Custom Jerseys

If you are part of a team of some type you can find custom jerseys here. There are all sorts of clothing available for all types of team activities. You can customize each item with your own team colors, and add accessories such as hats, caps or a sweat shirt for keeping warm.
Some items are available in custom colors, others allow you to add your own custom text, logo or other images. There is an online designer tool that allows you to create your own design before submitting your order. No need to settle for some 'off the shelf' design for your team - now you can have your own custom design printed and delivered to your home or business.

Internet security

Some Do's and Don'ts for internet users everywhere - you may find something on this list that you do, but shouldn't...

• Don’t re-use your email password - if you log into a third party site with your email address and the same password that you use for your emails (ie. your hotmail, gmail, etc..) that third party site has both your email address AND your password...
• Use two-factor passwords when you can  - I keep an 'offline' (ie. a notepad in my office) record of my passwords. I tend to have a list of about three or four different words and about three or four different numbers that I use - but I will still use totally random configurations just to keep things fresh - that's when you need a notebook or pother physical record (as opposed to a spreadsheet which might be accessed on a PC)
• Don’t use the same username everywhere people don’t realise that people can use Google to connect accounts accross all the different networks they visit, and then work out a way in. For instance Facebook can give visitors clues as to pets names childrens names, car type - all things that can give a clue to passwords. Forums will do the same, if you are logged into a Yamaha forum - what's the betting that one of your passwords is a favourite Yamaha model??
• Keeps plug-ins such as Flash and Java up to date as many of them are to guard against vunerabilities
• Be careful about who you friend on Facebook 
• Don’t trust public wi-fi - fine to use it now and again, but just be careful about what might be accessible on your laptop - and even worse, your phone (phones are generally less well-protected than computers)...

Florida beach rentals

Having spent the last few years holidaying within the UK, I am determined that we will get on a plane sometime soon and have a 'proper' holiday. I am quite keen to visit friends in New York, but have to admit that Florida beach rentals look quite attractive too.
Florida is one of those locations that has everything a holiday destination should have including a Disney theme park, Epcot and the famous Universal Studios to name the most prominent ones. These attractions coupled with low costs of property locally means that renting a property can be a realistic alternative to a hotel holiday.

LASIK in Chicago

Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) eye surgery is an area of health care that has boomed in recent years due to innovative techniques and the opening of many new facilities proffering the latest equipment.
The surgery uses a laser or blade to cut a flap in the cornea and re-shape the stroma. The flap is then replaced offering a patient a life free from spectacles or contact lenses.
The cornea is a part of the eye that helps focus light to create an image on the retina in much the same way that the lens of a camera focuses light to create an image on film..

A unique feature of the service offered by Dr. Stuart Sondheimer is his experience in all types of eye surgery - this experience and background means that he has the facilities and skills to offer the most appropriate treatment whether it involves surgery or not. The practice is spread over three sites in Chicago, and services offered include Macular Degeneration treatments, Glaucoma treatments, Cataract treatments and many other vital ophthalmic services. His facility is widely regarded as the most trustworthy lasik in Chicago.

Success rates in terms of percentage of patients having this type of procedure are typically in the high nineties, the procedure is not entirely risk-free which is why patients should seek the advice of a suitably qualified and experienced surgeon before deciding to have the treatment.

Autumn is coming..

Uk weather remains undecided as the summer holidays are well behind us and everybody barring the students are back at the grind-stone. We leave a remarkable summer of Olympics in our wake as we face the mundane challenges of life in the vague hope of an 'Indian Summer' starting in the next few weeks.
The economy as a whole is in back-pedal or treading-water mode with little hope af any dramtic change any time soon. The general concensus is that the summer of sport in the UK has been a great success, and that gives us a positive attitude that we can take into our family and business lives, engendering a sense of satisfaction despite the uncertain economic future.
On-line earnings remain possible but it is getting harder to justify the effort needed to pull in the few dollars that are available. Having said that I have had a good result with my currently favourite affiliate - I often get a few payouts sometimes of around £2 or thereabouts every month or so, but I have just received notification of an impending £20 payout coming my way soon. The only issue I have with this is that the affiliate scheme doesn't have any tracking, so I am not even sure where the clicks are coming from... £20 will be a nice boost to earnings, and with another Adsense payment just around the corner, I will have some decent figures to add to my earnings.
I have just completed my tax return for the year just gone, but suspect that this mught be a 'plateau' year or even a dip year for me in terms of annual earnings.

Stunning Drums

When I was younger I used to play keyboards in a band, but before that I really wanted to be a drummer. Me and my friends would congregate in our school music room at lunch time and found all sorts of wonderful kit including some stunning drums. I would sit at the kit and knock out a rhythm and other friends would play guitar (I think one was a flautist too).
It was only when I offered to pick out the notes on the piano to help tune the guitars, that the others realised I could play piano...(whereas it was failry well established that I couldn't play drums!)
Since then I stuck to the piano, but I still would have loved to have been a drummer.

Holidays

The Summer holidays are now over in the UK, but I have allowed myself a few extra days off from my day job to catch up with things at home.
I have not blogged for the last few weeks as I have been away on a 'frugal' holiday in a friend's caravan for a short while. We have done the same holiday for the last few years, and although it should be saving us money, I always seem to spend a fortune whilst we are there..
At least I can add more stuff to my travel blog now, although posts there have been sadly lacking since we have more or less stopped traveling since we are a family of three and not just a care-free couple any more.. (not that I would swap!).
I need to do a catch up on my financial blog too - judging by that stats supplied by blogger, although this blog gets more visits, my financial affairs blog gets a better ratio of visits compared to number of posts completed - I should therefore, in theory be trying to get more quality posts put on there to drive up traffic.
Online earnings have been quite slow this year, but I am aware that if I could rationalise my approach I could probably boost earnings, it's just a case of whether I can find the time to put the work in, and whether the returns will justify the effort. Nonetheless, the online earnings quest will continue...

Masonry screws

If you have ever done any serious DIY, you will have at some point got frustrated with the fiddly combination of masonry drill, screw and rawl-plug. When you emerge from your store of screws and drills,  usually at least one of the three components is the wrong size. Some years ago, I discovered the genius of masonry screws. The masonry screw needs only a matching masonry drill bit - the double thread ensures that a rawl-plug is not needed. No more drilling and drilling to make the hole a bit bigger so you can force the plug in - no more tightening the screw only to find the plug won't hold - no more driving hard with blistered hands before discovering that the plug was too short..
True DIYers everywhere salute the humble masonry screw, and always have a few hidden away for those awkward tasks.

