Made Moon Blog

We get a great many requests to view the potential of Loft conversions. This type of extension has remained fairly popular since I first started designing property & is perhaps even more in demand now than ever before – especially in dense urban areas where the alternative choices for that fourth bedroom are somewhat limited.

Now, the popular press would have you believe that they do not add value or have limited appeal. However, that blanket broad brush, slightly disrespectful opinion does not ring true for most of our clients. So what is going on? As always, the devil is in the detail – the detail in this respect is mainly focussed on two primary areas:

1. DESIGN and 2. DESIGN.

It’s just like the location, location location slogan for house values & desirability. Fortunately, the planners have got to grips with a lot of loft conversions these days & they now have a great more control of schemes that a few years ago could have been built under Permitted Development. This means that they have encompassed ‘good design guides’ in an attempt to stamp out the ugly full width box dormer that turned a beautiful victorian semi into a something that looks like a car sized packing crate trying to escape from a neighbours roof.

Conversely, many people have argued that the ‘chocolate box’ cottage type pointy roofed dormers (as suggested by the planners) are quite simply impractical & do not provide enough space for a fully functional room which in many cases is a very valid & true point. HOWEVER, life is all about compromises & choices have to be made. Fortunately, most members of the public are now becoming far more ‘design aware’ than they ever used to be & slowly by slowly they are beginning to accept that the formation of more space must not be at the expense of a poor external visual impact that simply jars with the whole look of the locality. This type of poor dormer design can not only decrease the value of your own home but that of the neighbours as well.

But yet again there are exceptions. Some suburbs of London for example have a plethora of these types of loft extensions & the ones that have not yet been converted look out of place. These types of areas pay more attention to the internal design of the living space than the grotty externals – goes with the environment I suppose. Also, some areas are 70’s & 80’s built estates where the whole so called ‘architect design’ was for this style of flat roofed box dormer which is a commonly accepted fact for the area & enjoyed by many.

So, back to my original question – Does a loft conversion or extension add value? In my opinion YES in practically all cases baring a few exceptions. Should it be my first choice of residential development if my site has surrounding ground that allows alternative solutions? Well no in my opinion unless your property is a bungalow. A loft conversion for the standard 2 storey dwelling house (detached, semi or terrace) should perhaps be on the ‘last option’ list rather than your first choice – more to do with peoples perceptions rather than anything scientific I could quote.

When we assess a loft conversions viability we run through a sort of assessment check list before we advise our clients & we always steer them towards nice looking, well balanced, recessed type of pitched roof dormers at the sacrifice of some space rather than the ‘ugly duckling’ alternative. However, like all services, many clients do not value the external look as much & they insist on the largest dormer possible especially if it can be constructed under the sites Permitted Development allowances (no planning permission necessary) – Do we still take the job? – yes of course we do its our living but our sign board never goes up during the construction works.

Some people subscribing to our news letter may value our ‘design lead’ approach so we schedule below some of our assessment criteria relating to loft conversions that you may find useful:-

1. Does it need Planning Permission – If so utilising the councils design guides is a must. Some front or side facing dormers may still be resisted even if they are small. Velux windows often overcome these objections. In most cases, big bulky box dormers will not be allowed.

2. What area of new space does the client require – Many clients have overambitious floor space targets & visualise 3 bedrooms for example (all with ensuite of course). They fail to appreciate the loss of floor space caused by the extensive sloping soffits, & the new stairs.

3. Where can the new stair set go – Many clients fail to realise that their preferred location for the stairs does not achieve the required head room within the new floor for example. In most cases some existing floor space of the bedrooms for example will need to be sacrificed.

4. It is better to achieve one or two good sized functional rooms to compensate for the lack of head room in some areas of the new rooms rather than trying to cram in the bedroom numbers for the sake of it where the new rooms can become nothing more than single bed sleeping podules with very little inbuilt amenity value.

5. If flat roofed dormers can only be achieved due to the low ridge height then split the dormers into 2 or three smaller ones with no more than 1200mm (4′) wide windows to break up its bulk. Always, always always recess the dormer into the roof slope to reduce the dormers bulk – DO NOT BUILD THE EXTERNAL FACE OF THE DORMER WALL OFF THE EXISTING EXTERNAL WALL OF THE HOUSE.

6. If a client wants a conversion with only Velux type roof lights then all well & good (much cheaper as well). However an exercise should be completed to explore the possibilities of a strategically located dormer or two that often frees up an extra 30% floor area that the client may not have realised for very little extra money.

