Writing About

Kathy Cothran asked:




During the first quarter of the school year we get many opportunities to explore our patriotism by celebrating Constitution Day in September, exploring the election process in early November, followed quickly by observing Veterans Day. The world rejoiced at the end of World War I and in 1938 the federal holiday of “Armistice Day” was created. In 1954 the holiday was renamed to “Veterans Day” so that all Veterans could be honored. What types of activities can we do to help children appreciate the Veterans that have served? My goal is twofold: one, to honor the Veterans, and two, to build some technology skills into the process. Some ideas for using technology to honor the Veterans include:

Visiting the websites for children created by the Veteran organizations. Write letters, poems, and create cards for the Veterans and distribute at local Veteran hospitals and homes. These cards can be made in KidPix or any other drawing program. This might include a flag with a note written in the stripes, or word-processed letters with clip art, or computerized drawings of the people of the armed forces (especially well done by kindergarten, first and second grades!) Create a class book of all the pictures created by the class, bind, and give to a local VA hospital or VA home. Podcasting of recorded histories created by interviewing Veterans, either in school or out of school. Podcast by students about why we are grateful for the armed forces. Bring Veterans to school and honor them through songs, skits, and stories from the children. Bring a Veteran to school to share with the students about the history and experiences of being a part of the armed forces.

Around the world this day is celebrated whether it is called Veterans Day, Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day. The idea is to renew our commitment to world peace. The children of our world need to be taught and reminded that world peace is a goal worth achieving. In addition, our children need to take time to connect with adults, learn to listen, and appreciate what the people who have served our country have to teach all of us.

Babu Banik asked:




Have you ever wondered how beautifully you can express your innermost feelings for your soul mate just by singing out a couple of romantic Valentine’s Day songs. It may sound weired that although Valentine’s Day has always been related to love and passion, yet not all love songs have that elements of passion to be the perfect Valentine’s Day song. Some love songs really hold the right blend of love, passion and fun that makes them really the right ones to be played in a Valentine’s Day party. Some of the really rollicking Valentine’s Day songs are:

” A Million Love Songs” — Take That

” Valentine Song” — by Robert Argyle Campbell

” Breaks My Heart” - Monica

” Nobody Loves Me Like You Do” — Whitney Houston and Jermaine Jackson

” I Need Your Love Tonight” — Elvis Presley

” A Song” — by Thomas Carew

” Song: Persuasions to Enjoy” — by Thomas Carew

” As Long As You Love Me” — Backstreet Boys

” My Heart Will Go On” — Celine Dion

” Everything I Do For You” - Brian Adams

” The Power Of Love” — Celine Dion

” A Promise I Make” — Dakota Moon

” Quit Playing Games With My Heart” — Backstreet Boys

Music plays an outstanding role in any types of celebrations - be it an anniversary or something else. But it is just beyond all controversy that music leaves a tremendous impact when it comes to the celebration of love on Valentine’s Day. If you really want it to be heard when you say “I love you”, some of the selected Valentine’s Day songs with appropriate Valentine’s Day lyrics would be your best choice. The Valentine’s day this year is going to be realy rocking for you if you are going to be engaged. Just imagine the hi-fi surround acoustic system singing out “My Heart Will Go On…” when your dream mate holds you in his arm to share a passionate touch on your lips with his.

Valentine’s Day is not only the celebration of the adults but the children also take part in the celebration. There are loads of Valentine’s Day songs for children that are played to make the children waltz around in the Valentine’s Day children party. Some of the best picks for the children Valentine’s Day party are:

” Be My Friend” — Hap Palmer

” Valentine’s Songs” — Hap Palmer

” Be My Valentine” — Jack Hartmann

” It’s Love” — Jack Hartmann

” Valentine, Valentine” — Denise Gagne

” The Riddle Song” — Traditional Appalachian

” Valentine: A Singing Card” — Marla Lewis

” Love is In My Heart”– Mary Flynn

” V-a-l-e-n-t-i-n-e” — Ron Brown

Whatever may be the theme of the Valentine’s Day celebration, music always adds unique fervor to Valentine’s Day fun. It’s a unique way of expressing your innermost feelings when you are not finding the right way way to express it to your dear ones. Moreover singing Valentines are really the most treasurable and amazing Valentine’s Day gifts. So go ahead and say “I Love You” and make your sweetheart speechless by singing a heart touching Valentine’s Day song. Whether you are going to sing it to your wife, fiancee or friends, picking the right Valentine’s Day lyrics and right tunes would add extra passion to the way you want to celebrate Valentine’s Day. With the perfect tunes and Valentine’s Day lyrics you can make y our love rule every move your sweetheart would make this special eve.

Magriet Du Plessis asked:




This mother’s day craft for kids is suitable for small children. Make a gift for mom for mother’s day. The modeling clay can be bought at any crafts store and it dries very easily within a few hours. It is also best to buy small artificial flowers to use as flowers or, if you can find them, dried flowers and dry grass seeds will be even better. Of course, if the kids are a little older they can make flowers from buttons, florist wire and florist tape.*

Because the pots are small, this is a very good craft for developing the small motor muscle skills in toddlers.

This is what you need for your mother’s day craft:

Modeling clay A pencil A thin stick to use for decorating the pot The flowers you want to use
Method for this mother’s day craft for kids:

Roll your modeling clay into a ball of the size you want your pot to be. (Not too big, as you are only going to make a hole for the flowers with your pencil.) Make a hole in the pot by pressing the back of the pencil into the ball. Shape your ball to form a pot with a flat bottom so that your pot can stand on it. Decorate the pot by drawing patterns on it with a thin stick or a matchstick. Arrange the flowers in the pot and then let it stand in a hot place to harden. Now you have a beautiful flower pot as a gift for mom on mother’s day.
*To make “button flowers:”

Use a very small button and push florist wire through one of the holes from the bottom and then back from the top to the bottom through another hole. Twist the two ends of the wire tightly around each other and cover it neatly with florist tape. Now you have a “button flower.” Make as many flowers ad you need.

Older children can make bigger pots and make the hole for the flowers with a thicker stick. You cannot make them too big though or they will take too long to harden and they will probably *****.

Pete Renzulli asked:




As an online stock trader, part of your responsibilities is understanding when to trade more actively and when to use more leverage. To have a long and rewarding carer as an equity trader you need to understand how to run your business on a daily basis. When my family owned a pizza parlor in NY it would have been great to be making pie after pie all day however that wasn’t reality. You only made a pizza when there was a request, you made many of them when the store was busy.

When you are sitting at your screen you need to understand when it is busy. To define this even deeper, you want to know when institutions are involved. Since we are seeking to jump on their backs we want to know when they are involved. The tool we use to determine this larger involvement is the NYSE TICK. There is also one for NASDAQ, but we feel the info from the NYSE TICK is sufficient.

The TICK represents the number of upticking stocks versus downticking stocks at any one particular moment in time. Reading the absolute number all day is not necessary but there are specific readings to pay attention to in order to make an informed decision regarding your activity level, trade expectation and leverage.

If the TICK has readings of +500 or -500 but no more than that, there is very little institutional order flow or activity. When I see this, I slow down my activity level, lighten up on my leverage and DECREASE my expectation for each trade (meaning I expect to make less per trade).

When I get consistent pushes of +1,000 or higher or -1,000 or lower I know the big boys are around and I will increase my leverage, activity level and my leverage. I am expecting FOLLOW THROUGH now.

This simple but effective tool will be a great gauge for your trading. Monitor it for a few days, I am sure you will be very happy to add this to your arsenal.

Ron Taylor asked:




Flipping in and out of stock may be a great way to scrape small profits off price dips and swells, but unless your stock portfolio account has an equity and cash position of at least $25,000, you will run afoul of the pattern day trader rule.

