Create A Healthy Environment for Your Cat
Start by keeping your cat free of fleas and ticks. This is often more challenging in the outdoor cat. Be persistent and try various flea and tick products to find one that gives good results. Remember to also treat and clean your cats bed once a week to reduce fleas. Vacuum your carpets especially where your cat likes to sleep. If your cat or home seem to be heavily infested consult your veterinarian for advice and alternatives.
Cats like to be clean and will usually attract your attention in one way or another when the litter box is overdue for a cleaning. Our cats will whine and fuss in the early morning to be let outside rather than use a smelly litter box. Our cats are also quite happy to use the bathroom floor or shower as an alternative. Thankfully we learned this communication method early on and have managed to meet their need in keeping the litter box clean and fresh. Some cats will scratch around in a dirty litter box and keep scratching for a while with the sand going everywhere. That is there form of communication. Even if the litter box looks clean, is clean of clumped litter, it may still smell of urine and will need a thorough wash and new litter to meet your cats standards.
Observing your cat on a daily basis, knowing its habits and personality will help you detect any changes. Noting any changes in your cat early can prevent future health concerns. Have cuddle time with your cat where you gently inspect its overall condition. Learn to look for any signs of illness such as fever or a dull coat. If your cat is not showing any specific signs, but you know he is simply not himself, there is no harm in calling your veterinarian for advice.
Taking time to create a healthy environment for you and your cat will enhance your relationship, keeping your cat comfortable and content. Remember a healthy cat is a happy cat.
Guide to Cats. Get information on buying, owning and caring for your cat, learn about cat health.
Paul Hegarty is the owner of learningfromdvds.com. Price compare Fitness DVDs, read reviews, download free E-books. Read this month’s e-book on “How To Spot A fraudulent Email”. Grab your free copy today.
RGP vs. Soft Contact Lenses – Which Is Best for You?
When asked “what would you prefer – soft contact lenses or rigid?”, most people would say “soft, of course”. The idea of having a hard object in your eyes scares people and eye doctors know about this, so they tend to prescribe soft lenses for their patients. But which type provides more benefits for your eye health and gives you better comfort and vision? The answer isn’t as obvious as you might think it is.
Vision clarity
Both high quality soft and RGP contact lenses provide good vision. However, studies have shown that properly fitted RGP lenses provide better vision. This is important for people who rely on their eyes in their jobs – truck drivers, pilots – and for certain sports, like shooting.
Also, many soft lens wearers report that their contacts feel funny in the dark and their vision decreases. RGP don’t have this problem.
Eye health comparison
Two important factors determine how healthy a contact lens is for your eyes – oxygen permeability and resistance to protein build-up.
RGP lenses let through 2-4 times more oxygen than soft contact lens. Therefore the risk of corneal inflammation is much lower. The only soft lenses that have oxygen permeability comparable to RGP lenses are silicon hydrogel contacts, like Focus Night and Day or Acuvue Advance
Soft lenses are more prone to protein build-up than RGP contacts. Of course, if you wear daily disposable soft lenses, this is not an issue. But if you use monthly or quarterly replacement lenses, by the end of its life the lens is covered with proteins no matter how carefully you clean it. RGP are made from totally different material – plainly said proteins and other secretions don’t stick to them.
Use as color contacts to change your eye color
Here RGP lenses can’t compete with soft contacts. All color contact lenses are soft – an RGP lens is smaller than the iris (the colored part of your eye), so it can’t change your eye color effectively.
Which is more expensive – RGP or soft lenses?
Soft lenses cost per pair is lower than RGP lenses. But considering that RGP lenses are usually good for at least 2 years, the picture turns the other way around. Lets say you wear Acuvue 2 week disposable contacts and buy them at $15 (6 lenses per box). 2 years supply would cost you $ 240. This is definitely more than you would pay for RGP contact lenses, if you know where to buy discount contct lens.
On the other hand, RGP lenses can break and are easy to lose. So if you think that in two years you might loose your lens a couple times, soft disposable lenses are more cost effective for you.
Comfort comparison
Many people think that rigid lenses aren’t comfortable. This is nothing but a misconception. People who wear RGP lenses usually don’t feel any discomfort; in fact, they don’t feel the lens at all.
However, soft lenses feel good from the first time you put them in, while RGP require a 5-7 days adjustment period. They feel strange initially but, after a week, most people adjust to them quite well.