7. Dormers are not the only design solution to more light & space – consideration could also be given to a hip to gable conversion of the side roof for example that wont look out of keeping (unless your a semi of course).

8. As a rule of thumb to the practicality of your new room in the roof – if you can already touch the ridge board when standing in the loft (about 2.3M or less), then its normally too small to form useful functioning bedrooms unless a bulky box dormer is constructed (which is what we are trying to avoid) If it is an area just for a play room or a study then all well & good but beware, many people have embarked on tight loft conversions only to realise too late that that they have no where to place the bed or locate a wardrobe.

There are a great many other issues to consider as well when completing loft conversions such as overheating, fire regs, weather protection during the works etc. & these are major discussion topics in themselves that I will leave for another day. However, the points listed above are the main ones relative to the external design & appearance of loft conversions.

Our ‘Maximum Build Planning Guide’ explains further the tactics involved when developing a site with a loft conversion or extension & how to give yourself the best chance of being granted a planning permission or planning approval.

http://www.planning-approval.co.uk

Diabetes is probably one of the least understood diseases of this era, and there was a time when victims of this disorder were essentially sentenced to death. With the isolation of insulin and the onset of high-tech insulin controlling drugs, diabetics can now live longer under the western medicinal protocols. Unfortunately, living with diabetes means living with heart problems, joint pains, skin lesions, clinically maintained obesity, debilitating degenerative arthritis, and a seriously lowered life expectancy, not to mention the known psychotropic effects of the diabetic medications.

Unfortunately, the diets popularly shared with diabetics never were enough to reduce their hormonal imbalances and especially their insulin imbalance. This is true for two reasons: the diets themselves were never enough to provide the serious insulin control required by diabetics, and the diet itself distracted diabetics from the many other dimensions of their health which needed to be addressed before their pancreas could be rejuvenated.

There are points all along your body known to stimulate a ’sleeping’ pancreas. The pancreas itself must feed it’s insulin to the body through a system that is sensitive to internal pressures. It secretes it’s contents to the body by contracting. As the muscular portion of the pancreas is weak, conditions must be ideal for it’s contracting abilities to be as strong as possible. It is also known that compromised musculatures within the region can hamper the pancreas’ ability to contract, or can be a source of occlusion to the pancreatic ducts. Any one of these situations can be the source of an ineffective, or sleeping pancreas. Improper spinal function, muscular spasms around the pancreas, abdominal tension, specific traumas, and even slight obesity are among the many potential sources of a sleeping pancreas.

Your physician will rarely assess many of these sources. Due to both time constraints and the excellent results of insulin in preventing your death, the average physician will follow a pharmaceutical approach in controlling diabetes. This ‘easy’ approach is as productive as anything else which comes easy in life. Anytime you seek something for nothing, you usually get nothing for something, and this is a classic example of this folklore. What you need to know, on top of a very serious understanding of diet and nutrition, is proper spinal care, and methods of reduction of the trigger points associated with the pancreas.

Direct yourself to the sort of health care practitioners who can help you relieve your diabetes, explain to you the true dynamics of your visceral system, and educate you enough so that you may truly have a chance of living life without pharmaceutical dependence.

About the Author:

Dr. Bryan Brodeur is the owner of VitalityHouse, and the author of Vitalism, a health and fitness web site and e-book.

I’ve been receiving emails from people asking for my advice on which affiliate programs are the best, who pays the most and most often, and many other basic questions. I’d like to answer those questions on this forum, but I can only type so fast.

I went out this weekend looking for content that I could publish here temporarily while I got down to writing. I had a hard time finding unbiased content. Most of the so-called reviews out there are infomercials, and that’s not what I was looking for with this blog. So you’re going to have to bear with me. I’ve been looking and learning and reading and talking, and I’ve got a lot to say. I just need the time to write it down, and I will, starting tomorrow. No, really I will.

In the meantime, you need to ask yourself this are you ready for an affiliate program, or Internet Advertising in general? I put together four questions you should ask before you embark on your affiliate program or any Internet advertising.

Before I get to the four questions you should ask before you enbark on your affiliate program, I am going to review two concepts that I use often here on Affiliateblog. The first is what I call the macro view of your Internet presence:

Incoming visitors -> Internet Presence < - Sales or Actions

You are really running two campaigns with your Internet presence — the first campaign is concerned with getting visitors to the site, and the campaign is ongoing. The second campaign is to get those visitors to do something. That something may be just to spend more time at your site, or it may be to sign up for something or buy something.

