Gandhi said, “First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” The philosopher recognized how fickle opinions are; his point was to stay tenaciously focused on your outcome regardless of other people’s responses which so easily change.

That is why it is so important to have a clear vision of your outcome; when other people can’t see it you still will because you know the direction in which to go and the destination of your journey.

Over a century ago German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 – 1860) eloquently stated, “All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

What Schopenhauer had discovered was that some of the biggest opponents would loudly denounce new ideas that they eventually would claim to have come up with on their own once they saw they worked.

So for instance the men and women who laughed at the Wright brothers and called them fools were found after Kitty Hawk proclaiming, “I always knew they would do it.”

What Gandhi and Schopenhauer discovered is the same thing, when you make changes people will automatically resist, even if they don’t know why. Knowing this up front will save you much time. Realize you need to convince no one, as they see your progress they will eventually convince themselves.

Another reason people resist change in you is that it makes them uncomfortable. This may be due to fear of losing you or being left behind. Realize that what others say or do is often their own fear taking over. Previously we quoted Bruce Wilkinson who said most people gave up on their goal because it was criticized. Don’t let it stop you, instead recognize criticism as a green light to keep moving because you understand it is part of the process.

Consider Zappos, which recently sold to Amazon for more than a billion dollars. Founder Tony Hsieh wanted a passionate, thriving team behind him. One incredible way he accomplished this was by hiring people who were passionately committed. How did he determine this? Anyone who knew would have said he was crazy, that is, until what he did worked and his company became number one.

Zappos took their new employees through a two-week training period. At the end of that time they gave paid them $2000 to quit. It was a brilliant idea no one had considered. Imagine the commitment and enthusiasm of the team members who stayed. They had complete buy in of the company when they gave the $2000 back and realized they were staying not for a paycheck, but for an opportunity.

So what is your dream? Some will support it, some will criticize it, others will misunderstand it. That is why it must be your dream. The opinions will change once they see you change. For some goals it may be better to keep them to yourself, but either way, keep moving, keep believing and don’t quit.

The ABC’s of Stock Trading Success

Stock trading success…why is it so elusive?

With all the trading information, systems, trading advice and assistance available today, the fact that most people who attempt to profit from trading Stocks lose money seems quite bizarre.

Can you imagine the millions of dollars that must have been spent by countless traders on courses and Stock analysis software, that was wasted because the buyers didn’t understand the key principle of trading success I am about to share with you now.

We aren’t going to need any charts for this lesson…just your ability to comprehend the value of what I am about to share with you and your willingness to take action – right now I want to share with you the ABC’s of trading success.

If trading was an easy business to master and profits were freely available to all, every punter with a computer and a free charting program would be a millionaire and the streets of our cities would be clogged with chauffer driven limousines.

The fact that the majority of the population have no idea how to make a buck from the Stock Market, often after spending large amounts of money on education and trading losses, made me wonder why this is so.

I searched for the answer to profitable trading for years, until I found it in an unexpected place, when I wasn’t looking for it at all.

You may be able to relate to this story, or you might just be starting out and this will help you to reduce the time you spend in your initial learning stages and speed up your path to profits.

Let me tell you about Jim (not his real name…of course). Jim first started trading after answering an ad in the Brisbane Courier Mail for a popular trading education package that cost him around $1000.

Little did he know that the fateful investment in that course would lead him into the abyss of Gann analysis, and that it would eventually cost him thousands of dollars in courses and trading losses to pull himself out the other side.

He read the course, watched the videos, read the course, watched the videos…you get the picture.

Losses, losses, small profit, losses.

He felt that because of his limited knowledge, he had to learn more and more in order to stop the losses and to start profiting from the market. So he spent more and more on courses – and his trading got worse and worse.

The more he learnt, the less he seemed to know and the worse his results became.

Then, he finally learnt about the A, B, C triangle of success, in trading and in every other area of life, from one of his property mentors – John Fitzgerald.

The A, B, C’s stand for –

A – Awareness

B – Belief

C – Conduct

Awareness – He realised that he already did in fact know enough to become a successful trader and investor. He had studied many books and courses on trading and had everything he needed in the way of practical trading information to make a profit.

He was aware of what it took to trade profitably. He could become a good, a great trader, if he could just develop the second factor…

Belief – If he could bring himself to believe that he was a good trader, he would become a good trader.

He didn’t need more knowledge at that time, because he had a firm grasp of the basics. He simply had to believe in himself and his abilities and the profits would follow.

The third leg of the success triangle

Conduct – Was were he was falling down.

He would look at a chart of a Stock or market, and decide on a trading strategy using his understanding of trends – he was calm, detached and unemotional – just like his written trading plan told him to be.

His success rate was good at finding profitable trades – but his conduct was the problem…

He had no trouble placing the trade while the market was closed. He would simply call his Broker and give him the order.

Then, the market would open. His calm, detached, unemotional state would turn into panic.

He would feel physically sick at times, scared in case his analysis was wrong and he lost money on the trade.

He honestly believed that he couldn’t afford to lose any money (the poor mans mindset) so he focused on losing.

