Category: Family

Choosing The Ultimate Fishing Boat For Your Family!

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You and your family are heading out early in the morning for a day of fishing in your brand new fishing boat. You hit that highway that leads to the lake, excited voices echoing throughout your SUV. Your wife and kids are just as delighted with the new boat as you are and are discussing the whopper they hope to catch. You arrive at the lake, launch the runabout that contains the entire family’s fishing gear and in no time at all, you are skimming across the water, every family member safely encased in a lifejacket. You just know that this is going to be a great family outing and everyone loves the new fishing boat.

A fishing boat can be anything between a canoe where you dangle basic bait over the side in a river or stream to a powerful cabin cruiser or yacht. Basically, all you need to get out onto the water is a vessel that is seaworthy. There are a large variety of fishing boats available on today’s market. You can buy them at boat shows, fishing shows or dealerships. Let’s look at some different types of fishing boats.

Freshwater Fishing Boats
If you enjoy fishing in freshwater rivers, lakes and streams, leave the big, powerful boats for someone else. Choose a fiberglass or aluminum boat that is lightweight and easy to transport. A bowrider, runabout, walleye boat or a boat with a small or dual console will meet all of your freshwater fishing needs. These boats are perfect for family outings.

Bass Boats
Bass boats ride low in the water and are usually very colorful and extremely fast. They can be aluminum or fiberglass and most often they are equipped with platforms in both the bow and stern for easy casting. If you’ve always dreamed of owning the perfect bass boat, be sure to buy one that has a trolling motor mounted on the bow. These boats are mainly used for sport fishing and tournament fishing.

Offshore Saltwater Boats
If you enjoy heading out on the open sea for a day of saltwater fishing that includes huge fish and heavy tackle, you will need a heavy boat that is dependable and can be relied on in all situations and weather. Anything less than a cuddy cabin or center console that’s equipped with either twin or single outboard motors will not fit the bill. The high end of an offshore saltwater boat is a bluewater or convertible that comes complete with luxury quarters and elaborate salons. These boats should be equipped with inboard diesel engines that have maximum power.

Inshore Saltwater Boats
If you’re planning to fish for tarpin, bonefish, trout and snook or redfish on tropical flats, a light boat will take you a long way. This type of boat should always be less than a 25-footer and powered by a single outboard motor. The best type of vessel for inshore saltwater fishing is a basic bay boat or flat boat. Both types of boats offer a spacious deck for casting and float well in shallow water.

Float Tubes
Float tubes are devices that allow fly anglers who don’t own a boat easy access to get out onto the water. They are excellent for fishing ponds, lakes and mountain streams. Essentially a float tube is a floatation device that is equipped with a seat. The angler sits in the seat while wearing fins and kicks his way around while partially submerged. Fly fishing from float tubes can be difficult, especially for those who are using them for the first time. It definitely takes time to hone your fly casting skills from a float tube.

There are two basic types of float tubes – traditional and pontoon. Traditional float tubes are usually round and have an opening in the front or middle. Basically, these are an inner tube with built-in features for fly fishing. These float tubes can take a lot of time to maneuver because they are round in shape and cause a lot of water resistance.

The newer pontoon float tubes are much easier to use. These are equipped with two pontoons, or air chambers, one on each side of the fisherman. Pontoon float tubes have less water resistance and offer far less drag than traditional ones because the pontoons are V-shaped and move through the water almost effortlessly.

If you are thinking of purchasing a fishing boat, shop around, talk to anglers who own their own boats and do your research to help you decide which type of boat you’d like to have. If you still can’t make a choice, talk to a boat fishing guide or the owner of a fishing charter service. They will be glad to give you tips on how to choose the perfect boat for you.

The Process Of Family Court Restraining Orders

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Copyright 2006 Law Offices of Donald P. Schweitzer

The first step to understanding the process of obtaining a family law domestic violence restraining order is to understand that this process is quite different from the process involved when protective orders are automatically put into place by the courts in criminal matters. In criminal matters, the police and the court are empowered to issue automatic temporary restraining orders. Evidentiary hearings are not conducted before these restraining orders are put into place. Consequently, in criminal courts the protected party does not need to be a part of the process.

In many instances, victims of domestic violence need to obtain a restraining order in family court, for example, where the criminal court restraining order is not adequate to deal with issues such as child support, spousal support, or custody and visitation. In other instances, a victim of domestic violence may need the protection of the family court where criminal charges were not filed or have been dismissed.

Unlike criminal matters, the protected party seeking a family law restraining order has to file his or her own papers, attend at least two hearings, and be able to conduct an evidentiary hearing. In addition, the Petitioner in a family court restraining order matter is responsible for ensuring that the Respondent has been served prior to the hearing.

At the hearing, Petitioners seeking a family law restraining order must be able to present a case, and convince the judge by a preponderance of the evidence that domestic violence was committed. Thus, a basic understanding of what constitutes domestic violence is essential. In some instances, the matter does not qualify as a domestic violence case, because the parties do not have the right type of relationship. Instead, the case may be filed as a Civil Harassment matter, which involves its own unique process and standard of proof.

The hearing for a permanent restraining order is essentially a mini trial. At the hearing, all of the rules of evidence apply, and both parties have the right to a meaningful opportunity to present evidence and cross examine witnesses. Preparing for a family court restraining order hearing should include, composing direct and cross examination questions, and when possible, gathering of physical and demonstrative evidence. In this high tech age that we live in, e-mail messages, voice messages, and surveillance video are frequently introduced into evidence to prove or disprove a case. Police reports are also allowed into evidence as an exception to the hearsay rule. Thus, litigants should attempt to obtain police reports, whenever possible, as they can be very persuasive to the judge. People within the legal profession recognize the serious consequences involved with the issuance of permanent restraining orders. Given that restraining orders typically impose significant limitations on a partys liberty, and can affect a partys ability to find or maintain employment, these matters are being taken more seriously by the courts in recent years. Courts have become more skeptical of the requests that are made for restraining orders and hold the moving party to his or her burden. Indeed, the days of family courts rubber stamping restraining orders appear to be coming to an end. Consequently, it is incumbent upon any person who is faced with having to be a part of this process to do his or her homework before entering the courtroom.

Bannerghatta Biological Park To Widen Horizons For Your Exciting Family Holidays In India!

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There is no age for heading to a nature trail, like there is no age for playing video games. And, it is not only children or grown up men, who like to spend their holiday playing visual games over the television or play station. A lot of women also like to be a part of this because leaning back on a bean bag the whole day and competing over a game with your joystick is something very exciting. However, coming back to the more exciting activity to do during your family vacations is to explore the wild side of this world, especially India. India is house to a wide range of wildlife sanctuaries and parks that have been sustained till date. These lush areas are shelters to some amazing species of the nation that include animals, birds, reptiles, and other creatures. So, next time, when you want to have some fun with your family, then you can surely opt to discover the wild.

With numerous choices that have been made available in the country for an animal gazing safari, this time you might like to cover the south of India. In the southern state of Karnataka, near the city of Bengaluru lies the Bannerghatta National Park. A small portion within this park called as the Bannerghatta Biological Park has been well maintained for tourists to visit and have a trail of the jungle. This park widens horizons for an exciting family holiday in India for the nature lovers and adventure junkies. Having such a place not only adds to the tourism of India, but also is a great way to educate people and their kids about the rich natural habitat of the country. A day might arrive, when these creatures will become extinct due to the constant deforestation and pollution. Then, you will only be able to see them in pictures. However, in order to avoid such a time, you need to gain knowledge about saving the environment. Taking your child to a wildlife park is the best way to do this, which you can do at Bannerghatta.

Tourists can come across a large variety of species of animals like elephant, leopard, bison, chital, sambar, sloth bear, barking deer, wild boar, wild dog, jackal, mouse deer, bonnet macaque, striped hyena, porcupine, and more at Bannerghatta. Several types of birds and reptiles can also be found here, which comprise of peacocks, cuckoos, eagles, wood peckers, wagtails, flycatchers, strokes, partridges, lizards, crocodiles, tortoise, python, cobra, viper, etc. Frogs and toads can be seen in the water bodies, while you can also explore the butterfly park constructed within the biological park. Now isnt that exciting? In addition to this, Karnataka is one of the best holiday destinations in India, where you can holiday at, during your vacation to the south.

Post the wildlife gazing, you and your family can enjoy the boating trip, which is one of the many refreshment facilities offered at the park. This can bring to a beautiful end to your holiday trip in the country!

Pitfalls Of Supervising Friends And Family And How To Overcome Them

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Supervising friends and family has the potential to be one of the most productive work relationships that exists in the workplace. Sadly, this is not always the case. Whether supervising a long time friend, managing a family member, or being promoted to supervising your peers, it is critical that all new managers learn to overcome these four pitfalls.

Poor Performance.

One of the most amazing dynamics when supervising friends is that they often will take you for granted, assuming that you will accept their poor performance because of your relationship. In fact, it often occurs that when the new manager is a friend, the employee begins to lessen their own standards of performance. Whether this is done intentionally or not, you must address it.. The greater problem is in the response you receive when poor performance is addressed. Often, new managers feel that their requests are ignored by friends they supervise. If this is a new supervisory relationship it is absolutely critical that you have a meeting in which you clearly lay out the expectations in this relationship. They need to know that for their sake (so others wont gossip about them) and for your sake (so your team will not lose respect for you and your authority) that you must treat them the same as every other member of your team, and that the performance standards as well as the disciplinary standards will remain consistent. If youve already begun to experience this, you must confront the problem directly. You can have an informal discussion about it at first, but if that does not change the situation, then you must address this in a serious manner. Follow your companys procedure for handling performance issues. Make sure that you clearly communicate that these are not just requests, they are directions given by their supervisor. Remember, everyone else is watching you.

Voicing Your Own Negative Feelings About the Organization or Your Supervisor.

Whether you are at work, a company function or hanging out at friends house, when you become a supervisor, there is a part of you that is always on. This means that there are now subjects you dont get into, and boundaries you dont cross. Even though you may have a legitimate issue with the organization, or your supervisor, never express them to the people you manage. First, it can negatively affect them as employees, especially if they have similar concerns, and cause severe future consequences. Second, it puts them in a very uncomfortable position, if they dont agree with all of your concerns. Third, it creates an environment that causes employees to vent and voice negative feelings even when youre not around, and sometimes about you. Fourth, it could very easily get to the wrong person and now affect your reputation. The key to this is you must find a new sounding board, someone who is at arms distance away from your job. Ideally this is someone who doesnt work with you and doesnt have any type of relationship with any one from your job, like a neighbor or a relative. In some instances it can be a co-worker in another department or a mentor, but use caution when thats the case. The two of you need to agree that he or she should function as a dead end (some you can tell delicate information to and it ends with them). Thus when you voice your feelings, there is no chance of it getting to the wrong person or negatively affecting someone involved in the organization.

Manipulation.

Of all the pitfalls that must be overcome, manipulation is often the most challenging. Manipulation occurs when the other person leverages their friendship against you to get what they want. First, do not let this affect you emotionally. Do not be fooled. This is rarely just a normal conversation that leaves you feeling guilty. This is almost always being done to you intentionally. More importantly, it is also a sign of disrespect. This person believes that you are weak and will succumb to emotional terrorism. Second, address this as early as possible. The more it occurs, the more it becomes a pattern. This also keeps you from building resentment. Third, dont beat around the bush. Subtlety is not effective in this situation. If you feel someone is leveraging your friendship against you, address it head on. One of the most common phrases new managers hear as they are being manipulated is, I thought we were friends! a great response to this is, In reality, if we were the friends I thought we were, you wouldnt put me in this situation in the first place. This helps to express that true friendship is not one sided and should not be used for the purpose of manipulation.

Favoritism or Perceptions of Favoritism.

You should expect to be accused of favoritism when you manage a friend. Avoiding the previous four pitfalls, will help to minimize any legitimate complaints a worker could have regarding favoritism. But in reality, even when you do your absolute best to make certain that all associates are treated based on their work, you must realize that not every accusation of favoritism is accurate. Many people dont take responsibility for their own performance. When was the last time you heard someone say, I didnt get that promotion because I wasnt qualified? Most would rather find someone else to blame or misapply a statement like Its not what you know but who you know. Dont let it get to you. This is just a combination of blame shifting and manipulation. Address the issue by letting the other members of the team know that there is no favoritism here and that every one is being held to the same standard.

Although these techniques may seem simple it doesnt mean they are easy, but when you overcome the emotional challenge of the friend-supervisor dynamic, success is assured.

Celebrating Christmas Away from Your Family

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Having to celebrate Christmas away from your family is definitely not the end of the world. It can be great fun if you don’t let yourself get upset, and don’t stay cooped up in your flat all alone.

Fairs and Markets

Something that can put any lonely soul into a cheerful mood is visiting a Christmas market or fair for an overdose of seasonal food, beverages and entertainment. Better still is if you can arrange to go together with friends and indulge in numerous mugs of steaming mulled wine. In as cute and cosy a setting, you won’t have the chance to get upset about being away from your family.

Celebrating With Friends

You are bound not to be the only one staying in town for Christmas, being unable to get home to celebrate with your family. So be the organiser of the group and arrange to spend the festivities together with friends.

Decide on where you will celebrate. The most likely and practical venue is someone’s home so that you have access to a kitchen for preparing the festive meal.

Put together a menu. This can be particularly fun if you have an international bunch of friends. Ask everyone to contribute a traditional recipe from their country. The easiest way of organising the meal might be to ask everyone to pre-prepare things at home, and just reheat them upon arrival if necessary.

You can also ask everyone to prepare some form of entertainment, whether it’s a national song or dance, or a game that could get everyone involved.

To avoid having to spend vast amounts of money, speak to your friends to ensure no one splurges on expensive gifts leaving the others feeling uncomfortable.

Staff Parties

One of the most fun occasions people associate Christmas with is the staff lunch or night out. It is usually a really jolly event that fuels the coffee break gossip sessions for at least the next few months or so. Towards the end of the year, people seem to lose their inhibitions and forget what is considered appropriate behaviour among colleagues. Most seasonal staff nights out involve a meal, drinks, dancing and at least one person wondering around the room with a branch of mistletoe.

Hotels, restaurants and other event spaces offer special deals and party packages, in which prearranged entertainment such as a cheesy DJ usually plays a part.

You may not have the chance to spend Christmas with your family, and you could be missing out on presents, but you do have your corporate Christmas gifts to look forward to as companies reward their employees for a year of hard work. These are either handed out at the office or during the Christmas party.

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