Job 42 - When God's Justice Comes

"And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job when he had prayed for his friends; and the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before."

~Job 42:10 (NRSV)

The long journey that is the book of Job has taken us through a tumultuous pilgrimage, from Job's unmerited and unfathomable losses, through a series of unjust judgments at a hand of his friends, through to now, the reconciliation of fortunes - not simply to the return of what had been taken, but a twofold blessing in weight.

Job had been pushed and pressed and cajoled from pillar to post, and though he learned resilience, it wasn't as though he learned easily. He was brought kicking and screaming through all kinds of humiliation.

So it is often for us, though we haven't typically submitted to the depths and shape of indignity Job suffered.

THE CHARACTER OF EVENTUAL JUSTICE

The best thing about the conclusion of Job is that, despite the complexities and comprehensiveness of the indignities he had suffered until that point, he had proved faithful enough that he remained. He hadn't given up. As Job and his friends grappled with concepts of justice and injustice, pride and humility, and wisdom and folly, they were found characteristically human.

Even though we, too, are characteristically human - that we wrestle with concepts of God's nature and justice - we also tend to be resilient enough to continue journeying through our suffering, despite even despondent blips on the radar screen of our despair.

It is characteristically human, then, to continue on in a hellish pilgrimage, for the hope of being delivered by God through faith in a Lord of Justice. And though we cannot tell, often times, how far in the wrong we are, God does change the circumstances, as we enter different seasons, eventually.

The character of eventual justice may not work out as twofold blessing - as God blessed Job-but it does come in a multiplicity of realisation for things we hadn't anticipated. These realisations come in the manner of compounding relief.

God's justice is always more generous than we had anticipated.

Not only is God's justice more generous than we had anticipated, when it comes, but it is also more scathing against the scandalous foe that has set themselves against us. This all presumes we have been faithful, for God will not deliver a pleasant justice for the unfaithful.

***

God's justice comes eventually for those who remain faithful. No matter the humiliation and indignities we suffer, we are blessed, like Job, when we do not give up; when we work through our challenges the best we can while holding on.

© 2012 S. J. Wickham.

Motion for Change of Venue in California

The topic of this article is the filing of a motion for change of venue in California. The term venue means the court location where a case is heard. In California a defendant has the right to have any trial heard in the county of their residence, unless there is some express statutory justification for an exception such as a personal injury case where the defendant is alleged to have caused a vehicle accident in another county.

A defendant wishing to have venue changed to the county of their residence must file a motion for change of venue at or before filing an answer or other response. Otherwise they may be deemed to have waived any objection to the venue of the case.

Because the law favors the right of trial at the defendant's residence, any complaint filed in another county other than the county where the defendant lives will be strictly construed against a plaintiff seeking to lay the venue elsewhere.

The California Supreme Court has ruled that a plaintiff's right to trial in some county other than that of a defendant's residence is an exception to the general rule and requires express statutory justification.

Because the law favors the right of trial at the defendant's residence, the complaint will be strictly construed against a plaintiff seeking to lay the venue elsewhere.

Code of Civil Procedure Section 395(a) states in pertinent part that, "Except as otherwise provided by law and subject to the power of the court to transfer actions or proceedings as provided in this title, the county in which the defendants or some of them reside at the commencement of the action is the proper county for the trial of the action."

And where several causes of action are alleged in a complaint, a motion for change of venue must be granted on all, if a defendant is entitled to change on any one cause of action. A fraud action must be tried in the county of defendant's residence.

Code of Civil Procedure Section 396 states in pertinent part:

"If an action or proceeding is commenced in or transferred to a court which has jurisdiction of the subject matter thereof as determined by the complaint or petition, and it thereafter appears from the verified pleadings, or at the trial, or hearing, that the determination of the action or proceeding, or of a cross-complaint, will necessarily involve the determination of questions not within jurisdiction of the court, in which the action or proceeding is pending, the court, whenever such lack of jurisdiction appears, must suspend all further proceedings therein and transfer the action or proceeding and certify the pleadings, and all papers and proceedings therein to a court having jurisdiction thereof which may be agreed upon by the parties, or if they do not agree, to a court having such jurisdiction which is designated by law as a proper court for the trial or determination thereof.. Upon the making of an order for transfer, proceedings shall be had as provided in Section 399 of this code, the costs and fees thereof, and of filing the case in the court to which transferred, to be paid by the party filing the pleading in which the question outside the jurisdiction of the court appears unless the court ordering the transfer shall otherwise direct".

If did in fact file in the wrong county, the defendant has the right to have the plaintiff pay all of their expenses, including court costs and attorney fees before any transfer is made. And if the fees are not paid within 30 days of service of notice of the transfer order, the defendant may make a motion for dismissal of the case without prejudice.

Code of Civil Procedure Section 399 states in pertinent part: "When the transfer is sought solely, or is ordered, because the action or proceeding was commenced in a court other than that designated as proper by this title, such costs and fees (including any expenses and attorney's fees awarded defendant pursuant to Section 396b) shall be paid by the plaintiff before such transfer is made".

As stated previously the right of a defendant to have any trial heard in the county of their residence is very strong and any exception to that rule will be strictly construed against a plaintiff. If the plaintiff is represented by an attorney, the Court will order that the attorney for the plaintiff be the one to pay any expenses and attorney fees before any such transfer is made.

If you enjoy this article please tell others about it.

Yours Truly,

Stan Burman

Copyright 2012 Stan Burman. All rights reserved.

DISCLAIMER:

Please note that the author of this article, Stan Burman is NOT an attorney and as such is unable to provide any specific legal advice. The author is NOT engaged in providing any legal, financial, or other professional services, and any information contained in this article is NOT intended to constitute legal advice.

These materials and information contained in this article have been prepared by Stan Burman for informational purposes only and are not legal advice. Transmission of the information contained in this article is not intended to create, and receipt does not constitute, any business relationship between the sender and receiver. Any readers should not act upon this information without seeking professional counsel.

