Cyber Space Play

If you are satisfied with your website, look again. Chances are there are several things that will help optimize your website while keeping the overall look and functionality the same. In particular, one of the biggest trends is a Content Management System which makes updating your site as easy as filling out a few form fields and typing some text into the form. Unfortunately, most tools that make it ‘easier’ lack when it comes to making it ‘better’.

This is no big surprise as the same system that makes it easy to manage your site must fit all possible scenarios and may not be the best way to handle YOUR situation. This is where website optimization services like Comptrio.com come in to help improve your site according to your specific needs. A professional service will be able to assess your specific website and make optimization recommendations based on your usage and requirements.

One of the biggest downfalls of the ‘owner friendly’ CMS systems is a very ’server un-friendly’ navigation system. What could be easier for the owner than to enter a new category name and have the database store the category name, link, and ID# and just call them on every page load? With one additional step while updating your categories, the same code that is called 10 times (assuming you have 10 categories) every time the page is loaded can be run once when you update the navigation and write a file with all of the navigation in a static or unchanging file.

This static navigation can be called every time a page on your site is requested and may cut down on the number of queries to the database by double digit numbers. I recently optimized a website and removed MORE THAN 95% of the database queries by using this method. The website went from nearly 1,000 database queries to only 20 each time the page is loaded into a users browser.

This required changing 2 sets of navigation with new code, but had an amazing effect on the server load during high-traffic and allowed an incredible amount of users to connect all at once that was not possible before.

Another change that can be made is to ensure that your server is ‘properly’ using Apache’s built-in cache. While caches can also be setup within the HEAD section of your pages, using Apache itself to setup the ‘rules’ will cut down on the code used on your page. The trick to getting mod_expires setup correctly is trial and error. Eventually you will find settings that work best for your site.

Typically, images can be cached the longest as they don’t change very often on most sites. HTML pages generally don’t update change very often, but dynamic pages can be a little tougher to tune. I generally begin with 1 day from first access for php files and then adjust how long the cache lasts from there. The length of cache will depend on your actual needs on a ‘per website’ basis.

The beauty of using the cache is that common files (where all pages use the same header image) are stored in the users browser and not downloaded when they visit the next few pages of your site. For many websites, especially graphic-heavy sites, this can mean a serious reduction in the bandwidth and resources used in transferring the same layout images page after page after page.

In almost every case that I’ve seen, websites created by a wysiwyg editor (FrontPage, DreamWeaver, etc.) can benefit from good, old handcoding. Many HTML tags are unnecessary or are used to help the wysiwyg editor to remember it’s place on the page, but wysiwyg editors don’t concern themselves with optimizing your code. Once again, this is a case of needing to work in every scenario, but not needing to work with the best optimization. Often times I will gain an 80% reduction in filesize by hand coding websites and removing extraneous ‘fluff’ from the code.

Reduction in image sizes (filesize, not space on a page) is perhaps one of the easiest optimization targets to pinpoint, but also one of the easiest ways to make your site look goofy. The best way to optimize images is to start with the original image files at full size with no compression. Fortunately, aside from a professional logo, this is usually what you are working with on your website already. With a 20% reduction in size (80% compression in the world of images), more size can be saved here than anywhere else. There are many tools to compress images and my personal favorites are the gifcruncher and jpeg wizard.

Making several passes over your website once it’s completed should point to several areas where improvement is possible without changing the look, feel, and functionality of your website. As newer technologies are being adopted by a growing number of websites, optimization is more important than ever.

The Wal-Mart Decade: How a New Generation of Leaders Turned Sam Walton’s Legacy into the World’s #1 Company was destined for publication. It was simply a matter of when it would be written and by whom. In fact, I’m amazed that it wasn’t published long before this. Wal-Mart is so much more than the smiling faces of the senior citizens who greet you with open arms at the front of the store, it’s more than the bouncing Smiley Face continually reducing prices in every aisle, and it’s certainly much more than a typical discount store chain headquartered in the small Arkansas town of Bentonville. Wal-Mart is the real thing. It’s here to stay. It’s a world-class company.

There is much to learn from this corporate giant that recently moved into the #1 spot on the Fortune 500 ahead of GM, Exxon Oil, Ford Motor, and GE. Do you think Wal-Mart simply stumbled into that coveted position? Consider this:

• Wal-Mart has revenues of $246 Billion;
• Wal-Mart has 1 million 300 thousand employees;
• Wal-Mart has mastered logistics and the supply chain;
• Wal-Mart shares its strategic vision with each and every employee;
• Wal-Mart leaders never rest on their laurels;
• Wal-Mart continually find ways to reduce costs while improving the shopping experience for its customers;
• Wal-Mart is the first company ever to head both the Fortune 500 list of American companies and that magazine’s list of Most Admired Companies; and
• the Wal-Mart management team has devised and then implemented strategies for rapid but prudent growth.

