Every photo is individually seen and scored with clear instruction to choose “The CuteKid of the Month” with no discrimination towards gender, race, color or age. Our VoteTracker™ scoring system tracks every vote from every judge to calculate total votes and statistical rating to select that month’s winners for each category as well as the overall CuteKid™ Winner.

All Category Winners are automatically entered into the final judging for the
“2011 CuteKid of the Year” award with our grand prize of $25,000 towards College Tuition!
Our Judges use the following criteria:

• Appearance
• Charisma
• Expression
• Image concept/setting
• That special something

Please understand the judges have a difficult job. Even as professionals, choices are tough and subjective. Judging decisions are final.

Game Testing Jobs – Becoming a Top-Gun Video Game Tester by Learning Software Testing Fundamentals

Author: Jonathon Halston

An important step towards getting hired for all the game testing jobs you want is to become a really a great video game tester – the star of the team, or at least co-star. Achieving that level of competency involves moving beyond the what – finding bugs – to the how. How, exactly does one uncover flaws in the game? Ultimately, most bugs will fall into two categories – either design and gameplay bugs, or code bugs.

Understanding that you aren’t simply testing a video game, but rather, are testing software, will help a great deal in finding and isolating bugs to hand off to the developers to fix. There are universal principles to the discipline of testing software, and when applied to testing video games, understanding these fundamentals will skyrocket your bug count – and your salary. You will then find employers begging to hire you, and will have all the game testing jobs you could possibly want.

Software testing is ALL about finding bugs – the more the merrier, the earlier, the better. “File bugs early and often” is a great philosophy to bring to the table, as the earlier the bugs are filed in the development process, the easier and cheaper it is to fix them. But as with so many things, what is easy in theory is more difficult in practice – it isn’t until all the code is hooked together, “integrated”, that end-to-end testing of the game and gameplay is possible. So most game testing jobs are advertised in the alpha and beta release cycles – but the closer one starts in the alpha phase, the better.

At this stage in the game (pun intended), it really pays off to perform what is called integration testing. Do all the major elements of the game integrate well together? Or is sound out-of-sync with video? Does player speech sync with mouth movements? Are sound effects in sync with player action? Does the game save to disk, if designed to? Is the game compatible with all supported operating systems? These are just a few of the high-level areas one will want to investigate.

Getting down to the nitty-gritty, one should design a matrix that covers all major elements of the game and integration, then break each of those areas down further. As an example, consider item storage. What are the various means of acquiring items? Buying, finding, looting, and trading are the major ones; don’t forget quest rewards. Once acquired, do they stay in storage upon exiting the game and then returning? Can you trade with other players? If you drop it, does it stay dropped? Can you sell items that you found? Made? Traded? Stole? As you can see, the possibilities are truly endless.

Game testing jobs consist of considering these details and possibilities. The strategy to deal with such a huge number of possibilities is to build a test case matrix based on how often a given scenario or test case is likely to happen. One then categorizes the individual test cases and scenarios based on priority: P0, P1, P2, etc. So obviously, buying and selling an item and ensuring it stays in storage are pretty essential functions to the game – these would be P0. Being able to sell a quest item you stole from a looted corpse, less so – say, a P1.

These are just a few examples of applying basic principles of software testing to video game testing. Applying these principles will drastically explode your bug count, making you stand head and shoulders above your typical video game testing peers. Adopt these principles, and learn the fundamentals of software testing, and the number of game testing jobs you can get hired for will simply explode.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/game-testing-jobs-becoming-a-topgun-video-game-tester-by-learning-software-testing-fundamentals-1214390.html

About the Author
Jonathon Halston has tested video games for over 11 years. He started out as a contract video game tester, and soon became a Software Design Engineer in Test at a World Class Software Company – and you can too. To learn more on how to get hired for game testing jobs , visit http://Hot-Game-Tester-Jobs.com today!

Video Game Jobs – Companies Hiring Workers Now For Video Game Jobs

Author: Jonathon Halston

One of the key steps step towards getting hired for video game jobs involves determining who it is you would like to work for. A big factor in determining this choice will be your own preference of gaming platform, as well as gaming experience. Are you more into online role-playing games, or are you a big Xbox fan? Strategy games, or sports games? Narrowing down what you are most familiar with and enjoy playing will help immensely in determining who you would enjoy working for.

The four biggest employers in the video game industry are of course Microsoft (Xbox), Sony (Playstation), and Nintendo (Wii), and for the PC, Electronic Arts. Yet it would be a mistake to only consider these four companies as your only options. There are numerous small and medium-sized companies that create numerous video game jobs, both temporary and permanent. Preparing to apply to the dozens of other game development companies for video game jobs will enable you to expand and diversify your list of possible employers, and your chances of getting hired will increase tremendously.

For this reason, it is also very important to acquire knowledge and experience on multiple gaming hardware platforms. While to be sure, there are numerous video game jobs available for specific platforms (Xbox, Wii, Playstation, PC), at the very least, in addition to one or more of those platforms, one should have experience using the PC as a gaming platform. Furthermore, online gaming experience is an additional advantage, especially the massive online role playing games (MMPORGs). Even in the recession, online video games continue to expand in usage and popularity.

