Happy Vampires

Gambling treatment and recovery programs are now a click away. With the ever expanding internet you can almost find anything you are looking for through the search engines.

There are a number of websites that have popped up over the past few years that deal directly with gambling addiction. These site have created various programs that may help the compulsive gambler beat there addiction. There are even websites that are available to help family and friends of the compulsive gambler.

There are times where compulsive gamblers looking for help finally find a website that peaks there interest. At this point they are hopeful but pessimistic that this is really going to help them.

Compulsive Gamblers are unique individuals who have lost trust in people and humanity. This happens as they fall deep into the grips of their addiction. As they begin to realize what they have done they continue their distrust, may become arrogant and or misunderstand simple concepts. As they begin to surf the web they continue their distrust and sometimes even take it out on the people that are trying to help them. The following is a few examples of emails from compulsive gamblers sent to stop gambling websites:

Hello can you email me back so I know if this is an automated response or a real live person?

I received confirmation for the chat room. The fees states 19.95 per year. Is there going to be a monthly recurring fee?

I paid $24.95 for your manual. I have not received the book yet. You are supposed to email it to me. This email came in ten minutes after the person ordered it. They then followed up ten minutes later with, are you a real company or did you rip me off. Then they send a third email. It’s been a half hour where the ______ is my manual. The owner of the site emailed the manual forty five minutes after the order was received. The person wrote and explained that it clearly states the manual will be mailed with in one hour after you place your order. The website Help To Stop Gambling Addiction understood what was going on and took the time to help the person realize that they were not out to rip them off but to help them. The compulsive gambler apologized for their abusive behavior and is now in recovery thanks to the website.

Why are you charging a fee to help people that have an addiction?

How could you charge $19.95 per year for your chat room? The website emailed back the compulsive gambler and asked them how much did you lose last week gambling? The gambler replied $750.00. The website emails the person and asks a simple question. How could you throw away $750.00 last week but are not willing to invest $19.95 in yourself that will give you a peace of mind and someone to listen to you seven days a week for a year? Then the website asked what did you get for the $750.00 you lost last week? I am pleased to say this person to is now in recovery.

When dealing with an individual with a gambling addiction, you have to reach out into their world and draw them into a healthier way of living. I believe compulsive gamblers have a greater chance of treatment and recovery if they can relate to the individuals who are helping them.

Mr. Howard Keith has an extensive background in dealing with compulsive gamblers, relatives and friends of gamblers and teenage gamblers.
Mr. Keith believes there are many alternatives to aid in the recovery of a gambling addiction verses a twelve step program. A large percentage of his emails were from compulsive gamblers looking for an alternative to Gamblers Anonymous and twelve step programs. Gamblers Anonymous also helps a significant number of people each year but there is a large percentage that they are unable to reach.
For more information on gambling addiction and stop gambling you can check out

I Stopped Gambling So Can You

Move over, Tony Soprano - there’s a new game in town. Mafia 1930 is one of a growing number of free games on the Internet that captures our fascination with the Underworld. Mafia games are rat-a-tat-tatting in popularity, and Mafia 1930 is a free game that has wannabe capos plotting dastardly deeds.

Here’s the scenario: It’s January 1, 1930. You are an immigrant who has arrived in the U.S. from overseas. In your home country you were a nobody. You managed to scrape together the money for the voyage to this land of boundless opportunity. You arrive in this vast city, this vast country, with high hopes. Every door is open to you and your dream is to make it rich. But reality rears its ugly head and the law of the jungle prevails. Society is corrupt. Prohibition has been in force for more than a decade.

Powerful Mafia cartels have formed, making their money from smuggling and running alcohol. They control everything - the bars, the police, politics, and the unions. Since no one is going to offer you a chance, you must seize opportunity for yourself, ruthlessly and without scruples. The law no longer applies to you or to the others who have money, power, and standing. You must earn power, money, and respect by becoming the most powerful Mafia boss of all time.

In this Mafia game, you begin with a bankroll of $300. You invest in it personnel who can, in turn, make a profit for you. This mafia-game allows you to enter into a number of tawdry trades, ranging from gambling and prostitution to smuggling and running a speakeasy. You have your own District, but your goal is to shoulder your way in and take over other districts. In this way, you accumulate districts and rise in the mafiagame ranks. You can search through the mafiagames Families and apply to join a Family. Nothing’s guaranteed, though - you have to pass muster and pay a hefty fee to join. For even more money, you can form your own family and have others pay you to become members. Ruthlessness and an entrepreneurial spirit will help you realize your dream in these free games.

Before you know it, playing this mafia game online may earn you the coveted rank of Grand Padrone, and you will oversee 200 Districts. In the meantime, you can enjoy playing a Mafiosi, Don, Grand Don, Godfather, Grand Godfather, or Padrone.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular majon.com internet marketing companies on the web.
Visit this elelcho.com Gaming and Gambling Website and Majon’s majon.com/directory/Gaming_and_Gambling Gaming and Gambling directory.

The bracketing feature on most DSLR and EVF digital cameras is sometimes unfairly ignored. Bracketing the exposure is not to be confused with the continuous feature that takes three or more exposures at the same value. The automatic exposure sensor in the camera does its best to supply the correct exposure, but since the window of good exposure is fairly narrow in digital cameras, a better exposure could be made. The light sensor must rely on either average information across a representative section of image or in the case of a spot reading, a small area that may or may not be close to a mid range density.

By exposing a subject one half or one third stop under exposed and one half or one third stop over exposed, an obvious difference in image quality will help you decide which one to keep for future enlargement. Most cases of poor image quality can be traced to an original under or over exposure. While it is true that the average image editor can correct for density mistakes, the end result will be a compromised version of the image, even though it is improved from the original. A properly exposed image will show better skin tones, whiter whites, deeper blacks and a more subtle range of tones in pastel colors.

Years of shooting with exposure forgiving negative color film has spoiled us with the fact that two under exposure or three stops over exposure will be corrected in the printing. There is some correlation to slide film, especially the characteristics of Kodachrome. Transparencies often required the exposure to be within one half stop of the correct exposure to look at all good when projected. Few photographers carry around a gray card to check the color balance or take a spot reading of a face close up before taking the shot. The bracketing feature can save the day.

photoartbyken.com photoartbyken.com [Articles, Digital Art, poetry, Original sheet music.]

Moviegoers choice of movies they like or do not like can be a very personal thing. Who knows what causes someone to think an Oscar-winning film is terrible, and another to think that a film that garnered no awards is an incredibly good movie.

Having said that, here are four movies, one of which I would rate average and three of which I would rate terrible, yet two of these are funny and two are not.

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Adam Sandler – 2 Stars (Average)

This is one of the best Saturday Night Live series performances I have seen.

I love Adam Sandler as Opera Man and Canteen Boy. Sandler was one of the best performers on SNL in recent years.

His song about “Hanukkah” and about the Hollywood actors and showbiz types who are Jewish is great entertainment. Sandler has that boyish look that many times says “I am lost and can use some help.”

It is not my sense that Sandler has an outgoing personality, I believe he tends to be a shy person and I suspect he is always looking for some approval in real life as many comedians do.

I am so happy he has moved on to the film world, and only wish he would get better scripts to do because I think his potential goes well beyond comedic routines.

I find Sandler likeable and remember him fondly as a stand-up and standout comic during his SNL stint. I would see this SNL compilation of Sandler again.

Three Amigos – 1 Star (Terrible)

The Three Amigos is a classic period comedy (1986) piece like Animal House in the 1960s wherein we see not a good movie, but comedy routines and a few great lines.

The film brings together three real comedians—Steve Martin, Chevy Chase and Martin Short—as out-of-work silent movie Western stars (the film is set in 1916) who believe they are going to Mexico to put on a show involving a run-in with El Guapo, played by Alfonso Arau.

What they do not know is that El Guapo is for real, with real bullets and real intentions to kill them as well as the villagers they are unsuspectingly hired to protect.

This is a comedy but it does have a story line if not great acting, and some parts of it are stupid and funny at the same time. Occasionally I like stupid and funny at the same time, and this is one of those times.

Meet The Parents – 1 Star (Terrible)

Meet the Parents involves Ben Stiller as a hapless fiancé who is grilled by his future father-in-law, a retired CIA agent and overzealous, protective father. This movie is almost funny in parts, but simply left me unimpressed as a comedy in the making.

I did not like Meet the Parents as much as I thought I might. On the other hand I consider its sequel—Meet the Fockers—one of the best comedies in recent years.

The difference I attribute to a greatly improved cast with the addition of Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand, and limiting the role of Ben Stiller, who is not nearly as good an actor as Robert De Niro, Hoffman or Streisand.

Shall We Dance? – 1 Star (Terrible)

This is a comedy without merit that does not psychologically associate appropriately. Richard Gere just looks old and does a poor job of acting. JLo (Jennifer Lopez) is the only bright light in this poorly written movie with terrible dialogue.

Shall We Dance? is beyond forgettable and borders on unmentionable. Go dancing rather than see this movie, you will enjoy yourself more.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

Ed Bagley is the Author of Ed Bagley’s Blog, which he Publishes Daily with Fresh, Original Articles on Lessons in Life, Jobs and Careers, Movie Reviews, Sports and Recreation, and Internet Marketing intended to Delight, Inform, Educate and Motivate Readers. He also operates an upscale resume writing service for executives and professionals that is part of his Blog. Visit Ed at . . .
edbagleyblog.com edbagleyblog.com
and check out this main article section at . . .
edbagleyblog.com/LessonsinLifeArticles.html edbagleyblog.com/LessonsinLifeArticles.html

Satellite TV has been around for some time, but to watch satellite TV on PC is something new. You may think that only the tech savvy younger generation who knows the in and out of TV technology, and the worldwide web are the only ones who are fiddling with PC satellite TV. While this is true in the past, nowadays, more families, even the older folks like our computer illiterate grannies and granddaddies are picking up computer skills. And the fact that it is easy to transform our PC into a nice satellite television set, more are using the satellite TV software to watch satellite TV on PC.

Why watch satellite TV on PC when you can watch satellite TV using dish system?

Perhaps a fair comparison would be able to shed some light. If you watch satellite TV with a satellite dish system, the satellite dish you are using is probably a self-assembled one or installed by the service providers like DISH Network.

Do-it-yourself satellite dish TV systems can cost you anything upwards of $200. Some of them come in ready packages with instruction manuals. But you also need to buy the satellite dish kit to set up. Others who are even more adventurous buy their own basic dish, receiver, mount and other individual parts for assembly. The number of TV channels you get to watch relies on how much sky your dish covers. The wider the coverage, the more satellite TV programs you get to enjoy. In most cases, it is possible to receive a dozen television channels. While you can watch satellite TV for free using this method, the equipment is not exactly cheap and the installation can be rather challenging.

Those who watch TV using satellite TV services can do away with the installation part as the company would offer it free. However, depending on the length of your subscription contract, you may need to fork out some money for the basic satellite TV equipment such as the dish, receivers and other peripherals like HDTV and DVR receivers. This alone would cost more than $100 at least. Channel variety starts from a hundred over programs for basic package and increases with more expensive TV packages. They also offer other value packages and features like pay-per-view or pay TV for special LIVE games, entertainment show, etc. One major setback to watch satellite TV using satellite services is the monthly bill you would receive.

When you watch satellite TV on PC, you are tuning into satellite TV online. PC satellite TV software is required to activate and configure your PC resources such that it can start receiving satellite TV signals for display on your monitor. As long as your PC is connected to the internet, you can watch satellite TV on PC instantly anytime you want. If you have a wireless router at home, even your laptop can be transformed into an additional TV.

Internet satellite TV allows you to watch thousands of global channels in many different languages on your PC. You do not need any extra fixtures like the satellite dish at home, ie PC satellite TV is mobile. The satellite TV software is available and conveniently downloadable for less than $50.

Find out where TV enthusiasts are grabbing their PC satellite TV software from my blog and watch satellite TV on PC in no time.

Davion is a successful webmaster, author and fan of TV shows. Discover how you can instantly watch-satellite-tv-on-pc.blogspot.com watch satellite TV on PC, tuning into hundreds of LIVE world channels of news, movies, music and kids program at watch-satellite-tv-on-pc.blogspot.com Watch-Satellite-TV-On-PC.blogspot.com.

Much has been written about learning piano using a chord approach. There are many internet resources available the teach chords, but my experience of them is that they lack the simplicity that beginners require. A more effective strategy, that has worked with my students, is to teach the piano in a similar way to basic guitar. I get my students to learn some chord shapes and simple “strumming” techniques, and in a very short time, they can accompany themselves and others on many pop songs.

So what chord shapes to learn? The easiest approach, that I have found over the years, is to learn all the Major chords and from there all other chords can be derived quickly. And the best way of learning is a visual one, that employs basic shapes formed by the white and black keys on the piano for each Major chord.

How do you “strum” a piano chord? Well there three main components that I have used. The first is to play chords in blocks (all notes at the same time) and employ different rhythms for right and left hands. This is the equivalent of strumming a guitar with a pick or hand. The next is to pick out individual notes one at a time in different patterns, which is the equivalent of finger-picking on a guitar. And finally you can add riffs or hooks in your playing to make a complete accompaniment.

In addition to these techniques, I employ a Piano Chord Ruler, which can be placed on the piano to help students find any chord they like. In that way, they never get lost with chords, and also I find the visual colouring on the Ruler is a further aid to memorising the chord shapes.

Mark Hansen B.E. (Hons), Grad. Dip.Ed., is not only an award winning Australian pianist and composer, but has over 20 years experience in education. He has tutored students one-to-one, as well as in large groups in the classroom. He has recently written a book “Piano Chords - The Easy Way”, that teaches beginner and intermediate piano students to play accompaniment to popular songs. You can visit his website markhansen.biz markhansen.biz for more info on the book, or for Solo Piano Sheet music, or his own original Piano Albums.

Inexpensive, plastic poker chips are available just about anywhere. Higher end chips can be purchased at gaming stores and from a variety of online sources such as these:

PokerShopping.com
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PokerShopping.com specializes in high quality, affordable poker chips and poker chip sets, with fast and cheap shipping. The site is comprehensive, accessible and offers many varieties of chips and chip sets. PokerShopping.com has a new Swedish language site, www.pokershopping.se

Poker Chip Mart
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Poker Chip Mart offers affordable prices and full selection of chips, chip sets, chip cases, poker tables, cards and other gaming supplies.

Pokerchips.com
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Pokerchips.com has a very good selection of supplies including poker chips, poker chip cases, poker chip sets, tables, good background information on poker and great customer support. Prices seem to be a little on the high side.

The Poker Supply Store
www.thepokersupplystore.com
The Poker Supply Store offers close to everything in poker supplies including chips, chip sets and cases. The site is easily navigated and the prices are moderate.

Poker Bargains
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Poker Bargain offers a wide selection of poker supplies including poker chips, poker books, sets, cases, and accessories. Well designed site and low prices!

e-Poker-Chips.com Poker Chips Info provides detailed information about the history and types of poker chips, as well as poker chips cases and sets, and advice on where to buy poker chips. Poker Chips Info is the sister site of i-pooltables.com Pool Tables Web.

OK, you’ve filed bankruptcy. Your credit isn’t great, but you need to buy a car.

So you go to the local car dealership and believe the salesman when he says…

“Buy this car today at this high interest rate and we’ll refinance you in 12 months at the lowest interest rate possible.”

Recovering from bankruptcy is easier than you thought! Time to celebrate, right?

WRONG!

Don’t Believe Everything a Car Salesman Tells You

Every day car dealers repeat the “refinance in 12 months” lie to bankrupt people to push them to purchase cars at extremely high interest rates. You may have financed a car through a high-interest lender knowing that it’s not the best choice. But you probably thought it was your only option at the time and you justified it by thinking you could refinance to a lower interest rate later.

But, when you try to refinance the car months later, you find out the car dealer lied to you.

Best Way to Refinance a Car After Bankruptcy

The first thing you need to determine is whether you qualify to refinance, or if you’re better off just selling or trading-in your car. So let’s start with how much your car is worth.

The biggest mistake most people make when determining the true value of their car is they base their research on the private party value. You need either the trade-in or dealer retail value.

Here’s how to get the value of your car…

Step #1: Go to Edmunds.com. I think Edmunds is one of the best all around automobile sites on the web.

Step #2: When you get on the front page, click on “What’s your car worth?” It’s written in small type and a little tough to find, but it’ll be somewhere on the main page. Or you can go straight to the Used Car Appraiser.

Step #3: Follow the steps and click on the make, model and year of your car.

Step #4: Fill in the vehicle details and any optional equipment your car has.

You’ll see three different values for your car: Trade-In, Private Party and Dealer Retail. The two values you need to pay attention to are Trade-In and Dealer Retail.

Some lenders base their refinancing on the trade-in value and others on the retail value. Ideally, you want to find a lender that uses the retail value, as it’s always higher.

Now that you know the true value of your car, the next step is to call and get your loan payoff from your lender. Loan payoff is what you still owe on the car.Getting a hold of your lender may be tricky. If you’ve defaulted on the loan, your auto lender may cut off all communication with you. So, if you’re having a tough time getting through to your lender, ask for the collections department. They’re your best bet for getting through to a live person.

Ask what the payoff on your car is. If you’re leasing the car, be sure to add the total remaining payments, residual amount and any early termination fees the lender requires so you get the true payoff amount.

Now subtract the value of your car from the payoff amount.

Do you owe less than the car is worth? If so, great…you’ll have more choices and options.

What to do if you owe more than your car is worth

If you owe more on your car than it’s worth (commonly referred to as being “upside down”) you need to dig a little deeper.Now that you know what your car is worth and how much you still owe on it, it’s time to start calling lenders.

Credit unions and banks are the best sources for refinancing your car. Car manufacturers rarely refinance—unless it’s for a luxury car. Just make sure the lender you use reports to all three credit reporting agencies. I talk about the importance of reporting to all three agencies in Life After Bankruptcy Issue #12.

The four most important questions to ask lenders when you’re about to refinance your car

The four big questions to ask each lender are:

1. “Do you refinance based on the trade-in or dealer retail value of the car?”
2. “What percentage over retail/trade-in value will you lend?”
3. “Which credit reporting agency do you use?”
4. “What FICO credit score do I need to be approved for refinancing?”

Keep in mind that lenders who refinance usually will lend no more than 125% of the trade-in or retail value. The average amount a lender will refinance is 110%. This means that if you’re upside down on more than 10% of the value of your car, you’re going to have to come up with the difference before the lender gives you the loan.

If you want to figure out how much you’ll need to borrow from a lender to refinance, download the free Auto Refinance Worksheet™ and I’ll walk you through the calculation process.If you’re not in a position to refinance right now, you have another alternative—trade in your current car for another one with a manufacturer’s rebate.

The Power of Manufacturer Rebates

A lot of new car manufacturers offer huge rebates to move new cars out the door. There’s a big incentive for a dealer to sell a new car.You need to locate the highest rebate offer you can find and work toward trading-in your car to eliminate any upside down situation.

Before you go to a new car dealer, go to www.edmunds.com and look up the rebate and interest rate on every new car and truck a manufacturer offers. This way, if the car salesman isn′t being fair with you (as far as rebates and interest rates are concerned) you’ll know.

Just go to Edmunds.com and click on “New Cars” and then on “Incentives & Rebates” and you’ll get all the information you need.

Some Car Manufacturers Offer Rebates Up to $6,000

It’s not a good situation to be upside down on a high-interest car loan that you need to refinance. However, you can get around it by purchasing a new car with a large rebate. You just use the rebate to offset the amount you owe on your old car.

And if you find a car with a higher rebate (highly recommended), you’re in even better shape. If the rebate is high enough, it can eliminate your negative equity and you can use any remaining amount as part—or maybe even all—of your down payment.

So, if you’re $6,000 or less upside down, you can still come out smelling like a rose if you play your cards right.

Ask the car salesman this magic question…

In addition, don’t be afraid to ask the car salesman this important question: “What car or truck on your lot do you need to sell immediately?”

If you’re in a negative equity situation (meaning you owe more than the car or truck is worth) you need every advantage you can get your hands on. Ask the auto dealer to sell you the oldest car in their inventory.

Car dealers are willing to take a loss on vehicles they’re having a tough time selling because it costs them more to keep these cars on the lot compared to selling them right away at a slight loss. This could mean another $500 to $3,000 discount for you!

You still need a high enough score to qualify