Sunday, August 8, 2010
Got a problem with the item you received ??
Hi All,Most items I have purchased on ebay have been great, as described and exactly what I was hoping for. Unfortunately though, some have been misrepresented in the auction.As a seller, I describe everything in my listings as some items (even new items) can have faults somtimes.If you receive an item that is not quite right e.g: it was described as being in a perfect condition, yet there is a large stain on the front, then here are some tips I have learnt along the way to getting a favourable outcome:1) Before you bid on an item, read the description thoroughly. Some items as mentioned earlier have faults, even brand new items and it's best not to assume anything when it comes to buying on ebay.2) You know what it's like, the rush of winning an item, paying straight away and waiting in delighted anticipation of the arrival of your "must have" item.3) Yippee, it arrives and that feeling of joy turns to frustration when that brand new, perfect condition top has a tear in the side seam or a sizeable stain on the back.4) First things first: Go back and check the auction description and see if the seller has mentioned it in the auction. In the interest of being fair, if the seller has mentioned the fault and the buyer didn't read the descriprion, then it's not really fair to blame the seller as they have done their best to describe what you have just found.5) If the seller has not mentioned the fault, then email the seller in a calm manner describing your disappointment. Here is a good example:"Dear Seller,I just wanted to let you know that I received item XXXX today, thank you for your prompt service.Unfortunately though, I have found a large pen mark on the back which was not mentioned in the auction, I assume you must have missed it.I have taken the liberty of
What is Danburite? An Impressive Alternative to Diamond
Danburite is not very well known at the moment but from a very small base is growing in popularityThe crystals are similar to topaz and are completely colourless and are very easily mistaken for a diamond or white sapphire.In my own opinion the lustre of the Danburite is closer to the Diamond than the White Sapphire. The White Sapphire in my view always looks well; 'White' compared with the Diamond which always has a very slight Silver lustre. The Danburite if cut well goes closer to the Diamond in this area I think, but note that the refractive index of Danburite at 1.63 is well short of Diamond at 2.42 so it is unrealistic to expect the Danburite to match the raw Sparkles of the Dimaond
LOW starting Prices
LOW starting PricesI use low starting Prices, With $2.95 S/H and .50 for other wins.A lot of sellers have low starting prices But trap you with Hight S/H. I have seen .99 Starting prices for 10.00 Coins with a S/h of 15.00ou need to read
How to Start an eBay Business
BUILDING A FOUNDATION...As with any enterprise - business or otherwise - there are steps that have to be taken to get from nowhere to somewhere. You have to start from the beginning - and although it seems like a simple idea - this is where so many eBay entrepreneurs become unstuck!You can't build a good house on a shoddy foundation.Likewise you can't build a good small business on eBay unless you master the first steps.I have been able to build a good small business on eBay that provides me with a regular part-time income from only a few hours work each week and I could keep it going indefinitely because I have a foundation that supports my business and I know that I can continue to enjoy the work and profit that I receive because the early steps that I took were done properly. Which is not to say that I really knew what I was doing all the time, nor that I didn't have to learn a LOT!
Crazy Stamp Facts
Mail have been stolen from the day the mails have started. Important mail had the picture of gallows printed on them to warn illiterate thieves of what would happen if the mail was stolen. Stealing mail carried a death sentence. Some of the greatest robberies, however, have been the robberies of Railway Mail. On the 8th of August 1963 the biggest robbery of all time took place. The Royal Mail train on its way to London was robbed of two and a half million pounds. From that day it was known as The Great Train Robbery.Before stamps were invented, the person who received the letter was charged by the number of pages, and also by the distance the letter had travelled. An Englishman called Rowland Hill came up with the idea of pre-paying for postage with 'postage stamps'. Today stamps just seem like common sense, but the Postmaster General at the time complained, 'Of all the wild schemes I have ever heard of, this is the most extraordinary'! However, Hill's idea was adopted and other countries soon started to issue stamps.Stamps started out as purely practical objects and it is not generally known that Australia was a pioneer in their development. In November, 1838, the Colonial Postmaster-General in Sydney introduced a system of pre-payment for letters which used a form of postage stamp. This was probably a world first. For, although an Englishman, Roland Hill, thought up the idea of the postage stamp, pre-paid postage in New South Wales pre-dated the famous British 'Penny Blacks' (the first adhesive stamps) by about two years.About one billion (or 1000 million) stamps are produced in Australia every year and about 1.3 million Australians collect them.Mail has been carried by foot runners, bullock carts, camels and horses. Reindeers have been used in Scandinavia and Russia, dogs in Alaska. Cats were used for a mail service in Liege, Belgium, in 1879. In all, 37 cats were employed to carry bundles of letters to villages within a 30km radius of the city centre. The experiment was short-lived as the cats proved to be thoroughly undisciplined.New South Wales issued the first stamps from the Australian continent on 1 January 1850 (although embossed letter sheets had been used by the colony since 1838).It was not until January 1913 that the first Commonwealth of Australia stamps appeared - twelve years after the various Australian states were federated by the Commonwealth of Australia Act on 1 January 1901.The first Commonwealth Country to issue a stamp specifically for postage on Christmas greetings cards was Australia in 1957. The first stamps issued specifically for postage on Christmas greeting cards appeared in Austria in December 1937.In 1932 a gang of three men operating a racket in bogus sweepstake tickets forged quantities of the 2d George V red and 2d Sydney Harbour Bridge stamps, using the former to mail out circulars. An Adelaide philatelist detected the forgery and notified police, who arrested all three men and seized 60,000 forged stamps.The Australian Commonwealth issued postage due stamps in July 1902 - eleven years before it issued ordinary stamps. Britain did not adopt postage due stamps until 20 April 1914. (The first in the British Commonwealth were issued in Victoria in 1890 and New South Wales in 1891).The first stamps to bear the date of their production were the 'Tigers' of Afghanistan, which bore Moslem dates. Since 1935 Canadian stamps have had the date of their production concealed in tiny numerals in the design.The first Australian miniature sheet was issued on 29 October 1928. It featured four 3d stamps with a Kookaburra on a branch of a gum tree. The miniature sheet commemorated the Fourth Australian Philatelic Exhibition held in Melbourne.The first airmail stationery, consisting of postcards and letter sheets, was produced in Paris for carriage by balloon in 1870.In 1849 the French Government introduced a law making it an offence to wash or otherwise clean used French postage stamps. This was to combat the practice of using the same stamps over and over again. In one six-year period almost 15,000 persons (including genuine stamp collectors) were charged under this law.The world's rarest, and most valuable, stamp is the 1c British Guiana of 1856. It was acquired in 1873 by an English schoolboy who later sold it for 6/- to a fellow collector. The stamp is now valued at more than $1 million.The numbering of houses for postal purposes began in Paris in 1463-4; the Pont Notre Dame district being the first so numbered.Germany was the first country to adopt postcodes, introducing a two-digit system in 1942. Australia introduced postcodes on 1 July 1967.The first person other than a head of state (living or dead) to appear on a stamp was Benjamin Franklin whose portrait featured on the 10c stamp issued by the United State in July 1847.The first person other than royalty to appear on a British stamp was William Shakespeare in 1964.Potato starch, wheat starch and acacia gum were the ingredients of the gum used on the back of the Penny Black. The Post Office called it cement and early stamps bore instructions printed on the sheet margins - 'In Wetting the Back be careful not to remove the Cement'. This created a panic that the gum was injurious to health and led to a Select Committee on Postage Label Stamps being convened in 1852 to enquire into its composition.The first self-adhesive stamps were issued by Sierra Leone on 10 February 1964.The earliest adhesive stamps were issued imperforate and had to be torn apart or cut with scissors, although the printers, Perkins Bacon, actually had a small perforating machine in 1840 to perforate cheque book counterfoils. They regarded the perforation of sheets of stamps as impracticable owing to the closeness of the stamps and unevenness of the layout caused by paper shrinkage after printing.The NSW Stamp Council issued Australia's first maximum card set of three for Christmas in 1978.The first Australian stamp pack featured the 50th Anniversary of the First UK/Australian Flight. It was issued in November 1969.China issued the largest stamps ever - 210 x 65 mm. They were issued in the early 1900s and used on express letters.The earliest postal markings date back to about 3000 B.C. They were used by Egyptian court officials and read: 'In the name of the living king, speed!'The first stamp collector was John Bourke, Receiver-General of Stamp Duties in Ireland. He formed a collection of fiscal stamps in an album in 1774.In 1973 Bhutan issued a stamp that looked like a record. Put it on a record player and it would actually play the Bhutanese national anthem!The United Kingdom is the only country that doesn't have its name on its stamps. (Usually they have the monarch's head.)The Pacific island of Tonga once issued a stamp shaped like a banana.The smallest-ever stamp - 9.5 x 8mm - was issued in 1863 by the Columbian state of Bolivar.Australia has issued several stamps which look just like gems. Special technology was used to create the look of real opals on stamps issued in 1995 and a real diamond in 1996.The first stamp to be issued, in England on 6 May 1840, was the Penny Black. It's called the Penny Black because it cost a penny, and it was black. The face on the stamp is Queen Victoria, who was Queen at that time. Just because a stamp is old doesn't necessarily make it valuable. The Penny Black is not rare - 68 million of them were printed - but if you had one in excellent condition it could be worth $1000.In Australia's early days, stamps were issued by individual colonies. The first stamp issued in Australia came from New South Wales in 1850. The one penny stamp which showed the seal of the colony is worth around $5000 in mint condition. The Kangaroo and Map series, first issued in 1913, were the first real Australian stamps. A whole range of stamps bearing this design was issued, valued from half a penny to 2 (about $4 in today's money). A mint copy of the 2 Kangaroo and Map could be worth as much as $4000 today.The US Stamp glue is vegetarian. and consuming it by licking the stamp add only 1/10 of a calorie. A real fat free vegetarian gum!It is said that the adhesive on that stamps in Israel is Kosher.Early form of stamp collecting was to thread the stamps to make as long a "snake" as possible. Longer the snake better the collection.In the remote island on St Kilda, Scotland, letters were placed in hollowed out driftwood attached to an inflated sheep's bladder. These were set adrift in the north Atlantic, where current, wind and luck carried mail to shore on the mainland. A similar method has been used in the Pacific Island of Niuafo'ou, Tonga, where mail was carried in sealed tin cans to waiting ships giving rise to the colourful "Tin Can Mail" markings on the letters.
