January 30, 2009

Air Cooler Manufacturers Goes With Encompix ERP Software

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 4:36 pm

After an extensive search, AXH selected Encompix ERP Software. Air-x-hemphill (AXH) combines more than 40 years of experience and leadership in the air-cooled heat exchanger industry. This fast-growing company went form zero to 120 employees in less than six months, located at their corporate office in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and their plant in Claremore, Oklahoma.

The company encompasses the entire spectrum of air-coolers from initial thermal design and application through mechanical engineering, design drafting, project management with a focus on quality. They provide a complete line of air-cooled heat exchangers in a wide range of sizes and models to fit virtually every application requirement in the industry. To cope with this explosive growth AXH needed ERP software to support their engineer-to-order business.

Encompix (www.encompix.com) has filled the manufacturing software requirements of Engineer-to-Order companies since 1992. The company name reflects the commitment to developing business application solutions that encompass the complex areas of project-based and job-based manufacturing. Encompix provides ETO manufacturers with a competitive advantage by improving bottom line results.

According to TR Cutler, spokesperson for the ETO Institute (www.etoinstitute.org), “The AXH implementation is indicative of the type of efficiency lean manufacturing processes many ETO manufacturers are completing to stay competitive in a global economy.”

Encompix www.encompix.com rmeloy@encompix.com 513-733-0066

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Meditation with background music?

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 9:39 am

Most people find it difficult, by exercising meditation, to focus and to empty totally their minds.
There is a technique to eliminate that problem.
Start with choosing a certain daytime to your convenience to do your every day meditation.
Over time, it will become your most pleasant time of your day, you’ll awaiting it from day to day. It will become your most intimate time during your day and a secret place to retire to.

You can meditate how long you ever like and have time to. It can be during the daytime or also in evening(but attention – do not fall asleep). Do it for 10 minutes or for ten hours, it’s by you.
You can do it sitting in a comfortable cheer or lay down supine.
Your position should be comfortable enough to permit you a complete relaxation.
During your meditation, you should be all over relaxed and not force any muscles of your body. Before you start relax a little, calm down from stress and try to eliminate any thinking about whatever, even not about the thinking itself.

Focus your attention onto your breathing, follow your respiration with your thoughts, feel how the air goes in and out through your nose and brings a stream of energy to you. (Never breath through your mouth!) Imagine your breathing as a stream of pure energy coming in to you.
Pay attention for your neck, often it will be forced without you’re conscious and feel it. Try avoiding that because it brings you to headaches.
You respiration should be like that what you’ve learned from the yoga positions, meaning the complete yoga respiration.
(See http://www.meditationsession.com/exercises.html)

Again, think anything, try to empty your mind completely.
If you should find that difficult to do, let your thoughts simple flow without paying any attention to them, the mind is like an old wife that never will stop and shut up with the words, let them flow.
A little trick can help stopping your mind from thinking; try to turn your closed eyes up right to the middle of your front between your eyes brown.
There is following the Indian tradition your third eye and in fact you’ll perceive there during deeper meditation states all of your existence or being.
During deeper meditation states you perceived being is not anymore in your body, your body presence will fade away and you’ll feel your existence and your being only there – on the third eyes dimension.
Don’t scare about any strange sensations or feelings like some warm stream along you spinal column or shiver or else.
You don’t have to fear nothing, nothing can happen to you.
You have full control of yourself even if you do not perceive your body anymore, you can wake up whenever you want, in every instant.
You are the master of yourself.
With more practice, you’ll start to perceive different colours – choose one of them as your favoured one to concentrate on the next times.
Let yourself slip into this colours till you’re one with the colour itself.
That can you make happen with every image you like and get during your meditation; it can be a flower, the sun, the sea or water generally, it can be love, it can be friendship, it can be whatever you choose and focus on.
In this way you can even program your meditation to concentrate to one purpose only to stronger your behaviour.
Of course, you should choose only themes that are noble like altruism, love and so on.
Don’t choose themes that are not noble they can drive to bad experiences.
In any case surrender yourself do never combat any impression or imagine you get during your meditation, be conscious that nothing can happen to you, you are the master of your meditation.
By using the holosync meditation music technique (see on http://www.meditationsession.com) all the process will be guided from the music itself and it will be very easy for you to entry in deep meditation states.
Use the meditation music technique to ease and make deeper and faster your meditation and get real great results.
With meditation you can grow yourself and model your character and your way of life.
The power is inside yourself, use it to make more out of your life.

