My Investments are Down, What Can I Do?

First, understand that this is more than an intellectual question. It is a highly charged emotional issue. Considering the consequences for many people retired, or close to it, these decisions can have life changing impact.

The logical place to go for help is to the person who made the initial recommendations; however, if not that person, then someone with similar experience and credentials. But, before you can speak with any financial advisor about your portfolio, first be aware of your attitude towards the situation - are you angry, fearful, sick to your stomach, or indifferent?

If you are desperate to gain back the losses, you are liable to make emotional decisions that may or may not be appropriate. If you blame the advisor (or your spouse or other acquaintance) for the recommendations then you will be open to almost anyone else’s advice - whether appropriate or not. If you are hesitant to make a “wrong” decision, sometimes you don’t take any action - even when action is appropriate.

Once you start to become aware of your own attitude and emotions, consider the responsibilities of an investment advisor? What have you shared with them about your personal financial situation and investment preferences? Have you told them “I can’t afford to lose anything” or “I trust you” or “do what you like - just make me a lot of money”? Their obligation is to understand you and to make appropriate investment recommendations. They are not expected to guarantee high returns on your money, or to have all the answers about making money.

Ultimately, it is your money and your life; therefore, some of the responsibility will fall back on you - the investor. If the material circumstances of your life are negatively impacted because of investment losses (assuming no fraud) then some of that responsibility is yours.

So, what is the client’s responsibility? To provide all the necessary information for your advisor, keep your advisor informed of your circumstances and your feelings about your investments, and to read the information that is sent to you - including your statements.

When you start to feel uncomfortable, you need to recognize that emotional response and work with your advisor to make adjustments that keep you emotionally comfortable. Investing has been described as 80% emotional and 20% intellectual.

How can you reduce the emotional impact of market fluctuations?

At the beginning of the transaction, there is an opportunity for advisor and client to make the sell decision before any money has been invested - you don’t need to be an investment expert. Consider the following loss protection strategy, and then understand how the same concept can help you decide what to do after a drop.

Mr. and Mrs. No-Risk, Hi-Return decide to invest in a mutual fund currently valued at $10 per unit. Their advisor expects that based on past performance, it “should” provide 10%ish returns per year, but this of course, isn’t guaranteed. Mr. and Mrs. Return say they are only comfortable with 10% risk. So, if they invest $10,000. This means that of their $10,000 investment they are only prepared to risk losing $1,000.

They then agree with their advisor on the following key values for their investment:

$10 PER UNIT $10,000 INITIAL INVESTMENT

10% ACCEPTABLE LOSS $9000 INVESTMENT VALUE

$9.25 BE ON ALERT (They call their advisor and watch the value of their investment more closely)

$9 They ask to SELL THE INVESTMENT

$12 OR MORE NEW VALUE $10.8 NEW SELL PRICE ($11 ALERT)

$15 OR MORE $13.5 NEW SELL PRICE ($14 ALERT, ETC.)

It’s not physically possible for an advisor to promise 300 or more clients that they are able to do this type of monitoring. Everyone will have different price points and risk factors. If it’s that important to you, then learn to monitor investment values and call your advisor if you feel concerned.

Now, what if your portfolio has already dropped below your comfort level?

First, calculate both the dollar lost if you sold the investment today and the percentage. When you are making decisions, focus on the value that is most easily accepted. For example, if the dollar value drop is $10,000 and represents a drop in your total portfolio of 8%, perhaps the 8% is easier to accept.

Second, ask whether you would buy your investment(s) today? If yes, then discuss the expected returns and apply the loss protection strategy above. If no, then why are you still holding on?

Finally, ask what would you invest in today and use the same loss protection strategy as described above. Then your only real concern is the challenge of making investment decisions that are not based on greed and fear because your life has been impacted due to your current investment losses.

It can be very tempting to take even greater risk hoping for greater returns to make up for the lost money. If the losses have that much of an impact on your life, you need to re-evaluate your investment criteria and start learning about other ways to earn income (besides another job and by growing a huge investment portfolio) so you learn and carry on from here.

MoneyMinding Inc. and Tracy Piercy accept no liability for the content of this article, or for the results of any actions taken or not taken on the basis of the information provided. The content is intended for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional, personal financial advice.

Tracy Piercy, a Certified Financial Planner, offers step by step proven success principles, tools, ideas and strategies integrated with practical financial planning strategies. She has worked in the financial industry, in insurance, banking, and as a well respected investment advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy, for more than 15 years. Tracy is the author of Enlightened Wealth, a personal money journal http://www.moneyminding.com.