Catering equipment

In an effort to maximise revenue, my wife has recently begun a business making cakes for local individuals and businesses. Like any business activity, there can be a fine balance between making a profit and making a loss.
As well as the ingredients for the cakes, a calculation of energy used in cooking and distributing the cakes has to be taken into consideration. Other cost considerations are the catering equipment which has to be of a high standard, and associated costs such as website and business card production. Naturally, website costs are low as I have created a website for the business and we also set up an associated Facebook page.
This type of business allows a stay-at-home mother to work in her own environment and still be available to do the 'school-run' and even look after a child when school is out for whatever reason.

The downside of the interactive web...

I am old enough to remember the hype around 'Web 2.0' some years ago when interaction started to creep into websites. The practice of leaving comments on articles and starting conversations crept into our lives and we ended up with the facebook generation that has bought us life lived out on a page...Social media suddenly took flight.
Now, I find Facebook a great way to keep in touch with far-flung friends, but I notice that other people tend to use it as a forum for discussion, which could be positive, but in my experience often results in insulting 'troll-like' behaviour. This is the downside of the interactive web, you give people a voice, and they will abuse it. This is why countries like the UK do NOT have 'free speech' as a right - it's because we understand that some people just shouldn't be allowed to voice their opinions as they don't have the social grace to understand how an inclusive society works. One of the worst offenders that I have seen is Yahoo where they allow users to comment on news - and they do just that. For example, I was just reading an article about recent lottery winners, comments were peppered with petty ill-disguised jealousy, some chose to roundly abuse the winners commenting on their appearance and suggesting that the male of the couple could now get himself a younger wife... No doubt, very funny if you are currently on school holidays and just graduating into long trousers, but of course each comment carries equal weight once it is posted. Added to this is then the opportunity to give a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down to each comment - this interactive feature is subject to the same inane activity. One poster remarked 'Fair play to them, I really hope they enjoy it..' within a short time, two people had give a thumbs-down to this pleasant even-handed comment suugesting that there are at least two people reading the comments who hope that the happy couple DON'T enjoy their win.
I would prefer to stay out of these stupid spats, but I'm afraid I did jump in with 'What idiot gives a thumbs down for that?' (I got a thumbs up, but expect worse to follow..).
My feeling is that I know exactly why people do that, it's because we have some incredibly small-minded people out there - the internet makes it worse because the idiots who are too scared to be rude to your face are really brave when you don't have a chance of finding out who they are. I assume that the 'trolls' mask their identities, and if you are going to take part in these discussions, then I recommend that you do the same. By calling them 'trolls' we are lumping them all together, but in reality we are talking about a range of people. Some are ignorant, biggoted people, some are just idiotic nasty kids - both of these look the same on the internet and can be spotted by bad spelling and grammar. Others are sociopaths who have no idea of how to behave or interact with others, some have deep-held but basically flawed beliefs (conspiracy theorists and the like) who just love to bang their drum. Many are probably an amalgamation of the above.
This is the price of Web 2.0, you can't really stop it but I would offer the following guidelines:

• Don't put stuff in your online profiles that might be traceable (email addresses, phone numbers etc..)
• Don't get too embroiled in an argument because it may turn out you are arguing a serious point with a couple of 11-year olds... be prepared to walk away from the discussion if things are going in an unsavoury direction.
• Mark down or report posts that go againt the TOS of the site concerned - blow the whistle on the trolls.
• Be caureful about linking your comments into other social medai sites (loads of places like Yahoo will do this if you are not careful) -

criminal background check

The employment market has changed over the last decades, and now a background check such as can be got from criminal background check easybackgrounds would not be an unusual request. Employers can afford to be more careful about who they employ, and are more likely to look into an applicants background before employing them. In some jobs, this would now be part of the normal vetting process in contrast to how appointments may have been made previously.

Great year of sport

The 2012 Olympic games has proved a thrilling event for the local GB crowd as well as as a global sporting spectacle, with little more than the closing ceremony to come, the games has proved successful on all levels.
The support has been tremendous with sell-out crowds at many many events, everyone (apart from the sulky few) in the UK have been well behind the success of the games even though many were skeptical before they began.
We have enjoyed great sights including a couple of World Records broken, some legends (Usain Bolt to name one) established as kings (and queens) of their sport, and a generally wholesome and safe experience was had by all.
Congratulations for the London Olympic organisational team, the GB team participants, all other nations that took part and the supporters than came from near and far to make the event so special.
Right, when does the football season start?

1200 and counting

I have just posted my 1200th post on Munny4Hunny which seems like quite a lot even in 5 years. This is the most prolific of my blogs, so no surprise that it has many more posts than my others, still 1200 is quite a lot... Things have changed over the years, and in the main, potential earnings have slowed down.
Paid posting has changed since the days when Pay Per Post were the 'Daddy' and hours were spent trawling for opportunities on a daily basis to find the 'fattest' opps. Google has responded especially to viral linking which enabled bloggers to 'game' technorati links. Inevitably, like the dot-com's, the bubble burst but we have not been left completely without opps.

It used to be quite acceptable to mention the paid to blog companies alongside the paid posts, but with paid posting becoming increasingly twitchy about upsetting Google, this is no longer encouraged - making it diffcult to discuss paid blogging on a blog that actually includes paid posts.

There remains the question over whether Google should be so picky about paid posting when it has it's own 'Adsense' scheme for companies to advertise themselves on web-sites and blogs, but that's an argument I have examined a few times, and I'm not one of the 'Google bashers'who believes they are harbingers of evil, but I do beleive their stance is somewhat contradtictory and slightly monopolistic. Nevertheless I continue to be paid for Adsense and other adverts, so I continue to be happy for everything to carry on as it is... They also own blogspot and allow us to use it for free, so it's all good...

Bubble Machine

Summer 2012 is a pretty exciting time, and what better time to have a wedding or a big party for all your friends.You can have your own dj bubbles at your party, get a big rig in and rock the house, or just have a quiet BBQ at home with family and/or friends.
I have to say, as I get older, the smaller and quieter a party is, the more attractive I find it... up to a point of course...

I would never advocate having a loud BBQ unless you can hold it in a secluded location, but nothing wrong with a bit of bunting, some funky lights and your very own bubble machine to set the right atmosphere.

On yer bike

Recently, my frugal living has been taking some serious knocks, and deciding to re-fit the home office didn't help. Really the whole thing is down to attitude and resolve, my resolve has softened somewhat lately and credit card bills have grown again.

I don't really know how this issue will be resolved accept by some 'austerity measures' of my own - however this week (in this glorious weather we have been having) I have been cycling to work. I recently 'invested' in a bike from eBay because my little one has learnt to ride her bike and we have been cycling around the locality. What better then, than to use this 'investment' by using it to travel to work (it takes less than 15 minutes to get to work, regardless of whether I go by car or by bike..). The summer months are ideal for this because the traffic on the roads is quite bearable, the journey to and from work when the schools are in, is a very different matter..

