3 Kids and Us

Some of the Things You Need to Keep Your Dog Healthy and Fit

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If you have a dog, you will want only the best for them. This can get out of hand sometimes, with thousands of dog accessories available on the market. These accessories range from the fun (toys) to the practical (beds), and from the important (feeding bowls) to the unimportant (summer sweaters for long haired breeds). The dog is yours, and you will know just how much you want to invest in their accessories, and whether it matters to you to make your dog even more beautiful than their natural beauty allows. Unfortunately, if you are not entirely sure about what accessories your dog needs, you are likely to find yourself overwhelmed with the array of choices that are out there. So what matters?

What Matters with Dog Accessories?

The most important thing with a dog accessory is that it improves the health and happiness of your dog. With certain things, this is clear. For instance, you need a water bowl so that your dog can drink properly. With other things, it is not as clear. For example, a Yorkshire Terrier with long hair does not desperately need a sweater during the summer. However, if this makes them look cuter, which means they get more attention, then it does in effect serve their overall happiness. At the same time, wearing a sweater that is made of too thick of a material could make them too hot.

So what are some of the things you may need?

  1. Dog beds – This is a truly essential accessory, because it is vital that your dog is comfortable. You wouldn’t sleep on a cold, hard floor, and nor should they. Even if you allow your dog to sleep in bed with you, you still need a dog bed as well. Dogs sleep a lot more than humans, and they have to have a comfortable, cozy spot to be in.
  2. A collar and lead – Another essential accessory that will allow you to take your four legged friend on walks. Dogs require far more exercise than a house with a standard garden can give them, and they must be taken out for walks. Not just that, however, they absolutely love it! Do, as much as possible, try to let your dog walk off the lead. This means they will get a whole lot more exercise and stay really health. Hence, try to choose a lead that is easy to snap on and off, and work on your recall.
  3. Food and water bowls. Dogs love nothing more than eating, and they need to drink even more than what us humans do. Make sure you monitor their diet, while always having water available to them at the same time.
  4. Toys are an absolute necessity, because dogs love to play. Do be careful, however, that you don’t overdo it with the toys. They will become far too stimulated and excited. Don’t overdo it, in other words, but just have a few select toys to encourage different types of play (tugging, pulling, shaking, chewing, retrieving).

Going to School to Learn how to Make Beautiful Sound Tracks

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The world of music is huge. We often think about the performance side of music, and not about everything that goes on behind the scenes. But it is particularly behind the scenes that things are really interesting. And the added benefit is that this is where the real security is as well. Performing means getting discovered, and stars can fall as quickly as what they can rise. But if you work behind the scenes, there will always be a need for you. It is not surprise, therefore, that the audio engineering degree is now so popular.

Jobs for an Audio Engineer

If you do complete your degree in audio engineering, then there are lots of job opportunities available to you. This is also because the world of music itself is so vast. You could decide to focus on a particular element of music (production, performance, marketing, talent scouting, and so on), a particular element of sound (live music, television, recording studios, radios, and so on), or even on a particular genre of music (hip hop, rock, classical, and so on). You could even decide to go into teaching!

An audio engineering is not an individualist, however. Rather, you will have to be ready to work with a huge team of other people, something that takes very particular skills. Performing artists, for instance, have been known to develop diva attitudes, which you will have to be able to deal with. Meanwhile, their manager will have a certain sound in mind and shout at you for not producing that exact sound, suggesting that you twiddle different buttons that they know nothing of. Then, there are the groupies who believe everything is absolutely perfect so long as the star agrees. The venue manager who will complain to you about having the bass to loud, the television producers deciding that the sound should echo differently, and so on. Music is an art, and everybody involved, no matter at what stage, will have an artistic mind. And artistic minds can be quite difficult to get along with, something that you will have to learn. Remember that, if you think they are awkward, they will probably think the same about you!

So is it worth it? As a starting salary, you can expect to earn around $45,000, but this can easily build up to a six figure income, as you build a name for yourself. Plus, you can really grow in your career, even ending up as a go to source, perhaps through your own business. Some audio engineers hold copyrights over the work they have done, which in turn means you can earn royalties.

It all depends on which course you complete and where. If you go to a one year vocational college and complete a diploma, you will obviously end up in an entry level position that earns less than that what would be given to someone who has completed a four year bachelor’s degree. Think about where you want to study, therefore.

Great Resources For Online Learning

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If you want to learn something new but don’t have the time to go back to school or college then fear not because the internet has got you covered. The world Wide Web is absolutely jam packed with educational information, forums to discuss what you are learning with fellow students and plenty of media for you to use so that you can gain full education on the internet.

Learning without a formulated curriculum or class structure can be difficult but if you really want to learn about something new or teach yourself a new skill you will need to be very disciplined and make your own schedule to stick to. If you want to educate yourself using the internet then here are some great resources for you to do exactly that.

YouTube

Youtube is absolutely full of educational resources, documentaries, informative videos and even full scale classes which are given by qualified teachers. You will need to resist the temptation to watch videos watch have nothing to do with what you are doing but if you can manage to avoid temptation then you could utilize the brilliant video platform to educate yourself on huge range of subjects. If you are looking to pick up a new skill such as playing a musical instrument or learning a new craft then you can also watch some of the fantastic, step-by-step ‘how to’ guides as there are many on there.

Wikipedia

Be careful with Wikipedia, it does have some absolutely brilliant information but you should always ensure that you have crossed checked the fact which you have learned. Wikipedia used to be able to be edited by anyone and naturally this resulted in a lot of false information being put on the site. The website has changed quite a bit in recent years and now the only people who are allowed to edit the pages are the administrators, with that being said there is still a lot of false information which has not yet been cleaned up.

The Great Courses

Thomas Rollins teaching exert, professor and educational mastermind conceived his idea for the Great Courses after viewing a 10 hour study tape at Harvard University, his plan was to create a compendium of study across a range of courses and that is exactly what he has done with the Great Courses. The Great Courses can be accessed online for a small fee and it features study courses and guides on over 600 different subjects, the courses were put together by over 300 university level professors and it is arguably one of the greatest resources for anyone who is looking to educate themselves to college level.

A great rule of thumb when looking for websites where you can find study resources is to look for the .edu part of the web address, only certified educational institutions can use this in their web address and therefore this site is more than likely going to have legit information on it.

How to Improve Your Guitar Playing Skills

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Guitars, along with violins and recorders are one of the most common musical instruments which are left in closets for years as the result of a failed hobby. Equally however the guitar is one of the most popular instruments that people would like to learn and if you fall into this category then it is time to get that axe out of the closet and start playing. I was chatting to guitar teacher and touring musician Tom Hess recently who gave me some tips on how to improve my guitar playing ability and now I play just like Hendrix, ok, not strictly true, but I have improved a lot and here is how you can too.

Practice, Practice, Practice

I watched an interview with Slash who says that he has a fear that if he doesn’t practice the guitar each day, he will lose the ability to play. That is quite a statement coming from someone who you would never think would need to practice daily and if he needs to practice each day, then you certainly need to as well. Set an hour or two aside each day to hone your skills, you cannot expect to not play for weeks on end and then pick it up and play a tune. You simply must put the practice hours in.

Use Tablature

There are so many free tabs online which you can find to play your favorite song, rhythm or blues lick and you should be utilizing these websites if you want to enhance your playing ability. Most of us cannot read music and learning to do so can be tough, tablature on the other hand is very simple to learn and understand and you could be playing your favorite song in no time.

YouTube

There is absolutely nothing wrong with using lessons and tutorials online in order to help improve your guitar playing ability. YouTube in particular is one such channel where you can see step by step guides for different songs, playing styles and tips and tricks on how to be a better guitarist. There is no honor in being ‘self-taught’ is it to be respected for sure but the goal here is to be a good guitar player and as such, you should use all of the help that is available to you.

Play Gigs

It is all well and good sitting in your room plucking away but if you really want to test yourself and your guitar playing abilities then you need to play in front of people. It doesn’t matter if this is friends and family or a bar full of people, playing in front of a crowd induces a little bit of fear and you can use this to improve how you play. You may find that you learn more about how good a guitarist you really are when you are playing in front of a live audience.

Breaking Down Barriers of Cosmetic Treatment

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Source

Last week I was in my local beauty clinic Sono Bello receiving some laser liposuction, a great and non-invasive treatment which burned away some of the fatty areas of my body which I have been unable to shift in the gym. Incidentally I should probably give clinic a shout out because I think they are fantastic, check out the Sono Bello reviews if you don’t believe me. Anyway, I digress.

So, as I was sat in the waiting room I was chatting to some of the other girls who were there for treatments about just how fantastic the world of cosmetic surgery is and why more people should get involved, whilst it is gaining in popularity, there are still many who turn their nose up at the idea of receiving cosmetic treatment. For this reason I wanted to talk a little about why I think their opinion should change.

Better Practices

With the exception of the horror story that came out a few years ago about the French-designed breast implants which were bursting under the skin, cosmetic surgery practices are now of an extremely high standard. Cosmetic surgeons must go through exactly the same qualification process as a doctor and they are now using some of the most cutting edge equipment to perform procedures. Aside from this there is a comprehensive pre and post surgery care plan which ensures that the patient is comfortable, confident and in good health.

Improved Pricing

In the past it would only be the rich and famous who could afford to elect for cosmetic surgery but those days have long gone. Because of the popular nature of plastic surgery, coupled with the sheer amount of clinics out there, the cost of treatments seem to be coming down more each year. For example, breast augmentation used to run up a cost of around $18,000 back in the 90s, now you can have your boobs boosted for as little as $2,500. This price makes it far more accessible to many more people.

Helping Mental Health Problems

Feeling better about your body can alleviate many mental conditions, boost confidence and change people’s lives and receiving some cosmetic treatment will enable them to do exactly that. Whilst there are still some charlatan surgeons out there, who incidentally are being driven out of town by authorities, most clinics will sit down and discuss with you at great length your reasons for having surgery. In some cases, clinics may even refer you to a counsellor if they feel as though you have body issues which cannot be solved with surgery. This is not to say that they would perform the surgery, they are a business after all but they will ensure that you’ve had every opportunity to consider your options and make an informed decision.

So here you have it, if you have a part of your body that you’d like to tweak or alter then don’t be scared, get down to your local clinic, have a conversation and change your life for the better.

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!