picture of flowers

picture of flowers

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Keith Haring

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Longboards For Girls

Longboards For Girls

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Home Improvements On A Budget

Home renovations can be an excruciating exercise in emptying the bank account. If you’ve been delaying action due to the fear of potentially soaring costs of improving your home’s appearance, then take a little glance at some of our budgeting tips. These ideas should help keep you out of the financial red zone…

Firstly, consider the kitchen. An attractive kitchen is one of the things a person notices and remembers about a home. Try picking up new doors and hardware, and maybe a can of wood stain or paint instead of spending large amounts of cash replacing cabinets and surfaces. Old cabinets can be freshened up with a brush and screwdriver in an afternoon for a lot less than a complete overhaul. Similar tricks work for appliances that feature removable plates. New plates can be ordered in different colours or materials. Some may even be reversible already, so if you want to remodel a white kitchen darker you only need to loosen a few screws.

Flooring is normally the realm of experts, but kits exist that are installed over existing floors. Eliminating worn out floors by doing the work yourself can save several hundred dollars. If your carpet is looking used but you can’t afford to lay new carpeting, rent a shampooer and purchase the cleaning agents for it. Using it in a high traffic room can put new life into it and put off replacement. Also, think about cheaper materials. Using slightly cheaper materials for flooring can make a big difference in your overall expenses.

Bring in family and friends to help out with renovations and thus reduce any associated labour costs with hiring tradesmen. This brings us to our next point as it isn’t always possible to do all renovations on your own or with relatives and so it’s important when dealing with professionals to avoid excess payments.

Don’t get overcharged. For any professional you hire, you should have a detailed account of the work they will do and the estimated costs in writing before they begin.

Don’t rush the changes. If you are already pushing your budget, identify the aspects of your home improvement plan that can be put off for another time. For example, you could wire your home for in-wall speakers but purchase the speakers and equipment at a later date.

Avoid outward expansions. Try to work within your existing walls and roof, as expanding outward can be costly. Think about remodelling existing rooms instead of adding more.

If you don’t have enough space for a proper garden behind your home, consider flower boxes. Installing them underneath a window is easy and having small flowers growing inside makes a home warmer. If you enjoy cooking you can install one near the kitchen as a boxed herb garden.

All of these simple little things are excellent ways to update the look and feel of your home without breaking the bank.

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10 Tips for Used Car Shopping

10 Tips for Used Car Shopping

1.Used car shopping can be a tricky process, but there are several things you can do to make the experience easier. Whether you're looking to buy a car immediately, or just starting your search, these 10 tips will help you get the most for your money and find the car that works for your budget.

2.Create a list of cars that you are potentially interested in buying. What cars do you admire on the road? Do you like any of your friends' cars? If so, ask them what they like and dislike about their vehicles. Be sure to look at the year, model and make of the cars you like. Don’t forget to think about what you and your family needs -- two, four or six seats. You'll also need to consider your gas mileage. Fortunately there are many used hybrids on the market.

3.Before buying a car it is important to sit down and figure out what you can afford. With high gas prices, you must factor in the miles per gallon (MPG) for the cars on your list in relation to how much you'll be driving. If you plan to finance the car, look into payment plans that will fit your budget. Calculate the cost of the car, interest rate and gas for each month before making a final decision. This is also the time to figure out if you want to own or lease a car.

4.Once you've nailed down your price range and a few car models you want to buy, research potential problems the cars could have and the current market price. Check the Kelley Blue Book price and visit a few auto retailer websites to find the fair price for the car you wish to purchase. Remember, older models are cheaper, but they will also require more maintenance.

5.Although many dealerships also sell used cars, there are many other resources you can use when purchasing a pre-owned car. If you want to buy from a private seller Craigslist.org and AutoTrader.com are helpful when you're looking for a deal. Other places like Carmax have a variety of cars and some helpful reports. Sites like Edmunds.com can help you find car dealers near you with the make and models you seek.

6.Researching used cars online is easy, but you can get distracted at the lot when you see all of your options in front of you. While that cool convertible may be an amazing deal, if it isn't practical for your lifestyle or price range, you should stick to the plan. If you're shopping at a dealership you'll also have to keep the dealer focused. Don't let him or her try to entice you beyond what you requested, there are many car lots out there, you don't have to shop in a high pressure sales environment.

 

7.When you're car shopping, inspect the car carefully. Thoroughly examine the exterior and interior of the vehicle. When speaking with a seller, ask detailed questions like: “Why are you selling the car?” “Have you ever been in an accident?” and “Have you ever experienced problems with the car?” If you're at a dealership ask about the car history and any flaws you see. If you find a car you like, take it for a test drive with the windows up and the radio off to listen for odd noises or squeaking. Test all features before you're done.

8.After you test drive the car, whether you're shopping from a public or private seller -- be sure to ask for a history and safety report. If the seller does not have access to these, do not purchase the car.

9.Ask the seller if they are willing to let you have a mechanic of your choice (one that you trust), check out the car and find any potential problems. If the seller refuses – do not purchase the car. Most car dealerships have mechanics on staff and they provide guarantees on their automotive work. Be sure to get a one-year warranty if you purchase your used car from a dealership.

 

10.After finding a car in your price range, looking at both public and private sellers, inspecting the car, taking some test drives, reviewing a history and safety report, and talking to your mechanic -- it is the time to negotiate a purchase price on the car. Never simply agree to the asking price, there is always a deal to be made. Be prepared by bringing your research and being assertive about how much you want to pay. Many auto websites recommend finding financing before you negotiate a price that way, you do not have to deal with unexpected interest rates dealers.