Sorat and the Modern Day Evil

"Sorat's evil will be spread by his infernal army of soulless followers, willing to give their lives for his pleasure in subjecting mankind to horror of the ultimate magnitude."

The above mentioned quote summarizes one of the main themes in Hearne's political thriller, "Hulagu's Web". The book suggests that much of the horror, destruction and mayhem that happen in the contemporary world are explained by the endeavors of Sorat, Lucifer's terrifying accomplice. It is said that Sorat incarnates every 666 years. 1998 would therefore be the year of his last manifestation. Coincidently, it is the same year that Usama Bin Ladin and his associates publicly declared their Jihad against the West with blatant orders such as "We - with Allah's help - call on every Muslim who believes in Allah and wishes to be rewarded to comply with Allah's order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it."

In his "Book of Revelation and the Work of the Priest", Rudolf Steiner describes Abaddon's attack on humanity. Abaddon (translated 'destroyer') is a demonic being born out of the abyss to lead an army of locusts with human-like faces. Rudolf Steiner explains the occult significance of this picture by suggesting that Abaddon's army consists of human beings who have been completely deprived of their ego. Sorat can rule on Earth by populating the empty shells of such people with the spirits that serve him. This infernal army would subject mankind to trials compared to which all the horrors of the twentieth century would pale. Coincidently again, Abaddon is referred to in Revelation 9-11, the same date that is now synonymous with the destruction of the twin towers and the attack on the pentagon.

Sorat is described as the strongest power against good. To accomplish his desire of destroying the earth, Sorat would manifest his evil in the social evolution. The wars and mass murders of our time are evidence of his corruption.

The fanaticism and the everyday hatred of man against man are evils often disguised as religious dedication and nationalism. Sorat would bend people to his will by using the influence of leaders, be them political or religious. Sorat's alleged power lies in the ability to make followers believe that what they do for their fanatic leaders is right. As David J. Hearne says "the goal of this demon is to strip humans of their souls, egos and all goodness." Sorat could make horrible acts virtually impossible to eradicate once people become unable to recognize actions as evil.

The video of a hostage being beheaded in Iraq is an example of the horror mankind is subject to. It shows how much influence such a leader can have over others. He would stay back from his disciples, as he directs them to behead the hostage. Whenever the men holding the prisoner looked uncertain, the leader would convince them that what they were doing was the just thing. The scene appears to be a struggle between the leader (persuading) and the followers (resisting). The film shows how the power of evil can pervert people's senses to such a degree that destruction and horror replace the goodness and compassion in their souls.

The seductive powers of darkness act by using people's vulnerability and weaknesses against them. Terrorists claim their actions are for their love of God. Most of them believe that what they are doing is right. Someone who they see as a prophet or a messenger leads them to believe that they act in God's will. This messenger is trusted and considered more important than their own lives. Sorat would exploit these people to "give their lives for his pleasure in subjecting mankind to horror of the ultimate magnitude," as mentioned in Hulagu's Web.

It is difficult to understand why well-intentioned, logically thinking people fall into such traps. How can one induce another to become a suicide bomber willing to die for some obscure cause and kill other innocent people? How can the human mind become so clouded and susceptible to such evil and debasing acts? The answer lies in the fact that many people need something or someone to believe in. Sorat and his progeny would use this weakness to lead those susceptible to their influence. The reasons for their acts are masked, people follow because they need to believe and fail to ask themselves a rational explanation for what they are made to do. Nevertheless, if people saw the true intentions behind these schemes they would not follow. Evil exists as long it disguises itself.

Sorat could only maintain his power by distorting the way people perceive what is good. He would reduce each individual to his level - an entity without soul or conscious. His ultimate objective is to alter the human existence by spreading destruction and misery. Eradicating mercy, benevolence, compassion and humanity (most needed qualities that Christ himself advocated) is the only way Sorat can achieve his goals.

How to Launch a Product Online With a Number of Methods

Executing on a successful product launch is essential for starting your product off with a bang and improving upon your product's perception. You can manufacture and create buzz about your product through a successful product launch, thus attracting more affiliates and improving your product's conversion rate.

In this article we're going to address how to launch a product online with several effective strategies.

The Countdown

Creating a countdown for your product is a great way to create buzz. Make sure that when you're using the following traffic methods that in the weeks leading up the official launch that you're revealing more and more information about your product and reminding them about the countdown/launch date.

Whenever someone sees that there is a countdown associated with a product launch, the implication is that this is something worth waiting for and following along. It substantially increases the perceived value of your product to no matter who reads about it, so create your release date and let the countdown begin.

Email Marketing

Email marketing is your best friend when it comes to launching a new product. I'm not just talking about interacting with your own list, but pursuing a solo mailing or ad swap is a great way to reach an entirely new and targeted audience, particularly when you're ready to launch a new product.

Write up a very attractive sales pitch for your new product and pay to blast that offer out to someone else's sizable list or swap lists with someone in exchange for mailing your list about that other webmaster's offer. You can do this either to potential customers of your product or to potential affiliates of your product.

Forum Marketing

Hit up influential blogs in your niche and use them to build the buzz on your product. Put information about your product launch in your signature/profile information and keep it updated to reflect the countdown to your product's actual launch date.

PR Sites

PR sites are an obvious choice whenever you want to promote anything new. This gets the word out about your product and can help to spread some buzz as people see and share that press release.

Online Advertising

AdWords, Facebook Ads, and similar advertising networks are great ways to reach targeted audiences to promote your product to. Facebook Ads specifically enables you to get ridiculously targeted to find your exact customer base so that you don't waste a penny in advertising costs without converting on that traffic.

Group Buying Sites

Heard of sites like Groupon and Living Social? Millions of people regularly peruse these sites looking for deals on interesting products and services. If your offer can be presented at a special discount tier, these sites can be a gold mine for getting lots of opting in customers.

Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is a great way to look like an authority on a particular topic and build credibility so that people will be more inclined to check out and purchase or promote your product. Convince (or pay) another webmaster in your niche to let you hop on their blog and make your own informational post one day which relates to your product, then sneak in info about the launch.

