Tick, Tick, Tick..The Gift that keeps on Giving!

Holiday gifts are mean to show your special ones that how much you care for them. Find the perfect holiday gift for everyone on you're shopping list! Does your mind goes into a state of paralysis when looking for that perfect gift? Does the thought of shopping send you into a spin? The only cite which got everything from great budget gifts and adorable stocking stuffers to elegant last-minute surprises and special gifts for the men in your life is thewatchery.com. Watches have long been coveted as collectibles and are quite an important fashion accessory in today's scenario. TheWatchery.com is the cite where you can find out the luxuriant and brand new fine watches. Luxury watches are a true mark of the person you are and the person you wish to portray to others. Recognized by others as a benchmark for the standards you expect in your life, sporting designer luxury watches such as IWC, Jaeger, leCoultre, Maurice Lacroix or Ebel will show the self respect that you hold and the respect you command from others. Watchery are happy to be one few outlets available for designer luxury watches and hold a wide selection at discounted prices.All watchery wrist watches exude class and taste beyond all others and they are sure you will find one that emanates your lifestyle, weather you are a sporty individual or classy business person. Durable, wearable, practical, beautiful and affordable are all the intention of the watchery. More over Luxury watches are a true mark of the person you are and the person you wish to portray to others. Gets a head start on your holiday shopping right now. Avoid the lines and do your holiday shopping online, then settle in for a merry, stress-free holiday season.

New Year's resolution

How are you doing with your New Year's resolutions?

Inspired by the sight of a new calendar, we vow to do better during the coming year. We resolve to break a bad habit (to stop overeating, to stop going to bed so late) or to build a good habit (to be a better listener, to exercise more). All too often we find that the force and momentum of our old habits soon overcome our best intentions.

We hope to replace our bad habits with good ones, or at least better ones. But what about habit itself? The dictionary defines habit as "an unconscious pattern of behavior." Habits are personal software programs that allow us to live most of our life on auto-pilot. These software programs were written many years ago and often were installed by other people (known as parents). It makes sense that our software might require an upgrade for us to function at our best.

But here's a deeper reason to look at our habits. Buddha, Jesus and many other spiritual teachers taught that we need to wake up from an unconscious, habit-driven way of living to become fully-conscious free human beings. Jesus advised against "pouring new wine into old wine skins." In other words, don't process new life experiences with outdated thought patterns. When people asked Buddha if he was divine, he said simply, "I am one who has awakened."

Years ago I decided to only have one New Year's resolution each year (the most challenging and rewarding one I could imagine): to live each day consciously and creatively. I found that focusing on living each moment with awareness has allowed me to respond to life more authentically and more successfully.

How does it work? Instead of focusing on individual habits I focus on staying conscious throughout the day. Instead of dieting, I eat with awareness. Instead of an ambitious new exercise regimen or early-to-bed resolutions, I listen to my body's needs and respond to them. Instead of trying to "be more considerate," I aim to be more conscious in all my relationships.

So this year, why not break the ultimate habit -- the habit of living from habit. Although good habits are better than bad ones and being completely free of habits isn't a realistic goal, we can all experience more freedom and renewed excitement about our lives if we free ourselves from the dictatorship of our habits.

The key to living consciously instead of sleep-walking through life is to pay attention to what you are saying to yourself at each moment: your "Inner Talk." Examining your Inner Talk gives you access to the software that's been running your life. You can decide what to keep and what to change. The good news is you are not a prisoner of your past conditioning. You can choose new Inner Talk based on your true values and your life purpose.

If conscious and creative living is your ultimate goal, why not use daily life as practice? Approaching each moment as fresh and new will keep your mind sharper, your body healthier and your heart happier. When new Inner Talk flows through the neurons and synapses of your brain, old habit patterns start to dissolve automatically. Each day is more exciting and filled with new potential when you approach it with "beginner's mind." You begin to live in the paradise of the present moment.

Best wishes for a conscious and creative New Year!

