All physical media gets damaged with time, and DVDs are no exception. If you want to be able to re-watch your prized movie discs five or ten years from now, it would be prudent to make a backup copy or two. There are several ways to do this - by copying the DVD, or saving it’s contents to your hard drive. In this post I’ll discuss the second possibility - backing up your DVDs to the hard disk.

The simplest (and least likely to work) technique to back up a video disc is to just copy the files normally - right click the drive and select “Explore” to avoid the autoplay window popping up, then copy any folders you find to a suitable location on your hard drive. This usually works fine with personal DVDs like the recording of you marriage or some such, but not with factory-made DVDs.

Another way to back up a disc is to create a “disc image”. A disc image is a single file that contains all the data of a disc. The most widespread disc image format is ISO, though some applications may also store it as a .uif file or other proprietary file types. To create a disc image you could use, for example, ISOBuster or MagicISO. To access the DVD’s contents later, you will need to burn the image file to a blank DVD or use a virtual drive to mount it.

Finally, there is another way to back up a disc - DVD ripping. Basically, you run an application like “Any DVD Converter” and it creates video file(s) from your disc(s). This way you can handily view the video anytime you want, but you also lose the menus and you won’t be able to burn an exact copy of the disc if the original gets damaged or is lost. Anyway, I won’t discuss this in detail here - this is a nuanced topic that would take a post of it’s own to describe.

Well, there you have it - 3 simple ways to back up your discs to the hard disk. Hopefully you’ve found this post useful.

Branson News

One of the most important choices a bride and groom will make is a photographer for their wedding.

There are so many important choices to make like the dress, decor, food, music, location, etc. Many couples feel the choice of a photographer is one of the most important since your pictures are often one of the most lasting and cherished memories from the most important day of your life.

We’ve all heard dissapointing stories about photographers doing a less than perfect job, or not producing anything at all. By taking the time to do some research you can be assured of choosing someone who will not only provide outstanding photographs, but who can make you feel great and remove at least one worry from an event filled with stresses.

You may know someone who has gotten married in recent years . Why not ask them who shot their wedding and look at their wedding pictures to see how the photographer did. You’ll likely discover good references this way, so contact the photographers who did a great job for your friends.

It also pays to do some research yourself. Do an internet search for local wedding photographers - here in the capital city of Alberta Canada, you would search for Edmonton Wedding Photographers. You can also do a search for something like Edmonton photography. Either way, you’ll get hundreds of results, so look at those shown on the first few pages. When you visit the different websites, you’ll get a feel for each photographer’s style. Contact as many as you like. How they answer is a good indication of how professional they are. Are the replies professional and clearly written? Have they provided any other examples or references?

Next, make appointments with those who create the sytle of photography you want and who are in your budget. When you meet with the photographer, they’ll show you sample pictures and albums. How they treat you during this interview (when they are trying to sell you on their services) is a good example of what you can expect if you hire them. Are they friendly, or are they condescending? Do they seem warm, or are you uncomfortable working with them?

They should have an agreement for you to sign. Take your time to read it, as it outlines what is expected of you and them. The agreement is also for your protection, too. While it commits you to pay them, it also commits them to provide the services you have discussed.

Here are a few other thoughts that will help your photographer get the best shots for you:

1. Make a list of the most important shots you want and provide it to the photographer before the wedding.

2. Make sure you know WHO is going to photograph your wedding. If the main photographer isn’t going to be the actual photographer at your wedding, find out who will - and ask to see their personal portfolio before you commit to hiring them.

3. Assign a family member or close friend to be the photographer’s liason who can point out all the important family members who you want to be sure to get pictures of.

4. Ask the photographer to attend the rehearsal so they will know where they can get the best shots without getting in the way.

5. Pre-plan where the formal and informal photographs will be taken.

6. Find out if the photographer provides finished prints, albums, thank-you cards and similar services after the wedding. A professional photographer can provide these additional services that will enhance your wedding day memories and many photographers have excellent resources for these items that are of higher quality than the public can get.

By following these suggestions you won’t have to worry about your photographer. Just enjoy your wedding day knowing you’ll have many wonderful photographs to enjoy for the rest of your life.

The author is a professional photographer who specializes in wedding and portrait photography in Edmonton, Alberta.

