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Money is a delicate topic of conversation. It logically follows that so is investing. And here’s the truth about investment: no one knows anything. Of course they don’t. Truly knowing about investment in some sort of risk-proof way is only possible through knowing the future. And, despite what anyone tells you, despite whatever fancy mathematical formulas or decades of life experience somehow has, no one can predict the future accurately all of the time. And, as many people can tell you, being wrong just one time can undo a lifetime of work and effort. Therefore, the best way to invest money is simple: don’t. At least, not like that.

The other thing to watch out for, besides these “experts” who claim that they can predict and model the future, is experts with a secret. Anyone that claims that they have the best way to invest money, and it is a secret is trying to scam you; run away as fast as you can. How do I know this? Think about it: if you truly had a secret investment plan – the absolute best way to invest money – why would you tell anyone else? You don’t need to share it with people for it to continue making money, UNLESS, the simple fact of getting people to invest with you is the method of how you make money. This is how any schemer (most recently, Bernie Madoff) makes money. They claim to have the secret, the possession of information, the best way to invest money. They don’t. They simply know how to take your money.

So what is the best way to invest money? Simple, find the least amount of risk possible. Investing in a certificate of deposit is one of the ONLY ways you can guarantee that your investment will not lose money. Everything else is more or less fancy and legal gambling, and do not let anyone else tell you otherwise: there is no such thing as a sure thing.

That said, the best way to invest money is actually two-fold. Invest in no-risk banks that are FDIC insured to the amount you invest. The other thing to do is take a small amount of your investment capital, ten or fifteen percent, and invest them in the longest shots possible. You will probably lose money; that’s ok if you take the other ninety percent to no-risk investments. But if you don’t lose money… well, you’ll be doing fine.

Dressing up for Halloween is equal parts art, shopping and imagination. Luckily, with all of the costume shops online now, you can browse through thousands and thousands of Halloween costumes for ideas and inspiration without even leaving your house. Coming up with costume ideas are tricky, but there is one route you can go to get really great costumes that are unique, clever and original: period costumes. This year, I am looking at one such period idea in particular. I am looking at fifties costumes.

Fifties costumes offer a wealth of ideas and a variety of costumes for both men and women. When I approach period costumes, I like to start with simply that – what were people wearing in that period of time. Fifties costumes are a particularly fertile ground for modern costumes based on everyday clothing from the 50s.

If you want something else for fifties costumes, there are still plenty of ideas. The most common fifties costumes are, of course, the poodle-skirt for girls and the greaser look for guys. These include the great accessories, like saddle shoes and leather jackets. You can really invest a fair amount of time to elevate the costume to another level and really wow people. These have been popular fifties costumes for decades now, and very few Halloweens go by without seeing a handful of people using these costumes for themselves.

Personally, I like thinking of other choices for fifties costumes: specifically, celebrities. Two of the most popular celebrities happen to be fifties costumes: Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley. There are of course other celebrities from the fifties, including James Dean.

However, dressing up like celebrities can be difficult. My favorite idea for fifties costumes is to dress up like characters from famous movies either set in or shot during the 1950’s. This is a great way to go for the period look while still having a lot of fun. For instance, dressing up as Marlon Brando in On the Riverfront, is a good option instead of the daunting task of dressing up as a Marlon Brando.

Whichever way you might choose to approach fifties costumes, you should be in great shape. The whole part of Halloween is to have fun pretending to be someone else for just a couple of hours, and there is no shortage of great ideas for fifties costumes to help you do precisely that.

Use a computer? Keyboard ergonomics is something you want to learn about!

If you think of your computer as an electrical appliance, operating a computer without regard for health and safety is unthinkable. Certainly, you will treat it with the respect an electrical appliance deserves. But would you operate it, sit at your workstation, lift your arms into a position that lets you type on the computer’s keyboard, and just start typing, if you knew that by doing just that, you could be setting yourself up for many painful days, sleepless nights, increased sickness, and some hefty medical bills? Probably not!

However, it happens. Tendinitis and carpel tunnel syndrome have been associated to operating a computer without regard to what your posture when typing, seating position, as well as the typing itself, can do to your body. The body can only take so much stress before it begins to break down. Sitting in a stressful position, holding up your arms in a manner that stresses the shoulders and elbows, typing with hands unsupported, can all result in damage to your body and the subsequent pain.

The science of ergonomics studies, among other phenomena, the impact sitting, posturing for, and typing into a computer has on the body. These studies inform both manufacturers and computer users of disease prevention practices that should be observed when designing and operating a computer. As yet, no law requires manufacturers to comply with ergonomic requirements, although the U.S Department of Labor, the Office of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, researches, maintains and distributes ergonomic guidelines.

Keyboard ergonomics, for instance, has informed the computer user community of the need to relieve stress on their shoulders, arms, and wrist when typing at a computer. Keyboard ergonomics has also informed keyboard manufacturers of the design requirements for keyboards that relieve stress dangers to the keyboard users. The result of all this research is the ergonomic keyboard, a computer keyboard specifically designed to implement the recommendations of keyboard ergonomics.

