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If there is one vital kitchen item that you need to have, that is the chopping board. Chopping or cutting boards are used in preparing food that will be cut. Also, cutting boards come in different material as you can purchase boards made of plastic, glass, steel, marble and hardwood like bamboo. A bamboo cutting board is a a perfect option among the other kinds of boards because it is nature friendly. Bamboos are best known for their renewable attribute that is, they are easily available and they easily reproduced so changing your old bamboo cutting board is easier.

When shopping for new kitchen tools, you will surely see a wide variety of kitchenware. However, cutting boards should be on top of your list because you don’t want cutting your food ingredients on any available surface you have. Though wooden chopping boards are popular, plastic-made boards are known too. So if you are torn in choosing between the two, weigh the advantages each one provides. You can also consider other chopping boards made of steel, marble or glass.

Even if you have glass boards, too, what is important is to determine which one to get, the wooden board or the plastic board? In deciding, do not just depend on the style or appearance but also consider the function. Additionally, consider which is safer in food preparation. There are safety areas to consider in purchasing either wooden or synthetic cutting boards. They say that the wood boards are safer because are anti-microbial and prevents bacteria from growing. However, as long as you manage to.

Aside from the material they were made from, you can also identify chopping boards by the way they were made. There are two classificationof cutting boards, the end-grain boards and the flat-grain boards. End-grain boards are harder on the surface are good when chopping. End-grain boards are also called self-healing boards because once you sliced something on the surface of the board, you are cutting on fibers so you will not see any knife marks on the surface. Flat-grain boards on the other hand are easily manufactured and the strong durable surface they have are exactly the reason why they are bought by many among kitchen lovers.

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Today there is quite a large need of cleaning services due to our busy lifestyles. By using a professional cleaning service you won’t have to worry about finding the time to do the cleaning yourself. If you are considering choosing to use the services of a cleaning company, be sure to choose a cleaning service that is not incompetent. It’s important to select highly-skilled, competent individuals.

Perhaps using a cleaning service has already crossed your mind. If this is your situation, select a company that is able to meet your cleaning needs. It is similar to west hollywood. Picking a company with an impeccable reputation will be a very wise choice.

The first thing you must do is decide how much needs to be cleaned on a regular basis. Although it might sound good, it is not like cleaning west hollywood. Some areas will need only minor cleaning, while others will require a complete cleaning. Some individuals will require work to be done daily or weekly, while others will only require cleaning services on a monthly basis.

Delivering consistent results is something that you are paying for, so it is not really optional. This is similar to west hollywood cleaning. We know that these kinds of commercial cleaning services have a lot of services to offer their customers. A properly insured cleaning service is mandatory. Be sure to verify the cleaning service is fully insured before hiring.

This may seem a bit obvious, but skipping this step could prove to cost you a lot in the long run. Also be sure that the company utilizes best practices including employees wearing uniforms and maintaining regular schedules.

A cleaning service should also offer specialized services for cleaning different surfaces. A cleaning service with a good reputation should be able to consistently provide you with cleaning services that are always satisfactory. An area that has been fully cleaned is not only enjoyable, but also better for your health.

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The price is right and this DVP FX820 Portable DVD Player is easy to use and set-up. The buttons are easy to reach and self-explanatory . The image is large and clear and the sound can be turned up pretty loud. all-in-all, this is a great DVD player. The only thing I would like better is if they sold this as a dual screen set so they can be mounted on the back of the headrest (when traveling in the car). Kept the kids entertained during a 5 hour trip, making for a more enjoyable ride!

The DVP FX820 has a High Definition Screen that truly gives your regular DVD’s the look of a Blu-Ray or HD DVD… I have them both in my cars and I safely say it’s very close to that quality…maybe not exactly… but until they come out with portable units for Blu-Ray…this is going to be the closest I think you can get!

The Sony DVP FX820 Portable DVD Player has 800 x 480 resolution where as most of the players out there have a 320 X 240 screen… that’s a very big difference and it really shows. The battery lifespan is splendid (I do listen with headphones so that helps) but I have watched about 4 hours with it already and still have 1/3 of a full charge left…so that’s right at about the 6 hours they say you will get. The last thing I need to comment on is the remote control… I never used to think that was very important on a portable unit… but after not having one on the Polaroid I owned… I love having this one with a remote that will provide every feature the player will do… all the way to the ON/OFF… It has very nice on screen displays of all the functions… volume level… battery level… everything. Also it doesn’t get hot at all…I know my Panasonic got pretty hot on the bottom…not this one… and it’s also very quiet… makes very minimal noise.

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Introduction

When a company or organisation wants to put on a conference or large event, it is unlikely they would consider doing it themselves. Most companies do not have all the necessary in-house expertise, and releasing personnel from their regular work could be less cost efficient than bringing in the experts. There is also a great deal more to organising a conference than most people would realise in that it is a very stressful and technical activity. The client therefore would usually call in another company that specialises entirely in conference and event management.

