The issue of e-waste is heating up all across the country. It started with community disposal bans and has now spread to statewide disposal bans. There are even legislative moves afoot to mandate e-waste recycling nationwide.

At the center of the issue is your old computer. For years computer monitors have been banned from landfills in many places across the country. But another device is quickly taking center stage - the ubiquitous cell phone.

There are nearly 200 million cell phone users in the US all of whom upgrade their old cell phone, on the average, every 18 months. This means that more than 11 million cell phones are retired every month in the US alone. As of this writing less than 5% of these phones are collected for reuse and recycling.

Some claim that because of the small size of the average cell phone it’s easy for a consumer to simply trash it. Maybe one person trashing a cell phone doesn’t seem like much but surveys suggest that each of the 200 million cell phone subscribers have 2.5 old cell phones shoved in a desk drawer or stored in a closet somewhere in their home or office.

Imagine if all those cell phones, 500 million in all, were discarded in household trash over the course of a year. Over 80,000 tons of additional waste would be generated. This is not common household waste that becomes fertilizer. It has the potential to pollute.

It is common knowledge that electronic waste, or e-waste, contains toxins that are harmful to the environment. Electronic circuit boards in cell phones contain toxins such as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury; just to name a few. Research has shown that cell phones, when disposed in landfill conditions, leach hazardous levels of lead.

Programs banning electronic devices from regular trash pickups are becoming more common throughout the country. There is even national recycling legislation being proposed to combat the problem. A couple of communities are leading the way.

Since October 1st, 2005 King County, WA has prohibited residents from putting out old cell phones, or other electronic devices, for regular trash pickup. Officials say the county’s Cedar Hill Landfill could become contaminated by the toxic heavy metals that exist in cell phones, computers and other electronic items.

On February 9th 2006 the State of California banned the disposal of cell phones in household trash. Instead, residents must recycle their old cell phones at local landfills.

“The good news is that most hazardous waste items can be recycled for free” said Jennifer Caldwell, Waste Reduction Coordinator for Yolo County California. Caldwell said that residents can drop off their recyclable items at the landfill.

Westchester County, NY will soon require that consumers recycle their cell phones. While other communities have not mentioned fines, Westchester residents will have to pay up to $250 on anyone caught putting a phone in the trash.

Industry is getting involved - creating solutions rather than just problems. Refurbishing and recycling cell phones, a growing business, is a step in the right direction. Attempts are also underway to replace lead with a less toxic substance in the manufacturing process.

But until then something needs to be done and cell phone recycling is the best solution. So the next time you retire your old friend, don’t banish him to your household hinterlands, make an effort to recycle. It’s great for the environment and your wallet.

James Mosieur is CEO of RMS Communications Group, Inc. RMS operates several cell phone recycling websites like http://www.CellForCash.com He has been in the electronics recycling business since 1985. James writes and speaks on cell phone recycling and related subjects particularly as they relate to the individual consumer.

The Before and After Scenario is one of the
oldest, and best, methods used by advertisers and copywriters.
And why not? It works because it paints a vivid portrait for
your prospect of how he can realize a major change in his life.

A “Before-Scenario” depicts a person whose circumstances are
much like that of your targeted prospect: overweight, broke,
stuck in a dead-end job, bald or what have you. This is a person
your targeted prospect can identify with because he or she
languishes under the very same circumstances.

Then you present an “After-Scenario” depicting one of your
satisfied customers who is delighted with the changes your
product or service has brought about. She is now fit and trim
(and has the requisite bathing suit pictures to prove it), they
now has enough money to live the life they always dreamed about,
or he now has a full head of hair and is irresistible to the
opposite sex.

The simple truth is that now matter how familiar we are with
this kind of advertising, it still works because the targeted
prospect identifies with your Before-Scenario and strongly wants
to escape from those circumstances. And the After-Scenario
offers the prospect the very life he or she wants to escape to.

