Do Not Invest In Sectors
This is a common occurrence. You heard people say that 'the real estate sector is hot' or 'the internet sector is growing rapidly' or 'let's buy the oil sector now. Energy price will rise again' next year. Sounds familiar? It is. This is because these people encouraged you to invest in specific sectors.
What is wrong with sector investing? There is a common believe that rising tide will lift all boats. Therefore, when internet search is hot, then every companies in the field from Google to Looksmart will rise two to three folds, right? Wait a minute. Have you looked at the graph of Looksmart lately? If you haven't, here is the two year graph of Looksmart Ltd. Let me show you another example. Everybody knows about the rising energy price, most notably oil. Therefore, if you look at the five year chart of energy companies from Chevron and the like, you would expect similar upward trajectory movement, right? Wrong. Take a look at a five year chart of an energy company IvanHoe Energy Inc. here.
So, should we look at sectors when investing? Absolutely. Sector search is very useful during your preliminary research. Auto sector is down. This might be a good place to find stock bargains, right? Yes. Should we blindly invest in any stocks in the auto industry? The answer is no. This goes back to the purpose of an investor. Investor exists to make the greatest return of assets possible while minimizing risk. The sensible way to do that is to compare investment alternative and pick the investment vehicles that may give investors the highest return. In the case of stock, we are looking at the expected profit of a company with respect to its stock price. This is the basis of the return on investment of stock investors.
Therefore, once you identify that the auto sector is a bargain, your homework continues. You should find companies that can give you higher return than the risk free ten year treasury bond. Currently, the ten year is yielding 4.52%. Since 4.52% is risk free, we need to find stocks that can yield more than 4.52% for the foreseeable future. Yield on a common stock can be calculated by dividing earning per share (EPS) with the stock price. If you invert this ratio, you will get the most commonly discussed ratio in the investment community, Price Earning (P/E) ratio.
Sector search is very useful in identifying future investment prospect. However, do not just blindly invest in stocks in specific sector. In the long run, stock price is correlated with the amounts of profit it can produce. Stock price does not correlate to the performance of other peers in the industry.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Aperture vs. Shutter Speed
Photography's root comes from the Greek roots "photo" which means light, and "graph" which means to write or scribe. Photography is all about light and how to interact with it. Two basic functions of an SLR camera accomplish this through the aperture and shutter speed.
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time that the film, or in the case of a digital SLR, how long the image sensor is exposed to light. Depending on the camera, shutter speeds can vary from 30 seconds to 1/8000 of a second. Some cameras have a 'bulb' mode that allows the user to open and close the shutter manually using a switch.
The aperture setting of a camera refers to the amount of light that is let into the camera body by the lens. An iris contracts or expands depending on this setting on the camera, thus controlling the light that hits the film. Aperture terminology may be confusing as the "higher" the aperture, the lower its number. Lenses are rated by their aperture and focal length. For instance, Canon might have an F/2.8 28-75mm lens. The F/ prefix is the highest aperture that the lens can produce. In this case, an aperture of 2.8 is the maximum amount of light that the lens can let in. A lens that has a high aperture is considered a "fast" lens.
Shutter speed and aperture values are at a constant tug-of-war concerning light. Suppose someone was a handed a camera and was told that its aperture and shutter settings were set to ensure proper exposure using a shutter speed of 1/60th and an aperture of F/8. However, suppose that they wanted a faster shutter speed to capture a moving object, so they set the shutter speed to 1/250 and took a picture, they would get an underexposed photo because they didn't allow the film to be exposed for the 1/60th of a second it needed. Therefore, they would need to change the aperture to allow more light in, perhaps by changing it to F/1.8, or whatever the maximum aperture of the lens is. It is always good once you have changed your settings to check them with a light meter and see if you are giving enough light for proper exposures.
More on Shutters
Cameras traditionally have two shutters, or curtains, that cover the film ready to be exposed -- one shutter sits over the film and one rests off to the side. Once the shutter button has been pressed, the first curtain is moved away so that the film is exposed to the light coming through the lens. Once the film has been exposed for the length of the set shutter speed, the second curtain moves into the position that the first curtain initially sat. Why can't there be just one shutter? For two reasons.
First, if the shutter speed is set to 1/1000 of a second, the shutter would have to move away from the film over a short period of time. Once the shutter has completely moved away from the film, the edge of the film that was last uncovered by the shutter has been exposed less than the edge of film that was first uncovered. This means that if a single shutter were to come back the way it left across the piece of film, it would again underexpose the already underexposed edge of the film, leaving the more exposed edge exposed longer still. Secondly, 1/1000 of a second is not even enough time for the first shutter to completely uncover the film; hence, a second shutter comes behind the first shutter and begins covering the film the first shutter has started to reveal. This has the effect of computer scanner moving across a piece of paper. This is why you cannot flash-fire a single burst of light for a photo with a shutter speed greater than 1/250th, you'll have one part of the photo more exposed than the other.
Photography's root comes from the Greek roots "photo" which means light, and "graph" which means to write or scribe. Photography is all about light and how to interact with it. Two basic functions of an SLR camera accomplish this through the aperture and shutter speed.
Shutter speed refers to the amount of time that the film, or in the case of a digital SLR, how long the image sensor is exposed to light. Depending on the camera, shutter speeds can vary from 30 seconds to 1/8000 of a second. Some cameras have a 'bulb' mode that allows the user to open and close the shutter manually using a switch.
The aperture setting of a camera refers to the amount of light that is let into the camera body by the lens. An iris contracts or expands depending on this setting on the camera, thus controlling the light that hits the film. Aperture terminology may be confusing as the "higher" the aperture, the lower its number. Lenses are rated by their aperture and focal length. For instance, Canon might have an F/2.8 28-75mm lens. The F/ prefix is the highest aperture that the lens can produce. In this case, an aperture of 2.8 is the maximum amount of light that the lens can let in. A lens that has a high aperture is considered a "fast" lens.
Shutter speed and aperture values are at a constant tug-of-war concerning light. Suppose someone was a handed a camera and was told that its aperture and shutter settings were set to ensure proper exposure using a shutter speed of 1/60th and an aperture of F/8. However, suppose that they wanted a faster shutter speed to capture a moving object, so they set the shutter speed to 1/250 and took a picture, they would get an underexposed photo because they didn't allow the film to be exposed for the 1/60th of a second it needed. Therefore, they would need to change the aperture to allow more light in, perhaps by changing it to F/1.8, or whatever the maximum aperture of the lens is. It is always good once you have changed your settings to check them with a light meter and see if you are giving enough light for proper exposures.
More on Shutters
Cameras traditionally have two shutters, or curtains, that cover the film ready to be exposed -- one shutter sits over the film and one rests off to the side. Once the shutter button has been pressed, the first curtain is moved away so that the film is exposed to the light coming through the lens. Once the film has been exposed for the length of the set shutter speed, the second curtain moves into the position that the first curtain initially sat. Why can't there be just one shutter? For two reasons.
First, if the shutter speed is set to 1/1000 of a second, the shutter would have to move away from the film over a short period of time. Once the shutter has completely moved away from the film, the edge of the film that was last uncovered by the shutter has been exposed less than the edge of film that was first uncovered. This means that if a single shutter were to come back the way it left across the piece of film, it would again underexpose the already underexposed edge of the film, leaving the more exposed edge exposed longer still. Secondly, 1/1000 of a second is not even enough time for the first shutter to completely uncover the film; hence, a second shutter comes behind the first shutter and begins covering the film the first shutter has started to reveal. This has the effect of computer scanner moving across a piece of paper. This is why you cannot flash-fire a single burst of light for a photo with a shutter speed greater than 1/250th, you'll have one part of the photo more exposed than the other.
Basics of Welfare Economics
Human beings are the building blocks of society. The societies agglomerate to make states. And then the nations are formed. The economy of a nation is the indicator of its prosperity. What the economy affects primarily are the people of a country. The technique, which uses the concepts of macroeconomics to achieve social goals, has been christened as welfare economics. Economics with all the data, tables, graph etc. can seem to be a very strict and rigid field. But the economists have now attached the human touch to the economic sphere too. Broadly speaking this field essentially involves the distribution of wealth among all the people and hence providing them with the buying capacity.
The need for this approach to study economics arises because of the increasing index of poverty. The people normally do not pay heed to the poor and the needy. There are increasing numbers of people involved in minimum wage jobs. They are employed but yet poor. The wage jobs do not cover the medical insurance or education for the kids. Now in this situation the person prefers to fulfill the need of a square meal then to go for the education option.
In a democratic set up it is seen that the welfare takes a high position in the agenda of the governments. This is, for one, required to ensure the votes. And secondly democracy has an influence of socialism and communism in it, thus the psyche of the government is for the benefit of the masses. America is known for being one such democracy. There are enough people to work for such causes.
The gamut of social welfare is very wide and anything can be brought under it. In one way it is provision of safety to the countrys citizens. Safety from poverty, hunger, disease and many other things a social worker can think of. Now a very thought-worthy question arose when Ralph Nadar brought forward the concept of corporate welfare to the forefront, in 1956. This involves giving tax holidays and other regulatory leverages to the corporations. The debatable issue is that the corporate firms in a capitalist structure cannot be expected to work for the social welfare. And at every step the interests of society and the corporate seem to clash. The design of the corporate structure of the country should be such that it can cater to the needs of themselves as well as those of the society. Corporate governance jurisprudence is probably stemmed out of such conflicts.
The core issue of this problem is probably the distribution of income. The dichotomy on this count arises when one school of thought suggests the governmental influence on income slabs and the other theorizes that government should not at all be involved but it should be the sole discretion of the employer to pay the employees. The actual game lies somewhere in the middle. The governmental regulations do influence the wage schemes. The need of the hour is however, to check the accumulation majority of the wealth among a few hands.
The economic reforms to boost the grass root level employees too have to be brought because it is they who really are at the hem of the economic growth. The new approach is good from the point of view of the low-income people but a balance has to be struck between their interests and the interests of business giants.
Human beings are the building blocks of society. The societies agglomerate to make states. And then the nations are formed. The economy of a nation is the indicator of its prosperity. What the economy affects primarily are the people of a country. The technique, which uses the concepts of macroeconomics to achieve social goals, has been christened as welfare economics. Economics with all the data, tables, graph etc. can seem to be a very strict and rigid field. But the economists have now attached the human touch to the economic sphere too. Broadly speaking this field essentially involves the distribution of wealth among all the people and hence providing them with the buying capacity.
The need for this approach to study economics arises because of the increasing index of poverty. The people normally do not pay heed to the poor and the needy. There are increasing numbers of people involved in minimum wage jobs. They are employed but yet poor. The wage jobs do not cover the medical insurance or education for the kids. Now in this situation the person prefers to fulfill the need of a square meal then to go for the education option.
In a democratic set up it is seen that the welfare takes a high position in the agenda of the governments. This is, for one, required to ensure the votes. And secondly democracy has an influence of socialism and communism in it, thus the psyche of the government is for the benefit of the masses. America is known for being one such democracy. There are enough people to work for such causes.
The gamut of social welfare is very wide and anything can be brought under it. In one way it is provision of safety to the countrys citizens. Safety from poverty, hunger, disease and many other things a social worker can think of. Now a very thought-worthy question arose when Ralph Nadar brought forward the concept of corporate welfare to the forefront, in 1956. This involves giving tax holidays and other regulatory leverages to the corporations. The debatable issue is that the corporate firms in a capitalist structure cannot be expected to work for the social welfare. And at every step the interests of society and the corporate seem to clash. The design of the corporate structure of the country should be such that it can cater to the needs of themselves as well as those of the society. Corporate governance jurisprudence is probably stemmed out of such conflicts.
The core issue of this problem is probably the distribution of income. The dichotomy on this count arises when one school of thought suggests the governmental influence on income slabs and the other theorizes that government should not at all be involved but it should be the sole discretion of the employer to pay the employees. The actual game lies somewhere in the middle. The governmental regulations do influence the wage schemes. The need of the hour is however, to check the accumulation majority of the wealth among a few hands.
The economic reforms to boost the grass root level employees too have to be brought because it is they who really are at the hem of the economic growth. The new approach is good from the point of view of the low-income people but a balance has to be struck between their interests and the interests of business giants.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
How To Buy Lego Cheap and at a Large Discount
There is a huge market for Lego developing, and in large market there are price variations one can take advantage of. The marketplace for Lego has grown enormously since the introduction of Mindstorm the robotics orientated Lego. Now Lego is not only in the realm of children's toys, but it is of interest to many adult institutions. Engineering schools, executive eduction, hobbyists, and of course hackers, are re-inventing the way Lego is used. For economists the little Lego commodity is the ideal way to study micro-markets.
What better micro-market with near fluid efficiencies than found on eBay. In fact a huge amount of Lego pieces are traded everyday on eBay. Now like every other market, a little inside information can help you identify pricing opportunities. This article focuses on buying Lego on eBay, and specifically how to buy it cheap and at a discount. In short how identify buying opportunities.
This article should be read together with my longer piece and a web site which produces the information required to identify buying nuggets. Find the links and URL's to these two sites below.
Most information on eBay focuses on the selling element, how to sell your stuff. I have tended to specialize on the buying end and trying to identify market opportunities and price in-efficiencies to really capture excellent deals. Let's briefly understand the dynamics of the eBay market place. Like any other market it is supply demand driven, and like a large flee-market if a buyer has knowledge of how many items are for sale at what prices and how many other buyers are in the market, then that buyer can capture the upper hand.
Lets examine supply. The eBay supply dynamic is a little different in that supply of an item must be seen at a point in time. In other words, because auctions end at different times, one needs to grasp the number of auctions ending in close proximity for the same item. This gives you a feel for the supply of items or in our case Lego. What makes this interesting is that today there could be a large amount of auctions ending for your item, but next week there could be very few. This is one element driving the price. Generally this information is available approximately one week out on the eBay site.
The demand side is slightly more complex and hidden. It is some of this data that the web site I refer to at the bottom helps identify. Demand in eBay terms is measured (by sellers) as a number of factors - how many people view my auction, how many people ask questions, how many people place me on their watch page, and how many people actually bid. Obviously as we progress down this list the data become more valid as an indication of demand. Page views are not easy to obtain, although some sellers place a publicly viewable counter on their auction pages. Questions and watchers are available to sellers, and the special web site mentioned below will expose this information. Number of bids is available for all to see.
Now if we happened to produce a graph as one auction progresses of the changes in the number of questions, watchers and bids, once can easily see how the demand is changing as time progresses. Typically if questions are high and watchers are high, but bids are low, this may indicate some confusion and a possible buy opportunity. If watchers is very high and climbing, but bids are low, this can point to a last minute bidding war, and a stay out indicator.
Armed with this information and also a quick summary of other similar auctions ending soon, plus a quick feel for the skill set of the seller and the current highest bidder, once can make see a picture very different from the average eBay buyer. Soon the trained eye will see some nice buying opportunities. For the serious collector or Lego enthusiast this will soon bring in parcels of Lego pieces and sets that are quite a bit cheaper that retail. For example it is quite possible to find gems at 50-70% of retail prices. Lets face it, most Lego pieces don't degrade or damage easy, so the aftermarket such as eBay is the idea place to buy cheap Lego.
Resources;
http://foundby.us/how-to-buy-discount-lego-both-new-or-refurbished
http://lego.foundby.us
There is a huge market for Lego developing, and in large market there are price variations one can take advantage of. The marketplace for Lego has grown enormously since the introduction of Mindstorm the robotics orientated Lego. Now Lego is not only in the realm of children's toys, but it is of interest to many adult institutions. Engineering schools, executive eduction, hobbyists, and of course hackers, are re-inventing the way Lego is used. For economists the little Lego commodity is the ideal way to study micro-markets.
What better micro-market with near fluid efficiencies than found on eBay. In fact a huge amount of Lego pieces are traded everyday on eBay. Now like every other market, a little inside information can help you identify pricing opportunities. This article focuses on buying Lego on eBay, and specifically how to buy it cheap and at a discount. In short how identify buying opportunities.
This article should be read together with my longer piece and a web site which produces the information required to identify buying nuggets. Find the links and URL's to these two sites below.
Most information on eBay focuses on the selling element, how to sell your stuff. I have tended to specialize on the buying end and trying to identify market opportunities and price in-efficiencies to really capture excellent deals. Let's briefly understand the dynamics of the eBay market place. Like any other market it is supply demand driven, and like a large flee-market if a buyer has knowledge of how many items are for sale at what prices and how many other buyers are in the market, then that buyer can capture the upper hand.