Read more: 10 Tips for Used Car Shopping | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/slideshow_12224998_tips-used-car-shopping.html#ixzz1rrq0uU6h

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North Dakota Thousands Jobs

North Dakota Thousands Jobs ...

It’s hard to believe, but as the national unemployment rate continues to hover at 9%, there is a little town by the name of Williston, North Dakota that has thousands of job openings.

These high paying jobs are going unfilled. Are you ready to make some big bucks working some cool jobs? Keep reading, you’ll be amazed at how much money some of these jobs are paying!


Believe it or not, a local Taco restaurant is hiring at $15 per hour serving tacos. Kitchen staffers also make about $15 per hour in many of the local restaurants. Have waitress skills? How about working at a restaurant where waitresses are making $25 per hour? Love trucking? Many truck driving jobs are paying $80,000 per year! There’s only one catch… you have to relocate to North Dakota to land one of these high paying jobs.

What’s driving this amazing opportunity? Oil! That’s right, crude oil is everywhere under your feet in this area. Only recently has the technology been invented to tap into these oil fields and now companies are struggling to find workers.
Entry Level Jobs in Williston, ND

Entry level jobs everywhere from restaurants and grocery stores to convenience stores and local banks pay a minimum of $12 per hour, according to the McKenzie County Job Development Authority. Truck drivers make an average of $70,000 to $80,000 a year.

Housing Crisis

With so many workers flocking to Williston, a crisis has developed in the housing market. Where to house these full-time and part-time workers. Many people are sleeping in their cars at the local Walmart. The hotels in town are at 100% capacity, campgrounds are full as there is simply no where left to live. Plenty of jobs and not enough housing has caused the housing industry to also boom in Williston.

Strippers Cash-in on Lonely Oil Workers

No longer is Las Vegas the highest paid stripper capital. Thanks to the oil boom in Williston and the countless men working the oil fields and driving the trucks, strip joints have also seen a surge in customers. Along with more customers come bigger salaries for the strippers. According to reports, strippers in Williston, ND are making $3,000 per night!

Whispers (a local strip club) has received job applications from exotic dancers in Hawaii, Alaska, even the Czech Republic and Germany.

So what are you waiting for? Grab your things and head to Williston, ND for a high paying job in almost any position/industry you can imagine!

www.hourlycareers.com

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2011 Black Friday on Thursday

2011 Black Friday on Thursday ...

Macy’s Inc. says it will open all of its namesake stores at midnight on the day after Thanksgiving for the first time. It becomes the latest retailer to extend hours on Black Friday, the traditional kickoff to the holiday season.

More than 800 Macy’s stores will stay open for 23 hours and close at 11 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25. That compares with last year when Macy’s opened eight stores at midnight while the rest opened at 4 a.m.


Martine Reardon, Macy’s executive vice president of marketing, said the midnight openings are a response to customers’ requests.

“People want to shop through the night,” Reardon said.

In recent years, retailers have expanded their Black Friday hours and rolled out sales for the day weeks in advance. That’s in contrast to a few years ago when stores kept their discounts and hours secret until a few days before the Thanksgiving weekend. Retailers are responding to shoppers who like to map out their bargain-hunting strategies early.

Last year, Sears and Kmart stores opened Thanksgiving morning for the first time. Toys R Us stores opened at 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day. Many Gap Inc. stores also were open. And Wal-Mart opened most of its stores by midnight that evening.

Target Corp. became one of the first retailers to announce its Black Friday hours this year. The discounter said on Friday that it would open its doors at midnight for the first time ever and offer Black Friday specials at that time. Like Macy’s, it plans to stay open 23 hours. More merchants are expected to announce their hours and deals for the Thanksgiving weekend in the next week or so.

www.chron.com

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Damian McGinty made debut as Rory Flanagan

Damian McGinty made debut as Rory Flanagan ...

The Glee Project co-winner Damian McGinty made his long-awaited debut as Rory Flanagan on Tuesday’s “Pot O’ Gold” episode of Fox’s hit Glee, while Santana and Brittany grew closer and Burt faced off against Sue as the series unspooled its fourth episode of the season.

The episode brought Finn front and center as leader of the glee club and picked up on story lines from Seasons 1 and 2, including Santana’s feelings for Brittany and put scene stealers Kurt and Rachel on the back burner. Here are The Hollywood Reporter’s top moments from “Pot O’ Gold.”

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How to trade in Forex

 

 

 

 

 

I have been a trader for quite a long while, and i have learnt much from my experience, until recently : Experience as everywhere in life and in all fields, teaches us not to repeat  the  same mistakes, instead we are taught how to be more successful, and get things better for us each time. For Forex, this cannot just be ''each time'' it would be ''any time''!

I remember it was Tuesday,, end of July of 2010, when it had been just a few weeks since my first day of experience on Forex..I was actually doing on that day,the transaction of EUR/USD (''buy''/''sell''), which I still find too profitable many times..So I saw that for one second I was earning while the next few seconds I was losing, then I lost about Eur 20.00 in a few clicks, but insisted on doing this, but in vain : I was losing, and being afraid some moment of losing even my invested funds- I withdrew all my funds by closing the table at that moment..To my surprise I saw, that I had lost nothing since all funds invested until then returned to me! So, if you se losing some moment, then, just withdraw your funds by ''closing'' the relative transaction, and get back at another moment, when things will be more favorable for you!..

