There are many different ways for an angler to carry their fishing gear. In this article I’m going to discuss some of the most popular ways out there to carry your fishing gear from here to there. There are pros and cons to most options and many anglers like to use a combination of methods. I personally do this, I use on way when I’m fishing my local river, but when I have to travel across the country, I’ll normally tote my fishing gear in a more convenient manner. The choice obviously becomes yours, but I’m going to lay out some options in this article either as a reminder or one of them might become a brand new option for you.

Tackle Boxes - Tackle boxes have been around for quite a long time, and in this day and age come in just about as many sizes and options as can be imagined. Tackle Boxes are great ofr carrying a variety of lures of varying sizes and are quite durable. They are constructed from hard plastic, and thus are very durable. If you have a lot of gear, tackle boxes can become quite cluttered and organizing them often is a good idea.

Tackle Bags - Tackle bags are similar to tackle boxes. They are a convenient nylon bag that interchangeable clear tackle boxes slide into. These clear tackle boxes hold your tackle, and can be changed as needed. If you’re going steelhead fishing, for example, you simply take your steelhead boxes and leave your bass fishing boxes behind. Then whatever tackle you choose, simply fit’s into the tackle bag. For traveling purposes, a tackle bag is the way to go. Tackle Bags are very popular on the bass fishing circuits.

Fishing Vests - A fishing vest is my personal favorite. Fly fishermen ( or flea flickers) have been using fishing vests for quite a long time. As a matter of fact they might have invented them. Spin fishermen can use fishing vests as well. A spin fisherman simply needs to use small tackle boxes (that fit in the pockets of the vest) to carry their lures. Fishing vests are equipped with a ton of pockets to carry all of your terminal tackle as well. If you fish rivers and streams regularly and don’t have a fishing vest, you need to get one; it’s as simple as that.

These three are the three top ways to carry your fishing gear. Some are more convenient than others, and some are definitely a must for certain types of angling. If you do a lot of traveling to fish, a tackle bag is a must. On the other hand if you mostly fish your local river in waders, a fishing vest is a must have. The important thing is finding the most effective way for you. If that involves carrying a package of hooks and split shot in your pocket, so be it. At the end of the day the goal is the same for all of us……to catch a fish.

Trevor Kugler
Co-founder of JRWfishing.com
Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience and currently raises his 3-year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country……Montana.

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Many people need to do their cardio and strength training in the same exercise session because of their schedule or need to use fitness center facilities and/or equipment. Even experienced exercisers sometimes ask the question: should I do cardio or strength training first? Unfortunately, no one answer applies to everybody. It all depends on what your goals are. Once you’ve set your goals, though, it’s easy to decide which to do first.

If you’re a runner, swimmer, or cyclist (or all three) and strength training is intended to improve your sports performance and prevent injuries, do your cardio before your strength training. If you do strength training first, you will deplete the tremendous amount of energy you need to do hard endurance training. Training for endurance sports is so taxing, in fact, that many athletes don’t feel like doing strength training afterwards. Don’t go to that extreme, but you do have to be realistic. Your weights and reps are going to be less than what they would be if you hadn’t done cardio exercise first. As long as you’re putting forth your best effort and making progress, just relax and accept it.

If you’re a strength athlete, such as a weightlifter, football player, or thrower, and cardio is intended to give you more endurance for your lifting or throwing and control your weight, do your cardio after your strength training. Your goal is to lift the most weight, the most times that you can, so you need to save the cardio for after your strength training. Doing cardio first will sap your strength.

If you’re preparing for a military or law enforcement physical fitness test, you need to find out the order of events in the test. Are the strength exercises done before the run and/or swim, or after? Whichever it is,do your workout in exactly the same order as the test is given. If for some reason you can’t find out the order of events in the test, do your cardio after strength training. That’s the typical order.

What if you’re training for all-around fitness? In that case, alternate doing cardio before strength training and doing cardio after strength training. That will ensure equal development of both cardiovascular fitness and strength; plus, it’s more realistic. Primitive humans, who were always in excellent physical condition, usually walked and jogged to the hunt or battle. Then they sprinted and did strength work (spear throwing, fighting, wrestling, etc.) though they often would have to chase game or enemies (or run from them) afterwards too. On the other hand, sometimes they were surprised by an animal or ambushed by enemies and had to do their strength work first to defend themselves, and then do some cardio afterwards to get away. To be fit the way humans were before city life softened us up, you need to be able to do either cardio and strength training when you’re partially fatigued.

I hate it when authors say you have to decide for yourself and won’t give a definitive answer, but you can see that this is a question that you really do have to answer for yourself. To put it simply, decide which activity is most important to your goals: cardio or strength training. Do that one first. If it’s neither, then alternate doing one before the other. Is that definitive enough?

