Relationship

The benefits of lifting weights

One of the main reasons I have been able to stay healthy and have a positive outlook on life is that, for the past few years, I have been lifting weights. Combined with good eating habits and healthy sleep habits, weight lifting has allowed me, a fifty-two year old man, to keep moving and feel twenty years younger. Through this type of lifelong activity I have acquired many important values, five of which I have listed below to share with you.

1) When combined with aerobic exercise, weight lifting is a great way to stay in shape, as it causes the body to gain lean muscle mass and burn more calories, which causes the body to lose fat. Lifting weights is also a key factor in preventing brittle bone disease. Although we may assume that weight training when you are older is not safe, it is actually very important to continue lifting weights as we age. And while your first instinct may be to work with lighter weights, this won’t combat muscle loss in the long run. Once people reach the age of thirty, their muscle tends to decrease by a third of a leap each year. If your bones are not used to weight training, this can cause them to become weak.

2) When it comes to losing weight for good, lifting weights is more effective than dieting because people who only diet are more likely to gain the weight back, while those who lift weights usually manage to keep it off. An activity that is often done in the gym, weight training consists of exercises like bicep curls and bench presses. The most popular form of weight training is known as “power lifting,” which is made up of various exercises, such as the bench press, deadlift, and back squat, which, along with single lifts and push-pulls, , often performed in competitions An amazing skill, weight training becomes more effective each time you exercise if you really push yourself during your workout. To help keep you and your body on track, we have a team of specialists with knowledge in this area.

3) Increased resting metabolism, increased bone strength and, in men, increased muscle size are also benefits of weight lifting and strength training. To eliminate some of the knee problems that often become more prominent as you age, you can strengthen your leg muscles. When back pain is caused by years of sitting in front of a computer in an office, strength training can be practiced to maintain your core, but it should only be done once a week on the lower legs. intensity.

4) Combined with various physical exercises, resistance training can be incredibly helpful. For example, runners, cyclists, dancers, and team sports players can increase their endurance by exercising their leg muscles. Resistance training is also beneficial for people with osteoarthritis because the muscle tissue absorbs the shock. If you build a lot of muscle in places like your knees and shoulders, there won’t be as much stress or joint pain there.

5) Exercise, which consists of resistance training but doesn’t necessarily have to consist of just gym sessions, is a very important aspect of a healthy and positive lifestyle. If exercise promotes a healthier diet, such as one that includes fewer fatty foods at meals, it is more likely to promote negative energy balance. The main goal of this study was to see how effective weight lifting, aerobic exercise, and simultaneous aerobic and weight training are on your eating habits. When women are pregnant, exercise increases muscle tone and cardiovascular response, which is beneficial when a woman wants to lose pregnancy weight. However, rather than start exercising vigorously after you find out you’re having a baby, it’s easier to lose the baby weight if your body is in shape before you get pregnant because you’ll already have developed muscle tone.

6) In the past, free weights have remained the most popular form of weight training. Lately, it’s bodyweight training, as opposed to using free weights or various weight machines, that has gotten the attention of fitness fanatics. By allowing the body to become familiar with the motor skills necessary for both balance and stabilization, free weights are effective but must be lifted with caution. It is essential that proper form is used when using free weights to avoid injury. Those who are just starting to use free weights should also enlist the help of a trainer to ensure they are lifting correctly.

If you have yet to incorporate weight lifting into your daily schedule, I urge you to consider doing so. If you stick with it, practice patience, you will not only see a transformation in your appearance, but you will also notice a change in how you feel and think within about four months.

Legal Law

Why do parents disinherit their children?

Estate planners use the term “natural objects of one’s generosity” to refer to those people who are expected to receive a portion of a person’s estate at their death. Typically, the natural objects of a person’s generosity are immediate family members who would take a share of the estate if the person died without a will. For example, if a woman has a husband and three children, those four individuals are presumed to be the natural objects of her generosity. In most cases, children expect to receive equal shares of their parents’ estate. There are times, however, when a parent decides to leave more of the estate to one child than to others or to disinherit a child altogether. A parent can legally disinherit a child in all states except Louisiana. This article outlines the reasons why a parent might consider disinheriting a child and suggests some less drastic alternatives that parents might consider.

Reasons for disinheriting a child

The disinheritance of a child is not as rare as some might think. Here are some reasons a parent might have for omitting a child from their will.

Lack of need. A parent can exclude a child from the will because the other children need more help. For example, if the children are a neurosurgeon, a social worker, and an unknown artist, the father may leave everything up to the social worker and artist because the neurosurgeon can amply support his own family.

