Environment guide

digital cameras!

Here are the steps to buying the digital camera that is right for you.

1. Know your budget. Yes, you have to do the number crunching this time. No sense in getting your hopes up for a high powered digital camera you can’t afford. Do not be afraid to tell the salesman straight way what your budget is either. Don’t waste your time looking for cameras that don’t fit this budget.

2. Know what you want to use the camera for. Is this for a professional or to take pictures of your kids? Will it be used mostly indoors, outdoors, or both? Knowing this information can help narrow down your search as well.

3. Needs Versus Desires. Okay so just about everyone wants the digital camera that is loaded with features and added bonuses. But, is it really what you need? Cutting down all these extras will help you cut the extra costs as well. But, don’t skimp either. Take some time to check out several of the available digital cameras in your price range. Know what to expect for your money.

4. Do your research. Trust me, once you walk into that saleroom, chances are you are going to want to lay your hands on a camera and leave with it. But, this is not a smart choice. You need to either decide not to do this until you have checked out several places or you can do the smarter thing. That is doing your research online from home, far away from the store itself. Just keep going from site to site to determine what are the basic cameras available in your price range. Who is offering the most bang for your buck?

5. LCD screen or not? Most of us want to be able to preview the image we are going to take using the LCD screen. But, it is a costly addition to the camera. Consider whether it is right for you or not.

6. Memory Cards. Will you need to purchase a memory card for your digital camera as well or will one be provided. How many should you buy depends on how much you will use the camera in between downloading them. How much memory will be on the cards for the camera you plan to purchase?

7. Pixels and Resolution. Just, what is all that about? The better quality cameras which have higher pixels and resolution provide a clearer picture with much more detail then others. Again, compare the different models once you are at the store. Which model, in your budget range, has the best picture? Or, which camera has the best picture for what you are willing or able to spend. Test them out prior to
purchasing to see the difference here.

8. Is the camera compatible with your computer? This is very important here since this is how most people download and even print off their pictures! This is usually not a problem unless you own an older computer.

9. Ease of use. Purchasing a digital camera is supposed to make your life easier, right? Make sure you are choosing
one you can understand how to use and one that is simple to use. When you want to take a picture, you usually don’t have 5 minutes to figure it out.

10. Cost of features over name brand. Our last comment has to do with name brands. Surely, you know that just because a name brand sticker is on an item it is not a way
to tell if it is the best model out there. Compare the features and items listed above to find the best camera available to you, not the label.

Putting all of this together can produce a great digital camera that suits your needs, your budget, and even your desires. Now, that you have an idea of what to look for, go ahead, run to your retailer with the best deal and get the digital camera you have been waiting for!]]>

By “chord a song”, I mean the ability to play 3 or 4 chords on the piano in some sort of rhythm while you or someone else sings the tune. To do this, you don’t need to be a Van Cliburn; all you need to do is learn a few basic chords and be able to more back and forth between them in some organized rhythmic pattern.

For example, did you realize that all of these songs (and hundreds more) can be sung or played with just 3 chords?

Auld Lang Syne

Amazing Grace

Kum Ba Ya

Silent Night

Joy To The World

Jingle Bells

Happy Birthday

Down In The Valley

On Top Of Old Smoky…

and hundreds or maybe thousands more!

Add just one more chord to the basic 3, and you can play another thousand songs or so. So why not learn a few chords and start your chording career?

Here are my top 10 reasons for learning “chord piano”:

1) It’s easy. Learn 3 chords and start in.

2) Even though it’s easy to get started, you don’t have to stop there. You can learn more and more chords and more rhythm patterns and get really good.

3) You’ll be able to play “Happy Birthday” while the gang sings it.

4) You’ll be able to play half-a-dozen Christmas carols. In case you haven’t noticed, Christmas comes every year, so every year you’ll get better as you participate in family gatherings.

5) You can help your kids learn to play the piano, guitar, or most any other instrument by learning chords. Most teachers don’t teach chords, so you’ll be giving your kids an advantage by learning chords.

6) People will admire you. It’s true. Musicians are popular. Anyone who can play anything is in demand at parties and social gatherings. And if you can “chord” while others sing, you’re bound to be popular.

7) Piano playing using chords is good for your brain. Studies have shown that people who actively participate in music do their brain lots of good. And since chords require 3 or 4 notes at a time instead of one, you are giving your brain a good workout.

8) Piano playing, particularly using chords, is good exercise for your wrists and fingers. (Take the time to learn about correct hand position, though!)

