Gangster Movies - America's Love Affair With The Bad Guy

No matter how much we like to see the good guy triumph in the end and those who have committed crimes be punished for them, we can never quite shake off that sneaking enjoyment that comes from bad guys doing what they do and being good at it! Gangster movies have been a part of American cinema from the beginning and by taking a quick look at the genre, we definitely can see why.

The two movies that are considered the grandfathers of this film genre are Little Caeser, starring Edward G. Robinson and Public Enemy, starring James Cagney. In both of these films, the gangsters get their comeuppance, but often, that's not what the audience remembers. In Little Caeser, you remember the scenes of Robinson's character Rico living it up in the lap of luxury and in Public Enemy, you fondly remember Tom Powers, played by Cagney doing a delighted little two step on a public street when a girl smiles at him.

Gangsters in Hollywood come in a variety of different flavors and Al Pacino has played two extremely different archetypes. In the Godfather movies, he is the elegant and doomed Michael Corleone, the war hero who got dragged reluctantly into the family business, while in Scarface, he plays the crazed killer Tony Montana, a Cuban who rose from immigrant to drug kingpin. Both of these characters were (in very different ways) extremely charismatic and its easy to see how we're drawn to them.

There are also quite a few movies that pay homage to the classic gangster movies, or satirize them, depending on your point of view. The prime time show, The Sopranos, features a modern day organized crime association where the members are quietly and sometimes not so quietly obsessed with Goodfellas and The Godfather and will quote them at any opportunity. Brick, a movie about love and death in high school, was heavily influenced by the classic Miller's Crossing in terms of tone and language.

The story of the gangster can be seen as the American Dream that is played in fast-forward. It usually starts with a young boy looking for a way out of poverty and with some luck and some help, he makes it to the top. Maybe that's the appeal of the gangster genre, and maybe that's why we're so willing to forgive the things they do to get there.

Don't look for a morality lesson when you watch gangster movies. You'll end up rooting for the wrong guy and when he inevitably gets what's coming to him, you'll be annoyed and disappointed. Gangsters top the charts in charisma, but their life expectancy and chances for lasting happiness are practically nil.

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Gadget - What Is The Meaning Of This Word?

GADGET, this word refers to any electronic device that has a very specific function as voice recording, music playing, surveillance, video playing, photos displaying, etc. The good thing here is you can access these electronic gadgets anywhere and anytime.

I'll talk about some of these electronic gadgets, what's their jobs and how you can enjoy with them.

Audio Gadgets, gadgets that help you to listen to your favorite music anywhere, it's a very small, lightweight and smart device that can play any type of music in all formats as mp3, wav, wma, etc. Audio gadgets may be just a mp3 player with different memory spaces, it may be 256mb, 512mb, 1gb, 2gb, it even may be 20gb according to your needs.MP3 player gadget may be built-in another thing as sunglasses with built-in mp3 player, it's very good for the people who have an active lifestyle. It also may be with watches, pens and digital cameras.

Ipod, it's the perfect electronic gadget has been known until now, it do very well with music and recording functions, it also has other functions as FM radio, E-book functions, voice recording, it has great models according to the space of flash memory. It can play all types of music and in some models it can play videos and display pictures, GREAT GADGET, isn't it.

Video Gadgets, another function of some gadgets to enjoy your time, by these gadgets you can watch your favorite videos and display/share your personal photos. MP4 player is one of those gadgets which allow you to watch your films, video clips, personal recordings and even play games. It should supports al video and photo files, it also should has a high resolution screen for good displaying.

Camera Gadgets, as wireless internet cameras, surveillance cameras, sunglasses cameras, etc. By some models of the wireless internet cameras you can access your camera from anywhere and at anytime by using the IP address, it's very good idea to have a something like that.

This was a very short description about some of those gadgets providing you some information on haw you can benefit from the electronic gadgets, there are very great gadgets available now, they are created to have a better life, just search to find.

