Wednesday, February 20, 2008 

Pioneer Spirit...Live It In Your Own Pre-Fab Cabin

So you've decided to take a really big step in do-it-yourself projects. Building a prefrabicated cabin is one project you REALLY need to prepare for. Like building a traditional home you have alot of steps to take in completing this project.

Most of these cabins come panelized as kits, with the doors and windows pre-hung and already installed in the wall panels. The siding, if you choose that option, is pre-stained and pre-installed. These units also come with detailed plans that take you step-by-step down to where to put the last nail.

I'll assume you own the land parcel where the cabin will stand. Now understand there are a laundry list of things you have to do prior to starting:

Talk to your local planning office about planning permission, and check whether you'll need building regulations approval.

Find a local surveyor and ask their advice on whether the site you've chosen is suitable for a log cabin, what kind of foundations you will require, and the likely cost.

The cost of transporting your log cabin to your intended site.

Put together a project plan to include the physical aspects of your log cabin project, such as delivery, installing services such as electricity, plumbing and gas, and moving in, financial aspects such as any additional costs (delivery, services, foundations and land survey, planning permission and building services, removal services, kitchen, bathroom, furnishings) and when everyone wants to be paid, and people aspects - who you need, what do they need to do and when, and do they agree?

Take a reality check. If all is well, all you have to do now, is implement your plan.

Good luck and good building.

Chuck Lunsford is a successful Webmaster and publisher of JustGoDoItYourself.com He provides more tips and advice on accomplishing Do it yourself prefabricated cabins and modular homes.



 

Develop The Habit Of Winning Keynote Speeches

I love football. And because I love football, (hey, I'm a guy!) I like using quotes from one of my favorite coaches of all time, legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. His influence he left in the NFL is incredible and he is one of the most quoted people in the world. The legacy he left in the NFL was so great, that the superbowl winner is given the Lombardi trophy.

After one of the coldest games ever played, the Green Bay Packers won the NFL title game in terrible conditions in what was known as the Ice Bowl. At game time, it was -10 degrees and dropping. None the less, the Packers won the game and their third straight NFL title. When coach Lombardi was asked why his teams were so successful, he grinned and said that "Winning is a habit! Unfortunately so is losing. To be a successful team you must develop the habits of winning through proper preparation and practice."

And so it is with us. We must prepare and practice correctly if we are to give our best keynote speech to our intended audience. Most of the time we will face those conditions that will be most unfavorable to us. And when we do, we will be ready for them and come out winners. I waited for over 6 hours under very difficult circumstances to interview the great Tony Robbins. When he was ready, I interviewed him and it was one of the most incredible experiences I have had!

Knowing you are developing the winning habits will take you a long way while becoming an expert in your speaking career!

Since 1998, Rey Ybarra has been producing Internet Radio, Radio, Television and Internet Television programming. He is an outstanding speaker, Radio, Television and Internet Television Talk show host and producer who has produced over 250 radio and Television programs and has given over 700 interviews covering a wide variety and range of topics. He has spoken to organizations including The United Chamber of Commerce, The Health Freedom Expo, The Xerox Corporation, Ballys Fitness and The Anco Corporation to name a few.



 

Natural Weight Loss Tips

We live in a world where fat-loss gimmicks and so-called diet pills promise to help you lose those unwanted pounds with little effort. The advertising of these miracle drugs and gimmicks only feed more into the hype. In reality, the majority of these products will not work without a commitment to a very strict diet and exhausting exercise program.

How can you lose weight naturally and effectively?

Here are some ideas for effective weight loss - the natural way.

*DESIRE- The more you put your mind to something, the better your chances are of achieving that goal.

*KNOWLEDGE-Learn the correct information about proper nutrition and exercise routine. Our bodies all have a different biological chemistry. What works for one will not necessarily work for another.

*SACRIFICES-This one is really hard! But, the most emotionally satisfying. If you can give up something you REALLY love, say that candy bar or soda, that will be one of the best feelings in your weight loss venture.

*CONSISTENCY-It is important to maintain a consistent routine. This is crucial for your success.

*FEEDBACK-At some point, your body will plateau. Which means you will come to a point where you stop losing weight before your goal. When this happens, it is important to analyze your nutrition and exercise routine and make adjustments. BE CAREFUL. This point in your weight loss venture is very aggravating, and pushes many people toward purchasing non-effective weight loss drugs.

*FAILURE-UNDERSTAND THERE IS NO SUCH THING! You WILL have slip ups and you WILL have plateaus, but this is NOT failure. Think of this is a learning experience on your journey to your weight loss goal of what you should NOT do again!!

*NEVER GIVE UP-You CAN do this. Have faith in your abilities. Do not waste your money on those magical diet pills. When you reach that goal, you will have the self-esteem to conquer anything!

Jedidiah Taylor, author and entrepreneur, has always been interested in the subject of fitness and natural weight loss. More information on weight loss can be viewed at his website: http://www.howtoloseweighttherightway.com



 

Do Small/Medium Size Businesses Need a Website?

The answer to that question is probably "Yes" but then you will say, I would say that because it is my business- so don't take my word for it you figure out if your business need a website. Before you spend any money ask yourself the following questions:

Do your customer look for your services/products on the net?
Yes! most of the average British house hold have access to internet and they would research before they part with their hard earned money. So your customer will expect to find you on the net.

Do your competitors have a website?
Imagine that a prospective client is considering hiring your business and is attempting to use the web to compare your services to the competitors. If you don't have a site, it makes you appear less established and professional. Its like not having a business card.

Are your competitors larger than you?
If your business is very small, or you're just starting out, you may want it to appear larger than it is. A well-designed and highly professional website gives the appearance that your business is large and established.

Do you want to expand your customer base?
If you want to grow your business, you will need a web site to reach clients in new areas. Suppose you've always focused on one industry, but now want to offer a new service tailored to a different industry. Your website can be easily modified to accomodate the intended audience.

Investing in website is not very expensive business now, if you go for a right company- There are company offering basic website package starting from 250. Some company also offer a free basic training along with the web package to get you started.

Rubelon WebTec - We specialize in creating professional custom-made web sites for small and medium sized businesses, not-for-profit organisations and personal web sites. We are qualified software professionals specialised in web designing. We are located in Crawley, West Sussex, UK. We believe in helping charity organisations, small/medium size businesses to have a web presence. We are open to new ideas and challenges. We work with you to create what you want right from the initial planning. We provide complete professional design at fixed prices from a range of web design packages to match the needs of all types of customers. - Basic web package starting at 250 Visit - http://www.RubelonWebtec.com or http://www.RubelonWebtec.co.uk



 

Clean Sweep is It for You?

Getting organized at home can be challenging especially for homes that have one parent households or both parents work, or where the family's schedule is constantly go and go some more. For most people, having an organized home is a continuous test of patience and determination.

Do you have a specific place, more then one spot, or an entire room in your home that desperately needs a clean sweep? Have you ignored those spots so long that the dirty sites are nagging you in the back of your mind? Don't grit your teeth and sigh; we have all been there at one point or another. There are easy solutions to your problem areas, let's do a clean sweep!

The guideline questions for clean sweeping your dirty room are; when did I last use this? When did I last wear this? When did I last play with this toy? What condition is the item in question found? The general answers to these questions are, if item is in bad condition throw it out. If you used the item the last time more then 18 months ago, donate it to charity or your garage sale. Toys can be tricky, are they memorable because they have meaning or are you a packrat?

Your ability to clean sweep the room depends on your willingness to be honest with yourself, but you say, it's a shame to throw out good stuff. If your "stuff" in question is in good condition, ask yourself, do you really want to keep this? If no, then you need to do some research on where to sell the items or where to donate it.

A problem a lot of households face is the paper issues, we generate a lot of paper, what to do with it all? Let's break down our paper mess. You need to divide your paper into several piles. Pile one, should be all the paper that has your personal information with on it, such as social security numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers. The second pile should be for each person in your household, and the third pile is for the trash. Anything that does not belong to one of your family members or have personal information on them needs to be placed in a trash bag and put to the curb.

Now, let's clean sweep the two piles that we have left. The pile that belongs to family members needs to be placed on the dining room table and when they gather for the evening meal, you need to ask them, to sort through it and throw out what they don't want and then they need to place it neatly in their rooms.

The last pile needs to be separated further, the first pile needs to be items that have nothing to do with paying your taxes, and the other is the paper pile that you will need to take to your tax accountant.

The pile that has nothing to do with taxes, you need to shred. Remember that trash is public domain and identity thieves like to go dumpster diving. Shred the papers that you don't need to take to your tax accountant and put the shredded paper to the curb.

The pile of papers that you need to take to your accountant needs to be placed in a file folder; ideally, you should have 12 folders. (They should have ends that are enclosed.) One folder for each month of the year, place the receipts dated in that month in the matching folder. Place your folders in a special spot, so the next time you have a tax receipt it can go straight into the proper folder.

