Following the Principles of T'ai Chi

T’ai Chi is not only about the movements (or forms), but about the principles by which you practice the movements. If you tap into the principles of T'ai Chi properly, you discover the stillness in the movement and, in turn, the energy that flows through your spirit. If you don’t tap into the principles, T’ai Chi becomes nothing but a series of dance steps without a soul.

• Slow down. This is the Grand Ultimate Principle because you begin to find all the benefits of T'ai Chi if you go slowly.

  
  



• Take it easy. Forcing things is an antithesis in T’ai Chi. Physical and mental stress makes you tense up and get all the forms wrong.

  
  



• Think in curves. Movement in T’ai Chi is always curved and circular, never straight and linear. This allows one movement to flow seamless to the next and promotes a better flow of your chi (energy).

  
  



• Be simple. Live fully. Live naturally. And be simple at your core.

  
  



• Sink lower. In other words, let your knees relax and bend at the joint. This grounds you, lets energy flow from the earth into your body, and allows you to overpower your opponent by getting beneath his or her energy and center.

  
  



• Balance your movements. Just as all things in the universe are reciprocal, T’ai Chi is about balancing your moves — for example, forward and back, weight-bearing and non-weight-bearing, and reach and pull back. This is based on the ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang, in which all living things are opposing yet complementary.

  
  



• Stay balanced. Both physically and mentally, good balance is essential to good T’ai Chi — and to life.

  
  



• Move the whole package. Your whole body, not just a wrist or leg, is a part of T'ai Chi movement. Think action-reaction. Think flow.

  
  



• Go with the flow. Think smooth as silk. Move and think as if you are on wheels. Not herky-jerky with breaks. That cuts into your energy flow.

  
  



• Stay rooted. Always feel that you are firmly planted on the ground. This applies not only to T’ai Chi but also to life — what else is new?

  
  

Like the forms and names in T’ai Chi, the list of principles varies slightly depending on the school, teacher, or style. No set list is handed down from generation to generation. But if you look and listen closely, you find that the core of any set of T'ai Chi principles is identical.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/following-the-principles-of-tai-chi.html

Green Your Home All-in-One For Dummies

Make small eco-friendly adjustments in your daily routine to make your home more green. Start by using natural cleaning products instead of commercially-produced cleaners. If you’re looking for new appliances, analyze their energy efficiency before buying. If you need supplies for building or remodeling your home, look for green building materials to reduce your carbon footprint.

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Easy Steps to a Greener Home Life

Your home is the best place to start making green living choices and small changes add up to big differences if you’re looking for a greener lifestyle. Turn these simple, super-quick tips into habits around your home:

• In winter, throw on a sweater and turn down the thermostat on your furnace to approximately 68°F. In summer, take off your sweater and turn up the thermostat on your air conditioning to about 78°F.

  
  



• Unplug chargers for cellphones and other small or portable electronic devices when they’re not in use.

  
  



• Turn off electrical appliances at the wall (or on a power strip) rather than leaving them on standby.

  
  



• Turn off the faucet while you brush your teeth and wash your face.

  
  



• Take showers instead of baths and keep them to five minutes or less.

  
  



• Get the whole family involved in making green changes. Make it fun!

  
  



• Switch to energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs.

  
  



• Recycle as much household waste as possible.

  
  



• Give away things that you no longer need instead of throwing them out.

  
  



• Choose plants that are well suited to your growing conditions — they need less watering and are more pest-resistant.

  
  

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Green Cleaning Supplies

One way to create a greener home environment is to steer clear of commercially formulated cleaning products, which all basically contain the same unhealthy ingredients. Keep these green cleaning alternatives in your house instead:

• Baking soda: Sodium bicarbonate cleans up after acidic stains and messes, works as a mild abrasive, shines up aluminum, chrome, silver, and other metals, and unclogs and cleans drains. It cuts grease and dirt and also deodorizes.

  
  



• Borax: Another member of the sodium family (sodium borate), this natural mineral is a disinfectant and is sold at drugstores, supermarkets, and hardware and supply stores.

  
  



• Castor oil: The colorless or sometimes yellowish oil, from the castor plant, is a fine lubricant and a worthy ingredient in wood cleaners or polishes.

  
  



• Cornstarch: Just as its name implies, this mild and absorbent cleaner is a starch derived from corn.

  
  



• Cornmeal: Set aside some the next time you’re making corn muffins: This mildly abrasive substance makes easy work of grease stains.

  
  



• Club soda: Have a big bottle of bubbly on hand for cleaning glass or tackling wine spills on carpet.

  
  



• Cream of tartar: This white crystalline powder sold in the spice section of supermarkets whips up impressive meringue and makes a great paste for scrubbing cookware.

  
  



• Essential oils: Tea tree, peppermint, grapefruit, and other oils (found in health-food or craft stores) not only smell great, but they have disinfecting properties, as well.

  
  



• Glycerin: This common ingredient in hand-wash and dish liquid is an oil that provides lubrication and is often used in milder cleaners.

  
  



• Hydrogen peroxide: An oxygen bleach that doesn’t have the harmful properties of chlorine bleach, this mild acid is used as an antiseptic for minor wounds and kills germs when it’s used as a cleaning agent, too.

  
  



• Lemon juice: This citric acid bleaches, disinfects, deodorizes, and cuts grease. Use the real thing — or bottled concentrate.

  
  



• Liquid castile soap: This vegetable-based soap, found in grocery or health-food stores, is a mild and versatile cleaning agent.

  
  



• Salt: Another member of the sodium family, sodium chloride — or common table salt — is a natural scrubbing agent.

  
  



• Washing soda: Also known as sodium carbonate, this stronger iteration of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) looks similar and is sometimes available in the laundry section of the supermarket or hardware store.

  
  



• White distilled vinegar: Count on this wonder cleaner for deodorizing, cutting through grease, removing stains, and freshening.

  
  

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Analyzing Household Product Efficiency before Making Purchases

When investing in appliances or home improvements, consider the life expectancy and other environmentally-friendly factors that contribute to a greener home. In order to ensure good payback, your choice should be focused and deliberate, so answer these questions for every option you’re considering:

1. How long will the appliance last?

   
   



2. How does the pollution output vary over time?

   
   



3. Will the energy efficiency decrease over time (the answer is almost always yes because parts wear out, friction increases, and so on), and if so, by how much?

   
   



4. How much maintenance will be required over time, and will you be able to do the labor and maintenance in subsequent years?

   
   



5. How long is the warranty, and how much will unwarranted repairs cost?

   
   



6. Who will be doing the service, and where do parts come from?

   
   



7. How will the future costs of energy affect the financial efficiencies?

   
   



8. What are the financing costs, and are there tax advantages now? Will there be tax advantages in the future that aren’t available now?

   
   

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Locating Green Building Materials

Green materials are great for building and remodeling because they reduce the impact on the environment. Given the new popularity of green building, finding green materials is easy. Besides talking to sales reps in product showrooms, try these places to start your search:

• BuildingGreen: The publishers of the Environmental Building News and GreenSpec have put all their unbiased and perfectly presented information together in a wonderfully straightforward site at www.buildinggreen.com.

  
  



• Green Home Guide: Although targeted at homeowners, Green Home Guide provides reviews and descriptions of green products by the real professionals using them. Its know-how sections provide all the information you need for greening a kitchen, bathroom, nursery, bedroom, and even your lawn. Check it out at www.greenhomeguide.com.

  
  



• American Institute of Architects (AIA): The AIA provides resources and case studies for homeowners to use to green their homes. Contact your local chapter of the AIA (you can find it in the phone book or at www.aia.org) and ask about its green resources.

