Ten Do’s for Marketing Your Business on Twitter

Twitter can be a powerful marketing tool if used correctly. Although some of the rules for marketing on Twitter are just commonsense, read the tips listed here to make sure you are making the most of your business presence on Twitter.

• Be honest: People come to respect you for being honest when you use Twitter. When they respect you, they can help drive traffic to your website by sharing your content, and that simple step is an important key to success on Twitter.

  
  



• Have a sense of humor: Humor goes a long way when sharing content on Twitter. If your followers find a certain comment funny, they may retweet and share that content with their followers. The entire idea of using Twitter for marketing is to get the people who already follow you to share your content with the people who follow them. That’s viral marketing at its finest.

  
  

Quote tweets that have to do with humor tend to be retweeted more often.

• Interact with your followers: Start interacting with your followers before you ever try to ask them to share your content.

  
  



• Use TwitPic: TwitPic is a service that allows you to share pictures from your mobile devices directly with Twitter. Using TwitPic while you promote through Twitter can help you live up to the idea of transparency and show some type of personality through your business.

  
  

  Keep in mind that too much of something is never a good thing. Make the pictures you post memorable. Don’t, for example, take a picture of a random dog in the street and say, “Oh, he’s cute!” You’re just going to annoy people.

  
  



• Tweet on a regular basis: Try to tweet at least five times a day. You could tweet in the morning, during lunch, and in the evening. This number doesn’t include the @replies or direct messages that you should send based on who connects with you throughout the day.

  
  



• Use a profile picture: Use your personal picture in your Twitter profile. People want to know faces, not logos, because it makes you seem a little more human on a technology-driven tool.

  
  



• Do fun stuff every day: Content on the Internet can get boring or repetitive after a while. Sharing relevant content works only to a point; it’s also important to share fun stuff.

  
  



• Stick to a schedule: To be successful in marketing on Twitter, you need to avoid becoming overwhelmed. The only way to prevent being overwhelmed is to ration and manage the time you spend on Twitter.

  
  



• Say thank you: If someone from your Twitterati decides to share your content, make sure that you thank him or her for sharing. People share content on Twitter for two reasons: they want cewebrities or Twitterati to notice them, or they really liked your content. Whichever reason applies, thank them for sharing your content.

  
  



• Add your twitter name to your business card: One of the more successful strategies to integrating Twitter into your daily life involves adding your Twitter name to your business card. Not everyone knows what your Twitter name is when it appears on your business card, but many do.

  
  

  You need to connect with people on multiple levels because the more times you connect with individuals, the better the chance of them remembering you and what you do.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/ten-dos-for-marketing-your-business-on-twitter.navId-610165.html

Making a Good First Impression in India

First impressions are important wherever you go, and business etiquette can change quickly as you move from country to country. The good news is that Indians welcome the opportunity to work with foreigners, making your adjustment much easier. Remember a few crucial points, and you can easily roll with the cultural punches and conduct your business smoothly.

Greeting colleagues

A gracious greeting shows your new Indian acquaintances that you're committed to being respectful and courteous. The traditional Indian form of greeting is the namaste, which literally means, "I bow to the divine in you." The namaste is used for greeting, for taking leave, and also to seek forgiveness.

To greet someone with a namaste, bring your hands together with palms touching in front of your chest in a graceful fashion. Different languages may have different names for the namaste, but the gesture remains the same throughout India.

Greeting your Indian business colleagues with a namaste is considered a compliment. It sets the right tone for the rest of your meeting and shows that you've taken time to understand Indian exchanges. But offering a handshake isn't looked down upon. In fact, many Indian businesspeople offer a handshake to show that they're familiar and comfortable with greeting foreigners. However, if you're greeted with a namaste and don't reciprocate, Indian colleagues take that as the equivalent of a "cold fish" handshake!

If you offer a firm handshake, don't always expect to receive the same grip in return. Not all Indians give firm handshakes because a limp handshake is a sign of respect, not of weakness.

Swapping business cards

Contacts and networking are very important in India, so Indians like to give out and receive business cards. If you don't hand one over of your own accord when you meet someone, you may be asked for it.

Your business card should list your

• Name


• Company name


• Title


• E-mail address


• Other information such as your company mailing address and Web site as well as a reference to any higher degrees that you hold

Think twice about including your cell phone number on your business card. If you give an Indian your cell number, the lucky recipient will use it freely! Indians handle this by writing out their mobile numbers on the cards they give to a select few.

And don't worry, English cards are fine, whichever corner of India you're in.

When it comes to their own business cards, Indians believe the more titles, the merrier; the business title on the card is of great significance to Indians. And don't be surprised to see educational qualifications on many Indian business cards. The longer the string of acronyms behind an already lengthy Indian name, the better!

Most young professional or older, well-traveled Indians don't fill up their cards with acronyms, and you can follow their lead. But Indians place a great deal of emphasis on academia, so if you hold a doctorate or similar degree, note it on your card.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/making-a-good-first-impression-in-india.html

Manage the Media with Public Relations Fundamentals

In the world of public relations (PR), finding the media outlets to send your press releases and other PR materials to so you can reach your target audience is crucial. Do your research, think expansively, and stay connected to the media with these tips:

• Build a personal contact file. Keep at it until you have a list of at least 100 media contacts who know you personally and take your call when you have a story you want to publicize.

  
  



• Follow up. Call everyone to whom you send your press release — several times each, if necessary. Do this and you will get coverage.

  
  



• Become the “go-to guy.” Show the press that you’re the one to call for expert interviews in your particular field. For example, Alan Dershowitz is the go-to guy for law.

  
  



• Don’t limit yourself. Broaden your outreach. A CEO reads Forbes, but he also watches the evening TV news.

  
  



• Offer an exclusive. If it’s important for you to get into a particular publication, offer the editor an exclusive on the story (meaning you won’t send out a press release to other media until that publication has run it first).

  
  



• Go where the cameras already are. Instead of trying to get media to cover your event, make noise at an event they’re already covering. Domino’s Pizza gets national TV coverage by bringing free pizza to the post office on April 15 to feed last-minute taxpayers standing in line.

  
  



• Media are not interested in you or your product. They care only whether your story will interest their readers or viewers.

  
  



• Remember: Media are your customer. They are buying stories, and you are selling. Meet their needs, and they will run your stories.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/manage-the-media-with-public-relations-fundamental.html

Convert Word or Excel Files to PDF

Adobe Acrobat Creative Suite 5 includes tools that make it easy to convert Microsoft Word and Excel files to PDF. When you install Acrobat on your computer, it looks for Microsoft Office programs. If Acrobat locates Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook, it installs an add-in — the PDF Maker — to these programs that helps convert Microsoft Office documents to PDF in a single click.

Although Microsoft Word and Excel are widespread standards on many corporate computers, they aren’t always the best choice for distributing documents.

Formatting of Microsoft Word documents and Excel spreadsheets changes depending on the fonts available on users’ computer or even the printer with which they print, whereas PDF files can keep the file looking consistent on various computer types.

In addition, Microsoft Word and Excel files can be easily edited, and users can also copy and extract information from these files with few limitations, whereas PDF files are more difficult to copy from, and they can be secured with robust security options.

Converting a Word or Excel file to a PDF file overcomes these limitations and is quite straightforward. Choose from two methods:

• From inside Microsoft Word or Excel, make sure that the document you want to convert to a PDF file is open and then click the Create PDF button in the main toolbar to convert the document.

