Category Archives: diversions

Groupon: A Useful Site for Frugal Shoppers

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If you’re interested in finding good deals as I am, then you should check out the latest trend in frugal shopping. It’s called group-buying, an activity that has been around for a while certainly, but which is now really popular due to social networking sites that focus especially on making deals available to many consumers at once.



These sites essentially use the leverage of lots of consumers to create good deals. The most popular site that uses the power of group-buying is called Groupon. To give you an idea as to how popular it is, consider this: Google just tried to buy Groupon for nearly 6 billion dollars, according to Forbes, but the Groupon folks turned down their offer! You know if Google is interested, then it’s big.

If you’re unfamiliar with Groupon, here’s how it works. The site contracts with businesses in cities to offer a special group discount to everyone who buys through Groupon. Groupon only offers one deal a day, so users have to wait for the next day if they don’t like the current deal. Also, Groupon uses a pledge system that essentially holds the discount coupon from consumers until a minimum number of people have pledged to purchase the product or service. Once that minimum is reached, the site charges its users and releases the coupon so everyone who purchased it can print it out. By having a required minimum number of sales, Groupon can protect retailers and businesses from losing money. Groupon earns income by taking a cut of the transaction.

So how does Groupon help you? Well, if you take a moment to browse the site, you’ll see that many of these deals are huge discounts. It’s common to see discounts for up to fifty percent off of a product or service. Also, Groupon can help you out because the site often partners with local businesses, so you can take advantage of great savings in your area. For how complicated the entire operation seems, the actual Groupon service itself is really simple: you decide if you want the discount, pledge your payment, then wait to print out the coupon.

Of course, there are a few disadvantages to the service that you’ll want to be aware of. For example, Groupon serves many cities; however, it might not serve your specific city. In that case, you could always look for competitor’s sites. But, with the recent move by Google, we might expect Groupon to significantly expand its area of operation. Another problem with Groupon is that it has been criticized for actually taking advantage of the power of group buying to negative effects on retailers. The Gap lost, according to Mashable, nearly $7.5 million during a nationwide promotional sale through Groupon. Other retailers, such as Posie’s Café in Oregon, have also reported losses, especially because Groupon does not put a cap on purchases.

Groupon is a great resource for frugal shoppers, certainly, but it can also have its problems. If you’re interested in the service, give it a try, but also do some more research to see if it’s right for you. Remember, frugal shoppers are still a part of a community, especially if they patronize local businesses. Spending your money wisely is the hallmark of a frugal shopper.

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This guest post is contributed by Barbara Jolie, who writes on the topics of online classes.  She welcomes your comments at her email Id: [email protected]

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Tips on Making Your Senior Home Office Alive And Green

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This is a guest post by Lloyd Burrell of officedeskreviews.com, an office desk website that knows the value of going green.

One of the joys of maturity is being able to spend more time in the garden, right? No occupation is as delightful as the culture of the Earth, agreed? So much for the stereotypes.

But what if you’re a senior with blue on your fingers from using your pen instead of green from caressing the plants? In these difficult economic times many seniors find themselves sitting behind a desk in a home office simply because they do not have the financial means to do otherwise, whereas for others they spend their days sat in their office through choice. For some it may be a place to get away from a nagging spouse!

Whatever your reasons are for spending time in your home office it is important that you consider your working office space to be part of the Earth. Living plants are vital to the health and wellbeing and survival of our earth.  Making sure your office is alive and green can do much to improve your personal well-being. Here are some tips and some points to consider….

Light and Food For Your Office Plants

What lighting do you have in your office? Do you have any windows where plants could be placed? Is there an area where special plant growing bulbs could be installed?

There are many species of plants out there and shade loving ones that usually grow in the wild under a rainforest canopy, will do well. There has to be some light, though, whether real or manmade.

How much space do you have where plants could sit fairly undisturbed? Who will water the plants (be sure not to over water) and fertilize them and sing to them? Plants respond to sounds. Scientists have determined that classical music works best. This also applies to humans (except teenagers). If you don’t have the time or inclination, there are plant services that will take care of the work for you.

Specific Plants for Certain Purposes

  • Oxygen Provider — A broadleaf plant like Areca Palm or Dracaena. These types of plants can also remove chemicals from the air.
  • Room Brighteners — Plants with flowers or variegated leaves. These usually need more light than darker green leaved plants.
  • Budgets — The rarer the plant or the more maintenance it needs, the more costly it will be.
  • Knowledge of Plants — How much do you know? Research a few plants and what they will look like when grown. Buy a ficus and it will become a tree. You don’t want your office space taken over, just enhanced.
  • Exotics and Their Purpose — Plants exist, because they just are. But, what about gorgeous orchids or Bonsai trees? If you think that their needs are too complicated, then try a sturdy Philodendron or Pothos, even a Creeping Charlie.

