Tag: <span>freezer services</span>

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ICING: Only 5-7 minutes with ice and a wet paper towel

Just about everyone knows the acronym R.I.C.E. (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) when dealing with injuries, especially acute injuries, but the missing part of this is how to ice. As odd as it sounds, there is a best method for icing injuries. The best method for icing an injury is through direct skin contact of bagged ice with a wet paper towel on the outside of the bag.

Before I go on to explain why that is the best method, I want to talk about ice packs. Most ice packs that are reusable from a drug store are at the temperature of your freezer, which is typically below freezing. At first this may seem like a good thing because its colder, but there is a risk (low) of skin damage (mild frostbite) with using these ice packs. Additionally, as soon as the ice pack makes contact with something warmer it starts to increase in temperature. After only a few minutes of icing, the temperature of the gel that is in contact with your body is warmer and progressively acts as an buffer for the still frozen gel. To actually have an effective ice treatment with an ice pack, it needs to remain on the skin for 15-20 minutes.

So now that you know that ice packs are not as efficient and pose a slight risk, I will explain why the method I described above is. First, there is no risk of skin damage with ice because its never at freezing temperature when its in contact with your skin. The thin coat of liquid water on the exterior of the ice is just above freezing and very unlikely to ever cause any skin damage. Secondly, the wet paper towel improves the distribution of the cold effect, and the moisture from the wet paper towel conducts the transfer of heat away from the body more efficiently than dry air (ice pack). This is similar to when someone falls in a frozen lake. When treating that person for hypothermia, the first thing to do is to strip them of all of the wet clothes. Of course, you may ask yourself why you cannot simply put the wet paper towel on the ice pack. I have tried this and the ice pack, because its below freezing, will freeze the wet paper towel and you lose the effect of the moisture.

Because of the improved efficiency of this method of icing, the time that you have to spend with ice decreases dramatically. If the ice is simply resting on the body part, then it should remain there for 7 minutes to be effective, and if you are laying on it you only need 5 minutes. Of course, you can ice longer if you like because there is minimal to no risk of tissue damage.

If you are icing smaller areas or hard to get to places (fingers, toes, pin point spots, etc.), then you can use ice massage with similar effects as the above method. The easiest way to do this is to take a small paper cup, fill it 3/4 with water, and freeze it. Once frozen you can tear off the top half of the cup and use the ice to massage over the specific area. Since the ice is more direct, you should only perform ice massage for 3-5 minutes.

The other point that I would like to make with regard to ice is that it is not only for acute injuries, it can be for chronic injuries as well. With acute injuries, icing is done to manage pain, swelling, and inflammation, and the purpose is not any different for chronic injuries. Chronic injuries still have pain, inflammation, and swelling. Plus, chronic injuries have decreased blood flow that reduces the delivery of oxygen and nutrients, which are two key components of healing. Icing an injured area increases blood flow because the body is trying to warm the area and does this by forcing more blood into the restricted tissue; thus, promoting healing.

Creating a regular icing schedule (at least morning and evening) for any orthopedic injury helps to manage swelling, pain, and inflammation. It also helps to deliver more oxygen and nutrients to help with healing of the damaged tissue. So go to your nearest store, buy some ice trays, plastic bags, and a roll of paper towels to help treat almost all of your musculoskeletal aches and pains.

If you are aware of any negative reactions to cold such as cold urticaria or Raynaud’s Phenomenon, please consult your primary healthcare provider.

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Source by Aron McConnell

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One of the most important things when it comes to an American style side-by side fridge is to change the water filter cartridge on a regular basis. After changing the fridge water filter, you should reset the filter indicator light on your fridge display to monitor when it’s time to change your fridge filter again.

Unfortunately, you have probably lost your manual by now. Not to worry, continue reading.

Each manufacture of side-by-side refrigerators provides their own instructions for resetting the indicator light. So here the list of more than 30 fridge manufacture on how to reset the light after replacing the fridge water filters:

Amana: press and hold the Lock and Auto light (or Water) buttons on the dispenser (at the same time) for 4 seconds until the filter status indicator begins to flash, and then release the buttons.

LG / Atag / Fagor / Liebherr: press and hold the Light/Filter button for 3 seconds.

Bauknecht: press and hold the Filter Reset button for 3 seconds until the light changes to green.

Baumatic: press the Ice Maker Lock button for 3 seconds or more. The LED will then change to NORMAL.

Beko / Teka: press and hold the Auto Eco button for 5 seconds.

Bosch / Siemens / Neff / Balay / Miele: press and hold the Water Filter Reset button for 5 seconds. Newer models: press the Options button until “filter change” is selected, press selection buttons +/- until the “filter change” display goes out.

Caple: press the Reset button until the light will change to green.

Daewoo / Nardi / Pelgrim / Steel: press the Ice Maker Lock button for 3 seconds or more; while holding the lock button, the light will change to green.

De Dietrich: press and hold the Reset Filter button for 5 seconds.

Gaggenau: press and hold the Filter Reset button for 3 seconds until the yellow/red light goes out.

GE: press and hold the Reset Water Filter button on the dispenser for 3 seconds.

Haier: press Reset button.

KitchenAid: press and hold Filter Reset button for 3 seconds until the Order or Replace light turns off.

Maytag: Press Options, then Water Filter, then Reset, and then Yes. The status light will change from red to green when the system is reset. Or press and hold the Filter Reset button for 3 seconds.

Samsung: press the Ice type and Child lock (or Moisture Control) buttons simultaneously for 3 seconds. Note: Hold the buttons for only 3 seconds. If you press these 2 buttons simultaneously for 5 seconds, the reset function ceases. Release the buttons and repeat the same step one more time. The water filter indicator light should turn green.

Smeg: press and hold the OK button until the three dashes reappear on the display. Or, press and hold the Reset Water Filter button for 5 seconds.

Sub-Zero: press and hold the Filter Reset control for 5 seconds.

Whirlpool / Hotpoint- Ariston / Kppersbusch: press the Filter Reset button until the icon becomes blue (or green). The Filter Reset button will not work if the filter icon is already blue (or green). Or, press the Light switch 5 times within 10 seconds.

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Source by Melanie Arnaud

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The refrigerator is an active place. With food and drink continually coming and going, there are always spills and crumbs needing to be cleaned up. Here are some tips to make this cleaning process quick and easy:

• Mix two tablespoons of baking soda with one quart of warm water. Wash the interior with this solution. Make a baking soda paste to rub off hard-to-clean spills. Rinse and wipe dry.
• If your refrigerator is prone to mildew, wipe the inside with white vinegar.
• Use warm water and dish washing detergent to clean removable shelves and glass parts. Avoid using hot water on plastic parts as the temperature difference can cause cracking.
• Clean the outside of the fridge with a mild soap and water solution, a mild all-purpose cleaner, or a stainless-steel cleaner. Remember to wash down the rubber door gasket.
• Line the vegetable drawer with a layer of paper towels. This will absorb excess moisture common in this drawer and will make cleaning up crumbs a breeze.
• Dust the top of the refrigerator and use an all-purpose-cleaner to remove any dirt or grease. Consider covering the top of the refrigerator with a piece of cloth such as a placemat that can be thrown into the washing machine; this will make cleaning to the top of the refrigerator quick and easy.
• Four times a year vacuum the dust and lint from the condenser coils on the back or bottom of the fridge.
• To keep the fridge smelling fresh use a box of baking soda or dip a cotton ball in lemon extract and place in an open cup on the bottom shelf.
• Avoid putting meat in its original packaging directly on a shelf. Place it on a plate or in a plastic tub to collect the juices that often leak.

Be sure to organize your food upon returning it to the refrigerator. Group related items and designate a part of a shelf for each. Keep condiments, cheeses, drinks, etc. together. Make sure to take advantage of vegetable bins to store fresh produce. These drawers are designed to maintain a low humidity level to keep items fresh. Use the door shelves to store items you use most often and store leftover items toward the front of the fridge so that you don’t forget about them.

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Source by Elizabeth Dennis

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The Turner Katy Trail Shelter is a trail-side hostel located in the small town of Tebbetts, Missouri, 13-miles east of Jefferson City. It’s basically a two-story bunkhouse with bathing, sleeping, heating, air-conditioning, refrigerating, and warming-up cooking facilities. Originally, it was a popular sandwich shop whose owner donated the property to the Conservation Foundation of Missouri Charitable Trust to be used by youth groups. The conservation renovated the building, and then added the bunk beds and other accommodations (see below). Several church, scouting, and other youth groups do use the shelter annually, but not often. Thus, it’s open to all trail-users on a first-come first-serve basis when it’s not reserved by a group beforehand. For $5 a day, a guest will have cheap lodging on a rail-to-trail that’s free to the public to start with.