9) Piano playing is excellent therapy for the stress of life. Many professional people come home from a hard days work and relax by expressing their emotions on the keyboard. Play a few dark and angry chords, and you’ll be surprised how much better you feel!

10) Piano playing is a blast. It’s just plain old fun. So learn 3 or 4 chords and get going. Maybe you’ll stop there and enjoy it the rest of your life.

But just maybe you’ll love it so much that you keep going and turn yourself into an excellent piano player who can read music as well as play chords!]]>

Since music is basically composed of 3 elements – melody, rhythm, and harmony, it is logical that there are also 3 basic steps to learning to play music by ear:

1.Charting the contour of the melody. Tunes move higher and lower – up and down – as the song progresses. Being aware of that movement is the first step. Once you mentally define the parameters of the melody, you can then begin to hone in on picking it out on your instrument. As an example, think of “Joy To The World”. We’ve all sung it a zillion times, but have you ever noticed that the melody moves down exactly 8 steps (an octave), then gradually moves back up in increments, then repeats the down movement, etc. The entire melody is contained within those 8 notes, so you now know the parameters of the song and can begin to pick out the melody intelligently.

2.Harmonizing the melody with matching chords. The second element of music is harmony, and you can harmonize any melody just by matching the supporting chords to that melody. For example, if the melody is a “G”, you can harmonize that melody by using a chord with G in it, such as the G chord (G, B, D), the C chord (C, E, G), or the Em chord (E, G, B), or the Eb chord (Eb, G, Bb) and so forth. By using your ear to guide you, you can learn to harmonize the melody of most any song using matching chords.

3.Using an appropriate rhythm that matches the feel of the song. This is usually the easiest part, since most people “feel” the beat and don’t have to do any mental gymnastics to come up with an appropriate rhythm for a song. But for those of us that might be “rhythmically challenged”, just by knowing that there are basically two meters available – duple meter and triple meter — that can be combined in infinite combinations, we can give the song either a “3” feeling (like a waltz or a jazz waltz) or a “4” feeling (like swing or a march or a ballad).

Playing by ear is a valuable technique for many musicians; learning songs based solely on hearing them is a great way to understand song and chord structure. In fact, a great number of rock and pop musicians learned to play their instruments this way. Instead of picking up a book or taking lessons, they concentrated on figuring out the notes and rhythms to a song until it was mastered. Then they moved on to another song. And another.

Gradually, they learned their instrument just by playing by ear — and in the process learned how to effectively structure a song in that particular genre. Playing by ear is also beneficial in helping a musician develop his or her own style; sure, they’ll at first mimic the style of the song they’re imitating, but the amalgamation of the music that they’re playing by ear will help them create something distinctive, something indicative of them only.]]>

But what is music, anyway? What makes it tick? We all love some form of it and dislike other forms of it.

The country-western fan may not like jazz, but he or she sure loves the sound of pickin’ & grinnin’. And the jazz fan feels just the opposite.

And that’s as it should be. If we all liked the same kind of music, there just wouldn’t be the variety that is available to us now. We can choose from musical styles ranging from heavy classical and opera to rock to children’s songs to Broadway musicals to gospel music to the blues.

Each has its place, and each seems on the surface to be drastically different than another form of music. The key word is “on the surface.” But beneath the surface of all music is a commonality that is organic to all forms and styles of music.

So what does all music have in common?

At least 3 things – sometimes more, but never less:

1.Melody
2.Rhythm
3.Harmony

The melody is the part of a song or composition that you whistle or hum – in other words, the tune of the song. In one sense, it is the most visible of the 3 elements, because melody is what identifies a song. Without melody, it would be difficult to even conceive of a song or piece.

In musical notation, the melody is almost always written in the treble clef – also known as the treble staff. It consists of a horizontal line of notes that move up and down on the clef as the tune moves higher or lower.

Rhythm is the beat – the swing – the throb of the music. It happens in repeating patterns, depending upon the type of music. It is like a horizontal line of beats which occur at regular or semi-regular intervals. A waltz, for example, basically consists of a heavy beat followed by two lighter beats. So we say that a waltz is in triple meter – one strong beat followed by two weak beats, then repeated.

A march, on the other hand, generally consists of a heavy beat followed by a light beat, then another heavy beat followed by another light beat. (I’m simplifying, of course – there are many varieties…) So a march is in duple meter – as you might expect since we have two feet and we march in left-right-left-right patterns.

All rhythms are some combination of triple meter and/or duple meter, and the possibilities are endless – from boogie to R&B to mambos and sambas and bossa novas and….on and on.

