Costa Calida: A Driving Adventure In Spain

Seasoned travelers to Spain who are looking for a new adventure should consider a road trip. Costa Calida is a superb starting point and home base for a day trip by auto. There are few better ways to see the beauty of the Spanish coast up close and personal. From the majestic mountains, to the white sand beaches and sparkling blue-green Mediterranean Sea, the scenery is breathtaking.folder gluer
Costa Calida, located in the Murcia region of Spain, is gaining popularity with tourists. Rivaling neighbor coastal regions, such as Costa Blanca and Costa Almeria, the area offers some competitive advantages. It lags behind its coastal neighbors in urban development. This means that accommodations (hotels, villa rentals, resorts, etc.) in this region are often cheaper.
Much of the region's natural beauty has been preserved. Where development has occurred, the goal has been to build in harmony with nature. Much of the area's commercial and residential design blends with the surrounding environment. Trees, beaches, and mountains have been left largely undisturbed. The result of this careful planning may be evident in a recent World Health Organization report.folder gluer
WHO rated the province of Murcia the cleanest in Spain. The clean air is just one more boost for tourism along Costa Calida.
Tourists can start their Spanish holiday at any number of Costa Calida accommodations. Self-catered holidays are extremely popular in Spain. Choosing a rental villa, private residence-for-hire or other self-catered accommodation allows travelers freedom to determine their own schedules. Self-catering is also less expensive. This is a great option for holiday-makers who prefer to spend most of their time sightseeing.
For tourists who long for a pampered vacation, there are a number of all-inclusive resorts to choose from. Clubs and resorts offer recreational activities, superb cuisine and even entertainment for children.
Seeing the sights of Costa Calida by auto is relatively easy. Many local attractions are within a day's drive or less from the region.
For foreign travelers visiting Spain for the first time, hiring a local driver may be a wise option. A local guide will be more familiar with driving laws and the idiosyncrasies of Spain's highways. This is especially true for visitors from outside of Europe and the UK. Visitors who are unfamiliar with driving in Spain may have difficulty getting around. It may also require obtaining a special driver's license.folder gluer
Depending on where a tourist's accommodations are, some cities also have excellent public transportation systems. The cost is usually fairly minimal. Taxi service is also reliable, but can get costly depending on travel distance. A better option may be to join up with a bus tour. Companies run regular bus trips to attractions and sites in areas surrounding Murcia and up and down Costa Calida.
Traveling by bus allows tourists to relax and not worry about driving. Guides are professional and knowledgeable about the areas they visit. It's an excellent way to learn about the rich history of Spain while seeing the sights.
It's well worth a visitor's time to take a road trip even without making any major stops. The entire Costa Calida can be driven in just a few hours. The variety in terrain and the contrast between cities and villages makes driving in Spain an adventure worth taking.folder gluer

How to Promote Your Website Using Pay-Per-Click Advertising

Business owners have a common goal when it comes to Internet marketing. They want to get the most website hits for the least amount of money. Increasing income without spending a fortune on advertising can be accomplished with the right marketing strategy. Pay-per-click advertising is one way to achieve that goal.
Cost-Effective Advertising
Pay-per-click ads can serve as part of a profitable advertising campaign. Pay-per-click ads work well because, rather than paying a flat fee, you only pay to reach people who are actually interested in your product or service. This type of advertising is an effective way to promote your website. It helps keep costs down while directing only targeted traffic to your site.
It takes a little knowledge and skill to build an effective ad campaign. A poorly devised pay-per-click ad can cost a lot of money and still be ineffective at increasing sales. It is imperative to have a solid marketing plan. Start with these simple steps:
1. Carefully choose your keywords. Keywords are the backbone of a successful pay-per-click ad campaign. Use the right set of keywords to reach targeted traffic and build your revenue. Many keyword tools are available to help you sort through popular choices. Remember that search engine optimization is the way to get website hits from search engines. The higher your site ranks, the better the click-through rate you can expect.
2. Use captivating writing. An effectively written and carefully worded ad is your best bet for success. Each pay-per-click ad must captivate and intrigue the reader enough to make him click on it. A poorly written ad has the opposite effect and will not only lead to disappointment and lost revenue, but possibly to the removal of your ad.
3. Include a call to action. Asking potential customers to opt in to your mailing list or to make a purchase is essential for building your business. Use simple lines that clearly tell the reader what to do. Tell them to act right away, offer them a free bonus for signing up, or lure them in with information that's not generally available.
4. Develop a solid landing page. No pay-per-click ad campaign is effective if it fails to direct potential customers to a quality landing page. Make sure your landing page is informative, neat and creative. Be sure it is search engine optimized to bring in more traffic. Remember that the homepage on your website is not necessarily the best landing page for new customers. Create a distinct page that gives customers what they want upfront.
5. Devise a new ad campaign. An effective Internet marketing campaign includes a variety of advertising methods. To attract more attention, switch up your advertising methods and create new pay-per-click ads for different sets of keywords.
Pay-Per-Click Programs
Google Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing and Microsoft AdCenter are three major pay-per-click programs. Each has its own benefits and drawbacks. The only way to tell if these programs can drive traffic to your website is to test them and use their tracking features to see what is working. Regardless of which pay-per-click program you decide to go with, keyword research and market analysis are essential to your overall success. Do your homework, be prepared and create a pay-per-click ad campaign that will boost your revenue without breaking the bank.
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My Review Of The Day In The Life Of An Affiliate Marketer

Being in the affiliate marketing business is not that hard now with the internet at your disposable. It is much easier now compared to the days when people have to make use of the telephones and other mediums of information just to get the latest updates on the way their program is coming along.
So with technology at hand, and assuming that the affiliate is working from home, a day in his or her life would sound something like this.
Upon waking up and after having breakfast, the computer is turned on to check out new developments in the network. As far as the marketer is concerned there might be new things to update and statistics to keep track on.
The site design has to be revised. The marketer knows that a well-designed site can increase sign ups from visitors. It can also help in the affiliate conversion rates.
That is done; it is time to submit the affiliate program to directories that lists affiliate programs. These directories are means to attract people in joining your affiliate program. A sure way of promoting the affiliate program.
Time to track down the sales you are getting from your affiliates fairly and accurately. There are phone orders and mails to track down. See if they are new clients checking the products out. Noting down the contact information that might be a viable source in the future.
There are lots of resources to sort out. Ads, banners, button ads and sample recommendations to give out because the marketer knows that this is one way of ensuring more sales. Best to stay visible and accessible too.
The affiliate marketer remembered that there are questions to answer from the visitors. This has to be done quickly. Nothing can turn off a customer than an unanswered email.
To prove that the affiliate is working effectively and efficiently, inquiries would have to be paid more attention on. Nobody wants to be ignored and customers are not always the most patient of all people. Quick answer that should appear professional yet friendly too.
In the process of doing all the necessities, the marketer is logged on to a chat room where he or she interacts with other affiliates and those under that same program. This is where they can discuss things on how to best promote their products.
There are things to be learned and it is a continuous process. Sharing tips and advices is a good way of showing support. There may be others out there wanting to join and may be enticed by the discussion that is going on. There is no harm in assuming what opportunities ahead.
The newsletters and ezines were updated days ago, so it is time for the affiliate marketer to see if there are some new things happening in the market. This will be written about in the marketer's publication to be distributed to the old and new customers.
These same publications are also an important tool in keeping up to date with the newly introduced products. The marketer has put up a sale and promotion that customers may want to know about. Besides, they have to keep up with the deadline of these sales written in the publications.
It is that time to show some appreciation to those who have helped the marketer in the promotions and sale increase. Nothing like mentioning the persons, their sites and the process they have done that made everything worked.
Of course, this will be published in the newsletters. Among the more important information that have been written already.
The marketer still has time to write out recommendations to those who want credible sources for the products being promoted. There is also time to post some comments on how to be a successful affiliate marketer on a site where there are lots of wannabees.
Two objectives were done at the same time. The marketer gets to promote the product as well as the program they are in. Who knows, someone may be inclined to join.
Time flies. Missed lunch but is quite contented with the tasks done. Bed time.
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How To Get Free Advertisement

Every business no matter what the size is, should take advantage of the benefits offered by advertising. Any businessman worth his salt should be aware of why he should resort to advertising to make the public aware of his business.
Advertising is not just the typical photo-caption placed in one full page of any newspaper or magazine. Modern advertising has taken many forms and a businessman can now apply a mixture of advertising strategies to popular his business including but not limited to public relations, marketing and direct promotions.
The owner of a small or medium sized business will always have the problem of where to get that extra budget for advertising. Despite the glamour attached to advertisements, one need not spend much money to be able to do some advertising for his business.
A person can take advantage of the easy ways to create his own website for his business. Keep the website simple and easy to read and then promote the website to as many people as possible. This can be done by printing flyers and business cards that contain the website address and these can be distributed to his target market.
Another way to get traffic to his website is to write press releases or news articles promoting the site. There are sites accepting press releases for free but the releases should be newsworthy and not just plain advertising. Articles related to the products or services being sold can also be submitted to directories with a link back to the website.
Take advantage of hard copies and online editions of newspapers and magazines that offer free classified ads section. The space available for this is usually limited so make sure that the website address is given prominence. Make the headline catchy so anyone reading the advertisement would be encouraged to go to the site.
A businessman who knows how to write can start a column and write about topics related to his business. He can then place the address of his website at the end of the article or below his byline.
Participating in forums can also be a way to get free advertising. Search forums that are related to the products or services being sold and join the group. A person can participate in the questions and answers and can even pose his own questions.
Connect with other website owners with similar business and agree on a link exchange. The site owner can post a link to your website on his page and this can also be done for him. This can present plenty of opportunities for both websites.
And always give out thank you notes and cards to customers who have purchased the products. Remember them on special occasions as this is a way of keeping in contact with them.
There are a lot of opportunities for free advertising and the businessman only need to be creative so he can take advantage of those opportunities. In his bid to look for free advertising opportunities though, he should never lose sight of the goal of advertising and that is to inform potential clients about his company, to give them an opportunity to contact the company and the most important of all, to sell.
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You Might be Addicted to Yahoo Chat