Accommodations 

• Outside bike rack, deck-covered front porch, outside picnic tables, and bright streetlight.
• Front-door key is kept on a nearby utility pole for easy access.
• Utilities: electricity, lights, furnace, window air-conditioners, hot water, fans, clock.
• Double bunks with firm foam mattresses; 11 downstairs, 8 upstairs plus extra floor space.
• Large wardrobe lockers: kept against the walls between the bunks.
• Large restroom with dual hand sinks and two enclosed flush toilets.
• Shower room: two individual stall-showers (separate from the restroom).
• Kitchen/dining: locker-pantry holding paper and plastic wares, and leftover snack food; electric coffee maker; refrigerator/freezer with ice-cube trays; microwave; single hot plate; large wooden picnic table. Note: the large vehicle-supported groups staying there will cook outside by using their camp stoves or similar gear.
• Bicycle room with tools: accessible both from the inside and outside. The bicycles can be brought inside there.
• Notebook-logs for registering-in, or for making comments.
• Entertainment: two parlor games; ping pong table (upstairs); several magazines, nature-wildlife pamphlets, and various brochures. Local saloon or bar-grill nearby.
• Small store across the street when open and convenience store one-third-mile west on Route-94: cold/hot snacks and sundries.

 

The directions for using the shelter are well posted inside together with addressed envelopes for payment. The postage is free if dropped into the outside mailbox two doors down across the street to the east. Its daily fee: $5/each for individuals or drop-by’s; $20 for groups up to 40 plus $1 for each person in the group. It’s closed from December 1st to March 1st; that is, the water and furnace are turned off then.

This shelter is a proven asset to the trail. Many users have found protection from rain or wind storms there, often not knowing it existed until someone pointed it out to them. Other users stop there to cool off or to use its facilities with or without staying the night. Cross-country and end-to-end trail riders spend the night there to save a few lodging bucks during the busy riding seasons. Still others like to socialize with those stopping or staying there.

The guests themselves and other volunteers clean the shelter, and do some of the upkeep. They leave things behind for others to use, like, soap bars and a towel or two, and occasional snack food, like, chips, cookies, coffee grounds, and opened packages of hotdogs, luncheon meat, bread/buns, and cheese slices. Basically, the guests must furnish their own bedding, toiletries, towels, food, and chastity/self-protection devices (e.g., pepper spray) although not necessary among most guests. Drop-by’s are limited to a one-night stay as the weather and other reasons permit it.

Large private groups, who have reserved it beforehand, generally want to keep it for themselves while occupying it. That’s especially true if it’s a youth group, although bad weather could be a factor for sharing it with other responsible trail-users then. Otherwise, it’s first-come first-served until it’s full, which seldom happens.

The shelter’s large size augments sharing it in a responsible manner. The guests, often strangers to one another, practice common hostel courtesies, like, exchanging basic information, looking out for one another, e.g., guarding the shower-or-bathroom doors between the sexes, and keeping quiet. Most nighttime guests are tired, and want to rest before the next day’s venture. The two floor levels plus an extra small room upstairs offer limited privacy as do the separated restroom and showers. Also, the main front door can be double locked from the inside with a chain guard.

The shelter welcomes tax-deductible donations and volunteer work. In addition to cash, it could use the following things over extended periods of use:

1. spot checks or repairs on the air conditioners, furnace, refrigerator, lights, and other kinds of general upkeep  
2. opaque shower curtains, old towels, old blankets or sleeping bags
3. shelves for small appliances, books, magazines, radio, TV
4. more straight chairs
5. latches on certain inside doors
6. space heater (for single or small number of occupants during cool weather)
7. outside hydrant with hose
8. deep utility sink
9. clothes dryer
10. outside staircase to the upper deck

 

The bicycle room or the restroom/water-heater room each has enough space to add a utility sink and small clothes dryer. These two items could help guests coming in from stormy or wet weather by allowing them to wash and dry their clothing and other gear rapidly.

Another benefit that often comes with the shelter is a large friendly dog that sleeps on the front porch. He makes great company, and is a dependable night watchman.

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Source by J Delms

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Unlike fractional ownership of aircraft and houseboats, fractional owners of a cruise ship can all use the ship simultaneously. There is plenty of room for you and the other owners to live on the ship any time you want, or all the time. You can use it as a full-time residence, and so can the other co-owners.

The first obvious benefit of shared ownership is acquisition cost. There are many cruise ships on the market in all price ranges, sizes, ages, and conditions. There are many smaller and older cruise ships available for less than one million dollars. At the lower end, some smaller cruise ships in fair condition can be acquired for about $250,000. At the highest end, the biggest new mega cruise ships now cost about $500 million to build.

Do the math. If one hundred buyers pool resources in exchange for a percentage of ship ownership, the acquisition cost will be divided by that same number. One percent ownership of a $250,000 cruise ship would cost a mere $2500 for ship acquisition. At the other end of the scale, one percent ownership of a brand new mega cruise ship would cost five million dollars.

There are some other figures that must be tabulated into the total cost of ownership. Acquisition cost is first and foremost. The next figure is the cost to put the ship in service. On an older ship this cost may be higher than the acquisition cost. On the other hand, the cost to put a ship into service can be much lower if you were to get a good deal on a ship that already meets the international standards for ship safety, especially SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea). Maintaining compliance with Chapter II SOLAS 74 amendments is cost prohibitive for some older ships and they are typically scrapped instead of being refurbished at great expense. There is a very important SOLAS implementation date coming up on January 10, 2010. On that date all commercial international ships will be required to be in compliance with the new fire safety codes. The most important new codes deal with the use of combustible materials in the ship. It will be expensive to replace all combustible materials in ships with non-combustible or flame resistant SOLAS compliant materials that meet the new safety standards. This will result in many ships being sold for scrap metal.

The looming SOLAS 2010 implementation date offers both perils and opportunities. The biggest peril is the possibility that the expense to bring a ship into full compliance with international standards will be greater than the value of the ship. However, there is a silver lining in this cloud. This pending SOLAS implementation date has already started to show up as a primary factor in the asking and selling prices of ships on the market today.

SOLAS 2010 also offers a tremendous opportunity for those who may prefer to have a very large houseboat instead of a commercial ship. Ships that are not in compliance with SOLAS 2010 are now selling for a song (inexpensively). A cruise ship can easily be converted into a megayacht with the stroke of a pen. Privately owned yachts, not in commercial service, and not carrying passengers or cargo for hire are exempt from many of the SOLAS requirements. Operating costs are also lower for a private yacht. It cost less to register, flag, and insure a private yacht. Megayachts can be flagged and classified for unlimited service. That means that a megayacht can go practically anywhere you want it to go. There is one major drawback to registering a cruise ship as a private yacht. You cannot use the yacht commercially. This cuts off a potential revenue source.

There are many decent cruise ships for sale at prices of less than one million dollars that would make good private megayachts. For example, take the ‘VERGINA SKY’ is a ship that I have personally inspected and so I can talk first hand about it. The asking price was $750,000. Here are the specifics of the ship in a nutshell:

Current Name: Vergina Sky

Ship Details: Built: 1971 in Japan – totally rebuilt 1992 in Greece

Dimensions: LOA 97.8m x LBP 82m x beam 14.6m x draft 4.49m Dwt: 500 on 4,49 GT/NT: 4,668 / 1,717

Description: Pielstick 2 x 8400bhp, twin screw, bow thruster, 3 x 500kw generators, 16 knots, 2 saloons, restaurant, 3 bars, casino, duty free shop, disco, swimming pool, 120 cabins for 318 guests. Lying Greece

My Comments after inspecting the ship

This is a well built little ‘Pocket Cruiser.’ At just over 320′ in length overall, it is a small cruise ship. Many experienced cruise passengers prefer smaller more intimate cruise ships for a variety of reasons. This ship can go places where the big cruise ships cannot reach, such as shallow draft ports and even many rivers. It has an omni-directional bow thruster and can turn on a dime (relatively speaking of course). I have carefully examined this ship from the engine log to the ultrasound hull report. This is a sound and safe little cruise ship. It is also a very fuel efficient and economical ship. My first time on this ship was in the middle of the summer in Greece when it was very hot outside. The ship is fully air conditioned and it was cool and comfortable inside the ship. I checked the engine room to see how many generators were running. I am happy to report that all the electric and air-conditioning requirements can be met by running just one of the three Daihatsu generators. These generators are very economical to operate in terms of fuel consumption and maintenance.

I was able to negotiate with the owner, John Kosmas and get some concessions. I got the price down to $500,000. And at that price, he agreed to bring the ship into compliance with SOLAS 2005 and also to include new paint topside. The ship was fairly well furnished even including bed linen, but the ship had been laid up for years. Its most recent service was in the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Cruise ships that trade exclusively in the Mediterranean and Black Seas tend to have smaller cabins and fewer amenities than the typical cruise ships that frequent the Caribbean. The bottom line is that this ship was an economy model, not a luxury model. When I was inspecting the engine room, I asked for the engine log. When I opened it I noticed all the entries were in Greek. I was able to discern some dates and other data that told me when the ship was last in service, but I could not read the Greek entries so I handed the engine log back to the ship owner, and told him “It’s all Greek to me.” Being Greek, Mr. Kosmas failed to find the humor in that.