Who is the biggest Computer Motherboard Manufacturer?
Have you ever wondered who is the worlds largest Computer Motherboards manufacturer?ASUS?
Different Ovulation Testing Methods
Ovulation tests allow you to predict ovulation and anticipate the best time to have intercourse and conceive a baby. There are several different varieties of ovulation tests. Some women use one ovulation testing format, while other women combine different testing methods to best pinpoint fertility.Saliva Ovulation TestsA personal ovulation microscope allows you to predict fertility by observing the visual changes that take place in your saliva throughout your cycle. When a woman is about to ovulate, her saliva begins to form a distinct fern-like pattern (when viewed under a microscope) due to an increase in the level of estrogen present. This ferning pattern begins to appear around 3 days prior to ovulation.With the ovulation microscopes, you simply apply saliva to a slide or lens and wait for the sample to dry. The sample is then viewed through a microscope allowing you to identify the fern-like pattern and predict ovulation. This ferning pattern can be easily identified when examined under the power of the microscope, helping you predict fertile or infertile times in your cycle.Ovuclear Fertility TesterUrine Ovulation Tests (LH Tests)Ovulation tests work by detecting luteinizing hormone (LH). Just preceding ovulation, women experience an "LH surge" - a sudden, dramatic, and brief rise in the level of luteinizing hormone. Ovulation tests detect the LH surge, allowing you to accurately predict when you will ovulate. A positive result on an ovulation test means that the woman will most likely become fertile over the next three days - with peak fertility at 36 hours following the LH surge.At the beginning of the menstrual cycle, the body begins to produce follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH facilitates the formation of a follicle on one of the ovaries. The follicle contains and nurtures the egg. When a follicle has adequately matured, a surge of Luteinizing Hormone (LH) causes the follicle to burst and release the egg into the fallopian tube - the moment of ovulation.The LH surge is brief; in order to detect the LH surge, a woman needs to test at the right time of the month. Once the LH surge has been detected, successful fertilization is most likely to take place one to three days following the LH surge - with peak fertility 36 hours after the LH surge (or positive result). Since this ovulation "window" only opens once per month (and the unfertilized egg has a short 24-hour life-span) predicting ovulation accurately is very helpful when trying to become pregnant.Ovunow Ovulation TestBasal ThermometersRecording each day's body temperature - and charting the patterns of temperature change - will help pinpoint when when ovulation occurs in your cycle and help you predict your most fertile times.Because basal body temperature (BBT) charting allows a woman to confirm the onset of ovulation, it is a very useful method in helping facilitate conception - as well as understanding the general patterns of a woman's menstrual cycle.Ovutemp Ovulation Thermometer
Safe banknote storage and handling
To some people safe banknote storage means a wallet or a purse or the old cookie jar, or in between a heavy book (pressing notes reduces the grade), but when it comes to storing rare or scarce or a valueable notes, the safest way to protect the note in its condition or further damaged from poor handling e.g. tears, handling marks, bends or soiling which can and will reduce the grade and value of the note, is to firstly reduce handling of the note.
Golf Balls - A Golfers Biggest Consumable Item
Some golfers prefer to stick with what they know, Others are desperate to try the latest ball out, Finally there are the bargain hunters looking for the best priced ball at that time.
Getting Crafty about buying (and selling) your Craft
This Guide is not only meant to offer help and advice for those people wanting to purchase Craft items, but also as a general rule of thumb guide of tips that I have found to be useful in my relatively short time as an eBay Seller.I originally started my time on eBay as a Buyer, mainly of clothes for my young son, but I quickly became aware that it would be a great place for me to sell some of my vast collection of craft items that I had gathered up over the years. Not only could I make some extra money but I could also make room for all of my son's new clothes.I started very enthusiastically as I'm sure we all do and was rather lapse in my judgement of time, which I have found is a very important factor in selling successfully.For starters, don't end things on a weekend. The majority of people go out on the weekends and I have found that nothing really sells at this time of the week.The other thing I found to be most helpful was ending your auctions after dinner time. Most people are home and sitting down for a rest and most of those people check their emails etc and have time to bid. Ending auction times in the morning or the middle of the day is definately not the peak period and is much slowly for sales.I'm sure that all of the regular eBay Sellers are more than aware of these small tips but I thought it would be valuable to all those people of there that have just started, like myself, and are not getting as good a response as they'd like.Well I guess I should start talking about the subject I'm meant to be giving advice on, which is Buying Craft Items.Q
Selecting the right electric fence polywire or polytape
Selecting the right fencing wire is an important factor in having a reliable and functional electric fence.In electric fence terms it is also known by such names as:Electric fence hot wireElectric fence poly wireElectric fence hot tapeElectric fence poly tapeElectric fence poly braidElectric fence Tape railElectric fence poly rope What is poly wire and polytape used for in electric fences ?Poly wires and poly tapes are primarily used in electric fences for their ability to improve the presence of an electric fence.It is a well proven fact that all animals including humans will recall (after varying amounts of exposure) that the higher visibility of the wire basically means "stay away". --------------------------------------------------------------------------------Safety benefits of polywire and poly tape. Its other primary use is to fence valuable stock when galvanized wire can cause heavy wounds and expensive vet bills.Horses are generally the worst for causing injuries while in panic.Its is also good for animals like dogs jumping fences.If an animal is entangled in the fence and strugles the poly products cause far less injury than plain fencing wire,galvanized wire and barbed wire which can cause very deep lacerations. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------What are all these funny names...How do I choose the right one for me?There are many different names for polywire and polytapes on the market some are not really suggestive of the actual product or what they can do for you.Past all these names there are a few factors in considering which one to choose:Where is it made?(Quality checks)Resistance values.What colour should i choose?What thickness should i use? (Poly wire,rope or tape)--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Where is it made?Well we all know where the best place for your products to be made is here in Australia.While you product is designed for Australian conditions and generally of a far better quality it aslo supports jobs and cash flow within the agricultural industry along with others.Where ever possible buy Australian made and owned.Other quality cross checks:While being made in Australia is a good start there are several other factors that should be included i your product choice. Metal fibers:The most basic thing to consider is more and thicker wires are better. There are three basic wire configurations on the market:Copper wire:used in some fence products is highly conductive but it is not as strong as stainless steel and can fatigue, deteriorate, and break easily. Stainless steel: is heaps stronger but slightly less conductive. Mixed metal strands: can suffer corrosion if scratched resulting in shorter lifespan.We use only stainless wires in our products while they are slightly less conductive the strength difference and general resilience to wear is more significant.We make up for the slight conductive issues by having more and thicker metal fibers in our range than most others. The make of the product.Check that the poly wire or polytape is woven tightly.Loosely wound or woven poly products ( usually found in imported products ) can fall apart very quickly. Look for a nice tightly bound or woven product:
Communication and Feedback for Buyers: the Fair Guide
Polite communication with your seller, fair expectations and high recommendations for sellers who give you good service are part of what can make a buying experience terrific. Recent feedback changes have altered the playing field on eBay. Because of this, and because it's not very clear to most buyers just how eBay calculates feedback, what a "neutral" means, and how "neutrals" and "negatives" affect sellers, I feel it's necessary for new and also more experienced buyers to be aware of how their feedback and their communication to sellers can help to make eBay purchasing a mutually satisfactory experience.Background: Fair ExpectationsFirstly, please "assume good faith". That means, don't assume the seller is trying to deceive you. There are many absolutely delightful sellers who offer high quality service, fair prices for postage and send your item as soon as you've paid.Once you've paid, remember that it might take a while (depending upon your method of payment) for that money to actually appear in your seller's bank account. You will need to take that into consideration when considering how quickly your seller has posted your item.
What is the Idaho state quarter design?
The reverse of Idahos quarter depicts the Peregrine Falcon above an outline of Idaho state. The coin bears the inscriptions, Esto Perpetua (the state motto, which means, May it be Forever), Idaho and 1890.This was designed by Weaver and sculpted by Everhart.
THE DUMMY'S GUIDE TO WRITING A GOOD GUIDE!
You might be asking yourself - why bother writing a guide?
Registered vs Regular Postage
REGISTERED POST provides additional protection for important items byoffering proof of posting, signature on delivery and Extra Cover(formerly insurance), which offers additional
Buying New Laptops (Netbook) - Checklist
There are the things you need to consider before buying a new Laptop - The Netbook
Guide To Pregnancy
Home Pregnancy Tests According to most manufacturers, home pregnancy tests are about 99% effective when used as instructed. That's about the same accuracy rate as most urine pregnancy tests performed in a doctor's office. The tests are available in most pharmacies and do not require a prescription.One advantage of the tests is that they allow you greater privacy and flexibility in finding out the results. You can take them anywhere there's a bathroom, and they generally take only a few minutes.home pregnancy tests consist of placing a drop of urine on a prepared chemical strip or placing the strip in the urine stream. The strip is designed to detect a pregnancy hormone called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG).hCG is released into the body by the placenta when a woman is pregnant. This hormone is also responsible for causing some of the initial symptoms of pregnancy such as breast tenderness and nausea.hCG levels usually become detectable in the urine about 10 days after conception. If you take a urine pregnancy test less than 10 days after conception, a home pregnancy test may give a false negative response. This means it will show you are not pregnant when you in fact are.Experts say women should wait 5-10 days after their period is officially late before taking the tests to ensure accuracy. If the test is negative, wait a few more days. If menstruation still doesn't begin, take the test again and see your doctor if you have more questions. Not all pregnancy tests are identical and some are more sensitive than others, detecting lower levels of hCG. The smaller the amount of hCG the test measures, the earlier it can detect your pregnancy. Here are some tips to follow when taking a home pregnancy test:Use your first morning urine when possible (when hCG levels are most easily detected). If not, make sure your urine had been in your bladder for at least 4 hours. Do not drink excessive amounts of fluids before the test to increase the volume of urine. This could dilute the hCG levels. Read the directions included in the test thoroughly before starting the test and follow every step precisely. Some fertility drugs or other medications may interfere with the test results. Check the package labeling for information. In addition, if there is a problem with the pregnancy, such as an ectopic pregnancy (when the fertilized egg settles in the fallopian tube instead of the uterus), hCG levels may be low and non-detectable by a home pregnancy test. See your doctor if you are unsure about the test's results.
