Monday, December 24, 2012

SEO Master Expert Reveals New Advanced Techniques in SEO


SEO master expert shares his views with MEST Education on new advanced SEO and SMM techniques

Online businesses in India are growing at a rapid pace. The fast paced world of online marketing demands the webmasters to research and stay up-to-date with not only existing, but also all the forthcoming SEO and SMM trends.

As part of his research, the well known SEO Master Expert and Trainer, Swapan Kumar has devised a new online marketing strategy combining the power of SEO and SMM techniques.

There are great benefits of combining SEO and SMM techniques, which many companies don't fully utilize, says Swapan Kumar, who has been working closely with a number of businesses in India, helping them achieve first page rankings with impressive ROIs.

Implementing a search engine optimization program with little or poor social media marketing is throwing money down the drain. Not knowing the missing link between the optimized content and SMM many companies incur huge losses on their e-commerce and other online ventures, added the SEO master expert.

When looking for SEO India service, SEO India company, or SEO India agency, his advice to businesses is to insist on an online marketing program that takes content optimization and social media optimization together.

The SEO trainer and founder of SEOMasterExpert.com added, Creating useful social content such as blogs, videos, images, and audio, making it available on social media platforms, making it searchable through search engines, and finally shared by millions of potential customers is a powerful way to reach an audience and improve a brand's visibility.
 

Monday, December 17, 2012

Ten tips for a healthy, holistic holiday

Make this holiday season one you really enjoy and feel good about, and during. Why wait until January to slough off bad habits and to start doing what will make you joyful and inspired? Joy ought to be what the holidays are all about! Try out these techniques, and go find some now!

1. Breathe, deeply and with your belly.
When someone tells you in the heat of the moment “to take a deep breath,” it can sound condescending. But if you seriously start the day with deep breathing, even just a few minutes, maybe those moments won’t get so heated. Belly breathing activates the parasympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system to help you calm. If you breathe only into your chest instead, the sympathetic branch stays engaged, putting you in a near-constant state of fight-or-flight. So breathe into your belly even before you get out of bed, or before you make breakfast, in front of a candle, under a tree (or next to the tree in your living room), or every time you hit “Send” or “Post.” You’ll be amazed how much happier your body will be for the extra oxygen.

2. Leave the sugar to someone else
Yes, Virginia, it is possible to go an entire holiday season consuming no sugar whatsoever. But the suggestion here is simply that you stop using it in anything you make, drink or eat. If there are so many goodies out in the world, and if you know you won’t abstain or be able to keep the kids from overindulging, then just be sure not to add any yourself. If you must bake sweets, experiment with using honey, molasses, or maple syrup, or stevia. Or coconut flakes. Or just a lot of applesauce and some extra spices and natural vanilla flavor. Be the person who brings something to the party that won’t make the kids go crazy. Load it with nuts if there are no allergies and let the richness of those sustain you blood sugar levels. Sugar not only causes up and down mood swings and contributes to sleep problems, but it can also weaken your immune system and make you more likely to catch the cold of that snotty kid running through your neighbor’s living room.

3. Let go of negative emotions
If you’ve never heard of Emotional Freedom Technique, prepare to be wowed. This technique of tapping certain spots on your body can seriously make some of those annoying things that have weighed on you for years – frustrating conversations, stupid mistakes, hurtful words – just melt into thin air. A newer technique called WHEE (a combination of EFT and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing, or EMDR)  is even easier: you simply tap yourself on your forehead alternating your index and middle fingers while you affirm that “Even though” you feel (whatever emotion), you love and honor yourself. Be sure to rate your level of the feeling before you start (1-10) so that you stop when you notice the level has gone down to zero or the feeling has shifted to something else. It may sound too good to be true, but watch videos online and get ready to meet your new self without all that baggage.

4. Go to bed by 10 p.m.
It’s tempting to stay up late shopping online, wrapping, baking, or visiting with family. But our bodies really do need to do important work in the night, and they need us to be sleeping to do it effectively. The liver and gallbladder need to detox, but they can’t do that effectively if you are engaged in activity. There’s a whole lot of interesting chemistry related to times of rest and even seeing lights after a certain hour. (Give your pineal gland the rest it wants and turn off the tablet after dark!)  

And, as tough as it may seem, try to keep kids’ bedtimes relatively stable and as early as you can. The book NurtureShock makes a powerful case for consistency and for adequate sleep. Even losing a half-hour for a few days in a row can dramatically alter how kids perform on tests. Imagine, then, how they must feel. Talk about sleep as something they are so lucky they get to do! Isn’t it true we all wish we didn’t have so much work and responsibility that we could spend more time sleeping? Help your children value rest!

5. Stop eating by 8 p.m.
It might seem like some kind of sacrilege to suggest, but your body will thank you if you let it do its nighttime rituals of cleansing without having to instead digest a whole bunch of new food. Ayurvedic practitioners might even say to stop by 6 or 7 p.m., but 8:00 seems reasonable, doesn’t it? Eat what you want, even a lot if you have to get yourself out of a nighttime snacking habit. But then Just. Be. Done. You may be surprised to find yourself sleeping better. It might feel good right away or take your body a few days to adjust, but before long it will just be what you do.

