The Poetry Portal Net

I’m of the belief that anything, when done in moderation, is just fine, so long as it does not infringe on the rights of others or hurt other people in any way. This includes poker, especially if it’s being done for charity.

So you can imagine my dismay today when I read a PokerNews brief about some firemen in West Virginia who got in some serious trouble over a few poker fundraisers they held to, well, raise money.

Authorities say the poker tournaments the poker tournaments the Westmorland Seward Volunteer Fire Company organized are illegal, and now the law is coming down on them.

The fine that the West Virginia Attorney General’s office is seeking to impose on the fire house is equal to what the department raised with its charity tournaments: $40,000. The Texas Holdem tournaments were held over the course of the past year. The attorney general said that the tournaments were illegal regardless of what the purpose was, charity or not.

Now, since this was a charity, I’d argue the department wasn’t in this to make any money. It was definitely more for the fun, and the fact that it was a game many people enjoy playing pretty much any time of year, it enticed people to donate who might normally not have done so.

Enjoyment, Gambling Luck, Playing Games | No Comments »

Hall was frostbitten and severely disoriented due to altitude sickness. Bahadur Sherchan returned a hero to Calgarians. With the Chinese preparing for the impending summer Olympic Games, Andrew Brash noted that the government’s actions hardly reflected the Olympic spirit. “The Chinese weren’t allowing anybody on Chomolungma or Mount Everest. They ended up commandeering it for themselves, even though Chomolungma is shared by two countries. Bahadur Sherchan and four climbing guides reached the 29,035-foot (8,850-meters) summit of the world’s highest mountain early Sunday, said Ramesh Chretri, an official with Nepal’s ministry of tourism.

“Mt Everest this year became a political pawn,” he said with some frustration.

The Chinese were flying their airplanes over Everest and had Chinese officials in Kathmandu. Further, he was all too aware of the potential dangers Mount Everest could bring. Certain parts of the climb are more dangerous than others and it is important for climbers to remain focused Min Bahadur Sherchan last attempt resulted in the rescue of Lincoln Hall, an Australian climber who was left by his team in the “death zone.”

They flexed their muscles this year all the in name of the Olympic spirit, but it was hardly spirited at all.”

The 74-year-old man from Nepal is now the oldest person to have reached the top of the Mount Everest. Min Bahadur Sherchan returned this week from Nepal after successfully climbing to the summit of Mt Everest. Climber from Nepal, 75, oldest person to conquer the summit of Chomolungma Now that Bahadur Sherchan has successfully scaled the tallest mountain in the world, he is once again ready to focus on his family. As he planned for the climb, Sherchan told reporters he wanted to inspire fellow senior citizens. He also said many Nepalese have established records on Mount Everest, so it was only fitting that the record for the oldest climber to reach the summit should also belong to a Nepali. Therefore, the decision to actualize a long-time personal goal left Andrew Brash with some internal uncertainties, he cited the political actions of China and Nepal as providing the greatest adversity he faced on his journey. This year climber Anthony Loeff is reporting the scales for Everest after he reached the peak of Kilimanjaro earlier this year.

Sherchan just 5 days away from his 77th birthday beat the age record set last year by 71-year-old Japanese teacher Katsusuke Yanagisawa.

More than 3186 people have climbed to the summit since it was first conquered in 1953 by New Zealander Edmund Hillary, who died in January, and Nepal’s Tenzing Norgay.

They basically coerced the Nepali government to not allow any climbers past camp two on the Nepali side. His first found him within 226 metres of the peak when his team stopped to help a fellow mountaineer who was left for dead. One year later, Bahadur Sherchan, a University of Calgary alumni, returned to Chomolungma or Mount Everest to finish what he had started.

Adventures, Universe Of Sports, Hall Of Travel | No Comments »

I have been reading articles on increasing sales using search engine optimisation as well as writing them for a very long time and I have not seen many which point out the best way to increase sales.

The answer is obvious yet often overlooked; you just have to be as good to your customers as you would expect any other site owner to treat you.

The World Wide Web is vast and the choices are many, it doesn’t matter what you want you have probably got a choice of 30,000 to 3,000,000 sites to pick from.
Our customers will become repeat customers if they are provided a personal service that exceeds their expectations.

The Internet has been a boom for many people, businesses have sprung up and their owners have managed to make a living from them, some more than others.

The Internet has also taken away the contact we used to have with shop assistants, we no longer see shopping as a personal experience and I think this is a real shame.
You can’t ask questions, you can’t see the goods you are buying and you don’t get a feel for the person you are dealing with.

It is down to us, the seller, the owner, the customer service manager to provide a personal service to these people who entrust us with their hard earned cash to provide not only value for money but also a service that will leave them with a warm glow in their heart and a need to return to us for further purchases.

We will also get the benefit of the most valued advertising; FREE word of mouth recommendations are invaluable and must never be underestimated.
One person shows off their newly acquired goods and says how fabulous your site is to 2 or 3 people and then those people tell 2 or 3 people so on and on it goes.
Before soon you have loyal customer base.

Remember that it takes a long time to build a solid reputation but only one mistake to destroy it.
It takes a lot of hard work and sometimes you have to swallow your pride and say ” the customer is always right”, we all know that is not always the case but even an awkward customer has mellow moments and friends (well most of them do).

Mark White has worked in I.T. for the last 15 years and currently runs 3 websites.

http://sunspeks.com/

http://tendollardownloads.com/

http://phone-bits.com/

And administrates for http://freetraffictip.com/members

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The Department of Justice Federal Trade Commission consumer protection division is proposing new rules to protect consumers from fraudulent business opportunity scam artists. One of the biggest complaints from consumers at the Federal Trade Commission regarding business opportunities is that often the business opportunity practitioner will not refund the money that they guarantee if the buyer is not satisfied.

Often such money back guarantees are listed on brochures, web sites in the general media advertising. To combat this problem the Federal Trade Commission has proposed the following rules to help consumers from being ripped off by on ethical practitioners;

Proposed section 437.5(l): Failure to cancel or make a refund

“Proposed section 437.5(l) would prohibit a seller from failing to cancel a purchase or make a refund when the purchaser has qualified for such relief under the seller’s cancellation or refund policy. As noted above, proposed section 437.5(k) would prohibit a seller from misrepresenting, pre-sale, the seller’s cancellation or refund policy. Proposed section 437.5(l) complements that section and is intended to address sellers’ post-sale conduct, prohibiting the seller from failing to honor cancellation or refund requests when purchasers have satisfied all the terms and conditions disclosed in the seller’s basic disclosure document for obtaining such relief. In our experience, the failure of business opportunities sellers to make promised refunds or to honor cancellation policies ranks high among issues raised by business opportunity purchasers.”

Now mind you that there are many ethical practitioners in the business opportunity sector, however there is also quite a bit of fraud and that hurts the ethical practitioners. We consumers are ripped off, they are very upset, would you be? The Federal Trade Commission hopes to alleviate this problem and make it a crime to unlawfully withhold refunds that were guaranteed in the event of the cancel of the business opportunities sale. I hope you’ll think on this in 2006

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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When I talked to my physical therapist about possibly getting an electric mobility scooter (I have Periodic Paralysis and too much walking can trigger an attack), she automatically recommended a power wheelchair. “Wheelchairs are much better in-doors,” she said. “You’ll have a place to rest your arms, and all you’ll need to move to control the chair is one little joystick.” She said that most wheelchairs have better seats and are upgradeable. “Insurance will usually only pay for one chair or scooter every five years,” she said, “So you need to consider not just your current needs, but what you might need five years from now.”

So, after all that, why did I buy a scooter? My disease varies from day to day, but is not especially progressive. I need a scooter that can be with me (in the trunk of my car) at all times, rather than a chair that might one day need enough power to run a breathing machine. Since there was a good chance insurance would refuse to pay for my chair, I also need mobility equipment I could afford on my own.

At the same time, my physical therapist was absolutely right about a joystick being easier to control than handlebars, but I’m doing okay with a tiller. She was also right that wheelchairs are better than scooters for tight in-home conditions. However, since I will mostly use my scooter to avoid long walks at stores, malls and parks, in-home use isn’t a big issue for me.

My choice was a scooter. What’s the best choice for you? It depends on you, your needs, your prognosis and your budget. You need to take your time, try both and consider not just the technology, but how you are going to fit it into your lifestyle; then you’ll make the right choice for you.

About the Author
Rodney Robbins uses his little Shoprider scooter frequently. “I have to tell you,” says Rodney, “my wife isn’t too happy about having a scooter in the trunk. You see, now I can shop longer, but we don’t have anyplace to put all those packages.” To help others find the mobility products they need, without wasting their hard earned money, Rodney set up a special web site at http://wheelchairdeals.eza.biz Visitors can find deals like used lift vans for the price of a new power chair, manual chairs at half price and scooters for hundreds below suggested retail. “Click through and see for yourself,” says Rodney. “Your wallet might bite you in the seat if you don’t at least register to bid.”

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Online articles may be the single best way to get traffic to your web site. Writing articles and submitting them to free article directories is certainly one of the least expensive ways. To make it work, though, you have to be persuasive.

Maybe you wonder what persuasive writing has to do with articles. You’re not exactly selling something with an informative article, are you? Actually, you are. First, you have to persuade the reader to keep reading until he gets to your link at the bottom. Then you have to give the reader a reason to click through to your site. Use the following tips to get more traffic by writing persuasively.

Persuasive Online Articles

1. Keyword optimized headlines. “How Much Can You Make This Year?” will get more readers than “Make More Money,” but only if people find the article first. “Get Rich Writing Simple Articles,” might have been a more attention grabbing headline, but I used “Online Articles” because that is a keyword phrase that people are actually searching. Of course, if you can use good keywords AND eye-catching headlines, it is even better.

Another way to have the best of both, is to write the article twice. Firt write it with a good keyword-optimized title, and then re-write it and submit it again with a more catchy title. Paint a picture in seven words or less, if you can. “A Thousand Dollars Fell Off My Table,” might lure them in. Titles with,”10 Ways To…” or “Avoid These Six Mistakes…” or “How To…” in them, are popular too.

2. The article description. Many article directories require a description. This lets the reader know what the article is about, and hopefully convinces them to read it. Hinting at things and leaving the reader wanting more can help: “If you’re making these errors, you’re losing money every day. Learn to avoid the most common optimization mistakes.”

3. The article body. You should write in your natural style, or, if you haven’t yet developed one, stick to easy “top 10″ types of articles. Keep paragraphs short, or readers will lose interest. Hinting at incompleteness can also help to get readers to visit your site. Instaed of, “Here’s how to write articles.” Say, “Here are a few of the techniques I use to easily write new articles.” You want them looking for the other techniques - on your site.

4. Use subtitles. The use of subtitles and headings breaks up an article, making it easier to read. Subtitles also help to optimize an article for search engines, if they contain good keywords. You’ll notice I often use subtitles, like the one coming up…

Online Articles - The Resource Box

You write online articles to get traffic, which you get from the link in the author’s resource box - if the reader clicks on it. Invite them to do so, and never just put your name, acheievements, and a link. At the very least say “To learn more, visit…” or something similar.

My most successful resource box is for my real estate site. It reads, “Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To get a free real estate investing course, and see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com” The resource box is what online articles are all about. Below, you’ll find an another one that has worked well for me.

Steve Gillman didn’t even know what HTML was when he registered his first domain name. Soon afterwards, he was making a good living online. To learn how you can do the same, visit www.TenMoney.com

Hard Cash Poetry Contest | No Comments »

Public Devotion and Image

Associates of the Royal Family participate in many hundreds of royal appointments monthly, throughout the United Kingdom, as officially recorded in the Court Circular, to respect, promote and learn about the successes or goings-on of individuals, organisations & companies in a range of sections of life. As representatives of the sovereign, they regularly connect with the public in remembering past occasions, festivals, celebratory and terrible incidences and frequently she also funds or joins in hundreds of generous, artistic & social activities.

Their vacations abroad on behalf of the UK (called State Trips when the sovereign publicly sees other heads of state) brings public notice to amicable relations within and between the Commonwealth and other nations, to British commodities & trade, and to Britain as a historical, vacation, & holiday location. Their current duties & conventional positions makes up the peak of an up to date “royal court,” & endow a uniquely British & historical show to official procedures (I.e. Trooping the Colour) & flavour to public proceedings (e.g. State Parties, Ascot).

All through their lives they draw a huge amount of media attention in the way of picture, written and broadcasted commentary about their activities, family associations, means of passage, characters, garments, behaviour, and public duties. For details about the Royal Family History, visit the Enjoy England website.

Financial Backing

Funds that help the Monarch in the exercise of her duties as the leader of state of the United Kingdom comes from the Civil List. This is a return of a tiny part of the income from the Crown Lands that are provided by the sovereign to parliament at the beginning of every reign; all Crown Land being overseen by The Crown Estates, a foundation that is completely responsible to parliament. In the two thousand and three-four financial year, the sum presented was one-hundred and seventy six million pounds, where the Queen’s payments was merely thirty six million pounds. The Head of State’s payments doesn’t encompass the outlay of security.

Hall Of Travel | No Comments »

How many hours per day should you devote to your internet business? We’ve all seen the ads trying to tell us that we can make millions in no time by doing nothing if we just sign up for XXX. We probably also recognize by now that this is nonsense. If you truly want to build an internet-based business that can improve your life, you will have to invest some time in doing so. It need not be a lot of time. Many of the available online business programs allow you to build a business with truly impressive profits in as little as two hours a day. Of course, you can build the business more quickly if you spend more hours per dayup to a point!

Logically, you should be able to build your business twice as fast at four hours per day as you can at two hours per day. My own experience, like that of others whose opinions I value, does not necessarily support that. I find that after the first two or three hours of sitting in front of my computer, my productivity falls rapidly. Your span may be different, but the bottom line is the same: Two hours of work produces two hours’ worth of results, regardless of how many more hours you spend looking at what you’ve accomplished.

The times of day that you choose to devote to your business may also be important. I personally know at least one man who conducted nearly all his business after his family had gone to bed for the night, between eleven at night and two in the morning. This man currently has an online business making more money each month than I would have ever made in a year as an employee of the company I used to work for. For myself, I have to revisit the thought of efficiency. I just don’t get much done in an hour of working after < ?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />midnight. I find that the best hours are shortly after dinner, when the daily demands on my attention have been met, and I’m not yet too tired. You may, of course, choose whatever hours work best for youafter all, that’s why you’re building your own business! Whatever times you choose, be consistent! You must choose your time frame, and give your best for that timeevery day of every week!

Depending on the daily structure of your life, it might be necessary to divide the hours you spend each day on your business. This is not a problem as long as you’re consistent. Indeed, sometimes it may be helpful to designate segments of your business time to different operations. You may find it useful, for example, to spend an hour in the morning answering email and phone messages and generally dealing with your business contacts. Then in the evening you could spend an hour, or two if you have it and can honestly make use of it, in such things as advertising your business, determining your best business sources, and generally doing whatever it is that causes your business to be better this month than it was last month.

In closing, allow me to restate what is probably the most important single piece of advice I have ever given: you gotta be consistent if you want to be successful. Whether you give one hour per day or eight hours per day to your business, you have to give it that every day, day in and day out. If you honestly do that, you will find that you have a successful business far more quickly than anyone would ever have imagined!

Looking forward to your success,

–John Pryor, the Home Biz Advisor

John Pryor publishes Home Business Tips, a fresh and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people like YOU! If you’re looking for the *best rated* home business opportunities, the latest time saving tools and helpful support from an honest friend in the business, come by and grab a F-R-E-E subscription today by e-mail at sfiinternet@getresponse.com, or click on the appropriate icon at http://www.sfiinternet.com

Hard Cash Poetry Contest | No Comments »

To do is to know
If you do not know
And do not know
That you do not know
You may live
Never to know
If live
Never to know
You should know
Never to live
If you live
You must know!
“Black Ideas”

Please, note that “Black Ideas” is my poetic pen name; therefore, any poem you see with that name beneath it is my original composition.

Thanks

2 BE USEFUL

If you cannot be the sun
To cast light,
You can be the moon
To reflect light;

If you cannot be the sea
To float a ship,
You can be a river
To carry a cannoe;

If you cannot be a forest
To produce timber,
You can be a bush
To provide herbs;

If you cannot be the grass
To feed a cow,
You can be a worm
To nourish a sparrow;

No matter your station in life,
You can always be useful
So, be USEFUL!
(Black Ideas)

3) IF I WERE A BRIDEGROOM

If I were a bridegroom
I will take my brige to Eden.
When we land in the garden,
I would protect my lover
From the danger that’s hidden.
I would warn my bride
Of all that’s never to be taken
The fruit that is forbidden
Is never to be eaten
So that my lover
Is never to be beaten.

However, if by mistake,
My lover is fallen,
I will endeavour
To pray for her pardon

Whenever, her error is ever forgiven,
We shall move to the kingdom on the moon.
There shall I count some days up to seven,
Then shall I invite some angels of heaven;
For, they and only they shall
Witness our wedding.

Now, as an ordained bridegroom,
I shall lead my blessed bride to a room.
There shall I present my rose
From the garden,
Then shall my lover offer
Her honey from Eden!
(Black Ideas)

My full names are Mawutodzi Kodzo Abissath
I am a Ghanaian journalist, writer and poet. I am a graduate of the Ghana Institute of Journalism. I was born over 40 years ago , Accra, Ghana. I am currently working with Information Services Department of the Ministry of Information in Accra. I am the Information Manager of the Government of Ghana Website http://www.ghana.gov.gh

In April 2002 I underwent a training course in International Relations at l’ENA (Ecole nationale d’Administration in Paris, France. My area of specialty was “Communication Diplomacy”

In July 2004 I participated in a short training course in “E-Government Strategy” at the Nayang Polytechnic in Singapore.

I am the author of a book titled: “Friends of Tomorrow-Poems for Young children” published in 1994 in Ghana.

I am also a co-author of a book titled: “Traditional Wisdom in African Proverbs”published in 2004 in Ghana.

I am a freelance journalist as well and I have published over 400 articles in both local and foreign media in French and English

Arts + Artisans | No Comments »

Adjustable rate mortgages can be very different than fixed rate mortgages.
Sometimes people can use these terms interchangeably in casual conversation.
A loan that is “fixed” for 5 years and then becomes adjustable after that can be called:

-a 5 year ARM (adjustable rate mortgage)

-or a “5 year fixed” by someone else

The traditional mortgage loan was the 30 year fixed loan. The rate on the loan did not change at all over the course of its 30 year term. The interest rate on day 1 was the same as the interest rate on the last day.

This kind of loan gives you the security of a predictable payment.

There are traditionally two drawbacks to a fixed rate loan: higher rates and the fact that people move.
A 30 year fixed loan generally has a higher rate than a 1 year fixed loan. The longer a loan is fixed for, in general the higher the interest rate. In recent years the difference between these rates has narrowed a lot to where they aren’t that different at all.

The second drawback is that people with a 30 year fixed are unlikely to live in the same property for 30 years. When they move they will need a new mortgage, and they will have to get what the prevailing mortgage rates are when they apply. It is usually not possible to have a mortgage that is portable and can be moved from one property to another. So when you get a 30 year fixed, remember that unless you stay put in that property for 30 years you will likely have another mortgage in the future at a different rate.

Adjustable Rate Mortgages Explained

An adjustable rate mortgage generally behaves in the following way:

-it is fixed for some initial period (it can be for 1 month, 5 years, etc.)
 -after the rate stops being fixed the loan then becomes "adjustable"
 -it usually adjusts according to an "index" which is published by a third party, such as the LIBOR index
 -the rate is usually the index plus a "margin" which is the lender's profit
 -as the index rises, your rates will rise with it
 -as the index lowers, your rates should fall with it
 -the interest rate can change at a timed interval - it can change once a month, once every 3 months, once a year, etc.
 -each time the loan changes there can be a "cap" that defines the maximum change allowed each time the interest rate changes
 -there usually is also a lifetime cap to protect you from spikes in interest rates - this is a form of protection

Why People Use Adjustable Rate Mortgages

Adjustable rate mortgages are usually used by people for the following reasons:

-the mortgage rates are generally lower for adjustable rate mortgages than for fixed rate loans

-people who expect to be in a property for a relatively short time frame - if you’re going to live somewhere for 2 years, than a loan that is fixed only for 5 years may work for you

The Real Estate Brokers Way | No Comments »