  
  



• With Office 2003 or earlier, choose Adobe PDF→Convert to Adobe PDF.

  
  

No matter which method you choose, you must specify the location of the PDF file that’s created and name the file unless you have changed the PDF Maker preferences.

In Office 2007, click the Preferences button in the Acrobat tab, or with earlier versions of Office, choose Acrobat→Change Conversion Settings. In the Adobe PDF Maker dialog box, deselect the Prompt for PDF Filename option so that PDF files are generated in one step, without inputting the PDF filename.

You can add functionality into the PDF documents you create. Click the Preference tab if you’re working in Office 2007 or choose Acrobat→Change Conversion Settings in earlier versions of Office. In the dialog box that appears, review the following settings:

• Attach Source File: Causes the original Office document to become embedded within the PDF file as an attachment. When the PDF file is distributed, the original source file is included within the PDF file.

  
  



• Create Bookmarks: Adds interactive bookmarks that make navigating the PDF file easy. Bookmarks are added based on Microsoft Word styles, such as text that’s styled as Heading 1. The bookmarks appear in the Bookmarks panel when viewing the PDF.

  
  



• Add Links: Automatically converts Word links, such as Web addresses, into PDF links that you can use when viewing the file in Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Within the PDF Maker preferences dialog box, click the Word tab to access additional link options that can be built into PDF files created from Word.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/convert-word-or-excel-files-to-pdf.html

Benefits of Network Virtualization

The small amount of overhead imposed by virtualization is usually more than made up for by the simple fact that even the most heavily utilized servers spend most of their time twiddling their digital thumbs, waiting for something to do. In fact, many servers spend nearly all of their time doing nothing. As computers get faster and faster, they spend even more of their time with nothing to do.

Virtualization is a great way to put all of this unused processing power to good use.

Besides this basic efficiency benefit, there are several other compelling benefits to virtualization:

• Hardware cost: You can typically save a lot of money by reducing hardware costs when you use virtualization. For example, suppose you replace ten servers that cost $4,000 each with one host server. Granted, you’ll probably spend more than $4,000 on that server, because it needs to be maxed out with memory, processor cores, network interfaces, and so on.

  
  

  So you’ll probably end up spending $15,000 or $20,000 for the host server. And you’ll end up spending something like $5,000 for the hypervisor software. But that’s still a lot less than the $40,000 you would have spent on ten separate computers at $4,000 each.

  
  



• Energy costs: Many organizations have found that going virtual has reduced their overall electricity consumption for server computers by 80 percent. This savings is a direct result of using less computer hardware to do more work. For example, one host computer running ten virtual servers uses approximately one tenth of the energy used if each of the ten servers were run on separate hardware.

  
  



• Recoverability: One of the biggest benefits of virtualization is not the cost savings, but the ability to quickly recover from hardware failures. For example, suppose your organization has ten servers each running on separate hardware. If any one of those servers goes down due to a hardware failure — say a bad motherboard — that server will remain down until you can fix the computer.

  
  

  On the other hand, if those ten servers are running as virtual machines on two different hosts and one of the hosts fails, the virtual machines that were running on the failed host can be brought up on the other host in a matter of minutes.

  
  

  Granted, the servers will run less efficiently on a single host than they would have on two hosts, but the point is that they’ll all be running after only a short downtime.

  
  

  In fact, with the most advanced hypervisors available, the transfer from a failing host to another host can be done automatically and instantaneously, so downtime is all but eliminated.

  
  



• Disaster recovery: Besides the benefit of recoverability when hardware failures occur, an even bigger benefit of virtualization comes into play in a true disaster recovery situation.

  
  

  For example, suppose your organization’s sever infrastructure consists of 20 separate servers. In the case of a devastating disaster, such as a fire in the server room that destroys all hardware, how long will it take you to get all 20 of those servers back up and running on new hardware? Quite possibly the recovery time will be measured in weeks.

  
  

  In contrast, virtual machines are actually nothing more than files that can be backed up onto tape. As a result, in a disaster-recovery situation, all you have to do is rebuild a single host computer and reinstall the hypervisor software. Then you can restore the virtual machine backups from tape, restart the virtual machines, and be back up and running in a matter of days instead of weeks.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/benefits-of-network-virtualization.html

Quarterly Accounting Reminders for Your Nonprofit Organization

To analyze the financial health of your nonprofit organization, the board of directors needs quarterly financial statements, which monitor the flow of revenue. Likewise, for taxes, grants, and contracts, quarterly reports are required by federal and state government organizations. Make sure to take care of the following nonprofit accounting tasks:

• Report payroll taxes to the IRS at the end of the quarter by submitting Form 941. The Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes are funds for the payment of old-age, survivors, and medical benefits. Employers must pay 7.65 percent of an employee’s gross salary to the IRS.

  
  



• Prepare quarterly financial statements for your board of directors. Your board needs to know your financial status to plan future activities and to offset potential financial problems.

  
  



• Complete quarterly financial status reports for government grants and contracts. The government expects you to track all expenditures and submit a report of what you have spent and how much you have left according to your records.

  
  



• Complete quarterly progress reports for government grants and contracts. Quarterly progress reports indicate performance results in terms of numbers. They evaluate your progress by comparing what you expected to accomplish with what actually happened.

  
  



• Meet with your board of directors. Your board must meet at least four times a year to fulfill federal and state requirements.

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/quarterly-accounting-reminders-for-your-nonprofit-.html

How to Locate Large Files on a Hard Drive Using Windows 7

If the capacity of your hard drive is running low, it is time to clean off some files. A good place to start is by locating the largest files on your hard drive. If you’ve never done this type of search and disk capacity is running low, now is the time.

Follow these steps to find gigantic files lumbering on your Windows 7 PC:

1. Press Win+F to bring forth the Windows Search window.

   
   



2. Click the mouse in the Search text box in the upper-right corner of the window.

   
   



3. Type size:gigantic.

   
   

   Do not follow gigantic with a period.

   
   

   The window populates with files larger than 128MB, which is where Microsoft believes the threshold of gigantic to begin.

   
   

   To see a wider array of files, type size:huge to see files between 16MB and 128MB; type size:Large to see files in the 1-to-16MB range.

   
   



4. Sort the list by right-clicking in the window and choosing Sort By—>Size.

   
   



5. If the file list is sorted from smallest to largest, right-click in the window again and choose Sort By—>Descending.

   
   



6. Examine the search results to find hefty files ready for deletion.

   
   

   Start with downloads that are larger than 1GB. Rather than have them consume a major chunk of storage space, archive them and then delete them from your PC’s hard drive.

   
   



7. Close the Search Results window when your reign of destruction is at an end.

   
   

The term archiving in this context means moving a file from the main hard drive to another hard drive, optical disc, or media card. You still want the file but don’t necessarily need to have it handy.

• View the Search Results window in Details view by choosing Details from the Views toolbar button.

  
  



• If you delete the file, it moves to the Recycle Bin. You don’t see space savings until you empty the Recycle Bin.

  
  



• To move a file, you cut (Ctrl+X ) it from its current folder and paste it (Ctrl+V) where you want to move it.

  
  



• You may find some compressed folders when perusing the list. Be careful! You want to confirm the compressed folder’s contents before you whisk it off into oblivion.

