Made Moon Blog

With millions of auctions running at any hour of the day, there is no doubt good deals abound on eBay. From flea treatments for your dog, to a mini-van for hauling your family around, the selection runs the gambit. With everything under the sun for sale, the only thing an auction surfer needs to know is whether or not to actually put in a bid.

Recently I was auction surfing for a new 20.1 inch flatscreen LCD monitor. Like anyone else working from home, my equipment costs fall on my shoulders, and I must undergo a delicate balancing act between, do I really need it, and can I get a good deal. Having already perused a few dozen price and spec comparison websites, I had a good idea of which model I wanted and the average price I could expect to pay. A simple search for 20 inch LCD monitor brought up a few hundred to choose from. Prices ranged from absurdly high, to “you know it’s a scam” low. There were however, dozens of monitors priced at reasonable, yet believable prices. Too good to be true?

The model I had focused in one was from Dell. It had gotten good reviews, and the discount from dozens of eBay sellers was tempting enough to almost make me click the “buy it now” button. The shipping was indicated as “calculate,” so I clicked it and input my zip code. Almost $100 to ship an LCD monitor. High? Seemed that way, but I’ve never had one shipped, and anything is possible.

Hopping over to Dell’s site, I pulled up the same monitor. The price was much better on eBay, but the shipping from Dell was free. After some basic math, the cheap eBay price with shipping turned out to actually be one of the worse deals on that particular LCD I could get. Checking around, I soon found the stock photos and specs the sellers on eBay were using in their auctions, and putting two and two together, I figured out what they were doing.

The eBay sellers were using a rudimentary low price tactic. They mark down the price, and count on the buyer not checking the shipping until the auction has been purchased. Even with the high shipping, a buyer may still equate the price paid for the monitor as being a good deal, and just assume the shipping price from everyone is in the same ballpark.

What the eBay sellers were actually doing, was acting as their own dropshippers. They created an auction using Dell’s stock photo’s, claimed they had the items in stock, and used terms like “special purchase,” or “largest seller on eBay.” In actuality, they were selling the LCD to buyers, and then purchasing one from Dell after they had received the buyers payment. They then have Dell send it to the buyers address, and pocket the massive markup in shipping; in this case, $75.

The same tactic was used for desktop systems, laptops, flatscreen TVs, and several other items I looked at. While the “buy it now” price was substantially lower than anyone else was offering, the price plus shipping actually exceeded the final cost of everyone out there.

In this case, a little homework and price checking saved me $75. Unfortunately, after looking at the various sellers completed auction results (see my previous article for how to do this), I found there were a lot of people who had not bothered to check. Hopefully, after reading this article, you won’t fall into their ranks.

Since the formation of a separate state, Orissa continues to be symbol of abysmal poverty and backwardness. Acute underdevelopment combined with the onslaught of natural calamities has made the life of the Oriya people miserable. While droughts and floods are regular invaders, cyclones and super cyclones make their routine visits, taking heavy tolls. Besides all this misfortunes, nature has blessed the state minerals to fill up the gap. Orissa is the richest state in minerals.

The state, two-thirds of the land surface of which comprise pre-cambrian rocks, possesses 98 per cent of the country’s chromite reserves, 71 per cent of its bauxite, 33 per cent of its iron ore and 32 per cent of its manganese resources. Orissa has vast reservoirs of natural resources to spur industrial growth and development. Its fertile land, water resources, mineral wealth, long coastline and forest resources are great assets. Still we are lagging behind to utilize the minerals for the development of Orissa. There are many prime causes, which are the major hurdles for socio-economic development of the state. Community leaders are playing major role in every step of development process and they have the capacity to eradicate all the hurdles in the grass root level.

