The LuxMob Info Tags

As a photographer there is no greater joy than being recognized for what you love doing. A large part of that recognition will come through the self promotional tactics you employ. One way to ensure you get recognition for what you do is to create a photography portfolio which is second to none.

Step 1) Choosing your theme
You may already have the pictures to create a themed portfolio or you may be planning on capturing them over the next little while. Either way, your portfolio, like a well written book, should have some unifying theme. This theme can be conceptual or it can be technical. For example, your theme could be about courage, love, urban life, rural life, garbage. Alternatively you can create a theme based on photographic technicalities. For example you could create a portfolio showcasing all of your best wide angle work, or one which displays your best black and white work. The themes for creating a portfolio are only limited by your own imagination. So take your time and create a themed portfolio which means something to you.

Step 2) Choosing the photos
Choosing the right photographs to put in your portfolio will be a time consuming process. By the nature of the portfolio itself, only your best pieces should be placed within the portfolio. If you don’t’ have too many top picks spend some more time photographing until you get the desired results. Your portfolio is something you should be proud of, not something thrown together out of impatience and haste.

Your portfolio should be manageable for the viewer to get through. Too often photographers fill pages and pages with photographs that the viewer will skim through to get to the end. Most audiences have short attention spans. Don’t take it personally, it’s simply how we’ve been conditioned to see the world. If you’re photography portfolio is shorter, your audience will be more likely to slow down and spend more time looking at each photograph.

For those of you who have been to art galleries showcasing a particular artist work, you’ll remember, that their showcase was relatively easy to get through. This is because they don’t’ want to clutter the walls and they want to keep your attention the whole time. You must do the same as a photographer. Just because they make photo albums that can hold 500 pictures doesn’t mean you should try to fill it up. Narrow your portfolio down to 20-50 photographs. There is no hard set number you need to follow but this seems to be the range that most audiences would prefer.

Step 3) Showing your work
Now that you’ve put together your portfolio, it’s time to show it off. Keep it in a public space in your house, show your friends and family, but a digital copy online and show it around to galleries and exhibits if you’re looking to sell some of the photographs in your set.

Completing your portfolio is a great feeling. It’s a great internal battle choosing the perfect pictures for your portfolio because it represents you and what you stand for as a photographer. Take your time putting it together, but make sure your complete your project. Too many photographers shoot all day long and fail to present their work properly. Don’t let your photographs sit around in boxes in the closest. Take the best ones out and show them off!

John S
Stare Online Photography School
http://www.starephotography.com

Have you ever sat down on a big rock by a flowing stream, hung
your head and cried like a baby? Me neither but hey the days not
over yet! Sometimes in life we get hit hard and fast. Maybe by a
friend, a lover, spouse, neighbor or just a complete stranger.
When that event does take place, it hurts, hurts so bad we see
red. Our chests feel like a heavy weight has been dropped on it,
the tears just want to burst from our eyes. We want to kick and
scream or just curl up and die! Then of course we have to deal
with the depressive states, the anger states. Did we deal with
them or are they still there, buried in whatever way we’ve
always dealt with our hurts and pains. Did we forgive and move
on or is that little something still there waiting to spring to
life again to continue dissolving the happiness we all deserve.
Oh, you are happy! Then why does a certain something, a smell, a
name, a color, whatever, bring back that tight feeling. That
tear to the corner of your eye or that angry look in your jaw?
We all have been hurt and we’ve all hurt others. But that’s
life, it will continue that way right to the day we lay down for
the big one. We’re not responsible for other people’s feelings,
only our own. Unless of course we’ve hurt someone else but
that’s another article. Right now we have to deal with the thing
that’s eating our life away. The best way i’ve found to deal
with forgiving and truly forgiving so that it’s not a continual
sore in my heart is understanding. This isn’t always easy, but
if you can learn to understand why it happened, how it happened,
why that person might of done what they did. Then that sore can
heal, the forgiving is easier. Our physical and emotional states
will be stronger and healthier! We can still protect ourselves
by not sticking our necks back into the noose for future hurts,
but to be healthy you must forgive. And it’s not easy, sometimes
we don’t even want to forgive. But who’s continueing the pain
now? Please try to understand that person or what might have
being going on in their life at the time they hurt you. You
deserve the best life you can make for yourself. You are a
unique individual, don’t waste your limited moments in pain or
despair. Let it go! I use some Biblical quotes to keep me
guided. You don’t have to be religious to use the positiveness
of the word, so don’t overlook the power of the Bible for posive
thinking! Try Matt.6:33 , Psalm 55:22 , Philippians 4:6-7 , 2
Timothy 1:7

My friend Ann takes her bike wherever she goes, even if
the trip isn’t about biking - like her Christmas trip to
Arizona to visit her parents. We discussed the advantages
and compared some expenses.