To be continued – to get the newest updates go to http://www.meditationsession.com

About the Author

Owner&Webmaster
http://www.meditationsession.com
Psychologist and Yoga practising

Consider An Emergency Generator

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 7:13 am

Should you supplement battery-based uninterruptible data center power supplies with an emergency generator? Vendors say the question has been coming up with increasing frequency as word spreads about summer rolling blackouts and brownouts and drops in service reliability. Two years ago, 50 million people in eight states from the Midwest to New York lost power for at least 24 hours in one giant blackout.

Amercan Power Conversion and other vendors note that specific localities can have much higher outage rates, either because of building-specific problems or bad weather (lightning strikes in the Southeast, for example, or tornadoes in the Midwest). In a rolling blackout, power to industrial facilities is often shut down first. New data center managers should check the utilities contract to see if the data center is subject to such utility disconnects.

A Growing Problem

“Deregulation of the power industry has had a real effect on people’s needs to support their systems during shutdowns or to ride through a shutdown,” says Bill Hunt, product line manager for the power generation systems group at APC. Despite that, he says, customers typically admit that they’ve considered a backup generator but rejected the idea because of the design work required.

“A UPS provides clean power, guarding against surges and drops,” says Dan McHugh, project manager at PTS Data Center Solutions. “In order to provide longer-term power, you’d need racks and racks of batteries. A generator allows you to be out two to three days, so you’re not losing money.” PTS is a consulting firm that does design work, construction, or construction management.

Says Hunt, “Our small and medium business customers started to come to us looking for longer runtimes. It used to be seven to 10 minutes, and now they were asking for two hours or more.” A well-designed emergency generator can run for days.

A data center with seven to 12 racks full of equipment needs 20KW to 40KW to stay up. The cost, installed with proper electronics for testing as well as for emergencies, with noise and air pollution controls, is typically $35,000 to $40,000, vendors say?after warning that installation costs can vary enormously.

Vendors say that units up to 20KW, on a concrete ground-level pad, are standard enough in many circumstances to be “ordered on the phone,” in Hunt’s words. But anything larger will require some specialized expertise and more careful configuration. Local electrical and HVAC contractors can point data center personnel in the right direction.

It is little wonder that data center management worries about the cost. But over time, the price doesn’t seem as high. “That’s about the same as an extra 45 minutes to an hour’s worth of batteries,” says Hunt, “amortized over about 10 years.” As the kilowatt requirements rise, the generator option gets cheaper by comparison. But site problems, especially lack of space outside the building to pour a concrete pad for the generator and noise-attenuating enclosure, can inflate the cost quickly.

Michael Dauffenbach, industrial sales region manager for Katolight, says the generator itself might be only a third or half the total cost. “A 15KW gas [typically propane] unit’s list price is about $10,000,” he says, “and diesel is about the same.”

As capacity increases, diesel prices rise more slowly than gas. At 250KW, diesels cost about $45,000 and gas $90,000, again, for the generator alone. APC doesn’t see propane or natural gas as practical above 150KW. About a quarter of the units APC sells run on gas, with the rest on diesel fuel.

Makers of fuel cells, which would replace generators, are just beginning to test the marketplace, as well. Fuel cell installations promise to be simpler, as there are no noise or pollution issues and units are fairly compact. But costs are unclear.

Data center personnel also worry about maintaining and testing. “Very few companies want to schedule a test once a month or once a week. I don’t think they exist. I never heard of one,” says McHugh. For the average small to medium-sized enterprise, weekly tests are probably unnecessary. However, larger companies may need to test more often.

“In a hospital or nursing home, the JCHA [Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation] recommends testing emergency generators once a week. They have to test under load and keep maintenance logs. How important is your data?” says Dauffenbach.

The best test is to use “building mode.” You simply simulate a power outage by cutting off power from outside. “Data centers don’t like to do that,” says Dauffenbach.

A compromise: Use a transition transfer switch. To test, or if you think an outage is coming, turn the generator on first, synchronize the generator’s output with the utility’s power, and then open the switch to cut off the utility supply.

A more common approach is simply to turn on the generator once a week or once a month, while the utility continues to provide power to the data center. Testing the generator that way, without connecting to an external load (the equipment in the data center itself), puts extra strain on it. Generator vendors recommend simulating the load by installing a “dummy” load bank. The power can be dissipated with resistive wire (“Think of it as a giant toaster,” says Dauffenbach) or with inductive or capacitative loads. A 10KW load bank can cost $4,000 or more, depending on its type and its adjustability.