Orissa has a population of 32 million with a high percentage of scheduled tribes and scheduled castes, approximately 24% of the total population belonging to 62 different ethnic communities, and are mostly backward. About 87% of the population lives in the villages. The Oriyas dwelling in rural Orissa are happy in their small world. Enthusiasm and expectation are the two less concerned words for them. This rural people are very simple and easily captured by anyone who attach emotionally with them. Though they have very minimal exposure to any media, so the community leaders act as the only source of information. They are less concerned about the politics, business, media and religion. They are very reluctant to accept any sort of information, which are not directly related to their day-to-day life. The community leaders are playing the role of opinion leaders and able to influence the rural Oriyas because they are well known, respected, and trusted person for them. The rural public relies upon opinion leader within their peer group(s) to provide reliable information. The local leaders are used the masses as their weapon.

In a state like Orissa, community leaders have a strong influence. Through day-to-day personal contacts, they influence others in matters of decisions and opinion formation. Due to lack of information on a particular issue, the backward community is not in a position to take any decision. They have always been depending on community leaders to reach on any decision, which may vary from family matters to international issues. In the reverse side, the tribal community has always opened to share all the information without thinking the outcome because they are thinking that they are sharing personal matters to a trusted person who can help him at the needed time. These leaders are more aware of the requirements of the rural public.

In many case, the community leader takes this advantage to revolt against the local administration. The community leaders generally come form a upper social, economic or occupational level and they have a special respect in the community. They are more informed about political and social issues as compared to other persons in a atmosphere where the local people will get fillip on the benefits of the industrialization. The local people can feel the breeze of industrialisation in the form of house, healthcare, education and employment facilities. Once the local tribal community convinces on the issue of industrialization, they will fight for the government. Every one knows it is a tedious task but not an impossible the community. They grasp information form different sources; they read newspapers and magazines; they watch the coverage of different issues relating to their society, nation etc. by the broadcast media.

When they exchanged the information to their follower, they are always diluted the original message with his personal views. And the most important part in this type of communication is that they are always using the mast powerful channel (i.e. face-to-face communication) by which they can get all the opportunities to convince the rural tribal community. Basically at the time of election, the role of community leaders is more visible. Because voting behaviour of the backward classes totally depends on the community leaders, who changed their voting intention during the course of the campaign.

Starting form rural development to AIDS awareness programme in the state, the community leaders play a crucial role in the implementation of any policy or programme in Orissa. Without help of this influential group, it will be very difficult for the government or any individual group or any non-government organization (NGO) to enter into the locality. Then it is the responsibility of the government to take the necessary step to convince the community leader by which they come forward to extend their hand to help the government in the development process. When we are talking about development we cannot ignore industrialization because directly it boost the state economy. As we are rich in manpower and mineral, the government has taken the first major step to invite major global giant for utilizing the reddish-gery iron ore.

Taking the advantages of the global demand for steel, the Orissa government has opened the door for the steel giants to invest in Orissa. During the course of time, the Biju Janata Dal-BJP alliance government signed 43 MoUs with private companies for the setting up of as many greenfield steel plants. The State government’s Steel and Mines Department estimates the investment in these steel plants to the tune of Rs.1,37,157.85 crores. The areas that would witness mining of iron ore and the setting up of new steel plants and captive power plants are Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Jajpur, Dhenkanal and Angul districts, which are some of the most underdeveloped districts in the State. At the higher level, the government has completed all the formalities to convert Orissa into the No.1 State in the country by quickening the pace of industrialization. But when we consider about the ground reality for setting up of huge steel companies, we have taken aback because of the obstacles came to the site at different stages. The recent Kalinga Nagar firing has killed the spirit of Industrialisation. This is not a new incident for the people of Orissa.

Whenever and wherever any industry plans to lay down the foundation stone, the first and foremost outcome of every project is the same. Either they abandon the project or divert the investment amount to upgrade the established project. Tata steel’s earlier proposal to set up a ten million tonne steel project at Gopalpur in Ganjam district had also run into trouble with police opening fire at Sindhigan in the project area on August 7, 1997. Two women had been killed in stampede caused by the police action after which the company shelved the project. The steel project at Gopalpur in Ganjam district proposed by Tata did not take off after residents refused to move out.