By El Husseiny Shahin the owner of Electronic Gadget Gifts, you may also visit my MP3 gadget Gifts page to find more information on mp3 player gadgets.

Static Sparks and Your Comfort

One of the greatest mild discomforts that millions of people go through unknowingly is static sparks. Static sparks or static electricity is the one you generate when you rub plastic pen against your hair and then you bring the pen closer to pieces of paper - the pieces of paper are attracted to the pen. Static electricity can sometimes build to very high voltages in our bodies causing great damage including death. A case in point is in football pitch in Zaire where eleven players of soccer perished leaving intact the eleven players of the opposing team. Each one of us has a certain amount of static electricity but in mild amounts and the discomfort is equally mild. Since we are not aware of it or we do not know what the discomfort is, it does not matter. But it should matter. To the few people who are aware of static electricity in their bodies, the biggest complaints they have is that static electricity causes sparks or gives them mild shocks when they touch things or even other people. Most people experience this problem in the dry weather.

When the weather is dry, it means there is very little water vapour in the air. During winter or during periods that the temperatures are high, then chances are very high that there is very little moisture in the air. In science, moisture in the atmosphere is referred to as Relative Humidity. This Relative Humidity is the ratio of partial pressure of water vapour to the saturated vapour pressure of water at a given temperature. Relative Humidity is measured by an instrument called a Hygrometer.

Dry air is a non-conductor of static electricity - it does not readily let electrons pass through it. In contrast, moist air will slowly allow static electricity or electrons leave your body and fly to the ground. This therefore means that when the air is dry and you do not touch a material that is a conductor of static electricity, then the static electricity will continue to build up in your body to thousands of volts. When you are this much charged you do not feel it but the truth is, you are a great security risk to your own life and to the safety of the others. And to those who remotely check security to airports, fuel deports and other sensitive areas, it would in addition help to look for a decent way to discharge these unsuspecting victims.

But where do the charges come from? They come from the earth or the ground. The earth is neutral with infinite positive and negative charges canceling each other. In as long as you walk bare footed, all is well. But because we must put on shoes, the soles of our shoes become the determining factor. Certain synthetic rubber soles on shoes create a lot of static electricity. Like in a magnet that has North pole on one end and South pole on the other, the synthetic sole of your shoes determines the polarity in that for every step you make, it leaves prints of positive charges on the ground and negative charges goes to your body or the vice versa. The more you move, the more charged you become. If the air is moist, then your body will slowly discharge to the moist air and to the ground. If the air is dry, then the charges will remain in your body until you get your next victim. When it is dry, first and foremost check on the soles of your shoes.

Winter or no winter, you will hear of "electric" people. These are people you will curse shaking their hands. They are people whose skin is usually very dry and, or the surface area of skin hair is very high. The dry skin, skin hair combined with the clothing material and shoes these "electric" people put on causes the buildup of static charges. One thing they should do is try to use sufficient moisturizers and lotions to control the dryness. They can experiment with different types of moisturizers and lotions until this problem is solved. Naturally what people can not understand they result to mysteries, myths and legends to explain these unfortunate situations. And do not loss sight that they may be the ones handling their babies or your baby too. If you have young children who can not be able to explain themselves when you touch them, try using a humidifier to raise the humidity in your house, plus you have to decide if to do away with your carpet. Get yourself those decorative hygrometer and thermometer that you can hung somewhere on the wall. A relative humidity under 30 percent or a temperature above 27 degrees Celsius is sufficient to warrant precaution. If your pajamas and bed sheets are the type of materials that create static electricity when rubbed together, you will be bothered with shocks all night long on a dry weather night. Try using pajamas and sheets made of non-static materials. Cotton does not seem to develop as much static electricity as some artificial fibers. And since mothers like using plastic materials on those children that wet the bed, then care should be taken to cover the plastic material with sufficient cotton material to prevent plastic coming into contact with body.