  
  



• United States Green Building Council (USGBC): The USGBC is a valuable source for data on green building, great for making the argument to skeptical developers and city officials. You can point to its combined experience and knowledge to find hundreds of reports and case studies. Visit the USGBC online at www.usgbc.org.

  
  

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dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/green-your-home-allinone-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

High Blood Pressure For Dummies

After you have received a blood pressure measurement and a classification from your doctor, make sure you follow the recommended schedule for medical rechecks. Make the necessary lifestyle changes to lower your blood pressure, look for signs of secondary high blood pressure, and if you need high blood pressure medication, consult a physician to find the right medication for you.

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Blood Pressure Classifications

When you have a blood pressure reading, the doctor will tell you two numbers: the SBP (systolic blood pressure) over the DBP (diastolic blood pressure). Use the following chart to compare your SBP and DBP numbers and classify your blood pressure. If your SBP and DBP fall into different categories, use the higher category. Note: mm Hg means millimeters of mercury.

Category	SBP mm Hg		DBP mm Hg
Normal	Less than 120	and	Less than 80
Prehypertension	120–139	or	80–89
High Blood Pressure
Stage 1	140–159	or	90–99
Stage 2	160 or greater	or	100 or greater

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What to Do after You Know Your Blood Pressure

After you’ve received your initial blood pressure measurement, follow these recommendations for follow up visits with your physician and any actions you may need to take if you have high blood pressure:

SBP mm Hg	DBP mm Hg	Follow up Recommended
Under 120	Under 80	Recheck in two years
120-139	80-89	Recheck in one year; change lifestyle
140-159	90-99	Confirm in two months; one BP medication; change lifestyle
160 or greater	100 or greater	Treat within a month; two BP medications; change lifestyle

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How to Prevent or Reduce High Blood Pressure

If you’ve been diagnosed with prehypertension or high blood pressure, like millions of others, adopt these changes to help prevent, or lower, high blood pressure to a healthy level. Doing these things may prevent the harmful effects of high blood pressure:

• Make sure you definitely have high blood pressure by checking it several times.

  
  



• Look for the cause of the high blood pressure.

  
  



• Adopt the DASH diet.

  
  



• Reduce salt in your diet.

  
  



• Quit smoking.

  
  



• If you drink, limit alcohol intake.

  
  



• Cut down or eliminate your caffeine intake.

  
  



• Start an exercise program and stick with it.

  
  



• Use mind-body techniques such as yoga and meditation.

  
  



• Avoid medications that raise blood pressure like steroids, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, and certain diet pills.

  
  



• Take blood pressure medications without fail.

  
  

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Evidence of Secondary High Blood Pressure

Secondary high blood pressure is a result of a specific illness. Usually, once the disease is treated, your blood pressure returns to normal. These signs may indicate you have secondary high blood pressure:

• Onset of high blood pressure before age 20 or past age 50

  
  



• Flushing spells

  
  



• Rapid pulse

  
  



• Intolerance to heat

  
  



• Very high level of blood pressure (over 180/120)

  
  



• Damage to the eyes, kidneys, or heart

  
  



• Low level of potassium in the blood

  
  



• Loud humming sound in the abdomen (called a bruit)

  
  



• Family history of kidney disease

  
  



• Poor response to treatment that’s usually effective

  
  

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Assessing High Blood Pressure Drugs

If you’ve wholeheartedly made lifestyle changes trying to reduce your high blood pressure and it doesn’t seem to be working, you may need high blood pressure medication. Numerous drugs exist for high blood pressure, but you need to meet with your doctor to discuss what medicine is right for you. Drugs for high blood pressure fall into several classes:

• Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors: Lower blood pressure by blocking formation of a key hormone, angiotensin II, which both narrows arteries and causes release of another blood-pressure-raising hormone

  
  



• Angiotensin II receptor blockers: Lower blood pressure by preventing angiotensin II from attaching to a site

  
  



• Beta blockers: Lower blood pressure by decreasing the amount of blood pumped by the heart and by lowering the heart rate

  
  



• Calcium-channel blockers: Lower blood pressure by preventing calcium from entering cells, thus increasing the size of arteries

  
  



• Diuretics: Lower blood pressure by causing salt loss in the urine with accompanying body water, thereby reducing blood volume and pressure

  
  

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dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/high-blood-pressure-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Choosing an Organic Beer

In this day and age, an organic movement is in place toward all things, well, organic. Almost everything is available as an organic choice: coffee, fruits and vegetables, juice, and wine. Organic beer seems only the natural progression of things.

The rise of organic beer

The modern organic beer movement traces its roots to Brauerei Pinkus-Müller in Münster, Germany, where the first all-organic beer was brewed in 1979. It came as the result of Pinkus-Müller’s disappointment in the declining quality of conventional malt. He found organic malt to be a superior substitute, and his brewery switched to all-organic brewing a little more than a decade later.

Germany now boasts about 30 organic breweries, and Pinkus-Müller’s organic beer eventually influenced brewmasters abroad. In 1997, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the National Organic Program, which opened the door for Morgan Wolaver to found the first all-organic brewing company, Wolaver’s Organic Ales, in Santa Cruz, California.

Sorting through organic beer certifications

The USDA standards for organic beer are the same as those for organic foods: Ingredients must be grown without toxic pesticides or synthetic fertilizers in soil free from chemicals for at least three years, and genetically modified ingredients (or GMOs) are a no-no.

A GMO is a genetically modified organism. GMOs are common in food production, and they include genetically modified corn, which may appear in the brewing industry. The certified-organic label is a guarantee that the product doesn’t contain GMOs.

Organic certification for beer is broken down to two primary levels:

• 100 percent organic: This certification is the highest level and requires that the beer be brewed entirely from organically produced ingredients and nothing else.

  
  



• Organic: The next level, organic, comprises the largest number of beers. Organic beers must be brewed from 95 percent organically produced ingredients. The remaining 5 percent of ingredients must not be available in organic form in the quality and quantity needed.

  
  

Keep in mind that this organic certification process is kind of a work in progress; USDA regulations are likely to continue changing.

Why go organic?

So why drink organic beer? You won’t find any real financial incentive for drinking organic beer because it’s usually every bit as pricey as craft beers. The real incentive to drink organic is rooted in the deep satisfaction of knowing that you’re not placing an added burden on the environment. A commitment to sustainable agriculture and the environment is what drinking organic beer is really all about:

• Drinking organic beer can contribute to your overall health and well-being.

  
  



• Drinking organically brewed beer contributes to a better environment.

  
  



• Drinking organic beer supports the organic farming industry, which contributes to the amount of land that’s farmed in a chemical-free and sustainable way.

  
  

Beware of the urban myth that organic beers are less likely to produce hangovers due to their lack of chemicals — not true!

A list of organic beers

If you’re interested in trying some organic brews, here’s a list of beers to start with:

A Sampling of Organic Beers

Beer	Brewery	Country
Foret	DuPont	Belgium
Jade	Bénifontaine	France
Pinkus Organic Münster Alt	Pinkus-Müller	Germany
Golden Promise	Caldonian	U.K.
Organic Best Ale	Samuel Smith	U.K.
Chocolate Stout	Bison	U.S.
Cru D’Or	North Coast	U.S.
Elliott Bay (10 varieties)	Elliott Bay	U.S.
Fish Tale Amber Ale	Fish	U.S.
Green Lakes	Deschutes	U.S.
Laurelwood Free Range Red Ale	Hopworks	U.S.
Mothership Wit	New Belgium	U.S.
Mud Puddle PNW Red Ale	Oakshire	U.S.
Naughty Nellie’s Golden Ale	Pike	U.S.
Oceanic Organic Saison	Kailua Kona	U.S.
Organic Barley Wine	Lakefront	U.S.
Organic ESB	Lakefront	U.S.
Organic Zwickel Bier Pale Ale	Redrock	U.S.
Squatters Organic Amber Ale	Utah Brewers Cooperative	U.S.
Stone Mill	Anheuser-Busch	U.S.
Wild Hop	Anheuser-Busch	U.S.
Woody Organic IPA	Roots Organic	U.S.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/choosing-an-organic-beer.html

ETFs without Borders: Global Investments

If you were standing on a ship in the middle of the ocean, and you looked up and squinted real hard, you would see ETF investment dollars sailing overhead.

