20 Excellent Conversation Questions Everyone Loves

Once you have experimented asking questions for a while, you will realize just how great questions are for starting conversations, helping them flow and for getting to know someone better. Now it is time to have some fun with it!

What makes an excellent conversation question?

1. It is easy to answer

2. It does not cause offence

3. It includes everyone

4. People will not be judged on their responses!

This last point is particularly important, as people will be reluctant to talk if they feel they will be judged. So you can see a good conversation question is also about tone and circumstances.

Below is a list of excellent conversation questions to delve deeper into the personalities of people you feel comfortable with and find out a few more things about them. These are great for social gatherings and parties or anywhere where you want to have fun and get to know someone in the process.

It is a great spin on the old party game "Twenty Questions" but see where each question leads you when you get the answers. Do not turn your questioning into an interrogation and listen to the answers you get.

Pick up on these answers and as subsidiary questions, add your own answers: ask whatever seems appropriate and whatever the other person seems to want you to do. Just go with the flow and enjoy it!

1. If you were God for a day, what would you do?

2. If you could be the parent of one famous person, who would you want it to be and why?

3. What was the last thing you regret buying?

4. If you had a chance to bring one person back from the dead, who would it be and why?

5. What three things you regret not learning to do?

6. If you had a crystal ball that could tell you the truth about any one thing you wished to know about yourself, life, the future, or anything else, what would you want to know?

7. What's worse... having expectations that are too high, or having no expectations at all?

8. How do you know when you're in love?

9. What is the most important invention or innovation that has happened during your life-time?

10. How would you spend your ideal day?

11. What, if anything, is too serious to be joked about?

12. What three adjectives might other people use to describe your personality?

13. Who would you choose to be shipwrecked on a desert island with?

14. What is your idea of a perfect romantic evening?

15. If you were to be remembered for one thing, what would you like it to be?

16. If you were guaranteed honest responses to any three questions, whom would you question, and what would you ask them?

17. If you saw someone shoplifting, what would you do?

18. Is there anything you would willingly give your life for?

19. If you could re-live a day of your life again, which would it be and why?

20. If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?

These are all light-hearted questions that should cause no-one offence, but they also touch on philosophical issues and allow you to really get to know a person - if they are honest with their answers. You make it a lot more likely that they will tell the truth if you set the scene and provide a relaxed atmosphere and if you are prepared to chip in with your own answers.

Under those circumstances, these provide excellent conversation questions to enable you to know more about your friends than you might ever have found out in any other way.

by Peter Murphy

Understanding Home Broadband Bandwidth

Your home broadband, typically ADSL or cable modem access, usually has a different speed for downloading and uploading respectively. Typically you will have a downlink speed in the range of 512 kbit/s up to 8 Mbit/s and an uplink speed substantially lower than that, often 128 kbit/s to 1 Mbit/s. However, even when downloading things from the Internet, traffic flows in both directions, because the protocol that is used to transfer the data uses acknowledgments to make sure that the data has been transferred properly. Since your download speed is substantially higher than your upload speed, in a lot of cases you will not be able to use your full download speed if you are uploading data at the same time.

Your Internet service provider will often quote the speed of your home broadband as being "up to" a certain speed. There is a reason for that. Let's say you have a home broadband connection of up to 2 Mbit/s in download speed and up to 512 kbit/s in upload speed. Does this mean that you are always guaranteed to get that bandwidth for your transfers?

Definitely not! In fact, all Internet service providers sell much more bandwidth than they can actually deliver. If all the customers of a service provider would try to use their connection to download at the same time, the average bandwidth would be much lower than the maximum value given. In fact, it is not uncommon to sell 50 times more bandwidth than they can actually deliver.

Does this mean that they are tricking you? It certainly sounds so, but this is a practice that has been used a long time, even in telephony networks or cell phone networks. If everyone in the world tried to use their telephone at the same time, it simply would not work. But that just doesn't happen, most people only use the telephone occasionally.

The same thing applies to your home broadband. Most customers in your service providers network only use their home broadband occasionally. Some users fill up their broadband all the time, and there are those that rarely use it at all. But on average, the usage is quite low compared to the maximum possible. For instance, when you're surfing on a web site, you spend most of the time reading the pages. Also, most people only spend a fraction of their day in front of their computer at home.

If the service provider was going to guarantee that you could always get your maximum bandwidth, your home broadband would be much more expensive. The service provider would have to make sure that you had dedicated bandwidth for your usage only. This would be a waste, and cost much more than most people are willing to pay.

Instead, service providers carefully monitor the bandwidth usage in a network, to make sure that connections are not overloaded. Some low quality service providers will overload their connections more, and give you a lower average bandwidth.

