Info-Leeches and other E-Invertebrates

The cocktail has the distinction of being an original American drink.

Its origins are murky, but the most common accounts name one Antoine Amedee
Peychaud, a young Creole from a distinguished French family, as the originator of
the drink.

Peychaud, along with wealthy plantation owners, fled his home in the French
controlled portion of the island of Hispaniola during the slave uprisings of
1793.

Peychaud, trained as an apothecary, settled in New Orleans and set up shop in the
French Quarter. Along with his education, he had salvaged an old secret family
recipe for the compounding of a liquid tonic called bitters.

The bitters were good for whatever ailed you. And they added zest to the
cognac brandy he served friends and others who wandered into his pharmacy.

Fame of the concoction spread. Soon the ubiquitous New Orleans coffee
houses, as liquor dispensing establishments were then called, were offering
their French brandy spiked with a dash of the marvelous bitters compounded by M.
Peychaud.

He had a unique way of serving his brandy libation. He poured portions into a
double egg cup. The French speaking population called such a device a
coquetier (pronounced kah-kuh-tyay). The speculation is that the
pronunciation of the French word eventually corrupted into the present day
cocktail.

New Orleans based Museum of the American Cocktail displays the first known
written reference to the drink on its website,
www.museumoftheamericancocktail.org. On the front page of May 6, 1806 issue of
The Balance and Columbian Repository, a Hudson, N.Y., newspaper. In
response to a reader’s request, an editor defined a cocktail as “a stimulating liquor,
composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters.”

The editor then goes on to say that it is “supposed to be an excellent electioneering
potion inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it
fuddles the head. It is said also, to be of great use to a democratic candidate:
because, a person having swallowed a glass of it, is ready to swallow any thing
else.”

Stanley Clisby Arthur, author of Famous New Orleans Drinks and how to mix
‘em, mentions a writer who refers to the older term cocktail, meaning
a horse whose tail, being docked, sticks up like the tail of a cock. He adds: ‘Since
drinkers of cocktails believe them to be exhilarating, a once popular song Horsy,
keep your tail up, may perhaps hint at a possible connection between the two
senses of cocktail.

1 lump sugar
3 drops Peychaud’s bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 jigger rye whiskey
1 dash absinthe substitute
1 slice lemon peel

Start with two heavy-bottomed, 3 ½ ounce bar glasses. Fill one with cracked ice and
allow it to chill. In the other, place a lump of sugar with just enough water to
moisten it.

The saturated loaf of sugar is then crushed with a barspoon. Add a few drops of
Peychaud’s bitters, a dash of Angostura, and a jigger of rye whiskey.

Add add several lumps of ice to the glass containing sugar, bitters, and rye and stir.
Never use a shaker!

Empty the ice from the first glass, dash in several drops of absinthe, twirl the glass
and shake out the absinthe … enough will cling to the glass to add the needed
flavor.

Strain the whiskey mixture into this glass, twist a piece of lemon peel over it for the
needed zest of that small drop of oil thus extracted from the peel, but do not
commit the sacrilege of dropping the peel into the drink.

Enjoy.

About the Author

Ellen M. Zucker owns http://www.faces-and-fortunes-partytips.com a site where
you can find advice on party and event planning from Party Pros. It includes tips,
interviews, and advice on putting your event together from professionals who make
parties and special events happen.

(For a more comprehensive breakdown of the faxless payday advance a href=”http://www.aaapaydaycash.com/Faq.aspx”>see here.)
One of the frequently verbalized charges by defamers of the cash advance business challenges the annual interest ordinarily levied upon a short term payday bridging loan which can equate to a staggering 1-200 percent.

The Annual Percentage Rate or “APR” can be described as a long established elementary indicator to delineate the effective interest a customer would have to pay during one entire year. APR proffers a viable formula to realistically determine which financial utensil suggests a higher vs. a lower overall expense to the client, accommodating accidental charges required.To be sure, the APR has deservedly been acclaimed as a highly relevant tool for financial engagements traversing a time span of at least 12 full months .Yet, in regard to short term fast cash advances the annual interest figures are hardly suited.

