VampireS SUMO

When my old Olympus digital camera got broke while caving during a family camping trip, I had mixed feelings. For quite some time I had felt that the quality of some of my pictures was hampered by the limitations of that camera, but I did not look forward to spending the money on a new one.

The old camera wasn’t bad, but there were certain situations where it was difficult to get good pictures with it. When taking pictures at my son’s basketball games, for example, the camera would slow the shutter down to try to improve the exposure, and this would cause the fast-moving players to just look like a blur. The flash was of no help, because it didn’t work well from that distance. All I could do was change the ISO sensitiviy, and that made the pictures grainy. Also, the camera was slow, so I′d often miss a good picture by about half a second. At football games, I had another problem; the players were just so far away that the camera’s zoom wasn’t enough.

For a while, I tried using my old Yashica 35 mm film camera. I even bought a fairly large telephoto lens off ebay and managed to get some really nice football pictures that way. Unfortunately, though, I found that I wasn’t saving any money by not buying a new digital as the photo processing was so expensive, especially by the time I added the extra cost of asking for cd’s. Also, the Yashica had a manual focus, which allowed maximum control, but sometimes I wasn’t quick enough with the focus and the shot was spoiled. Worst of all, since I couldn’t see the pictures until I′d paid for the processing, a couple of times I found that there were few if any good shots on an entire roll. With digital, I would have simply taken a lot more shots and deleted the bad ones.

So, finally I decided I needed a new digital, but I was spoiled by the control that the Yashica gave me. Simple point-and-shoot was not good enough. I wanted a camera with good optical zoom (digital zoom is just a marketing gimic) that would give me the ability to take control of more of the camera’s features. I also wanted a camera with a quality lens (an oft overlooked feature in consumer cameras), but I did not want to spend a lot of money. I finally settled on the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ3 3MP Digital Camera with 12x Image Stabilized Optical Zoom.

Everybody looking at digital cameras seem to look mainly at MP (megapixels), but 3MP is good enough for photo quality 8≪’s if you don’t do a lot of cropping and enlarging. So, that’s a great area for potential cost savings. Personally, I′d rather spend my money on features that will actually help me take better pictures, not just bigger ones. And the Lumix is loaded with such features. Consider also that if you get a higher MP camera, you also need a bigger, more expensive memory card as well.

This camera is admittedly too large to be pocketable, which may be an issue for some people, and if you use the adapter for filters it makes it even more bulky. However, it’s pretty light weight (due largely to the battery type) and I like a camera that fits into the hand nicely instead of feeling like a toy. Also, there is a reason why professionals lug around those big cameras. It’s because they take better pictures… if you know how to use them properly. Most people don’t realize that a telephoto lens is not just for taking pictures of things far away. They are also great for portraits. And for taking pictures of my son’s football games, the more zoom the better.

One of the great thing about this camera for me is that my wife, who wants things to be simple, can use the camera in “simple mode”. So, she can take great pictures of kids birthday parties and such without having to learn all the features of the camera. I have also used the “simple mode” sometimes, but for basketball games and other extreme situations, I have the option of using shutter-priority or manual modes, and have been able to achieve better results. And with the 12X optical zoom, the camera is great for football games too.

I’ve seen postings on the internet where people who have bought digital cameras are wondering why they can’t seem to get good pictures in certain situations. The answer is simple. Most cameras are made for the average user who wants something small and simple. They aren’t made to work well in extreme situations.

In this article, I have described what my needs were when buying my camera. Your needs may be entirely different, and may also change over time (as mine have). However, if you carefully evaluate your individual needs and take into consideration the pros and cons of different cameras before you buy, you will surely avoid some annoying surprises.

The author, Greg Bonney, is the owner of Bonney Information and E-Commerce and founder of Scoutcamping.com ( scoutcamping.com scoutcamping.com).

Copyright © 2005 Bonney Information and E-Commerce.

Except in certain circles, the game of backgammon doesn’t get much attention these days unless the version being played is the online version. But that’s not the way it was 5,000 years ago when players in Mesopotamia first created this exciting and strategic board game. Few people realize that backgammon existed even before the game of chess was created, making it one of the oldest games still played in modern times.