The other represents the process of Internet advertising:

Impression -> Click -> Action

Most affiliate programs pay publishers in the last part of the process, the Action. I’ll be using both of these concepts in my questions. So here we go…

1. Do you know enough about your visitors?

There are literally thousands of affiliate programs out there. While some affiliate marketing hubs are experimenting with context-sensitive serving of affiliate banners and banner rotation on affiliate sites, YOU will be the one to decide what kind of products and services you want to offer your visitors. This seems like a minor detail, but it is a major factor in your success.

If you haven’t already, take a look at the stats for your web site over the past month or so. Where do your visitors come from? Have you paid for Google, Yahoo or other search engine traffic? What are the keywords that people used to get to you? More complex and specific search terms tend to result in more immediate conversions, while broader search terms may result in sales later. If people get to your site using what you believe to be broad search terms, you need to be sure that the cookie life (the amount of time that passes between someone from your site visiting the affiliate merchant’s site and the sale) is long.

Do you have textlinks or other advertising on other sites? Do you know the demographics of the visitors from those sites? Have you spoken to the webmaster, owner or manager of the sites on which you advertise and asked him or her about their visitors? Do you know the websites? Have you visited the sites that advertise on the same sites as you? When you investigate all of these things a profile of the visitors to your site should begin to emerge.

Which search engine brings you the most traffic? If it’s Google, the user is slightly more apt to be male, and in the middle (of MSN, Yahoo and Google) as far as propensity toward buying something (42% more likely than the average user). There’s a terrific article on marketingvox.com if you want to see more details. You can also find some interesting demographic info on the major search engines from AQABA.

You should pay particular attention to the domains of your visitors. If you have a lot of AOL traffic for example, you should consider that the profile of the average AOL user is 35 or older (77%) and married (62%).

If you have trouble with textual representation vs. graphical representation (as I do), there is a terrific product called VisitorVille that takes your web logs and animates them. The text is represented as pictures (buildings, people, buses for the search engines, etc). You can see it here. Disclaimer: I am a VisitorVille affiliate.

After all this you should be able to sit down and come up with the profile of a typical visitor. This profile should hopefully include estimates of age, country of origin, education and income.

Try to think like your visitors. Try to anticipate their interests and the products and services they might want to purchase. Affiliate programs raise the bar from PPC your payment comes at the end of the Internet marketing process (the Action) rather than at the beginning (Impression or Click) like Google Adsense or Doubleclick. You need to apply more brainpower to the process, and you’ll make more money if you do it right.

2. Is your site perfect?

You’re asking someone to buy something from your site. If the pages have sloppy html code, broken links or instability from a bad Cascading Stylesheet, it makes you look cheesy. We’ve all been uncomfortable buying something off a cheesy website. You don’t want to be that website.

Let’s start with the html code. Are you sure there are no errors in it? Have you used an html checker like the one at W3C? I find mistakes in my code all the time. Unless you check your code on several browsers in several resolutions you might not catch an error. The validator will. If you use Cascading Stylesheets you should also visit the CSS Checker.

Speaking of validators, you should check your links often. W3.org also has a link validator.

The site should also be optimized for search engines, be easy to understand and navigate, and should have a sitemap for people (and spiders) to find their way around. You should have had ten of your closest friends take a look at the site and give you their feedback, and you should always listen to unsolicited comments from users with an open mind and place value on them. If someone takes the time from their busy day to send you an email about your site, they feel strongly about it and you should take a close look at what they’re talking about.

Understand that if your Incoming Visitors campaign is not working right, you’re wasting your time with your Sales or Action program.

3. Do you know what kind of ads you’re going to use, and where the ads are going to go?

People have been ignoring banners for ten years. That’s why they shake and make sounds (someday I’ll tell you about the screaming match I had with a creative director the day we put out the first talking banner ad) to try to get your attention. Where you put it on the page is going to make a huge difference. Briefly banners need to go somewhere the eye naturally rests (next to the masthead, near the navigation, at the bottom of the page).

Placement of any ads is a huge part of getting them noticed or clicked.

A lot of people (including me) believe that text ads should be placed at natural breaks and be close to the same in text size and color as the text. You need to surf around and look at where people place their ads, and you need to figure out where you think they would work on your site.

