text:
Top 6 Essential Money-Saving Tips for PlayStation 4 Owners

Updated on March 23, 2018
Jeremy Gill profile image

Jeremy enjoys gaming when not working as a chemist and business manager.

Star Wars Battlefront 2: good game, terrible cash cow
Star Wars Battlefront 2: good game, terrible cash cow

Saving Money for Games

As much as we love gaming, many consider it to be an expensive hobby. Modern systems cost hundreds of dollars, and then there's controllers, accessories, DLC (downloadable content), reoccurring online fees, and of course the games themselves, often $60 for a new copy. And don't even get me started on Super Smash Brothers' amiibos or Star Wars Battlefront 2's micro-transactions, which you've likely already heard complaints of in gaming news.

So yes, gaming can quickly empty your savings account, but through my numerous years of rescuing princesses and slaying dragons, I've learned many methods to minimize the expenses. Armed with the right knowledge, anyone should be able to play regardless of their income. Here are six crucial tips to help you get the most game for your buck!

PlayStation 4 with DualShock 4 controller
PlayStation 4 with DualShock 4 controller

6. Wait For Games to Drop in Price/ Buy Pre-Owned Games

As a gamer, patience is a virtue. Many games (especially non-Nintendo ones) slash their price tags in half or more just a year or two after their release, enabling cheap buys. Sure, this means you miss out on the initial wave of gaming enthusiasm for new titles, but for penny-pinching players like myself, that's a small trade-off for such large savings.

In fact, the famous gaming retail store GameStop periodically offers a "buy two pre-owned, get one free" deal that lets you save by buying in small bundles rather than individually. If you're skeptical of pre-owned items, you can add a warranty to most used games for only a few dollars more, and I promise you that 95% of my pre-owned items have functioned fine. It's only a small risk to obtain used items, but that brings us to our next pro tip...

Persona 5 game disc
Persona 5 game disc

5. Test Games Immediately

No one's going to have fun with a video game that they had to buy twice. As much as I trust most stores, just to be safe, when you buy a game (especially a pre-owned one), test it immediately. This both ensures pre-owned games, which may contain scratches or other defects, work properly and allows you to download any update data before you play, meaning you won't have your eagerness curbed by long wait times.

As of this writing, GameStop lets you return a pre-owned game for a full refund within seven days of your purchase. It also lets you exchange your item for a different used copy within 30 days of the sale, so be sure to hang on to those receipts. Heck, these first few tips work great for any gamer regardless of whether they're a Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo fan.

Madison's always been "unique"
Madison's always been "unique"

4. Share Games With Friends

There's nothing quite like owning your own copy of a game, but experimenting with titles at a friend's house lets you decide whether to invest money in a title. Or, if it's a short game with low replay value that you only need to experience once, ask to borrow it to pay exactly $0 for a full gaming experience (be sure to return the favor and take good care of their lent items).

I can't tell you how many dollars I've saved by borrowing titles rather than buying them. Depending on who you know, you might even be able to sweet-talk your friend into lending you a whole system. You get my PlayStation 4 with its games for a week, I get your Xbox One. Shoot, my girlfriend would probably trade away my whole PlayStation collection for one borrowed Mario or Cooking Mama game.

PlayStation Store home page
PlayStation Store home page

3. Browse the Online PlayStation Store for Deals

Even if you're not a PlayStation Plus member (which accesses online play and other features for several games), your console can connect to the online network and browse the PlayStation Store for DLC, themes, and games themselves. The handy one-stop-shop often features discounted titles and other hot deals to both save you money and a trip to a physical store; entire games can simply be downloaded from the market once purchased, with no worrying over scratched discs or ketchup stains (I wish I was kidding).

Additionally, be sure to periodically examine the "free" section to nab a variety of goods (including full games) for zero-cost!

Game Informer's Battlefield 3 cover
Game Informer's Battlefield 3 cover

2. Research Games Before Buying

We live in a wonderful world eager to share its plethora of knowledge. With just a few taps of your phone or clicks of your mouse, you have access to dozens of opinions on just about any game, and while reviews are subjective to an extent, they provide a general summary of what the community thinks of each title.

For instance, I greatly enjoy the DragonBall Z franchise, but it harbors a long history of hit-and-miss video games; I've saved hundreds of dollars by determining which titles were worth the investment through reviews. It helps to develop a purchasing plan, like only buying games with an average score of at least 6/10. Magazines like Game Informer keep you up-to-date with game reviews, upcoming titles, and more, but simple internet searches also bring you reviews from IGN and other respected gaming communities.

Gift Cards
If you're not a gamer yourself but have a child you wish to buy games for (that's great uncling/aunting right there), and are too lazy to undertake research yourself, consider sending your loved one GameStop gift cards. That way, they can buy whatever titles they want, ensuring you don't accidentally gift an undesired electronic present, and any fault for a bad game will now stem from their choice, not yours. Avoid the blame as they buy the game!

Applications take gigabytes; saved data only takes megabytes
Applications take gigabytes; saved data only takes megabytes

1. Make Room By Deleting Applications, Not Saved Data

Gone are the days of old memory cards, but a lot of non-techies aren't aware of the corresponding crucial difference between the PS4 and older consoles: you can delete a game from your system but keep its save data. This newer method lets you free up storage space and prevents you from having to spend your hard-earned cash on a bigger hard drive or other memory devices.

After turning your system on, you'll be at the hub page: go to system storage (under settings) and you'll see what I mean. The lion's share of your hard drive's space will be taken up many gigabytes of game applications; only a few megabytes are required for save data. In other words, you can keep all your saves while cycling through a few games at a time. Are you done with Far Cry 4 for now? Delete the application (and retain the save) to free up space, but if you eventually change your mind and want to boot up your old file, simply re-download the application and start right where you left off.

Which system do you prefer?

See results

How Much Does a PlayStation 4 Cost?

As of now, you can find a new 500 GB console with one DualShock controller for $300 at many retailers (Kohl's and Best Buy), but Wal-Mart and other stores sometimes run them for a bit cheaper. You can also snag a hefty 1 TB PlayStation4 Slim from Amazon for the same $300 and free shipping.

Sites like eBay advertise used systems for under $200, but for such large purchases, I'd find some sort of warranted seller before buying used.

Future of Gaming

Like any hobby, gaming will inevitably consume some funds, but with the right cheat codes, you can indulge your passion for a surprisingly low price. One final piece of advice for PlayStation pros: always be wary of new fads that tend to fall flat (Microsoft's Kinect, Sony's PlayStation VR, etc.) to ensure you save your money for the real gems.

As we eagerly await the upcoming virtual reality future of gaming, which seems to promise complete immersion in our favorite titles (we'll see zombies like never before), vote for your favorite mainstream manufacturer, and I'll see you at our next gaming countdown!

Questions & Answers

    © 2018 Jeremy Gill

      0 of 8192 characters used
      Post Comment
      • Jeremy Gill profile imageAUTHOR

        Jeremy Gill

        11 months ago from Louisiana

        Yes! Impatience is the biggest destroyer of funds when it comes to gaming. The concept also applies elsewhere, like with blu-rays, which can be watched repeatedly but cost about the same as a single-use movie ticket or two.

      • CYong74 profile image

        Kuan Leong Yong

        11 months ago from Singapore

        If you don't need to play the latest games, you sometimes get top selling titles in PS Plus for free.