For a free mini-course on how to simultaneously improve strength and conditioning while burning fat, go to http://dumbbell-workouts.blogspot.com/ My blog Health & Fitness Solutions contains news and articles about health and fitness.

Not One Chance in a Centillion

Students often use numbers that they really cannot visualize what they are talking about. One day in class I heard a child tell another that he did not have one chance in a centillion to get a 100%. Where did that come from? Where did they ever even hear this word? Many children have heard the word googol because of the internet, but not centillion. When I tried to explain how much a centillion was the child just gave me a blank stare. That child does not really realize how many zeros that is. The problem with this is that even adults have no idea how to visualize this number. Just to write the number takes a lot of space and time. You have probably never written this number because it is a waste of your time. This article is to just give you an idea of how large that number really is on the written page. So here is a little visualizing on some of the numbers that we use. The national debt may seem large, but just be glad that it is not running in the centillion arena.

Sometimes saying the name of a number is not very impressive, but when you look at it, it seems overwhelming. Here is a look at some of those numbers.

Such as one million——–1,000,000
One billion——————1,000,000,000
One trillion——————1,000,000,000,000
One quadrillion————-1,000,000,000,000,000
One quintillion————–1,000,000,000,000,000,000
One sextillion—————1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One septillion—————1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One octillion—————-1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One nonillion—————1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One decillion—————1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One undecillion———— 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One duodecillion———-

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One tredecillion———–

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One quattuordecillion—-

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One quindecillion——–

1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One sexdecillion———1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

One septendecillion—1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000
One octodecillion—–1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One novemdecillion-1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One vigintillion——–1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
One googol————-10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

One centillion———-1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,

000

Now, next time your teenager asks to take the car to take all his friends to the mall and you say “Not one chance in a centillion” you will be able to visualize what you are really saying. Or maybe better yet let him see it and he’ll realize what you are really saying. “No!”

Resource Box - Caroline Mackay 2006
Caroline Mackay is a retired teacher of thirty seven years and writer and producer of many school programs. She is the host of http://www.ezeducationplays.com/

And http://www.ezelectronicelements.com/

PE or in the school setting Physical Education has sometimes got a bad deal in the elementary setting. Many people including parents feel that students go to PE just to play games. Many feel that it is just a time out or another recess for the students. Maybe that is true in some schools, but the schools that I have been associated with are not among them.

Many schools teach a variety of very useful skills to their students. It is important for students to exercise and use those muscles. They need to learn coordination skills and exercise large and small muscles. They need to learn skills that will help them stay physically fit when they become adults. They need to learn about the different sports and activities that are available to them to participate in and enjoy.

The question then becomes why do we not do a culminating program at the end of the year and display those skills to the parents? If parents saw how much work the students really do in PE then they might not want them to sit out. Even if a child has a handicap or is limited in what he can do, he needs to get some kind of exercise. Excusing them because they are uncomfortable or they just don’t want to do it is not in their best interest.

PE teachers could do a program at the end of the year using the gym floor as their stage. Parents could sit outside the black ring in chairs while the students display the skills that they have been practicing all year long.

Programs should probably go just like PE class. Start with stretching exercises to show how coordinated the students are then add some other coordination skills such as balance beams to demonstrate coordination. A simple fun line or circle dance could be added such as the Bunny Hop or Bingo. Maybe throw in an audience participation dance such as the Macarena or Hooky Poky. Sports skill such a dribbling a basketball could be put in a relay.

You could put a variety of skills such a jump rope, spin jammers, hula hoops, catching and throwing into the program to make it more interesting. Music could be incorporated with each display to give the students rhythm or a beat to exercise to. I would shorten the normal song as it may be too long for them to keep up the skill.

I have written many music type programs and programs related to Red Ribbon Week or patrioitic programs. Recently I was asked by a PE teacher to write a program using the skills that she had taught. This has become a very interesting project and is still on going, but I can see where it would be of value. The first PE programs that I have written are to be performed in the next few weeks and I am anxious to see how they are accepted by the parents.

So the question becomes: If schools do music programs all the time why not do PE programs?

Resource Box - Caroline Mackay 2006
Caroline Mackay is a retired teacher of thirty seven years and writer and producer of many school programs. She is the host of http://www.ezeducationplays.com/

And http://www.ezelectronicelements.com/

The popular American musical “Hair” in the 1960’s had a song, called “The Age Of Aquarius”. Because both the song and the musical were so popular, the interest in astrology at the time was greatly increased and it has been constantly on the rise ever since. It was not just the musical that opened up many people’s minds and hearts to astrology. Many people knew and could feel that there is something in the air - they could not describe exactly what - but they were certain that they were on the brink of great, global, far-reaching changes. The world around them was changing rapidly. Old social models did not work, new “weird” trends were appearing and although these trends looked shocking at first many people knew intuitively that these were the forerunners of the future.