6. Eat with intention
Okay, so maybe there is a theme here. It’s about fully enjoying what you’re doing rather than doing it to get by or just because you are distracted or frustrated. This is especially important with food, because what we put in really does become who we are. If you’ve got an emotional attachment going on with, say, eating and stress, try EFT (see above), but if it’s just a matter of habit, just pay attention and start a new habit. Chew enough and slowly enough that your body gets the signal it’s full. Sit and eat and only eat so that your body can use its energy to digest. If it gets the signal that there is stress afoot – like, say, that a bear is chasing you – your body is not thinking to itself, “Let me break down this food.” Instead it’s saying, “Let’s pump the adrenaline so that we survive to make it another day!” Drink only a little – and nothing iced or cold – with food so that your digestive juices don’t get diluted or the digestive process stalled by having to bring everything up to body temperature.

7. Limit screen time
Whether you or your kids have sensory issues or not, everyone can benefit from a little less blinking on the boob tube, especially at a time when there are so many extra things to take in, from decorations to performances to tasty treats. It might seem like relaxation to sit in front of the TV, but give your senses a rest and watch only what is really important to you. At other times, light a candle, read a book, play a board game, draw a picture or, have a simple conversation, if you must have some kind of input, just listen to some music if you don’t have the means to play an instrument yourself.

8. Move your body
Some people say you need to exercise a minimum number of consecutive minutes per day; others tell you multitask your muscle-time and just walk further in parking lots and do squats each time you pick up something for the floor. How about instead you just make the commitment to spend some time – even five minutes – just moving your body and not trying to accomplish anything else. Whether you sweat or not doesn’t matter. Just get outside, or on the stairs, or on a bouncer, or on your yoga mat, and tell yourself this is a gift. If you do it every day, it will start to become something you look forward to, and then you can try to up the minutes or set greater goals.

9. Get outside
Even if the gym or your treadmill at home are what gets you moving your body in any kind of weather, do make sure that you also have some connection with the natural world. Studies show that spending time in nature can improve mood and concentration and provide a whole lot of other great benefits. You don’t need to read a research report to see for yourself. Even if you just get to the local park to shuffle through leaves or to sled down your neighbor’s hill, make sure you spend some time without walls around you.

10. Say thank you
Showing gratitude is not just the domain of lofty quotes by revered thinkers; it is an everyday act that can totally shift how you feel and how others around you feel. If people feel appreciated by you, they feel better and go out to spread the good karma. We might be in the habit of thanking people for gifts or for having us over to their home (and if we aren’t, start now!), but we can also develop the habit of showing gratitude for their very existence. It’s fun to practice: say thank you to every person you can for anything you can think of. Start with the cashier, the people who hold the door and other usual suspects. But go on to thank the people who do volunteer work, even if they do it all the time, and anyone who performs any action that in any way makes your life easier or more enjoyable.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Tips for eating healthy during holiday season

First there’s Thanksgiving.

Turkey, pie, stuffing, cranberries, pie, ham, broccoli casserole, pie… the list of foods that add to the waistline drags on and on.

Now, a week removed from the first holiday of the holiday season, we’re in the early stages of a month-long engorging.

Parties are planned on every weekend, while those tins with three kinds of popcorn – cheese, caramel and butter – come out from hibernation.

And cookies. Oh, man, those cookies.

“It’s continuous for weeks and weeks,” said Carol Reeder, a registered and licensed dietician at Jennie Edmundson Hospital. “How do you get out of that rut?”

Reeder said unhealthy eating is a staple of the holidays – “We know we’ll eat more calories” – and the key is counteracting with physical activity.

“Get out and walk – we don’t have any excuses lately, we’ve had great weather,” she said.

Or go to the gym.

“It’s calories in, calories out. If you’re going to eat food high in calories – those holiday favorites – then you have to get out and burn those calories,” said Barb Fuller, a nutrition and health program specialist for Iowa State University Extension and Outreach who covers southwest Iowa.

Fuller noted treadmills, stationary bicycles and other cardiovascular machines as a good option, especially when temperatures drop. And if a person has room in their home, a workout video is a great way to trim calories.

At those holiday parties, if they’re potluck, Reeder suggested bringing a healthy dish – fruit, or a vegetable tray. Use fat free sour cream when combining a packet of seasoning for dip. Make sure salad dressings and gravy are on the side and limit portions to a tablespoon.

Vegetables and fruits, along with whole grains, are key.

“Try to make sure half your plate are those items,” Reeder said.

Fuller passed along these “top ten survival tips.”

- Eat a light, healthy snack before a party. This will help you curb your hunger and make better choices.
- Limit alcohol. Enjoy one alcoholic drink, and then switch to diet soda or flavored water.

- Bring a low-fat holiday dish to the party, maybe some fruit or raw veggies.

- Keep minimal baked goods on hand. Only bake enough to give away or use for one party.

- Eat a large salad or hot broth based soup before a meal. This helps keep you full longer.

- Substitute healthier ingredients, replacing or reducing fat and sugar in baked goods.

- Make a goal with a friend to lose five pounds or to maintain weight during the holidays. This way you have a valuable support buddy.