Two and Four Stroke Engines - Fast and Simple Answers

Many years ago when I got hooked by motorcycles, I started to hear a lot about two and four stroke engines... It seemed there were (and there still are) strong opinions in pro and con of each of the engine types.

As Internet wasn't available, and as I was worried about other aspects or motorcycle riding back then, I left that question unanswered for a long time.

If this is your case or if your are interested in these two kind of internal combustion engines, in the next few lines I hope to give you a few fast answers and some resources to get more in depth information.

Just keep reading...

Here are some facts about two and four stroke engines:

TWO STROKE ENGINES

Cycle - Two Strokes:

1.- Compression (intake+compression)

2.- Combustion (combustion+exhaust)

Take a look at the cycle in: http://science.howstuffworks.com/two-stroke2.htm

Advantages of two stroke engines:

o The engine fires - spark plug ignites - once every revolution of the crankshaft.

o They produce twice the power than four stroke engines.

o They are much simpler than four stroke engines. Fewer parts to worry about.

Disadvantages:

o You have to mix two stroke engine oil with gas, and depending on your consumption, this might be expensive.

o They last less. Lubrication is not as efficient as in a four stroke engine with heavy oil.

o Do not use gas efficiently.

o Pollute more.

FOUR STROKE ENGINES

Cycle - Four Strokes:

1.- Intake

2.- Compression

3.- Combustion

4.- Exhaust

Take a look at the cycle in: http://science.howstuffworks.com/engine4.htm

Advantages of four stroke engines:

o Last longer than two stroke engines

o More efficient use of gas

o Pollute less than two stroke engines

Disadvantages:

o More complicated. Many more parts to worry about.

o Half as powerful as two stroke engines (for equivalent engines)

o Fires once every two revolutions.

If you want to learn more about two stroke and four stroke engines, take a look at the pages I mention above. You will find extensive information and diagrams that will solve all of your doubts.

Well I hope this gave you some basic information and helped you answer some FAQ about two and four stroke engines! :-)

Enjoy the ride!

Daniel Levy

6 Steps to Secure Your Garage

Is your garage secure enough? Can you be sure that your car is still in its place when you are going to the garage in the morning? Your car, and other property you are keeping there, is hidden from the eyes of strangers. This, however, does not mean that thieves are not gasping for those things. Burglars are not stupid - if breaking the door seems difficult, they choose some weaker spots in the garage.

Therefore, you should pay attention to the entire garage. Focusing on the lock is not enough.

We recommend you to concentrate on creating an elaborated security level. Investments are not high, but the benefits will continue for decades.

1. Strengthen wall constructions

If your garage is more than 20 years old, you should definitely look over garage wall constructions.

Buildings from this era have generally single brick walls, and the mixture between the bricks may have lost its effectiveness.

Whenever possible, that kind of walls should be secured from the outside. Cover your garage external walls with steel corrugated sheet or façade board. This may not be the most secure solution, but it keeps the walls together and makes penetration more difficult.

We suggest adding rock wool under the cladding. For a cold garage it is not enough, but it will keep the temperature constant. Besides, walls will not accumulate that much of cold and moisture.

If the wall is impossible to cover from the outside, do it from the inside. For example, you can use sheet iron or façade board. Thereby adding rigidity and elements, which prevent breaking through, strengthens the weak brick wall. One additional option is to install shelves on the inside walls of the garage. Those will give some extra barriers, if burglars are planning to enter through the walls.

2. Secure the front door

In general, old doorframes are loosely attached to the wall constructions. In earlier times, wooden doorframes were attached to wooden tiles, which in turn were draped between the bricks. For today, such kinds of tiles are loose, and do not keep the doorframe firmly in place.

You will surely have a question about how to strengthen the doorframe then. We recommend you to make some reinforcements made of angle iron in the corners of the doorpost. You weld some long iron bars across the angle iron, so that one of the ends is around the corner of the pole, and the other is firmly attached to the doorframe. In this way you move the doorframes fastener around the corner. Now pulling the door is almost impossible.

In addition, look over your garage door constructions. Many thefts are committed as a thief removes the wooden panels from the door and enters the garage. You have to make sure that removing the wooden panels is difficult to do or, better yet, impossible.

Perhaps wood of the doorframe is too old? Wood which is rotten or in a bad condition should be replaced with a proper one. A door, which is decades old, may just be at the end of its life. In this case, you should replace the door, also.

3. Strengthen the hinge side of the door

Secure door lock is an essential aspect of security, but it is also important that a burglar has no other options for entering the building.

In particular, old doors have hinges, which are attached to the door surface. The worst option is that they are simply attached with screws that are easy to remove. A way better version is that hinges are bolted through the door. You should take care that nuts of door hinge bolts are on the inside and inaccessible.

Other crucial aspect of the garage doors security is that a burglar cannot lift it off the hinges while being locked. If the door can move upwards, you should install a wooden beam on the top edge of the doorframe.

If the hinges are on the external surface of the door, it is possible to cut through the studs and open the door from the outside. To avoid this you should install some security stud pins on the door frame side. Security stud pins are installed on the hinges side of the door, so that the end of the protruding brad bolts itself in the doorpost. Studs like these protect the door from lifting it off the hinges.

On condition that you cannot find any suitable security stud pin, you can also build it on the inner surface of the door by yourself.

In any case, remember that the security of the door hinges is as vital as lock security.

4. Locks and latches

Garage doors are usually two-sided. One of the sides is active and other is passive one. Nevertheless, both sides are equally important. You should examine the latches of the passive side of the door, and if necessary, strengthen the assurances. Look over the part of striking places, also. These may need some strengthening as well. Locking place of the latches is rather often worn-out, or the striking plate is not good enough. Keep in mind that burglars do not care, which side of the door is weaker.

If necessary, replace the passive side latches with new ones, or use any door bolt. It allows closing the garage door securely with a single motion.

What type of garage lock to use?