Child planned already. A parent may have given more help to a child than to other children during life. For example, if the parents enrolled the neurosurgeon in college, medical school, and other training, the parents may feel that the child has already received her share of the family’s wealth.

dependent parent. An elderly father lives with his daughter and her family in his later years. She takes care of his business, takes him to doctor’s appointments, and takes care of his needs. If it weren’t for the daughter’s support, the father would be forced to live in a nursing home. Two sons live out of state and rarely visit their father. In gratitude for his daughter’s help, the father may decide to leave him all of her property, leaving the children with little or nothing.

Remoteness. A father has two sons and a daughter. The daughter and son excelled in school, attended college and followed in their father’s military service footsteps. The other son dropped out of high school and lived with a series of women while doing odd jobs. The father, a high-ranking official, believes that the son’s failures reflect badly on the whole family. The father warns the son that he is no longer welcome in the family. The son drifts to another state and the estrangement lasts for years. The father leaves all of his estate to the successful son and daughter, omitting the other son entirely.

disabled child. A family has three children, one of whom has autism. It is not clear if the child with autism will ever be able to lead an independent life. The biggest fear for parents is what will happen to their child after they are both dead. Instead of dividing their property into three equal parts, parents decide to leave all or most of their property in a special needs trust for the child with autism.

controlling father. A domineering mother has a child, a son. Throughout her life, the son never failed to live up to her mother’s high expectations. After college and law school, the son falls in love with a free-spirited woman who takes the occasional drug and makes a meager living writing poetry and short stories. The mother strongly disapproves of the relationship and disinherits the son from her because the son marries the woman without her consent. The mother leaves all her estate to her nieces and nephews.

Work ethic. A father from a poor background enrolls in college and graduate school. He founds a company and makes millions from a public offering. The father believes that his children should put in the same kind of effort that he did instead of living off his wealth for the rest of their lives. The father leaves $100,000 to each child and donates the rest to charity.

cautionary note

The disinheritance of a child is not to be taken lightly because it can be an intensely emotional step on both sides. Parents who make a will disinheriting a child may feel guilty for the rest of their lives. A child who does not learn that he has been disinherited until after his parents’ death may be devastated to learn of his parents’ rejection of him.

Keep in mind that a will does not take effect until the testator dies. Many things can happen during the interim period. For example, a mother and daughter who have been separated for years may reconcile in the days or hours before the mother’s death. The mother can testify in front of witnesses in her hospital room that she regrets having disinherited her daughter and that she now wants the daughter to share her estate. However, unless the mother revokes or modifies her will, her oral statements cannot modify the terms of the written will.

Irreconcilable differences cause a father to disinherit a 20-year-old son and all his descendants. All his property is left to two other sons. Subsequently, the son marries and has a son. The birth of the grandson changes everything. The father now wants the disinherited son’s share to go to the grandson. If time permits and the father does not delay, he can issue a codicil to the will for the grandson. If the will is not modified, both the child and the grandchild will be omitted.

Conclusion

Some say that disinheriting a child is unnatural or even immoral. However, it is advisable not to judge, because looking at a family situation from the outside in does not always reveal the true picture. Even if all involved agree that the disinheritance of a child is wrongful, the father has the right to dispose of the child’s property in whatever legal way he sees fit.

Lifestyle Fashion

Understanding antique Louis XV furniture

History of the period:

Louis XV was the grandson of King Louis XIV and ruled France from 1715 to 1774. He is best known for being one of the most unpopular kings in France. During his reign, he managed to upset almost every social group in his country, but surprisingly, in its own unique way, that segregation of his people has led to antique Louis XV period furniture being some of the most sought after French furniture in the world. world. world.

Due to the imbalance of his country, the remaining furniture of Louis XV is seen as a great treasure that heralds a time of serious public unrest in France and symbolizes the determination of his people as a whole but, in particular, in his furniture designers to Continue to inspire, create, and deliver a legacy of beautiful, intricate, and detailed furniture that remains a sought-after design style to this day.

Despite all the things that went wrong with Louis XV’s reign as King of France, one thing that is undeniable is the detailed quality of the furnishings that emerged from this dark moment in French history to show something quite the opposite. both elegant and elegant. flowing, in a time of bleak misery.

What makes Louis XV furniture Louis XV furniture?

There are a number of telling design features that articulate this style of design. It is quite common to hear or see furniture incorrectly described as Louis XV, when it is actually Louis XIV. What separates the two is quite distinctive, and I’ll list them below.

Louis XV furniture is:

  • Designed with more curves
  • Free flowing shapes and forms.
  • It is not made with straight lines, straight cuts or anything that looks angular.
  • Intricately carved and seemingly endlessly detailed.
  • hand painted
  • The shells tend to form the focus points of each design.
  • Symbolic of romance, sensuality and love.
  • light and elegant

Louis XV furniture it’s not:

  • Depends on presence to assert its claim, like gothic furniture
  • Made with straight cuts
  • Large, bulky, or angular
  • strong and masculine
  • machine painted
  • machine cut

You will find that Louis XIV furniture is completely opposite in style to Louis XV, and where I have listed the points above that are not associated with Louis XV, you will tend to find these same characteristics present in Louis XIV furniture, for example. , it will be more angular and less graceful, more in line with a masculine force of style than a graceful, romantic touch as seen in Louis XV furniture. It’s a very common mistake, probably due to the similarities in the name, but it’s vital when identifying your antique furniture to get the correct periods, as it can unsurprisingly cause chaos for the buyer at auction!

