The Online Actos Blog

Do you manage by walking around? What do you see? People excited about their job or people just going through the motions? Here are seven ways, that do not cost much if anything, to turn the “it’s just a job” employee into one that is powered up and willing to give their best every day.

Spend time out in the field. Ask your employees how you can help make their jobs easier. Work alongside them and even let them teach you what they do. Southwest Airlines has a mandate that every manager must spend 1/3 of his or her time in direct contact with employees and customers to create a stronger feeling of teamwork.

Hold a voluntary good news hour. Set aside time once a week so that everyone can share good things that have happened in their lives and work during the last week.

Celebrate everything you can. For example, meeting of short term goals, the end of the budget process, winning grants or new customers, extraordinary work, safety successes.

Surprise with spontaneous treats. Rent an ice cream cart or a popcorn machine. Take coffee and donuts to each person’s work station. How about a package of Lifesavers during a stressful time?

Praise frequently. A pat on the back, a short note of thanks, or a voice mail message from a manager can refill employees’ emotional bank accounts for weeks.

Hold informal “grapevine sessions” to control the flow of the rumor mill. Managers must be prepared to listen and to be completely truthful and open. Even when they can’t share specific information, they can honestly explain why and when it will be available.

Let people know what they do is important. Help your workers focus not only on a job description but also on how they fit into the big picture. That new sense of purpose will boost their self-esteem and motivation.

If someone asked your staff or frontline workers a few general questions about the company or your department, would they describe it in terms like ‘they’ and ‘them,’ or in terms like ‘we’ or ‘us’? What can you do, in your position, to move your people to feel engaged and part of your team?

Marcia Zidle, the ‘people smarts’ coach, works with business leaders to quickly solve their people management headaches so they can concentrate on their #1 job to grow and increase profits. She offers free help through Leadership Briefing, a weekly e-newsletter with practical tips on leadership style, employee motivation, recruitment and retention and relationship management. Subscribe by going to
http://leadershiphooks.com/ and get the bonus report “61 Leadership Time Savers and Life Savers”. Marcia is the author of the What Really Works Handbooks resources for managers on the front line and the Power-by-the-Hour programs fast, convenient, real life, affordable courses for leadership and staff development. She is available for media interviews, conference presentations and panel discussions on the hottest issues affecting the workplace today. Contact Marcia at 800-971-7619.

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“Aim High! There is little virtue in easy victory.”

Sir Edmund Hillary, who with Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay, was the first man to successfully summit Mount Everest.

Think of the effort that Sir Edmund Hillary must have put in to mount the 29,035 feet of the Himalayan giant Mount Everest. And we think that internet marketing is hard! Yet in spite of the difficulty that is inherent in mountain climbing expeditions, there are challenges in climbing the oft reputed internet peaks that dot the cyperspace landscape. These are obstacles that any person new to this arena faces. Web site optimization, traffic regulation, search engine submissionwhere does it end? Each of these mountain peaks has sub-peaks, and every time we think we have reached the top, we see thatas the famous poet Alexander Pope said”Alps on Alps arise.”

So what does the prospective infopreneur do? Personally, I have struggled to drive to my site the traffic that will produce sales of the electronic books that I have authored and that are available there. I have tried buying traffic from the so called “traffic drivers,” but these are all a waste of money. And don’t be fooled into buying any of the scam products which go under many different names but all produce the same worthless results. Again, if it were that easy to produce big results, everyone would be rich and nobody would be working. That kind of makes sense, does it not? So what does one do then?

Recently, I had the fortunate experience of meeting someone who happens to be an expert at all this. It was one of those serendipitous occurrences where fate just had me at the right time at the right place. You see, in working one of my three current jobs, I was given a business card of one of the sons of a family-owned furniture store. I decided to call on him to see if I could sell him an ad for the new advertising book I’m working on putting together. When I called the store, the brother of the person I eventually met answered and expressed interest in meeting with me to discuss the advertising. When I went to the store, only the older brother, who happened to be a self-taught web optimization expert, was there. We started speaking, one thing led to the next, and suddenly he was telling me how 95% of his business came from online sales.

This mechanical-engineer-turned-computer expert said he studied for one year and read about three hours per day. He single-handedly made his web site a powerhouse marketing tool by implementing his optimization methods. He said that I could do the same if I put in the time. The only problem is that time is limited to me. Thus he offered to help me and mentioned how much it would cost. He offered to give me a written guarantee that would state how many increased visitors I would have by a certain time. The only problem with this is that because he is busy with some current clients, he cannot start with my site for about two months.

Now the difference between what this person is offering and what you get offered by some of these internet programs is quite substantial. First of all, he did not pressure me into buying anything nor did he make grandiose promises. He also stated that he could not start the work for a while, which made me feel comfortable in that he was not trying to get me to do something right away. He also did tell me that this would take timeabout four to six months before we would reach the desired targeted traffic. Again, no overnight “get a million visitors to your site” type of thing.

