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The Ultimate Shopping Guide

Sandra Prior asked:

Net shopping has really taken off in the last couple of years and there’s a vast amount of goods and services available in the digital megamall. Even so, more skeptical Net users are wary and need convincing of the advantages of shopping online.

After all, most people have a perfectly good mall just a short drive away and you can get most of the things you need there. As for saving money, there are always the seasonal sales. But the fact is, these are the exact reasons for shopping on the Internet. It’s convenient, the choice is amazing, and you can save loads of money.

As with anything though, you have to be aware of the potential pitfalls. The Net offers access to a whole new world of shopping and opens up the free market to individuals as never before. On the other hand, this is unfamiliar territory for most people. You are outside your normal field of reference and you need all sorts of new information, such as how your rights are affected when you buy from abroad, how to separate a good shop from a con job and what security measures protect you from fraud.

Getting Started

The Net brings the mall to your home, but it’s a mall unlike any other you’ve seen – one open to the whole world and with almost no limitations. Sure, you can shop for all the things you would buy on a normal Saturday afternoon trudge around town. If it’s familiar names you’re looking for, you’ll find them online as increasing numbers of players start waking up to the fact that Net shopping is here to stay, and have started offering an online service to their customers.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as Net shopping is concerned. The real benefits come when you get a bit more adventurous and start to explore. You can save money by buying from Internet-only retailers that don’t have the expensive overheads of shopfront premises and pass the savings on to their customers; buy from stores overseas and benefit from their lower prices; and find unusual or hard-to-come-by items at the click of a button. Shopping will never be the same again.

With such a wealth of choice available, you will never need help to get started. For most purposes, a good jumping-off point is one of the many shopping directories that have sprung up all over the Net recently. These provide links to selected shops and save you a lot of browsing if you’re looking for anything vaguely mainstream.

Some of these sites are extremely useful and will help you enormously when you start shopping online. Others are frankly rubbish, so be selective. Look for a site that’s clearly set out with well-defined shopping categories, a profile of each shop with details of any disadvantages to shopping there, and ideally some sort of scoring system so you know where to go.

Shop with Confidence

The biggest concern most people have when they start shopping on the Net is whether it’s secure. Many people are reluctant to send their credit card details off into the ether for fear of them being intercepted and used fraudulently by others to run up enormous bills. This is an understandable worry, but it’s largely unfounded. Shopping on the Net is as safe as, if not safer than, mail order or telephone shopping, or even paying by credit card in a restaurant. Basically, whenever you give someone your credit card details or let the card out of your sight, you are at risk of fraud. The good news with Net shopping, however, is that there are lots of ways to protect yourself and minimize the risks.

Here comes the science bit; you’re protected in many cases by the kindly technology elves. On shopping sites you will often see assurances that information is transmitted using SSL (Secure Socket layer), a technology used to encrypt all information being sent to and received from a specific Web page or pages. Most mainstream shopping sites use this secure connection when you send your payment details over the Internet. Any information transmitted in this secure way is encrypted for the duration of the transfer. In the unlikely event that it is intercepted en route, it will be absolutely no use to anyone. The retailer decodes the message once it has arrived in order to take payment, but nobody else has access to your details along the way.

Getting Your Child Into Sports

Shannon asked:

It is almost a universal fact nowadays that a lot of parents and their kids are having \”communication problems\”, meaning that they don\’t or intentionally won\’t meet eye to eye on some subjects. That\’s pretty normal but it doesn\’t mean that the situation can\’t be improved.

What are the things parents and kids commonly disagree on? For younger kids, it is usually the lack of discipline. Children aged 5 and up are usually found tied to the TV, the computer or their gaming consoles. Rooms are left messy, they refuse to eat their meals and refuse to sleep early. Good news though, all of these can easily be solved!

How about teens? Now there\’s a truly PROBLEMATIC stage! Not only is there a lack of discipline but seemingly a lack of purpose as well. During the teenage years, the body and the mind is in turmoil, all sorts of adjustment and growth is happening and there is a tremendous amount of energy available. Think of a fireman\’s hose spitting out torrents but with no one to hold it down.

Raising a kid is pretty much like tending a bonsai tree. A lot of things are obviously parallel. First, it takes time, a WHOLE LOT of time. It will surely take years, decades even. Secondly, It is hard, tedious work. Like the branches of a plant, you will have to train it consistently, applying the wires of tough love every step of the way. Neglect it for just a while and it may grow in an unwanted fashion. Force it back after it has grown and the branch will just break. Finally, to achieve the desired result, you will have to start as early as possible.

Now bending your child into shape sounds like military school! Not necessarily. There is a way to instill discipline and purpose into your child, a way that is not only fun and rewarding but will also bring you closer together as well.

Get him into sports!

Now how does this work?

Sports is undoubtedly fun, I would like to think that it was created mainly for the fun factor. One of it\’s main, if not primary objectives would also be to exercise the body and mind. The objective in most popular sports would be to win, which gives it it\’s \”thrill\”. To win of course, you will have to better than your opponent. This will involve practicing and honing skills which are previously unnatural, which in turn will require patience, perseverance and dedication.

Does this sound like what the doctor ordered? Sports has proven to be beneficial to most people and I would recommend that it be something that you and your kid partake of together. However if you do not have the time, it is quite alright that your child go at it by himself. Just make sure that you will always be there to support him otherwise he might lose interest in the endeavor.

There\’s a lot to be gained by participating in sports. Improvement in health and overall physical well-being is always a given. As mentioned earlier, the participant will learn discipline, perseverance etc. Aside from achieving a sense of purpose and accomplishment, there are also surprisingly good bonuses. Lots of scholastic and career opportunities await those who are physically gifted and talented (perhaps to a lesser extent, those who are ardently persistent). Lots of universities offer \”sports scholarships\” to those who are exceptional in their chosen sport, obviously so because sports like football, basketball, soccer (futbol) is big business both for the school and the athlete. We need not mention how much Shaq made playing in college alone, aside from all the endorsements and whatnot.

Now certainly not all kids can be like Mike but I know you do get the picture of the potential harvest in sports. Disadvantages are clearly outweighed, but we\’ll talk about that later.

Now what are some sports that you may want to get your child into? Here are some popular suggestions as well as some \”pros\” and \”cons\” that you will have to take into consideration.

SWIMMING

Pros: Swimming can very well be considered the \”ultimate workout\”. The 4 strokes or styles of swimming, namely Freestyle, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Butterfly utilizes all the parts of the body simultaneously. Water gives ample resistance to provide a low impact workout, meaning that it does not strain the joints or the muscles too much while providing great cardio training. Swimming is also an invaluable skill to learn, the difference between knowing and not knowing how can very well save one\’s life. Pretty cheap sport, all one will need would be a pair of good goggles, a bathing suit or trunks and a flotation device (if required by the instructor) and access to a pool, Olympic size preferably. Highly recommended to kids with asthma or bronchial conditions.

Cons: Fun factor medium at best, since there is no \”game\” element to the sport. There is a risk of contracting some ear and skin infections (swimmer\’s ear) when swimming in a public pool. There is also risk of drowning, although very very minimal.

Sports of similar vein: Cycling, Running (sprint, marathon), Rock climbing.

BASKETBALL

Pros: Very popular sport, has a high fun factor. It is a team sport which can help your child make friends and learn how to be a team player. Has a cerebral factor to it and will train the player to strategize under pressure. Lots of sports scholarship and career opportunities for those who wish to pursue it professionally.

Cons: Height is a huge determining factor, although a lot of small players throughout history have found their way and prospered in the NBA. There is medium risk of injury as it is a rough sport. The training and the sport itself focuses mainly on the development of the arms and calves, there is considerably high impact on the ankle and foot joints. It being a team sport is a double edged sword. If he happens to be physically inferior, there is a possibility that he will lose interest in the sport as he may not be able to get picked into games.

Alternatives you may wish to explore: Baseball, Pro football, Futbol (soccer), Ice Hockey.

LAWN TENNIS

Pros: Pretty enjoyable sport, usually learned first individually. Pro tennis is enjoying a resurfacing popularity worldwide and is one of the most lucrative sports today, it is another sport which can be a great professional career option. Can be played indoor or outdoor. Provides very good training for stamina.

Cons: An expensive sport. A decent, entry level tennis racquet costs around $60 up, owning a backup racquet is advisable. Balls around $10 which have to be replaced almost every other 3 games. Bags, playing uniform shoes are a must. Probably the one you will have to shell out the most for would be the tennis court, which is usually situated in a country club. Instructor fees, court rental fees, accessories (strings, grips etc) might make you reconsider. However if you are the type who has a membership to a country club, most probably money would not be a problem.

Like flying solo? Check out: Badminton, Table Tennis, Squash.

MARTIAL ARTS

Pros: There are a lot of martial arts to learn but for children to teens, I would like to suggest 3 types as of now: Judo, Aikido and TaeKwonDo . By far the cheapest sport among those I have already mentioned, as it only requires a \”gi\” or whatever uniform is prescribed, aside from the lessons. I would definitely recommend this for girls and women as it is a good way to learn how to defend oneself against **** or any kind of violence. This is possibly the only sport which requires its students to adhere to a certain \”code of conduct\” if you will, as the almost any martial art is inextricably tied to a philosophy. I would go as far as to say that the martial arts is not merely a sport or a way of self defense, rather it is a complete mentality and way of life. By far this is the best way to instill discipline, especially to kids who are somewhat incorrigible. Great way to build flexibility and conditioning.

Cons: Fun factor quite low. Judo and Aikido come from Japan and TaeKwondo is from Korea. Lessons are held in a \”dojo\” where the mood is pretty somber or reserved all throughout the sessions, which is very characteristic of temperaments from the country of origin. Teachers or \”sensei\” are very strict. High risk of injuries if the students are required to spar. Frustrating to learn at first, especially Aikido.

If you\’re pretty somber yourself, try: Archery, Equestrianism, Ballet.

Promotional Ink Pens, Gel Pens and Fast Promotional Pens for your Business

Chris Shetler asked:

Did you know that you can gift classy ink pens and jazzy gel pens with your name on it?

Yes! Now you can promote your organization with promotional ink pens and gel pens. With Promotional Logo Pens, this highly effective marketing tool is no longer expensive and fits comfortably in your budget.

We have different kinds and styles of promotional ink pens. These ink pens are customized per your requirements. You can get fast promotional pens that will help you cut deep into your esteemed clients’ mindset.

Every time your clients use the customized promotional ink pens, the imprinted logo and name of your company would remind your clients of your presence. They would easily recall your name whenever they would require services that you provide.

The different kinds of promotional pens that we offer cater to the needs and preferences of different kinds of people. You can get them styled according to the likes of your clients.

For instance, if you are gifting promotional ink pens to higher authorities, like CEOs and senior executives, then we can provide some really classy looking pens that exude elegance from all sides. Both the pen and the hand that uses the pen would complement each other.

The colors and the shape of the promotional ink pens are such that they go well with your clients’ personality. For example, a dignified pen with translucent body or metallic body and a rich gold nib would make a desired impression. You would want to create by gifting and your client would like to create by writing.

We have pens for all sorts of occasions. We understand that different occasions require different pens. For example, in a business environment, your client would rather use a pen with lavish looks. Whereas, others might prefer a fun pen like a groovy gel pen.

We also have highly voguish celebrity promotional pens and curving ballpoint pens that would make your clients feel no less than a celebrity. Gift your clients with some promotional pens and look forward to increasing customer retention.

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