Telstra 3G iPhone Unlocking Process
Telstra 3G iPhone Unlocking ProcessIf you have recently purchased a 3G iPhone from Telstra, or one off eBay that is locked to Telstra. Then this guide might interest you. It outlines the steps to take to get your phone unlocked (legally ofcourse). Once the phone is unlocked you can use any network's sim card with the phone, provided it is a 3G sim card (as it is a 3G capable phone).The fee that Telstra charges to unlock your 3G iPhone is $150.1. Firstly you will need to ring 1800IPHONE (that's 1800474663)2. Select option 2, then 2 again with your telephone keypad.3. You will then be put through to a Telstra staff member who will put you through to the appropriate department.It can take up to 48 hours for the unlocking to take place, you will then need to reconnect your 3G iPhone to iTunes for the unlocking to be complete.Your 3G iPhone will now be permanently unlocked!For those of you who don't understand why you should have to pay such a ridiculous amount to unlock your iPhone that you purchased outright, read this article! http://www.itwire.com/content/view/19556/1103/You may be able to unlock your phone free if you argue your point correctly!
FINDING HIDDEN DEALS *** BUY FOR LESS SUPER GUIDE!!!
Winning the auctions that don't get the bidsSometimes the best deals to be had on eBay are found not by searching for what you want, but by searching for what someone else thinks they've got. If the previous sentence made you do a double-take, don't worry, the concept is actually simple, if not immediately obvious. The best deals to be had on eBay occur when an auction gets many fewer bids than it deserves. For the most part, this happens for three reasons: The seller has timed their listing poorly The seller has misidentified their item The seller has misspelled the name of their item
Paypal payment guide -NOT as 'instant' as you may think
Despite Popular belief, paypal is not always an INSTANT funding method, and thinking that it is may lead to dissapointment in some cases.Paypal offers 3 different types of funding methods in Australia:- Credit Card- Instant Bank Transfer- eChequeand how quickly the funds are available to the seller, varies heavily on the payment method chosen.Credit CardCredit Card is by far the safest and quickest method to pay by if using paypal. A credit card payment will deduct instantly from your available ballance, and will be posted instantly to the sellers paypal account...... What you may not be aware of however, is paypal has the ability to hold funds from release in the sellers account, which means even though you have paid, the seller may not be able to access funds for a period of time determined by paypal. The other thing to remember, is the seller still needs to withdraw those funds from thier paypal account into thier bank account before they can be spent in the real world, and this is a process which takes 3-7 days depending on which day of the week, and which bank is involved.Also: Despite all the warnings paypal might show you to encourage bank payment instead of credit card, the only party that has extra protection from the bank transferr option is paypal itself. If you use bank transferr instead of credit card, you give up all the
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Grading the Gold Sovereign (Part I)
WEAR ZONES ON THE AUSTRALIAN SOVEREIGNThe highest zones of a coins design wear away first. In order to assess a coin's grade, examining these zones with a good eyeand a magnifying glass is essential. Nevertheless, for the uninitiated, determining the wear zones of Australia's sovereigns sometimes requires a bright lamp, a couple dozen sovereigns for comparison, and a good deal of patience. In point of fact, I havedone some of the work for you and highlighted the wear zones on all* the main sovereign types; a short commentary accompanies each illustration.Sydney Mint (1857 - 1870)On the obverse, Victorias wreaths generally wear first. Lustre remains in the legends of above average coins. The reverse of the Sydney Mint sovereign is generally hardwearing. However, its open fields are susceptible to detracting marks and other imperfections. The crown and its devices, as well as the pair of encircling wreaths are the first to show wear. Coins in Very Fine generally exhibit lustre about the wreathes and in the legend. Shield Reverse (1871 - 1887)The Shield obverse wears in similar pattern to the St George obverse. Contrastingly, the reverse is hard wearing, and tends to wear generally evenly when it does. Lustre usually predominates the reverse, even on pieces in Fine. The Harp of Ireland (highlighted) wears first; however, that zone on the shield is poorly struck on some dates. Unfortunately, eBay does not allow more than ten images per guide, so I had to cull the image of the Shield obverse. Nevertheless, the wear zoneson the Shield obverse are similar to those on the St George Young Head obverse (image below) except that the Victorias bun on the Shield obverse is not as susceptible to wear.St George Reverse (1871 - 1887)As a relatively flat and simple design, the Young Head obverse wears somewhat evenly, beginning with those zones highlighted. Lustre remains in the legends in average coins. Contrastingly, the reverse shows considerable signs of wear after some time in circulation, beginning with St Georges chest and the dragons prominent wing. On both verses, fields are relatively susceptible to detracting marks. Jubilee Head (1887 - 1893)An intricate designed coupled with a rather filling effigy results in an obverse that wears very easily indeed. Australian Jubilee sovereigns are also notorious for bagmarks; genuine Choice Uncirculated pieces are scarcer than their Uncirculated Young Heads cousins. At the end of their lives, Jubilees are so worn that only Queen Victorias worn-down silhouette is visible.Veiled Head (1893 - 1901)The Veiled Head obverse wears in zones as indicated above. Because the effigy fills much of the obverse, the design wears somewhat easily. Sometimes Veiled Heads exhibit light wear on Victorias cheek, accompanied by detracting marks and other imperfections. The Veiled Head is also called the Old Head and Widow Head by some collectors.Edward VII (1902 - 1910)The obverses of sovereigns minted during the reign of Edward VII are shallowly struck, and feature the smoothed-skinned and lightly-bearded head of the King; these obverses wear rather evenly. The first zone to exhibit wear is the tip of the Kings beard as well as the base of his neck. The hair follows suit quickly, as do the eyebrows. George V Standard and Small Head (1911 - 1931)The first place to look at a Large Head George V obverse is the tip of the effigys moustache. If it is flat, the coin has most likely been in circulation and experienced some wear. The same can be said for the Small Head, which exhibits wear with greater ease than its predecessor. Average coins are worn from the tip of the effigys moustache and right over the kings side burns.* * *CLICK HERE TO READ PART II.Notes*Unfortunately, I did not have a Type I Sydney Mint sovereign on me at the time of writing; I therefore have not included it in this article; I expect to put it in soon.
BINDEEZ - What are they and how do you use them?
Feb 2008 - Bindeez are coming back. They are about to be re-released with a new name BEADOS! Watch my store for new products, expected soon.Friday Nov 9th - 4pm The final returns process has been completed. Please visit the web address below for full returns and refund details. All your questions should be answered and the details you need to return your products for refunds are available here. This is for AUSTRALIAN PRODUCTS ONLY - www.bindeezrecall.comThursday Nov 8th - 1.30pm The final returns procedure is still being finalised by Moose Enterprises. I have spoken with them again today and I understand that refunds will be issued for ALL products, with or without a receipt. I have also been advised that refunds may be issued on goods that have been opened and used, however I have not seen this information in writing. We will need to wait until that final process is announced. The contact details below are still valid and you can call the Bindeez Enquiry Line and leave your details, and someone from Moose Enterprises will call you back. (remember that there will be a LOT of people for Moose to call back, so the call back may not be immediate)Wednesday Nov 7th - 2.30pm Moose Enterprises has released a statement advising that all returns and refunds will be handled by Moose Enterprises directly. A Bindeez enquiry line has been created and the number is 1800 303 895. Alternatively you can email your details to returns@moosetoys.comThe exact process on how items can be returned HAS NOT been finalised and it is expected to be finalised within 24 hours. PLEASE NOTE - AS AT NOVEMBER 6TH 2007 - The New South Wales Government has temporarily banned the sale of all Bindeeez Products. Magic Beads that join with a spray of water.No Heat, No Glue, No MessSome of the Bindeez products that are available are as follows:Starter PackPrincess Starter PackActivity CentreSuper StudioUltimate Bead PackPortable PackContainer PackVarious Themed and non themed RefillBindeez is the new art and craft craze that is taking the world by storm. They are a fun and educational tool that encourages the development of finer motor skills, colour recognition and children are only limited by their imagination.At the 2007 Australian Toy Hobby and Nursery Fair, Bindeez Super Studio won the following awards:2007 Toy of the Year2007 Australian Development Award2007 Craft and Activity Category WinnerTo make a Bindeez design, all you have to do is make, spray and stay.MAKE - Using the templates provided or create your own design, fill up the unique Bindeez Pen with the beads. Press the button on the side of the pen to release the beads onto your Bindeez tray. SPRAY - Spray your design with water using the Bindeez sprayer.STAY - Once dry your Bindeez are ready for play or display! With the new Tray and Spray packs you get keyring danglers so your completed Bindeez can be added to your mobile phone, bag, pencil case, keyring or more.
Dating Hummels - A Guide to Hummel Backstamps
Hummelfigurines are highly sought after, with some pieces attracting very high prices. Condition and rarity will affect the value, however, so when buying a Hummel product look carefully for the two marks of its authenticity; the M I Hummel signature on the side of the base and the Goebel backstamp. Whether buying or selling Hummels on Ebay,it is to your benefit to understand the marking system used by the Goebel company on M I Hummel items. There are some excellent publications that give accurate and lengthy information about these highly collectible figurines, which includes current market prices, butthis guide is only intended as a general introduction to the Hummel Goebel trademarks to assist your trading on Ebay,.Trademark 1The crown markwas used on Hummels produced in 1935. The earliest figurines had this incised on the underside of the base, with the letters W G, which stood for William Goebel, one of the founders of the company intertwined beneath it. Occasionally the Crown Mark if found both incised and stamped and this is known as a double crown mark. Figurines also had M I Hummel incised on the side of the base. Trademark 2In 1950 the Goebel Company incorporated a Bee in a Vee, beginning with the incised Full Bee followed by the stamped Full Bee. These were followed by several variations, which attracted their own identification terminology,The High Bee - The Small Bee - The Baby Bee - The Vee Bee, but all are accepted as Trademark 2.Trademark 3In 1957 the Stylized Bee was introduced in 1957 and used until 1964.It came in two sizes, referred to as the Small or Large Stylized Bee. The Large Bee had the words W Germany placed to the right, while the Small Bee has these words underneath. In addition,the words West Germany occasionally appeared elsewhere on the base.
