstorming at this point and you should not eliminate anything right out of the gate. And it’s important to bear in mind that what you may think are your interests are not necessarily all of your interests. To help you get a good look at your interests, observe the simple things. What kinds of news stories perk your interest? What kinds of TV shows do you enjoy? What kinds of books magazines do you find yourself drawn to? What kind of people do you like to associate with or find interesting? What parts of your current career have brought you the most satisfaction?

Next, remind yourself of what you wanted to be when you grew up. Is it something you still want to be? Do you still get stars in your eyes when you think about it? This may give you some real clues. And of course, depending on what you wanted to be, that young dream may be out of reach. Or…is it? Think about it. If your ideal career aspiration at the age of 10 was to be an astronaut and you are now over the age limit or are not physically able to, you can rule it out. But what about other careers associated with astronauts or astronomy? There is a wide array of careers that touch upon astronomy from teaching, to marketing telescopes, to writing for a science magazine, to building models or sets for movies to working at a museum on a space exhibit! When you look at your passion and then use a little imagination, the sky (or should I say space) becomes the limit.

Lastly, look at what type of person you are. Be honest with yourself. Do you enjoy working with your hands? Do you enjoy working alone? Do you enjoy a social work setting? Do you enjoy being part of a team? Do you enjoy working at night? These are all examples of questions that will lead you down the path to discovering and evaluating whether a given career path is right for you.

As you are going through the exercise of looking inside, it is important to avoid cluttering your mind or list with any “buts”. If your answer to the question “do you enjoy working with your hands” was “yes”, leave it at “yes”. Don’t append any knee jerk reactions to your answers such as “yes, but I am clumsy” or “yes, but those jobs don’t pay as much”. Leave your mind open and you will be pleasantly surprised at how easily any natural human discouragement subsides.

3. Explore what’s out there

Now that you’re armed with a list of personal interests and talents, sit on them for a few days and let them cook. Let yourself get used to your newfound list. You may find yourself adding a few more during this time or even crossing a few out.

Begin your next step by opening your eyes to what’s out there (not what you perceive to be out there, but rather what is out there). Pick up your local community college catalog and flip through both credit and continuing education courses. Look online for education or career programs. Make a list of the careers of your friends and family. On your next ride to work or to the store, turn off the radio, look around and take notice of the buildings and businesses around you. Look at the people you see outside and start piecing together what their days are like.

The object of this exercise is to compare what is out there, with what interests you. Let’s stick with the astronomy example. You’re interested in astronomy. So what? Well…now you’ve begun looking through the local community college catalog and there, you see a continuing education course on astronomy. You’ve now found something concrete, a class that you can take that will allow you to pursue your interest. But what is a continuing education course going to get you? A couple of things. One, you will meet other people who share your interest. These people bring information to the table. They may know of groups or clubs that you can join. Or perhaps, they may have friends or relatives who are looking for someone to do research work or work part-time in their science store. Two, you will be able to further your interest…or be able to rule it out as a career path. You may learn that you really love astronomy and would like to pursue it further. On the other hand, you may learn that it really isn’t what you thought it was and you really don’t care enough about it to pursue it as a career. Any way you slice it, you will learn something about yourself and at the very least will have met others who share your interest.

Let’s try another example. Perhaps, on your way to work, you start to notice a road construction worker. The first day you see him, you’re in a suit, he’s in jeans and he’s joking with a coworker as he shovels asphalt under a sunny sky. You think to yourself, “Boy it’d be nice to get out of this suit, work outside…break a sweat for once! Maybe I’d like to do that…” The next day you see him and you watch as a driver leans out his window and curses at him. “Hmmm”, you think. The third day you see him, it’s raining and cold and he’s out braving the elements while you’re dry and warm inside your car. “Cross that one off the list”, you think. If you had only noticed the man on the first day, you’d only have seen him on a good day. If you had only noticed him on the last day, you’d have seen him at the worst. Either way, without really opening your eyes full time, you may have a fragmented impression on what it means to be this or that. The point here is not to look for distinctly negative or positive things about a given occupation, but to begin to see it as a whole. With this type of information, you will be able to form an opinion on whether a given occupation could be a possibility for you.