APC offers an annual service itself or through business partners worldwide. Under the service plan, you can contract to have a test under load done periodically. The APC technicians arrive with their own load bank. “We also recommend testing under real load. Maybe quarterly, on a Sunday, shut down all noncritical processing tasks, check the UPS batteries, and pull the plug,” says Hunt.

The emergency generator business is dominated by local firms, working with local design consultants and electrical contractors. Among those suppliers who distribute nationally in addition to APC are Detroit Diesel, John Deere, and Caterpiller. You’ll be referred to a dealer-distributor such as Bowers Power, Covington Detroit Diesel-Allison, and GoPower.com.

Figuring The Size

Estimating the generator size you might need involves more than adding up the data center’s computer demand. Should you include power for air conditioning? “If you plan being on the generator for no more than 20 or 30 minutes, you may not need air conditioning,” says McHugh. “But after 30 minutes, our preference is that at least a portion is put onto the generator. A handful of lights is enough.”

If you include air conditioning, you will have to add extra generating capacity to allow for transient loads. Air conditioners, fans, and similar equipment start under load and draw far more than their rated power needs for a few seconds.

How to sell it to the boss? “It comes down to dollars for everybody,” says McHugh. “What does this cost your company if you have a two-hour outage and you have a half-hour battery? Is this cost in the hundreds of thousands? Millions?”

About the Author

None

January 28, 2009

Things To Look Out For When Making Mobile Purchases

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 9:02 am

A big and forever growing mobile telephone UK market following the rule of introducing ‘a phone a day’ has made it deeply tough work for mobile phone customers to compare mobile phone offers. Most of the time, there are countless aspects that mobile phone customers need to look into when making mobile phone comparisons that some of the most foremost ones get forgotten about.

As a result, you regularly end up having a cell phone which is either too high priced or one which is not ideal for your cell phone call and text profile. Hence we discuss in this guide about the two very most key things that people should constantly look at when making phone purchases. This may help folk land a mobile phone that at least meets the basic criteria mobile phone customers are looking for.

The total mobile phone UK market is booming on the basis of wonderful features that keep getting added every week. Still, a profoundly large majority of individuals acquire mobiles based on their appearance, brand and super marketing only to regret later when they notice that their brilliant mobile device lacks a very standard feature like sending text or picture messages. Innumerable excellent expensive mobile phones sell on the basis of marketing, brand and aesthetics at price tags that are unjustified if you look at the lack of high end features. For example the latest apple Iphone 3G does not let customers forward text messages to all. Unfortunately, this phone’s target audience, early 20s, gets to regret the loss of this mobile phone feature only after spending weeks worth of pocket money on it. So make sure that your astonishing new cell phone has all the features like movie players you require before tying yourself into a 12 month contract. Since mobile phone firms will never tell customers about the breathtaking features like interactive maps that their mobiles lack, reading up online mobile reviews is the finest way to do it. Get some help with finding the best Mobile Phones and deals with MobileShop.

January 25, 2009

Find Out the Things To Look for When Making Mobile Phone Purchases

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 10:02 pm

A large and always growing cell phone UK market following the rule of introducing the newest new phone has made it deeply hard for people to compare mobile offers. Most of the time, there are various aspects that individuals may need to look into when making phone comparisons that some of the very most primary ones get overlooked. Get the cheapest o2 mobile phone deals with MobileShop.

As a result, one consistently end up owning a phone which is either too dear or a mobile phone which is not suited for your mobile phone usage profile. And so we point out in this guide about the 2 very most principal things that customers should consistently look at when making mobile phone comparisons. This can often help people land a cell phone that at least meets the standard criteria mobile customers are looking for.

The full mobile phone UK market is booming on the basis of marvellous features that keep getting added every month. Still, an unusually large majority of mobile phone customers purchase phones based on their appearance, brand and awesome hype only to regret later when customers observe that their lovely handset lacks a very basic feature like sending emails or picture messages. Numerous awesome pricey mobile phones sell on the basis of hype, brand and looks at prices that are unjustified given the lack of high end features. For example the latest apple iphone does not let cell phone customers forward text messages to all. Unfortunately, Apple Iphones target audience, early 20s, gets to regret the loss of this mobile phone feature only after spending months worth of salary on it. Hence make sure that your great new mobile phone has all the features like mp3 players you require before paying up. Since cell phone firms will never tell people about the mind-blowing features like mp3 players that their cell phones lack, researching online cell phone write-ups is the greatest way to do it.

