White Lab Coats and Scrubs - It's All About Chic and Comfort

I’m a huge fan of Grey’s Anatomy. Over the years, I have developed a certain fascination for white lab coats. Of course, I am not going to start wearing one anytime soon – lest, I’d end up in a place where a lot of people wear these coats. You know how it’s like when you go to a hospital for an emergency check up or enema, you get to see people wearing these coats and you can’t help but stare at them? You don’t? Okay, maybe that’s just me. But I swear I find myself watching them. (I am the same way with nuns and their habits.)

Anyway, there is something fascinating about doctors and their coats. I like the idea that they can wear just about anything underneath those coats and they can still look good.

For instance, check out this coat at Blue Sky Scrubs. It’s advertised as wrinkle free or resistant and it's 100% cotton. That just screams “COMFORT!” If I were in need of a coat, I’d likely grab this one as well. It’s also advertised as “slimming". You would also look chic in it. I would definitely want to look slim and chic while I save someone’s life. This one also has plenty of pockets, so you can practically bring everything you need while you go on rounds. If I were to enroll in Medical school anytime soon, I'd get this one.

The same goes for nurses I think, they can wear anything inside their uniforms and scrubs and they‘d still also look good. They also look incredibly comfortable. I guess comfort is a huge thing for doctors and nurses. After all, they put in hours and hours of grueling work and they cannot very well be wearing anything less than comfortable. I guess this is particularly true with nurses who – well, in my opinion – put in more hours than doctors.

If you are studying to become a nurse or a doctor, being able to wear scrubs or coats may just be one of the perks. Well, maybe wearing them can get tiresome in the long run, but as long as you buy white lab coat and scrub from a good retailer, I think you will be able to enjoy your coats and scrubs for a long time.

Disclaimer: This is a Paid Entry

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A Friendster Bulletin -- I Didn't Vote For Obama Today by Boyr Reed

I have a confession to make.

I did not vote for Barack Obama today.

I've openly supported Obama since March. But I didn't vote for him today.

I wanted to vote for Ronald Woods.

He was my algebra teacher at Clark Junior High in East St. Louis, IL. He died 15 years ago when his truck skidded head-first into a utility pole. He spent many a day teaching us many things besides the Pythagorean Theorem. He taught us about Medgar Evers, Ralph Abernathy, John Lewis and many other civil rights figures who get lost in the shadow cast by Martin Luther King, Jr.

But I didn't vote for Mr. Woods.

I wanted to vote for Willie Mae Cross.

She owned and operated Crossroads Preparatory Academy for almost 30 years, educating and empowering thousands of kids before her death in 2003. I was her first student. She gave me my first job, teaching chess and math concepts to kids in grades K-4 in her summer program. She was always there for advice, cheer and consolation. Ms. Cross, in her own way, taught me more about walking in faith than anyone else I ever knew.

But I didn't vote for Ms. Cross.

I wanted to vote for Arthur Mells Jackson, Sr. and Jr.

Jackson Senior was a Latin professor. He has a gifted school named for him in my hometown. Jackson Junior was the pre-eminent physician in my hometown for over 30 years. He has a heliport named for him at a hospital in my hometown.

They were my great-grandfather and great-uncle, respectively.
But I didn't vote for Prof. Jackson or Dr. Jackson.

I wanted to vote for A.B. Palmer.

She was a leading civil rights figure in Shreveport, Louisiana, where my mother grew up and where I still have dozens of family members. She was a strong-willed woman who earned the grudging respect of the town's leaders because she never, ever backed down from anyone and always gave better than she got. She lived to the ripe old age of 99, and has a community center named for her in Shreveport.

But I didn't vote for Mrs. Palmer.

I wanted to vote for these people, who did not live to see a day where a Black man would appear on their ballots on a crisp November morning.

In the end, though, I realized that I could not vote for them any more than I could vote for Obama himself.

So who did I vote for?
No one. I didn't vote.

Not for President, anyway. Oh, I went to the voting booth. I signed, was given my stub, and was walked over to a voting machine. I cast votes for statewide races and a state referendum on water and sewer improvements. I stood there, and I thought about all of these people, who influenced my life so greatly. But I didn't vote for who would be the 44th President of the United States.

When my ballot was complete, except for the top line, I finally decided who I was going to vote for - and then decided to let him vote for me. I reached down, picked him up, and told him to find Obama's name on the screen and touch it.

And so it came to pass that Alexander Reed, age 5, read the voting screen, found the right candidate, touched his name, and actually cast a vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Oh, the vote will be recorded as mine. But I didn't cast it.

