Donkey God

In this day and age of fraud…it would do everyone well to take
heed and be aware that fraud can, and sometimes does, happen via
the use of the Internet.

And the truth of the matter is, we are in danger of fraudulent
actions being taken against us in many other areas of our daily
lives, as well. We live in an age of dishonest actions. No one
is really exempt, even if they never use the Internet. It can
happen while standing at an ATM or even in the grocery line.

Twenty years ago, a friend of mine began receiving phone calls
at home from a complete stranger who apparently had read the
information off of a check she was writing out for the cashier
at the grocery store.

It is possible for others to go through our garbage - if they
are intent on finding information of a personal nature. The fact
is, we are unprotected on many fronts when it comes to personal
information. If someone is bent on committing ‘information
theft ‘ against us, they can find a way to do it without
much effort.

The Internet is a safe place - when used wisely.

Shopping on the Internet is safe…as long as it is given the
same consideration as one would use whenever giving out personal
information anywhere. There are simple guidelines given us for
using an ATM machine, for using Traveler’s Checks, and even for
using cash. Those same types of guidelines work well for most
places we shop.

For example:

• “When using cash - don’t flash”. Flashing your wad of
bills around for others to see is just plain foolish. Keeping
your cash in your front shirt or pants pocket is much safer than
in your wallet in a back pocket - or in a purse that can be
easily snatched from your grip.

• “When using checks - check”. Be aware of who is standing
around you, and how closely they are positioned to you. Don’t
offer your information ‘out loud’… if the cashier needs
your driver’s license number, for instance, write it out or show
your license to them, only. Be as prepared as possible ahead of
time so that less time and less information is required of you
during the check out process.

• “Your Social Security number should be secure”. No one
can demand your social security number for the purposes of
selling you something. It is not lawful. Giving your S.S. number
out too freely can be more risky than you realize. Guard it.

These same types of guidelines work well for shopping online,
too. If you have to give out more information than you are
comfortable with giving…don’t. You don’t need the service or
product being offered badly enough to put yourself at
unnecessary risk. Reputable ‘Online Shopkeepers’ use only
trusted sources, such as PayPal and VeriSign, to collect your
information…thus showing their genuine concern for your
shopping safety…and they display these logos on their website
as reassurance to their customers.

There is one - unavoidable - danger.

Although measures have been taken by reputable online businesses
to help safeguard your shopping experience, there is one danger
that yet remains. You may enjoy shopping from the comfort of
your own home or office - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week - so
much that you become ” a regular on-line shopper “.

Yes, there is a danger that this may happen to you…and so far
as I know there is no known cure, either. It is simply too easy
to not put yourself at the mercy of the Mall crowds…so nice to
not have to wait in line…to not have to be presentable in
appearance and to be able to find and purchase what we want
before we have even finished that cup of coffee. It can be after
everyone else is in bed for the night…or before anyone else
has even awakened for the day… And it is always at our
convenience!

But those shipping and handling charges….

Today, most reputable online businesses work hard to keep
shipping and handling costs down. Remember, they are at the
mercy of the shipping and handling rates being charged them by
the carriers. But when you shop online…you also have the
benefit of comparison shopping at your fingertips. When you are
in a single store somewhere, you pay whatever price they are
asking…you can’t run from store to store to store to compare
and save a buck or two. With online shopping you can!

I know what it can cost me to drive here and there to find
something - only to find that the next week it’s on sale !
Because of gas prices…it will always cost me several dollars
to drive and I will pay that - even if I am unable to find what
I am looking for. When you add it all up - shipping and handling
affords you the luxuries and minimizes the frustrations of
shopping.

Of course there will still be times when you prefer to drive -
walk - search - stand in line - be treated indifferently - and
spend more than you wanted to spend…but when you want to enjoy
shopping at your convenience with the ability to instantly
compare prices in the comfort of your own space - there is
always “online shopping” - just be careful, it can be
dangerously satisfying!

Heart disease remains the number one cause of death in the United States for both men and women. Traditionally, a low fat diet has been the prescription for heart health which causes many people to shrink away. Not anymore! The good news is there are many things you can add to your diet that can greatly improve your risk factors of heart disease. Here are 6 power foods you can start adding to your diet to keep you heart healthy!

