Is Online Trading In Your Future?

So you've heard about the stock market right? How about the foreign exchange market or forex for short? What about day trading? Did you know that there are now very affordable ways to be your on broker by doing online trading? That's ok not many people who don't do this stuff every day know much about this otherwise excellent opportunity too make many investment dollars. So you are getting in at a good time before there is a glut of investors creating competition and parity and driving profit potential way down.

In the foreign exchange people exchange their money into different (foreign currencies) according to how they think the economy of that country compares with others and/or the public perception there of. Just like in the stock market if you buy low and sell high you make money. And the potential is there to make a lot of money in online trading depending on how knowledgeable you are about international economies and how current events affect people and their confidence or lack thereof in any given economy. People who know the systems whether it is the stock market or foreign exchange and are therefore willing to invest and assume that risk, will make money.

So how do you learn online trading? Well one way is to just strike out on your own and learn by making good and bad choices (hopefully more good than bad!) and weather those first few stormy years before they get good enough to be profitable. The other way (which I prefer) is to learn from those who have gone before and have made the mistakes learning valuable lessons. Basically if you can gain experience without the risks you can start out making a profit. Sounds great right? Sounds worth a small upfront and one-time cost to get this valuable knowledge?

Let me assure you that it definitely is, but you have to be careful. Just like in the rest of life you have to discern between good and bad advice. So look at the track records of the people offering online trading advice. How long have they been at the game? Are they well known in the industry? Are they upfront people, willing to talk with you about their product? When you find this "mentor" latch on to their system and learn it well. This really is your best chance to have good success without the pain of large financial loss from stupid mistakes.


Check out our Stock Trading System

Care & Storage of Sterling Silver Jewelry

Proper care and storage of your sterling silver jewelry means you will have many years of pleasure and your jewelry will continue to look like new. Sterling silver will tarnish over time and with a little care will continue to look beautiful. With some pieces, you may even wish to leave some "color" to enhance the contrasts or aged appearance of your jewelry

Types of Cloths/Brushes

Because sterling silver is a relatively soft metal, it will scratch easily. For best results use only use only soft, lint-free 100% cotton cloth. Terry cloth, synthetic fabrics or any coarse cloth may cause fine surface scratches which will trap tarnish, dirt and polish. This will cause your jewelry to lose its luster and appear duller over time.

You may clean your silver jewelry with a very soft brush, like a baby's toothbrush, a horsehair brush or brushes sold for this purpose. Some have successfully used mushroom brushes. The bristles of the brush must be very soft and used gently. There's no place for rough treatment or harsh scrubbing if you wish to preserve the luster of your jewelry.

Anti-tarnish polishing cloths are available and are very inexpensive. These are both handy and easy to use. However, if your jewelry includes gem stones, you'll need to be careful not to rub the stone(s) with the cloth. It could, over time, damage the stone.

Types of Cleaners

For the same reasons, a soft cloth is necessary - so is a soft, gentle cleanser. There are several options available.

For light cleaning, a mild detergent and warm water will often do the trick. Just make sure that you are using a lint-free soft cotton cloth to gently clean your jewelry. Once cleaned and rinsed thoroughly, gently dry completely before storing.

You can also purchase a silver cleaning dip - just make sure that you do not immerse the stone. Gently wipe with a soft cloth and rinse with cool water. Always make sure your jewelry is completely dry before storing.

There are a number of excellent quality silver polishes and pastes that you may wish to use for pieces that are more heavily soiled. Again, do not rub the polish on the gem stone as it may dull the surface over time. Be sure to rinse your piece thoroughly and remove all polish or paste. If your jewelry is a plain silver piece, with no gem stone, you may want to use a silver polish spray.

Ultrasonic cleaners are not recommended for any silver jewelry with gem stones and particularly any that are porous, like turquoise. The cleaner may harm the stone. If your silver jewelry has no setting, then you may use an ultrasonic cleaner.

How to Clean

If you've ever noticed a black car that has been repeatedly hand washed, you'll notice the circular scratches that inevitably show. Keep that in mind when you're cleaning your jewelry. Use a lengthwise gentle motion to wipe your jewelry clean rather than a circular one. Any surface scratches that occur will be less noticeable. Make sure that you rinse your jewelry completely and gently dry with a clean, soft cloth.

How to store

Storing each piece of silver jewelry separately will reduce the amount of scratching that occurs in a jewelry box. Using an airtight zipped bag - plastic or specially purchased anti-tarnish bags - will help reduce tarnishing over time.

Silver jewelry is meant to be worn. Actually our body oils act as a barrier to tarnish - most of the problem will come in storing the jewelry. A little consistent care will go a long way to keeping your sterling silver jewelry beautiful for a lifetime. But if you're like most of us and get busy with other things, it's nice to know that silver jewelry is quite forgiving.

Terry Lewis is a silver jewelry enthusiast who owns and operates an e-tail silver jewelry store. Stop by and browse our extensive selection of affordable silver and gem stone jewelry at http://www.silver-jewelry.ws.

If you're a woman who loves Silver Rings check out Silver Jewelry Emporium!

