Poker Craps And More

Many people I know love eating out at different cafes and restaurants. They love trying out new places almost as much as they love returning to their old favorite spots. They love trying new menu items and discovering new ways to eat the foods they enjoy the most. Eating out can be both a wonderful and very dangerous thing.

In America we are blessed to have restaurants dotting the streets of many streets in towns and cities of all sizes. We are rarely at a loss for places to eat out. One of the greatest things about eating out is that it saves time that many busy people do not have to waste. After spending long hours at our workplaces, few people have the time or energy to return home and cook a gourmet meal. Eating out seems to be a great solution at the end of a long, tiring day.

Eating out can also be great because we can try a wide variety of foods and drinks that we don’t have the ability to make ourselves. No one loves eating the same basic foods over and over again, so eating out can be a good way to give our tastebuds something new.

However, if we are not careful, eating out can also be dangerous for a couple of big reasons. First, we must use caution in eating out for the sake of our health. Most restaurants and cafes offer huge portions of items that are unhealthy to eat and drink. Eating out often means filling up on appetizers, a main course, a few high calorie beverages, and a dessert to finish off the evening. Think about how many calories you can consume during a meal like this. I am not, of course, saying that we should never enjoy eating out. I am, however, saying that we need to be careful, for our health’s sake, about eating out too frequently. We must be careful to watch our choices when we are eating out. Choose healthier items or commit to only eating half of the meal you choose. There are ways of eating out healthily, it just takes conscience effort.

Another huge reason to be careful about eating out too often is your pocketbook and budget. It is no secret that eating out costs more, on average, that cooking meals in your own home. It is easy to accumulate large bills, especially at nicer places. So be careful that you stick to a budget when you make plans for eating out.

Beware. Eating out can be one of the greatest pleasures or one of the most dangerous things. Enjoy it, but do it with caution.

Denton Krypps has been enjoying eating out with caution ever since he realized the potential dangers of making it a habit. Check out www.eatingouttimes.info to learn more.

Much has been written and said about diets and detox, but here we are going to present a simple 24 detox diet to cleanse your system, make you feel better and revitalise you with energy, its simple and very effective.

This 24 hour detox diet can be used after a period of over-indulgence, or when you awake feeling poorly and will revitalize you quickly.

This detox diet should not to be used everyday.

24 Hour Detox Diet Basics

The basis for this detox diet is 4 glasses of ‘fresh’ pomegranate juice, slow-cooked brown rice, a high-power vegetable salad, and 200 grams of raw almonds.

The combination will give you all the vitamins and minerals you need for your day, clear your body of toxins and oxidants, and give you plenty of energy to face the world. You will also lose a minimum of 600 grams to 1 kilo depending on your height and body weight.

Detoxing to cleanse your body

The pomegranate is a very powerful (the most powerful) anti-oxidant we know of in any food.

It has been shown to reverse and even prevent some cancers and heart disease.

The almonds will supply all the calories, oils, and proteins you need, without feeling hungry.

The salads are for bulk and all the vitamins and minerals that are gained from the eating of salads and vegetables.

The brown rice is also a wonderful antioxidant, and source of many vitamins and minerals that can be readily absorbed by the body.

The rules of this detox diet are simple:

1. No coffee or tea, or any soft drink. The ONLY liquids that are allowed are the 4 glasses of pomegranate juice and much water as you can drink.

2. If you are a smoker, try to stop for the 24 hours, or if you cannot, limit the cigarettes to as few as possible, and try not to inhale, but smoke the cigarette as you would a cigar.

3. Take a hot shower or bath both in the morning and in the evening, scrubbing the skin with a brush, loofa, or special skin cloth that will stimulate good blood circulation. Also going to a sauna is a wonderful idea. Spend as much time there as possible, taking your food with you.

4. Do not cheat; follow the diet plan. Eat ONLY when you are hungry, not by the clock.

5. Exercise by any means (walking may be the best) for at least 45 minutes during the day. This is very important.

Detox diet Morning Meal

One glass of pomegranate juice, with a handful of the raw almonds. Do not overfill your stomach; when you are about 50% satisfied, stop.

