Here’s a fun clip of photos and video made by Alex, a recent guest who hails from New York City. Many thanks Alex for sharing!

Paypal still works fine for most people. I’ll continue to seek out efficient and competitive payment services for our sailing trips. Thanks for everyone’s understanding and sorry for any inconvenience because of this development.

Meet Adrian. He's cool, but don't test him.

I have been looking far and wide for a captain to take on some trips so I can add a few more trip days to the schedule each month. And dare I say, to get some much needed TIME OFF! Looks like the search is over, and the candidate was right in my own backyard the whole time!

Meet Adrian Pataki! He’s originally from Hungary, and has been sailing his own boats for almost a decade. He is currently outfitting his current boat, “Attila”, a Hans Christian 34, for an exciting non-stop expedition to Antarctica later this year. Adrian and I have been friends for a few years now, and I know him to be a competent sailor, a sharp captain and very personable guy. He’s sailed San Blas extensively over the last three years. He’s full of sea stories, some that even dwarf my own. He makes an interesting if not colorful addition to Andiamo’s motley crew.

So let’s give him a warm welcome!

You might argue that you can write a sales letter for your product and slap up some kind of plain HTML page without any design at all. But think about it, when visitors land on your page and you’re selling them your product or service, do you expect them to believe you when you don’t even have a decent design that goes with the sales letter? I wouldn’t believe and I strongly believe you agree with me on this point.

The same concept applies for your ultimate footer ad squeeze page. If you have a nice-looking squeeze page that is professionally designed by a pro, your opt-in rate will surely increasse. This alone is worth many times over the price of getting a minisite design done. If you have a poor minisite design yet you say to yourself – I want to own a profitable internet business, you’re wasting valuable traffic since your website won’t convert well.

You might say to yourself “Hmm why don’t I design the minister myself?” My advice is NO do not do it yourself. This is especially true if you don’t know a thing about graphic design. Why? I’ll give you three reasons why. The first one is that your design is most likely very poor in quality. The second reason is that you’d spent a lot of time trying to learn how to design and the final output (your design) will still be very poor anyway. You’d be a lot better spending your time to do stuff that you’re good at. Third, if you don’t do it yourself but instead hire a professional designer to do the minisite design, you will save both time and money and the design will be much, much better than yours.

To determine your eligibility for the Pell Grant program you must first complete a Free Pell Grant Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA) form. If you have not yet completed your FAFSA application, go to thi website Fasfa Application and complete your FAFSA using the instructions provided in the “Fill out a FAFSA” section. When you complete your first FAFSA application, you will answer questions to determine your eligibility for the Pell Grant among other government grants and funding. After you save and submit your initial FAFSA application, you will be notified by email or regular postal delivery if and when you receive Pell Grant funding.

Students with a total family income up to $50,000 may be eligible for Pell Grants, though most Pell funding goes to students with a total family income below $20,000.

Other eligibility requirements include the following: You must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or an eligible non-citizen, i.e., U.S. permanent resident with an Alien Registration Card I-551, a conditional permanent resident with an I-551C card, possess Arrival Departure Record I-94 from the Immigration and Naturalization Service one of the following designations: asylum granted, parole, refugee, entrant from Cuba or Haiti. You may also be eligible if you live independent of your parent or guardian, and/or if you have your own dependents.

To receive a Pell Grant, you must be an undergraduate student, and in some cases, a student completing your first professional degree, e.g., pharmacy or dentistry.

You must also sign a statement indicating that you are not in default on a federal loan, and that the financial aid will be used only for educational purposes.

Pell Grant FAQ

The Pell Grant Program is a program that offers grants to low-income college who meet the eligibility requirements for financial need. It is sponsored by the United States Department of Education.

How do I know if I am eligible for a Pell Grant?

Like many other federally funded grants and scholarships, eligibility for this program is determined by the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). After a student and his/her family completes the online FAFSA form, the student will be notified of eligibility. This eligibility is based on family income and other facts like family size, the price of attendance at the college of choice, and whether the student will be a full-time or part-time student.

How much money can I get through Pell Grant program?

The maximum Pell Grant award per student will increase to $4,600 in 2008, and by $200 per year each year until 2012. It is estimated that the maximum award will cover 75% of tuition in a public four-year college. The average award will cover approximately 42% of these fees. Currently there is no restriction on the number of years a student may receive Pell Grant, provided the student maintains a degree program as an undergraduate and does not already have an undergraduate degree.

If I get a Pell Grant, how is it disbursed to me or to my school?

You will receive your Pell Grant payment in one of several ways: your school can credit Pell Grant payments to your account, you may receive a check, or the payment may be made by paying part to the school and part to the student. Your college will notify you in writing of the amount of the Pell Grant, and tell you how and when payments will be made. Schools must credit your account at least once per term.

More information available at jobs for moms

When I originally met with my personal trainer in Dallas, we went over my goals and then derived the best ways to achieve them. Instead of having me focus on generic exercises, my trainer  made it very clear that we were going to focus on exercises specifically geared toward the results I wanted. It was refreshing to be assured that my time wouldn’t be wasted and that my personal trainer Dallas showed genuine interest in getting me the results I wanted.

After a 4 weeks of regular exercise, I began to see and feel the results. It was wonderful. I couldn’t believe that I was on my way to better health and wellness so quickly. Not only did my personal trainer deliver on all of the types of exercises designed for my body she provided, I found myself looking forward to our next work out sessions. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t ever getting bored with exercising. More importantly, I was looking great and feeling wonderful. You can do it for yourself. It’s never been easier to get in shape as it is with a trainer from Lady Trainers.

Teleprompters also find demand in non-broadcast video work. Many professionals find a pre-recorded presentation the most effective method to get their message across to associates, work force or even for prospective clients.

Using a teleprompter is simple and the end result both professional and effective, making their use popular in such live stage presentations such as award ceremonies, live conferences, product launches and increasingly as live note holders for public speakers.

Initial experiences with a teleprompter might be a bit overwhelming. Inexperienced presenters might get slightly tongue-tied; nervous, drowsy or even come across as looking slightly shifty.

This article is a summary of what to expect on a video production and the best ways to get professional results by using a teleprompter during your next presentation.

Word Smithing

The script is your information source. It contains the content of what you want said . . . but all too often it’s written to be said, not spoken.

Scripts typically go to a production company who pass these to their auto-cue operators for processing. Most production companies can accept almost any word-processing formats on PC’s or Mac’s. Just be sure not to leave it until the last second.

To bring your production in-house, you’ll need to get your your own teleprompter software. To see what features to look out for, take a look at this teleprompter software review.

They also demo a Mac version at Teleprompter Mac OSX.

Use short sentences wherever possible and always try to employ the contracted form of words, to better mimic the way people speak and give your delivery a more natural flow.

Your auto cue script should only contain the text to be presented. No bullet points, indents, tables, charts, borders, scene directions . . . just your monologue.

If your presentation relies on visual aids, limit these to images that can be displayed to your audience.

Once the teleprompter operator gets your script, this will usually undergo some pretty basic formatting to ensure the script flows well and the words are clear on the auto-cue monitor. Making your script too complicated by using images or storyboards for example could well incur expensive editing. Stick to the basics . . . just the script!

First Impressions Do Count

With your script finished, you can turn your attention to the basic aspect of your presentation . . . how you’re going to look.

A script is normally written with a particular audience in mind, so dress accordingly.

Unless your production calls for a theatrical aspect, make sure to dress in comfortable clothing which matches the overall tone and atmosphere of your subject matter.

Avoid vivid reds wherever possible and steer clear of bright white clothing. These don’t copy well to video and are usually less than flattering to your skin tones.

Try to avoid clothes with fine lines like hound’s-tooth or pinstripes as these tend to distract attention on camera.

Makeup is used for both cosmetic and technical reasons . . . covering up imperfections is one thing but lights used in both video and stage environments are bright, harsh and hot, so makeup is often used to take out the shiny spots on the T of the face due to the heat (and sometimes by nerves).

Stage and video sets are strange environments to get used to. The end result is what counts. A video shoot might well look and feel wrong during the production, but if the end result looks good, that’s really all that counts. Don’t feel put out if you have makeup applied or your clothing rearranged.

Depending on the details, every project will probably have a producer who will be available to supply specific information and advice on clothing and overall appearance.

On Location

Whether shooting in a studio, an office or in a street setting, one rule applies at all times. Safety first.

Be aware of stray cables, low hanging overhead rigging, light stands and any other props in dangerous spots.

Make sure you avoid touching the lights. Intense and very, very hot!

Upon your arrival, the Director will acquaint you with all the details on how the set is actually set up and make all the crew introductions.

If you will be using a teleprompter, there will usually be a minimum of four crew members. A sound operator, a camera operator, the Director and last but not least, the teleprompter operator.

You probably won’t be involved in any of the technical matters and most of the tricky stuff will be for before you get there and after the shoot is finished.

Your first stop will be makeup and wardrobe, but if you do have any last minute changes to the script, get these to the teleprompter operator these as early as possible.

When all the script is in place and you’re ready to go, get a glass of water and wait for the Director’s “3-2-1 . . . ACTION!”

For more tips like these, visit www.promptdog.com/training

Here’s a fun clip complimenting Yeoman Amy’s entertaining report of Andiamo’s first trip of 2010, with the feared but respected Andiamo Navy Crew! Big thanks to Master-at-Arms Steve and Mess Specialist Monireh (aka “Mama”) for sharing, and big thanks to Amy for getting it on YouTube.