Someone at work tells you a joke and you say LOL bwahahaha..waaaaaaa :)) :)):))
You watch T.V. with the closed captioning turned on.
You have called out someone's screen name while making love to your significant other.Hahahahaha!
You keep begging your friends to get an account so "you can hang out"
Three words: Carpal tunnel syndrome
You want to meet a girl/guy and your first impulse is to turn on your computer
you've ever gotten onto an airplane just to meet some folks face to face
you have to get a second phone line just so you can call Domino's pizza
You have ever joined "Si habla Espanol" (spanish chat room) "just to work on your spanish"
you go into labor and you stop to type a special e-mail letting everyone know you are going to be away
you have a vanity car tag with your screen name on it (hehehe)
you no longer type with proper punctuation, capitolization, or complete sentences...UHu! Yep,wat?
you have met over 100 Yahooligans
you begin to say hehehe.bwahaha. instead of laughing
when someone says "What did you say?" you reply "Scroll up!I can't see"
you find yourself sneaking away to the computer in the middle of the night when your spouse or g/f is a sleep.
you turn down the lights and close the blinds so people won't know you are on-line again
you know more about your Yahoo friends daily routines than you do your own spouses
you find yourself lying to others about your time on-line and when they complain that your phone was busy you claim it was off the hook.
you have an identity crisis if someone else is using an s/n close to your own
you would rather tell people your bloodshot eyes are from partying too much instead of the truth (all night on-line)Bawahaha.
you change s/n's so much that you have to get your profile to see who you are
you're broke, your modem burns out and you go out onto the streets to sell your body to get a new one
you open your home to 15 strangers for a week merely because they have computers and cool s/n's
your kids are standing at your side saying "mommy, please come cook dinner" and you would rather type another "LOL"
you marry your cyber boyfriend and you both sit at your won computers and chat to each other every night from across the room.
you type messages to people while you are on the phone with them at the same time
you don't work at a job that doesn't have a Yahoo Messenger Installed
you won't work at a job that doesn't have a modem involved
your dog or cats leaves you
you have to ask what year it is
you are doing things more and more that you swore you would never, ever do when you first found chat
you write a letter like this..."dear tom, hiyas! how r u doin well gotta go bbl!"
you name your pets after people you talk to
you smile sideways
you sign on and immediately get 10 messages from people who have you on their buddy lists
you have a map on the wall with red thumbtacks to mark where people you have met are
you look at an annoying person off-line and wish you had your ignore button handy
you bring a bag lunch and a cooler to the puter
your significant other kisses your neck while you are chating and you think "uh oh cyber sex pervo"Muahhhh!
you have withdrawls if you are away from the puter for more than a few hours
you use Yahoo lingo in everyday life (if you still have one...hehehe)
you take a speed reading course to keep up with the scrolling
your buddy list has over 100 people on it. ( No wonder why you always get disconnected)
your worst comeback to a bully is "I'll slap you with a rubber chicken."
you wake up in the morning and the first thing you do is get on-line before you have your first cup of coffee
you have to inject no-doze into your butt to keep it awake
you have your puter set up so that it goes directly into AOL's welcome screen (hehehe I used to have that)
you wait 12 hours online for a certain "special" person to come home from work
you don't know where the time has gone
you end sentances with three(or more) periods while writing letters in pen/pencil
your relationship online has gone farther than any real one you have had
you get up at 2am to go the bathroom but go turn on your puter
you spell things outloud instead of actually saying the word
you don't even notice anymore when someone has a typo
when you enter a room and 23 people greet you with {{{Hugs}}} or ***Kisses***>>Muahh.:X:X:X
you stop typing whole words and use things like ppl, dunno and lemme
your voicemail/answering machine message is "BRB, leave your s/n and I will TTYL"
you type faster than you think
you got your psychiatrist addicted on Yahoo too and are now undergoing therapy in private rooms instead of at his office
you want to be burried with your computer when it dies...or vice versa
you actually enjoy the fact that you are addicted
you can actually read and follow all the names of the cast that scrolls up your tv-screen at the end of a movie
people say, if it weren't for your super reflexes in your eyes and fingers, you would have long been classified as a vegetable
you dream in text
being called a newbie is a MAJOR insult
there is absolutely no interesting chat any room and you are really bored....yet you don't want to leave incase you miss something
you double click your tv remote
you can now type over 70 wpm
you think about starting a 12 step recovery group for Yahoo junkies
you are on the phone for a minute and need to do something else you say "BRB" or "BBL"
you check your e-mail and forget you have real mail aka snail mail
you go into withdrawls during dinner
you spend at least 30 minutes making sure you say goodbye to everyone in a room
you stop speaking in full sentances
you have gone into an unstaffed tech support room and ended up "giving" tech support to other Yahoolers
you have to be pried from your computer with the Jaws-of-Life
your last sexual experience was really just a "VC Experience" experience ( Cyber space)
you set your kitchen on fire while cooking dinner because you wanted to "check your mail" and while you were there you "just wanted to see who's on"
you meet people from Yahoo in public and have no idea what their real name is, so you call them by their s/n
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Online Benefits for Craft Businesses

The internet has an endless number of benefits for craftspeople, not just as a medium for selling the end product but for each step that leads to sales. The fact that you are reading this shows that you already utilise the web for information but perhaps you have not yet considered some of the following points presented.

The ideas provided in this article have come from interviews with craftspeople, conducted for AussieCrafts.com, in the interest of sharing information with our peers. When boiled down to its bare essentials this is the true essence of the internet but it sometimes gets lost in all of the advertising and sales. The interviews spawned a host of ways in which the internet assists the crafters, both in their business and creatively, and provided much insight into untangling the web.

Inspiration
When asked about the sources they use for inspiration most craftspeople have said that the internet is a much used research tool. This is particularly useful with commission pieces, where a client gives a basic idea and there is a need to familiarise yourself with the subject. Browsing websites is also great for when you want to start a new piece but are not quite sure where to begin. No matter what craft you do if you are stuck for ideas on what to create there are always plenty of places to get some quick inspiration online. The obvious way to get ideas is to search for your craft in the search engines but some other methods are:

• Type your craft name into Google image search
• Yahoo groups on your craft often have galleries
• Online stores that sell your craft
• Craft directories
• Historical sites related to your craft, most crafts did after all come from very ancient beginnings.
• Try searching for crafts that are similar to yours, if you do pottery, for example, search for glasswork. The colours and shapes are likely to spark new ideas.

If it’s a more abstract inspiration that you need such as colour or texture then art, photography and nature sites are fantastic sources of ideas. Stock photography sites (such as www.dreamstime.com), for example, have thousands of images of almost everything imaginable. Let’s say you want to create a bead necklace that reflects the colour and movement of the ocean. If you browse the sea and ocean category of a stock photography site you can jot down ideas based on what you see as you view page after page of photographs that cover every aspect of the ocean.

Education: patterns and tutorials
There are very few crafters who believe they know everything there is about their craft. Who of us do not want to learn something new? The internet is the best source of tips, tricks, patterns and tutorials on every craft imaginable, so much so that many craftspeople no longer purchase books about their craft. Many sites offer this information for free, as a way to attract and keep surfers, much the same way as articles like this are utilised. Others charge a subscription or a cost per tutorial, often downloaded as an e-book or a pdf file. For many crafts there are also online classes or lessons via email, again some are free (and often include advertising) and others are subscription based.

To find these valuable resources consider using some of the following terms alongside your craft name: tutorial, pattern, learn to, ebook, lesson, techniques, instructions or projects. These keywords were tested using Google search and beading, for example ‘beading projects’, and the results were astonishing. If it a particular technique you are searching for then add that to your search query, for example ‘beading peyote technique’, where peyote is a type of beading stitch.

Purchasing tools and materials
The internet has brought about a convenient way to buy almost anything, from anywhere in the world, and to craftspeople this has been one the most important benefits of being online. Often there are supplies needed for craftwork that are not available locally and this can be the case no matter where you live. It may be because it is only manufactured in a small area of Europe or that there are few people working in the same craft as you and therefore there is little demand.

Apart from availability issues nothing is better than being able to browse many stores in a short space of time and not only get prices but also see things without having to leave home. Ebay is popular with many craftspeople due to the range of goods and their prices, you can find both new and secondhand tools and materials there. Shopping online means more time for doing what you enjoy or what brings in your income. The world is becoming smaller and shipping costs and delivery times are too.

Often the websites that sell crafts materials also have a range of useful resources such as guides to using their products. They also have convenient contact information, like email, and as they are often craftspeople themselves can give advice on craft specific problems.

Publicity and exhibition requests
Many of the sources that are traditionally used for publicity such as magazines, newspapers and event organizers are now using the internet as a way to find craftspeople. Not only is the internet often a faster way to find what they need but it is also a visual medium. Therefore having a website for your craft business is not just about gaining sales and commissions but it also provides a way for the media and galleries to see your work.

One example of this is an artist interviewed on Aussie Crafts who has in the last few months been contacted by a lifestyle magazine to do an article on her work, as well as another contact to request her involvement in an exhibition. Both of these publicity avenues have stemmed from her website, which contain galleries of her work.

This same artist is also a member of an organisation supporting her medium, which has a website that lists galleries showing members’ works at any given time. There are organisations such as this for many crafts, both global and local, that are worth having a membership with.

Sales and commissions
The most obvious way that craftspeople are using the internet is to sell their products to a wider market than previously possible, what is not so obvious is that there are many ways to do this. One artist interviewed extolled the virtues of the internet as, "It's been huge for us. We sell artwork and DIY kits all over the world and so put virtually all our marketing energy into our website. We get well over five thousand visitors every month at basically no cost and the whole world has become our target market."

Some of the reasons people decided to sell their crafts online include not having to deal with galleries, no commissions to pay, less overheads than a store and the fact that there is more time crafting and less selling.

Apart from setting up an often expensive e-commerce website there are other means to gaining online sales:

• A 'brochure' style site, which displays the products you make but does not sell them online. Instead it can be used to promote a market stall, shop front, commission enquiries etc.
• Many craftspeople are selling their work in auctions at Ebay; this can be a lucrative option for the right products.
• Online craft malls are a way to have an online presence without the hassle and overheads of building an e-commerce site. Search for craft malls in the search engines and you will find such sites as craftmall.com, aokcorral.com and lilysplace.com. These sites generally use Paypal as a payment option to take the headaches out of online payments and are similar to Ebay without being auction based.

Human contact
One of the common problems that people who craft for an income mention is loneliness. Oftentimes they work at home alone and this can be very isolating. The internet can provide avenues to have contact with others who craft. They could be in the same locality as you and allow for face-to-face meeting or they may be on the other side of the world.

There are many group and organisations for most craft genres, such as Yahoo groups or MSN chats. Often if it is a location-based group there are classes and retreats organised for people to come together and learn. These groups can become invaluable for technical advice, feedback and learning but also that human contact that is a necessary part of life.

