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Jumat, 30 September 2011

Debit Card Fees

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The use of ATM debit cards has become increasingly popular for our everyday purchases. But what is the difference between your debit card and your credit card and what type of protection do you have as a consumer?

A debit card operates like cash or a check. When you make a purchase with a debit card, the money is immediately withdrawn from your bank account. With a debit card, you are only allowed to spend the money that is in your bank account. You do not incur interest, but you may have to pay your bank?s transaction fees or pay interest if you have to use the overdraft protection.

A credit card allows you to purchase now and pay later. You have a certain amount of time from when you make the purchase to when you receive the bill. With a credit card, you are allowed to spend up to the limit pre-determined by the bank. Interest rates and fees vary, but the majority of card issuers do not charge interest when you pay the full balance each month.


What type of protection do you have for lost or stolen cards?

Under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, if you report your ATM debit card lost or stolen before it has been used, you are not liable for any unauthorized purchases or withdrawals. If you realize that your debit card is missing and report it to the bank within two business days, you will be held responsible for up to $50 of any unauthorized withdrawals. Your liability increases the longer you wait. If you report the card missing after the two business days, you are liable for up to $500. The liability you face is unlimited if you do not report unauthorized withdrawals within 60 days after your bank statement has been mailed to you.

Credit card loss is slightly different than an ATM card loss. Under the Fair Credit Billing Act, if you report that your credit card is missing before the card has been used, you are not responsible for any unauthorized withdrawals. If you report the card missing after an unauthorized charge has been made, you are only responsible for up to $50 of the unauthorized amount. After you have reported the credit card loss, be sure to review your billing statement. If you find more unauthorized charges, write a letter to the card issuer referencing each charge. Be sure to include the date the card was missing and the date you reported it to them. When you mail the letter, do not mail it with a payment or send it to the billing address.


By: Free Articles

Sabtu, 24 September 2011

Addressing The Dolphin Tale

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Swimming free, a young dolphin is caught in a crab trap, severely damaging her tail. She is rescued and transported to the Clearwater Marine Hospital, where she is named Winter. But her fight for survival has just begun.

CHICOPEE, Mass. (Mass Appeal) - “Dolphin Tale” is inspired by the amazing true story of a brave dolphin called Winter and the compassionate people who banded together to save her life.

Losing her tail may cost Winter her life.

The film stars Harry Connick, Jr. as Dr. Clay Haskett, who runs the Clearwater Marine Hospital; Ashley Judd as Lorraine, a single mother; Nathan Gamble as her son, Sawyer, who frees Winter from the trap and forms an instant connection with the dolphin; Cozi Zuehlsdorff as Hazel, Clay’s daughter, who befriends Sawyer; Kris Kristofferson as Clay’s father, Reed; and Oscar® winner Morgan Freeman (“Million Dollar Baby”) as Dr. McCarthy, who takes on the seemingly impossible task of crafting a prosthetic tail for Winter.

It will take the expertise of a dedicated veterinarian, the ingenuity of a brilliant prosthetics doctor, and the unwavering devotion of a young boy to bring about a groundbreaking miracle—a miracle that might not only save Winter but could also help scores of people around the world. The real Winter, who plays herself in “Dolphin Tale,” today serves as a symbol of courage and hope to millions of people—especially those facing their own physical challenges—who have been touched by her remarkable story of recovery and rehabilitation.

Charles Martin Smith directed “Dolphin Tale” from a screenplay by Karen Janszen and Noam Dromi. The film is produced by Alcon Entertainment’s Andrew A. Kosove and Broderick Johnson (Oscar® nominees for “The Blind Side”) and Richard Ingber. Robert Engelman and Steven P. Wegner served as executive producers. “Dolphin Tale” was filmed on location in Florida, including Winter’s home at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, whose motto is “Rescue, Rehabilitate and Return.”

Slated for release on September 23, 2011, “Dolphin Tale” will be distributed in 3D and 2D in select theatres by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company. This film has been rated PG for mild thematic elements.

Selasa, 13 September 2011

Puppy Training For First Week

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Puppy training is only as hard as you want it to be. Learning how to properly train you puppy is almost a necessity when you first get one. Puppy training during the first week of getting your pet is critical. You definetly need to have certain items such as dog beds, collars, toys, and food and water bowls in place before bringing that new puppy home. Getting your family members involved with certain rules, routines, and responsibilities is just as important.