Lets examine supply. The eBay supply dynamic is a little different in that supply of an item must be seen at a point in time. In other words, because auctions end at different times, one needs to grasp the number of auctions ending in close proximity for the same item. This gives you a feel for the supply of items or in our case Lego. What makes this interesting is that today there could be a large amount of auctions ending for your item, but next week there could be very few. This is one element driving the price. Generally this information is available approximately one week out on the eBay site.
The demand side is slightly more complex and hidden. It is some of this data that the web site I refer to at the bottom helps identify. Demand in eBay terms is measured (by sellers) as a number of factors - how many people view my auction, how many people ask questions, how many people place me on their watch page, and how many people actually bid. Obviously as we progress down this list the data become more valid as an indication of demand. Page views are not easy to obtain, although some sellers place a publicly viewable counter on their auction pages. Questions and watchers are available to sellers, and the special web site mentioned below will expose this information. Number of bids is available for all to see.
Now if we happened to produce a graph as one auction progresses of the changes in the number of questions, watchers and bids, once can easily see how the demand is changing as time progresses. Typically if questions are high and watchers are high, but bids are low, this may indicate some confusion and a possible buy opportunity. If watchers is very high and climbing, but bids are low, this can point to a last minute bidding war, and a stay out indicator.
Armed with this information and also a quick summary of other similar auctions ending soon, plus a quick feel for the skill set of the seller and the current highest bidder, once can make see a picture very different from the average eBay buyer. Soon the trained eye will see some nice buying opportunities. For the serious collector or Lego enthusiast this will soon bring in parcels of Lego pieces and sets that are quite a bit cheaper that retail. For example it is quite possible to find gems at 50-70% of retail prices. Lets face it, most Lego pieces don't degrade or damage easy, so the aftermarket such as eBay is the idea place to buy cheap Lego.
Resources;
http://foundby.us/how-to-buy-discount-lego-both-new-or-refurbished
http://lego.foundby.us
How to Run a Successful News Release Program
Marketing public relations gives you cost effective ways to reach your audience. The trade-off, however, is time. It takes time to develop and execute public relations programs. It can take time for these programs to yield rewards.
Here are six simple steps for developing a news release program that extends your reach and generates inquiries at a fraction of the cost of advertising.
1) DETERMINE YOUR AUDIENCE AND MESSAGE. If you have a marketing or communications plan in place, you already have audiences and messages defined. No need to reinvent for your news release program, although you may need to select audiences and messages that are most appropriate.
2) BUILD A LIST. Once you know your audience, youll need a list of publications theyre likely to read. A great place to go to create a list is http://www.medialistsonline.com a service of Bacons. Its reasonably priced and fast. The downside is the lists come with no updates. You may need to re-purchase your list several times during a year. Or it may make more sense for you to buy a media directory subscription.
However you build your list, make it broad. With a news release program you can send releases to many more publications than you can afford to advertise in. Sending a release just entails paper, printing, a photo, an envelope and a stamp.
3) DETERMINE NEWSWORTHY TOPICS. This is a tricky but critical step. Youll need to think like a member of your target audience. Whats going to interest him or her? Usually its new stuff -- products, services, applications, literature, software. If you dont have these to write about, your news releases might not get past the editors trash can.
4) INCLUDE A PHOTO. Publications can be hungry for visuals so send one with your release a photo, illustration, chart or graph. In most cases a 3 x 5 glossy B&W print and a color slide will work. Be sure to send good quality visuals since the quality will reflect on you.
5) SET A SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT. Sending releases regularly lets editors know youre reliable. If you have six topics for the year, send out a release every other month. Twelve topics one a month. General rule for monthly publications is one release per editor per month.
6) MEASURE RESULTS AND LEARN. It takes about three months before your releases will show up in monthly publications. Less time for pubs that come out more often.
Track what runs, where it runs, how much space you get and inquiries generated. You can use this information to measure results and improve your program.
Marketing public relations gives you cost effective ways to reach your audience. The trade-off, however, is time. It takes time to develop and execute public relations programs. It can take time for these programs to yield rewards.
Here are six simple steps for developing a news release program that extends your reach and generates inquiries at a fraction of the cost of advertising.
1) DETERMINE YOUR AUDIENCE AND MESSAGE. If you have a marketing or communications plan in place, you already have audiences and messages defined. No need to reinvent for your news release program, although you may need to select audiences and messages that are most appropriate.
2) BUILD A LIST. Once you know your audience, youll need a list of publications theyre likely to read. A great place to go to create a list is http://www.medialistsonline.com a service of Bacons. Its reasonably priced and fast. The downside is the lists come with no updates. You may need to re-purchase your list several times during a year. Or it may make more sense for you to buy a media directory subscription.
However you build your list, make it broad. With a news release program you can send releases to many more publications than you can afford to advertise in. Sending a release just entails paper, printing, a photo, an envelope and a stamp.
3) DETERMINE NEWSWORTHY TOPICS. This is a tricky but critical step. Youll need to think like a member of your target audience. Whats going to interest him or her? Usually its new stuff -- products, services, applications, literature, software. If you dont have these to write about, your news releases might not get past the editors trash can.
4) INCLUDE A PHOTO. Publications can be hungry for visuals so send one with your release a photo, illustration, chart or graph. In most cases a 3 x 5 glossy B&W print and a color slide will work. Be sure to send good quality visuals since the quality will reflect on you.
5) SET A SCHEDULE AND STICK TO IT. Sending releases regularly lets editors know youre reliable. If you have six topics for the year, send out a release every other month. Twelve topics one a month. General rule for monthly publications is one release per editor per month.
6) MEASURE RESULTS AND LEARN. It takes about three months before your releases will show up in monthly publications. Less time for pubs that come out more often.
Track what runs, where it runs, how much space you get and inquiries generated. You can use this information to measure results and improve your program.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Tracking For Profits
If you can't track it, don't do it.
Every high-performance venture needs a tracking system. A tracking system with well-designed metrics lets everyone know how well they are doing relative to their commitments. It is a guide to whether additional or extraordinary actions need to be taken.
It is one of the first things I set up with my business coaching clients because without a clear set of objective metrics it is hard for people to be clear about their results.
Establish intentions for your project, figure out the critical success factors, determine suitable measurements for each, and set performance targets for those measures.
For example, say your intention is to increase market penetration. The measure is your ventures sales divided by total sales in your market. Perhaps your current market share is 10% -- good, you have a benchmark, and your new target is 25% by the end of the year.
Thats objective, measurable, and thus... achievable.
Make someone accountable for your projects performance against each target.
Establish a timely tracking system for each metric, which easily gathers the necessary data.
Develop periodic interim performance targets, and a reporting structure to let everyone involved know how they are doing.
Your performance tracking systems can be kept with pen and paper, or they can be automated on your computer system. However you implement them, keep it simple and don't let the overhead of your tracking system become a burden of any kind.
Below is a very simple system I used to keep track of my page output while writing Faster Than The Speed of Change. It was kept on a computer spreadsheet, but could just as easily been pencil on graph paper. Whenever I was below the line I had catching up to do.
Start with 0 in the lower left corner, write units of measurement along the left axis, and dates of measurement along the bottom. Draw a straight reference line from 0 to your goal, and plot your performance against that goal. Of course the reference line need not be straight; set it up in whatever way reflects the time-relationship of your goals.
If you want to find out how you can set up a performance dashboard and completely systemize your entire business to make it "scalable and saleable" link to http://www.turnkeycoach.com
If you can't track it, don't do it.
Every high-performance venture needs a tracking system. A tracking system with well-designed metrics lets everyone know how well they are doing relative to their commitments. It is a guide to whether additional or extraordinary actions need to be taken.
It is one of the first things I set up with my business coaching clients because without a clear set of objective metrics it is hard for people to be clear about their results.
Establish intentions for your project, figure out the critical success factors, determine suitable measurements for each, and set performance targets for those measures.
For example, say your intention is to increase market penetration. The measure is your ventures sales divided by total sales in your market. Perhaps your current market share is 10% -- good, you have a benchmark, and your new target is 25% by the end of the year.
Thats objective, measurable, and thus... achievable.
Make someone accountable for your projects performance against each target.
Establish a timely tracking system for each metric, which easily gathers the necessary data.
Develop periodic interim performance targets, and a reporting structure to let everyone involved know how they are doing.
Your performance tracking systems can be kept with pen and paper, or they can be automated on your computer system. However you implement them, keep it simple and don't let the overhead of your tracking system become a burden of any kind.
Below is a very simple system I used to keep track of my page output while writing Faster Than The Speed of Change. It was kept on a computer spreadsheet, but could just as easily been pencil on graph paper. Whenever I was below the line I had catching up to do.
Start with 0 in the lower left corner, write units of measurement along the left axis, and dates of measurement along the bottom. Draw a straight reference line from 0 to your goal, and plot your performance against that goal. Of course the reference line need not be straight; set it up in whatever way reflects the time-relationship of your goals.
If you want to find out how you can set up a performance dashboard and completely systemize your entire business to make it "scalable and saleable" link to http://www.turnkeycoach.com
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Condo and Small Space Living
Whatever the style of your new condo development or your own personal style - Designing for a condo begins with some self knowledge, a critical evaluation of how you live or aspire to live, your new floor plans and an understanding of the importance of flow in small spaces.
Adapting to a smaller condo unit (or a small space in general) means that you need to rethink the volume of your furniture, storage and room sizes - BUT as they say "Big things can come in small packages". I have been to many truly amazing and inspiring small space homes and condos. But that is getting ahead of ourselves; First is the difficult process of Downsizing - the design buzz word for editing down your possessions to what is truly important and organizing them in a clear, stylish and efficient manner.
Downsizing is often one of the most difficult processes of moving into a condo, but it is also one of the most freeing, letting us adapt to our new spaces and lifestyles. This means throwing out the boxes of paperwork from 20 years ago.......the boxes of lamps to repair that you put away 5 years ago........everything that doesnt have importance and frequent usage. This is also the time to dispose of things that wont fit or work in your new homes design - such as overstuffed-oversized sofas and chairs. This is the opportunity to live out your dream in your personal style......to create an environment that completely suits you now and who you want to be.
Once you have your floor plan and precise measurements in hand, the fun part can begin - take a pad of graph paper and a bunch of pencils and carefully plot out all the different scenarios for the placement of your furniture - remember to leave breathing room around your furniture and if something doesnt work or is to large - it has to go. Oversized dark furniture that once looked rich and inviting in your home library or study probably isn't going to work now. Decide which pieces you are going to sell and which you will give to family.......and those that need to simply go.
Moving into a condo is actually a wonderful time to reevaluate your lifestyle and redesign it to who you are now and how you desire to live, relax and entertain.
What you need to do when shopping for and designing your new condo is to always keep the scale and size of your home in mind. That oversized sofa that looks good in the 5000 sq. ft. furniture showroom is going to look like a car in your condo. It looks to scale in that setting but once you get it home its a completely different story.
The reality of Canadian Condo dwelling is that most will have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 600 to 1250 sq. ft. of space. This requires you to make the best of every square inch of space and something that I always stress - Making rooms multipurpose and your furniture multifunctional. For example - A dining area can be both a dining room and a library.......a coffee table can have hidden storage......ottomans can have lift top lids for extra storage and seating......the list is endless. As well, think of your furniture in terms of human scale.
I always prefer to scale down the larger pieces of furniture as much as possible so that it is very comfortable BUT there is no waste.................So if you are going for an eclectic look (and by this I don't mean anything goes........this is actually the most difficult style to pull off and requires well thought editing and placement) - you need to make sure that the contemporary pieces you introduce complement the scale and proportion of the antique pieces(which usually have a smaller and lower scale).
When moving into your condo only keep the antique pieces (if you have them) that are the most cherished - your prize possessions.......sell the rest or give them to your family........by having just a few good pieces you give them breathing room......allow them to be seen more clearly and allow them to function and flow better in your condo space. By mixing some antique and vintage with clean lined modern you will create a dynamic and sexy space in which the characteristics of each piece brings out the best in the others.
Another important process to do before you move in is to make a list of the ways you want to use each room and the number of pieces you want to put into them - using your floor plans and graph paper for reference. Start plotting out the various components - sofa, chairs, art, tables, lamps, ottomans, coffetables, etc. SEE what gives you the best grouping based on your scale. Its a quick and efficient way to see how many things you can fit in from your priority list.
ALWAYS avoid sofas with giant oversized rolled arms - the DEATH of most condos - they can easily take up 9 inches on either side which means you are dedicating 18 inches to the arms of your sofa - simply bad design. For small spaces a good rule of thumb is for your sofa to be 7 feet long and approx. 36 inches deep
The design of your condo should allow for easy flow of purposes, whether its work....daily living...entertaining. That means every piece needs to be easily moveable and that as many things as possible can work double duty.
Many homeowners find it difficult to understand scale and proportions - if you go oversized on your main pieces - everything else will need to have similar proportions - You can't have a giant rolled arm sofa with small streamlined teak chairs. BUT you can have sleek scaled down modern furnishings with oversized accessories to create drama and a sense of grandeur - Such as an oversized floor mirror or a massive painting. It is better to have a few larger dramatic pieces then a sea of little collections and knick knacks.
And remember, dont be afraid of colour! Use it to your advantage by Colour blocking walls and accessories - Add some depth and warmth. Set up your condo to who you are now and who you want to be. Its time for you to start living your life the way you envision it.
Whatever the style of your new condo development or your own personal style - Designing for a condo begins with some self knowledge, a critical evaluation of how you live or aspire to live, your new floor plans and an understanding of the importance of flow in small spaces.
Adapting to a smaller condo unit (or a small space in general) means that you need to rethink the volume of your furniture, storage and room sizes - BUT as they say "Big things can come in small packages". I have been to many truly amazing and inspiring small space homes and condos. But that is getting ahead of ourselves; First is the difficult process of Downsizing - the design buzz word for editing down your possessions to what is truly important and organizing them in a clear, stylish and efficient manner.
Downsizing is often one of the most difficult processes of moving into a condo, but it is also one of the most freeing, letting us adapt to our new spaces and lifestyles. This means throwing out the boxes of paperwork from 20 years ago.......the boxes of lamps to repair that you put away 5 years ago........everything that doesnt have importance and frequent usage. This is also the time to dispose of things that wont fit or work in your new homes design - such as overstuffed-oversized sofas and chairs. This is the opportunity to live out your dream in your personal style......to create an environment that completely suits you now and who you want to be.
Once you have your floor plan and precise measurements in hand, the fun part can begin - take a pad of graph paper and a bunch of pencils and carefully plot out all the different scenarios for the placement of your furniture - remember to leave breathing room around your furniture and if something doesnt work or is to large - it has to go. Oversized dark furniture that once looked rich and inviting in your home library or study probably isn't going to work now. Decide which pieces you are going to sell and which you will give to family.......and those that need to simply go.
Moving into a condo is actually a wonderful time to reevaluate your lifestyle and redesign it to who you are now and how you desire to live, relax and entertain.
What you need to do when shopping for and designing your new condo is to always keep the scale and size of your home in mind. That oversized sofa that looks good in the 5000 sq. ft. furniture showroom is going to look like a car in your condo. It looks to scale in that setting but once you get it home its a completely different story.
The reality of Canadian Condo dwelling is that most will have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 600 to 1250 sq. ft. of space. This requires you to make the best of every square inch of space and something that I always stress - Making rooms multipurpose and your furniture multifunctional. For example - A dining area can be both a dining room and a library.......a coffee table can have hidden storage......ottomans can have lift top lids for extra storage and seating......the list is endless. As well, think of your furniture in terms of human scale.
I always prefer to scale down the larger pieces of furniture as much as possible so that it is very comfortable BUT there is no waste.................So if you are going for an eclectic look (and by this I don't mean anything goes........this is actually the most difficult style to pull off and requires well thought editing and placement) - you need to make sure that the contemporary pieces you introduce complement the scale and proportion of the antique pieces(which usually have a smaller and lower scale).
When moving into your condo only keep the antique pieces (if you have them) that are the most cherished - your prize possessions.......sell the rest or give them to your family........by having just a few good pieces you give them breathing room......allow them to be seen more clearly and allow them to function and flow better in your condo space. By mixing some antique and vintage with clean lined modern you will create a dynamic and sexy space in which the characteristics of each piece brings out the best in the others.
