Not everyone has the beautiful, lustrous hair that you see on the television fashion models. Most people have at least something that they do not like about their hair. It might be too straight or too curly. They might not like the color. Maybe they are going gray earlier than they would like, or their hair has been damaged from too many styling products. No matter what the damage, there are things that can be done to help hair recover. In addition, there are things that can be done to make hair better and more manageable while it recovers. In other words, recovery takes time, but there are things that you can do to make your hair look better while you are waiting. These are the kinds of things that most women - and men who have trouble with their hair - are not aware of. They really do not think about it. Instead, they focus on the recovery of their hair and think that they just have to live with it until it gets better. In some cases this may be true, but usually there is something that can be done besides wearing a wig or a hat!

For people with very straight hair, there are some options. Shampoos and conditioners exist that are designed to help these people have more body in their hair. Often straight hair is limp and lifeless, and adding some extra body will help this out immensely. There are other people with straight hair, though, who have plenty of hair - it just does not want to do anything but hang there. For these people, a body creating product might be helpful, but they may also want to do something more, such as getting a permanent wave to give their hair some curl. These products are much better than they used to be, and the results last longer and look better than in the past. People with straight hair might also consider having it cut in a short style or keeping it pulled back most of the time so that it does not hang in their face too much.

For the opposite end of the spectrum - people with naturally curly hair - they can have it straightened. There are products to do this, and there are also flat irons that will take the curl out of hair temporarily. Having it chemically straightened will last longer, but it also is much harder on the hair and should be done professionally for best results. A flat iron can be used at home, but it does take a little bit of time to flatten and straighten all of the hair. Frizzy hair is also a problem. However, what causes the frizz is important to know so that it can be corrected. One of the most common causes of frizzy hair is split ends. For this problem, the ends often have to be cut off. If the hair is very long and the frizz problem has gone on for a long time, cutting the hair short may be the only alternative. There are products designed to repair split ends but they do not work on very severe cases and they do not work overnight. Checking with a good stylist can make all the difference.

Pamela Smith, one of the top experts in the quickly rising field of interior redesign, discusses having the proper perspective on trends:

“Are trends merely a designer’s opinion of what’s in fashion, or are they important style markers that add continuity to our lives? When asking for a definition of the word “trend,” my guess is most would say it means transitory - like lava lamps and shag carpeting. However, I imagine trends as sturdier stuff, based on finding beautiful and appropriate core-enhancers for a home. Your home shouldn’t be all about changing styles for change’s sake. Trends are about adding in fresh pieces that solidify the layers around the core.

“Updating your home with stylish, new furnishings has never been easier. There is such a wide array of styles available you’re sure to find several to suit your home’s décor. Whether you prefer ultra-sophisticated, nature-inspired, Zen influence, or country cozy, each of these styles shows up as a trend in 2008. It’s an effortless way to redesign.”

Top Five Interior Decorating and Art Trends for 2008 Decorating your home is easier once you have decided on your art decorating style. This year’s hot trends in interior decorating and design feature natural elegance coupled with striking statements. Art and wall décor are major factors in 2008 and their successful use really sets the tone and standard for the rest of a room. Follow these decorating tips to set your interior wall décor apart from the rest. You will notice trends that pair contrasting elements, colors and styles together in a way that creates a harmonious and peaceful experience.

With the Olympics being held in China this year, look for global inspirations to influence several decorating trends in 2008 including prevalent uses of Eastern, Asian and Moroccan styles. Zen inspired decoration is also prevalent in 2008 to help create a balanced and peaceful interior. Below are the top five interior decorating ideas for 2008 that are sure to help guide how you think and respond to art.

Natural Inspiration The natural look of wood, metal and other elements found throughout nature is a huge interior decorating trend for 2008. Look for gentle greens, earthy browns, rustic silvers, brushed coppers, sky blues, golden yellows and other nature-inspired colors that will add warmth to your interior décor. Look for artwork that pairs the earth-inspired colors with a darker natural touch; artwork that features soft subtle colors accented with dark, woodsy and metallic looking frames.

