To get the facts, I sought out the man generally considered to be the father of virtual real estate investing: Bryan Ellis of BryanEllis.com.

When I began using the term virtual real estate investing in the late 1990s, I did so because I saw clear parallels between the strategies used for profiting from physical real estate and those that would create income in the online world, said Ellis.

An example of the similar nature of “virtual” and “physical” real estate Bryan Ellis likes to point out is the methods of making a profit from domain names compared to physical real estate. He points out that control of a domain name or even a specific web page is much like controlling a real estate property ” those assets can be monetized in similar ways: By selling them for a profit, by leasing them, by offering advertising, etc.

I must admit: Its easy to see the parallels. Consider this: If you own a piece of real estate in a desirable neighborhood, your real estate has value because other people are interested in that location. Likewise, if you own a desirable domain name, others will find value in it because it serves their purposes. So it doesn’t matter if you own physical real estate or virtual real estate - you’ll likely use similar strategies to turn them into money in your pocket.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

While electrolysis is undeniably effective, it can only target one hair at a time. The holy grail of permanent hair removal has always been the bulk treatment of many hair follicles at once. This reduces the time needed to treat an area of skin by a factor of several hundred.

The first lasers used in dermatology in the mid to late 1960s emitted a continuous wave, an impractical feature for hair removal since the beam also damaged adjacent tissue. The development of the Q-switch, similar to a camera shutter, allowed the beam to be emitted in timed pulses.

In the late 60s, early laser hair removal devices targetted individual follicles through a wire-thin fiberoptic probe, later modified into a penlight-type device. These devices were difficult to use, just as electrolysis probes are, and in addition were ineffective at destroying the hair follicle. The FDA forced the removal of these devices from the marketplace due to false advertising.

In a repeat of history, the late 70’s saw the introduction of a laser device to treat ingrown eyelashes. This led to the introduction of argon laser equipment to treat unwanted hair elsewhere on the body, but this device also proved to be useless for body hair.

Other dermatologists noticed that lasers used to treat tatoos and vascular lesions produced hair loss in the adjacent tissue, which led to more experiments.

1995 the first FDA-approved laser hair removal device was introduced, the SoftLight by ThermoLase. However, FDA approval does not mean that a device is effective; it just means that according to the FDA’s inspectors, it is not acutely dangerous and makes no medicinal claims that have not been substantiated by research.

The SoftLight used a carbon-based lotion which was rubbed into the skin immediately following hair removal by waxing. Theoretically, the lotion would penetrate into the open hair follicle, and then the laser would be applied to heat the accumulated carbon and destroy the follicle. However, this device proved less effective than light devices that targeted the hair follicle pigments naturally present in skin.

The company which produced SoftLight initially made an excellent profit by offering what they claimed was permanent hair removal through a chain of proprietary clinics called Spa Thira. However, by 1997, a medical study which followed treated patients found full hair regrowth, and in 1998 and 1999 successful lawsuits against the company forced it to cease manufacturing the devices.

In 1997, the FDA approved several more devices which target the melanin in the hair follicle. These devices have better results than the earlier versions; however, some are still so new it is difficult to tell if the hair removal is permanent. Of the 9 laser or light-based systems currently being used, 2 of these use non-laser light. The non-laser technologies use columnated light of many wavelengths which the system operator filters to select the wavelength most likely to be absorbed by the melanin in the patient’s follicles.

Some consumers claim they have experienced long-lasting hair removal with the newer lasers. The treatments are safe if performed properly, and are useful for large areas such as the back or legs, where electrolysis would be a tedious, painstaking process. Even when hair is not completely removed, it grows back finer and lighter. Light-skinned patients with dark hair have the best results. The treatments are said to be more comfortable than electrolysis, and patients can usually tolerate them without analgesics.

3-4 year results are available for some systems such as pulsed light, but most of the newer machines have not been around long enough for long-term data to be available. Also, light-based devices do not work well on blondes or redheads, or people with dark skin. Untrained technicians can cause burns, lesions, skin discolorations and in some cases scars.

It is important to remember that any permanent hair removal treatment must be repeated several times, over a period of at least 1-2 years. At any given time, most hair follicles are in the dormant stage, not producing any hairs, and if there is no dark hair in a follicle, laser/light systems will not have any effect. However, after a year or two, most follicles will have restarted their growth cycle.