There are a great many companies offering Corporate Event Management Services so competition is keen. Even if you are the best you still have to compete with others who offer lower prices and might appear to be better value. One of the ways of countering the cut throat business in the UK is to look at offering Conference Production Services in Europe. European managers then have the option of using a UK or EU company to provide for their Conference or Event. UK conference services are more than able to offer competitive prices. In the current economic climate with the pound at its lowest value for many years, UK companies have a distinct advantage in the EU market. .

I plan to take you through a step by step account of the stages of managing an event in Europe using examples from a recent contract in Rome.

Step 1

As a company offering conference and event management services it is essential that the quality of service provided is professional and value for money. To this end attention to detail is paramount. The project manager will know his team and the quality and reliability of the technical staff, the quality of the electronic equipment and the soundness of the sets that are used. Once these items are in place and proven on previous jobs then the pitch to the client can be confident and knowledgeable so that the client can be reassured things will run smoothly.

Step 2

The Brief

The brief we were given was a three and a half day conference event in Rome in early February for approximately 150 international delegates attending, the majority of whom would be travelling from the USA.

Technical Specification

The technical requirement was to combine a rear projection set and a four speaker PA system with radio microphones. Also data and video switching, wireless table microphones for delegate interaction with presenters in question and answer sessions. They wanted two show laptop PC’s loaded with PowerPoint and various video software to assist with conversion of any extra footage required to a suitable format for projection.

Step 3

A quotation was provided for all the physical hardware and the technical requirements and the services of the project manager and his team. No subcontracting was necessary. Details were agreed and the quote was accepted by the client and a contract issued. It is important to make sure you have a contract and in it, a clause for cancellation charges.

Quality event companies provide the advantage of using a regular team and have all the necessary equipment to provide for the needs of the client.

Step 4

When organising any event abroad we find it more responsible and economical to use our own technical equipment and workforce who we know and trust. There are no problems with language and the team understand the technical issues that are likely to be encountered. They are used to working together, each having their strengths to contribute to the whole, and they can be trusted to do the best possible job with the minimum of fuss. However planning is a key activity particularly when organising meetings and conference events abroad. If you have forgotten something it’s too late to go back when you have driven 600 miles. So having decided to transport the full conference set, staging and equipment by van to Rome we then worked out the details of how best to achieve it.

Step 5

Transportation

The size of the event is critical to the choice of shipping. In our Rome example it was possible to convey all the required equipment in a hire van which could be driven using a standard UK driving licence. If the scale of a conference or exhibition event is much larger it would be recommended to use a dedicated freighting company to collect, deliver and return staging and technical elements to the destination. Using a dedicated freighting company also has the benefit of delivering the key personnel to the event without them being tired out after driving across Europe.

However, in this case it was decided that the event technicians would drive the van to Rome which would still be well within budget for all staging and technical elements. When hiring a vehicle it is essential to pay attention to maximum load capacity of the vehicle. The weight of the technical equipment and set must be less than the maximum load and once the main systems are onboard, care must be taken not to fill it to the brim with extra bits and pieces.

It is so easy, when being helpful, to add the client event material, such as delegate registration systems and materials, brochures, display and graphic panels. The result can easily mean that the maximum safe load allowance for the vehicle is compromised. As the load capacity is a legal necessity it is never a good idea to say yes to extra items on behalf of the client without being aware of the likely impact on overall weight.

Step 6

The Journey

As the distance was twelve hundred miles there and back it was decided that with an allotted journey time of two and a half days each way to Rome would be enough. Although it would have been possible to travel to Rome in two days we have learned from experience to allow a margin for any delays en route. It also allows for the technicians themselves to be fresh enough after the road trip to be able to work effectively.

When travelling long distance across Europe and at a time of year when the weather might be inclement, it is essential that the safety of personnel and other road users is paramount. By dividing the travel time between two drivers and rotating them every two hours, we have found that neither is unduly fatigued. This system allows large distances of up to 600 miles a day to be covered with safety. Regular breaks help to maintain concentration and awareness, with total travel times of no more than ten hours in any day and preferably no more than eight hours a day. It is never advisable to rely on a bare minimum of journey time for any long distance travel to meet an event deadline.

Hospitality events in Europe and Dubai are a wonderful opportunity for conferences management businesses in the UK to export their expertise.

Having selected the route to be taken from the UK to Rome we left the UK via a ferry from Dover to Calais and then journeyed to an area just North of Dijon on day one. From Dijon on day two, the journey continued as far as Bologna via the Mont Blanc tunnel. We decided on day three, to make an early start for the half day drive from Bologna to Rome and deliver the equipment to the venue, then rest up for the remainder of the day so the crew would be fresh to start work the next morning.

Navigation across Europe is now much more straight forward with Satellite, but we would also suggest printed route plans and local maps of any places where a stop-over is planned. It has sometimes been the case that even with the latest updated information the Sat Nav cannot always find the precise location of the road you want, due to the ongoing construction of many new motorway networks. You may find yourself suddenly stuck on a road it doesn’t know and this is when the co-driver can be a great help to navigate you through the confusion.