      This website uses cookies

      As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

      For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at:

      Show Details
      HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
      LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
      Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
      AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
      HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
      HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
      Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
      CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
      Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the or domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
      Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
      Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
      Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
      Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
      Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
      VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
      PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
      Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
      MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
      Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
      Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
      Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
      Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
      Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
      ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
      Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Bananas in Pyjamas: How do I Loathe Thee, Let Me Count the Ways

One of the very few downsides of having a four year old is that when ABC4Kids comes on late afternoon (usually a godsend), Bananas in Pyjamas come with it, and in our open plan kitchen/living room they are hard to avoid.

Here we have 2 co-dependant buffoons who can barely count to 10, meddling and messing up everywhere they go. They dress the same, speak the same, think the same. They do stupid shit all the time, and never learn from their mistakes. Their ever patient (and somewhat condescending) teddy bear friends are forever trying to figure out just what the hell they have got themselves into (“Ooh Bananas!” said in unison), and getting them out of it.

And then there’s Rat in the Hat. All at Cuddle Town remain steadfastly loyal to Rat, who is no more than a lying, thieving fraudster, out to rip off his loyal friends wherever he can. “Oh that Rat!” they laugh as they realise that yet again, they’ve been duped by this lowlife criminal.

So they set out to teach Rat a lesson (i.e. get revenge) and with two wrongs making a right, at the end they all have a good laugh and Rat invites them over for morning tea.

Then the very next day, Rat fucks them over with another dirty deed, stealing whatever he can get from these unquestioning morons. Or the BinP’s again stick their nose in to someone else’s business with not an ounce of comic intelligence, just infuriating  adversity brought on by bad decisions (WHY would anyone hide JELLY under the cushions on the couch, or behind the books on the bookshelf FFS?).

The message to our kids? Be friends with everyone, even when they consistently lie to you and steal from you and trick you, it’s all just in good fun. Don’t bother to learn from your mistakes, always play the fool – it’s ok to have people laughing at your stupidity. Trust everyone, no matter what they do to you or how much they speak down to you. Oh, and forget individuality and independent thought – they’re overrated anyway.

ABC have just announced some rescheduling of the 5pm time slot on ABC4Kids. I for one am praying to the TV gods that the Bananas and their Pyjamas are once and for all put out to pasture – or better yet put in the hands of the Taronga Zoo monkeys to deal with.

Just change the channel, you say? Don’t be silly – then I’d have to actually play with my daughter!

Is Katy Perry a Caterpillar?

Tippi chef

“Mummy”, Tippi said on the way to preschool this morning, “Is Katy Perry a caterpillar?”

“No, she’s a person who sings, why do you think she’s a caterpillar?”

“She just feels like a caterpillar, a purple one.”

“In what way, darling?”

“Well, she sounds like a caterpillar.”

Katy Perry…. caterpillar…. I can see where she’s coming from.

Housewife Product Review; iRobot Roomba 780

This, of course, is an unsponsored post, all my own words, merely inspired by me to pass on my opinion of this product, and to be useful in my posts now and then rather than just be all about me, me, me.

Hubby bought this little baby a few weeks ago. It was entirely his doing; he likes to be barefoot at home, hates the feel of sand and dirt on his feet and realised that hell would freeze over before I was going to start vacuuming every day, or even every week for that matter.

So he researched and shelled out around $800ish, which really is a lot for a tiny vacuum. So is it worth it?

It arrived during the week, meaning hubby was away for the great unveiling and maiden voyage. Not really having paid any attention to the whole research/purchase process, I didn’t really have a clue what it was supposed to do or how it works. I pulled it out of the box, put it down, pressed clean and it was away!

Simple, simple to run, tick that box. Although it has started speaking to me in German lately.

For a cleaning appliance, it rates high on the entertainment factor with almost compelling viewing, I could watch it for hours, just daring it to get stuck somewhere – like under a couch – and sometimes it looks like it might, but almost always this baby gets itself out and carries on. Both child and puppy are driven insane by it – child because she’s convinced it will gobble her up, puppy because…. who knows? Maybe it looks like her sister or something.

Does it clean? Yes. Yes it does. It really does. And comes with the added bonus that it forces me to keep the floor tidy, so we not only have a cleaner house, it’s a tidier one too. Although husband and my actual, (wonderful, delightful and ever patient) human cleaners might dispute that. After its run, it docks itself to recharge, you can set it on a timer or just hit Clean when you leave the house. It senses stairs and bumps or changes from carpet to tile/floorboards etc.

It does have one downside to be prepared for; it has to be emptied out after every use, and a thorough clean out at least once a week depending on how often you run it.  Because it runs on rollers, hair gets caught around them and you have to pull it out. But really, it’s a whole lot easier than getting the big vacuum cleaner out of the cupboard, which I don’t really do, and it goes under the couches and beds, so those areas have been cleaned for the first time since we moved in.

Housewife love-o-meter rating: Four Stars.

I am very fond of our Roomba 780, even though I was totally disinterested in buying it, it has won my heart as much as a gadget can, and as soon as it starts speaking English to me once again it’ll be love.

(PS. Watch out for the 880 model which is now available in Australia and according to the website has solved the problem of the hair tangles which I guess might be worth the extra couple of hundred dollars… appliance heaven)

That’s My Girl, Doing Us Proud

I’ve always been a bit miffed that our only child  is so her father. From the moment she popped out, her lips, her tall, slim body, everything is him. Put a baby pic of them both together, they are the same baby. There is nothing, NOTHING of me in her.

I hoped that maybe she’d be left handed like me. No. She’s not, no matter how hard I cane her hand as she practices her letters.

Then she walked me through this drawing she did at preschool:

“So that’s Maddie, and Evie, and Evie’s Mummy, and Evie’s Daddy with a MASSIVE PENIS! BAHAHAHAHAHAH!”

Oh dear, maybe there’s a bit of me in her after all….

Escaping, The Build and The Kid

Yesterday was overcast and rainy all day, then suddenly the sun popped out for a few minutes in the afternoon and threw out an amazing light, the whole place was literally luminous. In the country, there is always something interesting and beautiful happening in the sky.

I think it’s essential that primary parents or care givers get some time out now and then, it makes them a better parent. I had my turn on the weekend when I drove solo to Sydney to have lunch at China Doll at the Woolloomooloo finger wharf with 2 girlfriends. We’ve been lunching together three times a year for over 20 years. Our lives are quite different, so it’s pretty much the only time we spend together, yet we know each other’s lives in detail including all our secrets. This time, we hadn’t caught up for over a year, and I don’t think we drew breathe for the 5 hours we were together. It was also heaven to eat Chinese – we tend not to with a peanut allergy child – and China Doll is bloody yum and the people watching is second to none as well.

I like my wine too much to then drive 2 hours home, so invited myself to stay at another girlfriends house for the night. Three of us – school friends from the 80s – drank more wine, devoured a cheese platter and shared the familiar banter that 30-something year old friendships allow.

The Build

The slab is down – the first milestone reached. Apparently there’s a lull now while the steel gets fabricated, and we should have a frame in a few weeks.

Thinking about Mum a lot. She had her routine, post chemo blood test which showed an increase in cancer cells, dammit. Then a full body scan shows something sinister lurking in her spleen. She has no symptoms, so no treatment required just yet, but the doctors advised them to bring their trip to Europe forwards, as symptoms (and therefore more chemo) are probably only 2 months away. So next week they are off to England to see their 4 grandchildren, and my sister and BIL for 6 weeks, and all the time Mum has to try not to be thinking “shit, I’ve got cancer”, and not be terrified any time she gets a bit of indigestion.

