Change

"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to stand by and do nothing." - Edmund Burke

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead

Security

"There's only one security, and when you've lost that security, you've lost everything you've got. And that is the security of confidence in yourself; to be, to create, to make any position you want to make for yourself." - L. Ron Hubbard, from the lecture "Postulate Processing".

It’s Fun to Know: His and Hers Bedrooms

If you’ve ever slept on the couch to escape your spouse’s snoring, you are not alone. 23 percent of couples, according to a 2005 National Sleep Foundation survey, often sleep in different rooms to avoid one partner’s snoring, kicking, or some other habit that interferes with the other’s ability to get a good night’s sleep.

This has led to a boom in "dual master bedrooms" - homes with a separate sleep area for each spouse. A National Association of Home Builders survey predicts that more than 60 percent of custom-built homes will have two master bedrooms by 2015.

(Source: Washington Post, New York Times)
______________________________

"If I bought groceries the way I buy health insurance, I’d eat a lot better - and so would my dog."

Phil Gramm

Exposing (and Evading) Grocery Store Fat Traps

By Shane Ellison, M.Sc.

My wife recently pigged out on beef jerky. What was supposed to be light, healthy snacking turned into an all-out eating binge. Her ravenous consumption of the stuff made me think it must be an especially good brand. I was in a hurry when I bought it at my local health food store - and that’s where I messed up big time. Ignoring the label, I was caught by the number one grocery store fat trap - which was the cause of my wife’s abnormal appetite.

A grocery store fat trap is nothing more than a scheme designed by food manufacturers to make you eat more of something that you think is healthy. These foods and food additives are fat fertilizer. They are great for a company’s bottom line, but really bad for your "bottom."

Right before she threw her head back to dump the last crumbs of the beef jerky into her mouth, my wife turned the bag over to read the fine-print ingredients. She gasped, "Why the hell did you buy this! It’s loaded with high-fructose corn syrup!"

High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is fat fertilizer on steroids. And she knows it. A very fit mom, she keeps her lean and muscular build by avoiding grocery store fat traps.

HFCS transforms people into eating machines. Once consumed, it sets into motion a chemical cascade that begins with spiked insulin and ends with feel-good molecules known as "endorphins." Intoxicated by artificial feel-good, the brain is unable to sense overeating and demands more, more, more - and the excess calories get stored in your body.

I’ve even heard of kids accidentally taking bites out of their fingers when under the influence of HFCS. Worse yet, many children who overindulge in Frankenfoods that contain HFCS and other sugars eventually become diabetic.

From beef jerky to bread and even spaghetti sauce, HFCS has infiltrated most processed foods and turned them into fat traps. Avoid this ingredient at all cost!

But that’s not the only trap lurking in grocery stores.

. "Fat-free" labels

These hoodwink millions of unsuspecting victims, and have been a goldmine for the food industry since 1993. The obese seek out this label in hopes of waking up skinny. It never happens - but that doesn’t stop them from getting ensnared over and over again. I can hear the rationale: "It just seems so plausible. I’m fat, so I should eat fat-free foods." Wrong.

After the fat is removed, sugar is added. Sugar is great if you’re at a birthday party, but that’s it. Like HFCS, it is nothing more than fat fertilizer and a heart attack waiting to happen. Look for it listed as sucrose, dextrose, or cane sugar on the labels of your favorite foods. Then buy something else - like an all-natural food high in healthy fat.

Healthy fat - which you can find in grass-fed beef, seeds, nuts, avocados, and eggs - is essential for proper growth, development, and the maintenance of good health. It provides your body with vital energy, without causing you to gain weight. In sharp contrast to carbohydrates, sugar, and trans-fats, healthy fats tell your body to burn fat and make you feel fuller quicker. Add them to your grocery list.

. Artificial sweeteners

This trap gets most weekend warriors. "Energy" bars, protein powders, and sugar-free goodies - each and every one of them is loaded with drugs disguised as sweeteners. The widespread belief that these nicely packaged foods and drinks are good for you is a perfect example of how marketing strategies supersede medical science and common sense.

Artificial sweeteners make your body lose its natural ability to count calories. If athletes cannot distinguish between proper eating and overeating caused by artificial flavors, they will never reach their fat-loss or muscle-building goals, period. Exercise becomes a waste of time. Artificial flavors include sucralose (Splenda), aspartame, acesulfame K, saccharin, and neotame.

. MSG

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) has several aliases you should be on the lookout for, including hydrolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed protein, hydrolyzed plant protein, plant protein extract, sodium caseinate, calcium caseinate, yeast extract, textured protein, autolyzed yeast, and hydrolyzed oat flour.

This white, crystalline amino acid is made in a lab and then added to meat products and most canned or packaged foods to "enhance flavor." One small problem: It doesn’t have any flavor. It just enhances overeating - and the food manufacturer’s bottom line.

Once consumed, this fat fertilizer not only spikes insulin, it also lowers the hormones that ward off obesity, premature aging, and diabetes: IGF-1 and human growth hormone. And if that’s not enough to scare you off, it can be damaging to brain cells too.

Consider the shocking findings by German scientists who recently warned that their country should abandon the use of MSG at once. Why? They found that pregnant mothers consuming this fat trap were giving birth to children who were insulin-resistant.

Apparently, fetuses can be doomed to overeating for life, thanks to neuronal damage caused by Mom’s MSG-eating habit. The damage was most prevalent in a specialized group of nerve cells in the medulla oblongata, thalamus, or hypothalamus - the areas of the brain that control proper eating and metabolism. This might be one explanation for the drastic increases in childhood obesity worldwide.

Some things are worth dying for. Fat traps are not. If you want to live thin and slim, be alert to these common grocery store fat traps. You might have to dedicate some extra time to carefully reading food labels… but you’ll never fall victim to them again.

[Ed. Note: Shane "The People’s Chemist" Ellison has an MS in organic chemistry and firsthand experience in drug design and synthesis. He is an internationally recognized authority on therapeutic nutrition.]
______________________________

Industry Jargon May Be Hazardous to Your (Business) Health

By Suzanne Richardson

"Next, you’ll want to put a lift on the promo and blast it to your file."

Huh?

You know your field inside and out. You can walk the walk, and you can definitely talk the talk. But if you’re writing to people who aren’t members of your industry, it’s unlikely that you’ll get through to them by using this kind of technical jargon.

Charlie Byrne, ETR’s Editorial Director, reminded me of this common writer’s mistake just last week. After reading an article I’d written about marketing, he said, "Readers who aren’t familiar with copywriting won’t know what a blast, a lift, a file, and maybe even a promo are. And if you confuse people or use words they don’t know, you’ll lose their attention."

And losing your reader’s attention - whether your reader is a prospective customer or a potential joint-venture partner - can end up costing you serious money.

Author and master copywriter Bob Bly remembers one client who changed the sales copy for a wire splint that "helps keep loose teeth in place." Instead of using this easy-to-understand definition of the product’s purpose, the client decided that the product was actually designed to "stabilize mobile dentition."

"Dentition is what you brush with Crest," says Bob. "And if someone should punch you in the dentition, my client believes that the dentition may become mobile, but certainly not loose. (If it falls out, the dentition fairy may deposit some ‘monetary compensation’ under your pillow.)"

Dentists may talk to each other about "stabilizing mobile dentition," but no one else is going to know what that means.

To keep your writing - from sales letters to friendly e-mails - clear and easy to read, always assume your readers know less about your subject than you might guess. That doesn’t mean writing "down" to them. It means using short words and simple language, and being wary of using "internal language." Outsiders won’t understand it.
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Condign

"Condign" (kun-DINE) - from the Latin for "very worthy" - is another way of saying "deserved" or "adequate" - suitable to the fault or crime.

Example (as used by David Frum in How We Got Here): "In a story as old as the Greeks, overweening pride brought condign disaster."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2070, 06-16-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Replace This Food in Your Diet and Watch the Fat Come Off

By Craig Ballantyne

I'm not a "low-carb guy" by any means, but back in December, I started to substitute more fruits and vegetables for the whole grains in my diet, and I became as lean as I've been in years. If you're trying to lose fat and look better than ever this summer, here are some easy changes you can make:

. Instead of toast for breakfast, have an apple.

. Usually have a side of rice at lunch? Have a cup of broccoli instead.

. Typically have a bowl of cereal at night? Replace it with an orange and handful of pecans (or walnuts or almonds).

A recent study agrees with this approach. After one year, the LF-FV group (women on a low-fat diet who also ate more fruits and vegetables) were not only less hungry than the LF group (women on the low-fat diet only), they also lost more weight.

And isn't summer a great time to implement this program? With fresh produce, berries, apples, and cherries in abundance, you can satisfy your sweet tooth naturally while burning fat with your workouts.

[Ed. Note: Craig Ballantyne is an expert consultant for Men's Health magazine.]
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Celerity

"Celerity" (suh-LARE-uh-tee) - from the Latin for "swift" - is rapidity of motion or action. It is related to "accelerate."