Presence and Charisma

Why is it that some people are always noticed, and others seem to vanish away into the woodwork? Why do some individuals become “people magnets,” who can persuade others with a few choice words? The answers to these questions are of importance to anyone hoping to advance in life and to have satisfying relationships. They are Presence and Charisma.

I have met many people who have this “presence” or “aura.” In the Eastern world it is often thought of as another manifestation of “Qi.” Closely related to “presence” is charisma: a compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others. In the ancient world charisma was thought to be a divine power or talent, and the word comes from the Greek word kharis meaning “grace” or “favor.” There is a small scientific literature on this phenomenon of charisma, which often flows from having a strong presence. There are clearly many types of charisma: Political, sports, performance, business, spiritual, literary. scientific and so on. The only two people whom I’ve met who knew Einstein told me that people would usually all stand up when he entered the room. Charisma is more than just a personal characteristic; it can also be conceptualized as the way in which certain groups interact with each other.

Clearly some people have presence and charisma. The question is whether they can also be developed. The answer is yes, they most certainly can be. Presence is created by an overall impression constituted of posture, eye contact, stillness, silence, self-confidence, competence and serenity. People with a strong presence are often a little mysterious, in the sense that they tend not to reveal much about themselves or their accomplishments. I have also felt if very strongly in people who have worked to develop the subtle systems of their bodies. One of the most potent examples was a Korean Ki-Master who spoke not a word of English, but whose presence could be felt the moment he entered a packed room. Work on your subtle systems will likely cause you to be more still and serene and to have a better posture.

There are a number of things that you can do to improve your own charisma:

1. Create a strong first impression by developing your presence
2. Develop a good impression when you speak
3. Be a good active empathic listener who connects with other people and asks pertinent questions
4. Be supportive of other people and their aspirations
5. Be persuasive
6. Be resilient and adaptable
7. Expand your vision of what is possible
8. Practice thinking creatively

9. Use humor
10. Be committed and courageous

11. Initiate persistent action
12. Instill hope in the people around you

Dr. Richard G. Petty is an internationally renowned integrated physician, academic and researcher, and an innovator in the field of personal development. He has been Scientific Chairman and Trustee of the Prince of Wales’s Foundation for Integrated Health and he has presented his dynamic lectures, speeches, seminars and workshops to more than a quarter of a million people in 44 countries. He writes a daily column at http://richardgpettymd.blogs.com/. Dr. Petty can be reached at 770-492-3330, and through http://www.richardgpettymd.com.

Wealth Management, Wealth Protection, and Tax Planning

U.S. Supreme Justice Louis D. Brandeis

“I live in Alexandria Virginia. Near the Supreme Court Chambers is a toll bridge across the Potomac. When in a rush, I pay the dollar toll and get home early. However, I usually drive outside the downtown section of the city and cross the Potomac on a free bridge. This bridge was placed outside the downtown Washington, DC area to serve a useful social service, getting drivers to drive the extra mile and to help alleviate congestion during the rush hour.

If I went over the toll bridge and through the barrier without paying the toll, I would be committing tax evasion. If, however, I drive the extra mile and drive outside the city of Washington to the free bridge, I am using a legitimate, logical, and suitable method of tax avoidance, and I am performing a useful social service by doing so.

For my tax evasion, I should be punished. For my tax avoidance, I should be commended. The tragedy of life today is that so few people know that the free bridge even exists.”

Our progressive tax system in the United States facilitates the redistribution of wealth from the more fortunate to the less fortunate. Now, the U.S. judicial system is also being used to redistribute wealth through litigation. Entrepreneurs, business owners, retirees and others who have accumulated any significant amount of wealth are often financially devastated by the U.S. judicial system.

With that in mind, it is easy to see why even a person of average wealth with assets at risk would benefit from implementing a wealth management plan to protect assets from the claims - especially the frivolous claims - of unknown future judgment creditors. Among many other exceptions to liability insurance coverage, most insurance policies do not cover punitive damages or employment-related claims.

Insurance against the most common source of judgments and settlements over $1 million, automobile accidents, is only very rarely maintained at the level necessary to cover such claims. In fact, it may be prohibitively expensive or impossible to insure at such a high level of coverage. While insurance is the first line of defense against legal claims for damages, it is impossible to insure against many sources of significant potential liability.

It is essential to implement an asset protection plan integrated with your estate plan. Your asset protection plan will greatly enhance your estate plan by providing additional assurance that you and your family will be able to reap the fruits of your labor, and often, by providing the means to make gifts of interests in protected assets to family members - gifts which are protected from your unknown future creditors and from all of the creditors of your family members. Simply put, the objective of legitimate offshore asset protection planning is to avoid litigation altogether by using a structure involving the prudent use of professional advice and foreign law; it is not intended to protect dishonest or incompetent persons from creditors. Legitimate tax-neutral, flexible offshore asset protection and investment vehicle are available.