But at times the very familiarity of this formula may simply get
old in your market. Nevertheless, there are a few ways to get
even more mileage out of this old advertising workhorse by
adding a few twists:

1. Create A “Virtual” After-Scenario. Sometimes you may
not want to use a real person’s situation, but want your reader
to visualize his or her own Before and After Scenario.

You do this by injecting a lot of emotion into the problem your
product or service is designed to solve.

Suppose your company provides auto financing for people with
poor credit. You could create a Before-Scenario by vividly
describing the embarrassment of driving an old, dilapidated car.
Remind the prospect of the constant fear of driving a car that
could break down on a remote highway late at night or on a busy
highway in the middle of rush hour traffic. You could also, stir
up the humiliation of being turned down for financing from
traditional lenders.

Then you paint a second, emotional-filled scene of your prospect
driving an attractive, dependable car, after being treated with
dignity and respect by your finance officers. Paint an emotional
picture of your prospect being seen by friends and neighbors
driving this nice looking, late model car and having the peace
of mind that the monthly payments are reasonable and that the
car is in very good working order.

2. Depict a Negative After Scenario. Sometimes you have
to educate your prospect about why buying your competitors’
cheaper product is more costly in the long run. Here is an
example, written by Dan Kennedy, to sell an ordinary product
like shoes: “…but if you insist on just wearing any old pair
of ordinary shoes, here’s what you have to look forward to in
your so-called golden years; fallen arches…intense lower back
pain…even pain from just walking around a shopping mall!
You’ll be asking your friends to slow down so you can keep up.
You’ll be futilely soaking your feet at night like some old
fuddy-duddy. You may even need pain pills just to get to sleep.”

With a Negative After-Scenario, you are projecting an
undesirable future resulting from your prospect’s shortsighted
attempt to save a little money now by buying an inferior
product, or by not spending any money at all to solve a known
problem while there is still time.

3. A Back-Story Scenario. This Before and After formula
is not seen by your reader, but is sketched out for you the
writer and marketer. Even if I am writing copy that follows a
different format, I will often write out a before and after
comparison for my own use when I begin my work. This enables me
to clearly see the benefits the prospects are seeking in the
form of specific changes they want to experience in their lives.

I want to know what the prospect is dissatisfied with now, and
how intensely that dissatisfaction feels. I also want to know
how the prospect wants to feel in the future and what changes
must take place in order to achieve that desired state and the
emotions that will come with it.

Let’s face it, I don’t want to overlook a single benefit that my
readers might be seeking. And without my own draft version of a
before-after sketch, I might miss the very benefit that will
trigger the most response.

Every worthwhile product or service helps to bring about a
desired change. And let’s face it, all of us, regardless of what
we sell, are really in the business of selling change. A person
who is satisfied with the status quo is not a prospect, and will
never be a customer. But when that person is ready for a change,
and has become dissatisfied with the way things are right now, a
strong Before and After Scenario can show them the way to find
that change.

COPYRIGHT © 2005, Charles Brown

A recent study suggested that eating tomatoes and broccoli together can enhance the anti-cancer potentency possessed by tomatoes and broccoli.

In the study, rats were injected with human prostate tumors. And they were fed powdered tomato and dried broccoli. Used also in the study was finasteride, a drug that shows to slow the benign growth of the prostate.

The study found that the rats use diets with tomatoes and or broccoli get the smaller tumors. The diet with both tomatoes and broccoli is most effective and finasteride is least effective in slowing the tumor growth.

Tomatoes are known for its anti-cancer properties. Lycopene is believed to be the major active component in tomatoes that is responsible for the anti-cancer activity.

Anti-cancer bioactivity has been reported in broccoli. It’s believed that glucosinolates may be responsible.

The study was conducted by Dr. John Erdman and colleagues at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

About The Author

John Roberts is a freelance writer for foodconsumer.com

In the early period of the 1900s, F1 Racing took place with primitive motor cars & older gentleman racing drivers, nevertheless the main F1 contest did not initiate until the 1950’s. Whilst the numerous years drove by & the sporting competition grew, it almost immediately became comprehensible that Formula 1 was the finest championship of motorsport. The motor vehicles were the fastest, the machinery was the most superior and the racing drivers were at the tip of their physical wellbeing coming from countries all across the planet. For all the latest Formula One Merchandise, visit F1Tribute.com today!