One other way that I can get some capital back is by monetising all the laptop parts that I have after my experiment with laptop fixing. I have a fairly large stock of saleable items that just need sorting out. We are getting another 'free' holiday this year courtesy of a friend with a holiday home - although a free holiday always end up being quite costly because you can't really go on holiday without spending a bit of cash...even if it costs nothing to go in the first place.

Time for a change

I was recently prompted to look at this blog and see if I could 'streamline' it a little. There was a suggestion that side-bar text-links can become a problem because they are in every 'page' and they generate hundreds of 'spammy' looking links. I was reluctant to remove them at first, but I figured that this blog could probably do with a spring clean so why not remove all of the clutter from the sidebar.

My foray into the blogger template editor has resulted in a slight colour scheme change (grey to contrast better with the bright red), and a thorough 'weeding out' of the sidebar.

This is post no:1198 on Munny4Hunny, and marks yet another facelift, although only a very subtle one compared with ones I have been though in the past. The image included here is one of the first banners that I designed for this blog over five years ago. A lot of text has been typed since then, and a few dollars have been amassed too.. which makes the whole project that much more worthwhile.

Spanish Weather

It is not often that you can compare UK weather with spanish weather, but this week is turning out to be one of those freak occurrences that British weather likes to throw our way every once in a while. We are now entering Summer holiday season with the schools breaking up, and many UK families will be setting their sights on the Spanish coasts where the weather is more reliable than what we are used to at home.

Offering up to 14-day forecasts, the 'SpanishWeather.net' website could prove to be a valuable tool for working out whether 'the rain in spain will be mostly on the plain' or if it's shorts and tee-shirts all the way for the duration of your holiday. The website offers some background information about Spain in general as a holiday destination, and then goes on to offer 3,5,7,10 and 14 day forecasts for hundreds of locations around Spain. It also offers average monthly temperature and rainfall data for each of these areas - in fact I would go as far as to say that nowhere on the 'net is such a comprehensive set of weather data available in such an accessible format.

Summer is coming to the UK

Just in time for the Olympics... we are finally due for some scorching weather next week after what seems like months of continual rain. I watched the GB football team on TV last night bravely taking on Olympic favourites Brazil in their first ever game (GB have not had a team at the Olympics before as the separate nations that make up GB have always retained their own identity and therefore not been able to compete). GB lost 2 -0 but for a first ever performance, there were some positives to take from the game...

This year, as a family, we had not had any solid plans for a vacation, but we were offered a week in a very plush mobile home at the end of August just last week, so now we have something to look forward to. I am seriously considering putting some cash aside next year for a visit to Disneyland Paris as a treat for my daughter, but we'll see how that plan goes...

Stroller website

Although (when our little one was a toddler) we didn't get our stroller from a stroller website, we certainly had good use out of it.
The reason that it was so useful is that we had a fully-loaded pram with covers and all-sorts, but for quick trips, the stroller was so much lighter and easier to handle that it quickly became a favorite of ours.
The stroller was so much easier to collapse and stick in the back of the car than the full pram, that we ended up rarely using the pram at all.

Car bike racks

We have to seriously consider car bike racks this year as my daughter has really got 'into' cycling since the beginning of the year.
We are likely to be holidaying 'locally' again, which means we will need a means of taking the bikes with us to get the most out of a 'home grown' holiday.
I have had to buy a bike for myself so that I can keep up with her - if it was just her bike, we could probably get it in the car without any problems, but if I'm taking my bike too, then we are definitely going to need a rack of some sort..

Will Facebook live up to expectations?

I think it is probably now fairly evident that the launch of Facebook as a public limited company was vastly over-hyped, with punters mistaking 'popularity' for commercial opportunity. The public just love Facebook as a social interactive tool, of that there is no doubt - one the other side of the coin, it will be possible to make money from such a social interactive tool as long as it does not become overly commercial.

Advertising is the key here, and in the case of Facebook, 'targeted' advertising based on all sorts of variables that can be identified from a profile or activity of an individual. While this company offers a fairly unique way to target advertising, one still has to question the value of advertising to an increasingly web-savvy, skeptical public - many of whom will be difficult to reach as they will be using mobile devices which offer less opportunity for adverts.

I think in general, pricing of the company was largely driven by sentiment and excitement rather than hard-nosed commercial instinct, and I can understand that as a bit of a Facebook fan myself. In the cold hard light of day, it is clear that the company was over-priced. Whether owning a little chunk of the social phenomenon is enough of a reward for some investors is difficult to gauge, but for me FB as a social tool is great, as a commercial model, it's good, but will always have to hold back on all-out commercialism at the risk of losing it's only asset - fickle internet users.

Challenge coins

I recently came across challenge coins on the net when looking for a resource for commemorative medals. I had not really considered coins as an alternative to a medal or small trophy until I took a look at some of the fabulous designs that they had come up with for their various clients.

This could also be a great commercial marketing tool especially if the coins were introduced in a collectable series.

Bulova watches

Although I really admire the rich design of bulova watches, I doubt whether I will be buying one during the 'frugal stage' of my working life. I truly hope and expect that this stage will pass and one day I will be able to spend a little more freely than I can currently. In the meantime I have to admire such luxuries from a safe distance..
I have not managed finances particularly well over the last year or so, allowing the credit card bills to pile up. I think I need to follow some of my own frugal advice a little more closely

Summer 2012

Summer has been a complete washout so far in the UK, we have already recorded the wettest June since records began, and so far, July is heading the same way. The Olympics will be with us in a few short weeks, so hopefully there is not much more rain coming - on the plus side, any concerns about a shortage of water earlier in the year, have proved to be premature...
So far, the summer of sport has proved moderately successful with the England team doing better than anticipated in the Football European Championships (quarter-finals) and Andy Murray getting to the final of Wimbledon for the first time. We have plenty of sport to come, and hopefully some of the events will bring gold to the GB team on their own turf.

Professional liability insurance

The cost of insurance has risen dramatically over the last few years, and most companies are now shopping around for the best professional liability insurance deals. I know of companies that have recently stopped their more 'risk-prone' activities because they can't afford the insurance. Some companies will be forced to cease trading, lay workers off or even operate without insurance in extreme circumstances. Shopping around is always a good way to keep your costs down, especially where the temptation is just to keep the same service providers year after year - you have to be competitive in the current market, so getting the best deal makes good sense.