If you go deeply into the core issue, you can find community leaders had conspired to create unrest in the industrial area. They have masterminded the entire process and provoked the tribal community by meeting personally or public meeting. The community leaders are always backed by political parties and influenced by the political leaders. Now time has come to think about the state. Above the personal benefits of any particular person, or particular community or any particular party, we should think about the welfare of our state. This is the equal responsibility of government and every Oriya to participate in the development process. Particularly the community leaders should use their third sense before forwarding any step towards destruction, which leads the state backward direction. Day by day our position become worsen in every aspect of life. When government is planning to take any step for the welfare of the state, it is better to support and abolish all the hurdles in the way to development.

Community leaders are the ‘queen-bees’ in a backward state like Orissa. The local administration should involve the community leaders in the development process. Before any huge investment in any area, government should have a face-to-face conversation with the community leaders. Because they have well known about the emerging issues relating to that particular locality. Based on those issues, government should formulate some guideline, which has always benefited to the local community. In the next step, the government should take all the necessary steps to persuade the local backward classes with the help of the community leaders. Before reaching into the final stage, the government should create such task.

The author is a media researcher in Journalism Department of ICFAI University. He has five years experience in electronic media in the field of Public Relations and Media Relations. His qualifications include a Master in Journalism and Mass Communication, had special paper Advertising and Public Relations.

It’s a healthy body that can home a healthy mind. Fitness has been one of the prime considerations for the humans for ages. Several fitness programs have been developed for different kinds of works and sports. There are several procedures that can be devised and executed to tone the body muscles. They include running, weightlifting, exercise etc. These entire have different out comes and they require different level of skill and stamina. One of the basic requirements before going in for training is that of a good trainer. It is a great risk to try out the workouts by oneself. Every exercise has a different position and posture which when tempered with can result into sever damage to the body tissue.

One of the basic components of a fitness program is weight training. It is the systematic lifting of weights to strengthen and tone specific parts of the body. The nuances of this include the different weights, having proper attire for lifting weights etc. For example the gloves must be worn before going for high-end weights as it may cause corns in the palms and they also provide a good grip on the bars of the weights. The weight lifts are customized for different sports. Some sports like discuss throw or hammer throw require much more weightlifting then the lighter sports such as table tennis.

Gymnasium is a favorite place for aspiring athletes and fitness conscious people. The number of equipments in the gym can be really enticing and inviting for the work out. But it has to be kept in mind that not all devices are ones cup of tea. The requirement of a trainer is a prerequisite here too. Basically there are two categories of equipment found in a gym, the machines and the free weights. They both cater to different parts of the body and have different ways to execute. The machines are better in a way that they have meters in them which tell the extent of workout that a person has undergone. This helps the athlete keep a track of his stamina.

Work out is also required by certain kinds of patients to keep up their body in shape to defend the attacks. Especially in case of patients suffering from cardiovascular ailments the doctors suggest a set pattern of workout to provide strength to the heart muscles. These are light exercises for example brisk walking, lifting lightweights.

Another major component for a fit body is the dietary schedule. It is the intake of recommended food while one is undergoing a fitness program. Excessive intake of fats during fitness tenure can make the whole procedure futile. The dietician, who in most cases is also the fitness trainer, provides a list of proper foods to supplement and support the body’s work out. The food is a combination of solids and fluids. They, in which ever forms are, must be able to fulfill the bodily requirements of structural components. They must be rich in carbohydrates for the energy purposes and proteins to build the body tissues.

Fitness is fast becoming a very important characteristic of the human beings. The heavy work schedules and the long working hours require a person to be mentally and physically fit to take the toll of such work. So don’t forget to include a fitness schedule in your work schedule.

Mansi aggarwal writes about Guide to a Fit Body. Learn more at http://www.getaworkout.com

Communicating face to face without being in the same location has become easy with the arrival of video conferencing technology and its related software. For business, it is the best way to interact with colleagues worldwide for meetings and conferences. For medical professionals, it provides an invaluable service in that patients can be treated long distance in real time by specialists without the time and hassle of travel. And now for the everyday person, video conferencing software has given opportunities for education and communication like never before.