If you plan to create pages for some of the products you endorse (a great idea), you need to figure out how prominently you want to place the advertising. Most people won’t buy something if they believe you’re shilling for a particular company. They will buy from someone they believe honestly endorses the product or service. You need to figure out how to keep the distinction.

4. What’s your hunch on the right kind of offers for your site?

I ask this question a lot. Now that you have a better idea of the demographics of your visitors, try to decide on which action you think they would be more apt to take pay-per-lead, pay-per-sale or even pay-per-click (hard to come by) on your site.

If you have a general interest website that gives away free stuff it’s probably going to be difficult to sell people products from that website. It might be smarter to try to get them to sign up for a free products newsletter from one of the affiliate programs, or you may want to look for offers that target the age group of your site rather than offers that target a specific interest. You might be looking for smaller-ticket sales or only leads. Leads get the user to the end of the advertising process chain, but require less of a commitment.

Try to come up with the four, five, six or fifty ways to slice this all up, by type of action, by type of sale or lead, or any other way you can come up with. Then you can go out and find the different offers that might appeal to your visitors. When it comes time to place the ads, try to put different ads in similar spaces on the same pages, and see how they do.

Get your questions answered and you’re ready to take the plunge into affiliate marketing.

Matt DeAngelis runs AffiliateBlog.com. Matt is the former CTO of Modem Media, a pioneer in the Internet ad space. As a foot soldier in the Internet revolution, Matt devised the technology behind many of the most successful ad campaigns of the time.

Italy dominated this week’s Matchday Five action with all four Italian participants posting victories. Superpowers Bayern Munich, Ajax, Barcelona, Chelsea, and defending champion Liverpool are all through to the knockout round of sixteen. Regular fixtures Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven will all need to win and in some instances get help in Matchday Six to advance.

The UEFA Champions League Cup features the thirty-two best teams in Europe based on their finishes in their respective leagues from the previous year. The thirty-two are seed into eight groups of four who play a home-and-home round robin format. The top two point-getters advance to the knockout round while the third place team is relegated to the consolation UEFA Cup draw. Last place teams are eliminated from Europe.

Italian champ Juventus beat defensive minded Brugge 1-0 on a 80th minute goal by veteran Alessandro Del Piero to lock up their group and move on. Inter beat upsart Artmedia 4-0 behind a triple from Brazilian striker Adriano. The neroazzuri have also clinched their group and move on. Milan beat Turkish champ Fenerbahce 4-0 with former Euro Player of the Year Andruiy Shevchenko netting the first \”four-pack\” in Champion\’s League history. Milan controls its own destiny in its group finale. Upstart Udinese scored twice in the final 20 minutes to beat Panathiakos 2-1 and will need a hard to come by point vs. Barcelona to guarantee their advancement.

Below are the Group Standings and Matchday Five results along with scenarios outlining advancement into the round of sixteen. Matchday Six will be played on Tuesday and Wednesday December 6th and 7th.

Group A: Bayern Munich 12 points, Juventus 12, Brugge 6, Rapid Vienna 0

This group is finalized with Bayern and Juventus moving on. Munich got two goals from Dutch ace Roy Makaay in 4-0 route of rapid. Juve bested Brugge 1-0 on late goal by verteran Del Piro. Brugge has secured place in Uefa Cup. Brugge hosts Bayern while Juventus travels to Rapid in what amounts to a Friendly.

Group B: Arsenal 15, Ajax 10, Thun 3, Sparta Prague 1

Arsenal beat Thun 1-0 on late goal by Pires and travel to Ajax for tuneup. Nigel de Jong got both Ajax goals in 2-1 win over Sparta. Ajax is through. Thun needs a home draw against Sparta to send home the Czechs and a position in Uefa.

Group C: Barcelona 15, Udinese 7, Panathinaikos 4, Werder Bremen 5

Ronaldinho had a goal and an assist in Barcelona\’s 3-1 win over Werder Bremen. Barca is perfect through five matches. Udinese need home draw against La Liga\’s best or Panathinaikos win to move on. Weder Bremen would advance with win over Pana and Udinese loss. A Werder/Pana draw would eliminate the Germans with the Greek champs continuing on in the consolation.

Group D: Villareal 7, Lille 6, Manchester United 6, Benefica 5

Lille at Benefica and Villareal at Manchester United both drew 0-0 setting up complicated final leg. Villareal continue with a draw or with a loss and Manchester Unied loss or draw. United is through with a win at Benefica or with draw and Lille loss. Lille, despite just one goal in five matches, continue on with road win or draw and Manchester United loss.

