Zoombinis Logical Journey

Learn important life skills and more as you lead the Zoombinis to freedomProduct InformationTravel to a remarkable new world and treat your brain to an outlandishly fun and challenging adventure. Diabolical Bloats have seized Zoombini Isle and it will take a clever mind to help the Zoombinis navigate their way to safety. Standing between you and your destination are twelve perilous puzzles with four levels of difficulty each. But beware this is no ordinary challenge. Zoombinis’ captivating gameplay features math without numbers. Solving Zoombinis puzzles uses the process of mathematical thinking. This process includes organizing information reasoning with evidence and testing systematically. Dive into the exciting and wacky world of the Zoombinis and develop information-age logic skills used in writing computer programs organizing spreadsheet data and searching for information on computer networks. Skills LearnedAlgebraic Thinking Data Analysis Graphing and Mapping Logical Reasoning Pattern Finding Problem Solving Statistical Thinking Theory Formulation and Testing Product FeaturesPrintable activities. Sharpen your skills even when you’re away from the computer. 12 perilous puzzles with 4 levels of difficulty each. Play again and again! With puzzle reformulation it’s a new game each adventure! Helpful puzzle clues and a handy practice mode build confidence every step of the way. A detailed Parent’s Guide explains the innovative educational approach behind each puzzle. Logical Journey supports the math standards of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Windows Requirements Windows 95/98/Me/2000/XP Pentium 200MHz+ processor 32MB RAM 50MB free hard disk space * 8X CD-ROM drive Monitor resolution 800x600 minimum 24 bit color Windows compatible sound card speakers mouse * An additional 7MB of disk space may be required to install Adobe Acrobat ReaderMacintosh Requirements Pow

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Steady As She Goes

Hot Tuna is back with Steady As She Goes, their first all-new studio album in 20 years! Founding members Jorma Kaukonen and Jack Casady masterfully blend Americana rock with blues and acoustic folk on a record that hits their full spectrum of styles from electric and acoustic Hot Tuna to their days in Jefferson Airplane. Reaching a zenith of their historic career, Steady As She Goes is an absolute masterpiece.

During their more than four decade long career Jorma and Jack have created some of the most significant music of our time and Steady As She Goes proves that they remain one of the most innovative bands in American music. Recorded at Levon Helm's studio and produced by Grammy-winning producer Larry Campbell, the album captures the energy of their live performances with Barry Mitterhoff on mandolin, drummer Skoota Warner (Cyndi Lauper, Matisyahu, Santana) as well as Campbell joining them on guitar, fiddle, organ and vocals.

With their amps turned up to eleven, Hot Tuna rips into the blistering opener "Angel of Darkness" and puts the wind in your sails with the `hop on your Harley and take to the road' free-spirit jams like "Easy Now Revisited" and "A Little Faster." Steady As She Goes tastefully mixes in the acoustic side of Tuna with folk tunes like the moving "What Might Have Been" and the reflective "Second Chances." Along with masterful covers of the blues-rock infused "If This is Love" and a funky rendition of Reverend Gary Davis' "Children of Zion" Steady As She Goes is an iconic record that Hot Tuna fans have been waiting for!

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SABRE Compact Pepper Spray with Pink Key Case

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How to Protect Your Child From Abduction

Can you think of anything that is more important to you than the safety and protection of your children?

Probably not. As parents, we need to take all the steps we possibly can to provide our children all the protection we can. In only a moment, a child can be lost forever. There are steps you can take to increase the safety of your child, and there is a powerful and amazing modern Global Positioning System (GPS) technology available from AMBER ALERT GPS LLC that can help keep your child safe all the time.

*** The 4 BIGGEST ERRORS Parents Make That Put Their Children at Risk ***

These errors only increase the risk of abduction of children.

Four Child Protection Errors:

1.) Parents don't allow their children to scream.

Usually, parents teach their children to be quiet and not to cause a commotion in public. We don't want our children to misbehave and disrupt others nearby.

A child's scream is his or her first line of defense. If a predator is trying to abduct or harm your child, a good, loud, fearful scream from your child can stop the criminal dead in his tracks. Even with predators, a child's scream is unnerving. Your child's fearful scream will be heard by you and other responsible adults nearby. An "I need help!" type of scream will be heard and acted on.

Teach your child that when he or she needs to, when they are afraid of a person or situation, then a good, loud, scream is allowed. Tell your child to trust his or her gut instinct and scream. Tell your child that screaming can save his or her life, practice a scream with your child that sends out the message of "HELP"!

2.) The parents are afraid to speak up.

It is a very common experience for parents to have their child disappear from sight for a few minutes. No doubt the parents themselves performed this disappearing act on their parents once, or more times. It happens.

The mistake is holding back and not asking for help. Parents must be bold in the early minutes when a child is missing.

RAISE YOUR VOICE! Approach the supermarket or shopping mall, or other location's staff and have them use their intercom system to blast out an announcement about your missing child. Ask others nearby to help find your child. Don't be shy about this, the faster you call these techniques into your service, the faster you will find your missing child. The more eyes and ears out there looking for your child, the better.

Don't be afraid of making a false alarm. Your child's safety is the only thing to worry about. Others will understand the situation.

3.) Parents just assume their children are safe in a crowd.

Your children are not safe in a crowd. In fact, a crowd is one of the prime places for a predator to prey on children. In a crowd, a criminal can approach a child and make an abduction seem as a normal activity, what with all the noise, commotion, and distraction cover that a crowd provides. A child can be kidnapped or abducted in plain sight in a crowd.

In a crowd, stay together. Keep your child with you everywhere you go. If you try on clothes at a store, then bring the child with you to the dressing room. Don't let the child wait for you in the store, and don't trust a store clerk to be able to watch over your child for you. Go with your child to the bathroom, regardless of gender. Find a restroom where you can be alone with your child. This may not be easy, but being familiar with the places you shop or frequent can make this easier. Scout ahead and be prepared.

4.) Parents who are afraid to advertise that their children are protected.

Just as you may have "Beware of Dog" or "Security Alarm" signs or stickers on your property to warn people of a dog, or to let crooks know you have a security service monitoring your home, so should you advertise your child too is protected. Even if your "Security Alarm" sign is a fake, it still can scare off intruders because it's easier for them to move on to property where the security is definitely not present, rather than risk being caught at your property.

Russell Thornton of Amber Alert GPS LLC explains: "When Amber Alert GPS LLC was founded, we received comments to the effect that predators will simply find the GPS device and remove it after the abduction. We were told that we should hide the fact that our child has such a device on their person. We've put a lot of thought and research into this. That is why we take the "BEWARE OF BIG, MEAN, HIGH TECH DOG" sign approach. Although the GPS device is small and has no logo on it, we encourage parents to display an Amber Alert GPS sticker on their backpacks, notebooks etc. We want all predators to feel the potential risk - perceived or real. Knowing that the child can be tracked and is being monitored at all times will spoil many such attempts."

You can find security alarm stickers at stores (Radio Shack has carried them), buy some and display them on your home and property. Whether true or false, they can ward off intruders.

You can use the Amber Alert GPS child tracking device to provide safety and security for your child all the time.

Don't let it be a secret that your child is protected when you have this valuable GPS tracking and protection technology for your child. Let everyone know your child is protected with GPS tracking technology and that you know where he or she is at all times.

The Amber Alert GPS 2G is state of the art GPS tracking security for your child. I recommend this product. It will provide security and safety for your child from abduction and kidnapping. This technology can save your child's life.

Learn more about GPS tracking technology and save $100 with a special offer: http://www.squidoo.com/amber-alert-gps-coupon-code or http://www.squidoo.com/amber-alert-gps-promo-code-child-tracking

Parenting Advice on Child Safety Precautions - Scare Tactics or Essential Modern Parenting?

Thirty five years ago I was seven years old, and the 1970's were approaching. This meant meant I was an unsuspecting subject for my mother's zany sewing experiments. Floral flairs with pompom fringing. Hmmm. Back then I walked the three mile round trip to school each day, ambling along like I had all the time in the world, blatantly picking flowers out of people's front gardens to give to my teacher so she wouldn't mention I was late. I vaguely recall the occassional 'stranger danger' message, but without actual case studies child abduction formed no more a part of parenting conversations back then as did the appropriate age for teenagers to get body piercings.

One of my favourite memories of those early days was visiting my cousins, whose house was in the suburbs but backed onto the beautiful Australian bush. It was in this bushland that the enormous water pipes lay, weaving their way like giant's hoses down to the river. We would climb up the pipes and literally run for what felt like miles, stopping only occasionally when someone was coming the other way at which point we had to sidle past them precariously so as not to fall the ten foot drop to the ground. I marvel now at the freedom we had, particularly considering it was well known that lone adults frequented 'walking the pipes'.

By age ten I regularly used to roam around the local shopping centre on my own, or rode my bike to one of the numerous suburban parks with a friend or without. Our fears were of nothing, other than suffering the repercussions of arriving home late for dinner. We all knew the 'weirdo's' to look out for. The man with mental problems who was notorious for yelling strange things out to kids; the old crazy lady who pushed a shopping trolley laden with plastic bags around the streets, but who mainly mumbled to herself. These were our local 'strangers'.

It's not often I reminisce on those days, but if I do it's when I look at my daughter and fleetingly compare the joy of freedom I had, compared to what I let her do alone today. Currently in her eyes I'm the worse mum in the world because she's not allowed to walk to school by herself. I chastise her every time she wanders off from me on shopping trips; when she opens the front door when I'm hanging the clothes on the line out the back yard, or when she goes out to the front garden without my knowing. Like many mums I did this for ages without giving her a real reason why I was cross. I was reluctant to put into her little head the idea that someone may take her, for fear of terrifying her about the world we live in and the capacity for some adults to do her harm.

The world we are raising our kids in now, while still beautiful in most respects, is filled with new dangers that none of our parent's had to concern themselves with. Just where do we learn what warning's are appropriate for young minds, without affecting the intrinsic inner beauty of children who love all without judgement?

Here in Australia we've been fairly lucky compared to statistics from overseas of children being abducted. Of course the parent's of 11 year old Daniel Morcombe who disappeared in Queensland a couple of years ago, would be forgiven for not agreeing. Still today, they are madly searching for any information about how their beautiful young son could simply vanish while waiting for a bus. Frankly I don't know how they have survived it.

Just how do we raise a child who is polite and friendly, while at the same time teach them that they're not to befriend or talk to any adult when we're not next to them? How do we effectively inform them about how to handle the unlikely scenario that someone may try to take them, but at the same time not terrify them about the world and the people in it? If we want them to grow up to always see the good in people, how do we temper this with coaching them that even pleasant looking people are capable of mean things? What about fostering their independence, when our heart lurches every time we lose sight of them at the busy local pool. Like any mother I have a passionate desire to keep my child safe in this world, but I'm also determined to ensure she is able to enjoy life freely, like all children should.

The last decade has brought with it a new strain of human sexual desire, fed constantly no doubt by the ease of private access to all things perverted over the internet. Ten short years ago a certain amount of conserted effort would have been required to gain access to images designed to satiate the desires of sick individuals. Clearly that percentage has multiplied to unknown proportions, now that the ease of access has been increased for more and more people. Just what is the flow down effect of this in terms of people feeling a need to act out their sexual fantasies? Only the next couple of decades will tell.

The sad reality is that the modern world has degenerated in its pursuit of personal sexual freedom and exploration, at the expense of those who are too young to defend themselves against it. Some may say that too much concern from parents about their children's personal safety is overkill and unnecessary, based on the statistics of the number of children abducted by strangers today. But this attitude to me is the same as those who think people are ridiculous for being fearful of flying, or swimming in the ocean. Yes the likelihood is remote that harm will come our way, but as a parent, that element of remoteness is enough to keep me ever vigilant where the safety of my child is concerned.

Jo-Anne Roland is the director of AmberWatch Australia [http://amberwatchaustralia.com/], the Australian distributor of the AmberWatch. Recently featured on CNN's Youth Trend Report and currently taking the child protection world by storm, the AmberWatch is being heralded as a 'first of it's kind' child prevention/protection product. For information on the US parent company please visit [http://www.amberwatchfoundation.com/].

International Child Abduction - A Guide to the Basic Law

As the world continues to get smaller and international travel more common, areas of the law once thought to be of primarily local jurisdiction are now turning out to have international complications. Nowhere is this more evident than in the area of family law.

Marriages between citizens of differing countries can be extremely beneficial and worthwhile, but when they break down the fight over child custody and visitation can quickly become quite complex. Simply serving a legal notice of a lawsuit on a party residing in a different country can be difficult and at times expensive. Often it requires familiarity with the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extra-Judicial Documents in Civil and Commercial Matters, something few attorneys have any experience with. Further complications develop when one spouse decides to take matters into their own hands and simply disappears with the child, returning to their homeland.

In order to provide a remedy for such "abductions," the international community came up with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This Convention aims to protect children internationally from the harmful effects of their wrongful removal or retention and to establish procedures to ensure their prompt return to the State (i.e. country) of their habitual residence. As of this date, some 55 countries are signatories to the Convention. Some of these countries, however, are more than reluctant to comply with the terms of the Convention despite the fact that they have signed it.

Utilization of the Convention is fairly straightforward. Each country that has signed the Convention has a Central Authority to which an aggrieved parent may apply for assistance. An aggrieved parent is one whose child has been taken. That Central Authority will contact the Central Authority of the country to which the child has been taken. An attempt will then be made to locate the child and obtain a voluntary return. In the event that the parent refuses to return the child, a lawsuit is brought on behalf of the aggrieved parent to compel the return of the child.

As an example, if a child was taken from her residence in the state of Iowa and brought to London, England by her mother, the child's father would contact the U.S. Central Authority, the U.S. Department of State, Office of Children's Issues. They would assist the father in completing a Petition for Return of Child which would be filed with the Central Authority of England and Wales, the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit. The authorities in England would attempt to get the mother to return to Iowa with the child. If they were unsuccessful, then the father would bring a lawsuit against the mother in the English court system. The same process would be used if the child was resident in London, England and was wrongfully brought to the State of Iowa by her father: the mother would contact the Central Authority in London which would in turn contact the Central Authority in the United States. If unsuccessful, she would file a lawsuit in the US court where the child was located.

Once a lawsuit is filed, in order to win a case of wrongful removal or retention under the Hague Convention, the aggrieved parent must show that:

(1) the child was "habitually resident" in the country before being removed;

(2) the child's removal was in breach of the "rights of custody" of "a person, an institution or any other body;" and

(3) that those rights "were actually exercised at the time of removal or would have been so exercised in the absence of his removal." See Hague Convention, Art. 3.

As one would expect, there has been a significant amount of jurisprudence (legal theory) develop as it concerns the above terms. Courts have concluded that the term "habitually resident" refers to a child's customary residence prior to his or her removal but focuses not upon a child's domicile or legal residence but rather where the child physically lived for an amount of time sufficient for acclimatization and which has a degree of settled purpose from the child's perspective. In other words, where the child likely considered its home.

"Rights of custody,"" meanwhile, include rights relating to the care of the person of the child and, in particular, the right to determine the child's place of residence. These rights may arise by operation of law or by reason of a judicial or administrative decision, or by reason of an agreement having legal effect under the law of that State.

After the aggrieved parent has shown the court that the child was wrongfully abducted, the burden shifts to the opposing parent to show by clear and convincing evidence why the child should not be returned. Under the Convention, it is an affirmative defense if:

(1) the person seeking return of the child consented to or subsequently acquiesced in the removal or retention;

(2) the proceeding was commenced more than one year after the removal of the child;

(3) the children have become well-settled in their new environment; and

(4) there is a grave risk that the return of the children would expose them to physical or psychological harm.

Court decisions on this matter are quite clear that acquiescence under the Convention requires either an act or statement with the requisite formality, such as testimony in a judicial proceeding; a convincing written enunciation of rights; or a consistent attitude of acquiescence over a significant period of time. Acquiescence has been held to be a question of subjective intent. Many lawsuits in international child abduction matters focus upon whether or not one of the parents agreed or consented to the removal of the child.