Let’s compare a payday cash advance to jumping a taxi to get home from the airport. It may cost you about $40 to drive home by taxi. Of course, 40 dollars can be a lot of money to cough up for merely getting home but plenty of people will do it as it is opportune and reconciles a must. Ok, so we all know that we could also hire a car for a whole day for $40 allowing us to drive an unlimited number of miles.

So let’s just say we do that… to wit, hire a car and drive it for 400 miles during the one day we’ve hired it. Of coursethe subscribers of APR would probably urge that everyone will have to annualize these figures to establish a plausible comparison! Really? we’ll take the price of the taxi ride ($2 per mile multiplied by 400 miles) which gives us: eighthundred dollars. The APR equivalent of the rental car solution vis-a-vis that taxi fee gives us $40/$800. Of course, everyone should realize that hiring a car would certainly not have constituted our best option, no matter how much more expensive the annual percentage rate would have tallied up in this particular case.

And the same applies to payday loans. Remember that payday advance loans are limited to two weeks only, they’re not annual loan agreements. The obviously high annual interest rate makes little sense due to the fact that the loan under investigation does not arch one year. The required borrowing fee equates to about 15%-25% for the loan. That faxless payday loan is a high-priced contingency option you shouldn’t adopt without prior scrutiny of all viable alternatives.

Summer has finally arrived. Along with summer comes shorts and tank tops, bathing suits and BBQs, sun and, of course, sandals. Easy to slip on and off and cool enough for the hot summer days, sandals tend to be the main choice for footwear during the summer months. Sandal styles vary, but flip-flops have been gaining in popularity in recent years. Unfortunately, along with flip-flops come foot injuries. The flip-flop style sandal has almost no arch support and little beyond the two flimsy straps on top to keep the foot on the sole of the sandal. The result is overworked tendons and an overstressed arch. Ankle sprains are common injuries for flip-flop wearers, but more chronic problems, like tendonitis and plantar fasciitis can also develop. Flip-flops are not the only culprit, many sandals do not offer much arch support, shock absorption and have little material to keep the foot on the sole. The combination of flip-flops and high heels tends to be the deadliest summer sandal choice. A nice summer evening out can easily turn into a night in the emergency room with a sprained or broken ankle.

There are many shoes and sandals available today which are comfortable, but will not compromise your sense of style. When looking for a summer sandal, following these simple tips:

1. The sole of the sandal should be larger than your foot. Your foot should not hang over the sides or the back of the sandal.

2. There should be enough material on the top of the sandal to keep your foot on the sole and to keep the foot from slipping.

3. The sole of the sandal should be rigid and not flex in the middle. If you can take your sandal and fold it in half, then it is too flexible and it will not offer enough support.

4. Keep in mind that many sandals are not made for walking, but designed purely for style. Owning one pair of sandals for walking and one pair for sitting at the beach or at a BBQ may be a good idea.

5. When buying a sandal for walking, look for a sturdy sole, multiple straps with buckles or velcro, built in arch supports or an accommodation for a custom orthotic.

The American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) has a list of shoes and sandals which have been given their approval. For more information on the APMA’s Seal of Acceptance program and their list of shoes and sandals, visit their website at www.apma.org/sealofacceptance.

If you just can’t imagine the idea of parting with your flip-flops or stylish sandals this summer, then consider carrying a pair of athletic shoes or walking sandals in your car for those times when you may be doing more walking. Areas with hills, stairs or slippery surfaces are not appropriate for walking in flip-flops and could lead to injury. If you develop arch pain or heel pain while in your sandals, stop wearing them and visit a podiatrist.

All creatures on earth are supplied at birth with everything they need for successful survival. All creatures except one are supplied with a set of instincts that will do the job for them. And because of that, most creatures don’t need much of a brain. In the Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Archibald MacLeish’s play The Secret of Freedom, a character says, “The only thing about a man that is man is his mind. Everything else you can find in a pig or a horse.” That’s uncomfortably true.

Take the magnificent bald eagle for example. To see one of them swooping down and pluck a live and sizeable fish from the water on a single pass is astonishing. More astonishing still is the eagle’s eyesight. And because of its need to see small rodents moving in the grass from high altitudes or a fish just inches under the surface of the water, its incredible eyes take up just about all the space in its head. For the eagle, its eyes are the most important thing, and everything else works in unison with them. Its brain is tiny and rudimentary. It doesn’t think or plan or remember; it simply acts in accordance with stimuli.