- Remember the holidays are truly only 3 days. This means if you blow it on those three days, you won’t cause much damage. It is the vicious cycle of not enough exercise and too many calories on the other days that cause weight gain through the year.

- Sign up for a 5K or a fitness walk or other event to keep you focused on physical activity.

- Finally celebrate and focus on what the holidays are really about - family and friends. Find creative activities or ways to get your family to play a game or be active instead of eating. Pick a time to get together that does not involve a meal.

“It all comes down to a little planning ahead and sticking to your goals,” Fuller said. “Not just saying ‘ahh, it’s the holidays I’ll eat all this and gain 10 pounds.’”
 

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Cream Of Australia Aims To Rise To The Top In Adelaide

Riders in the northern hemisphere may have packed up for their winter break, but it’s all go at the other side of the world as competitors prepare for their premier event, Australia’s International 3 Day Event in Adelaide, the second leg of the HSBC FEI Classics™ 2012/2013.

The Australian event offers them a chance to get a foothold on the leaderboard for the valuable HSBC FEI Classics™, in which last year’s Adelaide winner, Stuart Tinney (AUS), secured fifth place in the overall standings for the 2011/2012 season.

This year, Tinney, an Olympic gold medallist in 2000, rides the 14-year-old grey Pluto Mio, recent winner of the Goulburn CIC3*.

Two members of Australia’s 2008 Olympic silver medal team are competing: Shane Rose, who rides APH Moritz, second behind Pluto Mio at Goulburn and a recent winner of Berrima CIC3*, and Megan Jones.

Jones rides the veteran Kirby Park Irish Jester, the horse on which she won her Olympic medal, and also a team bronze at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games™ and four FEI World Cup™ Eventing competitions. The diminutive grey gelding is now 19.

There are seven CCI4* first-timers, one of whom will take home the HSBC Training Bursary worth US$1,000 for the best CCI4* début. One of the group is Craig Barrett, husband of the Australian team coach Prue Barrett, riding Sandhills Brillaire and Wendela Jamie.

The all Australian field will come before a Ground Jury led by Christian Landolt (SUI) as president, who is joined by Marilyn Payne (USA) and Vicky Brydon (AUS). Alec Lochore (GBR), who directed the Eventing competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games, will act as Technical Delegate.

The event, directed by double Olympic gold medallist Gill Rolton, literally stops the traffic, as the Cross Country takes place in the city centre, in Victoria Park, where Course Designer Wayne Copping is sure to have built another spectacular thriller.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Obama signals he's putting climate change on back burner

The fact that climate change got some attention at Wednesday’s presidential press conference could be viewed as progress by environmentalists, after they watched the issue go virtually ignored during the just-concluded campaign.

President Obama made many of the right sounds for activists on the issue. In response to a question from the New York Times’s Mark Landler, Obama said America must “make sure that this is not something we're passing on to future generations, that's going to be very expensive and very painful to deal with.”
But the president also signaled that reducing carbon emissions comes nowhere near the top of his agenda, at least as he looks forward to the start of his second term.

Obama repeatedly hammered away during the 50-minute session on the impending “fiscal cliff” and his support of tax increases for the wealthy. He said he saw “incredibly encouraging” signs for comprehensive immigration reform. But when Landler asked about reducing carbon emissions, Obama only talked about big challenges and the need for more dialogue.

“Understandably, I think the American people right now have been so focused and will continue to be focused on our economy and jobs and growth,” Obama said, “that if the message is somehow we're going to ignore jobs and growth simply to address climate change, I don't think anybody is going to go for that.  I won't go for that.”

This is the same president who, in his first term, talked expansively about how clean-energy “green” jobs could be the key to not only environmental progress but to job creation. On Tuesday, Obama talked only in the broadest terms about initiating a “conversation” with scientists, engineers and elected officials to try to find areas for progress.

He said he would look for “bipartisan support” to try to move the issue forward. It’s hard to imagine where that support would come from, since many Republicans in Congress refuse to even acknowledge that global temperature increases can be tied to human activity.

When reporter Landler said it sounded like there was no consensus to move forward, Obama did not disagree. Instead, he turned the question back to his theme of the day.

“Look, we're still trying to debate whether we can just make sure that middle-class families don't get a tax hike,” the president said. He said that is where his focus would remain for the foreseeable future. 

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Election 2012: Obama Wins Pennsylvania and Its Latino Vote

Obama PA Win.jpg
President Barack Obama claimed victory in the Keystone state Tuesday night and its 20 electoral votes, thanks in part to Pennsylvania’s Latino voters.

According to Fox News exit polls conducted in the state, Obama claimed 82 percent of Pennsylvania’s Latin voters. The Hispanic population in the so-called battleground state is about 7 percent.

Fox News also reported that Obama claimed 54 percent of the vote in Pennsylvania, with Romney grabbing 45 percent after just under 70 percent of the votes were reported.

Pennsylvania had been considered to be in Obama's column for much of the campaign. But in recent days, as polls appeared to narrow, Mitt Romney's campaign saw an opportunity. There was a late advertising blitz for Romney, and the candidate added visits to Pennsylvania Sunday and again on Election Day.

Former President Bill Clinton also spent the last days of the campaign in Pennsylvania trying to get out the vote for Obama. 