There are many other companies you should research and consider working for; to name just a few, consider the following 25 companies, mast of whom have video game jobs open even now:

? Acclaim Games
? Activision Blizzard
? Atari
? Big Fish Games
? Disney Interactive Studios
? Capcom
? Codemasters
? Crave Entertainment
? Eidos Interactive
? Epic Games
? Got Game Entertainment
? Ignition Entertainment
? JoWooD Productions
? Kemco
? Konami
? Linux Game Publishing
? LucasArts
? Matrix Games
? Mercury Games
? Paradox Interactive
? Playlogic Entertainment
? Rising Star Games
? Ubisoft
? Valusoft
? Warner Bros. Interactive

So do your research, and make a list of all the companies, major and minor, that you would be interested in working for. Focus on companies that make games you enjoy playing – whether it be puzzles, strategy games, role-playing games, online gaming and MMPORG’s, auto racing games, or sports games, or even science fiction games such as Gears of War.

Consider joining up with a membership site that maintains a huge database of gaming companies that have game jobs opening up on a consistent basis. There is a nominal fee for the premium sites, but it is well worth it in terms of the job opportunities that they provide. Finally, after you have made your list of preferred employers, you will be ready for the final step – creating a winning resume and cover letter, and getting the job interview for what should be the first of many video game jobs!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/careers-articles/video-game-jobs-companies-hiring-workers-now-for-video-game-jobs-1209613.html

About the Author
Jonathon Halston has tested video games for over 11 years. He started out as a contract video game tester, and soon became a Software Design Engineer in Test at a World Class Software Company – and you can too. To learn more about how to get hired for video game jobs, and build a career out of video game testing , visit http://Hot-Game-Tester-Jobs.com today!

In the real world these stocks are sold to stock option traders after the conclusion of the stock option contract. The contract brings into being a contractual relationship whereby these intangible assets assume the value of the stocks they are said to represent. So what happens is that an investor and a trader trading in such stocks conclude a binding contract. The contract normally stipulates that the trader will have the first preference to buy the investor’s stocks on the open market, at a precise price, and on a specific day.

But if the price on the specified date in question is not that which is stated in the option contract as the buying price a purchase cannot be concluded. This means the investor who sold his options benefits in the end. A simple example is where the owner of a certain stock, let’s say RT, finalizes a contract with a trader. Such contract will state that the trader gets the option to buy 50 shares of RT on the 5th of April at $10 a share. Currently the share is trading at $8.

However, unknown to the trader is that the investor knew that the RT share price was going to plunge in a few weeks. So on the day stipulated in the contract as the day a trader can exercise his/her option the share price drops like the investor predicted. Our trader in this example can therefore not buy the 50 shares for the $10. The obvious consequence is that the investor gets to keep his 50 shares, as well as the amount of money paid for the contract.

This avenue of profit is inherently risky. The reason for this is that either our trader or out investor selling the option contract can lose out. When the above example is flipped around a different scenario presents itself. What if instead of the share price plummeting it actually rises, let’s say to $12. In this scenario the previously unfortunate trader wins the option to buy these shares for the contractual figure of $10. At the end of the day he/she makes a profit of $100, with a profit of $2 for each of the 50 shares. Therefore you should always bear in mind that trade stock option careers are all about speculative activity.

Trading options is a risky business. It is for this reason that it is advised that people abstain from such a career path. Of course you might be lucky one day, but that does not happen everytime. If you want to have success trading options, you will probably want to check out a simple guide for trading stock options which can explain more of the basics that you need to know before trading options.

Accounting law is one significant segment that impacts the rate of returns. The returns must be computed every year for the reason that your contributed funds are started at the beginning of each tax year.

To acquire the highest IRA rates, you should mull on investing in the real estate market. This retirement investing option is entirely legal and can furnish you with highly attractive returns. To tap the segment with the most potential for profit, you should contact reliable developers in the real estate industry who can present you with advantageous investments. Consider yourself too lucky when you meet someone who truly understands IRAs and is able to show you the proper ways to utilize your funds to achieve the capital gains of the real estate market.

You should take tax deductions into consideration since they profoundly affect the returns as well. Your contributed funds to a Roth retirement account are taxed once you make them, though, they will not be taxed when you make distributions. Even the earnings that your account will generate are tax-free.

Keep in mind that death prior to reaching the retirement age will also significantly influence the rate of returns because the contributions are considered tax deductible upon contributing them.

Now that you are aware of these factors, you are in good position to talk with your financial advisor about the best IRA rates that you wish to receive from your retirement investments. The World Wide Web is a great place to acquire all the information and details you need about retirement investing.

The annuity contract is one of the oldest forms of insurance product still offered today. The roots of this instrument can be traced as far back as Roman culture, and was introduced in America in the mid 18th century. The early American annuities were offered by public groups up until the early 20th century, at which point they were given more exposure to the public.