He got what he focused on…

He watched his trades like a hawk, and at the first sign of a reversal against his position, he would either call his broker and exit the trade, or move his stop loss order to a place where he was virtually guaranteed of being knocked out by the normal fluctuations of the market.

He simply had too much leverage – he was over trading.

He was continually setting himself up to fail.

His conduct was the weak link in his trading success triangle.

Because he was continually losing money on his trades, albeit only small amounts, his belief system started to falter, and he saw himself as a losing trader even more – then he started to think he had two weak sides on the success triangle – conduct and belief.

He started to question the system he was using, which he had painstakingly back tested, over many markets on hand drawn charts and knew was solid, but his failure to have control of his conduct or belief made it look like it wasn’t a good system at all.

So, how to fix it…

He sat down and looked at his recent trading results, and noticed that on most occasions, if he had stayed in the trade, he would have made a profit. His system was valid. His Awareness was enabling him to find and execute profitable trades.

His Belief system needed a gentle prod after several losing trades in a row, but because he had done so much study and work on back testing, he knew he deserved to be successful.

He started to visualise himself in his trading room, making profitable, long term trades and enjoying the benefits that this type of trading would bring to himself and his family.

Then, he worked on his conduct. He again wrote out his trading plan, and decided that he would treat his plan like a shipwrecked sailor treats a life raft.

He would cling to it until he was forced out of a trade by the actions of the market, not by his fearful, emotional response to the actions of the market.

He started placing his stop loss orders in a position so that the market had to change trend in order to take him out of a trade. In other words, a logically placed, technically correct stop loss position.

He then reduced his position size to allow for these stop loss orders being further away from the price action, so that his account was never at risk of being totally wiped out by one serious loss.

He did a pre-trade and post trade analysis sheet, so he could analyze his performance and try to consistently improve his results.

(This can be as simple as a sheet of paper where you write down your order, the position of the market and your thoughts and feelings before, during and after a trade.

Or it can be an elaborate system of checks and balances that guide you through each of your trades. Be careful though – keep it simple or you probably won’t use it!)

Once he started to do this, he started to make money (with the exact system we have been teaching you on this Website).

(There are, of course, many other strategies and systems you can use in addition to the lessons we teach you to increase your profits, but to start with, these methods are all you really need to become a profitable trader.)

We are always learning and improving – every trader should strive to do this also.

When you are making consistent profits using the methods we have shared with you, investigate some of these additional entry and exit techniques, but not at the start. Keep it simple.

When he started to trade this way, he found it was far better to take a small position with a loose stop loss and be able to sleep at night, than his previous strategy of using maximum leverage and stressing out whenever he was in the market, to the point where he couldn’t stand to walk away from his screen in case the position went against him.

This method sets up lots of profits and a few losses. Much better than the alternative he had previously used.

He then started looking for Stocks that trended strongly for long periods of time, and was drawn to the US Stock Market.

He used exactly the same entry and analysis techniques I have shown you on the Website, and –

He bought Call options in Gen Probe Inc (GPRO) with the Stock at $27 and held on until the Stock price was $58 three months later.

He bought Pacificare Health Systems Call options (PHS) when it was trading at $24 and held them to $51 four months later.

And he bought Sandisc Corp Call options (SNDK) with the Stock at $24 and held them to $58 less than four months later.

(Please Note – these are not Stock recommendations, they are merely mentioned here for illustration and educational purposes and the trades are hypothetical examples).

Can you imagine the change in the size of his trading account balance?

None of these Stocks had given him any reason to sell earlier, so he simply held on for the ride…Awareness, Belief, Conduct…the success triangle.

The Awareness will come when you study and really ‘get’ the lessons on the Website and in the Newsletter.

Study the lessons carefully, read books written by the masters. Teach others what you have learned – you will gain a better understanding yourself.

All human interaction is a chance to learn or to teach.

By teaching someone else and sharing your knowledge, you will learn any subject at a deeper level.

You ultimately go from an intellectual understanding to an emotional understanding (as Robert Allen calls them, an aha!) of your chosen area of interest, in this case, profitable trading. Try it…

The Belief will come when you back test the Trading Plan I share with you on the Stocks that you want to trade and prove to yourself that it does indeed work.

Visualize yourself making a series of profitable trades. Feel how good it is to see the market moving in the direction you expected it to.

Imagine spending the profits you make trading Stocks with your family and friends, and the time you will have to do the things you want to do instead of the things you have to do. Successful trading gives you the ‘time freedom’ to do whatever it is that you want to do with your life.

Do it first in your mind, and then do it in the market.

Your Conduct – well that’s up to you. Will you ‘decide’ to look at your written trading plan as your life raft? Cling to it as your last defense against the emotions of fear and greed that live inside each one of us?

Will you trade with the trend, enter off 1 to 4 day reactions to the main trend, reduce your leverage or position size and put your stop loss orders out of the way, so the market has to change trend to get you?

If you do this, you should be confident that you can achieve trading success. That is our wish for you. Good luck.

Now, lets review today’s lesson –

The Trading Success Triangle has as it’s three sides – Awareness, Belief and Conduct

If any of these elements are weak or missing, the triangle has no strength

The sides are all important and are dependent on each other, but Conduct is the most difficult for the average trader to master

Fear and Greed act to change our conduct from what our rational thoughts tell us is the correct course of action, to actions that aren’t always in our best interests. By controlling Fear and Greed, we can make rational decisions that help us to become profitable traders

I hope this lesson has helped you in understanding the mindset of a successful trader a little better.

