“Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet.” – Bob Marley

There’s a reason why rains bring out the poet in most of us. Whether you choose to stay indoors or get soaked, there’s something about rainy days that makes you wish to fly away.

But somewhere along this dream monsoons is the reality that looms large like the proverbial villain. Why, oh why, are there monsoon hassles?

Think smelly clothes, dirty shoes, bad traffic, mosquitoes’ army and dumb drivers (who splash water as they zoom past). Yuck.

Cheer up. It’s a war out there and you just can’t let it hold you back.

So, whether you’re planning a trip to Neemrana, Jaisalmer, Fagu or Kasauli or just a long drive, we’ll help you have the time of your life this monsoon.

Considering that you already know and already have cute raincoats – we love the fluorescents, transparents and the printed ones – let’s think beyond all that, shall we?

Here goes a top fiver for rainy days:

1. Smartphone and charger – Waterproof phone cover and a power bank charger. Invest in these things. Amazon has some great stuff.

2. Repellants – Every trekker and his neighbour’s best friend swears by it.

3. DIY rain-proof shoes – There is such a thing. Simply rub wax on your shoes (you can take a candle), spend a minute with a hairdryer and voila! Your water-proof shoes are ready.

4. Skincare – Go basic with skincare this monsoon. Try a spoon of honey as a cleanser or almond scrub and just keep yourself clean and dry.

You could try this fun face mask. Simply mix 1 egg white, ½ a cup beer (resist the urge to slurp) and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Apply and rinse off after 10 minutes. Get glowing.

Nothing elaborate.

5. Cocktails – Get a load of these fun cocktails to brighten up the evening.

Whiskey Skin (helps big time if you catch a cold)

Simply rinse a mug with boiling water to warm it. Add a teaspoon of sugar and lemon peel to a bit of warm water just enough to dissolve it. Add Scotch and some more warm water. That’s it. Ready so soon.

Space Gin Smash

In a shaker, add a few mint leaves, a quarter of a lemon, 2 green grapes minus the seeds, an apple cube and a bit of simple syrup (basically equal parts water and sugar on medium heat). Give a light mix. Now add gin and ice and shake it up. Voila!

So, may we ask, where are we going this weekend?

Exuma is a string of islands and cays, home to forgotten hideaways, natural harbors, secluded beaches and a coastline of over a hundred miles of clear, blue water. Exuma is a nature lover’s paradise preserved in its original pristine setting. In recent years, The Bahamas has become one of the world’s financial centers, with over 400 banks located in Nassau, its capital. The country’s open economic policy has drawn capital from around the world, and is now a hot real estate market. Bahamas property has become of great interest to investors and a haven for those wanting to own private homes surrounded by the wonders of nature. Local realtors see no end in sight with regards to the increasing demand for Bahamas property.

Buying Bahamas property

In 1993, the Bahamas government enacted a law encouraging non-Bahamians to acquire real estate in any of the 21 districts. It also allows property owners and their dependents to apply for an annual resident card or permanent residency. It is now easier than ever to own a piece of Caribbean paradise. Contact one of the country’s numerous realtors to help you find that perfect spot. Visit The Bahamas Real Estate Association for a complete list of certified agents and details on purchasing Bahamas property. Prior Government approval is not required for non-Bahamians who want to purchase residential properties of less than five acres, although they are required to be registered with the Investments Board and the Central Bank. Another option is to buy property directly at a development. On the island of Great Exuma for example, see Oceania Properties (http://www.oceaniaproperties.com/), February Point (http://www.februarypoint.com) or Crab Cay (http://www.crabcay.com/) for some luxury properties.

An enticing investment

As the world’s premier tax haven, The Bahamas offers the perfect investment opportunity as there is no personal, corporate, income, capital gains, estate, gift or inheritance taxes. Easy access to major world markets, as well as political stability and security are the advantages of business in The Bahamas. Investors are also attracted to the stability of the economy, which is steadied by the solid value of the Bahamian dollar (pegged to the U.S. dollar on a 1:1 ratio).

