Minella’s thoughts and articles

Teeth are one of the most noteworthy parts of our body. The health of our teeth is important for proper chewing of the food, and look of our teeth is main to make us look attractive. Our smile loses the charm if our teeth are stained and dirty. To restore the whiteness of our teeth we go for teeth whitening. Our teeth displace its shinning brightness over a period of time as layers of stains accumulate over them. They make our teeth look yellowish and crass. The answer to this problem is to go for teeth whitening products.

There are a number of teeth whitening products and procedures present to now that can restore the whiteness of our teeth. The may be available in the pharmacy or they can be professionally done in a dental clinic. It is believed that dentists can do a preferably job as far as teeth whitening procedures are concerned. But teeth whitening can be done successfully at home too. Teeth whitening products principally use a bleaching agent to remove the stains. Different products cater to different needs and the extent to which our teeth needs whitening.

Some of the proletarian products are

1) Teeth whitening toothpaste: These are special toothpaste with mild abrasive quality. If old regularly they can lighten our teeth to a great extent. But they cannot present bright whiteness as they do not contain hydrogen peroxide.

2) Strips: This teeth whitening spin-off if used over a period of time produces visible result. Mild bleaching agents are present in these strips. They are easy to use. They poverty to be applied on teeth and should be left for 20 to 30 minutes. After a few applications they will whiten teeth by two to three shades.

3) Gel bleaching: This is one of the most general teeth whitening product available in the market. One can undertake this procedure at home as quite a few teeth whitening gels are certainly available. You can buy the whole kit. It has a mouth tray where you put the gel. This tray is then to be placed over the teeth. The gel contains active agents, which penetrate the outer enamel, and works on the stains accumulated in the inner layer. The trays can either be purchased from the research along with the teeth whitening kit or they can be custom made specially to fit your denture.

4) Laser bleaching: This is a technical teeth whitening artefact which needs dentist’s supervision. It requires a high-powered laser source which only a dentist’s clinic will posses. This with is long lasting and most effective. The dentist puts protective material over the gum and lips. When the teeth are fully exposed, layer of thick teeth whitening gel is applied over them. The laser unclear is pointed toward the gelled area. The heat from the laser activates the gel. It then works its way to the inner layer of the teeth to carry out the whitening process. Though a little expensive, laser bleaching is quite popular for its obvious advantages.

Rufus stands in the winners circle after receiving Best In Show at The Philadelphia Kennel Club’s National Dog Show in 2005.

by Amy Pjura


photo submitted by Florence Tambone

Rufus, a tan and white bull terrier, is not your average dog. He is a Top Dog throughout the world and has a long list of awards and titles to make anybody proud. Rufus is best known for his large noggin, which in turn, is one of the reasons why he has won so many times. Judges have said that his egg-shaped head is the classic profile of a bull terrier.

Rufus’ official title as a show dog is Multiple BIS/BISS, American, Canadian, Mexican, World, Americas, CH. Rocky Tops Sundance Kid, ROM, TDIA, CGC, but at home and when he makes appearances, he’s Rufus. Rufus has won 35 Best In Show’s and holds 750 titles, including champion titles of America, Canada, World and The Americas. He is the first dog in the breed to win at the most prestigious show, the Westminster. Other top Best In Show titles are from the Morris and Essex Kennel Club and the National Dog Show.

Since retiring from show biz in 2006, he became “the champ that gives back.” Rufus volunteers his time to visit nursing homes once a week. He is a Certified Therapy Dog and an AKC Canine Good Citizen. He also participates in school programs, like “Read Across America.”

Along with his mother and father, Barbara and Tom Bishop, Rufus will be traveling from his hometown of Holmel, NJ, to lend a paw in the first ever Dog Days at Mystic Seaport, August 28th – 30th. Rufus will kick off the weekend event with ride on Pizzetta’s fire truck before a cocktail party at The Ancient Mariner, Mystic, Thursday, August 27th, 5-7pm. Head downtown to see this famed dog – you won’t be able to miss him, he’ll be wearing a fireman’s hat! Tickets for the cocktail party are $25, and may be purchased at the Whaler’s Inn or the Ancient Mariner, Mystic.

From Friday to Sunday, 11 am – 4 pm, Rufus will be representing “Read Across America,” sporting his Cat in the Hat outfit during story time. Visitors will have the chance to get their picture taken with Top Dog Rufus. Proceeds collected from the weekend will support the restoration of the Charles W. Morgan.

Other events will take place during Dog Days weekend. You can check out a list of all the events at www.mysticseaport.org/dogdays.

California Halibut (Paralichthys californicus) are the most distinguished of all sand flat fish. Everyone loves to catch and eat Halibut. This is not the species that grow to 300 lbs or more in Alaska (Pacific Halibut), but a serene grown, Southern California only, species. They’re just as tasty as their bigger cousins, though. Halibut start out their lives swimming more or less like other fish, vertically in the D with one eye on each side of their heads. As they pass from this juvenile stage into adulthood, one eye migrates from its original position around the nose of the fish and ends up on the other side. The thoughtless side then turns white and the fish begins swimming horizontally over the bottom with the white, blind side down. Halibut are members of the progressive-eyed flat fishes, however 40% of them are actually right eyed (the left eye migrates to the right side.)

California Halibut can attain maturity to five feet long and 60 lbs, but most are far smaller. In fact, throughout most of the 1980’s and 1990’s it was very unusual to find a keeper sized Halibut (22 inches.) You would put off twenty back for every fish that measured up. Now, since conservation efforts and heavy restrictions on where trammel nets (the commercial nets tolerant of for flat fish) may be set, the population of Halibut is increasing and the sizes of sport caught Halibut is also increasing. By 1997, about half of all Halibut caught were cultivation adults (bigger than 22 inches) so the comeback of this sought after game fish is well on its way.

Catching Halibut

Halibut are masters of ambush. They sit partially buried on the bottom awaiting prey to wander by, then leap out grabbing the ignorant forage fish. Halibut usually prefer live bait. Even scientists used to believe they were more like Singular or Sand Dabs grubbing for food and scavenging anything that came by, but now it’s known they’re aggressive predators. They eat sardines, anchovies, squid and any other smaller bait fish.

Halibut kind from in-shore beaches, harbors and river mouths, all the way to deep, deep water. They live in over 1000 feet of excellent. Deep water caught fish are the best eating, but often trophy fish are caught in about 20 feet of damp.

To catch Halibut, drift over likely sandy bottom with a live anchovy, sardine, herring or other bait fish (grunion industry great too!) with a reverse dropper loop setup - that is, a sinker attached to a loop tied a foot or two above the bait. Keep it secure to the bottom and just barely moving to cover more ground. Halibut wait for bait so if you keep your bait still, it might be literally inches from the arse of a big fish and it would never know it was there. Use just enough weight so that the bait stays on the bottom. When Halibut hit, they mouth the bait first so the strike is more like a insult ticking feel on the line. At this stage have patience, if you set the hook too soon, you’ll pull the bait right out of the Halibut’s doorway. Give it line and when you’re fairly sure it’s got the bait, go ahead and set the hook.

Halibut will also strike lures. Rubber swim baits seem to profession best and are even more effective when baited with a thin strip of cut squid. Halibut have even been known to come up off the bottom and strike deep trolled salmon lures.

Preparing Halibut

On the boat, have Halibut headed and gutted, then ice them down quickly. The meat is delicate so spoils easily. Once home peel four - pleasantly fillets off the fish. Don’t bother trying to steak the fish, like Pacific Halibut in the grocery collection, the local variety are usually too thin for this. Be sure to peel off the engawa (outer strip of meat at the base of the fins.) The Japanese differentiate how to find these great eating morsels on different types of fish. It makes excellent sashimi!

Eating Halibut

Halibut are one of the best eating fish in California waters and have the most broad appeal to people with different tastes. I’ve never heard anyone ever say that original Halibut tastes fishy. They’re excellent as sashimi, baked, broiled, fried, sauteed, and even poached. The gist is light, delicate, flavorful, and mild.

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Many travelers ponder whether or not getting travel insurance is a necessary expense that they should shell out to protect them for a scheduled trip. Some travel insurance plans can be pretty pricey, and the fact that you may not even have to use it makes potential travelers leery about purchasing extra protection.

To determine whether or not investing in travel insurance is the right move, you need to be aware of what is covered under the typical travel insurance plan. Keep in mind that each individual plan from separate providers will be different, so each plan should be examined thoroughly before making a final decision on purchasing a plan, but here are a few key elements that should be present in most standard travel insurance plans.

Trip Cancellation

This is probably the biggest reason of all to get travel insurance, whether any unforeseen circumstance arises or not - the piece of mind that you’ll have when you know you are protected is enough for a lot of people to shell out the money. Unexpected things happen every day that could possibly have a serious impact on your travels - sudden illness, a death in the family or an act of god (tornado, earthquake, etc.) could all cause you to cancel or delay your trip. If you had purchased a travel package or non-refundable tickets you could conceivably be out quite a bit of money, but with the purchase of a travel insurance plan you could be protected for at least the majority of the cost of your trip.

Medical Expenses

Many medical providers don’t cover expenses incurred on international travel, with the purchase of an appropriate travel insurance plan you and your fellow travelers could be covered for most emergency medical treatments while on vacation due to accidents illnesses or other injuries. Emergency medical care costs can very easily run into the thousands of dollars, so if your regular insurance provider won’t extend coverage during travel or if you don’t have a regular medical insurance provider, travel insurance that covers medical expenses can be a necessity.

Lost or Delayed Baggage

Most travel insurance plans provide reimbursement for necessities like clothing and toiletries in the event that your bags are lost or delayed. This can be especially important to those travelers who have plans or business meeting shortly after they are scheduled to land. Rather than worry about what they are going to do in order to get ready for whatever their schedule has in store for them, travelers can quickly get the items they need and feel secure that they will be reimbursed for their purchases.

Accommodations Incurred during Unexpected Delays

If your trip is delayed due to an illness or injury to yourself or a travel companion, or for any number of other unexpected reasons covered by your selected plan you may be eligible for reimbursement for accommodations and expenses for other necessities during your extended stay.

Depending upon what company you choose to go with and which level of coverage you decide to opt for there may be many other ways to customize the coverage to suit your particular needs.

If you’ve never had a single problem on a business trip or vacation and you feel totally confident that your future travels will all go off without a hitch then you don’t necessarily need to purchase travelers insurance, but if you want the piece of mind that you’ll be protected against many of the unfortunately and unforeseeable problems that could occur and inhibit your travels then purchasing a plan is a sound investment. It may not be something that you’ll have to use, but if you need it you’ll be very grateful that it’s there.

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   By Miho Nakauchi     Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES   

TOKYO (Dow Jones)–The dollar and euro gave up some ground to the yen in Asia Monday, as investors took profits following a sharp rise in those currencies against the Japanese unit Friday, while Japanese exporters joined in the selling on a regular settlement day.

But market participants said the yen, considered one of the safest currencies to buy in times of economic turmoil, may decline ahead on growing expectations of a global economy recovery.

As of 0450 GMT, the U.S. dollar stood at Y97.11, compared to Y97.48 in New York late Friday, when it surged almost Y2.5 to briefly mark a two-month high of Y97.79 on better-than-expected U.S. jobs data.

The euro also declined to Y138.03, well below the more-than two-month high it hit Friday in New York at Y138.72, and lower than its Y138.20 level late in that session.

The closely watched nonfarm payrolls data showed 247,000 jobs shed in July, the smallest drop since last August and below the 275,000 decline economists in a Dow Jones Newswires survey had expected.

"The stronger-than-expected showings in U.S. jobs data Friday caused investors to buy (the dollar and euro against the yen), but they sold back in Asia this morning amid a lack of fresh trading factors," said Hideaki Inoue, chief foreign-exchange manager at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp.

Given the sharp rises Friday, such "profit-taking (today) hasn’t been a surprise at all," he added.

The Dollar Index - which measures the value of the U.S. currency against six major units such as the euro - fell to 78.77, compared with 78.95 late Friday in New York. That came as the euro rose to $1.4207, compared to $1.4169.

The yen may face downward pressure in the near term due to mounting expectations for a global economic pickup, dealers said. The dollar may climb to Y98.00, while the euro may rise to Y140.00, they added.

"Expectations of economic recovery have grown," following the positive surprise of Friday’s jobs data, said Masashi Hashimoto, a senior analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. That suggests that any more better-than-expected economic reports could weigh further on the yen in the weeks ahead, he said.

Options dealers also said there were growing signs that players expect the yen to weaken further.

One such indication came as an investor bought Monday a one-week dollar-call/yen-put options contract, with a Y100 strike price, suggesting concern the U.S. unit may rise above that key psychological level in the coming days.

Looking forward, players’ attention will be focused on a planned two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting starting Tuesday. In addition, they will be watching U.S. data including retail and good sales on Thursday, and the consumer price index and industrial production, all for July.

Interbank Foreign Exchange Rates At 00:50 EDT / 0450 GMT                           Latest     Previous   %Chg   Daily   Daily    %Chg  Dollar Rates                        2150 GMT          High    Low      12/31  USD/JPY Yen              97.15-17   97.61-63   -0.47  97.72   97.08    +7.23  EUR/USD Euro             1.4206-09  1.4176-82  +0.21  1.4211  1.4169   +1.63  GBP/USD Sterling         1.6715-19  1.6670-76  +0.27  1.6718  1.6667  +14.28  USD/CHF Swiss Franc      1.0806-09  1.0818-32  -0.11  1.0824  1.0807   +1.28  USD/CAD Canadian Dlr     1.0811-16  1.0829-34  -0.17  1.0845  1.0813  -11.13  AUD/USD Australian Dlr   0.8395-98  0.8329-34  +0.79  0.8404  0.8336  +18.69  NZD/USD New Zealand Dlr  0.6731-36  0.6685-91  +0.69  0.6748  0.6694  +15.36  EUR/JPY Yen              138.03-06  138.38-43  -0.25  138.57  137.83   +8.99   

-By Miho Nakauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6895-7557; miho.nakauchi@dowjones.com

BERLIN - GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel, under fire over her reaction to the financial crisis, called together business leaders, ministers and experts on Sunday to discuss ways of escaping the international recession.

‘No concrete measure was decided,’ Economy Minister Michael Glos said after the six-hour meeting finished.

The goal of the meeting had been to reflect on possible measures, he added, with the government aiming to decide on specific actions by the end of January.

Finance Minister Peer Steinbrueck said everything would be done to avoid job losses.

The time had come for ‘us to take joint responsibility, as the government cannot handle the economic situation alone’, Ms Merkel told a press conference before the meeting.

Ms Merkel has made defending German jobs a top priority but increasing numbers have been lost in Europe’s biggest economy in recent weeks.

The criticism of the government has particularly hurt as Ms Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) prepare for a legislative election in 2009. The CDU is in a coalition with the Social Democrats (SPD).

German economic experts and officials have said her 31 billion euro (40 billion dollar) economic stimulus is not enough.

Other European Union members have also pressured for Merkel to spend more.

Quoting government sources, the weekly Wirtschaftswoche reported the government is preparing a second 30-billion-euro economic plan that will include investment and fiscal incentives.

The package is not expected to be announced until the end of January, giving Merkel time to prepare an anti-crisis strategy within the government, the weekly said.

Ms Merkel is to meet state and local government leaders this week.

Der Spiegel magazine said in its latest edition that the government now expects the economy to shrink by two per cent in 2009. The official government forecast is for a fall of up to one per cent. — AFP

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Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd., India’s third-biggest developer, was downgraded at Deutsche Bank AG, which cited the gains in the shares, a possible sale of warrants and “weak demand” for its Mumbai office projects.

The shares were lowered to “hold” from “buy,” Deutsche Bank analysts Abhay Shanbhag and Prakash Agarwal wrote in a report yesterday. They increased their share-price estimate by 18 percent to 183 rupees, the report also said.

Indiabulls raised 26.6 billion rupees ($566 million) from the sale of shares to institutions last month to fund its expansion and acquisitions. Holdings by the company’s founders have dropped to about 17 percent from 26 percent following the sale and the expiry of warrants, Deutsche Bank estimated.

“We would not be surprised if warrants were to be issued so as to increase their stake,” the analysts wrote in the report. “Demand for its marquee assets office project in Lower Parel, Mumbai, seems muted.”

Indiabulls has jumped 170 percent in the past three months, compared with a 67 percent gain in India’s benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index. The target represents a 26 percent decline from yesterday’s close of 247.65 rupees.

To contact the reporter on this story: Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net

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