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A Way Out For The Technically Challenged!

timeout — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 03:59:02 GMT

Learning the hard way, Internet Marketing is not for the faint of heart, I had all but thrown in the towel, Trying to build my IM Empire was not working out! I had to face the realization I was spending far too much money and seeing no returns. I did not have the technical skills to climb that mountain.

[IMG]https://kb-vision.com/templates/default/front/images/1_front_001.jpg[/IMG]
I made a decision to concentrate on one product. That product is GOLD AND SILVER BULLION which I can hold in my hand and watch my savings grow.

Buying Gold and Silver Bullion presented a problem. A Precious Metals purchase IS NOT something I can afford much of, [B]until I did a little research and came across KB[/B]. A minimum 50 EURO, monthly savings plan in gold and silver, I Can!

Learning KB was just about to launch, being in at the start and KB has an affiliate program where I can earn Gold and Silver Bullion for free, cemented my decision.

Compared to a low return on bank savings, With precious metals I can watch my savings grow in the long term. The market may fluctuate, but chances are I have chosen the right product to build my business on as I refer other people needing to find a store of wealth.

Did I mention FREE to join!

timeout — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:38:21 GMT

Absolutely free to join, referral commissions whether or not you ever fund your savings account, Amazing upline support, launching in 194 countries 2011, 16 year old company, 3 years in current market in Europe.

Research brought exciting results,,,,,

timeout — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 08:11:46 GMT

I knew our small investment would most likely be a one time event. But constantly checking the markets and visiting investment blogs, I came across a link to a site which stated to be , a savings account in Gold and Silver Bullion. That got my attention.

I spent a couple days checking this site out, I did not find the usual negativity surrounding this company.

I decided to click the link to get more info, It did not take long to realize I had found a company that:
expanding in 194 COUNTRIES
NO COMPETITION
RIGHT ECONOMIC CONDITIONS
HEDGE AGAINST INFLATION
BUILD YOUR TEAM
EARN REFERRALS

MY KB GOLD GROUP - Savings in Gold Bullion Grams
About An awesome program, Completely free to join, with the ability to turn cash in your KB Savings account into Gold and Silver Bullion Grams. The leaders in the US and Canada Launch are so excited it is catchy, lol can't wait, I would love to have you as a member of my group if you decide to join.

I want to set up my KB account as a way to save Silver for our Grandchildren, sending them a delivery of Gold Bullion Grams on their eighteenth birthday! lol

The world'S first and only Private GOLD and SILVER Savings plan where: Fiat paper currency (cash) can be exchanged for gold and silver bullion.

Don't Sell Your Gold For Cash. Swap Your Cash For Gold !

Easy Hits 4 You - Fantastic Affiliate Programme - Join Here

Ball & Chain — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 09:55:49 GMT

Originally Posted by Ball & Chain

In Good Old MLMCore Fashion I would like to open up this fantastic Affiliate Programme which pays and rewards 5 TIERS Down! (10%, 5%, 3%, 2%, 1%) In the same way as the recent Very Successful YPWP Joining Thread can everyone again join in turn, once again confirming they have joined below the person in the last post and then add your own Affiliate link for the next person to join and so on thus building everyones downline 5 Strong:

Please Join here:

http://easyhits4u.com/?ref=truffles079

If you Upgrade to Premium (only $7.95/Month!) you'll receive free credits from your referrals on 6 levels (15% - 10% - 5% - 3% -2 % - 1%). You also get a Free URL ROtator hosted by EasyHits4U and a Free Splash Page Builder. When users open your rotator URL, one of web pages from your rotator will be shown to them automatically. Instead of managing all your links in all the programs you use, you can simply enter your Easy Rotator URLs in all the programs you use (only once) and update the list of your referral/affiliate links inside your Easy Rotator from one place any time. Obviously this tool will save you a lot of valuable time (these by themselves are worth the very small Premium Upgrade Membership!.

It's a Great Website and Affiliate Programme.