So-called garage locks and padlocks are customary locking methods. The first one is with big bolt deadlock attached to the inner side of the door or padlock outdoor. Both of them are suitable for protecting the door. We have met clients who use both of the locks at the same time. The most interesting solution for protection is when rim lock cylinder channel is covered with padlock hasps. Such finesse significantly extends burglars time of breaking in.

Install the lock on the inner side of the door - it makes the lock hard to reach. Be sure to check the lock and the striking plate are properly installed.

Let the old lock retire

If your lock is older than 30 years, you should replace this exhausted lock with a new and vivacious one. Older locks may be worn-out and they can have many errors. In addition, it is difficult to make new keys.

Do not let the situation go so far that your lock retires without your permission.

Abloy's padlock

If you lock your door with a padlock, you should watch the compatibility between the padlock and the iron hasps. We suggest a decent 3-5 grade Abloy padlock. Abloy's padlocks are known for their strong tempered shackles, solid construction, and for their water resistance qualities. The latter aspect is important because the daily environment of the padlock is mostly rainy and snowy. However, it is reasonable to cover the lock to avoid direct rainfall. Maintain your padlock by lubricating it with the lock oil every fall and spring. Abloy's lock oil lubricates the lock well and will not let if freeze in winter.

Use proper padlock hasps along with the padlock. Abloy's covered padlock hasps make it more difficult for a burglar to access the lock.

If your keys need a protection against copying, choose Abloy Novel's padlocks that are protected with a security card.

Lock-Expert has a wide selection of cheaper padlocks. However, those are not enough for the garage doors.

5. Scare burglars

Burglars intend to accomplish a theft quietly and inconspicuously. You can always organize a surprise. If the burglars hear a loud alarm, they will immediately think of leaving. Firstly, the audio signal itself is disturbing, and secondly, it attracts attention.

In your garage, you should use any simple signalisation. A motion sensor or a door sensor is sufficient to fix the invasion and activate the alarm. Install the alarm so that the thief is not able to cut the wires. GSM security system will not make any noise. It calls quietly to your mobile which you can answer, and decide whether it is necessary to call the police before you reach the place yourself. Thanks to the built-in microphone, you can hear what is happening in your garage.

Use radio transmitter to put on and take off the signalisation. Using this, you do not have to delay opening the door and you can do your things from the outside.

Would not it be great, if the signalisation notifies you of the invasion? For the advantage like this, you should use a home alarm system or a GSM alarm burglar system. The home alarm system is suitable when the garage is near home. The GSM alarm burglar system is great for those whose garage is away from home. In addition to the alarm, it will call to you mobile phone and you will be notified of the invasion, even when you are not at home.

6. When the garage door surprises

While you enter or exit the car to the garage, the doors should remain in the open position. You can use some barriers, like rocks or a broomstick, but is it fixed enough?

A convenient solution is to use a door stop. Once it is installed, you do not have to worry about the wind hitting the garage door against your car. If you do not want to spend a lot of money, you can use the door stop, which has a rubber band that holds itself on the ground. While being on a resting position, it keeps itself up against the door. That kind of door stop prevents usual movement of the door. However, with a strong wind, it may remain weak.

Make a long-term investment and render bad guys' life complicated!

Lock-Expert recommends:

Door security pin Barrel bolt for the passive side of the door Door bolt Padlock ABLOY 340/25C Padlock ABLOY 340/50U Padlock hasps Open door restriction brake Hinged door stopper: DX Door stop: FIX

Insurance for Self Employed

A fixed income makes it easier to pay towards a policy cover. But a good insurance for the self employed is also available, and can be purchased at a reasonable price. Such insurances are beneficial both for the family members of the policy bearer and his business too. Insurance for self employed people can be chosen after getting different quotes from different companies online.

Business whether big or small, is full of risks. A small business owner often finds himself in debt. Often a loan is taken to start a business. It is not necessary that his business will flourish. Insurance money can save a person in such tight situations. A smart insurance can save his family from any kinds of debt after his death. An intelligent choice will even leave his family with a small amount to take care of their needs after his death.

A permanent policy cover provides a lifeline to small business in times of need. Insurance money keeps the business alive long after the death of its owner. Insurance can help a person during his lifetime when he changes his working options. People with regular jobs have sick pay, accident coverage and maternity leave benefits etc. But a small self-employed business owner might find it difficult to live life in a comfortable manner if he happens to fall sick or becomes a victim of a serious accident. In such cases one does need a good financial coverage, and this can be provided by a self employed insurance. A permanent health insurance policy is also a good choice. This replaces the income when a person falls seriously sick. The returns from a private medical insurance are higher and they also boost up speedy recovery of the patient. A good health cover can start from £50. Various health plans are available. Some plans come with restrictions, and these restrictions are regarding hospitals. All hospitals are not covered under these plans and people are left with choice of getting medical aid from few hospitals. But this should not worry a patient as good Critical illness insurance cover can help a cancer patient out of a tough patch in life.

People who are self employed need to pay more towards insurance for the self employed. A younger person finds it easier to pay as the amount required is less. But as a person grows in age, the policy becomes dearer. These policies are more expensive for women. Insurance for self employed is available for all those who are yet to start their business, be it a woman or a man, a young person or an old one.

What Are Ad Swaps and How Can I Use Ad Swapping To Build My Email List

I've had quite a few people ask me what are Ad Swaps and how can I use them to build my email list.

An "Ad Swap" is when two marketers whose list share similar interests, exchange an offer that they then promote to each others list. (If one marketer has a much larger list than the other, the one with the smaller list may need to email the offer out twice, to send a fair amount of traffic.)

Swaps are nothing new in the internet marketing world and it is probably one of the fastest ways to grow your list for FREE. While some marketers swear by Ad Swaps you want to be careful because sending too much "junk" offers just for the sake of swapping can devalue your email list and increase your unsubscribes if you are not careful.

You must remember that your goal is to build a meaningful relationship with your subscribers and provide the best value at all times. I'm one who really believes that it is not the size of your list that makes you the most money but how responsive your list is determines how much money you make online. So remember at the end of the day it's still about relationship marketing and if you give away enough awesome content to your list, they will have no choice but to care what you have to say.

