At one month out, you should consider booking your van. This is important because the longer you leave your bookings, the harder it may be to get an affordable moving company. This also goes for moving, if you're allowing a firm to pack and move you.

Packing firms may also need plenty of warning to be booked, so ensure you investigate this fully before committing to booking them with a month of time. You may need to book them sooner., or may have a little leeway. Booking at one month in advance (or more) also means its easier to collect and decide, impartially on the quotes you collected in the previous weeks. These quotes may have seemed a long way off, but at 30 or so days until you move, it may seem like a long way off, but depending on the size of your house it may be no time at all.

If you're moving house and booking a firm to help you, you may also want to consider booking a cleaning company to come in and clean behind you. They can clean your house, after your belongings are packed and have professional methods for removing stains, marks and other tricky marks on walls, doors and carpets. Even if you're moving yourself, you may need to hire a professional cleaning firm to fulfill your contract with your landlord.

At one month to go you should also start investigating utilities and other things that will transfer with you - moving is a good time to take advantage of any offers that you might get with your phone, electricity, Internet or gas. Taking advantage of this now may not make sense, but in the long run it means you can investigate your options and make an educated decision on your utilities and other billables.

Summary:

This is a question that most people grapple with from time to time and it has largely been on my mind this past week.

Keywords:

inspiration, motivation, self help, pet, loss, grief, dog, canine, love, family

Article Body:

This is a question that most people grapple with from time to time and it has largely been on my mind this past week.

You see one of the best people I know -- my Uncle Carl -- had a very bad accident this week. While working on the wood lot with his son, his hand got caught in a log splitter. In the end the damage was so severe that his left hand had to be amputated.

Although no longer a young man, my uncle is very active and enjoys working with his hands. He is right handed but clearly the use of two hands was an important part of his former life and just as clearly that will have to change.

I was devastated when I heard the news and am still shaken by it -- even more so when I think about how much worse the accident could have been. My whole family is upset, especially Uncle Carl's wife and children, most notably my cousin John who was with him at the time.

As I worked through my worry and grief I kept asking myself that question: Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People?

I know people often say this when tragedy occurs, but this is not simple lip service -- it is fact. My uncle is a good man.

He is a very strong family man who is still married to his high school sweetheart. He loves his four children as well as his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He was a devoted son when his parents were alive and is loved by his siblings, nieces and nephews. He and his wife opened their home to many children and young people over the years and continue to open their home and hearts whenever family, friends, or community require it.

He has worked hard all his life -- using his hands to service the land and master machinery and using his broad shoulders and strong muscles to complete every task set before him.

He has played an important role in his community serving as a volunteer firefighter as well as a cornerstone of his church congregation.

Yes, he is a good man, but his life has not been easy though and I had to question why one more burden needed to be added to his heavy load.

Many Christians will say that God sends us trials to test us. And there might be some truth in that. Many of us are stronger than we think and it takes difficult challenges to make this clear. But I didn't think this applied to my uncle -- he has had many challenges over the course of his life and I think he has a good handle on his own strengths.

However loss also highlights what we have and perhaps have taken for granted. Yes, my uncle has had a difficult life but he has also had a tremendously rewarding one. I don't think there really is much that my uncle wishes for or envies in others. Yes, his siblings may have more money and professional success, but I am confident that Carl would not trade his wife and family for that money any day of the week. And I secretly suspect that if he did in fact have more money that it would be spent in large part on his loved ones.

And he is greatly loved by a great many people. Not just by his immediate and extended family but by the many people whose lives he has touched. I know there are prayers on his behalf winging from coast to coast. I don't think he'd trade that love and the respect that accompanies it for all the professional success his siblings have enjoyed.

We can grieve with him for the loss of his hand, but we can't pity him when we look at the many gifts that God has given him.

What is more, when you step back and take a look at the man he is then you do not even notice the missing hand. He is so much more than the simple sum of his parts and in the end it is the size of his heart that one notices most.

It is important to note that it was his right hand that was preserved -- the very hand he has extended so many times to others to offer love, friendship, and help.

Summary:

One of the best comedy series of the 1990s, Friends helped redefine "must-see" with its fellow Thursday night program Seinfeld. Following the lives of six friend living in New York City, the show was part comedy show, part soap opera, as fans focused on the relationships between the characters as well as their witty one-liners…

The Friends (Season 10) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss" in which Joe...