The benefits of renting

Having a corporate or personal address in the Bahamas provides opportunities to live an exclusive island lifestyle while generating tax-free income. As you enjoy the benefits of a vacation home in The Bahamas, your investment appreciates. When you are not there basking in the sun, you can consider renting out your Bahamas property. The rental segment of the market is huge as many visitors flock to the islands every year in search of a little rest and relaxation. Luxury condos, houses and villas generate top dollars for their owners. Many realtors and property managers agree that renting a property is a great idea since it helps the owners defray some of the costs associated with owning and maintaining their properties. There are rental pools that you can join whereby property managers will oversee all of the administrative details associated with renting. You have no worries, no headaches, and best of all, your home in the sun is well-maintained and available to you at the drop of a hat.

In order to preserve the culture and tranquility of the island, Exuma has regulated that no more than 30% of the island may be developed. Luxury rental properties in Exuma generally offer complete privacy, are exquisitely furnished, and include first-rate amenities. Purchasing a Bahamas property either as a vacation destination or as a rental property offers the advantages of numerous commercial flights, private airports, and close proximity to the United States. Feel right at home in The Bahamas.

Article is very efficient vehicle to get more traffic to your website, increase its page rank, plus as a consequence to get more leads for your sales department. If you are novice in SEO or getting your website higher on the Google ranking, you should know the differences in search engine treating for article and press release. Let’s review article submission strategy and its special niche in comparison to PR or video and text blogs:

1. Article means new knowledge and no ads. When you are writing your article, please try to keep reasonable compromise between you and media portal editor – you would like to place as much keywords in article header as possible while article editor will try to minimize the number of keywords in the header – editor is stronger than you – he can simply decline the article, which is abusing its header and introduction sentences. Article allows author (not company) logo or small photo

2. Press Release means new product or service announcement and it has date and place, introduction, body, and about company sections. Press Release normally allows you some advertisement, but in very modest manner. Press Release could be placed to a large number of media sites, sometimes for small fee, but often free of charge. Press Release typically has shorter life cycle and is forgotten in few months – similar to paper magazine or newspaper publication

3. Where to submit. Assuming that your news is ready for publication, next question is where to submit? This requires you to do your homework and preparation. Open Google, type in the search box something like “submit your article”. Bunch of web pages will be on the first page. Well – open each one-by-one, establish (typically free) account and go ahead and publish. Then you should expect new article submission sites portals will send you invitations to publish on their sites and you will become established author in very short period of time – if you publish one article per week – one year is the reasonable period to become famous author.

A candidate in an examination hall is a close cousin of the boxer in the ring. Both are fighting for a prize or, at least, for some commendation. Their goal is to win, and victory brings fame while failure leads to disaster and frustration. Each victory paves the way for a promotion up the ladder, and the higher one climbs, the more exposed to the public glare one gets. A world boxing champion is like a Noble Prize winner among academics; each is at the apex of his career, but the route to the position can be tortuous and rough.

The examination candidate is not a very normal person for the simple reason that he is under severe pressure, although he is alert and his pulse is fast, he is liable to commit elementary errors without knowing it.

Thus, he may repeat or omit one word, miss the spelling of another, or interchange the position of two words. If he reads over, which he hardly ever does, he may see what was originally in his brain rather what is on paper. So, most errors escape him.

More alert than at ordinary times though, his brain maybe; it can play funny tricks in the examination hall. Thus, while struggling with the question, he may suddenly recall an old joke or a long forgotten and obscure incident right there in the examination hall while his pen is dancing furiously on the paper, the candidate may remember beautiful tune as if his mind is saying: “forget this task, enjoy some music”. Happily, these do not usually disrupt the exercise at hand: the task goes on while the candidate may smile to himself at the strange recall of the joke or music.

The brain can play a different type of trick. A fact long stored up and remembered a short while before the examination can suddenly evaporate. All attempts to recall it may prove unsuccessful. Usually: till the paper ends. The fact remains elusive only to resurface much later when not needed.

The candidate does not fare better in an oral examination. His problems are heightened by the fact that his fate depends entirely on the examiner’s assessment of him rather than what he writes down himself. The facial appearance of the examiner is also a strong factor since a stern, unsmiling examiner can be intimidating.

Yet, an examination candidate need not be frightened. He needs all the calmness he can muster. He should sleep soundly before the exercise trusting that all the preparations he made earlier will not fail him at the hour of need. The fact is that one forgets more when one is tired, especially when one panics unnecessarily.