Step 7

Accommodation for Overnight Stops

Choosing accommodation for suitable overnight stops is worth some research. There is a plentiful choice of motel stops near to all major roads in France and Italy all of which are reasonably priced. However, there are great guest houses away from the main cities and major roads which offer a much more relaxing experience for a tired traveller and are usually cheaper than the chain motels. Often these places have secure parking enhancing vehicle security from theft and damage. After all, when freighting audio-visual systems with a value stretching to tens of thousands of pounds, peace of mind is useful to say the least.It is advisable to spend time during pre-event production locating places to overnight. There is little benefit from having to find a room late in the day at an unknown cost which may impact on the profitability of the job.

Step 8

On Site Conference Production

On arrival in Rome we drove the van to the conference venue so that the audio-visual equipment and staging could be unloaded directly into the conference room. This was to secure the items and have everything ready for installation the following day. Getting an early start to set up the equipment allowed for the client to begin presentation rehearsals on the afternoon of the rig day. Later on the same day there was to be an evening reception and brief welcome presentation to all attending delegates. The setting up procedures are tried and tested and the team worked like a well oiled machine so that all the audio-visual elements were complete and in place on schedule and all the technical systems were working correctly by the time the client presenters arrived from the USA.Our job is to make sure all the technical elements are set up and in working order by the time the client wants to use them and test their own systems. It is at this point that the last minute glitches will probably occur.

Step 9

Audio Visual and Production Content

An example of the kind of last minute technical hitches that has to be resolved is when a conference presenter is unable to submit his presentation during the pre-production period and will arrive on site with it in his briefcase (Probably having worked on it during his flight over). The production team will not know until late in the process what presentation format is required. However the presenter will still expect his material to be incorporated seamlessly into a master slide deck. If a conference set uses a wide screen projection format the content will need to be generated in a sixteen by nine aspect ratio. Unknown to the presenter however, the offered material may have been built around a slide template that used a four by three aspect ratio instead. Depending on content, this may have minimal impression on the look of the presentation but if there are images of people, or pie chart graphs, these will then appear as stretched and elliptical shapes which would be unsatisfactory. Fonts and text boxes may move out of alignment and embedded applications such as XL may well be impossible to read.

Remote monitoring and control capabilities such as diagnostics and reporting are an invaluable resource if offered by your audio visual hire company.

During the rehearsals for the first day of the conference one of the American presenters had travelled to site with a power point presentation containing video footage. Unfortunately the video content had not been embedded into his presentation so it did not appear as he expected. The video content was hyper-linked to files that were inaccessible from the PowerPoint presentation - supplied to us on a memory stick. Fortunately with our technical expertise we were able to download the video from source and convert the video footage into a high resolution format that would be compatible with our audio visual systems. This is when event support specialists, who speak English as a first language and are familiar with the requirements of such last-minute complications, are priceless.

In an ideal scenario, all presentation content will have been submitted during the pre-production phase to minimise such last minute glitches, but more often than not on-site changes are required to re-format a presentation. Whilst it is by no means out of the question that a local AV company might well have been able to do the same, feedback from client events in Europe suggests that when they have used a local supplier they have often failed to be sufficiently expert to support such needs.

Step 10

During the Conference

Over the period of the two and a half day event we were able to further boost our reputation with the client and delegates. Something that they had overlooked until the last minute was to provide appropriate themed music for role-play exercises. Although it had not been part of the original conference production brief, we were able to provide apt and timely presentation support at very short notice from our on-site database of over thirty thousand music tracks.Again, this was something which many of our European competitors may not have been able to achieve within the time frame and it would probably have added an extra cost.

Whilst seeming relatively negligible points in themselves the above types of scenarios can be very stressful for conference and event organisers, who already have responsibilities that go beyond the presentation content. The corporate conference event being organised by the client is a huge task of delegate management and event logistics, so that any projects that can be left to an experienced dedicated event management team such as ourselves, frees them up to focus on their own tasks of delivering a successful delegate experience.

Step 11

Language Issues in European Conferencing.

When working in Europe either as an event manager, conference producer, or production company, it is always helpful if you are able to communicate directly with the people you meet at the venue and along the way. Whilst all major event management destinations and hotels across Europe have staff who will speak English, there are occasions when they will not be available. We are happy to have colleagues with rudimentary skills in French, Spanish and German who are all keen to improve their language skills. They are prepared to have a go whenever possible to try out what they have learned and this has sometimes proved to be invaluable. It may seem obvious to say, but we recommend that at least one on your production team should have a working knowledge of the local language and should be encouraged to use their language skills as often as possible. It is often surprising how a little effort can generate a much better response from those who you are working alongside.

Conclusion

If you haven’t given much thought to the idea of working in Europe then we really recommend it. Conference events in Europe can be undertaken by a UK event production company at comparable cost to our European colleagues in the audio-visual supply sector. Favourable exchange rates add a further competitive edge to the costs of bringing your audio-visual and staging from the UK. Researching and planning the route and method by which conferencing systems are freighted and delivered will provide surprisingly low cost delivery solutions.

Taking your chosen conference production team with you to Europe will give increased peace of mind with regard to the quality of your technical support. Our client in Rome was very happy with the service and level of attention to detail we brought to their conference and repeat European corporate events are now routinely part of our conferencing diary. Fortunately our team really enjoy the experience of travelling abroad and having the opportunity during ‘down time’ to experience life in another culture and country. Particularly at the last night celebration which, rather like a topping out ceremony, tradition dictates must take place at the end of each show!