Static sparks comes with a lot of pain especially when you touch a good conductor like metal. If you drive, perhaps it would help to find if your passengers go through static electricity discomforts. In as long as you are the one holding the keys and the steering wheel, you will never realize. Your passengers do not know what it is and neither do they want to risk to sound silly. They may be suffering quietly and will never tell you. When you are in the car, you are one surface and the car seat is the other. When you sit on a synthetic or plastic car seat in dry weather, the contact between your clothes and the seat causes polarity and electrical charges of the materials are transferred between the surfaces. One surface ends up with more negative charges than positive, and has a negative charge-imbalance. The other surface has more positive charges than negative, and has a positive charge-imbalance.

In as long as you remain seated nothing happens. As long as the surfaces remain near each other, the positives and negatives cancel out, but the fact is you are a great risk to yourself and to others. But when you open the car door and step outside, you take just one polarity of charge along with you, while the car seat retains the opposite polarity. As you step out of the car, you have ten of thousands of voltage with you. Your shoes soles are poor conductor and the charges can not escape fast enough into the earth. You have to close the car door and there you get a zap - the car door is metal and good conductor, the air in between and your fingers are both poor conductors, and because of resistance differential, there is a lot of heating giving you deep hot burn on your fingertips. The guy driving handily gets these as he slowly discharges through the steering wheel and ignition key. Similarly, when there is thunder, avoid holding metallic materials otherwise you and the metallic materials will become the shortest path to the ground, and because there is great resistance differential between your hand and the metal, you will get burnt.

Get yourself a Hygrometer for your car. Whenever the relative humidity goes below 30 percent, then you have a reason to start taking care both for yourself and your passengers. Replace your synthetic plastic car seat covers with cloth or leather. Avoid the specific clothing which makes the problem worse. Things like woolen sweaters, woolen under wares and plastic raincoats.

If for some reason you will purchase gasoline or petrol in a container - perhaps for your home electric generator or for whatever reason, always make sure to place the container on the ground when filling it, otherwise the petrol fumes and static electricity will ignite fire that will burn you and the filling station.

Free things are good and many of us like them but they can turn out to be very costly. In areas where gasoline is transported by trucks, trucks do overturn and the surrounding community will gather with containers to benefit from the free fuel. With the volatile gasoline, there are lots of fumes and with hundreds of people competing for the free gasoline, chance are very high one of them will ignite static spark and then an explosion. It is a pity hundreds of souls are lost this way. And because the communities may not understand where the fire came from, they comfort themselves that one of them must have been smoking a cigarette. The next time it happens, they say, "no smoking", but the explosion still happen.

Static electricity spark will damage electronics including cell phones and computers. Normally, when operating a cell phone or a computer, static electricity is not a problem. But if you find you are having problems with static electricity causing sparks when you touch things, it is logical to take precautions before touching even the computer keyboard. And if you are to venture into the inside of your computers, then you should have a special pad on the floor and use a grounded strap on your wrist that will discharge any excess charges from your body.

Your hair, and especially to the ladies, is a thing of the beauty. We spend a lot of our resources and time so that we can look neat and beautiful. On a dry day, after you attend your hair it can tend to fly up and separate. That is because the hair strands have the same electrical charge and like-charges will repel thus the hair flying up and separating. The solution to this problem is simply to use anti-static sprays that will eliminate this problem.

If static electricity is a serious problem to you, try using a key or a metal object and use it to touch other metal things first with it. This will cause the spark to fly from the key and not your finger. Another thing you should do is to ground yourself before touching something metal or another person. Touch poor conducting surfaces like walls or wood.

In view of the above I have considered only those small scale static electricity discomforts that may affect you. The dangers of large scale static electricity to man are very severe - the guys in the aviation industry places so much caution on this that a report of one thunder and they can no longer lift the aircraft.