Value of fresh water pearls

The value of fresh water pearls is based on the grading of the individual pearl. In general, the pearls are graded on their luster, color and shape - round pearls being valued more highly because it is hard to 'create' a round pearl during the culture process. Freshwater pearls are considered to be better than saltwater pearls for a variety of reasons demonstrating the better cultivation techniques that have been developed

Knee walker

I have seen all types of mobility devices in recent years, but up to now I had never seen a knee walker. Thankfully, I have never needed one either, but never say never...
A knee-walker is apparently a replacement for the antique idea of needing crutches and hobbling around like a land-locked pirate.. and when you look at the device, although at first it might seem a little unwieldy, I have to admit that this has to be a lot better than sticking lumps of wood under your arms and swinging drunkenly around the place.

These devices are becoming increasingly sophisticated with a basket to carry a few knick-knacks, a comfortable-looking 'seat' for your knee, and even brakes for when you get a bit ahead of yourself. Some are collapsible and lightweight, ideal for a quick shopping trip.

Windows 8 - what's all the fuss about?

You will have heard by now (surely?) that MS are on the verge of launching their latest version of Windows - and there is some good news for all concerned. Here's a few Q & A's:

How will it differ from previous versions? 

Well firstly, Windows 8 is just a working title, it may come out with a different name - but in essence this will be a platform geared towards touch-screen technology. Initial reports indicate that this platform will be quite 'light' and therefore may be suitable for older systems to upgrade to... talking of which..

How much will it cost? 

From initial reports it looks as if there will be a special upgrade version available for a reported $40 ($15 if you have recently bought a Windows 7 machine), and the upgrade apparently goes all the way back to XP - which is good news for a huge section of the population who never liked Vista, and didn't see the point of Windows 7 (including me...).

When can I get it?

No official release date is yet available - but news can be expected in September, it is DEFINITELY intended for release in 2012...

T-phentermine

The web is littered with advice and comparisons for different medications, especially diet supplements like: http://www.shoppharmacycounter.com/t-phentermine.aspx. Like much of the internet, you have to dig quite deep to find any really good advice, and the first port of call for any medication should be a real live health care professional like your doctor.
Despite great testomonies from friends and colleagues, it may be that some drugs are not suitable for everyone to take, it always pays to first of all get good advice, and then make sure you get medication from a well-trduted source.
For what it's worth, a change of lifestyle is likely to be much better for your health than a temporary course of medication.

Cleaning Vertical Blinds

I have finally finished the very last step of the office refurbishment by cleaning and refitting the vertical blinds. It occurred to me that tips on cleaning vertical blinds might make a good 'frugal living' post.. Our blinds have been pretty much untouched for about 14 years! - maybe the odd dusting, but never a proper cleaning, you can only imagine the state of some of them - and my better half was thinking of throwing them out. I 'googled' for some cleaning tips and weighed up the suggested methods. A few people had put them in the washing machine with varied results - most people seemed to agree that a gentle washing in the bath was the best method.
I used about 4 inches of hot water in the bath with first of all some washing up liquid, and then later some liquid used for hand-washing clothes (the results were the same). I also found a clean nail brush that I used to scrub the worst parts (the top and bottom of each blind - mostly the top). Although they still looked a bit grubby whilst still wet - once they were hung on the line to dry, they looked fairly clean. (they must be hung out straight to retain their shape, not hung over anything)
I should issue a few cautionary notes - don't use too much cleaning solution or water that is too hot as it might adversely affect the glue that holds parts of the blind together. Do this on a day when you can leave them on a washing line to dry for a few hours otherwise you will have pools of grubby water wherever you leave them to dry...
Earlier this week, I took delivery of some bottom chain links for the blinds that I found on eBay, they even have the weights and the tops that you may need for blinds that have parts missing. The links were only £1.65 for 100 links (20 were needed for the blind in the picture above), and they finish the job off really nicely. The blinds have been in place overnight and look fantastic compared to how they looked before, I just have about 7 more sets like this throughout the house to do now....

Stylish maternity clothes

Ladies all want to look their best whenever possible whatever the circumstances, and it's no different when expecting a child, hence the need for stylish maternity clothes instead of what might be perceived as the standard 'frumpy' wear..

Of course, skimpy outfits and high heels nay not always strike exactly the right note, but there's no need to step out of the current trends completely with the range of outfits available. The best deals are always available online, and mail-order means you can try them on in the comfort of your own home at your convenience.

Buy iphone 4 cases

The simple truth of the online world is that high street shops cannot keep pace with the influx of new products as efficiently as an online store. You may be looking to buy iphone 4 cases, when your local shops still have a stock of iphone 3 cases. When they finally do get them in stock, the price is a good 25% more than the high street stores. Admittedly there are a lot more counterfeits available on-line than in-store, but buying from a reputable on-line retailer should ensure you only get genuine goods.

Annuities rates

Finding the right annuities rates for your investment portfolio becomes more difficult when the rates are low like in the current financial market. There is little to choose between rates, and a percentage point difference can have a big impact on longer term investments.

It is difficult to know what the longer term rates are going to be, but in the short term rates look fixed to stay low. Nett investors will need to look for higher risks to get better returns, those that rely on investment returns face some difficult decisions.

Munny 4 Hunny

I started this blog some years ago now with the idea that I would discover if it is possible to make a bit of cash online. The experiment proved fruitful, and although I have not made mountains of cash, I have certainly provided a bit of extra cash for treats (hence the 'hunny' in munny 4 hunny). It has been possible in the past to earn hundreds of dollars a month with paid posts, I have also picked up a few affiliates and continued with my first online 'venture' which has me converting tape cassette recordings into CD's. I have since begun a few other blogs to provide me with a wider base and catch more opportunities to earn a bit extra, but this one remains the most active. Nowadays, the opportunities for paid postings are less frequent and not so well-paid, but there is still money to be made, and if you had the time and energy, it would be possible to turn a half-decent bit of spare income. I have not myself, had the opportunity (or misfortune) to find out how much could be made if it were done full-time...

 On this blog alone, I have to date, racked up 1180 posts - and about another 800 posts on other blogs - in fact, when I add them up properly, this turns out to be post number 2001 in a little over five years... I have experimented with websites from time to time to see if I can boost earnings with static sites as well as blogs, but there is no real 'quick fix' easy way to create earning websites despite the adverts you might see.

There are legitimate earnings and they take a lot of hard work to get rolling, but once the money starts coming in, the satisfaction is quite pleasing. However, I find that even static sites need work to keep driving traffic to them - some are driven by good SEO techniques, some by posting in forums etc.. but I find that unless you keep working at the traffic, it falls away fairly quickly. The one thing I found initially is that there are others all trying the same thing, and establishing links with them, and swapping ideas can be very helpful. When I think back to when I started, it has been fascinating to see the different paths that fellow income-seekers have followed. There are still opportunities out there, and a little original thinking can go a long way in the online world.