Group E: Milan 8, Schalke 7, PSV 7, Fenerbahce 4

Milan eliminated Fenerbahce with 3-1 win. Red-Devils need home win or 0-0, 1-1 draw against Schalke. The Germans advance with a draw or loss with a PSV loss. The Dutchmen must win or draw at home vs. Fenerbahce or they\’ll be going home.

Group F: Lyon 13, Real Madrid 10, Rosenborg 4, Olympiakos 1

Lyon and Real Madrid drew 1-1 at Stadio Bernabeu, Guti and Carew exchanging goals. Lyon has now gone an entire calender year without a loss of any type. Rosenborg secured their spot in Uefa by netting a rebound 83rd minute of their 1-1 draw at Lerkendal Stadium. Rosenborg at Lyon and Real Madrid at Olympiakos are just formalities.

Group G: Liverpool 11, Chelsea 10, Real Betis 7, Anderlecht 0

Chelsea advanced to the knockout round by sending Anderlecht to their 11th consecutive Champion\’s Cup defat. Anderlecht has yet to score in this year\’s round robin. Liverpool and Betis slugged it out in scoreless draw sending Spaniards to consolation. Chelsea and Liverpool renew their Premiership rivalry at Stamford Bridge in their group finale.

Group H: Inter 13, Rangers 6, Artmedia 5, Porto 4

Inter is through after bombing Artmedia. Rangers got miracle 1-1 draw at Porto as late substitution McCormack buried a scramble off a set piece in the 88th minute. They\’ll move on with win over Inter at Glasgow or a draw and a Porto/Artmedia draw. Artmedia slips by with Rangers loss and home draw. Porto must win to have any hope of moving on.

Dennis Macklin is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Dennis_Macklin.htm

As parents we are responsible for making sure that our kids have great experiences. During the school year the school teachers enrich their lives through mental stimulation and activities. The issue for many parents is the summer time. The children are out of school and have all of heir days free. The issue is that most parents do not have the time off from work and must be out of the home for the majority of the day. The greatest way to combat your children being left alone to be babied by the television and the video games is to send them to summer camp. Summer camps are a good thing for the children and the parents alike. The parents are able to go to work without having to worry about their children being stuck at home getting dumber by the minute and children do not have to worry about being bored to tears and watching the same talk shows every day.

There are all types of children in the world. Some children enjoy sports and others enjoy crafts and others enjoy totally different things. The summer camps that are available to choose from are just as diverse as the children that attend them. For the kids that love sports there are sports specialty summer camps. When I was a child one of the camps that I went to was soccer camp. I spent the whole day everyday playing the game that I loved. My brother on the other hand loved hockey so when summer camp time rolled around he went to a hockey camp. My other brother loved music and playing instruments. Every year he attended a musical camp. We are just one example of how summer camps can bend to fit all types of children in all walks of life.

Summer camps teach children some very valuable skills in addition to the sports and the like. Children learn to adapt to an environment that is unusual for them. They are used to their teachers and the fellow students that they have grown up with and they are familiar with the rules they deal with day in and day out. Going to a summer camp with new adults and new kids allows them to see how the world changes and how they must adjust their behavior and line of thinking to fit it to their new surroundings.

Summer camp is a valuable experience on many accounts. If you are a parent and are considering letting you child stay home and do nothing over the summer consider letting them know about summer camp. You may find that your child is ready and willing to learn and experience new things at the summer camp of their choice.

For more information about Summer Camp or to check into Teen Summercamps or Traditional Summercamps.

Rosemary
(Rosmarinus Offinalis)

Medical Parts: Leaves, flowering tops.

Description: Rosemary is an evergreen shrub which originated in the Mediterranean area and is now widely cultivated for its aromatic leaves and as a kitchen seasoning.

Properties and Uses: Antispasmodic, cholagogue, emmenagogue, stimulant, stomachic. The stimulant action of rosemary helps promote liver function, the production of bile, and proper digestion. It also acts to raise blood pressure and improve circulation. Because of the genuine danger of poisoning, however, rosemary is more often used externally.1

As popular as rosemary is today, its’ place in herb lore is what I find most fascinating. Rosemary flourishes in the Mediterranean area. Near the sea, there are veritable hedges of rosemary stretching as far as the eye can see, filling the air with its pungent, heady aroma.