Little about backgammon has changed since its earliest days. The game itself has survived countless civilizations including the Persians, Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. This is evidenced from the many games that have been discovered by means of archeological excavations. The layout of the board has changed as previously it consisted of 3 rows of 10 squares. For a time it was called Senat. Since then, however, the only other significant change has been the addition of the doubling cube, thought to have been added in the early 1900’s. The doubling cube made the game more interesting and added an element of intrigue.

As with most things in life the Internet breathed new life into the game of backgammon, with virtual game rooms springing to life almost as fast as virtual poker and other virtual games of chance. Today, finding others who share a passion for the game is easy. All players need to do is log on to any of the established backgammon web sites any time of day and they’ll find players around the world looking for partners. To draw attention to these sites, operators have started offering cash prizes and other alluring bonus offers and their tactics are working.

If you’ve never played a game of backgammon, you really don’t know what you’re missing. It’s not hard to learn and once you do, you’ll find that the game is somewhat addicting. With each new round, you’ll learn something you didn’t know before, and as you do, your ability to effectively strategize will increase. So next time you’re bored, find someone who knows how to play backgammon!

Dennis Frank is an Internet Entrepreneur and Author of many fine websites such as backgammonspot.com/ BackgammonSpot.com Please visit the website for more related articles and information about backgammonspot.com/Online_Backgammon.html Online Backgammon.

Sportsbook dominate Las Vegas when it comes to nearly every form of sports betting. Handle, odds, bonuses, propositions, limits, etc. It is all a knockout for the offshore sportsbooks versus Las Vegas.

How did it happen? Until the 1990’s Las Vegas was? The place for sports betting. There was nothing else. If you wanted to make a bet legally you had no other choice but to go to Las Vegas. There were bookies around the world that you could place your bets with, but they never had the good reputation that Las Vegas had. Vegas had the odds, the money, everything. The Internet changed all of that. Sportsbooks began popping up all over the world, especially in Costa Rica, and slowly but surely Las Vegas lost its grip on the sports betting world. Offshore sportsbooks started offering everything that Las Vegas was offering, and more. If you wanted to make- made it possible for gamblers around the world to place bets from their own home. It is not like this happened overnight, and Las Vegas didn’t do anything about it. Vegas had grown fat and happy when it came to sports wagering and did not react to offshore sportsbooks taking their business away. The Vegas sportsbooks became more corporate oriented and did not fight back.

Offshore sportsbooks have made the contest between themselves and Las Vegas a one-sided affair. The odds are almost always better offshore than in Vegas. The limits are always higher. You get bonuses offshore for your sports betting action. Try getting anything in Vegas when it comes to a bonus. The propositions offered Offshore Sports Betting completely outclass Las Vegas.

The biggest gamblers in the world used to come to Las Vegas to make their sports wagers. That is no longer the case. Vegas barely gets a trickle of the big action now. Sportsbooks around the world take far more action than the sportsbooks in Las Vegas. It really is not even worthy of comparison. It is like a Major League Baseball team playing a little league team. The game would not even be played because it is such a mismatch.

Anything you hear about Las Vegas having the best of anything when it comes to sports gambling is a fallacy. It is long since gone. Offshore sportsbook websites dominate the sports wagering world and that does not look likely to change anytime soon.

Professional SEO. He helps a number of online gambling sites like:

pokeraffiliatesprogram.com/” title=”Poker Affiliate Poker Affiliate Program
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Over a period of time and on various different projects I have tried all manner of promotional devices for music on the Internet. By far the most consistent method I have found to bring listeners to music is blogging.

There are a number of reasons for this:

1. Because you are generating a number of new pages with each new post you are constantly making new content for search engines.

2. Apart from having more pages, all of the major search engine algorithms are aware of the nature of blogs and the constantly updated material. Once your blog has been indexed and identified as such it will cause the search engine robots to pay more attention and visit more frequently.

3. Pinging is a process where you notify the major search engines and blog directories of any updates to your blog. This can be set up so that it happens automatically every time you make a new posting. The real trick here is setting up your ping list so that it notifies all the important services. (The list is pretty long).