Intro to Cigars, sizes, history of some Cuban brands
An introduction to Cigars includingsizes, wrappers, factories, history.THE STRUCTURE OF A CIGARA cigar has three components: the filler, the binder and the wrapperFillerThe biggest mass of a cigar is the filler and in the case of hand made cigars it is usually strips of tobacco cut to the length of the cigar. This is known as long leaf. Short leaf indicates smaller, cut-up pieces normally used for machine-made cigars. There are three different types or styles of leaves in use for the filler blend: Ligero, Seco, Volado.
Too good to be true? A guide to no reserve auctions
I have been using ebay for a number of years now and find it a fun and convenient way to find goods at an oftenunbeatable price. It is the place to go to first for online bargains. I have purchased everything from jocks (new of course!)to CDs, and have even usedebay to help find a friend a car. I often search for cars and car parts on ebay to see what is around as I am quite the enthusiast.One thing I have noticed though is that sometimes people who are new to ebay will list an item at an extremely low staring price and with no reserve. Some of these auctions seem too good to be true. This is because they are. Oftenthese people are not awareof the rules and list the item withouta reserve even though theyhave a minimum sell price in mind and are not prepared to accept anything less. This is my experience...I was searching through various car parts and came across a clever personalized number plate 'IXIIIX' (929 in roman numerals) and thought that these plates would look good on my Mazda. Starting bid was about $5 and there was no reserve. Seeing a brand new set of personalized plates retail for around the $500 mark, I was very keen and placed a proxy bid for $200.Anyway, I returned from work one night, checked the auction and foundI had won the plates for an unbelievableprice of only $51 plus postage. An absolute bargain!I contacted the seller and asked for banking details so I could arrange payment. What happened next still sickens me!The seller, strick929,replied to me by saying they were expecting the plates to sellfor more so were relisting them on ebay starting at, wait for it, $200. I was furious! Ihad won the plates fair and square and regardless of what I was prepared to pay for them originally, they were rightfully mine.I sent several emails with out reply. Enough was enough. I contacted ebay who put me on to square trade. Unfortunately they were unable to resolve the issue as the seller did not reply to them either. Thankfully no money changed hands, but this was still not acceptable. This seller is no longer a registered user under the name strick929, but could still be using under a different name.I have seen cars up for auction worth around $60,000 with ridiculously low starting bids, a 'buy it now' option for what the car is worthand no reserve. Sellers, please understand the rules before placing items for sale. Buyers, if an auction looks too good to be true, ask the question, don't assume. It will save a lot of frustration later on.I'm sure I wasn't the first and I doubt I will be the last!Happy ebaying!xdionx
Cheaper to buy costumes online than hire!
Fancy dress costumes are amazing, you can be whoever you want to be!And now, with the ability to buy affordable, quality costumes online, it is often cheaper to buy than to hire a costume!Benefits are:~You don't have to worry so much about damaging it or spilling your drink down it, which would often result in charges from the hire shop you got it from! There's no hurrying to get it back to the hire shop the morning after the night before! And it's far more cost-effectivesince after your event, you get to keep it for use time after time after time!There is now an incredibly wide range of costumes available to purchase, to suit all pockets and tastes, ranging from budget costumes to quality deluxe costumes and accessories Sometimes all you need is a fake tash, beard, mask, and/or hat to achieve the desired result! I hope that this guide was of some help to you.Read my other guides
How to report sellers sending perfumes illegally.
This guide follows on from our previous guide:Perfumes are a dangerous good - postage restrictions In light of Australian State and Federal laws, International conventions, and the recently announced eBay Australia policy, which prohibits businesses/sellers from utilising Australia Post services to send fragrances without a consumer commodities dangerous goods contract, it is important for consumers to know that businesses/sellers who use Australia Post without this contract are putting public safety at risk, and they should be reported to the relevant authorities.This guide will briefly explain to you what the packaging requirements are for Class 3 Flammable Liquids (Perfumes/Colognes) and how to go about reporting violators. This guide has no bearing upon alcohol-free fragrances which can be sent via all methods, however, part 3) of the packaging requirements should be followed for all liquids to ensure that any spillage is contained and other mail isn't damaged as a result.When we received our contract with Australia Post we were advised of what the packaging requirements are for our products, which include:1) The packaging has to withstand a sustained drop from a height of 1.5 metres2) The packaging has to withstand a weight of up to 15kg being placed on top of it3) The fragrance and fragrance packaging has to be secured in such a way that if a breakage was to occur, the majority of any spillage would be contained. This is usually done via the use of a sealable bag and/or multiple layers of wrap and packing beads or absorbent paper.Below is an example of how a fragrance should be packaged for delivery with Australia Post. (For delivery, the various boxes on the eParcel label would be completed with delivery and return addresses, barcodes and a few other bits and pieces)
Djembe Drums Buying Guide
Djembe Buying Guide...Buy from a reputable dealer who has a return policy. Remember, unless you are purchasing a synthetic, mass-produced drum, all drums made of wood and goat skin have a distinct voice. It's ok to purchase a drum on the internet as long as they provide clear contact information and have a good return policy. Ensure the dealer provides support not just cheap drums, you often get what you pay for.Which wood is best?.... Different woods produce different sounds. It's hard to know what type of wood you are going to prefer. This really just requires you to play a lot of drums. Some woods from Africa are very hard and subsequently very heavy. This does not mean they will sound better. In fact, I prefer a drum that does not weigh a ton. Lighter drums are easier to handle and thus you are less likely to damage them. Mahogany makes a very fine wood for drums. Mahogany is a relatively stable wood, does not weigh a ton and is dense enough to produce a nice open sound. This is why many drum set manufacturers build drum shells with Mahogany. Mahogany is also often plantation grown which is an important environmental aspect. Be careful of some of the thin and/or two piece shells on the market. If they don't say their drums are made from a single piece of wood, don't buy it. It won't sound good and it's sure to crack sooner or later. Thin shells will not produce a good bass tone either. Look for drums laced with Alpine rope and not just heavy string. What should you listen for...Listen for open, deep bass tones and a nice sharp crack when slapped. Look for a drum that's easy to play. You should not have to use a full force blow to extract a nice tone. The drum should sound good or respond at all volume levels. The tone should have a nice sustain without strange overtones or pitch shifts/bends. If you do encounter these symptoms, they can sometimes be corrected with tuning. They can also be the result of a poor quality head or an uneven bearing edge. If it's just a tuning issue, you can sometimes test this by placing the drum on the floor, holding it down with one hand, striking the drum and pulling up on the lacing. If the pitch evens out or improves, it's likely just out of tune.Size does matter... A general rule of thumb is the bigger the drum the deeper the base tone. Other factors which alter the tone are the skin (head) thickness, thicker heads produce deeper tones. Wood density and neck size (the hole between bowl and the base). Seller who pride themselves in selling good soundingdrums will take the time to sellect a good quality skins.When buying a Djembe consider where and when you will be playing it. A large woodendrum of 65cm in height or more is quite heavy and not easy to carry any distance. It isok for drum circles for people whom want to sit and playthen drive home. The more popular size drums are the 50 cm to 60 cm. The 60cm is the drum of choice for those whom want a good all round sound without excess weight. The 50cm Djembe will not produce as deep abase but is great as a lead drum.FAQThe 2 questions I am most asked are: 1."I want to buy a Djembe for my ** year oldson/daughter, what size would you recommend?"I believe if your Child is genuinely interested in learning to play the Djembe or you wish to encorage them to develop their natural rhymn you should buy a drum they can "grow into". I wouldn't recommend spending a lot of money on a large drum but a drum which will fit comfortably between their knees when seated and something they can get a solid beat from when they are in their teens like a 50cm Drum. 2. "I am new to Djembe drumming and confused about which drum to buy. I have seen drums for $600 in the music shops, why are yours soo cheap?. What size and price range do you recommend for the beginner?"Usually the expensive drums you see in shops have gone through manufactures, inporters,buying agents,wholesalers etc all taking a slice adding on their costs and all takingprofits. Buying direct from the manufacturer significantly reduces the costs therefore the price is reduced. You should expect to pay from a starting price of $150-$250 for a plain entry level 60 cmDjembe. The 60 cm Djembe is the most popular size andI believe the best all round size for the beginner to the intermediate player.More experienced professional players don't mind paying more to individually pick and finish the shell, skin, rings and ropes for their drums and usually like to assemble and tune the drum themselves to suit their own playing style.The best thing you can do is just make sure you are dealing with a reputable dealer with a clear return policy. As with many other products, there are plenty of people out there buying large quantities of cheap drums (poorly made drums made for the tourists)and dumping them into the market. Price Range.. You don't need to spend $400.00 or $600.00 on a drum to get something that sounds great. While there are some great pro quality drums on the market from both Ghana and Bali, there are some great sounding ones for just $150.00 (entry level) to $350.00 as well.If you found this guide useful please click YES. Ebay Store: Tribal Direct
ANYONE can sell on eBay, but NOT everyone CAN sell
ANYONE can sell on eBay, but NOT everyone CAN sell on eBay(Understanding this statement will go a long way to increasing yourchances of making a success of your selling experience on eBay)Anyone can join eBay
Full list of REGION FREE XBOX 360 games
http: forum.lowyat.net/lofiversion/indies.php/t262839.htmlNTSC/U - North American GamesAmped 3 (NTSC/U) works on PAL systems, NOT on NTSC/J systemsBlazing Angels (NTSC/U) works on PAL
Video Card X1900XTX / 7900GTX / 7950GX2
To start off this guide, I will state that I personally am an ATI fan, I don't know why, I just am. That being said, let's get down to business.A X1900XTX will outrun a 7900GTX, and a 7950GX2 will outrun a X1900XTX.These are with the reference clock rates only. At the moment, certain manufacturers (say XFX for instance), are producing stock overclocked 7900GTX's. These cards are no different from the reference ones I mentioned earlier, its just XFX have gotten their hands on some HIGH quality chips, and manually tested them by overclocking them. Those that 'passed' were called the Extreme and xXx editions, those that didn't are what is placed on the 'regular' boards. The same thing has happened to the 7950GX2's. There are no new fancy heatsinks or pipes, and software improvements, or hardware changes. They have flashed the bios to run at a faster clock rates.Many will ask are the new improvements worth it, and it depends what you are going to do with the card. If you need to be the fastest kid on the block, then yes.... yes they are. If not, save yourself a good stick of RAM in money and buy a standard one. But for those of you planning to overclock a stock card to the Extreme or xXx speeds, then I would recommend buying the faster models, as they come with a warranty for these speeds, AND WARRANTY = GOOD.So, that being said, a 7900GTX can run faster than a stock X1900XTX. But when you look at the 'TOXIC' X1900XTX with the water cooling and all, Im sure if you tweak its clocks a bit it will be back on top. The water cooling on this card is awesome, I saw one in action and it definately has an impact. Everyone knows how loud ATI cards are (be honest now), and that a 7900GTX will run quieter.As for SLI, this is a different story. Normally the cards run in as 7900GTX --
