Getting Rid of Online Advertising 1 - Opt Out at the Network

Network Advertising Initiative is an organization devoted to finding answers to the growing problem of spam, spyware, and other evil things used to monitor your web use for marketing purposes.

Yep, there are "advertising networks" out there keeping track of where you surf through small programs (e.g., cookies) silently placed upon your computer. No one asks your permission, they ride along the internet and grab hold unless you've blocked them somehow. These networks use the data sent by the software to their main hub to compile your preferences. All for the purpose of gearing advertising especially for you, lucky you.

That's why when you surf for netbooks, you suddenly get ads for netbooks showing up on the magazine sites you visit for example. Targeted online advertising.

There's no single magic button to stop this Big Brother type of tactic. However, there are ways to minimize it, and one of them is to Opt Out at the network site.

For example, you can Opt-Out at the NetworkAdvertising site fast and easy. Just follow the steps.

Does it mean that they'll never put a cookie back on your machine? Nope. However, with some other tools that I've already implemented, I'm happy to report that I only had one cookie from this network on my machine - made me all Security Proud.

More on that later.

FOXBusiness Offers 7 Steps to a Single Income Family: Is Downsizing Becoming Acceptable?

Today, FoxBusiness has a great article entitled, "7 Steps to Becoming a One-Income Family" that really does give substantive help in moving from a two-income household to a one-income family.

What I like best is the end of the article, where the expert points out that American society predominates with instant gratification and a pressure to spend - but that the ability to simplify things is doable, and he appears to say there is power in it.

Which those of us who have been simplifying voluntarily for years know - and have been sharing with anyone who cares to listen, for years now.

Power. And freedom.

Maybe if the main stream media is writing articles like this, frugal living and voluntary simplicity won't suffer such a stigma in the future. Downsizing is cool now? Wow. That's great.

Tea as a Stress Reducer - It Works

Black tea has been studied in Great Britain (of course), and found to be a proven stress reducer.  Actually, it doesn't relax you so much as it prevents those nasty stress hormones (like cortisol) from skyrocketing and it is also able to fight against the formation of blood clots. 

Chamomile Tea is a Powerhouse

Herbalists for centuries have been reporting that chamomile tea reduces stress.  Personally, I love the taste of chamomile tea.  So I was very excited to learn that it's somewhat amazing in all its benefits.  For example, WebMD reports on studies that show chamomile tea to have the additional benefits of blocking complications from Type 2 diabetes including loss of vision as well as  nerve and kidney damage. 

Additionally, one research study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that chamomile tea heals inflammation along with assorted skin diseases, open wounds/ulcers and even gout. WebMD also reports that recent studies have found that simple little old chamomile tea can stunt growing human cancer cells.

Green tea and ginseng tea also not only provide great health benefits, but also to fight stress well.

Nice to know a no-calorie, inexpensive, easy-to-find beverage can do so much for you, right?  Add that to a real, traditional English tea time and you've really got yourself a stress-break.