my-paper.info

Cooking together has always been a favorite activity in our family. My mother began to cook with me before I started school. One of my earliest school memories was when I was a first grader: our class was invited to be guests of the eighth grade cooking class and we were treated to hot cocoa and oatmeal cookies made by the “big kids.” At the end of the party, we were allowed to help the eighth graders clean up, and I remember volunteering to wash a very large floured baking sheet. As the class was ending, I was still at the sink laboring with the industrial-sized baking sheet that was as big as I was. As a reward for my efforts, I was given a gold star on my forehead. Even now, many years later, I still remember that day as one of the proudest of my life.

And maybe it was that day that started me on a life in which my best memories involve cooking for myself, my family, and my friends. The best of the best memories are the times I cooked with my own children who have now grown up and have given me five grandkids (aged from 20 months to 18 years), with whom I can continue what I started with my children over 40 years ago.

Cooking gives children a wonderful sense of accomplishment and they learn early that hard work can pay big (sweet) rewards. Cooking allows you to talk to kids on many levels: they learn about their family histories when you use recipes handed down in the family (the names of their great grandparents, the foods that derive from their family roots in countries far away), they learn to follow directions, they learn to count (depending on their ages, this can range from simple to more involved calculations), they learn cooperation, they learn the joy of work that can give pleasure not only to themselves but to others, they learn to try and to experience different foods and cooking methods, they learn lessons of self-sufficiency that will serve them all their lives, they learn they must clean up after themselves, they learn to follow directions and how to plan ahead (shopping and prep time).

All the while they’re learning all these things, they’re having fun and so are you.

Children learn to enjoy food from the first moments of their lives, and they can learn the joy of cooking even as toddlers. When you cook with toddlers, it’s important that you concentrate only on the task at hand, and it’s best to limit your cooking class to just one short one at a time. I’ve found it best if the recipes are simple, and have an enjoyable anticipated outcome.

Getting started

These days, I’ve been cooking a lot with my three-year-old grandchild, Connor. I like to begin talking with Connor about what I want to cook with him. I describe how much he will like the dish, and when I get his interest, I give the recipe a fun name. I can keep his interest through the whole process if I start by writing the recipe down and discussing the ingredients and steps involved.

Then I plan a trip to the store for the ingredients. Again I involve the child. We look for the ingredients together, and we watch while the checker bags our stuff, and after we pay her (Connor learns that everything has a price), we go home to cook.

Washing hands is always the way we begin. It’s fun washing up with Connor, who generally resists washing up at other times — as he seriously throws himself into this activity when its for cooking. Next we gather our ingredients and utensils. And then we begin.

Fun and safety

I discuss the fact that we will need to warm up the oven while we’re making our food; explaining that the stove is “very hot” and that he must never touch the oven; and that he only cooks with me, or his Mommy or Daddy. I usually tell him about the times I would cook with Daddy when he was a little boy. This usually gets Connor’s interest. I measure out each of the ingredients, and Connor gets the fun and important mixing job.

If I’m using an electric blender or mixer, Connor gets to turn the appliance on and off (again discussing safety issues and the importance of not using these appliances by himself). If something has to be cooked on the stove-top, Connor stands close by watching the activity and depending on what’s cooking he get a chance to stir the pot (under very close supervision).

By this time, things in the kitchen are starting to smell really good, and that gives us a chance to discuss what we smell and to build excitement about the end result.

Connor gets the honor of greasing the cake or muffin pans, or he can roll out dough (with some help). Depending on what we’re cooking, he also gets the opportunity to help pour the batter into the pans if we’re making a cake, cupcakes, or muffins. If we’re making cookies, he can use the cookie cutters and later he can sprinkle the colored sugar over them.

Finally, we are ready to put the dish into the oven or onto the stove, set the timer, and anticipate the outcome. While waiting, Connor always helps with the clean up, and I admit this is his least favorite thing to do. But this is one of the lessons that are learned we must always clean up our own messes. It’s not all work. While we’re cleaning up, we get to look into the oven and watch the progress of the dish as it cooks. We discuss how the food will get to smell better and better, how it browns, and how the cake gets bigger as it cooks.

When the timer rings, with Connor closely watching, I take the food out of the oven and place it on the cooling rack. If the dish calls for icing, we use the cooling time to make the icing, and Connor helps put the icing on the cakes or cookies (and into his mouth).

At last, the dish is done and we get to eat it, sharing it of course with Mommy and Daddy, and anyone else who wants some. Since eating is a social activity, Connor basks in the glow of his accomplishment and enjoys the compliments and the conversation. In our family, after eating everyone helps clean up, so once again Connor is in on the action.

In general, anything that I choose to cook with Connor (or any other young child) has got to be simple and quick, recognizing that young children have finite attention spans. The time I spend cooking with Connor (or any of the kids) leaves me happy, tired, full, and contented; it leaves them feeling the same way, too, and proud of themselves as well.

The following are a few recipes that I have used successfully with Connor and with my younger grandchildren. I hope that you will try them for yourselves and add your own while you make memories for yourself, your children, and your grandchildren (or any kid who happens to be in your life).

The Recipes

“BaNANA” Bread

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Baking Time: 60 minutes Makes 1 Loaf

You will need: a large fork and a wooden spoon, 2 bowls, oven gloves, loaf pan, cooking rack.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

2 cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 egg

½ cup cooking oil

2 or 3 very ripe bananas

Pam or some other spray to grease the pan

* Note: You can add ½ cup chopped walnuts to this recipe BUT I DO NOT GIVE NUTS TO YOUNG CHILDREN

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray the sides and bottom of loaf pan with PAM and sprinkle with a little flour (shake out the excess flour)

2. Peel the bananas and mash the bananas with a fork into a small bowl

3. In the other bowl, mix the sugar, oil and egg with the wooden spoon until the mixture looks creamy and is a light yellow color

4. Blend in the bananas

5. Add the flour, baking soda and salt. Break up any lumps in the batter and stir until the batter is smooth and all the flour is mixed in.

To Bake: Spoon the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. (Test

for doneness: if the top of the loaf spring back after you touch

it, or if you stick a clean toothpick in and it comes out clean,

it’s done.

Cool on the cooling rack for about 20 minutes, then flip the bread out onto the rack and cool some more before slicing.

Creamy, Dreamy Oatmeal

(to wake a guy up)

Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes Serves: 4

You will need measuring cups, small pot (prefer a non-stick one), a long handled wooden spoon, 4 bowls, 4 spoons.

Ingredients:

2 cups of water

1 cup old-fashioned oats

Pinch of salt

Possible Toppings:

(i.e. the good stuff) Milk or Maple Syrup, Brown Sugar

or honey

Butter

Raisins

Sliced Bananas

Crunchy Wheat Germ

1. Pour the water into the pot. Add the oats and salt.

2. Ask a grown-up to help bring the mixture to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer.

3. Cook for 5 minutes or until the desired thickness, stirring occasionally.

THEN: Spoon into bowls and serve with the topping dejour.

“Butter and Nana Jama” Jam Sandwiches

You will need 2 tablespoons, a butter knife, and a cutting board

Ingredients:

2 slices of bread (or more depending on who is eating)

1 tablespoon strawberry jam

1 tablespoon butter (soften to room temperature to spread

easy)

1. Spread jam evenly on one slice of bread (again depending on how many

are eating) and evenly butter the other slice.

2. Press the jammed and buttered sides of the slices together to make a

a sandwich

3. Place on cutting board and cut into halves or quarters.

A variation that my family enjoys: substitute softened cream cheese for the butter and make Cream Cheese And Nana Jama Jam Sandwiches.

Shamrock Lucky Glass Cookies

Preparation Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 8 to 10 minutes oven preheated

to 375 degrees

You will need:

One (1) package of pre-made sugar cookie dough (may

be store bought)

Green hard candy (Lifesavers etc.)

Zip Lock Bags and Small Kitchen Hammer (or any other

thing a child can use to “bam” the hard candy to little

bits)

Two (2) shamrock shaped cookie cutters (1 large and 1

small)

Some tin foil

A cookie sheet

To Prepare:

1. Roll out the cookie dough and cut out cookies using the large shamrock cookie cutter. Using the small cookie cutter, cut a hole in the center of each of the cookies

2. Place the cookies on a foil covered cookie sheet

3. Put hard candies into a plastic zip lock bag and crush them using the kitchen hammer, rolling pin or any thing else that will “bam” the candy (the kids LOVE this part!)

4. Use the crushed candy to fill the holes in the center of the cookies.

To Bake: Place the cookie sheet in the over (adult only) and bake the cookies for about 8 to 10 minutes until lightly browned. Watch these cookies because depending on your oven, they may require less time to brown.

Let these cookies cool completely and then peel the cookies off the foil and EAT!

Variations: Depending on the Holiday or Celebration (or just because), you can use other cookie cutters and colored candy—as for example, Christmas 1/4Tree Cookie cutters and red and green candy for Christmas.

Pruney Loony Muffins

Preparation Time: 30 minutes Baking Time: 15 to 20 minutes in regular sized muffin tin or 7 to 9 minutes in mini muffin tins.

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees Makes 12 regular sized muffins or 36 mini muffins. NOTE: Kids LOVE the mini muffin size.

You will need:

Muffin tin (regular sized or mini sized)

1 and 3/4 cups of flour

1/4 cups of sugar

1 Tablespoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 cup salad oil

2 (4 oz. Baby Jars) of Pureed Prunes or you can use Pureed Apples

1/3 cup milk

Mixing Bowl and Flour Sifter and Measuring Cups and spoons

For the Topping (goes on before baking):

2 Tablespoon Wheat Germ

1 Tablespoon Sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

To Make:

1. Sift dry ingredients together (flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon into a bowl and make a well in the center.

2. Place eggs, milk and prunes (or apples) into a medium bowl and beat with a fork until well mixed.

3. Pour liquid mixture into the flour well and mix until just moistened. Batter will be lumpy.

4. Fill greased muffin tins to 3/4 full

5. Mix the topping ingredients together in a small bowl and sprinkle the topping on the muffins and gently pat on.

Bake in the preheated oven (400 degrees) for 15 to 20 minutes for regular sized muffins or 7 to 9 minutes for mini muffins.

Submitted to Online Cooking by Maureen R. Sinclair

A flat panel television is a lightweight television set that hangs from the wall or ceiling and only three or four inches thick. The most usual flat panel televisions are either plasma or LCD’s, which stands for liquid crystal display.

These flat panel televisions are all the rage because of not only the size but also elegance and performance. This innovative technology dominates the television market and they are now more affordable as the prices have decreased. As with any new technology, there are a few disadvantages but certainly far more advantages when it comes to flat panel televisions.

The most obvious advantage of purchasing a flat panel television is its weight and size. One person can not only carry it easily but also hang it up like a picture. You can carry it from room to room, place it almost anywhere instead of having to purchase a television stand or entertainment centre to house the old type televisions.

Behind direct view televisions, plasma flat panel televisions have an outstanding picture and the LCD’s are extremely close. When it comes to satellite programming and displaying cable, LCD’s sometimes lack a little.

The selection of flat panel televisions is almost limitless with a huge selection of sizes. Plasma flat panel televisions start at 42 inches so models smaller than that are LCD’s. Unlike plasma televisions, manufacturers designed LCD flat panel televisions to combine and interact with your PC while still operating as a television. Never use your plasma television to display video games or as a computer monitor as burn-in could be a problem.

Both plasma and LCD flat panel televisions have a great life expectancy of over fifteen years and unlike rear projection televisions, they have no lamp to replace so are more cost efficient.

Shop wisely and enjoy the new flat panel televisions of your dreams.

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Build a career planning tool box to achieve career success.

We all have our favorite coaches, and if they coach our favorite athletic team, it’s a plus. Tom Landry tried to measure the character of his players. Vince Lombardi expected and achieved excellence. Dean Smith brought out the best in his players while playing within the rules. John Wooden spent extra time in designing the best practices possible. Superior coaching is about being our best and beyond.

A significant number of Coach Lombardi’s players, for example, achieved financial and personal success outside football. Coaching is about performance whether its career planning or on the athletic field. Effective career planning with an experienced job coach will help us get on the right career path to plan, manage and advance our career.