“In addition, we are reviewing all policies of the office to determine the legal basis and prudence of each. In the course of this review, we have removed materials from the agency website in several policy areas and are conducting a legal analysis of the basis on which this office has previously reviewed claims of ’sexual orientation’ discrimination, particularly the significance of the specific language under 5 U.S.C. 2302(b)(10). I am dedicated to the principles of fairness and nondiscrimination in federal employment for which this Office is known. The Office, and I personally, remain committed to enforcing all prohibited personnel practices, including discrimination, as the statute says, ‘on the basis of conduct which does not adversely affect the job performance of the employee or applicant or the performance of others[,]’ regardless of an individual’s orientation.

“It appears that, beginning five years ago, this Office based jurisdiction in this area on the amendment to Executive Order 11487 made by Executive Order 13087. But Executive Order 11487, as further amended by Executive Order 13152, expressly states that it ‘does not confer any right or benefit enforceable in law or equity against the United States or its representatives.’ Further, Executive Order 11487, as amended, expressly places responsibility for its enforcement and implementation in the EEOC, not in OSC. This raises questions as to my power to enforce this Executive Order and reinforces my decision to conduct a full legal review of this policy. Therefore, OSC has removed these materials until a thorough legal analysis can be completed to clarify this area of the law.”

“Under the oath of office I took, it is my obligation to uphold the law,” Mr. Bloch continued. “First, we must determine what the law is when, as here, our enforcement power is not based on the plain words of the statute enacted by Congress and interpreted by the courts. We intend to continue enforcement for all manner of personal conduct that falls within the meaning of the statute, and to consult with professionals in my office, as well as outside my office, to ensure that a thorough and fair legal review occurs so that OSC gives the full measure of justice to all federal employees.”

OSC is an independent investigative and prosecutorial agency. Its primary mission is to safeguard the merit system in federal employment by protecting federal employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices, especially retaliation for whistleblowing. OSC also has jurisdiction over the Hatch Act and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act.

About the author:

Press Release

Here’s a possible list of major components built and separately warranted by different manufacturers:

- Engine - Cummins Diesel
- Transmission - Allison/GM
- Chassis - Freightliner
- Coach -Fleetwood (and many others)

Various components of the finished product have their own warranties. Appliances are a good example. GE might make the refrigerator and Sears the stove. These manufacturers warrant their own products.

Many of the components, large and small, are in some way interconnected mechanically, electrically, even electronically. The transmission connects to the Engine. The engine is mounted on the chassis, the coach is mounted to the chassis and covers the engine and around and around we go. The hipbone is connected to the thighbone, the thighbone is connected to the leg bone, and the leg bone is connected to the anklebone, so goes the old song.

What happens when something goes wrong? What happens when one or more of these interconnected components has a malfunction? Who is responsible? Who steps forward? In an ethical world, a world where honesty is the rule, mechanics and manufacturer’s representatives of the various components would figure it out and the maker of the malfunctioning part would step forward. The responsible person would say, “It’s my component that failed, Mr. and Mrs. Jones. We’ll get right on it and fix it.”

This isn’t the way of the world. If you, as an owner of a motor home, find yourself in this situation, you will get to watch a lot of company representatives behave very badly indeed. Nowhere outside of a police holding cell will you see greater efforts by the various manufacturers representatives to blame each other. Responsibility among the various manufacturers is as foreign as political integrity in Washington D.C.

Motor homes are susceptible to the same problems experienced in automobiles and also problems that are uniquely found in motor homes. Like the modern automobile, motor homes make use of computers to control the various vehicle systems. The difference is that a motor home is a combination truck, (chassis and diesel engine), residence (has many of the qualities of a home such as rooms, showers, appliances, walls, decorative elements, etc.) and it’s a lot like a bus. It’s big!

There are also special characteristics unique to RVs. Think about rooms that extend out of the side of the coach, and portable bathrooms. The possibility for really unpleasant problems abound.

We see it happen time and time again. The manufacturer does the right business thing. They innovate; they put their creative people to work developing neat things to catch the buyer’s interest. This is a good business approach to take. It is how American businesses stay ahead of the competitive curve. They send out their survey people to discover what the consumer wants and then do their damndest to provide it. Now, with the latest innovation in hand, the designers meet the production people. Often these meetings resemble, human meets bug-eyed alien. The innovators are high on how cool it all is, and production is thinking, “How in God’s name can we build that! It’s going to cost a fortune.”