4. Tagging is also a very important part of the blogging process. This basically means that you “tag” your individual posts with relevant keywords which allow them to be categorized more easily by search engines, blog directories and social bookmarking sites.

5. Web 2.0 has been a buzz term on the Internet for little while now. Basically, it revolves around sites where you can search for and identify relevant information in a very similar fashion to the traditional search engines. The major difference is that the results are based on human ratings of the material rather than search engine robot algorithms. Social bookmarking sites are at the core of this movement. This is very relevant to how you go about promoting your blog as well.

What I have outlined above is a very basic outline of some of the reasons why blogging can be such an effective method to bring new visitors to your music. Like anything, blogging involves a set of skills and just throwing up a page on blogger or using the provided service with a Myspace profile will not bring you that many new visitors in isolation.

On the other hand, a properly optimized blog and correct use of pinging, tagging, social bookmarking, relevant commenting and several other devices will bring hundreds if not thousands of new listeners to your music.

As I said, of all the different available Internet promotion ideas I have found this to be the single most effective technique. I hope you have found this article useful and if you really want to grow your fan base start blogging!

Need More Listeners For Your Music?

The Best FREE Advice For Indie Musicians straudio.com/ www.straudio.com

A little effort for a lot of traffic!

Everyone who has a computer, or even just has access to one, knows just how popular online virtual poker has become. We’re all constantly inundated with emails, ads, and pop-ups advertising online virtual poker sites offering unbelievable money giveaways and prizes. Though a lot of this may sound like hype, there are places that actually do give wonderful bonuses to their players. You just have to look around and see which of these bonuses are actually beneficial to you.

In choosing a place to play online virtual poker, bonuses are bound to come into play. Investigate the requirements and limitations of the bonuses the site offers and decide if you’ll be getting enough out of the site to make it worth your while. Most bonuses are based on an initial deposit amount. If you plan to play a large amount of virtual online poker, you can find a site that offers to double your initial deposit and make some serious extra gambling money. If you’re just a recreational player, who doesn’t want a lot of money involved, you may be better off with a site that pays a straight dollar amount for your first deposit.

Always remember to read the fine print so that you don’t end up getting something less than you bargained for. Every bonus has specific requirements you must meet relating to games played, time spent at the site, or the amount of your deposits. If you can’t meet the requirements of the bonus for an online virtual poker site, then find another place better tailored to your own game play needs.

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platinumpoker.com/ Internet Poker
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In the past few years, professional poker playing has exploded in popularity. The biggest players are winning substantial amounts of money. However, none of the professional poker players are sharing their secrets. In reality, the best players in the world aren’t doing anything really spectacular other than following basic poker tips. What makes the best players so amazing is their ability to utilize all of their strengths and capitalize on the weaknesses of others. Anyone can significantly improve his or her poker game by following these four easy tips.

1. Observe your opponents. This is probably the most crucial part of poker. When playing against someone, the more you know about them, the easier it will be for you to take advantage of their weaknesses. It is always a good idea to observe an opponent’s betting habits. Some players bet extremely high when they have a good hand. Other players will attempt to make several seemingly small raises. Anyone who consistently raises after each flop might have a good hand. However, some players will try to bluff. Noticing patterns can help you adjust to the moves of your opponents. This will help you save money, and possibly have great gains.

2. Bet wisely and watch your money. Every poker player should set limits when going into the casino. The pros don’t have to worry about money so much, but the average player definitely does. Set a limit and do not exceed it. Being money conscious can help ensure that if you have a bad day at the tables, you don’t put yourself in debt. Along with managing money is managing bets. Some players like to bet high (high rollers), but this can lead to drastic losses. Some of the best players bet moderately, and increase their bets slightly when they have a good hand. The best advice for betting is “avoid the extremes.” Don’t bet too little, because you will end up losing money in the long run. At the same time, don’t bet too much because you might lose a lot of money on only one hand, and that is never good.

3. Take your time. The pros seem to think very fast, but that is because they are pros! You don’t have to make decisions too rashly. Take time to look at your hand and figure out what you have and bet accordingly. Also, take the time to survey your opponents and surmise what hands they might have. The pros are always thinking and are simply faster than the average player. It is important to realize that every poker player has to think logically and make educated guesses.

4. Know when to fold, and when to stay in. Many players do not understand the best solutions for folding or staying in. The best players understand their chances and only stay in when they have at least one type of hand. Having two face cards is a good reason to stay in, but having two different low number cards might not be such a strong hand. When observing other players, if you notice high bets from a player who does not bluff, then you should probably fold. Knowing when to take risks and when to be conservative is a very important element to being a solid poker player.

The pros may seem like they are doing impossible things, but they are really just following basic tips. Poker is a game of chance, but you can always tip the odds in your favor by studying your opponents, being smart with money and betting, and thinking through your decisions. Play smart and you will notice a great increase in your poker winnings.

Paul Runyan enjoys writing about all things poker, including news and commentary. Learn more at geniuspoker.com geniuspoker.com.

“Mrs Clinton, we are aware that as a candidate to the Presidency you have shown a great deal of composure and assurance before the probing questions of a number of panels, television hosts, press conferences and those ad hoc conferences on the way to the elevators, the bar or the relief habitats. How did you develop such talent?’

“The hard way. In this business you are liable to run into all kind of inquisitors some of whom search for the way to make you contradict yourself, disguise the truth of a given situation or evade the questions as best you can. Disraeli said that official inquiries are like visits to the dentist; either you bite the hand that tortures you or you lose the tooth!”

“Any special incidents?”

“As a matter of fact I was just thinking about one of the first grillings I had. I was questioned by a Senator known for his dislike of my party, our ideology, our history and my person. It appeared like a personal form of some imaginary revenge or perhaps some atavistic hatred. Let me recount the incident.

“The first few minutes of the session were enough to unnerve a school bus. For a moment there, the Inquisitor looked as if he would scream the moment I sat down in front of him. He had raised a copy of the Constitution in his right hand and with his left index finger pointed at it with vehemence. But he did not say a word. Instead, he looked at me, who had taken pains to dress tastefully and, I hoped, appeared relaxed and not in the least nervous or apprehensive. His look was a mixture of hatred and, somehow, a tiny glimmer of envy. I realized that my dress was a stunning, yet sober creation that was elegant and solemn. He almost forgot that I was a witness in a national inquiry.

At last, he came out of his momentary lapse and putting the Constitution down, said:

“Now, we have irrefutable evidence that during your last year in High School, you placed no less than 8 pieces of chewed gum under your desk. This offense has not been discovered until recently thanks to the untiring work of our trained investigators. You realize that defacing government property is a federal offense. Further, I feel that your silence all these years has probably been its own punishment, by keeping this onerous offense locked in your heart, if you happen to have one. . .”

I looked at the Inquisitor squarely in the eye and replied in my well modulated voice, enhanced with a slight trace of a Midwestern accent:

“If I recall correctly, there were 9 pieces of regular Spearmint Wrigley’s Chewing Gum, 5 Adams, 2 Bubble gums and one piece of anchovy that had stuck to my braces. Your Inquisitors do not seem very proficient. They also missed the traffic ticket I never paid when I was vacationing in Millinocket in Maine in 1968. That was August 19 at about 6 P.M., your Honor. Or should I call you your Blessed and Exalted Excellency?”

“Sarcasm will get you nowhere. Now, what about the files?”

“What files?”

“The ones that turned up at your family quarters in the White House”

“Sir, when we moved form Arkansas to Washington, we packed 165 boxes with books, records, pictures, Oxford awards, Rhodes certificates, photo albums, old letters, hand written copies of my husband’s letters to girlfriends of his, and a complete music sheet library of popular tunes for saxophone and claves. From my office, we shipped 92 boxes with files, old bills, last wills, college thesis, legal briefs, yellow pads, pencils and green leather pillows. We put all the boxes in Vice President Quayle’s office, which is now the laundry room, and began taking some upstairs as the need arose.”

“Like what?”

“Well, the saxophone sheet music for one. My husband helps my mood by blowing a couple of old romantic tunes once in a while, you know. . “

“How about the files from your legal days?”

