HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL THIS 2012!!!

http://salvagedgrace.com/2011/08/25/repurposing-school-supplies/

Here is a video sample of one of my best sellers (which I’ll be using first day)…

Applying to various temp and summer jobs became disheartening because most college students had filled them already OR they weren’t just paying enough because the job expects college level summer pay.

Then I realized I could make my own business by doing some summer cleaning, pile all the stuff I don’t use and can get rid of, and sell it at one or multiple yard sales!  When I did that I was amazed at how much stuff I had I could sell, and mentally calculated close to $1,000 dollars of value!  This weekend I am going to take this stuff and do a multi-family yard sale in South Miami, Florida with my friends and re-claim some stationary funds that have been sitting around in my house.
**EMAIL me before June 18th, 2011 to find out where my yard sale will be and I’ll give you a special deal when you pass by =).**

Now the question is, how do I continue making money for the next couple of weeks because what I made at the yard sale was not close to enough to hold me over the rest of the summer?
ANSWER:  Ask friends, family, and even neighbors if they have stuff they would like to sell.  Tell them how much you made at your yard sale and you are willing to help them out sell their stuff for a small fee [usually called consignment... equal to about %30].  It might take you several days to spread the word and get their stuff together, but once you do this a couple of times or ALL at once at a BIG yard sale; you can find yourself making quite a nice sum of cash!

Here are some handy tips in setting up this enterprise…

1. Advertise your yard sale on a place such as Craig’sList or in the classified section of your local paper.
2. Make some large, colorful, easy to read yard sale signs with arrows giving directions.  Put these signs on or close to the major intersections around where you are going to have the sale to attract more people.
3. Serve some refreshments to your shoppers.  This is a nice gesture and it may keep them looking or talking long enough to make the sale.
4. Price your items fairly.  Check ebay, Google shopping, Amazon, etc. to see what price your items are fetching currently.  Don’t expect to get those same prices, as your shoppers are looking for a deal.
5. Be ready to negotiate (for me this is most of the fun!).  But make sure not to be offended by the shopper’s offer.  Expect them to offer low and be flexible with your price.  Many times, money in the hand is worth more than the item still sitting there at the end of the day for you to haul back to that dusty corner in your house.  On the other hand, this is business… don’t undercut yourself by negotiating so low you get pennies on the dollar, but your customer is happy.  We are not here to make friends… if you make friends and network then GREAT!  Remember this is your money to make it through summer.
6. Lastly, the week before the yard sale start collecting plastic/paper bags, newspaper for wrapping fragile items, and maybe even some bubble wrap.  When yard sale customers come to buy (especially many items) they would like to have something to carry away their finds.

I sure hope this helps you enjoy you this long, hot summer alot more!

Be sure to check out TeachPower and  TeachPower ebay, where I have taken this a step further and mostly sell items that come from other teachers.

Also read my other blog post titled Your Guide to Effective Garage Sales to get more tips that might help.

Author: Kurt Ferguson

A question that has bothered us time and again, whether we are professionals or students or simply homemakers, is how to improve memory so that life becomes less complicated. Very few of us are blessed with a photographic memory and for those who are less fortunate; there are some suggested ways on how to improve memory. Such memory training can ensure better memory management and help you stay mentally agile.

Steps To Improve Memory:

* Convince yourself that you own a good memory which simply needs to be nourished.

* Memory training begins with associations because when you are associated with someone actively you are more likely to remember his number for instance. Alternatively, you could start forming an easy phrase beginning with the first letters of the numbers to help you recall it easily.

* Improve memory by trying to visualize the information.

* Learning to club information together is a significant aspect of memory training. A shopping list is a random list which may be very hard to recall but categorizing the items might make this exercise simpler.

* When numbers are large, you can try to remember them by associating them with special events that can be personally important or even historically significant!

* Repeat learning is a great way of improving memory power – you can even make use of flash cards to improve memory for studying.

* Remember last minute cramming before exams only serves to insert information that will last in your memory for a very short period of time. When you space out studying, your brain gets the opportunity to store information in the long term memory. Varying your study routine like changing the place of your study may help you to remember better.