A good example in the motor home world is the “slide out”. A slide out is essentially a electro-mechanical method whereby a room in the RV is made bigger by extending it out from the side of the vehicle. See Figure 1 for an example of a typical slide out. It’s a great idea that loses much in the translation from design to production. Very, very few slide outs are without some sort of problem.

We have seen in previous articles that many of the problems were related to electric/electronic systems. In the motor home we see all of the electrical and electronic problems plus the mechanical. This is not surprising. Remember the motor home is a vehicle trying to be a house. Workmanship comes up over an over in the defects listed. Generally, if you buy a new sedan you are not worried that it will leak like a sieve in the first rain shower. Motor homes frequently have problems with leaks, especially around and in the slide out.

At least when you buy a house, barring earthquakes and tornadoes, it is meant to stay in one place. Anyone who lives in California knows what happens to the house when the earth begins to shake. The house is twisted in all sorts of directions. Afterward, cracks appear, doors are out of plumb, plaster falls, foundations warp and maybe the roof develops a leak.

When you drive an motor home all over the country, over roads in various states of disrepair, you are creating a kind of continuous earthquake effect on the vehicle, on your portable house. We see the results in lemon motor homes all the time. Those that were designed with these effects in mind, come through none the worse for the wear. Others, where the driving force in production and they did everything as cheap as possible, manifest all the problems you’d expect after an earthquake and some that are unique to motor homes.

The following is a list of typical problems from RV Owners. I have not included the name of the Manufacturers, as this is being written after the fact, and who knows, maybe they have gotten their act together (skeptical look). In one year an owner reported the following problems with his 32-foot class C deluxe 5th wheel RV:
- Electrical outlets pop out of the wall

- Two entire panels pull away from their frames due to inferior thickness of the substrate and the necessary spacers to hold them together in the range of humidity that any trailer experiences.

- Panels bowed for the same reason

- The slideouts have pulled the paneling away from the face wall when the slideout is pulled in, because ragged sheet metal edges of the slideout have dug into the panel due to mismatched surfaces

- After extending the slide out, couldn’t get it back in, had to pry it back in with a 2 X 4 plank

- Easy chair replaced because the upholstery separated from the frame and allowed the padding to slip down.

- The center slider section of the screen door will not stay in, due to poor quality control of the space in the center of the door.

- The water pump which comes standard on this 32 foot trailer puts out 20 lbs of pressure which isn’t enough to get water out of a PUR faucet filter less than 20 feet away.

- Necessary to supplement the heat in the upper bedroom with a space heater because the blower and ductwork is inadequate to get enough heat to the room.

- The shower cracked, the roof leaked, the canopy broke,

- The toilet lid has broken off

- Electrical problems and on and on…

And after all this, you have the things people say about the quality of service from so-called authorized dealers. I can’t say them here and have this article remain “G” rated.

One aspect of lemon law is how many days the vehicle must remain at the shop for repairs during the warranty period. Thirty days is the standard in the statute for a lemon vehicle. It is not unusual for lemon motor homes to be in the shop for two and three months, even longer during the warranty period.

Here’s the key language. It defines a lemon as:

Vehicles that continue to have a defect(s) that substantially impairs the use, value, or safety of the vehicle after a reasonable number of attempts to repair the vehicle - 4 attempts in California for non-safety related issues - or after the vehicle has been out of service for a particular number of days. Substantial is from the viewpoint of the owner, not the manufacturer.

Having the slideout extend in traffic while some speed-crazed Peterbilt driver bears down on you is not safe. Bailing water out of your vehicle after every rain shower is not considered the best use of the vehicle. This might also be thought to decrease the value of the vehicle. If the weight distribution toward the rear of the vehicle is so poor it feels like the front end is a foot off ground, this seems substantial to us. This is very definitely a safety issue. I could go on for a long time.

What is the bottom line? Don’t put up with it. Get legal assistance. The law allows you to get a refund or a replacement. Although after your experiences with your lemon RV, you may want to buy an M1A1 Abrams tank and pay a visit to the manufacturer.

Donald Ladew, Staff Writer for Norman Taylor & Associates, is a professional writer and author of numerous articles on quality,customer service issues and many other subjects. This article approved by Norman F. Taylor Esq. For more information about this most important subject, please read Lemon Law - The Standard Reference Guide, Norman F. Taylor Esq. ISBN 0-9760058-0-8 http://www.lemonattorneys.com or http://www.normantaylor.com For further inquiries, Mr. Ladew may be reached at: donald@normantaylor.com Phone: 818-244-3905.

By drafting a Power of Attorney, you will be giving someone
the legal right to look after your business affairs if you are
unavailable, away, mentally incapacitated, or otherwise unable
to make business decisions.

Just as many individuals postpone writing a will, many business
owners avoid the step of drafting a Power of Attorney. Both
appear to have a superstitious belief that the act of preparing
for potential problems will attract misfortune.

When we apply the clear light of reason, we all know that
writing a will doesn’t imply imminent death and drafting a
Power of Attorney doesn’t suggest we’ll be unable to operate
our businesses. Both are simply evidence of good planning.

What if an accident or an illness causes you lose the mental
capacity for a period of time? Without a Power of Attorney,
your family, colleagues and the courts will be pitted against
one another trying to straighten things out. Advance planning
will minimize the problems that will arise later.

Alternatively, perhaps you are planning to be away from your
business for an extended period. It’s not something
we like to consider, but in the extended absences of an owner,
the potential for employee fraud or theft increases. You want
someone in charge who has your best interests at heart.

Naturally, you will want to consult a lawyer to discuss your
unique situation. However, the following considerations are
likely to be applicable in most cases:

1. When you draft a Power or Attorney, you must be “of sound
mind.” Powers of Attorney can be revoked or modified, but again,
you must be deemed to be of sound mind. Documents drafting or
amending Powers of Attorney must be witnessed.

2. By drafting a Power or Attorney, you are giving the “donees”
the legal right to carry out transactions on your behalf. In most areas,
you can stipulate the powers that you are allocating. Typically,
Powers of Attorney include the right to sell or purchase real
estate and other assets, the right to make payments of bills and
debts, and the right to manage investments of various sorts.

3. Typically you can identify two people to have power of
attorney, as well as appointing a substitute in case something happens
to one of the first two. Some advisors recommend appointing three
donees to work jointly in the management of your affairs. Ideally,
one donee should be a family member or friend who has your best
interests at heart. The other should be someone who is connected
to the business and who is familiar with day to day operations.
The third recommended donee is the accountant who handles the
company’s books.

4. When drafting the document, be very clear what powers you
are giving the donees. Avoid “gray areas” or areas that could
be open to interpretation.

5. Make sure that at least one of your donees knows where the
Power of Attorney document is kept.

6. In most areas, Powers of Attorney can be Continuing or
Limited. Continuing Powers of Attorney usually take effect
from the date of signing and remain in effect after a person
becomes incapacitated. Limited Powers of Attorney give the
donee authority to act only under certain circumstances. Limited
powers could include real estate transactions, complex investments
like term deposits, RRSP contributions, and so on.

About the Author

June Campbell
How to Write Business Plans, Business Proposals,
JV Contracts,Human Resource Package, More!
No-cost ebook “Beginners Guide to Ecommerce”.
Business Writing by Nightcats Multimedia Productions
http://www.nightcats.com

Emerging markets are high risk and high reward. In my work as an attorney representing Western companies in emerging markets, I have concluded there are four essential elements to emerging market success: a good partner, an open mind, active participation, and extreme patience.

I have seen enough essential similarities between such diverse countries as Russia, Korea (ten years ago when it was still an emerging market country), Vietnam, and even the Gambia and Papua New Guinea, to believe certain core generalizations hold true for all or nearly all emerging market nations. Just as a good concept, a strong market, and good execution are necessary in all countries, so too are these four simple principles the keys to success in emerging market nations.

PRINCIPLE ONE: A Good Partner is the sine qua non of Success.

The quality of the local partner is the indispensable element for emerging market success. So where do you begin?

Start with due diligence. Before doing business with anyone, you must first determine what you need from your partner in the particular country in which you will be conducting business. In my experience, foreign companies need a local partner who is effective, cooperative, and (most important of all) trustworthy.

Emerging market countries almost always have less-than-fully-formed legal systems. Their laws are oftentimes slanted towards the government and away from free markets. Their courts are slow and often corrupt. Form takes precedence over substance in ways completely unfamiliar to Westerners. One small technical miscue on your part might eliminate your right to sue your partner for having stolen all of your money. It might even lead to you and your company being kicked out of the country, while your assets remain.

Of course you should do your best to avoid technical miscues, but the better strategy is to pick your partner well.

So what should you look for in a local partner? Political connections? Yes and no:

• Yes, because you probably will need someone with sufficient dexterity to maneuver around often-suffocating business laws and a bureaucracy that may try to cut in on your business at every turn.
  
• No, if you think that is all you will need. Just as in the West, the politically connected are usually more a “government type” than a business person. Partnering with someone in an emerging country with whom you would never consider partnering back home is a mistake.

Political clout in emerging market countries is often more effective for avoiding legal responsibility for something like a debt than it is in generating business revenues. I have seen countless instances where a foreign company partners with someone because he “is tight with the governor,” only to see the business crushed by the new governor as part of his house cleaning. The best partner is politically connected only to the extent necessary for business success.

Your partner’s character and reputation are your protection in countries where the court system is not. Do not partner in any sense of that term without having conducted thorough due diligence.

Get to know your potential partner. If he is legitimate and wants to work with you for the long term, he will expect you to want to get to know him better and think nothing of your wanting multiple meetings before signing any deal.

Use every source you have to find out about your potential partner. Check his references, particularly those of other foreign firms with whom he has worked. Hire a local lawyer or investigator to confirm he and his various businesses are in good standing with all creditors and taxing authorities. If your potential partner is in Vladivostok, Russia or Qingdao, China, hiring a lawyer in Moscow or Shanghai will probably not be good enough. Find someone you can trust with contacts where your potential partner conducts business.

PRINCIPLE TWO: Keep an Open Mind. Assume Nothing.

Doing business in an emerging market means taking nothing for granted. I have a mantra for my own legal work in these countries that translates well to the business world: “Assume nothing, but assume that you are assuming things without even realizing you are doing so.”

Things will be different. Very different. Things you take for granted in your home country might not exist in the emerging market country. Things you take for granted in your home country might be the exact opposite in the emerging market country. Things you think will be totally different in the emerging market country may be exactly the same. Things you thought you knew about emerging market countries based on what you know from another emerging market country may be completely different in a neighboring country, or even in another region within the same country.

The principle, one more time: Keep an open mind, and assume nothing.

PRINCIPLE THREE: Participate in Everything.

In many emerging market countries, local businesses take advantage of corruption to avoid complying with laws. This may work for the locals, but it won’t work for you. The easiest way for a local rival to drive you out is for you to do something illegal. Neither you nor your government will have good grounds to complain if your rival gets your business closed down due to your illegal activity. It might even be your own partner who reports you so he can assume full ownership and control of your business.

You must have your own people on the ground, leading, training, and instructing on business methods, business ethics, efficiency, and quality control, among other things.

We have a saying in our law office that one day of face-to-face meetings with local counsel is equivalent to one month of telephone calls and e-mails in terms of getting things done. This is equally true on the business front.

PRINCIPLE FOUR: Exercise Extreme Patience.

This principle stems from the maxim that everything takes twice as long as you think it will. If it takes twice as long in the West, triple that in emerging market countries. You’ll go in both as a businessperson and a teacherand in both roles, the learning curve of your partner will almost certainly take way more time to deal with than you think.

For example, many emerging market countries have a history where “bad business” meant “thinking long-term.” A year or two after the fall of Soviet communism, I was involved in a matter where an investor put $250,000 into a Russian joint venture. The business very quickly was making good money and all indicators pointed towards steadily increasing profitability. But, quite quickly, the Russian company stole the $250,000. Was it so irrational for him to think so short term in a country where the government and tax systems had such a history of unpredictability?

Remember: It takes patience to encourage change of mindset. Extreme patience.

EMERGING MARKET SUCCESS

Emerging markets cannot be approached with a quick-kill mentality. Above all else, emerging market success demands a good partner, an open mind, a high degree of participation, and extreme patience.

It is certainly risky. It can also be very profitable.

Dan Harris is an attorney withthe international law firm of Harris & Moure, pllc., which focuses on assisting businesses in or involved with Asia, Eastern Europe, or North America. http://www.harrismoure.com

C Corporation v. S Corporation

Federal tax laws automatically consider every corporation to be a “C” designation. A small business, however, may elect to be designated as an “S” corporation by filing IRS form 2553. The election must be made prior to the tax year in which it is going to be effective. All shareholders must sign the election.

A C corporation stands alone for tax purposes. It must file tax returns and pay taxes on profits. Profits and losses are reported on the corporate tax return and do not pass through to shareholders. C corporations can elect any calendar month as the end of their fiscal year.

An S corporation is a pass through entity for tax purposes. It does not file a tax return for the purpose of paying taxes, but does file information returns. All profits and losses are passed through to the shareholders. In turn, each shareholder reports the profit or loss on his or her individual tax returns in proportion to their ownership interest. For instance, if you own 30% of the total issued shares, 30% of the profits or losses must be reported on your personal tax returns. S corporations must have a fiscal year-end of December 31. If you intend to eventually take your business public, you cannot use an S corporation.

Although S corporations are a tax choice, there are limitations on what corporate entities can make the election. The biggest hurdles are:

1. There can be no more than 75 shareholders;

2. Each shareholder must be a person, not a business entity; and

3. There can be only one class of stock.

Benefits

While S corporations provide relief from the tax filings of a C corporation, there are negative aspects to using them. Simply put, a C corporation can write off more expenses. S corporations may not be able to deduct certain types of insurance and costs of doing business. The list is fairly complicated, so you should speak with a tax professional prior to deciding which designation works for your business.

S Corporation vs. Limited Liability Company

S corporations have a definite tax advantage over limited liability companies [”LLC”]. Distributions from LLCs to shareholders are subject to self-employment tax [15.2 percent] in their entirety. Distributions from S corporations, however, can be broken down into two categories, salaries and dividends. The dividend distributions are not subject to the self-employment tax. Avoiding self-employment tax can make a substantial difference in the amount of money you take home.

In Closing

I always laugh when someone emphatically says that every business should be formed as a particular entity. Such statements are simply wrong. The “best” business entity depends entirely on the nature of your business. In many instances, S corporations are ideal.

About the Author

Richard A. Chapo is a business lawyer with SanDiegoBusinessLawFirm.com - This article is for information purposes only. Nothing in this article is intended to address the reader’s specific situation nor does it create an attorney-client relationship.

Shopping tips:

1. Flat panel monitors use interfaces - analog or digital. The newer models have digital interface but an all-digital environment costs more. If you are buying an analog flat panel, you will have to attach it with a digital interface to your video card with a digital out jack to mainstream the signal.

If you are planning to buy a digital interface, you need to check its compatibility. There are several digital interface standards available todayPlug and Display (P&D) from the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA), Digital Flat Panel (DFP) from the Digital Flat Panel Working Group, and Digital Video Interface (DVI) from the Digital Display Working Group (DDWG).

The P&D interface is the oldest of the three standards and chances are your new model won’t sport this standard. Support for DFP standard is seen across many hardware vendors. The DVI standard is the latest and the most popular. Do your research and whichever standard you chose, you need to match its components that include cables and video cards!

2. Pixel-refresh response time: In an LCD display, the time required to switch from light to dark objects or vice versa, is referred to as Pixel-refresh response time. If the response time is poor (more than 40ms), you may see ghosting effect, i.e., the image seems to remain longer on the screen than it actually is!

Whereas in a text environment this would hardly matter, in a gaming or media centric environment the effect could be a deterrent. Cheaper models give more ghosting than their expensive counterparts. Also, pixel-refresh response time is not mentioned on the monitors. You need to watch closely to judge the performance of each model.

3. Viewing angle: One problem with a flat panel monitor is its viewing angle. Laptop users must have experienced this problem. Moving away from the monitor in any direction causes the screen to look black! Different models offer different viewing angles horizontally and vertically.

Find the one best suited to your pocket! In any case, for a home PC, the viewing angle doesn’t make much difference but if the monitor is going to be used for official presentations then it should have viewing angle of at least 120 degrees horizontal and 100 degrees vertical. Also, ask for peripherals like pivoting frames.

4. Size: bigger is better, but with flat panel, remember 15-inch screen gives you the experience of a 17-inch CRT monitor. If you can afford 17-inch flat panel, by all means, go for it, if not, a 15-inch screen should not be a disappointment.

Other things to check when buying a flat panel are guarantees and warranties. A three-year warranty is satisfactory. People change the monitor settings in stores and while purchasing; make sure that you check the piece adequately. You now have the basic information; all you need is time to check out the market!

Well, there is a way to get some exercise into your day and that way is to simply exercise at your desk. No, that was not a typo. Here is a little routine that you can do right at your desk. It doesn’t take up much time and while it will not make you a candidate for the next fitness competition, it will give your muscles enough work to stay firm.

Complete one set of each exercise in order. Do 10 to 20 repetitions of each exercise, and follow with 1 to 2 more sets in order if time permits it.

Chair crunch:
Sit tall in your chair with your feet flat on the floor. Begin to slowly round your upper back downward until you feel your abdominal muscles tighten. Hold for 3-5 seconds, and then return to the start position.

Squats:
Stand up in front of your chair. Sit back into a squat like you are sitting back down in your chair, keeping your weight on your heels and your knees behind your toes. When you are almost touching your chair with your butt, push yourself back to the standing position using your leg muscles.

Calf raises:
Stand in front of your desk and put your hands on the desk for balance. Lift yourself up onto the balls of your feet. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, and then lower yourself back down to the floor.

Desk pushup:
Stand 4 to 5 feet away from your desk and put of your hands on the edge of the desk. Relax your lower body and using just your arms, lower your chest down toward the desk and stop when your chest is about 3 to 6 inches away from it. Then push yourself back up to the starting position again using only your arms.

Seated triceps lift backs:
Sit tall in your chair. Put your arms down at your sides with your palms facing forward. With your arms strait and elbows locked, slowly bring your arms up behind you until you feel your triceps muscles tighten. Hold for 3 to 5 seconds, then lower your arms back to the starting position.

Seated bicep curls:
Sit tall in your chair. Start with one arm down at your side, palm facing forward in a fist. Put your other hand over your fist and push against it for resistance while bringing your fist up toward your shoulder. Once your fist is close to your shoulder, lower it back down to the starting position maintaining constant resistance with the other hand throughout the entire movement. Complete all repetitions for that set, then switch sides and repeat.

After you have completed each exercise for the amount of repetitions and sets you can do, sit down and straighten your legs. Now gently reach for your toes until you feel you can’t go any further, hold for 10 seconds (do not bounce), then return to the starting position. Next, reach your arms out to your sides as far as you can. Keeping them fully extended, bring them slowly to the front and cross them over each other as far as you can. Hold for 10 seconds, and then return them to your sides. Now, reach your arms over your head as far as you can, hold for 10 seconds, and then return them to your sides.

Taking the time to do this simple but effective exercise routine at the office will help to keep you toned and you can do it even with the worst schedule possible because it can be done during your lunch break and still leave you enough time to eat your lunch.
Enjoy your workout.

Jim O’Neill gives you tons of valuable information on the subjects of weight loss, fitness, and nutrition to make it easy for you to live a healthy lifestyle. Sign up now for his free newsletter at: www.mrgymhealth.com

Below, is more or less an exhaustive cricket equipment inventory, you don’t require to get all the goods on this list, as lots of clubs will loan you gear particularly at youth level:

Cricket whites, cricket bats, balls, helmets, gloves, batting (wicket keeping) inner gloves, wicket keeping gloves, batting pads, wicket keeping pads, box, chest pad, arm guard, inner thigh pad, cricket boots (bowling boots; batting boots), box (groin guard), stumps and bails.

For the majority of sports competitions you will ever play a part in you will need to have your very own set of whites. Cricket whites contain white cricket trousers & a cricket shirt. It is very important to make sure that you find a good pair of cricket trousers as well as a good white cricket shirt and jumper as it can turn cold if you are standing out on the pitch for a significantly long time in particular if plan to play in England (the start and end of the season are the coldest).

If you can not hire equipment from your club the other most critical items of equipment are a cricket bat and box. A good quality cricket bat is necessary if you hope to score heaps of runs & is a very special piece of cricket equipment, so spend some time selecting your bat, if possible you would be advised to go to a sports shop and test drive one before you buy in order for you to know how it feels to play with. As soon as you know what you want you can often buy bats on the Web a great deal cheaper). You need a good box to guard your groin from the ball, as getting hit down below’ is considerably painful, so investing in a good box before you start is a must - you can not play cricket without one.