In addition to concrete and mindful exploration, talking to your friends and family is an invaluable type of investigation. When you start bringing up your interests or ideas for possible career paths in conversations or e-mails, you will no doubt hear a lot of “Oh! Susan’s son teaches astronomy at the university, he’s writing a book on the Hubble telescope this year.” or “Oh John does construction on the side, he loves it!” By talking to other people, you may make connections or gain insight into the experiences and opinions of people connected with your interest areas. It will also trigger some more ideas for you. Perhaps it never occurred to you to pair a love of writing with a love of astronomy until you talked with your cousin.

4. Do your homework

So, you’ve looked inside. You’ve come up with several interests and you’ve taken steps to explore what’s out there. By this time, you’ve come up with a few things you might like to do or have found one you’ve decided you want to pursue. Now it’s time to get to work. It’s time to delve into what it really means to have a job in a particular career field. To accomplish this part of your journey, you need to do serious research.

Your research homework consists of concrete exploration of available paths for your career options. For the majority of careers, you will need to embark on some type of structured educational path. Examples of this are things like sponsored career programs, college degrees, certification programs, professional designations, internships or apprenticeships. Even if your chosen career path does not require ordered training or education, you will no doubt have to “put in your time” and you will need to find out what and how much time you will realistically be expected to “put in”.

So how do you find out? Let’s say you’ve decided you want to seriously explore being a pharmacist. Wonderful! How do you get to be a pharmacist? For starters, inquire with your friends and family to see if anyone knows a pharmacist that you can speak with. Talk to your neighborhood pharmacist, find out where she went to school and ask her about any professional designations she holds or ongoing education she may be taking. If you’re brave, ask her what kind of salary pharmacists can expect to earn. In addition, pick up that college course catalog again and inspect the pharmacology program. Look at the prerequisites and notice how long the program will take to complete and how much the courses cost. Read the course descriptions. Do they peak your interest or do they make you want to throw the book down? A great supplement to all of your research is the internet. There are plenty of newsgroup, blog, forum and professional association sites out there. Any of these can give you a solid peak into what it means and takes to be a given occupation.

For each career path you are interested in, you will want to know the following:

• What are the education requirements?
• Does it require any job certification?
• Is there an apprenticeship required?
• Does it require travel?
• How much money can you make?
• Where are the regions of the country that people in this career field are more successful? more in supply? more in demand? make more money?
• Will it require you to relocate?
• Will it require regular, ongoing education?
• Will it require you to have your own business or work for another company?
• Are there yearly fees? (e.g. license renewal, union dues, association membership, equipment, etc.)
• How many hours will you normally work in a week?
• Are there any age requirements or cut-offs?
• How much will it cost you to become gainfully employed in the field?
• How long will it take you to become gainfully employed in the field?

The answers to these questions will help you narrow your career choices further and may even get a fire burning under your feet.

5. Take financial stock

Okay. You’ve done it! You’ve come up with one or more career paths that you’d like to embark on. You have looked into what it means to be employed in the career field(s) and you are now powerfully armed with the knowledge of what it takes to get you where you want to go! But like everything in life, it’s going to cost you. You now need to list out all the costs, add them up and compare them with what you will be able to swing. There’s no doubt you will be able to accomplish your goals, no matter what your financial situation. It may take you longer than you like or may come at the expense of some other items or conveniences in your life, but you can do it if you set your mind to it and approach it methodically. This may mean you have to call upon your research skills again and explore financial options such as grants, scholarships, payment plans, or 401K or private institution education loans. You even may be able to pay for education or experience by doing an internship or by performing work using a skill that you currently have in exchange for training or experience.

When you are taking financial stock, allow yourself breathing room. Perhaps your goals are not financially feasible at this moment in time. Perhaps you just had a baby, your youngest son needs braces, or you’ve just paid an absorbent amount of money to repair your car. It’s okay. Rejoice in the fact that you’ve come this far. You can put a plan together and start saving or start applying for aid or other means of financing. There may even be things you can start to do that will be free or cheap, such as volunteering in the field or reading books to prepare you for your studies. Most people don’t have the luxury of quitting their jobs while they switch careers, so most likely you will be living a “double life” while you prepare for the switch. Whatever you do, don’t break the bank, because you’ll inevitably find yourself right back where you started.