For at least a decade now, U.S. fund investors have been steadily adding money to the international side of their stock portfolios. According to figures from the Investment Company Institute, the average U.S. investor in 2001 had but 13 percent of his or her equity portfolio allocated to foreign stocks; today, that figure is 27 percent.

Just to be clear: The terms foreign and international are used interchangeably to refer to stocks of companies outside of the United States. The word global refers to stocks of companies based anywhere in the whole world, including the United States.

Many investors have been moving to foreign stocks for the same reason that they move, moth-into-light style, into any other kind of investment: They’ve been lured by recent high returns, especially the returns of emerging market nation stocks.

As of mid-2011, the 10-year annualized return of the U.S. stock market stood at about 4 percent. In sharp contrast, stocks of the world’s emerging market nations clocked in with a rather astounding 16 percent per year for the past decade.

Developed nations in the Pacific Rim (Japan, Australia, Singapore) more or less matched the United States for the decade. European stocks (including the United Kingdom), despite some sharp recent losses due largely to a debt mess in Greece and Portugal, showed an average return of about 6 percent.

In the past, most Americans were woefully under-invested abroad, so the recent turn could be a good thing. It’s good that most investors have finally started to send their dollars abroad — even if some of them are doing it, by and large, for the wrong reason.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/etfs-without-borders-global-investments.html

Inserting Sound Files in a PowerPoint Slide

To play sound in a PowerPoint 2007 presentation, you insert a sound file in a slide. How and when the sound is heard is up to you. You can make the sound file play automatically when the slide appears or start playing when you click.

Before you insert your sound file on a slide, ask yourself, "Do I want the sound file to start playing when the slide appears or when I click the Sound icon?" PowerPoint places a Sound icon on a slide to remind you that sound plays while the slide is on-screen. Clicking the Sound icon gives you more control over when the file starts playing, although you have to remember to click to start playing the sound. You can hide the Sound icon or leave it on a slide to remind yourself to click to start playing sounds.

Follow these steps to insert a sound file in a slide:

1. Click the Insert tab.

2. Insert the sound file.

You can insert the file in the Insert Sound dialog box or Clip Organizer:

• Selecting a sound file on your computer or network: Click the Sound button. Then select a sound file in the Insert Sound dialog box and click OK.

• Selecting a sound file in the Clip Organizer: Open the drop-down list on the Sound button and choose Sound from Clip Organizer on the drop-down list. The Clip Organizer opens in a task pane. Locate the sound and double-click it.

3. Choose Automatically or When Clicked in the dialog box that asks how you want the sound to start playing.

Here are your choices:

• Automatically: Click this button to make the sound play automatically as soon as the slide appears.

• When Clicked: Click this button to play the sound when you click the Sound icon.

Don't worry about choosing right. You can always change your mind about when a sound plays.

A Sound icon appears on the slide to remind you that sounds are supposed to play when your slide is on-screen. You can change the size of this icon by selecting it and dragging a corner handle or going to the (Sound Tools) Options tab and entering new Height and Width measurements. You can also drag it into an out-of-the-way corner.

To remove a sound file from a slide, select the Sound icon and then press the Delete key.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/inserting-sound-files-in-a-powerpoint-slide.html

Choosing to Stay “in the Closet”

4 of 9 in Series:
The Essentials of Same-Sex Relationships

If someone stays “in the closet,” that means the person doesn't fully reveal his or her sexual identity as a homosexual. Closeted homosexuals hide their sexual identity and behave in particular ways so they can blend in with their chosen community. Choosing to be closeted depends on the person involved. After all, sexual orientation goes beyond just engaging in sexual acts, and people attach a certain weight to the concept of “gay.”

Saying that someone is in the closet has a range of meanings. Some people who get married, have children, and spend an entire lifetime living with and regularly having sex with a member of the opposite sex are really not heterosexual at all. To get sexually aroused, these people have to fantasize about having sex with a member of their own sex.

People who appear to be openly heterosexual may actually lead clandestine gay sex lives in several different ways:

• Some people visit gay bars when the opportunity presents itself, go to areas where gay prostitutes are known to hang out, or merely masturbate while looking at gay magazines.

  
  



• Some people lead a gay lifestyle only when in the presence of other gays, but put on a front of being heterosexual in other settings, such as at work or school.

  
  



• Some people may never actually engage in any form of gay sex, but, nevertheless, deep down inside, are gay.

  
  

Many of these people, especially in today’s more open culture, do end up “coming out of the closet” at some point in their lives. Others box themselves in so tightly that they just don’t feel that they can survive the revelation, and so they hide their homosexuality for their entire lives.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/choosing-to-stay-147in-the-closet148.html

Pro Tools All-in-One For Dummies

Pro Tools tools help you sound like a recording pro with the help of a whole catalogue of keyboard shortcuts to help you sound great faster. The Pro Tools shortcut repertoire includes keyboard combinations to help you create, record, and play music as well as edit it.

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Pro Tools Keyboard Shortcuts to Create, Play, and Record Music

If you’re using Pro Tools, you’re all about the sound, not about the mousing around. Use the shortcut options in the following lists to streamline your efforts and speed up your work.

• To create a new track: Press Apple command key+N (Mac) or Ctrl+N (PC).

  
  



• To start or stop playing a session: Press the spacebar.

  
  



• To enable tracks to record:

  
  
  
  

  • To record-enable a single track: Click the Record Enable button in either the track’s channel strip (in the Mix window) or the track menu (in the Edit window). The button blinks red when engaged.

    
    
  
  

  • To record-enable all tracks: Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (PC) the Record Enable button on any track.

    
    
  
  

  • To record-enable selected tracks: Shift-click to select the tracks you want in the playlist and then Shift+Option-click (Mac) or Shift+Alt-click (PC) the Record Enable button for one of the selected tracks.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• To start recording in your session (instead of clicking Record and then Play):

  
  
  
  

  • Press the F12 key.

    
    
  
  

  • Press Apple command key+spacebar (Mac) or Ctrl+spacebar (PC).

    
    
  
  

  • If you have the Number Keypad mode set to Transport in the Operations tab of the Preferences dialog box, press the 3 of the keypad. Choose Setup→Preferences from the main menu to access the Preferences dialog box.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• To stop recording the session: Press the spacebar.

  
  



• To place a track in Record Safe mode: Apple command key-click (Mac) or Ctrl-click (PC) the Record Enable button for the track.

  
  



• To place all tracks in Record Safe mode: Apple command key+Option-click (Mac) or Ctrl+Alt-click (PC) the Record Enable button for any track.

  
  



• To toggle between Record modes (Non-destructive, Destructive, Loop, QuickPunch): Control-click (Mac) or right-click (PC) the Record button in the Transport window.

  
  



• To enter and exit recording while in QuickPunch Record mode (while the session plays): Press Apple command key+spacebar (Mac) or Ctrl+spacebar (PC).