Indeed, after three days, when I got back and invested this same money in another transaction I saw I was earning continously, till I stopped the transaction myself, as not being able to ''bear earning anymore'', if you can believe this..So, get best transactions, by discovering  them each time, and focus on best rates..My profits on that day, got Eur 80.00 net profit, within 15 minutes..Will you try?..It may be your turn this time!

Submitted by Katrina Kat

Student practicing forex trading

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Gregor Mendel

The Father of Genetics

Sean D. Pitman M.D.

© May 2002

 

 

 

 

“Pea hybrids form germinal and pollen cells that in their composition correspond in equal numbers to all the constant forms resulting from the combination of traits united through fertilization.”

 

      Gregor Johann Mendel was born on July 22, 1822 to peasant parents in a small agrarian town in Czechoslovakia. During his childhood he worked as a gardener, and as a young man attended the Olmutz Philosophical Institute. In 1843 he entered an Augustinian monastery in Brunn, Czechoslovakia. Soon afterward, his natural interest in science and specifically hereditary science led him to start experiments with the pea plant.  Mendel's attraction for scientific research was based on his love of nature in general. He was not only interested in plants, but also in meteorology and theories of evolution. However, it is his work with the pea plant that changed the world of science forever. 

      His beautifully designed experiments with pea plants were the first to focus on the numerical relationships among traits appearing in the progeny of hybrids.  His interpretation for this phenomenon was that material and unchanging hereditary “elements” undergo segregation and independent assortment.  These elements are then passed on unchanged (except in arrangement) to offspring thus yielding a very large, but finite number of possible variations. 

     Mendel often wondered how plants obtained atypical characteristics. On one of his frequent walks around the monastery, he found an atypical variety of an ornamental plant. He took it and planted it next to the typical variety. He grew their progeny side by side to see if there would be any approximation of the traits passed on to the next generation. This experiment was “designed to support or to illustrate Lamarck's views concerning the influence of environment upon plants.”  He found that the plants' respective offspring retained the essential traits of the parents, and therefore were not influenced by the environment. This simple test gave birth to the idea of heredity.

Overshadowing the creative brilliance of Mendel's work is the fact that it was virtually ignored for 34 years. Only after the dramatic rediscovery of Mendel’s work in 1900 (16 years after Mendel's death) was he rightfully recognized as the founder of genetics.¹

   

Why Peas?

Pisum sativum  

       Mendel was well aware that there were certain preconditions that had to be carefully established before commencing investigations into the inheritance of characteristics. The parental plants must be known to possess constant and differentiating characteristics.  To establish this condition, Mendel took an entire year to test “true breeding” (non-hybrid) family lines, each having constant characteristics.   The experimental plants also needed to produce flowers that would be easy to protect against foreign pollen.  The special shape of the flower of the Leguminosae family, with their enclosed styles, drew his attention.  On trying several from this family, he finally selected the garden pea plant (Pisum sativum) as being most ideal for his needs.  Mendel also picked the common garden pea plant because it can be grown in large numbers and its reproduction can be manipulated.  As with many other flowering plants, pea plants have both male and female reproductive organs.  As a result, they can either self-pollinate themselves or cross-pollinate with other plants. In his experiments, Mendel was able to selectively cross-pollinate purebred plants with particular traits and observe the outcome over many generations.  This was the basis for his conclusions about the nature of genetic inheritance.³ 

 

Mendel observed seven pea plant traits that are easily recognized in one of two forms:  

1.        Flower color: purple or white

2.        Flower position: axial or terminal

3.        Stem length: long or short

4.        Seed shape: round or wrinkled

5.        Seen color: yellow or green

6.        Pod shape: inflated or constricted

7.        Pod color: yellow or green

Mendel's Law of Segregation

Mendel's hypothesis essentially has four parts. The first part or “law” states that, “Alternative versions of genes account for variations in inherited characters.” In a nutshell, this is the concept of alleles. Alleles are different versions of genes that impart the same characteristic.  For example, each pea plant has two genes that control pea texture.  There are also two possible textures (smooth and wrinkled) and thus two different genes for texture. 

The second law states that, “For each character trait (ie: height, color, texture etc.) an organism inherits two genes, one from each parent.”  This statement alludes to the fact that when somatic cells are produced from two gametes, one allele comes from the mother, one from the father. These alleles may be the same (true-breeding organisms), or different (hybrids).

The third law, in relation to the second, declares that, “If the two alleles differ, then one, the dominant allele, is fully expressed in the organism's appearance; the other, the recessive allele, has no noticeable effect on the organism's appearance.”

The fourth law states that, “The two genes for each character segregate during gamete production.”   This is the last part of Mendel's generalization. This references meiosis when the chromosome count is changed from the diploid number to the haploid number. The genes are sorted into separate gametes, ensuring variation.  This sorting process depends on genetic “recombination.”  During this time, genes mix and match in a random and yet very specific way.  Genes for each trait only trade with genes of the same trait on the opposing strand of DNA so that all the traits are covered in the resulting offspring.  For example, color genes do not trade off with genes for texture.  Color genes only trade off with color genes from the opposing allelic sight as do texture genes and all other genes.  The result is that each gamete that is produced by the parent is uniquely different as far as the traits that it codes for from every other gamete that is produced.  For many creatures, this available statistical variation is so huge that in all probability, no two identical offspring will ever be produced even given trillions of years of time.

