HoundsGood

My uncle used to day trade. He would buy in the morning and decide by his gut when the stock might rise just a little. Then he would immediately sell. He believed all investing was a gamble. He didn’t want the money to grow over time, but just wanted to take the money and run, even if it was $1 more. What thrilled him was not really the gamble, but the feeling that he had insider info and had an “angle” on everything, as he sniffed out every internet rumor and whisper in the grocery line to determine just what the hot stock might be.
He walked away after the fun wore off for him, but there are many people who are addicted to it. Another newer form of quickly buying and selling investments is binary trading. You basically gamble on a stock going up. It is called a binary trade because the investor gets the cash, or walks away with nothing. Unlike traditional stocks, you don’t retain the stocks, even if they are low, to hold on to for another day in hopes they will go up in the long term. For example, you can invest a certain amount per share speculating that a stock will touch a certain threshold, and if it does, you receive a payout, and if not, you lose your money.

If you are not careful, you can lose a lot of money and it is especially perilous for those with a gambling addiction pointing to it as an “investment.”

Binary investing originated in European markets and has caught on elsewhere. For those careful with their money, it should be a clue that many holding companies and brokerage are based in Cyprus. One, cedarfinance.com, is actually based in Germany, so its a bit easier to redeem one’s money.

If you have a loved one in recovery who is turning their life around by investing rather than gambling, pay close attention that the money is in savings, CD or 401K and they are not venturing into a potentially addictive practice that they are pointing towards as “investing.” To some it is, but to others, it is legitimized betting which bird flies off the wire first.

This post brought to you by Vipre. All opinions are 100% mine.

I haven't paid much attention to internet security for Windows lately, as I primarily use a Mac. However, on the road I use a Netbook and because I don't use it every single day, I haven't updated much, but even a small trojan can overload its small memory banks. I decided to download a free trial VIPRE Internet Security to see if it made a difference.

The program alerted me to other security software I had loaded and wanted me to delete it. Apparently, it works better to have one security monitoring software at a time.

I opted to keep what I had for now until I put VIPRE through its paces. I wasn't ready to let go of others just in case. It took a try or two to get things working properly, mostly for reasons that were not the fault of VIPRE. There were compatibility issues with my computer's updater and Windows, which I'll have to look into soon. Once the computer was restarted, VIPRE got to work, and ferretted out some relatively benign tracking cookies so far. (The HoundsGood hound would love to dispose of those. Whoops. wrong kind.)

The software pretty much worked in the background. Luckily, the software did not find any major threats so far.

When you download the software trial, an email comes offering $10 the full version when the trial expires in thirty days. Time will tell if I receive a high volume or reminders.

I'll report back soon to let you know if the software found anything else.

Mad Mimi email marketing is a recent and award winning comer to the email fray

It’s a delicate balance. Are you contacting your donor and fan base too much or too little?  Back in the day – even five to ten years ago – email newsletters were a primary source of controlled updates from not only businesses, but also nonprofit groups. Then there was social media and blog feeds. Between Facebook fan pages, RSS feeds, search and email, it is easy to retreat to ideas of over-saturation.

In some ways, social media was a nervous non-profit marketer’s dream: The people who fan us or follow us are doing it on their own and we aren’t being pushy about it. With various readers such as Google Reader and Feedburner, “We can’t be accused of bugging them or over-soliciting them because we don’t even know who’s reading.” What is the downside of such anonymous subscribing? Google Reader goes the way of the Dodo this summer. There is no way to capture the audience without soliciting them and mounting a strong campaign – “Like” us on Facebook, figure out how to pick us up on another, etc. We’ll enter you into a drawing or honk our horn for you if you do. What about the other folks?

Confession time: Sometimes I neglect my Reader in the first place. I only “seek out” posts from my top two, maybe three causes when I log on to social media and the rest of you? You’ll catch me if your update blows past me when I am actually logged in, but otherwise, I could miss it.

My preferred methods for reading things that matter to me are email newsletters – retro, I know. Email is the first thing I open up in the morning, and I’ll hear the telling “ding” when your newsletter comes through. Email spam? No. I signed up to read about your group in the first place. I don’t want to know what is going on every hour, but I look forward to reading a well-crafted email newsletter with tidbits about your latest victories or even solicitations for auction donations.

What’s more? If I like it, I am going to forward it to some folks who are like-minded, but just not so tech savvy. I’d say 99% of my relatives in my extended family aren’t on Twitter. Maybe 20% are on Facebook.

Should you abandon social media? No – It certainly helps newcomers discover you – but can email marketing and newsletters add an important missing piece that might bridge the gap between ever changing platforms for you?

This post brought to you by Vipre. All opinions are 100% mine.

I haven't paid much attention to internet security for Windows lately, as I primarily use a Mac. However, on the road I use a Netbook and because I don't use it every single day, I haven't updated much, but even a small trojan can overload its small memory banks. I decided to download a free trial VIPRE Internet Security to see if it made a difference.

The program alerted me to other security software I had loaded and wanted me to delete it. Apparently, it works better to have one security monitoring software at a time.

I opted to keep what I had for now until I put VIPRE through its paces. I wasn't ready to let go of others just in case. It took a try or two to get things working properly, mostly for reasons that were not the fault of VIPRE. There were compatibility issues with my computer's updater and Windows, which I'll have to look into soon. Once the computer was restarted, VIPRE got to work, and ferretted out some relatively benign tracking cookies so far. (The HoundsGood hound would love to dispose of those. Whoops. wrong kind.)

The software pretty much worked in the background. Luckily, the software did not find any major threats so far.

When you download the software trial, an email comes offering $10 the full version when the trial expires in thirty days. Time will tell if I receive a high volume or reminders.

I'll report back soon to let you know if the software found anything else.

Wishing you and ALL of yours a blessed Easter from HoundsGood.com

(Above: Today the HoundsGood hound is a horse, “Carmel.”)

Whether you rescued a horse in a pinch from a neighbor, run a sanctuary, or are a lifelong horse owner, review your deworming regimen. Unlike the heartworm preventative protocol for dogs, worming frequency depends on living conditions and not just the environmental region. In the past, common wisdom dictated a worming schedule of every other month. Now, many vets and horse caregivers recommend the administration of horse wormers every six months, with a few exceptions. The reason for the change is larvae resistance to the dewormers, which poison them.

If a horse is kept alone with little contact with other horses, or is turned out in a shared corral where the manure is frequently picked up, the six month regimen usually suffices. However, if the horse is kept with many others or the corral is not cleaned, the vet may recommend worming every two to three months. Check with your vet for the individual needs of your horse, and to select the type. After that, it is easy to buy online.

To further prevent infestation, worm all horses at the same time, rather than staggering the administration over several months. Also, never keep weanlings or mares with their foals in the same pasture or stalls as other adult horses. The young ones are more susceptible to infestation that way.

If you can, limit the number of horses per grazing acre. Fence in a few more feet or open up another part of the pasture. With limited space, you might be limited on how many horses you can rescue, but they may stay in better health

There are countless programs that collect old cell phones for charity. Some attest that phones are put in the hands of domestic violence victims or are used by soldiers. Others use the money generated from recycling the cell phone to fund programs.

The benefit to you usually is eliminating the need of finding a recycling program or discarding it yourself. Seldom are tax receipts given by such programs where you drop a phone in a box.

Another way to benefit an organization and would like to direct the funds to the project of your choice and   would like a tax receipt is to offer your phone directly to organizations and refurbish and sell them. The money you net can be given as a donation to a cause of your choice to be used where ever it is needed at the current moment, or you can purchase supplies that the organization has requested with the money. Before you look into how to sell a phone without using eBay or directly dealing with buyers, there are certain criteria that need to be met:

• The battery must be included. If you do not have a working battery, purchase one before sending the phone in.

• The phone must power up and down.

• Nicks and scratches are acceptable, but broken screens and speakers are not. The speakers must work and be free of dents.
• The screen should not bleed, and should power up. If the screen is cracked and can be inexpensively replaced, swap it out before offering sending in the phone or before having it evaluated.

If the phone meets the conditions, and the model is on the list of those accepted by a sell phone purchaser or recycler, you can profit or donate the phone’s proceeds to your favorite charity.

If a phone does not meet these conditions, it is only good as a prop or a paper weight. The phone will cost more to fix than it is worth for the buy back or recycling company. At that point, it is better to look into EPA-certified programs that accept electronic waste. Call your local landfill for a referral, or ask if they take electronic waste.

Some landfills or recycling facilities collect them and dispose of them safely. The battery and some internal cell phone parts can contain toxic metals that while harmless inside a device can cause leaching into the soil if they are separated from the phone case and become wet in a garbage bag under a mound at a landfill.

It might be fun to add a pink streak in one’s hair but neon spray painting your white Bichon Frise to match makes me cringe. If you really wanted to follow this fashion without using hair dye, hair chalk is a slightly safer and less permanent alternative. To use it, run the eyeshadow-like pat of chalk along a strand of hair, then set it either with heat of a blow dryer or hairspray. The chalk washes out with soap and water.

Have you ever tried it when you are longing for a punk day with none of the consequences?

Healing through nutrition and natural health products are important to me for myself and my pets. Supplements do not replace medical care, but the periodic assessment of nutrition can dramatically improve health and disease resistance. A skeptical eye, however, is cast always on the latest diet fads. Some discoveries are legitimate. We know a lot more about antioxidants than we have in the past, but where is the line between supplementation and pill popping?

Green coffee extract is in the news, thanks to celebrities who swear by it. Many websites quote that Dr. Oz endorses. The Dr. Oz claim, after research, is speculative. Indeed, Dr. Oz’s show did a study on it. The group given the extract reported “double the weight loss” than that of the control group. When you read further, the experiment reports:

In two weeks, the group of women who took the green coffee bean extract lost, on average, two pounds. However, the group of women who took the placebo lost an average of one pound – possibly because they were more aware of their diet for that two weeks because of the required food journal.

To me, two pounds is not very dramatic, but over 12 weeks, the overweight participants lost approximately 4.4% of their body fat and an average of 18 lbs, which is 1.2 lbs. To me, the weight loss is no different than what would be experienced by someone who was keeping a food journal and becoming more conscious of their caloric intake and what foods they were eating. A more fair assessment would have been to take a group and instead of not telling them if they received the placebo or not, also not tell them that the goal of the study is to assess weight loss.

Should you try it?

According to WebMD, side effects are very similar to those of ingesting caffeine. Some may say that it can’t hurt if it doesn’t help, but if you have high blood pressure or anxiety, you most definitely should opt out of this idea, or thoroughly discuss it with your health care provider, as it may cause an elevation in blood pressure or make you more anxious.

In some areas of the United States and Canada, the icicles are dribbling on the porch and the patches of grass poke out from random bits of ice and snow. The winter coat is off in favor of a vest or short jacket, but it isn’t time to optimistically pack the away. What does it really want to do out there? Spring will be here before you know it. Start thinking son of checking up on your air conditioner and fans in your car and in your home.

Why now? Everyone rushes to test things out on the first 85 degree day. If you do it soon, you can troubleshoot and even save for repairs and improvements to insure the comfort, but mostly the safety and health of your pets (and people) this summer. Deaths sometimes occur when the needle hits 105 and those not equipped for the weather become fatally dehydrated, and of course, a pet can die in a too-hot car.  Who wants to even think of such safety precautions now, when a late frost can turn the driveway into a skating rink once again? When record heat hits, it always seems like reports from Chicago include more incidents of death than much warmer places, such as Miami, and the key difference is that in Miami, you are used to the heat and don’t wait for the wave to hit.

If you are in a southern climate, 85 degrees is days and not weeks away, so troubleshoot now before you have to desperately Google “air conditioning repair west palm beach” or “San Juan” while fanning yourself with printer paper, careful not to tip the cold glass on your forehead.

Air conditioning units can fail either electrically or mechanically. Mechanical failures are often signified by leaking or clunking, and perhaps the unit can plug along for another day or two, while often electrical failures cause the unit to underpower or to cease operating completely. Whichever case you suspect, do not attempt a repair unless you are trained. It is not about a repair person making money, but about you not creating a fire hazard.