  
  



• To set and enable a pre-roll: Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (PC) the track’s playlist where you want to put the pre-roll.

  
  



• To set and enable a post-roll: Option-click (Mac) or Alt-click (PC) the track’s playlist where you want to put the post-roll.

  
  



• To stop recording and cancel a take: Press Apple command key+. (period; Mac) or Alt+. (period; PC).

  
  

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Pro Tools Keyboard Shortcuts to Make Selections, Edit, and Zoom

You use Pro Tools as a sound engineering tool. Sound engineering is often sound editing, and to do that efficiently, Pro Tools includes keyboard shortcuts to help you edit faster and zoom louder.

• To make a selection while your session plays:

  
  
  
  

  • Press the down arrow to set the selection’s start point.

    
    
  
  

  • Press the up arrow to set the selection’s end point.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• To nudge a selection’s start point: Press Option+Shift+– (minus key; Mac) or Alt+Shift+– (minus key; PC).

  
  



• To nudge a selection’s end point: Press Apple command key+Shift+– (minus key; Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+– (minus key; PC).

  
  



• To change the nudge value:

  
  
  
  

  • Press Apple command key+Option++ (plus key on the number section of keyboard; Mac) or Ctrl+Alt++ (plus key on the number pad; PC) for more nudge value.

    
    
  
  

  • Press Apple command key+Option+– (minus key on the number section of keyboard; Mac) or Ctrl+Alt+– (minus key on the number pad; PC) for less nudge.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• To choose Edit modes:

  
  
  
  

  • Shuffle: Press F1.

    
    
  
  

  • Slip: Press F2.

    
    
  
  

  • Spot: Press F3.

    
    
  
  

  • Grid: Press F4.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• To choose Edit Tools

  
  
  
  

  • Zoom: Press F5.

    
    
  
  

  • Trimmer: Press F6.

    
    
  
  

  • Selector: Press F7.

    
    
  
  

  • Grabber: Press F8.

    
    
  
  

  • Scrubber: Press F9.

    
    
  
  

  • Pencil: Press F10.

    
    
  
  

  • Smart Tool: Press F6 and F7 simultaneously.

    
    
  
  
  
  



• To select Zoom presets

  
  
  
  

  • Preset #1: Press Control+1 (Mac) or Windows key+1 (PC).

    
    
  
  

  • Preset #2: Press Control+2 (Mac) or Windows key+2 (PC).

    
    
  
  

  • Preset #3: Press Control+3 (Mac) or Windows key+3 (PC).

    
    
  
  

  • Preset #4: Press Control+4 (Mac) or Windows key+4 (PC).

    
    
  
  

  • Preset #5: Press Control+5 (Mac) or Windows key+5 (PC).

    
    
  
  
  
  



• To change the grid value

  
  
  
  

  • Press Control+Option++ (plus key on the number pad; Mac) or Start/Windows+Alt++ (plus key on the number pad; PC) to increase grid value.

    
    
  
  

  • Press Control+Option+– (minus key on the number pad; Mac) or Windows key+Alt+– (minus key on the number pad; PC) to decrease grid value.

    
    
  
  
  
  

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dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/pro-tools-allinone-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Secrets of Access 2010 Database Design

Here are the Five Commandments of database design, whether you use Access 2010 or another database program. A well-designed database makes maintaining your data easier.

• Store information where it belongs, not where it appears. Where you store information has nothing to do with where it appears. In a spreadsheet, you type information where you want it to appear when you print the spreadsheet, but databases work differently. In a database, you store information in tables based on the structure of the information. A piece of information may appear in lots of different reports, but you store it in only one field in one table.

  
  



• Store information as it really exists, not as you want it to appear in a specific report. This is a corollary to the first rule. If you want book titles to appear in all uppercase (capital) letters in your purchase orders, Access can capitalize the titles for you. Store the book titles with correct capitalization so you aren’t stuck with them in all caps on every report. Access has lots of built-in functions that can adjust the way that text, numbers, and dates are formatted.

  
  



• Garbage in, garbage out (GIGO). If you don’t bother to create a good, sensible design for your database — and if you aren’t careful to enter correct, clean data — your database will end up full of garbage.

  
  

  A well-designed database is easier to maintain than a badly designed one because each piece of information is stored only once, in a clearly named field in a clearly named table, with the proper validation rules in place. Yes, it sounds like a lot of work, but cleaning up a database of 10,000 incorrect records is (pardon the understatement) even more work.

  
  



• Separate your data from your programs. If you create a database to be shared with (or distributed to) other people, store all the tables in one database (the back end) and all the other objects in another database (the front end). Then you can link these two databases together to make everything work. Separating the tables from everything else streamlines the whole rigmarole of updating queries, forms, reports, or other stuff later without disturbing the data in the tables.

  
  



• Back up early and often. Okay, this tip isn’t about design, but it’s too important to omit: Make a backup of your database every day. With luck, your office already has a system of regular (probably nightly) backups that includes your database. If not, make a backup copy of your database at regular intervals, and certainly before making any major changes. Keep several backups, not just the most recent one, in case it takes a while to discover a problem.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/secrets-of-access-2010-database-design.html

Evaluating Corruption in Emerging Markets

Emerging markets are vulnerable to corruption. Understanding the rules and behavior you see in some emerging markets can help you make investment decisions. Corruption is more common in emerging markets where established institutions may not work well. But bribes, kickbacks, and campaign contributions may be the cost of doing business in any market.

Transparency International conducts surveys and on-the-ground research to assess the amount of corruption in different countries. The organization is a great source of information on different corrupt practices and their effects on local economies.

Some investors separate corruption into good and bad: Good corruption means that although government officials take their cut, at least the money from bribes and kickbacks is used to purchase goods and services in the local economy; With bad corruption, the money is wired off to a private account at an offshore bank, curtailing growth and development at home.

Another perspective is that good corruption is aligned to economic activity and follows a generally acknowledged price structure. It involves illegal payments to government officials, but at least everyone involved knows the rules of the game. Of course, if the structure breaks down or the rules change, then you have a big mess and a big headache.

When thinking about the relative rightness or wrongness of corruption, consider whether the amounts demanded are large or small. Small payments made to get things done may be thought of as tips, not bribes, and such payments may have a history and an etiquette. And in many countries, it’s customary for people who do business together to exchange expensive presents. At a higher level, corruption may come in the form of very large payments to a national leader or someone who reports to him. This form of corruption leads to inflated costs and shoddy work, and it interferes with a government’s relationship to its people.

The hallmark of corruption is secrecy; no one wants to admit that he’s paying or receiving money for better service, favorable regulation, or major contracts. A culture of secrecy makes dealing with corruption complicated, erodes trust, and burdens citizens. Corruption weakens economies, corrodes trust in governments and institutions, and exacerbates conflicts — none of which is good for economic growth.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/evaluating-corruption-in-emerging-markets.html

The Anatomy of a Labrador Retriever

Understanding the anatomy of a Labrador Retriever will help you know your dog better and talk more specifically with your veterinarian. This figure gives a complete outline of your Lab’s body parts:

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-anatomy-of-a-labrador-retriever.html

Taking Baby in the Bath with You

Bathing with your baby is a convenient way for you to mix play, skin-on-skin contact, warmth, and massage all at once. In this article, we show you how to do so in ways that are safe and enjoyable for both of you.

Playing it safe

Here are some tips to help you make bathing with your baby safe:

• Always check the water temperature before you bring your baby into the tub.

