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online shopping isn't new, but it continues to grow. An increasing number of people are letting their fingers do the clicking rather than head out to the mall or to a specialty store. Moreover, online shoppers are choosing boutique one-stop shopping sites over the Web's traditional e-commerce giants. Why? Because, in doing so, they can support entrepreneurs while taking advantage of wholesale prices and dropship bargains.

What can you find at these one-stop shopping online stores? just about everything. These sites typically have everything from jewelry, electronics, and leather goods to automotive parts, supplies for pets, and toys. And, just like the mega sites, they have brand names in virtually every category imaginable.

You might, for example, find a Magnavox widescreen LCD TV with an integrated dvd player as well as Britney Spears' latest fragrance. You could find novelty items from your favorite sports team along with Olympus digital cameras. Or, you could shop for the latest Xbox 360 game along with a gorgeous pair of designer earrings.

online Buying Tips

How do you choose which online store to patronize? When I'm looking for a site, I first look for selection and brand names. Unless I'm looking for a rare item, I always go for the online store that has at least 5,000 items in stock. Next, I look for organization. I like to shop at sites that organize their items by easy-to-find categories. I don't want pet supplies to pop up when I'm looking for jewelry, or to search for personal electronics and have outdoor furniture appear in my search results.

I'm also a big fan of sites that dropship. When my items come directly from the manufacturer, I find that they arrive faster and in better condition. Plus, since the site doesn't have to worry about stocking inventory, the owners tend to pay more attention to customer service.

Since I'm somewhat of a privacy nut, I prefer to shop on sites that don't sell or disclose my personal information to third parties (other than the shipper) without first giving me the opportunity to prevent my information from being shared.

Security is also extremely important to me, especially since I'm sharing sensitive information like my credit card number. So, before I click, I always make sure the site uses a secure server with encryption technology. If a site accepts PayPal, that's even better.

If you've been stuck in the online mega-store rut, I encourage you to give the smaller one-stop shopping sites a try. You'll likely receive better service, and have an overall better shopping experience.

In a recent issue of Golf Digest (June 2007) a "new" golf swing being promoted by golf coaches Andy Plummer and mike Bennett is featured. This new approach to the golf swing is called the "Stack and Tilt" swing.

In describing the Stack and Tilt swing, Peter Morrice, the author of the article, indulges in a bit of overstatement when he says "Their secret...contradicts almost everything being taught in the game today." But is this swing really that unique?

The Key Difference

The biggest difference with the "Stack and Tilt" swing is that it completely downplays the idea of shifting your weight to your back foot when making the backswing. In fact this "new" swing encourages the golfer to keep his or her weight on the front foot, and, if anything, move it more directly over the front foot during the takeaway.

Some older golfers will think this looks like a "reverse pivot" where the golfer seems to be leaning towards the target at the top of the swing. Teachers of the typical modern swing have their golf students draw the club back and stack their weight over their back leg when the club hits the top of the swing. But Stack and Tilt encourages the golfer to lean towards the target while the club is taken up.

Some Subtle Differences

For many golfers it may be hard to spot the differences at first, but there are some significant ones. For one thing with the typical modern swing the back leg remains bent with a slight flex at the knee. With the Stack and Tilt the back leg straightens out. The photos featured in the Golf Digest article (p.122) demonstrate how the back leg straightens out as it pushes back towards the target.

As a result the front side of the body is "stacked" over the front foot, and the trailing side of the body is "tilted" towards the target.

For a comparison with the typical modern swing look at photos of Tiger's swing of the last few years, or see the photo of V.J. Singh's swing on page 43 of the same issue of Golf Digest. Singh's upper body is "stacked" over his back leg at the top of the swing, and the trailing side of his torso is perpendicular to the ground as he pushes his weight back over his back leg. This is quite different from the way the torso is angled towards the target with the Stack and Tilt swing.

It's All Been Done Before

If you are familiar with the teachings of most modern golf coaches this may sound like a radical departure from golf orthodoxy. But the fact is, there have always been alternative schools of thought which questioned the simplistic "weight shift" idea. In particular, look at old photos of Jack nicklaus, Ben Hogan or Sam Snead. None of these golfers make the major shift over the back leg like you see with tiger Woods, for instance.