And it’s the same with most other living creatures. Even the beautiful porpoise, with a much larger brain, and the chimpanzee are easily tamed and taught. Only one takes 20 years to mature and has dominion over all the rest on the earth itself, and has today the power to destroy all life on earth in a couple of hours. Only one is given the godlike power to fashion its own life according to the images it holds in its remarkable mind.

The human mind is the one thing that separates us from the rest of the creatures on earth. Everything that means anything to us comes to us through our minds, our love of our families, our beliefs, all of our talents, knowledge, abilities. Everything is reflected through our minds. Anything that comes to us in the future will almost certainly come to us as a result of the extent to which we use our minds.

And yet, it’s the last place on earth the average person will turn to for help. You know why? You know why people don’t automatically turn their own vast mental resources on when faced with a problem? It’s because they never learned how to think. Most people will go to any length to avoid thinking when they’re faced with a problem. They will ask advice from the most illogical people, usually people who don’t know any more than they do: next-door neighbors, members of their families, and friends stuck in the same mental traps that they are. Very few of them use the muscles of their mind to solve their problems.

Yet living successfully, getting the things we want from life, is a matter of solving the problems that stand between where we are now and the point we wish to reach. No one is without problems. They’re part of living. But let me show you how much time we waste in worrying about the wrong problems. Here’s a reliable estimate of the things people worry about: Things that never happen: 40%. Things over and past that can never be changed by all the worry in the world: 30%. Needless worries about our health: 12%. Petty miscellaneous worries: 10%. Real legitimate worries: 8%.

In short, 92% of the average person’s worries take up valuable time, cause painful stress, even mental anguish, and are absolutely unnecessary. And of the real legitimate worries, there are two kinds. There are the problems we can solve, and there are the problems beyond our ability to personally solve. But most of our real problems usually fall into the first group, the ones we can solve, if we’ll learn how.

The average working person has at his or her disposal an enormous amount of free time. In fact, you’ll see if you’ll total the hours in a year and subtract the sleeping hours: If we sleep 8 hours every night, we have about 6,000 waking hours, of which less than 2,000 are spent on the job. Now this leaves 4,000 hours a year when a person is neither working nor sleeping. These can be called discretionary hours with which that person can do pretty much as he or she pleases.

So that you can see the amazing results in your own life, I want to recommend that you take just one hour a day, five days a week, and devote this hour to exercising your mind. You don’t even have to do it on weekends. Pick one hour a day on which you can fairly regularly count. The best time for me is an hour before the others are up in the morning. The mind’s clear, the house is quiet, and, if you like, with a fresh cup of coffee, this is the time to start the mind going.

During this hour every day take a completely blank sheet of paper. At the top of the page write your present primary goal clearly, simply. Then, since our future depends on the way in which we handle our work, write down as many ideas as you can for improving that which you now do. Try to think of 20 possible ways in which the activity that fills your day can be improved. You won’t always get 20, but even one idea is good.

Now remember two important points with regard to this. One, this is not particularly easy, and, two, most of your ideas won’t be any good. When I say it’s not easy, I mean it’s like starting any new habit. At first you’ll find your mind a little reluctant to be hauled up out of that old familiar bed. But as you think about your work and ways in which it might be improved, write down every idea that pops into your head, no matter how absurd it might seem.

The most important thing that this extra hour accomplishes is that it deeply embeds your goal into your subconscious mind, starts the whole vital machine reworking the first thing every morning. And 20 ideas a day, if you can come up with that many, total 100 a week, even skipping weekends.

An hour a day, five days a week, totals 260 hours a year and still leaves you 3,740 hours of free leisure time. Now this means you’ll be thinking about your goal and ways of improving your performance, increasing your service six full extra working weeks a year, 61/2 40-hour weeks devoted to thinking and planning. Can you see how easy it is to rise above that so called competition? And it’ll still leave you with seven hours a day to spend as you please.