With the new introduction of sponsorship, Formula 1 Racing took on its more world-wide appearance and is now be perceived as being very, very big business ? with salary costs reaching millions & billions of dollars with ease. With huge business arrives political opinions & from time to time it?s the contacts you are connected to and how much money you hold that brings you what you fancy. F1 Motor Racing is entangled with conspiracy stories ? I will own up to being one of them ? but depending on how deep you yearn to get in the Formula 1 world, that part of things is easily discounted. What in truth matters is what happens on the track.

Voyaging from country to country all over the planet for anything of up to eight months of the year, F1 calls many different countries large & small, prosperous & rundown, with vibrant environments, fascinating tourists and lots of local stories to be soaked up. Covering Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a Formula One Motor Racing weekend is a difficult ride, from early testing, to the closing laps of the F1 motor race.

The normal arrangement comprises of a F1 race every fortnight. Now & again the Formula 1 calendar is played with a little bit & there are grand prixs on back-to-back weekends, or sometimes you have to go several weeks before even seeing the recognizable Formula One drivers again. When it is time for the next Formula 1 race, you can read the news for your much-loved F1 constructor as they turn up at their destination. Friday is made up of practice meetings, Saturday is for qualifying and Sunday is the actual race.

Here are the meanings of ten common dreams that people have:

Being Chased or Attacked
To dream that you engage in a fight, denotes that you will have unpleasant encounters with your business opponents, and law suits threaten you.

To see fighting, denotes that you are squandering your time and money. For women, this dream is a warning against slander and gossip.

For a young woman to see her lover fighting, is a sign of his unworthiness. To dream that you are defeated in a fight, signifies that you will lose your right to property.

To whip your assailant, denotes that you will, by courage and perseverance, win honor and wealth in spite of opposition.

To dream that you see two men fighting with pistols, denotes many worries and perplexities, while no real loss is involved in the dream, yet but small profit is predicted and some unpleasantness is denoted.

Wind
To dream of the wind blowing softly and sadly upon you, signifies that great fortune will come to you through bereavement.

If you hear the wind soughing, denotes that you will wander in estrangement from one whose life is empty without you.

To walk briskly against a brisk wind, foretells that you will courageously resist temptation and pursue fortune with a determination not easily put aside. For the wind to blow you along against your wishes, portends failure in business undertakings and disappointments in love. If the wind blows you in the direction you wish to go you will find unexpected and helpful allies, or that you have natural advantages over a rival or competitor.

Ladder
To dream of a ladder being raised for you to ascend to some height, your energetic and nervy qualifications will raise you into prominence in business affairs.

To ascend a ladder, means prosperity and unstinted happiness.

To fall from one, denotes despondency and unsuccessful transactions to the tradesman, and blasted crops to the farmer.

To see a broken ladder, betokens failure in every instance.

To descend a ladder, is disappointment in business, and unrequited desires.

To escape from captivity, or confinement, by means of a ladder, you will be successful, though many perilous paths may intervene.

To grow dizzy as you ascend a ladder, denotes that you will not wear new honors serenely. You are likely to become haughty and domineering in your newly acquired position.

House / Property Damage
To dream of visiting your old home, you will have good news to rejoice over.

To see your old home in a dilapidated state, warns you of the sickness or death of a relative. For a young woman this is a dream of sorrow. She will lose a dear friend.

To go home and find everything cheery and comfortable, denotes harmony in the present home life and satisfactory results in business.

Fire
Fire is favorable to the dreamer if he does not get burned. It brings continued prosperity to seamen and voyagers, as well as to those on land.

To dream of seeing your home burning, denotes a loving companion, obedient children, and careful servants.

For a business man to dream that his store is burning, and he is looking on, foretells a great rush in business and profitable results.