If you aren’t happy with the soft lenses you currently wear, ask your doctor if RGP contacts would be better for you. If your optometrist knows that you aren’t afraid of the word “rigid”, he or she might suggest that RGP lenses would suit your better.
Tanya Turner is a contact lens expert and a founder of Contact Lens Consumer Guide, where you can find unbiased information about eye health and all types of contact lenses with reviews and pictures
Macular Degeneration And JMD
The macula is the central section of the retina. The retina is a part of the eye that contains the photosensitive cells that are responsible in sending visual messages to the brain. The brain then interprets these electrical messages. The densest area of concentration of these photosensitive cells is located at the macula. The macular degeneration is impairment or loss of function of the macular zone that results to weakening and eventual death of the vital central vision. Thus the extensive development of blind spots.
Central vision is impaired while peripheral vision remains the same in macular degeneration. Symptoms are only obvious when the case is already advanced. This is because the brain adapts to the blind spots and fills in the details as it interprets the electrical messages sent to visual centers.
Most cases of appear in individuals aged 60 and above. This form of the disease is termed as AMD or Age-Related Macular Degeneration.
But contrary to what is originally known, macular degeneration also affects infants and children. This is caused by genetical factors, specifically gene mutation. This condition is called as Juvenile Macular Degeneration or JMD.
JMD is further subdivided into the following classifications:
Autosomal Dominant Hemorrhagic Macular Dystrophy- This disorder normally resembles the Sorsby’s Fundus Dystrophy, except for the mutation of the gene TIMP-3.
Best’s Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy- This condition ranks second after the Stargardt’s disease and is normally a mild form of the macular degeneration. It is characterized with the egg yolk symptom that creates a drusen spot in the macula. This egg yolk spot will then break up, thus the term scrambled egg drusen. The degree of impairment on the central vision differs largely among different cases, even though they are related by blood. Some patients experience severe deterioration in the central vision, others don’t.
Doyne’s Honeycomb Retinal Dystrophy- This condition is known to have the same symptoms to that of the Adult Macular Degeneration that normally arise by patients second-half of life.
Sorsby’s Fundus Dystrophy- With this type of JMD, symptoms are normally obvious during middle aged persons which includes neovascularization.
Stargardt’s Disease- Is known to be the most common form of JMD. Symptoms associated with this type like scarring of the macula and visual acuity normally occur during childhood until the teenage years. Another variant of this type is the fundus flavimaculatus that develops during early adulthood.
Causes of macular degeneration are usually associated with the gene deficiency. Yet the root cause is yet to be determined. The dry form is considered to be the result of the thinning and aging of the macular tissues and the deposition of the pigment in the macula. It may also be the cause of both actions. In the wet form however, the primary cause may be the neovascularization or growth of new blood vessels underneath the retina and leak of fluid and blood. Leakage in return will “kill” the retinal cells that eventually create blind spots at the central vision.
Current studies concerning the macular degeneration are generally concerned on the effects of the faulty genes to vision. Macular degeneration is relatively new and there are many areas of studies that are yet to be researched and determined. This is the reason why there are still no concrete methods of diagnosing the existence of the disease and the process of treatment.
Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides macular degeneration resources on http://www.about-macular-degeneration.info.
Fleet Washing Expansion Considerations
Many times small businesses want to expand their businesses and are not sure when the best time to do that might be. The key of course is cash flow. Will your current and brand new accounts afford you the cash flow to expand? Let us run thru a scenario with you and just so you know this is good advice, I own the Truck Wash Guys and have been doing this a while. Each time a franchisee wished to expand and ask for advice, I would look at their situation and determine if it was a wise idea. Sometimes it was, but often it was not. So let us look a hypothetical scenario for a moment:
Well let’s consider. You have two new fleet accounts, one with twenty buses at let’s say $10.00 each from a summer day camp for kids. The other is a rent-a-car company that pays once a month. This is your 50 percent increase in sales. Now, let us add in a graffiti removal contract. The graffiti contract starts in two months. Sales are up and everything looks great…except:
The day camp ends after summer (two months left)
The rent-a-car company pays monthly so you will bill them at the end of the
month and then they will wait thirty days to pay you plus mail time
The graffiti contract is the same payment schedule and cities are notorious on slow payment
Graffiti can be cleaned at night
Rent-a-cars can be cleaned by starting one and one-half hours earlier on Mondays and thirty minutes earlier other days
Summer camp buses can be cleaned whenever
You are not sure yet how often the day camp pays
Still think you want to expand?