The Kid

Speaking of Chinese, am nervous about 2 firsts happening this week with Tippi our 4 year old child with severe allergy to peanuts, and what was once a severe allergy to egg that now seems to be diminishing.

A couple of weeks ago, Tippi’s preschool teacher called me aside to tell me they were looking at Chinese culture, and wanted to take the kids to the local Chinese restaurant for lunch. For most people with a peanut allergy, Chinese is unthinkable. I would never consider it, and when the teacher raised it my heart started racing, and tears sprung to my eyes as I thought of Tippi’s devastation at missing out. She just loves eating out, we do it quite regularly and to eat out with her friends would be a dream. In that moment, I decided I would have to take the day off work and keep her home so that she was not left at the preschool when all her friends were playing grown ups at the restaurant.

As it turns out, the owner of the restaurant has a peanut allergy child, so I was willing to listen, and long story short have decided she can go, and I will go too. Tippi is so excited. Me? I’m shitting myself. This is FAR from comfortable. But various things I wont bore you with have lead me to allow it – I will be there with 4 epipens in my handbag, and my stomach in my mouth. I’m cross with the preschool – at which Tippi has been since she was 1 – for putting us in this position, however I do acknowledge that they are incredibly careful with allergies, there’s not been once incident in over 3 years and they wouldn’t do it if they weren’t completely comfortable. The preschool director goes to this restaurant with her nut allergy son.

On the upside – maybe we’ve found a safe Chinese restaurant, not something I ever thought I’d find, certainly not in the Southern Highlands.

And then, next weekend Andy and I are both leaving Tippi with my mum and dad for 2 nights as we go to the Yarra Valley for a weekend of frivolity with old, old friends most of whom I’ve known since we were kids. This is the first time in her 4 years she’ll be waking up without either of us, she’ll deal with that, although will no doubt kick up a little fuss.

It’s the food thing that worries me – Mum is careful but has made mistakes in the past (that have been caught just in time, so no disasters) and is pretty terrified of the epipen. We’ll be doing a full training session on epipen use for the 1034th time, and after that it’s up to Mum. Outings will be the hardest part – they cant stay home for 3 days, and Mum isn’t used to ordering for Tippi when out. Pack her food, mum, I will be requesting.

Anyhoo, I’m determined to go, trust, and have a wonderful time with my husband and lifelong friends whom I see only every few years these days. Kids are left with their grandparents all the time, Tippi adores hers and at the ripe old age of 4, she’ll cope. Wont she???

So I tentatively step in to this week of fearful firsts and tell myself that it will all be fine, and it’s worth it. Don’t make a liar of me please Universe

How do you go leaving your kids? Have you been able to escape lately?

warcinfo:
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2019-09
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for February 2019
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-151-171-77.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.15 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 0.11-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/


text:
Retool the classic pound cake to make it ultra-chocolatey

Share Adjust Comment Print

We love pound cake and we love chocolate, but the combination is often a disappointment. That’s because most recipes simply add chocolate to a standard pound cake recipe, which mars its finely tuned texture and usually produces lacklustre chocolate flavour.

We wanted to retool classic pound cake to make it ultra-chocolatey without compromising its hallmark velvety-soft crumb. For deep chocolate flavour we used mostly Dutch-processed cocoa powder, which incorporated seamlessly into the batter; a couple ounces of milk chocolate added richness without interfering with the cake’s texture.

We bloomed both the cocoa and the bar chocolate in hot water to maximize their impact. For an accurate measurement of boiling water, bring a full kettle of water to a boil and then measure out the desired amount. The test kitchen’s preferred loaf pan measures 8 1/2-by-4 1/2 inches; if you use a 9-by 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness 5 minutes early.

Servings: 8

Start to finish: 1 hour, 45 minutes

1 cup (5 ounces) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (2 1/4 ounces) Dutch-processed cocoa powder

2 ounces milk chocolate, chopped fine

1/3 cup boiling water

16 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 16 pieces and softened

1 cup (7 ounces) granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed (1 3/4 ounces) light brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5 large eggs, room temperature

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 F. Grease and flour 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan. Whisk flour and salt together in bowl.

Place cocoa and chocolate in bowl. Pour boiling water over cocoa mixture and stir until chocolate is melted and no dry streaks of cocoa remain. Let mixture cool for 5 minutes.

Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and cocoa mixture on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, scraping down bowl as needed, until just combined (batter may look slightly curdled). Give batter final stir by hand.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles. Bake until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours. Serve. (Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month; defrost cake at room temperature.)

Nutrition information per serving: 499 calories; 256 calories from fat; 29 g fat (17 g saturated; 1 g trans fats); 197 mg cholesterol; 343 mg sodium; 53 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 36 g sugar; 8 g protein.

For more recipes, cooking tips and ingredient and product reviews, visit Find more recipes like Chocolate Pound Cake in “The Perfect Cake .”

America’s Test Kitchen provided this article to The Associated Press.

    This Week's Flyers

    We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.


text:
nest of skincare sample kit set

Explore the New ‘Best Of’ Essential Sampler Pack

Essential oil how made

Ask the Aromatherapist: Crafting Signature Scents by Blending Essential Oils

Our 6 Favorite Oregon-Sourced Ingredients

Written by: | February 12, 2019 | Leave a Comment

Sourcing ingredients is a crucial part of any cosmetics company, and we love that we can source such great local ingredients from here in the Pacific Northwest. One of the reasons we also love living and working here creating cosmetics is the wonderful natural environment. Some of the purest (and tastiest!) water runs through our […]

tea skincare how to use skin care

Start Using Tea in Skin Care – Here’s Why & How

Written by: | February 5, 2019 | 4 responses

Tea is one of my favorite ingredients in skincare—it combines powerful antioxidants, minerals and other key skin-loving compounds that can make a noticeable difference in how your skin looks and feels. Let’s start with some background and then explore our favorite products using tea for skin care, and how to make them your own. History […]

How to Balance Sustainability & Business Decisions

Written by: | January 29, 2019 | Leave a Comment

Sustainability is the next frontier in beauty, or so believes Linda Wells, chief creative executive at Revlon.  Compared to other beauty trends, “it’s going to be harder and more expensive” said Wells at last week’s Beauty X Summit in Los Angeles. And we certainly agree.  Sustainability is a worthy and necessary goal in cosmetics, but […]

organic skin care products samples try

Try the Organic Collection Sampler – New & Improved USDA Certified Favorites!