Harmony, the 3rd aspect of music, is the musical background of a song – the chords, or intervals “behind” the melody. Without harmony, a song sounds empty – like a vocalist singing without an accompanist – or accapella. Music doesn’t HAVE to have harmony to function, but in actual practice it almost always does, even if it is just the interplay of two melodies, as in counterpoint.

You could spend a lifetime learning all the nuances of music, but it its most basic form, it is these 3 elements combined together; melody, rhythm, and harmony.]]>

First, by checking your credit online, you avoid “dings,” which lower your score. Many consumers are afraid to investigate their credit because they think their score might drop, putting them in even worse shape. This isn’t true with online credit reports. Thus, without dinging your credit, online sources allow you to check out your score, for better or worse.

Alternately, if you have been denied credit within the last 30 days, you can ask the credit bureau for a free report that won’t ding your credit. You do have to use a local reporting agency, which can take more time than using an online source. Most people go in person to the agency to request the report and then pick it up. Both of these steps seem quite tedious when compared to online credit checks.

Another benefit of online credit reports is the ability to see both good and bad credit you have on your report from the privacy of your own personal computer. No nosy bankers trying to get your a credit card or auto loan. Without sales pressure, you are less likely to get into more debt and lower your credit score.

Lastly, you can verify the accuracy of your credit. The online report will be taken from each of the three national credit bureaus. Occasionally you will see accounts that you dispute, which gives you the opportunity to contact the bureau. To do this, you must write a letter explaining exactly what is incorrect or disputed. The agency must investigate. When they contact the creditor, he has 14 days to respond or the item is deleted off your credit. A little known secret is that if the item is less than $500 or older than one year, most creditors won’t bother responding, whether your dispute is accurate or not. Disputing bad credit is the most direct way you can improve your credit. When your bad credit is reversed your credit score will increase. Most importantly, after your score goes up you have the right to demand that your updated credit report be sent to all those who have denied you credit in the last six months. Good news!

So, if you wonder how good, or bad, your credit score is, don’t be afraid to check it out online. The report is excellent information that arms you with power to change and improve your credit. Most people with bad credit don’t know much about how it gets that way or how to fix it. Your knowing both is a good start to improving your credit.]]>

Grants are based upon financial need, as calculated by the federal aid program. The first step in applying for government grants is by completing the FAFSA.

Of course every student and parent would rather receive grants instead of loans, since they do not have to be repaid. So the student hopes to see a grant award when the results are returned from the application.

There are a few things to be aware of, however, when expecting a grant. The funds available for grants are limited, therefore the grant will not usually fully fund educational expenses. If the student is planning on attending a community college where tuition rates are lower, it is possible that grants will cover a greater percentage of the tuition and fees.

The second thing to be aware of is that when the need analysis is done by the government or school, the expected contribution of the parent is usually higher than in reality what is possible for most families. This expected contribution effects the amount available to the student for grants.

Another significant factor is that if the parent or guardian claims the student as a dependent on income tax returns, this effects the amount of aid available to the student. In general, a student who is ‘independent’ of the parents as far as the tax law goes, will receive more in financial aid awards.

First year students may find that they receive less grant awards than they do in subsequent college years.]]>

Should I complete a Certificate IV in massage? Should I commit long-term and complete a diploma in massage? Or should I just start out by learning 1 or 2 massage modalities and see if I like it? These are common questions that people considering a career as a bodywork practitioner find themselves asking.

In recent years a growing number of beginning massage students are actually choosing to ’specialize’ in just 1 or 2 modalities as opposed to completing a full Diploma, and one of the more popular modalities is Hawaiian Lomi Lomi.

Are there any benefits to doing this?

Well, as someone who has built up a successful career in lomi lomi over the last 10 years, I can see 5 core benefits to the beginning student in choosing to study lomi lomi over the other more mainstream courses.

1) Lomi Lomi Is A Very Thorough And Effective Massage Modality.

Because the forearms are primarily used in long, continuous, flowing motions along the body, at varying pressures, a much broader surface of the body can be massaged with each and every stroke.

Also, the continous flow and rhythm of the massage, as the practitioner moves up and down the length of the body, encourages the receiver to more easily ’switch-off’ early in the treatment, resulting in very deep levels of relaxation.

After 90 minutes of this (the standard time-frame for a lomi lomi) its not hard to understand why 90% of clients feel like they have really had a thorough, complete and rejuvenating massage after receiving a lomi lomi.

It should also come as no surprise that many lomi lomi therapists, choose to learn it because they had a treatment previously and absolutely loved it.

That was certainly the case for me!