Another important process to do before you move in is to make a list of the ways you want to use each room and the number of pieces you want to put into them - using your floor plans and graph paper for reference. Start plotting out the various components - sofa, chairs, art, tables, lamps, ottomans, coffetables, etc. SEE what gives you the best grouping based on your scale. Its a quick and efficient way to see how many things you can fit in from your priority list.
ALWAYS avoid sofas with giant oversized rolled arms - the DEATH of most condos - they can easily take up 9 inches on either side which means you are dedicating 18 inches to the arms of your sofa - simply bad design. For small spaces a good rule of thumb is for your sofa to be 7 feet long and approx. 36 inches deep
The design of your condo should allow for easy flow of purposes, whether its work....daily living...entertaining. That means every piece needs to be easily moveable and that as many things as possible can work double duty.
Many homeowners find it difficult to understand scale and proportions - if you go oversized on your main pieces - everything else will need to have similar proportions - You can't have a giant rolled arm sofa with small streamlined teak chairs. BUT you can have sleek scaled down modern furnishings with oversized accessories to create drama and a sense of grandeur - Such as an oversized floor mirror or a massive painting. It is better to have a few larger dramatic pieces then a sea of little collections and knick knacks.
And remember, dont be afraid of colour! Use it to your advantage by Colour blocking walls and accessories - Add some depth and warmth. Set up your condo to who you are now and who you want to be. Its time for you to start living your life the way you envision it.
Do Your Own Landscaping Design
Know what I love about getting the garden all cleaned up, it stays that way for much longer than when you get your home all cleaned up.
More and more people are turning to landscaping their gardens, not just planting a tree here and a shrub there but looking at their garden as they would look at the inside of their home. More thought as to the overall look and appeal and how plants can compliment each other.
The results are very rewarding. There is so much help too if you are not confident in the planning, your nursery, wonderful landscaping books, TV and radio shows and the Internet are all there waiting to guide you.
Be careful with books, make sure the book is for your area and the plants suggested for a design are suitable for your part of the world.
It's fun to get a graph pad and do your own design, give it a try and you could surprise yourself.
One word of advice, if you purchase plants from the big chain stores and they have been in air- conditioning or inside a building even with the shade cloth inside/outside style of shop, never take the plant home and put it in the garden straight away.
Take about three weeks acclimatizing the plant. Keep the plant inside or on an enclosed patio and gradually over the three week period, increase the outside time and decrease the inside time. Doing it this way you have a better chance of the plant surviving and growing into a beautiful specimen for you.
You can quite often pick up some bargains in the plant department, doing the acclimatizing can save you money.
Gardens like everything else has trends. These trends usually follow the interior decor trends. This is a good thing as the outside and the inside will compliment each other.
If your home is cottage style, then a garden along the cottage lines would look great and you would have the flowers to decorate your home to add to the look. A modern minimilistic interior then a minimal no fuss landscaped garden.
Landsscaping and gardening can improve your stress levels too. Feeling a bit stressed about something, take yourself out into your garden and potter, tip prune, pull out a few weeds, water a few plants, separate a few clumping plants and pot up for later Give yourself at least a half hour and feel the stress go.
Works for me, hope it does for you too.
Landscaping and gardening, wonderful!!!!
Carmel Baird
CTBaird Copyright © 2006
Copyright © 2006 by CTBaird All Rights Reserved
You have free distribution rights to this article but you may not alter it in any way.
http://www.ctbmarketing-australia.com/landscapingebooks.htm
Know what I love about getting the garden all cleaned up, it stays that way for much longer than when you get your home all cleaned up.
More and more people are turning to landscaping their gardens, not just planting a tree here and a shrub there but looking at their garden as they would look at the inside of their home. More thought as to the overall look and appeal and how plants can compliment each other.
The results are very rewarding. There is so much help too if you are not confident in the planning, your nursery, wonderful landscaping books, TV and radio shows and the Internet are all there waiting to guide you.
Be careful with books, make sure the book is for your area and the plants suggested for a design are suitable for your part of the world.
It's fun to get a graph pad and do your own design, give it a try and you could surprise yourself.
One word of advice, if you purchase plants from the big chain stores and they have been in air- conditioning or inside a building even with the shade cloth inside/outside style of shop, never take the plant home and put it in the garden straight away.
Take about three weeks acclimatizing the plant. Keep the plant inside or on an enclosed patio and gradually over the three week period, increase the outside time and decrease the inside time. Doing it this way you have a better chance of the plant surviving and growing into a beautiful specimen for you.
You can quite often pick up some bargains in the plant department, doing the acclimatizing can save you money.
Gardens like everything else has trends. These trends usually follow the interior decor trends. This is a good thing as the outside and the inside will compliment each other.
If your home is cottage style, then a garden along the cottage lines would look great and you would have the flowers to decorate your home to add to the look. A modern minimilistic interior then a minimal no fuss landscaped garden.
Landsscaping and gardening can improve your stress levels too. Feeling a bit stressed about something, take yourself out into your garden and potter, tip prune, pull out a few weeds, water a few plants, separate a few clumping plants and pot up for later Give yourself at least a half hour and feel the stress go.
Works for me, hope it does for you too.
Landscaping and gardening, wonderful!!!!
Carmel Baird
CTBaird Copyright © 2006
Copyright © 2006 by CTBaird All Rights Reserved
You have free distribution rights to this article but you may not alter it in any way.
http://www.ctbmarketing-australia.com/landscapingebooks.htm
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Persist Or Perish, The Choice Is Yours: Learn The Rules Of Online Business
Everybody wants quick profits. The phenomenon is more prevalent on the net as compared to offline business. The situation is only worsened by those ever coming awe inspiring success stories where previously a nobody made millions overnight. While these stories may invigorate the desire to be rich overnight, there is always the other side that is never brought into the picture and never asked too.
Until and unless you are highly gifted or have a knack of making money the quick profits are no more than folklore. If you are new to online business you must first understand the rule of the business before fueling the ever expanding expectation.
The so called overnight success stories just present the tip of iceberg. Firstly very few people achieve that kind of success. Secondly more often than not there is an equivalent amount of hard work which has been put in before the guy became a success.
The person in question might have been on the net for quite some time before he hit the idea that led to profits. Nobody tells this when success stories are written. And surprisingly nobody searches too. But that is the usual case.
Online business is a business after all. One needs to study the market and understand the tools and techniques before he can shoot. Like everything else there is a learning curve. That may be shorter in some cases. It too depends how much time you put in to understand that. And it depends on your background.
One thing is for sure. Nobody can wake up one fine morning, jump into foray of online business and expect windfalls.
No! It will not happen. The chances of this happening are as remote and bleak as your driving a car when you do not know how to drive. You need to learn the thing first. There will be frequent stalls and rough rides before you gain the control. Then you need to learn the traffic maneuvers. But by and by one gains control.
Many magical products have failed before they fell into the competent hands. So when you read a story and get inspired, just pause and think.
Starting an online business is damn easy. In couple of dollars everything from products to website will be yours.
After this comes the difficult part of making the sales.
There are a lot of things you need to know, assimilate and apply before you can bang. Every thing takes time. Here is where the experience counts. If internet is a new world to you then you need to hang on and learn before you can raise your graph to the desired level.
You need to be persistent. You need to be perseverant. You need to learn and apply.
It is much easier to do business on the net than the offline business.
But it is not a cakewalk either.
You need to stay and spend time on the net before you become proficient. The quick profits will not come until you have learned to breathe in the new environment and mastered some of the marketing techniques.
Till that time you should carefully put a lid on your expectation.
After that it is all fun.
Copyright 2005 Arun Pal Singh
Everybody wants quick profits. The phenomenon is more prevalent on the net as compared to offline business. The situation is only worsened by those ever coming awe inspiring success stories where previously a nobody made millions overnight. While these stories may invigorate the desire to be rich overnight, there is always the other side that is never brought into the picture and never asked too.
Until and unless you are highly gifted or have a knack of making money the quick profits are no more than folklore. If you are new to online business you must first understand the rule of the business before fueling the ever expanding expectation.
The so called overnight success stories just present the tip of iceberg. Firstly very few people achieve that kind of success. Secondly more often than not there is an equivalent amount of hard work which has been put in before the guy became a success.
The person in question might have been on the net for quite some time before he hit the idea that led to profits. Nobody tells this when success stories are written. And surprisingly nobody searches too. But that is the usual case.
Online business is a business after all. One needs to study the market and understand the tools and techniques before he can shoot. Like everything else there is a learning curve. That may be shorter in some cases. It too depends how much time you put in to understand that. And it depends on your background.
One thing is for sure. Nobody can wake up one fine morning, jump into foray of online business and expect windfalls.
No! It will not happen. The chances of this happening are as remote and bleak as your driving a car when you do not know how to drive. You need to learn the thing first. There will be frequent stalls and rough rides before you gain the control. Then you need to learn the traffic maneuvers. But by and by one gains control.
Many magical products have failed before they fell into the competent hands. So when you read a story and get inspired, just pause and think.
Starting an online business is damn easy. In couple of dollars everything from products to website will be yours.
After this comes the difficult part of making the sales.
There are a lot of things you need to know, assimilate and apply before you can bang. Every thing takes time. Here is where the experience counts. If internet is a new world to you then you need to hang on and learn before you can raise your graph to the desired level.
You need to be persistent. You need to be perseverant. You need to learn and apply.
It is much easier to do business on the net than the offline business.
But it is not a cakewalk either.
You need to stay and spend time on the net before you become proficient. The quick profits will not come until you have learned to breathe in the new environment and mastered some of the marketing techniques.
Till that time you should carefully put a lid on your expectation.
After that it is all fun.
Copyright 2005 Arun Pal Singh
Measure It First, Then You Can Manage It
If you cant measure it, you cant manage it. Companies may be able to survive for a while if managers arent using data to make decisions, but they will eventually see their demise; likely sooner than later. Those companies to benchmark off are the ones who are not only surviving, but thriving! Pick your favorite phrase: TQM, Process Management, Quality Circles, Improvement Teams, Standards and Measurement departments or any other title you prefer. The function is the same. Look at baseline data percentages, dollars, hours, quantities and continuously monitor the performance.
There should not be any task that a supervisor or staff members perform that cannot be measured. If you cant measure it, you cant manage it. Take a fast food restaurant for example. There are a plethora of areas that can be measured such as days without an accident, customer wait time in line, length of time burgers are in the warmer, amount of money off in the drawers, customer complaints, etc. Graph it out and keep a spread sheet of your figures. Clearly youre looking for improvement. If there was a decline, brainstorm, find the root cause and then fix the problem.
The process is the same no matter what industry youre managing. Whether you manufacture widgets, if you are the CEO of an internet marketing firm or if you sell cookies, take a look at all the steps involved in day to day operations. Assign values to the process. Set goals. Review the results on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Remember, if you cant measure it, you cant mange it. Charts and graphs are an excellent tool to visually remind you of where you have been and where you plan to go.
In the midst of measuring your subordinates performance, dont neglect to measure and manage your own operations. Dont think for a minute that your boss isnt looking at your performance. And if youre the top dog, you had better be managing yourself well, or you will never succeed at managing others
If you cant measure it, you cant manage it. Companies may be able to survive for a while if managers arent using data to make decisions, but they will eventually see their demise; likely sooner than later. Those companies to benchmark off are the ones who are not only surviving, but thriving! Pick your favorite phrase: TQM, Process Management, Quality Circles, Improvement Teams, Standards and Measurement departments or any other title you prefer. The function is the same. Look at baseline data percentages, dollars, hours, quantities and continuously monitor the performance.
There should not be any task that a supervisor or staff members perform that cannot be measured. If you cant measure it, you cant manage it. Take a fast food restaurant for example. There are a plethora of areas that can be measured such as days without an accident, customer wait time in line, length of time burgers are in the warmer, amount of money off in the drawers, customer complaints, etc. Graph it out and keep a spread sheet of your figures. Clearly youre looking for improvement. If there was a decline, brainstorm, find the root cause and then fix the problem.
The process is the same no matter what industry youre managing. Whether you manufacture widgets, if you are the CEO of an internet marketing firm or if you sell cookies, take a look at all the steps involved in day to day operations. Assign values to the process. Set goals. Review the results on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Remember, if you cant measure it, you cant mange it. Charts and graphs are an excellent tool to visually remind you of where you have been and where you plan to go.
In the midst of measuring your subordinates performance, dont neglect to measure and manage your own operations. Dont think for a minute that your boss isnt looking at your performance. And if youre the top dog, you had better be managing yourself well, or you will never succeed at managing others
Friday, February 9, 2007
How Poor Are You!
Do you want to know your poverty graph? You are poor if you:
- do not have a firm commitment with yourself to succeed
- do no set goals and follow them through
- do not put your best efforts at work
- do not keep yourself updated on new information and technologies
- do not adopt a positive attitude and get rid of negative thinking
- are not strong enough to accept the challenges of day-to-day life
- are not ready to take any risk due to fear of failure
- lack self respect and respect for others
- discriminate people on the basis of religion, belief, cast, creed, nationality, etc.
- do not appreciate the good work done by others
- do not apologize to others for your misdeeds
- do not help the people in need
- do not thank God for all that you have
The list goes on and on. Let me leave it unfinished and ask you a simple question. Do you really want to get rid of your poverty? The answer, you know the better!
Do you want to know your poverty graph? You are poor if you:
- do not have a firm commitment with yourself to succeed
- do no set goals and follow them through
- do not put your best efforts at work
- do not keep yourself updated on new information and technologies
- do not adopt a positive attitude and get rid of negative thinking
- are not strong enough to accept the challenges of day-to-day life
- are not ready to take any risk due to fear of failure
- lack self respect and respect for others
- discriminate people on the basis of religion, belief, cast, creed, nationality, etc.
- do not appreciate the good work done by others
- do not apologize to others for your misdeeds
- do not help the people in need
- do not thank God for all that you have
The list goes on and on. Let me leave it unfinished and ask you a simple question. Do you really want to get rid of your poverty? The answer, you know the better!
How to Use Graphs and Charts in Your Business Plan
Many people ask how many graphs or charts they should have in their business plans. As with most other business planning questions, the answer is it depends. This article discusses the key factors influencing the number of graphs and charts to include in your business plan.
To begin, the key point to consider in developing your business plan is the time restraints of your audience. If your audience is a retired angel investor, he may have few obligations and can spend an hour reviewing your business plan. However, the more likely scenario is that a venture capitalist, corporate investor or loan officer will review your plan while sitting at a desk topped with fifty other business plans. As such, it is critical that your plan conveys its key points quickly and easily this is where graphs or charts come in.
In determining whether to use a graph or chart, consider the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words. The point here is that the picture should save a thousand words. That is, the graph or chart should supplement the text; it should not be explained ad naseum in the text, or that defeats its purpose. Likewise, the graph or chart must be relevant and support the text, rather than detract from it.
In addition to respecting the time constraints of the audience, the business plan must respect the audiences energy level. That is, after reading seven business plans, an investor is likely to skip a page with 400 words of straight text. Even if no charts are applicable to support the page, Growthink suggests using appropriate spacing and/or callout boxes (e.g., key text phrases highlighted in boxes) to make the page more readable.
Clearly, technical drawings and operational designs need to be visually presented in the business plan. Without them, huge volumes of text are often needed to explain relatively simple processes. Importantly, when the text references these charts, the charts should be easily accessible. That is, the chart should be on the same page as the text, rather than forcing the audience to continually turn to an appendix. If the chart is referenced on numerous pages, each page should show the piece of the chart that reflects the text, with the full chart appearing only once in the plan.
Finally, if the business plan is being presented to one or few investors, the amount of graphs and charts should reflect the wants, needs and sophistication of those few readers. For instance, if the plan is being presented only to strategic investors who understand the market, more graphs may be appropriate to convey information for which these investors already have background knowledge.
Conversely, always keep in mind that the plan is not a slide presentation, and too many graphs and charts may position the company as one that is too lazy to complete the process of developing a formal business plan.
To summarize, the amount of charts and graphs used in the business plan must reflect the audience for the plan; an audience that is usually time and energy constrained. The charts and graphs must complement the text, enable the audience to quickly and easily digest the information, and as always, interest the audience in taking the next step (e.g., scheduling an in-person meeting) in the investment process.
