Spring is traditionally the time of year when a young man thinks about love and a young woman thinks about how she will look in a swim suit.  It is the time when diet commercials abound and magazine articles are filled with tips for losing weight and getting in shape for the beach. Health professionals, nutritionists and fitness experts all agree that crash dieting to fit into that bikini is the worst possible idea.

Here are a few suggestions for getting your body beach ready in a healthy manner.

1) Set realistic goals

If you want to avoid the fatigue, anxiety, and sugar cravings that accompany a crash diet, don’t try to lose 30 pounds in six weeks.  Instead schedule regular, moderate exercise combined with a balanced, low calorie/low fat diet. You can expect to lose 1-2 pounds a week without over stressing your body or your mental health.

2) Focus on strength and weight training

Contrary to popular belief, cardiovascular exercise is not the best way to lose weight. A number of studies have proven that cardio can leave exercisers feeling tired and hungry and they end up making poor food choices or overeating to refuel their energy levels.  Weight training builds lean muscle mass which increases the amount of calories you burn. It also helps sculpt your body into the shape you desire.

3) Eat protein AND high fiber carbs

Remember that fat and sugar are the culprits and not all carbs are bad.  High fiber carbs, such as those found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables, are a necessary part of a balanced diet because fiber helps slow digestion and stabilize blood sugar.  This means less sugar cravings. Dietary fiber also helps you feel fuller, with virtually no additional calories. Start the day with a simple breakfast including protein such as yogurt or low-fat milk, high fiber cereal and maybe a few berries or other fruit and you’ll reap those rewards along with avoiding the mid-morning hunger cravings.

4) Keep a food & diet journal

Use the journal to plan out your meals and exercise and then reward yourself with a checkmark or star when you stick to the plan.  Recording everything you eat makes you more conscious of your food choices and seeing the progress as you lose weight and inches will be the perfect inspiration to help you look great on the beach.

A trip to La Jolla can be an amazing mix of urban and beach life. Whether you’re traveling to the area for a relaxing vacation or to scout  houses in anticipation of relocating, there will be plenty of things to do and see during your visit.

La Jolla itself has a collection of stunning beaches that offer breath-taking views as well as a variety of water sports. The city is also home to world class golf courses and tennis courts and is perfectly positioned for sailing and yachting. Diners can choose from a variety of eateries ranging from quaint cafes to five-star gourmet restaurants. Shopping is equally eclectic, with major retail outlets as well as local artisans and crafts people offering their wares. It’s a great place for leisurely shopping, dining, or strolling along the beach.  Nearby is the Barona Speedway is a banked clay oval, located in Lakeside California, near San Diego popular racing – similar to Leawood Kansas motorsports.

Those who want to experience a more exciting city life can travel the short distance over to San Diego for even more top restaurants and shops as well as theater, music, and other cultural attractions. Families can visit the city’s parks and museums or head to Sea World or take a safari through the San Diego Zoo.

Checking Twitter this morning only to realize that all my followers were gone. Actually, this also was the case for a few other people I knew, and had therefore heard about it before I checked twitter. There were still people’s status updates, but the profile said there were no followers. It turns out it was a glitch and it probably shouldn’t be worried about. Twitter claims that they were fixing a glitch that allowed you to make anyone accept your friend request so that celebrities would have to follow your feed. It was a large glitch, discovered and published by Gizmodo. In order to fix it all twitter profiles can not follow or unfollow people, as well as the profiles all claim that no one has any followers. They are claiming it will be back up and running soon.

Brought to you by Starlight Investments

Singapore is a vibrant city and is full of major historic landmarks as well as contemporary entertainment and dinning opportunities. Tourists who come to this city-state and stay in one of the best Singapore hotels are often times attracted to the shopping opportunities as well as the cultural and entertainment aspects. The Orchard Street area is one of the most popular sections of Singapore and attracts hundreds of residents and tourists daily.

Orchard Street is commonly considered to be the main retail, and even entertainment, hub of the city-state. It encompasses the major business district in the central region. This extends into the surrounding area, which is known as the Orchard, though it takes its name from the prominent historic street. Orchard Street itself is named after the many fruit, nutmeg and pepper orchards that lined it during the early 1800s. The major economic development, for which it is now known, occurred predominately in the 1970s. One of its major landmarks is the Orchard Hotel, which is a prime place for shopping oriented visitors to stay. The Istana building, located at the southern end of Orchard, is probably the most elegant of those lining the street.

Every year during the Christmas season, the street is lined with a beautiful light display. This makes the already vibrant and beautiful area even more festive and celebratory. Other major buildings, landmarks and facilities include the Botanic Gardens on the north end of this one-way road. The Goodwood Park Hotel is on the near by street of Scotts Road. This monument serves as a primary example of colonial architecture. TANGS department store is situated at the junction of Scotts Street and Orchard. It is the first of the upscale department stores in the area. Next to the historic Emerald Hill is the Cold Storage supermarket. This is one of the oldest surviving stores in the area. A trip down this historic street offers great landmarks, elements of Singapore’s cultural heritage as well as great shopping opportunities.  Singapore is one of the great travel destinations.