The next problem that I tend to see quite often in my field is the misleading sale of replicas as originals.

Identifying Antique Royal Louis XV Furniture

Yes, as sad as it is, there will always be among us those who feel the need to misrepresent antiquities for personal gain by selling copies or replicas. When shopping for antiques, especially online, be sure to use a respected reseller, such as LJR Windwake & Sons, or a seller who specializes in your desired style—in this case, a specialist in Louis XV antique furniture. It’s vitally important to be extremely scrupulous when buying antiques online from auction or dealer sites, but luckily, I’ve got some great advice on how to make sure the piece of furniture you’re buying is the right one. real deal.

1. Ask for details on how the cabinet was made

Be sure to ask the seller to explain how the piece was made, making sure they describe the joints in the wood. If they are visible, and note that an ‘antique’ joinery would not be cut by machine, but by hand, ask him to describe them to you. Hand cut joints will most likely be rougher and perhaps not as exact as machine cut joints which should be a good indication of originality and the antique you are purchasing is actually an ‘antique’ and not something removed from a production line in Shenzhen, China, 2006.

The best way to find a cutout is to remove a drawer and take a close look at where the drawer front and back attach to the drawer sides. If a joint was made by hand, it would be dovetailed and would have only a few dovetailed joints, and they would not be exactly smooth. If the dovetails are close together and cut precisely, it is machine cut. Hand-made dovetails almost always indicate a part made before 1860.

2. Look for imperfections like nicks and cuts

Another great way to help identify the validity of an antique or handmade piece of furniture would be to look closely for nicks and cuts on the back, sides, and bottom of the drawer. Notches and cuts usually indicate that a hand tool was used to plane, shave, or cut the wood. Straight cuts, the kind you’d get with a straight saw, are also good signs, while cuts that look circular mean the cut was made with a circular saw, again not used until after 1860.

3. Exact symmetry? No way!

This is probably the easiest tell-tale sign of machine-made versus hand-made furniture. If something looks exactly symmetrical, it’s likely that it was cut by machines, so be sure to request plenty of photos of the piece of furniture you’re buying.

4. Request a detailed description of the finish

The style of the finish is also a great way to tell the age of a Louis XV piece. Certain finishes were in use at different periods, which is a great way to identify the age of your antique furniture. For Louis XV, everything should be hand painted. Hand painting is often identified by slight imperfections in brush strokes or edges, although some of the best Louis XV will show no sign of human error, because the quality was so high that it is always advisable to ask for photographs of all paintings. especially for imperfections, as these can ADD value to his furniture.

5. Make sure the seller explains the type of wood used in the manufacture

Often this is a simple method of measuring an age because usually as a rule of thumb anything before 1700 was made of oak, 1700 onwards (ours was Louis XV) mahogany and walnut were the woods chosen. if it is pine, it usually indicates an American piece of furniture and is usually indicative of slightly cheaper works. The really valuable and vintage Louis XV antique treasures will be made of mahogany or walnut.

Conclusion

Always be careful when buying antique furniture, but if you’re thinking of buying it, be sure to do as much research as possible before going to auction houses. It is also highly recommended to go to an auction with a specific object in mind. Visit the open houses, take your notes, go home and research what you have seen and then go to the auctions with a renewed knowledge about your purchase and always, always try to get as much information as possible from the seller, be it buying online or at an auction house.

Real Estate

My experience with AmeriSave Mortgage Company

You’ve gone through the long and tedious process of finding your perfect home… You’ve made an offer, it’s been accepted, and now it’s time to apply for a mortgage. Who do you turn to?

There are many banking options when it comes to mortgages and when it comes to selecting the right banking partner to help you get the home of your dreams. There are many things to consider. Most notable are the interest rate, the length of the loan, the closing costs, etc.

However, one thing I have learned after buying a few properties is that the bank you select should be a real consideration. Although banks aggressively try to get your business, once you select a bank, the tides begin to turn, and that once friendly and understanding bank suddenly becomes very difficult to deal with.

That is, if you select the wrong institution…

Once the process has started, switching to a new bank can be an expensive decision and shady banks know it. The change process would be a hassle for all other parties involved, such as your real estate agent and your title company. Also, if you were to switch after just a few weeks, you may have to pay a significantly higher interest rate if interest rates rise.

You do not want that! Therefore, choosing the right company from the beginning is essential so that you can access the house of your dreams in the best possible way.

