Thursday, 31 July 2014

A Brand New Handheld Video Game System

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
The hand held video game market has been stale for a while. They can only provide games that most cellular phones can also provide. This has caused their sales to slip in recent years and many see an end to that market of video gaming. However Nintendo, the long time leader in video games, has come out with a handheld video game system that breathed life into the niche. It is named the Nintendo 3DS which will soon be released in the US and has already been released in Japan.

Never before have the features the 3DS possesses been included in the market of hand held video games. The most revolutionary feature the system has introduced is its 3D technology. The 3DS has been infused with technology by Nintendo allowing it to project 3D games. 3D glasses aren't needed to experience this feature, so the player can enjoy playing these games anywhere and anytime. There has never been any type of video game system which has been able to use 3D technology without 3D glasses.

Gyro sensors have also been installed in the system by Nintendo allowing the 3D technology to be pushed further. In game play will be affected by how the player positions the actual system; tilting it or moving it will have a result. A similar type of technology is used in Apple products, so it may be familiar to many. This means that a level of gaming can be reached that has never been reached before. Gamers are no longer stuck inside flat game worlds.

Nintendo wanted the players of this system to have control over this technology, so they included a slider control. This control allows one to adjust how intense the 3D is displayed on the system. If they would like a more flat environment, they can have it by simply sliding the 3D intensity down. The Nintendo 3DS can be pre ordered today and you should do so if you want to be one of the first people with this new technology. The features it has introduced are simply incredible!

Wednesday, 30 July 2014

Taking Good Care Of Your Books

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
Nowadays, many people read their books on e-book readers, which makes the question of “how to take care of books” null and void, but there are many other people who cannot imagine making the switch to e-books, as they simply enjoy the feel of a book in their hands far too much. If you consider yourself to be such a person, it will be extremely important that you know what you should do in order to keep your books in good shape – and of course, it will also be extremely important that you follow these things as well!

Many people do not realize how bad heat and humidity can be for the binding of a book, but rather than learning the hard way (that is, learning by experiencing it on your own!), understand that the combination of heat and humidity can cause the binding of a book to fall apart completely, so if you are going to be reading by a pool or at the ocean, make sure you are not reading a book that you view as valuable, as it may not survive!

Of course, another thing that will be important is that you keep an eye on your fingers when you are reading, as anything from dirt to spaghetti sauce can end up splattered and smudged across the pages if you are not careful, which will leave you with a book that is not nearly in as good of shape as it was when you started.

And for many book lovers, it is really not all that bad if one of their books gets dirtied or even a bit beat up from how much they are enjoying the book their own self, but it is a different story altogether if a book gets dirty and beat up by someone who borrowed the book from you, so be careful with who you loan your books to – lest you get a book back that is in much worse shape than it was when you loaned it!

Keep these tips in mind, and you will have no problem keeping your books in excellent shape!

Tuesday, 29 July 2014

How To Sleep On A Plane

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
Anyone who has spent any significant amount of time traveling knows how important it is to be able to get some sleep on a plane. After all - regardless of whether you are traveling for business or just for pleasure - you certainly do not want to arrive at your destination feeling completely wiped out. No one ever said that sleeping on a plane is easy, but it sure becomes a lot easier when you follow these three simple tips.

Carry-on light: Lots of people travel with huge carry-on bags that they are barely able to fit underneath the chair in front of them. If you bring a smaller bag, however - or if you make sure you will be able to fit your carry-on into the overhead compartment - you will have room under the seat in front of you. This will enable you to stretch your legs out a bit, which makes it much easier to get some good sleep.

Bring the right pillow: If you want to sleep on the plane, the headrests that are on the airplane chairs will probably not be comfortable enough to accommoadate you. Your best bet is to get an airplane pillow, as these are designed specifically to help you get sleep on a plane! One great option for keeping you comfortable while you try to sleep in those uncomfortable seats on the plane is the HoMedics Ortho Therapy Neck Support Pillow.

Cover your eyes: If you walk down the aisle during a plane ride, you will probably see people who have their faces covered with blankets or sweatshirts. While these people might look a bit funny, they are probably sleeping better than anyone else on the plane as well! You do not have to cover your face with a sweatshirt or a blanket, though, if you want to sleep well on a plane; just pick up a Dream Essentials Sweet Dreams Contoured Sleep Mask, and you will be able to sleep like a dream without the light invading your eyes.

Even when you follow these tips, sleeping on a plane will never be as easy as sleeping in bed, but sleeping on the plane will become much easier than before!

Monday, 28 July 2014

Three Steps In The Writing Process You Might Not Think Of

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships

If you are looking to become a writer, it will be important that you do not make the mistake that so many fresh writers make of simply sitting down at the computer, putting their hands on the keyboard, and beginning to type; if you want to become a writer, there is a whole lot more to the process than this! Of course, the time and money necessary for writing classes may not appeal to you (or, you may simply think that you will learn more on your own – which might actually be the case!), but just because you are not taking writing classes does not mean that there are not still things you should do in order to learn how to be a writer.

When it comes to writing, the first thing you need to make sure you realize is that there is a lot more to writing than the writing itself; in fact, the act of reading is as important to writing as actually writing, because as you read, you will naturally learn things from other writers – and in time, this knowledge will show through in your writing.

Another mistake a lot of writers make when they are first starting out is that they finish their 1st draft, and decide that they are done with their manuscript; however, writing the manuscript itself is only one small part of the process, as you will actually spend more time editing your manuscript than you ever spent writing it – so practice editing even now, taking a second look at everything you write, so that you will be ready when the time comes to edit your manuscript.

And understanding how the world of publishing works will be of the utmost importance if you want to be a successful writer; you cannot simply go to a publishing house with your manuscript and expect them to publish it – but rather, you will need to find an agent. It can be a long and difficult road to actually land an agent, but you will need to send out letters to a lot of different agents, hoping that one of them will take the time to read your manuscript!

