I quit Smoking

I quit Smoking after 32 years on December 8th. For 11 years I smoked cigarettes and in 1995 I switched to Cheap Swisher wood tip cigars, yes I inhaled them. My digestive system has been attempting normalize but it's still not there yet. I had no idea that this would be the result of quitting smoking and if I understand correctly not everybody goes through what I've encountered. I have abdominal pain and endless amounts of stomach gas resulting in constant long and deep belching. Often this excess gas makes it into the digestive track which then results in bloating . I'm glad I quit but I never saw this one coming.
I quit smoking two weeks ago and the only side effect is that I feel better.  Much better.  The withdrawal lasted 72 hours, and I've had cravings but to call either intense or severe would be an exaggeration.  I quit smoking weed after one crazy night when I was 19. Basically, I spent several hours toking up with a towering, harmonica-playing homeless man in an abandoned house with no electricity. My djembe-carrying friend and I had met the crazy dude while we were busking on the street. And being hippie stoners, it didn't seem weird at all for us to follow him back to a creepy bando and spark up. But by 2 or 3 AM, my friend, the djembe player, had abandoned me to drop another one of our friends off. So I was just sitting alone in this decrepit building with my new acquaintance, who resembled a wizard and would have stood around 6'6" if he hadn't been hunched over with an enormous tree branch walking stick.

I quit smoking using hypnosis 6 months ago after 26 years. The only real side effects up until now were dreams of smoking and being upset about it even in waking. Now I have this brutal cough (coughing to the point of gagging) that throws me into a type of asthma attack I have never experienced before. Its almost like trying to smoke while dealing with bronchitis, but bronchitis flare-ups from cigarette smoke lasted only a few minutes without needing my inhaler, while this lasts until I over use my inhaler and for several minutes after.

Why Quit Smoking?    The knowledge that cigarettes are harmful is rarely motivation enough to quit. Smoking is a powerful addiction, and breaking that addiction requires amazing willpower. These techniques and articles will help provide you with motivation and inspire you to follow through with your decision.

The How to Quit Smoking Hypnosis has taught me the psychological and physical addiction side to smoking and has helped me understand why my body craved nicotine. I smoked for 20 years. Now I don't even want a cigarette. I don't even want to be around people that smell like smoke. That makes me almost sick to my stomach. When my body does crave nicotine it doesn't crave a cigarette, just the nicotine and I let that feeling pass through me. It goes away within a couple minutes. Cigarettes no longer dictate my life. I love letting my hair down and it still smells like shampoo.

"I actually quit smoking a few days before I found the hypnosis downloads. I started doing yoga for the first time in my life and it really changed how I deal with situations. It has inspired me to use healthier outlets instead of toxic crutches to deal with my stressors.


"The truth is that quit smoking programs, like other programs that treat addictions, often have fairly low success rates. But that doesn't mean they're not worthwhile or that you should be discouraged. Your own success in quitting and staying that way is what really counts, and you have some control over that. Even if you don't succeed the first few times, keep trying. You can learn from your mistakes so that you'll be ready for those pitfalls next time.

Most people try to quit smoking several times before they kick the habit for good, so don't beat yourself up if you start smoking again. Turn the relapse into a rebound by learning from your mistake. Analyze what happened right before you started smoking again, identify the triggers or trouble spots you ran into, and make a new stop-smoking plan that eliminates them.

Kawai digital pianos

Digital pianos are known to be more costly naturally. A digital piano can be purchased at a significant reduction in price compared to the standard instrument, but it will generally cost more than a keyboard. Digital pianos are meant to closely imitate the effects of a traditional instrument thus they will be more carefully and durably made. Keyboards, as portable electronic devices, may require battery changes throughout the life of the device, adding to the upkeep costs.

The Kawai range of both acoustic and electronic pianos are considered to be amongst some of the very best, and in the US Kawai have won several awards for their pianos. The Kawai digital piano range covers many models form the mighty CP209 Concert Performer Grand to the entry-level ES100 portable piano. Let’s start at the very beginning and see what Kawai’s entry-level model has to offer.

Best digital pianos are the ones that you actually need and serve the intended purpose. Depending upon whether you are a beginner or have already earned your spurs you may choose to buy a basic Casio digital piano or a Kawai digital piano or one of the top-end Yamaha digital pianos.

Kawai digital pianos are known for their realistic piano feel and great sound quality. If you want the feel of an acoustic piano in a compact digital package, then Kawai keyboards should be on your shortlist. Based on our Kawai digital piano reviews, Kawai has a model for you no matter what your needs and skill level.

