Addiction is often associated with things like illegal drug use or alcohol, but you don’t often hear the term paired with simple hobbies like video games. Thirty years ago the game industry was still waiting to break into households and nobody had any idea who the happy, mushroom-hungry Mario and Luigi were. Today three major companies battle each other every holiday season to see who can earn the most millions and appeal to the people eager to mash the buttons on the plastic devices and stare through the kaleidoscopic orb of wonder. When described like that, the idea of addiction seems almost as expected as a user of heroin. It may not be nearly as physically dangerous, but the reality is video game addiction can and does occur, and I have my own personal account to attest to it.

I was born in 1988, and my dad already had a ColecoVison and an Atari in the basement, as well as a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in the living room. When I was old enough to speak and understand the concept of video games I used to watch him play them, and he even showed me how they worked. I loved playing Super Mario Bros. 3 with him, and if he was busy with adult responsibility, I enjoyed Kirby’s Adventure and Super Mario Bros. 2. Eventually we got a Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and played Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, among others, and I spent a lot of time with other games I received as gifts or rented from local stores. It was the same concept as all of the kids today toting Nintendo 3DSs; they’re just kids being amused by interactive cartoons who will grow into other interests with age.

The Christmas I got a Nintendo 64 solidified my hobby as a gamer. The console was released in 1996 and saw many huge titles up through 2000, so as an eight year old I was excited every step of the way. Every kid knew about and was equally amazed by Super Mario 64 and Goldeneye 007. My dad and I still occasionally played games together, too, so there was that added father-son enjoyment. Still, most people between 8 and 12 start having to manage their time more, and if there’s going to be father-son bonding, it’s usually more like through playing baseball in the yard or helping him with projects. High school was looming around the corner, so even if none of that growing up was reasonable yet for my age, it was about to be.

Even in class, my mind would hover around pokemon series where I would need to have a Pokemon go accounts for sale and collect all the characters and homework was nothing more than a worthless task that I had been thrust upon that I tried best to get out of.

My class hit puberty around the same time the Nintendo Gamecube came out, next to the Sony Playstation 2 and Microsoft Xbox who officially started the console war and dubbed video games as a worldwide phenomenon to follow like movies. Back in my tiny town, we were graduating and shipping out to high school, but I was a late-bloomer, short and scrawny in those big halls. My parents got divorced at that same time, making it a triple transition: puberty, high school, and no more family. Needless to say, I escaped where I felt outcast through the only thing I was sure would bring some kind of comfort – my Nintendo. This should’ve been a red flag, but my household became a ghost town with a dog, each of us hiding in our own rooms pinched for conversation, and video games were now acceptable especially as a boy’s hobby, and even more so a nerd’s hobby, like comic books.

The result by the end of my high school career through a combination of personal issues and escapism through video games was a short, angry dork walking in the back of the graduation line still scrawny from never lifting weights, who never had been involved in sports past sixth grade, never had a girlfriend or attended prom, and was out of touch with old friends who went out to football games and parties while he sat and played Nintendo. Moreover, under pressure to pick a college major and remain on par with my classmates all happily set for a typical 4-year university, I blindly searched for a school with “video game design” in the major name, figuring that was all I was good for. I wound up moving to DeVry University for game programming nine-hundred miles south of my hometown.

DeVry was a nerd’s sanctuary with no campus housing and no more than twenty students in the only building, which was smaller than my high school. I lived in an apartment with fellow game nerds who had no money or car, and in a few months I was stripped of all my money, had my car broken into, and had seen enough pictures of real college parties from my old friends on the growing Facebook to drop out and debate suicide. Half of the time my mind was fixed on ending my life, and the other half it was rationally trying to tackle each problem one at a time. First, I needed a girlfriend. So, like a desperate fool I spilled my troubles to the last crush I had in high school, thinking that would somehow work. It didn’t, but I learned about her college from conversation and wound up transferring there, not for her but for maybe some kind of second chance. I majored in psychology, too, for no other reason than to figure myself out and forget any of the past ever happened.

I had two roommates at the new school. One was a total computer geek majoring in computer science, and the other was a regular guy with interests similar to mine outside of games. I hung around the second guy and focused more on my average-guy side that I always had and looked at the computer roommate as a benchmark of my past, like who I used to be but would no longer be associated with. No offense to him and his lifestyle, but I now had a personal disgust for sitting in front of the TV all day, the same as the personal disgust for myself that drove me back and forth on suicidal thoughts. Soon after from quitting games cold turkey out of a burning self-hate and hanging around people in normal society, I was attending parties all the time and even got a girlfriend.