  
  



• If you’re using the Windows Media Center to record live TV, peruse the list of recordings for any that can be deleted. Recorded TV takes up a lot of disk space.

  
  



• Music files can be removed from the Windows Media Player by right-clicking the music file’s icon and choosing Delete from the pop-up menu.

  
  



• You can hone the search for large files by specifying specific file types. For example, specify the filename *.wmf to look for all Windows Media Files (videos) on the hard drive. You can search for a number of large file types.

  
  

Filename Extensions for Large Files

Filename Wildcard	File Type	Description
*.AVI	Audio Video Interleave	QuickTime or Real Player media format
*.BMP	Bitmap Graphics	Windows Paint document, also used by Windows for wallpaper
*.EXE	Executable	A program file (don’t delete — uninstall!)
*.MOV	Quicktime Movie	Apple QuickTime movie format; video files
*.MP3	MPEG Audio	Music or sound file
*.PDF	Portable Document Format	Adobe Acrobat document
*.WAV	Windows Sound	Music or sound file
*.WMA	Windows Media Audio	Windows Media Player sound file
*.WMF	Windows Media File	Windows Media Player media format; videos
*.WMV	Windows Media Video	Windows Media Player video file
*.ZIP	Compressed Folder	Zip file archive (delete carefully!)

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-locate-large-files-on-a-hard-drive-using-wi.html

Outlook 2010 Keyboard Shortcuts

You can get things done a lot faster when you use Outlook, and you can work faster still if you use Outlook's handy shortcut keys.

This Shortcut	Creates One of These
Ctrl+Shift+A	Appointment
Ctrl+Shift+C	Contact
Ctrl+Shift+L	Contact Group
Ctrl+Shift+E	Folder
Ctrl+Shift+M	E-mail message
Ctrl+Shift+N	Note
Ctrl+Shift+K	Task
Ctrl+Shift+J	Journal entry
Ctrl+Shift+Q	Meeting request
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+U	Task request
Ctrl+1	Mail
Ctrl+2	Calendar
Ctrl+3	Contacts
Ctrl+4	Tasks
Ctrl+5	Notes
Ctrl+6	Folder List
Ctrl+7	Shortcuts
Ctrl+8	Journal
Ctrl+S or Shift+F12	Save
Alt+S	Save & Close, Send
F12	Save As
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+D	Delete
Ctrl+P	Print
F7	Check spelling
Ctrl+F	Forward

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/outlook-2010-keyboard-shortcuts.html

Keyboard Shortcuts for Access 2007

The keyboard shortcuts available in Access 2007 give you the ability to do basic tasks, such as opening and closing the database quickly. It also gives you tools to accomplish nearly every job with the press of a couple of buttons. The following table shows Access keystrokes and their functions:

Keystroke	Function	Keystroke	Function	Keystroke	Function
Ctrl+n	Create a new blank database	Ctrl+;	Inserts the current date	Ctrl+Right Arrow	Moves selected control to the right in design or layout view
Ctrl+o	Open an existing database	Ctrl+:	Inserts the current time	Ctrl+ Left Arrow	Moves selected control to the left in design or layout view
F11	Show/hide Navigation Pane	Ctrl+’	Copies same field data from previous record.	Ctrl+ Down Arrow	Moves selected control down in design or layout view
Alt+f	Opens the Microsoft Office Button menu	F2	Selects all data in the field or places cursor in edit mode	Ctrl+ Up Arrow	Moves selected control up in design or layout view
Alt+h	Displays Home tab on the Ribbon.	F9	Recalculates fields on a form or refreshes a lookup combo or list box list	Shift+Right Arrow	Increases selected control width in design or layout view
Alt+c	Displays the Create tab on the Ribbon	Ctrl+Enter	Inserts a line break in datasheet and form view	Shift+ Left Arrow	Decreases selected control width in design or layout view
Alt+x	Displays the External Data tab on the Ribbon	Ctrl+Shift++	Inserts a new record	Shift+ Down Arrow	Increases selected control height in design or layout view
Alt+a	Displays the Database Tools tab on the Ribbon	Ctrl+Shift+-	Deletes current record	Shift+ Up Arrow	Decreases selected control height in design or layout view
Ctrl+c	Copies selection to the clipboard	Ctrl+Enter	Opens selected object from Navigation Pane in design view	F4	Toggles property sheet in design view
Ctrl+v	Pastes selection to the clipboard	F4	Toggles property sheet in design or layout view	Shift+F2	Zooms in on current field in datasheet and form view
Ctrl+z	Undoes last operation

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/keyboard-shortcuts-for-access-2007.html

Examining High-End Investment and Speculation Vehicles

In some ways, higher-end investments aren't much different than traditional investments: You invest your money and make all the same decisions that an average investor does. The difference is the amount of capital in play (typically a lot) or the risk exposure (typically high).

In other ways, high-end investing is an almost completely different beast. It's not so much investing (buying and holding on) as it is trading or speculating — assuming a business risk with the hope of profiting from market fluctuations.

Basically, high-end investing means you have to chuck all your preconceptions about buy-and-hold investing and asset allocation, and essentially all the strategies that stock brokerages put out for public consumption.

The following sections outline some of the high-end investment vehicles available to you.

Futures and options

Futures and options, by their very nature, are complex financial instruments. If you invest in futures and options contracts, you need to monitor your positions daily, often even hourly. You have to keep track of the expiration date, the premium paid, the strike price, margin requirements, and a number of other shifting variables.

That said, understanding futures and options can be very beneficial because they are powerful tools. They provide leverage and risk management opportunities that your average financial instruments don't offer. If you can harness the power of these instruments, you can dramatically increase your leverage and performance in the markets.

Commodities

Commodities are the raw materials humans use to create a livable world: the agricultural products, mineral ore, and energy that are the essential building blocks of the global economy, like crude oil, sugar, frozen concentrated orange juice, and feeder cattle.

A lot of folks incorrectly equate commodities exclusively with the futures markets. There is no doubt that the two are inextricably linked: The futures markets offer a way for commercial users to hedge against commodity price risks and a means for investors and traders to profit from this price risk. But equity markets are also deeply involved in commodities, as are a number of investment vehicles, such as master limited partnerships (MLPs), exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and commodity mutual funds.

Foreign currency trading

When you get involved in foreign currency (forex) trading, you're essentially speculating on the value of one currency versus another. You "buy" a currency just as you'd buy an individual stock, or any other financial security, in the hope that it will make a profitable return. But the value of your security is particularly volatile because of the many factors that can affect a currency's value and the amazingly quick timeframe in which these values can change. Nevertheless, if you're an active trader looking for alternatives to trading stocks or futures, the forex market is hard to beat.

Trading foreign currencies is a challenging and potentially profitable opportunity for educated and experienced investors. Before deciding to participate in the forex market, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite. Most important, don't invest money you can't afford to lose.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/examining-highend-investment-and-speculation-vehic.html

How to Choose Business-Planning Software

Software programs allow you to automatically assemble all the components of a business plan, turning them into a polished, ready-to-print document. The best programs also make easier work of the financial parts of business planning — creating income statements and cash flow statements, for example, or making financial projections.

Most software programs also allow you to add graphics, such as tables and charts, into your plan, providing an easy way for your audience to see at a glance what you’re describing in the written document.