The Author's website small scale static sparks and your comfort, as well as dangers of large scale static electricity to man is designed to advice the readers on dangers and discomfort associated with Static Sparks.

Scuba Diving The Coral Sea, Australia

The Coral Sea is one of the best scuba diving destinations in Australia if not the world. With top rating dive sites including the Cod Hole, Flinders Reef, Steves Bommie, Yongala Wreck, the Ribbon Reefs, The Outer Great Barrier Reef, Osprey Reef, Shark Reef, Holmes Reef etc, the Coral Sea is an absolute mecca for any scuba diving fan whether you are a recreational open water diver or an advanced or technical diver, you will find diving sites that you only dream about!

The Coral Sea is home to huge schools of pelagic fish and sharks in an undersea world of mountains, pinnacles and sheer walls laced with gorgonian fans and rising from thousands of feet below. From 1000m wall drop offs to reefs absolutely teeming with all sorts of marine fish, the Coral Sea is undoubtedly one of the greatest diving destinations in the world.

The Coral Sea lies off the coast of North Queensland in Australia. The best way to dive this area, you need to jump aboard one of the many liveaboard dive charters that operate in Queensland. There are many great charters including the Spirit of Freedom, Mike Ball, Tusa, and Pro Dive. Most charters will pick you up in the late afternoon & do an overnight cruise to the Coral Sea. It can be a smooth or a harrowingly choppy ride depending on the weather. Once out at the reefs within the Coral Sea, you will be protected from the swell amp so can expect to be comfortable both onboard the charter boat and in the water.

The best time to dive the Coral Sea is between May to August as these are the cooler months in Australia and offers beautiful clear days and great visibility, although there are some days of stronger winds. From September to December, the weather warms up and you can expect some days of over 35 degrees Celsius, which is great if you are in the water, but can be uncomfortable when suiting up onboard your boat. The nice part about this time is that many coral reef species breed at this time. January through April is considered our wetter season with amazing feeding and marine action following the breeding season, although depending on the rain, the visibility at some sites may be affected and the days are usually colder.

Trademarks - Important Things You Need to Know

At the outset, it becomes important to know what a trademark is. Take a scenario where you have designed a particular product. How do you let competitors and everyone else know that the product is your design and belongs to you? How do you prevent others from copying your idea and ensuring that they do not make their millions on your brainwave? A simple way is to use a trademark.

A trademark is a symbol or sign that an individual or an organization uses to identify products and services that it has developed as its own. Basically, it assigns ownership rights to you for specific products and services you have developed. A trademark is something that an individual or organization uses to identify specific products or services as their own. You may register your trademark with the US Patents and Trademarks Office (USPTO). If your trademark is registered, you are allowed to use the ® sign. Otherwise, you can use the TM or the SM sign.

Legal Issues Involving Trademarks

However, your right over the trademarked product is valid regardless of whether you register it or not. Owning a trademark gives you the right to start legal proceedings against anyone who uses your trademarked product or service without prior permission. A person who uses your trademarked product or service without prior permission is said to be infringing on the product. This is a recognized offense, and is called trademark infringement.

Enter the Trademark Attorney

So whom would you turn to for help if you want to initiate legal proceedings against someone who is using your trademarked product or service without prior permission from you? This is where the trademark attorney can make a big difference. A trademark attorney is basically a lawyer who deals with all legal aspects of trademarks. Trademark infringements happen to be one of the things they deal with. Just as criminal lawyers specialize in criminal law, trademark attorneys specialize in the field of trademarks.

In USA, lawyers do not have to undergo any specialized training to be trademark attorneys. This is not the case in Commonwealth countries like the UK, New Zealand, Australia, etc. In these countries you must clear certain exams and be duly qualified to practice trademark law.

