Responsibilities of a Corporate Board of Directors

If you’re a small business owner who wants to incorporate, first you must form a board of directors. Boards can be made up of owners of the company as well as nonowners. You can even have your spouse and children on the board.


Corporations provide a veil of protection for company owners, but in order to maintain that protection, the owners must comply with many rules unique to corporations. The board of directors takes on the key role of complying with these rules, and it must maintain a record of meeting minutes that prove the board is following key operating procedures, such as:



  • Establishment of records of banking associations and any changes to those arrangements



  • Tracking of loans from stockholders or third parties



  • Selling or redeeming shares of stock



  • Payment of dividends



  • Authorization of salaries or bonuses for officers and key executives



  • Undertaking of any purchases, sales, or leases of corporate assets



  • Buying another company



  • Merging with another company



  • Making changes to the Articles of Incorporation or bylaws



  • Election of corporate officers and directors




Corporate board minutes are considered official and must be available for review by the IRS, state taxing authorities, and the courts. If a company’s owners want to invoke the veil of protection that corporate status provides, they must prove that the board has met its obligations and that the company operated as a corporation. In other words, you can’t form a board and have no proof that it ever met and managed these key functions.




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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/responsibilities-of-a-corporate-board-of-directors.html

How to Fix Large Cracks in Drywall




Embed the tape in the compound immediately.


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Lay the tape over the compound you just applied and use the knife to push the tape into the compound. If necessary, cut the tape in short lengths to follow the line of a really crooked crack.


If you bought fiberglass tape, you can skip the embedding coat of compound under the tape because it is self-sticking. Otherwise, you do everything the same way.


Warning: Fiberglass tape is thicker than paper tape, which makes it harder to repair invisibly.





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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-fix-large-cracks-in-drywall.pageCd-storyboard,pageNum-5.html

How to Hire the Best Brain for the Job

The best leaders know how to hire the best team — and it’s not all about evaluating resumes. In fact, the resume is just the starting block. To find the best person for your business team, you need to think big: think about passion, personality, and potential.


When you look for new employees, you pick brains by choosing the ones you want to hire, and also you pick brains by checking those brains to determine whether they have what you need. If you’re just starting up a business, you may be picking a lot of brains to fulfill the mission of your organization. If you have a small business, one wrong person can make a big difference in the group dynamics and productivity. Use these approaches to make sure you get the right team.



  • Look for those who love the work. The more employees who love the work and the vision you create, the more likely they are to share that vision and make the entire company more productive. Work that you love energizes you. A person who loves her job will have a related hobby (for example, people who work in animal shelters usually have pets), related personal skills, and related work experience.



  • Look for workers that you love. Choose people you would like to work with — even if this employee is not going to work directly with you. If you already like the people who work for you and you feel good about the person you’re interviewing, you can reasonably expect that they can all get along. Being a good judge of character is a valuable leadership trait, but you need to give yourself time and several meetings to determine whether that instinct continues.


    Of course you want someone who can do the job. But given two candidates who can do the work, hire the one you like best. Some hiring managers even choose the lesser qualified person if they think he can fit in better with the team of workers. A quarterback whose arm isn’t as strong but who can unite the team is more valuable than one who doesn’t get team rapport and can throw a little farther.



  • Look for leaders. If you believe that every employee you have can’t be a star, you’re probably hiring the wrong people. Every single person in your employ should be a potential leader. As the leader, you already have followers, many with great leadership potential. Hiring someone who simply wants to follow the followers shortchanges you and your organization. You want people who are thinkers and risk-takers, employees who shake things up a bit and make your business better.




If you haven’t found the perfect brain for the job, don’t hire because you’re desperate or frustrated. Keep looking and you can find the right person. You’re better off taking your time to find that person who loves your work, loves your workers, and shares your values.




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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-hire-the-best-brain-for-the-job.html

Network Basics: Server Form Factors

The computer networking term form factor refers to the size, shape, and packaging of a hardware device. Server computers typically come in one of three form factors:



  • Tower case: Most servers are housed in a traditional tower case, similar to the tower cases used for desktop computers. A typical server tower case is 18-inches high, 20-inches deep, and 9-inches wide and has room inside for a motherboard, five or more hard drives, and other components. Tower cases also come with built-in power supplies.


    Some server cases include advanced features specially designed for servers, such as redundant power supplies (so both servers can continue operating if one of the power supplies fails), hot-swappable fans, and hot-swappable disk drive bays. (Hot-swappable components can be replaced without powering down the server.)



  • Rack mount: If you need only a few servers, tower cases are fine. You can just place the servers next to each other on a table or in a cabinet that’s specially designed to hold servers. If you need more than a few servers, though, space can quickly become an issue. For example, what if your departmental network requires a bank of ten file servers? You’d need a pretty long table.


    Rack-mount servers are designed to save space when you need more than a few servers in a confined area. A rack-mount server is housed in a small chassis that’s designed to fit into a standard 19-inch equipment rack. The rack allows you to vertically stack servers in order to save space.



  • Blade servers: Blade servers are designed to save even more space than rack-mount servers. A blade server is a server on a single card that can be mounted alongside other blade servers in a blade chassis, which itself fits into a standard 19-inch equipment rack. A typical blade chassis holds six or more servers, depending on the manufacturer.


    One of the key benefits of blade servers is that you don’t need a separate power supply for each server. Instead, the blade enclosure provides power for all its blade servers. Some blade server systems provide rack-mounted power supplies that can serve several blade enclosures mounted in a single rack.


    In addition, the blade enclosure provides KVM switching so that you don’t have to use a separate KVM switch. You can control any of the servers in a blade server network from a single keyboard, monitor, and mouse.


    One of the biggest benefits of blade servers is that they drastically cut down the amount of cable clutter. With rack-mount servers, each server requires its own power cable, keyboard cable, video cable, mouse cable, and network cables. With blade servers, a single set of cables can service all the servers in a blade enclosure.






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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/network-basics-server-form-factors.html

Reading an Annual Report

Without a doubt, annual reports are at the pinnacle of corporate communication. The point of the annual report is to provide a summary of exactly how a company has performed in the preceding year, and to provide a glimpse of the future. Building a compelling annual report is a real art and science, and more than a few consulting firms are doing very well, thank you, by hiring themselves out to create reports for all kinds of companies.



Annual reports are generally written for shareholders and other investors, although they are also required reading for lenders, banks, potential employees, and MBA students working their way through grueling accounting and finance classes. For the most part, annual reports are produced by public, not privately held, companies. Chances are, you won't see a private company's annual financial statements unless you're an owner. For most of the public, the annual report contains the only financial documents they are likely to see. It is, therefore, the best source of information for most people to determine the financial health of a company and to learn of any potential problems or opportunities.



Reading an annual report can be a daunting prospect if you don't know exactly what you are looking for and where to find it. The good news, however, is that most reports are now standardized around a common model of nine key parts, making it easy to review any company's annual report once you get the hang of it.



The final format of the annual report depends on the needs of a company, its industry, and any legal disclosure requirements. Regardless, an annual report contains a selection of the following nine parts:



  • Letter from the chairman: The letter from the chairman of the board is the traditional place for a company's top management team to tell you what a great job it did during the preceding year and to lay out the company's goals and strategies for the future. It's also a great place to find apologies for problems that occurred during the year, which may or may not have been solved. Oops!

  • Sales and marketing: This section contains complete information about a company's products and services, as well as descriptions of its major divisions and groups and what they do. By reading this section, you should be able to figure out which products are most important to a company and which divisions or groups are most critical to a company's success.




  • Ten-year summary of financial results: Assuming that a company is at least ten years old, many annual reports contain a presentation of financial results over that period of time. This is a terrific place to look for trends in growth (or non-growth) of revenues and profit and other leading indicators of a company's financial success.