I learned this the hard way when I decided to go for an AmeriSave mortgage. After going through this process with other mortgage companies, even in late 2008 after the financial crisis, I had a reasonable understanding of how the mortgage process worked.

But I had an unfortunate wake-up call just weeks after my AmeriSave mortgage experience. From my perspective, the banking company pressured me just for sport. It seemed they almost enjoyed making my life a living nightmare. Making me fight to obtain documents that were difficult to acquire. The fact that they are asking me for some of these documents is absurd…

What kind of documents could I request?

First was the number of documents. At first it was 10, then 20, when I finally thought I was done, I had 10 more, then another 10. In total, when I finally completed the process, I must have submitted 50-60 documents.

Some of the weirder ones include:

  • Current year K-1 tax papers for stocks I no longer even owned. He didn’t have them, and unlike other documents, tracking them down proved extremely difficult. In the end, I found out that those documents did not even exist. I then had to provide proof if none existed.

  • I had the chase for one of the HOA bills for my rental property. This shouldn’t have been a big problem, since I provided AmeriSave with the document initially, but it turned out that the HOA bill I provided was from the previous quarter, and that wasn’t good enough. I had to get the HOA bill for the current quarter even though it was the same dollar amount.

  • Since my wife had sent me a gift to help me purchase the property, AmeriSave wanted my partner’s bank statement. It’s not a big deal, I ordered it and got it. Unfortunately, they also required him to provide his other bank accounts that were NOT part of the gift. Why does someone who is not on loan have to provide bank accounts that have nothing to do with the loan? My partner was reluctant and for good reason. What business does AmeriSave have to demand to see someone’s private bank accounts that are not connected to the loan and not on loan? Good thing they didn’t ask for my mother’s bank accounts!

  • AmeriSave also asked me to contact my accountant and write a letter stating that my business was currently active. This seemed like it didn’t make much sense for several reasons. For one, I had been in business for almost 20 years and I just gave them a new tax return. Did they think I would dissolve my business? Second, my accountant only does my annual return, so he doesn’t have any first-hand knowledge of my business other than what’s on my tax return, which AmeriSave already had. Finally, they had already provided that my business was active by providing real-time statements showing company receipts. So, they can see firsthand that money was pouring into the company. So why did they want me to contact the third party that had less information than they did and beg to create a document for me? It’s one thing to make me chase documents. Still, it’s even more complicated when I have to go to a third party and ask them to create a document, especially when that third party doesn’t have first-hand knowledge of the information AmeriSave wants me to provide. Why would that matter when they see the business make money? It would be like demanding a copy of a document when you already have the original.

It took some time, but after completing all the requirements, I finally got a Certified Loan Approval that was good for eight weeks! That shouldn’t have been a problem because the loan would close in four weeks. I worked hard to get everything they needed, including begging other parties to give me personal information or creating letters for me to get certified approval before we lost our collateral money.

I was ready… or wasn’t I?

A week before closing, AmeriSave sends me another huge list of requirements! That? Oh no! Wasn’t it already certified? Is the official document that I received certifying me not real? Do I have to start this painful process all over again? Why did you wait almost three weeks to tell me that I would have to do this all over again?

The first time I went through this process it was pretty stressful, but now I’ve given the landlord 30 days notice and sold half my belongings in preparation for the move. I did this because I was confident in the fact that it was certified.

Now we have another massive list of absurd new requirements, even though they are already certified.

  • AmeriSave wanted a disclosure and waiver document from my broker. When I asked him, his response was, “Hahaha. I can honestly say that I’ve never had a lender ask me that before.”

  • AmeriSave wanted me to provide a lease for my rental property because it wasn’t on my tax return… The problem was, it was on my tax return. Stop wasting my time!

  • They wanted a copy of the deposit check. The problem was that we paid by transfer and they already have the transfer documents. You are idiot?

  • They want another letter from my accountant that my business is active. So now I have to contact my accountant again and ask them to write the same letter that he wrote three weeks ago?

It’s like AmeriSave makes me do things for the sake of making me do things. Quite frankly, I called and emailed my loan originator, trying to figure out what was going on, asking him to call me back ASAP. I did not receive any return phone calls. Instead, I received a short, dismissive email saying that I had been pre-approved, but now a few things need to be updated.

However, that is not the case! I had an official certified loan approval that was good for a specified amount and good for eight weeks. I sent him another email asking him to get back to me ASAP, and with only a week to go I think he was justified, but no response.

I ended up missing my closing date because they didn’t approve my loan. Once again, they wanted more documents. I missed the second closing date because they were still slow to approve me.

The worst part is that when they don’t approve the loan by the deadline, they delay the process. When the process is delayed, many of the documents that were filed now become outdated. So now they demand new documents again.

Wait… So I have to get new documents now because you didn’t do your work on time?

