Bugorta Info

A small piece of spyware can affect the individual’s PC very adversely. An affected PC rapidly becomes infected with wide arrays of spyware elements. Often, users notice unwanted degradation and behavior in their PC’s performance. Banning children from computers or allowing using it only when parents are supervising the process is not a good solution.

Anti-Spyware Spyware is nasty as it collects information from you without your consent. Different programs offer different features and some are more powerful than others, but you should definitely be utilizing some type on your system. Data loggers, key loggers and Internet Right To Privacy are just a few vices which harvest info from your computer. The person logged into your email account and retrieved the pin accessed your e-gold account and made an unauthorized spend from the account. That is why every computer owner who’s worried about Internet Right To Privacy needs Winclear.

Online Privacy With Delete Internet History: Internet Right To Privacy. As the holidays approach, there will be plenty of cyber criminals taking advantage of the card-sending season by using this or a similar exploit to steal information. And, since excessive shopping is part and parcel of the Christmas holidays, be sure to keep careful track of your credit card purchases and only buy from reputable sites. Hackers may take advantage of the confusion that accompanies holiday online shopping by launching phishing attacks and using stolen credit card information freely in a time when you might be least likely to notice it. Winclear is the only software which is capable of removing keylogger programs. 1 technology had brought a lot to our life. Winclear has been the industry leader in fighting keyloggers and Internet Right To Privacy for the last 8 years.

If you really are not protecting yourself from criminals who surf the internet then you are really asking for trouble so find the right about malware software and get started using it to protect your Pc and your personal information. That is the reason why you need Winclear installed onto your computer, is to Internet Right To Privacy. PC security is essential to everybody and that is why prices for antivirus and firewall software tend to go high. Find out more about Internet Right To Privacy. Protect your computer security by using Winclear!

Why should you pay for a remotely hosted shopping cart for your small business website, rather than just install a free OpenSource shopping cart on your site?

There are a lot of reasons:

1) Focus. Your business is selling stuff, not installing and managing a complicated script. You’ll have enough issues running a business that you won’t be able to outsource to someone else the way you can with a shopping cart script.

2) Price. Paid hosted shopping cart software’s price is inconsequential: $10-$100/month. If that’s a significant expense for your business, you need to look into improving your profit margin.

3) Support. While support for “paid” business software is included in the cheap price, support for “free” business software is pretty expensive. OpenSource and other free software come without any support except forums for do-it-yourself-ers to share ideas. So, you’ll end up paying someone to install and maintain it. Or you do it yourself, which costs so much time it’s more expensive than paying someone if your time is worth anything.

4) Installation. When you buy hosted software on a subscription plan, installation is already done and support is included. When you have an issue-and have you ever had software that you didn’t have an issue with at least once?-you don’t have to pay a developer $150/hour to make it go away.

5) Security. Security issues are taken care of for you by the provider-no patching software.

6) Speed. Hosted online shopping carts really do work now, out of the box. You just input your inventory and go. OpenSource shopping carts come with dozens of customization options that will take you hours just to decide you don’t need most of them.

7) Peace of mind. The shopping cart is the jugular vein of an online business. If anything makes the blood stop flowing, however minor the cause, you’ll feel it fast. If you are the one who has to make sure the blood stays flowing, or if you have to rely on the availability of a freelance programmer, you won’t be getting the soundest sleep. Let a specialist do that worrying for you, 24 hours a day.

Joel Walsh is a business writer. Try EasyStoreCreator for an easy hosted www.easystorecreator.com?%20shopping%20cart%20software [Publish this article on your website! Requirement: live link for above URL/web address w/ link text/anchor text: "shopping cart software" OR leave this bracketed message intact.]

Once we have understood how the concept of movable type changed our lives forever, we can then look at what effect it has had on everyone. To start with, we didn’t have to write everything any more for media purposes. Looking at the process in a nutshell, it was a question of applying ink to a surface (type) and an “imprint” of that image was pressed onto a piece of paper. Where do you think the word “press” came from?

I can imagine that entrepreneurs of the day could see what was going to happen commercially, in a similar way to how Bill Gates looked at software for computers. We had a situation where manufacturers - particularly type manufacturers - could offer their clients the opportunity of making their printed word look more attractive to their customers in turn and so increase profits.