Keywords:

friends season 10 dvd review

Article Body:

One of the best comedy series of the 1990s, Friends helped redefine "must-see" with its fellow Thursday night program Seinfeld. Following the lives of six friend living in New York City, the show was part comedy show, part soap opera, as fans focused on the relationships between the characters as well as their witty one-liners…

The Friends (Season 10) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere "The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss" in which Joey and Rachel & Ross and Charlie decide to wait until Ross and Joey talk to each other before moving forward with their respective relationships. Joey is reluctant to bring up the subject, and Ross walks in on Joey and Rachel kissing. Meanwhile, Phoebe discovers that Mike has a girlfriend and Monica gets cornrows… Other notable episodes from Season 10 include "The One With Ross’s Tan" in which Joey and Rachel decide to be just friends once again and Ross gets a spray-on tan, and "The One Where Joey Speaks French" in which Monica and Ross’s father suffers a heart attack and Phoebe teaches Joey how to speak French for an audition…

Below is a list of episodes included on the Friends (Season 10) DVD:

Episode 219 (The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss) Air Date: 09-25-2003

Episode 220 (The One Where Ross is Fine) Air Date: 10-02-2003

Episode 221 (The One with Ross’s Tan) Air Date: 10-09-2003

Episode 222 (The One with the Cake) Air Date: 10-23-2003

Episode 223 (The One Where Rachel’s Sister Babysits) Air Date: 10-30-2003

Episode 224 (The One with Ross’s Grant) Air Date: 11-06-2003

Episode 225 (The One with the Home Study) Air Date: 11-13-2003

Episode 226 (The One with the Late Thanksgiving) Air Date: 11-20-2003

Episode 227 (The One with the Birth Mother) Air Date: 01-08-2004

Episode 228 (The One Where Chandler Gets Caught) Air Date: 01-15-2004

Episode 229 (The One Where the Stripper Cries) Air Date: 02-05-2004

Episode 230 (The One with Phoebe’s Wedding) Air Date: 02-12-2004

Episode 231 (The One Where Joey Speaks French) Air Date: 02-19-2004

Episode 232 (The One with Princess Consuela) Air Date: 02-26-2004

Episode 233 (The One Where Estelle Dies) Air Date: 04-22-2004

Episode 234 (The One with Rachel’s Going Away Party) Air Date: 04-29-2004

Episode 235 (The One with All the Other Ones: Part 1) Air Date: 05-06-2004

Episode 236 (The One with All the Other Ones: Part 2) Air Date: 05-06-2004

Episode 237 (The Last One: Part 1) Air Date: 05-06-2004

Episode 238 (The Last One: Part 2) Air Date: 05-06-2004

Summary:

Consistency seems to be a boring idea at first sight. It lacks glamour and excitement. But, when you look more closely, consistency is anything but boring. It contains the secret of achievement and success. It is the key to an almost magical power than can transform lives.

Keywords:

goals,achievement,consistency,habits,character,dreams,behavior

Article Body:

Consistency seems to be a boring idea at first sight. It lacks glamour and excitement. But, when you look more closely, consistency is anything but boring. It contains the secret of achievement and success. It is the key to an almost magical power than can transform lives.

Consistency means repeating the same behaviors regularly and without exceptions. Consistent behavior is the opposite of erratic behavior. Skipping workouts is an example of erratic behavior. Performing all or most of your workouts is an example of consistency.

Consistency creates powerful habits; lack of consistency and exceptions mean that you have to start building the habits all over again.

Consistency allows the seeds to grow and the fruit to arrive. Regular, patient, consistent action is necessary to achieve good results. Even winning the lottery requires buying a ticket and entering the numbers.

A woman who won the US $162 million lottery is quoted as saying, that she played the same numbers consistently for two years. She didn't play it once or twice and give up as so may people do.

She steadfastly believed that her dream of winning the lottery would be realized. Consistency, then, may occasionally work even in the notoriously risky world of gambling.

Recently, I read an outstanding article by T.J. Walker, the public speaking and communication expert. He commented on how often communication breaks down on the internet because of a lack of consistency.

Ezines, blogs and podcasts often only last for one or two issues and then they disappear. Either their creators ran out of material or foolishly expected success after one or two efforts and gave up when the results of their efforts were disappointing.

Most marketing gurus insist that sales only come after about seven email messages have been sent to a list of potential customers.

Many would be entrepreneurs lack the patience and consistency to send out even seven messages to their lists. They are unlikely to succeed in winning the trust of their customers.

Nearly any goal worth achieving demands regular and consistent efforts. If you want to achieve a black belt in a martial art, you need to show up to one training session after another whether you feel like it or not.

I know, from many years of experience, that students who show up regularly for training almost always achieve their goal of becoming a black belt.

However, I have had some very talented students who lacked patience and only showed up sporadically. When their progress up the ladder of success seemed too slow to them, they gave up and disappeared.

