September 23rd 2009 01:06
” Activity may not add years to your life (it might) but it will certainly add life to your years”
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS IMPORTANT
1) It makes you look and feel better
* gives you more energy
* helps you sleep better
* helps you relax
* helps you to meet people and make friends
* is fun
* tones your body
2) IT IS GOOD FOR YOUR MIND
* reduces stress and anxiety
* improves concentration
* improves self-confidence
* reduces feelings of sadness
3) IT IS GOOD FOR YOUR BODY
* Helps you to control
- weight (and reduce body fat)
- blood pressure
- cholesterol
- diabetes
- bone and joint problems (eg arthritis)
* Reduces the risk of
- heart disease
- stroke
- some cancers
* Helps to manage pain
* Helps to maintain and increase joint movement
* Helps to prevent falls and injury
4) Do it for your family
Points 1 to 3 have been taken with permission from the booklet Choose Health: Be active. A physical activity guide for older Australians. An initiative of the Australian Government in association with Sports Medicine Australia
September 23rd 2009 01:04
Drugs have been part of our culture since the middle of the last century. Popularized in the 1960s by music and mass media, they invade all aspects of society.
An estimated 208 million people internationally consume illegal drugs. In the United States, results from the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health showed that 19.9 million Americans (or 8% of the population aged 12 or older) used illegal drugs in the month prior to the survey.
You probably know someone who has been affected by drugs, directly or indirectly.
The most commonly used—and abused—drug in the US is alcohol. Alcohol-related motor accidents are the second leading cause of teen death in the United States.
The most commonly used illegal drug is marijuana. According to the United Nations 2008 World Drug Report, about 3.9% of the world’s population between the ages of 15 and 64 abuse marijuana.
Young people today are exposed earlier than ever to drugs. Based on a survey by the Centers for Disease Control in 2007, 45% of high school students nationwide drank alcohol and 19.7% smoked pot during a one-month period.
In Europe, recent studies among 15- and 16-year-olds suggest that use of marijuana varies from under 10% to over 40%, with the highest rates reported by teens in the Czech Republic (44%), followed by Ireland (39%), the UK (38%) and France (38%). In Spain and the United Kingdom, cocaine use among 15- to 16-year-olds is 4% to 6%. Cocaine use among young people has risen in Denmark, Italy, Spain, UK, Norway and France.
WHY DO PEOPLE TAKE DRUGS?
People take drugs because they want to change something about their lives.
Here are some of the reasons young people have given for taking drugs:
* To fit in
* To escape or relax
* To relieve boredom
* To seem grown up
* To rebel
* To experiment
They think drugs are a solution. But eventually, the drugs become the problem.
Difficult as it may be to face one’s problems, the consequences of drug use are always worse than the problem one is trying to solve with them. The real answer is to get the facts and not to take drugs in the first place.
HOW DO DRUGS WORK?
Drugs are essentially poisons. The amount taken determines the effect.
A small amount acts as a stimulant (speeds you up). A greater amount acts as a sedative (slows you down). An even larger amount poisons and can kill.
This is true of any drug. Only the amount needed to achieve the effect differs.
Drugs block off all sensations, the desirable ones with the unwanted. So, while providing short-term help in the relief of pain, they also wipe out ability and alertness and muddy one’s thinking.
Medicines are drugs that are intended to speed up or slow down or change something about the way your body is working, to try to make it work better. Sometimes they are necessary. But they are still drugs: they act as stimulants or sedatives, and too much can kill you. So if you do not use medicines as they are supposed to be used, they can be as dangerous as illegal drugs.
DRUGS AFFECT THE MIND
Normally, when a person remembers something, the mind is very fast and information comes to him quickly. But drugs blur memory, causing blank spots. When a person tries to get information through this cloudy mess, he can’t do it. Drugs make a person feel slow or stupid and cause him to have failures in life. And as he has more failures and life gets harder, he wants more drugs to help him deal with the problem.
DRUGS DESTROY CREATIVITY
One lie told about drugs is that they help a person become more creative. The truth is quite different.
Someone who is sad might use drugs to get a feeling of happiness, but it does not work. Drugs can lift a person into a fake kind of cheerfulness, but when the drug wears off, he or she crashes even lower than before. And each time, the emotional plunge is lower and lower. Eventually, drugs will completely destroy all the creativity a person has.
Taken with permission from DrugFreeWorld
September 23rd 2009 00:57
Wanted to be sure that you’re buying the right game? Here’s the full list of Australia’s most popular computer games with RRP sold in June through EB Games.