Let’s look at the numbers on this ship. 100% of the acquisition cost would have been $500,000. 1% thus = $5000. One hundred buyers could own one percent each. There are 120 cabins so each co-owner could have a private cabin with 20 cabins left over. However, these cabins are a bit on the small side. Every cabin does have a bath and shower, but the size is just too small to be comfortable for most people, especially if the owners intend to live onboard full time. On a ship this size I would recommend that there be no more than 60 joint owners so each can have two cabins and will have the option of converting those two cabins into a two room suite. To keep the numbers simple lets say that this ship has 50 buyers who each buy 2% of the ship. Buy in cost per owner would then be $10,000. If there were only ten buyers, then the acquisition cost per buyer would be $50,000. $50,000 will not buy much of a house on land, but on this ship it would buy 10% of a ship like the Vergina Sky and twelve cabins that could be converted into a fairly large home.

At the economy end of the scale, a co owner could buy 1% of an economical cruise ship for about $5000. However it is not necessary for all co owners to have equal shares in the ship. Ownership can easily be divided up into 1% increments. If one buyer wanted 5%, then his cost of acquisition would be $25,000. He would be entitled to 5% of the ship’s cabins, and would have five votes on operations and management of the ship, such as itinerary planning.

Before becoming a joint owner, it would be imperative to find other people who have similar goals. I would suggest composing a preliminary DCCR (DECLARATION OF

COVENANTS, CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS). You can do this before you even shop for a ship. Write your version of how you envision the shared ownership of a cruise ship as it should be. Then see if you can find some people who agree with your goals and your DCCR, subject to some revisions and concessions to accommodate other joint owners.

Step One: Determine if you and your family have the desire and financial capability to become joint cruise ship (or megayacht) owners.

Step Two: Find others who agree with your concept for shared ownership of a ship.

Step Three: Shop for a ship. This is the fun part.

Step Four: Buy a ship.

Step Five: Put the ship into service.

Even if you are not rich, you can afford to jointly own a cruise ship. But then comes the next logical question: Why would you or anyone want to live on a cruise ship? Who would this be suitable for?

If you are retired or otherwise have a stable income from a dependable source you probably can afford to be a cruise ship co-owner and live full-time onboard a cruise ship. If you work in a field where you can work from home online, then you too can probably afford to become a co-owner of a cruise ship. Most modern ships have satellite Internet service available 24-7.

Operating a cruise ship is expensive. The expenses include the cost of fuel, labor, maintenance, repairs, spares, food, port charges, insurance, technical management, shore management, registration, and the other costs of operating the ship. At first glance these costs may seem expensive, but in reality the cost of living at sea is actually a bargain considering what you get based upon what you pay. The best value does not always translate to the cheapest price. If the ship is well managed, the management will seek the highest quality goods, services, and labor at the very best global value. If the owners are dissatisfied with either technical or shore management, they replace them.

If there are many other co-owners of the ship to split the operating expenses of the ship, it can be affordable for those with a moderate level of income, such as a retirement check. I do have specific operating cost figures but I won’t bore you with that data. The bottom line is that it would not be prohibitively expensive for a middle-class average person to be able to afford to own a fraction of a cruise ship and be able to afford to live on the cruise ship full-time if they elect to do so.

For comparison purposes it is noteworthy that you have expenses in land based housing too. Those expenses include property taxes, homeowners insurance, maintenance and repairs, yard care, and utilities. Additionally you have transportation costs and of course food costs. Most people also spend money on entertainment too. When these expenses are added up the maintenance fees for living aboard a ship are comparable.

There are actually some savings resulting from living aboard a ship. The ship’s executive chef buys food and kitchen supplies in bulk for the ship and can get better prices than the average shopper. Other savings result from the large freezers and the mobility of the ship giving the food service management the ability to stock up on supplies in countries where prices are low. Some crew and owners may choose to fish for leisure. This can supply some fresh food at even lower costs to the owners. Labor savings are realized when the crew is hired based upon the best global labor rates. The laws of supply and demand drive prices down in some places in the world. Proper ship management can capitalize on these disparities. All the savings would be passed on to the cabin owners resulting in an economical cost of living similar to what you could expect to spend with a conventional home. Ship management should have accounting transparency will all books (financial records) open and available for any owner to inspect. Also ship management should submit all financial records quarterly to an outside auditor for the peace of mind of the owners. Anybody in the chain who spends any of the ship’s operational funds should also be periodically audited. For example, a good way to audit the executive chef would be for one or more of the live-aboard co-owners of the ship to go to the food market district of each port of call and they should try to haggle and get a better price for the same food than the price the executive chef was able to acquire. If the executive chef cannot find better deals than the ship’s co-owners, then the executive chef should be given his walking papers. The executive chef position is a vital position on a cruise ship. This is a position of trust because he will bill the food he buys to the ship. He must never be tempted to accept bribes from vendors or suppliers. Therefore, he should know that he will be routinely audited and any substandard performance will result in termination of his employment.

The biggest value of all onboard cruise ship is in labor costs. The better cruise ships tend to be labor intensive, providing passengers with unrelenting attention and extravagant pampering. The hotel staff on all cruise ships provides the basic services including food preparation and serving, laundry, cabin stewarding, entertainment, casino operation, beauty shop operations, This is one area where I would prefer to not scrimp because of the very good value in these services due to the low cost of international labor. I would prefer to go beyond the level that most cruise ships go in the area of spas. Land based luxury and specialty resort spas are very expensive, but the exact same level of service, professionalism, skill, and treatments can be provided on a cruise ship at extremely low cost. Labor is the key and the primary reason for most of the expense of spas. Labor is a tremendous value on a cruise ship because the cruise ship managers can choose workers from the global marketplace where it is easy to get the best value for the money.

Spas

Spa treatment is customized for each client. Spas commonly offer services such as:

Soothing massage therapies, skin and body treatments drawing from European and Eastern principles, expert hair and nail services, and a full menu of therapeutic treatments utilizing a deep-cleansing facial at the start of the program, as well as a series of detoxification and contouring wraps, lypo-reduction wrap, as well as marine mud and herb wraps. Massage Therapies including: Swedish Massage, Shiatsu Massage, Deep Tissue Treatment, Maternity Massage, Therapeutic Foot Massage (Reflexology), French Hydrotherapy Massage.

The healing therapies include a variety of massages, reflexology, facials, firming and many other body treatments. Plus a wide variety of services and wellness programs specially designed to meet the individual’s needs and desires. A full service salon offers all manner of hair treatments (including a certified colorist), as well as a variety of manicures, pedicures, and ‘facelifts’ for your hands. Extensive skin care includes: Age Management Therapies including, Glycolic Facial, Anti-Aging Facial Peel, Microdermabrasion; Facials including: Aromaplasty Facial, Teen Facial, Gentleman’s Facial, Nutrisource Facial, Regulating Acne Facial, Vitamin “C” Skin Renewal Facial; Body Treatments including: Decleor Sauna Mask, French Hydrotherapy Massage, Andromeda Salt Glow, Mummy Mud Mask, Seaweed Body Wrap, Safe Sun Treatment, Herbal Wrap; as well as various hair and nail treatments.

Additionally, spas also can facilitate weight reduction programs, and even administer physical therapy. In short, you can be treated like a king, on the budget of a pauper.

Labor Costs – International competition provides the most value to the ship owners.

On paper it seems to make good sense to man the ship with a Philippine crew. I love the Philippines. I have been there several times. English is still widely spoken and usually spoken quite well. The people are usually friendly and happy to see foreign tourists. A large percentage of ships worldwide are manned by crews from the Philippines. The Philippine government has a pretty good structure and system to facilitate the export of Philippine labor. In spite of how attractive it seems on paper, I would recommend NOT hiring a crew from the Philippines. Philippine workers tend to be envious of others, and especially of everybody else’s wages. They tend to think they are getting the raw end of the deal. It is rare to find a Filipino who is happy with his employment. While I am sure there are many good employees from the Philippines, there are more who are dissatisfied than satisfied with their employment. There seems to be a cultural anomaly in the Philippines where people feel that employers are bad guys. I would hesitate to recommend a crew from the Philippines in spite of the apparent advantages on paper.

My recommendation (for what it is worth)

I do know something about what I am writing about here. I am the former President of Adventure Spa Cruise. My advice is not just uninformed ranting. Back to the point now, the second best manning nation for a ship is India. I highly recommend India for the medical staff and the entire hotel staff, including the spa, and every other position except the deck and engineering. The labor costs in India are very attractive. I would also recommend using an Indian based manning agency. It is best if the ship’s owners do not have to deal with every employee issue or concern. The manning agency takes the pressure off the ship’s management, and their service is very reasonable. Indian employees tend to make better employees than do Filipinos. Indians also speak English, albeit not quite as well as Filipinos. I know Americans tend to get all worked up when someone uses a broad brush to paint an entire ethnicity. I love the people from the Philippines, but as employees they tend to be more problematic than do Indian employees. I realize that this statement is politically incorrect, and these days that might get me thrown in jail. I usually do not worry so much about being politically correct. I call it the way I see I and I let the cards fall where they may, and hope I can stay out of jail for speaking my mind.

