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How To Have A Successful Bake Sale

Gather Items for Your Sale

First and foremost you need to make sure you have enough people who will make items to donate to your bake sale. Ask the people who are involved in your group to donate items and have them ask friends or neighbors to donate their items for your cause. Make sure you let them know that not only is it for a good cause, but that their contribution can be considered a tax deduction for the amount you sell their items for. Those two items themselves helps to give your bake sale a great start.

Bake Sale Location

Next you need to make sure you have a great place to have your bake sale. Some of the more favorite places to have a bake sale are in front of local grocery stores and other department stores. If there are no places available such as that, the next best places are either in front of a community hall (if it is pretty outside), in the community hall (in case of inclement weather accidentally shows up), in a charity members yard who is on a “main drag” of the town you are located in, or even a church parking lot or church parking picnic area.

Market Your Bake Sale!

Finally you need to get the word out! Spread the word like wildfire! Let everyone know why you are having this yard sale and what the funds will be going towards. Everyone likes to help a good cause, even if they only afford a dollar; they feel like they are making a difference. Make flyers to post in local grocery and department stores, call in to local radio stations and advertise on one of their free community boards, post flyers in any or all gas stations window that will allow you to do so and on as many poles, trees, stop sign areas, that you are legally able to do so. Please before you put these signs up; make sure that you have permission to do so. Never place any signs somewhere if you are in doubt, ALWAYS make sure it is okay. You just might gain a customer by being polite and asking permission to post your flyers somewhere. It all counts!! Have a Great Bake Sale!!

Barbecue Preparation

When you attend a party, gathering, or any social event, you may notice that barbequed foods are always served anytime of the day. One reason for this is that barbeque is a versatile way of cooking your food and the taste is always delectable, given that the person really knows how to cook it. You may barbeque fish, meat, poultry, vegetables, and a lot more.

You may want to try this cooking technique but you are having second thoughts because you think it is difficult to do. In addition, you may even be convinced that this is dangerous because the fire may get out of hand and burn you. Contrary to what other people think, barbecuing is an easy way to cook your food. All you need is a good fire, grill, and your food. Of course, some tips also come in handy to make sure that your food will not be burned and the taste will be maximized. As such, here are some useful barbecuing tips to help you in cooking your food.

Fire Up the Barbeque

The first key to a yummy barbeque of any kind is a great fire. Do not use gas, alcohol, or any fluids of these kinds when you start a fire. Aside from giving your food a disgusting taste, it may even poison you because of its hazardous components. Just stick to charcoal lighter fluid when making a fire.

When you are choosing your grilling place, stay as far away from any house, patio, camper, or any structure. Also, make sure that your fire is nowhere near grasses, bushes, or anything that burns easily. This is just a safety precaution to avoid big fires that can result to great damages.

Working with Briquettes

If you have a charcoal grill, you have to decide the right coals to use. As much as possible, do not buy those that light up easily. These coals burn really fast so you will just waste your money buying more of these. In addition, these also do not settle on a good cooking temperature for your barbeque. As such, your food may get really burned or will still be half-cooked.

The best coals to use in barbecuing are called briquettes. Even though these might take you at least one hour before reaching your cooking temperature, these can burn longer. Unlike fast coals, these also settle on a decent temperature needed to cook your food. Even if you have already finished your first batch of barbeques, you will still have enough heat to cook more food.

To hasten the heating time, one trick is to line up the sides of your grills with tin foil. These will reflect the heat from the fire and will even double your cooking time. However, make sure that you put some holes in the foil to let air pass.

Be Smart About Your Fire

When you are grilling, make sure that your fire has enough ventilation. This is to prevent dangerous carbon monoxide, which is caused by the fire, from contaminating your food.

While you are barbecuing your food, it is important to note that flare ups are common occurrences. It just means that your fire becomes big and uncontrollable. As a result, you will burn the food you are grilling. To be on the safe side, always make sure that you have a water sprayer beside you. However, use this only as your last resort. Remember that water sprays will cause the ashes to rise up and stick to your food, making it inedible. If you can still manage a flare up, do not spray it with water. But if it has become unmanageable, forget the food and do not hesitate to kill the fire. After all, your life is more important than the food you are cooking.

To maintain fires at a minimum, do not put so many coals on it or make it too big. Try to keep it near 375 degrees Celsius. When you are checking for the temperature, you do not need a thermometer. You can just use your palms to test the heat. It is above 375 if you can hold your palm near the fire for two to three seconds, above 300 you can hold it four seconds, above 200 if five to six seconds. These temperatures are considered as hot, medium, and low. If the heat is too low, push the charcoals together; but if it is too hot, spread them out or raise the cooking grill.

In order to avoid flare ups, it is vital to know the foods that may cause it. Among these are greasy foods. When your meat or pork barbeques have too much oil on it, it may drip and cause the fire to become bigger. To prevent this from happening, you can lessen the grease you spread on the food. In most cases, you can just put the food on a foil or raise the cooking rack away from the fire. When a flare up occurs, remove your food first before you spray it with water.

Now Go Out And Cook!

Now that you know how to start and maintain a fire, you can start learning the basic recipes for barbecuing different types of food. When you use a grill with a lid, you can use it like a makeshift oven to cook patties, sausages, monkfish, etc. These can be easily bought in grocery stores and are already ready to cook. If you want to mix your own food, you can check out the internet or recipe books for ways to barbeque these.

With all the knowledge you have acquired, you can now start barbecuing whatever food you have inside your house and serve it to family and friends.

What Do Digital Cameras Have to Offer?

A person doesn’t need to be a professional photographer before he/she can buy a digital camera. Some people may seem reluctant to buy digital cameras because of all the technology involved in it. It is quite a fact that some people are techno phobic. Therefore, some of them will be truly hesitant to purchase a digital camera. They might feel that the digicam will be more of an inconvenience compared to analog/manual cameras.

It is true that one has to get some getting used to before he/she fully enjoys the benefits of his/her digital camera. However, one can just imagine the perks that he/she will feel when he/she has got the hang of using the digicam.

There are some considerations that should be taken into account before you buy a digicam. One must understand that a digital camera is far different from the manual or automatic cameras that one has been accustomed to. A manual camera requires you to set the aperture and shutter speed settings. A wrong combination will more than likely give you an unacceptable image. The picture may get really dark to the point that you cannot see anything at all. At other times, the images may get blurry. A wrong setting may also result to the lens focusing on the background when what you really want to happen is to focus on the foreground. A digital camera can make all these worries disappear.

A digital camera offers features or aspects that are unique to this type of camera. The aspects of a digital camera include its megapixels, control settings, ergonomics, memory space, video capability, and power supply. Some consumers believe that the number of megapixels offered by the digital camera is everything. One should do away with this belief. Megapixel count is just a part of the package. What are megapixels anyway? These are the data amount, which a digital camera is able to collect. A five megapixel resolution or higher is suggested if you are going to do plenty of editing to the images that you will be capturing. One must remember that enlarging images taken from a digital camera with low megapixel count will result to blurry pictures. However, one is advised to purchase cameras with 3-4 megapixel count if he/she is just going to view the pictures from the personal computer.

Some of you might get frustrated using a manual camera because of all the adjustments needed such as the atmosphere or environment of your subject. Some of you might be control freaks — enjoying the power that you have on your cameras. There are times you will need a smaller or bigger aperture setting depending on the quality of light that is available. At other times, there will be a need to vary the shutter speed in order to capture the right moment on film. It is possible that you will either let the digital camera do all the work or still have control of the settings. It will depend on the camera model that you purchase. Cameras belonging to the low end category will save you all the trouble of adjusting aperture and shutter speed settings. On the other hand, costlier cameras give the consumer more control. Either way, digital cameras offers the consumer the opportunity to improve the details on photos taken. Digital cameras also have preprogrammed modes either for landscape, portrait, sports, and low light shots.

Someone who is planning to purchase a digital camera must also consider its ergonomics. Would you rather have a mini camrea rather than a large one? Will you not have difficulties accessing the various buttons if you purchase the smaller gadget? Consumers are advised to first try out the cameras that they can lay their hands on. Go and find something that feels comfortable to your hands. Also, does the camera design suit your taste? Are the buttons easy to manipulate? Does the camera have an LCD? The LCD makes it possible to view the image immediately after it’s been taken. Check the menus that can be found on the LCD screen. See if the menus are not difficult to navigate.

Using the conventional cameras will require you to have rolls of film in order for you to enjoy taking pictures here and there. Unfortunately, you must purchase yourself a new roll if you’ve run out of films. Digital cameras come with memory cards that let you take a bunch of pictures. You also have the option of saving the images into your personal computer. You can then take another set of images once you’ve transferred the images. There is no need for you to purchase another memory card. You can then improve the quality of your photos since they are already in your personal computer. All that needs to be done is to manipulate the photos using the software that comes along with your camera. Therefore, it is not impossible to have different images for just a single shot taken.

Lastly, power supply plays a vital role for your camera. Do make sure that you purchase rechargeable batteries for your nifty gadget. Buying the ordinary batteries for your camera will prove disappointing and frustrating. It won’t take you long to realize that you’ve already run out of battery life. Therefore, using rechargeable batteries is the way to go!

It is suggested that the manual be perused once a person has purchased a camera for himself/herself. One may be surprised to see that even the simplest of digital cameras can get quite thick. There’s no reason to get intimidated! The manuals were published for the convenience of the consumers. Therefore, start opening that manual and get a move on! You will notice that the manual contains several information and illustrations that will definitely help the consumer understand how the gadget works. Analyzing the manual before using the camera will prove really helpful. You will notice that handling the device will be easier after you have perused the manual.

The manuals will also include certain images taken from different settings using manual cameras and digital cameras. These images will show you the differences of using either camera. There will also be images of the camera taken from various angles. These images will show you the different buttons that need to press for ce

Texas Hold’em Tips and Tricks

Texas Hold’em usually starts with two players and may end up in ten or more. First, the players place initial bets, or post the blinds. This is a standard poker game and so there are 52 cards shuffled in the deck. The dealer begins shuffling and doles out two cards per player with the faces down. These are the pocket cards or hole.

Since the round goes counterclockwise the “pre-flop” begins from the player on the left of the dealer to the right. There are several options that a player can bet depending on the “game limit”. He can choose the fixed limit, the pot limit, the spread limit and the no limit. The spread limit is a bet system wherein the player is given an option on a certain range of money (between $1 to $5 for instance) and the pot limit is a system wherein the player can choose a certain amount between the blind and the pot size.

After betting, players will choose whether they will fold, check or raise their bets. The dealer makes sure that the cards are secure from cheating by taking away the burn card (the top card on his deck). Then the “flop” begins.

The flop will determine whether a player will end up with a winning poker hand. The dealer gets three cards from the deck and lays them on the table with their faces up. The players will then pick up any card to match their hole that will be used to round up the poker hand.

Then the “turn” follows. After the players have chosen from the flop the next betting round will begin. The dealer will burn another top card and the players will choose their cards to round up the five-card hand poker.

Players will make another set of bets starting clockwise, sometimes double the amount. For the third time, the dealer will burn and flip a card. It is known as the “river” or the “fifth street”. When the players have picked their cards to complete the five cards of a poker hand, they will make bets for the last time.

Then clockwise again from the dealer, each player will reveal their cards in what is called the “showdown”. Eventually the player who revealed the best cards wins.

How to tell who beats whom? The ranking of winning poker hands go as follows: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four-of-a-Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three-of-a-Kind, Two Pair, One Pair and a High Card. Usually when the players have a tie they can split the pots.

A Royal Flush beats all the other hands because it is a straight Ace of one suit (diamonds, hearts, spades, and clubs). It is followed by Straight Flush which is a straight of an entire suit; Four of a Kind or Quads is four cards with similar ranks (e.g. four Kings); Full House is three cards of the same rank and one pair; Flush is an entire poker hand of similar suit (but not necessarily in order); Straight or Run are cards following a sequence of ranks (but not necessarily of the same suit); Three of a Kind or Set is just three cards having the same rank; Two Pair is a two sets of cards with similar ranks; One Pair is one set of card with similar ranks and when you have none of the hands mentioned here your highest card will determine your poker hand. Usually for hands that have leftovers such as four-of-a-kind, three-of-a-kind, etc., the kickers determine who wins the game if they have similar poker hands.

In Texas Hold’em your win depends largely on your knowledge of your odds. The more you know about the probability factor the higher your chances of winning. Lots of players will tell you this card game is quite easy to play but it takes a long time and a great deal of mastery in the calculation of odds before you can rake in the wins.

It is important to strategize even from the beginning. At the pre-flop, consider the following: The more the players, the harder it will be to compete. You can take advantage of playing a tight game if you notice that some players are betting aggressively. If your bankroll is small, you’ll want to bet in games with big pots but you cannot play in tight games that give high-payouts. Your position in Texas Hold’em also influences your win – if you are the dealer you can manipulate the pot size and gain upper hand.

Perhaps one of the exciting aspects of poker is the bluffing since one player can fool the other players into believing he is on a good position when the opposite is true. This is where the term “poker face” originated. Generally it is difficult to bluff with veteran poker players so you should know your opponents, even if you think few people are easier to fool than a crowd.

Intuition plays a great role in poker. You cannot bluff when you know that there are tight players who would not fold even when the stakes are high. You can sense a lot of player information by the kind of bets he makes and whether he raises, checks or folds. Only the seasoned players know how to bluff and bet as they wish, even if they have poor poker hands.

The lure of online Texas Hold’em comes from the fact that it is difficult to hack since poker software have encryption systems. Because of this, Texas Hold’em Poker remains to be the most popular poker game today.

4 Steps to Perfect Free Throws

NBA Finals, Game 7…Your team is down one point…One second left… A foul and two free throws coming… Who do you want at the charity stripe?

Of course, we’d like to have a Reggie Miller or a Larry Bird or even better Michael Jordan at the line to sink those crucial shots. Chances are, though, they’re not on your team. So now what? It’s up to you!

So how do you build the skill and confidence needed to win the big games at the charity stripe? 4 simple steps: Ritualize – Visualize – Optimize – Capitalize.

Free throws are an important part of your game. How many times have we seen games come down to the final seconds and either be won or lost at the free throw line? All the time! So learn these 4 timeless secrets and join the ranks of John Stockton and become a Great free throw shooter.

1. Ritualize

Ritualize means you create a specific repeating pattern of behavior prior to performance, a regular pre-task routine, which sharpens your focus, concentration and attention.

Reggie Miller would step up to the line holding the ball on his hip with his left hand and place his feet about 12-14 inches apart with his right foot slightly forward. He then would raise his arm straight up towards the basket with his hand bent as if he had just released the ball. Then he would take three consecutive dribbles, sit back into a slight crouch and let if fly. Every free throw was exactly the same.

Karl Malone could be seen mouthing something to himself (We have no idea what he was saying) right before he shot the ball. Whatever ritual you develop for yourself, know that it’s the most effective device for delivering yourself into the mindset you must be in to sink every free throw.

“Repetition brings familiarity, and familiarity is the opposite of the unknown.” – Steven Levenkron

2. Visualize

Visualize means mentally rehearsing or “seeing” in your mind what you intend to do before you do it. When you visualize perfect form and a flawless shot that draws nothing but the bottom of the net, it becomes exponentially more likely to happen.

You’ve heard the saying, “What you see is what you get”, haven’t you? Focus on the process and see perfection. You’ll find that visualization is a powerful tool.

“I see a mental movie before I hit every shot.” – Jack Nicklaus

3. Optimize

Optimize means allowing yourself to trust in yourself and your capabilities, to have the self-confidence to pull the ripcord, knowing the parachute will open. Simply put don’t hesitate! Delay does damage.

Nike said it best with their million dollar slogan: “Just Do It!” This is when shooting free throws just becomes automatic.

“You must seek to have control and then act with abandon!” – Anonymous

4. Capitalize

Capitalize means celebrate your success as well as the success of yourteammates. Pat yourself on the back with each success at the line. When you make your free throws savor the success, nourish it, grow it, use it – capitalize on it. Allow it to build your confidence in other aspects of your game – defense, offense or whatever. Let this positive energy ooze out all over you and your team.

“What I do best is share my enthusiasm.” – Bill Gates

With these easy-to-follow principles you can become the elite free throw shooter of your team. Actually, you can apply these principles to every part of your game. Whatever you do, keep on shooting!