If you feel the need to obtain some expert advice then the local home improvement or hardware store experts can help. You can even try nurseries. They’re good with plants. Buying plants with a specific purpose in mind, can get complicated, but it needn’t be overblown.

Here are a few more things to look for:

  • Buy healthy looking plants from a local farmer’s market or nursery. You can usually tell if the plant is healthy, merely by looking at it. Another indication is that there may be brown leaves on it, which show either poor nutrition, or lack of water or light, or even that the plant is on its way out.
  • If you buy a few plants online, then look for a guarantee in case the plants are dead when they arrive. Plants sent by mail are usually in their infancy, so to speak. They will need time to grow. This could be an advantage as it would give them time to acclimatize to your office
  • The two best plants for cleaning your air of chemical pollutants are Peace Lily and Areca Palm. This could really help if your office and flooring and paint on the walls are full of VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds).
  • Rubber Plants, Ficus trees, English Ivy and Boston Ferns, Spider Plants and Moth Orchids are a few most recommended air cleaners. They also look pretty. Ficus trees shed their leaves every now and then (just a few) so don’t be alarmed. It’s only if you arrive back at the office the next day and suddenly all of the leaves have fallen off, that you need to worry.

Office Plants Need Special Consideration

If office space is tight but your office furniture is a large computer desk, then place a potted plant in one corner. A proper desk lamp could provide enough light.

office desk reviews

Because plants need water to survive, you have to provide a strong and waterproof tray under them so that your furniture and carpets and flooring are protected. If the pot that the plant is in doesn’t have any holes in the bottom, then make one or two. Undrained plants can soon rot and they are very smelly. That defeats the purpose of cleaning your air, doesn’t it? Make sure that the plant tray is deep enough and that water doesn’t sit in the bottom. That can also be extremely odorous.

Above all else, have fun with plants. Despite their apparent lack of responsiveness, they really do interact in many ways with the people they live amongst. Treat them right, and they will return the favour. It’s never too late to get some green on your fingers!

About the Author

Former accountant and auditor in the city of London, Lloyd Burrell is the publisher of OfficeDeskReviews.com where he reviews a variety of desks ranging from office reception desks to more sophisticated executive office desk furniture. He may have let some plants die in his past due to lack of care but because of his two children and his cat, Lloyd has grown to become much more aware of his environment, both in the office and out in the world. He knows that plants feed us and inspire us but now he also knows how they can help shape our future earth.

After all, they are the "green" in greening. Lloyd likes to play the guitar in his spare time. His houseplants seem to appreciate the music, and can be seen now and then, moving their leaves to the soft guitar chords — but only when they think no one is looking or is it possible that that breeze coming in through the window is the cause?

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The Senior Home Office For Financial Success

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This is a guest post by Lloyd Burrell of officedeskreviews.com, an office desk website that reveals the secrets of home office organization.


From my time as company auditor I observed that very often companies that had the best financial systems and internal organization in place were very often also the most successful. Well it is my firm belief that in the realm of personal finance the same applies.

You don’t need me to tell you that it’s not because you’re a senior that all of a sudden the paperwork stops. For many of you being a senior could mean quite the contrary, it could mean a second lease of life with a home office business.

Whether you are running a home office business or just wanting to get your domestic paperwork under control you can make your home office perfectly meet your needs with the following simple strategies.

The Home Office Circle of Influence

contemporary desk

Start by focusing on the physical area within arms’ reach.

At a minimum, this will include your desk, your chair and your computer. This is your immediate circle of influence, and the way that you organize and furnish this space will go a long way toward determining how productive you will be in your home office.

First, you must be comfortable. Simply put, you will be more likely to actually get things done when you are ergonomically able to work for long, focused periods of time without discomfort.

Make sure that your desktop is at a good height, and that the placement of your computer allows you to reach the keyboard and view the screen without hunching down. To avoid back pain, your chin should be level or even angled slightly upward while you type.

Whether you use a laptop or desktop computer, you’ll find a variety of desk designs exist to accommodate your specific needs. Look at Bush Furniture desks for a good example of the options available, including desks with ample leg room and raised monitor shelves to help you achieve a comfortable position while you work.

