Even Truck Drivers Can Reverse Diabetes

Beating Diabetes

Good news fellow road warriors Diabetes type 2 can be beat!

Just a little bit of history here. I began driving big rigs in 1993, I had driven 10 wheelers delivering glass and lumber locally for approximately seven years before that. In 1993 I was laid off from the local lumber company I was working for and went to work for a sea container company that was headquartered just across the street. I quickly learned that they needed a flat bed driver and that it paid more so I started my career off driving "flats" regionally on the west coast.

For the next 13 years I hauled all kinds of flats, low boys, step decks, curtain vans even a fifty three foot flat bed. Then I fell out of the cab of a Peterbuilt cab-over and pretty much destroyed my right knee. The knee was repaired and healed well but my career as a flatbed driver was over, some how perspective employers found out about the injury even if I didn't tell them.

Not being able to find flat bed work I decided to try dry vans, and since I hadn't worked for over six months no one was willing to take a risk on me except JB Hunt, if you don't already know, it's not a good idea to work for them, enough said. Next came refrigerated vans, what crummy work but I did like the company I worked for so I stuck it out with them for 3 years until a change of policy regarding home time caused me to not want to work for them anymore.

Finally, I landed where I have been for the past two years hauling food grade smooth boar tanks.

In 2001, during a routine D.O.T physical, the lab doing my blood work reported I had a blood sugar level of 600 dl/ml ( 70 to 110 is considered normal). I should have been admitted to the hospital right then.

The company Doctor that had evaluated me was as helpful as mud and I had to find another Doctor who educated me and got me started on drugs, and then through a high protein/low carbohydrate diet we were able to get the blood sugar under control without drugs. That was good for about three years, then the progressiveness of this disease caught up with me and I was put back on pills which did work for a time, however my weight kept going up and sometime after I crossed the 300 pound mark I lost all control of my blood sugar and ended up at the door step of an endocrinologist who recommended I go on insulin right away.

I am a chicken when it comes to pain so the idea of neuropathy which I was already beginning to have in my left hand, or amputation or heart attack just didn't appeal to me nor did finding a different line of work, so between a rock and a hard place, I took the hard place and went on insulin.

For those who are not professional drivers using insulin is a death blow to a drivers career, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration does not allow drivers to drive and use insulin as a wrong dose can cause a driver to suddenly pass out, not a good idea when your piloting 70 to 80 thousand pounds at 65 miles an hour. However, in recent years the F.M.C.S.A. has provided a waiver program whereby if a driver can demonstrate that he can properly administer the use of insulin (about a six month process) he can go back to driving. I did get a waiver and returned to driving but it took 10 months and I was unemployed the whole time.

The Importance of Gold & Financial Education

With all the turmoil and uncertainty in the markets these days, its more important than ever to be increasing your financial education for creating wealth, and specifically with regards to Gold and Silver.

As you are no doubt aware, the prices of gold and silver are continuing to climb higher and higher regardless of the rhetoric coming from Congress, the White House or the press. As I type this, gold is at an all-time high of $1293.5 and silver as well at $21.20.

The biggest reason driving these asset prices higher is the weakness in the US dollar. We can't continue to create trillions and trillions of dollars with an already staggering $9 trillion deficit. Treasury bills are producing no returns, the stock market is full of uncertainty including the housing market so what is someone to do with their hard earned income?

Gold could be just the place! With one of the greatest bull markets in history - a 10 year orderly sustained upward climb - gold investing continues to out perform virtually all other asset classes and has continually done so for the last 10 years.

Does that mean the gold and silver markets have reached their tops? No one knows for sure, but when you realize that most people are still unaware of this current market trend and its strong fundamentals, the fast that hysteria hasn't hit yet, you be the judge. Yes, you are starting to see the commercials and ads go up but the media makes almost no mention of it (could that be due to the fact that they don't receive a commission for recommending you buy gold or silver like they do stocks or mutual funds? Hmmm...)

One of the more well-known financial news networks CNBC has only recently begun to address or even acknowledge gold's undeniable performance over the last decade. Alan Greenspan too has commented that gold is the canary in the gold mine, signaling a warning that the dollar or economy is in trouble and people need to be paying close attention! (Side note: Greenspan was the original gold bug until all the power of being the Fed chairman went to his head - maybe all those bubbles were created to get the price of gold to rise?...)

So why gold investing? Gold is the ultimate insurance. With the big inflation/deflation debate going on, regardless of the outcome - or even if we enter stagflation or especially if we enter a hyper-inflationary environment - gold will allow you to preserve your wealth where you might otherwise lose it (or most of it).

With the price of gold and silver rising over the past decade, some people have gotten involved to make money trading the precious metal. The important thing is to treat gold like savings. Park your money in gold and forget about it - keeping an eye on the overall market of course because it's real money - not like the US dollar which is simply currency, backed only by the faith of the world in the US government's ability to manage it's own affairs... that's a topic for another time!

In addition, you can't hit a button and just print gold like you can dollars or any other currency not backed by a real tangible asset (like gold and silver). Gold has and always retain its value because it's a rare commodity and there is a true cost and work involved to bring it to market (among many other reasons). Just as concerning, our foreign trading partners are all abandoning the dollar; even Bangladesh of all places just bought 10 million ounces of gold from the international monetary fund (to increase their holdings to 13 million - quite a large increase!). That's really saying something when even a country like Bangladesh doesn't trust the US dollar!

Another reason for gold investing or silver investing (American Eagles, Krugerrands or bullion): tax advantages. The maximum rate for income tax on gold profits is 28%; compare that to 35% for regular earned income (always consult a qualified tax professional for your particular situation).

So how or what can people do with their IRA money to take advantage of all this? They can put it into gold by setting up a gold IRA (with an IRS-approved custodian) who will store your gold in a depository. (Note: do not try to be your own custodian through an LLC or otherwise; doing so will blow your IRA completely and will add lots of penalties and fees on top of that if you try to touch or handle your own gold and silver yourself. It is a specifically prohibited transaction; you need an outside custodian. The IRS is really going after LLC's that are managed by the beneficiaries of the LLC so just follow the rules and you'll get lots of tax benefits; you must understand the rules!)

There are two kinds of IRAs:

1. (Traditional) IRA: where you get a deduction when you put money into the IRA; you are taxed at ordinary income rates when money is pulled out (tax deferred)

2. ROTH IRA: where you don't get a deduction when you put money in but your money (assets) grows tax free forever (different countries have similar programs)

- For example: if the price of the metal goes way up, you get to realize that entire per ounce profit when you sell with no tax liability.

Also, with regards to American Eagles for example (outside of an IRA), if you use them as actual coins like money (as opposed to selling them on the market).

For example, if buying $1200 worth of goods with that coin (or whatever coin is worth at that time), you actually have no tax liability when using that coin even if you purchased the coin for several hundred dollars less than you're now essentially cashing it in for (only works with American Eagles).

One more benefit: some states also have no sales tax on precious metals (currently AZ for example).

So here's what you need to do: Talk to experts - gold and silver coin/bullion dealers who have been in business during both the bull and bear markets (so at least 10 years in the business) because virtually anyone can get into business selling precious metals (just need a business license) - so do your homework!

Next, check out the local markups/premiums around your area. Premiums will vary per dealer above the spot price (price quoted in financial publications and on exchanges). The best way to buy to get the best value is to buy directly from the futures market (in bulk basically) but of course you need to be buying quite a bit at a time; the best way to begin is probably at your local coin shop; if nothing else begin your education there (that information while free is priceless!).

So when is it time to sell? Here's how to tell: watch for the idiots. Idiots always come in to the market late - that's the time to get out! When your grocery-bagger starts telling you about gold investing or silver investing, you know it's time to get out! Learn what the masses are doing and do the opposite!

To preserve your wealth, you need to save gold and silver - not money (or more specifically not currency, ie, US Dollars). Inflation and other measures coming may drastically drain or wipe out any accumulated wealth or assets you may have if held in US dollars. Precious metals run on a 20 year cycle typically (this cycle started around 2000) and runs against the equities cycle (historically opposite).

In 1980 the DOW was at 800 and gold was at 800 (1:1 relationship); since then the DOW has risen to 14,700; now the DOW is around 10,500 and gold near 1300 (8:1 relationship); when or at what level will it come back in line to that 1:1 relationship? At 3500? 5000? Richard Russell predicts $3500 Gold & a 3500 DOW. (He's been in the business for 50 years and promotes the Dow theory letter)

Don't Coerce Your Prospect

We all know the stories of individuals when they were first introduced to network marketing by a friend or family member. They tried to drag them to a hotel or home meeting with tales of making big money. The prospect signed up out of guilt to help the family member, not because they were really interested in network marketing and had a burning desire to make this work. The problem with this recruiting approach is that individuals will burn out quickly. There is only so much one can do going on enthusiasm. There are those individuals due to their personality who will be instantly drawn to this type of business. Ultimately, the thing that will keep someone in network marketing for the long term is that they fully believe in this approach to business.

In my personal situation, I learn that the more that I read and write about network marketing the stronger my belief in this business becomes. This is the only business where someone of extremely limited means can achieve the financial success that they desire. They cannot do it in any other business without making a significant investment of money or time and money-going back to school to earn a degree. When I hear someone knock the industry, I can just quietly know in my head that this person is uneducated concerning the real positives of this industry.

There are many individuals who personally think the entire network marketing industry is full of shams. Yes, there are companies that are not selling a legitimate product or service. They are usually investigated and then shut down by the government. However, how many well known companies in corporate America have recently been in the news due to the fact that their accountants were either "cooking the books" or the individuals at the top were skimming large sums of money off the top which eventually caused the company to fold and thousands of individuals to lose their job.

If you have prospects that are completely unwilling to hear you discuss your network marketing opportunity, then you don't force them, you just quietly educate them over time. Leave them alone! They are not interested. It is amazing how individuals who wanted absolutely nothing to do with this "sham business" will change their minds over time when they start to see your success. It could also be that your individual prospect is just in a place in their life where they are not really looking to make any significant changes. They are happy where they are at and have no desire to change.

You may ask what is the best way to educate prospects about this business? The best way is through frequent repetition concerning the great things about this business. That could be in the form of emails to your list or posts to your blog. There are plenty of individuals out there that are searching for something different and need to change their situation financially who are going to be open to this industry and the product or service that your company has to offer.

Just this week, I learned that only 4% of American actually retire with an income of $35,000 or more per year. The rest of individuals who retire usually have to take part time jobs at places like grocery stores or restaurants. Why not educate people about the great benefits of this industry. There are so many people out there who need this information and are looking for something better.

Final Fantasy XIV News

Final Fantasy XIV is expected to be released in a month. Earlier Jack Tretton announced that it is exclusively designed for PlayStation 3, but they have to be patient until March, 2011. Final Fantasy XIV comes with some exciting features. The release of this game follows closely after the release of Final Fantasy XIII. FFXIV collector's edition will be released a month earlier and it costs around $49.99 with a free game play for 30 days.
Final Fantasy XIV Highlights:
The PC version of Final Fantasy XIV can be played on 512MB VRAM and above. Final Fantasy XIV players can party up with their friends. There are square plans for making up a party of maximum 6 to 8 members. You will not find your enemies in one area, they will be scattered around. It is laser tuned for people who played FFXI. The job and battle systems of FFXI used level-based progression and experience points, whereas FFXIV uses skill based progression. It allows the gamers to create avatars for the character races.
FFXIV Gameplay:
Final Fantasy XIV balances both group and solo play. Players can choose their favorite avatars like Thaumaturge or Gladiator by wielding different crafting tools and weapons. The roles are based on four disciplines namely

• Disciples of Hand
• Disciples of Land
• Disciples of Magic
• Disciples of War

The crafting system is included in the armory system and the player's appearance changes according to the craft they use. For example, on wielding a Blacksmith hammer the player becomes a blacksmith. This applies to the harvesting tools also.Final Fantasy XIV Races:
Final Fantasy XIV has five playable races so far. All these races are similar to the FFXI races. The main aim of the developers is to create a familiar atmosphere to the FFXI players. FFXIV races are Hyur, Elezen, Lalafell, Roegadyn and Miqo'te. The city states like Gridania, Limsa Lominsa and Ul'dah is where the Final Fantasy XIV game is played.
Hyur's are divided into Highlanders and Midlanders. Midlanders are the most cultured people and they highly emphasize on education. Highlanders are bulkier and physically larger. Both sexes are available in the Midlander playable characters whereas only male characters are available in the Highlander race. Elezen's are elf like characters. They are divided into Duskwight and the Wildwood Elezen. Duskwight's live in caverns and caves with a high sense of hearing. Wildwood's live in forest with a very keen sense of sight.
Similarly Lalafell's are physically diminutive humanoids from southern regions. They have high intelligence and agility. Lalafell's are divided into Dunesfols and plainsfolk. Roegadyn's are muscular and physically large from northern regions. They are split into hellsguard and sea wolves. Miqo'te's are cat-like humanoids, who are divided into Seekers of the Sun and Keepers of the Moon.
In this game, fatigue will not be carried over when the weapons are changed. Almost all the basic parts will be there in the open beta version but it has only a very small part of the storyline quests.

Educational School Supplies and More

When you have kids, you want the best for them. You want them to grow up with everything that you didn't have, which means more opportunities for success and happiness. Here are some important things to remember, and ideas to enact so that your children grow up better than you.
1. Talking to your baby will help her speak more quickly. From a young age, you can begin to read to your children, even if it is something that you're reading and they can't understand. Children are comforted when they hear a familiar voice, and the more vocabulary they are exposed to, the more they will retain. By the time they are able to read, they will remember all of the times you read to them, and will carry around books and want to read on their own. The more accessible you make books to them, the more likely they will take advantage.
2. Animals are a great way to teach kids about life. Cleaning and taking care of animals shows kids responsibility. Having dogs, and cats especially, are great ways to make children more sensitive to tension and to reduce stress in the household. Take them to the zoo, or a local farm.
3. Blank notebooks are ideal for journal keeping. Not only will educational school supplies teach kids writing and drawing skills, fostering creativity, but it will also allow them to look back on their memories and understand the workings of consciousness.
4. Television is a slippery slope. On one hand, there's lots of informational TV out there these days, but a lot of the programs kids watch don't fall into this category. But that's not to say that these are mindless - older kids often talk about and remember the TV shows they watched when children for years. These can be ways of fostering children's creativity, albeit passively. Too much is bad news though; try monitoring TV watching and video game playing so that it doesn't exceed 3 hours a day.
5. Museum trips and family outings are relatively inexpensive ways to teach your kids about culture. They will be sure to remember these times for years to come.
6. Take your kids outside of their comfort zone. Expose them to new things, whether they are places, foods, or people. This will help them to see the differences in life, and realize that there are always people less privileged.
7. Mathematics can be taught in the kitchen. Counting, sorting, measuring, and patterns are all educational school supplies that can be relayed in the kitchen.
8. Science: For children the world is so new that everything has yet to be learned. Nature, plants, bugs, weather, the sky, all of these things are without reason for children. Let your child experience them, and encourage her to ask questions, even if they are constant and annoying.
Having children is our ultimate purpose in life. Nurturing them will help them become healthy, happy adults. It's important, however, to let children experience life's difficulties too - you don't want to provide too much, only to watch your kids flounder in the real world. Finding a healthy medium is the best way to raise kids.

Single Mothers Can Pursue Their Educational Dreams

With women grants now available single mothers can pursue their educational dreams. Studying in college can prove to be a painful task for them, especially if they have to take care of their kids and their jobs simultaneously. The good news is that financial assistance is available for such women through the help of free government grants. It has been observed that despite these grants being available, many women do not avail of them. The prime reason is they have no idea about it. According to their thoughts, only those who have become high school graduates recently can avail of such facilities provided by the government.
It is due to these notions and misunderstandings that a large percentage of women who have completed their high school course do not pursue their studies any further. Reports reveal that a good percentage of older women have availed of women's grants to complete their higher education, despite the fact that they were also facing the problems of time & energy, apart from finances too. Since these grants have been designed keeping the poor in mind, it is but logical that single moms hailing from poorest families get maximum financial help.
The amount of these women's grant is so much that they can easily help them to pay for the entire duration of their higher studies. Though every citizen of the USA is eligible to receive college scholarships and grants from the government, the maximum number of assistance is provided to those who hail from the poorer segment. This means that single moms and those from minorities stand to gain the most. It is not tough to find from where such loans are available. Searching the net will provide you further details. On being satisfied with any such women's grant, apply for them through the FAFSA website.
It is as simple as filling up an online form and then taking along the results to the college financial aid office. Even if the financial aid that you are directly receiving might not seem to be enough to cover up your higher education, you should know that these financial aids are also provided to you indirectly. Quite a number of such grants are sent directly minority colleges and women's colleges to help subsidize their operation. Remember, there are various channels of financial assistance and you should also check them too to avail the best.

Assistants Combine Work and School With Online Education

Oft time they are called a dentist's second pair of hands. They stand by the chair, applying suction when needed, handing the doctor the implements and in general keep the patient from bolting out of the office like a wounded deer. They are also helping ensure Americans have good dental hygiene. So it's no wonder the dental assistant is one of the fastest growing occupations in the U.S. and no wonder so many new assistants are training through online education.
While most dental assistants can find jobs with only a high school degree, there are still things they should know. Before getting out of high school one should take classes in biology and chemistry, be experienced with computers and have, for lack of better term, a good chair-side manner.
Still, sooner or later, they will have to advance their education if they really want to make this a career. Every state requires professional certification, but each also has its own standards. So consulting with a career counselor is a good idea. From there, there are two ways towards becoming an assistant.
The first is getting hired straight out of high school. Just note that each dentist has his or her own way of doing things, and even the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an assistant will need a few months learning that. From there, the assistant must go to school for a degree and certification. This means enrolling in an online college so one keeps the job. It's not uncommon to get credits out of the deal, too.
The second way is to reverse the order; go to school first. Programs for assistants are offered by nearly 300 different institutions recognized by the Professional Dentistry Association, many of them from more reasonably priced online colleges and vocational schools. The program usually involves one to two years of classes, learning such things as the tools of the trade, techniques and terminology. These schools also help when it comes time to get state certified with test simulations. So there are some options out there.
As it stands, the demand for assistants is so high, many can easily find and hold down two jobs at the same time. There are that many openings. Also, and this is important for working parents, it's quite common to be able to get part time positions, so one can also raise a family.
The Bureau estimates the average dental assistant's salary at slightly over $32,000. They state the upper 10% bracket to go considerably higher, over $46,000. Over 90% of all assistants work in dentist's offices, but they can find work in hospitals and other similar institutions.
The biggest news is, again according the Bureau, that while there's over 300,000 dental assistants in the U.S. as of 2008, there is a need for an additional 36% - slightly over 100,000 - more by 2018. This makes the position one of the fastest growing in the country. When you consider that, that's quite incredible for a person who is only trying to improve their patient's teeth.

Best Free Forex Education

If you have the motivation to learn FX trading, you can build your own trading strategy for free and in this article, I will give you some free sources which can help you get on the road to currency trading success.
The best way to learn Forex is to be a technical analyst, you don't need to know anything about the the news or economics, you can simply learn to trade high odds chart patterns which will allow you to lock into and hold long term trends. All the information you need, in terms of learning about the best chart patterns and indicators is free online. There are many free chart services which will have all the indicators you need and they will also explain how they should be used.
Now you have to put these into a method and you need to choose a strategy and pick a trading methodology and one of the best is one based on breakout trading. This methodology, is easy to understand and you can learn it in a few hours and soon by applying it for big profits. Next, you need to pick a time frame in which to trade and the best time frame is to follow the long term trends and aim to lock into and hold moves which last for many weeks or even longer.
FREE Trading Strategies which Have Made Hundreds of Millions of Dollars!
You then should check out some free trading strategies which have made huge gains, the two below are proven and have made huge gains. You can use them on there own or incorporate elements of them, in your own trading strategy; we have written on them frequently so look them up:
Donchian's 4 Week Rule
A simple one rule system, you can learn in 30 minutes and while the strategy is simple, it makes huge gains, so learn about this system in more detail and it will be some of the best Forex trading education you will ever get.
Turtle Trading Rules
This set of rules was taught to a group of traders in two weeks and they then made $200 million with them! The whole strategy is free online and contains all the elements,a successful strategy should including - excellent money management parameters.
Free but Valuable Sources to Get You on the Road to Currency Trading Success
All the above info is free and if you study the sources we have mentioned, you will have a powerful set of tools, you can use in your strategy, to help you make triple digit profits in 30 minutes a day - good luck!

Discover 3 Efficient Secrets to Improve Your News Articles

As a journalist, you owe it to your readers to produce nothing but the best, high quality news articles. You would want these people to be informed and educated when they read your articles. If you can give them what they're looking for, they'll surely buy the paper that you're writing for on a daily basis.
Here's how you can write better news articles:
1. Be very wise when choosing the stories that you're going to cover. There are a lot of things that can happen in one day but you should only be writing about those that are extremely interesting or those that have direct impact on the lives of your readers. What you can do is create a list of stories and ask your friends and your colleagues to help you choose the best ones. Sometimes, what may sound explosive to us may sound very plain to others.
2. Thorough research. Develop excellent research skills. You will going to need this to effectively gather all the data that you need for your articles. Go to great lengths to make sure that all the angles of your stories are going to be covered. Interview as many people as possible who have witnessed or those who are knowledgeable on the subject matter.
3. Verify your data. Feeding your readers with unverified information is the worst thing that you can do as a journalist as this can easily tarnish your reputation. So, make time to verify all the data that you've gathered and make sure that they are all based on facts.

4 Simple But Amazing News Writing Tips

If you think that writing articles for newspaper is extremely tough, think again. Just like any other endeavor, this one will get easier if you familiarize yourself with the elements that you need to use and if your practice as often as possible.
Here are some 4 simple but amazing tips that you can use to produce award-winning news articles:
1. Always use killer headlines. It's very important that you capture the attention of your target audience through your headlines otherwise, they might not read your copy. To get these people to pay attention, ensure that you tell them the gist of your content or give them a brief summary of the story that you're covering. These people must have an idea as to what information awaits them by simply reading your headlines.
2. Choose your stories wisely. Obviously, people will not invest their time reading your articles if you talk about something that they find boring or uninteresting. So, always write stories that are recent and newsworthy. Talk about the things that are happening right now and those that have direct impact on the lives of your readers.
3. Inverted pyramid technique. As your audience are pressed for time, they don't usually read the news articles until the end. To make sure that they'll get a clear picture of the story that you're covering, give them the juiciest details on your first paragraph. Save the supporting details for your succeeding paragraphs.
4. Mind your grammar. It's important that your articles speak volumes about your professionalism and your level of education. They must be well-written and they must be free from any type of grammar error.

Online Education Helps Students

Efforts to increase educational offerings and create more jobs in science-related fields such as engineering may prove beneficial to students and working adults who choose to pursue college degrees at brick-and-mortar or online universities.
Due to shortages of professionals in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, President Obama recently revealed a plan to increase education in these subjects, PC Magazine reports.
Through $260 million in funding that will be provided by private industry, the government hopes to increase STEM literacy and critical thinking, improve the quality of math and science education as well as expand learning and career opportunities in these industries.
Expansions in this sector are already occurring in several institutions of higher learning, such as the University of Illinois. The school's Department of Finance in its College of Business as well as the Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering in its College of Engineer have announced they will begin offering a new master's degree program in financial engineering in the fall semester of next year, the Daily Illini reports.
Coursework in the program, which is designed to be completed over three semesters, will cover finance, mathematics and computer programming. The curriculum is intended to prepare students for careers in energy, commodities trading, start-ups, ventures, risk management, financial services, banking, wealth and asset management, insurance, government agencies, trading companies, hedge funds, information technology and consulting.
Organizations and colleges nationwide are also working to help nontraditional students, including working adults and parents, pursue similar engineering degrees in their free time. For example, Wish Book readers and Foothill College's Foothill-De Anza Foundation have established a scholarship fund that provides computers to students who are single parents, the Mercury News reports.
To date, the partnership has donated $85,000 in laptops, word processing and spreadsheet software, printers and monitors to single-parent families. Linette Fuerst, an engineering student at the college who benefitted from the program, told the media outlet she uses her laptop to turn in papers and take online tests. Now, she spends less time in the classroom and can be at home with her son.

3 Easy Steps to Write a News Article

More and more writers are finding it easier to write newspaper articles compared to writing feature stories and articles for the web. This is because the rules in writing news articles are well-defined. As long you follow them, there is no way that you're going to get lost in the process.
Here are the steps to take in order to create a compelling news article:
1. Choose your stories. What are you going to write about? When deciding on your topic, make sure that you consider the newspaper where your articles will be published and the people that you're serving. For example, if you're writing for broadsheets, you must consider writing about more serious issues that are happening around you. You can talk about politics, the economy, etc. However, if you're writing for tabloids, you can focus on writing police reports, entertainment, and sports.
2. Use the inverted pyramid technique. Take that extra mile to make sure that your audience will read your articles until the end. It would help if you write your articles using the inverted pyramid technique. This simply means giving them the most important information on your lead or first paragraph and giving out supporting details on the succeeding paragraphs.
3. Write with clarity. Always keep in mind that you're main goal in writing your articles is to inform or educate your readers. So, don't make it too difficult for these people to understand the stories that you're covering. Always use those terms that your audience can easily understand and if possible, incorporate relevant images or visuals.

Single Mom Education Grants

There are different types of grants that are available. You can get the grant money for personal purpose; educational grants; housing purpose; business assistance and the major benefit is received by women who can get the grant assistance if they own a business or are going to set a new one.
A large share of Government grant money is kept as provision for the overall economical and community welfare. You can submit an application in excess of single grant. The most advantageous benefit that is available from the Government grant money is that you don't need to pay back the money and the money is not considered during tax calculation.
But it is not that the money is given away just like that. There are definitely some rules and regulations that have to be followed strictly. It will be rather ridiculous if any such news of distribution of money by the government is announced in television or any other means of communication.
So some conditions are required to be met in order to be qualified for the Government grant money. Though the money is available for free but lot of hard work is involved with that. So it is not perfectly correct to claim it as free money. The applicant has to clearly lay out the plan that must explain the reasons of the claim and the details of the project should explain where you will distribute the grant money that you are claiming.
Not only that the authorizing body will evaluate the prospects of the project and your financial capacity will also be checked. If the plan is approved you will get the grant money. The usual time that gets allotted for the completion of the project is almost one year which can be extended.

Education and Care Could Help Reduce the Spread of AIDS

More than two million AIDS related deaths reported globally in 2008 - two million children under the age of 15 now live with HIV. New figures released by the World Health Organization and UNAIDS estimate the number of new HIV infections have declined each year by about 17% from 2001 to 2008, but for every five people infected, only two start treatment.

Today, December 1st, 2009 marks the 20th World AIDS Day

Education and care could help reduce the spread of AIDS in Africa. Do you think the jingles and awareness programmes are enough to educate the people on AIDS?

This is a story of a young woman. Tonia, this is what we fondly call her, danced with joy into the reception hall as the hall stood rendering a thunderous applaud to this beautiful and newly wedded couple, it was the year 2000.

Late 2000, there was another gathering, it was Tonia's baby boy, Junior. Once more it was a day of joy as we gathered at the child's naming ceremony; he was a handsome child, smiled as if he knew why we were gathered. He definitely would be a great man as his grandmother called him Odogwu.

One morning in 2002, they heard a voice, quite low but it was obvious that it was an adult sobbing, this was coming from Tonia's apartment and after sometime it died down. Days past and Tonia's husband was nowhere to be seen. It was from our 'nose-poking' neighbour that we learnt that Tonia's husband was admitted into the General hospital, he was very ill. Same year, he passed-on and the news from our 'nose-poking' neighbour was that the government discovered he was infected by the virus and was detained at the hospital to avoid the spread of the virus. Our 'nose-poking' neighbour also 'said that' Tonia avoided to hospital, scared of being diagnose of the same ailment.

Early 2003, Tonia was back to her widowed mother's house, just two streets away from where she used to stay with her only son Junior. Junior, born in late 2000, was a cute piece to admire like every child of that age, the only problem was that he looked rather malnourished, but I see him with an older child about everyday crossing the street to purchase his lunch at 'iya ibadan's' food shed.

According to some others who Tonia confided on the situation behind her husband's death, they advised Tonia to go for a test to be sure that she wasn't infected, but Tonia ignored probably scared of the result.

2004-2005, Tonia had gained a lot of flesh and looked well, she was fully recovered from the effect of her husband's sudden illness and death, and she decided to move on. Within this year, she met men, who could not resist her looks and humour, she dated some, went out a lot and you could hear the walls echo as she said her morning and evening prayers; really I enjoyed her songs, it reminded me of the Swahili people that I hear on TV.

Neighbours trooped in and out of her apartment, Junior, the 'great man' had just passed-on this morning, it was early 2006. Again the advice came to Tonia, "I think Junior died of the disease, go for a test" "isn't it obvious that I don't have it" Tonia responded.

2009, Tonia our once robust and humorous lady has lost a whole lot of weight, she has a lot of terribly looking blisters on her skin, she doesn't come out anymore. But I caught a glance of her.
"good evening" I greeted, she came out to pick an item and was about to rush back inside as I noticed but the greeting brought her back and you could see it lifted up her spirit as she answered "good evening"

So was Tonia faith and that of many suffering from this instant killer.

For Tonia, immediately it became noticeable, she became a 'never to go near' individual, her once friends stopped coming around her, she withdrew to the confinement of her mother's house "people who use to speak to me no longer do" she said to me as we sat outside one evening, she went on to say "those who never use to speak to me now do, but those who use to be my friends now avoid me with so much disdain at the sight of me".

After our brief encounter that evening, she went back to her apartment, all eyes were on her.

"Make she no sitdown here again" the illiterate security man said "the breeze fit carry the disease and I go breath am, I never wan die" he explained. I starred at him, mouth wide-opened "me nko" I asked. I never imagined that people were stilled that ignorant on how to and how not to contact the virus, it was a pity that someone in a modern environment; part of town in Lagos could still speak about the disease in such ignorance.

Makes me wonder, are the radio jingles and all the awareness programme really effective? My saying hello to Tonia transformed her mood and she decided to go for her antiretroviral drugs, which she has continued till date.

The public needs more aware and through our individual care we could make a difference, we could join, individually to educate and show love to those in our midst living with HIV.

Government Grants For Your Education and For You to Go to College

What's the similarity between people with better paying jobs? A college education.

It is undeniable that most employers prefer job applicants with a college degree. Because of this, people are choosing to go back to school to finish their degree. However, it's not that easy for mothers.

This is mainly due to their financial status. And, of course, a mother needs to take care of her family which gives them less time for other commitments.

But there's good news for any interested American mothers. The administration will be extending financial assistance to mothers who would like to go back to college with scholarships for 2009. The government urges anyone to take advantage of this subsidy so they can earn their college degree.

The scholarship is available for who would like to have a chance of a college education. It is paid out by the university directly to those who are eligible.

If you qualify for the claim, they can get as much as $10,000 with a tax exemption of $4000, yearly to cover the university expenses. What's even better is that this scholarship is available not only for one year of schooling but up to 18 semesters if needed. And, unlike an education loan, this pay out does not have to be reimbursed by you later on.

The scholarship also takes into account the fact that mothers will have a challenge in finding time for school amidst their family commitments. The administration has also made it possible for these moms to finish their degree online from their own home.

With this, it is now easier to fulfill the dreams of these mothers. The allowances of the program in terms of finance and time have made this possible.

If you need to know more about the program, the Federal Government has an official website where you can read articles and releases for more information. The FAFSA website also contains facts and numbers about the program and it is also where you can find an application form if you wish to apply. Requirements are listed in the websites.

If you want a diploma or degree apply for scholarships for 2009 immediately. There is no need to let go of your chances at a better life