The protector of an offshore trust is a very important position for asset protection purposes. In many jurisdictions, trust laws allow the appointment of a Protector to perform very limited actions regarding a trust. One of the most common powers is the power to remove and appoint the Trustee of the trust. In addition the Protector often has the power to appoint auditors and financial controllers for the assets of the trust and oversee the general management of the Trust. Many nations require individuals who are Trustees of foreign trusts to disclose their positions. This can often result in unwanted attention, and loss of privacy. Since privacy is often one of the key elements of a good asset protection plan, avoiding detrimental disclosures is advantageous. Since the Protector is not a Trustee, and does not have the powers of a Trustee, generally an individual does not need to disclose their position as Protector of a foreign trust.

Firewalls have become a necessity to protect your PC and privacy. The popular sci-fi expression: “Shields Up” has become the mantra of Web surfing.

Many PCs have doors wide open to crafty hackers who can send your PC encrypted requests and commands. The firewall acts as the doorman or hostess by: welcoming your guests, checking for any reservations or passes you may have left for a guest, and denying entrance to the unwelcome or un-announced.

Like a good doorman/hostess your firewall can be trained to allow ‘exceptions’ to the guest-list…this you will set while installing and running your new firewall software the first few times.

Choosing a firewall, and applying the software correctly is important, and something time should be put into. There are many different levels of firewall protection available and many programs to choose from.

Depending on your own operating system, and virus programs installed, you may have a firewall installed on your machine and are unaware of it and you just need to enable it. Take a few minutes and explore what you have now before installing new firewall programs that may potentially create a conflict, you may need to uninstall or disable some items.

Having a basic firewall enabled will turn away the attacks that are constantly probing the web. Having a basic firewall will not stop BHOs’ from taking over your start page, nor will it prevent pop ups.These features are available in firewall program software, you choose the level of protection, firewall software that you need.

Here’s how to understand your Internet Website traffic and visitors using hit counters and trackers.

Today many Webmasters and businesses want to know who is visiting their site, as well as where they came from; and are using hit counters to answer that question. Some are simple counters that will tell you how many people have viewed your page/site. Some counters will show you the statistics per keyword and per search engine that brought them to your site. There are many free services out there, as well as more advanced paid services.

So, what is a hit counter ?

It is a small piece of code inserted into a Webpage/site to just count the number of people that come to your page. You can find and use a free yet reliable invisible Web tracker, and many have display styles that will blend nicely into your page or Web site. If you want more than just the total number of visits, then try using a stat counter or tracker. You can find out statistics like what country your visitors come from, how many times people see your page, when they visited, which browser they use and the resolution, even where they came to your site from, and lots more…This information about your traffic can help with promoting successful Web sites for small businesses and Webmasters, as well as give you a general idea who is visiting your Website, and when.

Often compared to yoga due to its use of unusual body positions, Pilates is an innovative non-impact conditioning program, promoting a sense of physical and mental well-being. The method was originally developed during World War I by Joseph Pilates to help disabled patients regain strength and movement. Pilates is known to build strength without bulk, creating a sleek, toned body. Although originally popular in the United States amongst dancers, Pilates classes, videos, and books have grown exponentially since the 1990s, with stars such as Jennifer Anniston and Jennifer Lopez championing the technique.

Pilates is known especially for toning the abdomen, sides, and back, but it is a full-body conditioning program, with approximately 500 exercises in the collection. The emphasis is on controlled breathing, concentration, muscle tension, flexibility, and proper pelvic and spinal alignment. The original exercises, called “mat work,” are designed to be performed on a mat or on the floor. Joseph Pilates also developed various exercise equipment to complement the mat work, and the original style of this equipment is still used today. This machinery aims to challenge and support the body by incorporating spring tension, straps to hold the feet or hands, and supports for the back, neck, and shoulders. The most popular Pilates apparatus today is known as the Universal Reformer. The Reformer resembles a bed frame and contains a sliding carriage and adjustable springs used to regulate tension and resistance. Cables, bars, straps, and pulleys allow for a wide variety of exercises.