So, F1 is ramping up and there are tons of races to attend all over the world. China, Malaysia, Spain, Monaco, India, Abu Dhabi, the US—you could really spend a lot of dough getting to any one of these, much less all of them. Naturally there are tickets that have to be bought and other incidentals, but the logistics of traveling abroad and seeing races like these are a little more involved than one may think at first.

The first step is actually seeing which race you want to attend. F1 is a worldwide series, and because of the prohibitively expensive nature of international travel for most people, it’s likely that you will only be going to see one race. If you can afford to see more than that, then power to you, you probably don’t need this guide!

Once you know where you want to go there is the matter of buying tickets for the event. They can be expensive, and a lot of the more popular venues go fast, so it’s important to buy as early as possible. Prices vary based on how popular various events are. Monaco, for example, is a part of the Triple Crown, and tends to be more expensive than the Circuit of the Americas. From there it’s finding airfare and accommodations.

Flying to different countries, especially across an ocean or two, costs a lot, so it’s important to shop around. Airfare to Europe from the US is usually around $1,000 round trip per person, though you can get to East Asia for less. The pricing is great if you don’t care to see Le Mans, but do want to visit the Suzuka Circuit.

Accommodations are a great way to take an expensive trip and make it cost even more. This is definitely something which’s price depends entirely on location; the Circuit of the Americas is in Texas, which isn’t exactly known for tremendous property prices, meaning that you won’t break the bank for a decent to nice hotel. However, staying overnight at Monaco, especially in a room that overlooks the track, can cost a princely sum.

Traveling to see Grand Prix events is definitely the experience of a lifetime, but it is something that requires a lot of planning and a little means to do right. Whether you’re going to Texas, France, Brazil, or Japan, the excitement is palpable, and the party is fantastic. With a little shopping around and foresight, you can visit the race of your dreams and save a little money without sacrificing comfort or good seats.

For those of you who cannot make it here is a video of the some of the highlights from the 2013 Malaysia race.

Contribution from  James Ryan author, travel writer and Scott Tucker ALMs sports commentator

The Enron scandal and regulatory compliance affected many industries – including travel and tourism.  Regulatory compliance,  in the United States, just means simply that a company and its employees are following through with the regulations and the laws that govern what is good, and ethical business practice.  In some cases these are just guidelines, in other cases they are laws that are subject to civil or criminal prosecution.  One way in which the president or the CEO of a company keeps track of this is thought the collection of data, specifically termed “compliance data”.

This refers to all the data, the books, the records of transactions, that could be used during an investigation, with the purpose of either confirming that corruption or scandal has taken place, or used to confirm that it has not, that the company was following all the rules or laws that they were responsible for following.  It gives relevance to either the government or the judicial system that will validate completeness and consistency.  Compliance.

During the 1990′s, the United States was experiencing a boom in the economy.  And then, what came to symbolize greed and excess in the corporate world happened, the Enron Scandal of 2001.  For six years running, 1996 through 2001, the Enron Corporation was sited in “America’s Most Innovative Company” list created by the Fortune magazine.  And not long after the list was published, in December of 2001, the Enron Corporation filed bankruptcy.  This was one of the United States’ largest filings for bankruptcy in United States history.  This demise of the company was the result of the failure for them to disclose certain information, for failing to be transparent and honest in their business practices.

Employees had taken part in falsifying the profit reports, in using methods of accounting that did not follow regulatory compliance procedures.   On both sides, internal and external, the profits that had been disguised for so many years had gone unnoticed, or unsuspected.  The management team of Enron had managed to take down their own company, and then left with millions of dollars in their pockets.  The regular employees however were not as lucky, as many of them fell into financial ruin as a result.  This resulted in many in the business community of the U.S. (Including travel) being a bit shaken up, and new laws were created so it would become more difficult for this to happen in the future.

Information provided by Veriti Consulting specialists in forensic accounting

Money is tight for everyone right now, and with the economy still in turmoil and unemployment still on the rise, it doesn’t look like anything is going to be changing in the near future. So as a result we are all learning to spend more wisely and make the budget stretch just a little further each month. For some the situation is so dire that they turning to moneymutual.net to help them through those unexpected expenses. Despite all of this we want to enjoy life, we are still human after all. While in many regards entertainment has become one of the necessary cuts, with a little digging there are ways to fit it in without breaking the bank.

Going to the movies is one of the great American pastimes. However with some theaters charging $10 or more for adult admission, it is something that will remain in the past. One more affordable option is to wait for the movie to come out on DVD, and then you can get them much cheaper from Netflix or Redbox. If you don’t want to miss out on seeing your favorite action movie on the big screen, consult your phone book for local dollar theaters or a drive-in that offers a per vehicle rate.

One of the advantages to living in a big city is that there are so many museums and cultural centers visit. The downside to that is, visiting them all tends to add up quickly. To save a little money check your favorite museums website frequently for special prices on admissions. Also, check with your local library as they may have special offers, especially with summer just around the corner.

With so many changes happening in this country, it is a stressful time for many. Even though some don’t know where they are going to get the money to pay the bills without understanding terms like those found here, doesn’t mean we can’t take the time to enjoy life and make memories with our families.

The New York Yankees are one of the most popular, and also one of the most despised baseball teams in the country. The popularity is due to their outstanding team, and the strength and competitive force they’ve been throughout their history. They have an enormous and loyal fan base. Their strength and solid record is also the reason they are not liked by many people who favor an opposing team. They strong history and record make them a threat to any team in any game. Sports tickets to their games are popular commodities and quick sells in New York.
The Yankees have many players that are local and national celebrities. This often occurs in various sports teams that themselves standout, and have star players who achieve national recognition and fame. They become mainstream icons, in addition to their great efforts on the field. Derek Jeter is one of these figures and a major player for the Yankees. He is an amazing shortstop, hitter and also the team captain. His statistics through 2008 places him as the 5th highest in lifetime batting averages throughout the history of all active baseball players.

Jeter was born in 1974 in Pequannock, New Jersey. It is interesting that as a child he would spend his summers with his grandparents who would take him and his sister to the Yankees’ games. This contributed greatly to his love of the game and also established the Yankees as his favorite team. He showed an early talent for baseball and by the time he was in high school he was already recognized as a star player. In 2003 he was inducted into his school’s, The Kalamazoo Central High, Athletic Hall of Fame. He has since received great honors, recognition and fame. He became the only player to win both the All-Star Game MVP and the World Series MVP in the same year in 2000.

Aubrey Matthews is a blogger, travel writer and baseball enthusiast.  She also live to play Air Hockey to keep it simple and relieve the stress of March Madness

The spirit of Milwaukee is one that is always expanding, shifting and growing in new directions with the changing times. It is an entirely versatile city, one whose history is long enough to have an effect on the locals and visitors, but still young enough to encompass new attempts at re-definition. There are things that are very contemporary to Milwaukee, and there are also things that are quite specific. Most auto fanatics, whether they’re collectors or mechanics or both, will find a certain soft spot here, and enjoy all there is to see and do in terms of local Milwaukee car culture.

It takes just a quick scan of the local listings to see that in terms of car shows , Milwaukee has an awful lot going on. There are the events like Rumble by the River that feature tractor pulls, speaking to a cultural currency as contemporary as it is classic, and there are also more specific shows for specific car tastes and interests. One might not see a lot of kumho tires at some of the classic car shows, but there are plenty of opportunities to see vehicles that sport the very latest in technology and style.

One of the most pleasing things about the center of the country is that there is not the same pressures of innovation as can exist on the coasts, and Milwaukee is, in so many respects, at the heart of things. This means little pretense, and a great respect and admiration for things that are well made. This might explain the popularity of Wisconsin Hot Rod Radio, where all things related to cars are discussed, celebrated, and made open for public comment and opinion. For outsiders, it might make sense that the city is one where car culture is visible. It’s close enough to Detroit that the newest models will come rolling through town at any time, and far enough away that mods and additions like weld racing wheels can find their way onto the most staid and everyday kinds of vehicles. It’s difference with a twist, taking the old and sending it cycling into the present with just enough of a hint of the new to make it so appealing and so familiar all at once. For insiders, having grown up here offers a constant immersion on the culture of the automobile. It’s part of a remarkable and humble history, and informs a present, making this city one of the liveliest, and the most livable.

People are surrounded by technology that they don’t understand. Less than a century ago it was unheard of for a household to possess a machine unless someone in the family would be able to repair it should it break down. People today carry so many types of technology that they couldn’t even begin to repair it. In many cases they don’t even stop to think that it is technology in the first place. How many people realize that all those smart cards in their wallets and purses are really a piece of technology?

There are actually two distinct types of smart cards. Most people carry at least one contact smart card with them at all times — their drivers license. They likely also have credit or bank cards, store discount cards, library cards and other membership cards or key tags. These pieces of plastic have embedded data on a magnetic strip or within the card itself that can be read when it comes in contact with the appropriate reader. This means swiping it through a card reader or placing it on a contact pad, such as a work ID badge. Even hotel room keys and other electronic keys work on this technology.

The second type of smart card is the contactless card, also known as an RFID. These contain an integrated circuit that actually transmits an RF signal. As suggested by the name, these types of cards and badges do not need to come in contact with a reader. They simply have to be within the prescribed signal range of the appropriate antenna. This can range from a few feet to up to hundred feet. Because these cards use a circuit, they have a much larger memory capacity and also posses computational capability which makes them ideal for tracking and identification.