6. Check your calendar

Great! You’ve got it all under control. You know where you’re going, how you’re going to get there and how you’re going to pay for it. But can you afford the time? Do you have enough free time or flexibility to meet the educational requirements? Are you young enough or old enough to fall within any professional age requirements? If you have the time and the age, skip this step. If not, the last step of your journey is to shuffle your calendar!

Shuffling your calendar may be easy. You may know right away what to eliminate or move in order to make room for your new career path. Conversely, finding the time might be downright complicated. Maybe you have small children, maybe you have an ailing parent, maybe you have church or community commitments…any of these things would make working towards a new career an uphill battle. Here again, it may mean that you have to post-pone your journey for a little while. Or, it could mean that you have to settle for beginning your education informally by reading books or taking online courses when you can. Whatever your challenge, don’t lose hope! Faith in yourself and perseverance will get you where you want to go.

7. Take the plunge

You’ve arrived at the last step. It’s time to jump in! Time to register for that first class, accept that internship, or apply for that entry level or part-time job in your chosen field. Whatever you’ve found to be the first step towards your new career, delight in the fact that you’ve come a long way and you’re doing it! You’ve done a lot of hard, thorough work and you have a lot to be proud of. Start down that path with your chin up and your shoulders back!

Food for your trip

You can’t take this trip without packing! If you leave home with one thing, leave home with the comforting knowledge that your approach to a new career is circular. This means that you can always go back to the beginning of the circle or to any point within the circle. If you’ve started a class or program and found that you hate it. So what? You’ve learned to cross it off you list and go back and take another look. Even if you get all the way to end of the path and decide it is not for you, take comfort that you did your best and its time to go back to another number in the circle. There is no shame in that.

So go on now…get out of here! Your train is leaving and you better be on it! Just don’t forget to take some pictures along the way, stop and smell the flowers, buy a few souvenirs and by all means, don’t forget where you came from!

Alotta Candor is a staff writer and commentator for JobSchmob.com, the “lighter” side of the working world. She is proud to be a liberated ex-corporate office worker.

http://www.JobSchmob.com

Buying cat furniture can be a confusing and perhaps exhausting experience. Nothing is more frustrating than to set up a beautiful cat tree only to have your cats completely ignore it! I’ve owned cats all my life, and in this article I’ll try to share some of my expertise and insight with you to help make your decision a bit easier.

There are a number of factors to consider in choosing a cat tree, condo, tower, playground or gym. Here, in no particular order, are some things you’ll want to keep in mind:

• Your cat’s habits and preferences
• Placement and space requirements
• Materials and construction
• Expandability
• Price

What does your cat want?

As a general rule, most cats share certain traits and habits like curiosity, a desire to hide out in a dark, enclosed space and a love of heights – but as every cat owner knows, each kitty is different!

The first thing I’d suggest is to spend a few days paying close attention to your cat’s habits. Where does he usually sleep, hang out or play? What kinds of things does she play with? When you pick her up, does she want to climb up on your shoulders? What kinds of places are you always battling to keep him out of? The answers to these questions should help you decide what kinds of features your cat will appreciate the most.

Features and the kitties who love them:

Kitty Condo: A cat who tends to choose a dark, quiet corner to sleep in will probably want a model with a kitty condo. The same could be said for cats who love to explore shopping bags, boxes, cupboards and other dark, secret places. If your household is one of those busy or hectic ones with kids playing and lots of folks coming and going, kitty might just love the peace and quiet that an enclosed cat condo brings.

Height: Some cats just need to be up high. Some kitties just like to be able to see everything, and some feel more secure up above the reach of the family dog or small children. If your cat is always trying to climb up on your shoulders when you pick her up, or likes to jump up on counters, you might consider getting the tallest cat tree, kitty gym or playground you can. A floor to ceiling tower can be a good solution, and they come in a variety of configurations – some are very simple and take up very little floor space, others can be quite elaborate. There are also a lot of free standing models over 6 feet tall that will satisfy your cat’s need to look down on us poor humans!