Applying for a Trademark

How do you apply for a trademark? Does it involve a convoluted process? To apply for a trademark, you must first fill up an application form. The application form must contain the name of the individual or organization filing for the trademark. Besides, it should also contain a legitimate address to which the USPTO can forward any correspondence and a proper drawing of the mark. Other things the application must mandatorily have are the listing of the product or service you wish to trademark and also the filing fee.

You can get the application at the website of the USPTO. You can make use of the Trademark Electronic Application System (TEAS) to file your application with the USPTO. If you do not want to file the application online, you can get a printed form from the USPTO and mail it to the organization after filling it up.

While the USPTO encourages online filling of the application form and even sending it by mail, it does not encourage facsimiles of the application form.

Some Facts about Trademarks

Here are some more interesting yet relevant facts about trademarks. You do not necessarily have to be an American citizen to apply for a trademark with the USPTO. However, in case you are not an American citizen, in your application form you need to mention the country whose citizenship you hold. It may be that you hold dual citizenship. In such a scenario you must specify which country’s citizenship you wish to be displayed on the official gazette as well as the registration certificate.

Even if you have your trademark registered federally, the validity is only inside the USA. In case you have a trademark issued by the USPTO, you can get registration for the same with the trademark organization of any country that is part of the Madrid Protocol. You can do this by filling an application called the ‘international application’. You have to submit this application to USPTO, which will forward it to the International Bureau of the World Property Intellectual Organization.

Advertising Tips - Long Or Short Copy?

I get a lot of questions from people asking me if they should use long or short copy for their sales copy. Well, the answer is, it depends. There is no hard and fast rule for this. The article you're about to read is going to give you some guidelines to follow when writing your sales copy. Please keep in mind that these are not hard and fast rules, just guidelines. Hopefully, after you are done reading, you'll have an idea of how you want to approach this.

Let's talk about sales copy in general and then we can get to some specifics. This may sound like a smart answer, but in general you want your sales copy to be as long as it has to be in order to make the sale. A great copywriter once said, "Sales copy can't be too long, only too boring." This is so true. You can put your reader to sleep in two paragraphs if you don't write compelling copy. So focus more on the quality of your sales copy than how long or short it is.

Now, let's get to some specifics. In these cases, these rules do apply most of the time. If you're writing sales copy for an email ad that is going to direct the potential customer to a sales page, then you want that email ad copy to be as short as possible. It's up to the sales page to close the sale, not the email ad. The purpose of the email ad is simply to get the prospect emotionally pumped up to want to go to the sales page. A long ad is not necessary in order to accomplish this.

Now, let's get to the sales page itself. In this case, again, as I said, it's not the length of the copy but how interesting it is. However, many studies have been done on this and all of them show conclusively that longer sales copy, when written well, pulls better and converts better than shorter copy, especially if you are selling a high end product. Think about it. If you're looking to buy something and it's a couple of hundred dollars, you're going to want as much information about that product as you can get. A short sales page probably isn't going to give you all the info that you need. However, if you're buying a $7 report, most likely a short sales page is all that is needed.

So, when you go to create your sales copy, keep these guidelines in mind. Again, they are not hard and fast rules, but if you stay as close to these guidelines as possible, you'll find that your conversions will probably be a lot higher.

New Musicians! Don't Be Discouraged

Playing music is a skill. Like any skill, it develops through practice, repetition. The learning curve isn't very smooth. Sometimes your knowledge is on a steady increase, but sometimes it plateaus and you feel stuck. This is the learning process. Don't get discouraged when you hit one of those plateaus and you feel you can't get any better. Eventually your learning will get back on that upward path, but you have to stick with it.

Learning means creating more neurons and synopsis in your brain. You create them through repetition, the more you do something, the more neurons get created with that knowledge. The more neurons you create of that guitar riff or drum line, the greater the likelihood you will be able to play them again on demand, to the point you don't even have to try anymore, it just happens. Repetition is the key, sit there and do it.