Data storage software

It is well established now, that backing up your computer files, even in the home environment is a no-brainer.. I have three large backup drives running every day (I have them on a timer to come on at mid-day, complete the backups and turn off).
I have rarely needed to delve into the backup, but knowing it is there gives me peace of mind, especially as I run a 'paperless office' at home - everything scanned and then burned for security.
There are plenty of data storage software solutions available commercially, and a business, even a small one, should consider an offsite professional solution to compliment their own onsite operations. Backing up online data is also a must for many companies who may run an online business such as an online shopping operation

Church chairs

A church chair is different to a standard chair that you might use at home, simply because it needs to be so much more robust. High quality chairs for meeting places such as churches and schools come in a variety of designs and with a variety of fabrics allowing a certain amount of freedom of choice.

Other characteristics of this type of chair would include the ability to be linked with other chairs to form connected rows, and the ability to be stacked  when the chairs are not needed, leaving an open floor- space

Dyshidrotic eczema

I am fortunate not to suffer from allergies or dyshidrotic eczema, but I do get dry skin patches from time to time. I have not figured out what causes the patches, but as they are not too noticeable, I have not sought any treatment as such.
Occasionally I use a cream, and I avoid after-shave completely, preferring to use a moisturiser rather than a traditional after-shave.
Two major contributors to skin problems (apart from environment) are stress levels and the types of food that we eat - it's remarkable how our lifestyles affect our health without us truly appreciating the impact.

Up to date

Although there are still one or two little jobs to do in the new office, I am more or less back up and running now, and seeing as I am losing interest in the European Cup 2012.. I have been catching up with paperwork.
I had omitted to complete any transactions since April, and have now got all my ingoings and outgoings up to date, with the result that I am yet to make a profit this financial year.. I had some outgoings that negated all my current income, but making less profit has the welcome effect of reducing my tax bill, so it's not all bad.

I was thinking of offsetting the cost of the office furniture against online earnings, but that would have taken quite a large chunk of profit for the whole year - instead of doing that, I am offsetting the cost of my new monitor speakers which I will be legitimately using for cassette to CD conversions. The initial cost of the speakers has now been allocated to last years outgoings, but this year will carry the cost of the refurbishment (a complete re-build).
I am almost ready to submit my earnings for 2011-2012 to the taxman, as I am promised my P11D form soon from work (this is for my company car), and I can't complete the submission without it..

I have also gone against my own advice and purchased one or two laptop-related items from eBay - with the result of a working laptop made up from two purchases totalling about £30 - should be able to sell it for £60, so am reasonably pleased with myself... I do also have an extensive selection of spare parts that I could put on eBay once I have taken to time to sort it all out...

Outdoor ceiling fans

Although the weather here has been fairly appalling lately, I am mindful of the work that needs doing on the patio and in the garden. We are not quite ready for outdoor ceiling fans, but we are on the lookout for sail-shades this year. However, with the current spate of weather, a shade is not exactly needed.

I can hardly find a dry day to get the grass cut let alone bask in the rays from the sun... It would be nice to get something done to the patio, if not sail shades, then maybe a pergola or something structural that offers both shade and decoration.

Luminox 3051

I recently treated myself to a new watch, and although my intention was to get it from a duty free shop on one of the recent occasions I went abroad for work, I ended up getting it from Amazon.

 I wasn't looking for anything as exotic as a Breitling or a luminox 3051, however I couldn't find the exact watch that I wanted in duty-free.
I don't like large chunky watches as a rule, understated elegance is the style that I usually go for - you could say typically British..

I do also like rugged stuff too for work-related tasks, so although my wardrobe holds a few formal jackets, shirts and ties, it is also littered with combat trousers and jeans for work.

Bargains..

Really happy with myself today!
I have been looking for additional RAM for my laptop recently - it's quite an old laptop and the going rate on eBay for a 1GB stick is anything between about £12 to £20, I have bid on a few sticks but won nothing as yet.... I don't want to pay very much because I bought the laptop cheap and don't want to waste money on it. There is already a 1GB stick of RAM in my laptop, it takes 2GB, so ideally I could do with another 1GB.

I was in Staples stationary store today and there was a 'bargain' table - imagine my astonishment when I spotted a 1GB stick of laptop RAM reduced to £3.99... I picked it up and checked all the specifications, and although I wasn't 100% sure, I bought it because I figured I could sell it on eBay even if it wasn't right for my machine. As it happens, it worked fine and my little old laptop now soprts a mighty 2Gig of RAM...

I am still pinching myself that I managed to spot such a random bargain without even getting it from eBay, and I suppose the moral of the story is that it is always worth sniffing out a bargain and maybe I shouldn't restrict my bargain hunting to eBay alone.

Dixon Drums

Since I was a kid, I always wanted to learn to play the drums, but never really pursued it. I did learn to play some other instruments, but persuading my parents to buy me a set of Dixon Drums was never really on the cards.

I did have an impromptu lesson once from a genuine percussion teacher who thought I could make a go of learning to play properly, but I didn't get another chance to take it any further. You need a lot of space to keep a full drum kit, so unless I get a massive change of fortune, I think me as a drummer will always be a bit of a pipe-dream.

Hospital bed sheets

In today's news in the UK, there are reports about local NHS trusts making huge losses this year. I suppose they have huge outgoings, but honestly you would have thought they could budget for their wages, services and sundries such as hospital bed sheets without overspending by millions.

Home carers are a hot topic in the UK too, with many youngsters highlighted and publicly praised for the care they are already providing for their less able parents, and many more who continue to offer daily support with no recognition whatsoever. The good news is that this is highlighting the need for good support for home carers who are not only in a good position to offer care to their loved-ones, but also save the government a lot of money by caring without payment.

Summer 2012

This Summer is the most sport-laden Summer in my life that I can recall - we are currently half-way through the Football European Championship, and my team, England are on the cusp of either progressing or coming home tomorrow.
Wimbledon tennis championship is just around the corner, and the Olympics (with a GB football team for the first time ever..) is just a few weeks away too.
Normally at this time of year, there is little of my favourite sport (football) going on, but this Summer you can barely get away from it, and with playing twice a week myself, this is set to be a superb Summer for me, even if the weather persisits in being singularly British..

TV stand

I have had a bit of extra money at my disposal lately - but this was all very quickly swallowed up by purchasing furniture for my newly-decorated office at home.
One other purchase that I was seriously considering (but now can't afford until the next windfall) was the acquisition of a new flat screen TV and tv stand. They have become almost affordable now, certainly since the days when a plasma telly could set you back thousands.
I am pretty sure that the current price of an LCD TV in our local store is pretty much the same as the old TV that we purchased from there about 10 years ago. Not that there's anything wrong with our old TV, but each time we play some games on the Wii, I keep wishing we had a bigger screen.