Collegezapps

Starting the junior year of high school, a student's mailbox becomes jammed with college mail. During the senior year students need to start applying to colleges and wade through the mountains of information that they receive. If one Googles "college application help", millions of results instantly appear. One and only helpful site CollegZapps. Collegezapps Corporation’s comprehensive Mentor education and career websites efficiently guide students through the college and career preparation process. But more than just offering student-friendly college search tools the site allows you to learn how CollegeZapps can help you apply to college and easy online applications, collegezapps delivers useful professional tools for high school counselors, post-secondary admissions officers, and partners to effectively level the playing field for prospective students and their families. On the website, parents and students can choose from more than 1,000 schools within the CollegeZapps network. Then, they complete a questionnaire that promises to never ask the same question twice. Students can save their progress at any time and return later. When finished, students print and proof the application and then send the applications in the mail with the required fees, transcripts, test scores, references or other required material. The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities, and concerns. Brighten up your own future or your child future by subscribing to the CollegeZappes.com today itself.

Leadership Structure in Small Business

An effective leader establishes order and structure in the small business. The leader in a small business will most likely be a founder of the firm. As the firm grows, structure becomes a more necessary component. To establish order, leadership and ownership in those who are not the owner/founder of the small business, a decision-making structure places accountability on the founder. Accountability for implementing the firm’s business, holds staff and other senior managers responsible for taking care of assignments based on the mission statement and company vision. The founder/leader needs to communicate to everyone in the firm what the structure looks like and what it means (consequences). A responsible, successful leader implements a strategic plan that includes long term and short term goals. As the entrepreneur manager moves to the professional management role, it is important to look outside of the firm for possible growth opportunities such as new markets, acquisitions, teaming arrangements, joint ventures and strategic alliances. This decision to go beyond one’s personal knowledge base indicates the growth of the leader him/herself. As a leader in the start up phase, the entrepreneur guided everyone with a vision based on his/her professional knowledge base. The transition to the professional management stage necessitates knowledge from other sources; thus, hiring in senior managers to consult and address the growing number of needs and issues. The leader must ensure that the firm’s internal organizational structure is optimal for success. In addition, a strong leader continuously motivates staff and boosts spirits.

ASN year out

Autism Support Network was started with the aim of helping and supporting all families and children affected by Autism/ Aspergers at all stages and in any way possible. It is not essential to have a diagnosis to come along to these groups, in many cases the waiting time to receive a diagnosis can take over two years and during that time people often require a great deal of help, advice and support from other parents and that is what we try to offer everyone. You may have many questions concerning Autism and Aspergers and would like to speak to someone directly. Autism is treatable. Children do not "outgrow" autism, but studies show that early diagnosis and intervention lead to significantly improved outcomes. Many people with ASDs have unusual ways of learning, paying attention, or reacting to different sensations. The thinking and learning abilities of people with ASDs can vary – from gifted to severely challenged. It lasts throughout a person's life. Autism Support Network is very happy to help you and for your ease they will allow you to speak and exchange of knowledge directly to the people who can help, advise and support you and your family which promote further understanding and serve as a platform for individual’s stories of success and challenge. The Autism Support Network connects families and individuals touched by ASD with each other, provide support and insight, and acts as a resource guide for treatments, strategies and therapies.

Every moment is a moment

Charlotte Selver loves to remind her students that "Every moment is a moment". There is something liberating about this statement. Every moment is new and unprecedented. It is filled with possibilities.

Feel this as you are walking. Each step can be invigorated with a sense of newness. Can you be surprised by the taste of an orange or a sip of tea? Can you make spaghetti sauce as if it were the first time, although you've made it a thousand times before?

One of my favorite Zen stories is about a man who was chased by a ferocious tiger. The man ran to the edge of a cliff where he grabbed hold of a vine and swung himself over the side. Still hanging from the vine, he breathed a deep sigh of relief, thinking he was saved.

But looking up, he saw the tiger waiting for him. Looking down into the ravine below, he saw another tiger waiting for him. He looked around and saw two tiny mice begin to chew away at the vine.

Growing on the side of the cliff next to him was a beautiful ripe strawberry. He could smell its fragrance. It looked like a jewel glinting in the sunshine. Reaching out, he gently picked it and took a small bite, savoring its essence. How sweet it tasted!

What freedom this story conveys! Although the man is in a terrible situation, he is undaunted. Glimmering in front of him is a strawberry, and he eats it as if he had no other care in the world.