  • Management discussion and analysis: This is the place where a company's management has the opportunity to present a candid discussion of significant financial trends within the company over the past couple years.

  • Letter of CPA opinion: To be considered reliable, a company's financial statements have to be reviewed and audited for accuracy by a qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA). In this letter, a CPA firm states any qualifications that it has with the financial statements. These statements can have great bearing on the reliability of the data or of management's assessment of it.

  • Financial statements: Financial statements are the bread and butter of the annual report. This is where a company presents its financial performance data for all to see. At minimum, expect to see an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash flow statement. Be sure to watch for footnotes to the financial statements and read them carefully. You can often find valuable information about an organization's structure and financial status that has not been publicized elsewhere in the report. For example, you may notice information on a management reorganization or details on a bad debt that was written off by the company.

  • Subsidiaries, brands, and addresses: Here you find listings of company locations — domestic and foreign — and contact information, as well as brand names and product lines.

  • List of directors and officers: Corporations typically have boards of directors — senior businesspeople from both inside and outside the organization — to help guide them and provide a broader view of markets and business environments than that seen by internal managers. Officers include the president, chief executive officer (CEO), vice presidents, chief financial officer (CFO), and so forth.

  • Stock price history: This section gives a brief history of stock prices and dividends, showing upward and downward trends over time. Included is information on a company's stock symbol and the listing stock exchange, for example, the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.




Annual reports are the best tool that the public has to review the performance of companies. And most annual reports contain lots of useful information — information that you can analyze to get a sense of the near- and long-term health of the firm. The more often you read annual reports, the better you'll get at it.



So now that you have all this terrific information, what should you do with it? Here are some definite musts when it comes to reading an annual report:



  • Review the company's financial statements and look for trends in profitability, growth, stability, and dividends.

  • Read the report thoroughly to pick out hints that the company is poised for explosive growth — or on the brink of disaster. Places to look closely for such hints include the letter from the chairman, the sales and marketing section of the annual report, and management discussion and analysis. Of course, it also pays to keep an eye on the company through the business press or analyst reports.

  • Carefully read the letter of CPA opinion to be sure that the firm agrees that the financial statements are an accurate portrayal of the company's financial reality.

  • Carefully read any footnotes to the financial statements. These footnotes often contain information about company assumptions that can be critical to a full understanding of the financial statements.









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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/reading-an-annual-report.html

Filtering by Color in an Excel 2007 Table


7 of 12 in Series:
The Essentials of Creating and Working with Tables in Excel 2007





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If you’ve applied color to fonts or cells in an Excel 2007 table, you can filter the table to display a subset of the data with the colors you specify. The rows that do not match the criteria you specify are hidden temporarily.


Excel 2007 tables automatically display filter arrows beside each of the column headings. To display the filter arrows so that you can filter data, format a range as a table by using the Table button on the Insert tab. Or, you can click the Filter button in the Sort & Filter group on the Data tab.


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Click the filter arrow for the column by which you want to filter data.



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The filter drop-down list appears.


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Point to Filter by Color in the drop-down list.



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A submenu of color options appears. You can filter by Cell (background) Color or by Font Color. The submenu you see depends on the color choices in your data.


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Select an option.



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Excel displays the table using the filter you requested.


To remove filters and redisplay all table data, click the Clear button on the Data tab. If multiple columns are filtered, you can click a filter arrow and select Clear Filter to remove a filter from that column only. To remove the filter arrows when you’re done filtering data, choose Filter in the Sort & Filter group of the Data tab (or press Ctrl+Shift+L).


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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/filtering-by-color-in-an-excel-2007-table.html

Oral Drugs for Diabetes

Insulin shots aren't the only drug treatment for diabetes. If your doctor prescribes oral drugs for your diabetes, use this chart to look up the medication names and dosage amounts. Then educate yourself on diabetes medications, their possible side effects, and drug interactions.





































































































ClassBrand NameGeneric NameAverage DoseRange
SulfonylureasOrinasetolbutamide1,500 mg500-3,000 mg

Tolinasetolazamide250 mg100-1,000 mg

Diabinasechlorpropamide250 mg100-500 mg

Dymeloracetohexamide500 mg250-1,500 mg

Glucotrolglipazide10 mg2.5-40 mg

DiaBeta, Glynaseglyburide7.5 mg1.25-20 mg

Amarylglimepiride4 mg1-8 mg
MeglitinidesPrandinrepaglinide1 mg0.5-4 mg

Starlixnateglinide180 mg180-360 mg
BiguanidesGlucophagemetformin1,000 mg500-2,000 mg
ThiazolidinedionesActospioglitazone30 mg15-45 mg
Alpha-glucosidase inhibitorsPrecose

Glyset
Acarbose

miglitol
100 mg

50 mg
50-250 mg

25-75 mg
DPP-4 InhibitorsJanuviasitagliptin100 mg25-100 mg








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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/oral-drugs-for-diabetes.html

Is Your Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Medicine Working?

Medications prescribed to help to manage symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) work to differing degrees among patients. Here are some of the ways you can tell if your doctor-ordered medicine is relieving common signs of PTSD:



  • You begin to fall asleep more easily and begin to sleep through the night (if sleep has been a problem for you).



  • You start to get your appetite back.



  • You find it easier to do the daily activities that you didn’t have the energy or motivation to do before.



  • You look forward to each day instead of dreading it, and you feel more hopeful.



  • You start wanting to be around people instead of wanting to avoid them.



  • You’re able to bounce back from little annoyances instead of crumbling when they happen.



  • You’re less jumpy when you hear loud noises.



  • You can handle being in situations that used to freak you out.




While you’re looking for the positive effects of your medication, you also need to take notice of any negative reactions, such as a poor interaction with another med you’re taking. The med might not be working for you at all, or the dosage may require adjustment to deliver better results.



  • If your sleeping, eating, or mood doesn’t improve at all after you’ve taken an adequate dosage for a period of ten days to two weeks, you may need a higher dosage or another med.


    Non-psychiatric doctors are often hesitant to prescribe the necessary amount, because psychiatric meds aren’t their specialty. So if you think you may need a higher dosage, consult a psychiatrist.



  • If you feel one or more of the many nonspecific side effects listed in your medication’s instructions for more than three days, you may need a lower dosage or another drug.



  • If you have abnormal laboratory tests — such as blood count abnormalities, liver function tests, or a kidney function test — you probably need another medication.



  • If you develop allergic reactions, such as skin conditions or difficulty breathing, you probably need a different med.




If several professionals are treating your PTSD, other mental disorders, and/or substance abuse issues, be sure that each professional knows about every medication you’re taking.









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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/is-your-posttraumatic-stress-disorder-medicine-wor.html

Smoking: Letting Go of a Bad Habit — Again

This may be the first time you've tried to quit, or it may be the 14th. Don't be discouraged; millions of people all over the world have succeeded at quitting smoking. Most of those who have quit had tried several times before making it last.



Don't let what you're reading and hearing about other people who relapsed, or who failed their first time around, get you down. Statistics are made up of individuals. Many people have succeeded at quitting on their first try — maybe you will, too!



Just because you tried to quit smoking in the past doesn't mean that you can't succeed now. Most people who quit successfully try to quit up to a half-dozen times before making it stick. Look at your experience from the opposite point of view: If you've quit in the past, whether it was for two days or two months, you've already demonstrated that you can do it. You got through that period without tobacco. When you're supplied with a quit plan and all the other resources that are currently available, your chances of staying smoke-free are that much better.



What made you relapse to smoking before? If you can recall the specific triggers that made you pick up again, you can be extra wary of them. Common relapse triggers include



  • Believing that you've got the habit licked. You may have felt that you could have "just one." Shortly after, you may have convinced yourself that having just one more would cause little harm. By the third cigarette, you were as addicted as before.

  • Catastrophizing. You slipped and had one or more cigarettes despite your best intentions. You felt so guilty, like you'd let yourself down so much, that you threw up your hands in despair and essentially gave up. "I may as well enjoy myself" is the theme song that accompanies this self-pitying wail.

  • Stressing. An event occurs in your world and you panic. You cower emotionally and retreat to an earlier position: "I've got to have a cigarette." Actually, you don't have to have a cigarette. Having a cigarette actually amplifies your stress. Not only do you still need to deal with whatever is taking place in your life, but you now have additional stressful stimuli such as a rapid heartbeat, coughing, and a bitter, smoky taste in your mouth — not to mention the supremely unpleasant feeling of self-betrayal.

    Remember the phrase grace under pressure. Someone somewhere used that phrase to describe a hero. As someone trying to quit smoking, you are a hero. The philosopher Nietzsche's aphorism, "Whatever doesn't kill me outright makes me stronger," might apply, too. Or you may feel that Nietzsche is overstating it a bit. Besides, quitting smoking can't come even remotely close to killing you. Cigarettes can kill you, however.

  • Relaxing. Being on vacation or kicking back on a weekend day is the perfect excuse to have a cool drink and light up. Wrong. Take a closer look at what relaxing is all about. Letting down your hair and unwinding has to do with smelling the roses, feeling the cool breeze, and every other form of slowing down and feeling good. Cigarettes are not about slowing down. Cigarettes are stimulants that kick up your pulse rate and blood pressure and unwind the spool of your life — rob you of your time — that much more quickly.

  • Watching other people smoke. You may think, "If they can smoke without consequences, why can't I?" This self-pitying routine comes up fairly regularly when you first stop smoking. You feel sorry for yourself because you have to give up something you like. Remember that you've been through this before. You had to give up crawling, for example, in order to walk. You had to give up babbling in order to talk. Giving up smoking is letting go of an oral fixation that you really don't need. The path toward health and heroism involves taking care of your whole body and your whole mind. You do so by attending carefully to yourself: You find a workout that makes you feel good; you find new ways to think, look at things, and behave that are consistent with the person you want to be.

  • Accepting substandard health. You may already have a cough or congestion in your lungs first thing in the morning. Following this line of logic, you may try to convince yourself that the damage is already done, so why not at least enjoy the smokes?

  • Being tired of feeling tired. It's true that cigarettes give you a lift. Bit feeling run down is a normal part of life. Your energy flows in waves. Everyone has energy peaks and valleys throughout the day. Quitting smoking will add enormously to your available energy after the first few weeks.

    Zyban, the anticraving medication, helps control the fatigue that can accompany nicotine withdrawal. Exercise, good sleep habits, and a positive, enthusiastic outlook also contribute to a high-energy life.

  • Trying to control your weight. You are eating too much and are super-concerned about gaining weight. Look around you: Countless numbers of people who don't smoke manage to remain slim. Oral gratifications such as cigarettes and food are not the only pleasures in life. As you find others, you will find increasing rewards in your appearance and improved feelings of well being.

  • Keeping up appearances. You like the way you look when you smoke. Smoking, you tell yourself, is cool. Fast-forward the picture a few years and imagine if that will always be the case. You've seen how chronic smokers look and cough; you've seen the telltale wrinkles that betray their addiction.

Think back to a time when quitting didn't work. Where were you? What were you doing at the time you broke down and smoked? Who were you with? People, places, and activities can be triggers, too. Do any of the following excuses sound familiar?



  • I became too nervous.

  • I got very irritable.

  • I couldn't sleep.

  • I slept too much.

  • I couldn't focus my thoughts.

  • I was at loose ends at work.

  • I was on vacation.

  • I cut myself a break and had a smoke.

Don't fall for these tricks the next time around.



Evidence suggests that adding on quit tools such as counseling, following up with a doctor, using a nicotine replacement therapy, and/or using Zyban to reduce cravings for cigarettes increases your chances of staying away from tobacco.










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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/smoking-letting-go-of-a-bad-habit-again.html

The Droid Bionic Soft Buttons

The Droid Bionic features four soft buttons (or soft keys), that appear below the touchscreen. Get acquainted with these soft buttons and the different ways you can use them.


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Making Your Home Parkinson's Disease User-Friendly

With Parkinson's Disease and the medications that can make you more prone to falling, a check of your home is imperative to your safety. You may want to schedule one as often as you check the batteries in your smoke detectors — which is at least once a year, right?



Your local fire or police department may offer a home safety assessment at no cost. If so, take advantage of this great community service. There are also home safety assessments offered by trained nurses, and this service is usually covered by Medicare and some insurance companies. If neither of those professional surveys is available for you, you can also go through the following checklist to get started on your own home safety assessment:



  • Oh say, can you see?

• Make sure lighting is adequate both inside and outside the home.


• Pay special attention to lighting in stairways and hallways.


• Place nightlights in the bathroom and along the path from bedroom to bathroom.


• Check lamps and electrical appliances. Do the cords and wiring show wear and need for repairs?


• Avoid using extension cords if at all possible; when they're absolutely necessary, anchor them to the wall (not the floor) to prevent tripping.


• Bundle and tie up excess footage on computer and other electronics cords; then anchor them safely under the desk or along the baseboard.


  • Underfoot stuff can be dangerous!

• Get rid of all scatter rugs (even those with rubber backing) and carefully check for worn carpeting or edges that are coming free of their tacking; make necessary repairs.


• Make sure floors (tiled, wood, or uncarpeted flooring) aren't slippery.


• Test floors in a pair of socks. If you can do the slide, the floors need to be stripped of the wax or compound that's making them slippery.


• Remove any raised threshold strip that separates one room from another; make the transition smooth.


• Install nonskid runners on uncarpeted stairways. Each stairway needs a sturdy handrail on at least one side and light controls at the top and bottom of the stairway. Use bright neon tape to mark stairs in especially dark places.


• Shop for shoes with nonskid soles and no laces, the kind boaters prefer.


  • Two key spaces are accidents waiting to happen.

• In the kitchen: Standard safety rules apply. Keep curtains or flammable materials away from the stove and make sure all appliances are in good working order. Assess whether items in the kitchen are convenient for you. For example, are glasses better on a lower shelf? Can you move the skillet from the drawer under the oven to a hook or a higher cabinet?


• In the bathroom: Place nonskid strips in the bathtub and shower; install grab bars wherever they make life easier — bathtub, shower, and toilet. Set the hot water heater at 110 degrees or lower to prevent accidental burning.


  • Don't forget:

• Place emergency and other medical contact numbers next to every phone.


• Install smoke detectors (or check present ones) in every stairway and in the kitchen; place fire extinguishers in an accessible place on every floor level including the basement; determine an escape route in the event of fire.


• Check for needed repairs to sidewalks and driveways: broken asphalt or concrete, uneven brickwork in paths and sidewalks, and so on. Consider installing ramps for the time when managing even a few stairs becomes difficult.


• Double-check your house's security. Are all locks on windows and doors working properly? Be sure screens, storm windows, and doors are properly and securely installed. Get to know your neighbors and let one or two trusted neighbors know who to contact if they have concerns about your safety or the security of the property.


If possible, make this a family project. List everything that needs attention and then subdivide that list into large and small jobs. Tackle any fairly extensive changes for improving movement (such as removing threshold strips) first. Such structural barriers — usually in multiple places in your home — may put you in the greatest danger for falling.










