When your dentist drills out a cavity on your tooth, what do they use to prevent the further spread of decay? Once the decay is completely removed and the area is dried out, your dentist may install a silver filling to further prevent any increased deterioration.

Silver fillings, also known as amalgams, have been around for a while and have been a favorite of dentist for years. Because of the pliability of the metal that they are composed of and their ability to bond with the surface of the tooth, most people who have had cavities filled have received silver fillings.

Silver fillings may be used anywhere in the mouth but generally because of the metal appearance of silver fillings, they are placed in the rear of the mouth on the less visible incisor teeth. They may also be used in teeth as far forward as the canines.

Silver fillings also strengthen the teeth when bonded properly, giving the existing incisor or canine teeth tremendous crushing power. Being that they are made of metal, they can be tough to break.

Silver fillings are called such because of their silver appearance in color. Silver fillings can be composed of various metals such as silver, zinc, copper and surprisingly enough, mercury. In fact, some silver fillings can contain as much as 50% mercury!

So, if silver fillings contain mercury, are they dangerous to be in the mouth? The American Dental Association has conducted many studies and has concluded that silver fillings containing mercury are generally thought to be harmless. Silver fillings are estimated to account for more than a billion fillings in recent years and continue to be used all the time. With the numbers of people that have them, they are felt to be safe. Even though silver fillings are so popular, the ADA continues to do research studies on them.

Silver fillings don’t last forever and certainly will need to be replaced. The average silver filling lasts for about 13 years. Silver fillings can become dislodged due to changes in the tooth structure such as cracks or just expansion with age. If this happens, your dentist will need to replace or fix them. Also, sometimes silver fillings can be improperly installed resulting in a leak in the bonding material used. If this happens, the wearer may experience heightened sensitivity in the area. This type of leak can also leak in excess bacteria, resulting in infection.

The early computers

The history of computer dates back a lot longer than the 1900s, in fact computers have been around for over 5000 years.

In ancient time a “computer”, (or “computor”) was a person who performed numerical calculations under the direction of a mathematician.

Some of the better known devices used are the Abacus or the Antikythera mechanism.

Around 1725 Basile Bouchon used perforated paper in a loom to establish the pattern to be reproduced on cloth. This ensured that the pattern was always the same and hardly had any human errors.

Later, in 1801, Joseph Jacquard (1752 - 1834), used the punch card idea to automate more devices with great success.

The First computers?

Charles Babbage’s. (1792-1871), was ahead of his time, and using the punch card idea he developed the first computing devices that would be used for scientific purposes. He invented the Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine, which he begun in 1823 but never completed. Later he started work on the Analytical Engine, it was designed in 1842.

Babbage was also credited with inventing computing concepts such as conditional branches, iterative loops and index variables.

Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), was a colleague of Babbage and founder of scientific computing.

Many people improved on the Babbage inventions, George Scheutz along with his son, Edvard Scheutz, began work on a smaller version and by 1853 they had constructed a machine that could process 15-digit numbers and calculate fourth-order differences.

On of the first notable commercial use, (and success), of computers was the US Census Bureau, which used punch-card equipment designed by Herman Hollerith to tabulate data for the 1890 census.

To compensate for the cyclical nature of the Census Bureau’s demand for his machines, Hollerith founded the Tabulating Machine Company (1896), which was one of three companies that merged to form IBM in 1911.

Later, Claude Shannon (1916- 2001) first suggested the use of digital electronics in computers and in 1937 and J.V.Atanasoff built the first electronic computer that could solve 29 simultaneous equations with 29 unknowns. But this device was not programmable

During those trouble times, computers evolved at a rapid rate. But because of restrictions many projects remained secret until much later and notable example is the British military “Colossus” developed in 1943 by Alan Turing and his team.

In the late 1940 the US army commissioned John V. Mauchly to develop a device to compute ballistics during World War II. As it turned out the machine was only ready in 1945, but the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer, or ENIAC, proved to be a turning point in computer history.

ENIAC proved to be a very efficient machine but not a very easy one to operate. Any changes would sometime require the device itself to be re-programmed. The engineers were all too aware of this obvious problem and they developed “stored program architecture”.

