Can Office Love Affairs Work?

It may seem like a good idea at first, after all, what can be so wrong about getting romantically involved with someone at work? Well, think again – it is not only because your company might have a strong rule against romance with a co-worker or someone in the same department. There are other things involved here than just rules. You’d better think twice, and ask yourself if you are ready to handle an office romance, before you even think about flirting with the gorgeous hunk sitting next to you.

There is nothing unusual about being attracted to people you work with. After all, you are often with these people at least eight hours a day and they may be the first ones to ask you out for a drink after a long day at work. Socializing after a long day’s work can be good for establishing camaraderie which can make your office hours less strenuous, but there is every bit of possibility that those happy hours may lead to your developing a romance with a co-worker.

If this happens, ask yourself if you are prepared for all the distractions that you and your boyfriend would have to face because a new romance is just too difficult to ignore. Think how many times you may have to sneak into his cubicle just to hear his voice, touch his hand or sneak a kiss. Would you be able to concentrate on your job, knowing that your guy is just a few feet away from you?

Remember also that you and your new love may be the most current talk of the town and every single action that you make is under the public’s scrutiny. When your guards are down, you may suddenly overhear a group of officemates talking about you and your new romance.

It will become increasingly difficult to keep the relationship private, when every little argument that you may have with your boyfriend will be circulated in the office grapevine.

You will find out sooner or later that you are always being watched. What can be more worse than this situation is if you end up dating your boss! He may be your immediate boss or one of the top guys in the company, but whoever he may be, you may easily be judged as a social climber, an opportunist who will stop at nothing just to get to the top.

You will be the subject of envy and you will most probably earn a lot of enemies. Thus, if you are seriously considering getting involved with your office mate or even worse, the boss, consider the possibility of moving to another department or even another company, just to create some good distance between you and your new love. This way, your relationship may stand a good chance of surviving, without the nosy comments from your co-workers.
Finding the Ideal Woman: http://aprettywoman.com/a.cgi?7279

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How Can I Deal With Sexual Harassment?

A FLIRTATIOUS stare, a “compliment” with sexual overtones, an obscene joke, an overtly sexual touch—such treatment, when unwelcome and repeated, often amounts to what can be called sexual harassment. Although global statistics are hard to come by, surveys indicate that most school-age youths in the United States have experienced it.

Just what is sexual harassment? The book Coping With Sexual Harassment and Gender Bias, by Dr. Victoria Shaw, defines it as “bothering someone in a sexual way . . . It can be physical (such as touching someone in a sexual way), verbal (such as making unwelcome comments about someone’s appearance), or nonverbal.” Sometimes the harassment involves crude propositions.

Much of the harassment in school probably comes from your peers. However, in some cases the offending behavior has come from adults, such as teachers. An article in Redbook magazine speculates that the relatively small number of teachers who are actually convicted for sexual offenses “probably represents only the tip of the iceberg.”

Women—and sometimes men—were subject to such mistreatment even back in Bible times. (Genesis 39:7; Ruth 2:8, 9, 15) And the Bible made this grim prediction: “There will be difficult times in the last days. People will be selfish, greedy, boastful, and conceited; they will be insulting . . . ; they will be unkind, merciless, slanderers, violent, and fierce.” (2 Timothy 3:1-3, Today’s English Version) So it is possible, even likely, that you will encounter sexual harassment yourself.

God’s View

Admittedly, not all youths are distressed by sexually aggressive behavior. Some may find it amusing—or even flattering. One disturbing U.S. survey showed that among victims of sexual harassment, 75 percent admitted that they themselves had harassed others. Some adults may aggravate the problem by downplaying the seriousness of sexually aggressive behavior, brushing it off as just childish experimentation. But how does God view it?

God’s Word, the Bible, clearly condemns all forms of sexual harassment. We are told not to “encroach upon the rights” of others by violating sexual boundaries. (1 Thessalonians) In fact, young men are specifically commanded to treat “younger women as sisters with all chasteness.” (1 Timothy 5:1, 2) Furthermore, the Bible condemns “obscene jesting.” (Ephesians 5:3, 4) Therefore, you have a right to feel angry, upset, confused, and even demeaned when you are harassed! 4:3-8

What Do I Say?

	Letting your Christian beliefs become common knowledge can be a protection

How, then, should you react if someone bothers you in this way? Sometimes a weak or vague response only makes a harasser try harder. The Bible tells us that when Joseph was propositioned by his employer’s wife, he did not simply ignore her. Instead, he firmly rejected her immoral advances. (Genesis 39:8, 9, 12) Today, being firm and direct is still the best way to fend off harassment.

True, the one bothering you might not mean to offend you. What looks like harassment may actually be an unpolished attempt to attract your attention. So do not feel that you have to resort to uncouth behavior yourself to halt an unwanted advance. Simply saying something like, ‘I don’t like that kind of talk’ or, ‘Keep your hands to yourself, please’ may get your point across. However you word it, do not water down your message. Let your no mean no! Young Andrea puts it this way: “If they don’t catch on to your kind hints, you have to tell them straight out. It often comes to that.” A firm ‘Cut it out!’ may do the job.

If the situation escalates, do not try to handle things alone. Try talking it over with your parents or other mature adults. They may have some practical suggestions for dealing with the situation. As a last resort, they may even feel it necessary to alert school officials. As uncomfortable as doing so might make you, it could protect you from further victimization.

Preventing Harassment

Of course, it’s best to avoid being victimized in the first place. What might help in this regard? Andrea advises: “Never give the impression that maybe you are kind of interested. Others will hear about it, and the pressure will continue.” The way you dress can play a major role. Young Mara says: “I don’t dress like a grandmother, but I do avoid clothes that attract attention to my body.” Rejecting sexual advances while at the same time wearing provocative clothes may be sending a mixed message. The Bible recommends dressing “with modesty and soundness of mind.”—1 Timothy 2:9.

