Jessica Lunsford Blog

Other articles in this series looked at a number of exercises, mainly from the perspective of developing a comprehensive muscle building program. Sometimes we take things for granted, especially when it comes to performing the basic exercises that constitute the core of most bodybuilders’ training regimes.

It is useful, therefore, to describe in detail the processes involved in actually doing these exercises. This will help beginners to start out using the correct techniques before moving on to potentially more dangerous heavy weights. If it also helps more experienced lifters to redress some of the little faults that have almost imperceptibly crept in over the years, all the better.

In this article we’ll take a close look at the vertical chest press.

MUSCLES TARGETED: pectoralis major

STARTING POSITION

Sit down and lean back.
Grasp the handles with a closed, pronated grip.
Align handles with the nipples.
Push the handles away from the chest to a fully extended elbow position.
This is the starting point for all repetitions.

BACKWARD MOVEMENT

Allow the handles to slowly move backward until level with the chest.

FORWARD MOVEMENT

Push the handles away from the chest to the starting position.
Do not arch back or lock elbows.
Repeat or finish set.

Richard Mitchell is the creator of the bodybuildingadvisor.com website that provides guidance and information to athletes at all levels of bodybuilding experience. Go to Bodybuilding Exercises to learn more about the issues covered in this article.

While speaking at a panel discussion in Mountain View, California, Microsoft VP Peter Moore said that he believes that the death of physical game media in inevitable.

“Let’s be fair. Whether it’s five, 10, 15, 20 years from now, the concept of driving to the store to buy a plastic disc with data on it and driving back and popping it in the drive will be ridiculous…. We’ll tell our grandchildren that and they’ll laugh at us.”

Supporting Mr. Moore’s prediction for the future, executive vice president of sales and marketing for Nintendo of America, Reggie Fils-Aime made an interesting announcement at DICE 2006 concerning the Nintendo DS. Reggie explained that DS download stations will be in retail outlets across the US and Canada in the very near future. Which essentially means DS users can visit theses stations and wirelessly download new games, demos, trailers, etc. You will be able to play with these files or games you download until you shut your system off, at which point they will be lost.

Even Blockbuster Video has announced that they will now be offering online rental services, where movies and games are delivered directly to your home.

The idea of being able to download the newest game for your Xbox 360, Sony PS3, or Nintendo Revolution is a concept that many of us would simply love. However as Moore points out, the extinction of retailers wont happen over night, but already we are seeing other means of getting media. But for now, retailers are still the largest and most lucrative means of getting new games and media in the hands of users. The idea of being able to download the newest game for your Xbox 360, Sony PS3, or Nintendo revolution is a concept that many of us would simply die for.

For more news, check out our Xbox site or our Nintendo Revolution site.

Originally designed to be released in March of 2006, but delayed until November to work out some kinks left to work out with the new Blu-ray technology. Still, the PlayStation 3 is one of the most anticipated gaming consoles in years, and the promise is of a system that will simply blow the competition out of the water. Of course, all the gamers, as well as normal consumers, have heard this song and dance before with about every other games system that has ever come out (anyone remember Sega CD or the Dreamcast?). So what is true and what is hype? Is the PlayStation 3 really going to be worth all the hype (and rumored extra price), or will it be a let down?

Based on the early showings at gamers’ conventions, the PlayStation 3 does appear to be one of the most promising systems to ever come out. The PS3 is designed to be more than just another video game console, but an all in one amazing multimedia breakthrough, and the PS3 should include some amazing multimedia features, such as video chat, internet access, digital photo viewing, digital audio and videoall this in addition to taking video gaming to an entirely new level. For those of you who have invested large amounts of money in the old PlayStation systems, don’t worry: all PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 games will be instantly compatible with the PlayStation 3. This was one of the first pieces of information leaked out before the PS3’s initial release at a gamer’s conference, was that the PS3 would be completely backwards compatible. This has been one of the main knocks on the new X-Box is that they are still working out to make a lot of popular X-Box games compatible on the X-Box 360.

In addition to all these benefits, there are some definite technical aspects that are worth noting. The PlayStation 3 has a stunning 256MB of XDR memory and 256MB of GDDR3 memory dedicated to graphics. In addition to this, the designers seemed to go nuts with giving the PlayStation 3 the ability to store a wide variety of data storage and transfer abilities. Whereas the PlayStation 2 only supported a memory card, the new PS3 is supposed to support multiple forms of “portable media.” The PS3 has 6 USB 2.0 ports, a memory stick slot, an SD slot, and the system supports compact flash. Sony even saved a space for a removable 2.5″ hard drive! To the video gaming tekkie, this system appears to be a dream come true, and well surpass the hype that came with it.

Dave is the owner of ps3-controller.info and playstation-3-rumors.info websites providing information on the playstation 3.

Landlords and rehabbers take notice - you may soon be focused on the new concepts of “Virtual Real Estate Investing“. Everything from using the internet as an avenue to make more money in real estate to online games such as SecondLife seem to be included in the popular definition of this term.

To find out the real story, I had a conversation with Bryan Ellis of BryanEllis.com, widely considered to be one of the originators of the concept of Virtual Real Estate Investing.

Ellis says he adopted the term “virtual real estate investing” sometime before Y2K after he realized that making money online is conceptually very similar to making money with physical real estate.

Bryan Ellis cites the similar strategies one can employe to make money from “virtual property” and “physical property” as a primary parallel of the two markets. “There’s a huge difference between a website and a piece of real estate, but the ways you can profit from them are similar: ‘flipping’, rental/leasing, advertising sales, etc…all of these apply to both markets” he states.

The similarities really are obvious. Consider: A valuable piece of real estate is valuable largely due to the interest that other people have in that specific location. Similarly, ownership of a desirable domain name is valuable for the same reasons. In either case, you could sell or lease the asset and turn it into cash.

In our next installment of this series on virtual real estate investing, Bryan Ellis will share the internet analogies to the physical concept of real estate development.

Fair Andes! Thy arms reach high

Of iron-woven solid stone
Thu art a condor to the sky

Of glory hidden in thy heart

So many paths, a maze of art…

In thy old, Mantaro Valley

Where adobes, breathe and tremble
Beyond your rustic shadows

There lays the prettiest of brooks

Is my heart, within its stream!

My image deeply carved, rippled

In its undiluted shallow waters

Waiting, just waiting for me…

As it opens up, opens up my soul

My rippled soul-searching-eyes!…

Note: Between Lima, Peru, and the Andes, and just beyond is the Mantaro Valley; therein, lays the area and village called San Jeronimo; tucked away within its foliage, and rustic background, is a brook, a stream that runs down form the mountains. It is a lazy and peaceful place. It glistens with the sun. What more can I say. #725 6/10/05

In Spanish

A las Montaas
[ o : Arroyo de San Jeronimo]

hermosos Andes! tus brazos llegan alto.

De piedra tejida por hierro slido
tu eres un condor para el cielo

De gloria ocultada en tu corazn.

Tantos caminos, un arte de laberinto …
En tu viejo, Valle del Mantaro

Donde los adobes, respiran y tiemblan
Ms all de sus sombras rsticas

All descansa el ms bonito de los arroyos

Est mi corazn, dentro de su corriente!
Mi imagen profundamente tallada, ondulada

En sus aguas no diluidas bajas

Esperando, solamente esperando por m …

Asi como esto se abre, se abre mi alma

Mis ojos de examen de conciencia ondulados!…

Note: Entre Lima, Per, y los Andes, y solamente ms all est el Valle del Mantaro; all dentro descansa el area y el pueblo llamado San Jeronimo; metido dentro de su follaje, y el fondo rstico, es un arroyo, una corriente que corre hacia abajo de las montaas. Esto es un lugar placido y pacfico. Esto brilla con el sol. Que ms puede yo decir. *725 6/10/05

Fingers inside my Dream

“Who’s inside this dream of mine?”
No stars, no orbits only pale dim light
A cold moon, with fleecy clouds

Death, death within a crimson dream…
Shall I wakeup to find myself free? (or)
Closed in, stuck in this frozen dream…?

…to fine I was never where I thought
Nor exactly what I thought. I was
In this dream with fingers hanging…

…stinging, grabbing me in this dream;
Trying to wake me upto reality…
To tell me, it was all a dream

(now…good night)!

#726 6/11/05

In Spanish

Dedos dentro de mi Sueo

” Quién est dentro de este sueo mio?”
Ninguna estrella, ninguna rbita slo palidez de luz débil Una luna fra,
con nubes lanudas-
Muerte, muerte dentro de un sueo carmes …
despertar para encontrarme libre?
Metido, pegado en este sueo congelado …?
…Para bien yo nunca estuve donde pensé-
Ni exactamente lo que pensé. Yo era
En este sueo con dedos prendidos….
…hiriendome, agarrndome en este sueo;
tratando de despertarme a la realidad …
Para decirme, era todo un sueo

(ahora…buenas noches)!