Understanding these three critical elements of trading psychology will put you well on the way to a profitable trading career.

Get this, and your trading success is practically assured. Miss the lesson, and your chances of making big money in the Stock Market are profoundly limited.

Please feel free to share this lesson with your trading friends and associates – they will thank you for it.

To Your Trading Success,

Tony Spann and the Team

The Indiana Pacers are at a crossroads. They have lost their top top scoring options from a season ago. A season that saw them fail to make the NBA Finals once again by being eliminated by the now wounded Miami Heat. The Pacers had built a young, defensive-minded nucleus centered around Paul George, Lance "Born Ready" Stephenson, and Roy Hibbert, and had high hopes of reaching the NBA Finals this coming season with the news of the best player in the world heading back home to division rival Cleveland.

Those hopes suffered a serious blow this season when the world watched as Paul George shattered his leg against the goal stancion in a World Cup exhibition. They also watched their estranged guard, Stephenson, take his talents to Charlotte (for whatever reason) and leave behind a president, coach, and team that put up with his on and off-court shenanigans for 4 seasons. For these reasons, this season will certainly be a test of the "true" Indiana Pacers fan following one of the worst off-seasons ever, while Cavalier fans around the world can be found doing something along these lines after the of-season they had .

Now the Pacers are left with aging veterans and Solomon Hill, which the Pacers drafted 23rd overall in last year's NBA draft. Not exactly a competitive group on paper. Frank Vogel's coaching will also be tested as he will have to figure out how to base an offense around players that are not offensively skilled players. Although no one can possibly predict who the Pacers will make their offensive go-to guy, one has to assume that Vogel will rely on veterans George Hill, David West, and Roy Hibbert when the time comes to put the basketball in the hole. For Hibbert, we have all yet to see if he can actually lead a team and considering that he is 27 and entering his seventh season in the league, we may have already seen his best. Hill is a home-grown two guard that starts for the Pacers at point guard out of sheer necessity for the Pacers. The Pacers have and are still in need of that floor general that they have not since since Mark Jackson was jiggling down the court in the late 90s. Hill at the two would give him the freedom to move without the basketball, which made him so talented in San Antonio when future Hall of Famer Tony Parker was feeding him the basketball. West is who brings a physical toughness to this squad, but much like Hibbert and Hill, has never been a 'go-to' guy for his team.

This off-season has brought many rumors about not only Roy Hibbert's availability into question, but his value on the market. Hibbert is coming off the worst stretch of his career through the second half of last season, which included a brutal conclusion in the NBA plays in which Hibbert tallied 9.3ppg and 5.5rpg in just 28.5 minutes per game. That stretch included two scoreless games in Round One against the Atlanta Hawks including one in which he tallied 0 rebounds also, one scoreless and reboundless game in Round 2 against the Washington Wizards, and also a scoreless contest in the ECF against the Miami Heat. Not exactly prime numbers for the tallest player in the league at the moment making a base salary of $ 14,898,938M this coming season. The Pacers have stayed true to their big man in saying all of the right things as far as Hibbert's future with the team, making him work with legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and staying in contact with Hibbert, but one has to wonder if the right offer came along, would Hibbert be up for grabs for a team in need of a rim protector?

George Hill, on the other hand, has been reportedly putting himself through training hell, according to Jared Wade at Fansided.com. Hill is coming off of his worst season as a professional in which he averaged a career-low 11.6ppg per 36 minutes. He was not aggressive and simply was not the George Hill that made him the player the Indiana Pacers chose to give a 5-year, $ 40M contract to. His problem seems to be that he is out of position and, for whatever reason, Indiana has been due to address a glaring need at the point guard position. The Pacers now have two SGs in their starting backcourt who can not shoot, no point guard, and nobody to facilitate the oath in Indy.

For these reasons, much of the attention now focuses to the abundance of newcomers on the Pacers roster now and who is going to step up to shoulder the load. It could be Rodney Stuckey. It could be CJ Miles. It could have been one of the aforementioned Hills or Roy Hibbert.

The one thing that the Pacers do have going for them is the ease in which it takes to make the plays in the lowly Eastern Conference. Their odds were cut in half to make the playbacks once George went down with his gruesome season-ending injury; going from 20-1 to 40-1. According to Nate Silver at FiveThirtyEight.com, the Pacers still have plenty to play for this season. The Pacers are still a well-trained and well-managed team that has the potential to "stay afloat" in the Eastern Conference, much like the division-rival Chicago Bulls have done over the last two seasons after losing their star player, Derrick Rose .
Silver used ESPN's NBA Real Plus Minus, which uses projections based on their performance and age over the last three seasons. This method projects that the Pacers will end the regular season with a 44-38 record, down from a 56-26 record last season.

The only other option would be to pull a "76ers" and tank this upcoming season by trading away Hibbert and West to play contenders and running with each of the worst offensive lineup in NBA history. If this highly unlikely option does happen, that would leave the Pacers with only PG13, George Hill, Ian Mahimni, and Damjan Rudez on the books after this coming season. That would give the Pacers a very reasonably lottery pick and boat loads of cap room to retool for the 2015-16 season.

