Over the weekend I noticed that my broadband kept cutting out; I would reset the router and it would work for around 10 minutes before cutting out again. So instead of faffing around with the internet I decided to go to the local art store and pick up some airbrush supplies.

While I was there I bought an easel, a set of small paint brushes and one of those 12 inch wooden mannequins all for under £15, bargain. I went home and set up the easel in the garage, got all my airbrushing stuff out and started practising.

I am mainly practising my lines and dots at different heights away from the page. This is one of the techniques I learnt in the book I reviewed last week, Airbrush: The Complete Studio Handbook and it really helps you to get a feel for the airbrush.

I also make the shield detailed in the book (see pic below) from some over heat projection film I had laying around and it works great. All in all I spent a couple of hours practising before the kids got back and demanded that I fix the internet.

After about an hour trying to find out what the problem was and phoning BT up, it turned out that one of the pipes had gone down which meant most of the people in my area were suffering from the same problem. Hopefully it will be fixed tomorrow, but if not there is always airbrushing to pass the time.

I’ve been getting into airbrushing recently after buying a cheap set of eBay a couple of months ago. I’m really terrible (that’s why I haven’t posted any of my pictures so far) and decided to buy a book off Amazon.

After reading some of the online reviews I decided on Airbrush: The Complete Studio Handbook by Radu Vero and I have to say that even after a week of reading this book my technique is 100% better.

The book starts off giving information about different airbrushes, paints and compressors, as well as airbrush maintenance. The next section has a wealth of information for beginners including practise techniques, shadowing effects and using masks.

Towards the end of the book there are a couple of step by step tutorials covering black and white pictures and colour portraits.

I’ve been working on the technique section at the moment and getting used to the way my airbrush works by creating shadows and blending colours, but will work my way through the book to the advanced portrait section soon.

Airbrush: The Complete Studio Handbook is a great book for anyone that is beginning with an airbrush or even if you just want to know about the subject a bit more.

An alternative to downloading Forex trading software is to use an online or a web-based forex trading platform. This is a faster option than downloading, and it avoids any potential delays in installing Forex trading software on a computer. In most cases, traders can simply log in, supplying a user name and password. The choice of password is up to the trader, and sometimes sites recommend a minimum length and/or a combination of letters and numbers to improve personal privacy and security.

Online trading via the web has the advantage of being eminently portable – it can be accessed via a web browser and a secure connection to the Internet, and are not confined to computers running Windows-based operating systems. This means that traders using Linux and Apple Mac OS have the same access to Forex training and online currency trading – which is not always the case with trading software that has to be downloaded.

About Privacy and Security

Particularly when dealing with personal finances online, privacy and security of personal details is paramount. Traders need to ensure they have the highest level of protection for bank details, credit card information and, of course, their trading account data. If any key information, for example passwords, or other data is stored online, this should regularly be backed up. A good broker will ensure that all Forex trading software is suitably protected, and it makes sense to ensure that the level of encryption used by the broker is at least the widely used SSL-encryption or a more secure and sophisticated technological system.

Terminology

In online currency trading, phrases and technical language are used that might seem daunting to novice traders. There are many good guides to the most commonly used jargon, and a quick web search will yield plenty of sites where definitions are explained and examples given.

Strategy Development

Forex traders use a variety of techniques to analyse data. Novice traders can start with available currency charts to help them to study the market. Technical analysis is considered to be very effective and it is therefore very popular. Some traders follow the effects of political, economic and social events on currency prices. Reading specialised blogs or newsletters can help new traders keep in touch with the developments that might affect currency prices.

Tools of the Trade

Forex brokers such as Citi Forex and fxcm.com offer a range of Forex trading systems. These comprise use of a Forex trading platform and associated software. For example, MetaTrader 4 is a well-known online Forex trading platform used by financial institutions dealing in Forex, CFD, and Futures markets. Several brokers’ websites provide facilities to download free Forex indicators.

Be Prepared and Risk-Aware

Being familiar with a trading environment prior to investing money makes sense, and there are free demo Forex trading accounts provided on many brokers’ websites, which can improve trading skills. Forex trading is not risk-free, and may not be suitable for all investors. A good investment choice will match the level of experience and willingness to take risks of the investor: investments funds can be lost as well as gained.

The largest platform worldwide for buying and selling currencies, the Forex or Foreign Exchange Market, is a rapidly popular market to trade on.

Speculative trades are made by individual investors, corporations and banks, based on fundamental and technical analysis. Experts on Forex trading can track their movements and past successes to create their own strategies, however many also use the information provided by a Forex brokerage services to indicate how and when they trade. Due to the leverage that brokers need to provide, most are linked to large banks or lending institutions and should be registered with the Futures Commission Market (FCM), which is regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Leverage is used as it potentially increases the return of an investment created through options and percentages, helping both the investor and broker to invest or operate.

