photo credit: teevx

Most likely one of the biggest names associated with the new reality TV is Susan Boyle. She was one of the contestants on the Britain’s Got Talent. After the finale, she had a well-publicized breakdown, which unfortunately put the world’s press into a feeding frenzy. The follow article talks about the effect that reality TV has had on our lives.

The prospect of new reality TV elicits excitement in some and groans in others. Do we really need another batch of rich false drama, bachelors breaking up, people losing weight, performers competing against each other, and “unique” families? What happened to our actual reality? When you think about it, we’re taking time away from the real world to focus on someone else’s TV edited version of unusual, “real” experiences that you don’t see every day. There was a time when reality TV was charming and novel. Up until then, TV had been all about fiction, imagination and fantasy. This idea to broadcast life, as it really is, was an interesting idea for a little while. But slowly the elements of fiction began to creep in — footage was rearranged, parts left out, situations construed to heighten drama, and slowly but surely reality TV started to resemble its fictional counterpart. Very Interesting wouldn’t you say.

Granted, it’s not like reality TV started from the top and plummeted downhill. It was more like a low up to a high, and then down to an all time low. Early reality TV show contestants revealed that what was televised was significantly different than what had actually occurred, and to this day it’s a situation that probably still occurs. However, some new reality TV shows that came after were less contrived and even inspirational. There’s no denying the skills of contestants on America’s Got Talent or America’s Best Dance Crew, and it is moving to see where these people are coming from and how they are coming closer to achieving their dreams.

Maybe part of the reason new reality TV isn’t feeling so new is because many of them are just sequels of series that have been airing way past the first season. And reality TV has taken an extremely dark, ugly turn with the recent controversy of Jon and Kate Plus 8, rumored to become Kate Plus 8. The entire nation has been following their acrimonious divorce, taking sides but mostly expressing disgust over the entire situation and sympathizing with their kids. Many feel that if the show continued, it would be simply for the sake of money, and it’s impossible for the show to be just about raising 8 kids anymore.

As the new reality TV shows of 20010 and 2011 approach us on the horizon, will we watch out for them or shut the blinds? Regardless of our actions, reality TV is still television in the end, and the show will always go on.

photo credit: Glutnix

Databases are a heavily used data structure in computer that range from very simple tables of information like an excel spreadsheet to very intricate collect of multiple databases that are linked together. The index is very much like looking at the table of contents or back index of a book to find a particular topic. You don’t want to read through the entire book. So this index is very important. There is also a trade off in having too many indexes in a database. The following article talks about this database indexing tradeoff.

We typically think of a database as a store of digital data, but a database can also be a store of written data as well. Looking at it this way, a library can be considered to be a database. Despite their differences, a library of books and a database have much in common. Neither the librarian nor the database administrator simply haphazardly stores the data in the next available slot. That would be a mess for sure. Both have to categorize all their data. The library has a section for philosophy and psychology, for science and other non-fiction books, one for drama, another for English and so on.

Similarly, a digitized database will store system data in one folder, programs in another, business data in yet another, and so on. With a simple list of categories and bin or disk locations, both the librarian and the database administrator can find and retrieve what is wanted. This master list serves as an index into some space. A file name is associated to an address. We do not consider this master list a part of database indexing, yet the concept is the same.

Books or digital data are more easily retrieved when they are indexed. Without an index, you have to go down the aisle containing books on, say, psychology, looking at each title, until you find the one you want. The same is true of databases in which database indexing is not applied. If the data is all thrown in to one database, say the customer database, without any regard to order, then conceivably the entire database might have to be searched, starting from the first record, comparing the customer name with the name you want, selecting it if it matches; otherwise, you move on to the next record and compare again, doing this record after record until you’ve found a match. Ordering books by title or ordering a customer database by name significantly improves your search time. Ordering your information, although a necessary step when database indexing, is also not indexing.