Contrasting Colors Look for colors that complement each other in a distinct way. Be careful though not to go overboard with too many colors that would distract more than attract. A delicate balance provides a striking appearance. Softer hues of white and ivory contrasted with rich tones and bright accents. Think soft colors with timely bursts of flare; Asian influences will permeate the color combinations throwing in bright reds, oranges and yellows amongst the darker, softer and muted colors. Look for art trends to find a successful balance of both worlds: soft with hints of bold.

Texture The ability to feel what you see is an important trend for interior décors in 2008. Mixing textures enhances the visual impact and adds a sense of completeness to other popular interior decorating trends for 2008. Think contrasting natural colors and textures in a way that adds luxury in a very dramatic way. Mixing traditional, ornate frames with contemporary and modern art trends is also an excellent way to enhance the harmonizing textured appearance. Look for wrapped or framed canvas artwork that enhances not only your walls but also your entire interior décor.

Simple and Sophisticated Veer away from gaudy and overdone. Luxury no longer means more but rather simple and concise. 2008 decorating styles feature simple statements that enhance the feeling of tranquility. Creating a harmonious atmosphere that inspires peace is also a very popular trend this year. Homes and the décor used are becoming so much more than just a dwelling but should inspire a sense of sanctuary. Keep in mind, simplicity is not minimalism. Think using one word where others would use three; a sophistication of style, simple and relaxing, not cluttered and chaotic. Look for artwork that calms but is not lifeless; everything from landscapes to abstracts should gently inspire rather than confusedly complicate.

Impressive Impact Look for wall art style trends that make one statement powerfully instead of many statements quietly. Use oversized décor in a way that makes an impact. Present one large focal point that can make a lasting impression. The proper use of impactful pieces is a popular idea when creating a harmonious and peaceful surrounding. Using large pieces helps shifts the focus of perspective of what is typically thought of as important; it’s very Zen. Look for massive art prints on canvas or framed that includes all the right accents to increase the dramatic impact the piece has on any home décor.

The physical appearance of LieutenantGeneral Arthur Percival was not that of a Great Captain. His was an awkward, angular shape, not suited to tropical shorts. He had buck-teeth and lacked the jaw-line of Slim or Alanbrooke. These attributes worked against him when the knives were out after Singapore fell in 1941, as did his recent `staff experience. But he had fought nobly with the Bedfords on the Western Front in the Great War, a leader by example, loved by his men. awarded the DSO, MC and three mentions. And after 1918, he secured total victory over the Bolsheviks on the Dvina River when with the Royal Fusiliers under Ironside. Later, as Intelligence Officer of the Essex Regiment, he won in Ulster the reluctant respect of the IRA, before moving to staff appointments at home and abroad, including Nigeria and, from 1935 to 1937, de facto Chief of Staff, Malaya.Winston Churchill, then Prime Minister, described the fall of Singapore as `this grievous and shameful blow . . . the worst disaster and largest capitulation in British history’. It is General Kinvig’s contention that the blame for the catastrophe lay not primarily with General Percival, GOC Malaya Command, but in the fallacy that the island ever was a defensible ‘fortress’, and in Churchill’s own failure to give the defence of Malaya a high priority in aircraft, tanks and jungle-trained soldiers.In fact, the island itself had no landward defences. Plans had always been based on holding the land attack in Johore or further north, but the means to implement the plan, in terms especially of armour and fighters, had been diverted to the USSR whose survival was judged by Churchill to be that sine qua non of final victory which that of Malaya could not be. And the great man, beset by menace in Europe and the Middle East, either did not believe in an imminent, effective Japanese threat, or hoped that it would not happen, or even imagined it as the occasion for longed-for US intervention.

In 1937 the island had contained only two British battalions, while one single Indian battalion and some vestigial local forces were thought adequate to defend the whole Malayan peninsula. Percival, warning of Japanese intelligence penetration, and of vastly improved military capacity, and the likelihood of delay in the arrival of the British Main Fleet, had then recommended considerably augmented air, infantry and local naval support. When he returned in 1941 as GOC his Army was still 17 battalions short of the (inadequate) Chiefs of Staff estimate for six brigades, while the Air Force lacked 178 aircraft out of the 336 which the Chiefs had agreed, against the 566 locally recommended. (Sixty of those were Brewster Buffaloes, no match for Zeros and flown by pilots straight out of flying school). The Main Fleet, including Prince of Wales and Repulse, did not arrive until December, without the essential aircraft carrier: ‘A lovely sight’, correctly commented Lady Diana Cooper, `but on the petty side.’

The Japanese then landed in the north-east, pre-empting Matador, the planned British attempt to seize Thai bases before they could be taken by the Japanese. Percival’s subordinate, Commander of 3 Indian Corps, was Lieutenant General Sir Lewis Heath, older and more senior, the knighted victor of Keren. Relations between the two deteriorated, to the detriment of the whole campaign, after Heath had blamed Percival - `You lost your honour in the North’ for not activating Matador.

In the north-west, the Japanese captured a marked British map. The three raw brigades of 11th Indian Division, losing vast quantities of arms and with 3,000 soldiers - often without Urdu-speaking officers - surrendering, were roundly defeated at Jitra. The RAF was reduced, often on the ground, from 110 operational aircraft in north Malaya to 50, destroyed largely by the espionage of the British Captain Keenan. Prince of Wales and Repulse, without air cover, were sent to the bottom. There followed a gruesome record of treachery, incompetence, failure to communicate, leading to endless botched withdrawals in east and west Malaya against Japanese command of air and sea, superior armour and outflanking tactics, as later against Slim in the Burma retreat. No useful contribution was made by the Resident Minister, Duff Cooper, nor by Lord Wavell, the Supreme Allied Commander.

The Hurricanes which now started to arrive in crates could not compete with the Zeros. Not enough Hudson or Blenheim bombers arrived. The last, frequently deplorable retreats led finally to a successful withdrawal by 31 January to Singapore island, which now contained about 95,000 men, few of whom were trained and reliable. But although 18 Division, unacclimatised and desert trained, disembarked on 29 January, Singapore was untenable now that the mainland had been lost, a fact admitted by Wavell. Despite Churchill’s demand that Singapore should become an Asian Masada - `Commanders and senior officers should die with their troops’ - an immoral request that `Indians, Australians and Singaporeans should die for the Empire’, Wavell gave discretion to Percival to cease resistance. Troops were looting, deserting or escaping; the failure of the water supply was imminent, with certainty of epidemic; petrol was exhausted; ammunition was running out; most of Percival’s soldiers had given up the struggle. He signed the surrender document on Sunday, 15 February.

As smart-client teller solution, S1 Enterprise Teller v3.5 provides tools that facilitate application management and promotion of front-office efficiencies and cross-sell opportunities. Single launch screen can present 80% of most common tasks on user interface, and administrators can graphically map business processes to reduce keystrokes and individual tasks required by systems. Teller applications are maintained centrally on server and deployed over Internet. ATLANTA, Feb. 16 - S1 Corporation (NASDAQ:SONE), a leading provider of customer-interaction software for financial services, announced today the release of the S1 Enterprise Teller 3.5 solution into its Managed Introduction Program. As the industry’s first smart-client teller solution, S1 Enterprise Teller helps financial institutions lower deployment and system management costs while providing tools that facilitate greater front-office efficiencies and cross-sell opportunities.

“The release of Enterprise Teller marks the first of our Enterprise 3.5 suite of solutions to be rolled out this quarter,” stated Matt Hale, group president for S1 Corporation. “We are pleased with the recent progress made against our Enterprise strategy, and by working closely with a few select customers in our Managed Introduction Program, we are ensuring complete organizational readiness for broad-based implementations of these solutions later this year.” With this release, S1 has combined its domain expertise and 20+ years of experience in branch automation solutions with its knowledge of smart-client technology to offer banks a new approach to teller software - a single launch screen that can present 80 percent of their most common tasks on a user- friendly interface. Globally, S1 has more than 1,100 customers using its branch solutions today and continues to forge new territory in improving efficiencies and business processes around customer centricity and operational risk reduction with the teller line.

According to Bart Narter, senior analyst for Celent Communications, a leading research firm focused on financial services IT, “With the boom in branch banking, bankers now realize that branches need to change from account- focused transaction machines to customer-focused cross-selling environments. Branch automation solutions that give a single and complete view of the customer can enable branch personnel to provide financial solutions to customer problems instead of the traditional product push.”

Key Features

As a smart-client solution, S1 Enterprise Teller combines real-time connectivity with a depth of offline capabilities to overcome the risks of previous web-based teller applications. The solution drastically reduces deployment costs associated with typical teller product implementations, because the applications are maintained centrally on a server and deployed over the Internet to local teller stations. After initial deployment, system enhancements and modifications can be made more rapidly and efficiently, enabling the bank to equip tellers with the latest tools to better serve customers and more easily adapt to changing market conditions.

In addition, S1 Enterprise Teller uniquely leverages the S1 Enterprise Platform capabilities to let system administrators graphically map business processes that can in turn be used to reduce keystrokes and individual tasks required by many systems. Not only does this improve the efficiency of the teller, but it also reduces teller training costs that plague many banks with high teller turnover ratios. More than 300 workflows, including branch image capture, are delivered out-of-the-box to help banks immediately begin reaping the benefits of the system’s ease-of-use. With its currency transaction reporting capabilities, the new solution also helps banks automate the process of meeting regulatory requirements by centrally storing and managing cash transaction information across the enterprise.

Targeted marketing messages can be matched to individual customers and delivered by the teller. Delivering targeted messages, along with on-line scripts, allow tellers to experience greater success in offering products right at the teller line. Increasing the likelihood of message acceptance builds teller confidence in the sales process, ultimately resulting in additional sales. Automated routing of referrals ensures that sales opportunities are completed in a timely manner.

S1 Enterprise Teller is among the company’s seven major applications integrated on the S1 Enterprise Platform. These applications also include S1 Personal Banking, S1 Business Banking, S1 Corporate Banking, S1 Sales & Service Platform, S1 Enterprise Call Center, and S1 Enterprise Marketing Center. The applications are available independently or collectively as an integrated solution that gives banks one view of their customers across channels.

MDM Group, Inc. (OTC: MDDM) advises that MDM Group subsidiary, Harrington Group Limited (HGR.AX) earlier today advised the Australian Stock Exchange of the appointment of an additional three world-renowned homeland security experts as founding members of the Harrington Group Advisory Board.

Joining Colonel John Alexander, a global authority on non-lethal weapons and defense, will be Dr. Christopher Green, a forensic medicine and electrophysiology specialist, Dr. Edward Stephen, a specialist in pharmacology and bioterrorism defense, and Dr. Allen Bain, a leading pharmacologist focused on specialised drug development including new treatments for disorders of electrically active tissue. The combined expertise of the Advisory Board will provide Harrington with outstanding guidance in strategic product development and commercialisation, and grow the Company’s profile in the law enforcement, defense and homeland security sectors.

Harrington Group CEO Marshall Couper said: “All four Advisory Board members have extensive knowledge of Harrington’s ShockRounds(TM) electric ammunition technology, as well as outstanding expertise in less-than-lethal weapons, Homeland Security issues and human effects.

“Harrington is focused on accelerating its product development, formalising strategic and commercial relationships and securing the expertise of leaders in the field. The formation of a world class Advisory Board is an important step forward in this strategy.” Dr. Green is in the practice of forensic medicine (American Academy of Forensic Sciences) and neuroimaging (Detroit Medical Center/Harper University Hospital/Wayne School of Medicine). His work clinically relates to his expertise as a neurophysiologist with a specialty in electrophysiology. A special research interest involves the way cognition in “making decisions under stress” are modulated by brain systems and neuromuscular control. He is both a faculty member at the Medical School and Fellow in Diagnostic Radiology, and Executive Director for Emergent Technologies.

Dr. Green serves on numerous Department of Defense, Intelligence and National Academy of Sciences Commissions. He Chairs the Science Board for the Undersecretary of the Army for Operations Research and has served as Chair of the Board on Army Science and Technology. He holds the National Intelligence Medal for investigations in forensic intelligence and served as an Officer and continues as a consultant with the Central Intelligence Agency.

Edward L. Stephen, DVM

Dr. Edward L. Stephen is a specialist in bioterrorism and biodefense and in this field also heads up the biodefense division of MDM Group, Inc (OTC: MDDM).

His initial working assignment was at Ft. Detrick where, in the Special Operations Division, he played key roles in bioterrorism defense including assessment of vulnerability of limited targets such as the New York subway system and the Pentagon. Further, he was involved in the R&D of a range of weapons and helped to test and evaluate various kinds of drugs, chemicals, and toxins as they might relate to capture or restraint.

Most recently and for the past five (5) years, Dr. Stephen has been a Senior Project Manager at the International Science and Technology Center (ISTC; www.istc.ru). In this role, he has been evaluating the scientific experience and expertise of scientists and support personnel involved in the R&D of biological weapons of mass destruction (BioWMD). He has reviewed the credentials and publications of scientists and support personnel of literally thousands of individuals as the initial step of integrating this experience and expertise into collaborative bio-defense research projects between the governments of Russia and the US. During future visits to Russia, he will be discussing the current and future R&D needs of the Harrington Group with various organisations.

Allen I Bain, PhD

Dr. Bain is a pharmacologist focused on new drug development including, treatments for disorders of the brain, heart and other electrically active tissue. As a co-founder, officer, or director of several companies spanning nearly two decades, Dr. Bain has participated in leadership roles in both the business and the science of drug discovery. Most notably, Dr. Bain co-founded Cardiome Pharma, whose flagship ion channel modulating drug to treat cardiac arrhythmias is in Phase 3 clinical trials in the U.S., supported by a large pharmaceutical company. Until recently, Dr. Bain was an honorary lecturer at the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia, where he was awarded his doctorate in pharmacology in 1994 for his work in neuroscience.

Sola Resource Corp. (TSX VENTURE:SL) (the “Company”), is pleased to announce a non-brokered private placement of up to 4,000,000 Units, for a total amount of CDN$2,600,000.00 in the capital of the Company (the “Offering”). Each Unit will be comprised of one common share and one non-transferable share purchase warrant (the “Warrant” or “Warrants”). Each Unit will be priced at CDN$0.65 and each two warrants will entitle the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at an exercise price of CDN$0.90, for a period of 18 months from the date of issuance of the Units. The Offering also includes a “greenshoe” or “over-allotment” option of 1,000,000 Units, for additional proceeds of CDN$650,000.00.

The Company intends to pay a finder’s fee in accordance with the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. Warrants issued as finder’s fees will be exercisable for two years at CDN$0.65.

The Company will use the proceeds of the Offering for the exploration and development of its mineral resource properties in Brazil, including the commencement of testing of its diamondiferous kimberlite pipe located thereon, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The Kobrand people are getting creative with their events these days, as evidenced by the “Pinot and Pork” tasting they held in New York last month. The swine included dishes made from tasty Niman Ranch Pork, and the wines weren’t exactly swill. Tasters washed down the divine swine with the likes of Taittinger Prestige Cuvee Rose, Louis Jadot Burgundies and Domaine Carneros Pinot Noir.I’d like to see more events like Kobrand’s that bring wine into new situations and pair it with unexpected foods. How about a fried chicken and Champagne festival? Any volunteers for a white-wine-with-meat/red-wine-with-fish dinner?

Dating can seem like a different world, especially if you’ve been divorced. The rules have changed, the players can seem more complex and winning might appear hopeless if you aren’t prepared.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 19.3 million Americans get divorced each year. But all is not lost. It is possible to date after divorce if you follow some basic pointers.

HEAL BEFORE DATING AGAIN

Psychologist Dr. Grace Cornish says–as do most experts agree–that you should make sure that you have healed before you jump back into the dating game. “You don’t want to meet someone and the slightest behavior pattern that is similar to the ex, you pull away and not give that person a chance,” says Cornish, author of The Sacred Bond. “When someone gets divorced, sometimes they build a protective coat around their heart. You want to make sure you are completely over that before dating again.”

THINK BEFORE INVOLVING CHILDREN

Striking the right balance when dating after divorce can be especially sensitive when children are involved.

“Do not get children involved in dating unless you are going to spend a lot of time with that person,” says Cornish. “If it doesn’t work, you are bringing all kinds of people in their life and you can send mixed messages. If the children are older, you can tell them that you are dating and that you’d like for them to meet the person. When the children are younger, leave them out of it because resentment can set up. Get to know the person first.”
LEARN TO BE HAPPY AND HAVE FUN

Dating after divorce also means giving yourself permission to be happy again. This means learning how to have fun, she says, as you date. “The old relationship is gone. Realize you are worthwhile and others want you. Realize you are attractive and you are supposed to have fun.”

Carla Fox of Joliet, IL, was married for 15 years before she divorced in 1998. When she was ready to start dating again, she used God as her guide and details those experiences in the book A Miracle Made In Heaven.

“God does not use divorce as a life sentence of loneliness,” Fox recalls in the book, as she realized that she could still be blessed in a relationship in spite of her divorce.

BE CAUTIOUS

Also a registered nurse, Fox learned that you must keep both eyes open when trudging dating waters once more.

“Don’t be sidetracked by what you see, such as their attractive appearance or the many gifts they bring. It’s so easy to get caught up looking at an individual in the natural. Pray and ask God to help you see them through spiritual eyes, so you can begin to examine their fruits of the spirit.”

She practiced what she preached. It led to a trip down the aisle in 2002 when she wed Pastor Robert Fox.

“You have to divorce yourself from the individual and not the institution of marriage,” she says. “The marriage did not hurt you, the individual did. Then you start with a clean slate.”

ACCEPT PERSON WHERE HE IS

Dating after divorce, says Fox, also means you must accept that this new person might not be empty-handed.

“They may come with children, a house note, car note and bad credit from a previous marriage. You can’t want this person without any baggage, but inspect each other’s baggage. It’s not so much on the physical.”

LEARN TO COMMUNICATE

Robert LeCruise Johnson has been divorced for nearly five years. Since dating, he has learned that it is essential to communicate.

“When you’re not looking to get back into a relationship right away, you have to let a person know that,” says Johnson, an account manager at FedEx Freight in Memphis. “One thing I’ve noticed as I get older is feeling pressured to get into a relationship. You want to be a person’s friend and get to know that person first so that you know what the person wants. You have to know who you are dealing with. Talk first to see what the person’s motivation is.”

BE A PERSON’S FRIEND FIRST

He has found that dating after divorce means taking the time to be a friend first and foremost.

“Be a person’s friend. That way you know what a person wants,” says Johnson. “Sometimes there are hidden agendas when you don’t discuss it. When you are a person’s friend, you get to know that person and what he or she wants.”

BE SELECTIVE

Clinical psychologist Dr. Darlene Powell-Garlington says you must be selective when dating after divorce.

“People are anxious about stepping out again and getting to know someone again,” explains Powell-Garlington, who authored Love Affairs: How To Get The Relationship You’ve Always Wanted And God Wants You To Have. “There is a certain sense of shame and sense of failure. It’s a matter of being discreet and clear about your boundaries. Be assertive and clear about what pace you want to take a new friendship and how you define it.”

BE AWARE OF WHAT YOU WANT

She also believes a person must be aware of what he wants before dating after divorce