So, since a pea plant carries two genes, it can have both of its genes be the same.  Both genes could be “smooth” genes or they could both be “wrinkled” genes.  If both genes are the same, the resulting pea will of course be consistent.  However, what if the genes are different or “hybrid”?  One gene will then have “dominance” over the other “recessive” gene.  The dominant trait will then be expressed.  For example, if the smooth gene (A) is the dominant gene and the wrinkle gene (a) is the recessive gene, a plant with the “Aa” genotype will produce smooth peas.  Only an “aa” plant will produce wrinkled peas.  For instance, the pea flowers are either purple or white.  Intermediate colors do not appear in the offspring of these cross-pollinated plants. 

The observation that there are inheritable traits that do not show up in intermediate forms was critically important because the leading theory in biology at the time was that inherited traits blend from generation to generation (Charles Darwin and most other cutting-edge scientists in the 19th century accepted this “blending theory.”).  Of course there are exceptions to this general rule.  Some genes are now known to be “incompletely dominant.”  In this situation, the “dominant gene has incomplete expression in the resulting phenotype causing a “mixed” phenotype.  For example, some plants have “incomplete dominant” color genes such as white and red flower genes.  A hybrid of this type of plant will produce pink flowers.  Other genes are known to be “co-dominant” were both alleles are equally expressed in the phenotype.  An example of co-dominant alleles is human blood typing.  If a person has both “A” and “B” genes, they will have an “AB” blood type.  Some traits are inherited through the combination of many genes acting together to produce a certain effect.  This type of inheritance is called “polygenetic.”  Examples of polygenetic inheritance are human height, skin color, and body form.  In all of these cases however, the genes (alleles) themselves remain unchanged.  They are transmitted from parent to offspring through a process of random genetic recombination that can be calculated statistically.  For example, the odds of a dominant trait being expressed over a recessive trait in a two-gene allelic system where both parents are hybrids are 3:1.  If only one parent is a hybrid and the other parent has both dominant alleles, then 100% of the offspring will express the dominant trait.  If one parent has both recessive alleles and the other parent is a hybrid, then the offspring will have a phenotypic ratio of 1:1.

 

   

Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment  

 

The most important principle of Mendel's Law of Independent Assortment is that the emergence of one trait will not affect the emergence of another. For example, a pea plant's inheritance of the ability to produce purple flowers instead of white ones does not make it more likely that it would also inherit the ability to produce yellow peas in contrast to green ones.  Mendel's findings allowed other scientists to simplify the emergence of traits to mathematical probability (While mixing one trait always resulted in a 3:1 ratio between dominant and recessive phenotypes, his experiments with two traits showed 9:3:3:1 ratios).  

Mendel was so successful largely thanks to his careful and nonpassionate use of the scientific method. Also, his choice of peas as a subject for his experiments was quite fortunate.  Peas have a relatively simple genetic structure and Mendel could always be in control of the plants' breeding. When Mendel wanted to cross-pollinate a pea plant he needed only to remove the immature stamens of the plant. In this way he was always sure of each plants' parents. Mendel made certain to start his experiments only with true breeding plants. He also only measured absolute characteristics such as color, shape, and texture of the offspring. His data was expressed numerically and subjected to statistical analysis. This method of data reporting and the large sampling size he used gave credibility to his data. He also had the foresight to look through several successive generations of his pea plants and record their variations. Without his careful attention to procedure and detail, Mendel's work could not have had the same impact that is has made on the world of genetics.

 

 

Diagrams

   

In cross-pollinating plants that either produce yellow or green peas exclusively, Mendel found that the first offspring generation (f1) always has yellow peas.   However, the following generation (f2) consistently has a 3:1 ratio of yellow to green.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This 3:1 ratio occurs in later generations as well.   Mendel realized that this is the key to understanding the basic mechanisms of inheritance.

 

 

 

 

 

It is important to realize that in this experiment, the parent plants were homozygous for pea color.  That is to say, they each had two identical forms (or alleles) of the gene for this trait--2 yellows or 2 greens.  The plants in the f1 generation were all heterozygous.   In other words, they each had inherited two different alleles--one from each parent plant.  It becomes clearer when we look at the actual genetic makeup, or genotype, of the pea plants instead of only the phenotype, or observable physical characteristics.

 

 

 

Note that each of the f1 generation plants (shown above) inherited a Y allele from one parent and a G allele from the other.  When the f1 plants breed, each has an equal chance of passing on either Y or G alleles to each offspring.  

With all of the seven pea plant traits that Mendel examined, one form appeared dominant over the other.  Which is to say, it masked the presence of the other allele.  For example, when the genotype for pea color is YG (heterozygous), the phenotype is yellow.  However, the dominant yellow allele does not alter the recessive green one in any way.   Both alleles can be passed on to the next generation unchanged.

 

Mendel's observations from these experiments can be summarized in two principles:  

1. The Principle of Segregation
2. The Principle of Independent Assortment

Mendel came to four important conclusions from these experimental results:  

1.   The inheritance of each trait is determined by “units” or “factors” (now called genes) that are passed on to descendents unchanged.