Sunday, 27 July 2014

Making Iced Coffee At Home

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
Many coffee lovers are heading out to Starbucks each day for their iced coffee now that the weather is starting to heat up. But even as delicious as the cup of coffee Starbucks serves up is, it will take a serious toll on your wallet if you are traveling there every day! And still, many people continue to visit Starbucks every day, as they feel that they cannot make a good cup of iced coffee at home.

When people try to brew iced coffee at home, many of them simply brew a pot of hot coffee and pour it over ice. After people make iced coffee in this way, however, they complain about the fact that the coffee is bland and tastes "watered-down," and what's more, it's still not cold enough! But the reason people feel this way after making iced coffee in this manner is because, quite simply, this is not the right way to make iced coffee!

The way that iced coffee is made in coffee shops - and the way you should make it at home - is by cold-brewing the coffee. When it comes to cold-brewing at home, the best option (in fact, the original option) is the Toddy Cold Brew System; and at only 35 dollars on Amazon, the Toddy is an absolute steal - about the cost of a week's worth of iced coffees at Starbucks!

You can still make pretty good iced coffee at home, however, if you do not feel like making the investment in a cold-brew system just yet; you simply need a bit of time!

Firstly, you should brew a pot of coffee, making it double-strength; secondly, you should set the coffee in the refrigerator for about two hours; thirdly, put a bit of ice in a glass, and pour the coffee in!

If you want to have consistently delicious iced coffee and save yourself some money, your best bet is to buy a Toddy Cold Brew System. But if you have a bit of time, you can still make tasty iced coffee at home until you are ready to go out and make this purchase!

Saturday, 26 July 2014

Using Boric Acid To Get Rid Of Cockroaches

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
People sometimes make jokes about how cockroaches are seemingly impossible to kill, but if you have ever dealt with a cockroach problem yourself, you have probably seen this as being a lot less funny, and have instead seen this as completely true - and as a serious problem; the main reason many people find that cockroaches are so difficult to kill is because they can quickly build up an immunity to different poisons - but one thing they cannot build up an immunity to is boric acid!

When it comes to boric acid, the first thing you should understand is that it is much better to put down on your floors than any insecticide you could use, as - unlike the poisons in insecticides - boric acid is really not any more harmful to humans and pets than table salt; furthermore, boric acid can be purchased for only a few dollars, which is certainly better than what you will spend on a big jug of insecticide.

You will purchase boric acid as a powder, and it will be important that you make sure it remains a powder (that is, you will want to make sure it does not get wet) in order for it to continue working; take a large paint brush, and spread the boric acid along the places where cockroaches are likely to roam, such as along baseboards, and in cracks in the wall, realizing that the thinner you spread the boric acid, the better.

Although cockroaches will not ingest boric acid on purpose, the positive charge of boric acid will cause it to cling to the antennae and legs of cockroaches, and when these pests clean themselves (which, believe it or not, cockroaches actually do!), they will ingest the boric acid, which will essentially cause their body to quickly become so dehydrated that they die.

Furthermore - because of the fact that cockroaches are not killed immediately by boric acid - the ones that end up with this chemical on them will bring it back to the nest, and soon the others in the colony will become infected by it as well; it is not the fastest-acting solution, but it is by far the safest, and is by far the most effective - and within about two weeks, you will have wiped out the entire colony of roaches!

Friday, 25 July 2014

Exploring Ingenious Ways To Use A High Waiver Slot In Fantasy Football

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
Many people think of fantasy football strategy as consisting of nothing more than the draft and the decisions you must make each week as to who to start and who to sit - and when they make the decision to add a new player or change something on their team, they do nothing more than put in a waiver claim on the player they want and plug them into the lineup. And while using waivers is certainly a big component when it comes to achieving success in fantasy football - and while you will sometimes need to pick up a particular player off waivers, regardless of the waiver slot you have - you should also realize that there are a few strategical advantages you can gain when you have the number one position on waivers.

Waiting for a truly blockbuster player is the first ingenious way to use a high waiver slot in fantasy football; instead of just using your high waiver slot to fill a small need, save your high waiver slot for a time when it will be truly valuable, and wait to see if the minor players you want clear waivers, when they will be readily available for you to pick up.

Using your high waiver slot as a trade piece is a second ingenious way to employ it; if someone is far back on waivers and you are high on waivers, and they want a player who will be picked up by someone else before them, work out a trade with that person, then pick up the player they want and execute the trade.

And lastly, you can use a top waiver spot as an extra bench slot, especially during the bye weeks; if you have a good player on bye, and there is another good player available as a free agent, you can drop your player right before games begin on Sunday in favor of this bye week fill-in, and after games end on Sunday, you can use your top waiver spot to pick up this player once again!

By using some creativity when you have a top waiver spot, you will be able to increase the value you get from this waiver spot - and in this way, you will also increase your likelihood of winning!

Thursday, 24 July 2014

Getting Acquainted With Ernest Hemingway

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If Ernest Hemingway is a writer you have never read before, you may hear the name Hemingway and suddenly get intimidated, thinking that someone who is so highly regarded in the world of literature must of course have written works that were terribly difficult to read. But what you may not realize is that one of the main things that made Hemingway such a grand figure in the landscape of literature is the fact that he was one of the first writers to make his work truly accessible to all readers, which means that – even today – just about anyone can read Ernest Hemingway and thoroughly enjoy him.

The best place to start if you are wanting to get to know Ernest Hemingway's writing is with his second published novel, The Sun Also Rises; this story follows a group of American expatriates in Paris following World War I, watching them as they simply live their lives – and although this book has nothing “thrilling” about it, it was this book that brought Paris back to the forefront during the 1920s.