In ages past rosemary was associated with female dominance; or as the old saying goes, “where rosemary flourishes the misses is master.” So prevalent was this belief that men were known to come home late at night, pruning sheers in hand, to cut back the rosemary bushes near their front gate, before the neighbors started to talk.

In herb lore, rosemary was considered a useful remedy for headaches, upset stomach, to ward off disease or calm the brain. It was thought a sprig of rosemary placed beneath a child’s pillow at night would keep away nightmares; and rosemary was often woven into the bridal bouquet as a symbol of fidelity.

Today, rosemary is as common in most spice cupboards as salt or pepper. While it may have lost some of its mystery over the intervening years, it has lost none of its usefulness. Rosemary is a common ingredient in many shampoos and conditioners, hand creams and cosmetics. (For a great hair tonic recipe please refer to my article on Nettles).

While dried rosemary can be purchased at virtually any grocery story, there is something immensely satisfying about growing the herb yourself. People often have difficulty growing rosemary, primarily because they treat it far too kindly.

Rosemary grows best in the temperate climate of the Mediterranean, but it does so in the highly acidic, sandy soil of the region. When planting rosemary, ignore the specialty packages of potting soil and fertilizers. If you happen to live in a region with very poor, sandy soil, you’re definitely in luck. Stick the plant directly into that lousy sand, in a sunny location, water it generously, and then leave it alone. The less attention and care it gets, the better it will do.

Rosemary will also do well in a pot near your front gate (a fun way to torment your husband). Just remember to give it lousy soil and lots of sun. Rosemary does not do well if over-watered. It is also extremely difficult to get rosemary to grow well indoors. Not even my grandmother, raised in the Mediterranean and a rosemary enthusiast, could keep hers alive indoors.

I have had some success keeping rosemary alive through a mild winter by heavily covering the roots with a dense compost, then wrapping the entire plant in burlap. But if you live in a northern climate, you will probably have to settle for replanting each spring. Don’t worry; with lots of sun, rosemary will grow quite rapidly.

1. The Herb Book, by John Lust. Benedict Lust Pub., May 1974

M.K. Welty hosts an informational website on herbs, herbal remedies and herbal gardening. For more great tips on Using Herbs or to locate purveyors of organic herbs and herbal remedies, Please visit us at: http://www.UsingHerbs.Com

If you are interested in learning the art of creating your own handmade herbal soaps, please visit our new site at: http://www.youcanmakesoap.com

As a step daughter and step grand daughter, I followed the examples that were set for me years before when I became a step parent. The way my stepson finally came to love and respect me as his step mother, was through all of the “trying” experiences we had. Excuse the pun, but raising kids is a very trying experience!

One of the first times my stepson “tried” or tested my word and consistency was over catching the school bus. Nick was not a morning person and that made getting up in time for school in the morning a problem. Myself having lunches to pack, and two other kids who were already responsible for getting themselves up, Nick knew that I expected him to do his thing in the morning. When he missed the bus the first time, I informed him that I would drive him to school that one time, and one time only!

Just a couple of weeks later on another early school morning, I could tell Nick was going to miss the bus if he didn’t move a lot faster and told him so. I left it at that, went about my business, and sure enough Nick came to me with a sorrowful look on his face saying that he had missed the bus. I said, “You had better get your rollerblades on then or you will be late for the start of school!” Nick was incredulous and asked if I was sure I could not take him to school, and I told him that he got his one and only ride the first time he missed the bus and he better get a move on.

His next excuse was that he was going to be all sweaty if he had to blade all the way to school (about 4 miles), and I told him to take an extra shirt. When next I saw him, he was sitting on the curb in front of our house lacing his skates up, shirt off, back pack at the ready and I watched him skate off down the road with a smile on my face.

He had just experienced the result of testing my consistency as a step parent and found that it was the same as my habit with my biological kids!
Whether they know it or not, all kids feel safe, special, and protected when rule is consistently applied.

Sandy Williams, Life Coach at International Stepfamily Foundation, member of Stepfamily Association of America & founder of
http://www.stepfamilysuccess.com

The University of Phoenix Online has been in existence for over a decade and a half. Established in 1989, it was the first accredited online university and today with over 57,000 enrolments to its credit, it has become the largest private, accredited, ‘for-profit’, online university in the United States. Because of its tenure and name recognition, the University of Phoenix is often the first name that comes to peoples mind when they consider an online University. This reputation is not without merit, as the University offers students a great deal that the other online universities simply cannot compete with. That said, not everything about this school is ideal.