2) Lomi Lomi Can Be Learned In A Minimum Amount Of Time.

Depending on which lomi lomi school you choose to train with, it’s possible to learn how to give an absolutely awesome lomi lomi massage treatment in as little as 1 week, by completing an intensive ‘live-in’ course.

More mainstream massage modalities such as swedish and sports massage, are generally taught over a much longer period, with classes often spread over a period of weeks or months or even years.

Here in Australia, this is particularly the case with Certificate IV and Diploma courses.

There are of course more advanced lomi lomi trainings that can be undertaken, but these too can be completed in as little as 1 week per course.

3) Lomi Lomi Allows You To Earn An Income Almost Straight Away.

Once you’ve completed even just a 1 week basic level of lomi lomi, you will have learnt a complete system of massage.

This gives you the ability to start getting clients on the table almost immediately and depending on your level of skill and confidence, you can start charging for treatments as soon as your massage room is set up or at the very least you have a lomi lomi massage table.

This means that you can start to recoup the investment you’ve made in your lomi lomi training a lot sooner than if you were doing a Certificate IV in massage for example, which generally takes several months to complete.

4) Lomi Lomi Empowers The Body, Mind And Spirit.

Lomi lomi is performed as an energetic dance in combination with the breath. The movements of this dance (called ‘flying’) come from the core/centre of the body, supporting and even strengthening the practitioner while performing the treatment.

Also, as the primary tool of the practitioner is their forearms, stress on the hands and fingers is eliminated, unlike many of the mainstream therapies that tend to wear down on the practitioner over time.

I am yet to meet a lomi lomi practitioner with carpal tunnel syndrome!

Most times a lomi lomi massage will leave ‘both’ the giver and the receiver feeling relaxed yet alive and energized.

5) Lomi Lomi Has Become Extremely Poplular With Massage Clients.

With more and more people experiencing such profound relaxation and rejuvenation as a result of receiving this amazing Hawaiian lomi lomi, the demand for skilled therapists is very strong.

In fact, in many of the top spas you’ll find that lomi lomi is one of if not ‘the’ most popular treatment on the menu.

This was certainly the case after I introduced the lomi lomi to the Spa At Versace on the Gold Coast.

In fact, I have been practicing Lomi Lomi for more than 10 years now and I have never been short of clients. I would even go as far as saying at least 8 out of 10 clients, say that lomi lomi is the best massage they have ever had! And guess what, they keep coming back for more!

In my experience, being a lomi lomi practitioner has been a very satisfying and fulfilling experience.

Considering the above points, it’s clear that Hawaiian Lomi Lomi has much to offer anyone who is looking to embark on a career in massage and considering that massage has become a regular past-time for many Australians, there has never been a better time to learn.

The only pre-requisite to studying this beautiful hawaiian bodywork, is a genuine desire to learn, a genuine desire to give and most importantly, a caring heart. If this sounds like you, a career in lomi lomi may be just what you’re looking for.]]>

When you are on the lookout for top-quality advice about classroom management, it will be easier said than done extricating the best information from ill-advised classroom management submissions or guidance so it is wise to know ways of moderating the information presented to you.

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Here are several tips that we believe you should use when you are searching for information about classroom management. Please understand that the advice we are giving you is only pertinent to web based information about classroom management. Unfortunately we are unable to provide any tips or guidance when you are also conducting research offline.

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A really good piece of advice you can follow when you’re presented with help or advice about a classroom management website would be to confirm the sites ownership. Doing this could reveal the owners classroom management credentials The easiest way to work out who is at the back of the classroom management web site is to find the sites ‘about’ page.

Any worthwhile website providing information on classroom management, will nearly always have a ‘contact’, or an ‘about’, page which will list the site owner’s details. The fine points should detail a number of indications about the website owner’s expertise. You can then decide for yourself about the webmaster’s familiarity and qualifications, to offer help regarding classroom management.]]>

Knowing the notes on your guitar fretboard is an essential skill. Here are a FEW of
the benefits that you’ll gain if you have fantastic guitar fretboard knowledge…

1. You’ll learn how to apply music theory to the guitar much more quickly. In my
opinion there’s no point learning music theory if you can’t PLAY it!

2. Your creativity will increase. You’ll be able to think of new and unique ways of
playing chords and scales. If you don’t know the notes on the guitar fretboard, you’ll be stuck playing the same chord and scale fingerings that everyone uses.

3. You’ll become a better musician. Great musicians don’t just think in terms of chord shapes or scale fingerings. They think in terms of NOTES.