AL :thumb:

Start your Own Blog in 2011

paulvev — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 19:40:57 GMT

It's been a while since i posted in the MLMcore Blog section. I'm always amazed how underused this section is. All Premium members have their own free blog here at MLMcore.

Wouldnt it be good if each of us started a daily Blog in 2011? Whats YOUR New Years Resolution.

The Road Continues to Go Ever On : )

Ball & Chain — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 14:21:57 GMT

Okay, that was a brief/kind of/ish History to the "Challenge Coin". I first became interested in Challenge Coins about 12 years ago when I left the Army and started working for a U.S. Mine Clearance Company in Bosnia, the brits and the Americans got on great together and it wasn't long before items were swapped between us, the Americans would give us their EOD Qualification Challenge Coins and we Brits would give them a bottle of Talisker Single Malt Whisky or one of our cloth badges from our military days I then started to design and get produced through an American Company several coins for my old Unit and then later for EOD Contracts I was working on.

Through another website I got talking to another former British EOD lad and I mentioned the Challenge Coins, one thing led to another and we started up our own Challenge Coin Company and started producing a variety of coins, most of which we make a donation to Holidays 4 Heroes, a group of selfless individuals who are taking care of the families of the fallen by sending them on holiday or helping out former servicemen and women who have found themselves homeless or in dire need, for instance one lad was sent on holiday to Florida with his Family for one last good time with them after finding out he had an inoperable tumour, others have been helped getting into homes or even being clothed and fed for a few months until they get back on their feet.

Our latest coin is the BLESMA coin that I explained in the initial Blog entry, we will raise 4 GBP for every coin sold to help the Charity which has over 2,000 Members. A friend of ours helped with the design and between us we came up with the idea of having a little Jigsaw shaped piece cut out of the coin at the 5 'O' Clock position, which in a light hearted (but also serious way) represents a lost limb of a Member of BLESMA, we put it to their committee and they really liked the coin but required several changes to our design, things like the exact colouring of the stick man on the reverse side and then they were rightfully concerned that the Jigsaw Piece may be in Breach of Copyright of the Jigsaw Piece that the Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign use for their Logo, I contacted them and they consulted with their committee who unanimously decided the Jigsaw piece in no way breaches their own copyright Pink Jigsaw Piece, so thanks to them we have now gone ahead with production and will be able to help immensely in providing much needed funds to BLESMA...

We have produced a variety of coins to order, from coins for the Royal Marines Reserve to celebrate their recent freedom of the City of Liverpool, to a very unique coin for a Motor Cycle Club on the Isle of Man! An excellent idea for the Challenge Coins are for Companies to use them instead of Business Cards, you would never throw away something so Guuchi looking and heavy to hold, but you would a Business Card! obviously you would only give a coin to a potential client you feel will come back.

The Website is: http://www.ukchallengecoins.com

Attached Thumbnails

The Road Goes Ever On (Not Tolkiens' Journey this time but Ball & Chains :)

Ball & Chain — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 10:43:08 GMT

We as Entrepreneurs all like to change our hats at various times, that is why we are all still here in MLMCore as the Forum isn't just about MLM but about all of us as individuals thriving to succeed in the things we have dreamed about but not 'quite' got around to doing them.... 'Walking the Walk' as we know is completely different from 'Talking the Talk' and we need only look at the fantastic example that one of our own Members/Moderators Stevet is currently showing us with his unusual and highly commendable Gluten Free Food product business...

I have worn many hats along my own 'Road' (and continue to wear more than one of these) - Building Site Labourer/Plasterers Mate - Soldier - Mine Action Advisor - Explosives Ordnance Disposal Technician/Team Leader - Entrepreneur - Product Supplier for the Security Industry - Author - Challenge Coin Producer!

In this latest little add on to the Blog I'd like to talk about this latest 'Hat' being worn as in the Challenge Coins, each Blog entry has a certain amount of words allowed so I will start by posting the History of the Challenge Coin:

The History of the Challenge Coin

During World War I, American volunteers from all parts of the country filled the newly formed flying squadrons in Europe. Some were wealthy scions attending colleges such as Yale and Harvard who quit in mid-term to join the war. In one squadron, a wealthy lieutenant ordered medallions struck in solid bronze and presented them to his unit. One young pilot placed the medallion in a small leather pouch that he wore about his neck.
Shortly after acquiring the medallions, the pilot's aircraft was severely damaged by ground fire. He was forced to land behind enemy lines and was immediately captured by a German patrol.

In order to discourage his escape, the Germans took all of his personal identification except for the small leather pouch around his neck. In the meantime, he was taken to a small French town near the front. Taking advantage of a bombardment that night, he escaped. However, he was without personal identification.

He succeeded in avoiding German patrols by donning civilian attire and reached the front lines. With great difficulty, he crossed no-man's land. Eventually, he stumbled onto a French outpost. Unfortunately, saboteurs had plagued the French in the sector. They sometimes masqueraded as civilians and wore civilian clothes. Not recognizing the young pilot's American accent, the French thought him to be a saboteur and made ready to execute him. He had no identification to prove his allegiance, but he did have his leather pouch containing the medallion. He showed the medallion to his would-be executioners and one of his French captors recognized the squadron insignia on the medallion. They delayed his execution long enough for him to confirm his identity. Instead of shooting him they gave him a bottle of wine.

Back at his squadron, it became tradition to ensure that all members carried their medallion or coin at all times. This was accomplished through challenge in the following manner - a challenger would ask to see the medallion. If the challenged could not produce a medallion, they were required to buy a drink of choice for the member who challenged them. If the challenged member produced a medallion, then the challenging member was required to pay for the drink. This tradition continued on throughout the war and for many years after the war while surviving members of the squadron were still alive.

This version of the history of the challenge coin is often thought of as a colourful 'story' and the Oldest known Challenge Coin is the one above - The 17th Infantry Coin of Korea is one of the oldest pure Challenge coins in existence. COL "Buffalo Bill" Quinn, 17th Infantry Regiment, had them made during the Korean War (1950-1952). The Buffalo is from Quinn's nickname. The unit was formed in 1812, thus the date. The Fort is a representation of the 5th Army Corp. badge in Cuba in 1898. The Cross is from the 5th During the Civil War.

Another popular history of the Challenge Coin originates from the Vietnam War - Leisure time in Vietnam was a commodity, but when it came, it was utilized to the max; catching up on sleep; writing letters home; letting off steam at the hooch bar. The latter provided to be most popular, but eventually it too could become boring and mundane. To heighten excitement and foster unit esprit de corps, Bullet Clubs were formed. These were comprised of small, elite, front-line fighters who each carried a personalized bullet from the weapons they carried in combat. The ultimate use of the bullet, usually carried in a hip pocket, was to deny the enemy personal capture. When an individual entered the Hooch Bar, he would be challenged by fellow team members to produce his bullet. If he did, the challengers would pay his bar tab for the rest of the evening. If he failed to produce his bullet, he bought the drinks for all the remainder of the night. Eventually, personalized bullets took on disbelieving proportions. Some "teamies" took to carrying 20-, 40-, or 105mm cannon shells. Clearly, these were not personalized coup de grace munitions but rather manifestations of perceived individual prowess in combat or - perhaps - on R & R. At the height of the Bullet Club's heyday, it was not an uncommon sight to see strewn across a barroom table a very respectful representation of the full range of bullets, rockets, cannon and artillery shells used in Southeast Asia. In order to gain control of the situation - and to avoid accidental discharge of the large, fully functional munitions - bullets were traded for coins which reflected the unit's symbol and pride. Each coin was personalized by a controlled number and/or the individual's name. The rules remained the same, although today they are greatly expanded. Loss of one's coins was and remains tantamount to eternal disgrace and banishment. To forget to carry one's coin in anticipation of a challenge results in a minor death.

*Apologies for the colour, this ability doesn't seem to be working correclty in the Forum recently.*

Italian Sports Page

paulvev — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 21:39:12 GMT

Oh the Italians....they just love their sport and their football.

I cant quite get over this hilariously inappropriate headline on the sports page on the back of a respectable Italian daily tabloid. Brilliant!

The body beautiful

Ernie — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 14:44:15 GMT

We are the IMAGE CONSCIOUS generation,

We want to look like the people we see on tv, youthful, well groomed, well dressed, tanned and slim.

We all know if we're giving out the right vibrations, then we're going to attract the right people and situations into our life.

This blog though will concentrate on 'body image' and how we can feel and look good.

Most of us have something we aren't happy about, or we know friends that get depressed about their looks or are always on a diet.

One of my best friends is very overweight. I've never thought of him as a lazy person, but he has a sedentary job and he does eat too much and is too fond of beer, so I've watched him get fatter over the years. He has a philosophical attitude to life, nice wife, nice kids, and deals with the health problems. So when he asks "do you think I'm loosing weight", I tell him what he wants to hear.

I'm a bit more honest with the girls I work with though. They come to work starving because they had no breakfast, then skip lunch. They want a quick fix for a wedding, or for the Summer. When I tell them how much they are messing with their bodies, they tell me "it's working, I lost 5lbs this week". I tell them they'll put it back and more, which they do.

Guys don't escape either. The 'six pack' is obviously popular with both sexes. Men are now embarrassed to take their top off if they havn't got the 'ripped abs'. I have strong views on the 'six pack' and athleticism so I'll discuss that later. Meanwhile feel free to get stuck into this popular subject...

Auto Responder - Fundamental To List Building

MrSimit — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:44:45 GMT

I bet you have heard the phrase, "The Money Is In The List", at some time or another. If you are promoting products or information via a website, whether they are your own products or whether you are acting as an affiliate, the larger your list is - the better your profits are likely to grow.

As a rule successful online entrepreneurs grow their list employing an auto responder. As the name suggests, an auto responder is a piece of software that delivers pre-written messages, information, offers or promotions to email addresses supplied by visitors to your web site or splash pages.

The formula is straightforward.

Setup a web page that offers something of enormous value totally away for free. You may offer a free report, a video tutorial, an audio interview, or a live webinar. Then, in return for your free information, the visitor will impart you their contact details.

And then the magic happens. You can follow up with them automatically and offer added value and even induce them to buy from you! This is all accomplished using an auto responder, all automatically and efficiently for you. The purpose being that by providing valued and useful information, you develop trust with your list and increase the chances of them purchasing from you.

Stats show that most visitors will not purchase something off the web on first contact. The generally accepted standard is that it takes in the region of 7 contacts before someone will make a purchase online. In other words, you may well do all the tough work to get a prospect to your web site, but if you don't put into operation some way to keep in touch with them and educate them about your product again and again over time, your initial effort may well have been a missed opportunity.

A good number auto responders allow you to run several campaigns, so you can have a unique campaign (and different lists) for different niches. This is imperative as it allows you to keep lists targeted on a particular niche. The only manual work you need to do is in the initial setup phase of your campaigns but this is simple to do and most service providers have online instructions and help for the inexperienced.

It is straightforward to setup and once the setup is completed, a lot of the hard work is removed when it come to interacting with prospects or following up on customers with after sales service. Providing informative emails rather than constantly selling will go a long way towards building trust and credibility with your prospects.

Always use a service that provides you with unlimited Auto responders for a flat rate. This takes care of all future growth of your business, and these days this detail of service has become very affordable. Some providers keep increasing your subscription fees as the size of your list grows and you don't want to go through the disruption of transferring your list to a lower cost provider later down the line.

Having an auto responder facility as part of your online venture is virtually non-negotiable. If your web host provider can provide you with easy access and help in setting up such a lead capturing system in order to increase your profit and save you money, then you sure have found the right place to host your business as well.

The Golf Swing - A 21st Centuary Torture

MrSimit — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:32:00 GMT

Long ago when someone required to make penitence, they would wear a hair shirt under their clothing. The rough fibres of Goat hair rubbed and irritated with every movement leaving their flesh red raw. Now we practice our golf swing instead!

How often have you arranged a tee time and waited eagerly with anticipation to a wonderful day, playing a round with your buddies in ideal conditions, only to lumber off the 18th green with a scorecard to forget? We've all been there, often more commonly than we would care to admit. Yet we still squander massive amounts of dough on new-fangled clubs, shoes, etc, and not to forget untold baskets of balls at the driving range. All in the futile attempt to attain a golf swing that will keep our ball out of the rough!

Over recent years, the local professional and massive library of "Teach Yourself" literature have been supplemented by new types of instruction (or should that be therapy?) such as video swing analyzers, Youtube movies and a multitude of straps and braces to truss your torso with and keep your golf swing right. I regularly think it would be much more sensible to forget all that and as an alternative invest in a course of hypnotherapy because the largest obstacle for most golfers, to improving their golf, is inside their head.

Most players fall into the trap of over analyzing the golf swing. How difficult can it be to swing a wood through the air and strike a golf ball? I am not talking about playing to a level to compete on the PGA circuit here. That is beyond all but a minuscule percentage of golfers. I am not even talking about playing at a level to dethrone your local club champion either. I am just suggesting that swinging a golf club to strike the ball in the direction you mean it to travel and to a distance that your club is supposed to hit to, should not require more than a simple set of instructions and basic actions, followed by the obligatory amount of practice.

The ideal golf swing for you is more likelyto be an action that is specific to you. Your height, weight, bone structure and muscle mass (middle-age spread) are probably different to most other players. Two players of the same height and weight probably have different arm and leg lengths, so the arc of their golf swing and angle of their stances could differ significantly.

The challenge to the typical golfer is to get frequent enough time to practice their golf swing. If you work and have kids, you are fortunate if you can grab a few of hours a week at the driving range. Unlike the pro's, you won't get the time to work on the minutiae of every facet of the golf swing. So keep it simple.

Flour Facts for Coeliacs

Stevet — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:06:33 GMT

One of the most challenging food items to deal with is flour. It�s such an integral part of our diet, that it invades virtually every meal and snack we eat. When you can no longer eat foods that contain wheat flours, everything you put into your mouth becomes a potential food hazard. Fortunately, the manufacturing sector is becoming sensitive to those people who are wheat / gluten intolerant and a broader variety of food products are becoming available. Still, much confusion seems to swirl around the word flour.
The Concise Oxford Dictionary offers �any fine powder� as one of the definitions of the word �flour�. The other definition it offers is �a meal or powder obtained by grinding and usually sifting cereals, especially wheat�. In modern times, we have come to think of the word wheat and flour as synonymous. Fortunately, there are a wide variety of other alternatives.

Wheat is a cultivated grass, just like corn and rice. These are used as food products throughout the world. Some grasses, specifically wheat, barley and rye, contain a protein called gluten. This protein causes an irritation, sensitivity or allergy for some people, just as nuts do for others. it is estimated that one in ten people are gluten sensitive. That�s 10% of the population. many others are not diagnosed as gluten sensitive for a variety of reasons. That�s a lot of people.

When I first started making gluten free food, I was confused about the names of flours. As my research has progressed, I have been able to identify different types of foods that are available as flours. That�s helped me to develop the recipes that keep my food interesting and flavourful. About eight months ago, while working with an allergist, At that point, it became imperative to divide flours into categories: gluten containing grass flours, gluten free grass flours and flours from other plants. I have been able to further sub divide the flours from other plants into ground nut flours, seed flours, legume flours and root or vegetable flours.

This is some of the information I have amassed through extensive reading and careful research. If it contains any inaccuracies, omissions, or errors please bring it to my attention, so I can correct the information. I am not a specialist of any kind, just one person searching for a way to better understand the foods I make, so that i can build my business.

The Grass Family of Plants:

Gluten Containing Grasses or Grains:

�Barley Pearls
�Rye Flour
�Wheat Flour � all varieties
�Spelt / Dinkle Flour ( a species of wheat )
�Kamut Flour ( a species of wheat )
�Durum Flour ( a species of wheat )
�Graham Flour ( a type of whole wheat flour )
�Semolina Flour ( is a purified middling product made from ground wheat starch or endosperm, unless otherwise specified as rice or corn semolina )
�Triticale Flour ( a hybrid of wheat )
�Malt ( barley and other grains that are steeped, germinated and dried for use in manufacturing beer, hard liquor, vinegar and sugars such as maltose, glucose, fructose and sucrose )
�Bulgur ( also called burghul, a cereal food made from several different wheat species, but most often from Durum wheat )
�Couscous ( wheat pasta � spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat, then coating them with finely ground wheat flour )
�Orzo ( a rice shaped pasta made from semolina flour )
Gluten Free Grasses or grains:

�Corn / Maize Flour or Meal
�Millet Flour
�Rice Flour � all varieties, white & brown
�Glutinous Rice Flour ( also know as sticky rice or Mochi )
�Wild Rice Flour ( the seeds can be cooked whole or ground into a dark flour )
�Sorghum Flour
�Teff Flour � dark and ivory
�Sugar Cane
�Bamboo
�Job�s Tears / Hato Mugi / Coixseed / Adlay / Adlai ( barley like in appearance, grain that is gluten free and can be ground into flour)
Seed Flours: ( Gluten Free )

�Buckwheat Flour � light & dark ( A traingluar seed from the Polygonaceae plant family. It is not a grass, grain or cereal )
�Amaranth Flour ( a seed used as a grain � Amaranth is a genus of plants )
�Quinoa & Red Royal Quinoa Flour ( seeds used as a grain from a species of goosefoot of the Chenopodium plant family )
�Chia / Salvia Hispanica ( the seeds are ground to make flour � Lamiaceae plant family )
�Flax ( ground seeds � Linaceae plant family )
Root and Other Vegetable Starches: ( Gluten Free )

�Potato Starch ( is created when the starch is mechanically and chemically extracted from the cells of the potato � lighter, no taste, better thickener in sauces and gravies )
�Potato Flour ( is created by cooking the potatoes in their skin, dehydrating the pulp and then grinding it into flour � heavier, has potato flavour, poor thickener, better in baking )
�Sago Flour / Pearls ( created from the dehydrated and ground pith of the stem of sago palm trees )
�Kudzu Flour ( the roots contain starch which is processed to form a flour )
�Arrowroot ( is made from the edible starch found in the root of West Indian arrowroot plant � Maranta arundinacea plant family )
�Corn Starch ( is made by mechanically extracting the starch from the corn kernals & modifiying it for specific purposes. It is a gluten free grain in the grass family )
�Tapioca Flour / Pearls ( is made from the cassava plant � also known as yuca, manioca, boba � comes in two forms: flour & pearls, just like Sago )
�Agar Agar ( is derived from seaweed and comes as a dry powder or in a gelatinous form. It is used as a thickening agent )
�Taro / Dasheen ( is made from the root of the Taro plant which is dried and ground like potatoes )
�Sweet Potato Flour ( is made from white sweet potatoes )
�Yam Flour ( produced from grinding dried yams )
Legume Flours: ( Gluten Free )

�Peanuts are a member of the legume family of plants � Legume Fabaceae
�Chickpea Flour / Garbonzo / Gram / Besan / Channa ( made from dried and ground chickpeas )
�Dal Flour ( is made from split peas )
�Lentil Flour
�Lupin Flour ( has been suspected of causing allergic reactions in people who are sensitive to peanuts )
�Fava Flour ( made from dried and ground broad beans )
�Garfava Flour ( is a blend of chickpea and broad bean flours )
�Soy Flour ( is made from roasted, ground soy beans )
�Urid Flour ( is made from mung beans that have been processed )
Nut Meals or Flours: ( Gluten Free )

�Almond Meal or Flour
�Hazelnut Meal or Flour
�Peacan Meal or Flour Flour
�Walnut Meal or Flour
�Chestnut Flour ( made from roasted, ground chestnuts )
�Acorn Flour ( if making your own from wild acorns do the research as this requires a special process )
�Coconut Flour ( made from processed coconut meat )
The world we live in is very cosmopolitan. It is now common to have access to a wide variety of ethnic foods both in grocery stores and restaurants. Sometimes the names of flours used to make these foods are related to a specific country, region, language or culture. It can be challenging to know if the foods are safe for us to eat in relation to our special dietary needs. For that reason, I have included the names of as many flours as I could find and their original food form.

Tips For Cooking and Baking with Special Flours:

�Many gluten free flours are very delicate and will go rancid quickly. Keep them in sealed containers in the refrigerator or freezer. Label them carefully with their name and date.
�When adding a new flour to your pantry, make sure to learn all you can about it�s unique flavour, texture and properties. Tasting a small amount, smelling it and rubbing it on your skin or between your fingers will tell you a lot about how to use it.
�When combining gluten free flours for baking, there is a specific ratio that works well � 2 parts mealy flours to one part starchy flours e.g. 1 cup almond meal + 1 cup quinoa flour ( mealy flours ) added to 1 cup tapioca flour ( starchy flour ). You can break the flours down even further e.g. 1/2 c. almond meal + 1/2 c. quinoa flour + 1/2 c. teff flour + 1/4 c. ground flax + 1/4 c. sweet rice flour plus 1 c. tapioca flour.
�When blending gluten free flours, meals and starches add a binding agent (or two) to compensate for the lack of gluten. Guar Gum is a common binding agent but can cause digestive upsets in some people. The more expensive Xanthan gum is easier to digest for most people, but is also an excellent binder. Gluten free gelatine is also added to some recipes, in addition to guar gum or xanthan gum, to enhance the binding properties of gluten free flours
�You can sour milk to replace buttermilk in a recipe, by adding lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk. Add 1 Tbsp of either to a cup of milk, stir well and set aside for 15 minutes.
�If you need an easy egg substitute in a recipe, add 1 Tbsp. of ground flax mixed with 3 Tbsp water for each egg required. You can also buy a product called Egg Replacer.
�Make your own nut meals and flours by slowly roasting nuts in the oven, allowing them to cool and grinding them in a clean coffee mill or powerful food processor. A medium to low oven ( 325F � 350F ) for 5 to 10 minutes will toast them to a golden brown. Watch them carefully so they don�t burn and turn bitter.

A little Taste of Things to Come

Ball & Chain — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:31:05 GMT

Warning, if you are easily offended please read No Further! You Have Been Warned...

Here is a little taster of things to come in the Sequel:

The Snow Cock

There has been an increase in the construction of snow cocks (large artistic snow sculptures of the male genitalia : ) in recent years, always game for a laugh British military personnel have been rising to the challenge and over the years, during heavy snowfalls, military made snow cocks have become a hard feature of the snow landscape.

One particular story springs to mind from a member of the RAF:

It was the Winter of 81/82 and I was on a tonka course at RAF Cottesmore TTTE (Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment).

During one particularly heavy snowfall over a few days, 3 of us built a large Snow Cock outside the accommodation block.

For 3 nights on the trot the Snowdrops (RAF Police) destroyed our Snow Cock by driving over it in a landrover, each time we constructed a new Snow Cock to replace our previous masterpiece in the same place, until that is, we constructed the 4th and final Snow Cock around a concrete bollard.

The daft c***s didn't realise the slight change of position, drove into it and smashed their landrover up!

Looking at the damage to the Snowdrops� landrover, they must have hit it at a fair whack. They then came around the block trying to get people to own up to it (as if!) and went away obviously wondering how to explain their Snow Cock destroying antics to their boss!

Shortly after the �snow cock and landrover incident� an entry appeared in Squadron Routine Orders (SRO�s) telling personnel not to build snowmen on the base which was obviously completely ignored and simply acted like a red rag to a bull as Snow Cocks started appearing mysteriously overnight all over the base which tied up the Snowdrops for a few nights trying to catch the culprits, which by then had increased tenfold from the original 3 of us!

One can only imagine the incident report � �We accidentally drove into a harmless enough looking Giant Snow Cock that turned out to be as hard as concrete!�

Oh how we f*****g laughed!

:laugh:

Pull Up a Sandbag - The Sequel

Ball & Chain — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 23:26:09 GMT

"Pull Up a Sandbag" the Sequel/the animal has begun!

Meeting up with the Co-Author tomorrow lunchtime for our first 'Jonathan Smiles' Happy Hour come Authors' Weekly Meeting of the New Year, at our usual meeting platz close to Sarajevo Zoo.

We'll be typing up a few stories each during the week then collaborating over them over an Ale or Two to decide whether to include them in the Sequel or not.

I'll head out early tomorrow to the local store to pick up a new Barrel of 'Midnight Oil' for the months of burning the stuff to follow! :laugh:

Thanks to those of you who have purchased and read "Pull Up a Sandbag" I hope it brought a smile or two or possibly even a Laugh Out Loud whilst on a train journey, on a public bus or possibly on Jury service as one reader informed us, he was promptly given a warning by the Judge for giggling in Court! it appears humour may well be a crime in some places!

I will Post a story in Continuation to this in a minute, but please be warned it comes with an 18+ Certificate!

Race reports here:

Ernie — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:13:35 GMT

Dumfries Half Marathon
This was billed as the oldest race of its kind still organized by the same club. I still have a lovely medal and good memories from doing this as a 25 year old.

I give myself 6 - 7 months to train with this one race in mind. In March I could manage 10k in 60 minutes. By Sept 1st I could manage 10k in 42 minutes, so training went well.
The only hiccup was a cold/infection that meant virtualy no runs in the last 2 weeks. It probably meant I lost a bit of endurance, but not much.

THE RESULT
I was 105th in 1:42:15 (7:48 pace average).
I was originally aiming to match my 93 minute PB (June 1991), but on the day I'd have been happy to get around in sub 95 mins. I'd even have put money on getting under 100 mins. However I'm not disappointed, it was a respectable enough time and I learnt a lot (mainly, start slower, and run your own race - see later >>)

INTERESTING STATISTICS
1st Male = 72:50, 1st Female = 84:41, 1st Male 40 = 79:16
There were 220 finishers, about 2/3rds of those were over the age of 40. I finished in 1:42:15 and in 105th place. Of those who beat me, 21 were actually aged over 50, 9 of those were over 55, and 3 of those were over 60 (at least one was 65).

A LITTLE STORY
As I said, I was aiming somewhere between 'dream time'(sub 90) and 'no thanks time' (over 1: 40), and I believed I'd get close to my PB (93 mins).
The first mile was downhill and I hit it in 6:52 which I was excited about as I knew that was the exact pace for an 89:57 half marathon.
It was at this point that another runner struck up a conversation with me. Alistair turned out to be an experienced vet 65 years old, but alas there was no M65 category in this race. He'd won 9 out of 10 races this year and ran in the Inverness Marathon.
By mile 2 (14:15 oops) realizing I'd slowed I left my friend and picked up my pace. By mile 3 he'd caught up with me and suggested we help each other. An old ultra runner's trick he said:rolleyes:, take turns to shelter from the wind and it could save minutes. I went along out of politeness and we were having a great chat too. At 4 miles (29 mins) I realized we were running at 7:15 pace (a 95 minute half marathon) and settled for that. However my new friend suggested changing the lead every 2 lamposts. In hindsight I think this constant change of pace took it out of my legs, but I'm not making excuses (much lol).
By 7 or 8 miles my legs felt heavy and I slowed leaving my much older friend to push ahead. He finished in 79th place in 1:37:34.
THE END / MY VERDICT
I'd been waiting so long to do this race (18 years) that I was just glad to get it out of my system and 'move forward'. So no disappointment with the time as I know it'll improve. A slight disappointment however was that the organizers didn't provide medals to all finishers. I'd have gladly paid extra for this. Instead we got a mug and a bottle of lucozade.
The 2 Best Bits: YouTube - Dumfries Half Marathon 2009