As a career planning guide the best coach to bring out your peak performance is the person you see in the mirror every morning. If you can’t pay for a personal career coach, or maybe there’s no one available or you aren’t ready, why not be your own career planning coach? Here’s a successful and winning game plan to follow:

1. Write out your Personal Career Planning Guide: Write out your career goals. Your career development plan should be specific and measurable. There is power in writing and planning your career goals. Put a copy up on your screen saver. Write out your career plan on 3×5 cards and place them where you can read them daily. Think about your career objectives and frequently bring them up to date. Celebrate whenever you reach a milestone. This step is the most important in your career planning tool box.

2. Focus on your Career Development: Eliminate distractions and keep your eye on your career goals. Life normally is full of frustrations and distractions. Successful coaches do not tolerate the things that drive most of us crazy – they take the time to stop, solve the problem and eliminate the distraction once and for all. Stay focused on your career plan.

3. Control your Surroundings: Top performers know that space management is as important as time management. They generally have neat offices, clean cars, orderly appointment books, and they plan for the unexpected, just in case. Make your space is as productive as possible and you can put your very best work.

4. Superior Performance Today: Don’t dwell on the past. It can’t be changed. Work your career planning strategy by doing your best today. Show up, be attentive, bear down and do your best. Your outstanding performance today will coach you to reach and exceed your future career plans. Many of life’s most important achievements are about doing a superior job right now, on the work that lies right in front of you. Dwelling on the big game next month will only cause you to lose focus on you career plans; the job in front of you is to get the most out of today’s work (practice) so when the big game arrives you’ll be more that ready to excel.

5. Build daily reading into your Career Plan: As part of your career plan, set aside some time to read something useful, motivating or fun every day. If you enjoy reading science fiction, for example, make a deal with yourself for every science fiction novel you read you’ll read two motivation or career related books. Plan on reading at least two books a month, build it into your career planning. Manage your other reading. Everything that comes across your desk or in your email does not have to be read. Use the delete button or the round file. You’ll now have more time to read something that advances your career plan. Reading will make a world of difference in coaching you to reach your career goals outlined in your career plan.

6. Make the time in your car Productive: During your commute or when you’re driving plan on listening to motivational, educational, learn a language, or just plain fun CD’s. The radio is wall to wall commercials or the latest murder and mayhem; not productive use of your time. You’ll be furthering your career plan by turning this unproductive time to into something useful. It’s always good career advice to surround yourself with the best information available.

7. Develop a Career Coaching Group: As you advance in your career you’ll come across people who can help you become successful. Stay in contact with them. Think of them as your “assistant coaches.” Run ideas by them, ask for their advice and be open to let them coach you.

8. Build Play and Fitness into your Career Plan: Get fit. Go for a long walk. Use the basketball hoop in the driveway. Have fun, laugh, enjoy the day with friends and family. Build play and fitness into your career plan. Be balanced in your career life planning. Don’t neglect the physical side of your career path planning.

10. Be Thankful of your Gifts: Look back on the past week. Ask yourself how many good days or events did you have in the past week. What made them good? Plan on doing more of the good stuff and less of the not so good. Be grateful and thankful to others. Practice a positive attitude.

Having a number of career planning guides like those listed above in your career tool box to assist you in your coaching will help keep you on your planned path. Having written career goals, with a career planning strategy and your books, CD’s, friends along with your routine will all help coach you to career success.

Search out the best resources you can find. Build your career plan into your daily routine. Overall your career planning should not be expensive and you’ll find it to be one of the best investments you’ll ever make. Coach yourself to success.

John Groth is a former HR executive and career coach. Find Career Planning Tools ,valuable articles and a free seven day career planning guide. Discover up to date career and recruitment strategies at our career idea blog; all to assist you in advancing and managing your career.

Sports cars are available for sale through dealers and auctions, and on the Internet. Auctions often advertise bargain prices, which they call wholesale rates. Many such prices are bait to attract unsuspecting customers, who end up paying extras like taxes, money for the fuel already in the car, valet charges and more. Therefore, it is better to exercise a little caution before going in for such ‘deals.’ You can help yourself by checking out the auction company’s credibility, making inquiries about the car’s price at other places, examining the car for defects, finalizing a budget for yourself, and familiarizing yourself with the auction procedure by attending other auctions.

If you choose to buy from a dealer you must conduct some research prior to visiting the showroom. Find out about the car, other dealers who may be offering a better price, and other factors. Test-drive the car before you decide to buy it. Do not discuss your finances with the dealer; it would suffice to inform him how much you are willing to pay. Take advantage of finance schemes and make sure to get details of extras that come with the car, such as free gifts or warranties. Once you reach the price that you are comfortable with, don’t bargain further in the hope of a better offer.

Many sports cars are bought and sold on the Internet these days. Websites feature attractive specs, pictures and reviews of sports cars to attract customers. Shortlist advertisements give complete details about the car, mode of payment, conditions of sale and other information. Avoid advertisements that are vague on details. Examine the seller’s record on the site; if possible, speak to one of his previous customers. Try to arrange for a test drive and a viewing of the car before you pay for it.

These are just a few important pointers that will help you make a good purchase, so that you can really enjoy your newly purchased sports car.

Sports Cars provides detailed information on Sports Cars, Exotic Sports Cars, Classic Sports Cars, Sports Cars for Sale and more. Sports Cars is affiliated with SUV Vans.

Please let me tell you about the Internet marketing

systems I use and find helpful. This information may be

of some benefit to you, especially if your goal is to

monetize your site or earn an income from your online

marketing.

My name is Titus Hoskins and I own and operate a very

modest marketing website called http://www.bizwaremagic.com

I have been designing web pages and sites since 1998.

I have an Art/Education background but in the last

couple of years I have been studying online marketing

systems and using them.

Yes, studying them, since I have an art background I like

to examine beneath the surface of things or structures in

order to get a clearer picture. I like to see the whole

picture. The big picture. But the underlying elements behind

these complex systems interests me the most. What’s beneath

the surface excites me, the structure holding everything

in place. How they are designed, the methods and tools

used to make these marketing systems work.

Keep in mind, I still feel a bit funny calling myself an

Internet marketer. Last week my marketing efforts make me

around a thousand dollars; don’t know if that qualifies me

as an Internet marketer or not. Probably not. Most of the

people I associate and have contact with, usually make that

in a day — the real smart ones make that in an hour.

A thousand dollars in one hour?

How is that possible? Well, the marketing experts who

earn the big d’s — usually have complex automated marketing

systems set up and operating on the Internet. These systems

start with their own products but quickly expands and builds

with large opt-in lists or ezines, 1000′s of affiliates,

large JV networks, multi-sites, viral marketing, membership

forums, brandable ebooks, online marketing tools/resources

and the list goes on…

No doubt you may have stumbled across some of these

marketing systems on the Internet… one of the first

I really encountered was Internet Marketing Center run by

the late Corey Rudl who died tragically in a car crash at

the young age of 34. I made my first affiliate check

through Corey’s system and it changed the way I looked

at the Internet forever. And the check was only $5!

What made me earn that $5 was not only my own efforts but

more importantly the whole marketing system behind IMC.

It took an ordinary webmaster and showed him how to market

on the web. It showed me the way. More importantly, it

also taught me Internet marketing is a skill anyone

can learn.

These marketing systems can be good places for the

beginning marketer to learn those skills. There are many

marketing systems quietly working the Internet. Some of

best (in my opinion) are Ken Evoy’s whole Site Sell system,

Marlon Sanders Higher Response Marketing, John Reese’s

Traffic Secrets, Bryan Winter’s PushButton Publishing, Jeff

Mulligan’s CBmalls, Nitro Marketing…

These Internet marketing systems are all different, yet

they all have common elements or features that make them

very effective and very powerful marketing systems. A close

examination of the different components or parts might

give you a better understanding of what makes these

Internet marketing systems work.

Here’s a list of different parts of an effective Internet

Marketing system:

* Founder or Helm: All these marketing systems have a strong

leader or founder at the helm. A very vocal and forceful

communicator or spokesperson is needed as a focal point.

And like any company, its only as good as the person leading

it. Because the Internet is still a very ‘scary’ place for

the average user; a friendly outgoing spokesperson is

needed to break those barriers (real or imaginary) down.

* Unique Product or Products: Most of the effective

marketing systems have their own products to market.

These can be digital info products, web building/hosting

packages, or even self-contained marketing systems. Or all

of the above. Some popular products that come to mind would

include Ken Evoy’s whole Site Sell and SiteBuildIt line,

or Jeff Mulligan’s CBmalls promoting the well known digital

download affiliate site ClickBank.

* Databases or Lists: All these systems collect and keep

large databases or opt-in permission contact lists of

customers and potential customers. The real net value of

any marketing system is in the quantity and more importantly

the quality of its lists. All deliver a weekly or daily ezine

or ezines to these lists. Consider these Databases as the

engines that empowers any Internet marketing system.

* JV Networks: Most have large Joint Venture Networks or

contacts that will kick-start any new product. Momentum and

sales are created with these JV partners. An ideal JV partner

is a well respected online marketer with very responsive and

very large opt-in lists. If Databases are like engines, JV

networks will fill those engines with the fuel they need.

* Affiliates: The best marketing systems use 1000′s of

affiliates to promote and market their products. This is

usually done in-house with their own affiliate program or

onsite software set up. Some use third party affiliate

programs like ClickBank, 1ShoppingCart, Commission Junction,

LinkShare, or Shareasale. Your ignition.

* AutoResponders: One of the most effective marketing tool

these systems use, autoresponders are essential for delivering

the sales. A series of follow-up e-mails will increase those

sales dramatically, studies have shown that it takes 6 or

7 follow-ups before someone purchases your product. Consider

the autoresponder like a fuel injection system.

* Tracking and Marketing Resources: All have extensive

tracking and marketing resources, usually located online

within a membership site. An easy to use and accessible

tracking system for affiliates is needed. So too are

marketing resources such as banners, links, coupons,

graphics, seo tactics, landing pages, lead capture pages,

brandable reports, articles and ebooks. Obviously, your toolkit.

* Viral Marketing: All great Internet marketing systems

use viral marketing techniques. This can be as simple a

brandable reports, articles, software or eBooks. Affiliates

can embed their own IDs and pass these viral products along

to their friends and visitors, these useful viral products

then get passed around all over the web. Creating links,

contacts, buzz and funneling prospects back to your

marketing system. Consider it your Turbo Charger.

* Online Forums: Many of the better Internet Marketing

systems will have an online forum where members can network

and interact. Offering workshops and tutorials. This is a

vital community building tool that must not be overlooked

or underestimated. It will greatly enhance the effectiveness

of any marketing system, building a foundation and launch pad

for any new products. Your gas station.

* Cross Promotion: These marketing systems can become very

complex: promoting programs within programs, cross networking

whole systems within systems, joint ventures within joint

ventures… Marketing seminars, conventions and workshops

are other lucrative features these systems use to market

their products and to network with other marketers. Hybrid fuel.

* Corporate Blogs: Most have company blogs or a network of

members’ blogs. Realizing the importance of these relatively

new mediums for getting the word out. RSS feeds are also used

to syndicate your sales message and content. That would be

your satellite radio.

* Affiliate Incentives: The better marketing systems have

affiliate incentives and contests to motivate the sales force.

From cruises to Ferraries…

* They Pay Their Affiliates On Time: Might seem trivial, except

for the affiliate. The best Internet marketing systems pay

their affiliate regularly and on time. They are trusted and

respected by affiliates and online marketers. This trust have

been built up over many years of good solid business

relationships. The best marketing systems are the ones that

can harvest and develop those relationships with thousands

or even millions of affiliates. Your accelerator.

* Automation: The one key element that makes all of the above

possible. These Internet marketing systems are automated to

the highest degree possible. Without automation these large

marketing networks could not function. Therefore, almost all

the day to day running of a marketing system is automated and

can run smoothly without much work or maintenance. The grease

that makes everything run.

* Internet: These marketing systems have taken full advantage

of the world wide web and used it to their benefit. It permits

global marketing with affiliates in every country around the

world. A large multinational marketing force that is made

possible only with the creation of the Internet. Consider it

the clue that connects the whole system.