The pattern day trader rule limits your ability to buy and sell the same stock in the same trading day, unless your account portfolio has a cash and stock value of at least $25,000.

This is just one additional hurdle you need to jump before getting involved in penny stock day trading. This rule stipulates that you must have at least $25,000 in cash or stock value in your portfolio to move in and out of the same security on the same trading day.

Generally, an online broker will allow you to “get away” with one or two trades per week on what they call “both sides of the market,” but they could theoretically reject your order requests at any time.

When I was first starting out in this business I had about $5,000 in my account. I came across a stock that was moving up and down in intraday trading and decided to try flipping the stock a few times.

After my third buy and sell transaction that day, I received an alert from my broker. It notified me of the pattern day trader rule, and suggested I deposit $20,000 into my account to meet SEC guidelines.

Right. I had $20,000 setting around looking for a home.

My subsequent attempts to trade on both sides of the market were met with “Cannot accept this order” type messages.

What Exactly Is This Rule?

According to the SEC, a day trader is any trader who buys and sells a particular security in the same trading day and does this four or more times in any five consecutive business day period.

Here’s a more legal way of saying basically the same thing:

A pattern day trader is defined in Exchange Rule 431 as any customer who executes 4 or more round-trip day trades within any 5 successive business days. If, however, the number of trades is more than 3 but is 6% or less than the total number of trades that trader has made for that five business day period, the trader will not be considered a pattern day trader and will not be required to meet the $25,000 criteria for a pattern day trader.

More Legalese

According to http://www.patterndaytraderrule.com, this rule is, “this rule applies to anyone who buys and sells a particular security in the same trading day (day trades), and does this four or more times in any five consecutive business day period. A pattern day trader is subject to special rules. The main rule is that in order to engage in pattern day trading you must maintain an equity balance of at least $25,000 in a margin account.” Please visit the site referenced above for a complete legal description.

Now that you know more about this rule, you could technically make a few day trades each week without violating SEC rules. However, some authority has been given to online brokers to judge your trading patterns, which could lead to being labeled as a day trader, despite your efforts to trade within the non-pattern day trading rules.

You should also be aware of the “five consecutive business day” comment above. Apparently, the clock does not reset on Monday morning. If you placed several day trades on the previous Friday, these may be a part of the same five day period on Monday.

Why Is There A Pattern Day Trader Rule?

In general terms, the investment community and the Security and Exchange Commission felt the popularity of day trading was causing beginning retail traders to lose too much money in the marketplace. In an effort to curb the day trading mania, they decided a trader should have a minimum account balance before being bale to practice this trading strategy. I guess they figure if you are worth $25,000, you have the knowledge and experience to flip stocks.

I have a different opinion on this. Yes, the SEC may have had your best interests in mind, but I believe (unfounded opinion here) that the institutional investors resented the range bound trading of stocks due to flippers constantly scraping tiny profits off a stock’s movement. Imagine a stock is rallying on good news. As the stock rises in value the flippers come into the market. A flipper’s mentality (us day traders, that is) is to sell quick, thus deflating the asking price in our hurry to sell out and move along with our small profits.

Flipping can frustrate a stock’s move up, which drives the institutional guys wild. Due to their position sizes in a given stock, they cannot move in and out of the stock as quickly as retail traders. When you look at all the money invested in the stock market, keep in mind that about 80% of it is controlled by institutional investors. These are predominantly the mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance companies.

Remember the old saying, “he who has the gold, makes the rules?” Because of their sheer size, the institutional investors get to make the rules-the pattern day trader rule.

What Can I Do About This Rule?

I despise most rules, and see some of this governmental meddling as a slight on the capitalist system. But, I’ll save those comments for my college term papers.