Keyboard ergonomics recommends an adjustable keyboard tray, and many manufacturers of workstations now implement this recommendation. Some keyboards have adjustable feet to allow angling, just as keyboard ergonomics would have. Keyboard ergonomics gave rise to the padded keyboard tray. This was an early effort to keep the typist from bending the wrist, so often a main culprit in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). Shortly afterwards, keyboard designers were designing keyboards with wrist pads on the keyboard. Recent developments have brought about split keyboards, each side attached to swivels that can adjust to the comfort of the typist’s hand angles.

While some manufacturers of consumer computers have voluntarily provided ergonomic keyboards with their computers, this is not yet a standard. Most people who want an ergonomic keyboard will have to purchase one separately. Fortunately, there are many manufacturers producing keyboards that implement keyboard ergonomics best practices. You can find them abundantly on the Internet. The more they say about their product, the more likely it is ergonomic. Compare the images. Imagine using each, how your hands would rest. Don’t let strange looking designs put you off. Keyboard ergonomics is not aesthetics. Get the one that looks like it will protect you best.

Keyboard ergonomics is but one of the ways computer users can protect themselves from the hazards of using a computer without regard for health and safety. You can see it’s worth your while to do a little detective work and assure yourself of a safe and healthy computer experience and prevent the painful consequences.

What does the arrival of summer mean? Outdoor activities, vacations and of course, the movie season. But have you ever wondered how movies are made. What goes into making a blockbuster movie that rakes in millions of dollars? Taking into consideration production and marketing costs which amount into millions, making a profit on a film is not as easy as it sounds. One hurdle is the unpredictable public audience. As one professor of film studies said, the expectations of the public vary and there is no way of knowing exactly what they want at any given moment. Let’s take an imaginary tour of what goes around a studio script before it can be made into a blockbuster film.

In the movie business, preproduction is the groundwork of any movie and is probably the longest phase in the process. This process is the preparation stage and it begins with a story idea. A story can either be fictitious or based on real-life events. When a writer has come up with a storyline, he or she puts it down into a script. The script now becomes a screenplay and may undergo numerous revisions before it can be produced into a shooting script. The final version of the studio script will have the entire dialogue and other additional information such as the action descriptions in the movie as well as technical details guides with such things as transitions that have to be incorporated between scenes and the camera directions. While the studio script is still at this stage, it is sold to a producer.

It is now up to the producer to determine if the screenplay has potential and if he feels so, he signs up a reputable director and a famous actor or actress. The next stage is storyboarding. These are series of sketches that allow a cinematographer to know where to position the camera and it saves a lot of time during the actual shoot. Before this can be done, it will also have been determined what location to be used for filming, the interior sets to be used, costumes, lighting, makeup, sound effects and stunt work. A basic studio script can involve hundreds of people as is seen in the closing credits of the film. As one technician put it, “It takes a city of people to make a feature film.”

The next step is putting all that is on the script on film. The director closely supervises the filming of each scene. Even relatively simple scenes may take an entire day to film. Each attempt at a scene is called a take and for big scenes, it is not surprising to have up to 50 takes at the end of the shooting day. In all, it is easy to see why a movie can take up to months to film. The final leg is the postproduction of the studio script which includes addition of sound and visual effects. The film may be shown to a test audience which may include the director’s friends and colleagues before being released to theaters. So the next time you line up outside the theater to watch your favorite upcoming movie, consider what it may have taken to piece it up together.

In our gregarious society, it can be a bit embarrassing for a single person to do certain things solo. For instance, whenever I head to a restaurant at dinnertime by myself, I’m bound to get some odd looks from the waiter or other diners. The looks range from simply inquisitive to downright pitying, which makes me even more self-conscious than I was when I first walked in. The same thing happens when I attend a movie or a sporting event all alone. And I used to get similar stares at famous sightseeing spots until I started booking small group tours.

There are a couple different kinds of small group tours available. The first kind is for groups of people who already know each other, such as family members, friends, or schoolmates, but this obviously isn’t the one that applies to me. The second kind caters to singles who don’t wish to travel alone to great destinations across the country and around the world. These types of small group tours give individuals the opportunity to visit the best that our planet has to offer in a safe and comfortable setting.

Small group tours have been around forever, but I first heard about them a few years ago after a colleague of mine suggested I look into them. I had just returned from a trip to Paris, and was complaining of how awkward it was to visit that kind of romantic locale on my own. The worst was asking people to take a picture of me standing in front of Notre Dame or the Eiffel Tower, as I received more of those pitying looks that I’ve grown so accustomed to over the years. I know, I know — as an adult, these situations shouldn’t bother me. But they do, which is why I absolutely love small group tours now.

Small group tours can be arranged through most travel agencies, and include a number of benefits in addition to getting new traveling companions every time. For one thing, groups are often eligible for the best rates around, which means I actually end up saving money by booking this way. For another thing, all the details of the trip are pre-arranged. This includes transportation at the destination, a sightseeing itinerary (that often includes free days as well), and even meals. Plus, small group tours come with a guide who is knowledgeable about the destination and speaks the local language. That’s a huge advantage when journeying to far-flung places like China, Thailand, or various countries in Africa. There’s no way I would be able to navigate through those countries on my own.

I have been part of these small group tours for my last six vacations, and I have had terrific experiences each and every time. The accommodations were amazing, the packages were very affordable, and the companionship was wonderful. It’s so nice not to be on the receiving end of those sad-sack looks anymore that I can’t imagine traveling any other way!