Democrat, Sen. Bob Casey, has also won another term in Pennsylvania.

Democrat Bob Casey has won a second term in the United States Senate, defeating his well-financed Republican challenger, Tom Smith, according to a projection by the Associated Press.

Several TV networks have also called the race for Casey, 52, who is now the winner of five consecutive statewide elections, including two for auditor general and one for state treasurer.

Smith, a coal-mining millionaire from rural Armstrong County in Western Pennsylvania, spent at least $17 million of his own money on the race.

Early on, Casey had seemed a prohibitive favorite, but Smith's money - together with help from national conservative organizations - made Casey sweat coming down the stretch.

Voters in Indiana have rejected one of the two Republican Senate candidates whose campaigns ran into trouble because of comments about rape and abortion. Democrat Joe Donnelly defeated Republican Richard Mourdock, who slipped in the polls after saying during a debate that when a woman who is raped becomes pregnant, it's what "God intended."

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

My visit to golf's mecca, Bandon Dunes

For years, friends who were avid golfers told me I had to visit the “mecca.” 

Last week, I did. 

My two-day trip to Bandon Resort gave me a new appreciation for the Wonderful World of Golf.
I played Bandon Dunes and Pacific Dunes, the two oldest courses. I eyeballed Bandon Trails and Bandon Preserve, the latter the par-3 course that opened in May. I didn’t get to see Old MacDonald, the latest of the four full-scale courses that have made Bandon the target of golf aficionados throughout the world. Next time.
Full disclosure: My greens fees were complimentary, provided along with lodging at “The Inn” by B.R. Koehnemann, Bandon’s director of communications, who doesn’t have to worry about buying “positive” media coverage. The entire experience sells itself. 

I’m not a fan of “links” courses, the station-to-station tracks designed along the lines of the Scottish and Irish courses revered by so many in the golfing game. The shaved fairways make it nice for a player who likes to putt from 50 feet off the green, but very difficult to hit an iron shot off a surface as hard as Ray Lewis’ forearms. 

In August, I played a links course, Chambers Bay near Tacoma, the already famed course that is set to play host to the 2015 U.S. Open. Didn’t much care for it, and panned it in my Tribune review. The fairways were mostly brown and rock-hard and, in some cases, just rock and dirt. I didn’t think it was in very good shape. There was a nice view of the bay, but no holes directly on the water, far too many bunkers, and the rest of the scenery didn’t move me. What to expect, I guess, from a course built atop what was once a quarry.
Bandon was much a different story. But first, some history on how Bandon Dunes Golf Resort came to be.
Mike Keiser, the owner and developer, is a Chicago resident who made his fortune as co-founder of Recycled Paper Greetings, a greeting cards company. Keiser, now in his late 60s, had played college golf at Amherst and loves the game. Sometime in the 1980s, he made it a goal to build a public course that could be the next Pebble Beach, or the Pinehurst of the West. 

Keiser’s pal, Howard McKee, was an architect and land planner, though not a golfer. Keiser sent McKee, who had lived for a short time in Portland, on a mission to find a suitable plot of land — hopefully near the ocean in California or Oregon. Keiser, incidentally, had never been to Oregon. 

The initial piece of land, 1,215 acres, was purchased for $2.4 million in 1991. Keiser soon bought 400 more acres northward for an additional $2.3 million. Ironically, the land was covered with gorse, a thorn, prickly plant indigenous to the United Kingdom that had been introduced to Bandon many years earlier by an Irishman. 

Bandon Dunes opened in 1999. Pacific Dunes joined the ranks in 2001, followed by Bandon Trails in 2005 and Old MacDonald — named for C.B. MacDonald, a Chicago native and the first American who called himself a golf course architect — in 2010. 

My drive to Bandon, along Interstate-5 before cutting over to Highway 38 through Reedsport and Coos Bay, covered four hours and five minutes with little traffic on a Wednesday morning. It’s a pleasant drive on a sunny day through forest and farm land along the Coquille River before arriving on the Bandon Resort property north of the coastal town. 

The final mile takes you on a wooded path to the secluded spot along the ocean chosen by McKee. There are no homes bordering any of the courses and, I am told, there never will be. 

There are also no carts to be used by golfers, or cart paths, on the premises. It would spoil the purity of the round as enjoyed by those who initially played the game. 

As Keiser noted in the testimonial book, “Dream Golf,” written by Stephen Goodwin, “I wasn’t interested in commercial golf. I was interested in dream golf.” 

Even so, the Bandon Resort is profitable, with greens fees from $75 to $275 for each of its courses and revenue flowing freely at the on-site lodging quarters, restaurants and lounges. (Oregonians get a special golf rate during the “shoulder” season from November to April.) 

“Business is good,” Koehnemann tells me. “We’re in the right kind of marketplace right now. We fit nicely into the national golf scene.” 

A shuttle bus takes you from the lodge or your living quarters to all the courses and the practice center, where I stop to hit a few balls. Most of my 20 or so practice balls are well-struck and straight. Funny how that happens. 

My first round is at Pacific Dunes on a sunny afternoon. I’m told the Bandon golf experience isn’t complete unless the wind is blowing. It comes into play, for sure, on this day, though a caddy tells me the wind today is only “moderate. You should have seen it yesterday.” 