The very first week is the most important of all. Everybody's emotions about the new pet are on high octane. Enthusiasm levels are just soaring through the roof with your new puppy. Those rules that you set are going to be easily broken with the new puppy. One rule that is always broken, usually by kids, is that you all agreed that the puppy would sleep in the dog bed. Go ahead and try convincing your kids not to sleep with the gentle pet.

After that first night you will agree that the puppy must sleep in their own bed. What you are going to deal with now is barking, whimpering, howling, etc... The puppy is alone and does not want to be. A good rule to have is to play with the puppy gently and quietly. If the puppy looks tired then leave them alone so they can sleep. This will help break them in, so you can sleep better at night. Puppies usually need lots of sleep so do not flood the dog with non-stop attention.

You have covered the sleeping part, now you will need to concentrate on the feeding of the puppy. Decide who is responsible and at what time to feed the puppy properly. Do not have anyone deviate from your plans. That puppy needs a routine and needs to stick to it. By breaking the routine, you are giving the puppy the wrong impression. Puppies are very impressionable, and deviating from the schedule will only encourage them from sticking to it.


Since puppies are so impressionable, it is important to begin explaining the rules right away. Don't give them special license to get away with anything just because they are a puppy. If you allow them to have their way about certain things now, they will only be confused later when you decide to change the rules. Puppies learn very quickly with proper instruction. Never hit your puppy or give harsh reprimands. They don't mean to misbehave - they are just doing whatever comes naturally. Instead, show your puppy what kind of behavior you want. Teach them to play with their toys. Make them fun and exciting. Let them know how happy you are and how good they are when they chew them.The only way you can instruct your puppy is to be there. If you can't be there, don't allow them to have access to places where they can get into trouble.

Your puppy's emotional and mental health is just as important as their physical health. When you schedule your puppy's first veterinary visit, also schedule them into a puppy socialization class. They may not be able to attend yet, but reserve your place now so you don't miss out. Puppy socialization classes give your puppy an opportunity to meet a variety of people and dogs in a controlled situation. If your puppy is to be a well-adjusted adult dog, they need to learn how to act properly around other dogs and people. Dogs that are not socialized frequently grow up to be aggressive and excessively fearful.

Last but not leastyou need to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian immediately. Discuss your puppy's vaccination schedule and when they will be allowed outside. Puppies are susceptible to many canine diseases until they are fully vaccinated; so don't take your puppy outside until your veterinarian says it is OK.

Senin, 12 September 2011

American Football International Popularity

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In most parts of the world, if you say the word "football" people assume you are referring to soccer, the most popular and most widely followed sport in the world. However, American football is starting to spark more interest overseas. The National Football League actively promotes American-style football overseas, sending players as ambassadors and holding pre-season games in Europe, Mexico and Japan. Games are broadcast in many countries and the Super Bowl is broadcast to almost every country in the world.

American football is played in almost every continent on the planet including North and South America, Asia, Europe and the Pacific Rim nations. The International Federation of American Football is the official international governing body of American Football and oversees 45 member organizations. Beginning in 1999, the International Federation of American Football has also sponsored a world cup of American football with Japan taking the honors in both 1999 and 2003.

American football has also grown in popularity in Mexico, where many households are able to watch games on American television stations. There has been such interest in American football in Mexico that the NFL opened an office in Mexico City in 1997 to supervise fan development, marketing, public relations and special events. The NFL also publishes a Spanish-language web site targeted to Mexican fans.

American football is also gaining popularity in Europe. In 1991, the National Football League backed a European league called the World League of Football. From that emerged NFL Europe, a six-team league that serves as a spring developmental league for National Football League teams in the United States. Five of NFL Europe's teams are based in Germany and one is in the Netherlands. The National Football League not only uses the NFL Europe to develop new players, but also to develop and test new rules and regulations.

American football has always been popular in Canada although Canada does have its own Canadian Football League which plays with slightly different rules than American football. However, the National Football League continues to reach out to Canadian fans. For Super Bowl XL, held in Detroit, just across the border from the Canadian city of Windsor, the National Football League held special events specifically for Canadian fans including a special train that transported Canadian fans to Windsor to view the game at an arena there. The National Football League also publishes a website for Canadian fans that focuses on the progress and statistics of Canadian-born players.