Whatever the Pacers decide to do, they have a lot of unanswered questions as the season quickly approaches. Hopefully, Larry has at least one more trick up his sleeve to make sure that this franchise comes out on top after such a rough stretch of bad luck.

THE VIKINGS

This is what entertainment’s all about! Directed by (and starring) Kirk Douglas, this movie released in 1958. Ernest Borgnine is a Viking king, compelling in this rude/crude role, and Kirk is his son. A viking’s life is active, raping and pillaging, and partying at night. I read somewhere that this film was tops in the box office for the 1950’s, and I’d believe it. Tony Curtis believes he’s a slave. Can’t imagine a better lookin’ slave, rivaled only by his other slave role in Spartacus! Tony and Kirk vie for the affections of Janet Leigh (who married Tony in real life), Tony in a more endearing manner and Kirk with the grace of a wild boar in the woods. The battles are great, the ship maneuverings fascinating, the scene with the hawk still haunts me. I’ve never forgotten the music either. Definitely one to add to a must-be-viewed list.

EXCALIBER

This version of King Arthur’s story was released in 1981. Has anyone not heard the words “the sword in the stone” at some point in life, even if simply due to an animated or book version during childhood? Bring on the myth, Wagner and more-more-Merlin. It’s definitely a fave from younger days and fantasizing about the myth-perfection of Camelot. Lancelot to Guenivere: “As long as you live, I will love no other.” That’s gotta be top ranking in the ultimate most romantic things to say. The scene near the end with King Arthur riding out to reclaim his kingdom, Wagner at fever pitch and the scenery changing is forever etched in my memory.

DANGEROUS BEAUTY

First viewing of this 1998 release for me. I’m aghast that this treasure escaped my radar. Starring Catherine McCormack, Rufus Sewell, Oliver Platt, Fred Ward, Jacqueline Bisset, and Moira Kelly, to name a few, this lush, true story captures our attention and holds it until the end. The setting is 16th century Venice. What’s a girl going to do when born of a rank lower than a good marriage match deems. Why, become a courtesan, of course, trained by her very own mother. Catherine plays Veronica Franco, whose innocent heart belongs to Marco. He is, regretfully, not allowed to marry her. It seems her building courtesan skills attract him and she then spurns him, albeit skillfully. He simply burns for her more. The story moves along parallel to a plague ravaged Europe, political unrest, war and The Inquisition. Guess who will get accused of witchcraft. The music is nicely compelling and the entire production is lavish. This movie was a pleasure to experience.

Thousands of soon-to-be students are hunting for extra financial assistance for college tuition. Without a perfect SAT score or the ability to run a sub 4.5 forty yard dash, you might find your chances of securing a scholarship aren’t looking too bright. However, you might not realize that your odd talent or hobby may make you the perfect applicant for one of these 15 strange but real scholarships.

Oink, Oink

Has your room been compared to a sty? Are you comfortable living in a messy habitat? These aren’t requirements for a scholarship, but they are attributes of the creatures you care about – pigs! If you’re interested in creatures of the bovine persuasion, this is the scholarship for you; the International Boar Semen (IBS) Scholarship is available for those interested in swine management. For more information, visit piggene.com/IBS/ibs_home.htm.

The Next Generation of . . . Klingons

Trekkies, leave your capes, figurines, posters and other memorabilia behind. Just bring, well, yourself! Klingon Language Institute, in an effort to promote language study, awards one lucky winner a $500 Kor Memorial Scholarship-but don’t worry, fluency in Klingon is not a requirement. Check out the requirements for this scholarship at: kli.org/scholarship/.

Think Tall Thoughts

You’ve got Michael Jordan’s stature but you’re about as agile as a water buffalo. That’s okay with Tall Clubs International! Males over 6’2″ and females above 5’8″ are encouraged to apply. The reward is no small (pun intended) amount either; Tall.org awards a whopping $1,000 scholarship to the winner. Find more info at: http://www.tall.org.

Yo, Shorti!

For the vertically challenged, the Billy Barty Foundation offers scholarships to students of “short stature”. Similarly, the Little People of America awards students – and their families – scholarships. To join, members must be 4’10” and shorter. Scholarship amounts range from $250 to $1000. Read all the requirements at: lpaonline.org.

More Trans fat, please!

Say goodbye to the cabbage soup, grapefruit only, or south beach diets! The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance encourages “fat” people to apply for one of their two merit-based scholarships. The scholarships, offered to already-existing NAAF members, awards $1,000 for first place, while the second place prize is $500. For more fat-friendly information regarding the scholarships, go to: naafa.org/newevents/shcolarship.html

For the Herbivores

Calling all veggie-lovers around the world! Two health-conscious winners will be awarded $5,000 in scholarship money from the Vegetarian Resource Group. But be forewarned: unless you love your legumes, this scholarship is not for you. Eligible applicants must not only exemplify a healthy lifestyle, but also promote vegetarianism within their community too. For more information visit: vrg.org.