Stamps Australia 2 Pound Kangaroo On Map Of Australia
Stamps Australia OnlineVFU CofA WMK 2 Pound Black
Tips
First things first. What do you need to build a computer? Believe me, it's not as complicated as it seems. Let's start with the case. The variety is staggering, with hundreds of styles, shapes and sizes available. We recommend that you look closely at the features. Some gorgeous PC cases are nightmares to work with, or are cheaply built. Get the best case you can afford, we recommend you ask for "tool-less" case design, which enables you to click---open, click---closed. Most cases and motherboards use the ATX Formfactor, standardizing the sizes of the components and all of the power connections. Speaking of power: Although many PC cases are sold with a pre-installed power supply, check it carefully---your power requirements may exceed the capacity of the pre-installed unit. How do you know? Here's a quick guide:Component Wattage RequiredMotherboard 15-30Low-End CPU20-50Mid To High-End CPU 40-100RAM7 per 128MBPCI Add-In Card 5Low To Mid-Range Graphics20-60High-End Graphics 60-100IDE Hard Drive 10-30Optical Drives 10-25Do the math. You may need to purchase a higher-output power supply for your new PC. Once you've selected a case and power supply, be sure that you have the following items: A set of screwdrivers (small, large, slot, Phillips), or a PC Tool Kit An anti-static wrist strap Needle-nosed pliers CPU (processor) CPU cooling fan and heat sink Sound Card Motherboard One or more hard drives Graphics card One or more RAM DIMMs (Memory modules) An operating system That's basically it. And these days, anyone can build or upgrade a computer. It's really very simple and it can save you hundreds of dollars. Why build or upgrade your own PC? If you're short on hard-disk space Add a new drive. Getting creamed in the latest games because they run so slowly? Time for a new graphics board. But maybe you need a whole new system. With just a little more technical know-how than a typical upgrade requires, you can build a PC yourself from handpicked parts. Obviously, determining which parts to use---and getting the RIGHT parts---is critical to successfully building the perfect PC. To get you started on the right track, we've assembled a guide to the main components in a PC, including recommendations for each part (based on what you intend to do with your machine). Building Your Own System1. Before you dive in Before you start the job, you have to take inventory of your parts. It does little good to begin your build when you don't have everything you need. Once you've determined you have everything you need, it's time to start! Make sure you have plenty of working room and a few hours to proceed with minimal interruption. Please note that carpeting represents some real dangers to your computer. The carpeted surface has the potential to create static electricity that can fry your components. An inexpensive antistatic wrist strap (they are often priced at less than 6 bucks) is the perfect preventive measure if you have no alternative to working on carpet. Remember, a bare floor is always the best place to build your system. Now, grab hold of a good set of screwdrivers, a pair of needle-nose pliers, and an antistatic wrist strap, and make sure you're wearing your antistatic wrist strap (it does you no good at all if you don't wear it!) Finally, download the latest drivers from the vendors' Web sites for each component you'll be installing, and copy them to a CD to avoid headaches later on; the drivers that come in product boxes are often several versions out of date.2. Dive in!Installing the MotherboardHere comes the fun part! Installing the motherboard. First, take the board out of its packaging and put it on top of the antistatic bag it came in. Remember, you always want to safeguard your components from potentially hazardous static electricity. Before you secure the mobo onto the PC case, you should install the processor, heat sink and the memory modules on it. If you aren't sure which socket is which, or what goes where, consult your motherboard's user manual for guidance. User manuals are extremely helpful, easy to read and include illustrations. First, lift the lever on the processor socket so you can install the CPU. Carefully line up the pins and place the chip in its socket; it will fit only when oriented the proper way. An arrow or a missing pin on one corner of the chip will show you how to line things up. Lower the lever to lock the CPU into place.Next, follow the manufacturer's directions to install the heat sink and the fan that will cool the processor. If you bought an OEM CPU and a separate heat sink, you may need to spread a thin layer of the thermal grease that came with the heat sink over the chip to ensure proper transfer of heat (some heat sinks come with this grease already applied). Attaching the clip that holds the heat sink in place may require a fair amount of force. Again, the instructions that came with the heat sink will show you how to know whether you've fitted it correctly. Plug the fan's power connector into the proper connector on the motherboard.TECHNIQUE: This part can get a little tricky. But stick with it and you will have no trouble at all. In order to install the memory modules, insert them into the proper sockets and push down firmly but evenly until the clips on both sides of the socket pop into place. If your motherboard supports dual-channel memory, consult the user manual to determine which pairs of RAM sockets you should use. The motherboard and the CPU are the brain and nerve center of your PC, so selecting these components might just be the most important decision you'll make.TIP: Choose the processor first: Despite running at slower clock speeds than their Intel-based rivals, AMD-based systems have maintained a significant performance lead in documented benchmark testing for a while now. At the high end, Athlon 64 FX CPUs are the fastest around. There are positive and negatives to each CPU, so do a thorough investigation before making your buying decision. Remember, an informed buyer has a much higher probability of being a satisfied one.TIP: Choose the motherboard after selecting the processor: The processor you choose usually determines which motherboard you select: Motherboards are designed to work with specific CPUs, indicated by the type of socket that the processor fits into. Socket A, Socket 939, and Socket 940 are designed to work with Athlon processors, while Socket 478 and the new LGA socket 775 are for Intel CPUs. Many dealers offer bundles consisting of a processor, a motherboard, and memory; these can be a good way to save some money. The system chip set (the chips that pass data between the peripherals and the CPU) is the other component that differs among motherboards; it determines which integrated components (graphics, sound, Ethernet, etc.) will be included. Though integrated graphics aren't generally as good as dedicated cards, they're usually adequate for simple tasks.3. Placing the Motherboard into YourCaseFirst, a word about cases. The right one can make working with your system a dream, but picking the wrong one will come back to haunt you. Though you can find a case plus power supply for less than $50, we recommend that you invest a bit more to obtain a case that will last through many upgrades and that you'll enjoy looking at.Case Formfactor: Most cases and motherboards use the ATX form factor--a set of design standards that specify things such as the size of the motherboard and the connectors on the power supply. It's critical that your motherboard match the form factor of your case. Be aware of other standards--for example, Shuttle-style cube-shaped systems that come with their own custom motherboard. Check carefully and note the formfactor when shopping.Case Construction: Steel cases weigh more than aluminum ones, they cost less, and they muffle the noise from components such as hard drives better than aluminum cases do. On the other hand, aluminum boxes tend to be more stylish, and they are certainly easier to carry around.Case Convenience: Even the best-looking case will seem ugly if installing your components becomes a pain. Look for helpful features like a removable motherboard tray, tool-less drive carriers, and multiple fan locations for cooling the system.TIP: Does this PC case include a power supply? Cheaper cases often come with cut-rate power supplies that may not be up to the task of powering a high-end PC. Some expensive cases don't come with a power supply, which lets you choose your own. If you've added a lot of new components to your PC, you may be overtaxing your existing power supply, so look at getting a bigger, better one. Power supplies can cause problems--including random crashes or even component failure--if they are asked to produce more power than they are designed to generate. Reputable manufacturers will typically include a chart of acceptable components.Memory: The More, The Merrier.Because it's an easy upgrade to perform and can significantly improve performance, boosting a PC's RAM is one of the most popular hardware enhancements people undertake. This 5-minute procedure can let you keep more programs open, accelerate memory-hungry graphics programs and games dramatically, and sharpen your PC's responsiveness. The memory modules that most recent systems accept are 184-pin DDR DIMMs of varying speeds, such as DDR333 or DDR400; the number describes the RAM's clock speed. You'll sometimes see memory referred to by the bandwidth it offers, such as PC2700 (DDR333) or PC3200 (DDR400). The type you should buy depends on the motherboard and processor you choose: For best performance, opt for the fastest type of memory module that works with both. A new type of memory (called DDR2) offers even speedier performance, but this can be used only on new systems equipped with the latest Intel chip sets.TIP: Get at least a gigabyte: Sure, you can save money by installing less, but 1GB of RAM puts you comfortably above the point at which most speed gains occur, and it should enable you to run the most demanding applications and increase the speed of your system when you keep more than one program open at a time.TIP: Opt for dual-channel if possible: If your motherboard supports it, use dual-channel memory. This type of memory boosts performance by increasing the speed at which data can be read and written. But for it to work, you have to install matched RAM modules in pairs. Some early dual-channel boards came with only three RAM sockets. If two of those sockets are already filled, you must either upgrade with a single DIMM (and lose some performance) or replace your two existing DIMMs.TECHNIQUE: Some PC cases have a removable motherboard tray. If yours does, remove the screws holding it in place and pull it out of the case. Note the pattern of the holes in your motherboard, and screw brass standoffs into the motherboard tray or into the PC case in the correct locations. Check the layout of the sockets on the motherboard, and confirm that the ports on your motherboard's back panel match the holes on the I/O shield that is installed in your case. If necessary, remove the old I/O shield by tapping it firmly a few times with the butt-end of a screwdriver, and then replace it with the shield that came with the new motherboard.TECHNIQUE: Carefully position the motherboard on top of the brass standoffs, line up all the holes, and use the screws that accompanied the case to fasten down the motherboard. If you are using a removable tray in your system, slide the tray and motherboard back into the case and then secure the tray.4. Connecting The Color-Coded Power Cables. Obviously, making the proper connections is crucial to your successful PC system build. Fortunately, manufacturers now provide color-coded power cables to make the job easy. First, plug the large ATX power connector for your power supply into the matching port on your motherboard. Next, locate the smaller, square processor power connector ( you can't miss it - it's the one sprouting the yellow and black wires) and attach it to the motherboard. Note: your connector is usually located near the processor. Now it's time to get out your motherboard user manual and find the description about front-panel connectors. Be forewarned - you're going to be doing work now that requires attention to detail and can be quite frustrating if you don't go into it with the right attitude. Okay, now that we've warned you, attach each of the tiny leads from the power and reset switches, the hard-disk activity lights, the PC speaker, and any front-panel USB and FireWire ports to the corresponding pin on your motherboard. If you have to, don't be afraid to use your needle-nose pliers.
eBay Lingo - deciphering abbreviations
This guide is written for the purpose of assisting eBay members with the various types of jargon used on auction pages, as well as on the eBay chatboards. This is by no means a complete list, if you see something that I am missing, please feel free to send an email through to me so it can be added to the list.All the abbreviations
Termites, Simple prevention.
I am a licensed Pest Control contractor, of many years experience, and I am writing this because I want to help people avoid the expenses sometimes imposed on unwary people, who may be persuaded to buy expensive treatments, or devices, they don't need. I have encountered many elderly people who have been taken advantage of in this way, and I think it is wrong that they are targeted. So here are some commonsense ideas about termite control to think about:Firstly, understand that these creatures are just insects, and therefore generally behave predictably. Their function in nature after all, is to recycle timber, and it may well be our mistake to build houses in their part of the environment for them to recycle. The house is the real problem, not the termite!Secondly, The cheapest form of pest control is a trip to the library, to find out about termites and other insect pests. Because they have such a simple and predictable nature, it is not complicated to learn what aspects of the environment attract them, and either use that to an advantage to make traps, or to avoid making your property so attractive to them. Ususally they need Moisture, Warmth, Food and Dark.Thirdly, If you want to know whether there are termites near your property, then put out the ideal meal for them in a location where you can inspect it easily and treat them before they get to your house. What is the ideal meal for a termite? Termites like soft wood, like oregon or pine (that hasn't been treated) and corrugated cardboard. Alternatively, use the sort of timber that you may see that has already been atttacked on the ground. Pack thin strips of the timber and cardboard tightly upright in an old plastic flower pot with holes in the base, and bury it up to the rim in a place where the soil is moist, preferably away from the house. Put a lid of solid material over the top to keep out light and heat. Inspect it regularly, every month or so, and if termite activity is found, don't disturb it. Now is the time to make enquiries about powder termiticides, that can be obtained for you by a licenced Pest controller, who will be able to advise how to dust the termites with the powder. There are safer chemicals available to do this with these days, but they do take some months to wipe out the whole colony. It is obviously cheaper to have several traps like this around your house, then to have to pay thousands of dollars when it is too late. Finally, if you're building a house, buy a copy of the Australian Standard on Termites and building ( AS3660), and consider building with materials that termites don't eat. eg Glass, Steel, Earth. Stone.etc.
Secret Garage Sale Tips
A lot of people start selling on EBay by selling unwanted things from their homes.But what happens when you have sold everything?Bargain Hunting, for some, is almost equivalent to a sport.Garage Sales, Op Shops or Auction/Clearance Sales are the next logical step in finding a wide variety of products to sell on EBay.Practicing these tips at Garage Sales will help you become a better Bargain Hunterand help you to avoid making bad purchases.1. Keep your eyes and ears open. To find out where the Garage Sales are, regularly check your local newspaper. Always check for future Clearance Sales. Many people advertise in the classifieds of the local newspaper.2. Write a list and mark down dates on a calendar. Occassionally multiple households will hold a Super-Sale and advertise their phone number for you to inquire. This may be an opportunity for you to strike a bargain before anyone else.3. Plan out a route for visiting multiple Garage Sales. Write down the addresses of each Garage Sale and locate each on your Street Directory and use the information to come up with a logical order to follow once on the road.4. Go out early. Most Garage Sales open at 8 am. Be there when they open to find the best selections. You are competing with hundreds of other people for the same thing. Remember the saying - the early bird catches the worm.5. Go frequently. If you rarely go to Garage Sales, you'll rarely find goodies. The more Garage Sales you attend the higher your chances are of finding something unique and interesting. Each week in Op Shops, new items arrive and you may never see the same thing twice again. If you are serious about finding good quality bargains you should go often, especially early in the week after people have donated items on the weekend.6. Grab it and Keep it. Make sure you thoroughly shopped the Garage Sale before leaving. If you see an item that you may or may not want, pick it up anyhow and carry it around a bit, then decide. Because if you don't, by the time you decide that you want it, someone else will have bought it and you'll be kicking yourself the rest of the day.7. Carry small change. It's good to bring a lot of small notes and change especially if you plan on making small purchases. Don't be afriad to haggle a price down if you feel it's too high. A lot of sellers price things so they can haggle. Buying things as a group or in boxes is a good way to buy and haggle the price. I think it's in very bad taste to haggle a price down from $1 to 50 cents only to whip out a $20 note to pay for it.8. Check and Double check. When buying electrically powered items, ask to plug them in before buying.Make sure the item runs, lights up, plays music or otherwise fulfills its basic function. Open up board games and jigsaw puzzles and make sure all pieces are included. When buying something that is battery operated, open the battery compartment to make sure there aren't some old batteries in it that are corroded.9. Broken or Incomplete items. Items that are broken are often purchased by people who repair them in their spare time and then resell them on EBay for a profit. You will be able to purchase these for next to nothing and in many cases they will be free because no one thinks they have any value. Incomplete items also sell well. People often break or lose parts and will still have the software, cords, adapters and the rest needed to make them work. They will purchase yours because it is much cheaper than purchasing a complete one.10. Haggle. Finally, don't be afraid to make an offer. If you see an item you would like (but is priced too high and the seller won't negotiate), give the seller your name and telephone number and tell them you are interested if it doesn't sell by the end of the day and they are willing to come down on the price.ConclusionI hope that you've found this guide useful. If you have, I would appreciate your vote below. Otherwise, please let me know if you find any errors or have any questions or comments on the guide. I'm only too happy to correct discrepancies or help with problems. Thank you for your time!
Guitar Strings
Guitar Strings are an individual choice by the player, each player uses different strings to suit their needs. At AUStrings we work with each player seperately to find the perfect set of strings. The most common sets we sell (to men, women, begginers and professionals) are as follows. For Example: Most Men Prefer:Acoustic Phosphor Bronze 'Medium' 12-54
EFFECTIVE USE OF EBAY STORE TRAFFIC REPORTS
A lot of people are scared by stats and analysis charts, but these are very simple to use, follow and understand. Knowing what the mean is one thing, but knowing what to do with them - well that's where I hope this guidewill help!! OK, so this is only truly relevant if your have a shop on ebay, but it is possible to find out exactly where your shop traffic is coming from.After selecting Manage my Shop, there is an option tucked away at the bottom left navi-bar marked Traffic Reports. This opens up a third party site called Omniture Site Catalyst.The first page shows some graphs of visitor numbers to various pages in your store - homepage, about me page etc.There are at least 3 options depending on your store level - Site Traffic, Finding Methods and Custom Reports - all in light brown at the left side of the screen.Select Finding Methods, followed by Referring Domains and this will display a chart showing who has directed the traffic to your store. Under the chart is a breakdown of referrers - eBay.co.uk will be at the top by a huge amount, followed by other eBay sites - .com, .ca .au etc. There will also be some other familiar names, such as Google, inside-eBay.net and Goofbay.Now the clever bit is hidden behind the tiny magnifying glass to the left of the name. Click on this and a pop-up window appears, listing the exact URL of the link through.I have found that there is a Premiership football club discussion forum that has a link to one of my items, courtesy of a satisfied customer. This one comment on his post has got me 22 hits! I can also see the forums where I use a signature line also refer a number of hits through. I have also found a specialist website in the USA that deals in a category that I am currently listing in. Thanks to their affiliate programme with eBay, half a dozen of my listings are now on their homepage - another 70 unique visits from them, and no cost to me whatsoever! I am now moving more of my appropriate listings to that category for more free exposure!When I clicked on the eBay.co.uk magnifying glass, the one page on all of eBay that directed most traffic to my site was my mobile phone unlocking review, so far in the last 12 days, it has generated 380 unique hits to my store. Proof if ever it was needed that a popular review does increase traffic! Just underneath the Referring Domains option, is a further category - Search Keywords. This clever report shows you all of the keywords that potential buyers used to find your items. Knowing what people are looking for is crucial if you are to sell successfully. The final particularly useful option is in Custom Reports and marked Most Popular Pages. On one page, this report will show you the most viewed pages in your store - shop front, Feedback, About me etc. It will also show in order your most viewed auctions - saves having to click into each one and view the hit counter! From this information you will see what people are looking at and compare it to how they are bidding. If 100 people look at the item, but it receives no bids, then it may be time for a description revision. Check your price against the other sellers, and more importantly try to think objectively - would I buy that item? Is there enough or even too much, information? Does the advert look appealing, and does it keep your attention? There must be a reason why so many people are looking, but not bidding.Thank you for reading my guide. If you foundit to be informative or helpful, Please click the "YES" button below, your vote is appreciated.Please take a few moments to have a look at My Other Guides,and why not have a look at Shelfridges - My eBay Shop! I also have more information on my About Me page.