Example (as used by Malachy McCourt in A Monk Swimming: A Memoir): "Though not in the best of physical form, he was capable of moving with celerity."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2079, 06-27-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"Most people are not really free. They are confined by the niche in the world that they carve out for themselves. They limit themselves to fewer possibilities by the narrowness of their vision." - V. S. Naipaul

The Advantage You Have Over Every Other Up-and-Comer in Your Company

By Michael Masterson

In terms of productivity, employees fall somewhere on a bell-shaped curve. At the bottom of the curve are the loafers and goof-offs. In the middle is the silent majority that does just enough to get by. At the top are the relative few who are motivated to achieve.

When you understand the dynamics of any such group, you understand that a modest amount of hard work will put you beyond both the terminally slothful and the lump-along middle crowd. Just by being modestly ambitious, you will rise to the top third of almost any organization.

But getting up the last few rungs of that ladder will be tough, because the few you are competing against are competing hard. Chances are, they are as smart and talented as you, with the same (or more) basic resources. They may even have better contacts. But there is one thing they don't have more of, and that is time.

If you can use your time more effectively than they use theirs, you will move ahead of them. Hard workers eventually succeed even against those who have advantages. You can do better than someone who is smarter, richer, and luckier than you - so long as you are willing to work harder than that person does.
______________________________

Silly Name... Powerful Protection

By Jon Herring

A few years ago, I had several mercury ("silver") fillings removed by my dentist. As a protective measure, in case I somehow ingested or inhaled mercury during the process, I started taking an herbal supplement called silymarin.

Silymarin is a potent bioflavonoid found in the herb Milk Thistle. It has been studied extensively and has been conclusively shown to protect the liver against numerous toxins, including heavy metals. It also stimulates the growth of liver cells and has strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

New research shows that this miracle of nature can also benefit those with Type II diabetes.

In a study published in Phytotherapy Research, 51 adults with Type II diabetes were given either 200 mg of silymarin or a placebo three times per day. During the four-month study, the average fasting blood glucose level of the silymarin group fell 15 percent, compared to an increase of 13 percent in the placebo group. In addition, the triglyceride levels of the treated group dropped by 25 percent, while those of the placebo group increased by 12 percent.

There are a number of highly effective nutritional supplements - such as chromium, cinnamon, and magnesium - that can help improve blood sugar control. You can add silymarin to that list.
______________________________

It's Good to Know: About Fire Ants

Scientists with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have discovered a naturally occurring virus that kills fire ants. These invasive South American insects do $6 billion worth of damage annually nationwide, destroying crops, damaging farm equipment, and eroding soil. The ants also attack livestock and humans, with a painful sting that can even cause death. The USDA is now looking for commercial partners to help develop the virus into a pesticide.

(Source: CNN)
______________________________

Word to the Wise: Argus-eyed

Someone who's "Argus-eyed" (AR-gus-ide) - from Argus, the hundred-eyed monster in Greek mythology - is extremely observant or sharp-sighted.

Example (as used by Ralph Blumenthal in Stork Club): "Even the foliage at the Stork is apt to conceal a celebrity, as Argus-eyed star-gazers discovered the other night when they peeked behind three carefully combed fronds and found writer Ernest Hemingway, actor Monty Woolley, and sculptor Jo Davidson."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2073, 06-20-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"People get caught up in wonderful, eye-catching pitches, but they don't do enough to close the deal. It's no good if you don't make the sale. Even if your foot is in the door or you bring someone into a conference room, you don't win the deal unless you actually get them to sign on the dotted line."

- Donald Trump

Dealmaking Empire Builders

By Robert Ringer

If you look at the great entrepreneurs of our era - Kirk Kerkorian, Donald Trump, and Rupert Murdoch, to name but a few - the one thing they all have in common is that they are great dealmakers. All of them hire others to handle their day-to-day operations, while they work on identifying and closing lucrative deals.

And so it is with many individuals in a wide variety of occupations, people who have used their dealmaking prowess to build empires.

Wolfgang Puck is undoubtedly a great chef, but probably no better than thousands of other great chefs. From what I know of his rise to the top, it is clearly because he is a dealmaker supreme, who found a way - make that many ways - to transform himself from a gourmet chef into a culinary empire.

Ditto Howard Schultz, the man who built Starbucks into a global phenomenon. Start a chain of coffee shops? Are you kidding me? What a terrible idea. Nevertheless, in the face of declining coffee sales in the U.S., Schultz had the audacity to charge $3 for a cup of the world's dullest and most common drink - and served it in a paper cup, to boot!

And this came about at a time when the world appeared to be moving too fast for people to slow down, relax, and enjoy a cup of coffee, as they did in the good old days. Now, with $30 billion in sales, Schultz leaves the day-to-day management to CEO Jim McDonald, while he travels the world making deals to further expand Starbucks' reach.

I could go on and on... with Steve Riggio, who built Barnes & Noble into a retail giant and, in the process, transformed the way bookstores do business... with Martha Stewart, who built an empire by teaching women how to excel at being good housewives... with George Lucas, who created a one-man industry based on a single story. The list of dealmaking, empire-building entrepreneurs is endless.

But even these giants pale in comparison to Bill Gates. Many people think of Gates as a computer super-nerd who made good because of his awesome techno-skills. But Gates is much more than a computer maven. The real roots of his success lie in his incredible dealmaking skills.
As pretty much everyone knows by now, Bill Gates did not invent the DOS operating system that launched Microsoft into the stratosphere. What he did do, however, was make the deal of the century when he negotiated the purchase of DOS (referred to at that time as "86-DOS") - for a mere $50,000!

Funny how life works. I'll bet you don't even know the name of the guy who actually wrote the DOS program (for a now-defunct company called Seattle Computer Products). It was a 20-something programmer by the name of Tim Paterson, and he accomplished the feat in - get this - four months.

Paterson got paid pocket change for his efforts, while Gates parlayed the acquisition of Paterson's creation into becoming the richest human being on the planet. I guess I could say that life isn't fair - but if you're over 21 years of age, you already know that.

Of course, Gates was just getting started. He then turned right around and set up a meeting with top execs at IBM. At that now-historic gathering, the IBM corporate types wore pin-striped business suits, while Gates showed up in a stained T-shirt. According to one observer who was at the meeting, he looked like a 17-year-old kid negotiating with grown men.

But underneath that geeky-kid persona was a master dealmaker. Gates managed to negotiate the second deal of the century when he got the guys in the pin-striped suits to agree to install DOS in all of IBM's PCs.

And he still wasn't through. Perhaps an even more masterful dealmaking accomplishment was that Gates reserved the right for Microsoft to sell DOS to other companies. That one dealmaking coup (which, in dealmaking parlance, I like to refer to as a "throwaway bonus") laid the foundation for Microsoft's worldwide domination of the software business.

This little story underscores my oft-repeated belief that the difference between success and failure is much smaller than most people might suspect. And that small difference can often be traced to a subtle dealmaking nuance that can change the course of an entire industry.

Unlike dancing, painting, or playing a musical instrument, you can't practice dealmaking at home. The only way to become a profit-producing dealmaker is to jump in and do deals. There's no spring training, no preseason, no practice sessions. You can (and should) do a certain amount of preparation for each deal, but you cannot practice the art of dealmaking itself. It's strictly baptism by fire.

And that means being willing to jump in and get your feet wet - which, in turn, translates into rejection... embarrassment... and, yes, even failure. The willingness to fail is important, because no matter how good you become at the nuances of dealmaking, your bottom-line results are tied to the law of averages. Which is to say that the more you work at dealmaking, the better you get at it and the more deals you close.
______________________________

11 Minutes to Better Health and a Stronger Heart

By Jon Herring

Sorry, but you can no longer blame "lack of time" for your failure to regularly hit the gym. Research shows that you don't have to exercise for long periods of time to achieve significant benefits.

In a long-term study of more than 12,000 men, researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that exercising vigorously for 11 to 24 minutes just twice a week reduced the subjects' heart attack risk by 36 percent. Those who exercised more than 24 minutes saw no greater benefit. However, those who performed the brief workout more frequently reduced their risk even further.

We at Early to Rise and Dr. Sears have long advocated frequent, vigorous workouts of brief duration. This is the best way we know to burn fat, improve your fitness, and strengthen your heart. An overwhelming number of studies - and our personal experience - prove it.
______________________________

An Unexpected Danger of Searching for Jobs Online

By Suzanne Richardson

Try searching for a new job via the Internet, and 99 percent of the time you'll be wasting your time... or worse.

Online job-seekers are easy prey for scammers who offer "high-paying jobs to con workers into revealing personal information, such as Social Security or bank account numbers," said Tom Bartholomy, president/CEO of the Better Business Bureau. "In most cases, instead of getting paid, the job seeker loses money, and in some cases, instead of getting hired, the job seeker loses their identity."

