SevenToTen - Blogging About Everything

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I think of all the things which you can add value to your home, like retrofitting with new fixtures, furniture, lightings, tilings, painting, cabinets, wardrobes, etc, Decorative Planters are the best option. It is a long term investment, $1 spend on plants can add much more (at least $10) to your property, once they are grown out.

Having a garden in your house can add charisma and a pleasant vibe to an otherwise dull and gloomy house. By using planters, your family members benefit from the extra oxygen and lesser carbon dioxide around the house. There are many online sites where you can shop for planters - PlanterIxchange.com is one of them and it is worth checking out because of their extensive products and affordable prices.

If you think your house is not as attractive as your neighbor’s, and hence command a lower selling price, I believe the problem is caused to a large extent by the quality of landscaping. Outdoor Planters which can be used in houses of any design and are also flexible in size are the key to transforming your ordinary house into an elegant setting.

If you want natural air filters in your home, there is nothing better than putting a few Indoor Planters like spider plants, peace lilies, chrysanthemums, aloes, and pothos at strategic locations. They are extremely effective at removing impurities from the air.

Planterixchange realize that every homeowner’s needs is unique and they desire their own special little corners. That’s why there are so many mind-boggling choices on the site. All the accessories offered are creatively designed and are high quality.

Now you know, decorating your home to increase value can be so easy, just visit the site today and get in a few planters.

With banks imploding and consumers spending dwindling, one safe haven for the market could be in the stodgy industrials sector. Companies that make things such as bolts and studs and hydraulic equipment may sound depressingly unsexy.

Industrial companies are actually reporting healthy sales and profits. And there’s nothing sexier than better-than-expected earnings in this ugly market. Investors believe industrials are a safe haven for those tired of seeing more big bank losses, tech companies floundering, and concerns about weak retail spending.

Fundamentally, they are well-positioned to take advantage of the weak dollar and the amount of infrastructure that will be built out in lesser developed countries.

When it comes to poker, I have a friend who is an expert. He devotes almost all his time online to master poker. I do not know what level he is at currently but I believe he has made online poker lucrative enough to sustain him as a full-time job.

Due to my curiosity on how he or what he is doing, I asked him for some insight into poker and he shared this site, Poker Strategy, with me. I didn’t believe that such a school for poker fanatics exists but it is true.

They claim to be the world’s biggest poker school and they offer everybody a FREE poker education. Not only that, you also receive $50 plus $100 bonus as starting capital to put your skills into practice. I like the fact that we do not need to deposit our own money to test the waters. There is no legal obligation involved, and they do not require a bank account or credit card.

Picking up some extra strategies and techniques is handy. Poker Strategy’s techniques rest on statistical and psychological principles which make poker gambling profitable in the long-run. Get rich quick or “for fun” gamblers should not expect miracles here.

There are many strategy articles, spreadsheets and charts available for your learning. You can also watch professional poker players playing in live-coachings. Learn their tricks, moves and reactions when they are dealt with different cards. Add them to your list of skills and very soon, you can act like a pro too.

Discussion amongst other poker enthusiasts is also encouraged. It is a friendly community where players can interact freely about local games, major poker tournaments or miscellaneous events.

I guess that is why my friend loves Poker Strategy so much - he has more than an even chance of winning. Every match won, regardless of the amount, can make a person really happy and when you know it is because of the skills you have mastered, it makes the feeling even better. In fact, my friend has now influenced me to the extent that I am checking out Poker School every night.

I do not like clutter and the first impression I get from a site must be its cleanliness and user-friendliness. Loud, colorful banners and oft-centered pages really get on my nerves.

My sidebar is still pretty empty and it will be staying like that for a while. It may make the blog look empty and uninteresting but I always believe less is more. Unless your blog is really popular, you can get away with a lot of things, like John Chow.

The advertisements there have taken up all his available prime space but I doubt he is maxxed out yet. He will certainly be coming up with ever more creative ways to increase advertising revenue from his blog. Take a leaf from him if you want to know how to monetize your site. Earning over $30,000 per month is simply amazing.

Yes, the ads make for slow loading but his content is fresh and useful, so I don’t mind visiting his blog every few days. For smaller blogs, the amount of ads should be kept to a minimum.

What is a blog carnival? Think of an event where a lot of people gather for the fun and entertainment. A blog carnival is not too far away from that.