Hemingway did everything from fighting bulls to hunting in Africa to boxing to participating in every war he could find, and his persona was tied to his adventurous spirit; after participating as a war correspondent in the Spanish Civil War, Hemingway wrote the novel For Whom The Bell Tolls – and since its publication in 1940, this novel has grown into one of the most important novels of the 20th century.

Hemingway's stock with the reading public began to fall in the years following For Whom The Bell Tolls, as his subsequent works were not as highly regarded, but all of this changed in 1954 when Hemingway published a small novella called The Old Man and the Sea – which won Hemingway a Pulitzer Prize, and encouraged the Nobel Prize committee to give him the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature!

After reading these three works, you may actually want to read all of Hemingway's works – but if you are looking for an introduction to Hemingway, these three works are the perfect way to begin!

Wednesday, 23 July 2014

Tips For Inviting People To A Destination Wedding

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you think you might want to have your wedding somewhere other than your hometown, it is not only important that you plan everything the right way, but it is also important that you understand the right way to invite people to your wedding! After all, not everyone will have the money to attend your wedding if it is far away, so you might also be planning to have a bigger reception upon your return. To this reception, you will probably be planning to invite not only the people who were unable to spend the money to travel to the wedding, but also those who you were unable to invite to the wedding at all due to the space constraints of the destination you have chosen. This means that you are going to be inviting guests to two distinctly different events, in two distinctly different locations, so it is important that you word the invitations in the proper manner.

One helpful thing you can do is talk to everyone you plan to invite to the wedding before you send out the invitations, and find out how many of these people imagine they will be able to attend. After you have all this information, you will have a better understanding of how many people might be attending the wedding, and of how many more people you might be able to invite.

Because a destination wedding requires more planning on the part of those attending than an "in town" wedding would, you will want to make sure you get the invitations out as early as you can. The invitations should provide as much help as possible to those who might be coming, including airline information, lodging information, and the sort of clothes they should plan to wear to the wedding. The more information you are able to provide for your guests, the easier this will make things - both on them, and on you.

Once you have taken care of all these things, the invitations will be ready to go out, and you will be ready to start planning the next steps of your wedding!

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Adding Fish To Your Saltwater Aquarium

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you have had a freshwater aquarium for a while, you might be considering an upgrade to saltwater. You might have heard horror stories about what a nightmare saltwater fish tanks are to maintain, but actually, they are not so different from freshwater tanks as long as you do the proper research before making decisions. When people start a saltwater tank, they often make the mistake of purchasing fish that do not actually belong with one another. When fish cannot coexist, one of them usually ends up losing the battle. With saltwater fish being as pricey as they sometimes are, you certainly do not want to learn by trial and error. Instead, use this handy guide to know the four different types of fish and their individual needs.

Carnivores: Carnivores, of course, will eat other smaller fish; they will also eat crustaceans and invertebrates, so if you get a carnivore like a puffer or a dottyback, keep this in mind, because these fish will not care how much you spent on another fish if they are hungry. Make sure you only keep such fish with fish who can hold their own.

Herbivores: These fish eat plants and algae, and while this might seem harmless, think twice before adding a fish such as a tang with live plants. The money you spent on those live plants may as well have been thrown out the window, as those plants will disappear rapidly in a tank with such fish.

Omnivores: As long as you feed your fish regularly, omnivores are generally quite safe, as they will be content to eat what you feed them and to not wreck the rest of your tank. If you do forget to feed your omnivores, you will end up losing your plants, coral, and crustaceans to their appetites.

Filter feeders: Filter feeders, of course, are the simplest animals to keep in your tank, as they get their nutrients from organisms that are floating in the water. But even though such filter feeders as starfish, sponges, and coral are great, you will surely want fish to go with them!

Take the time to study the fish that can coexist with one another and the plants that you can add to your fish tank without worrying about them disappearing. It only takes a bit of extra time to study up, and this study will make a big difference in your saltwater experience.

Monday, 21 July 2014

Taking A Look At The Daily Prescription For Writers

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you have thought that you might want to be a writer, you are probably aware of the fact that "writing" is one thing you will have to do in order to achieve this dream, but while this is an obvious step in the process, you may not know what you are supposed to do beyond this; while there are plenty of different things you will need to do in order to go from being an aspiring writer to being an actual writer, the good news is that there are also some specific things you can do each day that will help you to get from "here" to "there"!

Of course, the first thing you should make sure you do every day is write; Beethoven once said of his piano playing, 'If I don't play for one day, I can tell the difference; if I don't play for two days, my critics can tell a difference; if I don't play for three days, my fans can tell a difference' - and this quote highlights just how important it is for you to be committed daily to the progression and cultivation of your craft!

But while you were probably already aware of the fact that it will be important for you to write every day (after all, knowing that is not the hard part - actually doing it is the hard part!), you may not have realized that reading every day is just as important as writing every day; if someone wanted to be a musician, but they had never listened to a single band besides The Beatles, they would not have any clue what else had been done with music, and it is the same way with writing - you need to know what has been done, and how it has been done, in order to know what you are doing yourself!

And someday, you will finish writing the book you hope to someday write, and you will need to start looking for an agent who will sign on to represent you; in order to prepare for this step in the process, you should be spending a little bit of time each day cultivating your online presence - writing on a blog and interacting with other authors and readers - as this will make it far easier for you to find an agent who will take the plunge with you!

The road to success as a writer can be long and arduous, but when you stick to this daily prescription, you will be that much closer to reaching the success you dream of someday reaching!

Sunday, 20 July 2014

Figuring Out How To Open A Coconut

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
You may have tasted the sweet and delicious treat of fresh coconut once or twice and decided it would be a good idea to enjoy fresh coconut more often. There is one problem with this, however: coconuts can be interminably difficult to actually get open! While it looks like a piece of cake on movies and on television shows where people show you how to survive, none of this seems to translate to the kitchen.