Sk8 through School

Thanks to Tony Hawk and a few scrapes, bruises, and breaks, your skateboarding skills may have finally paid off. The Patrick Kerr Skateboard scholarship program awards four different scholarships each year. One applicant will receive a $5,000 college scholarship and three others will receive $1,000 awards. And your mother thought skateboarding would never get you anywhere! Requirements include maintaining at least a 2.5 out of 4.0 GPA, be a graduating senior, and a United States citizen. Be sure to read all the requirements skateboardscholarship.org.

Bit of the Bubbly, Please

Finally, your weakness for wine might serve another purpose-besides the pounding morning-after headache. The American Society for Enology and Viticulture (AASEV) awards multiple students for enrolling in science fields relating to the grape and wine industry. The scholarship amount is not predetermined; it varies year to year. To read other requirements for this scholarship, go to: asev.org/scholarship-program.

Bowling for Dollars

Though those middle-school years of loitering around bowling alleys have ended, your talent for earning turkeys may finally be cashing in. The United States Bowling Congress (USBC) offers a range of scholarships, including the Chuck Hall Star of Tomorrow that offers a $1,500 renewable scholarship for distinguished male high school bowlers and the Alberta E. Crow Star of Tomorrow that also offers $1,500 in renewable scholarship funds for great female high school bowlers. Read more at: bowl.com/smart/locateState.aspx.

Got Milk?

The Scholar-Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year award is given to twenty-five graduating high school seniors who have what it takes to sport the famous milk mustache; winners receive $7,500 in scholarship funds. If that’s not enough, winners receive a special ad that runs in USA Today. If that’s not enough, winners receive an all-expense trip to an awards ceremony at Disney Wide World of Sports’ Milk House in Orlando, FL and an induction into the Milk House Hall of Fame. Check out applications at: sammy.bodybymilk.com.

Offer an Organ

You signed up to be an organ donor when you received your license. Put that heart on your ID to use! The Students for Organ Donation Youth Leadership award one or two $500 to $1,000 scholarships to full-time high school or undergraduate college students. Successful candidates actively promote organ donation and transplantation. More criteria to apply for this scholarship can be found at: studentdonor.org.

Tee It Up

You’ve seen them trudging up and down the greens, toting thirty pounds of iron on their backs, and offering tips to improve swings, distance and posture. Finally, they’re due their recognition; Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund, founded in 1949, offers anywhere from $1,500 to $7,500 per year to caddies. Eligible applicants must have served at least two years as caddies, helpers in the pro shop or course superintendent operations at a club in Massachusetts. Read more information: ouimet.org/scholarships/

Color in the Lines

Did you meticulously color in the lines of your coloring books as a child? You may have graduated from crayons to acrylics, but the concept is the same: you’re an artist at heart. Established in 1983, the L. Ron Hubbard Illustrator of the Future contest awards both quarterly and annual scholarships, ranging from $1,500 to $4,000. Read more : writersofthefuture.com

Hot, Hot, Hot

You’ve heard it, those three little words…in case of a fire: stop, drop and roll to safety. Earning a scholarship from the American Fire Sprinkler Association is almost just as easy; AFSA offers ten $2,000 scholarships per year to graduating high school seniors. Requirements include reading an essay and taking an online (and open-book) test. Read more about this sizzling offer on: afsascholarship.org.

Giddyup, cowboy!

The Arabian Horse Foundation offers an annual scholarship of $2,500 to one eligibly equine enthusiast. The scholarship, named in remembrance of William Zekan, is offered to horse lovers that demonstrate financial need, are currently either a high school senior or college freshman and can provide two letters of recommendation. For more eligibility criteria: arabianhorsefoundation.org.

A good understanding of the foods birds eat can help us to get them nearer to us. Birds help to add life to the trees in your backyard, put some natural sounds in your surroundings, and simply make you feel close to nature. Different types of birds eat different kinds of foods.

If you are able to discover what types of foods the birds are eating in your place, you might be able to use these foods to make them come nearer to your place. Here are the types of birds based on the food they eat:

Avivores

Avivorous birds are simply birds of prey; they eat other birds in order to live. These birds, which include hawks, falcons, and crows, are characterized by strong wings, legs and talons. They are agile fliers that pursue smaller birds and grab the smaller ones with their claws.

Carnivores

These are birds of prey. They love to eat meat, but they don’t feed on other birds. The majority of their diets include rodents, small mammals, fish, snakes and frogs. Carnivorous birds include eagles, owls, falcons, and large hawks.

Frugivores

Frugivores are the typical fruit-eaters that we often see in the woods or near our farms. These sweetly-colored avian friends are our feathered planters. They work to spread the seeds of plants throughout the forest. These birds, which include orioles, robins, bananaquits, parrots, and blue jays love apples, berries, plums, raisins, bananas and other fruits. By the way, some bats eat fruits, but they are not birds; they are mammals.

Granivores

Granivores are birds that make grain as their primary food. Many birds belong to this category. They are the ones that are easy to attract in our backyards, if only we know what to lure them with. Examples of granivores include pigeons, sparrows, finches, parakeets, cardinals, and doves.