Even without studying astrology it is apparent that the 20th century as a whole was very different to the 19th century. During the last 100 years the conditions of living on Earth changed dramatically. On the other side if we compare the total changes during the 19th century with those during the 18th century or the 18th century with the 17th century we will not find between them such radical differences. It is true that even then, every new generation brought about slightly new ideas than the previous one - which is completely normal - but the changes as a whole seem to happen very slowly and almost unnoticeable. This seemed to be the case throughout many centuries during medieval times.

And then the 20th century came along. From this point onwards it seemed like the clocks started running ten times faster. First of all we can observe that people made a huge step forward in all the fields of science and technologies. What was considered science fiction by Jules Vern not such a long time ago is a reality today.

100 years ago it took a week to deliver a letter from Paris to London. Today it takes 10 seconds to dial a number and talk with anyone anywhere in the world. Alternatively, we can log on the Internet in any chat room and communicate with millions of people around the world. Yet, in our days people have become very private and communicate much less with each other than in old times. Most young people today do not have the basic skills to communicate in person and feel comfortable communicating with others only when they are in front of their computers.

100 years ago the meaning of the term “divorce” was generally not known to the majority of people. A woman could re-marry only if her husband deceased. Today young girls, sipping their beers in the pubs are flirting with the young guys who are having a glass of wine. It is absolutely obvious that we have undergone dramatic changes in our society and it is quite likely that more are on the way.

The question arises: why did these changes begin occurring exactly on the brink of the 20th century and not, let’s say, 200 or 300 years ago? Is this happening by chance or are there profound reasons for this? To answer this question we have to bear in mind that first of all nothing happens by chance; and I mean absolutely nothing. Even the most trivial event - for example the way you brush your teeth in the morning - is full of reason, and can lead to significant insights about your psychological functioning, if you know how to interpret it. However, the vast majority of people are largely unaware of the real reasons for their actions and for this reason they prefer to say that things are happening by chance.

If even the most insignificant events do not happen by chance, then it becomes quite obvious that the global, large-scale, universal changes are a product of a very careful and thorough planning by the spirits, responsible for the future of our planet. It is virtually impossible, however, for the mere mortal human to communicate directly with those spirits. This task is unachievable even for our guardian angels - for the spirits that control the global changes of the Earth reside too high in the spiritual hierarchy. A direct contact with them could simply turn us into ashes. But there are other ways to communicate with them. The most powerful and the most accurate tool, given to man, which can be used in this regard is Astrology. This ancient science - if studied properly - can give us the answers to some of the most intimate plans for the future of our planet and allows us to glimpse the direction in which those spirits are leading us. I will try to briefly outline here how we can do this.

As we know from my previous publications in “Universal Mind” there are two important circles in astrology - the celestial equator and the ecliptic. The first one is the projection of the earth equator on an imaginary celestial sphere and the latter is the trajectory which is marked by the Sun, the Moon and the other planets as they travel around the earth. These two circles intersect in two points - the March Equinox (which is in 0° in Aries) and September Equinox (0° in Libra). The axis that is determined by these two points has its two ends anchored in two opposite signs of the Zodiac. This axis can be represented symbolically as an arrow. Since Aries is the first sign of the Zodiac, the March Equinox represents the tip of the arrow, while the September Equinox corresponds to its bottom.

In its movement around the Sun the Earth does not make one full revolution per year, but it lags behind a bit. For this reason, each four years we add one extra day to compensate for it - 29 of February. Even this is not enough, though, and each year the summer arrives a few hours earlier. Thus for 72 years the point of the equinox is moving backwards by 1°. The whole celestial circle (360°) is divided by 12 signs of the Zodiac and each one of them occupies 30° of the entire circle. Since the equinox is moving backwards by 1° for 72 years it means that the time it will take for it to travel through each sign of the Zodiac is 30 times 72 years, i.e. 2,160 years. The time it takes for the equinox to move backwards through one of the signs of the Zodiac completely (about 2,000 years) determines the Great Years (or Ages). This fact is extremely important in the human evolution for several reasons. It means that similar to how people can be born under the sign of Leo, Libra or whatever the case may be, so the Earth also can be “born” at different times under different signs. These periods, however, last for much longer than the transient human life - in average they last for about 2,160 years. These Great Years do not start and end overnight; sometimes they can overlap each other for 100 years and more. In other words, as a man can be born as Leo and then in his next life he can be born as Scorpio, for example, so the Earth undergoes similar transformations every 2,000 years or so, but without really dying and being reborn.

Coming back to the point where we started this article from, we can observe that the reason why the 20th century was so eventful and action-packed is exactly this - our Earth will not be Pisces any more, but will resemble more and more the qualities of Aquarius. Similar to how two people born under these two signs are very different from each other, so our Earth had to undergo dramatic changes in order to reflect the characteristics of its new sign. The last time when the Earth had to go through similar fundamental transformation was about 2,000 years ago when Jesus Christ were born, thus marking the end of the Age of Taurus and the beginning of the Age of Pisces.