International variable life insurance and international variable annuities with reputable companies in secure offshore jurisdictions can be attractive investment vehicles. In addition to being well protected, because they have different commission structures they are not subject to certain U.S. taxes, offshore life insurance policies and annuities can be significantly less expensive than comparable products offered in the United States.

►What Asset Protection Planning Is Not

Asset protection planning and proper tax planning do not involve tax evasion or anti-IRS theories. All solid well designed asset protection planning is done with full IRS compliance and disclosure.

Asset protection advice is not “cookie-cutter” planning. Avoid cheap asset protection “kits” promoted by dozens of providers via seminars or the Internet. Good asset protection advice is formulated on a case-by-case basis. Neither does legitimate asset protection planning does not involve hiding money offshore and using offshore credit card accounts. While it is a bit more difficult to track protected assets offshore than in the U.S., if you rely mainly on offshore secrecy to protect assets, you will likely soon find you and your assets parted.

►Offshore Planning

Offshore business structures and offshore estate planning structures, including offshore trusts and offshore insurance policies can often offer an excellent solution to asset protection problems. Variable life insurance policies and variable annuity contracts which are compliant with U.S. tax laws, offer a wider range of investment opportunities, and are often available at lower costs than comparable U.S. policies for policies with total aggregate premiums of over $100,000.

Be careful in choosing an Offshore Planning and Asset Protection Planning Consultant.

A Web search will reveal hundreds of offshore service providers offering various offshore tax planning and asset protection schemes, as well as company formation services. How do you choose one out of all of these?

First, look for a consultant with extensive tax experience who can provide competent and comprehensive U.S. tax advice. Most reputable offshore service providers specifically disclaim the U.S. tax consequences of their structures and suggest that you seek the advice of U.S. tax counsel. Less reputable offshore service providers will claim that their plans are set up in jurisdictions where there are no income taxes, no capital gains taxes and no death taxes. While true - for that jurisdiction - the U.S. tax consequences are entirely different.

There is no simple way to avoid taxes offshore that cannot be done onshore. There are sophisticated means that work for legitimate businesses, but there are not “offshore only” ways for the average investor, holding marketable securities and acting alone, to avoid income taxes on investment income. The most predatory offshore service providers will simply lie and tell you that for whatever reason, there are no U.S. taxes due on their preferred type of offshore vehicle (”you don’t own the company - you’re just the manager;” “you don’t owe taxes on offshore trust income;” “the Panamanian foundation is a separate legal entity without any owners, so you don’t pay taxes on its income,” etc.). Bad tax advice can have grave consequences. Willful tax evasion and willful failure to file required information returns are, of course, serious crimes that can and do result in massive fines and imprisonment. Even worse, for some, may be the fact that relying on the tax advice of an incompetent advisor may not even keep you out of serious trouble - at best, it can result in the imposition of hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in fines and interest, and at worst, fines and imprisonment.

The hiring of a lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely upon brochures, advertising or other promotional materials. Before you decide, ask for written information about qualifications and experience.

A sophisticated and creative tax planner can:

* Transform tax plans from methods of cost-containment to integrated systems of advanced tax risk management and value creation;

* Transform asset protection plans from ineffective collections of legal odds and ends to integrated systems of advanced legal risk management and security enhancement; and

* Transform individual financial plans and company treasuries from piecemeal jumbles to integrated systems of financial management and wealth preservation.

U.S. citizens should always consult a competent tax attorney or CPA before implementing any planning involving domestic or foreign structures. Windward Harbor’s principals are experienced tax planning, wealth management, insurance, investment, tax, and asset protection professionals. We specialize in providing the most effective, legal tax planning available for entrepreneurs and high net worth clients. Windward Harbor will offer asset protection and offshore planning services only to clients who are committed to full U.S. tax compliance.

The materials found in this article, including these comments on asset protection planning and offshore planning, are for general informational purposes only. The information provided herein is not warranted to be accurate or current and must not be regarded as legal advice. All legal and tax planning is very fact- and circumstance-specific, asset protection planning and offshore planning, in particular. Internet subscribers and online readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional advice. You should consult a lawyer if you have a legal matter requiring attention.