Then again, the person who actually pressed the Obama box and the red "vote" button was the person I was really voting for all along.

It made the months of donating, phonebanking, canvassing, door hanger distributing, sign posting, blogging, arguing and persuading so much sweeter.

So, no, I didn't vote for Barack Obama.

I voted for a boy who now has every reason to believe he, too, can grow up to be anything he wants...even President.

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A Guide to Starting a Catering Business

Are you wondering what is required when you’re starting a home base catering business or just starting a catering business? Well, catering is certainly a profitable business. So, it is not surprising why you are considering starting up your own business. Catering businesses abound all over the country.

Catering as a Business

Often, people would resort to catering as a solution to food problem. Businesses holding conventions or seminars would pay for catering. Parties – even children parties – are catered nowadays. Catering has also become a symbol of affluence. Not surprisingly, if you’re successful at it, you could earn a lot of money. There are a lot of events that needs catering services – lunches, meetings, parties, and wedding receptions. Caterers would even find themselves catering a candlelight wedding proposal dinner!

As a caterer, you could earn as much as $160,000 a year. Well, this is what you could earn if you’re a city bound catering business. Not bad, right? That is pretty good enough reason to say goodbye to your 8 to 5 day job.

“But I’m living in a small town in Minnesota!”

People who live in small town America can also earn half as much as a caterer in the city. Of course, if you’re only doing it part-time, you can earn as much as $20,000 a year. Indeed, the opportunities for caterers abound. Not surprisingly, many people are wondering what they need in starting a home catering business.

Starting a Catering Business – Steps to Follow

Make that decision. This is crucial to starting a catering business. You need to have the passion for it and the dedication to your goal. Like most businesses, you’d meet problems and setbacks along the way, but as long as you stick to that decision, you’d make it.

1. Apply for licenses. Your local health department will come to check on your business to make sure that you are complying with the health requirements for businesses. You should also prepare to show your certificate of occupancy, tax license and business name license.
2. Create a work plan. You should make sure that your work plan is reasonable and doable.
3. Know your business accounting. Yes, you are going to pay taxes. You might as well learn the financial side of your business. You need to know the basics of bookkeeping so you’d know how the money is moving in and out of your operations.
4. Purchase your catering tools. Purchase the necessary cooking utensils. Also, get tables and chairs. Obviously, you’d need them for catering. Get a supply of decorative props – table cloths, napkins, vases and so on.
5. Promote your business. Like most businesses, you need to invest money on marketing and advertising. You need this to jumpstart your business. Some caterers start with their families and friends and then they’d cross their fingers. You would get more business if more people know it exists!
6. Learn as much as you can about catering. If you would like to learn about your business, you should get hold of a book that will help you understand the ins and outs of starting a home catering business.

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What You Need to Know about Starting a Catering Business

Are you considering starting a home catering business? Who can blame you? Catering is a feasible, doable and profitable business. This is the perfect career for people who love cooking and pleasing people with their food. The job of a caterer revolves around pleasing your customers. Otherwise, your business will not survive. You need to ensure that you present the perfect meal, desserts, appetizers and drinks. The food that you present can either kill or create a perfect occasion for your customer. This is especially true if you are catering a wedding or a conference.

Starting Your Catering Business

There are a lot of things that you need to consider before you start a catering business. You would have to consider your capital or start-up cost. If you don’t have the capital, you also need to consider your source of financing. Perhaps, you need to get a loan. You need to secure all the necessary licenses. A catering business needs appropriate catering equipment. You need to prepare a budget for marketing or advertising.

You need to consider the type of catering service you are going to put up, the type of events that you are going to cater to and the types of marketing strategies you are going to adopt. You may need insurance. All these things require that you create a business plan.

Learning Business Management

In starting a catering business, you need to learn how to manage your business. Like most businesses, you’d come across problems and stumbling blocks. You need to learn the technical side of your business – handling employees, accounting books, inventorying, et cetera.

You also need how to manage events. This is crucial to your business operations. You are basically going to manage an event from start to finish. You need to make sure that everything is perfect. You need to learn how to estimate the quantity of food you are going to prepare. Make sure that the food is enough but not too much. You also need to secure partners or contacts for decorating services since a catering business may require that you also provide the event’s décor. You might also need to get in touch with people who can provide you with entertainers if your customers request for this additional service.

Staring a Home Base Catering Service

If you’re thinking of cutting back on startup cost and you’re considering a home base catering service, do not let people discourage you from pursuing your dream. A home base catering service is actually easy if you are prepared to handle the possible setbacks.