The winds are gusting to maybe 25 miles per hour, meaning if it’s in your face, you’re adding two or three clubs. And if it’s blowing sideways, a ball you directed at the left side winds up way over there on the right.
I join partners Dennis, an examiner for the Securities and Exchange Commission from Washington D.C., and Lawrence, a lawyer out of Houston, with caddies Larry and Brian. Dennis has gone for the full Monty during his week in Oregon, playing Pumpkin Ridge, Salishan and all four Bandon courses. 

Dennis, a 12-handicapper, chooses to play from the green, or middle, tees. Lawrence does, too. Thinking I’ll wade into the shallow water first, I hit from the gold, or front, tees. The game is hard enough for a 20-handicapper. (Memo to Lawrence: play from the golds next time.) 

Even with the winds, Pacific Dunes is a joy to play. There are plenty of deep bunkers and the omnipresent gorse are a problem whenever you stray off the fairway. I’m off course a lot but manage to play my trouble shots well enough to have only two blow-ups holes. 

The greens are fast and, on this day, being sanded, an adventure I could have done without. Virtually every hole is a test that requires concentration. Some of the holes are forgiving, and you can usually play out of the rough, but stay out of there if you can. 

The scenery is spectacular as advertised, with four holes along the water, including Nos. 10 and 11 — back-to-back 3s that provide breath-taking ocean views. The looping route, unlike on most courses, never takes you back to the clubhouse until the final hole. 

Pacific Dunes, a little shorter than Bandon Dunes, is a par-71 with seven par-4s on the front side and only two par-4s on the back side. Pacific is more hilly than Bandon, with plenty of up and down and some great views from the clifftops of the entire course. 

I manage five pars during my round, lose only two balls and finish at 47-47—94 — glad to break 100. Steady Dennis shoots 83. Lawrence, a smile on his face throughout the day, is more concerned with taking photos of the scene than keeping score. We get around in four hours on a day when traffic is only medium busy. 

I wake to bright sun on Thursday morning, but by the time I tee off at 11:40 a.m., heavy fog has rolled in. Our threesome has one caddy, Josh, a 20-year-old West Linn native, who ably serves as a seeing-eye dog until the fog lightens midway through the round. 

My partners are both from Vermont — John, a financial analyst, and Brian, a dentist. They are excellent players and choose the black tees. I muster up some courage and hit from the greens. 

The Vermonters are deeply disappointed the fog is robbing them of an ocean view. Over the first few holes, we can hear the ocean roar, but can’t see clearly beyond 50 yards or so. Midway through the round, when the fog eases, they delight at holes wrapping the water and spend time soaking in the experience.
There are a half-dozen holes oceanside, with the par-3 15th probably my favorite. Nos. 4, 5 and 6 are all located along cliffs that provide a dazzling look downward. What a chunk of land on which to place a golf course, I find myself thinking. 

More of the greens here seem hard and more spotty than at Pacific. With the wind and the weather conditions, they must be a bear to maintain. Part of the problem, Koehnemann explains, is the desire to have fescue grass. Over a period of time, poa works its way into the system. 

“We’re fighting the poa grass battle,” he says. “We want our greens to be pure fescue. It’s something we’re constantly up against. We’ve made some changes in our agronomy practices over the last couple of years that have allowed us to focus on making sure the greens are void of poa and all fescue.” 

On both courses — especially Bandon — fairways are well-maintained and not cut quite as short as at Chambers Bay. A good player can get his iron through the ball. I’m on and off with that, but manage to hit some true iron and hybrid shots through my round. 

I shoot another 47 on the front side but get it together on the back side as I finally begin to figure out the fast greens, finishing at 41 for 88 on the par-72 layout. The round is slower — 4 1/2 hours, in part due to the fog — but we are slowed by the group ahead of us only a couple of times. 

I like Pacific Dunes better than Bandon Dunes, but Bandon doesn’t get a fair shake because of the foggy conditions. I ask a dozen players for their preference and get a 6-6 split, which doesn’t surprise me. They’re both rather splendid. 

Golf Magazine currently rates all four Bandon courses among its top 15 for public courses in the U.S. — Pacific Dunes No. 1, Bandon Dunes No. 8, Old MacDonald No. 9 and Bandon Trails No. 15.
Golf Digest has it Pacific Dunes No. 2 (behind Pebble Beach), Bandon Dunes No. 5 and Bandon Trails No. 14. Koehnemann says Old MacDonald, open for only two years, won’t be eligible for Golf Digest’s top 100 until 2014. 

Bandon seems a men’s retreat. Over two days, I see only a handful of women players. Caddies are all over the place. During the peak season, 360 caddies are registered, a higher number than at any public course other than Pinehurst, Koehnemann tells me. 

The Preserve is 13 holes of par-3 golf that looks like a miniature version of the other courses. It’s a non-profit venture, with net proceeds going to the Wild Rivers Coast Lines, which fund environmental organizations. It is expected to generate $750,000 in proceeds this year alone. 

“To play 36 holes (of regular golf) in a day is too much for a lot of people,” Koehnemann says. “Now, you can play 18 in the morning, take a break, eat lunch and then go play the Preserve.” 