A video conference is achieved with a set of interactive telecommunications tools that give 2 or more parties in different locations the opportunity to work together using 2-way video and audio at the same time. The history of video conferencing can be traced back to the beginning of television. Video conferencing pretty much began with the advent of the television, by using closed circuit televisions that were connected by means of cable. This tended to be expensive to carry out, and was not the most efficient over long distances for such functions as business meetings or distance learning.

In the 1980’s, digital telephony technology opened the doors to more efficient and effective transmission of audio and video over longer distances, with a guaranteed minimum bandwidth (approximately 128 Kbps). The technology remained expensive and therefore not highly sought after, especially for smaller businesses, until the 1990’s. The fast progress of the technology and its capabilities along with the burgeoning prevalence of the Internet helped to make video conferencing software and hardware more reasonably priced. In addition, these factors contributed to making the technology a more appealing and convenient way to communicate long distance.

For a basic video conferencing setup, there are certain pieces of hardware and software that are required. These include a video input for recording video, such as a webcam. There also needs to be a video output for displaying video images, such as a monitor or television set. An audio output device, such as a microphone, is required for recording sound. Audio output devices such as speakers are needed to playing the audio. And finally, there needs to be a method of data transmission from one location to the other. This can be accomplished via the Internet, or even a LAN (Local Area Network). The more bandwidth, the better.

For the general population, there are ways to take advantage of video conferencing. There are lower quality services available in the form of downloadable programs like Googletalk, Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, among others. The downloadable software is usually free of charge, and if you have a webcam, a microphone, and broadband Internet access, you can be connected with friends and family sans the long distance phone bills. It is an ideal way for grandparents to witness the development of far away grandchildren, and for long distance friends to keep in touch.

Another use to video conferencing software is for educational purposes. Students can use the technology to participate in distance learning programs worldwide, without having to leave home to do it. This technology offers no limits to the possibilities of expanding your educational and cultural horizons, no matter where you are in the world. And yet another positive use for video conferencing software is in the field of medicine. The technology allows doctors and nurses to consult with patients and colleagues in real time and send and receive x-rays and other pertinent images quickly. In addition, health problems can be diagnosed by specialists from anywhere in the world, without the need to travel to do it.

Video conferencing software is not only for business meetings anymore. The Internet has provided a means of allowing the average citizen a way of taking advantage of this technology. In addition, the uses for video conferencing continue to develop all the time. In business, medicine, education, and personal computing, video conferencing software is a highly convenient and easy means of face-to-face communication.

Learn the essential information for picking the right conferencing software at Video Conferencing Software

For many people, fishing is the perfect sport. Not only is fishing challenging, but it is a wonderful way to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily living. Perhaps you are a person who enjoys heading out to a lake, pond or stream to spend time fishing. If that is the case, you may be interested in finding sources and resources for cheap fishing supplies. Certainly, if you are like most people, you don’t want one of your favorite past times to be responsible for busting your budget.

When it comes to finding cheap fishing supplies, the Internet can be a very useful and reliable resource. There are a number of websites on the Net that have been established specifically to cater to people who enjoy fishing. These sites offer a wide range of different supplies and equipments. Many of these sites offer their wares are discounted prices.

In addition to websites dedicated exclusively to catering to people who love to fish, you might want to visit one or another of the different auction sites on the Net as you search for cheap fishing supplies. These sites oftentimes have quite a selection of different types of cheap fishing supplies. By taking the time to shop around, you likely will be able to find just about everything you need when it comes to fishing supplies by surfing to the different Internet based auction sites.

On occasion, one or another of the overstock sites that have sprung up on the Net may also be of assistance to you in your hunt for cheap fishing supplies. The availability of cheap fishing supplies at these sites can be rather seasonal. In other words, you likely will have better luck finding lower cost fishing equipment and supplies in the late fall and winter months. Indeed, at these times of the years, many of these overstock sites have quite a selection of fishing gear.