Success Lessons From Cricket

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 12:43 pm

The first success lesson is that you and I must not dwell on our mistakes however humiliating they are. We have to be tough minded and just focus on the next ball to be bowled or the next project in our lives.

Cricket is a team game but there are only 11 players fielding (bowling and catching the ball) and they are spread out on a large field. Any mistakes you make are seen at once by your team mates and the audience. The mistakes of the batting side are also clearly visible as only two people bat at a time.

Kevin Pietersen, the promising England batsman, dropped two catches in the first test when he was fielding but then went on to a play a good batsman’s innings. A commentator remarked that he must have a strong mind to get over the disappointment of dropping the catches enough to allow him to bat well

Geraint Jones, the wicket keeper, had also dropped two catches and again a commentator remarked that you can try to put your mistakes at the back of your mind but it is not that easy. The memory keeps recurring. However, Jones batted well in spite of the memory that must have haunted him. Later in the series, he also took some magnificent catches to make up for the ones he had dropped.

Both captains, Michael Vaughan and Ricky Ponting, batted poorly in the first two tests and were heavily criticized in the papers. However, in the third test match both captains batted extraordinarily well. They both showed the fighting spirit to get over the depression they must have felt after the first and second matches and the criticism they were receiving daily.

A second key success lesson is that you must not get distracted from your goal of scoring runs or anything else by mental or physical pain. In ordinary life, many painful things can happen which can demoralise you unless you are determined enough to keep going in spite of the pain. Keep focused on your goals and dreams whatever happens.

Those who have not played cricket may not realise how hard a cricket ball is. It is especially hard and bouncy when it is new. Fast bowlers are usually given the new ball so that they can bounce it high to hit the batsmen in the head, throat, ribs or hands.

Once the batsmen get distracted by the pain in their head or hands, they will be vulnerable to the next ball and will do something silly like knocking up a catch or failing to protect their wicket (the three stumps or sticks protruding from the ground) from getting hit by the ball.

Brett Lee, the Australian fast bowler, was run out when he hesitated before running. He wanted to flap his hand to get rid of the pain. His index finger and then his thumb had been hit by fast balls. Later, however, in another match, he redeemed himself by batting well even though he had been hit hard on the head and the arm!

On the second day of the first test England were bowling at the Australians who were having their second innings (chance to bat).

However, the England bowlers were not harassing the batsmen enough. Boycott, the former great England batsman, commented that the ball should be whistling about the batsmen’s ears and hitting their gloves:

“The ball is new and hard. Now is the time to hit the batsmen before the ball gets too soft. Once the batsmen get too comfortable, they will start thinking: ‘I fancy scoring a hundred.’”

Even the tailenders or weaker batsmen who bat last have to suffer. The bowlers cannot allow them to stay in too long. Boycott continues:

“Bowlers should hit the tailenders in the ribs or on the hand before they get too comfortable. That’s what you have to do as a fast bowler. You have to hurt the opposition tailenders. Tailenders are alright if there is not a likelihood of them getting hurt. They’re not too brave.”

On Saturday, the third day of the test, the Australian tail enders were batting. Gillespie, one of the tailenders, was hit in the stomach near the belly button. He grimaced in pain. A few balls later he was hit in the groin by a ball from Harmison and doubled over in agony. The ball was travelling at about 90 miles an hour. The crowd roared with laughter. Harmison had been aiming for the throat and the toes and the crown jewels

It can take a good over (6 balls from the same bowler) or two to get focused after being hurt. But Gillespie is a gutsy player and practises hard at his batting. He realizes it is important for a tailender to score runs or at least stay in. He batted on bravely.

The gutsy performance of the Australian tailenders had much to do with the Australian success in the first test match of the Ashes series. They had learned how to overcome sharp physical pain and recover their focus quickly.

We all need to learn to accept the fact that we will suffer mental and physical pain at some point in achieving our goals. The secret is to forget the pain as quickly as possible and just concentrate on doing what we have to do.

Further success lessons came from the third test match. One of them is that sometimes it is better not to listen to the critics whether they are outside or inside your own head.

Australia had won the first test match and then England won the second test on the 7th Aug 2005 a date that will go down in history as the date of one of the greatest cricket matches ever played.