• Plan ahead for the bath and have everything you need nearby: shampoo, washcloth, car/infant seat (to place your baby in while you get in and out of the tub), towels (one for you, too!), soap, and tub toys.

If you plan to give your baby an after-bath massage, place a diaper and change of clothes near where you will be giving the massage, such as near the changing table.

• If you're bathing with a newborn, have your partner or a helper nearby.

• Check the perimeter ledge of the tub beforehand and make sure that everything your little one can reach with her hands is safe. (Move those razors!)

• Keep in mind how slippery your little one will be when she's soaped up!

Bathing with a newborn

A baby's first bath can be very stressful: Your baby may be terrified of being placed in a small tub of water, and you may feel like a bad parent for making him cry. You may be able to skip the stress by taking your baby in the bath with you. Most newborns love this experience; the combination of feeling the warm water and hearing your heartbeat and voice makes your baby feel as if he is back in the womb.

Be sure you wait until your baby's umbilical cord falls off before giving him a full bath. If you are unsure about this, ask your family doctor or pediatrician. And keep in mind that newborns need to be bathed only once or twice a week.

The first couple of times you bring your newborn in the bath with you can be a little nerve-racking because of the combination of your baby's slippery, soapy skin and lack of head control. But with practice, you can make the experience comfortable and fun. Here are some tips to make it a safe and pleasurable experience for both of you:

• For your first couple of baths, have someone with you who can help you bring your baby in and out of the tub and soap him up.

• Fill the tub approximately two-thirds full before you get in, and check that the temperature is warm but not too hot.

Be sure to watch the water level when your baby is placed on your chest. If it's too close to his mouth and nose, let some water out.

• Keep an infant or car seat near the tub, and place your baby's towel inside the seat. Before you get in the bath, put your baby in the seat.

• Get in the tub first by yourself. If you're taking your first bath since giving birth, go ahead and take a few minutes by yourself before bringing your baby in with you. You will really appreciate the break!

• Have your partner (or helper) slowly and gently place your baby chest-down on top of your chest.

Your baby responds to your emotions. If you are calm and relaxed, your baby will be, too.

• Gently hold your baby and feel him relax and melt into your skin.

• Have your partner or helper soap up a soft baby's washcloth and gently wash your baby. Keep a squirt bottle nearby to help rinse your baby off.

In the early days, it may be difficult to wash the front side of your baby's body. You can wash his belly on the changing table with a sponge bath if necessary.

• Spend a few minutes just holding your little one and rubbing his back.

• When it's time to get out of the bath, have your helper or partner take the baby out first and immediately place him in the car seat. Wrap the towel around him (like a cocoon) to keep him warm.

Some people recommend breastfeeding during the bath. It is a very pleasurable experience for your baby to be nursed and surrounded by warm water. However, most newborns' elimination process occurs immediately following a feeding, so nursing in the bathtub may not be so pleasurable for you!

Bathing with your older baby

When your baby begins to gain some head control, you can bring eye contact and play into your bath. By bending your knees and placing your baby with her back against your thighs, you and she are in a good position to give and receive smiles, laughter, and love. You can also wash her belly!

Here are some tips to make bathing with your older baby fun and safe:

• Place a car/infant seat (with your baby's towel inside) next to the tub.

• Put your baby in the car/infant seat, and after you are in the tub, reach over the side and pick her up. You will be able to put her back in the car/infant seat the same way after you've finished bathing.

• Have some brightly colored floating toys in the tub for her to play with. Encourage splashing!

• If your baby is 6 months or older, place him or her in a seated position on your extended legs, facing out. This will make your baby feel like a big boy or girl!

• Finish the bath chest-to-chest with your baby. Let her feel her legs and arms floating, and watch her relax.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/taking-baby-in-the-bath-with-you.html

How Fantasy Football Game Play Is Scored

To win in fantasy football, your team needs to score more points than any other team in your league. A fantasy team scores points based on each player’s performance and personal stats, in addition to the standard NFL point system for touchdowns, field goals, safeties, and extra points; fantasy scoring is not affected by the NFL teams’ win-loss records.

As a result, the stud offensive players who can run, catch, and pass for big yards and not just score are the elite players in the fantasy world. In essence, fantasy rewards a player for playing a good game even if he doesn’t score lots of touchdowns. Scoring touchdowns isn’t easy in the NFL, and just because an offensive player can’t reach the end zone doesn’t mean he’s having a bad game.

Fantasy football also awards points to kickers who kick field goals and extra points and to team defenses that can score fantasy points by not giving up points and creating turnovers, in addition to scoring touchdowns and safeties. Basically, anything from fumble recoveries to receptions to field goal distance can add up for your fantasy team.

Every league provider has a default setting for the stats that will convert to fantasy scoring, but any NFL stat can translate into fantasy points — only your league commissioner can make the decision to change any defaults.

To know your league’s scoring default, make sure you check out your league’s scoring system when preparing for your season. The scoring rules of your league may affect your draft strategy and will affect the outcome of each game during the season.

Fantasy football simulates the real deal by using a performance-based scoring system. A touchdown is worth 6 points for an NFL team and 6 fantasy points for a player on a fantasy team (in most leagues). Fantasy players are also awarded points for yardage gained, such as 1 point for every 10 yards gained rushing or receiving.

Bad NFL plays often count as negative fantasy points; sacks can be worth –1 or interceptions worth –2. In general, every statistic can be used to rate a player’s achievements, good and bad, depending on your fantasy league.

Your fantasy team’s final score each week is the sum of all your starting players’ fantasy points. The following table shows an example of fantasy scoring for one week in a league with fractional and negative points. Don’t worry about having to calculate all this each week. Your league provider does the math for you.

A Good Week for Your Fantasy Team

Position	Actual Performance	Fantasy Points Scored	Fantasy Point Total
Quarterback	240 yds passing 2 touchdowns 1 interception	240 ÷ 20 = 12 2 x 6 = 12 1 x –2 = –2	22
Wide receiver	110 yds receiving 1 touchdown	110 ÷ 10 = 11 1 x 6 = 6	17
Wide receiver	85 yds receiving	85 ÷ 10 = 8.5	8.5
Wide receiver	40 yds receiving 1 lost fumble	40 ÷ 10 = 4 1 x –2 = –2	2
Running back	140 yds rushing 35 yds receiving 3 touchdowns	140 ÷ 10 = 14 35 ÷ 10 = 3.5 3 x 6 = 18	35.5
Running back	80 yds rushing 75 yds receiving 1 touchdown 2 lost fumbles	80 ÷ 10 = 8 75 ÷ 10 = 7.5 1 x 6 = 6 2 x –2 = –4	17.5
Tight end	0 yds	0	0
Kicker	2 field goals 2 extra points	2 x 3 = 6 2 x 1 = 2	8
Team defense	14 points allowed 2 sacks 1 fumble recovered 1 interception	14 points = 1 2 x 2 = 4 1 x 2 = 2 1 x 2 = 2	9
_____________	_____________	_____________	119.5

To know your fantasy football league’s scoring default, make sure you check out your league’s scoring system when preparing for your season. The scoring rules of your league may affect your draft strategy and will affect the outcome of each game during the season.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-fantasy-football-game-play-is-scored.html

Customizing Browser Settings with Your iPad and Safari

Getting on the Internet with your iPad is easy using its Wi-Fi or 3G/4G capabilities. Once you’re online, the built-in browser, Safari, is your ticket to a wide world of information, entertainment, education, and more.

You can customize and enhance your Safari experience by accessing and modifying the settings in the following table; simply tap the Settings app icon on the Home screen and then tap Safari. Some of the security settings such as Fraud Warning and JavaScript are a bit advanced for beginning users, so you might just want to leave the default settings as they are.

Setting	Description
Search Engine	Choose between Google, Bing, and Yahoo! search engines.
AutoFill	Turn on AutoFill to automatically complete contact information, names, or passwords as you type.
Open New Tabs in Background	Specify that tabs you open appear behind the current tab.
Always Show Bookmarks Bar	Turn on the display of the bookmarks bar in the Bookmarks menu.
Private Browsing	Automatically removes items from the download list, stops Safari from letting AutoFill save information used to complete your entries in the search or address fields as you type, and doesn’t save browsing history information.
Accept Cookies	Specify whether to accept cookies only from sites you’ve visited, never or always.
Clear History	Tap to clear the history of sites you’ve visited online in the browser.
Clear Cookies and Data	Clear any cookies that have been created on your iPad.
Fraud Warning	Alerts you when you're visiting what could be a fraudulent website.
JavaScript	Asks for your okay when your browser tries to run JavaScript.
Block Pop-ups	Stops pop-up windows in the browser when activated.
Advanced	Displays stored data from websites you’ve visited and allows you to activate a Debug Console, useful to advanced users.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/customizing-browser-settings-with-your-ipad-and-sa.html

Understanding the Mac OS X Lion Clipboard

9 of 11 in Series:
The Essentials of Working with Folders in Mac OS X Lion

The Mac OS X Lion Clipboard is a holding area for the last thing that you cut or copied. That copied item can be text, a picture, a portion of a picture, an object in a drawing program, a column of numbers in a spreadsheet, any icon (except a disk), or just about anything else that can be selected. In other words, the Clipboard is OS X Lion’s temporary storage area.

Most of the time, the Clipboard works quietly in the background, but you can ask the Clipboard to reveal itself by choosing Edit→Show Clipboard. This command summons the Clipboard window, which lists the type of item (such as text, picture, or sound) on the Clipboard and a message letting you know whether the item on the Clipboard can be displayed.

As a storage area, the Clipboard’s contents are temporary. Very temporary. When you cut or copy an item, that item remains on the Clipboard only until you cut or copy something else. When you do cut or copy something else, the new item replaces the Clipboard’s contents, and the newcomer remains on the Clipboard until you cut or copy something else.

Whatever is on the Clipboard heads straight for oblivion if you crash, lose power, log out, or shut down your Mac.

The Clipboard commands on the Edit menu are enabled only when they can actually be used. If the selected item can be cut or copied, the Cut and Copy commands in the Edit menu are enabled. If the selected item can’t be cut or copied, the commands are unavailable and are dimmed (gray).

If the Clipboard is empty or the current document can’t accept what’s on the Clipboard, the Paste command is dimmed. Finally, when nothing is selected, the Cut, Copy, and Clear commands are dimmed. Icons can’t be cut; they can only be copied or pasted. So when an icon is selected, the Cut command is always gray.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/understanding-the-mac-os-x-lion-clipboard.html

Planning to Grow Your Own Fruits and Vegetables

1 of 9 in Series:
The Essentials of Greening Your Lawn and Garden

Growing your own fruits and vegetables is one of the ultimate acts of green living. Not only does it cut down food miles (the distance food travels from where it’s produced to the consumer) to zero, but it saves you money as well. And if you use organic techniques, you can contribute to the world's food supply without contributing to the use of toxic pesticides and herbicides.

You can successfully grow a wide range of fruits and vegetables in your own garden without toxic pesticides by matching your local growing conditions with the conditions that the plants like best and using organic techniques.

When planning your food garden, you need to consider how much space you have, what your climate conditions are (including rainfall), and how much time you have to spend maintaining it. Keep in mind that most fruits and vegetables have the following essential needs:

• Loose, well-drained, fertile soil: Nutrient-rich soil that gives roots room to grow leads to larger, healthier plants.

  
  



• Full sun: Six to eight hours of sunlight daily helps plants grow more quickly.

  
  



• Shelter from the wind: Exposed locations allow wind to damage or dry out plants.

  
  



• Consistent water source: Water is critical for the optimal health, size, and juiciness of fruits and vegetables.

  
  



• Protection from competitors: Plants should be positioned away from nearby trees or hedges that would shade them or rob their root systems of moisture.

  
  

In general, the easiest items to grow in any garden include:

• Beets

  
  



• Carrots

  
  



• Cucumbers

  
  



• Eggplant

  
  



• Green beans

  
  



• Herbs

  
  



• All kinds of lettuce-type greens

  
  



• Onions

  
  



• Peas

  
  



• Hot and sweet peppers

  
  



• Radishes

  
  



• Raspberries

  
  



• Strawberries

  
  



• Summer squash

  
  



• Tomatoes

  
  

Consider planting unusual varieties of fruits and vegetables — especially ones that you can’t usually find in your supermarket. For example, yellow tomatoes and blue-fleshed potatoes can be stunning additions to your dinner plate. Many of these are considered heirloom varieties, meaning that they were once common but have largely been replaced by more commercially viable types. Choosing heirloom seeds and plants helps to preserve the diversity of the vegetable and fruit gene pool.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/planning-to-grow-your-own-fruits-and-vegetables.html

Finding the Right Yoga Class for You

Finding the right Yoga class can be intimidating, but choosing the Yoga class that fits you is easy when you take time to evaluate your Yoga needs. So how do you know the right class when you see it?

When you visit a Yoga center or classroom, pay attention to your intuitive feelings about the place. Consider how the staff treats you and how you respond to the people attending class. Stroll around the facility and feel its overall energy. First impressions are often (although not always) accurate.

When checking out a potential class to join, ask yourself the following questions:

• How do I feel about the classroom’s atmosphere?

  
  



• What’s my gut response to the teacher?

  
  



• Do I want a male or female teacher?

  
  



• What are the teacher’s credentials?

  
  



• Does the teacher or school have a good reputation?

  
  



• How do I respond to other students?

  
  



• How big are the classes, and can I still get proper individual attention from the teacher?

  
  



• Would I be happy coming here regularly?

  
  



• Can I afford the classes?

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/finding-the-right-yoga-class-for-you.html

How to Recognize Contingent Liabilities During an Audit

Knowing what a contingent liability is and how to handle it is great, but suppose the client doesn’t tell you it has contingent liabilities? To protect the good name of your CPA firm you need to find all reportable contingent liabilities. Here are two steps you can take to ensure due diligence regarding contingent liabilities.

1. Check with the client’s outside counsel.

   
   

   Your client should send a legal letter to its independent attorney (who is retained by the company, as opposed to being employed by the company) to obtain or corroborate information about any pending litigation, tax assessments, and warranty claims. A legal letter is similar to a confirmation because it asks for information from an independent third party to verify assertions made by your audit client. (In this case, you’re also trying to sniff out any contingent liabilities your client may have failed to mention.) Your client’s management prepares the letter, but you provide the guidelines for the type of information requested.

   
   

   Here are some of the types of information you ask your client to get from its attorney:

   
   
   
   

   • A list and progress report of any pending or eminent litigation to which the attorney has given substantial attention.

     
     
   
   

   • A description of agreed-upon materiality levels. For example, the attorney reports only on litigation whose potential awards are over a certain dollar amount.

     
     
   
   

   • A list of other claims, such as warranties or guarantees, that management believes are probable or reasonably possible to have a bad negative outcome for the client, plus a request that the attorney comment if her opinion of the claims differs from management’s opinion.

     
     
   
   
   
   

• You can discover a lot about your audit client simply by doing an Internet search. Product warranty issues and pending lawsuits often make the news.