THE GOOD OLD CHEAP STOCK

Have you ever brought a stock that you thought was cheap, that ended up costing you more than it was really worth. The stock market can be the place that people go to when they want to make money. We all dream of buying a stock for 10 cents and see it go to $10.00, how often does this happen. So are we better off looking at quality stocks that will consistently go up, as opposed to dreaming of finding that big moving stock. The meaning of cheap stock, that is, stocks that they are trading under 60 cents or below, are always enticing - because you put down a small amount of money for a potentially lucrative return. It also looks good because with your investment you are getting a lot more shares, or contracts for you amount invested. However, for many investors , this scenario is just a pipe dream to buy that stock at 10 cents and see it go to $10. Does happen but not very often and it can be very costly. Sometimes they are cheap for a great reason, they are NO GOOD

EMS Pants

Tactical gears are very popular all over the world. Not only that Police and other military forces can wear tactical gears but also to those who are not involved with that position. Anyway, I saw many guys and even girls wearing tactical gears, they use it for hiking or just for personal use. So if you are one of them that like to wear those tactical gears then I have good news for you. L.A. Police Gear is the right website for you to visit; they have everything you need from 5.11 Tactical series, EMS Pants, freebies, footwear, jackets, watches, tactical globes, jumpsuits, accessories, etc. Your partner in Police supplies, Security and Military Supply. Police Supply Online continues to serve Law Enforcement and Military Security Officers across the nation. L.A. Police Gear is distributors for Original Swat Boots, Hatch Leather Gloves, Gould and Goodrich, Gal co and Safari land Leather. The site L.A. Police Gear carries the most popular police gear from the top names in police equipment. Shop Online For Police Gear, Police Products, and Police Gifts For Law Enforcement. The Source for Police Supplies, Duty Gear and Tactical Equipment. Get the one you like from wide range of Tactical series collections. Visit www.lapolicegear.com for more information.

Splash

The kitchen is a kaleidoscope of shifting sights, smells, sounds, tastes, and touch. All these impressions have the power to bring us into the moment, to make us more alert to what is going on in us and around us.
Old pond
A frog jumps in
- Splash
Basho (17th century)

In this poem, Basho celebrates the clarity of a moment just as it is. In the kitchen there are thousands of such moments.

As cooks, we know the great delight of savoring our food. Sometimes we taste a small bite of something and chew it carefully, feeling its texture and exploring its taste.

When we smell something delicious, our mouths water. Our sense of smell helps us extract the invisible essence of things. Ginger, chili, basil, mint - we recognize these and a thousand other smells instantly.

We feel the size, shape, temperature, weight, and texture of things. Eyes closed, we can know the difference between an apple and an orange, a wooden spoon and a metal one.

Our very substance, every cell, every nerve fiber, is built to respond to the world around us. We receive the world through our senses, through the textures and aromas of life.

Manage Your Debt Effectively

At ClearDebt.co.uk, you will find a free debt advisory information service providing you with advice and solutions to help you deal with your debt and credit problems. ln most cases it is not because they have been reckless or even careless but it is often the result of a change of circumstances such as loss of income through job changes, divorce or separation, illness and other life changing events. we usually goes a point when we realize that we have to take some drastic action or we will never see an end to the phone calls and letters from the people they owe money to. The debts are often increasing on a daily basis with added interest and charges and their payments are not actually reducing the balance leads to Avoid Bankruptcy. A debt management plan will put you us into control without borrowing more money With only one payment to make and a realistic chance of getting your interest and charges frozen and no fees taken out, our debts will be repaid as quickly as possible.The certified consumer credit counseling service advisors from ClearDebt could work together with you to create a successful program to help you eliminate your debt. The ClearDebt.co.uk will work with you to analyze your income, expenses, assets and liabilities and provide the client with a true and accurate picture of your financial situation reduce your monthly payments, work with your creditors and create a personalized plan to help you achieve your financial goals.

Disney world vacations

Disney world vacations are indeed the ultimate stress relievers for any person young and old. Here, the chance of dreams filled with fun and excitement turning into reality is higher because of the amenities you can use and the activities that you can do.

But, if not planned properly, Disney world vacations can be quite a hassle. Aside from spending a huge sum of money, there is a possibility that you won't enjoy it because of the loopholes that may come along the way.

To ensure that you have an enjoyable Disney world vacations, it is a must that you plan it very carefully. Aside from ensuring that you and your family have a good time, it also lessens the possibilities of you spending too much money.