The computer and the Internet make these whole automated

marketing systems possible. Closely studied and dissected,

these systems are complex, intricate creatures solidly

embedded into the Internet and the lives of millions around

the globe. Enabling lifestyles that offer mobility, freedom

and enrichment never before seen this side of a PowerBall

win!

When you picture these complex marketing systems, don’t think

of computers, databases, autoresponders, wires…

Rather, picture a sun drenched tropical beach with a light

breeze and a clear blue sky. Picture a person sitting to one

side, checking daily sales stats on a cool sleek shinny laptop…

don’t forget to zoom in real close and you will notice a slight

smug smile. But don’t stop there, if you stare really hard and

think about what you have just read, you will have a clear view

of an Internet marketing system.

…..
The author runs a modest Internet Marketing web site where you will find helpful online guides on RSS/Blogging, SEO, Affiliate Programs, List Building, Laptops, Internet Fax and quite a few Internet Marketing Tools. Including the very popular Free Desktop Calendar & Planner Copyright © 2006 Titus Hoskins. This article may be freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

The Invention of Cable Television & Alternatives to Cable TV

There are many claims to the first CATV system, but only one thing is for certain; it originated in the United States and, according to one famous recollection, cable television had its beginning in 1948 in Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania. Community antenna television, as it was then called, was invented by John and Margaret Walson out of a necessity to bring television to their customers. They owned The Service Electric Company, a company designed to sell, install, and repair appliances. When they started selling television sets in 1947 their Mahanoy City customers were reluctant to buy because of reception issues. This particular region of Pennsylvania had difficulties picking up the stations in nearby Philadelphia due to the mountains that surrounded them.

To solve this problem, Walson installed an antenna on a utility pole that he placed on a local mountain top. It allowed him to demonstrate that the televisions could pick up good broadcasts coming from some of the Philadelphia stations using modified signal boosters and cable to connect the antenna to his store. So, in 1948, he charged a small fee and connected the antenna to several of his customers’ homes as well, marking the beginning of the cable television business.

The early 1950s saw further development of the cable system. By then, the FCC had released its hold on a three year long freezing of new television station construction and had “assigned a nationwide television broadcasting plan”, leading to the fairly rapid development of new television stations. Department stores began to encourage television viewing by displaying several different models for sale. Of course, this meant that television antennas had to also be sold. At the time, each home or apartment required its own antenna, creating a somewhat unsightly “forest of antennas” on the roofs of some apartment buildings.

This prompted Milton Jerrold Shapp to create a system that used only one master antenna for an entire building. He did so using coaxial cable and signal boosters, enabling the cable to carry several signals at once. Not too long after that, another appliance store owner experiencing the same problem as that of the Walsons read about Mr Shapp’s system. Figuring that, if it could work for apartments and department stores, it could work for an entire town as well and he set up the first cable television system similar to how we know it today.

Because of Mr Shapp’s innovative new system, television spread like wild fire throughout the country, enabling remote and rural areas to receive a signal and “by 1952, 70 ‘cable’ systems served 14,000 subscribers nationwide”. But, of course, people would not remain content with allowing the cable system simply to be used as a means of providing better signal strength to rural areas.

Toward the end of the decade, cable operators began using technologies to pick up signals from stations hundreds of miles away, irreversibly changing the way the cable and television industry operated. This new found ability to import more signals from distant stations also allowed for more programming choices. Now, the cable systems that only allowed for three channels (one for each network) soon changed, allowing room for seven or more channels due to the fact that they could pick up programs from distant independent stations (2). This created more interest in cable as a provider for city television as well because of the variety in choices it allowed.

By the early 1960s there were nearly 800 cable network systems in business. Many of these cable network companies started expanding into multiple cities, causing the beginning of the multiple system operator (MSO). Yet, the local broadcasters were afraid of the competition that cable companies were creating so they asked the government to stop the importation of signals by cable companies. The freeze that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) placed on the importation of cable signals lasted until 1972.

In 1972 the service channels that people pay an extra premium for were started when Service Electric began to bill for Home Box Office (HBO). It had a minimal beginning with about a few hundred viewers the first night. However, it has become one of the largest pay cable services around. It is because of its success that so many others have followed.

In addition, the craving for more channels led the FCC to issue a rule in 1969 that required “all CATV systems with over 3500 subscribers to have facilities for local origination of programming by April 1, 1971″. Furthermore, in 1976, the FCC decided to require that new systems must have more than 20 channels to choose from and that cable providers that had more than 3500 must provide public channels for education as well as government access.

Thus, cable television has been divided into two different services: basic service and premium services. Basic cable generally includes the local television networks and a few other common channels that are not transmitted with any type of encryption method while premium channels scramble their signals. They include channels such as HBO, Cinemax, Showtime, and Starz and are generally paid for in various extra packages in addition to the basic service.

The fees for service, whether basic or premium, did not defer customers and by the 1980s the major three television networks (ABC, CBS, and NBC) had all but lost their monopoly on viewers. “The era of network television” was coming to an end. Even other news networks began to emerge. “By 1985, 68% of all American households (60 million) had cable television service” . Cable News Network (CNN) first appeared on the scene in 1980.

With the emergence of all the new cable networks, cable television revolutionized the way Americans viewed television, and inspired many more changes yet to come. The invention of the VCR and, still later, the DVR would follow suit, yet again changing how American’s use their televisions.

In recent years technology has begun to produce alternatives to cable television. As internet content grows to out weigh what cable TV services can offer. Many people have begun to migrate from cable television to Internet television. (24% in the US, 40% either use Internet TV alone, or a combination of Cable and Internet TV together) Internet TV provides the user with an opportunity to view all their favorite programming, most commercial free, in High Definition and directly to the users television. Internet TV. Internet TV has the potential to replace cable television as the preferred method of home entertainment delivery.

Savings and selection are mentioned as the primary reasons to switch to a Cable TV alternative. The average monthly cable bill in the US is between one-hundred fifty and two-hundred dollars per month. Internet TV in comparison has a one time fee for the home component and no additional monthly viewing fees. Users who wish to use services like Netflix and Blockbuster online may now watch movies directly on their HD television. Internet TV does not bypass legal means of content delivery, you must still pay the fees associated licensing fee for movie rental sites like Netflix and Blockbuster.

Free Internet TV content currently licensed for viewing online in high definition. (Short list) All programming from the major television networks; ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, most cable networks (CNN, E!, etc) also broadcast their programming online for free. Some advance the broadcasts online before airing on their cable networks. Hulu, Fancast and Spreety are among a few providers available who collect all the legal content in one place for easy viewing by the user.

Join the Internet TV Revolution.
What is WhiteHatt?

In this article we will look in depth at a relatively new wrinkle in marketing for law firms known as “attorney-client matching services”. First a little background is in order. The legal services market segment is expected to reach $82.5 billion in 2008 according to Euromonitor International a market intelligence firm. In recent history consumers have been finding attorneys through word-of mouth or through the yellow pages. Often the word-of mouth advice does not deliver people to the best possible solution for their particular needs and the yellow pages is certainly not a great place to select a lawyer I am sure you would agree. Additionally, according to the Pew Internet & American Life over four million consumers and small businesses currently search for legal services via the Internet every month with these numbers expected to rise to over seven million by 2007. I think you can see this is a huge market getting larger. It is imperative that attorneys understand this marketplace if for no other reason your potential clients and clients are moving to the Internet and yellow page advertising is a dying marketing for law firms vehicle. Understanding attorney-client matching services is one new way to tap into this Internet marketplace.

What I will not be talking about here is attorney-listing services. Please don’t get confused between attorney-listing services and attorney-client matching services. The two majors in the attorney-listing services arena are Lawyers.com or FindLaw.com that are used by many in marketing for law firms. With attorney marketing one might want to get a minimal listing on one or both of these two major sites. Both do drive a large amount of traffic to their sites for sure (in the millions of visitors per year). If you do get a listing then track your results carefully and see if being in the middle of a pack of listed attorneys actually does produce clients for you. Please don’t spend more on them than the basic listing that will run about $150 or so per month, at least until you can document results with the basic listing. Also, don’t buy your website through either of them, even if after testing you find good results, for many reasons that can be found under the Internet marketing tab on my website. One last note here, you probably don’t want to test most of the lesser attorney-listing competitors like lawinfo.com, lawcore.com or attorneyfind.com is my take, however if you do be sure to track your results. The rest of this article is about attorney-client matching services.

Attorney Marketing Via Five Attorney-Client Matching Players

In the attorney-client matching field there are five competitors for the attorney marketing dollar offering online attorney-client matching services. The first and originator is LegalMatch.com and its newer competitor being CasePost.com as well as a third competitor LegalFish.com. The two big players that offer almost everything in attorney marketing, Lawyers.com and FindLaw.com; have also recently begun to offer a version of attorney-client matching services.

Lets begin with LegalMatch that was established in 1999 and is based in San Francisco. LegalMatch uses a double blind matching system. By double blind they mean the consumer does not see identifying information about who the lawyers are and the lawyer does not see identifying information about who the consumers are although all the cards are put on the table for both to see before any contact is made between them. Through an allocation model LegalMatch makes the decision about which lawyers get the consumer’s information. Consumers can opt into “priority service” for a fee to talk with a LegalMatch staff attorney about their case and work with that attorney in selecting the attorney for their case. LegalMatch does have partnerships with the Utah State Bar Association, ATLA and NACDL. Membership fees for this marketing for law firms vehicle run from $2,500 to $25,000 per year (they will finance the membership fee if desired) depending on practice area and geographic location of the attorney. For example, a PI attorney in Los Angeles would likely be charged more than a family law attorney in Los Angeles, while the family lawyer in Peoria is likely to pay less than the family law attorney in Los Angeles. Their guarantee consists of extending your membership at no fee until your revenues have exceeded the fee you paid them.

Are There Legal Marketing Ethics Issues with Attorney-Client Matching?

A relevant digression here, since this model is not a lawyer referral program, a pre-paid legal service plan, a joint or cooperative advertising or a directory listing service it is not subject to ethics rules around much of marketing for law firms it has been asserted. Recently the Professional Ethics Committee of the Texas State Bar was looking into these practices and that committee received a seven-page letter (May 26, 2006) from the FTC that was agreed to by a unanimous vote of the FTC commission members that this attorney marketing practice is indeed ethical.

Already the states of North Carolina and South Carolina found the practice ethical. The Rhode Island Supreme Court specifically named in an ethics opinion that online matching services are ethical. Finally, the Utah State Bar (a mandatory bar) has retained LegalMatch as their lawyer referral service clearly indicating their thinking about LegalMatch’s ethical nature it seems to me. Naturally you do need to check with your state bar to be sure this is an ethical practice in your state. Now back to the options in the marketplace.

CasePost.com, based in Southern California, was established in 2002 is a second player in this area of marketing for law firms. They operate in a similar fashion as LegalMatch in matching clients with lawyers; however, the directory of attorneys is shown to the consumer immediately. The consumer can decide whether they want to remain anonymous or give their contact information to the attorneys. The consumer is limited to four attorney responses. Thus the consumer determines what attorneys will get their information. In May of 2006 CasePost has made a major expansion as a result of their partnership with HandelOnTheLaw.com that is powered by a successful nationally syndicated radio show on over 120 stations with attorney Bill Handel. This show has been running since 1985. They also have a strategic relationship with LegalZoom.com that began in 2006 that has increased their reach. Like LegalMatch the membership fees for this attorney marketing vehicle are from $2,500 to $25,000 per year (financing is available if desired) depending on practice area and location. Their guarantee to a member is based on a minimum amount of referrals over the year.

LegalFish is a third player in this arena. It entered the marketplace in 2003 and is based in Chicago. It is a bit different than the other two in a few ways. Like the other players the consumer can input their information and post their cases to the site as well give their identifying information or not. In a number of cases LegalFish will contact the posting consumer themselves by telephone or email to delve deeper into the needs of the consumer so they are not totally automated. There is an allocation model used by LegalFish in referring the cases to their members. Another difference is LegalFish charges a monthly fee for this marketing for law firms vehicle ranging from $180 to $750 to members that are non-contingency based practices. For contingency based practices the fee ranges from $1600 to $5000+ monthly only if the client retains the attorney. If LegalFish does not deliver a referral to a member that retains that attorney they don’t charge a fee to that attorney for the month (a form of a guarantee). Creating something of a “shared risk” system. Naturally, with this type of shared risk system, long-term success for both parties is based on LegalFish’s ability to generate new client opportunities and create demand for legal services, and their member attorneys’ ability to convert those referrals to paying clients. Both parties have to “pull their weight”. Finally, LegalFish reports they are particularly committed to serving the solo and small firm market with ten employees or less.

The next player in this marketing for law firms arena is Lawyers.com (mentioned earlier in this article about their directory listing or attorney-listing service) with their new Attorney Match Service. If you go to their homepage what stands out on that homepage is their “Find A Lawyer Quick Search”. This is their free to the consumer attorney-listing service (this is why you might want to test a listing with them and track results). To get to the Attorney Match Service you have to know to click on “Contact Lawyers” navigation tab or notice it up there at the very top of the Lawyers.com home page. Clicking on that takes you to a page where you input your zip code and the practice area you are seeking, however, it also tells you how many lawyers there are listed that “are interested in receiving your request”. You are required to fill in the identifying information with other case information. Once you do that you see the attorneys listed and pick the ones you want to send your request to and wait for their replies. The fee for the attorney member is $495 per year, however, you must have a biographical level listing on lawyers.com to be on the Attorney Match Service and that is $150 and up per month depending on the size of your firm. There is no guarantee for this service.

The final player in this marketing for law firms arena is Thompson’s Findlaw.com (mentioned earlier as an attorney-listing service) with their new attorney-matching website http://www.LegalConnection.com. The FindLaw system is similar to the Lawyers.com system with three steps of #1 Select your legal need; #2 Tell us about your case; and #3 Choose the attorney that’s right for you. It is different from Lawyers.com’s system since they have broken it out of their attorney-listing services completely with its own dedicated website. Their fees generally run from $500 to $1000 per month depending on your practice area and geographic location. They do not have a guarantee. They do report that they do set targets for each geographic area as well as practice combination and then will manage their marketing to get positive results for attorneys.

Well, now we have all the players in this particular niche of marketing for law firms with a lot of information. I think it would be imperative for me to mention one more item. Both Legal Match and CasePost have negative information on the Internet and it needs to be considered. If you go to Google and search just the term LegalMatch and then do the same with CasePost you will be able to find details about the negative information. One location that covers the negative information on LegalMatch with relevant links is at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LegalMatch although that is disputed as not being sufficiently neutral in tone, which is one of Wikipedia’s requirements..

Conclusions and Recommendations on Attorney-Client Matching

Let me list my current thoughts/conclusions in this marketing for law firms niche of attorney-client matching services and from there it is up to you to make your decision:

1. This marketing for law firms vehicle clearly has some merit. This approach can deliver business to you that you would not get otherwise and get it to you now. Yes, you can do better and at least arguably cheaper for yourself through the right Internet attorney marketing strategies (see my website). However, it is not going to happen tomorrow and attorney-client matching can happen tomorrow. You can build your own systems while using these systems and then decide if you want to continue their systems or not. They will always probably get some business you would not have gotten otherwise even if you had your own online systems.

2. Unfortunately you are only “renting” the methods used to get the business you are being sent and don’t “own” the business methods used. If you had the correct Internet marketing for law firms system up you would have a salable asset in those systems and be driving traffic exclusively to you, which is better than this option almost certainly in the long run for most if not all attorneys. Additionally, as a general principle it is not good to be dependent on any one source of referrals as I am sure you know. That said I still think attorney-client matching services are a good option before you have your own Internet marketing systems and/or other marketing systems up. You may even want to continue these services after you have your own systems up. Having your own systems up makes you more secure and now you are at choice about staying with the service or not.

3. Who is this marketing for law firms vehicle for really?

a. Someone who needs more business right now. These systems have a stream of business coming right now and they can send it your way right now. Other attorney marketing systems will take some time to make happen and yield results.

b. Someone who is very, very clear they don’t want to be involved in the marketing process and are willing to pay someone else to do it for them even if it costs them more and they are “renting”. If that is you, then this is probably a good move for you. That said, you still are going to have to “close” the client they send you via email or on the phone so you are going to be involved in marketing at that level, just less marketing. You are never going to get away from that aspect unless you are an associate who does nothing but technical work in someone else’s practice (not that there is anything wrong with that).

c. Someone who is doing some attorney marketing that is not working for them or not working very effectively for them since if you stop what is not working and do this type that is working you may be able to reduce your marketing costs while increasing your revenue stream.

d. Finally, a partner level attorney who has a senior associate that has good people skills that could work this marketing for law firms vehicle and close the referred clients.

4. Who is this type of attorney marketing not for?

a. Someone who won’t attend to the referrals from the matching service most if not nearly every working day.

b. Someone who does not have fair to good “closing skills” or “bedside manner” (Note: you can get some coaching from these firms to improve this aspect if needed and/or see my website for more information on this skill set). You are not the only attorney getting the referral from the match firm so you need to “shine” well enough to get hired. There is still an element of competition involved with maybe 3 to 5 other attorneys who got the same referral.

c. Someone in a geographic area that does not generate a lot of referrals in your practice area. Like a rural area or small town or maybe an estate planner in a low-income area. So you see this marketing for law firms vehicle is not for everyone.

5. The negative information on LegalMatch and CasePost is somewhat troubling to me even though much of it is from the past and has been positively addressed. The negative information of the past on LegalMatch appears to have not troubled the Utah Bar, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This is reassuring to me.

6. If you were reasonably sure this type of vehicle is for you I would go with LegalMatch first. I am presuming you are willing to work their system diligently and have at least low average “closing” skills (they will work with you to get your closing ratio up if you need some support in that area). Why LegalMatch? They have over 1500 members currently (a good sign I think), over 90 employees and have been in business longer. I figure that gives them an edge in knowledge, results and staying in business over time. Additionally, their “footprint” of bringing business to their members is almost certainly larger since they have more resources to drive business to their site than the others. If for some reason you are uncertain if this type of marketing for law firms is for you then I would go with LegalFish first. Why LegalFish? The LegalFish option would allow you to get into this marketing for law firms arena now with less expense and less risk than LegalMatch or CasePost. Do realize the LegalFish attorney marketing “footprint” is going to be much smaller than either of the other two services so they won’t be sending as large a volume of business your way almost certainly. Do be sure you have in your agreement with LegalFish that they will not charge you for the months they do not send you business. If you had a good experience working the referrals from LegalFish, diligently worked the system almost daily, realized a good return on your investment and you wanted to do more then I would look into LegalMatch next. Either starting with LegalMatch or LegalFish, if you find that you really liked this approach to marketing for law firms there is nothing wrong with belonging to two or even three of the services.

7. If you decide to become a member with LegalMatch, Case Post and/or LegalFish do remember your financial arrangement and term of membership are somewhat to greatly negotiable. Do negotiate a win/win agreement for yourself. Naturally, if you can get references of current members to contact from them in your practice area and in a similar type market to yours so much the better before you sign your agreement.

8. I probably would not go with Lawyers.com at this point. Why? First, no guarantee. Next Lawyers.com does not appear to me to be promoting that part of the site enough. Additionally, I am not sure it is worth the cost of the bio and the fee that together will run at least $2,400 for the year. I suspect this money could be better put to use with one of the “big three”. Lastly, given the consumer has a list of attorneys that could be large (search on the site for your zip code and practice areas and see how large it is for your area) you are going to be in a crowd I fear. Thus it looks like not much business and it seems no way to impact the consumers’ thinking in your direction at the point where they are selecting who to contact. An exception to this thinking is if you already have a bio listing with them (and it is delivering business to you) this add on service might be a useful attorney marketing move given you are only spending $495 more per year. That said keep good records and see if it produces you any business. If not you would stop the service of course.

9. With respect to LegalConnection.com I probably would not go with them at this point. Why? No guarantee. I do see it as an advantage that it is a stand-alone away from the FindLaw.com site. For that reason alone I would favor it over Lawyers.com, however, I don’t see LegalConnection.com or Lawyers.com as being in the same class as the “big three” at this point in time.

You can download free now the 125 page Report titled “31 Proven Law Firm Marketing Strategies” by Henry Harlow and much more. You can increase your income; reduce your work hours as you serve your clients better than ever – guaranteed. http://www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com

We bought our daughter Julie a St. Bernard five years ago. Each evening “Mackie” climbed up on my lap to take a nap (even after she was full grown)! A couple years later Mackie died of a kidney disease. We buried her under her favorite tree, made a marker, and thanked God for the wonderful gift of Mackie. But each of us experienced grief and pain over the loss of our beloved dog. This article will give you several guidelines to help you experience good grief as you suffer the loss of your pet.

As I share the following guidelines to help you grieve the loss of your pet, please keep in mind that each person’s grief process is as unique as the relationship between that pet and its owner. However, pet grief can be good grief.

1. Just as in the loss of a spouse, parent, child, or other significant person, you must ACKNOWLEDGE THE LOSS of your beloved dog or pet. I know that sounds obvious, but denial is a powerful emotion during times of significant loss. In fact, pretending that you are not hurting during times of significant loss can actually be detrimental to your physical and emotional health. There really is such a thing as “Good Grief.” Grief is a healthy emotional process. Admit that your cherished dog or pet is gone. Don’t let others trivialize the importance of that dog in your life. A couple quotes will show you that we recognized many years ago how important dogs and other pets are to us. For example, Roger Caras once said, “Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole.” Josh Billings noted, “A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.” And Will Rogers once quipped, “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”

2. GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO GRIEVE. The fact is that people often invest as much love and affection in a pet as they do in many personal relationships. (Don’t laugh: dogs miss you when you’re gone, dogs never complain about your cooking, dogs don’t criticize your friends, dogs don’t shop, dogs mean it when they kiss you, dogs think you sing great, and a dog’s parents never visit). Other people might scoff, be confused, or misunderstand, especially those who have not experienced a loss of this kind. Don’t worry about what others think or feel; this is a time to be true to yourself. Allow yourself the time and freedom to be sad, to cry, and to miss your friend and companion. Tell yourself it’s OK – because it is. Pet grief can be good grief.

3. THANK GOD FOR THE GIFT OF YOUR PET. God created the animals that become our cherished pets. Good grief comes when we begin to recognize that God is the giver of all good gifts, and dogs are definitely good gifts. Do something symbolic to give thanks and show respect for this wonderful gift from God. Cheri and I buried Mackie and made a makeshift concrete headstone in the ground over her grave. Just the other day my son went out and found the marker in the woods, cleaned it off, and spent a moment remembering Mackie fondly. Pets matter! You can give a donation to an animal shelter in honor of your pet. Other meaningful acts people have shared with me include writing a special poem or story, commissioning a painting of their pet from a photograph, or framing an enlarged photo to hang on the wall. A fairly new phenomenon is the Pet Cemetery, where you can actually bury your pet, place a marker, and bring flowers. The bottom line is this; it was your pet, and it is your pet grief – do something that is meaningful for you. It will make you feel good about yourself and your pet, and it will assist you in bringing good grief to your grief process.

4. SHARE YOUR PAIN. Pet grief hurts. Talk to someone you trust about what you are feeling. Grief is a painful process; don’t go through it alone. Most of us know someone who has experienced the pain of pet loss. Talk to them. There is a healing process (Good Grief) that occurs when we hear ourselves talking about our pain, our grief, our loss. And there is empathy when two people can share similar experiences. It helps to hear someone else say “I know how you feel, I’ve been there too.” It helps to know you are not alone in your feelings. If there is no one you can talk to in your immediate family or circle of friends, consider talking to your pastor, or joining a pet loss support group in your community. Check the internet, and you may be able to find a pet loss “blog” group to join.

5. CELEBRATE YOUR MEMORIES. Pet grief can be good grief. When you think about the relationship you had with your pet, what is it that brings a smile to your face? Think on those things. Get out the pictures of your child and pet dressed alike for Halloween. Or the one of you and your pet covered in soap suds and soaking wet during bath time. Franklin P. Jones says “Anybody who doesn’t know what soap tastes like never washed a dog.” Or remember all the “tricks” your pet used to do just to please you. Recall those winter evenings relaxing together by the fire, or the summer days romping in the park. I remember opening the front door one day and finding my St. Bernard sitting right there, looking up at me, with a huge “bubble” poking out both sides of her mouth – looking like she chewing bubble gum! It’s a scene I will never forget. That’s Good Grief! “We give dog’s time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made” – M. Facklam.