To dream that he is fighting fire and does not get burned, denotes that he will be much worked and worried as to the conduct of his business. To see the ruins of his store after a fire, forebodes ill luck. He will be almost ready to give up the effort of amassing a handsome fortune and a brilliant business record as useless, but some unforeseen good fortune will bear him up again.

If you dream of kindling a fire, you may expect many pleasant surprises. You will have distant friends to visit.

To see a large conflagration, denotes to sailors a profitable and safe voyage. To men of literary affairs, advancement and honors; to business people, unlimited success.

Falling / Drowning
To dream that you sustain a fall, and are much frightened, denotes that you will undergo some great struggle, but will eventually rise to honor and wealth; but if you are injured in the fall, you will encounter hardships and loss of friends.

To dream of drowning, denotes loss of property and life; but if you are rescued, you will rise from your present position to one of wealth and honor.

To see others drowning, and you go to their relief, signifies that you will aid your friend to high places, and will bring deserved happiness to yourself.

For a young woman to see her sweetheart drowned, denotes her bereavement by death.

Nakedness
To dream that you are naked, foretells scandal and unwise engagements.

To see others naked, foretells that you will be tempted by designing persons to leave the path of duty. Sickness will be no small factor against your success.

To dream that you suddenly discover your nudity, and are trying to conceal it, denotes that you have sought illicit pleasure contrary to your noblest instincts and are desirous of abandoning those desires.

For a young woman to dream that she admires her nudity, foretells that she will win, but not hold honest men’s regard. She will win fortune by her charms. If she thinks herself ill-formed, her reputation will be sullied by scandal. If she dreams of swimming in clear water naked, she will enjoy illicit loves, but nature will revenge herself by sickness, or loss of charms. If she sees naked men swimming in clear water, she will have many admirers. If the water is muddy, a jealous admirer will cause ill-natured gossip about her.

Disasters
To dream of being in any disaster from public conveyance, you are in danger of losing property or of being maimed from some malarious disease.

For a young woman to dream of a disaster in which she is a participant, foretells that she will mourn the loss of her lover by death or desertion.

To dream of a disaster at sea, denotes unhappiness to sailors and loss of their gains. To others, it signifies loss by death; but if you dream that you are rescued, you will be placed in trying situations, but will come out unscathed.

To dream of a railway wreck in which you are not a participant, you will eventually be interested in some accident because of some relative or friend being hurt, or you will have trouble of a business character.

Trapped
To dream of setting a trap, denotes that you will use intrigue to carry out your designs

If you are caught in a trap, you will be outwitted by your opponents.

If you catch game in a trap, you will flourish in whatever vocation you may choose.

To see an empty trap, there will be misfortune in the immediate future.

An old or broken trap, denotes failure in business, and sickness in your family may follow.

Ghosts
To dream of the ghost of either one of your parents, denotes that you are exposed to danger, and you should be careful in forming partnerships with strangers.

To see the ghost of a dead friend, foretells that you will make a long journey with an unpleasant companion, and suffer disappointments.

For a ghost to speak to you, you will be decoyed into the hands of enemies. For a woman, this is a prognostication of widowhood and deception.

To see an angel or a ghost appear in the sky, denotes the loss of kindred and misfortunes.

To see a female ghost on your right in the sky and a male on your left, both of pleasing countenance, signifies a quick rise from obscurity to fame, but the honor and position will be filled only for a short space, as death will be a visitor and will bear you off.

To see a female ghost in long, clinging robes floating calmly through the sky, indicates that you will make progression in scientific studies and acquire wealth almost miraculously, but there will be an under note of sadness in your life.

To dream that you see the ghost of a living relative or friend, denotes that you are in danger of some friend’s malice, and you are warned to carefully keep your affairs under personal supervision. If the ghost appears to be haggard, it may be the intimation of the early death of that friend.

Todd runs the Dream Interpretations Guide
web site at: http://dreaminterpretationsguide.com, a
dream dictionary containing over 10,000 dreams interpreted.

In a recent article, Increase Your Income with an Organized
Marketing Plan, I talked about how to organize your daily
marketing tasks so that you could be more efficient in your
marketing, save time, and make more money.