To review the latest software offerings, type "Business Plan Software" into the window of a search engine, and then browse through the offerings of leading software providers. You can often find sample business plans that you can review to get a sense of the product you can produce with each software tool.

Business-planning software programs can make the job of business planning almost too easy. With all the software bells and whistles, newcomers can inadvertently skip the serious (that is, difficult) work of creating and writing an effective plan.

Remember, the best software-planning tools guide you through the important aspects of business planning and then keep track of your words, sentences, and paragraphs — they don’t think for you. You still have to do the serious mental work yourself.

Investors and bankers who make a living reviewing and funding business plans are all too familiar with the look and feel of the most popular software-generated business-planning documents. When using one of these programs, customize your plan to make it unique. The last thing you want is for your business plan to look exactly like the others that cross a venture capitalist’s desk.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-choose-businessplanning-software.html

Sticking to Your Diet at Mexican Restaurants

A flour tortilla is nutritionally sound, but roll it around a filling and deep-fry it, and you have a high calorie diet buster. The good news for dieters is that Mexican cuisine places minimal emphasis on meat protein.

The bad news is that most Mexican food is fried or cooked in abundant amounts of fat. Many of the national Mexican food chains don’t use lard or animal fat drippings, which is typical in many independent restaurants, but they do use plenty of vegetable oil. As far as calories are concerned, there’s no difference between animal fat and vegetable fat.

Use salsa instead of salad dressing, guacamole, or sour cream on entrees. Ask for cheese toppings to be omitted or ask if lowfat sour cream and cheese are available.

Choose more of these:

• Black bean soup

  
  



• Ceviche (fish or scallops marinated in lime juice)

  
  



• Chili

  
  



• Enchiladas, burritos, or soft tacos (skip the sour cream, guacamole, and most of the cheese)

  
  



• Fajitas

  
  



• Gazpacho

  
  



• Mexican salad minus the fried taco shell

  
  

Eat less of these:

• Chimichangas

  
  



• Extra cheese

  
  



• Refried beans

  
  



• Sour cream

  
  



• Tortilla shells

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/sticking-to-your-diet-at-mexican-restaurants.html

Reasons to Choose Joomla Content Management System

The Content Management System (CMS) of choice these days is Joomla. In 2010, Wikipedia listed 102 free and open-source CMSes. Joomla was the most popular of them in terms of number of installations.

A Google search for “content management system,” also queried in 2010, returned Joomla first (following two generic Wikipedia articles), and a Google search for “Joomla” produced a mere 93.4 million hits, making this CMS more popular than apples (32.4 million hits) and oranges (12.8 million hits) put together.

What makes Joomla so popular? One reason is that it’s free — but you can find dozens of free CMSes. Another reason is that it’s been around for a long time — but dozens of other CMSes have been around for years as well. The following describes a few better reasons.

Joomla users are loyal

Joomla has a very loyal user base, with dedicated Joomla users around the world creating a strong community. That community in turn has created thousands of items to extend Joomla — templates, components, modules, plug-ins, and so on — just waiting for you to use. Finally, this thriving community specializes in providing help to novices, so when you use Joomla, you’re never alone.

Joomla is easy to use

Joomla is super-powerful, easy to use, and loaded with tons of extras (and even more tons of extras are available for download). Using Joomla makes creating a professional website nearly as easy as printing a word processing document.

Minimal learning curve to get running with Joomla

Although Joomla involves a small learning curve, after you master a few basic skills, building and maintaining a website is easy. The technical expertise you need is minimal compared with the requirements of other CMSes.

Other advantages

Here are some other advantages of Joomla:

• Intuitive interface and management panel

  
  



• What-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) editing

  
  



• Rich formatting capabilities

  
  



• Thousands of downloadable templates

  
  



• Full text searches

  
  



• Plug-ins for commercial sites, including complete shopping carts

  
  



• Search-engine optimization features

  
  



• Scheduled publishing

  
  

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/reasons-to-choose-joomla-content-management-system.html

Making Good Marketing use of the iPad

In addition to the use of the iPad as a tool to enhance sales productivity and marketing presentations, the device opens new vistas for marketing. Because tablets have full-featured web browsers, users can view websites and ads just as they are.

But the iPad offers customers new experiences, such as being able to visualize products in their own environment while providing almost instant feedback for marketers to see how well these experiences work.

As with any new medium, it will take time for creative designers to fully explore the options, from tablet-enhanced sites to iPad-specific apps, which don’t require access to the Internet the way a website does. Advertising enhancements, beyond the obvious personalization, localization, and customization, include

• Multimedia display advertising: Full-screen images have interactive components.

  
  



• E-mail marketing: This strategy is tailored for the iPad, with its large graphics and touchscreen buttons.

  
  



• In-app advertising and content for sale: The mobile ad network provider Mobclix claims that iPad apps may generate five times the estimated advertising revenue of iPhone apps, and people continue viewing ads about six times longer than they do on a desktop.

  
  



• Search advertising: As with smartphones, geotargeting is vastly improved; just be sure to optimize landing and video pages for the iPad (remember not to use Flash).

  
  



• Video advertising: The high-resolution iPad screen makes viewing videos more appealing than on smartphones.

  
  



• Social media: Facebook, Twitter, and other social media services have their own apps for the iPad.

  
  

You can find a list of inexpensive (or free) iPad apps for social media and mobile marketing on Dummies.com/Webmarketing.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/making-good-marketing-use-of-the-ipad.html

Follow Canning and Preserving Rules

When you can and preserve foods, it’s important to follow all the steps for each method. You compromise the quality and safety of your food if you make your own rules. An example is when you shorten your processing period to try to cut corners and substitute important parts of recipes. It’s always best to start following directions to the letter, until you become fluent in the process.

Here are some general rules for handling, preparing, and processing your food:

• Start with the freshest, best products available. Preserving doesn’t improve food quality.

  
  



• Know the rules and techniques for your canning or preserving method before you start your work. Don’t try to learn a technique after you’ve started your processing.

  
  



• Work in short sessions to prevent fatigue and potential mistakes. Process no more than two items in one day and work with only one canning method at a time.

  
  



• Stay up-to-date on new or revised guidelines for your preserving method. You can go to websites like www.freshpreserving.com, created by the makers of Ball canning supplies, to find tips and directions for canning just about anything.

  
  



• When canning, use the correct processing method and processing time to destroy microorganisms. The recipe will tell you what method to use, but it helps if you understand the difference between high- and low-acid foods and how the canning methods for each differ.

  
  



• Know the elevation you’re working at. Adjust your processing time or pressure when you’re at an altitude over 1,000 feet above sea level.

  
  



• Put together a plan before you start your preserving session. Read your recipe (more than once). Have the proper equipment and correct ingredients on hand to prevent last-minute shortages and inconvenient breaks.

  
  



• Test your equipment. If you’re using an electric dehydrator or pressure canner, test out the equipment to ensure that everything’s working properly. And always check the seals on your jars.

  
  



• Use recipes from reliable sources or ones that you’ve already made successfully. Follow your recipe to the letter. Don’t substitute ingredients, adjust quantities, or make up your own food combinations. Improvisation and safe food preservation aren’t compatible. This approach also means you can’t double your recipe. If you require more than what the recipe yields, make another batch.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/follow-canning-and-preserving-rules.html

Know the Parts of a Candlestick Chart

Candlestick charts display the price bar in a graphically different way from standard bar charts. Candlesticks are dramatic and visually compelling, which makes them more appealing to many technical analysis traders.

