Do you ever have a day when you have nothing to do ?, You know them times when your on the internet in some chat room, and you type ‘ I’m bored ! ‘, or your flipping through the TV channels, and you say to yourself or out loud ‘ 250 channels, and nothing good to watch ! ‘, yes, you know what I am talking about. Now you have something you can do on them so called boring days, go bird watching.

No matter where you live you probably have birds of some kind, even folks in New York have central park and other places where they can go bird watching. There are three things you should have when bird watching, these are a pair of binoculars, a notebook, and a bird guide.

Binoculars can be purchased for under $60 at most Kmart or Walmart stores. Binoculars with a magnification of 10 x 50 are perfect for bird watching. Don’t think that a more powerful pair of binoculars like 20 x 60 or 30 x 80 are better, this is not the case. Stronger binoculars are fine if you are into star gazing, but they are horrible for bird watching. The higher powered binoculars need a tripod to use them without shaking, and even without a tripod, the powerful binoculars are larger and can be very heavy to carry around, the 10 x 50 ones are perfect for every occasion.

A small tablet or notebook can be purchased at most stores, don’t get nothing expensive just a small spiral one will do fine. Now the last thing is the most important item when it comes to bird watching. If you are truly going to watch birds, you should know what type of birds you are looking at when you spot a new one, so visit your local book store or look in the birding section of an online bookstore, such as amazon, at the end of this article I have a website address that has some of Amazons best bird guides, videos, binoculars and more.

Ok, so you have your binoculars, notebook and pencil, and your bird guide, now let’s go outside and go bird watching. I am sure you won’t have to walk very far to spot a bird or two. I am lucky enough to currently live here in the country, all I have to do is open my door and I will hear the sounds of birds. If I step outside my front door, I can often see sparrows or finches, in the spring time the yard always has a couple robins hopping around, and crows flying around the nearby woods, high overhead I often see turkey buzzards soaring against the blue sky. One time I opened my front door and across the road in the top of a large tree a horned owl was sitting, it stayed there for about 10 minutes, turning it’s head often as it looked around.

If you have any grassy, wooded or open areas with trees or bushes, you can usually find birds. One of the best things about bird watching is anyone can do it, even if your in a wheelchair, you can sit and watch birds. It’s a great recreation for anyone that is alone, or for the whole family to do together.

When you go out, remember to take your bird watching items with you, your binoculars, notebook and pencil, and bird guide. When you spot a bird look in your binoculars too see all it’s beauty in close detail, if you do not recognize the species of bird your seeing, get out your bird guide and look it up. When you realize the type of bird you see, write down in your notebook the following information; ‘ the name of the bird, the area where it was spotted, the date, and time ‘. The information in your notebook, helps you understand what types of birds frequent your area, it also is pretty neet being able to read back and see when you spotted a new or rare bird.

If you have a yard, tree or even a window you can attract birds by installing a simple feeder. Bird feeders are very inexpensive and they have feeders that can hang on a tree branch, or fence, or even stick to the outside of a window.

Attracting different species of birds often requires different types of bird seed and other food. Hummingbirds are attracted to red, pink and orange flowers, they especially like trumpet vines or other tubular-flowered plants, they are also very attracted to hummingbird feeders filled with sugar water or red sweetened kool-aid. Robins like mowed lawns, so in the spring and summer if you want to see robins, mow your grass, the birds come looking for bugs and earthworms that are more easily accessible because you cut the grass length. Goldfinches love thistle seed, thistle is more expensive then most common bird seed, but you cannot beat it if you want to attract goldfinches. Blue Jays are large and sometimes noisy, but if you want to bring them, put out a feeder full of black oil sunflower seeds. Cardinals are very neat looking, there is nothing nicer than looking out the window in the winter, and seeing a bright red cardinal sitting on a nearby tree branch or feeder. Cardinals are like Blue Jays, in that they both love a diet of black oil sunflower seeds. If you want to attract sparrows, a bag of plain mixed bird seed will do just fine.

There is Computer Software that is made just for ‘ Bird Watching ‘. The software is called: ‘ Bird Watcher Professional ‘, you can read the details and download a trial version of it for free at this website address:

http://www.rb59.com/bwpro

Here is a website address that has some of the best Bird Guides (Books), Videos, Binoculars and other birding equipment that Amazon sells:

http://www.rb59.com/bwpro/bird-watching-information.html

By Robert W. Benjamin

Copyright © 2006

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter or on your web site as long as it is reprinted in its entirety and without modification except for formatting needs or grammar corrections.