Buying a dog coat/ jacket confused?? Read this guide
Buying a dog jacket or coat can be quite confusing and i have decided to share some tips to make the process that much easier.Get out the tape measure!!!To measure your dogs LENGTH for fitting one of our dog jackets. Just measure from where their neck ends (between the shoulder blades) to where their tail starts (You do not want the coat covering their tail especially if they are the type ofdog to have a raised tail) This will give you an idea on the total length the coat needs to be. Most dog coats come with adjustable velcro straps to keep the coat in place so the most important part of the buying process is to get the length correct.We have found through personal experience that the Velco strap are more user friendly then studs and if you have a shorter breed ie/Dash Hounds merely cut the straps down to suit.Dog jumpers also require the WIDTH measurement as they tend to stretch around the dogs girth (Belly). Other considerationsIf you are buying for a puppy remember that they tend to chew everything especially the strips that keep the jacket in place!!! (A safety pin that moves the end of the strap out of reach is perfect to solve this common problem)Fabric type!!The Polar Fleece jackets are really handy as they are a wash and wear material and are coumfortable to sleep in too. They come in two styles with plain polar fleeceor the articial fur lined collared type.The water repellantdog jacket is similar to an Oil Skin and comeslined with an artificial fur in both the styles; collared andun-collared.There are so many option out there as as an owner of a spoilt chihuahuait is important to take into account the type of fabric. Be wary of any silky/ nylon fabric types as they can causeskin irritations so whilst the outfit looks gorgeous on it does not allow their skin to breath. Hope this helpsMillie
eBay, PayPal and Shipping Scammers - READ!!!!!
Their are many people out their that are ripping people off everyday on eBay at no rick what so ever.Their are 5 ways that i have picked up on.
Samsung e715 Remote Unlock Instructions FREE INFO! = )
I won one of these unlockcodes for $15 here on eBay on Sept. 8th.They simplynever sent me an unlock code and the second I asked themrefundmethe charges they sent it to Me with an email saying that no refunds would be issued since they sent me the code (a week late) so since I had to pay for it Ill give it to anyone for free!I bet they'll hate me for this but oh well. My gift to YOU! Happy Holidays 2007! Unlock for a Samsung E715Samsung e715 Remote Unlock Instructions:-1. Switch OFF your phone.2. Put in a SIM of a different network provider.3. Now turn your phone back on. You will see an error message saying "Wrong Card".4. Type *#9998*3323# in to your phone.5. If you've entered the code correctly as outlined in the Step 4, you shall see a screen telling you to press exit. So hit the right soft key.6. Now you will see a Menu of choices. Scroll down and select option 7 (Jump to Null). As soon as you select option 7, your phone will turn black and reboot itself. After your phone reboots, the SIM will be recognized and your SIM will work. (Please be patient while your phone reboots and DO NOT press any keys.)7. Now, at your welcome screen type in *0141# and hit your call button! This will give you a message saying your phone is Personalized.8. Power OFF your phone and insert your original SIM.9. Once done, power ON your phone.10. At the SIM Code prompt, it will ask you to enter a password. Type 00000000, (that is 8 Zero's). After you enter the code, hit "ok" and your phone should power up.Your phone is unlocked!!!You can now put the SIM of your choice into the phone and use it at your will! Without ANY RESTRICTION!!!
Adding Backgrounds To Your eBay Listings
Stamps Australia OnlineAdding Background Images To Your ListingUpload the image you want to use as your background to www.imageshack.comMake a note of the 'Direct Link To Image' address that is presentedto you once the upload has finishedPress the
Playstation 3 - Game Format
Got yourself a brand new Playstation 3 and what to know what games work.. on itWell with Playstation 3... the Answer is Any..All Ps3 games from any Country will work on your PS3..
Poppy Growing Guide for Spectacular Flowers and Pods
Poppy Planting 101ThePoppy is God's Gift to Mankind!You too, can have these gorgeous flowers in your garden without a green thumb!This is poppy planting 101. Just the simple growing instructions for gardeners and non gardeners alike. I am not getting technical here, or going in depth to the different types of Papaver Somniferum. I'm not going into my background of how I came to grow poppies, my views or opinions. Perhaps I will write something else later, but for now, you don't want to wade through a bunch of my ramblings just to find out how togrow a poppy.Disclaimer: I am not a botanist, a hortoculturist or any other ...ist. I am just an ordinarygardener (who happens to grow some stunning poppies if I do say so myself). OK, lets start with some clarification. These instructions are for annual strains of Papaver, such as Somniferum,Gigantheum, Paeoniflorium and Laciniatum and others, that are also known as "breadseed poppies" because they are the source for commercial seeds used in baking, salad dressings etc. The pods arethe type found at craft stores and florists. These instructions are NOT for Perennials such as Oriental Poppies.They are distinctive because of their gray-green almost hairless stems and "lettuce" looking foliage. They also grow quite tall compared to other forms of poppies.Poppies are very hardy and in fact will adapt to ALL climate zones according to my Sunset Western Garden Book. I live in the Pacific NW and you may have to vary your planting times somewhat to adapt to your zone. Always save some seeds to plant at a different time. The best way to judge when to plant is by taking your clue from Mother Nature herself. Here in Washington, the plants have fully gone to seed by the end of August and begin "Self Sowing" by wind, rotting pods etc. This should tell you that early September is a good time to start planting.There are two times of year that are best for planting seeds. The Spring and the Fall. Assuming you are a first time grower, we want you to get the best results. If it VERY cold where you live, plant in Spring after it is done snowing and/or freezing. If it is VERY Hot where you live, plant in the Fall. Everywhere else, you can plant them either time. I use the term Spring and Fall very loosely as the planting period is a long one. To keep it simple, Spring is after all frosts, and Fall is when it isn't hot any more.Prepare the gound Properly.Poppies need loose soil. They do not have a root system but rather a large tap root like a weed would have. In order for them to grow large, they need at least 12 inches of loose soil. Tilll the area you want to plant. Of course a power tiller works best, but who has one of those? I sure don't, so use a shovel, or my favorite garden toolthat I call a "chopper digger" I think the real name for it is an Adz. It is kind of like an axe, well not really. It's kind of like a pick, but very heavy. I should have taken a picture. oops, I promised I wouldn't ramble. If your soil is anything but perfect, then amend it. Add compost/organic material. My soil is sandy and rocky, so I had to sift out all the rocks which left me with only half the amount of dirt I had before. The rest is added compost mix that you can buy in bags at any garden store. Once you have prepared the ground it is time to plant your seeds.Planting the seeds.Poppy seeds are very small. Of course you've seen them in a muffin or on a bagel, same thing. The best way to plant them is to sprinkle them right on top of the soil. This can be done by taking a pinch in your fingers and sprinkling, or another way is to mix sand with the seeds and broadcast. Then, just tamp the soil down over them with your hands or feet. The object of this phase is to NOT get them all together in bunches. The seeds WILL come up every where you put them and if you put them too close together you will have a carpet of microscopic seedlings that won't grow verylarge because they have too much competition. Poppies do Not transplant easily. Plant them where you want them to be.When the Seedlings SproutIf you plant the seeds in late fall, they will most likely lie dormant until conditions are just right in the spring. The seeds germinate at around 55F. Mine often come up in the fall, get to about 8 inches, and then will "winter over", but most wait until spring to start sprouting. If it is very hot where you live, then plant in the fall.When the seeds decide it is time to germinate,it takes about 10 to 25 days for them to sprout. When they do, they are almost microscopic. Whenever you decide to plant them, I would save half of them in the refrigerator and plant the next season. If you plant in the fall, save some for spring, and vice versa. That way you will be able to determine which time is best for your climate.If it ishot where you are, you will need to keep the ground moist. This is also true if you plant them in the summer. I usually don't have to worry about it because it rains all fall winter and spring. Once they come up, the next leaves to show will be the "lettuce" looking ones. As you can see in the following picture, the "lettuce" leaves have come out. Also notice that these seedling are awfully close together. These are seeds that have "self sown".They stayvery smallfor quite some time. It is amazing to me that a seed and seedling this tiny can produce a plant that is 4 to 5 feet tall, but they do. It is a good idea to make sure they get water if it doesn't rain. When the plants are 5 inches, you may want to thin them out. POPPIES NEED ROOM! If you thin them out, they have room to grow and you can control how many of them get large. If you do not thin them, this is what happens: A few of them will get large with many many blooms. Most will grow tall and skinny and only have one or two blooms and the rest will stay microscopic and I mean microscopic, even the flower will be a tiny miniature. So, I know it hurts, but it's best to thin them. Now is also the time to use some mild fertilizer such as Miracle Grow or Alaska Fish Fertilizer... the kind you mix with water, not the powdered stuff. Follow the directions on the label, but for the most part, they don't really even need any unless you have poor soil.Here is a picture of the root system and stem shown next to a garden hose for scale. This is NOT a small hose.Let Nature Take OverYour part is done. Your plants will grow long stems with the flower capsule at the end. This is the hardest time for me.The timebetween when theflower buds form and the time they mature enough to bloom can be two weeks. I often can't stand it because I want to see what color is blooming and I pop them to see inside... (not a good idea and I'm not suggesting that you do it..)This is the most amazing part for me as well. I watch them daily. They start with their heads bent down to the earth. As they mature, the heads slowly lift themselve upright to face the sun. When they do this, the time is near. Any minute, they burst out of their capsule to reveal their full glory!The flowers last from three to eight days. They make stunning floral arrangements and keep well. When they are done blooming, the petals start falling off. At this point the plant uses it's remaining energy to reproduce. The pods will grow fat with seeds and are beautiful at this point also for flower arrangements. Eventually the pods will begin to dry out and the vents will open to release the seed. HarvestingNow is the time to harvest your seeds. They are excellent for cooking or for sharing with your friends. Most varieties, the vents will open and they will freely re-seed. On some varieties, the vents do not open very much or not at all. You must drill (or break the crown off the top) to get the seeds out. If left in the garden you can simply cut the heads off and crush the pods. This is also the time to dig up the plants. They compost extremely well, or you can keep the pods for dried floral projects. One person I know uses the pods to paint pictures on. The plants are now dried and quite unsightly, so it is best to pull them up. They pull up quite easily.Enjoy your beautiful flowers! Thank you for taking the time to read my guide. If you found the information useful, I would really appreciate if you could click on the "yes" button below.Note:My seeds are viable. They will ALL grow! If you have problems, please consider:A. Birds love the seed and will eat them. That is why I send a LOT of seeds.B. If it is too hot, they will not germinate. They need to be planted in the early spring or in the early fall. If you planted them in the summer they most likely will not come up or if they do they will be tiny.They will probably still come up the followingspring so be patient. Example: I gave my neighbor some seed. They grew and then they were done. She then covered her whole yard in beauty bark, so no flowers the following year. Then they decided to re-do their yard and rototilled the whole thing and made beds... Up came poppies from 3 years ago (she didn't plant any new seeds). They just got rototilled to the surface.C. They could be planted to deep. The need to be sprinkled on the soil and then tamped down.D. If they are planted too close together, they willmost likely be microscopic. If Iplant a thousand seeds, in the end, I might get 100 huge plants, because of birds and thinning them out.