After I implement some of the strategies that this consultant is suggesting, I will write a follow up article on the results. If they are substantial, I will let my readers know, and I will try to share with them any potentially useful information. Until then, we have to continue to aim high; however, we have to be willing to work for such high ambitionsand also be patient until they are realized.

Joe is a prolific writer of self-help and educational material and an award-winning former teacher of both college and high school mathematics. Under the penname, JC Page, Joe authored Arithmetic Magic. As a result of this publication, Joe was invited to be a guest on the television show the Book Authority. Joe is also author of the charmingly pithy and popular ebook, Making a Good Impression Every Time: The Secret to Instant Popularity; the seminal collection of verse, Poems for the Mathematically Insecure, and the creator and scriptwriter of an upcoming DVD series that is both visionary and highly educational. The diverse genre of his writings (novel, short story, essay, script, and poetry)particularly in regard to its educational flavor continues to captivate readers and to earn him recognition.

Joe propagates his teaching philosophy through his articles and books and is dedicated to helping educate children living in impoverished countries. Toward this end, he donates a portion of the proceeds from the sale of every ebook. For more information go to http://www.mathbyjoe.com

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One of the most traditional and nicest elements you can add to your patio is iron patio furniture. Iron patio furniture is classical and ads a nice finishing look to your outdoor style. There are all types of designs to fit your needs and wants.

The benefits of using iron patio furniture is that it lasts for quite a long time, if it is taken care of. It is also easy to clean and is stain resistant. You can wash it with soapy water. It can also withstand the weather like the rain and wind. It’s durable and strong, there is no bowing or flimsiness with iron patio furniture.

There are all types of styles to choose from. Even though it’s iron, it’s comfortable with or without cushions. Search your internet for prices that fit within your price range. There are all types to choose from. Not only is it stable but it is durable and can withstand the weather. You can find the designs that will fit perfectly with your outdoor settings. You may want to consider adding a protective sealant to the furniture. All in all for a comfortable patio furniture choice, iron patio furniture is the way to go.

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Permanent Weight loss is not about Diet. If you are looking for the latest pill, magic potion or perhaps some celebrity’s amazing secrets, then you’ve come to the wrong page. However, at some point you will be back because at some point you will realize that unless you address the cause and the truth about your eating habits you will end up on the merry-go-round again. There are many products and services promising fantastic results. Some are good, most are average, usually they cost more than they are worth, and some are outright dangerous. Losing weight is a simple matter of either decreasing calorie intake or increasing energy output. Most people combine both to achieve fast results.

Most people have tried this method often enough to know that it works and I have found that most dieters know more about food than anyone else. My main aim is to address the many causes of weight gain and focus on the creation of new habits in order to bring about permanent weight loss maintenance.

I once worked in a very innovative weight loss clinic. The programme focused on Nutrition, Relaxation Techniques, and Psychology. I was a counsellor at the time and worked there for almost 10 years. Although I was working as an expert, I think I learned more from my clients than I did from my textbooks. I counselled thousands of people over the years and it became very obvious to me that they all had a lot in common. Almost without exception they all had an emotional connection or response to food. Their eating habits had become an automatic response. They all knew a lot about food and calories and they all knew how to lose weight. They had all lost weight and regained it a number of times. This we referred to as the “yo-yo syndrome”.

If you happen to be one of the very few people who do not understand diet, I will lightly touch on it to give you a crash course in weight loss. The most important thing I learned about diet in relationship to losing weight is this:

There is no such thing as a fattening food.

No one food is either fattening or slimming. It’s this simple: Food contains calories, calories are units of energy. There are no fat calories or thin calories, 2000 cake calories are exactly the same as 2000 celery calories. Calories are burned by the body to produce energy. Just being alive burns calories. However, the more active the body the bigger the burn. If you burn the same amount of calories as you eat then your weight will remain the same. If you eat 3000 calories and burn 2000 then 1000 are stored. (as fat)

It’s the same as banking; if you put $100 in your account and only spend $80 then $20 is saved. If you did this for 10 weeks then $200 will be saved. Overweight people do not necessarily eat a huge amount of food or a huge amount of, ‘bad food’, they simply consume more calories than they need. The unused calories are then stored in the body as fat. If you put too few calories in, the body will take the stored calories (fat) and use that for energy, thereby, creating weight loss.

I am not going to go to any great length to discuss food or diet on these pages. It is my experience that overweight people know as much as I do about food and calories. If you wish to know more about food or nutrition there are many books available. (See the links page.)