  
  

1. Search for tax assessments or guarantees.

   
   

   When you’re looking for tax assessments or guarantees, start by taking these two steps:

   
   
   
   

   • Examine the meeting minutes of the board of directors: Reading the minutes of the board of directors is part of many of your business and financial processes audit procedures. See if the minutes show that the board approved guaranteeing any loans. If so, examine the facts and circumstances around the guarantee. Make note of any guarantee that has the potential to be a contingent liability, and query your client’s management about it. For example, maybe you notice in the newspaper’s business section that the business whose loan your audit client has guaranteed is considering filing for bankruptcy.

     
     
   
   

   • Review correspondence from governmental agencies: Ask your client to provide any notices or letters from all governmental agencies — federal, state, and local — to see whether any potential tax deficiencies exist. If the government agency has already assessed additional tax (or is in the process of doing so), talk with client management personnel to see whether they plan to appeal the proposed assessment. Discuss the circumstances with your audit team leader to get his opinion regarding whether this event should be reported or disclosed.

     
     
   
   
   
   

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-recognize-contingent-liabilities-during-an-.html

Change Viewing Mode in Acrobat Creative Suite 5

Adobe Acrobat provides several viewing modes that control how the PDF document is displayed. Choose which viewing mode is used by choosing View→Page Display and selecting the viewing option you want.

The viewing modes are

• Single Page: This mode displays only the current document page on-screen and doesn’t show any adjoining pages. When you scroll to the top or bottom of the current page, other pages aren’t visible at the same time as the current page.

  
  



• Single Page Continuous: With this mode, you can see the current document page, and if you scroll to the top (or bottom) of the current page, the adjoining page is also visible. If you reduce your page viewing magnification, many document pages are visible.

  
  



• Two-Up (previously known as Facing): Use this mode to see pages as a spread, where you can view both the left and right sides of adjoining pages at the same time. When you have multi-page documents, use this option to see the pages presented side-by-side in.

  
  

  As with the Single Page mode, other pages that go before or fall after the spread aren’t visible — only the one pair of pages is visible on-screen, regardless of the magnification or scrolling.

  
  



• Two-Up Continuous (previously known as Continuous-Facing): If you have a document with many pages containing text or pictures on their adjoining pages, you can use this mode to scroll from one pair of visible pages to the next. When the Two-Up Continuous view is selected, you can see adjoining page spreads.

  
  

  This option is identical to the Two-Up option, but it also shows pages above or below the spread you’re presently viewing.

  
  

Here are a couple of useful hints for changing the defaults in the Two-Up view modes:

• See the first page (cover) separately: Choose View→Page Display→Show Cover Page during Two-Up.

  
  



• Change the space between pages: The default option is for Acrobat to display a space between pages that are displayed together in the Two-Up mode. You can replace the space with a dotted line to divide the adjoining pages by choosing View→Page Display→Show Gaps between Pages.

  
  

You can add viewing modes as menu buttons by choosing View→Toolbars→More Tools.

Acrobat has two additional options for changing your document display:

• Full Screen mode (View→Full Screen Mode): You can use the Full Screen mode option to hide all menus, toolbars, and other parts of the Acrobat interface. This option is useful if you want to focus on the document being displayed, not the program being used to view it.

  
  

  If you’re viewing a document in the Full Screen mode, press the Esc key to return to the regular viewing mode.

  
  

  When using the Full Screen mode, you can select Edit→Preferences and choose Full Screen to define attributes that change the way the file displays. You can set the display to advance automatically from one page to the next at a certain interval, choose from many different page transition types, and define the background color.

  
  

  You can set a document to automatically open in Full Screen mode by choosing File→Properties and choosing this option from the Initial View panel of the Document Properties dialog box.

  
  



• Reading mode (View→Reading Mode): The many toolbars and buttons of Acrobat can get in the way of the document you wish to review. Use Reading mode to temporarily hide all the toolbars and buttons, making it easier to focus on the content of the PDF file.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/change-viewing-mode-in-acrobat-creative-suite-5.html

Securing Networks with Access Control Lists (ACLs)

Using an Access Control List (ACL) is one way that network administrators can secure networks. An ACL has a list of entries, which are called Access Control Entries (ACEs). Access and security that one network device has to another network device are affected by the entries that make up the ACL.

ACEs are not necessarily a negative restriction; in some cases, an ACE is a method of granting a person or device access to something. Therefore, an ACE’s two big roles are in the Deny category and the Permit category.

To work with ACLs properly, you should know where to apply them on your network. You can apply ACLs in two areas, either near the source of the traffic or close to the destination. If you put an entry close to the source or the destination, then you can likely take care of your control needs by needing to touch only that one device.

If you can place your rules near the source of the traffic, then you have a benefit of stopping the traffic at that point. If you have the rules placed near the destination of the traffic flow, the traffic actually goes almost all the way to the destination before being told that it is not allowed. For example, Canadians have something called preclearance for travelling into the United States.

This is like placing ACLs near the source because, before you board your plane in Canada, you go through all the U.S. Customs processing. This means that you know if you are allowed in the United States before you get to the plane. Likewise, putting your ACLs near the source cuts down on the traffic crossing your network.

In some cases, you do not have control over the source location or locations. If you have a very large WAN, traffic could enter the network from the Internet in several locations. This means you need to put matching ACLs on several devices across the WAN so, rather than putting those rules on all the other devices, you can put the ACLs or rules in one or two devices near the destination of the traffic.

This means that traffic crosses the network, only to be rejected as the traffic approaches the goal. Although this strategy increases traffic on the network, it gives you an implementation that is easier to maintain because you now have to worry about only one device.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/securing-networks-with-access-control-lists-acls.html

Avoid Motion Blur in Macro and Close-Up Photography

The ability to freeze the action in a scene is important in macro and close-up photography. The slightest breeze can cause lightweight subjects such as flowers to sway in and out of your frame, and some subjects such as living creatures move quickly and spontaneously. Even handholding your camera can cause enough motion to blur your images.

The first step to ensuring your images have crisp and clear sharpness is using a fast shutter speed (such as 1/250 of a second). The faster your shutter speed, the less motion blur appears in your images.

Most digital cameras offer a shutter priority mode (symbolized either by a Tv or an S). In the shutter priority mode, you can select the shutter speed that’s most appropriate for your subject, while the camera automatically adjusts your aperture to expose a scene properly. This is ideal for situations with inconsistent lighting conditions in which you are dealing with movement and you wish to shoot quickly.

Your shutter speed plays a part in determining your overall exposure along with aperture and ISO, so the faster you set it, the less it contributes to the exposure. In lowlight situations, an extremely fast shutter speed may cause issues. In some cases you may need to slow down your shutter to capture a proper exposure.

If you find that a scene is too dim for the shutter speed you wish to use, you need to increase the level of light to get the shot. The most efficient tool for this job is the battery-operated flash. A flash is lightweight, easy to use, and a good size for most macro and close-up subjects.

A battery-operated flash can help freeze motion in an image. Not only does the flash emit enough light to capture an image with a fast shutter speed, but because the flash emits light for just a short instant, the image captured on your digital sensor represents that short instant, as well.

The maximum shutter speed at which a flash can be synced varies from camera to camera. Refer to your owner’s manual to learn the max sync speed of your camera.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/avoid-motion-blur-in-macro-and-closeup-photography.html

Medical Basics and Emergency First Aid for Your Pit Bull

You want to keep your Pit Bull in the pink of health, and you want to be prepared to care for your dog in a canine emergency. Your basic, essential tools are phone numbers you can access at any time — your dog’s veterinarian and the animal emergency clinic.