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Introduction

In today’s business world we are familiar with seeing women in senior and managerial roles, but being a woman in business brings whole new elements into play in the terms of values and attitudes in the business world. If you were to ask men if they regard women in business as equal most of them would probably affirm that they do. If you ask women in business if they feel equal to the men, I think you will find they do not.

Although there have been a great many advances since the days of my mother who was not expected to work once she had children, women have still not reached the level of equality you would expect in this day and age. During the sixties, seventies and eighties there was a huge shift from the down trodden woman who was kept by their husband, to the independent woman of today who can fend for herself. But somewhere along the line I feel we have lost something that is of value and that there is still some way to go to get the balance right. Studies have shown that women in business in many cases still receive less pay than men for the same work in spite of the legislation introducing equal pay.

Historical Attitudes

When I was young my mother stayed at home and looked after the children while my father was the bread winner. In those days young women who did work were expected to leave their jobs once they got married. It was seen as a insult on the man if he could not afford to support his wife. It did not matter how poor you were the woman still did not go out to work and she was expected to manage on the wages the husband brought home. In fact my parents got married and moved in with my grandmother because her husband had just died and she had lost her income. This way my [dad|father} took on the support of both women although my grandmother did some work, helping out two or three days a week for my uncle who was a butcher. Old attitudes die hard and it has taken several generations for it to become the norm for women to share in the burden of earning income.

My paternal grandmother who was also widowed however was a natural business woman. She used to have a ‘pack’ of clothes, mostly underwear which she trudged around the local area to sell and the customers paid the cost of their purchases off weekly. Her business was a cross between door to door selling and a clothing catalogue. She had an instinct for business but lived out of her time so she only ever made a pittance compared with the opportunities of today. Years ago women were not expected to be business orientated, so any natural talent they may have had in that direction would have been neglected or suppressed.

Responsibilities in the Home

During the early years of my childhood the roles of men and women were clearly defined. The woman had the responsibility of looking after the family, children, husband and any other relatives who lived with them and the man was responsible for providing the money to feed, clothe and house everyone. It did not matter how little money the man earned the wife had to manage on it. In other words cut their coat according to the cloth.

We were lucky because although my father was a builder and therefore earned a great deal less than the miners in the mining village where we lived, my mother and grandmother were very clever. They made nearly all our clothes, baked and grew fruit and vegetables so although that did not earn us actual money it did however mean that they saved money and we had things we would not have had if we had to buy them.

It seems that for many women, things have come in a kind of full circle through the application of technology and the return of cottage industry styles of business, where a woman can work from home running her own online business whilst still being able to care for her family and home.

One of the easiest ways in which a woman can work more flexible hours is by doing freelance work. When you are freelance you can more or less pick and choose the work you do, and when you do it. As a freelance worker you have more freedom and flexibility than if you work for someone else.

Throughout the world there must be thousands of women who have setup this kind of company creating and supplying products and services through ecommerce websites and managing to avoid having to compete in the ‘normal’ corporate world of business which is fast becoming considered an outdated and outmoded style of working to many, including a lot of men too! The revolution in computer technology has opened up a whole new world of opportunities for women who want to combine work and home life.

Today’s computer oriented world is much more suited to the employment of women than years ago when work that required manual labour was too heavy for women. Even today in some industries, such as the building trade you will not find many women doing the actual manual work, although I bet there are some! Yes they do work in the trade but usually as administrators, organising the projects, managing the finances and arranging planning permission from the councils.

In other jobs such as catering, nursing and teaching there is still a majority of women in these roles. However I have noticed, while spending quite a lot of time in hospitals lately, that there seem to be about an equal number of women doctors as men.

Having Children

During the sixties with Germaine Greer, burning bra’s and free love a change of attitude was generated. Then various recessions and higher expectations of standard of living saw more women going out to work to afford the luxuries of life. When my children were small, I stayed at home with them and did the things my mother did while my husband was the bread winner.

It worked well for us but at that time I would read magazines that made me feel I could not be complete as a woman unless I was holding down a full time job or career at the same time. We ‘read about’ the modern man who was able to look after children and do housework (Although I didn’t see much evidence of it!) so that there was more equality and the woman worked to share the burden of earning a living. In this new world the main problem to overcome was that men could not physically have the children so a woman would have to lose ground on the career ladder if she wanted to have a child.

At the end of the day women are still expected to reproduce as well as hold down a full time job. A woman can have maternity leave and take six weeks off after giving birth, but any mother knows that it is a massive emotional wrench to leave your six week old baby in the care of someone else while you pick up your career again. Friends I know who have been the main breadwinners and still have had children, have ended up having sick leave for stress and depression after the birth taking as much as six months to a year off. I find this interesting because to me this is about the time you need to have with your baby before you can even thinking about doing anything else.