Written by: | January 22, 2019 | Leave a Comment

One of our best-selling samplers, the USDA Certified Organic Collection has been reimagined and we’re excited to introduce you to the New USDA Certified Organic Collection Sampler.  You’ll love this collection of best-selling products selected to inspire and delight you, your customers and of course, your skin.  Selected from 24 of our Organic finished products […]

nest of skincare sample kit set

Explore the New ‘Best Of’ Essential Sampler Pack

Written by: | January 15, 2019 | 4 responses

We get a lot of questions from customers asking where to start with our products—after all we have thousands to choose from! To make this easy and demonstrate some of our favorites, we’ve created the “Best Of” Essential Sampler Pack. In it, you’ll find a showcase of 11 of our best-selling favorites and a few […]

honey cosmetics skincare face mask

Honey in Cosmetics – Ingredient Spotlight

Written by: | January 11, 2019 | Leave a Comment

Honey is one of the most interesting ingredients in hair and skincare. The fact that honey is produced by bees, and can survive centuries in Egyptian tombs and still be edible (although I wouldn’t try it) is incredibly amazing, but what really makes honey such an interesting ingredient is how beneficial it is for hair […]

Filed in: Ingredients

How to Define and Market Your Brand’s Hero Product

Written by: | January 8, 2019 | 2 responses

Hero products can define a brand and get you to the next level with the right marketing and awareness. Let’s cover what hero products are, how to create one that fits your brand if you don’t already have one, and how to market it for success and growth. What is a Hero Product? The hero […]

Filed in: Marketing

Tagged with:,

Ingredient Spotlight – Myrrh

Written by: | January 4, 2019 | Leave a Comment

Myrrh is one of those ingredients that is usually talked about only once a year around Christmas. But long before it was a precious gift offered to the newborn baby Jesus it was used by ancient Egyptians in skincare and embalming rituals, by the Chinese for good health, and even by ancient Greeks on the battlefield. […]

inventory how to why every year

Why We Take Year-End Inventory & You Should Too!

Written by: | January 2, 2019 | one response

This January, as we do every year, we are closing for the first week to run inventory here at Essential. We do this for many good business reasons, including to keep accountants happy and better forecast the next year. Counting inventory is critical for every commodity business, and in our case it means that we […]

Filed in: Business Tips

Tagged with:

how to DIY basics cosmetics make your own lotion guide

DIY Basics: Making Cosmetics at Home

Written by: | December 26, 2018 | Leave a Comment

Making  Cosmetics at Home Getting Started with DIY Basics This blog is for anyone who wants to give home crafting cosmetics a try. We will go over the necessary materials and equipment you will need to get started for DIY basics, as well as instructions on how to create to delightful formulations: a beautiful facial […]

Filed in: DIY

Tagged with:, ,


text:
Stephanie Johnson

Stephanie Johnson

These are my thoughts about online marketing and industry practices, both good and bad, to help you understand the importance of controlling your image in today’s media-rich online environment.

You can also find me on

Thursday, 20 March 2014 00:00

"Crashing" engagement numbers

None of our Fortune 500 clients pays us to manage Facebook feeds. We're too far down the glamor-pole for that, although Anne-Christine says her selfie is as hipster and casually cool as those of the faux social-media experts they employ.

Facebook isn't a fit with most of our mid-markets, for reasons too interesting to briefly enumerate here.

But we're seldom paid by the countless small businesses who approach us for our infamously free advice. To date, we've staunchly advocated some sort of Facebook presence for them, fan-gated or not. Facebook's free, after all, and rewards creativity and sincerity.

All this probably will change soon. Facebook, as it seeks to further monetize its business, soon will slash organic page reach. If you're a small business, those 3,000 likes you've struggled to build are worthess. Your posts will only reach 20 or so customers (if you're lucky).

Unless you get your checkbook out.

We're not at all sorry for big brands, hilariously descibed by ValleyWag as "constructed succubi meant to look and feel familiar and friendly but really just advertise and annoy us."

Nike can get its checkbook out.

The smaller businesses, the ones we coddle through thick and thin, probably should consider getting theirs out, too. Instead of wasting hard-earned cash on nebulous Facebook counts, we recommend they pay us to manage their online presence with professional websites whose customizable features and plug-ins earn them the ranking they deserve.

By starting from scratch instead of trying to make tired old WordPress sites work, we can capture entrepreneurial passion and keep content - the current, reigning King of Google SEO - fresh and relevant.

So, no tears over Facebook. Presence there never hurt but now, it won't help. Stick to the things you can control: Website, blog and Yelp.

Monday, 17 March 2014 12:27

Sponsored content, take note

Explanatory journalism - characterized those intriguing, slightly colloquial pieces that informally explain things to the media-weary - is back in vogue. We write 'sponsored content' that's like this for some of our clients.

Sponsored content appears on web pages. It deliberately attempts to blur the line between 'editorial' and 'advertising.' It's also strategic and compelling, when thoughtfully incorporated into a campaign that involves media, consumers and thought-leaders.

Big PR firms like Edelman have created entire divisions devoted to developing this pay-for-play PR. Why? Readers share sponsored content more than regular editorial pieces.

LieberJohnson's done this since 1988. We write PR pieces that read like newspaper and magazine articles and send them off to trades and online websites that need to fill space, 24/7. It's ridiculously fun and easy. Read more, then let us do some strategizing for your content.

Monday, 17 March 2014 12:18

Fun websites

PR, marketing and web development are inextricably linked. Pay attention to your online presence! And yes, we can build these sites for you.

Monday, 17 March 2014 11:15

PR and Web for Eagle Ford

This blog item is dedicated to the hardworking small businesses south of our San Antonio office - the service providers in the Eagle Ford shale.

Why? You're the nimble ones struggling to grow while exceeding incredible customer demands for your time and services. You're not sitting in a high-rise, comfortably removed from the right ways and wrong ways of doing things, protected from the dust and heat by procurement contracts and investor relations consultants.

Our staff has crawled over driling rigs in Burgos Basin, flown offshore to drilling platforms, walked through gas-processing plants and spent hours in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Alabama supporting drilling-and-production operations.

We know what it takes to get oil-and-gas out of the ground. Lieberjohnson is committed to helping you convey your services, mission and vision to drilling companies that need your services. We can build you a website, write content/copy for your pages, create marketing collateral and develop a PR campaign that gets you in front of your customers.

Friday, 14 March 2014 20:27

Media placement

Don't be fooled by media. Conservative estimates credit public relations types with "planting" up to 75 percent of all story ideas in reporters' hive minds.

Here's a great example of how this works, served up today by our hometown

On March 9, online storage marketplace "blogs" or posts a carefully worded, excellent piece about America's top 15 apartment boom towns. Houston's #3 on the list.

Writer Elizabeth Whalen builds credibility for her "angle" by quoting sources with the National Apartment Association and Urban Land Institute.

An expert ramps up millennial interest with this: "Housing prices are going to go up, and credit remains tight."

Great quote for a the majority of the under-40 population priced- and credited-out of the housing market. Can't buy a home? Rent a lifestyle! can help you stash stuff meanwhile.

The PR groundwork carefully prepared ... 1. tells the PR firm that came up with the whole self-serving idea to sell it to the media or 2. unleashes one of its own fun-ish young media pros or editorial staffers on media in markets mentioned in the press release. or 3. understands the value of SEO content-management and waits for the Chron to call.

Not. It's doubtful the Chron's real estate reporters simply peruse their favorite corporate websites to find story ideas like this. Or, idly Google 'real estate trends.' They were PITCHED by in one form or another.

Next, said visits's awesome, hipster-themed website - which boasts about disrupting the traditional self-storage industry - and oozes the kind of credible transparency media craves. What's not to love about an editorial team whose marketing chick's "favorite movie is The Big Lebowski, favorite color is black, favorite food is cheese, and favorite band is the Pixies?" BTW, "she aspires to make self-storage fun and to make her dog and cat cuddle each other."

Hello, target demographic!

Your company may not be as cool, but you, too, can play the same game and end up with a homepage hyperlink in the online forum of your choice.

Website>Message>Media. Look like a player and talk like one. We can redesign and write your way right into your stakeholders' hearts.

Friday, 14 March 2014 13:04

HONY branding

He may not have been "on-message" when queried by the world-famous Humans of New York but this lucky small-business owner branded himself quite nicely!