If, for whatever reason, you're still tempted to apply to a job you find online, here's what you need to know to keep your identity and your bank account safe:

. Be wary of employers who don't bother to interview you or even meet you. A "trustworthy business" will want to meet you face-to-face to discuss your qualifications, says Bartholomy.

. Don't agree to pay for job details, placement assistance, or a background check.

. Don't include personal data - your Social Security number, birth date, address, or phone number - on resumes you post online.

Instead of blindly applying for online jobs, follow Michael Masterson's advice...

1. Do some research to find companies you'd like to work for and the titles and names of the people you'd most likely be working under. That's who you'll be writing to (not a nameless HR rep). "You must do everything you can to find out who your prospective boss is and get your letter into his or her hands," says Michael.

2. Create an exciting sales letter that explains exactly how your prospective boss is going to benefit by hiring you.

3. Never include a boring, cookie-cutter resume that will most likely end up in the trash. But do look into AWAI's Pro Resume Writer Program to help you personalize and add sizzle to a resume that will help you get the job you want.
______________________________

Dear Michael Masterson: "Is there a difference in sulfite levels between wines marketed in the U.S. and abroad?"

"I've enjoyed your wine articles. As a frequent traveler to Europe from the U.S., I've noted that local red wines (in France and Spain, for example) can be enjoyed with less chance of my developing a headache compared with drinking a similar wine sold in the U.S. I've always believed that this is due to there being less sulfites added to these wines. Yet most wines contain sulfites, both natural and oftentimes added, to help preserve them.

"So, is there really a difference in sulfite levels between wines marketed in the U.S. and abroad? And do these levels influence how one is affected by the wine?"

- Vince Czaplyski

Dear Vince:

Many visitors to Europe are convinced that they are less prone to headaches after drinking the local red wine than they would be back home. Their host may explain that European wines have lower levels of sulfites, which, as you point out, occur naturally during fermentation and are also added as a preservative.

The truth is that sulfites in both European and U.S. wines average about 80 milligrams per liter, or about 10 mg per glass, according to Andrew Waterhouse, wine chemist at the University of California. While some ingredient or combination of ingredients in red wine (still unknown to researchers) does cause headaches, sulfites are not to blame.

Sweeter white wines, which are rarely blamed for ill effects, actually have higher levels of sulfites than reds. Sulfites can also be found in dried fruit, salad bar items, and other restaurant foods, also often at higher levels than in red wine.

So why are sulfites blamed for headaches? Some people mistakenly associate a Food and Drug Administration-mandated label declaring the presence of sulfites with their headaches. Europe, which doesn't understand all the fuss, requires American wineries to remove those labels when exporting and doesn't label local wines.

For those who blame a sulfite allergy for their "red-wine headaches," Waterhouse explains that those who are truly allergic (about one percent of the population) would much more likely suffer from an asthma attack or in severe cases, anaphylactic shock, which can be life threatening.

- Michael Masterson
______________________________
It's Fun to Know: About Scrabble

Until 1948, most board games belonged to one of three categories: number games (such as dice and Bingo), move games (chess and checkers), and word games (anagrams). Then along came an unemployed architect, Alfred Butts, who wanted to create a game of both chance and skill. Combining features of crossword puzzles and anagrams, he came up with Scrabble.

Using the front page of The New York Times as study material, Butts did meticulous calculations of the frequency with which each letter appeared in order to determine the game's letter distribution.

Scrabble - which was first called Lexiko and then Criss Cross Words - has since sold one hundred million sets around the world.

(Source: The National Scrabble Association)
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Vitiate

To "vitiate" (VISH-ee-ate) - from the Latin for "fault" - is to impair or render ineffective.

Example (as used by Richard E. Marschall in the Columbia Journalism Review): "[Jeff] MacNelly is one of the few contemporary political cartoonists who can use humor to accentuate, not vitiate, his points."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2074, 06-21-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Protect Your Aging Brain With Fish Fat

By Al Sears, MD

Two new studies published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids can actually prevent "cognitive decline," a fancy term for losing the ability to understand and think clearly.

In one study, researchers looked at the diet and thinking ability of 210 healthy men who were 79 to 89 years old. Five years later, those men who ate fish regularly were mentally sharper than those who didn't. And what nutrient does fish contain in abundance? That's right - omega-3s.

In the other study, researchers found that those with high omega-3 blood levels had better verbal ability than those who didn't. This means they could speak more easily and recall words, names, and phrases without difficulty. Plus, they were better able to keep track of what they and others were saying.

If that sounds too good to be true, well... it's not. You can actually ramp up your brainpower through a simple change in diet. So eat lots of fish, but be careful. Most fish found in supermarkets and restaurants is farm-raised. The unnatural diets farm-raised fish rely on actually reduce the amount of omega-3s in their flesh. I wouldn't recommend eating a lot of any fish that wasn't wild-caught.

Another simple way to boost your omega-3 levels is to supplement with fish oil. The researchers behind the above two studies recommended 400 mgs per day for fish oil in capsule form. If you prefer straight fish oil, take about one tablespoon per day.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears is a practicing physician and a leading anti-aging authority. When supplementing with fish oil, purity is essential.]
______________________________
It's Fun to Know: About Cruise Ships

At 1,181 feet long, 213 feet tall, and 154 feet wide, Royal Caribbean's new 5,400-passenger Genesis-class cruise ship will be the world's largest when it is finished in 2009. The $1.2 billion price tag for the as yet unnamed ship didn't stop the cruise line from recently ordering a second such ship from builder Aker Finnyards of Finland.

(Source: Wikipedia and Reuters)
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Janissary

A "Janissary" (JAN-uh-ser-ee) - often capitalized - was a member of an elite military unit of the Turkish army that guarded the Ottoman sultan and his household. The word has also come to mean a member of a group of highly loyal supporters.

Example (as used in a New Yorker review of The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid): "Only in the wake of the September 11th attacks, when America's wrath turns toward his homeland, does he realize that he has become a latter-day janissary - akin to the children of defeated nations who, conscripted into the army of the enemy, 'fought to erase their own civilizations.'"

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2076, 06-23-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

You Don't Need Drugs to Have Strong Bones

By Al Sears, MD

Before you reach for pills to help protect your bones, here's something you should know. An FDA-approved drug used to treat osteoporosis has potentially deadly side effects.

Two research reports published in the New England Journal of Medicine indicate that there's a link between the drugs Fosamax and Reclast and irregular heartbeats in women who take them. This condition, called "atrial fibrillation," may be lethal for people already at risk of stroke.

Here's something else your doctor may not tell you: There are perfectly safe, natural ways to boost your bone density. Here's a simple two-step process to reverse the effects of osteoporosis:

1. Exercise.

When you exercise, your muscles pull on your bones. This pressure creates a challenge that your body responds to by increasing bone density.

The best way to increase bone density and reduce fractures is with body-weight exercises (like calisthenics) and resistance training. Do these exercises two or three times a week. But even low-intensity exercise, like walking, can strengthen your bones. Thirty minutes of walking per day will lower your risk of fracture by 30 percent.

2. Take a vitamin D supplement.

I recommend 400 IU per day. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and maintain bone density. Without vitamin D, all your calcium supplements are worthless! The best source of vitamin D is the sun - 10 to 15 minutes of exposure a day should be enough. When winter rolls around, take cod liver oil. It's by far the best supplemental source of vitamin D.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears is a practicing physician and leading expert in heart health.]
______________________________

Worth Quoting: Stephen Covey on Striving for Moral Authority

"I'm in favor of achievements - degrees and wealth and that sort of thing. Still, those achievements convey formal authority but not always moral authority. The only way to acquire moral authority is through your character and contribution, to live in such a way as to merit the confidence and the trust of other people.

"Moral authority is especially important to business. This is because in order to reduce costs, increase production, and nurture a culture of innovation - all of which are important criteria in today's global economy - you've got to have high trust among your workers and partners. Why? Because everyone involved needs to sacrifice. If you don't have high trust, none of those things will happen. You can't fake high trust."

(Source: Business 2.0)
______________________________

It's Good to Know: About Multi-Tasking

If you've ever been accused of being a workaholic, take heart: You may not be nearly as bad as you could be.

According to a Staples survey of 300 small-business owners and executives, work has wormed its way into almost every aspect of life outside the office - sometimes making good use of otherwise wasted time, sometimes interfering with personal life. Consider these statistics...

. 18 percent of those surveyed admit to reading work-related material in the bathroom.

. 21 percent work four to five times a week while eating dinner.

. 49 percent check e-mail and make work-related calls while driving.

. 51 percent work on holidays.

. 66 percent work after hours and at night.

. 68 percent make work-related calls and e-mails and do other work on their days off.
______________________________

Word to the Wise: Sop

A "sop" - Old English for "bread soaked in liquid" - is a bribe, a concession given to mollify or placate.