There are additional ways that you can organize yourself so that
your are more effective.

One major advantage of organizing your self is that you can save
time. And as the old adage says, “Time is money”. If your
information is scattered all over the place it is hard to find
and you will waste time looking for it.

It is easy to join several programs, especially if you start
joining traffic exchanges or safe lists. Keeping track of their
information can be a real chore. Most of them will send you an
email. You can print out the emails and file them. You can also
save all the emails in a folder. While it is a good idea to do
both of these, it will take time to look up the information
later.

Create a file where you can store all of the information from
the email in one place. This file could be made with a word
processor, a spreadsheet, or a database program such as Access.
Each has its advantages and disadvantages.

With a word processor you have everything in one file that is
easy to scan. However, you should alphabetize the entries as you
enter them.

With a spreadsheet you can have one line per program and easily
sort them by program name, program type, or date. Sometimes when
you save a URL in a cell the cell looks strange.

A data base program takes a little longer to set up, but once
done you have nice fields with labels for each piece of
information.

Use whatever is best for you or what you are most familiar with.
The point is to organize them for easy and speedy access. Store
the file where you can get to it easy and fast.

For each program I suggest that you store at least the name of
program, login URL, referral URL, your user name, your password,
date you joined the program, type of program, and cost. You may
also want to store your email address used for the program,
program contact email, how you found the program (especially if
u joined from a portal), and some notes on the program.

As you join programs you will have costs and income. Generally
these costs are tax deductible and the income may have to be
reported. Also, you will want to know if you are making or
losing money. This is another thing to track.

Tracking expenses and income can be as simple or complicated as
you want it to be. A spreadsheet is one of the simplest ways.
Set up columns for date, program name, cost amount, income
amount, and source. The source would be PayPal, ClickBank,
check, credit card, etc.

Once the spreadsheet is set up you can enter the information as
it occurs of gather and enter it monthly.

More complicated ways to save your financial information is by
using an accounting program. The advantage of an accounting
program is you can get some very nice reports from them.

Your downloads can also become very hard to find after a while.
It is easy to vaguely remember downloading an ebook last month
and then spend a lot of time trying to find it on your computer.

A spreadsheet or database program will work great for storing
this information. I store name of the ebook or software, whether
it is an ebook or software, author, source (usually a url), path
on my computer where the file is found and the name of the file,
cost (if any), whether I have any rights, such as resell rights
or giveaway rights, whether it is brandable, whether or not I
have printed the book, and a brief description. You may also
want a category field so that you can group related items.

These 3 lists, plus the daily task list mentioned in my previous
article, are the main lists that I keep. If you would like a
copy of the previous article send an email to
organize@profits-for-life.com or visit
http://www.the-home-business-center.com/articles.php.

You may have additional things to want to track.

How you organize your lists is up to you. There is no correct or
incorrect way. There may be better and worse ways, however this
is also dependent on what software you have and what you like to
use best.

The point is, just organize. In the long run you will save
yourself a tremendous amount of time and frustration. The
Internet is huge, so don’t get lost in it.

If you are just starting out this may seem like a waste of time
to you. However, now is the best time to start. It is easiest to
organize when you have only a little information to organize.
Later you will be very thankful that you took the time to do it.

Be flexible. As time goes on you may discover that you want to
change how you are organizing. Go ahead and make the change.
Fine-tune it so that it works for you. The goal is to have the
information that you want and need in one easy to use place when
you want it.

Sometimes computer can be ornery. They can crash when you don’t
expect it and always at a very inconvenient time. So back up
your files on a regular basis. Back them to a disk, a CD, your
hosting service, some free web space, or whatever else you can.
Backing up can save you the frustrating of having to start all
over again if you have a system problem.

The Internet can be a fun and exciting place. It will be even
more fun if you are organized. It can also be a profitable
place. The less time you spend looking for information the more
time you will have for your marketing efforts, which will mean
more income for you.