Or have a close look at the famous 1930s videos produced by bobby jones. There is no obvious shift towards the back leg. jones remains centered over the ball throughout the swing and is more concerned with rotation around the center point than he is with the lateral weight shift characteristic of the typical modern swing.

Points of Interest

There are clearly some aspects of the Stack and Tilt swing that may help the average golfer hit the golf ball more squarely and more precisely.

The first is the lack of emphasis placed on the weight shift. For many golfers this idea is misleading and results in a lateral shift that basically turns the golf ball into a moving target. Shifting one's weight to the back also results in a "shallower" swing which increases the chances of bottoming out too early. Depending on a variety of factors this can either result in fat shots or thin ones. As an alternative, pressing into the front foot as you take the club back very definitely forces a steeper approach to the ball and should result in fewer topped shots. It also results in a lower trajectory since it de-lofts the club, and this may give you greater run on certain kinds of fairways.

The second point is that Stack and Tilt promotes a flatter swing. A flatter swing is less vertical and more rotational, and is the way Stack and Tilt compensates for being more on top of the ball when the downswing is begun.

The third point is the fairly advanced idea of the "pelvic thrust" which the Stack and Tilt teachers claim helps get the club approaching the ball correctly. This is probably where Stack and Tilt becomes too difficult for many average golfers. With Stack and Tilt, since one's weight and shoulder position are forward, the approach to the ball will be significantly steeper than normal. The pelvic thrust, along with the more rotational swing, helps to "shallow out" the swing. You achieve this by rapidly rotating your hips around and pushing your front hip up and towards the target. This creates the sensation of almost jumping up and striking the ball while on your toes. If you've ever seen Natalie Golbus swing a golf club you've got a fairly good idea what this looks like.

If these seem like technical points that are beyond your level of expertise, just give the "weight forward" idea a try. All you have to do is start with noticeably more weight on your front foot, and then press into that foot as you take the club up. You will probably find that it feels quite different from what you are used to. This move should result in fewer thin hits. But it may also result in more pushes, especially with the longer clubs, so you may have to adjust the positioning of the ball. You may also find it more physically taxing - requiring more body contortions - and for most of us that is not a good thing.

Rick Hendershot is an avid golfer who writes about the golf swing, golf travel and other golf stuff. Catch his blogs called The Weekend Golfer and Golf Around the World

In an age where the internet is beckoning todays growing technology, phone lines are now going online too Voice over internet Protocol, or VoIP for short, is joining the technological trend in switching signals from analog to digital.

With VoIP phone services, phone calls are made over the internet as opposed to the landline wire services that telephones traditionally operate on. All that is required is a broadband internet connection or more specifically, an internet connection that is provided via cable modem or any type of high-speed connection such as a DSL or a LAN.

If a broadband connection is available, hooking up a phone or computer to a VoIP service can be done. As long as a broadband connection is up and running, a VoIP phone service is capable of running as well. If a broadband connection exists, service may be provided to subscribers in one of three ways. A VoIP service may be hooked up to a computer. This usually requires software and a microphone.

VoIP computer to computer calls generally require no fee under most subscriptions, which makes long distance and international calling cheap. Travelers who take their computers with them wherever they go are able to use their VoIP services in areas where wireless internet services exist. These areas include airports, cafes, parks and other areas where wireless internet is available. Computer users dont have to worry about traditional cell phone issues such as getting service or roaming and long distance charges that tend to sky-rocket when traveling. The software installed on the computer will alert the subscriber of incoming calls and will provide the user with special features and options.

For those who are not so computer savvy, a special VoIP telephone is available. These telephones come with an Ethernet port that is built-in and ready to plug into a broadband internet connection. IP phones are portable and are generally small. Anywhere there is a broadband connection an IP phone can be used. A good number of VoIP services will provide an IP phone for free with purchase of a subscription. Those who dont want to let go of the analog telephone can still get VoIP service with an Analog Telephone Adapter (an ATA). This adaptor will make it possible to convert analog signals to digital so that phone calls can be made over the internet.

