Saturday

How To Purchase Diamond Jewelry

If you're a man, you're probably thinking of giving your bride-to-be a diamond ring and would like to ask her to marry you. The idea seems simple enough; you'd go to a jewelry store, select a diamond worthy for your beloved, pay for it and you're ready to go. In reality however, this is not always what it feels like especially if you are able to get a hold of the price tag of your chosen sparkler and you would soon realize how intimidating it is to purchase diamond jewelry gifts. If you have the intention to purchase a diamond in the near future, it is important that you know the tricks of the trade for you to take charge of your transactions and get a run for your money.

According to Fred Cuellar, gemologist and one of the world's top diamond experts, there are basically four things that a consumer has to remember when he or she intends to purchase diamond jewelry gifts, and these could be summarized as BEST: B-budget, E-expectations, S-savvy, and T-timetable. In terms of budget, you should try to figure out first how much you intend to spend on buying diamond, and you should stick to that budget outlay; a month's salary could already be a good starting point. For expectations, it is important that you know and understand the needs and wants of the person to whom you are going to give the diamond so that you will have an idea what to look for and what to pick out from the bunch. Being savvy requires you to know the given cost of diamond in the market and the best designs available, as they say knowledge is power; and for the element of timetable, you must have a laid plan about when and where you intend to give the diamond, do not haste things and be sure to give yourself enough time to analyze things.

Now that you have a crash course about making diamond purchase, you should also know where to buy your sparklers. You have two options where you could get your diamond jewelry gifts, first is for you to go online and second is to check your local jewelry shops. Buying online is probably one of the most practical means to buy diamond gifts because you don't have to break a sweat and everything is just one click away; however, the drawbacks with this are you cannot appraise the diamond and the possibility of scams are high but if you really want this option, be sure to do a background check on the online stores where you intend to purchase. The latter option of buying your diamond gifts on you local jewelry store is a better choice because you would be able to appraise the diamond personally and long time jewelers could help you out with your questions, which would assist you in arriving at the right decision.

As for the diamond, always remember the 4Cs: clarity, color, cut and carat; all of which are important elements that determine the real value of sparklers. Clarity is what determines how free from blemishes and inclusions a diamond is. Different types of diamond are assigned with clarity grades that may range from flawless to obvious inclusions. Sometimes, due to quality issues there are diamond pieces that are treated to reduce their imperfections by irradiation, filling imperfections, or laser drilling, these are known as clarity enhanced sparklers which are usually lesser in value.

When it comes to color, diamond pieces are available in virtually all colors; however, colored sparklers are rare and truly expensive so chances are, the sparklers you would see during your shopping are either white or yellow in color but between the two, it would be better to go for whiter diamond pieces. This is because the yellow coloring of sparklers came from nitrogen which affect their sharp and sparkly features; hence, as a rule of thumb, the yellower the diamond, the cheaper it becomes. When it comes to cut, diamond pieces could be cut in different ways, the most common of which is the round brilliant cut. More than indicating the shape of the diamond, a cut also determines how sparkly such gemstone will be.

It is never enough for a diamond to be clear and white, because your diamond will not sparkle unless it is cut properly. As cut is extremely hard to analyze, the three things that you should look at are brilliance, fire and scintillation; however, if you really want to make things easier, the standard round brilliant cut is probably the most preferable choice compared to other cut. Lastly, the carat refers to the unit weight of a diamond. Majority of diamond pieces used for fine jewelry often weight one carat or less; this is because a fraction of a carat can make a big difference on the value of diamond.

Purchasing diamond jewelry gifts is a daunting task. Hence, it is always best to be an informed buyer in order to get the most out of your money. Not because a diamond is round brilliant cut doesn't mean it's already a good purchase. Remember that there are still three remaining Cs that you have to consider. A clarity enhanced diamond might be inexpensive but also consider the quality. Educating oneself is a good way to make the right purchasing decisions.

Thursday

More New Promotional Products for 2011

High Five Highlighter

The High Five Highlighter is a fun and functional desk accessory with 5 different colored highlighters docked into central holder creating the shape of a hand.  It includes your imprinted logo or message on the “palm” of the hand.   A great feature of this product is that it has a short production time which can make it possible to obtain within just days of ordering.  It’s a great idea for a “Let Us Give You a Hand” campaign.

Imprinted Recharging Cradle/Holder

If you’re like us, we run out of electrical outlets near our desk for all of today’s electronics which often means finding some obscure outlet to charge our cell phone or the digital camera … and often there’s no choice but setting that expensive piece of equipment on the floor beneath the outlet and hoping no one steps on it.  That’s where the Driinn Phone Holder/Charging Cardle comes in.   Just plug in your device through the Driinn’s hoop and set your phone or camera on the “shelf” as it charges.  The Driinn can be imprinted with your logo as well!

Titanium Team Necklaces & Bracelets


The Titanium Team Necklaces & Bracelets are becoming wildly popular items to show support for sports teams as well as schools, universities, teams and causes.  They’re increasingly popular items for fundraisers as well!  They’re a woven jacquard ionic necklace with silicone titanium and are available in single rope version, a two rope twist and a three rope braided version.  Each rope can be custom colored with one rope being imprinted with a custom message, school or team name, etc.  There are necklace and braclet versions available.