* Harnessing mental skills regularly exercises the brain like trying to learn a new language or play a musical instrument or solving crosswords and puzzles.

* Regular exercising that promotes blood circulation and eating right are critical when you want to know how to improve memory. You can feed your brain by taking supplements like Vitamin B6, Thiamine and Niacin.

* Avoid getting stressed because chronic stress tends to damage the brain physically affecting memory. Although stress cannot be completely eliminated, there are ways of controlling it by practicing meditation, yoga and so on.

* Being sleep deprived harms your memory; seven hours of rest at the least is a great way to improve both long term and short term memory.

* Giving yourself adequate time for a memory to form is one major trick on how to improve memory. Do not make space for distractions and concentrate exclusively on the thing that you must remember.

* A typical exercise in memory training would be to try and remember as much details as you can about an unfamiliar photograph after carefully studying it and then keeping it away.

* Students use mnemonic devices to improve memory – this involves associating every data with some commonly used object. Memory pegs use visualization techniques by employing known landmarks as links to critical data.

* Relating new data to already known things helps to boost memory.

* Teaching others new things can also help you recall better.

These are some easy tips on how to improve memory but none of it is achievable unless you learn how to balance the serious memory building exercises with lighthearted pastimes. Enjoying healthy relationships is the best way to enjoying good emotional and good brain health!

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/internet-marketing-articles/tips-and-tricks-on-how-to-improve-memory-4459709.html

About the Author

Alyona’s Internet Marketing Blog is one of the most comprehensive sources of information about internet marketing for dummies. You can keep on updating yourself about various internet marketing tools by browsing through the blog.

To Insert A Video Clip That Is On Your Computer Follow These Steps:

To add video in PowerPoint from a file

1. Go to the slide in your presentation where you want to place the movie.
2. On the Insert tab, in the Media Clips group, click the Movie icon.
3. From the Insert Movie dialog box display, browse to the drive and folder that contain the movie/video that you want. If you do not know which location to use, try the \Windows\Media folder on the hard disk.
4. Click the video file that you want to use and then click OK.
5. A dialog box appears, asking how you want the file to play in the slide show. Choose Automatically or When Clicked.
   

Follow These Steps If The Video Is A Link To A Video Online (Embedded Video)

1. First you must have access to the Developer Tab
1. If you don’t see the Developer tab do this to be able to use it:
2. First, click on the Office button to open up the main menu of PowerPoint. At the very bottom of this menu is a button entitled PowerPoint Options. Click on this to continue.
3. Select the Popular category and put a check in the box next to Show Developer tab in the Ribbon. Click OK to exit, and the Developer tab will now be present.
2. Go to the slide where you want to embed a video.  Click on Developer tab then on More Controls button.
3. Scroll through the list and select Shockwave Flash Object.  Click OK.
4. Nothing might seem to be inserted, but PowerPoint is just waiting for you to tell it where you want the embedded video by drawing a box with your mouse.  Don’t worry that its not the perfect size, as you can resize it later.  You will get a box with a big X like the picture below.
5. Click on the box object and select Properties in the Developer tab.
6. In the box you will have to make some changes and add some things.  The picture below will show you which things you will have to change or add.  One of the most important fields to change is the Movie.  This is where you add the url (http:// link) of the online video (i.e. Youtube).  Before you add the link to this field you have to change it a little.  Delete the “watch?” text

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHCHfabcZ0w

   and replace the “=” that follows the “v” with a “/” character.

   http://www.youtube.com/v/BHCHfabcZ0w

7. Another good idea is to change the Loop field to FALSE (so it stops after it plays through), and Playing to FALSE so we have control over manually starting the video.
8. Now you should see the video ready to play with controls (play/pause, volume, etc.) in your PowerPoint slide.
9. During this short process, if you find you have messed up, then delete the box object and start over.

This tutorial was made possible with help from graphics provided by brighthub.com.  Thanks.

Pick almost any city or town in the country, drive through any middle class neighbourhood or residential area on the weekend, and you’re sure to spot at least half dozen garage sales.