One point I do wish to make about food is this: Vitamins, Minerals, Protein, Carbohydrate, Fat, etc. are vital to maintaining health. Foods heal, build and repair. Foods balance your metabolism and produce energy and well-being. You will not get fat from eating cakes and drinking soda, however, if you are putting in calories that have little or no nutritional content, you will become tired, depressed, unmotivated and ultimately, very sick.

When you decide to use fat storage for energy you will lose weight. As in the banking analogy above, put less in and use more, then you will burn up the balance.

Let’s say your weight maintenance requires 2000 calories a day. You decide to put in 1000 a day; your body will then rob the fat stores of 1000. This is where food choices are most important. Because you are reducing the calorie intake by 1000, you need to be very diligent about getting the maximum amount of nutritional benefit from the food you eat.

Most diets emphasis fresh fruit, salad, grilled or boiled fish or chicken etc; not because these foods are thinning, but because they have the most amount of food value (nutrition) for the calories.

High nutritional foods give you vitality and well-being. Low nutritional food will make you feel tired, grumpy, and unmotivated (making it more likely to binge eat).

Reducing calories will get you to your ideal weight. The purpose of this page is not to motivate a diet; this is about looking at long-term habits and changing those habits so that your future behaviour will become automatic, without conscious thought or will- power. By following the guidelines below you will lose weight, keep it off, and maintain health, vitality, and well-being.

Your weight can be about many things or a combination of many things. Overeating may be part of the problem, but what is the cause of overeating? Your reasons may be unique, but many of the common causes are:

Boredom,
Depression,
Fear,
Tiredness,
Loneliness,
And Tension.

Many facets are related to body image, self-esteem, and even sexual issues.

You may, on a very logical level, desire a thinner body. However, subconsciously you may associate being normal or comfortable with the shape of your mother, siblings, or friends. If you are a wife or mother yourself, you may subconsciously feel that your body image should not suggest you are a single or available woman. Sometimes becoming a wife and mother creates conflict with being sexually attractive to other men. Maybe being a good mother requires a motherly look?

Some people feel safer or stronger by being bigger and may panic or feel insecure when they have lost weight. Sometimes weight can be thought of as being ‘Big’. If you have a history of being bullied or made to feel small in some way you may use this ‘Being Big Image’.

Being overweight can often be used to repress sexuality. Teenage girls often find sexual advances intimidating and sub-consciously put on weight as a barrier, which continues throughout life.

If your sex life is unsatisfying you may unconsciously use your weight as a turn off. Maybe you are so self-conscious about your weight that you deny yourself your sexuality. Some women who have experienced sexual abuse will use their weight as a sexual defence or a personal barrier.

Binge eating is usually about punishment; this is very common in high achievers. (Anorexics and Bulimics are often in this category as well.) Bingeing is about trying to get it perfect and then destroying all effort if there is a slight slip up. This is the ‘All or None Approach’.

Binge eating is also very common with Pre-Menstrual-Syndrome.
P.M.S. can cause women to be emotionally fragile. Their thinking can be fuzzy, their body may retain fluid meaning their body feels fatter or bloated. There is discomfort in the stomach area and sugar cravings are common. If you are serious about long-term weight maintenance you must be prepared for this. You must plan alternative actions; like being kind to yourself, more flexible, self-loving and forgiving. Keep a calendar and be prepared before you hit crisis point.

Eating Emotions.
Some people find they that have an emotional attachment to food. If you were rewarded with sweets for good behaviour or sent to your room without dinner for bad behaviour, you may very well be treating food as a reward or a punishment. Your eating habits may have become confused with approval or disapproval.

If your family was poor you may equate food with being prosperous or successful.

For most people the stomach area is the emotional centre of the body. Stress, worry, fear and unhappiness will create tightness there. Often overeating is an automatic response to releasing this tension.

Observe yourself for a few weeks and you will notice how easy and common it is to push food down into the tightness of your stomach area when you are stressed.

You may use food to release and stretch the area, this is particularly obvious in a binge eating session.

Food can nurture and food can provide comfort. By detached observation you learn a lot about yourself and your food habits. Watch yourself without judging yourself for a few weeks and you’ll be amazed at how often you are feeding your emotions

I am only touching lightly on some of the issues here. I hope this information may lead you to considering some of the many facets that create a habit. Some of the issues will be common to most people or at least make you start thinking about your own unique psychological make up.

By understanding your eating behaviour you will be in a better position to bring about permanent changes and lose weight without great effort.

There are some basic principles that need to be addressed and explored if you sincerely wish to lose weight and keep it off.

Food
Eating well means providing your body with the highest nutritional values. If your nutritional needs are not met, you will quickly become tired, unhappy and unwell. The right foods help to rebuild and repair your body, increase energy, improve immune function, detoxify, build muscle tissue and eliminate waste products. Most importantly, the food you eat can influence how you feel. How you feel influences your behaviour. Within just a week or two you may be happier, more energised, more motivated and slimmer. From this point the food thing becomes easier and easier.