Let’s briefly outline here some of the Great Ages in sequence in order to gain a better understanding how this process works:

1. The Age of Leo (10,000 - 8,000 B.C.) This is the earlier age that the modern science can speculate about on the premises of any remaining evidence. Leo is the sign of creativity and it is interesting that the almost only evidence that survived from that era are some prehistoric, cave paintings. Even the heraldic is very Leonean and lions were frequently depicted in those paintings. Leo is a fire sign and this is exactly the period, when man conquered the fire and started using it for domestic purposes. The opposite, polar sign always plays great role in astrology and some very original stone tools also survived from that age, echoing precisely the originality trait of the polar sign to Leo - Aquarius.
2. The Age of Cancer (8,000 -6,000 B.C.) It was during this period of time, when man left the caves and started building dwellings, reflecting in this way the typical home-loving trait of Cancer. Cancer is ruled by the Moon, and the Moon is associated with motherhood. Interestingly, most of the survived carvings from this epoch depict fertility and protection (another prominent Cancerian quality). The influence of the opposite sign of Capricorn (earth sign) is evident in the beginning of the agriculture and fishing.
3. The Age of Gemini (6,000 - 4,000 B.C.) Gemini rules communication and intellect. It is evident that during this epoch man became ready for the first time in history to develop intellectually and to move away from his local environment. The first forms of writings appeared - initially as rough symbols carved on stones and later in the form of cuneiform writing tablets. Not surprisingly, trading and commerce started to develop for the first time in history, since both of these activities are governed by Mercury - the planet which rules Gemini. The first sea voyages took place as it should be expected with the influence of the polar sign - Sagittarius.
4. The Age of Taurus (4,000 - 2,000 B.C.) The keywords for the sign of Taurus - stability and permanence are very evident in the Egyptian pyramids, built during this epoch. The symbolism of the Age is also very Taurean - Ra is the celestial bull, Asari is the Earthly Bull, the first letter of the ancient Hebrew alphabet is “aleph”, i.e. the bull. The polar influence of Scorpio is powerfully marked by the increased interest in death and life after death, which is so prominent for this sign. The ancient Egyptians developed embalming and mummification techniques that are unsurpassed even in our times.
5. The Age of Aries (2,000 B.C. - A.D.0) During this period of time the ancient Greek civilization and later the Roman Empire came into play. The aggressive, assertive qualities of the Aries are very evident in every sphere of life, and this is to be expected, when Mars, the God of War is running the show. Romans became the unsurpassed warriors of all times, establishing an empire of an unprecedented size for many centuries - something that was never achieved before. The concern with fitness and sport, characteristic for ancient Greeks transmuted later in grandiose spectacles of gladiator battles for Romans. The influence of the opposite sign - Libra - is very interesting here, since the desire for physical supremacy was complemented with a passion for democracy and a desire to see the justice done. The Greeks are the founders of the first democratic government. The Parthenon and the other classical Greek and Roman buildings of this era are stunningly beautiful. This is not a surprise, bearing in mind that Libra is ruled by Venus - the planet of beauty and harmony. It is interesting to make the parallel in the architecture of ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. Both types of buildings are beautiful, since Venus rules both Libra and Taurus. However, the Egyptian buildings reflect the more earthly qualities of Taurus - permanency, stability and practicality, while the Greek buildings echo the traits of Libra - beauty, harmony and perfection. It is interesting to notice that the Old Testament, which was written during this era, reflects precisely the code of ethics and morals of the time - war, fight, “eye for an eye” attitude - which are very different from the ideas of humbleness, sacrifice and humility included 2,000 years later in the New Testament, written already in the Age of Pisces.
6. The Age of Pisces (A.D. 0 - 2,000) The birth of Jesus Christ marked the beginning of the new Age of Pisces. The old patterns of combat and war (Mars) were replaced by the kind, charitable, forgiving qualities of Christians. Interestingly enough, the early secret Christian symbol, which was scrolled on catacomb walls to indicate to believers where the next meetings were to be held was the fish. Neptune is the planet that rules Pisces. Neptune is associated with very high, spiritual aspirations, religion and belief. So, it does not come as surprise that the church became the domineering institution in the life of people for the next 20 centuries. At the same time Neptune brings certain confusion, vagueness and deception, ultimately leading to sacrifice and suffering, which was also an important part of life during this period of time. The cloistered lives of monks and nuns show, too, the reclusive qualities of Pisces, and those groups of people who over the centuries made, and today still make, considerable sacrifices for their faith and for the benefit of less fortunate people in the community, are quintessentially Piscean qualities. But then again, we have to consider the influence of the opposite, polar sign of Virgo, as represented by the cult of the Virgin Mary and the very restrictive and extremely modest attitude of Christians to sex. This is one sphere of life, where we have already witnessed some dramatic changes in the past decades and no doubt we are going to see much more action happening in the future. More details about how our attitudes toward sex, masculinity and femininity are going to be completely re-evaluated on the brink of the new age of Aquarius you can read in my next article in “Universal Mind”.
7. The Age of Aquarius (A.D. 2,000 - 4,000) As I mentioned in the beginning of this article the interest of people towards the new “Age of Aquarius” was aroused after the great success of the American musical “Hair” in the 1960’s. Astrologers were often asked when the new age was going to start, as if one day you go to bed in the age of Pisces and you wake up the other day already in the Age of Aquarius. Such dramatic changes as the fundamental transformation of the conditions on Earth in order to reflect totally different planetary influences take a lot of time to complete. In average such changes normally take about 100-150 years in which time the previous influences are gradually waning and the new ones are gaining momentum. It is more or less accepted in the astrological circles that the Age of Aquarius “officially” started with the first World War and it is about to complete in the next 20-30 years. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus and some Uranus keywords that come to mind are humanity, independence, inventiveness, new technologies, unpredictability, eccentricity, perversity. So, what does that mean in simple terms for us, the mere mortals? How are our lives going to change in the Age of Aquarius?