Wireless Broadband Buying Guide 1
One of the key advantages of wireless broadband is, of course, theability to take your Internet connection with you. Although many peoplethink that all wireless broadband services are mobile, an importantdistinction needs to be made, between mobile broadband and portablebroadband. Even fixed wireless broadband (ie, confined to one building)is portable because you can move anywhere in the building and haveconstant access without being confined to a power point or externalmodem. Portable broadband means that you can access the Internet anywherewithin a certain coverage area. This normally means that you are in ahot-spot, near a base station or have an antenna to connect you to abase station. Mobile broadband is a newer phenomenon and one which is growingrapidly. Mobile broadband enables you to access your wireless broadbandwhile on the move, meaning you can use it while on the train, bus orferry. In Australia, true mobile wireless is available through iBurst'stechnology but this is set to change with the introduction of WiMAX(more on WiMax later). If mobility is important, be careful to check with your ISP aboutmobility options. OzEmail, for instance, which resells both Unwired andiBurst, makes the distinction between mobile and portable wirelessInternet. Veritel, another reseller of both services, calls its Unwiredservice "fixed wireless Internet," while its iBurst product is called"mobile wireless Internet." (Incidentally, we find the Veritelnomenclature a little confusing, since it is possible to take theUnwired modem from place to place and use the account wherever you maybe - you just can't use it while actually moving). WiFi Hotspots The idea of being able to access your wireless broadband outside yourhome began with Wi-Fi hotspots. These are places where you could go and(if you had a subscription to the service) access the Internet fromyour notebook through a local Wi-Fi access point. Wi-Fi hotspotservices are still around, especially in cafes, restaurants and otherpublic places. A number of service providers, such as Telstra, AzureWireless, Optus Connect, SkyNet Global and iPrimus, have set upnetworks of such wireless hotspots around the country. To access theInternet through one of their Wi-Fi hotspots, you need an account withthe provider and a standard Wi-Fi (802.11b or g) network card in yournotebook or PDA. Some providers will have 'roaming' partnerships withother providers which further extends the coverage available. Forexample, SkyNet Global will let customers use its own hotspots plusthose of its partners which include Telstra, Azure and Unwired. Checkeach provider's website to view a map of their coverage. However, wireless hotspots have largely fallen out of favour as wide-area mobile broadband services gain popularity. Led by iBurst and Unwired at the present time in Australia, theseservices offer metropolitan-wide reception areas and broadband speedsof up to 1Mbps. A single iBurst account, for instance, gives youbroadband access to the Internet from nearly anywhere in metropolitanSydney or Melbourne (along with several other cities as the networkconstantly expands). This is made possible by their network of aerialswhich act like uber Wi-Fi access points, delivering blanket coverage ofwireless networking over the metropolitan areas. Wireless access With wide-area wireless broadband services, you have one account, whichyou use to access the Internet from your home, office, park, or even onthe train. As long as you have your modem and a PC, and are in acoverage area, you have Internet access. This is a major benefit tothose who move around a lot, or want to have one Internet account forboth work and home. Wide-area wireless broadband providers have been careful to keeppricing parity with ADSL services. You can't get quite as good a dealon wireless broadband as you can on ADSL, but the gap is narrowing.With wireless, prices range from $50 to $80 per month for a 512Kbpsconnection and a reasonable quota (5-20GB), and around $100 per monthfor a 1Mbps connection with a similar quota. After reaching your quota,most providers either restrict you to dial-up speeds for the rest ofthe billing period or allow you to buy extra volume at a fixed price. While we're not covering it extensively here, there is another solutionfor users to whom coverage or mobility is paramount: using the mobilephone network data services. All the major mobile phone networkproviders offer GPRS services, and some offer 3G data services that candeliver Internet access at near-broadband speeds. However, these arenot consumer services; at present GPRS and 3G are extremely expensive(in some cases over a hundred times more than consumer Internet access)and targeted primarily at businesses. Availability The availability of wireless broadband works very much like that ofmobile phones. If you're in range of a wireless receiver (equivalent,in this sense, to a mobile cell tower), then you have an Internetconnection. If not, then you have nothing. In some cases, you may bejust in range but have poor or intermittent reception, which mightresult in slower than normal speeds. You do not need line-of-sight toget reception. Each of the providers has a range of wireless receivers stationedaround their coverage areas. Unwired, for instance, claims to haveenough receivers to cover the homes of more than 90 per cent of thepopulation of Sydney. The most important thing to look at when choosing a wireless broadbandprovider is whether they have coverage in all the areas you might wantto use your broadband connection. You need to check with the providervery carefully. At the moment none of the major providers have anythinglike mobile phone coverage, but they do cover the most denselypopulated areas of the major cities. If you want mobile phone-likecoverage, you need to look into GPRS or 3G data services. If you're in a marginal reception area, such as the outlying areas ofthe major cities, you may find the connection drops out occasionally,as weather patterns and other interference wreak havoc with yourwireless connection. For this reason, we recommend only going withservice providers that have some kind of money-back guarantee for thosewho can't get good reception. You don't want to be caught with anInternet connection that only works half the time.
Royal Doulton Series Ware - so many themes
Royal Doulton began producing series ware in 1889 when Charles Noke joined the company. He later became the art director. Noke decided that it would be useful for ranges of standard shapes (blanks) to be painted with popular images. There are many different ranges, which have been produced at different times. These include: Arabian Nights, Beggars' Opera, Robert Burns, Canterbury Pilgrims, Dickens (there's an enormous range of characters in this series alone), Don Quixote, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Shakespeare, Treasure Island, Robin Hood,and others. There are also series which deal with historical events, places and persons, such as Famous sailing ships, historic towns, Old English Inns, World War One. There are series which deal with Monks and Toasting scenes, Edwardian ladies and Old English Gardens, Coaching Days and Sea Shanty, Country Garden and haystacks, fox hunting and golfers. And there's the famous nursery ranges, particularly Bunnykins and Brambly Hedge.These have been made at various times over the last century, and some series have only a few images, while others have many images painted on many different shapes. Some people try to make collections of a specific series, others like to gather a representative sample of a number of pieces. Some collectors are only interested in one artist, such as Noke himself, or Kate Greenaway, or even Jill Barklem. In the latter part of the twentieth century, Royal Doulton also produced a range of cabinet plates which served as commemorative issues, usually limited to a set number of firing days, which could feature illustrations such as reproductions of famous paintings, or images of fauna or flora of a particular country. These are often collected as display plates, and are sometimes issued as parts of a series, or as singletons. Research is quite important so the books on Royal Doulton series ware by Louise Irvine are often recommended as a guide to some of what is available. Not all pieces of a series may be available, and not all series are easy to find, but that's part of the excitement of collecting- discovering that piece that you need for your collection. Happy hunting!
Buying brand name clothing at bargain prices
Here are 7 tips for finding bargain brand name clothing on ebay. These tips apply whether you are searchingfor new or second hand items.1) Make sure you know the item's recommended retail price otherwise you won't know for sure whetheryou are getting a bargain or not. Second hand items should be cheaper then new items even if only worn a few times. 2) Try searching for the item with a spelling mistake included. For example "Bilabong" instead of "Billabong". Sometimes a seller may list an item with a spelling mistake which can mean a lucky break foryou as the item may not get as many bids.3) Always check postage costs before bidding. Sometimes postage costs can push the price up too higheven if you are buying the item at a bargain price.4) If the seller lives near you ask them if pickup is an option as this can save you a fair bit of money,particularly on larger or heavier items such as jackets. Not all sellers will allow pickup but it's worth askingjust in case it is an option.5) Use smart bidding strategies. This often means not biding too early. Keep an eye on how the bidding isgoing towards the end of the auction to make sure you are not outbid and to make bids yourself if youhaven't already. 6) If you found a good quality bargain then add the seller you bought it from to your favourite sellers.Chances are he or she will have other quality listings in the future. You can do this through "My Ebay" byscrolling down to "--
Leadlight windows
This guide is written to help the novice buyer who is in search of leadlight windows on Ebay.In order to find windows in leadlight, as opposed to leadlight lamps and furniture, I search under leadlight, lead light, and stained glass in both the title and description, under ALL CATEGORIES.This will bring up leadlight lamps also (there are soooo many), so filter through the selections by using the categories listed in the left margin. The windows appear in three categories, under Building Materials there are 2 categories, the most useful category is blinds, curtains, windows, however they also appear in the windows section. The windows also appear in the Antiques section under Architectural fittings.Once you have found your window, there are a few questions to ask the buyer. The first question I ask is to find out the colours of the glass. This is because the colours can sometimes be very subtle, and depending on the conditions under which the photo was taken, they can be difficult to ascertain. (Recently I bought a set of windows on Ebay that were photographed against a fence, without any light coming from behind. I could only make out a few small sections that seemed light green, so imagine my surprise when they arrived by courier and had green, red, blue and amber glass highlights! I am still working out what to do with them, you may see them up for auction in the near future!).Some other questions I have learned to ask are the condition of the lead, and if there are any breaks or scratches in the glass. Regarding the condition of the lead, sometimes there are wobbles in the panels, which can be quite unstable. Also, sometimes the glass panels can be bowed in/out, but the unit itself can still be structurally very stable. This is not so much of a problem, as long as you can live with it! I have found out that the glass can sometimes move if it was put together too tightly, and a repair of this sort would require hours of recutting.Broken glass pieces are fairly easily repaired, the problem is whether or not you can match the glass. A good repairer will have their own stash of antique glass, so I haven't yet had any problems matching glass. As a guide to costs of repair, I recently had panel repaired with two12 cm clear glass sections, and a thin rectangular section in antique bubble glass and it cost $80. Even factoring in the cost of repairs, buying leadlight windows on Ebay definately beats buying from a salvage yard where you will be lucky to have change from $800.
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