By not associating with the wrong crowd, you may prevent harassment

Your choice of friends also affects how you are treated. (Proverbs 13:20) Rosilyn observes: “When some of the girls in a group like the attention from guys, the guys may assume that all the girls in the group feel the same way.” Carla made the same point: “If you hang around with ones who give in to the remarks or who enjoy the attention, then you will get harassed too.”

The Bible tells of a young girl named Dinah who associated with girls from Canaan—where women were known for their loose behavior. This led to her being sexually assaulted. (Genesis 34:1, 2) With good reason the Bible states: “Keep strict watch that how you walk is not as unwise but as wise persons.” (Ephesians 5:15) Yes, being “strict” about how you dress, how you speak, and with whom you associate can do much to protect you from harassment.

For Christian youths, however, one of the most effective ways of fending off harassment is simply to let others know of your religious stand. Young Timon, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, recalls: “The kids knew that I was a Witness, so that stopped almost all the harassment.” Andrea observes: “Telling them you are a Witness makes a big difference. They will realize that in many ways you are different from them and that you have strict moral standards.”—Matthew 5:15, 16.

If You Are Harassed

Try as you may, you cannot entirely escape rude, abusive people. But if you are the victim of a harasser, there is no reason for you to pummel yourself with guilt—as long as you have behaved like a Christian. (1 Peter 3:16, 17) If the situation distresses you emotionally, find support by talking to your parents or to mature ones in the Christian congregation. Rosilyn admits that it’s hard to feel good about yourself when you are being harassed. “Just having companionship,” she says, “someone you can talk to, is very good.” Remember, too, that “Jehovah is near to all those calling upon him.”—Psalm 145:18, 19.

Taking a stand against mistreatment is not easy, but it is worth it. Consider, for example, the Bible account of a young woman from Shunem. Although she was not really harassed as the term is commonly understood today, she did receive unwanted advances from Solomon, the rich and powerful king of Judah. Because she was in love with another man, she resisted those advances. She could therefore say of herself with pride, “I am a wall.”—Song of Solomon 8:4, 10.

Show the same moral fiber and determination yourself. Be a “wall” when it comes to unwanted advances. Make your Christian stand clear to everyone around you. By doing so, you can remain “blameless and innocent” and have the confidence that you have pleased God.—Philippians 2:15

Can Internet Dating Really Be Dangerous?

• 
• “On the Internet, you may not actually know who the other person is.”—Dan, 17.*
• “People can lie on the Internet. It’s easy to put on a front.”—George, 26.

INTERNET dating continues to grow in popularity worldwide. As the preceding article in this series discussed, Internet romances may blossom quickly, but they often wither when reality sets in.^# Still, there is a greater cause for concern than mere disappointment. Dating in this fashion may put you in serious danger—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual.

How can something that looks so innocent and safe—a computer terminal right in your own home—actually present a danger to you? Some of the dangers are related to an important Bible principle. The apostle Paul wrote: “We wish to conduct ourselves honestly in all things.” (Hebrews 13:18) Now, this is not to suggest that it is dishonest to use the Internet or even that using the Internet will make you dishonest. However, we must recognize that other people often are not honest and that as the quotations at the outset of this article illustrate, the Internet seems to make certain kinds of dishonesty easier to practice and harder to detect. And when it comes to romantic attachments, dishonesty presents terrible dangers.

For example, note the kind of dishonesty described in this Bible verse: “I have not sat with men of untruth; and with those who hide what they are I do not come in.” (Psalm 26:4) What is meant by “those who hide what they are”? Some Bible translations here read “hypocrites.” As one reference work notes, this expression can be applied to “those who hide their purposes or designs from others, or who conceal their real character and intentions.” How is such dishonesty practiced on the Internet? And what dangers does this present to those who are looking for romance?

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing

A father named Michael was alarmed to learn at a seminar that a large proportion of children disobey parental rules against visiting dangerous Web sites. “What troubled me even more,” he says, “was the shocking realization that pedophiles can use the Internet to lure minors into debased sexual activities.” When youths use the Internet to meet new people, they can be in far more danger than they realize.

Indeed, there have been news reports of adult sexual predators who pretend to be youths as they prowl the Internet seeking to prey on young ones. According to one study, “one-in-five kids who uses the Internet has been solicited for sex.” One newspaper also stated that 1 child in 33 between ages 10 and 17 were “aggressively stalked” through computer conversations.

Some young people have found, to their surprise, that the “youth” with whom they shared a budding romance over the Internet was actually an adult prison inmate. Other young ones have unwittingly become involved with sexual predators. These vile people first “groom” a prospective victim, building trust through friendly on-line chat. In time, though, they seek to meet in person in order to carry out their perverted desires. Tragically, young people have been beaten, raped, and even murdered as a result.

Wicked people do, indeed, “hide what they are” in order to find victims on the Internet. Such predators might remind you of Jesus’ illustration about false prophets who “come to you in sheep’s covering” but in truth are like “ravenous wolves.” (Matthew 7:15) Anonymous communication through the Internet can make it almost impossible to see through such deception. “When you talk with someone in person,” says George, quoted earlier, “you may learn something from his facial expressions and the tone of his voice. But on the Internet you don’t get any of that. It’s easy to be fooled.”

Wise, indeed, is the Bible’s advice: “Shrewd is the one that has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself, but the inexperienced have passed along and must suffer the penalty.” (Proverbs 22:3) Granted, not everyone you meet over the Internet is a dangerous predator. However, there are additional ways in which people “hide what they are.”