The pattern day trader rule may be helpful to some of you. As you build your account value to meet this requirement, learn how to trade and profit on swing trades. The experience you gain as a stock researcher and technical analyst will pay dividends later when you join the fast paced day trading community.

Nicole Nicholas asked:




Valentines Day is quickly approaching, but are you having trouble finding romantic valentines day ideas?

It seems that alot of couples are having the same problem. While we should be focusing on romance and love, we seem to be panicking, as we scramble to find the best romantic gift for our partners.

But Valentines Day is meant to be a day to spend quality time with our partners. Not worrying about buying the right gift.

For many couples, more time needs to be spent on expressing their love for each other, and making memories that will last a lifetime. Love is more complex than giving your partner flowers or chocolates.

We shouldn’t worry so much about the “perfect” gift. That is not what Valentine’s Day is about. Its the little things that make Valentine’s day special. Like cooking your partner dinner, decorating romantically with candles and dimming the lights, or running off with your partner on a romantic weekend getaway.

Being creative and making it special are the most important gifts you can give. By finding meaningful things to do for your partner, thats how you will make this Valentines day truly spectacular.

Here are some romantic valentines day ideas you can use, to set you off on the right foot.

* Recreate your first date

* Watch a romantic movie

* Cook them a candlelight dinner

* Give them a sensual massage

* Take them for a night time picnic

* Take them on a surprise weekend getaway

* Surprise them with a romantic bedroom makeover

* Go for a romantic photo shoot, and surprise them with the pictures

* Print off some romantic love coupons (see the link below for some free ones)

Just remember that the more creative you make it, the more memorable it will be. Try to make it a tribute to your love for them.

Try to make this Valentine’s Day is a day to celebrate your love and your relationship with your partner. That way no matter how you do it, this Valentine’s Day you will be able to show them just how much you care.

Vitaliy Gershfeld asked:




What if you could lose a pound a day without depriving yourself of anything, without trying extreme methods such as starvation of exhausting exercising? Well you can and the way to do that is through a special dieting technique known as the “calorie cycling diet” or as most people call it “calorie shifting”.

Calorie cycling has become one of the most popular and flexible ways to lose weight fast. It naturally enhances your metabolism and fat burning causing rapid weight loss, up to a pound a day in most cases.

The theory behind calorie cycling’s (calorie shifting) effect is that the body adjusts metabolism and fat burning according to the way you eat, or if you eat in routines. Because most people eat in routines, their metabolism stays the same, burning the same amount of fat and keeping their weight stable.

However because of fast foods and lack of exercise, weight starts to increase slowly and the longer it’s allowed to accumulate, the harder it will be to get rid of it with conventional dieting and exercise.

This is where the calorie cycling diet swoops in to save the day. Instead of eating in a routine, you eat in different orders and make sure every meal has different calorie values. You can eat anything from scrambled eggs, chicken, bacon, fruits, vegetables, bacon, nuts, fish and more, just as long as you keep mixing the order in which you eat.

This is the essence of the “calorie cycling” word. This type of eating causes the body to try and adjust to the change, but it can’t because you keep eating in mixed orders constantly making it wonder how many calories to burn before every meal. This causes the body to naturally trigger a reflex. The reflex will be to increase metabolism and fat burning.

It will do this to try and take control of the mixed eating and the winner in this case is you because with the increase in metabolism and fat burning, you can lose up to a pound a day doing this. And best of all you can most of your favorite foods because it’s the way calorie cycling is done and not what you’re eating that causes this weight loss effect. So if you’re wondering how to lose a pound a day, then the calorie cycling diet (calorie shifting) is the answer.

Vitaliy Gershfeld asked:




What would you say if someone told you that it is possible to lose a pound a day by breaking nearly every dieting rule ever created and that it was even possible to lose 5 pounds in 5 days and even 10 pounds in 10 days, you’d probably think they were out of their mind. But the fact is it’s possible and it’s all thanks to 1 dieting technique called calorie shifting.

