What Led Me to Gastric Bypass Surgery

9 Years ago I got married and it was a great day. A great week in my life. One of the things I had to do before the wedding was get a blood test to obtain a marriage license. The Dr that I did this at came back with the results and said “ok you all set to get your marriage license but you got diabetes. you need to eat more vegetables. you too fat.”

Huh? What? Diabetes? Yea ok whatever.

So we went about our wedding day and night and it was fun. Looking forward to the honeymoon the next day was the cap on a perfect day. We couldn’t wait to get down to Key West and spend the week relaxing and having fun. Plus I had the most fun chic to hang with and share all this with.

We took an early flight from Boston to Tampa the next morning and everything was pretty smooth. The flight from Tampa to Key West was a different story. I didn’t eat that morning and we kinda rushed into the airport and into the terminal. A few hours later we landed in Tampa and hurried to get our connecting flight. Running through the airport I started to feel a little dizzy and shakey is the only way I can explain it. Whatev, I get on the plane with my new wife and get seated so we can take off.

Sitting on the 8 passenger plane taxiing out to the runway I start to get this weird numbing feeling in my body and my vision all but shuts off or something like tunnel vision. At this point I’m think ok this aint cool and getting stuck in a plane when I need some medical attention ain’t a cool idea either. So I get out of my seat and began to open the door to the plane to get off. I felt pretty calm at this point but most of it is still kinda hazy. I remember walking off the plane and some guy running at me from the terminal like he wants to tackle me. Laughing at the guy cause he looked funny but he wasn’t too happy. They directed me to the terminal and lots of people were staring at me. I walked up a bunch of steps and that’s about all I remember for a while. Luckily my wife followed behind me but she was probably better off going without me.

I remember kinda waking up sitting in the airport food court eating some shitty hamburger and drinking a Coca-Cola. What happened? My wife told me what went on and we chalked it up to a panic attack or something because the plane was so small. I’ve flown in those planes before and really didn’t think it was that. Whatev again. Let’s get down to Key West.

So we rented a Lincoln Towncar and drove down to Key West from Tampa. I think it took like 7 hours but it was an adventure.

Some time later on I went to the doctor’s and found out I was a Type 2 Diabetic and I need to start on some medication and get in better shape. So began my 10 year struggle with Diabetes and now I’m looking to cure all that with this Gastric Bypass weight loss surgery. I could try me best to explain everything I understand about it but this video below does a better job. Basically what happens is I re-route food I eat into a smaller pouch of a stomach and also do away with the first 18 inches of my small intestine. The combination of these 2 things actually cures my type 2 diabetes right after the surgery. Some thing about forcing the pancreas to work harder to secrete insulin into my body and preventing my liver from releasing sugar into my blood also.

So in just a few days I’ll be getting this surgery at Lahey Clinic in Burlington MA and recovering a few days in the hospital. Wish me luck and hopefully no complications like my Mother had with her gastric bypass surgery. I can’t look at pictures of my Dad anymore to see what I’ll look like when I get older cause he died when he was 37. It’s up to me how I live my life and I don’t want to leave any earlier than I have to. This surgery will extend my life rather than how I was living with Diabetes and being overweight.

Here’s What a Gastric Bypass Surgery Looks Like

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Gastric Bypass Surgery for my Type 2 Diabetes

There are many contradictory views on The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The Secret movie was released on DVD. I didn’t see the movie. I read The Secret book. I’ll tell you what the secret of The Secret really is.

In the book, The Secret, the basic principle is the law of attraction. This law of attraction states that like attracts like. If you are feeling and thinking certain thoughts the law of attraction is going to bring more of the same type of feelings and thoughts. Good or bad.

I do believe in the law of attraction. I think of times when I have been around someone who constantly sees and speaks about the negative side to a situation. If you allow yourself to listen to these type of ideas they do bring more negative ideas into your own head.

Perfect Example of Negative Thought Attracting More Negative Thought

Have you ever had a negative person sit near you at work? The person that is never happy with their job, the people around them or even the entire company that they work for. I have. I’ve allowed myself to go over to the dark side for periods of time. This person was so open with their negative views that it brought me down. I would end up saying “You know what? This place really does suck!”

I had allowed their negative thoughts room in my brain. Once I did that, the law of attraction kicked in. I attracted more negative thoughts. I then perceived my job, my co-workers, even the company as being negative and if I perceived it as being negative it truly was negative. I made it that way with the type of thoughts I was having.

The Secret of The Secret

The law of attraction is the principle of The Secret. So what is the secret of The Secret? It is positive thought and visualization. You may say “sitting around and thinking positively doesn’t work, I’ve done it”. But have you really? I thought I had but I was wrong. You have to get in the habit of thinking differently than you probably do right now.

Instead of thinking “jeez I have such bad credit” You should think “I’m going to repair my credit”. When your thoughts are focusing on your bad credit the law of attraction is then going to magnetize further bad credit. If you are thinking about repairing your credit the law of attraction is then going to magnetize things that will repair your credit.

If you learn to put a positive spin on your thoughts, you are more likely to attract positive outcomes to what you are thinking about. The book, The Secret, goes into more detail about techniques you can use to create more positive thoughts and also about how to visualize what you want.

If You Don’t Completely Buy Into The Secret

So you are finding it hard to believe the principle law of attraction explained in The Secret? Ok. Start off without really thinking too much into it. Just think about the fact that positive thoughts will keep you feeling better than negative thoughts. If you are feeling happy there is no way that your thoughts are negative. It just doesn’t work that way. It goes both ways. If you are feeling down then you are not thinking positive thoughts.

First you start with your actual feelings. Next time you are having an off day and are feeling a little down concentrate on some positive things. You will see that you can actually turn your mood right around. Once you are able to do that, you will see that there is a benefit to this type of thought process. Then maybe you will expand on it. Maybe you will start visualizing some things that you want. You will see that if nothing else, you will feel more positive.

I know that when I was done reading The Secret I felt very hopeful and optimistic. Something that makes me feel that way can’t be all bad can it?

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The Secret of The Secret

We are now being tuld that any darkening of the skin at all is considered skin damage caused by sun. If that is the case then I am completely screwed. I don’t know about anyone else but I used to put baby oil on just to get a nice burn to start off the summer season with. You know, the uld Irish base tan.

Experts are saying that you must use sunscreen with an SPF 30 or higher. Are you kidding me? When I was a kid, if my mother put sunscreen on me at all it was SPF 4. Well, there’s one more thing I get to blame on my parents…skin cancer.

To help spread the word of sun protection experts have come up with a nifty little acronym for all the stupid people out there, it is called AWARE

• A – Avoid unprotected exposure during the peak UV hours which are between 10-4
• W – Wear sun protected clothing including a shirt, a hat with at least a 3 inch brim and sunglasses. Stay out of direct sunlight
• A – Apply broad spectrum sunscreen with SPF30 or higher to all unprotected skin 20 minutes before going outside and then again every 2 hours
• R – Routinely check for and report suspicious changes to a physician
• E – Express the need for sun protection to your family and community

Is it just me or where they kinda reaching on that last one? Anyway basically there message breaks down like this:

DO NOT step outside your house between the hours of 10-4 without first slathering yourself up with SPF 30 sunscreen, making sure you have most of your body parts covered up (who cares if it is hot…put your snow pants on!). DON’T FORGET to put on that baseball hat that someone gave you for Christmas that you never wear because the brim is 5 inches long and it has a picture of a wolf on it, and just for extra safety you may want to buy some tanning goggles at your local tanning salon and slap those on.

Once you are sure that you are protected, it is then your duty to tell every person that you see on the street who is not wearing the correct sun protection, that they need to go home and get geared up. Hey, you’re just expressing the need for sun protection to your community. That is what the experts say to do.

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Protect Yourself From Skin Cancer or You Could Die!

• You may be calling home regularly to say hello and to check up on your parent’s well-being then you are a caregiver.
• You may be giving your mom a ride to the doctor or the store each week – then you are a caregiver.
• You may visit your grandfather in a nursing home regularly…then you are a caregiver.

Caregivers may be providing many hours of direct care each week or perhaps providing only financial
help because of distance. No matter what the case, caregiving can be stressful. Here are some guidelines to ensure that your time and efforts are worthwhile.

1. Your older relative is an adult. This means that he or she has the right to make decisions about her/his life. An adult child must respect that right unless the older person has lost the capacity to make decisions or will put others in danger through his/her behavior.
2. Whenever possible, offer choices. The ability to make choices is basic to freedom…so provide choices whenever possible…from where to live to which cereals to eat at breakfast to what to wear. Choices enable us to express ourselves. As options become more limited, through health losses or financial constraints or social losses, caregivers must work harder to provide options.
3. Do only those things they cannot do for themselves. Too often caregivers take over when they should not. It may be done faster if you do it, maybe it seems hard for mother to make her own meals, and perhaps the bills are sometimes overdue. Skills are maintained through use and lost through disuse. So before you take over any task be sure that mom or dad can no longer do it themselves.
4. Be sure to do what you promise to do. As people age, they often become more vulnerable and become more dependent on others. In the United States, we generally prefer to be independent,
   and we find it emotionally difficult to have to depend on others. We certainly do not want to be a
   burden to others. So, with all these mixed feelings, the older person may need to be able to rely on you
   but can’t admit it. Do what you promise. Come by the house when you have scheduled it. Remember
   that your older relative needs you more, even if that is not stated.
5. Take care of you. This may seem obvious, but people often ignore their own needs while caring for an older relative. In a time when many are caring for elders and children at the same time, as holding down a job, exhaustion and severe stress can occur. Guilt may prevent a caregiver from seeking a nursing home placement for a parent, or even prevent the use of professional or paraprofessional care. Remember, an exhausted person is more likely to make foolish decisions, or
   to snap at a parent in a hurtful way. Even elder abuse can happen when the caregiver has nothing left
   to give. So take care of yourself, take time out to do things you enjoy even if it means sometimes needing to say no to your own parent. Only those who refresh themselves can be there for the long haul.
6. Your own support matters. Families can be spread all over the country or around the world. There can be deep emotional currents when a parent becomes ill. Some family members will want to do everything…others will do very little unless they are asked. Yet spouses, brothers and sisters, children, and other relatives can do much to share the care. You may need to bring them together to organize the family as a care system.

Helping Out Emotionally or Physically Is Being a Good Caregiver

Researching a topic can be frustrating sometimes. You search the web for information only to find much of it not exactly related to the topic you are searching for. This has prompted our experts to help provide better information for people like you. This article will try to help you by providing information that you can actually use.

Let’s be honest. Profit is what Business is all about. And profit can be derived from the payments we secure from our customers. How then do we boost the receipt of payments? An efficient payment processing system should provide the answer. Payment processing is what converts sales into realized profits. Without payment processing, your business could not collect payments, and thus will most likely fail. Without efficient payment processing, your business would needlessly suffer. It’s better than a Paypal debit card.

The importance of an efficient payment processing system cannot be underestimated. Payment processing, as many business owners will attest to, is the heart of your enterprise. It goes with saying then, that payment processing is an essential requirement for any kind of venture, online or offline.

The more you discuss this subject, the more you will learn. There is much information available that is perhaps just waiting to be discovered. By reading the rest of this article, you will be on your way to learning all you need to know about this.

Merchant Accounts Will Expand Your Market

Your products aren’t the only things that would determine your market. Payment processing can certainly help you expand such an audience. By being able to accept the various credit cards and other payment alternatives, for example, you could boost your customer base by more than 400%. It’s no secret that most people these days prefer to use those payment options, and having those options available would certainly entice more people to purchase your product.

Payment processing of payment methods other than cash is doubly important for online businesses. Money mails and checks are just too inconvenient for online transactions, so payment processing of credit cards and similar options would be a necessity for Internet trading. Almost all merchant accounts offering payment processing services offer secured networks that would ensure the security of each compensative settlement.

Payment Processing Can Increase The Efficiency Of Your Operations

Every business strives for automation of most tasks, and payment processing systems are no exception. Automation would allow you to collect payments 24 hours a day with minimal supervision, and an efficient payment processing system can help you achieve such a task. Payment processing systems can automatically handle every payment made to your business. This leaves you free to concentrate on other essentials such as the marketing of your site.

Your decision to invest in a proper and reliable payment processing system is most likely the single most important task relating to the success of your business. Having said this, and given all the benefits owing to various payment processing systems, it is in every business’s best interests to investigate the many systems available and implement the most suitable one for your business.

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Top Merchant Account Payment Processing Systems For Your Website

The flexibility of SaaS works if participants have rules to play by. Many IT organizations already have adopted best-practice processes, such as those defined in the ITIL V3 Training, to manage the IT services they provide. Now those processes can provide some rules and control for managing SaaS. But with new approaches like job scheduling software, come misconceptions about technologies and best practices. The sections that follow will dispel some common misconceptions about combining SaaS and ITIL.

Misconception 1: ITIL is old school. SaaS is modern.

They’re incompatible. During the last 20 years, SaaS has revolutionized some businesses. SaaS is more sophisticated now, but it isn’t that much younger than ITIL. As today’s SaaS becomes more widely used, the ITIL processes still apply. However, organizations must apply them a bit differently. To manage SaaS, the IT organization needs feedback from those using SaaS applications. In the past, IT provided the technology for the customers’ use, and IT recorded details about every incident, who
called to report it, when they called, and what they did. With SaaS, IT doesn’t always know the details. Now, business managers can easily opt for their own SaaS solutions, but IT still needs to be involved in supporting, integrating, and managing those solutions. Take, for example, a SaaS consumer who repeatedly encounters a problem when using a sales force automation tool that integrates with internal systems. Each incident will be logged, and the root cause can be identified and eliminated using problem management and workload automation practices. However, if these incidents are logged by the SaaS supplier, the IT organization will not be able to perform proactive problem management itself unless the SaaS supplier collects the correct data and makes that data available.
All the basic tenets of IT service management and ITIL still exist today with SaaS, but the form of communication with the supplier is different. The compatibility of information between SaaS suppliers and consumers must be absolutely precise, so that both sides know what the other is doing. If both the IT organization and the SaaS supplier are using ITIL terminology and processes, then both All the basic tenets of IT service management and ITIL still exist today with SaaS.

As today’s SaaS becomes more widely used, the ITIL processes still apply. However, organizations must apply them a bit differently. To manage SaaS, the IT organization needs feedback from those using SaaS applications. In the past, IT provided the
technology for the customers’ use, and IT recorded details about every incident, who called to report it, when they called, and what they did. With SaaS, IT doesn’t always know the details. Now, business managers can easily opt for their own SaaS solutions, but IT still needs to be involved in supporting, integrating, and managing those solutions. Take, for example, a SaaS consumer who repeatedly encounters a problem when using a sales force automation tool that integrates with internal systems. Each incident will be logged, and the root cause can be identified and eliminated using problem management. However, if these incidents are logged by the SaaS supplier, the IT organization will not be able to perform proactive problem management itself unless the SaaS supplier collects the correct data and makes that data available.

Conclusion: SaaS and ITIL are compatible. They go together like James Bond and fast cars.

Misconception 2: ITIL doesn’t matter with SaaS.

Organizations that have spent years establishing ITIL processes and getting ITIL certifications probably will want to use a SaaS solution that is also ITIL focused. In particular, if you are buying a service management SaaS product, ITIL certification shows commitment to the industry and commitment to the product. ITIL-compatible products are more likely to be adaptable with other products that you might use to support internal service management. For a service management tool, look for a solution with built-in ITIL-based best practices and an embedded cross-function process model.

If the SaaS supplier is providing another type of business tool, then be sure that the supplier is prepared to work with you even if the tool and supplier are not ITIL focused. When putting together a service portfolio, clearly describe the services and
the rules that must be followed. Even if the SaaS supplier is not ITIL focused, your IT organization should be. Follow good
ITIL processes; you’ll still need to implement changes and adhere to processes, and you’ll need to make sure you impose the right
regulations from your end.

Conclusion: Just as it is critical for an airplane pilot to complete a checklist before takeoff, following ITIL processes is critical to success with SaaS.

Misconception 3: SaaS should not affect how you manage ITIL processes.

It’s tempting to think that if you use SaaS, you will not need to adjust how you manage ITIL processes. But you do. For example, with SaaS, who will be in charge of the ITIL process of change management? If the SaaS supplier must make a change, how does the
customer get involved in change management? In those circumstances, you can’t have the same kind of change advisory board (CAB) that ITIL recommends. When incidents, problems, and changes occur to a SaaS application, IT needs to know that the SaaS supplier will resolve problems and implement changes. Ask the supplier questions such as: How do you manage your changes? How do I know your changes are going to be successful? What’s the process if the change fails? How will you notify us of proposed changes? How do you manage incidents?

The answers to these questions will differentiate SaaS suppliers. If SaaS suppliers don’t have good service management processes
behind their applications, then this is cause for concern. Clear lines of responsibility and stringent controls will help you know exactly what is happening and where. Bottom line: IT is no longer the owner of changes. So, in addition to rethinking the way it handles change management with a SaaS supplier, IT might include something about change management in the service contract.

Conclusion: Clarify how SaaS suppliers follow ITIL processes and how their own processes integrate with yours. You may also need to evaluate your processes to ensure they are effective in a SaaS environment.

Misconception 4: ITIL gets in the way of SaaS agility.

The on-demand nature of SaaS can offer tremendous agility to IT organizations and business users, and they may not want to stifle that agility with processes such as those in ITIL. But agility without discipline is dangerous. If you make changes too quickly, without considering the ramifications to your strategy, design, and operations, you might inadvertently create tremendous problems that affect service availability. You can compare ITIL processes to the high performance brakes on a sports car; those brakes give you the confidence to be more agile and take a turn at a faster speed. In many cases, having established processes will actually streamline the accomplishment of your goals. ITIL brings the discipline. It will tell you where to set your parameters, how to manage those parameters, and so on. It’s about having the right agility in the right place. Controlling the agility in all directions is important. IT professionals know that doing things quickly without proper planning and without proper notification is a road to disaster.

Conclusion: Following ITIL best practices actually will increase agility.

A framework for flexibility SaaS offers IT organizations and business users more choices and greater flexibility when selecting applications, but agility without discipline can be a problem. And unless your organization uses SaaS exclusively, you will need to integrate old and new IT solutions. The ITIL processes you already use for managing your IT systems can provide some rules and control for also managing SaaS. Follow ITIL best practices and watch your SaaS implementation soar.

Can ITIL and SaaS Exist Well In The Same Environment?

Computers have changed our world but not without a price. Some of us are getting out of balance. Problems associated with computers are CDT (Cumulative Trauma Disorder), RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury), or the worst SOZS (Spaced Out Zombie Syndrome).

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As with television, you can become addicted to a computer. You sit down at your computer, and seven hours later you finally notice your rear end is numb, your neck and shoulders are in a vice, you are hungry, thirsty, tired, and your spouse has left with all the kids. How did that happen? Where did your mind go? And why did you accomplish so little in that time?

Much has been said about how to support yourself physically on the computer. Invest in a good chair, maintain erect posture, use a wrist rest, and use an anti-glare screen. But what about proper mental and emotional support? For example, if you look at a two-dimensional screen at close range for many hours, it can limit your binocular vision, depth perception and peripheral vision. The constant hum of electronic equipment can switch off auditory skills. These imbalances can cause you to over focus, and become so engrossed in the details of what you are doing on screen. Consequently, you lose track of the big picture, your priorities and goals. Also, the electromagnitic field of a computer can negatively affect body meridians, which in turn affect energy, mind and emotions.

Below are some tricks you can use to stay alert, creative, positive, productive, clear and healthy on computer. Take a 3 minute break every half hour. Set up a timer that will go off reminding you to break. Here are some ideas that will re-balance your system. Try a different one each time:

Drink water: Electrostatic energy around a computer can dehydrate you, which significantly slows down the firing of synapses in your brain. Drink a least 8 oz of water for every hour you are in front of a computer.

Reconnect head and heart: This two minute exercise helps re-energize your mind, moves you out of confusion and helps you feel more positive. Sit in a chair, cross your legs at the ankle, then cross your arms at the wrist and interlace your fingers. Sit like this with your eyes closed breathing deeply for one minute. Then uncross your legs and arms and sit with your fingertips touching for another minute. This second pose is called The Spock Pose.

Neck rolls: Tight neck and shoulders can impair binocular vision and binaural hearing. Roll your head from side to side letting your chin drop to your chest. Go slowly and breathe deeply.

Gaze into the distance: Go to a window and scan the horizon taking in three dimensional shapes off in the distance. This will balance out your vision.

Stretch: Constricted hamstrings, sacrum, spinal support muscles and shoulders can directly effect your mental functioning. Take a few minutes to lengthen these muscles. A great yoga pose to do this is the downward facing dog. Bend forward at the waist and place your hands flat on the floor about three feet in front of you, so that your body is in a V-shape. Keep you feet flat on the floor if possible.

Fun: Fun restores emotional balance. Dance, sing, play solitaire (not on computer, use real cards), hug a tree, go visit a co-worker (don’t e-mail them), play with your pet, call a friend and compliment them on something, read cartoons, look in the paper for a movie to see tonight, plan a trip to the tropics.

Be easy on yourself. Working on a computer can trigger certain debilitating belief systems such as perfectionism and the need for completion. Notice when you hear yourself saying “I’ll just finish writing these last four e-mails”, then I’ll take a break. Create a list of Anti-Zombie Techniques nearby, such as the ones listed above, or add some of your own. Pick one thing on the list and go do it for three minutes. Tiny breaks throughout your day will ensure survival and success on your high-tech adventures.

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How to Stay Healthy in a High Technology Workplace

Microsoft Vista is an operating system that has quite a bit of faults. From poor RAM allocation to causing hardware failures with certain computers, Vista has had more than it’s fair share of detractors. However, Microsoft responded in kind with Windows 7 – a powerful operating system that has enjoyed favorable accolades from reviewers around the world. Windows 7 was designed with high-end functionality in mind coupled with a user-friendly interface. No matter which operating system you are currently using, it is highly recommended that you upgrade to Windows 7 right away.

While upgrading your operating system may seem difficult, the jump to Windows 7 does not have to be a tough process. It will only require a small chunk of your time, and there are many precautions Microsoft has taken to ensure a quick and easy upgrade for you, the user. There are certain things for you to take into consideration, however, which we will look into here.

The first and most vital step in the process of upgrading to Windows 7 is ensuring that your hardware is compatible with the operating system’s requirements. Microsoft offers a free download of their Windows Upgrade Advisor, which will allow you to see whether or not your computer is compatible with Windows 7 easily and quickly. Chances are, if you are using Windows Vista already, your computer will most likely be compatible with Windows 7 – particularly if the computer has been purchased within the past year. However, that is no reason not to be sure (better safe than sorry), so take the time to head over to the Windows homepage and download the Windows Upgrade Advisor. In addition, you should also download Windows Easy Transfer, which will discuss further in detail when we get to the point where you will need to utilize it.

Now, before you go ahead and purchase Windows 7 discs at your local electronics retailer, it is important to begin backing up your files. Typically, a Windows migration will preserve the majority of your files, if not all of them. In any event, as a general rule it is still important to backup all of your files – even if you are not upgrading to a new operating system. Technical issues can arise with hardware and software which could lead to the loss of gigabytes worth of pictures, documents, and hundreds of dollars (and time!)in software. Take the time to invest in an external hard drive. Of course, it goes without saying that you want to choose an external hard drive that’s capacity will be able to comfortably store all your files. Luckily, most external hard drives run rather cheap. For instance, a 1.7 terabyte hard drive averages around $125. Given that 1.7 terabytes is an amazing wealth of memory, the price is not particularly overwhelming. Note that this step in the process is not entirely necessary, however, it is never a bad idea to set up a security blanket for your files.

Now that you have checked the compatibility of Windows 7 with your system and invested in an external back-up system, it is time to grab hold of the Windows 7 installation discs. If you have not yet purchased them, consider first which version is appropriate for you. Much like Vista, Windows 7 comes in both 32 bit and 64 bit versions – and both of them are included in the Windows 7 software package. The difference lies within the amount of RAM being processed – 64 bit operating systems process more, but require more to run. Not all computers can handle the 64 bit version, but if your system has four gigs or more of RAM, it should handle Windows 7 just fine. The Windows Upgrade Advisor software can assist you in determining whether or not your computer is more tailored to the 32 bit or 64 bit version of Windows 7.

So, now the big moment has arrived. It’s time to upgrade your PC to Windows 7. Insert the installation disc, make sure your computer is properly connected to the internet (to automatically install all of the Windows updates) and get ready to go through all of the necessary steps. An important note: make sure to have the provided 25 character long serial number. Your copy of Windows 7 is rendered useless without it. It is recommended that you use the “easy install” option, so that you may transfer all of your files properly. Once this process is done (it can take anywhere from twenty minutes to an hour depending on your hadrware setup), run Windows Easy Transfer to make sure that all of your old files get put in the places where they are expected. Microsoft has done a great job of streamlining this entire process for you, making it easy to upgrade and migrate to Windows 7. In the unfortunate event that anything happens to your files during the upgrade process (an unlikely possibility), Windows Easy Transfer, a free download, will allow you to transfer all of your files from your external hard drive with simple ease. Windows Easy Transfer will then allow you to re-install all of your programs and drives in simple fashion, ensuring that your computer will have everything it had with your prior operating system.

No matter which operating system you are currently using, an upgrade to Windows 7 can be a good idea for many people. Its new features make navigating your PC easier than ever before, and it is yet to have any serious bugs or malfunction-related issues – unlike Vista. While it may seem difficult to upgrade and migrate to Windows 7 at first, you will find that the process has been set up for success by Microsoft. The process is actually very user friendly, and will only take a small amount of time from your day. Using this guide and taking a few simple measures to preserve your files can go a long way to long-term happiness, so give it a shot today!

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How to Upgrade and Migrate Windows XP to Windows 7

Companies are starting to use LBS (location-based services) as the new cutting edge marketing to attract a new crowd. The question is whether they’ll pay for the privilege. Or whether Foursquare, which has 400,000 users now voluntarily “checking in” at locations, and broadcasting that to their followers, will transcend its current “it” status among the technorati and become a lasting consumer phenomenon and a marketing tool.

Co-founder Dennis Crowley puts it this way: I think Foursquare found some kind of sweet spot between the:

• intersection of social utility (Hey, I know where my friends are)
• sharing/oversharing (I log everywhere I go/everything I do)
• and gaming/rewards (every check-in gives you a little piece of candy).

Foursquare is designed with these game dynamics in mind, and it’s the absurd appeal of its reward that makes the service so “sticky” for us. ALSO keep in mind each time someone checks in, it exposes your business to all of their followers on Twitter and Facebook as well. That’s over 300,000,000 people.

Foursquare is available in every city (mostly in the U.S.). Right now, the service has a strictly urbanite appeal, and it could inhabit this niche quite nicely. However, if local offers are incorporated in a compelling way as its coverage area expands, it could certainly head towards the mainstream. I can also see people using it just to discover what’s around them, regardless of telling people where they are. “I’ll get sushi at Ki Sushi since Carter P. tells me it’s the best in the city,” or “I’ll hit up an ATM if I go to Trout when D.M. warns that it’s cash only.”

[pullquote]Keep in mind each time someone checks in on Foursquare, it exposes your business to all of their followers on Facebook and Twitter.[/pullquote]Advertisers, both local and national, would be smart to start thinking about their “location” strategies while there’s still a relatively open playing field. By taking advantage of mobile platforms like Foursquare, ones that engage and offer incentives to consumers within the proverbial “last 50 feet,” businesses can bring all the advantages of the social web to their front door.

Startup Foursquare is showing the early stages of what could be some very interesting things for local marketing and fun for its users.

One of the biggest things to leverage for local businesses is using Foursquare “Mayorships” (which you get when you check into a venue the most times compared to others in the city) as a way to give out special deals, like free beer, 10% off your bill every visit or even a free toy for the Mayor’s kid.

That idea continues to expand. I’ve talked with 2 local companies in the Boston area and one is a custom running shoe store that gives out a free pair of sneakers to its Mayor and another Children’s Dentist that could do a free 30-minute teeth cleaning procedure for their Mayor.

As Amit Gupta noted, a bar/performance space is doing something similar in San Francisco. But they’re also expanding on the idea. Not only does the mayor of the venue get free drinks, but everyone who checks into the venue on Foursquare and shows proof (on your iPhone or other mobile device) gets $2 off a ticket to any performance that night.

While Foursquare didn’t officially sanction this, it loves ideas like this. And it should be obvious why: It entices people not only to go to those venues, but to use Foursquare when they do. The service loves the idea so much, that it’s building support for these types of deals, or “Mayor Bonuses” as they it calls them, into the next version of the iPhone app.

Want to get your business in on this Foursquare bandwagon? Go here and register your company or venue right from its foursquare venue page. There’s even a premade Foursquare sign you can put in your business’s window.

If you need more help with this or any local social media marketing feel free to contact me.

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How Local Business Can Use Foursquare