They will listen to you, they will respond to your offers, buy your recommended products and they will download everything that lands in their inbox. When you are doing an ad sway you are essentially letting another marketer "borrow" your subscribers and they are doing the same.

So What Is Ad Swapping and How Do I Use To Build My List

When used correctly and in moderation Ad Swaps have proven to be an incredible strategy you can use to easily build your list fast.

The great thing about Ad Swaps is that they are absolutely free, so there is no need for you to have some big marketing budget, and you get people on your list who you know have an interest in the topics of your niche.

How To Get Started With Ad Swaps

Before I go into the details of getting started with Ad Swaps, you need to know that you can't do Ad Swaps unless you have a at least a few hundred people on your list.

Very few people unless they have a really new or small list like you will be willing to do a swap if they're going to get less than a dozen subscribers from it. So I recommend you work your butt off to generate a list using other strategies like Facebook marketing, YouTube marketing, Blogging until you've built up a list of about 300 subscribers. You'll find plenty of other marketers that are just getting started who'd be happy to do a swap with you.

The idea of Ad Swapping is to do Ad Swaps with other marketers who have a similar sized list as yours. Otherwise, you will need to match clicks, meaning you agree on a number of clicks, just like with Solo Ads. This way, if one person has less subscribers than the other, he or she will continue to send emails until the number of clicks are matched.

So that is why it's important to work with partners who have similar sized lists. If you have 5000 subscribers and the other has 7500, you look at each other's average click through rate and agree on a number of clicks. If on average you can deliver 250 clicks and your partner can deliver 400. You can agree to send a second email to a smaller portion of your list until the 400 clicks are matched.

Got it? Good!

This is one of the simplest strategies you can use to build your list for free. Ad Swapping and Solo Ads are two strategies that work hand in hand. And... If you'd like to build a list of say 75,000 people as fast as possible, I'd tell you to use solely Ad Swaps and Solo Ads to achieve that goal quickly.

The Difference Between Ad Swapping and Solo Ads

Ad Swaps are essentially Solo Ads... But instead of paying to have your email sent to someone's list, you simply return the favor.Law of reciprocity! So bottom line is Solo Ads are PAID, Ad Swaps are FREE!

With all that being said, keep in mind that is you run too many Ad Swaps it can annoy and drive people away from your list. I know marketers who do Ad Swaps every day of the month. Some months they start with 1000 subscribers and end with 7500. That's the power of what an Ad Swap can do to drive people onto your list.

HOWEVER!! I can guarantee my list of 1000 buyers bring me more money than their list of 7,500 because I have built a meaningful relationship with my list. Who wants subscribers who opt in only to ditch you after a month! So while BIG can be be GOOD, BIG is not always BETTER when you are looking at " responsiveness" of your list. I know some marketers who have lists of 100,000 people plus, yet they get an average response rate of a few percent. That's my warning! This is a very powerful strategy, so go try some Ad Swaps but be careful how much you use them.

Rules To Follow When Doing Ad Swaps

Here are a few Ad Swapping Rules to build your list by:

Do not do more than 3 Ad Swaps per month. Only do swaps with people who have high quality and free products to give away to your list. (Their free report, product or download must be a good fit for your subscribers) Get proof of list size and response rate. Only swap with trustworthy marketers who have responsive email lists.

Your online business is your lifeline to your income and you do not want to mess that up. So make sure you only do Ad Swaps with reputable marketers who know what they are doing.

Here is a quick tip... If you need confirmation on the quality of a potential Ad Swap partner's content opt in to their list before accepting or proposing an Ad Swap. Just to make sure they provide the same type of value you've promised your own list.

What Do You Need To Make Sure Your Successful?

Domain + Web Hosting (To Host Your Capture Page) Autoresponder (Aweber) Capture Page (Optimize Press) Free "Irresistible" Offer (Your free offer to give away - free report/product) Onetime Offer (OTO)

These are all of the list building essentials. You don't necessarily need a onetime offer, but an OTO is going to make a huge difference in terms of ROI. You basically need to giveaway a free "product" to someone else's subscribers to entice them to join your list.

When they opt in, they are HOT, so take advantage of this by delivering the opt in bait immediately and then present them with a great onetime offer. A onetime offer can be an affiliate product or your own signature product that you are giving away at a discounted or "special price". Make sure your OTO must is relevant and related to your free offer.

Where To Find Ad Swaps?

1. Warrior Forum JV Section

The Warrior Forum is the most trusted and popular Internet Marketing forum on the planet. Find the JV section, and you'll be able to post a thread asking other marketers to do Swaps. You just have to list your list size, the average number of clicks you can send and your exact niche. Or just browse through the existing threads of marketers who have already requested Ad Swaps. Super simple.

2. Safe-Swaps

Safe Swaps is an awesome service that allows you to quickly and easily find partners. It's a paid membership deal and it's $29/month to get started. When you join, plugin your list, fill out a few details and then people can see your exact niche, the number of subscribers you have the average number of clicks you can send.

Just look at the details existing members put in. You can upload swipe files and more. The system allows you to schedule as many campaigns as you like to be automatically done for you using the calender.

Outside of that, just do your research, ask your internet marketing colleagues what they are doing to build their list. Find websites and blogs that are actively building a list of their own and reach out to them.

Article Marketing Strategies and the Google Penguin Update

The Google Penguin update has forced many article marketing strategies to be reconsidered. Why write articles if Google is going to ignore them? What that indicates to me is that many people do not understand what Google Penguin algorithm is about, and how to take advantage of the opportunities it offers.

Yes - opportunities! If you understand what Google is looking for with the Penguin update, then you can use that to your advantage. Here is my opinion of what Penguin is about, and how your article marketing strategies can be designed to take advantage of this knowledge.

1. Multiple Backlink Sources

The Problem:

Google is looking for your backlinks to come from multiple sources. Not just lots of article directories, but from other sources such as social bookmarking sites, social networking pages and other websites, blogs and forums. Even Squidoo, and while I have read that Squidoo uses the 'noindex, nofollow' attributes to pages, I have not seen these attributes in my own personal links within my Squidoo pages.