Your choice of office chair also influences your ability to stay focused while working. Whether it’s a simple task chair or a leather executive style seat, be sure that it offers the back support and height adjustment that you need. If you choose an office chair with arms, be sure to consider its fit with your desk: can you sit close enough to your desktop when the chair is adjusted to the necessary height, or do the arms interfere with your ability to pull close to the desk?

Access To Your Home Office Productivity Tools

Next, what do you need to have on hand?

Depending on the type of work you do at home, you may need frequent access to files, reference material, pens, paperclips, a phone, or more specialized office equipment. Whatever the answer is for you, make sure that you organize your home office so that the necessary items are readily available.

Many items may be stored in or on your desk, but do look for a desk and other office furniture that will allow you to store most items off of your actual desktop. Maintaining an open, clutter-free work space will be a practical and psychological aid to getting things done in your home office.

In addition to the desk itself, you can set up easy access to the items you need with file cabinets, supply caddies and bookshelves placed either under the desk or within reach of it. Don’t overlook wall space when designing your home office layout: shelving, file pockets and even mountable trays can be installed for easy access.

Your Home Office Space

contemporary office desk

The actual layout you choose for your home office will depend in large part on the space available. Whether you’re able to dedicate an entire room or need to carve out space from a shared living area, with a little research you’ll be able to find the office accessories you need to set up a focused work space.

When a separate room is available for your home office you’ll have the luxury of choosing whichever office furniture suits your style, needs and budget. However, there are space saving solutions that still make it very possible to work at home even when your “home office” is simply the corner of your kitchen, or half of the master bedroom.

Armoire style desks provide a dedicated work area that includes storage for office supplies. When not in use, just closing the doors allows them to seamlessly blend into the decor of a shared-use room. From compact and efficient computer desks to corner fitting L-shaped desks, you’ll find that even a limited amount of floor space can provide plenty of room to set up an organized home office.

If you’ll be meeting with clients, think about the impression that visitors will have of your business when they see where you work. Whether it’s elegant and traditional or modern and high-tech, look for a desk and matching office furniture that say what you intend about who you are. It’s easy to find quality office furniture at an affordable price by doing a bit of research online before you buy.

Whether you work at home or you just need to stay on top of your paperwork, the key to successful home office organization lies (literally) within your reach. Be sure that you invest the time to assess your needs, then do your research to find the furniture and accessories that will be the best fit.

About the author

First as an auditor and then as a holiday rental specialist, Lloyd Burrell spent many years working behind all sorts of different desks. Now he sits in front of a cherry computer desk where he edits the internet’s leading office desk website. To contact Lloyd and find your ideal desk visit officedeskreviews.com.

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Best Banks

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Having a bank is a necessity in modern-day living, but unfortunately many people are dissatisfied with the available choices.  At the start of this year Forbes listed America’s Best And Worst Banks, but it was somewhat surprising to see what they analyzed.

With Bank of America and Citigroup buoying their balance sheets and repaying billions of dollars in taxpayer bailout funds, the casual observer might assume the banking crisis is just about over. The casual observer would be wrong.  Lots of banks are going under these days. Here are the best and worst among the 100 largest.

Busted banks are still keeping the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. busy. In the past two months, 41 went under, surpassing the total of 26 for all of 2008. What’s more, by some measures bank balance sheets are in worse shape today than they were at the height of the financial crisis.

It is of course necessary that your bank will still be there when you wish to get your money.  However that is a very minimal criterion in selecting a bank.

Unfortunately reports since then indicate that on other dimensions, banks are not doing very well. One title suggested that Customer Satisfaction With the Biggest Banks Plummets.

While customer satisfaction with banks over all remained unchanged in the fourth quarter of 2009 from the year-earlier period, customer satisfaction with some of the biggest banks has declined to the lowest fourth-quarter levels in years.  The results, from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index, back up similar findings from a Forrester Research report.  This found that customers of the biggest banks in the United States were the least likely to believe their financial institution did what was best for them as opposed to what was best for the institution’s bottom line.

A report from Reuters today shows that there is no improvement: Large bank customers  are even more dissatisfied.

Some of the largest U.S. banks were ranked very low for retail customer satisfaction.  A US marketing research company study by J.D. Power and Associates implies that as some of the biggest banks get bigger, customers may not be happy.  The three biggest U.S. retail banks — JPMorgan Chase & Co’s Chase, Citigroup’s Citibank, and Bank of America Corp’s Bank of America — consistently rank at or near the bottom for customer service in the regions they serve.

