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Software has always been expensive to produce and purchase. The production of software, or software development, began without any methodology at all. Problem analysis and solution design were accomplished at the same time. The programmer just sat down and started coding. Documentation was typically absent. If a programmer left the firm, along with the programmer went the knowledge of the programs and systems the programmer had created. When programs needed maintenance, the new programmer had to reverse-engineer the code and system before changes could even be made. This approach facilitated rapid application development, but resulted in lengthy and expensive maintenance, and sometimes required starting from scratch when the often modified code became impossible to reverse engineer.

Software developers soon recognized the need for a preliminary analysis, systems analysis and design, and documentation throughout. In the 1960s and 1970s, software development methodologies began to crystallize. By the eighties, the structured software development methodology became preeminent. This methodology called for extensive, up-front planning and design, with top-down analysis and design being the preferred approach. The top-down approach meant that comprehensive planning was required before components could actually be built. Teams of business process designers would map out the overall design of the business system and hand over their requirements to another team of system designers. These designers would specify the detailed parts of a system, drilling down until each part of the system was fully explicated, with narratives and flowcharts for each program. Finally, programmers would code from the documents and produce the programs and systems that had taken months, even years, in some cases, to design. Rapid application development was impossible given all the planning that was required by a top-down approach to systems development.

In the beginning of business computing, businesses were encouraged to automate to remain competitive. Automated sales order systems, for instance, meant you could offer your customers quicker service than your competitors, who still used manual-based systems. As more businesses automated, the flexibility of the system to accommodate changing business requirements became the key to competitive advantage, but the lengthy software development cycles impeded a rapid application development. Often, by the time the systems were completed, new changes in requirements meant the developed system was out of date. A faster approach to software development was needed.

With the rise of object orientated design and development, which tends to create ‘reusable’ components, components that can be used in more than one system, and the creation of visual software development platforms that made it easy to prototype, a new software development approach emerged, the rapid application development methodology. This methodology emphasizes incremental development, development of programs that facilitated some process that is needed now. Up-front planning and design is not comprehensive, but focused on the problem at hand. Together with the business requirements representative, programmers prototype the required software in little chunks. This allows some functionality to go into production as soon as possible, leaving other functionality for a later pass.

Rapid application development methodology is now mature. Incremental development is putting programs into production much faster than earlier methodologies. The iterative passes are adding the new functionality a changing system requires. Reusable components are being reused rather than rewritten, and software development is able to keep up with changing business requirements at a lesser cost than systems created through other methodologies. Despite this success, most businesses have not adopted rapid application development methodologies. Most businesses prefer to fully scope out a system before they put their programmers to coding it. While this may reduce the risks and increase the likelihood that a
system of programs will exactly meet design specifications, the question of whether the final system will be delivered in time still remains. Once businesses using rapid application development begin to out-perform their competitors who use slower methodologies, rapid application development will begin to enjoy wider use. Only the future will tell.

The history of America is unfortunately tainted with slavery and institutionalized discrimination. These atrocious practices have since then been abolished, but the prejudice behind them lingers and continues to exist today. Discrimination is largely prohibited by society, but it is still practiced by its members. With the diversity of the American population comes animosity between groups of different cultures.

These days, it’s widely looked down upon to openly declare prejudice. Everyone jokes about claiming to be a racist to dodge jury but no one actually does it when jury picking begins. However, this doesn’t change the fact that internally we all have some bias. In the past, racism was explicit. Currently racism is more implicit, which has its virtues and vices.

On one hand, we truly admire people like the abolitionists, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and all of those who fought against inequality, and we celebrate the fact that such injustice no longer exists. This is a positive outcome, but it risks perpetuating the belief that racism is over. Just because racist policies are a thing of the past doesn’t mean that racism is. Today, racism in America is less obvious than it was before, which potentially allows its effects to go unnoticed. Forcing black people to sit at the back of the bus was undoubtedly racist, but it’s harder to decide whether it’s racist when you assume that all black people come from the ghetto and listen only to rap music. You might not even think of this belief as racist, but rather just the way things are. The effects of implicit racism in America are subtle to the point that sometimes they’re invisible.

