The main thing you want to do when preparing for a kettlebell workout is to have safety in mind before you get started. That’s the rule with any fitness program – if you are putting stress on your body, you have to do it the right way or you risk injury.

With kettlebells, you’re working with a heavy piece of equipment (usually made of cast iron), and with the many swinging or high speed movements and you have a recipe for disaster if you haven’t considered the safety aspect. Make sure you have plenty of room to perform the exercises. You don’t want to swing a kettlebell and accidentally put a hole in your wall. Slowly move the kettlebell around in all directions to make sure you have plenty of room without the risk of hitting something.

Kettlebell Workouts

Kettlebell workouts range from basic beginner moves to more advanced strategies. Start with a good foundation in understanding the routines and then escalate your workout to something more.

Because you’ll be holding these weights with your hands and moving them rapidly, you don’t want sweaty palms to cause you to lose control of the kettlebell. Keep the dampness minimized by using a towel frequently – or by wearing workout gloves to help you keep your grip.

Look to a professional for the best kettlebell workout tips. You can take a local class, buy a kettlebell routine DVD or even read and see instructions online to help you maneuver the workouts, but instructions are necessary to prevent injury and help you reach your fitness goals.

When you start your training, make sure you begin with a weight that’s manageable for you. Don’t overdo it and start with a kettlebell that’s too heavy because it will actually do more harm than good.

It’s best to have a set of kettlebells where you can change up the weight according to the movement. Some movements may require more repetition and lighter weight, while other slower exercises would be perfect with a heavier weight.

Make sure you rest between sets. You don’t want t o cause injury or burn out before your workout is complete. You want to vary the routines you tackle, too. Doing the exact same movements over and over again means your body isn’t getting the benefit of what the kettlebells can do for you.

You can even alter an exercise slightly to get more out of it. For example, slowing a ballistic movement down to a grinding movement (fast to slow) can help improve your strength and assist you in building a formidable core.

I don’t have health insurance, so I have a big investment in staying healthy.

And so I did a little research today — I found the top causes of death, then created a spreadsheet for the controllable risk factors for each.

Some things can’t be controlled (your age, family history of diseases, gender). But others can. And those things aren’t a huge surprise — you already know not to smoke, drink too much, or eat crappily.

It’s interesting, though, how all of the major diseases are caused by the same things: smoking, diet, exercise, alcohol and stress.

Below I’ll list the top habits you can change, and a simple method for changing them.

The 8 Habits of Healthy Living

1. Stop smoking. This is by far the most important habit, as it affects almost every single one of the leading causes of death. It’s also the hardest of these habits to change. It’s not at all impossible — I quit six years ago next month (read my tips).

2. Lose weight (if you’re overweight). This is not exactly a habit — the best habit to form to lose weight is to eat less. Or eat more of things that don’t have a lot of calories, like fruits and veggies. Being overweight is just below smoking the worst risk factor for many diseases.

3. Exercise. You don’t need me to tell you to exercise, but listen to this: lack of exercise is a major risk factor for heart disease, stroke, colon & rectal cancers, diabetes, breast cancer, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. If you don’t exercise, you’re just asking to get a major disease. It’s almost a magic pill: do a bit of exercise every day, and you get healthy. You don’t need much — start with 5 minutes a day in the morning.

4. Drink only in moderation. Heavy drinking is one of the worst risk factors for many diseases. That’s more than 2 drinks of alcohol a day for men, and more than 1 drink for women. A glass of red wine is a good thing, but too many and you’re greatly increasing your risk of disease.

5. Cut out red & processed meats. Eating red meats, and processed meats like sausages, bacon, canned meats and so on, is a risk factor for colon/rectal cancer, stomach cancer, and high cholesterol, which in turn is a leading risk factor for coronary heart disease and stroke. While this won’t sit well with many people, the overwhelming mass of research supports this. I recommend going vegetarian.

6. Eat fruits & veggies. This is obvious, but it’s amazing how few veggies most people eat. Eating fruits and veggies reduces your risk of several leading diseases, and it’s one of the easiest habits to form. Eat a salad (without heavy dressings, bacon or other meats, croutons or cheese), add veggies to soups or veggie chili, cook up veggies as a healthy side dish with dinner or lunch. Eat fruits with breakfast and as snacks.

7. Reduce salt, and saturated/trans fats. Salt and saturated or trans fats are in so many processed or prepared foods, and they increase risks of high blood pressure and high cholesterol, which increase risk for heart disease and stroke. Despite what the Weston Price Foundation and other people on the Internet tell you, saturated fat isn’t healthy — read the sources. Note that this isn’t a controversy in the medical community, but the “harmlessness” of saturated fats is perpetuated by the diary and meat industries, and lay writers like Gary Taube. Cook your own healthy meals instead of eating out or eating prepared foods.

8. Reduce stress. Stress is a risk factor for heart disease and high blood pressure, which is itself a risk factor for stroke. Simplify your workday so that you’re not overly stressed, and exercise to relieve stress.

How to Form the Habits

This might seem like a lot to change, if you’re not already doing these things, but let me share something with you: I changed all of these in the last 6 years.

In 2005, I was incredibly unhealthy. Then I learned to change my habits, and slowly I:

Quit smoking.
Started running.
Became vegan.
Lost 70 lbs.
Cleaned up my diet and got rid of unhealthy stuff.
Simplified my life and reduced stress.
Cut drinking down to 1-2 glasses of red wine a day.
I did it, and so can you. I changed one habit at a time, slowly, in tiny tiny steps, and it wasn’t hard. Don’t try to change everything, and don’t make it hard on yourself. It’s actually very easy if you’re patience and if you just start.

Here’s how to change these habits:

Change only one habit at a time. It doesn’t matter which habit you choose. Just choose one. You’ll want to do more than one, but don’t.
Create positive habits you enjoy. Read the last word again — if you enjoy it, the habit change will be easy. Replace smoking with positive habits you enjoy that fulfill the needs that smoking now fulfills (stress reduction, social lubrication, boredom relief, etc.). Replace red meats with healthy foods you enjoy.
Start as small as possible. Just do 5 minutes the first week, and try to be consistent as possible. Then do 10 minutes. Small change is by far the most effective method I’ve used for changing habits. Slow change lasts.
Make it social. Find a partner or group to change the habit with you, so you’re more likely to stick with it.
These work. I’ve done them many times, and every time I stick to these principles, I’ve changed a habit.

Healthy living isn’t impossible, or even especially difficult. It’s just slower to come by than most people care for.

Post written by Leo Babauta. www.zenhabits.net

I started seeing people wearing these hydration packs on the mountain bike and hiking trails about ten years ago, and at the time thought they were a gimmicky fad that would soon pass. Now here I am researching one to buy for an upcoming trip that will include a couple days of mountain bike riding. My first stop- the Camelbak Lobo.

Weighing 1.08 lbs empty, this model from Camelbak has 200 cubic inches cargo carrying room. Compared to the Camelbak M.U.L.E., which has 763 cubic inches space, the Lobo has a little less cargo carrying room, but there is enough space to carry a spare tube, all-in-one bike tool, an energy bar, and your wallet or an iPod. It also has a Camelbak bladder that holds 100 ounces of water. (Which weighs 6.6 lbs.)

Experts at the American College of Sports Medicine recommend drinking at a minimum of 1 litre water per hour for even moderate activity. Since 1 litre is about 33 ounces, and the Lobo holds 100 ounces, you should be good for 3 hours without a refill.

Features

This pack comes with something Camelbak calls the “Antidote Reservoir with Quick Link System”. This is a new design with a better Fill Port, it has the widest opening on the market and uses with a quick-release cap that tightens and locks in a quarter turn. This new fill port is lighter by 19% and has a 28% lower profile than previous reservoirs. So, what this means is the pack is a little lighter and more compact, plus quicker to fill. Ok, it may not be as revolutionary as they make it sound, but every little improvement helps.

There are other improvements over earlier generation Camelbaks, too. A reduced profile of the internal reservoir baffle, which is said to reduce stack height 24% compared to previous reservoirs, means a flatter and more streamlined shape when full. The baffle is said to better minimize sloshing and barreling when the reservoir is in the pack, also.

What else is new? It is easier to clean because of dryer arms that fold out from around the fill port, which opens up the reservoir for a more complete air dry. The Quick Link System is a click-in connection that includes auto shut-off. This allows improved accessories, like the Fresh Filter (better tasting water) and the Insulated Tube with Flow Meter (keeps water colder longer, monitors how much water has been consumed and how much remains).

Hydration Packs

The goal of a hydration pack like the Camelbak Lobo, is to help you keep your hands on the handlebars of your bike. You’ll find you drink more water when you wear a hydration pack, since you don’t have to reach down to grab a water bottle from a cage on your frame tube. That means you stay hydrated better, all while staying focused on the trail.

Water stays cold longer in a pack’s bladder than in a bottle, too (it also feels nice and cool on your back on a hot day). You can even throw in some ice cubes when you are filling the bladder.

Ask any mountain biker what the best hydration pack is and they’ll most likely tell you Camelbak. They are the company that started it all, and have been around longer; their packs are rugged and have stood the test of time and trail.

The fabric is rip proof and washable, the seams are tough and made to last, and the overall construction is top quality, so don’t worry about crashing into something with it on, the Camelbak can take it. But just in case, CamelBak warrants all reservoirs, backpacks, bottles, and accessories from manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship for the lifetime of the product.

What do the Owners Say?

This pack has gotten good reviews from almost everyone on Amazon with an average of 5 out of 5stars. Here are a few of the comments:

• “One of the best features of this must have hydro pack is the no-leak bite valve that is at the end of the delivery tube. It’s effortless to get a drink…”
• “Would recommend for 2-4 hour rides or for the rider who is wanting a sleeker hydration pack.”
• “Very well thought out and designed.”
• “This bag was pound per pound the best one in its category.”

You can also wear the Camelbak Lobo while hiking, skiing, on a long walk on a hot summer day, or working in the yard doing gardening or cleanup.

In conclusion, the Lobo would be a good choice for someone who like to travel light, and wants a good dependable hydration pack for mountain biking. It just may be the best Camelbak hydration pack, second only to the Mule.

If you would like more information about the Camelbak Lobo hydration Pack, get further details, customer comments and latest special price on this page at Amazon.

Seems there is a trend among backpackers to aim for the lightest weight gear, packs and clothing technology can offer. Titanium cooking pots, high-tech synthetic fabrics and framless rucksack style packs are helping to keep full loads for a 5 day trip to around 25 pounds.

Here’s a couple of good sites:

Joe’s Ultralight Backpacker has a good gear list, trip reports and other links

“Without a heavy load on your back, your need for heavy boots may well vanish! You need to CAREFULLY determine your own needs, but most ultralight hikers use either lightweight boots, trail-running shoes, or even regular running shoes/sneakers…My all-time favorite footwear is the Lowa Tempest Lo*…No break-in period, no “hot spots”, never given me a blister despite many long, rugged trail days.”

BackpackingLight.com

Great Lakes Lightweight Backpacking

Wishlist

Orginal Bug Shirt – completely protects against biting insects without chemicals

GoLite.com makes ultralight packs, sleeping bags, shelters and clothing

Ray-Way.com offers kits for making your own ultralight packs, tarp and other gear. Plus lots of good info from Ray Jardine, one of the first ultralight backpackers.

*Where to Buy Lowa Tempest Low in Montreal:

Boutique Courir (514)499-9600
Altitude Sports (514)847-1515
Sports Experts Ste-Catherine (514)866-1914
Boutique Propulsion (514)524-4803

Most camcorders have some type of video output. This guide will help you determine if this output can be connected to your computer, and if not, how to add the appropriate inputs.

1. Determine what type of video output your existing camcorder has. Newer digital ones probably have IEEE 1394, also known as “FireWire”. Most cameras also have an analog output, sometimes labeled as “NTSC”, “Composite” “S-Video”, or simply “Video Out”.

2. Determine if your computer already has the correct input. Many newer computers come with a FireWire (IEEE 1394) input. Look on the back of the PC for any ports labeled as such. Standard video (Composite or S-Video) inputs are less common, but often present on newer “Media PCs”. Usually, if your computer has a video input, it will be in the form of a round, yellow RCA type plug.

3. If your computer does not have the right type of connections, you will need to purchase a video capture device. These are available at most electronic and computer stores, and range usually from $30-$300. However, it may be cheaper to simply buy a webcam than to buy the video capture hardware.

4. You’ll also need a cable to connect your camcorder and computer together. Most camcorders come with the appropriate cables already. Many cameras have a special, proprietary output plug, so you’ll have to use the cables that came with the camera. Otherwise, compare the output plugs on the camera to the input plugs on the computer. Drawing or taking a picture might help. Take this to your local electronics store to find the right cable.

5. You’re now set! Download and install a webcam software package, or use something like AOL Instant Messenger that has the functionality built in.

* If you need to buy a video capture device, try and get the best that you can afford. The cheaper devices tend to produce lower quality video.
* Firewire is the best quality as its 100% digital. If you have an option, be sure to use Firewire
* Quality webcams can be found for under $100. Unless you have a reason to use your camcorder, it might make sense just to get a “real” webcam.

I invest conservatively, which to me means buying only high-quality stocks that pay regular dividends, and holding them basically forever. Buy-and-sell investing for the hot, trendy stock of the moment is out, as is buying on tips from freinds, tv shows, magazines or newspapers.

A good way to get safe growth of your money while having steady income is to buy stocks that have a history of boosting their dividends year after year. Many stocks fit this description; they tend to fall into certain categories such as banking, utility companies, insurance, healthcare and household name consumer goods.

You can read a little more about this strategy at http://dividendgrowth.ca, a Canadian site. Especially this page. Here is what he says about his investing philosophy:

“My retirement plan is very simple. When they are value priced, I buy common stocks of companies which have a good record of increasing dividend payments and hold them for the rising income. Here’s an example: We bought our BC Gas (now Terasen and sold to Americans in fall 2005 forcing us to sell our shares: Damn Yankees) in April of 1995 for $6.85. The dividend has grown from .45 to $.84 a share¹. Our yield on those shares is now 12.3% (.84/6.85). The price of Terasen has just quadrupled too. Since the collapse of the stock market in the spring of 2000 alone, Terasen is up over 90%. (In times of market turmoil, investors like dividend-paying stocks.) Dilemma: Do we sell and take the capital gain…only half of it is taxable now… or hold for the increasing dividend? The dividend has been growing at over 5% for the past five years. Regardless of what happens to the price of TER common shares, as long as the dividend holds, we’ll get our 12.3% yield. Whether the market goes up or down is now of no concern. Can you think of a better retirement asset? And no MER. And no maintenance or maturity date. I don’t understand why people switch to bonds in retirement. Have you ever known a bond to increase its interest rate? I don’t buy bonds, or G.I.C.s. I seek to produce consistent returns from safer dividend-paying common stocks rather than risk the chance of stellar ones that might come with go-go stocks.”

Books

• For starters, a basic overview book like Stock Investing for Dummies will get you familiar with teminology, how to open a brokerage account, how to buy and sell stocks etc.
• Then, read The Single Best Investment by Lowell Miller, which explains how to go about selecting good dividend paying stocks in detail.
• Another good book would be The Dividend Growth Investment Strategy by Roxann Klugman.

These guys at Simplehelp.net have figured out a way to hook up a webcam and and PC and use it as a security video camera. How cool is that. All you need is:

” 1. a PC running Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP (the software is untested on Windows 95 and NT, but should work)
2. a webcam (or two, see advanced)
3. Dorgem – an open source (free) webcam utility.

To upload images ‘off-site’ (in case someone steals your computer) you’ll need an FTP account. See the Advanced section when you’re done the initial setup.”

Great tutorial going step-by step with lots of screen shots.

If you’d like to pick your own stocks and funds, and have the convenience of seeing your investment portfolio 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you might want to consider choosing an online brokerage firm.

The advantages of using an online firm is that there are lower commission rates than if you used a full service broker. You can make as many or as few trades as you desire. You are responsible for choosing your investments. Before choosing an online brokerage firm, research all of the costs associated with the firm. Remember to look for more than just the lowest commission fee per trade.

Many online brokerage firms with slightly higher commission fees actually offer more tools and research capabilities for their investors. If a higher commission fee is matched by extra investor support the additional cost may be well worth it. Also take note of the minimum balance requirements and maintenance fees. Sometimes firms with lower commission fees make up the difference with a higher required minimum balance.

There are a few key factors that make an online brokerage firm trustworthy and professional. Good brokerage sites offer glossaries of financial and investment terms to help their investors. There may also have free and unlimited access to news and research from third-party sources to help investors make better decisions. A telephone number for customer assistance is also a desirable feature. However, keep in mind that the customer service department can only help with the mechanics of the online brokerage site. They aren’t there to help you choose stocks or offer investment advice.

If you like the convenience of investing online, there are several brokerages to choose from. Two of the most well known discount online brokerages are Ameritrade and ShareBuilder; please note that there are many other options available.

Ameritrade

With Ameritrade, there is a minimum balance requirement of $1000. With that balance, you can open an individual account. There is a quarterly maintenance fee of $15, but only if the account has less than $2000 of liquidation value. The fee will be waived if a minimum of four trades have been made within a six-month window. The fee can also be waived if the account is an IRA, rather than an account for stock investing.

Market orders for stock are charged a $10.99 commission fee by Ameritrade. Limit orders are also charged a $10.99 commission fee. Commissions for mutual funds are $17.99 for buying and selling no-loan funds. For buying a load mutual fund there are no fees charged. A load mutual fund is the term used when there is a fee charged by the mutual fund manager. For those who want a riskier option, Ameritrade also offers margin accounts (borrowing loans) and short accounts (borrowing securities).

Ameritrade has many brick and mortar branches around the country if you prefer to walk into a branch rather than conduct your business online. This allows investors to have the flexibility of having both an online and a walk-in brokerage.

Sharebuilder

Sharebuilder has many options for investors to choose from. This service allows investors to build varied portfolios in almost 5,000 different stocks and funds. You can also buy and sell in real-time. There are three investment plans to choose from with Sharebuilder; Basic, Standard and Advantage.

These investment plans are recurring. Investors instruct the system in how much they want to invest, and have complete control over when the investments are made and which companies they invest in. The system works by allowing the investor to specify a dollar amount to be deducted from their checking or savings account on a monthly or weekly basis.

Sharebuilder’s Basic plan has no monthly fee. With the Basic plan, investors are charged $4 per investment and are also able to trade in real-time for $15.95. Limit orders in real-time are $19.95. Sharebuilder’s Advantage plan makes it possible for investors to buy stocks for as little as $1 with 20 automatic investments. The monthly fee for the Advantage plan is $20. Real-time trade commissions are $11.95, and there are tools available for investors use such as a portfolio performance tool. ShareBuilder has no account or investment minimums at any level, and there are no inactivity fees.

The train network in Thailand is operated by the government, and is the best way to get around when you’re there, far better than buses or planes. The only problem is it doesn’t go everywhere in Thailand you might want to go. Windows are large and can be opened, which makes taking pictures easier, and the scenery- farmlands, small villages, temples and rivers- is usually better than what you’d see on the highways.

Thailand’s State Railway lines consist of four main lines; the Northern, North-Eastern, Southern and Eastern Routes, with various side routes. Tickets can be bought for one of three classes, 1st, 2nd or 3rd class. Third class is cheapest and not good for trips longer than a couple of hours, since the seating consists of crowded wooden bench seats. On Express trains, there is no 3rd class seating. Second class seating is about the same as a tour bus, with pairs of padded, forward-facing seats.

Air conditioning is available on some trains for 2nd class, but usually it is without a/c. Sleeping cars are offered in second class as well, and feature privacy curtains, berthing seats, and washrooms at the end of the cars. Private cabins are offered in the first class rail cars; they feature seats which convert into beds, air conditioning, a small table and fold-down washing basin and other amenities.

Stations

The major railway stations are in Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phitsanuloke and Hat Yai; each has baggage storage facilities and cafeterias, as do some of the lesser provincial stations. Hualamphong Station, in Bangkok, has it’s own on-site travel agency, there you can book bus or air transport. It also has a Post Office.

Booking for railway travel in Thailand can be tricky, and you should book as far in advance as you can, a week at the least, especially around holiday times. Advance booking can be done at Hualamphong Station or through a travel agency. You can also purchase railway tickets in advance by e-mail.

photo by Shawn Hargreaves- Creative Commons Attribution License

Google Video is a free video sharing and video search engine service from Google that allows anyone to upload video clips to Google’s web servers as well as make their own media available free of charge; some videos are also offered for sale through the Google Video Store. Users can search and play these uploaded videos directly from the Google Video website, as well as download video files and remotely embed them on their web pages.

Uploaded videos were saved as a .gvi files under the “Google Videos” folder in “My Videos” and reports of the video(s) details are logged and stored in the user account. The report sorts and lists the number of times that each of the users videos have been viewed and downloaded within a specific time frame. These range from the previous day, week, month or the entire time that the videos have been there for. Totals are calculated and displayed and the information can be downloaded into a spreadsheet format or printed out.

Formats and Conversion

Google Video Files (.gvi), and latterly its .avi files, are modified Audio Video Interleave (.avi) files that have an extra list containing the FourCC “goog” immediately following the header. The list can be removed with a hex editor to avoid playback issues with various video players. The video is encoded in DivX4 alongside an MP3 audio stream.

DivX video players can render .gvi Google Video Files without format conversion (after changing the extension from .gvi to .avi, although this method of just renaming the file extension does not work with videos purchased with DRM to inhibit unauthorized copying). Among other software VirtualDub is able to read .gvi files and allows the user to convert them into different formats of choice. There are also privately developed software solutions, such as GVideo Fix, that can convert them to .avi format without recompression. MEncoder with “-oac copy -ovc copy” as parameters also suffices.

AVI and MP4

Besides GVI and Flash Video, Google provides its content through downloadable Audio Video Interleave (.avi) and MPEG-4 (.mp4) video files. Not all formats are available through the website’s interface, however, depending on the user’s operating system.

Where available, Google’s “save as” function for Windows/Mac will produce an .avi file, while the “save as” function for iPod and PSP will produce an .mp4 file.

The .avi file is not in standard .avi format. To play the file in a popular media player such as Winamp or Windows Media Player, the file must first be modified using a hex editor (for example the XVI32.exe editor) to delete the first LIST block in the file header, which starts at byte 12 (000C hex, first byte in file is byte 0) and ends at byte 63 (003F hex). Optionally, the file length (in bytes 4 to 7, little endian) should then be amended by subtracting 52 (3F hex – 0C hex = 33 hex).

Winamp and Windows Media Player cannot play the unmodified .avi file because the non-standard file header corrupts the file. However, Media Player Classic, MPlayer and the VLC Media Player will play the unmodified .avi file, and the Google .mp4 file. Media Player Classic only if an MPEG4 DirectShow Filter such as ffdshow is installed. Most Linux media players Xine, Totem, the Linux version of the VLC Media Player and Kaffiene have no problems with Google’s .avi.

An .mp4 file will play in Winamp if an MPEG4/H.264 DirectShow Filter such as ffdshow and an MP4 Splitter such as Haali are installed, and the extension ;MP4 is added to the Extension List in the Winamp DirectShow decoder configuration.