The Dangers of Deception and Secrecy

Not surprisingly, a common practice among those seeking romance on the Internet is to exaggerate or invent good traits and to minimize or conceal serious faults. Further, The Washington Post quoted an author as saying: “Internet dating can be bad because people get deceived.” It adds: “People often switch sexes. . . . Income levels, . . . race, criminal records, mental health histories and marital status often remain secret long into relationships.” To warn others, many people have reported painful experiences of being misled by Internet dates.

Will people lie about something as important as their own spiritual side? Sadly, yes—some claim to be true Christians when they are not. Why all the deception? Again, one factor is that the Internet makes it easy. A young man from Ireland named Sean admits: “It’s very easy to pretend to be something you’re not when you’re typing onto a computer screen.”

Many people take all this deception lightly, rationalizing that it is only natural to lie a little bit when embarking on a romance. Remember, though, that God hates lying. (Proverbs 6:16-19) And for good reason. Much of the pain and misery in this world stems from lying. (John 8:44) Dishonesty is the worst possible basis for any relationship, especially one that is intended to lead to a lifelong union. Worse, dishonesty is a spiritual danger; it damages the liar’s relationship with Jehovah God.

Sadly, some young people have fallen into another sort of dishonesty. They have pursued relationships using the Internet and have hidden the fact from their parents. For example, the parents of a teenage son were startled one day when a young woman who did not share the family’s Christian beliefs arrived unexpectedly at their home after traveling over 1,000 miles [1,500 km]. Their son had been dating her on-line for six months, but they knew nothing about her existence until that moment!

“How could this happen?” the parents asked. They thought, ‘Our son could not possibly have fallen for someone whom he had never met in person.’ In fact, their son had been deceiving them—in effect, hiding what he really was. Would you not agree that such deceptions are a poor foundation for a courtship?

Choosing the Real Over the Virtual

Internet dating may present other dangers. In some cases, an on-line friend can become more real than the people whom you see each day. Family, friends, and responsibilities become secondary. A young woman named Monika, in Austria, says: “I started to neglect important relationships because I spent much time on the computer with people I met on-line.” Troubled by this insight, she decided to quit using the Internet that way.

When it comes to courtship, there is no substitute for meeting face-to-face

Of course, many are able to make balanced use of the Internet. Communication by E-mail can be a very helpful way to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Surely you would agree, though, that nothing is quite the same as face-to-face contact. If you are “past the bloom of youth”—the time when sexual desires are at their peak—and are interested in marriage, you are facing one of the most important choices you will make in your life. (1 Corinthians 7:36) By all means, make a responsible decision.

The Bible advises: “Anyone inexperienced puts faith in every word, but the shrewd one considers his steps.” (Proverbs 14:15) Rather than believing all that is written to you by someone you have never met, consider your steps carefully. It is far wiser to initiate meeting and making friends in person. Find out if you are truly compatible, especially when it comes to your spiritual goals and values. Such a courtship can lead to a truly happy marriage.

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The Changing World of ELECTRONIC GAMES

 

“Last year’s best-selling videogame,” according to Newsweek magazine, “was Grand Theft Auto 3.” The object of the game is to advance in a criminal organization by taking part in various crimes, such as prostitution and murder. “Each of your actions has consequences,” notes Newsweek. If you kill pedestrians in your stolen car, police officers chase you. If you shoot one of them, the FBI gets involved. Kill an FBI agent, and the military seek to destroy you. Although the game is intended for those 17 and older, stores have been known to sell the game to younger children. Reportedly, even 12-year-olds are expressing interest in playing.

THE first modern computer game, Spacewar, was created in 1962. The game’s objective: fight off asteroids and enemy spaceships. Countless similar games eventually followed. When more powerful personal computers became widespread in the 1970’s and 1980’s, computer games became increasingly common. There were adventure games, quiz games, strategy games, and action games. One type of strategy game, for example, requires the player to plan and manage the growth of cities or civilizations. Many games simulate sports, such as ice hockey and golf.

There are games that are praised for being educational and entertaining. In some, you can try to land a jumbo jet, drive a race car or a steam engine, ride a snowboard, or travel around the world. However, some action games, such as those called shoot-em-up games, are often criticized because of their violent content. A common objective for the player is to choose a weapon and then shoot and kill different human or nonhuman enemies.

On-Line Games—A New Trend

The land of Britannia has about 230,000 citizens. They are people of all sorts—soldiers, tailors, blacksmiths, and musicians. They wage war, build cities, open shops, get married, and die. Yet, this particular Britannia does not exist in reality. It is a virtual medieval world, a place where network players compete and interact with one another simultaneously—a form of computer game, called an on-line game, that has become increasingly popular and is expected to be the “next big thing” in computer gaming. Launched in 1997, Ultima Online—which includes the fantasyland Britannia—was the first Internet-based game. Since then, many other Internet games have arisen, and more are in the works.

What is different about this type of game? The various characters you meet in the game are controlled, not by a computer, but by other players acting simultaneously over the Internet. Thousands of people can participate in the same game. For example, Ultima Online is said to have had players from 114 countries participating at the same time. The popularity of these games may depend a lot on the social contact involved. Players can chat with each other and thus feel that they are part of a global community.

Big Business

The electronic-game industry is very optimistic about its future. By 1997 the annual income from the American computer- and video-game industry reached $5.3 billion, and the worldwide sales were at least $10 billion. This trend shows no signs of losing momentum. The market is expected to increase by 50 to 75 percent during the coming five years.