Many people ask how many graphs or charts they should have in their business plans. As with most other business planning questions, the answer is it depends. This article discusses the key factors influencing the number of graphs and charts to include in your business plan.
To begin, the key point to consider in developing your business plan is the time restraints of your audience. If your audience is a retired angel investor, he may have few obligations and can spend an hour reviewing your business plan. However, the more likely scenario is that a venture capitalist, corporate investor or loan officer will review your plan while sitting at a desk topped with fifty other business plans. As such, it is critical that your plan conveys its key points quickly and easily this is where graphs or charts come in.
In determining whether to use a graph or chart, consider the old adage, a picture is worth a thousand words. The point here is that the picture should save a thousand words. That is, the graph or chart should supplement the text; it should not be explained ad naseum in the text, or that defeats its purpose. Likewise, the graph or chart must be relevant and support the text, rather than detract from it.
In addition to respecting the time constraints of the audience, the business plan must respect the audiences energy level. That is, after reading seven business plans, an investor is likely to skip a page with 400 words of straight text. Even if no charts are applicable to support the page, Growthink suggests using appropriate spacing and/or callout boxes (e.g., key text phrases highlighted in boxes) to make the page more readable.
Clearly, technical drawings and operational designs need to be visually presented in the business plan. Without them, huge volumes of text are often needed to explain relatively simple processes. Importantly, when the text references these charts, the charts should be easily accessible. That is, the chart should be on the same page as the text, rather than forcing the audience to continually turn to an appendix. If the chart is referenced on numerous pages, each page should show the piece of the chart that reflects the text, with the full chart appearing only once in the plan.
Finally, if the business plan is being presented to one or few investors, the amount of graphs and charts should reflect the wants, needs and sophistication of those few readers. For instance, if the plan is being presented only to strategic investors who understand the market, more graphs may be appropriate to convey information for which these investors already have background knowledge.
Conversely, always keep in mind that the plan is not a slide presentation, and too many graphs and charts may position the company as one that is too lazy to complete the process of developing a formal business plan.
To summarize, the amount of charts and graphs used in the business plan must reflect the audience for the plan; an audience that is usually time and energy constrained. The charts and graphs must complement the text, enable the audience to quickly and easily digest the information, and as always, interest the audience in taking the next step (e.g., scheduling an in-person meeting) in the investment process.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Screensavers: What Are They And Do I Need To Use One?
What is a screensaver?
A screensaver is a program, just like many other programs on your computer. It is specialized by the fact that Windows will utilize it in a specific way. When your computer has been idle for a certain amount of time, Windows can sense it and will turn the screensaver on. The program will then display some kind of graphical design or text that constantly moves around the screen. You will usually see it in action when you walk away from the computer for a time and leave the screen on. Dont be alarmed by it, just move your mouse a little to disengage the program and get back to whatever you were doing when you left!
Screensavers show themselves in many ways! It can be simply a blank screen (screen will be black), a design will seem to draw itself on your screen and then disappear when full and start drawing again, show a continuing slideshow of pictures, display animations of cartoon type figures, even display text that moves up and down and all over the screen! They are many, many types of screensavers available for your computer, but most people will never use more than the ones that came as part of your main software of Windows!
What Are Screensavers Used For?
Screensavers were originally designed to protect computer monitors from phosphor burn-in. Because Ive worked with computers since 1974 I know first hand about the problem and why screensavers quickly became so important to computer users. Early CRT monitors (those are the big, bulky monitors available today, not the sleek flat panel ones!), particularly monochrome ones (yes we had only one color early on, usually green or amber), had problems with the same image being displayed for a long time.
The phosphors in the monitor that created the text and early graphics on those screens would glow the information onto the screen. Users of computers in the 70s and 80s usually worked on programs that displayed the same kind of information over and over again, like a spreadsheet for bookkeeping or an input screen for databases. What would happen to these screens is a constant bombardment of these phosphors in a set pattern that would actually discolor the inside glass surface of the CRT. This discoloration was then visible as a ghost image that would be burned onto the surface and any other display that was brought up would be overridden on the monitor by that image. This harmful process made it difficult to use that monitor with any other program and eventually the monitor would have to be replaced. This was an expensive proposition for most companies who owned computers back then as monitors were priced in the $1500 to $2000 range!
Does My Monitor Really Need A Screensaver?
Actually, no, you dont need a screensaver on your computer. Does that surprise you? In reality, screensavers havent been a necessity for many years now! Advances in display technology and the advent of energy-saver monitors have virtually eliminated the need for screensavers. Then, why do we still use them?
Well heres a couple of reasons why we still use screen savers, courtesy of How Stuff Works. http://www.howstuffworks.com/index.htm :
Entertainment - The most common reason we use screensavers is for the fun of it. Watching that macaroni dance across the screen to the tune of "Hey Macarena" can be a great diversion for a few minutes.
Security - By setting up a screensaver with password protection, you can walk away from your computer and feel comfortable that nobody is going to be able to see any sensitive information.
Uniform look - Many companies require all employees to use a particular screensaver. This creates a uniform and perhaps aesthetic environment and ensures that no inappropriate screensavers are displayed.
Advertisement - Companies, particularly retail businesses, that have computers in areas accessible to customers will often have a screensaver that promotes their business or product.
Information - A lot of screensavers provide either static or real-time information. A screensaver may cycle through a series of trivia questions. Another may pull stock information from a Web site and stream it across the screen.
Distributed computing - Another form of screensaver takes advantage of your computer's inactivity to process data from another source. A good example of this type of screensaver is SETI@Home, which is currently utilized by thousands of computer users. This screensaver displays a graph of the radio spectrum and processes radio-signal information received from the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) servers. It sends back results based on the data processed. By using the combined processing power of all of these computers, SETI is significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to sift through all the signals received from its radio telescopes. Go to SETI@Home to sign up! http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
What is a screensaver?
A screensaver is a program, just like many other programs on your computer. It is specialized by the fact that Windows will utilize it in a specific way. When your computer has been idle for a certain amount of time, Windows can sense it and will turn the screensaver on. The program will then display some kind of graphical design or text that constantly moves around the screen. You will usually see it in action when you walk away from the computer for a time and leave the screen on. Dont be alarmed by it, just move your mouse a little to disengage the program and get back to whatever you were doing when you left!
Screensavers show themselves in many ways! It can be simply a blank screen (screen will be black), a design will seem to draw itself on your screen and then disappear when full and start drawing again, show a continuing slideshow of pictures, display animations of cartoon type figures, even display text that moves up and down and all over the screen! They are many, many types of screensavers available for your computer, but most people will never use more than the ones that came as part of your main software of Windows!
What Are Screensavers Used For?
Screensavers were originally designed to protect computer monitors from phosphor burn-in. Because Ive worked with computers since 1974 I know first hand about the problem and why screensavers quickly became so important to computer users. Early CRT monitors (those are the big, bulky monitors available today, not the sleek flat panel ones!), particularly monochrome ones (yes we had only one color early on, usually green or amber), had problems with the same image being displayed for a long time.
The phosphors in the monitor that created the text and early graphics on those screens would glow the information onto the screen. Users of computers in the 70s and 80s usually worked on programs that displayed the same kind of information over and over again, like a spreadsheet for bookkeeping or an input screen for databases. What would happen to these screens is a constant bombardment of these phosphors in a set pattern that would actually discolor the inside glass surface of the CRT. This discoloration was then visible as a ghost image that would be burned onto the surface and any other display that was brought up would be overridden on the monitor by that image. This harmful process made it difficult to use that monitor with any other program and eventually the monitor would have to be replaced. This was an expensive proposition for most companies who owned computers back then as monitors were priced in the $1500 to $2000 range!
Does My Monitor Really Need A Screensaver?
Actually, no, you dont need a screensaver on your computer. Does that surprise you? In reality, screensavers havent been a necessity for many years now! Advances in display technology and the advent of energy-saver monitors have virtually eliminated the need for screensavers. Then, why do we still use them?
Well heres a couple of reasons why we still use screen savers, courtesy of How Stuff Works. http://www.howstuffworks.com/index.htm :
Entertainment - The most common reason we use screensavers is for the fun of it. Watching that macaroni dance across the screen to the tune of "Hey Macarena" can be a great diversion for a few minutes.
Security - By setting up a screensaver with password protection, you can walk away from your computer and feel comfortable that nobody is going to be able to see any sensitive information.
Uniform look - Many companies require all employees to use a particular screensaver. This creates a uniform and perhaps aesthetic environment and ensures that no inappropriate screensavers are displayed.
Advertisement - Companies, particularly retail businesses, that have computers in areas accessible to customers will often have a screensaver that promotes their business or product.
Information - A lot of screensavers provide either static or real-time information. A screensaver may cycle through a series of trivia questions. Another may pull stock information from a Web site and stream it across the screen.
Distributed computing - Another form of screensaver takes advantage of your computer's inactivity to process data from another source. A good example of this type of screensaver is SETI@Home, which is currently utilized by thousands of computer users. This screensaver displays a graph of the radio spectrum and processes radio-signal information received from the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) servers. It sends back results based on the data processed. By using the combined processing power of all of these computers, SETI is significantly reducing the amount of time it takes to sift through all the signals received from its radio telescopes. Go to SETI@Home to sign up! http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu/
Digital Photography Histogram - The Unbearable Lightness Of Your Image Exposed
The digital photography histogram is a handy tool to ensure your pictures are light and color balanced, and is well worth the effort of learning how to interpret and use it.
Some cameras show the digital photography histogram in real time, allowing you to make adjustments as you go along.
What is a digital photography histogram? A histogram will show if there is enough detail in the shadow, midtone and highlight areas of your image, and importantly, whether or not your picture is overexposed.
The digital photography histogram indicates how the 256 levels of brightness are distributed in an image. Compare it to a horizontal line with 256 positions which represent all levels of brightness from pure black on the left, to pure white on the right.
It consists of a little graph which indicates hills, valleys and spikes of data according to the number of data pixels present for a given level of brightness. If your picture generally has low contrast, the pixels will cluster in the midtone (grey) area of a digital photography histogram.
An image with high contrast will have high stacks of pixels on the opposite ends of the graph, with fewer in the midtone area.
An overexposed image will show a lot of pixel data stacked on the far right side of the graph (lots of white). If you have most data on the left, and a big space to the right of your data, your picture is likely underexposed.
If you are new to the concept of the digital photography histogram, it takes a bit of time to interpret, but you will soon begin to see how the graph relates to your pictures.
For example, the digital photography histogram of an outside picture with a lot of dark sky and little color variation in the rest of the picture, will show a strong spike on the left (dark sky) and a low horizontal bar all the way to the right, indicating little variation in light intensity.
In overexposure you lose data that you can't get back - even in Photoshop! Many photographers would argue that it is better to underexpose slightly. You can then correct a good deal of underexposure in an imaging program like Photoshop. It lets you distribute the lightness values of pixels more evenly across the spectrum from black to white.
Do you need the digital photography histogram? Many photographers never look at a histogram, but just view the images to check for exposure.
You will find that you are able to analyze your pictures in greater detail, and even to correct them afterwards in an imaging program like Photoshop, once you have mastered the digital photography histogram!
For more information visit Best-Digital-Photography.com
The digital photography histogram is a handy tool to ensure your pictures are light and color balanced, and is well worth the effort of learning how to interpret and use it.
Some cameras show the digital photography histogram in real time, allowing you to make adjustments as you go along.
What is a digital photography histogram? A histogram will show if there is enough detail in the shadow, midtone and highlight areas of your image, and importantly, whether or not your picture is overexposed.
The digital photography histogram indicates how the 256 levels of brightness are distributed in an image. Compare it to a horizontal line with 256 positions which represent all levels of brightness from pure black on the left, to pure white on the right.
It consists of a little graph which indicates hills, valleys and spikes of data according to the number of data pixels present for a given level of brightness. If your picture generally has low contrast, the pixels will cluster in the midtone (grey) area of a digital photography histogram.
An image with high contrast will have high stacks of pixels on the opposite ends of the graph, with fewer in the midtone area.
An overexposed image will show a lot of pixel data stacked on the far right side of the graph (lots of white). If you have most data on the left, and a big space to the right of your data, your picture is likely underexposed.
If you are new to the concept of the digital photography histogram, it takes a bit of time to interpret, but you will soon begin to see how the graph relates to your pictures.
For example, the digital photography histogram of an outside picture with a lot of dark sky and little color variation in the rest of the picture, will show a strong spike on the left (dark sky) and a low horizontal bar all the way to the right, indicating little variation in light intensity.
In overexposure you lose data that you can't get back - even in Photoshop! Many photographers would argue that it is better to underexpose slightly. You can then correct a good deal of underexposure in an imaging program like Photoshop. It lets you distribute the lightness values of pixels more evenly across the spectrum from black to white.
Do you need the digital photography histogram? Many photographers never look at a histogram, but just view the images to check for exposure.
You will find that you are able to analyze your pictures in greater detail, and even to correct them afterwards in an imaging program like Photoshop, once you have mastered the digital photography histogram!
For more information visit Best-Digital-Photography.com
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
What Your Competition Knows About Traffic
Need more traffic? There's a lot you can learn from spying on your competition. Your competition has traffic sources that you can easily swipe by following these steps.
Step One: Who should you spy on? You probably can name six to thirty online competitors. If not, you need to go through Google and Yahoo with the key terms you target. Who comes up? Write down everyone who has a business similar to yours, even if they aren't identical.
Now you need to figure out who you should spy on first. Begin with the most successful websites. How do you find them? It's easy with a couple tools.
The Google toolbar (toolbar.google.com) is essential for spying. The Google toolbar features a little bar labeled "PageRank." Depending on each site, this bar may be gray, white, or (usually) a combination of green and white. The more green, the higher Google ranks that page. To get an exact PageRank, put your cursor over the PageRank graph and hold it there. Your competitors with the highest PageRank are the ones you want to look at very closely.
You also want to spy on the competitors with the most traffic. To figure out the relative traffic position of your competition (compared to all web sites), go to alexa.com and download their toolbar. The Alexa toolbar will display a number for each website it?s traffic rank. The lower the number, the higher the traffic. (For example, Yahoo?s Alexa rank is 1, while Blockbuster?s is 2,220.)
Step two: Snoop through your competitor's log files to see which sites and search terms send them the most traffic. Is there a public stats tracker on your competitor's site? If so, check it out. If not, try typing in your competitor's URL with /stats.html and /stats/ on the end of it. Often times, web hosts put statistics here - without password protection. Still can't find your competitor's stats? Try Googling their URL and "statistics." It's a long shot, but sometimes statistics pages will turn up this way.
Step three: Look at who is linking to your competitor. The easiest way to do this is to run a backward link search in Google and Altavista. Simply type in link:http://www.yourcompetition.com (using your competitor's URL). You'll find most of the pages that link to your competitor this way. How do you know which links are the best? By using the Google toolbar. The pages linking to your competitor with the highest PageRank are the ones you should look to for links of your own.
To steal those links, email all the webmasters that are linking to your competitor without getting a link back in return. Figure out why they link to your competitor (good free content, subject fits site, etc), and give them a better reason to link to you. Chances are, most of these webmasters will give you a link as well.
Once you have these new sites linking to yours, positive changes in your Google ranking are likely. You may even overtake your competitor for your targeted search terms especially if you get links from spying on multiple sites. All from a little reconnaissance work and some emailing!
Need more traffic? There's a lot you can learn from spying on your competition. Your competition has traffic sources that you can easily swipe by following these steps.
Step One: Who should you spy on? You probably can name six to thirty online competitors. If not, you need to go through Google and Yahoo with the key terms you target. Who comes up? Write down everyone who has a business similar to yours, even if they aren't identical.
Now you need to figure out who you should spy on first. Begin with the most successful websites. How do you find them? It's easy with a couple tools.
The Google toolbar (toolbar.google.com) is essential for spying. The Google toolbar features a little bar labeled "PageRank." Depending on each site, this bar may be gray, white, or (usually) a combination of green and white. The more green, the higher Google ranks that page. To get an exact PageRank, put your cursor over the PageRank graph and hold it there. Your competitors with the highest PageRank are the ones you want to look at very closely.
You also want to spy on the competitors with the most traffic. To figure out the relative traffic position of your competition (compared to all web sites), go to alexa.com and download their toolbar. The Alexa toolbar will display a number for each website it?s traffic rank. The lower the number, the higher the traffic. (For example, Yahoo?s Alexa rank is 1, while Blockbuster?s is 2,220.)