A big white candle means the close was much higher than the open, and that's a good sign for a security buyer. A big black bar means the close was under the open and near the low, which may be hard to see on a regular bar but hard to miss in candlestick format. What if the candlestick shows the open and close about the same? This configuration means you can't read supply and demand in the bar and should not trade the security.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/know-the-parts-of-a-candlestick-chart.html

iShares Value and Growth ETFs

Studies show that the same value premium — the tendency for value stocks to outperform growth stocks — that seemingly exists with U.S. ETFs can be found around the world. Therefore, you might consider a mild tilt toward value in your international stock portfolio, just as for your domestic portfolio.

You can accomplish this tilt easily by using the iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index (EFV) along with the iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index (EFG).

Using these two funds together — allotting perhaps 55 to 60 percent to the value fund and 40 to 45 percent to growth — will give you full exposure to large cap, developed nation stocks. You still want to allocate some of your portfolio to emerging markets and to small cap international stocks.

Or, if you’ve already decided to split your international stocks up by regions — Europe, Pacific, emerging market — then adding a bit of EFV can give you the value lean you seek.

iShares MSCI EAFE Value Index (EFV)

Indexed to: MSCI EAFE Value Index, which is made up of approximately 520 large value companies of developed world nations, with about 40 percent of the fund’s net assets in either Japan or the United Kingdom, the second and third largest equity markets on the planet

Expense ratio: 0.40 percent

Top five country holdings: Japan, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Germany, France

It’s the only fund of its kind, and it’s great that it exists. It’s a bit costly when compared to the Vanguard funds but still considerably less than most of the other international iShares options.

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index (EFG)

Indexed to: MSCI EAFE Growth Index, which is made up of approximately 570 large growth companies of the developed world nations, with about 44 percent of the fund’s money invested in the United Kingdom and Japan, the second and third largest stock markets

Expense ratio: 0.40 percent

Top five country holdings: United Kingdom, Japan, Switzerland, Australia, Germany

Like EFV, this international growth fund is the only one of its kind. It’s great that it exists and that iShares has kept the expense ratio lower than what it charges for most of its other international funds.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/ishares-value-and-growth-etfs.html

Identify Whom to Ask for an Online Recommendation

Having strong recommendations is essential, and having more of them builds your credibility online. You need to take advantage of this recommendation blitz by helping your connections write as many high-quality referrals as possible.

Because online recommendations are much shorter than traditional ones and take much less time to write, employers expect you to have more of them. Having more recommendations is a credibility builder, and it tells LinkedIn’s search algorithm that your profile is more important than other profiles, so it puts you on top of a search results page.

But this blitz for a larger number of recommendations doesn’t mean you can ask all your best friends to write one. You still need quality people to write quality recommendations. Be sure you have a nice mix of the following business relationships as recommenders:

• Someone you reported to, such as a supervisor or boss

  
  



• Someone senior but who you didn’t report to

  
  



• A colleague you worked with in the same group

  
  



• A colleague parallel in your organization but in a different group

  
  



• A customer or client who you helped

  
  



• Someone who worked for you or reported to you

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/identify-whom-to-ask-for-an-online-recommendation.html

Business Development Acumen for Online Community Managers

In a way, the online community manager is the most important person in the company. Without you and your input and data, the other teams don’t know how to serve your customers and community members properly. Even though you’re not officially part of the business development department, you’re the one person that this department can’t manage effectively without.

Because you’re receiving feedback from your community on a regular basis, you’re best equipped to tell the business development how the people who use your products and services feel about them. If any aspect of what your brand creates isn’t working, you’re the one who hears about it. Also, it’s up to you to offer surveys to collect information from customers and community members.

Because you spend so much time talking to your members, you know things that the rest of your team may not:

• The median age of your community: After conversing with members over time, you find out how old they are.

  
  



• The location of your members: You find out where members live and whether more of them live in one area than in other areas.

  
  



• Their hobbies and interests: Community chats often go off topic, and this is okay, because you want to find out about your members’ interests — the things they like to do during their down time.

  
  



• Careers: You know what some of your members do for a living.

  
  



• Income: Unless you come out and ask, you won’t know for sure, but some indicators let you know the income levels of your members. If they talk about their in-ground swimming pools and country-club memberships, it’s a good guess that they’re upper-income. If they talk about clipping coupons, saving money, and not being able to afford certain services, your members are in a lower- or middle-income bracket.

  
  

This information may seem to be unrelated to your brand, but it’s really very important. Without knowing some of the deeper personal details about your community, you won’t be able to reach them on a deeper level. Knowing how they roll means that your brand can create the products and services they’ll respond to best at prices that they can afford.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/business-development-acumen-for-online-community-m.html

Robert's Rules for Presiding over a Debate

If you're a presiding officer, your leadership skills and knowledge of Robert's Rules are clearly on display when you're chairing a meeting during the consideration of a motion that sparks a lot of debate.

When it comes to presiding, your number-one duty is to know the rules. The rules for discussion and debate get quite a workout in meetings, so if you know the rules, you'll do just fine. And if you don't know them, sooner or later you'll wish you did.

Starting the debate

A debate is in order only when a motion is on the floor. After the motion is on the floor, it's up to the members and you as the presiding officer to work as a team to figure out what, if anything, the assembly wants to do with the motion.

Your job while presiding is to keep up with who has spoken and who wants to speak. You control the assignment of the floor and handle discussion and secondary motions until no further discussion is forthcoming, or until members close debate or otherwise dispose of the motion.

Assigning the floor

Knowing that members control decisions but the chair controls the floor is at the heart of successful presiding. Early in a discussion, the situation is pretty clear. Members rise and address the chair, and you basically want to take them in the order they seek recognition — first come, first served. But when things become a little more complicated, you need to know who gets preference to have the floor.

Refraining from debate

Your job is to facilitate the members making all the points on an issue. If you feel strongly about an issue, hope your political allies can handle advancing your goals from the floor. You must not give them any edge or advantage. The appearance of impartiality is the key to presiding over debate. Nobody expects you to be impartial; chances are good that you were elected because you have a program you hope to advance. But when you're presiding, stick to the job at hand.

If you absolutely must engage in the debate, you're obligated to turn the chair over to a chairman pro tem and step down from the chair until the motion is disposed of.

Closing debate and taking the vote

Because of the right of members to enjoy all the time the group is willing to spend in debate, it's not in order to move so quickly to the voting as to silence a member who legitimately seeks the floor to speak or make a secondary motion. Robert's Rules calls this practice of silencing members gaveling through, and it's looked upon as particularly contemptible. If you ignore a member who seeks recognition before voting starts and proceed to take a vote, then the vote must be disregarded and debate reopened, even if the result has been announced. However, when you've made sure the members have a full opportunity to claim the floor before you move on to the voting, it's too late to reopen debate after voting has begun.

The debate remains closed even if the vote is not conclusive and if additional votes are necessary to determine the result.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/roberts-rules-for-presiding-over-a-debate.html

Property Management Kit For Dummies

Property management is a job of detail and preparation. You need to prepare empty units to be shown to new tenants, you need to be able to fit potential tenants to the right unit, and most importantly, you need to be able to collect rents effectively.