Minggu, 11 September 2011

Cowboys Past and Present

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The bunkhouse was the barracks-like building that housed cowboys on the ranches of the old west. Original houses consisted of a large open room with small beds or cots for each cowboy. There was little privacy. Typically, a bunk house was usually heated by using a wood stove. As was the case for all but the extremely wealthy, indoor plumbing was not a luxury enjoyed by cowboys at this point in time. They had to use outhouses. During this time period, the bunk house was also referred to by a number of colorful names, including the dive, the doghouse, the shack, the ram pasture, or the dice house.

Modern cowboys still stay in a bunkhouse when they do not live close enough to the ranch for a feasible commute. A bunk house like this is mostly still only found on the larger ranches. Fortunately for the cowboys of today, these houses are now equipped with such comforts as central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity. Just like in the old West days, they also have a table where the cowboys can eat their meals and enjoy a game of cards. The buildings are designed for rest and relaxation between demanding ranch chores.

The traditional bunkhouse has now become a tourist attraction. Guests can visit an old bunk house from the late nineteenth century that has been preserved as a historical landmark. Travelers can even live the cowboy experience by spending their vacation on a guest ranch. Some of these ranches still have the original house that was built at the time the ranch was established. Visitors are allowed to stay in these bunkhouses, allowing them to have as authentic a frontier experience as possible in these modern times. This would make for a special vacation for history buffs that want to learn about the exhilaration of ranch life.

However, just because a bunk house is an original from the old west, that does not mean that it has not been updated. Some of the ranches that let their guests use the old bunk house have modernized them for the visitors’ comfort. With indoor plumbing being much more common and affordable than it was in the nineteenth century, private bathrooms are now a luxury that was not afforded to original cowboys. Private bedrooms are even now present in bunkhouses. The new houses also have central heating. These amenities make vacations in bunkhouses more enjoyable for present day visitors, and it is certain that cowboys of the old west would have appreciated them as well.

Senin, 05 September 2011

Are Your Kids Safe Halloween costume?

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Are your kids' Halloween costumes too dangerous to wear? Find out if those Halloween costumes are safe to use, can be a Halloween costume tips for buying safe kids, and how your children to wear cool costumes without sacrificing safety.

Is Your Child Safe Halloween costume?

We want our children to have fun during Halloween, but do you think about the safety of their Halloween costumes? Most of us want our children to wear cool costumes when trick-or-treating, but Halloween security neglected children's clothes to go a lot of experience.

Are Your Kids Costumes' Really Safe to Wear?

Are your kids' Halloween costumes are very safe to use? The answer is yes and no. In 2001, Disney Store Princess Ariel costume said 54 000 had a girl who received burns. Keep in mind that children's Halloween costumes are required by law to use flame retardant materials.

Another problem is lack of visibility with the kids Halloween costumes. This is not just about how well your kids can see, but also about how people see them well. Masks limit visibility. If little Joey could see where it's going, will trip and skin his knee. If it does not look after the costumes, the dark - more importantly, the vehicle - will not see the kids Halloween costumes, blindly running more than trick-or-treaters happy. Halloween costumes are not all bad news, however. Carefully choose your children's costumes and prepare for the night removing the disaster.

Another issue is fully covered vents in Halloween costumes. Do not have the most to provide adequate ventilation costumes for children to breathe, resulting in carbon dioxide poisoning. If your child wants to wear a mask, not a lot of holes in the nose. Carbon dioxide build up over time, causing your child wants to pass out from lack of oxygen. You want your child to wear aa mask ventilated to prevent adverse side effects.

How to Choose Safe Halloween Costumes for Kids



Before buying your kids' Halloween costumes, you'll want to make sure it is safe. Here are some guidelines:





  • All the kids Halloween costumes by law to use flame retardant materials. You can not rely on companies to comply with this law, however. Choose clothes that fit and not hang. If your child wants to wear a robe, make sure the long robe. If your child wants to wear a dress, be sure not to drag on the ground. People love to decorate for Halloween, and several decorations, including fire. If a loose costume accidentally brushes against it, would not be a happy Halloween!
  • Masks should be well ventilated. Must have some places the mask with a large ventilation holes, such as hockey masks. Most masks a little ventilation, so skip the kids Halloween costumes if you can. If your child insists on the cover characters like watching your favorite, use makeup instead.
  • Make sure the mask with eye holes large enough. The hole should be twice the size of your childs eyes. Make sure masks on their faces.
  • If you can, stay away from dark clothes. This decreases visibility.
  • Do not take anything from covering their faces, like a messy wig.
  • Once your kids' Halloween costumes to choose, you will need to prepare for the night.

How to Make Your Kids' Halloween outfit Safe

There are two ways to prepare your kids for Halloween a safe trip:

  • Use reflective tape. Can be purchased at most stores. Place two strips at the shoes your kids' and two strips on their Halloween costumes. Shining strip in the dark and alert drivers.
  • Are your kids carry a flashlight. If your kids like it, found a flashlight with a strap. They can be hung from their wrists and keep it from view.
  • Of course, many children are not safe for ideas. Some children like to spend a full face mask while trick-or-treating. Not a lot of wear reflective tape. So how do you make your kids happy without sacrificing safety?
Getting Your Kids Celebrate Halloween Safely!

Getting your kids like the ideas that your safe is difficult. Here are some suggestions:

  • If your child insist on wearing a full face mask, your child to wear around the house for a while. Likelihood your child will not want to wear it again with Halloween.
  • Does your child refuse to wear their Halloween costumes with reflective tape? Put it in their bag instead.
  • If your kids insist on long clothing, they should wear it around the house. They will get bored and choosing Halloween costumes the other kids.
If your child still refuses to wear Halloween costumes kids safe, talk to them about why it's important to stay safe on Halloween. Illustrations or stories are very effective with younger children.

Again, it is always important that your children safe this Halloween season, began their kids as Halloween costumes. Make sure that costumes fit, marked with reflective tape, and do not interfere with their visibility. It is important to make children's Halloween costumes safe so they are happy, safe Halloween - Halloween you'll be great for the kids and remember for years to come.

Jumat, 02 September 2011

A new look at Labor Day

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A day to reflect on the accomplishments of working people: That's been the proud tradition since the first, unofficial, Labor Day back in 1882.

But, one of labor's greatest accomplishments has gone largely unrecognized. Since the end of World War II, working people have bought up a huge chunk of big business. They now own a piece of just about everything in business, from multinational corporations to small companies that build mini-malls in their neighborhoods.

It may be the greatest economic transformation since the Industrial Revolution; management guru Peter Drucker calls it "The Pension Fund Revolution."

To get a sense of the transformation, consider this: At the end of 2001, America's 242 billionaires had assets totalling about $800 billion. That's a sizable amount, certainly, but working people had assets of $11.8 trillion in pension and mutual funds. That's almost 15 times as much as the billionaires.

Most working people contribute only modest amounts to their retirement plans, but there are simply so many of us that our collective nest egg grew very quickly. If you're still not sure, try this on your calculator: Multiply a contribution of $1,000 per year by one million working people. Answer: $1 billion dollars per year. Now note there are hundreds of millions of working people here and in other countries. And we're contributing new money every year.

Even a relatively small number of working people can build a big fund. For example, the New York State Common Retirement Fund, with 944,000 members in or retired from state public services, had assets of $112 billion at the end of March last year. According to the Fund's annual report for 2002, about $76.6 billion of that total was invested in companies. The remainder, about $35 billion, was in bonds, mortgages, and other types of loans.

Look at the private sector and unions, too. To cite just a couple of examples, Pensions & Investments magazine estimated that General Motor's pension fund had assets of $82.5 billion and the pension fund of the Western Conference Teamsters had assets of $22.6 billion, at September 30, 2001.

This ownership of big business by working people is the result of contributions to pension funds, mutual funds, and life insurance policies with a savings component.

What does all this mean? Well, for starters, perhaps an end of complaints about the profits of corporations. After all, most of those profits go toward the retirement incomes of working people.

More complicated, though, is the relationship between working people who own a big company and other working people employed by it. How to share corporate profits -- through continuing employment and higher wages, or through higher returns to shareholders -- remains a difficult issue. Especially for those working people who lose their jobs.

On the other side of the coin, working people have bought enough stocks and shares to become the bosses of the bosses. Some pension funds have begun making that clear; CalPERS, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, has led the way in telling Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and boards of directors that they'd better manage effectively. And, CEOs and directors listen; after all CalPERS runs the country's biggest pension fund, with assets of more than $130 billion.

One other thing: if you're a working person, you're a consumer, as well as an owner and employee. When you go shopping, there's a chance you'll buy from a business owned by yourself, your friends, or your neighbors. What's more, the clerks who take your credit card with smiles may work for you. Or, maybe the clerks own the company for which you work. Smile at them, tooArticle Submission, just to be on the safe side!

Robert F. Abbott
Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com