First of all the new Age becomes very evident in the sphere of new technologies, computing, space travel and science which are all quintessential Aquarian characteristics. And indeed if we think for a moment about all the technical gadgets that surround us and make our life much easier we will find out that most of those things were practically not existent 100 years ago - running hot and cold water in our kitchens, electricity, fridges, microwaves, television, telephone, computers, Internet, cars, highways, airplanes and so on just to mention a few. And if you think that this is the limit, then you must have a really limited imagination. Living in a virtual reality, for example, is just around the corner, where everybody will be able to invent and live in his or her own reality simulated by mega-powerful computers. This means that people will be able to change virtually their looks, create whatever virtual reality they like around them, pick up partners that exactly simulate the best characteristics that they are looking for and do with them whatever they please. The sensations of such encounters will be as authentic (if not better) as the real encounter. For the dangers hidden in the mass computerisation of society we will talk on another occasion.

The humanitarian side of Aquarius is also noticeable in organizations like the United Nations and many conservation organizations. But, we don’t have to forget the influence of the polar sign - Leo. While Leo is benevolent, generous and obliging, at the same time he wants to remain the King of the Zodiac and to run the show himself. Thus, it is very likely that during the Age of Aquarius we will see the establishment of a benevolent World Government, but it is also possible that we will be exposed to the danger of being totally controlled from one single World centre.

The unpredictability of Uranus is already revealing itself in the changes of the global climate. It is an undeniable fact that the weather is not any more what it used to be years ago. At present, we may suffer in extreme heat on one day and then be swamped by floods on the other. Again, the reasons for this unpredictable behaviour of the weather have to be sought in the rapid expansion of industries and associated with them damage to the environment. Aquarius, though, loves the nature and we will see the young (already Aquarian) generation putting a lot of effort to save the planet Earth. The young generation is going to right the wrongs, done by the older much more careless generations.

The eccentricity and perversity of Uranus is going to be felt even stronger in the sphere of love relationships between people. Uranus does not dim the sexual powers of attraction; quite the opposite he actually increases them. At the same time, however, Aquarius (being ruled by Uranus) is the most independent and individualistic sign of all. This sign generally has the greatest difficulties of all other signs of the Zodiac to fit into the traditional family model. The yoke of the family life requires too many personal sacrifices and this goes against the Aquarian nature. The qualities of the previous Great Year of Pisces - sacrifice, suffering and abstinence from sex do not appeal to Aquarius at all! Instead he yearns for liberty, freedom and enjoyment.

And indeed, we can see how the morale of people is changing in front of our own eyes year after year - what was considered a taboo several decades ago is now a norm. The number of people remaining in stable marriages is now definitely a minority. In the future it is likely that Uranus is going to wreck this social structure altogether in order to build something different - a union between two people based on spiritual affinity, where both partners have a lot of room for themselves and where the relationship exists only for a duration of time suitable for both of them. The number of unusual, odd and strange forms of sexual relations is also going to rise. Being gay, lesbian, bisexual or whatever the case might be is going to be considered completely normal; quite the contrary - being in a marriage for 30 years is going to be considered weird. The exact impact on all these changes to our sex life is going to be discussed in my next article.

As an astrologer and clairvoyant, I feel obliged to tell the people about the coming changes in their lives. Most of them will occur inevitably, even if we like them or not. My intention is not to scare people, but to prepare them for what is coming around the corner. As we gain more and more understanding about the hidden forces that control our lives, our fears come to an end, because we understand that the spirits in charge of the global changes on our planet love us immensely and are leading us towards ever higher and higher spiritual dimensions, according to the eternal law of evolution.