© Windward Harbor LLC 2004

Wayne Walker & Christopher Riser, Esq.
Windward Harbor LLC

Mortgage Reduction Solutions

USA ECONOMIC CONDITIONS

Today’s sluggish economy has left millions of people struggling to financially make ends meet. Lou Dobb’s coined phrase “Assault on the Middle Class” continues. Virtually every corner you turn screams inflation and rising expenses. The sky-high cost of fuel and other commodities is ultimately passed to us weary consumers. Salaries once adequate for providing comfortable family living are now stretched to the limits, leaving many people in search of additional income sources to help bridge the gap.

LIVING EXPENSES

If you look at major expenses in the average person’s life, it’s easy to identify mortgage or rent obligations at the top of the list. Home ownership is one of the biggest living expenses and frequently the hardest to obtain.

According to the the Federal Housing Finance Board, and data analyzed from over 23,000 home loans from over 75 lenders, the U.S. national average purchase price for a single-family home reached $264,540 in October 2004. This average is up from the $243,756 average for October 2003.

A $260,000 home loan financed at 6% interest will cost the consumer an estimated whopping $301,179.29 in interest over the course of 30 years. Shorten this loan to 15 years and the home owner will be paying an estimated $2,200.00 per month with approximately $135,000 going to interest. These figures do not include taxes and insurance estimates so the actual costs are even higher.

With figures like this it’s no wonder people are working their butts off just to have a roof over their heads to protect their family and loved ones. Day after day they continue the grind: up early, work hard, stretch the budget, work, work, work, and work some more. Then along comes payday and… YIKES! Lots - if not most of that hard earned money needs to be set aside for the dreaded mortgage payment. If only there was an easier way!

MORTGAGE REDUCTION & FINANCIAL FREEDOM

Lots of people dream of increasing their wealth and the ability to pay off their homes and live mortgage free. Now, more than ever, people are turning to network marketing opportunities to reach these goals.

For some the dreams of financial stability turn to reality but for many others it remains just a dream. Financial freedom doesn’t come from osmosis or wishing, you have to get out there and FIND IT! A current search on Google for ‘home business opportunities’ produces about 125,000,000 entries. Do all these entries provide income combined with an innovative mortgage reduction solution? Absolutely not!

© 2005 Equity Zip Financial - All Rights Reserved

Okay to reprint article in its entirety with author bio/sig box in tact. Please keep all links active and although not required, a courtesy copy is appreciated - thanks.

Equity Zip Financial
“No More Fret - I’m Out Of Debt!”
Green Bay, WI
888-300-3947 (EZIP)
equityzip@new.rr.com
http://www.equityzipfinancial.com-Consumer Credit Restoration
http://www.equityzip.com-Inverse Mortgage Program
GPS Tracking-http://www.gpsnannyproducts.com

Five Things Your Kids Need To Know to Make It in Life

These aren’t easy days to raise children - at least raise them
to be well-rounded productive citizens. If you are concerned
about how to do that, consider the following 5 keys to
cultivating productive children.

Teach them to…

Think Right

When our kids get home from school, class has definitely not
ended. MTV, Jerry Springer, and even that blue dog have
something to say to young pliable minds. How can we be more in
control? For starters, take time to talk with your kids. The
best way to teach correct thinking is to find out what they’re
thinking. Another great idea to nurture correct thinking is to
reward children for doing it. Make a big deal about intellectual
accomplishments like reading books, good grades, and extra
curricular activities. Generally, what we emphasize to our
children as important becomes the foundation for their thinking
process in the future.

Plan Right

Many kids are growing up without any knowledge of how to
organize and plan their lives. Teaching them how to plan their
day, their school assignments, their extracurricular events,
etc. will only aid them in their adult lives to be more
productive and responsible. One simple way to begin is to
require things like chores and homework to be done before TV and
video games. This simple task begins what will be a lifelong
activity of processing the affairs of daily living. As children
get older, increase responsibilities proportionately. Give them
room to fail. If they do, show them where they fell short and
guide them back on task. These lessons will last a lifetime.

Love Right

Basically, the best advice about relationships for this short
article is this: Children will most likely model how they see
their parents or influencers handle relationships. If they see
respect in action, they will respond in kind. If they see good
communication skills at work, they will learn from that. If they
observe compassion and understanding, they will respond in the
same way. Many times how children perceive how their parents
relate to one another will influence how they treat their future
spouse should they marry. What they see is what they’ll be.

Budget Right

The only way we will curb out of control consumer debt, is to
get out of it ourselves and to teach it’s woes to our children.
If you are in debt, show your children the effects and what you
are doing to reduce it. If you are not in debt, show your
children how you did it (very important) and the benefits you
enjoy as a result. Either way, they learn a valuable lesson.

