Manifiestonegro
Envelope Ideas
Fish trap | Building fish trap
0Spring is almost here, and for many of us that means an incredible amount of work is waiting to be done. Garden beds have to be tilled and planted, fences mended, and everything that broke down during the winter needs to be fixed. Like most other country folk, during the spring season I get to feeling fortunate when I’m finally able to sneak in an hour or two to relax a little. In fact, no matter how busy I get, or how hard I wind up working, fishing seems to become the single uppermost thought on my mind. Any time I can manage to squeak in even a couple of “spare” hours, I’m out on the water. And my wife doesn’t mind, either. Who do you think is usually fishing with me?
As difficult as sneaking in the odd hour or so for fishing, it really helps to have a place where you are guaranteed a good catch. Which is why, what my wife calls “Joe’s Fishing Insurance Policy” seems to be such a great idea
The principle behind this idea is simple. Have you ever noticed how pan fish seem to congregate around the docks where folks clean their catches and toss the scraps back into the water? It’s very much like the manner in which truckers pile into really good highway restaurants or politicians hover around money. As long as there’s some sort of cover (weed beds, drop-offs, piers, and the like) where fish can hide and find any sort of steady, easily obtained food supply, they’re going to congregate.
As simple as this idea sounds, I’ve found that the concept seems pretty revolutionary to many people. But, from only a few short pieces of logs, a few lumber scraps, some hardware cloth, a piece of rope, and a large rock you can quickly assemble a feeder which will practically guarantee you’ll always bring home nice catches. I’ve got two or three such fish feeders set out in fairly secluded locations on every lake and pond we fish regularly, and I long ago learned that they really pay off.
To fashion one of these super-efficient fish attracters for yourself, assemble the simple box-like wooden framework illustrated above. Use whatever lumber you have handy and build this project to whatever size would seem appropriate for your own use. (The guide I learned about this from liked a 3′x4′x18″ box). Next, you’ll need to cover this framework with ½-inch mesh galvanized hardware cloth. You’ll need to put together a mesh-covered lid like the one shown, as well, or you’ll wind up feeding birds rather than the fish.
Normally I’11 use roughly 8-inch diameter sections of logs, notched and nailed together as shown, to shape the raft upon which this cage-looking feeder floats. Then galvanized nails are used to affix the feeder atop the raft. A length of poly or nylon rope, long enough to reach from the lake bottom to the high water level (I’ll always add a few extra feet just in case), is also needed. After attaching an old cinder- block, a few bricks, or some other anchor to one end of the rope and the feeder to the other, it is set out in a likely fishing spot and just left there.
Nutrition in wild meats
0Most of us who hunt do so to provide meat for the table. This thought is too seldom taken into account when considering whether hunting is a valid pursuit in our “nuclear age.” Each year hunting puts, literally, hundreds of millions of pounds of lean, healthful meat in freezers, on pantry shelves, and on tables all across our country. Subsistence hunters in parts of Alaska and northern Canada still depend upon wild animals as their sole or primary food source. Even in the lower 48 states, wild meat consumption is not always just a matter of personal preference. Many individuals in rural areas provide a significant portion of the meat for the table from wild game and there by stretch or replace dwindling food dollars. Hunters and fishers from all walks of life take to the outdoors each year to add to their larder.
In Wisconsin alone, for example, an estimated 400,000 deer were taken during a recent hunting season. They yielded, at an average dressed weight of 100 pounds per deer, 40 million pounds of meat. In addition, the fields and waterways of the state yielded additional millions of pounds of small game animals, game birds, waterfowl and fish to hunters and fishers. Each of the 49 other states can boast similar numbers with their own indigenous species providing comparable quantities of meat for hunters in their states. As a result, the use of wild meat can and does contribute to the health and well-being of North American families.
It should come as no surprise that our primitive forebears ate wild meat regularly. Further, evidence suggests that modern man is wise in his imitation of some of those primitive dietary habits. For the most of the last 50,000 years or so, man’s diet consisted of about 34 percent meat and about 65 percent plants such as nuts, seeds, roots, tubers, fruits, and leafy green plants. Man was a hunter and gatherer. Agriculture came along much more recently. Cultivated grains were not introduced to the diet until about 10,000 years ago and dairy products came into use only in the last 6,000 years or so. In other words, primitive man not only subsisted but thrived on a diet based on only two of the basic food groups considered today to be essential to good health. In fact, he managed to get an average daily intake of about 1,500 mg of calcium, without consuming any dairy products at all. That level is at least 50 percent greater than is usually recommended for us today. Early man did have one thing in his favor, however. The quality of his food was significantly better than that of today. Contributing to that difference is the fact that wild meat is nutritionally superior to the meat from domestic animals.
