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	<title>Dick's Blog</title>
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	<link>http://dicksblog.com</link>
	<description>The World According to Dick</description>
	<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:42:35 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Some Wedding Photography Tips</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/some-wedding-photography-tips/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/some-wedding-photography-tips/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:42:35 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/some-wedding-photography-tips/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[To be a wedding photographer requires a strong heart and mind because few jobs in the photographic industry actually illicit fear, but photographing weddings has got to top the list. For example, you could have total digital meltdown and all your photographs disappear, you could actually do a bad job and the bride and family [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>To be a <a title="Wedding Photographer" href="http://www.breezeimages.co.uk/">wedding photographer</a> requires a strong heart and mind because few jobs in the photographic industry actually illicit fear, but photographing weddings has got to top the list. For example, you could have total digital meltdown and all your photographs disappear, you could actually do a bad job and the bride and family get mad at you, you could miss that all important shot or you might be a naturally shy person who isn&rsquo;t used to dealing with people.&nbsp;</p>
<p>All of these are very real fears, taking photographs at someone&rsquo;s wedding is a huge responsibility, but none of these fears is insurmountable.&nbsp; For example, take an assistant with you who will double shoot everything you take.&nbsp; He will act like an insurance policy should your camera have a malfunction.&nbsp; Also make sure to get two copies of every shot.&nbsp; If you set aside some of your fee to cover the cost of your assistant it may well prove money well spent.&nbsp;</p>
<p>There is always the possibility of you doing a bad job, but you should remember before you take on a job, that you are confident of doing a good one because wedding photographs are among a person&rsquo;s most prized possessions.&nbsp; You are the only one who can be sure of your ability to carry out your job, so be confident in what you do and go out there and do your stuff.&nbsp;</p>
<p>When you have completed the <a title="Wedding Photography" href="http://www.breezeimages.co.uk/about.php">wedding photography</a> and you are deciding which to keep and which pictures to discard, keep in mind that there is one best seller - emotion.&nbsp; Make sure that each picture demonstrates emotion - does it make you laugh or cry, does it make you happy?&nbsp;</p>
<p>However, you should remember that no matter how modern the bride is or how alternative the wedding is, she and her family will want some formal pictures taken of the family as a group.&nbsp; They will stand there and stare straight at the camera and smile, but they don&rsquo;t have to be boring, you can try and make them as creative as possible.&nbsp; Stand the bride in the centre and put half of the bridesmaids on one side and half on the other.&nbsp; Or have the flower girl sitting at the bride&rsquo;s feet. It just needs a bit of imagination and that is what is needed to make a success of a wedding day and being a good wedding photographer.</p>
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		<title>Fitness Training Program Reviews</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/fitness-training-program-reviews/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/fitness-training-program-reviews/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:47:57 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/fitness-training-program-reviews/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It&#8217;s probably true that every man and woman would like to look and feel better. Now that usually that involves shedding unwanted fat and building lean muscle for more energy and a shapely, toned body.
Unfortunately, it&#8217;s not always easy to burn fat or build muscle. However, there are several quality fitness programs online that can [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s probably true that every man and woman would like to look and feel better. Now that usually that involves shedding unwanted fat and building lean muscle for more energy and a shapely, toned body.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, it&rsquo;s not always easy to burn fat or build muscle. However, there are several quality fitness programs online that can make the process a little easier by showing you exactly what to do so you spend less time working out while seeing faster results.</p>
<p>While there are several quality programs on the market, there are also several that are worthless. It&rsquo;s not always easy to sort through which ones are effective and which are a waste of time and money. To help you with this problem, why not research the most popular fitness programs on the internet to find the best ones?</p>
<p>Information is key to an effective exercise program and information is one thing the internet is great at delivering. You can find out about practically every exercise regime out there. So if you really want to <a title="Get Six Pack Abs" href="http://fitnesstrainingprogramreviews.com/" target="_blank">get six pack abs</a> you can look it up on the internet and start immediately.</p>
<p>There will be a lot of personal information out there, but you&#8217;ll also find some good reviews telling you <a href="http://fitnesstrainingprogramreviews.com/" target="_blank">how to get six pack abs</a>. All you have to do is review the reviews - easy. Saves you a ton of time and effort.</p>
<p>Of course you may be looking for something about &#8220;<a href="http://fitnesstrainingprogramreviews.com/" target="_blank">burn the fat feed the muscle</a>&#8221; and the same applies, just review the reviews and you&#8217;ll be home and dry.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s really no need to go into an exercise regime with your eyes closed - these days you can find out pretty much everything you need to know right from the comfort of your own armchair. Just don&#8217;t expect to stay there when you start exercising!</p>
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		<title>Searching For Marbella Apartments Holiday</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/searching-for-marbella-apartments-holiday/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/searching-for-marbella-apartments-holiday/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:09:42 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/searching-for-marbella-apartments-holiday/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It is easy to book your private holiday apartments in Marbella Spain these days due to the excellent range of professional websites providing property owners with numerous opportunities to rent out their villas to holiday makers seeking to book a holiday.