There are a number of resources in the brick and mortar world that can be helpful to a person seeking cheap fishing supplies and equipment. Quite like the overstock sites on the Net, a person generally can obtain some real bargains on fishing supplies and equipment at many sporting goods stores and outlets on a seasonal basis. In the late winter and fall months, many of these stores will put their fishing supply and equipment inventory on sale.

Finally, there are a number of different mail order companies that regularly have discounted and cheap fishing supplies available for sale. From the convenience of your own home, you can telephone a toll free number and have the supplies and equipment sent to you in no time at all.

By taking the time to shop around on both the Net and in the brick and mortar world, you will be able to find the cheap fishing supplies that you seek. In no time at all, you will be set to spend many a pleasurable hour fishing.

Shell Gellner is the webmaster at http://www.rifles-n-rods.com.
A Great Source For Discount Sporting Goods!

The very best way you might do to support the damaged climate is to green your house, today you yourself might well in fact get a green grant if you are about to make your home climate friendly. Although all this sounds like a big challenge it is extremely effortless and not all of it will cost you heaps of money. now that is marvellous. Before you try any difficult projects such as installing solar heaters it is worth noting to see if you yourself qualify for getting this unbelievable cavity wall grant. When you find out what is best for your residence using the DTI’s co2 programme, this can support with most aspects of energy efficiency, this organisation has had more than 5500 applications worth approximately five and half million to qualify for the grant you have to make sure you insulate your loft and cavity walls, fit low energy bulbs and put in central heating controls and thermostats.

Cavity installation is a great place to begin. I know this may look like a tough process I can promise you its not, insulation is an incredible practice to improve the energy efficiency of your home. The majority of flats around today were put together after 1922 the walls are made up of 2 layers with a little air space in between the two layers, if you yourself have an unfilled cavity wall in your flat then you may be losing a considerable amount of the warmth in your home. Wall installation is definitely something you yourself want to know about if you desire to improve your living. Wall insulation is wonderful for the UK. Reduce your electricty bills by saving on heat with Cavity Insulation for your walls.

By insulating the space you yourself will see that you yourself might be helping to reduce climate change and emissions and help to save the UK one home at a time which is terrific. With the climate change and co2 emissions we are dealing with, every house in the universe should be as green friendly as humanly possible. You yourself will also help to eco proof your apartment with floor insulation as well as using Climate Change Proof friendly makeup products. For other astonishing eco friendly proof tips please visit BBC Green – the eco site.

I recently read a book where everything was akimbo. Arms were akimbo, legs were akimbo. Akimbo appeared on every page.

Okay every page is a slight exaggeration, but akimbo was in every chapter more than once. I started thinking of the hero in the book as Adam West’s posturing Batman persona.

Every writer is guilty of the akimbo type of repetitiveness once in awhile. Most of the time we’re not even aware that we’re echoing ourselves.

How do these unconscious akimbo dittos creep into our work? The English language is so rich with descriptors, why would we rob our manuscripts of the warmth and color that this richness brings to our work? Simply put — we’re lazy.

When the afore mentioned writer was feverishly scribbling away on her book, she arrived at a moment when her character took a stance, and the first word that popped into her head was akimbo. Writing akimbo was easier than it would be to stop the flow of her writing and come up with a different way of saying akimbo. The only problem is instead of going back to edit out ninety percent of the akimbos, she left them in and it became a distraction to the reader (and humorous to me, which I’m sure wasn’t her intention).

Don’t let yourself get lazy. Go through your work and get rid of repetitive words. Especially if they’re words like akimbo that are not used in everyday conversation.

If you need help, go to the Georgetown Linguistics website and use their frequency index tool (see the web address below). Copy your text into the box provided and click on the “Do it!” button. This website will give you a list of every word and how many times it was used in your manuscript.

I would suggest (and this is just my opinion) that if you discover that you’ve used akimbo more than twenty-nine times, get rid of all but one of them.

By the way akimbo appears 13 times in this passage. Annoying wasn’t it!

Georgetown Linguistics Website:
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/ballc/webtools/web_freqs.html

© 2004 Stacy Verdick Case.