All VoIP products convert analog signals into digital data. A voice goes into the telephone or microphone, is converted from analog data to digital data and travels over the internet to the receiver. Dont anticipate issues when calling not so technologically advanced friends and family members because when a VoIP service sends a digital signal to a regular phone number, the signal is converted back into a regular telephone signal before it reaches the other end. In fact, using a VoIP service via an adaptor or IP phone is much like using a regular telephone. It will ring just like your regular telephone always has and user reviews say the quality is much like that of a typical landline service. The major advantage to this new telephone technology is cost.

Most providers offer a fixed rate per month that includes local and long distance calling regardless of time or place. Some services restrict unlimited calling to a designated area, but when calling outside of this area calls dont tend to cost much extra. The general cost of calls and subscriptions is very low compared to traditional wire services. Portability comes into play when subscribers dont have to pay a high extra fee for roaming and long-distance calling as they do when using mobile phones. The packages offered by VoIP providers often include features that wire services dont provide, or services that traditionally come at an extra cost.

Most VoIP services include features such as call waiting, three way calling, etc under their subscription plan as opposed to charging extra for them as add-ons to the basic subscription price. You can also send data like documents and pictures, at no extra cost. The price of features of course varies on a service to service basis. Concern emerges when dealing with 911 emergency calls made over VoIP connections. VoIP 911 calls are handled differently than wire 911 calls. The origin of VoIP calls cannot always be traced as they are with land wire emergency calls.

The FCCs regulations and Enhanced 911 program aim to keep VoIP users safe and significantly lessen the concern for subscribers in a state of emergency. Sooner or later this problem will most likely become obsolete. Some of the top VoIP providers include Vonage, AT&T CallVantage, Packet8 and BroadVoice. Plenty of telephone service providers are jumping on the digital bandwagon, so more carriers are expected to expand this way as well.

About the Author
Aubrie is a freelance writer for Indocquent.com an online advertising medium that allows businesses and individuals to promote their services and products in over 200 countries around the world. You can sign up for a free account by going to http://www.Indocquent.com/freeaccount

Tiger Woods talks about his milestone victory in the BMW Championship at Cog hill. Traditionally, a golf hole is either a par-three, -four or -five; some par-six holes exist, but are not usually found on traditional golf courses. Primarily, but not exclusively, the par of a hole is determined by the tee-to-green distance. If the tee-to-green distance on a hole is predominantly downhill, it will play shorter than its physical length and may be given a lower par rating.

Woods

Tiger Woods captured his 60th career PGA TOUR victory at the BMW Championship and has the lead in the FedEx Cup points going into The TOUR Championship presented by Coca Cola. Tiger Woods again established that no one knows golf in the Windy City better than he does -- with his dominating performance at the BMW Championship. Tiger Woods took New york City by storm recently and Jason Sobel was there to chronicle his journey every step of the way. Phil Mickelson had never won when paired with Tiger Woods in the final round of a tournament. Tiger Woods sat down on the hot seat to discuss his greatest fear, hanging with MJ and the worst thing about being Tiger Woods.

open and the first to win a major since Roberto De Vicenzo won the British open in 1967. Heading into the final FedEx Cup tournament, the open candor of Mark Calcavecchia, ranked 18th, is a breath of fresh air. The former open champion John Daly had a vivid and emphatic response yesterday to Tiger Woods' sermon on the benefits of physical fitness in golf. Womens golf does not have a globally agreed set of majors.

player

Each player acts as marker for one other player in the group, that is, he or she records the score on a score card. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players and teams are equal the hole is "halved" (drawn). In the case that one team or player has taken a lead that cannot be overcome in the number of holes remaining to be played, the match is deemed to be won by the party in the lead, and the remainders of the holes are not played. The number of major championships a player accumulates in his career has a very large impact on his stature in the sport. These are the four that Bobby jones won in 1930 to become the only player ever to have earned a Grand Slam. A major result of modern equipment is that today's players can hit the ball much further than previously.

When the game is tied after the predetermined number of holes have been played, it may be continued until one side takes a one-hole lead, and thereupon immediately wins by one hole. The party with the lower score wins that hole, or if the scores of both players and teams are equal the hole is "halved" (drawn). The game is won by the party that wins more holes than the other.

James Young Clark is a successful Webmaster and publisher of www.AGolfersParadise.com. He provides more information about golf and golf issues that you can research in your pajamas on his website.