What You Can Do

Just like in any vacation, Disney world vacations require a lot of preparation to ensure that it will be an enjoyable and memorable event not only for you but also for the people you are with. To ensure that you have enjoyable Disney world vacations, here are some of the things that you should do:

1. Getting Disney world vacations help and tips online. With the aid of the Internet, Disney has created some sites where people especially families who plan to go on a Disney vacation can get help and some tips in making the vacation worthwhile with less expenditure. Disney has created a Disney family club for people who wants to have a Disney vacation can get immediate access to the site. Since a Disney vacation costs so much, Disney also created the ultimate Disney savings site where people can save more on their total trip. Through this site, people who are planning and who are saving some bucks for the most-anticipated Disney vacation can learn more about discounts on tickets, foods, Disney merchandise, hotels and much more.

2. Check out the services and amenities available. If you want a successful vacation at the Disney world, check out the services and amenities available. You can do this by asking friends who have been on a vacation or surfing the net. Many links can connect you to the official sites which have been around for years and has been helping a lot of families to have fun and affordable Disney vacations.

3. Look for great deals and discounted offers. Vacations will surely be nicer if you can use discounts and limited offers. Make sure that before you book anything for your vacation, you have checked the sites because there might be great deals offered by Disney. Some of the tempting deals include low prices on Disney rooms, tickets, dining, souvenirs, cruises, and Disney vacations.

After doing these simple steps, you can now start plotting and planning your vacation and dream about all the fun that awaits you and your family during Disney world vacations.

Copywriting Tips For a Profitable New Year

One of the biggest copywriting tips that I can give you is that writing copy is both an art and a science. There are those who say that great copywriters are born with a talent, and others that say it is nothing but science. Personally I believe it is a bit of both
After you have written copy for a while the words just seem to flow, that is an art. The scientific side of copywriting can be expressed in 10 simple copywriting tips.
1.) Create a Killer Headline.
This is the most important part of your copy. Great headlines are responsible for 80% of your sales.
2.) Write from the proper point of view
When you are creating your sales copy one of the best copywriting tips is to write from a customer’s point of view. Try to put yourself in their shoes. What would excite you about the product or service?
3.) Write about benefits, not features.
The average customer could care less about all of the bells and whistles that your product might feature. What they are really concerned with is quite simple. All that they are concerned with is how your product or service can benefit them. Period.
4.) Read your copy out loud.
Ok this might sound silly but trust me and give it a try. This is honestly one of the best copywriting tips you will learn. You want your copy to sound right and flow smoothly. Reading your copy aloud will help you identify parts that may not flow as smoothly or sound as good as you thought they might.
5.) Proofread
When your copy is complete read it over yourself and fix any problems that might arise, but do not stop there. One of the best copywriting tips is to have a friend or family member proofread it as well. They will most likely pick up on anything that you have missed.
6.) Keep it personal
You want everyone who reads your copy to feel like you are talking only to them. Keep your copy personal. Instead of statements such as “We give you” you might try something more like “Let me give you”, or “I want to give you.”
7.) Be specific.
This is one of the most powerful copywriting tips. Be specific, especially in headlines. A headline that reads “Stop smoking quickly and easily” might be somewhat interesting, but compare it to “Stop smoking in less than 14 days.” Which do you think would pique the interest of a prospective customer more?
8.) The KISS Theory
Keep It Simple…Stupid. I really do not know where this theory began but it has been around for years and it makes it into my 10 copywriting tips because it is true. Keep technical jargon and industry speak out of your copy. Potential customers want to read something that is easily understandable.
9.) Make an offer above the fold
What does that mean? The term “above the fold” means that the offer is visible without using the scroll bar. In fact you might want to space out a number of “call to action” buttons or links throughout your copy. Make it as easy as possible for the customer to order.
10.) Include testimonials.
Never under estimate the power a reference. The testimonial is a very powerful selling tool. Remember that what others say about your product, service, or company is exponentially more powerful than anything that you can say about it yourself.
There you have it, 10 super easy copywriting tips that can lead to a profitable future. Use these copywriting tips to improve your skills, increase conversions, and grow your business.

How Many Pairs Do You Own?