John von Neumann, (a consultant to the ENIAC), Mauchly and his team developed EDVAC, this new project used stored program.

Eckert and Mauchly later developed what was arguably the first commercially successful computer, the UNIVAC.

Software technology during this period was very primitive. The first programs were written out in machine code. By the 1950s programmers were using a symbolic notation, known as assembly language, then hand-translating the symbolic notation into machine code. Later programs known as assemblers performed the translation task.

The Transistor era, the end of the inventor.

Late 1950 saw the end of valve driven computers. Transistor based computers were used because they were smaller, cheaper, faster and a lot more reliable.

Corporations, rather than inventors, were now producing the new computers.

Some of the better known ones are:

• TRADIC at Bell Laboratories in 1954,
• TX-0 at MIT’s Lincoln Laboratory
• IBM 704 and its successors, the 709 and 7094. The latter introduced I/O processors for better throughput between I/O devices and main memory
• First supper computers, The Livermore Atomic Research Computer (LARC) and the IBM 7030 (aka Stretch)
• The Texas Instrument Advanced Scientific Computer (TI-ASC)

Now the basis of computers was in place, with transistors the computers were faster and with Stored program architecture you could use the computer for almost anything.

New high level programs soon arrived, FORTRAN (1956), ALGOL (1958), and COBOL (1959), Cambridge and the University of London cooperated in the development of CPL (Combined Programming Language, 1963). Martin Richards of Cambridge developed a subset of CPL called BCPL (Basic Computer Programming Language, 1967).

In 1969, the CDC 7600 was released, it could perform 10 million floating point operations per second (10 Mflops).

The network years.

From 1985 onward the race was on to put as many transistors as possible on one computer. Each one of them could do a simple operation. But apart from been faster and been able to perform more operations the computer has not evolved much.

The concept of parallel processing is more widely used from the 1990s.

In the area of computer networking, both wide area network (WAN) and local area network (LAN) technology developed at a rapid pace

Get a more detailed history of computer.

Ever wanted to learn more about your computer? http://www.myoddpc.com gives you information from the history of computer to what computer memory to get. Computer software as well as everything you need to know about computer hardware. All in simple terms for the non-technical amongst us.

While psychiatric service dogs are not a household name, they are becoming increasingly popular among people with mental disabilities such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), bipolar disorder, depression, agoraphobia, panic disorder, autism, schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder. These specially trained dogs can provide everything from a simple sense of security to reminders to take medication to alerting professionals when their owner is in need of assistance. In some cases they are literally a lifeline to the outside world, in other cases they offer just enough support to allow a mentally disabled person to function in what society deems as normal.

Service dogs are mainly larger breed dogs and that in itself can provide a sense of security to the owner. Many people will not approach someone with a large dog, making people who are afraid to go out for fear of being assaulted, feel safer. Service dogs are not taught to attack people who may approach their owner, but if the owner’s body language changes or a command is given, the service dog can be taught to bark for help, thus drawing attention to any potentially dangerous situations.

A few ways a psychiatric service dog can help the mentally disabled:

* Can remind the owner about taking medication
* Can fetch medication for the owner
* Can bring something to drink so the owner can take medication
* Can bring an emergency phone to owner in case of a crisis
* Can use a K-9 rescue phone to call 911 or other emergency contact
* Can answer the doorbell for emergency personnel and lead them to the owner
* Can bark to alert others in case of an emergency such as a fire or intruder
* Can assist an owner in getting up if they have fallen
* Can steady an owner who is dizzy from medication or a panic attack
* Can be used as an alarm clock for sedated owners
* Can be trained to turn on lights for owners afraid of the dark
* Can alert sedated owner to smoke alarms or doorbells if medication causes drowsiness
* Can help keep space between owner and others in crowds of people

In many instances a service dog provides an owner with the ability to go about their daily lives with minimal worries. For more information on service dogs for the mentally disabled see the following websites:

http://www.iaadp.org/
http://www.dogsaver.org/sdva/
http://www.psychdog.org/

This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.

Terry J. Coyier is a 37-year-old college student studying for an Associates of Applied Sciences degree. She is also a freelance writer who writes about bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses. Terry was diagnosed with bipolar ten years ago. She lives with her son in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. This article has been submitted in affiliation with http://www.PetLovers.Com/ which is a site for Pet Forums.

