Students Of Success

With gas prices higher than a year ago and most likely not going down, and people’s schedules being busier than ever it is easy to see why on-line shopping is growing in popularity. Virtual Malls, or on-line shopping malls, offer you the same products as you get in the store, and in some cases even more than that same local store would carry. If they are out of stock you can place your order and they will ship it when it comes in or you can go to the next store and see if they have it. You aren’t wasting time and gas on driving from store to store or making a second trip back only to find out they didn’t come in or sold out again.

There are some issues that prevent people from shopping on-line, such as age/generation. Some older people just don’t trust the system, which is understandable. Another issue is security. There is a concern about credit card information being stolen over the internet which puts you at risk for Identity Theft. This is a very reasonable concern to have but shopping in the stores does not eliminate this risk, in fact it may even increase the risk. If you use the credit card at the store it is still transmitted to the bank in a similar manner. Not only that but you have the cashier who can take your numbers from a copy of the receipt. There is usually a person in the cash office counting the money and receipts, so there is another exposure.

Another reason to not shop on-line is the possibility of shipping costs. While most retailers offer free shipping on some items, if not all, the shipping costs are no different than gas money doing the driving yourself. It may not seem the same because you are putting gas in your car anyway but think of how much more you may use if you need to drive any distance at all to get to the mall.

There are always going to be the people out there that are trying to save money and they think they can do it better on their own. You know the kind of person I am talking about, the person that will drive 10 miles out of his way to go to the cheaper gas station only to save $.02 a gallon. What that person doesn’t realize is if he is charged shipping for an on-line purchase it will be offset by the lack of sales tax as most retailers don’t charge sales tax on-line.

I am of the firm belief that your time is valuable. If you spend 4 hours, between commuting time and shopping time, at the mall and you could have gotten everything done in 2 hours on the internet, in the comfort of your own home, you are making out much better on-line. You also have the option of getting a better price on-line because there are 100 stores at the click of a button waiting to earn your sale. At the mall you get one or two stores selling the same product so your options are limited. If someone really wants to steal you credit card information they will find a way to do it, either by robbing you, breaking into your house, stealing your mail from the mailbox, or at the local store. Do not let that be the reason you go to the store.

The next time you have to do some shopping, and you have never tried the internet, give it a shot. I think you will convert once you see how easy it is.

Scott Bianchi operates http://www.best-internet-bargains.com If you would like to be included in his mailing list when he publishes a new article send an email to articles@bestinternetbargains.com

So, you have taken lots of pictures with your new digital camera, the memory card is full, and you are wondering how to store and archive your images.

1 Buy another memory card

The method of storing your images with least effort is to buy a new memory card and keep your images on the first card.
Taking into account that memory cards are currently expensive, this seems a costly way of archiving the images. In the longer
term, however, there may be some argument for this method as memory card prices fall, which they progressively have. However
as time goes by the digital size of images (measured in megapixels) will increases partly offsetting this factor.

2 Transfer your images on to your computer

Most if not all digital cameras come with a cable for connecting the camera to a personal computer. The manufacturer has
probably provided software with that cable so that you can install the software on to your computer, connect the cable and
transfer images from your camera onto your PC. Don’t forget, if all else fails – read the instruction booklet! Once safely on
your computer hard drive, you can erase the memory of the camera and start taking new photos all over again. However do check
that the images have been successfully downloaded to your computer before you erase them!

3 Burn your images onto a CDRom

Many home computers are now equipped with a CDRom writer. This is probably the preferred way of archiving your images for
years to come. One word of warning though. Do not buy cheap recordable CDs – CDRs. Cheap discs are less reliable and we have
found some to be problematic. We have also found that rewritable disks – those that can be written once and then overwritten – do not work well in certain CD Drives. Best to use good quality write once CDRs and carefully label them, storing them in cases for protection. In due course CDs will be replaced by DVDs providing greater memory capacity as image files increase in size.

4 Store your images on a public web site

If you are connected to the internet you will be able to find sites on the world wide web which will store your images for
posterity. Furthermore, they may let others view your images, or restrict access to them by a password. Some sites charge for
this service. What the long term prognosis is for any of these sites is – well – who knows. But they might be useful in the
short term.

5 Print your images at home for viewing

You might want to put your images in an album to keep for yourself and to show family and friends. Photo printers are
available for home use – either from the manufacturer of your camera or from another. The convenience of being able to print
your own images at home immediately will be offset by the cost of consumables, which can be high, and the slow print speed of
many home printers. Further there has been discussion regarding the longevity of the prints made at home compared with
conventional prints made on photographic paper.

6 Use a professional laboratory to make photographic prints

A more practical way of printing your images is to take your camera memory card or a CDRom to you local film processor for
prints. You will be able to collect your printed images either the same or the next day and they will be photographic prints
with a very long life expectancy. The laboratory will be able to crop your images or enlarge the full image or a section of
it to further enhance your photo.

7 Put your pictures on to a photo gift

For a lasting memento, why not put your pictures into a frame or even get your laboratory to put them on a gist such as a mug
or mouse mat. Such object will have a long life and attract interest and attention. To see some of the possibilities when it
comes to photo gifts feel free to visit http://www.view-link.com/photogifts.html

Christopher Thomas is both keen photographer and company director of Viewlink Ltd based in Amersham, Uk. The company focusses on digital photo developing for both amateur and commercial photographers. For more articles by Christopher Thomas please visit the company website at http://www.view-link.com

Mu Xu Pork is a kind of dish served by rolling it into very thin
pancakes (Mu Xu pancakes) after frying eggs, pork and other
Chinese vegetables. This is a very tasty Northern dish in China
and favored by most families. It tastes the best when served
with pancakes along with the special sweet seafood sauce (known
as Hoysing (Cantonese) sauce in America, though it really should
be called Hai Xian sauce you meant to say it in Chinese); it is
also favored by many people as a side dish when eating with rice
or congee. It is full of unique fragrance. Adding enough chopped
raw scallions when you eat can bring out the best flavor.

Of course, depending on your preference, you may replace the
pork with other meats like shrimps, chicken, beef, etc., or cook
it without any meat to make it a vegetable Mu Xu. But
traditionally when we talk about Mu Xu Rou in China, pork is
always the king.

Ingredients

a). For step 1:

120g (4oz.) pork

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon cooking wine

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1/2 stalk green onion

2 dried mushrooms (soaked)

6 cloud ears

1 slice ginger

1 bamboo shoot

1/3 bunch spinach

b). For step 2:

3 eggs

dash of salt

3 tablespoons oil

c). For step 3:

3 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon cooking wine

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

dash of monosodium glutamate

Method:

1. Shred meat, marinate and mix with cornstarch. Shred mushrooms
and bamboo shoot. Cut spinach in 4cm (2″) pieces. Slice green
onion. Soak cloud ears in water.

2. Fry eggs - Beat eggs slightly, add salt. Heat oil until hot
and quickly scramble eggs. Set aside.

3. Heat oil. Add and fry in order: green onion, ginger, meat,
bamboo shoot, mushroom, cloud ears, and spinach. Blend in
seasoning. Pour in scrambled eggs, mix quickly and serve hot.

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Nutritional information:

Each serving provides:

Calories: 301

Protein: 13.2g