Friday, 14 March 2014 12:46

Here's another creative example of how hashtags brand everything!

Friday, 14 March 2014 12:15

Reporters don't get it

How many times have I heard a client complain reporters don't "get" their business.

That could soon change. Journalism's evolving rapidly, as it must, in this day and age of infographics, social media and failed business models.

Up until now, the problem for journalists (and people like me) has been truly understanding the math and science behind stories. Very few journalists are celebrated for their keen insight into statistics or real-time drilling techniques.

Journalism schools think they may have the answer: Collaboration between techies and writers. Teresa Jolley reports.

Be careful what you wish for!

Friday, 14 March 2014 12:01

"So my plane just crashed."

Once again, Twitter trumps corporate and even media.

A passenger on the U.S. Airways flight that 'nosedived' in Philadelphia tweeted "So my plane just crashed," then shared a twitpic and even a selfie.

Sadly or gladly, depending on your perspective, this kind of citizen journalism isn't new.

It should, however, serve to remind companies the best way to get a story across is to tweet and blog and post proactively.

Friday, 14 March 2014 11:30

Keyboard strikes back!

Like any successful business, we've rebranded ourselves over the years.

LieberJohnson opened for business in 1985. Long before it was the popular thing to do, we started out of a spare bedroom "home office," bought a brand new desktop publishing program, and began conceptualizing, writing, designing and producing up to six corporate newsletters a month.

For the fun of it, we wrote entire "advertorial" sections for major metropolitan newspapers, deliberately blurring the line between editorial and advertising ("sponsored content" in today's parlance).

When summonsed, minion Stephanie Johnson even served time inside corporate walls as a media relations advisor and corporate communications specialist. Frequently, we worked in JIC's as PIO's (that's crisis communications, for the uninitiated), writing if-asked statements for media.

With the advent of eternally boring investor-relations firms, the demand for press releases slackened briefly as the energy industry decided it only needed to communicate with investors. So we morphed again, this time into the premier supplier of verbiage for marketing collateral and intranets.

Now, with a vengeance, copy is back! The word is back in, thanks in large part to Google's new rule: Thou shalt not post mind-numbingly, indescribably vapid and probably cut-and-pasted content on your website and be rewarded!

So we're back to our very core competency - getting clients noticed with content that tells stories. Writing press releases that contain (the appearance of, anyway) news.


text:
Image: Pexels

If you’re still hungry after eating your in-flight meal, you can ask a flight attendant for another one for free.

Travel & Leisure notes that most airlines are happy to give you an additional meal if there’s one available. Availability will, of course, vary from flight to flight and you might not get your first pick between the chicken and the pasta, but if your stomach is still rumbling post meal there’s the possibility of getting seconds.

Typically it’s best to ask as soon as possible since there are likely to be limited extra meals (if any).

Flight attendants are unlikely to give you two meals at once, but will probably acknowledge your request and let you know whether there’s any food left over after they finish service for the entire plane.

I actually did this last year on a 14-hour flight from San Francisco to Italy. I have a shellfish allergy which I had noted on my reservation, earning me the “food allergy” meal onboard. While everyone around me was enjoying omelets, I was given a weird breakfast “allergy meal” which I think was the meal to satisfy any allergy anyone could possibly have. It was three slices of tomato.

I had slept through the night before’s dinner service and was exceptionally hungry. Flight attendants served the rest of the plane but brought me an omelet once they knew they had enough to go around.

In the end, you’re still eating airplane food, which even when it’s good airplane food is typically not the most delicious dining option. But it’s definitely better than nothing, or shelling out cash for an overpriced can of Pringles on board.

If you know you’re going to be super hungry on board, it’s always good to pack some high-protein snacks to get you through. I always fly with a bag of trail mix, which has been clutch not only for an in-flight snack but also when I need a snack in my hotel at my destination.

And if you have enough time before you board, you can always grab a meal at the airport to take onboard and then ask the flight attendants to save your in-flight meal for you until you’re hungry later in the flight.


text:
Gloves and iPads

I’ve been sent these gloves from Firebox, the Isotoner SmarTouch gloves. Firebox wants them back as they’re review samples and, snow allowing, I’m expecting a courier to pick them up tomorrow.

Oh, and I’ve ordered a pair for myself immediately. They’re only just under £15 and they’re brilliant.

They look, as you’ll see from the picture, like an ordinary pair of wool gloves. They fit perfectly, one of these one-size-fits-all jobbies, look, it couldn’t be more straightforward if it tried, they’re wool gloves and they fit like a glove. You’ll notice, though, that the thumb and forefinger has a little design on it.

This is slightly more than a design. It has a little texture on it – nothing you’d really notice unless you were looking for it but – clever bit coming – enough to allow you to use a touch screen without taking your glove off.

So that’s your Android phone, your iPad, your iPhone, all usable when it’s flaming freezing like it is now by using something that doesn’t have “I’m a geeky gadget” written all over it.

As I say, brilliant.

2 thoughts on “Gloves and iPads

  1. Firebox – either go to or click on the affiliate banner on the right of this comment (I should declare an interest, I get a small % of anything anyone spends clicking through that link).

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out /  Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
What would you give for a better body?

Flickr: Tucia

Now this is just silly. According to the BBC’s website today, many men are unhappy with their gut. That’s not the silly bit, I fully accept it and am not desperately proud of my own. Body image, the piece goes on to say, is no longer (if it ever was) an exclusively female thing.

I’m OK so far on that. I set up this blog with the idea of writing about and for men who were a bit concerned about their appearance but who feel that from early middle age we’re a bit abandoned by the style mags and media in general. I have no problem at all with someone wanting to demolish the myth that fat is an exclusively feminine issue, that we don’t care how we look, that we’re as attached to the idea of being better as anyone else of either sex, regardless of orientation (I don’t buy into the idea that self-image and dress sense are exclusively gay things, either).

No, the silly bit is where the BBC has fallen for a bit of spurious research. I hate spurious research and as a jobbing journalist I get plenty, believe me. I dislike it strongly when it actually gets coverage. This one is from the University of the West of England’s Centre for Appearance Research (I didn’t make that up) and it says – wait for it – 35% of men say they’d give up a year of their lives to have a better body – flat gut, more muscles in the upper body, you know the sort of thing.

Oh, really? They’d give up a year of their lives? What does that actually mean, though? They’d allow someone to come and shoot them a year before their allotted time, if that could be calculated with any certainty? They really wouldn’t mind telling their family that healthy though they felt, they’d made this agreement for a decent set of abs so it was now time to go off to Switzerland and face the end a bit earlier than absolutely necessary?

It’s a ridiculous statement to make and frankly a stupid question to have asked.

I have a much better one. If you or I were seriously that unhappy with our bodies that we felt we’d shorten our lives to improve them, how come we’re not shortening our days by half an hour or so to go for a quick run? Pair of trainers, shorts, t-shirt, 20 minutes or so a day before the usual shower, you think we won’t see a difference if we combine it with less fat and sugar?

Of course there are time constraints. There are families to look after, kids to prepare for school. There’s always going to be something stopping a lot of us. Nonetheless, the idea that a third of men with an average age of 40 are so concerned that they’d shorten their lives to get fitter (which incidentally is more likely to lengthen life) when in reality they can’t find half an hour four times a week to do something about it is more than a little preposterous.

3 thoughts on “What would you give for a better body?

