Author Archives: Bill

Paperback Books

September 18, 2008 – 3:08 pm

If you love to read, you know how expensive it can be. A good book, of course, is worth its weight in gold, but that doesn’t mean we can go out and buy every hardcover book that catches our eye. There are times I spend hours in a bookstore, and I cannot possibly buy everything that I want to, and many times, it takes me a while to choose because there are just so many great books out there. This is when I feel paperback books are a blessing. They aren’t as durable over time, but they allow me to pick more than one book, and they keep me busy exploring new worlds.

Paperback books are often in the back of the bookstore, but they are just the same as their hard-covered counterparts. You may have to wait a while for your favorite choice to come out though, as paperback books often come out months after the hardcover versions are released. If you really want something, you may not be able to wait for the paperback version. That’s why hardcovers are released first. If a series like Harry Potter is popular, they know they can generate more hardcover sales by releasing the paperback books months later.

A good place to get paperback books at a discount is by joining a book club. You can also get hard covers at a discount this way, and they can be mailed directly to your home, saving you time and energy. If you don’t enjoy walking around a bookstore like I do, this is a great and efficient way to get hardcover and paperback books that interest you. Just watch out for the clubs that send you a book each month regardless of your preferences, as you may end up with books you don’t want if you don’t pay attention.

Paperback books are even cheaper if you look for them at yard sales and in thrift stores. When you get them this way, you can get them for as cheap as ten cents. However, the selection will be extremely limited. Don’t let this stop you from reading these paperback books, however, because you may not realize what a treasure you are holding in your hand. I found one of my favorite authors this way. A few of her books where sitting there at a yard sale, and I picked them up without paying much attention, thinking I might give these paperback books to my mom. As it turned out, I loved them, and haven’t been able to part with them as of yet.

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Painted Flower Pots

September 17, 2008 – 8:47 pm

If you want to add a whimsical look to your home or to your garden, you may want to get painted flower pots. This is a great way to add a special touch to your interior design, or a way to make your garden a little bit more a reflection of who you are. You can buy already designed flower pots in a variety of colors or patterns, or you can do them yourself. This can be a great afternoon craft project for you, or something you can do with your children. You may even want to start a home business if you find you have a flair for designing them.

If you want already painted flower pots, you can find them easily enough. You should spend some time shopping around to find the perfect pot. There will be painted flower pots that are a single color, or ones that come in patterns. You may also find some that have a theme like frogs, cats, or horses. The possibilities are limitless, and you only have to search online to find out how many different kinds you can find. They come in all sizes and are made from all sorts of different materials.

If you want to do your own painted flower pots, decide where you want to use them first. If you want something for inside your home, you only have to make sure you are using materials that are non-toxic to your plants. Other than that, anything goes. If you want something for outside, you have to make sure the painted flower pots are made to withstand the weather, and that the paints will not wash off or fade in the rain and sun. You might even want to use a lacquer to cover the finished product to protect it, but you need something that is non-toxic and durable.

You can search for already painted flower pots online, or you can find the plain pots and the painting supplies if you want to make your own. You can also shop in craft or home stores for these supplies, and the salesperson can help you decide what will work best for your specific purposes. They may also be able to help you decide which pots work the best for indoor and outdoor purposes, and craft stores may have templates you can use if you want to do it yourself but you dont feel like you can totally design the painted flower pots on your own.

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Online Movie Rentals

September 16, 2008 – 4:10 pm

How many films would you guess you view in a week’s time? Would three be an accurate guess? Or maybe you’re addicted like me and the answer is more like 6 or 7. Regardless of your movie habit, I know where you can acquire them with minimal fuss and hassle. No, it’s not the mom and pop store down the street. They’re typically out of every new rental because they only carry one of each. That’s lame! And it’s not the huge video chain that guarantees certain titles to be in stock. Trust me; I know this process and how it works. The videos are not ALWAYS in stock. They just say that so you’ll hit up their place first. However, if they’re not in stock, you typically get a voucher for it free the next time it’s in. Personally I would much rather go with he online movie rental business. This has the words “Convenience” and “Hassle Free” written all over it. Are you ready for the simple way of attaining DVDs?

I used to work at a video store. It was “mom and pop” joint. I actually stayed there for three years. Then it was off to another video store. This one was known as Blockbuster’s greatest competitor. I’m sure you know the one I’m referring to. I stayed there for three years as well. Anyway, I can’t say how stoked I was when they began the online movie rental concept. This was Netflix.com first, if I remember correctly. I honestly couldn’t believe that I would never have to enter another video store. This was a great thing in my book. After all, I had seen the crowds, experienced the chaos, and dealt with the anger on a regular basis for 6 years. You grow tired of it after a while. I definitely did! But, that didn’t matter now. I had my laptop handy and a cool new concept at my fingertips. I was ready to try the online movie rental business. In no time, I realized how much better it was. The DVDs I order arrive quickly and it’s a synch to mail them back. The postage is paid and there are no hassles with late fees or crowds. This is the way I like it!