Every day, according to Forrester Research, over a million people log on to different Internet-based games, and it is said that interest in on-line games will increase with the spread of broadband, a type of high-speed Internet connection. Children who have grown up playing computer games show no sign of stopping when they get older. One long-time player says: “Playing computer games has become a way of associating with friends from all over the world.”

What Should I Know About Steroids?

ARE you unhappy with your appearance? Would you like to have the muscular body of a star athlete or the lean figure of a top model? Do you take sports seriously and want to improve your strength and speed? If you answered yes to any of the above, then you may be tempted to take some of the pills or potions that your peers promise will help you to achieve your goals more quickly. The journal American Academy of Family Physicians states: “Approximately 1 million adolescents [in the United States] between the ages of 12 and 17 years have taken potentially dangerous performance-enhancing supplements and drugs.” The most popular performance-boosting drugs are known as anabolic steroids. What are they? Why do people take them? And how can you resist their appeal? Giving Nature a Boost “Anabolic steroids,” explains a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “is the familiar name for synthetic substances related to the male sex hormones (androgens). They promote the growth of skeletal muscle (anabolic effects) and the development of male sexual characteristics.” During puberty in males, a finely tuned, preprogrammed increase in these sex hormones prompts the physical changes that transform a boy into a man.—Psalm 139:15, 16. Synthetic steroids were first developed in the 1930’s to treat males who failed to produce enough of these hormones naturally. Today, steroids are used to counteract the wasting away of the body caused by HIV and other diseases. However, steroids have found a market among those who do not have legitimate medical needs. In the 1950’s, steroids became available on the black market, and ambitious athletes began tapping the performance-boosting potential of these drugs. It is not just athletes, though, who are tempted to take steroids. A study published in the medical journal Pediatrics estimates that almost 3 percent of boys and girls in the United States aged 9 to 13 have used these drugs. Dr. Nora D. Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told a recent U.S. congressional hearing that in 2004 there were “an estimated 79,000 high school seniors who [reported] having abused anabolic steroids in the past year.” In the United Kingdom, steroid abuse is also rampant. “In Merseyside and Cheshire in 2003,” says the New Statesman, “the largest single group of new clients for needle exchanges were steroid users, outnumbering heroin users for the first time.”* What Is the Appeal of Steroids? Why the rise in steroid abuse? One reason is that successful athletes can win instant fame and a huge fortune. Steroids seem to offer a shortcut to this gold mine. A prominent sports coach summed up a dominant attitude of many when he said: “Winning isn’t everything—it’s the only thing.” Volkow, mentioned above, observed: “We are now facing a very damaging message that is becoming pervasive in our society—that bigger is better, and being the best is more important than how you get there.” A survey conducted by Bob Goldman, a physician specializing in sports medicine, appears to confirm this grim conclusion. He asked young athletes if they would take a banned performance-enhancing drug under the following conditions: They would not be caught, they would win every competition for the next five years and, afterward, they would die from the side effects of the drug. More than half the youths responded with a yes. Even if you do not have a win-at-all-costs mentality, steroids may still have a seductive appeal. Why? “People choose to take steroids,” says Volkow, “because [steroids] do, in fact, enhance certain types of physical performance and appearance.” In many cultures today, physical appearance is paramount. Dr. Harrison Pope, professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, claims: “Millions of men are suffering shame, self-doubt and embarrassment because of emphasis on body image.” Steroids offer young men the chance to hide their self-doubt under a fashionably muscular body.

Some young women take steroids to alter their figure

For similar reasons girls also are vulnerable to the lure of steroids. Charles Yesalis, professor of health and human development at Pennsylvania State University, said regarding steroid abuse: “There’s been a substantial increase for girls during the 1990s, and it’s at an all-time high right now.” Some girls take steroids to be stronger and faster on the sports field. Most, though, seem to take them in the hope that the drugs will transform their bodies into the lean, taut figures flaunted by today’s models and movie stars. “With young women,” says Jeff Hoerger of Rutgers University in New Jersey, “you see them using it more as a weight control and body fat reduction [method].” Consider the Risks If you are ever tempted to take nonprescribed steroids, it is worth considering the following facts. A person who takes them for even a short while increases the risk of heart attack, liver failure, kidney failure, and serious psychiatric problems. Females who take steroids risk menstrual abnormalities, increased growth of body hair, male-pattern baldness, and a permanently deepened voice. On the other hand, males who take steroids may develop breasts and will likely discover that their testicles start to atrophy. Both males and females may experience sudden bouts of aggressiveness. And, ironically, steroids can stunt growth if taken during adolescence. If you are a youth who wishes to please Jehovah God, what Bible principles bear on the illicit use of steroids? The Bible plainly states that your life is a gift from Jehovah. (Acts 17:25) As the above facts show, a youth who abuses steroids will likely damage his health. Therefore, ask yourself, ‘Would I be showing appreciation to Jehovah for my body—which is “wonderfully made”—if I took substances that ultimately damaged it?’—Psalm 139:14. Another fact to consider is that steroids make a person prone to outbursts of rage. Wise King Solomon observed: “Anyone disposed to rage has many a transgression.” (Proverbs 29:22) The apostle Paul warns that those who allow anger to dominate their personality will not inherit God’s Kingdom. (Galatians 5:19-21) Are the short-term payoffs of taking steroids worth these risks? What if you are tempted to take steroids to boost your athletic performance? The Bible requires that we conduct ourselves “honestly in all things.” (Hebrews 13:18) If you attain any athletic success because of steroid abuse, are you being honest with your fellow competitors or with yourself? Remember that although some of your peers may judge you by your physical appearance or performance, Jehovah assesses people differently. To him it is not the shape of your body that determines your true worth. When selecting David to be king of Israel, Jehovah told Samuel the following regarding David’s more impressive-looking brother: “Do not look at his appearance and at the height of his stature, for I have rejected him. For not the way man sees is the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.”—1 Samuel 16:7. Whether you are a servant of Jehovah or not, it makes sense to resist the lure of steroids. An American college football player offers this practical advice: “If you want to avoid pressure to take steroids, be careful who you associate with. Any ‘benefits’ you gain from the drugs are just not worth it.” *  Steroids are often injected into the body, putting those who share needles at higher risk for contracting HIV or other blood-borne diseases.

