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Understanding Surround Sound Systems by Mitchell Medford

Surround sound is the concept of expanding the spatial imaging of audio playback from 1 dimension (mono/Left-Right) to two or three dimensions. It is often employed for a more realistic audio environment, actively implemented in cinema sound systems, technical theatre, home entertainment, video arcades, computer gaming, and a growing number of other applications. Many popular surround sound formats have evolved over the years. They include ambisonics, quadraphonic, Dolby 5.1 Surround sound, DTS, and MP3 Surround.

Surround sound can be created using several methods. The simplest to understand uses several speakers around the listener to play audio coming from different directions. Another approach involves processing the audio using psychoacoustic sound localization methods to simulate a 3D sound field using headphones. The third approach, wave field synthesis, uses a very large number of speakers to generate the 'audio hologram' of the original audio in the whole room (as of 2004 the only commercial implementation of this is Iosono). Surround sound is not limited to placement of speakers along a flat (2-dimensional) plane. Vertically-located audio sources can be considered.

Dolby Digital (DD) uses the AC-3 file format, which any Dolby Digital Decoder can decode to produce 5.1 audio. Dolby Digital is the technical name for Dolby's multi-channel digital sound coding technique, more commonly referred to as Dolby 5.1. A six-channel sound coding process originally created by Dolby for theaters, AC-3 was subsequently adapted for home use and is now steadily becoming the most common sound format for DVD.

Six discrete audio channels:

•3 for speakers at the front - left (L), center (C), and right (R)
•2 for surround speakers at the side or rear - surround left (SL) and surround right (SR)
•1 low-frequency effects (LFE) channel carries supporting deep bass sound effects, ranging from 10 Hz to 120 Hz, which can for example be used by a subwoofer. (This is the '.1' in '5.1'.)

DTS is an encode/decode process that delivers 5.1 channels of 'master quality' audio on CD, CD-R, and DVD. Each DTS encoded disc represents a sonic 'clone' of the original film soundtrack.

The difference between Dolby Digital (AC-3) and DTS is:

•DTS provides a deeper and tighter low frequency presence
•DTS allows the sound to breath - transparency
•AC-3 leaves the impression that something is missing from the mix
•At lower bit-rate AC-3 starts to sound like MP3's encoded at a low-quality 96kbps
(artifacts)

DTS is more three dimensional. The sound actually moved forward from the individual speakers to sound more full. This fullness was most apparent with the music. Instead of simply coming from the speakers, the DTS filled the front soundstage not only side to side, but with more depth as well. Bass reproduction was also more defined in the DTS version, leaving the DD edition sounding muddy.

Dolby Digital incorporates dialog normalization, which alters the decoded level of the soundtrack. The typical setting reduces level by 4 dB; other reduction levels are possible. In most decoders, this leads to a reduction in signal-to-noise and dynamic range.

Dolby Digital also provides a 'stereo down mixing' feature as a substitute for a dedicated stereo mix. However, many production engineers have admitted that they often have to modify the original 5.1 mixes in order to attain acceptable stereo down mixes. Therefore, the 5.1 mix on many Dolby Digital DVDs may differ from the original master.

5.1 Surround Sound Headphones:

While the traditional method of surround sound described above uses numerous speakers to produce the entire sound field, the surround sound mix is limited to a two-channel stereo mix when using headphones. That is why recent developments in surround sound technology include 5.1 surround sound headphones, to allow you to have the same sound quality and surround sound experience without waking the neighbors or disturbing roommates.

Mitchell Medford is an author and consultant for several consumer electronics manufacturers. Visit his website to learn more about home theater technology and plasma televisions.

Article Source: Understanding Surround Sound Systems

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Life Is One Damn Diet After Another by Virginia Bola, PsyD

A common expression is that we’re “going on a diet.” The phrase suggests that, like a vacation trip, there is a beginning and an end. We dream of the day we will reach our weight goal and how wonderful it will be when we don’t have to lead a life of painful deprivation.

In the back of our minds, there is a comforting little tape playing, promising us that when our weight loss campaign is over, we’ll be able to stop counting calories, carbohydrates, or fats. We long for the day when we no longer have to clench our teeth as we refuse a favorite dish that always causes us to salivate in our sleep. We reach for the carrot and celery sticks without anticipation or enthusiasm while torturing ourselves with visions of the special treats we’ll enjoy when the diet is over.

Uh, hello?