In the end, I must have submitted 120-140 different documents and missed two closing dates, finally closing right on the third deadline after complaining to AmeriSave management about my loan officer, who had no sense of urgency. .

I was lucky enough to barely get out of one of the most stressful situations of my life when the sellers threatened to walk away, so I missed my third installment.

In the end, it worked out fine, but I can tell you that I would never work with AmeriSave again. My warning to all homebuyers, unless you want to deal with a lot of extra stress and a bank that doesn’t care about their customers’ closing date, stay away from AmeriSave.

Shopping Product Reviews

Eve on Blanquilla Island

Sailing east from the white sand beaches and crystal clear waters of the Los Roques archipelago to Isla la Blanquilla, Venezuela, can be like riding a bike through a tropical storm. Most of the time, both the wind and the current are against you, creating a bumpy and wet passage. The etiology of my problems did not begin with the trip, but some time later with an illness and a rude awakening.

In preparation for my voyage, I anchored southwest of the Los Roques range with a clear view of the lighthouse. This would give me a reef free course to the southeast and then east by dead reckoning only. Watching the picturesque sunset before darkness fell and the lighting of the lighthouse, I surprisingly found myself wishing there was someone nearby to bet with. What a strange thought, but I knew I had the upper hand. I would have bet a few million genuine bolivars, about $2.00 US, that this was the only constantly working navigation light in all of Venezuela.

The surrounding wide beaches, coral heads, and submerged reefs make Los Roques a popular sunbathing and snorkeling destination for mainland Venezuelans during the day. Due to its beauty and remoteness, it has occasionally been the setting for modeling agencies from around the world. In my youth, about a week ago, I would have taken the time for a refresher course on visualizing the female anatomy. However, I had to weigh anchor, lie to myself and think about all the beautiful women of Branquilla, knowing that it was essentially uninhabited except for two Coast Guardsmen and a handful of hungry fishermen. The mind can play tricks on you at sea, so I periodically enjoy tricking it.

Shifting north and northeast winds would have kept me busy if weather had been a factor. It wasn’t, so I divided the difference into a variable 90 degree course plus or minus a few degrees. I smiled as my ketch stretched out its legs and rode the tiny 4 foot waves. My average lately has been 6 to 10 feet. The skies were sapphire blue and the cumulus clouds looked like delicate little balls of cotton candy. I never wanted to see land again…until I put Joe Arroyo’s “Noche de Arreboles” on the CD player and dreamed of Cartagena nights.

The lone palm trees and white beach on the west side of Blanquilla can be seen from over a mile away. I furled the mainsail late because I knew the land would block my wind when I got close. To my surprise, I had to weave between a family sloop and an old schooner that were barely on the shelf. Running further in, I dropped the hook at my favorite spot at 200 meters. West of the palms.

I recognized the sloop captain in Rude Rigin as an old groupie of mine. They are out there… He followed me downwind from St. Kitts for 3 days doing a 2v2 off guard with his brother, constantly changing and trimming sails just to get a better look at me… He was actually threatening to kill me on VHF and SSB radios for giving his wife the wrong antibiotic. Unbeknownst to him, she continued to take them. Within three days his strep throat improved dramatically and he was able to attend to his manly needs. At this point he slid back, lowered a Kevlar wing (genoa stripped) onto his wing-over-wing rig, stowed his lightweight racing spinnakers, and must have dropped the RPM of his smoking diesel below redline.

I woke up to the nastiest banging on my helmet I’ve ever heard. I thought @#%! The Coast Guard couldn’t want beer and cigarettes this early in the morning! As I slowly dabbed at my burning salty eyes with a damp tissue, I could make out the face of, you guessed it, Rude Rigin! “You’ve got to help me… my old woman is on fire. It’s like she’s far away, man!”… I started to tell her that a good antibiotic should take care of it just fine, but she thought better of it. .

My beautiful island was gray and my morning skyrocketed due to the current storm and Rude Rigin. I chased down all my hatches, out onto a wet deck and over lifelines, finally making my way into Rude’s patch, or grim as he called it. As he rowed frantically with each hyperventilation, we slowly zigzagged toward the sloop.

On board, Minnie lay in the cabin in obvious agony and extreme discomfort. “My beautiful girl, what has happened to you?” I said. “I…I don’t know, Doc. Help me please.” I turned, looking for Rude to get the information from her, finally seeing a black dot swimming on the stern behind the grim one that she forgot to secure. Shaking my head and turning my attention back to Minnie. She appeared slightly scalded, but all of her vital signs were normal. “What were you doing when this happened?” “Nothing, I got on my boat and my head and face and shoulders were on fire.” I asked him: “What did you do before that? Did you take any medication or eat any food that you are allergic to?” “No sir, Oleman and I went ashore early this morning walking around looking for apples.” “There are no apples on this island, Minnie.”