You cannot really base your opinion on the action of one of these on that of a more expensive model by the same manufacturer. To me it seems that you really get what you pay for when it comes to action and sonic-realism, and the cheaper models invariably use completely different underlying mechanism for the action than the more expensive ones. For instance, I really like the action of my Kawai VPC 1 but the Kawai digital piano in your price-range has a total different key mechanism and the same is probably true for the other brands.

Best Wireless Outside Speakers

The concept of having a party or a function is to celebrate or enjoy the time with your friends and

The outdoor speakers are one of the best music equipment that you can have because their sound quality is so good that it takes you in a state of trance. But still there are a few things that prevent the easy usage of outdoor speakers and that is the wire that is used to connect them. The outdoor speakers require a good quality of wire to connect them with the amplifier and often people are seen tripping off of this wire causing damage to the speakers as well. As we are going through a change in technology where everything is becoming wireless, so are outdoor speakers. The wireless outside speakers is new in market but they are the best if you are having a function or a party in the outdoors.

The wireless outside speakers are best for using outdoors because they are wireless and you can place them anywhere you want to without having to worry about people tripping and damaging the speakers. The wireless outside speakers works their best if you place them within the specified range of the wireless covered area. So make sure that you carefully read the instructions before using the wireless outside speakers since it is new technology, handling them as you used to handle other types of speakers will not work best for these speakers. Ensuring this will also help you to keep your wireless outside speakers for a long time and that too in a good condition.

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family. But no matter, what kind of function or party it is, music is an essential part of it. Usually most people only listen to music in their own rooms or when they are alone. But, when it comes to enjoying music at a party, then it is a totally different thing because you have to make sure that if it is your party then you must arrange good music for it. Otherwise, your party will not be as good as you planned it to be. Therefore, when you are planning your own party, and then make sure that you should not compromise on music because it is the only thing that people enjoy the most at any party. If you are having a party outside your home then make sure to use the outdoor speakers otherwise you can damage your indoor stereo speakers if you use them outdoors.

It's Nicotine, Not Cocaine!

The belief of many smokers is that nicotine is as addictive as cocaine and this explains why it is so

This should solve the addiction right? Well about 23% of people do quit using the drugs, but many of the rest have side effects which are so disturbing that the risk reward is very bad. From nightmares, to vomiting to psychotic breakdowns and even heart attacks.

Surely if nicotine is the addictive then using nicotine patches would be a universal solution for smokers. But according to British records only 2% of smokers succeed in quitting using nicotine replacement.

In Australia Macquarie University have determined that in the real world nicotine replacement has a zero benefit. Other studies have shown a 20% success rate, but these were in controlled groups where outcomes were expected.

I would argue that in such an environment with a group which was prepared to comply that 20% or thereabouts would succeed in quitting by eating therapeutic cornflakes!

Nicotine is not like cocaine, it is not nearly so addictive. While we all know of rehabilitation centres which specialise in helping serious drug addiction. But there are no such places for smokers.

Most smokers know they can go for periods of time without smoking. There is no standard pattern to smoking. Some smoke when they awake, but some don't until after breakfast or on their way to work.

hard to quit. Even the drug companies support this argument by promoting drugs which have a serious impact on the dopamine receptors in your brain as a solution.

Chronology Of Guitar

In the middle of 18th century, the guitar achieved its modern appearance, when the twofold courses were made solo and a sixth string was inserted above the lower five. In the 19th century designers of guitars broadened the body and invented the Guitar Scale Mastery program, augmented the arc of the waist, slandered the tummy, and altered the interior invigorating. The old wooden alteration dowels were alternated by a contemporary machine head in the Guitar Scale Mastery program.

Originally guitar was called tavern tool and there was no such course for it like the Guitar Scale Mastery; one that was not well-matched with the obligations of traditional music and song. In the untimely nineteenth century, Fernando Sor set in action, to lift the guitar to the maximum musical level probable. Sor was believed to be productive composers for, and endorsers of, the guitar as a "concert" tool, in the last two hundred years. He and others like him covered the way for Andr's Segovia to come out and convey the music guitar to the enormous fame, and admiration it enjoys nowadays with the assistance of it.

Handling The Quit Cravings

The Confrontation method.

A nicotine craving lasts less than two minutes. About the time manufacturers claim their nicotine gum takes to work. Yes you guessed it, the gum doesn't work! This method can be used to handle any stress or upset in your life.

If you feel a craving coming on then don't try to fight it. Notice it feel it and dive right into it. Challenge it, and declare out loud that it can do it

s worst and you will win! Laugh at it and you will defeat it.

The main thing is to throw some serious emotion at it. Make it worse than it is, make it so big that it becomes ridiculous and you have to laugh at it. In under two minutes it will be gone and you will have empowered yourself. You will find that any subsequent cravings will get milder and shorter.

The Internal resources Method.
Take some time to consider 3 things in your life which you are very proud of, results, actions taken, or any event in your life which fill you with a sense of pride or achievement. Now identify a quality you have which made these things so memorable.

Place your hand on your heart, imagine you are breathing deeply into your heart for a few slow breaths and then repeat your quality in a statement directed to your heart e.g. I am successful, strong, etc

The point of this is to remind yourself at a deep level that you are good enough, so that if a craving comes up, you just pause, touch your heart and repeat your positive statement until you relax and the cravings disappear. Like the first technique this has an accumulative effect and it is very relaxing releasing positive hormones from your heart which override the stressful hormones released with the craving

What Are Young Smokers Thinking?

Some young women in their twenties still believe that smoking will keep them thin. Sure smoking throughout the day instead of eating may result in some kind of weight loss, but bear in mind that smoking disrupts the liver's ability to operate properly and therefore process fats.

So some short term weight management will lead to weight gain over time. Plus nicotine raises blood sugar which results in more insulin being secreted which intern pulls sugar from your blood and into your fat cells, where the sugar is converted to fat!

I've seen many clients as young as 25 who realised early on that quitting wasn't going to be easy for them. My message to any young person who reads this, who smokes or is contemplating it that the best thing you can do is to think for yourself.

You don't need to care about the opinions of the authorities in your life, think about yourself, be selfish about your health, stand up for yourself and say to hell with anyone who thinks any less of you for not smoking.

Make non-smoking a form of rebellion against the multi-national companies that sucked you into their trap and want to keep you locked in until you are sick and desperate. Then some of these same companies will sell you nicotine patches.

By smoking you are not a rebel, you are a pawn of the corporate man, just another sucker handing over your cash and your life.

Buying Cheap Electric Guitar

The electric guitar is an instrument that is liked by millions of people worldwide. The sound an electric guitar produces is just awesome.

All music lovers want to own an electric guitar, but the price keeps them by purchasing their favorite musical instrument. For all those people, the cheap electric guitar is the solution.

If you would be looking for cheap electric guitar online, testing would not be possible but there is a way to that. You could search the web for a specific guitar, one that is not quite that unique, then take note of the guitar and look for them in the local music shops to test them. It would be a recommendation that you buy your guitars from local shops but sometimes you would be able to find guitars online that would be much cheaper. And that could never be ignored. The choice would be up to you whether you buy them online or offline.


About cheap electric guitars, the best part is that a person can buy these instruments from big brands like Ibanez, Fender, Dean, Gibson and Washburn guitars. Yes, all these companies are known for manufacturing quality products at high-end price, but now they also produce cheap guitars. They are able to provide cheap guitars because of the low cost labor and raw material available to them in the Asian countries.

Also, in the cheap guitar market, there are second hand instruments that used for sometime and then sold by the owners. You may find the condition of these guitars very good, though with some obvious signs of usage for a time.

Stage Monitor

Modern stage monitor systems are made up of different components: you've got the monitor speakers, the monitor mix, the equalization, and the amplifiers. The Front of House (FOH) mix is generally used by small venues such as bars, clubs, chapels, and school function rooms, employing just one mix run through the FOH sound mixing console. Bigger venues call for separate FOH mixes for the audience and monitor mixes for the performers. There are few options available for used monitors at the Guitar Center.

First of all, a good distance to be from the karaoke microphone when your voice is soft to normal is one inch. This will seem like you are right on top of it, and you are, but you don't want to ever touch it with your lips. You might get shocked! As the volume of your song gets louder, move the microphone away. In the softer parts of the song, move it back closer to your mouth again. Moving the microphone in this way is like your volume knob.

Moving it farther away turns down your volume. Moving it closer turns up your volume. If your karaoke microphone is on a stand while you are singing, instead of moving the mic closer and farther from your mouth, you move your body. The way to make this look natural is to stand with one foot slightly in front of the other. Then, in the soft parts of the song, just lean forward a bit more onto your front foot. In the louder parts, move backward a bit onto your back foot.

Quit Smoking - Small Big Changes

Going from being a smoker to being a non-smoker can seem like a giant step especially if you have struggled before in the past. And the idea of doing it in an hour or so using hypnosis can almost seem impossible.