The pioneers to gardening
0239 days
The term “living off the land” conjures up a vision of basic freedom. They try to put a rosy image on the days when small log cabins were the main dwellings for folks who were rebelling against what they considered government interference in their lives or who just wanted to be out on their own no matter what hardships they had to endure. Actually, the main requirements for living off the land involved more than a rosy image. It was imperative to own a few very necessary items: long-barreled flintlock rifle, gun powder, lead and bullet molds, hunting knife, axe, awls for stitching moccasins, iron cooking pots, etc. Life wasn’t easy. Most of the essential items had to be obtained by barter with various animal hides such as deer, as the frontier folks had no way of manufacturing those things.
If they had to garden as the backwoodsmen and their families did, they quickly come to respect our modern tools and take care of them. Gardens were located in the clearings where the cabins were built and were mainly worked with crude tools fashioned from improvisation and stout tree limbs. Any metal parts of tools, such as hoe blades, had to be obtained by barter. People did not have much choice of seeds—corn, beans, and squash probably being some of the more widely cultivated plants. Seed saving was of prime necessity. Fortunately, many native food plants grew abundantly—various berries, greens of many sorts, Jerusalem artichokes, cat-tails, mushrooms, ferns, wild fruit, nuts, etc. Friendly Indians sometimes gave helpful information on the use of native plants. Otherwise, knowledge was gained on a trial and error basis.
They pass by many of our native plants today without giving them a second look. Not so with the frontier people. Wild food plants played a big part in their survival, as some of the plants were used to provide medicine, dyes, soap, and so on. For instance, from blackberry plants came berries for kitchen use and to make wine or brandy. In addition to culinary use, leaves were dried and roots were dug, cleaned, and dried for medicinal use and stored until needed as all parts of the plant are helpful in cases of diarrhea and dysentery. A teaspoonful of crushed dried root was mixed with a cup of boiling water, cooled, and drunk as a remedy. One or two cups per day were taken until the condition subsided. If fresh blackberries were in season, eating a large quantity of them also gave relief.
The BackSwing
0Learning how to master your golf swing can take years of practice and skill. Your goal is to get one fluid motion of grace and finesse. From the start of your backswing, through impact to the follow through, it should be one perfect motion.
A. Why It Matters
The backswing is the initial movement of the golf club and it is responsible for setting up and defining everything that follows. If you have a poor backswing, it will affect everything else that follows and the end result will be poor shot.
Therefore, it’s critical to get it right!
B. The Takeaway
Once you are set up and in position to prepare for your shot, begin the backswing by moving your club slowly backwards and keep the club head as close to the ground as possible.
Do not move the club too fast as this may cause a steep swing plane which can minimize your power & accuracy. And be sure that your left shoulder is slightly higher than your right shoulder (assuming you are right-handed).
Your shoulders, arms, and hips should all move together in one fluid motion.
Golf players that concentrate just on their arms & hands have a tough time learning how to hit with power on a consistent basis. You must learn to coordinate all of your body parts at one time. The key is not to think too much about it.
Simply turn & feel your arms, shoulders, and upper legs all move together in synchronicity. Just go with the flow….
C. As You Turn
Once your backswing is in motion, your body will start its turn and your right arm should begin to fold inside. The left arm should not be stiff, but remain somewhat straight. Your right elbow should be snuggled within a few inches of your body throughout the entire backswing.
At this point, everything should be turning naturally and your weight will begin to shift.
Once your club shaft is in the air and pointing straight back, your wrists should begin to bend naturally. At this stage of the backswing, it is critical not to tighten your grip. Keep it loose and casual, yet in control at all times.
Keep turning everything gracefully until your left shoulder starts to snuggle itself underneath your chin. The left knee will start to bend toward the other knee. The club is now in the air and positioned on top of your head. You are now ready for the downswing.
How To Begin Making Money As An Affiliate Marketer
0Your first decision when establishing an affiliate marketing business is what types of products are you going to promote and sell? This is an important decision, and in order to make it you’ll need to ask yourself a few questions:
1. What are you interested in?
2. What are you knowledgeable about?
3. What are you passionate about?
4. Can your passions or interests be profitable?
These are important questions to ask yourself before you get started. Why? Because your affiliate website needs to have a unifying theme. You can’t effectively sell dog biscuits and computers on the same website. You’re also going to have to provide content, articles, and information for your website visitors. Even if you aren’t creating the content yourself, it’s always easier if you have an interest or knowledge in the subject matter.
Let’s assume that you have a passion and extensive knowledge about animal health and care. Your next step is to narrow your chosen interest into a specific niche. For example, you can choose cats, dogs, or even fish as your chosen niche.