Insectivores

Insectivorous birds also depend on flesh for their diet, but this time, they prey on insects. Most insectivores are small, but these birds do a lot to help farmers and gardeners. They help to control the population of pests that destroy plants. These avian friends of ours include phoebes, bluebirds, warblers, woodpeckers, and chirping sparrows. Many birds that are not insectivores by nature hunt insects to feed their young.

It’s just unfortunate that when farmers spray their plants with insecticides, they also destroy the birds that eat the dead insects. It’s one of the main reasons why insect-eating birds are disappearing today.

Molluscivores

Molluscivores are shore birds that feed on snails, oysters and slugs. Many molluscivores converge at the seashore during low tide to hunt for clams and oysters. Other birds of this type prefer to stay in swamps to find their favorite food.

Nectivores

These birds feed on nectar from flowers. They help in the cross-pollination of flowers to make them develop and produce seeds. This is a symbiotic relationship that allows plants and birds to thrive together. Some of the most known nectivores include honeyeaters, hummingbirds, honeycreepers, sunbirds, and spiderhunters.

Ophiophagous Birds

Ophiophagous birds are feathered creatures that eat snakes. There are just a few bird species that include snakes as part of their main diet. These include the secretary bird, snake eagles, and some hawks and herons.

Palynivores

Palynivores are birds that eat pollen. There are not many birds which are strictly pollen-eaters. But a lot of insectivores and nectivores do consume pollen when foraging.

Piscivores

Piscivores are birds that dive or wade into the water to catch fish with their specialized beaks or strong claws. Some examples of piscivores include kingfishers, ospreys, seagulls, and cormorants.

“Turtle alert,” my wife called as she gazed out the kitchen window to report movement in our backyard.” Sloth on my part will begat a second, sharper claxon call, “Turtle alert!” Should I foolishly ignore the call because I am at some important function (like a video game), she repeats the alert louder and rapidly to sound like “turd alert.” The same thing happened with Hodor, a Game of Thrones character who sometimes got excited and repeated that he would keep a door closed.

Sure enough, a fair-sized terrapin turtle, with lozenge-shaped burnt orange marks on his shell, patrolled our lawn. Ever-so-often, he craned his neck to gain more range to support his quest for the elusive mushroom, a backyard delicacy which he craves. However, a light and steady rain will transform this armored gourmet into “stud turtle.” We can only speculate that rain acts as an aphrodisiac in our terrapins. More of them leave the woods to play in our backyard during a light rain, and we get to learn the purpose of nature as the males comically mount the females.

Likely, on sunny days, we only see male terrapins. Anything but social then, they behave as though they defend territory on those days, or they react to a perceived theft of property. “Hey, that other turtle ate my mushroom!” Rarely do they fight. The larger ones will run at the smaller ones, who quickly haul it in a different direction. However, on rare occasions, two large turtles will engage in a staring contest. Their proximity seems as a measure of resolve. Their art of war: serious staring, serious lack of movement, and the tension in the air enters the house to affect my wife.

“What are they doing now?” she fidgets during a Hallmark Romance chick flick. Unable to enjoy her show, she wears down the carpet to gather more turtle reports. Sometimes the turtle war of stares will last for hours before some restructure of territory seems to occur. Then, we see each of the big guys patrol different turf in our backyard… unless a mushroom comes into play.

Our terrapins are happy additions to our backyard animal visitors, which also include squirrels, rabbits, moles, the occasional red-tailed hawk, a deer, and most rarely, a wild turkey. At night, different animals begin their shift: raccoons, foxes, possums, and owls. But our alert about seeing any of the other wildlife, “I see nature,” seems to imply that the terrapin turtles have a special place in our lives. I am glad that Australian Fitzroy River Turtles don’t visit. They breathe through their rear ends, a thing that I have placed on my “never want to see” list. #TAG1writer

This morning, I awoke to the sound of rain. On this fourth consecutive day of rain, I have grown concerned about flooding, so I peered out various windows to see if the water had begun to pond. In the backyard twilight, I saw a ruby-throated hummingbird swoop in to land on my wife’s bright red feeder. He got two slurps then he rocketed almost straight up to somewhere in the canopy of a large elm tree.

I wondered if he might be quick enough to see and avoid falling rain drops. I live in Southeastern Virginia, and mostly our hummingbird visitors sport feathers emerald green at the back and white at the breast. The males have ruby-red throat feathers. Two or three males fight over the use of our feeder and perhaps six to ten females regularly fly in to feed, unmolested by the males. On occasion, we have seen a larger black hummingbird fly in. None of the ruby throats mess with him.

A migratory species, hummingbirds nest in various Central American countries during winter. They fly across the Gulf of Mexico to return to North American locations familiar to them. I have not read any plausible explanation as to why our bird visitors fly up to Virginia when they might have stayed in Alabama or Florida. I have read that the males come see us first, probably to stake claims on food foraging areas, like my wife’s bird feeder. The females, and their young, arrive later in the Spring (usually in the month of May). I read some studies of captured, released, and tracked hummingbirds that conclude fat content as critically important to their health and their chances of surviving such long journeys of flight each year. The birds live only 3-5 years.