YouTube is another place where opening a coconut can look easy, as people post videos with their tips and advice. While many of the methods these videos show - such as using a blunt object to crack the coconut open, or finding the "weak spot" around the top of the coconut, or even putting the coconut in a towel and bashing it open with a hammer - there is a much simpler and much more effective way!

The first thing you will want to do is empty the coconut of its water, even before you try to open it. Locate the "eyes" - the three softer spots on the bottom that are grouped closely together - and you will be ready to get at the water. Get a bowl or a cup ready to drain the water into (remember, it's good for drinking!), and then poke a hole in each of the three eyes using either a corkscrew or a hammer and long nail. Once the coconut is emptied of water, there is only one more step, and it could not be any easier. All you have to do is "bake" the coconut in your oven at 350 degrees for 15 to 25 minutes. When you take the coconut out, it should already have some cracks in it, and these cracks will open fully with a couple solid taps from the blunt end of the knife!

The coconut is full of vitamins and minerals, and it has about 1400 calories, making it one of the most beneficial fruits. But if you are unable to get your coconut open, you will never be able to enjoy it; follow this simple procedure, however, and you will not have any problems!

Saturday, 19 July 2014

Three Things To Pay Attention To When Setting Up Your Bird Feeder

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you have never set up a bird feeder before, you might have thought that setting one up is as simple as buying it, filling it with seed, and hanging it from a tree, but while you can certainly make the hanging of your bird feeder this simple, you will not be guaranteeing that birds will come to your feeder in this manner, and will therefore not be getting the most out of your feeder! If you are hoping that you will be able to get the most out of your feeder this summer, pay attention to these three simple things, and you will greatly increase the chances that birds will flock to your feeder, and that you will be able to fully enjoy the entertainment they provide.

The first thing for you to be aware of is the fact that different types of bird feeders will bring different types of birds your way; if you are wanting small songbirds, your best bet will be a tube feeder, while a platform feeder will be better for larger birds, and specially designed feeders will work best for birds like woodpeckers and hummingbirds.

The seed you buy will also be important when you are trying to attract birds to your feeder; you should purchase a premium bird seed mix that includes black oil sunflower seeds, dried fruit, peanuts, and very little in the way of “filler seed,” as birds will tend to discard filler seeds, which means they will actually go through the bag you have purchased much more quickly.

And of course, the placement of your feeder will be extremely important; you should hang your feeder at about chest or eye level, and not only will you want to make sure that it is far enough from your house that birds actually visit, but you will also want to make sure it is close enough to trees and bushes that birds have a nice resting spot, while being hung in such a way that squirrels do not eat all your seed!

Finding the right place for your feeder might require a small measure of trial and error, and you will also have to have plenty of patience, but when you keep these tips in mind, you will eventually be hosting a feeder that is a hot spot for birds in your neighborhood!

Friday, 18 July 2014

A Tablet That Can Do It All

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
The tablet computer is one of the latest crazes to take the computer market by storm. The mobile market has recently seen the Android operating system explode with popularity. So it seems fairly clear that companies would readily pair the two and that is exactly what Toshiba has done. The Toshiba 10.1 inch Android Tablet is high powered a built packed with plenty of features to make your experience top notch.

The ability to experience all web pages as they were meant to be viewed is one of the biggest advantages of an Android tablet. Playing flash is one of the benefits of this tablet so you won't ever be surfing a webpage that you cannot view. Popular Apple tablets cannot say the same thing since apple products are not capable of running flash. Many that are exploring the web often will find this feature to be extremely useful.

The best adaptive display available is loaded on this Toshiba tablet. The tablet clearly displays graphics in any lighting environment available. The adjustment of the brightness and color in the screen is done automatically to achieve the best results. Although the screen can be locked at any moment if you want to, it will also rotate based on how you position your tablet.

If they have any camera installed on them, most tablets today only have one camera. A rear facing camera, as well as a front facing, are installed on this Toshiba. Video up to 720p can be recorded by the rear facing camera which can also take five megapixel pictures. The front facing camera can be used for any type of video chatting you may do. The popularity of this technology continues to grow exponentially meaning it will be used more and more.

This Toshiba tablet also is loaded with all of the features that tablets generally have. Bluetooth, WI-Fi, and USB ports are all included. So don’t settle for a tablet that doesn’t deliver all of the goods. The top name in all laptop manufacturing is Toshiba, so it is no surprise that they hold a lot of technology regarding mobile computers.

Toshiba 10 inch Android Tablet

Thursday, 17 July 2014

Going Backpacking Alone

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
There are some people to whom the idea of going backpacking alone does not appeal at all, but there are others to whom this seems like the perfect way to relax and replenish themselves before diving back into the hectic swirl of their everyday life; if the second of these two sides sounds like you - that you would thoroughly enjoy getting away from it all and backpacking on your own - here are some things you will want to make sure you keep in mind when you take one such trip.

When it comes to going backpacking by yourself, one of the most important aspects will be that you always know where you are, and where you are going; this means that you should go backpacking with a map that gives you a good idea of exactly where you are and exactly what you will be dealing with, as far as topography and landscape, and you should know where the trails are, as well as where the best places will be for camping and shelter.

When you go backpacking alone, another big consideration will be making sure others know the general idea of where you are going and of when you should be expected back; in this way, they will be able to keep an eye out for you, and will be able to report you missing should anything happen to you and you do not show up back home!

And finally, having the right equipment will be extremely important when you are going backpacking on your own; make sure you have a good tent to keep you protected from the weather, a good sleeping bag to keep you warm at night, and a way by which you can purify water and give yourself something good to drink while you are out there.

By taking these steps and precautions, you will be able to go on a camping adventure on your own, and will be able to get the most out of it - enjoying it every step of the way while also making sure you stay safe!