Each year the Sydney University Football Club selects a group of players for its Elite Development Squad to prepare for the next season. For 2005 a squad of 50 was chosen which did not include any of the Club’s seven Wallabies nor any of the players on Super 12 contracts. Players committed themselves to around fourteen weeks of intensive training involving six to seven sessions per week of weights, skills and fitness work despite either being full time students or working full time.

At the conclusion of the season the Club’s doctor, Katherine Rae, and physiotherapist, Keiran Cleary, jointly issued a Medical Report analysing the injury experience of the Club’s eight teams. They particularly highlighted the members of the Elite Development Squad, noting that during the season “the EDS squad suffered only two non contact injuries, both muscle strains, which resulted in only four games lost to injury.”

More specifically, among the 36 players who completed the full EDS program there was “only one calf strain and one hamstring strain … . They had no back pain or groin pain necessitating loss of game time.” By contrast, for the Club as a whole, there were 28 instances of low back pain, 27 hamstring injuries, 27 groin injuries and 6 quadriceps strains.

Two non contact injuries in over 1000 hours of playing time is an extraordinarily low figure in itself, and certainly by comparison with the Club’s other players who accumulated over 80 comparable injuries. The injury incidence for the Club as a whole seems to be broadly in line with that reported in various scientific studies including those focussed on professional players.

It is obviously unwise to attach too much significance to the experience of one club over a single season. However the disparity in injury rates between those in the EDS group and their team mates is so great that it is very unlikely to be attributable to mere chance. Therefore it is necessary to explore possible reasons for this very favorable outcome. I believe that there were three relevant factors at work:

Duration and intensity of the training program

An off-season involving around 90 uninterrupted training sessions creates a near ideal opportunity for players to enhance their basic strength and fitness for rugby.Very few non-professional players would have the commitment and dedication to stick to such an exacting schedule. And very few professional players would have such a large block of time available. For example, Australian full-time players normally participate in at least two of the three tiers of club, provincial and international rugby and are therefore playing through most of the year.

The EDS squad also had on-campus access to physiotherapists, doctors and nutritionists plus regular dietary supplementation. Thus, even though the squad members were not paid, they were training in a very professional environment.

Emphasis on basic strength development

Strength and conditioning in the EDS program was structured and administered by Martin Harland, a sports scientist who had previously worked with professional rugby league, Australian football and basketball teams. His programs for rugby players place a high degree of emphasis on basic strength development and rugby-specific fitness. A distinguishing feature of his approach is a concentration on heavy lower body work through exercises such as squats, deadlifts and cleans.

Use of the ScrumTruk

In addition to their free weights exercises the group regularly used the rugby specific MyoQuip ScrumTruk as a core component of their leg strength work. Certain unique attributes of this apparatus might be relevant to protection against injury. Although it works basically the same muscle groups as the barbell squat, the fact that the resistance is in the horizontal rather than the vertical plane means that there is no adverse loading on the lumbar spine. It is also more quadriceps specific than the squat and exercises effectively the muscles of the calf.

But its main benefit in injury minimization may be in relation to the hamstrings. The ScrumTruk specifically works this muscle group as well as adjacent areas such as the glutes, quadriceps and core stabilizers. But the most important effect might relate to the frequently observed importance of eccentric loading in developing the hamstrings. Both the barbell squat and the conventional leg press deliver constant resistance. When performing these movements concentrically the muscles involved are only under very partial load as the hip and knee joints move to full extension. By contrast the ScrumTruk’s operation provides continually increasing resistance throughout the exercise movement. Because of this, the muscles involved are strongly activated over the full exercise range and most critically are working at close to full load at the conclusion of the movement. It would seem to follow logically that the more that muscles are being activated concentrically, the greater the eccentric load when the movement is reversed. Thus there is heavy eccentric loading on the hamstrings when they are near fully extension.

The low injury incidence by Sydney University’s elite training squad seems to suggest that other teams might benefit similarly by implementing a long and intensive off-season training program concentrating on the development of basic lower body strength through complex free weight movements and the use of the ScrumTruk. The potential improved injury outcomes are additional to the very substantial strength gains from such a program.