6. BE A VOLUNTEER. Pet grief can consume you if you let it. This is a great opportunity to volunteer some time and energy to help someone else. You can volunteer some time at your local animal shelter. You could help feed the homeless at the local soup kitchen. Be a volunteer at your local church. And the list goes on. Volunteering is a healthy way to give something back to your church or community. Helping your fellow man is a good thing, and it makes you feel good about who you are. It takes your mind off your pet loss and the emptiness you feel, and helps the process of good grief.

7. RELY ON YOUR PERSONAL FAITH. Pet grief is just as real as losing a person. Lean on your spiritual belief system. The scriptures tell us that God loves us and wants to comfort us during times of grief and loss. Does God care about animals? Is God concerned with my pet dying? You bet He is! Does God really care about my pet grief? Absolutely! The Bible says God knows when a sparrow falls out of the sky. And it says every hair on your head is numbered, so He cares about you very much! During this time of grief and loss, reconnect or recommit to your personal faith. Spend some extra time in devotion, worship, meditation, and prayer. God’s comfort and help during this time will help you experience good grief.

8. DON’T REPLACE YOUR PET UNTIL YOU ARE READY. Statistics show that after the loss of a spouse, many people remarry too soon, because of the fear of loneliness. Pet grief can cause the same mistakes. Don’t be too anxious to fill the void left by your precious pet. Remember that every relationship is unique, just as every person and dog are unique. Pet grief can be immense for some, and can take significant time. How soon should you get a new pet? Experts disagree, but estimates range from a few weeks to a year. They do agree, however, that you should be sure you are emotionally ready to explore a totally new relationship before you get a new pet. They also agree that the vast majority of people can and do benefit from getting another pet, as long as they cherish each new pet relationship as unique and special. Do not expect your next pet to be like your last, but love the next one just as much. Each one is a fantastic, life-changing experience. And a part of the process of good grief is to replace that love relationship you had with that dog, with another dog or pet.

We all know that dogs and other pets are not human, but they certainly do bring a great deal of joy and happiness to our lives. (Andy Rooney says “The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.”) The loss of a beloved pet should not be taken lightly or dismissed as unimportant. If you have lost a cherished dog or pet; if you are experiencing Pet Grief; use the suggestions we’ve outlined here to experience good grief, cherish the memories, and prepare yourself for your next awesome pet/owner relationship. Then go out and find that amazing dog or pet that can benefit from the love and affection only you can give.

Danny Presswood, 2006 All rights Reserved.

Danny Presswood is a retired US Army Combat (Airborne) Chaplain. After traveling 17 countries and 10 islands, he and his wife Cheri settled in the wooded Ozarks hills of SW MO. Presently working on his Doctorate, Danny writes the Feature Articles for K-9 Outfitters, A Division of Damascus Road Enterprises, which offers a plethora of AWESOME discount, luxury, unique, and Handmade in the USA Online Pet Supplies. You’ll find K-9 Outfitters at [http://www.Damascus-Road-Enterprises.com]

Explore the many ways to make money online by blogging with or without a blog, get paid to write reviews of products and services, and earn extra cash by writing articles, content and blogging for Google AdSense blog networks.

1. An overview on paid blogging

There are 3 main flavours of paid blogging – your own blog on your own domain and webhost, using a blog on a free blog service such as Blogger and creating a blog on a blog network. The work is the same. You get paid to write or blog about a product, service or anything required by a customer.

The amount paid varies greatly from US$1 to US$200 or more for about 50 to 200 words depending on advertiser requirement. The more popular or higher traffic your blog has, the greater your reach and therefore the higher you are paid. Terms vary in that you may be asked to write a single post from time to time or you may be contracted to blog a minimum of 1 post a day for a few weeks for a specified sum.

2. Blog requirements

Usually, there are certain requirements that your blog will have to meet before being accepted for assignments. Requirements vary with each paid-to-blog network. Generally though, paid-to-blog networks do not accept new blogs with little content and no readership base, so you will need to spend the first few weeks or months writing posts regularly to build up a sizeable amount of content.

You could buy articles or use free articles from various sources of course, but ultimately you will have to write your own unique content to keep readers coming back. It’s a lot of hard work.

Other requirements could be that your blog has to be several months old, be indexed by Google, be of a certain pagerank or have a certain amount of traffic. Blog content and writing standard also affect approval. If you do not own a blog, you may be asked to provide some writing samples for evaluation.

3. Using a free blog on a blogging service

Creating a free blog on Blogger, Live Journal, WordPress and other free blogging services is how most bloggers will start off. These sites are fine for personal blogs but if you have plans to monetize your blog and use it as a means to provide some form of viable revenue, it is best to register your own domain and host your own blog on a web host.

This is because you will have complete control over how you want to monetize your blog and have your own entity and identity eg. yourblog.com instead of yourblog.blogspot.com. Also, some paid-to-blog networks do not accept blogs created on a free blogging service.

4. Creating a blog on a blog network

If you do not own a blog, you can still earn from blogging. Some blog networks require you to create a blog hosted on their network with their revenue earned directly from advertisers, syndication or other means. Sites: Blogchex, Gather, DigitalJournal.

Other blog networks engage you as their freelance professional blogger where you have to commit to making regular posts. In such cases, the content you create could belong to the blog network and you will not be able to use your content anywhere else. These have very high journalistic standards and are difficult to get accepted. Sites: 451press, Blog Republic, Weblogsinc.

5. Posting on Google AdSense blog networks

Other blog networks who use Google’s AdSense programme to generate revenue are less restrictive in terms of topics to write about and tend to be less demanding when it comes to content quality and the reuse of content at other sites.

Bloggers are paid by Google AdSense from the number of clicks received on ads embedded in their posts. Therefore you must first sign up for Google’s AdSense programme before joining these blog networks. You also get paid for referrals. Payouts may seem too little to bother with but if you are active in many networks, the amounts add up. Sites: WriteNiche, WritingUp, Hubpages, Squidoo, Xoomba.

6. Setting up your own blog on your own domain

Buying your own domain costs about US$8 a year while buying a basic hosting plan costs from about US$5 a month. Choose a reliable web host which has a good uptime track record and customer service is important. You may have to be prepared to spend a little more to ensure some reasonable level of quality hosting.

Visiting a web host’s forum where members discuss the web host’s service will give you a good idea of its reliability but since most have a 30-day money-back guarantee, signing up to try would probably be the best way to go.

After building up a fair amount of quality content, you can apply to join professional blog networks if your blog meets the high standards of these sites: Blogburst, B5media, Orble, Webbleyou.net

7. Paid reviews

Some blog networks will assign offers to you from time to time and all you have to do is blog about the product or service and provide links as required on your blog. Other options of monetizing your blog may also be given such as placing banners and buttons or text links on your blog. Sites: PayPerPost, Blogsvertise, LoudLaunch, CreamAid.

Other blog networks provide a common platform to let advertisers select the blog they want to buy advertising space, links or pay for a review from the list of registered blogs. Sites: ReviewMe, ReverseLinks, Buzzbyblog, InBlogads, SponsoredReviews.

8. Variations of paid blogging

There are several offshoots of paid blogging which instead of writing about a product or service, you get paid for your knowledge on certain topics and for providing answers to questions asked by other members in the community. Topics range from business to automobiles to health. You will be evaluated by a test before being accepted but earnings could be substantially higher than regular blogging. Site: JustAnswer.

You can also earn by providing a writing service such as academic papers and resumes, or writing content for end users such as websites, magazines and newsletters. These pay more than the usual paid blogging and is the the way to go if you have the skills. Sites: Constant-Content, CyberEdit, Academia-Research, Manuscriptservices.co.uk, AssociatedContent only accepts US residents.

9. Blogging for companies

Businesses recognise the blog revolution and even large corporations have set up blogs. Many look to freelance professional bloggers for their blog. Software development companies may require bloggers for gadgets and tech-related topics. A lifestyle magazine may require bloggers to write about the night scene in their city or updates on celebrity gossip. The scope is restricted only by your ability and time. Sites: Bloggerjobs.biz, Jobs.problogger.net, Elance.com

10. Blogging for individuals

There are people who need help blogging or who want to build up unique content the fastest way possible and so recruit a few people to contribute posts. The amount to be paid is entirely by mutual agreement and you possibly run a certain risk of not getting paid for your work. Sites: Bloggerforum.com, Earnersforum.com, Goldage.net, Forums.digitalpoint.com.

Get more information on how beginners make money online and how to make money blogging

When a car breaks down or does not perform up to par, if it makes strange sounds while running or comes away from the scene of an accident with dents and scratches, a responsible owner will perform a thorough check of its parts and systems. If the vehicle is beyond the simplest troubleshooting techniques, it is best that you seek advice from the experts. Visit an auto shop that you trust so professionals can examine your car, identify the problem and fix it.

Commercial auto repairs can be defined as the kind of auto repair services that an auto shop offers. This kind of auto repair helps keep your vehicle in tiptop shape. Experts who provide auto repair services commercially have mastered the automotive sciences’ they know what is best for your car.

When you bring in your vehicle to the auto shop or when you use the services of a mechanic, the first thing that your car will receive is a look-over. Much like a consultation at the doctor’s, a look-over allows the mechanic to examine your vehicle extensively. A good mechanic will ask you some questions regarding your experiences with the car. He will most likely get your opinion on what you think is wrong with it. He will then conduct a series of tests to identify the damaged or malfunctioning parts. When he has completed his evaluation of your car, he will explain what exactly needs to be done. After he gets your approval, he will undertake the necessary repairs.

Of course, there is always a price to pay when you bring your vehicle in for commercial auto repairs. You have to pay a premium to get all the necessary work done, along with the additional charges for the auto parts or auto body parts that need to be replaced. For most owners, it can be well worth their money if their vehicles look and perform better in the end.

Auto Repair provides detailed information on Auto Repair, Auto Glass Repair, Online Auto Repair, Auto Body Repair and more. Auto Repair is affiliated with Discount Auto Parts.

If you’re like me, When you crank up that BBQ grill for the season it’s all about cooking perfect steak. I love all kinds of foods cooked on an outside bbq grill, but none says summer quite like that sweet smell of steak on the grill. For me, the results are always predictable and always pretty close to perfect. This is because I use the same process every time and I start with the end result in mind. So that’s my first tip: cooking perfect steak starts with identifying what that means to you and then learning about the basic cooking method so that you can navigate to that desired point. You’ll have to decide on the definition of perfection for yourself – that’s the fun part. But the next few paragraphs should help with the second part – learning the process and the basic cooking method that helps get you to your perfection.

It All Starts BEFORE Cooking Tenderloin!

For most carnivores, the beginning of the process towards steak nirvana is when you actually start cooking tenderloin. Unfortunately, this approach leaves out one of my best secrets for cooking perfect steak: start with the whole tenderloin. There are so many advantages to buying a whole tenderloin and breaking it down yourself. You can definitely save some money learning how to do this, and it is a lot easier than you think. When you buy the whole tenderloin, the first thing you have to do before cooking tenderloin is to remove the “chain”. The chain is the side muscle; it contains a lot of the fat and is great for use later in stews, chilis or even my favorite treat: Tenderloin Philly cheese steak. But that’s a whole other way for cooking tenderloin and beyond the scope of this article! Once you’ve removed the chain, you must remove the thick top end of the tenderloin – “the head”. This, too can be set aside and used later. What you are left with is a long tenderloin from which to cut your steaks. The most important thing to remember is to try to cut the steaks of consistent size by weight. Consistent size equals consistent cooking, which equals reliable cooking! Use a scale and aim for a consistent size somewhere between 3 and 5 oz per steak, depending on who you’re cooking for.

Do you Really Know How to Grill Beef?

