Noco Genius Black 1248v: December 2013

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Why Cook With Cast Iron Cookware?

I'm a recent fan of cooking with cast iron cookware. My interest started with my frustration with Teflon coated pans and their tendency to lose their nonstick coating over time. I really dislike replacing my pans. And of course some people express concerns about the safety of ingesting tiny particles of Teflon, although there's so far no definite evidence of health hazards.While talking with my mother I learned that she was looking at cast iron cookware as an alternative. When properly seasoned it is fairly nonstick, and it can last for generations.I guess my husband paid attention to my complaints about my nonstick pans. He got me a cast iron pan the following Christmas. I was and still am delighted. I now also have my grandmother's old cast iron pan. It's a true delight.Cast iron cookware can actually make your cooking a bit healthier. It adds a bit of iron to your food. How much depends on the age of the pan and what you're cooking, but the tests have been done, and they are quite clear. It's really nice knowing that something good for you is being added just through your choice of pan.Cast iron heats very evenly. It may take a touch longer, but it's really not that much of a wait for it to heat up. You can even use it in the oven, which most other pans are not supposed to do.It's very affordable. When I price cast iron in comparison to stainless steel pans, the iron ones often come out cheaper.It's more nonstick than stainless steel or aluminum pans. Food can still stick, but in my experience it really doesn't do so all that badly. And if you want a quick way to remove it, I've read that filling the pan with water and then heating it to boiling makes it easier to get the food off.One thing you will always have to do with cast iron is make sure that you dry it completely, or you do risk it rusting. The easiest way to do this is to place it on the stove and turn on the burner until the pan is completely dry. Give it a light coating of vegetable oil, and you're in good shape.This bit of extra care is very much so worth it to me. I have pans that I will probably never need to replace, and can be handed down after I am gone. No health worries due to what the pan is made of. All in all I find it to be a very good deal.

Stephanie Foster is a big fan of cast iron cookware. She started http://www.buycastironcookware.com/ as a place where people can find cast iron cookware

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Sunday, December 8, 2013

What Has the Impact of Computer Recording Software Been on Modern Music?

How has modern music been impacted by Computer Recording Software? And what are the pros and cons of computer recording software? Before we go into that I would like to tell you a story from my own experience to qualify my opinion.I've had the rather fortunate position of being born into a musical family. My father was a well-known guitarist and session musician and he later went on to become a very successful music producer.I grew up with musicians and artists in my Dad's home and from a very early age I knew that I wanted to become a musician. Even though my Dad was a guitarist, I had this attraction to the piano.When I was five years old I started to play and compose on the piano and at about eight or nine I started singing in sessions in the recording studio for my Dad's sessions. In those days recording studios were full of electronic and analogue equipment. The mixing desk was the size of a motor car and the magnetic multitrack tape machine was like an amusement park ride spinning around and around. You can imagine what impact this made on me as a small child. I was absolutely fascinated with the technology. The buttons the sliders and the lights just seemed so complicated but yet so mysterious.So I started to hang around in the studio every waking hour, all the school holidays, every week-end and every opportunity. My Dad who was always the producer and the sound engineers had to answer all my questions day in and out. I was inquisitive but it was driven by this raw passion, this quest to understand and conquer this obsession I had with music and music technology.When the 90s came, samplers and computers started to enter the recording studio. usually hidden somewhere in the corner on a make shift table. They played a small part initially.Computers were my second love. I studied computer programming and visual basic at primary school. This is where my Dad started to need me more and more. As Computers slowly took over all the functionality of the typical recording studio and as we started to see the power and benefits they offered, so we invested heavily into them.I composed and produced my first track for an infomercial when I was 13 or 14 years old. I started to take a lead role in my Dad's studio and he would buy what ever gear I told him to buy. Soon we had an impressive digital setup and soon I started to take over composing or producing tracks. Against all conventional wisdom I dropped out of school at 16 and went full-time into music to pursue my dream. By the time I was 18 I was working 16 hours a day and producing 100 commissioned tracks a year under my Dad's business. I was working hard but learning fast.My advantage was I had the decades of collective knowledge from the older sound engineers and my Dad around me but I had the modern tools at my disposal...and we worked from home. This was long before it was fashionable like it is today.At 21 I was married with a child and I needed to make more money to survive so I left my Dad and went on to start my own music production company. This was very difficult because I didn't have my Dad's support and financial help anymore. This was make or break for me and thank God, I have gone on to become a very successful music producer, record label owner and multi-millionaire since then.Pros of Computer Recording SoftwareThe biggest advantage I have found with computer recording software is the fact that the barrier to entry has been substantially lowered due to the increasing proliferation of computer recording software products in the market place. This has made it possible for young people to enter the recording industry with almost nothing but a computer and some software. This means the playing field has almost been leveled.Cons of Computer Recording SoftwareWhat I have noticed in my experience working with young and upcoming music producers is they tend to lack the basics when it comes to sound engineering. Mainly because it's just too easy to get a PC and start composing music in your bedroom. They also lack that apprenticeship foundation that sound engineers and music producers used to get when working with older professionals. College is not enough to learn the ins and outs of the industry or the intricacies of music production. There are also a lot of secret techniques that are getting lost because young music producers are working from home without that previous foundation of knowledge built through the decades. I get asked the same questions day in and day out e.g. "How do I get my vocals to sound fat?"Opportunity for Computer Recording SoftwareThe biggest opportunity I can see going forward is for the music producers that have a solid hold of the passed down tricks and techniques from the collective knowledge of the great producers of old and an excellent hold on sound engineering principles like recording, mixing and mastering will have the advantage to become advanced music producers.I have personally trained countless young and upcoming composers and music producers through my own apprenticeship program personally and now more recently with my online course. This is why I have set up a blog where I share my 20 years of experience and knowledge.