Having a niche, rather than a broad category, makes it easier to reach and target customers. It also makes it easier for you to provide informative content to each and every visitor. We’ll get to why content is so important in more detail in just a bit, but in a nutshell content pre-sells and pre-qualifies your affiliate products.
In niche affiliate marketing, you can even narrow your niche within a niche. For example, instead of building a website about general fish care, you can build one about caring for tropical fish or saltwater fish. But before you jump right into your passion.
Researching Demand – It is important to make sure there will be an audience for your website. No audience means no visitors, and no visitors means no sales. Fortunately, there are a variety of tools to let you know if you’re on the right track. The Overture keyword tool offers a great starting point for researching your niche popularity.
Simply type your keyword phrase, or topic, into the keyword tool and see what information comes back.
You can also take things one-step further and use a paid keyword research tool like Word Tracker. You can try their trial version before you buy, and that will give you a good idea of how the tool works.
Additionally, you can, and should, use the keyword suggestions provided when you’re optimizing your website for the search engines. We’ll talk more about Search Engine Optimization further in the guide. And don’t worry, if you’re new to search engine optimization, the Internet Based Family Easy Website Builder makes optimizing your pages a snap.
Why Choose Affiliate Marketing?
0Affiliate Marketing Provides Security. When you go into business for yourself, there is always a certain amount of risk. You invest time and money into developing your product and service. Additionally, you spend time and money developing a marketing plan. Sometimes in small business ownership, the risk doesn’t pay off and all of the time and money invested is lost.
Fortunately, the risks associated with affiliate marketing are next to none. As an affiliate marketer, you are already promoting products that have an established need and customer benefit. As an affiliate marketer, you are often supplied with all of the marketing tools that you’ll need to sell a product including banner ads, ad sales copy, and even sales letters in some cases.
All of the variables are taken care of. All of the product and market research has been taken care of. All that’s left for you to do is spread the good word about the products and reap the rewards.
Affiliate Marketing Makes Money Fast. Because your start-up costs are minimal (the cost of a website is all you really need), you can begin making a profit right away.
Affiliate Marketing Gives You Multiple Streams of Income. As an affiliate marketer, you can promote as many products as you like. In fact, diversifying your product profile is recommended.
Why? Because you never know when a company is going to take a downturn. They can go out of business. There can be an advancement in technology that makes their product obsolete. Or a scandal involving the company can hit the news and product sales can take a significant downturn.
Promoting a variety of products is the best way to keep regular money coming in. However, it is recommended that you begin small. Don’t jump in with 5 websites and 25 different products. One website and a handful of relevant products is the best way to learn the business and make money at the same time. Once you have a system established, then you can duplicate it over and over again.
Affiliate Marketing is Easy. Affiliate marketing doesn’t require an inventory. It doesn’t require a specialized shopping cart or point-of-sale software. It doesn’t even require any employees. To get started, all you need is a simple website and a few informative articles with embedded links and you’re good to go.
Don’t worry; building a website is easy if you have the right tools. In fact, we will provide you with all the tools you need to easily start your first affiliate marketing website – if you can get around a basic computer program and if you can copy and paste – you can build a website… it’s easy, we promise. But you don’t have to take our word for it, try our Easy Website Builder for 10 days absolutely free and see for yourself.
What Is Affiliate Marketing?
0Affiliate marketing basically means selling other people’s products online for a commission. This is a very easy way to build your own business because there is no inventory to keep, no order fulfillment, and no customer service issues to deal with. You leave all of that to the product creator while you simply promote your chosen products through your website.
You may be asking, what companies? What products or services? That’s the great part. You can become an affiliate marketer of almost anything.
From Dell Computers to Staples office supplies to L.L. Bean clothes, and many more, there are tens of thousands of affiliate programs available. Finding a product or service that you believe in and want to promote is easy. We’ll show you how to do this a little further in the guide.
Affiliate marketing is definitely a great way to make an income online. Sounds great, right? But before you add the title “Affiliate Marketer” to your business card and resume, you should have a better understanding of what it is. This quick guide to affiliate marketing will provide you with the information you need to get started in affiliate marketing.
Global Business Does Not Mean Every Country
0To paraphrase an old political truism, “All commerce is local.” Ideally, a Web site will look and feel like it was built in that market for only that market, whether it was a local company, a foreign business, or a British firm developing an online experience for South Asian inhabitants of the United Kingdom. Because local markets most likely have native players, it is likely that the indigenous sites will be better tuned to the needs of that market than will the foreign ones. To succeed, you will have to be at least as good as the hometown alternative or provide enough value to make that a nonissue. That could be very expensive, especially if you fail to scope the opportunity in a given market against the requirement to offer a quality experience that passes the local smell test.
Many companies have read the analysts’ numbers presented earlier in this chapter, have considered their own Web site reports showing the national origins of their visitors, and have decided to use the Web aggressively to do business online in every country. Other less-ambitious firms limited themselves to the 30 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) plus China or the European Union. For example, after a successful showing of its marketplace for flow control devices at the CeBIT fair in 2000, BigMachines.com vowed to set up shop in every country on the planet. Such hubris is not restricted to new-economy start-ups. Fingerhut, the catalog arm of retailer Federated Department Stores, investigated similar large-scale expansion into international markets.15 High-tech players such as Dell and Cisco hurried their online presences into dozens of countries.
Both Fingerhut and Big Machines ultimately realized the challenges involved in such an undertaking. Translating hundreds of thousands of words for thousands of Fingerhut products into even a few languages would cost far more than the planners had originally estimated. For example, a large-scale effort to translate a half-million words from French into English could cost US$200,000. Keeping the translation synchronized so that the information remains current and correct can add similar costs depending on how efficient and automated the process is; multiply this amount by the number of languages that need supported, and the costs mushroom. Ultimately, Big Machines settled on a smaller, more manageable cadre of European and Asian markets. Fingerhut took an even more disciplined approach, focusing its online investment to the 35 million Latinos inside the United States on its way to a future global presence.
English Takes a Second Seat to Other Languages
0Not surprisingly, both approaches led to the conclusion that an interaction in our native language feels better, safer, and more controllable than does a transaction in even a second language in which we feel comfortable. You have a far better chance of generating leads, engendering trust, and creating buyers if you adapt your value proposition to the ways of thinking and the market realities of your international prospects.
Finally, these studies have shown that business customers addressed in their own language cost less to support. The Japan-based call center expert Prestige International measures the lower cost in terms of shorter call duration and fewer callbacks to customer service representatives. Then, if the customer can be redirected to a frequently asked questions (FAQ) page or an online answering utility such as Ask Jeeves, the cost drops dramatically. Firms using this software—such as DaimlerChrysler, Ford, and Nestlé—have experienced cost-per-call decreases of 90 percent or more.
Even so, many U.S. technology companies insist that their buyers quite comfortably deal with English; in fact, 66 percent of them do not bother to offer content in any other language.12 Even those companies that offer other languages focus on marketing only, with no customer support. For example, GE Power found that the highly skilled, U.S.-educated managers of their megawatt generators lost their proficiency in English when faced with major system failures, thus driving up support costs when English language support online could not answer their questions.
Losing Customers by Not Offering Them a Localized Experience The corollary to getting more international business is losing business at untranslated sites. Faced with unclear choices or instructions, prospective buyers might just click on to another site that better meets their linguistic needs. Nearly half of the international visitors at anglophone U.S. business sites abandon their transactions due to language, currency, or business issues. Think about it for a second: You’re reading this book in English, the language that dominates international trade and the Web. Put yourself on the other side of this digital divide. Most English speakers would not know what to make of Toyota’s car rental site. Not only is the text unintelligible to anyone who doesn’t speak Japanese, but also the design ethic falls outside the north Atlantic model for colors, images, and layout. If Toyota offered only this site as a way to rent a car, it would not be one of the world’s largest auto manufacturers. The translation and localization question ultimately comes down to whether what you offer customers will make sense to their local eyes.
When Your Prospects Are in Rome, Do as the Romans
0How should you deal with this more cosmopolitan Web? Your first step toward better international efforts—more local language at international sites—is already happening. A study of a billion documents on the Web in early 2000 found that about 87 percent were in English.8 More recent research pegs the English content at just under 70 percent, and consultancy Accenture projects that the number will fall sharply as Chinese becomes the dominant language on the Web.9
As the amount of English content on the Web drops, the number of people more comfortable in other languages increases (see Figure 1.3). A study by Ipsos-Reid found that 90 percent of Internet users in nonanglophone countries prefer their own languages over English.
Attracting Customers with Translated, Localized Sites and Support If you are like most companies, you will translate the marketing part of your sites or your online product catalog. Why? So that customers will at least know what you are trying to sell them. As early as 1998, companies were reporting that buyers tend to spend twice as much time at a site if the language is their own.11 In-language sites mean that the potential buyer can drill down deeper into the site, gathering more information about your product offerings from posted collateral, product reviews, and testimonials.
The same market studies showed that these better-informed business buyers are three to four times more likely to buy if they are addressed in their own language. How did they come to these conclusions? Some early adopters knew that they would have to demonstrate the return on their translation investment, so some instrumented their sites with data collection software to compare the buying behaviors of users with and without translated text. Others conducted primary research with focus groups.