Example (as used by David Kamp in The New York Times): "But if we're stuck with the children's menu, there's no reason it can't be improved upon and made less of a sop to cosseted little fried-food addicts."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2075, 06-22-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

How a Simple Kitchen Appliance Can Improve Your Eating Habits

By Jon Herring

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It helps set your metabolism in motion. In fact, numerous studies have shown that people are far more successful at losing excess weight when they start the day with a protein-rich meal rather than skipping breakfast.

If you find yourself skipping breakfast often because you "just don’t have the time," I have a solution for you. Buy a Magic Bullet blender and use it to make protein shakes and smoothies in the morning. This device is compact, extremely easy to clean, and the best part is that you can blend the ingredients right in the container you drink out of. It is extremely convenient.

Here is what I do. Several mornings each week, I mix about eight ounces of water or milk with a scoop of Jay Robb’s Whey Protein Powder or Mercola’s Whey Healthier. Both of these products taste great, and they don’t contain any sugar or artificial sweeteners. To this, I might add any number of things… frozen organic berries, an egg, a spoonful of peanut butter, super-greens powder (a protein-rich green wholefood that includes spirulina, chlorella, barley grass, and wheat grass), half a banana, or powdered cocoa… depending on what I feel like.

The entire process takes less than five minutes, and I’m out the door with a tasty shake that keeps me satisfied and mentally sharp all morning.
__________________________________________________
This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2072, 06-19-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

A Common Sense Approach to Preventing Allergies

By Jon Herring

For decades, prevailing medical opinion has held that children should NOT be exposed to potential allergens during their first few years - presumably to protect them from developing allergies. I'm not sure how this idea came about, as it defies what is known about basic immunology. But let's see how it has worked in the real world.

Peanut allergies in the U.S. and UK have doubled in the past 10 years ... at the same time as doctors have been advising pregnant mothers to avoid eating peanuts and warning them against feeding their young children anything made with peanuts. (And, by the way, according to a cover story in USA Today, peanut allergies are 10 times higher in these two countries than in Africa and Asia, where young children are routinely exposed to peanuts.)

And consider a study performed by researchers at the Medical College of Georgia, which found that children who were exposed to dogs or cats in their first year were 45 percent less likely to test positive for pet allergies than kids who had no contact with these animals.

So the research is proving what common sense already tells us. Early exposure to potential allergens helps the developing immune system identify what is (and what is not) a threat. And it certainly makes sense that if the immune system develops over a period of years without exposure to a substance, the first time it is exposed it is more likely to identify that substance as harmful and cause an allergic reaction.

You should still be careful with peanuts, of courses, as they are a choking hazard for small children. But let them play with cats and dogs and roll in the grass. There's a good chance they will be healthier adults as a result.
__________________________________________________
This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1689, 03-30-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"Negotiating techniques do not work all that well with kids, because in the middle of a negotiation, they will say something completely unrelated such as, 'You know what? I have a belly button!' and completely throw you off guard." - Bo Bennett

"Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends." - Shirley MacLaine

"Where quality is the thing sought after, the thing of supreme quality is cheap, whatever the price one has to pay for it." - William James

"You know my methods by now, use them." - Agatha Christie, in Poirot

Reload This Lost Fat Buster

By Al Sears, MD

The mineral magnesium is gaining a reputation as a simple and easy way to lower your insulin - exactly what you need to lose fat fast.

If you’re a regular ETR reader, you know that insulin signals your body to make and store fat. Magnesium plays a prime role in keeping both blood sugar and insulin in check.

It’s been estimated that our lean, muscular hunter ancestors got over 1,000 mg of magnesium from their native diet every day. On the average American diet, you’re getting less than 20 percent of that… if you’re lucky.

Restoring your magnesium levels to those of your caveman ancestors will take you a step closer to your real native diet - the kind you were designed to eat. It will also take you a step toward dropping fat and staying lean.

You can add magnesium to your diet by eating nuts, seeds, dairy products, and dark green, leafy vegetables.

- - - - - - - - - - - Your Best Sources of Magnesium - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - -Food Choice - - - - - - - - - Milligrams (mg) - - %DV*
Halibut, cooked, 3 ounces - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 90 - - - - - - - - - 20
Almonds, dry roasted, 1 ounce - - - - - - - - - - - - -80 - - - - - - - - - 20
Cashews, dry roasted, 1 ounce - - - - - - - - - - - - - 75 - - - - - - - - - 20
Spinach, frozen, cooked, 1/2 cup - - - - - - - - - - - 75 - - - - - - - - - 20
Nuts, mixed, dry roasted, 1 ounce - - - - - - - - - - 65 - - - - - - - - - -15
Yogurt, plain, skim milk, 8 fluid ounces - - - - - -45 - - - - - - - - - -10

*The recommended daily value for magnesium is 400 milligrams (mg)
______________________________

5 Reasons to Use the Power of the Pause in Public Speaking

By Peter "The Humorator" Fogel

As a stand-up comic, my goal has always been to get the biggest laughs in the shortest time possible. So I developed jokes and "bits" that have a very short set-up and go directly to the punch line. But when I became a speaker, I had a different goal. I realized that I needed to find a way to make my content have a more powerful effect on my audience. To accomplish that goal, I added pauses to my presentations. The results and feedback I got from my audiences were outstanding.

Here are five reasons why you should add "the Power of the Pause" to your public speaking:

1. When you pause, you create the illusion that right after you start speaking again your audience will be receiving new information.
2. When you pause, you are giving the impression that you are "in the moment." This makes your listeners feel that you are giving them fresh - not "canned" - content.
3. Using the pause keeps you from dumping a lot of heavy content on your captive audience, machine-gun style, all at once.
4. Pausing allows you to lead the audience where you want them to go. When you pause at a specific point in your speech, you are signaling them: "I’ve just thought about something important - perhaps you should too!"

Listen to the great orators and storytellers of our time - people like Garrison Keillor and Bill Clinton. They prove that sometimes it’s not what you say that carries the most weight… it’s what you DON’T say.

Try this in your own speeches and presentations and you’ll see how well it can work.

[Ed. Note: Peter Fogel is a copywriter/speaker/humorist and the creator of Peter "The Humorator" Fogel’s Guide to Effective Public Speaking, an e-book/DVD/audio program.]
______________________________
It’s Fun to Know: About Rock ‘n’ Roll Legends

When the Monkees went on their first concert tour, their opening act was Jimi Hendrix.
(Source: Who Knew? By David Hoffman)
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Halcyon

To the ancient Greeks, the "halcyon" (HAL-see-un) was a mythical bird. Legend had it that the bird would nest at sea during the winter solstice - and, while incubating its eggs, it would calm the waves. As an adjective, the word has come to mean tranquil/peaceful/carefree.

Example (as used by Elizabeth M. Norman in We Band of Angels): "It was a halcyon life, cocktails and bridge at sunset, white jackets and long gowns at dinner, good gin and Gershwin under the stars."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2014, 04-12-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"The best business is a royalty on the growth of others - requiring little capital itself." - Warren Buffet , Berkshire Hathaway annual report, 1978

"An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics." - Plutarch

"If you know yourself and your enemy, you will not fear battle.

"If you know yourself but not your enemy, you will lose a battle for every one that you win.

"If you do not know yourself and do not know your enemy, you will never see victory."

- Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Another Example of Modern Medicine Limiting Women's Choices

By Al Sears, MD

I just received a popular medical journal, one that circulates to thousands of doctors nationwide, saying that endometriosis has no cure - that it is a problem women have to learn to live with.

I couldn't disagree more...

When you have endometriosis - a common condition among women - the cells that usually line the inner walls of the uterus begin to grow inside the uterine lining or on the outside of it. The result is chronic pelvic pain. Some women experience pain in their lower back and abdomen too.

I look at endometriosis as just one sign that you have too much estrogen.

Estrogen plays a key role in endometriosis, but most doctors overlook this fact. You see, the cells inside the endometriosis lesions carry a lot more estrogen receptors than average cells. This makes them sensitive to high levels of estrogen in your blood, and the resulting build-up of estrogen creates a never-ending cycle: High estrogen levels continually make the endometriosis worse.

But there's a simple supplement that can gently and naturally cleanse excess estrogen from your body: DIM (diindolylmethane). Derived from cruciferous vegetables, DIM is completely safe. It's one of the reasons broccoli and cauliflower are so healthy.

Take 100 mg of DIM once a day to help restore your estrogen balance and eliminate your symptoms. DIM is available at most health food stores and on the Internet.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
______________________________

It's Good to Know: Tracking Spacecraft from Earth

Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station at 11:31 a.m. Eastern Time Sunday, June 17. For a few minutes Sunday and Monday nights, amateur skywatchers will be able to see the two spacecraft moving away from each other, looking like points of light on the same path.