The foods you choose need to be enjoyable. There are many options and a huge variety of choices. Don’t eat things you hate just because they are low-cal. The money you save on some things can be put back into more expensive and enjoyable options.

If you reduce the quantity then increase the quality; swap sausage for crayfish, biscuits for mangoes. If you like seafood then buy oysters, prawns, smoked salmon and expensive fish. Don’t just eat lettuce and carrots; explore all the fruits and vegetables.

Make your food delicious and special; cook with herbs and spices; garlic, chilli, basil, or coriander etc. Turn ordinary food into something special.

Keep a good veggie soup in the kitchen for those times when you will be tired, cold and starving. Soup is quick, hot, and filling.

Eat less and more often. Large meals zap your energy. Too much food, particularly high in animal fat or too many protein combinations, will almost put you to sleep. Remember that being tired physically or mentally will be the biggest enemy to your success.

Diet Fads.
Dieting is the easiest thing in the world to understand. I have previously pointed out that you need to put fewer calories in or more energy out. Eat high nutrition and eliminate or greatly reduce empty calories.

Eat 5 serves of vegetables a day and at least 2 pieces of fruit. Minimize or eliminate fat, sugar and flour. How simple is that?

All diets will have this information within their content, but to sell a magazine, pill, potion, video or book you will be led into some spin on ‘Scientific Research’ and some fancy talk justifying its merit. This is not about you, this is about selling a product.

For the Kids.
You do not ever need to have ‘Junk Food’ in your Home. If you make a conscious decision to eat junk food, then at least make yourself go out of your way to get it. If you need to walk to the shop to get a chocolate then you may just have a little time to re-consider it. No one is so strong willed that they will not go reaching for ice cream on a stinking hot day. Who wouldn’t be temped to grab a slice of cake if it’s sitting in the fridge every time you open it? If it’s in your home you will eat it by impulse.

If you really want it, make a conscious decision to eat it, enjoy it and then forget it.

But don’t just grab stuff just because it’s there. Almost every dieter I have spoken to says, “I need to have it there for the kids”.

The eating habits of your children will become the eating habits they will carry throughout their lives. Do you really want your daughter going through what you have gone through? Are you depriving your child of sweets or are you depriving your child of adult obesity?

If you were giving up smoking or alcohol, would you leave cigarettes and a bottle of scotch around just in case the kids might enjoy them? Would you reason that just because you are giving up smoking it’s not fair to make your children go without something they may enjoy?

The habits that kids learn in childhood are the habits they carry for life.

When your 25 yr old son is lying in the Coronary ward of the hospital, are you really going to say, “I thought I was being kind by giving you treats?”

When your 30 yr old Daughter is 100 lb overweight and won’t leave the house any more, will you convince her, you were being loving?

Heart disease, Diabetes, Menopause, Obesity and Infertility are now being seen in very young people through-out the Western World and most Doctors will point the finger at one cause: Diet.

Habit.
A habit is a behaviour that is repeated to such a degree that the sub-conscious mind computes the entirety of the information and creates an automatic behaviour. Eating habits are usually formed in childhood and changes will require conscious awareness, alternative reactions, and repetition of new behaviours. Ultimately your new eating habits will become your new automatic behaviour.

The goal is to get to the point where you do not think about food at all. The amount of food and the type of food you are used to are already set habits. The time of day you eat is also a habit.

What you may not have explored before are the emotional habits that drive your decisions. Food can pick you up when you are feeling tired or out of sorts, food can calm you down when stressed or anxious, food can replace boredom or loneliness. Food is used as a celebration, a reward, a comfort and an expression of friendship. Food can also be used as a punishment.

Most people do not break their diets because they are hungry. Most diets are broken because of the sense of losing an emotional crutch. In a way, food has become a lifelong friend and quite often dieting feels like losing a friend.

To successfully change and maintain a habit, you must know what your emotional connections are and have in place better alternatives. Food is a short-term diversion, and within an hour or two your stress or boredom will still be there plus the disappointment and remorse of having failed.

Seriously, food does not reduce anxiety, it will mask it for a while, but unless you pin point your issues you will keep yourself in this cycle.

Stress needs to be addressed at the onset not swallowed at the crisis point.

Don’t eat your anger! Consider this:
Every pound of body fat could well be the weight and shape of last year’s disappointments.

Body Image.
Your body is the most valuable asset you have. It is smarter than any computer, there is no scientist, doctor or chemist able to heal, repair, or protect you like your own body can, it is your home and your vehicle. There is no person and no thing in this entire Universe that will serve or protect you like your own body. Your life, freedom, happiness, pleasure, vitality, and health are all gifts to you from your body.