In the end, I went to do a little research to find out what
would be the best way to go when traveling by airplane -
ship your bike in the cargo hold of the plane, ship it
ahead of time by UPS, or rent a bike when you arrive at
your destination.

Renting was the clear loser among the three options. For
one thing, it’s not your bike, so it is likely to be
inferior along with not fitting you perfectly like your own
bike does. Also, it’s expensive. You can rent a clunker
for $45 USD a day if you’re in an area where bike rental is
even possible.

If you want a decent bike, though, you’re going to pay at
least $65. So, if you rent and ride once or twice while
you’re there, you’ll have almost broken even with the cost
of shipping your bike. If you ride more than a couple
times, you’re money ahead, once you’ve invested in some kind of
shipping carton.

Shipping your bike in the airplane’s cargo hold is a good
option, and might be the best choice depending on the
circumstances. The advantages of carrying it with you on
the plane include the fact that you will have it with you
at all times. You won’t be without your bike for the 2 to
6 days it takes when shipping by UPS. Also, you can use a
soft bag, which is not recommended for shipping by a
delivery service.

Depending on what kind of packaging you use for the
shipment, disassembly of your bike is minimal. You can get
by with as little as taking off the handlebar and pedals.
The cost is around $40 each way.

The option I like best is shipping via delivery service.
Depending on the from-to locations, the cost is usually
less than carrying the bike on the plane. For example, you
can ship a bike from Miami to Chicago for around $30. The
biggest benefit here is the minimized hassle factor. There
is no waiting in long lines in the airport baggage claim
area, no packing it into the rental car. The bike is
delivered to your door.

You have a tracking number, so you can keep informed about
the when and where of your bike’s current position while
it’s en route. A good shipping carton is necessary, of
course, but for people who travel often it’s worth the
investment.

Here is the run down of options for shipping cartons. You
can get a hard-sided bike suitcase for around $350 USD, and
it will last forever. For these, you have to take off both
of the wheels as well as handlebars, seat, and pedals to
fit the bike into the case.

For around $200, you can get a waterproof bike box that is
very durable and has the advantage of being collapsible
when not in use. I don’t recommend the plain cardboard
rectangular boxes because they are expensive, around $150,
and only last for a handful of trips. Both the waterproof
and cardboard rectangular box come with tie-downs, straps,
and foam chocks. You do have to do some disassembly of the
bike, removing the pedals and handlebar.

There’s one more shipping set-up that is a little less
expensive. For about $80, you can get a triangular
cardboard shipping carton. You don’t have to do any
disassembly, not even the bars because of the triangular
shape. Just use the quick release for the front wheel and
seat, and hold them in place with the tie downs that are
provided.

For details about carrying cases and shipping, go on-line
and enter the term ‘bike shipping’ in any search engine.
You’ll be pleased to find that traveling with your own bike
is affordable and fairly hassle-free. If you haven’t taken
your bike with you on trips already, I assure you that it’s
worth it.

Daniel Lebarge, journalist and cyclist, is a contributing
writer for First Bicycle
, offering valuable free information about cycling and
bicycles. Articles by Daniel are also found at All Boots and Snowboard Max.

When you come up with your Body Building Workout Routine, you
generally stick with that routine for quite some time. You’ll
find that, at first, your body building workout routine is great
and you seem to be getting a lot out of it. Therefore progress
is being made.

When it comes to bodybuilding - No. I got that wrong, when it
comes to any form of fitness the progress slows down. As you
increase your muscle size, fitness level or body tone, you seem
to get to a stage where progress is minimal. And sometimes at a
standstill.

You may think to yourself…

“This is a useless body building workout routine. I feel
downhearted. Maybe it’s time to pack it in”

All I can say to you is… DON’T.

The problem is that initial gains from a starting a workout
routine are tremendous. But you can only go so far. You can’t
keep progressing at super giant leaps, as you did at the start.
So whether you’re body building, increasing fitness aerobically
or seeking out overall body tone… don’t despair. Keep at it.