New Yorkers should mark Sunday at 9:52 p.m. and 11:25 p.m., as well as Monday at 10:12 p.m., on their calendars. Chicagoans should be ready Sunday at 10:24 p.m. and Monday at 9:10 p.m. and 10:43 p.m. San Franciscans should look skyward at 9:54 p.m. and 11:28 p.m. on Sunday, and at 10:14 p.m. on Monday.

You'll be able to see this with the naked eye - no telescope needed. With any luck, viewing conditions will be perfect where you are (not a big moon, clear skies, and away from city lights).

Check spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings/ for the ideal viewing times in your area and tips on which part of the night sky to look at.

(Source: NASA)
______________________________

Word to the Wise: Denouement

"Denouement" (day-noo-MAHN) - from the French for "to untie" - is the final resolution or clarification of a dramatic or narrative plot.

Example (as I used it today): "Convention would call for a denouement at this point, the discovery of an elixir that would reverse his bad fortune."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2069, 06-15-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"He who wishes to secure the good of others, has already secured his own." - Confucius

"America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between." - Oscar Wilde

"Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose."["The more things change, the more they stay the same."] - Alphonse Karr

"Everything is new if you are ignorant of history. That is why ideas that have failed repeatedly in centuries past reappear again, under the banner of 'change,' to dazzle people and sweep them off their feet." - Thomas Sowell

"It may be true... that 'you can't fool all the people all the time,' but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country." - Will Durant

A Natural Way to Live Longer

By Al Sears, MD

Did you know that you can actually live longer by restricting calories? In numerous studies, cutting calories by 40 percent increased the lifespan of laboratory animals (ranging from mice to geese) by as much as 50 percent. And a 15-year study of monkeys found that a restricted-calorie diet lengthened their lives by 30 percent.

When you eat less, you get a number of anti-aging benefits:

. Body temperature drops

. Blood pressure lowers

. Cholesterol levels drop

. Cells divide at a slower rate

. The rate of glycation drops

. Free-radical activity drops

. Oxidation activity drops

Cutting calories is not as hard as you think. You can, for example, substitute a protein shake for your regular morning meal. Protein powders that feature whey protein isolate are the best. You'll have the sensation of being full without the metabolic stress on your body.

When you bulk up on protein, you throw "metabolic switches" in your body that lessen hunger and start burning fat. This is a genetic throwback to our caveman days when lots of protein meant "times are good." When your body isn't worried about starvation, it burns off all its fat stores. (Why do you need stored body fat if you are likely to eat well again tomorrow?)

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
______________________________
It's Fun to Know: About Beer

The world's oldest surviving recipe is a formula for making beer. It was discovered outside Baghdad in 1850 on a 3,800-year-old Sumerian clay tablet. Two other tablets contain what are believed to be drinking songs.

(Source: That's a Fact Jack! A New Collection of Utterly Useless Information by Harry Bright)
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Raffish

Something that's "raffish" (RAF-ish) - from "riffraff," which means "people of low reputation" - is gaudy, cheap, crude, vulgar, or rowdy, though perhaps engagingly so.

Example (as used by Sidney Sheldon in The Best Laid Plans): "The speaker was in his forties, an attractive-looking man with a black eye patch that gave him the raffish look of an amiable pirate."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2032, 05-03-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

It's Fun to Know: About eBay

EBay started out as a Web consulting group named Echo Bay Technology Group. Echo Bay Mines Limited, a gold mining company, had already taken the domain name EchoBay.com, so founder Pierre Omidyar registered his second choice: eBay.com.

(Source: Wikipedia)
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Supplant

To "supplant" (suh-PLANT) - from the Latin for "to trip up/overthrow" - is to take the place of a rival, especially through intrigue or underhanded tactics.

Example (as used by Dennis J. Hutchinson in The Man Who Once Was Whizzer White): "Economic opportunities for a saddler and harness maker were beginning to decline... as railroads supplanted the stagecoach trade."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2038, 05-10-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." - Charlie Dickens in the first sentence of A Tale of Two Cities, 1859.

"Every choice moves us closer to or farther away from something. Where are your choices taking your life? What do your behaviors demonstrate that you are saying yes or no to in life?"

- Eric Allenbaugh

Notes From Michael Masterson's Blog: The Choices We Have

Now that our last child is about to leave home, K and I are talking about getting television service. For about 20 years, we have been without TV. The idea was that our children would become better readers without the distraction - and that objective was achieved. All three of our boys are voracious and skillful readers.

So now, as empty nesters, we are thinking that it would be kind of fun to watch some shows together - to spend an hour after dinner, sitting next to one another, laughing at the same things.

To test this hypothesis, we jimmy-rigged an antenna connection for the set that used to play only DVDs, and we spent a few evenings watching it.

The results of that experiment were mixed. There was something wonderful about watching those programs together - the double pleasure of the experience itself and knowing that your mate is "getting it" too. But when it was over, we found ourselves feeling like we used to when we watched television - which is to say a little sad and empty inside. As if we were mourning the time we'd lost.

The other night, we watched a science program together, a documentary about insects. Suddenly, we were having the experience we had hoped to have - sharing something that was both entertaining and illuminating.

That got me thinking about how people spend their recreational time - how much time they devote to it, the things they do, and whether the time they spend is spent wisely.

Broadly speaking, there are four kinds of activities that we engage in: working, sleeping, eating, and relaxing. And it seems logical to assert that - up to a certain point of mental or physical exhaustion - the more hours you spend working, the more successful you will be.

That said, we must acknowledge that all work and no play makes Jack a dull... or cranky... boy. We do need some recreation. The question is: How much?

And the answer to that is pretty simple. Just ask yourself how far you want to go in life. How smart you want to be. How high you want to rise in your industry. How much money you want to make. What accomplishments you want to achieve.

Determine how ambitious you are... and then find out how many hours of work were done per day by people who have already done what you want to do. Unless you are exceptionally gifted (or exceptionally slow), chances are you will have to work about as hard (i.e., as many hours) as they did.

Take the number of hours you sleep and eat and add to that the number of hours that successful people in your industry typically work. Subtract that from 24, and you will be left with the number of hours you can safely devote to recreation.

But there is another question that must be asked: Does it make any difference what kind of recreational activities you engage in? During your down time, does it matter whether you are sitting in front of the boob tube watching Jerry Springer or lifting weights or playing a musical instrument?

Broadly speaking, there are three ways you can occupy yourself during down time. You can amuse yourself with activities that, though fun, are harmful (like getting drunk). You can busy yourself with mindless distractions (like junky novels). Or you can choose to do something that requires a bit more energy on your part but will give you both a high degree of pleasure and the knowledge that you have somehow improved yourself (like practicing yoga).

It seems to me that whether it is the work we do, the sports we play, the vacations we take... we have the same three choices. We can do something that:

1. Damages us in some way

2. Improves us somehow

3. Leaves us more or less the same

Look at almost any activity, and you will see what I'm talking about. In the books you read. In the friends you keep. In the jobs you take. You name it. Some choices will improve you and some will damage you... but most will fall somewhere in the neutral zone: They won't harm you... but they won't help you either.

If we fill our lives with mediocre experiences - does that make sense?

Every day, we are given dozens of choices - from which foods to eat to which parts of the newspaper to read to which words to say in any given conversation. Many of those choices seem to be insignificant, but when you string them all together they determine the quality of our lives.
At the lowest end of the scale, there's the person who spends his time using drugs, watching television, and prostituting himself or stealing to pay for his addiction. At the highest end of the scale - well, I don't really know who that is. But when I think of rich guys in limos or holy men on mountains... that just doesn't work.

Most of us live in the middle ground, mixing quality experiences with neutral ones while trying not to harm ourselves... but doing so anyway. We recognize that some of the choices we make are better than others, but we don't always have the willpower to make the better ones.

It's interesting, isn't it? The best choices are often the hardest to choose... because they require more of our energy. The worst choices are usually the easiest to refuse... because we are frightened by them. But when we have experienced them and found them pleasurable, they have the greatest pull on us. The neutral choices - the actions that do little more than get the job done - are the most popular because they are relatively easy and benign. They don't require much energy and they don't leave us hurting.

If there is one thing that life gives us all in equal portion, it is the hours of the day. We can't determine (with any certainty) how many hours will be allotted to us, but we can decide how to spend those that we have.

- Michael Masterson
______________________________

Enjoy Your Steak Medium-Rare

By Al Sears, MD

Do you like your steak red in the middle? I do. Conventional wisdom says that's "dangerous," so let me put your mind at ease. The idea that it's "healthier" to cook meat until it's dry and tasteless is not based on scientific fact. Overcooking denatures protein, breaks down vitamins, and removes nutrients.

Many high-temperature cooking methods trigger a chemical change called glycation (the binding of glucose molecules to protein). Glycation is what happens to the proteins in your body as you age, and it's the same process that turns a turkey's skin brown and crispy when you cook it.

