Flower arranging has become increasingly popular as a hobby, for people of all ages and backgrounds.
Have you ever put flowers in a vase and they just don't sit right? By learning a few basic principles you will be able to create attractive floral designs for your own home.
Flowers add the finishing touch. Imagine the pleasure you will get by being able to make a lovely flower arrangement for your entrance hall or a floral centrepiece for the dining room table.
Flower arrangements make the perfect gift for so many different occasions, such as birthdays, anniversaries, get well wishes, or to simply say "I care".
Unlike many other hobbies, you don't need a lot of expensive equipment. You can often use flowers and foliage from your own garden or you can buy some inexpensive flowers. Once you learn how to position flowers and foliage correctly, you can quickly make eye catching floral designs. You can also create floral designs using silk flowers. There are some very natural looking silk flowers available, and you will be able to make lasting floral designs. Imagine the thrill of being able to say "I made it myself".
The benefits of learning flower arranging are many -
Flower arranging is creative and fun
Relaxing. It's a great stress reducer
Interesting. Flower arranging is never boring
You will have a sense of achievement by learning a new skill
You will save money by making your own floral designs
Discover the exciting world of flower arranging. We teach you set-by-step how to make professional looking flower arrangements. It's easy when we have shown you how. Flower arranging is very interesting.There are so many different varieties of flowers available. In our flower arranging classes you will learn how to use them to their best advantage to create many different types of arrangements.
Home study flower arranging courses are available.
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Autograph Collecting: More Questions and Answers
Autograph collecting terminology and common sense are vital for the hobbyist in order to make informed purchase decisions.
Question: What advantages does autograph collecting offer as compared to other collectibles?
Answer: Autographs have been called “frozen moments in time.†Autograph collectors are curators of history. The most personal item that one person can give is his or her signature. Anything that can be signed can be considered collectible…letters, documents, photographs, books, memorabilia, etc. Few objects give a collector the opportunity to own a unique or one-of-a-kind item that is actually part of someone who is known by millions of people. That is the main reason why autograph collecting has become one of the fastest growing hobbies in recent years.
Question: What guidelines should I consider when purchasing autographs?
Answer: Buy autographs that capture your interest. Don’t purchase items presented as “investments†or sold through pressure. Learn as much as possible the language of autograph collecting. The more you study, the easier it will be for you to determine what items are authentic and which items to purchase. Use common sense when buying a signed piece. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Purchasing from reputable dealers, who will help you avoid risks and problems, is paramount. Most dealers offer a certificate of authenticity, which is only as good as the reputation of the dealer. If the dealer cannot tell you when and where the item was signed or how it was obtained, go elsewhere.
Question: I see many pre-printed autographed photos on eBay. What are these and is there any value?
Answer: These are facsimile reproductions of actual signed photos. With today’s technology, sellers can easily copy an authentic item with great detail and sell at a drastically reduced price. Novice collectors or those on a limited budget are usually the target of these sellers. Unfortunately, many buyers are unaware that the item is a copy because of the vague description. We recommend that collectors avoid these pre-printed photos and be extremely careful when purchasing autographs online.
Question: What is a COA? Must I have a COA with an autograph I purchase?
Answer: COA is an abbreviation for “certificate of authenticityâ€. Many collectors require a COA before they purchase an autograph. Frankly, a COA is just a piece of paper that is only as good as the confidence of the buyer and the reputation of the seller. Always make sure you are purchasing from a person who knows how and where the signature was obtained and will guarantee the item to your satisfaction.
Question: What advantages does autograph collecting offer as compared to other collectibles?
Answer: Autographs have been called “frozen moments in time.†Autograph collectors are curators of history. The most personal item that one person can give is his or her signature. Anything that can be signed can be considered collectible…letters, documents, photographs, books, memorabilia, etc. Few objects give a collector the opportunity to own a unique or one-of-a-kind item that is actually part of someone who is known by millions of people. That is the main reason why autograph collecting has become one of the fastest growing hobbies in recent years.
Question: What guidelines should I consider when purchasing autographs?
Answer: Buy autographs that capture your interest. Don’t purchase items presented as “investments†or sold through pressure. Learn as much as possible the language of autograph collecting. The more you study, the easier it will be for you to determine what items are authentic and which items to purchase. Use common sense when buying a signed piece. If the price is too good to be true, it probably is. Purchasing from reputable dealers, who will help you avoid risks and problems, is paramount. Most dealers offer a certificate of authenticity, which is only as good as the reputation of the dealer. If the dealer cannot tell you when and where the item was signed or how it was obtained, go elsewhere.
Question: I see many pre-printed autographed photos on eBay. What are these and is there any value?
Answer: These are facsimile reproductions of actual signed photos. With today’s technology, sellers can easily copy an authentic item with great detail and sell at a drastically reduced price. Novice collectors or those on a limited budget are usually the target of these sellers. Unfortunately, many buyers are unaware that the item is a copy because of the vague description. We recommend that collectors avoid these pre-printed photos and be extremely careful when purchasing autographs online.
Question: What is a COA? Must I have a COA with an autograph I purchase?
Answer: COA is an abbreviation for “certificate of authenticityâ€. Many collectors require a COA before they purchase an autograph. Frankly, a COA is just a piece of paper that is only as good as the confidence of the buyer and the reputation of the seller. Always make sure you are purchasing from a person who knows how and where the signature was obtained and will guarantee the item to your satisfaction.
Comic Book Supplies, Necessities of the Serious Collector
If you want to keep your comic book collection in tiptop shape, comic book supplies will become part of your collecting life. As soon as a magazine is printed there are natural environmental forces going to work to try and destroy the ink and the paper. You have put in a lot of time, effort and enjoyment in acquiring all your comics. You don't want them to turn back to the dust and elements from which they came do you?
Elements such as humidity, temperature, pollutants, human skin oils and even the chemicals of the printed materials themselves, will start to deteriorate and discolor your comic books from day one. Tools that have been developed over the years to help us combat these natural forces are de-acidification paper, polymer type storage bags, stiff backing material, storage boxes and desiccants (dehumidification materials). Not only will these comic book supplies protect your comics for your own enjoyment, they will add to reinforce the future value of each comic book.
Most all of these supplies can typically be located down at your local comic book shop. But as I have discovered lately, there can be a world of difference in preservation abilities depending on what materials are used in the manufacture of comic book supplies. Quite typically what you may find downtown will be of sufficient protective quality to protect your comics for quite a while. Although, polybags, to put your comics into, are quite common and fairly cheap, Mylar bags are definitely the way to go. They will protect for 100 years (that may be a little overboard) as opposed to 2 or 3 years for poly.
There has been a lot of elaborate science, particularly chemistry, which has gone into preservation material manufacturing the last several years. MicroChamber material has been developed that will increase preservation from de-acidification and environmental breakdown for a vastly superior time period as opposed to typical materials available today. Beware though, comic book supplies manufactured with this new material can become quite costly. But if you have some serious collector's items, which you feel are worth a significant amount of cash, isn't the investment worth it? It is also no secret that CGC uses these materials in every comic book they grade.
I have created a page at my comic book site, which incorporates links to some rather technical scientific articles on preservation and using MicroChamber materials. You can read an in-depth discussion at www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/comic-book-supplies.html . Be forewarned though, You may need a moderate understanding of chemistry and physics to completely follow some of the discussions. But the articles will open your eyes to what is available in the comic book industry for preservation supplies these days.
Now if you have a rather rare back issue that may well have a high dollar value, here is a process worth considering. De-acidification products are usually used to neutralize acids in the paper prior to storage of most paper products of a pulp nature. This is not to be taken lightly, as it is considered by most to be an extensive form of restoration. The current understanding of the process is that the staples are removed and the sheets are submerged, film developer style, in a bath of de-acidification material. Then the entire book is rebuilt with new staples. This process can cost around $50 per comic book, when done by a professional, but will restore and increase the life expectancy of your comic book by many years. This process, in my opinion, should only be considered for already deteriorated comics that may have a considerable future worth if restored.
One final item to consider, especially if you live in a high humidity area is the use of descants within your storage boxes. A desiccant is a chemical sieve for water, and is available for industry use in small packets or in buckets. For our purposes an 8 oz can (that looks like you'd keep a grasshopper in) can be simply put inside the box to absorb moisture and indicates when it is full by changing from crystal colored to pink. These same cans can then be reused by baking them for 3-4 hours in an oven at about 350 F. Each canister can cost around $9-$10 from one supplier called GAYLORDMART. 1 canister per short box and 2 per long box should be sufficient. Another consideration is the little packets typically found in a box of shoes. These are even more inexpensive, but would require further research to insure no harm would come to each comic book.
So as you build your valuable comic book collection, you will want to put some serious consideration into the comic book supplies that you will need. Materials and supplier source will become important variables in your overall decisions. I will have more interesting topics and sources from time to time at my site, so come on over and visit. You may even want to bookmark it.
Elements such as humidity, temperature, pollutants, human skin oils and even the chemicals of the printed materials themselves, will start to deteriorate and discolor your comic books from day one. Tools that have been developed over the years to help us combat these natural forces are de-acidification paper, polymer type storage bags, stiff backing material, storage boxes and desiccants (dehumidification materials). Not only will these comic book supplies protect your comics for your own enjoyment, they will add to reinforce the future value of each comic book.
Most all of these supplies can typically be located down at your local comic book shop. But as I have discovered lately, there can be a world of difference in preservation abilities depending on what materials are used in the manufacture of comic book supplies. Quite typically what you may find downtown will be of sufficient protective quality to protect your comics for quite a while. Although, polybags, to put your comics into, are quite common and fairly cheap, Mylar bags are definitely the way to go. They will protect for 100 years (that may be a little overboard) as opposed to 2 or 3 years for poly.
There has been a lot of elaborate science, particularly chemistry, which has gone into preservation material manufacturing the last several years. MicroChamber material has been developed that will increase preservation from de-acidification and environmental breakdown for a vastly superior time period as opposed to typical materials available today. Beware though, comic book supplies manufactured with this new material can become quite costly. But if you have some serious collector's items, which you feel are worth a significant amount of cash, isn't the investment worth it? It is also no secret that CGC uses these materials in every comic book they grade.
I have created a page at my comic book site, which incorporates links to some rather technical scientific articles on preservation and using MicroChamber materials. You can read an in-depth discussion at www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/comic-book-supplies.html . Be forewarned though, You may need a moderate understanding of chemistry and physics to completely follow some of the discussions. But the articles will open your eyes to what is available in the comic book industry for preservation supplies these days.
Now if you have a rather rare back issue that may well have a high dollar value, here is a process worth considering. De-acidification products are usually used to neutralize acids in the paper prior to storage of most paper products of a pulp nature. This is not to be taken lightly, as it is considered by most to be an extensive form of restoration. The current understanding of the process is that the staples are removed and the sheets are submerged, film developer style, in a bath of de-acidification material. Then the entire book is rebuilt with new staples. This process can cost around $50 per comic book, when done by a professional, but will restore and increase the life expectancy of your comic book by many years. This process, in my opinion, should only be considered for already deteriorated comics that may have a considerable future worth if restored.
One final item to consider, especially if you live in a high humidity area is the use of descants within your storage boxes. A desiccant is a chemical sieve for water, and is available for industry use in small packets or in buckets. For our purposes an 8 oz can (that looks like you'd keep a grasshopper in) can be simply put inside the box to absorb moisture and indicates when it is full by changing from crystal colored to pink. These same cans can then be reused by baking them for 3-4 hours in an oven at about 350 F. Each canister can cost around $9-$10 from one supplier called GAYLORDMART. 1 canister per short box and 2 per long box should be sufficient. Another consideration is the little packets typically found in a box of shoes. These are even more inexpensive, but would require further research to insure no harm would come to each comic book.
So as you build your valuable comic book collection, you will want to put some serious consideration into the comic book supplies that you will need. Materials and supplier source will become important variables in your overall decisions. I will have more interesting topics and sources from time to time at my site, so come on over and visit. You may even want to bookmark it.
Comic Book Collecting, Oh what an Enjoyable Past Time it is!
Have you ever read a comic book before? I imagine just about everyone, at some time in their life, has read at least one comic book. But do your interests and enjoyment level go beyond that? You may have said to yourself, at sometime or another, I would like to start a comic book collection some day. Heck, you may even have several comic books lying around that you have just never organized.
What do I do to start a comic book collection and what all do I need? Well, as I am sure you realize, you need to start with a passion. You have a passion, you say, but you don't want to be labeled a "comic book geek" and remain alone in your enjoyment. Well, my suggestion to you is "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" and believe me, you are not alone. You would be amazed at the multitudes of individuals who have a passion for comic books. And there are a plethora of related sites on the Web.
I couldn't get enough of these colorful action-packed little devils when I was young. But like any supposedly responsible individual, I lay my passion aside when I got older and when to college and got a good job. Well in the last several months, I have rekindled that childhood passion and have spent a good share of my time researching and creating my own comic book website. And what a rush it has been reintroducing myself to myself. I am finding quite an avid interest in all the new comic book hero movies Hollywood is cranking out. I have even started my own comic book hero DVD collection. And this is big business, so I know there are throngs of people out there with my same interests and I hope to connect with many of them through my website.
I ran into a major thrill the other day glancing through the want ads of my local newspaper. Lo and behold, someone was selling a comic book collection. A quick call and a meeting in the shopping mall parking lot and I was the proud owner of 189 comic books kept in beautiful condition. And get this; it cost me $50.00 for the whole collection. I have as yet to determine the actual worth of the collection, but it has got to be substantially more than what I paid for it. As time goes on, I will be organizing all of them in a spreadsheet and using my trusty copy of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide to determine my new collection's total worth. As I do that, I will be reporting results on my website.
Through all my research over the last many months, I have even created an ebook product on how to start a comic book collection, which is filled with Internet resources. I want to have an inexpensive resource available to help others, with the same passion I have, to get started. If you care to see what the book is about, you can check it out at http://www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/comic-book-collection.html and let me know what you think.
When you start your collection, you will need to start thinking about sources to purchase your comic books from. You will want to start learning about comic book supplies to help preserve and organize your magazines. You will want to learn how the rest of the industry goes about grading physical condition and what your individual comics are worth. Personally though, I believe some of the greatest worth in a comic book is what it means to you and the enjoyment you receive from owning these little pieces of art. You may even what to find where all the great comic book conventions are and if there are any close to you. All of this information is available on the Net and I am hoping to build a central hub to all this other great info.
Want to start a collection? Come on over and visit me. Kick your shoes off and stay for a while. I don't think you will be disappointed. You may even want to bookmark my site. Have something of value you want me to add or a question that needs an answer? I am all ears. So start scanning the want ads and I will see you at my site. Flame on! Or was that "Up, Up and Away"?
What do I do to start a comic book collection and what all do I need? Well, as I am sure you realize, you need to start with a passion. You have a passion, you say, but you don't want to be labeled a "comic book geek" and remain alone in your enjoyment. Well, my suggestion to you is "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff" and believe me, you are not alone. You would be amazed at the multitudes of individuals who have a passion for comic books. And there are a plethora of related sites on the Web.
I couldn't get enough of these colorful action-packed little devils when I was young. But like any supposedly responsible individual, I lay my passion aside when I got older and when to college and got a good job. Well in the last several months, I have rekindled that childhood passion and have spent a good share of my time researching and creating my own comic book website. And what a rush it has been reintroducing myself to myself. I am finding quite an avid interest in all the new comic book hero movies Hollywood is cranking out. I have even started my own comic book hero DVD collection. And this is big business, so I know there are throngs of people out there with my same interests and I hope to connect with many of them through my website.
I ran into a major thrill the other day glancing through the want ads of my local newspaper. Lo and behold, someone was selling a comic book collection. A quick call and a meeting in the shopping mall parking lot and I was the proud owner of 189 comic books kept in beautiful condition. And get this; it cost me $50.00 for the whole collection. I have as yet to determine the actual worth of the collection, but it has got to be substantially more than what I paid for it. As time goes on, I will be organizing all of them in a spreadsheet and using my trusty copy of the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide to determine my new collection's total worth. As I do that, I will be reporting results on my website.
Through all my research over the last many months, I have even created an ebook product on how to start a comic book collection, which is filled with Internet resources. I want to have an inexpensive resource available to help others, with the same passion I have, to get started. If you care to see what the book is about, you can check it out at http://www.comic-book-collection-made-easy.com/comic-book-collection.html and let me know what you think.
When you start your collection, you will need to start thinking about sources to purchase your comic books from. You will want to start learning about comic book supplies to help preserve and organize your magazines. You will want to learn how the rest of the industry goes about grading physical condition and what your individual comics are worth. Personally though, I believe some of the greatest worth in a comic book is what it means to you and the enjoyment you receive from owning these little pieces of art. You may even what to find where all the great comic book conventions are and if there are any close to you. All of this information is available on the Net and I am hoping to build a central hub to all this other great info.
Want to start a collection? Come on over and visit me. Kick your shoes off and stay for a while. I don't think you will be disappointed. You may even want to bookmark my site. Have something of value you want me to add or a question that needs an answer? I am all ears. So start scanning the want ads and I will see you at my site. Flame on! Or was that "Up, Up and Away"?
Batman Begins VS the Fantastic Four. What Next?
Well, it looks like Hollywood keeps it continual pot of revenue filled with, guess what, comic book heroes. Batman Begins and The Fantastic Four are about to duke it out on Hollywood and Vine. An age-old comic book company rivalry is yet renewing the heat this year. I guess all of us comic book aficionados always wonder who would win the battle between such and such superheroes.
Well at least in the next few months one way to keep score is to watch the revenues generated between the recently released “Batman Begins†and the soon to be released “Fantastic Fourâ€, which were both childhood fascinations of mine. Not only are there superhero “what ifs†going on here, but which comic book company will stand to gain the most economic substantiation? Batman punches the daily time clock at DC Comics and the Fantastic Four was the brainchild of Stan Lee and crew at Marvel Comics.
And don’t tell me there is a small comic book hero market. Batman Begins claimed the number one spot in gross revenue on its opening weekend. It is going to be very interesting to see what the Fantastic Four does. Hollywood is definitely increasing the thickness of its silver lining these days with comic book hero movies. Batman took in almost $49 million it’s opening weekend. How many mint condition old comic books would you have to sell to make that kind of dough? Are we in the wrong end of the comic book world (ha ha)?