With package holiday firms finding it increasingly difficult to attract customers due to the perceived [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It is easy to book your private holiday apartments in Marbella Spain these days due to the excellent range of professional websites providing property owners with numerous opportunities to rent out their villas to holiday makers seeking to book a holiday.</p>
<p>With package holiday firms finding it increasingly difficult to attract customers due to the perceived high profits being made by the likes of Thomson Holidays, Thomas Cook etc. The public are realising that web sites such as those specialising in regions such as <a title="Marbella Apartments For Rent In Spain" href="http://rentin-marbella.com/">Marbella</a>, <a title="Nerja Rentals" href="http://www.rentinnerja.com">Nerja</a> and <a title="Apartments in Javea, Costa Del Sol, Spain" href="http://rentin-javea.com/">Javea</a> all provide a variety of apartments at a range of price points to suit the individual looking for more freedom in their holiday apartment vacation.</p>
<p>In fact the ease in which low cost flights can be booked separately has revolutionised the freedom to book holiday apartments etc at a far higher quality than you can expect to receive from a traditional package holiday supplier!&nbsp;&nbsp; The result of which is that even the large holiday firms are developing their services to include separate appartment options with and without flights to more varied destinations in a hope to keep the holiday maker.</p>
<p>its a personal choice of course when it comes to booking a holiday, in my experience a like for like holiday - one being a package holiday - the other being a private apartment rental, the level of comfort and quality furnishings typically found in private holiday apartments with firms such as RentIn-Marbella or RentIn-Nerja for instance is eqivalent to a&nbsp; four star or five star package holiday resort.&nbsp; Yet is usually between 20%-50% cheaper than the eqivalent standard of a traditional package holiday when all costs are added together.</p>
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		<title>Your Best Options to Refinance Home Loans</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/your-best-options-to-refinance-home-loans/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/04/your-best-options-to-refinance-home-loans/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2008 14:12:21 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[Consumers refinance a home mortgage have a few options to consider. Here are some things to consider.
Fixed vs Adjustable Rates 
A typical fixed rate example has a fifteen or thirty year term and a fixed rate. Many homeowners like this home mortgage refinancing  option because the consumer knows that his interest rate will not [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Consumers refinance a home mortgage have a few options to consider. Here are some things to consider.</p>
<p><strong>Fixed vs Adjustable Rates </strong></p>
<p>A typical fixed rate example has a fifteen or thirty year term and a fixed rate. Many homeowners like this <a href="http://mortgage.knowthatnow.com/home/permalink.php?article=home+mortgage+refinancing.txt">home mortgage refinancing </a> option because the consumer knows that his interest rate will not change during the course of the loan. The fifteen-year term is a comfortable timeframe for many customers as well, although a thirty year term can also make sense depending on the financial situation.  Some consumers are more attracted to an adjustable rate mortgage loan. This option can actually cost less in the long run. However, it is a bit of a gamble. If interest rates increase, so does your monthly payment. If you don&#8217;t borrow more than you can afford, and factor in the possibility of higher rates, then to refinance home loans with an adjustable rate can save money.  And if rates drop, this option can really pay off over the course of time.</p>
<p>Costs To <a href="http://mortgage.knowthatnow.com/">Refinance Your Home Mortgage </a></p>
<p>Of course, there are charges for a <a href="http://mortgage.knowthatnow.com/news/">refinance home loan</a>. You need to consider whether the costs outweigh the benefits. However, in many cases you can save a significant amount of money throughout the term of the loan.  When consumers refinance home loans, they are not simply reducing your payments or changing your interest rates. This process consists of paying off the original loan in full. The refinanced loan is completely new in spite of the fact that you have been making payments for the same property.  Since the loan is brand new according to the lender, it is subject to the same fees, points and other fees you paid for your initial mortgage agreement.</p>
<p>There is another significant fee that many homeowners do not consider when they try to get a home mortgage refinancing loan.  Pre-payment penalties can be pretty costly, and you should not get a loan that includes them.  You can check with your lender and with the regulations in your state to see if the pre-payment penalties apply to your specific loan or not.</p>
<p>The process of finding the right home mortgage refinancing package does require some preparation and homework. However, you can find a great deal that will pay off over time.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.stock-miner.com">Stock Trading</a></p>
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		<title>Green Web Hosting Using Solar Power Servers</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/03/green-web-hosting-using-solar-power-servers/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/03/green-web-hosting-using-solar-power-servers/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 16:41:01 +0000</pubDate>
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		<description><![CDATA[There seems to be a bit of a backlash going on against the environmental movement in recent weeks.  It seems as the price of our carbon based energy sources increase so people become less and less concerned about sustainability issues and being greener in general.
Even I have changed my viewpoint somewhat.  Maybe the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There seems to be a bit of a backlash going on against the environmental movement in recent weeks.  It seems as the price of our carbon based energy sources increase so people become less and less concerned about sustainability issues and being greener in general.</p>
<p>Even I have changed my viewpoint somewhat.  Maybe the earth will take everything in her stride and she will quite happily handle everything we can throw her.  Maybe she will not!  We have no real way of knowing that.</p>
<p>Even though this might be the case I still think it&#8217;s extremely important to consider sustainability in our daily lives.  If the technology is available, we should use it.  Clean energy is the way forward.  Just look at the Beijing Olympics.  The smog hanging in the air is truly horrendous.</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s face it, the combustion engine is antiquated technology.  We don&#8217;t actually need to use these dirty devices anymore.</p>
<p>Whilst it seems like an insurmountable task to clean up our dirty environment what it actually comes down to is every single individual on this planet taking charge and taking some responsibility for their actions.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s the simple law of cause and effect.  Everything we do has a reaction and we would do well to wake up and smell the coffee before too long.</p>
<p>I&#8217;m a Webmaster and in my job I need to buy Web hosting for myself and my clients.  I recently decided to buy <a href="http://www.ecowebdesign.co.uk">green hosting</a> in an attempt to change things at my micro level.  <a href="http://www.ecowebdesign.co.uk/green-web-hosting">Green Web hosting</a> is now available readily.  The servers and the data center are powered completely by solar energy as opposed to offsetting their operation using carbon credits.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re in the UK Eco Web Design offer some brilliant <a href="http://www.ecowebdesign.co.uk/green-web-hosting/solar1">solar power Web hosting</a> options.  Check it out and do your bit!</p>
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		<title>15+ Really Sweet iPhone Tips</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/03/15-really-sweet-iphone-tips/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/03/15-really-sweet-iphone-tips/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:09:36 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/03/15-really-sweet-iphone-tips/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[When I spend about half a grand on a cell phone, I&#8217;m thinking . . . &#8220;i want to get my money&#8217;s worth!&#8221;
That&#8217;s how I feel, anyway &#8212; which is why I made it my business to put my new iPhone through the paces from jump street by scouring the web&#8217;s most serious iPhone resources [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>When I spend about half a grand on a cell phone, I&#8217;m thinking . . . &#8220;i want to get my money&#8217;s worth!&#8221;</strong></p>
<p>That&#8217;s how I feel, anyway &#8212; which is why I made it my business to put my new iPhone through the paces from jump street by scouring the web&#8217;s most serious iPhone resources for the most useful power tips/ tricks available. The result is this collection of <a href="http://usacellsearch.com/15-iphone-tips-2/">16 iPhone power tips</a> that will help you get even more enjoyment out of your new favorite toy!  Some of these, granted, you&#8217;ll need to Google to get the current URL.  But, if you want, you can just click the link for the complete article with photos and videos.</p>
<p><strong>1. Unstick a Stuck Slider:</strong> if you&#8217;re iPhone&#8217;s slider ever gets stuck &#8212; as in, it simply refuses to do anything when you try to slide it, usually because you want to make the iPhone up to use it &#8212; here is a fix from <em>iPhone Atlas</em> (www.iphoneatlas.com): press the Home button once before attempting to move the slider for the first time.</p>
<p><strong>2. Make Skype calls:</strong> Up-front disclaimer: We&#8217;re not talking about free, voice-over-IP (VOiP) Skype calls here. We&#8217;re talking about making SkypeOut calls, which are not free but can drastically reduce the cost of making international calls on your iPhone.  Matter of fact, SoonR lets you access Apple Mail files, mailboxes, and contacts.  It also lets you grab documents from your Mac for viewing on iPhone, including PowerPoint presentations and all that kinda&#8217; good stuff.</p>
<p><strong>3. Know Where to Go for the 411:</strong> Lucky for you, the world has gone iPhone crazy. That means there a lot of excellent sources of info on the latest iPhone developments out there on the web. Bad news: there&#8217;s a lot of crap, also. Here&#8217;s a short list of our favorite iPhone info sites:</p>
<p>- modmyiPhone.com<br /> - iPhoneFreak.com<br /> - iPhoneAlley.com<br /> - The Unofficial Apple Weblog&#8217;s iPhone page<br /> - Gizmodo&#8217;s iPhone coverage<br /> - iPhoneAtlas.com</p>
<p>While you&#8217;re checking these sites, keep in mind that some sites you might already be visiting on a regular basis have really done a super job of becoming iPhone-friendly, including Digg.com, Amazon.com, FaceBook.com, and Netvibes.com!</p>
<p><strong>4. Play Great Games:</strong> You know what Jack says about all work and no play! Not that the web surfing you&#8217;re doing on your iPhone is all work-related, yeah right? Games &#8212; most of which are free &#8212; are starting to pop up for the iPhone, and we&#8217;re sure there will be more where those came from. For now, you can just launch the Safari browser when your iPhone and visit these hot game sites:</p>
<p>-  <strong>MacMost&#8217;s collection of iPhone games,</strong> including classics like solitaire and minesweeper (free, MacMost iPhone Games).</p>
<p>- <strong>mynuMo has 4 iPhone games,</strong> including iWhack &#8212; a whack-a-mole knockoff where the mole&#8217;s replaced by a headshot of Microsoft&#8217;s Steve Ballmer &#8212; and Blackjack (also free, myNuMo iPhone Games).</p>
<p>- <strong>iGiki&#8217;s games,</strong> which include Hangman and Canyon Crawl &#8212; aren&#8217;t free, but then, they&#8217;re only a buck a pop and might be just what you need when you get tired of the freebies (99 cents per game pack for 99 days, iGiki Games).</p>
<p>- <strong>PopCap&#8217;s Bejeweled,</strong> (free, PopCap Bejeweled).</p>
<p><strong>5. Beat a Shortcut to your Fave iPhone Apps:</strong> Handy iPhone apps, like Leaflets (free, Get Leaflets) and Applists (free, Get Applists) put most iPhone apps your fingertips, but if you want to build your own list, just collect the apps you tend to use the most into the same bookmarks folder in Safari on <em>your computer</em>. Then, the next time you sync your iPhone, using iTunes, be sure to check &#8220;Sync Safari Bookmarks&#8221; on the info tab, under Web browser.</p>
<p><strong>6. Rehang the Wallpaper:</strong> If you&#8217;re up for a bit of iPhone hacking, you can take any image you find anywhere on the web and turn it into a custom wallpaper.</p>
<p>But there is a much easier way: Download a 320&#215;480 pixel image for free from a variety of online sources, saving them all in the same folder on your Mac. In iTunes, with your iPhone docked, select your iPhone, click the Photos tab, select the radio button next to &#8220;Sync Photos From&#8230;,&#8221; then from the drop-down list, select &#8220;Choose Folder&#8230;&#8221;</p>
<p>Next, browse to the folder you just created, then click &#8220;Apply&#8221; in the lower-right hand corner. Finally, on your iPhone, go to Settings, Wallpaper, Photo Library to hang your new wallpaper!</p>
<p><strong>7. Take Self-Portraits</strong> Because the iPhone camera shutter&#8217;s button is a &#8220;soft&#8221; (i.e., onscreen) button, it&#8217;s a bit tricky to take self-portraits with it since you have to turn the phone around so you can no longer see the button.  Here&#8217;s the solution: with the camera feature selected, place your finger on the camera icon and turn the phone around so you&#8217;re facing the lens. Then, smile pretty and let go of the shutter button! You&#8217;ll hear the telltale &#8220;click&#8221; &#8212; and, you&#8217;ve just taken a self-portrait!</p>
<p><strong>8. Reveal Secret Features:</strong> When Apple released the first firmware update for the iPhone on August 1, 2007, it did so with little fanfare, and attributed most of the updates to &#8220;security fixes.&#8221;  <em>The Wall Street Journal&#8217;s</em> Walt Mossberg discovered a few new non-security-related features on his side phone after the update including:</p>
<p>- Greater capacity in the iPhone module&#8217;s Favorites list (used to be 20, is now 50).<br /> -  Ability to automatically blind carbon copy (BCC) yourself on all e-mails sent, where previously, your only option was to CC yourself, which alerted your recipients what you were up to&#8230; <br /> -  Compatibility with some car adapters and external speakers, originally created for the iPod.  For more iPhone and tech tidbits, visit Walt&#8217;s blog.</p>
<p><strong>9. Just Ditch the Camera Altogether:</strong> On the other hand, if you know you&#8217;ll never use the iPhone&#8217;s camera, you can just remove it altogether. (If you work for or with certain government agencies, you&#8217;re iPhone may actually be considered &#8220;contraband&#8221; on their property because they don&#8217;t want you taking secret photos of Bigfoot, Elvis, or (believe it or not) alien spaceships!</p>
<p><strong>10. Get the Official Mod Tool:</strong> If you&#8217;ve already had to send your iPhone back to Apple for warranty repair or replacement, you may have already discovered something different about the replacement iPhone. First off, it comes in a much thinner box. Second, it comes complete with the &#8220;official iPhone SIM card removal tool&#8221;: a paperclip! Yup, Apple actually supplies a paperclip with all replacement iPhones, along with instructions for using it to open the SIM card slot and insert your card!</p>
<p><strong>11. Buy Spare Parts:</strong> If you&#8217;re the type who simply can&#8217;t resist trying to take your iPhone apart, here&#8217;s where to go to find replacement parts when you go too far: iPhone Parts.  Sources of mine told me that Apple charges $300 for a replacement screen, but you can get one from iFixIt for only $199.95.</p>
<p><strong>12. Kill that Annoying GSM Buzz:</strong> If you hear a buzzing sound, while using an iPhone cassette adapter in your car stereo, such as <em>Monsters iCarPlay</em> &#8212; which claims to be iPhone-compatible (but doesn&#8217;t appear anywhere on Monster&#8217;s website) &#8212; Gizmodo offers a low-tech solution: aluminum foil&#8230;  Yup, just take a little bit of Reynolds Wrap and wrap it around the cable closest to your iPhone. Doing so eliminates the need to switch to &#8220;Airplane mode,&#8221; which would be a viable solution if it didn&#8217;t send your incoming calls to voicemail!</p>