Nuts- Although nuts aren’t exactly low in calories or fat, they contain high levels of unsaturated fats that are known to lower “bad” LDL cholesterol levels in the blood and reduce the risk of heart disease. Studies have shown eating about one ounce of nuts every day will reduce the risk of heart disease in the long run by 30% according to Frank Hu, MD, PhD, associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Soy- Soy has also been shown to lower cholesterol levels. Using soy on a weekly basis is a great step towards protecting your heart. If you are not a tofu fan, try soy milk or yogurt, garden burgers, edamme (soy beans), or soy sausage patties. There are all kinds of ways to include soy in your diet!

Hot Cocoa- Yes you read right! Cocoa contains high levels of flavonoids which are a class of phytochemicals known to help prevent heart disease. Researchers have found that hot cocoa has more disease-fighting antioxidants than tea or red wine and the heat may help propel them into the bloodstream. Hot cocoa is also much lower in saturated fats than other chocolate sources such as candy bars.

Beans and Lentils- including kidney beans, peas, black beans, etc. —are high in both soluble fiber and folic acid to help lower cholesterol and decrease homocysteine levels (high homocysteine levels are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease).

Broccoli- A powerful antioxidant found in broccoli and broccoli sprouts may help protect the heart from high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. A new study shows the compound, called glucoraphanin, helped improve heart health, fight inflammation, and boost natural defense systems against oxidative stress.

Grape juice- The flavonoids in grape juice, like that in wine, have been shown to prevent the oxidation of so-called bad cholesterol (LDLs, or low-density lipoproteins) that leads to formation of plaque in artery walls. Grape juice can also lower the risk of developing the blood clots that lead to heart attacks.

Start adding these foods today and begin your journey to better heart health.

© Meri Raffetto, 2004

About the Author

Owner of Real Living Nutrition Services, Meri Raffetto is a Registered Dietitian and a recognized professional in the area of nutrition and wellness. She has developed two online weight management programs, The Mini Diet Makeover and The Ultimate Diet Makeover, which focus on a healthy, non-diet approach to weight loss. For more information or to sign up for our free newsletter, visit http://www.reallivingnutrition.com.

On Monday, November 25, 2000 Investor’s Business Daily listed on page B1 the Top 25 Growth Mutual Funds for the last 36 months along with their performance for the year 2000 to date. Only four showed a profit this year of 21% and the other three had increases of 12%, 5%, and 5%. Fifteen had loss of from 10% to 28% and the other 6 were down slightly.

In the column next to them there is a list of Top 25 Growth Funds for the past 3 months for the year 2000 to date. Only 2 had increases in price for the year 2000, 4 were even and all the rest are showing losses for the year.

Now pay attention and think about this next sentence. Not one mutual fund appears in both lists.

What is the significance of this? It very simply tells you that buy and hold is NOT the way to make money with mutual funds.

I have been preaching for years to buy only no-load mutual funds and hold them only as long as they are going up. When they stop going up you sell them (paying no commission) and find another fund that is going up as the place to have your money. In this current bear market the latter is hard to find so what do you do? Put your money in a money market account and don’t worry about the market going down and dragging your investment with it. Protect your capital!

Don’t throw up your hands and say I can’t do that because my broker says to “buy and hold - the market always comes back”. It is not his money. It is yours. You must be the one to initiate the action to protect your capital. Brokers are not taught how to do this. I know - I used to own a brokerage company.

Brokers have been smart enough to learn, but taught all the wrong things when it comes to investing money. They claim you can’t “time the market”. WRONG again. They never encourage you to place stop-loss orders so you won’t lose all your money when you buy a new stock or fund and they never encourage you to use a trailing stop to protect the profits you have made.

I know there are people reading this column who have had stocks that have doubled, tripled, even more and now have that same stock that is now selling for less than they bought it.. Where was your broker when all this was happening? If he is so smart why didn’t he tell you to sell at the top? This also applies to mutual funds.

What I am trying to get across is the simple message that you cannot buy and hold. The “secret” every knowledgeable investor knows is to protect his capital first and then to protect his profits second.

Al Thomas’ book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy
It!” has helped thousands of people make money
and keep their profits with his simple 2-step
method. Read the first chapter at
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
and discover why he’s the man that Wall Street
does not want you to know.

Copyright 2005

Every investor’s goal is to find undervalued investment and then sell it when it reaches fair value. To find the fair value of a common stock, we need to predict the profits generated by the stock over a period of time. This prediction may not be accurate. After all, nobody can know the future with 100% certainty. When things unexpectedly turn ugly, investors need to guard themselves against capital losses. The way to reduce this risk is by investing in companies with positive net cash.