The rivalry between Marvel and DC used to be a major dividing line amongst the tight knit group of comic book collectors. When comic book interest started to decline in the 1970s, this issue became largely irrelevant. But now as video games, online role-playing games and major motion picture productions are spreading across the globe, the classic Marvel-DC conflict is springing back to life.
Superman is coming back to life on the big screen as well as Wonder Woman. Marvel has been riding high off their major successes with the X-men and Spiderman. They are now digging deep into their catalog of characters and are working on screen adaptations of Iron Man, the Submariner, Thor and Silver Surfer, among others. Have we entered a new comic book age that will have to be defined around major motion pictures? Maybe it could be call the “Greenback Ageâ€. Do you have another definition?
And as computer literate as so many are these days, Marvel and DC will have to start developing more online games and virtual universes of all their characters that you and I will be willing to pay a monthly fee to access through our computers and game consoles. Ka-ching, Ka-ching. DC has already announced a deal with Sony Online Entertainment and Marvel is working with Vivendi Universal Games. With the massive successes of the X-Men and Spiderman movies, this has proven that the Marvel characters still have life and relevance in today’s pop culture.
While DC may be playing a bit of catch up, they are quick to point out that they and Warner Bro. have been more successful on the small screen with TV shows like “Smallville†and several animated cartoon series. And further since their TV and film projects are filmed and aired by the Warner Bro. conglomerate, DC gets to keep more of the profit than Marvel does on their projects.
What do we, the consumer public, get out of all this? Well, for one, we get to see our heroes in a more realistic light than ever before. We can grab that popcorn and maybe an extra drink and watch our comic book heroes and characters come to life in a real world setting, at least for a few hours, and walk out with a little more joy in our hearts. Go out and get immersed in Batman Begins and hold your breath for the Fantastic Four. And besides, this new revelation in Hollywood may just increase the value of our old mint condition comics. We can only wait and see.
Well at least in the next few months one way to keep score is to watch the revenues generated between the recently released “Batman Begins†and the soon to be released “Fantastic Fourâ€, which were both childhood fascinations of mine. Not only are there superhero “what ifs†going on here, but which comic book company will stand to gain the most economic substantiation? Batman punches the daily time clock at DC Comics and the Fantastic Four was the brainchild of Stan Lee and crew at Marvel Comics.
And don’t tell me there is a small comic book hero market. Batman Begins claimed the number one spot in gross revenue on its opening weekend. It is going to be very interesting to see what the Fantastic Four does. Hollywood is definitely increasing the thickness of its silver lining these days with comic book hero movies. Batman took in almost $49 million it’s opening weekend. How many mint condition old comic books would you have to sell to make that kind of dough? Are we in the wrong end of the comic book world (ha ha)?
The rivalry between Marvel and DC used to be a major dividing line amongst the tight knit group of comic book collectors. When comic book interest started to decline in the 1970s, this issue became largely irrelevant. But now as video games, online role-playing games and major motion picture productions are spreading across the globe, the classic Marvel-DC conflict is springing back to life.
Superman is coming back to life on the big screen as well as Wonder Woman. Marvel has been riding high off their major successes with the X-men and Spiderman. They are now digging deep into their catalog of characters and are working on screen adaptations of Iron Man, the Submariner, Thor and Silver Surfer, among others. Have we entered a new comic book age that will have to be defined around major motion pictures? Maybe it could be call the “Greenback Ageâ€. Do you have another definition?
And as computer literate as so many are these days, Marvel and DC will have to start developing more online games and virtual universes of all their characters that you and I will be willing to pay a monthly fee to access through our computers and game consoles. Ka-ching, Ka-ching. DC has already announced a deal with Sony Online Entertainment and Marvel is working with Vivendi Universal Games. With the massive successes of the X-Men and Spiderman movies, this has proven that the Marvel characters still have life and relevance in today’s pop culture.
While DC may be playing a bit of catch up, they are quick to point out that they and Warner Bro. have been more successful on the small screen with TV shows like “Smallville†and several animated cartoon series. And further since their TV and film projects are filmed and aired by the Warner Bro. conglomerate, DC gets to keep more of the profit than Marvel does on their projects.
What do we, the consumer public, get out of all this? Well, for one, we get to see our heroes in a more realistic light than ever before. We can grab that popcorn and maybe an extra drink and watch our comic book heroes and characters come to life in a real world setting, at least for a few hours, and walk out with a little more joy in our hearts. Go out and get immersed in Batman Begins and hold your breath for the Fantastic Four. And besides, this new revelation in Hollywood may just increase the value of our old mint condition comics. We can only wait and see.
Free Instant Auction Traffic
Here's an easy way to get extra traffic to your eBay auctions...
...and we all know, the more traffic, the more bids and ultimately, the more sales you'll get!
First...answer this question:
"Do you look at other people's feedback ratings?"
You probably answered yes...
So here's my idea -
"Whenever you leave feedback, put your website URL in the feedback Comment"
If you don't have a website, no problem, see below for details.
I have only seen this done once! - me.
It's so easy and EVERYONE looks at feedback ratings before they bid.
So, the idea would be to try and leave feedback for users that get a lot of traffic...
How? - check out ebay pulse and look at some of the highest watched items and try bidding on one of them.
After, you bid and win, leave your feedback with your website URL in your feedback comment.
For example,
**AuctionResourceNetwork.com.com** - Excellent communication and great eBayer, Highly recommended
You can see how the domain will *jump-out* at the reader.
Also, when you leave feedback for your auction sales, do the same.
Now.., if you don't have a website, here's a quick trick on how to direct that traffic to your about me page.
Simply create a free account at NameCheap.com and purchase a domain name, i.e. http://www.your-domain.com/.
NameCheap.com only charges $8.88 per year for your domain name!
...then, in your NameCheap.com account, you can set your new domain to redirect to your eBay about me page...here's how:
Login to your NameCheap.com account Click the 'view' link beside 'Number of domains in your account' Click your new domain name Click URL Forwarding under the Host Management section on the left Enter your about me page URL in both textboxes and click Save Changes Viola...you now own a domain that redirects to your about me page! And make sure you place your new domain name in all your feedback comments.
Ok...now that you know how to get some extra free traffic by using eBay's feedback comments, answer this question:
"Do you want to know how to turn that extra FREE traffic into cash?"
Yes/No? - Well, I'm going to tell you anyways... ;-) There are a few things you can do...here are 2:
Place your auction links on your AboutMe page so that your new visitors can get to your auctions. Place a newsletter signup form in your AboutMe page as well as in your auction pages and collect leads. Then market to those leads over and over again. I think the second idea is the most powerful...although it takes a little work on your part.
The quick`n`dirty way is to use AWeber.com to manage your leads and use their capture web form generator to capture your lead's name and email address.
BUT, there are certain rules you must obey in order to collect client information from your auctions pages as well as you about Me page.
...and we all know, the more traffic, the more bids and ultimately, the more sales you'll get!
First...answer this question:
"Do you look at other people's feedback ratings?"
You probably answered yes...
So here's my idea -
"Whenever you leave feedback, put your website URL in the feedback Comment"
If you don't have a website, no problem, see below for details.
I have only seen this done once! - me.
It's so easy and EVERYONE looks at feedback ratings before they bid.
So, the idea would be to try and leave feedback for users that get a lot of traffic...
How? - check out ebay pulse and look at some of the highest watched items and try bidding on one of them.
After, you bid and win, leave your feedback with your website URL in your feedback comment.
For example,
**AuctionResourceNetwork.com.com** - Excellent communication and great eBayer, Highly recommended
You can see how the domain will *jump-out* at the reader.
Also, when you leave feedback for your auction sales, do the same.
Now.., if you don't have a website, here's a quick trick on how to direct that traffic to your about me page.
Simply create a free account at NameCheap.com and purchase a domain name, i.e. http://www.your-domain.com/.
NameCheap.com only charges $8.88 per year for your domain name!
...then, in your NameCheap.com account, you can set your new domain to redirect to your eBay about me page...here's how:
Login to your NameCheap.com account Click the 'view' link beside 'Number of domains in your account' Click your new domain name Click URL Forwarding under the Host Management section on the left Enter your about me page URL in both textboxes and click Save Changes Viola...you now own a domain that redirects to your about me page! And make sure you place your new domain name in all your feedback comments.
Ok...now that you know how to get some extra free traffic by using eBay's feedback comments, answer this question:
"Do you want to know how to turn that extra FREE traffic into cash?"
Yes/No? - Well, I'm going to tell you anyways... ;-) There are a few things you can do...here are 2:
Place your auction links on your AboutMe page so that your new visitors can get to your auctions. Place a newsletter signup form in your AboutMe page as well as in your auction pages and collect leads. Then market to those leads over and over again. I think the second idea is the most powerful...although it takes a little work on your part.
The quick`n`dirty way is to use AWeber.com to manage your leads and use their capture web form generator to capture your lead's name and email address.
BUT, there are certain rules you must obey in order to collect client information from your auctions pages as well as you about Me page.
How to Place Home Theater Speakers
You have your television and home theater receiver; you just bought your new speakers and subwoofer and are ready to test things out. It's time to break out the measuring tape because precision is vital to achieving the full potential of your home theater system. For this article, we are going to focus on a 5.1 surround sound system. The term "5.1" refers to the number of speakers and subwoofers in the system respectively. So for a 5.1 surround sound system, there are five speakers (the center channel, the two front speakers, and the two rear speakers) and one subwoofer. When placing your home theater speakers, try to use the same amount of speaker wire for each type of speaker. For example, use the same length of wire for each of the front speakers. This will allow the signal to reach each speaker in about the same instant. I say “about†because there are variations in the wire which could cause the signal to reach one speaker slightly (fractions of a fraction of a second) before the other. By making the two lengths equal, you ensure that this delay remains tiny and unnoticeable.
Center Channel The center channel should always be placed either immediately above or immediately below the viewing screen. Make sure the speaker is pointed directly at the audience.
Front Speakers The two front speakers should be the same distance from the audience as the center channel. Doing this will ensure that the sound will travel from each speaker to the audience in the same amount of time and reduce the chances of there being a noticeable delay between what takes place on screen to when you hear it. Each of the front speakers should also be positioned an equal distance from the TV on either side. This distance is dependant on your specific tastes; just make sure that the distances are both equal.
Rear Speakers The rear speakers should be mounted on the walls on either side of the audience. Their purpose is to provide a sense of atmosphere, not provide the main sound for your home theater system. Therefore, they should not be pointed directly at the audience's ears or you risk over powering the center channel and the two front speakers. Again, distance is important. Try to have the rear speakers the same distance from the TV in order to use the same amount of speaker wire and if possible have them placed equidistance from the audience.
Subwoofer Bass tones by their nature are more difficult to localize than the midrange and high notes of the other five speakers. This will give you more freedom as to where to place the subwoofer. However, the location surrounding the subwoofer can greatly influence the bass tones you hear. Placing the subwoofer in a corner or under a table will create a deeper resonating tone as the sound waves reflect off of the surfaces. The placement of the subwoofer is up to you, depending on the type of bass you want. Experiment with different locations and find the one that best suits your taste.
Realizing the full potential of your home theater speakers is not a difficult task. By following these guidelines, you will be ready to enjoy your home theater the way it was meant to be heard.
Center Channel The center channel should always be placed either immediately above or immediately below the viewing screen. Make sure the speaker is pointed directly at the audience.
Front Speakers The two front speakers should be the same distance from the audience as the center channel. Doing this will ensure that the sound will travel from each speaker to the audience in the same amount of time and reduce the chances of there being a noticeable delay between what takes place on screen to when you hear it. Each of the front speakers should also be positioned an equal distance from the TV on either side. This distance is dependant on your specific tastes; just make sure that the distances are both equal.
Rear Speakers The rear speakers should be mounted on the walls on either side of the audience. Their purpose is to provide a sense of atmosphere, not provide the main sound for your home theater system. Therefore, they should not be pointed directly at the audience's ears or you risk over powering the center channel and the two front speakers. Again, distance is important. Try to have the rear speakers the same distance from the TV in order to use the same amount of speaker wire and if possible have them placed equidistance from the audience.
Subwoofer Bass tones by their nature are more difficult to localize than the midrange and high notes of the other five speakers. This will give you more freedom as to where to place the subwoofer. However, the location surrounding the subwoofer can greatly influence the bass tones you hear. Placing the subwoofer in a corner or under a table will create a deeper resonating tone as the sound waves reflect off of the surfaces. The placement of the subwoofer is up to you, depending on the type of bass you want. Experiment with different locations and find the one that best suits your taste.
Realizing the full potential of your home theater speakers is not a difficult task. By following these guidelines, you will be ready to enjoy your home theater the way it was meant to be heard.
Over The Counter Acne Treatments – Do They Work?
Over the counter, sometimes referred to as otc for short, products are starting to become an increasingly popular alternative to prescription medication in the treatment of acne. These products are readily available as you don't need a prescription from your doctor to buy them and for people with mild to moderate forms of acne the best over the counter treatments will be just as effective as the more expensive prescribed ones.
Besides being cheaper, these products often have little, or no side effects, in comparison to some of the highly publicised prescribed antibiotic drugs used by doctors.
Although there are lots of over the counter acne products on sale, really there are only two kinds of treatments available - either medicated or natural. Both types utilise basically the same technique by using a drying agent to exfoliate the skin and to combat the acne and pimples.
Usually, in the case of a medicated product, this is either benzoyl peroxide, salycic acid or glycolic acid. Natural products tend to use combinations of ingredients and plant extracts like vitamin E, tea tree oil, aloe vera, witch hazel, green tea extract, cucumber etc.
There seems to be a growing number of different treatments but usually over the counter products come in the form of topical cleansers, soaps, washes, lotions, creams, gels or even pads and patches that are applied onto the skin.
When using these kind of preparations it is important, that you cover all of the area where you have acne because then you will also be treating the hidden blemishes that you can’t yet see as well as the acne breakouts that you can.
Expect some trials and errors as you experiment with the different treatments available, it may take you a while before you find the right type or combination of products that work for you. Whatever you do, don’t use more than one treatment at a time, particularly with medicated products, discontinue one before you try out another.
When you are trying a new product give it enough time to start working before discarding it to try something else. Typically you may need to use it for six to eight weeks before you notice any real progress but, of course, this depends upon the severity of your acne and your skin type, some people see improvements after only a few weeks.
After you have found the perfect skin care products that suit you and are providing good results, you may find that you will need to continue your treatments to keep your acne in check. This is because acne is a chronic (meaning long-term) skin disorder and it is possible that once you stop using your treatments the acne could reoccur.
To get the best out of any over the counter acne products you need to use them consistently and correctly. This may be common sense but do read the labels and make sure you use them in line with the instructions given! If you don’t you risk causing damage to your skin and doing more harm than good, this is especially true if you have sensitive skin.
The over the counter products that are available, whether medicated or natural, do successfully treat most forms of acne. Unfortunately, there are always exceptions to the rule and there are some types of acne that will not respond to these type of treatments. If this happens to you and nothing you try is helping your condition then seek the help of your doctor or dermatologist.
Besides being cheaper, these products often have little, or no side effects, in comparison to some of the highly publicised prescribed antibiotic drugs used by doctors.
Although there are lots of over the counter acne products on sale, really there are only two kinds of treatments available - either medicated or natural. Both types utilise basically the same technique by using a drying agent to exfoliate the skin and to combat the acne and pimples.
Usually, in the case of a medicated product, this is either benzoyl peroxide, salycic acid or glycolic acid. Natural products tend to use combinations of ingredients and plant extracts like vitamin E, tea tree oil, aloe vera, witch hazel, green tea extract, cucumber etc.
There seems to be a growing number of different treatments but usually over the counter products come in the form of topical cleansers, soaps, washes, lotions, creams, gels or even pads and patches that are applied onto the skin.
When using these kind of preparations it is important, that you cover all of the area where you have acne because then you will also be treating the hidden blemishes that you can’t yet see as well as the acne breakouts that you can.
Expect some trials and errors as you experiment with the different treatments available, it may take you a while before you find the right type or combination of products that work for you. Whatever you do, don’t use more than one treatment at a time, particularly with medicated products, discontinue one before you try out another.
When you are trying a new product give it enough time to start working before discarding it to try something else. Typically you may need to use it for six to eight weeks before you notice any real progress but, of course, this depends upon the severity of your acne and your skin type, some people see improvements after only a few weeks.
After you have found the perfect skin care products that suit you and are providing good results, you may find that you will need to continue your treatments to keep your acne in check. This is because acne is a chronic (meaning long-term) skin disorder and it is possible that once you stop using your treatments the acne could reoccur.
To get the best out of any over the counter acne products you need to use them consistently and correctly. This may be common sense but do read the labels and make sure you use them in line with the instructions given! If you don’t you risk causing damage to your skin and doing more harm than good, this is especially true if you have sensitive skin.
The over the counter products that are available, whether medicated or natural, do successfully treat most forms of acne. Unfortunately, there are always exceptions to the rule and there are some types of acne that will not respond to these type of treatments. If this happens to you and nothing you try is helping your condition then seek the help of your doctor or dermatologist.
A Tidbit of Quilting History – Origins of Quilting?
Some of us believe that quilting began in New England as an outgrowth of a limited, affordable supply of fabric coming from Europe. Others credit the Amish and Mennonites. According to Rachel Pellman and Joanne Ranck in their book “Quilts among the Plain People,†quilting is an ancient art, dating back to Egypt, China and India. These cultures discovered the insulation value of layering three fabrics together, and created clothing using this technique. The Crusaders carried examples of this craft literally on their backs – as quilted clothing under their armour – and introduced quilting to England.
Lest we get carried away and deny the Americans their due, the combination of patchwork and quilting did merge in early America. While exquisite quilts were made in Europe, the hardships of the New World and the scarcity of fabric caused the women to become resourceful, thus patchwork quilts were created from whatever scraps of clothing, bed sheets, drapes, flour sacks, or any other thing that resembled fabric.