Ultimately I was living my college years like I should’ve lived my high school years, always fighting the clock to make up for all of my lost time – lost time due to years poorly invested in video games. Despite having finally broken away from my gaming habit and becoming more social on campus, my personal issues and regrets always lingered, and at home on school breaks I was always alone, causing me to invest time in Facebook for social relief instead of Nintendo, and also driving me to more suicidal thoughts and attempts.

I have been playing catch-up ever since, never really feeling at ease with my place in the world and amongst my peers or sure of where I’m going, and I am always wishing I could go back and change how I lived my childhood and teen years. Though it was an assortment of things, a lot of the blame I place on video games, which is really just my irresponsible abuse of them, which always leads back to disgust for both things; and that disgust is what keeps me from delving back beyond the casual gamer and instead pursuing other physically beneficial things, like weight lifting.

Cloverfield is attempting to do for monster movies what the bloated and predictable, though unfairly maligned as a piece of utter dreck (it was better than Titanic), big-budget American remake of Godzilla in the late 90s tried to do. As of this writing, whether Cloverfield will fulfill its mandate remains to be seen. What cannot be denied is that a Korean movie already beat the makers of Cloverfield to the punch. The English language title of this film is The Host and it managed to redefine the expectations of the Godzilla genre in a way that Cloverfield cannot if only by virtue of its unfortunate gimmick of using jittery-cam cinematography. The Host is a perfect example of the new wave in Korean film and is also a perfect example of why most viewers either seem to love the contemporary Korean movies or hate them. American audiences have become conditioned to accept the really quite ridiculous idea of genre. We don’t want a lot of laughs in a drama, and too much seriousness in a comedy is the kiss of commercial death. In contrast, The Host is indicative of the Korean cinema’s reliance upon disturbing turns of mood and direction: one minute your heart is beating at the sight of the greatest CGI creatures so far created and then-like that-you are laughing from the pit of your belly.

The past thirty years have been lean times for foreign films in America, though in the past decade Japanese horror films and Hong Kong gangster films have become popular, mostly as a result of fans wanting to see what inspired the Hollywood versions of The Ring and Infernal Affairs. (For the record, The Ring is better than the original Japanese version, and The Departed is an embarrassment compared to Infernal Affairs.) Those who enjoy the John Woo-style exercises in empty style should set their sights on the Korean film with the English title Volcano High. At first it will remind you of The Matrix or even Bored of the Rings, but it is important to remember that those films derived (plagiarized) much of their style from Asian filmmakers from Kurosawa to Woo. Volcano High is another great example of the move that Korean filmmaking has made in the past decade; you can’t go in expecting the same mundane and boring emotional register throughout. It combines the astonishing action of a Hong Kong movie with a comedic sense that owes much to early silent film comedy. The visual imagery is just as strikingly diverse: students dressed in traditional school uniforms while sporting Day-Glo hair. Even more striking is the contrasts in which a monochromatic background is punctuated with bright reds and yellows. The byword of contemporary Korean cinema is contrast. The disconcerting juxtaposition of the visual elements is entirely coherent with the equally jarring emotional rollercoaster that take viewers from intensely dramatic scenes to over-the-top comedy within a space of minutes. No wonder so many American audiences used to being spoonfed their emotional manipulation by screenwriters who learned about life from college professors and studio executives who routinely think all American moviegoers are stuck in their teenage years react violently upon the challenges placed in their path when watching a Korean movie like The Host. After all, comedic relief is fine for a monster movie, but only to relieve tension, right? Not according to Korean moviemakers. (If you really want to have some fun, read the IMDB reviews and messages left by viewers who just don’t get The Host.)

Even the American sub-genre of serial killer movies has been approached by Korean filmmakers. What many people don’t know is that the serial killer is unknown in many other countries, and even those countries that have produced don’t even come close to producing the sheer quantity that America has produced. Memories of Murder is a serial killer movie made in Korea and you should be prepared before deciding to view it that the emotional rollercoaster is present here as well. American serial killer movies are typically devoid of any comedy; Silence of the Lambs may contain the fewest laughs of any Best Picture Oscar winner. Memories of Murder is based on a real even which is, not coincidentally, the story of the first case of a serial killer in Korean history. (Not including the genocidal policies of its past leaders, of course.) Where this particular Korean film diverges from the standard approach taken by American serial killer movies is in dislocating the central focus away from the killer himself and to the police procedures involved in the search. Equally important is that Memories of Murder also chooses not to lovingly focus on grisly constructions of the scenes of murder. Instead, and this may well say much about Korean culture, the real violence in the movie arrives courtesy of the violent beatings of suspects by the police. What this serial killer movie ultimately is about is the violence of the searchers rather than the violence of the killer. Making this film even more of an object of outrage is that, well, I’ll use this comment left on the IMDB message board by way of