2.   An individual inherits one such unit from each parent for each trait.

3.   A trait may not show up in an individual but can still be passed on to the next generation.

4.   The genes for each trait segregate themselves during gamete production.

 

   

Mendel and Darwin

   

Mendel's ideas on heredity and evolution were diametrically opposed to those of Darwin and his followers (although neither Mendel nor Darwin knew of the other’s work).²  Darwin believed in the inheritance of acquired characters.  This led him to his famous theory of continuous evolution.  Mendel, in contrast, rejected both the idea of inheritance of acquired characters (mutations) as well as the concept of continuous evolution. The laws discovered by him were understood to be the laws of constant elements for a great but finite variation, not only for cultured varieties but also for species in the wild.³   In his short treatise, Experiments in Plant Hybridization, Mendel incessantly speaks of "constant characters", "constant offspring", "constant combinations", "constant forms", "constant law", "a constant species" etc. (in such combinations the adjective "constant" occurs 67 times in his original paper). He was convinced that the laws of heredity he had discovered corroborated Gärtner's conclusion "that species are fixed with limits beyond which they cannot change".  And as Dobzhansky aptly put it, "It is...not a paradox to say that if someone should succeed in inventing a universally applicable, static definition of species, he would cast serious doubts on the validity of the theory of evolution".

As the Darwinians won the battle for the minds in the 19th century, no space was left in the next decades for the acceptance of the true scientific laws of heredity discovered by Mendel.  Further work in genetics was continued mainly by Darwin's critics. In agreement with de Vries, Tschermak-Seysenegg, Johannsen, Nilsson, et al., Bateson stated:

 

“With the triumph of the evolutionary idea, curiosity as to the significance of specific differences was satisfied. The Origin was published in 1859. During the following decade, while the new views were on trial, the experimental breeders continued their work, but before 1870 the field was practically abandoned.  In all that concerns the species the next thirty years are marked by the apathy characteristic of an age of faith. Evolution became the exercising-ground of essayists. The number indeed of naturalists increased tenfold, but their activities were directed elsewhere. Darwin's achievement so far exceeded anything that was thought possible before, that what should have been hailed as a long-expected beginning was taken for the completed work. I well remember receiving from one of the most earnest of my seniors the friendly warning that it was waste of time to study variation, for "Darwin had swept the field.”” ⁴

 

The general acceptance of Darwin's theory of evolution and his ideas regarding variation and the inheritance of acquired characters are, in fact, the main reasons for the neglect of Mendel's work, which (in clear opposition to Darwin) pointed to an entirely different understanding of the questions involved.¹

 

1.        Genetics 131: 245-253, 1992.

2.        Callender, L. A., Gregor Mendel: An opponent of descent with modification. History of Science 26: 41-75. 1988.

3.        Mendel, Gregor. Experiments in Plant Hybridization. 1865.

4.        Bateson, W.  Mendel's Principles of Heredity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1909.

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Les Paul

Les Paul

Lester William Polsfuss (June 9, 1915 – August 12, 2009)known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which "made the sound of rock and roll possible". He is credited with many recording innovations. Although he was not the first to use the technique, his early experiments with overdubbing (also known as sound on sound), delay effects such as tape delay, phasing effects and multitrack recording were among the first to attract widespread attention.

His innovative talents extended into his playing style, including licks, trills, chording sequences, fretting techniques and timing, which set him apart from his contemporaries and inspired many guitarists of the present day.He recorded with his wife Mary Ford in the 1950s, and they sold millions of records.

Among his many honors, Paul is one of a handful of artists with a permanent, stand-alone exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is prominently named by the music museum on its website as an "architect" and a "key inductee" along with Sam Phillips and Alan 

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Weather

Weather

 

The First Internet Weather Service!

Weather Underground is committed to delivering the most reliable, accurate weather information possible. Our state-of-the-art technology monitors conditions and forecasts for locations across the world, so you'll always find the weather information that you need.

In addition to providing free, real-time online weather information to millions of Web users around the world, Weather Underground is pleased to offer a variety of Newspaper Weather Services and Custom Site Weather Packages.

web site weather here

http://www.wunderground.com/

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forex

forex

The foreign exchange market (forex, FX, or currency market) is a global, worldwide decentralized over-the-counter financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends. The foreign exchange market determines the relative values of different currencies.[1]

The primary purpose of the foreign exchange is to assist international trade and investment, by allowing businesses to convert one currency to another currency. For example, it permits a US business to import British goods and pay Pound Sterling, even though the business's income is in US dollars. It also supports speculation, and facilitates the carry trade.[2]

In a typical foreign exchange transaction, a party purchases a quantity of one currency by paying a quantity of another currency. The modern foreign exchange market began forming during the 1970s when countries gradually switched to floating exchange rates from the previous exchange rate regime, which remained fixed as per the Bretton Woods system.

The foreign exchange market is unique because of

    its huge trading volume, leading to high liquidity;
    its geographical dispersion;
    its continuous operation: 24 hours a day except weekends, i.e. trading from 20:15 GMT on Sunday until 22:00 GMT Friday;
    the variety of factors that affect exchange rates;
    the low margins of relative profit compared with other markets of fixed income; and
    the use of leverage to enhance profit margins with respect to account size.