<p><strong>13. Find Wi-Fi Hotspots in Your Neighborhood:</strong> <em>JiWire</em> makes it easy to find the nearest hotspot when your iPhone &#8212; so you can rescue yourself from the slow-moving hell that is <em>AT&amp;T&#8217;s</em> EDGE data service. Surf on over to iphone.jiwire.com on your iPhone and fill in your location. If you&#8217;re a cheapskate (like me), check the box for &#8220;Search Free Hotspots Only.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>14. More Wi-Fi Performance Enhancements:</strong> Apple has a potentially useful collection of WiFi related iPhone tips in a regularly-updated knowledgebase article on its website. Suggestions include fixing problems like paid WiFi connections that drop off suddenly, weak WiFi signals, and WiFi connections that revert to EDGE due to issues with WEP passwords, or problems with Mac address filtering.</p>
<p><strong>15. &#8220;Hack&#8221; Your iPhone!:</strong> Disclaimer: this tip isn&#8217;t for everybody.  Some of these &#8220;hacks&#8221; (i.e., self-made modifications to the iPhone&#8217;s default behavior) are intended for people who have experience changing the way their computers behave by accessing the underlying code governing such behavior. You&#8217;ve been warned.</p>
<p>- <strong>For Macs:</strong> iFuntastic and Installer.app. <br /> - <strong>For Windows:</strong> Installer.app or iBrickr.</p>
<p>Once you&#8217;ve installed one of the above helper apps, you can try an ever-expanding array of iPhone mods. With iFuntastic, for example, you can add your own custom ringtones, rearrange the Home screen, and change the AT&amp;T logo. Installer.app goes even further, letting you install and play Nintendo games that feature tactile feedback!  The good folks at Gizmodo.com  make it easy for Mac users to take advantage of this newfound power over their iPhones with a handy tutorial (visit their site and search for <em>install apps iPhone</em>).</p>
<p><em>Windows users can also use a helper app called </em><em>iBricker</em> to modify their iPhone, install custom ringtones, and install third-party apps. But, if all you care about is adding custom ringtones, you might want to try <a href="http://www.efksoft.com/products/iphoneringtonemaker/">Efiko&#8217;s iPhoneRingToneMaker</a> ($10).</p>
<p><strong>16. Just Don&#8217;t Be a Sucker!:</strong> While searching for the latest iPhone apps, you could run across some websites that&#8217;ll offer you instant access to <em>hundreds</em> of the latest apps &#8212; all for one-time membership fee of $49.95. These sites include, but are not limited to, www.iphonenova.com, www.iphonecyclone.com, and www.iphonedownloadpro.com.  Problem here, is that these sites (IMHO) are scams.</p>
<p>I ponied up $50 for membership to <em>iPhoneNova</em>, for example, which claims to be the &#8220;World&#8217;s First iPhone Download Service.&#8221; Guess what it really is? It&#8217;s a BitTorrent-like site for downloading illegal content you can view on your <a href="http://usacellsearch.com/category/cell-phone/">iPhone or iPod</a>.</p>
<p>But, your $50 membership only gets you a BitTorrent client called Tomato Torrent and links for you to download two more <span style="text-decoration: underline;">already-free apps</span> that help you convert existing videos and ripped DVD content to be viewed on your iPod/ iPhone.  You also get links to a mere five (5) web-based iPhone games and a huge, poorly-organized list of illegal movie downloads like &#8220;The Simpsons&#8221; and &#8220;Transformers.&#8221;  Nuff said; as Napoleon Dynamite would say, &#8220;&#8230;What a Rip-off&#8221;!</p>
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		<title>Advice To Find Cheap And Affordable Family Health Insurance</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/02/advice-to-find-cheap-and-affordable-family-health-insurance/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/02/advice-to-find-cheap-and-affordable-family-health-insurance/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 18:20:48 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/02/advice-to-find-cheap-and-affordable-family-health-insurance/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The charges of insurance policies depend on how the company weights you in the line of risk. If you drink heavily or smoke or you are overweighed they will charge you more for your health policy. That&#8217;s why it pays to live responsibly and take very good care of your health, if you want to [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The charges of insurance policies depend on how the company weights you in the line of risk. If you drink heavily or smoke or you are overweighed they will charge you more for your health policy. That&#8217;s why it pays to live responsibly and take very good care of your health, if you want to get good standings as far as <a href="http://www.1stfamilyhealthinsurance.com"> affordable health insurance </a> is concerned. </p>
<p>The age of the population has an effect on the general rate of maintaining a health insurance. With the increase in the age of a particular insurer&#8217;s customer, the request for claims will definitely increase. These insurance companies have to ensure that they remain in business by increasing their premium values. That&#8217;s why it&#8217;s advisable to get a health insurance early in life. Don&#8217;t wait until you get old before getting health insurance. </p>
<p>While searching for insurance quotes, you have to take note of this tip&#8211; Make sure that the quotes you receive about your health insurance cover are not from different agents giving you the same quotes. Receive quotes from different insurance companies and compare and contrast the information you get with your written down requirement and budgets. </p>
<p>There are a lot of ways by which various governments help in the health insurance of its citizens.  You may need to check into the state run programs to see if there is a way you can benefit from the various program going on. This is a good way to reduce cost on your insurance coverage.</p>