All deck and engineering positions should be filled with an all Ukrainian crew. The ship will realize the most value for the money with Ukrainian deck and engineering staff. The Ukraine has a long maritime history and tradition. Maritime training and standards in the Ukraine are among the best in the world. Ukrainian deck and engineering staff are as good as or better than any other, but the cost of their labor is a very good value. The labor for deck officer and engineering staff are governed by international agreements, including STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers).

Putting a cruise ship into service

After acquiring the ship, it will require some more investment to put it into service. At this point the joint owners will need to reach some agreements on many points. The cost of putting a cruise ship into service as a megayacht (very large private yacht) is much less than putting the ship into commercial service. However, if you can afford to buy a ship can easily meet SOLAS 2010 requirements, and can afford to flag and register it as a commercial ship then you can use the ship commercially to produce income and ROI (return on investment).

There are many marketing options for a commercial cruise ship. If the owners use no more than half the cabins, then that will leave sufficient means to produce enough revenue to at least pay for operating costs, and possibly produce a profit above operating costs. I will just briefly touch on some of the options available for marketing cruise ship capacity.

1. Conventional cruises. There is a trade-off here. You can produce revenue by providing conventional cruises. This will require that the ship have an itinerary that suits the commercial cruising market.

2. Freight and cargo. Some cruise ships have enough cargo capacity to produce some revenue by booking freight.

3. Assisted living. A cruise ship is well suited for assisted living, including crew and facilities. The going rate for assisted living in the average city in America is higher than the average cost of a cruise of the same duration.

4. Timeshares. This is an option not available to conventional cruise ship operators but could be facilitated if your co-owners agree to this type of marketing to fill cabins not used by co-owners. I will not go into the figures here, but timeshares tend to be high profit sales. There is a good chance that if the joint owners use no more than half the ship’s cabins for their own personal use, the remaining cabins could easily produce more than the total amount all the joint owners combined have invested.

Ships that would easily meet SOLAS 2010 tend to cost a bit more money to buy up front, and cost more to put into service. So I will give you couple of examples.

The Orient Venus is one of my favorite high-end ships. The specs:

M/V ORIENT VENUS

BUILT: JULY 1990 AT I.H.I.TOKYO

JAPANESE FLAG

JG. NK OCEAN GOING

GRT: 21,884 TONS

DWT: 4,863 TONS ON 6.50 M

LOA x B x D : 174.0×24.0x8.7 M

M/ENG: DIESEL UNITED-12PC2-6V x 2 SETS ,

TWIN SCREW CPP

SPEED: SERVICE ABT21.0 KNOTS / ABT 56.70MT /D

FUEL TANKS CAPA: IFO 1,500.4 M3 /MDO 87.30M3

GENERATOR: 1,600KWxAC450Vx60HZx 3 SETS

ENGINE ROOM M0 SYSTEMS

CRUISING RANGE: ABT 7,000MILE

PASSENGERS: MAX 606 PERSONS

CREW: 120 PERSONS

ABA WOG

DELIVERY: BY ARRANGEMENT

INSPECTION : KOBE.JAPAN

OWNERS PRICE USD 22 MIL net here

My personal assessment of the Orient Venus

It is a late model and beautiful ship. It has many highly desirable attributes for a residential ship. It is a high end luxury cruise ship with an extraordinarily high tonnage to passenger ratio. This is very important for a residential ship. More living room and more space per passenger is far more essential for a residential ship than for a conventional cruise ship. When passengers are only on a ship for a short time, they can tolerate cramped living quarters, but when they live year-round on a ship, the extra space is quite valuable. The owners have been trying to sell this ship for $22,000,000. That may seem like a high price, but when you divide it by the number of cabins (195) the asking price per cabin is $102,564. This price is in line with what you would expect to pay for a condominium. The last word I got from the owners is that they will sell the ship for $18,000,000 now ($92,307 per cabin). The cabins are all “outside” cabins and are large. The ship can accommodate 606 passengers and a crew of 120, for a total of 726 people.

Several ship brokers have this ship listed. I usually do not talk to ship brokers. I prefer to talk directly with the ship owners. I am in contact with the owners of the Orient Venus. I could probably get this stunningly beautiful ship for less than $15,000,000 today, and get some concessions and extras thrown in to boot.

Another example of a high end ship that would make do well as a commercial cruise ship, plus accommodate a hundred or so full-time live aboard co-owners is the Dream Princess, originally named Song of Norway.

GRT: 22,945

Max Draft: 6.7 M in sea water

Length: 194 M.

Total No. of Cabins: 538

Total No. Of Beds + Berth: 1280

Outside Cabins: 346

Inside Cabins: 192

Cabins size range: SQ. M: 11 -18.

Main Engines: 4 Wartsila Sulzer – 18,000 HP.

Service Speed: 16 Knots.

Public Rooms:

Main Dinning room – “King & I”- about 500 pax.

South Pacific Lounge about 400 pax.

My Fair Lady Lounge about 500 pax.

Bars- 5

Self Service Restaurant on the swimming pool deck

Large Swimming pool

Disco

Casino

Duty Free Shops

Gym

8 passenger decks

extensive outdoor areas

Ship was redecorated / refurbished extensively during 2005.

The asking price on this ship is $31 million USD. Divide the asking price by the number of cabins and the average cost per cabin would be $57,620. Of course some cabins are better than others so co-owners would have to agree of the shared usage before agreeing to the purchase.

I have some bad news for the ship owners and some good news for you. This ship will not sell for the asking price.

Fuel

Ship fuel is cheaper than automobile fuel for a few reasons. There are no road taxes on ship fuel of course and also it is different fuel. Ships main engines usually run on IFO180 or IFO380. Generator engines tend to be more finicky and commonly require diesel (MDO), which is still cheaper than automotive diesel. IFO 180 and 380 costs much less than MDO, usually about half the price. Ships consume a lot of fuel. So fuel cost is a major concern. I have some suggestions. If I were a co-owner of a ship I would be willing to invest a little more in the ship to increase fuel efficiency, and thus lower operating costs. There are many things that can be done to increase fuel efficiency. I would start with hull resistance. There is a new silicone-based paint from International Paints that when applied to the hull reduces amount of resistance in the water sufficiently to result in a 3 to 5% decrease in fuel consumption. A similar coating for the propellers also has been proven to increase fuel efficiency.

In addition to hull and prop coatings, there is an even more promising way to achieve dramatic fuel savings.

There is a company called Kiteship that has developed and produces kites for racing sailboats. These sailing kites do not require a mast. The kites fly high above the vessel, attached by cable and controlled from the vessel. Dave Culp of Kiteship has done a technical feasibility study on fitting a very large kite onto a conventional cruise ship. This would dramatically reduce fuel consumption. It would convert a fuel guzzler to a “green machine.” This is tantamount to converting a powerboat into a sail boat. The design of a cruise ship limits the amount of sail that a conventional ship can safely accommodate. A cruise ship lacks the ballast of a sail boat. If used in addition to the main engine(s) the kite will increase fuel efficiency. If the kite is used to pull the ship with the main engines shut down the ship’s speed will be reduced substantially. However, in this case, not only would the ship save IFO (main engine fuel) but also save MDO (generator engine fuel). If the kite were pulling the ship unassisted by the ship’s engines, then the propellers could be used to propel the ship’s generators without firing up the diesel generator engines. Even if the ship were traveling very slowly in the water, the propellers would turn in reverse if freed from the main engines. This is a very simple and easy task for the ship’s engineer to accomplish. In other words, the ship can be pulled by the kite, and that motion will push the ship’s propellers providing power to produce electricity and power the air-conditioning without using any fuel. The trade-off is a loss of speed and also some tacking is required, further reducing actual speed. What’s the rush? Why not go for maximum fuel savings? The salient point is that a high flying large kite can pull a cruise ship. If I were a co-owner of a cruise ship I would hope to find like minded co-owners who would be receptive to using such state-of-the-art technologies to save fuel.

There are hundreds of cruise ships on the market but I will just mention one more here. This cruise ship has RO/RO (Roll-On, Roll-Off) capability. This would be very convenient for live aboard owners who want to bring their “toys” with them. The garage deck will accommodate 6 to 8 trucks, or 60 to 80 cars. That converts to a lot of co-owner toys such as motorhomes, travel trailers, campers, cabin cruisers, ski boats, jet skis, sailboats, houseboats, bass boats, motorcycles, ATVs, cars, and trucks.

