I. Thou shalt pack HALF the clothes you want.
II. Thou shalt take TWICE the money you will need.
III. Thou shalt pack an abundance of Patience.
IV. Thou shalt NOT count calories, especially on cruises.
V. Your extra large luggage shalt have wheels.
VI. Thou shalt NOT feel guilty if you don

We are planning a family trip for just a few days. That is my family, my brothers family, and my other brothers family. Our mother will be joining us, too. That makes four households, seven adults and six children all under three years old. Praise to my brave foolish wife who has somehow volunteered to coordinate the arrangements.
Even reserving months in advance, we were unable to get four rooms adjoining at the motel, all with the right view and on the right level. If we were going for longer, we would probably rent a house as we have done before. There are vacation rentals in almost every corner of the world, but they are particularly common in high-tourist areas like Florida, California and the Mediterranean countries.
Here is my top ten list of why a family should pick a vacation rental and specifically a vacation rental home:
1. Not toiling to find ideal, adjoining rooms.
2. Everybody gets privacy, without having to worry about where the kids are.
3. You dont have to share the common area with strangers, but you can still lounge around together.
4. More than one bathroom. Need I say more
5. Lots and lots and lots of more room. This is usually the main selling feature.
6. Private pool, in most cases. "Great to swim with the sound of insects....fortunately outside the cage", wrote one visitor in the guestbook of Lesley & Gerrys villa. http://www.lastminutevillas.net/villa/villa_id=15&x=21&y=7
7. Usually cost less than hotels.
8. Store cold drinks, ice creams, fresh fruit or any other snacks you fancy, which is a huge cost saver, suggests villa owner Christine Creasy. And a great convenience, too. http://www.lastminutevillas.net/villa/villa_id=65&x=26&y=7
9. Barbecue any time you want. You can still eat out, but you dont HAVE to.
10. You dont have to take home several weeks supply of dirty laundry.
There you have it. My top ten reasons to choose a vacation rental. Ive written before on the benefits of renting private accommodations:

http://www.lastminutevillas.net/villa-hotel.html

Of course, I still prefer a tent in a wilderness park, but I might have some difficulty convincing my mother to join us there.

About The Author
David Leonhardt is a freelance writer.
Visit his happiness website at:

http://www.thehappyguy.com

Or his vitamin website at:

http://www.vitamin-supplements-store.net.

For Florida vacation villa rentals:
http://www.lastminutevillas.net .
For Orlando vacation home rentals:

http://www.orlandovillaowners.com

Info@thehappyguy.com

After France, Spain is Europes most popular holiday destination, and the apparent dominance of France is to a large extent due to visitors in transit elsewhere. In 1996 between 1.2 and 1.3 million European tourists visited Spain. It is therefore not surprising that many of them become interested in buying a home there. Spains property market generally has enjoyed strong growth, with the Costa Brava enjoying a particularly large rise in values. About 20% of foreign owners are more or less permanent residents of Spain, while the remaining 80% bought their property for either holidays or investment purposes.
The Costa Brava is particularly attractive because

Summer heat is less intense than further south,
Scenery is spectacular,
There are beautiful well-preserved mediaeval towns like Pals and Peratallada everywhere,
Catalonia is well run with good roads and railways
The A7 motorway is never more than a few minutes drive and connects to the French network
Barcelona is easily accessible
Golf courses are numerous and of the highest standard all year round
In winter, there is good skiing in the nearby Pyrenees
There are cheap flights to Girona/Costa Brave airport and to Barcelona and Perpignan.
Eating out is inexpensive and a real pleasure
The cost of living generally is reasonable.