Keiser’s next project is “Bandon Muni,” a 27-hole project on property south of the town of Bandon. It’s contingent on a land-swap deal that between Keiser and the State Parks Department. Oregon natives would pay nominal greens fees — somewhere between $20 to $25 to start — while out-of-staters would pay the full resort fees. 

“We have a robust junior caddie and golf program,” Koehnemann says. “That would be the hub of our junior golf.” 

Bandon has played host to a number of major national public events, including the 2005 Curtis Cup, the 2006 Mid-Amateur and the 2011 Men’s and Women’s Amateur Publinks Championships. I suggest to Koehnemann it would be a more fitting spot for the Ryder Cup or U.S. Open than would Chambers Bay. He says it’s not going to happen. 

“Mr. Keiser is committed to growing the amateur game,” Koehneman says. “We would jump at the opportunity to host a higher-profile event such as the U.S. Amateur or the Walker Cup, but we have no bids to announce at this time.” 

Fair enough. Leave the courses for the public to enjoy for now. Bandon is a treasure, even for those of us who play the game as it was never meant to be played.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Ryan blasts NFL replacement refs ... and Obama

Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan woke up Tuesday with a bone to pick after watching what many are calling an NFL debacle.

"I got to start off on something that was really troubling that occurred last night. Did you guys watch that Packer game last night? I mean, give me a break," an exasperated Ryan said.

This being a presidential campaign, Ryan swiftly made a connection with his grievances against the Obama administration.

"It reminds me of President Obama and the economy. If you can't get it right, it is time to get out," Ryan continued.

"I half think these refs work part-time for the Obama administration in the Budget Office. They see the national debt clock starring them in the face, they see a debt crisis and they just ignore and pretend it didn't even happen. They are trying to pick the winners and losers and they don't even do that very well."

After their collective bargaining agreement expired earlier this year, the NFL's pro refs were replaced with "elite" retired college officials, officials from smaller non-BCS conferences, and some officials from the Arena League.

The NFL and representatives of the locked out referees remain divided on annual salaries and pension plans.
Fans have been decrying bad calls ever since the season started but the furor reached a fever pitch after Monday night's game when the Green Bay Packers lost to the Seattle Seahawks on a controversial call on the last play of the game -- a desperation pass that many thought was an interception but was ruled a touchdown.

All joking aside -- with his comments, Ryan, an unabashed Green Bay Packers fan, injected himself into an ongoing labor dispute.

"Like all football fans, he just wants the two sides to find a resolution soon, campaign spokesman Brendan Buck told Fox News. "Like before yesterday."

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Online Marketing & Search Engine Optimization Executive Future Group

1. Report to and co-ordinate with all necessary departments including brands and technical department and marketing team to implement, and continually improve E-Marketing mechanics.
2. Maintain and support E-marketing activity which should be reflected on business flow, B2C & B2B activities.
3. Test and analyze keywords, titles and other factors.
4. Research and evaluate competitors paid search marketing efforts and identify new search opportunities.
5. Find solutions to increase free traffic to the companys site through optimization of website pages, E-Marketing and Social Media activities.
6. Search engine and directory submissions.
7. Strategic link building development.
8. Ongoing SEO research and development.
9. Implement on-page & off-page optimization techniques to all pages of all brand websites.
10. Monitor and report on activities completed each day/week.

Skills

1. A degree in information technology or a related field is preferable.
2. Minimum 3 years affiliate in E-marketing and SEO experience. 3. Online marketing, SEO, Social Media and web design skills.
4. Programming knowledge is a plus but not a requirement.
5. Should have knowledge about how the various Internet search engines function, pay per click handling, web stat programs and be comfortable with web design in WordPress and working with codes.
6. Ability to multitasking and meet tight deadlines.

Company Profile

Future Group is a multinational company established in 1994 & specialized in software internationalization and localization existing in USA, UK, UAE, South Africa, Malaysia, Poland, Turkey and Egypt. We are proud to be the 1st localization company in the Middle East and North Africa.

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Health tips for the latter half of the year

The long days of summer will begin to wane before we know it, and before that happens it’s important to consider the health opportunities that autumn offers us. Being healthy is not just about what we eat or don’t eat. It’s about a whole-body approach to well-being, including our thoughts, emotions and general lifestyles. And autumn is the ideal time to think about where we are, where we want to go and how to let go of the old – our internal well-being welcomes change when the leaves are changing colour and falling to the ground in the cyclical nature of the seasons. 

Preparation reaps benefits

Taking time to really think about our well-being is a weak link in our modern society, in which we are often bombarded with opportunities, fraught with decisions to make, and disconnected from others and nature through our individual quest for identity, our place in society and so much rushing around to get things done. By nurturing the special characteristics of each season, we ensure that we reap their benefits and can move through the whole year with optimal vitality. Spending some time in autumn to prepare our mental and physical health for the winter allows us to avoid the flu, colds, coughs, congestion as well as mental fogginess, depression and the winter blues (seasonal affective disorder or ‘SAD’). 

Relayed in China

According to the Chinese elements, autumn is the season associated with our lungs and large intestine. Those of you (the majority reading this, I would imagine) who suffer from the typical winter ills would do well to nurture these organs now to ensure vibrant health throughout winter. Preparation is key.