Step two: Snoop through your competitor's log files to see which sites and search terms send them the most traffic. Is there a public stats tracker on your competitor's site? If so, check it out. If not, try typing in your competitor's URL with /stats.html and /stats/ on the end of it. Often times, web hosts put statistics here - without password protection. Still can't find your competitor's stats? Try Googling their URL and "statistics." It's a long shot, but sometimes statistics pages will turn up this way.
Step three: Look at who is linking to your competitor. The easiest way to do this is to run a backward link search in Google and Altavista. Simply type in link:http://www.yourcompetition.com (using your competitor's URL). You'll find most of the pages that link to your competitor this way. How do you know which links are the best? By using the Google toolbar. The pages linking to your competitor with the highest PageRank are the ones you should look to for links of your own.
To steal those links, email all the webmasters that are linking to your competitor without getting a link back in return. Figure out why they link to your competitor (good free content, subject fits site, etc), and give them a better reason to link to you. Chances are, most of these webmasters will give you a link as well.
Once you have these new sites linking to yours, positive changes in your Google ranking are likely. You may even overtake your competitor for your targeted search terms especially if you get links from spying on multiple sites. All from a little reconnaissance work and some emailing!
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Building or Decorating Your Home Requires House Plans
There are some things to consider when creating plans for your home. There are two situations that call for plans or blue prints, either you are building a new home or decorating your present home. The types of plans required for either situation will vary depending on the extent of
your project.
When building a new home, there are several things you will want to consider carefully. The most obvious is where you are going to build your house. The climate will affect where you build. You wouldnt build an icehouse in the middle of the desert. You will want to determine what material you will want to use. Brick, wood, and cement are popular. In the southern states clay adobe houses are the norm. In the north and other areas brick, wood, and stone are options. The climate will influence this choice as well. In areas where there is cold weather brick and cement are used because they absorb and retain heat. In the south wood frame houses are built. The size of your lot will determine the size and type of house you want. You couldnt build a mansion on say a quarter of an acre. On the other hand a one bedroom, single floor home would look strange on a lot that is two acres or bigger. Whether your home has a basement could be important and that would depend on where you live.
If you are lucky to have a basement, it can house the laundry room and your gym equipment or be a playroom/guest room.
Now that you know where and what type of climate you will be building in it is time to think about the plans. Blueprints are or have been used to draw a linear picture of the house as you see it. Now however there are computer programs that will allow you to build your house in 3-D. There are also web sites online that will also allow you to build your house and see it in 3-D. Not only that but some sites will allow you to place your furniture. There are several kinds of technical drawings that are used to create plans for a new home. There are site plans that address coding issues, landscaping, location specifics, drainage (land contours), trees, set backs, and property lines. A floor plan is a design plan of the house, the layout of the rooms, and where the windows and doors. Another type of plan is building sections, which is a cross section of the house. It helps determine any issues, visualize your finished house and floor plans using section marks. Wall sections show the construction of one exterior wall where sections are indicated with section marks. Exterior Elevations include such features as porches and decks. They also show furniture, window and door locations, eave heights and roofing. Interior elevations show the lighting layout and ceiling conditions. Porches are another very interesting option; they can be enclosed, go all the way around the house. They can also be half-enclosed and half-open. They can be reminders of times past. A huge porch reminds me of my aunts farm years ago. Porches are great for extending family time and conversation while still being protected from the weather.
Decisions to be made are the size of each room, the number of rooms and the number of floors to be built. Will there be a basement or a fireplace, and where is the house going to sit on the lot. You could have a front yard or the house could be in the front of the lot with a yard in the back. You could also put it right in the center and have land all around.
The next consideration is whether you will have a contractor draw up the plans which will be an expense, or you can do them yourself. To do them yourself you will need a pencil or pen, scissors, a measuring tape, and graph paper with 1/4-inch boxes.
You will draw rooms to scale; one box per foot is good. Measure your rooms, doors, windows, heat and air cooling appliances. Draw the outlines of the rooms according to scale.
Measure your furniture (you only need to worry about length and width here) next and take another piece of graph paper. Draw out lines of your furniture, label them and cut them out. Use these pieces to set up the rooms. When you find an arrangement you like, you can make a more permanent drawing. On another sheet of graph paper draw a box for each wall. Scale your windows, doors, built-ins and other features.
Picking a floor plan is a process of answering some very important questions. Will this place be big enough or too big in a few years? Does your design fit in with the houses in the neighborhood? Does the design of the house fit in with the lot size and shape? Will the windows provide the best view and what windows will catch the sunlight in the morning and afternoon? Will changes need to be made or can changes even be considered? Are the rooms that will be used most of the time of adequate size? Expanding your house size could mean you need to sacrifice amenities or storage space. Do you have specialty rooms such as a craft room, an office, or a gym? An office can double as a guestroom. The trend now is toward creating a family area where there is room for each to do his/her own hobby or to be together watching movies or playing games. When all the decisions are made and the plans are all drawn you will be ready to build.
Suppose now, that you are purchasing an already built home or renting an apartment. Plans can be done in these situations as well. Most places will offer a floor plan for you to look at with the measurements of the space in the rooms. If this is not available you can draw your own plan.
You would need the same materials and the plan is fixed, you are limited to what is already there. Draw the outlines of each room according to scale. Take another sheet of graph paper and draw the outlines of your furniture. Label them and cut them out. You can move these pieces around till you find an arrangement you like. You might be limited with your television set because the outside antenna is in a certain spot.
Take another piece of graph paper and draw the wall sections of each room noting the windows, doors, and any heating or cooling appliance might be situated. You will have already placed your furniture so you will have a good idea of what your new home will look like. You can now decorate according to your tastes. In a rental home however, you might not be able to change wall colors or in rare cases hang pictures.
Planning for your home can be very exciting. You could be buying new furniture but you might want to consider the color of the carpets or the floors when you are choosing your pieces. A blue couch on a brown carpet does not exactly match. When planning for your home whether you buy or rent should be done carefully. Keep in mind your preferences, your limitations and if you are building, local zoning ordinances.
There are some things to consider when creating plans for your home. There are two situations that call for plans or blue prints, either you are building a new home or decorating your present home. The types of plans required for either situation will vary depending on the extent of
your project.
When building a new home, there are several things you will want to consider carefully. The most obvious is where you are going to build your house. The climate will affect where you build. You wouldnt build an icehouse in the middle of the desert. You will want to determine what material you will want to use. Brick, wood, and cement are popular. In the southern states clay adobe houses are the norm. In the north and other areas brick, wood, and stone are options. The climate will influence this choice as well. In areas where there is cold weather brick and cement are used because they absorb and retain heat. In the south wood frame houses are built. The size of your lot will determine the size and type of house you want. You couldnt build a mansion on say a quarter of an acre. On the other hand a one bedroom, single floor home would look strange on a lot that is two acres or bigger. Whether your home has a basement could be important and that would depend on where you live.
If you are lucky to have a basement, it can house the laundry room and your gym equipment or be a playroom/guest room.
Now that you know where and what type of climate you will be building in it is time to think about the plans. Blueprints are or have been used to draw a linear picture of the house as you see it. Now however there are computer programs that will allow you to build your house in 3-D. There are also web sites online that will also allow you to build your house and see it in 3-D. Not only that but some sites will allow you to place your furniture. There are several kinds of technical drawings that are used to create plans for a new home. There are site plans that address coding issues, landscaping, location specifics, drainage (land contours), trees, set backs, and property lines. A floor plan is a design plan of the house, the layout of the rooms, and where the windows and doors. Another type of plan is building sections, which is a cross section of the house. It helps determine any issues, visualize your finished house and floor plans using section marks. Wall sections show the construction of one exterior wall where sections are indicated with section marks. Exterior Elevations include such features as porches and decks. They also show furniture, window and door locations, eave heights and roofing. Interior elevations show the lighting layout and ceiling conditions. Porches are another very interesting option; they can be enclosed, go all the way around the house. They can also be half-enclosed and half-open. They can be reminders of times past. A huge porch reminds me of my aunts farm years ago. Porches are great for extending family time and conversation while still being protected from the weather.
Decisions to be made are the size of each room, the number of rooms and the number of floors to be built. Will there be a basement or a fireplace, and where is the house going to sit on the lot. You could have a front yard or the house could be in the front of the lot with a yard in the back. You could also put it right in the center and have land all around.
The next consideration is whether you will have a contractor draw up the plans which will be an expense, or you can do them yourself. To do them yourself you will need a pencil or pen, scissors, a measuring tape, and graph paper with 1/4-inch boxes.
You will draw rooms to scale; one box per foot is good. Measure your rooms, doors, windows, heat and air cooling appliances. Draw the outlines of the rooms according to scale.
Measure your furniture (you only need to worry about length and width here) next and take another piece of graph paper. Draw out lines of your furniture, label them and cut them out. Use these pieces to set up the rooms. When you find an arrangement you like, you can make a more permanent drawing. On another sheet of graph paper draw a box for each wall. Scale your windows, doors, built-ins and other features.
Picking a floor plan is a process of answering some very important questions. Will this place be big enough or too big in a few years? Does your design fit in with the houses in the neighborhood? Does the design of the house fit in with the lot size and shape? Will the windows provide the best view and what windows will catch the sunlight in the morning and afternoon? Will changes need to be made or can changes even be considered? Are the rooms that will be used most of the time of adequate size? Expanding your house size could mean you need to sacrifice amenities or storage space. Do you have specialty rooms such as a craft room, an office, or a gym? An office can double as a guestroom. The trend now is toward creating a family area where there is room for each to do his/her own hobby or to be together watching movies or playing games. When all the decisions are made and the plans are all drawn you will be ready to build.
Suppose now, that you are purchasing an already built home or renting an apartment. Plans can be done in these situations as well. Most places will offer a floor plan for you to look at with the measurements of the space in the rooms. If this is not available you can draw your own plan.
You would need the same materials and the plan is fixed, you are limited to what is already there. Draw the outlines of each room according to scale. Take another sheet of graph paper and draw the outlines of your furniture. Label them and cut them out. You can move these pieces around till you find an arrangement you like. You might be limited with your television set because the outside antenna is in a certain spot.
Take another piece of graph paper and draw the wall sections of each room noting the windows, doors, and any heating or cooling appliance might be situated. You will have already placed your furniture so you will have a good idea of what your new home will look like. You can now decorate according to your tastes. In a rental home however, you might not be able to change wall colors or in rare cases hang pictures.
Planning for your home can be very exciting. You could be buying new furniture but you might want to consider the color of the carpets or the floors when you are choosing your pieces. A blue couch on a brown carpet does not exactly match. When planning for your home whether you buy or rent should be done carefully. Keep in mind your preferences, your limitations and if you are building, local zoning ordinances.
Home Equity Loan Calculators
Looking for a home equity loan? Without an efficient calculator, you are on unsure ground. The various financial aspects have to be calculated and the costs have to be compared. You would certainly want to know what amount of loan you could avail of based on your existing equity and the repayment capacity according to your present income and expenses.
The amortization schedule and the quantum of monthly installments are critical in choosing between say, a 15-year spread or 30-year spread. How much can you save on taxes? There are several such details that have to be looked into before a wise decision can be made. If you can have a look at the future scenario with different variables, it will be all the more helpful.
Then there is the need to evaluate the diverse options available and decide on which one is best suited to you. Even after doing that, the quotes you receive have to be compared from different angles. Or take the situation where you are contemplating a conversion from variable rate loan to fixed rate loan. How do you arrive at the better alternative?
In all these, a great deal of calculation is involved. Doing that on a regular calculator would be difficult and time consuming and often frustrating. A specialized multi-function calculator can reduce the workload considerably. Downloadable software can deal with all these jobs and is readily available. These have spreadsheets and graph displays that make calculations and comparisons much easier. Updates and product support are likely to be free.
Some lenders offer free fill-in calculation charts online. These are easy to use. But the drawbacks are that for each function or item you to normally calculate separately and to make a comparison sheet, the figures have to be transplanted.
Whichever you prefer to use, be sure to do your own calculations instead of blindly accepting the figures presented by the lender.
Looking for a home equity loan? Without an efficient calculator, you are on unsure ground. The various financial aspects have to be calculated and the costs have to be compared. You would certainly want to know what amount of loan you could avail of based on your existing equity and the repayment capacity according to your present income and expenses.
The amortization schedule and the quantum of monthly installments are critical in choosing between say, a 15-year spread or 30-year spread. How much can you save on taxes? There are several such details that have to be looked into before a wise decision can be made. If you can have a look at the future scenario with different variables, it will be all the more helpful.
Then there is the need to evaluate the diverse options available and decide on which one is best suited to you. Even after doing that, the quotes you receive have to be compared from different angles. Or take the situation where you are contemplating a conversion from variable rate loan to fixed rate loan. How do you arrive at the better alternative?
In all these, a great deal of calculation is involved. Doing that on a regular calculator would be difficult and time consuming and often frustrating. A specialized multi-function calculator can reduce the workload considerably. Downloadable software can deal with all these jobs and is readily available. These have spreadsheets and graph displays that make calculations and comparisons much easier. Updates and product support are likely to be free.
Some lenders offer free fill-in calculation charts online. These are easy to use. But the drawbacks are that for each function or item you to normally calculate separately and to make a comparison sheet, the figures have to be transplanted.
Whichever you prefer to use, be sure to do your own calculations instead of blindly accepting the figures presented by the lender.
Monday, February 5, 2007
What You Need to Know about AdSense Stats
When it comes to building great revenues on AdSense, nothing is more important than following your stats. The effect of any change you make to your site, to the positioning of your ads or to their layout or color is going to have a direct impact on the behavior of your users. That's going to be clear in your stats. You'll see it in your click-through rate and you'll see it most importantly in your revenues.
You need to check your stats regularly. A week after you've made a change to the way your site looks, you should check back in to see what that change did... and whether it brought you more money or less.
But your stats won't tell you everything. They might tell you whether or not you've made more money this week than last week but they won't tell you what you need to do to make even more money next week. If you really want to find out what your users are up to - and get more of them doing the things you want - you will need to use some additional tools.
Tracking Programs
The Internet is packed with tracking tools for AdSense. Some of those tools are just plain useless; others you really don't want to do without. In my book, Google AdSense Secrets, I give an introduction to each of the main programs and point out which ones you absolutely must have if you want to maximize your revenues. For now though, just bear in mind that the tracking program you use should let you see where your visitors are coming from, where your clicks are coming from and which keywords your biggest clickers are searching for when they find your site on a search engine.
Once you've got all that information, it's a breeze to use the various AdSense strategies to optimize your site and get more visitors clicking on the highest paying ads.
Graph Builders
In addition to tracking programs that tell you information that you can't find out any other way, you should also use graph builders that make your information a snap to compare and analyze. They convert your figures into graphs so that you can see with one look how your CTR is changing and how your revenues are improving. Some of the best tracking programs include this option but even if you've bought the wrong one, it's still worth downloading a graph builder - especially if you don't really have a head for figures.
When it comes to building great revenues on AdSense, nothing is more important than following your stats. The effect of any change you make to your site, to the positioning of your ads or to their layout or color is going to have a direct impact on the behavior of your users. That's going to be clear in your stats. You'll see it in your click-through rate and you'll see it most importantly in your revenues.
You need to check your stats regularly. A week after you've made a change to the way your site looks, you should check back in to see what that change did... and whether it brought you more money or less.
But your stats won't tell you everything. They might tell you whether or not you've made more money this week than last week but they won't tell you what you need to do to make even more money next week. If you really want to find out what your users are up to - and get more of them doing the things you want - you will need to use some additional tools.
Tracking Programs
The Internet is packed with tracking tools for AdSense. Some of those tools are just plain useless; others you really don't want to do without. In my book, Google AdSense Secrets, I give an introduction to each of the main programs and point out which ones you absolutely must have if you want to maximize your revenues. For now though, just bear in mind that the tracking program you use should let you see where your visitors are coming from, where your clicks are coming from and which keywords your biggest clickers are searching for when they find your site on a search engine.
Once you've got all that information, it's a breeze to use the various AdSense strategies to optimize your site and get more visitors clicking on the highest paying ads.
