One Foot On the Ground, A Pilot's Memoirs of Aviators And Aviation By Paul Roxin

This book review was originally published by the US Review of Books and appears as is seen on their website. It is about early aviators during World War II and speaks to the Greatest Generation. If you are looking for a gift for men over 70 or for any WWII buff, this is a good read.

"we recalled the wonderful memories of a bygone era, when individual valor, integrity, and camaraderie stood for something. Sandy had it all, but for all of us who knew him, it just wasn't for long enough."

Roxin attempts to record the antics and courage of many early pilots, who tested their metal before and during World War II. Part history, part memoir, Roxin successfully opens our eyes to a shrinking generation, whose surviving members are now mostly in their 90s. He is generous in his acknowledgement of women and their contributions to not only flying, but to the war effort.

Roxin's small dossiers on his fellow pilots and friends give you just enough information to warm you to these early daredevils and at the same time leaves you wanting to know more. This is the mark of a good storyteller. His insights make you wonder at the recklessness of some early pilots, like David Taschman, who had to abort a mission, but decided to drop his payload on an enemy train he and his crew flew over on their way back to Italy. He missed, but the train was derailed. It reveals a time when pilots literally flew by the seat of their pants.

While Rosin focuses on the day-to-day heroes of aviation, he also includes some little known stories of famous aviators like Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Jimmy Stewart and Tyrone Power. Who knew Rochester, New York was such an important center for early flight training companies? Many firms like American Airlines, USAir and Gannett Newspapers got their start in this area. The naming of O'Hare International Airport after a World War II hero is sure to pique the reader's interest to know more about the men and women, who were the foundation of not only the United States Air Force, but the aviation industry as a whole.

7 Qualities A Software Application Should Possess To Assist You In Your Business

With the software available to us these days, there is no question that you should be using what is available to you to assist you in growing your business. It only makes sense that if you have something or someone helping you do tasks in your business, you then have more time to work on more important projects like website development or product creation, which increases your earning potential.

One thing you need to understand about me is that I shoot from the hip and give it to you straight. I hate deception and fraud when it comes to these people that put out hyped up,?this will do it all for you? one click software that in the end does nothing. So here you go, hope it doesn't discourage and offend you in any way. My apologies if it does.

To clear up one of the biggest myths on the internet for those who are just starting out and have less of an understanding of how the internet works, there is no magic software out there that can just reach out and grab people and bring them to your offer or website. It's true that if you rank in the top ten of Google, Yahoo, Bing and other search engines, you will receive a ton of organic and no cost traffic. But there is no software that can automatically do this for you with the push of a button. There is software that can help you with the process but not automatically do it for you. Is that clear enough?

What you need to understand is that people are using the above mentioned search engines browsers. What they type into the search window, determined through algorithms and a bunch of other technical names, is what results they get. These search engine operators are also constantly updating and modifying their systems to bring their users the best results they can. Be rest assured that the search engines also have very tight and well protected security for their systems so there is no way someone can tap in and grab this traffic. You can pay for it of course, that's how they make money. So you see, software can't just reach out and grab surfers, they are behind closed doors so to speak.

Now that you understand this, you can however, find application software that can assist you in your business in various different ways. There is also different sites that use software to help you do tasks like article or ad submission, that will in the end free up your time for other tasks which in turn speeds up your growth. This is the main goal of any business. Growth is the key to any businesses success whether it be building a list, generating more traffic to your site or simply developing more products of your own to market.

What should you look for in an application software?

Here are the 7 main things to look for - in my opinion;

1. Does the software actually perform a task for you?

2. Can you use it for your Website or Blog?

3. Can it give me reports or results when requested?

4. Does the seller have testimonials available?

5. Can you contact the seller or creator for more information?

6. Do they have support available for the product?

7. And finally, do they offer a sufficient return or money back guarantee to allow you enough time to give the product a good test?

OK, now I don't recommend you just go out there and start buying a bunch of software, you need to do some research beyond the above questions, you want to qualify the product first. One of the best ways to do this is to get some feed-back from other users.

Only when you have qualified the product to be legitimate and you are totally comfortable with your research, only then would I suggest going ahead and obtain a product for use.

How to Choose a Bed and Breakfast

So you've decided to shun the neon-flashing motel chains and marble-foyered monsters and venture into the world of cozy, intimate bed and breakfasts? After all, you've heard how much more personal and romantic the b&b experience is, right? Well....usually that's the gospel truth. However, there are certain things to keep in mind and questions to ask yourself (and prospective innkeepers) before you make your final decision and turn over your credit card number.

The first thing to consider is the area of the country you will be visiting. Many towns across America offer the b&b experience but only have a handful of options for you to consider. On the other hand, if you visit our hometown of Fredericksburg, Texas (population 9,000) there are literally hundreds of b&b's, reportedly the largest number of b&b's per capita in the nation. Unfortunately for the unwary traveller, not all are created equal! When visiting such a popular bed and breakfast town, the research you do beforehand will greatly impact the quality of your stay.

These days it seems almost everyone makes their travel decisions and arrangements through the internet. In fact you are probably one of those individuals or you wouldn't be reading this article. You can always begin your search by typing in your destination city or town and "bed and breakfast" into your search engine to get an idea of the options you'll have. As you begin to view the properties, you should consider whether the b&b has the following amenities (assuming these are important to you): private bath, temperature control, full or continental breakfast, off-street parking, daily housekeeping and the ever-important factor....location.

Let's begin with location. Proximity to the "center of action" is often a plus for many travelers; however, it sometimes comes with a drawback...noise. In our town, many visitors want to be "on Main Street," and to be sure it is a boon at the end of the day when carrying heavy shopping bags back to your room. However, guests are sometimes surprised at the street noise which lasts throughout the night (Main Street is, after all, Highway 290)! Some visitors prefer to be a few blocks off Main with a bit more privacy yet good access to Main Street. Still others prefer a place in the country.

Making this first decision will cut the number of properties you consider by as much as 2/3. A note of caution however; if location is a prime concern of yours be very detailed in your quest. For example, many Fredericksburg bed and breakfasts advertise "Located on Main Street," but what they don't tell you is they are a mile and a half from the shopping district on the west end of town. In our town, the 100-300 blocks of East Main are considered the true shopping district. So if proximity to shopping is your goal, you would be better off with a cottage 3 blocks off of Main but within the 100-300 blocks than at the property a mile and a half from shopping that sounds so convenient. Remember the old addage, "Buyer Beware."

Question number two could be whether to stay at an Inn or an individual cottage. Fredericksburg is unique in offering literally hundreds of one-couple, individual Sunday Houses or cottages in addition to numerous true multi-unit inns. One big distinction here other than the obvious over-all privacy issue is usually breakfast. In a private cottage you almost always receive a continental breakfast, left before you arrive. At a traditional "Inn" or bed and breakfast, you are often served a full gourmet breakfast at a pre-arranged time...along with other guests. So for many guests the choice comes down to continental with privacy or full-breakast served in a dining room. Either option offers lots of possibilities. But with so many different properties, there are no set rules; so check their website or ask!

One more common pitfall is something that sounds so basic but can really impact your experience: decor. Word on the street in b&b circles is that guests are increasingly looking for a "magazine spread" when they walk in the door. Nothing pleases me more than to open our guestbook and read, "When we opened the door the beautiful room just took my breath away!" Few people go to a bed and breakfast looking for the type decor they have at home...or worse, their granny's decor! However, many b&b owners are under the false impression that they can take an empty rent-house and hang out their shingle. They may stumble upon a few unsuspecting guests...but you don't want it to be you. Be sure and check the pictures on the website. I would never book a room that didn't at least show photos of the exterior of the cottage or inn and the bed. Webmasters tell me that these are the two photo's potential guests are most interested in. I would be very wary of a facility that wasn't proud to show its exterior and at least one photo of the inside of each room. Jacuzzi tubs, hot tubs, gas fireplaces, it's all out there for the taking...for those who do their homework. Spend a little extra time asking the right questions and you can have the most wonderful, relaxing getaway experience yet.

Utilizing RSS Feeds Is An Excellent Method Of Driving Traffic To Your Website Or Blog

If you're looking to make money online, you need to have targeted website visitors going to your site on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. This is the case for any product or service you plan on promoting now or in the future. Many people don't realize that RSS feeds are excellent for generating the kind of traffic they need to be successful in their online endeavors.

In case you're not familiar with what RSS stands for, it means Really Simple Syndication, and it's a very effective way to promote your blog or website. In this article, I'm going to explain how beneficial this can be, and demonstrate why many people use this particular technique of traffic generation.

Those who have a word press blog don't have to be concerned about creating an RSS feed, because it's created for them automatically. Each time they post new and fresh content on their blog, their RSS feed will update automatically with the title and the first couple of sentences of their most recent post.

Although the RSS feed is defaulted to display their last 10 posts, their able to change this through their word press admin panel. I typically change my settings to display the last 20 posts on my feed. Each page on your blog should have a "Subscribe To Our Feed" button, enabling individuals to subscribe easily if and when they want to. Visitors to your site can be notified every time you post fresh content to your blog.

Because all this is done in the background, you don't have to concern yourself with manually updating your feed or contacting subscribers. As long as the content you post is useful and informative, they'll be notified about your new content and will continue to visit your blog.

You can notify those who haven't been to your blog recently about a new feed they can subscribe to if they wish, and you can also submit your RSS feed to feed directories. If someone wants to stay updated about what you're posting on your blog, they can find your feed in these feed directories and subscribe to it. There's a program called Feed Burner you can utilize to develop another feed for your existing feed. Since Google owns it, your new content will be indexed quickly.

Another thing I'd like to point out about this feed, is that you can promote it like a website. This will result in more subscribers, leading to more targeted visitors to your blog. You can even monetize your RSS feed to earn revenue from it, but that's the subject of another article.

How a Harness Horse Can Help You Win at the Dog Track

Off Keel doesn't owe me any money. I've played this 11 yr old grey gelding pacer for years and seen him cross the wire first in a good number of his races. However, there are times when he's not a good bet, although people still play him then. Not me. I know when he's not likely to come in and I lay off in those races. Even when he was at his peak, there were some situations when his post position or the class of the race put him at a disadvantage. That was when I watched the race and - more times than not - he finished out of the money.

I use the Trackmaster™ harness programs and highly recommend that you do too if you play the harness races. I think their class ratings are better than the on-track programs and they give you so much more information. But back to Off Keel and how he can help with greyhound handicapping... This year, Off Keel has been running well at a class rating of up to 75. That's the CR of the race, not his speed rating or class rating in the race.

When he gets up over a 75 CR, he's a lot less likely to come in. In fact, he hasn't won above that level since May 5th. Another thing that has a big effect on whether or not he comes in is post position. He runs at half mile tracks in Bangor and Scarborough, both of which favor the horse from the 1 through the 5, like most half-mile tracks. Put him outside the 5 post, and he doesn't win.

Harness fans remember that Off Keel was a very good horse when he was younger. They know that he's still a horse to be reckoned with now. But they don't remember or don't know the information about class rating and post position, so they bet on him no matter the class of the race or his post position. Then he doesn't come in and they go off him and he slides down to a CR 75 race and his odds are good and I have him and he wins.

There are a few other horses that are good bets at times and bad bets at other times at the local tracks and at the simulcast tracks too. I keep a list and play them when they're in a favorable situation. I do the same thing with dogs and you can do it too.

It's a little harder, because most greyhound programs don't have class ratings so you have to use grade. When you're handicapping, notice dogs that are always moving up into a higher grade, but never win in that grade. That's their class ceiling just like a CR 75 is Off Keel's class ceiling, this season anyway. Notice dogs who never come in when they're in certain post positions, but do come in when they're in other post positions.

Keep a list and you'll notice that the more you look for these dogs, the more you'll be able to pick them out. They're spot plays, of course, because they have a very good chance of coming in because of a certain situation. Spot plays are my favorite way to make money at the dog track and at the horse track too. In fact, I like them so much that I'm writing a book all about spot plays at the greyhound, thoroughbred and harness tracks. It should be out in about six weeks, if I can lay off playing the races long enough to finish it.

Greyhound Handicapping - How To Find Value

Value is a buzzword right now in handicapping circles. We heard it in almost every commentary on the Kentucky Derby. I hear it all the time at the greyhound track when handicappers are talking about what they like in the next race, and why they like it. Everyone assumes that they know what it means, but does it mean the same thing to everyone? What does it mean to you and how do you find it when you handicap a dog race?

To me, finding value means finding a dog that is underrated and playing it to win and/or place and in exactas with other dogs I like in that race. For instance, in a race where there's a standout dog - one who wins 2 out of 3 of its races or more - I might put a dog who wins almost as often but places more often into an exacta box with the standout dog. The standout dog might pay peanuts to win, but a decent amount in an exacta with the value dog. I'll also use that dog in other exotics, like trifectas and superfectas. And let's not forget Pick 3's and Pick 4's and the like.

Figuring out whether a dog is a "value" play is mostly a matter of figuring out how often it comes in and comparing that to its odds in the race its running today. If you bet that dog in every one of its races, how often would it have won and at what payoff? If it wins an average of 1 in 10 races, and pays $10 a race, odds of less than 1-10 aren't going to give you the payoff you need on it. It's not worth risking more money than you can reasonably expect to win on a dog.

Of course, there's more to handicapping than odds and statistics. When we look at a race, we have to look at the factors that will determine who hits the board in that race, things like speed, running style, post position and track bias, if any, on that day. Actually, these are the things we should consider BEFORE we look for value in a race. So, first handicap the race and then look for value by finding a dog that is at higher odds than it should be, based on its likelihood of coming in, judging by its past history in that type of race at that track.