Client contact
Email is a fantastic way to keep in touch with clients and industry contacts. It is so much cheaper than a phone call (i.e. free) and is much less time consuming. Email provides a simple means to show clients’ examples or progress on a work via photograph attachments. It also provides a record of all communication.

Online messaging systems, available for free from MSN and Yahoo, are also useful ways to keep in contact with customers. These can even be used to give online support by providing your identification name on your website. However these systems can become a time waster instead of saver if you are not careful.

folder gluer
folding and gluing machine

Online Benefits for Craft Businesses

The internet has an endless number of benefits for craftspeople, not just as a medium for selling the end product but for each step that leads to sales. The fact that you are reading this shows that you already utilise the web for information but perhaps you have not yet considered some of the following points presented.

The ideas provided in this article have come from interviews with craftspeople, conducted for AussieCrafts.com, in the interest of sharing information with our peers. When boiled down to its bare essentials this is the true essence of the internet but it sometimes gets lost in all of the advertising and sales. The interviews spawned a host of ways in which the internet assists the crafters, both in their business and creatively, and provided much insight into untangling the web.

Inspiration
When asked about the sources they use for inspiration most craftspeople have said that the internet is a much used research tool. This is particularly useful with commission pieces, where a client gives a basic idea and there is a need to familiarise yourself with the subject. Browsing websites is also great for when you want to start a new piece but are not quite sure where to begin. No matter what craft you do if you are stuck for ideas on what to create there are always plenty of places to get some quick inspiration online. The obvious way to get ideas is to search for your craft in the search engines but some other methods are:

• Type your craft name into Google image search
• Yahoo groups on your craft often have galleries
• Online stores that sell your craft
• Craft directories
• Historical sites related to your craft, most crafts did after all come from very ancient beginnings.
• Try searching for crafts that are similar to yours, if you do pottery, for example, search for glasswork. The colours and shapes are likely to spark new ideas.

If it’s a more abstract inspiration that you need such as colour or texture then art, photography and nature sites are fantastic sources of ideas. Stock photography sites (such as www.dreamstime.com), for example, have thousands of images of almost everything imaginable. Let’s say you want to create a bead necklace that reflects the colour and movement of the ocean. If you browse the sea and ocean category of a stock photography site you can jot down ideas based on what you see as you view page after page of photographs that cover every aspect of the ocean.

Education: patterns and tutorials
There are very few crafters who believe they know everything there is about their craft. Who of us do not want to learn something new? The internet is the best source of tips, tricks, patterns and tutorials on every craft imaginable, so much so that many craftspeople no longer purchase books about their craft. Many sites offer this information for free, as a way to attract and keep surfers, much the same way as articles like this are utilised. Others charge a subscription or a cost per tutorial, often downloaded as an e-book or a pdf file. For many crafts there are also online classes or lessons via email, again some are free (and often include advertising) and others are subscription based.

To find these valuable resources consider using some of the following terms alongside your craft name: tutorial, pattern, learn to, ebook, lesson, techniques, instructions or projects. These keywords were tested using Google search and beading, for example ‘beading projects’, and the results were astonishing. If it a particular technique you are searching for then add that to your search query, for example ‘beading peyote technique’, where peyote is a type of beading stitch.

Purchasing tools and materials
The internet has brought about a convenient way to buy almost anything, from anywhere in the world, and to craftspeople this has been one the most important benefits of being online. Often there are supplies needed for craftwork that are not available locally and this can be the case no matter where you live. It may be because it is only manufactured in a small area of Europe or that there are few people working in the same craft as you and therefore there is little demand.

Apart from availability issues nothing is better than being able to browse many stores in a short space of time and not only get prices but also see things without having to leave home. Ebay is popular with many craftspeople due to the range of goods and their prices, you can find both new and secondhand tools and materials there. Shopping online means more time for doing what you enjoy or what brings in your income. The world is becoming smaller and shipping costs and delivery times are too.

Often the websites that sell crafts materials also have a range of useful resources such as guides to using their products. They also have convenient contact information, like email, and as they are often craftspeople themselves can give advice on craft specific problems.

Publicity and exhibition requests
Many of the sources that are traditionally used for publicity such as magazines, newspapers and event organizers are now using the internet as a way to find craftspeople. Not only is the internet often a faster way to find what they need but it is also a visual medium. Therefore having a website for your craft business is not just about gaining sales and commissions but it also provides a way for the media and galleries to see your work.

One example of this is an artist interviewed on Aussie Crafts who has in the last few months been contacted by a lifestyle magazine to do an article on her work, as well as another contact to request her involvement in an exhibition. Both of these publicity avenues have stemmed from her website, which contain galleries of her work.

This same artist is also a member of an organisation supporting her medium, which has a website that lists galleries showing members’ works at any given time. There are organisations such as this for many crafts, both global and local, that are worth having a membership with.

Sales and commissions
The most obvious way that craftspeople are using the internet is to sell their products to a wider market than previously possible, what is not so obvious is that there are many ways to do this. One artist interviewed extolled the virtues of the internet as, "It's been huge for us. We sell artwork and DIY kits all over the world and so put virtually all our marketing energy into our website. We get well over five thousand visitors every month at basically no cost and the whole world has become our target market."

Some of the reasons people decided to sell their crafts online include not having to deal with galleries, no commissions to pay, less overheads than a store and the fact that there is more time crafting and less selling.

Apart from setting up an often expensive e-commerce website there are other means to gaining online sales:

• A 'brochure' style site, which displays the products you make but does not sell them online. Instead it can be used to promote a market stall, shop front, commission enquiries etc.
• Many craftspeople are selling their work in auctions at Ebay; this can be a lucrative option for the right products.
• Online craft malls are a way to have an online presence without the hassle and overheads of building an e-commerce site. Search for craft malls in the search engines and you will find such sites as craftmall.com, aokcorral.com and lilysplace.com. These sites generally use Paypal as a payment option to take the headaches out of online payments and are similar to Ebay without being auction based.

Human contact
One of the common problems that people who craft for an income mention is loneliness. Oftentimes they work at home alone and this can be very isolating. The internet can provide avenues to have contact with others who craft. They could be in the same locality as you and allow for face-to-face meeting or they may be on the other side of the world.

There are many group and organisations for most craft genres, such as Yahoo groups or MSN chats. Often if it is a location-based group there are classes and retreats organised for people to come together and learn. These groups can become invaluable for technical advice, feedback and learning but also that human contact that is a necessary part of life.

Client contact
Email is a fantastic way to keep in touch with clients and industry contacts. It is so much cheaper than a phone call (i.e. free) and is much less time consuming. Email provides a simple means to show clients’ examples or progress on a work via photograph attachments. It also provides a record of all communication.

Online messaging systems, available for free from MSN and Yahoo, are also useful ways to keep in contact with customers. These can even be used to give online support by providing your identification name on your website. However these systems can become a time waster instead of saver if you are not careful.

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Newton sees Mithunda and Rajnikanth films!

Recently the father of physics made a visit to earth to watch a movie. He watched a few Indian movies and had his head spinning. He was convinced that all his logics and laws in physics were just a huge pile of junk and apologised for everything he had done.

In the movie of Mithun Chakravarthy Newton dada was confused to such an extent that he went paranoid. Here are a few scenes:
1)Mithunda has a Brain Tumor which, according to the doctors can't be cured and his death is imminent. In one of the fights, our great Mithunda is shot in the head. To everybody's surprise, the bullet passes through his ears taking away the tumor along with it and he is cured. Long Live Mithunda
2)In one of the movies, Mithunda is confronted with 2 gangsters. Mithunda has a Gun but unfortunately only one bullet. Guess, what he does....... He holds a knife in his hand and shoots the bullet towards the knife. The knife cuts the bullet into 2 pieces and kills both the gangsters. Then, Mithunda utters the following dialogue "Apun ka naam hai HIRA, Apun ne sabko Chiraa".
3)Mithunda is chased by a gangster. Mithunda has a revolvver but he got no bullets in it. Guess, what he does. Nah not even in your remotest imaginations. He waits for the gangster to shoot. As soon as the gangster shoots, Mithunda opens the bullet compartment of his revolver and catches the bullet. Then, he closes the bullet compartment and fires his gun. Bang... And the gangster dies....
4)The heroine is tied to an electric chair and the remote is in the hands of the villain about 100 km away. As usual, the villain confronts the hero saying "Hathiyar phek do warna main yeh remote ka button dabake tumhari mehbooba ko mar doonga".The usual fight occurs and just as the hero makes the final blow, the villain dies but not before he presses than damn button. Now what to do? Sure enough, there is a horse and the hero jumps on it. Now there is a race: The current in the cable connected to the electric chair is moving fast but our hero and his horse are desparately trying tocatch up.... goes on for a few km and just as the current would hit the chair, the hero jumps from the horse and picks the girl away from the chain and husssshhhh. She is saved. The poor electric current only goes to an empty chair. Climax, taaalian. Hero! Hero!! Hero!!!
This was too much for our Newton to take and he was completely pissed off and he decided to go back. But he happened to see a Rajnikanth movie for one last time and thought that atleast one movie will follow his theory of physics.
The whole movies goes fine and newton is happy that all in the world hasnt changed. Oops not so fast. The climax finally arrives.Rajni gets to know that the villian is on the the other side of a very high wall. So high that Rajni can't jump even if he tries like one of those superman techniques that our heroes normally use. Rajni has to desparalety kill the villian because its the climax Newton dada is smiling since it is virtually impossible).. Rajni suddenly pulls two guns from his pocket (Probably a backup). He throws one gun in the air and when the gun has reached the height of the wall ,he shoots at the trigger of the first gun in air, with his second gun. Now the first gun fires off and the villian is dead.
Newton faints !!!
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Boxes and locks

You want to send a valuable object to a friend. You have a box which is more than large enough to contain the object. You have several locks with keys. The box has a locking ring which is more than large enough to have a lock attached. But your friend does not have the key to any lock that you have. How do you do it? Note that you cannot send a key in an unlocked box, since it might be copied.
Scroll down for the answer
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Boxes and locks

You want to send a valuable object to a friend. You have a box which is more than large enough to contain the object. You have several locks with keys. The box has a locking ring which is more than large enough to have a lock attached. But your friend does not have the key to any lock that you have. How do you do it? Note that you cannot send a key in an unlocked box, since it might be copied.
Scroll down for the answer
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Brain Teasers