The greatest strength in the Wal-Mart arsenal is the fact that their CULTURE is everything. It’s hard to argue with the reality of Wal-Mart’s continued performance.

I think it’s important to realize that the author of this book isn’t a devoted Wal-Mart fan trying to recruit additional followers for the retail giant. Robert Slater was a reporter for Time Magazine for 21 years. He is the best-selling author of Jack Welch and the GE Way and has also written acclaimed books about IBM and Cisco. He probed deeply into the Wal-Mart organization from top to bottom, from Bentonville to China and beyond. This book offers a fresh and fascinating look at this unique companyas it was and as it has becomewith an immediacy and insider’s feel unrivaled since Sam Walton’s own memoir, Made In America.

Sam Walton set the bar high for his future leaders. He created a unique culture based on three basic beliefs:

1. Respect for the individual;
2. Service to the customers; and
3. Striving for excellence.

Walton was also totally committed to what he characterized as his Ten Rules of Business … each of which isexplained in detail in the book. The author allocates three of 14 chapters to “The Founder and His Legacy.” He wisely devotes the remainder of his book to explaining how the new management team devised and then implemented strategies for tremendous growth.

There really have been three quite different periods of Wal-Mart’s development from a Ben Franklin franchise (opened in Bentonville as the Walton 5 and 10 in March of 1951) to the global retailing giant it is today. The three periods include the Sam Walton Years until his death in 1992, the David Glass Years (1992-2000), and the Lee Scott Years (2000-Present).

For years, many people asked about Wal-Mart the same question that others asked about Southwest Airlines: “What’s going to happen after HE leaves?” With all due respect to both Sam Walton and Herb Kelleher, their respective organizations have done just fine. Perhaps that is the ultimate test of leadership: a heritage which endures after the leader is either gone or much less involved. In this exceptionally informative book, Slater explains how and why such a heritage guides and inspires the entire Wal-Mart organization.

More than 100 business book reviews written by Harry K. Jones are available at http://www.AchieveMax.com/books/.

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Your organization may reprint this article for your newsletter, online publication, or mailing list. We ask that you print the:

• article in its entirety;
• byline of the writer;
• information about the writer, which is available at the end of each article; and
• contact information, including our toll-free phone number in the U.S. (800-886-2MAX) and link to our website - www.AchieveMax.com.

We would appreciate a tear sheet or electronic copy of the articles you reprint.

Harry K. Jones is a professional speaker and consultant for AchieveMax^®, Inc., a firm specializing in custom-designed keynote presentations, seminars, and consulting services. Harry has made presentations ranging from leadership to employee retention and time management to stress management for a number of industries, including education, financial, government, healthcare, hospitality, and manufacturing. He can be reached at 800-886-2MAX or by visiting http://www.AchieveMax.com.

Gambling in Atlantic City, first legalized in 1978, has given a tremendous boost to the economy. As a result of this, Atlantic City has now become a major tourist industry, with millions of visitors each year spending billions of dollars on entertainment. This alone has greatly contributed to the increasing demand for new hotels, restaurants, and retail services, providing much-needed employment for over one-third of its population.

When you think of gambling in Atlantic City, you’ll more than likely think of poker. Over 50 million people play poker at least once a month and Atlantic City offers some of the best casino poker rooms in the country. The majority of these are located along the Boardwalk and in the Marina area. Bally’s, Harrah’s, and the Sands are relatively small in comparison to some of the other gambling casinos, but they offer many low-limit poker games and daily tournaments in Texas Hold’Em, 7-Card Stud, and Omaha poker.

The poker rooms at the Sands, Bally’s Wild Wild West, and most of the other casinos have a large number of non-smoking tables for poker players. The Tropicana has a low-limit poker room, as well, with televised sports events, viewable from every table. The Tropicana also features the Trop Poker Club, open 24 hours, 7 days a week, where its members can earn anywhere from 50 cents to $2.00 an hour for each live poker game they play. This money may be used for room, food, or beverage credit and are just another incentive to play poker.