Starting each day thinking, you’ll find that your mind will continue to work all day long. And you’ll find that at odd moments, when you least expect it, really great ideas will begin to bubble up from your subconscious. When they do, write them down as soon as you can. Just one great idea can completely revolutionize your work and, as a result, your life.

Each time you write your goal at the top of the sheet of paper, don’t worry or become concerned about it. Think of it as only waiting to be reached, a problem only waiting to be solved. Face it with faith and bend all the great powers of your mind toward solving it. And believe me, solve it you will. This puts each of us in the driver’s seat.

Each of us has a tendency to underestimate his or her own abilities. We should realize that we have deep within ourselves deep reservoirs of great ability, even genius that can be tapped if we’ll just dig deep enough. It’s the miracle of your mind.

Everything fashioned by human beings is a result of goal setting. We reach our goals. That’s how we know that the diseases that plague us will be conquered. We’ve set goals to eradicate every disease that plagues us and eradicate them we will, one by one. We have never set a goal that we have not reached or are now in the process of reaching.

Earl Nightingale co-founded Nightingale Conant the world leader in personal development. Earl’s audio programs are available at nightingale.com. Other audio programs available at Nightingale Conant include authors such as: Tony Robbins, Brian Tracy, David Bach (The Automatic Millionaire), Dale Carnegie Organization (The 5 Essential People Skills), Jim Rohn, and many, many others.

1. What is my filing status? (Married, Single, Head of Household)
Marital standing at year end determines your filing status for the entire year. If you have a decree of divorce or separate maintenance, signed by a judge, you should file as single. Regardless of whether you have a signed decree you may be able to file as head of household. Filing as head of household may reduce your income tax obligation, but to qualify the following conditions must be met:

o You paid more than ½ the cost of keeping up your home for the tax year,

o Your home was the main home for your child for more than ½ the year, and

o Your spouse hasn’t been a member of the household for 6 months.

If you can’t file as single or head of household, then you must either file as married filing joint or married filing separate.

6. Should my spouse and I file as married, filing separate or married, filing joint?

Filing joint may provide some tax benefits over filing separate. However, by filing separate the IRS can’t hold you responsible for any unpaid taxes caused by your spouse’s actions or omissions. The “innocent spouse” rule provides relief from this responsibility in some cases.

2. Is alimony taxable?

In general, alimony is taxable to the recipient (line 11 of the 2004 Form 1040) and deductible to the payor (line 34a of the 2004 Form 1040). However, some couples stipulate in their separation agreement that the alimony won’t be deductible to the payor, or taxable to the recipient.

3. Is child support taxable?

No. Child support is neither taxable to the recipient nor deductible to the payor.

If the payor owes both alimony and child support but pays less than the total amount owed, the payments apply first to child support and then to alimony. If the separation agreement doesn’t delineate separate alimony and child support payments, general “family support” payments are treated as child support for tax purposes, unless the alimony qualifications are met.

4. Who gets to claim the dependency exemption for the children?

In general, as long as the parents combined contribute at least ½ of the support of the child, the custodial parent gets the dependency exemption for the child. If custody is split or undeterminable, the parent who had physical custody for the greater part of the year gets the dependency exemption. Custodial parents can waive their right to the dependency exemption by filing Form 8332.

5. Who gets to claim the Child Tax credit and the Household and Dependent Care credit.

Only the parent who claims the exemption for the child may claim the Child Tax credit for that child. Unlike the exemption, it can’t be traded. If you are the custodial parent, you can claim the Household and Dependent Care credit for the child even if you cannot claim the child’s exemption. If you are the non-custodial parent, you cannot claim the Household and Dependent Care credit for the child even if you can claim the child’s exemption.

7. Are my divorce costs deductible?

In general legal fees are considered personal expenses so they aren’t deductible.

However legal fees paid to get alimony and legal fees regarding the tax effects of divorce are deductible. The attorney must allocate fees paid for deductible and non-deductible services otherwise the deduction may be disallowed. The allowed deduction is a miscellaneous itemized deduction which is deductible only to the extent that, in the aggregate, the miscellaneous deductions exceed 2% of the taxpayer’s adjusted gross income.

8. My spouse and I are using the married, filing separate filing status. Can I use the standard deduction if my spouse itemizes?
No. If spouses are using the married, filing separate filing status and one spouse itemizes their deductions, the other spouse must itemize as well.