Give Right

Our world is a needy place. Generosity is a wonderful attitude
to nurture. The best way to nurture it is to do it. Allow your
children to see you giving to your church, the needy man on the
sidewalk, or simply doing a kind deed for a neighbor. There has
never been a greater need for generosity in our world. Let’s
teach it to our children by example so that they can carry it
into the next generation.

Think, plan, love, budget, and give: The ingredients that
cultivate productive children.

Achieving Competitive Advantage through Collaboration with Key Customers and Suppliers

An Evolving Operational Focus

In the past when companies pondered corporate strategy,
operations had been peripheral to the discussion. Operations
were considered a technical matter with one way of doing things
and therefore not, strategic. Strategy is about products,
markets, and competitive advantage with divergent possibilities.

Operations were seen as a series of puzzles with single best
solutions. The realization that optimization of parts did not
optimize the whole led to new focus - operational management
went up a level from looking at individual tasks to looking at
whole processes. During the 1960s, Japanese manufactures
obtained competitive advantage by optimizing operational
efficiency, which meant lower prices, flexible production
capabilities and a reduction in lead times. Operational
considerations became a key theme in strategic discussions.

During the 1990s, companies like Dell took this further. The
computer market was changing faster than any other market had
done in history. Dell began managing operations by synchronizing
functional activity into a single corporate heartbeat. An order
instantly drove procurement, which drove production and then
distribution. The result was a further drop in lead times,
inventory requirements, and operating costs along with
flexibility. Operational efficiency was Dell’s sole source of
competitive advantage and it reaped enormous market share gains.

Collaboration - The Next Step

The historical trend is clear. The impact that one activity has
on the next means they cannot be optimized in isolation. The
result is that operations have become the key corporate
strategic consideration. Yet the nature of competitive advantage
is to elapse as competitors replicate it, which places a
continual onus on companies to find new differentials. This begs
the question - what next?

The answer lies in another step up in the way we view corporate
operation. We need to look beyond the borders of the firm in our
search for operational efficiency. Optimized company operations
can only be achieved through alignment and coordination with the
agents up and down stream. Collaboration with suppliers and
customers is the essential vehicle of the 21st century for
achieving competitive advantage from operations.

The benefits of Collaboration

1. Sharing demand signals

The first step to collaboration comes through information
sharing. Across nearly all industries, companies play a guessing
game (called forecasting) to estimate the products and
quantities that their customers will demand across different
markets. Even if a company gets it just right it still needs
large inventory buffers to cope with demand variability, thus
dramatically reducing its capital efficiency. It is imperative
to compress lead times to meet demand rapidly and lessen these
negative effects - this can negate the production-cost benefits
of today’s off-shoring vogue in China. The butterfly’s wing
effect on forecasting and ordering means the end demand signal
gets wildly distorted as it echoes up the supply chain being
reinterpreted and exaggerated at each turn. Inaccuracies are
amplified at each stage, leaving suppliers facing high-stake
production gambles.

The answer is simple - relaying end user demand signals and
likely future order quantities to suppliers up the chain. This
is the single biggest benefit of collaboration and it comes at
virtually no cost reducing much of the variability from the
forecasting calculation. A supplier’s response will be a much
closer fit to market demand if information about likely order
quantities is shared. Typically, inventory levels can be reduced
by two thirds, service levels sky-rocket while lost revenues
evaporate, and supply costs are cut by a quarter when demand
information sharing is implemented correctly.

2. Efficiency through alignment

The next step is operational coordination. Working capital
naturally collects at the borders of the firm. Finished Goods
nearly always account for much more inventory than Work in
Process, mainly because of the typical inadequacy in
coordination between supply chain entities. Accounts receivable
tend to be swelled by disputes and billing problems, which would
be ironed out instantly if they were internal issues. Most
companies currently allow working capital to accumulate at the
point where their processes meet those of their customers and
suppliers, which provides a great opportunity for freed cash
flow and increased capital efficiency.

Costs can also be reduced dramatically through simple
operational coordination between suppliers and customers.
Systems, processes, and organizations can be joined up much more
effectively to eliminate unnecessary duplication and increase
the through-put and flexibility of both supplier and customer
organizations.

The interfaces of goods delivery/goods-receipt,
invoicing/invoice-processing and collection/payment all exhibit
the same misalignment and duplication. The painstaking effort
spent on internal efficiency is negated by a clumsy operational
weld between suppliers and customers. Functions get managed to
performance metrics, which encourage activity that runs, counter
to the efficiency of the organization, let alone the total
supply mechanism. Firms should optimise their impact on their
key customers’ total cost of supply. Configuring and managing
the organization to better align with key customers and
suppliers facilitates a more fluid transfer of goods, cash and
information up and down the supply chain. This provides a
win/win of capital and cost reduction at the same time as
enhanced revenue levers for all organizations involved.