Service providers also use the same over provisioning for business customers, but the "over provisioning factor" tends to be much lower. This is not surprising, because a business connection is used by many people so on average these connections will be more utilized than a home broadband connection. Furthermore, a business customer generally pays more for the same bandwidth, so the service provider can afford to give a higher quality to these customers.

Author: Andy Wilkinson

Smoking Health Problems

As we all know smoking is a bad habit. But still people use to smoke because of their addiction towards it or because of fashion. College students used to smoke to look fashionable. Smoking is very injurious to health. Leave smoking to live longer. It is being confirmed through the various research studies that people who smoke a lot live for less years than those who avoids smoking. The maximum numbers of the cancer cases are used due to the smoking. Many people have lost their lives due to the smoking and many more will be giving it in coming future. Smoking has become a problem of serious concern. In spite of the lot of advertisements put by the govt. nobody is reacting promptly to the smoking cessation. According to me, the best solution would be to stop the production of the cigarettes completely. This will surely be a lot helpful to stop the unhealthy habit of smoking. When it was asked to the people during the survey that why they smoke. Nobody was able to give a perfect explanation for it. So, this is just a style or passion that is making this unhealthy habit prominent.

It has proved by the scientific studies that 70 different types of the cancer are caused by the smoking. Cancer of the larynx, pharynx, oral cavity, esophagus, bladder, kidney, and pancreas are caused by the smoking. The fact is that large numbers of deaths all over the world are noted due to the smoking habit. Sexual dysfunction in men and women is noted due to the smoking. It has been noted the men who smoke lot are found to be impotent. Erectile dysfunction is common among the men with the habitual smoking habit. Infertility is on rise due to the unhealthy habit of smoking. Women are failing to get pregnant due to the excessive amount of the tobacco in the body that destroys the ovulation cycle.

Asthma is the common outcome of the smoking. Nearly all the smokers suffer with the asthma. This is caused due to the swelling that is the respiratory tracts that happens due to the smoke of the tobacco. Even the sexual stamina and loss of libido is noted to be common problem faced by the smokers. Even the problem of premature ejaculation is found to be prominent among the men who smoke habitually. Even the occurrence of the blindness is found to be very common among the smokers. Tobacco smoke affects the blood vessels in the eye. This result in the damage of these vessels and the blood supply to the eyes get disturbed, which ultimately leads to the blindness.

Smoking is the habit that generally starts in the young age and then stays for the lifetime with the person. Smoking causes addiction. Tobacco is the main constituent of all the smoking packages sold in the market. Smoking is generally the process in which the tobacco is inserted in the smoking piper and burnt, or cigarettes and cigar has them tobacco filled in which just needs to be burnt. Through the process of smoking the tobacco is inhaled which directly passes to the respiratory tract. It is noted that the functioning of the lungs is disturbed to the large extent by the smoking. More than 95% cases of the lung cancer are caused by the smoking of tobacco. Once you suffer with the cancer then your lifespan remains only for 4 to 6 years.

One of the serious problems that occur due to the smoking is the cardiovascular health problem. Atherosclerosis is one of the most common diseases observed in the smokers. Due to the smoking the deposition of the plaque is deposited in the arteries due to which the atherosclerosis is caused. Tobacco smoke has 5000 different chemical compounds and 80 out of these are very hazardous to the health. Immune system is greatly affected by the smoking due to which many other diseases also affect your health. Thus, it has been proved that smoking reduces the lifespan. So, if you want to live longer then quit smoking.

by Calvin Doyle

Losing Weight Doesn't Have To Be Hard

How would you like to lose twenty five, fifty, or even one hundred pounds in just month? Or drop two dress sizes by the end of the week? There s no need to exercise, just take this magic pill with every meal, and no lifestyle changes are necessary.

Yes, that sounds appealing. It sounds quite impossible as well. For some reason, though, millions of people still fall for the many scams available in the health, diet, and fitness industries. These overnight success programs may have testimonials and pictures to back them up, but could these rapid transformations really be safe for a person s body and mind.

Fat loss can be a quick and easy process but it all depends on your definitions of the words quick and easy . Most weight loss professionals consider one to two pounds to be a safe amount of weight to drop in one year. It doesn t sound as rapid as the infomercials, does it? By dropping the recommended two pounds per week, a person could theoretically lose over one hundred pounds in one year. That should be more than sufficient for most people, and even you have more than that to lose, one hundred pounds off your back would definitely make a dramatic change in health and appearance.