<p>Do you know about the <a href="http://www.1stfamilyhealthinsurance.com/affordable/HMO+insurance+policy" HMO insurance policy</a>? The HMO is a kind of insurance policy that determines the doctor you use and the specific care they are liable for. With this type of policy you will be subjected to different doctors for different health related treatments.</p>
<p>Getting <a href="http://www.1stfamilyhealthinsurance.com">cheap health policies</a> require you to receive discounts on your health cover as no health insurance company actually provides cheap policy. You can reduce cost on your medical billings by joining a medical club. Such clubs usually charge monthly dues of about $30 and they provide about 25-30% discounts off your medical supplies and prescriptions.</p>
<p>While receiving quotes to compare, bear in mind that these quotes do not generally translate to premium billings. So you are better off still following these quotes up with personal visits or telephone calls to your prospective broker. You might end up uncovering what you didn&#8217;t notice the first time. </p>
<p>Different policies have different advantages. The individual kind of indemnity policy, although very expensive, allows you to set your own deductibles and also choose freely when and where you want to receive your treatments.</p>
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		<title>New Car Loans - How Much Can You Afford To Borrow?</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/02/new-car-loans-how-much-can-you-afford-to-borrow/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/02/new-car-loans-how-much-can-you-afford-to-borrow/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:30:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>admin</dc:creator>
		
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/02/new-car-loans-how-much-can-you-afford-to-borrow/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The most important thing that has to be decided before one begins to start looking for the car, one wants to buy, is that he should find out how much can he pay for repaying the installments of the car loan i.e., how much is affordable for him. He should prepare a budget, which gives [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The most important thing that has to be decided before one begins to start looking for the car, one wants to buy, is that he should find out how much can he pay for repaying the installments of the car loan i.e., how much is affordable for him. He should prepare a budget, which gives him the maximum limit, to which he can spend on buying a car. For preparing such a budget, he needs to analyze all different car loans that are available in the market, their rates, interests and also the details about the lenders should be double checked for the purpose of security. Being pre-equipped with a budget, one knows his limit, which helps him to choose the car that suits his budget the best. Of course, first you should inform yourself which car you want to buy on specific <a href="http://www.motorcarinfo.com">car and truck sites</a> or vendor sites.</p>
<p>Monthly expenses of the car: The repayment installment of the car should not exceed more than 20% of the income, remaining after meeting all the necessary expenses of the month. Not only the part of income saved has to be used for repaying the installment but also other expenses related to the car has to be met, like fuel, licensing fee and other petty expenses of the car. Also, the saved income should be sufficient to pay for the sales tax, registration, after the expenses mentioned above are met. Check if a daily based account (<a href="http://www.toptentagesgeld.de">Tagesgeld Zinsen</a>) relaxes your fiscal situation.</p>
<p>Conditions of disbursement of auto loans: usually the terms of auto loans differ from each other. Different lenders providing auto loans, provide such loans on different terms for repayment, different interest rates and also different time limits for repayment. But generally what happens is that, 10% of the loan is paid as down payment and then rates are fixed. Usually, <a href="http://www.investortoday.net">loan rates</a>, with zero down payments, are much higher. To reduce the rate, one can actually pay back the loan amount in short period of time.</p>
<p>Lenders of car loans: loans for buying cars are available not only from banks but there are hundreds of institutions providing such loans to the interested consumers of such loans. There are many companies, who indulge themselves in providing such loans, which is way of extra-earning for them. Apart from all theses sources, the most popular one is the one where the online lenders provide loans for buying cars. These companies offer quotations, on request, absolutely free of cost, and give the opportunity to compare different quotations from different online lenders and select the best alternative. People with bad credit can also avail of such loans, from the options available to them.</p>
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		<title>Plain Old-Fashioned Harassment, Part 2</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/01/plain-old-fashioned-harassment-part-2/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/01/plain-old-fashioned-harassment-part-2/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:42:09 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/01/plain-old-fashioned-harassment-part-2/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This post is the second of a three-part discussion on the nature of, and relationship between, cyber-bullies, griefers and the idea of harassment.
Because the terms &#8220;cyber-bully&#8221; and &#8220;griefer&#8221; are often tossed around as if they&#8217;re the same, I began the first part of our discussion by clarifying the term &#8220;griefer,&#8221; and explaining when and under [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>This post is the second of a three-part discussion on the nature of, and relationship between, cyber-bullies, griefers and the idea of harassment.</strong></p>
<p>Because the terms &#8220;cyber-bully&#8221; and &#8220;griefer&#8221; are often tossed around as if they&#8217;re the same, I began the <a href="http://www.usacellsearch.com/social-networking/bullies-griefers-and-plain-old-fashioned-harassment-part-1/">first part</a> of our discussion by clarifying the term &#8220;griefer,&#8221; and explaining when and under which circumstances the two terms are meaningfully distinguished. That in mind, I will begin this section with a clarification of the term &#8220;cyber-bully.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>The Cyber-bully</strong></p>
<p>Cyber-bullies operate outside the context of games, be they online or off.    Cyberbullying can include cruel jokes, malicious gossip, embarrassing information or pics, and/ or Web sites set up to target a specific child or teacher. It can involve someone your child knows, maybe or a complete stranger. Cyber bullying is often limited to online insults about someone&#8217;s physical appearance, friends, clothing, or gender.</p>
<p>But, some cyber bullies are more creative; they can be completely horrid, emotionally damaging but mostly, just plain cowardly.  Cyber bullying is the new way that bullies target their victims. It can involve tricking someone into offering personal or potentially humiliating information and then sending it to other people online.  Perpetrators use instant-messaging (IM), chat rooms, and websites to threaten, humiliate, and belittle their victims.</p>
<p>Cyberbullying is just about the same as relational bullying &#8212; it takes place online, which for today&#8217;s teens, is the most social of social spaces. Instead of rumor being whispered in the bathrooms at school, it now is copied, pasted and forwarded.</p>
<p>Out of respect for all involved, the following extended quote was copied in whole from the commentary of a recent <em>YouTube</em> video entitled, &#8220;Megan Meier&#8217;s Death Linked to Friend&#8217;s CYBER-BULLY Parents!&#8221;</p>
<p><em> Should the adults involved in deceiving Megan, Lori and Curt Drew, be held accountable for their actions? The Drews have been besieged with negative publicity, and Meier&#8217;s death prompted her hometown of Dardenne Prairie to adopt a law engaging in Internet harassment a misdemeanor. In a bizzare twist the law&#8217;s first use could be to prevent possible harassment against the Drews!  Megan Meier died believing that somewhere in this world lived a boy named Josh Evans who hated her.</em></p>
<p><em>The final message Megan Meier saw on her MySpace account: &#8220;Everybody in O&#8217;Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you.&#8221;</em></p>
<p><em> On Oct. 16, 2006, Ron and Tina Meier discovered Megan had tied a cloth belt around a support beam in her closet and hanged herself. Megan died the following day.  Six weeks after Megan&#8217;s death her parents were informed that Megan was the victim of a cruel hoax on MySpace. The perpetrators were the parents of Megan&#8217;s one time friend.</em></p>
<p><em>The Drews had concocted Josh Evans to get back at Megan for quarreling with their daughter. After Megan&#8217;s death, they even asked Megan&#8217;s parents if they could store their foosball table in Megan&#8217;s parent&#8217;s garage. Upon learning the details of what had happened to their daughter and who was behind it, Megan&#8217;s father destroyed the, &#8220;alleged&#8221; hoaxers Curt and Lori Drew&#8217;s, foosball table.</em></p>
<p><em>Because Ms. Drew had taken Megan on family vacations, she knew the girl had been prescribed antidepression medication, Ms. Meier said. She also knew that Megan had a MySpace page.  Ms. Drew had told a girl across the street about the hoax, said the girl&#8217;s mother, who requested anonymity to protect her daughter, a minor.</em></p>
<p><em> &#8220;Lori laughed about it,&#8221; the mother said, adding that Ms. Drew and Ms. Drew&#8217;s daughter &#8220;said they were going to mess with Megan.&#8221;  Over the last year the Drew&#8217;s have had threatening phone calls, a brick through the window,a lawn job and paintball attacks.  This Wednesday [late November, 2007], officials in Megan Meier&#8217;s city vote on whether to make online harassment a local crime.</em></p>
<p><em>The proposed ordinance would make online harassment a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by a $500 fine and up to 90 days in jail.  Or, the telecommunications harassment law. Amended in 2005, the law prohibits people from anonymously using the Internet with the intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass another person.</em></p>
<p><em>- aliceangel17</em></p>
<p>You can read more about this situation on <a title="quick back ground reports" href="http://www.usacellsearch.com/" target="_blank">this website</a>; relatedly, you can join a <em>Google</em> group devoted to exposing online predators and cyber-paths.  In the meantime, it&#8217;s important to consider that those who engage in cyber-bullying are probably not thinking about their fellow classmates, and probably believe they are smart enough to not get caught because of their presumed &#8220;invisibility.&#8221;  From what we&#8217;ve read of Lori Drew (above), this was probably not so in her case (far from it) &#8212; but, either way you look at it, cyber-bullying is still a repeated attack (i.e., a harassment) on others, and chances are, if someone is being cyber bullied, they are probably also being physically bullied at school; as, again, we found with Megan Meier.</p>
<p>Long story short: CYBER-PATHS NEED TO BE VERY SURE WHAT THEY ARE ACCUSING SOMEONE OF!  The truth is a rock solid defense to defamation of characher or libel. Accusing someone of defimation or libel &#8212; when they are telling the truth &#8212; on the other hand, is actionable.</p>
<p>While we are reticent to call &#8220;cyber-bullying&#8221; a crime or in any other way, to treat children as adults &#8212; we cannot hold them as innocent or otherwise ignore whatever damages they might inflict on innocent others, damages which in certain cases have resulted in suicide.</p>