3. Joint exploration of strategic options

The final step is a strategic coordination-unlocking new market
development and product development possibilities based on
co-exploring avenues to competitive advantage. This is only
attainable once trust has been built through information share
and some steps in operational integration. With the foundation
of operational collaboration set, customers and suppliers can
combine in entering new markets, coordinated off-shoring and
shared selected R&D to explore exciting product development
opportunities and condense launch times.

Overcoming the Zero Sum Mindset

The greatest barrier to successful collaboration is the
conventional mindset of a combative relationship with suppliers.
Negotiations are perceived as a zero-sum margin tug-of-war, with
the relative power balance determining the result. This
precludes a focus on win-win value driving activity. Suppliers
and customers end up perpetually wasting and reworking because
they see opening a constructive dialogue as weakness or even as
surrender. Many executives fear a loss of flexibility through
higher switching costs from greater collaboration. The truth is
that most firms’ key supplier base has not changed dramatically
over the last 2 years, so collaborative activity would have been
massively beneficial as the payback period can be. Still, this
does not irreversibly affix firms together - competitive
pressures still work to drive down prices and provide the
incentive to offer the best value.

Another fear is that companies would give away their competitive
advantage to customers or suppliers if they collaborate. The
reality is that core competencies do not vanish through sharing
demand information, or through bridging operational rifts. The
reason that there are few truly vertically integrated industries
is testament to this - core competencies dilute and effective
organization is impossible over too lengthy a chain. Such
anxiety may be unfounded, but the fear is real and debilitating.
This is why companies should commit progressively and in
parallel, reaching a point acceptable to both parties; from
information share, to operational alignment, through to
symbiotic strategic planning. As a further development,
(depending on the concentration of the end user markets for a
product), a company can then extend its collaborative
relationships further up and down the supply chain to suppliers’
suppliers, customers’ customers and beyond.

As with preceding operational evolutions, collaboration will
doubtless be pioneered by some companies and shunned by others.
Far from the micro/technical operational thinking of the past,
collaboration offers a strategic perspective, divergent options
and colossal profit, and capital efficiency benefits. Until it
becomes universally adopted, collaboration is the most promising
source of competitive advantage from operations available today.

Dxinone E-currency Trading

E-currency trading is growing into a worldwide business. If you are looking for a growing business that will never let down E-currency is a great one. Dxinone is a very confusing system for a person that has never seen or used it before. If you have no idea how to sign up or start to fund your account you will miss out on a very good way of making money-using e-currency.

The web page they use offers no guide to helping you start using the Dxinone system. There are however VERY helpful guides that you can buy for a small price that teach you everything you need to know about Dxinone, and how to get start in e-currency.

Once you join Dxinone and make an account you can then fund your account with money using NetPay, E-gold, E-bullion, and a few others. Once you have funds in your account you can then start to make money in the e-currency system. You will buy digots with the funds in your account. These digots act like a share of stock would. A window will open in Dxinone, and you will see a list of places you can buy digots from. These digots will be how you are going to profit from the e-currency system.

Once you have used all the money in your dxinone account you now will see how the system works. Each night you can log into dxinone, and check up on your digots to see how much you made in profit. Everyone has a different way for buying his or her digots. Again buying and selling digots is just like buying and selling stock. You will see under your TDV Total digot value how much profit you have. You can also tell how much money you used, and how much you can take out of dxinone. Each night you will gain any where from .35% to .5% in returns as profits. The nice thing about dxinone is that your money is compounded daily unlike other investments that might only compound weekly or even monthly. Each night you are making money with e-currency.

As you can see it can be very hard for someone to learn how to use or even start with Dxinone. This is a system that everyone should get to know, as it is a very profitable way of making money online with e-currency exchange.

Visit Mazu e-currency online for more information about dxinone and e-currency trading.

I used the mazu guide to help me get started in Dxinone. It also helped me take my $400 investment into Dxinone and turn it into $5,100 in 4 months. Visht Mazu E-currency Online to see how the mazu guide can help you.

Crystal Radio Sets are Alive and Kicking

© Ned Norris. This article can be reprinted, used in newsletters or on web pages as long as it is credited to Ned Norris of RUSC.com, it appears in its entirety and the resource box below is included.

# # #

Crystal Radio Sets are Alive and Kicking

Author: Ned Norris

I was brought up under strict conditions. Bedtime was at a certain rigid time every night. Lights out meant no reading; it meant sleep. It certainly did not include listening to radio broadcasts.

But as a child of thirteen, I discovered the delights of the
crystal set. It was a frustrating affair. The workings of it have remained a complete mystery. How, I wondered then, could a lump of gray mineral possibly capture radio waves and do so without a battery?

Now, several decades later, the answers are easy to find on the Internet - here I quickly discover that crystal sets, and the parts to make them, are readily available today - even though they look vastly different from the crude thing I had. In comparison, today’s look…well…positively modern.

To my amazement, according to Google there are 81,200 pages that contain the phrase “crystal set”.

There is even The Xtal Set Society http://www.midnightscience.com which says it is “dedicated to once again building and experimenting with radio electronics.” It advertises books, parts and kits. One kit is called the Quaker Oat Box Radio Pack. It contains one roll of 24-gauge hook-up wire (100 feet), one germanium diode, one 47,000-ohm resistor, one alligator clip, and one crystal earplug. Sounds just about as basic as my old set…but I don’t remember the other instructions that come with this kit: “You will need to provide your own antenna wire and oatmeal box.”

The advertised price is $8.95. Do some reverse inflation calculations and you will know better than I now remember roughly how much I paid for my set back in 1947. Any money I had in those days was ‘earned’ by not spending my lunch money at school, so I know the set I had was dirt-cheap.

Radio Shack sells starter kits too. Describing a project for “beginning experimenters” at http://www.thebest.net/wuggy/rs99fun.htm one reviewer said “the Radio Shack crystal radio kit Cat. No. 28-178 is a pretty fair starter set. It does work, and some simple modifications will enhance its performance.” When he wrote four years ago, the price was $9.99. After some modifications, which he describes, he was able to listen to New York, Netherlands Antilles, Cuba, Charlotte NC, Chicago, “and a few others”. What a difference a
coil of wire for an antenna makes!

For some fascinating photographs, you might want to take a look at http://www.schmarder.com/radios/crystal With their knobs and dials for tuning in a favorite station they make me positively envious!

There was no simple method for tuning my set. I remember there was a contact of some sort, and that by moving this minuscule distances across the crystal you could, with much patience, tune in a radio station. Usually, it was faint. Fiddle with the contact and the signal would be lost and found again many times
before a signal strong enough to enjoy came in. And it would often disappear in the middle of a show for no obvious reason.

“He aims and fires, but he misses…and that was his last bullet. The killer reaches for him, the axe raised in his other hand, and …” fizzle, crackle, silence. Mutter, mutter (the latter being me)!

Now I understand I needed to pay much more attention to installing a good antenna - a 50-foot piece of wire outside the house and as high as possible - and that I needed a good ground. But as a 13-year-old, I simply wanted to listen under the bed covers in the dark to my favorite radio thriller.

It almost didn’t matter what the program was. Each had the compelling signature music, sometimes just single musical notes, the voices with their sense of urgency, the suspense, the climax, the scripting formula. I also remember the screech of car tires in chase scenes. It was pretty gripping stuff for a small boy.

Remember how shoes were always soled in hard leather? Rubber didn’t make enough noise. Doors always squeaked; silent ones would not have been much use on radio. And do I remember correctly that detectives were always men and that secretaries were always women?

Today, when I recall those days long ago, I remember the crystal radio set with its finicky connection that would fade to almost nothing at the crucial point in the story. Then it would come back just as the announcer was saying something like: “So long! See you next week.”

This article is also available as a .pdf file at the following url: http://www.rusc.com/misc/crystal-radio.pdf

# # #

(c) Ned Norris. This article can be reprinted, used in newsletters or on web pages as long as it is credited to Ned Norris of RUSC.com, it appears in its entirety and the resource box below is included.

Travel back in time to a land where classic old time radio shows live-on to be enjoyed once more by young and old. RUSC is an Aladdin’s Cave of classic radio broadcasts for you to download and listen to at your leisure.
About the Author

About the Author
Ned Norris is webmaster of http://www.rusc.com a site specializing in downloadable old time radio where you can have instant access to thousands of classic old time radio shows from the 1930s, 40s and 50s.

Five Ways to Improve Any Relationship

Want to improve your relationships, both romantic and otherwise?
Want to grow in intimacy and closeness with your friends,
family, co-workers, your special someone? Then include the
following five easy steps into your interactions with those
important to you.

1. Acknowledge the big and the little things. People want to be
seen. They want their actions, attitudes, feelings and
aspirations to be noticed and acknowledged. Become a person who
notices.

2. Give thanks and appreciation. Thank others and they are more
likely to do more of the same. Why? Because being thanked feels
good. Tell them you appreciate it too.