We have noticed a peculiar behavior in our hummingbirds when my wife moves the feeder to a different post hook (about two feet away). She has a bird seed station hanging from the other post, to feed our seed crunching birds. Those birds spill seed to the ground, which attracts squirrels who will eventually damage the lawn below the feeder. So, my wife will occasionally switch the two feeders. For some reason, our hummingbirds, who can find the red feeder after a 1200 mile journey, will hover in front of the seeder station that got put where they expected it. It takes them awhile to find the new location of the sugar water that they crave. #TAG1writer

A Night to Forget …

You're chilling out at a party when your friend Raymond comes over and hands you a brightly colored packet full of white powder.

"Try this, man," Raymond says. "It's awesome. It's legal and it'll get you really messed up."

You look at the packet. The label says "bath salts" – but you know what it really is. It's fake coke, and everyone at school has been talking about it.

"C'mon, try it," Raymond says. "I'm telling you, it's totally safe."

You look down at the packet. Raymond is watching you, and a crowd of kids has gathered around you. They're all watching, waiting.

You open the bag, take a deep breath and then snort fake coke for the first time.

At first, nothing happens … and then everything starts to look wrong. Your mind is racing, and you can feel beads of sweat forming on your forehead. You look around the room, and you feel like everyone's watching you. They're laughing at you. They're talking about you. You just know it.

That's when you freak out. You start screaming and flailing your arms around, swinging at anyone who gets in your way. You will not let anyone near you and nobody can calm you down. Someone ever gets scared enough to call 9.1-1.

When you get to the hospital, you're confused and disoriented and you can not tell the doctors what's wrong. When your mom gets there, you do not even know who she is.

It takes you a few hours to come down, and when you do, the doctor tells you that you're very fortunate. He's seen kids come to the ER after snorting bath salts before and they do not all snap out of it. You'll be able to go home in a few hours, but not everyone is that lucky. Some kids end up in psych wards after using fake coke; others do permanent damage to their health.

You've probably seen fake coke before – they sell it at gas stations and corner stores and you can buy it online. Sometimes, it's sold in packages labeled "bath salts" or "plant food" and even says "Not for human consumption". Fake cocaine – also known as Cloud 9, Ocean, Hurricane Charlie, Scarface, Ivory Wave, White Lightning, Red Dove and White Dove – is a nasty, toxic mix of chemicals.

The main chemicals in fake coke are mephedrone, 3-4 methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV) and methylone. They are strong stimulants that have similar effects to cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and / or LSD.

But what else is in bath salts?

Synthetic stimulants, that are chemicals, which are manufactured derivatives of cathinone. Cathinone, a central nervous system stimulant, is an active chemical found naturally in the khat plant.

But it's Legal … That Means it's Safe, Right?

A lot of people think that because fake coke is sold in stores and online, it has to be safe. But those people are wrong. Fake coke is not safe – and it may not be legal for much longer. Several countries have passed laws outlawing fake coke, and the majority of US states have already banned it by adding fake coke to the state's Controlled Dangerous Substance Act. United States DEA recently exercised its emergency scheduling authority to control the 3 synthetic stimulants that are in bath salts or designer cathinones (synthetic stimulants). These stimulants are used to create bath salts.

Why? Well, because fake cocaine is dangerous. It's unregulated, and it contains chemicals that mess with your brain and body. Nobody is quite sure what using bath salts does to you in the long-term, but it's suspected to be linked to several injuries, deaths and suicides worldwide.

A Future Down the Drain

Carson's Story

Everyone knew that Carson was going to be a pro skater one day: He'd gotten his first skateboard when he was in junior high, and before long he was competitive and winning in state and regional skate contests. People said he was going to be the next Tony Hawk.

By the time he turned 19, it seemed that Carson really was going to be a star. After he graduated high school, Carson began traveling the country, competitiveness in big-name events. He'd even been approached by a couple of skate companies who were interested in sponsoring him.

Carson's future looked bright – but there was one thing holding him back. Carson struggled with drug abuse. While he was still in high school, Carson had been put on probation twice for smoking marijuana. His friends described him as the kind of guy who'd try anything once.

When Carson's skating started taking off, he made an effort to stop partying – but it was hard to quit. He was supposed to be a role model, and getting arrested for drug abuse would hurt his career. Then someone told him about bath salts – they'd mess you up, but they were legal.

So one night, Carson went to the corner store and bought a pack of fake cocaine. When he got home, he went to his room and snorted it. He felt high right away – it was intense. Too intense. Suddenly, Carson felt scared and paranoid – he was hearing things and seeing things. He was convinced that people were trying to break into his apartment. He was sure that the FBI was watching him through his television.

Finally, he called his dad. His dad called an ambulance.

By the time the ambulance got to Carson's apartment building, they were too late. Carson had committed suicide. They found him hanging in his closet; he'd left a crambling suicide note and the packet of bath salts was in his pocket.

Think fake coke is a safe high? That's what Carson thought, too.

Synthetic cocaine is new and unregulated, so nobody is sure what it can do to your body in the long term. But users report all sorts of scary short-term effects, including insomnia, hallucinations, anxiety, paranoia, panic attacks and thoughts of suicide.

When you snort, swallow, inject, or smoke fake cocaine, the chemical MDPV goes straight to your bloodstream, creating an intense high that lasts for several hours. Some users say that the negative effects of fake coke can last much longer, though, sometimes for days.