There are many more sources of backlinks, but what is very important is that the source of each backlink relates closely to the topic of your web page - not just the keyword, but the actual meaning of the page as analyzed by Google's latent semantic indexing (LSI) algorithm. So don't expect a link from a sports web page to your basket weaving page to impress Google! On the contrary - it may have a negative impact.

The Solution:

To meet the requirements of the Google Penguin update, do not only submit your articles to multiple article directories, which helps, but also mix the type of publication offering your link. Use PDF links, such as Scribd, create a Facebook page about your niche, run a static website and a blog, not just one or the other, and also submit your links to as many social bookmaking and networking sites as you can. There are many more alternative types of publication, but the purpose here is not to give your lists but offer advice.

2. Multiple Anchor Text Links

The Problem:

If you have a website on the topic of 'article marketing' as I have, then expect your Google ranking to have dropped or even disappeared after Penguin if all your anchor text has been 'article marketing.' The algorithm update is looking for a variety of anchor text used in your links.

Through the years, Google has come to give a very high weighting to backlinks from authority sites in its ranking algorithms. Little wonder, then, that the underwritten need for multiple anchor text and multiple forms of backlink sources has had such a profound impact on ranking position (or SERPs - search engine result positions.)

The Solution:

I have one website that held the #1 spot on Google for its main keyword for 3 years - post-Penguin it was not listed in the top 100. The home page was indexed, because it was resolvable using Google, but lost its ranking because I got sloppy with the anchor text and backlink sources - limited to Ezine Articles and other article directories.

Visits dropped from 50,000 monthly to 4,000. I have now fixed that, not only by expanding the sources of backlinks, but also by using as many variants of anchor text as I could, and the home page SERP is now slowly recovering.

3. Multiple Landing Pages

The Problem:

Most people include their home page as the landing page in their links, and no other. The Google Penguin update appears to be looking for a more eclectic range of landing pages, meaning that you will benefit more by linking to 10 different pages than 10 links to the same page.

The Solution:

Determine the most appropriate page on your website or blog that relates to a particular article, and link to that page. Generate social bookmarking links to multiple pages on your website, and write articles about various facets of your niche: each of these can be linked to the appropriate web page.

There is a lot more. Keep your keyword density to a minimum - less is best according to Penguin that appears to use LSI more than keyword repetition. 3% KD? Too much! Also run multiple web presences for your niche, interconnecting each: authority websites, blogs, mini-sites, lenses, SBI sites - all this helps to get traffic and that's what it's all about!

Avoid article spinners - Google is seeking these out, as are the original writers. Write your own or employ ghostwriters. All of the above is fundamentally how to get your article marketing strategies right, and how to handle the Google Penguin Update properly.

Travel Insurance and Scooter Rental

Imagine yourself there... a beautiful, tranquil tropical island. You set off for the day on your rented scooter to visit must-see local tourist attractions. You also plan to explore the secluded beaches you heard about last night from a local in the bar. You take to the road, enjoying the sensation of the warm breeze in your hair and the sun on your skin. Life is good. Exams, work, pressure and stress all a lifetime away. You have travel insurance, so what could possibly go wrong to spoil such perfection?

Unfortunately, quite a lot...

Continue with the dreamy scenario... you cruise along at a safe speed, take a bend, and then... panic as a vehicle approaches at great speed. It's overtaking and heading straight for you. You swerve, and regain consciousness a while later upside down in a ditch with a serious head injury and broken ankle.

It all seemed so easy when you rented the scooter; you paid the fee and signed some papers. They provided a helmet but you didn't know, or forgot, that the law required you to wear it (and you could be fined).

As they carry you off to hospital you ask them to find the travel insurance policy tucked away somewhere in your luggage.

The insurance will take care of it, right?

You just have to call the Emergency Assistance Service number listed in the insurance policy and they will pay for your medical treatment. Perhaps they will pay for the mangled scooter as well.

Unfortunately, maybe not...

Young backpackers and travellers are the ones most likely to find themselves in this situation, but it could happen to anyone. Renting a moped or scooter is certainly a brilliant way to get around on holiday, and cheaper than renting a car, but what about the risks?

Sadly, there are too many tragic accidents each year involving tourists riding mopeds, scooters and quad bikes at tourist hot spots around the world. In many cases they will not have bothered to read the terms and conditions of the scooter rental agreement or their insurance policy. They discover, too late, that their claims for medical expenses and liability are not covered.

In many countries it is the law that you must wear a helmet when riding a scooter or moped. Most insurance policy terms and conditions require the use of protective clothing and/or a helmet. The use of a motorised vehicle is often found under the 'Hazardous Activities' section of a policy. It is there for a reason! It is important to check because there are usually restrictions on the power of the vehicle you can ride, with an additional premium or higher excess for a more powerful machine. If you are in any doubt at all, no matter where you buy your insurance, always contact the company and ask for advice before you set off on holiday.

It is important to rent scooters, mopeds and quad bikes from a reputable company. Check the rental agreement to see what is and is not covered. You should already have checked your travel insurance and so will know whether or not you are covered for Personal Liability.

Check that your driving license is valid to use the vehicle, the age requirements, and whether it is legal to ride on public roads in the country. Do not leave your passport with the company as security.

The cost of medical treatment abroad is incredibly high. If you don't have travel insurance or do not comply with the terms and conditions of the insurance you could be in for an expensive nightmare to pay for medical care, not to mention the cost of medical repatriation, if needed, to fly you home by air ambulance.

It's futile crying after it's too late, or blaming the rental company or your travel insurance because you did not know about exclusions in the policy.

Unfortunately, the harsh reality is that the onus is on the traveller to check what is and is not covered by a rental agreement or travel insurance. Don't let this happen to you and risk ruining your dream holiday.

Resource Box Essentials

When building your resource box (or boxes) in EzineArticles.com you want to ensure you have four basic areas covered to ensure that your article also acts as great publicity for you and what you do. If your resource box takes these four things into account, then your articles will do more than just educate the reading public, it will act as a fantastic business card for you and your business.