1. What is the easiest way to throw a ball, have it stop, and completely reverse direction after traveling a short distance?Ans. Scroll Down for answer
2. What is at the beginning of eternity, the end of time, the beginning of every end, and the end of every place?Ans. Scroll Down for answer
3. When things go wrong, what can you always count on? Ans. Scroll Down for answer
4. What is always behind you but you can never touch it? Ans. Scroll Down for answer
5. I am never the first to speak but I am always the last to be heard. Who am I? Ans. Scroll Down for answer
6. We were born of the same mother, on the same day, at the same hour and in the same year. Yet we are not twins. How do you explain this? Ans. Scroll Down for answer
7. Two fathers and two sons were seated round a table. There were four apples on the table. Each of them took one apple and ate it entirely yet there was still one apple left on the table. How was this possible? Ans. Scroll Down for answer
8. Before Mount Everest was discovered which was the highest mountain in the world? Ans. Scroll Down for answer
9. Here everything is not always in order. For example, Friday comes before Thursday, the cart comes before the horse, the driver comes before the employer. Where are we? Ans. Scroll Down for answer
10. When I am alive I stay put where I am. It is only when I am dead that I move about here and there. Who am I? Ans. Scroll Down for answer
11. How can you be behind a person when that person is also behind you?Ans. Scroll Down for answer
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*
*
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Answers:1. Throw the ball straight up

2. 'e'

3. Your fingers

4. The past

5. An echo.

6. They are triplets.

7. There were only three persons at the table comprising a grandfather, his son and his grandson.

8. Mount Everest, of course. It was always there!

9. In a dictionary.

10. A leaf.

11. Put yourself back to back of each other.
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A Mexican Love Story

A lady walked into a drug store and told the pharmacist she needed some cyanide. The pharmacist asked, "Why in the world do you need cyanide?" The lady then explained she needed it to poison her husband. The pharmacist's eyes got big and he said, "Lord have mercy, I can't give you cyanide to kill your husband! That's against the law! I'll lose my license... They'll throw both of us in jail and all kinds of bad things will happen! Absolutely not! You can NOT have any cyanide!" Then the lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband having dinner in a restaurant with pharmacist's wife. The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, "Well, now... You didn't tell me you had a prescription".
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Kaise Apni Wife ho?

Wife ....Wife.......Wife.........5' 6" jiski height ho,Jeans jiski tight ho,Chehara jiska bright ho,Umar 22 se 27 ho,Aisi apni Wife ho.
Sadak per sab kahe kya cute ho,Bhid me sab kahe side ho, side ho,Bambai, Delhi ya Gujarat ki paidaish ho,Sas ki seva jiski khwahish hoAisi apni Wife ho.
Padosi jab baat kare to haath me knife ho,Dinner ke time candle light ho,Ham me tum me kabhi na koi fight ho,Milane ke baad dil delight ho,Yeh kavita padhne ke baad log kahe "chikne, tum right ho",Aisi apni Wife ho.
kaash yeh concept .0001 percent bhi right hoagar aisi apni wife hoto kya hasin life ho
har kisi ki yahi farmaish hokudrat ki bhi aajmaish hokhudah ke software mein bhi bug ki gunjaish hoay kaash, kahin to ek aisi paidaish hoaisi apni wife ho!
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Kaise Apni Wife ho?

Wife ....Wife.......Wife.........5' 6" jiski height ho,Jeans jiski tight ho,Chehara jiska bright ho,Umar 22 se 27 ho,Aisi apni Wife ho.
Sadak per sab kahe kya cute ho,Bhid me sab kahe side ho, side ho,Bambai, Delhi ya Gujarat ki paidaish ho,Sas ki seva jiski khwahish hoAisi apni Wife ho.
Padosi jab baat kare to haath me knife ho,Dinner ke time candle light ho,Ham me tum me kabhi na koi fight ho,Milane ke baad dil delight ho,Yeh kavita padhne ke baad log kahe "chikne, tum right ho",Aisi apni Wife ho.
kaash yeh concept .0001 percent bhi right hoagar aisi apni wife hoto kya hasin life ho
har kisi ki yahi farmaish hokudrat ki bhi aajmaish hokhudah ke software mein bhi bug ki gunjaish hoay kaash, kahin to ek aisi paidaish hoaisi apni wife ho!
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And they say guys lie for no reason!

One day, while a woodcutter was cutting a branch of a tree above a river, his axe fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "Why are you crying?" The woodcutter replied that his axe had fallen into the water. The Lord went down into the water and reappeared with a golden axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked. The woodcutter replied, "No." The Lord again went down and came up with a silver axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked. Again, the woodcutter replied, "No." The Lord went down again and came up with an iron axe. "Is this your axe?" the Lord asked. The woodcutter replied, "Yes." The Lord was pleased with the man's honesty and gave him all three axes to keep, and the woodcutter went home happily. One day while he was walking with his wife along the riverbank, the woodcutter's wife fell into the river. When he cried out, the Lord again appeared and asked him, "Why are you crying?" "Oh Lord, my wife has fallen into the water!" The Lord went down into the water and came up with Jennifer Lopez, as beautiful as ever. "Is this your wife?" the Lord asked. Without a doubt, "Yes, my Lord" cried the woodcutter. The Lord was furious. "You cheat! That is an untruth!" The woodcutter replied, "Oh, forgive me, my Lord. It is a misunderstanding. You see, if I said 'no' to Jennifer Lopez, You will come up with Catherine Zeta-Jones. Then if I also say 'no' to her, You will thirdly come up with my wife, and I will say 'yes,' and then all three will be given to me. But Lord, I am a poor man and I will not be able to take care of all three wives, so that's why I said 'yes' this time." The moral of the story is: WHENEVER A MAN LIES, IT IS FOR AN HONOURABLE AND USEFUL REASON............!!!!! !!!!!WARNING!!!! This was Ofcourse thought of written by a MALE!!!!
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What Should You Do If Your Home Isn't Selling?

It can be very frustrating to put your home on the market, expecting a fast sale, only to find that after six months youre still waiting for an offer. What can you do?

First, determine if its a result of timing. You may have started worrying too soon. If it has been only a month and you havent gotten a bite, not to worry. The time a home stays on the market is related to the markets strength, which varies regionally. According to The 2003 National Association of REALTORS Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, two-thirds of all homes sold in the United States in 2003 sold within two month, with the average sale taking place within five weeks. However, homes in the Northeast and West sold slightly faster (four weeks) than those in the Midwest and South (five weeks).

Of course, other factors may be responsible for your home not selling.

Inaccurate pricing. A house priced at market value piques the interest of real estate professionals and buyers, while overpricing chases them away. Even if the seller adjusts the price later, its difficult to recapture peoples interest.

Because its only natural to overestimate the value of ones home, homesellers should depend on factual reference points, such as an appraisal and comparables (Comparable Market Analysis or CMA) to help estimate market value. Real estate professionals prepare comparables by examining similar properties that recently sold in a neighborhood. This practice is the best way to arrive at a realistic asking price.

Insufficient exposure. If youre selling your home on your own, you may want to consider using a real estate professional. As reported in the previously mentioned NAR study, buyers were most likely to learn about the home they purchased through a real estate professional. Sales professionals develop comprehensive marketing strategies to sell a home. They generally use open houses, yard signs, MLS, newspaper ads, the Internet and brochures to give a property maximum exposure. Limited interest and thinly attended open houses may indicate a need for more exposure.

Condition and appearance of a home. Sellers shouldnt rely on buyers to use their imagination; they need to capture it. Remember that buyers may see seven or eight homes in a single day. The most memorable home will be the one that seemed the brightest, the most spacious, the most cheerful. This invariably means rearranging and eliminating furniture, removing excess knickknacks and so on, to create an open, uncluttered look. Outside, do a visual check of the front of the house from across the street. Does it have curb appeal? It should look inviting, with a trimmed lawn and a freshly painted front door. A real estate professional can offer some guidance in this area.

Terms/conditions. Even if the home is accurately priced, and the buyer is delighted with what he or she sees, if the buyer cant live with the terms of the sale, he or she may walk away. What sort of terms or conditions have you placed on the sale? Evaluate how this may be affecting a potential sale.

Less-than-desirable neighborhood. Normally, theres not much a homeowner can do about the surrounding neighborhood. But if your home is not selling and youve examined every other factor, this may be something to consider.For homeowners who can postpone selling and are aware that certain issues need to be addressed on the neighborhood level, now is the time to join or organize a town beautification group. By the time youre ready to sell, todays eyesores will have been eliminated.

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How to Get Prospects to Return Your Call

How effective are the messages that YOU leave for your prospects? Your prospects form an opinion about you and your company every time you contact them. In fact, the messages you leave on their voicemail or e-mail may be a determining factor in their decision to call you back and consider doing business with you. So make a good impression!

The Voicemail Message

Recently, I had the experience of shopping for a car. Unfortunately, I didnt have the pleasure of buying one. Although I knew the exact car I wanted and was ready to buy, not one car salesperson was willing to give me any personal attention.

To begin, I followed a get a quote?tool that was available online and filled in exactly what I wanted in my next car: the type, the color, the features, and even additional comments. I couldnt have made it much easier for a car salesperson to sell me a car that I already knew I wanted.

With the five requests that I sent online to different car dealerships in my area, I received five phone calls within 12 hours of my request. All of them went directly to my voicemail.

Here is the basic script to four of the messages I received:

Hello, this is (insert name of salesperson) calling from (insert name of car dealership). Please call me back at (insert telephone number that I have yet to call).

BOOORING! And talk about impersonal! Did they even read my request? Do they even know what kind of car I am interested in?

When a prospect goes out of their way to contact you in regards to a sale, the last thing you want to do is leave them an impersonal or automated message!

Whats the purpose of a voicemail message?

There is only one objective to leaving a voicemail: get them to call you back. Be creative! Use humor! Show them you are different from the competition!

Distinguishing yourself from others DOES NOT mean telling your prospects how great and wonderful you and your company are. DONT tell them that your company is the biggest, the best, that it always puts the customer first, has a 99.6 percent customer satisfaction rate, was the first to do something, or how long youve been in business and how many awards your company has won. In fact, dont tell them ANYTHING remotely similar to anything on that list!

True Story: While attending college at Bowling Green State University I made a significant observation: all seven pizza companies in town printed voted #1 pizza in town?right on their pizza box. Why? The same reason you tell your customers how great you arebecause you think people actually care.

How do you differentiate yourself from the competition?

Your prospects know what they like and what they want. They dont want to dance around with you or play games. They want to be treated like an important customer and not like the next sale towards quota.