Graph Builders
In addition to tracking programs that tell you information that you can't find out any other way, you should also use graph builders that make your information a snap to compare and analyze. They convert your figures into graphs so that you can see with one look how your CTR is changing and how your revenues are improving. Some of the best tracking programs include this option but even if you've bought the wrong one, it's still worth downloading a graph builder - especially if you don't really have a head for figures.
Landscaping...How Does Your Garden grow
The landscaping of the exterior areas around your house should be as personal in taste as your interior decoration.
A driveway and garden are usually the first impressions a visitor has of your home. They should always be as trim and well cared for as your house itself.
Naturally, landscaping, like most things, depends on individual taste. Some people prefer a wild, natural look in gardens and outdoor areas. Others prefer the clipped hedges, planned walks, planting and ordered flower borders of the stylized English garden.
Before planning your landscape, check the zoning regulations of your community, if you live in the city. This must be the first step, as many zoning laws determine the limitations on the height of trees, shrubs and other foilage, and their placement. Interior and corner lots often differ in these respects.
The cost of landscaping varies with each house, as does the planning. The location of the house on the property, the size, shape and elaborateness of areas planned for trees, shrubs, lawn and flowers are of course the controlling factors. The larger, more intricate garden naturally cost more than a smaller area.
Here are some good basic pointers to remember when planning your landscaping.
Privacy - Shrubs, bushes, a cluster of trees can serve as screens from adjoining properties, walks, roads and create a park like effect at the same time. Clever landscaping of a patio, terrace or swimming pool adds to their usability and attractiveness, also provides perfect privacy.
Integration - A driveway should be fully blended with the foilage to create an attractive first impression of your property. The proportion of trees, grass, shrubs, bushes and flowers should be carefully balanced with concrete, graveled, asphalt or flagstone driveways to dispense with a paved, sidewalk effect.
Shade - A single, large tree may be a joy to look at, but make sure it does not obscure the house or shade it too much. Plant a tree or cluster of trees at the edge of the lawn, so that you get the most benefit from the shade on hot days. Make sure the trees do not overhang swimming pools or sun patios, and obscure the sun. Also bear in mind that trees near a pool mean falling leaves and debris to clean out of the water constantly.
Levels - A garden on flat land can be planted with little regard to change in grade (level). Some land is not totally flat, so do not overlook grading problems in your plans. However, a garden that has more than one level is more interesting and much more effective designs can be achieved. But, naturally, the cost are higher.
Drainage - If you are designing your own garden before calling in a landscaper, remember to settle the drainage problems first, or discuss it with the expert. You don't want puddles, ruined turf or plants, so settle the drainage system in the beginning.
Basic Planting - Once your design is complete, you have two courses you can follow in the planting plan. If your budget allows you to do the whole planting job at once, the sequence should be as follows: plant trees and shrubs first, then sod or seed your lawn. Should it be neccessary to carry your landscaping over a period of years, plant lawn first, add trees, shrubs and flowers later when you can afford it.
Plans - Your garden requires landscape plans, just as the interior of your home. If you have definite ideas about what you want, and the effect you wish to achieve, draw up some rough plans on graph paper. Then you can discuss the project fully with the landscaper. If you are an amateur gardener and wish to do your landscaping yourself, you will not need a set of plans to determine each area of your property.
The landscaping of the exterior areas around your house should be as personal in taste as your interior decoration.
A driveway and garden are usually the first impressions a visitor has of your home. They should always be as trim and well cared for as your house itself.
Naturally, landscaping, like most things, depends on individual taste. Some people prefer a wild, natural look in gardens and outdoor areas. Others prefer the clipped hedges, planned walks, planting and ordered flower borders of the stylized English garden.
Before planning your landscape, check the zoning regulations of your community, if you live in the city. This must be the first step, as many zoning laws determine the limitations on the height of trees, shrubs and other foilage, and their placement. Interior and corner lots often differ in these respects.
The cost of landscaping varies with each house, as does the planning. The location of the house on the property, the size, shape and elaborateness of areas planned for trees, shrubs, lawn and flowers are of course the controlling factors. The larger, more intricate garden naturally cost more than a smaller area.
Here are some good basic pointers to remember when planning your landscaping.
Privacy - Shrubs, bushes, a cluster of trees can serve as screens from adjoining properties, walks, roads and create a park like effect at the same time. Clever landscaping of a patio, terrace or swimming pool adds to their usability and attractiveness, also provides perfect privacy.
Integration - A driveway should be fully blended with the foilage to create an attractive first impression of your property. The proportion of trees, grass, shrubs, bushes and flowers should be carefully balanced with concrete, graveled, asphalt or flagstone driveways to dispense with a paved, sidewalk effect.
Shade - A single, large tree may be a joy to look at, but make sure it does not obscure the house or shade it too much. Plant a tree or cluster of trees at the edge of the lawn, so that you get the most benefit from the shade on hot days. Make sure the trees do not overhang swimming pools or sun patios, and obscure the sun. Also bear in mind that trees near a pool mean falling leaves and debris to clean out of the water constantly.
Levels - A garden on flat land can be planted with little regard to change in grade (level). Some land is not totally flat, so do not overlook grading problems in your plans. However, a garden that has more than one level is more interesting and much more effective designs can be achieved. But, naturally, the cost are higher.
Drainage - If you are designing your own garden before calling in a landscaper, remember to settle the drainage problems first, or discuss it with the expert. You don't want puddles, ruined turf or plants, so settle the drainage system in the beginning.
Basic Planting - Once your design is complete, you have two courses you can follow in the planting plan. If your budget allows you to do the whole planting job at once, the sequence should be as follows: plant trees and shrubs first, then sod or seed your lawn. Should it be neccessary to carry your landscaping over a period of years, plant lawn first, add trees, shrubs and flowers later when you can afford it.
Plans - Your garden requires landscape plans, just as the interior of your home. If you have definite ideas about what you want, and the effect you wish to achieve, draw up some rough plans on graph paper. Then you can discuss the project fully with the landscaper. If you are an amateur gardener and wish to do your landscaping yourself, you will not need a set of plans to determine each area of your property.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Hurlocks Study: Praise verses Criticism
Research studies can be intellectual, academic, difficult to understand, and sometimes even irrelevant to our specific application. But there are other studies that can be very insightful and help us understand how better to do our job. There is one such study that I would like to discuss in this months column. The information is so timely and connected to managing others that I think we all need to read and think about what the researchers discovered. The unique part of this study is that the researchers were not studying adults, but rather children. I know this may sound strange to you; however, what we learn from the study can be directly related to managing adults. So dont get caught up thinking this study doesnt relate to your job because the subjects were children.
In this case the people studied were fourth and fifth grade students and the situation was how they performed in a math class. The variables introduced by the researchers were the type of feedback the students received after they took math exercises and quizzes.
Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock wanted to know what reactions there would be when fourth and fifth grade students received different types of feedback on their math performance. She specifically wanted to know if it was more effective to praise, criticize, or ignore students performance in math. And she wanted to know what would happen when students were subjected to each of those conditions. The outcome was to be decided by how many math problems each student had solved 2, 3, 4, and 5 days after receiving the different types of feedback.
For her study Dr. Hurlock divided the students into four groups. In the first group students were identified by name and praised in front of other students for their good performance. Students in the second group were also identified by name in front of other students, but they were criticized for their poor performance. Students in the third group were completely ignored, although they were in the classroom to hear the other students being praised or criticized. A fourth or control group was moved to another room after the first test. Students in this group took the same tests, but they received no comments on their performance whatsoever.
Now, here is what Dr. Hurlock learned. Students in the groups that were praised or criticized performed better after the first day. Then their performance changed dramatically. The students who were criticized showed a significant decline in their test scores, and by days 3 and 4, they were performing equally with students in the group that had been completely ignored.
By contrast, the students who were praised experienced a major improvement after the second day that was sustained through the end of the study. By the fifth day of the study, the group that received praise showed much better performance than the other groups.
Look at the accompanying graph to see the scores of the four groups. Its startling, isnt it? Wouldnt you think that the results of this study should be standard reading for every schoolteacher in America? Sounds like it, doesnt it? But there is just one problem. Dr. Hurlocks study was conducted in 1925, thats eighty years ago! Unfortunately, the study wasnt seen as important in 1925, and, therefore, hasnt changed much behavior in the classroom since. But the results are so convincing that I would like to draw a parallel to managing adults with praise, criticism or indifference.
Some managers believe that giving positive reinforcement to employees is an indication of managerial weakness. So in an attempt to appear strong and in command of the situation, they become masters of inflicting emotional pain through criticism, sarcasm or indifference. Those three tactics are called the Three Pillars of Contempt, because the most common reaction to being subjected to them is to feel contempt toward the perpetrator.
With an effective management development program (http://www.cmoe.com/management-development-program.html), school teachers and business leaders can discover that reinforcing positive performance with supportive feedback is far better than creating a contemptuous atmosphere with sarcasm, criticism or indifference. Like many things in managing others, how your employees perceive you is what really counts. Your intentions are nice and noteworthy, but they are actually irrelevant. As every psychology student learns, perception is reality. And because it is reality we must be concerned with how we come across to others; in other words, how others see our behaviors is more important that our intentions. To do otherwise is to be foolish and ineffective.
As a manager you need to be aware of the power of positive feedback along with the dangers of trying to motivate others or change behavior with the use of criticism, sarcasm or indifference. Positive reinforcement has been proved by Hurlocks study and many other studies to be the best method of getting your point across to others. It is unfortunate that so many managers havent been convinced of that fact. Watch your own style of giving feedback for the next few weeks. Monitor how much you offer praise as supportive feedback verses how often you lapse into the Pillars of Contempt. The first step in improvement is always awareness. Increase your awareness and then work to modify your style.
Research studies can be intellectual, academic, difficult to understand, and sometimes even irrelevant to our specific application. But there are other studies that can be very insightful and help us understand how better to do our job. There is one such study that I would like to discuss in this months column. The information is so timely and connected to managing others that I think we all need to read and think about what the researchers discovered. The unique part of this study is that the researchers were not studying adults, but rather children. I know this may sound strange to you; however, what we learn from the study can be directly related to managing adults. So dont get caught up thinking this study doesnt relate to your job because the subjects were children.
In this case the people studied were fourth and fifth grade students and the situation was how they performed in a math class. The variables introduced by the researchers were the type of feedback the students received after they took math exercises and quizzes.
Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock wanted to know what reactions there would be when fourth and fifth grade students received different types of feedback on their math performance. She specifically wanted to know if it was more effective to praise, criticize, or ignore students performance in math. And she wanted to know what would happen when students were subjected to each of those conditions. The outcome was to be decided by how many math problems each student had solved 2, 3, 4, and 5 days after receiving the different types of feedback.
For her study Dr. Hurlock divided the students into four groups. In the first group students were identified by name and praised in front of other students for their good performance. Students in the second group were also identified by name in front of other students, but they were criticized for their poor performance. Students in the third group were completely ignored, although they were in the classroom to hear the other students being praised or criticized. A fourth or control group was moved to another room after the first test. Students in this group took the same tests, but they received no comments on their performance whatsoever.
Now, here is what Dr. Hurlock learned. Students in the groups that were praised or criticized performed better after the first day. Then their performance changed dramatically. The students who were criticized showed a significant decline in their test scores, and by days 3 and 4, they were performing equally with students in the group that had been completely ignored.
By contrast, the students who were praised experienced a major improvement after the second day that was sustained through the end of the study. By the fifth day of the study, the group that received praise showed much better performance than the other groups.
Look at the accompanying graph to see the scores of the four groups. Its startling, isnt it? Wouldnt you think that the results of this study should be standard reading for every schoolteacher in America? Sounds like it, doesnt it? But there is just one problem. Dr. Hurlocks study was conducted in 1925, thats eighty years ago! Unfortunately, the study wasnt seen as important in 1925, and, therefore, hasnt changed much behavior in the classroom since. But the results are so convincing that I would like to draw a parallel to managing adults with praise, criticism or indifference.
Some managers believe that giving positive reinforcement to employees is an indication of managerial weakness. So in an attempt to appear strong and in command of the situation, they become masters of inflicting emotional pain through criticism, sarcasm or indifference. Those three tactics are called the Three Pillars of Contempt, because the most common reaction to being subjected to them is to feel contempt toward the perpetrator.
With an effective management development program (http://www.cmoe.com/management-development-program.html), school teachers and business leaders can discover that reinforcing positive performance with supportive feedback is far better than creating a contemptuous atmosphere with sarcasm, criticism or indifference. Like many things in managing others, how your employees perceive you is what really counts. Your intentions are nice and noteworthy, but they are actually irrelevant. As every psychology student learns, perception is reality. And because it is reality we must be concerned with how we come across to others; in other words, how others see our behaviors is more important that our intentions. To do otherwise is to be foolish and ineffective.
As a manager you need to be aware of the power of positive feedback along with the dangers of trying to motivate others or change behavior with the use of criticism, sarcasm or indifference. Positive reinforcement has been proved by Hurlocks study and many other studies to be the best method of getting your point across to others. It is unfortunate that so many managers havent been convinced of that fact. Watch your own style of giving feedback for the next few weeks. Monitor how much you offer praise as supportive feedback verses how often you lapse into the Pillars of Contempt. The first step in improvement is always awareness. Increase your awareness and then work to modify your style.
How Many Guitar Chords Do I Need To Know?
Guitar chords, (chords played specifically on a guitar,) differ only from other types of chords by virtue of instrument; they're simply a series of three or more notes played together. These notes don't necessarily have to be played simultaneously, however.
Broken chords (also referred to as arpeggios) are three or more notes that aren't played at the same time but closely enough to still be heard as a group or whole. And even the three-note rule is open to the occasional exception; some guitar chords consist of only two notes, but they still function as chords because they work diatonically in the same way that a major or minor chord would.
Guitar chords might very well be the most important element of guitar playing; after all, they're the basis of what makes a song. Most people picking up a guitar for the first time figure out a few guitar chords before even going for their first lesson, and still more teach themselves guitar chords without any help from an instructor. Self-taught guitarists learn guitar chords in a number of ways. Some learn by listening to their favorite songs and slowly picking out the notes, a common yet often frustrating process. Others figure out guitar chords by learning to read guitar tab, a type of sheet music intended for fretted instruments that uses a graph-like chart to show where on the frets the fingers are placed. Both techniques are common among those learning guitar chords, though the number of self-taught guitarists who never learned to read tab is fairly high.
Just like any other instrument, the sheer number of possible guitar chords can often be overwhelming for a new guitarist. And even the frequently taught guitar chords are beginning to fall by the wayside, making room for a variety of guitar chords created by tuning the strings in almost innumerous ways. Though power chords (guitar chords using a base note, an octave note and the fifth) are still the most common type of guitar chords, new bands are increasingly experimenting with alternate tunings to create new sounds; alternative bands have been toying with this way of playing interesting guitar chords for decades.
So how many chords does a guitarist really need to know?
Most simple songs contain just 3 chords called primary chords. So even a stark beginner can learn 3 simple chords well enough to strum along and accompany himself as he sings. But after that, the sky is the limit there are thousands of possible chords, so it is up to the individual guitarist as to how many he or she want to master.
(With Mollie Wells)
Guitar chords, (chords played specifically on a guitar,) differ only from other types of chords by virtue of instrument; they're simply a series of three or more notes played together. These notes don't necessarily have to be played simultaneously, however.
Broken chords (also referred to as arpeggios) are three or more notes that aren't played at the same time but closely enough to still be heard as a group or whole. And even the three-note rule is open to the occasional exception; some guitar chords consist of only two notes, but they still function as chords because they work diatonically in the same way that a major or minor chord would.
Guitar chords might very well be the most important element of guitar playing; after all, they're the basis of what makes a song. Most people picking up a guitar for the first time figure out a few guitar chords before even going for their first lesson, and still more teach themselves guitar chords without any help from an instructor. Self-taught guitarists learn guitar chords in a number of ways. Some learn by listening to their favorite songs and slowly picking out the notes, a common yet often frustrating process. Others figure out guitar chords by learning to read guitar tab, a type of sheet music intended for fretted instruments that uses a graph-like chart to show where on the frets the fingers are placed. Both techniques are common among those learning guitar chords, though the number of self-taught guitarists who never learned to read tab is fairly high.