PLAYSTATION 3
1. PROTYPE PS3 @ $109.95
2. INFAMOUS PS3 @ $109.95
3. UFC UNDISPUTED PS3 @ $109.95
4. COD 4 PS# @ $119.94
5. ASSASINS CRED PS# @ $49.94
6. SEGA M/D COL PS3 @ $69.93
7. OBLIVON GOTY PS3 @ $49.92
8. RED / FACT BUER PS3 @ $109.95
9. GT5 PROLOGUE PS3 @ $49.95
10. COD 5 PS3 @ $109.93
Xbox 360
1. PROTYPE 360 @$109.95
2. COD 4 360 @ $109.94
3. HALO 3 360 @$99.94
4. ASSASS /CREED 360 @ $49.94
5. FARCRY 2 360 @ $109.94
6. GEARS OF WAR 2 SPE @ $119.94
7. RED/FACT GUER 360 @ $109.95
8. R/SIX VEGAS 2 360 @ $49.94
9. UFC UNDISPUTED 360 @ $109.95
10. OBLIVON GOTY 360 @ $69.92
Nintendo Wii
1. SW LEGO COMP WII @ $49.94
2. PLAY/Z TV KIN WII @ $49.94
3. PLAY/Z WLD/SP WII @ $ 49.94
4. WII FIT @ $147.91
5. DBZ TENKAIC 3 WII @ $99.95
6. MARION & SONIC WII @ 99.94
7. MY FIT / COACH WII @ $49.92
8. EA SPORTS ACT WII @ $99.95
9. CARNIVL WII @ $69.94
10. MONOPOLY H/N WII @ $79.93
Ninendo DS
1. ANIMAL CROSS @ $69.95
2. POKEMON PLATINUM $69.95
3. CARNIVAL DS @ $49.94
4. SW LEGO COMP DS @ $40.94
5. MARION KART DS @ $69.92
6. MARUIO & SONIC DS @ $69.93
7. BRAIN TRAINING DS @ $49.91
8. COM/GIANY: DINO DS @ $59.94
9. RHYTHM HEAVEN DS @ $49.95
10. SW LEGO 2 DS @ $49.94
PC
1. THE SIMS 3 PCD @ $99.95
2. PREPAID WOW CARD @ 42.95
3. WOW WRATH/LICH PC @ $59.92
4. AGE/EMPIRES 3 PC $49.94
5. PROTOTYPE PC @ $89.95
6. COD 4 PC @ $99.94
7. WOW BATTL/C PC @ $69.93
8. CRYSIS WARHEAD PCD $49.94
9. STALKER PC @ $19.94
10. THE SIMS 2 PC DVD @ $49.94
Playstation2
1. RUGBY / L2 WRLD PS2 @ $49.91
2. LEGO BATMAN PS21 $49.94
3. GTA SAN ANDRS PS2 @ $49.94
4. TRANSFORM/MOV PS2 @ $49.94
5. SW LEGO 2 PS2 @ $49.94
6. BEN 10 PS2 @ $49.94
7. WWE VS RAW PS2 @ $49.94
8. LEGO INDIANA PS2 @ $49.94
9. G/H METAL SA PS2 @$59.95
10. SW FORCE PS2 @ $69.94
Playstation Portable
1. FIFA 2009 PSP @ $49.92
2. TRANSFORMERS PSP @ $49.94
3. GTA VICE CITY PSP @ $29.91
4. CRASH MUTANT PSP $49.94
5. GTA LIBERTY PSP @ $49.94
6. BIA D-DAY PSP @ $49.94
7. NFS UNDERCOVE PSP @ $49.94
8. NFS PRO ST. PSP @$49.94
9. MID/CLUB LA PSP @ $49.91
10. SIMS 2 CASTWY PSP @ $49.94
September 23rd 2009 00:54
Birthday and Christmas presents have become an emotionally charged symbol of our love. We build up the expectation of these yearly presentations in the child’s mind and so we run the risk of utter disappointment accompanied by our own hurt when the child looks at us with sadness, disgust or reproach. What to do?
Remember these points:
1. The best gift is one that says ” I know what you like”. You know if your child is sporty, academic, an abstract thinker, into crystals, mad about construction, loves animals, is always drawing …..etc. By giving gifts that acknowledge their interests you affirm them and share in their interest….a bonding experience.
2. The best thing to value is your child’s growing individuality, curiosity, self-confidence and skills. Look for toys that develop these attributes with integrity.
3. It is necessary for some gifts to be an antidote to popular culture and in particular to be something that is particular to your family culture. Does your family go fishing, collect crystals, play board games, or have an interest in astronomy or birds?
4. Remember that kids are very susceptible to advertising and peer group pressure and just because they want a particular toy it doesn’t mean that they will play with it once they have it. It may just be something that they feel they need. Keep these kinds of gifts a minimum.
5. You can use gifts to introduce new interests but it’s probably better to introduce a new interest in a more low-key fashion first.
6.All humans are a body-mind. Don’t forget to cater for both sides by providing active as well as passive toys.
7. Its not fair to buy presents which are “good for them” if they won’t like them. These will be resented. Give these gifts at other times but not for birthdays or Xmas. You may like to introduce gifts like this; “ here’s something I thought you might like”. This takes the pressure off both the giver and the receiver.
8. Spend a bit less on birthday and Xmas gifts and buy other small unexpected gifts through the year. These can be more educational or introducing new interests and hobbies or as rewards for special achievement. Also, if the child doesn’t like them, it won’t be such a disaster. It is also just as likely that even though the reaction was luke-warm, the exposure bears fruit later on down the track. All teachers know this secret.
9. Because of computer technology, kids often miss out on valuable mind and body integrating hands-on experiences. Just as we need slow food, we need slow toys to allow spontaneous creative thoughts. Toys that require hands-on manipulation and creative thought are more significant in terms of developing a solid sense of self in the world than fast reactions to light, colour and sound on a screen.
10. We all want products to last as long as we need them and if we can then pass them on in a usable state, so much the better for the environment. However, some toys are best thought of as experiences, and as such don’t have to be repeated e.g. building some models and performing science experiments. The memory lasts even though you have carried out the activity only once.
September 23rd 2009 00:52
Understanding redundancy and its financial implications has become more relevant than ever in today’s turbulent economic environment.
In Australia, major corporations have had to downsize as a result of the current global financial crisis. This mass scale back is having very real effects on the Australian job market. These job losses are making redundancy a more common issue in many Australian lives. Welcomed by some, but dreaded by most, redundancy generally makes for a stressful time. Making sense of it all can be tricky.
A financial adviser can be your best port of call to guide you through these strategies. The difference between no advice and good advice may be the difference in how well you manage the financial implications, such as tax consequences and changes to social welfare entitlements the redundancy process.
Where to start?
The first step is being aware of what you’re entitled to and how the payments affect your current plans and income. Ensuring you get your full entitlements can make a big difference.
Any outstanding wages, unused annual leave and long service leave should be taken into account. Then, depending on the nature of work and workplace agreement, there can also be a termination payment, some of which may be in the form of a tax-free lump sum.
Tax implications
Where things start to get complex is with the tax consequences of payments. Each component of the package is taxed differently and depends on a number of factors, so there are no hard and fast ways of discussing redundancy taxation – it all depends on the individual.
Depending on what stage in life you are at, the financial opportunities can be quite different. For example, in some cases you could direct your payment into superannuation to generate tax savings. If you are approaching preservation age or retirement you might be able to draw this out as a superannuation pension.
If you’re receiving any government benefits, such as family tax benefits or baby bonus, these could be impacted by a termination payment.
Managing debt
One common issue with lump sum payments is whether or not you should use it to reduce debt, such as a mortgage or credit card debts. There is different tax and social security implications between using redraw facilities and mortgage offset accounts and these need to be taken into consideration.
Seeking advice to help you develop solid strategies to manage debt, superannuation, insurance and tax implications of redundancy may help you get the best outcome out of your situation.
September 23rd 2009 00:44
ABOUT DADS’ CLUB
* The site is written by Aussie dads for dads without any waffle
* We are NOT a religious site
* We’re blokes who reckon dads can benefit from some tips, info and deals on stuff to do with their kids
* We’re ordinary dads who’ve pulled together a range of expertise on dads stuff
* There are no catches, nor agenda…the site speaks for itself
WHO’S INVOLVED
Dave is the founder of DadsClub.com.au and is a father of two children, Sam, 9yrs and Ella, 7yrs.
Dave spent twenty years working in corporate life in Australia and overseas before making a complete career change and doing a teaching degree in 2008. Dave now works as a part time teacher, working regularly in secondary schools around Sydney.
Dave was inspired to start Dads Club after a spending yet another weekend juggling various parenting activities and realising that there are millions of other Dads around Australia and there must be many who, like him, feel like they are just fumbling through.
With his wife Katrina, Dave juggles work and parenting responsibilities and it was through this experience that he discovered a lack of Dad specific parenting resources that offered quick practical tips and easily accessible information.
Like many men, Dave has an aversion to instruction manuals and wordy self help books so wanted to create an online environment that Dads could get fast, useful information written in a way that blokes could relate to and a forum where they could share their tips and stories.
Dave’s just a regular, ordinary Aussie dad whose pulled together a range of expert information on dads’ stuff.
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