Pilates can be performed by someone at any level of fitness. Exercises are done slowly and carefully so that the movements are smooth and flowing, thus requiring deep concentration and muscle control, which leads to muscle building. It is recommended that individuals wishing to embark upon a Pilates training program begin with a certified instructor. During the initial meeting, an instructor will analyze the client’s movement, posture, and overall fitness and then design an individualized training program. The training programs usually begin with mat work and stretching. These exercises warm up the muscles in preparation for the machine work. Once the basics are mastered, from either one-on-one lessons or in a class, it is possible to train at home using videos.

Benefits of Pilates include:

# Increased flexibility
# Improved posture, breathing and circulation
# Solid balance
# Graceful movement
# Slimmer body
# Alleviated back and muscle pain

An exchange traded fund (“ETF”) is a type of security that resembles a hybrid between a mutual fund and a stock. Like mutual funds, ETFs are investment vehicles that hold several (often up to thousands) of securities following a certain theme (e.g. tracking particular indices or industry sectors). Like stocks, however, ETFs may be bought and sold throughout the day; may be purchased on margin or with market, limit, or stop-loss orders; may be shorted; often have put and call options based on them.

With increased news of illegal practices by mutual fund companies, ETFs have become a popular alternative. There are currently over 300 ETFs, the majority of which trade on the American Stock Exchange. SPDR 500 (AMEX: SPY), is the largest and oldest ETF and tracks the S&P 500. Another widely held exchange traded fund is the Nasdaq 100 Trust (AMEX: QQQ), which tracks the Nasdaq 100. There are also ETFs that track international indices such as the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 ETF (Amex: FXI), those that mirror fixed income indices such as the iShares Lehman 1-3Yr Treasury Bond Fund (AMEX: SHY), and those that track specific sectors such as SPDR Energy (AMEX: XLE). ETFs for commodities and real estate investment trusts (REITs) are even available, such as the iShares Dow Jones US Basic Materials Index (AMEX: IYM) and the AEW Real Estate Income Fund (AMEX: RIF), respectively.

== Advantages ==

Because of their lower asset turnover and passive management, ETFs typically have lower expense ratios than comparable mutual funds. Studies have also suggested that few actively managed portfolios outperform the broad market in the long run, thus making index ETFs highly popular.

ETFs offer more trading options than similar mutual funds because of its ability to trade like a stock. An investor may purchase puts or calls on ETFs to mitigate portfolio risk, or hedge a stock play by purchasing an individual stock and shorting its sector ETF.

Traders who manage portfolios on a constant basis may prefer ETFs to mutual funds because ETFs are priced throughout the day.

The biggest selling point for ETFs, other than its lower expense ratios, is its tax efficiency. ETFs do not trigger capital gains distributions whenever a position in its portfolio is sold. The only capital gains taxes that investors pay are when they sell an ETF and realize a gain.

== Disadvantages ==

Transaction costs are the main downside for ETF investing. ETFs may only be purchased through a broker, and so those who prefer dollar cost averaging may experience lower net returns by choosing an ETF over a mutual fund.

As with stocks, there is typically a bid-ask spread on ETFs, meaning that you might purchase an ETF for $20.00 but only be able to sell it for $19.75.

Because of its passive management, index ETFs sometimes take more time than comparable mutual funds to rebalance and mirror the designated index. As a result, an ETF may occasionally trade slightly off of its net asset value, although usually only for a brief period of time.

ABS, or “Antilock Braking System”, is becoming a common standard feature in cars and trucks. The system is designed by engineers to help make it easier for the driver to slow or stop the vehicle quickly and safely in conditions where traction is not ideal.

There are a variety of types of anti-lock brakes, but for the most part, they are based the same physical principles. When traction is poor, for example on ice or in snow, and a vehicle’s brakes are applied, the rolling friction between the tire and the road may be overcome by the brake pressure applied. This may cause one or more of the wheels to “lock up” and keep it from turning, while the vehicle continues forward. Suddenly, the wheels are sliding instead of rolling.

The underlying physical principal here is that “rolling” friction forces are greater than “sliding” friction forces, which means that maintaining control of the vehicle and slowing your speed is significantly easier to do when the wheels are rolling relative to the road surface instead of sliding on it, because friction between your tires and the road is what allows you to slow down, speed up, and change direction.

