7 Email Marketing Best Practices

October 11th, 2009

Email is the most used service on the Internet and, doubtless, most useful. Many people use the Internet only for checking their emails. Email marketing can be useful only if done right. Otherwise, it can get you more harm that benefits. However, there are things you can do in order to ensure that your email marketing campaign is going to be successful. In this article we provide you with 7 email marketing best practices.

Deliverability

Deliverability is probably the most important issue in todays email marketing business. There are many spam emails and many legitimate emails are flagged as spam so they are not delivered. They are not getting thru ISP spam filters. Good deliverability ratio is the first step in successful email campaign because if your emails arent delivered then you dont even have an email campaign!

In order to ensure that your emails will have good deliverability you have to choose your email marketing vendors wisely. You have to check if they are on Blacklist or Whitelist. There are different organizations like Spamhaus project and SpamAssasin that have their own lists which are used by ISP. If your email service provider is blacklisted your emails wont be delivered! Also, you have to ensure that your domain name isnt blacklisted. In order to maximize your deliverability it is recommended that your email service provider offers Habeas Sender Warranty Email Header.

CAN-SPAM Compliance

Your email newsletter should be CAN-SPAM Compliant. It is recommended that you require double opt-in subscription so that your subscribers have to confirm their request to be part of your email newsletter. Dont add your subscribers without their permission and you should avoid adding them manually even if you have their permission. It is good that they do it using double opt-in method. Also, avoid using pre-checked subscription boxes.

It is essential that you provide your subscribers with an easy way to unsubscribe from your email newsletter at any time, when they want. It is good that you offer one-click unsubscription process with an unique address. This way there will be much less requests from your subscribers that you remove them.

CAN-SPAM Law also requires from email publishers that they include their physical postal address so you should include it, too. Your have to show your subscribers that you are legitimate company which have a presence in offline world, too.

HTML and plain-text versions

It is essential to offer your visitors to choose if they want to receive your email newsletter in HTML or plain-text format. It means that you should regularly send both types. Sending HTML newsletters have more benefits than plain-text email newsletters. You can use email tracking only in HTML newsletter with image embedding, HTML newsletters have better click-thru ratio because they look like the real web sites. You can hide long URLs so that they will look professional.

However, some people prefer plain-text versions and reasons are different. They use email clients that dont support HTML emails. Another thing is that HTML newsletter types are larger than plain-text newsletters. Also, one of the reasons why some people dont receive HTML emails is security. In HTML newsletters some people can embed malicious scripts or use them for phishing (when they pretend that they are representatives of one company and when people click on a certain link they are taken to their web site that is designed almost identically like original). It is mostly used in financial fraud attempts.

From and Subject fields

Your From and Subject fields are very important for getting better open ratio and therefore to have successful email campaign. You have to remember several simple rules.

It is important that your From field be consistent. You have to choose one name, whether it will be a company name or personal name and use it constantly. Once you change your From field it is most likely that your open rates will decline.

Speaking about Subject field, it has to be short and catchy, to grab attention of your subscribers. Your email has to stand out in usually overloaded inboxes. It is important that you dont shout so instead of

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH

use

Exclusive Interview with

It is very good that you make your subject field standardized and that the title be something related from the content of that current issue.

For example, if you have a newsletter called Email Articles your subject line can be something like this:

[Email Articles] How to Improve Your Open Rates, Issue #10, August 29th, 2005

If your email newsletter has a longer title, for example, Email Marketing Articles you can use this:

[EMA] How to Improve Your Open Rates, Issue #10, August 29th, 2005

Personalization & Segmentation

Personalization is connected with Subject fields, too. Some people like to include first names of their subscribers in subject lines in order to have better open ratio.
Personalization is also very effective when it is used in editors welcome message or in articles.

For example,

Dear !*First_Name*!, welcome to the 10th issue of Email Marketing Articles.

Segmentation is the most important part in marketing. What am I selling and to whom? It is not the same to sell your software to novice users (newbies) or to seasoned users (knowbies). Also, it is not the same to market your software to small business companies and corporation. It is good that you make a good segmentation of your email newsletter. Best way to do that is to include several additional fields at sign-up process. Of course this doesnt mean that you have to ask 15 questions from your new subscriber because many people leave when they see that there are many fields to fill. After that, you will make several email newsletters for each membership type.

Timing is everything

Another very important thing in creating successful email campaign is timing. In almost every email marketing statistics you will find information about when to email your subscribers. So studies show that the best time for sending email campaigns are days from Tuesday to Thursday. However, it doesnt mean that someone cant have successful email campaign sent on Sunday. If you send your emails in days that are not prime time you can have a chance to avoid competition that will mail their campaign in prime time. Tuesday-Thursday are generally best days for mailing because, as you probably know yourself, too, not many people like Monday (remember that song?). After a good weekend, Monday is usually reserved for some consultation with the management about weekly plans and task. Friday is, on the contrary, favourite day for many people, because they are planning their weekend. People often come home earlier on Friday so your email can be buried in their inbox until Monday. And in Monday, to be deleted with many others (we have already wrote about Monday). On the weekend people usually dont work but many will still check their emails.

Also, you have to decide how often you want to send your email newsletters. It will depend on your content. If your email newsletter about latest industry news you can send your newsletter once a month, because then it wont be latest news anymore. If you send a corporate email newsletter with news about company and useful articles from your area of expertise, monthly frequency is usually the best one.

You have to make several email campaigns and see which ones get you best results.

And when we talk about best results the next logical step is tracking.

Tracking

How do you know if your email marketing campaign was successful? You have to know how many people opened your emails, what was your click-thru ratio, your subscribers behaviour on your web site after they had clicked and finally how many subscribers purchased your product.

With user-friendly Group Metrics you will be able to do that and also to make polls to get even better view of your email campaign.

Dejan Bizinger is a Contributing Editor for Infacta. Infacta is email messaging services company providing powerful, yet easy-to-use award-winning Group Mail, software for sending highly-personalized email messages and Group Metrics, software for email tracking. For more information visit: http://www.infacta.com

Author: Dejan Bizinger
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital pipeline

Dog’s Behavior Problem – How to Stop Your Dog to Snap at Other Dogs

October 11th, 2009

Dog behavior can be difficult to understand, especially for pet owners. Some dogs will chase each other all over the street, sniff each others bottoms, and then do a few nasty things that may or may not result in a litter of pups. Other dogs will growl at other dogs, bare their teeth, and then snap at other dogs. The latter behavior can be disconcerting to pet owners who are fond of walking their dogs, but who are afraid of alienating themselves from other pet owners who have less aggressive canines.