Gambling in Atlantic City is often closely identified with the very popular Trump Taj Majal, which introduced the first non-smoking poker room. There are over 70 tables, where you can play many kinds of poker, including 7-Card Stud, Texas Hold-em, and Omaha, for a low entry of $1 up to $600. Daily tournaments, Hi-Lo poker games, and two annual tournaments, including the U.S. Poker Championship and the Trump Classic, are held each year. The Taj Majal, along with several other casinos, offers free poker lessons for the beginner. If you’re gambling in Atlantic City and seeking luxury and elegance, you should consider the Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa and Caesar’s. Casinos in Atlantic City are primarily smoke free and food and beverage service are readily available.

Gambling in Atlantic City has brought new life to what was once a fading city. Discover gambling in Atlantic City; it’s exciting and fun.

Adel Awwad is the webmaster of www.casinoguide.ws Copyright © 2005 All Rights Reserved. This document may be freely redistributed in its unedited form and on the condition that all copyright references are kept intact along with the hyperlinked URLs.

Shopping for gourmet food can be confusing. Many gourmet foods are produced in foreign countries and have foreign labels. The prices can be very high and you may not know what you are buying or why you are paying so much. And when you are a buying a gift for someone, especially a gourmet food gift, you will want to know whether you are giving something of true quality and class - not to mention whether the food is healthy and delicious. There are some tips in this article that can make gourmet food shopping easy for you.

irst of all, the Internet is a great resource for all type of gourmet foods. Look over various sites and get an idea of what you want. You can also browse through local gourmet shops, and don’t be afraid to ask questions. Gourmet shop staff is usually pretty literate when it comes to gourmet foods.

Once you’ve done your research, you may be better able to select products that you are looking for and know what is good and priced reasonably. For example, you may need a good olive oil for a special gourmet recipe. With your homework done, you’ll know what is the best brand to buy and where to buy it. If you need further advice, you can go to the Internet and see what other gourmet fanatics think about what brands are best. If websites are recommending certain gourmet products, they are probably good choices as far as pricing and quality are concerned.

For it is written in Proverbs 1:7 it says The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Some may ask, what is knowledge? Well let’s see what the Bible says. In Proverbs 18:16 it says A gift opens the way for the giver and ushers him into the presence of the great. Now in Proverbs 19:2 it says It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, and nor to be hasty and miss the way.

In the Book of Psalms 73:7 it says From their callous hearts comes iniquity, the evil conceits of their minds know no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; in their arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth.

Therefore their people turn to them and drink up water in abundance. They say, How can God know? Does the Most High have knowledge? This is what the wicked are likealways carefree, and they increase in wealth.

Now in the book of Habakkuk 2:14 it says For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the water cover the sea. In John 15:1 it says I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

We are treasures in jars of clay. Look at 2Corinthians 4:6 it says For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you. It is written; I believed; therefore I have spoken. With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. In 2Corinthians 2:14 it says But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal processions in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.

Now in Ephesians 3:17 it says So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in ever kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.

Devotion to what is good. Look in the book of Titus 3:14 it is says Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives. God knew us before we even knew ourselves. In Psalms 139:13 it says For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Remember this in the book of 1Corinthians 13:2 it says If I have the give of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. We must love one another. The Bible is the True Knowledge of the Power!

In conclusion look at 2Peter 3:18 it says But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

Love Always,
Your Sister in Christ,
Mellody Davis

Enjoy more reading at;
http://www.hostinghelps.com/allaboutjesus/AboutJesus.html

The cordless impact wrench is quickly gaining in popularity among professional mechanics and the hobby mechanic as well. You may be thinking “I already have a cordless drill that I use for impact applications, why do I need a cordless impact wrench as well?”. I thought the same thing. The first difference is on the inside. A cordless drill creates continuous in-line torque. A cordless impact wrench employs an internal spring-loaded pulsating cam to create rotational torque. This creates the “impact” force that loosens a nut. It is the equivalent to banging a wrench with a hammer to loosen a rusty nut only a lot faster. Unlike a cordless drill - which creates continuous in-line torque, a cordless impact driver uses an internal spring-loaded pulsating cam and gear mechanism to create rotational torque or the “impact” force.
Another big difference, is the lack of reactionary torque. Reactionary torque is what you experience with your cordless drill. You have to use brute force to keep your drill from spinning the opposite direction in your hand. With a cordless impact wrench, that torque is directed to the nut not your arm. You can easily hold this tool in one hand and let the cordless impact do all the work. No more pushing down on the tool to drive that screw. These tools are also smaller and lighter than a cordless drill. For example a DeWalt cordless impact wrench is about 35% the size of its comparable cordless drill. This feature makes them perfect for those overhead projects and reaching into hard to get to spaces.