England won the match by 2 runs only – an amazingly close margin. Much of the success was due to the England captain, Michael Vaughan, but Vaughan had not scored enough runs himself in this test or the first one. He could guarantee that the papers would be having a go at him in a big way. His solution was simple. He did not read the papers.

On Thursday, England went in to bat. Michael Vaughan was in third and was under great pressure to perform. This is where his policy of not reading the papers paid off. He scored his first century of the series. The audience were up and out of their seats applauding as he succeeded. He had scored 13 fours (hits to the boundary).

A captain who scores runs can lead by example. It is important that he is in form as actions speak much louder than words. In the end he made a large total of 166 runs with about 20 four’s and at least one six (a hit over the boundary).

He told an interviewer that before batting he had talked to the young boy who was the England mascot for the day. The lad had already had three heart by pass operations. This made Vaughan feel less tension as he realised that, at the age of thirty, he had so much to be thankful for and that scoring or not scoring runs was not that important in the whole scheme of things.

He also decided to bat on intuition and not to think too much. He had already done his thinking and his practice. Once he was facing some of the best bowlers in the world, he would not have time to think. His plan worked and he smashed the ball all over the place.

However, in the end Australia held out for a draw. They were saved mainly by the rain which meant that England had less time to get them out than was necessary.

So then: keep going even if you make embarrassing mistakes in full public view. Regain your focus on your goals even if you have been hit by physical or mental pain. Even the great Jim Rohn lost a million dollars after he had signed a form without realising the liabilities involved. He soon regained his focus and the lost money. Refuse to fill your mind with the views of your critics and keep your life in perspective by thinking of those millions of people who are so much worse off than you. Finally,once your thinking has been done, take action wholeheartedly without worrying about the results.

About the author

John Watson is an award winning teacher and fifth degree black belt martial arts instructor. He has recently written several books about achieving your goals and dreams.

They can be found on his website www.motivationtoday.com along with a motivational message and books by other authors

January 23, 2009

How to be a Good Listener of your Wife’s Heart

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 8:28 pm

Feeling like you are not heard or misunderstood is one of the fastest paths to loneliness. When we don’t believe that another person really knows or understands our heart we can get lost in a crowd, feeling all alone. Many men who struggle to connect with their wives will know exactly what I am talking about; this may be his daily experience. Tragically, it is also likely that he may feel alone and misunderstood in his marriage. As a man in recovery learns how to communicate his heart to his wife, it is extremely important that you first listen to hers. This will begin to strengthen the connection between you and hopefully soften each others’ hearts. To go bounding in, expecting her to just listen to you, while you have not listened to her, may become a set-up to recreate the wound that makes you feel so alone and insignificant.

This is not an article about communication tools or how to communicate (read those too). My primary focus is to encourage you to understand and connect with your wife’s heart and not just what she intends to communicate; her heart is deeper than that. That is not to say that communication in and of itself cannot be intimate, but you can at times connect at the heart without needing the rules of healthy communication, or even a word.

Likely there are times that your wife will repeat herself. This is both an opportunity and a signal. If your wife is repeating herself, most likely she is signaling that she is not feeling “heard” or connected to you. This can be an opportunity once you recognize the signal because now you know you have probably missed it. You can clarify her intended message but her heart needs to be “held.” You may do this simply by holding her. An empathetic word or touch can go a long way. Of course there may be times when a hug is not appropriate. If she doesn’t want you to touch her, maybe she is angry with you, make extra efforts to empathize with her by listening respectfully. The expression on your face may say to her if you care or not.

Another way to “hear” your wife’s heart is to watch for it. When you first started dating, you may have made an effort to notice things she likes and dislikes. Do this again but in deeper ways. Get to know more fully what makes her happy, sad, what her dreams are, etc. When you know these things, never stop looking for them and use them to exhort and encourage her.

When she is upset after a phone call from her parents – “I know how devastating it is for you when your dad disregards you feelings. Do you want to talk about it?”

When she is screaming at you – “If I hadn’t had my mind so focused on work, I would have remembered how important it is for you that I remember the anniversary of your father’s death; I know it makes you feel important to me.”

When she won’t say a word to you – “I know when you won’t talk to me you are usually hurt. I would love to talk about it when you are ready.”

Don’t always wait for the difficult moments to engage her, engage her in the easy ones. It may seem too simple to start dating her again, but it isn’t. First, it will be difficult to date her again consistently. Second, it may not be complex, but it got you a wife the first time. Just like you hopefully do with your kids, look for connecting moments to share. Just as Mary Magdalene poured her precious perfumes over Jesus’ feet, treat her extravagantly. Extravagance is not about money, although some of you who may be scrooges will have to loosen up a bit; it is about time, affection, and serving. As you get moving, she will be on your mind more and it will be easier and more rewarding to continue. You will remember what you once knew about her and learn what you never knew.