Antilock braking systems work by carefully controlling and adjusting the amount of braking force applied on each wheel, depending on whether the wheel is sliding or rolling. These systems use sensors that measure the relative speeds with which each of the wheels on the vehicle are turning. If one of the wheel sensors indicates zero motion, while the other three are moving along at what should be 30 MPH, the ABS system electronics would recognize that the first wheel is sliding instead of rolling, and decreases the braking at that particular wheel until it is rolling again.

The old common wisdom about pumping your brakes when slowing your car on ice or snow is effectively a “manual” version of ABS; in theory, computer-controlled sensing and brake modulation, which can be done many times in a single second, is obviously a significant advantage, since a computer can “pulse” the brakes through cycles much more quickly than we can, and has more direct information than we do. Every action has a reaction, but getting the right reaction is sometimes easier with technology.

Donuts are bakery treats made from rings of dough. There are two major categories of donut, which include “yeast” and “cake”. Cake donuts are made by dropping rings of batter made from a cake-like mixture directly into a deep fryer. Yeast-raised donuts are actually cut from sheets of dough and then allowed to “proof” in a temperature and humidity-controlled environment where the yeast chemistry increases the volume of the donut before the donut is deposited into a fryer. Both types of donuts are cooked as the hot frying oil actually soaks its way into the donut and replaces the water in the mix.

Most donuts are now made with a pre-mix that includes various obvious ingredients like flour, and eggs and milk that have had the water removed, along with other ingredients for flavor, color, or shelf life. In small, one or two person operations, such as a retail outlet or a booth at a fair, an automatic mixer is used to combine the donut mix with water at a particular temperature, and for a certain period of time, until the batter is ready to fry. In the case of cake donuts, the donut batter is put into a manually operated or electric depositor that drops donut batter into the fryer with a plunger mechanism to create the desired shape. In the case of yeast donuts, the batter is removed from the mixture and allowed to “set” as a pile of dough before being rolled out and cut into a shape by hand, much like making cookies. In both cases, when the donut is dropped into a fryer, it is allowed to cook thoroughly on the first side before it is flipped over manually to cook the second side. After being cooked, the donut is removed and allowed to cool before glazes, icings, sprinkles and other finishing touches are applied.

In larger production operations like Dunkin Donuts®, or Krispy Kreme®, and massive industrial production plants in companies like IBC® (Hostess), large automated machines handle almost all of the work. The only manual work remaining, for the most part, is now limited to the people required to open and pour large bags of pre-mixed ingredients and water into the mixers, and then transport the mix to an automated depositor (for cake donuts) or an automated sheet-cutter (for yeast donuts). These production lines are largely only limited to the width of floor-space that is available to lay down the “rail road tracks” of automation, and in many cases, these industrial systems can make tens of thousands of donuts in a single hour.

Most people are hesitant to work on their own vehicles, and yet the few critical basic automotive maintenance tasks are things that the average person can perform in their own garage, with minimal mechanical inclination and a basic set of tools.

The single most important maintenance for a car’s engine is to change your oil and oil filter. The recommended interval varies, but in most cases, changing them religiously every five or six thousand miles will extend the life of your engine significantly. Retail auto parts stores like Shucks, Napa, and Autozone are great places to go. A quick look at your manual will tell you what grade of oil and what amount is appropriate, but the vast majority of cars, trucks, and SUV’s use 10-30, 10-40, or 20-50 weight oil. Most filter manufacturers also make paper catalogs available that are mounted to the display racks, which allow easy cross referencing to find the filter part numbers designed for your vehicle. In many cases, stores will have electronic displays that will help you find the right filter with just a few button pushes.