Because of the length of time the University has been in operation, it has perfected the art of serious online teaching. The curriculum has been tailored to meet the requirement of working adults who seek to supplement their working knowledge with theory and practical skills while earning a degree for themselves to a degree that other online schools do not.

Virtual classrooms with trained online instructors and flexible but strict classroom participation and assignment submissions make learning comfortable. So much so, that the students are able to complete almost 27 credits in a year as against 15 credits completed by regular on site campus learning students. With only 11 students in a class, the student to instructor ratio is low, facilitating greater one on one interaction. The instructors themselves are CIOs, CEOs and CFOs of reputed companies when they are not mentoring students in the classrooms.

But then like every thing in this universe, negatives do exist and this University is no exception. Sometimes students complain about below average quality of instructors who do not participate in the discussion or evaluation to the extent that has been promised. Lack of communication skills in some cases and at others complete or partial silence towards questions posted has been observed. This is a serious allegation considering that the good communication and prompt interactions with the students of the class are very vital for any online course. Add to this, students often complain that when a grievance or concern is addressed to the deputed ‘advisor’ an endless string of communication follows with little or no action actually taken.

There are some ex-instructors who have come up and indicated that their pay is quite pitiful relative to other universities and as a consequence the motivation levels and drive to excel is low. This often results in a high turnover of instructors. It seems that the primary complaint, substandard teaching quality is directly tied to the level of pay provided these professors.

Another negative pertains to the technology itself. The university boasts that the online software platform has been developed in collaboration with Microsoft. One would expect that the mail receiving and disseminating platform also be much evolved and sophisticated. Instead there is confirmed evidence that they actually use the notoriously lacking Outlook Express for the purpose. Another problem is that the servers are quite slow sometimes. These two problems are worth a mention since online teaching requires quick and reliable interface with minimum downtime. Therefore a slack in this area can have serious implications for the university as a whole.

A final concern pertains to ‘high’ fees being charged. It might be comparable with the several outer online universities of its genre. But when viewed in the light of students who are already disgruntled with the quality of education being imparted, can snowball into bigger packets of unhappiness.

All this might sound as the doomsday for online education and especially for the University of Phoenix. But remember when you handle thousands of students, there are bound to be a handful that are going to be dissatisfied. And life depends on changes and improvements. That said, by and large the students of the University of Phoenix have and continue to express satisfaction with the school. While it is certainly clear that it has some limitations, the opportunity to attain a degree swiftly and cheaply from a well known and accredited University makes the offer very attractive for a great many.

Jean Chortillion enjoys writing about online education. See www.universityreviewsonline.com/2005/10/review_of_the_u.html for another University of Phoenix review.

What the Animals Tell Us

“I am the Sun’s son.
I sit upon a turquoise horse
At the opening of the sky”
Navajo Horse Song

Each animal has its own nature, its own traits and is a representation of a power such as strength for the lion or speed for the jaguar. By learning about animal strengths or powers a Shaman comes to understand why people are attracted to certain favorite animals and repulsed by others. These attractions and repulsions actually become a tool that tells the Shaman what is needed or missing in a person’s life.

There was a woman who no matter how she tried, kept missing the boat, missing out on opportunities that would have brought her the abundance and connections she needed to succeed. In hindsight she could see every instance in which she had failed to recognize the chance to get ahead. It was very frustrating for her but she could not find a way to break out of this rut.

When asked what animal she most feared she related an experience she had as a child with a horse. She was introduced to a friend’s horse that was very high spirited and when she reached out her little hand the horse bit it causing much trauma for the child and a lot of consternation for the mother. But since that time, the horse had represented fear for this woman.

Yet if we look at the power of the horse it is a prey animal. That means it is usually a source of food for some other animal. So it is keenly aware of what is going on around it at all times. One quick move, one strange sound and the horse will perk up its ears and be on the alert for what is happening, ready to run if it feels any danger. Horses also watch out for one another and if one horse senses danger the whole herd is willing to move as one, away from apparent threat.

So examining this woman from a Shamanic perspective we see that she is not aware of what is around her and she is afraid of the power represented by the horse that would be keenly aware of her situation at all times. By dealing with her fear of horses we can allow her once again to become aware of her surroundings, to prick her ears up and take full advantage of opportunities around her.

In the same regard we can use those animals we are most attracted to for observations about powers we have or would like to have. Recently a student became interested in developing her spiritual gifts and stated that she was attracted to the snake. Certainly it is an unusual animal to attract the favor of a woman! She just seemed to think about the snake more often than any other animal and it had only been this way for the past year or so.