Lubomir Dimitrov is a unique combination of spiritual teacher and scientist. While holding a Master’s degree in science he is also a psychic and a professional astrologer. He has been practising astrology for more then 15 years and is the founder of the amalgamation between astrology and the spiritual science in Australia. He performs astrology readings, produces a variety of astrology reports, publishes articles and conducts many workshops, seminars and courses.

For further information, please, visit his web site http://Lubomir.name

If you have found yourself overwhelmed by debt from your credit cards, you may be wondering how to eliminate credit card debt in your life. Believe it or not, you have a lot of company when it comes to worrying about how you are going to eliminate credit card debt. Many Americans are over their heads in debt. It is important that you take steps to get your debt under control before you end up in serious financial trouble.

Find a Way to Get Better Rates

One way that can help you get rid of the credit card debt that you are in is to find a way that you can get better rates on your credit cards. You can do this by trying to find a credit card that has lower rates than your current cards, and then make transfers over to the card with the lower interest rate.

Another way you may be able to get better rates is to try to negotiate with the company or have a credit counselor negotiate with the company to get you better rates on your card. While you may not realize it, having a lower rate can actually save you hundreds of dollars and can help you get out of credit card debt much faster.

Eliminate Debts One By One

If you are wondering how to eliminate credit card debt, another way that can be a great help is to start working methodically to eliminate your debts one by one. You can choose either to pay extra on your card with the lowest amount of debt or you may want to pay more on the card with the highest interest rate, but whichever way you choose will be a great way to help you get out of debt much faster.

Debt Consolidation

If you are serious about getting rid of your credit card debt once and for all, you may want to work on getting a debt consolidation loan. This method of elimination will help give you lower interest rates, a regular payment schedule, and you will only have one easy payment to make each month. This is a very easy and effective way to eliminate the credit card debt that has been causing you so much trouble.

Control Your Spending

When many people ask how to eliminate credit card debt, many times they are already overlooking very simple solutions that can help them. One very simple and common sense solution that can help you eliminate your debt is to control how much you are spending. If you want to get rid of your credit card debt, then you should not be spending more money on credit cards. Try sticking to paying cash for everything possible, and you may want to start saving money and putting it away for emergencies as well, so you will not even have to use a credit card if you have an emergency.

Credit card debt can turn into a quagmire very quickly and it can be difficult to figure out how to eliminate credit card debt once you get deep into debt. If you use the previous tips in your life, you will better be able to take control of your finances and you will be able to become debt free more quickly as well.

Learn more about how to cut credit card debt with Freddie Johnson’s free articles on debt relief, debt consolidation and credit tips at http://www.mydebtconsolidationtips.com

When you see a diamond, the first thing that comes to mind is the beauty of the stone. The diamond sparkles and you can’t help thinking the piece is priceless. But for the average unaided eye, it’s hard to determine if the diamond is worth the asking price. Here are some characteristics of diamonds that can help you better determine the diamond’s worth.

For professionals, diamonds are measured by the 4 C’s: Color, Clarity, Carat and Cut. These attributes determine if the precious stone is worth more or less.

Can diamonds have color? Most diamonds would appear without color, but with close observation (or through the help of a magnifying glass), diamonds may indeed have color. Some diamonds may look like they are yellow or some may have tints of grey or brown. In most cases, if the diamond has color, it’s very faint. For a diamond to be assessed well, the color must be deemed “colorless”.

According to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), diamonds are graded by the following categories (in order from highest): Colorless, Near Colorless, Faint Yellow, Light Yellow and Fancy. The diamonds are categorized even further into the color grades such as D, E and F for Colorless.

Besides color, clarity is another important measure of diamond quality. Clarity of the diamond is about the diamond’s purity. In other words, a diamond with flawless clarity is a diamond free from imperfection. When checking for clarity, a jeweler looks for clear characteristics or signs of any inclusions. Inclusions might include cloudy spots, dark spots, or crystals. The more inclusions the diamond has, the lower the clarity of the diamond, which has an effect on the worth.

There are varying levels of clarity known as the “clarity scale”. The ranges will encompass the top-level clarity such as “F” for flawless to “I3″ included #3. For a complete list you can check the Gemological Institute of America (www.gia.org).

The cut of a diamond describes the symmetry of the diamond. For a diamond that is well cut, the symmetry will have brilliance. As one looks at a diamond, you can see how well the brilliance of the stone is by examining its cut and reflection of light. Jewelers can examine the cut of a diamond by looking at the properties of the crown (upper section) and the pavilion (lower section). These sections are further subdivided into subsections called: Table, Star Facet, Bezel Fact, Upper Girdle Facet, Girdle, Lower Girdle Facet, Pavilion Facet and Culet.