4. You’ll save yourself hundreds (if not thousands!) of hours of frustration. By
knowing the notes on the fretboard you’ll be able to understand, learn and memorize
things faster.

Pretty powerful benefits right?

So…how do we know if our note knowledge is good enough? Here’s a great way of
finding out…

Note Knowledge Test:

Step 1:
Please turn on your metronome and set it to 120 beats-per-minute.

Step 2:
Decide on a note that you will work on.

Step 3:
Find that note on the thickest string in all possible locations. (One note location per click of the metronome).

Step 4:
Without pausing, repeat the process on all the other strings.

Step 5:
Repeat steps 2-4 for all the other notes.

How did you go? Did you find it hard or easy?

If you couldn’t do it easily, then you have some work to do. I would recommend
setting aside 10 minutes a day to work on memorizing the notes of the fretboard.
Within a few short weeks, you should have it nailed. Good luck!]]>

In the winter of 1436-1437, Vlad(Dracul) became prince of Wallachia and took up residence at the palace of Tirgoviste, the princely capital. In 1442, he and his younger brother Radu were taken hostage by the Turkish Sultan Murad II. Dracul was held in Turkey until 1448, while his brother Radu decided to stay there until 1462.

At 17 years old, Vlad, supported by troops lent to him by pasha Mustafa Hassan, tried to seize the Wallachian throne but was defeated by Vladislav II (who had earlier assassinated his father and oldest brother ) after two months or armed conflict. Vlad had to wait until 1456, when he was able to seek retribution against his father’s assassin.

Vlad’s first act of vengeance was aimed at the boyars of Tirgoviste for the killing of his father and older brother Mircea. Around Easter of 1459, Vlad had all the boyar families arrested and impaled the elder members on stakes while forcing the others to march from the capital to the town of Poenari. He then ordered them to build him a fortress on the ruins of an older outpost overlooking the Arges River. Many nobles died in the construction of this castle, the ruins of which can still be seen today.

Vlad became known for his brutal punishment techniques; often ordering people to be skinned, decapitated, blinded, roasted, hacked, buried alive, stabbed and blinded to name a few. He also liked to cut off his victim noses, ears and sexual organs. But his favourite form of torture was impalement on stakes, hence the surname “Tepes” which means “The Impaler” in the Romanian language. It was this form of punishment that he used against Transylvanian merchants who ignored his trade laws.

There are many tales about the psyche of Vlad Tepes. He was known throughout the country for his fierce adherence to honesty and order. Almost any crime, from lying and stealing to killing, could be punished by impalement. Being so confident in the efficiency of his law, Dracula placed a golden cup on display in the central square of Tirgoviste. The cup could be used by thirsty travellers, but had to remain on the square. It was never stolen and remained entirely untouched throughout Vlad’s reign. He looked upon the poor, vagrants and beggars as thieves. Consequently, he invited all the poor and sick of Wallachia to his court in Tirgoviste for a magnificent feast. After his guests had eaten and drunk their fill, Dracula ordered the hall boarded up and set on fire. There were no survivors.

At the beginning of 1462, Vlad launched a campaign against the Turks along the Danube River which was very successful, managing several victories. In retaliation for these losses, the Sultan decided to launch a full-scale invasion of Wallachia with an army three times larger than Dracula’s. Vlad was forced to withdraw towards Tirgoviste, burning villages and poisoning wells along the way.

These acts were designed to hinder the Turkish army in their search for food and water. When the Sultan’s armies finally reached the capital city, exhausted and hungry, they were confronted by a horrific sight: thousands of stakes held the bodies of some 20,000 Turkish captives, which came to be known as “Forest of the Impaled.” The scene which was laid out before them had an immediate effect; the Sultan hungry and worn out retreated. The Sultan Mehmed left the next phase of the battle to Vlad’s younger brother Radu who pursued his brother and wife to Poenari castle on the Arges River.

Dracula’s wife, in order to escape Turkish capture, committed suicide by hurling herself from the upper walls, her body falling down the cliff face into the river below. Vlad managed to escape the siege and made his way to hungry with the help of local peasants. Upon his arrival the Hungarian king Matthias arrested Dracula and imprisoned him at the Hungarian capital of Visegrad.

In 1475, Vlad Tepes again became prince of Wallachia where he enjoyed a very short third reign. He was assassinated towards the end of 1476.

I hope you have enjoyed reading about Vlad Tepes or as he was better known-Dracula.

In my next article will learn about the life of(Mad)King George III.

Unitl then,

Best wishes and have a great day

Stuart Bazga

Guide to Castles of Europe]]>