How to Get Him to Share His Feelings

 

 

We all know how hard it sometimes is to get a man to share his feelings. I mean, isn’t it hard enough just to get him to listen to yours? Many women wonder it’s so darned hard to communicate with a man on a feelings level, as well as why they get annoyed or unresponsive every time they try.

The answer to the “mystery” is actually pretty simple. Most women talk to men the same way they talk to their girl friends – by talking about their feelings, and down to the very last detail at that. When women talk to their girl friends, these kinds of conversations make everyone around the coffee table feel more connected with each other.

Well, it’s not rocket science, but things simply don’t work that way with men.

In fact, a lot of men out there are constantly annoyed with the way their women communicate with them. And it doesn’t even matter if they love their girlfriends so much – the bottom line is that it’s annoying for them, and it keeps the relationship from settling into a much deeper level.

And so many women don’t realize it. Just think – could this be the reason why so many relationships don’t work out?

I don’t know for sure, but I do know that women who can communicate at the guy’s level enjoy healthy relationships that last much, much longer than those who can’t. These women have realized that getting into the minds of the men in their lives helps them connect with each other more easily, and it encourages their men to listen and share their own feelings as well.

I know, it doesn’t sound fair that you have to actually work to get into his mind. But that’s how the world works, and most things in the world don’t work the way you’d like them to.

It’s not all bad, however. Think of the benefits of being able to communicate with your man as easily as with your girl friends. Getting him to share his feelings opens the relationship up to a lot of possibilities, such as letting it last forever. It does happen, and it can happen if you do your homework!

Besides, you already want the relationship to grow stronger and deeper anyway. Being able to communicate with your boyfriend/husband will do just that – and more. You’ll be surprised.

So lean back and think: What kind of response have you been getting from him? Is he uninterested, annoyed, or just plainly unresponsive? Or is it easy for him to empathize with your feelings, and readily does what’s necessary to keep the relationship blooming? When you find out, it’ll be much easier to realize what you’re doing wrong, or which areas in your conversations need a little work.

In the end, you’ll realize that most of the great relationships out there isn’t really about looks and compatibility and all that nonsense – these relationships last because of great communication. After all, if you and your boyfriend had nothing to hide from each other… well, you get the idea.

>//

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Camel Facts You’ll Find Interesting

  We tend to get our camel facts in bits and pieces. We know that some camels have one hump, others have two, and they are famous for being able to go long distances or periods with out water. We’ve heard that they can be easy to ride, or uncomfortable to ride, depending on who you talk to. We tend to associate them with desert areas, and may have even heard that they once roamed free in the state of Nevada.

While any list of camel facts can be lengthy, let’s try to put together some information that gives a good picture as to where this animal comes from, what it is like, and how it is used. First of all, the camel is an ungulate, an animal that has hoofs. There are two true camels, the dromedary (Camelus dromedarius) which has single hump, and the Bactrian camel (Cameulus bactrianus) which has two humps. The dromedaries are mostly found where we tend to expect them, in the arid regions of northern Africa. Nearly half of the dromedaries living today will be found in Somalia and Ethiopia, the remainder are spread across North Africa from Sudan to Morocco. The bactrain camel exists in much smaller numbers, and live mostly in northern Asia.

Both species were introduced into the United States in the 1800’s, with the United States Army using them as draft animals for a short time. This experiment did not prove to be successful, as horses could not easily be used alongside the camels (horses do not like the small of the camel), and the troops never became accustomed to them. Many of the animals were simply allowed to run free and were spotted roaming free in the southwest, especially in Nevada, from time to time for a number of years. There is a feral population if the Australian Outback, thought to be several hundred thousand in number. While native to Africa and Asia, the true camels have cousins in South America, those being the vicuña, alpaca, and the llama.

Among the camel facts you may come across which are not true, are those which suggest that the camel is able to store huge quantities of water, and that is the reason for the hump(s). While the camel will drink a large amount of water when it is able to, its secret is not so much in being able to store water, but in being able to use water very efficiently. The camel can withstand very hot temperatures, and looses much less water through sweating and respiration than is the case with most other animals. Its coat tends to insulate the body against the heat of the sun, minimizing perspiration. Also, a camel can lose over 20% of its weight through dehydration before being in danger of dying. 3% is the limit for most animals. A camel can often go a week without a supply of water, and when grazing, efficiently extracts water contained in leaves and plants. The hump by the way, does have a purpose. It consists primarily of fatty tissue which serves as an energy reservoir. A camel can cover 20 mile a day in hot weather conditions, while carrying a 200 pound load.

Although used primarily for transportation, there are a few camel facts of interest regarding their use as a food source. Bedouin tribes use the camels as a source for both milk and meat. Camel milk is very rich; more so than cows milk, and the meat, which is said to taste like beef, has been served for years from Persia (Iran) to Egypt, and points in between. In some regions, camel blood is consumed, being a source of salt, iron and vitamins not always available in the usual diet. Though not food items, camel hair and hides are also valuable commodities, and are often used in fine articles of clothing and leather products. Camel poop (dung if you prefer) is often used as a fuel for heat and cooking.

Camels can move fairly quickly, and as they can maintain a speed of about 25 mph for over an hour, can cover ground fairly quickly. For short distances they can run at speeds of 40 mph, and camel racing is a very popular sport in the Middle East, as popular as horse racing. Camel races are not strictly limited to the Middle East, there is a prestigious camel race held annually at Alice Springs, in the interior of Australia. These are truly remarkable animals, well suited to a wide variety of climatic conditions, able to cover long distances, and, with their broad hooves, able to navigate fairly easily in loose sand. They truly are “ships of the desert”.

 






$470 Million City Error Puts Charities in Chaos

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg prides himself on running an administration skilled at untangling the bureaucratic maze of one of the world’s great metropolises.

Michelle V. Agins/The New York Times
Gloria Garrido, a case worker at the Puerto Rican Family Institute, which was affected by an error in distributing city money.
But a mistake in how the city planned to distribute $470 million for programs for children — ranging from family counseling to AIDS education — has left charities across the city in chaos.

At the Jewish Child Care Association, plans to recruit 30 foster families to care for sexually exploited or severely disabled children are in limbo.

“It’s just a devastating blow,” said Richard Altman, chief executive of the association. “It essentially leaves us in no man’s land.”

Social services advocates said they could not remember a time of such widespread confusion in the world of child welfare, and some called the error one of the biggest blunders of the Bloomberg administration.

The distribution of money was the focus of intense scrutiny even before the city acknowledged its error. The city solicited proposals for its pot of $616 million last year as part of an attempt to restructure the child welfare system and re-evaluate contracts, some of which had originally been issued nearly a decade ago.

After an evaluation that ended in April, nine providers were told they would be denied money, and 63 were told they would get awards, for a total of $470 million. An additional $146 million was unaffected by the city’s error.

When officials at the Administration for Children’s Services received a complaint — city officials declined to say from whom — about how the money was distributed, they discovered that evaluators had bungled how they judged proposals. They had failed to give adequate weight to the community ties of groups vying for funds.

John B. Mattingly, commissioner of the Administration for Children’s Services, said the agency was redoing the entire process after rescinding three-quarters of the awards announced in April. He said his staff was working to minimize the consequences and was extending existing contracts.

The city “came forward immediately and admitted the mistake,” Mr. Mattingly said in a statement. “We are working with all of the providers to assist them during this transition.”

A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg said the more than a dozen staff members at the city’s child welfare agency involved in the mistake had been retrained in evaluating proposals but would face no disciplinary action.

The mistake could severely hamper the ability of dozens of charities to plan for the year ahead and might endanger the financial stability of smaller groups.

Some organizations have been forced to rein in visions of expanding foster care programs and extending service to more struggling families. Others were in the midst of phasing out programs because they believed they would not receive city money.

At the Harlem Dowling-West Side Center for Children and Family Services, a charity that coordinates foster care and adoptions, layoff notices went out to 12 staff members, including case workers and supervisors, when the center learned in April that it would lose a $1.3 million city contract from its $13 million budget. Staff members had been working swiftly to close as many cases as possible and refer families elsewhere.

Dorothy Worrell, the organization’s executive director, has halted the layoffs for the moment, but she said the uncertainty was hurting morale among workers and families.

“We actually interrupted families’ lives and said, ‘Hi, I’ve been working with you for ages and you’ve shared your most intimate details with me, but I’m going to hand you off to someone else now,’ ” Ms. Worrell said. “That’s an unsettling thing to have to do.”

Nonprofit groups are facing an added degree of stress because the city has not yet indicated when it will complete the re-evaluation, or for how long existing contracts will be extended.

“We have no idea what the city is going to do,” said Mr. Altman of the Jewish Child Care Association. “I can’t really tell my board of directors with any kind of certainty what our programs are going to look like going forward.”

Mr. Altman’s staff had begun recruiting foster parents and interviewing workers for a new program for victims of sex trafficking and medically fragile children. The program has now been shelved.

For some groups that were told in April that they would lose lucrative contracts, the confusion has brought relief — albeit temporary.

At Safe Space, a nonprofit organization that offers programs for at-risk youth, the city’s decision to extend contracts means a planned 45 percent cut to the budget at its branch in Jamaica, Queens, will be delayed.

“From the perspective of the families, that’s not a bad thing,” said Christine Molnar, president and chief executive of Safe Space.

But Ms. Molnar said there would be damaging effects, including difficulties in securing lines of credit without a new city contract to serve as collateral.

“I need to have working capital to be able to draw on to pay bills on a regular basis,” she said. “I can’t afford these hiccups in revenues.”

One of the nine organizations that had been denied city financing, Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York, an 80-year-old Roman Catholic foster care agency, sued the city last month after it did not receive an award. It accused officials of emphasizing the quality of proposals over groups’ experience.

Now that the city has decided to redo the process, Little Flower has withdrawn its suit.

Proposals are evaluated based on three criteria: experience, organizational capacity and the quality of the proposal. Ties to the community are supposed to be considered for each of the criteria, but the city’s reviewers erred by considering community connections a separate category.

Comptroller John C. Liu, whose office approves the extension of the existing contracts, has called on the mayor to offer more details on how the error occurred.

Alan van Capelle, deputy comptroller for public affairs, said, “We’re just deeply troubled” by the size and the magnitude of the error. “The care of children can’t take a pause for bureaucracy,” he added.

“Saw” movie franchise to get Guinness world record

 

The “Saw” horror movie franchise is getting a place in the Guiness World Records as the “Most Successful Horror Movie Series,” one of the film’s producers, Mark Burg, said on Thursday.

“I’m still in shock,” Burg told Reuters. “The fact that we beat out (such horror franchises as) ‘Friday the 13th,’ ‘Nightmare on Elm Street,’ ‘Halloween’ and ‘Texas Chain Saw Massacre’ is a testament to our cast, crew and our partners at Lionsgate.”

The franchise consists of six movies, each one having come out consecutively every Halloween since 2004. The seventh, and final, installment is due out October 29th and will be featured in 3D.

Collectively, the “Saw” films have made over $73O million at the worldwide box-office and sold more than thirty million DVDs, according to distributors Lionsgate.

The films center around a killer named Jigsaw who puts his victims through psychological torture before killing them.

Burg said it was during the production of “Saw 2,” that the producers decided to “etch out” one long story spanning seven films. Therefore, after the seventh movie, called “Saw 3D”, there will be no other movies, including spin-offs or prequels.

“We are done; this is it,” he said. “We don’t want to be that boxer who fought one too many fights.”

Burg said the seventh chapter was always “anticipated” by fans as the final one.

“In every ‘Saw’ movie, we left questions open and in this movie we answer every question the audience has ever had,” Burg said, adding that even new viewers will be able to follow and “get caught up to speed.”

The Guinness presentation will take place at San Diego’s Comic Con convention on Friday. London-based Guinness Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday will be on hand to present the award to the film’s producer

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Travellers, Roma: a poorly known

The status of “Travellers” was created in 1970 and involved nearly 400,000 people, with the exception of Roma. Explanations.

• Who are the Travellers? In France, we use indifferently the terms “-Gypsy,” “Roma” or “Gypsy” but yet they cover different things.

The status of “Travellers” was created by the administration in 1969. He describes the people who usually reside in mobile homes land (caravan, mobile home). They have French nationality and are in possession of evidence of movement. The Roma do not fit into this administrative category. For the National Advisory Committee on Travellers chaired by Senator Pierre Herisson, the “Roma” are “foreign nationals of the European Union, who come mainly from Romania and Bulgaria.

The term “Travellers”, which avoids the “racialization” is used in France and Belgium. Other EU states and European institutions employ the word “Roma” to refer to all of their Gypsy populations. This name, meaning “man” in the Romany language, has become widespread in the 70s, to the point of supplanting the other terms.

The communities are very diverse. In Andalusia and in the Camargue, one speaks of “gypsies”, a deformation of “Egyptians” because the first arrived in western Europe said they were from “Little Egypt” (Byzantine Greek). Those who have lived in speaking countries are called “gypsies” – they are present in France since the fifteenth century – but it also speaks of “gypsies” and “Sinti”, or “Gypsy” (Greek athyinganis ” those who do not touch “because they hailed originally holding hands together).

• How are they? According to the census, the community of Travellers and Roma is estimated between 300,000 to 400,000 people. The director of the national federation of associations of solidarity action with the Gypsy and Traveller Stéphane Lévêque advance him the figure of 400,000 to 500,000 travelers and 15,000 to 20,000 Roma.

Approximately one third of travelers remained homeless, one third are semi-sedentary and third are sedentary but travel during the summer. “All travelers have a territorial base said accompanied periods of roaming, especially in the summer, when the tourist season in full swing, observes Stephane Leveque. Travellers are often street vendors, artisans or seasonal.

• What obligations should they meet? At age 16, a member of the Traveller community should be attached administratively to a municipality and hold a title of movement. To be, he must make a reasoned request (for family or professional). If the mayor and the prefect accept, the connection is delivered for a minimum of two years.

To access the vote, an individual must assert a connection of three continuous years. Stricter requirements than those requested for the homeless who are required within six months of attachment.

Many travel passes more or less restrictive exist: the “special booklet” for those who have jobs and families traveling, “the booklet” for pensioners, and unemployed workers and “outstanding book” for those which did have no regular income.

The “special booklet” not accompanied by any visa while the “book” must be mentioned once a year by the police or gendarmerie.

The “book” imposes the most stringent requirements. It must be stamped every three months by the police or gendarmerie. In case of non compliance, the offender faces three months to one year in prison.

• direct debit. Travellers are classified as “no fixed abode”, the caravan is not considered a dwelling. Since 2000, legislation requires municipalities with more than 5,000 people to make reception areas. For a site that can be stored for three to nine months, he must apply at the town hall. However places are rare – only 42% of areas had been put in place in late 2008 – and are less than the numbers of applications. Which, in case of refusal, forcing applicants to illegal parking spontaneous laments Stephane Leveque, who said “we do wear Travellers deficiencies of the state.

The land for private use is also highly regulated. A holder of a “family plot” must obtain a permit when parking is an annual duration exceeds three months. The permit is valid for three years and is renewable.

What Makes a Good Trading System?



When you read advertisements regarding trading systems for stocks, commodities or currencies (forex), most of the advertisements tout a high percentage of winners. At the bottom of the advertisement, there is a disclaimer that states that hypothetical performance is not indicative of future results. The bottom line is that if a trading system were indeed so powerful, it would be sold to the public.

Too often, new traders are focused on trying to find the Holy Grail of trading. They buy books and trading systems that imply performance that will make you a millionaire within a couple years. They show 80% to 90% winners, meaning that the system is just like an ATM machine. Yet, it is widely known that 90% of all traders fail.

Professional traders understand that it is not the system or strategy for entering and exiting trades that will make a trader wildly profitable. Traders need to learn how to manage their risk and how to preserve capital during times when the system or strategy is not performing very well.

