What Is a MIDI Keyboard?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

If you’re thinking of becoming a desktop musician or thinking about making music using your computer then having a MIDI keyboard is highly recommended. You’ve probably seen them around in music shops, in advertising, or being played by fellow musicians or musician-wanna-be’s in live performances. But what exactly are they?

Simply put, it’s a piano-style keyboard device that is used for sending (MIDI) signals over a USB or MIDI cable to other devices operating on the same MIDI protocol interface – like your desktop computer for example that runs a digital audio workstation (DAW) software. That being said, not all the MIDI keyboard that you can get out there is actually the piano-style user interfaces. Many alternative designs have pads or buttons that sense the velocity of your fingers to lower or increase play volume such as the Continuum Fingerboard, a fretless design.

Let’s focus on the piano style keyboards. When buying yourself one you typically factor in budget and comfort. Of course if you have the budget then you can buy the best one that is comfortable for you to use. However, not everyone has unlimited budget, especially not the new musician in the making.

For the rest of us selecting one means selecting the size which typically means the number of keys available. There are a number to choose from ranging – 88, 76, 61, 49, 37 or 25. The purist will want you to get the 88 or at least the 76. The one you get will depend on another factor – space. An 88 may be good but if you can’t fit it in your studio (i.e. in front of your computer) then there’s no need for something that big.

Once you’ve selected the number of keys think about the key action – that is to say the manner the keys respond to your playing. There are typically 3 types – synth action, semi-weighted action and full weighted action.

1) Synth action have light spring loaded keys that take little pressure to activate and tend to return to their positions very quickly. This is good for those who play a lot of fast pieces and those who aren’t really pianists by nature.

2) Semi-weighted action MIDI keyboard has keys that offer some resistance and springs back slower than the synth action ones.

3) Finally there’s the full weighted action keys which mimics the mechanical action of conventional pianos. It requires more pressure to play and are typically used by people who play the piano and like the feel of “real” piano keys.

Of course you can forget the knobs, buttons and sliders that help transmit MIDI information and give the user more hands-on control over everything connected to your controller including the DAW software. This way you get real-time control in the sound making process unlike using your computer’s mouse control.

The number of knobs and buttons will depend on usage but the bare necessities should have the pitch and mod wheels and you can make do with a small number of sliders. As long as you are able to effectively assign synth programming you can easily maximize use of your MIDI keyboard.

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How Can I Stop My Divorce – By Using My Thinking

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

Is today your wedding day? While wishing you many happy returns of the day, I also share your concerns about a possible divorce. The wedding day is an occasion to remember the most important day of your life, a day on which you decided to share your life with your partner. But today the clouds of separation have started appearing on the horizon and they may soon loom large over your head posing a real threat to the longevity of your marriage.

Well obviously, there have been problems in your marriage. The initial happiness that seemed everlasting has turned out to be evanescent, yielding its place to bitterness caused by bickering over both petty and serious issues. Every day has its share of disagreements and arguments. Or, everyday passes with no arguments but with no communication either, consequently ending with more bitterness. The writing on the wall seems to be clear. The question has changed from ‘Will there be a divorce’ to ‘when will there be a divorce?’

Can you stop the divorce and save your marriage at this point? Yes you can. And you can do it by using your thinking, a faculty nature has given to you. The first thing to think of is: How real is your perception of an impending divorce? If you have been served divorce papers, then there is no doubt about the state of affairs. Or, if your spouse has indicated that they will be moving for divorce, it points to an equally serious but a more manageable situation. If the possibility of divorce has arisen only in your mind with no perceptible hint from your spouse to support this feeling, then the reality may be much better than what you have imagined. Thus, even at the beginning of your thinking progress, you can infuse some clarity into your confused mind.

If you are sure of your spouse wanting a divorce, then you need to take quick action. Nothing can work better than direct communication. Don’t confront your spouse or attribute motives but just tell them that you understand their feelings but would request them to talk things over. Indicate that you may be willing to change in the interests of saving the marriage. I am not suggesting that winning over your spouse is going to be easy. But if you take this first step, you may be able to change their mind and stop divorce after some more steps. In any case, you can at least make them postpone their decision. The time you gain can be used to mend the relationship by identifying the issues and taking corrective action.

If you are the one who have been thinking of a divorce, then the matter becomes simpler. Think of what you can do to improve your relationship rather than perceive separation as a solution to your problems.

In either case, calm thinking can show you how to stop divorce and save your marriage.

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Let Your Wedding Flowers Speak the Language of Love

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

Congratulations! You have found the man of your dreams and are getting married. What a wonderful time in your life – full of promise, hope, and happiness. Can you think of a better way to express these emotions than through flowers? A wedding would just not be the same without wedding flowers.

The Tradition of Wedding Flowers

Carrying flowers by the bride is not something new; it actually has its roots in ancient times. Strong smelling herbs and spices were used to keep away evil spirits during the wedding celebration. Later, during the Roman era, flowers were used to symbolize fertility. Eventually, flowers were given different meanings and used as a way of sending “love notes” in the form of bouquets. Soon, the tradition of the meaning of each flower trickled down and was adopted for the bride’s bouquet.

By tradition, the groom wears a flower that appears in the bridal bouquet in his buttonhole. This custom originates from the Medieval tradition of a knight wearing his lady’s colors as a declaration of love.

So it seems that a wedding without flowers is like, well, it’s like a garden without flowers!

So Many Choices

Have you ever considered how many different kinds of flowers there are? Hundreds of beautiful blooms are available to create the romantic elegance your wedding deserves. You may even feel like author Phoebe Cary, who said, “I know not which I love the most, Nor which the comeliest shows, The timid, bashful violet Or the royal-hearted rose: The pansy in purple dress, The pink with cheek of red, Or the faint, fair heliotrope, who hangs, Like a bashful maid her head.” So, how do you choose?

One way is to consider the different meanings of the flowers and create a bouquet that is not only beautiful to the eye, but also meaningful to the heart. Another way is to consider the time of year. Many flowers are more common during one season than another, so finding off-season flowers may be difficult!

Based on tradition, here are some of the more popular wedding bouquet flowers and what they mean, along with when they are in season:

Red Rose – Love, All Year

White Rose – Unity, All Year

Yellow Rose – Joy, All Year

Orange Rose – Passion, All Year

Pink Rose – Secret Love, or Grace & Sweetness, All Year

Alstroemeria – Devotion, All Year

Baby’s Breath – Innocence, All Year

Calla Lily – Magnificent Beauty, March through September

Carnation – Devoted Love, All Year

Daisy – Innocence & Romance, All Year

Ivy – Fidelity, Marriage, All Year

Lily Of The Valley – Happiness, March through September

Myrtle – Joy , All Year

Orchid – Love & Beauty, All Year

Stephanotis – Marital Happiness, All Year

Tulips – Love & Passion, January through April

Zinnia – Affection, All Year

The best way to get the right flowers is to choose the right florist and one of the best ways to find a good florist is by word of mouth. If the florist’s service and work comes highly recommended, chances are they will do a good job for you. Select a florist that listens to you and really grasps the look and feel you want. Be open to the florist’s ideas and suggestions. In the long run, it will be the value of their experience, talent, and expertise that you have purchased.

Don’t Forget the Flowers for the….

In addition to flowers for the wedding party and family members, you will need flowers for the church, arrangements for the reception tables, head table, and guest book table. You may even want flowers for the cake and a small bouquet for the ladies’ room. To make sure you don’t forget any of your floral needs, here is a list of possibilities:

Flowers for the Bridal Party

Bride’s Bouquet

Maid/Matron of Honor

Mother of the Bride

Mother of the Groom

Bridesmaids

Flower Girl

Grandmothers

Groom

Best Man

Father of the Bride

Father of the Groom

Ushers

Ring Bearer

Grandfathers

Flowers for the Wedding Ceremony

Altar Arrangements

Aisle Markers

Candelabras

Aisle Runner

Canopy or Archway

Kneeling Bench

Flowers for the Reception

Bridal Table

Cake Table

Guest Table

Buffet Table

Bandstand

Gift Table

Guest Book Table

Bouquet to Throw

Fresh flowers underline the importance and elegance of your wedding day. They enhance any setting and can literally transform an average looking room into a beautiful scene. If you’ve planned well, your flowers will be exactly what you want, and you’ll be free to focus on what your day is all about.

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What Exactly Are Ambigram Tattoos?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

Tattoo lettering is a very popular design choice for tattoo enthusiasts. Names, dates, words of inspiration, strong beliefs, are just a few of the reasons for this popularity. Sometimes the lettering stands alone or it’s added to an image.

Ambigrams are tattoo lettering fonts that can be read both right side up as well as upside-down. They make for interesting tattoo lettering. Sometimes they will be the same exact word or name when read in either direction. The more complicated ambigram designs spell different words depending on which direction they are being read. When the word is identical, the design is referred to as a symmetrical ambigram. Designs with 2 different words are, as you can probably guess, called asymmetrical ambigrams.

The field of ambigram tattoos only emerged as a popular tattoo design choice back around 2004 or so, but its popularity has risen quickly and ambigrams are now a trendy design choice. Some tattoo artists specialize in creating custom ambigram tattoo designs from words or names supplied by the customer.

The impact of an ambigram is stronger when it is a short phrase or a single word. Although it’s possible to set up 3-6 word phrases in an ambigram tattoo, it doesn’t have the same visual appeal as a single short word. For an ambigram to have the most bang, it has to be easy to discern the word in either direction which means the font size has to be large enough so a person can easily make out the word. If you want multiple words to create a long phrase, you’ll have to keep the font size smaller. Discerning the words both ways will be much more difficult because of the number of letters in addition to the smaller font size.

The best way to match up a good design for an asymmetrical ambigram is to stick with two words or names that contain the same number of letters. If possible, stay away from the most difficult letters for an ambigram design. The difficult letters are Q, U, W, V, and the letter Z.

Where Do I Get an Ambigram Design?

Ambigrams can be designed for a tattoo stencil in one of three ways. You can find tattoo flash art that already has the artwork laid out and ready for stencil work. This artwork will usually consist of popular phrases and words in a variety of font styles. A search on the internet will help you to find web sites that sell ambigrams like this.

You can also hire a gifted artist who has a talent for lettering and, especially, a gift for ambigrams.

The third way is to find an auto-generator on the internet. You can find web sites with software that allows you to plug in your word or two, and it will generate your ambigram. You have more limitations with the auto generated type of ambigram but if the phrase or phrases are simple enough, this method can work for you.

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Finding Good Quality Art Supplies and Materials for Both Amateurs and Professionals

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

If you are a professional artist and make a living from creating masterpieces you will definitely want a good reliable source for all your art supplies and materials. Even if you are a mere beginner in the world of art, you still need to be sure of quality and reliability of the art supplies you invest hard-earned money in. Art is a very rewarding hobby, and of course everyone wants to utilise and make the best of the art supplies they have invested in. There has been an increase recently in people becoming more interested in being creative and expressing themselves through making art. The materials available also make wonderful and unique gifts as well; with both younger and older generations taking an interest it makes buying unique and artistic gifts for your creative relatives and friends a great choice. Hobby kits and craft sets are also available from most reputable art suppliers and make great gifts or actual starting kits for beginners who want to experiment.

Art supplies as a term does not only refer to the obvious materials like paints, brushes, canvasses etc. Art is a vast and extremely in-depth creative subject. From sketching or drawing to block printing or fabric painting you can always find the right materials that will help you along in your creative pursuit. Suppliers will offer a varied range and like everything there will be cheaper options as well as more expensive ones. If you are simply a beginner then it is advisable to ask for advice from your supplier for the ideal materials to start experimenting with.

You don’t want to rush in and buy the most expensive brand before you’ve even decided that this hobby is for you. You also don’t want to potentially compromise on quality and buy the cheapest materials possible, for they may not be of a standard you might have expected. Acrylic paints and oil colours are a great example. Some cheaper paints that are not from a specialist art supplier may not be of the consistency you expected or the tonal range of colours available may be very bland and erratic. With items like paints you need to really look for a reputable brand that provides painting products for artists on all levels. With these branded products you can usually find paintbrushes as well which are adapted for beginners, intermediates and professionals. These can help to develop your style and help you maintain a comfortable painting technique. Art supplies are abundant and wide ranging. Sticking with a reputable specialist supplier will almost always guarantee that you purchase materials that suit your needs and choosing a specialist means you will not be let down with the quality of the items.

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Motorcycle Battery Chargers Made Easy to Understand

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

If you are a motorcycle lover, you’ll find it quite irresistible to drive around using your motorbikes. However, you need to remember that as you enjoy cruising around, your motorcycle’s battery would eventually run out of energy and if you don’t pay heed, you’ll find yourself encountering a very critical problem. This is why you need to have motorcycle battery chargers at home.

Why do I need to have a motorcycle battery charger?

These chargers would really help keep your motorbike batteries on the go anytime, anywhere since these batteries lose their charge easily especially when the weather is cold. What’s more they come in cheap and are portable – allowing you to carry it around even while you are charging the battery at the moment. Aside from motorcycles, they can also be used to charge batteries for snowmobiles, riding mowers, solar deep cycles, utility vehicles, personal watercrafts and mobility scooters.

Is there only one kind of motorcycle battery charger?

There are several types of motorcycle battery chargers available. Some of them are:

Fast chargers use the controlled circuitry of your bike’s battery to charge it instantly. No damages to the battery cells will happen.

Trickle chargers are the most popular chargers and would charge your battery at a slow, self-discharging pace. The battery is continuously charged but will not be over charged.

Solar chargers make use of the sun’s energy to charge your motorcycle’s battery. These are convenient handy chargers that are eco-friendly.

Inductive chargers are those that use electromagnetic induction to give energy to your batteries. Charging stations would send electromagnetic energy to an electrical device paired to it and recharges the battery.

Well-maintained chargers are better

Batteries that are maintained well allow easy start-ups. Well-maintained ones are important especially for those motorcycles that use a push button to start it up. Besides, the electronic devices or components of your motorcycles are also affected by your batteries thus affecting your safety as well.

Battery chargers are simple devices but maintaining them is also very important. In general, these chargers work on the same principle. However, the safety features that are incorporated would affect how much such charger would cost. Most of these battery chargers are fuse-protected.

But more often than not, this is not sufficient. Some chargers have incorporated a circuit breaker to protect the charger better. The most advanced models even have safety circuit with inverted polarity that would protect them in situations where there is a mismatch in the polarity causing short circuits.

Safely charge your batteries

When you motorcycle battery chargers, make sure to work loose the vent caps and take care that the charging area is well-ventilated. Remember that while charging, there is a tendency of oxygen and hydrogen build-up in the area and such could lead to a dangerous explosion. Once you feel the battery is getting hot during the charging process, stop charging immediately and let the battery cool down before starting the process again.

Take note that the heat will damage the battery plates and a very hot battery is prone to explode. Remember also not to put back the red sealing cap once it is removed or the vents are blocked or kinked as these would trap the gases inside and the battery might blow up.

Make sure also that the battery is properly connected to the charger: positive to positive and negative to negative. Turn the charger off first before you disconnect the different leads to reduce the chance of producing sparks and the chance for explosion to occur. Remember not to smoke while charging your battery. The process would produce oxygen and hydrogen which are highly combustible.

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Vintage Volkswagen Racing: The Beginning of Deano Dyno-Soar

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

Dean Lowry joined Joe Vittone and his VW dealership Economotors in Riverside, California in 1955. After realizing how easy it was to repair and service Volkswagen Dean learned all he could and increased his skill level. He decided to make a career of Volkswagens and increasing their performance on the drag strip.

While working for Century Motors in Alhambra, California, Dean helped to build a racing VW beetle that he raced regularly for five months. He then built a dragster with a Porsche engine and began campaigning it in several local drag racing events.

Joe asked Dean to return to Economotors in 1963 and began once again to work with EMPI performance parts. He developed exhaust systems, carburetor kits and valve kits. At this time, Dean built the famous Inch Pincher race VW, one of the most famous race cars.

In 1968 Dean left Economotors again and partnered up with his brother Ken to start their own VW repair and service shop in Santa Ana, California. The brothers wanted to focus solely on building and repairing VW engines full time. This new business was called Deano Dyno-Soars, after Dean’s nickname of Deano or Dino.

The Lowry brothers stuck with the dinosaur theme throughout their business, and took up the color purple. They created the Purple Dyno-Soar engine, which was painted purple. The racecars and even their service shop was also colored purple. It became their trademark color.

The Lowrys often went drag racing with Dean’s daily driver, a 1954 VW sedan with a 2180cc engine. The car had been lightened to reduce the weight. Custom lightweight spun-aluminum wheels were designed specifically for drag racing VWs and made their debut on the Dyno-Soar racing vehicle. It’s best time was 11.62 sec and was the car to beat in the NHRA H/Gas class.

One major advancement Deano Dyno-Soar made in the VW racing world was developing an aftermarket crankcase that allowed VW engines up to the size of 3 liters to be built and housed in the rear engine compartment. It was known as the Ultra Case. Deano Dyno-Soar also designed and developed the first set of aftermarket cylinder heads for VW drag racing. They allowed larger valves to be used than a regular VW head.

After winning numerous races and trophies, they decided to retire the drag racing VW in 1972. The business also called its doors in 1972 and the brothers went their separate ways.

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Domestic Violence Treatment – Domestic Abuse Intervention in the Context of Relationship Therapy

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

There are people who have been on our email list since its inception nearly five years ago. Many of these faithful readers are deeply rooted in the battered women‘s movement. Some have asked, “Why are you trying to help people ‘fix’ relationships that many people urge you to flee?”

I say, “excellent question.” The answer has more to do with my getting back to who and what I am. It has more to do with the fact that we have re-focused our business to being the vehicle for making our most seasoned and sophisticated skills available to individuals in abusive relationships.

We are by profession, practice and expertise healers first. Our belief is that people, at the core of their being, have the capacity for change. Every person in an abusive relationship, whether they are the abuser or abused, can influence the dynamics of the relationship. Now this doesn’t mean to imply that domestic abuse survivors are responsible for the battering or even have the ability to end the abuse perpetuated upon them.

What it does mean is that many batterers (at least the ones we see) have an innate potential for refocusing and thus reinventing themselves, their relationships and their lives. And domestic abuse victims, too, have this same ability, which recreates their destiny with respect to their intimate relationship and beyond.

Letting Go of Domestic Abuse before It Spirals Out of Control

So it’s not that we are saying, “Hang onto your abuser.” Heck, no! We want to help people break the cycle of domestic violence from the inside out…one relationship at a time. We know that without doing this, the habits of domestic violence will merely show up in the next relationship by both parties playing out the familiar relationship patterns that caused destructive conflict and violence in the first place.

Our higher interest in domestic violence work is prevention. When we can help people interrupt the abuse dynamic, we prevent the inevitable evolution of domestic abuse spreading throughout our communities…throughout society, at large.

Domestic Violence Treatment and Relationship Therapy

We understand that some intimate relationships are simply not meant to be. And we trust that people will determine what’s right for them as they transform themselves and their interaction habits. They can choose to stay together or not. They can work individually or jointly in domestic violence treatment, as well.

We seek to support people in creating relationships that work for them…support them…make them better than they are, not less than they are. Our commitment is to wholeness and harmony, and that is the basis of our work in domestic violence counseling.

As of late we have been calling this work, when done conjointly, “abusive relationship therapy.” At the root of the intervention is therapy and the abusive relationship becomes the patient.