Now, you're saying, but the spot that's a mess and needs a clean sweep is not paper, what do I do now? What are the items? If they are decorations for a holiday, purchase plastic containers that you can stack and place them inside, a closet under the short clothes, if your closet has shelves place these containers on the shelves. If your bed is high off the floor and depending on the shape of your container, you can slip the boxes underneath your bed.

Are you saying you don't have time for a clean sweep? Well, clean sweep one spot each night when you get home, five work nights equals five spots are clean swept each week, seven spots if you do one spot on each weekend day. Eventually all those untidy areas of your home will turn into clean rooms and lend a sparkling feeling to your dwelling.

Last, but not least helpful organization tips for that room that is entirely a disaster. First, enlist the help of your entire family. Advise them of what you are planning to do and agree on a weekend day that everyone can pitch in for a clean sweep of the room.

Now you have helpers. On the day, you have chosen for your clean sweep, have all the stuff taken out of the room. Divide the items up into three piles, keep, maybe keep, and toss out. After removing the items from the room, get trash bags out and dispose of all the stuff in the toss out pile.

Now apply the questions that we discussed above to the two remaining piles and divide both piles again into charity, garage sale, and keep. After this, take the stuff to the car that is going to be donated to charity and take it immediately to that charity.

If you have items to sell, keep them in the garage and the next sunny day, drag them to your yard and sell what you can, however, if you don't sell all the stuff, the rest of the garage sale items need to be taken to a charity.

Now all you should have left is the pile of belongings that you want to keep. Now evaluate your room. What are you going to use this room before it became chronically disorganized?

Now make it into that room. If you need shelving, buy it, if you need new paint get it, if you have a closet and have no intention on using the closet for clothing, use it for storage and put shelving into it. Old dressers are wonderful for storage if you are short on funds.

Regardless of which room or rooms in your home that requires a clean sweep, the guideline questions remain the same. When did I use this last? What condition is it in? Why am I keeping this item? If you cannot give a good answer to two of these questions, then you really need to dispose of the property in question.

When you move into the final phase of your clean sweep, you need to visualize the way you see the room when you are all done with the clean sweep and work towards those goals. There many ways to reach your final goal, sometimes it might be easier to go the store where they sell organization goods and price what you have in mind and then ask if there is a cheaper way to accomplish your final goals.

When you final touches are made to the clean room, show it off to your family and friends. To keep a real fund record of your clean sweep, take before and after pictures.

Another ideal way to optimize a clean sweep is as you are packing to move to another residence. You apply the guideline questions, but a much grader scale, the key is to evaluate everything you pack with extreme prejudiced. After all, if you trash it, give it away, or sell it, you will have to pack and move it! The extra space you will have in your new home will astound and please you and make you proud of your clean sweep.

Now you have turned your chronic disorganization into a totally organized home. Congratulations on a successful clean sweep!

April Pitcher
http://www.info4newaffiliates.com



 

Civil War Uniforms: Keep Your Jean Cloth from Unraveling

AHHHH! How to keep jean cloth from unraveling?

How authentic do you want to be? Can you zigzag your jean cloth, so it does not unravel because just by touching it, it unravels an inch!!

Depends on how authentic you want to be?

I couldn't zigzag my jean cloth because it is not authentic!

It would bother me too much!

So, you have two choices on controlling the unraveling of your jean cloth. One is authentic and one is not!

The technique, which is not authentic, is also not machine done.

You can do a loose running blanket stitch - I don't think the Victorians would have done this because it would have taken too long and uniforms needed to be produced quickly.

The easiest way to keep your jean cloth from unraveling is to cut the pattern big and use an extra large seam allowance like inch or more.

Many of the uniforms were made out of it. Jean cloth was a very common generic fabric used during the war. It comes in so many different colors and shades that people like it, but it unravels and unravels and unravels.

I double-stitch all the seams if you are going to stitch the seams, keep the stitches close and if you are doing it by machine, I would run it through twice.

If I were doing it on the sewing machine, I would off set it about 1/16th of an inch so it would help to keep it from unraveling in lieu of zig zag or blanket-stitching.

For my jean cloth I allow extra seam and around a curve I blanket stitch a little extra where I know it has more of a tendency to unravel.

If you really want to be authentic, your best choice would be to give it extra large seam allowance.

Much of the internal construction of the jacket was machine stitched. Even though you see no machine stitching on jackets because exposed machine stitching would not pass inspection

I also dont do cutouts when I go around a curve I use less of them or I dont use them at all.

Tiger weave is real loose and I dont do the cut outs at all when I use Tiger weave.

Some of the jean cloth has a tighter weave than others.

When I do button holes with jean cloth, I use a larger buttonhole and use a wider seam allowance.

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