During the eighties and nineties women were challenging men in their top jobs and often giving up the idea of children to become like men. Margaret Thatcher was one but she was of no help to the cause of women at the time of her premiership, I guess because it was too hard won. I however started my own career about this time. My children were becoming teenagers and I spent some time deciding what I could and wanted to do and eventually started my own business career offering training in Assertiveness and interpersonal skills to businesses people. During the eighties and nineties I worked freelance visiting many different companies when running training programmes.

One local mother I know has recently had a lot of success by creating a business where she builds her own websites. These websites are unique however, in that she does not have to stock products to sell, she does not have to deal with any customers, she does not have to work at any specific times, or at all if she doesn’t want to, and the business earns money 24 hours a day! Working from home, especially work with a computer, can allow mothers to be there for their children at the same time generate a useful income to support the family’s needs

The business she’s created makes web pages based on specific search phrases like ‘free anger management courses‘ and promotes them online.

Old Attitudes Die Hard

During my career as a freelance trainer, working in different companies, I encountered many different situations. Being a woman in business which is dominated by men it was a tough call. Sometimes when I entered the office of the person interviewing me, the senior manager would start ruffling his papers on his desk as though to say “Look how busy and important I am”. Occasionally when I met up with senior managers whose desks were free of papers they would be the ones who had a clear idea of what they wanted and whether or not I would be able to provide the service they required.

Having said that, sometimes the senior women in a firm were a lot harder on me than the men were. Also when I was starting the business I had a lot of help from some enlightened men who believed in me and thought I could do a great job. I survived the eighties recession when many other similar firms were going under and eventually I became known and respected for my work.

Inequality

As the work I did inevitably focused on the problems people suffered in dealing with colleagues I had a wonderful snapshot of the difficulties and challenges that existed within a company. In a group of twelve supervisors there would generally be two or three women and they would be head and shoulders above the men in terms of abilities because they had to work a lot harder to reach the same level. At the same time they had to deal with sexist comments, sexual harassment and put downs as the men attempted to try and feel superior to them.When running my training programmes some of the male delegates would try to find ways of deskilling me so they could be top dog of the day. They rarely succeeded.

Recently I saw a programme about race discrimination and one of the points made during the documentary was that the majority group, ie the white people, did not see there was a problem with race issues although the black people experienced discrimination in many subtle ways. The key issue was that the group with the power are usually oblivious to the problem, only those without the power experience the disadvantage. So if you are a black woman in business you may find you are doubly disadvantaged, even in today’s supposed advanced world. Think of the radical change of attitude that is required now America has a black president who is considered to be the most powerful man in the world.

During the nineties there was a new organisation started by a woman for women. The MD was so disillusioned about attitudes to women in business that she left and set up her own accountancy company. She employed women who wanted the flexibility of having a career as well as bringing up a family and organised it so that they had flexible working hours, time off for maternity leave and part time work without losing out on the career path. It became very successful and could be seen as a model for other companies to follow.

Even the article we commissioned some time ago about ‘Five Things Women Should Know Before Starting A Business’ is condescending to say the least. And the tragic thing about it is that the person (a man) who wrote the article had no idea that it was so condescending. In fact the article is just general business advice that could apply to anyone both men and woman.

Interestingly in the web design company we are involved in, our female consultants often state that the men they meet with initially have resistance to them because they were expecting a male consultant as a result of our telesales staff all being men.

Women working in the computer industry may find it has the benefits of flexibility to fit in with child care and the possibility of working from home some of the time. In the more recent years it has been stated that many career minded women have given up applying for the top jobs because they find the demands on their time will not allow them to have any home life with their children. Instead they are choosing jobs with less responsibility so that they can leave the work behind when they go home.

There is no doubt that women have different criteria in the work place. They do think differently and have a more social attitude to their colleagues. Men by and large think more strategically and have an overall concept of the big picture. But that does not mean to say that women are not able to think strategically and that men can’t be sociable to their colleagues. Mostly it is dependent on the values we place on our children as to how they develop for their roles in their adult life. But over riding all that is largely to do with hormones and the survival instincts that are built into all of us.

My own Experience

When I was trying to set up a new company with a male colleague of mine, during the meetings he would say he would go and visit an MD of a certain company. I was amazed because I knew from experience that getting in to see an MD was not always easy, but he had no doubts that he would be able to get an appointment to talk about our work. Having said that he never did do any sales pitches and the company never got off the ground. What really struck me though, was that as a man his assumptions and expectations were very different from mine.

Conclusion

I am sure you have heard the saying that ‘behind every great man there is a good woman’. And I believe that is still true in firms today. When visiting lots of different companies as I did, it becomes obvious that there was always the highly organised woman looking after the everyday running of the MD’s or senior manager’s life.

I did find occasionally some men doing that role but the majority were women. The men seemed to spend most of their time in meetings making strategic decisions while the women got on with making sure the cogs kept turning and things got done. It seemed to me the women were the unsung heroes so that the men could maintain their sense of importance and status. I think it is up to the women to challenge the status quo and make sure they are truly recognised and respected for their talents and abilities in all areas of their life, both at home and at work.