This dissatisfaction with banks and the service they provide seems to be the case wherever you look.  Here are some results from the UK on how different services rank for customer satisfaction.

According to a recent survey conducted by moneysupermarket.com, it is hairdressers and hotels that that we think provide the best service. While banks and estate agents are thought to offer the worst.  Restaurants, coffee shops, garden centres, supermarkets, clothes stores and entertainment centres such as the cinema and bowling alleys all scored highly with consumers.

Here below are the results for this year.  Compared to last year’s survey it would appear that the service provided by banks has actually got worse. Banks have dropped a place in this table.

banks customer service

The industries at the bottom of the table have all traditionally suffered a bad press. Most of them – banks, energy companies, estate agents – demand hefty fees of their customers and provide necessary and essential  services, rather than luxuries.

Unfortunately the attitude in many banks may be as Tom Peters said, that “we are no worse than the others”.  If you are looking for one of the best banks, hopefully you can find one that searches for banking excellence, which includes not only safeguarding your money but also delivering a high level of customer satisfaction.

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Forever Young But Too Old To Rent A Car

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‘Forever Young’ is the kind of magazine you will be seeing more of on city streets:

LAS CRUCES – It’s about “the joy of life after 50,” and you’ll find it on local newsstands today. Forever Young is a free monthly magazine catering to area seniors. “Las Cruces is a prime retirement community.  Our senior population is large, active and ready for adventure – that’s FY’s premise.  Too many seniors’ magazines are all about the woes of old age. Not us. We’re about people enjoying the life they’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

It is all part of the changing demographics.  Seniors are living longer, they’re staying fitter and they are traveling more.  Often that can be by coach but many wish to maintain their independence and travel by automobile.  Although a small car may be adequate for traveling in your local neighborhood, something bigger is more appropriate when covering the miles.  If so seniors may be renting bigger cars or RVs for greater comfort.

rv

Even though they may be fitter and healthier than their parents, they should be aware that sometimes regulations and practices are not keeping up with the times.  For example there are often rental car age limits in Europe.  Before you commit to a driving trip in Europe, make sure all the drivers in your party conform to local requirements. Although those requirements are generally similar to what you find at home, a few may surprise you.

In several countries, some car rental companies impose maximum age limits for rentals, generally, or for rentals of some models of cars:

  • Denmark: Some rental agencies impose a maximum age of 80.
  • Slovenia: Some rental agencies impose a maximum age limit of 73, and renters ages 70 to 73 may face surcharges.
  • Czech Republic, Greece, Poland, Romania and Slovakia: Some rental agencies impose a maximum age of 70.
  • United Kingdom: Some rental agencies apply an extra fee for travelers age 70 or over; some rental agencies apply a maximum age limit of 69 on some car classes.
  • Ireland (Republic): Rental agencies bar anyone over 75 from renting a car

It’s all points to the need to carefully preplanned your trip.  For car rental you should make sure you are aware of all the suppliers who may meet your needs and seek out the car hire package that will work best for you.  You may well be ready for adventure but to enjoy that you should make sure that all your arrangements will fall into place without a hitch.

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Having Choices Avoids Depression

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One of our favorite thought leaders is in the news again. We wrote about her in an article entitled The Fewer The Better and Sheena Iyengar, an associate professor of management at Columbia University’s business school, was talking about ‘choice overload‘. The crux of the matter is that too many options will either paralyse the chooser or may mean an unsatisfactory choice is made to get out of the choice dilemma.

Now she is back in the news again with her new book, The Art Of Choosing. Particularly for seniors one of her findings is of interest. That is that no choice at all can lead to depression.


As Iyengar makes clear in a page-turning narrative that blends academic rigor with a pop culture sensibility, belief in the power of choice and a strong desire to expand choices has long been part of the American Dream. “[T]he power of choice is so great,’’ she writes, “that it becomes not merely a means to an end [i.e., reaching the best decision] but something intrinsically valuable and necessary.’’

She cites a fascinating British study that found that employees who feel less control over their work have higher levels of stress. The ability to make choices about our work and life seems to be an essential part of psychological well-being. People who perceive themselves as lacking control “are at a higher risk for depression than those who believe they have control,’’ writes Iyengar of the devastating impact of losing control over our lives.

Some advice written for lawyers as it happens may well help in such situations. Prevent Depression By Learning To Be A Satisficer Instead Of A Maximizer. That advice comes from another writer on choosing and choices. Barry Schwartz, the Dorwin Cartwright Professor at Swarthmore College, has written a marvelous book titled The Paradox of Choice: Why More is Less, which provides one solid strategy. He suggests that being a satisficer will protect you against depression while being a maximizer will increase your vulnerability to depression.