What's in a Name?
Early in the 1900s, as more women became interested in quilting and wanted to expand the variety of blocks they used in their quilts, they would write to magazines and newspapers for ideas. Publications would list the requests in one issue then publish the answers in the next issue. The blocks would be published with instructions and a picture. Often the blocks were renamed to sound more current or to give credit to a city or state, and one block would end up having several different names.
This month’s featured block has only 5 different names recorded. What is interesting is that 4 of the names were given to it by the same source, Nancy Cabot. She has referred to this block as: Arkansas Star, Butterfly Block, Sea Star, and Star of the Sea. In addition, the Ladies Art Company referred to this block as Little Rock Block.
Lest we get carried away and deny the Americans their due, the combination of patchwork and quilting did merge in early America. While exquisite quilts were made in Europe, the hardships of the New World and the scarcity of fabric caused the women to become resourceful, thus patchwork quilts were created from whatever scraps of clothing, bed sheets, drapes, flour sacks, or any other thing that resembled fabric.
What's in a Name?
Early in the 1900s, as more women became interested in quilting and wanted to expand the variety of blocks they used in their quilts, they would write to magazines and newspapers for ideas. Publications would list the requests in one issue then publish the answers in the next issue. The blocks would be published with instructions and a picture. Often the blocks were renamed to sound more current or to give credit to a city or state, and one block would end up having several different names.
This month’s featured block has only 5 different names recorded. What is interesting is that 4 of the names were given to it by the same source, Nancy Cabot. She has referred to this block as: Arkansas Star, Butterfly Block, Sea Star, and Star of the Sea. In addition, the Ladies Art Company referred to this block as Little Rock Block.
Starting Your Own Redecorating Business: The first key steps
Are you a compulsive furniture rearranger? Do you make distinctive vignettes with accessories? Been complimented on your beautiful home? Give friends and family decorating suggestions even if they didn’t ask for your help?
Have you ever wondered if you could make your decorating passion into a business? There is a fast growing area of interior decorating called interior redesign or one-day decorating. Varieties of this type of decorating include real estates decorating and home staging. This niche in the decorating world focuses on using what the homeowner already owns but making it better. This unique field is growing in popularity thanks in a large part to HGTV.
I own a wonderful business specializing in doing what I love to do – redecorating. Many people over the years have contacted me to ask, “How can I do what you do?â€: I tell the people who contact me to do three things.
1. Do your research.
The first step in any research is to increase your knowledge about the subject. The easiest way it gets knowledge is to purchase the recommended reading list or borrow them from your neighborhood library. The first book, and probably the most important, is to get a book on starting and running your own home based business. “The Complete Idiots Guides†and “For Dummies†series both have great books on home based businesses. (Don’t get the book on how to start a small business because you won’t need the employee hiring section or the store front location sections etc) These books are good at describing all the steps you need to take to make your business “real†and not a hobby. There several good decorating books that focus on this type of decorating that you will also find helpful:
Decorating for Good by Carole Talbott
Dress your House for Success by Martha Webb and Sarah Parsons Zackeim
Use What you have Decorating by Lauri Ward
Easy Decorating Makeovers edited by Vicki Ingham 2. Make an appointment with the Small Business Development Center near you.
These are government-operated programs focusing on helping small businesses get started and flourish. They will help you make a business plan and budget – very critical steps. Now the best part is that appointments are usually free. Ask them to send you a kit on how to start your business because each state may be different in where to file legal papers. The SBDC will help you with the easiest order of steps such opening a commercial bank account, where to file your business name, getting listed in the yellow pages, etc. Find the SBDC near you by going to http://www.sba.gov/sbdc. 3. Take a training program
Now the first two steps have not cost you too much but the third step will. I highly recommend that you take a hands-on professional redecorating training program. Yes, I know that they are a lot of money (can be 2 to 3 thousand for the week) but I would not even think about going into this business without a strong background in not just what makes a house looks good, but how to market this niche area, how to work with clients (like how to tell a client that the lime green carpet and moose head have to go) In your favorite search engine type in the phrase “Interior Redesign training†or “ Home Staging training†When I took the training programs I was mental and physically exhausted at the end of the week, I felt it was well worth the money. I still refer to my training manuals and network with my creative classmates. Just like any other consumer purchase, be sure to research the company and check references. (There are people who claim you can download their book and start a thriving redecorating business. I do not recommend that method)
My biggest advice is that decorating may be your passion but you need to treat it like a business to get paid for it. Once you get paid for it then, believe me, you will love to decorate even more!
Have you ever wondered if you could make your decorating passion into a business? There is a fast growing area of interior decorating called interior redesign or one-day decorating. Varieties of this type of decorating include real estates decorating and home staging. This niche in the decorating world focuses on using what the homeowner already owns but making it better. This unique field is growing in popularity thanks in a large part to HGTV.
I own a wonderful business specializing in doing what I love to do – redecorating. Many people over the years have contacted me to ask, “How can I do what you do?â€: I tell the people who contact me to do three things.
1. Do your research.
The first step in any research is to increase your knowledge about the subject. The easiest way it gets knowledge is to purchase the recommended reading list or borrow them from your neighborhood library. The first book, and probably the most important, is to get a book on starting and running your own home based business. “The Complete Idiots Guides†and “For Dummies†series both have great books on home based businesses. (Don’t get the book on how to start a small business because you won’t need the employee hiring section or the store front location sections etc) These books are good at describing all the steps you need to take to make your business “real†and not a hobby. There several good decorating books that focus on this type of decorating that you will also find helpful:
Decorating for Good by Carole Talbott
Dress your House for Success by Martha Webb and Sarah Parsons Zackeim
Use What you have Decorating by Lauri Ward
Easy Decorating Makeovers edited by Vicki Ingham 2. Make an appointment with the Small Business Development Center near you.
These are government-operated programs focusing on helping small businesses get started and flourish. They will help you make a business plan and budget – very critical steps. Now the best part is that appointments are usually free. Ask them to send you a kit on how to start your business because each state may be different in where to file legal papers. The SBDC will help you with the easiest order of steps such opening a commercial bank account, where to file your business name, getting listed in the yellow pages, etc. Find the SBDC near you by going to http://www.sba.gov/sbdc. 3. Take a training program
Now the first two steps have not cost you too much but the third step will. I highly recommend that you take a hands-on professional redecorating training program. Yes, I know that they are a lot of money (can be 2 to 3 thousand for the week) but I would not even think about going into this business without a strong background in not just what makes a house looks good, but how to market this niche area, how to work with clients (like how to tell a client that the lime green carpet and moose head have to go) In your favorite search engine type in the phrase “Interior Redesign training†or “ Home Staging training†When I took the training programs I was mental and physically exhausted at the end of the week, I felt it was well worth the money. I still refer to my training manuals and network with my creative classmates. Just like any other consumer purchase, be sure to research the company and check references. (There are people who claim you can download their book and start a thriving redecorating business. I do not recommend that method)
My biggest advice is that decorating may be your passion but you need to treat it like a business to get paid for it. Once you get paid for it then, believe me, you will love to decorate even more!
Investing in a Billiard Cue
Buying your own pool cue can be a confusing business as there are so many different brands on offer. Because of this it is important that you do not jump straight in and buy the first cue that catches your eye.
I agree that most people will purchase a cue first of all because of its aesthetic appeal but you don’t have to be a cue maker to realise that aesthetics do not reflect the playability of a cue.
Players who want to improve their game all come to the conclusion that they require their own playing cue. This is very important to a pool player’s development, a player builds a bond with a particular cue and get used to the way it feels and the way that it plays. A player that is playing regularly cannot get this same consistency from a standard house cue. You cannot guarantee that a house cue is straight or that the tip will do a proficient job.
When buying a cue it is important to try and get the right feel as if you just buy the first thing you come across then you could be spending hard earned cash on an instrument that you are not happy with in the long run. My advice to anyone purchasing a cue is to try as many different types before you buy. Ask friends, family or other regular players down at your local pool hall if you can play a few racks with their cue. This will give you a better understanding of what suits you and what doesn’t.
When ordering a cue make sure that it is the correct weight for you, not only should it be comfortable, but also having the wrong weight can make a huge difference to the feel of the cue. I have had many players in the past that have come to me to purchase a cue and have just ordered the weight that I have in stock rather than waiting the couple of weeks whilst it is ordered.
The next thing to consider is the shaft; the majority of pool cue shafts are made from Maple, this is a very hardwearing wood. You have to decide whether you are going to go for a plain Maple shaft or one of the name brands like Predator or Meucci. The name brand shafts are excellent for what they offer but it is also reflected in the price, both of the manufacturers mentioned claim to have the least cue ball deflection when playing with side English. The predator has a very stiff hit created by the laminating of ten pieces of maple in a cylindrical pattern. The Meucci has quite soft whippy feel to it, which is caused by the flat lamination of 32 thin pieces of maple. Both cues are excellent but there are a whole host of other manufacturers out there whose cues would suffice. Another thing to look out for is shafts layered with fibreglass. These cues do have extra strength through the design but the feel of the shaft can get very sticky and jerky through your bridging hand, the main brands that use this are Cuetec and Scorpion.
When a manufacturer releases a new range of cues they more than likely will all play the same what you are then paying for is the level of decoration, or the exotic woods that have been used in the inlays. For example in the Predator 4K Series you would get the same feel from the 4K1 at £380 as you would get from the 4K7 at £720. The only difference would be the hole in your pocket. But don’t be put off, if you like a cue and are happy with the feel and playability then go for it, who am I to stop you?
To sum up the important things are:
· Try before you buy · Get the right weight · Select the type of shaft to suit you · Get the price right · Choose the decoration to suit you.
When you have combined all of these factors then you should get years worth of playability and pleasure from your investment. Some cues if looked after may even grow in value.
I agree that most people will purchase a cue first of all because of its aesthetic appeal but you don’t have to be a cue maker to realise that aesthetics do not reflect the playability of a cue.
Players who want to improve their game all come to the conclusion that they require their own playing cue. This is very important to a pool player’s development, a player builds a bond with a particular cue and get used to the way it feels and the way that it plays. A player that is playing regularly cannot get this same consistency from a standard house cue. You cannot guarantee that a house cue is straight or that the tip will do a proficient job.
When buying a cue it is important to try and get the right feel as if you just buy the first thing you come across then you could be spending hard earned cash on an instrument that you are not happy with in the long run. My advice to anyone purchasing a cue is to try as many different types before you buy. Ask friends, family or other regular players down at your local pool hall if you can play a few racks with their cue. This will give you a better understanding of what suits you and what doesn’t.
When ordering a cue make sure that it is the correct weight for you, not only should it be comfortable, but also having the wrong weight can make a huge difference to the feel of the cue. I have had many players in the past that have come to me to purchase a cue and have just ordered the weight that I have in stock rather than waiting the couple of weeks whilst it is ordered.
The next thing to consider is the shaft; the majority of pool cue shafts are made from Maple, this is a very hardwearing wood. You have to decide whether you are going to go for a plain Maple shaft or one of the name brands like Predator or Meucci. The name brand shafts are excellent for what they offer but it is also reflected in the price, both of the manufacturers mentioned claim to have the least cue ball deflection when playing with side English. The predator has a very stiff hit created by the laminating of ten pieces of maple in a cylindrical pattern. The Meucci has quite soft whippy feel to it, which is caused by the flat lamination of 32 thin pieces of maple. Both cues are excellent but there are a whole host of other manufacturers out there whose cues would suffice. Another thing to look out for is shafts layered with fibreglass. These cues do have extra strength through the design but the feel of the shaft can get very sticky and jerky through your bridging hand, the main brands that use this are Cuetec and Scorpion.
When a manufacturer releases a new range of cues they more than likely will all play the same what you are then paying for is the level of decoration, or the exotic woods that have been used in the inlays. For example in the Predator 4K Series you would get the same feel from the 4K1 at £380 as you would get from the 4K7 at £720. The only difference would be the hole in your pocket. But don’t be put off, if you like a cue and are happy with the feel and playability then go for it, who am I to stop you?
To sum up the important things are:
· Try before you buy · Get the right weight · Select the type of shaft to suit you · Get the price right · Choose the decoration to suit you.
When you have combined all of these factors then you should get years worth of playability and pleasure from your investment. Some cues if looked after may even grow in value.
Incentives for Proper Home Theater Lighting
One of the most crucial elements to consider in building a home theater system is also one of the most over-looked. The lighting used in the room has an incredible effect on the movie viewing experience. It can make the difference between a pleasurable experience and a mediocre one.
Better Viewing Environment Believe it or not, complete darkness is not the best way to watch movies. This is in complete contrast to what most people actually do. You can even see this in practice at many movie theaters; the lights along the sides of the theater are kept very dim during the film but they are still on. The dim lighting helps to prevent the eye fatigue that results from staring at a bright light source in complete darkness. If you have ever had a headache after watching a long movie, it may have been caused by eye fatigue.
Atmosphere Lighting creates a certain atmosphere inside a room. This is true whether or not the atmosphere created is one that you had intended. When was the last time you walked into a theater that used overhead fluorescent lights? What kind of feelings would that evoke? Would you really feel like you were there to watch a movie or would it feel more like you were about to sit in on a seminar? Positioning, color, and intensity all play a role in the ambiance home theater lighting produces. Decide on exactly the feelings you would like to produce with your home theater lighting. What emotions would you like to evoke as people walk into your home theater? Warm? Relaxed? While different colors elicit different emotions from different people, there are some colors that seem to be associated with certain feelings. Choose shades of the color that is associated with the feelings you want to elicit from your home theater audience. The position and intensity of your home theater lighting will be determined by the placement of the viewing screen. Direct lighting should be avoided during the movie. Using fixtures that reflect light off of walls will help to avoid glare while reducing the harshness of the light. Dimmer switches are also a necessity if your home theater room is not equipped with central lighting control. They will provide you with the ability to customize the intensity of your home theater lighting to your own tastes.
Dedicated Room or Living Room Now before you come up with the excuse that your living room is your home theater room and other things take place there besides watching movies, just stop. If your home theater room and living room are one and the same, there is even greater incentive for you to address the room's lighting. Your living room is a multi-purpose room. When your friends come to visit, that is where you congregate. You read your books in your favorite chair, which is in the living room. Your family gets together to play board games or even just to talk in the living room. On top of these and anything else that goes on in your living room, you watch your movies there. How nice would it be if you could adjust the lights to create the perfect reading atmosphere around your favorite chair? Or how would you like to make a very inclusive and personal setting for spending time with loved ones? Even doing something as simple as creating a relaxing, cozy environment after coming home from work can be accomplished by changing the lighting conditions of a room. Proper lighting will provide you with the means to create all of this in your living room.
Convenience Home theater lighting can easily be tailored in order to take the work out of finding the perfect setting for each light in the room every time you want to watch a movie. A central lighting control allows you to change the intensity of the all lights in a room from a single location. Some of the more sophisticated learning remote controls can actually activate your favorite lighting conditions with the push of a button.
As you can see, lighting is vital to the effectiveness of your home theater system. After being introduced to the possibilities that proper home theater lighting and control provides, it will be hard for you to ignore it any longer. You've taken the time, effort, and expense of creating a home theater system for a reason. Finish the job with proper lighting and create a truly enjoyable viewing experience.
Better Viewing Environment Believe it or not, complete darkness is not the best way to watch movies. This is in complete contrast to what most people actually do. You can even see this in practice at many movie theaters; the lights along the sides of the theater are kept very dim during the film but they are still on. The dim lighting helps to prevent the eye fatigue that results from staring at a bright light source in complete darkness. If you have ever had a headache after watching a long movie, it may have been caused by eye fatigue.
Atmosphere Lighting creates a certain atmosphere inside a room. This is true whether or not the atmosphere created is one that you had intended. When was the last time you walked into a theater that used overhead fluorescent lights? What kind of feelings would that evoke? Would you really feel like you were there to watch a movie or would it feel more like you were about to sit in on a seminar? Positioning, color, and intensity all play a role in the ambiance home theater lighting produces. Decide on exactly the feelings you would like to produce with your home theater lighting. What emotions would you like to evoke as people walk into your home theater? Warm? Relaxed? While different colors elicit different emotions from different people, there are some colors that seem to be associated with certain feelings. Choose shades of the color that is associated with the feelings you want to elicit from your home theater audience. The position and intensity of your home theater lighting will be determined by the placement of the viewing screen. Direct lighting should be avoided during the movie. Using fixtures that reflect light off of walls will help to avoid glare while reducing the harshness of the light. Dimmer switches are also a necessity if your home theater room is not equipped with central lighting control. They will provide you with the ability to customize the intensity of your home theater lighting to your own tastes.
Dedicated Room or Living Room Now before you come up with the excuse that your living room is your home theater room and other things take place there besides watching movies, just stop. If your home theater room and living room are one and the same, there is even greater incentive for you to address the room's lighting. Your living room is a multi-purpose room. When your friends come to visit, that is where you congregate. You read your books in your favorite chair, which is in the living room. Your family gets together to play board games or even just to talk in the living room. On top of these and anything else that goes on in your living room, you watch your movies there. How nice would it be if you could adjust the lights to create the perfect reading atmosphere around your favorite chair? Or how would you like to make a very inclusive and personal setting for spending time with loved ones? Even doing something as simple as creating a relaxing, cozy environment after coming home from work can be accomplished by changing the lighting conditions of a room. Proper lighting will provide you with the means to create all of this in your living room.
Convenience Home theater lighting can easily be tailored in order to take the work out of finding the perfect setting for each light in the room every time you want to watch a movie. A central lighting control allows you to change the intensity of the all lights in a room from a single location. Some of the more sophisticated learning remote controls can actually activate your favorite lighting conditions with the push of a button.
As you can see, lighting is vital to the effectiveness of your home theater system. After being introduced to the possibilities that proper home theater lighting and control provides, it will be hard for you to ignore it any longer. You've taken the time, effort, and expense of creating a home theater system for a reason. Finish the job with proper lighting and create a truly enjoyable viewing experience.
Transmit Clean Digital Audio with Digital Coaxial Cables
In the world of digital audio, there are two types of cable to choose from; optical cables which use light to transmit signal and digital coaxial cable. These audio cables will enable your home theater system to transmit digital data between components. This will provide you with superior sound quality over typical RCA audio cables.
How Digital Coaxial Cable Works
Digital coaxial cables employ the same principles as other coaxial cables. The inner conducting layer is surrounded by an outer conductor as well as the rubbery insulating layer outside the cable. The digital signal is sent through the inner conductor as it travels between components. During the course of its transmission, the signal routinely comes in contact with the outer conductor. The outer conductive layer is created with materials that act as a reflector for the signal, thereby bouncing it back off of its surface. The signal will continue to reflect within the confines of inner conductor until it reaches the receiving component.
Dedicated to Digital Audio
Digital coaxial cable has only one purpose; to deliver digital audio between components. This is in complete contrast to RF coaxial cable which transmits both video and audio along the same path. As you may suspect, dedicating the entire bandwidth of the cable to sending only digital audio has excellent ramifications for your home theater’s sound quality. This practice results in greater signal fidelity between the transmitting device and the receiving component. Greater signal fidelity means that the sound you hear from your home theater speakers will be a truer representation of the way the sound was originally recorded.
Benefits of Digital Coaxial Cables
Digital coaxial cable also has another benefit related to its dedication to digital audio. In the manner that signal transmission usually takes place, the digital signal from the source, a DVD for example, is sent to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The signal is converted to analog and sent through the given cable where it reaches the receiving component on the other side. This component uses an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to reconstruct the digital signal as closely as possible. During this process, errors and variations can be introduced to the signal resulting in audible artifacts and distortions that diminish your home theater’s sound quality.
Unlike with other audio cables, digital coaxial cable can transmit digital signals along its length without the need to convert to analog. Digital coaxial cable is capable of by-passing this process and delivers a cleaner signal to your home theater receiver.
Applications of Digital Coaxial Cables
Connections for digital coaxial cables can be found on everything from DVD players to home theater receivers. If it uses digital audio, then chances are there is a manufacturer who has made that component with digital coaxial cables in mind.
How Digital Coaxial Cable Works
Digital coaxial cables employ the same principles as other coaxial cables. The inner conducting layer is surrounded by an outer conductor as well as the rubbery insulating layer outside the cable. The digital signal is sent through the inner conductor as it travels between components. During the course of its transmission, the signal routinely comes in contact with the outer conductor. The outer conductive layer is created with materials that act as a reflector for the signal, thereby bouncing it back off of its surface. The signal will continue to reflect within the confines of inner conductor until it reaches the receiving component.
Dedicated to Digital Audio
Digital coaxial cable has only one purpose; to deliver digital audio between components. This is in complete contrast to RF coaxial cable which transmits both video and audio along the same path. As you may suspect, dedicating the entire bandwidth of the cable to sending only digital audio has excellent ramifications for your home theater’s sound quality. This practice results in greater signal fidelity between the transmitting device and the receiving component. Greater signal fidelity means that the sound you hear from your home theater speakers will be a truer representation of the way the sound was originally recorded.
Benefits of Digital Coaxial Cables
Digital coaxial cable also has another benefit related to its dedication to digital audio. In the manner that signal transmission usually takes place, the digital signal from the source, a DVD for example, is sent to a digital-to-analog converter (DAC). The signal is converted to analog and sent through the given cable where it reaches the receiving component on the other side. This component uses an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) to reconstruct the digital signal as closely as possible. During this process, errors and variations can be introduced to the signal resulting in audible artifacts and distortions that diminish your home theater’s sound quality.
Unlike with other audio cables, digital coaxial cable can transmit digital signals along its length without the need to convert to analog. Digital coaxial cable is capable of by-passing this process and delivers a cleaner signal to your home theater receiver.
Applications of Digital Coaxial Cables
Connections for digital coaxial cables can be found on everything from DVD players to home theater receivers. If it uses digital audio, then chances are there is a manufacturer who has made that component with digital coaxial cables in mind.
Send Flowers: A How To Guide
It's should be an easy, feel-good experience to order flowers. Here are some simple tips to ensure that you are satisfied with the results.
There are several pieces of information that you need to communicate to your local florist. A good florist knows these pieces of information and will ask the right questions. If you do not have a good local florist, you may need to take matters into your own hands and order flowers online. Either way, if at any point during the ordering process you don't feel you're getting through, don't be afraid to ask for what you want. If you still don't feel comfortable, politely cancel the order and try again elsewhere.
What date do you want the flowers delivered? Many florists offer same day delivery and some even offer timed delivery. If the timing is important to you, understand that you may have to pay for a special service. A good florist will meet your needs and charge you accordingly.
To whom and where are the flowers to be delivered?
Do your part and have the recipient's name, address and phone number ready.
What is the occasion and what do you want the flowers to say?
Here's where you may need to interject the details. If it's a Congratulations for a new baby, there's a big difference in what you’d likely say to a business associate upon the birth of her baby than for your beautiful wife on the occasion of bringing your precious little girl into the world. If you would say different things to the people, then you’d send different flowers. When the clerk asks what the occasion is, give the details he or she will need to help you choose the right flowers. For instance, for the associate, you might end up sending a pretty basket of pink and white flowers with a balloon attached. For your wife and new baby girl, you might end up sending 12 light pink sweetheart roses arranged with baby's breath in a silver mint julep cup. Big difference
What is the budget?
Unfortunately, many florists will ask this question before any of the others, it sounds like "how much do you want to spend?". You're not a professional florist; you don't know how much it will cost to say exactly what you want to say. Still, there is probably a budget you have in mind, so answer this question with another question like "the flowers are for my dearest Uncle’s funeral. I want a special tribute that includes his love of rose gardening. Can you give me some suggestions and tell me how much they would cost?".
This is where ordering online appeals to many customers. If your local florist has become so accustomed to the "how much do you want to spend?" manner of sales that you cannot have a meaningful conversation about the options they can provide, it's time for you to do some shopping online. Find a site where you can see photos and prices and take your time choosing the product that is right for you. Be sure to pay attention to order processing and delivery fees.
How will you be paying for the flowers?
Very few florists still have house accounts, and if you are ordering online, a house account is out of the question. Be prepared to pay by credit card or to go to the store to pay in cash.
Armed with a little knowledge and some confidence, you can order flowers that say just the right thing. Take a minute to be prepared before you pick up the phone and once you have, gently and firmly insist upon good service. If you take the time to be clear about your expectations, you won’t be disappointed.
There are several pieces of information that you need to communicate to your local florist. A good florist knows these pieces of information and will ask the right questions. If you do not have a good local florist, you may need to take matters into your own hands and order flowers online. Either way, if at any point during the ordering process you don't feel you're getting through, don't be afraid to ask for what you want. If you still don't feel comfortable, politely cancel the order and try again elsewhere.
What date do you want the flowers delivered? Many florists offer same day delivery and some even offer timed delivery. If the timing is important to you, understand that you may have to pay for a special service. A good florist will meet your needs and charge you accordingly.
To whom and where are the flowers to be delivered?
Do your part and have the recipient's name, address and phone number ready.
What is the occasion and what do you want the flowers to say?
Here's where you may need to interject the details. If it's a Congratulations for a new baby, there's a big difference in what you’d likely say to a business associate upon the birth of her baby than for your beautiful wife on the occasion of bringing your precious little girl into the world. If you would say different things to the people, then you’d send different flowers. When the clerk asks what the occasion is, give the details he or she will need to help you choose the right flowers. For instance, for the associate, you might end up sending a pretty basket of pink and white flowers with a balloon attached. For your wife and new baby girl, you might end up sending 12 light pink sweetheart roses arranged with baby's breath in a silver mint julep cup. Big difference
What is the budget?
Unfortunately, many florists will ask this question before any of the others, it sounds like "how much do you want to spend?". You're not a professional florist; you don't know how much it will cost to say exactly what you want to say. Still, there is probably a budget you have in mind, so answer this question with another question like "the flowers are for my dearest Uncle’s funeral. I want a special tribute that includes his love of rose gardening. Can you give me some suggestions and tell me how much they would cost?".
This is where ordering online appeals to many customers. If your local florist has become so accustomed to the "how much do you want to spend?" manner of sales that you cannot have a meaningful conversation about the options they can provide, it's time for you to do some shopping online. Find a site where you can see photos and prices and take your time choosing the product that is right for you. Be sure to pay attention to order processing and delivery fees.
How will you be paying for the flowers?
Very few florists still have house accounts, and if you are ordering online, a house account is out of the question. Be prepared to pay by credit card or to go to the store to pay in cash.
Armed with a little knowledge and some confidence, you can order flowers that say just the right thing. Take a minute to be prepared before you pick up the phone and once you have, gently and firmly insist upon good service. If you take the time to be clear about your expectations, you won’t be disappointed.
Online Garden Seed Exchanges
If you've been gardening for any length of time you have probably realized a couple of things.
1 Gardening can be quite expensive 2 Finding the plants you really want can be a daunting task.
If you're anything like me, you enjoy making changes to your gardens on pretty much a yearly basis. I call this "puttering". I'm always adding, moving, and redesigning. After all, what good is puttering in the garden if there's little to do? While this is good therapy and for many like myself the ultimate form of relaxation mixed with exercise, it can cost a bundle!
I'll remove a section of garden with a brilliant new garden design in mind and head off to the local garden stores, only to find they have nothing I wanted. In the past I've settled for what was to be had, only to find myself not happy with it next year and the "puttering" begins again.
Then I discovered.. ONLINE SEED EXCHANGES!!!!!
Online seed exchanges are simple online forums where gardeners can post notices of excess seed they have and are willing to exchange for what you have. You can also post requests for seed youÃ????d like. This is a remarkable service! It costs you nothing but a few cents postage to find the garden seed youÃ????ve been looking for and to share your seed with other gardeners. I'm always thrilled to acquire seed in late fall and propagate them in winter so they're ready for next springs puttering season.
Here's are some of the best online seed exchanges.
The Garden Web Seed Exchange http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/exseed/
Emily Compost Seed Exchange http://www.emilycompost.com/seed_exchange.htm
The Garden Helper Seed Exchange http://www.thegardenhelper.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/forum/8.html
Happy puttering!
1 Gardening can be quite expensive 2 Finding the plants you really want can be a daunting task.
If you're anything like me, you enjoy making changes to your gardens on pretty much a yearly basis. I call this "puttering". I'm always adding, moving, and redesigning. After all, what good is puttering in the garden if there's little to do? While this is good therapy and for many like myself the ultimate form of relaxation mixed with exercise, it can cost a bundle!
I'll remove a section of garden with a brilliant new garden design in mind and head off to the local garden stores, only to find they have nothing I wanted. In the past I've settled for what was to be had, only to find myself not happy with it next year and the "puttering" begins again.
Then I discovered.. ONLINE SEED EXCHANGES!!!!!
Online seed exchanges are simple online forums where gardeners can post notices of excess seed they have and are willing to exchange for what you have. You can also post requests for seed youÃ????d like. This is a remarkable service! It costs you nothing but a few cents postage to find the garden seed youÃ????ve been looking for and to share your seed with other gardeners. I'm always thrilled to acquire seed in late fall and propagate them in winter so they're ready for next springs puttering season.
Here's are some of the best online seed exchanges.
The Garden Web Seed Exchange http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/exseed/
Emily Compost Seed Exchange http://www.emilycompost.com/seed_exchange.htm
The Garden Helper Seed Exchange http://www.thegardenhelper.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php/forum/8.html
Happy puttering!
Using Annuals in Your Perennial Garden
Annuals in your perennial garden are something to think about! Annuals give you season long color, easy propogation, they're cost efficient, and provide first season interest.
If you're just starting a perennial garden annuals are a great choice to fill in gaps. I remember my first garden. I bought a couple of plants thinking "This is gonna be great!" A few weeks later I realised this wasn't true. I needed a whole lot more plants and they cost a bunch! I opted for some annual seeds and I had a really pretty garden by the seasons end. Annuals can certainly help to fill in a garden while you wait for perennials to mature.
Even an established perennial garden may have spots where little is blooming at one time or another. Annuals are a great way to fill those gaps and keep color in your garden. They bloom from summer to fall and with a bit of dead heading you can continue to coax them back.
Annuals are simple to start from seed which makes them very cost efficient. You can certainly purchase annual bedding plants from a local garden center, but mail order or seeds at the garden center offer you a much wider variety than your standard petunia, pansy or snapdragon.
Get your free catlogues now so you can plan for next year!
If you're just starting a perennial garden annuals are a great choice to fill in gaps. I remember my first garden. I bought a couple of plants thinking "This is gonna be great!" A few weeks later I realised this wasn't true. I needed a whole lot more plants and they cost a bunch! I opted for some annual seeds and I had a really pretty garden by the seasons end. Annuals can certainly help to fill in a garden while you wait for perennials to mature.
Even an established perennial garden may have spots where little is blooming at one time or another. Annuals are a great way to fill those gaps and keep color in your garden. They bloom from summer to fall and with a bit of dead heading you can continue to coax them back.
Annuals are simple to start from seed which makes them very cost efficient. You can certainly purchase annual bedding plants from a local garden center, but mail order or seeds at the garden center offer you a much wider variety than your standard petunia, pansy or snapdragon.
Get your free catlogues now so you can plan for next year!
Online Casino Bonuses - reading the fine print
Almost every ad for an online casino screams with an offer of some kind of "free bonus money". Probably followed by a "click here now!". While many of them are enticing, not enough of them are explained properly. As a player it's too easy at cash-out time to find that you've accidentally violated the terms and conditions of the bonus. And now there are problems.
The easy way around that scenerio is to read. Read the fine print in the Terms and Conditions of the promotion before you make a deposit at the casino.
In the T&C you will find several things. One is a wagering requirement. No casino just gives you money you can walk away with. They all require players to wager bonus money a certain amount of times before withdrawing it. The amount of times varies greatly from casino to casino, so a little bit of shopping might be in order before you make a deposit at a casino.
Another thing you'll find is a list of excluded games. On several casino games it is possible to make no-risk wagers. Well placed bets on a roulette table, for example, allow a player to wager thousands of dollars on a spin, without ever risking a dime. Because of situations like this, casinos began listing games that would not count towards the wagering requirement. Now that list has expanded to often include games like Video Poker and Blackjack as well. If your favorite game is on the excluded games list, perhaps it is best to pass on the bonus, or even that casino.
Also be aware that sometimes the casino will simply not count play on an "excluded game" towards your wagering requirement. Other times play on an excluded game will VOID your bonus, and that could be a very unpleasant surprise.
Sometimes casinos have a time requirement built into the terms. Many casinos only offer a bonus if players make a deposit within 72 hours of opening an account. That means if you open an account Tuesday afternoon, but do not deposit until Friday night, you've lost your claim to a bonus.
Withdrawal clauses are also very important. While most casinos allow you to withdraw any bonus you've earned, some do not. These bonuses are known as sticky bonuses, and always remain in your player account at the casino. You can use them to wager with, and you can keep any winnings they produce, but the bonus itself remains in your account until it is lost completely.
Here's an example of a sticky bonus in action. I deposit $100, and it is matched with a sticky bonus of $100. So I take $200 to the slots. If I spend $125 in the slots, now I can no longer cash out. I can only wager the last $75 hoping to win. Suppose on my last dollar I hit big on the slots, and win $10,000. Now I can cash out $9,900. The bonus is the last $100 in my account, and it stays there until I lose it.
Every casino has it's own set of rules regarding their bonuses. Before you deposit anywhere, please read over their rules paying attention to the clauses I've mentioned. This way you'll have a good idea of what they are offering exactly, and whether that offer is really for you.
The easy way around that scenerio is to read. Read the fine print in the Terms and Conditions of the promotion before you make a deposit at the casino.
In the T&C you will find several things. One is a wagering requirement. No casino just gives you money you can walk away with. They all require players to wager bonus money a certain amount of times before withdrawing it. The amount of times varies greatly from casino to casino, so a little bit of shopping might be in order before you make a deposit at a casino.
Another thing you'll find is a list of excluded games. On several casino games it is possible to make no-risk wagers. Well placed bets on a roulette table, for example, allow a player to wager thousands of dollars on a spin, without ever risking a dime. Because of situations like this, casinos began listing games that would not count towards the wagering requirement. Now that list has expanded to often include games like Video Poker and Blackjack as well. If your favorite game is on the excluded games list, perhaps it is best to pass on the bonus, or even that casino.
Also be aware that sometimes the casino will simply not count play on an "excluded game" towards your wagering requirement. Other times play on an excluded game will VOID your bonus, and that could be a very unpleasant surprise.
Sometimes casinos have a time requirement built into the terms. Many casinos only offer a bonus if players make a deposit within 72 hours of opening an account. That means if you open an account Tuesday afternoon, but do not deposit until Friday night, you've lost your claim to a bonus.
Withdrawal clauses are also very important. While most casinos allow you to withdraw any bonus you've earned, some do not. These bonuses are known as sticky bonuses, and always remain in your player account at the casino. You can use them to wager with, and you can keep any winnings they produce, but the bonus itself remains in your account until it is lost completely.
Here's an example of a sticky bonus in action. I deposit $100, and it is matched with a sticky bonus of $100. So I take $200 to the slots. If I spend $125 in the slots, now I can no longer cash out. I can only wager the last $75 hoping to win. Suppose on my last dollar I hit big on the slots, and win $10,000. Now I can cash out $9,900. The bonus is the last $100 in my account, and it stays there until I lose it.
Every casino has it's own set of rules regarding their bonuses. Before you deposit anywhere, please read over their rules paying attention to the clauses I've mentioned. This way you'll have a good idea of what they are offering exactly, and whether that offer is really for you.
Patios: The New Trend in Home Remodels
In years past a patio was sort of a throw on to a home. It was typically a concrete slab to keep your feet clean on your way in or out. Then you'd plunk down a couple of chairs and a table and enjoy your patio when the sun went down. More recently, covered patios have become very popular. Adding a patio or "outdoor living area" to your home is both a great investment and a relaxing extension of your homes interior that you can enjoy all day and all yearlong. You might want to consider the following features.
1 Add an outdoor kitchen to your patio for easy entertaining. When planning your kitchen think about storage, clean up and prep areas. You can buy pre-made outdoor grills with these features or build your own custom kitchen.
