Jude’s Eclectic Resources

I honestly think there are more blogs online than people and do people really read what you have to say or just skim the surface? My guess would be it’s more of the latter. I know that headlines should be really catchy in order to get someone’s interest and attention and make them want to read more, but I’m totally daft at writing, let alone the headlines.

I do try though as I am sure everyone does to find something of interest to write about. I have a very dry sense of humor so I’m not sure people would get where I am coming from. Bill makes me laugh because he is funny. I always wanted to be funny, but just couldn’t pull it off. Some people have a great talent with words and how to say them. I have been practicing, but to no avail. I’m still not funny, but I can appreciate good humor.

I am not a big belly laugher either, I will grin or smile or chuckle so for someone to get a belly laugh out of me must be pretty funny. I’m quite sure that comes from always trying to keep my emotions intact and tucked away.

Well it’s the week-end and I do hope it’s a great one for everyone. It’s suppose to be rainy around here, but the weather people have been proved wrong a lot this past 2 weeks. I hope they are wrong about tomorrow. Have a great one. Maybe I’ll figure some great stuff to blog about. Sure seems like I have been posting a lot to the other stuff category lately.

This is a sponsored ad for ThriftyScot which is of course in the UK and they are asking for opinions about online banking and unjustified penalties. Well I do a lot of banking online and even get my bank statements online now. I seldom ever go to the bank anymore and I know my bank takes every precaution in keeping everything safe and secure. But it seems in the states we have a lot of inflated charges also that could be reduced as far as I’m concerned.

From different things I have read I honestly think the banks of England are much worse than the ones in the states or at least mine because I am familiar with mine and if I ever felt the need to fuss about my taxes well all I can say is I’m glad I don’t have to pay the English taxes, but back to banks. I really haven’t seen a lot of banks closing around here at least because of poor neighborhoods, but I’m sure that it does happen around the country.

I have had my share of problems over the years with some of the bank policies and charges and I always keep my deposit slips now for at least 2 years because of a couple glitches that happened to me. My deposit wasn’t registered correctly and they bounced at least 8 checks in a row because of their mistake at $20. a pop. I didn’t find out what had happened for a week or so and I was furious.

I grabbed my bank deposit slip and headed straight to the bank. I showed them my slip and made them do a print out and sure enough they found instead of registering 400. dollars they had registered 40. I was so embarrassed because some of the checks were to people I know.They did write a letter explaining the mistake and I made sure everyone involved received a copy. And wasn’t it just too kind of them to drop the fees my account had been charged.

I was reading the article about bank charges and and whether it is fair or unfair and who decides and also how some consumers were actually being reimbursed some of the penalties that had been levied against them. If you want to read more just click the bank charges refund link.

You can read the latest banking and savings articles and how you could benefit just by switching an account or check money saving advice and - current accounts. To find out how you can proceed in getting a refund then read the article about - bank charges .

How many times a day do you check your stats, paypal, and clickbank accounts? I know over the past 2 years I have jumped from one to the other and wasted a lot of valuable time that I could have used for promotions and other constructive exercises and what about all those affiliate sites you promote for?

I can’t even keep up with those anymore and further more I have lost track of all the places that I did sign up for. Who knows maybe someday they will send me checks that I have earned from an insert I have stuck somewhere and forgot about. Yeah I know, wishful thinking or dreaming.

How about all those forums you have joined and all the social communities. How much time do we devote to those, clicking from one to the other? Do we have a plan in mind for how we actually need to be spending our time or any idea of what is actually working for us?

I have tried to reorganize my time to be more productive, but sometimes I don’t always follow it closely. Like today instead of getting any work done I visited BlogCatalog to check on a few things and ended up visiting everyone’s blog that was listed on one of the discussions.

Well that was productive in seeing how other bloggers set up there blogs and how they market themselves and how the different color schemes affected me. I left a few comments, but not on every blog. Yesterday I actually wasted time reading all my e-mails instead of actually deleting the ones I knew would be the same. I really must have been bored. I actually did write 4 posts though.

How much actual work do we really get done? Time goes by so quickly when I am on this computer. Sometimes it’s like it doesn’t exist for me until I get the urge for a cigarette. Yes I smoke and it’s one of my favorite habits. I will probably never stop even though it is banned almost everywhere. I have heard talk that they even want to ban you from smoking in your own car. So much for rights. They should ban all those cell phones instead.

Okay enough wasted time. I need to get some work done.

I advertise for Just Blinds on my do it yourself site because I have a section on blinds and shutters and I think they are a pretty cool online company because they have video’s that will show you exactly how to measure and how to install your blinds or shutters and since I love to do it myself I sometimes need to have detailed information and they provide it. It’s easier to follow when you can actually see what you are suppose to be doing.

They specialize in custom horizontal blinds, horizontal shades. vertical blinds, and custom shutters and have a very nice selection of wood blinds. I bought custom shades from a department store a few years back and had to wait forever to have them customized to my dimensions and they didn’t stand behind their product where as Just Blinds do, they actually have a 30 day money back guarantee. They have a wide selection and belong to the better business bureau online.

If your thinking about new window dressings and need some new blinds or shutters at least give the site a look and check out the video’s on how to measure and install.

I have thought about opening a kennel because I love dogs and I think I could care for them even though I’m not the dog whisperer, but it’s such a huge responsibility and undertaking, even for people that have worked in kennels before or think they know all there is to know about caring for dogs. I really don’t like the idea of home breeders because I don’t think the animals get proper care, but I wasn’t going to discuss breeders. I was thinking about a kennel, but that is when I got the idea of a kennel.

When Billy bred his 2 English Bulldogs and had 11 pups he really began to see how difficult it was to take care of so many animals and of course I helped along with several other people. I have been reading lately of all the cruelty to dogs and I really have a hard time with conditions these poor animals find their self in even in kennels.

If you have ever entertained the thought yourself of opening a kennel then read some of these tips and guidelines to see if it might be for you and if you have thought about the idea you may find somethings that you hadn’t considered before. I bought the tips and guidelines below and I really see no need to rewrite it because they are perfect the way they are and will give a pretty good idea of what you need to consider.

1.You have to consider the cost of opening up a new business and make sure that you have the financial backing to support the venture. You should have enough funding set aside just in case it takes a few months or more for your business to really take off.

2. Make sure that the location of your kennel is zoned for that use.

3. Make sure that the building you choose to house your kennel either has all of the facilities you’ll need (enough space, fixtures, etc.) or can be easily modified to accommodate your needs.

4. Make sure that you have either applied for or received all the relevant state, county or local permits. Become an expert on the all of the regulations and statutes that govern kennel operations in your region and follow them to the letter.

5. Exceed the minimum standards of care at your kennel. This will help to ensure that you are indeed following all regulations and statutes. Potential customers will also be attracted by this attentiveness.

6. If you have employees, you’ll need to investigate group insurance plans. Some businesses pay for a portion of employee premiums. Even if you can’t afford to, however, you still may be able to negotiate a low group insurance rate for you and your staff.

7. Learn all you can about workman’s compensation insurance. If you have employees, you will have to pay for this insurance yourself – you cannot deduct it from the paychecks of your employees. Workman’s compensation insurance is mandated in every state and will pay your employee’s medical bills should he or she be injured on the job, even if the injury is the employee’s fault Workman’s compensation insurance will also cover any of your injured employee’s lost wages. If you keep a consistently safe workplace and keep the number of accidents down, you may qualify for lower premiums.

8. Utilize low-cost advertising and marketing to spread the word about your kennel. Neighborhood newspapers and door-to-door flyer distribution are great places to start. Word-of-mouth advertising, however, especially in a business that involves entrusting your furry family member to a stranger, can be very powerful as well. Encourage this by offering discounts to your current clients in exchange for referrals. Also maintain a professional looking website.

9. Provide multiple services (grooming, day care, pet supplies, obedience training, etc.) This will not only broaden your customer base, but will prompt multiple visits from existing customers.

10. Make sure that you and all of your employees are trained to deal with dogs in any situation and can remain calm in a crisis. Inexperienced and nervous dog handlers will only inspire fear and nervousness in the dogs they are caring for. This, of course, can lead to aggression and biting.

11. Provide a kennel that allows for dogs to play together for a set period of time everyday. Also make sure that all of the animals boarded there will receive an adequate amount of exercise throughout their stay.