Portland Trailblazers, Brandon Roy Agree To Contract Extension

By Ross Everett

After extensive negotiations, the Portland Trailblazers have signed All Star shooting guard Brandon Roy to a five year contract extension. Roy will be in the final year of his rookie contract in the 2009-2010 NBA season, and securing the services of a player that did no less than turn around the franchise was the teams top summer priority.

Some suggest that the emergence of Roy actually saved the Portland NBA franchise. After a run during the late 1980s behind Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter, the team went a long way toward alienating their passionate fan base. They had a competitive team at times, but Blazer management was tone deaf to the desire of the community to have a franchise that they could be proud of off the court as well as on it. Instead, the Blazers pulled together a roster consisting of character challenged reprobates that earned the moniker JailBlazers for their frequent legal transgressions.

With the Blazers fans staying away from the arena in droves, owner Paul Allen finally had enough and cleaned house. The new management was given the challenge to put together a roster that would not only win games, but win back the Rose City fans. The acquisition of Roy will likely be looked at as the turning point for this effort. The Blazers acquired Roy on draft day 2006 for Randy Foye, and would go on to win the NBAs rookie of the year award.

The Blazers"who were 21-61 the year before Roy arrived"posted a 54-28 record last season. Roy has become the centerpiece of a talented young team had has not only become a force in the NBAs Western Conference but has gone a long way to winning back the Portland fan base.

The first four years of Roy's 5 year $84 million deal are guaranteed, while the fifth is at the players option. Roys agent Bob Myers strongly suggested that Roy wanted to remain with the Blazers for his entire career, noting that he "is one of the unique players to have a chance to have that sort of relationship with one team."

The Blazers now turn their attention to working out a long term deal with power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. Like Roy, Aldridge is in the final year of his rookie contract and a key component to the teams recent success. At last report, talks between the two sides are progressing. - 42495

 

Easy Guitar Lesson- Meant For Those Who Have Never Held A Guitar In Their Life

By Sean H Walsh

Are you familiar with an instrument that has strings running from the neck to the bottom of the instrument traversing over a hollow belly, and whose sound soothes the heart and soul? Yes you do. It is the guitar. There are many who dream about learning to play it but only a few have the heart to go in for it. An easy guitar lesson is a bonus. You will find guitar trainers located all across your city, or you can go to search for lessons on the net. You can start practicing as soon as you find a suitable choice.

Now, the easy guitar lesson is meant for those who have never held a guitar in their life, let alone try one. Just for these folks, the lessons try to simplify the notes and chords used in the compositions played using guitars. This means that you will learn to differentiate the highs and lows of the guitar easily and soon master them too.

Beautiful women are drawn to a person who plays the guitar. This is true the world over. All you have to do is play some appealing track to the beauties and you can be sure to seduce them to fall in love with you. If you want to be a Don Juan, then you should right away start on easy guitar lessons.

Maybe you do not want to impress the ladies with your guitar; then why not try to impress your friends and relatives with their favorite tunes? Surely, this will make them feel delighted If even this does not make you pleased then why not learn it, so that you can keep yourself engaged and enjoy it instead of simply sitting on your couch, and watching TV. So an easy guitar lesson can help you to please yourself and make others happy.

Your desire to learn guitar is boiling within you, so don't ignore it, or simply stay quiet by reassuring yourself that you will start in a day or two. You should stop thinking up excuses not to learn the guitar, and just plunge into the experience of of the guitar today itself and enjoy the exquisite pleasure of learning the instrument. Stop thinking, and just sign up with any easy guitar lesson.

Older persons who have retired have found a lot of comfort in music. They are specifically soothed by the guitar, and when these old people can learn the guitar, why can't you do it? Even children of all ages are learning guitar. So what is stopping you from learning guitar? You can blame only yourself for not learning. With easy guitar lesson you can learn guitar just has you please and at your selected pace.

Guitar teachers are very expensive. Go to the Internet and join any on line guitar tutorial for very small fees. You will get a complete guide, DVD s, e-Books, etc., which will help you to become a master.

All you need is willpower and willingness. If you have these two, then you will be able to get results. Keep your ambition of becoming a master always in your sight and never waver.