The first thing that you need to do before you even purchase spoon and fork for your business is to make sure that your business is legitimate in your state. There are states that forbid home based catering businesses. You couldn’t possibly get a license if your business is illegal in the first place.

When starting a business, you might need all the help you can get. If it is home based, you’d probably start with small dinners and birthday parties. You would need someone to help you with the cooking. If you can’t afford a couple of employees, perhaps, you can get a friend or a family to help you out.

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Wedding Speeches: Preparing the Perfect Words

Wedding speeches should be humorous and heartwarming. Unfortunately, many people who deliver speeches do not prepare for their speech. So, often they’d end up stuttering or spouting inappropriate clichés.

Types of Wedding Speeches

There are basically three kinds of wedding speeches – the father-of-the-bride speech, the bridegroom speech and the best man’s speech. Often, it is the bride’s father who’d kicked off that portion of the wedding. The host or the toastmaster would call on the father. If you’re the father, you are expected to deliver a funny and warm speech. You’re supposed to extend your warm wishes to the newlyweds. It’s nice to inject in a little humor to your speech, but avoid nasty comments against your son-in-law. Putting down the groom would ruin the whole occasion. Avoid crude jokes and especially avoid taking the opportunity to talk about yourself.

After the father has finished his speech, the groom would then deliver his own speech. If you’re the groom, this is the perfect opportunity for you to extend your gratitude towards your parents. Also, it is a good idea to take your time to extend a word to your bride’s parents. Extend your gratitude to all to the guests as well. The gist of this speech is to give thanks to everyone attending the occasion. You can finish your speech with a few words to your new wife.

The famous of all wedding speeches is the best man’s speech. This is the portion of the occasion where you’d literally see people cringing and ducking for cover to snicker when a not-too loquacious best man delivers his speech. Best man speeches require warmth and humor. This is not the time to reminisce about your time in Mexico with the groom and how much fun he had with the ladies. Humor should be lighthearted and heartwarming and yes, very, very entertaining.

Giving Funny Wedding Speeches

Getting asked to give a wedding speech is an honor. On a day where all eyes are supposed to be on the bride and groom, you’re given the honor to stand up in front of everyone and express your thoughts about the couple and their future. This is not easy especially for the faint hearted and for those who do not exactly have the gift of gab. This is especially hard for people whose punch lines always fall short since wedding speeches are almost always expected to be funny. However, if you prepare your speech ahead of time and practice, perhaps you might just have the crowd rolling with laughter.

“But I don’t know how to write speeches, let alone a wedding speech!”

True, you may not necessarily have the wedding speech muse with you. However, you always have the Internet. There are a lot of websites that offer free and paid wedding speeches. These are speeches that are not too cliché, not too corny – just perfect! You could use the same speech or you could tweak a few paragraphs or sentences to suit your own story and thoughts. After you’ve prepared your speech, you can then focus on the art of delivering great speeches. But this is another article.

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Tips on How to Barbecue Safely

There are actually thousands of barbecue tips that you could find online. All these tips are designed to help you pull a successful and delicious barbecue. Depending on what tips you’re looking for, you can find tips on how to cut the food, particularly the meat; what type of high-powered grill to use – or if you really need to use a high-powered one; how to achieve the taste that you’re aiming for, how to prepare your barbecue, and so on. But have you ever read any article on how to ensure safety when barbecuing? You’d probably heard of stories of uncontrolled heat and barbecue grills going up on fire. You’d be lucky if you only burn the meat.

Barbecue Safety Tip #1 – Positioning the Grill Properly

There are some things that you can do to ensure your safety when barbecuing. First of all, you need to choose a safe location for your grill. Make sure that you keep the grill away from overhanging constructions, bushes and trees. Imagine fire going up and ask yourself, “Will my roof catch fire? Will these overhead hanging plants catch fire?” Make sure that you keep your barbecue grill away from anything and everything flammable.

If you’re having company and you’re expecting a considerable number of visitors, make sure that you keep the grill away from where you’d expect your guests to occupy. If your brothers or friends are fond of playing football or soccer when having barbecue, make sure that you keep the grill away from where the ball can land. Also, make sure you won’t have to back up your grill to keep it away from the game. You’d ensure that won’t have ruined grilled food or burnt guest. If you could, place the grill in an area near a water hose or water outlet.

Barbecue Safety Tip #2 – Wearing the Right Clothing Gear

Aside from the location, you should also be careful with choosing the proper utensils for grilling. You wouldn’t want to get burn, would you? So, make sure you are using the correct grilling utensils. It is also wise to dress properly when grilling. You may think this is going over the top with grilling safety. But there are stories of loose clothes catching fire. So, make sure your clothes are not too loose or are easily flammable. Also wear protective clothing like the appropriate gloves for grilling.