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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/making-your-home-parkinsons-disease-userfriendly.html

Clipping Your Poodle

Your Poodle needs to be clipped on a regular schedule — whether you do the clipping yourself or pay a professional. Any clips other than the required show-ring clips are pet clips. Most pet Poodles are kept in fairly simple, easily maintained clips.



When deciding on a clip for your Poodle, go with your preferences, but remember that the longer the coat is, the more brushing and combing you'll need to do. Consider following types of pet clips that may fit your vision for your Poodle's coat.



  • The kennel clip. The kennel clip is the shortest clip and the easiest to do and maintain. It's ideal for Poodles who hike in the woods, play on the beach, or go swimming. The Poodle's face, feet, and tail are shaved; she also has a scissored topknot and a tail pompon. The body and legs are the same length and quite short, usually under 1/2 inch long. The ears may be full, shortened, or completely clipped.

  • The sporting clip. The sporting clip is similar to the kennel clip, but the legs are longer than the body and scissored to blend into the body. The body is often as much as one inch long, with the leg length in proportion to the body length.

  • The lamb trim. The lamb trim is a longer version of the sporting clip, with the body and legs as long as you wish, often as long as two or three inches.

  • The puppy clip. In the puppy clip, the Poodle's face, feet, and tail are shaved, with a pompon left on the tail and the rest of the coat left long. The hindquarters, chest, and legs are shaped with scissors to blend in with the longer hair on the rest of the body. These areas should blend smoothly into the body and show no abrupt change in length. If the body hair is shortened, it isn't a true puppy clip.

    Show Poodles may be, and usually are, kept in a puppy clip until they are a year old. Pet Poodles are usually clipped into a shorter pet clip when the long hair becomes more work to keep brushed.

  • The modified puppy clip. The modified puppy clip is similar to the true puppy clip, but the topknot is shaped and the entire body is shortened with scissors.

  • The teddy bear clip. Strictly speaking, the teddy bear clip isn't a clip because clippers aren't used; the entire body is shortened and shaped with scissors. The body, legs, and tail are usually a couple of inches long, with no changes in lengths on different parts of the body. The topknot is shortened and rounded, but not in a cap as in other clips. The face, feet, and tail are scissored to blend with the body, not shaved.

    This trim can be very cute, especially on smaller Poodles, but it's high maintenance and needs frequent brushing. You'll need to check your Poodle twice a day to be sure that the rear is clean and to wipe her face with a damp cloth and dry it to keep it clear of food and dampness.


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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/clipping-your-poodle.html

Online Community Manager: The Analyst Hat

How do you know all your programs and outreach efforts are working? As an online community manager, you’re expected to report the outcome of all your community outreach efforts, whether they’re successful or not. To do this report, you’ll need some analytical tools in place.


Your company will no doubt have a stats or analytics program or app available for you to use. These programs enable you to see a variety of experiences.


When you evaluate your programs and efforts, consider the following questions:



  • Where is traffic coming from?



  • How are current promotions doing?



  • Which pages are getting the most response?



  • What older content is doing well?



  • What products and services work, and which need work?



  • What are people doing when they’re on your website?



  • Which tags and keywords are getting the best response?



  • Which discussions and discussion topics are the most popular?



  • In what towns, cities, states, and countries do your community members live?



  • What are people searching on before landing on your blog, website, or forum?



  • Who is linking to you, and what are they saying?



  • Which content, product, or service is getting the most lackluster response?




The more you know about your community, the better you’ll be able to provide them the conversations, products, or services they’re looking for. You can’t assume you know people just because you tweeted back and forth a couple of times.











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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/online-community-manager-the-analyst-hat.navId-323004.html

How a Slow Cooker Works

An authentic slow cooker is a simple, uncomplicated appliance with no moving parts. Even though you most likely know what a slow cooker looks like, this list breaks down the parts of every slow cooker:



  • Transparent cover: Most slow cookers have a heavy glass lid, but some are plastic. Always cover the slow cooker when cooking, to retain heat. The clear lid lets you look in, eliminating possible heat loss from having to remove the lid. The heavy weight of the lid creates a tight seal.



  • Highly glazed stoneware insert pot: In keeping with the original Rival Crock-Pot design, most true slow cookers have a removable, highly glazed, thick round or oval ceramic stoneware pot (called a crock).



  • Wrap-around heating elements: The low wattage, wrap-around, electric heating elements are encased between the outer and inner metal housing and never make direct contact with the stoneware crock.



  • Metal wrap-around housing: The base of the slow cooker is made up of a double-walled metal housing that contains the heating elements. Because the heating elements never make direct contact with the stoneware insert pot, there are no hot spots, eliminating the need for stirring.



  • Variable controls: All slow cookers have dial controls on the front. They usually include off, low, high, and perhaps auto or keep warm.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-a-slow-cooker-works.html

Online Community Manager: How to Inspire Customer Confidence

As an online community manager, you’re not handling the product-development aspect, so you won’t have much of a say in what goes into a detergent’s formula and how it reacts to grass stains. You can play a large role in how information is presented, however.


What gives you confidence in a brand? Is it a picture on a cereal box? Nutritional information? A fun marketing campaign? Often, people are more confident in a community that is honest, transparent, and human.


But what does that mean?


Your customers have certain expectations, and they want a brand to deliver as promised. If Brand X says it can remove heavy grass stains from dungarees with nary a trace left behind, customers expect these results.


If Brand X really can get those stains out, you can offer proof in the form of images, video, and other promotional campaigns.


If Brand X is only talking the talk, it’s up to you to discuss this with the editorial, advertising, and marketing teams to find the types of promotional materials that tell the truth about the brand while still making the customer feel good about buying it. This might mean the grass-stain campaign is out, but it also means you can find something more appropriate and enjoyable.


Customers also feel confident in brands that are up-front and honest. When they see a community manager on Twitter talking up members and discussing products with them, they see a brand as having nothing to hide. Customer confidence really isn’t a difficult thing to achieve. It involves delivering what you promise, being an active presence in the virtual world, answering questions honestly, and not sweeping anything under the rug.


No one likes to feel as if they’ve been duped, and you don’t want to risk your reputation working for someone who is looked at as a rip-off. Be truthful with your campaigns, be open and honest about what your brand can do, and don’t promote a product you wouldn’t use yourself.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/online-community-manager-how-to-inspire-customer-c.html

Deciding Where Your Drupal Site Will Live

You’re creating a Drupal website to share information with the people who browse to that site. The first decision you need to make is where (on what web server) your Drupal installation will run — because that governs if and how people can view it.


The term web server can mean either




  • Web server software, such as Apache or Internet Information Server (IIS). These programs send web pages over the Internet to web browsers when users request them.




  • The actual computer where the web server software runs.




Obviously, the first thing you need is a computer to install Drupal on. But it also requires other resources.


Internet connection


Drupal needs to be installed on a web server for the rest of the world to see the website you create with it. Usually this means that you have an account with a web hosting company, such as GreenGeeks or GoDaddy.


If you download the Drupal software and install it on the computer sitting on your desk that has web server software installed, you will probably be the only person who can browse to your Drupal site. Unless your computer has been specifically configured for the Internet as a web server, it can't send your Drupal pages out to the web.


You could develop and test a Drupal site on a desktop PC with web server software, but moving that site to a web server that can be reached on the Internet is not easy. You are better off developing your site on the web server of a web hosting company.


Other software


Drupal requires that other programs also reside on the web server computer before you can install it:




  • Operating system: Drupal can run on common computer operating systems:




    • UNIX/Linux (only versions that can run Apache 1.3 or newer)




    • Mac OS X (or newer)




    • Windows 2000, NT 4.0, (or newer)






  • Web server software: Drupal runs on either of these packages:




    • Apache web server


      With Drupal 7, use Apache 2.0 (or newer). Drupal 7 can run on versions as old as Apache 1.3.