Both libraries and database designers have learned that you can improve your search speed by using indexes, keys associated to the location of the item sought. Libraries use card catalogs to index their books, and library maps to help the searcher find the book’s location. Database indexing uses files similar to card catalogs, files that contain a key value associated to a disk location, or that contains a value that points to a specific location. Rather than traverse each track of a disc containing database rows, which are similar to records, a retrieval may read an index file and find the index and the rows location, then go to the row location and read in the row. Database indexing gains you a substantial advantage by avoiding having to read in all records. One record length might be the length of five key-address pairs. The database system will still have to read each key/address sequentially, until it finds a match, but it will have less reading to do.

Use database indexing to minimize your retrieval time, but remember too, it takes longer to store a record because you must also store an index. Using indexes can make your adding and updating time unreasonably long.

Administering a database involves more than the practicalities. There’s an element of art to this task. If you’re considering optimizing your database, you’d be smart to investigate the finer points of database indexing to make your best choice.

photo credit: JoeInSouthernCA

At this point in time, vehicles have pretty much become a necessity. The reality is it’s difficult to live without some sort of car, truck, minivan, SUV or motorcycle. Especially in the United States, you plain and simply need a motor vehicle to get around. After all, our states are so grand and spaced out, no one expects you to actually walk everywhere all the time. This would take days, and you would never make it to work on time. That 45-minute commute in your vehicle would suddenly turn into hours on foot. Fortunately nowadays there are plenty of vehicles to choose from. There are even hybrid electric vehicles out there that can save you on gas money and help you go green.

What is a good reason to purchase a hybrid electric vehicle? Well, there are actually many of them. Probably the key focus that most consumers hone in on is the gas issue. Imagine all of the sudden your car only requiring half as much gas as it usually does. Wouldn’t that be amazing? Since many hybrid electric vehicles run off of battery power, you do not have to buy as much gasoline. Basically how it works is your car runs off of the battery’s power until the battery gets low. At this point the gasoline takes over while the battery is recharging. Once the battery is charged, you can then run off of the battery again, which saves you a great deal of gasoline in the long run.

There’s always the green factor. So many people all around the world are striving to go green. After all, this is how you assist the planet. Since car exhaust fumes wreak havoc on the environment worse than most everything else, it is certainly beneficial to reduce these fumes as much as possible. Exhaust essentially pollutes the air and harms the ozone layer, as well as wildlife. By acquiring a hybrid electric vehicle, you can really cut down on the car exhaust your vehicle puts out. This is naturally a wonderful reason to choose a hybrid.

What are some of the choices for hybrid electric vehicles out there today? Well, it is certainly not like it was when the first prototypes came out. At this point you can choose from a number of Ford, Toyota, and Honda models that are all hybrid electric vehicles. Some of the more popular cars are the Ford Fusion and Toyota Prias. You have likely encountered many of these on the road. There are also SUV models that are hybrids for individuals that really prefer an off-road vehicle. As time moves on, more and more hybrid electric vehicles will come out to decrease the need for gasoline, and help a lot of people go green. Take a moment to check out all of your options for these cars.

photo credit: bigbirdz

Whether you’re a teen just starting to date, or an adult re-entering the dating scene, this can be a harrowing experience for both men and women. When you narrow your field to only potential Mr or Ms. Right, you’re doing yourself a disservice. There are two reasons why: first, those ‘true loves’ are few and far between. Second, you’ll end up with very few dates!

When you set your heart on that perceived ‘true love’ (assuming that person is available), when it comes time for the date, you are usually so anxious — and anxious to please — you work yourself up to such a state, that you’re unlikely to come off as genuine. You may feel uncomfortable just being yourself, express yourself honestly, primp overly much and sprout a couple of zits to boot, Your date doubtless does the same and the result is a disappointing experience.

Here we’ve got a terrific idea to help you break into the dating scene, gain confidence in who you are and get lots of experience in easy dating conversation, before you start actively looking for that true love. It’s the venue known as friendship dating, which is fun, cool and virtually stress free.

So what’s friendship dating about? You probably have many friends of the opposite sex, but whom you don’t envision romantically. On the other hand, these are people you like and with whom you get along well and have lots in common with — or you wouldn’t be friends, right? You kid around, like some of the same activities (movies, music, sports), understand each other’s sense of humor and are comfortable in their company. Sounds like a recipe for a good time.

Friendship dating alleviates the pressures of feeling that you need to be dressed perfectly, with every hair in place, for that perfect impression. You’re far less likely to feel nervous, awkward and anxious. If a zit blossoms on the day of the date, it’s not the end of the world — your date friend has probably seen one or two before and won’t sit there staring and making you feel uncomfortable.

Dating should be about having a good time — and friendship dating is an excellent way to prepare yourself for more romantically focused dates in the future.

You’ll learn to be yourself and reap the rewards, in the non-threatening atmosphere of friendship dating.

Ask a friend to the movies, dinner, a concert or a trip to the aquarium or museum exhibit — whatever you both might enjoy. Some people have found dating friends to be so much fun, that date begins to look — and act — like a possible true love! Now wouldn’t that be a pleasant surprise?

Even if that never happens, by the time you’re ready to spread your wings and seek out that elusive true love, you’ll have learned so much about the dating game, you’ll be able to spot the best matches for you in a heartbeat!

photo credit: jerseygal2009

It is getting harder and harder to find the perfect gift for those who are getting married today. There are quite a few good reasons why this is happening, and most couples who are getting married understand this. This is why many are choosing to find really great wedding congratulations cards to get for a couple instead of spending time trying to find a gift that will be needed and useful. These have always been around, but they are much more common today.

Many couples live together before they decide to get married. It was not always this way, of course, but it is becoming increasingly popular. Most are scared by the numbers they hear in relation to divorce. When they live together, they often buy all they need for the home. Instead of guessing what a couple needs, some will simply buy wedding congratulations cards and add some money. Not only is this now common, it is usually most welcome by a new couple. It makes everything a bit more simple for everyone.

People are also marrying at a later age than twenty or so years ago. This means that even if they have not chosen to live together before marriage, they often have their own apartments or houses, and they already have much of what they need, and in many cases, more than they need. This is another time when guests will decide to get wedding congratulations cards rather than a gift the couple may not need. The amount that some put inside wedding congratulations cards depends on how much the giver has, but is often a nice sum to add to saving or to perhaps pay for the honeymoon.

There are also couples that register, and that is also something that I did. However, I only did so half-heartedly because I really didn’t think we needed much. It was something we did on the urge of my maid of honor more so than out of necessity. I know that many love to buy gifts, but there was not much that we really needed. I knew most in my family would buy wedding congratulations cards, though I was surprised at the amounts they included. What is nice about them though is not the money, but rather, the sentiment found within. Gifts come and go, and many wear out and break, but cards can be saved for a very long time.

photo credit: glockentierchen

It’s no big secret that so many individuals far and wide adore animals of all sorts. This is pretty much in our nature as human beings. Why else would so many individuals and families alike always be on the lookout for animals for sale? People tend to want some sort of pet to love and care for. Maybe they will keep the dog, cat, ferret, bunny or bird in an outdoor environment, and maybe they will house their precious pet inside. It’s usually up to the person or family caring for the animal. Now, if you currently lack a wonderful pet, and wish to find great animals for sale, then it’s high time you search in the most likely places such as your local humane society or shelter.

You probably won’t have a great deal of difficulty selecting from the vast array of animals for sale. I say this simply because you probably already have a particular species of mammal, bird or reptile in mind. It certainly seems that most people go for domestic dogs or cats. These are the two most popular pets in the USA. Birds, gerbils, guinea pigs, fish, hamsters, mice, lizards and snakes are also all popular household pets in this country. One thing to consider when you’re searching high and low for animals for sale is care. How much care can you give your precious pet? It’s imperative to remember that some will require more attention than others. For example, a dog is a wonderful example of a domestic animal that requires oodles of attention and care. Therefore if you lack the time and energy to play with, walk and take your dog out to use the bathroom daily, then you’re probably seeking out other animals for sale. a fish on the other hand is about as low maintenance as animals for sale come. Sure you have to keep their tank regulated and feed them twice a day, but that’s it. Fish are very low maintenance in comparison to most other pets.