9. Who gets the mortgage interest deduction and other itemized deductions?

If the marital home is owned by one spouse alone, only that spouse may claim a mortgage interest deduction. Deductible expenses that are paid out of separate funds, such as medical expenses, are deductible by the spouse who pays them. In general, deductible expenses paid out of joint funds are split 50/50 between the spouses, including mortgage interest. Mortgage interest for property titled by the entireties can be claimed by whichever spouse actually paid the expense.

10. Where can I go for more information about divorce and tax issues?
www.rosendivorce.com/taxes

Jessie Danninger is a financial analyst with Rosen Divorce. She assist clients in all financial matters relating to divorce, including property distribution, child custody, alimony, and tax related issues. She is a certified divorce financial analyst and CPA.

With offices in Raleigh and Charlotte, Rosen Divorce is the largest divorce firm in North Carolina. Founded in 1990, the firm is dedicated to providing individual growth and support to couples seeking divorce by helping them move forward with their lives. Our staff of attorneys, accountants, and specially trained divorce coaches expertly address the complex issues of ending a marriage. Our innovative approach acknowledges that divorce is so much more than just a legal matter. Specialties include child custody, alimony, property distribution, separation agreements, and domestic violence relief.

For more information on Rosen Divorce, or for an interview, please contact:
Alison Kramer, Director of Public Relations, Office: 919-256-1542, Cell: 919-523-7104 akramer@rosen.com

***

ROSEN DIVORCE
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, NC 27607
http://www.rosendivorce.com
”Divorce is Different Here”

One of my first lessons in precision occurred at the home of my best friend when we were children. We decided it might be fun to rig a zip line across his back yard, stringing some plastic coated rope between two trees about 25 feet apart.

When it came time to experiment to see whether or not the line would hold our weight, we chose my younger brother for the test because he weighed less than the rest of us. We figured if the line would hold him, we could try the next lightest person until we all made it across the divide. My brother balked at taking the maiden run, because the line was about 10 feet off the ground, and there was no padding to cushion his fall if the rope were to break.

To ease his fears, my friend ran into his house and emerged with a throw pillow from his couch, about a foot square, and placed it about mid way between the start point and the finish of the run. Assured by this safety precaution, my little brother grabbed the slide bar and launched. The rope broke under his weight, and he plummeted to the ground, landing precisely on the throw pillow in a seated position. Unfortunately, the pillow did not provide enough cushion for the drop to avoid a solid thump, but we were pleased with our precision in placing the pillow in the right location. After that, we did not have enough rope to try again, so we abandoned our project, satisfied that we had at least learned something about geometry.

Director of Software Concepts
BHO Technologists - LittleTek Center http://home.earthlink.net/~jdir

Getting the right prom date is often the result of careful planning.

Girls typically work harder at getting a prom date than do boys. They seem to know intuitively how to get a prom date: planning months in advance, spending time with the right guy, and hanging out in the right group.  These, the most successful methods, work best with advance planning.

Guys need to face their fears: Will you risk rejection by asking the person you are most attracted to, or play it safe by asking someone else? For you, how to get a prom date includes deciding what you want and what you are willing to risk. Then, ask-but don’t wait until prom week.

If you did wait until prom week, you may still find a prom date. If you have a girlfriend or boyfriend, you should already know how to get a prom date-but you should have asked before now. The next easiest approach is to ask a good friend. After that, asking someone in a lower grade is a safe bet for guys, because junior girls often make it a top priority to go to prom with a senior. Asking someone in another school works, too, since it feels risk-free all around.
 
If prom week is upon you and you are still wondering how to get a prom date, try asking your cousin, or your brother or sister. Admittedly this is a last choice, but it has a long tradition going back to the earliest of proms.

Ian Partridge lauched a website called http://www.promhair.us which includes more resources and links relating to prom night

You walk through the door marked “City Sales.” It’s 7:20 in the morning. Behind the counter the parts guy is sitting down reading the newspaper. He must not have heard the chime that triggered when you entered the store. You clear your throat, loudly. No response. Am I invisible? you ask yourself. Finally, you speak.

“Excuse me. I need some material.”