*726 6/11/

Author/Poet Dennis Siluk you can see his books on http://www.bn.com
or http://www.amazon.com

Something that most people don’t realise is that physically there is little correlation between fitness and weight. Your weight does not define how fit you are. Obviously if your weight is too high it has an effect on how fit you are, and it certainly has an effect on your health but the relation between weight and fitness is nowhere near as strong as most people believe.

The only true test of fitness is how much exercise you can do. As your fitness improves, you will have greater stamina and be able to do more exercise. And as your fitness increases you will almost certainly start to lose weight.

If your goal is to not only lose weight, but to keep that weight off, and to keep it off in a natural way - not using some fad diet - then you should look at increasing your overall fitness level, and the level of exercise you get everyday. Diet and exercise go hand in hand, diet will not be truly effective without exercise.

If you start with exercise, then you’ll begin to build and tone muscle in your entire body first, instead of just trying to burn away fat. In fact, the worst thing you can do is to start on a diet first without exercise. Instead of burning away your fat, in that case, the chances are good that your body will burn muscle tissue instead. That is something that you definitely don’t want to happen, since it will make exercising harder for you in the future.

If you exercise regularly you will be more fit than somebody who gets no exercise, this holds true no matter what your respective weights are. So no matter what diet plan you begin you should accompany it with extra exercise.

Of course if you want to really increase your fitness then you will need to do more than a casual bit of exercise. You will need to be more methodical in your approach to exercise and do more than one type of exercise. You will need to be doing some cardiovascular exercise and some basic strength exercises.

For your cardiovascular exercise - which is basically any type of exercise that increases your heart rate by considerable amounts - you should work on being able to exercise for a longer period of time than you could before. This will enable you to build up some stamina.

Strength training will tone your body and increase your strength. While it won’t necessarily make you fitter, it will make you look and feel better and give you visible, confidence-building results.

This strength training does not necessarily mean lifting weights or hanging around a gym, you can do a really effective strength training workout in the comfort of your own home with little or no equipment. A small amount of training like this can make all the differnce in your fitness program.

Regardless of your weight, you can be at a suitable fitness level just by adding a suitable amount and type of exercise to your daily life.

Britannia Findlay is the Webmaster of FOCAL Fitness There are a lot of interesting articles and great resources at her site. For all the info you want, visit: http://www.focalfitness.com

The date and manner of the origin of coats of arms, often called family crests, has been a matter of much speculation. There is no evidence of coats of arms being present at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, nor were family crests apparent by the beginning of the twelfth century. However, in the 13th century, coats of arms were used throughout Europe and the whole ’science’ of heraldry - its rules and terms - had been established. During this time the Crusades undoubtedly helped spread the use of coats of arms.

Various suggestions have been put forward regarding the origin of coats of arms, for example: shields, banners, tabards and possibly the use of seals. Probably, once a design had been adapted, it would have been put to many personal items at the same time. To qualify as a coat of arms, a design must be capable of being depicted on a shield, but the name ‘coat of arms’ is derived from the linen tabard which was worn over the armour and upon which the design was shown.

It was in battle that the need for armorial bearings arose. In times of warfare it was the nobility, the land-owners, who were called upon for leadership, and each landowner would control his small group of illiterate men in battle. With the helmet of a suit of armour closed in battle it would have been difficult to identify the man inside, hence the distinctive coat of arms or family crest pictured on a shield and embroidered tabard became essential, the latter giving rise to the name ‘coat of arms’.

Armorial devices were the prerogative of the upper class. In early times even land could not pass from one person to another without the license of the king, and the sovereign was also involved in the granting of coats of arms. However, pretty soon other families in what

About the Author:
Tony Luck has an interest in heraldry. His website has additional information on coats of arms and family crests.

Acid reflux is scientifically known as GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). It is a disease characterized by the abnormal reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus resulting to chronic symptoms or mucosal damage.

Acid reflux is often caused by temporary or permanent alterations in the lining that separates the esophagus and the stomach. Ineffectiveness of the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) or a temporary LES relaxation connected with a hiatal hernia are just some of the common causes of acid reflux. The process can also lead to a backflow of gastric juices to the pharynx or mouth.

Among adults, the most common symptom of acid reflux is heartburn which is caused by the presence of acid in the esophagus. Heartburn is characterized by a painful burning sensation behind the sternum or breastbone. Another symptom or manifestation of acid reflux is esophagitis which is characterized by an inflammation of the lining of the esophagus which is also known as the mucosal lining. Esophagitis also causes swallowing difficulties and chronic pains in the chest area.

Sometimes, individuals suffering from acid reflux may also experience coughing, persistent pain in the ears, hoarseness or a change in the voice and even sinusitis. If acid reflux gets complicated it may lead to formation of a stricture or ulcers in the esophagus. It may also lead to a condition called Barrett’s esophagus and in worst cases, to cancer of the esophagus.

It doesn’t mean however that a person who regularly suffers from heartburn is suffering from acid reflux. By all means, the heartburn may be from other causes. But if a person suffers from heartburn for more than once a week, then he or she is at a risk of acquiring acid reflux. Persons with hiatal hernia are also at a greater risk of developing acid reflux than those who are not.

The pain felt by persons suffering from heartburn is caused by the reflux of acid contents from the stomach to the esophagus. A pain in the chest area coming upwards the mouth.

Persons suffering from acid reflux may also experience tasting something sour or salty behind her throat. This is cause by regurgitation. This sour and salty taste may persist even without heartburn,

Other less common symptoms of acid reflux include difficulty swallowing, chest pain, halitosis or bad breath, repeated throat clearing and water brash or hyeprsecretion of saliva.

The symptoms of acid reflux in children are also the same as that on adults. Acid reflux in children may manifest in frequent spitting, throwing up repeatedly, coughing and other respiratory problems. Children suffering from acid reflux may also experience weight loss, frequent crying, loss of appetite and bad breath. Parents must remember though that children may show one or many symptoms. There is not one symptom that is always present in children with acid reflux.

The cause of acid reflux in children, especially in babies is their immature digestive system. This is why infants stop having acid reflux when they reach the first year of age. However, some children do not outgrow acid reflux. Some continue to suffer from the disease up to the teen years.

The best thing to do for parents of children suffering from acid reflux is to take the children to the doctor as soon as possible to avoid any complications.

We have heard a whole lot of talk about fuel cells and of course it is a worthy endeavor. Portable generators, cars, transportation industry, Power generators, Ships, etc. can benefit. However in a mobile application such as a shuttle bus, car, truck, train, tractor, motor scooter or even a Segway air-cushioned platform mover, there is the problem of heat. The heat occurs on transfer of fuel. So if we are talking about a portable application the heat can make steam and the steam can be used for additional power needed also. In an off road application when we are in places of drought and extreme fire hard there is a significant problem which needs to be better addressed with the material sciences to control the heat. Everyone knows that 2-cycle motorcycles get hot and can cause fires if you are not careful.

The hydrogen cell problem with it’s temperatures could be significantly worse. In larger vehicles there have been ways to mitigate this, with additional insulation panels, however in a small off road vehicle or ATV, the problem becomes more significant. When I speak of ATV, I mean All-terrain vehicle, not the Fuel Cell term of Advanced Technology Vehicle. At Texas A and M. they are working on just such a project.

When we are talking motorcycles, and ATVs the cooling system is the major obstacle, wouldn’t you know it. There is always some hitch and it does appear that this small obstacle is in fact being taken care of through new material sciences and it is critical indeed as we have seen urban heat of five plus degrees within various regions of the US due to concrete and asphalt without one fuel cell car and we know that reciprocal engines of gasoline motors run about 300 or so degrees, which is a lot less than the conversion rate to pure hydrogen? Well these engineering barriers are being pummeled currently as the innovators in America accept the challenge and refuse to go back, such is the nature of the American Spirit, Never ever, ever, ever Give Up. Winston Churchill could have been an American, he certainly talked like one and this current situation could have used such talk. And of course he comes from the same stock as many of us do. Well it appears many University Researchers in this country may just beat President Bush’s cautious commitment to bring this technology to the forefront by 2012. We are now seeing the strides of innovation take hold. From the Spinglass Scooters to potential Segway Models.

Now then, the components of these vehicles cannot be made of lightweight composite. Some types of composite unfortunately give off Cyanide Gas when they burn. We of course have been learning this from the F-117 Stealth crashes and the potentiality of the 7E7 half composite airliners. So what material do you make these units out of which is safe for anything from a ride on lawn mower to a laptop computer 90 watt power system. Even Plastics melt and give off some pretty toxic substances? Ceramic Coatings or glass coatings on top of other materials, indeed may be one solution. As a matter of fact this is just about the only known solution for the exhaust and catalyst systems (which run extremely hot and glow inside) in current exhaust systems. Many think it can be applied to the heat issues of hydrogen cells as well and of course after reading many articles and studies in the Ceramics Industry, I believe there is ample opportunity there.