So try leaving a message that is actually to the point. Try to sound like a human being and not a salesperson. Leave a message of value, where you tell your prospect something they might actually want to know. This will entice them to return your call. (Want more examples? Send a blank e-mail to voicemail@tomrichard.com)

The e-mail message

After sending in my online quote requests for a car, I also received an automated e-mail. I know that youve probably received one sometime in your life, too. Theyre easy to spot as soon as you open the message: a letter full of misspellings, asterisks and exclamation points; sent from a nameless person promising to give you an incredible deal on a sale.

These types of e-mails almost always end up in the trash folder. Why? Because theyre garbage, and you know it! So, why are you using this garbage to reach your prospects?

Voicemails and e-mails should always be sent personally from a real human being, with the intention of creating a relationship with your prospect. Get to know your prospect so you will understand them and discover their motivation for their interest. When you know why they are interested, you will find out how they will make the decision of whether or nor to buy from you.

Be persistent!

Although all five dealerships reached out to me within the first 24 hours of my inquiry, not one person has followed up with me since then (with the exception of automated e-mail blasts, like I mentioned).

A clear and simple way to separate yourself from the competition is to be pleasantly persistent with your follow-up. You are NOT creating a favorable impression with a prospect if you cant take the time to contact them on a personal level after your first attempt.

When I sent out my initial online inquiries, I was ready to buy a car. I took the first step to contact five different car dealerships in my area. However, the impersonal and ineffective follow-ups of these dealerships have reminded me of why I dont like purchasing a car, and now I am considering keeping my old one.

I didnt make the sales process difficult, the follow-up system of the car dealerships did!

So consider this: is your follow-up system killing your chance of making sales? Do you send messages to your prospects? Are they personal? Are they effective? Remember, the point of the follow-up is to establish a relationship that will eventually lead to a sale. So be personal, be persistent, and be happy youre changing a prospect into a customer!

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Mike Holmgren owes Bill Cowher and NFL Fans an Apology

Since when is it OK to totally snub the winner of an NFL game, let alone the biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl? Well that's exactly what Mike Holmgren, the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, did on Super Bowl Sunday after his team lost the game. Not only did he not meet Coach Cowher, the longest tenured coach in the NFL, on the 25 yard line for a congratulatory handshake as scheduled, it was actually Cowher who had to go out of his way to find Holmgren. The moment finally took place in the Seahawks locker room, so I can speculate on who pursued who. At a time when he should be enjoying his much deserved win, Coach Cowher was chasing down a sore loser, because Cowher knows how it works. The deal isn't done until the handshake. It's tradition, a tradition rooted in good sportsman ship. A tradition that Holmgren dismissed because he was angry. What a great example, what a wonderful role model he was to all of the kids watching.

In 1995, Cowher and the Steelers lost the Super Bowl to the Dallas Cowboy's under similar circumstances. Bad officiating, lot's of "if'y" calls, touch downs that really weren't. But when the clock expired and the game was over, Bill Cowher marched right into the center of the field and shook the victor's hand and offered a few kind words. He didn't slither out of the back door, he also didn't return to his teams host city and bad mouth the officiating. He did give a losing coaches interview in the locker room and was seen embracing his tear-soaked family, obviously broken hearted by the loss. Coach Cowher has given his respect, he has given his props, he has played by the rules, and yet, even though he is the longest tenured coach in the NFL, everyone in the media, on sportscenter, even the NFL itself refuses to admit that Holmgren snubbed Cowher because he was angry. I wonder if this story would have been bigger had it been Bill Belichick that got shafted?

Don't get me wrong, I didn't have any axe to grind with Mike Holmgren, not until he pulled this nonsense. I've always thought he was a stand up guy, I even pulled for him and his Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers in 97'. You see Mike has been around the block a few times. He's not some 35 year old hot-head who's never seen the inside of the Super Bowl. The man has been there twice not including this last appearance, walking away with one trophy and one heartache. For him to be such a veteran coach with so much big game experience makes this insult and lack of respect from him even harder to swallow.

The NFL is talking about fining him for the remarks he made to the home town crowd in Seattle, in which he insinuated that the referee's were responsible for their loss to the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers. I sincerely hope they levy the largest fine possible on his plump "wallet". Because the statement is not true. The Seattle Seahawks had just as much chance to win that game as did the Pittsburgh Steelers, but it was a battle of coaching and Holmgren was definitely out coached by Cowher. In the waning minutes of both halves of the game, Holmgren was managing the clock like it was a pre-season contest, not the Super Bowl. Constant mistakes which ground away the clock and his teams chance to win. His kicker missed field goals, field goals that super bowl champ's MUST make, just ask the New England Patriots. His best receiver dropped nearly every pass thrown his way. His MVP of the league running back never saw the inside of the end zone. Holmgren started the game passing, yet when crunch time rolled around and the clock was going away, he thought it was a good time to start running the ball for 3 and 4 yard gains. Yet Holmgren takes the low road and calls the ref's out and points his finger of blame in their faces.

On the other side of the field Coach Cowher was planning his work and working his plan, devising plays that totally caught the Seahawks off guard, including the Rothlisberger TD that was subjected to review, even though the ball obviously grazed the goal line, the Willie Parker run that caught Seattle in the all-out blitz that gave Parker clear sailing once he cleared the line, the end-a-round from Randle El to Ward for the kill shot. All Bill Cowher calls, all at the perfect time, and all very very effective against an absolutey bewildered Seahawks defense.

I hope this piece winds up, somehow, in front of Mike Holmgren because I have something to say to him: "Mike, Mr. Holmgren, Coach, you lost the game not because of bad officiating, you lost the game because you are not as good of a Coach as Bill Cowher. He took you to school, so try to learn a few things from him instead of throwing a tantrum and disrespecting one of the greatest coaches in league history. I can only hope that one day someone shows you total disrespect at a time when you should be congratulated for a job well done. You lost. Live with it."

My congratulations go out to the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers, but more than that, I want to extend my respect and admiration for a true class act, Coach Bill Cowher, a native of Pittsburgh, which has gotta make this all the more sweeter. Although I don't play football, or any sport for that matter, you will always be my head coach.

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Overcome Fears

Fear is natural defensive mechanism in a human body, and is provided as a protective mechanism to counter unexpected dangerous situations or a perceived threat of injury. Fear is also a tool for us to get ready well in advance to overcome certain scenarios, which requires a solid defense. If confronted with a danger, we will try to avoid the cause of danger itself, while if we are given a choice of performing something that is potentially harmful; we will invariably avoid that potentially dangerous situation. In some cases, fear is considered very desirable for human psyche, but in other extreme cases, fear factor may overpower us to such an extent that, we tend to live permanently with a nagging fear. In such instances, managing the fear factor in our psyche becomes very difficult and sometimes even unmanageable. Overcoming fears is not as easy as it perceived to be because the very idea of fear becomes scary or frightening to many people.

Just consider this curious fact: it is estimated that fear can affect as high as 60% of the people in the world. Fear can make people nervous and scary; people tend to get fear of all things which are mostly imaginary. People are frightened of ghosts, failure, success, people, animals, or anything that seem very frightening. People are frightened to appear on a public stage or if they are assigned to give a public lecture. People do get afraid of exams, tests and interviews or even talking to people. It is difficult to define the shape or form of fear, its kind and occurrence. While many external stimuli may make us fearful of some things or events, fear is also a symptom of serious mental illness, as in the case of chronic schizophrenia. Overcoming fears is an ultimate challenge to us as well as medical professionals.

There are several kinds of fears, out of which some are completely normal and rational. On the other hand there are other types of fear which are abnormal and needs treatment to overcome those fears. While the fear arising due to the factor of physical harm is perfect, fear of looking foolish in the eyes of others and being made fun because of it, is probably a sign of negative personal trait. There are several phobias and symptoms which are often very hard to get rid of due to their association with our psyche itself. Normal fear is temporary and usually fizzles out, once we known that we have passed through the dangerous phase of fear.

Overcoming fears arising out natural reasons is easy, as the person will come out of it all by himself. In such cases, people can learn to overcome the natural fear, provided someone shows them, that there is absolutely nothing to fear in the given situation. You can overcome fears by building confidence in your capability to perform such a task. That is usually performed by carrying out something difficult or presumably dangerous and observing that the final consequences of failure are not that bad or that the chances of failure are very remote. The ultimate benefit of overcoming fears is that you feel proud about your achievement and about your abilities to repeat it again.

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Sin City Super Bowl

What's missing from Las Vegas newspapers, TV and radio this week?

The answer is easy for Sin City denizens: casino Super Bowl party ads.

That's because there aren't any big bashes planned, at least the kind where you pay a C-note, watch the game on widescreens, stuff yourself with all-you-can-eat "stadium fare" and get intoxicated with friends at open bars ... a big part of the Vegas mystique.

The Goliath NFL wiped them out last year, holding potential lawsuits over resorts that didn't kowtow to demands they cease and desist from airing the game at events people pay to get in.

The league cited broadcasting rights.

Oh, the gleaming alabaster palaces still will roll out red carpets for the rich, famous and media types, cook up fancy food (medallions of veal anyone?) and throw open the liquor cabinet, top shelf and all, but casinos don't like to discuss these "private" affairs.

Someone might be left out, inadvertently or otherwise.

Besides, letting the public know how the other half lives isn't real Strip smart.

Many resorts will show the big Pittsburgh-Seattle game throughout their casinos, offering food and drink specials.

Vegans and tourists also have the option of watching Super Bowl XL in sports books throughout Nevada; just come early, stake your claim (some bet shops feature more comfortable chairs than others), make your wagers and start searching for those specials.

Harrah's will give patrons Super Bowl t-shirts with $50 parlay wagers and showing the game at its Piano, Carnaval, Winning Streaks and other bars, while Fiesta Rancho will give away a 2006 Dodge Ram during festivities.

Many former NFL stars will spend Super Bowl weekend in Sin City, but most will maintain low profiles to escape media glare.

They'll limit public appearances to things like "tributes" and charity auctions, then mix and mingle "privately."

John Elway, for one, should thank the Steelers for creaming Denver in the AFC title game, as he already was committed here. So's Dan Marino, who never really had a reason to believe he'd be anywhere else on Super Bowl Sunday.

Philadelphia bad boy Terrell Owens will paint the town red, starting at 10 p.m. Friday at Caesars Palace's upscale PURE Nightclub; a deejay will focus on rock and rap music.