The paper doesn’t drop. No head peeks over the top. Only a voice replies, “We don’t open until 7:30.”

Too stunned to even respond, you turn around, walk back to your truck, vow to never cross their threshold again, and drive to the next supplier.
True story. The contractor that it happened to shared it with me two years later. Living up to his vow, he never bought anything else from that wholesaler.

No one likes being ignored. Common sense tells us that. But don’t pretend you haven’t done it. You’re waiting on a customer, or you’re on the phone. Maybe both. Another customer walks in. You could say, “Come on in. We’ll be right with you.” Even on the phone, you could nod and acknowledge his presence. But you don’t. You avoid eye contact, fearing he may ask you a question and then you’d have one more thing to do. You don’t mean to be rude, it’s just that, well, you’re busy.

Or you’re an outside salesman and you hurriedly cut through the counter area. Customers are three-deep waiting in line. Both countermen are already in the warehouse filling orders. You haven’t got time. That job bids at 2:00. It’s worth half-a-mil. This counter stuff is nickel-and-dime. You pick up the pace and rush by the customers. You don’t mean to be rude, it’s just that, well, you have to prioritize.

It’s time to rethink the relationship between your sales counter and your customers. For many distributors, it’s an afterthought, just a place that serves up the “table scraps” – miscellaneous leftovers needed to complete a job, odds-and-ends for a service call, parts and pieces picked up by the DIY homeowner. But your counter’s “reach” can go far beyond that small percentage of sales currently shown on your financial ledger.

Your sales counter can become a good will ambassador for your entire operation. American psychologist, Abraham Maslow said one of the most important social needs of a human being is the need to belong. Through your counter, your branch can provide a sense of community for your customers. And it all begins with a few simple steps.

1. Make everyone a greeter. Obviously, most companies don’t budget for a professional greeter. So, make it everyone’s job. Explain that any employee in the entrance area is to greet customers and ask if someone is helping them. If the employee isn’t trained for sales, he simply tells the customer that someone will be with him soon. For example, a warehouseman filling an order would look up from his clipboard, make eye contact with the customer, greet, and assure him that help is on the way.

2. Watch your language. Most of us never received training on proper ways to greet a customer. The assumption is that we’ll “just know.” As a result, most of the time we come across as abrupt. “Wha’cha need?” we’ll demand. Or, “Help you?” as if it’s too much trouble to get out a whole sentence. And some of us don’t say anything at all. We simply stand there waiting for the customer to speak. It’s not necessary to follow a script, but the way you phrase a statement is the difference between seeming bothered and disinterested or being friendly and helpful. For instance, “How may I help you?” has a couple of implications. First, it indicates a willingness to help. Secondly, it shows confidence that you are able to help. Of course, always offer a casual greeting first, such as, “Hey” or “Yo,” or whatever is customary in your region. When known, address the customer by name.

3. Lasting impression. How you say, “Goodbye,” is just as important as how you greet your customers. Express your gratitude at the close of any business transaction. “We appreciate your business,” is always appropriate. Again, you don’t need to follow a script. The main thing is to show sincerity. Act as if your livelihood depends on it. Oh, yeah. That’s right. It does.

4. Un-Curb Your Enthusiasm. The previous steps won’t matter if you don’t get this one right. If a good friend of yours that you hadn’t seen since high school walked into your counter, chances are you would act glad to see him. Even if you were busy. Even if you were on the phone. Now, take that imaginary enthusiasm and apply it to each customer that walks through your door. “Too much,” you say? It won’t come across that way. Showing enthusiasm tells the customer that you care about his business.

The smart entrepreneur understands that his continued success doesn’t hinge on a single business point-of-contact. Rather it relies upon a collection of all of the connections that make up a mutually beneficial affiliation. The sales floor can serve to deepen this partnership between the customers and the company. Or it can destroy that relationship altogether, as it did in the story at the beginning of this article. By the way, the name of the ignored contractor was Josh Coleman, owner of Coleman Contractors, third largest builder in our market. The distributor that “didn’t open until 7:30” lost more than “table scraps,” that morning. He cost his company millions of dollars worth of jobs that Josh Coleman handed to us. You see, we just happened to be the distributor he drove to next that morning. Fortunately, our parts guy had already read the paper.