As you know, the Internet is a large space, and you find your share of the bad ones there too. They specialize in giving the wrong leads to enjoy the pleasure of your discomfort. Be doubly careful when you select the site you want to work with. - 42495

Things To Keep In Mind Before Filing A Suit For Patent Infringement

By Lenie Sanchez

Patents enable an inventor to prevent unlawful use of his or her invention by other parties for their own economic advantage in an unlawful and unauthorized manner. They give the inventor the option to prosecute a person or a company for deliberate infringement of his patented product or its underlying process. However, you have to keep some important aspects in mind when going for a legal option against patent infringement.

Firstly, you must ensure that there has been a literal infringement of your product secured by patent. In other words, the alleged product must have imitated all aspects of your original product. It is only in certain special cases that an infringement that is not strictly literal is considered a genuine infringement of a patent. However, you will have to prove that the major aspects of the infringing product are same as the patented product in all respects and yield the same outcome as the patented product.

Secondly, you ought to have some kind of direct connection with the patent in order to bring prosecution against the offender. In other words, you have to be the owner or licensee of the patent for being eligible to defend the product. You also have to consider the law of limitation of the jurisdiction and take legal action within the time allotted for such cases, as otherwise the claim would be treated as invalid.

Although you can take legal action against not only the producer of the infringing product but also against the user of the product, any such action can be taken only while the patent lasts. After the termination of the patent date, no use of the product can be termed as a violation of the patent.

Last but not the least, though patents stand on the strict liability principle, you must remember that the use of a patent for research purposes is permitted and it does not constitute an infringement. - 42495

Spiritually Significant Aspects Of Buddhist Funerals

By Amy Tan

A Buddhist funeral contains elaborate last rites carried out according to sacrosanct rituals and traditions. The ceremonies performed during the Buddhist funeral are believed to liberate the deceased person's soul from the chains of life and enable it to find a new and better life after death where it comes closer to Moksha.

The Buddhist funeral services which conclude with cremation in most cases, are done by monks with the help of the family. The dormant positive energies are released from the soul by the chanting of appropriate sutras by monks who read from the religious books. While the chanting is on, the deceased is prepared for the funeral and for friends and relatives to pay last respects, so that there is no decay even if the cremation is delayed. The body is washed and laid to rest in a coffin along with fragrance sticks, candles, flowers and a photograph of the deceased person.

If the funeral is deferred by a few days for distant relatives to get a last look, the monks go to the deceased person's house everyday and chant verses from the Abhidharma, an important Buddhist book.

On funeral day, monks perform the final rites and the head monk voices his condolences to the family and speaks words of consolation to them along with homage to the dead person recounting his life. The Pansakula, an important ritual which is expected to carry blessings and good energies to the departed's soul is carried out during the last stage of chanting while a white cloth is being wrapped around the casket.

Just before the cremation, a close member of the family is asked to say a few words about the departed individual. A light meal for all the attendees is arranged after the Buddhist funeral ceremony and the cremation is carried out.

Although some modifications in traditions can be found, these are the general ritualistic procedures carried out during funeral ceremonies by followers in countries like Tibet, Thailand and China, where a huge number of Buddhists live. - 42495

 

Holding A Serene Funeral Service For A Deceased Loved One

By Ramon Silva

Death is a harsh reality and yet we prepare so little for it. Holding a service in memory of the deceased is one of the oldest customs that has undergone tremendous changes. A traditional funeral service was conducted in church, with some hymns, recitals and a eulogy for the deceased. But, this practice is changing today, with more and more people wanting to go for a more personal funeral service for their near and dear one.

Conducting a funeral service right after the death of a loved one can be a very arduous job for any family. A general misconception that a service is a legal necessity is far from truth as no law makes it compulsory to conduct a funeral service.

Secondly, a lot of people hold the belief that a service has to be organized in a church, which is again untrue. It is noteworthy that though conventionally such services were held in a church, with the trend of personalizing, many funeral services are being held within the premises of the deceased.

Thirdly, such services do not need the presence of any clergy or pastor or even a casket for that matter.

With the increase in choice for personal funeral services, it is crucial to take the deceased into consideration while planning for it. The choice of music should be from among the personal choices of the deceased, though it is advisable to have soft music. You have the choice of playing recorded music or engaging a live music band.

Some families prefer putting up the personal items of the deceased in a collage, for the gathering to reflect on his or her life. It is also crucial to give an address in the service in form of a speech, poem or a song in the memory of the deceased by a close friend or family member.

Lastly, it is advisable to present the people gathered for the funeral with some mementoes that help them keep the memories of the departed alive for a long time. - 42495