      Apache is the only web server software option for UNIX, Linux, or Mac.




    • Internet Information Services


      With Drupal 7, use IIS 7 (or newer). Drupal 7 can run on versions as old as IIS 5.


      IIS only runs on Windows.






  • MySQL 5.0 database software (or newer)


    With Drupal 7, you can use other database software, such as PostgreSQL and SQLite.




  • PHP scripting language


    With Drupal 7, use PHP 5.3 (or newer). PHP 5.2.5 or higher will work with Drupal 7.




You don't have to worry about these requirements if you put your Drupal site on a web host that offers easy Drupal installation or if you use Drupal Gardens. Ask your web host which version of Drupal it offers.



dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/deciding-where-your-drupal-site-will-live.html

How to Decide between Lion Server New Install, Upgrade, or Migration

Whether you’re creating your first Lion Server or upgrading or migrating an older server, you need to understand the differences. There are also some things that aren’t moved during an upgrade or a migration. But first, some basic differences:



  • A New install is where you don’t have an existing server. This includes installing on a blank drive volume and installing on top of a Snow Leopard client.



  • An Upgrade is where you run the installer while booted from the older server, replacing an older server. If you go this route, make a backup of your older server first.



  • A Migration is where the installer copies data from another server or hard drives or volumes onto the new hard disk. The old server and its data are retained intact. Migration is performed during the installation process, using a server assistant that launches when you select an option to transfer data from an existing server.


    Even if you use Mac OS X Server 10.6.8, migration is your only option if the server Mac is an older model not supported by Lion Server.




All three of these installation types are highly automated, using a server assistant.


Minimum requirements


New installs and upgrades both require Mac OS X Server 10.6.6 or later. Apple recommends upgrading from version 10.6.8. You can migrate even older servers. Migration requires Mac OS X Server 10.5.8 or later.


Location of data


The required location of the old server data also differs. For an upgrade, the drive or volume containing the server you’re upgrading is typically installed in the server Mac. You can also do an upgrade to a FireWire or USB drive.


For a migration, you have several choices for the migration source:



  • A secondary drive or partition installed inside the Mac or connected via FireWire or USB. These volumes must be mounted.



  • A volume on another Mac connected in Target Disk mode. Target Disk mode is where you connect another Mac using a FireWire cable. First, connect the older Mac when it’s shut off. Then start it while holding down the T key. Once the old Mac is booted in target disk mode, it will appear as a hard drive to the new Mac.




If you’re migrating from a Time Machine backup, the copy of Mac OS X Server must have a static IP address configured. The new server Mac should have the same IP address at the one used in the Time Machine backup in order for DNS to be correctly configured.


What’s not moved


Lion Server doesn’t include several services and features that were part of previous versions of Mac OS X Server. When you migrate or upgrade, the settings and data for these items will not be moved to Lion Server because Lion Server no longer supports them:



  • Print service



  • Windows Primary Domain Controller (PDC) or Backup Domain Controller (BDC)



  • Wiki-based mailing list and archives



  • Apache Tomcat and Apache Axis web services



  • Mobile Access



  • QuickTime Streaming Server (QTSS)



  • NetBoot images that were created with versions of Mac OS X Server before version 10.5




The MySQL database is also not included in Lion Server; it’s been replaced by PostgreSQL. However, the upgrade and migration processes will move MySQL and its data to Lion Server. You will lose a graphical user interface to manage MySQL, however, because Server Admin 10.7 no longer supports MySQL. You’ll need to use the command line in the Terminal utility to manage MySQL.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-decide-between-lion-server-new-install-upgr.html

Watching for Vitamin D Deficiency in Children


7 of 12 in Series:
The Essentials of Vitamin D Basics and Dosage





Adequate levels of vitamin D are essential for children before birth, after birth, and throughout childhood to ensure the proper development of bones and teeth. If they get enough vitamin D throughout childhood, they may avoid problems in adulthood, such as osteoporosis.


The recommended optimal level of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in children is the same as in adults — 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L). The best way to check children for vitamin D deficiency is with a blood test for 25-hydroxyvitamin D.


Risk factors for low vitamin D in children include:



  • If their skin is naturally dark, such as people who are of African, Hispanic, or Southeast Asian descent



  • If their skin is regularly covered, such as due to religious or cultural reasons



  • If they are being breastfed exclusively



  • If they drink milk less than once a week



  • If they are obese



  • If they live a sedentary lifestyle that limits outdoor activities



  • If they live in a place with a long winter




Delivering the proper dose of vitamin D for kids


The Institute of Medicine vitamin D recommendations for kids range from 400 to 600 IU daily. This is consistent with the American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for infants, children, and adolescents. That organization suggests that the following groups receive a daily supplement of vitamin D:



  • Breastfed and partially breastfed infants



  • Nonbreastfed infants and older children drinking less than a quart per day of vitamin D-fortified milk



  • Children with an increased risk for vitamin D deficiency, such as those taking certain prescription medications including anticonvulsants that reduce vitamin D activity



  • Adolescents who don’t obtain enough vitamin D daily through food




Many kids have a good vitamin D status because of the sun exposure they get as part of an active lifestyle.


Children who have fat malabsorption, including cystic fibrosis and inflammatory bowel disease patients, should receive their vitamin D by injection subcutaneously or intramuscularly.


Treating children for vitamin D deficiency


Actual treatment of vitamin D deficiency in infants and adolescents requires much higher doses for a period of time. Doctors give patients 2,000 to 4,000 IU daily for three to six months, monitoring their blood 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels regularly to prevent toxicity.


After sufficient vitamin D is given, the abnormalities rapidly reverse. The following improvements occur:



  • The serum 25-hydroxyitamin D level rises to 20 ng/ml (50 nmol/L) or higher.



  • Low serum calcium and phosphorus levels rapidly correct within six to ten days.



  • Parathyroid hormone level, which had risen because of the low serum calcium, falls to normal within one to two months.



  • Healing of rickets occurs in three to six months, depending on the severity of the disease.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/watching-for-vitamin-d-deficiency-in-children.html

Manganese: Trace Mineral Important to Metabolism

Manganese is an essential nutrient found in the greatest concentrations in seeds, and whole grains. Dietary sources also include peas and beans, which contain lower amounts of this mineral. Often confused with magnesium, manganese is a trace mineral that is important in many enzyme systems in your body. Most of the manganese in your body is found in your glands.


Here are some key functions of manganese:



  • Activates many enzymes in cell metabolism.



  • Helps your body utilize a number of vitamins, such as thiamine, choline, and vitamin C.



  • Helps with protein and amino acid digestion and utilization.




Manganese is used therapeutically to correct deficiency and to balance zinc and copper. The mineral may help blood sugar levels in diabetes and may improve neurological disorders.


Although there is no official recommended daily allowance (RDA), about 3–5 mg of manganese is a safe daily dose. Taking from 10–20 mg corrects any deficiency and causes no side effects.


Neither deficiency nor excess of manganese poses much of a problem. It is non-toxic in doses below 50 mg, and deficiency is extremely uncommon. People do need this nutrient for bone maintenance, particularly during menopause.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/manganese-trace-mineral-important-to-metabolism.html

Strategic Planning: Product Development

When you hear the term product development, you may think about brand new products, but that’s not necessarily the case. Executing a product development strategy can happen by adding more value to your existing product through features, upselling, or cross selling.


The best things about this strategy are you’ve already established yourself in your current markets and you know what your customers want. You have the distribution channels, and you know how to reach them.


Consider the following questions if you’re thinking about expanding your product line or developing new products:



  • Will your customers benefit from the added value or new feature? Are they asking for additions to the current product line?