Specifications:

650 PASSENGER CRUISE SHIP FOR SALE

VESSEL IS FULLY FITTED WITH SPRINKLERS

SOLAS 2005/2010 FITTED

TWIN SCREW CRUISE

VESSEL DIMENSIONS LOA 137.10 X BREADTH 21.00 X 5.8 METERS DRAFT

BUILT 1981 / POLAND

REBUILT 1991

REBUILT – UPGRADED 1999

REBUILT – RENOVATED – REFURBISHED 2002

CLASS R.S. ICE CLASS L2

GRT 12637

PASSENGERS 650 IN 230 CABINS (BASIS 3 BERTH OCCUPANCY)

ALL CABINS WITH PRIVATE FACILITIES (INCLUDING SUITES AND SEMI SUITES)

9 DECKS

HELICOPTER PAD

MAIN ENGINES SULZER 4 X 4,350 BHP

SPEED ABOUT 17.5 / 15 KNOTS ON ABOUT 45 / 36 M/TONS + 9 TONS DIESEL OIL

BOWTHRUSTER 800 BHP

STABILIZERS

120 TONS PER DAY WATER MAKER

RECEPTION

LOUNGE

RESTAURANT (420 SEATS)

NINE BARS

CASINO

DUTY FREE SHOP

CHILDREN’S PLAY ROOM – TWO DISCOS

TV/MOVIE CORNER

DUTY FREE SHOPS

HAIRDRESSING SHOP

JACUZZI

ONE PASSENGER ELEVATOR

LAUNDRY SPA & HEALTH CLUB

TWO SAUNAS

CLINIC

TWO SWIMMING POOLS (ADULT & CHILDREN)

Cost per cabin based on asking price, $71,739. This ship will sell for less than asking price. It is already SOLAS 2010 compliant. It would cost very little to put into commercial service.

Conclusion

Becoming a co-owner of a cruise ship is not a far fetched idea. It is practical and feasible if you are able to find like minded people who would be willing to share the expenses.

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Source by Arthur Wyss

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Caution:

If you are looking for “Get-Rich-Quick,” close this page. You are at the wrong place. Common sense dictates that is impossible. If you intend to build a major online corporation, you need a Webmaster and programmers.

But if you are willing to work to build a genuine small business with long-term value and profits, read on. You have come to the right place, the only place, where the average small business person can indeed build a profitable online business.

We all have different reasons for building businesses online.

It depends on who you are, from raw “newbie” to marketing expert.

It depends on what you want out of business and life…

* Freedom and self-reliance?

* Increased revenues from an existing business.

* Growth and independence?

* Living life with passion.

* Recognition and support?

* Community and belonging.

* The right skills and control?

* Additional family income & time.

No matter your reason, you surely want to succeed. But the bitter truth is that only a few people have or know what it takes. Your Web site either makes the sale, or it doesn’t. Ninety-nine out of a hundred sites still don’t get the order.

We blame that on suspicious, scared Web-consumers.

Wrong.

No matter what you offer on the Web, your site must SELL! Are you selling digital goods like software, video games, or info-products? Do you sell freezers to Eskimos (to store the ice you sold them), or other hard-good widgets?

Got a store with dozens, hundreds, even thousands of items to sell?

Think there’s no way you could sell hamburgers on the Web? Why not use your site to sell visitors on registering for digital discount coupons for your special of the month?! Just print and present one to the restaurant nearest you!

Maybe you’re looking to expand regional sales into global distribution? Or do you want to generate leads for your OEM business? Are you considering adding an online profit-center to take advantage of your existing offline store’s infrastructure (1-800 number, warehouse, inventory, database, etc.)? A no-brainer… if you do it right!

Or… has your own profitable Web site just been a dream until now? Well, everyone’s an expert on something!

So…

Think! Brainstorm a little. Can you offer…

* world-class consulting services on your special area of expertise?

* special travel services, like bike tours through the Andes?

* unique info-products, based on knowledge from your job or hobby?

* Multi-national corporation? Entrepreneur with an idea?

It doesn’t matter. Here’s the bottom line.. you can make our site sell.

Just last week my family(extended) had a get together, something small. Like most of such occasions everyone wants to know what everyone is up to and we all make jokes about the little things. I am a natural, I usually get everyone’s attention for being outspoken, sort of a Bilbo in the Baggins family.

During dinner we had hardly eaten a chunk or two when my little niece turned to me and said,” Can you help me make my site sell?

I was taken aback because before now I had no idea she had a website or was trying any making ventures online. The truth is that she had secretly spent all her pocket cash for six months on paying for hosting, and a domain. She had installed a shopping cart, tweaked it in every possible way. But after 8 months she had received just 18 unique visitors and made no sales of her art works even though they cost just 20 dollars.

I decided to help, of course I had no choice.

I took her through a 3 week class. I am going to try to summarize the process in this article, cos I found out that there a lot of out there struggling with building a website and fail miserably talk less of making money from it.

So many people out there even go a step further buying resale rights products, books etc.

These are not wrong in themselves as I have personally written some myself. But if you do not understand the fundamental principles about businesses on online you will fail and loose your hard earned cash too.

But first lets out line the problems my niece was having. She mentioned so many things but here is a summary

1. No traffic

2. No sales

3. Domain Name irrelevance

Everything we build in life should be anchored a good foundation, this also goes for building websites for profit. In our case here’s the foundation. . .

C-T-P-M

Content Traffic Presell Monetize

Step 1 – Understand the difference between “PREselling” and “Selling.”

Content -Traffic – PREsell – Monetize.

What’s it all about? Where’s the magic?

No magic. And it’s all about your “pre-customer,” about the hundreds of millions of people who surf the Net every day…

People use the Web as a searching tool. They search for credible high-value information or solutions, anything that can fulfill a wish that they hold dearly or solve a troublesome problem that they are experiencing.

Success on the Net all begins with a critical mindset shift. This means replacing that well-known offline strategy of “location, location, location” with…

“Information, information, information.”

In the online world, no one just happens to walk past, see your business and enter your Web site. Surfers on the Net are not looking for you or your business. People search for information, for solutions. After all, if they knew you existed, they would not be searching. They would already be customers.

Online, you must generate your own traffic to thrive and be profitable. Therefore, your primary task, well before you make your first sale or recommendation to a customer (often well before that person is even aware that s/he is shopping!), is to provide the information (i.e., content) that people are searching for, in a way that Search Engines like. In other words…

Give them what they want.

A Theme-Based Content Site contains information based upon a main subject. Each page focuses upon a single topic that is related to that theme. The net sum of all the information on all your pages forms the Content of your site.

These specific “topical pages” are called “Keyword-Focused Content Pages.” They rank well with the Search Engines (SEs), attracting lots of targeted Traffic.

The high-value content “warms up” (i.e., PREsells) visitors by OVERdelivering what they came for… information.

Visitors start to like and trust you (based on what you write about on your site). Your content-rich site builds trust and credibility… “PREselling!” The visitor begins to like and respect you… you are a knowledgeable expert.

This credibility creates an open-to-buy or open-to-hire mindset. You are now a mere click away from Monetizing (converting PREsold traffic into dollars)… affiliate links, order pages, contact forms, Google ads, your own store, eBay auctions, or any other way to monetize — they are now just one friendly click away!

This proven, results-generating process…

CONTENT -TRAFFIC -PRESELL – MONETIZE

… works. No matter how you plan to monetize…

* merchant-partner sites that you represent as an affiliate

* an order page on your site where a prospect can buy your own products (hard or digital goods)

* a contact form which visitors can use to follow-up with you for more details about your professional services or Network marketing business opportunity

* your own online store

* a site that sells a related, non-competitive service or product, in return for a referral fee

* your established sales site (become your own best affiliate!)

* an ad from Google’s AdSense program

* any combination of the above or others!

PREsold visitors convert more easily and more frequently into paying customers… which is exactly the result that your online business wants and needs in order to grow. That is the winning advantage of a “Theme-Based Content Site.”

Contrast that to a visitor who arrives at a sales site… no inspiring, relevant, editorial content. Selling merely tries to get the sale. If you do not have a brand (and most of us do not), if you have not built a relationship with your visitor, your chances of selling are near-zero.

Why? Well, which person would YOU respond to? A stranger with a sales pitch or a knowledgeable friend/expert making a recommendation? Become that knowledgeable friend/expert.

Great content encourages your visitor to think about you as a “friend/expert” rather than a stranger. And if you create a truly info-rich site, you’ll actually become a trusted expert, sharing your wealth of information. You basically create your own brand… your “brand of one.”

People “buy” from those they know and like. They resist sales efforts from everyone else.

And that is why 99% of small businesses fail online.

Selling is not your site’s first priority. (In fact, you may decide not to sell anything and become an “infopreneur” instead!) Your #1 priority is to PREsell through the delivery of the information that visitors seek.

You “monetize” (i.e., convert visitors into money) later.

Step 2 — Act upon the “PREselling Reality.”

As just mentioned, the reality of PREselling is that it works… if YOU work it! Thousands of ordinary, everyday business people have done exactly that.

The reality is that it is all under your control, far more so than in the risky, offline business world.

What about building traffic, ranking highly at the Search Engines? Do you think that only professionals (called Search Engine Optimizers or “SEOers”) can do that? No, in fact you have the huge advantage.