If you always yearn for the impossible dream then as Dr. Martin Seligman suggested you may find that your depression results from learned helplessness. A person who suffers from learned helplessness has formed the belief that nothing he does can overcome the challenging circumstances he faces in life or reverse the set backs that life has imposed on him. Working within the choices you have and selecting something that works for you is the very best way to avoid locking in depression.

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Google Offers Credit Card Comparisons

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Google has up till now presented free (organic) search results accompanied by sponsored results.  The credit card comparison it now offers in the UK represents a significant departure.  As is noted in the footer:

Actual rates and other information may vary. Sponsored results shown only include participating credit card issuers. When you click on a card’s “Apply Now” link, the information you entered on this page will be shared with the issuer.

This new Google initiative is drawing the inevitable adverse criticism from the competition.  Here is how Moneysupermarket.com describes the additional values it brings to such credit card comparisons:

moneysupermarket.com’s successful formula comes from helping customers find the right card for them, with the option to search the whole credit card market, whilst providing help and support, such as independent reviews, to guide the customer’s decision making process.

In this latest move Google has abandoned its successful search model which comes from showing customers a combination of whole of market results, ordered by what is most relevant, plus sponsored results based on how much the advertiser pays. In this test they are simply listing cards that are prepared to pay to advertise, regardless of whether they are a great deal for customers. We are disappointed that Google has chosen to only feature sponsored products in this solution with nothing to support customers.

As well as seeing just a fraction of the credit card market customers who use this Google tool whilst it is in trial will miss out on at least one fantastic exclusive card coming soon only to moneysupermarket.com.

Paul Carpenter has a different concern about the Google credit card comparison website:

Verticals and niches are, to me at least, all about domain expertise and experience and I rely on brand perception to tell me where to find that.  As Google races against Bing to operate in verticals like this, it will be interesting to see whether its brand will resonate outside its core function. I suspect not, and I really don’t know why the tech market is so fetishistic about this stuff. Would you buy Coke jeans, or Marlboro branded microwave meals? Brands that are malleable enough to cross boundaries are vanishingly rare – an honourable exception being Virgin, who work in everything from cruises to space travel.

Clearly this test is very different from search activities that Google has worked on in the past.  Whatever the result of this test, it has big implications for where Google will be putting its efforts.

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Watch Out For Online Scams

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Be warned that Online scams abound even on some of the most reputable websites such as Craigslist. Apparently some buyers are more interested in scamming you than in scoring a great deal.

Alan Munro posted an ad on Craigslist to sell a windsurfer board and was asked to email the prospective purchaser an invoice through PayPal. He did so and got an email that seemed to come from PayPal, saying that a remittance had been made. But since the invoice was in U.S. dollars, he was asked to pay the exchange difference before the money was released. Paypal does not send such emails and this was a scam.

Craigslist and other similar services such as Kijiji, suggest some simple rules to avoid getting taken in:

  • Ensure that all transactions take place locally with local people you can meet face to face. Go to a public place with many people around, such as a coffee shop.
  • Never send or wire money to buyers, which includes mailing cheques or using payment services such as PayPal, BidPay, Western Union or MoneyGram.

Applying just those two simple rules will ensure that you do not get taken in by these ever more prevalent scams.

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Building for Your Hobby

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With retirement, your hobby will undoubtedly take a much bigger part of your life. Where do you find the space to do it? If it is golf, perhaps you even need to buy your own golf course. Most of us require a more modest space. In this guest post, Brian A Schmidt, Publisher, PrefabMetalBuildingKits.com offers advice on The Perfect Building for Your Hobby.

Hobbies provide a special diversion from the every day humdrum of life. Young or old we are drawn to hobbies by our interest. Because our interests are so diverse, the number and types of hobbies are diverse as well.

As we grow older, we don’t necessarily become less active. We are active in different ways. We have more time to spend doing the things that we would have liked to do when we were young but were always too busy ‘living life’ or ‘making a living’.

Many of the things we are talking about are considered our hobbies.

We all have hobbies of one type or another. Maybe you collect stamps. Perhaps it’s coins that you collect. Travel is one hobby that many active people (young and old alike) enjoy. Some may simply watch sports on the Flat Screen as a pass-time.

Many of us could benefit from having a hobby building in which to ‘play’. It could be a small twelve foot by sixteen foot hobby building. It could be a large open hobby shop of one thousand, five thousand or ten thousand square feet or even more. Either way, the sooner we get our hobby building, the sooner the real fun can begin.

Imagine having a building in which you could share your fun and expertise with plenty of room to work and to entertain friends and visitors.

Hablon weaving loom

Hablon weaving loom

A hobby building can be used for any number of pastimes. Perhaps your special hobby building will be home to more than one of your hobbies. You can enjoy working on your model railroad hobby while your partner works on a weaving loom.

The first thing that may come to mind for a special building is a hobby that involves cars. Hobby car builders, car detailers, car mechanics, car customizers; yes a hobby building is perfect for any car enthusiast (including the collector). But hobby buildings are certainly not just for car enthusiasts.

Quilters for example could benefit by have a building for their hobby with large open spaces and large walls to hang the completed or semi-completed works on. Just think… all of your components could be laid out or readily available virtually at your fingertips.

Scrap-bookers would find that a nicely laid out building with lots of cupboards, drawers, bins and table space would be perfect for their hobby.

Painters through the ages have had their studios. It’s that special place where they could go to be creative and get away from the hustle and bustle of every day life. A specially designed building to suit the artist’s personality would be a boon to any artist. (And a small gallery in part of the building could prove to be lucrative!)

Woodworkers would of course greatly benefit from a building that removes the noise and dust from the home and places them in a special building designed for the intended purpose. Room for all of the equipment and tools and large open spaces for assembly… ah, perfect!

Gardeners too know what a hobby building can do for them. All of those garden tools neatly stored… Potting benches to work on in inclement weather… Winter storage for bulbs and seeds… Perhaps you would even have a little greenhouse attached.

Now here’s something that you may not have thought about. No matter what your hobby is, a purpose built structure can become a meeting place for you and your friends to get together more often; possibly even a drop-in center for other enthusiasts in your hobby. Having friends over and discussing your fascinating hobby can be a great pass-time in itself.

As I mentioned earlier, hobby buildings come in all sizes. But they can come in all shapes and materials as well. Smaller buildings can be wood framed or made from light gauge metal while larger buildings may be wood or steel framed.

Even metal buildings do not have to look like the typical “box building”. In fact there is one pre-engineered steel building that has been built for an amusement park that looks like the Titanic – complete with ice-berg! What look would suit your hobby and personality?

Many of the smaller buildings are available in kit form for the do-it-yourselfer. Anyone that has handyman type skills would be quite capable of assembling these types of hobby buildings.

Pre-fab metal building kits are fast becoming the building material of choice for larger buildings. They can be designed and engineered to have any look you like while being able to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes. These buildings are non-combustible as well. Oh yes… they also require much less maintenance than other building types.

Being non-combustible makes metal shop buildings ideal for hobbies that include soldering or welding – car related hobbies, metal artists, stained glass artists and the like.

Because metal buildings don’t rot, twist or crack and are unaffected by insects, there is much less maintenance on these building kits. That means more time for your hobby!

Let’s face it. We have worked hard all of our lives. We deserve to have a special place to enjoy our hobbies; a place where we can expand upon our talents; a place where we can invite our friends – because as you know, “There are no strangers, just friends that we have not yet met.”

Brian A Schmidt is author and publisher of Prefabmetalbuildingkits.com. His home is in a small community in Southwestern Ontario, Canada with his lovely wife Carol. Brian and Carol have three fantastic grown children and four wonderful small grandchildren. As the owner of a small construction company and construction manager for a few companies over the years he has had extensive experience in all sectors of the construction industry. These include commercial metal building kits, industrial buildings, residential buildings and institutional building. Gardening, woodworking in his hobby workshop and cruise vacationing take up his “free” time.

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Google For A Healthy Brain

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Google can save brains according to a report that Web Surfing Can Save Your Aging Brain. Researchers found that older adults who started browsing the Web experienced improved brain function after only a few days.

Dr. Gary Small, a psychiatry professor at the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the author of iBrain. said that after just a week of practice searching, there was a much greater extent of activity particularly in the areas of the brain that make decisions, the thinking brain.

Further details of the research can be found in the paper, “Neural activation patterns in older adults following Internet training” by TD Moody, H Gaddipati, GW Small, SY Bookheimer.

In short, for older people with minimal experience, performing Internet searches for even a relatively short period of time can change brain activity patterns and enhance function. As people live increasingly long lives, such research findings are of critical importance in ensuring that the quality of life is maintained as much as possible.

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