Secure Sleeping Spot: Our cat Lucy always sleeps leaned up against something (me, a chair cushion, or the raised lip on her favorite cat perch) – she needs the security of feeling something against her back for her to truly relax. If your cat is like Lucy, you’ll want to be sure that the cat tree or playground you choose has a place to sleep where she’ll feel secure. You might want a sleep tray with raised sides, a curved half moon shaped shelf or a kitty hammock.

Not So Secure Sleeping Spot: Our other cat, George, just sprawls out anywhere – if your cat is like him, he’ll be happy with an open shelf to nap on.

Observation Post: Pretty much every cat likes to keep an eye on things – it’s simply a survival instinct. Make sure the model you choose has a place where your cat will want to spend many hours of the day, whether it’s a flat shelf, kitty hammock, curved shelf or tray. In addition to the style of the observation post, consider the height off the floor and ease of access – especially if your cat is elderly or doesn’t get around as well as he used to.

Kitty Hammocks: We’ve found that most cats love a hammock, although timid cats may need some reassurance at first due to the extra ‘give’ they feel at first when they step on it. Once they get used to it, it may become a favorite ‘hang out’ (sorry – I couldn’t resist!). If your cat is unsure about the hammock at first, put it close to the floor for added peace of mind. As your cat gets used to it you can move it higher if you like.

Play Tubes: Playful cats like tubes or tunnels because they can charge right through them or lie in wait and pounce at unsuspecting passersby – animal or human!

Placement

Even if the cat furniture you choose has all the things your cat loves, if you put it in the wrong place he may completely ignore it. Think about where your cat spends time now – is she a ‘people cat’ who wants to be in the same room as the rest of the family? Is she more of a loner who seeks out quiet spots in unused parts of the house? Does he like to look out the window? (check for nose prints on the glass!)

Years ago we had a fabulous floor to ceiling cat tower with multiple shelves, a kitty condo – the works! The only trouble was that the one place in the house where we had space for it was a room that was hardly ever used. Since our cats like to be with us, they never used the tree, and we ended up donating it to the local humane society. Now we have a smaller cat tree that we keep in the family room where we spend much of our time, and the cats use it every day.

If you can place the tree next to a window there is a much higher likelihood that your cats will use it. A window that opens is best, especially for indoor kitties. The smells and sounds from outdoors will keep them entertained and engaged in the world around them.

Space

Here’s where you start thinking about your needs. How much space are you willing and able to devote to cat furniture, whether it’s a playground, kitty gym or cat tree? Be sure to look at all the dimensions – baseplate size, overall dimensions and height – and actually measure the space you have in mind to make sure it will fit. Many models are modular in design, so you don’t have to put it together exactly as it is pictured. This can give you a bit of flexibility if space is an issue. Look for the phrase ‘modular design’ – not all cat trees have this feature!

Materials and Construction

One of the main considerations here should be how stable and sturdy the cat furniture is. Cats will not use a wobbly or unstable tree. Look for broad bases and bottom heavy designs that will keep it from tipping when your cat jumps up on it.

Wood: Some cat furniture manufacturers use plywood, others use particle board – and they will all swear that the wood they use is the absolute best! The truth is that each has advantages and disadvantages.

Plywood is quite strong because it is made from thin layers of wood and each layer has the grain running in a different direction from the layer above and below. Since the visible surfaces are covered, the manufacturer can use a lower grade of plywood that will have knots showing and may be a bit rough to the touch. So you may have rough exposed wood on the inside roof of a condo or the underside of the baseplate – not really an issue for most folks, but a good thing to know ahead of time.

Particle board is made of small wood chips bonded together by a kind of glue. It is heavier than plywood, so it adds stability to a cat tree, and the surface is much smoother than plywood. It is more likely than plywood to break – sometimes corners will chip off – but under normal use this shouldn’t be a problem.

Coverings: Carpet or fake fur? The debate rages! One thing everyone agrees on is that whatever covering you choose make sure it is not a closed loop carpet or other covering that can catch a claw. I’m sure you’ve seen a cat stretch out and get a claw caught in a bedspread or sofa cushion – in a relaxed setting the cat is usually able to extricate himself, although he may leave a snag in the fabric! Imagine your cat at top speed romping up and down his kitty playground – if the playground is covered in non cut pile carpet (like Berber) and he catches a claw it can cause a serious injury.