Search Engines are in the business of delivering relevant and high-quality results.

No need for luck. No need for SEO expertise. Simply follow and trust the C – T – P – M process.

It’s through the Search Engines (SEs) that you will reach your visitors. Most surfers won’t scroll past the first 10-20 listings on a Search Engine’s search results pages. That is where you will be.

And second, the description about your site will have to be interesting and credible. So you will “get the click.”

When a visitor finds you through a Search Engine like Google (or Yahoo! Search or Windows Live), think of how smart s/he feels. After all, s/he found you. You didn’t advertise (actually, once you build traffic, you can sell advertising!). All that remains is for you to OVERdeliver — PREsell!

Once you realize the logic and power of C – T – P – M, then you know that success really is DO-able. It is indeed “yours to be had.” And if you don’t succeed immediately, keep trying until you find the right approach.

You only fail when you quit. Patience and persistence ultimately rule the day. Or, to quote Calvin Coolidge…

Persistence wins. Keep pushing it… the business you build will take on its own momentum. It will fulfill all your objectives, if you put in the BAM (“Brain and Motivation”), the time and persistence that are required to grow anything that is worth achieving.

Bottom line…

You understand C – T – P – M. More importantly, you are ready to invest (and “invest” is the perfect word!) time to build C – T – P before you Monetize. Once you do, converting PREsold visitors into money is the easiest (and most fun!) part of your online business

Step 3 — Monetize! Maximize Conversion Rate and profits.

Monetizing PREsold visitors is easier than falling off the proverbial log. DAY 4 discusses the wide variety of ways you can monetize. We’ll cover this topic at that time.

The key point for now is… You are not your monetization model. Do not think about “being an affiliate” or “selling an e-good.” As a matter of fact, do not decide upon any one monetization method.

First and foremost, you are in the “Content Delivery Business.” Then you monetize.

And… Diversify. Have several strong streams of income. For example…

One of your pages may feature Google AdSense ads and affiliate links. You might choose to add an e-commerce store to sell hard goods. And you sell some e-books via ClickBank, too.

However you monetize, do not push your visitors. Let the content pull them through to your revenue-generating locations rather than stopping them in their track.

This could be a link to a sales page for your product or service, to your merchant-partner’s site or to a click on a Google AdSense ad, for example.

Instead of pushing them, make them want to click. It makes all the difference if your visitors feel that it’s their idea to deliver your “Most Wanted Response” (“MWR”).

Once you have PREsold traffic, monetizing is limited only by your imagination!

So let’s not worry about that now. Instead, let’s talk about the broader concept of profits…

There is an easy business equation to follow in order to maximize profit. It’s the same equation, whether you are working online or off…

INCOME minus EXPENSES equals PROFIT.

It’s not a complicated equation, true! But people tend to forget about it.

If you can increase the amount of money that is coming into your business, and lower the amount of money that is going out of your business, you will have more money staying with your business.

So let’s start shifting that profit equation in your favor (and your bank account’s!) by improving the first part of the equation…

Income

There are two major ways to increase income (i.e., the amount of money you make through your products, services, and/or other monetization efforts). You need to…

1) Expose more visitors to your monetization models…

This means that you need to attract more targeted traffic, people who are specifically interested in your theme and your topics (related to that theme) on your Web site. High-value content is the key factor behind traffic volume and your ability to increase and sustain it. And here’s the good news…

If you get the keywords “right” on your page and if you have great content, you will have substantial, evergrowing traffic! And here’s the best news…

Lets move on

* Offline, it’s all about “location, location, location.” You put your business where crowds go. Passerby traffic!

-AND-

* Online, millions search for “information, information, information.” But they do it solo. There is NO such thing as “passerby traffic.”

You are really ready if you understand that the M is the easiest part of C – T – P – M . And speaking of C…

To succeed online, you must start where your “pre-customers” start…

People search for information, look for solutions. They are not looking for you. Give them what they want by converting your knowledge into high-quality, in-demand CONTENT.

Before you can do that, you must figure out…

* what they seek

* how often they search for it

* how badly they want it

* what competitors already provide, and how they do it

* what Content you will deliver, and how

Your next goal is to find your best Site Concept.

The rest of your business rides on your choice of Site Concept.

Let’s talk a bit about site concept.

Here is how you will get to your Best Site Concept…

1) Create a list of potential Site Concepts and choose your top 3.

* Everyone Knows Something About Something

* Three Site Concepts? Why Three?

* Do Some Quick Research.

2) Use tools like wordtracker dotcom and Google AdWords reserach tool to research Site Concept(s). Research keywords for each of your top 3 Site Concepts.To arrange and research your keywords even further,I recommend you use keywordresearchlab dot com/

3) Evaluate the following factors for each Site Concept…

* Number of Keywords

* Profitability

* Knowledge

* Passion

* Theme “Sexiness”

* Monetization Potential

What Is a Site Concept?

It is the central theme, the niche, upon which you will base all of your site’s Content (hence the term “Theme-Based Content Site”). Every page that you write will be about a topic that is related to your Site Concept. Each one of those topical pages focuses on a Specific Keyword, which is why I also call these pages “Keyword-Focused Content Pages (“KFCPs”).

Now to finding your Site Concept… your theme… your niche that you CAN master.

There is plenty of room for more than one Web site in any niche. Don’t worry when you find competitors. You have a huge advantage, — remember that 99% of small business sites fail, even the most gorgeous ones that cost $20,000 to build! So…

How to Recognize Your Best Site Concept

Bottom line on choosing your Site Concept?…

It takes just as much time to build a low-potential business as a high-potential one. So invest the time now, get the Site Concept right, and you will maximize your returns later, earning far more income per hour invested down the road.

The Plan… How to Develop Your Best Site Concept

Most people fail in any business because they don’t plan adequately. If you pick the wrong concept for your site, if you develop the wrong topics for your Web pages… you’ll get the wrong results…

No traffic = No income.

This will not be your fate. So get to work on your Best Site Concept Plan… Step 1 – Create a list of potential Site Concepts and choose your top 3.

Write down ideas for good “Site Concepts” as they hit you — make your list as long as you can. What do you know and love? What have you learned “on the job?” As you read the daily newspaper, or watch a talk show on TV, or chat with friends/colleagues, or browse a book store, keep your antennae up for new ideas.

Think… you may know so much about something that you overlook it

Everyone Knows Something About Something

What’s under your nose?

Use Common Sense

What is “too broad?” It’s any idea where the market is too big. For example, “travel” was an extreme example. “Italy” is too broad. Choose “Sicily” instead (if you know it.) And “New York” is too broad. Instead, try “Tribeca”… or go with “New York Pizzas” instead (if you love them!).

“Too n-” is the opposite. There just aren’t enough people interested in Caltanissetta, a city in Sicily. Sicily is “just right.”

“But how do I know whether it’s too n- or too broad if I’m just starting out?”

Good question! Use your common sense and knowledge of each niche, of course. And there is one good technique that helps, too!

So what are the key factors and their guidelines?

#1) Number of Keywords

A Site Concept that delivers more keywords is better. It offers the ability to create more Content. So, everything else being equal, choose the Site Concept with 300 pruned keywords over the one for which only 100 “made your cut.”

#2) Overall Profitability

The more keywords that have higher Demand, lower Supply and higher Profitability (Value Demand/Real Supply ratio), the better. Again, this is not an absolute, just an indication. Use your judgment.

Compare the overall Profitability of one Site Concept to another. How many solidly profitable keywords does each have? (Remember… the Profitability numbers are useful, but use your judgment to make the final decisions.)

#3) Knowledge

Think about each keyword as the topic for a future Web page (that is what it will become). Do you already know what you could write for those words? Obviously, lean towards the Site Concept that you know the best.

#4) Passion

Just as important… which Site Concept excites you the most? Choose a less profitable Site Concept if the thought of building a site about it excites you much more! It will be fun to create interesting Web pages about the subject area and to do the necessary research to stay current. It’s not work if it’s fun.

#5) Theme “Sexiness”

It’s not just your excitement that counts. Some Site Concepts are more apt to excite visitors. Trust your gut feel about which would excite visitors the most . It’s easy to PREsell your way to a strong “Brand Of One” with a fun, exciting theme.

#6) Monetization Potential

Look for a Site Concept that offers the potential for you to build multiple streams of income. C T P is useless if there is no M potential!

You must be able to Monetize your PREsold traffic. And the more ways to do that, the merrier. How many of the following could you (eventually) implement on each Site Concept, and with what kind of financial potential?…

* Represent the products/services of related, non-competing online businesses (i.e., affiliate income).

* Partner with an offline business, sending them customers, on a pay-per-click, per-lead, per-sale, or per-month basis

* Sell your hard good or e-book.

o Earn income by placing advertising on your site, such as Google AdSense, or by selling advertising directly. (Guess what? As your site grows, advertisers will approach you!)

o Sell your services (ex., develop clients for your copywriting or java-programming business).

o Supplement/build your local offline business.

o Attract more bidders for your eBay auctions.

o Build warm leads for your Network Marketing (“MLM”) venture.

o Rent — anything from heavy equipment to extras for movies to your own Cayman Island villa.

o Traffic — send traffic to your own e-commerce business (ex., your Yahoo! store or e-commerce site).