The annuity in the most basic terms is simply an insurance contract between an investor and an insurance company. The investor agrees to pay the insurance company a sum of money in return for a future monetary benefit. This benefit often comes in the form of a fixed income stream of payments back to the annuities designated beneficiaries.

The bulk of most, if not all, annuity contracts fall under either the immediate annuity or the deferred annuity contracts. These fixed annuities differ in at least one key area, the distribution phase. In an immediate annuity, the contract begins payments to the beneficiary one time period after the contract start date. This means after one month in a monthly annuity, and after one year with an annual contract.

The deferred annuity begins payments on a deferred schedule and may start distribution any time in the future. This type of contract will typically allow premiums to be paid either through a one-time lump sum payment or over a series of premium payments. In contrast, the vast majority of immediate annuity contracts are paid in full at the time of purchase.

If you have been looking at houses for rent to own and are working towards qualifying for a mortgage in a year or two, you will take a very different approach to credit restoration than someone who is trying to give their score a boost so they can make a major purchase next month.  You make ask why this is.

The reason your approach would be different is because there are certain things that you can do that lower your score in the short run but will cause an increase over time.  An example of this would be opening new accounts for purposes of establishing a positive credit history.  In the short run both the inquiry and the new account will lower your credit score.  But, as long as you pay the account on time and do not max out any new credit cards you get, the long term impact will be a much higher score.

A longer time frame also enables you to implement much more advanced strategies.  If you need to fix your credit quickly, you will be limited to things like becoming an authorized user, credit bureau disputes and paying down debt.  Those with more time can do all of these things as well as things like debt validation, multiple rounds of disputes and the 623 method of disputing with the original creditor.

First, what type of investments do you plan to make?  Are you going to buy and hold stocks, do stock day trading, invest in bonds, trade commodities, or do something else entirely?  If you are unsure, learn a little about as many securities as possible and make your decision.  Once you know that, become a master of whatever security you plan to invest in.

Next, you’ll need to set up a brokerage firm or find a way to buy the securities you plan to invest in. You’ll need a brokerage account if you want to buy most securities such as stocks.  However, this isn’t the case for all investments.  For example, to get government bonds, you can buy them online or at your bank.

Next, you will be managing your portfolio.  Continue to add more and more money to your investments.  If you need to sell a stock, sell it.  If you want to buy a new stock or bond, buy it if you can.  Do your research and keep learning.  Investing isn’t something you start and finish.  You have to keep up with it.

These are just the bare basics to get you started investing.  You’ve decided that investing is the best action for you to take at this time, and that is great.  Now you need to be proactive in your strategy and keep making your investments better.  Sometimes you’ll make bad investments, but if you can shoot for a rate of return that is as high as possible, you are moving in the right direction.  To move on to more advanced techniques, read and study what successful investors do.

A great method of finding the best insurance price for the value received is to find an agent.  Agents can be placed into different categories.  They can be agents of sole insurance companies or they can be associated with a larger amount and varying types of insurance providers.  To find the best value one should consult an agent who may represent multiple carriers.  Each individual insurance company has a certain criteria when providing quotes and premiums.  Because of the demographics or other determining criterion one particular company may or may not be a good fit.  An agent who is experienced will be able to identify more easily those companies that one should pay more attention to.

Car insurance for young people is one of those things that can be difficult to differentiate, but usually is not as complicated as some may expect.  Remember that age is not the only piece of information that is considered for premium amounts and coverage limits.  Premiums also have calculations that depend upon zip code.  Location, then, is also important and can alter insurance choices.  The type of vehicle being insured is also an important.  A large sport utility vehicle, a small coupe, a medium sized sedan, and even a full sized pickup truck all have different risks involved which the insurance company. Other demographics are also considered and can vary on level of importance.

Usually, lawyers help with issues such as filing suit again a creditor who insists on harassing you and using illegal collection methods. Or, they might advise someone with a high net worth who is having debt trouble in order to figure out how to shield some assets from creditors who are threatening to force the debtor into bankruptcy. Most of the time, those are not common problems.

Another reason to use a credit repair attorney might be to get credit help just prior to filing for bankruptcy. Lawyers are sometime experts in how to fix your credit legally, and can contact creditors for you just like a credit counseling service would. Yet the likelihood is that you can start your own credit repair effort without looking into whether credit repair attorneys are necessary.

Another thing to consider is the cost of hiring a lawyer. Lawyers may charge $250 an hour and up, or flat rates in the area of $2,000 or more for a bankruptcy. If your goal is to just find a good way to work out your delinquency problems, avoid bankruptcy, and fix your credit score, then you can take steps on your own to get started.

When you’re suffering with bad credit, there’s a desire to get things fixed right away, to get approved for new credit. Unfortunately, whther or not you hire a lawyer, the only way to really fix credit is to pay on time for the long run. There is no quick fix, even if you use a credit repair attorney, getting your credit back in shape requires patience as much as anything else.