Stacy Verdick Casewrote her first “book” when she was in second grade and hasn’t quit writing yet. She’s had numerous article and short stories published and has a couple manuscripts making the rounds. Her current manuscript, A Grand Murder, is receiving rave reviews, and took third in the Daphne du Maurier contest in the Unpublished Mainstream Mystery category. Visit Stacy on the web at www.StacyVerdickCase.com.

From the office cubicle to the executive penthouse suite and from apartments to mansions, people are trying to carve out spaces to call their own. Outside, the world may be a stressful place but inside these spaces, people strive to create positive environments where they can live and work happily and peacefully. It may seem like a fairy tale to some. However, for others, it is a way to survive many of the negative effects of stressful living.

In the book, Future Shock, Alvin Toffler prophesized that the speed at which technology would develop and be introduced would in the end overwhelm many people. He foretold a future where human’s inability to keep up would cause stress and depression. Here we are over twenty years later and his words have come to pass. Even greeting card companies study the trends and in Karen Moore’s book, You Can Write Creating Cards she cites these trends forecasted by lifestyle trend researchers that people would:

-make their homes more comfortable places in order to avoid the outside world.

-buy affordable little luxuries for themselves or for their homes.

-seek broader awareness of spiritual things.

-desire to be seen as unique and special.

-feel somewhat overwhelmed by responsibilities.

-like alternative medicines and holistic health.

-question belief systems of previous generations.

-be genuinely interested in caring for the environment.

So, how would one describe a positive place? Appealing? Attractive? Humans are complex beings, even if they cannot keep up with nanotechnology and super computers. For an environment to feel positive or attractive, it needs to be appealing to the senses, particularly – sight, sound, smell, or touch. The more senses that are stimulated simultaneously, the more appealing, attractive, and positive the situation is perceived. Any thing that detracts from that perception is usually judged as negative, instead.

Although some architects, space planners, interior designers, and Feng Shui consultants have been addressing the issue of creating positive environments over the past years, most of the general public is just beginning to investigate the possibilities. Ways to turn up the ‘positivity’ of a space, that appeal to one or more senses at time, might include:

-a fountain made of various materials.(sight-sound-touch)

-a contemporary, mixed media painting or sculpture.

(sight-touch-smell, if oil paints are used)

-chimes or bells.(sight, sound, touch)

-incense, potpourri, and aromatherapy.(smell, sight,touch)

-Instruments.(sight-touch-sound)

-Plants and flowers. (sight, touch, smell)

Situations perceived by the brain as positive gives people a sense of well-being and happiness. When in this state, sometimes called euphoria, the domino effect occurs.

-People become open to more positive stimuli.

-Concentration and performance improves.

-Self-confidence and self-assurance soars.

-Creativity blossoms.

-Handling stress becomes easier.

In today’s environment, more and more people will be searching for ways to reduce stress. By creating positive environments, they will be able to do that no matter where they live or work. In doing so, how they live and work will be better, too.

Copyright 2005 Kathy Iwanowski. All Rights Reserved.

Kathy Iwanowski, a former cancer nurse and manager, creates art, speaks, and writes about creative living and work. Her articles, editorials, and reviews on art, business, creativity, and nursing subjects have been published in newsletters, ezines, and books in the United States.

To arrange for Kathy as a speaker for your next event or to find out more about her work, visit her website at http://www.kathyiwanowski.com

The English Vowel SOUNDS

Many learners of English have a distinct accent because they pronounce English with the vowels of their language. They commit this error because the English vowels are “something like” the vowel sounds of their native language, but they are not the same!

It is not enough to listen to radio and TV. Most people will only hear the sounds of their native language and will not learn how to pronounce the different sounds of a new language such as English.