Playtime between a parent and a child creates a deep emotional bond. It’s the bond that sets the path for joyful, creative, cooperative times by being together. Adults seem to shun fun and games in their daily lives. As adults, we often get so caught up in “grown up” business that we can forget how to have pure fun. Some parents just don’t know how to play with their children or feel they don’t have the time. It’s no wonder – most parents work a full-time job and feel drained with little or no energy at the end of the day to feel playful. If only parents knew how much playtime shapes their family life, more parents would welcome it. They would come to know that it recharges their adult batteries!

Most parents played as children. Parents experienced being silly, laughing at nothing, playing games on their own or with their peers. Why is it that parents today have forgotten how to play? Why do parents feel like outsiders or simply ignore this way of communicating with their children? Parents make sure their children are loved, comforted, safe, fed, and sheltered; but when it comes to playing, most parents can’t seem to get in the swing of it. Our society in general doesn’t take playing very seriously either. Most play professionals such as day-care providers, after school program teachers, recreation department workers and camp counselors are paid very low wages for the really important work they do for our children’s lives. These workers are treated more as baby-sitters than experts on children and play.

Playtime is a rewarding time for a fresh, renewed look at life. It’s the time when a zestfulness of living takes place. When a parent plays with his child, there is a deep heart-to-heart vibration that can overcome all the day’s stresses and frustrations. Participating in your child’s playtime arena, whether it’s on the floor, eye-to-eye, sitting next to each other or across a table, creates enjoyment and spontaneity, happiness, and an opportunity to interact as no other activity can. Years of research has shown that successful parenting is when there is a sensitive response to their child’s needs. This response includes physical contact, smiling faces, eye contact, and communication, both verbal and nonverbal.

Some of my clients have said, “My family members need to feel more connected. We seem to be disconnected and going in different directions.” Playing helps build that connection and communication so vital to a loving family environment. Parents can try to remember and reconnect with that part of themselves that knows how to be in the flow of fun. Asking a child to play with you and then allowing your child to lead you to what they want to play and how they want to play, is the first step to creating a deep connection. Hide-and-seek, tag, chasing, wrestling, fantasy play, sports, pillow fights, art projects, racing, etc. are games that all children like. You can start by knowing that anything can be fun, especially doing it together.

Here are five ways to be a more lighthearted parent:

1. Lead the way – ask your children what type of activity they would like to do with you. Talk it over and accept an activity that will bring both of you a feeling of gladness. Think about what caused you to giggle as a child. Children like rules – start the game with, “OK, if we play there will be no giggling or blinking!” Then pretend to fuss when your child breaks these rules! Let the games begin!

2. Loosen up – playtime is just that: play and time. Don’t worry about messiness, noise, or commotion. Just remember to let the play flow and follow it along. As long as you hear silly giggles, howls of joy, see happy smiles, then you know that this playtime session is a success.

3. Encourage Your Children – Understand that when you play with your child it encourages strong feelings of excitement, exuberance, joy, as well as frustrations, anxiousness, jealousy, and embarrassment. Get a handle on these emotions by knowing that these emotions should be freely expressed rather than having them buried and held inside. So take time out during your playtime to stand back and remind your child that having these feelings is okay, that being angry or being joyful are emotions that are acceptable. This creates a deep connection between you. After all, play is a child’s way of expressing themselves and their emotions.

4. Be Playful with Your Children – Use a voice that is relaxed and goofy. Step outside of your everyday stern parent style and start to feel the energy of play. Choose games that allow you to give your children encouragement, inspire their confidence, allows for their need of attachment and closeness. Give your children your complete attention accompanied with love, hugs and affection. Always promote win-win situations in the games you play and have a good time!

5. Be Lighthearted – Being lighthearted while playing with your child actually adds to your life and brings you time. Playtime is rejuvenating. You may have to push yourself at first, but very soon thereafter, you will feel, understand and want to play as the payoff is well worth it.

To help your batteries feel recharged after your exhausting day at work, take the initiative to spend more together time with your children, even if it only means hugging them, talking to them, being with them at the end of the day. Bring up everyone’s spirits by telling them how much they mean to you and what you most appreciate about each family member. Create a healthy, energetic connection today that your children will remember for the rest of their lives.