What’s being sold at these garage sales? The accumulated “junk” peoples no longer use or want taking up space in or around their homes. Are they making any money with these garage sales? You’d better believe they’re making money! It’s not at all uncommon to make $600 with a weekend garage sale. Is it hard to put on a profitable garage sale? Well, yes and no. It really does take some of your time, and also requires an awareness of a few merchandising tactics. But the problems in running a successful garage sale are small in comparison to the profits.

Who are the buyers, and how do you get them to come to your garage sale? Your customers are going to be everybody and you get them over to your garage sale with a little bit of advertising and promotion.

Let’s look at the background: Everybody accumulates the kind of garage sale items that other people are searching for, and are willing to buy. These items range from no longer wanted or outgrown items of clothing, to furniture, tools, knick-knacks, books, pictures and toys. Many garage sale items are objects of merchandise purchased on impulse, and later found to be not what the buyer wanted. He discovered too late that he really didn’t have a use for it, or he no longer has a need for it. Many items found at garage sales are gifts that have been given to the seller, but are the wrong size or incorrect choice for the recipient.

The problem with most people is that they haven’t the time to gather up all the items “just taking up space” in and around their homes and staging a garage sale to get rid of them. Many people don’t know how to stage a garage sale, and many other people feel that putting on a garage sale is just too much bother and work.

This is where you enter the picture. Your enterprise will be an ongoing garage sale of items donated and collected from these people who lack the inclination to put on garage sales of their own.

Step one is education: Spend a few weeks visiting all the garage sales, swap meets and flea markets in your area. Find out what’s being offered for sale, what people are buying, and how the merchandise is being sold. Generally an item is tagged with a price, but the seller is open to almost any reasonable offer from the customer. Another thing you want to make mental note of is the way the merchandise is displayed, and how the customers are allowed to browse.

You start your own garage sale by cleaning out your own basement, attic, closets and garage. Talk to your relatives and friends; tell them what you’re going to do and ask them for donations of no-longer used or unwanted items. It’s here that you’ll get your first experience in negotiating, and finally, an agreement for you to display and sell other people’s merchandise for a percentage of the sales price. You’ll find people explaining that they really don’t have a use for a specific item or they really don’t want to keep storing it, but because of sentimental reasons, “just hate to give it away.”

Once you’ve had a little experience with this type of seller, you will be able to advertise in the newspaper that you buy garage sale items, or take them on consignment for a percentage of the final sales price.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/sales-articles/your-guide-to-effective-garage-sales-422928.html

About the Author

Uchenna Ani-Okoye is an internet marketing advisor.

Author: pptarticle

As one of the largest websites, YouTube is now the first place on the Internet to find various news videos and clips, and has proved to be a wonderful reservoir of valuable videos at this media-saturated era.

Have you ever thought of downloading a YouTube video to embed in your PowerPoint presentation, or uploading a PowerPoint-based video to YouTube for the world to share? I dare say most of you have. Here, I will give a two-way introduction to how to make an interactive use of YouTube and PowerPoint.

Section I How to embed YouTube videos into the PowerPoint presentations?

An embedded video relevant to your subject is no doubt a great credit to your PowerPoint presentation, which not only makes you seem more professional but adds fun to capture the audience.

To get a YouTube video embedded in your PPT presentation, you can take either of these methods:

Method 1 Copy the Embed code of the YouTube video into PowerPoint presentation

It is the most straightforward among all the methods of putting a YouTube video into PowerPoint. Note that you should ensure that you have the latest Adobe Flash Player installed on your computer prior to this method.

Simply copy the Embed code of the YouTube video (as seen in “Embedded” field) that you want to use for your presentation and save it on a notepad.

In the PowerPoint file, go to the Developer ribbon and click the “More Controls…” icon.

In the prompt-up More Controls dialog, choose the option Shockwave Flash Object and click OK.

Next, go to the slide with the Shockwave Flash Object box, and right click the cross-lined box to select the Properties option. Then copy the video embed code from the notepad and enter it into the Value column of the Movie item in the Properties interface. That’s it!