The result of glycation on meat is a spoiled protein assembly with glycotoxins. As the glycotoxins accumulate in your cells, they send out chemical signals. Your body responds by producing inflammation that can cause arthritis, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

You can reduce the number of glycotoxins in your food by cooking it more slowly at a lower heat - in other words, by steaming, stewing, boiling, and poaching instead of frying, broiling, and microwaving. Marinating meat well before you cook it will also lessen glycation.
______________________________

Word to the Wise: Abecedarian

An "abecedarian" (ay-bee-see-DARE-ee-un) - from the first four letters of the alphabet - is someone who is learning the alphabet. Thus, a beginner in any field.

Example (as used by Lisa Jo Sagolla in Back Stage magazine): "While much of the work resembled abecedarian attempts of a novice choreographer, 'Duet,' sensitively danced by Jennifer A. Cooper and William Petroni, is surprisingly sophisticated in its careful deployment of formal thematic manipulations in the service of emotional expression."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2021, 04-20-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

One Food You Should Always Pack When Traveling

By Craig Ballantyne

When you are traveling, despite your best intentions, it isn't easy to eat "right." However, there is one portable, healthy snack you can count on. It not only fits into any bag without spoiling or getting crushed, it is readily available, even in airports and gas stations.

I'm talking about raw almonds.

Almonds lower cholesterol, help with weight loss, give you fiber, protein, and monounsaturated fats, and fill you up. Plus, recent research from St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto showed that almonds minimize the negative effects of a processed carbohydrate meal - something you are bound to eat when you are on the road.

In this study, men and women ate 50 grams of white bread, along with one, two, or three ounces of almonds. (A one-ounce serving is about 22 almonds.) Adding the almonds to the white bread prevented the rapid spike in blood sugar caused by eating white bread alone. Essentially, adding almonds to the white bread produced a low-glycemic meal. And, as you know from reading ETR, low-glycemic foods don't affect your blood sugar levels the way high-glycemic foods do.

So stock up on almonds and make them your snack of choice - especially when you're traveling and concerned about damage being done to your health by the restaurant food you're eating.

[Ed. Note: Craig Ballantyne is an expert consultant for Men's Health magazine.]
______________________________
It's Fun to Know: About Visiting the Grand Canyon

Since March, tourists have been able to see the Grand Canyon in an entirely new way thanks to some creative engineering. A glass-bottomed, curved walkway extends 75 feet over the rim, 4,000 feet above the canyon floor. The impoverished Hualapai tribe at the canyon's western edge allowed a private developer to build the attraction, hoping to bring in tourist revenue.

(Source: Associated Press)
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Meme

A "meme" (MEEM) - from the Greek for "memory" - is a cultural unit (an idea or value or pattern of behavior) that is passed from one person to another by non-genetic means (as by imitation).

Example (as used by Seth Godin in his blog): "Is [the desire to have more] some sort of character flaw? A defective meme in the system of mankind?"

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2050, 05-24-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

It's Good to Know: Locating Files on Your Computer

By Suzanne Richardson

You may have a top-notch filing system, but even so it can be hard to locate a file in the impenetrable thicket of Word documents, e-mails, spreadsheets, MP3s, and photos on your computer. To quickly find what you're looking for, try one of these free desktop search engines:

. Google Desktop: After forming an index of practically everything on your hard drive, Google Desktop allows you to search through them the way you'd do any Google search. It even brings up results in a Web browser, Google-style. And each time you go to Google to search for a subject, the search engine will tell you if you have related files on your computer, in your e-mail, or in your Web history.

. Windows Desktop Search: Like Google Desktop, Windows Desktop indexes your hard drive. Instead of seeing your search results in a browser, you'll get them in a Windows application. You can sort your results by name, file type, author, or date, or filter them so you see only one type of file.

. Copernic Desktop Search: Copernic works just like Google Desktop and Windows Desktop, but it allows you to specify your searches - narrowing down results to those from a certain sender, for instance. You can also search through e-mails and attachments from Outlook, Outlook Express, Mozilla Thunderbird, and Eudora.

(Source: Australian PC World)
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Avaricious

"Avaricious" (av-uh-RISH-us) means greedy for wealth and/or power.

Example (as I used it today): "Since the war on terror began, our world image has definitely suffered. Our traditional image as well-meaning brats has morphed ominously into something more sinister: unprincipled, avaricious monsters."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1773, 07-05-06], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

Aspartame Induces Tumors and Leukemia in Rats

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) delayed approval of the artificial sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet) for almost 10 years, because it was a proven health hazard. It was finally given a green light on the basis of political muscle and bureaucratic maneuvering - not on the basis of science.

Despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, NutraSweet's manufacturer continues to vigorously proclaim the product's safety - and hundreds of millions of people consume it. But that doesn't take away the risk.

A three-year Italian study recently showed that aspartame caused malignant brain tumors, leukemia, and lymphoma in rats - at "doses very close to the acceptable daily intake of humans." And if a substance is carcinogenic in rodents, that is accepted by scientists as a good predictor for the same result in humans.

So if you crave something sweet, use the all-natural herb stevia instead of aspartame. You can buy it at any health food store in a liquid or powder form. It's sweeter than sugar, has no calories, tastes great ... and it's safe.

(Reference: Felicity Lawrence, The Guardian)

- Jon Herring
__________________________________________________
This article appears courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1498, 08-20-05], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?" - Albert Camus

The Journey to Happiness

by Brian Tracy

From Aristotle in 340 B.C. through to the thinkers, speakers, and writers of today, the key to happiness has hardly changed at all. It is both simple and complex. And it is the same for virtually all men and women, in all countries and situations, and in all walks of life.

The key to happiness is this: Dedicate yourself to the development of your natural talents and abilities by doing what you love to do and continuing to do it better and better.

Since you can't be truly happy until you are clear about your inherent possibilities, it's very important that you take some time on a regular basis to analyze yourself and identify your strengths and weaknesses. One of the best ways to do this is to start by asking yourself two powerful questions.

The first question is my favorite: "What one great thing would I dare to dream if I knew I could not fail?"

Imagine that you are absolutely guaranteed of success in the pursuit of a particular goal, big or small, short-term or long-term. Imagine that you had all the money, all the time, all the education, all the contacts, all the resources, and everything else that you could possibly need to achieve any one big goal in life. In other words, imagine that you had no restrictions.

What would your goal in life be?

The second question to ask yourself is this: "How would I spend my life if I learned today that I only had six months to live?" In other words, if you could only do one or two things before your time on earth was over, what would they be? Where would you go? Who would you spend your time with?

These questions help you assess your values. They go right to the very heart of the person you really are ... and of what is really important to you.

Getting these insights into yourself is the first step toward understanding what you should be doing with your life. The next step is to find a career that will make you happy. And this is where identifying your natural talents and abilities comes in.

Dr. Viktor Frankl, who wrote the book "Man's Search for Meaning", suggested that you can do it by dividing the things you could do in life into four categories.

. The first category consists of the things that are hard for you to learn and hard for you to do. An example in this category for many people is mathematics. Many of us struggled with math in school, and still struggle with bookkeeping, accounting, financial statements, and tax returns as adults. If you find mathematics hard to learn and hard to do, this is the sort of activity for which you are clearly not suited. No matter how much of it you do or how good you get at it, you will never achieve any lasting satisfaction or happiness from it.

. The next category consists of things that are hard for you to learn but easy for you to do. Riding a bicycle and driving a car are hard to learn but easy to do once you've practiced enough. Tying your shoes is another example. These are seldom the sorts of activities that make you feel terrific about yourself when you engage in them. They do not demand your best.

. The third category consists of things that are easy for you to learn but hard for you to do. Physical labor falls into this category. Digging a ditch with a shovel or chopping wood with an ax are easy to learn but they are hard to do. And they never get any easier.

. The fourth category is the one you're looking for. These are the things that are easy for you to do and easy for you to learn. You seem to have a natural proclivity for them. When you are engaged in these activities, time flies. These are the things that you should be doing with your life. They indicate where your natural talents and abilities lie and what will make you happy. It is engaging in these activities with your whole heart, and committing yourself to becoming better and better at them, that will give you all the joy and satisfaction you could ever want.

Everyone has an area of excellence. Everyone has something that he or she can do in an outstanding fashion. It may take weeks, months, and even years for you to develop yourself in your area of excellence - but you will be strongly attracted to that sort of activity from the beginning. You will enjoy reading about it and talking about it and thinking about it. You will find yourself admiring people who are already outstanding at doing it. You will look longingly at that field and wonder what it would be like to be in it and to be successful at it. And that's how you'll know that you have found your heart's desire.

You were put on this earth with a special purpose, programmed with unique talents and abilities that have not yet been fully tapped and utilized. When you focus all of your energies on unlocking your true potential, you can claim your ultimate birthright: happiness.