Online Earnings

I have yet to complete my tax return this year - mostly because I am still waiting for my P11D from my 'day job' employers. Last year I completed most of my tax return whilst waiting impatiently for my P11D - this year I have done nothing yet as my paperwork has been tied up while I was redecorating. No excuses now, I can catch up with the revenue that I haven't recorded over the last two months, and I have my P60, although I am still waiting for the P11D.
I am less anxious this year because I know the P11D won't come very quickly, and the fact that I was delayed by redecorating has not bothered me at all. I have been really lax in recording income and expenditure since I closed the books for the financial year 2011-2012, in fact I don't think I have recorded anything since the start of April. It's time to dig out the paypal account and start recording all the transactions for the new financial year, although whether I shall get back into the habit of recording monthly income remains to be seen...

Plus size prom dresses

There is already an established perception that larger folks (or smaller folks for that matter) are not very well catered for when it comes to high fashion, or even High street fashion. This is where online niche shopping can help to fill the gap - it is far easier to find suppliers of articles such as plus size prom dresses or wedding dresses via a search engine than it would be in your local mall or shopping arcade.

Epson TM-T88V

High streets are finding it hard to compete with online sales as competing on price alone becomes difficult when there are High street rents to pay.

Shopping is still an experience that many people prefer to do in towns and cities, and one way that shops can help themselves is ease of payment.

Essential elements of a fast and simple payment procedure are the point of sale equipment like the Epson TM-T88V.
Having state-of-the-art equipment helps to enusre a quick transaction which is beneficial to both the shopper and the retailer.Retailers have to gear up to ensure the best shopping experience to keep their clients coming to their premises rather than opting for the online option.

Almost finished

The furniture has been purchased at great expense from Ikea, and assembled over the recent Bank holiday... and the office has been transformed from a musty pit into a sparkling modern working space... I have said before that there are no real 'before' pictures as our previous office was not really photogenic. I have taken photo's from the time that the old office was stripped out, but there is no photographic evidence that can properly indicate the completeness of the transformation that has taken place.

The photo's here show the various phases of construction of the office furniture - there is still a little bit of work to do as I have not yet painted the window surround, but I am thinking that I can do this at anytime at my convenience...and anyway, I am far too excited about the new desk, shelves and bookcase to worry about that now.

I even bought a steel sheet to hang on the wall with lots of magnets to stick to it. I was thinking of getting a cork board to stick things on, but this looked a bit cooler than a cork board (and obviously, more expensive). I was looking for a new desk lamp too, but settled on under-shelf lighting instead - this is the sort of thing that Ikea does best, simple lighting at a really great price...



No excuses now for being slack with website updates and all the other stuff I am supposed to be doing - the new office is a joy to work in (even without blinds or curtains). I hope I will be inspired to churn out some good work and be able to generate some income - especially when the credit card bills come in!
I still have to sort out books and other stuff that has yet to be fitted into the new workspace, so there may be some final photos when the final touches (like the curtains) have been  completed - watch this space..

Fostex Speakers

Observant readers may have spotted my tasty new monitors in my redecorated office photos - these were a pair of active speakers bought from eBay very cheaply then renovated at considerable cost.. I spent a while trawling eBay for Behringer Monitors, Sony active speakers and Fostex Speakers before deciding I couldn't afford 'top dollar'.
In the end I probably paid more to renovate the monitors I ended up with, but to be fair, they have brand new drivers in them and I painted them up lovely!
I have illustrated this post with an equivalent Fostex unit as I would have preferred a well-known brand name. However with my pockets not being as deep as I would like, I had to settle for something a little more modest. I get stunning reproduction from them anyway - so despite maybe not getting an instantly recognisable brand, the sound alone 'speaks' for itself.. In any case, I could have ended up buying new drivers anyway as second-hand speakers are a bit of a gamble - my advice would be to buy new so that you get the best possible results.

Symbol scanner

The symbol scanner is becoming a common sight, not only in Supermarkets but also in small businesses and manufacturers. A scanner can be used to log hire equipment or stock levels as well as many other purposes.
In the company that I work for, we have just started manufacturing and we are using bar-codes to help us find the hundreds of components, and then to keep track so that the stock levels are kept at a reasonable level. So far the systems are still being tested, but when it goes live, it is going to make the manufacturing process far quicker than the previous manual system.

Latest Update

The skirting board is finally in - when the missus said 'can you fit new skirting board in the office' I don't think she fully realised what an undertaking it would be. I stripped the old wallpaper, removed the old skirting and door-surround, then took up all the flooring board-by-board...
I painted the walls, sanded and stained the floor and finally cut, prepared and fitted the skirting - I also added some vertical 'trunking' so that I could have more power sockets in the room and also fitted a phone, modem and LAN socket to the same trunking (which I constructed from tongue and groove pine). I have yet to sand down the window surround and give it a fresh paint of coat, but apart from that, we are pretty much ready to move back in (and buy some new office furniture...). I have already started putting some of the old furniture back in just to make some room in the bedrooms that have been used as storage - can't wait to get a new desk in there and put the computers back in!

Golf balls with logo

When Christmas comes around, my company are always looking for a corporate gift for our clients, and we have struggled to find anything suitable.
The problem is in finding something that is 'useful' so that it will be well-used, and therefore often in the clients line of vision, and yet at the same time, affordable and of good quality.

Recently, we have taken to having several different items made up and given to selected clients based on what we think they would like. That's where something like golf balls with logo works really well, especialy for those further up the commercial 'food chain' where golf is not only a leisure activity, but can be a business tool too.

Some of our industry partners run 'golf days' for clients - offering to provide free golf balls for such an event might be a real coup. Logo golf balls are available in budget, standard or even professional specifications.

Organisation

Quite honestly, I have been rather disorganised lately due to my home office being in turmoil. This has given me the chance to have a think about how I am going to rectify things when I have a flash new office to work out of. My plan is to set one night aside per week to devote to updating sites and building new traffic. This means setting aside time to post updates to my several blogs and also to place comments on other blogs - maybe even find a forum or two - place sites into some online directories - nothing spectacular, just time set aside to get all the 'daily grind' work done. There is a lot of 'footslogging' involved in maintenance of websites whether they be blogs or  info/trading sites - it isn't really possible to leave a static site in the vague hope that traffic will arrive without any background work being done..
Time will tell whether my plan will come to fruition, but I certainly have solid intentions to devote at least the one night a week to keeping on top of my online activities.

Progress at last..

I was getting concerned that I would have little to show for this weekend after I got so little done in terms of renovating my home office yesterday. However, today I managed to get out of the way, one of those tasks that has been bugging me a bit. The reason I was hesitating over this job is I was not sure how it was going to turn out, but as it happens it turned out quite well.