Finalize your Site Concept and get a good Domain name.

Visitors know great content when they read it. Winning, PREselling content “works” at several levels…

1. It has a “been there… done that” voice and flair.

2. It has specific, “zing knowledge” that comes from real experience.

3. It is supported by a depth of useful information. This is where good reference material plays an important part.

4. It is consistent, from page to page, from e-zine issue to issue, from week to month to year.

5. It is for the customer, absolutely.

Step 4 – Ready? Name that domain!

A good domain…

* is short and sharp

* is meaningful — conveys a clear message

* is easy to spell

* is easy to remember

* is unique, descriptive, and “you”

* is solid, classic, not hokey

* contains your VPP for human visitors

* contains your Site Concept keyword for spider visitors

* is attractive to humans (ex., “cayman-island-beaches dot com” “cayman island” is there for the engines and “beaches” is there for humans)

* ends in the classy ” dot com,” ” dot net” or ” dot org” (by far, the best regarded by surfers).

When do you use dashes in your domain name?

If both versions of a 3-or-more-word domain are available, use dashes because they make the word breaks more obvious to the eye. Also, the engines usually treat a dash as a space. So it may be more likely to “see” the entire string as separate words.

Dashes are less important if your domain name has only two words in it. See how netpricing dot com and cyberpricing dot com don’t really need the help of a dash?

Use dashes (even if the domain only has two words) if the non-dash version is already being used by someone else. But be sure that you are not violating anyone’s trademark (details on this below).

Note: If your business is 99%+ online, the offline issues of dealing with dashes are not so important (i.e., telling people how to spell it, people forgetting to put the dash after reading your print ad, etc.).

Here’s the bottom line…

Domain names are so cheap that it’s a good idea to take both versions (with and without the dash), just to make sure that a competitor does not take names that could be confused with yours. You can always make one domain point to the main one.

Offline vs. Online, and Branding

If you already have an offline business, it may be important to use your business name as your domain name rather than create a new domain name for it. On the other hand, you could give the site a name that uses your VPP, then use a domain redirector in your hosting to park and redirect your business name to your site. This works particularly well with business cards and other forms of offline, local marketing.

If you want to brand your site, you’ll want to get really creative and come up with a one word domain name. For example, if you wanted to brand a site about credit cards, you might use the name “creditopia dot com” or “crediteria dot com” (sorry, they’re both taken!). Easy to remember, and have a VPP (“credit utopia” or “credit cafeteria”).

Or you may find a domain name by simply adding a letter or two as a prefix or suffix to your site concept keyword (ex., icallcard dot com).

You’ll have to be more creative to come up with a short domain name that’s still available, but a little extra time spent now could pay big dividends later.

Why most people fail

Why did most people fail? I think the reason was that the whole process of running an online business is just too complicated for most people. There are lots of ways to screw it up. It pained me to visit some of those sites and notice a dozen glaring mistakes within the first few seconds – blogs that didn’t enable permalinks, cutesy headlines with no keywords in them, bad choice of topics, page titles that still used the WordPress default format, hideously suboptimal ad layouts, hidden or missing contact info, etc. Any one of those mistakes could cripple a site’s results. More than one is a practically a death sentence. Such mistakes cause problems both for human visitors and search engines.

But at the same time, there were teenagers humming along just fine, generating four figures in monthly income after working on their sites for 6-12 months. They didn’t necessarily get everything right, but they were Internet savvy enough to fix the big problems early.

What bothered me most about this was that people were too often failing because of the technology. Many of them had great ideas and very good content. It was a shame to read some of their articles and think to myself, This is great stuff… too bad no one will ever see it.

The cruel and unfair part of online business is that if you aren’t very Internet savvy, you’ll make mistakes on the technical side that you’re totally oblivious to. You may get the content side right, but the technology will bite you and cripple your results.

But it’s still a pretty unfair situation. There are people who can write great content who really deserve to be getting a lot of readers, but because they don’t understand permalinks, RSS feeds, pinging, or other technologies, they’re doomed before they start.

Once I saw this happening, I basically decided I’d better shut up about encouraging people to run an online business. People kept asking me for new articles on the subject, but I didn’t think it was a good idea. I was concerned I’d be doing more harm than good.

A new solution

Recently I came across a vastly superior solution to this problem – a way for people to build a successful online business that doesn’t require them to become technology gurus.

What I recommend is a service called Site Build It! – it’s an all-in-one solution for creating and building an online business. You pay an annual fee for the service, and they provide you with all the tools you need to build an income-generating web site. They host the site for you, they help you register your domain name, and they provide integrated tools like point-and-click page generators, built-in blogging, form builders, RSS feeds, and lots more. Many of these details will be handled for you, so you don’t have to worry about them.

You still create your own content, and you use their tools (or your own familiar tools) to create a site based on your unique ideas. You focus on the content side. They help you with the technical implementation side.

I don’t recommend this solution for everyone. If you’ve already built a successful website that generates thousands of dollars a month for you, you won’t need this. I don’t need it myself. But if you’re one of those people that have been held back by the technical complexity, then this is definitely something you should look at. This is the kind of solution I’d recommend in a heartbeat for my non-programmer friends who want to get something going online but quickly become lost in a sea of jargon.

There’s a lot to explain about this service and why I think it’s a great idea for most people interested in building a successful online business. So I wrote a whole separate article about that here

Site Build It is a suite of tools for building a website. Site Build It! (Site Build It!) the only all-in-one site-building, site-hosting, and site-marketing product that makes it easy to build a professional, popular, and profitable business.

they follow all the techniques I have listed here and even add more to ensure success.

I’m probably turning into a bit of a salesperson for Site Build It! because I really believe this is a great deal for a lot of people. Not only will building your own online business give you a quantum leap in your own personal development, but it can also provide income to fuel your ongoing growth.

I wish you all the very best.

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Source by Madusha Emeka

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It is nearly ten years since Al Gore launched his plea to humanity to start thinking green with his Inconvenient Truth that was seen by most of us. Global warming propaganda has made a difference because the ozone layer is starting to show signs of repair.

The point is we can make a difference and that is good news. It is simple considerations like putting cans that go through your kitchen in a bag. In some countries this recycling can is actually collected. If we are not environmentally aware then our children will teach us because it is now part of their education.

Often these ‘green’ additions to our lifestyle can save us money and improve our health, but changing one’s lifestyle is not easy and comes from effort, planning and a bit of discipline. If the bag of tins collected through no extra effort needs to be dropped off at a recycling depot, then you need to do it.

But is all starts with education which is why America is able to make a difference because they are educated. America is responsible for more than two thirds of the earth waste which although completely disproportionate has resulted in the majority of the population being able to read and write.

For those readers who are not green conscious there are many other ways that you can help which do not necessarily demand a change in lifestyle. For example switching off your hot water system if you are going to be away from home for more than 24 hours.

Or walking to the shop down the road instead of taking the car, all make a difference to your carbon footprint. If you would like to know what your own carbon footprint is, down to the last gram of carbon dioxide you will find a carbon footprint calculators online.

If you can put 5 minutes aside and change the thermostat on your heating devices in your home, dropping the temperature by just one degree will lower your fuel bill by 10%. It really depends on your own sense of commitment to this ‘green thinking’.

Simple things like clearing any dust that you find on the coils at the rear of your fridge or freezer makes for perfect green housekeeping because if these coils are full of dust it could increase energy consumption by 30%. The average American citizen’s impact on the carbon debt is 40% direct and 60% indirect carbon emissions caused by the stuff we buy or use in the form of goods and services that we can directly control.

If you are able to pay closer attention to consumption and waste habits we’ll find many opportunities to conserve and reduce our carbon footprint. When we only got 5 minutes we could make a call to stop junk mail and save trees by signing up with a service that will get your name and address taken off the circulating lists that drop junk mail that we never read.

We can easily make the correct decisions that take less than a minute by purchasing local instead of buying imported stuff. We use 12 pounds of CO2 flying a 5 pound package compared to using 3 ½ pounds of CO2 if the same package is transported by truck locally.

For example you could take it all a step farther and start a compost in your garden where you put all your organic waste from the kitchen. In less than a month of this routine you will get rich loamy soil that could be the start of a food garden. All of this makes a huge difference to your own personal carbon footprint. But if you are only willing to devote 5 minutes to ‘the cause’ then there are other money saving activities that will change your carbon footprint.

If we want to start making green decisions then eating less meat can make a big difference to our carbon footprint because a vegetarian will save around 3,000 pounds of CO2 each year compared to a meat eater.

Simply increasing the vegetarian meals we eat will make a big difference to our carbon footprint. For example eating poultry instead of beef we can make a difference as the production of poultry producers less greenhouse gas than beef.

