One of the conveniences of modern living is mobility that is made possible by high-tech tools that keep up with people who are always on the go. Perhaps the best among these gadgets is the laptop.

The laptop has revolutionized the traditional office concept into what we know today as the virtual office. A sales executive can be several miles up in the sky and still enter his bid to a client through the use of the high-speed Internet connection of his trusty laptop. Doctors in remote jungles of Africa communicate with their colleagues through web cameras attached to their laptops. With Bluetooth technology, wireless connection among laptops over a network has enhanced the virtual office.

All over the world, several industriesand even livesdepend upon the connectivity among people that the laptop and the Internet provide. And laptops depend on battery power. A traveling salesman or doctor, or any sensible person on a business trip, must always have a fully charged battery on hand and some extras for emergencies.

Currently, there are only three kinds of laptop batteries in the market. These are Nickel Cadmium batteries (first generation rechargeable batteries), Nickel Metal Hydride batteries, and Lithium Ion batteries. All of these are rechargeable.

Among the three kinds mentioned, the Lithium Ion (LiON) is the one used in the latest laptop models. Although the most expensive, it is the most efficient and reliable. It is lighter, too, and has no effect on memory compared to the Nickel Metal Hydride kind.

Laptop manufacturers may still insist in their manuals that you buy only the same brand of batteries for your unit. But you may want to try some of the universal laptop batteries around that are compatible with most units. These lightweight batteries may even be cheaper compared to the established brands in the laptop business.

Batteries provides detailed information on Batteries, Laptop Batteries, Cell Phone Batteries, Motorcycle Batteries and more. Batteries is affiliated with Flashlight Reviews.

After Katrina, people have been arguing whether who is to blame with the situation they are facing now. This has been a common approach after instances and cases like these. This in fact has been a common practice that is hard to pin down. Of course putting the blame onto someone is not as hard as it gets especially with a twist of political involvement and basis.

America has experienced hurricanes that have whipped and attacked cities. Although this kind of phenomenon is called by nature and there is really no one to blame but the alternative is to give the blame to the people who are responsible and could have been responsible for such actions.

The people cannot be controlled with their mixed emotions which are anguish, depression, fear, torture and agony. They have different cries and they are all going mad about Vice President Dick Cheney’s disappearance after the Hurricane Katrina.

People have been looking for their vice president, who they believed could reach out to them but now, he is missing. People are all wondering where he had gone and they continuously asked where he could be hiding. They don’t understand why the vice president has left them hanging when this is the perfect time to interact with them just like the old days when election was at large.

Raging questions of people and reporters have been hard to handle. They couldn’t take the fact that the vice president is on vacation while they are in deep suffering and torture. The people and victims have the most definite right to accuse him of not helping at all because in the first place, almost all the people across the world is aware of what has happened to New Orleans so it is impossible for him not to find out. He wouldn’t even care to take a peek. Why did he not come back after the shocking incident? All the people are rushing forth and he doesn’t even care a bit about his people.

Has the vice president helped the victims of the Hurricane Katrina? For some he did and that is the increasing suffering they are experiencing now. He has added so much pain, waiting and suffering. The people can’t stand to wait in this kind of situation so it would be better for them not to wish that the vice president would be helping at all.

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About the Author

Karen Nodalo came across writing when she was about 11. The whole craze for writing started when she first wrote her diary during elementary years. After school, she would write in it first before doing homework. She finds it cool and until now she still keeps one.

This is My Story

(And I have to stick to it, I don’t
want to, but that is the way it is)

I am currently in Recovery from Drug Addiction. I have been
clean now for nearly eight years. I relapsed on my drug of
choice-cocaine-when my mother died in 1993; a year after my son
was born. Before that, I was literally rescued from years of
heinous sexual and physical abuse, forced prostitution and
drugs, by being arrested and sent to prison in 1990.

At the age of 11, a “family friend” began brutally sodomizing my
9 year old brother. I have always been very intelligent, reading
medical encyclopedias, journals, ECT. So, even at that young
age, I knew that my body could handle what this sick pedophile
was doing to my younger brother, more than his body could. He
only got a hold of my brother three times and then I made him
notice me. Some times I hated myself for wishing he would go
hurt some other family’s kids. Why us? This abuse lasted for
several months. He raped and sodomized me with his penis and a
Ban roll-on deodorant bottle. He forced my brother and I to
perform oral sex on each other in front of him and he also
brutally raped and sodomized his nieces, nephews and children.

I joined a local Police Explores post a year later because I
wanted to help people. When I turned to the Assistant Leader of
the troop, a patrolman with the local police department, I told
him everything that had happened to me. He offered me mixed
drinks, took me to his house, seduced me and performed oral sex
on me. I didn’t mind since it didn’t hurt-he did bring me great
pleasure and that made it “okay”. The man that had hurt my
brother and I was not prosecuted and I was “turned out” for
child pornography and prostitution to the cops in that little,
North Florida, “Good ole boy” town. For years I had to watch
pornography to learn how to please these “local heroes”. I was
pleasuring men who had daughters older than me. But, I figured
that since they weren’t hurting me like the guy that hurt my
brother and they were training me to be a cop, it was okay. This
is when I started smoking marijuana and snorting cocaine and
drinking heavily.

I never experienced any real dating. I didn’t have a prom. I
dropped out of Junior High School at the age of 15, got my GED
and went to Junior College on financial aid. I was a “functional
addict”, until I got my first real boyfriend. He was three month
younger than I was, in college early like me and he was Cute. To
make a long story bearable- I had to “service” his brother, his
cousin, his father, at this guy own whim. He started beating me
brutally and I went to the police (before there were any
domestic violence laws) they would force me to have sex and
deliver me back to my boyfriend. Then I would be beaten again.

After dropping out of college, one evening I was working as a
cashier. I came to our little trailer that his parents had
bought for him and settled down on the couch. I wanted to smoke
a joint, take a hot bath, eat dinner and go to sleep. This guy
and his brother are doing something I had never seen
before-smoking some stuff that stank. The guy tries to plead and
wheedle me into smoking “crack”. I had remembered about an up
coming basketball player named Len Bias, whose heart exploded
from that stuff during a practice, I didn’t want it, no part of
it. I was scared. In the first time in our relationship, he beat
me with a wire hanger (a pimp stick, as he called it) and I
still refused. He skipped the other tortures and put a pistol to
my temple and said, “Smoke or die Bitch!” I smoked and I was
hooked. He prostituted me and gave me just enough o keep me
hooked and around. He forced me to steal and forge checks, alter
money orders, or face the alternative of being brutally
sodomized by him. Wee my choice was pretty clear. I was
convinced that this lunatic would also carry out a threat of
killing my elderly parents if I left him. And for four long
years I suffered abuses that no human or animal should ever have
to endure.

On February 14, 1990, I was arrested for crimes committed during
a drug and alcohol induced black out. I still only have vague
bits and pieces from time to time, but no real memory. I was
sentenced to State Prison. Truly I was rescued; and my parents
were going to be safe. I was released 18 months later, had a
gorgeous little boy, who is my very heart and soul, and had a
beautiful relationship with my prison consular, (who is my son’s
father). I had a life, three phone business (legal) from my
home, and most importantly, a family.

My mother died in may of 1993, and I relapsed on Crack. I had
also been given the extra-ordinary information that my mother
was actually my biological grandmother. My father was actually
my step-grandfather. My biological mother committed suicide in
my presence when I was three tears old, and at last notice
(1970) my father was in the Army. I would love to find my birth
father and have all of my adoptive records. I just don’t know
where to begin. On top of all of this, my son’s father, who I
had just married, was already married to someone else.

I binged for a few months, and spent a great deal of money. But
then I did manage to get sober, get to meetings, get it
together. When I relapsed I was also arrested for violation of
Probation. I refused to sex my parole officer, so he violated
me. Once I got all of that mess taken care of, I was back home,
getting myself back together and everything was cool for a few
months, three if I am not mistaken. Then I got a call that my
dad/step-grandfather was ill. I must get from central Florida to
north Florida immediately. Well, I borrowed a friend’s car; I
drove to my hometown and was pulled over for speeding (just 5
mph over the limit). I was concerned about my dad. After pulling
me over, this police officer I didn’t know proceeded to search
my car, “because he felt like it”. He reached under the front
seat of the car and stuffed in there was a soda can that had
been altered to smoke crack with. I figured I would tell him the
truth, it wasn’t my car, it is borrowed, and my dad is sick, I
had to hurry to make sure my dad was okay, you see? He didn’t
want to hear it. He put me in the back seat of his patrol car
and took me way out on a back road. He said, “You suck my dick
real good and this can will suddenly disappear.” I figured to
myself that I done more for less and I didn’t want to violate my
re-instated probation, if I did I would be going back to prison.
Well, he lied. I did what he wanted and he submitted the can for
evidence and it gave me two parole violations.

Right now I have been in prison for eight years, maximum
security, and close custody. I will be released in approximately
two years, with gain time. I was sentenced to 27 years in prison
for those violations of probation and 5 years for the can. Yes
my sentence is very illegal, excessive, and unconstitutional.
They just don’t care about you if you don’t have a influential,
reputable attorney for your representation. And that takes
money. I can’t even buy a stick of deodorant much less afford an
attorney. I have been fighting my case- and all motions except
one have been denied. I have no where to call home, no family
(except my son who is with his father).

I do have a great deal of gratitude though. After all that I’ve
been through, I didn’t contract Aids, Hepatitis, Herpes, and
ECT. I am very healthy and I’ve received and education in here
that money simply couldn’t have bought. Yes, I am a very jaded
woman. But I can still laugh, stop and smell flowers and see the
magic and beauty in a precious sunrise, sunset and the face of
the Full moon.

Well that is my story… oh one other thing… a priest that used to
come to the prison to hold Mass once told me that “Cocaine is
the Devils Spit”. I am Wicca and do not believe is a devil, per
say. But it is the single most evil thing that I have seen in my
32 years. I am guilty of surviving abuse the best way I could. I
am a survivor. And I am a damn good woman too!

Laminate Flooring

Real wooden floors can bring warmth and comfort to a room, turning ordinary dwellings into cozy cottages, gray office quarters into lounge-like spaces, and a house into a home. But with the current shortage of trees, and with forests disappearing all over the world, hardwoods will be harder and harder to come by.

There is a substitute, however, for hardwood floors. Laminates are sold as planks or panels, and are fashioned to look like wood, stone, or tile. These planks are made of thick, water-resistant material, and are shaped so that they fit together like snug, interlocking pieces. They are fitted through the floating installation method, where they rest on top of a subfloor, which may be made of plywood, concrete, or existing flooring.

Laminates can be made to look exactly like your hardwood of choice, be it mahogany, oak, or cherry. Because they aren’t made of real wood, they can withstand extreme impact, scratching, cigarette burns, and exposure to sunlight, all without fading or being heavily damaged. Not much is needed to maintain a laminate floor: all that laminates need are regular vacuuming, or a wipe-down with a damp mop or rag, and with no wax or polish at that.

Because laminates are stress resistant, they can be engineered for use most anywhere in the home, including wet areas such as the kitchen. They can also be built over heated concrete slabs - an advantage when laminates have to be fitted in countries with very cold climates. Laminates can be easily installed, and as they don’t need much cleaning or protection, need not be covered with carpets or rugs, which can carry dust mites or allergens. Thus, laminates are not only beautiful and cheap, they can contribute to healthy living as well.

Laminates, however, also carry their disadvantages. They can be scratched if heavy objects are dragged across them, or if large domestic animals - such as big dogs or cats - trudge or paw their way through them. They may be largely resistant to sun and scratches, but laminates might not be able to stand moisture. The laminate inner core is made up of a special strong material which is not especially resistant to excessive moisture. If moisture does seep into a laminate floor, the planks may be deformed, and may no longer be as scratch-proof and burn-ready as before.

Since laminates are installed above a subfloor, they can be noisy if walked on. As such, laminate manufacturers also provide special paddings to be installed in between the subfloor and laminate - not quite an advantage if you don’t want to spend more for a cheap, but nature-friendly hardwood finish.

Despite the fact that laminates are considerably cheaper than hardwood floors, and can be installed by most anybody who wants to fix their home up, any damage done to them is not easily fixed. Laminates are maintained through touch-up kits, or chip repair kits, but these kits are difficult to find, and are only designed to maintain the floor, not repair major damage.

Laminates have their goods and not-so-goods, but in the end, the decision all comes down to you. If you think you can install a floor on your own with minimal cost, and if you don’t have large animals for pets, then a laminate floor may be the best for your needs. However, if you aren’t quite sure what animals might come in the future, and if you are concerned about floorboards creaking, or getting misshapen from heat and moisture, then maybe cutting down a few trees won’t hurt.

Whatever the case, wherever you may be, laminates or not, hardwoods or floorboards, a house won’t be a home if the ground you walk on doesn’t appeal to your tastes.

httpJoyce Dietzel writes articles for flooring.info a website dedicated to www.for-flooring.info/laminate.html” target=”_blank”>providing info on laminate flooring