When you rebuild the connection between your hearts, it takes time for her to be able to trust it. Many men will come to realize they never “heard” their wives before. Take heart, things may be rough in your marriage right now, but to know and connect with your wife in deeper ways than you have ever known – the best years may be yet ahead of you.

Copyright 2004 Bob Parkins, LMFT – All rights reserved

Bob Parkins is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in private practice in Fair Oaks, CA. He specializes in helping couples rebuild their marriage after an affair and leads weekly men’s groups for sexual addiction. Please visit Bob’s website at http://www.bobparkinslmft.com/

January 21, 2009

Upper Arm Exercises

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 6:47 pm

Include the upper arm exercises described below in your exercise program at least three times each week, and you will start to see results in as little as three weeks.

Determine the Right Weight to Start With

Begin by assessing your current strength level. Get a good set of dumbbells that range from three to ten pounds (more if you have weightlifting experience or expect to increase your strength considerably). Hold the 5-pound weight in your dominant hand and do as many biceps curls as you can before tiring. If you can do more than 15 curls without feeling your muscle tire, you need to use a higher weight. If you could do twelve repetitions or less, use a lower weight until you build more strength. Between twelve and fifteen reps means the five-pound weight is right for you now.

Use Proper Form

Proper alignment is crucial to avoiding injury and getting the most out of your workout. Stand up straight as you move the weight and remember to keep your shoulders back and lifted and your head high. Imagine a string is attached to the top of your head, pulling your body straight. If you feel yourself begin to hunch over or slouch, stop, take a deep breath, and resume your good posture.

Build Upper Arm Strength

This upper body routine is a simple one that you can easily include in your preexisting workout schedule. Simply add these exercises three to four days per week and watch your upper arm muscles become shapely and toned.

Biceps Curl

Use the biceps curl to tone the biceps and underlying brachialis muscle in the front of the arm: 1. Hold one weight in each hand with your palms facing inward. 2. Rotate your arms out so that your palms now face to the front and slowly lift the weight until your palm and the weight face your shoulder.

3. Slowly lower the weight back to its original position and then repeat. 4. Repeat this exercise for three sets of 25 repetitions for each arm.

Tip: By slowing down the speed of the movement, the muscles work harder than if you use the momentum of a fast action.

Triceps Press

The triceps muscle is on the back of the upper arm opposite to the biceps. To tone the triceps muscle: 1. Stand with feet shoulder-width apart with weights in hand. 2. Take a giant step forward with your right foot, and lean forward slightly.

3. With your palms facing the ceiling, raise the weights behind you as far as possible and then slowly lower. 4. Repeat this movement for three sets of 20 repetitions.

Tip: For an extra challenge, on the final repetition of each set, hold your arms back and gently pulse the weight up no more than a few inches.

Overhead Raise

Strengthening your shoulders helps your arms grow stronger and improves your overall upper body strength: 1. Stand with weights in hands about shoulder height. 2. Slowly lift the weights overhead and then lower. 3. Repeat the movement for three sets of 25 repetitions.

January 19, 2009

Trade Secrets for Making Silver Jewelry Last a Lifetime

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 10:19 pm

Silver is a soft metal that requires ongoing cleaning to maintain its original luster, and proper storage to prevent scratches. Any jewelry or other item made with silver will change color over time due to a natural oxidation process with sulfides in the air. This can cause items to turn yellow, and then eventually darken to black over time.

There are several easy tricks of the trade that professional jewelers have developed to maintain the beauty of silver jewelry.

Proper Sterling Silver Storage
While it’s tempting to wear a favorite piece all the time, you should always remove your jewelry before using any type of product with chemicals or abrasives such as chlorine, bleach, ammonia, alcohol, turpentine or acetone. That includes finger nail polish, dish detergent, makeup, and even hair spray! Many of these products can permanently damage the silver as well as gemstones.

Dampness, air, and light can cause a piece to tarnish so the optimal method for storing sterling silver jewelry is in an airtight non-reactive container such as a box lined with special non-tarnish material or Mylar or polyethylene bag. Each piece of jewelry should be placed in its own bag so it does not rub up against anything which could potentially cause scratches, kinks in chains, or the damage of a gemstone.