Detox diet Mid-morning Snack

One bowl of the brown rice, with some natural soya sauce, and some tofu if you feel you need protein. One glass of water.

Detox diet Lunch

One glass of pomegranate juice and a mixed green salad, as much as you wish. A dressing of virgin olive oil, wine vinegar, and salt may be used.

Detox diet Mid-Day Snack

One glass of pomegranate juice, with a handful of the raw almonds. Do not overfill your stomach; when you are about 50% satisfied, stop.

Detox diet Diner

The last glass of pomegranate juice and a large bowl of brown rice.

No more food should be consumed with this detox diet.

You will have taken over 1200 calories, and a host of wholesome and healthful nutrients with this detox diet if followed exactly.

Moreover, you body will have had 24 hours to rid itself of the toxins absorbed by over-indulgence, or simply daily city life (stress, pollution and processed food products).

During the day When using this detox diet feel fantastic and alert.

We advise to not follow this detox diet more than one day weekly, as it is not effective as a general everyday diet. It is however highly effective as a quick pick me up and cleansing diet.

for more sensible diet and nutrition advice

Visit our website for free articles, downloads, features and magazines

http://www.net-planet.org/health.html

Silk or real; what’s a bride to do? For many brides, the question is really perplexing — especially for those who want to mix a dash of “Do-It-Yourself” into their wedding flower preparations.

Obviously, silk comes with some advantages — it’s tough and shelf stable, and the petals won’t come off at the worst possible moment. On the other hand, silk flowers don’t always look real, and they aren’t always a bargain, either.

The fact is, the silk versus real dilemma is more confusing than ever, thanks in part due to the increasing sophistication — and accompanying cost — of silk and latex flowers. To navigate this new terrain, we interviewed Paul Ajao, a professional florist and cofounder of Pure Botanics, a UK-based floral designer who specializes in weddings.

You keep hearing that silk flowers have gotten “better and better.” Yet when you go to the local craft store, they look just about as artificial as ever. Where are these super-realistic flowers, and how can a bride get her hands on them?

It’s true that artificial flowers have improved. But the quality varies widely from brand to brand. In addition to craft stores, take a look at which brands your local florists are using. After all, their reputation depends on delivering a beautiful result. Also, they might be able to order in artificial flowers for you — ones that you can’t get in the craft
stores.

One brand with a great reputation that florists use regularly is Sia, which you can find in the UK, US and Australia.

Is it true that artificial flowers photograph poorly? And does that include the high-end latex type?

When you take close-ups of artificial flowers, yes, it can be pretty obvious that the flowers aren’t real. But this depends a lot on the quality of the artificial flowers you’ve used.

Remember that any shiny surfaces may cause the camera flash to “bounce,” which looks pretty unnatural for flowers. The common off-the-shelf flowers can be pretty shiny.

One argument for silk flowers is that fresh flowers are seasonal, but some florists are suggesting that season isn’t so important these days — that almost everything can be imported all year round. Are you finding this to be true?

Well, some of the most common cut flowers, such as roses, gerberas (gerber daisies) and orchids, are available all year round. So you don’t have to worry about seasonality with these flowers.

But others, like peonies, lily of the valley and ranunculus, have a definite season. Expect to pay more if you buy out of season. And the quality may not be as good.

Just to illustrate how important season can be: a florist we know planned her whole wedding around the very brief time in spring when lily of the valley was in season, so she could use fresh!

What’s your personal feelings on silk vs. artificial flowers? As a professional florist, would you mix them in arrangements — for example, use silk for the super-pricy flowers like calla lilies or orchids?

Personally, we love working with real flowers. But it’s true that silk definitely comes with some advantages. For starters:

- They won’t wilt.
- They’re a lasting memento of your big day.
- They’re easy to transport if you’re getting married abroad.
- You can prepare them long in advance.

The last point’s important if you’re preparing flowers yourself. By their nature, you have to arrange fresh flowers the day before the wedding at the earliest — and usually the morning of. This doesn’t leave you much time to switch gears if you aren’t happy with the results. On the other hand, you can experiment with and arrange silk flowers weeks in advance. That leaves you plenty of time to relax and pamper yourself in the run up to your wedding!