  • Do potential manufacturing, marketing, and distribution cost efficiencies exist from an expanded product line? Can you share current costs across the new products or services?



  • Can your current assets, brand, marketing, and distribution be used with the new product?



  • Do you have the skills and capabilities to develop and produce the products proposed?




After you’ve given product development some consideration and have decided to proceed full steam ahead, here’s how to develop new products and services to meet your market’s needs:



  • Add new features or services by extending your current products. For example, cellphone companies add on media packages for text messaging, additional ring tones, and Internet access. Here are a few ways to extend your current offering:



    • Adapt (adapt to other ideas and developments)



    • Modify (change color, motion, sound, odor, form, or shape)



    • Magnify (provide more for a higher price or provide stronger, longer, or extra value)



    • Reduce (make smaller, shorter, or lighter, or make a trial version)



    • Substitute (swap out other ingredients, processes, or power)



    • Combine (join other options, products, ideas, or assortments)





  • Develop additional models and sizes of your current products. For example, the iPod expanded to the iPod mini and the iPod nano.



  • Develop totally new products. In this case, you usually leverage your brand recognition. Some good examples of this development are Gerber producing baby clothes and a CPA firm expanding from tax work into financial planning.




Your success with your current products in a market doesn’t guarantee success with new ones. The classic failed product development strategy was New Coke, which Coke introduced in the 1980s as a replacement for Coke. Coke assumed that its customers would gravitate toward a newly-developed formula only to realize, too late, that its cola drinkers were fiercely loyal to the traditional flavor. Needless to say, the new product fizzled.


Nowadays, Coke introduces new products along with existing products, even if they overlap (like Coke Zero and Diet Coke — both diet sodas, but one isn’t replacing the other). The lesson here is don’t trash what’s been working just fine when trying something new.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/strategic-planning-product-development.html

Choose Web Parts from SharePoint 2010 Gallery

The SharePoint 2010 gallery contains more than 75 Web Parts as well as List View Web Parts created for any libraries/lists you've made. In addition, your company may create custom Web Parts or purchase them from third-party vendors.


Besides purchasing or creating additional Web Parts, your company may also choose to not supply you with every Web Part available. Companies may also modify some Web Parts, such as the Content Editor Web Part, to disallow certain styles or JavaScript content.


With so many choices, how do you decide which Web Part to use? Web Parts are either specialized or generalized in what they do. This list describes the set of the general Web Parts, along with what they do and when you might use them:



  • Content Rollup Web Parts: These include the RSS Viewer Web Part and the XML Viewer Web Part, which are useful for displaying RSS and XML, respectively. Because more and more content is available in RSS and XML formats, these Web Parts are especially useful. You use an XSL template to tell the Web Part how to display the RSS or XML content on your web page.


    Another very useful Web Part is the Data Form Web Part. Unfortunately, you can only access it with SharePoint Designer, but it’s extremely versatile; in fact, it’s often referred to as the Swiss Army Knife Web Part. If you need to do something custom (or even interesting) without writing custom code, you can do some very interesting things with the Data Form Web Part.


    Team sites with the publishing features enabled can take advantage of additional Content Rollup Web Parts, including the Content Query Web Part, which is similar to the Data Form Web Part but is accessible from the browser.



  • Filter Web Parts: These Web Parts provide numerous ways to filter the information displayed on the page. For example, you can add the Choice filter to a page and then connect it to a List View Web Part so that the list is filtered by the value selected by the user.


    Your filter options include filtering by the current user who’s visiting the page, date, good old-fashioned text values, or a query string. A query string is a value that you pass into the page by using a question mark, such as mypage.aspx?filter=somevalue.



  • Media and Content Web Parts: These Web Parts work well when your content needs are simple. Use the Media Web Part to display Windows Media Player on your web page. The Image Viewer Web Part lets you link to an image and display it on your page.


    If your company has Silverlight applications, they can be played using the Silverlight Web Part. The Content Editor Web Part is a perennial favorite because it allows you to enter almost any HTML, CSS, or JavaScript you want on your page.


    Some of these Web Parts, especially the Content Editor Web Part, can really make it difficult to manage a site’s content long-term. Imagine you have a team site with ten web pages. On each web page, you’ve placed three Content Editor Web Parts. That’s 30 individual components you have to touch every time you need to change content.


    Because of the long-term maintenance headaches, you might want to avoid the Content Editor Web Part. Instead, use publishing fields and Content Rollup Web Parts. These Web Parts allow you to manage your content in lists and libraries without touching each place their content is presented.



  • Search and Business Data Web Parts: Although these Web Parts may seem specialized, they are actually quite powerful. You can use the Search Web Parts to create a custom search results page that is scoped to the content you want to filter. The Business Data Web Parts allow you to display data from external data sources.













dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/choose-web-parts-from-sharepoint-2010-gallery.html

The Drupal Content Menu

Drupal's Content menu allows you to create and manage content. To quickly create new Drupal content, log in to your Drupal site as the administrator and click the Add Content link. To manage your Drupal site's content, click Content on the Dashboard menu bar. The options are



  • Add Content: This is another way to open the Add Content form to create content.



  • Show Only Items Where: This section contains two filters to help you find content posted on your site. You can choose to filter by status (for example, published content or promoted content) or by type (for example, article).



  • Update Options: When you've found the content you're looking for, select the check box next to the item and choose an option from this list to change its status or delete it. You can update multiple items of content at the same time by selecting multiple check boxes.



  • Content tab: View, edit, and delete all content on your Drupal site.



  • Comments tab: List, moderate, and edit comments on your Drupal site.






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-drupal-content-menu.html

How to Prepare Your Home for a Labrador Retriever

Get your home ready for your new Labrador Retriever by dog-proofing it. Preparing a home for a new Labrador Retriever requires just as much diligence as it does to child-proof a house for human kids. By dog-proofing your home and yard, you keep your pet safe and healthy.


Neutralizing poisons


One of the greatest dangers to Labrador Retrievers is poison. Keep common household poisons away from your Lab, by moving them to higher shelves, putting baby locks on your cabinet doors (yes, Labs can figure out how to open cabinets), moving your plants from the hearth to the mantle, and making the garage a dog-free zone.


If you dog, gets into any of these items, immediately follow the directions we provide. Some of the most common poisons dogs ingest are the following:



  • Antifreeze: It leaks onto driveways, smells and tastes good, and can quickly kill your dog. Induce vomiting and take your dog to the vet or emergency pet care center immediately.



  • Rat poison: Induce vomiting and take your dog to the vet or emergency pet care center immediately.



  • Insecticides: If your dog has insecticides on his skin, wash his skin with water and vinegar and take your dog to the vet or emergency pet care center immediately.



  • Chocolate: Some dogs can take chocolate, but it is highly toxic to many dogs. Induce vomiting and call your vet.



  • Lead: If your dog ingests lead by eating lead paint, for example, induce vomiting and give your dog a laxative if it has been over two hours since the lead was swallowed.



  • Human medications:


    These may be helpful to humans but are bad for dogs:



    • Ibuprofen (Advil, Nuprin, or Midol) is particularly dangerous. If your dog swallows ibuprofen, induce vomiting and take your dog to the vet or emergency pet care center immediately.



    • Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is also dangerous for dogs. If he swallows acetaminophen, induce vomiting and call your vet.





  • Poisons or inedible substances in the garbage: If you don't know what your dog has eaten but he's acting as if he is poisoned, take him to the vet. If he has eaten spoiled food and is vomiting, call your vet.



  • Common household and garden plants. The Humane Society of the United States has a listing of common poisonous plants.


    Household cleaners:



    • For soap or bleach, induce vomiting and call your vet.