  1. Thanks Bryan, I'm pleased to amend the name obviously. As to the second point, whether they'd sacrifice a year of their life and give it up to exercise doesn't seem to have been the question asked. If it was then the followup question “OK, why haven't you?” is an obvious next step.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
BOARD International | BOARDVille Australia 2017: Melbourne & Sydney

Welcome to the center of digital decision making: BOARDVille will be coming to Australia in September for their first ever user and partner event!

Date: 12th September 2017 (Tuesday)
Time: 8.00am – 3.00pm
Venue: Intercontinental Melbourne
Address: Laneway Room 3, 495 Collins Street, Melbourne  VIC  3000 (Directions)

Date: 14th September 2017 (Thursday)
Time: 8.00am – 3.00pm
Venue: Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel Sydney
Address: Marble Room, 27 O’Connell Street, Sydney  NSW  2000 (Directions)

Please join us as we:

  • Learn about the future direction of BOARD
  • View their strategic product road map
  • Listen to customer success stories here in Australia
  • Attend focused breakout sessions

What you will learn

Attendees will have the chance to hear from existing users, explore the power of decision-making in the digital era and gain valuable insights as well as in-depth knowledge from their unified approach to analyse, simulate and plan.

Who should attend

Anyone in the digital age responsible for reporting, planning and making strategic business decisions: Management, Finance Leaders, Operational leaders, Marketing leaders, Analysts, Accountants, Consultants and Partners.

Keynote Speakers:

Mark Sands | General Manager, BOARD Asia Pacific
Mike Talbott | Global Product Director, BOARD International

Agenda to be announced shortly

Places are limited so make sure you reserve a place by registering now!  Melbourne | Sydney

Recent Posts


text:
A Federal Election Public Event in 2007-2008 Led by Lily Harvey

Another significant public event

Commemorating the 111th Anniversary of Lester B. Pearson’s Birth
– A Panel Discussion –
Could Canada play both role of being a peacekeeper and a peacemaker? Other options?This public event remembering Liberal leader Lester B. Pearson’s legacy and inspiration, led by Liberal Federal MP candidate Lily and her Campaign Team in 2008. Photos:event_8_2From Left: Art Lee, John Boon, Jun Yan, Jordan Liu, John Ting, Norman White, Chris Chung, Anna Terrana, Barbara White, Lily Harvey, Frank Fang, Lea Johnson, Singgih Yuwono, Don Bellevent_8_1 Former MPs, Scholar from SFU, Federal election candidates Lily and Cary.event_8_Anna event_8_Don event_8_JB event_8_Lea event_8_LH event_prizes_1 event_prizes_2  event_V_don event_V_lea event_V_Q1  event_Q_2

Another significant public event


text:
Case Studies

km logo big

Metro US takes flight

The fourth largest daily newspaper in the US pilots its business with Adpoint by Lineup Systems

Today, Metro US is the 4th largest printed newspaper by circulation and reach with over 4.5 million readers in print and online., the company’s news site, has skyrocketed to 2.0 million monthly unique visitors, and advertisers are increasingly taking advantage of the company’s growing range of cross-channel advertising opportunities including print, online, native, content, email marketing and sweepstakes. A key element of the company’s transformation and ability to increase its efficiency has been the implementation of Adpoint, an advertising sales solution from Lineup Systems that manages every aspect of the advertising sales process – from lead generation to cash collections.

Lineup has been a true partner. They are constantly innovating Adpoint to meet our business needs.

Yggers Mortensen
CEO, Metro US

Read Case Study

km logo big

KM Media Group (KMG) has been the main source of regional news in Kent, UK, for over 200 years. It started out as a local newspaper and has expanded and diversified over the years and, today, is a thriving business, offering award-winning news across a number of channels, including print, digital and radio.

KMG chose Lineup’s Adpoint to integrate all sales channels into one solution and simplify the complexity of the multi-channel sales process and supporting IT infrastructure.

  • Increased Revenue
  • Simplified Workflow
  • Insight into Customer Activity
  • Revenue Tracking
  • Automated Processes
The information Adpoint delivers is 100% accurate and reliable. We are getting the best insights into customer activity and sales staff performance we have ever had.

Duncan Gray
Operations Director, KM Media Group

Read Case Study

Lire L'Étude De Cas

Lesen Sie Die Case Study Hier

North American media giant Gannett selected Adpoint by Lineup to consolidate its multichannel finance operations and retire 52 costly, disparate legacy systems. Adpoint provided Gannett with the ability to create a single customer view across multiple operations and media channels, providing a vital foundation for better aligned customer relationships and sales approaches.

  • Greater ROI and business performance
  • Better customer experiences
  • Substantial business efficiencies
  • Greater corporate agility
Our partnership with Lineup has been transformative for us, freeing up so much time and significantly reducing our operational complexity. The agility the Lineup platform provides for the future is a real game changer for Gannett.

Rick Baker
VP/Technology, Commerce Solutions, Gannett.

Read Case Study

gannett logo big

telegraaf media groep

Telegraaf Media Groep (TMG) is publisher of Netherlands’ largest circulation newspaper De Telegraaf. TMG publishes over 100 publications, including Noordholland’s Dagblad with 9 regional editions and 80 free weekly local newspapers spanning more than 50 websites.
TMG selected Lineup for its technically advanced features, open systems architecture and ease of integration.

  • Successfully deployed Adpoint in 12 weeks
  • Gained the ability to create complex ad packages
  • Increased sales capacity – can now book 27,000 orders per week, totalling 16,300 ads
Lineup clearly understood our business goals plus aggressive timelines. They were able to take an extremely complex operation live in just 3 months – an incredible feat.

Mark Nouwen
Business Information Manager, Telegraaf Media Groep.

Read Case Study

abu dhabi big

Abu Dhabi Media is one of the fastest growing media and entertainment organizations in the Middle East, operating across the broadcast, publishing, and digital media sectors. The company manages 22 market-leading brands in two categories: brands that serve the UAE through a defined public service role; and brands that target the wider Arab world with clear commercial objectives.

Abu Dhabi chose Adpoint to grow advertising sales, improve agency management and reduce costs.

  • Improved visibility
  • Increased booking accuracy
  • Increased system stability
  • Increased advertising sales
  • 15% reduction in discounting
Since Adpoint went live across our publishing titles, the ROI benefit has been compelling. The service from Lineup has been second to none, on every level.

Frank Mooty
CFO, Abu Dhabi Media.

Read Case Study

Interested in hearing more customer stories?

Let's Talk

Lineup Systems is the world’s leading provider of advertising sales technology.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
US +1 720 961 9857
UK +44 20 3440 2400
Support Login


text:
Various Camping Options From Hotels to Initial Camping

If you're trying to find less expensive vacation, you might want to consider a camp. There are various types of houses available from a hotel or cabin, motorhomes, tents and very small comforts, which are only for the experienced and brave. The camping vacations are developing large family bonds that continue living in the largest air, where you are preventing nature and wildlife Plus, there are many options for living in hotels to motorhomes, huts and tents to completely reveal the elements with a very small team.

Hotels and motorhomes generally provide you with all the comforts of your home: bathroom, kitchen and sleep, everything you need to do is step out to enjoy nature. You can usually have access to televisions, wifi, phones and light switches to turn the electron out and more so that your food can also be ready for you or is kept frozen or fresh in refrigeration but requires a cook. Indeed, who wants to take his first step into the nature experience, this could be an initial option.