What do you prefer? Are you ready to battle the video store lines and crowds for yet another Friday night? Or, are you anxious to jump on the online movie rental bandwagon? One thing I can tell you is that it will save you gas, time and a whole lot of patience.

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Navy Poster

September 15, 2008 – 3:52 pm

The Navy has a long tradition and needs to keep replenishing itself. Along with the other armed forces, it needs to have recruitment campaigns. The Navy poster, that anyone can buy prints of, shows how different wording and images have been used to persuade people to join the ranks. There are also posters that cater for the nostalgia market, showing ships and Navy airplanes from the past. Some of the prints are taken from the original tin signs. Artists have also painted the Navy fleet from a purely artistic viewpoint.

There is an old black and white picture of a Trainer Biplane and more recent photographs of patrol bombers. Another monochrome picture shows four airships in formation. Paintings in color show a Grunman Navy Fighter plane and an XPBS-1 taking off from the sea. There is also one of a Tomcat Fighter.

Ships are of course, what people mostly associate with the Navy and there is a Navy poster to represent battleships, aircraft carriers and submarines from the past and present. One print shows a montage of different battleships that have operated over the years.

Different slogans carry the recruitment message. One picture of an aircraft carrier has the tag, welcome aboard. Another World War II Navy poster shows an officer saying, I want you. There is a line drawing of an aircraft carrier in the Art Deco style, which states, join modern mobile mighty Navy. Another old print shows a group of men doing shore drill. For people interested in the organization and ranking of the service, there is a poster that shows all the different Navy insignia.

Away from recruitment and categorizing the Navy, there are the pictures from the distant past and the ones that depict a certain period in time. There is a painting of sail powered ships in harbor called America’s Fledgling Navy 1800. Three types of Navy poster show ships sitting peacefully in their yards. There is the Navy Docks at Key West, Florida, the battleship in the Navy Yard at Brooklyn, New York City and the submarine at Puget Sound Navy Yard, Washington.

None of these posters have a smoking gun or show any sea battles or dog fights in the air with Navy planes. However, there is one unusual poster that seems peculiar if it’s meant to recruit anyone. Obviously inspired by that famous scene from the movie, Dr. Strangelove, a sailor sits astride a torpedo and the poster proclaims, join the Navy.

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Model Airplane Plans

September 14, 2008 – 9:21 pm

Building a working plane from model airplane plans can be an exciting and rewarding hobby, but it can also be a lot of work. Model airplane kits can be hard enough. They often have wings built entirely of thin, balsa wood ribs coated in a plastic outer wrap, which are easy to break and difficult to assemble. But building a model airplane from scratch is just that much harder. A good buddy of mine says that you should not even pick up model airplane plans unless you really are a true fanatic. And he should know - he has been building model airplanes for a good fifteen years.

Before you get your first model airplane plan, you will need to set up your workspace. You will need a variety of equipment. In addition to the standard model airplane glue, X-acto knife, paints, and other supplies that you will no doubt be familiar with, you will need a variety of small saws and jewelers tools, such as files. The precise equipment that you need to build your model airplane plans will depend on the aircraft that you will be making. A good rule of thumb is that the smaller the airplane, the harder that it is to build. In addition, certain types of model airplane plans are harder to put together than others. Single wing models are the easiest, with biplanes and triplanes being progressively harder.

Above all, building model airplanes requires patience. When I got my first model airplane kit, I was no more than ten years old. At that point, I thought it was the neatest thing in the world, but I just did not have it in me to build it by myself. By the time my dad stepped in to help me, I had almost ruined the kit trying to figure it out myself. I did not even have the patience to look at the model airplane plans until my dad made me do just that. There was a lesson in all of that for me that I did not soon forget. When I got my own son his first model airplane kit, I remembered what it was like trying to settle down and spend the hours required to assemble mine. You can bet that I was right there with him, helping him read the model airplane plans and build the plane, piece by piece without skipping any steps.

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Michael Thurmond Six-Week Body Makeover

September 14, 2008 – 1:45 am

Nothing is more appealing than the prospect of getting into great shape in as little as six weeks. We all know how quickly time passes and the idea of dropping a significant number of pounds in one-and-a-half months is a dream come true for most dieters. The Michael Thurmond Six Week Body Makeover promises just that.