Conference in America

When I attended a conference in Ohio America the delegates were very mixed in terms of race, sex and cultural diversity. The president of the conference was black and the vice president was a woman. During the programme there were mini workshops and lots of interaction of delegates in between. The values which were stated were that ‘No one was more important or less important than anyone else. No one was better or worse than anyone else. Everyone had a right to their opinion and their say.’ And I believe that everyone complied with those values during the conference.

On the last day a vast hall was full of the delegates and people were able to stand and say whatever they wanted to say as an ending to the programme. For the first time in my life I felt the sense of equality with everyone in the room. It is something I have fought for all my life and finally that day I experienced it through my whole body and knew that things would work out.

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The shopping season is drawing closer and it’s time to buckle down and get my list straight. Each year becomes all the more difficult when you’ve got a daughter that’s getting gifts from multiple grandparents and then her immediate family too.

I used to be able to quickly and easily find items that weren’t just upgraded versions of what she already has. Who needs more dolls? I’m tempted to let her look at Liv Dolls, since they are a little different.

They have a couple of wigs and have an online world that she’s really interested in. Hopefully there aren’t too many weirdos lurking on the online part.

There’s also the Zhu Zhu Hamster that has caught my eye recently. Of course the issue there is that there are a bunch of them, not to mention all of the accessories! Just the habitat alone makes me wonder where in the world I’m going to put something like that.

I guess I could get rid of all of her furniture and just let the dolls and pet hamsters rule the roost. Seems like it will be a bit nicer in a couple of years when I just have to buy clothes. Of course, the main issue there is finding clothes that won’t just be returned the next day. Or worse, buying clothes that have her burst into tears (in a bad way) the moment she sees that I bought the wrong color or something.

Any ideas for gifts? Seems like it’s all just around the corner.

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The subject of weight loss is a tricky subject in America. Self-images get distorted by what we see in the media, especially on TV and in the movies. So many young girls (and boys, too) think they are fat, when they are actually underweight and become anorexic or bulimic, or have other eating disorders.

For many losing weight is a good way to improve one’s overall health and maybe necessary for one’s survival. But for those whose concept of their bodies are off kilter, trying to lose weight can become a horrible nightmare that can lead to one’s death.

Figuring out when you need to lose weight and when you do not is an important step in taking control over your health care. This is your body and reaching that balance point of your optimum weight can add years to life.

So should you be taking off some pounds? While this depends upon your personal judgment, in general, if you are more than 20 pounds overweight, losing those pounds can improve your health.

The first thing to do is to look-up the recommended weight for someone of your size and age. Next take into consideration that everyone’s body is different. Your ratio of fat to muscle will be different than someone else’s. And being a little heavier maybe just right for you. If you are an athlete, for example, than those “extra pounds” may be all muscle that you need for your work.

Check with your doctor if you feel like your weight is out of balance. A doctor can tell if your weight is normal or not. And it maybe time to lose some weight.

There are people, however, who definitely do not need to lose weight. Hey, if you aren’t as thin as your favorite actor or model, that doesn’t mean you need to lose weight. Here is a little behind the scenes secret: Models and actresses are airbrushed in photos to look more toned. They wear clothes that enhance their shape. And they are often forced, for their jobs, to weigh less than is healthy for them.

If your body weight is normal, you do not need to lose weight, even if your pants are a size bigger than the celebrity of the month.

There are also periods in your life when it is natural to be gaining weight. This is especially common during puberty and for the first few years into your early twenties. If you are gaining weight, check out the rest of your body - are you going through a growth spurt in height as well?

If you have started working out, you may also be gaining weight, at first. As you tone your muscles, you will look better, but may weigh more. That is because muscles are heavier than fat. More muscles and less fat is a good thing.

Finally don’t base your weight loss or gain decisions simply because someone else makes a rude comment about your looks. People are cruel. Remember that everyone has a different body make up. If you are happy with your weight and it is within the normal range for someone of your age and height, chances are that the rude comment is stemming from other issues, not because you actually need to lose weight.

Be happy with yourself and eat a healthy diet. There is an optimum weight for you, but you get to decide what it is and whether losing weight is the right thing to do.

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Hair loss and hair thinning can produce extreme emotional distress for many men who are sensitive about their looks.

In the past, the only solutions to hair loss problems were to either disguise the ‘bald spot’ by thickening the remaining hair and combing it over the thinning or balding area; or to use a wig or hairpiece.

Neither solution was particularly effective and, in many cases, produced very poor cosmetic results that further eroded the sufferer’s self-esteem.

Nowadays far more attention is being paid to the underlying reasons why hair thinning and baldness occur in the first place. For many men, the cause is due to the retardation of follicle growth caused by the presence of dihydrotestostrone (DHT). DHT is a by-product of testosterone.

If DHT production could be stopped, or at least reduced, then this should mean that follicle damage is also reduced. Combined with a mixture of essential minerals amd vitamins that stimulate healthy hair growth, then you have the perfect combination for a successful hair loss treatment. Just such a product is Provillus Hair Growth Treatment.

Provillus is an established product that blocks DHT production. It also provides a unque blend of targeted nutrients and natural ingredients to promote and prolong strong healthly hair growth. And if you buy Provillus now, you are entitled to a 2 month free trial of the product to experience the benefits for yourself.