The next step in cost and comfort would be cabinets that will vary in scope. Some are set up as a fully-equipped apartment, with kitchen, bathroom, dormitories and many sleeping areas. Or, there are huts that sleep only in houses and cooking and relaxing time is spent outside the cabin in the open air. The different types of huts are strictly local specifications. Make sure that when you are looking for cabin housing, you will know what is provided and what you need to take with you.

Tend-camp is popular but requires planning and buying or renting basic comforts such as a tent, sleeping bags and possibly cooking equipment and ice cream to keep food. This type of camping is extremely popular, because if you buy your equipment, you will use it a lot and you can encamp with as many items as you need, having a complete camping with your yard, a cozy barbecue and a fully equipped kitchen. and supplies, cotton and mattresses for a connection to use public rooms and rains on solar rains and portable tiles. Tend-camp is extremely popular and the demonstration lies in the number of stores available to the "other" types of camps available in any particular area.

And because the very brave and adventurers, but probably not families, are open open with very few camps, but sleeping bag and non-destructive food. This type of camping is certainly not for everyone. Of course, you can always add some teams, but it would be entirely for you.

There are lots of activities to spend the time during fishing, walking or just enjoying the great overseas and listening to the sounds and sights. And of course, food just tastes as fabulous as you were abroad throughout the day and enjoying the storehouse during the night is definitely a favorite.

So, if you would like to have experience in the great air and with the nature, there are many different types of houses that you can choose at various costs.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


text:
Alan Cox alan at lxorguk.ukuu.org.uk
Wed Oct 10 11:17:02 PDT 2012

On Wed, 10 Oct 2012 08:56:32 -0700
Robert Morell <rmorell at nvidia.com> wrote:

> EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL is intended to be used for "an internal implementation
> issue, and not really an interface".  The dma-buf infrastructure is
> explicitly intended as an interface between modules/drivers, so it
> should use EXPORT_SYMBOL instead.

NAK. This needs at the very least the approval of all rights holders for
the files concerned and all code exposed by this change.

Also I'd note if you are trying to do this for the purpose of combining
it with proprietary code then you are still in my view as a (and the view
of many other) rights holder to the kernel likely to be in breach
of the GPL requirements for a derivative work. You may consider that
formal notification of my viewpoint. Your corporate legal team can
explain to you why the fact you are now aware of my view is important to

More information about the dri-devel mailing list


text:
GSoC 2018 project announced

Vijay Kumar Banerjee vijaykumar9597 at
Mon Apr 23 21:43:59 UTC 2018

Hello mentors,

Thank you for letting me have this wonderful opportunity to work with RTEMS
under the GSoC 2018 program!!

I would like to ask about the instructions regarding the program that I
need to follow to get started properly, (like adding the project to the
GSoC tracking page )

-- vijay
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <>

More information about the devel mailing list


text:
 Make Money Archives - Page 3 of 3 - Litabi
Home » Make Money (page 3)

Make Money

Intext Advertising Was Never So Easy And Rewarding – Infolinks Review

The ultimate goal of every blogger is to monetize his blog and maximize his earning in every possible way. Majority of bloggers start their blogging careers attributing only Google Adsense as their primary source of earning; nonetheless, only 30% of those are able to make it through, as Adsense has stringent policies and rules to preclude spam. The ones who …

Read More »

Popular Work From Home Job Opportunities In Delhi

Working from home has been made easier with the availability of high-speed internet and the free video-conferencing service like Skype. Even thought the India has growing economy, people prefer to work with remote jobs or want to start their own business from home. Career fields like Marketing, Freelancing, Tutoring and Medical health has more work from home opportunities that would …

Read More »

Top 8 Fast Emerging Online Jobs

Nowadays, internet became an imperative part of our life and almost everyone is having net access at their home or at least on their smartphones. Internet has a wide range of money-making opportunities for the people who wanna work from home. Not only the professionals who are computer savvy, even the average knowledge people can earn income on the web. …

Read More »


text:
A Dangle A Day – Angela Porter

“A dangle is a beautiful string of charms you can use to decorate all kinds of things, including alphabets, shapes, borders, illustrations, quotations, and anything else you can think of.”

I got into zentangling a while back – sort of doodling with rules – and I’ve been meaning to get back into it for ages. I’ve also taking to Bullet Journalling in a big way, finding it a fab mix of my needs to be organised and a bit creative. So when I spotted A Dangle A Day on NetGalley, it looked just my thing – and I was right!

The first section is on lettering. This has always appealed to me, and there are plenty of step-by-step examples – one for each letter and number, each in a different kind of style to mix and match – which will be very handy when I’m stuck for inspiration.

The second section is on seasons. Doodles and ‘dangles’ can look quite simple, but coming up with ideas is half the battle. The author took that work out of the equation for me, providing dozens of examples of just the kinds of seasonally-appropriate little doodles I was after, be that holly or bells for Christmas, hearts and flowers, or more abstract designs, plus colour schemes that match the seasons.

The actual ‘dangle’ part of the title refers to stringing doodles together in streamer-like chains, and while I wasn’t too sure about that part to begin with, the description of using them as BuJo section breaks was a lightbulb moment. They were also perfect for decorating my Christmas card envelopes.

Dangles and zentangling and doodling are lovely, relaxing and just ‘nice’ activities that I recommend wholeheartedly, and this book is a fantastic resource for inspiration. There are sections after each example for you to have your own go, if you have the physical book, but even if not – get the pens out, and have a play about. It’s great for the soul 🙂

NetGalley eARC: 147 pages
First published: 2019
Series: none
Finished reading: 9th February 2019

My rating: 9/10

One thought on “A Dangle A Day – Angela Porter

What do you think?

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
12 Naughty Holiday Foods

holidays-holiday-foods-fullThe holidays mean parties and family gatherings. And it means a buffet of delicious holiday treats. Lots of holiday foods are healthy – filled with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. However, they can also be loaded up with calories.

Don’t assume that foods are healthy just because they are normally low in calories. Many dishes have been modified with additional ingredients, such as added sugar and fats, to create a fun and festive treat. That also means additional calories.

Here are 12 foods that are on the holiday naughty list and healthier options you can enjoy instead:

Turkey Skin
The skin of turkey and chicken is loaded with saturated fat. Dark meat also have more fat per bite than white meat. Serve yourself turkey or other white meat without the skin.

Stuffing is filled with butter and high-fat meats like sausage. A single scoop of stuffing may have 550 calories. Use low-sodium chicken broth instead of butter, and try low-fat chicken or fruit instead of fatty meats. Or, you can even make stuffing with wild rice instead.

Green Bean Casserole
While green beans are a vegetable rich in vitamins and fiber, the casserole doesn’t offer as many health benefits. The onion toppings, butter and cream that are used to create the dish can contain over 750 calories and over 4,000 milligrams of salt. Stick with plain green beans and skip the rest.

Buttery Mashed Potatoes
Homemade mashed potatoes often contain whole milk, butter and salt. Instead, mash the potatoes with low-fat milk or low sodium, fat-free chicken stock. Then, skip the butter and salt.

Swedish Meatballs
Meatballs may be high in protein, but each meatball can have as many as 400 calories with eggs, bread and cream added to make them. Beef broth can also add up to 50% of your daily recommended allowance of sodium. Choose lean meats without the added fattening ingredients.

Cranberry Sauce
Cranberries may be a super fruit, filled with antioxidants and fiber, however a serving of cranberry sauce contains around 200 calories and twice as much sugar as homemade pumpkin pie. Stick with the pumpkin pie!