Wednesday, 16 July 2014

Getting Acquainted With Kurt Vonnegut

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you have ever had a desire to get to know some of the great American authors, one author who may be on your list is a man who had a huge impact on American literature from the 1950s to the early 2000s – Kurt Vonnegut. Kurt Vonnegut ranks among the most respected authors in American history, writing 14 novels, several short story collections, and several nonfiction books to boot, but with the number of books that Vonnegut wrote, it can be difficult to know exactly where to begin; if you're wanting to get to know Kurt Vonnegut, but are not wanting to read all of his books in order to do this, here a few books of his keep in mind – as reading these 3 books will lead you down the road to understanding Kurt Vonnegut.

After Kurt Vonnegut returned from World War II, his interests as a writer were in in two specific areas: the first area was science fiction, and the second area was books that explored the structure of society. Both of these ideas are explored in Kurt Vonnegut's second novel, The Sirens of Titan, and it is a strange and weird introduction to Kurt Vonnegut – which is the perfect way to be introduced to this man's writing.

The most enduring work Kurt Vonnegut released was Slaughterhouse Five, which was his 7th published novel. During World War II, Vonnegut was taken prisoner of war by the Germans, and he was in the city of Dresden while it was fire bombed by the US forces; Vonnegut survived the fire bombing by hiding out in the slaughterhouse along with a number of other soldiers, and Slaughterhouse-Five is his account of this tragedy – mixed in with that vintage, dark humor that Vonnegut was known for, as well as that trademark Vonnegut weirdness.

And Bluebeard, which is essentially an old writer's reflection over his career, using a painter as the protagonist of the story as a mirror of Vonnegut's life as a writer, was one of Vonnegut's final works, and was perhaps the most mature work he penned.

Tuesday, 15 July 2014

How To Stream Television Shows On Your Computer

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
For some people, watching television is a nightly ritual – and it does not necessarily matter to these people what is on TV so much as it matters that they are simply hanging out and watching whatever streams across the screen in front of them. On the other hand, there are people for whom only a few particular shows are of interest; if you are one such person, and you have a DVR, it is fairly easy to catch your favorite shows, as you can simply record them and watch them later, but if you do not have a DVR – or if you simply prefer the flexibility of watching shows on your computer – it is useful to know where you can go to stream TV shows onto your computer.

Because so many people are turning to the Internet these days in order to find their favorite shows (and because people will stream popular television shows online even when they are not supposed to), many of the major networks have taken to putting their most popular shows online themselves; the first place you should look for shows is on the website of the network that airs the show, as each week just might bring all these shows right back to their website.

Of course, Hulu is another place where a lot of people go to find shows online; as is the case with going to the network's website itself, there are only certain shows that are streamed on Hulu – but you will find that some of these shows are different from the ones streamed on the websites of the networks, which will open up your options even further.

And if you have a Netflix account, you will find that there are lots of shows that Netflix allows you to stream; of course, when you stream through Netflix, you will have to wait until the show is on DVD – but the great thing about waiting until this point to stream your favorite shows is that you can watch them all in a row, without having to wait week to week!

Monday, 14 July 2014

Looking At Great Foods That Don't Cost Much

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
As counterintuitive as this is, you may have found that eating healthy can often cost you a lot more money than it would to eat unhealthy, and while this might not be enough to stand in the way of you eating healthy, it will probably at least be enough for you to with that there were a way for you to eat healthy for less; while it is true that most "eating healthy" options are going to cost you a bit more money, it is also true that there are some options that will allow you to save some money - and even though you cannot exactly live off these options, they are certainly worth keeping as staples of your regular eating routine!

Not only are eggs extremely inexpensive, especially compared to most other breakfast options, but you can also add such things as chicken (which is typically an inexpensive meat) or even spinach and tomatoes to eggs to make them even more filling; another option to keep in mind for breakfast - one that is extremely inexpensive, but that also does not sit high on many "favorite foods" lists - is oatmeal, which can give you a couple weeks of breakfast for only a few dollars.

When you are looking to snack on something throughout the day, any sort of cereal bar or protein bar is likely to run you a couple dollars, but if you decide to go with a banana instead, you would be able to eat several for the price of a single protein bar; depending on the season, you can typically find other fruits that are inexpensive as well, and you can really keep yourself healthy by using these fruits in smoothies and juices, as well as for snacks.

And for dinner, one of the most inexpensive things you can find is pasta - especially spaghetti - and while you will not exactly want to eat spaghetti plain, it is a great foundation for a number of healthy meals, and can fill you up without costing you lots of money.

As you stay on the lookout for foods that you can eat to stay healthy without going broke in the process, all of these will be great to keep in mind, as they will be inexpensive, and will fill you up, all while helping you to stay healthy!

Sunday, 13 July 2014

How To Deal With Bad Weather When Backpacking

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
Of course, the first step to dealing with bad weather when backpacking is to avoid it altogether by checking the weather before you head out on your adventure - making sure no heavy storms are on the radar for the time and area of your trip. But if you have taken a few backpacking trips of your own, you also know that you can check the weather and go when you are supposed to be just fine, and can still end up getting hit with bad weather - which is why you should always know exactly what to do in order to deal with bad weather when it hits.

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When you get hit by a bad rainstorm while backpacking, the part that is really bad is the fact that you and your gear can end up getting wet and not drying out for the rest of the trip, so the most important thing is making sure you have a waterproof cover for your backpack and a good rain jacket for yourself.

If it appears the storm is about to get really bad, you should also think about setting up camp, because no matter how "waterproof" you and your stuff are, you can still end up getting wet. When you set up camp when it is raining, be very aware of where you are setting up, as you will not want to put yourself in an area that might be prone to flash floods should the bad weather continue.

And perhaps the biggest key to dealing with bad weather is to remember that you took the backpacking adventure because you wanted to have fun, and getting angry about the weather is not going to make it change at all, so your best bet is to simply enjoy it! When you take on unexpected bad weather with waterproof gear and a "waterproof" disposition, you will find that dealing with bad weather is a whole lot easier, but you will also find that dealing with bad weather can even be fun!

Saturday, 12 July 2014

How To Set Up Your Christmas Tree

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you put up an artificial tree in your house each Christmas, there will not be a whole lot you will have to worry about as far as "how to set up your tree," as you simply need to put it in the same spot every year and stick the branches in, but if you instead go with a natural tree (and if you are the kind of person who cannot imagine doing anything different!), it will be beneficial for you to make sure you know the steps you should take to set up your Christmas tree the right way.

Of course, the first step will be buying a Christmas tree, and the most important things as far as this goes is that you go shopping for the tree early enough that you will have a good selection, and that you make sure you get the right size; generally, you should go within a week or two of Thanksgiving to make sure you get a good selection, and you should know the dimensions of the room in which you are going to be putting the tree before you go out and buy one!

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You should consider cutting off the bottom inch or so of the trunk once you get the tree home, as it may have sealed itself off during the drive home, and then - when you put the tree in your house - you will want to make sure the tree is set up in such a way that it will be easy for you to water on a daily basis; one trick to keep in mind is to mix sugar in with the water the first time you water the tree as well, as this will help the tree to start drinking water again.

And when you decorate the tree, you will want to make sure you do so in the proper order; although you may keep your tree more simple than this, this is the order in which you will want to decorate (skipping over whichever ones you do not add to your tree): lights, garland, ornaments, ribbons, and of course, at the end, the star on top!

Every year you decorate your tree, of course, you will get better at doing so - until you are eventually an expert and can set up your tree perfectly every single Christmas!

Friday, 11 July 2014

Setting Up A Budget With A New Spouse

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
Financial problems are one of the biggest problems faced in marriage, and one of the main reasons why people deal with this problem is because two people with very different ideas of money are coming together and beginning to make decisions as one! Coming up with a budget together is one of the best ways to combat this problem, something both of you can agree on - and most importantly of all, to come up with it even before the two of you get married, so that you both know what your money will look like when you start your life together!

When you come up with this budget, make sure that there will be three areas of spending money - spending money for you, spending money for your significant other, and spending money for the two of you to share. The spending money that each of you has as "your own" can be used for whatever you two, individually, want to use the money for, whereas the combined spending money should be used on things that the two of you do together.

You should also make sure you are saving money, and if this is difficult for one or both of you, you can make it easier by having something "specific" toward which your savings money is going (instead of it just going to the general idea of "savings"); after all, savings will be a big part of laying the foundation for a successful financial future.

Finally, you should make sure that - in all your budget planning - you are not planning everything in such a tight manner that you end up being short all the time; rather than planning your budget tight, plan it loose, as having "extra" money always feels better than "not having enough" money!

In the end, you and your spouse will have to make the final decisions when it comes to your budget, but this guide should help you to plan a budget that will be effective for both of you!

Thursday, 10 July 2014

Tips For Throwing An Engagement Party

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
It used to be that a marriage proposal required only that the man ask the woman, and he sometimes did not even need to get a ring for her until later, but nowadays, things have changed in the way proposals are done, as the proposal itself has grown to a point where it seems like it is almost as big as the wedding! And if your child is the future bride or groom (or if the future bride or groom is one of your close friends), one thing you should realize is popular these days - and is also, in fact, a lot of fun - is throwing an engagement party for the couple, with close friends and family in attendance!

One thing that will be important is that you plan the engagement party for the night of the engagement itself, as this will enable you to catch the wave of excitement from the engagement itself; this also, however, means that you should not plan a big dinner - and should not plan anything else on a strict schedule - as there could be the need for slight changes in the schedule on the night of the proposal.

Either facebook or phone calls are great for inviting people to the party, but make sure that you have explicitly stated that the couple is not yet engaged, and that the party will be taking place on the night of the engagement, as this will prevent the secret from leaking early!

And even though having a set schedule for the engagement party will not be beneficial, it will be beneficial to have some things planned for the night - such as speeches from the parents of the bride and groom, or a photo booth, or a trivia game regarding the couple, or a combination of all of the above!

With these steps leading you as you plan your engagement party, the couple will not only be able to have a memorable engagement, but they will also be able to have a memorable party afterward that they can share with the people they are close to!

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Tips For Saving Money On Your Car By Spending Money On Your Car

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
A lot of people get in the habit of calling their car an "investment," but as a car does not appreciate in value (except for those rare cars that - fifty years down the road - are worth more than they were when you bought them!), it is incorrect to call it an investment. Generally speaking, every mile you put on the odometer and every bit of wear and tear that goes on your engine causes your car to drop in value just a tiny bit. But the fact that your car is not an investment does not mean that you should also be stuck having to spend lots of money on your car! By knowing the specific areas where you ought to spend money on your car right now, you will be able to save money on your car in the long run.

Of course, repairs on your car are often completely unexpected, and they will usually be the things with your car that end up costing you a lot of money. But if you change your oil every 3,000 miles, you can absorb an "expected" cost every once in a while to prevent problems in the long run. You should also regularly check your oil when you stop to fill up for gas, making sure that you are never low on oil!

Every once in a while when you get gas, you should also spend a bit of extra money to protect your engine and your fuel lines, as these are important as well. Plan to add some fuel injector cleaner and some engine cleaner into your gas tank every month or two!

As for the cosmetics of your car, it is certainly annoying when the paint on your car starts to look so bad that you need to spend some extra money on that in order for it to look presentable. By making sure you do not need a paint job - that is, by keeping your car clean and making sure dirt is not eroding your paint - you will be able to avoid this nuisance!

You may not feel like adding these "expected" expenses to your budget, but it is much better to be stuck with these expected expenses than to be hit with some unexpected expenses down the road!

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Exploring Options For Shaving Strokes Off Your Golf Game

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
Some people are perfectly content going out on the golf course every couple weeks (or every couple months) and enjoying themselves regardless of how well or how poorly they play; there are others, on the other hand, who cannot enjoy their day on the course unless they are playing well - and if you fall within this category, it will be important that you know what you can do to improve your score!

Although it can cost a good deal of money (not to mention the fact that it can be a bit annoying to have someone looking over your shoulder all day), a lot of people actually discover that the best way to improve their golf game is by hiring an instructor; you may think you do not need a private instructor, but the truth is, even a few sessions with one can help you identify exactly what the problems are in your game - problems you would never have been able to spot on your own.

Of course, if the thought of some stranger following you around and critiquing you all day causes you to shudder - and especially if you are the sort of person who does a good job of identifying problems on your own - you may simply need to head out for a few rounds on your own, taking your time to examine your game and see what you can change.

And actually, purchasing some golf videos or some golf books can help out quite a bit - especially if these videos or books were created by a well-known (and well-respected) golfer; a few "insider tips" from a pro can go a long way in helping you to straighten out the problems that have been plaguing you on the course - and can help you to finally straighten out that drive as well!

Golf is, of course, supposed to be fun - but it is certainly a lot more fun when it is going well; keep these tips in mind as you try to improve your game, and you can start causing your time on the course to consistently go well for you.

Monday, 7 July 2014

How to Buy Used Electronics That Are In Great Shape

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you care nothing for electronics, you might be a bit "behind on the times," but your wallet will likely thank you in the long run, as electronics are not only expensive, but they are also constantly progressing, which means it can cost you a lot of money to keep up with the changing times; of course, one great way to save some money on electronics is to purchase used electronics, as this will enable you to get electronics that are practically new, for a fraction of the price - but of course, one issue with purchasing used electronics is that you could risk spending money on something that no longer works as well as it should.

Whether you are shopping on eBay or Amazon for used electronics, you should pay close attention to the descriptions that the person selling the product provides; you will notice that some people provide very detailed descriptions, while others have hardly any details in their descriptions at all - and if you want to make sure you are getting a product that is worth owning, you will want to stick with those who provide thorough descriptions.

Pictures are another thing that will make it easier for you to determine whether a product is in great shape or not; just because a person does not include pictures of the product they are selling does not necessarily mean that the product is defective, but if you are able to find someone who includes pictures of what they are selling, this will certainly make it a whole lot easier for you to buy with confidence.

And you will also want to make sure that you are buying from people who have good seller ratings, as this will be a clear indication that the person from whom you are making the purchase has a track record of selling products that are in great shape.

Of course, sometimes you will not be able to find a person with great ratings, or with lots of pictures, or with a detailed description of the product; if this is the case, check to see if they have a return policy - and if they do not, and you still want to purchase the product, you will just have to cross your fingers and hope!

Sunday, 6 July 2014

Understanding Running Back Scoring In Fantasy Football

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you are new to fantasy football, you may have heard people say that running back is the most important position, and this can lead you to drafting running backs who you know for sure are very good football players. The problem with this approach, however, is that a player being good for their team and a player being good for fantasy football are not always the same things; before you enter the draft, make sure you understand how running back points are tallied, as this will help you to draft players who will be beneficial for your team.

In most leagues, your running back will score one point for you for every 10 yards they pick up in the stats column, which means that it is just as valuable to have a running back who gets a lot of receiving yards as a running back who gets a lot of rushing yards; and of course, if you can find a running back who catches a lot of passes and runs the ball well, this running back will be extremely valuable for your fantasy football team.

If your running back rushed for 60 yards and got no touchdowns, he would get you 6 points, while if your running back rushed for only 1 yard but that 1 yard was a touchdown, he would also get you 6 points; because of the premium this puts on touchdowns, you will want to make sure you get as many running backs as you can who do not have “touchdown vultures” (that is, other players who sub in for them at the goal line!) on their team, as this will heighten the chances of your running back getting you touchdowns as well as yards.

And with how difficult it is to predict how many yards or touchdowns a player will tally from week to week, the main thing you should look for in drafting your running backs is how many “touches” each running back tends to get per game. Having a decent running back who is the featured back on his team would be a much better option than having a dynamic running back who splits time down the middle with someone else!

Saturday, 5 July 2014

How To Explore A City Without Getting Tired

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
When taking a trip to a new city, it is always fun to try to see as much of the city as your time and energy will allow. This will usually require you to bounce around the city for several days, but if you do not plan properly, you can end up missing out on plenty that you wanted to see. After all, you are probably not used to walking as much as you will on your trip - and you just might wear yourself out before you see all you want to see! By following these tips, however, you can ensure that you keep yourself from getting tired as you visit different cities.

Plan properly: A good plan is the most essential part of keeping yourself from getting tired, as you can make sure you see the different sites in each area of the city while you are in that area! Otherwise, you may end up traveling all around the city each day - revisiting areas you already visited before.

Wear good walking shoes: Lots of people travel to a city as a tourist and worry far too much about their fashion instead of worrying about their comfort. Worry about making sure your feet will make it through the day before you take the time to worry about what the locals will think of the way you are dressed!

Consider public transportation: In most cities, you will find that a large, intricate network of bus routes and subways and trains ties everything together. If you want to truly save your feet, get a day pass that allows you to hop on and off the public transportation system at your leisure!

Pack light: If you are a woman, this is especially worth noting, as you will probably be carrying a purse around with you. Remember that you will be walking for large portions of the day - and the lighter your load, the easier this walking will be!

Remember these tips when you travel to a city, and you can keep yourself from getting tired - which can often be the difference between a good trip and a poor one!

Friday, 4 July 2014

Selling Your Items On Craigslist

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you are wanting to sell some of your old items (after all, one man's junk is another man's treasure!), your first thought might be eBay. But as great as eBay can be when you want to sell your old stuff, Craigslist is sometimes a much better alternative to selling your stuff on eBay.

Craigslist is used for lots of different things, but the sale of items is the biggest (and most useful!) way in which Craigslist is used. When you list your items on Craigslist, you will be able to sell within a certain area, and you will also be able to negotiate with your buyers directly. This is different from eBay in that, on eBay, people can either buy on a "Buy Now" price or can bid auction-style. While it might seem like you can make more money by selling your items on auction, you also open yourself up to the possibility of selling your items for far less than you wanted.

Craigslist allows potential buyers to contact you by email, and it protects them from knowing your email address as well; no one will know your email address unless you reply to their email. The way in which Craigslist accomplishes this is by anonymizing your email address; in this way, people's email can reach you without them ever knowing what your email address is. You can set the price on Craigslist, or you can sell it to the best offer, or you can do both. When you sell items on Craigslist, you are in complete control; this is the biggest advantage Craigslist provides.

People like to feel like they got a good deal when they buy something; this is important to keep in mind when you sell on Craigslist. When you list your items, list them for a higher price than you actually hope to sell them for, so that buyers can "negotiate" you down. One final thing to remember when dealing with people on Craigslist is that you should meet them at a general location to give them the items, instead of having them meet you at your house.

When it comes time to sell some of your old stuff, eBay can be a great option at time; but remember, Craigslist can be a great option too, and sometimes it can even be the better option!

Thursday, 3 July 2014

Be On Target with Every Shot You Take

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
Every shot counts when you are out hunting and they are very important. You may be sitting for days waiting for an animal to walk into view before you are able to take a shot. You can also be certain that you will be in an awkward position when you take a shot at it. In these cases you want to be certain that you are aiming in the proper way. In order to make sure you can accomplish this you need to always have a great range finder at hand. You will be helped by the range finder when you are trying to determine the correct distance of your shot.

If you want the best in range finding technology grab the Bushnell Medalist Laser Rangefinder. The worst conditions will not inhibit your ability to use this range finder. You also can use it well in a wooded area. You can also use it in rain or snow. Any kind of precipitation that may be in between you and your target will be appropriately compensated for with a special feature. 1000 yards is the longest distance that you will accurately be able to calculate.

During creation of this range finder Bushnell certainly didn't forget about golfers. Pin seeker technology allows golfers to accurately calculate the distance to the pin hole no matter where they are on the course. The Bushnell Medalist is also legal for use in tournaments worldwide. You will enjoy the ability to use this finder on any golf course since it can be used as soon as you remove it from the box.

Target shooting is another hobby that people will need a range finder for. Range finders are necessary for 3D target shooting, something that is becoming very popular with archers. This application is perfect for the Bushnell too. Target shooting, golfing, and hunting are all activities that can require the use of a Bushnell Medalist Laser Rangefinder. Over shot greens and missed targets will be a thing of the past. Use a Bushnell and be accurate every time!

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

"The Hobbit" by JRR Tolkien

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
If you have watched the Lord of the Rings movies, you are probably familiar with the fact that - even before "Lord of the Rings" was ever written or published - there was a book called "The Hobbit," but in spite of the fact that you probably know the book exists, you might never have actually read the book (and in fact, you might know very little about it!).

JRR Tolkien had no intentions of writing the story that came "afterward" when he wrote  "The Hobbit" (that is to say, "Lord of the Rings"), even though he knew what happened in the story after "The Hobbit" ended; due to the success of the "The Hobbit," however, he gave in and decided to write the entire story - everything that happened after "The Hobbit" ended.

As you may have picked up by watching the "Lord of the Rings" movies, "The Hobbit" tells the story of how the ring came to be in Bilbo Baggins's possession, but the book also introduces a number of characters and story lines that pop up again in the movies and in the "Lord of the Rings" books. The manner in which "The Hobbit" is written, however, is the most intriguing thing about it; while "Lord of the Rings" was written with an audience of college students and older in mind, "The Hobbit" was written in such a way that it can appeal to children - and much like the great "children's works" that came before and after it (works such as Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland," CS Lewis's Narnia books, and JK Rowling's Harry Potter series), these books appeal to adults as much as they appeal to children!

You owe it to yourself to make sure you read "The Hobbit" if you are a fan of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy; but even if you are not a huge fan of those books - if you are just a fan of great literature, or if you are simply looking for a fun book to keep you company for a week or two this summer - you should consider giving Tolkien's "The Hobbit" a look.

Tuesday, 1 July 2014

Understanding The First Things To Do When Setting Up A Campsite

The Relationship Cure: A 5 Step Guide to Strengthening Your Marriage, Family, and Friendships
When you take a look at "camping," you will realize that there are lots of different types of campsites, and there are also lots of different types of campers; while some campsites have running water and bathrooms within walking distance, other campsites have to be hewn out of the landscape by the campers themselves - and for the most part, the type of camper someone is will determine the type of campsite they will seek out. If creature comforts are important to you in spite of the fact that you do enjoy spending the night outside every once in a while, you will probably settle down in the former type of campsite, while you will probably seek out the latter if you are a real adventurer looking for something epic that you can do - but regardless of which type of camping you are looking for, there are specific things you will need to look for when setting up a campsite.

Deciding where you will set up your tent is the first thing you will want to do after you have settled on a campsite; you will want to find a level area that will not put rocks underneath you while you sleep, and then you will want to decide which direction you want your tent to face.

The next step for you to take is designating where you will set up your fire, and then you can gather the wood and set up your fire ring, so that you will have everything ready when it is time to get your fire going.

You should then get a feel of the lay of the land after you have picked a spot for your tent and readied your fire pit; if you are at a site with water and bathrooms, this will largely entail making sure you know where everything is, and if you are at a primitive camping site, you will want to make sure you understand exactly what your surroundings are comprised of.

By doing these things to start out your camping trip, you will then have everything taken care of that you need, and after this, your job will simply be to have fun and enjoy the night!