    • For ammonia, give your dog a spoonful of vegetable oil to block absorption of the ammonia and take your dog to the vet immediately.



    • For furniture polish, induce vomiting or use a laxative if the polish was swallowed more than two hours before and take your dog to the vet immediately.



    • For any other cleaners, call a poison control center and do what they say.






If you don't know what your dog has swallowed but he's showing signs of poisoning, such as severe vomiting, diarrhea, muscle trembling, and increased salivation, immediately take him to your vet or emergency pet care center.


If your Lab does ingest something harmful call your vet immediately or call the ASPCA (the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) Animal Poison Control Center at 888-426-4435.


Spotting other dangers


Labrador Retrievers can get into a world of trouble. The trick to protecting them and your house is to figure out what they might want to get into before they do. Want to know what's going to catch your Lab's eye? Crawl around on all fours and pay attention to what you see. The following are just some of the possibilities.



  • Places to get stuck: For example, a hole in the underlining of your box spring.



  • Electrical dangers: For example, a tangle of electrical cords and cables behind your couch.



  • Falling objects: Look for Wobbly or unsteady furniture, low-hanging table cloths or runners, or anything else that if pulled could send knick knacks or furniture itself tumbling over on your Lab.



  • Dangers in the yard: Look for dangers in your yard, such as holes or gaps in the fence, wobbly woodpiles, and unstored garden supplies.




Swimming pools can pose special dangers to Labs. Labs love water, but if they don't know where the stairs are, they can run out of steam before they find the way out and drown.


Preventing damage


The best way to protect your belongings is to put them away and out of reach of your Labrador Retriever's exuberant attention. Shoes? In the closet. Kids toys? In the toy box. For those items you can't put away and close the door behind — like drape hems, chair rungs, and so on — consider spraying them with a dog repellant, such as Bitter Apple, a harmless concoction that most dogs find utterly, well, repellant.


A mature Lab is less likely to chew things up than a puppy. Nevertheless, all dogs are different; don't assume that you don't need to prepare your home just because your dog is older. A dog of any age can get himself into trouble or even hurt.




dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-prepare-your-home-for-a-labrador-retriever.html

Shop for a New Hard Drive for Your MacBook

Ready to brave the local Wireless Shed superstore (or perhaps its website) for a new hard driveyou’re your MacBook? Here’s a list of guidelines to keep handy while you’re shopping for a new internal or external hard drive:



  • Faster is indeed better. You’ll pay more for a 10,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) drive than a slower 5,400 or 7,200 rpm drive, but the extra cash is worth it. Faster drives can transfer more data to your MacBook’s processor in less time, especially if you’re replacing your MacBook’s internal Serial ATA drive.


    Faster drives are especially important for storing digital video.



  • Serial ATA and EIDE drives are different. If you’re replacing your internal drive, you have to get the same type of drive that you already have: EIDE or Serial ATA. (EIDE is a common parallel ATA standard hard drive used in PCs and older Macs.)


    The About This Mac dialog can tell you which type of drive your MacBook is currently using. Click the Overview button in the toolbar and then click the System Report button to launch the System Information utility. Your drive will be listed under either the Serial ATA heading or the Parallel ATA heading.



  • Solid-State drives are hot. An SSD drive has no moving parts. Instead, it uses RAM modules to store your data, much like the USB flash drives so common today. Silicon storage allows for superfast performance (and avoids the possibility of a hard drive crash, where the internal moving parts in a traditional magnetic hard drive decide to take a permanent vacation).


    Unfortunately, you’ll pay more for a solid-state drive than a standard magnetic hard drive. Check the specifications on any SSD drive you’re considering to make sure it’s compatible with your MacBook.



  • Avoid used or refurbished drives. Hard drives are one of the few components in your computer that still have a large number of moving parts. (Again, the exception is a solid-state drive.) Therefore, buying a used drive isn’t a good idea unless it’s priced very low.


    Because the prices on new hard drives are constantly dropping, make sure that you check on the price for a new, faster drive of the same capacity before you buy that bargain used drive.



  • Pick FireWire over USB. Compared with a FireWire 400 connection, a USB 2.0 external hard drive is less efficient and slightly slower. If your MacBook has a FireWire port, make very sure that you buy a FireWire drive!


    Of course, you can buy a USB 2.0 drive without being embarrassed. Or invest in a drive that has both FireWire and USB 2.0 connectors! Heck, if you’re running one of the latest Mac models with a Thunderbolt port, you can invest in the fastest external performance on the planet — but you’ll pay a premium price.)


    Don’t forget, a FireWire 800 port is roughly twice as fast as either a USB 2.0 port or the older FireWire 400 port.



  • Watch the size of the drive when buying internal drives. Your MacBook’s internal drive must fit in a small form factor, so don’t invest in a standard half-height 3.5-inch unit!






dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/shop-for-a-new-hard-drive-for-your-macbook.html

Oil Painting For Dummies

When you're ready to start your oil painting project, be sure to gather and organize all of the necessary supplies. If you're trying to decide on colors or want to mix your own colors, refer to the color wheel for help. Making and using a viewfinder will help you stay focused when painting a still life. And as with most things, a little maintenance love goes a long way: Your brushes will last longer if you clean and maintain them properly.






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Oil Painting Supplies


Before you begin an oil painting project, make sure you have all the necessary supplies and get organized to avoid disruptions. Use this list as a guide for assembling the most useful oil painting materials:



  • Oil Paints (in 37 ml Tubes)



    • Cadmium Yellow Light (hue)



    • Cadmium Red Light (hue)



    • Alizarin Crimson



    • Ultramarine Blue



    • Mars Black



    • Titanium White



    • Yellow Ochre



    • Cerulean Blue (hue)





  • Other Necessary Supplies and Equipment



    • Gamsol or Turpenoid, 16 oz. can



    • Linseed oil



    • Canvas panel or stretched canvas, sized for specific project



    • Three small to medium glass jars with lids



    • Rags and paper towels



    • Palette knife (metal, not plastic)



    • Palette (glass or disposable paper palette with tear-off sheets)



    • Four to five bristle brushes, 1⁄4 inch to 3⁄4 inch



    • Tackle box or container to carry all this stuff









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Using the Color Wheel for Oil Painting


Keep this wheel handy when you’re working on your oil painting to remind you which colors mix to make other colors and which hues are complementary. Mix the two colors on either side of the color you want to make that color. To make tints, you make pure versions of basic hues and then add white to them. You make shades by adding black or complementary hues to the pure hues. To those shade mixtures, you add white to make tones. As you add white, black, and complementary colors to your pure hues, you change their values and their intensities in very specific ways


Complementary hues are directly across from each other on the color wheel. For example, the complement to orange is blue.


Notice on the color wheel how the values and intensities change from ring to ring. The color wheel includes:



  • The pure hues: Located on the outer ring of the wheel, are the brightest, most intense forms of a hue. Their values can run form very light, like the yellow, to very dark, like the blue and blue-violet.



  • The shades: Found on the second ring these are always duller and darker than the pure hues. but seem brighter to other colors. Shades are similar to the colors of autumn leaves.



  • Tones: Found on the third ring, they’re the most versatile of colors with a wide range of values and intensities. Tones can range in value from dark to light and intensities can range from bright to dull. Most colors used in your palette will likely be tones.



  • Tints: The inner ring of the color wheel, tints are always lighter in value than pure hues. They tend to be brighter and look like spring. The formula for them is pure hue plus white.