All of the hundreds and thousands of small work from home businesses that are out there are always looking for ways to increase their sales and hence their revenues and one of the best ways found to do this is to operate a dropship home based businesses model. In many cases the small work from home business operates with a customer base that is within a relatively small radius of their focus of operation. What wholesale dropshipping does is to open up the market place in terms of seeing the whole world as a customer. Doing this really can help any business operation make great expansion.

The idea of wholesale dropshipping has been around for many many years of course but it is only recent years that we have seen people in the smaller businesses using this facility to really drive their business forwards. Part of the reason for this is down to the role and use of technology on a widespread basis, it means that people can information on wholesale tin containers, drophsip magazines and everything else that they may need in order to launch their business forward on an international basis.

The problem that many used to face was that of finding the best drop ship companies to use but now with the use of the internet, we can see that this issue is really something of the past in most cases, reason being is that most dropshipping companies are using the internet as a means of getting their message out there to the world.

Pins are a hot collectible that offer an added advantage over other collections - they are small and do not take up much room. Pins are available in many motifs and themes. Some of the most collectible themes are Disney characters, sports teams, and Hard Rock Cafe. The first rule of pin collecting is to specialize. If you like the San Diego Padres baseball team, for instance, you can start pin collecting with souvenir pins that celebrate this team. Or try pins of professional golfers or amateur golfers. And just because these themes are popular doesn’t mean you have to collect them. Be original and collect what you like.

Many pins are centered around modern entertainments, but many pin collecting enthusiasts collect campaign pins from election campaigns. Buttons are a similar item and are collected by many of the same people who do pin collecting. Pins created to advertise businesses and services are also very collectible.

To display pins you have several options. When you wear a jacket with lapels, you can wear a few of your favorite small pins. The same goes for wearing a cowboy hat or a vest. Many pin collectors wear a few on the front of a cowboy hat. Tote bags, purses, and fanny packs are another place where some pins can be displayed.

Of course, as you get into pin collecting, you will soon find that you have too many to wear the entire collection at one time. A bulletin board, perhaps covered with a plain piece of fabric, like dark blue velvet, makes a nice backdrop for a pin collection. The pins can either be pinned into the cork of the bulletin board through the velvet or attached to the velvet first.

Another way to display and store pins is in a notebook. This method works well if you wish to take some of your pins to an event where you can do some trading with other pin collectors. To make the notebook, purchase sheets of hard felt or craft foam. Either punch holes in the side so they fit into a looseleaf binder, or slip the pages into page protectors after attaching the pins to the pages. The type of looseleaf binder that zips closed is the best to use for pin collecting.

Sometimes pins get scratched, especially if they are stored in a notebook arrangement such that they hit each other. The scratches can be smoothed over with a tiny bit of liquid car wax (Check your allergy test first). Future scratching can be avoided by using page protectors in notebook collections.

Pin collecting is a very popular hobby, at lease as popular as bass fishing tips. You can find groups of likeminded people with which to trade pins, making pin collecting a hobby that helps people make friends.

The usual indication of pregnancy that women look for, the missed or late period, may vary from woman to woman. Within the first week of being impregnated, some women will notice early pregnancy symptoms. In some women, the early symptoms of pregnancy will not be apparent until weeks later or not at all.  Always contact your doctor when having any early signs of pregnancy or tubal pregnancy symptoms.

After conception, in about 6-12 days the embryo imbeds itself into the uterine wall. This process will cause a few women to have some cramping and a little spotting. A test for pregnancy is necessary for the women who experiences an unusual period or one that is missed. After a women becomes pregnant she will be missing her next normal period. Some women will have a very light period even though they are pregnant but it will last a much shorter time than she would normally have a period.

The breasts of the women who has just become pregnant will tend to be very tender to the touch and enlarged. The areolas may get darker in some women.   Most women will feel low energy in the first few days after becoming pregnant. Call your physician or nurse practitioner when you exhibit any pregnancy questions.

Morning sickness is probably one of the most common symptoms and may continue during the whole pregnancy. Some women never have this symptom but it normally lasts anywhere between two to eight weeks. Yet another early sign is pain in the lower back area that will probably continue as a dull ache. Hormonal changes may cause headaches in the early stages.