Having said all that, there is a solution. Yep, there sure is.
And it’s pretty simple too.

You see, the body gets used to doing things. It adapts to
change. So when you initially began your body building workout
routine, you made significant progress for two reasons:

1. You may not have been fit in the first place. Therefore at
this point, your body building workout routine would have had a
major impact at first.

2. Your body adapts to your routine. It becomes used to the
exercises that you perform. Therefore making them less effective.

The Solution - Change your body building workout routine.

That’s the solution. Pretty simple, huh.

See, when a new exercise is introduced to you workout routine,
your body building progress increases. Why?

Because the body hasn’t learned to adapt to your new exercise
yet, Therefore making that new part of your workout more
effective. This results in an increase in strength and size, or
fitness and overall body tone, depending on your goals in the
first place.

That’s all there is to it. Change the exercise.

But wait –

Don’t change the whole workout routine if it’s not necessary.
The reason is that out of the whole regime, there may still be
some exercises that you feel produce the results you require. If
this is the case, don’t change that exercise if it’s working.
The only change, in that case, is to increase the challenge of
that exercise. Maybe increase the weight being used.

Only change an exercise if you reckon that you’re not making any
progress on. Work a new exercise into your body building workout
routine. Check the results and keep it there if it continues to
work.

Eventually all your exercises will change, and not just once.
This will be a continuous process. Months later, the exercise
that didn’t work back then, may work now.

Essentially, keep the initial exercises for about five to eight
weeks. At that stage if your progress is good, keep on doing
that routine. After a while, if you haven’t already, your
progress will reduce.

At that stage, change the appropriate exercises where you feel
that progress is diminishing. Keep a constant eye on your body
building workout routine. And keep adapting and changing,
adapting and changing, regularly.

Any real Beatle fan knows that Stu Sutcliffe was the original bass player,who died of a brain embolism before the Beatles became famous. But what if it hadn’t been Stu with the deadly weakness, but rather…?

There is very little time left now. The meeting will take place in a matter of hours: an event so significant for future generations that nothing can be allowed to change it in any way. I have found the boy: a cheerful soul with wide eyes that question the world with amusement. He does not yet know the path that is set for him, or the tiny thing inside his brain that brings me here through the oceans of time. We agreed that it is a task that must be done for the peace of souls everywhere.

From my place of concealment across the square I wait for him to appear on this cloudy day. In the skies I see a vortex that promises more storms but the people around me, simple people with low reception levels they do not understand, pass by in their life patterns. Once the boy is in sight, my timing will allow me to meet him at the shop window where he pauses without exception every day to stand and admire. I am programed with every trace of memory from the projection undertaken by the finest minds in our universe. There are no randoms not accounted for: no variations not calculated to the infinite degree.

I see him now. The boy comes around the corner whistling a tune of his own making, with eyebrows high in delight as the activity in the square greets his vision. For a moment he slows as he passes the shop they call the baker, but then resumes his journey across the square directly towards me where I stand close to the shop that intrigues him so. Every step he takes is more important than he can ever know, but his cheerful smile shows none of this as he reaches the window of the store that sells instruments of music and stops with hands in pockets to stare in familiar routine.

If he were to look at me, he would see only another boy his own age, but his attention is unwavering and complete on one of the items in the window. He leans forward until nose touches glass. Hofner…he says out loud to nobody. Loovely, he says and his focus is so complete that I take three swift steps towards him, swirl the cloak of transformation over him and the deed is done.

I turn away from the shop window and resume my journey. In my mind are random thoughts of how to get enough money for the music instrument, with bursts of spontaneous melodies in the background. A part of my mind sees images of playing a guitar sitting on a bed in a small but friendly room. I walk on.

It is 30 minutes later and I have come to an open field which a small festival has filled with music, banners and the chatter and laughter of two hundred people. I have only just reached the first stall when someone calls my name and I turn to see my friend Ivan smiling at me while the activity of the fair flows around him.

Come over here, he says, I’ve got someone you should meet. I follow him deeper into the fairground to stop in front of a small and rickety stage barely three feet off the ground.

Sitting at the corner with legs dangling over the edge is a skinny youth in a black shirt and jeans with hair combed back in extravagant sculpture and a cigarette dangling from the corner of his thin-lipped mouth. His left hand is adjusting the tone of the strings of the guitar he cradles on his legs while his eyes measure me with care.