When I examine my martial arts students at grading sessions, I often congratulate them for just being there. I tell them that they are already half way through the grading because they have shown up and in the famous words of Woody Allen: "80% of success in life is just showing up."

By showing up, my students have shown that they have guts and are willing to accept the fact that they might look foolish if they forget their syllabus or perform it badly. Not every one can face this possibility and I even had one student give up the martial art because the grading seemed too worrying.

One person who has never failed to show up in the UK and about a third of the rest of the world is Queen Elizabeth II. For over half a century she has shown up at one formal and informal occasion after another in good and bad times. She has traveled thousands of miles around the world to achieve her goal of being a servant of her country and the commonwealth.

Today was her 80th birthday and most of the country and even the media showed their appreciation for her consistent adherence to duty. One paper actually called her "Elizabeth the Great".

Greatness only comes when efforts are consistent. Champion teams win championships not because they win every match but because they consistently play well and with determination and, as a result, win most of their matches.

An individual loses weight because they stick consistently to their diet and to their exercise regime. A body builder adds muscle weight because he consistently attends the gym whether he feels like it or not. The champions do not give up when they feel tired or bored or when results seem painfully slow.

Daily efforts create habits and habits make it easier to make those daily efforts but it still takes hard work and the determination to follow through every single day no matter what.

To achieve your goals repeat your efforts every single day. Turn up in the gym or wherever you need to. Don't be like my step brother who was once told: "You won't turn up for your own funeral!"

Occasionally you make have to make an exception and miss out on the desired behavior. One way to avoid exceptions is to perform the behavior you have planned as early as possible in the day before the rest of the family and the cat start demanding your attention!

Another way to avoid exceptions is to make a list of your most important daily behaviors in order of importance. Stick it on your wall and read it as soon as you get up. This way, your consistency will not falter because of a poor memory.

Repeat the desired or planned behavior daily and with as few exceptions as possible and you will make gradual but certain progress and eventually achieve your loftiest goals and dreams.

Even if you don't achieve all your goals and dreams, you will have at least become a great character and a person of value because you did what you planned to do on a daily basis. That, at least, is a goal worth achieving.

Radio hobbyists can play with their equipment all day without giving a thought to the origins of their hobby. Early radio hobbyists were part of something that was, at the time, new and fairly crazy.

After radio technology was stabilized, there was a steady growth of radio signaling in the fields of navigation of ships and for rescue operations. On the other hand, the amateur radio operators also started to dominate the air. The first documented and famous amateur wireless enthusiast was a then young man named Irving Vermilya born in 1890 when wireless transmission was being born. The young man since age 12 heard Marconi and built his own wireless transmission equipment and was often “heard” telegraphing with ships during that time. In 1911 he became a member of the Radio Club that had been formed. He got himself certified in 1912 when law mandated all wireless operators to be certified. In his own words,

This was pre-audio era, and communication was purely in Morse code. Irving then organized his own amateur group who had regular meetings monthly and would communicate daily wishing “GM” (good morning) and “GN” (good night), some of the first amateur jargon to be used. He also proceeds to describe in his series of articles published in QST magazine in 1917 as to how they managed to lay the telegraph lines and such and how they “drew juice” for the wireless operation from the electric lines instead of relying on batteries.

Meanwhile, apart from the “professionals” and “amateurs”, with audio wireless signal transmission there was a new revolution setting in. A Dutch engineer in Hague was the first to make regular wireless transmission via radio. This could be considered the first regular radio broadcast. After this there was slow development until the commercial radio stations came into being.

The requirement to be certified killed the enthusiasm in many amateurs, and the number of amateurs dwindled. But then after WWI, there was a boom. The first radio clubs were formed in 1909 and this was the beginning of the radio hobbies which included radio as a part of the hobby activity.

During the WWI the amateur radio operators were asked to stop their activity and dismantle the equipment. Radio operators in uniform helped in military communications. They got back on the air again by November 1919 again. A similar lull in amateur radio happened during Second World War and got back on air by 1946. After lots of battles over the frequency range that the amateurs can tune into, the amateur radio is here to stay!

At present there are more than 170,000 ham operators which is possibly not the complete picture. It is still increasing. So, with Irving Vermilya was born the amateur radio operation, since he was the first radio hobbyist. After lots of developments, including the discovery of the transistor which greatly decreased the size of the radio equipment, the old ways still remains which included “waiting for someone to signal”.

The rules to get oneself certified and licensed included a Morse code proficiency until the World Radiocommunication Conference in Geneva in 2003 that eliminated the need for Morse code proficiency from the licensure tests. Taking effect from February 23, 2007 the Morse code has been eliminated from the tests for amateur radio license tests.