  Having to make several trips to the bathroom to urinate is yet another sign of early pregnancy that will begin about six weeks into the pregnancy. Cravings for certain foods will begin and signal that the woman is pregnant. They may not be the desire to eat ice cream and pickles but still certain foods become a craving throughout most of the pregnancy in most women. The bottom line is if you think you may be pregnant there are many choices for home pregnancy tests and a visit to your health care professional is then your first step for the safety of yourself and your baby..

This is not medical advise always call your doctor.

At Bassaholics, you can find the hottest new fishing apparel on the market today! These aren’t your dads fishing t shirts. You know, the ones with a bass jumping out of water after a lure at sunset. These are the freshest bass fishing t shirts available! Stylish fishing t shirts are their specialty, but they also carry hats, hoodies, shorts, jerseys and beanies. With unique designs worn by top bass fisherman, including Joe Everett, this is the place to find the most fashionable fishing clothing available anywhere!

Visit Bassaholics and sign up for their newsletter to get the most up to date info on the newest Bassaholics fishing clothing and happenings. You can also find a list of authorized dealers that carry Bassaholics fishing apparel if you want to shop at a store. If you own a fishing shop and are looking to carry the newest fishing apparel available, you can easily become a Bassaholics fishing clothing authorized dealer! Everyone can also sign up to become a member and gain access to special portions of the site like the photo gallery!

So if you’re looking for t shirts and other fishing clothing that is geared towards bass fishing, then Bassaholics is the place! Hey, I almost forgot, Bassaholics also has something for all the ladies out there! So check out the site for chic womens fishing clothing as well! Fishing apparel is their specialty, so if you want to look slick and show off your love for bass fishing simultaneously, but don’t want to settle for lame run-of-the-mill fishing t shirts, then Bassaholics.com is the place to shop!

Here’s a few tips for making your home more secure.

1) Lighting is your best and cheapest defence against burglaries. If a burglar can be seen it’s much more risky for them to target your house. Neighbours and passerbys could potentially see them and notify the police. Use an energy efficient compact fluorescent bulb in your front and rear porch light and leave them on all nite. You can automate this by connecting them to a timer or photocell.

2) Make sure your house is not hidden from view. At least make sure that your front door can be seen from the street. Clear away overgrown shrubbery from the front of your house. Don’t give potential burglars anything that they can use to conceal their activities.

3) Install motion sensors to light up the dark areas of your property. There’s nothing more startling to someone approaching your home to be suddenly bathed in light. Motion sensors are very cheap and can be installed easily in existing or new light outlets. They can be set to stay on for a set period of time when triggered by motion.

4) When you go on vacation, connect some lamps in your home to plugin timers. Some timers allow you to set multiple on/off events every 24 hours. Do this with 2 or 3 lamps to give the impression that someone is home in the evenings. This is especially important if someone is watching your house to determine if anybody is home. Ask your neighbour to pickup mail and newspapers every day. There’s nothing like a pile of newspapers on your front porch to tip off a burglar that you’re away.

5) Install dead bolt locks on all your doors. This is a fairly inexpensive way to secure your home. Deadbolts cannot be picked as easily as regular door locks. This is something the average homeowner can install with a minimum of tools.

Your best defence is to make sure that it appears that someone is always home, even when you’re not. For even more security consider installing a burglar alarm in your home.

Controlling the plant life in a pond, or any body of water is very important. Why you say? Well, since for some reason or another, you’ve decided that you do not desire it to be there. No matter if these plants have generated a sort of hindrance for swimmers, or have have clogged up the engine on a favorite boat, you wish them to be gone, and there are many methods of doing this.

Naturally you could utilize chemicals, plastic lining, freezing, manually pulling, or perhaps even dye, but those are fairly inconvenient, and there is no guarantee that the pond, or even the fish, will ever be anywhere near what it was following such an effort. Therefore it is time to have a look at alternative means—techniques which won’t damage you OR the pond.

In 1963, a brand new fish was introduced in to the United States ecological, and that fish was known as the Grass Carp. This fish was deliberately integrated into the ecosystem for one purpose of eliminating  aquatic plants, and so far it has done a great job. In the United States, A Grass Carp is often called the White Amur, presumably because the word Carp has negative meanings here in the U.S., and the word “Amur” refers to the river that this fish originates from, the river that runs the border between China and Russia.