A healthy set of lungs

Our lungs allow us to receive life-giving energy – taking a deep breath is the first thing we do when we are born and the last thing we do as we die. Physical symptoms of lung imbalance manifest as shortness of breath, asthma, coughing, headaches, a stuffy nose and skin conditions (such as spots, boils, dry skin, etc). Emotionally, it is not uncommon at this time of year to feel somewhat disconnected or disorientated.  

Large intestine, large responsibility

Our large intestine’s main responsibility is to eliminate waste from the body. This ‘garbage collector’ needs to do its job properly or we become overloaded with toxins. Sub-optimal elimination manifests in bowel problems (such as diarrhoea, vomiting, bloating and constipation) and feelings of sadness. Everyone would benefit from avoiding the pizza, ice cream and barbeques that filled our bellies over the summer months. Instead, think about fresh, seasonal, home-cooked food.

Walk tall, don’t fall 

If you usually experience some of the symptoms mentioned above or are already experiencing them, don’t worry it’s still possible to take advantage of autumn and optimise your vitality for a healthy winter! Here are a few tips for prospering during and beyond the season.

Get outside and breathe deeply – take in the fresh autumn air to oxygenate your cells.

Exercise to keep things moving through your intestine and help the waste make its way out. Set up and get comfortable with an exercise routine that you can stick with throughout the winter. Now is a good time to create schedules.

A sensible intake

Slow-cook foods at a low heat and add more sour flavours to your meals (try apple-cider vinegar, lemon, lime or sour plums).

To combat dryness (you will notice if you are thirsty, have dry skin/nose/throat/lips), eat more spinach, barley (byg in Danish), short-grain brown rice (you would benefit from soaking these and all grains beforehand to absorb more water and make them more readily digestible), millet (hirse), pears, nuts and healthy fats (such as olive oil, avocado and organic butter).

Reduce your intake of mucous-forming foods to prevent nasal congestion, lung-related symptoms, foggy brain and slow/congested digestion. The main offenders are: dairy, bananas and gluten (from wheat and all wheat derivatives such as spelt, kamut and couscous; rye, barley and oats also contain a small amount).
Add immune-boosting foods to your diet with fermented foods such as miso, sauerkraut and kefir. How about swapping your morning coffee for a cup of antioxidant-rich green tea?  

And the least popular tip ...

Get to bed early. We’d all like the long hours of summer daylight to continue, but your body is getting ready to gear down for the winter (just as many animals prepare to hibernate). Heed the call of longer nights and get moreshut-eye than you did during the summer months.

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Obama Is Already Blowing His Second Chance at Selling Health-Care Reform

With just over four months to go before the election, and Republicans ravening to make health care a frontline issue, the Obama campaign still appears to be pursuing a "wishful thinking" strategy. They are simply wishing that the Affordable Care Act, the president's signature domestic achievement, would go away now that the Supreme Court has delivered what they hope is a "final answer," to quote White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew. "I don't think the American people want to have this debate again," Lew said on Fox News Sunday, reflecting the "let's move on" approach reported by National Journal's Major Garrett, among others. 

But the Republican Party clearly does intend to have this debate, all the way into November, and Lew's tepid talking-points are a warning sign that the White House is, yet again, surrendering the message war on a central issue that even Obama partisans admit was poorly marketed the first time around, before and after ACA was signed into law in 2010.

It's not that Republicans have a better message. Questioned on Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had no answer to give host Chris Wallace when the latter asked what the GOP would do about the 30 million uninsured. "That's not the issue," McConnell sputtered. Like Speaker John Boehner on Face the Nation, he indicated that the GOP clearly had no alternative "replace" plan of its own beyond what Boehner called a "common-sense, step-by-step approach."

Already the ACA's opponents, with their flair for the simplistic, are aggressively portraying the Supreme Court justification of the individual mandate based on Congress' taxing powers as a furtive "middle-class tax increase" introduced by Obama. And as we have seen happen again and again -- notably when Obama's 2009 stimulus plan was portrayed as runaway big government rather than what it mainly was, an effort to prevent a Depression -- it is the GOP narrative that will sink in unless it is aggressively countered with a powerful marketing message.

A Pew Research Center study also recently concluded that the Democrats consistently failed to do this last time, saying "the language and framing of the issue favored by the [ACA] bill's Republican critics was far more prevalent in the news coverage." 

The opportunity to resell ACA exists. A new Reuters/Ipsos poll indicates that support for the law is rising since the Supreme Court decision. And as my former Newsweek colleague Geoffrey Cowley, one of the most astute health-care journalists in the country, points out, "polls consistently show that more Americans oppose the Affordable Care Act than support it -- not because they've evaluated and rejected it but because they don't understand it."

Just as important, Obama really has no choice but to mount a selling job extraordinaire on the ACA. Beyond Joe Biden's somewhat tongue-in-cheek line -- "Bin Laden is dead and General Motors is alive" -- the president's campaign doesn't have much of a positive narrative to sell, especially on the economy. Indeed, it's something of a mystery why the Obamans are so eager to return to that subject. At this point, based on the latest GDP growth numbers, he's likely to head into the fall with unemployment still above 8 percent, as it has been now for a record 41 months (it was 7.8 percent when Obama took office). 