“I watched this movie in all earnest for 2 hours and they don’t have any ending? what kind of an idiot makes such movies? i wait for the whole movie to find out who the killer was, and they never ever show it? Nonsense, I will never watch such huge let down stupid korean mystery movies again. I just cannot comprehend the fact that people can feel satisfied after seeing a movie that does not offer a concrete ending, especially when it is a mystery movie.”

Can you imagine Hollywood producing a serial killer movie in which the killer’s identity is never revealed? That’s the thing about the movie. It’s not a mystery; this person has merely been conditioned to believe that if a movie is about a serial killer then it must by definition be a mystery. Well, obviously not. Far from being the idiot here, the Korean filmmakers are simply working at a level that is simply not allowed in the Hollywood of today. The movie isn’t about a serial killer any more than The Host is about the monster. It helps, of course, to be somewhat familiar Korean politics and culture before watching the current cinema arriving from this fascinating country because, like all truly astonishing national film, it is being informed by its culture rather than attempting to inform the culture itself.

It remains to be seen on whether Korean Cinema will achieve the status in the near future to be compared on par with the biggest film industry in the world called Hollywood but Digitaledge.org has indicated many positive points that do point that way.

Linksys has been the number one brand for home routers and wireless networking for quite a few years now. The WRT54G router was probably the best Wireless-G router on the market when it came out, and it stayed on top. Today, I’ll be reviewing the WRT160N, as it is a product I’ve had some time to play around with. Does this product hold up to the trustworthy quality of Linksys?

Unboxing: Upon opening the box, the contents include standard documentation for Netgear c6300 login, setup CD,  power supply, and a very slick looking router. This router is apart of a new generation of wireless routers, and with a new and sleek look comes the removal of external antennas. For those of you who remember wireless routers a few years ago, it had the obnoxious antennas on top, that sometimes needed adjustment to get reception. With the growth of technology, we kiss those clunkers goodbye.

Setup, is it easy? Your first guess might be that it MUST be easy, it comes with a CD, after all! The setup CD is clearly labeled “Run CD First”. So, let’s pop in the CD! Although, the requirement of running a setup CD means that you must have an operating system that the software will run on. In this case, you must have a PC running Windows. If you are a PC user running Linux, the chances are you are a user advanced enough to set up the router without the CD. The software on the CD brings you through a straightforward series of screens to help you name your wireless network and configure encryption. Once completed, you should have access to the internet and be able to connect a wireless client to the router.

Problems? The first thing I had trouble with, during these steps, was that the router was not connecting to the internet. It was doing its job inside my house, internal networking was working great. However, it would not connect to the internet via my cable modem. My first thought was to simply power off the router and power it back on. It tried that, with no luck. I did the same for the cable modem, again with no luck. This type of problem gets more into technical areas, in order to resolve it. I even tried manually trying to renew the WAN IP address via the router’s web-based firmware, and nothing! I ended up having to fully reset the router to factory settings, and try again. This time, I set it up without the CD. Eventually, I got connected to the internet, which would only work with the “Filter Multicast” option enabled on the firewall. However, the internet stopped working just shortly after my success.

I had determined that Linksys firmware, for their product line of Wireless-N routers, is terribly low quality and does not function anywhere near acceptably. In which case, I flashed the router with a free firmware called DD-WRT. It can be used on many different brands and models. Once I did this, the router worked beautifully. The internet ran fast, internal network operations worked nicely as well. The reason I determined that firmware is a problem for all Linksys Wireless-N routers is that I previously owned the WRT150N, and had the same troubles. Once I flashed it with DD-WRT, the troubles disappeared instantly.

The bottom line for this router: If you’re a novice user, looking for something that is easy to set up and use, this is not the router for you. While it’s MEANT to be easy, the router doesn’t function properly out of the box, and requires technical ability to bring it to a functional state. However, if you are an advanced user and know how to flash a new firmware to the router (after checking the supported devices for whichever firmware you use), then this router functions quite good with DD-WRT.

*PLEASE NOTE:

If you decide to use DD-WRT, it most likely voids the warranty. Also, my WRT160N was version 3. If you happen to receive a version 2, you will not be able to use DD-WRT.

As for the fact that it’s refurbished…It appears to be functioning exactly as a brand new one out of the box would function. The problems described above are highly likely to be an issue on brand new models too. The refurbished warranty is 90 days. If you decide to get it, and it does give you trouble, you’re covered for 3 months!

I hope this was helpful!

Given the current pandemic worldwide due to the corona virus, people are simply confused about what to do and where to go as they have been confined to their homes due to the rapidly rising death toll everywhere.

Since the virus spreads fast upon contact, everyone is advised to keep social distance from strangers and crowded places as they are quite vulnerable outings to be on, alongwith washing their hands for 20 seconds.

On the positive side, people have found out a way to undermine the grim atmosphere by staying at homes and engaging themselves in numerous indoor activities, apart from games.

Gardening has become a more frequent practice than usual in the past few weeks and the lawns look greener and cleaner than usual, which is a step in the right direction as this practice will make them care for nature more.

The people most hit by the virus are the labor workers with wood cutters and merchants topping the list as their business has hit rock bottom and they have no means to fend for themselves.

Pedal Saw

Since we are on the subject of woodcutters, let us focus the topic of discussion on one of the most important tools that a woodcutter of high repute should possess, which is the scroll saw.

Now, most people are familiar with sea saw or electric saws in the field of wood, but scroll saw is one tool that most people have neither seen nor heard, despite it being such a common tool.

To begin with, scroll saws are basically electric saws but of smaller size than the regular ones and is operated with the use of pedal and is used to cut the most intricate and delicate curves in wood, metal and various materials that have been left out by the regular saw.

The blade is so sharp that it cuts faster than an electrical jigsaw and much more easily than a manually operated coping saw. Falling in line with similar tools, they are capable of creating edged curves that are so jagged that a simple brush of the skin would make it bleed profusely.

As the name suggests, the name of the tool comes from scrollwork and ornaments of different culture that contains scroll related designs that are based on antique pieces of the bygone era and that are lost with time with very little remnants.

Size and Shape

It is similar to a sharp bladed electric saw, but as mentioned above, it is mainly for the purpose of clearing of the sharp edges and wood shavings that are left out. These saws have been described as being the size of a human’s throat that covers up the distance from the blade to the backend of the saw.

In this case, the throat is referred to the front side of the saw and is named so for understanding purposes as a man’s throat is visible from the front itself and the size of this throat determines the piece of wood that can be cut, be it large or small.

If you look at it closely, you’ll observe that many scroll saws emanate light if placed in flexible hands which illuminates the entire area right in front of it but at the same time the wood carvings and cuts are clearly visible to the naked eye.

It is an admirable thing that in an era when there was no advanced technology or computer graphics, people used to achieve everything through the hard work of manual labor as it is virtually impossible to think of doing the same now.

The regular saws in old times were used for making bigger objects that were by attaching or hanging the large linkage mechanism to the top of the ceiling and thereby making up a convincing deep throat.

Hobby

As given in the first paragraph, the corona virus has reached wreaked havoc over the entire world and forced people to go into house arrest due to which they spent most of their time home.

While gardening is a good practice, scroll saw is also an excellent alternative that can be taken up as a practice hobby which will help you to learn some new technique about the same like cutting wood and the different types of saws that can be used.

The first thing that comes to mind is what saw should be purchased as they are quite versatile in nature and a beginner wouldn’t know which one will be useful for the task at hand.

If you want to upgrade the old one then it will take a lot of time to do so and if you want to purchase a completely new model, you need to understand the basics of scroll saw itself.

Important Points

We are going to look at certain tips that have to be taken into consideration while purchasing a scroll saw and they are as follows:

1. Blade- The most important aspect of the saw is the sharpness of the blade so as to get the job done properly and every model should have a blade of atleast 5 inches. While pinned blades are the most preferred ones, they have limitations like difficulty in cutting off the small splinters that have been stuck
2. Budget- Quite obvious, budget constraints play spoilsport all the time so take care to buy the one that you can afford but a commendable scroll saw costs a minimum of $300
3. It is not that you have to buy the best scroll saw in town but take care to maintain its speed is noteworthy because it is determined by the number of strokes it takes per minute and it should be according to the material you have like hard or soft wood while the choice is yours
4. The size of the throat needs to be ascertained before purchasing the model which only involves the length between the blade’s rear end to the very rear end of the scroll saw as both are different

To conclude, a scroll saw is a hobby that can be taken up currently but it should be done by keeping the above points in mind.

I first gave Monster Play a shot way back in the closed beta stage of LOTRO. As soon as I got my little elven hunter to level 10, I hit the fell scrying pool and made myself a Weaver (that being the spider race for those of you not familiar with MP). My husband and myself ran all over the Ettenmoors doing creep quests. It was pretty fun, but nothing too exciting. Of course back then, there weren’t any freeps running around to fight, so it was strictly PvE.

I forgot about Monster Play. I went on to play my hunter, enjoying everything that Lord of the Rings Online has to offer and never gave it another thought. Then all of a sudden I was level 45 and realized hey… I can go to the Ettenmoors now. Time to kick some creep arse! So I went to the Rivendell stables and purchased swift travel to the Ettenmoors. Talked to a few people, picked up a few quests, then ventured out past the safe confines of the freep starting city’s gate. I walked around a bit… seeing the sites, checking out the NPCs… generally getting a feel for the place from a freep perspective. All of a sudden, five wargs appeared out of nowhere. Pwned. I decided that it would be more beneficial to me to try out real PvMP as a creep first. I switched over to my Weaver, with the unlikely name of Ilovetosinga, and ventured out past the creep starting camp, Gramsfoot, killed a few slugs for the Mash quest, and started walking around, seeing the world from the opposite side of the map. I saw a freep in the distance, but I was prepared this time, I burrowed into the ground, waited for him to get close, popped out and rooted him, and started firing. It was a level 47 loremaster, petless and alone. He killed me. I was shocked. Here I am, a level 50 creep, getting pwned by a defenseless, squishy loremaster. Granted, I was green… no ranks, no titles, no additional skills other than those you start out with. But a loremaster?! C’mon I should have been able to take him out. With the quenya translator, the watching of the league of rings will be entertaining. The skills and excellence of the person should be enhanced through the information gathered from the translators. 

I couldn’t. The truth is, Monster Play is incredibly lopsided. Freeps have many advantages that make it nearly impossible for a creep to take on a freep, one-on-one, and live. Sure, you’ll run across the occasional idiot who’ll allow you to bait him into some NPC mobs aggressive to him, making it much easier to take him down, but that’s not the norm. And why should I have to prowl around looking for idiots in order to gain infamy and rank up? It’s not fair. Pure out-maneuvering isn’t the only advantage a freep has, either.

Freeps can talk to buddies in the normal game world. MPs can’t. If the freep side of a raid is going down, all it takes is a quick request for help in kinship chat and suddenly the amount of freeps has tripled. Creeps can talk ONLY to other creeps. We have no communication with the world outside the Ettenmoors. Why doesn’t the same apply to freeps? Freeps should only be able to communicate WITHIN the Ettenmoors.

Creeps don’t have kinships. We have to rely solely on OOC and friends lists for help. Why can’t we have kinships too? It would be nice to have that option, to be able to quickly form a raid when a fort needs defending or when there’s been a freep sighting. Let us have kinships too! Sure, we’re evil loathsome creatures… but even we have friends.

Hunters can track stealthed wargs. Stealth is a warg’s biggest defense, and its best weapon as well. Now, the same goes for a burglar. BUT wargs can’t track stealthed freeps. Not fair. Balance it out. Give wargs a similar skill, or take it away from freeps (only while in PvMP of course).

Freeps have horses. This is a huge advantage in Monster Play. Freeps can mount up, making it much harder for creeps to catch them, and can take a certain amount of damage before even getting dismounted. Creeps have no such thing. Wargs have a 100 percent run speed increase skill, but it doesn’t last long and has a recast of 10 minutes. In my opinion, this could be easily balanced: either give the creeps something similar to horses, or set in place a restriction for freeps in regards to horse riding. Make them have to wait 10 minutes before they can mount up again. Make them get dismounted with one hit… something. I’m sure the devs could up with something brilliant.. they did create this game, after all.

Freeps have more skills. By the time freeps come to the Ettenmoors, they are level 40 or higher. They have a wide array of skills at their disposal. But when creeps come into the game they have only a few rudimentary skills, and it doesn’t get much better. It just doesn’t work. Put five creeps up against five freeps and see who wins. The freeps get it every time. Something’s just not right. Creeps need more skills… period.

Freeps have multiple healers. Minstrels, loremasters, and captains can all heal their group. Most, if not all, other freep classes can at least heal themselves. Creeps have a single healing class. ONE. How can we compete with the freeps? Give us more heals!