When people talk about laptops, everyone assumes that all laptops are wireless. Traveling with a laptop is easier today than it once was, the laptops have gotten smaller and lighter. The new mobile laptops make computing easy for many people. When purchasing a laptop, make sure a wireless connection is built in so you can reach the internet if you are in a wireless area. The laptop is replacing the big desktop computer; but the mobile computer needs to provide the ability to accept components for expandability. Many people today keep all of the information on their computer, so if the computer goes down many people will not have that data. In today’s modern world the laptop or sometimes called notebook is a must have.

If you do not have a laptop computer yet, you should know that one of the most important aspects of having a laptop computer is having a great power supply. Every laptop computer needs to be equipped with some type of warranty; the laptop should have at least a one year manufacturer warranty. You may even be able to play movies on them with crystal clarity. Purchasing a laptop computer is not an easy job to do because there are so many important things that should be considered before purchasing.

The type of work you do can affect the screen size and type that is most suitable for you. If you are not worried about graphics a screen size of 12-14″ is acceptable. If the work you are doing is graphically intensive than a 15-17″ is better. Screen sizes range from 12 to 19 inches. A laptop computer with smaller screen is great option if you do not plan to use laptop too much.

Going from 256MB of RAM to 512MB of RAM will speed up your laptop. If your needs are somewhat mundane - email, spreadsheets, word processing, etc. 512 MB of RAM should be plenty. RAM is to a computer what location is to real estate.

You also need to think about the hard drive in the laptop you are considering. The hard drive is also a very important specification to consider in buying a laptop. The speed of a hard drive is normally calculated in rotations per minute. A hard drive of about 50 gb or over is a good rule of thumb.

In addition to the processor, you will probably want to upgrade your system with memory, monitor, a graphics card or video card, and pointing device and keyboard. Finding cheap components is easy today due to the internet, many sites have popped up and made all of these components accessible. The important thing to remember when shopping for components is that you need to make sure they are compatible with your system.

Laptop cases are an important computer accessory you should make sure you acquire. They have many sections that accommodate important office documents. Another important type of carrying case is the wheeled roller case. But, their safety and protection is equally important. A laptop case is specially made for carrying a laptop but a backpack is just a bottomless pit. Getting a quality bag is very important since you are carrying around an expensive piece of equipment. Your notebook is going to be at least 6 pounds, probably more. The portability of laptop computers is both a boon to busy business people. Your notebook should be sturdy and rugged. Expensive notebooks should be protected properly.

When people talk about laptops, everyone assumes that all laptops are wireless. Traveling with a laptop is easier today than it once was, the laptops have gotten smaller and lighter. The new mobile laptops make computing easy for many people. When purchasing a laptop, make sure a wireless connection is built in so you can reach the internet if you are in a wireless area. The laptop is replacing the big desktop computer; but the mobile computer needs to provide the ability to accept components for expandability. Many people today keep all of the information on their computer, so if the computer goes down many people will not have that data. In today’s modern world the laptop or sometimes called notebook is a must have.

If you do not have a laptop computer yet, you should know that one of the most important aspects of having a laptop computer is having a great power supply. Every laptop computer needs to be equipped with some type of warranty; the laptop should have at least a one year manufacturer warranty. You may even be able to play movies on them with crystal clarity. Purchasing a laptop computer is not an easy job to do because there are so many important things that should be considered before purchasing.

The type of work you do can affect the screen size and type that is most suitable for you. If you are not worried about graphics a screen size of 12-14″ is acceptable. If the work you are doing is graphically intensive than a 15-17″ is better. Screen sizes range from 12 to 19 inches. A laptop computer with smaller screen is great option if you do not plan to use laptop too much.

Going from 256MB of RAM to 512MB of RAM will speed up your laptop. If your needs are somewhat mundane - email, spreadsheets, word processing, etc. 512 MB of RAM should be plenty. RAM is to a computer what location is to real estate.

You also need to think about the hard drive in the laptop you are considering. The hard drive is also a very important specification to consider in buying a laptop. The speed of a hard drive is normally calculated in rotations per minute. A hard drive of about 50 gb or over is a good rule of thumb.

In addition to the processor, you will probably want to upgrade your system with memory, monitor, a graphics card or video card, and pointing device and keyboard. Finding cheap components is easy today due to the internet, many sites have popped up and made all of these components accessible. The important thing to remember when shopping for components is that you need to make sure they are compatible with your system.

Laptop cases are an important computer accessory you should make sure you acquire. They have many sections that accommodate important office documents. Another important type of carrying case is the wheeled roller case. But, their safety and protection is equally important. A laptop case is specially made for carrying a laptop but a backpack is just a bottomless pit. Getting a quality bag is very important since you are carrying around an expensive piece of equipment. Your notebook is going to be at least 6 pounds, probably more. The portability of laptop computers is both a boon to busy business people. Your notebook should be sturdy and rugged. Expensive notebooks should be protected properly.