Net Cash is the difference between cash & short-term investments with the amount of long term debt. We can find this three items on the balance sheet of every company. A lot of times, one can include long term investment as cash. Long term investment can include instruments such as 18 month Certificate of Deposit or treasury bond maturing one year or more. To be on the safe side, let us consider just cash and short-term investments.

You might wonder why we do not subtract short-term liabilities such as accounts payable. Good question. The reason is that accounts payable is normally used to buy inventories. Some of the revenue is also tied up in accounts receivable. In normal business operation, these two things can be used to pay for short-term liabilities. There are of course exceptions such as banks where they use short-term liabilities ( customers’ deposit) to give loans (long-term investments) to businesses or individuals.

Once we understand why we define net cash the way they are, we can then appreciate the function of it. Net Cash defines the financial structure of a company. We can tell companies with strong financial structure by looking at its net cash position. Generally, investing in companies with positive net cash is less risky.

As the word implies, positive net cash means that the company has more cash in hand than long term debt. In other words, the company is less leveraged and less burdened with debt. It can pay its long term debt right away if it wants to. This is the right way to leverage a business.

All of our sample portfolio stock picks have a positive net cash on their balance sheet. The reason is that when our prediction fails, the company is less likely to go bankrupt. When a company has plenty of cash, it can afford to incur losses until its business turn around.

Another reason is that companies with positive net cash can afford to buy assets on the cheap during economic downturn. When the economy is in a bad shape and losses are mounting, weaker companies tend to raise cash by selling off its valuable assets. Companies with positive net cash will be there to buy.

Finally, companies with positive net cash can afford to buy back shares or give dividends even when businesses are bad. It is no surprise. They have more financial muscles than others to be generous. This will benefit common shareholders like us.

There are some investors that feel that companies with positive net cash are not efficient. They reason that companies should take advantage of the power of leverage so that it can maximize shareholders’ return. Well, their view is not wrong. Buying companies with positive net cash might not give you a 10 fold return in one year. But, you won’t lose all your capital in one year either. It is all up to you. Do you want to maximize your investment return with incredible risk? Or do you want to get a decent return while minimizing your risk? I prefer the latter.

Novice Investing now lets you write articles in the field of
finance/investing. Sign up and submit your articles now at our
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Lenders that offer 125% home equity loans allow you to borrow the full amount of the equity you have in your home, plus an additional 25%. For example, if you have $10,000 of equity in your home, and you take out a 125% home equity mortgage, you would be able to borrow $12,500 on your home. This is beneficial for home owners who do not have a lot of equity in their home but want to borrow money to make home improvements. If you are considering taking out a 125% home equity loan, there are some things you need to know.

You Will Need Great Credit

Because the additional 25% of your loan is unsecured, lenders will generally only offer 125% home equity loans to borrowers with good credit histories.

Selling Your Home May Not Be an Option

If you were to try to sell your home, you would have to pay off both your original mortgage and your home equity loan. Because you have borrowed more than your home is worth, you may not be able to sell your home until you’ve repaid at least the additional 25% that you originally borrowed.

Unsecured Loans Carry Higher Interest Rates

Because the extra 25% is not secured by any collateral, the lender will consider the loan to be higher risk than a normal home equity loan. This means that you will most likely be charged a higher interest rate than you would if you took out a traditional home equity mortgage.

Borrowers should be certain that they can afford the monthly payments of their home equity loan. Keep in mind that the monthly payments for this loan are in addition to your current mortgage payment.

Save money and time on your next home loan by using one of our recommended
lenders online.

At http://www.abcloanguide.com:

We research the most reputable, competitive home loan lenders on the internet.
We help you save time by finding all the lenders you need in one place.

View our Recommended Sources for: 125% home equity loan
lenders and recommended lenders for a payday loan online.

Does your weight loss program make you struggle shamefully around your neighborhood? Do you often feeling the eyes of your neighbors silently mocking your struggle to lose the extra pounds? There is a way to exercise without moving a muscle.

Chances are if you are on a weight loss program it gets stressful sometimes. That may be a sign of discouragement. It’s part of the reason most people need lots of support in order to lose weight.

If you think there is a way to put some fun and relaxation into weight loss, you are very right. And it actually increases your efficiency in shedding the pounds as well.

Benefits of thermal therapy

When you include thermal therapy into your weight loss program, you get the multiple benefits of

• having your skin being a more efficient waste-removal system
• naturally cleansing and/or detoxifying your body
• physical exercise with less stress and strain on the joints and muscles that are already carrying the extra weight
• improving your cardiovascular
  health by improving damaged endothelial function
• helping joint and muscle aches and pains to heal more quickly

The best weight loss program has many benefits
Everyone will agree that a weight loss program should not feel like punishment for having gotten overweight or obese. Too often we punish ourselves trying to be like the person in the ad.