My wife had picked out a light for the office, but there is an ugly hole in the ceiling which used to be the loft access. I had fashioned a wooden square to cover the hole, and had to get this and the light fitted whilst extending the wiring to fit.

It was a relatively quick job, but has taken me a psychological leap forward as this was one of the 'big' jobs that still remains, and because of the complex nature of the wiring and the wooden cover for the hole, one that was becoming a bit of a psychological block. As you can see from the picture, the painting has also been done, so there is little to stop me finishing the job relatively quickly now...

Spray tanning

After what must have been the UK's wettest April in living history, warm weather returned to our shores today. A blazing sun means that there is no need for spray tanning this weekend, in fact I think I may have picked up a bit of a tan playing football today.
Hopefully, this burst of good weather is not just a flash in the pan otherwise I think artificial tanning might be the only type of tanning we will see for the next few months.
The weather prompted me to mow the lawn for the first time this year (I'm ashamed to say), the grass was really quite long, and getting it down to manageable length is just the first of many garden-based tasks I need to do to prepare the garden for the coming Summer.

Latest...

Not having my home office finished is affecting quite a bit of my work - I have not started preparing my accounts for my tax return, and I am not really on top of things. My day job is still giving me a lot of pressure, but I am enjoying the new role I have at work, and am confident that the excessive pressure will be off fairly soon, and normality will resume.
I am looking forward to getting the office finished at home, I have a new light fitting to get done and some woodwork to rub down, then I will be in a position to get the skirting board back in. After that, it's a trip to Ikea to kit the place out! However I managed to spend the entire day today being Daddy and managed little more than rubbing a little of the woodwork down as far as office renovation goes - well, there's always tomorrow!

Rivets

My 'day-job' is getting increasingly busy (worked a 15 hour day on Friday!) as we are beginning a manufacturing process from scratch.
This has meant having to source all the screws, washers and rivets as well as all other manufacturing components before starting the process. Time is of the essence as we have orders to fulfil, but things would go so much smoother if we had all the components ready at hand, as it is, we are spending as much time sourcing parts as we are on the manufacturing process itself.
Currently, we seem to have most of the small parts, but it is becoming increasingly tricky to keep stock of parts as they are being used. Hopefully when we have the first batch out of the way, it will all calm down a bit...

My Team monitor

My Team monitor is an Employee Monitoring Software system that allows a manager to monitor remote team members. This is a really interesting idea for those planning to set up an online business with remote employees.
Many remote employees are paid on a 'piece-work' basis, ie. paid for every tangible piece of work that is produced, but what can you do if you are paying for work-time rather than actual tangible output?
This is where an Employee Monitoring Software system comes in.. The manager set up an account (no software needed at this point), and invites the team members to join the system and download software onto their PC. The system works by acting firstly as a logging-in system, ie. records to 'log-in' and 'log-out' times. It is a little more advanced than that though because periodically, the system takes a snapshot of the PC screen to show that the team member is still working.
As far as the employee is concerned, they only have to remember to 'clock' in and out of the system. Naturally, there could be initial resistance to installing a system that 'spies' on activity, but if it's activity that you are being paid for, I don't see that it should be too much of a problem. I would say however, that, as an employee, if you are in the habit of browsing the web or 'face-booking' during work hours, then I would recommend that you log out of the system before doing so..
For the employer or manager, once they sign in to the Employee Monitoring Software system (done from the web, so could presumably could be monitored from a tablet or smart-phone), the team appears with a time-line of activity including assessment of mouse-clicks and keystrokes. There is also a display of the last few screen shots as thumbnails which presumably can be clicked on to display in larger format.
As an online earner, this software strikes me as something that could quickly move you up from a lone-operator to being at the centre of a larger-scale operation.

Pajamas for women

It was our anniversary last weekend and although I don't usually buy a gift for our anniversary, I did see these lovely pajamas for women on which you can have a nick-name printed.

I was too late to get them delivered in time for the weekend, but would still consider them for a birthday or Christmas present a little later on in the year.

Of course, you would have to make sure that the intended recipient actually likes their nick-name before you submit it to the printers or you could be making an expensive mistake!

Rolling along

I am getting really busy now... just been away for the weekend, and got stuck into the painting of my home office as soon as we got back - first coat pretty much done - looks like it's gonna need a few more coats yet!
I have been buying broken laptops again...! Just put one together, but if I account for all the parts I used at 'eBay prices', I need to get at least £60 back to make it worthwhile - as it happens most of the parts I used to get this one going don't really owe me anything (they are mostly leftovers from other repairs), so maybe I would still make a bit of profit if I sold this one... Anyway, I guess I HAVE to sell it so I will just have to get whatever I can for it.
I reiterate that unles you can renovate laptops on a wholesale scale, it is probably not worth the effort...
There are more blogging opps coming in from all sorts of different directions at the moment, so it looks like there will be a bit of an revival in blogging earnings this month and/or maybe next month. I have had one more cassette to do, and have had a few other enquiries which is healthy - you can't guarantee to get a result from every enquiry, but at least if you get the enquiry, you know people are finding you...
I need to get my earinings for the tax year 2011-2012 sorted so that I can submit them to the tax-man, also I will do a post about my annual earnings fairly soon.. I will also post a few mosre pictures of the 'office' as it emerges from the dust and grime of the renovation project - particulalry excited about getting a new work-desk and shelving in there!

DBX

I have been on the lookout for a new speaker management system for a reasonable-sized PA set up. We had a relatively cheap one which was not very intuitive for the inexperienced user such as myself. I had heard about the dbx DriveRack PA, and was very interested to learn that there is now a DriveRack PA plus.

This featured packed beast offers easy set-up using in built 'wizards' which sounds (excuse the pun) like great idea to me. Not only that, but the kit looks really great too...

Office Progress

I have never taken photo's of my home 'office' before the restoration project because frankly it would not have made a very pretty picture. However with the work well and truly under way, I will be posting up a few pictures to mark the transformation to dingy hole into bright new office.

Here we can see the floor after sanding along with a freshly painted radiator and the new skirting board... Today I have put the first coat of varnish onto the floor with another coat planned for tomorrow. My plan for the next stages is to rub down the walls and paint them before fixing the new skirting board permanently into place (I have already cut each board to fit). I will then be finally able to plumb the radiator back in properly. I also need to cover the old loft opening in the ceiling and find a new light fitting (which will be fixed onto the aforementioned covering...). I have already moved the light switch because the door now opens the other way, so I am going to need some narrow trunking for the lighting cable and will need to fix the switch to the plaster wall. All that remains then is the door and window surrounds... Oh yes, and all the new office furniture (trip to Ikea this weekend was supposed to be a fact-finding mission, but became a bit of a battle-ground...).