Stereotypes about race are everywhere, from casual conversation to stand-up comedy and social issues. It can be difficult to determine when racial stereotypes are harmful, and it seems like there’s always a double standard. People are able to criticize and make stereotypical jokes about their own race, but it becomes offensive when someone of a different race says the same thing. It’s funny when comedians evoke racial stereotypes that are so true, yet often offensive when someone mentions them in real-life. It’s hard to know how to fight racism in America when you don’t know what and when to fight.

Some might argue that institutionalized racism in America still exists, pointing to lack of affirmative action and hiring practices. This is also a difficult issue because affirmative action is essentially a type of discrimination in itself, a positive kind. It chooses students based on race and potentially gives positions to less-qualified candidates. Then you could argue that minority candidates are less-qualified because institutions like the education system work against them. Minorities start out disadvantaged and society keeps them that way. So essentially, you begin to see that to fix racism in America, you have to fix society.

Racism in America isn’t a problem that’s going to get solved anytime soon, but the first step is to recognize that it still exists and that it doesn’t always have to happen right in front of our eyes. It still happens when we choose to believe that racism doesn’t affect us today.

We know smoking is not good for us, but some continue to smoke anyway. This is not something that is easy to give up, and does not necessarily mean that someone is weak in character. Smoking is addictive and getting over nicotine addiction is harder than anyone could imagine. If you want to quit, you may have to try many times before you actually stop smoking, but you can do it if you try hard enough. The key is to never give up and to find the right quit smoking aids to use that are going to mean the difference between success and yet another failure.

There are many types of quit smoking aids out there today, which is good news for smokers who are trying to quit. This means they have many things to try, and can start with the one that seems to make the most sense in their lives. Each works in a different way and may demand a different level of attention, so think about each of the quit smoking aids out there before you pick one that you want to use. If you get one you think is going to work for you, you have a better chance of quitting the first time around.

One of the newest quit smoking aids on the market is the prescription pill Chantix that many are trying with great success. This pill is taken for a certain amount of time up and until a date to quit is reached. The patient normally chooses when they are going to stop, usually a few weeks after they start taking the pill, and then when that day comes they stop. This may sound too simple, but many find this is a great way to get rid of the smokes for good. Some slip up a bit, but find stopping again right away is rather easy with this pill.

If you do not want to take a pill, don’t worry – there are other great options out there for you. There are all types of nicotine replacement items that work well as quit smoking aids. There are patches that lower the level of nicotine in your body slowly so that you do not have strong withdrawal symptoms. Normally there are three steps to these. You stop smoking and immediately add the patch and then step down to the lower dosed patches per instructions. There is also gums that are used as a replacement for a cigarette. You clew the gum (or rather squeeze it between your teeth when you have a craving) so that you do not need to light up a cigarette to get what your body is craving.

When you choose stop smoking with any of the above methods or quit smoking aids, remember it may take you more than one try. If you know anything about smoking, you know the habit is as much a part of the addiction as the nicotine. Therefore, if you need extra help, find something to do with your mouth when using any of the above aids to quit smoking. Chew on straws, chewing gum, or carrot sticks if you find the miss the feel of the cigarette in your mouth. Some suck on hard candy or chew on a pencil. Whatever works is fine.

It is estimated that one in two smokers will die of the habit. This is to say that if you want to live a long and a happy healthy life, you need to quit smoking. However, this is easier said than done. A cigarette is a product that is cleverly crafted to deliver the right amount of nicotine so that it keeps its users addicted for life before it finally takes their life. There are many reasons why you will want to stop the habit of smoking. One is that smoking is a major contributor to heart attack, stroke, various cancers and more so lung cancer and a host of other respiratory diseases. Consider also what we might call ‘the aesthetic un-appeal of smokers’. While smoking is portrayed as glamorous and as a healthy habit in most advertisements, the reality is different. Smokers develop bad breath, they have stained teeth and their fingers turn yellowish-brown. Now does that look glamorous to you?