Bruce Ross is CEO of MyoQuip, manufacturers of variable-resistance strength machines including the HipneeFlex and HipneeThrust, and the rugby-specific ScrumTruk and JumpTruk. MyoQuip exports worldwide from Australia.
MyoQuip - variable-resistance strength equipment
MyoQuip Blog - strength equipment, rugby football

The garage door is typically the largest moving part in your
home and is probably used every day. With normal use, parts can
wear out and break, creating potential safety problems. There
are a few light maintenance duties and inspections a
mechanically inclined person can perform to ensure maximum
safety and increase the life of their door.

Check the rollers, hinges and safety devices to be sure they are
fastened securely and in proper working order.

Check the balance of the door by lifting it a few feet off the
ground and releasing. The door should not travel more than a
couple of inches in either direction. If the door drops to the
ground then your springs either need adjusting or replacing.
When operated manually a garage door should go up and down
smoothly.

In the event of spring failure extension springs can cause
severe damage if they are not contained. If the door’s springs
don’t already have safety cables installed, now would be a good
time to get them installed. Remember even the highest quality
springs eventually wear and break.

Replace springs if they show signs of wear such as uneven gaps
between the coils, bent or damaged ends.

Inspect the cables for fray. Replace frayed cables immediately.
Check the pulleys for nicks or excessive wear that can cause
damage to the cable. Replace worn pulleys if necessary.

Verify that the tracks are level and plumb. Tracks should line
up parallel to the door sections without binding. Ensure that
the lag screws securing the track brackets to the jambs are
secure. Replace bent, missing or rusted lags immediately.

Tighten all hinge and bracket screws, bear in mind that garage
door bottom brackets are under extreme tension when the door is
closed and can cause serious injury if accidentally or
deliberately loosened or removed. Replace bent or broken hinges.
Check the door’s rollers for excessive wobble and replace as
necessary.

All garage door openers manufactured and installed after 1991
are required by law to have a reversing mechanism. Garage door
openers manufactured and installed after 1993 are required to
have photo eyes connected at the bottom of the track to trigger
the reverse mechanism when an infrared beam is broken. A
defective or improperly adjusted reversing mechanism on your
garage door opener could cause damage, injury and possibly
death. Check your door opener regularly to be sure that the
reversing mechanism is in proper working order.

Lubricate rollers, hinge pivots, pulleys, torsion spring coils,
bearings and the electric opener chain and sprockets.

With periodic inspections and maintenance the average garage
door can safely provide many years of trouble free performance.

Real Estate Basics

The business of real estate can seem confusing to anyone not in the business of buying and selling houses. There are many different kinds of real estate, and the rules that govern the business require education, licensing, and the memorization of a number of industry-specific jargon terms.

There are many terms in real estate that can be confusing to an outsider of the business. For example, the terms Real Estate Agent, Real Estate Broker, and Realtor all mean something slightly different in terms of the credentials, education, experience, and certification of the person in question. There are also real estate companies, real estate lawyers, and private equity funds that invest in real restate deals. In addition, there are rules that govern the process of buying and selling property.

The business of real estate varies in accordance with the market. Sometimes it is a “bull market” and sometimes it is a “bear market.” There is also a significant difference between residential real estate and commercial real estate. Commercial real estate is better in that it tends to offer more stability and deliver higher profits, but it also requires a significant investment in capital that can be tied up for longer periods of time. Residential real estate also requires capital investment, as well as investment in time, repairs, renovations, though with a quicker turn around.

Whether looking to buy or sell personal property or enter into the business of real estate as a buyer, seller, renovator or representative, it is important to understand as much about the world of real estate as possible.

It was nearly 1:00 a.m. in the midst of a particularly ruthless
poker game on the first Thanksgiving weekend I spent with my
husband’s family. That’s when I uttered the words I’m sure I’ll
never live down. It was one of those moments when you wish the
world provided a rewind button to allow you to opt out of an
experience you would rather forget.