Hey, Johnny…Ivan says with a measure of casual excitement to the skinny figure…got someone you should meet… he’s a guitar player too…

Johnny squints through the smoke of the cigarette at me.

Oh yeah?…he says.

Yeah…says Ivan and throws his arm around my shoulders.

Johnny…says Ivan…meet Paul McCartney…

Copyright – Bill Dollar 2005

Bill Dollar is a survivor of the record company wars. He currently lives on a small farm somewhere in the southern hemisphere, amongst cats,dogs and cobras.He writes songs he likes, because he’s not hearing anything worthwhile on the radio. Hear what Bill calls music: www.billdollarmusic.com

Romulus and Remus are the eponym of Rome as Alpha and Beta are the eponym of investing. Romulus and Remus are the mythical twins of Rome; Alpha and Beta are the non-fictional twins of asset management. Story tellers tell us that Romulus and Remus were suckled by a wolf. Analysts tell us that investors get chased by a bull (a lot of “bull”) and a bear.

Twins possess sibling personality with individual distinctions. Such is the case for Alpha and Beta. Alpha says, “It’s all about me.” Alpha goes its own way with selfish interests. Alpha does not care much about the crowd it travels with. Alpha gets measured by unique qualities.

* Investment jargon defines Alpha as A measure of a stocks price fluctuation

* Price change/fluctuation reflects corporate earnings increases

* Earnings momentum: it’s all about money, corporate earnings

* Price momentum: a stock or group of stocks increase value above market or index averages

* A stock with an alpha of 1.10 may increase 10% annually above the broad market

Ever play “Where’s Waldo?” Finding Alpha is the same. Analysts love the search. Waldo hides in a maze of images. Stocks with alpha potential hide within a stock index. Essentially, a money manager must identify alpha, buy the stock, and sell it before it loses its alpha momentum. None too easy!

Beta is the other twin. Much more sensitive than Alpha. A stock with a high beta becomes downright indignant and emotional. A beta of 1.5 means the stock price will fluctuate 50% more than a market index. A stock with a low beta possesses a reserved nature. It just follows the crowd.

* Investment jargon defines Beta as Beta measures a stocks up or down movement against a family or index of stocks

* Low beta suggests low risk, and high beta says, “I’m emotional or volatile.”

* Beta likes company; it finds relevance in a group of stocks rather than by itself.

* Portfolios with high beta have more risk

Seems to me that Alpha is the first born of this pair. Alpha exhibits self-confidence and self-assurance. Alpha likes bucking the trend; Beta seems to either get upset or bored. Despite such eccentricities the Romulus and Remus investment twins do what they are made to do: they measure stock and portfolio risk and return.

“Never spend your money before you have it.” - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd president of US (1743 - 1826)

Ray Randall serves clients as a registered investment advisor with his firm, Ethos Advisory Services, Essex, Massachusetts Ethos Advisory Services. He has wide experience within the financial services industry, writes a weekly newsletter for Ethos Advisory Services http://www.ethosadvisory.com and coordinates the developments at Echievements.com. Ray holds a Masters Degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Hamilton, MA. You may call Ray (617-275-5565).

I did realize I was one of them, I just did not know how many of us it was. Now you are probably wondering what in the world I am talking about.

Bad circulation! A condition affecting around 10 million people here in the United States alone.

Poor circulation has been a part of everyday life for me, for many years now, and I never gave it a second thought. Little did I know how serious this problem could be? Being a little over weight I always worried about serious illnesses like diabetes and heart attacks.

Never in my wildest imagination would I have believed that a little tingling in my arms and legs could prove more dangerous than those. You probably did not think so either, did you?

Come to find out, bad circulation can be a very sneaky and silent killer. It literally sneaks around in your body and only gives you small hints (arms and legs falling asleep) now and then that something might be going on in your body which might not be so good.

Terrified is probably how you would feel if you knew what this condition can lead to unless you get it under control.

A lot of things can cause bad circulation such as obesity, smoking and to little exercise. This does not necessarily mean that you have to get involved in a lot of activities, just get back to what was once normal.

People in today’s society generally get way to little exercise. We hardly do any moving around. You probably drive everywhere you have to go, while years ago people would walk or ride their bikes. How often do you see your neighbors going for a walk or you for that matter?

If you are one of those suffering from bad circulation you need to worry because the end results of having poor circulation might be you loosing a limb due to gangrene which is caused by bad circulation.