The most amazing thing to realize is that most people disrespect and sometimes even hate their bodies. Many people poison their own bodies. Certainly in our culture we have somehow taken on big fat lies about our bodies.

Stop for a moment right now and consider your attitude to your body. Is there a sense of shame? When you think or speak about your body, is there respect and admiration or self-loathing, criticism and indifference?

If you apply truth and logic, you will know (or you will come to know) that your body is the most fascinating, intelligent, and valuable possession you have.

You may spend most of your income on your houses and cars, yet neither will compare to your own body. You probably design, renovate, and maintain your home with unlimited commitment and yet you won’t consider how little your body asks and how much your body does.

Your body requires air, water, food, sleep and movement, and that’s all!

Think about what your body will do for you in return for these few simple requirements. Do you fill your car with sugar? Is your house filled with toxic matter and garbage? How much time, effort, and thought go into the décor of your home compared to the consideration of your own body? Surely you can see the reality of what I’m saying.

How much body disrespect has your weight created? Think about the unloving thoughts and feelings you have directed at your body.

Weight is simply too much body fat kept in storage; it’s no big deal!

Have you ever really stopped to consider the billions of wonderful processes within your body or do you simply focus on fat and divorce your body from yourself?

Eating Lies.
Lies, or BS as we affectionately refer to them, are the single most fattening things you ever swallow.

In the past few decades BS has become fact and fact is no longer considered. We have all been conned into believing that our own self-worth is created by how we look, what we do for a living and how much we earn. Advertising, media and marketing have taken over truth and common sense. If there is a buck to be made, then the marketing people can convince us of anything. Look at how bombarded we have become with the beauty myth. We starve ourselves, surgically remove body parts, and practise acts of self-abuse in the great quest of beauty.

Be Beautiful and you will be happy and valued.
Rubbish! Take 2 minutes to think about the 5 most important people in your life. Consider your reasons for their value, I am sure that being good looking or thin does not even come in to it.

There is a lot of money to be made by others from your believing that you are unattractive, unacceptable or unlovable. Think about it, who in their right mind would buy a $500 bottle of perfume simply to seduce a man? When was the last time you smelled aftershave and were overtaken by sexual desire? We spend thousands of dollars on health spas and convince ourselves that rolling around in mud will make us beautiful. Look in your cosmetic cabinet and see the money spent on all those potions. Do you look like a movie star?

Think about the books, pills, supplements, clubs memberships and machinery you have purchased to lose weight.

Don’t allow your self-worth to be manipulated by propaganda and clever marketing.

Stop getting caught up in one or two minor imperfections. Change only the things that you yourself decide to work on. Don’t take on other people’s neurotic concepts about yourself.
If you lose weight for your own reasons, with your own values and within your own truth, it will be easy.

When losing weight becomes a gift you give yourself, because you love yourself, it will be achieved effortlessly and with pleasure.
Copyright Sonya Green www.reinventingmyself.com

Sonya Green West Australian author and webmaster of http://www.reinventingmyself.com Weight loss consultant and personal growth course facilitator.

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Travel Central America

Sandwiched between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Central America offers travelers the opportunity to visit one of the world’s most amazing ecological and cultural destinations. Central America is home to beautiful jungles, sandy beaches, waterspouts like surfing and SCUBA diving, and some of the western hemispheres most hospitable resort destinations.

While Central America has experienced a tumultuous past that includes colonial exploitation and violent uprisings, travelers who visit today will experience relative safety. For those visitors who choose to travel South America, each country offers a unique experience that will engage and entertain them.

Check out the following countries and attractions when you travel South America:

Belize:
By far, the most stable country in Central America, Belize was created for travelers seeking a Caribbean flavor with a mainland location. In fact, most visitors agree that Belize has more in common with islands of the Caribbean than with its more volatile Central American neighbors. Home to a 180 mile long barrier reef, Belize is a SCUBA and snorkeling enthusiasts dream.

Guatemala:
Despite its reputation for social and political repression, travelers flock to the Central American country of Guatemala in an effort to see its natural wonders. Huge volcanoes and the regions highest concentration of Mayan ruins draw visitors to this turbulent nation.

El Salvador:
With the civil war of the 1980’s long over, El Salvador is now transformed into a traveler-friendly destination with huge natural volcanoes. Travelers should certainly visit places like the Montecristo Cloud Forest, which receives over 80 inches of rain annually, and the capital city of San Salvador.

Honduras:
Honduras may appear to be a true banana republic, but travel there is easy, enjoyable and inexpensive. The slow pace, natural beauty and low-profile tourism make it particularly appealing to travelers who enjoy getting off the beaten track.

Nicaragua:
This troubled Central American nation is rebuilding after years of war. Travelers are drawn there by its wondrous natural landscapes and vast natural treasures.