Like all free Americans, Vegans also can watch Matt Hasselback and Ben Roethlesberger duel in the friendly confines of their favorite pub, or tavern; they're on many neighborhood corners, like anywhere else.

The Steelers have several fan bars in Vegas while the Seahawks have one.

Bob Taylor's Ranch House and Supper Club in the far northwest valley has catered to Las Vegans since 1955.

The current owner hails from Pittsburgh and has turned the classy steak house saloon into a Steelers bastion.

"We'll have food specials, beer specials, shots and everyone will be dressed in yellow and black," a restaurant spokeswoman said.

"Everything we cook is mesquite grilled, you know.

"We're having a big Super Bowl party."

So is Rascals, another Steelers stronghold on Vegas' East Side.

"We have a free Super Bowl buffet -- actually, it's pretty nice and I'd be here myself (even) if I didn't have to work -- for anyone who buys a $25 square on our board," said a lady who answered the phone.

"But we only have two squares left, so we'll think up another gimmick by Friday so those who didn't get down on this one get another chance for free buffets.

"We'll have free well drinks too and 50-cent drink tickets that let you uprade on brands.

"And there's no cover charge."

Seahawks fans also have a haven, at Smoke Ranch Junction on the city's West Side.

"Sure, we're having a big Super Bowl party," said a voice at the other end.

"We'll have a free buffet and drink specials."

Bars rely on regulars for most Super Sunday business, but emphasize their shindigs are open to the public, which, in fact, they ardently pursue.

Those seeking something truly spectacular might give the Red Rooster a whirl; it's a swinging joint.

The Seattle-Pittsburgh match-up will be shown on big-screen TVs and a buffet will be served.

BYOB.

Cost is $40 for couples and single men; single women are free. No tickets will be sold in advance.

A dress code will be in effect: Men, boxers only; women, just panties.

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Soccer Nutrition and Mental Focus, the Mind-Body Link

Soccer Nutrition and Mental Focus;

Food-Brain-Brain-Food link,

We've all heard of the "breakfast on champions".
This is true because it focuses on the daily nurturing of the body to aid the mind in preparation of the events ahead.
It can be a part of a ritual as, proper breathing techniques and adequate liquid consumption.

Focusing on a dietary plan is also preparing the mind for future competitions is a long process.
This is the use of one of the most important issues in life (food), to introduce another important issue (competition), to heighten the all aspects of individual and team performances.

It teaches the players/athletes to cue themselves for their games ahead.
It also prompts acceptable behaviors and fosters conditions of ownership among the players and all those involved in the team.
Nutrition also allows the coaches to use food and other rewards to encourage other acceptable techniques to prepare for a variety of competitions. NO! I'm not encouraging "Pavlovian" psycologial techniques, this is a much longer and indepth process.

Nutrition is only a step in a process towards mental focus.
We have also heard, "strong in body, and strong in mind".
I would suggest that these major components in life are completely intertwined and in fact are, inseperable.
You can win by recognizing this or lose without even knowing that there is a link too or a cause and effect with this issue.

Many of us try and focus on what to eat. This is the first important step in the correct direction.
The flip side to that is what not to eat. This is realizing what is harmful to the player and even the coach.
"Maybe a little more oatmeal and less coffee?" is a good first step towards this solution.

The addition to that is what to eat, and in which combinations.
We have now entered the realm of the ZONE.
This is the area of expertise of the highly qualified nutritionist to deliver the ultimate nutritional plan.
This however can only be successful once the planner knows which competitons lay ahead. The nutritional planner also has to understand the team of athletes and their gender and age specificity.

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MVP - Mike Vick's Planet

I like when people start to criticize and complain. It tells me that the fear of change is in the air and that is the way they are compelled to deal with it. It means to me that somebody is doing something right. Of course, there are those who get paid to deliver a disparaging word to keep any due hype in check, especially in sports where the business of hype often generates more revenue than the business of the sport itself. American football is the world's most popular sport, so hype is something it doesn't really need. But there is something happening now that the league didn't ask for: a major overhaul to the entire look and feel of the game.

Football is a team sport, much more than any other major sport. That in itself makes this phenomenon even more significant than it otherwise would be. In sports, there are few legendary talents. Athletes who possess intangibles that players of similar talent do not. Then there are those who elevate the status of their sport to heights never before seen or imagined. But there is one other level of athletic aptitude defined by players who possess so much athletic genius that the game can no longer contain them. They can't help it, it just happens. They don't just play the game. They change the game.

We saw it in basketball with Michael Jordan. We are witnessing it now in golf with Tiger Woods. Baseball had Babe Ruth. Wayne Gretzky did it in hockey. Football can thank Lawrence Taylor for changing the way defense is played. Now it can point to MVProdigy as the One who will lift up the standard for the future of pro football.

Mike Vick is the most exciting player in football, if not the most exciting athlete in sports. He has led a perennial loser to elite status in the National Football League. His team, the Atlanta Falcons, are a legitimate contender to win the Super Bowl. He is the most feared player in the league. Period. While in college at Virginia Tech he was touted as 'The Future'. His moves with the ball cause future hall of fame defensive backs look like they belong in Sunday School. It's appropriate that he's a Falcon because once he takes off, you're not catching him.

If you didn't know Mike Vick is a quarterback, you wouldn't guess it by this description of him.

Vick is not just a quarterback. He's a game breaker. An MVPlaymaker. He's the Experience. He makes it happen. Without him, the Falcons have little chance of even making the playoffs, much less contend for a Super Bowl. The Falcons have quality players who can win games, but without Vick they just might be able to beat USC.

Regardless, I don't like what I'm hearing about MVPeriod. People who think they know football say he is too one-dimensional. and he will have to learn to pass first if he is to lead his team to championships. Why does it matter if he can pick up 40 yards with his legs after line protection breaks down? Or if he is able to scramble for another 15 yards after he picks up the blitz on 3rd and 8? But wait. It isn't just running for positive yards that adds value to this player. His legs have the ability to avoid defensive pressure and knock out a quick 7 yard pass play on 1st or 2nd down. Those are yards created by instincts created by the situation. This is the way MVPlays it. Other QBs may lose 7 yards on that same play or throw an interception. Vick throws picks or gets sacked like every other QB, but more times than not he will create something out of nothing. That's the MVexPerience. The NFL doesn't realize it yet but the days of the 6'5" prototypical dropback QB being a commodity are quickly passing by. That player won't go away completely - look at Peyton Manning and Tom Brady - but over the next 10 years, as football produces more and more MVPretenders at QB, NFL teams will need to adjust their offensive philosophy to take advantage of these immensely talented players.

The strong winds of change are reshaping the landscape of American football. Some are having a difficult time accepting that superior players will rule the future, not just of football, but of all sports. It's not about 300 yard, 2TD afternoons anymore but about the inevitability of the MVPrototype becoming the future of the NFL QB. Eventually, the critics will have to sing MVPraises.

2005 warmCHiL?MJ Style

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Do You Want to Know a Secret? Solomon's Temple Revealed

There is a journey that we all must take. It is called life. There is no escaping this journey. We cannot pay somebody to take it for us or take the pain and sorrow that frequents our path. Without our mother and father there would be no help at all from the very start. We would be helpless and we would die.

We are born with no knowledge whatsoever other than some minor genetic memories, and many of us simply follow the patterns that life, evolution and our peers throw at us. We subconsciously assume we must do as our forefathers; we must follow in their footsteps; we must marry, have children, get a job, step onto the roller-coaster of commercialism and the greed oriented rat race we know as capitalism or even communism. There is seemingly no way out of this life and anyway, most of us are enthused by the chase - for we truly know do different.

All of this is perfectly natural. We are, after all, apes with less hair. We strive to be the alpha male and female; to be top dog; to fit in with the society or tribe?that surrounds us and support the same football team as our friends. And often that society is just a larger version of our selves; it is created by groups of selves.

But, in the times gone by, our ancestors saw through all of this and recognized that there was another way. They discovered that in-order for man to elevate himself above the level of the brown earth upon which he scrambled he needed to alter his internal dialogue. Man needed to understand himself and the forces that drive him.

This unique understanding - that there could be a higher goal for mankind, whether collectively or individually - evolved into what we now know as Gnosticism. Of course this is a massive oversimplification and we should always take into account the mystics ?those who have experienced what we would call other-worldly emotions or visions. Also, regardless of popular perception, the Christians were not the only Gnostics and mystics. Gnostic comes from the Greek word gignoskein meaning simply to know. It was applied to one sect of so-called philosophers in the first ages of Christianity.?/p>

However, the term is now being used more loosely and I personally see the term slightly differently to others and probably in a controversial light.

To me the Greek term implies all-knowledge. This is a kind of knowledge gained much like plugging ones mind into the world wide web and being able to download every single piece of data in an instant. In the same way, the true Gnostic, much like the mystic, could understand all things in a unique way. Whether this is the mind tapping into the collective unconscious, the Akashic records, or any other name given to the process, does not matter for the purpose of this article, the fact remains, it was believed. And because of this belief, physical manifestations of the internal belief system emerged the world over. In this way, the temples of man, were exactly that ?Temples of Man.

Gnosis then, means knowledge of the most esoteric kind and this is the story that has been hidden from our eyes for too long. This is the truth of the secret societies that we on the outside are supposedly too worldly to comprehend.

The Temple

So, let us now try our best to comprehend the Temple of Solomon and in doing so, let us walk upon Holy ground, trodden only by the initiated.

In the years of my own searching there were times when I would be found at the feet of the Magi, sitting and listening to the wise words of the Sufi, joining in the debate at some Freemasonic Lodge. All the time I was learning and viewing the process with an open ear and an open eye, and yet also balancing it all with the knowledge of modern day science and reductionism. Both worlds, the one of the esoteric and the one of science are useless apart ?both are needed today if we are to truly understand and believe.

And so down to facts about the Temple of Solomon. Well, unfortunately we are sadly lacking in any archaeological evidence, regardless of what you read on some literal fundamentalist website. What we are told is that in the 10th century BC, the wise King Solomon erected a great Temple to the Lord. Unfortunately, if any of this is true, then we actually find that it was a Temple, which encompassed many pagan religions.