Brief Summary of You

This is the basic purpose of a resource box, to share with the world a brief overview of you and who you are. You want to make sure you tell people things about you as a person as well as why you have chosen to write on this topic. The key here is to be brief. Do not have a rambling resume of you and your skills. When it comes to a resource box less is more. Tease a little with why you are unique but make them want to learn more about you.

Relevance to the topic of the article

You also want to ensure that the information you are sharing in the resource box is actually relevant to the topic of the article you have written. I have written articles on higher education (was a faculty member and administrator for over 10 years), internet marketing (I currently manage a forum on affiliate marketing), and on abundance and prosperity (published two books on this topic). I share these examples because if someone is reading one of my higher education articles they don't want a resource box telling them how to be a better internet marketer. Make sure the resource box is relevant to the topic of the article.

This is one of the great things about many online article sites. They allow you to create as many resource boxes as you want, and then you can chose the one you want to associate with the article you wrote. So you can have diverse interests and areas of knowledge, you just want to make sure you have diverse and unique resource boxes to match. So make multiple ones, it only helps you.

Active link (not a redirect)

Article sites can be very specific about how many links you can have in an article, where they can go etc. Instead of trying to beat the system or turn the article into a flyer for you and your business, use it to actually share valuable information. The more articles you write that help to educate (instead of blatantly selling) the more attention you will get. If I do a search for an article relevant to my needs and find multiple articles written by the same person, I will then trust them and want to learn more. This is where the active link comes in. Do not worry about links in the article body, let the article build your credibility and instead add the link in your resource box. Just make sure the link actually works and is not a redirect. The Link is VERY important.

Call to Action

The final essential is to have a strong call to action. This is why you want to have a brief and teasing summary of you and make sure the resource box is relevant to what you are writing about. You want to drive people to click on your link (hence why the link needs to be active). You already gave them great content in the body of the article, now it is time to get them to take the next step. Simple things like "To learn more about the tools discussed above, click here" can be effective. Too many people just write about themselves and then leave a link sitting there. You have to tell them to click the link.

If you follow these four simple steps you will move from a boring ineffective resource box to a resource box that connects your reader to you and gets them wanting more. Your article is a marketing piece and your resource box is how you get them through the proverbial front door. Follow these four essentials and thrive.

What Is Wardriving And How Can You Prevent It

Imagine a car equipped with nothing more than a laptop computer, a portable GPS receiver, and a wireless network card slowly strolls through your neighborhood. Unknown to any onlookers, this is no ordinary vehicle; rather, it is a wardriving machine. As the car strolls past homes and businesses, a wireless network card (available at any electronics store for as low as $25) scans for any wireless access points. Anyone with a wireless network (and there are many out there) is vulnerable. The computer is looking for what is called an SSID. An SSID is your wireless network name and it is being constantly transmitted by your access point, letting computers know of its presence. The wardriver uses software such as Netstumbler (for windows) or Cismet (for linux) to scan the airwaves for SSIDs. The program can track various access points at once and monitor the signal strength. These programs can also check to see if the network is encrypted. The wardriver will generally configure his or her software to log any strong unencrypted signals. Using the GPS receiver, the coordinates of the strong signal will be recorded. After this preliminary drive, the wardriver can return to the locations that were recorded, and connect to the access point. Once connected to an unencrypted network, the wardriver can use the victim's internet access, and can also explore computers on the network. If files are being shared within someone's private network, all of that information is susceptible to a wardriver. Furthermore, once in the network, a wardriver can sniff network traffic and can view any information such as passwords and credit card numbers you send out to the internet - even SSL secured data. Wireless network vulnerability is a major problem, and as more and more households purchase wireless technology, the problem of insecure networks increases. Sound scary? Well this happens every day, and it doesn't take an expert to pull off. It doesn't take an expert to protect against either, however.

Steps you can take to protect against wardrivers:

There are a number of very simple steps you can take to protect your wireless network. For many of these, you will have to access your router configuration utility (check your manual on how to do this, you will generally need to type an IP address into your browser such as 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1).

Don't broadcast your SSID. If you are broadcasting your SSID, this is the first thing a program will pickup and recognize. If you configure your router to not broadcast your SSID, it will be difficult to detect (but not impossible, for some software can sniff wireless communication, so if you are using your wireless network, the SSID can be revealed). If you are not broadcasting your SSID, but it can be guessed (such as if you are using a default SSID), cloaking is pointless. Due to this, remember to change your SSID from the factory default. This is not a 100 percent effective method to secure your network, but it is a good first line of defense.

Change the default password. When you buy a router, a factory password is stored. People experienced in working with routers know the default passwords for different routers (and the make of the router can be seen by wardriver software such as netstumbler). It is important that you secure your router with a good password.

Encrypt your wireless communication. I can't stress the importance of encrypting your wireless communication enough. Enable encryption and enter a key. Most routers are only capable of WEP encryption, but if they permit, use EAP encryption, it's more secure than WEP. Like cloaking your SSID, encryption is not 100 percent secure. Given enough time and determination, if someone wants to target you and access your network, WEP encryption can be bypassed using software such as AirSnort.

Filter the MAC addresses that are allowed to connect to your router. This would require that you enter your router configuration and input the MAC address of each wireless card you have. This will restrict access so that only your computers can connect to the router. You will need to obtain the MAC address (which is the individual identification address of a network card in the form a 12 digit hexadecimal number). If someone sniffs traffic and detects the MAC address of a computer wirelessly using your network, the wardriver could emulate that address and connect to the router, but this takes time.

If you configure file sharing on your computers, make sure it is password protected. You should not share files on your networked computers unless it requires an authenticated user to access. Set up the same user accounts on your machines so that your computers can share files.