If you believe most people, grilling takes no skill at all. It’s so much easier than cooking and anyone can do this with little advance planning or common knowledge. Right? This is actually one of my favorite cooking myths! Knowing correctly how to grill beef (or anything else) is essential to outdoor cooking success. Grilling is direct source conductive heat. Cooking is to grilling as driving is to flying a rocket ship. Everything happens quickly and intensely with grilling and that includes mistakes. So, let’s begin with the simple process:

1. First, get the grill as hot as possible. Keep the lid down while heating the grill, but open when cooking. This is another common grilling mistake. If you close the lid while cooking, the method you are applying is similar to that of oven cooking. Why bother doing it outside on the grill?
2. Brush the steak with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. You can use any other kind of seasoning or rub here, but I find that the true steak flavor comes from a good cut of meat and you don’t need anything else. You might have a different opinion so season as you see fit.
3. Place the steak on the hot grill “show side” down – meaning the side you’d want to display on the plate goes down on the grill first.
4. Now observe for signs of done-ness. When the steak is 75% done on one side, flip it over and cook the rest of the way.

Knowing how to grill beef is a simple process, but most people still go into it blindly. By following the steps, you will always be working towards cooking the perfect steak, rather than just cooking a steak until it has reached a safe to eat temperature and texture. The fine line of difference between acceptable and perfection make all of the difference, and with perfection so reliably reachable, why not aim high?

How Long Should the Meat Cook? Until It’s Done!

So, here we are. We always arrive at the same question. In travel, it’s: are we there yet?; and in cooking, it’s: how long should the meat cook?. Well, I have one answer to all of the how long questions: until it’s done. Yes, it really is that simple. Let the meat cook until it’s done. And now we get into the more interesting question: how do I know when it’s done? I often say that cooking is a journey – so you are a tourist, an observer on that journey. As you observe what happens to the steak during the cooking process, you will notice some predictable things happen. First, at 165 degrees, proteins coagulate. What you will see when this happens is that the steak will stiffen and shrink. You will see the sides of the tenderloin start to get brownish gray. At 320 degrees, the sugars caramelize. If you lift a side of the steak up slightly and look underneath, you will see the formation of grill marks to indicate this is happening. You will also begin to smell that nice, sweet, smell – telling you that you are cooking perfect steak and all is happening as it should. When the steak is 50-75% cooked on one side, it reaches what is termed in French culinary as “a point”. You will observe the juices start to bubble up to the red top. This indicates it is time to flip the steak, allowing it to finish its cooking on the other side. The last observation you will make to determine done-ness is the most quantitative because you will use a thermometer. Don’t cut open your steak to peer into the middle! Don’t stab at it with a fork! Both of these activities will release all of the juiciness you just worked so hard to achieve! 125-135 degrees is rare; 145-150 is medium and 160-165 is well done. So pick your temperature and remove the steak from the grill. But before serving it, let it rest for 5-10 minutes so that the juices can redistribute and run off onto the non-serving plate.

Just by understanding these simple facts about grilling, cooking perfect steak is almost a guaranteed result. Go ahead and get your own whole tenderloin today and get ready for some great outdoor eating!

Chef Todd Mohr is a classically trained chef, entrepreneur, cooking educator and founder of WebCookingClasses. You CAN learn to cook without written recipes by taking his FREE cooking class that will change the way you think about cooking forever!

Some camps have a targeted focus like religious study, academics, and competitive sports. The variety of camps available today is almost innumerable, meaning there will be some specialized camps that may have availability left even into the summer. Each summer, more than 10 million children and counselors attend day camps and overnight summer camps across the country.

Basically, if you can think of any subject of interest, there’s probably a camp that specializes in it. The more artistically minded might consider arts and crafts, clowning, drama, photography, or dance to be important elements of having a well-rounded camp experience. There are overnight summer camps with a focus on self-improvement, weight loss and grief counseling.

There are overnight summer camps that are co-ed camps, boys camps, girls camps or brother-sister camps where boys and girls may have separate venues and activities. There are four basic types of camps to choose from for your child: day programs, sleepaway or overnight summer camp, day programs with trips, and special needs camps. Special needs camps meet the needs of a wide range of children with disabilities; these camps provide an outdoor summer camp experience along with a therapeutic environment.

Four weeks at a good private overnight summer camp or sleepaway camp will cost anywhere from $3500 to $6500, and eight weeks will range from $4000 to $7000. Although camp counselor jobs don’t usually pay very well, usually minimum wage or less, counselors receive free room and board; many take the job primarily for the camping experience. Try to determine whether the director incorporates a similar philosophy to running the camp as you do in parenting your child or children.

Camp tuition can be expensive; similar to travel insurance, there are now insurance policies for families sending their children to overnight summer camp to cover last minute cancellations, homesickness, medical emergencies and emergency evacuations. The best overnight summer sports camps do much more than just improve a camper’s soccer, tennis, lacrosse, or wrestling skills – they help each child become a more skillful athlete, a more gracious competitor, a more committed team player, and a more confident person.

Visit the camp; you can view campers and counselors in their element, witness activities as they occur, and just obtain an overall feel of the camp, something that cannot be accurately experienced when the camp is closed.

Get to know the camp director from an in-person visit to your home if possible, phone conversations, email or other correspondence. At camp would it benefit your child more if he or she interacted more with the opposite gender? Weight loss camps are for children and teens in order to help them learn about how to lose weight and how to keep it off while having a great overnight summer camp experience.

Most camp counselors are in their late teens or early twenties and are high school and college students on their summer break. Some camps are often called adventure camps – having a very specific theme or interest; many of these programs emphasize skill development and personal growth through the adventures the offer. There are many types of overnight summer camps with a focus on education that cater to students with differing ages and academic interests.

If you spend the time needed to research your options and include your child in all the decisions, he or she will most likely have a memorable experience that provides pportunities to grow while having a lot of fun and making new friends. Look over and evaluate the brochures and promotional materials; read the fine print.Take time to consider what you can reasonably afford. If you think your child may not be ready for a sleepaway or overnight summer camp, choose a local camp in case you end up having to make a late night pickup in the event he or she gets homesick.

For more information on choosing the best overnight summer camp and finding the best sleepaway or overnight summer camp online and offline go to http://www.OvernightSummerCamp.biz a nurse’s website specializing in overnight summer camp tips, help, facts, free tuition resources, including information on overnight summer camp reviews

By the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key

part of online culture. “Blog readership shoots up 58% in

2004 6 million Americans get news and information fed to

them through RSS aggregators But 62% of online Americans do

not know what a blog is.” – Pew Internet & American Life

Project

Tip #1 – How and Where Should I Start?

You should begin your blog with a free blog hosting service

such as Blogger (http://www.blogger.com), or other similar

free services such as JournalHome.com, LiveJournal.com or

Blog-City.com. The learning curve for using such free

services allow you to spend more on developing your content

rather than worrying about the advanced areas of scripting,

hosting, or programming.

Tip #2 – The Things You Should Decide to Write About

Although not a required prerequisite for you in order to

write a blog, it is highly recommended to try to find a

topic to write about based on your level of interest and

knowledge. The higher your level of interest, the easier it

is for you to get your quality content posted on your blog.

Always try to choose an area which you can enthusiastically

write about on a daily basis.Try to pay attention to a niche

which suites you well. A niche is basically a targeted

product, service, or topic.

Tip #3 – Always stay on topic.

Opinions are generally accepted but the content of the items

in the blog should all relate to a general theme. The

majority of your readers will be interested in the content

that relates to a specific defined theme or loosely defined

area of interest. Define a topic and try not to run too far

away from it. This will ensure that you create a loyal

following of interested readers.

Tip #4 – Information is king, be informative.

If you are attempting to create the impression that you are

knowledgeable about a specific industry or sector, be sure

that you stay current on news. Checking your facts before

you’re giving out an opinion or a product review is always a

good idea, your reputation is at stake. If by any chance

you’re utilizing other people’s articles for you blog

content, ensure that you follow the terms of usage defined

by the author.

Tip #5 – Old news is not news, but old information can be

recycled and made new.

While blogging everyday can be

strenuous and time consuming, it is important that the

information presented is current and accurate. Information,

articles or any other archived resources can be recycled /

modified to add more substance to your content. As long as

they’re relevant and informative, there’s no reason why it’s

not a good approach.

Tip #6 – Be disciplined and stick to a fixed posting

schedule.

Realizing that blogging requires time and effort,

don’t create unrealistic expectations and be unable to

deliver. If you have worked hard to develop an audience and

a community you don’t want to lose them due to lack of

communication. If time is not on your side, take advantage

of tonnes of automatically updating contents which are

available for your blog. Looking at the constantly updating

nature of RSS feeds, other RSS feeds from similar topic can

be inserted within your blogging post.

Tip #7 – Posting Frequency.

If your blog content is updated frequently, search engines

will tend to spider the pages at regular intervals. Updating

your blog daily not only keeps your blog more interesting to

readers, but it also gives your blog fresh content on a day

to day making it more appealing to search engines. To keep

your blog traffic and retain your visitors interest it is a

must to update your blog daily with multiple entries. You

should try to update your blog everyday with at least 2 – 3

or more daily entries, depending on your daily schedule.

Tip #8 – Quantity matters.

In order to attract the attention of search engines, you

will need to produce a relevant amount of content and

information. A headline or simple sentence is not going to

generate the interest of readers or help with search engine

ranking. Be sure to archive old blog posts to develop a

large portal of similarly-themed content.

Tip #9 – Clarity & simplicity / Short & Concise.

Keep your posts and blog entries clear and easy to

understand. Simplicity always produce better results at the

end of the day.

Aside from the lengthy article a week for syndication and

publication your blog entries should be short & concise (if

you can help it). Should you insist on partaking on the

lengthy road, try to maintain a clean paragraphing style,

proper spacing, use different size, color and bold for your

titles as well as the subtitles. Use bullet points, go

straight to the point and never run out of topic. Insert

images to spice up things if you’re an avid fan of long

posts.

Tip #10 – Utilize the “blockquote” and “code” tags.

Being one of the few most underutilized blogging formatting

tags, these 2 items can help you on emphasizing certain

points, in the most efficient and striking way. Formatting

is simple and straightforward. Just get your message into a blockquote tag, and your message will apear

distinctively different from the rest of your text, thus

gets more attention which it deserves. Take note that the

formatting for these 2 tags differ from blog to blog

depending on how the owner defines the tag in the CSS

(Cascading Style Sheets).Click the below link if you want to read more about CSS.

http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp

Tip #11 – Keyword-rich.

If the goal of your blog is to increase your visibility,

include related keywords in the title of the blog. Use the

title as a headline to attract interest. Each item post

should have a title that will attract attention but still be

relevant to the post. The title should be no longer than

10-12 words. Experiment with the titles if you must,

possibly try to avoid general and ordinary titles. Try to

include extraordinary and innovative titles to grab the

readers’ attention.

Tip #12 – Spell checking and proof-reading.

It only takes a few extra moments and can save you from

having to make embarrassing explanations. The hazards of

Internet is that if you’re too late to correct your mistake,

most likely it’s already been crawled by the search engines

and read by many. It is extremely essential to think / proof

read carefully twice or even thrice, about what you post

before doing so. Take note of your language and grammar.

Tip #13 – RSS Feeds

RSS to a blog is like fuel to cars. Mostly every single free

blogs or bloggin software out there will have an automatic

RSS feed generating feature. Although it’s most unlikely

that you’ll find one without a RSS feature, simply leave it

and find a new one, if you happen to come across one without

it.

Tip #14 – The essence of the Internet – Traffic.

It’s no

secret. You must have traffic to realize the definition of a

blog.. There are numerous ways to build traffic. Paid and

free advertising, viral marketing, search engine marketing,

RSS/XML feeds, word-of-mouth, submitting to numerous blog

and RSS directories, etc. RSSBlogsubmit (

http://www.rssblogsubmit.com) provides a submission service

for your Blog & RSS feeds. You should always use your blog

URL address in the signature of your email, forum

discussions, message boards, or any other communication

media. Never forget to share your blog to your friends,

colleagues, and any other invidious that you know of.

Tip #15 – Track Your Blog

Tracking your blog does not have to be overly sophisticated

usually a simple free page counter like StatCounter.com,

ActiveMeter.com, Extremetracking.com or Sitemeter.com will

do the trick. Install (copy/paste) the code into the html of

your blog template and start tracking your visitors. Its

better to use a service which gives you advanced traffic

analysis, such as keyword tracking information, referral

information, and search engine information. Visitors,

returning visitors, and unique visitors should be standard

for any page counter service you choose.

Tip #16 – Make use of your Blog’s statistical and tracking information.