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Making and Using a Viewfinder for Oil Painting


Once your oil painting work area is prepared and you’ve selected an area of your still life to paint, a viewfinder is a useful tool for composing a strong picture. A viewfinder crops out the areas of your still life that you’re not going to paint and keeps you focused on what you want to paint. Use this figure as a template for making your own viewfinder. Don’t forget to cut out the interior opening (or the viewfinder wouldn’t offer much of a view). (The circle represents the position for a hole punch so you can store the viewfinder in your work journal or hanging from your easel.)


image0.jpg

Here’s how to use the viewfinder:



  1. Hold the viewfinder with your free hand.



  2. Focus on an interesting section of your still life with the viewfinder.



  3. Look through the viewfinder and draw the shapes in the same position and the same size as you see them.




The viewfinder should be proportionate to the canvas in height and width and keep the viewfinder distance from your eyes the same while laying in your drawing.





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Caring for Your Oil Painting Brushes


When you’re ready to call it a day learn how to properly clean your oil painting brushes so they stay in good shape and can be used over and over:



  1. Use a paper towel to wipe off any paint solids from your brushes.



  2. Using a jar of solvent, swish your brushes around and tap off the excess solvent on the outside edge of the jar. Never leave your brushes standing in the jar of solvent.



  3. Put a small amount of liquid soap in your hand and move the brushes around in the soap, cleaning and rinsing until the suds are whiteThoroughly rinse the brushes, wipe off the excess water, and then let them air dry completely until you use them again.



  4. Store the brushes so the bristles are not bent. You can roll them in a canvas sleeve or towel to keep the bristles in shape.







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dummies


Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/oil-painting-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

How to Choose Gifts for Bridal Attendants, Ushers, Parents


5 of 8 in Series:
The Essentials of Organizing a Wedding Party





Attendant and wedding party gifts can be a way of showing appreciation to your bridesmaids, groomsmen, ushers, other attendants, and parents — the people who have stood by you during the planning and are prepared to deliver a flawless performance at the wedding. You need to give them gifts that are both a memento of the wedding and personally meaningful to them. The rehearsal is an ideal time to present these gifts. As you give each token of your appreciation, make a toast to the recipient.


When shopping for attendants’ gifts, be aware that gift-wrapping online orders can cost as much as $5 per item. But some stores send their products in boxes that are so pretty they make wrapping paper superfluous.


Just because you’re on a budget doesn’t mean you’re stuck giving tie clips and fake pearls. Nor do you have to give each person the same thing. Here are some creative ways to say thank you to your female attendants:



  • Jeweled shoe clips to wear at the wedding and to future festive occasions



  • Charm bracelets with a starter charm chosen for each bridesmaid



  • A chiffon stole or a handbag to match their wedding attire



  • Tried-and-true gifts for male attendants include



  • Monogrammed barware, such as tumblers or beer steins



  • Leather shaving kits for traveling



  • Portable putter sets




Tokens of appreciation that aren’t gender specific include picture frames inscribed with the date (after the wedding, send a photo that fits the frame of them sometime during the wedding); antique glass, watches or silver serving pieces; and monogrammed terrycloth robes.


Search eBay for fun, meaningful — and often inexpensive — mementos, such as souvenir postcards, monogrammed jewelry or utensils or vintage items that fit each attendant’s personality.


Thank little ones in your wedding party with gifts that are appropriate for their ages. Ideas for children’s gifts include birthstone necklaces, initial key rings, faux-jeweled hair clips and personalized baseball caps. A nice gesture is to send their parents a framed photo of them during their grand entrance.


Show your parents how much you appreciate their support during the wedding-planning process by presenting them with something they’ll enjoy. Present them with theater tickets, or arrange to have a bouquet of flowers with a note delivered while you’re on your honeymoon to show how grateful you are.












dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-choose-gifts-for-bridal-attendants-ushers-p.html

Knitting Patterns For Dummies

You can read and understand knitting patterns easily when you're familiar with common knitting terms and abbreviations. When the knitting patterns use metric measurements, you'll need to know some simple conversion formulas. Keep charts handy of your body measurements and yardage estimates of commonly knitted items so that you're ready to start a knitting project at anytime.






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Terms and Abbreviations Used in Knitting Patterns


Knitting has its own writing method, so when you look at knitting patterns you may see a variety of unfamiliar terms and abbreviations. Once you know the following list of common knitting abbreviations, you're well on your way to easily translating knitting patterns:















































































































































































BObind off (cast off)
CCcontrasting color
cmcentimeters
cncable needle
COcast on
decdecrease
dpn(s)double-pointed needle(s)
ggrams
incincrease
kknit
k2togknit 2 together (a decrease)
kfb-knit into the front and back of the stitch (an increase)
knitwiseas if to knit
LTleft twist
mmeters
m1make 1 (an increase)
MCmain color
mmmillimeters
ozounce
ppurl
p2togpurl 2 together (a decrease)
pfb-purl into the front and back of the stitch (an increase)
pmplace marker
pssopass the slipped stitch over
purlwiseas if to purl
rnd(s)round(s)
RSright (public) side
RTright twist
skp-slip 1, knit 1, pass the slipped stitch over (a decrease)
s2kp-slip 2, knit 1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over (a double
decrease)
sk2p-slip 1, k2tog, pass the slipped stitch over (a double
decrease)
slslip
sl stslip stitch
sskslip, slip, knit (a decrease)
st(s)stitch(es)
tblthrough the back loop(s)
togtogether
work evenwork without increasing or decreasing
WSwrong (non-public) side
wyibwith yarn in back
wyifwith yarn in front
yd(s)yard(s)
yoyarn over (an increase)




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How to Convert Metric Measurements on Knitting Patterns


Reading knitting patterns can be slow work if you're not used to converting from metric measurements to yards, inches, and ounces. Speed up your knitting projects when you're figuring out materials by using these metric conversions. hese are approximations, but they're easy to do in your head and close enough for your knitting needs!



  • Yards and meters: A yard is 36 inches. A meter is 39 inches. Multiply yards by 90 percent (0.9) to get meters (100 yards = 90 meters). Multiply meters by 110 percent (1.1) to get yards (100 meters = 110 yards).



  • Inches and centimeters: Multiply the number of inches by 2.5 to get centimeters (for example, 4 inches ∞ 2.5 = 10 cm). Divide the number of centimeters by 2.5 to get inches (for example, 10 cm ÷ 2.5 = 4 inches).



  • Ounces and grams: 50 grams = 1.75 ounces. 100 grams = 3.5 ounces.







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Body Measurements Chart for Knitting Projects


Before starting a new knitting pattern, record your body measurements —and those of friends and family — for an accurate fit. Don't let your knitted projects go unworn because the measurements were off. Here's a handy chart to record measurements for knitting patterns.































































Body PartMy Numbers___________ Numbers___________ Numbers
Chest


Waist


Hips


Cross back


Sleeve length


Back to waist


Total length


Foot length


Head circumference






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Knitting: Estimating How Much Yarn You Need


If you're not working directly from a knitting pattern, then use this chart to estimate your yarn needs. This table shows you some typical knitting patterns and yardage approximations for a variety of sizes. Smaller sizes obviously need the yardage at the low end of the range, and larger sizes need yardage at the high end of the range. Heavily textured knitting projects (think ribs or cables) also need more yarn.



































































Yarn Weight CategoryTypes of Yarn in CategoryGauge (Stitches per Inch)Yards Needed for a HatYards Needed for a ScarfYards Needed for an Adult Sweater
1Superfinesock, fingering, baby7 to 8300 to 3753501,500 to 3,200
2Finesport, baby6 to 7250 to 3503001,200 to 2,500
3LightDK, light worsted5 to 6200 to 3002501,000 to 2,000
4Mediumworsted, aran4 to 5150 to 250200800 to 1,500
5Bulkychunky, craft, rug3 to 4125 to 200150600 to 1,200
6Super bulkybulky, roving1-1/2 to 375 to 125125400 to 800




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dummies


Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/knitting-patterns-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html