Imagine advertisers: before printing technology, they would simply have to write their campaigns in the hope that folk found it attractive and were drawn to the product they were selling - if indeed they wrote anything by hand. Someone else did the “publishing” work, so the same advertiser could run more than one campaign at a time with the knowledge that the advertising would be clear, concise, accurate and most importantly, time effective.

As more mechanical equipment became available, so the type of thing that could be produced became more varied. Two-colour imaging first became the vogue, and the same entrepreneurs snapped it up and used it as a “modern” means of spreading the written word.

Mass production printing, like newspapers, were an obvious means of using the current technology to spread current events to a wider audience and as time went on and more technology became available, so the size of these publications also increased. One of the primary offshoots of the technology was that many people were given employment within the printing industry. What is now known as “pre-press” were called compositors, who prepared the adverts within the pages and indeed the pages themselves for the presses.

There were also stereotypers, who made the huge U-shaped leaden moulds that were clipped to the massive machines and from which the impression was taken and printed onto the newspaper’s pages.

I am not labouring on the newspaper side of the printing industry but it does give a clear indication of how many people were used in its production and how many skilled trades were involved. The “commercial” side of printing was also thriving, producing magazines, as a well as business flyers, invoices, every form of stationery imaginable and in “hot metal” days - these were the days prior to computerised typesetting with Apple Macs and the like - demand often outweighed supply and you could find printers and typesetters on almost every street in every town in every country.

I believe the mechanics of printing, rather than the technology, has made it a viable industry. My reasoning being that anyone nowadays can set up a computer in the back room of a house and start producing a flyer with a very basic word processing programme. However, when that flyer has been “typed” the operator still has to visit a printer to get a good quality finished product.

——————————————————-
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Printing
——————————————————-

Rental homes in the Hamptons are at an all time high,
as real estate investors are finding there are new and
exciting opportunities is this resort atmosphere area.
The Hamptons have much to offer, in the form of
relaxation, in extra curricular activities and for the
couple who wants to just get away for a while from the
bustle of everyday life. The Hamptons beach homes are
fast becoming rental homes that are booked, week after
week, as a great vacationing choice of Americans from
all over the nation.

The Hamptons homes for sale include those that can be
remodeled to become a rental home, and there are also
listings of real estate investments that can be used
for everyday living, or as a summer home or perhaps
even as a winter home! The Hamptons beach homes are
the high end, luxury homes that every person wishes to
include in their real estate portfolio with the
beautiful views, the great scenic areas, and the
luxury style homes that the Hamptons are most known
for.

The Hamptons are a well-known summer community. It
has been found the party site to many, many
celebrities, politicians, and businesspeople. It is
the getaway destination to most of New York City and
other well-to-do people. The Hamptons is not that big
at all. In fact, if one were to take a train ride
from one side to the other side, the ride would only
be an hour long. The Hamptons is a resort community
located in the eastern part of Long Island. Many
towns and villages make up the Hamptons, which are
what makes this area, and real estate listings so very
unique. Virtually, there are no two that are found to
be the same, because of the settings, the styles of
homes, and the varieties of the layouts of the
interior of the homes.

The Hamptons include the following areas: Water mill,
Westhampton, Westhampton Beach, Southhampton,
Wainscott, Shelter Island, Sagaponack, Sag Harbor, the
Quogues, North Haven, Napeague, Montauk, Hampton Bays,
East Hampton, Bridgehampton, and Amagansett.
Hamptons, New York is one of the most happening places
during the summer time as everyone just wants to getaway for a while. This is what makes a Hamptons rental
property so very valuable.

Many celebrities and other well-endowed people come to
the Hamptons to celebrate and party the summer away
while getting away from business for a while. Getting
invited to a party in the Hamptons is one of the most
important things that could happen to a New Yorker.
The real estate market in the Hamptons is always
changing, as there are new real estate investors
wanting to take part in the fun, excitement and in the
money to be made in this prime real estate area. The
only thing better than getting invited to a Hampton’s
party is throwing a Hamptons party, but of course, you
have to own a house to throw a party, so if you don’t
have a Hampton’s home yet, you should look closely at
what is available right now! By finding good Hampton
agent, any one who can afford it can own some
beachfront, Hampton estate. By purchasing and owning
a Hampton home, people can get instant publicity and
gain huge amounts of popularity.

Many people don’t buy in the Hamptons they rent in the
Hamptons because there are only so many types of homes
the average person can afford. Renting is for the
average person, who wants to enjoy the excitement of
the area, and for those who dream of owning prime real
estate in the Hamptons.

Renting is the most sensible act for those who want a
taste of a different lifestyle and area. This is why
the prime rental real estate in the Hamptons can be an
investment for an owner who will rent out their home;
there is money to be made when renting out a home for
a good price every week when you are not using it
yourself. When it comes to Hampton Beach Rentals, it
could be hard to get a beach house unless you know
someone, so you know this has to be a good real estate
investment as there are so many people who want to
visit the Hamptons.

If you can get the right agent than a beachfront
renter is possible. If you own real estate in the
Hamptons, finding renters is what you should be doing
to get more for your money, and more return from your
investment in this real estate property.
When it comes to the Hamptons, over thirty beaches
cover the area. That’s plenty of party space! Many
people, who do have a Hampton beach rental or own
Hampton real estate, are very wealthy and/or famous.
Anyone who is anyone can either rent or own some
Hampton real estate. This is the very thought of
millions of Americans, so if you have the opportunity
to purchase real estate in the Hamptons, you should!

The Hamptons are known for the best of the best, so it
can be very pricey to buy and rent in any area of the
Hamptons, but it is well worth the money. The
Hamptons is a sure way to know that you are an “A”
lister. If you are invited to a Hampton party, then
you know that you are a very successful
businessperson, and if you own your own place in the
Hamptons, then you’re even more of a success. Homes
for sale Hampton’s style is going to include a large
price tag, to go along with the high profit return
that you can make from renting your real estate in
this area. The Hamptons beach is one that is always
being sought by others for enjoyment and relaxation.

The Hamptons are a sign of ‘making it’. If you are
finding your career is taking off, and you are earning
more money, you should consider a purchase in the
Hamptons, as this is how those who are really living,
are enjoying life. Some of the most famous residents
of the Hamptons are Alec Baldwin, Ellen Barkin,
Christie Brinkely, Sean Combs, the Hiltons, Calvin
Klein, Kelly Klein, Ralph Lauren, Peter Matthiessen,
Sarah Jessica Parker, Kelly Ripa, Martha Stewart, and
Renee Zellweger. You may also see many other
celebrities while in the Hampton area. The Hamptons
real estate online listings are going to give you a
great insight into the types of homes available. You
will find the area has a very wide demographic range,
with 68% of those living in the Hamptons being that of
ages 25 to 44 years old.

The homes in the Hamptons include those homeowners
that have a Hampton home as their primary residence,
are 71%. Those who do have a second home, state that
the average value of their homes is valued at least
2.5 million dollars. The average value of a home, a
rental home is just over 2 million dollars. If you
were to own a home in the Hamptons, and rent it duringthe summer months only, you would see a return of over
$80,000 per year. As you can see, homes in the
Hamptons are valued much higher than homes in other
areas. The Hamptons multiple listings provide you with
a complete overview of what you can find right now,
but be sure to act fast, as the best listings and the
best homes never are on the market for long at all.

Jennifer Hershey has more than twenty years of experience as a mortgage loan officer. Her site http://www.explainingmortgages.com - a real estate investing and mortgage resource devoted to making mortgage types and home loan programs easy to understand.

It’s been said that the first hour is the rudder of the day. I’ve found this to be very true in my own life. If I’m lazy or haphazard in my actions during the first hour after I wake up, I tend to have a fairly lazy and unfocused day. This kind of day might begin by lingering in bed to cuddle the wife, being pounced by my daughter, stretching a bit, getting dressed, shaving, having a leisurely breakfast (the kind that takes me 20 minutes to prepare and another 20 minutes to eat), unloading the dishwasher, discussing the day’s plans with my wife (we both work at home), etc. Then I might start the workday by checking email, writing a blog entry, and doing a few other minor tasks. By this time I’ve usually been up for several hours, and by that time those early hours have already predisposed me to having an uninspired day. On a scale of 1-10, my overall energy level rarely tops a 7 on this kind of day.

But if I strive to make that first hour optimally productive, the rest of the day tends to follow suit. This day begins by waking up at 5am and physically getting up the instant my alarm goes off no lingering or thinking about sleeping in. I quickly get dressed but skip the shaving. I make a cup of herbal tea (no caffeine) and then go straight to my desk in my home office. No checking email. By 5:10am, I’ve begun work on my #1 project. After 60-90 minutes, I’ll take a break to go shave, acknowledge my family, then make a quick 5-minute breakfast and eat it in my office while I continue working. That productive first hour propels me forward, and by 11am, I’ve usually completed the equivalent of a full day’s work under the previous model. And normally my energy level will be at least an 8 or 9 through the rest of the day.

What surprised me was that the second version, although it seems harder, was actually easier once I got used to it. Getting the most important work done early in the day is energizing, and when you have a few weeks of highly productive days, it adds even more energy and momentum. I feel great when I see the clock hit 8:30am, and I’ve already done 3 solid hours of focused work on my #1 project. This creates strong momentum that carries me through the rest of the day. Many days I don’t bother to check my email until after 5pm in fact, I think if people adopted the simple habit of not checking email until after 5pm (assuming normal business hours), that alone would dramatically increase productivity. Try making email the last activity of your workday, and watch how quickly you can dispatch it.

Of course I have the advantage of working from home, so I can be at my desk within minutes of awakening. But I had similar experiences during those years when I had an office outside the home. I generally found it best to get up and go straight to work with minimal delay. Eating breakfast at the office instead of lingering at home usually led to a more productive day.

The advantage of starting so early is that you finish early. Sometimes I’m done with my workday before I pick up my daughter from preschool at 3:30PM, so I feel no guilt in taking the rest of the day off.

Motivation can precede action, but motivation also follows action. How you spend that first hour will induce the corresponding level of motivation in you, which you can then use to good effect. If you want a highly productive fast-tempo day, make that first hour as such get up and go straight to work on your #1 project. If you want a peaceful day, make that first hour peaceful meditate, read, go for a walk, take a relaxing bath. If you want a lazy day, be lazy that first hour sleep in, watch TV, have a leisurely breakfast. If you want a day lost to trivialities, spend that first hour on trivialities check email, visit online forums, read the news, get chatty with others.

The good news is that if you want to have a certain kind of day, simply focus your best efforts on that first hour. Don’t worry about what comes afterwards. If you nail that first hour, the rest of the day will tend to fall in line. Leverage the power of the rudder to steer the whole ship.

To a lesser degree, I’ve also found this can work midday, although it’s usually harder. If you’ve started off having a lousy day, take a breath and then focus your best efforts on mastering the hour that’s right in front of you. That’s your rudder.

Copyright © Steve Pavlina

Steve Pavlina
Personal Development for Smart People
http://www.stevepavlina.com
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog (blog)
http://www.stevepavlina.com/articles (articles)

Steve is intensely growth-oriented. He trained in martial arts, ran the L.A. Marathon, and graduated from college in three semesters with two degrees. He can juggle, count cards at blackjack, and make damn good guacamole. Steve is also a polyphasic sleeper, sleeping just 2-3 hours per day and only 20 minutes at a time. So chances are good that he’s awake right now.

Wind Turbine Generators work good to make electricity especially when the wind is blowing. But what do we do when the wind dies down to only a few miles per hour? Well, right now we sit and wait for the wind to come back up and eventually we know it will; in fact there are special programs that are used to monitor the wind in certain regions to predict the exact placement of these wind generators for the best return on investment. Some of these wind generators are colossal in size and very expensive to build, erect and ship all the parts.

The static electricity created by the large wind generator fan blades moving thru the air is significant. With this electromagnetic energy once it is used it goes to zero like a big zap from the carpet after you drag your feet across it. But as the wind generator blades move thru the air and the electromagnetic energy is built up again and again. We should use this zapping power to allow the spinning blades of a wind generator to flap, by sending pulses into specially manufactured material memory blades. As they flap much like a bird we can increase speed of the blade slightly when the wind is weak. Thus have a more constant power output to the in times of no or little wind. By creating a flapping situation blades can continue even when airflow is very low at 2-3 mph.

It might appear to be funny looking watching the propeller blades waving around or flapping as they spin, but by using these techniques we can improve the efficiency of wind turbine electricity generation.

Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

I love this time of the year because it’s football season. I especially love the concept of football. You play as a team, each member has his own important role. You win as a team, you lose as a team. If a member of the team cannot meet the challenge of his role he is replaced, plain and simple. Investing in real estate has the same concept as the game of football. You must assemble your team of players who have your best interest at heart. The biggest mistake that a beginning real estate investor make is going it alone or the lone-wolf syndrome. If you want to be successful as a real estate investor you must have your own all star team of players that will help you to succeed. So who are these players:

1: Real estate attorney, notice I said real estate attorney, not any attorney. You want someone who is familiar with your state and local real estate laws, also someone who has experience with the type of deals you present them with.

2: A accountant who is knowledgeable about the new tax-laws that seem to change every year when dealing with real estate investing.

3: A real estate broker or agent. Sometimes dealing with the wrong broker or agent to help you find certain deals can be frustrating as a real estate investor. The only thing on a broker/agent mind is commissions, commissions, commissions. They do not understand the no-money down concept. To save yourself time and effort, find yourself a broker or agent who is flexible and knowledgeable about certain no-money down deals. Let them know that no-money down does not mean that they do not get a commission, it’s just that it won’t come out of your pocket. Also the most important part about dealing with a broker/agent is that they have access to the M.L.S (multiple Listing service). Only license broker/agents have access to this database.

Other members of your all star team can be: Title companies, Banker/mortgage broker, Appraisers, Home Inspector, Property manager, Handyman/carpenter. With the right members on your team you can have a very profitable season year round. Happy Investing

Fred Egins is a real estate investor and writer for http://www.reinvestorbiz.com Get free real estate investment advice and investment news at http://www.reinvestorbiz.com

“Well it’s a frosty one this morning folks -5C (23F) you’re going to need that scraper today!” said the radio announcer. I groaned as I turned over, I felt like had just got to sleep half an hour ago. I strained to lift my dead body from the bed. My 5 year old daughter had been up few times during the night saying she was having bad dreams. With the little sleep I had I guess I was going to have a bad day. I slide out of bed and crawl into the shower. My body revives ever so slightly so I can now stand erect with one eye open. As I stub my toe leaving the washroom I realize I need both eyes open.

Into the closet should I ride in today? Did the radio say -5C it’s only October 13th give me a break! Maybe the ride will be good for me. I slip on my cycling clothes and decide against the t-shirt under my turtleneck, I’m tough I can take it. I stumble downstairs for breakfast. It’s cold downstairs because I haven’t turned the furnace on yet. I flick the switch, the house will probably get warm by the time I leave.

I slip on my wind pants and shell; I hope I will be warm enough. I step into the garage, its cold! I roll my bike to the driveway, it’s colder! I’m sure it will be okay once I’m riding. I slip a head band on and put on my helmet, a few stretches, turn on my headlight, and I’m off. Whoa, Maybe I should have put that t-shirt on! Riding into the park and down the ridge the wind is cutting like a knife.

My eyes are watering from the cold wind and it’s hard to see, I think I see someone walking their dog along the path. In this city we have bylaw that bikes have to have a bell, I slide my numb thumb over to ring it and the frozen ringer tab snaps off. Fortunately this lady sees my wavering headlight and jumps out of the way, “sorry” I yell as I roll past. Heading down towards the river I think I see a little water across the path, my brain kicks in at last second and says that’s not water, its -5C. My front tire slips off the path into the grass I am able to recover enough to not crash. I am awake now, at least for the next minute.

I cross the bridge over the river and head into the woods as I come out of the woods I just about clip some guy riding without any light on. I curse the guy under my breath and realize if I was not riding half asleep I would have seen him sooner. Thoughts of riding out of the valley in my condition haunt me as I approach the hill. I gear down quickly and crawl up the hill, I’m in my lowest gear pumping, and if this hill is any longer I’m going to have a stroke! I make it to the top and my head is pounding but I’m not cold anymore now. My legs are soaked in sweat, which reminds me I need to find better gear for the cold. Through the streets to my office as the sweat starts freezing to my legs I question why I didn’t drive in today. I pull up to the office start locking my bike up, a guy walks by and says “Wow you rode in today it’s freezing out, you must be a real man” and smiles. A small inkling of pride rises in me “Thanks” I say to him. Maybe even a bad ride can still be a good ride.

Kevin Redmond is a senior design supervisor at a large engineering company in Canada. He cycles into work whenever he can. He also runs a consumers Website called http://www.avoidconfusion.com you can get your cycling accessories at this site plus lots of other stuff give it browse and check it out.

Busy homeowners who care about the external appearance of their home as much as they do the interior can turn to a landscaping contractor for design ideas and to handle outdoor projects.

A licensed landscape contractor has been specially trained to meet all landscaping needs - whether for service purposes or cosmetic. Everything from driveways, patios, and decks; to grading the yard, and complete landscape design. Garden ponds enhanced by a pond bridge, wooden “playscapes” for children, walkthrough gardens, and placement and selection of trees, shrubs, and other flora to balance the yard and enhance visual appeal.

The Benefits Offered by a Landscaping Contractor

Like other qualified professionals, different landscape contractors will have specific areas of experience and expertise. For instance, hire an experienced landscape lighting contractor to install outdoor lighting features. They are knowledgeable about different types of landscape lighting, and when and how to use each for maximum benefit.

Few homeowners are savvy as to the best way to enhance landscape features using contour lighting, uplighting, grazing, moonlighting, or backlighting techniques. A licensed landscape contractor, however, knows how to exploit the benefits of these type lighting features.

Landscaping Tips

If spare time is a problem, hire a landscaping contractor with experience designing easy-care landscapes, greatly reducing upkeep efforts. Mower-friendly lawns devoid of grass peninsulas and islands that slow down mowing, and require lots of turning and maneuvering.
Opt for a low water landscape design using drought-tolerant plants and ground cover to conserve water and decrease maintenance needs.

Small yards can be made to look larger using the expertise of a landscape contractor designer familiar with the “forcing the perspective” technique. Angling plants toward each other, extending to the rear of the landscape. Making the yard look longer and more spacious, while adding visual interest and enhanced beauty.

The Right Landscaping Contractor for the Right Job

A qualified contractor with a landscaping contractor license can increase the external beauty of a home, correct landscape problems, and bring balance to the yard - increasing real estate market value of the home. Select the right contractor for the right job.

Some are more experienced with correcting landscape flaws and the use of flora enhancements to beautify and balance to the yard. The expertise of another landscaping contractor might be concrete driveways, walkways, and custom edging the landscape perimeter.

A construction contractor landscaping expert might be best for building a raised deck, split-level patio, or a number of other functional outdoor projects.

Word of mount referrals, local licensing authorities, and Internet resources such as www.handycanadian.com are your best resources for finding a qualified landscaping contractor in your area.

Carefully selecting a qualified landscaping contractor ensures outdoor feature success, adding to the appearance and value of your home.

Max Sheppard is Co-Owner of Handy Canadian.com at www.handycanadian.com and Handy American.com at www.handyamerican.com. Handy Canadian.com and Handy American.com is your one-stop renovation information web site: where homeowners locate professional contractors, businesses connect with commercial contractors, and qualifying contractors acquire new leads.

Go on, admit it, you have never read an article on cricket before, right? But wait, this aint no ordinary cricket, this is the Ashes! The Ashes? Yes, the series between England and Australia that dates back to the 1870’s. The two old foes locked in combat in England throughout the summer.

Australia, world number one, world champions, such a wonderful side that have lauded it over world cricket since the demise of the great West Indian team ten years ago. But England too, and it is England, not Great Britain, have been on the rise. They have defeated all of their main rivals, India, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the West Indies, and only the mighty Australia now stand in their way at the summit of world cricket.

Some say that Test cricket (that’s the 5 day variety, I kid you not, and even then the match could be a draw) is a dying sport, some say it has no future, some say the kids of today don’t have the patience to watch a match for five days. It is doomed. Well, as that American general so eloquently replied to the Wehrmacht when surrounded at Bastogne, “Nuts!”

This is the biggest sporting event to hit Britain this summer, bar none. When the Ashes series commenced in London last Thursday at the Lords cricket ground, 30,000 salivating followers were crammed inside. Estimates say that they could have filled the ground six times over. I have little doubt that is true. Not a sign of a dying sport there then. And what is wrong with playing a titanic struggle for five days anyhow? Golf plays for four days, and can spill over into a fifth, if there is a tie or bad weather.

On a dull morning Australia win the toss and elect to bat, a brave decision in view of the overcast skies that could enable the English quick bowlers to swing the ball through the air. Should make batting tricky.

Cricket is a simple game. Two teams of eleven. They each bat twice. Add the runs together from each innings and the team with the most, wins. Easy. Five Test matches, five days each. Australia bat, and England strike! Australia are skittled out for a measly 190. A poor score. Optimism is high. England for heaven’s sake have gone favourites in the betting tents, and that hasn’t been seen since betting on this series began over a year ago. What is happening?

The pundits crawl from their shells. Of course they always knew that England were on the up, (oh if only they were), and that Australia were in decline, so they say, now. We all knew that Australia’s two leading bowlers Shane Warne (most test wickets in history) and Glen McGrath, one away from his 500th wicket, were both 35 years of age and drawing towards the end of their illustrious careers, surely. The age doesn’t seem to have harmed Shane’s bedroom activities, he’s known as the busty blonde for his physique and dyed hair, and there is a constant diatribe of his extra curricula activities reported in the tabloid press, both in England and Australia. It doesn’t seem to distract him too much on the field.

So England go in to bat. Calamity. Glen McGrath refuses to believe the tripe written in the papers. He rapidly sends back five of the best English batsmen to the packed and stunned pavilion, for just four runs conceded. England rally, but too little, too late, they are bowled out for 155. First real blood very definitely to the men from down under, and that is a big disappointment after England’s hostile and impressive start.

England have pace bowlers of their own in Harmison, Flintoff, and Jones, each capable of hurling the ball down at over 90 mph. That can do damage, believe me, and three of the Australians are hit. This is brutal stuff, and the crowd lap it up. Yes the object is to hit the wickets preferably, but if you can’t do that, hit the batsman! If you do, they could be gone, for not many batsmen can go about their trade with a broken bone. Broken bones do nicely. The Australian captain is hit a mighty blow. The crowd holler, they love it. Just as well then that the batsmen are dressed up like some superhero from a futuristic comic book. When I was a lad in the sixties the batters didn’t even wear a helmet. Ah, they were the days. Hit them on the head then, and they certainly didn’t bat again. Namby pambies today, isn’t everything!

Round two. Innings two. Australia bat again. The sun comes out. Not a good sign if you are an England supporter. The ball races from the bat in sunnier weather and crashes onto the boundary boards. The ball doesn’t swing so much in the thinner air either. Batting is suddenly easier, much easier, and the famed Australian jauntiness returns. Oh dear. We fear the worst. Certainly the sharp-eyed layers have noticed too. Australia have rapidly returned to being outright favourites. How could we ever have thought otherwise?

The English bowlers toil, and though wickets fall regularly, the Colonials, cruelly still described as such by some, it must get right up their nose, and there really is no point in angering these fellows unnecessarily, tot up 384 all out. England need 420 to win and there are still two and half days left. This match will not end in a draw, unless Mister Buckets up there lashes down for two whole days, and as anyone who knows London knows, that isn’t impossible.

Here’s a stat for you: England have NEVER made more than 400 runs in the fourth innings of a Test match to win the game in the one hundred and thirty five year history of Test cricket. Not a comforting stat to start with, and indeed it has only ever been done two or three times, but never by England.

The England batsmen, the same batters who failed so miserably in round one, come out to face the might of Mister Brett Lee. Mister Lee, and I would call him “Mister” if I were you, is currently the quickest most hostile bowler on the face of the planet. He is quite capable of dispatching the hard (very hard) ball the batsmen’s way at over 100 mph. The openers look nervous, they should be, nay they look frightened, despite the forced glares they send back up the pitch. Mister Lee smiles, as he does, straight blond hair, Aussie soapstar looks. He’s enjoying himself and why shouldn’t he? He is confident his team are about to go one up in the series.

But England start well. They have put on nearly a hundred runs and they haven’t lost a wicket yet, and the odds on an improbable England win are tumbling. Could it possibly be? Then calamity strikes. England collapse, as they have a tendency to do, wickets fall quickly and as day three ends, England are teetering on 156 for five men out. It should be a formality in the morning.

And guess what? On the Sunday morning, (day 4) Mister Buckets gets into his stride and chucks it down. By noon, the pond in my garden has never been so full. There isn’t a chink in the cloud anywhere. The rain is in for the day, so they say, heavy and sustained. Cricket cannot be played in rain. Too dangerous. The pretty TV weather girl grins as she gives us the news. Has she had a bet on the draw too? She wouldn’t be alone.

The stadium is empty. Yet 30,000 souls have paid handsomely for their dose of Ashes cricket. Will they see any play today? Some England supporters applaud the deluge. Applauding rain, it takes some believing. If only we could get out of this match with a draw, they think, all could yet be well. An England win is now out of the question. Odds of 400/1 against by Sunday. At Thursday lunch they had been 4/5 on.

The rain finally stops. It’s still cloudy mind, and the field is sopping. You can’t play cricket on a sopping field either. But it is drying, fast. The umpires come out and inspect the track. They stand and glare down at the twenty-two yards of mowed brown turf. They nod. They look at their light meters. Light meters? Tchh! They nod again, fatally for England we imagine, play will begin in thirty minutes. Oh dear.

The crowd returns in the middle of the afternoon. Where have they all been? All 30,000 of them back to watch the coup-de-grace, or a miracle, but there will be no miracle today. England surrender tamely. All out for 180, and Australia win by a huge margin of 239 runs, and in four days too. Who said cricket was a five-day game? Too easy, by far. England drop seven catches in the match, Australia drop zilch! And included in their takes was a wonderful full length diving effort by Damien Martyn right on the boundary rope to dismiss the dangerous Kevin Pietersen. And no gloves either, no cricket fielders are permitted to wear gloves of any kind, except the wicket keeper. Bare hands only, it can be tough, broken fingers are commonplace. Not many a pro cricketer avoids that penalty.

The first day optimism has vanished and England have a lot of head games to set right before the second Test match starts in Birmingham. Still the picture of Australian worldwide invincibility remains, for it is certainly not just England who cannot touch them. Perhaps the USA could put together a decent side. Now that would be fun, don’t you think?

As for the bettors, 23 million pounds sterling wagered on this match on Betfair.com alone. Betting on cricket is fuelled by huge wagers from the sub continent, India, not that it needs fuelling by anyone. The very length of the match makes it perfect for betting operators. By the way, you can still have a free $30 bet on Betfair, just enter the promo code 6CHE3VPWJ when prompted.

Golf is a truly wonderful game, I love golf, ancient, genteel, skilful as it is, but it really can’t hold a candle to Test cricket. Trust me. Cricket is for the gladiators of the modern age. I couldn’t imagine Tiger Woods facing Brett Lee. I couldn’t imagine anyone wearing an “I’m sane” hat voluntarily facing Brett Lee. Test cricket such as this makes for riveting viewing too. Truly. Cricket a dying sport? Don’t make me laugh. Anyone got a spare ticket for Birmingham? Thought not. Sold out months ago.

Want to know more on the Ashes series, then zap me an email and I’ll follow up. It’s down to you.

David Carter has written hundreds of articles published in a wide variety of magazines and newspapers. His latest book is SPLAM! A 244 page manual on the property business. http://www.splam.co.uk. He also runs a holiday cottage business on http://www.pebblebeachmedia.co.uk where you can choose from over 6,000 holiday cottages and villas worldwide. If you want to know more about cricket (and you know that you do!) can find all you need on http://www.cricinfo.com. You can contact me on any matter at supalife@aol.com