Erik’s Blog: Board Shorts and Business Suits

Whether in high school, college, or a recreational runner chances are you want to go a little faster. Sprinters and distance runners are always looking to shave a few seconds off their time. I have been exposed to many methods to improve my speed and have seen great results from some and not so great results from others. Playing football, basketball, and running track in high school you could consider the training that I did a type of cross-training. Each sport required a different movement and each sport had its own way of improving that movement. In college I moved onto just training for middle distance and distance running but never forgot what cross-training did for my times.

Within this post I explain some of the methods that I have used to improve my speed for running a faster mile. I am currently training for the 4 minute mile and will need all the speed I can get. Therefore I will be using several of these methods to improve my speed, both maintaining speed and finishing speed (or kick.) Don’t worry, these tips can help you if your training to run a 5 minute mile, a 6 minute mile, or training to finish a marathon. We can all use a little speed at the end.

Maintaining speed throughout a race is mainly developed through increasing the intensity of whatever training you are doing. A great kick requires a combination of having enough in reserve along with having the fast twitch muscle fibers to burst to the finish.

Here are 3 quick tips to help you increase your finishing speed as a runner; middle distance or distance.

1. Finish Strong

The easiest thing that I have found to help build a finishing kick is to finish every distance training run by sprinting to the finish. Start anywhere from 75 to 200+ yards from where you think you are going to end and pick up the pace. Focus on your form and gradually increase your speed to a sprint. This will simulate a good kick at the end of a race and get your body used to finishing this way.

More than likely at the end of a long run your body is tired and your form has turned to mush. To help maintain your form focus in on these three things as you finish up with your sprint:

1. Good posture, torso upright and relaxed
2. Bring your knees up and extend your legs forward
3. Pump your arms forward and backward not side to side or on an angle to your body

Do this and you will be sure to increase your ability to finish a race with a sprinters kick.

2. Strides

Another easy thing to do after every other run is to do 100 meter strides. This not only stretches out your legs but helps improve turnover for those of you doing only distance work. Improving leg turnover speed will help you gain speed during and finishing a race.

To do these simply find any straight area that is roughly 100 meters long. If you run to and from a track you can run these on the straight aways. I suggest running the straights and then walking or jogging the turns. Once you have your area picked out just set up like you are going to begin a race and start your stride. Gradually build your speed until you are really striding out into a sprint. Make sure to stretch out your legs before and after and focus on those three form elements I mentioned in part 1.

3. Plyometrics and Cross-Training

A more intense way to train is to cross-train with plyometrics. Plyometrics can be a great way to increase speed for a sprinter or distance runner. What is plyometrics? Plyometrics is many forms of exercise that provide rapid movement to lengthen and shorten your muscles. This can be passing a medicine ball from side to side, using flexible bands to push or pull against an increased resistance, or even standing in one place and making quick vertical jumps. The following are the exercises I use when I am training for middle distance races (400 meter dash, 800, 1600, and 3200 meter run).

WARNING: These can be very intense exercises and cause injury if not properly warmed up and stretched. Also if you have any previous injuries or ailments I would suggest asking you doctor before you try them. If not, ease into them and enjoy the workout.

Rapid Leg Hops - Standing on both feet stand up straight and then bend only slightly at the knees. Now jump vertically about 2 to 4 inches off the ground. As soon as you land repeat this jump. They are kind of like you’re rapidly skipping rope without the rope. Start out doing this 25 times in a row. That we will consider one set. If possible try doing these on a soft surface like grass.

Standing Jumps - Stand with both feet shoulder width apart. Now squat down at the knees keeping your torso upright. When the backs of your knees are bent at about a 120 degree angle (your butt should be about 5 or 6 inches vertically above the plane of your knees) you jump up as high as you can. Reach up with your arms to give you more extension. When you land regain your balance and as your body naturally moves into the squatted position repeat the same jump. Start out with 10 of these which will equal 1 set. Be careful with this one, it can be tiring and cause a lot of strain on the legs and joints.

Single Leg Leaps - For this you will need either a sturdy chair, a bench, or something that can hold your weight and is about 1.5 to 2 feet off the ground. Start by placing one foot on the bench and the other on the ground. Now push off the bench with that foot and propel yourself directly up into the air. When your other foot clears the bench begin to bring that foot up and bend slightly at the knee. This foot should now come to rest on the bench while the foot that was originally there should be on the ground. Use the new foot that is on the bench to jump in the air again and get back to the position you started, using the same motion. This is one repetition, 10 of these should equal your first set.

Sample workout schedule, done 2 to 3 times a week. Adjust the amount up or down as your legs will allow.

Recap:
These are just a few examples of exercises that I do to increase my speed during a race. There are many more out there and you should find what works for you. I hope these help.