Permanent weight loss or weight control usually comes from a lifestyle change. Changing your life by surgery should only be the result of an urgent life-threatening situation. Otherwise, combining proper diet, regular exercise, and relaxation appears to be the safest way to take, and maintain control of your body weight.

The diet and exercise segment of such a weight loss program is pretty much well understood, even though appetite is such a wild and difficult beast to tame most times.

Recently, there has been an enormous amount of medical research evidence for the role of infrared sauna therapy in detoxifying the body and in normalizing body weight. People who stand to benefit tremendously from this novel (yet traditional) practice are those who suffer from conditions such as:

• chronic pain - joint pain, lower back pain, muscle pain, and fibromyalgia
• chronic heart failure, and
• lifestyle-related diseases; such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension

Many of these persons find it more difficult to do physical exercise at the level that makes their weight loss program really effective…

[The full article, with literature reference citations, appear at www.saunarelief.com]

In his free time, Bentley writes about lifestyle-related conditions such as diabetes, obesity, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular diseases. His articles appear on his his websites: http://www.SaunaRelief.com/ and http://www.anti-diabetes-diet-supplements.com

Has anyone seen my extra digital camera battery? I’m that
desperate.

I am not adapting well to this world where valuable electronics
are growing smaller every year. Everything about my camera is
precarious.

Instead of a closet full of bulky photo albums which are
difficult to lose (or in my case, stacks of photos stuffed in
shoe boxes), the visual montage of my life over the last five
years is sitting on a perfectly fallible hard disk on my laptop.
None of the backup options work for me.

I was thinking about backing up all my photos on CDs, but with
CDs strewn randomly around the house and in the car, I’m worried
that my irreplaceable pictures from Penang and Santo Domingo
will be discarded along with pile of AOL trial disks or
misplaced in some Los Lobos CD case forever.

Those memory sticks are trouble too. Anything smaller than a
pack of gum is bound to end up lost beneath the sofa cushions.

And, I’m constantly looking for that sleek little cord I need to
transfer photos from the camera. I need a camera cord that’s
30-feet long and Day-Glo orange so I can hang it from a hook in
the garage.

I usually find the cord in a little zippered pouch where I also
keep a spare memory card that’s about the size of a Cheez-It.
But, I feel the need to put the pouch into a larger pouch so I
don’t lose it. So, what’s the point of being compact, if I have
to store these gizmos in something large to keep track of them?

I’m not used to having tiny, valuable things. If I lose a
Tic-Tac package, I can cope, but my new MP3 player of the same
size is worth a hundred bucks. People with expensive jewelry are
used to keeping track of small things, so maybe I need a jewelry
case to keep all my electronics.

Anything that is small enough for my pants pocket is living on
borrowed time. I learned that several years ago when a $90 pair
of sunglasses went through the washer’s spin
cycle–unsuccessfully. Since then, I consider sunglasses a
disposable product and never spend more than $12 a pair.

That’s why I’ve been clinging to my clunky old mobile phone, a
five-year-old Nokia, the size of a kosher dill. I’ve been
rebuffing Cingular’s offers for a “free” upgrade phone until
they offer one that can survive a few washings.

I even misplace my laptop sometimes. This was not a problem 40
years ago. I hearken back to a time when computers, though slow
and feeble, couldn’t be misplaced without the aid of a forklift.

So seriously, if you see a Canon camera battery lying around,
it’s mine.