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What to Do Before Showing a Rental Unit

As a property manager, you’re always showing prospective tenants empty rental units. The following list can be helpful as you develop your pre-showing routine of tasks to take care of so that each rental unit shows its best side:

Remove all of the prior tenants’ personal possessions and trash after you have legal possession of the unit.	Inspect all closets and storage areas. Rods, closet dowels, hooks, shelves, lights, floors, and walls should be clean.
Check all plumbing (toilets, faucets, and pipes) for proper operation. The plumbing should have the proper pressure and drain adequately. Make sure that nothing leaks. Change out old angle stops and install leak-resistant supply lines.	Check all counters, cabinets, doors, molding, thresholds, and metal strips. They should be clean and fully operational, presenting no hazards.
Test all appliances for proper operation. Try out all the appliances and run the dishwasher through a full cycle. Verify that the oven’s drip pan, broiler pan, and racks are there.	Test each smoke detector and check all lighting and electrical outlets, including GFCIs and circuit breakers, for proper operation.
Examine all hardware. Confirm that the locks have been changed or rekeyed and are operational. Pay attention to all latches and catches, doorknobs and pulls, door stops, and sliding doors.	Check all patios, balconies, and entryways. They should be clean and physically sound. Railings should also be secure.
Test all windows, insect screens, and window coverings. They should be clean, unbroken, weatherproof, secure, and properly operational. All window locks should work as well.	Test the heating and air conditioning for proper operation. Be sure the thermostat, filters, vents, and registers are all in working order.
Check all walls, ceilings, and baseboards. The paint and/or wall coverings should provide proper coverage, without holes, cuts, scratches, nails, or bad seams. Look for signs of water intrusion and investigate and correct the cause of any such conditions.	Check the rental unit’s curb appeal, including the exterior landscaping, driveways, and walkways. Keep them as neat and tidy as possible.
Inspect all floor coverings. They should be clean and in good condition. The flooring should be properly installed, with no bad seams.	Perform a final walk-through of the entire rental unit for appearance and cleanliness. Recheck the unit every few days it sits vacant.
Check bathrooms. Thoroughly clean the toilet, tub, shower, sink, mirrors, and cabinets. Make sure the toilet paper holder and towel bars are clean. Put a paper sanitary ring around each toilet seat and a new roll of toilet paper in each bathroom. Look under sinks for moisture and address any noted problems.	*

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How to Determine a Prospective Tenant’s Rental Needs

As a property manager, helping potential tenants find a place to rent is a large part of your job. One of the best ways to screen prospective tenants is to figure out what they need in a rental and gear your sales pitch accordingly. Some questions to ask over the phone to help you assess their needs include those in the following list:

When will you need to move in?	What, if anything, is wrong with your current rental property?
How many bedrooms do you need?	Why are you looking to move?
How many people will be living in the rental?	Where do you work?
What size rental unit are you looking for?	What do you do for a living?
What would you feel comfortable with as a monthly rent?	What types of pets do you have?
How long do you intend to live at this property?	When can you drive by the rental property?
How much parking space do you require?	How can I reach you by phone?
Where are you living now?	*

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How to Collect Rent Effectively

It’s your job as property manager to collect rent. This routine task can be made fairly straightforward by instituting some basic policies and following them for every tenant. Use the tips in the following list to devise and hold to your own rent-collection policy:

• Have a written rent collection policy and go over it with each adult tenant prior to move-in.

  
  



• Institute a firm policy that rent is due on or before the first of the month.

  
  



• Always follow your rent collection policy, starting the first time the tenant’s rent is late.

  
  



• Provide the tenant with electronic funds transfer or with stamped, preaddressed or business reply envelopes to make it simple for him or her to pay the rent on time.

  
  



• Refuse partial rent payments. If you feel that you must accept a partial payment, have the tenant sign a partial rent payment agreement and personally serve new legal notices for nonpayment of rent.

  
  



• Accept only one check for the entire rent if more than one tenant is living in a single rental unit. This strategy helps you collect the rent more efficiently and reinforces the fact that each of your tenants is legally responsible for paying the rent.

  
  



• Enforce and collect all charges for late and returned checks or dishonored electronic payments.

  
  



• Accept only cashier’s checks or money orders if a tenant has two returned checks or dishonored electronic payments.

  
  



• Consider incentives to encourage prompt rental payments. Be sure that all incentives are offered to all residents equally.

  
  



• Promptly serve all legal notices to protect your legal options, even if you believe that your tenant will fulfill his or her promises.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/property-management-kit-for-dummies-cheat-sheet.html

Alanine: An Amino Acid Energy Source

Alanine is a nonessential amino acid, meaning that if you don’t get this nutrient from you diet, your body can manufacture it. It is an important part of human muscle and one of the few amino acids that transforms into glucose, an important sugar that your body uses as an energy source. Alanine is included in some energy and sports formulas, but is less popular as a single supplement.

Some key uses of alanine are:

• Helps produce lymphocytes, which are cells in your lymph fluid and bloodstream that are vital to your immune system.

  
  



• May help regulate blood sugar.

  
  



• Helps reduce symptoms of prostate enlargement in men if used with glycine (another amino acid).

  
  



• Helps your adrenal gland function. Beta-alanine (another form of the amino acid) is not part of proteins, but is a component of vitamin B-5, which is good for your adrenal glands.

  
  

Although your body can manufacture all the alanine it needs, dietary sources include animal proteins, plus dairy, oats, wheat germ, and avocado.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/alanine-an-amino-acid-energy-source.html

Effect of a Network Loop

So what happens when there is a loop on your Cisco network and you do not have spanning tree running? Well, if you have no network traffic on your network, then nothing. If you have a hub-based network, as soon as the first piece of data is sent on the network, a single Ethernet frame will cycle through the loop repeatedly.

A single network frame will cycle around the network and actually consume 100% of the possible network bandwidth.

If you have a switch-based network, then it may actually take a broadcast packet to cause a problem with a network loop. When a switch gets a broadcast from a network device, it forwards it out through all ports. The neighboring switch will get that broadcast and forward the broadcast through all other ports, and due to the loop, this broadcast will make its way to the original switch that received the broadcast from the network device.

When the broadcast arrives, it will not know that it has seen it before, so it will forward it to all other ports. This process will be repeated thousands of times per second, causing a huge volume of traffic from a single broadcasted Ethernet frame.

When this happens on your network, everyone will lose the ability to communicate on the network, and the activity lights on your switches will be solid (on) rather than blinking (on and off). If you break the loop, your network will return to normal in a few minutes.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/effect-of-a-network-loop.html

How to Add Video to a PowerPoint Presentation

Inserting digital video clips and animated GIFs into PowerPoint presentations is a breeze when you know how. This PowerPoint video shows you all you need to know to add video and animation to your PowerPoint presentations.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-add-video-to-a-powerpoint-presentation.html

Conditioning Your Puppy to Life's Surprise Events

Socializing your puppy to all of life’s surprise events is just as important as training him during the first year. Though your puppy may behave perfectly in your living room, if he falls to pieces when you hit the road, you won’t be able to take him anywhere.

And your puppy has so much more in store for him than a variety of different people. Exposing your puppy to different animals, weather, objects, noises, and places will encourage calm acceptance and healthy curiosity to anything new the two of you may encounter.

Meeting other animals

Whether your pup is young or old, he must learn to control his impulses when he notices other animals in his surroundings. When you notice a critter before your puppy does, instruct him by saying “Back” and guiding him to your side. Then kneel down facing the critter and use the command “Sit-stay” to encourage your pup’s containment.