During the delicate “get to know you” phase with my in-laws, I
had made a memorable first impression by spending most of the
evening carting around an enormous block of cheese from a now
defunct dairy in Wisconsin. I always specify the
“now-defunctness” of this dairy because if I don’t, I get scads
of inquiries asking where people might find this one-of-a-kind
cheese. Cheese, I’ve found, is one of the great unifiers of
modern society. The sad truth is you can’t buy this cheese any
more, which proves my point that it’s absolutely critical to
savor pleasurable experiences while you have the chance!

In any case, on the night in question, as I sliced another
paper-thin piece of this dairy delicacy and held it to my
tongue, I innocently thought to myself, “This cheese makes me
happy.” It proved to be one of those awkward moments when you
realize you have just audibly shared thoughts that you intended
for your own internal enjoyment. I stared down at the table. And
then at the cheese. And then, ever so begrudgingly, I looked up
at my future in-laws.

Feeling a bit horrified and infinitely self-conscious, I
reluctantly met their gazes. Every last bloodshot, poker-worn
eye stared blankly at me for one very long, painfully quiet
moment. And then the room exploded in laughter. After that,
every time I showed even the slightest fondness for anything
new, one of my loving new family members would ask, “Yes, but
does it make you as happy as that cheese?”

Embarrassment and life-long torment aside, what I now realize is
that this culinary ego-crashing adventure was actually a form of
one of the healthier ways to increase pleasure and happiness in
the present moment. Yes, science has a respectable name for what
I now refer to as “the unfortunate cheese incident.” Positive
psychology experts like Martin Seligman (author of Authentic
Happiness) call it “savoring,” and they say that it is a good
thing. Thank goodness I have science to back me up here.

The great thing about savoring is that it’s easy to do and it’s
absolutely free. What could be better than something free and
easy? Except maybe a gigantic brick of creamy cheese. Ok, enough
about the cheese and on to the practical steps. Here’s how to
enhance your life by savoring:

- Learn how to savor. Savoring is all about being in the moment,
so stop everything else you’re doing-even if only for 30
seconds-and really focus on an experience you’re having. For
instance, try immersing yourself in that first cup of coffee or
tea in the morning (or at least the first couple of sips)-enjoy
the scent, the heat, the taste and the memories you associate
with it. Filter out all other senses and focus exclusively on
this one…what do you notice? Being in the moment enhances
pleasure in more ways than you’ll ever know.

- Make a daily habit of savoring. Once you’ve mastered the
savoring skill, identify one activity or opportunity each day to
savor with abandon. Consider both ordinary and special
events-savoring the smell of morning dew on the grass can be
just as powerful and potent as the smell of success that comes
from a new promotion. Savor a range of delights.

- Space out your pleasures. Too much of a good thing
is…well…too much of a good thing. Our synapses crave novelty
and our nerves like newness. That’s why it’s important to
experience different types of pleasures all the time and to
space them out over time. This is why a massage feels best if
you haven’t had one in a while and why your favorite CD gives
you more chills if it’s been a month since you’ve listened to
it. So mix it up and keep it fresh…keep those pleasures coming
at random intervals.

- Try your hand at collective savoring. Pleasures can be
dramatically heightened when they’re shared with others. A
fabulous meal just tastes better when you’re sharing it with
someone else, and a walk through a beautiful park takes your
breath away with a fun companion at your side.

- Don’t stop at savoring. Savoring is a step in the right
direction, but it’s only one element of joyful living.
Strategies like practicing gratitude, seeking flow experiences,
and weaving more laughter and silliness into your life are all
contributors to enduring happiness. Build up your toolkit for
the life of your dreams by trying all of these strategies, and
watch them enhance both your quality of life now and your
opportunity for a lifetime of joy and fulfillment.

NOTE: You are welcome to use this article online in electronic
newsletters and e-zines as long as it remains complete and
unaltered (including the “about the author” info). If use of
this article is desired in print, you must first contact Deanna
Davis at Deanna@appliedinsight.net

Copyright 2005 Deanna R. Davis, PhD