According to Professor James Pritchard in his book, Solomon and Sheba (1974, p.35):

?. the so-called cities of Megiddo, Gezer and Hazor, and Jerusalem itself were in reality more like villages.. Within were relatively small public buildings and poorly constructed dwellings with clay floors. The objects reveal a material culture which, even by the standards of the ancient Near East, could not be judged sophisticated or luxurious.. The magnificence?of the age of Solomon is parochial and decidedly lackluster, but the first book of Kings implies exactly the opposite.?/p>

In fact and in the bright light of day, what we actually have, and what most writers are afraid to say, is no evidence whatsoever for Solomons Temple. In fact, we have no evidence for Solomon, other than these peculiar Biblical texts. Neither do we have any evidence for the Queen of Sheba, or any of the other characters involved. Instead, there is more depth than could ever be imagined, more meaning than we would dare to believe.

John Michell in The Temple at Jerusalem: A Revelation, (Gothic Image) gives us an insight to the real meaning.:

Legends of the Temple describe it as the instrument of a mystical, priestly science, a form of alchemy by which oppositely charged elements in the earth and atmosphere were brought together and ritually married. The product of their union was a spirit that blessed and sanctified the people of Israel.?/p>

How right Michell is. The Temple is an instrument of mystical and priestly science or even magic. The secret unravels before our eyes the more we learn. You see the true Gnostic, the true disciple or perfect one, must be a man or woman of balance. He or she must unite the two sides of the mind, the male and female principles as they are called. We are all both male and female and the alchemists used this concept of balance and revealed it in their images of the Hermaphrodite, half man and half woman.

Solomon, was no real man, and Sheba was no real woman. Instead they were symbols of this internal and often external process. The whole story of Solomon, Sheba and the Temple, which is the perfectly formed body, both physical and spiritual, is the story of our own psyche. It is an esoteric truth, misunderstood in its exoteric form.

Hiram

Hiram was the son of a Jewish mother and a Phoenician father and is credited with the decoration of the Temple of Solomon. He was said to have been the son of a widow of the tribe of Naphtali?He cast two bronze pillars?1 Kings 7:13-15.

We must also note something of interest mentioned in 1 Kings 16:

Then he made two capitals of cast bronze, to set on top of the pillars. The height of one capital was 5 cubits; and the height of the other capital was five cubits. He made a lattice network, with wreaths of chainwork, for the capitals which were on top of the pillars: seven chains for one capital and seven for the other capital.?/p>

These pillars became known as Jachin, meaning he establishes?and Boaz, which means in him is strength?and these are now familiar to most modern Freemasons as central to their own Lodge or Temple. Copies of these can be clearly seen at the infamous Rosslyn Chapel as we shall discover.

But, what is interesting here is the original text about these pillars. Firstly bronze is used for the capitals, just as bronze is used for the Brazen Serpent?of Moses and is indicative of the fiery aspect of the serpent as one of the channels in the Kundalini process. Their heights?were 5 cubits, matching the five hooded cobras seen across India and atop many pillars, although the Bible calls them Lilies, which are symbols of balance anyway.

Leading up to these capitals then were wreaths?of chainwork? seven on each pillar. Strangely these chains were for the capitals,?and so we conclude that these seven levelled chains (coils) were pointing towards the head (capital) just as the serpents of the Kundalini do.

There are more real links between Hiram and the serpent. For instance, we noted above that he was of the Tribe of Naphtali. The standard of the Tribe of Naphtali, according to Jewish tradition, is a serpent or basilisk and this could have come from Egyptian origins, as Jewish tradition states that Naphtali was the brother of Joseph, chosen to represent the family to Pharaoh.

And now I have sent a skillful man, endowed with understanding, Huram [Hiram] my master [father] craftsman, (the son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre), skilled to work in gold and silver, bronze and iron, stone and wood, purple and blue, fine linen and crimson, and to make any engraving and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him, with your skilful men and with the skilful men of my lord David your father.?2 Chronicles 2:13-14.

Here, Hiram is said to be a son of the Tribe of Dan and even the tribe of Dan had an emblem, which was amazingly also the serpent, this time with a horse.

Incredibly there is also a hidden truth and repetitive pattern in this little statement about the real skills of this literary character. Follow this pattern:

Hiram is skilled in:-

1 gold and silver,
2 bronze and iron,
3 stone and wood,
4 purple and blue,
5 fine linen and crimson,
6 and to make any engraving
7 and to accomplish any plan which may be given to him.

Note that there are seven balanced?elements to the skill of the man who will build the Temple! This is a real clue to the Temples secret indeed.

According to this book of Chronicles Hiram was a cunning man (a word used for the serpent) endued with understanding, skilful as we can see in the work of gold, silver, brass, stone and timber. But he was also credited with certain tools, which could pierce stone. Stone, as I show in Gnosis is symbolic of wisdom and foundation. Hirams tool therefore pierced the veil or even the very root of wisdom.

According to the book of Kings the Temple was built of stone (or wisdom) before it was brought to the site. Something like a prefabricated building. It was said by tradition that neither hammer nor axe, nor any tool of iron was used in the building. So how was it built? This in itself is a paradox, which can only be answered by the true secret of the Temple being revealed.

According to Rabbinical teaching the prefabrication of the Temple was performed by the Shamir, a giant worm or serpent that could cut stones (incidentally worm means serpent). Not dissimilar to Norse and Celtic beliefs where Valhalla and Camelot were built with the fire of the dragon and in China where building is aided by the serpent energy.

This is a universal concept as can be seen in India, where it was the serpentine linked Nagas of fable who escaped their country and took the architectural wisdom abroad. The architect gods, such as Thoth of Egypt, are linked strongly with the serpent wisdom because they are linked with the building of Temples of Wisdom?inside our SELVES.

The Shamir, according to one legend had even been placed in the hands of the Prince of the Sea (Shamir by Wilhelm Bacher & Ludwig Blau), which of course is symbolic of the Prince of Wisdom.

In essence what we really have here is the Temple of Wisdom being built by the serpent and that serpent is none other than that of, or similar to, the internal Kundalini, later to be developed into the Kabbalah. This is a psychological training manual; a method of self-improvement; a way for society to become One; a multi-layered method of getting closer to the deity which resides in each and everyone of us; a deity, that the ancients saw as being the same in each of us.

The whole process repeats again and again throughout the Bible. The Temple is reduced (like the alchemical method) and is remade. Then again and again, until finally the Christ is the Temple which is reduced (killed) and then rises again for the last time. And now, according to the texts, we can all meet with this Christ and we can all have the knowledge. We just need to understand that the true Christ is all and in all. But this hasn't worked has it. Man is still even now in the 21st century, searching for answers and so the temple is being reduced once again?/p>

I say, we should all take a look at our own "temples" and knock them to the ground. We should then go about re-building them in a bigger and better way than before, just like the Bible states. And more than that, we must keep on doing this until this world of ours has peace and all truly are equal before God.

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Finding a Cuckoo Clock Repair Service

Weights hanging from the bottom of your cuckoo clock keep it running smoothly and accurately. Some cuckoo clocks have two weights and some have three. Since the internal working parts for these two types of timing mechanisms are different, the prices for repairing them will be different no matter where you go or who does the work. Since cuckoo clocks can be purchased for prices ranging from as little as $39.99 for mass produced, discontinued or used items, to as much as many thousands of dollars for pristine, well maintained older versions by acknowledged craftsmen, you should take into account the value of your individual item before you attempt to have anything repaired.

As always, the handcrafted items that decorate the cuckoo clock are only repairable by an equally talented artist or craftsman, so you may have to make do with some sort of damage to the appearance of your cuckoo clock rather than having it professionally repaired. If such a tragedy occurs, it may be worth trying to spend some quality time with your cuckoo clock, some crazy glue and a paint brush and simply do the best you can. Obviously, a museum quality antique cuckoo clock may require the work of some well-trained repair artist or even the original artist if hes still around, to repair damage to the appearance of the cuckoo clock or the faade. For most, however, the Internet provides a number of companies who specializing in repairs, regardless of the age or who manufacturer of the cuckoo clocks.

One of the most popular repair websites on the Internet is the aptly named howtorepairclocks.com. Displaying expertise and quite extensive knowledge about all manner of timepieces, modern as well as antiques, howtorepairclocks.com will run you through a series of questions and inform you about simple, at home repairs you might want to try before sending your treasured timepiece to them for repairs. Their frequently asked questions page has saved many a cuckoo clock owner from the hassle of having to pack their cuckoo clock in protective shipping gear and send it to the company for repair.

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Funerals - Eastern Star Service

In this article we're going to briefly discuss an offshoot of the Masonic service, one for women called the Eastern Star Funeral Service.

The Eastern Star organization is an offshoot of the Masons for women. The reason for this is that a woman can't become a Mason. The reasons why, at least for this article, are unimportant. However, there is an organization for women who want to be a part of the Masonic community. That organization is the Eastern Star. The only requirement for becoming a member of the Eastern Star is that the woman has to be the descendent of a Mason. Yes, there is a catch. Your father or grandfather or husband or somebody in your family has to be a Mason himself. If this one condition is met and you then become a member of the Eastern Star you are then entitled to an Eastern Star memorial service.

So how does one qualify for an Eastern Star funeral service? Well, when a member of the Eastern Star in good standing, dies, they are entitled to this service. Good standing means that their dues are paid up in full and have no Masonic charges filed against them.

When an Eastern Star member dies the chapter to which they belong sends a floral arrangement to the funeral home. This arrangement is in the shape of a five pointed star and with the mystical colors of the order.

Before the actual service takes place however, the members of the chapter meet at their chapter building for what they call a draping ceremony. At this ceremony their alter is draped in black and a special opening of the chapter is then performed. This is, in many cases, done just once during the year to commemorate all the members who have died that year. After the draping at the chapter the members then proceed to the funeral home.

At the home there is a special Eastern Star service. It is very similar to the Masonic service in some respects but very different in others. For one thing, where the Masonic service is memorized, the Eastern Star service is read from what is called a book of ritual. This book contains the entire Eastern Star funeral service and must be read word for word.

In a Masonic service one person does the reading, but in an Eastern Star service there are many readers. The readings are done by various members of the fraternity who occupy specific stations as officers. Each officer reads a part assigned to their station. Each individual part is rather short but putting them all together the actual service can run 15 to 20 minutes.

After the service is over the members of the chapter pay their final respects to the deceased and process out of the funeral home room. Afterwards they will meet with the family and friends of the deceased, many who are probably Eastern Star members themselves of other chapters.

The Eastern Star funeral service is one of the most beautiful services of any kind that a person could attend. It is something of which the order of Eastern Star can and should be very proud of.

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Bulgarian Property Market Insight

GOLF GRABS BULGARIA!

At the present time there are only three golf courses in the whole of Bulgaria: one at Elin Pelin, near the capital, Sofia, and two owned by Air Sofia. These are located at Ihtiman, opened in 2000, 40km from Sofia, and at Sliven, opened in 2004, 90km from the Black Sea.

Because of the increasingly rapid rise in foreign interest in Bulgaria recently, several more golf courses are proposed. One of these will be located at Razgrad, in the north-east, about 90km from the Black Sea. More are scheduled to open in the next few years: two at Kavarna and one at Primorsko, near Sozopol.

Mountain and ski areas will be represented by a golf course in the ski town of Bansko this year, and a very large golf complex between Kostenets and Borovets, the country's foremost ski resort. This is scheduled for 2007, the year of Bulgaria's entry into the European Union, and will be located at Dolna Banya, already near Bulgaria's first golf course at Ihtiman.

Bulgaria Properties Ltd has purchased almost 6 acres of prime development land adjacent to the proposed golf course at Dolna Banya. The plans are to construct about 220 apartments around a comprehensive sports complex, with access to the golf course by a short footpath. The amenities on site are to include tennis, volleyball, squash, badminton, lawn bowls, boules (boccia), shooting, archery, croquet, mountain biking, and fishing nearby. Indoor facilities will include a 140-seat main restaurant and cabaret stage, a huge main bar (perhaps the largest in Bulgaria), a sports bar with projection TV, snooker, pool, table football, table tennis, a Chinese restaurant, Indian restaurant, fast food cafeteria, pizzeria, gymnasium, sauna, massage parlour, clinic, chemist, sports shop and minimarket.

Steve Avery, a Director of Bulgaria Properties Ltd, said, It may sound like a clich, but we really were in the right place at the right time! After two years in this business, I just couldnt believe my luck to find such a gem. Anyone involved in this project should make a serious return on their investment.?/p>

GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE BULGARIAN PROPERTY MARKET

On Borovets and Bansko generally, Steve had this to say: Apart from having ski lifts and ski runs, these two towns are quite different from each other, and appeal to different groups of people. Bansko is an old, traditional residential town with lots of character and no fewer than 180 quaint taverns full of local people singing and dancing to a typical Bulgarian folk band. Borovets, by contrast, is purely a resort, with hotels, modern west European-style bars and night-clubs, cafs and restaurants. Residential property and holiday homes are therefore readily available in Bansko, but not in Borovets, where the closest you can get is usually in one of the surrounding villages.

As for property values, Bansko went mad for a period of three months at the end of 2003, with land prices doubling, and then calmed down. Many poor goatherders suddenly found that they were rich. Nothing wrong with that, I say. Since then values have been pretty steady there until now, when theyre starting to creep up again. The reason for this is that the sudden surge in foreign tourists to Bansko has left the supply of holiday accommodation woefully short of the demand. And this trend shows no sign of abating. To try to cope with it, there have sprung up many hotels and apartment projects, but it seems unlikely that even these will be able to satisfy the demand for accommodation for several years yet. As a result, the prices for such apartments range from 1,000 Euros per sq.m. for a ground-floor unit facing away from the mountains, to 1,350 Euros per sq.m. for a top-floor example with a mountain view. Yet, people buy them. I guess, because a 1 bedroom 60sq.m. apartment for 41,000 is still a far better deal than youd get in Spain. Ive heard developers claim that 90% of their apartments are sold within 3 weeks! I only hope that we have such luck when ours are released in June!

In this respect Borovets, again, is different. Although its Bulgarias first and best-known ski resort, it stagnated for years?until now. The Super Borovets?project, funded by EU, governmental, foreign and local business sources, is scheduled to run from 2005 to 2009, and will revitalise the whole region around the town to a radius of 10-12km. This has already started to affect property values in the surrounding areas. To give an example, in March 2004 we bought, unseen, a half-acre plot in a village 15km from Borovets. When I visited it, I discovered that it wasnt suitable for building apartments; so, I put it on the market in August. By November it was sold at an 80% profit ?after all costs were deducted!

I am personally of the opinion that the Bansko effect?could strike around Borovets at any moment. Thats the reason why Bulgaria Properties Ltd is developing four projects here, and only two in Bansko. We can sell these apartments about 15% cheaper ?at the moment, anyway. Borovets must surely offer a better return on investment, regardless of the type of property bought: land, a shack, whatever. You wont find new apartments easily, though. As far as we know, Bulgaria Properties Ltd is the only developer building them. I dont, however, expect this monopoly to last for long.

Bulgarias third ski region is at Pamporovo, which, like Borovets, is purely a resort. Funding is starting to come in, but full development, if it happens at all, is likely to follow several years behind Borovets. Its distance from Sofia (a days drive) makes it less attractive to visitors from north and west Europe. It is, however, popular with Greeks, because of its proximity to the frontier. One of Bulgarias major motorway routes to Greece will pass very close to Pamporovo, and this should boost its popularity, as well as making the Mediterranean Sea more accessible.

Property values are lower here than in Bansko and Borovets, but are creeping up gradually. I reckon that Pamporovo is a good long-term prospect; say five to ten years. The only reason why Bulgaria Properties Ltd has no developments here is because Ill probably have retired before the boom happens.?/p>

How does a mountain area investment compare with coastal properties?

Significant differences yet again. Until recently, most of the investment was flooding into the northern Black Sea coast resorts, from Varna down to Sunny Beach. The area became very popular as a result of the Bulgarian governments Bulgaria the Beautiful?TV campaign back in the ?0s, and the subsequent interest of package tour operators. Now that the north is saturated with developments, the interest has begun to creep down the coast. This is causing a steep rise in property values. They are still lower than those in the north, but the gap is closing. An investment in the south should therefore offer a better ROI.

Dont expect, though, the ambience of the south to become like that of the north. When I discussed the subject with the Chairman of the Bulgarian Foreign Investment Agency last year ?an extremely intelligent and able young man, I must add ?he told me in no uncertain terms that he did not want the south to become like the north. His very words were: We dont want another Benidorm.?So, prospective property purchasers need to bear this in mind, and balance their desire for more capital growth, or their willingness to accept less, with the different rental market appeal of the two regions, along with their own taste in holidays.

There is one highly significant factor, however, which very often goes unnoticed until it is too late; and it applies to the whole coast. Most people dont know that it freezes on the coast in winter. When they see the coastal resorts basking in the hot summer sunshine, its difficult to imagine snow on the ground. The entire coast simply shuts down in the winter, and nothing happens. Its as dead as a doornail. Therefore, rental income can be fairly assured for 15 weeks, possibly 20, plus some odd bits in the shoulder seasons of April and October. The coast has a five-month season from May to September, compared to nine months in the ski areas. Those people buying only for rental income, therefore, would find the mountains far more lucrative.

?The Times?recently published an article, saying: Rental yields tend to be better for ski properties than those on the coast because of the longer ski season. You could expect about 12 per cent gross yield for a good ski apartment and about half that on the coast.?/p>

Rents vary greatly, and depend on many factors, most of which should be obvious: location, size, view, amenities. The standard of finish and the condition of the property can also determine your market quite radically. To appeal to west Europeans, and to command the highest rents, your property must be well finished and appointed, and be in tip-top condition. If it is not, you still have a market for east Europeans, who tolerate less salubrious surroundings because they pay much less, usually about half of the west European rates.

Generally, summer rental rates on the coast equate to winter rates in the ski resorts, both seasons being about five months. Remember that you also have about four months?additional rent, though at lower rates, during the summer in the mountains. These rates should increase gradually, as the Government programmes to make the ski towns more popular for summer holidays make their mark.

There are several Bulgarian agencies willing to manage your rental properties for you. Expect to pay about 20% of the rent as a fee.?/p>

What about properties in the countryside?

Not a serious contender in the ROI stakes, I think. Not if you consider the effort involved. You can pick up property very cheaply indeed in the inland areas, away from the resorts. Almost always itll need some kind of work; anything from a face-lift to demolition. Theres often no inner staircase to the bedrooms, no bathroom, and the toilet is in a shed in the garden. This kind of property is great for buyers who want to get away from their homeland, and disappear in the beauty of nature permanently. As a business, it could appeal to self-builders or DIY enthusiasts, prepared to do it for fun, and accept a low return on their financial and physical investment. As for rental income, forget it!?/p>

And the cities?

Again, there are differences, even between cities. The prime city is, of course, Sofia, the capital. Buy the right apartment here, in the right area, and you can expect a guaranteed rental return of about 12% per annum. The flavour of the month is gated communities, particularly in the south of the city. The diplomatic residential district of Vitosha is one of the best bets. There is a ready demand for luxury accommodation from diplomatic staff and executives seconded by foreign companies, usually on a long-term basis, and this demand should increase as 2007, the year of Bulgarias accession to the European Union, approaches. Although you should expect to pay high for such properties by Bulgarian standards, its still only the price of a tarted-up Victorian terraced flat in a UK provincial town.

Theres virtually no market for tourist rentals in Sofia, as its probably the least interesting European capital city. Its also very polluted, although they are trying to clean up their act, ready for EU entry in 2007.

Plovdiv, the countrys second city, is much more pleasant. It has a quaint old town, as well as modern business districts. It therefore bridges the gap between business and tourism, as far as rentals are concerned. Plovdiv is connected to Sofia by an excellent motorway, on which you can keep the pedal to the metal, if youre prepared to risk an on-the-spot fine of 50 Leva (about 18).

Veliko Tarnovo is probably Bulgarias most touristic city, with its citadel and mediaeval ramparts. Most people who buy property here do so to make it their main home. The city itself is beautiful, and it has everything a townie needs. Drive a short distance, and youre in some wonderful countryside. You couldnt really make a good living from rentals, but its the perfect place to retire to.

Theres one more thing which is important enough to mention: Mineral baths. These exist all over Bulgaria, the most significant being at Narechen, south of Plovdiv, and Momin Prohod, near Kostenets. Scientific studies rank Bulgaria among the foremost in Europe for hydrothermal, bioclimatic and mud treatments, sea cures and other health resources. Bulgaria is a world leader with its exceptional diversity of medicinal herbs and the excellent curative properties of its apian products. Any property near a spa should attract a premium to its sales or rental value.?/p>

Full details about the Super Borovets?project, price madness in Bansko, golf developments in Bulgaria, and new apartments in Bansko and Borovets can be seen at the Bulgaria Properties Ltd web site www.BulgariaProperties.net. Or you can e-mail advice@BulgariaProperties.net, or call the company at +44 (0)871 226 2296 to order a free 28-page hand-out, or just for a chat, if you prefer. They always have time for you.

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