Dare to Blog

The stereotype of the cutthroat, pushy Little League coach is all too familiar to most people. Why, some parents ask, should I subject my child to competitive team sports if that’s how it goes?

For one thing, the news. Today’s generation of children is fighting the worst obesity epidemic in history. Giving kids an excuse to exercise is reason enough to consider team sports. But calories aside, team sports have other benefits to kids—social, emotional and physical ones.

Here are some things that team sports teach that go well beyond scoring, batting, shooting and winning.

Ego Checks

Any parent knows that a child can be extremely egocentric. But that “my way or the highway” attitude will have to stay in check on a team sport. When a kid sees that everyone gets to play, they hopefully start to think about the group as a whole, and not just themselves. Even better, they learn to be happy for other player’s successes because they see how it benefits the team.

Positive Mentors

A dedicated, thoughtful and skilled coach can have an amazing impact on children. In fact, sometimes your child will respond better to an objective coach than he will to his own parent. When kids have early, positive experiences with coaches, they continue to seek out and learn from mentors who can help them with school, jobs and other interests.

The Three P's

Just as they must practice spelling, math and any other skill, kids need to learn that being part of a sports team requires the three P's … practice, patience and persistence. Whether it’s showing up to practice when you’d rather be home with Legos, waiting your turn on the sidelines, or doing the same drill over and over again, the three P's of team sports translate into important life lessons.

Another Reason for Family Time

Playing catch in the yard, heading down to the local soccer field for some drills … these types of outings with your kids can mean a great deal in our busy parenting culture. While the official reason may be practicing for the team, an even greater benefit is the time you get to spend together. Sometimes, in between dribbling and lay-ups, an important truth is revealed or an opportunity presents itself to teach a value.

Did we also mention that by practicing drills with your child and running up and down the sidelines to cheer them on, you might get into better shape, too? Score one for the family team!

By: Lucy Rector Filppu - Education.com

Geosciences continues to be a growing field. With more governments and populations looking to be
proactive for events such as earthquakes, potential volcanic eruptions as well as situations with man-made products like dam examination, geoscience institutes are looking for the advanced equipment for geophysical resistivity and IP imaging systems. There are plenty of manufacturers in the United States that focus on these types of items, but one of the best out there is Advanced Geosciences, Inc.

Their site offers the most versatile set of products for those involved in the geosciences. This includes earth imagers, resistivity meters, and induced polarization instruments from AGIUSA.com. The company's main product is the SuperSting. Complete with WiFi access, the SuperSting provides the lowest noise levels and highest accuracy in today's geosciences market. There's even a Smartphone app that can be used to remotely monitor the SuperSting.

Other products sold by AGIUSA.com include the PowerSting High Power External Transmitter, which increases resistivity and induced polarization in the SuperSting, and the Swift Multi-Electrode System, which enables automatic earth measurements. The company's underwater product, the SuperSting Marine, allows for consistent resistivity profiling (CRP) and comes with a tow cable to transport the equipment.

On the imaging side of the company, AGIUSA.com sells both a 2D and 3D version of their EarthImager product. Both available for Windows systems, EarthImager provides real-time visuals in less than one minute. The 2D and 3D versions of the product display inversion of surface and borehole resistivity while also providing IP data, terrain correction, and CRP. The EarthImager allows for printing of images and comes in a demo mode for further examination.

In addition to the products mentioned, AGIUSA.com offers a catalog of resistivity software, manual cable sets, electrodes, and spare parts for the MiniSting and Sting R1. Products cannot be purchased on line. Instead, customers need to contact the company at the phone numbers provided at the top of the website for additional information. International customers can contact AGIUSA.com's headquarters in Madrid. The company does accept MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express for purchases. More information on the company and what they offer is obtained from either a downloadable brochure or sending a query via the websites Information Request link.

So you've got a business, and now you've got yourself a website, and maybe a social media profile or two. And you know you want to sell your products online. But the only question is, where to start? Well, if you want to successfully move merchandise in the online world like you do in the offline world, then you'll need to do more than hawk your wares and hope for the best with one-to-one sales. You're going to want to do an overhaul on your website that includes a clean and crisp layout, integration with social networks, and the presence of virtual shopping cart software to handle transactions.

Any site that sells goods has a shopping cart, and it's the shopping cart software that is the heart of an e-commerce website. This software enables customers to browse your website, select products to purchase, and then successfully complete a checkout. And on the administrative side, shopping cart software makes it easy and mostly automated for orders to be processed - from the checking of inventory to the shipping of goods to the updating of your inventory after the goods have left the warehouse. Many of these software packages run things so "automagically", as many webmasters put it, that there is very little you need to do on your end, other then completing the initial setup and adding new products as needed.

But how do you know which type of shopping cart software to go with? Well, this online cart selection has a lot to offer. Like many shopping cart solutions, there are multiple packages, with each higher-tiered packaging offering a bit more in the way of features. And 24/7 support is offered on all packages. Generally you will want a shopping cart script that can automate as much as possible, integrate with your website, and generate logs and error reports as needed. But in the end, be sure to take the time to sample various shopping cart scripts before spending the time, effort, and money to buy and set one up. Check on demos and trials before you finalize your choice.