For the last 5 years I have bee following Microsoft stock (MSFT). I bought 2 shares for $100 back in the summer of 2002 just before it split using my ShareBuilder account. My thought was that I would use the cheap fees of ShareBuilder to build up shares in MSFT. Being that Microsoft was and is the software giant of the world I though this would be a sound investment. Since then the stock has split and I was up to four shares, I was a poor college student who didn’t invest for about 2 years and now have increased my holdings to 42.65 shares (Sharebuilder allows you to buy by the dollar amount and not the shares).

MSFT is still at $27 a share and continues to fester at the this price. I have been able to wait out the ups and downs and buy in the downs where it is at $25 and then wait it out for the next cycle. If I had enough money (common catch phrase) I would buy 500 shares every time this stock nears $25. As you can see in the graph provided by yahoo MSFT has consistently moved within this window over the last 3 years. I suspect a lot of people have done this that have the money.

One good thing about holding onto Microsoft stock is their good dividend payment. Currently the yearly payout is $0.32 per share. Last December they gave out more than $30 billion in a year end $3 per share payout; some people I imagine made a pretty penny here. I however only had my 4 shares and made a measly $12.

So what do I think about Microsoft as a stock…

Strong Buy

Disclaimer:
Let me begin by restating that I only own 42 shares of MSFT. I don’t think I have anything to gain by giving you my opinion on why I think Microsoft will be a good stock to own for the upcoming year. Another reason is that these are just insights into why I see MSFT as a strong buy, I am an engineer not a Stock Adviser. But then again, who really are stock advisers?

On to the reasons why MSFT should be in your portfolio.

1. Xbox 360

If you haven’t noticed every single Xbox 360 that was shipped for opening weekend has been sold. Current price on eBay for an Xbox 360 is right around $1000.00. That’s $700 more than

MSRP. Now I have heard that Microsoft actually looses money by selling you an Xbox so why would they want to keep supply up? Probably because they sell games for $60 a piece, and last time I checked a DVD and a burner don’t total that much. There is time spent programming but think of all the license fees that MSFT sells off, the advertising in games, and the peripherals.

The closest competition Sony isn’t slated to come out with their competing PlayStation 3 system until mid 2006. That leaves a lot of time for Microsoft to make some pretty decent profits. And think of all those kids that have Xbox 360 on their Christmas list, when parents are unable to provide the system, they’ll get the games. With all those games already sold, Microsoft will just make a few more systems and repeat.

2. Windows Vista (aka Longhorn)

New Windows Operating System, enough said. Coming late next year, 2006.

3. Online Software and Marketing

We all knew it was coming, Microsoft vs. Google. The fight is on. With MSFT’s www.live.com they have officially entered the online realm. Very similar to Google’s search portal, live.com integrates nicely with internet explorer and opens itself up to programmers to design web add ins.

Beating Google to the punch Microsoft has unveiled a new step in Software development. Often talked about within the Google world is creating an operating system on the web. Having all documents be accessible everywhere using web-based software. Well sorry Google on the slate in the spring of ‘06 is Office Live. Initially Microsoft says Office Live will be geared towards small businesses who normally email large files in formats such as Word, Excel, and FrontPage back and forth. This new software allows companies with employees located in several geographical locations (not to mention those of us too lazy to wander down floor) share files easily and allow real-time simultaneous access to the same documents (or so they say).

Rumor has it that a free ad supported version will be available during beta test. Yes listen to those words, ad supported.

Also rumored to be coming is an AdSense-like product from Microsoft. Already beginning to post similar ads on their pages (read here) Microsoft is jumping into the billion dollar a quarter market that Google and Yahoo have cornered for the last few years.

If Microsoft can even take %10 of the huge market share that Google has that will be profits unseen currently by MSFT using little capital to begin with. This is a giant step for Microsoft but one that is needed if it wants to stay ahead in the new era of software.

4. Cash on Hand

$40.06 billion. That’s over $3 a share. That is quite a war chest to do whatever it wants, research, takeovers, payoffs etc. Now some financial analysts will say too much cash on hand represents a company that isn’t up for growth. Can we really say that about Microsoft? I foresee a lot of money spent in optimizing online software. Bill Gates is no dummy. He knows where the world is headed and more than likely intends to spend his companies money getting there.

With that much cash on hand it seems like another generous year end dividend could be around the corner. Microsoft knows it needs to show it isn’t a monopolizing tyrant. Paying people off is usually a good start. Get it in now and you could easily make a dollar or two a share.

5. Image Adjustment

Everyone knows Microsoft has a tendency to overpower the little guy (Netscape comes to mind). Lately however they have been settling disputes and trying to appeal to the little guy. Now I don’t expect to see Microsoft using open source coding but I do expect them to allow more people to join in the development of their online tools. Within days of live.com’s arrival to the web there were about 30 add ins, or Gadgets as they call them. Currently there are 87. These are add ons that can be added to customize your msn search homepage. They display things such as weather, news clippings, horoscope, games, quotes, etc.

While Microsoft tries to soften its image Google seems to be turning into a giant of its own. Stopping by a few forums lately I have noticed a few questions regarding Google’s takeover of companies such as Urchin (web stats), Picasa (pictures), and Keyhole (Google Earth). Although they have provided all of these programs for free choosing to make the bulk of their money via advertising revenue, one has to wonder how long it will take for the tides to start to turn against the company whose company motto is “Don’t be evil.”