As a blogger, you need links and in a blog carnival, you will find an array links pointing to blog posts about a niche topic. Usually, there are many editions of a blog carnival, and every week, different blogs will host it. It is easy to participate, as an example, go to the Blog Carnival website, browse around for relevant topics and submit your entries.

This is a simple yet effective method to promote your blog when you are starting out. The carnivals will give you exposure in the form of high quality relevant traffic and back links. Additionally it will also give you the possibility to interact with fellow bloggers.

Yesterday, I mentioned about the slump in retail. Consumer spending is low, besides all the poor economic news, there is the sky-high prices of commodities, what else is there left to spend on retail at the end of each month? Daily staples take a priority to material needs now.

At this time, if you are in retail, breaking out of tradition and offering a unique experience to customers is the way to go. Conducting more research to find out the popular products and what your competitors are doing are also important. As part of your research, I believe joining online communities is an excellent idea.

Just as an example, over at Style Hive, you can find a community of fashion lovers. Style Hive is not regarded as the worlds’ largest social shopping community for nothing - you can join their interesting forum discussions, get to follow cool people and plug into the latest global shopping trends. You know which items are the hottest finds by the number of hives (saves).

In this page, you can snoop in on the latest handbag craze. It indicates all the hot handbags found, “hived”, and tagged “handbag” by all the shopping fanatics within the Stylehive community. A list of the most popular handbags over the last month is also available.

For active contributers, start building your own community today by bookmarking and adding your favorite items to your wishlist. Alternatively, send, blog or comment on the items to let other members know what you think.

If you are knowledgeable about fashion, or more specifically handbags, your contributions will be appreciated and I am sure you will have a strong group of following in no time… last I check, some of the popular members have more than 5000 followers. When it comes to social networks, always remember that the more effort you put in, the more you will receive at the end of the day.

Demand for new homes may not return to normal levels until 2010, according to the latest outlook from the National Association of Home Builders.

Some forecast has placed the demand for new homes to pick up in the second half of this year. Now, the best case scenario seems to be stabilization in the market in summer but no signs of improvement until next year.

“Traditionally when housing has been in a recession, it recovers very quickly. We don’t see that happening this time,” said Jerry Howard, CEO of the builders’ trade group.

More jobs are expected to be lost even as demand for non-residential projects are still strong. I am thinking of getting a second job to make ends meet but considering the depressing job market, it is not easy to find. I will be content to slog in my current job for now.

For those who want riches but do not like to work hard, buying lottery offers the best chance. Casinos are another place where immense fortune can be made (or lost) and the odds are slightly higher than a lottery as you can control your destiny within the realm of statistics.

You have to be really good though. I indulge in a game or two at casinos once in a while but I haven’t been to any for a long time, since online casinos are in vogue. If you are new to online gambling, I suggest you use a reliable guide to prevent your money from falling into the wrong hands and loss of your precious time too.

To give you an idea of what I am talking about, consider Gaming Guide. I am put off at first by the red background and cluttered ads on the sidebar. A cleaner and professional layout will certainly attract more serious gamblers. The site placed a host of featured online casinos above the fold and you should check them out first.

At a glance, you can tell what are the bonuses, payouts, and any software required for downloading before you can play the game. You can also read their reviews which are quite detailed in comparing the various features but I was hoping for fresher content - some reviews are dated back in 2006.

If you have gone through the sites and identify your ideal online casino, it is important to check the laws to ensure eligibility as some countries ban online gambling. If I remember correctly, usa online casinos are out of bounds for USA citizens, so it is better to be careful here before you start signing up to any sites.

I heard that eBay has stopped taking new submissions for their affiliate program at commission junction and is starting their own affiliate program from 1^st April 2008. You can still make money by registering for the new affiliate program at http://affiliates.ebay.com from 1^st April onwards.

eBbay’s official launch is over here.

If everyone agrees with you, it’s a waste of time, so says Mark Cuban, co founder of HD net.

He netted $2 million by selling his company Micro Solutions, to CompuServe. Then in 1995, he pioneered college sports streaming online and spin off Broadcast.com to Yahoo for $5 billion in stock. He sold off the stocks before the bubble burst. And in 2001, he launched all-high-def, all-the-time network HDNet among the early entrants.

This guy knows what he is doing. And with his wealth, he sets the right example to all of us. Don’t follow the crowd!!