Forex brokers do not take a commission; their fee is instead taken from the spread that they offer, which is calculated based on the number of pips. As with brokers in other markets, Forex brokers such as CitiFX Pro offer a range of trading platforms for their clients to choose from, to suit their particular needs. They also typically offer two or more account options, mini or premium accounts, depending on the capital that the client would like to invest. It is important to look at services provided, along with leverage and tools when selecting a Forex broker, as there are many to choose from.

While the rules of blackjack are very simple, it helps to have a strategy to improve a player’s success rate. Any strategy is based around knowing what cards have been dealt and played, and remembering those to calculate the odds of what the next hand is likely to be.

Generally, good blackjack players operate two different strategies; one for ‘hard’ hands and one for ‘soft’ hands.

Hard Hand Strategy

A hard hand in blackjack is one where the player does not hold an ace or if the ace must have a value of one to avoid going bust. Obviously the higher the total value of cards in a hard hand, the more likely a player is to go bust if they choose to have a hit. So many players will chose to stand on a total of 17 or over if they have a hard hand.

Soft Hand Strategy

Soft hands give players a good deal more flexibility than a hard hand. In a soft hand, players have an ace which can be either high or low, which gives them a lot more manoeuvre in taking further decisions on whether to choose to hit or not.

Any strategy does not, of course ,guarantee that a player will win. However, a player with a decent strategy on how to manage hard and soft hands is likely to have greater success over the longer term than one who plays every hand differently.

More and more people are becoming interested in the foreign exchange, or Forex markets.  Trading in Forex is much like trading in the stock market: currencies are purchased at a particular price, with the hope that the currency can be sold at a higher price and a profit can be made.  There are different methods for analysing price trends and news that can help a trader anticipate rises or drops in a particular currency, and that is where Forex software can come in very handy.

Whether a trader uses fundamental analysis or technical analysis, the amount of data to be consumed and analysed can be overwhelming.  Also, price changes can happen quite quickly, and a trader must be able to react at a moment’s notice so as not to lose out on a potential profit.  Forex trading software programs include price alerts that will notify the trader when a particular “spread” has been reached.  The spread is the price between two particular currencies, and the difference in those prices can often indicate a buy or sell opportunity.

Most Forex software programs such as the one offered by CitiFX Pro allow trades to be made at points or spreads pre-established by the trader.  This protects the trader’s profits even while he or she sleeps.  Currency markets never sleep, but traders must.  For this reason, the serious traders out there use Forex software and understand both its power and its limitations to their advantage.

Forex trading software is the best way for a human being to keep up with the fast-paced and never sleeping Forex markets.

While many prefer onsite gambling to the relatively lonely world of online gambling, the online version does have its advantages. One main advantage is the offers online sites typically provide. From initial sign up bonuses to bonuses awarded following a number of wins, almost all licensed gambling sites provide some good offers and bonuses.

Since rules and restrictions are often based upon the human factor in a casino, they may not be as set in stone as they are online. Online sites are secure and offer better, clearer rules and restrictions. Another benefit is the ability to play from home. You are not in a crowded area where you could easily be distracted. There is also no pressure from peers. You have more fun and stay relaxed while playing.

Saving Money

When you are at a casino, you are often tempted to spend extra money. This comes in the form of drinks, food, tips and even special offers on rooms. At home, there are no temptations. You only spend what you decide to bet. You feel no pressure to tip casino employees, including waiters and dealers.

Many times you continue playing simply because you want to prove to others how good you are. When gambling online, there is less competition. Since you do not see anyone you are playing with, you can easily quit at any time without feeling like you have to prove something. No one will say a word to you when you decide you have had enough for the day.

Over the past few months I have been decorating the kid’s bedrooms and am finally getting round to doing ours and have decided to put blinds up as well to add the finishing touch. I’m quite a light sleeper and get woken up when it starts to get light in the morning, not good when it’s about 5:30 so I’ve decided to get some Blackout blinds to help.

Thankfully blackout blinds come in a range of different colours and patterns as my kids want ones that match their room’s colours, so I have ordered a pink set for my daughter and an orange set for my son. For our room I’ve gone for a patterned set that will match the colour of the walls which I have still to paint.

Ordering is really easy and you can put in the dimensions of your windows for a snug fit without cutting. The blinds should be delivered this week so will start putting them up at the weekend; hopefully it will help me sleep for a bit longer in the morning.

My wife likes to cook and bake and I like to eat, so I decided that she needed a new set of scales as the ones she had were passed on to her from her mum when she got a new one. I decided on some digital scales as they are more accurate than standard scales and a lot smaller too so they can be stored neatly away.

I opted for the Rad Professional RZ Series scales as they can weigh up to 1000 grams, more than enough for most things.

My wife loves her new scales and has been doing some experimentation with them; I’m not complaining as I like eating all the nice cakes and biscuits, but the chilli chocolate cookies were a bit strange.