Be it known that this is not marital therapy or couples counseling: rather, it is domestic abuse treatment in the context of relationship therapy. I trust this clarifies our intent and commitment to helping people in abusive relationships through effective therapeutic process.

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The Foot Tat: The Sexiest Type of Tattoo

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

Ditch the tramp stamp and the belly baring tattoo, the hottest trend right now are sexy foot tattoos that show off the only part of your body that does not gain weight. The skin of your feet age slowly compared to rest of your body and your design can remain dazzling for years to come.

There are dozens of different foot tattoo designs for women. You just have to choose one that fits your personality. You also have to be completely happy with the design, since it will be permanently on your skin for years to come. Do not be afraid to change your mind and have multiple designs on hand, just so you have a lot of options.

Take the time to select a design. Go on the Internet and do your research. Decide if you want the tattoo in black and white or color, or a combination. You can also choose to have a tattoo done in one solid color like red for a splash of originality.

Traditional foot tattoo designs for women often depend on the woman’s personality. Beautifully colored flowers, traditional fairy designs and birds are great designs for the feminine, girly girl who wants a tattoo to showcase her beauty.

Religious and mystical designs are also very popular with women. A rosary or cross on top of the foot will accentuate its shape and also declare a facet of your personality. You can go for pentagrams, the Jewish six sided cross or any religious symbol.

Not your thing? Try tribal, Celtic or animal motif designs. Animal tattoos can represent your outlook in life, a part of your personality or a challenge you have overcome. Memorial tattoos are also a good choice for the woman who wants to remember someone special in her life. They are not just for those dearest to your heart. Special places or names of children are also wonderful options.

When it comes to foot tattoo designs for women, you are only limited by your imagination. Do not be afraid to ask for the design you really want. Tattoos are deeply personal and what is right for someone else may not be exactly what you are looking for.

Remember, the complexity and shape of your design depends on the skill of the artist. The motto you should go by is a “cheap tattoo is never a good tattoo.” Invest in the right artist with a good amount of skill, who will in turn invest in your tattoo with good quality ink. After all, it is meant to last forever. Think of your tattoo as a unique beauty mark no one else will have.

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Are You in Love?

Posted on November 22, 2011 by parulluly

So you think that you are in love. Are you sure? How? Why do you think that you are in love? Why do you think that it is not temporary attraction? Why do you think that you both are destined to grow old together? Let us try and find out.

Do you feel happy with your beloved? Do you feel that if you both were left alone on an island for seven days, you would enjoy it? Or you will get bored? How about your self esteem? Does your beloved make you feel good about yourself? Is his/her focus on your good qualities or sometimes faults? What about you? Are you looking for some signs of weaknesses in certain areas, or are contented and satisfied with the whole package?

Love is different than any other relationship and has its own measures. It goes beyond friendship and one has to ask questions to find out if it is love and nothing else. Coming back to our inquiry, what if your beloved gets you some clothes? Will you be delighted and wear immediately, or will you try to look at it critically to find out how you will look in that particular piece of clothing?

Do you smile at the thought of your beloved? Get dreamy? Want to share everything good? Say, you see something good, or complete a some work very satisfactorily, will you immediately tell your beloved about that? Will you be impatiently waiting to share that? Do you ever compare him/her with others? Give a second look to someone of opposite sex? No? What if the person is stunning in looks? Would you still rather never think of giving a second look and continue with the thoughts of your beloved? What if you go to a movie together? Will you try to look at each other in the darkness or rather watch the movie? Do you watch the movie at all while you are together?

Are you planning of future together? Having children, a new home, new life? Do you talk about how you both would like to spend your old age together? Have you also thought about the career options after marriage? If your answers to all above queries is in positive, you need to look at the relationship seriously. Because you are in love! Now is the time to ask – Will you marry me?

Love is difficult to find out. Many times, we feel that we are in love, only to find out afterwards that it was not love. It is better to make sure that it is love before committing. Wish you all the best.

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