Imprinted Bamboo & Ceramic Tumbler

This innovative tumbler is made from white ceramic which will help keep coffee and hot drinks warm longer.  It includes an attractive bamboo wrap imprinted with your logo or custom message that is held in place in a recess of the ceramic tumbler.  The tumbler has a 14 ounce capacity.  It’s a classy and stylish item which would make a great gift for clients, employees and prospects.

Imprinted Silicone Base Coffee Mugs

Thes Silicone Base Coffee Mugs have a classy yet bold look with the black ceramic mug and bold silicone base.  The silicone base, removable for cleaning, helps to prevent cups from slipping and sliding as well as adds flare to the design.  The square handles helps provide a firmer grip as well.  With a color imprint against these black muchs, logos will pop expecially with a complimentary silicon base color.  Initially, these 14 oz. mugs are available with blue, red, green and black silicone bases.

Sunday

Get the Best Spy Camera at Cost-effective Price Tag

Spy camera, the best espionage products, has completely changed the concept of espionage and spying. But now they are also very much preferred by people for the safety of their homes and offices. They are fixed so secretly that one can hardly find them. Today, especially in high protected place, spy cameras are installed very effectively.
Available in an assortment of forms and designs, spy cameras features high mega pixel image capturing, sufficient memory up to 32 GB, perfect and error free lenses, image capturing features even in dark nights as well, are some of the latest features that make them the first need of everyone.
Especially for mystery shoppers and private investigators, spy cameras are really the right choice. Pens, flower pots, ties, lighters, mobile phones, etc, are some of the added forms in them you cane easily find the right spy camera as per your choice and requirement.

Wednesday

Yoga - To Force Or to Feel?

Most of us who do yoga yearn for more from the practice than just physical benefits--indeed, for more than just benefit to ourselves. But how can twisting our bodies, opening our hips, and straightening our legs make a difference in the wider world? How can lifting our chests help lift up this troubled planet?
Our asana practice can have a positive impact because it constantly asks us to become more sensitive, more conscious, more aware of ourselves--not just our bodies but also our minds, feelings, emotions, and our very nature. The real value of asana practice is that it can teach us to tune in and truly feel. As our sensitivity increases, life becomes more rich and enjoyable because we can taste the unique flavor of each individual moment. More important, we also become more aware of what moves us toward out dharma and what takes us away from it. This awareness makes us clearer and more peaceful, more able to elegantly handle life's endless dilemmas without feeling overwhelmed or fearful. As a result, we become more effective in all of our actions, and our presence begins to inspire and bring out the best in people around us.
The opposite of feeling is forcing. When we force, we cannot feel, and when we feel, we cannot force. The moment we start to force, we begin to lose awareness of the effect our efforts have on our nervous system, on the situation itself, and on the other people involved. Forcing makes us angry, inflexible, and intolerant; raises our blood pressure; and can eventually create heart problems. Feeling, on the other hand, makes us calmer, more receptive, more understanding, and healthier.
If we force ourselves into Ardha Matsyendrasana II (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose II), the spine will twist where it always has, where it needs the twist the least. In this pose, it is particularly easy to force the body while attempting to reach around the back and grab the shin. To the extent that the desire to do this comes from the ego's urge to satisfy itself--just to prove we can do this pose--it manifests itself as force. Feeling, on the other hand, allows us to tune in to the habitual tendencies of the body and sense which vertebrae are twisting and which are not. Cultivating feeling in Ardha Matsyendrasana II allows movement where there was stagnation, release where there was stiffness, and freedom where there was bondage.
Just as force and feeling are opposites, so are violence and awareness. We often get angry, and sometimes even outwardly violent, when a situation arises that is not to our ego's liking, rather than using it as an opportunity to become more aware. But violence inevitably breeds more violence. The more forceful and violent we are, the further we move from feeling and awareness; consequently, the more violent we become.
I believe much of the violence in our world comes from our lack of awareness, which has historically manifested itself as an unwillingness to see other people's point of view. When we pause and feel, we become more open and more receptive to the possibility that there are valid ways of thinking other than our own.
Sensitivity is often portrayed as weakness, yet it actually gives us the strength to lower our guard and say to an enemy, "Let's sit down and talk this through. How are you feeling? Why are you behaving the way you are?" People who have the security that comes with deep sensitivity and awareness have no desire to be violent; it is insecurity that contributes to violence. Through feeling, sensitivity, and awareness, we can bring insecurity and its resulting violence to an end.
What does all of this have to do with our individual practice of asanas like Ardha Matsyendrasana II? The awareness that we develop on the yoga mat, though seemingly small, affects all that is. As we become more aware in our yoga practice and in our lives, as we move away from force and violence and toward sensitivity, feeling and awareness, we change our individual consciousness and actions. In turn, these changes influence the consciousness and actions of everyone we meet. Slowly we shift the direction the world is taking. As we practice each asana, whether it be a challenging twist like Ardha Matsyendrasana II or a simple standing pose, we have the opportunity to become the embodiment of peace and to make our practice a prayer for harmony in the world.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1424058

Saturday

How to choose your desired laptop

When you want to buy a laptop course there are many things that need to be primed for your consideration not to see his brand. Each laptop any brand of the same strong and obstinate that famous and often also have problems like broken from it all, but all decisions must be viewed from what your needs for its application.
Here are tips and suggestions:
1. Make sure to what work will be used Laptops and any applications that will be installed so that you can prepare its budget, why would I say this because he later you would be wise to specify the options that suit your budget and limit choice unless you have lots of funds may choose a higher specification.