If your puppy’s radar alerts first, however, he’ll orient himself toward the distraction and his ears will be erect and riveted. When you observe your puppy in this state, direct “Back” and kneel down to brace him. Finally, instruct “Stay.”

As your puppy’s impulse control matures, encourage him to follow you by using the “Follow” direction. You can discourage any interest with a quick tug of the leash. Praise and treat him for resisting the temptation.

Dealing with storms

Your puppy’s first thunderstorm may be a memorable event. The best thing you can do is absolutely nothing. Emotional reassurance on your part will be misconstrued as mutual fear, and your puppy can quickly develop a phobic reaction to the situation.

By staying calm and just reading a book or doing something else low-key, you’re setting an example of how to act in a storm. Also consider taping a storm and playing it at low levels during play or feeding until your puppy is conditioned to the sound.

If your puppy has already developed a fearful reaction to storms, fit him for a head collar or no-pull type of harness and guide him on the lead through each storm, acting as though nothing is happening. Offer your puppy a toy or bone to chew and displace his anxieties. Pay attention to him only when he’s relaxed. His reaction will improve in time.

Getting used to noises

If your puppy has a startled reaction or if your puppy is older and unfamiliar with a noise or situation, you need to craft your approach to limit the intensity. If your pup looks like he may attack or run away from a distraction, he’s clearly in a state of panic. Retreat from the situation immediately. Work on treat-based lessons, brace him, and gradually move closer to the distraction.

If a specific sound is unsettling to your puppy, record it or see if you can find a sound machine that has the sound pre-recorded. Play it at gradually increasing volumes while your puppy is playing or eating. If he’s still startled by the noise, lower the volume and play it in a distant room.

Navigating new places

You’ll have to wait until your puppy is inoculated (according to your vet’s instructions) to go on field trips. However, when your vet gives you the green light, go, go, go! Away from his home turf, surrounded by the unknown, your puppy will suddenly grow hyper, fearful, or defensive. Each reaction gives you the perfect opportunity to step in and direct him.

Regardless of your puppy’s response, use the directions “Let’s go,” “Stay,” and “Wait” as you navigate new places together. By doing so, your direction and posture say to your pup, “I’m the leader; follow me!”

In addition, bring a familiar bed or mat for your puppy to ride on in the car and to sit on when you’ll expect him to be still in a strange place. If you’re going to an outdoor restaurant, his veterinarian’s office, or school, bring his mat along and direct him to it. His mat will act like a security blanket.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/conditioning-your-puppy-to-lifes-surprise-events.html

QuickBooks 2011 Calculation and Editing Tricks

QuickBooks 2011 makes it easy to calculate numbers. If the selection cursor is in an amount field in, you can use these symbol keys to make calculations:

Press This Key	This Happens
+	Adds the number you just typed to the next number you type
–	Subtracts the next number you type from the number you just typed
*	Multiplies the number you just typed by the next number you type
/	Divides the number you just typed by the next number you type

If the selection cursor is on a date field, you can use these tricks to edit the date:

Press This Key	This Happens
+	Adds one day to the date shown
T	Replaces the date shown with today’s date
–	Subtracts one day from the date shown
Y	Changes the date to the first day in the year
R	Changes the date to the last day in the year
M	Changes the date to the first day in the month
H	Changes the date to the last day in the month

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/quickbooks-2011-calculation-and-editing-tricks.html

How to Create a Motion Path for Moving Elements Across a PowerPoint 2007 Slide

Click the Custom Animation button.

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The Custom Animation task pane opens.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-create-a-motion-path-for-moving-elements-ac.html

Building Web Sites Sample Map

Building a successful Web site involves keeping the front end (user information) and back end (files that make your Web site work) creative and consistent while deciding on what content goes in each section of your site. This figure shows the major parts of a site:

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/building-web-sites-sample-map.html

The Soccer Field

A basic soccer field is at least 100 yards long, 50 yards wide, and has a goal centered at both ends. But within that basic rectangle is the goalie’s box, the penalty line, the center circle, and, of course, the corners, without which corner kicks would just be kicks. The following figure shows the correct layout for a regulation soccer field:

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/the-soccer-field.html

Honesty and Compensation for Your Mom Blog

If writing paid reviews fits with your business model, then there are ways you can minimize the perception that your blog post presents a conflict of interest. Mixing money and opinion can be dangerous.

It is generally accepted that money can and will influence your opinion — though it isn’t always true. For most mom bloggers, no amount of money would justify publishing a lie on their blogs.

You can say that your opinion’s not for sale. But that doesn’t change the fact that people who don’t know you will assume what is generally accepted: that if you take money for a review, it will influence what you say, even if it doesn’t. Yet, bloggers need to cover their expenses and make a living.

• Disclose more than you are required to disclose: If a review is compensated, you must disclose that relationship. Disclose why you chose to write the review in the first place. If you have spent money on the company’s products in the past, say so. If you would have written about this product for free anyway, say so.

  
  



• Balance all reviews with constructive criticism: Make a habit of pointing out ways a product could be improved in every review. It’s hard for a review to sound credible if all it does is rave about a product. Even the most perfect product in the world can be improved.

  
  

  Balancing every one of your reviews with constructive criticism helps to show that you are willing to be honest, no matter what.

  
  



• Be open about the opportunities you turn down: So much attention is focused on the freebies that mom bloggers receive because that’s what the public can see. The public never hears about the opportunities and products you don’t receive.

  
  

  You can be general while still conveying the message that you’re picky about what you choose to receive. You can create a simple statement in your sidebar or on your disclosures page saying that you only publish x percentage of the reviews you are offered to write.

  
  



• Write about products you know your readers would be interested in: Your readers have been attracted to your blog for your voice and the quality of your content. You can scare them away if you write any kind of irrelevant blog posts, not just irrelevant products. Keeping your blog on topic also makes you more attractive to advertisers.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/honesty-and-compensation-for-your-mom-blog.html

Helping Your Mood with Amino Acids Phenylalanine and Tyrosine

Phenylalanine — an essential amino acid— is readily available in most food sources, particularly high in meats and milk products, with lower levels found in oats and wheat germ. To make use of phenylalanine, your body requires vitamin B-3, vitamin B-6, vitamin C, copper, and iron.

Phenylalanine is used to form tyrosine. Thought to be useful in the treatment of depression and anxiety, tyrosine is important to metabolism. Tyrosine also aids in the reduction of body fat.

Because your body can’t reconvert tyrosine to phenylalanine, you must get this nutrient amino from your diet. It is required for many bodily functions and is one of the few amino acids that can directly affect brain chemistry.

Avoid using phenylalanine supplements, and reduce high-phenylalanine containing foods like meat and dairy products if you have lupus.

This amino acid is important in helping your brain make active nerve chemicals that can affect your mood (like epinephrine). Phenylalanine seems to increase endorphins in the brain to give you a more positive outlook.

Key uses of phenylalanine:

• Phenylalanine is transformed into norepinephrine in the body through a variety of metabolic steps, as well as to other active chemicals, such as epinephrine, dopamine, and tyramine. Norepinephrine is an important neurotransmitter that conveys information from nerve to nerve and is apparently important for memory, alertness, and learning.

  
  



• Practitioners recommend phenylalanine for treatment of depression, bipolar disorder, hyperactivity, and Parkinson’s Disease.