My first encounter with western psychiatry started in Ireland, in 1991, when I came from India. It was the ‘advanced’ psychiatric training in this part of the world that attracted me to come here. However, within a few months of starting my training, I realised that what I was learning was the de-humanisation of ill people.

There appeared to be a lack of hope in the psychiatric services, among both the consumers and the providers of the services. In the name of ‘professionalism’, patients were categorised under labels and treated with medication with a ‘take it or leave it’ attitude.

There are methods available to treat mental conditions that do not involve medication.I believe that such methods provide a more humane and natural way of treating mental illness, free of unpleasant or often toxic side effects. However, the psychiatric establishment has been unwilling to explore seriously any treatment that does not rely on drugs. It prompts me to ask whether psychiatry has got it wrong.

A New Practice

In 1993, I worked briefly with Professor Ivor Browne, as his junior, in St. Brendan’s Hospital, Dublin. Ivor had the reputation of being a genius on the one hand and an eccentric on the other. He worked with victims of sex and emotional abuse at that time, using breath work and hypnosis.

It became apparent to me then, that there was more to psychiatry than medication. So I decided to learn hypnosis, even though it was a field of which psychiatrists in Ireland were scared. I did an advanced programme in hypnosis with a well-known school in Cork, under a non-medical person. This was the best training in hypnosis then available in Ireland.

By the time had I finished my training in hypnosis, it was obvious to me that hypnosis and meditation could help to alleviate the sufferings of psychiatric consumers. So I decided to set up my own practice with the intention of using hypnosis and meditation, along with my medical background, to help mentally ill clients.

As I had earned a Diploma in Psychological Medicine from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, I decided to set up my practice in Dublin. That was in 1996.

I was in a strange situation. I did not register with the Medical Council, so I could not practice as a prescribing psychiatrist. Yet I had post-graduate qualifications in psychiatry. I was not a psychologist because I did not have qualifications in psychology. But I did have the skills to practice psychotherapy. I therefore decided to make the best of what I had.

I began to explore the mechanisms of breath work, meditation and hypnosis. I very soon realised that the psychiatrists and neuro-scientists were overlooking a simple physiological phenomenon.

Nature’s Way

In the human body, the hormonal system works on a feedback basis. This means that if one hormone increases in the blood, another hormone will stop it from being secreted further. This is also true of neurotransmitters, the disturbance of which is believed to cause psychiatric conditions. (I call them ‘conditions’ because most of them are temporary and reversible, contrary to current beliefs in psychiatry).

Most western psychiatrists believe that the only way the disturbances in such systems can be corrected is by giving drugs to patients. They believe that psychotherapy can help only to a limited extent, to support people on drug treatment. But few have dared to ask how and why psychotherapy should be so limited, or if its effectiveness could be extended. Psychiatrists insist that they are a scientific profession, yet in failing to explore psychotherapy in a scientific way, they are failing as scientists.

My own logic, however, was simple. Nature operates on the simple principle that each problem contains its own solution. The hormonal feedback system, mentioned above, is an example of this. The principle also applies to neurotransmitters. Thus, if something in Nature causes an imbalance in the neurotransmitters in the body, Nature must have it own way of reversing this imbalance. I had to learn Nature’s way for myself, through scientific exploration and experience.

Relaxation and Imagery

The Internet was a useful tool in my initial research. It helped me to discover how other practitioners around the world had succeeded in treating psychiatric conditions without using drugs. I combined this with my own research.

By 1997, one year after setting up my own practice as a medical hypnotherapist, I had acquired a good scientific knowledge of how almost all functional psychiatric conditions could be treated with little or no medication. That year, I delivered a paper in the USA to a conference of the American Society of Experimental & Clinical Hypnosis, on working with emotional distress.

A person who suffers with a psychiatric condition like depression, anxiety, insomnia or any addiction, has had subjectively distressing experiences. The emotional impact of these events disturbs the hormonal and neurotransmitter system in the body. The irony is that the emotional impact stays in the memory even when the events are not consciously remembered. It affects the person’s thinking and behaviour and can give rise to a psychiatric condition.