If you would like to learn more about computer recording software and advanced music production techniques please visit my site and get a FREE ebook Music Production 101. Computer Re

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Monday, December 2, 2013

Can You Afford High Quality Diamond Pendant Jewelry - 3 Things to Get the Perfect Affordable Jewelry

Okay, so you've got this special occasion coming up such as a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas and you want to get the special lady in your life a gift she will absolutely love. What are you going to get her? Your thought to buy Diamond Pendant Jewelry is always an excellent idea.So you go to the store looking for the ideal necklace. The sales clerk walks you over to the jewelry case and shows you the selection. All of the designs look like great options but the prices range from $99 to over $900.Question...which one are you going to choose? Which one is going to be the perfect choice based on design, quality, and price? Do you know what the characteristics are of high quality diamonds? How about the precious metal casing the diamonds are housed in? If it comes with a necklace, what makes for the most desirable chain?These are valid questions. And obviously the answers to those questions not only impact the price you pay for the diamond pendant jewelry but they also play a huge role in the jewelry you choose.So to help you find the perfect piece of jewelry for your special girl AND your pocket book, here are 3 things you can look for in finding high quality diamond pendant jewelry.

Determine diamond quality -- first you need to know about the 4 Cs of diamonds. They are cut, color, clarity, and carat weight. The great thing is that you don't have to be a gemologist to know what to the quality of a diamond is in a piece of diamond pendant jewelry. Simply look for the descriptions of each of the Cs. For example, you want a "good" cut stone. The color is best when graded as D-F and diminishes in quality from there. A best quality clarity grade is F. That level decreases with an IF, VVS1, VVS2, and so on. For diamond pendant jewelry, a grade of I1, I2, and I3 still works well since flaws are not easily seen. And carat weight is based on your preference for diamond size. Understanding that one carat is a pretty good sized rock, .20 carats and above are notable sizes as well.

Precious metal encasing the gemstones -- themost common precious metals are gold, silver, and platinum. All three in their purest state are soft metals for practical use and are mixed with other metals to add strength and allow for easier shaping for jewelry design. The grades of these metals are based on their part of the whole metal content using a 1,000 point scale. For gold, 24k equals 100%. From there 18k equals 75%, 14k equals 58%, and so on. Pure platinum is 950 parts per 1,000. The grade reduces as the parts decrease. And pure silver requires a minimum of 925 parts per thousand of the jewelry content. As I'm sure you know, the price of the metal will decrease as the grade decreases. Of the three metals, platinum is naturally the most expensive.

Necklace quality features -- for the necklace you simply want to make sure that the design or cut of the chain is complimentary to the diamond pendant. Make sure the metal type and grade of the chain is the same as the metal type and grade of the pendant. The length of the chain should be considered for display of the pendant as well. And the clasp on the chain is important too with the lobster claw being a fan favorite.
With these three thoughts in mind, you are sure to choose the perfect diamond pendant jewelry for the woman you love. And you can make the decision knowing you got the best quality for the money you spent.

Here is an option for diamond pendant jewelry that many women have found to be elegant, classy, and very affordable. Plus, its design and quality represents today's fashion taste. View for yourself this Diamond Floating Heart Pendant and see if it's not the perfect choice for your special lady. More information about this beautiful necklace is available at http://www.squidoo.com/diamondfloat

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