As such, it has been referred to as the market closest to the ideal of perfect competition, notwithstanding currency intervention by central banks. According to the Bank for International Settlements,[3] as of April 2010, average daily turnover in global foreign exchange markets is estimated at $3.98 trillion, a growth of approximately 20% over the $3.21 trillion daily volume as of April 2007. Some firms specializing on foreign exchange market had put the average daily turnover in excess of US$4 trillion.[4]

The $3.98 trillion break-down is as follows:

    $1.490 trillion in spot transactions
    $475 billion in outright forwards
    $1.765 trillion in foreign exchange swaps
    $43 billion currency swaps
    $207 billion in options and other products

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How to Make Money online

How to Make Money

There are several lists with “ways to make money with a website” on the Internet, but none of them seem to be complete. That is why I decided to create this one. If you know a method that is not listed below, just let us know and we’ll update it.

There are several lists with “ways to make money with a website” on the Internet, but none of them seem to be complete. That is why I decided to create this one. If you know a method that is not listed below, just let us know and we’ll update it.

waystomakemoneywebsite.jpg

Notice that ways to make money with a website are different from ways to make more money from it. Methods to increase your traffic or click-through rate will help you make more money, but they do not represent a method of making money per se.

For example, one could suggest that blending AdSense ads with the content is a way to make money from a website. In reality it’s not; it’s just a way to make more money by improving your ad click-through rate. The real monetization method behind it is a PPC ad network.

The list is divided into direct and indirect methods, and examples and links are provided for each point. Enjoy!
Direct Methods

1. PPC Advertising Networks

Google AdSense is the most popular option under this category, but there are also others. Basically you need to sign up with the network and paste some code snippets on your website. The network will then serve contextual ads (either text or images) relevant to your website, and you will earn a certain amount of money for every click.

The profitability of PPC advertising depends on the general traffic levels of the website and, most importantly, on the click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click (CPC). The CTR depends on the design of the website. Ads placed abode the fold or blended with content, for instance, tend to get higher CTRs. The CPC, on the other hand, depends on the nice of the website. Mortgages, financial products and college education are examples of profitable niches (clicks worth a couple of dollars are not rare), while tech-related topics tend to receive a smaller CPC (sometimes as low as a couple of cents per click).

The source of the traffic can also affect the overall CTR rate. Organic traffic (the one that comes from search engines) tends to perform well because these visitors were already looking for something, and they tend to click on ads more often. Social media traffic, on the other hand, presents terribly low CTRs because these visitors are tech-savvy and they just ignore ads.

List of popular CPC advertising networks:

    Google Adsense
    Yahoo! Publisher Network (YPN)
    BidVertiser
    Chitika
    Clicksor

2. CPM Advertising Networks

CPM advertising networks behave pretty much as PPC networks, except that you get paid according to the number of impressions (i.e., page views) that the ads displayed on your site will generate. CPM stands for Cost per Mille, and it refers to the cost for 1,000 impressions.

A blog that generates 100,000 page views monthly displaying an advertising banner with a $1 CPM, therefore, will earn $100 monthly.

CPM rates vary with the network, the position of the ad and the format. The better the network, the higher the CPM rate (because they have access to more advertisers). The closer you put the ad to the top of the page, the higher the CPM. The bigger the format (in terms of pixels), the higher the CPM.

You can get as low as $0,10 and as high as $10 per 1,000 impressions (more in some special cases). CPM advertising tends to work well on websites with a high page views per visitor ratio (e.g., online forums, magazines and so on).

List of popular CPM advertising networks:

    Casale Media
    Burst Media
    Value Click
    Advertising.com
    Tribal Fusion
    Right Media

3. Direct Banner Advertising

Selling your own advertising space is one of the most lucrative monetization methods. First and foremost because it enables you to cut out the middleman commissions and to determine your own rates. The most popular banner formats on the web are the 728×90 leaderboard, the 120×600 skyscraper, the 300×250 rectangle and the 125×125 button.

The downside of direct banner advertising is that you need to have a big audience to get qualified advertisers, and you will need to spend time managing the sales process, the banners and the payments.

Related links:

    How to Find Advertisers for Your Website
    Finding Advertisers for Your Blog
    Direct Advertising Sales for Beginners
    Openads Ad Server
    OIO Publisher Ad Platform

4. Text Link Ads

After Google declared that sites selling text links without the nofollow tag would be penalized, this monetization method became less popular.

Many website owners are still using text links to monetize their sites, though, some using the nofollow tag and some not.

The advantage of this method is that it is not intrusive. One can sell text links directly through his website or use specialized networks like Text-Link-Ads and Text-Link-Brokers to automate the process.

Text link marketplaces and networks:

    DigitalPoint Link Sales Forum
    Text-Link-Ads
    Text-Link-Brokers
    TNX
    LinkWorth

5. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a very popular practice on the Internet. Under this system you have a merchant that is willing to let other people (the affiliates) sell directly or indirectly its products and services, in exchange for a commission. Sometimes this type of advertising is also called CPA (cost per action) or CPL (cost per lead) based.

Affiliates can send potential customers to the merchant using several tools, from banners to text links and product reviews.

In order to find suitable affiliate programs you can turn to individual companies and publishers like Dreamhost and SEOBook, or join affiliate marketplaces and networks.

List of popular affiliate marketplaces and networks:

    Commission Junction
    ClickBank
    Azoogle Ads
    Link Share

6. Monetization Widgets

The latest trend on the web are widgets that let you monetize your website. Examples include Widgetbucks and SmartLinks. Some of these services operate under a PPC scheme, others behave like text link ads, others yet leverage affiliate links.

Their main differentiator, however, is the fact that they work as web widgets, making it easier for the user to plug and play the service on its website.