Smoking also contributes to impotence in men and smokers are more likely to develop skin problems and premature facial wrinkling. Well, if these do not seem good reasons to quit smoking, consider also its effects on others. Smoking hurts others. A nonsmoker who lives with a smoker has a 30-percent greater risk of developing lung cancer than one who lives with a nonsmoker. Children who live in households where one parent is a smoker are more likely to develop bronchitis or pneumonia in their first two years of their life than children who live in homes where there are no smokers. Pregnant women also put their unborn at risk if they smoke. Since the nicotine and other dangerous chemicals in the cigarette smoke is passed to the bloodstream and goes directly to the child in the womb, women who smoke are at a greater risk of a spontaneous abortion, a stillbirth or the child dying after birth. It has also been shown that the risk of infant death syndrome is 3 times higher if the mother smoked during pregnancy.

So how can you quit smoking? Quitting is like learning to ride a bike; it is rarely accomplished the first time, but with determination, it can be done. First, be determined in your mind that you want to quit smoking and try to analyze your habits to see why you smoke. Then, plan a quit date and put it down in writing, a sort of a commitment to yourself that ‘this day is the day I quit smoking.’ Millions of smokers have quit smoking and you can too.

Some families make a tradition out of going out each year to pumpkin patches to find the pumpkins that they are going to use that year for Halloween. If this is not something that you do with your family, but you love Halloween, this may be something you want to make time to do each year. It gives your family something to do together that they are going to look forward too, and you can usually find much better prices on pumpkins when you go to a farmer or a patch where they are grown. You skip the markup of the middle man when you get them this way.

You may not have much luck finding good pumpkin patches if you live in the middle of a large city, but you can usually find them just about anywhere else. Look where you would normally see your local farmers market set up and that is where you are probably going to find the pumpkin patches that you want to visit with your family. There are always some that are open earlier than others, but you do not want to get and then carve your pumpkins too early or they are going to rot before Halloween arrives. Unless that is the look you are going for, wait before you visit and choose your pumpkins.

When you get to the pumpkin patches, you may be tempted to run off to the largest of the pumpkins, grab them, and then go home. You want to take some time to make sure you are getting good pumpkins. If you are just grabbing some to stack up on your yard and you have no plans to carve them, you do not have to be quite as choosy. However, if you are going to carve your prizes from the pumpkin patches, you want to make sure you have a good pumpkin that is healthy and looks good all the way around for best results.

Large pumpkins can be great, but they are not always the best. Instead, you want to pick up the pumpkin and see if there are any large flaws that would get in the way of your carving ideas. Not all pumpkins in the pumpkin patches are going to make for great carving pumpkins. If you want to make homemade pumpkin pie, these are great – otherwise, look them over for gouges and other imperfections. You also want to make sure the pumpkins you are taking home from the pumpkin patch are the same color all the way around. Some bleach in the sun making them orange on one side but lighter on the other.

When you buy from pumpkin patches, you are probably going to pay for the pumpkin by the pound. If you get one from a store, it probably has a set price. If you are going to get a very large one, you are going to pay more for it because it could be quite heavy. However, even when buying by the pound at your local pumpkin patch, you are probably getting a better price on what is probably a better pumpkin.

Nothing says Halloween better than a grinning Jack-o-lantern. Pumpkin carving has been around for a long time but is most associated with the holiday of Halloween. If you’ve never had any experience with pumpkin carving or are looking to kick up your carving a notch, here are some surefire tips to help get your pumpkin on!

The first step with pumpkin carving is to pick out your gourd of choice. This could be as easy as a stop at your local grocery store. For the more adventurous you might consider looking up a local pumpkin patch where you and your family can go and pick your own pack of pumpkins. Whatever pumpkin you pick consider this as your canvas. The bigger the pumpkin the easier it will be to carve. And don’t just stop at one pumpkin. Get a whole bunch and create a gaggle of Jack-o-lantern decorations.

Begin your pumpkin carving session by spreading out some newspaper under your pumpkin. You’ll need to slice around the top to make a lid and then hollow out all the pumpkin guts. You can either throw the pumpkin innards out or consider roasting the seeds for a tasty treat.