Was fat loss really ever meant to be easy? Nothing of value comes to you without being earned. Regardless of the hyped marketing and testimonials, fat loss was never meant to be easy, but it doesn t have to be confusing. Take a moment to contrast the words easy and simple . Good diet and physical fitness habits are very simple, but they are still hard to do on a consistent basis.

That s the key to weight loss. It s all about consistency. Running just a little bit faster or lifting just a little more weight is all it takes to make impressive improvements over the long run. Not to be overly pessimistic, but think about when you decided for the very first time that you wanted to lose weight. Consider where you d be if you lost one pound week per week ever since? Where would be you now? There probably wouldn t be much left.

Congratulations on deciding you are ready to change your life, whether this is your first attempt or not. In order to keep your progress consistent and your results growing, you ll need to find continual motivation. Your new future doesn t start on any specific date, it s the result of specific actions taken today, very literally. Your future isn t what you plan for tomorrow, it s the life you create today.

How can you create an overwhelming abundance of motivation that gives you no choice to succeed? There are a variety of possibilities. In a place you see often, place a picture of a person you believe has an ideal body weight. Maybe even better, post a picture of yourself where you are now, so you can see the difference. Create a vision board with pictures of your idea life. Find friends and a support group that are trying to make similar decisions and improvements in their own life.

Finding your ideal weight is worth the hard work. It won t be easy, but the physical, social, and emotional benefits are well worth the effort. Take the first step, build some momentum, and you ll reach your goal in no time.

by Daniel Millions

3 Old Home Remedies That Can Kill You

In our modern world, expensive prescription and over-the-counter medicines from large pharmaceutical companies are what most people turn to treat various ailments. In the not-too-distant past, many folks relied on old home remedies and traditional folk medicine when they needed a cure. Although some are still used today, many of these treatments were actually deadly. Here are three home remedies best avoided...

#1: Using Kerosene To Kill Head Lice

Believe it or not, there was a time when some people would use a bit of kerosene on a child's hair to kill headlice. Although it may have succeeded in killing the lice, the dangers far outweighed the results. Kerosene is quickly absorbed through the skin, and of course is both highly flammable and very toxic. Using this old home remedy caused many illnesses and deaths.

These days, a much safer option is using a combination of petroleum jelly and a comb. Hand-picking the lice eggs out and suffocating the lice with the jelly may be time-consuming and messy, but it is safe and effective.

#2: Taking "Azarcon" Or "Greta" For Stomach Troubles
Many older folks, especially in Mexican and Mexican-American communities will know about these two powders that were traditionally given to help treat "empacho", a broad term describing various intestinal and stomach illnesses. The problem is, both of these consist of almost 100% pure lead! Taking any amount of these can and has caused lead poisioning that has harmed and killed many people. You can still find Azarcon and Greta today; be sure to avoid them like the plague.

For mild stomach complaints, ginger tea is a tastier, more effective, and non-lethal alternative.

#3: Putting Butter On Burns

Smearing butter on a fresh burn is a classic example of an old home remedy that should be avoided at all costs. Although it may help the pain at first, the butter will actually contaminate the burn. Furthermore, bacteria will quickly start growing in the butter and allow the burn to quickly become infected.

If you have a minor burn, why not try using some natural aloe vera gel on it. This can be squeezed directly from the houseplant of the same name.

Many of us are taught from a young age to respect the wisdom and advice of our elders. When it comes to treating ailments and injuries though, you might want to get a second opinion before trying out the remedies they remember.

by James Allen

How To Get Nice Muscle Tone And Build An Attractive Muscular Body

Most people know that they need to lift weight build muscles. However many just want to have nice muscle tone and an attractive but not too muscular body as they do not want big muscles. So they just lift light weights with high repetitions. Well, it is not going to work. To have nice muscle tone, you will have to build some muscles right? So you will have to lift heavy to force your muscles to grow. Once you are satisfied with the size of your muscles, you will then need to cut your body fats for your muscles to show up well and that means nice muscle tone.

You need to have a solid commitment and knowledge to get nice muscle tone and build an attractive muscular body. Here are some muscle building tips. Before you commence weight training, remember to warm up and as well as doing some stretching exercises.

•Train Muscle With Free Weights

Machines will have its uses, but for a start, concentrate on free weights. That means work almost exclusively with barbells and dumb bells. Free weights recruit many stabilizing muscles for balance and control. That means you will work a lot more muscle parts other than the intended ones. That will give rise to little bumps, striations and definitions all over your body instead of one huge lump of muscle on your intended muscle. Because of the extra stimulant created, your muscles grow faster too. Why else do you think all professional body builders almost exclusively use free weights?