For more details of this YouTube into PowerPoint method, refer to the very tip How to Play YouTube Video in PowerPoint Presentations

IMPORTANT: The URL insertion is subject to Internet connection. In another word, the embedded YouTube video would not play in your presentation should your computer be out of Web connection.

Method 2 Convert YouTube videos to compatible MPEG, AVI, MOV or WMV for PowerPoint

As YouTube videos are encoded in FLV, a format that is not accepted by MS PowerPoint, they must be converted to a PowerPoint-compatible format like MPEG, AVI, MOV or WMV prior to inserting.

In this method, what you need is something like a video converter to convert FLV to WMV or other PowerPoint supported video formats. You can find a sea of such software apps, e.g. YouTube downloader and Online FLV Converter, most of which are free. These software programs usually work similar in principle. First you have to download and install such a converter, then copy the YouTube video URL to the related field of the converter for download. After the video file is downloaded, use the converter again to select an appropriate video format that you want to convert to. Finally, save the converted video file to you local drive, and then embed the YouTube video into your PowerPoint presentation.

The method require a third-party medium, yet it is not bad a choice in case of the network trouble.

Section II

How to convert PowerPoint presentations to YouTube videos?

In Section I, we have mentioned how to embed a YouTube video into PowerPoint presentations. Now, we are to introduce the other side of the coin: how to convert a delicate PPT file to FLV (Flash Video) for showing on YouTube.

PowerPoint presentations including a rich collection of animations are also excellent source of a vivid video. To create a video out of PowerPoint is of less cost and of more fun than of a digital camera. Here follows two major ways of converting a PPT presentation to YouTube video.

(i) Free Windows Movie Maker

It is a free video creating program developed by Microsoft for Windows. To make a movie with the software, you have to first save your presentation as a pile of JEPG pictures, and then input the picture album to the movie maker. Although sounds are allowed to add in for a dynamic effect, there’s an obvious fault in the free program – it is unable to retain the full animations from the original presentation.

(ii) Moyea PPT to Video Converter

This is a smart solution for converting PowerPoint presentations to any format of video, no except to the popular YouTube video. Most of all, it is able to preserve every subtlety of your PowerPoint presentation in the YouTube video, just at an affordable $49.95.

After conversion, you will find it a cinch to watch and share your PowerPoint slideshow on YouTube.

Enjoy the amusement of flexible conversion between the magnificent PowerPoint slideshow and YouTube video.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/video-articles/youtube-and-powerpoint-embed-youtube-video-into-powerpoint-put-powerpoint-presentation-onto-youtube-1085068.html

About the Author

Paula Cheung,technical writer on PowerPoint-based solutions

http://www.dvd-ppt-slideshow.com/blog/

Author: Paula Cheung

MS PowerPoint is vital for today’s teachers and students to create courses, conveying speeches, compose homework and designing learning games for interactive communication in class. As major users of PowerPoint, the school staff would rather their presentation works be protected than be edited or modified without permission. Their question is, how to make a school PowerPoint file read-only? In viewing to that, here comes my how-to tip with an exact introduction to 5 methods of turning a school presentation read only.

How to Make a School PowerPoint Presentation Read-only

1. Set the PowerPoint file property as “Read Only”

2. Enable “Password” feature and save as PPS, PPSX

3. Mark the PowerPoint file as Final in PowerPoint 2007

4. Burn the PowerPoint file to read-only storage media like CD, DVD

5. Convert the PowerPoint file to read-only video

1. Set the file property as “Read Only”

This is the primary practice of Read Only, originally meaning that users can open and read the file, but cannot modify or change it.

To set a school PowerPoint file as Read Only, do the following steps:

• a. Go to the local drive that contains your PowerPoint file you want to make read-only.b. Locate the file and right-click on it to select Properties.

  c. Click on Read Only. Then click OK.

  Cons: The PowerPoint file is still editable when the “Read Only” option gets unchecked. Obviously, such “Read Only” cannot protect your school presentations from prying hands.