The upshot will hopefully be a swish new office from which I can further my plans for creating more online earnings.

Bean Bag Chairs

I have been looking for furniture and fittings for my soon-to-be newly decorated home office when I came across these bean bag chairs. I was briefly tempted before accepting that there was not really enough room for 'chilling out' in the limited space that we have.

However I am sure it will not be long before I need to redecorate the bedroom of my young daughter - Now if these are available in pink, I think we have found the perfect piece of furniture...

Year End

After I posted last months update, I realised that I need to post my earnings for the year as the new financial year begins in April and I need to finish off the accounts for the year just gone. I think my profit has been about the same as last year, but as I spent less, my turnover must have been quite a bit lower.
I will need to look at which areas have been less profitable and do a proper report, but my gut feeling is that there have been less paid posting opportunities this year for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the general economic downturn has affected advertising budgets, and secondly Google continues to seek out paid posts and punish them.
I have half-formed plans for other revenue streams, but with the emphasis on my 'day-job' and the home renovation plans, there has been even less chance than normal to flesh out these plans. No doubt once I have a shiny new office, I will be suitably inspired to begin the quest for domination of the internet in earnest...

ECG

For those who are suffering from heart problems or suspected heart problems it is now quite possible to buy your own ecg system to monitor your progress in the comfort of your own home. Of course, this sort of equipment should be used only if advised by a doctor as self-diagnosis of heart-problems is really not a good idea.
There are a range of different products available for self-monitoring, these can be particulalry useful for monitoring the effectiveness of medication as properly prescribed by a medical professional.

March Catch-up

As March draws to a close, I am pleased to be able to report that takings this month are a little better than last months dire offering. I have a new injury having gone temporarily blind in my right eye after an impact playing football on Tuesday.. sight is mostly restored, but they eye is still a bit sore and generally making me grumpy. Still, I had a much-needed day off today, my 'proper' job has been crazy busy lately, but the boss has promised a bonus!
I was able to do another tape to CD conversion today, plus I had time to remove a radiator from my 'office' at home and to remove the last few pieces of skirting board (I have been instructed to replace the skirting board, which has resulted in a whole scheme of works including ripping up all the floor-boards and re-fitting them all...). As part of this undertaking, I am also stripping all the walls and practically rebuilding the whole room... Still lots to do, but the light at the end of the tunnel is I can spend some of my online earnings on some new office furniture!
Official March figures to follow...

Hoyo de monterrey cigar

I have often looked forward to the summer, then all too often, when it arrives, the realisation that the hot weather brings unwanted side effects hits me.. Bugs, flies. midges and other nasty bitey creatures are abound when you are trying to enjoy the sun on a summer evening. I recently discovered that if you have friends who are partial to a hoyo de monterrey cigar of an evening - they can act as a living fly-repellant just by doing what they love to do most. It turns out that small flying insects are not so partial to cigars, and the smoke tends to drive them away. Of course, if you don't fancy inviting people round, you will just have to buy yourself some cigars and get puffing!

Bell Vortex

With the price of fuel becoming ridiculously high, swapping the car for a motorbike is becoming more and more likely. Naturally, there are all the safety issues to get around, but kitted out with a Bell Vortex 'lid' and a set of leathers, I could be king of the road for a fraction of what it costs to run a car (and be so much cooler too!). Of course, you get much more 'bang' for your 'buck' with a motorbike, although to be fair there are a few limiting factors such as load space and passengers to be considered, nonetheless a bike as a second family vehicle is a very real consideration, even for families..

Looking back at February

I don't think I have ever had such a poor month as I have just experienced, but honestly I am glad that I have not had too much online stuff to do. £11 is just about the lowest total I have ever reported except where I have spent a lot - certainly this is the lowest turnover that I can find in my own records!
Nevertheless, important things are being done in the meantime, I have picked up new job titles at work, and remain hopeful that increased salary might also be forthcoming... I am progressing with the renovation of the home office (I am currently sat in it with half the floor boards and skirting boards missing, dust, tools and odd bits of timber everywhere... and am in generally good health, so it's not all bad!

silver bullion bars

In these uncertain economic times, people often turn to precious metals as an alternative investment when stocks, shares and even currency trading are too unpredictable.
Of course, we can't all afford to buy gold bars, so here's a cost-effective alternative: silver bullion bars. Silver bullion is a solid investment, and in times of economic decline, it is the precious metals markets that tend to be the most reliable.
When you can't rely on a bank deposit account for a decent return, and if you think the Forex market too much of a gamble, an investment in precious metals could give you the return you are looking for. Bullion in this format can be bought in small amounts, anything from an ounce upwards.

Earnings February 2012

I can't believe how busy the last month or so have been, unfortunately (or maybe it IS actually fortunate..) not so much going on in the online earnings world for me. Few posts to do and not much else happening other than an Adsense payout which is always nice. Technically it came in March (March 1st) so I won't include it in this months meagre total.
In the non-internet world, I have a cracked rib to follow on from the broken arm (yes, football again..), and I am a good way into refurbishing the small office we have at home - my main job is very busy at the moment so it's probably just as well I don't have too much to do in the online world...

Side Effects

There are hundreds of adverts, promotional banners and even blog posts promoting different pills and potions to help you lose weight, but what about the side effects. More and more, we are seeing information about the different side effects of taking these medications, like the page at: http://sideeffectsofdietpills.net/xenadrine-ripped/ which addresses concerns about one specific pill.
The conclusion must be that it is foolish to self medicate on anything that can have such dramatic effects, and getting advice from a doctor or medical professional msut always be the first step in any treatment.

Steel Buildings Canada

Spring is just around the corner and I am already back into the swing of DIY - something I have not really been able to get 'into' for a long while. There's not too many big projects planned, just a bit of indoor decorating and refurbishment. However, it never ceases to amaze me just how much background work is required for seemingly the simplest of tasks. For instance, my better half recently requested that I sort out the skirting boards in the small office we have at home. This simple request has seen a complete overhaul of the room take place. The walls have been stripped of wallpaper in preparation for painting, the floorbards have been taken up and replaced, I have fitted new sockets for telephone, cable and network plus three power sockets. Nothing is simple....
It has highlighted to me that I really need a decent workshop of the type that are available from steel buildings canada, I had a small shed a few years back, but it is now full of garden stuff, so I don't have a much-needed workshop. Consequently I am doing all the work in-situ and moving the remaining furniture around in order to saw up floor boards etc..
I would post up some 'before and after' photo's, but to be honest the 'before' photo's would be just too unsightly... I may post up some 'after' photo's though - watch this space...