And remember ... excellence is not a destination; it's a lifelong journey. It is when you continue to grow, becoming better and better at something that is important to you, that you really feel alive and in touch with your world.

[Ed. Note: Brian is the best-selling author of more than 36 books. He has written and produced more than 300 audio and video learning programs, including the worldwide bestseller "Psychology of Achievement." He addresses more than 250,000 people each year - audiences as large as 20,000 people - on the subjects of Personal and Professional Development, Leadership, Selling, Self-Esteem, Goals, Strategy, Creativity, and Success Psychology. ]
____________________
TODAY'S ACTION PLAN

Happiness is not an accident. Happy people are those who deliberately do the things that invariably lead to happiness. Happy people are those who know what they want and then throw their whole hearts into using their unique talents and abilities to make a contribution to the world in the achievement of their goals.

So once you have identified a goal in life, resolve to persist until you succeed at it. The first part of courage is the resolve to launch in faith toward your objectives; the second part of courage is your willingness to endure in the face of the inevitable disappointments and setbacks along the road.

Michael Masterson
______________________________

A Predictor of Heart Attack or Stroke That's More Reliable Than Cholesterol

Homocysteine is not only a predictor but also an initiator of cardiac events. Excess homocysteine irritates the lining of the blood vessels and keeps them from dilating. The result is inadequate blood flow to the heart (which causes heart attacks) and to the brain (which causes strokes).

The homocysteine level in your blood should be under 8 mmol/l. Below 7 is even better. Have your doctor check it. And as a preventive measure, supplement daily with B vitamins (which help break down homocysteine). For most people, this is what Dr. Sears recommends:

. Vitamin B2, 25 mg

. Vitamin B6, 25 mg

. Vitamin B12, 500 mcg

. Folate, 800 mcg

- Jon Herring
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #1374, 03-29-05], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better." - Jeff Bezos

Another Killer Drug on the Loose?

By Jon Herring

Three years ago, Merck & Co. voluntarily withdrew its pain-relieving drug Vioxx from the market when it was discovered that it substantially increased the risk of heart attack. According to Dr. David Graham of the FDA, Vioxx has been responsible for at least 140,000 heart attacks and as many as 40,000 deaths.

Wow! And to think the FDA has re-approved this drug for the market (with a stronger warning label), while they are doing their level best to control your access to safe, natural supplements. It would be enough to elicit a big ol' belly laugh... if the issue were not so deadly serious.

And what do we have now? The New England Journal of Medicine recently published an article suggesting that the diabetes drug Avandia, taken by more than 6 million people worldwide, also raises the risk of heart attack... and, possibly, death. As you may be aware, more than two-thirds of people with Type II diabetes die of heart problems. And the pooled results of dozens of studies on nearly 28,000 people showed a 43 percent higher risk of heart attack for those taking Avandia as compared to those taking no diabetes medication.

As you might expect, the maker of Avandia, GlaxoSmithKline, disputed these results. The company said their own review showed "only" a 30 percent increased risk of heart attack. (Phew! What a relief!)

If all this isn't troubling enough, the study I told you about yesterday showed that the use of diabetes drugs has risen almost threefold among teenage girls in the last five years. There's no telling what the long-term fallout from this trend might be.

Besides antibiotics and antivirals, no drugs I know of can successfully remedy an underlying medical condition. All they do is mask or alleviate the symptoms. And while they might provide temporary relief, in some cases, the unintended consequences can be profound.

Type II diabetes is a condition brought on by lifestyle choices. And, in most cases, it is easily preventable and readily reversible. To do so, you must exercise consistently, maintain adequate vitamin D levels by enjoying frequent sun exposure, and eat a diet rich in protein and healthy fats... while avoiding starches, sweets, and grains.
______________________________
It's Fun to Know: Popular Pet Names

The top 10 pet names in the United States, according to a study by the ASPCA, are Max, Sam, Lady, Bear, Smokey, Shadow, Kitty, Molly, Buddy, and Brandy. Neither Spot nor Rover made the list.

(Source: the InfoPlease website)
______________________________
Word to the Wise: Serendipity

"Serendipity" (ser-un-DIP-ih-tee) is good luck - making a desirable discovery by accident. The word was coined by the English author Horace Walpole in 1754. According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, he said he formed it from the Persian fairy tale "The Three Princes of Serendip" [an old name for Ceylon/Sri Lanka] whose heroes "were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of."

Example (as I used it today): "It's sometimes fun to let someone else - a partner, your spouse, or even your assistant - award the bonus. That way, it feels more serendipitous."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2056, 05-31-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but creatures of emotion."

- Dale Carnegie

Getting to the Core of the Matter: The Key to Persuading People to Do Business With You

By Joshua Boswell

"That is one of the most inconsiderate, rude, disrespectful young men I have ever met," she told an associate of mine.

The comment shocked me, because I thought my meeting with Mary had gone great. She was the director of the Main Street Association, and owner of more than five businesses in our lovely northwestern town. I owned a software company that had created an Internet community designed to connect local consumers with local businesses - which, back then in 1999, was a revolutionary idea.

I understand, now, why Mary was so frustrated with me that day. As we sat down in the small downtown diner that she owned, I opened up my laptop and turned it to face her. For the next 30 minutes, I sat behind the computer, clicking the spacebar and rolling through a stunning PowerPoint presentation. I told her all about how the site was designed, how the links worked, how consumers found the site, what the ads would look like, how cleverly the code was written, etc, etc, etc. I was very proud of the whole thing.

But there were three major problems with my approach. First, Mary, a lady in her late 50s, was a people person and hated "those fancy computer things." Second, I had practically killed her with technical data, leaving out all that "fluffy" stuff about benefits. Third, and most important, I completely ignored what marketers call Mary's "core buying emotion" (CBE) - the emotional trigger that would make her want to buy the service I was selling.

In Mary's case, the CBE was vanity, maybe mixed with a bit of insecurity. (That's the reason she had all those businesses.) Instead of tapping into those emotions to try to make my sale, I had droned on about technology and our marvelous programming skills. It had the unhappy effect of making her feel stupid and unimportant all at the same time. No wonder she hated me. And no wonder she not only never signed up for my service but made darn sure no one else in town did either.

I was speaking... but not communicating. I was persuading... but not getting the desired results.

Core buying emotions are the powerhouse of our purchasing mechanism. They crank us up and move us to action. They are the reason we buy, and they vary from person to person.

In your role as a marketing or business professional, you have the enormous task of discovering your prospect's core buying emotion. If you fail to uncover this prime motivator - or ignore it - it is likely your sales efforts will be about as effective as my presentation to Mary.

So, what are the core buying emotions? And how do you capitalize on them?

The best material I have ever found on this topic is in AWAI's Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting. While reading it a few years ago, I discovered over 35 core buying emotions that I could arm myself with when communicating with clients and prospects.

Here, according to AWAI, is a list of the five most powerful and common CBEs:

1. Curiosity. For some reason, we just can't stand to turn aside from new, fascinating information. This is why the "news" industry is a multi-billion-dollar business.

2. Vanity. Most people have a strong, almost uncontrollable, desire to be better than everyone else in some way - physically, socially, mentally, spiritually, etc. And not just to be better, but to make sure everyone knows it.

3. Fear. Decades before I was concerned about things that really pose a threat to health and security, I worried about what was hiding in the pitch-black abyss under my bed. Fear makes us feel that danger is imminent, and we will do almost anything to avoid it.

4. Benevolence. The negative emotion of fear is countered by a drive for the positive emotion of happiness, even euphoria. And the quickest way to achieve that feeling is by doing good for someone else.

5. Insecurity. Are you good enough to be a top-notch wage earner? Parent? Lover? I bet you've wondered. (We all have.)

By understanding these and other core buying emotions, you command the power to help other people understand your sales message at a "gut" level. They won't just read or listen to it - they'll feel it.

If I had only known in 1999 what I know now! I would have set the laptop and the technical jargon aside. Looking into Mary's eyes, I would have said, "Do you realize that our service will put your name, picture, and accomplishments in front of every homeowner in this town 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? It's exposure like you've never imagined."

We would have munched on some of those dainty pastries she sold in her diner, and I'd have listened to her tell me all about her success.

I could have made $50,000 or more on that one deal if only I had understood core buying emotions.

So before you create your next sales campaign, learn all you can about core buying emotions and how to implement them. Ask yourself, "What is my prospect's core buying emotion?" When you have the answer, use it as the foundation of all your marketing efforts.

[Ed. Note: Joshua Boswell was first introduced to copywriting in April 2005. He is now well into his second year as a $100,000+ freelance copywriter, with clients such as Corel, Sony, Toshiba, Microsoft, and Easter Seals.]
______________________________

Safely Scrub Your Arteries Clean

By Al Sears, MD

The best ways to protect your heart's health come from nature, not a pharmacy or medicine cabinet. Here's one example you can use today...