Pecan Pie
Although pecans are packed with healthy fats, vitamins and minerals, pecan pie is filled with sugar and calories. A slice of pecan pie can have more than 500 calories. Try nibbling on a bowl of mixed nuts or a small slice of pumpkin pie instead.

Carmel Popcorn
You may receive a gift of a large tin of carmel popcorn. While popcorn on its own is a healthy, whole-grain snack, adding sugary carmel only packs on calories. Try plain popcorn instead – it’s just as satisfying without the extra fat.

Cakes and Cookies
You may crave carbohydrates in the fall and winter. You want to avoid sweets, but you also know that carbs taste so good and make you feel good. Snack on whole-grain cereals and crackers to satisfy your carb cravings.

Mix together alcohol, heavy cream, eggs and sugar, and you’ve got a recipe with about 340 calories and 19 grams of fat. Make a low calorie eggnog with skim milk, egg substitutes and artificial sweeteners. Or skip the eggnog and have a cup of green tea.

Mixed Drinks
Cocktails can also be surprisingly high in calories. Mix up a wine spritzer by adding a splash of wine and sparkling water to pomegranate or cranberry juice. You cut calories and include fruit in your diet.

Milk chocolate is high in fat and low in nutrients. Go for dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa, but still eat it in moderation. Even better, choose dark chocolate with heart-healthy nuts.

‘Tis the season for tasty foods. If you know which foods are naughty versus healthy, you can make good choices and enjoy yourself during the holidays!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Stunning Apartment Residences In Scenic Torrey Hills

Showcasing expansive views atop a hillside in Carmel Valley, Torrey Gardens is the luxury rental community that offers a distinguished lifestyle. Enjoy modern, fully appointed floor plans with lavish features, designer finishes and upgraded appliances. Our exquisite resort-inspired amenities include a revitalizing pool and Jacuzzi, state-of-the-art fitness center, expansive park with ocean views, a Pilates studio and so much more. We even offer retail shops within our community including dry cleaners and a deli for your convenience. Living in the gorgeous master-planned community of Torrey Hills is exceptional. Coastal breezes, natural beauty, and outdoor recreation are abundant. Enjoy your perfect escape while still being close to everything.


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Jonathan Cahn

Posts tagged as "Jonathan Cahn"

  |   Blog

The Mystery of the Shemitah

The Mystery of the Shemitah is an important read in today’s age.  The author, Jonathan Cahn, is a Messianic Rabbi in New Jersey who also wrote the book The Harbinger.  We have spent many hours listening to his sermons and researching the “mysteries” he reveals in The Harbinger, and we feel Pastor Cahn is a very down-to-earth, biblically grounded, cautious preacher who really does have a message from the Lord for America.  (It was important to us to make sure he is not one for speculation or date setting.)  His message for Believers is simple: stay right with God and stay pure in all your ways, in order to be a bright light in this world that is getting darker and darker.  And for America, his message is to turn back to God, or else God will bring judgment on the nation as a loving act to bring us back.


text:
Welcome to FCT
Please sign in
Want to track your deal?

Our new FCT Tracker app offers legal professionals an easy way to track the status of their FCT residential title insurance, MMS and LLC® deals on a mobile or tablet device. Try it today!

To get started, use your existing FCT user ID and password to log in.
Have Questions? Call us at 1.866.804.3122
*FCT tracker App is not available in Quebec
Login ID
New user? Enrol now
Looking to order title insurance online? Click here


text:
Montana FWP is hiringseasonal employees forAIS Watercraft Stationsat Lookout Pass area throughLabor Day. $13.15/hr.Must be 18 with a validdriver's licenseEmail resume to russ.hartzell@mt.govor call 406-210-4491

Date: July 25, 2018

Expired Ad

This ad expired on
August 24, 2018 (177 days ago)

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Public Services / Government Associations

Call (406) 444-2535
Get directions to this
location on Google Maps.
Open website
in new tab.

Montana FWP is hiring seasonal employees for AIS Watercraft Stations at Lookout Pass area through Labor Day. $13.15/hr. Must be 18 with a valid driver's license Email resume to or call 406-210-4491


text:
Monthly Archives: August 2013

Ravelry Elspeth Shawl Featured Photo

This is very yarn nerd of me, but I’m so happy to know that someone actually looks at posted pictures of the things I make on Ravelry (though I really do it for the journal function).  I just approved a request to have one … Continue reading

Posted in Crafts, crochet, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Pictures or Not

We’ll I’ve had two posts waiting for nearly a month, but I’ve been having a terrible time getting pictures of all the latest sewing projects so they are still just drafts , but I do have a couple of pictures to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment


text:
Amazon to Start Selling Kindle, Fire, and Other Devices at Whole Foods

You may see more of Amazon inside Whole Foods soon: The online retailer, which has already been selling its voice-activated Echo speakers at Whole Foods, will start to sell Kindles, Fire tablets and other Amazon devices at its grocery stores.

The move gives Amazon, which bought Whole Foods this summer for $13.7 billion, another place where shoppers can touch or try out its gadgets during the holiday shopping season. As part of Amazon’s putting its stamp on the grocer, Whole Foods stores displayed promotions for Amazon’s Echo speaker in tongue-in-cheek fashion, with signs reading “Farm Fresh” and “Pick of the Season.”

When reporting its earnings last month, Amazon revealed that its Whole Foods acquisition had helped beat expectations on Wall Street. It added that Whole Foods provided $1.3 billion in revenue and $21 million in operating income for the company.

To recall, Amazon had announced it would cut prices at Whole Foods – which had acquired a reputation for requiring a ‘whole paycheck’ – as soon as the acquisition was final. That was exactly what it did, much to the delight of consumers and chagrin of competitors.

Amazon has been expanding its brick-and-mortar presence: It recently opened shops inside some Kohl’s department stores and it has opened a dozen brick-and-mortar bookstores.

The Seattle-based company says that Whole Foods stores in Chicago; Denver; Rochester Hills, Michigan; Davie, Florida; and Pasadena, California, will open Amazon pop-up stores next week. About 100 other stores will also have the devices available for sale.


text:
Common Sense Lifestyle Eating Plan: Why Lifestyle Coach Luke Coutinho Feels That It Will Replace All Fad Diets

The common sense lifestyle eating plan is nothing but intermittent fasting, something which people have been unknowingly following for many years. Read here to know how intermittent fasting can replace all fad diets. Intermittent fasting can make you feel healthier and ultimately lead to weight loss The common sense and […]


text:
Relocation UK – The United *Magic* Kingdom

Visiting home after moving to London has always been a treat for me, and a trip to DisneyWorld is the ultimate! Not only has this vacation reunited me with my family and childhood joys, but it brought me back to the UK as only Disney could do so well…

The other week, I shared a link to that described the inspiration for Epcot’s UK pavilion. Now en route back to Chicago before I fly back to London on Monday, I’ve already visited the UK pavilion myself and can report on what it got right. First of all, it was pouring the day I went there, so tick one box for UK authenticity! 😉
[read more]


text:
Play Cafe

Looking for something to enjoy with your pre-school toddler

Then Join Us at “PLAY CAFE”

The “Play Cafe” is open every Friday morning from 9am to 11am for parents to bring along there toddlers to play with our toys and enjoy a drink while meeting and chatting with other parents and friends.

Just come along to:

Lordshill Community Centre, Cromarty Road, Lordshill, SO16 8LX