Dog breeders and owners describe this canine-canine war as dog aggression, which is technically a dogs intent to do harm to another dog. Dog snap at other dogs is only one display of aggression, and it comes in the category of loud barking and growling at other dogs. Dogs show aggression not so much because they want to hurt another dog, but because they are defending themselves from potential harm. Such defense tactics are undertaken by dogs to gain a higher status over a potential rival, or simply because of built in instincts or traits that make them feel that they are dominant versus other dogs. Some dogs may also develop hormonal imbalance, prompting them to exercise dominance over other dogs by showing dog aggression.

Aggression is common, although some breeds such as bulls and terriers are more likely to display aggression as they age. If a dog starts off life as an abused or attacked pup, then he may be fearful of other dogs and thus exercise defense-based aggression or snap at other dogs. In particular, dogs can be aggressive toward dogs or objects that resemble anything that threatened or attacked them in the past. If your dog snap at other dogs, therefore, may simply be a sign that your dog is defending his or her territory, or is remembering something in his or her past.

If your dog continues to snap at other dogs, then you might want to take a look at the following tips to help you control your dog. If all else fails, take your dog to the vet or a canine behavior specialist for more information on how he or she can be made less aggressive or harmful.

- When dogs lack exercise, they can have a lot of pent up energy, and can actually be more emotionally and mentally unstable. Take your dog out often and make him or her exercise by jogging together, or by playing fetch in the park. This can allow your dog to use up all the energy that he or she has, giving him or her less time and resources to snap at other dogs.

- If you have a puppy, discipline him or her and start him or her on a disciplined life without abusing him or her. A well-disciplined dog is less likely to do harm, and certainly less likely to snap at other dogs.

- If you prefer a dog that is docile and quiet, then you might want to select a breed beforehand that is not prone to snap at other dogs or other forms of dog aggression. Choose toy dogs or retrievers if you have little time to undertake any disciplinary measures. If you are an experienced breeder or trainer, however, then go for terriers and bulls, but be sure to instill discipline early.

- Act as a dominant owner. If a dog senses that he or she is dominant in your house, or the seeming owner of it, then it can turn itself into the alpha dog and establish itself as the leader of your pack. It can then think that it has the license to snap at other dogs and display aggression.

- As much as possible, keep only one dog at home. The more dogs you have, the more defensive your dog will become, and the more likely he or she is to display aggressive behavior or snap at other dogs.

If you really want to stop your dog to snap at other dogs at the shortest possible time, you need a dog obedience training to help you transform you dogs behavior problems. Did you know that you can put an end to the stress and annoyance of your dogs behavior problems by using techniques that will give you immediate results? Discover dog obedience training secrets to stop your dogs behavior problems visit All About Pets

To know more about Pets visit Dogs’ Corner

Gerry Restrivera writes informative articles on various subjects including Dog Aggression: How to Stop Your Dog to Snap at Other Dogs. You are allowed to publish this article in its entirety provided that authors name, bio and website links must remain intact and included with every reproduction.

Author: Gerry Restrivera
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Don’t be a Slave to Your Email

October 10th, 2009

I’m so, so really bad at it. I mean, I’m purely awful. I receive so much e-mail a day that it’s basically just read, delete, read, file, read, delete, read, delete. I have e-mail from over a year ago that I should respond to. I usually wait so long that I just figure it’s been too long to reply now, and then I file it away.

Does this sound familiar? Thanks to a world-wide adoption of email by businesses and individuals, this is the sort of problem that ordinary people are facing everyday. Up until a few years ago, most of us did not have the added pressure of having to deal with incoming email on a continual basis during our work day, or of having to check it from home at least once a day. We could sit at our desks or computers and work on an urgent report with our phone taking voicemail or being redirected – and strangely enough the world didnt collapse around our ears because we were not immediately responding to emails. I believe time management skills now need to also include managing email. While I am no expert in this area, I am able to keep my email under control using some of the following techniques, which I would like to share with you.

Schedule your email time: You could block off periods of time in your day that are ‘no email’ or reverse, block periods of time where email is acceptable. Personally I find that I can work better if I deliberately switch my email off while I have other work to handle, as I find that if I leave it running then email gets an automatic priority, often to the detriment of whatever task I was involved in at the time. I believe you must decide when to read email – this control should not rest with everyone out there who sends emails to you. For example, I will not log onto my email until I have completed one hour at my desk first thing in the morning; this means I can plan my day, deal with issues from the previous day, set up meetings and do necessary paperwork. Having set up the day to cater for my own needs, then I will log on and see what email awaits me.

I have found that if I log on first, hours can go by where I deal with often petty things, read and forward because the mail was not relevant to me, get engrossed in gossip, respond to personal greetings or jokes, or go off on a tangent with work I had no intention of dealing with on this particular day. If I have at least some chance to put my work priorities first, I find that I am not so tempted to spend great amounts of time with email that does not require my immediate attention.

Keep email quiet: If none of the above suggestions are possible, and you need to keep your email running while engrossed in other tasks, then at least consider muting the speaker on your computer so that you do not receive an audio notification of the email arriving.

Be realistic about answering your email: I allocate time when I need a break from a task to go and deal with my email, because even though you make think that it will only take five minutes to check your email, invariably something will require action from you – a reply, reading an attachment or supplying some information. This means you are then forced to work reactively, when perhaps you had other priorities over and above the 15 minutes you had allocated to email.

Sound the alarm: Employ an egg timer, a miniature clock alarm, a watch alarm or set a Microsoft Outlook Calendar reminder to jog your memory to when you have spent enough time with your email. If you have to leave your house or office at 10am for a meeting, set the alarm to buzz just prior to that time.

File it: Set up folders for your incoming work. I know this sounds obvious, but it is surprising how people many simply leave all their email in the Inbox. Go to File, choose New and then Folder. Make as many folders as you need, based on your work and the categories of emails you receive or based on who has sent them (you will know best how to categorise them). Making email folders is the same idea as labeling manila folders to put in a filing cabinet. When you need to keep an email drag and drop it with your mouse in the relevant folder.

Sent mail: Think about making folders for your outgoing emails have a folder structure under the sent folder based on who you are sending email to, and move the important ones you need to keep into those folders. The sent folder can also end up with an unmanageable amount of email in it, so consider doing this and make sure you include the Sent folder when you do an email clean up and delete.

Deal with the email, dont just leave it all in the Inbox: There is nothing like a bit of extra stress from looking at an email inbox containing 300 400 emails, some opened, some not; have you replied, did you forward it, it all becomes too hard. Try and make it a practice to read it and deal with it – respond, delete it, forward it or file or it, but dont just leave it sitting there in your inbox thinking you will come back later. It is the same principle that is applied to stacks of paper of your desk, once you leave the email without dealing with it, the next time you come back you will need to waste time and re-read the emails to work out what you need to do with them.

Clean out regularly: Try and go through your inbox and sent box say once a month (e.g. nominate the first or last date in the month), give it a limit of 15 minutes and start cleaning out old emails. This also ensures your system runs more efficiently as well as making it easier for you to find things that are really important.

Email Rules: why not set up a couple of rules for your incoming email where your weekly joke, or daily inspirational message or emails from particular people are immediately filed in a particular folder, that way you check the folders when you a ready to read the messages. I suggest you read about rules in Outlooks help menus, but just to get started, you create a rule for a message by right clicking the message, then choosing create rule, and specifying the criteria for the rule. For example, you keep getting spam from a particular person, so you could create a rule and specify that when mail comes from that email account it is to immediately be deleted (deletion being one of the rules you can choose).

Delete email before it gets to Outlook: Go to your e-mails server first thing via their website (e.g. Telstra.com or Optusnet.com.au) and delete all the spam and rubbish email before it even arrives in your email outbox.

Good Subjects: Ask your email contacts (personal and business where possible) to utilize the subject lines. This will help you to ascertain whether your incoming mail is urgent, a follow-up or trivial, because knowing the urgency of a message will help you to determine how soon you need to read and respond to the contents.

Extra email addresses: Consider setting up additional email addresses for personal use, or work-specific use. Most internet service providers provide you with 5 email addresses otherwise use a free one at Hotmail or Yahoo. This has the added benefit of stopping some unsolicited email or advertising arriving in your work email inbox and allows you to use that secondary account when you visit websites that require an email address before you can use them and you do not necessarily wish to give out your legitimate email details.

Good luck in using these strategies to work more effectively with your email.

Angela is a workplace IT Educator, counsellor and social researcher. Her area of interest is in how technology intersects with human relations. She has recently finished her PhD in Education and expects to be awarded in April. She can be found at http://angelalewis.com.au

Author: Dr. Angela Lewis
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Electric Pressure Cooker

Monthly Health Checks For Yorkie Dogs

October 10th, 2009

Some of the more common health issues seen in all types of Yorkie dogs, including Teacup Yorkies are also seen in other breeds of toy and small dogs.

Often these health conditions are not life threatening but can become more serious if left untreated for longer periods of time. Yorkshire Terriers are generally a healthy breed, although the smaller dogs, including the very tiny Teacup Yorkies are more prone to most health conditions than the larger and Yorkie dogs in the breed.

Knowing what to look for and understanding the first signs of some of the more common medical conditions for Yorkie dogs is important for the owner. Yorkie dogs will often need to go to the vet more than once a year, especially if any of the conditions described below are noted. Keep in mind that early treatment will often be the most effective way to manage or treat health conditions in Yorkie dogs.

Getting into a routine that allows you to check Yorkshire Terriers overall health and wellness on a regular, routine basis is important. There are checks that need to be done daily and weekly for Yorkie dogs, however there are also checks that can be done once a month. The following health checks are recommended by Yorkie breeders on a monthly basis:

It is a good idea to weigh your Yorkie once a month. Overweight Yorkie dogs, like overweight humans, have greater risks for many health conditions. Weighing Yorkie dogs will help you monitor if it is eating properly and not overeating.

If you notice that the dog is gaining weight, try decreasing the food a bit at a time, cutting out the table scraps or treats, and increasing exercise. Yorkie dogs, especially those with digestive problems, should not be fed any types of human food or table scraps under any conditions.

Spend time exercising with your dog and note if there are any changes in the Yorkie dogs stamina or general fitness level. Yorkie dogs enjoy a moderate amount of exercise, but is an idea dog for in an apartment as their small size makes it possible for them to exercise in the house. They love going on walks and investigating new territories, as well as playing and running, but do not enjoy excessive amounts of either of these activities. It is important to provide a wide variety of exercise for the Yorkie dogs to keep them active.

Trim your dogs nails, clean their ears and eyes and check the condition of their skin at least once a month. Run your hands completely over the dog to check for any swellings, tumors or growths. Watch for dry or scaly patches on the skin or hair loss. These can be signs of fleas, mites or mange conditions. Yorkshire Terriers are not prone to skin allergies, but they do occur. Fleas and mites are common in any breed of dog and can easily be transmitted from contact with infected dogs or environments.

Schedule regular vet visits for Yorkie dogs – adults or puppies. Follow all vaccination schedules and report any changes in your Yorkie dogs behavior or condition to the vet if they do not clear up in 24-48 hours. The old saying “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is really crucial when working with Yorkie dogs. They don’t have the ability to talk for themselves; they have to rely on your attention to them to note if they are not well or need any changes in their environment. Acting sooner rather than later will catch any problems before they lead to larger complications.

Overall well-bred Yorkshire Terriers are typically very healthy dogs, even with their diminutive size. However often Teacup Yorkies, which are very small version of the standard and toy Yorkshire Terriers are more likely to have serious health problems. All sizes of Yorkie dogs can develop health problems, many which are similar to other small, medium and even large breeds of dogs.

Working with reputable Yorkie breeders is the best possible way to minimize the risk of disease or genetic problems with Yorkie dogs. It is still important for all owners to ensure that their Yorkie dogs have routine yearly vet checks and vaccinations to ensure they are healthy and detect any medical conditions at an early stage.

Sharda Baker is an industry established dog writer. She has successfully published several dog books including The Insiders Guide To A Happy, Healthy & Well Behaved Yorkshire Terrier.

Get your complimentary Yorkshire Terrier Online Course, and numerous free articles, by visiting Sharda’s blog today.

Author: Sharda Baker
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: How Electric Pressure Cookers Work

The Best Fishing Lure

October 9th, 2009

In this article I want to discuss some of the more popular fishing lures in the hopes that I can narrow the choices down to the best fishing lure. Actually, I believe that the term the best fishing lure is different for every angler, I mean come on is one fishing lure actually the best? Of course not, there are different fishing lures for different fishing situations, so what I’m going to discuss the most popular, and you can make your own decision as to which fishing lure is actually the best fishing lurefor you.

Obviously, when it comes to fishing lures, trying to figure out which is the best can be a tough decision. There are literally tens of thousands of choices available and navigating through those choices can be a tall order. With this article I hope to cut through some of the BS and give you some real world information, and even some suggestions as to the effectiveness of this or that fishing lure. Lets begin our search for the best fishing lure, shall we?

  • Top Water Fishing Lures – Top water fishing lures are just what the name suggestsfishing lures that are fished on the surface, or top, of the water. These fishing lures can imitate wounded bait fish, frogs, or even small mammals. I’ve always had success with frog imitation poppers and minnow imitation top water plugs such as the Zara Spook. A great tip for fishing top water lures is to do it when the water is as calm as possible, the more the surface of the water is like glass, the better top water fishing lures will work.
  • Spinners & Spoons – I’m grouping spinners and spoons together because I believe they are in the some family. The both imitate baitfish (for the most part) and can both be quite effective as fishing lures. The two most popular versions of spinner and spoons are probably Rooster Tails for spinners and Daredevils for spoons. A daredevil spoon in the colors red and white have long been known as a great pike bait. Rooster Tails are wonderful for trout and smallmouth bass fishing. Are spinners and spoons the best fishing lure? Thats for you to decide
  • Minnow Imitations – Minnow imitation fishing lures are more than likely the type of fishing lure that all of the world is the most familiar with. These are the fishing lures that look like bait fish and come in all of the sizes and colors that actual baitfish are available in. These types of fishing lures are also available in colors that only a 3-year old could love. There are minnow imitation fishing lures that dive a few feet deep to as many as thirty feet deep. You can cover the entire water table with minnow imitations. The most popular of these types of fishing lures has to be Rapala’s. Rapala’s are made from balsa wood and are a very lifelike, realistic, and effective fishing lure. Another lifelike and realistic fishing lure is the KickTail Minnow. The KickTail Minnow is fairly new to the fishing lure market and looks as much like a real bait fish as anything that I’ve ever seen. The bottom line is that minnow imitations are exactly what the name suggests: fishing lures that imitate minnows
  • Rubber Worms & Grubs – These might not be considered ‘fishing lures’ to some anglers, but they are close enough to be added to the list in my mind. Rubber worms have been a favorite of bass fishermen for generations, and rubber grubs attached to a jig head can be an incredibly effective method for catching almost every species of fish. Rubber Worms are rigged in various ways and one of the most popular methods is called the ‘Carolina rig’. Rigs such as the Carolina rig are used mainly for fishing for large mouth bass.

At the end of the day, the best fishing lure is the lure that’s your favorite. It would be impossible to say that one type of fishing lure is truly better than another. Some work better than others, or dive deeper than others, but the bottom line is that your favorite, is your favorite, and your favorite fishing lure is, to you, the best fishing lure. No matter what type of fishing lure you consider to be the best, make sure that You’re fishing when the fish are the most active. There is no substitute for the two factors of fishing when the fish are active and practice. The better that your angling skills become, the more fish you’ll catch, no matter what type of fishing lure you use.

Trevor Kugler is co-founder of JRWfishing.com and an avid angler. He has more than 20 years experience fishing for all types of fish, and 15 years of business and internet experience. He currently raises his three year old daughter in the heart of trout fishing country..Montana!

Great Fishing Lures: http://www.jrwfishing.com/ktm.html

Author: Trevor Kugler
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Keeping Your Email Box Organized & Ready for Business

October 9th, 2009

Learning how to get the most organization from your email software is very likely the most important skill you can learn to conduct a successful online home business.

There are three primary email applications on the market that folks use to manage their incoming POP3 email. Those three are:

  • Microsoft Outlook Express
  • Eudora
  • Netscape Mail

In order to get the most from your email software, there are three key processes that you should learn. These processes are concerned with data organization, saving time and email database management.

SET UP EMAIL FOLDERS

Organization is key to any emails that you intend to save. Having 2000 emails in one folder is a sure-fire road map to confusion and lost communications and information.

You are the best judge as to how to organize your email into topics that provide an easy method of retrieval of the information when you need it most.

Fortunately, the primary email browsers make it easy to organize your information. By allowing you to create folders within your email software, you can file specific emails into folders dedicated to the topic of the email.

To create new folders:

OUTLOOK EXPRESS: 1. Click File – Folders – New — alternatively, you may also right click an item in the Folder window — and then type in the name of your new folder. Highlight the folder above where you would like your new folder to be placed, and then click OK.

EUDORA: Click on Mailbox – New — or right click on Eudora in the folders window and then click on New. When the window opens, type in the name of your new mailbox and click OK. If you want to create a folder to place other mailboxes into, click the checkbox before clicking OK.

NETSCAPE MAIL: Click File – New Folder. Then from the drop-down menu, select the folder that you wish to be the folder directly above your new folder, before clicking OK.

FILTERING EMAIL

Email filters are a tool to help you save time and frustration. Have you ever lost an incoming email under the deluge of email coming into your mailbox? With filters, you can direct the important email or not-so-important email into certain pre-ordained folders.

As part of the war against spam, most ISP’s use filters every day in an attempt to keep the spam out of your mailbox. In fact, I even use filters to sort my incoming mail trying to catch the spam my ISP missed.

Dont be fooled into thinking you need some special software to filter your email. Setting up filters is actually quite easy.

To setup email filters:

OUTLOOK EXPRESS: Click on Tools – Message Rules – Mail. A wizard will open to help you create your new email filters. Just follow the instructions provided to direct mail based on certain criteria into certain folders.

EUDORA: Click on Special – Make Filter. Once again, just follow the instructions in the Filter wizard.

NETSCAPE MAIL: Click on Edit – Mail Filters. Then click on New in the wizard. Once you click on New, you will be taken to a new wizard window. Follow the instructions here, then when you are done, click on OK. This will return you to the first window where you will set up the sorting order of your filter.

CLEANING AND COMPRESSING YOUR MAIL DATA

This is an important part of your email management. When you no longer need an email, it should be deleted. When you first delete an email, your software will send the email to the Trash Bin. Your email is not actually deleted until you first empty your trash bin.

Emptying your trash bin compresses the mailboxes from where the email was originally filed. This is absolutely paramount to the protection of your email data. If you go too long between compressing your email data, then your email data could become corrupted and you might need assistance in recovering your email data.

Even after you have emptied your trash, Compressing Folders is a recommended step to prevent other data corruption. Once you understand that an email does not actually move from one folder to another until the folder is compressed, then you can better appreciate this advice.

As an example, when Email A comes into your main Inbox, the data connected to Email A appears in two files. One file contains the header and body of the email. The other file contains only the email header information.

When an email is moved from one folder to the other, only the header information is actually moved. The body information will not be deleted from the original folder until which time the original folder is compressed.

This explains the purpose of emptying the trash AND compressing folders. If the email was simply moved from the Inbox to another folder, then emptying the trash is not enough. The original placement of the email is not actually removed from the file that contains the body information until the message has been designated for compression.

To empty your trash:

OUTLOOK EXPRESS: Click on Edit – Empty ‘Deleted Items’ Folder. To compress the remaining folders, click on Tools – Options, then click on the tab for Maintenance. Then click the button that says, “Clean Up Now”. Once the compression is completed, click OK.

EUDORA: Click Special – Empty Trash. To compress the remaining items that need compression, then click on Special – Compact Mailboxes.

NETSCAPE MAIL: Click on File – Empty Trash Folder. To compress the mailboxes, click on File – Compress Folders.

I cannot stress enough how important it is that you utilize the tools for emptying the trash and compressing the mail folders. Protecting your email data on a regular basis is good practice for avoiding disaster in your mailbox.

So many of us rely upon our email software to keep our online business running smoothly. Once you master the tools provided in your email software, your online business will run smoothly also.

Let me share one important lesson I l’ve learned about computer software. One should never be afraid to try new things. Learning how to get the most out of your software relies upon your willingness to dig in and learn how to use it.

Once you learn how to use your software to its full potential, then your life will be greatly simplified and your effectiveness will be dramatically improved.

About The Author

Stone Evans owns the Home Business Resource Directory where you can find everything you’ll ever need to start, run and grow a home based business at: http://www.Home-Business.com

articles@home-business.com

Author: Stone Evans
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Digital Camera Information

Search and Rescue Dogs

October 9th, 2009

Despite all the technological and scientific advances, such as GPS, satellite images and robots, dogs are still one of the best tools of any search and rescue (SAR) team.

While the victim of a disaster undergoes an almost eternal nightmare hoping that somebody finds him, SAR dogs are… just playing a fun game. These game-obsessed dogs live to play the “fetch the human” game. Their reward is a funny tug’o war game. Being alive is the victim’s reward.

SAR dogs are capable to save hundreds of human lives because of their powerful sense of smell, their exceptional hearing, a rigorous training and the amazing bond between them and their handlers.

However, not everything is joy in the world of SAR dogs. Although these canine specialists are trained by means of games and rewards, they could be retired before time because of physical fatigue and damages caused during their noble task.

In tragic situations, like the one happened on September 11, 2001, both the dogs and their guides got to undergo emotional problems because they were unable to find people alive. In the middle of death and desolation, dogs do not only feel bad because there’s no reward, but they feel the pain, frustration and sadness of their guides and other members of the rescue team.

There are other situations, nevertheless, when the goal does not consist in finding people alive, but people who have passed away. These are the right situations to use cadaver dogs; dogs trained to find human remains. Although these dogs can’t bring back a son to his mother, their work helps to solve crimes and to give honorable burials to those who had the misfortune to perish in a disaster.

SAR dog characteristics

Although any healthy dog has well developed senses of smell and hearing, a SAR dog must fulfill some additional requirements.

SAR dogs must be agile and resistant enough to deal with typical difficulties of search and rescue activities. That’s why toy breeds are not common choices for such tasks.

On the other hand, these dogs must not be so big that its size makes the rescue task even more difficult. A very big dog can become an additional difficulty when the team has to rappel down mountainsides or while traveling in small helicopters and boats.

That’s the reason why giant breeds are uncommon in SAR teams. Nevertheless, the exception to this rule occurs when the dogs are required to pull people out of water. In this case, giant breeds like the Newfoundland are very useful.

In addition, SAR dogs must be exceptionally motivated to search during long time periods under the most unfavorable conditions. Therefore, dogs with high prey drive are preferred because they get obsessed with the “fetch the human” game.

Last, but not least, SAR dogs must be perfectly socialized to people and other animals. In addition, they must be accustomed to work (or play) under stressful situations such as among crowds of people, when other animals are present, while there are strange and loud sounds, etc.

Summarizing, any dog can be used for search and rescue if the previous requirements are fulfilled and the dog has received specialized training.

SAR dog specialties

Current SAR dogs can be classified in different groups according to their specialties. The two main groups are tracking dogs and air scent dogs.

Tracking dogs follow a victim’s path from point A to point B. These dogs need a starting search point and an article with the victim’s scent on it. They are used to find lost people.

Air scent dogs don’t follow a victim’s path. Instead, they smell the air seeking for human scent. These dogs are used to find people buried under rubble, people buried by landslides, people buried by avalanches, corpses of drowned people, evidence in crime scenes, etc.

Article courtesy of Adiestramiento de perros, a section of De Perros, a Spanish website about dogs managed by Rodrigo Trigosso.

Author: Rodrigo Trigosso
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Use Email Marketing Effectively

October 8th, 2009

Are you looking for a way to communicate with your customers? You are probably aware that one way to make contact with your clients is through email.

Did the word SPAM just fly through your thoughts? It is a common concern among small business owners who are considering whether they should venture into using email as a way of communicating with their clients.

If you are reading this communication, you are probably versed in the basics of standard email tools, such as Outlook or online email. You may even use these tools now to contact customers, on a one on one basis. There are many other tools available, such as auto-responders, which make email communication more versatile.

Email can be an inexpensive and easy tool for connecting with customers. If you take the proper approach bulk emails to customers is not SPAM. A bit of knowledge can help alleviate any fears you may experience, so here are some definitions that pertain to this critical business skill.

SPAM – unsolicited email sent to an individual without asking their permission. Many times the intent is commercial, but it can range from jokes to advertising. The legislation in this area is becoming quite strong. Fines and other criminal consequences exist in most countries.

SPAM Filter – software programs that attempt to stop SPAM. They search for phrases and words that would suggest that the email is SPAM. The program then decides if the message is okay or deems it SPAM and disposes of it. These SPAM filters are not just in your mail program, but also instituted into corporate networks and even at the ISP level. The filters on your email program, gets rid of offending mail by putting it in your junk folder. Suspect email filtered by a corporate network or ISP filter, will be blocked completely, so you will never see it.

SPAM triggers words that can cause anti-spam software to block your emails. You will want to avoid these words so that your emails have a higher chance of arriving to the intended recipients inbox. Filters vary in sensitivity with many operating on a point system. You need to realise that use of these words (or overuse) will cause anti-spam filters to mark even legitimate email as SPAM. This means that your email never reaches the intended recipient.

Watch out for phrases like:
Click here – For free – Great offer – Order now – Check or money order - Cancel at any time – Cash Bonus
Congratulations - Dear friend – Amazing – For only – Guarantee – Special promotion -Winner – Increase sales

Blacklist – SPAM filters may identify locations on the web that send large amounts of emails. If a source or server is sending SPAM, the location is “blacklisted” added to a blacklist of unacceptable sources of email. Internet Service Providers use these blacklists as a tool to block SPAM, by preventing email from the listed addresses from getting through. If your address appears on a blacklist, the majority of your email messages will never get through to the recipients.

Whitelist – a list of allowable email addresses, domains or IP addresses. Some ISPs use whitelists to identify legitimate servers or companies that send bulk emails. Bulk emails are allowed from those identified, as it has been verified that they are sending information only to people who have requested it.

Email software also contains both white and black lists of senders, as an aid for filtering SPAM. Many subscription services request people to add the sender to listing of allowed senders in their email programs, to assure a better chance of delivery.

Auto-responder A software program that monitors an email address, sending out a preset automatic response upon receipt of an email message. This type of software often has a number of facilities such as sending a sequence of emails, selecting an appropriate response from a variety of email messages, or allowing for subscriptions to be added or removed from a database.

Mail Server – A software program that transfers email from one computer to another computer. The program on your PC talks to a mail server that manages a large number of user accounts. It sends and receives your email, passing it across the web.

eZine – an electronic magazine containing information of value to the subscriber.

Subscriber – a person who gives a service permission to send them email.

Double-Opt-In – A subscription method that requires a user who has made a request to become a subscriber, to confirm that they want to receive the information they have requested. This could be by clicking a link in the email or replying to the confirmation request with another email. About 40% of people who subscribe will also follow through and double opt in if asked to do so.

Now lets get to the nitty gritty of this valuable skill.

Communicating with your customers by email is a skill. Using email allows you to keep in touch with your customers on a regular basis, without breaking the bank. If you use your own software program the actual cost of emailing 5000 people is zero very cost effective. Even if you use an online service, the cost is just pennies per email.

There are various online bulk email services to help manage your email database. Look for one that allows you to easily track, the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. It is a good idea to have some tools and systems set up so you can check on how many people opened, read and acted upon your email. Like any other form of marketing, testing should be done on your email campaigns to see what works and what does not. Then you can do “More of What Works.”

Another option is a bulk email software program. You will want one that manages your email database and has auto-responder capability. Both systems have their own limitations but are far superior then trying to send out bulk email through Outlook.

Before sending email, you need to use a SPAM checker to ensure that the content of your email is not identified as SPAM. If you are using an online service or bulk email software, it should have a built in SPAM checker.

To communicate with your customers by email you need a list of subscribers. To build this list you must request that your customers become subscribers, preferably using a double-opt-in mechanism.

Put a link up on your web site to gather visitors email addresses. If you use an online service email service, this is usually very straightforward. The user will click on the link and fill in the web form, which is submitted to the service, which then responds with a confirmation email. When they confirm this email by clicking on a link, they are added to your database. From there you can send bulk emails with ease.

They are now your subscribers. You will want to send them information on a reasonably regular basis. Now some pointers here – do not only send sales messages. Although a special promotion can provide a valuable benefit to the customer by saving them money, it is imperative that you provide information of value that doesnt require them to make a purchase in order to benefit from it. Give your subscribers beneficial information and they will be keen to receive your email. Send an eZine on a regular basis. If you have valuable content they will be watching their inbox for it’s arrival. Carefully limit the amount of pure sales you do using email marketing.

How often you send email will depend on your clients. About once a fortnight is usually often enough to maintain contact without offending subscribers. You can try it more often and see how many of your subscribers complain and unsubscribe.

Ritchie Hale is founder and owner of ELAH Group Pty Ltd. As a consultant he has shown large, global corporations how to gain leverage in the areas of Marketing and IT. As a personal coach he has turned small business owners and individuals in to goal getters. Ritchie is dedicated to helping small business owners grow their business. Visit him online at http://www.elahgroup.com

Author: Ritchie Hale
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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There Are Several Foods Dangerous to Dogs

October 8th, 2009

There are several foods dangerous to dogs, and to most all dogs, they could care less. As all dog owners know, their table manners are about as bad as they get. However, some common everyday foods and beverages could place your dog in several serious health situations, or in some cases they are so toxic that it could kill them.

These will range from deadly foods to dangerous foods.

To all dogs, the smell of food is more important than the taste. Your dog has over 100 million cells that work full time to smell all sorts of dangers, but it most cases they can not sense which foods are dangerous to them.

Dogs by nature are very fast eaters as well as very sneaky eaters, and when given the chance they may eat something so quickly that you have little chance to stop them. Understanding foods that are dangerous to dogs will help dog lovers take extra precautions when working with these foods or leaving the foods unattended even if it is for only a few minutes.

Although dog’s stomach acid is extremely strong there are still several foods that poise real dangers. If you do suspect or have actually seen your dog eat some of the foods listed below and suspect they may be in serious trouble, the National Animal Poison Center’s toll free number is 888-252-7387.

Deadly Foods:

Alcoholic Beverages of all kinds:

If may be funny to see your dog drink some of your beer or wine, but think again, as alcohol is toxic to dogs. Ethanol within alcohol is a danger to anyone, but dogs can not break it down the same as humans. Depending on the size of your dog, the toxic effects can occur very suddenly, or they may take some time in a larger dog, but they will occur.

Alcohol poisoning will cause a sudden weakness that can lead to a rapid increase in respiratory rate or cardiac arrest. If severe enough, it will cost your dog its life. This is not something to take lightly as owners and play around with.

Chocolate:

Dogs love the smell and the taste of chocolate. Baking chocolate is especially dangerous to dogs as it contains a much higher level of theobromine which is very toxic to your dog. Dark chocolate also contain much higher levels of this toxic ingredient, and if enough has been ingested, it can cut off the supply of blood flowing to the brain, causing all kinds of harm to all of your dogs organs.

Dogs that have been poisoned with chocolate will show immediate signs of muscle tremors as well as seizures. Your dog could die within 24 hours if not treated immediately. .If you can’t get your dog to your veterinarian quickly, induce vomiting as soon as possible to prevent this toxin from reaching your pets bloodstream.

The recommended steps are to give your dog 2 tablespoons of hydrogen peroxide with a syringe if you have one. If not, force them to swallow all of it. If you do not have hydrogen peroxide, use 1 teaspoon of table salt, placing it as far back on your dogs tongue as you can, and force swallowing. This will also induce vomiting which could save your dogs life.

Coffee, Tea, Cola Soft Drinks or Energy Drinks:

All of these beverages are also dangerous for dogs as they have the same ingredient, theobromine, found in most caffeine products. Although not quite as dangerous as chocolate, they are all still potentially fatal to your dog as it will produce the same set of occurrences.

Dangerous Foods:

Macadamia Nuts:

Dogs also love the smell of these nuts, but when they eat them they have a reaction called macadamia nut toxicosis. Within 12 hours of ingestion, your dog will most likely not be able too stand or will start to wobble, called ataxia. Muscle tremors, hyperthermia and an elevated heart rate will soon follow.

Although these symptoms will recede in about 48 hours, if severe enough, it can still cause shock and even death. Long term non fatal implications could be bladder stones or kidney failure from this toxin.

Baby Food:

This dangerous food for dogs seems very innocent and even cute when it happens. But several forms of baby food will contain onion powder, extremely dangerous for your dog.

Onions, Garlic, & Leeks:

Cooked, raw, or in powder form, it makes absolutely no difference with any of these. Although all commercial dog foods have trace amounts of both onion and garlic powders, they are way below toxic levels. These are not deadly foods for your dogs, but the implications can be quite severe. All three cause anemia as they will destroy your pet’s red blood cells.

Raisins & Grapes:

Used for years by trainers as treats for dogs, very small amounts poise no real threat. However, in the last ten years this has become one of the largest sources of calls to the Animal Poison Control Center. They cause toxicity in dogs that first starts with anuria, a lack or urine production, which can than lead to acute renal or kidney failure.

Yeast Dough:

Dogs love the smell of dough. The yeast in the dough swells, that is what it is made to do. Once inside your dog’s stomach, it does just that. It can lead to gas or even bloat in dogs which can take your dogs life very quickly. It can also cause both stomach and intestines ruptures.

Fat Trimmings in Ham:

Never give your dog fat trimmings, although they love them. But ham fat trimmings are especially dangerous as they can cause pancreatic conditions very rapidly in your dogs.

Cold Cuts, Bacon, Vienna sausage:

This is something no dog can resist, and the danger they caring is that most cold cuts are very high in sodium and nitrate, which can cause both kidney and digestive issues, including bloat.

Accidents can and do happen with your dog. Watch them very close when working with any of these foods or beverages and by no means think that just because you have a big dog they are immune, they are not.

Toxins are deadly to dogs and some bigger breeds may already have inherited conditions that may put them at even a higher degree of risk. If you knew something was toxic to you, would you take it?

I am an avid lover of pets and my wife and I have had several pets throughout our years. We are especially fond of dogs, and we have a 12 year old Dalmatian (our 3rd) and a “mutt” that we rescued when someone threw him away to die in a vacant field.

He found us, nearly starved to death, and weighed about 2 pounds.

After severe bouts of mange and severe dehydration, and over 1,000.00 in veterinarian bills, we saved the little guys life, and he is one of the best, if not the best, dogs we have ever had and today is a muscular, fit, and firm 70 pound best friend.

After finishing my MBA, which at middle age was not easy, I decided to keep the research work ethics that I acquired, and devote about two hours each night in understanding the health benefits of supplementation for both humans and pets and how they might strengthen our, as well as our pets, immune system in a preemptive approach to health rather than a reactionary approach.

Both of my daughters are avid cat lovers, and asked me to help them with health concerns and challenges with their cats.

I am not a veterinarian nor claim to be, just a lover of pets that loves to research and pass on some knowledge that might be helpful, or at least stimulating to the thought process.

Several of the articles that I have written can be found on my website;

Liquid Vitamins & Minerals for Humans & Pets
http://www.liquid-vitamins-minerals-humans-pets.com

Author: Frank Will
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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How To Correctly Choose The Right Fishing Tackle

October 7th, 2009

I recently had a conversation with “wonder bread boy” about a serious dilemma he was having.

It seems that he has misplaced, lost or surrendered, to his ex, the bulk of his fishing gear.

Now, this alone is a monumental problem in itself, not the lost or misplaced part, but the trying to ask your ex for something that means absolutely nothing to her but would certainly open up a humongous can of nightcrawlers should you attempt to ask for it back…

“Hi sweet.”

“Oh, it’s YOU.”

“How ya been?”

“Cut the chit chat wonder boy, what is it you want?”

“Well,(gulp) it seems-snookums- that when you tossed me out into the street and took legal ownership of all my bank accounts and left me with little or nothing to subsist on in this world, I, silly me, forgot to grab my fishing pole on the way out.”

“You want your fishing pole back?”

“Ahh yeah.”

“Sure, you can have it back, it’s out in the garage.”

“REALLY!”

“Yes, I have it all boxed up in that nice little shoebox, labeled @#$&*@#!!+, it’s all yours.”

“Oh.”—”Never mind.”

“By the way, my lawyer will be contacting you about increasing monthly child support, cars don’t drive themselves without gas you know. Have a NICE day….”

So, as you can see, not willing to risk the ramifications, wonder bread boy was suddenly thrust into the market of having to go find some new fishing gear.

Here in lies the real problem.

WBB sidled on down to our local giant cowbird-which happens to be the Blackbird Sporting Goods store–and walked in looking to replace his spin fishing outfits. Finding replacements for the kids was easy, he just grabbed Scooby and Spiderman combo outfits and knew that the kids would settle who was qualified to be Scooby and who was qualified to be Spiderman.

Finding the right combo for himself was another story.

So, there he stood in the middle of the aisle, staring with that “deer in the headlight look”, at dozens of rods and reels that he had not a clue as to which to choose from. Shimano’s, Okuma’s, Mitchell’s, Abu Garcia’s, Shakespeare’s, Penn’s, gear ratio’s, ultralight’s,micro’s,Ugly Stik’s,Daiwa’s, two piece, three piece, sensitive tip, ultimate stiffness, Maxim’s,Quantum’s….WHEW!!

“I just want to catch some flippin’ crappies.”

Wonder Bread Boy, turned and headed for the checkstand. The boys got there rods, and WBB decided he would bait hooks and watch them fish.

All this over stimulation and multitude of choices had him reaching back far into his neanderthal tendencies, and he almost went home and tied some kite string onto a flagpole. Thinking that $70 or $80 was too much to invest, especially in “crappie futures”, he figured he would fashion up a nice “fishing stick” to pursue fish and avoid the trauma of having to decide which combo was right for him.

It has gotten that way.

Fishing, like golf or skiing or just about any sport has gotten way to specialized and seems to require multiple quivers of gear for different situations. You can’t use bass gear for trout.You have to have “lake fishing” set ups, “river fishing” set ups, trolling rods, casting rods.If you want want to have more fun with 9 inch fish, you have to go “light”. Level winds for salmon. Fly fishing gear for “fly only” waters.You get the picture.

It’s maddening as well as intimidating.

I myself, own a small satellite operation of Cabela’s aka “my playroom”, that will take my daughter at least two years to liquidate when I pass on to the big fishing pond in the sky. At last count I had fifteen various rods, and way too many reels and extra spools and such. Why I even found a reel I can’t even remember purchasing….STILL IN THE BOX!!!!!

My gosh, I must be like a sleepwalker who wanders into the fishing aisles and starts gathering up items, only to wake up and not have a clue as to ‘how did that sturgeon fishing rod got in my garage’!!

I’ve never even been sturgeon fishing.

We won’t even get into the six or seven tackle “tubs”–not boxes–of lures, flies,trolling rigs, vests, waders, nets, flippers,attractants, baits,and yes dehydrated nightcrawlers, that have found their way into my fishing arsenal in over 40 years of fishing.

Lord knows, that if the nightcrawler should ever go extinct, there is plenty of DNA in my fishing tub to bring ‘em back into existence!!

All that being said, I am now going to try and simplify your life by giving you three simple rules to go by when choosing your fishing gear:

1) Pick your fish species of choice.

Don’t try to outfit yourself with every type of fishing gear. If trout and bass are the predominant type of fishing you do, then get a good combo outfit that is adequate for both. The same goes for salmon and steelhead, if these are the fish of choice, outfit yourself with a good middle of the road combination that will allow you to fish for both. Quite honestly, if you only occasionally go fishing for a certain type of fish–hire a guide and use his gear, or if you are a do it yourself guy, borrow and share with buddies who may have multiple outfits.(Like me!!)

Don’t get me wrong. Different types of fishing really can be enhanced and improved by having slightly more specialized gear and if you decide that you have plenty of expendable income… go for it. But if you don’t, it is just best to decide what kind of fish you really enjoy fishing for.

2) Stay to the middle.

The old rule of thumb, that you don’t want to buy the least expensive and you don’t want to buy the most expensive, certainly applies to fishing gear. If you buy your fishing gear at the “dollar store” or the Salvation Army, you are probably going to get what you pay for. On the other hand, don’t be sucked in by the glossy ads and goofy graphs and bar charts that show why an extra $120 dollars spent on the same $60 dollar product will have you smiling and holding a mass quantity of big fish. I have seen plenty of good fishermen using good average run of the mill gear, catching as many, or out catching dudes with high priced fancy outfits.
I have sat in sporting good stores and had salesmen tell me how “sweet” this rod or that reel is and asked me to wiggle it around, then when I picked up a cheaper rod or reel and not felt any difference they looked at me like I was from Mars.
Most brand name gear today is made pretty well, so you can just pick —the pretty one!!

3)Don’t scrimp on the fishing line.

To me, in just about any kind of fishing, this is a big key. Get the right line, and get good quality. Whether it is having the right type of fly line, or the right test of monofilament, you will catch more fish if you pay attention to the selection of your lines. Too heavy, and fish will sit there staring at your line like WBB stares at aisle 32 at the Blackbird.

Use floating line when you should sink. Or sinking line when you should float. And you will have a nice day casting and/or walking on the river or lake.

I once used a fishing line called “Vanish”,that was supposed to be the greatest thing since….well….Wonder Bread, and the only thing that “vanished” was the fish I was catching. Every fish I hooked broke me off. I switched lines and started to land fish after that. So that line has now “vanished” from my tackle collection and is now occupying some space at a landfill.

…And vanishing from my tackle collection is obviously no small feat!

So, get the right line and you can almost tie it on WBB’s flagpole and catch fish. (with hook and bait of course…)

There you have it, Wonder Bread Boy, you are now armed with enough information to head into your local sporting goods store and confidently make a selection, so you can fish with your kids.

Or, you can wait about 30 years and pick up a nice collection of stuff at my daughters’ garage sale!

A.J. Klott

Author, writer of fishing humor,and “fly tack” peddler.A.J. writes about the people,characters and modern day events that surround the fishing world. His first book is due out in December of 2005. If you need a laugh or a fun gift, visit his website at: http://www.twoguyswithflys.com

Author: A.J. Klott
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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