That’s just the short list. There are many more that are already known, and I’m sure I’ll discover even more as I play. It’s just ridiculous. A freep raid consisting of only 7 people can take Isendeep with no creep resistance. I was recently in a raid of 13 creeps trying to take back Isendeep, also with no resistance, and we failed miserably. That alone should be an alert that something’s wrong. Balance of the classes is more important in Monster Play than it is anywhere else, and I can’t help but feel that it’s been neglected.

I love Monster Play. I think it’s an exciting twist on PvP, and could be a wonderful aspect of the game. I fear, however, that unless they make some serious changes, Monster Play will die a slow death.

Coffee is perhaps the most universal drink, aside from water, that is enjoyed by those across the globe. Owning a coffee franchise can be a great opportunity for those looking to invest in a small business. With the right knowledge of the field, one can be sure to have real success in the coffee industry. For those who are ready to take the leap, but are looking for any last advice or information, here are some tips to help make that coffee franchise as successful as possible. Various types of coffee powder will offer different taste to the person. Proper information should be available with the person that from where the beans have been extracted to powder. 

1. Research is paramount when planning any business, coffee franchises especially. One needs to make sure a location that has a sufficient demand for the services one is looking to offer is vital before choosing to set up shop. Aside from just location, one needs to make certain that they find a coffee franchise that they believe will not only be successful, but also something they will enjoy running. If a potential is not happy with some of the franchise’s rules or uniforms, such issues are not likely to get any better with time.
2. Having enthusiasm and passion for the life one is about to start is important. If one is not ready to dedicate a lot of time and work into such a project, it is important they being to reconsider even buying into a coffee franchise. Making running a coffee franchise fun is important to the business’ success.
3. With that in mind, the potential owner should understand that the work does not stop once the employees are hired and the business is open. The owner of a coffee franchise needs to put in a lot of hours to make the business work, and not just when it comes to human resource responsibilities. They can expect to be pumping out lattes or running the register from time to time, which allows for their knowledge to be readily available in case an emergency arises.
4. Those owners who become and stay involved in the day-to-day operations ensure that they are fully aware of the business’ strong points, as well as its short-comings. Knowing these can help an owner focus on areas a business needs to improve on to become more successful.

By doing all of this, while still maintaining an easygoing work environment where fun is stressed just as much as quality service and products, a coffee franchise owner can be sure that the business will enjoy success. When the employees are happy, the workplace is more efficient, which leads to everyone being happy, owner and customers alike.

Owning a coffee franchise can be a great opportunity for those looking to invest in a small business. Understanding the work that is involved before becoming involved with a coffee franchise is perhaps the most important criterion for a potential owner if they plan on being successful. If after learning what a coffee franchise really involves in its day-to-day operations one does not feel they are up to the challenge, it is best to rethink the whole idea. But for those who feel they have what it takes, there is a lot of room for success in the industry.

I’ve been a believer in the Law of Attraction since the first time I saw the movie The Secret and read Manifestation Magic book. I was so inspired. I mean, who could argue that thoughts don’t become reality? If they don’t, then what purpose do thoughts have? It all made perfect sense to me. But, honestly, up until a week ago, I couldn’t see the Law of Attraction forest through the trees. That was until I learned about EFT and how I could use it with the Law of Attraction.

EFT, or Emotional Freedom Techniques®, is an emotional, needle free version of acupuncture, according to their website, http://www.emofree.com. I found their website completely by accident, or by the Law of Attraction, now that I have come to think about it.

While I am a deeply creative person, I find that my mind tends to wander a lot. I am not the kind of person who can sit in silence and just appreciate it. I can’t just sit there and focus on just one particular thing. One thought leads to another and before I know it I end up forgetting what it was that I sat down to focus on.

So, I was pretty excited when I read the free ebook that I downloaded from http://www.emofree.com. The first thing I thought was, wow, I can use this with the Law of Attraction. I have found the missing link. EFT and the Law of Attraction have to be a match made in Heaven.

So, I sat down and did the EFT exercises while visualizing the answer to my question concerning a pretty severe health problem I have been living with for most of my life. I married what I learned about EFT and the Law of Attraction about seven times. Then, I stopped and began to write a letter to an old friend.

Well, about halfway through the letter, I had a memory of an event that happened when I was three years old. I had run out into the street and gotten hit by a car. I had been told about the incident from family members and neighborhood friends many times, so I know for sure that it really did happen. However, I had never had any personal memory of it since I was only three years old when it happened.

Well, after using EFT and the Law of Attraction, I saw this flash in my mind. It was just before the impact. I saw the side of a car and felt the terror of knowing what was about to happen to me. The whole memory lasted just a few seconds but that few seconds was all I needed. I finally knew what happened to me and what the suppressed memory had done to my body for all of those years it was locked up inside of me.