It is useful to use a course with recordings of the language you are learning. A good one – and also economical – can be found at http://www.bookslibros.com/charlesieENGLISH.htm. A larger list of resopurces can be found in: http://www.goodaccent.com/accentbooks.htm

Let’s look at the “pure” vowels that are present in many languages. They are called pure because they have fixed sound, like that of a note of well-tuned musical instrument. These vowels are formed with no interference by the lips, teeth or tongue. It is important to remember that when we speak of the vowels a, e, i, o, u, we are speaking of the vowel sounds, not of the lettersof the alphabet. This is very important to remember in English because the same letter often represents a different sound in the English spelling. We will indicate the sounds by enclosing them in brackets: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, and the letters in quotes: “a”, “e”, “i”, “o”, “u”.

In the following section, you can get a quick look at the English vowels that sound “something like” the vowel sounds represented by the letters “a”, “e”, “i”, “o”, “u” in many languages. In the rest of the book, we will look at them with more detail and you will also be able to listen to them pronounced. (For the book but only available in Spanish see: http://www.bookslibros.com/TuCD.htm) We will also look at the other English vowel sounds that are peculiar to English and are NOT found in most other languages.

The following sounds of English are similar (not the same!) to the sounds /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ in your language.

The English vowel of the word pot is pronounced like the letter “a” in many languages. Learn once and for all that in some words the letter “o” is pronounced like the “a” in your language! That’s just how it is. If you don’t like it, you won’t change the language. It is better to work at your pronunciation from the very beginning.

The English “e” in the word May.
The English “i” in the word feet.
The English “o” in the word goal .
The English “u” in the word moon

We will start with the five vowel sounds as represented by the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) as /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/. These are the pure vowel sounds that are present in English just as in many other languages.

The first pure vowel SOUND in English (represented by the letter “a” in most languages) is represented by the letter “o” In English. We repeat: you just have to get used to this. For example the English word lot is pronounced as if it were lat in other languages.

You open your mouth wide when you make this sound. This sound show up in the words father, car, top, pot and is the same sound as the Spanish words padre, carro, tapa, pata, or the German Vater, achtung, machen, etc.

This sound is a form of the English vowel sound /o/ (the “short o”) and not of the /a/. Therefore the “o” stands for this sound more often than the “a”. To avoid confusion it is good to use a dictionary that has the symbols of the International Phonetic Alphabet, the IPA.

Sure, it is always better to listen to a native speaker but sometimes you don’t have one around. For example, when you look up a word in the dictionary you will know how to pronounce it if the dictionary has the IPA symbols.

Get a good dictionary that uses the IPA like the “Longmans Basic Dictionary of American English” or the excellent “Collins Cobuild English Dictionary for Advanced Learners” by cutting the appropriate following long URL address and pasting it in your browser:

For the Longmans: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0582332516/ref=ase_launionbookslibr

For the Collins: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0007102011/ref=ase_launionbookslibr

For more on this topic, see: http://www.inglesparalatinos.com

Let’s go on to the other vowels /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/ or rather the sounds in English that are represented by these letters.

These sounds in English are not “pure”, as in many other languages, because almost they always end with another sound. They end up with a slight “i” or “u” sound according to which vowel it is. We will see this in more detail. Some teachers say that they have a little “tail” at the end.

If you pronounce the /e/ sound in English without the little “tail” at the end, you will not be pronouncing this sound correctly.

In the musical My Fair Lady, the professor tries to teach the pronunciation of the English /e/ with the phrase, “The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain”.

Your mouth is stretched to the sides when you make the /i/ sound. Remember this /i/ sound is seldom spelled with the letter “i” in English.

There is very little “tail” after the sound of the /i/ in English in words such as feet, pea.However, the /i/ is slightly longer than in other languages. So you should exaggerate it and you will be almost right.

If you pronounce the vowel /o/ of the word phone (telephone) the same as the sounds son or ton in many languages (without the “tail”) you will be speaking with a marked accent. The /o/ sound in English is not pure. You have to finish the vowel with the “tail” of a little /u/ sound.

You have to feel your lips move as you pronounce the English /o/. They don’t remain still as in other languages. As you finish the “o” sound your lips make a round shape as if you giving a kiss.