When we look at the snake we see it represents the power of transformation. The snake can shed its skin and recreate itself within a short time. It has always been a symbol of power and has even been regarded as the mother of all life. The life energy called kundalini is often described as a snake rising up the spinal column to bring enlightenment.

So for this woman the snake was showing her that, yes, it is time to begin developing her healing abilities and taking charge of her own power to help others. As she progresses, other animals will become her favorites and those too will have significance in her own life.

It is said that we carry 12 totem animals in our lives. Usually there are four animals that stay with us constantly and they represent the powers that are inherent in our Spirit before, now and after, eternally. The other eight totems represent life changing events or growth cycles as we move along this path of life learning and practicing what we have learned. If you pay attention to the animals you most like or don’t like you can learn many things about your true desires and how to attain them.

Shaman Elder Maggie Wahls is one of America’s best loved authorities on Shamanism and has been practicing Shaman for over 50 years. She teaches an online, ongoing course on Shamanism at http://www.shamanelder.com. She is a published author and invites everyone to learn about their own inherent skills to heal and be healed. She also offers Free Consultations to anyone who writes her at shaman@shamanelder.com

I truly believe unless we are doing what brings us joy, we need to think twice about what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and even take it a step further by finding the courage to do something about it so the joy is there.

For the past couple of months I’ve been going through a bit of a metamorphosis personally and in my business. Because of this, I’ve eliminated everything that no longer felt right for me with the business and replaced it with all that is in alignment with my heart and Soul.

The more I delve into my spiritual growth, the more I understand that less really is more. I’ve come to understand at a profound level that there is nothing we have to add to ourselves in order for us to be more spiritual.
In fact, as you allow yourself to release anything and everything that isn’t working in your life, the freer you become and the lighter you feel, enabling you to soar to heights you might never have imagined before.

You see, the less encumbered you are with stuff, unnecessary responsibilities, and people in your life who constantly drain you, the more you give yourself the opportunity to know who you really are at your Soul level. This in turn clears the space for you to attract into your life exactly what it is you desire.

It’s the in between moments of your life, those blank spaces, that you will find your peace and true Self during each part of your life’s journey. These blank spaces represent the simplicity of life, and the more you create these spaces, the more you will find yourself awakening the Genie within and living a life true to your heart. The benefit of this is two-fold. You have more peace and clarity in your life, and, you bring greater joy to everyone you come in contact with.

When I decided to do an overhaul of my website and coaching practice, I knew it was necessary to let go of the direction the business was heading. There were certain expectations and suggestions from others, in regard to my business, that left me feeling disconnected from my vision. Change and letting go isn’t always easy, but it’s necessary if you intend to grow and prosper in every area of your life, and more importantly, if you want to stay true to your Self.

For me, the change I needed to create involved going back to the basics. And when you go back to the basics, you will often find yourself returning to a state of calm, feeling connected to Spirit and your Soul, once again. It is this connection that makes everything in your life right.

Dr. Wayne Dyer gives a beautiful and simple definition of the word spiritual in his book, There’s A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem. He states:

“Then these are the 7 ways I define spiritual: Surrender, Love, Infinite, Empty (Empty Mind), Generous, Connectedness and Cheerful.” He goes on to elaborate on each of these words in the book.

Here are 7 ways I define Soul in a similar fashion: Love, Wisdom, Truth, Harmony, Genuine, Joyful and Peaceful. Perhaps in another newsletter, I’ll elaborate on these words as well.

Wherever you are on your journey’s path, I ask that you observe it from a bird’s eye view so you can see it more clearly and determine if it’s one that still feels right for you.

Are you connected or disconnected? Are you moving along with a skip in your step or dragging your feet? Are you in a place of surrender or struggle? Are you being genuine or wearing a mask? Are you full of love or frustration? Are you listening to your voice or someone else’s?

Be honest with yourself as you answer these questions, because you are the one who must live with the consequences of your response everyday. You may have to dig deep to discover your truth, but I promise you, it’s there. Do yourself a huge favor and take whatever inspired actions you need to, so you too, can experience the definitions of spiritual and Soul. And please know that I am always here, should you need any assistance in doing this.

Linda Salazar
Certified Personal Life Coach, Author, Speaker
310-375-4800
Awaken The Genie Within®
Practical Strategies for Magical Results
www.awakenthegeniewithin.com
Linda@awakenthegeniewithin.com