All psychiatric conditions are preceded or triggered by stressful life experiences. Such experiences create a state of ‘hyper-arousal’ in the body. Psychiatric drugs suppress this arousal state. This also has the side effect of slowing the person down physically.

However, drug-free methods can just as effectively calm the state of hyper-arousal, using relaxation and imagery exercises. A person becomes successively more relaxed, as the emotional impact of each distressing event is neutralised. For instance, doing ’silent screaming’ - or mental screaming - for only three minutes a day, can bring relief in about two to four weeks, to a person on any kind of psychiatric medication. It can sometimes take only a few sessions to deal with lifetime issues.

Drugless Psychiatry

In the year 2000, I wrote a paper on Drugless Psychiatry and presented it in London at the annual conference of the World Forum on Mental Health. By this time, my first book, The Stress Barrier, had been published in Ireland.

I was then under the illusion that professionals in Ireland would be curious to learn new techniques and the scientific basis for the drug free treatment of psychiatric conditions.

However, I soon took a low profile with my work, as I came to realise that the Psychiatric Establishment was too closed and too bound up with self-interest, to look at anything alternative - even if that alternative was science-based.

I consider my own work to be an original Irish scientific innovation, yet its components are not all totally new as they include some pre-existing methods used in novel ways. I call it Subjective Emotive Brief Therapy.

Scientific Alternatives Ignored

Each person has a subjective emotional response to any experience. Thus, what one person finds extremely traumatic may be less so for another. Work in trauma by other psychiatrists, especially in the United States, shows that the interaction of the individual with the environment is as important in the causation of mental illnesses as genetics or family history. Genetics determine the vulnerability of the individual, which can vary from time to time. But it is the environment that provides the triggers for disturbing the neuro-hormonal make-up of the body.

A big chunk of psychiatric research is based on twin and adoption studies. However, there has been no study of the physiology, or body functions, of the individuals involved. It is presumed that genetic components are the only factors responsible for their psychiatric conditions. This ignores the impact of physiology on psychiatric conditions.

For instance, our senses play an important role in teaching the body to remember experiences. These experiences are stored as memories. This process occurs through our emotions, in which neurotransmitters and hormones act as catalysts. Each emotional experience is therefore a physiological, or bodily response, to external stimuli; and it affects both our thinking and our behaviour.

It therefore follows that if you change the way we respond emotionally - or physiologically - you can change thinking and behaviour. To this end, psychiatry uses medication to suppress the emotional and behavioural responses.

However, there are also scientific psychotherapeutic techniques for changing these responses, with little or no medication. This is supported by existing scientific research showing that counselling and psychotherapy can alleviate mental suffering. Psychiatrists argue that psychotherapy cannot be scientific. I strongly dispute this on the evidence of the research literature and on the basis of my own work.

I have been developing and using drug-free psychiatric alternatives in my psychotherapy practice, in a scientific way, since 1996. Drugs can be helpful, but complete reliance on them is misguided.

Copyright 2006 Pradeep K Chadha

Pradeep K Chadha is a psychiatrist who specialises in helping patients with meditation and imagery using little or no medication. He is the author of The Stress Barrier-Nature’s Way To Overcoming Stress published by Blackhall Publishing, Dublin. He is based in Dublin, Ireland.His website address is: http://www.drpkchadha.com

Have you ever wondered what the “definition” of disability is? I know you have…we all believe we know “who” is disabled and “who” is not. Heck, you can tell just by looking at a person! Doctors are usually certain they know whether their patients meet the “definition” of disabled.

The obvious question becomes…whose definition of disability are we talking about? If you think everyone, including the Social Security Administration (SSA) are on the same page…think again! This article is my humble attempt to educate everyone, including physicians, regarding SSA’s definition of disability. Please understand it is difficult to capture the entire definition in a short article; however, it is possible to set forth a general framework.

First, allow me to debunk several longstanding myths about what is means to be disabled.

Myth #1: You have to be Totally Disabled to be eligible for Disability Benefits

Not true. I am not sure what “totally” disabled means; I do know it is a term of art our society uses, but not one SSA uses.

I suspect that if you put 100 doctors in a room and asked for a definition of “totally disabled,” you would get many different answers. My guess is that it means one is unable to function at all in any capacity.