The next time your start that big deck project in the backyard, leave the cordless drill in the box and grab your cordless impact wrench. Your arm will thank you at the end of the day.

About the Author

Webmaster for Red Hill Supply - Online Air Tools

Air Tools - Find an Impact Wrench,Air Ratchet and more.

“How does your dog sit when you tell him to and mine doesn’t?”,
“How can your dog heel to you like that?”, “Wow! He comes when
you tell him to” - Sounds familiar? If it does, you need to
invest some time into a little bit of basic dog training.
Starting to train your dog from a young age is crucial as the
first few months of his life is when you will have the greatest
influence on him; this is where he is shaped into the dog he is
going to be when he is all grown up.

The most basic of dog training is to get your dog to sit and
come. Teaching him those commands are essential for him to
learn. These commands are used for various different reasons, if
you are in competition, if your dog jumps making him sit will
immediately get him off and “come” is the all important one. If
you take your dog for a walk, you let him of the leash and you
expect him to come back to you, not run around the park with you
chasing after him shouting at him to “get here right this
instance”. That would be just down right embarrassing!

To teach your dog how to come requires only the most basic of
techniques but a lot of repetition. The simplest way to get him
to come is have a toy in one hand and a treat in the other, when
you are in the house simply walk away from him, hold out the toy
and excitingly call him to you, when he comes over give him a
treat, always use the command for come that you are going to use
in the future. Doing this several times a day is a great way to
teach him, but remember to have lots of long breaks so he
doesn’t get bored and stop enjoying it, and don’t forget the
treats!

Getting him to sit could be a slight bit harder but again only
requires basic dog training. When you have mastered the come
command call him to you, place your hand on the end of his back
and say “sit” while gently pushing down on his backside, when he
sits his bottom down give him a treat and a lot of praise. If
you want him to sit longer just delay giving him the treat and
the praise, get him to sit but take your time bending down to
him and feeding him his titbit.

Basic dog training is simple and very effective. It should also
be fun for you and your dog, it doesn’t have to be hours and
hours each day just may be 5 minutes or so. Don’t forget to
reward your dog and yourself for all the “hard” work though!!

You have a lock on your house. You have a lock on your car. You have a lock on your tool shed. Do you have a lock to protect your stock market investments?

Maybe you have a safe at home for your valuables such as jewelry, rare coins, special documents and even stock certificates. Wait a minute. Is that stock certificate protected just because it is surrounded with 3 inches of steel? Not really. The problem is that its value does fluctuate every day. It is OK so long as it is increasing because that is why you bought it. The broker told you to put it away and forget about it.

I hate to tell you this, but in the last 3 years that stock you own whether in your safe deposit box or in your account at the brokerage house might be worth a lot less. Wouldn’t it be nice if there were some way you could protect that investment from a big loss? You can, but you will have to pay a premium, but you can set the amount of the premium yourself.

Some stocks you don’t have to worry about. Isn’t that true? You know, it’s good ole AT&T. Mom bought that years ago and gave it to me when it was $55 per share. She said not to worry as it will go up and be there for retirement. Huh? You just looked and it is $14.00. Can’t be, but it is. Now don’t you wish you had bought some of that stock investment insurance? I bet your broker didn’t tell you about it. They never do because you might end up with cash and take it out of your account and he wouldn’t be able to make some nice commissions.

Most folks never heard of stock insurance. It has been there for years and years. Here is how it works. Call you your broker and tell him to enter an order for this stock with a loss protection and you are willing to pay a premium of 10% (you can set the percentage amount for more or less) and you want it to stay there until you cancel it. No, you don’t have to send him a check. He might be a little puzzled at first until he realizes you are talking about on Open Stop Loss Order. He can enter that for you. If you had put that in place when AT&T was selling at $55 you would have sold out at $49.50 and today you would be about $3,500 richer for each 100 shares. (P.S. Brokers don’t like to do this and will try to talk you out of it.)

You can do this with any listed stock to protect from loss of your investments. When you consider that the overall market is down about 40% in the last 3 years that 10% premium looks darn good.

A stop-loss order should never be lowered and should always be raised to follow a stock price up as it increases. It is not too late to do it. Call your broker today.

(c) 2005

Al Thomas’ best selling book, “If It Doesn’t
Go Up, Don’t Buy It!” has helped thousands
of people make money and keep their profits with
his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter
to receive his market letter for 3 months at
www.mutualfundmagic.com to discover why he’s
the man that Wall Street does not want you to
know.

Most employees spend the majority of the day sitting in their workstation, being comfortable should be important. When it comes to proper positioning, sitting correctly and making sure the equipment is at the right height, is most important. Improper positioning can lead to serious problems such as carpal tunnel syndrome or tendinitis. These can make typing, holding paperwork and even using the telephone difficult and sometimes impossible.

When suffering from the effects of one of the problems caused by improper ergonomics, a worker cannot usually even perform the most standard of office tasks. Many new ergonomic office equipment and furniture features are available and new advancements and discoveries are constantly being created to help with positioning in the best possible position.

Carpal tunnel is usually associated with workers who spend a large portion of their day in front of the computer typing and is thought to be caused by improper wrist positioning and inability to relax the arm while using it to type. The mouse can also be placed at an improper height, forcing the user to have difficulties keeping the arm at the relaxed position. Tendinitis is also caused by improper wrist positioning and can be avoided with ergonomic equipment and proper positioning once installed.

The chair is really the most important ergonomic device in the workstation as the user spends most of their workday sitting in the seat and putting stress on the muscles and spine. It is found through study that the proper sitting position is not truly an upright position but slightly reclined. In order to keep the proper postion, a chair with a tilt mechanism, preferably one that can lock into several positions is needed.

If not seated properly in your office chair, it can cause back and lower lumbar problems eventually and can be easily avoided if educated on ergonomics. Carpal tunnel, tendinitis and back pain can be avoided as easily as paying attention to proper workstation and body positioning and letting ergonomics take the credit. Educating employees and ourselves in ergonomic techniques is the first step to preventing such work related injuries and avoiding problems.

Amy Lieberfarb has been in the office furniture and interior sales industry for 11 years and currently runs two online websites dedicated to Office Chairs and Furniture. Providing information on how to pick the right ergonomic chair and featuring hundreds of different chairs, the site is very informative.

http://stores.ebay.com/liebswholesale

Specializing in Office Furniture and Ergonomic Chairs.

http://www.liebswholesale.com

She is an expert in most things office chairs and is an eBay Powerseller with years of experience and great positive feedback from all of her loyal customer base.

One of the easiest ways to leave a lasting, warm impression on first-time visitors to your home and to make those visitors feel welcome is to place an entryway bench just inside your main entryway. Not only do entryway benches create a warm and inviting atmosphere, they are also very beautiful and are practical pieces of furniture as well.

By incorporating the use of entryway benches into your entry hall you can offer visitors a comfortable place to sit while they are removing their winter layers of clothing or offer them a convenient storage space to keep their coats, hats and gloves. No more will you have to hunt throughout the rooms of your home or in spare closets for coats and hats that have been carelessly strewn about when you have a gorgeous entryway bench in which to store them.

And there are so many styles and finishes associated with entryway benches that you are sure to find that perfect bench to coordinate with your existing décor, whether your style is eclectic, country or formal. You can choose from popular styles such as Western, Cottage and Antique, just to name a few.

Take for instance the French Country hall bench manufactured by Powell. This beautiful entryway bench is constructed in the French Country design and features a weathered “linen” finish and a warm French Maple finished bench top. The bench flips up to reveal a storage chest and the back panel is adorned with a mirror and hooks which is perfect for hanging your favorite hat or scarf.

If you prefer something a little simpler in design, perhaps the Cottage Hall Bench, also crafted by Powell, would be more to your taste. This simple hall bench features a shutter back panel and open slat side panels with a “Black Sand through Terra Cotta Weathered Finish.” An added bonus with this beautiful entryway bench is the hidden storage under the bench seats.

If you like antiques and a more classic look, you will love the Antique Entryway Bench - Hall Tree. Available in both antique and cherry finishes, this gorgeous bench is exquisitely designed using sturdy wood and wood veneers.

You can even choose from upholstered hall benches like the Nostalgic Oak Cedar Hall Bench. This bench features a fully upholstered seat in a floral design and a self-rising storage tray. You can also customize upholstered hall benches by covering them with your own needlepoint or family heirloom fabrics.

And adding an entryway bench to your hall is very affordable. With benches ranging in price from $150 to $600, you are sure to find the bench that will perfectly match your personality, decorating style and budget. Just keep in mind that you do not need a grand or overstated bench to make your entryway truly spectacular. Even a simply designed wrought iron entryway bench will bring that added design element and feeling of warmth to the space in which you welcome your guests and give them the first glance into your home.

Jennifer Akre is a successful business owner of numerous furniture websites such as http://www.SimplyBenches.com. Her websites offer product and information about entryway bench, various garden bench designs and other furniture and decor for your home and patio.