http://www.ceramicindustry.com/CDA/Article…0,27484,00.html

We have been studying these situations for our company in the Mobile Oil Change Business figuring if we cannot change the oil in the future as a business we can replace filters and membranes with re-usable ceramic materials which maybe found in the new technologies associated with fuel cells. But where will all these filters be discharged? After all Glass takes quite a while to decompose rendering it’s half life closer than that of uranium to lead, then from Ceramic filter to dirt? Will future archeologists dig up these nifty ceramic filters in old garbage dumps in the decomposed semi-crude oil remenance and wonder what on Earth we used them for and proving that we were indeed a species of significant cognitive worth? As we look at ceramic coatings such as Adsil (google it to learn more) and others we realize that they decrease corrosion from things like the nasty Magnesium Chlorides put on roads in the North during ice and snowstorms.

Will we need to coat the entire car with glass to prevent fire? Will this mean you will wash your car with Windex? Is glass cleaning services a future growth industry then, since more things will be made from glass including much of the coating on a car. Will this foil the efforts of GM, Ford, Honda and Toyota in planned obsolescence? In other words whoever is making the cars, whether it is GM-Ballard partnership, Eaton-Ford Partnership or a Multi-National Foreign Conglomerate of China, Japan, Korea, US then will cars last so long people will buy fewer of them or will the Chinese demand for oil drive the prices of crude up so fast and furious that the whole world will begin to switch to fuel cells at once during a last hurrah of overbearing gas and diesel prices. Cars which last too long mean consumer will not continue to buy new cars which on average now is 3.1 years in the middle class of America. Now do not go out and buy Windex Stock right now. No matter what this is still many years off.

You will see in the future that many companies and even military, NASA and others use ceramic coatings on equipment to prolong life. Corrosion issues are serious in all sectors, including shipping containers, truck chassis, braking systems, railroad, automotive, even a rusty lawn-mower with many plastic parts from your local Home Depot, Lowes or Wal*Mart.

Ceramic coatings even applied at 5 mils are enough to seal the aluminum pores enough to solve basic corrosion problems. Corrosion control is especially important to military equipment after wartime. Sure it provides jobs to make new tanks, humvees and armored personnel carriers, but there maybe budget concerns as well to think about. After all some of the T-34 tanks used by our enemy were how old? Still running, perhaps with corrosion controls of ceramics, the ones left could be put in museums forever? A remainder of the Human Species and her need to wage war, perhaps an innate characteristic which may eventually be bread out of our genome, but probably not likely soon. Hydrogen cell tanks, yes there are many such projects going on now.

What will the routine maintenance service companies look like in the future? How will they maintain their ROIs and Proformas, forward looking statements and spreadsheets, Warren Buffet style balance sheets, quarterly profits and shareholder’s equity? These companies to harvest continued cash flow in these cleaning, maintenance and coating industries will need to drastically modify their procedures. As we see from this weeks devastating Hurricane Charley, we need to pay attention to the global warming problems as they are real and when you turn up the heat, the surrounding atmosphere will notice and when it comes to mother nature, she is quite sure of what she is doing.

I hope you have enjoyed this provocative topic and interesting study on Fuel Cells for motorcycles, trucks, trains, tanks, ATVs, ships, etc. as it pertains to global warming, urban heat, Fire Hazards from heat exchanges and risks associated with these new technologies.

The future is going to be a most excellent place to live as long as we pay attention to what we are doing on the way to get there.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Compact discs are amongst the most popular forms of storage available for computer users. Whether we buy new CDs or burn back up discs, the storage case in which the CD is stored is as essential as the quality of the CD itself. They usually take the form of jewel cases, or a brittle plastic that can break easily when too much pressure is applied; this way, the case and not the CD is what breaks.

CD cases are required to protect the data on the CD. If a CD is dropped, it may get scratched, crack or even break. Keeping the CDs in a case, however, will protect them from scratches and damage. There are many materials used to make CD cases. They may be classified as soft or hard cases. Soft CD cases are pouched designs in leather of plastic. Hard cases are made of molded plastic and offer more protection from impact. The most popular types of CD cases are CD jewel cases, CD plastic cases, CD visors, CD wallets, CD bubble mailers, DVD cases, and DVD folders.

Hard CD cases are known as jewel cases and are similar to audio CD cases. There are also folder-like CD cases that can store a very large number of compact discs. Also available are paper CD cases, which are paper thin, but offer protection from scratches and other surface damage.

It is recommended that one evaluates the specific needs and features required and compare with those available in each type of CD case, before purchasing one.