In general, to be eligible for disability benefits, SSA does require that you not be working in any capacity. However, this does not mean you have to be to physically and/or psychological unable to function in any capacity.

Myth #2: You have to be Permanently Disabled to be eligible for Disability Benefits

Not true. Again, I am not sure what “permanently” disabled means; it is a term of art our society uses, but not one SSA uses. If a doctor supports a patient’s claim for disability, they will frequently state the patient is “permanently” disabled. The statement may be true in many cases, but my experience is that most people who apply for disability benefits with SSA are not “permanently” disabled. Even if they were, it is usually too early to tell if a 45 year old will return to work before the age of 65.

Thankfully, SSA does not require that you be permanently disabled. In fact, the issue of whether a disability is or can be permanent is never an issue at SSA.

What is SSA’s Definition of Disability?

Simply put, SSA and federal law defines disability as follows, “The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.” (citing 42 U.S.C. 423(d)(1)(A) and 1382c(a)(3)(A).

First, please note that SSA’s policy is that disability can be due to any medical or psychological diagnosis (disorder). Second, contrary to popular myth, SSA does not require that you be “totally” disabled. Third, with regard to duration, the impairment does not have to be permanent, it only has to prevent you from working for a minimum of 12 months.

Scott E. Davis is a social security and long-term disability insurance attorney in Phoenix, Arizona. Mr. Davis represents clients throughout the United States. Although Mr. Davis has experience representing clients with a broad spectrum of physical and/or psychological disorders, the majority of his disability practice is devoted to representing individuals with chronic pain and chronic fatigue disorders. In almost every case, a fee is charged only if his client obtains benefits. Mr. Davis invites your questions and inquiries regarding representation via telephone (602) 482-4300, or email: info@scottdavispc.com.

If you are looking for a home based business or any other way to make money working at home, then you have probably been overwhelmed with the information available online. You can’t search for “work at home” on the internet without being bombarded by a million and one ads - all of which claim to be the BEST work at home opportunity.

So how do you know which one really is the best? Well, there are a lot of factors, but I’ve tried my best to highlight some of the items to consider before jumping into a new business venture.

My first recommendation is to answer the following questions as honestly as you can:

*How much time are you willing to invest in a job/business?
*Do you want to work 100% from home or would you be able to work outside the home a set number of hours per week?
*How much money are you comfortable with spending to start a business?
*How much money do you expect to make from your business?
*Do you enjoy working with people (in person, over the phone, online)?
*Do you enjoy sales?
*Do you prefer to work alone or with a group of people?

Once you have the answers to these questions, you are better equipped to tackle the mounds of advertisements for work at home opportunities. The next step is to see how well your needs/wants/likes fit into the businesses available to you. Before agreeing to any type of business, find someone who is already doing the business and ask them the following questions:

*How much time do you work each week?
*What does your average daily business activities consist of? (This will give you a better idea of what type of work is involved and whether or not it is for you.
*What costs are involved in start-op? Ongoing operational expenses?
*Do I need employees?
*What is the product or service you sell?
*How much money can I REALISTICALLY expect to make working “x” number of hours per week? (x being the number of hours you are willing to work)

Now that you have your answers, go ahead and write down the top 3 business opportunities that appeal to you. Then think it over for a while. Starting a new business should never be a spontaneous decision - especially if there is a large financial investment. Take some time - at least a couple weeks! - and sincerely think about and compare each opportunity until you feel confident with the one you’ve chosen.

In closing, I do have a couple warnings for you when searching for that “golden” opportunity.

*If it sounds too good to be true, it most likely is.
*You should NEVER…I repeat NEVER have to pay someone just to receive information about a job or business opportunity
*If an advertisement seems incredibly vague, it is most definitely intentional. A good number of “too good to be true” offers don’t give you all the details up front because they know if they do, no one would be interested.

Most importantly, be well informed. Do not give ANYONE your hard-earned money until you have the answers to your questions and the confidence in making the right financial decision.

Jennifer Tarzian is proud to be a stay-at-home mom. For all your parenting resources or to sign up for her weekly newsletter, please go to www.youngparentsmagazine.com or visit creditcards.youngparentsmagazine.com for helpful guides on credit reports, as well as valuable information on choosing the right credit card.

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters:

The Hero’s Journey:

• Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

• Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

• Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

The Hero’s Journey is also a study of repeating patterns in successful stories and screenplays. It is compelling that screenwriters have a higher probability of producing quality work when they mirror the recurring patterns found in successful screenplays.

The Hero’s Journey is also a study of conventions. Before screenwriters can decide whether to accept or reject the conventions, they must appreciate their purpose and value.

Consider this:

• Titanic (1997) grossed over $600,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Star Wars (1977) grossed over $460,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Shrek 2 (2004) grossed over $436,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• ET (1982) grossed over $434,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Spiderman (2002) grossed over $432,000,000 - uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Out of Africa (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983), Dances with Wolves (1990), Gladiator (2000) - All Academy Award Winners Best Film are based on the Hero’s Journey.

• Anti-hero stories (Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) etc) are all based on the Hero’s Journey.

• Heroine’s Journey stories (Million Dollar Baby (2004), Out of Africa (1980) etc) are all based on the Hero’s Journey.

Easy First Draft Screenplays

To write your first draft easily, map your story out according to the 17 major stages of the Hero’s Journey. Then use the micro stages of the Hero’s Journey to develop each stage.

Allowing yourself a day for each major stage and writing only seven pages per stage, you will complete a words-on-paper first draft of 119 pages in 17 days.

As a preliminary study, Elizabethtown (2005) is deconstructed below. Purchase the complete Hero’s Journey and watch the movie, making sure you follow the outline below.

Elizabethtown (2005)

Following is a deconstruction of Elizabethtown (2005):

Fade In: starts strong (communicates salient information immediately): shoes recalled.

Introduce Hero (Drew Baylor) in his Ordinary World, which he is unwelcome in. Tangible representation of the Ordinary World (Ellen).

Foreshadow of the Journey: we meet Drew’s family around the table.

Back-story of Hero: Drew in the World of the Shoe.

Supernatural Aid pushes hero out of his Ordinary World (meeting with Phil).

Development of Inner Challenge: Drew’s suicide attempt in his apartment; what to do now that he is a failure.

Call to Adventure by the Herald (his sister): Drew’s Dad is dead.

Preparing to cross into the First Threshold with allies (sister and mother): in the airport.

First Threshold and meeting the Romantic Challenge: Drew meets Claire in the aircraft.

Allies encourage the journey: Claire draws a map.

References to the inner and outer challenge: Drew references that he was fired; Claire realises Drew’s father is dead.

Back-story of the Outer Challenge: Drew when he was young and with his father. Reminder of the Inner Challenge: that he is a failure / lost $1b.

Magical gift: Claire gives Drew his wings, the directions and her number.

Physical Separation: exit 60-B.

Resistance to the Transformation: difficulty getting to Elizabethtown.

A New World: entering Elizabethtown.

Meeting the Mentor (Jesse, his cousin).

Mentor shows the hero around the World of the Transformation and the Creatures within: Jesse introduces Drew to everyone.

Polarization: they want a burial and Drew is thinking about cremation; he’s from “California.”

Meeting the Creatures of this World: the congregation.

Trial [passive]: Meeting his father lying in a coffin; lessons: “if you move around a little bit, you’ll see different aspects.” The word is “whimsical.”

Trial [passive]: Meeting the relatives and familiarising himself with the family.

Trial [proactive]; Drew saves Samson in the car.
Celebration at the passing of the trials: Drew is congratulated in the house.

Mentor’s challenge: Jesse admonished by his father; “you can’t be buddies with your own son.”

References to the Outer Challenge; Mentor’s back-story and capabilities: Lynard Skynard sequence.

Foreshadow of the break from the Old Self and preparing to Seize of the Sword: Drew calls everyone, including Claire.

Pulled Backwards to the Old Self and Forwards to the New Self: Heather, Ellen and Claire all on the phone simultaneously.

Break from the Old Self: Ellen says Goodbye.
Journey to the Sword: Drew and Claire on the phone.

Seizing the Sword: Drew wrests the Champagne from Chuck.

Rebirth through Death: Claire offers to “let Drew go.”

Reward: Claire and Drew meet by the Roadside.

Allies confront limitations: Hollie takes tap, comedy, cooking lessons etc. Claire doesn’t go to Hawaii.

Warnings about the Atonement: Hollie warns Drew about Bill Banyon.

Preparing for the Atonement: Buying the cremation vase.

Second Thoughts: Claire and Drew think about being just friends.

Atonement with the Father:: Drew confronts his uncle et al and makes a decision about the cremation.

Reference to the mentor’s challenge: Jesse is ignored and admonished.

Apotheosis: Rusty’s Learning to Listen video. Mentor’s challenge overcome: “thank you for taking an interest in Jesse.”

Ultimate Boon: “feels good doesn’t it. I can see Mitch now, so proud, in that blue suit.”

Refusal: Drew tries to stop the cremation.

Magic Flight: Drew prepares to leave.

Rescue from Without: Drew meets Claire and sleeps with her.

Crossing the Return Threshold; confronting and overcoming the
Inner Challenge: Drew chases Claire and tells her about his failure. She doesn’t care. References to the Outer and Romantic Challenges.

Master of the Two Worlds: Hollie wins over both sides of the family with her tap and comedy. Convergence aided by Mentor (Jesse’s tribute).

Tangible representation of the New Order: the burial to appease the Kentucky family.

Freedom to Live. Drew goes on the road trip with his father’s ashes [the trip they always meant to go on] and comes to terms with his death (conquest of the Outer Challenge). Finally seizes Claire (conquest of the Romantic Challenge).

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

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You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://managing-creativity.com/

By now most of you are probably aware of the current buzz across the internet: writing articles about your area of expertise is one of the best ways to build name recognition and web presence. If you can communicate your ideas and information well in a short piece, and include a by-line at the end that provides a link to your own website, then you can generate more traffic this way than by other typical approaches like submitting to search engines or link-sharing.

Much has been written about it, so I’ll assume that you’re already privy to the potential benefits of article publishing. I want to address THIS particular article to writers with published works; especially those who have self-published, and are now faced with the daunting (and much different) task of self-promotion.

If you mainly write fiction, maybe you balk at the idea of devoting your time to writing more informative pieces. Believe me, I understand this resistance. I am a fantasy author, and for a long time I believed that my muse lived at a far extreme from day-to-day concerns. But at the same time, I often used to (jokingly, I thought) remark to various people: “Get me on the topic of creativity and writing and I could just ramble on for days.”

Then one day the inspiration hit me: maybe I should write all that “rambling” down for a change and then post it somewhere where other people could benefit from it.

I found that it was not only relatively easy to do this, but actually enjoyable; and it allows for a little relief from the right-brain strain of constantly cranking out creative fiction ideas.

If you’re hesitant about diving into article writing because you don’t feel like you’re quite an expert on anything, let me address that issue too. To write articles, you don’t need exhaustive knowledge about any topic; you only need to know a little more than the many others out there who might benefit from what you’ve experienced.

If you’ve completed a novel, then you can write for all aspiring novelists who haven’t yet summoned the courage to commit anything to the page. If you’re published, then you can write for others who HAVE completed a book but are still wallowing in obscurity. Share what you learned along the bitter road that is littered with rejection letters, lonely hours at the writing desk, despair, and oftentimes the misunderstandings of even our closest loved ones.

The point is, wherever you are along the path of your writing ambition, there are others behind you who could benefit from your experience. They will be grateful for your articles and the information and encouragement you gave them. Some will respond by clicking through to your website and learning about your other writings. Some will hopefully purchase your book.

How many can you hope to reach? Well, I just recently began this article writing endeavor myself. Now when I search by my name on Google or Yahoo I find my pieces turning up on over a dozen e-zines and blogs. Some of these sites have heavy traffic. As I write more, and submit more, the numbers increase exponentially. In mathematical terms, articles are the great multiplier.

Seth Mullins is the author of “Song of an Untamed Land”, a novel of speculative fantasy in lawless frontier territory. Visit Seth at http://authorsden.com/sethtmullins

There’s nothing like a little bit of trivia to test your knowledge of the sport of soccer. You may say that soccer is your favorite sport, but how much do you really know? Following are some facts and tidbits that you may or may not know about soccer.