The Grass Carp, is what’s known as an invasive species, indicating that it will reproduce and take over any ecosystem that it’s placed into (similar to humans), however science has come a long way, and while it required some time, as well as lots of gene manipulation, sterilizing a Grass Carp finally became standard procedure everywhere in the world so that it’s integration doesn’t harm or eradicate the ecosystem.

Another thing to take into account, is the fact that the Grass Carp doesn’t consume every kind of grass, naturally it enjoys plant life, and will eat the vast majority of it, however just like with human being, there’s items that it enjoys over others. A few of the things that the Grass Carp does like, are:

Coontail
Spikerush
Smartweed
Bladderwort
Bulrush
Water hyssop
Eelgrass

There are several additional grasses, and a quick trip to a library, an Internet query, or a consultation with an expert will immediately reveal the things a grass carp will consume.

When purchased in large amounts, Grass Carp is pretty cheap, at about $10-20 for each fish, and that is very reasonable considering how long it will last; surviving for around ten to eleven years.

In certain states, you will need to acquire a license prior to putting Grass Carp into any body of water, whether it is owned by you. To find out if this is required, speak with the game warden near you, or just examine the regulations of your state, since this information is freely accessible to any person that needs it.

Clearly, Grass Carp are a great alternative to utilizing chemical compounds, or even lining your pond with a plastic cover, because not only are they great for getting rid of unwanted plants, you should additionally remember that this is a symbiotic relationship, you provide something they desire, and in return they give a service to you, preventing you from having to do it on your own. Overall, this is a great trade.

Kitchen cutlery can have different meanings for different people.  Many believe it encompasses all kitchen utensils while others confine its definition to the knives that are used in food preparation.  Since the word cutlery does connote actual cutting, the second definition appears to fit better. So for our purposes, kitchen cutlery will pertain to the combination of knives a person has assembled for the function of cutting food when cooking.

A popular choice is a group of knives combined with a wooden storage block that is sold as a unit. The set typically includes 5 or 6 knives of various shapes and sizes used for different tasks in preparing a meal. Sometimes the set will include many more items than this.  You may see a slot for a large kitchen shears, a hone, and often a set of steak knives in the wooden block as well.  These larger sets appear to substitute quantity for quality of craftsmanship and ultimately may not be money well spent.

Some cooks consider high quality kitchen cutlery to be an essential tool for working in the kitchen. The cutlery will be used every day and greatly impact the cooking experience. Generally the higher quality the tool, the more enjoyable the cooking experience.

Imagine yourself struggling to slice a tomato with a dull knife. And bread. Have you ever attempted to cut a loaf of bread with a dull blade?  You end up with a flattened mess that can’t hold a sandwich together.  Top quality kitchen cutlery ensures that the knives will maintain their sharpness for longer stretches and be amenable to resharpening.  This cannot be trusted with the lower quality options.

Kitchen cutlery is actually a complex topic and there is much more that could be said.  Let this do for today, but keep in mind that a set of high quality cutlery can last a lifetime and positively impact your pleasure in cooking.

It is hard to determine which is the best upright vacuum as there are numerous choices today. One thing to really ponder is the weight of the machine as you will be carrying it all over your house each time you clean. The absolute last thing you want to do is buy a vacuum that is too cumbersome for you to use.

One of the best upright vacuum cleaners is Dyson. Their distinct design enables them to not clog during normal operation, which is a huge problem on your typical large sized vacuum. Their lineup features vacuums to cover a wide range of uses from many kinds of floors to heavy duty rugs. And they even have a machine that they call The Ball which can pretty much turn on a dime. This is helpful when you have many items in your home to clean around.

One crucial feature going for Dyson upright vacuum cleaners is their light weight. For example, their DC24 upright weighs in at a minute 5.4 kgs with a small footprint. But don’t feel that it can’t handle your vacuuming requirements. It can get your whole house clean in little time.

When comparing today’s vacuum cleaners, it is evident that they are far more technologically advanced than machines of just a couple years ago. You get a machine that is not only light enough for anybody to clean with, but also one that removes dirt as well as allergens from the air you breathe. It’s critical to not only remove the debris you can see but also to get rid of the things you cannot, and this is accomplished with a quality HEPA filter system. Dyson just happens to be an industry leader in that regard as well.