If you are convinced that you can make a difference then other decisions you make in the home besides a compost and food garden will make a difference. For example using natural sunlight to dry clothes instead of using the dryer, will reduce your family’s carbon footprint and save you money, leaving your laundry smelling fresh. In winter you can use a collapsible drying rack indoors. Delicate clothing like lingerie will last longer compared to machine dried.

In conclusion making any effort to be more environmentally aware and ‘thinking green’ is we can make a difference because the difference has already started to happen. Help save the planet and ‘go green’ with just a 5 minute contribution we can reduce our carbon debt and help save the world.

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Source by Shaun Swilling

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An essential device that will be found in one corner of virtually every home is an inverter. Even schools, offices or public buildings are not exempt from this rule. When push comes to shove, these rectangular gizmos save the day. When there is a power outage, as inevitably happens, it is the inverter that offers an electricity backup. The gist – the value of inverter batteries cannot be emphasised enough.

Now, imagine a scenario. A house has the best of the best inverter installed from one of the preferred APC ups dealers. A few months later, there is an electricity shortage. What ensues next is shocking. Instead of serving as the backup, the inverter fails to run. There is no power to charge a mobile or to run the fan or even switch on the light.

Sadly, this situation is relatively common. Like every other appliance installed in a residence, inverters are prone to glitches. Thankfully, there are some issues that can be fixed at home. Tackled underneath are solutions to the most common problems arising in batteries.

• The Invert Fails to Switch on

The causes for an inverter to not turn on are manifold:

1. Tripped Inverter
2. Disconnected Battery
3. Weak Battery
4. Discharged Battery
5. Loose Terminals
6. Reversed Terminals
7. Faulty Switch

For each issue, there is a different way out. A tripped inverter can be resolved by pressing the reset button on the device. If the power switch is causing a problem, get it repaired at a service centre. In case the battery is faulty or defective, a replacement will be needed. For weak batteries, the best answer is to let it charge for some hours, but if it is old, the better choice is to get a new one. For terminal complication, inspect for corrosion, clean the rust and then clamp them back, tightly.

• Steadily Beeping Alarm

When the inverter is bearing too much load, it begins to blare out the alarm. The only way to stop the beeping is to disconnect every device that is causing an extra burden on the inverter. Another reason the alarm might shriek is when the cooling fan is stuck. The fan is needed to maintain a cool temperature in the system while the inverter is working. If for some reason the fan is not operational, either the inverter will shut down, or the alarm will beep.

The beeping indicates that the unit is not running in a safe condition and needs to be switched off. The key is to clean the fan and get it working again. If neither of the strategies settle the problem, take the inverter to a service centre.

• LCD Showcases Wrong Codes

A frequent hitch with power inverters that have LCDs is false codes. The displayed numbers could be wrong due to:

1. External problem
2. Internal Issue

Internal troubles are generally related to circuits and can only be solved by a qualified professional. External complication can be worked out by:

1. Inspecting the cables of battery
2. Checking the output or input wires
3. Rechecking the load

• Low Backup Capacity

The one worry that is typical to inverters is a very short backup time. The causes that lead to this problem can encompass the whole gamut:

1. Too much power consumption – to solve, eradicate all extra load
2. Incorrectly charged battery – to correct, charge uninterruptedly for few hours.â€<
3. Low electrolyte level – to resolve, refill the water using only distilled water to the recommended level. Always maintain it somewhere in the middle of minimum and maximum limit.

• Battery Refuses to Charge

A hiccup that some inverters face is no charging of the battery. This happens when:

1. Battery is dead
2. Rectifiers are burnt
3. Fuses have melted
4. Connections are loose

The first issue can only be answered by replacing the battery. The solution to the other three is cleaning the terminals for corrosion. If nothing works, then licensed help would be required.

• Sounds Inside the Inverter

A difficulty that several inverters have is noises coming from the inside of them. The vital point to bear in mind is that each power inverter emanates certain sounds. It is standard. But, at times, the cooling fan collects a lot of dust and debris that produce weird clatters and clinks. Clean the fan. It should take care of the sound. If the noise persists, get the fan changed.

The Gist – Be Handy

There was a time when inverters were a luxury item that few could afford. The present environment of frequent power cuts is not conducive to this thought, anymore. Any place that houses people needs a backup and luminous inverter make excellent options. Knowing how to take care of small glitches that happen in every household appliance can save a lot of headaches. Be handy, learn to resolve little problems related to inverters and save money, effort and time spent on hiring professionals.

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Source by Uma Nathan

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Ice makers are quite popular this time of the year when it is warm and the demand for drinks such as cocktails, liquor, sweet wine, and cool drinks increases. Most people love ice in their sweet wine, brandy or whiskey and depending on how much they drink, you might need a lot of ice. It is essential to be prepared for the demand because if you cannot keep up, customers are quite fickle and will simply go to another bar.

One of the benefits of ice making dispensers is that it is able to keep up with customers’ ice demands. Some ice makers can make gourmet cubes that weigh approximately 20 grams each. Certain ice makers can produce the same sized gourmet ice cubes every time. These gourmet cubes have a circular shaft with a broader base and a coarse uppermost top. It is a delightfully clear ice cube therefore it is called a gourmet ice cube.

You will find that some ice making dispensers can be a bit tall yet slender so that the tall unit can be placed conveniently next to the refrigerator for easy access. There are also specific ice making dispensers that would require a permanent water supply and drainage area. This is a great benefit. The water supply makes it convenient for you as a bar or restaurant owner because there is no need to manually fill the ice maker with water in order for it to make ice. No more blaming staff for not filling up the water tank. The water supply ensures that there is always a steady supply of water for ice making so the bar can keep selling drinks all night long without any hiccups.

The main benefit of ice making dispensers is that it makes buckets of ice over a 24 hour period and it usually has its own storage capacity. The amount of ice it makes will depend on the unit you decide on. If your bar is constantly serving drinks then you need a heavy duty unit that makes a lot of ice every hour. In this case you may need to consider getting an additional ice storage unit.

Commercial ice making dispensers are ideally suited for venues such as bars or restaurants that serve a lot of alcoholic drinks. During the summer season your customers will order more drinks which means that you will need a lot of ice. The last thing you want is to run out of ice during a busy night so be prepared.

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Source by Stana Peete

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The Sony Electronics company has for decades been renowned for producing a high quality array of home appliances, electronic, communication, video and home care equipment. It also manufactures a line of high-quality and technically superior television sets and home entertainment systems. Here’s a balanced, no-nonsense review of the Sony KDL32EX401.

Designed To Blend In Any Living Room

The Sony KDL32EX401 features a stylish eternal finish, with a black and graphite cabinet which perfectly blends into any living room or space at home or the office. By perfectly blending into any living environment, the KDL32EX401 can make for an excellent main television in the living room, as well as an extra TV set mounted on the wall in the bedroom or kitchen. If you’re looking for a high-quality flat-screen television set at an affordable price, then this one’s definitely for you.

Watch Home Movies the Way the Director Wanted You To

With the Sony BRAVIA KDL32EX401, you can actually watch your favourite movies in the way the film’s director or producers wanted you to. How does the TV do this? For starters, it makes use of the 24p True Cinema technology, where the films are slowed down to the speed that the film’s director intended you to view them. Apart from offering the 24p True Cinema system, the TV set also is crammed with loads of picture-boosting features, such as 1080p resolution, which means that you actually see crisp pictures and real-life images, even if you’re watching live sporting programs.

Connect the TV to Different Devices

You can also connect a wide variety of electronic products to the KDL32EX401, from PlayStation3 consoles to Blu-Ray disc players, thanks to 4 High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) inputs. The TV set’s outlets and connections are truly designed to carry high-quality audio and video content. And because it’s equipped with BRAVIA Sync, you can easily control the different devices with just the flick of your remote control.

Enjoy Watching Digital TV Programs and Movies with Freeview

The Sony KDL32EX401 is a 32-inch full-HD panel which not only delivers cinema-quality picture resolution, but also lets you enjoy viewing a wide array of digital television programs and movies, through Freeview. The Freeview Digital Tuner offers free service, allowing you to connect to over 50 free digital television channels. All you need is to use a standard aerial connection, to avail of the free service, because it doesn’t rely on satellite dishes or fibre optic cables to deliver the programming, unlike other paid services such a Virgin or Sky.

Innovative Power-Saving Features

The Sony KD32EX401 also features eco-friendly and energy-saving ambient Light Sensor, which effectively detects ambient light in any room, and automatically adapts the picture’s brightness and contrast accordingly. Apart from making viewing more comfortable, the TV set’s light sensor also offers power-saving features, which reduce electricity consumption by as much as 30%. Other energy-saving features include Idle TV Standby, Power Saving and PC Power Management.

With enhanced picture quality, and armed with a host of truly useful connectivity tools, the new Sony KDL32EX401 32-inch full-HD LCD TV is the best in its class, and is truly affordable as well. This makes for an excellent home theatre experience, providing you with detailed pictures, life-like images, and vibrant colours.

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Source by Alex Bradbury