So what are the characteristics of a good trading system or strategy? Well, the main thing is that it must provide the trader with a defined edge. This edge simply means that, over the long run, there is a probability of success. For instance, all games in a gambling house provide an edge to the house. Therefore, in the long run, the house is always profitable, because it systematically employs this edge ALL the time. This edge may only be that the house wins 51% of the time. But if the payout is the same, whether the house wins or loses, it will come out on top in the long run.

This is why gaming theory is often employed in strategy and system development by professional traders and trading firms. They are constantly looking for new edges in the market, because often times old edges get discovered by too many market participants, and that results in that edge disappearing over time. This is the case with many trend following trading systems in the commodities markets.

However, most new traders are more concerned with having a high percentage of winners, and they develop unrealistic expectations. On the other hand, professional traders know that they can be profitable in the long run even if they only have 35% to 40% winners. They understand that if they make significantly more money on their winning trades than they lose on their losing trades, they will make money in the long run. Professional traders are generally not concerned with trying to be profitable every day or even every week. They know that if they have a decent edge, they will be profitable most months. If a traders is profitable 8 months out of 10, then that is a pretty good track record. Only a handful of hedge funds have ever been that consistently profitable.

So when looking at trading systems, or trying to develop your own, focus more on developing an edge that will be profitable in the long run. After that, you must simply develop the discipline to stick with it, and that is where most traders fail.
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Las Vegas Is Booming: Why It’s So Hard To Find A Good Deal On A Hotel Room!

<a href=”http://www.hotelclub.net/enter.asp?id=67294&ln=H46860E1&lc=EN“> <img src=”https://affiliates.hotelclub.com/Common/Banners/HC/EN/468×60/HC_468x60_EN_1.gif” border=”0″ alt=”discount hotel bookings” title=”discount hotel bookings”> </a>

With 130,000 available hotel rooms (148,978 if you throw in Nye County and Laughlin) you might think there would be a “Deals” to be found. You would most likely be wrong! Finding a “deal” in a city whose Major Resort properties run near capacity is becoming increasingly difficult. Why? Because the top resort properties are controlled by a select group of companies that have no incentive to discount.

Vegas’ Law of Supply and Demand

Consider for a moment the simple law of “Supply and Demand”. When the supply is high and the demand is low the prices drop. Vegas is a boomtown, the demand is high and the supply is low. How could that be with 130,000 rooms? The answer is simple: 30 million annual visitors and growing! In fact the growth rate is so phenomenal that Mega Resorts like Mandalay Bay (43 story $375 million Spa Tower featuring 1,120 Suites completed in December 2004) and The Venetian (currently expanding) and the recently completed $2.4 Billion Wynn Las Vegas (Opened April 2005) are adding thousands of rooms to the “Heart of the Strip”. So phenomenal is the growth that even out of State Financiers like Donald Trump are getting in on the action. The Demand for Rooms is exceeding the supply so the prices are rising!

According to an interview published July 30, 2004 in USA Today Trump’s plans include a 64-story hotel-condominium tower to be built on a portion of the Frontier Hotel property across from the Wynn Las Vegas Resort and next to the Fashion Show Mall.

Scheduled to begin construction sometime in 2005 the $300 million project will feature 1,000 hotel rooms, and 50 luxury residential units modeled after the Trump International Hotel and Tower in New York. There will be no Casino on the property.

Only 10% of Las Vegas Hotels are Booked Online

In several articles I’ve researched this year published in various Business Journals and by Hotel Industry analysts the actual booking rate for Hotels offering online services to their visitors is approximately 10% Nationwide. This I believe to be an accurate representation of Las Vegas as well. (Our company runs several websites offering Hotel Booking and these numbers are in line with our own).

Further Proof: “Only about 10 percent of our rooms are booked at Hyatt.COM,” said Gary Gotling, director of sales and marketing for Hyatt Regency Tampa.

This means 90% of you are using the Internet to gather information, but are not actually making your reservation Online! Traditional Travel Agents and telephone calls are still the preferred method of booking. The Internet is being used as an information gathering source, and little more. The big Players know this and use it to their advantage. Again there is no incentive to offer lower rates if your customers don’t take advantage of them. I’ll touch briefly on the issue of Room Taxation by saying that most local Governments hate the internet because rooms booked online by out of State interests are cutting into their available tax pool. Expect local Government officials to act sooner than later on this issue.

So where does your money go when you book online?

If you search Vegas.com you’ll find they are owned by Greenspun Media Group (Henderson, NV) which publishes the Las Vegas Sun Daily Newspaper, and owns Vegas Magazine, Showbiz Weekly, In Business, Las Vegas Weekly, VegasGolfer, Las Vegas Life, and The Ralston Report. Greenspun Media is part of the Greenspun Corporation, which also owns local Channel 25 UPN. Greenspun is a partner in Las Vegas ONE, an all-news cable channel. American Nevada, the real estate division of The Greenspun Corporation, is among the most recognized commercial and residential developers in the Las Vegas valley. Their annual advertising budget exceeds 7 figures! Somebody has to pay the price for all that advertising.

You might try the popular website LasVegas.com which has an interesting and storied history. The site Domain was licensed in 2002 from the Stephens Media Group of Littlerock Arkansas (Las Vegas Review Journal, Hawaii.com) to the Mandalay Resort Group and Parkplace Entertainment. Follow along now – 2004 Park Place became Caesars Entertainment, which in turn was purchased by Harrah’s Entertainment. This deal came just one month after MGM/Mirage agreed to purchase the Mandalay Resort Group. Need a room on the strip? Hmmm – I think the pricing is going to be pretty consistent! And to think that you could have owned http://www.hotelclub.net/enter.asp?id=67294&lc=&cr=&ru=Common%2FMaps%2FMapSearch%2Easp%3Fcid%3D5

 late as 1997!