And yes, you can mix artificial and real flowers with great results. A friend of ours loves ranunculus and wanted them in a mixed bouquet with roses and gerberas. Unfortunately, ranunculus was out of season for her wedding date, and would have cost a lot. So she opted to tuck artificial ranunculus into a fresh bouquet. The results, and the photos, were beautiful.

Anything else you want to add?

Contrary to popular opinion, don’t think that silk flowers are always going to be cheaper than real. Many of the quality ones are as expensive as the real thing — if not more.

Paul Ajao is co-founder of Pure Botanics, located in Coventry, central England, UK. Blake Kritzberg edits FavorIdeas.com. Stop by for garden wedding favors.

THE NEED TO PROTECT DOCUMENTS AND ID

In a post 9/11 world – the heightened need to secure a nation’s transportation system and borders has focussed the attention of governments, immigration offices and civil administrators on ways to improve security. Exploding identity theft and fraud and the continued used of counterfeit documents such as drivers licences to obtain alcohol, obtain firearms or to open bank accounts for money laundering have further underlined the need for improved document security and increased vigilance.

John D. Brown, Chairman of Light Impressions International Ltd, a leading worldwide producer and supplier of optical anti-counterfeiting devices says that a disturbing trend towards the use and manufacture of counterfeit identification continues. The most common form of counterfeit primary identification used by criminals and terrorists is passports, followed by other forms of identification such as identity cards, visas and drivers licences. Secondary forms of identification used to obtain primary ID, termed breeder documents, and found by law enforcement representatives on criminals includes birth certificates and marriage certificates.

With more than 10 million false ID’s (driver licences, etc) seized in the US alone in 2003, authorities need to consider new security solutions and anti-counterfeiter product providers must continually innovate -in order to stay one step ahead of the counterfeiter.

Security holograms have become established in many industries, they also increasingly employed in helping to protect documents such as passports, visas, driver’s licences and birth certificates.

Holograms success at deterring fraud in the past has been difficult to dispute, their physical properties make them impossible to produce with any accuracy on desktop publishing equipment. At the same time their visual appeal has been tough to question. Given that the majority of counterfeiters usually choose the path of least resistance, a security hologram will likely cause them to move to easier targets.

Light Impressions International’s John D. Brown says however that there is no room for complacency, counterfeit holograms have been detected on products and though poorly produced there is just a chance in a million that a tired document inspector could allow a counterfeit through.

Recent in-house developments in the field of high resolution DOVID devices at Light Impressions has resulted in new fabrication techniques, enabling the company to deliver ultra-secure optical anti-counterfeiting devices such as HiMax®

HiMax® offers the highest resolution and maximum security for government documents, tax seals and banknotes, etc. HiMax® is fabricated using non-optical technology and is only available through Light Impressions. Unlike conventional holograms, HiMax® is directly written line-by-line and its resolution is not limited by the diffraction constraints of conventional holography. The special profiling allows greater visibility in adverse lighting conditions and from light scattering substrates. This makes it particularly suitable for protecting security critical documents. HiMax® offers artwork resolution of 16,000.000 diffractive pixels per square inch and selected regions of Nano-text and Nano-graphics with line widths of just 200 nanometers. The verification of such features is achieved forensically and provides guaranteed authentication assurance.

The introduction of HiMax® succeeds in pushing the performance window for holography still further, providing optimum security for the highest value documents.

Currently more than one billion products and documents are protected annually using Light Impressions technology; offering a ‘one-stop’ supplier solution the company, a founder member of the International Hologram Manufacturers Association also offer ClearGuard for travel and ID documents; RAP Ready Authenticated Paper – for cost effective roll fed production of security documents and RAD Ready Authenticated Documents – for cost effective sheet fed production of security documents.

Light Impressions International’s anti-counterfeiting devices have been used on bank notes and all types of sensitive documents. Products such as BrandMax® are used to protect the brand image on a wide range of commercial products and packaging. Further information is available from www.lightimpressions.com

Light Impressions International Ltd 5 Mole Business Park 3, Leatherhead Surrey, KT22 7BA

by Alan Harris