I am seriously inspecting this regimen for my own personal use. Being a first time mom in her mid-thirties offers many challenges. One of those challenges is losing the baby fat and keeping it off. The Michael Thurmond Six Week Body Makeover seems like a great motivator for moms who want to shed their baby fat in little time.

After reading about the program I think that there are some great benefits to using the Michael Thurmond Six Week Body Makeover system. The personalized approach is very appealing to me simply because it makes perfect sense. People have different body types and different chemistries. It makes logical sense that they should have a customized diet and exercise plan as well.

The Michael Thurmond Six Week Body Makeover takes a trial-and-error approach to weight loss. Simply put, you try different combinations of foods and different diet regimens until you find the one that boosts your metabolism and gives you energy. The great thing about this approach is that it forces you to be accountable for each bite you take and it makes you accountable for sticking to a workout program.

Everyone knows that a sensible weight loss diet in combination with exercise will eventually lead to shedding pounds. Conventional approaches do work but they may not work to the maximum potential that the Michael Thurmond Six Week Body Makeover will. This plan is customized to the individual’s physical type as well as his chemistry.

If you follow a regular weight reduction program you will see results but those results may take a good deal of time to notice. You can easily become distressed when you step on the scale after weeks of following a program to find that you have lost three or four pounds. Even though the scale is moving in the right direction you may feel that you are spinning your wheels.

A program like the Michael Thurmond Six Week Body Makeover is so very appealing to those of us who work hard at getting into shape because it promises results in relatively little time.

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Lucky Lotto Numbers

September 13, 2008 – 7:26 am

Nearly everyone dreams about hitting the lottery. The search for lucky lotto numbers seems to have gained recent popularity but many people have looked for the fortunate digits that will lead to wealth with the right combinations on the right game. As far back as the lottery began, people began the search for lucky lotto numbers as well.

Many people have different approaches to finding winning lottery numbers and their innovative approaches sometimes pay off and sometimes they don’t. One of the most popular ways to choose lucky lotto numbers is by using the birthdays of loved ones. This is a great way to find fortunate digits for a little gambling.

The appeal of using birthdays has been widespread for a number of years. My grandmother loved to use our birthdays as lucky lottery numbers and she did have some good fortune here and there. She also took note of the days that the digits hit when she didn’t play. I can’t count how many times that I heard my grandmother say that my birthday hit when she didn’t play it.

Some individuals like to use special digits involving addresses. An old address can come in handy as lucky lotto numbers if you choose them at the right time and place. This approach may not hold the sentimental value as the precious birthdays but some people swear that this method really works. Some swear by telephone numbers as well.

Of course, lucky lotto numbers do no good unless you play them on the right day. No matter if you are using birthdays, addresses or phone numbers you really can’t win unless you play and you have to choose the right combination on the right day in order to make fortunate digits lucky lotto numbers. This is the real challenge in the quest for winning lottery numbers.

One way to decide which numbers will be winners in the lottery game is to use your dreams. If you dream about a niece or nephew, it may be a good day to play his or her birthday on that particular evening. If you dream of a house that you used to occupy try using that address. If you dream of getting a call from a friend or relative, try playing their address or phone numbers in different combinations.

My grandfather took dreams one step further in the process. He bought a dream book that listed dreams in alphabetical order. Next to each category was a three digit number. He used his dreams as inspiration for his betting. He was hit and miss but a few hits can go a long way in the lottery game.

Finding lucky lotto numbers can be as fun as playing the game. Finding winning lottery numbers is even better.

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Ohio State University Merchandise

September 12, 2008 – 2:02 pm

I had the opportunity to spend a few years living in Columbus, and I immediately fell in love with the place. It had the feel of a great college town while also possessing all the amenities of city life. That kind of combination is hard to come by these days. I knew I was experiencing something special, so I tried to make the most of my time there by attending various events on the OSU campus and by going to as many Buckeyes football and basketball games as possible. By the time I left Columbus, I was a full-fledged fan with as much red and white Ohio State University merchandise as the most fervid alumni.

After a few years, my Ohio State University merchandise collection started showing definite signs of wear and tear. I was still following the Buckeyes on television, so I definitely needed some new gear to replace the old stuff. The problem was that I now living a good thousand miles away from campus and wouldn’t be able to get official Ohio State University merchandise from the school itself. The t-shirts and jerseys sold at sporting goods stores near me were either poorly made replicas or generic products with the OSU or Buckeyes logo slapped across the front. This certainly wasn’t the quality Ohio State University merchandise I had grown accustomed to buying when I lived in Columbus!

