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You may not think that a false alarm on your home security alarm system is a big deal but more and more home security alarm providers and local police departments are beginning to impose fines when home security alarm systems are tripped without cause on more than one occasion. It is estimated that as many as 95% of all alarms are false alarms. While this may sound reassuring to homeowners, it can be costly to home security alarm system providers and local police departments. It is a waste of their resources when they respond to a false home security alarm. This is why many home security alarm providers and police departments are beginning to levy fines for excessive false alarms.

Homeowners should understand how their home security alarm system works in order to avoid future false alarms. A common cause of false alarms in home security alarm systems with motion detectors is mistakes made by the homeowner. If your home security alarm system has motion detectors you should not place hanging plants near the motion detectors. If they sway while the motion detectors are activated your home security alarm system could be falsely triggered. Also, if you have pets secure them in a room that does not have motion detectors so that they will not contribute to false alarms. Blinds and curtains could also cause a false alarm. Moving air expelled from air vents could allow blinds and curtains to sway just enough to trip the motion detectors on your home security alarm system. You should ensure that your curtains and blinds are not in a position where they can be moved by the air from the vents.

Other tips for avoiding false alarms in your home security alarm system are related to common sense. For example, you should ensure that each person who has authority to enter your home is aware of how to deactivate the alarm when they enter the property. Anyone who is able to enter your property should know how to deactivate the alarm system so that they do not cause a false alarm by entering the home and not deactivating the system. You should not only tell each person how to disarm the home security alarm system but you should also allow them to practicing arming and disarming the home security alarm system so that they will have no trouble when they need to enter the property. Also, keeping your doors and windows in good working condition can help to avoid false alarms in your home security alarm system. If your door or window is not functioning properly, it could trigger a false alarm.

Responding to false alarms from home security alarm systems is costly to the local police. When home security alarm systems trigger without cause, the police waste time and resources responding to these alarms. For this reason, homeowners should be diligent about avoiding false alarms with their home security alarm system.

Robert H the author of this article, invites you to Find more informative articles on home security, and news on all the latest home security products at his his website here www.homesecurity.info-net-work.com

Like cars, many new motorcycles depreciate very quickly after they are driven out of the dealership. As a result, if you are a motorcycle buyer looking for a motorcycle loan or financing, it is important you understand that not getting the right type of motorcycle loan can put you in the position of owing more on your motorcycle than it is actually worth if you were to sell it. This occurs with some motorcycle loans because the value of your motorcycle depreciates faster than you are paying down the principal on the motorcycle loan. This makes it very difficult to sell or trade in your motorcycle if you have not paid off the loan.

Most motorcycle buyers feel that they will pay off their loan before they sell their motorcycle, but this is simply not the case. Many motorcycle buyers get loans for 60 months or greater to lower their monthly payments and then proceed to sell or trade in their motorcycle after a couple of years. The longer the term of your loan the higher your vulnerability is to owing more on your motorcycle loan than your bike is worth if you choose to sell or trade it in. This is especially true if you get a zero down payment motorcycle loan, 72 month motorcycle loan or an 84 month motorcycle loan.

In addition to the term on your motorcycle loan or financing, you should watch the type of interest calculation that is used by your motorcycle lender. There are primarily two types of interest calculation used by motorcycle lenders: pre-computed (combined with rule of 78) and simple interest.

A pre-computed interest calculation combined with Rule of 78 is by far the worst for motorcycle buyers. The reason for this is that in the first 24 months of the loan most of the monthly payment goes towards paying off interest and very little of the monthly payment goes to paying down the value of the motorcycle. Therefore, on a 60 month loan with a zero down payment a motorcycle buyer can easily find themselves owing more for the loan than the value of the motorcycle. This makes it nearly impossible to trade in the bike or sell it during the first 24 months of the motorcycle loan.

A simple interest calculation is therefore the best alternative for a motorcycle buyer because it contributes less to interest (than pre-computed interest) in the early years of the loan and more to paying down the value of the motorcycle. However, if you have a motorcycle type that traditionally depreciates quickly you can still be affected negatively with your motorcycle loan especially if you opt for a zero down motorcycle loan with terms of 48 month or more.

Here are 6 steps you can use to help you get the most from your motorcycle loan and to help you get prevent from owing more on your bike than it is worth if you decide to sell it or trade it in during the early years of your loan.

1. Try to avoid zero down payment motorcycle loans, especially if they extend for more than 36 months.

2. Find a lender that uses a simple interest calculation for your loan. Avoid lenders that use pre-computed - rule of 78 interest calculations.

3. Try to avoid motorcycle loans that extend past 36 months especially if you are purchasing a motorcycle brand that is going to depreciate quickly.

4. Always try to make extra payments on your loan towards the principal of your loan when extra money is available.

5. Opt for an installment motorcycle loan before a credit card loan. Installment loans typically provide better terms and conditions for motorcycle buyers.

6. Look for online motorcycle loans to ensure you get the most competitive interest rates available.

Copyright (c) 2006, by Jay Fran This article may be freely distributed as long as the copyright, author’s information and the below active live link is published with the article.

About The Author:

Jay Fran is an author and publisher for at Motorcycle-Financing-Guide.com. A website that highlights lenders offering simple interest online motorcycle loans for good credit, bad credit and no credit applicants.

74.8 per cent of people of working age are unemployed in UK. This is certainly not a pretty picture of modern life. An unemployed tenant is part of this portrait of modern life. Unemployed tenants points to the human dimension of larger issue - unemployment.

The immediate of reverberations of unemployment are felt in your home even though you don’t own it. Every condition during unemployment is a challenge. Financially it is more pronounced. Every month is a trial with financial mathematics going totally out of your hands. A loan for unemployed tenant is the debt instrument can help you keep going.

Government allowances almost always fall short of fulfilling the demands of an unemployed tenant. Some loan lending institutions consider giving unemployed tenants loan. Even if you have little or no income, unemployed tenant loans are possible for you. Every unemployed tenant loan demands repayment. That is the primary concern that preoccupies the lender. If you can prove that, you will be easily approved for loan for unemployed tenant. You are required to pay the loan for unemployed tenant over an agreed period of time. The loan term usually depends on the loan amount. However, an unemployed tenant has the facility to choose loan term according to his ease.

Tenants who are unemployed usually have fixed loan repayment spread over a particular length of time. This will work for unemployed tenant who have fixed monthly incomes. Income support, benefits, or disability living allowance - will count towards total declared income. Those tenants who have become unemployed recently should go for flexible unsecured loan for unemployed. If you have irregular income then you might not be able to make a fixed monthly payment. Flexible loan for unemployed tenant will consist of a stand-by facility or holiday period or an overdraft. This will facilitate repayments being made at a later date without the fear of penalization at the hands of loan lender. As a rule, lenders are flexible with respect to repayment of unemployed tenant loan. They are acceptable of the loan paid later than not paid at all.

You can take unemployed tenant loan for whatever reason. There would be no restriction as to the fact why are you taking to the loan for. But an unemployed should ask for free quote from various lender. This will make possible to realistically estimate their chances of being able to pay back tenant loan. Quotes give an approximate calculation for unemployed tenant loan. Since your loan is unsecured, the interest rates will be slightly higher than secured loan for unemployed tenant. However, in general unemployed loans are low interest loans.

Online unemployed tenants will find more loans choices than they can imagine. To settle on the first unemployed tenant loan that seems to replicate your interest is not always a good idea. You must look shop around. There is a reason why you should “shop around” while looking for loan for unemployed tenant. It will give you insight into the various deals available. There are lenders who will offer you better unemployed loan programmes than others. Carefully study them and then make a final decision.

Unemployment is a poverty trap. If you think unemployed tenant has been ignored so far, you will learn they are not. There are loans for unemployed tenants who give voice to their vision. They are loans which provide clarity and choice to an unemployed. Make them an instrument to claim back your financial freedom. They are indeed the loans that reflect the anticipations of an unemployed. They are understandably loans for unemployed tenant.

Scarlette started on a horse back and had a few falls herself. Therefore, she knows. Financial decisions are to be made after considerable thought and backed by good financial understanding. Her articles might introduce you to financial sense without any falls. She suffers from no injuries now. To find all types of loans for unemployed UK Residents
Please visit http://www.loansforunemployed.co.uk

Nominated for five Academy Awards (most of them related to effects and visuals), and winner of the Oscar for Special Visual Effects, Tora! Tora! Tora! is a true Hollywood blockbuster. Long before the star-studded, over-hyped Disney film Pearl Harbor, film creators gave us a much better depiction of the events surrounding December 7, 1941. Often shown on the History Channel, Tora! Tora! Tora! almost fits the definition of a documentary. The film doesn’t employ sideshow tricks such as love triangles (i.e. Pearl Harbor) in order to create audience interest. In fact, few of the actors stand out on their own. Instead, each character plays his part as it most likely unfolded in real life - and the real life version of Pearl Harbor is interesting enough on its own…

Tora! Tora! Tora! originates as the Japanese call sign for a full-fledged attack on the American naval installation at Pearl Harbor. When the Japanese Empire continues its expansion throughout the Asian-Pacific realm, the United States institutes economic sanctions. As further divisions threaten to bring about war between the two nations, Japanese admirals convene in order to plan a surprise preemptive attack on the United States Navy in the event that war becomes inevitable.

Among those present is Admiral Yamamoto (So Yamamura) who agrees to carry out the plan, but as a man who studied extensively in the United States, he believes his fellow countrymen underestimate the resolve and the industrial might of the American people. Nonetheless, the Japanese continue their surveillance of Pearl Harbor with a plan to annihilate the US Navy and its vital fleet of aircraft carriers.

Meanwhile, certain people in Washington are intercepting coded messages between the island of Japan and its ambassador to the United States. As the rumor of a Japanese attack begins to take hold, officials attempt to convince the top leaders in the chain of command. But the idea of such a bold and unprovoked attack is difficult to comprehend.

When the Japanese arrive at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, they realize their plan has worked well. They achieve total surprise, and the call of Tora! Tora! Tora! goes out to the fleet, launching a second wave of attack planes. The Japanese attacks sink several battleships, but not a single carrier (the carriers unexpectedly left the harbor to practice maneuvers). Threatening to annihilate Pearl Harbor, the Japanese are unexpectedly called back by a conservative admiral, leaving the scene before than can inflict maximum damage. The mistake is eloquently expressed by Admiral Yamamoto who fears that his countrymen have “only managed to awaken a sleeping giant”…

Despite its 1970 release date, Tora! Tora! Tora! remains a wonderful film that can hold its own in the special effects department with any modern day blockbuster. In fact, the older camera technology makes the scenes subconsciously feel more realistic than modern day films such Pearl Harbor. If you’re looking for a good, suspenseful movie (and one which teaches history too), then you’ll be hard pressed to find a better option than Tora! Tora! Tora! One of the best war films of all time, Tora! Tora! Tora! is a definite must see film…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the Tora! Tora! Tora! (DVD).

Sometimes we are happy, sometimes we are sad, or lonely, or
joyous. There are a range of emotions we feel every day. It’s
part of the human experience. It can make life exciting and worth
living, it can also cause stagnation and depression.

In all my years as an Intuitive Counselor, I have witnessed too
many clients who believed in suffering with their sadness, not
feeling that there is more to life. When sadness works its way
into your every day experience and becomes an overriding factor
in your life, then its time to face it rather than suffer with
it.

In our body’s energy system, joy and grief both reside in the
heart chakra. They are like two sides of the same coin. In order
to allow the joy to rise within you, you need to heal the
sadness. How? By becoming aware of the sadness, hearing what it
has to say, allowing it to speak or weep, and validating its
purpose for having been there all this time. Then, give yourself
permission to let go –which is easier said than done sometimes.

It’s important to reach out for help. Ask others to assist you.
Seek traditional counseling or intuitive counseling or even grief
therapy. Another person can give you a perspective outside of
yourself. It never ceases to amaze me how much we can’t see the
forest for the trees when we’re the ones in it. Everyone benefits
from outside observation at times.

Why do people seek out my services? Mostly for this same reason:
to get a fresh perspective. Many of them are looking for
something. They don’t always know what… they just know there is
something more for them in this life beyond the stuckness they
feel, or the ordinariness of their daily life. One client said to
me recently, “I feel like I’m living the ‘Groundhog Day’ movie,
where everyday is the same, nothing ever changes. I want to get
on with my life…”

It’s funny how often I hear something similar from a new client.
Many will add that they know there is something missing in their
life, or they are searching for a sense of purpose and clarity.
Others are so tired from holding onto all the sadness and years
of emotional baggage that they just want help. They want to know
the steps to take in order to make changes. Others want help with
their relationship issues and dramas.

Regardless of the particulars, the desire is the same: They want
to be happy.

Happiness is born from the healing process. Allowing sadness to
be released and transformed into joy, we achieve freedom…
freedom to express our happiness, our desires, our wants and
needs, and freedom to expand within our own energy body and
finally being able to relax into simply being one with our self.

We all have this need to be free…

How do you begin your journey to happiness? Start by asking
yourself these questions:

Think about your answers. What are they telling you? If you need
help… ask. If you need time… then give yourself time. If you
need answers… then start asking the right questions.

© 2005 Jodie Foster

Jodie Foster is an Intuitive Counselor who assists clients to create extraordinary transformations in their daily lives. Her work is uplifting, empowering and success-oriented. You can visit Jodie’s website at http://www.illuminationsnetwork.com for further information and to schedule a private intuitive session. You can also look for daily updates to her blog at: http://intuitiveinnovations.blogspot.com .

Publisher’s Guidelines: You may freely publish this article online, in email newsletters, or in print so long as the resource box and byline are in tact and all links are active. Author would appreciate a notification, but that is optional.

Scams involving email continue to plague consumers across America, indeed the world. These so called “phishing” scams involve “spoofed” emails meant to draw the unwary to bogus internet sites masquerading as legitimate sites. These scam artists — phishers — attempt to hook visitors in by having them divulge certain critical and personal bits of information. Once the information has been divulged the phishers start their dirty work and you have been conned. Several phishing scams continue to persist, the following are three of the most pervasive ones.

1. Financial Institutions. It is highly likely that you have already received this type of notice which appears to have come from your financial institution. It goes something like this:

We are glad to inform you, that our bank has a new security system. The new updated technology will ensure the security of your payments through our bank. Hoping you understand that we are doing this for your own safety, we suggest you to update your account , this update will maintain the safety of your account. All you have to do is complete our online secured form. Thank you .

Comment: No financial institution will require you to respond to an email asking you to update your account. In addition, I left in the typos, punctuation errors, and overall poorly worded request just as it is. Finally, many of these scams do not go to account holders as the phishers spam email accounts in the hope that someone will take the bait.

2. Paypal Account. This scam is giving Paypal/eBay fits as its says that billing information must be updated by you, the recipient of the notice. Verbiage is included whereby “Paypal” threatens to close your account if you do not respond, money will be withheld, etc.

Comment: The first time I saw this note, I thought: huh?! The nerve of Paypal! However, I forwarded the letter to Paypal who confirmed its scammy nature.

3. ISP Fraud. An internet service provider has seen a number of “their” letters surface in emails around the US. A common request goes something like this:

Dear Comcast customer,

We recently attempted to charge your account but we seem to receive an error when charging your card. This sometimes occurs for a variety of reasons including card expiration, over limit, suspicion of fraud, or several other technical difficulties. Please visit the Comcast Service Center, by clicking on the hyperlink shown below, and update your information so this issue can be resolved.

Comcast Service Center

Thank you,

Chris Hammonds

Comcast Service Department

Comment: Another request to obtain valuable information belonging to you. I have seen 3-4 variations of this letter, all allegedly from Comcast.

Oftentimes, phishers will go to great lengths to copy the company’s logo and other pertinent information and include that within the email. Almost without fail they provide a link for you to click on so that you will go to a site thinking that it is legitimate.

Once at the scam site, all kinds of questions will be asked of you including: social security number, credit card information, your address, and more. The more information you give, the easier it will be for you to become a victim of identity theft as the perpetrators assume your identity and open up multiple accounts in your name.

Usually the consumer knows nothing of the scam until they receive letters demanding payment for accounts opened up in their name, calls from creditors, and rejected credit applications because of assumed bad credit.

The best defense, of course, is to not respond to the email. However, you can play an important part in stopping phishing fraud by forwarding a copy of the message to the company being mimicked. Their fraud department will be grateful and you will help them [as well as policing authorities] in their quest to stop phishers in their tracks.

Matthew Keegan is The Article Writer who writes on just about any and every issue imaginable. You can preview samples from his high performing site at http://www.thearticlewriter.com

Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Chronic or Treatment-Resistant Depression

About Vagus Nerve Stimulation(VNS)

VNS is not brain surgery, although it is a treatment that affects the function of the brain. Vagus Nerve Stimulation uses specific stimulation of the vagus nerve to send stimulation to specific parts of the brain that are involved in mood. It is not like Electro-Convulsive Therapy (ECT), a treatment that involves stimulation of the entire brain and induces convulsions in patients. In fact, patients may not even feel the stimulation from VNS since the vagus nerve does not have the type of nerves that carry pain signals. Nor does VNS interfere with drugs, and patients having Vagus Nerve Stimulation can continue taking their other drugs without worrying about side effects or interactions between drugs.

What is the Vagus Nerve ?

Vagus means “wandering” in Latin, and is the perfect description for the vagus nerve, the longest nerve in the body. It averages almost two feet in length and “wanders” throughout the upper body. The vagus nerve starts in the brain, goes down the neck and into the body where if affects the vocal cords, the acid content of the stomach, the heart, the lungs, and other organs. In the brain it projects to areas believed to be responsible for seizures, mood, appetite, memory and anxiety (note 3). However, the vagus nerve cord does not have many pain nerves, so stimulation of the vagus nerve is not painful, although some patients may feel some sensation when electrical pulses are generated.

The History of Vagus Nerve Stimulation

Vagus Nerve Stimulation has been used to treat epilepsy patients for years; the first human clinical trial was in 1988,(note 1) and the FDA approved VNS therapy for epilepsy in 1997 (note 2). So far over 22,000 people worldwide have had VNS therapy (note 3), and it has proven to be a safe and effective treatment for epilepsy. These patients have reported minimal side effects, which have tended to decrease over time. The efficacy of the treatment has also been shown to increase with longer treatment time (note 1).

When Vagus Nerve Stimulation was first approved for epilepsy, some patients reported an improvement in mood. Researchers decided to design a study specifically to measure changes in a patient’s mood and depression due to stimulation of the vagus nerve. In 1999, scientists began the first open label (no placebo group) study for depression with 60 patients. This first study found that there was indeed an improvement in mood for depressed patients. Based on this study, a more detailed and thorough study was designed to determine if Vagus Nerve Stimulation would be a safe, tolerable and effective treatment for chronic depression.

The recently completed one-year, double blind, placebo controlled trial had 235 patients from 21 participating hospitals in the United States, and showed clinically significant improvements due to treatment compared to baseline (note 2). The acute (short-term) phase lasted three months, during which half of the patients received stimulation (treatment group) and half did not (control group). The long-term phase of the study lasted an additional 9 months (for one year total treatment) of stimulation. The HRSD-24 (24 item clinician-rated Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) improvements observed over the first year were highly significant. The results of this long-term, pivotal study were submitted to FDA in October 2003; the FDA’s decision on the use of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for depression is not anticipated before October 2004 (note 2). Of note, Vagus Nerve Stimulation therapy was approved for use in patients with treatment resistant depression in the European Union in March 2001, and in Canada in April 2001 (note 2) .

How Does Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy work ?

The Pulse Generator (battery) delivers a small amount of electrical current to the vagus nerve intermittently (30 seconds on and five minutes off ) (note 3) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for up to 10 years. The stimulation is delivered automatically, so the patient does not have to do anything. Because there is nothing to remember, compliance is assured. The stimulation is not supposed to be uncomfortable, and some patients do not even feel the stimulation. A nurse at the doctor’s office can adjust the level of stimulation (amount of electricity delivered) if the patient ever feels uncomfortable. In the study currently being reviewed by the FDA, researchers noted several similarities between epileptic and depressed patients (note 4).

One of the most important similarities is that Vagus Nerve Stimulation treatment efficacy improves over time. The longer the patient receives stimulation, the better the results. In addition, both populations of patients share the following:

Assured adherence to treatment regimen
Safety of the procedure
Safety of the therapy
High continuation rates
No drug interactions

What is the surgery like?

Vagus Nerve Stimulation is NOT brain surgery, even though it is an invasive surgical procedure that changes the function of the brain. The stimulator is a pacemaker-like device that generates electrical pulses (Pulse Generator); it is implanted under the skin in the left chest through a small incision. While this may sound like a serious or dangerous procedure, it is not. The FDA has approved the use, and confirmed the safety of this procedure, and 22,000 patients have received the implant to treat epilepsy. The Vagus Nerve Stimulation surgery involves two small incisions, one in the chest and one at the lowest part of the neck. At no time is the brain physically manipulated by the surgeon.

The surgery to implant the NCP System takes 45 minutes to two hours. Local, regional or general anesthesia (putting the patient to sleep) is used during the surgery; the doctor and anesthetist determine which type of anesthesia is best for each patient. Most Vagus Nerve Stimulation patients will have outpatient surgery, (note 3) but some patients may need to stay in the hospital overnight, and in that case they will need a family member or companion to take them home from the hospital.

Learn more about this remarkable device at www.VagusNerveStimulator.com

Charles E. Donovan

Author

Out of the Black Hole: The Patient’s Guide to Vagus Nerve Stimulation and Depression

http://www.VagusNerveStimulator.com

As we all know these days, exercise can bring great benefits to our health and well being. To get the maximum benefit you need it to be a mixture of aerobic and muscle conditioning and strengthening exercises. Many machines and exercise equipment such as treadmills or home gyms will only really give you benefits in one area or the other. Cross training conditioning exercises on the other hand, will give you a good all around workout, benefiting both the strength and the tone of your muscles and also your cardiovascular and respiratory system. This is unlikely to be achieved by any other single exercise instead to achieve the same benefits you would probably have to use several in combination. Using a cross trainer can avoid the need for this and allow you to perform all of your exercises at once making this a very convenient way for busy people to exercise efficiently and achieve health benefits in less time that it would otherwise take.

Cross training conditioning exercises are a great way to do your whole workout without the need to do other activities to make sure that you have covered all areas of your fitness and exercise regime. The low impact step system that is common amongst most cross trainers also reduces the impact, wear and tear and possible injury to your joints normally caused through running.

A good machine combined with the correct instruction can help to make sure that your cross training conditioning exercises give you all the work out your body needs to maintain an optimal level of health and fitness. Of course, you still need to the combine it with a good diet and a healthy lifestyle in order to realize and gain the full benefits. Also don’t forget that other things such as reducing or eliminating smoking and creating low stress levels in your work and personal life can also help you to gain the maximum benefits and promote a higher level of well-being.

Cross training conditioning exercises will actually make your exercise time feel like less of a chore. Using a cross trainer efficiently is much more effective and better suited to maintaining your interest when compared to simply running on a treadmill or doing weights. The all around nature of the activity and the interactive aspects whereby you can set your own level and adjust it while training gives you much more of an interest in what you are doing when compared to some other exercise activities. This also has the benefits of making it more likely that you’ll carry on rather than get bored with the exercise machine and enable you to continue to complete your exercises as a means of enjoyment and relaxation rather than purely for the health benefits.

Timothy Gorman is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Elliptical-Trainer-Solutions.com He provides more elliptical trainer ratings, recommendations and information on how to use elliptical trainers that you can research in your pajamas on his website.

For years the most noticeable public role for Peter Sutherland as chairman of BP PLC was hosting the company’s annual meeting. But after a run of oil spills, dangerous accidents and an energy-trading scandal at BP, the 60-year-old one-time rugby player has charged head first into the scrum.

Last year, the Irish politician and banker forced Chief Executive John Browne to publicly commit to his retirement date. After Lord Browne’s surprise decision last month to leave a year and a half earlier than previously planned, Mr. Sutherland must now buff BP’s image and manage the company’s first executive-suite transition in more than ten years.

Despite a persistent rise in oil prices its shares rose just 4.5 per cent in 2006, in comparison with a 36 per cent increase by Exxon Mobil Corp. and 15 per cent at Royal Dutch Shell PLC. Yesterday, the company reported fourth-quarter net income decreased by 22 per cent, in part reflecting lower production and lower natural-gas prices.

BP, meanwhile, faces U.S. criminal probes on multiple fronts — corrosion and oil spills in Alaska; a March 2005 refinery blast that killed 15 in Texas; as well as its energy-trading practices, with federal officials alleging BP traders manipulated propane markets in 2004. BP denies manipulating markets and says it is cooperating with investigators on all three inquiries.

Mr. Sutherland’s higher profile also underpins a pattern that goes beyond BP: a shift in the boardroom dynamics at many of Europe’s biggest publicly traded companies. Nonexecutive directors here have in the past been criticized for leaving too much decision-making in the hands of powerful executives. In recent times, many companies are moving to shore up their boards with independent and strong directors.

Until the point at which Shell faced an accounting controversy in 2004, Shell’s British holding company had as its chairman a professor of geology. After the controversy, it employed Jorma Ollila, former chief executive officer of Nokia Corp as chairman. Unilever also appointed an external chairman last month to cap a restructuring at the Anglo-Dutch consumer-goods giant.

Mr. Sutherland’s mission at BP from the beginning has always been to focus on establishing a “robust” and independent board structure he said in a recent interview. After short periods as Ireland’s attorney general and Europe’s competition czar, Peter Sutherland took over negotiations known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in Geneva in 1993. There, he clinched the Uruguay Round, a pivotal trade agreement that set the foundations for today’s World Trade Organization. For a man who has achieved so much it is difficult to forsee where he will find his next challenge.

When I get finished teaching you this never-before-seen version of the push-up, you’re going to think that either I’m crazy or a genius or both! Of course, the results you’ll get from it will speak for themselves.

First, we need to set the stage for this version of the push-up.

To begin with, exercises that move your body rather than the weight (such as the push-up) have been shown to fire more muscle fibers than exercises that move the weight rather than your body (such as the bench press). This means that the push-up has the potential to activate a lot of muscle fibers.

Next, we know that exercising in an unstable environment also increases muscle fiber activation. This is because your body compensates for the instability by firing more muscle fibers in order to stabilize the resistance. Anyone who’s run barefoot on sand knows the tremendous work your calves get from it. The same concept is put to work in this exercise.

* NOTE: Effective exercise requires progression, and that is essential for learning to perform this exercise safely. Because you will end up doing it in a very unstable environment, you need to start slowly and work your way into it. Naturally, if you’re an advanced trainer or are used to working in an unstable environment you may progress more quickly.

Only go as far as you’re comfortable with these exercise stages. Each stage holds great benefits but you should always err on the side of caution.

Read through these exercise stages one at a time, then, at the end of the article, you’ll find a link where you can view pictures of each stage.

Stage 1 - Dumbell Push-Ups

Set two dumbells on the floor in the approximate hand position and spacing you would use for a push-up. You will essentially be using the dumbells as push-up handles.

The plates on the dumbell should be round (meaning that they’ll roll) for maximum instability. Use fairly lightweight dumbells, e.g. 15 to 20 pounds each, so they’ll move around more.

This variation by itself is an excellent exercise for beginner to intermediate trainers. You may do this variation with your knees on the floor if you’ve not yet developed the strength for regular, full push-ups.

Stage 2 - Swiss Ball Push-Ups

Set a large Swiss Ball (the inflatable exercise ball) on the floor where you’ve got some space.

Place your hands on the floor in your regular push-up position then set your legs on top of the Swiss Ball. Your shins should be on the top of the ball, placed slightly to the sides so you can use them to maintain your balance.

Do push-ups in this position. You will find that the ball will shift around as you are doing the exercise and you’ll be forced to move your body around to keep your legs on top of it. The ball will roll slightly forward with you as you drop down to the bottom of the push-up position and roll slightly back as you push yourself up.

Stage 3 - Swiss Ball/Dumbell Push-Ups

Now that you’ve experienced instability at both ends of the push-up, it’s time to put them both together and feel the burn!

Be sure you are comfortable with other two progressions before attempting this one and be sure you are not too close to anything should you lose your balance and roll off.

Set the dumbells up as you did in Stage 1 and set the ball up as you did in Stage 2. Place your hands on the dumbells first then set your legs on the ball.

Now do push-ups on three rolling, unstable surfaces!

Make sure you drop down and get a full range of motion (the dumbell handles will allow you to go further down than if you were doing them on the floor).

The first few reps may feel easy but as you continue, you will notice a burning sensation in the deep muscle fibers of your chest. Keep going! This is where it gets good. You are now hitting muscle fibers that have most likely never been effectively worked by standard chest exercises!

And if you think you’re getting a burn on the first set, just wait till you do a few more sets. You’ll feel it across your abs and sides too!

The reason this exercise is so effective is simple: complete instability.

Since the vast majority of chest exercises are performed in a reasonably stable position, there are some muscle fibers that never get fully worked. They aren’t required to work because you’re stabilized.

By placing your legs and both hands on independently moving objects, you demand massive amounts of stabilizing work on the part of your pecs. Your pecs never normally get this work with most chest exercises. Now they’re stabilizing your entire body and your limbs while you’re moving yourself up and down!

All this intense stabilizing work fires many more muscle fibers than are normally required for a push-up, resulting in a tremendously effective exercise for the chest.

To view the exercise progressions explained above, go to: http://www.fitstep.com/Misc/Newsletter-archives/issue8-chest-tip.htm

p.s. click on this link and you’ll receive not only a great tip that can dramatically increase the intensity of this already incredibly effective exercise but a secret Stage 4, which was just too powerful to put into this article.

About The Author

Nick Nilsson is Vice President of BetterU, Inc., an online exercise, fitness, and personal training company. Check out his latest eBook “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” at http://www.thebestexercises.com or visit http://www.fitstep.com. You can contact him at betteru@fitstep.com or subscribe to BetterU News, his fitness newsletter at betterunews@fitstep.com.