Carpet is soft and inviting, but since one of the purposes of cat furniture is to give your kitties a place to sharpen their claws, some folks think carpeted cat furniture just encourages or even trains your cat to sharpen his claws on the carpet on your floor. Personally, I’ve never had that problem, but I know some folks have. If you do choose carpet, make sure it is cut-pile carpet to prevent possible injury from a caught claw. Carpet is secured with staples, which have the potential to stick up and scratch fingers or paws, but well made cat furniture does not usually have this problem.

Fake fur isn’t quite as cushy as carpet, but as long as it is secured with non-toxic glue, there is no possibility of injury from an errant staple. Some manufacturers do staple the fake fur, however, and it is much harder to bury a staple in fake fur than in carpet – if you choose fake fur, make sure that it is glued, not stapled. Like the carpet vs fake fur debate, the staples vs nontoxic glue debate is a heated one. I am of the opinion that as long as the glue is nontoxic and the staples are applied properly glue is best for fake fur and staples are best for carpet. It’s a matter of personal preference as to whether you choose carpet or fur. One nice thing about fake fur is that it is washable – often times models with hammocks are covered in fake fur – check to make sure that the hammock covers zip off so you can throw them in the washing machine.

Sisal Rope: Most experts agree that sisal rope provides an ideal surface for your cat to sharpen her claws. It’s durable, yet it doesn’t ‘catch’ claws the way non cut pile carpet can. Most cats love the feel of it under their paws and will instinctively start scratching when they feel it under foot. All of our cat furniture features sisal rope, some on all poles, some in combination with carpet.

Curved Features: Any curved surface on a cat tree is made of thick cardboard tubes – they are used in construction as molds for making round concrete pillars among other things. They are quite sturdy and should last a long time, but be aware that they are cardboard and will be the weakest part of your kitty gym – especially if they ever get wet. Look for designs that offer extra support to a curved feature – two attachment points is better than one!

Expandability and Flexibility

If you’re anything like me, you get bored with your environment and need to rearrange the furniture now and then. Cats get bored too, and so many of the models we offer are of a modular design which allows you to put them together in more than one way and to add or swap out features later. If this is important to you, be sure to look for the phrase ‘modular design’ – not all models have this feature!

Price and Other Human Concerns

Cat furniture can seem expensive, but it truly is an investment in your cat’s health and happiness. A cat who has a place to burn off energy and take a safe nap is less likely to develop destructive habits like scratching your furniture or relieving himself outside the litterbox. Indoor cats especially need some extra stimulation to keep them from getting bored.

Of course, you are the one who has to decide how much to spend on your cats, but in cat furniture you really do get what you pay for. If your budget is small, you are better off getting a smaller model than a large cheap model. Cheap cat furniture is likely to suffer from poor quality materials and workmanship which will shorten its life. Also, it will probably be wobbly and therefore less appealing to your cats so they may not use it at all. You may get lucky, but in my experience cheap cat furniture is a waste of money.

Aesthetically speaking, your cat couldn’t care less what the cat tree looks like, cats are much more concerned with function, so please yourself in the aesthetics department! And as far as color is concerned, cats’ eyes are optimized for hunting in low light – they don’t really see color. So choose a color that works for you, one that matches your decor or a neutral color that will blend in even if you change your decorating scheme. Some cat owners choose colors to match their cat’s fur so the cat hair won’t show as much, others like a very different color to inspire them to keep the cat tree vacuumed – color is purely a personal decision and will not affect your cat’s enjoyment one way or the other!

I hope I’ve been able to help you sort out some of the maze of decisions that need to be made in choosing the right cat tree for your kitty and for you. Hopefully I haven’t just added to the confusion!

Laura Miller
Tick-n-Thistle Furniture and Fine Art Your one stop shop for cat trees, playgrounds and kitty condos, as well as furniture for kids, grown ups and pets. http://www.ticknthistle.com