2 Patio furnishings can be quite luxurious because they're protected from the elements. Think outdoor living room with comfortable chairs, lounges, couches and plants all around.
3 If you have a spacious patio you might add a home spa. You can make this a focal point of the patio with container garden landscaping, intimate lighting, tiki torches or candles. Itâ??s sure to be a feature you'll use year round.
4 Patio Heaters. There is a fairly extensive line of patio heaters available that allow you to enjoy your patio even on cold days. You might also consider an outdoor fireplace, or fire pit to heat your patio on the coldest of days.
5 Patio Misters are a wonderful addition if you live in a climate where summers can be unbearable. You'll keep your guests comfortable on even the hottest days.
6 Patios for children. If you have children you should think about a child friendly area. You can provide storage for outdoor games, pool and sprinkler fun, as well as keep towels and a change of clothes or shoes handy.
When planning your new patio addition consider your hobbies, family life style, and entertaining habits. Have fun with your patio design and make it your own!
1 Add an outdoor kitchen to your patio for easy entertaining. When planning your kitchen think about storage, clean up and prep areas. You can buy pre-made outdoor grills with these features or build your own custom kitchen.
2 Patio furnishings can be quite luxurious because they're protected from the elements. Think outdoor living room with comfortable chairs, lounges, couches and plants all around.
3 If you have a spacious patio you might add a home spa. You can make this a focal point of the patio with container garden landscaping, intimate lighting, tiki torches or candles. Itâ??s sure to be a feature you'll use year round.
4 Patio Heaters. There is a fairly extensive line of patio heaters available that allow you to enjoy your patio even on cold days. You might also consider an outdoor fireplace, or fire pit to heat your patio on the coldest of days.
5 Patio Misters are a wonderful addition if you live in a climate where summers can be unbearable. You'll keep your guests comfortable on even the hottest days.
6 Patios for children. If you have children you should think about a child friendly area. You can provide storage for outdoor games, pool and sprinkler fun, as well as keep towels and a change of clothes or shoes handy.
When planning your new patio addition consider your hobbies, family life style, and entertaining habits. Have fun with your patio design and make it your own!
Pricing Strategy for Retail Flower Shops
When you create your profit and loss statement to assess the health of your business, you will see:
Sales minus Cost of Goods Sold equals Gross Profit.
You pay for all of your expenses with the gross profit. If you are finding that your gross profit is not enough to cover your expenses, you have two options, you can either raise gross profit by increasing sales or lowering cost of goods sold, or you can lower your expenses. Certainly, that's an over simplification, the art of business management is in the hundreds of nuances held within those two options. For this article, let's assume that your expenses have been carefully streamlined and that you are doing due-diligence in your purchasing habits. Therefore, let's investigate the pricing end of the equation.
How you set your prices may be one of the most important management decisions you make as an owner or manager of a retail flower shop. A tremendous amount of work goes in to running a flower shop, wouldn't it be a shame to under price your products and not be able to make ends meet? On the other hand, over pricing and putting yourself out of the market before you even begin would also prove to be disastrous. Market conditions and your competition will, in large part, determine your pricing. Bear in mind, though, that depending upon these items only, without analyzing the actual cost of the products you are selling could cause you to loose your shirt. Pricing strategy can be a complicated thing in a retail flower shop. This is because there are perishable items and skilled labor to be factored in along with the raw cost of goods.
Let us consider each of these factors one at a time. We'll begin with the cost of goods sold (COGS) because that is the most straight-forward of the three. The cost of goods sold is the price you paid for the item that you are selling, plus any cost associated with buying and owning that product until such time as you sell it. If you were selling widgets, and you purchased a widget for three dollars, your COGS would be $3. In the flower business, you'll need to add the cost of your fresh flower preservative or any other product that you must add to the flowers to make them saleable. In the case of an arrangement, your cost of goods includes the flowers, container, preservative, and ribbon or accessories.
Secondly, with perishable items, you'll have a certain amount of shrink, or loss of product. Take time to analyze the amount of product that you loose. For every $100 worth of fresh flowers you buy, you should factor in approx 5% loss for shipping and normal damage. You will also need to find out your own shop's loss factor. Let's say for this example that you loose 10% of your fresh flowers because they are not sold before they go out of date, or because they are wasted or broken in the shop.
Now, let's look at the components of a fresh flower arrangement. We'll use some industry standards as a jumping off point for setting the price. Fresh flowers: If the flowers cost $10 at wholesale, you'll add $1.50 for shrink, .10 for preservative. Multiply by two to get the retail price of the flowers: $23.20 Container: The vase cost you $2.00. Multiply by two to get the retail price: $4.00 You'll be putting in a bird, a bow and a butterfly, which will cost you $3.00, so your retail price on those items is $6.00. This gives us a total retail price of $30.20. We're not done yet!
Third, the cost of the skilled labor that was used to create the arrangement must be considered. Look at your business plan and calculate the cost of your labor as a percentage of your total sales. Let’s say your labor costs are 12% of your total sales. You'll need to add this labor factor into every item you sell. If you'd like to be able to sell giftware items without adding labor, you'll probably need to do a little more analysis to figure your design labor cost as a total of your total sales. This number is probably more like 20% to 25%. Let's go with 25% for this example.
Now the math gets a little more complicated. You need to find the selling price that reflects a 25% labor cost. Dust off your algebra I text and solve this equation:
Cost + (PRICE+(PRICE *25%))=PRICE
Or
$30.20+PRICE*.25=Price
Don't panic! The easier way to do this math is to just divide the cost by whatever percentage you need to add to the labor factor to make 100%.
$30.20/.75=$40.26
If we were using the 10% labor factor, the math would be: $30.20/.80=$37.75
Factor in your market considerations and do your research on your competition. Set your price accordingly. Follow up with continued analysis and adjust the labor factor or the multipliers you use in the formula as needed until you find that you have the results required to cover your expenses. For example, you may find that you need to multiply your costs by 2.5 or even 3. You may find that your skilled labor is actually a 30% factor, or even a 10% factor.
Finally, we have not addressed delivery. That's a topic for another article, but do remember to consider where the money is coming from to cover the cost of delivery. If you include delivery in with your regular expense (which you should), you'll need to either add a delivery charge, which in effect is just raising the retail sell price, or, you'll certainly need to use a larger multiplier, closer to three than two.
In summary, you can analyze pricing from dawn to dusk, in fact, many people make a career of it! I recommend that you set a formula based on your best research. Make the formula simple enough for your entire staff to follow. Most importantly, don't stop there. Be diligent about checking your numbers on your profit and loss statement, and adjust the formula as often as needed.
Sales minus Cost of Goods Sold equals Gross Profit.
You pay for all of your expenses with the gross profit. If you are finding that your gross profit is not enough to cover your expenses, you have two options, you can either raise gross profit by increasing sales or lowering cost of goods sold, or you can lower your expenses. Certainly, that's an over simplification, the art of business management is in the hundreds of nuances held within those two options. For this article, let's assume that your expenses have been carefully streamlined and that you are doing due-diligence in your purchasing habits. Therefore, let's investigate the pricing end of the equation.
How you set your prices may be one of the most important management decisions you make as an owner or manager of a retail flower shop. A tremendous amount of work goes in to running a flower shop, wouldn't it be a shame to under price your products and not be able to make ends meet? On the other hand, over pricing and putting yourself out of the market before you even begin would also prove to be disastrous. Market conditions and your competition will, in large part, determine your pricing. Bear in mind, though, that depending upon these items only, without analyzing the actual cost of the products you are selling could cause you to loose your shirt. Pricing strategy can be a complicated thing in a retail flower shop. This is because there are perishable items and skilled labor to be factored in along with the raw cost of goods.
Let us consider each of these factors one at a time. We'll begin with the cost of goods sold (COGS) because that is the most straight-forward of the three. The cost of goods sold is the price you paid for the item that you are selling, plus any cost associated with buying and owning that product until such time as you sell it. If you were selling widgets, and you purchased a widget for three dollars, your COGS would be $3. In the flower business, you'll need to add the cost of your fresh flower preservative or any other product that you must add to the flowers to make them saleable. In the case of an arrangement, your cost of goods includes the flowers, container, preservative, and ribbon or accessories.
Secondly, with perishable items, you'll have a certain amount of shrink, or loss of product. Take time to analyze the amount of product that you loose. For every $100 worth of fresh flowers you buy, you should factor in approx 5% loss for shipping and normal damage. You will also need to find out your own shop's loss factor. Let's say for this example that you loose 10% of your fresh flowers because they are not sold before they go out of date, or because they are wasted or broken in the shop.
Now, let's look at the components of a fresh flower arrangement. We'll use some industry standards as a jumping off point for setting the price. Fresh flowers: If the flowers cost $10 at wholesale, you'll add $1.50 for shrink, .10 for preservative. Multiply by two to get the retail price of the flowers: $23.20 Container: The vase cost you $2.00. Multiply by two to get the retail price: $4.00 You'll be putting in a bird, a bow and a butterfly, which will cost you $3.00, so your retail price on those items is $6.00. This gives us a total retail price of $30.20. We're not done yet!
Third, the cost of the skilled labor that was used to create the arrangement must be considered. Look at your business plan and calculate the cost of your labor as a percentage of your total sales. Let’s say your labor costs are 12% of your total sales. You'll need to add this labor factor into every item you sell. If you'd like to be able to sell giftware items without adding labor, you'll probably need to do a little more analysis to figure your design labor cost as a total of your total sales. This number is probably more like 20% to 25%. Let's go with 25% for this example.
Now the math gets a little more complicated. You need to find the selling price that reflects a 25% labor cost. Dust off your algebra I text and solve this equation:
Cost + (PRICE+(PRICE *25%))=PRICE
Or
$30.20+PRICE*.25=Price
Don't panic! The easier way to do this math is to just divide the cost by whatever percentage you need to add to the labor factor to make 100%.
$30.20/.75=$40.26
If we were using the 10% labor factor, the math would be: $30.20/.80=$37.75
Factor in your market considerations and do your research on your competition. Set your price accordingly. Follow up with continued analysis and adjust the labor factor or the multipliers you use in the formula as needed until you find that you have the results required to cover your expenses. For example, you may find that you need to multiply your costs by 2.5 or even 3. You may find that your skilled labor is actually a 30% factor, or even a 10% factor.
Finally, we have not addressed delivery. That's a topic for another article, but do remember to consider where the money is coming from to cover the cost of delivery. If you include delivery in with your regular expense (which you should), you'll need to either add a delivery charge, which in effect is just raising the retail sell price, or, you'll certainly need to use a larger multiplier, closer to three than two.
In summary, you can analyze pricing from dawn to dusk, in fact, many people make a career of it! I recommend that you set a formula based on your best research. Make the formula simple enough for your entire staff to follow. Most importantly, don't stop there. Be diligent about checking your numbers on your profit and loss statement, and adjust the formula as often as needed.
Get Ahead When You Build Your Own Computer
Get Ahead When You Build Your Own Computer
If you’ve been kicking around the idea of building your own computer, it actually isn’t a bad idea. It’s easier than you might think, and you can probably come out with a system that gives you more kick for your money, than you’d see in retail, or those made-to-order places. There are mainly two ways you’re going to see the benefits here:
1. You can see the money you’re going to save on this right up front. Just do a search on Cnet.com under “Compare Prices†for any random PC component you see in the stores, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. In most cases, you’ll cut out the full-retail markup, and then some. You’ll find brand new, sealed, in-box items lower online than you’ll ever find in any store.
2. The quality of the parts you’re getting is much better than what they put in pre-assembled, store-bought computers. You’ll know which brands mean quality. You could have a Creative sound card and a video card made by ATI or nVidia; the price difference is negligible, and we’re dealing with quality and performance standards that dwarf any no-name components they put in store bought systems, so they can keep their costs down. Many times, computer manufacturers like just use a cheap motherboard that has everything, your sound, video, etc., integrated into it; you get a third-rate version of everything. Here are the main parts, or the basic building blocks for what you’ll need when you build your own computer.
1. A Motherboard. I talked about this a little earlier. All computers have one, but a good motherboard is just a fast connector that’ll hold lots of memory and extra slots for expansion components. Steer clear of motherboards that have “built-in†this or “integrated†that, because they’re almost always of lousy quality. It does help to have all your USB ports, keyboard plugs etc., on your motherboard, however. I have an onboard LAN that works pretty well, since a LAN is a LAN, but there were some driver issues with it when I put it together.
2. The Processor, or CPU. This is the “brain†of your computer. The kind of CPU that you can get depends on the kind of board that you picked out. The market is pretty much Intel Pentium 4 or AMD. Most people who are interested in higher power and long-term use tend to opt for the Intel.
3. Video Card. This is easy. Your motherboard either has a PCI Express video slot (newer and faster, but no real benefit yet) or an AGP 8X slot. Are you a hardcore gamer or someone who just uses a PC for a little email and word processing every now and then? This is the major question that’ll tell you the video card you need. Obviously the more intense and rigorous your video and graphics demands, the more video memory your card will need.
4. Memory. Memory or RAM (Random Access Memory) is easy too. The main size ram you’ll find that goes with what’s still the most common new computer motherboard size (the Pentium compatible, socket 478) is the standard DDR 184 pin memory stick. Whether you need DDR 333, DDR 400, or DDR 533 (mhz, frequency and speed really) depends on the board you chose. Some handle all of them, some handle just a few, so be sure to read that part of the box, (or online description).
5. Sound Card. This is probably one of the easiest parts to pick out and add. Most standalone sound cards you’ll see out there (the best way to go) are pretty good in the digital sound that they’ll give you. I would go with Creative Labs, who I mentioned earlier, because they’ve been around since the mid 80’s; they’ve got this right. Almost every one sold and made today is the PCI slot, the most common motherboard slot, so it’s pretty hard to pick a sound card that won’t work.
6. Hard Drive. This is your main storage on your PC. It holds all of your files, games, pictures, operating system, everything. I would make sure I had at least 160 gigs of space, even if I weren’t a power user. This sounds like a lot but you’ll find that just in everyday PC use, that space gets eaten up fast. There are a few quality names out there that most people know, like Western Digital and Seagate.
7. Chassis / Computer Case. It’s good idea to get a case that comes with the power supply already in it, so you won’t have to deal with the annoyance of buying one separately and fitting it in. Plus, the power supply warranty (and they do go out sometimes) is by the same people who made your case, so they’re easy to track down. The only big consideration is that you need to get a case that supports the new generation boards (socket 478 and 775 for power users) because the power supply has this special 4-pin plug that any motherboard made in the past 5 years needs or it won’t even boot up. But still, the biggest part of your computer case selection is going to be cosmetics and personal style, so pick one you like!
8. Other Drives. Once the main parts are together and your system’s up and running, you can pick and choose what extras you like or need – everything from CD or DVD burners to MP3 hubs and advanced audio hookups.
With a little smart shopping, and little close attention to quality brands, you can build one affordable, high-performance PC in a snap!
If you’ve been kicking around the idea of building your own computer, it actually isn’t a bad idea. It’s easier than you might think, and you can probably come out with a system that gives you more kick for your money, than you’d see in retail, or those made-to-order places. There are mainly two ways you’re going to see the benefits here:
1. You can see the money you’re going to save on this right up front. Just do a search on Cnet.com under “Compare Prices†for any random PC component you see in the stores, and you’ll know what I’m talking about. In most cases, you’ll cut out the full-retail markup, and then some. You’ll find brand new, sealed, in-box items lower online than you’ll ever find in any store.
2. The quality of the parts you’re getting is much better than what they put in pre-assembled, store-bought computers. You’ll know which brands mean quality. You could have a Creative sound card and a video card made by ATI or nVidia; the price difference is negligible, and we’re dealing with quality and performance standards that dwarf any no-name components they put in store bought systems, so they can keep their costs down. Many times, computer manufacturers like just use a cheap motherboard that has everything, your sound, video, etc., integrated into it; you get a third-rate version of everything. Here are the main parts, or the basic building blocks for what you’ll need when you build your own computer.
1. A Motherboard. I talked about this a little earlier. All computers have one, but a good motherboard is just a fast connector that’ll hold lots of memory and extra slots for expansion components. Steer clear of motherboards that have “built-in†this or “integrated†that, because they’re almost always of lousy quality. It does help to have all your USB ports, keyboard plugs etc., on your motherboard, however. I have an onboard LAN that works pretty well, since a LAN is a LAN, but there were some driver issues with it when I put it together.
2. The Processor, or CPU. This is the “brain†of your computer. The kind of CPU that you can get depends on the kind of board that you picked out. The market is pretty much Intel Pentium 4 or AMD. Most people who are interested in higher power and long-term use tend to opt for the Intel.
3. Video Card. This is easy. Your motherboard either has a PCI Express video slot (newer and faster, but no real benefit yet) or an AGP 8X slot. Are you a hardcore gamer or someone who just uses a PC for a little email and word processing every now and then? This is the major question that’ll tell you the video card you need. Obviously the more intense and rigorous your video and graphics demands, the more video memory your card will need.
4. Memory. Memory or RAM (Random Access Memory) is easy too. The main size ram you’ll find that goes with what’s still the most common new computer motherboard size (the Pentium compatible, socket 478) is the standard DDR 184 pin memory stick. Whether you need DDR 333, DDR 400, or DDR 533 (mhz, frequency and speed really) depends on the board you chose. Some handle all of them, some handle just a few, so be sure to read that part of the box, (or online description).
5. Sound Card. This is probably one of the easiest parts to pick out and add. Most standalone sound cards you’ll see out there (the best way to go) are pretty good in the digital sound that they’ll give you. I would go with Creative Labs, who I mentioned earlier, because they’ve been around since the mid 80’s; they’ve got this right. Almost every one sold and made today is the PCI slot, the most common motherboard slot, so it’s pretty hard to pick a sound card that won’t work.
6. Hard Drive. This is your main storage on your PC. It holds all of your files, games, pictures, operating system, everything. I would make sure I had at least 160 gigs of space, even if I weren’t a power user. This sounds like a lot but you’ll find that just in everyday PC use, that space gets eaten up fast. There are a few quality names out there that most people know, like Western Digital and Seagate.