“Same thing. My secretary brings up a box occasionally when looking for old correspondence and records. Most people keep old boxes in the attic and once in a while get a box down when they look for something. The only difference is that we use an ex-Vice President’s office instead of an attic and bring boxes to rooms that were once occupied by Washington, Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman and Carter.”

The Senator’s eyes lit up. He leaned forward and in his usual aggressive tone concluded:

“Ah! You admit moving the boxes! Just what I thought! It is clear to this investigating committee that you have been guilty of tampering and concealment of evidence. . .”

I had no recourse other assuming a serious tone when I replied before he had finished the question:

“Your Exalted Honor, or whatever, first of all this is not a trial. It is more like a voluntary deposition and my appearance here answers to Article 23, Paragraph 51 of section 122 of Chapter 9 of the Derivative Amplified Legal Introspection code of 1932. You are certainly familiar also with the protection afforded me by several legal precedents such as the Timmons versus State of Idaho in 1912, the famous Pickering and Barton case against the Caspian Society of Irvine, California and the well publicized decision involving Garcia Pacheco Morales and the San Bernardino City Council. Any questions?”

The Inquisitor heard every word but his mind was elsewhere. He kept looking at me with a great deal of interest. I know that the dress gave me unique poise and elegance. It was clear to me that it made him wonder how it would look on him. His mood changed and he smiled to himself. But this time it was a soft look, full of admiration and maybe even envy. There was the usual dramatic silent interlude before he asked:

“Where did you buy that dress?”

THE END

astrous@comcast.net

Chemical engineer by training, international executive by merit and writer by addiction. Former syndicated columnist of Technology columns, has written for television and movies. His humorous articles contain fine satire and have been published in 4 languages.
Quote: “Love and smiles teach tolerance; days without either are days wasted″

The extremely talented Smooth Jazz artist Chieli Minucci &amp Special EFX has released him latest CD on the Shanachie recording label, entitled Sweet Surrender.

Refreshingly, this was one of those CDs I was able to just pop in and comfortably listen to from beginning to end. Every track is enjoyable and was pretty easy for me to listen to from start to finish.

One of the refreshingly nice things about this CD is the way all of the participating artists seem to be really enjoying themselves. Combine that with the overall presentation and you’ve got one of Chieli Minucci &amp Special EFX’s most impressive releases ever.

Overall Sweet Surrender is an outstanding release. What I call must have music. I give it two thumbs up and is most definitely a worthy addition to any Smooth Jazz collection. Truly an outstanding Smooth Jazz CD. One of those that is completely void of any wasted time, as each track is simply superb.

While the entire CD is outstanding some of my favorites are track 2 - Mystical, track 4 - Sweet Surrender, and track 7 - Cry Of My Soul

My SmoothLee Bonus Pick, and the one that got Sore [...as in "Stuck On REpeat"] is track 11 - Children’s Day. It’s a great track!

Sweet Surrender Release Notes:

Chieli Minucci & Special EFX originally released Sweet Surrender on Feb 27, 2007 on the Shanachie label.

CD Track List Follows:

1. Guitarzzz
2. Mystical
3. Astralcats
4. Sweet Surrender
5. Assension
6. Chant
7. Cry Of My Soul
8. Play With Me
9. Rush Hour (Dawn)
10. Rush Hour (Rush)
11. Children’s Day
12. New Bop
13. Au Naturale

Chieli Minucci & Special EFX: Chieli Minucci (vocals, guitar, keyboards, bass guitar, programming); Philip Hamilton (vocals, percussion); David Mann (flute, saxophone); Jay Rowe (piano, keyboards); Jerry Brooks (bass guitar); Lionel Cordew (drums). Recording information: Bass Hit, New York, NY.

Clyde Lee Dennis a life long music enthusiast, writes CD reviews and is also the Entertainment Editor at Chicago.eNewsBriefs.com covering topics like chicagosmoothjazzradio.com/local-business/restaurants.htm Chicago Restaurants and more. Visit chicagosmoothjazzradio.com/news/ Chicago eNewsBriefs for the latest chicagosmoothjazzradio.com/news/ Chicago News

So, you’ve just graduated to the big boys and got your first 35 mm camera. You’re ready to take some professional quality photos, right? Well, not so fast. See, there is a little matter of film speed. When graduating to the ranks of the 35 mm camera, you’re not just dealing with one film speed, but several. As a novice, you may be asking the question, “What does it matter?” The answer to that question is that it matters a great deal. Depending on what kind of photos you’re planning to take and where you’re planning to take them makes all the difference in the world to the film speed that you’re going to want to use. Hopefully, after reading this little revelation on 35 mm film speeds, you’ll know exactly which speed to choose for the job at hand.

The slowest 35 mm speed is 100. By slowest, we refer to how quickly the shutter opens and closes when taking the photo. While 100 speed is the slowest, it is by no means slow. Shutters open and close in fractions of a second. However, 100 speed when compared to the other speeds, is quite slow. So just when would you use 100 speed film? The ideal conditions for this speed is when you are taking photos outdoors in bright sunlight with a stationary subject. It is not recommended that you try taking moving photos with 100 speed film as the photos will most likely come out blurred.

After 100 speed film, the next fastest speed is 200 speed. This film is your most common speed that people will buy for everyday use. It is primarily used for indoor photos with flash. You can also use it for shots to be taken outdoors under partly sunny conditions. It is not recommended for photos under bright sunlight. This speed is also very good for photos that you plan to enlarge.

After 200 speed film is 400 speed. There is a big debate as to whether or not there’s a whole lot of difference between 200 and 400 speed film for general use, as both are very good under normal conditions. The professional photographer may be able to tell you what the difference is but most people won’t notice. However, if you look at photos taken with 200 and 400 speed film under the same conditions, which is the litmus test, you will notice that the 400 speed film photos are slightly sharper. The difference is so slight under normal conditions that one has to wonder if the difference in price is worth it.

Finally, the fastest film speed, which is also the most dramatically different in photo quality, is the 800 speed film. This film is mainly used for taking action photos such as stock car races. It is also very good for low light conditions. This film is very expensive and is mostly used by professionals. Unless you’re planning on heading out to the track and taking photos of the ponies, most likely you won’t have any need for 800 speed film.

There you have it. Now when you get your new 35 mm for your birthday, you’ll have at least some idea of what kind of film you’ll need based on what kind of photos you’re planning to take.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to photography-guides.com/ Photography

Gift bags are wonderful party favors to hand out to your guests as you can make up your own, keep control of the prices, and you can mix up the items a little bit to help ensure that everyone will find something they like and glow sticks loot bags are becoming quite the rage.

Today’s clubbing lifestyle has created a desire for items that tend to glow-in-the-dark or that appear to glow when taken under a black light. Also you’ll find that many kids are drawn to cool little things that catch their eyes. That may be part of the reason that kids so love catching lighting bugs in the summer evenings.

As a result glow sticks products and other glow-in-the-dark items have really caught on in popularity. You can make a memorable party favor gift for your guests by putting together a themed glow sticks loot bag even if you aren’t having a glow sticks themed party.

Things to include in the loot bag include, obviously enough, glow sticks, glow necklaces and bracelets. You can purchase the simple glow necklace and bracelet tubes online for relatively cheap or you can pay a little more and get themed products like glowing heart necklaces or glowing charm bracelets. Boys may like the Halloween themed monster necklaces in their loot bags.

You can usually find a lot of phosphorescent items to go with the glow sticks in your loot bags. Many people like the glow-in-the-dark stickers or even glow-in-the-dark nail polish. Food can also be found that has phosphorescent chemicals considered safe for consumption, such as those glowing Certs candies.

For adult loot bags you can put together a gift of a light up drinking glass and light up ice cubes. These both make use of small LED lights. If you are handing out the loot bags at night or in a glow sticks party you can wrap the items up in clear cellophane and include a small activated glow stick either inside or tied to the ribbon of the loot bags to create a snazzy look.

Mrs. Party… Gail Leino is the internet’s leading authority on selecting the best possible partysupplieshut.com party supplies, using proper etiquette and manners while also teaching organizational skills and fun facts. Huge selection of glowsticksshop.com Glow Sticks, free party games, and party planning ideas.