Where you will always find best collection of women’s shoes. The dani black shoe site committed to offering an exceptional selection of the hottest boots, sandals, flats, wedges, platforms, evening, pumps and shoe boots styles from all the must-have brands. With so many shoes out there, we know how tough it can be to find that perfect pair. Choose from over wide range of brands and products, the most styles per brand, the most up to date fashions, and the broadest range of materials, colors, sizes, and widths. In addition, shopping for shoes at Daniblack is Risk-Free. Style, luxury, quality and craftsmanship are the core of the daniblack brand. From the essentials that should be in every woman's closet, to the top trends and latest styles, this is where you will find the hottest women's shoes. Buying great shoes does not have to be expensive and affordable shoes don’t have to look cheap. Women's shoes are as varied as women themselves are -- but choosing the right styles just got a lot easier. So staff members of the organization of style experts search the globe, doing all the legwork for you to offer the absolute best of the best. No matter the season, no matter your style, Daniblack.com will always keep you one-step ahead.

child care

You may experience a degree of frustration in raising your kid because you'll probably make a lot of mistakes along the way. To successfully care for your child, you need to be prepared and accept the fact that you aren't perfect; then make room for mistakes. Childcare isn't a product of trial and error... It's a conscious and deliberate attempt to stay finetuned to your baby's needs.

To learn the art of diapering your baby, you should be prepared to be faced with same nasty stuff. Baby pooh is a main reason why fathers tend to leave diapering a baby to the mothers. You should always empty your diaper bin each day in order to prevent the growth of bacteria. The more you get involved in sincerely willing to learn diapering your baby, the better you will get at it, especially after the first baby.

Cribs are the most attributed cause of infant deaths in America. When you go looking for a crib, you should ensure that it has slats that are no more than 23/8 inches to ensure that a new born does not slip through. You must select your baby's crib with the utmost care to ensure that no complications arise.

Best Reverse Phone

Lately a new Reverse Phone Numbers lookup service called Best Reverse Phone has started plenty of debates about individual information safety. Essentially, what this service provides is a way to do a free reverse phone lookup on any landline phones as well as mobile phone number you wish. There is a way to do the opposite or the reverse directory to do a reverse lookup to find people. Instead of using the person’s name, you type in a phone number into an internet database of telephone numbers and names, and then it provides a reverse directory of the persons or business name and location. That makes it easy to find out and locate the person and their address. This is especially good for locating a business address. This applies whether you want to lookup telephone directory listings in either the white pages or the yellow pages. Most reverse phone directories that can be accessed freely on the net are limited to only landline numbers. Seeing as though it is the hard to find numbers that are unlisted, blocked, and cellular numbers that you have been trying to gain information on, these services were probably, and still are, unfeasible for your needs. Now it has been made very easy for you through this site. Try the reverse telephone book searches online now at Best Reverse Phone.

New Venture Animal

I was annoyed recently to read a description of Y Combinator that said "Y Combinator does seed funding for startups." What was especially annoying about it was that I wrote it. This doesn't really convey what we do. And the reason it's inaccurate is that, paradoxically, funding very early stage startups is not mainly about funding.

Saying YC does seed funding for startups is a description in terms of earlier models. It's like calling a car a horseless carriage.

When you scale animals you can't just keep everything in proportion. For example, volume grows as the cube of linear dimension, but surface area only as the square. So as animals get bigger they have trouble radiating heat. That's why mice and rabbits are furry and elephants and hippos aren't. You can't make a mouse by scaling down an elephant.

YC represents a new, smaller kind of animal—so much smaller that all the rules are different.

Before us, most companies in the startup funding business were venture capital funds. VCs generally fund later stage companies than we do. And they supply so much money that, even though the other things they do may be very valuable, it's not that inaccurate to regard VCs as sources of money. Good VCs are "smart money," but they're still money.

All good investors supply a combination of money and help. But these scale differently, just as volume and surface area do. Late stage investors supply huge amounts of money and comparatively little help: when a company about to go public gets a mezzanine round of $50 million, the deal tends to be almost entirely about money. As you move earlier in the venture funding process, the ratio of help to money increases, because earlier stage companies have different needs. Early stage companies need less money because they're smaller and cheaper to run, but they need more help because life is so precarious for them. So when VCs do a series A round for, say, $2 million, they generally expect to offer a significant amount of help along with the money.

Y Combinator occupies the earliest end of the spectrum. We're at least one and generally two steps before VC funding. (Though some startups go straight from YC to VC, the most common trajectory is to do an angel round first.) And what happens at Y Combinator is as different from what happens in a series A round as a series A round is from a mezzanine financing.

At our end, money is almost a negligible factor. The startup usually consists of just the founders. Their living expenses are the company's main expense, and since most founders are under 30, their living expenses are low. But at this early stage companies need a lot of help. Practically every question is still unanswered. Some companies we've funded have been working on their software for a year or more, but others haven't decided what to work on, or even who the founders should be.

When PR people and journalists recount the histories of startups after they've become big, they always underestimate how uncertain things were at first. They're not being deliberately misleading. When you look at a company like Google, it's hard to imagine they could once have been small and helpless. Sure, at one point they were a just a couple guys in a garage—but even then their greatness was assured, and all they had to do was roll forward along the railroad tracks of destiny.

Far from it. A lot of startups with just as promising beginnings end up failing. Google has such momentum now that it would be hard for anyone to stop them. But all it would have taken in the beginning would have been for two Google employees to focus on the wrong things for six months, and the company could have died.

We know, because we've been there, just how vulnerable startups are in the earliest phases. Curiously enough, that's why founders tend to get so rich from them. Reward is always proportionate to risk, and very early stage startups are insanely risky.

What we really do at Y Combinator is get startups launched straight. One of many metaphors you could use for YC is a steam catapult on an aircraft carrier. We get startups airborne. Barely airborne, but enough that they can accelerate fast.

When you're launching planes they have to be set up properly or you're just launching projectiles. They have to be pointed straight down the deck; the wings have to be trimmed properly; the engines have to be at full power; the pilot has to be ready. These are the kind of problems we deal with. After we fund startups we work closely with them for three months—so closely in fact that we insist they move to where we are. And what we do in those three months is make sure everything is set up for launch. If there are tensions between cofounders we help sort them out. We get all the paperwork set up properly so there are no nasty surprises later. If the founders aren't sure what to focus on first, we try to figure that out. If there is some obstacle right in front of them, we either try to remove it, or shift the startup sideways. The goal is to get every distraction out of the way so the founders can use that time to build (or finish building) something impressive. And then near the end of the three months we push the button on the steam catapult in the form of Demo Day, where the current group of startups present to pretty much every investor in Silicon Valley.

Launching companies isn't identical with launching products. Though we do spend a lot of time on launch strategies for products, there are some things that take too long to build for a startup to launch them before raising their next round of funding. Several of the most promising startups we've funded haven't launched their products yet, but are definitely launched as companies.

In the earliest stage, startups not only have more questions to answer, but they tend to be different kinds of questions. In later stage startups the questions are about deals, or hiring, or organization. In the earliest phase they tend to be about technology and design. What do you make? That's the first problem to solve. That's why our motto is "Make something people want." This is always a good thing for companies to do, but it's even more important early on, because it sets the bounds for every other question. Who you hire, how much money you raise, how you market yourself—they all depend on what you're making.

Because the early problems are so much about technology and design, you probably need to be hackers to do what we do. While some VCs have technical backgrounds, I don't know any who still write code. Their expertise is mostly in business—as it should be, because that's the kind of expertise you need in the phase between series A and (if you're lucky) IPO.

We're so different from VCs that we're really a different kind of animal. Can we claim founders are better off as a result of this new type of venture firm? I'm pretty sure the answer is yes, because YC is an improved version of what happened to our startup, and our case was not atypical. We started Viaweb with $10,000 in seed money from our friend Julian. He was a lawyer and arranged all our paperwork, so we could just code. We spent three months building a version 1, which we then presented to investors to raise more money. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? But YC improves on that significantly. Julian knew a lot about law and business, but his advice ended there; he was not a startup guy. So we made some basic mistakes early on. And when we presented to investors, we presented to only 2, because that was all we knew. If we'd had our later selves to encourage and advise us, and Demo Day to present at, we would have been in much better shape. We probably could have raised money at 3 to 5 times the valuation we did.

If we take 6% of a company we fund, the founders only have to do 6.4% better in their next round of funding to end up net ahead. We certainly manage that.

So who is our 6% coming out of? If the founders end up net ahead it's not coming out of them. So is it coming out of later stage investors? Well, they do end up paying more. But I think they pay more because the company is actually more valuable. And later stage investors have no problem with that. The returns of a VC fund depend on the quality of the companies they invest in, not how cheaply they can buy stock in them.

If what we do is useful, why wasn't anyone doing it before? There are two answers to that. One is that people were doing it before, just haphazardly on a smaller scale. Before us, seed funding came primarily from individual angel investors. Larry and Sergey, for example, got their seed funding from Andy Bechtolsheim, one of the founders of Sun. And because he was a startup guy he probably gave them useful advice. But raising money from angel investors is a hit or miss thing. It's a sideline for most of them, so they only do a handful of deals a year and they don't spend a lot of time on the startups they invest in. And they're hard to reach, because they don't want random startups pestering them with business plans. The Google guys were lucky because they knew someone who knew Bechtolsheim. It generally takes a personal introduction with angels.

The other reason no one was doing quite what we do is that till recently it was a lot more expensive to start a startup. You'll notice we haven't funded any biotech startups. That's still expensive. But advancing technology has made web startups so cheap that you really can get a company airborne for $15,000. If you understand how to operate a steam catapult, at least.

So in effect what's happened is that a new ecological niche has opened up, and Y Combinator is the new kind of animal that has moved into it. We're not a replacement for venture capital funds. We occupy a new, adjacent niche. And conditions in our niche are really quite different. It's not just that the problems we face are different; the whole structure of the business is different. VCs are playing a zero-sum game. They're all competing for a slice of a fixed amount of "deal flow," and that explains a lot of their behavior. Whereas our m.o. is to create new deal flow, by encouraging hackers who would have gotten jobs to start their own startups instead. We compete more with employers than VCs.

It's not surprising something like this would happen. Most fields become more specialized—more articulated—as they develop, and startups are certainly an area in which there has been a lot of development over the past couple decades. The venture business in its present form is only about forty years old. It stands to reason it would evolve.

And it's natural that the new niche would at first be described, even by its inhabitants, in terms of the old one. But really Y Combinator is not in the startup funding business. Really we're more of a small, furry steam catapult.

Acobay

Acobay is a new site that provides the user to search for the reviews same as that of the ones own review that means the site simply connects people who use same type of products, people who visit same places, people who visit same theaters, restaurants and much more. The Acobay is the site, which looks very cool and helps us to share our own reviews and useful information. Acobay is a consumer network, you will find out about other people who have the same likes and wants as you and your family creating a niche for you to call upon whenever you have stuff to share or when making a tough decision on a purchase. Signing up for an account in the site, which is quite quick and easy. Just provide you are User Name and Password and you are into the website. You can add your new stuff where you can show the stuff, review the stuff and rate it. You can write your comments on what you think on the stuff and link them in your post. In this site, you are allowed to post your reviews apart from writing your comments on the stuff. An added advantage in choosing Acobay is that you need not even give your mail address. So put yourself in to the site to enjoy the maximum.

Fallen soldiers mourned - 1

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan — Comrades carried the latest three dead Canadian soldiers onto a plane bound for home Sunday night, in a ceremony delayed by Taliban rocket attacks. And as the bodies of Cpl. Thomas James Hamilton, Pte. John Michael Roy Curwin and Pte. Justin Peter Jones were being prepared Sunday for the flight to Canada, the Taliban took credit for killing them, and promised more Canadian deaths. Canada has now lost 103 soldiers in the Afghan war since 2002. The three men died Saturday morning when a blast from a large improvised explosive device (IED) struck their armoured vehicle within a kilometre of the site on Highway 1 where three Canadian soldiers were killed by an IED eight days earlier. Hamilton, on his third tour in Afghanistan, Curwin and Jones on their first, were members of the force-protection unit for the Canadian Provincial Reconstruction Team, the civilian-military organization responsible for carrying out development projects in Kandahar province.

“They all believed in the mission that they were committed to,” said Canadian Brig-Gen. Denis Thompson, commander of NATO forces in Kandahar province. “They proved this every day, by putting their lives on the line.” Hamilton, who had served in Haiti as well as twice before in Afghanistan, was the first person to step forward when a job needed to be done, Thompson said. “His first love was his daughter. She was his pride and joy,” Thompson said. “Hammy was an outdoorsman, he loved to hunt and fish and to barbecue.” Curwin was the “quintessential family man,” Thompson said. “He was a dedicated dad to his three children and he always said that his wife . . . was his best friend.” Jones loved to learn and frequently volunteered for courses, Thompson said. Jones “was a friendly Newfoundlander who loved to play his guitar and drive his pickup truck. His buddies say Jonesie was one of the kindest persons you’ll ever meet.”

The three were killed, and one other soldier seriously injured, while on a quick-reaction team investigating a report that an IED was being placed on the highway west of Kandahar city. It was that bomb that cost them their lives. The injured soldier was in fair condition Sunday. “We have killed them because they are our enemies,” said Taliban spokesman Qari Yousuf Ahmadi. “We suggested the Canadian troops leave Afghanistan but they did not heed, so let them fight with us and see the casualties. We will carry out more attacks and IEDs against them.” The ramp ceremony to say farewell to the soldiers was delayed by a series of Taliban rocket attacks on the base. If the rockets were meant to prevent the ceremony from taking place, they failed, Thompson said. “We still sent our brothers home with the dignity they deserved,” Thompson said. In just over a week, insurgent IEDs have killed six Canadians, and seriously wounded two more, one of them a soldier on foot patrol who lost his lower legs. A Canadian armoured vehicle was struck by another IED on Thursday evening, but no one was injured. In the past two months, a half-dozen of the bombs have been discovered on the 17-kilometre stretch of road between Kandahar City and Kandahar Airfield, a route on which IED emplacements were previously uncommon.

Mangareader..

Here at Mangareader.com, the manga reader team dedicated themselves to bring the entire best manga chapters to the readers. This site will be an open and self-sustaining community, meaning that anyone can help upload manga. Sounds great doesn't it? Mangareader team frequently updates the various manga chapters. So add the site to your bookmarks today and check back as often as you would like to read Manga. Take a look back to the anime/manga site for all the recent updates. Hurry up to get in to the site, not only to read the manga but also to upload your own manga to the manga reader.

Equestrianism

Equestrianism refers to the skill of riding or driving horses. This broad description includes both use of horses for practical, working purposes as well as recreational activities and competitive.

Horses are trained and ridden for practical working purposes such as in police work or for controlling herd animals on a ranch. They are also used in competitive sports including, but not limited to dressage, endurance riding, eventing, reining, show jumping, tent pegging, vaulting, polo, horse racing, driving, and rodeo. (See additional equestrian sports listed later in this article for more examples.) Some popular forms of competition are grouped together at horse shows, where horses perform in a wide variety of disciplines. Horses (and other equids such asmules and donkeys) are used for non-competitive recreational riding such as fox hunting, trail riding or hacking. There is public access to horse trails in almost every part of the world; many parks, ranches, and public stables offer both guided and independent riding. Horses are also used for therapeutic purposes, both in specialized Para equestrian competition as well as non-competitive riding to improve human health and emotional development.

Horses are also driven in harness racing, at horse shows and in other types of exhibition, historical or ceremony, often pulling carriages. In some parts of the world, they are still used for practical purposes such as farming.

Horses continue to be used in public service: in traditional ceremonies (parades, funerals),police and volunteer mounted patrols, and for mounted search and rescue.

Cruiser Customizing

Cruiser customizing brings you a whole new level of style when it comes to custom motorcycle windshields. Memphis Shades has the perfect windshield for your bike and riding style. The quality, style, selection and custom mounting hardware set these windshields apart from the pack. They are the clear choice for riders who want a stylish custom windshield for their motorcycle. No matter if you ride a big-inch cruiser or a stylish street custom, memphis shades shades has provides you the beautiful color blends and seamless transitions.

The Art

Art is the process or product of deliberately and creatively arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. In its narrow sense, the word artmost often refers specifically to the visual arts, including media such as painting, sculpture, and printmaking. However, "the arts" may also encompass a diverse range of human activities, creations, and modes of expression, including music and literature. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy which studies art.

Traditionally, the term art was used to refer to any skill or mastery. This conception changed during the Romantic period, when art came to be seen as "a special faculty of the human mind to be classified with religion and science". Generally, art is a human activity, made with the intention of stimulating thoughts and emotions.