7. Chassis / Computer Case. It’s good idea to get a case that comes with the power supply already in it, so you won’t have to deal with the annoyance of buying one separately and fitting it in. Plus, the power supply warranty (and they do go out sometimes) is by the same people who made your case, so they’re easy to track down. The only big consideration is that you need to get a case that supports the new generation boards (socket 478 and 775 for power users) because the power supply has this special 4-pin plug that any motherboard made in the past 5 years needs or it won’t even boot up. But still, the biggest part of your computer case selection is going to be cosmetics and personal style, so pick one you like!
8. Other Drives. Once the main parts are together and your system’s up and running, you can pick and choose what extras you like or need – everything from CD or DVD burners to MP3 hubs and advanced audio hookups.
With a little smart shopping, and little close attention to quality brands, you can build one affordable, high-performance PC in a snap!
Gardening - Using Bulbs in Your Landscaping
Naturalized bulbs look beautiful in a wooded setting. You can plant them and leave them to multiply. After the bulbs bloom the foliage will die down, but you can interplant bulbs with ground covers for a carefree and beautiful garden.
For a natural look you should arrange your bulbs informally. If you toss them and plant them where they land, with small adjustments for spacing, it'll look much better than if you arrange them.
Bulbs also work well in a perennial garden. When your bulbs finish blooming your perennials are just ready to get started and they're now filling in the spaces and hiding the soon to be dormant foliage of your bulbs. This is a great way to extend color in the garden for a good 6 weeks.
Summer bulbs can be used to fill in areas that need color when perennials have finished. Keep in mind that most summer bulbs do need to be dug up and stored over the winter. The good part is that next season when you replant them you can totally redesign with them.
Whatever your garden style, make sure you add some bulbs. They'll provide you with years of enjoyment!
For a natural look you should arrange your bulbs informally. If you toss them and plant them where they land, with small adjustments for spacing, it'll look much better than if you arrange them.
Bulbs also work well in a perennial garden. When your bulbs finish blooming your perennials are just ready to get started and they're now filling in the spaces and hiding the soon to be dormant foliage of your bulbs. This is a great way to extend color in the garden for a good 6 weeks.
Summer bulbs can be used to fill in areas that need color when perennials have finished. Keep in mind that most summer bulbs do need to be dug up and stored over the winter. The good part is that next season when you replant them you can totally redesign with them.
Whatever your garden style, make sure you add some bulbs. They'll provide you with years of enjoyment!
Container Gardening
Container gardening is a wonderful idea whether you have a garden bed or not. It's perfect for apartments or small areas, but can also really enhance your patio. Here are some tips on gardening in containers.
Every Garden can benefit from the addition of container gardens. They add interst and variety, plus are easily moved around. If you live in an apartment or have a small area to work with this may be the only solution for you.
Your Container
Your container can be pretty much anything and is only limited to your imagination. Just make sure there is adequate drainage for your plants. I love old buckets, discarded kitchen pots and baskets for a rustic feel. For a formal garden choose a more traditional container. Regardless of your choice of container, make sure it's not to big or too small for your planting.
Your Soil
Do not use garden soil for your container plants. Garden soil is too heavy, dries out too quickly and will not provide the needed nutrients your container plants need. You can find good potting soil at your local garden center or you can mix your own.To mix your own make sure you include soil, peat, sand and a slow release fertilizer.
Maintenance
You'll need to pay close attention to your container grown plants -- much more than plants in your garden beds. The soil will dry out more quickly so frequent watering it a must. You'll also need to fertilize more frequently. Water in the morning or evening whenever the soil is almost dry and water thoroughly until water comes out the bottom drainage holes.
One thing I really love about container gardening is mobility. If a particular grouping doesn''t work you can simply move your pots and change your garden design.
Have fun, experiment and be creative!
Every Garden can benefit from the addition of container gardens. They add interst and variety, plus are easily moved around. If you live in an apartment or have a small area to work with this may be the only solution for you.
Your Container
Your container can be pretty much anything and is only limited to your imagination. Just make sure there is adequate drainage for your plants. I love old buckets, discarded kitchen pots and baskets for a rustic feel. For a formal garden choose a more traditional container. Regardless of your choice of container, make sure it's not to big or too small for your planting.
Your Soil
Do not use garden soil for your container plants. Garden soil is too heavy, dries out too quickly and will not provide the needed nutrients your container plants need. You can find good potting soil at your local garden center or you can mix your own.To mix your own make sure you include soil, peat, sand and a slow release fertilizer.
Maintenance
You'll need to pay close attention to your container grown plants -- much more than plants in your garden beds. The soil will dry out more quickly so frequent watering it a must. You'll also need to fertilize more frequently. Water in the morning or evening whenever the soil is almost dry and water thoroughly until water comes out the bottom drainage holes.
One thing I really love about container gardening is mobility. If a particular grouping doesn''t work you can simply move your pots and change your garden design.
Have fun, experiment and be creative!
Pot Odds
What are Pot Odds and what should you know about them? Well, Pot Odds is the ratio of what is already in the pot to the amount you would have to bet to stay in the hand. So, if there are $36 in the pot, and you would need to bet $6 to stay in the hand, the pot odds are 36 to 6, or 6 to 1.
Why would you need to know this?
One example of using pot odds is when your hand is not yet the best hand at the table, but it could be if the right card comes up next. For instance, with four cards on the board you hold four clubs. The odds of completing the flush on the river are roughly 5 to 1 against you. That means for you to bet there should be at least five times the bet amount in the pot. If the bet to you is $2, then there should be at least $10 in the pot to make it worth calling.
Suppose there were $24 in the pot when you were making that decision. The odds of landing that club and getting the best hand at the table were 5 to 1. The pot would pay you 12 to 1 on your bet. That makes calling the bet the right decision to make. You may not land your club and win the hand, but over the long run playing this way will be to your advantage. Another instance of using pot odds is after the river, when the final bet comes to you. If the pot holds $40, and the bet in front of you is $4, you can use pot odds to decide what to do. The pot is laying you Ten to One odds. ($40 against your $4 bet). Even though you feel your opponent may have the better hand, do you think he is ten times more likely to have a better hand? If so, fold. If not, call the bet and see his cards.
There are plenty of times at the poker table when you will be asking yourself, "Is it worth staying in this hand?". Being able to use pot odds will help you answer that question correctly more often.
Why would you need to know this?
One example of using pot odds is when your hand is not yet the best hand at the table, but it could be if the right card comes up next. For instance, with four cards on the board you hold four clubs. The odds of completing the flush on the river are roughly 5 to 1 against you. That means for you to bet there should be at least five times the bet amount in the pot. If the bet to you is $2, then there should be at least $10 in the pot to make it worth calling.
Suppose there were $24 in the pot when you were making that decision. The odds of landing that club and getting the best hand at the table were 5 to 1. The pot would pay you 12 to 1 on your bet. That makes calling the bet the right decision to make. You may not land your club and win the hand, but over the long run playing this way will be to your advantage. Another instance of using pot odds is after the river, when the final bet comes to you. If the pot holds $40, and the bet in front of you is $4, you can use pot odds to decide what to do. The pot is laying you Ten to One odds. ($40 against your $4 bet). Even though you feel your opponent may have the better hand, do you think he is ten times more likely to have a better hand? If so, fold. If not, call the bet and see his cards.
There are plenty of times at the poker table when you will be asking yourself, "Is it worth staying in this hand?". Being able to use pot odds will help you answer that question correctly more often.
How To Play Guitar Like a Pro!
Having taught the guitar for many years, I see the majority of beginners experiencing the same problems and making the same mistakes over and over again in their quest to learn how to play guitar. It's my job to steer them through these problem areas.
These "mistakes" are basic errors that most beginners naturally tend to make. But these mistakes can cause major problems if you allow them to become habits in your playing. Unfortunately, 90% of guitarists have done just that!
Avoid These 3 Mistakes Like The plague
The three main mistakes MOST people make when learning how to play guitar are:
1: Trying to play too fast too soon.
Don't be in such a rush. Trying to go too fast too soon causes serious problems. Sloppy playing and mistakes will become your trademark.
Learn to practice slowly and perfectly. The reason for this, is, what you program your brain and fingers with while practicing, is what you'll get as a habitual and subconscious end result.
The GIGO computer term describes it best. Garbage In = Garbage Out. If you program a computer with faulty data, your results will be faulty too. It's exactly the same with learning how to play guitar.
So practice everything very slowly and perfectly. Do this, and your playing will be to a higher standard than 90% of all other guitarists. Yes - even those that have been playing for years!
2: Too much body and hand tension.
Have you ever noticed how the top professionals make it all look so easy and effortless? How relaxed they are?
Take a lesson from that.
When learning how to play guitar, and in all practice sessions, you need to be as relaxed as possible at all times.
Unnecessary tension anywhere in the body when playing will stop you like a brick wall. Any "excess" tension in your fingers, hands, arms, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck, chest, stomach, thighs, legs is extremely hazardous to learning how to play guitar properly.
Practicing the right things in the right way will give you amazing results - even if you practice only 10 - 20 minutes a day.
3: Learn the difference between practice time and noodling time.
Basically, you learn how to play guitar in two ways:- 1: when you practice, and, 2: when you noodle and try out new ideas.
Practice Time is SERIOUS Time!
It's when you are specifically and very deliberately teaching your body and brain new motor and muscle-memory skills. This is all done very slowly, with great care and meticulous attention to detail. Never practice fast.
Practice time is where you develop muscle-memory and train your body to act in the most beneficial way for playing guitar. Remember - GIGO!
This is the foundation building time.. where you lay the foundation for learning HOW to play guitar the best way you can - without imposing limitations upon yourself through bad practice habits.
Noodling Time.
Noodling Time is where you learn how to play guitar by putting into practice what you study during your practice time. It's where you to steal licks, chords and solos off records. It's where you hunch over your cd player or computer with your guitar trying to hear and learn that tricky chord or lick.
It's where good habits can easily become undone!
Better to do this... Once you learn a lick, sit down in your chair in the proper position and play that lick over and over at a slow speed while focusing on being as relaxed as possible and with absolute minimal finger movement. Program that lick, your physical movements and relaxation "perfectly" into your brain. Only when it becomes 2nd nature to you, and you "own" that lick, should you start speeding up.
But... always focus on being as relaxed as possible.
Noodling is fun, and a necessary part of learning how to play guitar. Do as much as you can. But.. don't mistake it for real practice time. Don't noodle with bad habits either.
Next... you need to ensure you are practicing the correct things in the correct way too. But that's another story.
These "mistakes" are basic errors that most beginners naturally tend to make. But these mistakes can cause major problems if you allow them to become habits in your playing. Unfortunately, 90% of guitarists have done just that!
Avoid These 3 Mistakes Like The plague
The three main mistakes MOST people make when learning how to play guitar are:
1: Trying to play too fast too soon.
Don't be in such a rush. Trying to go too fast too soon causes serious problems. Sloppy playing and mistakes will become your trademark.
Learn to practice slowly and perfectly. The reason for this, is, what you program your brain and fingers with while practicing, is what you'll get as a habitual and subconscious end result.
The GIGO computer term describes it best. Garbage In = Garbage Out. If you program a computer with faulty data, your results will be faulty too. It's exactly the same with learning how to play guitar.
So practice everything very slowly and perfectly. Do this, and your playing will be to a higher standard than 90% of all other guitarists. Yes - even those that have been playing for years!
2: Too much body and hand tension.
Have you ever noticed how the top professionals make it all look so easy and effortless? How relaxed they are?
Take a lesson from that.
When learning how to play guitar, and in all practice sessions, you need to be as relaxed as possible at all times.
Unnecessary tension anywhere in the body when playing will stop you like a brick wall. Any "excess" tension in your fingers, hands, arms, elbows, wrists, shoulders, neck, chest, stomach, thighs, legs is extremely hazardous to learning how to play guitar properly.
Practicing the right things in the right way will give you amazing results - even if you practice only 10 - 20 minutes a day.
3: Learn the difference between practice time and noodling time.
Basically, you learn how to play guitar in two ways:- 1: when you practice, and, 2: when you noodle and try out new ideas.
Practice Time is SERIOUS Time!
It's when you are specifically and very deliberately teaching your body and brain new motor and muscle-memory skills. This is all done very slowly, with great care and meticulous attention to detail. Never practice fast.
Practice time is where you develop muscle-memory and train your body to act in the most beneficial way for playing guitar. Remember - GIGO!
This is the foundation building time.. where you lay the foundation for learning HOW to play guitar the best way you can - without imposing limitations upon yourself through bad practice habits.
Noodling Time.
Noodling Time is where you learn how to play guitar by putting into practice what you study during your practice time. It's where you to steal licks, chords and solos off records. It's where you hunch over your cd player or computer with your guitar trying to hear and learn that tricky chord or lick.
It's where good habits can easily become undone!
Better to do this... Once you learn a lick, sit down in your chair in the proper position and play that lick over and over at a slow speed while focusing on being as relaxed as possible and with absolute minimal finger movement. Program that lick, your physical movements and relaxation "perfectly" into your brain. Only when it becomes 2nd nature to you, and you "own" that lick, should you start speeding up.
But... always focus on being as relaxed as possible.
Noodling is fun, and a necessary part of learning how to play guitar. Do as much as you can. But.. don't mistake it for real practice time. Don't noodle with bad habits either.
Next... you need to ensure you are practicing the correct things in the correct way too. But that's another story.
How to Shop for Comfortable Pilates Workout Wear
Studies show that an estimated 60% of Americans do not receive the recommended amount of physical exercise per day. It is also estimated that of those 60% who are not active enough, there are 25% who are completely inactive on a daily basis. Being active is crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and living a longer life. Perhaps, that’s why so many people have showed interest in Pilates. Pilates has taken over the workout world and has received so much hype because of the wonders it performs on the body. So now that you’ve decided to become a part of the whirlwind, let’s figure out what you’re going to wear.
Many individuals are confused as to what types of clothing are most appropriate for Pilates. Here is a list of criteria you might want to consider when shopping for Pilates workout wear:
• Comfortable Clothing - Comfort is key in Pilates. If you are not comfortable in what you are wearing you will be self-conscious and hesitant to perform some of the positions.
• Clothes that are body hugging - This means clothes that enables you to breathe and move, but not so loose that when you move around you are afraid of your shirt lifting or your tummy showing.
• Light and Airy Clothing - You do not want to show up to a Pilates class wearing huge track pants that weigh about as much as you do. You want your clothes to breathe. You are going to work up a sweat and therefore you want the lightest clothing possible. • Stay Away from the Extras - Extra detailing, such as buttons and zippers, can cause discomfort during your workout and become painful if they are jammed into you when performing certain poses.
• Respect Your Classmates - Be respectful to others in the class and refrain from wearing any clothing which advertises sex, drugs, religion or otherwise as it may be offensive to other individuals taking the class.
Most of all, be comfortable and have fun! The clothing you choose is not as important as the fact that you are improving your lifestyle, creating a better life for yourself and setting a better example for others.
Many individuals are confused as to what types of clothing are most appropriate for Pilates. Here is a list of criteria you might want to consider when shopping for Pilates workout wear:
• Comfortable Clothing - Comfort is key in Pilates. If you are not comfortable in what you are wearing you will be self-conscious and hesitant to perform some of the positions.
• Clothes that are body hugging - This means clothes that enables you to breathe and move, but not so loose that when you move around you are afraid of your shirt lifting or your tummy showing.
• Light and Airy Clothing - You do not want to show up to a Pilates class wearing huge track pants that weigh about as much as you do. You want your clothes to breathe. You are going to work up a sweat and therefore you want the lightest clothing possible. • Stay Away from the Extras - Extra detailing, such as buttons and zippers, can cause discomfort during your workout and become painful if they are jammed into you when performing certain poses.
• Respect Your Classmates - Be respectful to others in the class and refrain from wearing any clothing which advertises sex, drugs, religion or otherwise as it may be offensive to other individuals taking the class.
Most of all, be comfortable and have fun! The clothing you choose is not as important as the fact that you are improving your lifestyle, creating a better life for yourself and setting a better example for others.
Birthday Flowers
Birthdays are one thing you can count on. We all have them and I'm willing to bet, all of your family members and friends have them too. Sometimes birthdays seem to roll around quickly. You can't believe it's been a whole year since you found the perfect gift for your cousin Susie, and now it's time to deliver again.
Whether the birthday boy or girl is a friend, lover or just an acquaintance, flowers can be ordered and designed to say just the right thing. Flowers have so much going for them, it's a wonder you haven't thought of this before!
Think of the blossoms as building blocks. Each has color, texture and form. They each have a personality and many have a tradition. The rose is elegant and says love. The carnation is sturdy and says you can count on me. The orchid is exotic and dares you to dream.
Next, think of your florist as an architect. She uses the building blocks to design a birthday greeting. An architect won't design a home for you until she has spent time with you and discovered your personality and your needs. A good florist should be asking a couple of questions to help her design the floral piece that says just what you want to say.
No, we're not talking about a million dollar home, were just talking about a birthday bouquet. Still, you should try to convey the message you are trying to send when you order your flowers from the florist. Your florist can translate your words into flowers. Using words like Romantic, Festive, Bright, Soft, Extravagant, Elegant, Simple, Fun, Young, Classic, Natural, Earthy or Modern will help your florist understand the personality she is fitting.
You can send flowers with little or no thought, and they'll probably be just fine. The enclosure card will say "Happy Birthday", and the message will get through. Or, you can invest just a few minutes into the process and choose flowers in a design that expresses the personality and message that fits the situation. It'll be worth the investment, I promise.
Whether the birthday boy or girl is a friend, lover or just an acquaintance, flowers can be ordered and designed to say just the right thing. Flowers have so much going for them, it's a wonder you haven't thought of this before!
Think of the blossoms as building blocks. Each has color, texture and form. They each have a personality and many have a tradition. The rose is elegant and says love. The carnation is sturdy and says you can count on me. The orchid is exotic and dares you to dream.
Next, think of your florist as an architect. She uses the building blocks to design a birthday greeting. An architect won't design a home for you until she has spent time with you and discovered your personality and your needs. A good florist should be asking a couple of questions to help her design the floral piece that says just what you want to say.