•Train With Compound Exercises

Incorporate as many compound exercises as possible to your routines. Compound exercises are exercises that involve 2 or more joint movements. Because they utilize more joints, which means greater muscle mass are involved. Greater muscle mass means heavier weights. Heavier weights mean encouragement of greater muscle growth. More muscle growth means more tone to your muscles.

Some excellent compound exercises are the Squat, Deadlift, Chin ups, Dips, Bench press, Barbell Press, Lunges, Bent-Over Barbell Row...etc.

•Train Intensively But Do Not Over train

You must train intensively for your muscle to grow. Try to do more reps or add more weight than the previous session or else your muscles will think (actually muscles don't think, they adapt), "Ah... we've done that. Nothing new, so no need to grow bigger and stronger." That being the case, you will wreck your chances of attaining an attractive muscular body.

Because of this, it is important that every time you train hard, you give your body time to recover as it has suffered strains and actually sustained many small scarring. Contrary to popular belief, your muscles grow when you rest, especially when you sleep and not in the gym. So sleep at least 8 hours a day. Also, do not train everyday or work the same muscle group more than once or twice a week. If your training was vigorous enough, do no more than an hour per session.

Try not to do cardio work on the same day as your weight lifting work. In fact, during the muscle building phase, you should do less cardio work as aerobic exercises burn muscles. You can increase your cardio work at cutting body fat phase, so as to lose body fat in order for your muscle tone to show up nicely.

•Technique And Form

This is the most neglected fundamental of bodybuilding. Everywhere, everyday, you will see people using wrong forms and techniques. This not only compromises your growth, it will also make you susceptible to injuries... sometimes even permanently putting you out of the gym.

Wrong form occurs usually when people try to lift weights that are too heavy, whether out of vanity or ignorance. As a guide, always lift with strict focus on the muscle you intend to build for that exercise. Feel it contract and extend. Lift the weights deliberately and slowly. Never ever swing your weights up especially when doing bicep curls or the military press.

•To Build Muscles Fast You Must Perform Lower Body Exercises!

This is what most people don't realize. Your lower body makes up 60-70% of your musculature. If you don't train them, not only will you look spider-legged, your entire body will not grow as quickly and as large. Don't think that you can hide those skinny limbs in pants! Most people do not train their legs because squats, dead lifts and lunges can be very grueling exercises. But it is precisely because of such intensity that you will produce more growth hormones when you sleep and overall muscular development is stimulated. Your body shape will also be more balanced and therefore more attractive.

Do read up more to understand how your muscles work and then work on it so that in no time you will be a proud owner of a well tone attractive muscular body.

by Chris Chew

Flooded House Do's And Don'ts

If your home has been hit by flooded due to a broken pipe, spring runoff, or backed up sewer, your first instinct is probably to start removing the water right away by whatever means are readily at hand. However, there are right responses and wrong responses to a flooded home and for safety's sake it's essential to know the difference. Here are some do's and don'ts to help you mitigate the problem quickly, safely, and effectively and preserve as many of your belongings as possible.

Do's

* The first thing to do is always to safeguard the safety of your family and pets. If the flooding is severe, have them stay at a neighbor's or family member's house at least until help arrives.
* The second thing to do is to call a good disaster cleanup company in your area: you want professionals on the scene as soon as possible who have the right equipment and the right training to bring about the most positive outcome to a negative situation.
* Do remove paintings, other art objects, and priceless photographs to a safe place right away: this involves making very fast mental prioritizations and then acting on your decisions quickly. Remember: the expensive stereo can be easily replaced, but photos of your children cannot.
* Do use buckets, clean towels, and mops to remove as much of the water from the afflicted rooms as possible. Use white towels on carpets and furniture to prevent bleeding.
* If the ceiling above is bulging with water, do place a bucket underneath the spot and poke a small hole into the ceiling to relieve the pressure and let water through: proceed with care, however.
* Do place sheets of aluminum foil between furniture legs and wet carpet.
* If the weather is nice, open all windows to allow air in and remove as many belongings as possible to dry outside in the sunshine.

Don'ts

* If flood waters include sewage, vacate the house immediately and leave all cleanup duties to the disaster cleanup company.
* Don't attempt to remove standing water using your vacuum cleaner
* Don't turn on electrical appliances in rooms where flooding has occurred
* Don't turn on ceiling fans or lights if the ceiling is wet
* Don't leave colored clothing, magazines, or newspapers on wet hardwood floors or carpeting since discoloration may occur.
* Don't go into any rooms where you feel you may be in danger.

Any level of flooding in a house is serious, since the possibility of mold growth is always present under these conditions. Whether you need Utah disaster cleanup or similar services in Atlanta or Houston, make sure you partner with a disaster response company that can offer you fast professional help when you need it most.

by Carolyn Ethington