Disclaimer: This posting is based on information freely available in the popular press and medical journals that deal with hair loss. Nothing herein is intended to be or should be construed to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice the reader should consult with his or her physician or other medical specialist.

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Having been amongst the first to purchase the Dell 910 Mini I wanted to share my experience with others that might be thinking about acquiring this item or one of the other sub-notebook or ‘netbooks’ as they have become known. I manage a web design agency and I’ve been considering the idea of getting a moreportable laptop as my old Dell Inspiron from 2003 is as heavy as a brick.

Shortly after having retired the old Dell to my girlfriends house (I couldn’t face lugging it back and forwards any longer so it just lives there now, I might well do the same with myself one of these days soon!) it stopped charging and wouldn’t run from the mains, so eventually when I gave it to my tech to repair he found out that it was one of the known faulty models, the 5150 which developed a problem with the motherboard overheating after prolonged use, this I found out about 2 years after they stopped replacing them as part of a class action lawsuit, shame I’m two years too late to get it replaced for free!

Ah well what’s 150 quid for a factory refurbished Motherboard off ebay, compared with years of loyal service in spite of being dropped a couple of times, spat on repeatedly, eaten over and all manner of other not recommended usage styles! I even used to have it hooked up to my TV via the onboard S-VHS port and watch films on it, so it has seen some action, oh yes!Not that I download movies off the internet you understand of course, oh no that would just be wrong, and illegal and I wouldn’t want to risk getting my broadband disconnected!

However, this was all instigated by my step dad who just took delivery of top of the range Toshiba Portege at around £1,200, but he’s at that time in life where 1,200 quid is affordable, where as I’m still in financial recovery from my last divorce (yes there was more than one!)! So I stumbled across an ad for the Dell Inspiron 910 Mini on the Dell website whilst looking at specs of laptops for a customer, and there it was £299 inc VAT and delivery. What a bargain I thought!

Anyway there I was credit card on hot standby, wrist twitching ready to buy, but hang on I thought, why am I buying this, do I really need it? No, I don’t NEED it I just WANT ONE ! So then some sensibility came over me and I put my credit card away, feeling all pleased with myself at having managed to resist an impulse purchase!

However, the following day my step Dad needs me to investigate his new Toshiba because he can’t get the printer to work with Vista and can’t get it to see the other computers that are on our network (this job for me, comes with the territory!) So I happen to have to work on this ultra lightweight Toshiba , wow I’m amazed at how small it is, especially compared to my old Dell 5150! I wish I could afford one of these I thought! I noticed he didn’t have my recommended security software installed though.I set him up with my usual internet security protection: Avast Anti Virus and Spybot Search & Destroy, both free for home use.

The following day I had to go to a customers and as it was first thing in the morning I went straight there from my girlfriends house and took the old laptop with me (which gives me a great excuse to call in on my way back and drop it off, coincidentally around about lunchtime when there might be the chance of a ham, cheese and salad sandwich on the go! ) So anyway, I about put my back out trying to put this incredibly heavy laptop in the car passenger foot well whilst sitting in the drivers’ seat! So having experienced the new lightweight machines first hand, and realised I do have a genuine NEED for the new Dell Inspiron mini after all, weighing in at around 1kg, you know I planned to get that credit card out again as soon as I was able!

So as I had a management meeting that afternoon I informed my Finance Manager I would be ordering one and that was that. It was Friday October 3rd when I placed the order on the Dell website, and on the 8th I got back from a customer meeting to find a tiny cardboard box on my desk with the Dell log on the side, I thought it couldn’t possibly be the new mini as the confirmation email I got said it would arrive on or around the 20th October, but sure enough it really had arrived! Just a 5 day turn around, wow!

So I’m like a kid in a sweet shop thinking “best day ever” (See Heroes Season 3), I was ecstatic and carefully unpacked it, tossing instructions and disks to one side of course, “read those later” I thought. I got it out and started setting it up straight away, you know remove Tiscali Free Trial and all the other junk software these things come with these days. Why they can’t just send you a blank windows installation I don’t know, more advertising!

As it has an integrated web cam I also downloaded Windows Live Messenger and had a quick video call with my girlfriend whilst she was doing her house work, fantastic!So next I Googled ‘mobile broadband suppliers’ and toyed with ordering the USB dongle from Three, as their 5GB monthly allowance is only 15 quid a month so the best looking deal, providing those coverage stories you hear about Three Mobile are not really the case! (Update: Yes the coverage is lousy in all the areas I want to use it, even at my desk I have to connect the dongle to a USB cable and hang it from my roof to get 1 bar signal strength, buy another brand!)

Anyway, it was soon time to go and pick up my daughter from school so I thought yeah I’ll take it with me and even though I don’t have the mobile broadband dongle yet I can continue configuring it in car park if I’m early. I was early, so I turned it on, it said:

Windows could not start because of an error in the software.

Please report this problem as :

load needed DLLs for kernel.

Please contact your support person to report this problem

As we say in England from the popular Catherine Tate sketch “Computer says no…”

Ah dear, it was great fun whilst it lasted, all of about 2 and a half minutes!Then followed a 2 and a half hour telethon with Dell support in India Apparently they were so quick to ship the laptop to me that my service tag isn’t on their system yet.