Once your pumpkin has been cleaned you could sketch out the face or design you’ll be carving. Because pumpkin carving has become a big business there are various pumpkin carving kits available wherever Halloween decorations are sold. In these kits you’ll find simple carving tools and stencils that you can use on your own pumpkin no matter what the size. Keep in mind that, applying a stencil template to your pumpkin isn’t cheating. Think of it as paint by numbers. It’s just a little extra guidance.

Pumpkin carving can either mean cutting out chunks of your pumpkin to create a look or delicately removing the top layer of pumpkin skin. By leaving the thin inner skin of the pumpkin you can generate and eerie glow when placing a candle or small battery light inside your pumpkin.

If you’re searching for pumpkin carving inspiration there are plenty of pictures and instructional videos that are just a Google search away. Checking out other works of pumpkin art might help you decide on pumpkin carving patterns or ideas for groups of Jack-o-lantern. Of course once your pumpkin carving is complete make sure you snap plenty of pictures because sooner or later your masterpiece is going to wilt away!

Most women are aware of the major pregnancy signs and symptoms. Though not all women have a regular menstrual cycle, many do. They know when they are late and they know that they should test if they go a certain amount of days beyond an expected period. Some know that feeling very tired and throwing up (or feeling like throwing up) all day or just at certain times of the day also signal that a test should be taken either at home or at the doctor’s office. Those are the most common pregnancy signs and symptoms, but there are other more subtle ones that can indicate a baby is on the way.

When women are pregnant, their entire bodies changes. Many of these changes are very small, and some do not notice them until they know they are pregnant. A woman who is carrying a baby will be warmer than usual. This is not usually noticeable to her right away, but someone else touching her skin may notice this. If you do not show any other pregnancy signs and symptoms, this one may not be a huge indication, but can be added to others. If your husband or significant other comments that your skin is really warm or even hot over the period of a few days or weeks, your body may be building a baby.

Changes in the breasts can be common pregnancy symptoms, but not all changes are substantial. Some women barely notice the difference right away. The breasts grow when a woman in pregnant, and the pigment in the nipple darkens. However, while someone women notice this right away, along with breast tenderness, some women only have small changes in this area, or these changes mimic premenstrual breast changes. At times, these signs have to go on for a few weeks before a women realizes these are not their normal cyclic breast changes.

You may think that cravings are part of common pregnancy signs and symptoms, but not always. We often crave foods when our bodies need something and you do not have to be pregnant for this to happen. Some assume cravings for things like salt or fruit are just common cravings and do not indicate pregnancy. Actually, for more women, cravings are not for unusual things. Even those that have a well balanced diet may crave things like fruit when they are pregnant. Because this is not an uncommon craving, many do not use it as a pregnancy sign. If you are having cravings, consider pregnancy if you have other signs as well.

Another uncommon type of pregnancy signs and symptoms is aversions to something you usually like. If you enjoy drinks on the weekends with friends, you may not be totally adverse, but something inside of you may feel like drinking less or none at all, even when you do not realize that you are expecting. You do not yet know but your body does. You may find that you do not drink as much or suddenly do not feel like going out much. You may find things you once enjoyed repulsive and have no idea why. If so, consider this to be a pregnancy symptom as well.

Investing can be complicated business, that is why so many have someone else do it for them. This means that you have to pay them a fee, but if you don’t know anything about money, stocks, investments, and all of that fun stuff, you are going to make more if you have someone knowledgeable handling your portfolio management for you. The hard part might be finding someone you can trust, and someone who will listen to what you have to say.

If you know how to handle your own portfolio management, you can save a lot of money by not paying fees to someone else. However, this can be hard to do if you have a diverse portfolio, and you have to spend a lot of time checking up each and every different stock you have. Even some who are knowledgeable about portfolio management have someone else doing it for that very reason. They feel the fee is reasonable because they don’t have to take a lot of time out of their day to worry about it.