3. Give ‘just because’ appreciation for who they are. Make a
list of what you admire about your partner or another person.
Now share that list with them. You don’t have to wait for a
special occasion. Surprise that special person any time.

4. Take active interest. Take a real interest in the things
important to others. Listen to them and have a conversation
about their hobbies, career or interests. Learn something new
about the topic. It will make them feel understood and important.

5. Do special things just for them. Find out what others like.
Is it cards, flowers, a foot rub, a dinner out? You may not like
or want these same things and that’s ok. Do something or give
something they like. Make them feel special.

See how many of these you can practice in one week with special
people in your life and watch the intimacy in your relationships
grow.

Your Relationship Coach, Rinatta Paries www.WhatItTakes.com

(c) Rinatta Paries, 1998-2002. Do you know how to attract your
ideal mate? Do you know how to build a fulfilling relationship,
or how to reinvent yours to meet your needs? Relationship Coach
Rinatta Paries can teach you the skills and techniques to
attract and sustain long-term, healthy partnerships. Visit
www.WhatItTakes.com where you’ll find quizzes, classes, advice
and a free weekly ezine. Become a “true love magnet(tm)!”

Antidepressants and Phototherapy

Antidepressants are used commonly in medical and psychiatric practice. As a class, antidepressants have in common their ability to treat major depressive illness. Most antidepressants are also effective in the treatment of panic disorder and other anxiety disorders. Some antidepressants effectively treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and a variety of other conditions (see indications below).

The most commonly prescribed antidepressants are listed in Table 12-1. Antidepressants are subdivided into groups based on structure or prominent functional activity: selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRls), tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs), monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOls), and other antidepressant compounds with a variety of mechanisms of action. Antidepressants are typically thought to act on either the serotonin or norepinephrine systems, or both. Choice of medications typically depends on diagnosis, history of response (in patient or relative), and the side-effect profile of the medication. Antidepressant effects are typically not seen until 2 to 4 weeks into treatment. Side effects must be carefully monitored, especially for TCAs and MAOls.

Indications

Table 12-2 lists the indications for antidepressants.
The main indication for antidepressant medications is major depressive disorder as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV). Antidepressants are used in the treatment of all subtypes of depression, including depressed phase of bipolar disorder, psychotic depression (in combination with an antipsychotic medication), atypical depression, and seasonal depression. Antidepressants also are indicated for the prevention of recurrent depressive episodes.

Antidepressant medications may be effective in the treatment of patients with dysthymic disorder, especially when there are clear neurovegetative signs or a history of response to antidepressants.

Panic disorder with or without agoraphobia has been shown to respond to SSRls, MAOls, TCAs, and high-potency benzodiazepines (alprazolam and clonazepam).

OCD has been shown to respond to the serotonin-selective tricyclic clomipramine (Anafranil) and to SSRIs at high doses (e.g., fluoxetine at 60-80mg/ day). Obsessions tend to be more responsive to pharmacotherapy than compulsions. Symptoms of OCD respond more slowly than symptoms of major depression. Trials of 12 weeks or more are needed before a medication can be ruled a failure for an OCD patient.

The binging and purging behavior of bulimia has been shown to respond to SSRls, TCAs, and MAOls in several open and controlled trials. Because SSRIs have the most benign side-effect profile of these medications, they are often the first-line psychopharmacologic treatment.

Mechanisms of Action

Antidepressants are thought to exert their effects at particular subsets of neuronal synapses throughout the brain. Their major interaction is with the monoamine neurotransmitter systems (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin). Dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin are released throughout the brain by neurons that originate in the ventral brainstem, locus ceruleus and the raphe nuclei, respectively. These neurotransmitters interact with numerous receptor subtypes in the brain that are associated with the regulation of global state functions including appetite, mood states, arousal, vigilance, attention, and sensory processing.

SSRls act by binding to presynaptic serotonin reuptake proteins, thereby inhibiting reuptake and increasing the levels of serotonin in the synaptic cleft.

TCAs act by blocking presynaptic reuptake of both serotonin and norepinephrine. MAOls act by inhibiting the presynaptic enzyme (monoamine oxidase) that catabolizes norepinephrine, dopamine, and serotonin, thereby increasing the levels of these neurotransmitters presynaptically.

These immediate mechanisms of action are not sufficient to explain the delayed antidepressant effects (typically 2 to 4 weeks). Other unknown mechanisms must play a role in the successful psychopharmacologic treatment of depression.

Marcello Lanares, MD, PhD, is a program manager and adjunct associate professor at the University of Tel Aviv, Clinical and Experimental Medicine
For more information on depression and other mental health issues please visit out website http://www.health.am