Even worst is the clogging of the arteries that can lead to heart attack or stroke.
Come to find out, these things can be so easily prevented just by recognizing the symptoms and taking action.

Yes, you can prevent this from happening to you!

It was a stroke of luck how I found out. Luck or maybe it was meant to be that I typed the wrong thing in my computer and ended up on a wrong web site.

Mind you, this subject was not even close to being on my mind when I stumbled across this site. It sure has been since and I feel that with all the people suffering from this condition, they obviously need to be made aware of what they are dealing with.

Knowing might just mean the difference between life and death.

If you are, or even have a suspicion that you might have problems with bad circulation you really should check out this web site: www.beatbadcirculation.com.

Your life is worth that much at least, is it not?

Hege Crowton is an up and coming writer who’s articles has been picked up by many web sites.
She also does lots of article/content writing for http://www.CrowSites.com

The biggest mistake women make when buying shoes is not trying
the pair in question on both feet. You wear shoes on both of
your feet, so you should try on shoes on both of your feet. Most
individuals do not have matching feet and usually one foot is a
noticeable amount larger–or even longer–than the other. Next
time you visit your local shoe shop, be sure you try on both
shoes and take a walk or two to see if you should purchase the
shoes. Everyone has at least one pair of shoes in the back of
the closet that were bought on the spur of the moment decision
that either do not fit or hurt too badly to wear anymore.

The major mistake that many fashionistas make when it comes to
buying shoes is not devoting enough time to shoe shopping.
Although there never seems to be enough time when you are shoe
shopping, be sure to have enough time to properly try on both
shoes and think over your process carefully. Also, if you have a
shoe salesman or woman who seems more interested in making the
sale than making sure you are pleased with the pair in question,
you may want to request another salesperson to help you in the
future. Also, be sure to know the store’s return policy before
buying any pair of shoes. In case you need to return the shoes
in the future–assuming they are in an unworn state–you will
want to be able to get your money back or at least receive a
store credit for the full purchase amount.

Many women tend to have their proprieties in an incorrect order
when it comes to shoe shopping. Instead of worrying about the
fit and feel of the shoes, most women tend to focus on the look
of the shoe. No matter how hot those heels may look, if you are
unable to successfully walk in them, consider choosing another
pair of shoes. Never exchange looks for pain, since you can
potentially cause great harm to your feet by wearing shoes that
do not properly fit your feet. Furthermore, wearing shoes that
you are unable to successfully walk in may prompt you to fall,
thus injuring your body as well as your feet. Also, look at the
shoes on your feet before you decide to purchase the pair in
question, since many shoes look lovely in the box, are do not
look appropriate for your size and shape of foot.

Newsletters just keep getting more and more recognition as a
means for building profits in all types of businesses.

You can send your newsletter out to your customers once every so
often (daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, quarterly, etc). The
beauty is - it’s your newsletter so you get to decide.

Newsletters are nice because you can share relevant information
related to whatever you are selling with your customers. They
work exceptionally well when the subject matter of interest
keeps changing and people have a need or desire to stay current.

Newsletters can subtly prompt your clients to buy from you
again, or to generate referrals for your products or services.
If you fill it with informative articles, it will not be viewed
as advertising - instead, your clients will see it as a service.

Alternately, newsletters can be a great source of income all on
their own. You can set up a recurring payment plan and bill your
customers monthly in exchange for your valuable information.

If you are trying to walk someone through a challenging subject,
a newsletter may be useful. You might not be able to pack all
that information into one big lump as easily. Most customers
will appreciate that you want to help them achieve their goal
over the long term, instead of providing them with just a box of
stuff they must sort through on their own.

To generate another income stream, you can even put paid
advertisements in your newsletter. The best part is, since you
own the newsletter, any of your related products or services
would get prime advertising space. And you can charge other
vendors to place their advertisements in your newsletter.

As a rule of thumb, if you are charging customers for the
newsletter, you don’t want to fill it too full of
advertisements. I personally do not like purchasing magazines or
newsletters that are all ads. So, if you do put paid advertising
in your paid newsletter, make sure it is spaced out; otherwise,
your customers will likely get upset and cancel their
subscription.

Also, make sure that all the ads are relevant. You, your
advertisers, and your subscribers will gain the most benefit
when the ads pertain to products or services your subscribers
are interested in. This will keep your newsletter viewed as a
valuable source of information.

Welcome back from the update …..