Never place your sterling jewelry on wood surfaces as most wood contains acids which can damage the finish. Card board and paper can also speed up the tarnishing process.

Cleaning Your Silver Jewelry
The more often you clean each piece the easier it is, and the less wear and tear on your jewelry, because the tarnish is minimal which allows for safer cleaning methods.

Silver is a soft metal that can be scratched so be careful to rub gently when cleaning. Never use anything but a clean nub free cotton or flannel cloth, a special sterling silver cleaning cloth, or a very soft bristle brush like a baby’s toothbrush or a horsehair silver brush.

To remove light dirt, fingerprints or makeup just use a couple drops of mild liquid detergent (such as baby shampoo or Woolite) in a cup of warm water and rinse thoroughly with clean fresh water. Dry it completely and lightly buff with a cotton cloth. Always use a lengthwise motion when washing or drying your jewelry, as a circular motion often causes scratching.

The safest method for removing tarnish is to use a treated silver buffing cloth, but there are a number of silver spray polish or pastes that can work well for heavy cleanings if there is a large tarnish build up. To achieve the best results apply the spray or paste on the cloth and work into lather with your hand first. Tarnish in hard to reach areas can be left on to create an antique look and add definition to the jewelry. If you prefer to clean the entire piece you can have it professionally done, or use a soft bristle brush.

Sterling silver dips can be fast and easy but are not recommended by professional silversmiths and jewelers. If using a silver dip it is better to insert the item and remove it quickly, repeating after rinsing with water, rather than leaving the item in the dip for long periods of time. Follow up by buffing with a soft cotton cloth. If you leave the piece in too long, or don’t rinse it well enough with fresh water, a white residue will be left which can be difficult to remove.

Should you purchase a cleaner or dip, ensure that the product is designed for the type of jewelry item you want to clean. Dipping is not recommended for liquid silver or silver items with gemstones, and even paste or spray cleaners remove the natural luster of stones so be sure to remove any trace of cleaner residue and rinse each item thoroughly with clean water.

Additional Jewelry Cleaning Tips
Baking soda is often mentioned a cleaner but some jewelers claim that this method is to abrasive. If you wish to avoid using chemicals and want to try baking soda you should always test a small part of your silver jewelry piece first to see if leaves any noticeable marks. To use baking soda, lightly the item with clean water, the pour baking soda over the jewelry and rub gently with your fingers. Once the tarnish is removed, rinse with more clean water and dry with an all cotton cloth.

If your jewelry has been coated with a lacquer shield (to slow the tarnishing process) you should clean the item only after all of the lacquer has completely worn off. Cleaning agents can reach underneath the lacquer causing residue spotting.

Professional jewelers recommend cleaning your sterling silver jewelry as often as once per month, with a yearly professional cleaning for luxury and heirloom pieces. Cleaning gives you the chance to also check for loose stones or parts. Always have your jewelry repaired right away to prevent further damage.

Understanding the proper methods for storing and cleaning sterling silver jewelry is essential to the life of each piece.

JP Cambert is a specialist in the fashion and beauty industry and owns several online shops including Discount Silver Jewelry store Silver Basement, as well as the Discount Perfume shop Unlimited Perfumes.

Platonic Friendships Last – Relationships Don’t – Why?

Filed under: Uncategorized @ 8:29 pm

Have you ever noticed that the second that you introduce sex into a relationship, it begins to slide into a bottomless pit and die? At least we wish that it would die. We should only be so lucky. Our society has created a group of high paid buzzards known as family law lawyers who circle waiting for the partners to part, at which time they move in for the kill, using a host of false promises and lies to suck the money and the spirit and the children and the lives out of the entire family. Gay men and women are fighting like cats and dogs for the right, the privilege to marry one another. There has to be some bar association behind this insanity.

A Platonic friendship between a man and a woman, or a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, or a sheep and a goat, is where there is no sex involved. These types of relationships are named after a Greek Philosopher, Plato, (that was his wrestling nickname), who lived 2,500 years ago, 500 years before Jesus. Mary and Joseph had a platonic relationship, if you don’t count Jesus’ brothers. This sibling jealousy over Jesus having been born immaculately is the root of why the Jewish people do not believe in Jesus Christ, the God of 2 billion people today.