Allowing ourselves to think of a diet as a delineated, restricted period within our total life span is a sure avenue back to tent city (that refers to what we wear, not where we live). To have any hope of attaining permanent weight control, we must approach it as a lifelong effort, watching our intake day after day, week after week, year after year.

You feel your heart sinking in your chest. You think “If I have to live like this all the time, it’s just not worth it!” That little voice promises you that you are different. You can relax because now you know how to lose weight, you can do it anytime you want. Gain five pounds and you’ll go back on your diet and be back to goal in no time at all.

But you won’t! Think back over your chequered weight history. We all believe that once our weight is down, it will be so easy to go on a short diet if we gain back a few pounds. It doesn’t work that way, though, does it? We start gaining a pound here and a pound there, but then there are some special events coming up and a diet would be so inconvenient. We don’t go back “on” our diet until we’ve gained enough weight to develop the self-disgust that warrants a new period of serious deprivation. We have become a full-fledged member of the yo-yo club, that vast majority of dieters who cannot keep the weight off for more than a few weeks.

The reasons we go “on” and “off” diets are numerous: they are boring, depressing, and very uncomfortable. They set us apart from friends, family, and coworkers who continue to snack, to feast, and to celebrate. We resent how diets make us feel and how they impact our daily lives.

Let’s look at the whole picture from a different perspective for a minute.

Instead of “a diet” envision a way of eating that involves living on a diet for the rest of your life. While the prospect may appall you, don’t say you can’t do it just yet.

First, consider another wide-spread concept many of us accept. To lose substantial weight in a relatively short time, we need to select the diet that seems to fit us and then stay with it, religiously, until we’ve reached our goal.

Let’s now take these two concepts, squish them together, and then turn them upside down.

We are not “going on a diet.” We are starting our diet-for-life. We then pick a diet, any diet at all, and make the commitment to stick with that diet for one week, and one week only. At the end of the week, we are going to pick an entirely different diet to which again we only commit for a one week period. This continues for virtually the rest of our lives with selected diets changing on a weekly basis.

What does this accomplish? A whole bunch of things:

1.

By selecting a different diet each week, it removes those common misgivings that maybe we should have gone in a different direction. We worry that we’re not getting the right nutrients or that we’re going to get sick or develop a rare disease. We read the diet ratings and panic at the warnings posted for all the popular programs. With our new approach, you don’t have to fret about if you made a good or bad choice because you’ll be making a new choice in a week.

2.

If there are particularly painful “No-Nos” in this week’s diet, resolve to try something next week that allows a currently forbidden fruit. For example, a primarily protein regimen has been found successful for many participants who often lose five or ten pounds in a week. However, they miss the vegetables and salad they enjoy. The next week could then be a vegetables and salad only routine, also successful for rapid weight loss but a bit lean on the protein you body needs for self-repair.

You may then find yourself craving some good bread so you switch to the Subway diet for a week until your craving is satisfied. Move on to something completely different – the cabbage soup diet or liquid shakes. Since there are literally thousands of diets, a few are bound to include the food you crave.

You are never more than a week away from having what you feel you absolutely must have in order to keep going. You can include spartan fad diets that move fat quickly and you can include calorie counting or Weight Watcher diets that allow almost anything so long as you adjust your intake to stay within the totals specified.

3.

The frequent changes in your eating patterns keep your body off-balance. Give the body enough time and advance notice and it will adapt to anything, turning protein into carbohydrates and storing even low calorie carbohydrates as little pockets of fat. By totally changing what you eat on a regular basis, the body gives up trying to figure out how to thwart you and spends its time efficiently processing what you give it. You are effectively using your smart little mind to outmaneuver your smart not-so-little body.

4.

The constant changes force you to buy food in smaller packages. It’s pointless and wasteful to buy those family packs of anything. That will help you with overall portion reduction, a must for any serious dieter. Your shopping goal is only to purchase items that you can consume within a week. If you see something that you particularly want but is not on your allowed list, make a mental note to find a diet for next week that can accommodate it.

5.

The need for a new diet each week requires that you read and research a lot of diets. The reading acts as reinforcement for your goals and will assure your continuing education on nutrition and fitness. When you see something that intrigues you or just makes a lot of sense, try it out. Perhaps one week will involve barely restricted eating but require a lot of exercise. Go for it – it’s only a week.

6.

You are in the happy position of having wide choices available but also the needed structure of an organized plan to follow. The regimented eating is within each week’s diet; the power of choice is operative when you decide what the next week’s program will be.

7.

Can you stay on a diet permanently? Yes, you can, because you’re not restricting yourself from anything for life, just for a week at a time. Should you stay on a diet for the rest of your life? Yes, you probably should as long as you are getting a balance of foods from an intelligent mixing of alternative diet plans. If you like one diet more than another, or if one particular program works exceptionally well for you, by all means cycle that diet into your routine on a regular basis. Just make sure you don’t use the same plan more than once a month or your body is going to be ready for it and Zap! you find it no longer works so well.

8.

Can you over-diet? We have all seen (although they seem to be harder to find these days) overly thin, cadaverous dieters with sunken cheeks and loose skin. That can be avoided by making your selected diets very diverse so you are never without needed nutrients for very long. For example, many retirement homes and assisted living co-ops produce thin seniors with pallid skin and protruding abdomens. Replace their mushy, high starch meals with any of the myriad high protein and vegetable-fruit diets and their color will improve, their energy increase, and their tummies fade.

9.

Can you ever be too thin? Visit an eating disorder facility and you will see the results of anorexia nervosa, not a pretty sight and highly dangerous from a medical standpoint. If you have a history of overweight, you may tell yourself that being too thin will never be in the cards for you. However, there are not infrequent cases of the perennial heavy who becomes anorexic through dieting too much with resulting anxiety about gaining back even an ounce of the flesh so painfully discarded. If you have a distorted body image, and reliable friends are concerned about your being too thin, get professional help.

10.

It all comes down to using your brain intelligently. When you are at your heaviest, with the most to lose, the logical choice is a rather spartan program that will get the fat moving quickly. As you lose, more moderate programs can be interspersed so that your skin and cheeks have a chance to adjust and fill in as your weight stores become redistributed. If a particular part of your body is resistant to reduction, exercise may become a more important part of your plan than simply a dietary approach. Once you are hovering at your ideal weight, simple calorie counting or support group involvement may be all you need.

The secret is to be rational about it all and use that wonderful mind of yours to set the program for your not-so-intelligent body with its insatiable appetite and poundage conservation cravings. Don’t try to cheat unless you want to cheat yourself and then be honest and admit that, for whatever reason there is, you want to avoid further weight loss. When you want and need to lose fifty pounds, an ice cream and chocolate diet is not rational. When you are at ideal weight or below, a stringent fad diet makes no sense.

Will all this mixing of diets result in consistent weight loss? There is never consistency in weight loss because there are just too many factors involved: water retention, digestive inefficiencies, the amount of energy expended, and individual body quirks. Over time, you will lose steadily but there will always be some ups and downs along the way.

Once the concept of “going on a diet” has been discarded, a lifelong eating plan can be embraced, guaranteed to leave you in control of your weight for the rest of your long slender life.

Virginia Bola is a licensed psychologist and an admitted diet fanatic. She specializes in therapeutic reframing and the effects of attitudes and motivation on individual goals. The author of The Wolf at the Door: An Unemployment Survival Manual, and a free ezine, The Worker's Edge, she recently published a psychologically-based weight control e-workbook, 'Diet with an Attitude' which develops mental skills towards the goal of permanent weight control. She can be reached at http://www.DietWithAnAttitude.com/index2.html. She provides support and guidance in use of the workbook through her regular blog, http://dietwithanattitude.blogspot.com

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Attention Democrats by David G. Hallstrom, Sr.

Attention far left Democrats and all the rest, of you Democrats, who are too afraid of the far left or to hungry for power to stand up for America. Stop insulting me, stop ridiculing me, stop trying to run my life, stop trying to take away my freedoms and stop endangering me and my loved ones.

I know that you have never met me, don't know me and don't even know I exist. I am not famous, not rich and not powerful, but I am one of the slightly under three hundred million Americans that you are harming. I am one of the little people that you think are too ignorant to know what is best for themselves. One of the little people that you think has to be led around by the nose by superior people like you. One of the little people that, as far as you are concerned, doesn't matter in the big scheme of things. I am one of the idiots that believe in things like, morals, values, freedom, kindness, helping others, fair play, courtesy, manners, dignity, respect, caring for one's family, etc.. One of the idiots that loves his country, believes in his country and is proud to be an American. One of the idiots that celebrates the Fourth Of July, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving and yes (horrors), even Christmas.

I am a moderate who has some liberal beliefs and some conservative beliefs. I dislike far right fanatics as much as I dislike far left fanatics. I believe in God but, I don't belive in trying to force everyone or anyone else into believing in God. I believe in freedom of speech (As long as it doesn't harm anyone.) and I believe in freedom of thought. I have never, untill recently, wrote letters to the editor or wrote political articles. Even though I am a Republican, I have always voted for the best person for the job. I have, in the past, voted for Republicans, Democrats and Independents. Your actions, however, have left me no choice other than to, from now on, vote for anyone who opposes Democrats. I may dislike the far right but the far left scares the heck out of me. The far left and those that support them are going to, if not stopped, cause the downfall of this great country.

I am fed up, hopefully like many others, with you trying to tell me what to think, when to think and how to think it, what to say, when to say it and how to say it. I am fed up with your use of lies, half truths, propaganda, rumors and ridicule. I am fed up with your use of celebrities and sychopants, to spread your lies, half truths, propaganda, rumors and ridicule, in order to gain control over the rest of us.

I am fed up with you and your puppets disparaging our President (When you insult our President, you insult the office of the President, thereby insulting America. When you call the President stupid you are calling everyone who voted for him stupid because, they voted for a stupid President.). When you ridicule the President, any President, whether it be President Bush, President Clinton or any other President you are harming America by giving fuel to our detractors and enemies. This endangers my loved ones and therefore scares me.

I am fed up with your attacks on the wars in Iraq and Afganistan. All you are doing is aiding our enemies by making them believe that, if they can last long enough, we will cut and run, leaving them to do as they wish. You are prolonging the war against terrorism and causing additional deaths among our troops. I'm not saying that we can win the war against terrorism (There will probably, almost, always be some form of terrorism.) but, I am saying that you are making things worse. You are also endangering my loved ones and that scares me.

I am fed up with your attempts to force the appeasement of countries like Iran, Syria, China, Russia, North Korea, France and others who would like nothing better than to witness our demise. This endangers my loved ones and therefore scares me.

I am fed up with your fighting for the rights of criminals and terrorists while ignoring the rights of victims and of our society. Your attempts to make victims or heroes out of people like Stanley Williams, the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, the terrorists imprisoned in Iraq, Saddam Hussein, gangsta rappers, drug addicts, illegal immigrants, Michael Jackson, O.J. Simpson and anyone convicted of murder who is sentenced to death, insults victims and their loved ones. It also endangers my loved ones and that scares me.

The only thing that scares me more than the far left is that many people in this country are buying into your lies and propaganda because they don't know anything about history (And now some schools have decided to stop teaching American History prior to the Civil War and many other schools don't even require the study of World History.) and they obtain most of their information from sound bites, celebrities and others that you have duped who spout your propaganda while calling it entertainment.

America is a great country and there may still be time to overcome the far left's attempt to take over and rule our country. In order, however, to stop the far left we have to wake up, we have to stop believing that just because someone is a celebrity and speaks for the far left, that he or she is an authority on the governing of this country. Celebrities are not smarter or more informed than we are, they just have a bigger soapbox than we do. Think of this, if a celebrity is dumb enough to be taken in by the far left, he or she is too dumb to be telling us what to think. We have to use a little logic and start thinking for ourselves. We have to start teaching our children to think for themselves and not to believe everything they see and hear on television. Most of all, we have to start speaking out. We have to start voting, not just for what we believe in but, against what we don't believe in. We have to start paying attention to what is going on around us and we have to start sticking up for ourselves and for our way of life.

David G. Hallstrom, Sr. is a retired private investigator and currently publishes several internet directories including http://www.resourcesforattorneys.com a legal and lifestyle resources directory for attorneys, lawyers and the internet public. For more lifestyle information see http://lifestyle.resourcesforattorneys.com, the Lifestyle directory from Resources For Attorneys.

Article Source: Attention Democrats

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4 Steps to Unbeatable Advertising by Allyn_Cutts

1. Negotiate
Have you noticed that some people seem to always get the best deals? Yeah, you pay full price and think you did OK until they show up with the same thing, only they paid several hundred dollars less. It really get your goat! How do they do it? They're not afraid to ask for an extra discount.

Yep, don't sell yourself short because you didn't ASK the next time your advertising rep makes an appearance! Even if you're already getting a discount, ask for a bigger one. You have not...because you ask not.

2. Trim
Bigger is always better...or is it? When it comes to advertising, don't be surprised if some of your short ads meet with more success than larger more expensive ads. Trimming down on the size and cost of advertising doesn't mean you'll be trimming the results!

3. Exploit the Freebies
What's the difference between advertising and publicity? ...who's doing the talking. Yeah, when you sell yourself, it's advertising. When someone else is selling you, it's publicity...and it generates credibility and interest that you don't want to miss out on.

Think about the different ways you can get your business in the spotlight. Do you have some news… write a press release? Write some 'how to' articles with a short byline at the end and release them to ezines, magazines, newspapers, and other publishers. Why not promote the product of a non-competitor in return for them promoting yours...think of the totally different market they affect!

Yep, there are a lot of ways out there to get free advertisement that will benefit your business. Of course you won't be able to rely solely on the freebies, but hey, you can get a little extra for nothing!

4. Improve Your Offer
Is your deal too good to pass up? If not, you need to improve it. Hey, I'm not talking about cutting prices even more...you've still got to make a profit. You can make the deal sweeter just by increasing the readers knowledge of the value of the product, or adding bonuses that are perceived as valuable, but cost you little.

Motivate buyers with expirations. Yeah, an open ended offer encourages procrastination...which leads ...yep, nowhere. When the customer knows he has until Saturday to purchase an item he'll pay more for on Sunday, he'll make it a priority to head for your shop.

Advertising doesn't have to wipe out your bank account to be effective. When you learn to negotiate, know when smaller ads are as effective as large ads, ask for discounts, and create an irresistible offer, you're on your way to skyrocketing profit margins!

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn is the owner of AllynCutts.com and works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on measurable results. Submitted with Article Distributor.

Article Source: 4 Steps to Unbeatable Advertising

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Do It Yourself Website by David Andrew Smith

If you are just starting out in your new business and you decide that a website could be a valuable addition to this business how do you go about getting one up and running? You have two basic options really. Do it yourself or employ an individual or company to do it for you. Which option you take depends upon your own confidence in acquiring the skills necessary and the amount of funds you can divert to hiring in a company. If you have sufficient funds then hire in a company as this will enable you to devout all your time to developing your core business. If you don’t then you will have to do it yourself. So how do you go about it?

You will require no or little knowledge of HTML as you can purchase a whole package from a web hosting company which should include some form of website developing software and your domain name plus the hosting of your website. Give some thought to your domain name. It should be easy for people to type in and remember. Not too long, succinct and preferably no hyphens. So you have chosen your domain name and your hosting service now you must develop your site. Again give some thought to this. How many pages you are likely to produce, how many links you will need. What sort of information is going on each page. If you are completely new to this then I would suggest that using your site editor software you produce a first draft and publish it. You can always modify everything later as you go along. This will give you your first website which you can then submit to the search engines albeit not exactly what you want or one that is going to attract visitors.

Now you need to do quite a lot of research on the internet as to how to make your site visitor friendly and search engine friendly. Here you will discover the importance of good content, changing content, appropriate keywords, backward links, article writing and good copy on the website. Taking this information on board will enable you to restructure and rewrite your site over a period of time, probably many times. However all the time this learning process is going on your site is actually published on the Web so is likely to start being trawled by search engines and getting indexed even if it doesn’t sky rocket through the rankings. The most important thing to do from the outset is to write good content that will be of interest to your visitors. If it holds the attention of your visitors and gets them to contact you then it will likely be of equal interest to the search engines. Do not produce a site that is written with the search engines in mind. It is your visitors who are important and by following a few simple rules that are published all over the Web your site can become very attractive to visitors and to search engines also. Keep the site textually based, there is no point in having very flashy graphics as these are not noticed by the search engines and often annoy visitors who want to get at the information they are after as quickly as possible and not have to wait for some animated introduction to finish before they can enter the actual site.

Having put into practice all the advice that is out there you should have put together a pleasing and appealing website that visitors and search engines like. Each day or week you add more content and develop more links and you will gradually climb up the rankings. The last piece of advice I would give is start writing and submitting articles. One or two a week would be excellent over a year or two. Once your articles start being published you will see an immediate leap in the number of links back to your site and a subsequent rise in the rankings if your content is also good. Aim to produce over time several hundred articles if possible. The more you write the more links back to your site you will develop and the more visitors you will get as well as boost your rankings in the search engines.

David Smith is the owner of http://wesparkle.co.uk a contract cleaning company which specialises in the care and maintenance of natural stone flooring and tiles

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