The only chance for the apples was if the American, who once built an airstrip and cabin here years ago, had brought a tree with him. Still, he would have to self-pollinate and there was very little chance he would grow in this arid climate. Was Minnie slightly delusional from her suffering?

“Doc, here are apples like my grandmother used to make butter apple wit. You know…the little green apple kind.” “Did you try them?” “No, I tried to get Ole man to test them, but we didn’t have time before the squall started. I climbed up the tree while Ole man got dirty. Then we got back in the boat and I started getting burned.” just a little bit of time.” “So…your apple tree was on the beach?” “Yes.” He pointed to the fluffy green tree that he could make out in the rain and mist. It was much taller than the surrounding vegetation. This confirmed my suspicions instantly – I had seen this tree on a previous excursion while looking for black coral and crabs.

“Minnie, you’re lucky, darling. Once I clean you up with soap and water, you’ll feel so much better in 8 hours.” “Fortunately, your Ole man did not do what you suggested and ate, Manzanilla de la muerte.” “Uh…” “Yeah! You guessed it.” “Little apple of death”.

Hard. You wonder?… Three days had passed and there was no sign of him. Finally, on the fourth day we heard a loud noise from the west and soon saw a tower of black smoke. The noise continued to intensify until the Coast Guard cutter arrived an hour later. All of the narcotics task force soldiers on deck lined up on the bow in full dress uniforms commemorating their life-saving skills. Rude was soon taken away in a boat as the Venezuelan National Anthem played and soldiers saluted.

Apparently, he had recovered his raft, but lost his oars in the excitement. As a result, he was found adrift near Isle Orchilla, a military complex, severely dehydrated and on a nearly deflated raft. Accused of espionage, once he was able to take his first psychological test, all charges were dropped.

The Manchineel Tree (Manzanella)

This is a beautiful tree usually found in subtropical and tropical arid climates. It reminds me of “The Garden of Eden”. Beauty defies danger.

It can be found throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America, Curacao, and Bonaire. Curaçao puts signs on them, the French West Indies paints red bands around them, however most of the time they are not marked.

Well known to ancient Caribbean tribes, its fruit was used to poison arrowheads and the leaves were used to contaminate enemies’ water supplies. The first Europeans were said to have died due to the toxicity of this plant. In reality, there were no reported deaths at the time of my research.

This tree has waxy green leaves with a brown trunk and bushy branching like many North American apple trees. The fruit is green, sweet if you dare, and about 2cm in diameter. All parts secrete a white, latex-like sap (big caveat with any plant), so it is imperative that no part is touched. One surprising danger is that even standing under this tree with or without rain can cause symptoms. No part of this tree is good for kindling or making firewood. Inhaling the smoke or getting it in the eyes can cause the same symptoms as direct contact.

Although mortality does not appear to be a major concern, severe burns to the skin and internal organs, conjunctivitis (irritation and redness of the eyes), blindness, and internal bleeding may be significant findings. If swallowed, there is burning in the mouth, throat, and esophagus. Gastrointestinal bleeding, dysarthria and dysphagia (difficulty speaking and swallowing), as well as difficulty breathing are serious. There may be isolated cases where the heart rate and breathing are slower, this may represent an isolated phenomenon or be part of a histamine (allergy) response.

Treatment is straightforward and almost too simple. Immediately wash affected areas with soap and water and allow 8-12 hours for symptoms to subside if Manchineel is the ultimate culprit. Antihistamines (oral and topical) have been used if there are no allergies to them. Flush eyes with sterile water if affected. As with any foreign substance, any signs of progression, early anaphylactic reaction, visual difficulty, bleeding, or change in vital signs should be immediately evaluated by a qualified physician.

The author, Dr. Robin Minks, is a neurologist and general practitioner, as well as a captain and world traveler. He served in the US Navy and has been practicing medicine for over 27 years.

Sports

5 interesting facts about touchdown passes from Dallas Cowboys legend Roger Staubach

Roger Staubach is one of the most popular players to wear a Dallas Cowboys uniform. He was drafted by the Cowboys in 1964, but due to his commitment to the United States Army, he did not join the team full-time until the late 1960s. struggling expansion of the 1960s to Team USA in the 1970s.

He played a big part in all of the Cowboys’ success throughout the decade, even helping them reach multiple Super Bowls. He threw many big passes, some of which netted some of the biggest scores in team history. Here’s a look at five interesting facts about Roger Staubach’s touchdown passes.

#1 Roger Staubach threw more touchdown passes against the New York Giants than against any other team in the league. He threw for 24 touchdowns against the Giants, just one more than against the second-ranked team on that list, the St. Louis Cardinals.

#2 Staubach was off to a slow start during his career when it came to throwing touchdown passes. He threw 56 touchdown passes in the second quarter, 35 in the third, 37 in the fourth and one in overtime. However, he threw just 24 in the first quarter.

