Hallie Euyrjzmu

On this overcast day we decided to explore other areas of Orlando in more detail. About 10 minutes north of downtown Orlando is Loch Haven Park, an area that holds a number of major attractions, including theOrlando Museum of Art, the Mennello Museum of American Art as well as the Orlando Repertory Theatre, the Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orlando Science Center.

We started our exploration off with a trip to the Leu Botanical Gardens. The centerpiece of the gardens is the Leu House Museum, a restored farmhouse dating back to 1888. It is located on Lake Rowena, one of the hundreds of lakes in Orlando, and surrounded by a 50 acre garden of roses, palms and camellias. The complex also features an orchid house with one of the best collections of orchids in the United States. The Leu Botanical Gardens also offer a new tropical stream garden, a kitchen garden complete with herbs and vegetables and a butterfly garden.

Just 10 minutes away is Loch Haven Park, one of Orlando's centers of art, culture, and science. One of the main attractions is Orlando Museum of Art (OMA), one of Florida's cultural gems and a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. The collection features American art from the 19th century to the present, African art and art of the ancient Americas. Outstanding temporary exhibitions are drawn from private collections and those of the world's great museums.

The upcoming exhibition at the OMA is called the "The Art of the Motorcycle". Based on the landmark Guggenheim Museum exhibition, it explores the motorcycle as both cultural icon and design achievement and offers a thought-provoking challenge to conventional assumptions about art and popular culture in the modern age. The exhibition will run from Jan. 22 July 23, 2006 and feature more than 70 historic and contemporary motorcycles.

The Mennello Museum of American Art is centered around the Museum's outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham (1893-1977). It also houses special exhibitions, publications, and programs that celebrate outstanding traditional and contemporary Amercian artists. The Museum's Cunningham collection was donated by collectors Marilyn and Michael Mennello of Winter Park, Florida, and was opened to the public on Nov. 22, 1998.

The Orlando Science Center includes ten themed exhibit halls with a large variety of interactive activities for children and adults. A CineDome Planetarium shows large format films and an Adventure Theater as well as five Discovery Laboratories can keep everyone busy for hours. In total the Science Center has four levels of hands-on exhibits, a 200-seat cafe, 7,000 square feet of exhibition space for national and international traveling exhibits. The Orlando Science Center is open Monday to Thursdays from 9 am to 5 pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 9 am to 9 pm, and Sundays from noon to 5 pm.

The Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival is a non-profit professional theater that produces professional productions of Shakespeare, classics and contemporary plays, as well as plays for young audiences. The group also develops new plays from readings through World Premieres and fosters innovative educational programs to serve the community.

As a professional theatre for family audiences in partnership with UCF, Orlando Repertory Theatre (The Rep) opened its doors on October 9, 2003. The theatre focusses on classic and contemporary children's literature. It is a place where young audiences can come and experience the adventure and creative wonder of watching their favorite characters come to life.

Loch Haven's cultural offerings continue with the annual Orlando International Fringe Festival of theatrical performances. The 10-day, world-renowned festival showcases original works; premiere performances; and first-class improvisational comedy, musicals, drama, mime and dance in 500 shows by more than 300 performers from around the world.

Sculptures outside the The Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra is Central Florida's resident orchestra, appearing in more than 105 performances each season. As a fully professional ensemble, the Orlando Philharmonic engages the talents of more than 80 professional musicians from around the globe. The Philharmonics mission is to foster and promote symphonic music through excellence in performance, education and cultural leadership.

For general information about Orlando please contact the Orlando Visitors and Convention Bureau.

Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a website called Travel and Transitions (http://www.travelandtransitions.com). Travel and Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and many other features. You will also find stories about life and the transitions that we face as we go through our own personal life-long journeys.

Submit your own travel stories in our first travel story contest (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/contests.htm) and have a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the Amazon River.

"Life is a Journey Explore New Horizons". The story with photos is published at Travel Stories and Photos (http://www.travelandtransitions.com/stories_photos/orlando_loch_haven_park.htm).

posted by hallieeuflnuffk @ 5:25 PM 0 comments

An endless amount of fun can be had in Paris for under $20, even in the capitol of haute couture and high-end cuisine.

The Louvre offers reduced ($8 per ticket) prices Wednesday and Friday nights and free admission to those under 26. It's free on the first Sunday of the month, and always free to visitors under 18.

The Musee d'Orsay drops its prices on Sundays and Thursday evenings, and it's free on the first Sunday of the month.

Centre Georges Pompidou, the home of modern art, is also free on the first Sunday of the month

Stop by a newsstand for a 55-cent copy of a weekly publication named Pariscope. It provides lists of free cultural events, gallery exhibits and church concerts. It's all in French, but easy to translate

The stunning and opulent Opera Garnier has cheap seats available on the day of a performance, and many churches hold free classical concerts, usually on Sunday afternoons.

Walking up the Eiffel Tower is cheaper than riding the elevator and a good way to work off all of those croissants and baguettes that you're sure to stop and buy! Even if you take the elevator up, consider walking down for the breathtaking view

Of course, we always need to stop and eat during a busy day of sightseeing in Paris. How about a picnic in Paris? A lot of people don't know that behind the Notre-Dame there is a very nice park with shade trees and park benches. The beautiful grassy lawn in front of the Eiffel Tower is always a popular spot; Luxembourg Gardens, the possibilities for a picnic in Paris are endless.

As you wander the streets, you'll find dozens of food shops and supermarkets in every neighborhood.. You can choose a baguette, some fromage (cheese) add some fruit, and you're nearly ready. You could purchase a sandwich made with a crusty baguette, some ham and fresh cheese, or perhaps you'd like to add some fresh vegetables and a bottle of wine to your gourmet picnic. Don't forget to bring a corkscrew - and a couple of glasses or plastic cups.

There are many ways to travel around Paris for your sightseeing, but the absolute best and easiest way to get around in the City of Paris is the Metro. There are metro stops everyplace; it's clean, safe, and easy to navigate. Stop at any Metro station information window, and pick up a free Metro map, buy a carnet of tickets (ten tickets) for about $14, and you'll be on your way.

Of course the best way to see Paris is on foot! There's nothing quite like walking along at your own pace, stopping to gaze at a beautiful window display, smelling the fragrant scent of fresh baquettes, or stopping at a sidewalk cafe and having a leisurely cup of coffee

Once you begin strolling around Paris, you'll find endless possibilities. There is wonderful architecture to discover with a self guided walking tour. There are many wonderfully talented artists setting up shop along the banks of the Seine and around Montmarte. Even just sitting on the grass at the foot of the graceful Eiffel Tower, holding hands with the one you love is an experience you'll cherish forever, and it's completely free!

Enjoy your budget vacation in Paris!

Terri is a successful businesswoman who shares her passion for travel with her husband, James. They specifically like to pursue budget travel options, and share their adventures at Traveling Tuttens

posted by hallieeuflnuffk @ 9:05 PM 0 comments

Cranbrook, BC, is home to the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel and is the largest city and service center in the East Kootenay region. Many parts of the city date from 1898 and self-guided walking tours are available with maps obtainable from the Chamber of Commerce, or from the Museum.

The Canadian Pacific Railway played a major role in the development of Cranbrook. Much of the original railway infrastructure built in Cranbrook still survives, providing a good context for the development of the Railway Museum.

The renowned Canadian Museum of Rail Travel is one of the largest museums of its type in Canada, with a valuable national collection of luxurious trains from the golden age of railway travel. Open all year and located at 57 Van Horne Street South, which is Hwy 3/95 downtown. It is a must-see for any visitor to the region.

The museum contains vintage passenger train sets representing various eras from the 1880s to the 1930s. The cars are luxuriously appointed with exotic inlaid woods, brass fixtures, plush upholstery, wool carpets, period furniture, stained glass and other displays such as railway china and silverware.

The centerpiece of the train's displays is the only complete surviving 7-car set of the famous 1929 Trans-Canada Limited, a vintage deluxe hotel on wheels. The railway constructed 12 new complete train sets comprising "A" class dining cars, "R" series sleepers (8-sections, 2-compartments, 1-drawing room), combination baggage sleeping cars (for the dining car crews) and the unique "River" class solarium-lounge cars that were at the end of the trains and especially popular. The train staff for the Limited was a little army; besides the driver-known in Canada as the "engineer"-and the fireman, the Limited had a conductor, trainman, sleeping-car conductor, one porter to each sleeping-car, a parlour-car attendant and the dining-car staff comprising of the chef, stewards and waiters. The Trans-Canada Limited, reserved for First Class passengers only, traveled from Montreal and Toronto to Vancouver, a distance of 2,886 miles. Other trains on display include the 1907 ultra-luxurious Soo-Spokane Train Deluxe. There are also cars in the museum that were used by various visiting royalty over the years and interpretive cars.

Another highlight of the building complex is the spectacular Royal Alexandra Hall, the restored 3,000 sq. ft. and three storey high "Grand Caf" from the Canadian Pacific Railway's former Royal Alexandra Hotel in Winnipeg. Demolished in 1971, the complete caf was saved in hundreds of pieces and stored in a semi-trailer for 25 years before being purchased by the museum in 1999.

Besides the Railway Museum proper, there is included in the surrounding infrastructure a 10-stall Roundhouse with a 100-foot turntable from 1920 and still in use today, together with another 7 stalls from 1907 with the roof and walls removed. The Railway water tower that was built in 1946 and rebuilt in 1989 is still standing. There is also the original (from 1898) CPR Cranbrook station (although altered) and the 1901 station from Elko that was relocated to the yards in 1987. The railway Freight Shed built in 1898 forms an important part of the new museum complex of buildings, where it has two levels with a total of 10,000 sq. ft.

Just 16 kilometers to the east and north of Cranbrook, is Fort Steele Heritage Town, considered one of British Columbia's premier heritage sites. On a daily basis, Fort Steele brings to life the Victorian age in a Rockies' boomtown. The Fort Steele Railway takes visitors on a scenic ride behind a real steam locomotive.

The origins of Fort Steele are traced back to the small settlement of Galbraith's Ferry, created during the Wild Horse Creek Gold Rush of 1864/65. Galbraith's Ferry was founded after Fisherville, the white man's town in southeastern BC. Located six kilometers up the Wild Horse River from Fort Steele, the Fisherville historic site, is well preserved by a local heritage society and offers a fascinating glimpse into how this region began.

Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Canada Vacation

posted by hallieeuflnuffk @ 4:04 PM 0 comments

Are you tired of preparing the same old and plain chocolate cake? Are you grappling over the desire to prepare chocolate cake but with a different kind of presentation? Then it is definitely time for you to try some new ideas for birthday cake decoration!

If you are worrying about the cost it will take to try new birthday cake decoration ideas, though, do not fret. There are many low cost tips that you can apply to come up with designer-value and fancy looking birthday cakes.

Here are several low cost birthday cake decoration ideas that you can easily realize:

1. Purchase some chocolates, candies or rainbow color sprinkles. They would look terrific on a birthday cake, especially the sprinkles. They are festive and yummy looking

Candies and chocolates can be decorated together on a cake, but you also have to realize that they are two quite different and affordable kinds of cake decorations. You can do some decorating using candies that you cannot do with chocolates and vice versa.

Versatility can easily define chocolate. You can accomplish almost any kind of birthday cake decoration idea using it. You can use some dark chocolate chunks as topping for a frosted cake. You can even melt it and drizzle it across the cake for a gourmet looking cake.

2. Icing and chocolate or strawberry syrup are great for a colorful birthday cake decoration

3. Real fruits like bananas, apples, strawberries or grapes would go well in any flavored cake, even chocolate cake.

4. Real flowers straight from your own garden can also make a birthday cake be more elegant and delicate. You have to prepare them early, though and freeze them awhile before adorning them into the cake.

5. Do you have any left over silver or golden balls from Christmas? They can be a fun feature in a birthday cake, too!

6. Kids' small toys or any other small things connected with the special interests of a celebrant may also be adorned in the cake.

7. Purchase some edible candles available in supermarkets. They are an inexpensive means to light up and adorn a cake.

These are but a few low cost and easy to execute birthday cake decoration ideas. Just remember to let your imagination going. You will be overflowing with birthday cake decoration ideas in no time.

To learn more birthday cake ideas, visit http://www.birthdaycakeideas101.com

posted by hallieeuflnuffk @ 3:43 PM 0 comments

Shawn Collins: Thank you to Todd Crawford from oneNetworkDirect. He's the Vice President of Sales and Business Development. And just last night, he won the Legend Award for Affiliate Marketing, the Wayne Porter Affiliate Marketing Legend Award, and congratulations on that, Todd.

Todd Crawford: Thanks. It's a real honor. I was very, very pleased to have been nominated and to have won.

Lisa Picarille: So, I guess now we're going to find out what's going on behind the legend. What makes him a legend? So, maybe you can start off by telling us how you got into this for the folks who don't know.

Todd: Well most people probably know me best from my days at Commission Junction. I started in '98 with that company in Minneapolis. Most of what I was doing was sales. So, I was selling to merchants.

And I really didn't have to deal directly with affiliates. But because it's such an important part of the business, I was interacting with them on message boards and events. So, I kind of got a name for myself.

I guess it eventually evolved into kind of being seen as the face of Commission Junction. I think that's probably what I'm best known for.

Shawn: So how long was that, that you started at Commission Junction?

Todd: '98 until March of 2006. I kind of got to a turning point in my life and felt like I was never going to leave or I would have to leave. So I decided to leave and take a little break. And now I'm at Digital River.

Lisa: So, tell us what you're doing at Digital River, what your responsibilities are.

Todd: Well, Digital River is a leading global e commerce outsourcing company. So, they basically provide the e commerce infrastructure for large software publishers that write software like Symantec, and they also provide marketing services.

So, oneNetworkDirect is the affiliate marketing service for our clients. So, our network is based on software publishers, and we don't really sell anything other than that.

Shawn: For the show here at Affiliate Summit, do you have any new news for that company. I know you have the new name.

Todd: Yeah, we were just oneNetwork. We didn't own that domain, and we were on a sub domain of Digital River. So we finally got our own domain. We got onenetworkdirect.com.

So we re launched on that domain with a new website, home page, look and feel. It's beautiful. I didn't do any of the work, but it's really, really turned out great.

We also launched a new affiliate interface, cleaned it up, made it look more like the home page so it carries a little more continuity, and launched some new features, like improved reporting as well as which also includes product level reporting and then also a new product called trial tracker.

And what trial tracker is, is the ability for affiliates to promote free trials of software, that you can download for free obviously, and then it'll embed the affiliate ID into it. So it doesn't need a cookie to track it later. And that way if the consumer wants it on their desktop, if the consumer ever buys their software, the affiliate is the only one that can be credited with it.

So we just launched that technology and we're getting our first offer up from Web Root this week, actually, in the middle of a bunch of email strings we're trying to get that out.

Shawn: Do you have any feeling for what the future holds for affiliate marketing?

Todd: Well it's pretty interesting that you know when you look at it from '98 '99 '00, it's so dramatically different. I really love the industry because it's constantly evolving.

I think affiliates are known as the innovators out there, and that's what keeps it moving forward. I don't know if I could predict anything specific, but it's going to be exciting to watch.

Lisa: Are there any particular areas that oneNetworkDirect is concentrating on?

Todd: Well because we only work with our own clients, our big focus is really on the affiliate side of the business. In my previous job I went out and sold to merchants. I dont have to do that anymore. Its really about affiliate development. Thats what our whole, really, team does.

So its great to not worry about the merchant side of the business, and really just focus on recruiting and developing relationships; providing them with the tools that they want.

Were launching more Web services, as well as the recent product features that we released.

Shawn: Well great thanks a lot, Todd, and congratulations on your award.

Todd: Thanks.

Lisa: Thank you.

http://www.affiliatetip.com

posted by hallieeuflnuffk @ 2:34 PM 0 comments

I have actually known about this for a long time. Only today did it come to me as one of those 'AHA' moments you read and hear about. They feel so good. I am going to call it THE AmaaaaZing Diet-because it is. It is truly revolutionary.

I need some marketing help with it. Any volunteers? I am convinced it will make me famous, rich, and maybe even lose some weight. After all isn't that the idea of a diet?

Some background if you will. I knew someone who was a very big part of my life for 14 years. She had every diet book ever written and maybe some still on the drawing boards I don't know. On top of that she had probably 4-6 pieces of exercise equipment maybe more because when she ran out of room for them she would put them in storage.

She had very good intentions. That is where it ended. She hadn't even read most of the books. She barely used the exercise equipment-little or not at all. When I met her she was a big boned person who over the years gained weight like all Americans. A sedentary lifestyle and some bad habits will do that.

She loved chocolate-don't we all? She loved her desserts daily. Other than that she ate a very healthy diet-fresh fruits, veggies, chicken, seafood-good stuff. But she ate and ate.

She couldn't understand why she gained weight. I told her my soon to be revealed secret diet, THE AmaaaaZing Diet. She laughed at me and told me I was nuts. I am not nuts.

I am a diabetic and have been for the better part of 15 years or so. For diabetics and soon to be diabetics (you may or may not know who you are) being overweight and/or obesity is the number one risk factor for developing the disease which affects 21 plus million Americans and is fast becoming a world wide epidemic.

For diabetics watching weight is a much more serious issue than how you look. It is about life and death-pure and simple.

I have struggled with weight most of my life. I spent over half of it in the food biz and have weak will power. I have tried a few diets: Atkins, see food, popcorn etc and none of them worked for me. Then it came to me one night years ago. Here it is revealed for the first time.

IF YOU BURN MORE CALORIES THAN YOU TAKE IN YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT. Only today did I get the enormity of it all. THE AmaaaaZing Diet is born. Here are the principles of it.

1.EXERCISE 30 minutes a day at least 5 days a week. Walking is okay. Try the magic number of 10,000 steps. Check with your doc first.

2.WATCH what you eat. And I don't mean with one eye either. Low fat, high fiber, fresh fruits and vegetables. I love salmon. Chicken is good too. Just not KFC. I go off the wagon occasionally just to prove I am human.

3.DRINK lots of water. 8-10 8 oz glasses seems to be the consensus. I am going to invent a device like a backpack with a flexible straw that you can strap on your back and wear 24/7 just to get your daily allowance.

4.THROW all the diet books and diet pills away. THEY DONT WORK AMERICA. Next to bottled water it is the biggest scam perpetrated on the public.

5.VERIFY this with your doctor. Don't take my word for it. Who am I to tell you how to lose weight? If he says yes then you can thank me and send money.

Follow this diet and you will lose weight and if you don't have diabetes you will avoid it. If you do have it you will be happily in control of it.

Now to the marketing of this idea!

Jack Krohn has had Diabetes, Pre-diabetes and Syndrome X for nearly fifteen years. He speaks from the experiences he has had during that time. He is also a free lance writer-the #1 author of Home Security Articles in the country according to EzineArticles.

His new website is devoted to educating patients of DIABETES You can get FREE information on HOME SECURITY

SIGN UP TODAY FOR FREE SELF DEFENSE TIPS AND SPECIAL OFFERS ON GREAT SELF DEFENSE PRODUCTS

posted by hallieeuflnuffk @ 11:48 AM 0 comments

There are times in the corporate world where we may get frustrated with our boss. They may even say things we may agree with, but sometimes they wont even make sense.

The following statements are from memos or emails from some well known national and international businesses. The names of the businesses have been removed to avoid any unintentional embarrassment.

As of tomorrow, employees will only be able to access the building using individual security cards. Pictures will be taken next Wednesday and employees will receive their cards in two weeks.

What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter.

How long is this Beta guy going to keep testing our stuff?

E-mail is not to be used to pass on information or data. It should be used only for company business.

This project is so important, we can't let things that are more important interfere with it.

Quote from the boss: "Teamwork is a lot of people doing what 'I' say."

My sister passed away and her funeral was scheduled for Monday. When I told my boss, he said she died so that I would have to miss work on the busiest day of the year. He then asked if we could change her burial to Friday. He said, "That would be better for me."

We know that communication is a problem, but the company is not going to discuss it with the employees.

One day my boss asked me to submit a status report to him concerning a project I was working on. I asked him if tomorrow would be soon enough. He said, "If I wanted it tomorrow, I would have waited until tomorrow to ask for it!"

Sometimes the pressure of corporate business makes certain comments comical when viewed from a less stressed vantage point.

One of the ways corporate workers have found to manage the high stress involved in their 9-5 jobs is developing a home-based business they can operate away from a corporate business climate.

Many individuals view the freedom of home business ownership as the perfect remedy for the stress they encountered in the workforce.

More than a freedom from stress, home-based businesses allow individuals to pursue something they really are interested in.

The corporate world demands you conform to the standards of the business. Home-based business allows you to develop your business in a way that best fits your individual personality.

So enjoy the comments and then consider the possibilities.

Scott Lindsay is a web developer and entrepreneur. He is the founder of HighPowerSites and many other web projects. Get your own website online in just 5 minutes with HighPowerSites.com at: http://www.highpowersites.com . Start your own ebook business with BooksWealth at: http://www.bookswealth.com

posted by hallieeuflnuffk @ 11:34 AM 0 comments