What's worse than the panic attacks, paranoia and hallucinations you get when you use bath salts? The intense effects you experience when you're coming down from high doses of MDPV.

As MDPV wears off, you can expect to feel some pretty awful after-effects, including:

• Depression
• Headaches
• Anxiety
• Muscle cramps
• Stomach pain

There's not a lot of research yet about how addictive MDPV is, but researchers and users think that it's possible to get hooked on MDPV, just like you get hooked on illegal drugs like cocaine, heroin and meth.

People who have used bath salts say that once they come down from their high, they want more. Regular users say that they build up a resistance to fake coke: over time, they need to use more and more fake cocaine to feel high … and the more fake coke they use, the more paranoid and unstable they become. They do not eat or sleep. They do not know what's real and what's imaginary.

Fake coke might be new, but users and researchers agree that bath salts are not a safe way to get high. In fact, synthetic cocaine might even be much more dangerous than the real stuff.

There are a million reasons to say no to fake coke: It's dangerous. It makes you paranoid and anxious, and it can make you lose touch with reality. When you snort or smoke it, it produces an intense and scary high that might land you in the hospital … or worse.

So what do you say when someone offers you bath salts? Try one of these:

• "No thanks. That stuff makes you crazy."
• "No way! Do you even know what that stuff is?"
• "I'll pass. I've heard that stuff makes you paranoid."
• "Sorry. That stuff is dangerous."

Skateboarding is what you would call an extreme sport. Skateboarding all began in the 60s. The idea of ​​skateboarding started from surfing. That is why surfers and skaters looks are almost the same. The surfers wanted to see if they could do the same things on the street like they did on the waves.

It all began in California in the Santa Dogtown, which is really known as the Monica / Venice Beach area. California is where skateboarding became popular, and then grew to be all over the US One of the most known groups of skateboarding this toy was called the "Z-Boys". The group began in 1973. The first Z-boy was 14-year-old Nathan Pratt. Nathan Pratt worked in a surf shop owned by Jeff Ho. The shop was called "Zephyr Productions" where Pratt worked as an apprentice surfboard maker. The shop was located in Venice Beach California. A year later in 1974, Nathan Pratt was not the only Z-boy; he had 5 of his friends join the group. Now the Z-boys had 6 total members. First was Nathan Pratt, Jay Adams, Allen Sarlo, Stacy Peralta, Chris Cahill and last was Tony Alva. The Z-Boys were known all around Dogtown. They were all surfers, which at that time was a sport that was outcast by most people. They copied the same moves on the skateboard as they did the surf board. In 1975 the Z-Boys started the first skateboarding team. This team was not affiliated with Zephyr Productions.

The boys first skateboarding competition was the Del Mar Nationals in March of 1975. This was the first big skateboarding competition since the 60s. most of the Z-Boys were in the finals of the competition, because they used their new style of skating. Later on the Z-Boys became known all over the skateboarding world.

These skaters are loved to skate in bowls. They used peoples emptied pools as their bowls. They were the first skaters to invent aerial skateboarding. Which means getting air out of the bowl then landing back in the bowl. They were known as the top skaters and surfers. Their story was put on the front page of Skateboarding Magazine.

In 1977 the Z-Boys were no more. They all went their own ways with big skateboarding companies. They will always be remembered as the group who bought skateboarding to what it is today. Two movies were made in honor of the Z-boys. One is a documentary and the other is not.

Today skateboarding is a very popular sport. Skaters today have a variety of flips and grinds. Unlike in the time of the Z-Boys skateboards have changed dramatically. Instead of just a board on wheels. There are now different board sizes, wheels, trucks, bars, and bolts or what is known as hardware. Today they are 3 types of skaters. 1) Street Skater, which means they do not use half-pipes or bowls they only skate the streets. The most common place a street skater will go is a staircase. 2) Vert Skater, which means they only skate on half-pipes and bowls. 3) All Around Skater, which means they skate both street and vert.

Skaters today still get into trouble with home owners and business owners. Because of damaged property. Overall skateboarding is not as outcast as much as it used to be. Skateboarding is more popular then ever today. Competitions are held all over the US Today skateboarding for some few is what they do for a living. Two popular vert skaters are Tony Hawk and Bob Burnquist. Two Popular street skaters are Rodney Mullen.

Skateboarding has also been put into the video gaming world. The two most popular games are the "Tony Hawk" games and the "Skate" Games. The sport has also become a big part of the clothing industry. Shirts, pants, hats and a lot more have become popular to wear. In today's time there are skate shops all over the nation. Also they are parks that are just for skaters called skate parks. Skate parks today are indoor and outdoor. They are skateboarding movies and websites as well.

Always remember skateboarding can be dangerous. Skaters break bones and get knocked out and in a few rare occasions … skaters have died. So just remember do not try a really hard trick if you do not have enough experience. Note: I am not trying to tell you what to do or not to skate. I am only trying to help you so you do not have to learn the hard way.

Most skaters love to grind on rails and jump stair sets. Some skaters love to go on half-pipes and get air. Skaters always try to find a new obstacle to either jump or grind on. Skateboarding will most likely be around forever. There are skaters of all types of age groups.