List of companies that provide monetization widgets:

    WidgetBucks
    ScratchBack
    SmartLinks

7. Sponsored Reviews

PayPerPost pioneered this model, with much controversy on the beginning (related to the fact that they did not require disclosure on paid posts). Soon other companies followed, most notably Sponsored Reviews and ReviewMe, refining the process and expanding the paid blogging model.

Joining one of these sponsored reviews marketplaces will give you the opportunity to write sponsored posts on a wide range of topics. Not all bloggers are willing to get paid to write about a specific product or website (because it might compromise the editorial credibility), but the ones who do are making good money out of it.

If your blog has a big audience you could also offer sponsored reviews directly, cutting off the commissions of the middleman.

List of sponsored reviews and paid blogging networks:

    PayPerPost
    Sponsored Reviews
    ReviewMe
    BlogVertise
    Smorty

8. RSS Feed Ads

With the quick adoption of the RSS technology by millions of Internet users, website owners are starting to find ways to monetize this new content distribution channel.

Feedburber already has its own publisher network, and you can sign-up to start displaying CPM based advertising on your feed footer. Bidvertiser recently introduced a RSS feed ad option as well, with a PPC scheme.

Finally, some blogs are also opting to sell banners or sponsored messages on their feed directly. John Chow and Marketing Pilgrim are two examples.

Related links:

    Feedburner
    BidVertiser
    Pheedo

9. Sponsors for Single Columns or Events

If you website has specific columns or events (e.g., a weekly podcast, an interview series, a monthly survey, a special project) you could find companies to sponsor them individually.

This method increases the monetization options for website owner, while giving advertisers the possibility to target a more specific audience and with a reduced commitment.

Mashable illustrates the case well. They have several advertising options on the site, including the possibility to sponsor specific columns and articles, including the “Daily Poll” and the “Web 2.0 Invites.”

Problogger also runs group writing projects occasionally, and before proceeding he publicly announce the project asking for sponsors.

10.Premium Content

Some websites and blogs give away part of their content for free, and charge for access to the premium content and exclusive tools.

SEOMoz is a good example. They have a very popular blog that gives advice and information on wide range of SEO related topics. On top of that visitors can decide to become premium members. It costs $48 monthly and it grants them access to guides, tools and other exclusive material.

11. Private Forums

While the Internet is populated with free forums, there is also the possibility to create a private one where members need to pay a single or recurring fee to join.

SEO Blackhat charges $100 monthly from its members, and they have thousands of them. Obviously in order to charge such a price for a forum membership you need to provide real value for the members (e.g., secret techniques, tools, and so on).

Performancing also launched a private forum recently, focused on the networking aspect. It is called The Hive, and the monthly cost is $10.

These are just two examples. There are many possibilities to create a private and profitable forum, you just need to find an appealing angle that will make it worth for the members.

List of popular forum software:

    vBulletin
    Simple Machines Forum
    phpBB
    Vanilla

12. Job Boards

All the popular blogs are trying to leverage job boards to make some extra income. Guy Kawasaki, ReadWriteWeb, Problogger… you name it.

Needless to say that in order to create an active and profitable job board you need first to have a blog focused on a specific niche, and a decent amount traffic.

The advantage of this method is that it is passive. Once you have the structure in place, the job listings will come naturally, and you can charge anywhere from $10 up to $100 for each.

List of popular job board software:

    JobThread
    Web Scribe Job Board
    SimplyHired Job-o-matic
    Jobbex

13. Marketplaces

Sitepoint is the online marketplace by excellence. Some websites and blogs, however, are trying to replicate that model on a smaller scale.

Depending on your niche, a market place that allows your visitors to buy, sell and trade products could work well. Over the time you could start charging a small fee for new product listings.

The problem with this method is that there are no standard software on the web, so you would need to hire a coder to get a marketplace integrated into your website.

You can see an example of a marketplaces being used on EasyWordpress and on Mashable.

14. Paid Surveys and Polls

There are services that will pay you money to run a small survey or poll on your website. The most popular one is called Vizu Answers.

Basically you need to sign up with them, and select the kind of polls that you want to run your site. Most of these services operate under a CPM model.

15. Selling or Renting Internal Pages

Million Dollar Wiki made this concept popular, but it was being used on the web for a long time around (check Pagerank10.co.uk for instance).

These websites sell for a single fee or rent for a recurring fee internal pages on their domain. Usually they have either high Pagerak or high traffic, so that people purchasing a page will be able to benefit in some way.

Implementing this method on a small blog would be difficult, but the concept is interesting and could be explored further.

16. Highlighted Posts from Sponsors

Techmeme probably pioneered this idea, but somehow it has not spread to other websites. The tech news aggregator displays editorial posts on the left column, and on the sidebar they have a section titled “Techmeme Sponsor Posts.”

On that section posts from the blog of the advertisers get highlighted, sending qualified traffic their way. Considering that the monthly cost for one spot is $5000 and that they have around 6 sponsors at any given time, it must be working well.

17. Donations

Placing a “Donate” link or button on a website can be an efficient way to earn money, especially if your blog is on a niche where readers learn and gain value from your content.

Personal development and productivity blogs, for instance, tend to perform well with donation based systems (one good example being Steve Pavlina).

A small variation of this method appeared sometime ago with the Buy Me a Beer plugin. This WordPress plugin enables you to insert a customized message at the bottom of each article, asking the readers to chip in for a beer or coffee.