One way many deal with portfolio management is to have a 401K that requires very little input from them. However, there are still come choices that the employee must make. Some will ask what money you want to go into what type of investment. Those starting out often have very little in their accounts, so they put it all into low risk. After the money adds up, they can then have some of that put into higher risk investments to see what will happen. With the case of the 401K they can be pretty hands off, but you should still know what is going on and where your money is going.

When choosing someone to handle your portfolio management, you should find someone who will listen to you and take your calls, and also someone who has a reasonable fee. If you try to call and it seems they never answer, and they rarely call you back in a timely manner, you might want to assume that they are just too busy to handle your portfolio management like they should be. Find someone who can answer when you call, at least at a reasonable frequency, and seems to give a hoot about what you think. After all, it is your money and your future. You have a right to have input and to know what is going on with it.

Have you ever given a gift to someone and have the concept turn into an obsession? This happened between my niece and me. When my niece, who is also my godchild, turned nine years old I gave her a porcelain doll for her birthday. I had bought the doll when I was on a business trip in Georgia. This particular doll was, of course, a southern belle. As with all high quality porcelain dolls the details were incredible. She had human eyelashes and hair. The satin dresses had yards of lace and ribbon as trim. I picked one whose hair color closely resembled my niece’s hair. My niece absolutely loved the doll. She had never seen a porcelain doll before and she wanted to know everything about them. At that point I knew that she would have a collection, and that I would be able to add to this collection on birthdays and holidays.
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My niece is now twenty-nine years old. She has spent the last twenty years collecting porcelain dolls. I am not sure how many she has at this time, but one entire room of her home is dedicated to the collection. She is always looking in the papers and online to find porcelain dolls for sale. She has many dolls from several different collections that have been given to her as gifts through the years by people that know she is a collector. When she looks for porcelain dolls for sale she is looking for a particular series of a certain collection. In her research of dolls she has discovered that the major manufacturers of the high quality dolls make a limited number of dolls in a series. Because each doll is hand painted and has human hair that is also put on by hand, there are no two dolls that are exactly the same. For the collections they will be dressed the same, but each has their own personality and look because of the hand painted expressions. My niece is trying to fill out three different collections at this time. For one collection she is missing the first doll released in the series. The doll was released twenty years ago. For the older dolls she is always searching on line for the porcelain dolls for sale hoping to find one that has been part of an estate. The one she is looking for is part of the collection that I started her with twenty years ago. Her husband cannot believe the amount of pride she places into this collection. She spends a great deal of money to continue it. My sister tells him to talk to me because I started it with the southern belle doll.

It seems like all businesses, even small ones in small communities are getting more competitive. Part of the issue as always is that there are only so many consumer dollars to go around. If you want to get your share of the dollars you need to compete with those around you. I bought a small gift shop in a small resort town several years ago. At the time I bought it there were three other gift shops in the town. We all agreed that we would not carry the same merchandise. We got together and decided which supply catalogs each of us would order from. If there were similar or overlapping products we marked them the same price. We held sales on the same days and made them full town events in coordination with the restaurants and service providers in the town. This provided a great shopping experience for the customers and placed all of us on a level playing ground.

As time passed I became close friends with the other shop owners. One year we decided that it would be fun to go to one of the large trade shows together in the metro area. The show was being held at the convention center. We were very impressed with the pop up display that many of the catalog companies used. The main catalog that I order from had a very impressive pop up display with lights and a revolving statue of liberty. The display attracted many people. The company was giving away a trip to New York to go to the national trade show. We all threw in our names into the raffle bin and continued looking at the other vendors. We each found new vendors that we were considering ordering from. We also received many great complimentary items for our stores. As we were getting ready to go they announced that I had won the trip to New York. I was very excited because I had never been there and had always wanted to go. I thought my husband would be thrilled about going also, until I saw the dates. The trade show was at the same time as a hunting trip that he had planned in the western United States. One of the other shop owners said that she did not care to go because she did not like flying and the dates were the same weekend that a relative was getting married. The remaining shop owner said that she would love to go with me.

The national trade show was huge. The pop up display that was so impressive back home was nothing compared to the pop up displays that were used at this level. We found many new items to order and had a great time. We are hoping that our customers like the new merchandise we found.