Mike Dandridge
md@theperformancepro.com
Mike is the founder of High Voltage Performance, a consulting firm that specializes in designing customer experiences for the industrial marketplace. He is a keynote speaker and a seminar leader with 25 years experience in wholesale distribution. Dandridge is author of, The One Year Business Turnaround, a book based on his years in the wholesale industry, and containing over 50 ideas for improving your customer service.
You may reach Mike at 254-624-6299.
Visit his Website at http://www.highvoltageperformance.com.
Subscribe to his blog at http://www.businessturnaround.blogs.com.

Flying fish is a delicacy in Barbados. This recipe for stuffed flying fish is a favorite with the Food Affairs staff, presented by Chef David Watts. This dish is perfect for an elegant dinner party.

Ingredients:

10 Flying Fish filets
20 Asparagus spears (blanched)
10 thinly sliced Proscuitto or Cappocola Ham
2 cups Crabmeat mixture (see note below)
1/2 cup Parsley
2 Limes
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat oven to 400F.
Place the flying fish on a lightly greased sheet pan.
Place 2 blanched asparagus spears in the “ridges” of the flying fish; layer with a thin slice of the ham.
Top with a heaping portion of the crab mixture, pressing down to cover the filet completely; bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown.
Squeeze lime juice over each piece and garnish with sprinkled parsley before serving.
Serve over linguine, rice, or garlic mashed potatoes. Serves 10

Crab Meat Mixture
Place 1 lb of backfin crabmeat in a bowl (pick through to remove any shells). Add 3 tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon of dijon mustard, 1 egg lightly beaten, 1 teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning, pinch of sugar, and 1/2 cup fine bread crumbs. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for at leat one hour.

Billy O’Dell, with his wife Carolyn, is the owner of BarbadosBarbados.com, an online concierge to Barbados. The O’Dells also run Food Affairs, a popular Bajan catering company.

DON’T Download JUNK! Make sure your download mp3 music is a quality mp3 and
that your music download doesn’t have hidden downloads that will not only ruin your
search for great music but will annoy you and invade your privacy.

Here are the four hidden downloads most free music sites install on your computer
when you download mp3 ’s. .
1.Spyware is almost always contained in mp3 freeware and shareware downloads.
The spyware gathers information and monitors the activities you perform,
unbeknown to you.
2.Adware is also contained in these mp3 download networks. Your computer can
and probably will be stuffed with a huge amount of intrusive advertising.
3.Pornography is very prevalent on the Internet. Be very aware that porn peddlers
disguise their software as the latest free mp3 download or game demo to redirect
your modem to porn sites.
4.Spoofing is when download mp3 networks are filled with fake files. For example,
if you download what you think is a popular mp3 song, you will get the same ten
seconds of the song over and over again.
So in your hunt to download mp3 ’s and create your own library of music, be
selective of which music download site you use. There are many to choose
from but few that offer privacy protection, online service, tech help, spyware-
free and adware-free downloads, as well as a large library of quality mp3’s.

Things have come a long way with regards of how we listen to our favorite
music. It’s as easy as a push of a button with digital music.
Knowing where to start, how you want to listen to your music and what you want
to do with it, is the first step. When you download mp3 files from online music
services, you need to know what they allow you to do. Some songs are just for
listening to, some can be downloaded, and some can be burned to a CD or a
portable music player.
A few owners of certain artists publishing rights will not grant the license rights,
which means some mp3’s are not available for downloading.
The majority of the time, you’ll find what you’re looking for because the larger
download MP3 subscription music web sites have access to the catalog of the
Five Big Labels – Sony, Warner, Universal, EMI, and BMG, which account for
about 80% of recorded music.

So now that you have the facts on how to download mp3 ’s, do some research
for quality music download sites, take advantage of any Free Trials,
download lot’s of music, turn up the volume and don’t forget to Sing Along!

About the Author

By Anne, music-download-review.com

To find a Top Quality Music Download Site read:
http://www.music-download-review.com/download-music.html
Music Download Review shows you how to download Free and Legal music, rip and burn CD’s and also has a glossary of music terms.
Copyright 2004 Music-Download-review.com, all rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.