With these relatively simple steps, wireless network users can secure their networks from wardrivers. Wireless networks are inherently insecure, and these tips will merely help you greater secure your network. If someone is really determined to gain access to your network, given enough time, a good hacker can get access. These tips will deter the average wardriver from gaining access to your network, however. Although these methods are not definite security measures, they will change your network from being something that can be hacked in a matter of seconds, to something that will take a determined hacker days if not weeks of work, all of which will have to be done while in close proximity to your network.

Three Reasons Why You Should Seek Quality Designers When Launching New Products

If you are in the process of manufacturing a new product, there are many times when you may need to pay attention to the kind of new invention product designers you use for the design. There are many individuals who often come up with wonderful ideas regarding such new products, but then end up ruining them because they do not use quality designers before putting them into production. If you are to achieve any measure of success when you are trying to introduce a new product, you have to make sure that each product that you come up with has been thought through thoroughly, so that you do not have to suffer any losses in future.

Things you can benefit from when you get a quality designer to design your new product

When you need to have the product that you are coming up with designed properly, you have to make sure that you get a high quality designer to make them. This is because such individuals are often tasked with the burden of making sure that the end product is packaged in such a manner that it will be appealing to the market, and that it will be easy to sell. Some of the things that they often have to do include:

• Making sure that the product is practical. For instance, when you are designing an electronic item, the innards of the product may be a technological feat. However, if the packaging is not practical, you will find that all the benefits of the research that has gone into the functioning of the product will be diluted by the way it looks or feels. When a company is doing design for such a product, they often have to factor things such as how it is going to be used and the kind of market that it will be targeted to. From this, issues such as form factor, shape, and color will then be deduced to ensure that the end result is something that is impressive both aesthetically and functionally.

• The other thing that such designers have to think about when they are coming up with the design is the cost. This is a very important thing you need to keep in mind, since it determines how much it is going to cost to buy one of them. If you choose a design that is very expensive to manufacture or maintain, you may need to charge a lot for the product, and some customers may then decide to buy from your competition if there is any.

• In addition to that, the issue of longevity also has to be taken into consideration. You need to make sure that you choose a design that is going to last for long, in that it should not be too fragile. This way, customers will feel like they are getting good value for money

The above are just a few of the things that a good designer should think of when designing a product for you. If you end up with the best, you will find that they are able to do all the above pointers with relative ease.

Benefit of Pilates

One of the main benefits of Pilates is it refreshes your physical and mental well-being. Pilates is a series of controlled movements that unite the body and mind and creates a direct connection to the muscles.

The benefit of Pilates is it helps condition your body without punishing it. It is designed to stretch and strengthen muscle without adding bulk.

The Pilates abdominal exercises require mental concentration along with coordinated breathing beginning in the body's core (abdomen, back and buttocks) to build a balanced strength and agility in your body.

Joseph Pilates, a legendary physical trainer, developed this exercise system in the 1920's. Pilates routines can benefit men and women of any age no matter what physical condition you are in.

It was designed for people who recognize the importance of providing a firm support system for the spine. Pilates movement places its focus on the body's core. It works the deep muscles in the body creating a strong center.

Pilates is more precise movements rather than a lot of repetitions of an exercise. It adds heightened body awareness and control because the mind engages the body during movement. Controlled breathing accompanies that movement.

One of the exciting aspects of Pilates is that almost anyone can do it. There is no bouncing, jarring or stress to your body and it can be done almost anywhere at anytime.

Some of the Pilate routines take less than 10 minutes and are ideal for people who say they don't have enough time to exercise. Who can't squeeze in 10 minutes out of your day to improve your health and well being?

Some of the basic principles of the Pilates philosophy include concentration and control. The emphasis is on the quality of the movement and not the number of repetitions.

Pilates movement also includes centering and breathing which focuses attention to the body's core and breathing properly to oxygenate the entire body and cleanse it of impurities.

Pilates teaches balance and control of the body and mind, strengthens bone density while improving muscle strength, flexibility and posture. With Pilates you can even train the mind to relax and control stress.

You create the ability to maintain proper posture, increase joint range of motion, acquire a flat lean stomach, improve circulation, have more stamina and better coordination.

The Pilate movements start, stay and end in the core. The benefit of Pilates are both emotional and physical. Pilate routines help you achieve inner awareness and calm along with a sense of mastering the mind and body.

Copyright © 2005 Treadmill Info.com All Rights Reserved.

How to Protect Your Family and Home in the Event of Severe Flooding

With hurricane season on the rise, it's more important than ever to know how to protect your home and property from the severe damage that can result from flooding. The following are a few tips to ensure that you are prepared if the next hurricane or flood hits:

Make sure you have a stocked emergency preparedness kit at your home. This is not only important during hurricane season, but all year. Each kit may vary from house to house, but should include the basics such as a flashlight, portable radio, extra batteries, a supply of non-perishable foods and bottled water, a first aid kit, extra prescription medication, and extra food and supplies for infants and pets. It should also be noted that waiting to gather these things until emergency warnings have been issued may be too late. Stores' supply of water, food and first aid supplies are usually wiped clean right before a natural disaster and you don't want to be caught unprepared. Put your emergency kit together now. In the event that you have to leave your home, it is also important to have a "go bag" that is completely stocked with everything you might need if you had to leave your home. Make sure to find out if you live in an area that is at a high risk for flooding. If you are, it would be wise to buy flood insurance in the event that your property is damaged from a flood. Flood insurance often requires you to make a record of all your personal property. This is easier to do prior to being struck by disaster, so make an itemized list of your furniture, clothing and valuables - including photographs or video of each. Protect these insurance policy documents in a waterproof and fireproof box or make electronic copies and store them online. Be sure to keep your rain gutters free of debris in order to help with sediment control in the event of a flood. Hurricanes often bring large amounts of rain, so having clear drainage will help the water drain and prevent unnecessary flooding. Keep trees and shrubbery surrounding your home from being overgrown in order to keep tree limbs that could be blown down and cause damage during a storm to a minimum. Make sure that any outdoor furniture you have (i.e. sheds, patio furniture, playhouses, etc.) are anchored securely to the ground to prevent them from being blown away or into your home during a storm. You could make a list of the items that you need to bring inside during a storm to make this process faster.