NO WAY!
Remember: You can run your pressure washing rig twenty-four hours a day without owning two rigs. You will have a major cash flow problem if you buy another unit because of the billing cycle on big accounts. Your new truck would not be ready for thirty days plus five days to get financing. By that time the summer camp is almost over. Wow. All the indicators point to a second pressure washing rig and new truck or do they?
Sometimes you need to actually open the hood and take a look. Consider putting on your devil’s advocate thinking cap and make yourself a mechanic. Ask yourself for help. Let yourself look under the hood. Throw away the ego. Sure it would be nice to own another pressure washing rig and you would be a big business man. But realistically speaking it would all be for show and you would actually be making less money. You can justify the expansion to the leasing company or a bank and get the money all right because sales are up. But that doesn’t make it a savvy move. Sometimes race car drivers draft behind the lead car to cut down on drag from the wind. By conserving resources (fuel) they better their chances for winning the race later. In business, the person who gets to keep the most money wins, not the one who has the biggest empire. Think about it before spending the money on expansion.
“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/
The Language of Success – Listening to Your Parents May Be Bad for Business
When we were young children, our parents were the most powerful figures in the universe.
When a parent talked, we listened. Or at least we were supposed to.
Parents are a bridge between generations. Parents are supposed to hand down valuable teachings and cultural guidance.
Unfortunately, most parents don’t teach their children the language of business. Most parents don’t even know about the “Language of Success.”
How could they know? Their parents didn’t teach them, and it certainly isn’t taught in our schools.
When it comes to effective communication, the training our parents were equipped to give us may have actually put up a roadblock to business success.
Let me explain.
There are three rules of communication that we were taught by our parents. In any language, these three rules contain the same cultural message. They are intended to keep a child out of harm’s way and/or out of the hair of grownups.
Here are the three rules:
Rule 1. Never speak to strangers.
Rule 2. Don’t speak unless spoken to.
Rule 3. You should be seen and not heard.
Isn’t this what you were told?
These rules would seem to stand in the way of unfettered business success.
You can easily see how these communications guidelines might hinder your ability to make new contacts and promote your business. By their very nature, these rules are not intended to make you more effective in your marketing, sales or other business activities.
Networking is all about meeting strangers and creating new relationships.
Speaking before you’re spoken to is the primary function of marketing.
Marketing is about making people, primarily strangers, aware of your product, service, or expertise.
Don’t get me wrong. These are great rules for young kids. However, these rules are just not that useful in the world of business.
The “never speak to strangers” rule may have a lot to do with the fact that speaking in public ranks first on the list of human fears. Well, why not? Most of the “public” are strangers.
The “Language of Success” encourages you to speak to strangers. The Language of Success provides you with guidelines that will help you say the right thing and ask the right question at the right time.
For those of us who are fortunate enough to be able to communicate with one or both of our parents, ask them for permission to speak to strangers. Tell your mom and/or your dad that your business might depend on it.
Copyright 2006 Ike Krieger
Ike Krieger is a business educator, author, and popular speaker. Ike’s Language of Success programs will help you attract more clients, referrals and sales, and do it with dignity. Learn more about the Language of Success and subscribe to Ike’s newsletter at http://www.BusinessSuccessBuilder.com.
Away Messages for Beginners
With the surge of instant messaging – whether through AOL, Yahoo or one road runner giving a letter to another – there is now the need for good away messages. An away message is similar to an answering machine, telling a friend, relative or stalker of one’s absence and then kindly asking for a response. In order to help society – since we all know that’s my general goal in life – I have been thinking for the past four minutes of possible away messages for general worldwide usage. But then I realized that there was no universal language, except for the music of Ruben Studdard, so I will instead resort to providing tips…
Quotes seem to be a popular part of away messages. People tend to quote famous people, or those whose opinions matter, because it tends to be easier to use someone else’s words than to use your own. Something tells me, though, that if people like John Lennon and John F. Kennedy knew that their words were being used in away messages, they would die. And that’s a big deal considering they are already dead. So I suggest that people start quoting those whom no one knows or cares about. You know, someone like me. I have 400 columns you can borrow from, or to save you time, go ahead and use this: “I don’t really like scrambled eggs. The shells always cut my tongue.”
Aside from using an obscure quote, it also seems necessary to make it seem like you are busy. You know, so busy that you couldn’t even exit your messaging program but somehow weren’t too busy to type an away message. Go figure. Telling people you are busy just won’t cut it, however, because we all know that people lie, except for me when I made that scrambled eggs comment. Thus, being more subtle about one’s busy schedule is key, ie: “I really don’t like scrambled eggs. The shells always cut my tongue.” This may seem like a previous example, but look closely: I reversed two of the words for effect…
My final tip for away messages will likely revolutionize the way we all look at life. I really don’t like that Mikey character; I still don’t think he enjoyed the cereal… Oh, I’m sorry, wrong life…
At any rate, my final tip is that since people try so hard to be unique with their messages and make comments that make sense, why not just list a bunch of random words that you think people may want to use in conversation? I would suggest “mouse pad” and “boomerang” as starters. Or maybe just use a semi-colon as an away message because people need to start appreciating those more. The same goes for telemarketers, minus the appreciation part…
When all else fails, realize that an away message can simply state “I am not here. Leave a message.” Just keep in mind that no one will talk to you… ever… again. But I guess that’s fine. You’re too busy anyway…
But I digress.
Greg Gagliardi is a teacher and writer. His stream-of-consciousness weekly humor column, “Progressive Revelations,” has been ongoing since 1998. (http://www.ProgressiveRevelations.com)
Fractional Ownership Vacation Homes – A Smart Investment
Fractional Ownership is something that has been around for years but has just now hit the investment real estate market ( i.e. vacation homes, townhouses, condos, etc). For years business men and women have been using the fractional ownership technique to purchase everything from private jets to expensive jewelry. Fractional ownership broken down basically means that you and a group of people (often times friends and family) pool your resources together to purchase an otherwise expensive product. This product is then split up evenly among the investors and each investor owns an equal fraction of the investment. With vacation homes that means that each investor has either one or two months to use the vacation home (the number of months depends on the number of the investors). Fractional ownership works very well for the family that wants a nice vacation home to call their own but doesn’t want to spend $400,000 dollars on a place they will only use a few weeks out of the year. If you are only planning on using the vacation home one month out of the year do you really want to pay the mortgage and upkeep costs the other 11 months of the year? Now if your anything like me a big alarm is going off in your head and your thinking that fractional ownership is nothing more then a fancy way of saying timeshare. Well it’s true that fractional ownership vacation homes do share some similarities don’t confuse the two as the same.
Here are some of the major differences between buying a fractional ownership vacation home vs. a timeshare:
1. Luxury – Fractional Timeshares are much bigger and usually a lot nicer. Timeshares tend to be small cheap cookie cutter housing pawned off to unsuspecting tourists by pushy salespeople that don’t take no for an answer. Fractional ownership properties are very classy and are actually worth the combined total of the investment from each investor. This may sound a little confusing so I’ll break it down for you:
Timeshare:
25 investors (each investor buys 2 weeks) x $47,000 = $1,175,000 house
Usually these timeshares are valued well below $150,000
Fractional Ownership:
12 investors (each investor buys 1 month) x $50,000 = $600,000 house
Fractional ownership houses are valued around $550,000-600,000. In fact if you compare timeshare to fractionals you’ll notice that per week timeshares are more expensive for less room and lower class furnishings.
2. Global Exchange – Global exchange gives you the option to exchange unused weeks at your fractional to vacation in multiple vacation spots around the world. Many timeshares offer this as well but the houses and amenities in times are typically much much lower then a fractional. If you’re going to a vacation in Greece do you really want to spend it in a cramped 500 sq ft studio apartment in the bad part of town?
3. Easier Financing – Banks and lenders consider fractional ownership homes to be similar to a second home, so it’s usually easier to finance a fractional over a timeshare. Also, the rates are often time lower on a fractionals.
4. An Actual Investment – Fractional ownership is an actual investment unlike a time share that plummets in price as soon as you sign the paper. If you go on Ebay right now you’ll see hundreds of people trying to sell their timeshares for a tiny fraction of what they paid for it just a few months prior. With fractional ownership the property value increases and so does your investment (especially if you invest in preconstruction fractional ownerships)
On average a family uses it’s vacation or second home about 28 days a year. This is why fractional ownership has started, it was created because their truly is a market for it. Fractional ownership opens a door for the thousands of investors that want a luxury vacation home but don’t want to pay hundreds of thousands for it.
For more information on Fractional Ownership vacation homes and housing visit our website:
http://www.investrealestate101.com
Goldberg Executive Realty Group
Mark Goldberg
Phone: 1-866-247-2259
E-mail: GoldbergRealtyGroup@cfl.rr.com
http://www.investrealestate101.com
Web Marketing for Southern Califorina Pool Retailers
Swimming is most of the most celebrated and obvious summer activities that one can do in southern California. When I was young, I used to greatly envy those friends of mine that had a pool in their backyard because that was just so cool. Cool being the operative word. It would be in the plus 100 degree range and all anyone really wanted to do it take a dip in a pool. These days, pools are nice but don’t seem to be as celebrated as much as in previous years. This could be due to their laborious upkeep needs or other factors.
And while there are pool and pool accessory retail establishments around, they are few a far between. But as global warming intensifies and the long hot days are getting longer and hotter, pools and their usefulness are becoming more of a necessity. Because really, who doesn’t just want to jump in a cool pool right about now, when its 97 degrees outside.
In light of all this, pool retailers and builders should concentrate more of their marketing effort on web design in southern California. It’s almost a given that with the right web company and proper marketing initiative, sales would increase dramatically. Everyone likes pools but no everyone realizes that pool ownership could be more affordable than previously thought.
The Many Benefits of Loft Bunk Beds
A loft bunk bed is technically defined as a bunk bed in which the top of the mattress is more than three feet from the floor. As such, virtually all bunk beds are actually loft bunk beds under this definition.
In use, however, loft bunk beds often have simply one twin bed on top with nothing underneath. In addition, they are typically more self-contained in that they include many other features and/or furniture items that typically reside in a bedroom. For instance, loft bunk beds can include both a desk and drawers underneath the twin bed on top.
Loft bunk beds, like other bunks, save space and add a creative element to a bedroom. Choices of ladders typically exist, from straight-up ladders to angled ladders. The angled ladders are generally safer, but take up more floor space.
In addition to loft bunk beds, futon bunk beds are convenient because they have the dual functionality of serving as a couch. As such, futon bunk beds represent the ultimate in space savings. They allow you to have two beds and a couch all within just a few square feet of floor space.
Loft beds are a viable alternative to traditional beds and other bunk beds. These beds can be purchased both online and offline and many options are available with regards to styles and colors. The beds are typically available in both wood and metal construction.
Bunk Beds Info provides information on the types of bunk beds that are available, and how and where to buy a bunk bed. Bunk Beds Info is the sister site of Murphy Beds Web.
Online Sport Bets — Basics
Combine both of man’s dominant pursuits and you have got is a mania that’s customarily known as a sportsbook. Can you think of anything that could be more original… Picture a convocation of aficionados clapping to support any preferred players, and almost always wagers are established parallel to the clamor. Aiming to get their piece of the exhilaration, spectators will routinely seek to figure who will make it the approaching contest. In the end, this is set to turn into a good-humored contest named sportsbook.
Tips, tricks and strategies for all the top custom sports wager games here.
To bet, you’ll want to drop by at a sportsbook, i.e. a place which accepts sportsbook. In America, there’s currently no less than four states where to do sportsbook wagers in a legal manner, but beyond legal you can do it anyplace assuming you can locate a bookie *and* you’re a legal adult. Included in the sports you can wager on are professional aside from college class basketball and college level football, professional hockey, professional hockey, aside from betting on. You’ll have a choice of risking some money on the whole result of a contest, in what round a given opponent will go under, and even if a given tossed coin in a contest will come out heads or tails.
The sportsbook setup place their trust mere figures to help you choose which players you may sense will make it. First, we have the spread, that’s specific lead in terms of points given to a a inferior contestor assumed to take a licking by a defined number points. This is the bookmaker’s well-known manner of making disinterested stakes possible for a Sportsbook. To take an example, we might choose to risk some money on a lineup assumed to take a licking and and all the same win the wager assuming the contestor does actually get defeated by a defined number of points.
You can see plenty of so many varying brands of stakes: straight bets, parlays, teasers, which are comparable to to parlays but you will respectively subtract or add points from the balance to make your wagers stronger and others, the straight being the general favorite in sportsbook wagers.
So why don’t you simply give it a runover, and chill out as well… Simply be sure that you won’t get unduly carried away and use up your entire income on a whimsy. After all, you will be sure to end up in grief all your life.