Believe it or not, your visitors’ information

from your tracking scripts will provide you priceless

information on how you can attract more readers. Keep note

on the keyword terms used from search engines which bring

you traffic. You can identify relevant closely related

topics which you can venture into and add more variety into

your blog, yet staying very much in topic. Simply put, more

topic coverage and more variety = more traffic. You may

analyze your tracking information further on how you can

strategize your blog’s content. You can also apply some

keyword optimization strategies here.

Tip #17 – The essence of your Blog is your Audience, listen

to them.

Always interact with your readers who post comments

on your blog. Reply with a brief thank you note or just

simply attend to their questions if they have any. It’s a

proven fact when there’s a direct human interaction and

knowing the fact that there’s a “real human” at the other

end of the blog makes most of them coming back. If your

audience provide suggestions, comments or feedbacks, take

them constructively and inform them if you have any desires

of implementing such ideas on your next update. And of

course, don’t forget to thank them for their ideas. If it’s

a great idea, why not throw in a free gift? Mention their

website in your blog?

Tip #18 – Create and increase the “Why Must I Return” Value to Your Blog.

Everyone knows the fact that Blogs get a huge level of

returning visitors because of its constantly updated

content. Why don’t you add more interesting items to that

return value by having fixed periodical posts / offers, e.g.

Monday Top 10 Tips, Picture of the Week, Free Bonus of the

Month, Free Daily Wallpapers, etc. to give them the absolute

excuse to return to your blog. As long as you can

efficiently and appropriately increase that Return Value

constantly, it is mostly guaranteed that you’ll be getting

tonnes of repeated visitors, period.

An advance notice, prelaunch announcement or anything

similar to that also can act as a short term return value

strategy. Encourage readers to comment on your such notices

/ posts. Experiment and play around with this idea.

Tip #19 – Multiple blogs.

It never hurts to use multiple blogging accounts to attract

more people. You can even have multiple blogs within

Blogger.com itself, but you may also want to try different

free blogging services such as JournalHome.com,

LiveJournal.com, Blog-City.com, etc. Should you have the

urge to have multiple similar duplicates of your blog just

to gain more traffic, it is wise to avoid it as search

engines / feed directories might translate that as excessive

redundant information which simply brings you trouble, and

you’re tend to get penalized, banned or even accused of

spamming.

Tip #20 – Digital Art, Creative Graphics.

Another proven fact – Monotonous and continous display of text will make your

readers run away! Try to include non- advertising graphics,

pictures, photos, and art in your blog entries, but try to

keep them at a limit. Too many graphics also mean slower

loading time and messy text and graphical combination. You

don’t want your blog to look messy. Most of the time,

graphics can bring your blog to life. Pictures can make

boring texts interesting no matter how long it is. Graphical

elements are by far the fastest message delivering element

available on the net today. It may deliver various messages

by a split second of a look.

Tip #21 – Maintain a Personal Blog.

A blog is most successful when it is kept personal. Try to

include personal experiences which relates to the topic of

your blog entry. Stay away from the business style of

writing. Write with a more personal style and use first-

person narratives. Share product reviews and personal

endeavors, instead of trying to make it sounds like you’re

selling.

Tip #22 – Credibility & Popularity.

As thing progresses, things need to change in order to cope

with the flow and nature of development. If your number of

readers are reasonably huge, and still using a free blogging

service to get your messages out, you may want to consider

getting your own domain name and hosting plan to have a more

personalized Blog.

Domain names and hosting plans are pretty much

straightforward. Research is all what it takes to get the

best of all the available options. For the most highly

recommended comprehensive listing of Free Blogging software

out there, drop by at http://www.opensourcecms.com. This is

by far the best place to drop by if you want to get your

research done about which blogging software to choose.

Reviews, ratings, public votes, demos, etc are provided. And

the best thing is, all of them are Open Source, which means

they are totally free. Try going through the server

requirements for each software before purchasing your

web hosting.

Tip 23# – Customize the look of your Blog

If you happen to be using one of the Free blogging services

out there, you might notice that most of us are using the

same template again and again for our blogs. It is well

understood that not everybody has the technical knowledge to

change the layout as how they want it to be, but if you have

the knowledge, by all means try to customize it and make it

look DIFFERENT. You can grab that extra attention, if you’re

different in certain ways. Create that image for yourself.

Tip #24 – Blog and Make Money

Once your blog has gained some real momentum and your blog

traffic is increasing then it is time to start thinking

if you want to turn your traffic into profit. Some of the

recommended income generating sources are as follow :-

Google Adsense, Amazon Associate program (www.amazon.com),

Blogads.com, Crispads.com, Tagword.com, Affiliate Programs

and any advertising related text links can be your place to

start off.

Final #Tip – Conclusion.

Following these blogging tips should make your blogging

experience much more rewarding. Blogging is generally done

out of interest and enthusiasm and sometimes for income

generating purposes. The flexibility of blogging will never

cease to expand. Through time, dedication, and persistence

you will be rewarded with all the royalties of blogging.

About the Author

John Teh is an internet blogger enthusiast, exposed to the fun and the extreme possibilities of blogging on the net. Get to know more about the author at his homepage.
http://www.rssblogsubmit.com

The auto repair quotes that you get for your automobile vary with the service provider. There are many auto service providers who are happy to give you auto repair quotes. You can either get them from the service provider in your locality or from the leading auto repair company in your area.

Before getting a quote, make a preliminary list of repairs that need to be done that you know of. If you are not clear as to what you need, you may end up spending wasted time and money of what could have been just a simple repair. Go to your local mechanic for quotes before deciding on where to take your automobile. They will give you an idea as to exactly what expenses are involved, and what repairs are critical, as opposed to not necessary. You may decide to stick with your mechanic or go to a dealer for repairs. Whatever you decide, you’ll have valuable information in your hands regarding the repairs that need to be done, and what one mechanic would charge to do the repairs.

There are also free checkup camps that are held at major car dealer manufacturers. Here, your car will be evaluated for problems at no charge to you. If problems are found, these events may even offer discounts on parts and repairs that you can take advantage of. They will also give you repair quotes that you can pass on to a repair shop.

If you know what is the kind of repair that is needed for your car, then you can get auto repair quotes online on websites dedicated for autos. All you have to do is type in information about you and your car and what repairs need to be done. You will receive instant auto repair online quotes. You can get auto repair quotes from multiple vendors and compare them to get the best deal.

Auto Quotes provides detailed information on Auto Quotes, Instant Auto Insurance Quotes, Auto Glass Quotes, Auto Repair Quotes and more. Auto Quotes is affiliated with Auto Dealer Auctions [http://www.i-AutoDealers.com].

Buying furniture for your children’s room is a big decision. Believe it or not, it may even be a little more complex than the decision when you are furnishing the rest of your home. After all, this space belongs to your precious child. But there are a few good tips just to consider as you prepare to purchase.

Space is often at a premium in children’s rooms so its useful to have the childrens furniture you purchase be multi-functional. Luckily there are a lot of pieces that do “double duty”, like headboards that can be used as bookcases, or chests that can double as stairs or seating while they are also used for storage of toys, blankets or other objects. Raymond Furniture has a bed called The Junior Low Twin Size Loft Bed that is low enough to make it a good choice for younger children.

Kids love bunk beds and they can be a practical choice if two of your children sharing a bedroom, or even for a sleepover. Powell Furniture has one called The Spokane Bunk Bed that is a nice choice. Some will feature trundle drawers on the bottom for even more storage capacity.

Of course you will want to get sturdy furniture that has been put together solidly. Kids can be rough on furniture, so it should be able to stand up to that. Make sure there aren’t any blatant safety hazards, like loose rails on the bunk beds, or ladders that aren’t securely fastened or seem flimsy. If you decide to purchase older used furniture make certain the paint does not have lead in it. Use water-based paint if you choose to do it yourself. You may also want to check the internet to see if there are recalls or safety concerns with any items you are considering purchasing.

Lori writes articles about childrens furniture and also about laser hair removal cost.

Choosing the right fish tank for your pets is not easy. There are so many options out there, how do you select the right setup for your situation?

We take a look below at the mid-sized BiOrb 60 16 Gallon tank below, which has some interesting features for all levels of fish enthusiasts. BiOrb is an aquarium and fish supply manufacturer that takes a different approach to fish tank design, incorporating more stylish and contemporary elements into their aquariums.

So what’s the good, bad and indifferent about the BiOrb 60? Read below to see if it’s an aquarium that is right for you and your fish.

About the BiOrb 60 16 Gallon Fish Tank

BiOrb expands on its successful and highly popular 8 gallon fish tank with the BiOrb 60 16 Gallon aquarium. The BiOrb 60 continues the spherical shape BiOrb has become known for while expanding the space for larger fish and fish populations. The 16 gallon aquarium can be converted into a complete marine aquarium thanks to the largest biological filtration system the company has offered. The BiOrb tank is made from strong Plexiglas acrylic and as the largest aquarium in BiOrb’s Classic product line, can be had in five different designer colors. The tank comes complete with a 5 stage internal filter, air pump and halogen lighting system.

What Comes with your BiOrb 16 Gallon Tank

• biOrb 60 aquarium (16 gallon biorb )
• Ceramic media
• 1 Standard freshwater filter cartridge – (biorb service kit)
• Low-voltage Air Pump
• 12v Transformer
• Tap water conditioner and Beneficial Bacteria liquid
• Printed documentation

BiOrb 16 Gallon Specifications

• Height: 20.4 inches (52cm)
• Width: 19.6 inches (50cm)
• Weight (empty): 12pounds (1 kg)
• Weight (full): 130 pounds (61 kg)
• Volume: 16 Gallon (60L)
• 16v transformer
• Two connectors (light and airpump)
• 12 month guarantee
• 12v – safe low-voltage pump
• Quiet operation
• 12 month guarantee
• 1.5m airline with 1-way valve
• 1m power cable
• Plugs directly into transformer (supplied)
• Line voltage: 12V AC
• Complies with UL, ULC and CE safety requirements
• Child safe

Aquarium Setup Options

The BiOrb 60 16 Gallon can easily handle cold water and tropical water fish (with addition of Heater Pack). The tank can also be converted to a full marine aquarium with the addition of the BiOrb Marine Conversion Kit, which supplies everything you need to keep small marine fish and creatures such as hermit crabs, shrimps and marine snails.

For those looking to setup an aquarium right out of the box, the BiOrb comes with everything you’ll need except fish and decorations. The BiOrb 60 is a good option for fish enthusiasts looking to keep setup simple and maintenance to a minimum.

And while the BiOrb 60 is a great place to start for beginners, the tank allows for more experienced fish owners to expand the capabilities of the aquarium through add-on kits and advanced lighting options. The Marine Conversion Kit is designed to provide all that is needed for a salt water tank setup and the optional intelligent LED light can replicate sunrise and sunset conditions for those that want to provide a natural lighting environment for their fish.

Aquarium Care & Maintenance

Filtration systems are typically the first place to look when considering the maintenance and care commitment a fish tank will need. Reef One with their BiOrb and BiUbe products is consistently one of the best manufacturers for filtration systems. While any aquarium takes a commitment to regular cleaning and maintenance to maintain a healthy environment for your fish, the 5 stage internal filtration systems found on the BiOrb 60 makes maintenance considerably easier than many competing aquarium of this size.

BiOrb claims that their internal filtration systems have relatively more biological filtration than similar external filtration fish tank systems. While we cannot vouch for the effectiveness of the internal system in comparison to other external filter systems, the 5 stage system on the BiOrb 60 seems to work exceedingly well in our experience. We reserve judgment where external filtration systems are concerned only because there are some great external systems out there, such as the Eclipse systems by Marineland. This is not to take anything away from the BiOrb aquarium systems, but we’re not ready to either confirm or deny the companies claims their internal filtration is superior to external filtration systems.

Aquarium Design & Appearance

Once again, the BiOrb 60 16 Gallon tank exceeds most competitors when appearance and design are considered. BiOrb does an excellent job of melding form with function in the BiOrb 60.

The aquarium is perfect for virtually any room of the house. While many aquariums tend to look a little boring without fish and decorations, the same cannot be said of the BiOrb 60. Even right out of the box, the design is stunning. The 60 is truly a fish tank that will add to any room to which it is added. A fish tank for an interior designer, or someone who appreciates a clean, aesthetically pleasing look.