Copyright © 2005 by Linda Milo and Empowering Parents Now. All rights reserved.

Thanksgiving is always a busy time and of course you want your Thanksgiving Dinner to be perfect, but each year you seem to behind. Guests show up and dinner is not ready. Well, these five ways for a perfect Thanksgiving Dinner should help ease your stress, so you can also enjoy your meal.

1. First and foremost, plan ahead. Last minute preparation is not what you want to run into. A shopping list with only what you really need will cut your time in half. Do your shopping at least three days before the big event. Try to avoid any last minute trips to the store unless they are absolutely necessary. Try and not spend your whole day in the kitchen. Pace yourself and go at your own speed. There is no need to rush. Enjoy the holiday as much as you can. If you must be in the kitchen longer that you would like, put on some holiday music. This will help ease your mind and help you to not be overwhelmed with the tasks at hand. Dance around and take a breath. Get into that holiday spirit. Take that occasional sip of sherry.
2. Along with the ordering of the turkey, foods that can be made in advance should be an executed part of your plan. The turkey is the main focus and cannot be forgotten, so order him within plenty of time for delivery. A late turkey is a disaster waiting in the wings. Vegetable trays, dips, and a few desserts can be arranged a couple days beforehand. Buy frozen pie crusts. You can even buy prepared trays of fruit, vegetables, and meat and cheese. This will eliminate the hassle of making them. These simple tasks can be completed therefore leaving you more time to accomplish more involved tasks. Finger foods will enhance dinner and not overwhelm it. You want your family to be waiting on dinner, not already full of appetizers.
3. Make sure you have all the tools you will need days before the big event. Make sure your gravy boat is in the china cabinet and all eight serving spoons are in their place. Imagine the mess of running around on Thanksgiving Day looking for one lost minor detail. This is also a good time to organize your recipes, set a time for dinner to begin, and start finalizing your menu. When you put final next to a task that means no more worries, it is done. Setting up a to-do list, and checking it twice, will help ease your mind. Write it down and you are less likely to forget it. Check it off and that is one less thing.
4. Get the whole family and your guests involved. Have a great selection of traditional Thanksgiving “must haves” then have everyone compliment your dishes. They can bring their favorites and add a little of themselves to the table. This will save you time and energy. Your immediate family can help with the preparation and shopping. Do not be afraid to ask for help. Doing it alone is too much. This is your holiday too.
5. Remember, it is not all about the food. Decorations around your home should be as equally important as the food. Focus on eye catching pieces that will not only create a genuine holiday feel, but bring an inviting presentation as well. Light candles just as everyone is arriving. The smell of Christmas and that illuminating glow will make your family and friends feel welcome. Any earth tone décor you might already have goes great in the house this time of year. Utilize what you already have first, and then buy if you see a need to. Spray paint leaves and add them to pine cones in a fall basket. That would make a lovely centerpiece for dinner. Nothing says fall like pumpkins. Pick up a couple.

We have compiled a PDF file packed with recipes and tips for the holidays. It’s free to download at our site.

It may seem to go without saying, but getting your utilities sorted is an oft-forgotten chore amidst all the fuss of packing and furniture removal. Imagine having finally moved the last box or piece of furniture into the house, seeing off the removalists and then trying to settle down for a well-deserved cup of tea only to find that you’ve not sorted out the power. The phone, too, is useless because nobody has bothered to connect it so you can’t order those takeaways you promised everyone to say thank you for helping. And there’s no cooking any food either. After the stress of it all you need a hot shower to wash away the day, but there’s no gas to heat the non-existent water because neither of them have been organised. You can’t even flush the toilet! The only way to avoid this nightmare is by having your utilities organised well before you step into the new house will save a lot of time and possibly anger. Here’s a rundown of the minimum you should have sorted out to ensure you are able to walk into your home:

• Phone. This should be the first thing you organise. Number one on the list for a reason: if all else fails, at least you’ll be able to call for help. Remember: you will need a phone line connected before you can connect to the Internet.
• Gas. Is your new home powered by gas for cooking and heating the hot water. For many people this is a huge deciding factor when looking for a new place, so make sure you know what powers what before creating unwanted confusion.
• Power. With candles, torches and other sources of battery-powered light you can survive without this one for few days at least. But as with everything else try and have it done before moving day.
• Water. This should be high on your list of priorities. Clean water is a simple necessity in life. You probably use it more than you even realise, and that reality will come crashing down if you haven’t sorted this out. Not to mention the horrors of being unable to flush your toilet.
• Internet. This may not seem as necessary as the others, but can you really live comfortably without it? You’ll need to do a bit of research with this one. Different providers will offer different ways of getting the Internet to your house. Often you are able to check the signal strength or availability of an area online (another reason to have it sorted whilst you still have your old connection). Find the best solution for your area. Sometimes you’ll have little choice or your Internet provider may even allow you to keep the same account when you move, but make sure you check how good the service will be.
• Give yourself plenty of time. Delayed connections, mistakes and leaving it until too late to organise could spoil your perfectly laid-out move. Utilities providers are not famous for their promptness, and your distressed phone call about your complete lack of any utilities on the day you move in is unlikely to register as an emergency with them.

Most of us have experienced a blackout at some point – the candles and lanterns, the huddling around each other to keep warm, the complete lack of anything to do. It shunts us back to the dark ages reasonably quickly. It can only be made worse by lack of running water. Unfortunately, those who hold such keys to this modern life are the utilities providers, and if you’re about to move and haven’t talked to them yet, it’s time to get a move on. It may seem obvious to some, but utilities are so often simply taken for granted that they’re often just not considered important until it’s far too late

We all wish our beloved Apple Macbooks could run as fast as they did when they were fresh out the box forever. Sadly, that’s not the case. The more you use a computer and begin to fill it with your data and clutter, they begin to get bogged down and performance takes a serious downturn.

Do not fear! There are plenty of ways you can turn this around and vastly improve the performance of your aging Macbook. Here are our top 5 tips for making your Macbook faster!

1. Clear the Clutter

Over time, you begin to accumulate hundreds, if not thousands of old files, applications, photos, videos and music. This data quickly begins to fill up the hard drive on your Macbook, greatly affecting its performance. Ask yourself – do you really need everything that’s currently sitting on your hard drive? Those old photos from that party years ago that everyone’s forgotten about by now? That 2 hour long video of your nephews fifth grade school play? That application you downloaded the free trial for and then never used? Increasing the available space on your Macbooks hard drive is one of the best ways to dramatically increase it’s performance.

2. Delete Unused Language Files

Many of the applications on your Macbook will include multiple language variants for users across the world. You’ll likely only need the variant of your native speaking language, yet those unused language files are still taking up valuable space on your Macbook. There are several methods you can get rid of these files, the easiest of which being with a free application called Monolingual. This simple app does one thing and one thing only – deletes the language files you don’t need. You can manually select the languages you wish to keep, and the app will get rid of the rest. Simple!

3. Clean Up Start-Up and Background Running Apps

When you install an application on your Macbook, how often do you take time to read everything in the instillation dialogue window before you click ‘Install’? I’m guessing never. You’d be surprised at what some applications are asking you to agree to when you click on that ‘Install’ button. Many of them ask you to agree to let them launch every time you turn your Macbook on, and just sit quietly and run in the background. This may not seem like a big deal, but they are using up valuable system resources when you don’t want them to. Hogging precious CPU and RAM capacity which could otherwise be used towards the task you’re working on. To clear out these unwanted startup applications, head over to your System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items. There you will be able to select the apps you actually want to launch on startup, and get rid of the apps you don’t.

4. Repair Disk Permissions

This is commonly debated, but repairing disk permissions can supposedly help your Macbook run more efficiently. Open Disk Utility from your Applications folder and click on “Repair Disk Permissions”.

5. Shut Down More Often

Your Macbook, like you and me, needs to rest sometimes in order to perform at it’s best. Your Mac also has a few tools that it uses automatically to help maintain itself. Some of these tools only run during shutdown and startup so get into the habit of turning your computer all the way off every now and then to allow these tools to do their work. It’s also a great way of extending the life of the internal battery in your Macbook.

Still not getting enough of a performance boost? It may simply mean that your Macbook needs a RAM upgrade. Please note however that not all Macbook variants allow users to upgrade the internal RAM themselves. A quick Google of the specific model of your Macbook followed by the words “RAM upgrade” will give you an answer right away. Typically these RAM upgrades are fairly inexpensive, and can keep your Macbook running smoothly for years to come.