Just like any other instrument, the sheer number of possible guitar chords can often be overwhelming for a new guitarist. And even the frequently taught guitar chords are beginning to fall by the wayside, making room for a variety of guitar chords created by tuning the strings in almost innumerous ways. Though power chords (guitar chords using a base note, an octave note and the fifth) are still the most common type of guitar chords, new bands are increasingly experimenting with alternate tunings to create new sounds; alternative bands have been toying with this way of playing interesting guitar chords for decades.
So how many chords does a guitarist really need to know?
Most simple songs contain just 3 chords called primary chords. So even a stark beginner can learn 3 simple chords well enough to strum along and accompany himself as he sings. But after that, the sky is the limit there are thousands of possible chords, so it is up to the individual guitarist as to how many he or she want to master.
(With Mollie Wells)
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Updated Hurricane Teaching Tips
With this severe, active, hurricane season underway, here are some ideas to make areas of the curriculum relevant to your children. There are also suggestions for dealing with the aftermath of a catastrophic hurricane. If you are in an area that experiences other natural phenomena, just adapt these suggestions to fit your needs.
1. Have children express their feelings. Youngsters will be able to draw pictures and dictate sentences, while older children will be able to illustrate their own stories. With everyone participating, this will draw out your shy, timid children who may not want to take part in a verbal discussion.
2. Make a bound book of the class experiences and keep it in the class library. Perhaps you can have students rent it for a night to share with their families.
3. If you do not have Pen Pals, why not try to find a class in another part of the country or world that has not experienced a hurricane. Your pupils will then become teachers as they explain what happened.
4. Instead of writing, your class could make a cassette or videotape. If sending it to Pen Pals, make sure you check on the privacy policies in your school.
5. Use childrens experiences to have lessons on adjectives, adverbs, similes, and onomatopoeia.
6. Answer who, what, where, when, why, and how as you write the opening paragraph of a story. Do it on the overhead projector and obtain input from class members.
7. This would be a good time to teach specificity and the Voice Writing Trait. Compare these two stories and tell which is more specific and exciting: a. Yesterday, a hurricane came to my city and caused a lot of damage. I was scared because it was loud and the water was high. b. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared into New Orleans like a lion. I felt terrified as I heard the howling wind and crashing surf; but I was petrified when the water kept rising and I had to climb through my roof to be safe. When I got up there, all I could see was water, water everywhere and rooftops of houses.
8. Have a unit on the Five Senses of Hurricane ___. Can you smell the sweat? Do you feel hot and sticky? Have each child make his own booklet.
9. Reinforce map skills as you track a hurricane. What better way to relate latitude and longitude?! Get to know those terms for your own city. Looking at the maps key, older children will be able to estimate how far away a hurricane is from a specific place.
10. Delve into the causes of hurricanes. Make a list of the strongest ever recorded and include their data. This will reinforce research skills and graph-making.
11. Tally how many hurricanes have occurred each year since 1960. Circle the major ones. Is there a pattern?
12. Teachers and parents, alike, will need to remember that there may be extreme anxiety during any rainstorm. If the power is still on, try to stand close to a person who has been through a horrible ordeal. Give a pat on the back or a hug, along with a reassuring word. On the other hand, if power goes out, have a flashlight handy and play games with it (follow the direction of light; spotlight a child and have him recite a poem, sing a song, or perform a silly antic). Have children all hold hands to know they are not alone. If children are old enough, keep your lessons going without reading; much can be accomplished orally! Do whatever you can to allay children's fears.
I hope these ideas are useful and have inspired your own creative thinking.
And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!!
With this severe, active, hurricane season underway, here are some ideas to make areas of the curriculum relevant to your children. There are also suggestions for dealing with the aftermath of a catastrophic hurricane. If you are in an area that experiences other natural phenomena, just adapt these suggestions to fit your needs.
1. Have children express their feelings. Youngsters will be able to draw pictures and dictate sentences, while older children will be able to illustrate their own stories. With everyone participating, this will draw out your shy, timid children who may not want to take part in a verbal discussion.
2. Make a bound book of the class experiences and keep it in the class library. Perhaps you can have students rent it for a night to share with their families.
3. If you do not have Pen Pals, why not try to find a class in another part of the country or world that has not experienced a hurricane. Your pupils will then become teachers as they explain what happened.
4. Instead of writing, your class could make a cassette or videotape. If sending it to Pen Pals, make sure you check on the privacy policies in your school.
5. Use childrens experiences to have lessons on adjectives, adverbs, similes, and onomatopoeia.
6. Answer who, what, where, when, why, and how as you write the opening paragraph of a story. Do it on the overhead projector and obtain input from class members.
7. This would be a good time to teach specificity and the Voice Writing Trait. Compare these two stories and tell which is more specific and exciting: a. Yesterday, a hurricane came to my city and caused a lot of damage. I was scared because it was loud and the water was high. b. On August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina roared into New Orleans like a lion. I felt terrified as I heard the howling wind and crashing surf; but I was petrified when the water kept rising and I had to climb through my roof to be safe. When I got up there, all I could see was water, water everywhere and rooftops of houses.
8. Have a unit on the Five Senses of Hurricane ___. Can you smell the sweat? Do you feel hot and sticky? Have each child make his own booklet.
9. Reinforce map skills as you track a hurricane. What better way to relate latitude and longitude?! Get to know those terms for your own city. Looking at the maps key, older children will be able to estimate how far away a hurricane is from a specific place.
10. Delve into the causes of hurricanes. Make a list of the strongest ever recorded and include their data. This will reinforce research skills and graph-making.
11. Tally how many hurricanes have occurred each year since 1960. Circle the major ones. Is there a pattern?
12. Teachers and parents, alike, will need to remember that there may be extreme anxiety during any rainstorm. If the power is still on, try to stand close to a person who has been through a horrible ordeal. Give a pat on the back or a hug, along with a reassuring word. On the other hand, if power goes out, have a flashlight handy and play games with it (follow the direction of light; spotlight a child and have him recite a poem, sing a song, or perform a silly antic). Have children all hold hands to know they are not alone. If children are old enough, keep your lessons going without reading; much can be accomplished orally! Do whatever you can to allay children's fears.
I hope these ideas are useful and have inspired your own creative thinking.
And remember...Reading is FUNdamental!!
Hurlock's Study: Praise verses Criticism
Research studies can be intellectual, academic, difficult to understand, and sometimes even irrelevant to our specific application. But there are other studies that can be very insightful and help us understand how better to do our job. There is one such study that I would like to discuss in this months column. The information is so timely and connected to managing others that I think we all need to read and think about what the researchers discovered. The unique part of this study is that the researchers were not studying adults, but rather children. I know this may sound strange to you; however, what we learn from the study can be directly related to managing adults. So dont get caught up thinking this study doesnt relate to your job because the subjects were children.
In this case the people studied were fourth and fifth grade students and the situation was how they performed in a math class. The variables introduced by the researchers were the type of feedback the students received after they took math exercises and quizzes.
Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock wanted to know what reactions there would be when fourth and fifth grade students received different types of feedback on their math performance. She specifically wanted to know if it was more effective to praise, criticize, or ignore students performance in math. And she wanted to know what would happen when students were subjected to each of those conditions. The outcome was to be decided by how many math problems each student had solved 2, 3, 4, and 5 days after receiving the different types of feedback.
For her study Dr. Hurlock divided the students into four groups. In the first group students were identified by name and praised in front of other students for their good performance. Students in the second group were also identified by name in front of other students, but they were criticized for their poor performance. Students in the third group were completely ignored, although they were in the classroom to hear the other students being praised or criticized. A fourth or control group was moved to another room after the first test. Students in this group took the same tests, but they received no comments on their performance whatsoever.
Now, here is what Dr. Hurlock learned. Students in the groups that were praised or criticized performed better after the first day. Then their performance changed dramatically. The students who were criticized showed a significant decline in their test scores, and by days 3 and 4, they were performing equally with students in the group that had been completely ignored.
By contrast, the students who were praised experienced a major improvement after the second day that was sustained through the end of the study. By the fifth day of the study, the group that received praise showed much better performance than the other groups.
Look at the accompanying graph to see the scores of the four groups. Its startling, isnt it? Wouldnt you think that the results of this study should be standard reading for every schoolteacher in America? Sounds like it, doesnt it? But there is just one problem. Dr. Hurlocks study was conducted in 1925, thats eighty years ago! Unfortunately, the study wasnt seen as important in 1925, and, therefore, hasnt changed much behavior in the classroom since. But the results are so convincing that I would like to draw a parallel to managing adults with praise, criticism or indifference.
Some managers believe that giving positive reinforcement to employees is an indication of managerial weakness. So in an attempt to appear strong and in command of the situation, they become masters of inflicting emotional pain through criticism, sarcasm or indifference. Those three tactics are called the Three Pillars of Contempt, because the most common reaction to being subjected to them is to feel contempt toward the perpetrator.
With an effective management development program, school teachers and business leaders can discover that reinforcing positive performance with supportive feedback is far better than creating a contemptuous atmosphere with sarcasm, criticism or indifference. Like many things in managing others, how your employees perceive you is what really counts. Your intentions are nice and noteworthy, but they are actually irrelevant. As every psychology student learns, perception is reality. And because it is reality we must be concerned with how we come across to others; in other words, how others see our behaviors is more important that our intentions. To do otherwise is to be foolish and ineffective.
As a manager you need to be aware of the power of positive feedback along with the dangers of trying to motivate others or change behavior with the use of criticism, sarcasm or indifference. Positive reinforcement has been proved by Hurlocks study and many other studies to be the best method of getting your point across to others. It is unfortunate that so many managers havent been convinced of that fact. Watch your own style of giving feedback for the next few weeks. Monitor how much you offer praise as supportive feedback verses how often you lapse into the Pillars of Contempt. The first step in improvement is always awareness. Increase your awareness and then work to modify your style.
Research studies can be intellectual, academic, difficult to understand, and sometimes even irrelevant to our specific application. But there are other studies that can be very insightful and help us understand how better to do our job. There is one such study that I would like to discuss in this months column. The information is so timely and connected to managing others that I think we all need to read and think about what the researchers discovered. The unique part of this study is that the researchers were not studying adults, but rather children. I know this may sound strange to you; however, what we learn from the study can be directly related to managing adults. So dont get caught up thinking this study doesnt relate to your job because the subjects were children.
In this case the people studied were fourth and fifth grade students and the situation was how they performed in a math class. The variables introduced by the researchers were the type of feedback the students received after they took math exercises and quizzes.
Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock wanted to know what reactions there would be when fourth and fifth grade students received different types of feedback on their math performance. She specifically wanted to know if it was more effective to praise, criticize, or ignore students performance in math. And she wanted to know what would happen when students were subjected to each of those conditions. The outcome was to be decided by how many math problems each student had solved 2, 3, 4, and 5 days after receiving the different types of feedback.
For her study Dr. Hurlock divided the students into four groups. In the first group students were identified by name and praised in front of other students for their good performance. Students in the second group were also identified by name in front of other students, but they were criticized for their poor performance. Students in the third group were completely ignored, although they were in the classroom to hear the other students being praised or criticized. A fourth or control group was moved to another room after the first test. Students in this group took the same tests, but they received no comments on their performance whatsoever.
Now, here is what Dr. Hurlock learned. Students in the groups that were praised or criticized performed better after the first day. Then their performance changed dramatically. The students who were criticized showed a significant decline in their test scores, and by days 3 and 4, they were performing equally with students in the group that had been completely ignored.
By contrast, the students who were praised experienced a major improvement after the second day that was sustained through the end of the study. By the fifth day of the study, the group that received praise showed much better performance than the other groups.
Look at the accompanying graph to see the scores of the four groups. Its startling, isnt it? Wouldnt you think that the results of this study should be standard reading for every schoolteacher in America? Sounds like it, doesnt it? But there is just one problem. Dr. Hurlocks study was conducted in 1925, thats eighty years ago! Unfortunately, the study wasnt seen as important in 1925, and, therefore, hasnt changed much behavior in the classroom since. But the results are so convincing that I would like to draw a parallel to managing adults with praise, criticism or indifference.
Some managers believe that giving positive reinforcement to employees is an indication of managerial weakness. So in an attempt to appear strong and in command of the situation, they become masters of inflicting emotional pain through criticism, sarcasm or indifference. Those three tactics are called the Three Pillars of Contempt, because the most common reaction to being subjected to them is to feel contempt toward the perpetrator.
With an effective management development program, school teachers and business leaders can discover that reinforcing positive performance with supportive feedback is far better than creating a contemptuous atmosphere with sarcasm, criticism or indifference. Like many things in managing others, how your employees perceive you is what really counts. Your intentions are nice and noteworthy, but they are actually irrelevant. As every psychology student learns, perception is reality. And because it is reality we must be concerned with how we come across to others; in other words, how others see our behaviors is more important that our intentions. To do otherwise is to be foolish and ineffective.
As a manager you need to be aware of the power of positive feedback along with the dangers of trying to motivate others or change behavior with the use of criticism, sarcasm or indifference. Positive reinforcement has been proved by Hurlocks study and many other studies to be the best method of getting your point across to others. It is unfortunate that so many managers havent been convinced of that fact. Watch your own style of giving feedback for the next few weeks. Monitor how much you offer praise as supportive feedback verses how often you lapse into the Pillars of Contempt. The first step in improvement is always awareness. Increase your awareness and then work to modify your style.
Friday, February 2, 2007
How To Buy Lego Cheap and at a Large Discount
There is a huge market for Lego developing, and in large market there are price variations one can take advantage of. The marketplace for Lego has grown enormously since the introduction of Mindstorm the robotics orientated Lego. Now Lego is not only in the realm of children's toys, but it is of interest to many adult institutions. Engineering schools, executive eduction, hobbyists, and of course hackers, are re-inventing the way Lego is used. For economists the little Lego commodity is the ideal way to study micro-markets.
What better micro-market with near fluid efficiencies than found on eBay. In fact a huge amount of Lego pieces are traded everyday on eBay. Now like every other market, a little inside information can help you identify pricing opportunities. This article focuses on buying Lego on eBay, and specifically how to buy it cheap and at a discount. In short how identify buying opportunities.
This article should be read together with my longer piece and a web site which produces the information required to identify buying nuggets. Find the links and URL's to these two sites below.
Most information on eBay focuses on the selling element, how to sell your stuff. I have tended to specialize on the buying end and trying to identify market opportunities and price in-efficiencies to really capture excellent deals. Let's briefly understand the dynamics of the eBay market place. Like any other market it is supply demand driven, and like a large flee-market if a buyer has knowledge of how many items are for sale at what prices and how many other buyers are in the market, then that buyer can capture the upper hand.
Lets examine supply. The eBay supply dynamic is a little different in that supply of an item must be seen at a point in time. In other words, because auctions end at different times, one needs to grasp the number of auctions ending in close proximity for the same item. This gives you a feel for the supply of items or in our case Lego. What makes this interesting is that today there could be a large amount of auctions ending for your item, but next week there could be very few. This is one element driving the price. Generally this information is available approximately one week out on the eBay site.
The demand side is slightly more complex and hidden. It is some of this data that the web site I refer to at the bottom helps identify. Demand in eBay terms is measured (by sellers) as a number of factors - how many people view my auction, how many people ask questions, how many people place me on their watch page, and how many people actually bid. Obviously as we progress down this list the data become more valid as an indication of demand. Page views are not easy to obtain, although some sellers place a publicly viewable counter on their auction pages. Questions and watchers are available to sellers, and the special web site mentioned below will expose this information. Number of bids is available for all to see.
Now if we happened to produce a graph as one auction progresses of the changes in the number of questions, watchers and bids, once can easily see how the demand is changing as time progresses. Typically if questions are high and watchers are high, but bids are low, this may indicate some confusion and a possible buy opportunity. If watchers is very high and climbing, but bids are low, this can point to a last minute bidding war, and a stay out indicator.
Armed with this information and also a quick summary of other similar auctions ending soon, plus a quick feel for the skill set of the seller and the current highest bidder, once can make see a picture very different from the average eBay buyer. Soon the trained eye will see some nice buying opportunities. For the serious collector or Lego enthusiast this will soon bring in parcels of Lego pieces and sets that are quite a bit cheaper that retail. For example it is quite possible to find gems at 50-70% of retail prices. Lets face it, most Lego pieces don't degrade or damage easy, so the aftermarket such as eBay is the idea place to buy cheap Lego.