If you do not know of a pet store that offers animals for sale in your area, then it’s wise to access the Internet for further details. Online you can find out just what animal shelters, pet stores and humane societies are near you. Keep in mind that a pet store is pretty much the most expensive place to purchase animals for sale. If you’re seeking a cat or dog, I suggest the humane society of a local animal shelter.

The Japanese are leaders in these joke videos and have invented ever more ludicrous and embarrassing ways to humiliate their victims. There are whole television shows now on prime time that have been imported from Japan about wannabe athletes running a gauntlet of mechanical obstacles that actually slam them into the water or demolish them in any number of embarrassing ways. The winners make a few bucks to be sure, but there are no shortages of these morons just waiting in line to be crucified. Laughing at them seems to be the only item of importance and Americans have come to love these inane and sophomoric shows, propelling them into the highest rankings among reality television shows.

What are reality television shows really except lame attempts to make the viral joke videos serious enough to merit watching? Shows like Survivor pretend to be about serious matters like actually making it out of the wild alive and the nobility of man, but in the end it is really about who will get blindsided at the elimination. We tune in week after week in order to see who will get physically beaten at a challenge, who will get to sick with dysentery to continue, or, like one hapless contestant, who will fall face first into the fire after passing out while fanning the flames. The poor sucker was seriously burned and had to be evacuated to a hospital burn ward.

With the advent of youtube.com, practical joke videos have hit their peak. Some would say that joke videos had their heyday with America’s Greatest Home Videos, or whatever that lame show was called that Daisy Fuentes hosted. Some would claim that it was TV’s Practical Jokes and Bloopers, which gave several more years of fame to Johnny Carson’s former sidekick, Ed McMahon, but not until the invention of youtube have we seen practical jokes from all walks of life in record numbers. All you need to do is go to www.youtube.com and search for practical jokes to see, among other things, cheerleaders set on fire, exploding toilet stalls, and many other nasty practical joke videos too gruesome to mention here.

My only thought is that everyone now needs to be constantly on guard lest you get Punk’d by one of your Hollywood friends.

photo credit: miltedflower

I am a person that likes to change my desktop background picture on a regular basis, but I did not realize until a few weeks ago how much it actually tells you about yourself and your interests in life.

I have probably 20 desktop background pictures saved to my computer, and the one that I currently have up is a photo of myself in a neighborhood called Locust Point in Baltimore, Maryland.

Locust Point is where my family is originally from, and I recently had the opportunity to travel back to Baltimore for a visit.

Before that, my desktop background was a photo of Bass Hall, the opera house in Fort Worth, Texas that I go to twice a year during the opera festival each spring. The picture is of one of the decorations on the facade of the building in which an angel is blowing a horn.

Another of my desktop background pictures is of a piece of artwork by Salvador Dali called “The Persistence of Memory.” I had that background up for a long time, because it is my favorite painting of all time and one that I look at on a regular basis.

I have desktop background pictures of myself at Texas Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys used to play, and Camden Yards, the Baltimore Orioles’ baseball park. In the first one, I am standing next to a statue of Tom Landry, the great long-time coach of the Cowboys. In the second picture, I am standing next to a statue of Babe Ruth, who was actually born in Baltimore.

Another background picture that I have is of the great Greco-Roman wrestler Alexander Karelin, throwing an opponent from Japan. As a former wrestler myself, I have always greatly admired Karelin, and when I saw that it was a good fit for my desktop background, I decided to put it into the rotation.

A few months ago, I happened to sit down and look at all of my desktop background pictures and started to notice how much they all told me about my life. There in front of me, one after another, were the things that meant the most to me in life, and whether subconsciously or not, I think I was trying to project that to the rest of the world.

I don’t think that there is anything wrong with that, necessarily, but I did wonder why I had chosen so many things like that when I see other people who do not have desktop background pictures at all or have something that means very little to them, if anything.

I suppose that it is just a matter of personal choice, but the desktop background pictures I use seem to be an expression of my life, and I have taken great care to illustrate that fact. I tried using a background for a few weeks of a landscape photo, but I eventually took it down because it just did not feel right.

photo credit: David Boyle

Woodworking was in my blood, and when I finally grew up to become a carpenter and contractor, I needed very little instruction in my field. I could do practically anything with wood and building supplies. I could build a house or a cabinet, I could make a floor or a guitar. It didn’t matter — I had mastered it from a young age. My father had always involve me in his trade, and as a result I was better than most people at it. Nevertheless, there was an even more important aspect of the business that I had missed out on the entirely: economic.

I had naively assumed that my skill would carry me, but within the first year it was clear that that wasn’t true. I wasn’t making any money — or at least not nearly as much as I should have been. I suspected everything but the cause. Maybe I wasn’t charging enough, or I was taking too much time to finish the work. Maybe my workmen were lazy or overpaid. What I didn’t realize was that the problem was with my supply. Simply put, I was not making smart choices about the wholesale lumber I bought.

I didn’t realize how big an issue this was. I haven’t even really thought about wholesale lumber supplies before. I simply used the closest supplier I could find, figuring that it would make it easier to restock whenever I needed more. I didn’t realize that I was getting completely ripped off on wholesale hardwood lumber. Because I was buying from a wholesale lumber supplier who mostly sold to hobbyists and smalltime contractors, I was paying close to retail prices for my wood.

Aside from that, my supply problems were seriously slowing down the rate of work. I had to face the fact that, even though I believed in supporting local industry, I simply couldn’t as a contractor. By using a small wholesale lumber supplier, I was putting myself in a bad position. He was always short of one thing or another, and sometimes it could take days to get the right supplies. Whenever I needed a specialized kind of wood, such as teak lumber wholesale, I would have to go somewhere else anyway, unless I was willing to give him a solid month to look for it. I knew that I had to grow up, maturing both as an individual and as a small businessman. Once I really grew to understand the economics of my business, money was not a problem anymore!

photo credit: pheezy

To say that I drink a lot of coffee is on some days an understatement. I used to drink a lot of soda, but when I realized what it was doing to my body, I had to find another way to get the caffeine that I craved without adding all of those empty calories to my daily intake. Though there are a few calories associated with coffee, it is far better for me than all of the soda I was drinking. In a perfect world I would be wide-awake all day and drink only water, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. On cooler days I need a way to keep the coffee in my cup warm, so I have gone out and bought a mug warmer.

I always thought buying a mug warmer meant that I was too serious about my coffee, and that meant that I had turned into my mother. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I was not ready for that image. Instead, I found a way to keep my coffee warm. There is nothing more annoying than getting up every fifteen minutes to warm my coffee in the microwave. I use a large mug, so the mug warmer stops my coffee from cooling off to fast. I drink a lot of coffee, but I do tend to drink it rather slowly throughout the day.

I didn’t spend a lot of money on my mug warmer, so I do fear I may wear it out rather quickly. It sort of reminds me of the bottle warmer we had for my daughter when she was an infant. It does not work the same way, but I fear the mug warmer may wear out as fast. The bottle warmer worked very well, but it was only a matter of weeks before I had to buy a new one. It doesn’t seem to be very well made, but it was the only one I found. I suppose at the price I paid it won’t hurt to much to replace it.

A mug warmer might be a great gift for someone in your life who loves coffee or tea. If they live in an area where the weather turns cold for some months of the year. That is when a mug warmer might be the most appreciated. When it is cold outside there is always a chill in any home no matter how well the heating system might work. I know this is when I need my mug warmer the most.