#3 Two players tied for the honor of catching the most touchdown passes from Roger Staubach. During their careers, both Billy Joe DuPree and Drew Pearson caught 27 touchdown passes thrown by Staubach. That’s almost twice as much as the next person on the list.

#4 During his career, Staubach completed three touchdown passes to players who would eventually end up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Bob Hayes (11), Lance Alworth (1) and Tony Dorsett (4).

The first touchdown pass of #5 Staubach’s career came in the first game of the 1969 season. It happened in the first quarter of a 24-3 victory over the Cardinals. He was thrown for 75 yards and was caught by Lance Rentzel.

Technology

Porn Addiction Is A Setback

Pornography is a highly discussed topic but not socially accepted. Many countries have banned pornography and carrying obscene images, videotapes or compact discs is considered a crime. Although pornography is considered a criminal activity and the punishment for it is severe, there are many people who successfully execute such activities as there is a huge demand in the market. There are many people who like to watch these raunchy videos for various reasons. This could be to create a sensation of sex, to help ejaculate faster during masturbation, etc. Many people also become addicted to viewing pornography as they enjoy it and also satisfy their sexual desires by doing so.

Viewing pornography is common between men and women, but the proportion of men and women who view pornography is mixed. Men usually outnumber women in this as well. People usually get addicted to pornography when their sex life is not very interesting or they can’t find a sexual partner or just fun. Pornography makes a person sexually aroused and many people like this feeling too. It can be said that for many people pornography is the only option to satisfy their sexual needs. Pornography normally affects young children between the ages of 12 and 18, as this is when most children begin to learn and understand about sex, masturbation, etc. This does not mean that older people are not affected in the same way, but the numbers are comparatively smaller. Many married couples look at pornography to make their sex life more interesting and exciting.

Married men and women are usually the ones who watch porn just to try and prove to their partners that they are very satisfying during sex, but in some cases it is possible that a married man or woman may watch porn to masturbate as the partner is not capable. to satisfy them. If a married person does not wish to view pornography and the couple is still viewing pornography, it can also cause fights between the couples to the point that they may break up as well.

To overcome porn addiction, people have tried different options like having sex regularly, even slowing down the sexual cycle, etc. There is one more way to overcome this addiction and it is with the use of hypnotism. Hypnotherapy can be very helpful in helping you stop viewing pornography. You don’t even have to go to a psychiatrist. For this, you can visit the internet as there are many websites that offer to help people with hypnotherapy, all you need to do is download MP3 content as the resolution of your problem lies within. With the help of hypnotism, the problem can be overcome in a short period. Hypnosis for porn addiction is a blessing and once you are under its guidance, you will soon discover the joys of life and learn to leave this evil behind. Get hypnotherapy and lead a healthy life.

Business

How to Choose the Best Penny Stock Broker Online

Selecting the best penny stock broker online is absolutely key to your long-term success with penny stock trading. Your broker will play an important role in helping you find and execute micro-cap stock trades in a crisp and accurate manner. But how do you determine who is the best penny stock broker online?

Different brokers for different traders

Honestly, it’s not that easy because brokers and brokerage fees are constantly changing and what you personally need to be successful with nano or micro cap stocks may be very different than what someone else requires. You should read my full review of over a dozen different penny stock brokers online. But for now you need to understand how to select the best online broker for your situation.

If you really know what you’re doing and have been studying micro-cap stocks for quite some time, you probably don’t want to lose a good percentage of your profits to broker fees. But don’t just rely on this desire to be thrifty to make your decision.

If you are new to trading penny stocks, you should initially consider paying a little more for a full service broker. They can help you learn the ropes and develop good habits for trading nano-cap stocks. Sometimes the best online broker is not the one that can provide you with the cheapest service, but the one that can guide you towards good habits in the long run. Services like Fidelity and Charles Schwab provide excellent full-service brokerage options online.

Discount brokers for experienced traders

Then maybe a few months later you can connect with a discount broker like Zecco or E*Trade. These give you the functionality to run your micro-cap trading without a lot of the research bells and whistles (although both services are growing and evolving, providing more and more research tools). Over time, you can make a lot of money with these discount brokers simply because each transaction fee is 5 to 25 percent less than what you might pay through a full-service broker.

No matter who you choose, you absolutely need to work with one of the best penny stock brokers online. These brokers are connected to the latest information from Pink Sheets to OTCBB. They establish and maintain relationships with market makers and other third parties that are simply not available to you.

But if you’re new, again, don’t skimp on penny stock brokers. Don’t let a slick sales pitch convince you that a newsletter or software “bot” will give you all the winning picks and you just need to execute them. That, my friends, is snake oil.

Home Kitchen

Benefits of having an electric can opener

Today, cans are the most popular container for food. A common complaint is the problem of opening the can. Sometimes the can opener simply slips out of its socket before completing the task or fails to open the can completely or can even be a source of injury.

Well, your problem is solved with the electric can opener. This ingenious invention is actually a small electrical device that is used to open cans.

The electric can opener works on the same principle as the manual one, except that the appliance does all the work. Instead of a handle that you can turn on, there’s an electric motor that makes it spin. It has a cord that is used to plug in power. By simply pressing the button, the can opens easily and quickly. There’s a lever on the top front that you push down; then you can hear the can opener working. To stop, simply lift the lever. But at the end of the job, it will stop automatically.

Convenience in using an electric can opener:

1. Ensures 100% that the can will open cleanly;

2. It is portable and convenient;

3. Eliminates the hassle of using pressure to get the tool to work;

4. It’s less messy and results in finer work;

5. The job of opening the can is done faster;

6. Very little effort is used;

7. The power consumption is very small; and

8. Less risk of injury in the process.

Proper maintenance will ensure lifetime use of the appliance. After using, just unplug the cord and wash it with water. Use a few drops of dish soap in warm water. A toothbrush can clean debris from the blade and gear. Clean it and dry it well. You can apply a few drops of white lubricant to the gear. Clean and keep in a dry place until ready to use.

The home use of the electric can opener is small in size while the bulkier size is for business purposes. The best type is made of stainless steel. You can choose from a wide range of available brands and features.

When buying an electric can opener, study several models first and even better if you can read a review about it. The good news is that this information is readily available online. If you can afford this innovative appliance, it will go a long way in making your kitchen a nice and quiet place.

Digital Marketing

Mind maps for employee self-motivation: a definitive key to success

The benefits of training managers on how to motivate their staff and the role of mind mapping techniques in leadership training.

critical management skill

Motivation is a crucial managerial skill and organizations should focus on developing high motivation through effective leadership and good employer-employee communication. The inner desire to do a good job is the essential drive that drives an individual beyond the threshold of success, self-identity through personal gratification.

Well-motivated employees are like loyal soldiers willing to give their lives for their country/business organization. Furthermore, with current levels of social unrest, economic change at work, and the inevitable drop in morale in the workplace, Motivation can mean the success or failure of any organization.

negative motivation

Why do people work? Do people work for money? Do people work because they love their job? Or do they work because they fear failure?

In most organizations, employees work out of fear. Fear of failure, degradation, insult, not reaching goals or being fired from work. Fear of not having enough money to pay for the basic necessities of life.

Thus, in all these cases the motivating factor is a negative – Fear of losing something. W. Edwards Deming, renowned management guru, asks his clients to eliminate fear among employees. In his opinion, employees can only Perform effectively in a fearless environment.

Leadership Training with Mind Mapping Techniques

A good manager must strive to positive motivational reason. A positive cause can be defined as desires, needs, drives, and urges that are inherent in each individual. They include knowledge, status, and the realization of one’s individual potential. Mind Map Leadership Training is designed to instruct managers on how to motivate those under their supervision by connecting workers with their own powerful internal motivating force.

Choosing between self-motivation and directed motivation

Supervision should be aimed at helping workers and machines work in harmony so that together they produce better performance.

A manager can choose between two main methods of motivation:

  • directed motivationin which the manager takes full responsibility for motivating employees to perform better.
  • self motivationin which the manager inspires the employees to be self-motivated, a sign of true leadership.

At first glance, directed motivation may seem easier than creating self-motivation. It’s the traditional way, but it also places a huge burden on the manager and ignores all the untapped potential in the workforce.

Transformational Motivation

Creating self-motivation requires the manager to step down from his authoritative role and build good relationships with employees. According to Peter Drucker, the disruption of the command and control model is the key factor in boosting self-motivation among employees. He says that a manager should treat employees as volunteers. This helps you achieve transformational motivation instead of transactional motivation.

Motivation leads to satisfaction

In his book, understand organizations, Charles Handy emphasizes the role of motivation in organizations. According to him, motivation is the answer to most of the ‘whys’ that employees have in mind. Answering these ‘Why’ solves all management problems. For employees, answering ‘Why’ leads to job satisfaction.

Thus, we can form a circle of positive energy. It starts with directed motivation, leads to answering ‘Why’, moves to job satisfaction, and finally results in self-motivation.

If any organization can achieve this circle of positive energy, success is certain. It will lead to multifaceted growth of the organization and people. However, most organizations prefer to focus on monetary capital rather than human capital. By the way, the sport is replete with team benefit analogies to finding the highest and most suitable human capital to win championships.

increased production

As Peter F. Drucker, the father of management practices, rightly said:

“No institution can survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way that it can get by under a leadership made up of average human beings.”

Leadership training in mind mapping techniques focuses on teaching managers how to create self-motivation in the workforce. This leads to higher levels of job satisfaction, fewer unauthorized absences, higher retention rates, better job performance, and a significant increase in production!