There are two ways to determine to determine the grading of the cut: table percentage and depth percentage. Table percentage is calculated by as the longest table measurement divided by the average girdle. The depth percentage is essentially the diamond height divided by the width. These are metrics that provide the proportionality of a diamond, or brilliance.

The carat is the weight of the diamond. In fact, the carat is the measure that is often disclosed to the public. It is generally accepted that the higher the carat weight, the higher the diamond worth. The carat can be broken down to 100-point units. So a diamond with 100 points is a 1-carat diamond.

The four C’s aren’t the definitive measure that will determine the diamond’s worth. However, they are the four most important qualities that a jeweler or individual would need to effectively determine a diamond’s worth.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Diamonds

Carpal tunnel is an inflammation of a nerve in the hand called the median nerve. The nerve passes through the wrist in a small compartment called the carpal tunnel. If the pressure inside the tunnel increases the nerve reacts by becoming inflamed. Pressure increases can be caused by inflammation of the forearm tendons that also pass through the tunnel or increases in fluid pressure from fluid retention such as in pregnancy.

I have treated many cases of carpal tunnel in my practice and many patients make three big mistakes that really adversely affect their prognosis.

Mistake Number One: Get a Proper Diagnosis

There are a number of conditions that cause hand pain and numbness. For example there is another nerve can than become irritated in the little finger side of the hand called the ulnar nerve. If you’ve ever struck the “funny bone” of your elbow what you’ve felt is the ulnar nerve. Another condition causes pain and swelling in the thumb tendons located in the wrist area. Many times people come to me thinking they have carpal tunnel when in reality they have a different condition. If they attempt to correct it themselves they can make the condition worse. Getting a diagnosis from a competent licensed health care practitioner will go a long way in healing.

Mistake Number Two: Get Treatment Early

This sounds simple but it is surprising how many people wait until the later stages of the disease until getting treatment. They try to wait out the disease in hopes it will resolve on its own. Occasionally it does but many times it continues to progress until it becomes a severe problem that requires a good deal of care.

One of the first signs of carpal tunnel is night numbness. This is a numbness that wakes you up at night and is not affected by changes in position. The numbness is generally in the thumb and first three fingers. If treatment is started during this stage the prognosis is good and many times little treatment is needed. If the problem progresses to constant numbness or pain, more treatment is generally needed. If the problem becomes severe with muscle weakness or wasting and constant pain or numbness then there is less of a chance for success with non-medical intervention.

Mistake Number Three: Eliminate the Cause

This seems like common sense, but many busy practitioners often do not have time to examine a patient’s workstation ergonomically or question a patient about things that could have caused the problem. Many times I have seen people have several episodes of carpal tunnel largely because they never eliminated the cause in the first place. For example, there is a coworker of mine who just had several steroid injections over a period of several months for carpal tunnel and elbow tendonitis. I took one look at his workstation and was amazed that he did not have these problems sooner. No one had talked to him about changing his workstation or even mentioned it throughout his treatment.

Other Mistakes

Almost every time I go to the grocery store I see people working at the checkout wearing carpal tunnel braces. These are called cock-up splints or night splints. The reason they are called night splints is because they are only to be worn at night. The idea is that carpal tunnel is an inflammatory process and the inflammation tends to build up at night, which is one reason there is night numbness. Also, the splint has a plastic or metal piece embedded in it that holds the wrist in a position to decrease the pressure in the tunnel. Putting stress on the area by working and performing repetitive movements works to increase the pressure in the area.

What You Can Do

What can you do if you have been given a diagnosis of carpal tunnel? There are a number of non-medical ways to treat carpal tunnel. Exercises such as wrist stretches help to reduce tendonitis of the wrist flexor tendons. Certain nutrients have also been found to be helpful. These include:

Vitamin B6-up to 300 mg per day initially for the first 3 months then decrease the dose to 100 mg.

Magnesium-250 mg per day. Nerve problems like carpal tunnel are a sign of magnesium deficiency.

Natural Anti-inflammatory substances such as:

Bioflavinoids

Tumeric

Ginger

Boswellia Serrata

Trypsin

Chymotrypsin

Many of the above substances can be found in the local health food store.

Other effective treatments include ultrasound. I use ultrasound in nearly every carpal tunnel case and have found it to be extremely effective. Electrical stimulation such as interferential current may also help to reduce inflammation. Alternative modalities such as chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture have also been found to be effective.

Lastly, really getting at the cause and working to eliminate it will help you to heal and avoid future episodes. If you do a lot of keyboarding it is helpful to adjust your seat so that your feet are flat on the floor, elbows close to your sides, and wrists as straight as possible. One of the worst positions is keyboarding with your wrists bent at the sides. Technically this position is called ulnar deviation and becomes worse as the elbows move sideways away from your body. If you use arm rests be careful they are not too far apart.