Once you have your oil and filter, you will need a few additional items, including an oil filter wrench, an oil drain pan, a few rags, a plastic funnel, and a socket set. It also makes the job much easier if you purchase some metal ramps to raise the front of the car. When you have the front end of the vehicle up, a socket wrench will allow you to loosen and remove the drain plug in your engine’s oil pan, which is easier to locate than you might think. The oil will drain smoothly into a catch pan in just a few minutes. Be careful here and let your engine cool down sufficiently before draining the oil. Once the oil is drained, you can wipe down the area and replace the drain plug. Then the filter is removed using the oil filter wrench. Again, wipe the area and then install the new filter, using a fingertip to run a bit of fresh oil on the seal. Most oil filters can be tightened by hand, and the instructions will let you know how far past first-contact you should tighten the filter. Finally, using the funnel, locate the oil fill in your engine compartment under the hood, and fill up with fresh oil, one quart at a time until you’ve put in the amount stated by the manual. Then close up the oil fill, close the hood, and you’re ready to roll. it’s that easy.

There are many minor maintenance jobs like this one, including changing your air filter, which is a very similar process, and in fact even easier. And these two jobs, which take no more than 30 minutes at home in the garage, can keep your car on the road much longer and build a sense of pride and accomplishment at the same time.

Blackjack is one of the simpler casino games you can play in a casino, and in terms of the relative statistical advantages that the casinos maintain, it’s one of the games where you are least likely to have to pawn your shoes to try to win back your plane ticket home.

The game is played with a single dealer (the “house”) and any number of additional players. The house initially deals two cards to each player and to itself. In large casinos where there are strict rules of play to diminish opportunities to cheat, each player’s cards are dealt face-up, and the dealers card are dealt one-down and one-up. Numbered cards are worth their face value, “face” cards (kings, queens, jacks) and tens are all worth ten points each. Aces are worth either one or eleven. The best hand possible is a 21. If you get 21 with the two first cards dealt, the hand is called a “blackjack”. The goal of the game is to beat the dealer without “busting”, or going over 21.

Basic strategy for blackjack is to assume that the dealer’s down card is worth ten. Starting to his left, the dealer offers each player the option to “hit” (take another card) or “stand” (stick with what he or she already has). A player can hit as many times as he or she would like until the count totals 21 or over, but since the goal is only to have a hand that will beat the dealers, a player should only “hit” until their count is equal to or better than the dealer’s face up card plus 10. Basic strategy goes deeper than this, but all of the “recommended” plays are based on the fact that there are more cards worth ten than any other type of card in the deck. In some cases, the strategy is to stand back to let the dealer “bust” on a hand that you suspect will go over 21 with the next card (probably a ten), at other times, the strategy is to continue hitting until your cards are better than the hand you assume the dealer has.

Welding is a manufacturing process used to join metal parts together. There are a wide variety of ways to weld metal, but in general the process involves heating the edges or areas to be joined until the material is in a semi-solid or liquid state, which allows material from both parts being joined to mix together and, when cooled, form a solid joint.

One of the most common and simplest forms of welding is “oxy-acetylene” welding. The metal pieces to be joined are heated by a very high temperature flame, which comes from a hand-held torch. The flame is a result of a gas mixture using pressurized oxygen and acetylene, which is mixed together inside a nozzle in the torch, pushed out of the nozzle by the high gas pressure behind them, and then lit using a source of spark. Depending on the shape of the two parts being welded, a “filler rod” is sometimes used to fill gaps or add material to the joint as the metal is liquefied and then cooled. Another form of welding called “arc-welding” actually uses electricity to create the heat necessary for the process. The “arc” refers to the fact that there is a small gap maintained between the electrode in the tip of the welding torch and the part being heated, and electric current and the electrical resistance in the metals causes the metal to heat and soften. “MIG” and “TIG” (”metal inert gas” and “tungsten inert gas”) are both advanced forms of arc welding; their more formal designations are “GMAW” and “GTAW” (”gas metal arc welding” and “gas tungsten arc welding”).

Welding as a technology for controlling metal has been around for literally thousands of years, and has been a key contributor to our ability to mold our world according to our needs. Welding is used to build bridges, dams, roadways, ships, cars and trucks, and innumerable other man-made objects that you see every day. Welding is also unique among metal fabrication processes in the sense that the end result is so closely tied to the dexterity and knowledge of the welder. It is one of the last processes we use to make things for ourselves where craftsmanship is such a large contributor to quality.