Computers perform at their best when they are clean and have room to breath. Consider this next time you use your Macbook.

Of all the kinds of games available online, horse racing ones are probably the most paradoxical. These games have that old familiar ring to it which makes you feel like you’ve always known and always played the game even if you have never actually played such a game. But of all the various games in this genre, one name stands out as better than the rest – Domino the Speed Defining colt.

It is, in a way, sad that most people who play this game are completely unaware of the history of the horse. Domino was no ordinary everyday horse used for pleasure riding; he was an American thoroughbred from the nineteenth century who was renowned in his time and later for his extraordinary speed. This speed had been inherited from his great-grandfather, Eclipse, another horse famed for his powerful legs. Since every great hero needs a hamartia, Domino had one too – he did not have much stamina. Over short distances, he was the terror of the racetrack, but if he was forced to gallop for miles on end he would tire out and give up pretty soon (quite a big disadvantage in the nineteenth century because most race tracks were at least two or more miles long). But this speedy steed has lived on past his day and become engrained in every horse race’s heart as the benchmark of speed.

While the bloodline of Domino carries on in the racetrack, one might think that his time has come to an end and he will eventually be forgotten and, if it were not for the internet that would be true! The old chestnut beast is still roaming the world in the form of an online game. Domino is one of the most popular names for various online horse racing games which have become more and more popular these days. Every few horse racing games online has a horse named Domino, and more often than not, they have no idea where this name came from. But, now having known this, such games should become that much more interesting. Most races will give you that one arch rival to give you a run for your money, just like Domino had Dobbin (his own personal arch rival). Since Domino already has a huge reputation in the real world, it is reasonable to thing that he can have the same in the virtual world, provided his jockey is experienced enough.

One thing many people seem to believe is that a horse race can only ever be about gambling and so come to these games with the intention of setting up some stakes. But this is not the reason why the virtual world has resurrected Domino. It’s not for the money, it is for the fun of guiding one of the greatest thoroughbreds of all time through a long course and actually making it out alive! There are plenty of elements to enjoy in such games as opposed to a car racing game. Give it a shot, you might actually like it.

A huge number of the States of the Rome Convention are developing countries. This is fairly natural since most developing countries attach great significance to music, dance as well as other creations in their nationwide heritage. The value of the Rome Convention to such countries stems from the fact that it affords security to those who contribute to the dissemination of that heritage abroad. The Convention is chiefly vital to those countries whose civilization and tradition are oral and where the author is often the performer as well. The place occupied by expressions of folklore must be borne in mind and the interests of the artists constantly performing and thus perpetuating them must be safeguarded when use is made of their performances.

Whilst the possibilities of protecting creations of folklore by copyright appear to be limited and the establishment of a supplementary sufficient kind of protection appears to require more time, expressions of folklore can competently be protected indirectly by protecting performances, fixations and broadcasts of them. By also protecting the producers of phonogram the Rome Convention promotes particularly in developing countries. Such an industry while guaranteeing the dissemination of national culture within the country and throughout the world can additionally constitute a considerable basis of revenue for the country’s economy.

By giving performers in addition to phonogram producers the opportunity of benefiting from their performances and productions the Rome Convention is instrumental in promoting the artistic heritage and represents a significant incentive to creativity. Where the interests of performers and producers of phonogram are defended by law, works will enjoy greater progress and suffer less from the competition of unprotected performances of foreign works. Where performances and phonogram are exported, there is one reason more to guard them globally.

The fraction played by the broadcasting organizations in the developing countries should not be forgotten. They also have an interest in the protection of their expensive program against rebroadcasting, reproduction and communication to the public of their broadcasts. The rebroadcasting or reception of television broadcasts in public places can be very lucrative, particularly when the subject of the original broadcast is an outstanding event. The organizers of such events only permit broadcasting for certain territories or on the condition that no public reception close to the place of the event drains away potential spectators. The broadcasting association must therefore be able to forbid rebroadcasting as well as public reception. The same applies to broadcasting of performances or recordings of expressions of national folklore. The broadcasting organization must be entitled globally to avoid rebroadcasting or fixation for reproduction of its own broadcast of works of the national heritage.