<p>For this reason, we look to the law to understand how it has come to deal with such behaviors, where it draws important distinctions, what it requires in terms of responsibilities, and what it provides by way of civil remedies.  The final section of our discussion will take up the question of <a href="http://www.usacellsearch.com/social-networking/bullies-griefers-harassment-3">where cyber bullying becomes harassment</a>.</p>
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		<title>Bringing Your Business Online With Article Marketing</title>
		<link>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/01/bringing-your-business-online-with-article-marketing/</link>
		<comments>http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/01/bringing-your-business-online-with-article-marketing/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:43:14 +0000</pubDate>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dicksblog.com/2008/12/01/bringing-your-business-online-with-article-marketing/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Planning to set up a business? You can start by spending on the rent for office space or a commercial building. You have to physically set up your business. Then you have to start advertising for your products or services - but this will only reach the people in the local vicinity, unless word of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Planning to set up a business? You can start by spending on the rent for office space or a commercial building. You have to physically set up your business. Then you have to start advertising for your products or services - but this will only reach the people in the local vicinity, unless word of mouth of your business reaches other places or if you advertise nationwide through television or radio commercials. However, these options may be too expensive for a starting business. Either way, you can only reach a limited amount of consumers.</p>
<p>Bringing your business online may reap rewards you cannot even begin to imagine! There are a lot of advantages to bringing your business endeavors online. One of these is avoiding the costs of setting up a physical office or store. You don&rsquo;t have to spend on rent for office space. Or pay monthly dues for the maintenance of your office like electricity and staff wages. There is also the hassle of traveling from your home to the office location, dealing heavy traffic and having to pay for transportation costs. With online opportunities for your business, you can be free from all of these. With the internet business industry growing, there will surely be a lot of progress in setting up your very own online business.</p>
<p>With having your own business online, you can reach even the farthest person on the planet. Physical distance is not a factor in dealing with clients online. Your clientele will not be limited to your locality compared to setting up a traditional offline business. Rather, your business will be accessible to clients all over the world as long as they can be connected in the internet.</p>
<p>One downside in setting up an online business is that people generally have a preference to look, feel, or test the product physically to check for their quality. They don&rsquo;t easily trust the product&rsquo;s description or pictures. People also have the liking to take strolls in malls. For them it is a leisurely activity for the whole family. Walking in malls is also a healthy form of exercise that people have come to enjoy over the years. This is an experience not felt when doing business online. </p>
<p>In order to get the people to transact in your business online, you have to properly and creatively write articles or subscribe to an <a href="http://www.articlereserve.com">article content membership</a> to draw these potential online customers in. This can be termed as article marketing. Article marketing involves the appropriate construction of articles to help online businesses, products, or services. It is somehow similar to online advertising, although the article used does not pose as an advertisement. Instead the article focuses on descriptions and other relevant information of the business, product, or service.&nbsp; </p>
<p>Articles should be written in such a way that online consumers will be drawn to your business. There are numerous guidelines for the creation of articles. If you&#8217;re using PLR articles then you should make them unique with an <a href="http://www.articleshuffler.com">article spinning software</a>. This will be discussed by other topics or articles.</p>
<p>It is also important to develop the trust of the customers. Customers almost always seek assurances that their product of choice is of excellent quality. Plainly describing the products can just lead to doubts to some people, thinking that these are just sales talk. You should come up with articles that can help build the trust of the people. It&rsquo;s up to your creativity to do that. Sometimes it takes more than words to build a trusting relationship.</p>
<p>Through article marketing you should be able to reach out to customers. The principle is not to wait for customers to come to your business, but rather bringing your business to them. The articles that you have for your business should contain all the necessary information these online consumers need to know. The articles should also be convincing enough to lure the online consumers to your business. Do not heavily focus on luring online consumers though. They might end up disappointed with your business to the point that they give bad reviews towards you. Try to keep your articles.</p>
<p>Article marketing involves the utilization of an <a href="http://www.articleway.com">article directory</a> where you deposit your articles. These article directories categorize your articles fittingly to their corresponding categories. Popular search engines also browse through article directories when an online user searches for relevant keywords. Your article should have the appropriate keyword for is to be located by the online user. And the better the article in terms of quality and popularity, the higher its priority and ranking in search engines and article directories. Articles are always vying for priority to get better exposure to the online community. It helps to know that your articles should be good enough to make online users read them and patronize them. </p>
<p>Always remember that the very core of your online business is through article marketing. Keep your potential customers well informed by writing articles. Both the buyer and seller will benefit form these articles. The buyer gets all the needed information regarding the desired product and the seller is able to sell the product and gains money.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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