Similarly to the /i/ sound, there is very little “tail” after the English /u/ sound.
You can have a rather good pronunciation by just lengthening the vowel.

Your lips are rounded when you make the /u/ sound.

Summary of the English Vowels

The five basic vowel sounds of many languages are present in English but with the following observations:

1. The vowel that is represented by the letter “a” in many languages, more often appears in words with “o”. This sound is pronounced without change in English. However, the other vowels, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, all are pronounced in a specifically English manner. /e/ and /o/ have marked “tails”. The /i/ ends up in an /i/ sound. And the /o/ finishes with a /u/ sound. The /i/ /u/ do not have tails, but they are lengthened.

2. English spelling has very little to do with the sounds it represents. Or to put in another way, English is not pronounced the way it is spelled.

The /a/ sound is the vowel sound of the English word pot.
The /e/ sound (always with the “tail”) can be spelled many ways: may, weigh, they.

The sound /i/ (a little lengthened) is used in many different ways: feet, pea, field, receive.

The sound /o/ (with its /u/ tail) is represented in the following ways: loan, foe, though, blow, owe.

The sound /u/ (a little lengthened) shows up under in unexpected ways in the English words moon and through.

Strange spelling in English! Right? But the spelling in another question! We will get to it. For the moment, just concentrate on the pronunciation.

One way to remember is to think of how you shape your moth when you speak English. Try to imagine that you are smiling when you finish a word that ends with the /i/ sound. When you finish the word May you stretch your lips.

Similarly, make the effort to think of giving a kiss when you finish a word that ends with the /u/ sound. You finish the sound of the /o/ in the word go by puckering your lips as if you were going to blow out a candle or give a kiss.

Don’t forget! We have been talking of the vowel sounds, not the letters of the alphabet that sometimes represent them. The word toe has the same /o/ sound as the words go, flow, though, and beau. We’ll look at spelling a little more in other parts of the book, “Leer Es Poder” en http://www.bookslibros.com/muestra/muestra_index.htm.

Meanwhile if you read Spanish you can find pages on Ortografa and Pronunciacin in http:/www.inglesparalatinos.com. You can also get our boletn in Spanish by going to: http://www.eListas.net/lista/leerespoder/alta

Frank Gerace Ph.D has lived and worked in Latin America on Educational and Communication Projects. He currently teaches English in New York City at La Guardia College/CUNY. He invites parents interested in helping their kids learn Spanish to visit him at: www.bookslibros.com/SpanishForNinos.htm.

Purchasing a notebook computer can be a mind boggling experience with all the different makes and models out there. Toshiba has a strong entry in their Toshiba Qosmio G15-AV501 notebook computer. Let’s examine why this particular model is certain to be an effective competitor.

Unlike most laptops the Qosmio takes computing to the next level. You can watch your favorite TV programs, play DVDs, or listen to music by way of its Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 operating system. Sporting a 17″ screen the Qosmio offers a nifty 1440 x 900 pixels resolution perfect for TV or video watching. Other key features of the Qosmio include:

• Intel Pentium M 745 Processor (Centrino), 1.8 GHz
• 512MB Memory
• Television Tuner
• Exceptionally Bright Screen
• DVDRW/CD-RW Combination, 2 Hard Drives
• Wireless LAN Antenna
• Remote Controller
• Video Card
• NVIDIA GeForce FX Go 5700
• Weighs just under 10 lbs.

As much as the Qosmio is an effective performer, I have learned that the battery life is very short compared to models half its $2500. sticker price. That’s right, $2500 [shop around, as prices vary]. So, only serious multimedia experts will go for this machine and they will be keeping it constantly plugged in to boot! Any software you add will be extra, therefore expect to shell out well in excess of three grand if adding a productivity package, extended warranty, shipping, handling, taxes and the like.

Still, serious multimedia fans will find the Toshiba Qosmio to be a top performer in an ever expanding sea of laptop computers. For that reason alone it is worth a special look.

Matt writes product reviews as well as manages websites. Please check out his portfolio of projects at www.thearticlewriter.com