This is where a fast minikrediet comes in, offering a suitable sum of money to help you get by. In the majority of instances for every 460 euro you borrow you have to pay back 190 euro, meaning 20 interest. You must however, be able to satisfy the minikrediet provider that you will have enough cash available to cover the advance repayment they will look at how much you can afford to pay back on an individual basis between 265 euro. It’s easy to compare gsm minikrediet with us and hopefully you’ll soon have the cash you need to get by without worrying how far away your next payday may be. How many of us count down the minutes until payday? Unexpected money problems can hit even those who keep a tight grip on their finances if something goes wrong in the home, a family member needs support or you receive a larger than expected bill you might require cash to help you get by until your next wage slip. A online minikrediet is a way to solve a short-term cash issue for amounts like 333 euro. However, this does vary with some providers charging 33 interest and so on. As with all payday loan it is best to take a complete search of the market before you apply for a 10 minute minikrediet for aount 454 euro so you can compare interest rates and make sure you are getting the best deal for your needs. However, it is not necessary to use the loan for this purpose and effectively the cash can be used at your discretion as long as it is paid back with interest during the short loan term. For many it simply can’t arrive soon enough as we attempt to juggle bills and expenses, as well as trying to have a little fun in life. However, for lengthier journeys you are better to use a method of transport that specialises in long distances such as a train or plane, dutch minikrediet are certainly a short-term special. The premise behind gsm minikrediet is simple whatever you need 81 euro for, you can take out a loan (usually ranging from 243 euro but sometimes up to 1,000 depending on the provider) that is repayable on your next payday, whether it is 29 months away or less. If you apply for an online minikrediet for 166 euro you will usually have to fill out an online form and attach copies of your documentation in an email, or by fax. Be sure to use the minikrediet comparison tool at dutch minikrediet to compare rates. The charge you need to observe is how much you pay back on the amount you borrow - this is a fixed sum dependent on the individual provider.

Shopping had never been lousy since the advent of credit cards. Since then, people had always been indulging into various cashless shopping due to the convenience of the credit card.

However, most people get credit cards only for the sake of shopping. They do not even read the fine print on their credit card and the least that they have considered is the one with the low annual percentage rate or APR. Most of them did not even know how interest rates could affect their billing.

On its general since, low APR credit card are those that have lower APR. This means that the cost of the interest rate will be according to the purchases obtained by the customer.

Normally, APR vary from 6% to more than 30%. Of course, it would be clear that the card with the lowest APR credit card is those that have 6% or lower.

But consumers should remember, that APR can be very tricky especially if the consumer have no idea what interest rates mean.

Basically, credit card companies would offer the consumers very low APR credit card so as to get the consumers on the hook. In fact, credit card companies could lower their APR to as much as 0%.

Low APR credit cards are usually expressed during the introductory rate so as to entice new credit card holders to sign up to them; and once they are all hooked up, the credit card company would start changing and increasing their credit cards.

People should know what makes a low credit card really low and the best option for retaining that low APR even if the introductory offer is over.

First, they should know that APR has two faces: the fixed and the variable.

The fixed APR has more stable interest rates than variable rates. Variable rates, on the other hand, can start really low but it all depends on the prime rate of the Federal Reserve. This means that at any point in time, it may increase.

Needless to say, there are really quite a few credit cards that have low APR. The reason behind it is that APR is actually where the credit card companies get to earn a living. If they continue to give people the low APR that they used to claim, chances are they wouldn’t be in the business for so long.

The bottom line here is that consumers should be really conscious on their APR and other interest rate. Low APR credit cards will not be very beneficial if it will only last for 6 months or so.

David Riewe is a Publisher and Online Marketer. Visit his Credit Resources Blog Below: www.push-button-online-income.com/creditcards/

Have you taken a break from swimming?

Do you feel out of shape and feel the need to get back in shape quickly?
Here are some tips to help you get back to feeling the best you can in the water:

1. Don’t try to do too much too soon. Start out with long, slow swims. If you can’t do long swims, start with short, slow swims and little by little build up your endurance.

2. Don’t jump in the “fast lane”. If you are doing masters, don’t be tempted to “pick up where you left off.” Swallow your pride and start out a lane or two slower than when you last worked out.

3. Don’t use fins for speed. Fins are great for technique work and drills, but the worst thing you can do is to throw on a pair of fins to “keep up.”

4. Swim often. Even if you only have 20-30 minutes a day, get in the water as much as possible rather than doing fewer workouts and staying in longer. In other words, it would be better to swim 4 days a week, 30 minutes each time than to swim 2 days at 1 hour per session.

5. Count strokes. This will keep you focused on extension and ultimately technique. See if you can lower your average stroke count.

6. Set goals. If you are only capable of finishing 200 meters without stopping, don’t try to jump to 1000 meters. Try a new, smaller goal each week. 300 meters would be reasonable, then 400, then 600, etc.

Keep these tips in mind and never forget that in swimming, patience + practice = performing at your best!

Kevin coaches masters and triathlete swimmers in San Diego, CA. He operates the website http://www.TriSwimCoach.com, a resource for future or current triathletes needing help with the swim. The site features a free email newsletter offering tips and articles on triathlon swimming. Kevin has also written an electronic book titled “The Complete Guide to Triathlon Swimming” which is sold on his website http://www.triswimcoach.com in downloadable form.