For the first time in my life, I was able to link together the individual pieces of the mysterious puzzle that had been causing me so much pain for almost my entire life. And for the first time in my life, I am on the path to true healing that will last me through the rest of my life.

If you are a believer with a problem, then, please use this information immediately. If you’re a skeptic with a problem, now is the time to investigate EFT and the Law of Attraction and discover for yourself the peaceful release you will receive.

Hey guys, this is your time to shine, fall provides men the perfect opportunity to show off their fashion sense. Why not make this fall your most fashionable season yet?

We can all agree it’s just not fair that men have to don a coat and tie in August when the ladies get to wear diaphanous dresses and sandals. Good news, fall brings many things that make guys happy: Baseball’s World Series, the beginning of football season, and a break from the sweltering heat. Cooler temperatures mean it’s time to get out the wool sweaters and corduroys. This simple Fall Fashion Guide will help you avoid becoming a fashion victim.

First, let’s get the essential shopping list together:

1.Military Jacket

2.Double-breasted grey suit

3.Vintage inspired sneakers

4.New, crisp white dress shirt

5.Peacoat

The military jacket is a fun choice for casual dress. Toss it on over your favorite jeans and a cool Henley shirt and you’ve got a perfect relaxed look. You don’t have to spend a bundle on this trend – Old Navy is a perfect place to start your hunt. Theory also makes an excellent jacket. Be wary of Army/Navy surplus stores, as those jackets tend to be a bit boxy and bulky.

Grey is the big color in men’s fashion this fall. Designers like Giorgio Armani, Jil Sander and Marc Jacobs all sent shades of grey down the runway.

The two most practical ways to add grey to your wardrobe:

• ΓÇóA classic double-breasted suit
• ΓÇóA sweater

When it comes to suits, Thom Browne and Michael Bastian were the talk of the town during fashion week. More conservative shoppers could look to Canali and Ralph Lauren for the double-breasted suit. Regardless of the designer, this style is relatively timeless and a solid investment for gentlemen required wearing suits to work.

Cashmere is the material of choice for your grey sweater; it’s lush, plush and imminently huggable. If you can’t afford cashmere, look for soft wool or thick cotton. Perhaps, turtlenecks aren’t your thing. No fear you can be equally hip in a zip-neck sweater (try Hugo Boss for this). Zip necks give the same stylish look of a turtleneck and many men find them more cool and comfortable. Also popular, but very trendy, is the zippered cardigan. This is more of a fad than a fashion staple so don’t break the bank on this trend.

Nothing sets off a beautiful suit or sweater like a well-made dress shirt. Look for clean modern lines when searching for a white shirt this fall. Instead of a traditional cotton, look for a pique or a subtle herringbone texture. As far as details, treat yourself to a monogram-but not on the shirtsleeve or pocket (too obvious). Instead monogram the shirt on the lower chest. Also consider buying a French cuffs shirt. Wear it with your favorite cufflinks and your nattiest suit, you’ll feel great and look terrific. Prada, Ted Baker and Paul Smith are excellent places to start your hunt for this wardrobe staple.

Finally, the peacoat, a perennial classic, is a great splurge for your fall wardrobe. Kenneth Cole makes a lovely moderate price coat and Gucci is the way to go if you’ve got an unlimited budget.

What else should you consider this fall? Other colors popping up on the runways included: black, brown and olive. All of these are safe colors to mix into most wardrobes.

When it comes to fabric, think texture. Consider purchasing something corduroy, either a slouchy unconstructed blazer or trim thin-wale trousers. A fitted tweed sport coat is another way to pep up a staid wardrobe.

To accent your clothes, there are a few tempting accessory options to consider:

• ΓÇóWool felt mariner’s cap
• ΓÇóOversized Sunglasses
• ΓÇóVintage Sneakers

You may also opt to buy a modern and stylish wallet to compliment your outfit. You can visit edcharly.com for more options. This website provides wide variety of stylish wallets with different colors and designs. Your choice of wallet also matters.

While the first two ideas could be a challenge for many men, the sneakers are a safe style choice. Look for suede and distressed leather sneakers. Steven Alan Dill and John Varvatos are making the hottest footwear this fall. Their shoes are so cool you may even get away with pairing them with dress pants (bit of advice: skip the suits and sneaker look unless you are a fashion designer).

Whatever you decide to wear this fall, remember to be confident and have fun with your clothes!

To many people, an outdoor kitchen may seem like an unnecessary extravagance, but for those who enjoy spending a lot of time outside, it has become an increasingly popular home addition.

An outdoor kitchen can cost anywhere from $3,000 to $15,000 at an outdoor kitchen depot, so careful consideration of one’s needs is important. The first step in creating an outdoor kitchen is to determine how and when it will be used.

The main purpose of an outdoor kitchen is that it reduces the trips in and out of the house when cooking outdoors. The more time spent outside cooking and eating, and the more complex the preferred menu, the more sense an outdoor kitchen makes. It also is a determining factor in how extensive an outdoor kitchen should be.

Before purchasing any outdoor kitchen equipment, it is essential to decide if it will be permanent or portable. If you need linear slides for your drawers or not? If there is a chance of moving to a new home in the future, it might be wiser to stick to outdoor kitchen furniture that can be taken along to the new home. Building a permanent outdoor kitchen is more expensive, but it also will be more durable and increase the value of the home.

A cement or brick patio makes a good foundation for an outdoor kitchen. Wooden decks may require reinforcement, depending on how elaborate the planned kitchen.

Building close to the house makes trips in and out for supplies more convenient. Once space is chosen, the outdoor kitchen can be simple or as detailed as space, imagination, and budget will allow.

The most common elements of an outdoor kitchen include a grill, work surfaces, and a dining area. A refrigerator, sink, lighting, and small kitchen appliances can be added, including a microwave oven. The more complex an outdoor kitchen, the more attention needs to be paid to the storage, traffic lanes, and sources of electricity and water. Most appliance manufacturers have specialty lines for outdoor use, and precautions should be taken to ensure their proper and safe use.

Weather-resistant materials should be used to construct work surfaces and food preparation areas as well as cabinetry. A stainless steel outdoor kitchen is a good choice. A safe and reliable method of insect control is essential, especially if meals will be eaten outdoors.

The main focal point of any outdoor kitchen is the grill. Choosing the right grill and its placement is key to a successful kitchen. Deciding between a charcoal or gas grill is a matter of personal taste. Plan on a design at least 3 feet of the work surface on either side of the grill and 1.5 to 2 feet on either side of a sink. Plan around the grill, so that important items are handy when cooking. A U-shaped or triangle workspace is ideal.

The products needed to create the kitchen, from simple to state-of-the-art, are readily available, but the most important aspect of an outdoor kitchen is planning. A sensible design will allow for years of outdoor enjoyment.

While the summer heat will be beating down on most of us here in a short month or two many people will see that with the thermometer raising outside the electric bill will be rising in the mail. I know that for some of us we will be trudging off to work and not even consider how to save money during our summer cooling season. However, I have a couple of tips that I use that worked wonders on helping me save money on my electric bill.

The first tip that I have is if you are leaving your home for the day, but do not want to come home to a roasting home because you turned your air conditioning off is to turn the thermostat up. I know that I turn it up about five to ten degrees above what I normally would and the house is a little bit warmer than what I like, but typically the air conditioner doesn’t come on at all during the day while I am gone. So that is a definite plus and saves me quite a bit of money. Please note you can even do this step even when you are going to the grocery store, park, or other area that you are not going to be home.

The grocery store expenses can be cut down to a great extent with only the essentials for a few months so that the bills start coming down at a slow and steady pace and have your AC repaired by hvac repair San Diego.

The second tip is that for me I have found that if I turn the air conditioner down in the morning to about four degrees lower than what I normally want the temperature to be that it works wonders on saving the electric. What I mean is if you want your house to stay around seventy all day then in the morning when it is still cool out and you’re going to be home turn the thermostat down to sixty six. Then once your home reaches that temperature turn the thermostat back up to the temperature you want it set at. What I found is that the air conditioner will not come on as often because the sun has to heat your home past the four degrees that you placed as a buffer. I know that for my house if I turn the air conditioner down about eight o’clock in the morning the air conditioner will not come back on for about four to five hours. Then depending on how much the sun is out it might not even come on at all.

The third tip that works out really well is if you shut off rooms that you are not using and take them out of the cooling. Now these rooms will be warm to hot, but the air conditioner will normally not be picking up on this extra heat because the room is closed off so your air conditioner will not have to work as hard which is nice because you save even more money.

While many people will be dreading seeing the electric bills this summer because of air conditioning cost I have found that these tips helped me save money on my electric bill. Now each person’s bill will be different, but these tips worked great for me and the savings that I made were significant and helpful on the wallet come summer months!