  
  



• This amino acid may also function as a pain reliever for headaches (particularly migraines), and also for lower back and neck pain, arthritis, and menstrual cramps. Researchers don’t know yet how effective phenylalanine is for these conditions, but some clinical trials look promising.

  
  

If you have lupus, see your doctor and your nutritionist before taking tyrosine.

The key uses of tyrosine are:

• Tyrosine is known as the antidepressant amino acid, and it may also be useful for reducing anxiety and improving energy.

  
  



• Tyrosine has a mild antioxidant effect, binding free radicals (unstable molecules) that can cause damage to the cells and tissues, and is useful in preventing cell damage if you smoke, have a stressful life, or are exposed to chemicals and radiation.

  
  



• Tyrosine is used to treat a low sex drive and Parkinson’s disease.

  
  



• Tyrosine is also used in programs for people with drug or weight loss problems; it is a mild appetite suppressant.

  
  

Your body needs folic acid, niacin, vitamin C, and copper to help convert tyrosine into many important substances, including melanin, a skin pigment; estrogen; and enkephalins (natural pain relievers). Tyrosine may stimulate growth hormone and can act as a mild appetite suppressant.

dummies

Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/helping-your-mood-with-amino-acids-phenylalanine-a.html

Top-Line Budgeting with QuickBooks 2012

Top-line budgeting is a very useful and common budgeting tactic that you should get to know before working with QuickBooks 2012. A top-line budget is the simplest budget technique available. A top-line budget takes last year’s numbers or last month’s numbers and uses them for this year’s budget.

Of course, if inflation has occurred, a top-line budget may inflate last year’s or last month’s numbers by using an inflation factor. Or, conversely, if the business has shrunk a bit or fallen on hard times, the previous year’s or month’s numbers may be decreased by some amount.

Although top-line budgeting often receives a bad rap from people who don’t like the way it perpetuates the past, top-line budgeting has at least a couple of arguments in its favor:

• Top-line budgeting is easy. This is something big in its favor. Other budgeting techniques are often much more work.

  
  



• Top-line budgeting is based on reality. The numbers from last year or last month are real. This fact is a unique benefit to top-line budgeting that other budgeting tactics don’t offer. If you know, for example, that last month you spent $2,000 on rent, the reality of that true, actual number is a very useful starting point for thinking about what you will spend this month.

  
  

Top-line budgeting, however, possesses a well-known weakness. Top-line budgeting tends to perpetuate previous bad budgeting decisions. For example, if someone long ago decided to spend $10,000 on an advertisement on some special industry magazine, top-line budgeting may continue to budget that $10,000 annual expense even though it no longer makes sense or never made sense.

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/topline-budgeting-with-quickbooks-2012.html

Hobby Farming: Warning Signs of Illness in Farm Animals

A hobby farmer, like a commercial farmer, must keep an eye on the health of the farm animals by checking them routinely. Daily observation tells you the animals' habits, and will help you determine if something is wrong or if your animal is sick.

The following signs are warnings that your farm animal has an illness:

• The animal is lethargic or just not very active.

  
  



• The animal isn't eating.

  
  



• The animal is getting thin.

  
  



• The animal's milk production is off.

  
  



• There’s a change in the animal's stools (you notice diarrhea or straining and a lack of stools, indicating constipation).

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/hobby-farming-warning-signs-of-illness-in-farm-ani.html

What Are the Treatments for Sleep Apnea?

Do you get out of bed feeling tired even though you’ve been asleep for seven or eight hours? Do you suddenly wake up unable to catch your breath? Has your spouse or partner complained that you snore loudly or said you sometimes stop breathing for a few seconds when you’re asleep? If so, you could have a potentially serious but treatable condition called sleep apnea.

If you suspect you might have sleep apnea, it’s important to seek help from your doctor. People with untreated sleep apnea run a higher risk of falling asleep while driving and of suffering from a heart attack, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, or stroke.

There are three types of sleep apnea: central, obstructive, and complex. Central sleep apnea is rare and is usually a symptom of heart disease or stroke. Basically, your brain doesn’t send your breathing muscles the signals they need to keep inhaling and exhaling in a regular rhythm.

Obstructive apnea is the most common and occurs when the muscles in the back of your throat relax to such an extent that they partially or completely block your airway. If you have complex, or mixed, apnea, you suffer from both airway blockage and interruptions in brain signals.

Unfortunately, treating sleep apnea isn’t as simple as taking a pill. Still, there are several treatment options available. Once your doctor knows the cause and severity of your apnea, she’ll be able to recommend the best course of action to relieve your symptoms.

• Underlying cause: If your sleep apnea is caused by a heart or neuromuscular disorder, such as congestive heart failure, treating that condition may reduce or eliminate your symptoms.

  
  



• Lifestyle: Being overweight, smoking, and drinking alcohol are all lifestyle habits that increase sleep apnea symptoms. Loosing as little as 10 percent of your excess body weight can lessen the amount of times your sleep apnea causes you to stop breathing.

  
  

  Avoid alcohol or sedative drugs. These relax your throat muscles, increasing the likelihood that your airway will become blocked while you sleep. Smoking constricts airways, veins, arteries, and just about every other part of your body responsible for circulation and respiration. Sleep apnea suffers who stop smoking usually see a reduction in their breathing difficulties.

  
  



• CPAP: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is the most common treatment for sleep apnea. This treatment requires you wear a mask over your nose and mouth while you sleep. The mask is attached to a small machine that blows air into your nose and throat. The amount of air is just enough to keep your airway open; it shouldn’t keep you awake. Still, some people find the mask awkward and uncomfortable.

  
  

  There are several different CPAP masks. If the mask you’re using is uncomfortable. Tell your doctor so you can try another type.

  
  



• BiPAP: Similar to CPAP machines, Bilevel Positive Airway Pressure (BiPAP) devices utilize a mask to deliver air through your nose and mouth. While CPAP machines release a continuous level of air pressure, BiPAP devices blow more air when you inhale and less when you exhale. You may find this customized amount of pressure is more comfortable.

  
  



• Dental appliances: Although air pressure therapy is a more effective sleep apnea treatment, you may find you just can’t sleep comfortably with a mask on your face. If so, you may want to consider wearing a mouthpiece. Your dentist or orthodontist can provide you with a dental appliance that will keep your upper throat open by repositioning your tongue and pushing your jaw forward while you sleep.

  
  

  A dental appliance requires a custom fit to work properly. Once your mouthpiece is made, you’ll have to keep twice-yearly follow-up visits with your dentist to make sure the appliance still fits correctly.

  
  



• Surgery: If your sleep apnea is severe and/or life threatening, you may need to undergo surgery to shrink or remove the extra tissue in the back of your throat that is blocking your airway. However, if there’s still obstructive tissue further down your throat, this type of surgery won’t cure your apnea.

  
  

  Another possible procedure involves moving your lower jaw bone forward so there’s more room for air to move through the back of your mouth.

  
  

  Trachestomy is a surgical treatment of last resort. During a trachestomy, a surgeon will cut a hole in the front of your neck and insert a metal or plastic tube through the opening. While you sleep, you’ll be able to breathe through the tube, bypassing the blockage in your throat. You’ll keep the tube covered when you’re awake.

  
  

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Source:http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/what-are-the-treatments-for-sleep-apnea.html