The following list shows parameters for a healthy Pit Bull:

• Respiration: 10-30 breaths per minute at rest

  
  



• Pulse: 60-120 beats per minute at rest

  
  



• Temperature: 101.5 to 102.5 degrees F

  
  



• Capillary refill time: Less than 2 seconds

  
  



• Gum color: Pink (not white, red, bluish, yellowish, or with tiny red spots)

  
  



• Hydration: Skin should pop back into position within 3 seconds of being lifted.

  
  

If your dog isn’t breathing, follow these steps to give your pooch artificial respiration:

1. Open and clear dog’s mouth and pull the tongue forward.

   
   



2. Seal you mouth over the dog’s mouth and nose and blow for two seconds. Repeat every four seconds.

   
   

To give your dog CPR if his or her heart stops, follow these steps:

1. Place one hand on top of the other on the dog’s left chest two inches up from and behind the elbow.

   
   



2. Press and release quickly about 100 times per minute.

   
   



3. Give two breaths into the nose every 15 compressions.

   
   

For other canine emergencies, use the information in the following list, and in any emergency, get your pet to a vet as soon as possible:

• Obstructions: Wrap your hands around the abdomen behind the rib cage and compress briskly. If the dog is unconscious, pull its tongue forward and explore the throat.

  
  



• Drowning: Hold the dog upside down so that water can run out; then give artificial respiration

  
  



• Bleeding: Cover the wound with clean dressing and apply pressure. Elevate the wound site and apply a cold pack.

  
  



• Heat stroke: Wet the dog and place it in front of a fan. (Do not plunge the dog into ice water.) Offer water for drinking.

  
  



• Bloat: Go to an emergency veterinarian immediately. No home treatment available.

  
  



• Antifreeze ingestion: Go to an emergency veterinarian immediately. No home treatment available.

  
  



• Rodent poisoning: Go to an emergency veterinarian immediately. No home treatment available.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/medical-basics-and-emergency-first-aid-for-your-pi.html

Keeping One Step Ahead of the Spammers

If it's just a matter of time before a spammer catches up to your e-mail address, is there any hope? Sure, you have some hope. But, truth be told, you can do little to completely avoid spam. What hope you have comes from taking a few basic actions to keep your e-mail address a little more low profile:

• Know where your e-mail address can be found (white pages and Web pages, for example): Do you know who has your e-mail address? Do you participate in chat rooms? Message boards? Newsgroups? Do you have your e-mail address posted on your Web page?

Try typing your e-mail address into a search engine and seeing what pops up. The answer to the age-old question of "How did those #*@%#$ get my e-mail address?" may be that you gave it to them!

• Guard your primary e-mail address: When somebody asks for your e-mail address, think twice before giving it out. Or, shield yourself behind an e-mail alias. Many ISPs allow you to create multiple e-mail addresses, which can be used for creating "sacrificial" e-mail addresses you can give out to people you're not sure you trust.

• Use stand-alone e-mail software: Most Internet browsers come bundled with e-mail programs. The problem is that by bundling the two, you may be making it easy for hackers, spammers, and unscrupulous Webmasters to get your e-mail address from your browser. For that reason, consider using a stand-alone e-mail product, like Eudora or Pegasus.

• Play hide-and-seek with your browser: Even if you're using a stand-alone e-mail program, you may have at some time recorded your e-mail address somewhere within your browser, or your browser may have even grabbed it and given it away for you in an attempt to be helpful. Because the whole purpose of a browser is to share information between computers, it may be giving away that information about you to others whenever they know the right way to ask for it. If you think that your browser may be blowing the whistle on you, here's how to shut down the little snitch:

• In Netscape: Choose Edit --> Preferences from the menu bar atop the browser window. On the list along the left side of the Preferences dialog box, click the plus sign (+) next to the Mail & Newsgroups option. Then select Identity, which appears just below the plus sign. On the right side of the dialog box appears any of your personal information that the browser has stored. Erase all personal information you see there and click OK to accept the changes.

• In Internet Explorer: Choose Tools --> Internet Options from the menu bar atop the browser window. In the Internet Options dialog box, select the Content tab and click the My Profile button. Erase all personal information that appears on this form. Click OK to accept the changes.

• In Opera: Choose E-Mail --> Edit Active Account from the menu bar atop the browser window. Erase all personal information that appears in the right half of the dialog box.

• Choose an ISP that actively blocks spam: Several large national ISPs — like AOL, EarthLink, and AT&T — have some spam-blocking features, so if your ISP has them, make sure that you use them. Although you're likely to have more difficulty finding a local ISP that blocks spam, many are run by system administrators who are veterans of the spam wars and know how to offer spam protection that's so vigorous it makes nuclear missile silos look poorly defended. It's always worth asking around.

• Find out how to filter your own e-mail: Some e-mail software programs have filtering features that, if you take the time to read the instructions, can be useful in helping you manage your mailbox in many ways, including helping you filter spam directly into the trash. Be ready to experiment with those settings, and don't autodelete anything until you're absolutely certain that your filters are working right. If your filter eats that e-mail from Aunt Ethel, you may get a cold reception (and dinner) when you head for her house next Thanksgiving.

• Never, never click Reply: Most return addresses in spam are faked to deflect complaints. However, some spammers use real addresses because they really do want to hear from you — but not for the reason you may think. Why would they want to hear your angry diatribe? When you click Reply, you have just confirmed that your e-mail address is a live one, which is like waving a big red flag and screaming "This e-mail address is real! I really read this stuff! If you're smart, you'll send me more spam!"

• Establish secondary screen names for chat rooms and message boards: Chat rooms and message boards are among the most appealing places for spammers to gather e-mail addresses. Protect your primary e-mail address by creating other, throwaway e-mail addresses for posting on message boards and for giving out to people and sites you're not sure you can trust. Many ISPs — like AOL, AT&T, and others — allow you to create secondary screen names or additional e-mail addresses at little or no cost, or you can get free e-mail addresses from Yahoo!, Hotmail, and other free e-mail services. If spam comes flooding into those accounts, you can always delete them and make a new one, all the while shielding your primary address from the flood.

• Give and use false e-mail addresses: This advice is quite controversial. Many people know that spammers troll through chat rooms and message boards looking for e-mail addresses, so they use fake or altered — sometimes called munged (rhymes with plunged) — e-mail addresses. For example, JohnDoe123@hotmail.com may give out his address as JohnDoe123@I-hate-spam.hotmail.com and then give written or verbal instructions to friends and associates to remove the I-hate-spam. part before sending him e-mail. This strategy tends to confound many spammers because they often use automated e-mail harvesting programs that gather anything with an @ sign in the middle; because the spammers are too lazy to sort the millions of addresses by hand, they usually end up sending their spam to the altered address.

Why is munging controversial? Depending on how you munge the address, when the spammer sends the mail, it may still end up in somebody's mailbox, most likely that of the already overworked and spam-flooded administrator of your ISP or free e-mail provider. The other reason is that many people use mail programs that don't show the e-mail address of people they're writing to, so they don't notice the munge or may not even realize that it's possible that the address isn't real, and real mail gets lost. Please think twice before trying this one at home.

• Use a unique e-mail account name not found in a dictionary: Pick an e-mail address like sdfj4kl6@hotmail.com or qw2eru9@Yahoo.com so that spammers are less likely to pull your e-mail address out of a hat, thin air, or the dictionary.

• Find out how and where to complain to get spammers shut down: The best defense is a good offense. When spammers are offending you, offend them right back by finding out how to get them booted off their ISPs.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/keeping-one-step-ahead-of-the-spammers.html