Aquarium Reviews

What’s good?

• Great design and appearance consistent with entire BiOrb fish tank product lines
• 16 gallon tank allows for more fish than some of the smaller tanks
• Larger size allows for more types of fish, bigger fish
• Complete aquarium kit features everything you need to prepare your tank for your fish
• BiOrb 60 16 Gallon instruction manual includes FAQs, how to and recommended fish
• Biorb Plexiglas Acrylic is 10x stronger than glass
• The service kit filter system is easy to change and clean
• Versatility of use with cold water, fresh water or salt water setup capabilities
• Filtration makes maintenance easier than many equivalent tanks
• BiOrb’s advanced five-stage filtration system allows for a healthy, clear environment for your fish

What’s not so good?

• You’ll pay a premium for BiOrb quality and design
• Visible area of fish tank is smaller than a conventional rectangular tank due to curvature of orb shape

Fish Tank Review Summary

The BiOrb 60 16 Gallon tank is a great option for beginners looking for a slightly larger BiOrb tank than some of the smaller aquariums and experienced fish owners looking for a tank that can grow with their hobby alike. A great internal filtration system, clean, attractive design and versatility of setup makes the BiOrb 60 16 Gallon a fish tank we recommend enthusiastically.

For more recommendations, information and reviews of fish tanks and fish equipment, visit BiOrb Tank Reviews.

Engine repair for your vehicle is news no one likes to hear. It can only mean 1 result, money spent on your car just to keep it running. Replacing the engine is usually the most expensive mechanical repair that is performed on a vehicle. People have to replace used engines for several different reasons. Most of the time failure is due to lack of maintenance. Issues that happen from not keeping your car are many. Dirty oil is always a problem for engines. When the oil is not changed on a regular basis sludge builds up. Most people do not realize engines have very small oil journals that need to stay clear so all areas of the engine stay lubricated. You can have just 1 of these areas get enough build up to restrict flow to a small area of the engine and the will in turn cause total failure of the engine.

The timing belt is a very inexpensive item that is over looked so much in today’s cars. Not because of the cost of the part but the repair itself is the issue. Your owner’s manual will have a recommended time when the timing belt needs replacing. To replace a timing belt means the front of the engine including all the belt driven accessories must be removed to replace the belt. The bigger problem is if the belt is not replaced when it should be. The timing belt is under a tremendous load and when it breaks, the engine becomes non-repairable. Most engines today are interference engine by design. That means if the timing is off, the valves will hit the pistons and major damage occurs. The timing belt goes around the crankshaft and up to the cam shaft. This is how the valves open to let fuel in and close for combustion, the exhaust valves open to let out the spent fuel. When the valves open they push down into the cylinder where the piston is moving up and down. The piston is on the down stroke when the intake valve opens and comes back to the top as the valve closes and the gas explodes. That pushed the piston back down and the exhaust valve opens to let the exhaust out. When the timing belt breaks the bottom of the engine keeps turning but the cam stops. Half of the valves will be in the down position or open. The pistons hit the valves and extreme damage occurs. I wanted to see what a damaged engine looked like so the people at ASAP Motors dismantled an engine that had been damaged and allowed me to see the cylinders. If I learned one thing, replace the timing belt when the time comes.

After you receive the estimate from your garage, do your homework. Shop the internet for what you are looking for. There are many suppliers who will compete against each other trying to offer the best deal. After you settle on whom you want to do business with, check out the BBB report. They are a very good honest source of information about companies. Then take and compare the prices you’re found with the installer you are using. An import reason to keep in mind is if the installer supplies the engine, he warranties the labor. But he will mark up the used engine he selling you and could be purchasing from the same company you are.

Perry McHowton
ASAP Motors
A reliable source for used engines online. Call us today!
800-669-8287
http://www.asapmotors.com

For those considering a career in teaching, Education Schools can provide programs of study for earning degrees in general education, higher education, K-12 education, adult education, curriculum design, distance learning, education technology, ESL (English as a Second Language) and bilingual education, education leadership and administration, special education, teacher licensure, training and knowledge management, and many others.

Future teachers may opt to specialize in certain subjects, such as physical sciences; English, literature, composition, or creative writing; biological sciences; business education; American history, world history, or regional history; management and administration; and many others.

General Education programs satisfy practice and career goals for interdisciplinary subjects, with studies in humanities and social and behavioral sciences. Numerous two-year vocational, trade, and community college and four-year college and university general Education Schools provide programs that offer various diploma, certificate, and degree programs of study in general education.

Students in four-year Education Schools can obtain Associate of Arts (AA), Associate of Science (AS), Bachelor of Arts (BA), Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Arts (MA), Master of Science (MS) degrees in education, as well as education doctorate (EdD, PhD) degrees and combined degrees.

Diplomas and certificates from Education Schools may satisfy requirements for pre-school, assistant, vocational, and continuing education teacher positions. BA and BS degrees in education are generally required of classroom teachers, however most classroom teachers today have MS degrees. PhD degrees, and sometimes MA degrees, will qualify professionals for higher education (college and university professorships) and corporate education program positions.

MS degrees in education develop advanced skills to improve teaching abilities. Specializations in master studies focus on encouraging educators to test their skills in classroom and school settings. Courses are designed to increase professional depth and effectiveness in traditional settings, corporate settings, and various educational programs. Those who have graduated from Education School with a Master’s degree should feel prepared to meet many challenges in education, having studied learning theory, instructional and curriculum design, and research and instructional technology.

PhD programs present studies designed for experienced professional educators wishing to expand their skills as teachers, researchers, and consultants. They provide opportunities for education students to focus on personal areas of interest and to develop advanced skills in critical thinking, problem solving, and research that will facilitate professional growth and effectiveness in the classroom. PhD degrees allow for pursuit of positions as superintendents, education coordinators, special education directors, principals, professors, deans, and more.

If you would like to learn more about Education Schools and even Online Education Schools, you can find more in-depth information and resources on our website.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERAL OVERVIEW and may or may not reflect specific practices, courses and/or services associated with ANY ONE particular school(s) that is or is not advertised on SchoolsGalore.com

Copyright 2006 – All Rights Reserved

Michael Bustamante, in association with Media Positive Communications, Inc. for SchoolsGalore.com

Notice to Publishers: Please feel free to use this article in your Ezine or on your Website; however, ALL links must remain intact and active.

Michael Bustamante is a staff writer for Media Positive Communications, Inc. in association with SchoolsGalore.com. Visit our Traditional School Directory and find Colleges, Universities, Vocational Schools, and Online Schools at SchoolsGalore.com, your educational resource to locate schools.

Many people start to look into why their lawnmower, snow blower, or chainsaw doesn’t start or run properly only to fail and curse in frustration. There is a reason for this that anyone can overcome just by avoiding these 5 common errors.

1. They have no plan of attack. If you were to decide to put a garden in your backyard or to build a garage to work out of you wouldn’t just start cutting wood and nailing it together. You would in fact purchase a design or create one yourself. If you are going to resolve the issues with your small engine equipment, you must have a plan of attack to avoid repetition and to ensure you cover all the bases.

2. They never check the basics. There are a few simple things that every internal combustion engine must have to operate properly whether it’s on your boat, car, lawnmower, or trimmer. These are: Compression, Spark, and a Proper Fuel/Air Mixture. You cannot attempt to resolve your small engine problems without knowing if these things exist at acceptable levels in your unit.

3. They don’t check things properly. The biggest thing I see on the internet in forums and blogs about small engines is that they claim to have spark coming to their sparkplug but the engine won’t fire and fuel pours out the exhaust or the plug is wet. Spark performs differently under compression then it does without it. You cannot accurately test for spark by resting your sparkplug against the engine and cranking it over. If your ignition module or sparkplug are weak and not providing sufficient output (about 12KV or more) you may in fact see spark when tested without compression but as soon as you try to run the unit the spark disappears.

4. They never move ahead to the next possible issue. Someone once told me that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. If you have no spark, for example, cleaning your sparkplug and retesting and retesting isn’t going to get you spark. You need to know how the ignition system on your engine works and properly fault find the issue at hand moving ahead and systematically removing what could be causing the issue.

5. They don’t seek professional assistance. Sometimes a problem is bigger than you can handle, or maybe you need to learn some things to resolve a specific small engine problem. Going to your neighbour who tuned up his lawnmower at the start of the year, or your local automotive repairman won’t get you what you need. Automotive isn’t what it used to be and unless your mechanic was wrenching in the 1970s then he probably doesn’t really understand your small engine. This is because they are designed and operate differently. Cars and trucks have computers and modules that are tested using a code reader whereas your snow blower does not. If you don’t know how a small engine operates exactly, then you probably will never solve your problem. I don’t ask my dentist why my back hurts and I doubt you do either.

So if you’re trying to resolve an issue with your lawnmower, snow blower, or riding mower, remember these simple mistakes and avoid them. Seek out a reliably trained and experienced Small Engine Technician and ask his advice. Learn to do simple trouble shooting and fault finding techniques that are proven and work every time because they follow the basic principle of how small engines work.

Best regards,

Al

P.S. You can download a free checklist that will work with any small engine running problem here.

Al Smith

[http://www.theglobalsmallenginecommunity.com/]

Stihl Master Service Technician, Husqvarna University qualified, Kohler & Briggs certifed, Toro, Lawnboy, MTD and many other qualifications and experience.

I used to be the service manager for a large local small engine shop and now am exploring online options for business as well as servicing select customers equipment to maintain and repair them. They include all kinds of small engine powered units from trimmers and chainsaws to riding mowers and zero-turn units. I have been a mechanic both as a hobbyist and as a professional since 1987, served 20 years in the Canadian Air force, and have rebuilt Motorcycles, Trucks, Snowmobiles, and anything else I could get my hands on.

I am highly respected in my local community and believe that anyone can do anything provided they have the desire to learn and the resources available to them. My online goal is to provide quality information at reasonable costs (free if possible) on small engine maintenance and repair to assist the person with the desire.

You can see me on different posts as TheAlSmith and providing answers as an expert at AnswerGem in their small engine forum.

Hiking can be a satisfying way to improve your health with exercise either alone or with friends and family, while enjoying beautiful scenery. Aside from purchasing the best hiking shoes for your trek, hiking does not have to require any other special equipment making it a very inexpensive exercise option. The right footwear will help you derive the most benefits from your activity while maintaining your safety and reducing muscle soreness and fatigue. Everyday shoes are not suitable for hiking, many special features of hiking shoes, also known as cross training shoes, provide extra comfort and protection for use on outdoor trails.

Most importantly when hiking, moisture should be kept away from your feet at all times. Hiking shoes are designed to keep outside water out, minimize sweating, and move moisture away from your feet at all times, preventing blisters and keeping your feet more comfortable. Whether you are hiking on a paved trail or a well worn path in the woods, hiking shoes will provide superior traction so you are less likely to slip during your outing.

Finding the best hiking shoes will greatly benefit even the novice looking to spend some time at any of the many local hiking trails throughout the country. Local trails are often concrete paved or well-worn clear paths and provide several different trails to provide challenge to the hiker who becomes accustomed to the easiest trails. The comfort and foot and leg support supplied by hiking shoes is important for anyone hiking for up to 5 or 6 hours on a variety of surfaces.

Hiking boots are also available, providing many similar features as hiking shoes plus features that make them suitable for use on more dangerous hikes. Waterproof design and some breath-ability are still important, as is the use of fabrics that will move moisture away from the skin. There are various levels of traction available, some suited to hikes in specific kinds of areas. Hiking boots can require more of an adjustment period than hiking shoes; they are heavier cover the ankles for better support, which also results in less freedom of movement. For hiking through wooded and mountainous areas consider a pair of hiking boots with built-in heel and toe guards for extra protection.

The extra support offered by hiking boots is imperative for anyone attending a hiking trip where they will be hiking for several days at a time. Areas covered in snow and ice can be especially dangerous without the superior traction of hiking boots and crampons.

Hiking with a heavy pack requires better ankle protection than afforded by hiking shoes, even on paths that seem safe and level. Hiking boots are available with different traction levels, so that you may need more than one pair if you plan on taking hikes in a variety of climates and terrains.