Carpal tunnel can be a serious problem and in some cases surgery or steroid injections are the only options left. However, if you follow the above guidelines you will do your best to avoid a costly and expensive procedure.

For more information visit Dr. Forciea’s site at: http://www.informationalhealing.com
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These days, it is customary to give wedding favors to guests when you get married. A wedding favor is a gift given to guests to thank them for coming to your wedding celebrations and can be anything from personalized candles or soaps and bath products to bottle openers or silver pen stands. In fact, anything you can think of that your guests would like as a memento can make a nice wedding favor. It is not compulsory to provide wedding favors but a lot of couples do feel that it makes a nice touch.

Most couples decide that giving wedding favors is a great thing to do. First of all, it gives your guests a memento of what has hopefully been a magical day. Second, wedding favors can be inexpensive and the cost of weddings can be high enough anyway. Third, the tradition of giving wedding favors is a nice way of thanking your guests for attending your wedding.

If you are getting married while on vacation, a good idea for wedding favors could be beach candle holders or something themed that will evoke great memories of your special day, and something your guests can use while they are with you. Try to order your wedding favors in plenty of time, allowing for possible postal delays or last minute problems. Weddings are stressful enough to plan without ordering items at the last minute and having crossed fingers, hoping they will arrive on time!

Remember that a wedding favor does not have to be costly. You can get favors for just over a dollar each if you are on a tight budget. If your budget is more flexible or you have only a few guests, of course, you can push the boat out and get something more expensive. More expensive wedding favors could include crystal and silver perfume bottles for the ladies and silver flasks for the men, or a set of large photo frames, maybe one set per couple. The sky is the limit and it is acceptable to give anything as a wedding favor. Even beautiful crystal ornaments can be yours for a couple of dollars each so it is well worth checking what kind of favors are available and what you can afford.

An interesting idea for a wedding favor can be silver place card holders in the shape of something wedding themed, for example, a wedding cake or a bell or heart, so you can display the guests’ names for the wedding meal and they can keep the placeholder after the event.

Some favors are available in any quantity and others have a minimum order amount, for example, twelve or fifteen.

Whatever you give your guests as a wedding favor, they will accept it graciously and be reminded of your special day forever. That makes it worthwhile giving wedding favors, since they are inexpensive but will be very much treasured by your wedding guests.

Yolanda is the owner of Yolandas Wedding Favors. She sells many different types of wedding favors such as, love glass coasters, two peas in a pod salt and pepper shakers and many many more. Yolandas Wedding Favors also carries many different wedding accessories and wedding gifts such as guest books, unity candles, ring pillows, bridesmaid gifts, groomsmen gifts and many many more.

If you have twelve months before your wedding then the chances are that you are going to need them all to plan everything.

When you agree to get married, it all seems very romantic and you imagine a perfect day where everything goes right and it is all as it should be. However, when reality kicks in, you soon realize that getting married takes an awful lot of planning and if you leave it too late, it can be extremely stressful. So ideally, it would be better to give yourself at least twelve months notice before the wedding to get everything prepared.

What to Do Twelve Months before the Wedding

Twelve months before the big day there is actually quite a lot that you can do. You may think that it is too soon to start organizing various things, but generally, most things can be sorted out now and it is certainly not too early!

The budget is one thing in particular that needs sorting. How much money do you have? Do you plan to borrow any money and if so, who from? If you are borrowing from a loan company, you will need to make inquiries as soon as possible due to the fact that getting a loan and finding the right provider could take some time. Only once the budget is sorted out can you actually start planning the rest of the wedding.

Other things to sort out include:

–Where you want to get married

–Who you want at the wedding

–What type of music you would like

–Where you want the reception

–Which florist you want to use

–Where you want to go on honeymoon

–Which cake you would like

As you can see, it is a fairly long list and it isn’t even everything that needs to be planned. The actual venue of your wedding obviously needs to be decided fairly quickly. If it is going to be in a church, usually, you have to go to church frequently for a certain time period before you are allowed to get married there. Obviously, it all depends on how religious you actually are, but if you do want a church wedding, certain rules will have to be followed.

Creating a list of who you want to attend the wedding is also something that needs a lot of thought. Many people do not have happy families where everybody gets along and that means that when it comes to the guest list, various things need to be considered. Will inviting somebody present a problem? Think things through properly in order to avoid any tension on your big day.

Overall, there is a lot that needs planning and it is absolutely vital that you go through everything with a fine tooth comb. At least, if you start twelve months before the wedding, it gives you plenty of notice if things go wrong!

Yolanda is the owner of Yolandas Wedding Favors. She sells many different types of wedding favors such as, love glass coasters, two peas in a pod salt and pepper shakers and many many more. Yolandas Wedding Favors also carries many different wedding accessories and wedding gifts such as guest books, unity candles, ring pillows, bridesmaid gifts, groomsmen gifts and many many more.