As Cowley puts it: "If the president can use this week's court ruling to reassert his own gifts as a storyteller -- and his supporters can spark the kind of social-media uprising that helped elect him -- health-care reform may yet have a chance." And so might Obama -- for a second term. 


Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Dentist in Lansing Offers Helpful Dental Health Care Tips for Improved Care

Visiting Dr. Holly Scott-Hetchler, dentist in Lansing, for regular checkups and cleanings twice a year can help prevent many dental problems, in addition to helping patients maintain optimal oral health for their lifetime. In order to provide her patients with the best care possible, Dr. Scott-Hetchler offers advice for her patients by sharing dental tips for when to visit her office for treatment. 

"Regular dentists allow us to find early signs of disease. By visiting our office at least twice a year, we can treat problems while they are still in a manageable stage. If you maintain these visits in addition to proper at home care, we can keep your smile glowing for longer," said Dr. Holly Scott-Hetchler, Lansing cosmetic dentist. Dr. Holly Scott-Hetchler, Lansing, MI dentist, recommends that patients visit her office at least twice a year for proper maintenance and cleanings. Some patients can get away with less frequent visits, but Dr. Scott-Hetchler recommends most patients still continue to visit her office for the recommended twice a year. Most symptoms and problems that occur with a patient's mouth, teeth, and gums are not emergencies, and usually can wait for an appointment with Dr. Holly Scott-Hetchler and her team of dental professionals. 

However, urgent attention is needed if a patient knocks out a tooth, chips or breaks a tooth, experiences a toothache, has gum swelling or redness, jaw pain, and an array of other complications. When an emergency arises, Dr. Scott-Hetchler, dentist in Lansing, MI, urges her patients to contact her office immediately for the best care possible. Good dental care is the best way to prevent non-traumatic problems with your teeth," said Dr. Scott-Hetchler, cosmetic dentist in Lansing. "By brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing at least once a day, and visiting my office twice a year, you can help maintain a healthy, glowing smile." For more information on Dr. Holly Scott-Hetchler and her team of dental professionals, or to understand when to make an appointment, patients can visit the practice's website at http://www.hollydds.com, or by contacting the office by calling (517) 487-6333. About Dr. Holly Scott-Hetchler, DDS: Dr. Holly Scott-Hetchler has been a solo practitioner since 2002, providing cosmetic and family dental health care. Dr. Scott-Hetchler attended the University of Detroit Mercy, School of Dentistry where she earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery degree in 2002. She provides patients with quality dental care including treatments such as dentures, veneers and teeth whitening, among others.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Romney hits Obama, Santorum in Illinois

Mitt Romney made a pitch to struggling Illinois voters this weekend that he was the "economic heavyweight" who could turn around the economy if elected president in November.

The former Massachusetts governor also ramped up his criticism of President Barack Obama's handling of gas prices, using personal terms to tell an American Legion pancake breakfast in Moline that he knew how high fuel costs affected a family's bottom line.

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"You've got moms that are driving their kids to school and practice after school and other appointments and wonder how they can afford putting gasoline in the car, at the same time putting food on the table night after night," Romney said. "The American people are struggling."

Romney accused Obama of learning about the economy "probably by debating it in subcommittees here in Illinois and subcommittees back in Washington, D.C." and again called for the ouster of three top Obama officials for failing to hold down gas prices.

In previous speeches in his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Romney has said expanding domestic oil production could help lower prices in the long-term.

Repeatedly referring to himself as "an economic heavyweight," Romney said his rivals – including Obama as well as fellow Republican contender Rick Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator – just couldn't stack up.

"Sen. Santorum has the same economic lightweight background that the president has," Romney said, painting himself as the best candidate to take on Obama. "We've got to get an economic heavyweight to replace the economic lightweight."

Romney criticized Santorum as the race for Illinois' delegates shifted into high gear. Voters in the Land of Lincoln head to the polls on Tuesday in the latest battle between the leading Republican contenders.

Over the next two days, Romney will criss-cross the state, with events in Rockford, Vernon Hills, Springfield, Chicago and Peoria.

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Obama supporters pick Patriots, GOPers go for Giants?

Super Bowl Sunday offers no respite from partisan bickering in this presidential election year.

A Silicon Valley startup found a strong overlap between how people feel about who will win today's big game and who they'd like to see win the presidential election in the fall.

Mountain View-based Saygent conducted a survey asking 205 people for their Super Bowl predictions and then did a bit of data crunching using its voice response and analysis platform. Saygent's algorithm looked at the way people talked about the teams and the game ("by analyzing the way people talk about the game we can infer who is actually knowledgeable and who is taking a stab in the dark," the company says).

Saygent then filtered out "people with very low trust or a strong bias" to come up with a prediction from its "trusted crowd" of 90. The result? the New England Patriots by three points.

That's almost identical to the official line, which had the Pats by 2.5 points at last check, and is--frankly--not that interesting.

But Saygent, in what it admits is not an exact science, also asked people in the same survey who they planned to vote for for president. When it took a look at those political preferences, it revealed quite a rift: