The Conskript Den

In the old days (7-10 years ago) there were no long distance calling cards and cheap phone cards so it could cost you a ton of money to make long distance calls. Calling your grandparents in another state or calling home from college on the weekends was very expensive and prohibitive.

Those days have gone forever and now it’s more convenient and inexpensive than ever to stay in touch with friends and relatives from not only the next state, but also the next country with long distance calling cards. You can find prepaid long distance calling cards that are literally only pennies a minute to call from anywhere in the Continental U.S. to anywhere in the Continental U.S. And for calling international?

Wow!

Have the prices ever dropped for calling overseas. It used to be 1 or 2 dollars a minute just to call Asia or Europe; now those same phone calls can be made for a tenth of that or better.

Which type of Long Distance Calling Cards works best for you.

When looking to save money on your long distance calling cards narrow down what your calling habits usually entail. Do you generally call only within the U.S. or do you also call your old friends in Australia? Deciding on the type of calling you engage in will save you quite a bit of money as you shop for the best long distance calling cards with the most minutes and the cheapest rates.

About The Author

Mike Yeager
Publisher
http://www.a1-longdistance-4u.com/
mjy610@hotmail.com

Silence of the Lambs follows the Hero’s Journey Template:

Introduce Hero and Capabilities [Clarice tackling the FBI assault course].

Herald brings the Call to Adventure [Jack Crawford sends Clarice to visit Lecter (her Supernatural Aid)].

Threshold Guardian [Dr Chiltern obstructs Clarice’s visit to Lecter].

Refusal [Lecter refuses to help].

Overcoming Refusal [Lecter’s cell mate is rude and causes Lecter to help Clarice by way of apology]. Lecter sends Clarice to the First Threshold [the garage].

Physical Separation / Belly of the Whale [Lecter says he’ll help Clarice catch Buffalo Bill].

Antagonism developed [Buffalo Bill kidnaps senator’s daughter].

Transformation / Road of Trials x 3 [Clarice controls the police officers; analyses the dead body in Clay County ; learns about the cocoon].

Resistance to the Meeting with the Oracle [Dr Chiltern obstructs Clarice from seeing Lecter before he is moved].

Journey to the Sword [Lecter journeys to meet the Senator].

Seizing the Sword [Clarice gets the info she needs, which Lecter has written in the case files; Clarice learns the significance of Silence of the Lambs].

Rebirth through Death [Lecter escapes and kills].

Reward [Clarice knows Lecter will not come after her].

Atonement with the Father [Clarice learns that Buffalo Bill can only covet what he sees].

Apotheosis [he’s making a skin suit].

Ultimate Boon [Crawford has (allegedly) found Buffalo Bill].

Refusal [Crawford tells Clarice not to come to Chicago but go to Belvedere instead].

Magic Flight [Senator’s daughter attempts to escape].

Rescue from Without {Clarice directed toward Mrs Lipman].

Crossing the Return Threshold [Clarice enters buffalo Bills House].

Master of the Two Worlds [Clarice and Buffalo Bill gun battle].

Freedom to Live [medals, graduation, Lecter confirms he has no plans to call on Clarice].

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

Kal Bishop, MBA

**********************************

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://managing-creativity.com/

Used laptop computers are everywhere these days. How can you sift through the mass of available used laptop computers to narrow your search down to the right laptop for you? Here are a few suggestions to keep in mind.

Buy from a reputable dealer

It can be tempting to pick up your local classifieds and simply choose the lowest price laptop in the newspaper and buy it from whomever. This is a mistake. Less headache and aggravation will result by buying from a reputable dealer. If something goes wrong with it right after you buy it, you’ll at least have some recourse.

Quick Visual Inspection: Looking for signs of damage

One of the most common ways a laptop is damaged is by dropping it on a hard surface. Look for cracks around the corners of the laptop. You should also look for any chipped plastic around the LCD Screen.

Make sure the hinges of the LCD Screen are in good shape and aren’t cracked or separating from the body of the laptop. This damage can result when someone opens the screen too far. It can also be the result of being dropped.

Examine the power supply that comes with the laptop to make sure there are no signs of overheating like a melted cord or power box. Be sure that the power cord itself is not frayed or damaged in any way. Take a look at the end that plugs into the laptop, make sure it isn’t damaged. Plug it into the laptop and wiggle it around to make sure it isn’t loose in the laptop. This can also indicate that the laptop has suffered internal damage.

In the next part, we’ll go over some things to look for when powering up a used laptop computer for the first.

Joe Duchesne owns Asklaptop.com a site that can help you Buy a Laptop and maintain it. Reprint freely as long as the links in this resource box are live and point back to Asklaptop.com

Like one big happy family, online DVD Movie Clubs have become a popular choice among families and individuals that are searching for movie rentals with the online services and convenience! Not only do they offer convenient special features, but also their value and additional benefits are far more valuable over renting at your local movie store!

For many of you that still rent at local video stores, it may be a little transition for you to join a DVD Club, and it will take a bit of getting used to having your movie and games arrive via your mail box several days later after your initial order. However, once your movies and game choices arrive, there will be an excitement that will come over you because most, if not all, people love to receive packages in their mail.

It’s fun, and all your title choices and top releases you picked online will be ready to watch and enjoy when they arrive at your door. The best thing about being part of a movie rental club is that you don’t have to worry about sending them back right away, and you’ll never experience late fees again!

I know it’s spring, and soon it will be summer, but winter is never too far away, and when the downpour of rain or the blizzards of snow arrive, and it becomes really cold and dark out, you will truly be relieved knowing you don’t have to jump in a cold car, and drive all the way to your video store to return your videos, especially the ones you haven’t finished watching yet.

What Are The Benefits Of Renting Movies and Video Games Online?

For many years we had only one choice, and that was to rent from the local Blockbuster, or the independent store that smelled like mothballs and old attics. If you didn’t live close to the bigger rental stores, you were limited to what they had available when you finally arrived.

With unlimited rentals online available through your choice of club store, you can easily have access to thousands of releases, downloads, and DVD reviews that will help you decide on whether the movie you want to rent is going to be the one you really desire to watch. Nothing is more annoying than getting a movie or game home to find out it was truly a complete flop!

There are many times your movie club will offer you periodic club offers and specials, and how often do you get that from your local rental store? If they happen to offer you any deal, it’s because they know they’re about to lose you to the online competitors.

When you do the actual comparison of online rental clubs versus your local video outlets, the smart choice is taking advantage of the online rental services the movie entertainment stores provide. Online renting is growing dramatically, and more people are experiencing the value and the overall convenience they offer.

You can still support your local movie store for quick last minute movie decisions, but when it comes to getting exactly what you want in title selections, and the fact that you don’t have to ever worry about sending them back late with a penalty, those are features that are going to please many video enthusiasts for many years to come!

William is the Author and owner of “Online DVD and Game Rental” available at http://www.online-dvd-and-game-rental.com Your source for DVD and Game Rental Services available online! Find top online video stores offering DVD and Video Game rentals such as Blockbuster and Intelliflix, and have your entertainment conveniently delivered right to your door with no late fees or shipping charges.

Researchers, listening carefully to the speech patterns of monkeys, determined that the creatures were incensed that they had evolved with all of their hair still bristling out of them, and they demanded the immediate remedy of a shave and a haircut.

Their request for tonsorial attendance has been presented to barbers and hairstylists to determine the number of volunteers that might be found.

A barber who accepted the challenge said, “I’ve cut a lot of different kinds of hair in my life but I never had a chimp walk in. But I’m always willing to accept a new challenge. I just hope they like the way I style hair. Or they might throw coconuts at me.”

Tom Attea, humorist and creator of NewsLaugh.com, has had six shows produced Off-Broadway and has written comedy for TV. Critics have called his writing “”delightfully funny” and “witty” with “good, genuine laughs.”

Songs and music files are not the only items being shared and downloaded on the Internet. Movie files have become extremely popular, though generally not very legal until recently. The proliferation in technology in general, and among high school and college aged students in particular, has led to a boom in file swapping, which has also led to the trading of movie files, and the demand for movie downloads on the Internet. There were always a lot of sites to find free movie downloads, though there was always a question of legality. Now there are some legal sites to not just rent, but actually buy and download movies. Some of the major companies in this business even advertise themselves as the first legal companies to allow movie downloads.

One of the problems that someone wanting to download movies from the Internet may run into is different files and formats. First off, if you have a computer, you probably already have some type of a potential movie player on your system. If it is an apple then most likely you have a QuickTime Player. If not, then you should know that a QuickTime Player is a good movie program that, though it will function on non-Apple computers, this is a program that was designed to function at maximum capacity with the Apple systems. Any other type of computer will almost certainly have Microsoft programming on it, which means that the far majority of computers in the world will have a Windows Media Player, which can be used to view movies, though that does not mean that every movie will be compatible with the player.

Many movies available for download are designed for the DivX system. DivX also comes in many software bundles, and was one of the early programs used to view and collect movies on the computer. Another free movie player that is common is the Real Player. This can be used to view all kinds of movies, and is somewhat similar to the QuickTime Player, though it is not designed specifically for any computer system, though it is designed with the specific purpose of showing movies. There are other programs such as Winamp, which was designed more for music, but has a movie/video viewing option.

The best idea is to go to find a reputable web site where you feel comfortable downloading movies and see what the requirements are there. See what their requirements are and go from there, then prepare to enjoy your movies!

Dave is the owner of online-movies.info and free-movie-download.info websites providing information on movie downloads

I sent a postcard to St. Peter asking for an interview with God. To my surprise I found myself standing at the Pearly Gates. I realized immediately that these were indeed the Pearly Gates because they were on a gold street and were made of gold too. Marble-size pearls glistened in the Heavenly Light.

As I stood there mesmerized by the splendor, I heard a voice say, “Is that you? Taylor Jones, the hack writer?”

I spun around. There was an old man with a fishing pole. I said, “You must be the legendary St. Peter.”

“Indeed!” he said. “The address is 100 God Street. I’ll zap you up there.”

Quicker than you could say, Jack Sprat Could Eat No Fat, I was at 100 God Street. Mrs. God greeted me and said, “He’s in the garden out back.”

I stood there absolutely paralyzed by her beauty, the most beautiful creature in the universe. Immediately I found myself on the back lawn.

I didn’t see Him at first. I heard the snapping of hedge clippers. I said, “What the?” The clippers had no hands operating them! A voice said, “I’m over here!”

I walked behind the hedge and there was God sipping lemonade. He said, “Here, I’ve poured a glass for you.”

I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I bow? Should I prostrate myself on the ground? How should I address Him? Why didn’t I study these issues before I sent the card? He said, “Just sit down, Taylor Jones. I’ve wanted to talk to you?”

I wondered if there was any way I could get that postcard back. He said, “That is too late now.”

I wondered if he remembered what he told me that night on the line in Korea after we were shelled three times by our own 105mm howitzers. I wanted to know for sure it was Him that was talking to me. He said, “I remember what I said. I told you that you might be killed or maimed but it would make no difference in the eternities. I also told you to do as you were trained and to do your duty.”

I thought that God had a very good memory. He said, “I never forget.”

I wondered what he wanted to talk to me about, a hack writer, ex-executive of a large company, ex-engineer, and ex-scoutmaster. He said, “You forgot to mention lousy painter of landscapes.”

I wondered if He was angry about that section I wrote in Bull about the Mormon’s wife. He said, “You did tone it down quite a bit.” God laughed! It sounded like tingling bells.

Well, what did God want then? He said, “I’ve got something you can do for me.”

Relieved, I said, “Yes, God! You just name it!” They were my first words to God. I was very pleased with them.

He smiled at me and said, “Stop wasting so much time on the computer. Get out there and help the widows clean up there yards. They are all full of leaves.”

I thought, No, not leave raking! I absolutely hate to rake the leaves. Immediately I was buried under a huge pile of the distasteful things. Then I heard my wife say, “WAKE UP!”

I pushed the newspaper out of my face to see her standing there with hands on hips. She said, “You were having a nightmare. Now get out there and rake those leaves. I’m tired of telling you!

The End
by John T. Jones, Ph.D

copyright©John T. Jones, Ph.D. 2005

John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com)is a retired R&D engineer and VP of a Fortune 500 company. He is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering), poetry, etc. Former editor of international trade magazine. Jones is Executive Representative of International Wealth Success. More info: http://www.tjbooks.com. Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (IWS wealth-success materials / TopFlight flagpoles)

Politically incorrect in almost every way, South Park is a crudely drawn cartoon with an almost limitless number of hilarious and sarcastic moments. Stellar, sometimes off-the-wall writing makes up for poor animation in this series which follows the lives of four third-graders at South Park Elementary School: Stan, Kyle, Cartman, and Kenny. With an enormous supporting cast of eccentric characters, South Park rivals The Simpsons in its ability to create strange, yet believable personalities…

The South Park (Season 5) DVD features a number of hilarious episodes including the season premiere “It His the Fan” in which Kyle gets four tickets to see The Lion King on stage, but he can’t find anyone (adult or child) willing to go because everyone in South Park is infatuated with the upcoming television broadcast of the show Cop Drama in which the word shit will be used on TV for the first time ever. When the big event occurs, it ends up changing South Park for the worse… Other notable episodes from Season 5 include “Cripple Fight” in which Big Gay Al becomes Kyle, Stan, Cartman, and Kenny’s Boy Scout leader, and “Cartmanland” in which Cartman’s grandmother dies and leaves him one million dollars which he then uses to purchase his own personal theme park…

Below is a list of episodes included on the South Park (Season 5) DVD:

Episode 66 (It Hits the Fan) Air Date: 06-20-2001
Episode 67 (Cripple Fight) Air Date: 06-27-2001
Episode 68 (The Super Best Friends) Air Date: 07-04-2001
Episode 69 (Scott Tenorman Must Die) Air Date: 07-11-2001
Episode 70 (Terrance and Phillip: Behind the Blow) Air Date: 07-18-2001
Episode 71 (Cartmanland) Air Date: 07-25-2001
Episode 72 (Proper Condom Use) Air Date: 08-01-2001
Episode 73 (Towelie) Air Date: 08-08-2001
Episode 74 (Osama Bin Laden Has Farty Pants) Air Date: 11-07-2001
Episode 75 (How to Eat With Your Butt) Air Date: 11-14-2001
Episode 76 (The Entity) Air Date: 11-21-2001
Episode 77 (Here Comes the Neighborhood) Air Date: 11-28-2001
Episode 78 (Kenny Dies) Air Date: 12-05-2001
Episode 79 (Butters’ Very Own Episode) Air Date: 12-12-2001

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the South Park (Season 5) DVD.

“Don’t forget the salads”, shouts Rob. Obviously top priority in my husband’s mind. Not so long ago a picnic consisted of egg sandwiches, or tomato and cheese and a few bags of crisps. If you were lucky you might find someone had thrown in the odd scotch egg and some pork pie. Now our weekly picnics have developed into a competition for which all the wives are intent on producing some spectacular dish which would grace a dinner party table. Surely a picnic is supposed to relaxed and carefree?

Rob dashes into the kitchen and packs my home made salads, (potato and Mediterranean), coleslaw and fruit salad along with wine, beer and soft drinks into a ‘cool box’. “We’ll be late”, he says, “hurry up”. “Rob, where’s Susie ?” “In the garden, I’ll give her a shout”. Susie, our daughter, is six and lives for these picnics. She’s already wearing her lifejacket as she rushes in from the garden, dancing about in anticipation.

Rob finally loads everything into the Jeep and locks up the house. He treats every outing with military precision. Once we’re in the jeep he produces what can only be described as a check list. When he’s satisfied we’re all present and correct he starts the engine and drives the short distance to the river where our friends are waiting.

Susie and I climb on the catamaran which has twin hulls and makes me feel safer. Rob and a friend jump into their sailing dingy and set sail immediately. The others decide which dingy they’ll take. Mike’s sailing the catamaran and waits for them so we can all leave together.

I’m not keen on sailing, particularly along the River Nile but our picnics are an institution. I’ll be happy when we reach the island in the middle of the river where we always picnic. We’re not too far away now, almost at Crocodile Island where Rob and his friends sometimes go shooting. Each time we pass it I shudder. Rob and his friend, Neil, are well ahead of us. They can’t wait to see if the pit which Jeff and Pete are digging is ready. They left at six this morning to prepare the pit and the fire because we roast a whole sheep which takes hours.

Susie decides to make her presence felt. She calls to Mike who’s sailing along steadily. “Uncle Mike, Uncle Mike, tip it over, tip it over !” My eyes lock with Mike’s. “Don’t you dare! She’s a little Madam. She knows I hate sailing”. I turn to Susie who’s giggling. “And you, Susie, ought to know better than to ask Uncle Mike to tilt the boat. Just because Daddy tips it over doesn’t mean Uncle Mike will. He’s got more sense”. She snuggles up to me. “Well, I’m sailing back with Daddy. It’s more fun”. She jumps up and I watch her scramble across the boat, my heart in my mouth, terrified she’ll fall into the river. She turns around, displaying a cheeky grin and waves to our friends in the other boats. A few more minutes and we’ll be there.

Mike expertly steers the catamaran to the island. All the women are wearing bikinis and smother themselves in sun cream. The men have already erected a couple of tents for those who want some shade. Rob walks over to us. “Come and have a look at the barbeque, Jan. The sheep’s already on the spit. Susie, that’s enough sun cream. We’re going to have a look at the barbeque. Hold my hand.” We trudge through the sand and watch Neil basting the sheep. He’s using the sheep’s tail attached to a stick which he dips in olive oil and lemon juice to baste it. Pete’s turning the spit so the sheep will cook evenly. We all have a go at turning the spit for a while. That way it means one person isn’t doing all the work. It’s only half past ten and we’ve the whole day ahead of us. As I take a quick dip in the river I try to forget about the crocodiles and the deadly bacteria which thrive in its waters.

The men are drinking beer while I swallow gallons of Coke. I must have the cleanest stomach in the Sudan. Susie plays with the other children while we adults stretch out and sunbathe, each of us sporting tans in various shades of mahogany!! Suddenly it’s mid afternoon and the sheep is ready. The men take their turn to carve while we produce the ‘goodies’ we’ve prepared at home. Each of us is starving and we devour the food in record time. We send the children to rest in the shade of the tents but they never stop chattering and giggling.

Unbelievably, it’s time to return. The sun sets early in the tropics so we never stay later than five p.m. Before long everything is packed up and we’re ready to leave. Susie stays behind with Rob while he makes sure the fire is out, fills the barbeque pit with sand and clears up any left over rubbish. I again climb on the catamaran, which Mike’s sailing, along with several of our friends. We arrive back first and they drop me off at home.

Two hours later I’m wondering why Rob and Susie haven’t come home. What in God’s name can have happened to them? It’s dark now. They should have been back long ago. Maybe the boat’s capsized or maybe the crocodiles…. Don’t even think about it. Susie’s only six. She must be terrified. The phone’s out of order and I can’t call anyone for help. Please God, let them be safe. Please let me see them again. If You’ll just answer this one prayer I promise never to ask for another thing. My God! it’s eight o’clock. I’ll have a stiff drink. Better not, I might get drunk. I can’t sit here in the kitchen all night. Why not? I realise I’m losing it because I’m hearing voices. They’re getting nearer. Terrified, I glance round the kitchen and watch the door open. Two tired but smiling faces pop round the door. By now I’m sobbing. “Have you any idea what I’ve gone through?” Rob puts his arms round me. “I know it sounds ridiculous but we were becalmed. There wasn’t a breath of wind. We had no choice but to sit tight until the wind blew up again”. Susie interrupts. “It was so exciting Mummy. Daddy found some chocolate and drinks in the cool box. I can’t wait for next week’s picnic!!”

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Travel

The major search engines are always on the lookout to improve their search results and to weed out websites with duplicate content. They are also weeding out websites that mainly contain affiliate links. This is going to affect quite a few businesses on the Internet that depend on affiliate links to generate revenue.

Especially the last Google update kicked some major affiliate players out the index - leaving those websites out in the rain. Loss of traffic was immediate and loss of revenue was dramatic. Future updates can be even more dramatic - therefore threatening the existence of online businesses depending on affiliate marketing. It can also affect the actual company running the affiliate program as their sales would go down if affiliates fail to generate leads.

There are certain strategies affiliates can implement to reduce the risk of being de-listed from Google, Yahoo! or MSN. No affiliate website should match another one to avoid being punished for duplicate content. Each and every link to sub-pages should have a different URL and the naming convention for pages should be different. This will be very important for template websites that usually match each other like one egg the other.

Building up incoming links is still the most critical piece. Avoid building up a huge number of links in a very short time-frame as it could actually cause a red flag for search engines. Building up links should be a slow but steady process. From my own observation I think it is safe to say that 50 incoming links per month should be the upper limit for the first 3-6 months of the existence of a website.

If your affiliate website is build from a template its links to pages will match with other websites build from the same template. This will raise a red flag with search engines. If a web server supports mod_rewrite the affiliate should go and re-write the URLs to change their appearance to the outside. Apache web server and mod_rewrite even allow the affiliate to create keyword enriched URLs this way.

Adding random content to web pages containing affiliate links and products is another step to disguise the actual purpose of the web site/web page. If a website is build using PHP, I highly recommend to implement a random text include for the pages in question. Start with a quote of the day script and modify it for your needs.

The steps lined out in this article will not guarantee that your website stays in the search engine index but it is certainly a step into the right direction to implement each one.

About the Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and international book author. Examples of his search engine optimization work can be found at http://www.vitaminassociates.com and http://www.beefkabobs.com