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Welcome to Alabama – The Beautiful

Alabama is an US state that earned its reputation due to its industrial sector, especially steel production. Birmingham took the nickname of Magic City because of its fast developing rhythm. The state is an important cultural pillar. It owns the US Space and Rocket Center and one of the best universities in the US. Its med schools attract a great number of foreign students.ALABAMA

If you’re thinking about visiting, don’t hesitate. Alabama is full of nice, friendly people, who will welcome you with an authentic and thick Southern accent. The locals are infamous for their racism, but that’s only a stereotype. It is funny though to ask a person living here about this misconception: they’ll say Mississippi is actually the culprit, while the latter will say it’s Alabama. The prejudice they’re all uneducated ‘rednecks’ is also false. High schools and colleges in Alabama have achieved high rankings for the past few years among the USA. In the past, a tradition among Southern states said marriage between cousins was a good choice. While most people frown upon it, the laws don’t prohibit it.

ALABAMA

There is one thing that remains true about Alabama: their love for football. The people here are calm, kindhearted and friendly. They appear patient and forgiving. All the niceness suddenly disappears when the game starts. Don’t say anything bad about the team, not even if it’s true.

Alabama is perfect for road trips and camping. Explore the Cathedral Caverns and the Dismals Canyon. Rivers and lakes are worth a visit. The Orange Beach is a great city for shopping, for the nightlife or for a sunbath in the summer. For those who would like to know more about Alabama, Birmingham’s Arts Museum has an impressive collection and the Vulcan Statue is one of the largest and most fascinating sculptures in the US. Other attractions include Gaineswood, the Forts, the Battleship Memorial or the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.

How to Make Fly Fishing Flies

Learning to tie your own fishing flies can be part of the fun and fascination associated with fly fishing. Tying fishing flies is essentially tying flies using thread, animal hairs and other materials to imitate insects and other natural attractors. The sense of accomplishment in not only creating an imitation of an insect but also using the fly to attract and catch fish is greatly rewarding. Fly Fishing Flies

Things You’ll Need:

  • Fly tying vise Various size hooks Bobbin and thread Feathers (or animal hairs) Scissors Yarn
  • Fly tying vise
  • Various size hooks
  • Bobbin and thread
  • Feathers (or animal hairs)
  • Scissors
  • Yarn

 Fly Fishing Flies

Step 1

Choose a location that is flat and well-lit for tying flies. Attach a fly-tying vise to the edge of the surface and tighten the clamp on the vise securely. Make sure there is sufficient lighting for illuminating fine detail work.

Step 2

Decide on the type of fly to be tied. Factors such as geographical location, time of day and season can impact this decision. Assemble items such as specific yarns, feathers and threads that match the colors of the insect to be imitated. Items used for fly tying may be purchased at outdoor stores and online.

Step 3

Place a hook in the jaws of the vise with the longest part, know as the shank, on top. The curve of the hook, or bend, should be secured in the jaws with the point on the bottom.

 Fly Fishing Flies

Step 4

Place the thread in the bobbin and completely wrap the shank with thread. The thread should cover the shank from just above the bend to just below the eye of the hook shank.

Step 5

Hold a strip of yarn on top of the hook along the shank and wrap thread around both the shank and yarn. It may be necessary to fold the yarn back over the shank and wrap again to add to the body of the insect. This is also the time to add other features of the insect using materials such as feathers and hairs from different animals.

Step 6

Finish the fly by wrapping the thread several times just below the eye of the hook. This will form a head for the insect and also finish off the materials to help in avoiding unraveling. Tie off the line with a hitch or double overhand knot and clip the thread.

Book Your Car For Your Travels Today

Not everyone thinks about renting a car for their everyday travels. However there are a number of people that have discovered that renting a car on a daily basis comes with a number of advantages. If you have not yet discovered how car rental services can help you then you need to contact the best limo hire swansea services in town. The reason you need to contact the right car rental services is because these services come with advantages that other services are not able to provide. If you end up taking the wrong car rental service you may not rent a car again for the rest of your life because of a wrong experience. Here are the advantages that car rental services provide.

Moving Freely

If you are on holiday and you need to go about exploring the area it is very difficult to do so in a different country. For starters you will not know the local language and it will be difficult for you to communicate. You may end up going to the wrong places and wasting a lot of time and money trying to get there. With the help of the best car rental services you will be able to ensure that you get to the right place at the right time. This is because these car rental services make it a point to understand people from different parts of the world. If they are not able to understand your language they will have someone on their team who will be able to translate. This way you will enjoy your holiday in comfort and you will not spend a lot of time roaming around.

Save Money

Another major advantage of car rental services is saving on a lot of money. If you hire local vehicles to get from one place to another when you are in a different country, the local driver may end up taking you for a ride and charging you a lot. Since you do not understand the roads and the routes in that area you will not even know that you are being taken around for a spin. With the help of car rental services you will be able to ensure that you roam around in peace and you will not even have to be worried about you being taken for a ride. You will have to pay fixed fares that have been decided in advance and you can room in leisure.

Does Product Placement Blur Consumer Perception?

As the line between product placements, reviews and write-ups gets thinner, it’s important for brands to understand the context of their content as well as their audience’s purchasing decision matrix. Setting up a placement or advertorial can be one piece of the puzzle, but it can’t be the only.

Consumer PerceptionPaid advertisements and purchased editorial content have existed for decades, but more than ever, that line has continued to blur. At the same time, consumers have become savvier in recognizing and accepting the distinction in product placements in everything from TV shows to blog reviews. With this recognition, the real question has become “how does an atmosphere of paid placements impact consumers and their perceptions?”

It used to be that product placement in TV shows and movies were almost a subliminal secret, only overtly recognized by marketers and astute observers…but today people have become more distinctly aware of the product positioning. This has created a situation that requires additional thinking on behalf of the brand and their agency as to how a placement may be perceived. Will a product review on a blog be looked at as pandering for a free gift, or does the audience trust the author’s opinion anyway?

Consumer PerceptionConsumers are already apt to do their own research and are more likely to ask themselves, “Am I getting ALL the information, or just what someone was willing to pay for me to know? Could there be more out there?”

Setting up a placement or advertorial can be one piece of the decision puzzle for a customer, but it can’t be the only. Along with traditional media coverage, social reviews/feedback and other marketing tactics, there needs to be a variety of touch points and content that leads toward a positive view or decision about your brand or product.

As we move towards additional transparency, it’s critical to make sure that every piece of your marketing mix is cohesive and supports what is put out for the public. In addition to the content and the context of the placement, is your brand thinking about how a customer may follow up after seeing it?

About Snorkeling in Clearwater Beach, FL

Clear-water beach is a popular tourist city on the west coast of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico. Tourists relish in the beauty of more than 2.5 miles of white sand. The subtropical climate gives Clear-water Beach almost-perfect weather year-round. One of the most popular tourist activities in Clear-water Beach is snorkeling.

About Snorkeling in Clearwater Beach, FL

When to Snorkel

Snorkeling season in Clear-water Beach usually runs from the end of February until the beginning of September.

Chartered Groups

There are many chartered snorkeling outings in Clear-water Beach that range in price, duration and difficulty. Check for the option that works best. Some charter groups are Capt. John’s Scuba Dive Clear-water, Diving Clear-water and Dream Catcher Explorations (see Resources).

About Snorkeling in Clearwater Beach, FL

Non-chartered

Snorkeling in Clear-water Beach is easy without a chartered group. Many of the most beautiful underwater sites are easily accessible without a boat or professional guide. Use caution when snorkeling without a guide: Use the buddy system, and always inform someone of where you are going and when you expect to return.

Reefs and Wildlife

When snorkeling, you can expect to see a wide variety of fish and wildlife. Stingrays and turtles are common, along with the occasional dolphin. Brightly colored fish and sponges can be found in the coral reefs just off the coast.

About Snorkeling in Clearwater Beach, FL

Equipment

Snorkeling equipment can be rented or purchased at many places along the beach. Because snorkeling is a popular activity, finding the equipment to do so is easy.

Why Do Luxury Consumers Engage With Brands On Social Media?

Why Do Luxury Consumers Engage With Brands On Social Media?Calling all luxury marketers… According to a recent survey conducted by the Affluence Collaborative, the reason a luxury consumer engages with his or her favorite brand via Social Media is vastly different than those of the general population.

The majority of people like their favorites on Facebook or follow them on Twitter in order to receive discounts and deals. But the luxury consumer, those earning at least $200,000 a year, don’t care so much about discounts and deals, they follow their favorite brands for the simple reason they love the brand or have an affinity for it and thus act as brand ambassadors, which of course is truly priceless.

Why Do Luxury Consumers Engage With Brands On Social Media?One other interesting note from the above chart is what scored the lowest in terms of reasons why people follow brands and companies via Social Media. Seems being entertained is not that important so go easy on the clever Twitter, Facebook & blog posts, unless of course you also deliver something of valuable, i.e. content.

Another intriguing finding from the survey was the fact that affluents are not using the same Social Media platforms as the general population per se.

Number 1 overall was Facebook, of course but Twitter and LinkedIn are attracting affluent users at almost twice the rate of the general population.

Why Do Luxury Consumers Engage With Brands On Social Media?The bottom line in ALL of this is reaching affluent consumers is no different than reaching any other demographic. You need to do your research, find out what appeals to them and where to find them. In the case of affluents, they clearly don’t want deals and discounts and offers… they want to engage with the brand itself.

They want real, authentic engagement with the brand so skip the sales pitches when it comes to affluents and Social Media and keep it clean, keep it real and yes… keep it on brand.

Are you a luxury marketer or a marketer in general?

What are your thoughts on all of this?

How do you reach your target audience via Social Media?

The Day I Lost My Marbles – My Messiest Moment

.CANON REBELYou know I’ve been going on and on about my camera…..and how I am patiently waiting (hint,hint) to get my DREAM CAMERA….the one I am in love with….the one and only….CANON REBEL…..and nothing else would do.

Well, few days ago I was browsing around….catching up with some reading over at the fabulous SITS GIRLS blog when I came across Bleach It Away campaign.

Not only I could win $25,000 from Clorox, but I can also win CANON REBEL camera from SITS Girls for being a part of the campaign…..all I have to do is to share my Messiest Moment…..with pretty much the whole wide world…..piece of cake.

I have two boys….messy moments are daily occurrences in my life….

Then I thought…..you know what….anybody have messy moments living with boys in their life…..

How about The Messiest Mommy Moment…..especially when the mommy in question is a detail oriented clean freak with OCD….

How did you know I am talking about myself?

Well, here it goes….not my proudest moment, but one of the funniest and definitely messiest moments of my life.

….It was August 2009….scorching hot…..A/C couldn’t keep up…..

It was my youngest son’s 7th birthday. As every year I spent weeks planning and preparing special theme cake for him.

It took me three days….working during the night and early morning before the heat fills the kitchen….

The cake was finally ready….all it needed were small tiny details.

As every year the whole family and friends gathered at our local pool for Sam’s Pool Party. After the pool party everyone gathers at our house for BBQ and birthday cake.

I left the pool party by myself 30 minutes earlier to get a head start and finish the cake.

The house was HOT…..I was sweating bullets….

It was time to take the three tier cake out of the fridge….then it happened…..SLIP….BANG….BUM…..CRASH….

I was on the floor surrounded by my son’s birthday cake….cake was everywhere….I was MAD….I was UPSET….I was HYSTERICAL….

.CANON REBEl

Suddenly I really don’t know what happened….it was probably the combination of heat….lack of sleep and anger, but I went nuts.

As I was sitting on the floor I grabbed pieces of cakes and I started throwing them around….there was cake everywhere…I was throwing the cake and screaming….

…..the kitchen door opened….and there they were my husband and the birthday boy.

First….the looks of disbelief followed by hysterical laugh….followed by yelling at my older son in the driveway….”Hurry up, you gotta see this….mommy lost her mind ….this is epic”.

Yup, there you have it….my messiest moment….

Btw, I collected myself….hubs cleaned up the kitchen with Clorox (of course) while I had a shower and while everyone was busy enjoying delicious BBQ I managed to whip up a delicious Chocolate Swiss Roll with whipped cream filling….cause that’s the way I roll.

….and don’t worry….you won’t find any pictures of me losing my mind…I made sure of that!

I received information about Clorox’s Bleach It Away campaign and am sharing my messy moment for the chance to win prizes from The SITS Girls. To learn more about the messy moment program, check out www.BleachItAway.com. Sharing your story on the Clorox fan page gets you entered for the chance to win $25,000 and daily prizes, and you can grab a coupon for Clorox® Regular Bleach.

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