It is well known that Plato, his teacher Socrates, and his student Aristotle, were old pedophiles who lived to have sex with beautiful young boys. What isn’t as well known is why sexless relationships are called Platonic. Their philosophy was that the longing and desire for the beauty of the boy was the root of the relationship and that their sexual desire for the boy is what set the relationship on fire. Socrates was executed for corrupting the youth of Athens, not by his sexual shenanigans, but for questioning everything and everyone, including the Goddess Athene, the protector of Athens.
Blasphemy aside, it is a known fact that platonic friendships between men and women last, and sexual relationships between men and women do not. Why is that? Is it because I think therefore I am? Wouldn’t it make more sense to say “I think and this is evidence that I am?”

Actually Socrates hated his wife. He had three children with her, and said that learning to live with her enabled him to be able to cope with any other human being no matter how malevolent. How did she feel being married to a man moonwalking backwards on the top of his car at his internationally televised trial for pedophilia and dangling his newborn son upside down off the top balcony of the Paris Hilton? People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, if they have any.

Enough about Mick Jagger, who openly admits to sympathizing with the Devil. At the time when Plato was prancing around with young boys, sleeping in bed naked with them but not touching them, the Jewish and the non Jewish residents of the Holy Land were sacrificing their first born sons alive on fire altars south of Jerusalem to the God Baal. The Jewish Priests lured the people into the Holy Temple built by King Solomon with Temple Prostitutes. Jesus Christ’s best friend was a prostitute and her girlfriends were prostitutes. So lets recap: 2 billion people on Earth today believe that the Universe and its trillion stars, the other planes of existence, and everything on Earth was created by a Jewish Rabbi named Jesus Christ who was born to a Jewish couple having a platonic relationship, and that soon Jesus will return flying down from Heaven on a flying white horse to defeat the armies of Satan, a part goat, part lion, part snake on his flying horse accompanied by his army of flying jockeys, a dead on plagiarism of the Greek Myth of Prince Bellerophon, and his flying horse Pegasus defeating the Chimera. When the level of violence and gullibility on Earth has reached such epic proportions it is amazing that that any couple can stay together without killing each other for over 5 minutes, sex or no sex.

The reason that sex kills a relationship is because it’s dirty. It’s expensive. We’re talking prenups. Ask Kanye, a modern philosopher who penned the tome Gold Digger. The 6 billion people on Earth today are cutting down every tree, our only source of Oxygen, to make Kleenex, because it’s cheaper than fine dining. This is the root of global warming. High priced lawyers. Did you know that Jesus never once mentioned the word Hell in his life? If you pick up a New Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible, every time that Jesus says “Hell”, there is an asterisk beside the word “Hell”. If you look in the fine print, next to the vibrator battery section, the footnote says that in the original Greek versions of the Gospels, every time Jesus said Hell, he really said Gehenna, or Sheol, the place underground where both good and evil spirits lived after death. Did they mate there? How did they get along? So, the question is, why do your modern Bible Writers put their own word “Hell” into your Holy Bibles, and remove Jesus’ words Gehenna or Sheol, 1,435 times? Who cares about Plato? We’re all about to go up in nuclear flames while we heat up the sheets, whether it’s with our mates or our lovers or young boys, it’s all a diversion to make the lawyers rich.

Once upon a time there was a man named Lot, after whom the Lotka was named. God spared him and his 2 daughters because Lot was the only righteous man in the two cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. Lot had two young virgin daughters. Since there were no longer any other people on Earth, in order to keep humanity going, they gave their dad some wine, and slept with him, and had children. He didn’t know that it was them, even though they were the only 3 people on Earth, he didn’t recognize his own daughters in his bed, because he had 2 glasses of wine. We are all their direct descendants. And you want to know why sex destroys relationships? It’s because we’re all insane. And the irony of all ironies is that our map to creating paradise on Earth forever is hidden right in our Holy Bibles underneath tons of rubble, said Jesus Christ, and God of Mount Sinai through every single Biblical Prophet. This is why they were stoned. For delivering God’s message. You still refuse to hear it. And soon you will all burn alive in the nuclear inferno you create, Slaves Of Satan. Rudolph is a hundred to one at Churchill Downs. Merry Christmas, and remember to think positively, as if that will help. “You’re far better off pleasuring yourself”, said Plato to Euripides, in the Dialogues. “Your relationships and your genitalia will last longer.” Euripides: “You can say that again.” Plato: “Once is enough. I redundate, therefore I am.” Continue to probe the great mysteries of life. It’s all just a dream. Sleep. Sleep.

Karen Fish is a writer currently living in Los Angeles California.
www.thetempleoflove.com

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