Whistler is probably the first name that comes into your mind when you think of an enjoyable as well as memorable skiing vacation. Whistler resort situated amid the stunning West Coast Mountains of British Columbia, and about 120 kilometers north of Vancouver.

With the majestic Whistler and Blackcomb mountains as its backdrop, astounding scenery, and well-organized as well as most advanced lift system, skiing in Whistler is truly a wonderful experience. No wonder why many ski magazines regularly vote Whistler as the number one skiing resort in North America. However, Whistler is not only a skiing destination but also provides opportunities for a range of other winter and summer activities including snowboarding, bungee jumping, dog sledding, fishing, canoeing, and river rafting.

The resort has the longest ski season in the country as well as the largest skiing area in the whole of North America, with more than 8000 acres of skiable terrains. Apart from these, Whistler boasts of more than 200 runs, from the much famed Burnt Stew that is most suitable for beginners to the much exigent double black diamond run Davies Dervish which is perfect for veterans, and about 16 efficient lifts including two high speed gondolas, six high speed quads, two triple chairs, five surface lifts, and one double chair.

No matter you want to enjoy which type of skiing, Whistler provides excellent options for all types of skiing such as alpine skiing, free ride skiing, cross country skiing, and freestyle skiing. Alpine skiing is recommended for skiers with advanced abilities, and is most perfect to perform in skiing trails that are densely packed. As in the case of alpine skiing, free ride skiing is also most suitable for highly experienced skiers. On the other hand, cross country skiing or Nordic skiing is suitable as well as enjoyable for skiers of all levels, and is regarded as one of the best kept secrets of Whistler.

Located just five minutes walk from the marvelous pedestrained Whistler village, Lost Lake is regarded as a haven for cross country skiing in Whistler, and provides more than 30 kilometers of picturesque woodlands near a magnificent alpine lake. This area is well-maintained by the Whistler Resort Municipality, and a unique thing regarding this area is that it is stunningly lit so that one can enjoy cross country skiing even during night.

A mix of skiing and acrobatic techniques, freestyle skiing, consisting of aerials and moguls, is perhaps the most exciting among the different types of skiing. Options are also endless to enjoy other categories of skiing such as night skiing, telemark skiing, and powder skiing.

For those looking for skiing experience, Whistler offers superb Snowcat skiing facilities. Likewise, in order to enjoy the finest in backcountry skiing, Callaghan Country, regarded as Whistler’s playground for outdoor recreations, offers unique options. Superb options are also available for glacier skiing in Whistler, with the Blackcomb’s Horstman Glacier, which is opened during sun-drenched days. In addition, Whistler also provides excellent base for such types of skiing as heli skiing, with more than 1, 00,000 acres terrains.

Whistler also has a number of parks and pipes in order to facilitate for an enjoyable skiing. For instance, Nintendo, the award winning terrain park at Whistler Mountain, has terrains for all types of skiers, and is considered the biggest as well as the best in the world. In the Blackcomb area, there are three parks and one super pipe. The parks in Whistler consist of three levels of terrains: blue, black, and double black.

Above all, skiing and snowboard schools in Whistler Blackcomb areas render excellent programs to cater to every level of skiers. There are even lessons as well as private learning areas, exclusively designed for kids. Additionally, women’s only skiing camps and teens’ multi day programs are available. Further, many of the ski schools found in the area tailor skiing packages according to the unique requirements of skiers.

Apart from these, many ski resorts and hotels in the area provide superb options for a memorable skiing. For unique experiences, some of the resorts in the area provide astounding ski chalets. A specialty of these options is that many of them are located within easy reach of the lifts.

Whistler hosts a range of significant skiing events. For instance, Whistler Mountain is a venue for World Cup ski and snowboard races that is held during the beginning of the season. Similarly, Blackcomb Mountain hosts World Cup freestyle competition every January. Besides, Whistler has been chosen as the venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Nowadays, many investors’ portfolios include investments such as mutual funds, stocks and bonds. But the variety of securities you have at your disposal does not end there. Another type of security, called an option, presents a world of opportunity to sophisticated investors.

The power of options lies in their versatility. They enable you to adapt or adjust your position according to any situation that arises. Options can be as speculative or as conservative as you want. This means you can do everything from protecting a position from a decline to outright betting on the movement of a market or index.

This versatility, however, does not come without its costs. Options are complex securities and can be extremely risky. This is why, when trading options, you’ll see a disclaimer like the following:

Options involve risks and are not suitable for everyone. Option trading can be speculative in nature and carry substantial risk of loss. Only invest with risk capital.

Despite what anybody tells you, option trading involves risk, especially if you don’t know what you are doing. Because of this, many people suggest you steer clear of options and forget their existence.

On the other hand, being ignorant of any type of investment places you in a weak position. Perhaps the speculative nature of options doesn’t fit your style. No problem – then don’t speculate in options. But, before you decide not to invest in options, you should understand them. Not learning how options function is as dangerous as jumping right in: without knowing about options you would not only forfeit having another item in your investing toolbox but also lose insight into the workings of some of the world’s largest corporations. Whether it is to hedge the risk of foreign-exchange transactions or to give employees ownership in the form of stock options, most multi-nationals today use options in some form or another.

This tutorial will introduce you to the fundamentals of options. Keep in mind that most options traders have many years of experience, so don’t expect to be an expert immediately after reading this tutorial. If you aren’t familiar with how the stock market works, check out the Stock Basics tutorial.

Whistler is one of the North America’s most sought after vacation spot, situated between the two coastal mountains such as the Whistler and the Blackcomb. Located just two hours drive from Vancouver in British Columbia and Seattle in Washington.

Whistler is an unparalleled vacation spot, bestowed with an impressive landscape comprising unbeatable mountain peaks, crystal-like lakes, soothing surroundings, lush emerald forested areas, beautiful waterfalls, and picturesque valleys. Whistler is more popular as a four-season resort, proving great options to enjoy an array of activities including both summer and winter.

In winter, Whistler becomes an incredible destination filled with snow, and provides base for a number of activities. Skiing is one of the most popular winter activities that can be enjoyed in Whistler. With more than 200 marked trails and about 7500 acres of skiable terrains, Whistler and Blackcomb mountains provide great options for skiing.

No matter you want to any type of skiing such as alpine skiing, cross country skiing, glacier skiing, or freestyle skiing, the destination has superb options. For instance, the Lost Lake, just a minutes drive from the pedestrained Whistler Village, is a great venue for enjoying cross country skiing.

Likewise, the Blackcomb’s glacier skiing is an excellent choice for glacier skiing. For those interested in backcountry skiing, nothing would be better than destinations such as Callaghan Country. Above all, a great number of ski schools and other facilities operate here to cater to every level of skier, from novice to experienced hands. Perhaps for these reasons, Whistler has been continuously ranked number one skiing resort in Whistler by many leading ski magazines.

However, skiing is not the only winter activity that can be enjoyed here. Visitors touring Whistler during winter can also engage in a number of other activities such as dog sledding, sleigh riding, cat skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling, helicopter sightseeing tours, bald eagle viewing, heli skiing and snowboarding, and much more.

When comes to summer activities, Whistler provides limitless options. During summer, Whistler becomes a golfer’s paradise, with a continuum of golf courses designed by such legendary golf architects as Robert Trent Jones Jr, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, and Robert Muir Graves. A specialty is that all of them are set in the backdrop of scenic vistas, which allows you to play golf while enjoying the breathtaking vistas of the place.

Another popular summer activity is hiking in Garibaldi Provincial Park, which is named after Giuseppe Garibaldi – a renowned Italian soldier, and sprawling over an area of about 194,650 hectares.

Whistler is also a perfect base for enjoying activities like mountain biking, with a great number of summer trails catering to every level of rider from beginners and intermediates to expert hands. For example, if you are a beginner, then take a mountain biking ride through the Magic Park, consisting of trouble-free rolling train and fun obstacles.

For those who want to enjoy an exhilarating summer activity in Whistler, then one of the best options would be to go for rafting in some of the best rivers in the place, such as, the Green River, the Squamish River, the Elaho-Squamish River, and the Cheakamus River, each of which abounds in natural beauty.

Similarly, for those who want to engage in some activities that are unique while your stay at Whistler, then jet boating on the serene upper Lillooet Lake would be a great experience. Popular summer activities that can be enjoyed in the area also include fishing, flightseeing, eco tours, bungee jumping, zipline trekking, and more.

Apart from these activities, Whistler renders excellent options for sightseeing with a great number of attractions such as Green Lake Park, Brandywine Falls Provincial Park, Narin Falls Provincial Park, Whistler Museum and Archives, Whistler Farmers’ Market, and Marketplace Play structure.

Additionally, since the streets of Whistler are packed with an array of boutiques, shops, and art galleries, the destination is considered a haven for shopping. Above all, worth mentioning is the exciting nightlife of Whistler.

In short, things to see and do in Whistler are of such a great amount that a whole year is not enough to enjoy and explore them all. Hence, it is no wonder why people from across the world flock here. In order to provide visitors with ultimate holiday experience, Whistler provides great accommodation choices ranging from ski-in and ski-out chalets and condos to hotels, resorts, and villas complete with high-end comforts.

Bet that sounds like an online dating tagline. But that’s not what it means. Nerdy, but true, every night I go though my watchlist. Actually, I only go through my growing list of 75 tickers once a week–usually Sunday, highlighting anything interesting. Then each night for the rest of the week, I only keep an eye on the interesting ones (in addition to what I already own). Tonight I had a peek through and I must say, there isn’t anything too hot on my list. However, I did like ACL–it’s just too pricey for me. So I’ll refrain. (For me at least, that’s easier than holding back on a cute dress I can’t afford.) In any case, I also set a trigger to let me know when MFE gets to 40, as it’s rolling between 40 & 44. How ’bout you? Anything on your hotlist?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Trading Girl

I got a comment on my blog following my post on rates going negative, and it’s given me food for thought about other related posts.  So to that end, I’m going to talk a little about measuring spreads and looking at indicators of spreads widening or tightening.

First, a little 3-D info visualization wizardry (SAS is awesome).  Here’s a 3-D surface I created based on 5 years of daily data at the 2yr, 5yr, and 10yr durations for investment grade bond spreads over Treasuries:

Just like the Treasury yield curve, you’d expect the spread curve to be upward sloping (longer duration, more risk exposure, so you need to be paid more).  But you can see in parts of the surface where it wasn’t.  Why?  Because default and migration risk (the risk of a credit migrating to a riskier state) was higher in the nearer term than further in the future.  In the Treasury space, an inverted yield curve is usually a harbinger of an upcoming recession.  Something to pay attention to.

So I started thinking about how to estimate spreads and spread changes.  There are models and model vendors out there, for sure.  All have respective strengths, but also one universal weakness: they are abstractions of the real world.  There’s no way you can encapsulate the whole world into an equation or even into a system of equations.

But having said that, it pays to look at them because the gains you get by viewing risk in a defined, systematic way are much better – more consistent and more measurable – than trying to assess it judgmentally.  The literature talks about structural models based on the work of Merton.  I’m not going to delve into the model, but suffice it to say it relies on the interplay between a company’s equity and its debt.  The easiest way to look at this?  Stock options.

And to that end, I looked at the VIX and its relationship to credit spreads.  Because the VIX measures volatility of equity options, it seemed to be a quick easy way to shortcut/bypass all of the other work that goes into estimating spreads and it’s easily accessible data.  The document below gives you a sense of what I looked at and how.  Specifically, I ran some regressions to look at how various spreads responded to levels in the VIX over the last 5 years:

On the surface, it does a pretty good job of explaining spreads.  When I performed the first regression using a linear model, the R-squared was 0.87 – pretty high & pretty intuitive.  As the VIX rises, spreads tend to increase.

But it does have some issues.  If you look carefully, you’ll see when the VIX is very low, the model tends to overestimate where 2yr spreads will be.  As the VIX rises, the model starts to underestimate spreads and then overestimates again when volatility is at its highest.  Plus, it didn’t fit the data at the higher end of the VIX spectrum at all.  You can see there are diminishing marginal effects at work (After you get beyond a certain level of volatility, spreads don’t rise as fast as they did before).

So I re-estimated the data using a linear-log model.  Here you can think about a percentage change in the VIX corresponding to a basis point move in the 2yr spread.  I liked the fit of the line better, but looking at the scatterplot, it’s clear it follows a similar pattern as the linear model.  Overestimation of spreads when VIX is low, but then it underestimates as the VIX increases.  And it underestimates pretty consistently across the different durations and grades.  High grade spreads tended to fit better than the high yield spread I tested, but high yield companies have more idiosyncratic risks than the investment grade ones do.  Some companies are just not run well and a simple model like this is not going to pick that up.

So what have we learned from this?  While both types of models are correct in relating the relative movement between the VIX and spreads, accuracy is lacking especially at the points where we’re most concerned about spreads: when volatility is  above normal and rising.  You’ll need to rely on more than just the VIX/optionality of debt & equity in the firm’s capital structure to make an accurate assessment of spreads.

It’s a good place to start, but it’s incomplete.

It’s hot. It’s humid. Nothing would feel better than splashing in the ocean or a couple of laps in the pool. Great idea but, what do you wear? For most women searching for the perfect swimsuit is next to mission impossible. For women over 40 it is even worse. Here are some of the most common mistakes we make when looking for a bathing suit. We buy swimsuit tops that don’t provide the proper support. Women over 40 tend to have breasts that require more support. The little tube tops or skimpy triangle bikini tops just don’t cut it. Treat your search for a bathing suit, or suit top, like a search for a good bra. if you are large-busted look for tops that provide good support with built in bras and thicker straps.
We buy bathing suits made out of shiny fabrics. Shiny fabrics usually look good if you are model thin. If you are an average to large size woman, a shiny bathing suit will add pounds to your frame.
We still buy swimsuits in colors that don’t flatter us. Despite the fact we are a little older, women over 40 still buy swimwear in colors that are too bright or wash them out. Look for colors that will flatter you before and after you tan. Don’t assume that black and white are safe. If you are extremely fair-skinned a black or stark white bathing suit could make you look ashen.
We don’t buy swimsuits that emphasize proportion. If you have short legs you should look for suits that are high cut on the leg to elongate them. Color blocking is another way to emphasize your attributes and de-emphasize your problem areas. If you have large hips, choose suits that have a dark color block on the bottom. If you have a large bust and small hips, the opposite might be beneficial. Similarly, color blocks on your midsection can accentuate your waistline.

Scuba diving is a fun, exciting, exhilarating sport. Scuba divers get to explore the depths of the mysterious underwater world in a safe way, assuming they follow the rules and regulations of scuba diving. When scuba divers get hurt, people refer to the incident as a “scuba diving accident.” However, a trained, careful diver should very rarely have an accident. A majority of scuba diving incidents leading to injury or death can be avoided. In other words, these incidents are not accidents, but usually failures by the divers to scuba dive safely and carefully.

If you were to analyze scuba diving safety rules and regulations, you would notice that they are designed to eliminate almost all chance for any accident to occur. Safe scuba divers follow these rules, leading to good diving habits, and unsafe diving is caused by bad diving habits. Almost all scuba diving “accidents” can be avoided by following good diving practices and creating good habits. Some of the most common bad diving practices leading to scuba diving accidents include deep air diving, diving alone, diving without the proper training, diving in a medically unfit or overweight condition and failure to maintain certification and proper training.

Good scuba divers who are generally able to avoid all scuba accidents never dive beyond the limits of what their training has taught them. They regularly practice and improve upon scuba diving skills and always dive with another experience scuba diver. They also stay in good shape in order to avoid accidents caused by being unable to swim for an extended period. Finally, they always plan their trips in safe locations and keep an eye on weather reports in order to avoid scuba diving accidents related to storms or choppy water.

It is also important to realize that not everyone can dive even if they receive the proper training. In order to avoid accidents, people who have breathing problems, are over-weight or are cluster phobic should not dive regardless of the extent of training they receive. People who have had bad experiences in the water, are poor swimmers or have an abnormal fear of drowning should also avoid scuba diving. It is also important to be able to react calmly and quickly if equipment malfunctions, or any other problem occurs, and therefore, people with panic or anxiety disorders should also avoid diving.

Although almost all scuba diving accidents are avoidable by maintaining safe diving habits, a small percentage of scuba diving accidents are unavoidable due to unknown external factors. For example, some years ago two German divers died in Yugoslavia when a local started using dynamite to fish at the dive-site. The explosion knocked the two men unconscious and they drowned. Scuba accidents like this are almost impossible to avoid, but luckily they are also very rare.

Perfume is now a fashion statement. Just like a fashionable handbag or nice shoos it gives your look a touch of extra elegance. But there are so many women’s perfumes, how to select the right one? Discover different types of fragrances and the way to find the best perfume for you.

Even though there are hundreds of different perfumes on sale, all of them can be divided into several major categories:

floral
fresh
woody
oriental
fougere

When do you plan to wear your perfume – everyday or for special occasion?

When selecting a perfume it’s very important to know where you are going to wear it. Not every fragrance can be worn at work. For daytime it’s best to go for fresh or light floral scents. Many companies have a “no perfume” in their dress code all together. Never stopped me, from wearing one. A fresh scent applied moderately should be all right. Most retailers mention in the description whether a particular product is for day or evening wear.

For a romantic evening or a party, you can choose a completely different scent. Luxurious floral fragrances are just as suitable for the evening as they are for the day, and you can also wear something rich with woody or oriental notes.

Trying perfumes – testers and free samples

You, probably already have a good idea what kind of fragrance you are looking for. But you still shouldn’t buy perfume relying only on its description. Trying it yourself is the best way to select a scent that is the best for you. You can do it in any department store or perfume shop – they always have testers.

Just sniffing the tester bottle won’t give you the real idea of the scent, it’s best to spray perfume on a little tester paper that the shops provide. Keep the paper with the fragrance and smell it in a few hours again. Most quality perfumes change their scent as you wear them, the scent might be quite different from the original.

Another great way to test perfumes is to ask for samples. Most department stores have free perfume samples and if they see, that you are interested in buying something, they will happily give you a couple of samples. Another way to get samples of perfume is online, there are many websites that will send you a free sample of perfumes hoping that you will buy from them later.

Finding discount perfumes online

An expensive department store is a good place to try and choose your perfumes, but is it the best place to buy? It’s certainly not, because being a smart shopper you can find the very same brands of designer’s perfumes much cheaper in specialized discount perfume shops and online.

Getting fragrances online is actually the easiest way to find cheap perfumes. Big online shops keep their prices significantly lower than department stores. They sell hundreds of perfume bottles a day and don’t have to pay rent and stuff salaries, so online shops simply have less expenses and they pass the savings to you.

The quality of your perfume will be just the same as you would buy it directly from Lancome of Ester Lauder counter. But you have to make sure that the online shop you choose sells genuine designers brands. Some of them specialized in selling knockoffs – replicas of famous designer’s perfumes. They say that it smells the same, but it doesn’t, not after you wear it for a couple hours.

Carefully chosen perfume can be a great accessory. Surely it’s expensive, but for all the hard work a modern women do, we deserve a little treat, wouldn’t you agree?

I have spent a considerable amount of time in the past year watching the decline and fall of the newspaper empire. At times I have had a ‘you get what you pay for’ take on the situation while at others I find it sad that an important industry is in a rapid downward spiral. Now add to the mix the musings / rantings of Rupert Murdoch and his thought that he can revive his industry through his proposed tactics and you are close to a three ring circus with all clowns and no ringmaster.

You see, when I get the most value out of a newspaper it really has nothing to do with the hard news. In fact, I have already heard most of the news that I care about before a newspaper gets my fingers dirty (which I think is one of the cool things about newspapers because there are fewer tactile experiences in the online world). What I devour though in the newspaper is any investigative reporting. Anything that took time to compile and either promotes someone doing good or exposes someone doing bad. That’s one place where the printed ‘news’ works well. There could be others as well.

I would like to propose some possible solutions / options for newspapers to consider.

Let hard news ‘reporting’ be online and embrace it. The Internet is becoming a more real time medium and the printed word will not be able to compete. As a result, I would love to see in a newspaper a 4-6 page section that is just chock full of snip-its about news items. Just the facts. No opinions. Just a strong aggregation of the high points and no one’s opinion attached. Let me decide what to do next after you have gathered it up for me. Stop telling me what to think.Tell me what you think but don’t force me to think it. Now I am not suggesting that you go the Newsweek route and just have all op-eds all the time because quite frankly I hate that format. It’s arrogant and it is designed to divide and conquer. We have enough divisiveness in this world. What if you just had a strong stable of consistent op-ed type players who clearly identify where there allegiance is and then provide that content for their audience as the other side of the ‘news’. If I don’t like one or the other then I either don’t read it or, even better, I read it to be better informed. Present both sides of arguments REGULARLY as part of your format rather than trying to look balanced by occasionally bringing in someone from the other side as a sacrificial lamb for your readers to offer up to their ideological god.Be truly balanced. Stop taking sides for goodness sake. This Washington Post v Washington Times, right v. left crap is just that. Crap. I would LOVE to see a newspaper talk evenly about both sides of the same coin. That would take guts but I think there is a real market for it. I would read that one for sure.Recognize the real audience. The printed word is more for the thinker, the ponderer (I made that word up so sue me) and the person who wants to digest the news. Online is for the ADHD world we live in of ‘read and reject’ and ‘consume and dsipose’. The quick hit. The surface player. Let the online world serve the ‘real-timers’ and you serve the thinkers. Since an investigative technique takes time to put together there won’t be the ‘it’s old news before the ink hits the paper’ issue.Make a difference. As I stated earlier I think that a newspaper that was out there uncovering the good, the bad and the ugly of the world with long-term investigative pieces that dig deep and create change and impact would be awesome. You would have less staff because you were not concentrating on the minutiae of each insignificant story. Leave that to the online quick hit environment. Be a true change agent. I would pay for that and I think advertisers would to.Embrace bloggers and tweeters. Rather than view the real time nature of the web as a threat and somehow ‘beneath your standards’ embrace it for your readers and help them sift through it. What if you put yourself in the position of telling your dedicated readers that “we trust this or that blog” because of the following reasons. That would be cool. Bloggers would then be a much different animal if your could have a frienemy or co-opetition like relationship rather than a completely adversarial one.Let the engines index your content. This one’s easy. Don’t be an idiot.Stop playing political games. You report news not set public opinion. When you choose sides you actually lose credibility. That’s not reporting that is campaigning.

As always there is more and I would love to hear your thoughts. If there is a paper that is doing some or all of these please let me know. Where else could newspapers evolve and take full advantage of the new world media order rather than act like there is a way to preserve their no longer relevant status quo?

Thanks for reading and have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Social Media Monitoring in Just 60-Seconds. Guaranteed!

Another great article by Christopher.  Lists some well known Internet and pay options.  There are other illegal options of course which I am glad he didn’t list.  Click here to read.

Perfume is now a fashion statement. Just like a fashionable handbag or nice shoos it gives your look a touch of extra elegance. But there are so many women’s perfumes, how to select the right one? Discover different types of fragrances and the way to find the best perfume for you.

Even though there are hundreds of different perfumes on sale, all of them can be divided into several major categories:

floral
fresh
woody
oriental
fougere

When do you plan to wear your perfume – everyday or for special occasion?

When selecting a perfume it’s very important to know where you are going to wear it. Not every fragrance can be worn at work. For daytime it’s best to go for fresh or light floral scents. Many companies have a “no perfume” in their dress code all together. Never stopped me, from wearing one. A fresh scent applied moderately should be all right. Most retailers mention in the description whether a particular product is for day or evening wear.

For a romantic evening or a party, you can choose a completely different scent. Luxurious floral fragrances are just as suitable for the evening as they are for the day, and you can also wear something rich with woody or oriental notes.

Trying perfumes – testers and free samples

You, probably already have a good idea what kind of fragrance you are looking for. But you still shouldn’t buy perfume relying only on its description. Trying it yourself is the best way to select a scent that is the best for you. You can do it in any department store or perfume shop – they always have testers.

Just sniffing the tester bottle won’t give you the real idea of the scent, it’s best to spray perfume on a little tester paper that the shops provide. Keep the paper with the fragrance and smell it in a few hours again. Most quality perfumes change their scent as you wear them, the scent might be quite different from the original.

Another great way to test perfumes is to ask for samples. Most department stores have free perfume samples and if they see, that you are interested in buying something, they will happily give you a couple of samples. Another way to get samples of perfume is online, there are many websites that will send you a free sample of perfumes hoping that you will buy from them later.

Finding discount perfumes online

An expensive department store is a good place to try and choose your perfumes, but is it the best place to buy? It’s certainly not, because being a smart shopper you can find the very same brands of designer’s perfumes much cheaper in specialized discount perfume shops and online.

Getting fragrances online is actually the easiest way to find cheap perfumes. Big online shops keep their prices significantly lower than department stores. They sell hundreds of perfume bottles a day and don’t have to pay rent and stuff salaries, so online shops simply have less expenses and they pass the savings to you.

The quality of your perfume will be just the same as you would buy it directly from Lancome of Ester Lauder counter. But you have to make sure that the online shop you choose sells genuine designers brands. Some of them specialized in selling knockoffs – replicas of famous designer’s perfumes. They say that it smells the same, but it doesn’t, not after you wear it for a couple hours.

Carefully chosen perfume can be a great accessory. Surely it’s expensive, but for all the hard work a modern women do, we deserve a little treat, wouldn’t you agree?

A little effort can result in BIG calorie savings!

Tomorrow’s Thanksgiving! Naturally, high on our lists of things to be thankful for is the abundance of food we enjoy on that—and every—day.

Also in great abundance in holiday foods: calories in the form of sugars and fat. Calories aren’t our enemy. But an overabundance of calories can be.

So here are some tips to cut the calorie count of your favorite holiday dishes:

1. Going homemade can make a HUGE difference in the calorie count of your traditional favorites. Take cranberry sauce, for example. If you buy it canned, you’re getting two-thirds of a cup of sugar (488 calories) per can! If you make it yourself, you can use artificial sweetener instead of sugar. Savings: 81 calories per serving.

2. Use lowfat versions of ingredients. For instance, try substituting lowfat buttermilk in your mashed potatoes. Tasty AND low-fat / low-cal!

3. Especially if your crowd is small, try cooking a turkey breast rather than a whole turkey. Breast meat is much lower in fat and calories than dark meat.

4. Shun creamed veggies. Instead, steam them. They’ll retain more nutrients in addition to containing fewer calories and fat grams. (Just go easy on that butter! Try spray-on butter-flavored margarine instead.)

5. Go whole wheat. Whole wheat breads and rolls are not only higher in fiber, they’re also lower in calories.

So there you have them: 5 tips for a healthier holiday menu. Remember: You have the POWER!

Perfume is now a fashion statement. Just like a fashionable handbag or nice shoos it gives your look a touch of extra elegance. But there are so many women’s perfumes, how to select the right one? Discover different types of fragrances and the way to find the best perfume for you.

Even though there are hundreds of different perfumes on sale, all of them can be divided into several major categories:

floral
fresh
woody
oriental
fougere

When do you plan to wear your perfume – everyday or for special occasion?

When selecting a perfume it’s very important to know where you are going to wear it. Not every fragrance can be worn at work. For daytime it’s best to go for fresh or light floral scents. Many companies have a “no perfume” in their dress code all together. Never stopped me, from wearing one. A fresh scent applied moderately should be all right. Most retailers mention in the description whether a particular product is for day or evening wear.

For a romantic evening or a party, you can choose a completely different scent. Luxurious floral fragrances are just as suitable for the evening as they are for the day, and you can also wear something rich with woody or oriental notes.

Trying perfumes – testers and free samples

You, probably already have a good idea what kind of fragrance you are looking for. But you still shouldn’t buy perfume relying only on its description. Trying it yourself is the best way to select a scent that is the best for you. You can do it in any department store or perfume shop – they always have testers.

Just sniffing the tester bottle won’t give you the real idea of the scent, it’s best to spray perfume on a little tester paper that the shops provide. Keep the paper with the fragrance and smell it in a few hours again. Most quality perfumes change their scent as you wear them, the scent might be quite different from the original.

Another great way to test perfumes is to ask for samples. Most department stores have free perfume samples and if they see, that you are interested in buying something, they will happily give you a couple of samples. Another way to get samples of perfume is online, there are many websites that will send you a free sample of perfumes hoping that you will buy from them later.

Finding discount perfumes online

An expensive department store is a good place to try and choose your perfumes, but is it the best place to buy? It’s certainly not, because being a smart shopper you can find the very same brands of designer’s perfumes much cheaper in specialized discount perfume shops and online.

Getting fragrances online is actually the easiest way to find cheap perfumes. Big online shops keep their prices significantly lower than department stores. They sell hundreds of perfume bottles a day and don’t have to pay rent and stuff salaries, so online shops simply have less expenses and they pass the savings to you.

The quality of your perfume will be just the same as you would buy it directly from Lancome of Ester Lauder counter. But you have to make sure that the online shop you choose sells genuine designers brands. Some of them specialized in selling knockoffs – replicas of famous designer’s perfumes. They say that it smells the same, but it doesn’t, not after you wear it for a couple hours.

Carefully chosen perfume can be a great accessory. Surely it’s expensive, but for all the hard work a modern women do, we deserve a little treat, wouldn’t you agree?

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That is our first post in our new blog

Sorry, but I just got home and it is a little late to do a post. I will say this, the mkt. acted pretty much like I thought it would today, and if it holds true it should be down some more tomorrow. However, as I sit and write this I see that the futures are up significantly for a late night, and I also see the Eur/Usd has broken out of the top of that wedge pattern I have been watching. If this holds overnight, then we will be looking for a rally tomorrow. However, we have a slew of data coming out in the morning that will move this mkt. We have decreasing v as expected, and I imagine it should be even lower tomorrow. Now, if initial claims, personal spending / income and Mich. Sentiment or 2/3 of these come out wte, I think we will see some massive selling in the morning as positions are closed on bad news for the long weekend. I think afternoon v will be a pittance. If they are better than expected, I think we will have a slightly down or up day, probably in the 20-50 point range. Friday, well Friday last year was up 181 points, but since 1952 Friday has only closed over 50 points from the open, either way, 3 times. This includes last year. So any big move on Friday will be an anomaly. The last 4 years, Monday has been a down day, and 7 of the last 10 years have been down on Monday.

So, unless we have some kind of gigantic freaky move up tomorrow, that has legs, I will hold my short positions through the long weekend. I realize I will lose some option premium, but I think it will pay off. I don’t know if I will post tomorrow night, or at all until Sunday, but I might. In case I don’t, I pray you all have an awesome Thanksgiving weekend, clear your heads, and trade well and prosper next week. AKOT

This year there is no camp or anything for year 9`s but we are doing sustainability week. This week consists of lots of activities for the students to learn about the environment and how to look after the world and make it a better place for our children and our children’s children. The time table for the sustainability week follows as below:

Wednesday: Making a plant box. (This was fun I was one of the first to finish, it took a lot of hard work but I completed it thoroughly.)
 Thursday: Visiting the sanctuary at UNITEC. (This was a great experience and I had never been here before.)
Friday: Painting. (This was painting of things from the environment and nature and having a recycling perspective of the world.)
Monday: Making a preserve. This was making a preserve and baking it was heaps of fun.
Tuesday: Planting a plant in our plant box. (This was fun we learnt about plants and how to plant and care for them at the same time.)

Overall, this was a fun experience but I don’t think plants or anything related is something I want to pursue as a career or anything more serious. This was a great opportunity to do something outside the class room for once and learn more about sustainability.

By Tayla Harding 9CH

I used to go one of two routes when writing programs: (1) Include an options statement in the program to make it run how I want (2) Leave out the options statement and let the performance of the program be determined by the user’s preset system options.  Often (2) occurs because I have written a program for myself, and I know what my default options will be.  But, often, I share programs that were originally only intended for my own use.

Typically (1) is not necessary, but performance and/or output may not be optimized if certain options are not set properly.  For instance, if I’ve got a program that creates ~20k local macro variables as part of its processing, it’s probably best that SYMBOLGEN is not turned on when it’s executed.  So, what to do?  Well, by using PROC OPTSAVE and PROC OPTLOAD, you can allow your programs to run the way you want, without overwriting users’ options.

At the beginning of your program, before the options statement, insert the following:

proc optsave out=libref.dataset;

You don’t have to specify the ‘out=’ option – the default is SASUSER.MYOPTS, or WORK.MYOPTS if SASUSER is unavailable.  I prefer to specify the location myself with a data set name that won’t likely interfere with anything the user would not want overwritten – something like WORK.<program name>_OPTSET.  Then, simply set the options that are appropriate for the program.  At the end of the program, insert the following:

proc optload data=libref.dataset;

This will restore the user’s options to those which were in place before the program was run.  Voila! Now your program will run at its best without mucking about with anyone’s preferred options.

General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) has seen at least some decent trading action today, despite the softness in the market.  The stock was reaffirmed as “Overweight” at JPMorgan, but the research call sounded much more positive than the same $17.00 price target.  The firm believes hot spots in the financial sector of its operations have been reduced mostly down to commercial real estate now.  The firm now sees this being a tailwind for earnings ahead.  According to OptionsHawk.com, there has been some substantial options trading activity around this as well.

Joe Kunkle of OptionsHawk noted , “Just saw a buyer of 131,500 January 2011 $22.50 calls for the 76 cent offer.  On the day 210,000 calls have traded, 1.5X average already, and just 22,000 puts, 0.25X average, showing the shift to bullish sentiment.  Other large purchases have been in January 2010 $17.50 and $21 calls.  Shares of GE are hitting highs on the day and near a bit of a breakout from recent resistance at $16.25, potentially looking to fill an October gap to $16.60.  This trade is looking for a whole lot more, though, possibly an inverse head and shoulders breakout at $17.50 that would imply a move to $28 by 2011.  The conglomerate may looks to sell parts to focus on it’s core business and trades 2.78X cash value, just 13X free cash flow.  The GE capital Portfolio is also seeing significant improvements and may be a big addition to it’s bottom line.  Implied volatility remains unchanged at 31%, near 52 week lows.”

Shares are up 1% at $16.18 today, and this would mark the highest close since the end of October as long as it closes above $16.09.  The 2009 to 2010 transition for GE and its revenues and earnings is also going to be a wild card.  Thomson Reuters is calling for $0.99 EPS in 20098 and $0.92 EPS in 2010, but on revenues of $154.99 billion in 2009 and $151.36 billion in 2010.

Taking that into consideration and considering that the NBC Universal deal is in the air and considering that GE was trying to unload its appliances unit a year and a half ago, all those estimates and the financial condition could be vastly different if the capital markets and if deal making continues to improve.

Jon C. Ogg
November 24, 2009

This week has been kind of flat for my account, but last week, oh last week! On 11/4, I ‘d purchased 2 orders of Sunpower (SPWRA) options (jan calls) for 3.20. I bought them considering the stock had been rolling and was at the bottom of a roll, which has worked for me in the past. But on 11/19, the company reported improper accounting practices, which had inflated their profits. I had a trigger to let me know if the options dropped below $2, but I didn’t have a sell order attached to it. By the time I got the message, the options had dropped to $1.10 apiece (we’re talking just a couple of hours). So I lost $400 on that one. It’s down to about .45 cents now. But it was really my bad. I should have set a trigger to automatically sell the position if it hit that low. I learn a good lesson every time something like this happens. I’m thankful though that I’ve got a good money management plan: I keep 30 percent in cash at all times, 50 percent in stocks on which I sell covered calls, and 20 percent in options. So this plan keeps me from losing my shirt.

Yesterday, I bought some options in TUP. It was severely oversold, has good fundamentals, and a steady climb on the 30 day ma and 7 day ma.

Looking toward tomorrow, my house is filled with the wonderful smells of good food cooking. I’m thankful for so much–great kids, a calm, a cozy home, the ability to run, and the chance for a better life.

God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving,
Trading Girl