Final Thought

Anyway you slice it Microsoft has to be a strong buy. Their direction is well planned. With the release of Xbox 360, the launch of live.com, the upcoming Office Live suite and the anticipated Windows Vista, Microsoft looks poised to make solid profits and growth over the next few years. My plan, if the finances allow is to buy on those inevitable dips below $26 and accumulate as many shares as I can. using my ShareBuilder account. If the stock rises above $28 and holds I won’t stop, just steadily build my position and wait out the next two years.

If you liked this post you may like:

Becoming a Millionaire
Businesses I have Started and So Can You
How to be Good at Everything - Lessons in Becoming Great

If you use WordPress or another content manager you probably realize there isn’t much in the way of a spell check to use. You either end up copying and pasting your entry into word or just writing it in there in the first place. You could also use a posting program such as blogjet which is described nicely here.

A quick and easy way to spell check any online form be it a blog entry in a content manager like WordPress, an online submission form for a question, or all the forum posts one might do is to use the google toolbar. Once you download the toolbar which fits right into your web browser, internet explorer or firefox!, you are ready to go. It takes about 20 seconds to visit the site, download the toolbar and get started.

Once it’s in your browser just look for the abc check mark button and start spell checking.

Enjoy!

More Tips
If you liked this tip you might want to also know how to quickly and easily wrap text around Google AdSense or you might want to visit here to see more tips on using WordPress and Netfirms.

09-05-07 UPDATE: I just wrote a new post about inserting adsense between multiple paragraphs in a wordpress blog post. Check it out for the best way to do this without a plugin!

If you’re like me and rather new to the html coding world you proabably are looking for a dumbed down way to do things. Well I have begun posting lots of tips on using wordpress and netfirms and decided that I need to post about coding in general as well. One of the most useful things I have learned how to do is wrap text around Google Adsense ads when they are embedded in text. If you are using wordpress and would like to find out how to wrap text just follow this link. If you are looking to just wrap text around ads using a normal html editor like notepad, Dreamweaver, or FrontPage then keep reading.

Also the great thing about this trick is that it works for Chitika ads as well. If you aren’t using Chitika ads you should, they are very similar to google adsense and another way to generate revenue for your site. They pay monthly once your account goes over $50.

The process described is a really easy 2 step process with one extra tag you need to add. This is the quickest and easiest way I found to wrap text around google adsense using the least amount of html coding. Much easier than inserting a table or anything like that.

How to wrap text around Google Adsense ads (also works for Chitika):

1. First off you need to get into your text editor you use for html coding. You can use the coding section of Dreamweaver or FrontPage, or use Notepad. Then you have to find where in your content you want the text to wrap around the ads. Anywhere will work for your first try, you can then copy and place the text where you please.

2. Once you found the spot you like you need to add the following div tag around your adsense or chitika code.

<div style=”display:block;float:right;margin: 5px 5px 5px 5px;”>
   all the google adsense code (or chitika)
</div>

That’s it!

Explanation of the div tag
The float:right attribute can be changed to float:left or float:center as well and it will position the ads in those positions while allowing the text to wrap around the ads that directly preceeds and follows it. I also add the margin code to add a margin of white space around the text wrap on the top, bottom, left, and right. You can add or remove space as you wish. The display:block element basically just describes whether you want to break the line where you are inserting the ad or let the browser find where to break the line and wrap the preceeding text. If you want the browser to do it just choose block:inline. I have better luck with block:float but it can sometimes make the text look choppy. Play around with these to see what you like.

There you have it, you can now insert this same coding with different add scripts all over your content and have the text wrap around the ads. Remember that this works with both Google Adsense and with Chitika based ads. Good Luck!

If you are using wordpress check here to get text to wrap around adsense inside posts. I also have a similar article about getting it to wrap around chitika ads which just requires a tweek.

Surfing is synonymous with Hawaii. People visiting, vacationing, or moving here usually want to give it a try. Once those people moving to the islands are hooked they will want to buy a board. Most won’t wait around or learn where a deal is, they want it now and will spend upwards of $400 for a used board. When they move they’ll end up selling the board for a loss last minute because they forgot about it and need to unload it fast.

It took me a while to notice that there was an opportunity here to make money. I was like those people I mentioned. I bought my board for $350 as soon as I could. This is still a good price for a board but not as good as if I would have known where to look and waited it out. Once I realized this and got done kicking myself I woke up and took it for what it was. A learning experience that I could make money off of. Buy a good used that is popular in the area then resell it for more to those who don’t know where the deals are.

Now this type of business can apply to many different places selling many different things. Take for instance college campuses. Every fall new people move into college towns all across the nation and every summer they move out. People sell, give and trash all types of things that could be collected and stored for a few months just to be turned over to those incoming freshman for a profit. I am sure there are many more situations where people sell things last minute for a loss ,you just have to start looking around you.

The example I have implemented myself is buying and selling surfboards. Take what you will from it and apply or improve the methods that I have used. Giving it a try will allow you to become good at selling things which in business is half the battle.

1. What to Sell
2. Where to Buy
3. Negotiating - Part I
4. Advertising the Goods
5. Negotiating - Part II
6. Improving Profits

1. What to sell

Like any business you need to make a profit. For used goods you should be looking for something which people sell last minute for a loss and that those coming in usually buy used at a higher price. For me it was surfboards. Everyone moving into Waikiki is looking to buy a board. Everyone moving out is usually selling a board. Those moving in buy it cause they love it after their first try or because they want to fit in. I was lucky and found a product that people want right away and can’t really drive a few extra miles to get a better deal (being on an island and all).

Most people, like me, are too impatient to wait around for a lower priced board. The only other way they can surf is to pay a $10 rental fee. Within 10 days of surfing they could make up for the $100 difference if they just payed it now or so I assume the mentality goes.

Waikiki is also close to the University of Hawaii. There are a lot of students moving back to the mainland that will take a big loss just to cover a last night out of partying with friends. Look around your area. Colleges are great places to find deals and to find that good that you can make a profit from. Just be observant and I bet you’ll see something to you can make a dollar on.

2. Where to Buy

My surfboard selling business got started because I saw an advertisement for a few at my condo’s posting board. If you live in an apartment or condo you probably already know that these are great places to find deals. If you don’t live in one start wandering into the lobby’s of those nearby. You’re bound to find a deal sooner or later. just keep looking.

The next obvious place is the classifieds. Although the classifieds in your local newspaper are a good source, chances are they aren’t free and people need to charge a little more to cover the cost of the ad. The classifieds I am talking about are those in the backs of free newspapers like college newspapers, local freebies, and the current events papers. These always have deals because people can post for free and don’t feel they have to overcharge in case they don’t get a lot of takers.

Online. Craigslist. This is a nationwide online classifieds service that is free, easy to use, and wonderful. If you haven’t been there, GO!. You’ll find tons of stuff you never thought you needed. The sections are divided by major metro areas so search the one that’s closest to you. I actually bought most of the boards on craigslist and then just resold them on craigslist a week or two later for a profit (often for $50-$100 more than I payed!)

There are of course many online classifieds all over. Just google classifieds and your city or metro area name. You’ll find something.

3. Negotiating - Part I

There are two things you have to think about for the buying part of your negotiation.

First is that you have to go in thinking about what you can sell the product for. For me I had price breaks in my head for several sizes of boards, 6′-7′, 8′-9′, then 9′ and over. I also had prices for the different board shapes. This is where I would start then if I already saw a picture of it and new the condition the price would be pretty much set before I even started talking with the person. If I didn’t know the condition I would do some quick thinking while I was first looking at it. In order to know what you can sell your product for you have to have a pretty good idea what people will pay. Look around at the ranges for what people are buying and selling, see what has been in the classifieds for longer and what has been in shorter. When something isn’t posted very long it is either a great product or the price was way too low and more profit could have been made. The time will vary depending on what you are selling. For surfboards 3 days was usually a long time for me to see a board on craigslist.

Second you need to realize that the people you are buying from are usually in a hurry to sell. This is good for you, it gives you room to squeak out a little more profit. If you see a great deal don’t start too far below the asking price but still ask less, most people post for higher than they are willing to sell. If you go too low though you may offend the seller and they won’t deal with you. Start reasonable and work your way back towards the asking price. If the seller is really looking to get rid of it and you gave a reasonable price you’ll more than likely complete the deal without much negotiation at all.

4. Advertising the Goods

Where to advertise is simple. Post in the same places I described above in where to buy. You may need to wait a week or so between when you posted and when you bought, but more than likely no one will remember the previous post that you bought from, especially if there wasn’t a picture.

When you advertise include a picture! People want to see what your are selling. Even if the board looked junky I would post a picture on craigslist. People respected the honesty and if the price was respectable called anyway. When describing the board I also tried to add in where you could use it, who the board would be geared to, and tried to make it comical as well. People like humor and will be more open to contacting you if they know right off the bat that you aren’t grumpy.

5. Negotiating - Part II

Now you must resell the product. In my case within hours of posting a surfboard on craigslist I would get a call or an email. Usually these were just people trying to get a feel for how used the board really was, but often there were people who would setup a time to meet right away. When selling things through classifieds out of your residence you have to be open to other peoples schedules. Try and be as accommodating as possible, this will open you up to being nice and people will be more willing to pay what you asked.

When you meet them be honest about what you are selling. For me I sometimes would stretch the truth about how many times I used it but found it easier to just let them know I liked to buy boards, use them and sell them. Most of the time if you found the right product to sell no one will care that you are acting more like a middle man.

Finally be set on your price. If you have a product like the surfboard that a lot of people are willing to pay quite a bit for you don’t have to be that flexible in your price. My guess is you already have had a few people want to meet you and you can tell the person you are currently negotiating with that you have someone else interested. This is usually a great way to weed out those people that really want something from those just looking for a deal (or looking to do the same thing you are).

Remember that sometimes you just can’t sell the product and you may need to take a loss. Use it as a learning experience and don’t make the same mistake twice.

6. Improving Profits

Improving profits is usually done on the buying side of things. Keeping an eye out for a deal is the best way I found to improve profits when reselling goods. A lot of times I was able to wait someone out and not call right when I saw the posting. Yes I lost a few deals but I was also able to get some great deals as well that made me $150 profit in best case scenarios.

Getting more people interested. Posting in as many free places as you can is a great way to get people interested. The more people that see your ad, the more people that will call you, the more people you can say, “Sorry, I don’t want to take less right now because I have so and so stopping by later.” Saying this will cause some to call your bluff, but if you aren’t bluffing then the joke is on them.

Mostly have fun, what fun are profits if you don’t enjoy the selling.

I hope you have learned a little bit about starting an on-the-side resale business and maybe even something about becoming a good salesperson. Even if you are like me and only able to sell surfboards for a little while (craigslist has become a hit and usually there aren’t boards for less than $350 any more) you will get to learn sales and improve your skills as a business person.

Week 2 of training is down. Still running the same 3.2 mile run at about a 7:45 mile pace. Ran a little longer on Saturday and taking Sunday off to make for 4 days of running this week.

Monday - 22:14
Tuesday - 23:02
Friday - 23:41
Saturday - 29:08 longer distance run, added about 8 tenths of a mile to round out to 4 miles

This week I have been trying to focus on my form. Doing this throughout the run should help me become more efficient as a runner and help me achieve my goal of running the 4 minute mile. More on this during the week.

For Week 1 Training Log go here.

As I write this the price for gold is at $493.00 per ounce while silver is at $8.15 per ounce. Gold’s up nearly $200 from 5 years ago and silver up nearly $4. With the economy shaky and the dollar sinking the year 2000 couldn’t have been a better time to invest in precious metals. If you’re like I was you are probably are thinking, aren’t gold and silver bars for royalty? The answer is no. You can probably walk down to your local pawn shop or jewelery shop and chances are good they have some bullion for sale. Bullion is the term used for precious metals in bar or coin form. Common sizes are 1, 10, and 100 ounces.

Now rather than going to the store right now and easier way might be to look on the internet. eBay has hundreds of people selling bullion, the only problem is once all is said and done with shipping you end up paying $4-$5 an oz over spot for silver and $20-$30 per oz over spot for gold. Spot is the current price or market price for the metal. The good thing about eBay is you can buy in low quantities.

The other online source for bullion is buying direct from the mint or from a reseller. The problem here is you end up having to buy at least 50 and sometimes 100 bars or coins to keep the price reasonable. On the plus side these places sell at about $0.40 over spot for silver and $10 over spot for gold.

You may have already seen it by now but doing the math shows selling bullion on eBay has the potential to make for a decent profit margin. Now you may be asking, If you are able to buy down the street or online for cheaper then sell it on eBay for a profit why isn’t everyone doing this? Well, not everyone can buy larger quantities or have stores which sell bars down the street from them. And quite frankly I don’t think everyone knows that this exists. There are a lot of ways to make money on eBay but selling silver bullion doesn’t cross my mind first. If you have a source near you can probably start with as little as $20-$50 like I did. If you don’t and have $500 to $1000 you can start no problem and get the profits going faster.

In my experience I have found that for silver bullion you make between $2 and $5 and oz profit. This all depends on whether you sell them in singles or multiples and how much you charge for shipping and handling. I get into this later and explain the different combinations. With gold there is the potential to make a lot more profit, possibly $100 per sale. The downside is that there aren’t as many people on eBay looking to spend $500 repeatedly. (Later I also talk about combining shipping and getting people to buy more)

I have sold a few bars online, mainly silver, and made money on all of them. The reason for me stopping is because living on Hawaii I have but one shop that sells bullion and they ran out quickly. I would have been able to buy online but shipping from some of these mints to Hawaii can be extremely expensive and cut into profits. Apparently they all think Hawaii is a different country. However on the mainland or anywhere else you can find bars to buy, this would be an absolute gold mine (excuse the pun).

I have found a way that I know will make money for someone out there if they only knew how to go about it. Like any repeat selling on eBay you must become good at selling. The good thing about silver bars is you are unlikely to loose money selling on eBay because with precious metals the market doesn’t tend to make big swings in a day. You should be able to get rid of the remaining bullion you own if the market goes south.

I have collected some tips to get you started. The follow are things I learned and how they can get you on your way to making a million dollars.

1. Finding a Bullion Source
2. Gold or Silver, 1 oz. or 100 oz.
3. Setting up an eBay and Paypal account
4. Posting your Silver or Gold
5. Shipping
6. Optimizing Profits

1. Finding a Bullion Source

Local source
I was able to find a good (short-term) source for silver bullion right down the road from where I work. It is a jewelery store that buys old jewelery and other precious metals and then resells them along with their own jewelery supply. You probably have one of these stores near you. Check in your local yellow pages or check online.

Local Jewelery Store - Most of jewelery stores will give you a fair market price of $0.40 to $0.70 per oz over spot on silver and $5-$10 per oz over spot on gold. The only problem is that unless they get a steady supply from a mint you will probably buy all of their bullion fairly quickly. If you do find a good store to deal with ask them if they will buy the bullion and that you will pay a fair market price for it. Sometimes they can get it through sources that otherwise wouldn’t deal with the public and get it for a better price.

Pawn Shop - Expensive. These places are all about a profit. I have never bought gold or silver from one and not sure if I ever will. If you can find an owner that will part with their bullion for cheap more power to you. I just wouldn’t spend a lot of time searching one out.

Online Source
Buying bullion online is really easy to do and can be the most cost effective if you buy in large quantities. You can either go directly through a mint or through reseller. Buying directly through the mint is the best idea. Their prices are around $0.70 over spot for silver and $7 for gold. If you buy from a reseller you’ll get a larger variety of bars but you will also end up paying more for each. Sometimes the variety will land you a couple bars that you can sell for more but the cost difference might be too much for it to be worth it.

Online Mints:
Northwest Territorial Mint - if you look on eBay this is where a large number of the bars come from. I never bought from them but if you do I don’t think you will have any problem selling them off.
The US Mint - the us mint sells a lot of rounds and not as many bars. For some reason the rounds don’t sell as high as the bullion bars on eBay.
The Perth Mint - In Australia this mint has some interesting pieces that might be worth something on eBay

I would also search out some phone numbers for mints online. You could just call them out of the blue and see what their prices are.

Online Resellers:
There are countless numbers of these, if you Google gold or silver bullion you’ll see what I mean. Some of the ones I reviewed and looked at going through are:
California Numismatic Investments - If you want to to buy a lot of gold or silver from a lot of places this seems like a great place to buy from. They have a variety of Mints and a variety of sizes.
Goldline - Sells pretty cheaply if you buy in bulk, down to $0.35 over spot for silver!
Bullion Direct - This place has everything you would ever need. Their prices can be a bit steep sometimes but they’ll have deals you just have to keep going back.

2. Gold or Silver, 1 oz or 100 oz?
Next you have to decide if you should sell gold or silver and what size you should sell. My personal experience is in the silver market. Unless you have a lot of money silver is going to be the easiest way to go. At current market price you can buy 100 bars for less than $1000.00 and make a decent profit. As I stated before for every 100 silver bars you sell you will probably make $200-$400. There are ways to make more you just have to optimize your process. Gold tends to be harder to sell and there aren’t as many people buying large quantities online. However, the profits are a lot greater. For 1 oz you could make $40 to as much as $100 profit. The only problem is if you notice the people that are bidding on it they are usually the same 30 or 40 people. This is a much smaller market to corner. Silver has a lot of people all going after bars from a few eBay dealers.

Which do you sell 1, 5, 10, or 100 oz? These are the most common sizes of silver bars. In my experience your profits can be greater with 1 oz. bars. The reason for this is because you can sell them in lots of 1 or more. I found that selling silver bars in lots of 3 brought the greatest profits. People routinely are buying three bars for $35 or more plus paying $7.95 shipping. Doing the math; let’s say each bar you bought was worst case $0.70 over spot so you’re at $8.85 X 3 = $26.55. Then shipping supplies $1 and shipping with insurance $3, your total cost is $30.55, worst case. Now if you sold the 3 for $42.95 that would produce a profit of $12.40. Not bad considering you can sell them with a 3 day auction on eBay and you can comfortably have 10-20 auctions up at any given time. (There are bullion sellers that have 40+ auctions up at any one time)

The 5 oz bars and up are good to get a variety out there but they don’t offer as much flexibility in your sale price. I never tried this but I am sure there is a way to optimize profits here and find a great market for larger silver bars.

3. Setting up an eBay and Paypal Account
Setting up an eBay and Paypal account is pretty easy. Just go to eBay and follow the instructions then go to Paypal and do the same. If you need further instructions on how to create and use eBay try this site.

4. Posting your Silver or Gold
Picture, you need a picture. You shouldn’t post anything on eBay without a picture, and definitely not bullion. People who are buying it need to know that it isn’t tarnished or damaged. Most buyers also want the silver to come in a protective case. Protective cases usually mean that the silver hasn’t been scratched which could cause it to loose value from a loss of metal. Here are some examples of the pictures that I have posted.

Use different combinations of pictures and see what works best for you.

Make the pictures show how shiny the silver is. If you bought good silver this shouldn’t be a problem. You also need to remember to try and show the name of the mint the bars came from and also the serial number. Silver bars usually have a serial number on them so show this and try and mention it in the text section of your post.

I would keep the category as silver bullion but there is some cross referencing you can do that might optimize profits. Look around and see where others are posting.

5. Shipping
Ship priority mail. It’s the cheapest. Also you don’t need anything fancy, just ship in a bubble envelope and wrap your bullion in newspaper. You may start getting fancy with custom labels that promote your new bullion eBay store but this isn’t needed. Also make sure to ship with insurance and include this in the price. It isn’t that expensive and most people want it. Plus it saves you from fraudulent buyers claiming to never have gotten their product.

Use US Postal Service online. You can print labels right from your own printer and have your mail person pick the packages up. You can do it all while sitting on the couch watching TV. This is the easiest method and most cost effective. You can estimate weight or buy a scale. Each piece is 1 oz and the envelope will weigh less than half and ounce.

6. Optimizing Profits
The following are tips I used to make the most selling silver on eBay.

1. Offer multiple item shipping discounts for items bought within a certain time period. This entices a lot of people to bid on that extra piece of silver they might not have otherwise bid on. If they win, fine just drop the extra bullion in their envelope and be done. If they don’t that’s fine too, they just helped up the price of your bullion.

2. Multiple bar sales! Sell single 1 oz bars but don’t over do it. Profits can be greater when you sell in multiples. I have seen bids exceed $5 per oz over current spot on auctions containing 7 bars. That’s a $30 profit (after you deduct what you payed over spot) before you even include shipping and handling.

3. Don’t make your money on shipping. Too often I see people charge double what it actually costs to ship. Why? As a consumer I just search for a different vendor and I expect you would too. Charge a fair shipping and handling fee. Remember that it takes time to package and ship the product so you don’t want to under charge. The US Postal Service has everything online now so you can weigh your items, create a label and print your postage right online with your own printer. You can also have them pick it up from your house at no extra charge! People know this and will pick out a shipping fraud when they see one.

4. See what people are buying. Sometimes a certain mint or Assayer’s bars will be going for more than others on eBay. I am not sure as to the reason because I am not a collector. If you know, then you might have an advantage and can see it before another seller does. If not don’t worry. Just keep an eye out for what other people are selling and their final sale price. When one bar type sells for more try and get your hands on it. Doing so could mean some extra profits for a small bit of research.

There you have it. That’s how I started a business on eBay. Pretty simple and s I mentioned the process can be refined a little more for greater profits. Just stick with it and you could easily be making an extra $500 a week from an eBay business.

I recently tried to add a domain name to my Netfirms hosting account and had some troubles. This would have given me multiple domain names on one hosting account. Netfirms allows you to have up to 25 domain names on one account so this should be relatively easy to do. Well I found it difficult and came upon an easy solution from one of my co-workers.

How to Host Multiple Domain Names with One Hosting Account

1. First you need more than one domain name which you can get at Netfirms with numerous other hosting companies, just Google “web hosting.” Once you have another domain name you need to make sure that its in your domain names list on your account. Within Netfirms hosting manager go to the Domain Names tab. If you see it then good, if not, click on the add domain name tab and follow the instructions. The instructions for all three choices, registrar transfer, DNS transfer or new registration are very simple but if you have any troubles feel free to contact me.

2. Once you have the domain name added you need to setup your folders within the www file under file manager to accomodate multiple domain names within your one hosting account.

To quickly manage the files within your www folder I suggest using an FTP client like FileZilla if you are using a windows based PC and Fetch if you are using a Mac based computer. Once you have this file downloaded and installed go to netfirms easy ftp client setup for filezilla or their easy client setup for fetch help pages.

3. Once you can view your Netfirms folders on your ftp client you are ready to go. (On mine there was a CGI folder and the www folder) Next click on the www folder in the ftp remote site screen. When there add a folder by right clicking in the white space of the remote site screen (on filezilla its on the right) and name the folder what you would like then hit enter.

4. Now you can add your files. Under the local computer section (left on filezilla) navigate to the correct folder and drag the files you want to the new folder. You must make sure that there is a file called index.htm somewhere within the folders you are dragging.

Warning: You must have the file index.htm lower case. If you don’t this may be your problem. Check it and change it in your file. Rename if need be.

If you have many folders you want to setup just follow the process to create them. Within my www folder I kept the wordpress nfblog folder and index.htm files for my main site within the main www folder. I am unsure if changing this will effect the CGI scripts that are used in the blogs or not. Let me know if you have an answer.

5. Next go back to your Netfirms control panel and click on the Domains tab. Now you must redirect or forward the domain names to the correct folders and index.htm files. Next to the domain name you added the folder for click on the piece of paper and pen icon under the column titled Forwarding Location. This opens a dialog box labeled Enter New Forwarding Location.

6. This is the location within the www folder that you need to direct the new domain name to look for the index.htm (note the lower case) file. Begin this with a / followed by the folder names and ended with another /. So for example, /yoursite/ if you put the index.htm file in the main folder or /yoursite/mainpage/ if you put it in a subfolder. Remember the forward slash after the last folder name.

If you made more folders for your other domain names repeat steps five and six for these other domain names.

There it is! You should now be set to go. If not repeat the steps mentioned.

If you liked that you may like these as well:
Netfiles and Wordpress Tips
Get Adsense-Deluxe Working in WordPress
Get text to Wrap Around Adsense or Chitika using Easy HTML

Note: If you would like me to link to your site please contact me about exchanging links.

Week 1 is in the bag and it was a decent week increasing traffic to my site. Thanks for all of you who have stopped by and looked around. I hope I have brought some insight into the topic you were looking for. I know I have learned a lot of new ways to become good at developing websites. I am learning that the there is a science behind getting people to stay and getting people interested in reading what you have to say.

Week 1 Results

Unique Visitors - 613
8 search engine hits - 7 Google, 1 yahoo
1 New link a day for 7 days - mostly forums though still useful, 2 unique links from outside sites

Tip of the Week
You might be wondering how I got 613 people to visit my site within the first week without having a lot of people arrive here via a search engine. Well one way that I alluded to in Week 1 - Midweek Stats and Tip was to add useful content to forums and either include a link within my post or within the signature. This worked well and referred to me 83 visitors which I will assume to be unique. I also picked up a link from a similar site and received 3 visitors from that link. (Thanks for that by the way)

The other way that I was able to increase links was by joining a few click for visitors blog exchange programs. I do not think this is an artificial way to boost visitors. Instead I think of it as a great way to promote your blog to other users. Yes, I realize that people will probably not even look twice at your site. I don’t look at most of the sites and I don’t expect others to be any different. However, if you get your site out there enough and update it enough, people will notice the change, look around, possibly bookmark you and be a repeat visitor. How do I know this? Because I have done it. Those sites which have updated since the last rotation in which I saw them I have tended to look at more in depth.

The two sites that I use are Blogxchange.us and blogclicker.com. The way they work is you sign-up, add your blog to your options and then start surfing. You must spend 20 seconds on each site (don’t worry they both have counters) and then you must click on a little icon at the top or bottom of the screen. The best part about these two services is that you don’t have to be looking at that browser window or tab. You can have it running in the background while you search the internet, work on another program, update your site, or watch TV.

I have found this to be a great way to increase traffic to my blog and increase exposure to a greater variety of people. I plan on doing this for at least the first month until my site really gets going (the power of positive thinking).

I hope that helps those of you looking for a way to get more traffic to your blog. Getting visitors, even if for a few seconds, will help reach whatever traffic goal you have.

Well I played twice in the last week and didn’t shoot that well either time out. When I had originally got the book Swing Machine Golf I practiced the form a lot and reread the book over and over again. Within the first two months of having the book I lowered my score into the mid to low 40’s. Since then I haven’t been practicing the positions, nor reading the book and it shows. I am back up in the low 50’s and my swing is ugly.

The good news though is that I am back on it and really thinking about my swing during the round. After 8 or 9 holes I have been able to figure out my swing flaws and try and fix the. Unfortunately I have only been playing twilight and getting in 10 or 11 holes.

Read How to read the score card to learn how I keep score and how it can help you.

Ko’olau Golf Course Oahu, Hawaii Rating - 71.7 Slope - 138 - Sunday November 13 2005 -

Now to my defense Ko’olau is the toughest course in the nation. Also it’s getting into rainy season and the course is a bit wet. But excuses aside, my swing was not good. As you can tell by the picture on the first post in this category my swing was all off. I was reverse pivoting and coming into the ball dipping my shoulder. Unfortunately I was able to correct it on my fairway woods and driver. However, my putting was way off as well. Anytime you four putt let along four putt two times things are going to be bad. Just have to focus more while I am on the course.

Mililani Golf Course Oahu, Hawaii - Rating 69.5 - Slope 121 - November 20, 2005

Don’t Crash your Helicopter

First time at Mililani Golf Course. Walked twilight. Nice course, relatively flat with generous fairways that I wasn’t able to hit all that often. I was coming down on the ball a lot and couldn’t figure out my problem until the 7th hole. In the book I am using to become a scratch golfer Swing Machine Golf Paul Wilson talks about not letting your helicopter crash. What he means is this. When you address the ball in the proper position your shoulders are on almost the same plane, think of them as being on a table. When you take your back swing, drawing the club back with only your left arm and not rotating your hips your shoulders should be on that same table, not tilted at all.

Now once the club is straight back you begin your shoulder rotation. What I was having the tendency to do and what I see a lot of other golfers do is dip their left shoulder while they bring the club up and over their head. This is completely wrong and is what I have been doing the last 4 or 5 rounds out causing my reverse pivot, outside inside swing path, and hitting fat. Instead at three quarters back the club shaft should now be on the same line that it was at address. What this does is make sure your shoulders stay on that level table and doesn’t allow your left shoulder to dip. Once I figured this out my ball striking improved dramatically the last 4 holes I played.

To remember this on the course just think of there being helicopter blades on your shoulder extending out to the sides. Now when you take your back swing don’t let the blades hit the ground!

Hope that helps some of you out. Keep practicing.