That is an impressive catalogue of benefits. Add that attractive property is still fairly freely available and competitively priced and you will quickly understand the popularity of the region.
Many different nationalities settle here, but unlike further south they are all intermingled, with no "English" estates or "German" estates. The whole atmosphere is much more cosmopolitan. That does not suit everybody.
Before buying anything, do visit the area in and out of season. Resorts that are a buzz in summer often die completely in the winter. To most Catalonians, the Costa Brava is where they go for their summer holidays; they dont live there, and they dont even visit at week-ends out of season. If you are buying just for summer rentals and/or your own summer holidays, that does not matter, but if you are thinking of permanent residence, it is a critical factor. Never assume that you may be able to rent your property in winter. It is most unlikely.
If you are thinking of semi-permanent or even permanent residence, you may be concerned that you will find it hard to make friends here, and therefore be somewhat isolated. This is generally not so. Most residents are retired or semi-retired and it is fairly easy to meet new people, particularly of course if you play golf. Incomers tend to be of a similar age and background, even if from different countries. They too want to make new friends.
This may be an advantage or a disadvantage! You will also suddenly find that you have many friends in England wanting to visit you. Some of them may be friends that you thought of only as acquaintances. It can also be difficult for visitors to understand that you are not there just to entertain them, but have your own life to lead as well.
All in all though, the Costa Brava is a terrific place to holiday or live as long as you have thought through your purchase correctly. Our experience comes as part of the package, and our job is to make sure that you make the right decision for you. This is not the Costa del Sol either in terms of weather or life style, but it is culturally rich, welcoming, and offers a great life to those that respond to what it offers.
This article and more can be found at: Costa Brava Homes

About The Author

You can found the original article at http://www.costa-brava-homes.com/index/eng/life.html.
© Costa Brava Homes www.costa-brava-homes.com & Christopher B. Longmore 2004

Welcome to part eight in this search engine positioning series. Last week we discussed website submissions. In part eight we will be covering the importance of link building and developing inbound links to your website.
This is arguably on of the most important aspect of the SEO process and can mean the difference between first page rankings and 100th. It has to be done right and it has to be done on an ongoing basis.
Over this series we will cover the ten key aspects to a solid search engine positioning campaign.
The Ten Steps We Will Go Through Are:

Keyword Selection http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/keywords.htm
Content Creation http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/content.htm
Site Structure http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/structure.htm
Optimization http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/optimization.htm
Internal Linking http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/internal-linking.htm
Human Testing http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/human-testing.htm
Submissions http://www.beanstalk-inc.com/articles/search-engine-positioning/submissions.htm
Link Building
Monitoring
The Extras

Step Eight

The rise of venture leasing and lending has created an opportunity for sophisticated entrepreneurs to gain a competitive advantage. Savvy entrepreneurs are using venture leases and loans to generate millions of dollars for shareholders by leveraging existing venture capital. They have discovered ways to use this flexible financing as a tool to build enterprise value between equity rounds and to leapfrog less sophisticated competitors.
Venture leases and loans are usually asset-based, financing arrangements. These financings are available to qualified pre-profit, early-stage companies funded by venture capital investors. Start-ups need equipment and working capital to help them execute their business plans and to reach profitability. Venture lenders and lessors provide financing to these firms to help them acquire computers, lab and test equipment, production equipment, phone systems and other needed business equipment. These specialty financing firms may also provide financing for working capital in the form of accounts receivable and/or inventory loans. Start-ups that qualify usually have promising business prospects, well-defined business plans and have raised more than $ 5 million in venture capital from reputable venture capitalists.
How are these savvy entrepreneurs using venture leases and loans to boost shareholder value and to gain an edge on the competition Here are some of the ways:

To stretch equity capital and to increase shareholder value between equity rounds. By using venture leases and loans, entrepreneurs can forestall going out for more equity while they continue to build and increase the value of their companies.
Use of loans and leases instead of internal cash helps to stem negative cash flow. Most start-ups are faced with negative cash flow until revenues build sufficiently to cover costs. Using limited internal cash for equipment purchases, to invest in inventory or for accounts receivable is not wise, if there are better options.
To protect working capital. Purchases of intermediate-term assets with internal cash will remove those funds from working capital. Use of venture leases and loans helps to keep the pressure off of working capital as the cost of these assets gets spread over an extended period.
To supplement other capital sources. Venture leases and loans supplement equity capital, mortgage financing and other financing available to start-ups.
To liberate cash from equipment, accounts receivable and inventory already financed internally. By doing a sale-leaseback, the start-up can liberate cash from equipment already owned. Likewise, the start-up can finance inventory and accounts receivable that have been funded internally by using a venture loan.
To bridge-finance equity transactions. Occasionally, start-ups are able to obtain short-term loans to bridge upcoming equity transactions. These loans are usually well secured by all-asset liens against these companies and are generally available for short time frames. Most venture lenders who provide this type of financing require equity kickers in the form of warrants to purchase stock in the start-ups or stock issued directly to them by the start-ups.
To hedge against rapidly depreciating equipment. Venture leases can be structured as fair-market-value leases. These leases usually allow the lessees to renew the leases at fair-market-value renewal rates, to purchase the equipment at fair-market-value purchase prices, or to return the equipment to the lessors at the end of the leases. The return option allows the start-ups to conveniently dispose of obsolete or unneeded equipment.
To replace venture capital. Start-ups are using loans in the form of subordinate debt as a substitute for additional equity rounds. These loans can be collateralized or unsecured and can be used for many of the same purposes as equity funding

Websites, automobiles, milk cartons, living spaces. Design saturates every aspect of our lives and the difference between success and failure could be the color purple, could be the person that you talk to every morning when you wake up, or could be the amount of light that streams into your office every day.
These ten steps will support you in revitalizing your environments and will foster an amazing sense of innovation. With these strategies, creativity will become much more than a goal

Ever want to write a funny book or a humor column Or add spice to your newsletter editor or web page so that people read beyond the typical drivel that sends otherwise eager-to-spend customers into a boredom-induced coma
Here are my top ten favorite humor tools for you, along with real live examples from my own humor column.
Threading a theme through the text.
Are you into practical jokes Try sewing a single thread of bright red wool across Uncle Henrys new green golf shirt. Or sew a thread through your text.
My Parenting Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe is actually a delicious recipe. But I assumed there is a little helper around, and I threaded her through the text, making for sort of a running gag.
OK, time to up-tempo the laughs. Mid-way through, I run a second thread, renaming the cake with each mistake. The thread within a thread multiplies the humor.
See http://thehappyguy.com/pumpkin-cheesecake-recipe.html
Contrast what should be with the obviously deficient reality
I use this technique in Home Of The Year. Most people will agree that a home is more than just a house.
I contrast the reality of my I-survived-the-hurricane home with the Martha Stewart image of how a home should look -- the old little-miss-perfect Martha Stewart image, not the new-and-not-improved, scandal-defying, corporate shark image.
Notice I also use the threading tool in this piece

Recently I was facilitating an Outstanding Customer Service program and broke for lunch. Knowing that the restaurants in the area had much to desire as far as service I gave the students an extra fifteen minutes for lunch.
Sure enough a group of four students came rushing into the classroom with their lunches in hand. They sincerely apologized and quickly explained that they receive poor service at a restaurant This restaurant is part of a national chain. Hint: its name references a day in the week. I can

Before we start our list, I wanted to take some time to comment on 2 fighters that may have strong support in certain communities for being among the best ever, but truly do not have a place on the list.
NOT RANKED
Rocky Marciano - Won 49 Lost 0, 43 KO
Ask any Italian who the greatest boxer ever was, and you will never hear the names Ali, Louis or Sugar. Nope. You will only hear the name Rocky Marciano, the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. To his credit, Rocky Marciano did make a habit of beating up his opponents in the ring. Add the fact that his most notable victory was over his childhood idle, Joe Louis, whom he sent back into retirement. But Joe was well past his prime. He also beat Archie Moore, but he also was already in his early forties. So to the entire nation of Italy and her children I say to you, Rocky Marciano could not beat any of the champions in my Top T.E.N.
Lennox Lewis - 41 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, 32 KO
Lewis will most likely go down as one of the most intelligent, calculated champions ever. But that is not what pound for pound is based on. Lennox was able to capitalize on Tyson

Do you need a web site Are you considering getting one but are unsure Here we take a look at the main reasons why a web site could be beneficial to your organisation.
1 It will give you the competitive edge
If you do not have a web site people cannot visit it