No, we're not talking about a million dollar home, were just talking about a birthday bouquet. Still, you should try to convey the message you are trying to send when you order your flowers from the florist. Your florist can translate your words into flowers. Using words like Romantic, Festive, Bright, Soft, Extravagant, Elegant, Simple, Fun, Young, Classic, Natural, Earthy or Modern will help your florist understand the personality she is fitting.
You can send flowers with little or no thought, and they'll probably be just fine. The enclosure card will say "Happy Birthday", and the message will get through. Or, you can invest just a few minutes into the process and choose flowers in a design that expresses the personality and message that fits the situation. It'll be worth the investment, I promise.
Buy a Flower Shop: Serious Considerations
You've always liked flowers and you think the idea of turning emotions into floral expressions sounds like tremendous fun. You are between careers and have been investigating business opportunities in your community. Yesterday, while perusing the real estate magazine in your county, you notice that the family owned, downtown flower shop is for sale. The ad says it's a turnkey operation. This is your lucky day. Or is it?
Let's look before we leap, OK? Here are some factors to consider:
What is the current state of health of this business?
You should be able to see the financial records and consult professional help if needed.
What is the reputation of this business in the community?
If there are negative feelings about the business in the community, you need to consider a name change and making a big show of the change in management. Factor in the cost of a face-lift on the façade of the physical facility.
What assets are included in the selling price?
If you are buying the building, equipment, coolers and inventory, you need to carefully assess the age, condition and viability of these items. For example, there may be $10,000 worth of inventory in the store, and the seller may be able to document the value by showing invoices. However, if the inventory is shop worn, out of date or not in keeping with your business plan, the value of that inventory to you may be quite a bit lower than that $10,000.
Are you also buying the Accounts Receivables as an asset? If so, you should do some serious research into the exact state of these accounts. Many traditional florists have struggled with house accounts. They have extended credit as a matter of tradition, rather than good business sense and have found themselves in extreme cash flow trouble.
What liabilities are you buying?
You'll need to be very clear about any debt or bills you will be taking over. Be sure that you hire professional help to outline any such debt in your sales agreement. Because of seasonality of the flower business and the existence of house accounts, many retail florists have difficulty with cash flow; you should avoid any situation where you will be paying bills run up by the previous owner.
Also, you should take time to consult with the Wholesalers that you will be buying from. Discuss your payment terms and lay the groundwork for a healthy business relationship with a reputable Wholesaler or two.
What about the business name? If the name of the business is valuable in your market, you probably won't want to change the name of the business. In any case, consider a clause in the bill of sale limiting the use of the name by the previous owner in the future. This can be very sticky in the case of an owner's own name, for example "Smith Florist".
Will you need to hire all new staff?
Sometimes a previous owner chooses to stay on and work for the new owner. This can pose tremendous difficulties for all involved, so tread lightly on this territory. It's an extreme analogy, but think about the difficulties in open adoptions between birth and adoptive parents. Everyone has their own style and it can be difficult to accept change or let go of something you have worked very hard to build.
That being said, many valued staff members at successful florists have weathered the change in ownership of their place of employment. Do make every effort to retain good people. Just be sure to be clear about your expectations so that the separation can be as painless as possible should that become necessary.
What is the correct timing?
Take the holidays into account when you plan your purchase of a flower shop. Valentine's day is the single largest day, but Christmas is more of a marathon. Mother's Day, weddings, proms, graduations and anniversaries team up to make the spring months a nice busy time. Depending upon your market, the summer can be a difficult time to make ends meet.
Ideally, you'd take over a shop with enough time to get your feet wet before a holiday, but not with so much down time that your funds dry up before you can get going.
What other opportunities exist, and at what cost?
Here's the acid test. Take the time to sort out the options. Let's work on the assumption that you WILL own a flower shop in the next year. Take a big sheet of paper and draw a line down the center. At the top of the left column, write "Buy and Existing Flower Shop". In the Right column, write "Open a New Flower Shop". Now draw a line through the middle of the paper, so you have a top and bottom. The top is for pros and the bottom is for cons. Fill in the grid with as many items as you can figure. Ask your trusted business friends and floral professionals for help. You'll be considering such items as the finances and the marketing plan of your business. When you have completed this exercise, you should have two things. One is a good tool to help you make a decision. The second is the beginnings of a business plan.
Whatever your decision, a business plan is essential. It is your roadmap for success and will be necessary for a business loan. It is worth the extra time at the onset of this journey to compare the options and make the best decision you can.
Let's look before we leap, OK? Here are some factors to consider:
What is the current state of health of this business?
You should be able to see the financial records and consult professional help if needed.
What is the reputation of this business in the community?
If there are negative feelings about the business in the community, you need to consider a name change and making a big show of the change in management. Factor in the cost of a face-lift on the façade of the physical facility.
What assets are included in the selling price?
If you are buying the building, equipment, coolers and inventory, you need to carefully assess the age, condition and viability of these items. For example, there may be $10,000 worth of inventory in the store, and the seller may be able to document the value by showing invoices. However, if the inventory is shop worn, out of date or not in keeping with your business plan, the value of that inventory to you may be quite a bit lower than that $10,000.
Are you also buying the Accounts Receivables as an asset? If so, you should do some serious research into the exact state of these accounts. Many traditional florists have struggled with house accounts. They have extended credit as a matter of tradition, rather than good business sense and have found themselves in extreme cash flow trouble.
What liabilities are you buying?
You'll need to be very clear about any debt or bills you will be taking over. Be sure that you hire professional help to outline any such debt in your sales agreement. Because of seasonality of the flower business and the existence of house accounts, many retail florists have difficulty with cash flow; you should avoid any situation where you will be paying bills run up by the previous owner.
Also, you should take time to consult with the Wholesalers that you will be buying from. Discuss your payment terms and lay the groundwork for a healthy business relationship with a reputable Wholesaler or two.
What about the business name? If the name of the business is valuable in your market, you probably won't want to change the name of the business. In any case, consider a clause in the bill of sale limiting the use of the name by the previous owner in the future. This can be very sticky in the case of an owner's own name, for example "Smith Florist".
Will you need to hire all new staff?
Sometimes a previous owner chooses to stay on and work for the new owner. This can pose tremendous difficulties for all involved, so tread lightly on this territory. It's an extreme analogy, but think about the difficulties in open adoptions between birth and adoptive parents. Everyone has their own style and it can be difficult to accept change or let go of something you have worked very hard to build.
That being said, many valued staff members at successful florists have weathered the change in ownership of their place of employment. Do make every effort to retain good people. Just be sure to be clear about your expectations so that the separation can be as painless as possible should that become necessary.
What is the correct timing?
Take the holidays into account when you plan your purchase of a flower shop. Valentine's day is the single largest day, but Christmas is more of a marathon. Mother's Day, weddings, proms, graduations and anniversaries team up to make the spring months a nice busy time. Depending upon your market, the summer can be a difficult time to make ends meet.
Ideally, you'd take over a shop with enough time to get your feet wet before a holiday, but not with so much down time that your funds dry up before you can get going.
What other opportunities exist, and at what cost?
Here's the acid test. Take the time to sort out the options. Let's work on the assumption that you WILL own a flower shop in the next year. Take a big sheet of paper and draw a line down the center. At the top of the left column, write "Buy and Existing Flower Shop". In the Right column, write "Open a New Flower Shop". Now draw a line through the middle of the paper, so you have a top and bottom. The top is for pros and the bottom is for cons. Fill in the grid with as many items as you can figure. Ask your trusted business friends and floral professionals for help. You'll be considering such items as the finances and the marketing plan of your business. When you have completed this exercise, you should have two things. One is a good tool to help you make a decision. The second is the beginnings of a business plan.
Whatever your decision, a business plan is essential. It is your roadmap for success and will be necessary for a business loan. It is worth the extra time at the onset of this journey to compare the options and make the best decision you can.
Reading the Board
Good Hold'em players can 'Read the Board', and they know what hands might be lurking out there at the table ready to show themselves and take the pot. They also know what hands can not be possible, and so they know not to worry defending against them. How can you tell what hands are possible, and what ones are not? Here are some simple guidelines to get you started.
Pairs on the Board - if there are a pair of cards on the board, someone may have a Four-of-a-Kind. If there are no pairs on the board, no one can have a Four-of-a-Kind. Pairs on the board also make a Full House possible. Both of these hands are very strong, so when the board pairs pay attention. Someone may be holding a monstor hand.
Three of a Suit - is what is necessary for a flush. Sometimes when the suited community cards are not particularly impressive, say 2-7-9 of clubs, it becomes easy to overlook the potential flush in your opponents hands.
Sequence Cards - the cards that make a straight possible. If the cards on the board only have two 'holes' in a string of five consecutive cards, someone may be holding those cards and just may have that straight. So, when cards like 9-J-Q show themselves on the board, beware that an opponent may be holding the 'missing' 10-K in their hand. Of course you know what cards are in your hand, and that can help you deduce what cards your opponents may have. Reading the Board - The board shows K♦-K¢¼-9¢¾-2¢À-6¢À - You have: A¢À-K¢À in your hand Is there a pair on the board? - Yes. Both a Four-of-a-Kind and a Full House are possible Are there three suited cards on the board? - No. A Flush is not possible. Are there three Sequence Cards on the board? - No. A straight is not possible. Can you use your cards to rule out possible hands? - Yes. Since you have one of the K, no one can have Four-of-a-Kind this hand. Conclusion - Because of the pair on the board, Full Houses are possible. Your opponent would need to have K¢¾ and either a 9,6, or 2 in their hand to complete the Full House. Or, they may have 2-2, 9-9, or 6-6 and complete the full house in that manner.
Pairs on the Board - if there are a pair of cards on the board, someone may have a Four-of-a-Kind. If there are no pairs on the board, no one can have a Four-of-a-Kind. Pairs on the board also make a Full House possible. Both of these hands are very strong, so when the board pairs pay attention. Someone may be holding a monstor hand.
Three of a Suit - is what is necessary for a flush. Sometimes when the suited community cards are not particularly impressive, say 2-7-9 of clubs, it becomes easy to overlook the potential flush in your opponents hands.
Sequence Cards - the cards that make a straight possible. If the cards on the board only have two 'holes' in a string of five consecutive cards, someone may be holding those cards and just may have that straight. So, when cards like 9-J-Q show themselves on the board, beware that an opponent may be holding the 'missing' 10-K in their hand. Of course you know what cards are in your hand, and that can help you deduce what cards your opponents may have. Reading the Board - The board shows K♦-K¢¼-9¢¾-2¢À-6¢À - You have: A¢À-K¢À in your hand Is there a pair on the board? - Yes. Both a Four-of-a-Kind and a Full House are possible Are there three suited cards on the board? - No. A Flush is not possible. Are there three Sequence Cards on the board? - No. A straight is not possible. Can you use your cards to rule out possible hands? - Yes. Since you have one of the K, no one can have Four-of-a-Kind this hand. Conclusion - Because of the pair on the board, Full Houses are possible. Your opponent would need to have K¢¾ and either a 9,6, or 2 in their hand to complete the Full House. Or, they may have 2-2, 9-9, or 6-6 and complete the full house in that manner.
The Odds of Making Your Hand
In the game of Hold'em there are plenty of times you will need a card to show itself on the flop, turn, or the river. For instance, you may need to know the odds of catching that club on the river for the flush, or flopping the third 8 to go with the two in your hand.
In order to compute the odds of finding the card you need on the board, you will need to know two things. The first is how many 'Outs' you have. 'Outs' are simply the number of cards that can 'make' your hand. If you are looking for that flush on the river, there are 9 cards that can help you. (13 clubs in the deck - 4 clubs in your hand or on the board = 9 clubs remaining).
The second thing to know is the number of unseen cards. Since two cards are in your hand, and four are on the board, there are 46 card remaining. (52-2=50 followed by 50-4=46).
Now computing the odds is a simple division problem. 9 cards that can help, divided by 46 cards out there, equals 19.6%. (9÷46=19.56%). That's how you do it. Ok, 9÷46 isn't so simple, but still, that's how it's done.
Information you can use right away: Flush: If you hold a four flush, the odds of catching it on the turn are 19.1%, on the river is 19.6%. Catching it on the turn or the river is 35.0% Open-Ended Straight: Odds of catching your card on the turn, 17.0%. On the river, 17.4%. On the turn or the river, 31.5% Gutshot Straight: Catching your card on the turn, 8.5%. Catching your cad on the river, 8.7%. Catching it on the turn or the river, 16.5% Trips: Turn your pair into Three-of-a-Kind on the turn, 4.3%. Catch at the river, 4.3%. Catch at the turn or the river, 8.4%. With pocket pairs it is more likely you'll want to catch on the flop. Odds of that are 11.8%
Number of Outs Available to Improve Your Hand Outs You Hold Hope to Make 2 A Pair Three of a Kind 4 Two Pair Full House 4 Inside Straight Straight 8 Open-ended Straight Straight 9 Four Flush Flush 15 Open Straight Flush Draw Striaght, a Flush, or Straight Flush Probability of Catching an Out Outs Turn (%) River (%) Turn or River 20 42.6 43.5 67.5% 19 40.4 41.3 65.0% 18 38.3 39.1 62.4% 17 36.2 37.0 59.8% 16 34.0 34.8 57.0% 15 31.9 32.6 54.1% 14 29.8 30.4 51.2% 13 27.7 28.3 48.1% 12 25.5 26.1 45.0% 11 23.4 23.9 41.7% 10 21.3 21.7 38.4% 9 19.1 19.6 35.0% 8 17.0 17.4 31.5% 7 14.9 15.2 27.8% 6 12.8 13.0 24.1% 5 10.6 10.9 20.4% 4 8.5 8.7 16.5% 3 6.4 6.5 12.5% 2 4.3 4.3 8.4% 1 2.1 2.2 4.3%
In order to compute the odds of finding the card you need on the board, you will need to know two things. The first is how many 'Outs' you have. 'Outs' are simply the number of cards that can 'make' your hand. If you are looking for that flush on the river, there are 9 cards that can help you. (13 clubs in the deck - 4 clubs in your hand or on the board = 9 clubs remaining).
The second thing to know is the number of unseen cards. Since two cards are in your hand, and four are on the board, there are 46 card remaining. (52-2=50 followed by 50-4=46).
Now computing the odds is a simple division problem. 9 cards that can help, divided by 46 cards out there, equals 19.6%. (9÷46=19.56%). That's how you do it. Ok, 9÷46 isn't so simple, but still, that's how it's done.
Information you can use right away: Flush: If you hold a four flush, the odds of catching it on the turn are 19.1%, on the river is 19.6%. Catching it on the turn or the river is 35.0% Open-Ended Straight: Odds of catching your card on the turn, 17.0%. On the river, 17.4%. On the turn or the river, 31.5% Gutshot Straight: Catching your card on the turn, 8.5%. Catching your cad on the river, 8.7%. Catching it on the turn or the river, 16.5% Trips: Turn your pair into Three-of-a-Kind on the turn, 4.3%. Catch at the river, 4.3%. Catch at the turn or the river, 8.4%. With pocket pairs it is more likely you'll want to catch on the flop. Odds of that are 11.8%
Number of Outs Available to Improve Your Hand Outs You Hold Hope to Make 2 A Pair Three of a Kind 4 Two Pair Full House 4 Inside Straight Straight 8 Open-ended Straight Straight 9 Four Flush Flush 15 Open Straight Flush Draw Striaght, a Flush, or Straight Flush Probability of Catching an Out Outs Turn (%) River (%) Turn or River 20 42.6 43.5 67.5% 19 40.4 41.3 65.0% 18 38.3 39.1 62.4% 17 36.2 37.0 59.8% 16 34.0 34.8 57.0% 15 31.9 32.6 54.1% 14 29.8 30.4 51.2% 13 27.7 28.3 48.1% 12 25.5 26.1 45.0% 11 23.4 23.9 41.7% 10 21.3 21.7 38.4% 9 19.1 19.6 35.0% 8 17.0 17.4 31.5% 7 14.9 15.2 27.8% 6 12.8 13.0 24.1% 5 10.6 10.9 20.4% 4 8.5 8.7 16.5% 3 6.4 6.5 12.5% 2 4.3 4.3 8.4% 1 2.1 2.2 4.3%
Texas Holdem Starting Hands
The first thing a Holdem player should learn is which cards are worth playing, and which should be folded. Many beginning players stay in a hand with cards that have little or no future, and it ends up showing in there chip count.
Remember that no two cards alone can be unbeatable, and once the flop falls things that once looked good may no longer be worth pursuing. Still, to give yourself the best chance to succeed, play only the premium hands.
The best starting hands are: Large Pairs - Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks. Even pairs of tens and nines and eights are high quality starting hands. Play them.
Aces with suited High Cards - When you get an Ace with a K,Q,J, or even a ten, many good things can happen. You already have high card. If a flush comes, you'll have the best possible one because of your ace. High straights, and even a straight flush is possible with these cards. Play them.
Suited Faces Cards and Tens - While it's nicer to have an ace in the hole, suited face cards are playable hands. They hold a lot of potential including high pair with a strong kicker, straights, and flushes.
Aces with unsuited High Cards - Aces with an unsuited partner can still give you top pair with a high kicker, or a high straight. Because other players may also have an ace, the strength of the second card in your hand is important. If two players tie, that second card, or 'kicker' will decide the winner. This is why A-10 is a playable hand, and A-6 is not. (A-10 can also turn into a high straight). So while aces are highly sought after, do not feel the need to play every hand in which you are dealt an ace.
King with Face Card - A King with a Queen, or with a Jack is a playable hand. But, it is not as strong as you may think. Still, two face cards rank high enough that seeing the flop is often a good idea.
Remember that no two cards alone can be unbeatable, and once the flop falls things that once looked good may no longer be worth pursuing. Still, to give yourself the best chance to succeed, play only the premium hands.
The best starting hands are: Large Pairs - Aces, Kings, Queens, Jacks. Even pairs of tens and nines and eights are high quality starting hands. Play them.