Barbecue Safety Tip #3 – Using the Grill Properly

Aside from grill location and clothing safety, you should also be careful when using your grill. You should not obsess about grilling at the expense of ensuring you are following the right procedures for lighting and using your grill. If your grill is lit, do not pour anything flammable onto it. Many people do this unmindful of the possible consequences. It is a good idea to arrange fire resistant bricks on the sides of the grill stove Exert extra care when opening the grill. There are stories of people opening the grill far too quickly and the resulting injuries from the smoke and steam.

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Learn the Art to Enjoy the Benefits of Speed Reading

Have you seen someone speed reading? You practically stared amazed by how they practically just skimmed through pages and close the book fully comprehending the contents. You probably thought, “Why can’t I read like that!” Well, people have different reading speeds. There are people who are very lucky to have acquired the skill of speed reading over time. Perhaps, there are people for whom the skill comes naturally. Most speed readers, however, have developed speed reading techniques over time.

The Benefits of Speed Reading

The benefits of speed reading are countless. First of all, speed reading allows you to save time. Actually, this benefit pretty much encapsulates all the benefits of speed reading. When you read fast, you save time and you’d soon end reading fast so you basically conserve your energy. Reading with comprehension forces your brain to work. This can be exhausting. This is probably why there are many people who are not too fond of reading, but people who have developed of speed reading will embrace a book with 2000 pages without flinching.

Reading will allow you to read twice as much as any regular reader would. So, you’d know more and learn more. Not surprisingly, speed readers generally excel well in school and work. This makes you an even better asset at work and an excellent student in school.

Improving Your Reading Skills

If you are wondering how you could improve your speed reading skills, you should definitely consider speed reading courses. You’d find many of these courses online. By taking up speed reading programs, you’d be able to find yourself speed reading in no time at all. Imagine how impress your boss will be if you are able to finish more work than usual.

There are several ways that you can learn the speed reading techniques –

First is by attending speed reading courses. Most courses have speed reading coaches that are speed readers themselves. You’d notice a vast improvement with your reading skills in a matter of days. However, there are students that may require time to learn the skills on time.

You can also try getting your hands on materials and books. These books are based on speed reading programs designed by experts to help you learn the art of fast reading. You’d probably find books with lessons and quizzes as well as techniques to help you master the art fast.

However, if you’re not too keen about learning from books, you could also try speed reading software. A lot of these software are available online. You’d be entertained by the animation and quizzes. You’d find it easier to learn if you are learning at your own pace; and speed reading software allows you to set your own pace. You also wouldn’t get bored as quickly as you would with a book.

If you wish to learn how to speed read and if you want to enjoy the many benefits of speed reading, you should definitely consider taking up courses or joining speed reading programs.

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Barbecue Tips: Preparing Your Barbecue to Perfection

You probably think that a perfect barbecue is not that difficult. You just basically prepare the grill, put out the meat, call your friends and have fun. Well, that’s great. But have you ever wondered if your guests truly enjoyed your grilled meat? You might not know this but barbecuing requires some skill. No, it’s not about slathering some grocery-bought sauce on the meat and slapping it on the grill. It requires some skill. In fact, there are rules on how to prepare the perfect barbecue.

The Basics on Barbecue

When you speak of barbecuing, you generally refer to cooking on a grill. All over the world, you’d find people barbecuing their food, using just about any thing – wood and three pebbles, a stick held over fire, and in the Western countries, the most high-tech electric grills. Regardless of what you are using though, you need to know the techniques on how to properly barbecue so you could prepare a fine barbecue meal. Even food prepared over three stones, wood and fires can taste exquisitely if you know how to properly barbecue your food.

What can you barbecue? Well, positively almost anything! You can barbecue fish, vegetables, cheese, fruit, bread and of course, meat. In fact, if you’re having a Sunday Barbecue Day with your family, you could practically grill everything.

What Am I Doing Wrong?

You’re probably thinking, “I’ve barbecued my whole life! What can I possibly be doing wrong?” Well, perhaps, you’re one of the few who has barbecuing down to a fine art. But generally, however, what people do is that they prepare the grill too hot so they burn the food. You’d know if you have burn the meat because you’d see black lines running through. If there are any marks to the grilled food, they should be brown and not black. If there are black marks, the meat was either grilled for too long or was placed in a really high temperature grill.

Barbecue Tips – How to Plan a Barbecue

When you’re going to hold a barbecue party or even if you are just going to barbecue meat for dinner, you need to plan your food so you’d know your guests would have a great time. Carefully consider your food. Make sure that you can handle the food that you’re going to cook. Perhaps, you’re thinking, “I’ll just do burgers and sausages. At least, that’s easy.” Surprisingly, burgers and sausages are not that easy to barbecue. Of course, you can always slap them on the grill and hope for the best. However, the fine art of barbecuing requires that you should know how to barbecue food as simple as sausages and burger. First of all, these foods are high in fat. Yes, you need to let at little fat drip off from the food, drop onto the coals, so it’d create the smoke that gives your food the flavor it needs. However, burn too much fat and you burn the food. You’d also put the whole grill on fire! Perhaps, you could start with fish. They’re always easier to cook.

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Digital Photography Tips for Beginners

So, you've finally bought your first digital camera? Congratulations! You're probably excited and you're wondering where you could find some digital photography tips to help you great photo results. A good advice, however, to digital photography beginners is that you need to practice. You need to get out there and get those pictures! The earlier you make mistakes, the earlier you'd learn how to really take great pictures.

What are the mistakes that photography beginners make?

Mistakes on digital photography are natural. Beginners would make mistakes that would waste a lot of shots. So, it is wise to read some digital photography tips that would help you avoid the mistakes that beginners typically make. But what are these mistakes?

The first mistake that beginners usually make is putting too much images in one picture. The whole picture becomes one messy unfocused picture. You'd find different subjects in one photograph. This is not fun to look at. It's confusing so people would not really want to look at it.

Another mistake that beginners usually make is not bothering to create more artistic and focused photos. The picture need not be center-oriented. The goal is to create photos that are good regardless of what angle you look at it and regardless of what side of the picture you stared at.

The last mistake of a digital photography beginner is taking pictures without really knowing how to handle the camera properly. They end up with pictures that are overexposed, underexposes or blurry.

Digital Photography Tips

If you are new to digital photography, here are some digital photography tips that would serve you well as you are learning the craft and developing the skills of creating great pictures:

1. Familiarize yourself with your camera. This may seem dreary to you but this is important. If you want to know what your camera is capable of doing, what its limitations are and how you can maximize its use will help you create great pictures.

2. Practice taking pictures. The art of photography is also a skill. You'll get better at it as you practice more.

3. Take as many pictures as you can and want. Most digital cameras have memory cards that would allow you to take as many pictures as you want. You can also get an extra memory card so you can take more pictures.

4. Use your camera's features and maximize its capabilities.

5. Learn how to frame your shots. This is often the mistakes of beginners. They do not know how frame their photos properly. So, they could place the photo's subject dead center. They could end up cutting the face or placing the subject too far right. Good framing would mean a lot of difference on the outcome of the picture.

6. Learn various compositional techniques. Again, you could avoid the second biggest mistake of most beginners by shifting the subject of center to either the left or right. Avoid placing your subject on the middle of the photograph. This has been overused before and has become quite boring.

7. Take more close-ups. They are more striking and interesting.

8. Be conscious of picture's lightning. Bad lightning can ruin what should have been a good shot.

9. Don't be afraid to explore and to try out new shots.'

10. Never forget to take photos as memories. These types of photos have more heart.

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Introduction to PayPerPost

I signed up for PayPerPost a few months back but they only approve my blog yesterday.

Introduction to PPP

PayPerPost or PPP is a online advertising program that allows bloggers to earn money from advertising products, services and companies on their blog. If you are an advertiser, PPP would pair you with a blogger who would write about your business on their blog. Advertisers and bloggers are both benefited by this system. The advertisers get positive marketing, feedbacks and reviews; and the bloggers get paid for their work. It’s actually a win-win setup.

Finding PayPerPost

I think it was a couple of months ago when I actually look for ways to earn money from blogging. You see, I have been blogging since 2004 but I was not serious about it. It was after I read a post about PayPerPost that I checked the website out. The signup is really easy. It’s fast and free. What may be come out as a challenge though is getting your blog approved. My blog was not approved automatically. It took a while. It was after my third submission that it was finally accepted. There are guidelines that you have to first follow in order to get your blog approved. I guess I got approved after I bothered to read the guidelines and made the necessary changes.

Making Money from PayPerPost

After you get your blog approved, you’d have access to their Open Opportunities Page and Dashboard where you get to choose the topics/advertisers that you’d write about. Some articles may not be open to you because PPP requires a certain Alexa Ranking or Page Ranking before you could reserve a topic or advertiser you’re particularly interested in. You get paid though for the articles or posts upon acceptance and approval by the PPP. It’s that simple and easy.

Why Join PPP?

PayPerPost is possibly one of the best ways to earn money through blogging. If you have the knack for writing, you can definitely benefit from this program. You get to do what you love most – write – and get paid for it! Amazing!

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Marcos Impresses Me

Ferdinand Marcos is written in history books as the hateful dictator. In my opinion though, I think that he could have been the greatest president of this country.

That is, if his wife did not ruin him. It's not surprising though. History has proven time and time again that the downfall of men is their women. Marcos was a great statesmen, a great lawmaker, a great lawyer.

Did you know that he is the only person in the history of the Philippines who ever stood in front of the Supreme Court to orally take the bar exams? He was imprisoned at that time. Apparently, Marcos received a 99.something grade in his written exams, which led to the suspicion that he cheated. So, the Supreme Court called him for an oral exam. His bar exam grade is actually his oral exam grade and not his written exam grade. This is quite amazing. I know, I've been through the hell of the bar exam. So, it's amazing how he got an almost perfect score. He was brilliant. Too bad, he got greedy. Could he not just tried to moderate his greed? Well, the present president is giving him a run for his money.

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Mesothelioma Attorneys

Mesothelioma is supposed to be rare. Sadly, thousands of people die from mesothelioma on a yearly basis. This is devastating especially to families who are left behind. They suffer along with their loved one just too ultimately lose him or her to the decease. Mesothelioma is one of the most devastating forms of cancer. Usually, when a person presents with this illness and is diagnosed with this type of cancer, their prognosis is usually very bad. At most, they have two years to live.

Unlike lung cancer, mesothelioma is actually caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos. This is so sad because people are typically only exposed to asbestos just so they can feed their families. People who work in factories, mines and shipyards are those who are at major risk. Most of the time, the person afflicted with mesothelioma expects to die. This is why it is important that companies or employers of individuals exposed to asbestos are legally bound to implement measures to ensure their employees safety.

Most of the time, people suffering from mesothelioma have the legal right to compensation from their employers. This is where competent mesothelioma attorneys come in. If you hire an excellent mesothelioma attorney, you can generally expect million of dollars worth of out-of-court settlement. How much do these attorneys get from that settlement? Usually, attorney’s fee ranges from 30 to 40 percent of the actual settlement.

The minute you are diagnosed of mesothelioma or anyone in your family is diagnosed of this disease, it is imperative that you immediately seek the assistance of mesothelioma lawyers or attorneys. There are states that impose conditions to qualify for compensation. This is why you have to immediately seek legal assistance to avoid being disqualified. Talk to several mesothelioma attorneys before you actually settle with one.

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What is Mesothelioma?

What is Mesothelioma?

This was supposed to be quite a rare form of cancer but have increasingly begun to be a common type. But what can you expect? More and more people are exposing their health to dangerous chemicals just so they could feed their families. The primary cause of mesothelioma is exposure to asbestos.

What happens?

After prolonged and excessive exposure to asbestos, malignant cells gradually developed in the mesothelium. Mesothelium is the lining that usually protects and covers internal organs like the lungs, the chest cavity, peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity) and the pericardium, the sac around the heart.

How do you get exposed to asbestos?

First off, if your job involves working with asbestos or exposure to its particles, you have a great chance of developing this form of cancer. Your family is also exposed to danger. Your wife for instance could be exposed to the danger if she washes off the asbestos from your clothes.

What are the Symptoms?

It is highly unlikely for you to show symptoms of mesothelioma until after 20 or even 50 years of exposure. The warning signs, however, include:

Shortness of breath

Recurring chest pain caused by the accumulation of fluids in the pleural space in the chest cavity

Weight loss

Cachexia

Abdominal pain

Abdominal swelling

Bowel obstruction

Blood clotting

Anemia

Fever

Difficulty or painful swallowing

Swelling of the face and neck

Fatigue r anemia

Wheezing

Hoarseness

Frequent coughing and blood in the sputum

How do you get diagnosed?

It is difficult to diagnose mesothelioma because the symptoms are fairly similar to other types of diseases. Usually, a long history of asbestos exposure raises the suspicion for this type of cancer. The patient shall be subjected to various exams like x-ray, lung function tests, CT scan, MRI, aspiration of chest fluid like pleural tap or chest drain. The patient may also be biopsied if cytology reports came back positive. His tissue may be subject to pathological study. He may be subjected to thoracoscopy as well. If the cancerous tissue is found in the abdomen, the physician may recommend a laparoscopy.

Can this be treated?

Sadly, the prognosis of patients positively identified with mesothelioma is poor. Conventional treatments do not seem to work well. The survival rate is a year at most after presentation. Surgeries are typically unsuccessful most likely because it is difficult to remove the entire cancerous tissues without damaging the internal organs or killing the patient.

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How to Achieve Personal Success

You’ve probably heard of people seemingly possessing the Midas touch? Don’t you love to touch things and have them turn to gold? There are people who touch a raffle ticket and they’d win a car. There are people who have the knack to turn up somewhere and they’d land a job. Have you heard of people who suddenly had the urge to invest some of their money in some stocks and the stocks soared suddenly high. These people may just be lucky, but they can also be very good at achieving personal success. If Lady Luck rarely smiles at you, what can you do?

Work for Your Success

You choose to be successful. It does not happen overnight. It takes a commitment. It requires a wholehearted dedication from you. You should have a definite goal and a plan on how to achieve that goal. You could have the most incredibly viable idea in the planet but if you procrastinate and find reasons why you ought not to pursue your idea – you cannot possibly expect to achieve success.

How to Achieve Personal Success

Trying to achieve personal success takes time. However, if you know how to go about working for it, you can achieve it. Here are some tips on how to achieve success:

Have a viable plan and do not hesitate taking the initial steps toward the completion of your goals. Do not dissuade yourself by procrastinating or giving yourself excuses why you shouldn’t pursue your plans.

Learn to recognize opportunities and never let go of them.

Teach yourself how to move fast. Do not let opportunities slip by being slow. Do not be too hasty, however, that you end up committing mistakes.

Take care of your health. Make sure that you are emotionally, physically, mentally and even spiritually healthy. You can’t expect to perform well if your body is weak. Give yourself time to recuperate and rest if your body needs to rest.

Avoid people who hold you back with negativity.

If you could look for ways to be able to get things done more quickly, do so and adopt these measures.

Never forget to communicate with people who could help you achieve your objectives.

Motivate yourself constantly by reminding yourself of your goals.

Create deadlines for tasks so you’d give directions to your plans.

Constantly challenge yourself to go above your capabilities and your limits.

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Get Paid to Blog

My friends were amazed that I seem to know so much of blogging and how to make money from it. Well, I don’t. I barely get enough clicks daily to reach the minimum Google Adsense payment.

Well, since they know zip about this – one question kept popping up in their emails, “How do you go about it?”

Well, Sugs, you would have to first setup your own blog. It doesn’t have to be the personal kind like Jinx thinks where you’d write stuffs about what’s happening to your life. It could be any topic – babies, music, lyrics, celebs. It truly doesn’t matter as long as you can regularly update it and keep it interesting. It is advisable to create a number of blogs for various topics or else your blog would end up like a big jumbled mess like mine. The best blogging platform they say is Wordpress, but my loyalty lies with Blogger. I’ve been blogging here for the last four years. I tried Wordpress but I’m pretty satisfied with Blogger. The only drawback with Blogger is that I can’t seem to create pages or categories like I could with Wordpress. There are affiliate programs that banned Wordpress so I guess you have to settle with Blogger or other platform.

Once you’ve setup your blog, you can then apply with Google Adsense and you can immediately start earning money. Some would require that you submit at least a three-month old blog before you can qualify to become an affiliate. You can also apply with Yahoo Publisher Network, Amazon and Blogvertise. You basically apply to be their affiliate. You will be posting their ads on your website and you could start earning money if people click on these ads. There are hundreds of sites like this.

You can also try ReviewMe.com where you’d get paid to review their products and services. So far, I’m still waiting for their response. You can also try Smorty where you get to post articles and they’d pay you for it. Payperpost program is also a good way to earn money but their pretty strict with their qualifications. For once, they don’t accept blogs that are run in platforms like Blogger and others.

There are websites like Bux.to where you could earn money just by clicking on their ads. Seriously!

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Statin Drugs and Cancer

Who has not heard of cholesterols these days? Everyone is being warned about the dangers of bad cholesterol and the need to take in more good cholesterol. This cholesterol talk is especially important when you speak of proper diet.

But what is cholesterol?

Simply put, cholesterol is a fatty lipid that is not susceptible of being dissolved in water. You can find cholesterols in certain parts of the body especially the brain, liver, reproductive organs, adrenal glands, and the spinal chord. Once cholesterol is synthesized, it signals the production of hormones and vitamin D3. Collection of bad cholesterol plaque builds up in the blood vessels and ultimately results in atherosclerosis – a primary cause of major heart diseases. It is common for physicians to prescribe statin drugs to patients who are at risk of developing cardiovascular diseases due to high level of cholesterol in their body.

The Use of Statin Drugs – Muscle Breakdown and Cancer

Basically, you hear it everyday. Your doctor keeps telling you after every checkup, “You need to lower your cholesterol. If you don’t want to have a heart attack in the near future, you have to do something about your alarmingly high cholesterol.” And after your checkup, you’d end up with a bunch of prescription for statin drugs.

Unfortunately, there have been numerous reports on death resulting from the long-term use of statin drugs. In 2001, Bayer’s Baycol was removed from the market after reports of numerous deaths resulting from rhabdomyolsys, a condition characterized by collapse of muscle tissues. The condition was allegedly caused by the long-term Baycol intake. Doctors have also recommended the removal of Crestor from the market when the rhabdomyolsys has been reportedly caused by Crestor intake.

In 1996, the American Medical Association published a report on the findings of the cancerous effects of long-term statin drug use. Apparently, the use of cholesterol lowering drugs like fibrates and statins causes cancer to rodents. Further studies are needed, however, to determine if the findings are applicable to humans as well. However, it is advised that intake of these drugs should be avoided unless the patient is at high risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Other side-effects of long-term use of statin drugs include:

1. Poor attention span.
2. Decreased reflexes.
3. Memory loss.
4. Confusion.
5. Forgetfulness.
6. Disorientation.
7. Peripheral neuropathy.
8. Loss of sensation.
9. Muscle weakness.
   

All these symptoms have been primarily manifested by patients that have been regularly taking Lipitor, a very popular statin drug. What these people do not know is they are at a high risk of developing several life threatening illnesses from long term intake of Lipitor. These illnesses include cancer, heart disease, neuropathy, memory loss and depression. Unfortunately, it is not too often that doctors are able to diagnose these symptoms as problems relating to the drug itself.

Therefore, you should take note of muscle aches and weakness especially if your doctor cannot seem to diagnose the cause. It is advisable that you stop your statin drug intake immediately. Also, if you are regularly taking Lipitor or other statin medications, it would be best to take supplements that would protect your liver.

You can find numerous statin drugs in the market. Ironically, you don’t have to actually resort to these medications to regulate or lower your cholesterol. You merely need to adjust your diet and exercise regularly in order to lower your cholesterol. Your diet should mostly consist of fruits and vegetables coupled with proper water intake. With regard to exercise, you don’t have to go to the gym. Walking around the block would be a good form of exercise.

-- copyright not mine although I wrote this.

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Payday Loan Debt Settlement

It gets really frustrating, doesn’t it? Paying off your payday loans. You almost wish you didn’t take the loan in the first place. Are you trapped in that vicious pay-loan cycle where you keep securing a loan just so you could pay off an existing one?

You took that loan and I bet you said to yourself, “I am going to pay this off next payday.” But now, you’re stuck with loans and you’re paying off one loan with another loan. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who find themselves in this situation. So, what do you do?

Things You Can Do

If it’s too overwhelming, perhaps you can get some assistance in paying off your loans. I’m pretty sure if you’re reading this that you need help to pay off your payday loans. Look for government representatives that would help you devise a way to pay off your loans. Also, look into your state laws. Perhaps, the state can help you payoff your loans. There are laws that would allow you to devise a payment scheme which you would be more comfortable with.

Pay Your Loan ASAP

If you take a payday loan, remember to pay that loan as soon as you possibly can. Avoid the “I’ll pay the next time” attitude. This only gets you into more trouble with your loans. Pretty soon, you’d find yourself taking out more loans so you could pay the previous loans.

Consider Other Options

If your finances are pretty stiff, consider other money-earning activities that you can do in order to help you pay off your loan. If you have no choice but to get a loan, borrow from friends or relatives – at least you could avoid the overwhelming interest you’d have to pay if you get another loan from banks or lending companies.

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Sometimes, I am ashamed of my countrymen

I apologize.

I apologize to Julia Campbell and her family.
I am deeply ashamed.
She didn't deserve what happened to her.
It angers me.
The sheer atrocity!

To kill a person who has been doing nothing but help out this forsaken country.

Julia was a funny, intelligent, beautiful, and kind-hearted human being.
You can read her blog and you'd know how truly wonderful she was. Her blog is worth reading. It speaks so much of how truly it is like here in the Philippines.
She spent two years helping out Filipinos and suffering stomach worms (that she even named her worm - Fred).
She really didn't deserve what happened to her
I'm so ashamed.
And I'm truly sorry.

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