Costa Rica:
Known as the most stable and ecologically stunning nation in Central America, Costa Rica is the most successful tourist destination in the region. By embracing a very progressive attitude towards the preservation of the environment, visitors who travel Costa Rica can experience the amazing natural wonders of the Central American region. With miles of beautiful coastline on both the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, Costa Rica provides surfing and snorkeling for its guests. The rain forest of inland Costa Rica is home to monkeys, sloths, crocodiles and exotic birds as well as some rare and endangered plant species, as well.

Panama:
Except for the world famous Canal that bears the country’s name, Panama is largely overshadowed by its neighbors as a popular destination for Central American travelers. Those who do choose to visit Panama will be enthralled by numerous natural and cultural wonders that should not be overlooked. Visitors should be sure to experience the nation’s native birds and the thrill of off-shore deep-sea fishing.

Before you Travel Central America visit BestTripGuide.com for all your travel needs.

Submitted with Article Distributor.

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Fantastic 4 is a high-speed action game loosely based off the recently released movie starring Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis as the superheroes. These actors also perform the voice overs for the game, along with Julian McMahon who plays Victor Von Doom, the primary villain for both the game and the movie. The Fantastic 4 originally started as a comic book about five people that were changed biologically by a blast of cosmic radiation. One of those characters turned evil due to his selfish nature, but the other four decided to use their powers for the betterment of the world. This is why they are called the Fantastic Four.

The game begins with an animated clip depicting how the five characters got their powers. The video clip could have been done much better, it is very grainy and the sound is choppy. The characters hardly look anything like the actors that they represent. The clips that are shown throughout the game are pretty similar in that respect also. After this video clip you begin to play the game as Mr. Fantastic, the stretchy man, who pretty much leads the group. At this time none of the characters are sure what has happened to them and what is going on with their bodies. Mr. Fantastic awakes to find himself locked in a room while total chaos ensues outside his door. He needs to find someway to get out of these confines to see if his friends are alright so he picks the lock to his door. When he is released he finds a robot to help him fight his way to free his friends and to free himself. If you are playing in cooperative mode the second player will use the robot character.

The second character that you will use is the Human Torch, whose body is on fire throughout the entire game. When playing in cooperative mode it is easy to tell one character from the other due to the vast differences in looks. The Human Torch must also learn about his new powers while fighting the evil robots that are trying to kill him. His main goal, as is Mr. Fantastic’s, is to find and help his sister Sue; also known as the Invisible Woman.

The Invisible Woman is the cause of much jealousy between Von Doom and Mr. Fantastic who have both had strong feelings for her for a long while now. Her and Mr. Fantastic were in a long-term relationship a few years back, but he put his work ahead of her so she had to leave him. Of course she still has feelings for him even though she was working towards a relationship with Von Doom; at least that is what Von Doom thought. The Invisible Woman is a strong character in this game; however her hand to hand combat is a little weak.

The Thing changed more than anyone else and he did not take it as well as the others. He has a beautiful wife that he doesn’t want to lose because of his deformity. Unfortunately he does lose her, she couldn’t deal with the drastic change in his appearance. So the Thing ends up on the bridge looking into the water when a hapless stranger wanders over to him, thinking he is a regular Joe, to offer some advice why life is not so bad. The stranger takes one look at him and freaks out which is how you come to the next part of the game; saving people on a bridge. Each character has their own signature color and when you see the glowing, circular color it will indicate which character is needed to perform that task. You just set the character on the circle and follow the directions so that the hero can do their special move.

The game is not exactly like the movie, more villains were needed to make the game last longer. For instance, another comic book character, Nick Fury, was added into the mix. Nick Fury captures the Fantastic 4 and keeps them captive because of all the destruction they cause when trying to save people. Of course they escape from there too and strike a deal with Nick so that they will not be captured again. The deal is that the Fantastic 4 must undertake a mission for him, a dangerous one. There are also gang members for them to fight, dinosaurs, and lot of robotic creatures.

For those of you video game fans that like some substance in your games, keep on looking because your not going to find it here. On the other hand, if you are missing the old games like the ones for the original Nintendo console, look no further. The Fantastic 4 is your typical beat-em’-up and fly through game. This game can be beaten with relative ease, the character’s moves are not hard to master at all, and the boss characters go down easy, even Von Doom. The graphics are rather drab and the dialogue between the characters is difficult to hear over all the other noise. The only thing that saved this game from getting a total splat is the cooperative mode which turned out to be really fun. The way the camera is set up it is easy to maneuver your characters even when you have two people trying to be the boss. Really there isn’t a lot of choice on where to go, the path is already set for you. It is also very easy to distinguish one character from another which lessens the confusion of which little person is yours. So my recommendation is if you are going to rent or buy this game plan on making it a game for two, you will get a lot more out of it.

Miranda Stites, HeroesOfGaming.com

Heroes of Gaming: Video Game News

“Saving Good People From Bad Games”

http://www.heroesofgaming.com/games/ps2/f/fantastic4/fantastic4_rev.htm

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April 22nd will bring with it a day to remember that the Earth needs to be cared for as well as everything else in our lives. What can we do help you may ask? Where did “Earth Day” come from?

Earth day actually started with a number of events, which led to the official formation of “Earth Day” in the spring of 1970. For more detailed information about the formation of this important day, visit http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html you will find Senator Gaylord Nelson’s article, the founder of “Earth Day.”

Many communities across the nation and worldwide have various activities that you can join in. Why not try to do something with your children or even as a family? What is your school doing? To find out what your community is doing on this special day go to http://www.earthday.net/ enter your zip code and city and search.

Activities you might do with children:

1. Go to the local grocery store before the 22nd and ask for some brown grocery bags. Have your family, friends, and schoolmates decorate them for Earth Day. Return them to the store so that they can be used on the 22nd to remind people to use paper or clothe bags.

2. Attend a local Earth Day Fair. Most colleges will have a fair with lots of information and free activities for the kids to do.

3. Plant a tree or spread some grass and/or wildflower seeds in areas that need some “life”.

4. Pick up trash and debris along the rivers and beaches. Please be sure to use gloves. Parents, please supervise your children.

5. For really little ones, you might just take them to the park and read them a wee story on creation or mother earth. They can play in the grass, feel the sand in their feet, watch the birds sing, and if old enough pick up after themselves after a lovely picnic. (speak to your toddler about the importance of picking up after ones self and the effect it has on the environment)

6. Walk to school or work.

7. Ride your bicycle.

8. Make a bird feeder out of a toilet tissue roll by covering it with peanut butter and then adding some birdseed. Hang it on a tree with some string.

9. Take the Ecological Foot Print quiz on this site http://www.earthday.org/Footprint/index.asp

10. Home Educators, Moms, Dads, and Teachers: Make a solar oven with your children and bake a pizza or grilled cheese sandwich for lunch!

11. Another really cool thing to do with your children is listen to “Dirt Made My Lunch” Cd by Banana Slug String Band you can hear Mp3’s at this site: https://www5.cruzio.com/w5a146/products.html#dirtlunch

12. Adopt a rainforest animal at Kids Domain http://www.kidsdomain.com/holiday/earthday/adopt.html

13. Go to Kids Club at Epa and request a free Planet Protectors Club Kit! I did this with my eldest when he was about 5 years old and he really enjoyed it. http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/osw/kids/pdfs/jellyjar.pdf (download link)

Above all, enjoy yourself. Spend time with your children and the Earth.

(c) 2005

Sara Duggan is the mom of 2 boys and is wife to her sweetheart for 11 years. She enjoys crocheting and writing in her spare time. Visit Mommie-Care News or subscribe to her newsletter at http://mommie-care.com Be sure to enter Mommie-Care’s monthly drawing while you are there.

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Several uranium development companies have set their sights on New Mexico. Two are actively involved in permitting their properties for production. One was the first to be issued a drilling permit in about a decade; another awaits a permit in order to drill the company’s property. Another is an 800-pound gorilla in the nuclear fuel cycle. Three others have properties or continue to assemble a land package in New Mexico. The following is a brief review of the projects of these uranium development or exploration companies, currently holding property or moving forward.

The front runners include Uranium Resources, Strathmore Minerals and General Atomics. Companies moving forward include Laramide Resources and Western Uranium. Companies to also watch include Energy Metals, Max Resource Corp and Powertech Uranium. Each has various plans to advance their projects and should be reviewed on their merits.

Uranium Resources Inc.

Uranium Resources is the top front runner in New Mexico. The company has devoted a great deal of time and money to permit its Church Rock property. In an interview with Craig Bartels, president of HRI (a wholly owned subsidiary of Uranium Resources), he told us, “We hope we can begin construction at the property in 2007.” The company has cleared numerous hurdles, posed by local environmentalists, having successfully won every legal battle to date. Its parent company produces about 1 million pounds annually in Texas. Earlier this year, Uranium Resources announced a proposed joint venture on the company’s Church Rock property with Japanese conglomerate, Itochu Corporation.

Phillips Petroleum made the Church Rock uranium discovery in the 1950s, and later sold the project to United Nuclear (UNC). UNC constructed a mill and mine to the northeast. One HRI property, at Crownpoint, was developed by Mobil Oil as an In Situ Recovery (ISR) project. Earlier work at Crownpoint was done by Westinghouse and Conoco. Phillips developed HRI’s uranium property at Nose Rock; Kerr-McGee did the original uranium drilling at Roca Honda. Uranium Resources holds about 185,000 acres in the southern San Juan Basin of New Mexico.

Through the uranium depression, Uranium Resources was the “lone man” in New Mexico. Now times have changed. “It is great having other companies coming in here now,” said Bartels. “There is so much uranium, and the national attitude has changed so dramatically over the last year, that there is an actual excitement as to what can be done now.” Bartels looks forward to the success of the company’s first uranium projects in New Mexico, on the western end of the Grants Uranium Belt. He explained, “Using a pretty typical recovery rate of 75 percent for ISR, recovery would be about 4.9 million pounds on Section 8, and 6.3 million pounds recovered at Sec 17.” Bartels told us he has been advertising for employees in the northwestern New Mexico newspapers.

Strathmore Minerals Corp

Strathmore Minerals Corp controls a number of advanced uranium properties in New Mexico. The company’s most advanced efforts have been proceeding with the permitting phase on its Church Rock property. To date, the National Instrument 43-101 resource calculations on two properties, the Church Rock and Roca Honda deposits, total nearly 50 million pounds in measured indicated, and inferred categories. Historical uranium calculations on other Strathmore properties in New Mexico, which are non-compliant by National Instrument 43-101 standards, indicate there may a similar amount in addition to what has been reported. Strathmore Minerals President and Chief Operating Officer David Miller told us via email, “It is Strathmore’s intent to become the premier uranium producer in New Mexico.” The company has approximately C$40 million in the bank to advance its projects.

The company has followed the lead of Uranium Resources in the Church Rock area. Miller told us, “There are two ISR projects in various stages of permitting in the Church Rock area, which Strathmore started a year ago.” The company has issued news releases updating investors on its permitting progress in New Mexico. In February, the company announced it was on schedule and under budget in permitting its Church Rock uranium property. A mid-April update announced Strathmore was developing its mandatory corporate programs in the permitting process and was advancing toward the licensing phase of its In Situ Recovery process. Dependent upon when Uranium Resources receives its final approval to commence its nearby ISR project, Strathmore Minerals should quickly follow with its project. Please see final section of this article about the company’s Roca Honda project.

General Atomics

Meet the 800-pound gorilla. Not only is General Atomics in the front end of the nuclear cycle with a uranium mining subsidiary, it is a privately held company whose interests are widespread across the nuclear fuel cycle. GA is its acronym, and the one used in this industry. Founded in 1955 as a division of General Dynamics, GA has over 20 locations worldwide, manufacturing a variety of high technology products for commercial and government applications. For example, its aeronautical affiliate manufactures unmanned aircraft, surveillance and radar imaging systems.

GA covers a good part of the nuclear fuel cycle. In Australia, through Heathgate Resources, the company owns and operates the Beverly ISL mine. Its ConverDyn affiliate converts U3O8 into UF6 (uranium hexafluoride), which is the step preceding uranium enrichment. Another affiliate, the Cotter Corporation, holds various uranium properties and a licensed mill near Canon City, Colorado.

General Atomics also owns the largest uranium resource in the United States through its affiliate, Rio Grande Resources Corporation. The crown jewel of the company’s uranium holdings are found in the Mt. Taylor deposit. Before the project was placed on standby in 1989, more than 8 million pounds of U3O8 were produced. The deposit occurs at 3000 feet below the surface with ore grades ranging between 0.15 percent and 2 percent U3O8. During the mine’s production, grades average 0.5 percent. Mt. Taylor reportedly contains an in-place resource of more than 100 million pounds of U3O8. GA is reportedly evaluating the deposit for an ISR operation.

Laramide Resources

Laramide Resources has made a strong footprint in Australia, but it also moving forward with its New Mexico uranium property. The company’s La Jara Mesa deposit is located about 12 miles outside Grants, within the San Mateo Mountains, near Mt. Taylor. Homestake had previously operated a mill in the district. Work was first commenced in the La Jara Mesa area in the 1950s. Homestake drilled 86 holes between 1967 and 1971 and abandoned the property after only a few high grade intersections. After the property changed hands in the 1970s and 1980s, a discovery hole was drilled in 1980. Power Resources (now a Cameco Corp subsidiary) drilled more than 500 holes. Homestake again re-entered the project in 1983 and completed metallurgical tests on the drill core. Homestake also completed a mining plan and feasibility study on the Dena Rich deposit, but stopped all work after the uranium price crashed.

In a conversation with Laramide Resources Chief Executive Marc Henderson, he told us, “The La Jara Mesa property may be the key piece of the puzzle,” referring to the Ambrosia Lake district. “It has the easiest production scenario and the easiest access,” Henderson said. The company’s website reports the project has a resource of approximately 7 million pounds of U308 (not compliant with National Instrument 43-101). The U.S. Forest Service is now awaiting public comments on the proposal by Laramide to drill ten test holes, about 600 feet deep, to confirm exploration findings from the 1980s.

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