Parents should be aware of the "one year" defense. Commencement of proceedings, as used in Article 12 of the Convention, means the filing of a civil petition for relief in any court which has jurisdiction in the place where the child is located at the time the petition is filed. Once the location of the child is known, the clock starts to run. However, Article 12 goes on to state that "even where the proceedings have been commenced after the expiration of the period of one year..., [the court] shall also order return of the child, unless it is demonstrated that the child is now settled it its new environment." Hague Convention, Article 12. As for this "well settled" exception, it should be noted that the court retains the discretion to order the children returned even if an exception applies. Nor is a court obligated to take into account the child's wishes.

Finally, Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention allows a court to deny return of a child to the country of habitual residence if "there is a grave risk that his or her return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation." Generally speaking, such a risk arises in two situations: (1) imminent danger such as war, famine, or disease; or (2) when there is likely to be serious abuse or neglect and the court in the country of habitual residence, for whatever reason, may be incapable or unwilling to give the child adequate protection. As a parent, you will be expected to provide compelling evidence that the child will in all likelihood be in danger if returned.

As should be no surprise, international child abduction matters are extremely complex, both in legal substance and procedure. In the unfortunate event that your child has been abducted, you should contact an attorney experienced in the area of international child abduction immediately. Time is of the essence, and a quick response can often be the difference between a voluntary return of the child and a long, expensive court battle in a foreign country.

For additional information concerning International Child Abduction, please see the U.S. Department of State, Office of Children's Issues: http://www.travel.state.gov/abduction/abduction_580.html

For assistance in locating qualified lawyers, please see http://www.critellilaw.com

Toothprints Lead Way in Child Identification

Dental characteristics are unique to each individual. Not even identical twins carry the same dental characteristics. This distinctive trait has led to the creation of a new way to safeguard your children, the Toothprints® dental ID.

Dental records are often a prime source of identification, but with the incidence of tooth decay on the decline, today's children have fewer and fewer cavities, resulting in limited dental records. Parents can now use this valuable innovation to protect their children from being lost or abducted.

The Toothprints dental ID is a horseshoe-shaped soft wafer that can record the unique dental characteristics of each child. The child bites into the wafer to record individual tooth characteristics and tooth position within the arch. The device also collects a saliva sample, an effective tool for scent-dog tracking. Dental professionals recommend the first Toothprint be taken at age 3 with updates at least twice during childhood, generally between ages 7-8 and 12-13. Parents keep the Toothprints themselves for quick access and confidentiality. According to statistics compiled by the U.S. Department of Justice in late 2002, nearly 800,000 children are reported missing every year with 58,000 of those being abducted by nonfamily members. This new form of identification comes on the heels of President George W. Bush's signing into law the PROTECT act, which created the nationally recognized AMBER (America's Missing: Broadcast Emergency Response) Alert system.

Dr. David A. Tesini, an associate clinical professor at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, researched the Toothprints bite impression in July 2003 and concluded the effectiveness of Toothprints. One study had shown that a Toothprint that had been swabbed in the routine manner as for all general forensic samples could produce an obtainable genetic profile nearly three years after it was taken. The sample Toothprint had been immediately placed in a Ziploc bag after it was taken and stored unrefrigerated in a normal home environment.

Tesini also noted the importance of the saliva DNA sample on the wafer. He referenced a test in Las Vegas in 2002 where scent dogs were given a month old, dried wafer. The dogs were still able to locate the individual hiding in a paint closet on the basement floor of an eight-story building, all within 10 minutes.

These bite impressions are acknowledged as a key component in child identification by many groups including law enforcement officials, school boards, dental professionals and missing children organizations. Toothprints only takes a few minutes, and a few minutes are worth a parent's piece of mind, and possibly, a child's life. Contact your local orthodontist or dentist for more details on Toothprints.

Avis Ward of AWard Consulting, LLC

Avis Ward is a Dental Marketing Consulting specializing in Orthodontics.

More information about Avis can be found here: http://aviswardconsulting.com/ or Avis Ward Avis invites you to view her blog.