  2. Enable “Password” feature and save as PPS, PPSX

  It’s simple to password protect your school presentation with “Password” feature in PowerPoint. You can also password protect a Word document with the same steps. See details in my previous post How to Password Protect a PowerPoint 2003/2007 File

  Then, save the password-protected PowerPoint file as PPS or PPSX. The next time the file opens, it displays automatically as a slideshow. Anyone who views the slideshow and wants to edit any portion of the file would change the *.pps or *.ppsx extension back to *.ppt or *.pptx. Even doing that without difficulty, the user needs to know the password of the PowerPoint file before making any alternation. If the user doesn’t enter the password, PowerPoint opens the file for viewing but won’t allow editing.

  Note: Users can still edit the school PowerPoint file once obtained the modify password or a non-password protected version of the PPT file.

  3. Mark your PowerPoint file as final in PowerPoint 2007

  Your school presentation can be marked as final in PowerPoint 2007. The Mark as Final feature applies to protecting the presentation against further changes. Details as below:

• a. Select the Office button -> Prepare -> Mark as Final.

  b. A prompt message appears, saying “The presentation will be marked as final and then saved”. Click OK.

  c. Then follows another prompt message suggesting the result of marking the file as final, e.g., all the typing, editing commands and proofing marks will be turned off. Click OK again.

  Similar to setting the file property as “Read Only”, this Mark as Final status prevents users to edit the PowerPoint presentation.

  Cons: The PowerPoint file can become editable again once users repeat Step A to activate the tool bars. Actually, it is not effective to prevent prying hands from stealing your school presentation works.

  4. Burn your PowerPoint file onto Read-only storage media like CD, DVD

  

  A common practice by most PowerPoint users. Burn your school PowerPoint file onto read-only storage media like CD and DVD. You can save the presentation content to a read-only CD with the “Package for CD” feature in PowerPoint 2007 or “Pack and Go” in PowerPoint 2003.

  Since it is a data CD/DVD rather than an audio or video one, the school PowerPoint file is still likely to unauthorized modification once resaved to a local hard drive under a new name that removes the Read-Only status. A considerable workaround to realize real security on your school PowerPoint file, is to burn it to real CD or DVD that can playback on a CD/DVD player, with screen capturing tools like Camtasia or burning software like Moyea PPT to DVD Burner. For details on how to burn PowerPoint to CD and DVD, refer to the post “How to Burn PowerPoint Presentation (PPT) to CD or DVD” (http://www.dvd-ppt-slideshow.com/blog/how-to-burn-powerpoint-presentation-ppt-to-cd-or-dvd/)

  5. Convert the PowerPoint file to read-only video

  

  As PowerPoint is not as obedient as you expect when distributing it to others via the Web, you can finalize it in read-only video that is safer and smoother.

  Tools that can help convert your school PowerPoint file to video include 3 categories: Standalone Conversion Software like Moyea PPT to Video Converter, Screen Recorders like Camtasia Studio & Adobe Captivate, and Microsoft Related Video Tools like Windows Movie Maker, Photo Story 3 & Quick Time Movie in Mac PowerPoint. Get more conversion details at “A Concise Collection of PowerPoint to Video Solutions” (http://www.dvd-ppt-slideshow.com/blog/a-concise-collection-of-powerpoint-to-video-solutions/)

  Making your school presentation read only is necessary if you really care about your efforts of creation. Remember to choose an effective way that can give real protection on your very works.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/security-articles/5-methods-to-make-a-school-powerpoint-presentation-read-only-1211317.html

About the Author

Paula Cheung, technical writer focused on multimedia software tools and tips.

Food Inc. DVD cover

Supersize Me DVD cover

I thought I would pass these two great movies on to watch for your edification and health.  In today’s growing busy-ness, we need to be aware of what is marketed to us for easiness sake and how it might affect our health.  Ever since watching both of these movies, we have changed our diet and more importantly our children’s diet since.

Last minute little snippet to throw in:
Here is a live cam of a family of bald eagles and their nest in Iowa.  Fascinating to watch these wonderful creatures of God. Enjoy (click below)

http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles