my hobby

A hobby and investment

2008-07-31T01:15:00.000-07:00

For the love of keeping antique furniture, lamps and clocks as a hobby and investment can one makes a lot of money. I had a brother who keeps every things that he thinks can makes money in future. He started to collect all junks and antique items when he start works in a heritage shops. He started to collect old clock and repair it to make it works. With a little touch up and polish the anti clock is put up for sales. If he news any people who wanted to parts their old items, he will be there.

Today he owes three shops selling all junks and antique items. I remember one old father clock which he brought for a few hundred from his friends who is moving oversea. He sold to a family for ten thousand with a little touch up. Today's if you are an antique collectors you are consider a very rich person as antique are very expensive items nowadays.

Kepping antiques as a hobby

2008-05-13T22:15:00.000-07:00

Most people had a hobby in one way of another and it is some kind of hobby which they can do during their spare time. Some people take the hobby for enjoyment while some take it for fun and some take it to earn money in the near future. Hobby can comes from indoors such as reading books, gardening or games of chess or manjong at home. Out doors hobby such as fishing, playing various sports. Hobby that can generated money are keeping antiques, junk or keeping old coins.

I had a friends who father hobby is keeping all antiques things and products, things that is very old that will cause you a large sum of money to purchase. Since they live in quite a big house, most of his antiques are kept in a room of itself and some are displaying at the main hall. After his father death, he follow his footstep by keeping antiques as a hobby.

Todays he is a millionaire just selling most of the antique that he save and everyday you can see many visitors visiting his stores or his old house. He even decorated his old house as a antique house with all the door, window, bedroom, hall, kitchen and even toilet with antiques products. His hobby today is just selling and buying antiques products.

My hobby into my business

2008-03-17T03:10:00.000-07:00

Everybody has a hobby sometimes a hobby can turn into a money generating business. During my young time my hobby is keeping stamps and playing badminton but my brother hobby is collecting old clock, chair and tables or anything in which he find it beautiful to keep. As he has not much capital at that time he will collected anythings he will pick and asked from the owners who wanted to parts with the items when their moved place.

Today he is in a business of selling anti furniture and equipment. He started selling all anti products that he pick at that time and buying anti at a reasonable price and selling to his customer at a good prices. He nows owns a few shops selling all anti products and most of his buyers are anti lovers. I am now working for him at one of his anti shop. Wow a hobby can turned you into a business man and makes you a rich man.

My hobby turn into business

2007-11-28T21:40:00.000-08:00

Hobby can make you rich but you still had to invest with some money. I had a brother whose hobby and my hobby is quite the same. We like to collect any antique items from furniture to crockeries, old clocks and any things that we find it worth to keep. We start our hobby when we are around the age of teen. We both are inspire by the beauty alter tables and a set of old mother pearl chairs and tables, some very old and colourful crockeries, and manys items which is left from my great grandmother to my mothers and wanted to sell it because she said it occupied my space at home and also many items are not in used. We did not want her to sell the items so we build a small store room house at the back of our house compounds.

Years back we both start to venture into this business by buying old antique items at a very reasonable prise and sold it at a better prise. Few years back we both decided to call our hobby a stop as our house is taken back by ournew landlords. We decided to sold our items at a discounts prise and within a month all our items are gone and we make quite a lumb sum of money that we could open other business. It was wise to choose this as my hobby.

My new hobby doing bloks

2007-09-21T02:48:00.000-07:00

When I left my company at the age of fifty six, I was so happy that I had many free time in my life to come but after a month a find it very dull as time is very hard to past and most of the time I will be alone at home watching television, series movies or listining to music. After a month I went out and throught internet to search for a hobby to past my time and lastly I joint Patric Chan from Awesome learning and he teaches me a lots.

Now I had a new hobby doing bloks which I find very intresting not only that I earn some pocket money but My english and my spelling improved alot. Beside this I learned many things from the internet and others things from other searchs. Now my hobby is doing blok whenever I have the time to do. When doing bloks times flies. I like to thanks patric Chan for giving me so many knowledge and giving me a new hobby.

My hobby cooking from my early age

2007-07-23T02:46:00.000-07:00

Cooking is one of my hobby, During my early age I would help my mothers in the kitchen and would ask her what the incredents she put to make the food taste so nice. During weekends I will follow her to the markets to buy food to cook at home for lunch and dinner. After a few years I master myself in cooking and I will cooked for the family during school holidays.

I left school when I was eighteen of age and went to Join a five star at a chinese restaurant as a kitchen helper. After a year over, the chef teaches me how to cook a simple chinese dishes and how to make tim sum. I get along very well with the tops three cooks and I learned most of the skills from them, like food crafting, food presantation and most of the cooking skill thats me six to seven years from them.

I left the hotels and joined another hotels, there I pick a few skill from the Hong Kong chef. I then prusue futher by travelling and joining others big hotels in others countries. After thirty years in food line, I wrote a few books about Asian food I comes out with my food food recipt. Next year I thought of opening my own cooking class lesson for those who like Asian food.

Scruba diving my hobby

2007-06-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a hobby in life, my favourite hobby is scuba diving which is quite a expensive hobby and besides you needs to have some friends who has the same hobby like you to make your hobby and holiday more fun and intresting. If you are Malaysian people the best place to had your scruba diving is in sabah, the place refer as Pulau Sipadan which has been rated as the top ten diving spots in the world. Others place are pulau Renang in Trengganu.

Last month a groups of our scruba diving friends make a trips to Pulau Sipadan. We planned for three stays at the hotels there and a friends over there to guide us to the best location for our scruba diving. While I am no expert in underwater photography I took with me a Nikonos V underwater camera. The picture I took was not bad as a amature.

The Islands was very cosy and the beach was very beautiful with a few of tourist resting on the beach and swimming. During night we had a few glass of beer at the bar and listening to music

Fishing my hobby in Machap dam

2007-05-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

Fishing can be a hobby to many persons. I only started my hobby with fishing after my retirement a years ago. It was recommened by my friends who like fishing very much who introduce me to a place in Machap dam in Malacca. The dam is a very popular fishing destination for the locals villages people and people from others town and city. During weekends you can see hundreds or even thousand throng to the manchap dam with group of familys and friends.

Besides being a great fishing sports, the dam is beautiful of its colourful lottus flower and the cool breeze through the days. The dam is more then three kilomiles with beautiful surroundings and its attracted and inviting anglers and people to camp out by the lakeside over the weekends.

The place is very peaceful and till today the surrounding is unspoilt. There are many kinds and types of fish, small and big and many good spots where you can do your fishing. Taking fishing as my hobby as a passing time and also a place where I can sit and relax myself with my wife and friends.

Junk collecter as a hobby

2007-04-15T23:21:00.000-07:00

I had a friend who started his hobby as a junk collected when we are thirteen years of age. Whenever we go walking or cycling around our area when he sees a broken children bicycle, anti clock or anythings that he find is worth well to collected near the dustbin, he will dig and take it home. We will laugh at him and some of his friends do not want to mixed with him saying he is dirty. Even his parents will scold him whenever he carries all the dirty junks back, luckly his house is big and had a big compound to storage his junk items.

Starting of with a hobby today he is a big boss with a few company of his own. He started of with selling all the anti clock, anti chairs and even anti cupboard and bed to people who are intresting in antis. He makes alots of money selling this items, he brought a shop and decorated with anti doors, windows and make it nyonya restaurant selling nyonya food. Two shops selling anti goods and two shop selling and buying scape metals and junks goods.

Recendy he open a motor bike shops selling new bikes. Whenever we groups together to had a chit chap with cups of chinese tea, he will always said a hobby has make him rich. Without a junk collecter as a hobby he do not know what will he be today.

Barbie dolls as a hobby

2007-03-08T23:36:00.000-08:00

Hobby comes in many styles and everyone has a hobby in his life. My hobby is playing soccer when I was at the early teens and now my daugther hobby is buying and displaying barbie dolls whenever a new model is out in the towns and its cost be a one hundred dollars every month to buy her new toys. When birthday arrived she will be present with barbie dolls and its dress and toys.

Now she is in the high school she still value her toys. Buying a glass cabinet to displays all her toys in her bedrooms and locked it up as she knows I give aways some of hers toys to other small children.

Hobby can turn to business

2007-01-31T22:54:00.000-08:00

Hobby comes in many diffrence ways. Some hobby are very expensive to follows, while some have no value but the beautiful of collecting it and some will have the value in the future. My hobby is collecting first days cover when I was very young but stop it as I can't affort to buy when a news covers comes out.

I have a friend of mine who likes to keeps junks things as a hobby when he was young. He would travelled with his bike to collect old clock and things which he thing worth to keep. His busy days is always near chinese new year when people start to throw unuse and old things. Now he is owning a antique shop and a junks shop.

Word puzzles my hobby

2006-11-19T22:28:00.000-08:00

Everone has a hobby in his life time. My hobby is joining word puzzles. My first birthday present when I was in primary school at the age of eight my father brought me a cartoon word puzzles of 100 pieces of Tom and Jerry and I ask me to fix with a little help from them. After school and after my lunch and school works i will start to fix the puzzles, it takes me half a month to finish my frist word puzzles. I started to presuade my parent to buy me another one. This time they brought me snow white and seven dwaft.

When I started to works and with my first salary I spent most of the money shopping in big complex in night market and in shopping street buying beautiful word puzzles and fixed them when I am free. Today i had already fixed more then a thousand word puzzles. I will frame the puzzles and hanged up in the room, hall and even in kitchen. Some I present to friends and relatives on house warming and most of them I sell it with beautiful design frame to people so to cover the cost for my hobby.

Flower photography my hobby

2006-10-26T01:28:00.000-07:00

Flower photography is one of my hobby. I started it as a hobby for fun a few years back as amateur photographer but till today I am still a amateur photographer. I decided to invest in buying a digital camera and a couple of extra lenses. Since then, I have taken more than few hundreds pictures of flowers. I like used tripod camera to take flower pictures as its keeps the camera the level while you taking the pictures and will see a good shot out of it.

During holidays I would traveller to many places in my state, the hills, garden or any place where I can take picture of flowers as a hobby. I can spend as many as ten hours just taking flowers. My favourite flowers are orchids, roses, lotus and some wild flowers. Taking this picture you need the right lens to get it right. Even for vacation I will mostly focus on taking flower but not much on scenery.

At present I had a lots of photo album at home which I am very proud of it when every my friends or relatives visit our home I show my flower collection to them. I even frame it on the wall of my home so I can admire it and gives me the memory of places I took the pictures. I even sell some of my collection to friends to cover the cost of my hobby.

My hobby collecting old and world coin

2006-10-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a hobby in his life time. Some hobby are just for fun as following though his friend do, some are investing with money later on. Other might decorated thier home, cars or garden. My hobby is coin collecting.

There are many ways to coin collecting as you find in many books authored by coin collector experts. In addition to guidance on terminology these books also provide valuable information coin collecting. There are many books on the market, book stores that target the veteran coin collector as this hobby continues to grow and there is always new information that can be valuable to these individuals.

Many magazines is another way to learn about coin collecting. These magazines always have up to date information and are great resources for those wishing to learn about the field of coin collecting they also features some of the antique coin, Coin of the World, Coin Connoisseur and Coin Value.

Gambling as a hobby

2006-09-28T01:22:00.000-07:00

I have been gambling since around the age of ten. Following my mother everywhere she goes watching her playing manjong and cards after school. She will ask me to play frist if she is busy and I always win cause I got gambing luck. I started to collected cards, chinese four colours cards, manjong set if the owner wanted to trow it away. I will polish and engraved it into new. I see it as my hobby and really enjoy it.
At the age of sixteen follow my father to horse raceing, even my parents is gone. I still go horse raceing, playing cards and manjong on the tables until today. I think gambling is my passion and my hobby but luck are not so sweet today. My advice don't take gambling as a hobby.

collecting stamps

2006-09-19T02:41:00.000-07:00

My hobby is collecting stamp. It is also one of the most popular hobbies among children. Children can enjoy this pastime because it is not an expensive hobby. I started collecting stamps since I was in primary school. My hobby began through the influence of my few classmate who started collecting and exchanging.

I got my father, relatives and friends for letters with stamps and started keeping in a box. One day I brought my frist stamp album with my pocket money that I saved and then I started exchanging stamp with my classmate. I kept my first stamp album in beautiful boxes. After a few months i brought my first, first days cover.

my hobby : Joy of Collecting Autographed Books

2006-09-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

There is something about an autograph that excites me to no end.

It's almost like holding life pulse of the person who created that signature with his or her own hand.

When I look at the glorious imperfections of a signature I immediately feel a strange connection between the hand that created that signal and myself.

It is almost like a bridge is erected instantly between the past and the present and something moves across.

The feeling is especially strong if the signature belongs to the author of the book that I'm holding in my hands.

Writing a book is tough.

Although I've written probably thousands of articles in my life I still haven't written a single book because I did not have the discipline, desire and monetary incentive to write one.

Thus I have a lot of respect for anyone who writes a book.

That's why my principal sentiment in holding a book in my hands has always been one of GREAT REVERENCE.

And that's also why I always had a very hard time in parting with my old books even when I was sure I'd never read them again.

Autographed books always make me feel like I am being treated to a privileged meeting with the author.

And when I discovered that some autographed books also brought a lot of cash in the market, I'll be honest with you, that did not make me feel any worse either.

Today I cherish the small collection of autographed books I have in my library, some of which have really interesting stories behind them.

Perhaps the strangest of them all is one that I got for FREE, by rescuing it from the trash bin of a public library! (It is 100% true.)

One day as I was visiting a public library not too far away from my home I saw librarians throwing away large stacks of withdrawn books into the dumpster. When I asked if I could take a peek, they told me I was free to help myself to any that I liked.

And guess what did I find after a few minutes of pecking my way through the heap? An interesting book on wines and wineries. Hmmm...

When I opened the book, I was really shocked because it was autographed, with an inscription scribbled for a friend, by none other than Baron Philip Rothschild of Bordeaux, France! Lord -- what are chances of that ever happening again?!

I have another book in my collection about Wendy's fast food empire and written by its founder Dave Thomas.

I've bought it for only 50 cents at a book sale when I noticed that there was a handwritten inscription inside, addressed to someone addressed as a “son,” and then signed simply as “Dave”!

To this date I'm almost sure this is the handwriting of Wendy's founder Dave Thomas who died in 2002. I'd love to verify that for sure some day.

I thought about the strange predicament of the book that a very important business leader has signed for someone that he obviously cared a great deal about.

And that someone, somehow, gave this precious book away to the library.

What happened in between? Who knows. Perhaps it's a story longer and sadder than I ever need to know. But I'm keeping “Dave's book” with me till I die for sure. Dave, it's in good hands now.

I have a dozen other similar stories about the autographed books I've collected over the years, some for free, and some for just a few bucks.

If you love books and autographs, the next time you are at a yard or book sale, just look carefully inside them volumes. You may go back home with a precious gem to warm your heart and illuminate your mind for years to come.
my hobby

By Ugur Akinci

my hobby : A Young Mans Passion For Metal

2006-09-11T21:56:00.000-07:00

Metal is wonderful stuff isn't it, you can bend & twist it into all kinds of shapes, you can draw it with dies, cut, drill, and mill & turn it, weld it, and off course melt it and pour the molten metal into moulds of all kinds.

There are few other materials where you can do all of the above, and I've probably omitted some of the metal forming/shaping operations.

Have you had a life long passion with metal?

I know many people who have, generally the passion for metal can start from a very young age, especially if you once had a father or grandfather who introduced you to the blacksmith forge, this simple piece of equipment is always a total source of fascination, especially the way it could build so much heat using a simple fuel such as charcoal and air blast created with the hand operated bellows.

My guess is that many people must feel this way about metal, otherwise you wouldn't be doing what you're doing right now in your workshop. Just the other day I exchanged a few emails on an Australian based hobby foundry group: http://groups.google.com.au/group/The-hobby-foundry with a young fellow whose name is Ryan.