18. In-text Adverting

In-text adverting networks like Kontera and Vibrant Media will place sponsored links inside your text. These links come with a double underline to differentiate them from normal links, and once the user rolls the mouse over the link the advertising will pop. Should the user click on it the site owner will make some money.

Some people make good money with this method, but others refrain from using it due to its intrusiveness. It is also interesting to note that very few mainstream websites have experimented with in-text advertising.

19. Pop-ups and Pop-unders

Pop-ups are a common yet annoying form of advertising on the Internet. If you are just trying to make a much money as possible from your website, you could experiment with them.

If you are trying to grow the traffic and generate loyal visitors, however, you probably should stay away from them. Just consider the hundreds of pop-up blockers out there: there is a reason why they are so popular.

Ad networks that use pop-ups:

    Tribal Fusion
    PayPopup
    PopupAd
    Adversal

20. Audio Ads

Also called PPP (Pay Per Play), this advertising method was introduce by Net Audio Ads. the concept is pretty simple: play a small audio advertising (usually 5 seconds) every time a visitor enters into your website. The user should not be able to stop it, creating a 100% conversion rate based on unique visitors.

The company is still rolling tests, but some users are reporting to get from a $4 to a $6 CPM. Regardless of the pay rate, though, this is a very intrusive form of advertising, so think twice before using it.

21. Selling the Website

Selling your website could be your last resource, but it has the potential to generate a big sum of money in a short period of time.

Market places on online forums like DigitalPoint and Sitepoint are always active with website buyers and sellers. Keep in mind that they most used parameter to determine the value of a website is the monthly revenue that it generates, multiplied by a certain number (the multiplier can be anything from 5 to 30, depending on the expectations of the seller, on the quality of the site, on the niche and other factors).

Some people also make money trading and flipping websites. They either create them from scratch or buy existing ones, and after some revamping they sell them for a profit.

Related links:

    How To Buy A Website And Flip It For Profit
    How To Sell A Website – How Much Is Your Website Worth?
    Where to sell a website? How to go about selling it?

Indirect Methods

22. Selling an Ebook

Perhaps one of the oldest money making strategies on the web, using a website to promote a related ebook is a very efficient way to generate revenue.

You could either structure the website around the book itself, like SEOBook.com, or launch the ebook based on the success of the website, like FreelanceSwitch did we the book How to be a Rockstar Freelancer.

Related links:

    Writing an ebook for your blog
    How to sell ebooks
    Processing payments for your ebook
    How to sell digital products online
    List of ebook selling software

23. Selling a Hardcover Book

Many authors and journalists leverage their blogs or websites to sell copies of hardcover books. Examples include Guy Kawasaki, Seth Godin and Malcolm Gladwell.

While most of these people were already renowned authors before they created their website, one could also follow the other way around. Lorelle VanFossen did exactly that with her Blogging Tips book. First she built her authority on the subject via her blog, and afterwards she published the book.

List of self publishing and publishing services:

    Lulu
    Self Publishing
    iUniverse
    WordClay

24. Selling Templates or WordPress Themes

As more and more people decide to get an online presence, website templates and WordPress themes become hotter and hotter.

On this segment you have mainstream websites like TemplateMonster, as well as individual designers who decide to promote and sell their work independently.

Brian Gardner and Unique Blog Designs are two examples of websites that make money with the sales of premium and custom WordPress themes.

25. Offering Consulting and Related Services

Depending on your niche, you could make money by offering consulting and related services. If you are also the author of your blog, the articles and information that you will share will build your profile and possibly certify your expertise on that niche, making it easier to gain customers.

Chris Garrett used a similar strategy. First he created a highly influential blog on the blogging and new media niche, and afterwards he started offering consulting services to clients with related problems and needs.

26. Creating an Email List or Newsletter

Email lists and newsletters represent one of the most powerful marketing and money making tools on the Internet. They offer incredible conversion rates, and the possibility to call people to action in a very efficient way.

Creating a big list is a difficult task though, so if you have a popular website you could leverage it to increase the number of subscribers on your list.

Yaro Starak is a famous Internet marketer, and if you visit his blog you will notice that right on top he has a section encouraging visitors to subscribe to his email newsletter. Yaro generates five figures in revenues each month from his email newsletters, proving that this method works.

List of software to manage email newsletters:

    AWeber
    SendStudio NX
    PHP Autoresponder
    Constant Contact

27. Mentoring programs

People are willing to pay for someone or something that will teach them and give them knowledge (as opposed to mere information). Education is one of the biggest industries in the world, and the online landscape behaves in a similar way.

Creating a mentoring program related to the niche of your website could be very profitable if you manage to structure and promote it adequately. There is a wide range of media and tools that you can use to deliver the information, from text articles to audio and video lessons.

Brian Clark leveraged the success of Copyblogger to launch a mentoring program teaching people how to build membership and how to sell content online. The program is titled Teaching Sells, and it costs $97 monthly. Sounds expensive, but they have over 1,000 members.

28. Creating a conference around the website

If your website takes off and becomes an authority on its niche, you could create a conference around it. Depending on the size of your audience, the event could attract thousands of people, and you could make money directly from conference passes and sponsors.

Search Engine Land, for instance, created a series of conferences that visit several cities on the United States and on other countries as well. The conferences are called Search Marketing Expo, and the tickets and passes cost thousands of dollars.

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