Resources;
http://foundby.us/how-to-buy-discount-lego-both-new-or-refurbished
http://lego.foundby.us
There is a huge market for Lego developing, and in large market there are price variations one can take advantage of. The marketplace for Lego has grown enormously since the introduction of Mindstorm the robotics orientated Lego. Now Lego is not only in the realm of children's toys, but it is of interest to many adult institutions. Engineering schools, executive eduction, hobbyists, and of course hackers, are re-inventing the way Lego is used. For economists the little Lego commodity is the ideal way to study micro-markets.
What better micro-market with near fluid efficiencies than found on eBay. In fact a huge amount of Lego pieces are traded everyday on eBay. Now like every other market, a little inside information can help you identify pricing opportunities. This article focuses on buying Lego on eBay, and specifically how to buy it cheap and at a discount. In short how identify buying opportunities.
This article should be read together with my longer piece and a web site which produces the information required to identify buying nuggets. Find the links and URL's to these two sites below.
Most information on eBay focuses on the selling element, how to sell your stuff. I have tended to specialize on the buying end and trying to identify market opportunities and price in-efficiencies to really capture excellent deals. Let's briefly understand the dynamics of the eBay market place. Like any other market it is supply demand driven, and like a large flee-market if a buyer has knowledge of how many items are for sale at what prices and how many other buyers are in the market, then that buyer can capture the upper hand.
Lets examine supply. The eBay supply dynamic is a little different in that supply of an item must be seen at a point in time. In other words, because auctions end at different times, one needs to grasp the number of auctions ending in close proximity for the same item. This gives you a feel for the supply of items or in our case Lego. What makes this interesting is that today there could be a large amount of auctions ending for your item, but next week there could be very few. This is one element driving the price. Generally this information is available approximately one week out on the eBay site.
The demand side is slightly more complex and hidden. It is some of this data that the web site I refer to at the bottom helps identify. Demand in eBay terms is measured (by sellers) as a number of factors - how many people view my auction, how many people ask questions, how many people place me on their watch page, and how many people actually bid. Obviously as we progress down this list the data become more valid as an indication of demand. Page views are not easy to obtain, although some sellers place a publicly viewable counter on their auction pages. Questions and watchers are available to sellers, and the special web site mentioned below will expose this information. Number of bids is available for all to see.
Now if we happened to produce a graph as one auction progresses of the changes in the number of questions, watchers and bids, once can easily see how the demand is changing as time progresses. Typically if questions are high and watchers are high, but bids are low, this may indicate some confusion and a possible buy opportunity. If watchers is very high and climbing, but bids are low, this can point to a last minute bidding war, and a stay out indicator.
Armed with this information and also a quick summary of other similar auctions ending soon, plus a quick feel for the skill set of the seller and the current highest bidder, once can make see a picture very different from the average eBay buyer. Soon the trained eye will see some nice buying opportunities. For the serious collector or Lego enthusiast this will soon bring in parcels of Lego pieces and sets that are quite a bit cheaper that retail. For example it is quite possible to find gems at 50-70% of retail prices. Lets face it, most Lego pieces don't degrade or damage easy, so the aftermarket such as eBay is the idea place to buy cheap Lego.
Resources;
http://foundby.us/how-to-buy-discount-lego-both-new-or-refurbished
http://lego.foundby.us
How to Find a Credit Union
If you've been feeling like small potatoes at your bank lately, it's probably time to start looking at a credit union instead.
Of course, you won't find a credit union on every corner, or ATMs at every convenient location that you require. But if you compare convenience with better rates, service and options, you'll quickly realize a credit union is the best way to go.
With a mere $5 (or maybe a bit more) deposited into a credit union account, you've become a shareholder, instead of just a customer like at a bank.
Originally when credit unions first started popping up, the shareholders usually had something in common, like their church, union, workplace or employer. But now, whatever holds together a credit union can be something less defined, a geographic region or social ties, for instance.
Its easy enough to find a credit union, if you are willing to look. Most dont advertise too much (although that seems to be changing a bit of late in some areas). But looking around can pay off in spades. Here are some ideas on how to locate one:
>Look around your workplace there may already be a credit union catering to your every need. Or, if you are a professional, ask around to see if there is a credit union that has been created just for those in your profession, union or trade.
>Try calling the National Credit Union Administration at (703) 518-6330. They can look up credit unions in your area that you might be able to join.
>If you attend religious services, ask the administrative staff if there is a credit union that is affiliated with your church.
>Contact your local chamber of commerce, or any clubs that you belong to. You never know who may have a credit union already organized that fits your interests.
>Talk to friends, family or coworkers, and ask them about any credit unions they have heard about, or have used themselves.
Once you've shopped around a bit, you probably have come up with a couple of credit unions to choose from. But how do you decide which credit union is the best for you?
It's quite easy, really. All you have to do is compare them all by convenience, rates, products and services. Make a graph if you need to, so that you can easily and clearly see the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
Start with convenience. Are any of the credit union locations close to your home? Work? On the way? Are there ATMs within walking distance? What are their hours of operation?
Now look at what products and services you use on a regular basis. Make a note of all of the ones you require, and just think are cool, but dont really need. Now compare those plans, programs and prices. What does it cost to do business at each credit union? What are the monthly and individual fees? Are there any up and coming costs that you anticipate, like a car loan, mortgage or general loan? If so, you may want to add these items to your comparison chart as well.
And then, there is service. There is really no way to gauge service than by either contacting the credit union, or walking in the door.
So go take a peek at the top contenders on your list. You may become a shareholder faster than you thought.
If you've been feeling like small potatoes at your bank lately, it's probably time to start looking at a credit union instead.
Of course, you won't find a credit union on every corner, or ATMs at every convenient location that you require. But if you compare convenience with better rates, service and options, you'll quickly realize a credit union is the best way to go.
With a mere $5 (or maybe a bit more) deposited into a credit union account, you've become a shareholder, instead of just a customer like at a bank.
Originally when credit unions first started popping up, the shareholders usually had something in common, like their church, union, workplace or employer. But now, whatever holds together a credit union can be something less defined, a geographic region or social ties, for instance.
Its easy enough to find a credit union, if you are willing to look. Most dont advertise too much (although that seems to be changing a bit of late in some areas). But looking around can pay off in spades. Here are some ideas on how to locate one:
>Look around your workplace there may already be a credit union catering to your every need. Or, if you are a professional, ask around to see if there is a credit union that has been created just for those in your profession, union or trade.
>Try calling the National Credit Union Administration at (703) 518-6330. They can look up credit unions in your area that you might be able to join.
>If you attend religious services, ask the administrative staff if there is a credit union that is affiliated with your church.
>Contact your local chamber of commerce, or any clubs that you belong to. You never know who may have a credit union already organized that fits your interests.
>Talk to friends, family or coworkers, and ask them about any credit unions they have heard about, or have used themselves.
Once you've shopped around a bit, you probably have come up with a couple of credit unions to choose from. But how do you decide which credit union is the best for you?
It's quite easy, really. All you have to do is compare them all by convenience, rates, products and services. Make a graph if you need to, so that you can easily and clearly see the advantages and disadvantages of each one.
Start with convenience. Are any of the credit union locations close to your home? Work? On the way? Are there ATMs within walking distance? What are their hours of operation?
Now look at what products and services you use on a regular basis. Make a note of all of the ones you require, and just think are cool, but dont really need. Now compare those plans, programs and prices. What does it cost to do business at each credit union? What are the monthly and individual fees? Are there any up and coming costs that you anticipate, like a car loan, mortgage or general loan? If so, you may want to add these items to your comparison chart as well.
And then, there is service. There is really no way to gauge service than by either contacting the credit union, or walking in the door.
So go take a peek at the top contenders on your list. You may become a shareholder faster than you thought.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Scrapbook Ideas for Your Baby Album - Part 1
A scrapbook album of your baby's first year is one of the most special albums you'll ever complete. There are so many magical memories, beginning with the pregnancy itself and continuing right through your baby's first birthday. Below are a number of scrapbook page ideas to help you capture those precious moments.
Title Page
A great way to start the album is by matting a 5"x7" or 8"x10" of your baby's hospital photo on the first page. Then add the baby's name and birthdate as the title and subtitle respectively. This makes a very simple yet very beautiful page.
Baby on the Way
How did you celebrate the news that your baby was on the way? Maybe it was a quiet dinner just for you and your husband or a gathering with family and friends. Either way, remember to include some pictures of the celebration. Capture peoples' reactions to the annoucement in photos. In addition, you may even want to take a picture of the pregnancy test showing the positive results.
The Ultrasound
If you had multiple ultrasounds during your pregnancy, include pictures from different points in time so you can see how your baby was growing. You may also want to include one that shows the graph of the heartbeat. In addition to journaling about the ultrasound pictures, this is a great place to journal about any nicknames you may have had for your baby before it was born.
The Belly
Starting at three months, when the pregnancy "bulge" is just barely noticeable, have someone take a monthly side-view picture of you. Pose in front of the same background each time so that the pictures are consistent. Try to fit all of the photos on one page (or a two-page spread), so you can really appreciate the month-by-month progression.
The Nursery
Include photos of the nursery all ready and waiting for baby; take pictures from different angles to show everything in the room. Be sure to include pictures of anything that has special meaning such as a bassinet that has been in the family for multiple generations, a special blanket made by Grandma, etc. Also, if you have one, include a photo to show what the room was before it became a nursery.
Welcome Baby
Those first pictures taken of your baby after the birth are some of the most precious ones you'll ever have. Rememer to include your baby being weighed, having his/her footprints done, being examined, getting a bath, etc. You can put memorabilia such as the footprint card, bassinet name tag and baby id bracelet on these pages. Include key information/statistics in your journaling - baby's full name, date, day, time, weight, length, details about your labor, name of the doctor/midwife, etc.
Mom, Dad and Baby
It's wonderful to have a page with pictures of just the three of you - Mom, Dad and Baby - and then include siblings, grandparents, etc. on other pages. Journal about how you felt upon meeting your baby for the first time, whether your baby resembled anyone in the family, how your baby reacted to hearing your voice, etc.
The Rest of the Clan
Once you have a page or two of Mom, Dad and Baby photos, it's time to include the siblings if your baby has any. Capture how excited they are to meet their new baby brother/sister and how proud they are to be big brothers/big sisters. This is also a great page to put any little cards, drawings, etc. that siblings may have made to welcome your new baby.
Visitors at the Hospital
Your new baby is sure to have many visitors at the hospital such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more. Include a picture of each one holding the baby and write an interesting fact and/or anecdote about each person in your journaling. Also, you may want to include pictures of the doctor/midwife who delivered your baby, the labor nurse and/or the doula.
Going Home
Going home from the hospital is a big event! On this page you can include pictures of leaving the hospital, a photo of the outside of the hospital, and the birth announcement. Journal about who took you and the baby home, what the weather was like for your baby's first time ever outside, what he/she was wearing for a "going home" outfit, and what he/she did during the car ride home.
The New Family
It's nice to have a couple of pages showing the new family settling in at home over those first few days. Be sure to include a picture of everyone (Mom, Dad, siblings) with the new baby, plus a picture of the whole family. Put some of the flowers and balloons received as gifts in the background of the pictures to add a special touch. This is a great place to journal about how the family dynamic changes when the new little one joins the clan.
Visitors at Home
In addition to having photos of the visitors that came to meet your baby at the hospital, you'll also want to have pictures of the visitors at your home. Again, include a picture of each one holding the baby and write an interesting fact and/or anecdote about each person in your journaling.
Siblings
If your baby has siblings, you can make a separate page for each sibling with lots of photos of the big brother/big sister with the new baby. Depending on how old the sibling is, he/she may be able to help you create the album page by arranging photos, picking out embellishments and providing input for the journaling (e.g., what is the best thing about being a big brother/big sister).
Heritage
If your baby is lucky enough to meet his/her great-grandparents, have a page or two with pictures of them holding the baby. Ask the great-grandparents to share some of their most cherished childhood memories so you can include them in your journaling. When your baby is older, he/she can read their stories to get a glimpse of childhoods long ago.
For additional ideas, please read part two of this article entitled "Scrapbook Ideas for Your Baby Album - Part 2."
A scrapbook album of your baby's first year is one of the most special albums you'll ever complete. There are so many magical memories, beginning with the pregnancy itself and continuing right through your baby's first birthday. Below are a number of scrapbook page ideas to help you capture those precious moments.
Title Page
A great way to start the album is by matting a 5"x7" or 8"x10" of your baby's hospital photo on the first page. Then add the baby's name and birthdate as the title and subtitle respectively. This makes a very simple yet very beautiful page.
Baby on the Way
How did you celebrate the news that your baby was on the way? Maybe it was a quiet dinner just for you and your husband or a gathering with family and friends. Either way, remember to include some pictures of the celebration. Capture peoples' reactions to the annoucement in photos. In addition, you may even want to take a picture of the pregnancy test showing the positive results.
The Ultrasound
If you had multiple ultrasounds during your pregnancy, include pictures from different points in time so you can see how your baby was growing. You may also want to include one that shows the graph of the heartbeat. In addition to journaling about the ultrasound pictures, this is a great place to journal about any nicknames you may have had for your baby before it was born.
The Belly
Starting at three months, when the pregnancy "bulge" is just barely noticeable, have someone take a monthly side-view picture of you. Pose in front of the same background each time so that the pictures are consistent. Try to fit all of the photos on one page (or a two-page spread), so you can really appreciate the month-by-month progression.
The Nursery
Include photos of the nursery all ready and waiting for baby; take pictures from different angles to show everything in the room. Be sure to include pictures of anything that has special meaning such as a bassinet that has been in the family for multiple generations, a special blanket made by Grandma, etc. Also, if you have one, include a photo to show what the room was before it became a nursery.
Welcome Baby
Those first pictures taken of your baby after the birth are some of the most precious ones you'll ever have. Rememer to include your baby being weighed, having his/her footprints done, being examined, getting a bath, etc. You can put memorabilia such as the footprint card, bassinet name tag and baby id bracelet on these pages. Include key information/statistics in your journaling - baby's full name, date, day, time, weight, length, details about your labor, name of the doctor/midwife, etc.
Mom, Dad and Baby
It's wonderful to have a page with pictures of just the three of you - Mom, Dad and Baby - and then include siblings, grandparents, etc. on other pages. Journal about how you felt upon meeting your baby for the first time, whether your baby resembled anyone in the family, how your baby reacted to hearing your voice, etc.
The Rest of the Clan
Once you have a page or two of Mom, Dad and Baby photos, it's time to include the siblings if your baby has any. Capture how excited they are to meet their new baby brother/sister and how proud they are to be big brothers/big sisters. This is also a great page to put any little cards, drawings, etc. that siblings may have made to welcome your new baby.
Visitors at the Hospital
Your new baby is sure to have many visitors at the hospital such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more. Include a picture of each one holding the baby and write an interesting fact and/or anecdote about each person in your journaling. Also, you may want to include pictures of the doctor/midwife who delivered your baby, the labor nurse and/or the doula.
Going Home
Going home from the hospital is a big event! On this page you can include pictures of leaving the hospital, a photo of the outside of the hospital, and the birth announcement. Journal about who took you and the baby home, what the weather was like for your baby's first time ever outside, what he/she was wearing for a "going home" outfit, and what he/she did during the car ride home.
The New Family
It's nice to have a couple of pages showing the new family settling in at home over those first few days. Be sure to include a picture of everyone (Mom, Dad, siblings) with the new baby, plus a picture of the whole family. Put some of the flowers and balloons received as gifts in the background of the pictures to add a special touch. This is a great place to journal about how the family dynamic changes when the new little one joins the clan.
Visitors at Home
In addition to having photos of the visitors that came to meet your baby at the hospital, you'll also want to have pictures of the visitors at your home. Again, include a picture of each one holding the baby and write an interesting fact and/or anecdote about each person in your journaling.
Siblings
If your baby has siblings, you can make a separate page for each sibling with lots of photos of the big brother/big sister with the new baby. Depending on how old the sibling is, he/she may be able to help you create the album page by arranging photos, picking out embellishments and providing input for the journaling (e.g., what is the best thing about being a big brother/big sister).
Heritage
If your baby is lucky enough to meet his/her great-grandparents, have a page or two with pictures of them holding the baby. Ask the great-grandparents to share some of their most cherished childhood memories so you can include them in your journaling. When your baby is older, he/she can read their stories to get a glimpse of childhoods long ago.
For additional ideas, please read part two of this article entitled "Scrapbook Ideas for Your Baby Album - Part 2."
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