Ryan lives in Queensland Australia. He is only about 17 years old and still attending school, but has discovered metal casting. He creates some amazing ceremonial swords. It is great to see someone so young involved in a metal craft hobby such as metal casting, I'm sure Ryan wont ever have time to get bored with life while being involved with an interesting metal craft hobby.

Many other young fellows could take a leaf out of Ryan's book and get involved with practical hobbies like metal casting or some other form of metal craft. It is not hard to do once you have a little guidance and instruction and the hobby provides immense personal satisfaction and reward.

Boredom is a general malaise with so many young people these days, and there is really no need for it when there are so many great practical hobbies to do in your spare time. Too many people take the easy option to veg out in front of the T.V. idiot box.. what a terrible waste of time that is.

Ryan will never be bored, he just doesn't have time for boredom, he is such an adventurous, energetic young fellow. It reminds me of my young days when I would wander down to the old farm blacksmith on a wet miserable winters day to light the old forge then heat up a few bits of metal and just generally tinker around, that's where my passion for metal started, it has never really stopped. I hope you don't let your passion for metal ever wane.

The word boredom just doesn't exist in the metal workers vocabulary. Honest.

By Colin Croucher

my hobby : Taxing Your eBay Profits

2006-09-11T21:50:00.000-07:00

Q: I made extra money selling things on eBay last year. These were items I picked up at yardsales mostly. My husband says I am responsible for paying income tax on the money I made, but I disagree. This is just my hobby, not a business. What do you think? -- Gladys A.

A: With so many people selling on eBay these days this is a question I get quite a bit. In fact, I have plans for a future “eBay and taxes” column, but I believe your question is more, “is it a hobby or is it a business?”

Again, I went to the horse’s mouth (at least I think it was the mouth) for the answer. According to the IRS there are a number of factors that help determine if your hobby can be considered a business and thereby make you susceptible to the IRS tax rules governing business.

Do you carry on the activity in a business-like manner? If you conduct your eBay activities like a business, i.e. you keep business records, track your profit and loss, keep a separate checking account, etc. then whether you think so or not, your hobby is considered a business.

If you put considerable time and effort into your venture, the IRS may contend that you do so for profit and not fun. It seems the folks at the IRS don’t believe in doing things strictly for pleasure. My guess is, neither do you. If you weren’t making money selling on eBay I doubt you’d be bothering getting up at 4am to hit all those yardsales. Then again, maybe you would…

If you depend on income from your eBay activities for your livelihood, it’s a business, not a hobby.

There are a number of other factors the IRS considers to determine if a hobby is really a business, but in your case I think that covers the basics.

For detailed answers to any tax question you should consult a qualified accountant or tax attorney. God forbid you rely on a guy who is afraid to mumble the letters “IRS” three times in a row.

By Tim Knox

my hobby : Turn Your Hobby Into a Fun Home-Business

2006-09-05T01:43:00.000-07:00

Having a hobby is great fun and a rewarding way to explore your own creative abilities. Though you may not be convinced of it, you do have a God-given talent within you. Everyone does! It only needs to be discovered and developed!

The world is full of variety and no two persons are exactly alike, each of us is a unique individual, and as such, has something special to offer. The different combination of personality, environment, experiences and interests that you have, work together to create you, and only you. There is no other person on earth exactly like you. Not a twin or even (heaven forbid) a clone . Though these people may have the same DNA, they cannot have the same exact experiences, therefore, they are different from you. Your interests may be similar, but the way you develop as an individual will determine how you express yourself and the hobbies you're likely to explore.

I was exposed to a lot of music while I was growing up. My parents would often put a Glen Miller, or Frank Sinatra album on the hi-fi while we were working around the house. Sometimes I would find them dancing in the living room. My oldest brother loved jazz and folk music. My other brother played the drums and was a rock n' roll fan. My grandfather sang and played the harmonica. My grandmother was a piano teacher. In the early 1900's my grandparents enjoyed performing in vaudville shows together.

So, you might say my gene pool, as well as my environment, were musically influenced. As a result I sang in choir throughout my shool years. When I was 15 years old I began playing the guitar and writing songs as a hobby. Poetry was another creative avenue I explored. The experiences I had growing up during the turbulent '60s and early '70s also influenced my way of thinking and the development of my musical style. Though it may be similar to others of that era, it is uniquely my own.

You my be wondering what your particular talent(s), or gift(s), may be. How do you discover and develop your own hobby? Here are some ideas:

Consider Your Interests

sports, art, music, animals, books, cooking, theology, crafts, cars, science, horticulture, hiking...

Consider Your Background Environment

early childhood experiences and development, family traits, things you enjoyed doing as a child

Consider Your Personality

likes & dislikes, behaviour patterns, reactions to particular situations... What makes you happy? Sad? Angry? Compassionate? What motivates you?

Consider Your Strengths and Weaknesses

what are you good at? what do you find difficult?

Write down your discoveries, then look for a pattern to emerge. There may be several traits or areas of interest that unfold before your eyes. Try to determine Which area you are most strongly drawn to. If more than one, can they be combined?

As I shared earlier, I like to sing and write, especially poems and song lyrics. I love music and playing the guitar. These hobbies obviously combine very nicely. I also have a knack for teaching and am a self-starter. My curiousity drives me to explore and learn new things. All of these traits combined together have helped me turn my hobby into a work-at-home business. I am a private guitar teacher. I also created my own website which has provided me with new opportunities and additional income through google ads and affiliate programs. My hobby led me to discover the perfect job match for my personality type, skills, and interests!

There is a hobby, a creative spark, lying within you that is just waiting to be discovered. Your gift can add new meaning and depth to your life, but it needs to be opened, unwrapped, and developed for this to happen. Take a class, read a "how to" book, surf the net, or take some lessons in order to increase your knowledge and build your skills. Don't let the world and it's everyday distractions keep you from enjoying who you were made to be. Take a short break from your routine. Open your gift. Turn a new page in your life story. Time is short, so why not make the most of it today?

By Kathy Unruh

my hobby : Coin Collecting Magazines

2006-09-05T01:38:00.000-07:00

There are many coin collecting magazines on the market today. These provide up to date information to the avid coin collector. These magazines are great for both the experienced collector and the novice. They can provide great resources to coin collectors and give information on new finds in the coin collecting world. There are several such magazines that provide this type of information of which the most popular five will be discussed in this article. These are the leading magazines for coin collectors.

Coin Connoisseur is one such magazine. They specialize in the collection of gold and silver coins. They are the leaders in news relating to rare coins and precious metal coins. The coin collecting magazines that are available all offer different features and Coin Connoisseur is packed full of information that is up to date. They provide information on the internet’s best rare coins, coinstats, and many other suggestions to prevent getting scammed and to better enjoy your collection. This magazine also runs several competitions for gold and other precious material bullion coins. These have no fixed monetary value but the value is based on the precious material they are made off. They are great investments as they are easy to sell with less red tape than bars or ingots.

Of the coin collecting magazines there is another that is very popular. This is Coin World magazine. This has the best coverage of coin collecting information on a weekly basis. This magazine is especially popular in the US and has great coverage on all the newest issues concerning coin collecting. They analyze the trends of the field and give information to the new and the experienced about the how and the why of coin collection. There is also the additional feature to get great saving when subscribing to this magazine.

Another of the popular coin collecting magazines is Coin Value Magazine. This has a timely editorial and has up to date price guides on coins on the market. This magazine has focused mainly on the tracking of the changes in value of most US coins. This magazine allows with subscription the personal tracking of your coin portfolio online. This is also published by Coin World publishers.

There are two other major coin collecting magazines. One of these is Coins magazine. This magazine tracks the coin market trends and includes tips for those wishing to purchase coins. They also keep their subscribers up to date on the latest occurrences in the field with regular publication of columns that deal with aspects of coin collecting. The other is Coin Prices magazine. This is geared mainly towards the serious collector wishing to glean information on the prices of coins and paper money. They also provide guidance on the grading and the evaluation of coins as well as many other subject areas related to collecting coins.
my hobby

BY Charles Roman

my hobby : Hobbies for Retirement

2006-09-05T01:29:00.000-07:00

I knew my husband would have enough hobbies when he retired last February at the tender age of 51. At least I though he would until last summer when he discovered squirrels in our then-robust garden. Much to his disgust our beloved cucumbers were being munched upon, when our backs were turned, by the colonies of squirrels invading our turf.

Off to the Internet he went to search for a humane rodent trap. Many clicks and e-mails later, voila! He turned up a site which was more than willing to ship the much-needed trap within the week.

Waiting impatiently for his new toy, my husband watched with dismay as cucumber after cucumber was disassembled by the voracious squirrels that happily paid us a visit. Finally the package arrived! The family watched with amusement as Dad unwrapped his new acquisition, hardly holding back his excitement. "Quick! Get me some peanuts!" he yelped to anyone within hearing range. Armed with trap and peanuts in hand out he went into the garden to deposit his prize.

Glancing out the window now and again, we'd see one squirrel after another crawl down the fence cautiously to inspect the new addition to the garden. No luck. A few times the trap was tripped and the peanuts were missing; then other times it was tripped with the peanuts still intact. "That's it!" my husband cried. "We need a squirrel-cam!" The family looked at each other and groaned. Oh no, another toy for Dad! But one morning as Dad and I were in bed, we heard a very audible and metallic "clunk!" We both uttered, "Uh Oh!" and jumped up to run to the window. Sure enough, there it was, our first prisoner! My husband jumped up and down in sheer glee - I had to stop him from racing down the stairs in his birthday suit.

I never saw him dress so fast. He was out the door like a bullet to gather up the trap with the growling squirrel. He searched in the garage for something with a long handle to release the squirrel after transporting it far enough away from our neighborhood, deposited the trap and an old broom handle in the trunk of our car, jumped into the front seat and roared away with his prize.

Now 33 squirrels later, it is now November and the peanut-laden trap is still in the barren garden awaiting its next victim. The family quizzes Dad, wondering why we still need a trap in the garden. Dad exclaims, "Well, now the squirrels are ruining my lawn by digging holes for their peanuts!" But we all know differently, Dad has a new hobby!

By Heather Diodati

my hobby : EVERYONE can DO it!

2006-08-25T06:16:00.000-07:00

Ken Evoy, internationally acclaimed Internet marketer, developed a system - SiteBuildIt! (SBI!) - that helps anyone to create professional web sites about his/her hobbies, interests and passions. Hundreds (maybe even thousends) of SBI! users have already quit their jobs and now are making a living from the comfort of their own homes, doing what they love - creating web content about their hobbies.

Each web site built by SBI! is search engine optimized. It means that when you build your own web site with the SBI! tools, the traffic to your web pages is guaranteed through search engines.

And it doesn't matter what your hobby is - Ken takes you by hand and explains how you can make money from the traffic received to your web site. What matters is - you create information-rich content pages about what you know and love - about your hobby!

If you think that you cannot write web content - forget it, you can! - SBI! will guide you step-by-step from developing your web site's concept to brainstorming hundreds of profitable related keywords; building a themed web site; generating motivated, targeted search engine traffic that wants to click on your recommendations, links to the related products sold by merchants that you will represent.

Note that this is not a "get rich quick" scheme. It will require lots of your energy, work and time. The bottom line is that you will have a hobby that makes money for you!

So, if you don't have a money making hobby yet, sell what you already know and love (your hobby), find a niche that you feel passionate about, and achieve increadible results driving targeted search engine traffic to your web site and earning big checks from affiliate marketing. For more information visit:

By Gerardas Norkus

my hobby : Build Your Own Musical Instrument

2006-08-25T06:11:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to build your own musical instrument? If so, you are not alone. You have many options when building an instrument. You can build a traditional instrument using parts you've purchased or scrapped from existing instruments. You can take a traditional concept for an instrument and add your own take. Then, of course, you could also take a whole different approach and create an original instrument. This guide is not intended to tell you what to build, it will simply offer some advice on how to go about it.

Getting Started

The very first thing you should do is decide what type of instrument you plan to build. You can choose a woodwind, brass, string, percussion, or electronic instrument. Either way, making that decision is the best first step because that will limit the types of supplies you will need. After deciding what you want to build, you should get a tool kit that matches your preferences. Then, you should look for the types of parts you think you will need.

If you are going to make a simple instrument like a drum, then you won't need to buy many things. However, if you are going for something more complex, like a new style of guitar, you should buy a low cost used guitar to scrap it for parts. Additionally, you should look for low-cost parts in the classifieds section of a newspaper or at a used instrument shop.

Finally, think of this as a learning instrument or starter instrument: a high quality instrument is not as important as a high quality concept. Once you have experience in instrument building, then you can consider using more expensive parts.

Building an Inexpensive Musical Instrument

It is crucial to keep this hobby as affordable as possible. You do not want to commit yourself to too much financially because you may regret it. Additionally, if the instrument you create doesn't work right, then you will lose money on the deal. The cheaper the instrument is that you build, the more money you will have to build a better version of it when you know what you're doing.

Tips and Advice

Here are some general things to keep in mind when designing your instrument. First, make sure your instrument has tuning capabilities; that way you can make true notes without any serious conversion. Second, it might be a good idea to have a keyboard on-hand so you can compare the notes your instrument creates to real musical notes. Third, make sure that your instrument has a practical application - don't build an instrument that you couldn't use in a band or solo performance.

Finally, have a great time. When you take on a hobby like this, your intention should be to have fun and create something that you can call your own. Do not take on instrument building as a hobby if you have any reason to believe that you might not like it, because there are plenty of other things you can do for a hobby. Keep your options, and your mind, open every step of the way.

By Mike Jerry

my hobby : Coin Collecting

2006-08-25T06:08:00.000-07:00

There are many terms used in coin collecting. Information on coin collecting terms is widely available on the internet and in many books that deal with coin collecting. The field of coin collecting is so expansive that there are numerous terms that are coined. Many internet sites offer glossaries and other resources to assist the novice coin collector in increasing there knowledge base. These sites may not contain all the terms but are sufficient to be an introduction to the field and its terms.

Coin collecting terms are found in many books authored by coin collector experts. In addition to guidance on terminology these books also provide valuable information on the do and don’ts of coin collecting. There are many books on the market that also target the veteran coin collector as this hobby continues to grow and there is always new information that can be valuable to these individuals.

Another way to learn about coin collecting terms is by the use of the many magazines available on this field. These magazines always have up to date information and are great resources for those wishing to learn about the field of coin collecting. Some of these magazines are Coin World, Coin Connoisseur and Coin Value. There are several others as well that offer great features that include up to date guides on prices as well as discounts for subscribers on coin collecting supplies.

Another way to familiarize one’s self with coin collecting terms is to associate with clubs or associations that are involved in the hobby of coin collecting. This is perhaps the simplest way to familiarize one’s self with the field and gain valuable knowledge. These associations often have training sessions and other activities that are geared towards improving the skill of its members in the field of coin collecting. It is vital when in getting involved in any hobby to ensure that you increase your knowledge base as this is the key to success. Coin collecting terms are not a short list by any means and will indeed take a long time to become totally familiar with. Even experts in the field may not know all the terms and acronyms that are associated with coin collecting.

Some of the most important coin collecting terms are related to the very basic concepts of coin collecting. One of these is in fact the term for coin collecting itself. This term is numismatist and is the complex term for the coin collector. Another set of basic terms are those that relate to the description of the sides of a coin. Most people refer to these as either heads or tails but serious collectors call these the obverse and the reverse. Terms associated with the actual coin are the legend, inscription, rim and field as well as the motto, mint mark, edge, portrait, date and many other terms related to coin anatomy.

By Charles Roman

my hobby : Sell Hobby Items step2

2006-08-16T22:52:00.000-07:00

Your next step is to look for merchandise in your own community.Here are some suggestions:

Start by attending flea markets and antique shoes. Don't be afraid to make inquiries of dealers. They often have what they consider "junk" stashed away, assuming that it isn't of muchvalue to anyone. I once discovered a fabulous stamp collectionthat way!

Browse around through Thrift Shops.

Study the garage sale ads in your local newspaper. Visit any that sound promising. (Sometimes, it pays to telephone first. Also, by telling people what kind of merchandise you are looking for, they may be able to direct you to others who have exactlywhat you need!)

Place "Wanted to Buy" ads in your local newspaper. Be sure to list your phone number.

It is amazing what you can find in your local community if you work at it. However, if you can't find enough merchandiselocally, run ads in the Collector's Magazines listed above. Their rates are very, very low. And you will soon discover that they are widely read!

Once you have accumulated a decent stock of merchandise, you are ready to begin selling it. If there are publicationsspecializing in your field, by all means advertise there. Youhave a ready-made audience! Also run ads in the big hobbymagazines.

Type up a list of what you have and have an Instant Printer make a hundred or so copies for you. Hobbyists don't mind typewritten, mimeographed, or xerox copies . . . it's half thefund of collecting. Then run your ad. Your ad can merely offeryour list to interested collectors free (or for a stamp, to weedout coupon clippers). Or you can offer to make a sale straightfrom the ad. If you do the latter, stick in your price listwith the merchandise. It will be read . . . eagerly!

Here are a few sample ads run by hobby dealers for your
consideration:

"Railroad Timetables, 1940's
Four different - $4.00 postpaid..

"Old Children's Books and Texts. Stamp for List."

"85,000 Comic Books, Movie Magazines, Funnies, etc.
1900-1957. Catalog $1.00 (Refundable)."

"Original Movie Poster, Pressbooks,
Stills, 1919-1975. Catalog - 50 cents"

"Sleigh Bells! Stamp for list."

"Sheet Music. SASE for list."

Just in case you are not familiar with the phrase, "SASE" means "Self-addressed, stamped envelope". As you progress, you will learn continually. Most hobby dealers will tell you that they learn more from the collectors who buy from them than they could ever learn from any other source.

By DeAnna Spencer

my hobby : Sell Hobby Items step1

2006-08-16T22:46:00.000-07:00

You can, if you are ambitious, start a Mail Order Business selling collectables to hobbiest by mail. To begin, you must first find a hobby that appeals to YOU. Next, you must spend several weeks researching that hobby. You must learn what collectors want and how much they are willing to pay for it. You should also know what other dealers are willing to pay forthe merchandise which they sell. And you must be willing to pay the same amounts.

Perhaps you already know exactly what you want to sell. If youhave been collecting old Valentines, then start a Mail Orderbusiness buying and selling old Valentines. Or Stamps. Or Comic Books. The first rule of Mail Order selling is to sell what you yourself would buy.

To give you an idea of what collectors buy and sell by mail, here is a partial list of today's collectables:

Phonograph Records, Cigar Label, License Plates,Beer Labels, Circus Posters, Music Boxes,Salt/Pepper Shakers, Greeting Cards, Old Pencils,Atlases, Military Medals, Sheet Music,Doll Clothes, Menus, Cigar Boxes,Train Photos, Old Calendars, MapsStreet, Car Tokens, Buttons, Postcards,Fruit, Car Tokens, Fruit Jar Labels, Old Magazines,Gun Catalogs, Paper Currency, Cartoon Books, Theatre Programs, Political Buttons, Baseball Cards,Children's Books, Stock Certificates, Old Toys,Gems, Minerals, Belt Buckles, Airplane Photos,FBI Posters, Newspapers, Coins,Arrowheads, Old Jewelry, Boat Photographs, Advertising Cards, Dog Pictures, Movie Magazines, Autographs, Dolls, Hunting Licenses,Valentines, Cookbooks, Beatle Items,Stamps, Indian Relics, Railroad Books, Fishing Licenses, Comic Books, Thimbles, Automobile Manuals, Diaries, Railroad Passes, Antique Barbed Wire

Once you have selected your field, start a file. Keep copies ofall the ads selling your kind of merchandise. Also keep adsshowing the dealer's buying prices. If price lists ar offeredin ads, send for them and STUDY them. MAKE YOURSELF AN EXPERTIN YOUR FIELD.

Try to locate any publications that deal with your field. Often, you can locate small mimeographed publications andnewsletters which will give you all kinds of useful information.

By DeAnna Spencer

my hobby : Money Making Hobby

2006-08-10T01:05:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a hobby. We love all kinds of music, sports, movies, books... We have pets, we grow flowers, we build houses, buy cars... Some of us even love our jobs (boy, those are the lucky ones)...

Dale Carnegie said:

"Today is life - the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto."

Our hobbies help us to relax and forget our everyday problems and troubles.

We are all experts in one or more fields of our lives.

But I am sure that not everyone has a hobby that makes money for him/her (except, of course, if you love your job).

Just imagine, wouldn't it be great if you could have a money making hobby? You could get involved even more with what you already love to do, you could treat your family and friends with the extra cash, or... even quit your current job that you probably hate.

You see, everyone can make money with his/her hobby, and I am going to reveal it to you in a minute...

There are millions of people who have the same hobbies and interests just like you. Everyone is searching for more information about their hobbies and passions. Take a guess - what is the best place to find the information today? I think you will agree that the World Wide Web (the Internet) is one of the best places on the Earth to look for information related to your hobby. Millions of people use the Internet to find the answers to the questions they have, to solve the problems they encounter every day.

So, how could you make money with your hobby? It's simple - build your own web site (online business) about your hobby.

EVERYONE can DO it!

Ken Evoy, internationally acclaimed Internet marketer, developed a system - SiteBuildIt! (SBI!) - that helps anyone to create professional web sites about his/her hobbies, interests and passions. Hundreds (maybe even thousends) of SBI! users have already quit their jobs and now are making a living from the comfort of their own homes, doing what they love - creating web content about their hobbies.

Each web site built by SBI! is search engine optimized. It means that when you build your own web site with the SBI! tools, the traffic to your web pages is guaranteed through search engines.

And it doesn't matter what your hobby is - Ken takes you by hand and explains how you can make money from the traffic received to your web site. What matters is - you create information-rich content pages about what you know and love - about your hobby!

If you think that you cannot write web content - forget it, you can! - SBI! will guide you step-by-step from developing your web site's concept to brainstorming hundreds of profitable related keywords; building a themed web site; generating motivated, targeted search engine traffic that wants to click on your recommendations, links to the related products sold by merchants that you will represent.

Note that this is not a "get rich quick" scheme. It will require lots of your energy, work and time. The bottom line is that you will have a hobby that makes money for you!

So, if you don't have a money making hobby yet, sell what you already know and love (your hobby), find a niche that you feel passionate about, and achieve increadible results driving targeted search engine traffic to your web site and earning big checks from affiliate marketing.

By Gerardas Norkus

my hobby : Autograph Collecting

2006-08-10T00:58:00.000-07:00

My hobby of autograph collecting is gaining speed but is still a little known hobby. What is less known than the hobby itself is the way to start your collection online using just your PC. That’s right, no investment at all. How? Email. Yes, not only do many celebrities have public email accounts, but many times they’ll send autographs if you ask and provide a mailing address. The celebrities pay for everything! And as for feeling guilty about sticking celebs with the bill, don’t. They will write it all of when tax-time rolls around. It’s a business expense for them! Free for everyone!

Now, let’s keep this little secret somewhat hush, hush, ok? You see, the more people who write to the celebrities the more that celebrity has to sign (some stars hate to autograph), they have been known to just stop signing when they get too many requests. It scares them off. I have seen numerous stars change their emails because a magazine or e-zine published their email address and too many people emailed them.

The hardest part of this method of collecting is finding legitimate star email addys online. You will need to put Google to work. However, when you find a site that has them, you usually strike gold. There are a number of websites that post a bunch of email address online free, so don’t ever pay anyone for them. Also remember not to be afraid of ‘daemon,’ you will see his ‘failed email’ messages repeatedly. As I said before, celebrities will change their emails addresses at times.

Also, you might be surprised at how many people I’ve heard emailing stars a really kind, well-written email and forgetting to put down their own snail mail address. I know of one guy who emailed Howard Stern with an autograph request but didn’t tell Howard where to send it. What did Mr. Stern do? He emailed the guy back a .jpeg photo with a caption under the pic reading “drool over this, dumbass.” Granted, many stars are not quite so rude, but the least you can do is proofread your email.

I have given you some know-how on the subject of beating the postage and supply costs of autograph collecting, now get out there and land some ‘graphs. Let me know how it goes! I always enjoy hearing how the stars are treating us “commoners.” Happy collecting!

By Jimmy Cloward

my hobby : How to Start An Art Collection On a Shoestring Budget

2006-08-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

Collecting is a hobby enjoyed by many. Some collectors enjoy collecting all kinds of collectibles such as music boxes and other mechanical music, cars, jewelry, figurines, and many other types of items. Then there are those who enjoy collecting art. As a matter of fact, many individuals are inclined to forgo reprints and posters and start collecting their own unique art pieces for their homes and offices. If you are one of these people, here are some tips on starting your own unique art collection.

Before beginning an art collection, ask yourself if you interested in starting your own collection of original art. Keep in mind that if you, like most people, do not have thousands of dollars to spend on famous original artwork, then it's time to consider alternative creative sources.

For those who are short on time and are not particularly interested in cultivating their own tastes, an option you have to rent from a local gallery in your city or town. This way, you can get original art from local artists at a fraction of the cost. Once you tire of a particular piece, you can trade it in for a new art collectible piece. These also works very well for a business environment or even to update a personal space in your home if you are not sure what pieces will suit you in the long term.

Students also do great artwork. Therefore, another option you have is to go to local art schools or check your paper for shows by student artists. At the art schools or art shows by students, you can purchase original pieces by local artists for a very small investment when compared to the going rates for established artists. This unique art collectible strategy allows you to invest in the growth of local talent, and possibly make an investment that will appreciate enormously in value should the artist truly excel in their field.

Some communities have thriving art communities. If there are studios that are rented by local artists in your area, you may also find that they hold open houses during the year. This is a great way to find artwork on sale as many artists promote themselves through this avenue. This also provides you an opportunity to speak with the artist and get a real history on the work you select.

Many art collectibles experts like to find out about the career of an artist as well as what influences their work. If you find an artist that you click with and whose work moves you, you may need to consider collecting from a single artist rather than creating a diverse collection. Following the career of a new artist may give you a more valuable, as well as meaningful, collection in the future.

Antiques and collectibles shops, markets, and consignment stores are also great places to search for art pieces. Always keep your eyes open for artwork that appeals to you. Art is always subject to individual interpretation anyway. So while value may be important, if you find a piece you can afford and love, go for it!

Fall in love and immerse yourself in your art collecting. Whether it is a simple hobby or part of an overall love of collectibles such as music boxes and mechanical music, cars, jewelry, figurines, or more, follow the above strategies and develop an art collection worthy of the master collectors!

Copyright 2006 Monique Hawkins

my hobby : Collecting Postcards– Private Mailing Cards

2006-08-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

The inventor of the first private postcard in the United States was J. P. Carlton of Philadelphia, who applied for a patent on Dec. 17, 1861. He then sold his patent to H. L. Lipman, who printed postcards with a decorated border and marked "Lipman's Postal Cards".

In America the United States Postal Service published and printed its first postal cards in 1873. They were sold for 1 cent, while privately produced cards needed a two cent stamp, the same as a letter. For that reason, few postcards were produced privately because the privately printed postcards cost more to mail.

However, on May 19, 1898, Congress passed the Private Mailing Card Act which allowed private printers and publishers to produce postcards. The Act required that private publishers print the message Private Mailing Cards, Authorized by Act of Congress on May 19, 1898 on the backs of their cards. Postage required was now a 1 cent stamp.

Like Postal Cards, the Private Mailing Cards allowed only address information on the backs of the card. Many pictorial private mailing cards compensated by leaving a small blank area along an edge for the sender to write a few words to the recipient. Pictorial "Private Mailing Cards" are very rare today.

Postal Card quickly became a term reserved to cards printed by the Post Office. Privately printed cards which required stamps for posting were called "Private Mailing Cards" and later called a "Post Card". Postal Card or Postal is still a term most appropriately applied to official United States postal stationery.

In 1901 the practice of "Private Mailing Cards" was rescinded and all privately produced cards were printed using the words "Post Card" printed on the undivided backs.

Glyn Farber has published a catalog of all known Hickey Brother Cigar Store Tokens and co-authored a book about Louisiana Trade Tokens. In addition he wrote several articles for The Token and Medal Society (TAMS) and The National Token Collectors Association (NTCA). Glyn has been a devoted collector of Louisiana Trade Tokens as a hobby, Louisiana collectibles and Lake Charles, LA postcards for almost 40 years.

By Glyn Farber

my hobby : Collecting Ephemera

2006-08-01T00:18:00.000-07:00

Do you collect Ephemera (e phem er a)? You just might and don’t even know it, because Ephemera refers to hundreds of hand written or printed paper items published with a short intended life span or something short-lived and without lasting significance. The word Ephemera derives from the Greek meaning of things lasting no more than a day.

Some of the most popular items that collectors classify as Ephemera are bank checks, baseball cards, billheads, bonds, brochures, business cards, calendars, cigar box labels & bands, greeting cards, invitations, labels, letters, magazines, maps, newspapers, pamphlets, paper dolls, passes, photographs, postcards, posters, stamps, posters, programs, sheet music, stocks, tickets, timetables, trade cards, trade catalogs and vintage valentines.

Some types of Ephemera such as billheads, postcards and trade cards have been appreciated for years. In fact vintage postcard collecting has been around for a very long time and is still very popular today. Some of the other items mentioned above were generally thrown out over the years. Fortunately, there has been a few collectors with the insight to put a value on things that others did not.

So take a close look at that box of old paper items found at Grandma’s house. You just might find postcards sent to her by Aunt Lucy decades ago, letters your grandfather wrote overseas defending the United States, newspapers with headlines about the death of JFK, photographs she took while on vacation, and maybe even a copy of her wedding invitation.

Twenty Five years ago antique and flea market dealers could hardly give away large boxes of paper ephemera. The very best and rarest old paper items will soon disappear from the marketplace. However, new ephemera is constantly being made. So do not miss out on this small part of Americana. Don’t have any Ephemera of your own? Check out our favorite place – eBay!
my hobby

By Glyn Farber

my hobby : Collecting Diecast Vehicles Is A Fun Hobby For Folks Of All Ages

2006-08-01T00:11:00.000-07:00

Almost everyone has played with diecast vehicles when they were a young child. When I went to grade school my friends and I collected ' Hot Wheels ' cars. We would make race tracks and construction zones in the dirt piles out back of our school and play with the vehicles at recess time. I remember having a holder that looked like a suitcase only smaller, it would open and inside I had probably 20 different vehicles, ranging from cars, to trucks and a few other things. We would play in the dirt with our diecast vehicles, racing them, or pretending we were construction crews, and we would dig tunnels in the dirt, and make hills and bridges to push are little cars and trucks around on. Probably most folks like myself lost or threw away them diecast vehicles we had as young children, or they got lost like all of the other toys we had when we were young. Some folks saved there's and now days some of them are probably quite rare and valuable to diecast collectors.

It seems that when I was a young boy, we only heard of ' Hot Wheels ', at least that is the brand that my friends and I bought, my hobby collected and played with. Now days there are tons of different companies and they make diecast vehicles of every kind, there are cars, airplanes, construction vehicles, boats, military vehicles, and more. When first starting to collect diecast vehicles, you must decide which types you really want because there are a lot of choices, you can collect a certain make and model of car, such as a Chevrolet Nova, or you may wish to just collect yellow diecast construction vehicles, or military vehicles, the choice is up to you.

Diecast vehicles are pretty inexpensive for a lot of the new ones in stores and for some of the older ones that are common. You can often find them in the local drugstore or any Kmart or Walmart, and even a lot of grocery stores have a rack or area where you can find diecast vehicles, they often sell new for under $3.00 each, and sometimes you can find them in a bargain bin or on sale for ' 2 for $2.00 ', or even less.

Probably one of the best places to find a rare or missing diecast vehicle for your collection is on eBay. Another great place to often find rare and unique diecast vehicles at very low prices is yard sales. I went to a few yard sales, last summer with my daughter and I saw a lot of diecast vehicles, and many were 25 cents each and some were less. If you look you can usually find a pile or box of assorted toys at a yard sale, these often have numerous plastic soldiers, trucks and cars, and some old non-clothed dolls, and if you dig or search through these piles or boxes of old junk toys, you can often find diecast vehicles at the bottom. The diecast vehicles are smaller and heavier then the plastic toys, so they tend to drop down to the bottom of the piles like gold nuggets in a stream.

Back around 9 years ago when I was still married, my wife and I bought one of them cheap metal detectors, the ones you can get at discount stores for around $50 or so. We went outside and in our yard where we lived at that time, we found 7 old diecast vehicles. Once we took them inside and cleaned them up, they were all in great condition, despite being buried for a few years. The vehicles were all made by ' TOOTSIE ', I looked on ebay at the time and discovered that the vehicles were worth around $15 or more, so if you have a metal detector, you can probably find some nice diecast vehicles for free, by searching yards and old school grounds.

Once you start building up your diecast vehicle collection, you should consider getting a display case to show it off. If you have some talent and a few tools, you can easily build a display case in your garage or workshop, or if you look on ebay they always have a large amount of diecast vehicle display cases.

There is computer software that is made just for collecting diecast vehicles. Anyone who has a small or large diecast vehicle collection can easily keep track of what vehicle they have, the color, condition, cost, value, scale and lots of other info for each record (vehicle). This is the most easiest to use software of it's kind, and it is made 100% for diecast collecting. The software is described in detail and you can download a free demo version of it at this website address:

By Robert W. Benjamin

my hobby : Deer Senses and Camouflage

2006-07-27T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sight, Scent, Sound, “Camouflage”

If a hunter is attempting to avoid the detection of deer while archery hunting, he must pay particular attention to sight, scent and sound. Deer hunting matches the hunter’s stealth against the deer’s alertness. You must check these three items for any flaws in your hunting game plan, before you start your trek into the woods.

The whitetail deer, along with many other big game animals are extremely alert in order to try and stay alive by evasive action, but its wariness does stop at some point. A deer can’t, of course, raise its tail and run eternally. Instead, a deer will evaluate the situation and make the decision of whether to expend the energy to get the heck out of here or wait it out. When confronted with various events in their own environment they may decide to stick around, and be more alert until their curiosity is satisfied about anything strange that may have occurred in their immediate area. By this I mean, they may have thought they saw you, but aren’t quite sure, that is if you have good camouflage clothing on and your surroundings are similar.

A deer’s eye sight is believed by scientist to be able to see only in black and white, while the elk is believed to see some amount of color. I truly believe the hunter should try to blend in with the woodland terrain by donning background-colored clothing and being as inconspicuous as possible. There are many different types and styles of hunting camo. Some of these are; Trebark, Mossy Oak, RealTree and one of my favorites is Sticks-N-Limbs. Covering your face with some kind of camo is also very important. Except in snowy conditions, an archery hunter wearing or using any white material negates his camouflage because deer will quickly notice white objects. Regardless of color perception by a deer or other big game animal, it is movement that will evoke their final response.

I believe most big game animals or maybe even all big game animals are geniuses at interpreting scent. It’s simple; they smell you and they are gone! An archery hunter may fool a deer’s eyes, but it’s much harder to remain undetected by the deer’s sensitive nostrils. By trying to mask your scent with fox, skunk or sex scents, this may be the only defense you have unless you are able to stay down wind from your deer or other animal. During the rut, however, the archer might opt to go with a deer’s general alertness and aggressively entice the bucks with pheromone-based sex lures. Hunting in tree stands several feet above the ground can keep his scent pool dispersed in air currents above the level of the deer. Throughout my almost fifty years of hunting, this has been the best defense toward sight and scent.

Deer constantly know the difference between natural woodland sounds and those they think represent danger. The metallic bump or the closing of a vehicle door and the squeaking tree stand can all foil the archery hunt. But, by keeping your archery equipment maintained and in good working order, you may be able to keep all these sounds from happening.

KEEP YOUR SENSES!

My name is Ted Lake and I'm building a website in memory of my dad Deuaine Lake. This site is all about Archery and Archery Hunting. My dad started me when I was 5 years old (1956) and I've continued to teach both my boys the same respect for the sport of archery. Please feel welcome to visit my free website at http://www.complete-archery-information.com
my hobby
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ted_Lake

my hobby : Take the Scare out of Auto Repair

2006-07-27T20:43:00.000-07:00

1. How to choose a repair shop. What you should look for when choosing a repair shop

Ask for a recommendation from friends, family, and anyone else you really trust. Look for a repair shop before you need one so you are not rushed at the last minute to find one.

Use the telephone, shop around by phone to compare prices and Warranty policies on the repair to find your best deal.

Ask to see their current licenses if local and/or state law requires shops to be licensed or registered. Also your state Attorney General office or local consumer protection agency, BBB and Chamber of Commerce may know if there are a record of complaints against a particular shop.

If you have an Extended Warranty Contract and intend to use it present it to the shop to make sure it will be honored before any work is started.

2. How To Find The Right Automotive Technician. And is one automotive technician better than another.

Look for shops that display various certifications of their technicians, like an ASE certification seal. Certification indicates that some or all of the technicians meet a basic standard of knowledge and experience in a specific technical area, if the certification states the tech is a Master certified tech that means the tech has passed tests and meets the standard for all areas of repair.

Also make sure that the certifications are all current as the mechanics have to be re tested every few years to make sure they stay up to date with changing technology, but remember just because the shop is certified does not always guarantee good or honest work. This is where investigating the shop/techs will pay off.

And make sure you ask the shop/mechanic if they have experience working on the make/model of your vehicle as some shops may not have the experience working on your import if the specialize in domestic cars and vise versa.

3. Unlocking the Mystery of Repair Charges

Before arranging to have any work done to your car, ask what the shops pricing policy is. Some shops charge a flat rate for labor on vehicle repair. The rate is based on an independent or manufacturer estimate of the time required to complete a repair. Some shops will charge actual time the tech works on the vehicle. Most shops use the flat rate system and this is usually the best for the customer as there is no wiggle room for the tech to "make time" on a repair.

If you need an expensive repair or a complicated repair or if you question the required repair, consider getting a second opinion. Just think of it as going to a doctor for major surgery and you want to make sure the doctor is right.

Find out if there is a diagnostic charge if you decide to take the vehicle some where else for the repair. Many shops will charge you for diagnosis time if you have repairs done or not, most will deduct it from repair bill if work done at their shop.

Where ever you get the repairs done, make sure you ask for a written estimate and the written estimate should include the following: It should state what is being repaired, the parts and parts cost needed and the labor cost for the repair. Make sure you get a signed copy before you leave the shop.

Also the Repair Order should state that the shop will contact you before they do any extra repair or time that exceeds the original estimate. State law requires this. In most states shops can only charge up to $25.00 over estimate on repair before contacting you. Most honest shops will contact you first before doing adding any excess charges.

Make sure you know about parts that are to be repaired or replaced, parts are classified as:

New-These parts are made to original manufacturer specification either by the vehicle manufacturer or and independent company, such as NAPA etc. Prices will vary from Original Manufacturer original equipment or an after market manufacturer and you should be informed of what is used or decided which you want replace on your vehicle.

Re-manufactured, rebuilt or reconditioned.-All three of these terms generally mean the same thing. It means the respective part has been restored to original working condition. Most of these parts will have standard warranty on them from 30 days to a lifetime depending or the part and reman. company. Usealy this includes just the part and not labor to replace it.

Salvage-These are used parts taken from another vehicle without any alteration from vehicles in a salvage yard. These parts carry a 30 day guarantee depending on the part and salvage yard. Most electrical parts from a salvage yard is bought as is.

After the repair is completed make sure you get the completed repair order showing work done and parts replaced. It should list the repair , parts used, cost of parts and cost of labor. Make sure you check the odometer from when you brought the vehicle in and when you pick it up, there should not be any difference in the miles unless a road test was needed after the repair to make sure everything was working properly. Ask to see all the replaced parts, you are entitled to take them with you if you want with the exception of a part that was replaced and needs to have the old part returned as a core. The shop is charged a core charge for the old part until it is returned to Parts store, if you want to take this part you can if you pay the core charge. Sometimes these are very high depending on the part as they are sent back to a rebuilder to be reconditioned, large parts (transmissions, engines etc.) and electrical parts are most expensive.

I will be adding additional articles on this and other Automotive subjects, so if you found this interesting and informative go to www.jtcbiz.com and click on the Article button bottom left to read more CarFacts and information. While you are at www.jtcbiz.com check out the other information there.

Jack Cooper is the owner of www.jtcbiz.com

Jack Cooper
Occupation: Auto Appraiser/Inspector
Website: http://www.jtcbiz.com

Biography: I have over 40 years experience in the Automotive field, from ASE Master Tech to owner of my own repair shop and have been doing Automotive Appraisals and extended warranty/pre-purchase inspections for the past 12 years.

I have been working on building and just about anything connected with cars all my life. I have been a Drag Racer (early years) drove stock cars (asphalt and dirt) built Hot Rods and restored classic cars, so have been around just about any type of vehicle you can imagine.

My hobby is NASCAR and building web-sites. My current web-site http://www.jtcbiz.com is a site I started several years ago as an information site for Cars and expanded into trucks, 4X4's, ATV's, Motorcycles and NASCAR. The site started out to be a business site, hence the jtcbiz name, but turned into a site on vehicles so don't be alarmed with site name as it had a lot of exposure so I left the name.
Thanks
Jack Cooper
http://www.jtcbiz.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jack_Cooper

my hobby : Why Should You Be Writing For The Internet?

2006-07-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

I have been writing professionally for more than two decades. I have worked as a professional writer and editor for newspapers, books and magazines for local, regional, and international audiences. My primary financial support has always been either professional writing (or editing) or the teaching of writing. In fact, my initial foray into writing for the internet was not intended to be a profitable venture but rather a way to express myself when I made the transition to teaching writing full-time. I knew that after decades of writing daily that I would need that outlet. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that my hobby could actually earn more than my professional ventures? That is why I encourage my students and my writer friends to explore internet writing for fun and profit. There are three good reasons for writers to spend at least a sizable chunk of their writing time writing for the internet.

First, and foremost, if you are a writer then you need an audience. If you are reading this article then you know there is a huge audience accessing their reading material via the internet. Unlike the reading audience of traditional printed material the internet reading audience is growing exponentially. More and more people are forgoing traditional newspapers, magazines, and books to subscribe to ezines, web pages, blogs, and RSS feeds. If you can find your audience on the internet than that is a very good reason to write for the web.

Another good reason for writers to transition to the web is that is where the money is today. While money can be made through the traditional avenues of publishing books, selling articles, or working as a writer for hire it is getting more and more difficult for established, proven writers to make a living and extremely difficult for newcomers to break in at a livable wage. However writers can start up their own business fast and cheap or work for hire to learn the ropes and build up their nest egg. Trying to do either of those things in the traditional publishing world will not find success.

Finally, or third, there is a niche for everyone on the internet. Most traditional publishing methods are limited to a specific region due to the cost of printing and distribution. However neither is a consideration on the internet so writers can reach audiences around the globe. This means that what may seem a rather small niche (of say people who collect dachshund sweaters) may well find their audience is hundreds, thousands, or even millions. That means there is a need for articles and publications for these folks. As an avid dachshund sweater collector yourself you are an ideal writer for any publications currently serving this niche and if there aren't any then you have a wide-open field to start your own.

These three simple reasons should be enough for any writer to consider writing for the web. The internet is a great place to break in and get started as a professional writer and the internet is an even better place for the established pro to profit.

Deanna Mascle shares more writing advice with her blog and newsletter Word Craft Online at http://WordCraftOnline.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Deanna_Mascle

my hobby : Candle Making: Hobby or Business?

2006-07-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

I remember the day I made my first wax candle at home, with supplies bought from a local store. I just couldn’t get over my amazement at how much like a ‘real candle’ my effort looked, just as I could not believe how relatively simple it had been. It was my friend Charlene, an aromatherapy expert, who had initiated me in the art of candle making, and today, I have a lot to thank her for. It is very gratifying when friends and family sing my candles’ praises, and blindly trust me to make them the best-looking and sweetest-smelling candles.

Plenty of people have suggested that I start selling my products, because from the initial wax candles, I had soon branched out to include aromatic candles and gel candles in my repertoire. Though I confess to being too lazy to run an organized business, I know plenty of people who have turned their hobby of candle making into a lucrative profession.

The money-spinning aspect of candle making has become prominent of late, as the candle has grown in popularity to become many things to many people. While aromatherapy enthusiasts swear by the soothing properties of a scented candle, interior decorators declare that there is nothing like a well-positioned set of candles to beautify a room.

Given the circumstances, it is hardly a surprise that candle making as an art is constantly gaining in popularity. Today, there are hundreds of books, web sites and both online and offline classes that teach the art of making candles. For candle aficionados like Charlene, who taught candle making before switching to aromatherapy, teaching the art is only partly about making money. “It gives me a chance to share something I love,” she once told me.

Why does one want to learn candle making? For me, whom not many (including myself) thought was a particularly creative person, candle making offered a chance to find out whether that was indeed so. Having once begun, it was impossible to stop, despite the hours of patient effort I had to put in. Along the way, I discovered that candle making required great determination and discipline, not to mention time. But believe me, once you have mastered the art, the level of satisfaction makes all the effort worthwhile.

That is not say that all types of candles require the same degree of time and effort. Some are also more expensive than others, but as you get better at the craft, you will find your own little shortcuts and innovations, which will help make your candles unique and cost-effective. I know, because I have been there and experience, as they say, is the best teacher. But whatever you do, please remember to adopt proper safety measures at all times, and don’t lose heart if your initial attempts don’t bear the kind of fruit you expect!

Tania Penwell is a successful author who provides information on candle making and candle making supplies for Candles 4U.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tania_Penwell

my hobby : Taxing Your eBay Profits

2006-07-25T22:59:00.000-07:00

As a small business person-slash-advice columnist I dread the first quarter of the new year. Not because in my mind my own business fortunes start at zero again every January or because I have already dismissed every New Year’s resolution I made when the clock rang out the New Year.

No, the reason I dread the first quarter of the new year is that my email box floods with questions about business taxes and the IRS, my two least favorite subjects on earth. It’s not that I am opposed to paying my fair share of business taxes. It’s that I consider the IRS to be a little like Beetlejuice, the movie demon who appeared only after his name was called three times in a row. My fear is if I write too many IRS columns their dark agents may appear on my doorstep, ready to drag me away to an uncertain fate.

Oh well, one must do his duty no matter the consequences, so here we go….

Q: I am starting a small retail business. While talking to a potential supplier last week he asked for my EIN number. I had no idea what he was talking about, so I told him I would have to get back with him because I didn’t have the number handy. What is an EIN number and why do I need one? -- Robert P.

A: Robert, do you remember the old Johnny Rivers song “Secret Agent Man?” There was a line that said, “They’re giving you a number and taking away your name.” An EIN isn’t as cool as a secret agent number, but it works much the same way when it comes to your business’ relationship with the IRS. Instead of identifying your business by name, the IRS identifies your business by EIN.

EIN stands for Employer Identification Number and is also known as a federal tax ID number. The EIN is a nine-digit number that the IRS assigns to businesses and is used to identify taxpayers that are required to file various business tax returns.

Does your business need an EIN? According to the IRS the answer is yes if:

· Your business has employees

· Your business is a corporation or partnership

· You file returns for Employment, Excise, or Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms tax

· You withhold taxes on income (other than wages) paid to a non-resident alien.

· Your business has a Keogh plan

· Your business involves trust, estate, real estate mortgage investment conduits, non-profit, farmers’ cooperatives, or plan administrators.

Applying for an EIN is a relatively painless task. You can apply online at the IRS website (irs.gov), apply by mail or telephone, or if you do business in a state that participates in the Federal Employer Identification Number project you can apply through you local IRS office (sorry, Alabama is not one of them).

You will need an EIN number prior to filing business returns with the IRS, so make sure you give yourself plenty of time to obtain one. For more information on EINs and your business, consult your accountant.

And while we’re on the subject …

Q: I made extra money selling things on eBay last year. These were items I picked up at yardsales mostly. My husband says I am responsible for paying income tax on the money I made, but I disagree. This is just my hobby, not a business. What do you think? -- Gladys A.

A: With so many people selling on eBay these days this is a question I get quite a bit. In fact, I have plans for a future “eBay and taxes” column, but I believe your question is more, “is it a hobby or is it a business?”

Again, I went to the horse’s mouth (at least I think it was the mouth) for the answer. According to the IRS there are a number of factors that help determine if your hobby can be considered a business and thereby make you susceptible to the IRS tax rules governing business.

Do you carry on the activity in a business-like manner? If you conduct your eBay activities like a business, i.e. you keep business records, track your profit and loss, keep a separate checking account, etc. then whether you think so or not, your hobby is considered a business.

If you put considerable time and effort into your venture, the IRS may contend that you do so for profit and not fun. It seems the folks at the IRS don’t believe in doing things strictly for pleasure. My guess is, neither do you. If you weren’t making money selling on eBay I doubt you’d be bothering getting up at 4am to hit all those yardsales. Then again, maybe you would…

If you depend on income from your eBay activities for your livelihood, it’s a business, not a hobby.

There are a number of other factors the IRS considers to determine if a hobby is really a business, but in your case I think that covers the basics.

For detailed answers to any tax question you should consult a qualified accountant or tax attorney. God forbid you rely on a guy who is afraid to mumble the letters “IRS” three times in a row.

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox. Tim's latest books include "Small Business Success Secrets" and "The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!" Related Links: http://www.smallbusinessqa.com http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tim_Knox

my hobby : Inventor of Swiss Medica's O24 Pain Neutralizer Shares His Secrets

2006-07-23T22:42:00.000-07:00

Will consumers favor a non-burning pain relief product, like Swiss Medica’s (OTC BB: SWME) O24 instead of Icy Hot or Ben Gay? Richard Weise, inventor of the patented O24 pain relief product talked to us about how O24 came about, how it works differently than other pain relief products and why O24 might just become a success story during its North American rollout to retail stores.

Interviewer: How did you come about developing the O24 pain relief formula?

Richard Weise: I started the O24 development thirty-five years ago, with studies in natural medicine. When you have chronic pain, people want to take some pharmaceutical product, which gives side effects. I don’t like that. I was studying to get a product that I could use, which would have no side effects. Previously while I worked in Germany, I developed environmentally safe cleaning products. I had studied Chinese medicine. I studied all the medicines for years: natural medicines, Indian medicines, European medicines and all the herbs. The Europeans, over a longer time, have been using more natural products.

Interviewer: How did this product advance from your studying medicines to its commercial distribution?

Richard Weise: I had this product in Europe and used it for myself, but it was not for commercial use. I tested it on myself. In the United States my first testing was on my English teacher. She broke her foot and had pain. I told her I had something for her pain, and I put it on her foot. She stopped having pain. She called me the next morning and told me that after six weeks, this was the first night she could sleep pain-free. A couple of months later, she came back to me and said, “Richard, I need two hundred bottles of this stuff you gave me.” I wanted to know why she needed two hundred bottles. I had offered to make her some product if she needed more, but two hundred bottles? She told me she had so many people she had given them a little of the formula to, people were asking her for more. That’s how this whole thing started in 1992 in the United States. Where it started commercially.

Interviewer: How was your reception, at first, with O24?

Richard Weise: When I first started with this, in the United States, people thought it was ‘snake oil’. I’m not a medical doctor. I studied natural medicine as my hobby. I don’t make claims. The claim I am permitted to make is that this product can be used for temporary pain relief for aches and pains, muscle spasms, arthritis. The FDA told us this in 1995. Before that, it was considered snake oil. I have customers who have been using this product for thirteen years. They are using it and they are happy. They will not use anything else.

Interviewer: Why doesn’t O24 give people the burning sensation one suffers from most other pain relief lotions, sprays or gels?

Richard Weise: Let’s take Ben Gay®. It uses menthol and capsaicin. Capsaicin is very heating. It is made out of (chile) peppers. When you use too much, you can burn your skin. They put menthol in to equalize the temperature a little, but it’s still burning. When you work out, and you put this on, your skin gets red. Tiger Balm® is a product made of camphor and menthol. Menthol gives a cooling feeling. When you have inflammation of your nerve, sometimes it helps and sometimes it doesn’t. It’s only cooling.

Interviewer: Why is it that O24 works differently from other pain relief lotions, gels or rubs?

Richard Weise: When you have pain in an area of you body, the temperature of the pain area is different than your regular body temperature. It can be higher by a half a degree or it can be lower. Some people put ice on, and it will not help. Others put ice on and it helps. The reason is if the temperature was too high, putting ice on it cools it down to the regular body temperature. The inflammation of the nerve is gone (by putting on ice) and the pain goes away. The O24 equalizes the body temperature, whether it is higher or lower. Automatically, this was a wonderful side effect.

Interviewer: Is that one of the major differences, between O24 and the others? That O24 doesn’t burn?

Richard Weise: Yes. That was done on purpose. With other products, people complained they burned. Some essential oils are very skin irritating. Therefore, you have to make the right formulation to make sure you have no complaints. I still try to make the product better and better, more efficient for the patients, for the consumer. I haven’t had any complaints. I have a complaint file and it has been empty for the last thirteen years, except one person who was allergic to peppermint oil.

Interviewer: Do people use this product on its own, or in conjunction with something else, like ibuprofen?

Richard Weise: People, who have been using this product for ten years, use just this product and nothing else. A lot of people over-medicate for their chronic pain. In some cases, O24 replaces the use of pharmaceutical products altogether. Some of the arthritis patients use it three to four times a day. Others use it once per day. It’s purely a topical lotion. It stays on top of the skin. You can not replace oral medication with this product.

Interviewer: Do you get every ingredient from the same suppliers, or do you change your suppliers from time to time?

Richard Weise: We pretty much try to keep it with the same suppliers. We quality control every ingredient. We make an adjustment every time we do a batch. After every batch we have to go to an independent lab for testing to prove that every ingredient we say and claim in the product is exactly what is in O24. Right now, we’re making a batch for 1600 pounds. That translates into 25,000 one-ounce bottles.

Interviewer: The big puzzle seems to be how the herb essences stick together without binders, such as alcohol or glycerine or some other additive. How did you get the herb essences to bind?

Richard Weise: It is because of the way I mix the product together. That is the patent: how I mix them together and why they stay together. Over the past ten years, I saw companies try to copy the product. They bought product. They broke it down. This is easy. It’s not a big secret. They made the product, but every time they were finished, they concluded, “This could not work!” They got nothing out of it.

Interviewer: Why does your O24 work, while the O24 copycats have failed to replicate your formula, if the ingredients are the same?

Richard Weise: They don’t know how to put the product together. There are no preservatives in the product. Normally, you put water or alcohol in the product and it stays together. O24 stays together without any binders. I put every essential oil into four groups. I have everything written down. The manufacturer knows my exact procedure. The results can be replicated without my monitoring the combining. The company (Swiss Medica) has all the paperwork (for the formula), and their chemists can replicate the formula. They can make the product in the same way. I have bottles sitting here that are thirteen years old. If I take them to the lab tomorrow, they have the same efficiency, the same main ingredients as the product I make today.

Interviewer: O24 has an indefinite shelf life?

Richard Weise: Yes. The same batch I made thirteen years ago has the same life as the batch I would make today. Actually according to the law, I can not say they have indefinite shelf life. We did a test for thirty-six months. We did a shelf-life test in an independent lab. They proved this product has a shelf life of thirty-six months.

Interviewer: Can you confirm that athletes and celebrities have actually used this product?

Richard Weise: Yes. I talked on the phone with them. I know Filip Gartner, the former head coach of the Norwegian ski team. I met him three or four times. Sam Walton’s daughter, for example, likes the product.

Interviewer: What do you know about the fibromyalgia testing that was done in Germany, using O24?

Richard Weise: The doctor bought the product from us. We had no idea he was doing the test. He bought product off the market, tested it and published the results in medical journals. He published this product and the test results. He published what he did without our knowledge and the results were excellent.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. His archived articles and interviews can be found at http://www.stockinterview.com You can contact James Finch by email: jfinch@stockinterview.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=James_Finch

my hobby : Here's How To Improve Your Hobby

2006-07-23T22:22:00.000-07:00

Here are Links to the Very Best Hobby & Leisure Sites We've Found on the Web

If you're a golfer... or a golfing fan... be prepared for a real treat at the following site!
GolfWeb

Whatever your interest in the great outdoors, the GORP has your number. Check out biking, hiking, fishing, birding, climbing, exploring, and much, much more.
Great Outdoor Recreation Page

Here's where you'll find the best links anywhere to pursuits ranging from Amateur (Ham) Radio to Writing... and literally dozens of good stuff in between.
Recreation: Hobbies and Crafts

Does movie making, movies, actors, actresses... etc. trip your trigger? Great... You've just found the rightplace!
There are over 1,500,000 filmography entries in this database, covering over 400,000 people. There are details on just about everyone you have ever heard of (as well as tens of thousands of others you probably haven't).
The Internet Movie Database Tour

Before you plan that next ski outting... better check out this one.
The Consummate Skiing List

Sports Fans! If you don't find what you like here... stop looking. :-)
Welcome to SportsLine USA

Does your favorite pet bark, meow, chirp, neigh, or make various other noises...? Here is some super good stuff especially for you.
Your Guide to Pets on the Internet

Are you a newsaholic? Then the following sites will satisfy your craving for awhile. (Note: Most online versions of newspapers are free, but several are going to ask you to choose a sign-on name and password)
Newspapers Online
Worldwide List of Online Newspapers

Also, if tracing your family tree has the slightest appeal to you as a hobby, be sure to check our own Senior Center Genealogy page.
Trace Your Family Tree

content is extracted from http://www.senior-center.com/hobby.htm

my hobby : It's All New to Me

2006-07-21T22:25:00.000-07:00

I am a real dog lover. I don’t think there have been more than a few months of my entire life that haven’t been enhanced by a loyal canine companion. Over the years I have amassed a plethora of fond memories and humorous stories pertaining to my pawed pals. One of my favourites concerns a neighbour’s dog, not one of my own.
Almost a decade ago my husband and I first gave up the bustle of city life for country charm out of self preservation rather than preference. We had moved to Fort St. John from our family home in the suburbs of Edmonton. Housing was at a premium and we found ourselves in a tiny townhouse surrounded by a transient population of young oilfield workers with, to put it politely, more energetic and, I must say, louder lifestyles. One of my husband’s customers knew a woman renting a small log home on a large, mainly treed acreage half an hour out of the city and at that point a little peace and quiet seemed like just the thing. It was that or therapy.
It was love at first sight, almost a fantasy come true, and we lost no time in saying goodbye to our neighbours. We were ill-prepared for country living and after a week of unrelenting rain my lady-like little ankle boots with the fur trim, perfect for shoveled cement, lay mud-caked and ruined on the deck by the back door. On my way to town to procure a sturdy pair of gum boots the next morning, I headed out the door and tripped over ... one mud-caked, ruined lady boot. The second boot had disappeared in the night. I looked carefully around the yard and squinted into the black depths of the surrounding woods, but although the prickling sensation on my neck told me that I was being carefully watched, I could detect no visual confirmation that my thief was around.
I left the lone boot on the step, standing silent sentinel for its lost mate. It remained, steadfast and alone for over a week while I surreptitiously scanned the horizon for the thief. I knew he was there. Working in the garden I would feel that familiar prickle and turn quickly to find only a slight rustle in the grass. At night I would look from the window to see a dark shape slink across the lawn and melt into the underbrush. The lone boot stood on, a willing tethered kid to catch our tiger.
For awhile whenever I felt he was around, I would talk to him, quietly warning him that I was watching too. But then the game continued long enough that I dropped my guard. The trusty sentinel on the porch got pushed aside and even if I felt that old prickle, I came to shrug and write it off to whim or hot flashes.
Nothing else went missing from the deck, not gloves or garden tools and even a forgotten bowl of cheese puffs remained soggy but untouched.
Come next garbage day the widowed footwear would find itself shoved in the can with shredded bills and leftover lasagna, a discarded useless relic of a discarded lifestyle, replaced by heavy rubber.
Not quite. A lovely, sunny Saturday morning in late June. My husband was riding the tractor mower around the half acre of lawn while I puttered in the petunias. After a while I noticed that he kept turning his head to check quickly over his shoulder. He pulled the mower to a stop by the deck and jumped off. “I’ve got the eeriest feeling that I’m being watched!” he complained. “But I don’t see anyone.”
Together we scanned the yard and the trees beyond. Suddenly we caught a small movement in the tall grasses of the wild meadow that separates the back of the lawn from the forest. Just as bold as you please, out stepped a small black and white border collie with a boot in his mouth.
He sat and carefully placed the boot at his feet and looked right at us. He held us frozen for several minutes, gave us a small bark, picked up his boot and disappeared. I turned quickly to check the deck. Sure enough the second boot had vanished right under our noses!
Several weeks passed. The trees were beginning to turn and the weather had turned chilly and damp. On a dark, rainy evening we heard an unexpected knock at the door. There stood a soaked and bedraggled woman clutching a cardboard box of boots! Apologizing profusely, she identified herself as our nearest neighbour and wondered if any of the boots in the box were ours.
It seems that in cleaning out her dog’s house, she discovered that he had developed an interesting hobby...he collected boots.
After reuniting me with my useless town boots, she apologized her way out the door and was gone. She had cleaned and polished them and they certainly looked better than when I had last seen them. Game over! Win to the dog.
Oddly, when all was said and done, I realized that I had enjoyed the game as much as the dog had and I was sad that it was over. I never saw him again, but, I was always tempted to leave a boot on the porch, just in case. I still am.

Saron Hughes

my hobby : Comicster

2006-07-14T03:48:00.000-07:00

My Hobby Project

I thought I would make a post to let people know about Comicster, a program I've been writing since an early CTP of Visual C# Express. I just released a version to run against the final .NET 2.0 framework.

It's a little freeware application to catalog a comic-book collection. There are plenty of comic-book collection-tracking programs out there, but very few free ones. I wrote this basically for myself, but others are getting use out of it, which is a good feeling.

It uses an ADO.NET strongly-typed DataSet, but it saves it compressed XML locally, rather than writing back to a database. The end-result is that users see this as just another file-based application.

What else? Hmm ... it uses an embedded WebBrowser control to display info using skins, which are made up of plain text files so you can create your own. It's deployed using ClickOnce, so it supports updates. It has a built-in sample database using an XML-file as an embedded resource.

The next big step I'm working on is an internet upload/download, so that users can create a shared database of comics based on items from their collection. I'm building the web-services with Visual Web Developer Express. That bit's not active in the downloadable version just yet.

If you're into comics, or if you are interested in seeing what's possible in C# Express (answer: pretty much everything), please take a look!

Here's the site again. Screenshots are included. Comicster

Cheers,
Matt

my hobby : About My Hobby

2006-07-14T03:41:00.000-07:00

High above the earth numerous satellites circle the globe transmitting a constant stream of video, audio and data. For purposes of this site and that part of the hobby that I am devoting much of my time and interest are those known as "LEO's" or Low Earth Orbit satellites which are polar orbiting - more specifically those operated by the U.S. National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration "NOAA" and the Russian Resurs/Meteor spacecraft.

These polar orbiting satellites circle the globe in either a north-to-south or south-to-north pass some 450 miles high providing radiometer data for monitoring weather data and thus are commonly referred to as "WXSats". This data is in the form of visible, infrared, temperature and water vapour The analog "signal" transmitted is continuous and is known as Automatic Picture Transmission, "APT", and consists of an image swath of a few thousand miles wide by several thousand miles long with a pixel resolution of 4 km square. The APT transmitter outputs any two of the five available sensors onboard the satellite (see example at right) - one provides visible light imagery during daylight and another infrared (IR) sensor is used constantly. A second IR sensor is utilized during the nighttime portion of an orbit - replacing the visible light sensor. The two combined can be used to produce a false color image. Depending on a ground station's location, "line of sight" to the horizon, receiver and antenna setup one can receive these signals, optionally record and process them - displaying the results on most personal computers.

It's not practical to do this without any help and therein lies my purpose for this site. My intention is not to duplicate many of the fine resources available on the internet but to guide the enthusiast in the appropriate direction while at the same time share my own "APT" images, details of the equipment I use, D.I.Y. projects that I've completed, software employed, etc, etc

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All Rights Reserved

my hobby : Making Music As A Lefty

2006-07-12T19:05:00.000-07:00

ryan thomson was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, into a family with a music heritage stretching back to the pioneer days. He grew up in San Diego, California, studied piano as a child, and played in a group recital on live television in 1959. He attended San Diego State University and then moved to New Hampshire in 1976 to study violin repair at the Summer Violin Institute in Durham. The following year he enrolled in a graduate school program of experimental psychology. He designed and taught a college course in the "Psychology of Music," while completing his Master of Arts degree.

While attending college he produced a local bluegrass radio show and also hosted a music show on National Public Radio in New Hampshire. In the summers he traveled to music events across the country, and in 1977 became the northeastern regional champion of the National Fiddle Contest in Weiser, Idaho. After college he decided on a music making career and joined a full time Nashville based country band, touring the eastern USA, playing fiddle 6 days a week in dance halls and honky tonks.

In 1988 he acquired focal dystonia, a neurological disease with a genetic origin which causes improper muscular function. He lost control of some muscles in his right back and shoulder area and had to temporarily give up his career of violin playing. He continued in music however, teaching and performing on other instruments, while he patiently retaught himself to play violin left handed. ryan now plays violin professionally as a lefty fiddler/violinist. He continues to play banjo, guitar, mandolin, piano, and flute right handed. His primary interest is playing fiddle for folk dances, and he also plays chamber music as a serious hobby in his spare time. Along the way he has won numerous awards for fiddle, banjo, and accordion playing.

ryan presently lives in Newmarket, New Hampshire, headquarters for Captain Fiddle Publications. He is the author of several books on music, and presently teaches music both at the Phillips Exeter Academy during the school year, and at folk music and dance camps nationally in the summer time. You can contact him and find out about his current activities at: captainfiddle.com

ryan Thomson

my hobby : Build a Web Site that Works

2006-07-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

My life's greatest passion is a safari hobby. And what would that be, you ask. ...Simply the conservation of wildlife and the environment. I do this after hours from my 7 to 5 job. And that's how this story started. Read this story to learn how to build not just a web site...but a web site that works...

I live and work in a mining town in Zambia. So finding time to do my hobby was not easy at first. It was an up hill battle. But I wised up and made it easy, just too easy perhaps. How did I do that? Since our libraries are a touch too poor in book stocks I could not do my research there. The solution? The Internet ...and my lifeline too!

It is said that one can find practically any information on the
Internet. It is true! The Internet isn't called the "information-
super-highway" for nothing. But looking for information on the Internet can be daunting. "Where to look? What to look for? And above all HOW TO?"

Where to Look

First I had to learn how to use the Internet. Oh I knew the "www" existed and what it could do but I never used it before. So I decided to learn fast. You can't learn any faster than taking the bull by its horns. And I did that. There is a shared computer in our shared office...and it has Internet connection. That was my target. I burnt hours that turned into days...that turned into weeks...and finally into months. And Voila!

I had learnt how to use the Internet and the search engines too. Google search engine came in handy. But try this gem of a search facility. Life sometimes comes with surprises. Click here to see what this jewel can do for you http://searchit.sitesell.com/enz.html . It beats the pants off most Internet searches hands down.

Bad Folks on the Internet

After some research I ran into all kinds of "worms". I mean people with all kinds of offers. I call them "worms" because they'll make you part with your hard earn income. I know this because I lost a nice sum myself. So I should know. The "worms" separated me from my cash. You don't forget such a thing easily and I haven't all this time.

Sorry but I digressed there. As I was saying...I came across all sorts of offers. Get rich quick. Make money with no effort programmes. Multi-level marketing. Business opportunity this or that. And there're many and I joined them all. Well, not all but quite a few really. The result? An inbox full of e-mails and for a period I received over three
hundred per day! Alas none made me a single red dime...wake Enestle! (don't worry that's just my name).

So I hard to learn pretty fast. But it took time, frustrations, and disenchantment. What with all that hype on the Internet. But it finally dawned on me that either I gave up the Internet or changed my tactic completely. By this time I had noticed that people could be very generous with information on the Internet. Especially those marketing something. Perhaps too generous! But of course to lure you into their snares, perhaps?

I started asking questions and for help too. Lots and tons of help came my way. Then it hit me. Its called information overload! Lots and lots of information swamped me. Much more kept coming in. The electronic newsletters I had subscribed to contributed a lot. I tried to soak it all in but my brain was choked! I was paralysed. Information paralysis! To choose a programme to pursue was now beyond me. I was scared!

Help Comes Along

I kept asking around. And "out of the blue", out of this maze, a good soul appeared. He advised me to choose one programme that looked like it had a fighting chance at success. And to stick to it like a baby monkey sticks to its mum's body. Gently he mentioned that there was a 5-day Masters Course on web marketing that shows it all. Ken Evoy offers this tutorial. And it's free too! Yes free. Get yourself this 5-day masters tutorial by clicking here http://aff-masters.sitesell.com/enz.html .

And if you would like to promote a hobby...even if it's a business you wish to promote please click here to see how small business people are mastering it http://www.sitesell.com/enz.html . You'll be able to learn
from the comfort of your home. Dr Evoy will "take-you-by-the-hand" gently, but with crystal clarity, show you the sure way that works. He advises, "Why build JUST a web site... when you COULD build a web BUSINESS?"

Follow his advice and you'll leak the information overload. You'll get out of the maze and be on your own happy way. Be it a safari hobby like mine or any hobby at all And it works all the time even for businesses and ...small businesses too!

How to Write a Sizzling Copy and Ads

Are you worried that you might not be able to write? You'll be brought up to speed in learning how to write a sizzling copy or advert if you care to read a short but very precise book called "Make Your Content PREsell". It taught me all I know about marketing on the Internet.

by Trevor Lewis

my hobby ; Tim F's Audio Stuff

2006-07-09T22:38:00.000-07:00

This website has become a historical documentation of my hobby/obsession turned business. So many DIYers ask about these products that I created a dedicated website for them. Some are built from kits, some from other's plans, and some completely from my own designs based on information gathered from a variety of sources. I would like to thank the following people for helping me along.

Dan Wiggins of Adire Audio. David Dlugos of Planet10 and T-linespeakers. Bob Reimer of Creative Sound Solutions. Al Wooley of RAW Acoustics and Martin King for his Quarter Wave worksheets. Also, Greg Monfort, Jim Griffin, Bob Brines, Mark McKenzie and John Krutke for their continuing contributions to DIY audio.

This page will evolve as more projects are started and completed so be sure to check back for updates.

All the projects listed on this page are the property of the designer. Individuals are free to recreate them for personal use. Reproducing any of these projects for commercial use without the permission of the creator is unlawful. No warranty of any kind is expressed in any fashion for any of these projects.

If you're someone just trying to gain knowledge about home audio then I hope some of the information is useful to you. If you're considering designing and building your own speakers or other audio components keep in mind that this can be an addictive hobby and you'll want to pace yourself. Otherwise, like many of us, you'll have more stuff sitting around collecting dust than actually in use, but it's so much fun! If all you want is a pair of speakers and that's it, get a well tested kit or just buy some. The time and money spent designing and building one set of speakers may not be worth it.

http://www.timn8er.com/

my hobby : Is Selling On eBay Just A Hobby

2006-07-09T22:19:00.000-07:00

With so many people selling on ebay these days th is is a
question I get all the time. To many ebay sellers the thought of
running an actual business is about as appealing as getting
negative feedback, so they go out of their way to convince
themselves that selling on ebay is really "just a hobby" and
therefore, should not be susceptible to income tax laws.

While you might think selling on ebay is just a hobby and the
extra money you're making is not reportable as income, depending
on the circumstances, the IRS just might disagree with you.

The IRS rules are clear: you must pay taxes on all personal and
business income and that includes money you make selling on eBay.

In its most basic sense, the IRS rules mean that if you buy a
vase at a garage sale for $10 and sell it on ebay (or elsewhere)
for $20 you made a $10 profit and therefore must report it as
income and pay Uncle Sam h is fair share.

In reality, if you are a casual seller who only sells a few
items on ebay every now and then it's doubtful the IRS is going
to lose much sleep over the few bucks you make.

However, if you consistently sell on ebay the IRS may deem your
activities to be business oriented and you will be required to
file a Schedule C and claim the income.

The IRS uses a number of factors to determine if a hobby
is really a business. These factors include:

1. Do you carry on the activity in a business-like manner?

If you conduct your ebay activities in a business-like manner,
i.e. you keep business records, track profit and loss, keep a
separate checking account, etc. then whether you think so or
not, your hobby is really a business.

2. Do you spend considerable time working on your hobby?

If you put considerable time and effort into your ebay sales, the
IRS may contend that you do so for profit and not fun. It seems
the folks at the IRS don't believe in doing things strictly for
pleasure. My guess is, neither do you. If you weren't making
money selling on ebay I doubt you'd bother getting up at
4 a.m. to hit all those yardsales.

Then again, maybe you would... :o)

3. If you depend on income from your ebay activities for your
livelihood?

If so, it's a business, not a hobby.

There are a number of other factors the IRS uses to determine if
a hobby is really a business, but that covers the basics.

You can learn more at the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

What's eBay's take on all this?

ebay is vehemently opposed to anything tax related (especially
the forced collection of sales tax, which is a whole 'nother
issue). It's understandable that ebay is not a fan of the IRS
since trying to enforce tax rules on buyers and sellers would
undoubtedly be detrimental to the way ebay does business.

ebay does not does not issue 1099 tax forms to sellers, nor does
it report seller's sales figures to the IRS. ebay considers itself
a faciliator, i.e. they provide a marketplace in which buyers and
sellers come together to do business.

However, since ebay is not directly involved in the transactions
that take place between buyers and sellers, it would be impossible
for ebay to report sales figures. Furthermore, ebay does not
track if a seller actually gets paid by the buyer, so they have
no idea how much money actually changes hands, making it
impossible for ebay to issue accurate 1099s to sellers.

On the bright side, if you do sell on ebay as a business you can
deduct a number of business expenses, including the cost of
inventory, listing fees, shipping, envelopes, packing materials,
etc. You might also be able to deduct things like the purchase
of a computer for business use, office space (even if it's a
home office), office supplies, and more.

I'm not accountant (nor do I play one on TV), so please do not
take any of th is as tax advice or legal opinion. Talk to your
accountant if there's any doubt as to whether you should or
should not be paying taxes on your ebay earnings.

Here's to your success!

by Tim Knox

my hobby : About Buying Fly Fishing Flies Online

2006-07-04T23:16:00.000-07:00

For many fly-fisherman, fly-tying is a serious hobby. Given that tying your own flies provides so much satisfaction, why buy flies online?

For many fly-fisherman, fly-tying is a serious hobby. Not only is fly-tying economical, it is enjoyable. Nothing beats the thrill of mastering a new fly pattern, or creating specialized flies for ones' unique fishing situations. Also, one cannot underestimate the sense of adventure that accompanies the fly-fisher on the prowl for the perfect materials, whether browsing the local fly shop, ransacking a craft store, or even salvaging road kill.

Given that tying your own flies provides so much satisfaction, why buy flies online?

Obtain local fly patterns

The first reason is that as your fly fishing experience grows, your desire to test new and foreign waters increases. As a result, your need for localized patterns becomes more important. Sure, you want to do the research and tie your own variations of the Club Sandwich before you hit the Snake River for the first time, but there's something to be said about fishing the tried and true local patterns on your initial outings to foreign waters. With that idea established, you can either buy these flies from a local shop or purchase them online. I recommend doing both.

Say you live in New Jersey and you're planning your first trip to Colorado. You and your buddies plan to hit a few a rivers within 10 days. Before you go, do research on the internet - find out what's hatching on these rivers when you plan to visit them, and what patterns work best. Then, based on your research, purchase enough flies online to cover you while fishing these waters. Now you have a safety net - you won't have to worry about not having enough flies for the rivers you'll fish at the end of your trip.

by Steve Clark

my hobby : The Magical World Of Collectible Figurines

2006-07-04T23:00:00.000-07:00

Millions of people throughout the world take great joy in the hobby of collecting figurines. If you are thinking of starting your own collectible figurine collection, you can purchase your first figurine through various channels, such as buying it online or going to a wholesale figurine market.

Nowadays, figurine collection has become an interesting and fascinating hobby. In fact, with the use of the internet, starting your own figurine collection has become even easier. No matter what type of figurine you are looking for, you will find a wide range of collectible figurines available on the internet, which you can buy from the comfort of your own home and at a reasonable price too. You can also purchase figurines by bidding on online auctions. However, take care not to bid too much on figurines as you would not want your figurine collection to become a financial burden on you.

If you want to order a special type of figurine such as an angel figurine or a fairy figurine, be sure to ask the supplier to display the models and list of your choice. It is also important to specify the size of your figurine before placing the purchase order. Images and pictures of figurines online are often not truly representative of the actual size of the figurines and may often appear larger than the actual dimensions.

Furthermore, some special figurines such as angel figurine may cost you more, as they can be custom made according to your desire. The modern porcelain angel figurine comes in various materials and shapes, so be sure to specify the material and other features that you wish your angel figurine or fairy figurine to have. Fairy figurines are also available in many models and dimensions. Another type of collectible figurine that many people love to collect is the pewter figurine of mythical creatures.

If you consider your figurine collection to be of great value, you should consider passing it on to your future generation as collectible figurines increase in values over time. You will be surprised to know that there is a science to collecting figurines and the more you become involved in the hobby of collecting figurines, the more you will want to learn about it.

Before starting your collection, visit specialty shops like wholesale figurine shops or ask a few friends or relatives who are experienced in collecting figurines for suggestions on how to get started and also on how to negotiate successfully with sellers of figurines

by Sue Jan

my hobby : Fishing By Moon Phase

2006-07-02T23:12:00.000-07:00

Every fisherman dreams of a bigger catch! Is it possible to know beforehand when you should plan a trip to enjoy some fishing, catch more than usual, and come home feeling 100% satisfied? Based on my own personal research around the best fishing times, I think it is.

When I first started fishing, the best fishing time for me was whatever time happened to suit me. I tried different lures, baits and techniques until I'd spent a small fortune in my quest to improve my fishing catch. When I finally heard about the "Solunar Theory"--or fishing by moon phase--like most anglers, I was skeptical.

What I'd read sounded too complicated. All sorts of factors needed to be checked and the determined angler needed to be at the water's edge at exactly the right time, TO THE MINUTE, in order to improve on his average catch. Was I really willing to take my hobby that seriously? Let's just say that curiosity got the better of me.

To help me determine whether there was any truth in the moon's effect on the best fishing times, I kept a record of every trip I made over a period of 18 months. All information related to the moon's phases, the weather conditions and the catches I made were carefully logged. What I discovered convinced me that moon phase fishing works. BUT, I also found that it isn't anywhere near as complicated as many would have us believe.

How Does Fishing By Moon Phase Work?

Every fisherman knows that the best fishing times are when the fish are feeding. This tends to be during dawn and dusk, but what often goes unnoticed are the two periods elsewhere in the day--moonrise and moonset. Because the moon has an effect on a variety of factors surrounding the fish--including the live fodder they hunt--these periods, combined with the moon's phase, are what trigger feeding.

By understanding this, and choosing times when sunrise/sunset and moonrise/moonset coincide with new or full moon phases, you'll increase you chance of a good fishing catch. Assuming there are fish in the area, of course.

Choosing The Best Fishing Times

There really is nothing complicated about this at all; it's just a matter of knowing ahead of time exactly when the sun and moon will rise and set. Fish are most active during 90-minute windows surrounding each of these four daily events; that's 45 minutes before and after these four daily points.

Fishing during these four periods will help increase your fishing catch, but if you plan wisely so as to ensure you're at the water's edge on the days of new or full moon, you can use these 'windows' to reel in a catch like you've never done before. If you have to choose between sunrise/set and moonrise/set, always go with the moon as the moon is the stronger influence.

Hunters have always known that fish and game are most active at dawn and dusk--sunrise and sunset--but their activity surrounding moonrise and moonset is less noticeable because these events are likely to occur without effecting any change in the perceived light. The rise and set of a new moon is invisible anyway, and overcast weather often hides the moon. Without prior knowledge of setting and rising times, two of the best fishing times will be missed every day!

Other Considerations

When planning your fishing by moon phase, there are certain other factors that should also be considered.

Weather - Severe weather changes have an impact on the way fish feed. When a storm's brewing, or just after one has passed, is a good time. If this happens while you're in place, you'll be in for a treat! However, if there's a cold front approaching, the fish are likely to move deeper into the water and become inactive.

Season - Most fish are more likely to bite willingly during seasonal transitions with the transition from winter to spring and summer to fall being the two best fishing times.

Now that you know that moon phase fishing really works, there's no reason why you shouldn't utilize this knowledge to increase your own fishing catch by being at the ready with your rod during the best fishing times available. It's easy and it works!

by David Rose

my hobby : My First Experience With Goldfish

2006-07-02T23:04:00.000-07:00

If you are seriously considering keeping fish as pets or are just starting out, I would like to stress again the importance of having some basic knowledge about aquariums and fish keeping in order to enjoy the hobby for a significant length of time and to avoid frustrations and disappointments. In the first article I illustrated this by sharing my own childhood experience with bettas, and now I shall share my experience with goldfish.

While I still had my bettas I also wanted to keep some goldfish since I also found them attractive and interesting. My mom was reluctant to buy me some since I already had the bettas but she finally gave in and bought me a pair of "telescope" goldfish.

At the time I didn't have a real aquarium yet so we put the goldfish in a large jar (about 1 gallon). One of our neighbors told us that goldfish wouldn't tolerate chlorine and therefore, we should not use tap water. They happened to have a well and offered to let us use the water for my goldfish.

I soon noticed that the fish were constantly gasping for air at the surface. They also refused to eat. After a couple of days the water started to become cloudy, so I changed it totally. However, the fish still refused to eat and continued to gasp for air. Not long after that they became lethargic and eventually died.

My mom said probably "telescope" goldfish just weren't hardy enough and not easy to keep. However, I had not given up on goldfish yet, so I asked if I could try to keep other kinds and hopefully would have better luck. My parents eventually consented but my dad suggested that I get a real aquarium instead of putting the fish in a jar. You can imagine how elated I was that finally I was going to have a real aquarium.

So we went out and bought a 10 gallon aquarium and a few goldfish at the same time. I believe we bought 4 fish: a couple of medium sized "comets" and a pair of "pearl scales." We didn't buy them at a store, though. It was more like a wholesale type of place where there were plenty of different sellers selling their aquariums and fish. Again, at the time neither my mom nor I knew much about fish keeping. So we didn't buy any supplies for the aquarium. Just the tank and fish. That was it!

When we got home I filled up the aquarium with untreated tap water and immediately put the fish in. I was so excited to see the goldfish swim around in the tank, but that didn't last long. In a few hours the fish were no longer lively. They sort of stayed at the bottom and didn't move very much.

When my dad saw them he said they probably lacked oxygen and suggested that we go out and buy an air pump to aerate the tank. I had only seen aerated aquariums in places like public aquariums and fancy restaurants and thought that an air pump had to be very expensive, but my dad said it would be OK.

So my mom and I went to a fish store to look for an air pump. Besides the pump we also needed something to hook the plastic tube on to and hold it in place. We chose to get a frog ornament for that purpose (the air would come out of the frog's mouth). All the stuff didn't really cost too much.

As soon as we got home we hooked everything up and air started flowing into the aquarium. Like magic, within a couple of minutes the fish started to "wake up" and finally became lively again. My dad said, "I told you so!"

The air pump was about the only supply we bought for the aquarium. Having beautiful and lively goldfish in my very own aquarium was good enough for me. I loved them so much that I also fed them too much. I was happy to watch them eat. As you can imagine though, the water got dirty very quickly that I had to change it every day.

One day a friend of ours told us that we shouldn't be changing the water daily since it wouldn't be good for the fish. Also, in the mean time I had read somewhere that if you wanted to use tap water you should set it aside for a few days to get rid of the chlorine. Therefore, I set aside a bucket of water and changed 3/4 of the water about every 3 days.

I was able to enjoy the goldfish for a few months before one of them got sick and died and the others followed soon after. I was extremely sad and because of that my dad told me I couldn't buy any more fish. So, after all my fish died my hobby came to a sad end. Well, at least for a while.

Again, there is a take-home lesson here: if you're serious about having your own aquarium, there's some basic knowledge you need to possess before you even buy the aquarium and fish. You don't have to know everything there is to know about the hobby, but at least for the sake of the fish, you should understand a few things (such as how many fish you can have in a tank, how much to feed them, what kinds of aquarium supplies to have, and what kinds of maintenance you need to perform, just to name a few) that are crucial to their well being.

by Jonathan Wangsa

my hobby : 'I turned my hobby into a business'

2006-06-29T00:22:00.000-07:00

Liz O'Hanlon always felt like a fish out of water at work.

She had a successful career as a recruitment consultant, but felt more at home helping out during weekends in her husband John's pub in London's Clerkenwell.

When the opportunity came up to turn their brewing sideline into a full-scale business, she jumped at the chance.

Seven years later, after countless sleepless nights, rows with the bank manager and a relocation to Devon, she insists she has no regrets.

Although, ask her if she has any advice for people thinking of turning their hobby into a business, and she says "don't go into brewing".

And she is only half-joking.

Passion

Running a small business can be hard enough at the best of times.

But when you are dealing with a product or service you care about passionately, the problems can multiply.

It is difficult to retain the sense of detachment vital for sensible business decisions when all you can really focus on is the quality of the product.

It can also blind you to advice from professionals, especially when they tell you it will never work.

The plus side is that you will be likely to devote even more passion and commitment into making sure you get it right.

By Brian Wheeler

my hobby : Is Selling On eBay Just A Hobby

2006-06-28T23:56:00.000-07:00

Q: I made extra money selling things on eBay last year. These
were items I picked up at yardsales mostly. My husband says I
am responsible for paying income tax on the money I made, but
I disagree. This is just my hobby, not a business. What do you
think?
-- Gladys A.

A: With so many people selling on eBay these days this is a
question I get all the time. To many eBay sellers the thought of
running an actual business is about as appealing as getting
negative feedback, so they go out of their way to convince
themselves that selling on eBay is really "just a hobby" and
therefore, should not be susceptible to income tax laws.

While you might think selling on eBay is just a hobby and the
extra money you're making is not reportable as income, depending
on the circumstances, the IRS just might disagree with you.

The IRS rules are clear: you must pay taxes on all personal and
business income and that includes money you make selling on eBay.

In its most basic sense, the IRS rules mean that if you buy a
vase at a garage sale for $10 and sell it on eBay (or elsewhere)
for $20 you made a $10 profit and therefore must report it as
income and pay Uncle Sam his fair share.

In reality, if you are a casual seller who only sells a few
items on eBay every now and then it's doubtful the IRS is going
to lose much sleep over the few bucks you make.

However, if you consistently sell on eBay the IRS may deem your
activities to be business oriented and you will be required to
file a Schedule C and claim the income.

The IRS uses a number of factors to determine if a hobby
is really a business. These factors include
1. Do you carry on the activity in a business-like manner?

If you conduct your eBay activities in a business-like manner,
i.e. you keep business records, track profit and loss, keep a
separate checking account, etc. then whether you think so or
not, your hobby is really a business.

2. Do you spend considerable time working on your hobby?

If you put considerable time and effort into your eBay sales, the
IRS may contend that you do so for profit and not fun. It seems
the folks at the IRS don't believe in doing things strictly for
pleasure. My guess is, neither do you. If you weren't making
money selling on eBay I doubt you'd bother getting up at
4 a.m. to hit all those yardsales.

Then again, maybe you would... :o)

3. If you depend on income from your eBay activities for your
livelihood?

If so, it's a business, not a hobby.

by Nicholas Dixon

my hobby : Should I Turn My Hobby into a Career?

2006-06-23T23:23:00.000-07:00

We're supposed to enjoy our work, right? So why not turn something we already enjoy into our career?
Here are some reasons for and against the idea of turning your hobby into your full-time job.

The Pros

1. You know you enjoy it

Whether you're into quilting, painting, or building furniture, you know you lose track of time and feel proud of the results of your efforts.

2. It's more fun than real work

If you don't like what you're doing now, this can seem very attractive.

3. It makes you think work can be fun

Many people have a tough time imagining truly enjoying work. Fantasizing about how you could make a living at your hobby can help you overcome the doubt that work can be gratifying.

Those are some of the pros. Maybe you have thought of others. Now, here come the cons.

The Cons

1. Your hobby can become "work"

Gratia Hardy, of Pasadena, points out that "...being required to do something regularly and well is very different from the no-pressure, no-expectation levels of our recreational activities." When you have to crank out 90,000 of those adorable (fill in the blank with your product) each year, WILL YOU STILL ENJOY IT?

2. Your hobby may not be worthy of a business

Your relatives and friends' assurances that THEY'LL buy your adorable (fill in the blank with your product) doesn't count as market research. If you're serious, write a business plan. And use REAL numbers. It just may work, and you'll make smarter decisions if you have a plan.

3. Your hobby may become mundane

A hobby may not be deep enough to provide the ongoing potential that you'll need to tap to find it fascinating, challenging, and meaningful 15 or 20 years from now. Of course it depends on your hobby, but if you are brainstorming ideas for your new career path, I recommend you list lots of ideas and choose one or two to explore that have the most potential, as well as those that really draw you in.

The Bottom Line

I don't think you should eliminate from your career search the idea of turning your hobby into a business. But you should explore the concept as you would any other business idea and consider what your day-to-day worklife would look like.

If your idea keeps looking better the more light you shine on it, you should have a promising path ahead.

There is one very positive aspect of doing a business plan based on your hobby. You may be highly motivated to do some planning and research, since this relates to an activity you know well and enjoy, and you therefore may be more likely to do the necessary planning. This is a big plus! (And once you see how to do this research, you may be more likely to do it for other ideas you will come up with.)

Something I've learned coaching over the years is that creating a business out of the first few ideas you come up with isn't a good goal. The best careers come from exploring the first ideas and finding out what will, and what won't, work for you.

The evolution of your ideas are the best reason to further explore those first ideas. If creating a business plan based on your hobby gets you to see that you can plan a business that you will enjoy and that will add to your quality of life, then starting with a hobby is a great idea. So start with your hobby, and enjoy the adventure of finding out where you will end up!

Copyright © 2001 FabJob.com All Rights Reserved.

my hobby : Collecting Stickers

2006-06-23T22:39:00.000-07:00

Most of us have the collecting instinct. That is why we have to keep certain objects just for the fun of it. Many children collect stamps, stickers, coins erasers and cards.

My hobby is collecting stickers. It is also one of the most popular hobbies among children. Children can enjoy this pastime because it is not an expensive hobby. I started collecting stickers since I was four years old. My hobby began through the influence of my neighbour, Wilfred. One day when I was playing in his house, he showed me his stacks of sticker albums. I was amazed to see so many colourful stickers of all shapes and sizes. He gave me a few pieces from his collection. My interest in stickers started from that day.

I kept my first set of stickers in a scrapbook but my subsequent collections were kept in beautiful boxes. I was quite reluctant to paste them on sticker albums which my mother has bought for me because I think some of the stickers could not be removed easily when pasted onto the albums. By keeping the stickers in boxes, I can exchange some of my stickers with my friends conveniently without damaging them.

Ever since my family members came to know of my interest in stickers, they will buy stickers for me whenever they come across nice ones. I love those stickers from my auntie who is an air-hostess. She bought them from different countries around the world. Some of the unique ones were from the airline that she is working for.

During me free time, I will bring out all my lovely collections, lay them on the ground and admire them. I really enjoy doing this as it will help me recall who gave them, where and when I got them.

Some of my friends are jealous of my collections as I will not exchange my unique stickers with them. Unfortunately, Wilfred shifted away a few years ago and we had lost contact with each other. Otherwise, I would love to share my collections with him. I must really thank Wilfred for his little gift which started my hobby

by Sooi Min Ling

PJ HiFi installs

2006-05-13T04:39:00.000-07:00

PJ Hi-Fi, in Guildford, the hub city of Britain's wealthiest county, is the place to find an exceptional home cinema demo room. The sound system is all Genelec, of course, and it features a Barco Cine CRT projector, a 7.5ft wide Studiotek 130 microperf from Stewart Filmscreen and Lumagen VisionPro HDP Video Scaler. An Arcam AV8 processor and Genelec D18A Active Balancer complete the lineup.

This is what Hamish McNair-Wilson, Editor of What's New in Sound and Vision made of it all
'Whether I found myself viewing the latest Master and Commander DVD, Lord of the Rings from a DTS demo disk or even HDTV, the pictures and in particular the sounds were awe-inspiring, In Master and Commander you could feel every lurch of the ship as the bass reverberated around the room, yet also make out the subtlest pattering of feet on the deck above and discern the most distant yelp. Like no other home cinema set-up I've come across, it thrust you into the environment of the movie on screen and enabled you to live and breathe the action.'

'The audacious, earth-shaking sonic performance was relayed by an active speaker system comprising Genelec 1037C's at the left, right and centre, Genelec AIW26's In-Wall at the side left and surround back and right. It is these, supported by two of Genelec's HTS4 Subwoofers, that really seem to make things happen and their presence here alone is enough to boost Genelec's ever burgeoning credentials and reputation.'

Guildford is now home to one of the finest examples of home cinema to be seen in the UK.

http://www.genelec.com/ht/news/pj_hifi.php

Casino Strategy

2006-05-10T02:50:00.000-07:00

During the past 50 years the name Las Vegas has become synonymous with gambling. Nine out of 10 visitors gamble while they're in town. It is almost perverse to visit Las Vegas and not gamble. But while unreasonable expectations can lead to disappointment -- or worse, as in the loss of a lot of money -- the key to having a good time is to approach the casinos with the idea that, contrary to popular opinion, you can win or, at the very least, get much more than your money's worth of playing time. Your success depends less on being lucky than on being familiar with the rules of the games, being aware of the concepts behind the games, and being conversant with the strategies that enable you to play not only with confidence but also with a fair shot at walking away a winner.

The House Advantage

The first important concept to understand about gambling in Las Vegas is that the odds for all the games provide an advantage for the casino ("house"), generally known, appropriately enough, as the "house advantage" (or "edge" or "vigorish"). The casino is a business, and wagering is its product. Because the house establishes the rules, procedures, and payoffs on every game, it builds an automatic commission into every bet to ensure a profit margin.

Here's how it works. Let's pretend that I'm the house and you're the customer and we're betting on a series of coin flips. The deal that I make with you is that every time the coin lands heads up, I win and you pay me a dollar. Every time the coin lands tails up, you win -- but I only pay you 90¢. The law of averages maintains that out of every hundred coin tosses, heads will win 50 times and tails will win the other 50. If I take a dime out of every one of your winning payoffs, the longer you play, the more dimes will wind up in my pocket. If you started with a $50 bankroll, after 1,000 tosses, even if you win half of them, you'd be busted out. (Because it requires two trials -- win one, lose one -- for the house to make its 10¢ "commission," your "negative expectation," or house edge, in this example is 5%.)

The second important gambling concept is known as "fluctuation" (or "variance"). In plain English, we're talking about "luck." Looking at our coin-toss game through the lens of averages, if you and I flip a coin 1,000 times, it's reasonable to expect that the coin will land heads up and tails up close to 500 times each. However, if we flip the coin only 10 times, it's conceivable that the coin could land heads up only twice or as many as eight times. Now let's say that we made the same betting deal as above but we limited the number of tosses to 10. This would largely eliminate your 5% disadvantage and leave it up to "the luck of the toss" or, in other words, the fluctuation. Thus, a short-term fluctuation in the law of averages eliminates the long-term threat of the negative expectation.

How do these concepts -- the house advantage and negative expectation, as well as short-term fluctuation -- apply to the choices that you make as a casino customer? Your decisions, based on these concepts, will determine not only what you play, but also how you play, how long you play, and, ultimately, how well you play.

Luck Versus the Edge

The average "bankroll" (cash carried for the sole purpose of gambling) of a Las Vegas visitor who plans to spend some time in the casino is roughly $500. This is a crucial statistic. The amount of your bankroll and your preferred style of "action" (how you risk your bankroll) define your relationship to luck and the house edge.

Basically, the parameters of gambling action are fast and slow. Some people, though they're in the minority, like their action fast and loose and high risk; these are true "gamblers," in the old-fashioned sense of the word. The extreme version of this type of action is to take the whole $500 bankroll and lay it down on a single play -- say, red or black on the roulette table. The odds are not quite even. The green 0 and 00 on the roulette table give the house an advantage of 5.26% (Roulette, below). Still, even though the odds are less than fair, the immediate result will be the same: double or nothing.

Making one play eliminates both the law of averages and the long-term threat of the house advantage; here you rely solely on the luck of the draw. If you want to go on a roller-coaster ride of luck, with a minute or so of adrenaline-pumping, heart-pounding excitement, lay it all down at once. In a matter of moments, you'll either have twice the money you arrived with or none of it.

A less extreme version of this wild ride is to break your bankroll into two units, and make two bets. Here you can either double your money, lose it all, or break even. Similarly, if you separate your $500 bankroll into five units and make five bets, or 10 units and make 10 bets, your ride lasts a little longer and your outcome is a little less black and white: You can double, bust out, break even, or come out somewhat ahead or behind. Still, the cumulative danger of the house advantage barely comes into play.

Luck can supersede the house advantage, but only in the short run. And though luck accounts for winners big and small -- such as the California nurse who lines up four Megabucks symbols on the $3 pay line to win $9 million or the $2 dice shooter who parlays a hot hand into a couple of hundred bucks -- the lack of luck can obliterate a bankroll faster than a crooked S&L.

Besides, most people who come to Las Vegas like to gamble for as long as they can without running out of money. These people take their $500 bankrolls and split them into 100 units to make $5 bets, 250 units for $2 bets, 500 units for $1 bets, or even 2,000 units for 25¢ bets. This guarantees plenty of time for the law of averages to even out the fluctuations. On the other hand, it puts the house advantage and the negative expectation right back into the game.

So how do you play as long as you like without the certainty of the house advantage grinding your bankroll into dust?

Copyright ©2006 by Fodors.com, a unit of Fodors LLC. All rights reserved

Turtles in Crisis

2006-05-05T05:47:00.000-07:00

Centuries old Chinese trade routes spread like fingers throughout Asia bringing the fauna of the continent into their food markets. By now, we are accustomed to seeing images of these animals horrifically mistreated while waiting to be sold for food, traditional Chinese medicines or in the rare instance to be released as a good luck omen. What is new here is that the trade in turtles and tortoises, most of which have been captured in the wild, has become massive. When the Chinese currency recently became convertible, it made turtles and tortoises a cash commodity, putting demand pressure on supplies in other Asian countries, who until then, had used the turtles for their own local consumption.

Considerations and Implications of the Food Markets
In order to meet the increased demand from China, harvesting methods of wild turtles and tortoises had to be successful enough to achieve commercial feasibility. Apparently successful enough that in 1996, 7,716,000 pounds (3.5 million kg.) of turtles were imported and consumed in Hong Kong alone. The most common turtle found in this market was Mauremys mutica. Averaging 2 ½ pounds (1.2 kg.) each, that equals well over 3 million turtles in one year (Bosco Chan, pers. com. report to TRAFFIC Hong Kong, in preparation). However, the markets are indiscriminate as to species, and include 80 pound (36 kg.) adult Orlitia borneensis and 31/2 ounce (100 gram) Geomyda spengleri, so the number of turtles in absolute terms varies. In 1993 approximately 200,000 – 300,000 individual turtles and tortoises were exported from the Cau Mong market in Ho Chi Minh City. Approximately 100,000 of these were Indotestudo elongata (Jenkins 1995).

Harvesting methods for the food markets are as varied as the species found in the markets themselves. Turtles are speared, netted, trapped, caught with hook and line, and dug out of the mud during low water periods or while aestivating. Dogs and pit traps are used for many of the forest floor dwelling turtles including Cuora galbinifrons, Heosemys spinosa, Indotestudo elongata and Pyxidea mouhotii. Platysternon are captured on lines using baited straight pins (C. Hansen pers.com.)

However, in order to gauge the thoroughness of the destruction of the turtles of Asia we must consider the three prong attack on the river turtles; the collection of adults, harvesting of eggs and destruction of habitat. This for example, has led to a reduction of Batagur baska in peninsular Malaysia by over 90% in the last century (Jenkins 1995).

The situation in Thailand is certainly no better. Maxwell (1911) calculated 2,600 Batagur baska and Kachuga trivittata nesting communally in the Ayeyarwady river delta in 1890. By 1899 this population was down to 820, while in 1982 the same area accounted for “only a few”. Most recently, a United Nations Development Program found none (van Dijk 1997).

Callagur borneensis, Batagur baska, Kachuga trivattata and the larger riverine softshell species are captured by a technique that targets nesting females. Lines of hemp or nylon are suspended several inches above the riverbanks between poles stuck in the sand so the line runs parallel to the water line. From this line dangle fish hooks which snag the turtles as they cross under the wire to nest and imprisons them while they await collection by the turtle hunters. This technique effectively removes the breeding females from the populations. Eggs are harvested from the few nests that are managed by females eluding the hooks. More recent perils to these species include “sand mining” and dam construction. Dams alter water height, eliminating nesting sites and in some cases precluding access to the shoreline altogether. The sandy riverbanks, which serve as traditional communal nesting sites are literally being scooped out and removed. As the need for sand for construction increases so does the destruction of the habitats themselves affecting all the wildlife, including turtles.

Harvesting for the food markets is by no means limited to professionals. Local peoples are also able to cash in utilizing the ubiquitous “reverse pet shops”. In the villages and hamlets of the Asian countryside, these shops purchase animals of all sorts from the local peoples who collect turtles and tortoises whenever they are encountered. From these shops the turtles and tortoises make their way to the middlemen who then transport them across borders if necessary into the larger Asian and Chinese cites. Mislabeled as seafood, the turtles and tortoises are stacked in wooden crates violating International Air Transport Association (IATA) shipping regulations. They are also hauled over land in buses and trucks. These journeys can take up to several weeks. The trade in turtles is brisk, highly developed and ignored by border guards, customs officials and airline personnel on both the export and import sides of the Asian borders

by James E. Barzyk

Running into the sand

2006-05-03T12:07:00.000-07:00

Mr. Kelly's Arabia, the Gulf, and the West is being reissued by Basic Books.

The Arabs consider that they are the victims of a shameful injustice. Iraq and Saddam will henceforth embody, in an imperishable fashion, the spirit of resistance and the refusal to accept what, because one is an Arab, is the calamity of bending the knee."

Sid Ahmad Ghozali, foreign minister of Algeria, March 4, 1991

ONE OF the less edifying sights in recent weeks has been that of French politicians of every stripe scurrying around the capitals of the Maghreb, anxiously reassuring the Algerians, Moroccans, and Tunisians of France's undiminished esteem and affection for them, despite the anti-French demonstrations in Algiers, Rabat, and Tunis provoked by the French participation in the war against Iraq. Uninspiring though the spectacle has been, it has at least had the merit of providing a twofold warning to the United States: of how not to behave in the months ahead in making arrangements for the future security of the Gulf, and of how some of America's partners in the anti-Iraq coalition can be expected to behave.

The present situation at the head of the Gulf bears a distant resemblance to that which followed the military defeat of the Ottoman empire seventy-odd years ago. The vilayets of Basra and Baghdad were under British military administration, which was in the process of being extended to the vilayet of Mosul in the north. To the eastward, Persia was in a state of upheaval, due in part to the effects of the Great War, in part to Shi'i agitation, but most of all to the incapacity of the Qajar shah to govern his country. To the north the nascent Soviet Union was wracked by civil war, its economy was foundering, and its sovereignty was being impaired by foreign intervention. To the southwest the sultanate of Najd (the forerunner of present-day Saudi Arabia) and the sheikhdom of Kuwait had taken advantage of the war to throw off the remnants of Turkish suzerainty, to place themselves under British protection, and to reap the dual financial benefit of British subsidies and profits from running the British blockade of the Tarkish Arabian provinces. Finally, France was staking her claim to dominion over Syria and a share, if not a monopoly, of the oil of Mosul.

Something obviously had to be done to impose order on Turkish Iraq and the upper Gulf, and the only power in a position to do anything was Britain. Acting, in the first instance, by right of conquest, and afterward on the authority of the mandate conferred on her by the League of Nations, Britain united the three former Turkish vilayets into the kingdom of Iraq, installed the Hashemite prince Faisal Ibn Hussein as its sovereign, and laid down the frontiers of the new state. In 1932 Britain relinquished the mandate and Iraq was admitted to the League of Nations as a fully independent state.

Lines in the Sand

BRITAIN'S definition of the frontiers of Iraq with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia has been the subject of much heated comment in recent months, the burden of the complaints being that these frontiers were "arbitrarily drawn" lines on the map, devised by Britain for her own "imperialist purposes" and imposed upon the people of the area "regardless of their wishes." W'hat criticism of this kind ignores is, in the first place, that the frontiers of the Arab successor states of the former Ottoman empire had to be drawn upon the empire's dissolution, and that Britain alone, as the mandatory power in Iraq and the protecting power in Kuwait and Najd, had the legal right to do so. In the second place, the boundaries of Iraq, Kuwait, and Najd were not arbitrarily conceived lines, languidly plucked from the ether, as it were, by the Machiavellian figure of Sir Percy Cox, the British high commissioner in Iraq. On the contrary, they were drawn in consultation with the Arab leaders concerned, and with the knowledge acquired by British officers of the old Indian Political Service, of whom Cox was one, from a century's experience of eastern and northern Arabia.

by J.B. Kelly

A Bite on the Toe Says Time to Go by Ron McCluskey

2006-04-28T22:23:00.000-07:00

One of the truly inexpensive ways to travel is with a group doing volunteer work of some type.

Several years ago, my wife, oldest son and I were able to travel to Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. We went with a group of mostly high school students that was going to build a church.

My wife and I were going to provide medical treatment for the local people while the rest of the group worked on building the church.The cost for us was about $1300 apiece for airfare, bus, boat, room and board. That covered a two week trip. Try and get a trip anywhere for that and you will see what a bargain that is flying from the United States halfway around the world.

We arrived in Kuching early one morning and were taken to a mission to stay the first two nights and get a chance to acclimate to the different time zone and temperature. It was very hot and humid.

During those two days, we were able to tour the city, visiting the museums and shopping for souvenirs. We were also able to go to a cultural center where we could watch native craftsmen and dancers. They had some unique stringed instruments - like a cross between a guitar and a sitar.

The next morning we took off by bus before daybreak, riding about twelve hours through typical tropical vegetation and small farms. Whenever we stopped for a break, there were many large cicadas. The largest ones in Borneo are about the largest in the world, the size of a large mouse with about an 8 inch wingspan.

If you catch one, they sound like a frog croaking. Although I'm really not interested in partaking of them, I'm told they are good to eat.

When we finally got to Tatau, we got off the bus and took our things down to the river to get on a boat. At least that is what they called it. It was more like a large torpedo. Very narrow but large enough so that inside we could sit four across with an aisle in the middle.

Once we had loaded all our gear - which included a small cement mixer - we took off at an estimated thirty miles an hour. The river had enough twists and turns that I was totally disoriented by the time we arrived at our destination. During our time there, I was convinced that the sun rose in the west and went down in the east.

On the way, we passed a village that was the home of Nyla - the subject of the book "Nyla and the White Crocodile" which I had read as a child. As a young girl, a local witch doctor had told Nyla's (pronounced 'Neela') father - the cheif- that she must be sacrificed to a large white crocodile which had appeared in a creek next to their longhouse. The book describes her adventures.

One of our interpreters, a local pastor, was a nephew of Nyla and told us that later in life she had been killed by a crocodile. An ironic end to one of my childhood heroes.

When we finally arrived at our destination, there was a great commotion. We started hearing music and then a procession of dancers led us up to the longhouse. This was a very impressive structure of over one hundred houses built into a single long building and sharing a covered and enclosed front porch about twenty feet wide. The porch serves as both sidewalk and community meeting and play area.

We were welcomed with a party of dancing, music and food. After a long trip, we were then mercifully shown to our accommodations. Our family was given one of the houses for our use both to sleep in and to serve as a clinic during our stay.

We had brought our own cook and water filter, so we were not as worried about getting sick. Local dishes were interspersed with potatoes, bread and peanut butter. The potatoes were imported from China.

During our short stay, the youth worked hard and mostly finished a very nice cement block, metal roof church.

In the meantime, we were treating everything from head lice to leprosy. We were told that people had come as much as six hours by boat to get treatment from us.

One of the saddest things that we saw was a woman with severe burns on her back. It was the custom for women who had recently given birth to sit by a fire for the first 24 - 48 hours. This poor woman had fallen asleep and then leaned back against the burning hot bricks of the kitchen fire. We were told that this was a very common injury. Fortunately we had some good creams for her and treated her twice a day.

One of the problems that I had was with the toilets. Each house had a board behind it which went up at about a thirty degree angle to a small hut on posts. Inside was a small toilet. What you would do is take a small pail of water from the rain barrel beside the back door, climb up the plank and take care of business.

The roof of this little hut was only about 5 and a half feet from the floor. The hut was about three foot wide and three foot deep. I'm glad nobody was able to watch this 6 foot 3 inch man who after entering the hut had to squat down and do the hokey pokey to get turned around get the pants down, do the required actions and get dressed again.

We were told that these toilets were not only inconvenient (though much better than the squat pots - just a hole in the ground) but were dangerous. The year before, a pastor had lost his balance in one and fallen through the wall head first to the ground and breaking his neck.

We slept on air mattresses with mosquito nets covering us. While this gave us pretty good protection, it did not keep some rodent from biting my toe through the net two nights before we left. This happened about three in the morning. I made a pretty good commotion trying to scare it away and get a light so I could look around and make sure a Cobra was not following him.

After that, I was more than ready to go home.

On the way back, we boarded a bus that had a fairly loud engine knock.

We got on the bus about dusk. During the night, the knocking got worse and worse. Finally, about three in the morning, the driver stopped, stood up and said, "Scuse please, scuse please, change bus!" We got off and in another hour or so, another bus came to get us and take us back to Kuching. We later found out that for an additional $50 each we could have bought plane fair and skipped the bus ride altogether.

Despite the great memories of the trip, getting on a Malaysia Airlines plane with air conditioning and cold soda pop was a real pleasure.

We were able to go back to Sarawak to another village the next spring - but that is another story.

About the Author
Our family has traveled all over the world on vacations and doing volunteer work. We have been to every continent except Antarctica and hope to go there some day. Find more about our experiences traveling at http://ilovetravelvacations.com

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