In my opinion good support is simple, it’s not like we’re dealing with complicated server virtualisation here. It’s a Dell 910 mini laptop, which has an error on the screen when you try to start it up, every time, send a replacement! “We don’t’ know what the service tag is so we can’t do that”, I was absolutely livid. In spite of insisting to speak to the supervisor, I got absolutely nowhere, and they probably thought they had handled that call in the appropriate manner!)

They suggested I called back in 24-48 hours, well I explained to them exactly what I thought of their suggestion as I’m sure you can image, but to no avail. I did indeed have to call back today and they have agreed to send me a replacement unit as it is within 7 days of delivery.

I hope the replacement arrives as quickly as the original unit did…

So conclusion? Apart from the fact it doesn’t work (a faulty drive in my opinion) and for the life of me I can’t get it to boot from an external drive or USB key (it doesn’t have a CD or DVD drive you know) it feels really solid, looks lovely, and is nice to handle (sounds a bit like the ideal companion to an i-phone 2.0 doesn’t it!).

Like most reviewers have stated , the keys are small (but blackberry users manage and they are larger than those keys) and the right shift key is tiny and means you can’t type an @ in the usual fashion. But the screen is nice, 3 USB slots, a monitor connector, Ethernet and earphones and mic connectors although it has both speakers and mic internally so you can video conference without having to plug anything in.

On the whole, I would recommend it, providing you get one that boots up! I am also yet to try it with LogMeIn which is my preferred way of dealing with how to access emails, lots of passwords, specialist software and all that kind of thing when you are out and about. Possibly the screen is going to be too small to be able to work with for extended periods of time, but I’ll let you know when the replacement arrives and I have had chance to give it a proper testing, assuming that one doesn’t break on me as soon as I start urm ‘configuring’ it!

Further Update: So I have had the Dell Mini for about erm, wow nearly 12 months! It would never work with LogMeIn over the 3 dongle. To be fair 3 were very helpful, until we took the dongle out and used it in another one of my machines and were able to connect on LogMeIn without any problems, at this point they referred me to Dell, at which point I lost the will to live!

It is all to do with one of the browser settings, not remembering itself when you tick the check box and hit Apply. I can’t remember which one it was now, and maybe ie 8 will have fixed the problem or it might work on Firefox browser instead, I just never got round to trying to sort it out again and tend to use the Mini more now to read the news in bed with my cup of tea in the morning.

It is too small to use for really extended periods but it is great for checking your email when you’re out and about, or for a quick impulse surf when you can’t be bothered to turn the main pc on and you want to remind yourself what other films that actor or actress was in!I’ve yet to connect it to one of my external lcd monitors but I guess it would work just as well as any other pc then.

It’s a great little machine though and also works quite well down the pub, because I can fit it in the pocket of my big coat, and that is proper cool, except it doesn’t like beer puddles much so I tend to avoid taking it most of the time, unless I know I’m going to need to log on, but then the pub has got a sexy new Mac which is already covered in beer so I prefer to use that (any excuse to get behind the bar really!)

In summary though it has not had any hardware problems since the initial replacement was received. On the whole I have found that Dell kit tends to be pretty reliable anyway, especially when you are dealing with the more business based items whereas this is obviously more consumer focussed. With a Dell if they are going to go wrong they will usually do so within the first six months of use and generally after that they will keep going until recommended service intervals such as changing the disks after a couple of years and that kind of thing, assuming you continue to use them in the same fashion throughout their life spans.

It should be pointed out though that these mini Dell laptops/netbooks, call them what you will, do not having a traditional hard disk drive inside them. A normal hard drive has a disk inside it that physically spins round and a ‘head’ which moves backwards and forwards over the sectors quite like the relationship between the stylus and the tracks on an old fashion vinyl record(which being 40 next year I do remember from my childhood)!

The storage within the Dell mini, and other netbooks too I should image, are solid state, that is to say they are rather like USB flash drives or memory keys. In fact I think from a picture I saw they look more like RAM memory chips all joined together than a single physical device. The advantage of using solid state memory over traditional hard drives is that they use less power, they are not as heavy and they are quieter. Much quieter. If you’re like me you will have noticed how computers have got a lot noisier over the last 10 years, as they have got more powerful.

My Dell Mini is blissfully quiet in comparison to any of my other computers, desktops or laptops. Although if you are auditorily hyper-sensitive to noise like I am then you can notice a very slight hum or whine when you give it something to do that requires it to access the hard drive. Most people probably will never hear this but if you are familiar with the faint hum from your mobile phone charger or other devices of that ilk that transform power from one state to another then you might know what I am talking about. It certainly isn’t a problem though, although the power adapter for the machine itself does make some odd noises if you listen to it closely. It is similar to a mobile phone charger though, not like a traditional laptop power adapter, and this makes the whole thing much more portable.

My favourite aspect of this machine is that in some it elicits the same response as having a small puppy or kitten out and about with you, especially down the pub where if you get it out to a bunch of girls you can hear the ooh and ahhh’s of girls who think something is cute! That is priceless!

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