2. Choose Laptop with longest warranty period, and see what is in the warranty in the first year, two and so on read all the rules written on the card guarantees and choose which of his many services have a place not that many places services mean many are broken but that they are ready to serve you and facilitate you to repair and consultation of all your problems remembering things that laptops are often loyal to accompany you wherever you go, on your job especially if you are frequently out of town or out of the country so that all problems do not interfere with your work. 3. processor and memory is important because it must be balanced with the operating system and any applications you want to install ...
because if its fast processors but his memory is very small, or vice versa does not support to the working system of the laptop itself so it should be balanced ...
Suppose you want a laptop-based Celeron, Intel Core Duo, Core2Duo or AMD if its Windows XP operating system, at least you wear with memory ranging from 512 Mb and not more than 1.5 GB because not only will add to the budget was not balanced .. . except if its operating system has been using windows vista you may use more memory 2 Gb and also depending on the application software will be installed.
So I hope you are not wrong in taking a decision to buy a laptop like what best suits your own needs and expectations.

Wednesday

3 Simple Ways To Save A Bunch Of Money When Buying A New Computer!

For most people, buying a new computer does not have to be as stressful as buying a new car. Nor does it have to be as expensive. If you’re like most people, and you have a limited budget for buying a computer, then you need to try to get as much computer for your money as possible.

Here are 3 simple ways anyone can save money when buying a new computer:

1) Shop around for best deal.

Sounds pretty obvious. But many people don’t realize they don’t need the fastest, most expensive computer with the most “extras”. In fact, if you are already using an older computer, even the least expensive new computer will be a big upgrade. If you don’t know a lot about computers, you can learn a lot by shopping around. Ask lots of questions, compare prices, compare features, then find the best price. Shop at your local electronics store, and look for the best deals online. You’ll be surprised at how much money you can save by shopping around!

2) Install your own “extras”

Many computers you will find in a store have a lot of extra software already installed. While this is convenient, it is not always the best way for you to save money. Also, while many of these extras sound good, you don’t always need them. You can often find better deals by shopping around separately for your own software extras (such as a word processor, anti-virus, popup blocker, spyware removal, games, etc). And some of these you can get for free. So before you buy the “fully loaded” computer, ask yourself if you really need all the extras, then shop around to see if you can buy a scaled down computer - and get the extras yourself for much less!

3) Don’t buy extended warranty

If you are not a computer “techie”, the extended warranties offered by the computer retailers often sound like a good idea. After all, who wants to be bothered paying for service on a computer after you buy it. But keep in mind that most computers come with a warranty, and most computer problems will either happen at the beginning (when you still have the warranty in effect) or much later (when it might be cheaper to buy a new computer). Technology changes very quickly these days. So consider whether or not it’s worth the inflated price of the extended warranty. And, if you really feel you need the extended warranty, then ask to purchase it at a lower price. Not all retailers will negotiate on the warranty, but some will. And whether you buy the extended warranty or not, make sure you back up all your files periodically, just in case!

If you have an unlimited budget, consider yourself lucky. And if you do business on the computer, make sure you get what you need, while trying to keep the price down. At any price, buying something that does not fit your needs is not a good deal.

Hope you find these tips helpful, and happy computer shopping!

LCD Monitor v/s CRT Monitor

The demand of LCD (Liquid crystal display) monitors is rapidly growing in the market. With the advancement of technology LCD are quite familiar to computer user and we can see most of them are using LCD. It would be a challenge for LCD manufacturing companies to fulfill the growing demand of LCD in the market.

Some comparison between LCD monitor and CRT monitor is given below

1. LCD panels are only an inch thick without including the stand. These consume less power and don’t radiate a lot of heat when used, unlike CRT monitor.

2. Their digital display is sharper and produce good quality picture as compare to CRT monitor.

3. An LCD monitor is slim and comes in a very compact configuration. They can be fit easily into any less vacant part of the room or any where. They are very suitable for small offices or homes

4. But its difficult for everyone to afford LCD display because LCD display screens or monitors are quite expensive as compare to CRT

5. LCD screens or displays are very sensitive and should be handling with care. They are not suitable for minor used.

6. As far as moving images or 3D images are concern, LCD screen are blurry and unclear. Hence, someone prefers CRT over LCD screens. Graphic designers also prefer the CRT over the LCD. Not only that, the color gradations are not clear in the LCD panel, and it causes problems in differentiating between darker shades, creating practical problems for graphic designers.