Fortunately, I was able to find a few websites that specialize in selling official NCAA products to fans across the country. These sites gave me an easy and convenient way to shop for all the great Ohio State University merchandise that I really wanted. In addition to standard items like t-shirts, caps, and jerseys, these websites sell things like banners, flags, towels, bobbleheads, replica helmets, rubber wristbands, DVDs, and souvenir programs.

Some of these sites even sell Ohio State University merchandise that doesn’t have anything to do with sports. This was a great find for me because I have many friends that are OSU alumni and I’m always in need of gifts for birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, or the holidays. Giving official Ohio State University merchandise to alums is a surefire way to make it through any gift-giving occasion!

So if you’re a fan of the Buckeyes, an OSU alum, or both, I want you to know that you can still get a lot of cool Ohio State University merchandise even if you don’t live anywhere near Columbus. Just check out some online sporting goods stores and you’ll be set.

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Local telephone

September 12, 2008 – 8:41 am

It amazes me that my local telephone calling area is incredibly small. My parents, who live fifteen minutes away from me, are considered long distance. They can, however, call me for free. Their local telephone company has given them a vast calling area. I just don’t understand this. I’ve questioned my local telephone company about this several times and the usual answer is pretty much, “that’s just the way it is.” I’m not quite satisfied with that answer but there isn’t too much I can do. I just may end up fighting back by finding a new local telephone provider.

What also amazes me is the number of fees that are tacked onto my monthly bill. My phone plan is only supposed to be $34.99. My grand total every month is near $50. Something just doesn’t make sense. There are some companies out there that are getting rich from people like me. Half of the fees and taxes on my bill don’t even make any sense. When you question the local telephone company about it, I pretty much get the same answer that I get when I asked about my calling area. Is this just the way it has become? We’re quoted a price and choose a monthly calling plan based on our budgets and once the bill arrives, all of the fees and taxes put us over our budget. It isn’t just local telephone companies that do this. It is everywhere.

We don’t have too many local telephone providers that are in competition with one another so shopping around didn’t prove to be too much of a success. I probably will switch companies just for the ability to call more areas for free. At the moment, my calling area is terrible. I need a much larger area. As I was in the midst of my searching for a competitive offer, I received a call from another local telephone company. Maybe they got my subliminal messages about wanting new offers because I had not yet solicited them. They offered me a phone plan that included unlimited calling to the entire country! I would not get a long distance charge for calling any of our 50 states. That sounded way too good to be true. Nope, for only $39.99 a month it would be mine. I jumped all over that. Sure, it wouldn’t be any cheaper than what I was currently paying but to not have to worry about long distance calls would make things in my household so much nicer. I made certain that phone call had been recorded.

When I hung up the phone, I was all too happy to call my present local telephone company and cancel my services. When they began to offer me new things to get me to remain and asked me why I was leaving, I replied, “That’s just the way it is.” Then I hung up. Wow, that felt great.

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Kitchen Safety

September 11, 2008 – 1:07 pm

Moms spend a lot of time in the kitchen; so naturally, their children are interested in what goes on there. Most children learn by watching their parents, and they develop and interest in doing anything they see an adult do. This is how they learn about the world around them. Even before your children can talk, they are learning about the world by watching mom, dad, and other adults as they go about their day. This is the perfect time to teach them about kitchen safety. You may have childproof locks, but that doesn’t stop them from wanting to know what is behind the lock.

Probably the most dangerous item in your kitchen is your stove. Children often don’t understand what things feel like unless they touch them. This is true of hot and cold as well as fuzzy or sleek. You can tell them ‘hot’ as much as you like, but they won’t get it until they feel it. As a preventative measure, the first lesson in kitchen safety is what hot feels like. Naturally, you don’t want to put your child’s hand on something that will harm them to teach them this, so you have to think of another way.

When it came time for me to teach my daughter this lesson in kitchen safety, I used my oven. I turned it on and waited for it to warm up. I did not let it get hot, but when it was warm but not dangerous, I allowed her to feel it. I explained that if she felt that sensation, she was in danger and should move away. The next kitchen safety lesson I taught was also about heat, but it was more about the pans on the top of the stove. I keep the handles turned in, but I had to remind her repeatedly that she couldn’t touch them.

When it comes to kitchen safety, you also have to worry about knives. Because knives are shiny and off limits, they are one of the first things your children will want to touch. You have to make sure you keep these up and completely out of reach, but you also have to demonstrate what they can do. You have to teach them to use them safely as they grow, and make sure your repeat your kitchen safety lessons over and over until you are sure they understand the dangers they face when they go in there alone.

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