Soccer originated generally in its present form in Britain.
The world’s oldest club formed in 1857 is Sheffield FC
Soccer is the most played and most watched sport on Earth
Soccer is called football in practically every country except America, who call ‘Grid Iron’ football and football soccer.
Famous soccer rivalries include the Old Firm (Scotland), Manchester derby, London derbies, Milan derby, Real vs Barcelona, and many more.
Some famous soccer players: Pele, Maradonna, Charlton, Eusebio, Cruyff, Dalglish, Ronaldo, Beckham, Mattheus.

Those are some basic bits of soccer trivia and facts. How much did you know? Well, here are so more soccer facts to test your knowledge:

The sport of Association Football (often referred to as soccer or simply football) is the most popular team sport in the world, in both number of spectators and number of active participants.
The largest attendance for a soccer match ever was 199,854 people - Brazil v. Uruguay in the World Cup at the Maracana Municipal Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, July 1950.
In the largest soccer tournament ever, no less than 5,098 teams competed in 1999 for the second Bangkok League Seven-a-Side Competition. Over 35,000 players involved!
The most goals scored by one player in a single soccer match was 16
- Stephan Stanis (France) playing for Racing Club de Lens in December 1942.
Based on video evidence, one of the fastest ever scored was in 2.8 seconds by Ricardo Olivera (Uruguay) in December 1998.
The international governing body of soccer is the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), based in Zurich, Switzerland.
Diego Maradona was only 16 when he made his soccer debut for Argentina.
Soccer goalies didn’t have to wear different coloured shirts from their teammates until 1913.
Eusebio scored 46 goals in the European Cup for Benfica.
Chris Woods once went 1196 minutes without conceding a goal while at Rangers, from between November 26 1986 and January 31 1987.
Ryan Giggs’ dad was a professional Rugby League player.
In 1973, the entire Galilee team spent the night in jail for kicking their opponents during an Israeli League game.

Have you had enough soccer trivia and facts? These are only a few of the interesting soccer facts that are floating around out there.

Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, sports, and home decor. Her background includes teaching and gardening. For more of her articles on soccer, please visit Soccer Products and Info.

One of the first things a translator has to do is decide what kind of Spanish translation rates to set. This can be a difficult thing to do when first starting out because many other translators are reluctant to share their rates with fellow translators. Well, before you do set your Spanish translation rates, there are some things you should be aware of.

First of all, translators set rates differently. Most translators charge by the word, but there are times when translators charge by the hour, or even by the page. The reason that translators charge by word is because the amount of words on a page can vary. It’s not fair to translators to get paid by the page because the client could put more words on a single page in order for the cost of the job to be less.

As I mentioned before, one of the hardest things for translators to do is to actually set their English and Spanish translation rates. Well, rates can be decided by a number of factors. One of the factors that decides translation rates is the language pair that you translate in. For example, if you are a translator who translates a unique language, you can command a higher rate than someone who translates in Spanish, since Spanish is a more common language.

Another factor that determines translation rates is the type of material that you will be translating. Typically, more technical material will be able to command a higher translation rate. For example, if you are a medical translator, or an engineering translator who translates scientific or engineering technical papers, you will be able to charge more. On the other hand, documents that are more general in nature will usually only get the basic Spanish translation rate.

Another factor that sometimes plays a role in how much you can charge is the reputation you have as a translator, or how long you’ve been in the business. Competition is pretty tough these days, partly due to the fact that everyone that speaks more than one language thinks they can be a translator. Because of the competition, Spanish translation rates are often driven way down. However, paying the lowest cost doesn’t mean the client will get a good translation, so by keeping your translation rates at a fair price for translators and clients, you’ll be keeping the industry fair.

Once you understand the factors that go into setting Spanish translation rates, you can go ahead and set rates. One of things that can give you an idea of what kind of rates to set for your translation business is to check out freelance translation websites and see what kind of rates other translators set. One such site is Proz.com. One this site, clients can post their jobs and translators can bid on them. To get you started in setting your Spanish translation rates, I will say that I’ve seen rates anywhere from .15 to .70 cents a word, so taking the above factors into consideration, you should have enough to decide what rates to set.