There is no such thing as natural talent or ability. Eric Clapton wasn't born a great guitar player, he became great because he sat there and played and played and played until enough neurons were created in his brain to allow him to play the way he does. He enjoyed it enough to make the time to sit alone in his room and practice and build those neurons. If you enjoy playing enough, you will make the time to practice to cultivate those neurons.

Your goal needs to be playing the music. Don't play with the hopes of becoming rich and famous and getting noticed, because that is a major plateau that you don't really have control over.

Kudo's if you do make it big, but don't take the path of the musicians with that in mind, because it can lead to frustration and discouragement when you don't land the big record contract. And the chance of becoming big is very small for the average musician. If you can't make it into the limelight, that's fine, but make sure you can still enjoy being a musician even if it's sitting alone in your room with your instrument, or playing in some basement band.

The path of the musician ends when you die, there will always be plateaus and increases in learning along the way, but don't let circumstances of venue be the deciding factor in how good you get.

I have many labels, musician and martial artist are the ones I go by most predominantly.
My music recording site is http://www.advisingvideo.com/create-an-mp3

Leave It On Or Turn It Off?

One of the oldest unresolved controversies in the computer world is: Should you leave your computer on all the time, or turn it off when it is not in use?

Compelling arguments have been made on both sides. I’ll try to sum up the important points on either side, and I’ll even give you my recommendation, but ultimately, it’s up to you.

LEAVE IT ON:

Constantly warming up and cooling down is bad for electronic equipment, and the computer experiences some mechanical wear and tear every time you turn it on and off.

There’s also the issue of convenience. It’s much easier to plop down and go to work when you want to, rather than having to wait several minutes for the computer to turn on and boot up.

TURN IT OFF:

The hard drive may last longer. Since it is composed of moving parts, it stands to reason, the less they move, the longer it will last. This may not be much of an issue with newer computers. The hard drive will probably last longer than the useful life of the computer, regardless.

If the computer is on all the time, it will suck more dust through the ventilation vents. More dust = more heat = shorter life span for the computer, so it may be worthwhile to turn it off when not in use.

All computers can benefit from the occasional reboot, and turning them off allows this to happen. Over time, minor things go wrong and the computer doesn’t bother to inform you; it tries to patch itself up and moves on. The cumulative affect of all these little hiccups can be to reduce performance or even cause the computer to freeze or crash. Turning the computer off now and then gives it a chance to reset itself and start fresh.

Turning the computer off when idle uses less electricity. Depending on your computer, it may use as much electricity as one or more 100 watt light bulbs. That can add up to quite a few dollars over the lifetime of the computer. Also, less electricity expended means less carbon emissions, which is better for the environment, reduces global warming, etc. etc. etc.

ON THE SUBJECT OF ELECTRICITY: While we’re talking about electricity, there are settings on all computers that we can adjust to save power right now.

If you have a PC running XP, right-click on the desktop, and choose “properties” from the menu that pops up. This will open a little window titled “Display Properties” with several tabs underneath. Click on the “Screen Saver” tab. On the bottom of this tab is a section titled “Monitor power” with a button labeled “Power...” - click on this button to bring up a window titled “Power Options Properties.”

On a Mac running OSX, choose “System Preferences...” from the Apple menu, then click on “Energy Saver.”

Computers running different systems will have slightly different menus and settings, but the main idea will be the same. Explaining all the different settings is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say, these settings let you control how long the computer can run unattended (with nothing going on) before different parts of the system are turned off, or put to sleep, to save electricity. There are separate settings for the monitor (screen), hard disk, and the system (the entire computer).

Depending on how you use your computer, you can experiment with the settings to complement the way you work. Don’t be afraid to tinker. Nothing you change here will damage the computer. Of course, the more things you turn off, and the sooner you turn them off, the more energy you’ll save.

MY RECOMMENDATIONS: These aren’t Commandments; they’re suggestions. Be flexible and tailor them to your needs. If you plan on using your computer in the next 8 hours, leave it on. If not, turn it off or put it to sleep. I leave mine on during the day, and turn it off overnight. My computer is set to go to sleep if I walk away for more than twenty minutes. This way, my computer benefits from the occasional reboot, and I can reduce my total energy use, even if it is only a little bit.

Retro World - Lowrider Bikes

I was just a little kid in the late 1960s, when the TV show The Munsters was on the air in Prime Time TV, young enough to feel that Eddie Munster (the werewolf son) was my favorite character on the show. I don't remember him riding the "converted Schwinn Stingray" which was apparently the first lowrider bike featured on TV, and which started the craze for the lowriders during the late 60s and 70s.

I do remember that I wanted to sleep in a bureau drawer as he did - I felt that would be nice and snug!

What I most remember about the show, in the technology department, was the car they drove - the converted hearse. Now that was a car!

Anyway, that's just a bit of historical interest. Most kids today have never even heard of the Munsters - or if they have it's the remake done in the 1980s which had none of the charm of the original - give me Fred Gwynne, Yvonne DeCarlo and Al Lewis any day of the week!

It wasn't a TV show that brought the lowrider back into favor in the late 1980s, however, but merely the concerted creativity of people in the Chicano neighborhoods of Los Angeles, who began exercising their creativity by tricking out their bikes with chrome, paint, and all sorts of accessories. The hobby caught on and has spread through urban areas throughout the United States.

Lowrider bikes are not built for speed - they are built for leisurely rides along the beach (hence the fat tires), or through the neighborhood. The riders want to "see and be seen in style."

Lowriders are usually considered to be among the most comfortable of bikes. The "apehanger" handlebars extend up so high that riders are perforce forced to sit up straight - reducing the stress on the back which is one of the chief causes of biking discomfort. The tires are cushiony, the seat, whether banana or some other kind, are roomy and comfortable. Most of them have only one speed and a simple coaster break, so they don't break down that often.

With the new space age materials of which bikes are made, these bikes aren't as heavy as you might think, so if you're thinking of getting a new bike, and like to indulge in your creativity, you might want to consider getting a low rider. (Even if you don't want to trick it out, or "pimp it" as the slang goes, it is still a classic "retro" design and a fun ride.)

But if you do want to trick it out (a term I prefer to "pimp" frankly, as I would think that word would have unpleasant connotations) there are plenty of stores, both bricks and mortar and online, where you can purchase practically any accessory you can think of - from gold and chrome mirrors, rims and spokes, to hand-painted murals on the frame, to rows of mirrors on each side, to a baby spare tire mounted on the back!

So check out your local store or surf the web, and have some fun!

Digital Radio- The New American Revolution

Americans are nothing if not selectively fickle. It took almost no persuasion for them to abandon their analog landline technology-based telephones, camera, and record players in favor of digitally based alternatives.

But when it comes to their listening pleasure, Americans have been fighting

the digital revolution with as much gusto as they fought the American one. They are however, beginning to come around. Having spotty reception, or none, on long commutes or when in the back country on a recreational outing, or simply because they live in a particularly reception-unfriendly area has finally made many Americans start to take notice of their digital radio options.

The first digital radio alternative is satellite radio. Both Sirius and XM Satellite radio have eliminated the commercials from their digital radio transmissions and are beaming their broadcasts into the automobile receivers of millions of US drivers, no matter where they are located. The glitch is that the service is subscription only, and many older cars do not have the satellite digital radio receivers. And in some large urban areas, the reception is lacking, although Sirius and XM are working on fixes for their problems.

But between them Sirius and XM have still managed to collar only fifteen million of the estimated two hundred and thirty million AM/FM listeners in the US. The two companies have applied to the FCC for permission to discuss a merger, which will cut costs for both. But even a single entity may never move satellite digital radio beyond the niche stage.

The real up-and-comers in the US digital radio field appears to be local radio stations, both because they do not charge their listeners, and because the price of digital radio receivers is beginning to drop rapidly. At the beginning of 2006, a digital radio receiver cost a minimum of $500; now the most expensive are half that. With rebates it is frequently possible to find a digital radio receiver for under $100.

Hybrid digital radio is the result of combining digital power with the regular broadcasting of an AM or FM station. It costs a traditional broadcasting station upwards of $100,000 to make the transition to Hybrid Digital technology, and even then they have to pay royalties to iBiquity, which developed the process. But more than 1300 radio stations have either bought, or plan to buy, the necessary equipment.

Cheap Cruise - Top 10 Tips for Finding a Cheap Cruise Line Deal

Today it has become much easier to take a cruise vacation to almost any destination in the world; it has become extremely popular among vacationers to choose a cruise, and especially for the fact that prices have fallen. I have listed the top 10 tips on how to get a cheap cruise line deal.

1. When planning a cruise vacation, try to find someone else to go with like a good friend; rates sometimes can go up as high as 200% if you book a cruise by yourself.

2. If you want to get a cheap cruise deal, you must be willing to act fast on such deals; why? Because someone else may get your spot!

3. Nowadays you can shop online for a cheap cruise deal by searching for last minute deals. A great time to search for cheap tickets are 60 days before the cruise starts.

4. Another tactic: book on an out-of-season cruise in order to get a great deal. Book for example, peak hurricane season in the Caribbean which is September to the middle of November, or before and after Christmas, or other major holidays.

5. Consider going on a cruise during shoulder season. For example, on an Alaskan cruise you may save up to 50% when departing the week after peak season. But you must plan ahead.

6. During the course of your cruise, do not register for shore trips; these will handsomely make your overall cruise line bill higher.

7. Consider repositioned cruises: these cruises may offer discounts when the cruise lines modify the itinerary of the original cruise.

8. Try searching for a cheap cruise deal during the spring break for a lower discount rate.

9. To reduce the normal going cost for any cruise ship, consider going with more people and asking for a group rate; or, you can ask for a family rate.

10. Here’s another trick: Search for eleven-hour repositioning. Believe it or not, such cruises can be quite cost effective.

Bear in mind that Two Bermuda cruises can provide two very different experiences; so carefully choose your next cruise.

Soccer Fans

Soccer is a well-known sport practiced all over the world. People from kids to adults enjoy having a nice soccer game among them. On special events, such as tournaments and leagues, we are able to see how the soccer matches affect the whole community of soccer fans. However, each fan has its own way of expressing his or her passion for the sport. Among them we can distinguish the forced fan, the regular fan, and also the extreme fan.

First of all we have a very calm fan referred as forced fan. This kind of fan usually meets with his group of friends at a bar or at someone’s house to watch an important soccer match. They enjoy watching a soccer game, but they do it mostly because their friends do so. They watch the game if they do not find anything better to do. Usually as the game goes on, they get distracted and lose track of which team is winning.

Similar to the forced fan, there is also a regular fan. However, this kind of fan enjoys every single minute of the game, whether he watches it at home or goes to the stadium if possible. It wouldn’t matter if his friends cannot go with him; he goes because he wants to. In fact, he may make new friends at the stadium who also enjoys watching the game.

Finally and the most remarkable of fans is the extreme fan. As his name says, this fan takes watching and enjoying the games to another level. At home he does everything he can in order to watch the game with all the commodities possible, including foods and drinks. At the stadium, he cheers loudly for his team and boos on the other team. In some cases a group of friends paint their faces and chests with the color of their team. Another thing this fan may do is to get the football field, meanwhile the game is still going on, just to shake hands with his favorite player and get an autograph. Also, this may or may not have his clothes on when doing this.

Soccer is growing more popular over time, as well as the fans for this sport. Forced, regular, and extreme fans are the most common of all. If you are interested in this sport you may wonder on which of these categories you fit on, but remember that you can always be a fan in your own particular way.