Hearing aids on the NHS

For as long as most of us can remember there has been a lengthy wait for a NHS hearing assessment and the subsequent fitting of NHS analogue hearing aid, with many people waiting many months to complete the process.
The more recent introduction of digital hearing aids has greatly improved the performance of modern hearing aids. However this has also lead to an increase in demand from new users and those looking to upgrade their current analogue hearing aids. This increased demand has impacted service levels and many NHS waiting lists have increased as a result.
It is a Government commitment to ensure assessments for hearing aids are made within a six weeks. Unfortunately this target only relates to the first stage of the process and makes no difference if patients have to endure months on a waiting list before prescribed hearing aid is actually fitted. Lengthy delays between assessment and fitting can also lead to the need for a re-assessment at the time of fitting.
The RNID estimates that around five hundred thousand people are currently waiting to have digital hearing aids fitted by the NHS.

The RNID also said:

"We remain seriously concerned about the capacity of the NHS to meet the Government’s aim of ensuring that no-one waits more than 18 weeks for a hearing aid fitting by the end of 2008."

There main area of concern is that the push to meet these new targets may result in a fall in the quality of the service offered.

As a result many people in the UK choose to opt out of the NHS service and buy their digital hearing aid directly from a retailer who can offer instant services.


Hearing Aid Styles

How To Clean Hearing Aids

Alcoholism - Impact on the Alcoholic and the Family

There are addicts of all sorts all over. Now with the neoclassical definition that many are proposing it would seem that every single individual is an addict of some kind and it is only the level of addiction that varies. Addiction is a persistent on-going condition where the individual or animal would crave for a particular substance(s) or seek to repeat certain behavior(s) in order to satisfy a need(s). As is being proposed this in itself is not a problem until the individual becomes physiologically or psychological unstable when that need is not satisfied (then there is no more self-control).

It is this lost of control on the part of alcoholics and other addicts that affect every single aspect of society. First and foremost the individual is affected in a variety of ways depending on his addiction. There are those addictions that are not obvious to anyone and may remain hidden and kept secret from those close to you as well as the outside world for several years (in fact others will only know of it after you have confessed). Then there are addictions that are a little more obvious but only to those who are close to you (friends and family members) and can only be kept secret for so long. Then there are addictions that you could see from a mile way (so obvious it stinks). At every level, the individual and by extension society is affected in some way or another.

Individuals who through abuse of alcohol have become addicted are more than likely to undergo a personality change. This change of personality will definitely affect anyone who is close to them. Some alcohol addictions lead to indifference to matters and issues that were once of serious interest to the alcoholic (a college education may no longer be their top priority!). Work ethics and the sense of responsibility that an addicted person once had would no longer be upheld. Personal pride (being neat and well groomed has now taken a back seat) and self-esteem would suffer, leading to actions that are uncharacteristic of the individual.

All of these effects of alcoholism would then be spilled over into other areas of their lives. Lack of work ethics and the continuous deterioration of the quality of work they produce may lead to them eventually losing their jobs, which in turn affects the finance and well being of their family. Uncharacteristic behavior of the alcoholic could cause them to become abusive (whether it be physical, emotional or mental) to their spouse and children. There is the factor of risk-taking where their life and that of those around them become less important and they are likely to place themselves and others in life-threatening situations. Alcoholism in many cases, may lead to disassociation from friends and family members in an effort by the alcoholic to either hide his addiction or avoid criticism from others about his addiction.

Alcoholism that has lead to the addict withdrawing from close friends and in particular family members could have serious emotional effects. In many cases family members who are close to the alcoholic are completely taken aback after becoming aware of the addict's problem. This may seem rather impossible as there are obvious indicators of smell and lack of coordination among other things that would indicate that someone has been under the influence. While this may be true and family members are aware of the signs of the individual being under the influence of alcohol; you often find that it is only late into the addiction that they become convinced that the individual is an alcoholic; as much effort is usually made by alcoholics to conceal their alcoholism from other individuals.

Then there is the abuse that close family members, in particular spouses and children, are likely to be subjected to. These are likely to have even longer lasting impact on the family. In many cases, after the alcoholism has been dealt with and treated, the scars from such abuse would remain as a thorn when trying to mend broken relationships. For many families involving alcoholism, the deal breaker is money. Some addictions may lead to job loss for the victims; and financial problems for their family. Studies have shown that many families under financial pressure can only hold on for so long before it all comes caving in. In some cases you may find that these very alcoholics, in order to sustain their habit, would initially deplete all of their own money (savings and joint-savings with spouse); and when that is done, try to do the same to other family members. With the alcoholic's obvious indifference to such problems and the financial strain that would be created would result in unwanted consequences. This is likely to lead to delinquencies in meeting certain obligations such as mortgage payments and utilities, which would only serve to aggravate the family situation.

Alcohol abuse, like any other drug, also greatly increases the risk of individuals developing health problems. Complications with liver, kidneys and a whole lot of other vital body organs are a common side effect of alcoholism. This not only complicates the situation for the individual but the family at large, as limited financial resources are would have to used to remedy such ailments.

Even when there has been professed cases of overcoming alcoholism, the damage done prior to attaining that victory is usually so extensive and severe that many lives (in particular that of the individual and family members) would never be the same. Lifelong relationships may have become permanently severed and the alcoholic, for the most part, would have been left completely despondent and dejected after the ordeal. It may seem unfair to many victims of alcoholics and family members where addictions have brought total chaos and destruction that those alcoholics need their total love and support. It is true, alcoholics need every bit of their love ones that could be offered when recovering from alcoholism and even more so while they are still being controlled by it. So whenever possible be patient and loving towards those who need you most; even when it seems like that most difficult thing to do.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Alcoholism

Living with an alcoholic is very taxing on the non-drinker because it is so all-consuming and stressful, and wears tremendously on your self esteem. Visit http://www.livingwithanalcoholic.org for some dos and don'ts