Calorie shifting is a dieting technique that involves mixing up your eating routines day after day and eating meals with different calorie values about 4 times a day. What this does is it fools your body’s ability to adapt to your eating routines (because you keep changing tem) and wondering how many calories to burn. But because you don’t allow it to adapt, it will unleash a fail-safe reaction and that will be to increase metabolism to it’s peak to try and keep control.

Now we all know what fast metabolism means. Weight loss, better fat burning and a more energetic you! The high level of metabolism can cause up to a pound a day or weight loss so being able to lose 5 pounds in 5 days or even 10 pounds in 10 days is more than possible. In fact some people have been able to lose even more.

You don’t have to worry about side effects or danger. Sometimes people can feel a bit tired because calorie shifting causes the body to keep metabolism high so it will be working a lot so it’ll feel as though you’re actually exercising when in fact you aren’t, but you’ll still be losing weight quickly!

Regardless of whether or not you’re a man or woman, have bad genes, have never had a diet work for you or if you just need fast results and don’t have time to devote to conventional dieting tactics, this diet is ideal for those purposes because it’s effects are all natural and long term. So if you’re wondering how to lose 10 pounds in 10 days or just 5 pounds in 5 days, calorie shifting is the answer!

Ivan Kelly asked:




The Hospital 3 Day Diet, which is also known as the Birmingham Hospital Diet, has become popular due to claims that the diet was created as a means of enabling patients intended for surgery to lose up to 10 lbs in weight over a period of three days. Other sources attribute the origin of this diet plan to the University of Alabama.

It should be noted that these institutions do not make that claim and do not accept any responsibility towards those who follow the diet.

Notwithstanding the uncertainty of its origins, there is little doubt that this simple diet plan has become widespread and that many people have used it, often coming across the weight loss strategy under one of its many names. Apart from the Hospital 3 Day Diet, it is also known as Alabama 3 Day Diet, 3 day Tuna Diet, Tuna Fish Diet, 3 Day Cardiac Diet, and others.

The content of these weight loss diet plans is very similar and will here be treated as essentially the same.

A key element of the Hospital 3 Day Diet is that it contains a low daily calorie level of about 1,000 calories with specified ingredients to provide the protein, carbohydrates, fat (very little) and other nutrients that we need to survive. For a full description of the menu plan, do a quick search for my article “3 Day Tuna Fish Diet - Menu and Diet Plan”.

In brief, the plan outlines the foods to be included for breakfast, lunch and dinner over a three day period.

There are many reports of weight reduction from those who have followed the diet. The amount of claimed weight lost during that time varies, as might be expected with so many differing metabolisms and food requirements being involved. However, a minimum weight reduction of at least 2.5 lbs does seem attainable and likely.

Much of the weight loss from a diet of such a short duration probably comes from water loss. As well, with a calorie count of about 1,000 this would be well below normal requirements for most adults, so energy expended would also account for some of the loss.

However, whilst not a ’starvation diet’, the Birmingham Hospital Diet is likely to generate user problems if continued beyond the recommended 3 days. For instance, it is normal for our bodies to make adjustments when a food shortage is detected. This is a survival mechanism which protects us when little food is available, as in times of famine. The body slows metabolism and conserves fat stores to enable us to survive longer with less food. This actually makes it harder to lose weight, we have less energy and tire more easily. Not a satisfactory long term condition!

Although there may be some short-term loss advantage, the feelings of hunger experienced by the end of the diet encourage extra food intake after the diet has been completed. A better alternative is a program that does not produce a craving for food, does not cause the body to slow its activities, and takes into account nutritional requirements so that changes in eating habits would allow fat loss to happen over a longer period and be lasting.

Rather than following a simple, low calorie diet plan, losing weight over an extended period allows other tactics to be employed in the plan, such as ‘calorie shifting’, placing greater emphasis on fat loss and adequate nutrition. This is more likely in the long run to provide health benefits and sustainable weight loss.