Researchers at the University of Singapore conducted an eight-week study in which they fed two groups of rabbits a high-cholesterol diet, but gave only one group a natural zinc supplement. The rabbits taking the zinc supplement showed a substantially lower instance of hardening of the arteries and plaque build-up, without a change in their blood cholesterol levels.

Zinc works to protect your heart in a number of ways. First, it's a powerful antioxidant. Zinc is also a good immune system booster and wound healer. Healing wounds is critical for the prevention of plaque build-up in your arteries. Here's why: When your blood vessels become inflamed, cracks and tears appear. Your body sends molecules of LDL cholesterol (the bad kind) to fill in the damaged areas. Over time, this patchwork of cholesterol starts to block your arteries.

You can get good, natural zinc in meat, poultry, fish, and dairy products. You need at least 30 mg per day - 60 mg is even better. A 12-ounce steak can give you between 15 mg and 30 mg. Oysters and clams are also a great source of zinc, as well as other minerals. A 3.5-ounce serving of oysters has close to 40 mg of zinc.

You can take a zinc supplement, too. Zinc supplements are inexpensive and available at any drugstore. So are multi-vitamins that contain my minimum recommendation of 30 mg.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Sears, a practicing physician and the author of The Doctor's Heart Cure, is a leading authority on longevity, physical fitness, and heart health.]
______________________________

It's Fun to Know: The World's Most Expensive Homes

A recent survey has designated London as the world's most expensive place to buy residential property, beating out Monaco, New York City, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. Homes are going for an average of $4,600 per square foot in the British capital.

Earlier this year, a 77-square-foot former storage room, without electricity or heat, in the exclusive Knightsbridge neighborhood was on the market for $335,000.

(Source: Agence France-Presse and Associated Press)
______________________________

Word to the Wise: Euphoria

"Euphoria" (yoo-FOR-ee-uh) - from the Greek - is a feeling of intense elation or well-being.

Example (as used by Joshua Boswell today): "The negative emotion of fear is countered by a drive for the positive emotion of happiness, even euphoria. And the quickest way to achieve that feeling is by doing good for someone else."

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2052, 05-26-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.

"The best way to be boring is to leave nothing out."

- Voltaire

Are Your Lousy Speaking Skills Putting Your Career at Risk?

By Michael Masterson

Question: What's worse than having bad breath on a first date?

Answer: Boring your bosses when you are making a presentation.

Yesterday, I had to sit through a two-hour business meeting run by a bright young executive who has everything going for her - except one thing: her habit of turning a simple sentence into a long, dull march through the monotony of her mind.

She made a PowerPoint presentation about the weaknesses she sees in the business and her plans for correcting them. That is a good topic. And had she done it right, she would have first considered her audience, realized that we know as much (or more) about the business as she does (minus some of the details), and created a 30-minute presentation that highlighted all the essential points.

That is not what she did. What she did was start from the beginning - the very beginning. ("At first, there was chaos...") Then she walked us through the history of the business, giving us facts and figures that we were well aware of long before we hired her.

As she approached modern history - what the business has done since she became a manager - her chronicle slowed. We were all in some degree of pain. Each of us separately made polite gestures that meant "Can you please hurry it up?" She either didn't pick up on them or chose to ignore them. She plowed through her presentation line by line, word by word, vocalizing every sentence that was printed on every PowerPoint slide, and then adding several explanatory sentences... as if we needed them.

Not good. This young woman had just been given the opportunity to run a multimillion-dollar business. She earned that job because of how hard she works. But if she doesn't learn to speak more effectively, her career is likely to glimmer and fade rather than glow brighter as it should.

To make any type of business presentation more effective, make sure you:

. Consider who your audience will be and ask yourself what they want or need to know.

Had our young executive asked any of us this question (or been able to guess what we'd say), she would have known that we wanted to hear her plans for improving things, not a history of what we already knew.

. Figure out how the presentation can enhance your ability to achieve your goals.

In this case, our young executive might have thought to herself: "I want these people to provide me with more marketing funds" or "I need them to provide more logistical support." With that in mind, she could have orchestrated a portion of the presentation to make her case.

. Think about how you can use the presentation to enhance your image.

Every time you make a presentation, you leave an impression - either positive, negative, or something in between. Rather than leave that impression to chance, why not consider your strengths and weaknesses as a speaker and do your best to make the best impression you can.

And, as long as we're on the subject, here are two specific hints to help you make better PowerPoint presentations:

. Don't construct them as verbal scripts, sequences of sentences that display every thought you intend to convey in a linear order. Instead, use them primarily to display graphic representations of your most important points or to illustrate complex information that begs for visual explication.

. Don't read the displayed text to your audience. That text is meant to be read by them. And since it is meant to be read by them while you are speaking, it should be phrased economically - as memorable phrases rather than sentences. Show these catchphrases and then talk around them, filling in details or telling stories to bring them to life.

A minimum improvement in our young executive's public speaking and presentation skills will dramatically increase her effectiveness in her job. If she were to ask me, I'd recommend starting with Peter "the Humerator" Fogel's Guide to Effective Public Speaking or Virginia Avery's Presenting Yourself Professionally workshop. After she's completed at least one of those, she should join a local public speaking club. (There is one in almost every city in the world.)

Toastmasters is one such club. It allows members to practice leading meetings and giving impromptu and prepared speeches. Here are some suggestions from Toastmasters for making good presentations, formal or informal.

1. Know the room. Be familiar with the place in which you will speak. Arrive early, walk around the speaking area, and practice using the microphone and any visual aids.

2. Know the audience. Greet some of the people as they arrive. It's easier to speak to a group of friends than to a group of strangers.

3. Know your material. If you're not familiar with your material or are uncomfortable with it, your nervousness will increase. Practice your speech and revise it if necessary.

4. Visualize yourself giving your speech. Imagine yourself speaking - your voice loud, clear, and assured. When you picture yourself as successful, you will be successful.

5. Realize that people want you to succeed. Audiences want you to be interesting, stimulating, informative, and entertaining. They don't want you to fail.

6. Don't apologize. If you mention your nervousness or apologize for any problems you think you have with your speech, you may be calling the audience's attention to something they hadn't noticed.

7. Concentrate on the message, not the medium. Focus your attention away from your own anxieties and outwardly toward your message and your audience. Your nervousness will dissipate.

By far the most important piece of advice in the above list is to know your material. Most nervousness comes from the fear of looking like a fool. If you're totally confident in your mastery of your subject, you'll never have this problem.

Being a poor presenter is a serious problem for anyone who wants to be successful in business. It will create all sorts of hidden obstacles that will hinder or even stall an otherwise bright career.
______________________________

Get That Body Moving!

By Krista Jones

Do you pay attention to your posture when you're working at your desk? Do you slump your shoulders? Slouch in the chair?

If so, do what I do when I find myself in those positions: Move!

Matter of fact, you should make it a habit to change postures often. Not only does movement help keep you energetic, but it is the best tonic for aching backs, arms, and hands.

I also get up out of my desk chair as much as possible. I pace when I'm trying to come up with good ideas. And I walk around while I'm talking on the phone. I even keep many of the books I refer to often on the other side of the room so I have to get up to reach them.

Movement helps. Try it.

[Ed. Note: Krista Jones, a former environmental scientist, is a freelance copywriter specializing in personal development and business opportunity.]
______________________________

E-Mail Tricks: How Not to Annoy Your Friends With Huge Digital Photos

By Charlie Byrne

"Downloading 2,323 bytes of 5.4 megabytes..."

Oh no! Tommy's sending me gigantic JPEGs again! I wish he would resize his photos before he ties up my e-mail account for yet another half an hour.

If you send digital photos through the Internet, do yourself - and your recipients - a favor and don't send huge, unsolicited files.

Three ways to avoid this:

1. Set your digital camera so it takes photos at medium or low resolution. Unless you plan to print out shots on a huge sheet of paper (and I'd guess practically no one does this), medium or low resolution should be just fine.

2. If you use Outlook, check out the option to automatically resize all outgoing attachments. After you attach your photos to the outgoing message, an "Attachment Options" icon should appear next to the file. Click on this, and you'll see "Picture Options," where you can select resize to Large, Medium, or Small.

3. Better yet, use a free online service such as Flickr, Snapfish, or Shutterfly to upload, manage, and share all your digital photos. That way, you can share individual or groups of photos with as many people as you like, without e-mailing a single snapshot.
______________________________

Word to the Wise: Conflagration

A "conflagration" (kon-fluh-GRAY-shun) - from the Latin for "to burn up" - is an intense, uncontrolled, destructive fire. The word can also be used to refer to something like a conflagration - a war, for example.

Example (as used by Robert D. Kaplan in An Empire Wilderness): "Though now we talk about lots of smaller wars, what's to prevent a really big conflagration?"

Michael Masterson
__________________________________________________
These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise [Issue #2053, 05-28-07], the Internet's most popular health, wealth, and success e-zine. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com/.