But so many smokers wake up Monday morning and decide to go cold turkey which is like jumping into the unknown without a parachute. For most they are lighting up again that week having suffered and struggled and annoyed a lot of people around them.

There is a better way. The key is a series of small changes which lead to a big change, but this time you are lowered gently by parachute onto a mound of marshmallows when you arrive at your goal of being a non-smoker.

Step one is to make a firm decision to quit and set a firm date. It's best to set this date no more than two weeks away.

Next is to make your hypnosis appointment, and put it on all your calendars.

The time in between is important. You can cut down if that works without creating too much stress. One way is to delay each cigarette by just 10 minutes. If you smoke 20 per day you have delayed by 200 minutes.

In reality you have reduced your number of smokes by 5 by just implementing a small delay. Now you only have to deal with quitting 15. You will find this easier each day and perhaps in the second week you may cut back a little more.

It's important not to stress yourself over cutting back. It's of no benefit to you to force this.

You will be given some tasks to do before your quit session, such as watch a couple of short videos, these more small steps, the things you will discover will help ready you to quit and also to realise that some of the reasons you smoke are very much working against what you are trying to achieve.

The next small step is to show up for your appointment and be on time. This may seem obvious but thinking of your drive to your session and walking in as a part of the process is important.

It's like you are ticking off boxes as you go.

Tips to Help You Stay Cool With Your Guitar Practice

Consider those who have succeeded -

Made it to the top! Listen often to great performers. For the rock guitar enthusiast these could be: Santana, Satriani, Beck, Hendrix, Buckingham, and Knopfler.. For the classical guitar aficionado these could be: Boyd, Bream, Rodamar, and Segovia. For jazz lovers there are few players better than Django Reinhardt and Wes Montgomery. Finally for country styling there are great performers such as Glen Campbell and Chet Atkins. The young king of slide guitar, Derek Trucks, is a truly inspirational guitarist. Find your favorite and learn what you can about how they stayed the course. There is all kinds of information on these greats.

Playing guitar is fun and very rewarding
But at first it can be grueling to stay with the program. Here are four tips to help you stay interested and motivated, as you push through the finger pain and constant repetition. Think about your end goal and the guitar practice required to reach it. Pace yourself.

First, the wise beginner guitarist is one who, after the initial adrenalin rush, takes time to approach the instrument methodically, much like a long distance runner calculates endurance. First year students will experience finger pain.
Don't overdo the finger pain, listen to great guitarists, choose a killer guitar that is exactly right for you, and finally, find an encouraging buddy to work with. I know that if you follow these four tips you will have a better chance at playing the guitar for a lifetime!

Deaths and Disease From Smoking

Deaths in Australia

Tobacco smoking is one of the largest causes of preventable illness and death in Australia. Research estimates that two in three lifetime smokers will die from a disease caused by their smoking. The most recent estimate of deaths caused by tobacco in Australia is for the financial year 2004-05. Tobacco use caused a total of 14,901 deaths in that year.

Deaths in Victoria

The most recent estimate of deaths caused by tobacco in Victoria is for the financial year 2008-09. In that year, 3,793 people died from diseases caused by smoking. This figure includes the deaths of 8 children and 27 adults from secondhand smoke.

Disease and health problems caused by smoking

Cancers of the lung, throat, mouth, tongue, nose, nasal sinus, voice box, oesophagus, pancreas, stomach, liver, kidney, bladder, ureter, bowel, ovary, cervix, and bone marrow (myelitis leukemia). Smoking-related cancers accounted for about 13% of all cancer cases in 2010.

Heart disease. Around 30% of all cases of heart disease in those under 65 years are due to smoking.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPS) includes emphysema and small airways disease. Emphysema is rare in non-smokers.

Chronic bronchitis is a recurring cough together with frequent and increased phlegm. It occurs in about half of all heavy smokers.

Stroke. Smokers under 65 years are around three times more likely to have a stroke than non-smokers of the same age.

Peripheral vascular disease is a narrowing of the leg arteries that can lead to blockage and, in some cases, amputation. Cigarette smoking is the main risk factor for this disease.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm is the bursting of the lower part of the aorta leading from the heart. It often leads to sudden death. Cigarette smoking is the main preventable risk factor for this disease.

Type 2 diabetes, and higher risks for diseases associated with diabetes in people with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes.

Peptic ulcer disease in persons who are Helicopter pylori positive.

Eye diseases, such as oracular degeneration and cataracts.

Lower fertility in women.

Low bone density in older women and hip fractures in both sexes.

Periodontists, a dental disease that affects the gum and bone that supports the teeth.

Respiratory symptoms including shortness of breath, coughing, phlegm and wheezing. These symptoms occur in both child and adult smokers.

Faster decline in lung function, which is measured by how much air you can breathe out during a forced breath. All adults lose lung function as they age but this process occurs earlier and faster among smokers.

Impaired lung growth among child and adolescent smokers and early onset of lung function decline in late adolescence and early adulthood.

Problems during pregnancy and childbirth including restricted fetal growth and low birth weight, topic pregnancy, complications that can lead to bleeding in pregnancy and the need for cesarean section delivery, and shortened time in the womb and preterm delivery (the baby is carried for less than 37 weeks). Smoking during pregnancy also causes death in early infancy (particularly from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome), reduced lung function in childhood, and oral clefts (e.g. harelip) in infants.

Erectile dysfunction. Men who smoke increase their risk of impotence, and may have reduced semen volume, sperm count and sperm quality.

Tuberculosis disease and death.

Rheumatoid arthritis.

Worsening asthma. Smokers with asthma have poorer asthma control, faster decline in lung function, more airway inflammation, and get less benefit from some asthma medications, compared to non-smokers with asthma.

Smoking as a risk factor

Cigarette smoking is also a risk factor associated with a number of health problems, including:

Breast cancer in women.

Croon's disease (a chronic bowel disease).

Back pain.

Cirrhosis of the liver and bile ducts, and pancreatic.

Complications during and after surgery, including delayed wound healing and increased risk of infection, drug interactions, lung complications and breathing difficulties.

Further complications during pregnancy and childbirth including miscarriage, and birth defects such as clubfoot, heart defects and gastroenteritis (the guts protruding through an opening in the abdominal wall). Smoking in pregnancy also increases the risk of the child being overweight or obese.

Childhood cancer (hematologist) where the mother or both parents smoked before and during pregnancy.

Childhood leukemia where the father or both parents smoked before the pregnancy.

Period pain and early menopause in women. Smoking may increase the risk for painful periods, missed periods and irregular periods. Women may also experience more menopausal symptoms.

Facial skin wrinkling tends to occur earlier.

Skin diseases, such as psoriasis and tendinitis suppuration (painful boils or abscesses in the groin and underarm).

Increased susceptibility to bacterial and viral infections, ranging from the common cold through to influenza, pneumonia, meningeal disease, legionnaires disease, tuberculosis, and bacterial vaginas.

Motor vehicle crashes, death from injury in accidents, house fire deaths, and burn injuries.

Alzheimer's disease (dementia) and cognitive (brain function) decline.

Autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis.

Hearing loss.

Poorer sense of smell and taste.

Lower fitness.

Sleep disorders.

More fat around the abdomen (gut), which raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes and metabolic problems.

Tooth decay and loss, and dental implant failure.

In combination with the contraceptive pill, smoking increases a woman's risk of heart attack and stroke. This risk increases dramatically with age, particularly over the age of 35 years.

Nicotine also interacts with a range of drugs, affecting how well they work and how they are processed by the body.

The line 6 pod hd500x

The line 6 pod hd500x is a great piece of equipment. If you're looking for something to gig with and this does the job nicely ... great sounds, very "amp-like" in it's responsiveness, decent effects, etc. And the looper too, which works very nicely and makes this a fantastic value.

 As with all of these products, you need to be prepared to sit down with it, learn how it works and do tweaking based on your desired outcome. There are some built-in sounds that are very good, but most of them seem designed to produce a "wow" effect when somebody is demoing the floor model at the guitar store rather than sit nicely in the mix and produce real, solid tones. When you start to dig into the mass of features and tweakable functions you'll find that you can get pretty close to whatever sound you want out of this thing.

Pros and Cons:
There are some really cool sounding amp models. All the channels of a SLO100 are in the box - and they all sound great. That said, the HD amps aren't the evolutionary leap forward I was expecting - it's not VHS to blu ray. And most of the great models from the X3/XT series are not present.

HD gives the user the option to seriously tweak tone - bias, sag, and cab characteristics. The manuals are only available on-line and don't offer the detail or depth needed to understand how all the tweakable parameters can affect/shape tone. The user is left to experiment with little guidance in hopes of finding a juicy tone. The factory presets are a detriment when trialing the unit and only showcase the nonmusical noises it can make. The 500x is capable of beautiful, rich musical tones but it requires the user spend hours building those tones.