Aces with suited High Cards - When you get an Ace with a K,Q,J, or even a ten, many good things can happen. You already have high card. If a flush comes, you'll have the best possible one because of your ace. High straights, and even a straight flush is possible with these cards. Play them.
Suited Faces Cards and Tens - While it's nicer to have an ace in the hole, suited face cards are playable hands. They hold a lot of potential including high pair with a strong kicker, straights, and flushes.
Aces with unsuited High Cards - Aces with an unsuited partner can still give you top pair with a high kicker, or a high straight. Because other players may also have an ace, the strength of the second card in your hand is important. If two players tie, that second card, or 'kicker' will decide the winner. This is why A-10 is a playable hand, and A-6 is not. (A-10 can also turn into a high straight). So while aces are highly sought after, do not feel the need to play every hand in which you are dealt an ace.
King with Face Card - A King with a Queen, or with a Jack is a playable hand. But, it is not as strong as you may think. Still, two face cards rank high enough that seeing the flop is often a good idea.
The Importance of Seat Position
So you are sitting at a $3/$6 Hold'em table, and the cards are dealt. You decide that with your hand, it is worth $3 to see the flop. You call. The next two players fold, the following player raises. Now you decide that it isn't really worth $6 to see the flop, and you wish you had never placed a bet in the first place.
That is difference table position makes. Had you already known someone was going to raise, you would've saved three dollars that hand by simply folding. Knowing what your opponents are going to do makes a difference.
A full Hold'em table is broken into three pieces. The first three players are said to be in Early Position. They must act before most of their opponents. Because they are acting first, players in early position should avoid playing marginal hands. After all, there are up to nine more hands at the table to contend with. Instead, players in early position should limit themselves to playing only premium hands.
The next set of players at the table are said to be in Middle Position. They have seen some of their opponents act, so they have an idea of what they are up against. If no one has raised, players in middle position do not need to limit themselves to only the premium starting hands. Another advantage of middle position is that there are fewer players who have not acted, and so the chances that someone will raise you are lower.
The last set of players are said to be in Late Position. They have the advantage of having seen most of their opponents already act. The very last player to act has the most advantage that table position can offer. They have seen everyone act, and should they decide to call a bet there is no chance of someone raising them. Players in late position can play a wider range of starting hands because they already know how many opponents they will be facing.
The general guide is to play very tightly in Early Position sticking to only the best starting hands. In Middle Position, stick to playing good starting hands, but they need not be the very best. In Late Position players can afford to play much more loosely.
Of course there are different betting strategies that can be used depending on your table postion and the actions of your opponents, but the first thing to understand is that where you are seated in relation to the dealer makes a difference. You can improve your game right away by simply paying attention to your table position.
That is difference table position makes. Had you already known someone was going to raise, you would've saved three dollars that hand by simply folding. Knowing what your opponents are going to do makes a difference.
A full Hold'em table is broken into three pieces. The first three players are said to be in Early Position. They must act before most of their opponents. Because they are acting first, players in early position should avoid playing marginal hands. After all, there are up to nine more hands at the table to contend with. Instead, players in early position should limit themselves to playing only premium hands.
The next set of players at the table are said to be in Middle Position. They have seen some of their opponents act, so they have an idea of what they are up against. If no one has raised, players in middle position do not need to limit themselves to only the premium starting hands. Another advantage of middle position is that there are fewer players who have not acted, and so the chances that someone will raise you are lower.
The last set of players are said to be in Late Position. They have the advantage of having seen most of their opponents already act. The very last player to act has the most advantage that table position can offer. They have seen everyone act, and should they decide to call a bet there is no chance of someone raising them. Players in late position can play a wider range of starting hands because they already know how many opponents they will be facing.
The general guide is to play very tightly in Early Position sticking to only the best starting hands. In Middle Position, stick to playing good starting hands, but they need not be the very best. In Late Position players can afford to play much more loosely.
Of course there are different betting strategies that can be used depending on your table postion and the actions of your opponents, but the first thing to understand is that where you are seated in relation to the dealer makes a difference. You can improve your game right away by simply paying attention to your table position.
Hints And Tips On Scrapbooking
It is true to say that a lot of people begin to get the scrappin’ bug after their child/children are born and usually their first attempt at scrapbooking is making a baby album.
Having a child is one of the most important events in our lives and baby’s first year is a busy, lively, ever changing journey of discovery. It is full of important milestones…
No wonder then, as parents we want to capture and record all those many memorable moments - preserving them in scrapbooks is a great way to safely keep and cherish those memories for years to come.
One timeless and extremely popular baby scrapbooking idea is to make an album that consists of ‘firsts’. This is a relatively easy and flexible theme to follow, especially for someone new to scrapbooking and is a great way to create enchanting baby scrapbooks.
This kind of album usually consists of a scrapbook arranged in chronological order with individual layouts showing special and notable moments in your baby’s life.
New babies are so photogenic it’s hard to resist capturing all the big and little things that make up their day-to-day lives.
No doubt you will have lots of pictures to sort through – so here’s a small list of ‘firsts’ to give you some ideas for organizing your photos:
-- sleep/nap -- bottle/breast feed -- diaper change -- dressed in their first outfit -- ride in a car seat -- smiles -- bath -- trip out in the buggy -- solid food -- teeth -- sitting up -- drinking from a cup -- feeding him/herself -- crawling -- walking with the furniture -- steps/walking on their own -- hair cut -- halloween -- Christmas
To add a little more interest to your album try and vary the layouts, for instance make some events into double page spreads. Such as coming home from the hospital or bath-time, which always presents an opportunity for some great photos!
Give your pages a personal touch by adding some memorabilia, using a pocket envelope, to your layouts - like the birth announcement or maybe a lock of hair from their first hair cut.
If you are new to scrapbooking and you’re unsure about starting out on your new album then a good choice would be to buy yourself a baby scrapbook kit. These kits contain everything you will need to begin scrapbooking and are a great shortcut to creating super layouts that you can be proud of.
You can also enhance your pages with some of the many baby-related products that are available on the market. Decorate your layout with an adorable or cute baby scrapbook paper.
Then, embellish your page with some charming baby scrapbook stickers like rattles, booties, bibs, bottles etc and when they’re done display all of your beautiful pages in a lovely baby scrapbook album.
Go on… give it a go. Make yourself a baby scrapbook to savor and keep all those incredible memories. You’ll find it’s much more than just a scrapbook – it will become a precious family keepsake that you’ll treasure forever.
Having a child is one of the most important events in our lives and baby’s first year is a busy, lively, ever changing journey of discovery. It is full of important milestones…
No wonder then, as parents we want to capture and record all those many memorable moments - preserving them in scrapbooks is a great way to safely keep and cherish those memories for years to come.
One timeless and extremely popular baby scrapbooking idea is to make an album that consists of ‘firsts’. This is a relatively easy and flexible theme to follow, especially for someone new to scrapbooking and is a great way to create enchanting baby scrapbooks.
This kind of album usually consists of a scrapbook arranged in chronological order with individual layouts showing special and notable moments in your baby’s life.
New babies are so photogenic it’s hard to resist capturing all the big and little things that make up their day-to-day lives.
No doubt you will have lots of pictures to sort through – so here’s a small list of ‘firsts’ to give you some ideas for organizing your photos:
-- sleep/nap -- bottle/breast feed -- diaper change -- dressed in their first outfit -- ride in a car seat -- smiles -- bath -- trip out in the buggy -- solid food -- teeth -- sitting up -- drinking from a cup -- feeding him/herself -- crawling -- walking with the furniture -- steps/walking on their own -- hair cut -- halloween -- Christmas
To add a little more interest to your album try and vary the layouts, for instance make some events into double page spreads. Such as coming home from the hospital or bath-time, which always presents an opportunity for some great photos!
Give your pages a personal touch by adding some memorabilia, using a pocket envelope, to your layouts - like the birth announcement or maybe a lock of hair from their first hair cut.
If you are new to scrapbooking and you’re unsure about starting out on your new album then a good choice would be to buy yourself a baby scrapbook kit. These kits contain everything you will need to begin scrapbooking and are a great shortcut to creating super layouts that you can be proud of.
You can also enhance your pages with some of the many baby-related products that are available on the market. Decorate your layout with an adorable or cute baby scrapbook paper.
Then, embellish your page with some charming baby scrapbook stickers like rattles, booties, bibs, bottles etc and when they’re done display all of your beautiful pages in a lovely baby scrapbook album.
Go on… give it a go. Make yourself a baby scrapbook to savor and keep all those incredible memories. You’ll find it’s much more than just a scrapbook – it will become a precious family keepsake that you’ll treasure forever.
Digital Imaging Explained
Digital Imaging is a process where an electronic photograph, scanned document, or image is converted into a series of electronic dots called pixels. Pixels is an acronym for "picture elements".
After the image is converted, or digitized, it is stored on a memory storage device which may be a hard drive or some sort of electronic storage device such as a memory stick. The pixels are stored in a compressed format to save storage space.
As each pixel is being created it is assigned a color value, called a tonal value, of black, white, shades of grey, or an actual color. These pixels must be processed by a piece of software in order for them to be called up and viewed as an actual image later.
Traditional cameras capture images onto film while digital cameras use an electronic chip known as a Charged Coupling Device (CCD). The CCD is actually a grid of miniature light-sensitive diodes. These diodes convert photons (light) that strikes them into electrons (electrical impulses). The technical name for these diodes is 'photosite'. The brighter the light is that hits the photosite the stronger the electrical charge is that's produced.
After converting the photons into electrons, a mini-computer, located inside of the camera, reads the stored electrical value in each photograph. Then a built-in analog-to-digital converter turns the stored electrical value into a digital value. These digital values are then stored on the cameras memory storage device. When these digital values are recalled by software, and displayed on a screen, they reproduce the image that was originally captured by the camera or digital input device.
The digital image that is created by the CCD is huge. It's far too big to be easily stored in the relatively little amount of storage space that's available to a digital camera. Accordingly, the camera's computer compresses the image to make it smaller.
There are two basic methods for achieving this compression. The first method takes advantage of repetitive patterns in the image. For example, if you are taking a picture of an airplane that is flying in the sky, a lot of the picture will be a chunk of blue sky. The camera recognizes that there are multiple parts of the image containing the same digital information, so it only records a small piece of the sky. Then it simply creates a map to tell it where the rest of the sky belongs. When the picture is ultimately displayed the sky appears exactly the same as it did in the original image when it was first captured. The only difference is that the overall storage requirements were reduced thanks to the camera's clever mapping techniques.
The other method uses a procedure called irrelevancy. This methodology automatically removes digital information that is not visible to the human eye such an infra red light.
Digital imaging is amazing yet we have only started witnessing the revolutionary changes that are yet to come.
After the image is converted, or digitized, it is stored on a memory storage device which may be a hard drive or some sort of electronic storage device such as a memory stick. The pixels are stored in a compressed format to save storage space.
As each pixel is being created it is assigned a color value, called a tonal value, of black, white, shades of grey, or an actual color. These pixels must be processed by a piece of software in order for them to be called up and viewed as an actual image later.
Traditional cameras capture images onto film while digital cameras use an electronic chip known as a Charged Coupling Device (CCD). The CCD is actually a grid of miniature light-sensitive diodes. These diodes convert photons (light) that strikes them into electrons (electrical impulses). The technical name for these diodes is 'photosite'. The brighter the light is that hits the photosite the stronger the electrical charge is that's produced.
After converting the photons into electrons, a mini-computer, located inside of the camera, reads the stored electrical value in each photograph. Then a built-in analog-to-digital converter turns the stored electrical value into a digital value. These digital values are then stored on the cameras memory storage device. When these digital values are recalled by software, and displayed on a screen, they reproduce the image that was originally captured by the camera or digital input device.
The digital image that is created by the CCD is huge. It's far too big to be easily stored in the relatively little amount of storage space that's available to a digital camera. Accordingly, the camera's computer compresses the image to make it smaller.
There are two basic methods for achieving this compression. The first method takes advantage of repetitive patterns in the image. For example, if you are taking a picture of an airplane that is flying in the sky, a lot of the picture will be a chunk of blue sky. The camera recognizes that there are multiple parts of the image containing the same digital information, so it only records a small piece of the sky. Then it simply creates a map to tell it where the rest of the sky belongs. When the picture is ultimately displayed the sky appears exactly the same as it did in the original image when it was first captured. The only difference is that the overall storage requirements were reduced thanks to the camera's clever mapping techniques.
The other method uses a procedure called irrelevancy. This methodology automatically removes digital information that is not visible to the human eye such an infra red light.
Digital imaging is amazing yet we have only started witnessing the revolutionary changes that are yet to come.
Stress-Free Scrapbook Journaling Ideas
Do you find it intimidating when you come to journal your scrapbook pages?
You are not alone! Many scrapbookers find it hard to get started when it comes to adding journaling to their scrapbooking layouts.
If you are one of those people who go blank at the thought of having to journal, don’t worry. Here are some stress-free scrapbooking journaling ideas to help you write the right words whatever your page theme.
Make a list. This is a fairly simple journaling technique that is suitable for use with any type of page theme, for example:
Doing a friendship page - list how you met, where you met, how long you have known each other, include what you like about your friend and why you are both pals.
Doing a recipe scrapbook page - then make a personal top 10 list of reasons why you like Grandma’s chocolate cake so much.
Doing a baby layout - do a list of baby’s favorite foods, you can even do one for the foods they don’t like!
A variation of this technique is to use bullet points to mark each line on your list, giving you an opportunity to empathise each item of your journaling:
- Anguilla
- April 2004
- My first trip to the Caribbean
- This is the view from my hotel balcony overlooking the cove – I can’t wait to go swimming the sea looks so nice!
Make sure you have fun experimenting with all the different kinds of embellishments that you can use as your bullet points!
Another bonus with using the list technique is that you do not need to worry about the structure of your sentences or that your journaling makes sense because the list breaks down what you want to say into it’s basic readable form.
Write a Letter. This is one of those great scrapbook journaling ideas that’s fairly simple to do and it’s also a lovely, personal way to journal your layouts too.
All you have to do is pretend you’re writing to a friend telling them what is happening in your photographs and including the “Dear ….†at the beginning of your writing will give your journaling an intimate feel.
Sent any emails lately? Like letters, emails are also a good source of journaling material that you can use for your layouts.
If you are unsure of your own journaling then doing it in a letter format could help your writing flow more easily, as you describe the people and the events taking place, letting you tell the story naturally and in your own words.
Ask a question. If you are completely stuck and cannot think of anything to write this can be a good quick fix technique to use. Just ask some simple questions like, “What was your favorite part of..?†or “Did anything funny or embarrassing happen?â€.
This technique can be very effective when used for a special occasion layout, like a bridal shower, where you can ask each of the guests to tell you about their favorite memory of the bride-to-be.
Why not take it a stage further? Give each shower guest some suitable decorative paper and let them write down their own memories rather than journal all of them yourself.
For an extra special touch, you could get the guests to bring with them their favorite photo of the bride-to-be. Ask them to journal why they picked that particular picture and then do a separate layout for each individual photo.
This is an effective way to make a wonderful and unique scrapbook that is quick, simple and full of memorable pieces of journaling that add a very personal feel to the album.
If you are one of those people who find it difficult to begin the journaling process these fun scrapbook journaling ideas will provide you with some basic tips and techniques to help make it easier.
So go on, try out the scrapbook journaling ideas above for yourself and add some stress-free journaling to your pages... Once you’ve finished you’ll see that it’s been well worth the effort.
You are not alone! Many scrapbookers find it hard to get started when it comes to adding journaling to their scrapbooking layouts.
If you are one of those people who go blank at the thought of having to journal, don’t worry. Here are some stress-free scrapbooking journaling ideas to help you write the right words whatever your page theme.
Make a list. This is a fairly simple journaling technique that is suitable for use with any type of page theme, for example:
Doing a friendship page - list how you met, where you met, how long you have known each other, include what you like about your friend and why you are both pals.
Doing a recipe scrapbook page - then make a personal top 10 list of reasons why you like Grandma’s chocolate cake so much.
Doing a baby layout - do a list of baby’s favorite foods, you can even do one for the foods they don’t like!
A variation of this technique is to use bullet points to mark each line on your list, giving you an opportunity to empathise each item of your journaling:
- Anguilla
- April 2004
- My first trip to the Caribbean
- This is the view from my hotel balcony overlooking the cove – I can’t wait to go swimming the sea looks so nice!
Make sure you have fun experimenting with all the different kinds of embellishments that you can use as your bullet points!
Another bonus with using the list technique is that you do not need to worry about the structure of your sentences or that your journaling makes sense because the list breaks down what you want to say into it’s basic readable form.
Write a Letter. This is one of those great scrapbook journaling ideas that’s fairly simple to do and it’s also a lovely, personal way to journal your layouts too.
All you have to do is pretend you’re writing to a friend telling them what is happening in your photographs and including the “Dear ….†at the beginning of your writing will give your journaling an intimate feel.
Sent any emails lately? Like letters, emails are also a good source of journaling material that you can use for your layouts.
If you are unsure of your own journaling then doing it in a letter format could help your writing flow more easily, as you describe the people and the events taking place, letting you tell the story naturally and in your own words.
Ask a question. If you are completely stuck and cannot think of anything to write this can be a good quick fix technique to use. Just ask some simple questions like, “What was your favorite part of..?†or “Did anything funny or embarrassing happen?â€.
This technique can be very effective when used for a special occasion layout, like a bridal shower, where you can ask each of the guests to tell you about their favorite memory of the bride-to-be.
Why not take it a stage further? Give each shower guest some suitable decorative paper and let them write down their own memories rather than journal all of them yourself.
For an extra special touch, you could get the guests to bring with them their favorite photo of the bride-to-be. Ask them to journal why they picked that particular picture and then do a separate layout for each individual photo.
This is an effective way to make a wonderful and unique scrapbook that is quick, simple and full of memorable pieces of journaling that add a very personal feel to the album.
If you are one of those people who find it difficult to begin the journaling process these fun scrapbook journaling ideas will provide you with some basic tips and techniques to help make it easier.
So go on, try out the scrapbook journaling ideas above for yourself and add some stress-free journaling to your pages... Once you’ve finished you’ll see that it’s been well worth the effort.
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