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Yearly Archives: 2019

All About Carpet as Flooring Material

With improved fiber and finishing technology, carpets are better value than ever. Whether you’re a traditionalist or after one of the latest animal prints, like plain carpets or imaginative borders, there’s one to suit. Even asthmatics, usually steered clear of carpets, will find one endorsed by the British Allergy foundation.

Halls and stairs need the heaviest duty carpets, followed by living areas and then bedrooms, where you can get away with less robust types. There’s currently no grading scheme, though a new European standard is expected soon and this is likely to pinpoint where carpet should be used. Use a professional fitter to lay carpets, who will also give an estimate of quantities.

Carpets are either woven, tufted (Hessian or foam backed) or bonded, which means they don’t have a pile. Woven carpets (Ax Minster or Witt on) are more expensive as the pile and backings are woven together giving extra durability. Tufted foam backed carpets are less durable and suitable mainly for bedrooms.

Carpets: wool or synthetic?

  • Acrylic: acrylic looks and feels like wool and is often blended with other fibers. It has good stain resistance.
  • Nylon: very hard wearing and will resist crushing if in a dense twisted pile otherwise once flattened the pile is difficult to restore. Top quality brands can almost feel like wool although cheaper ones attract dirt and feel harsh. Static is now much reduced.
  • Polyester: warm underfoot, it keeps its color well and is abrasion resistant, but the pile is difficult to restore.
  • Polypropylene: inexpensive and durable but it has a harsh feel so is often used in wool blends. It flattens easily so low loop piles are common. Carpets containing this fiber are non absorbent, colorfast; they resist abrasion and are low in static.
  • Wool: the most expensive type of carpet with good insulation properties and resistance to soiling and flattening. Frequently blended with 20 percent nylon for good looks, greater resilience and durability, it is ideal for heavy duty areas. Like all woven carpets, it can not if over-wetted.

Watch points

When you choose your carpet, take a photograph of the room or rooms with you to help find the right color or pattern.

Underlay

Choose the best quality you can afford. A good underlay can prolong the life of your carpet so never use an old one with a new carpet. It will also prevent draughts through floorboards and act as sound proofing. Choose between;

  • Felt made from matted fibers: top of the range and will resist indentations.
  • Paper felt: used under foam backed carpets.
  • Solid rubber: hard wearing but not as springy as waffle rubber.
  • Waffle rubber underlay: sold in different weights from light use to heavy duty.

Carpet pile

The closer the tufts the more hard wearing the carpet can be:

  • Looped in and out of the backing; low loops are very hard wearing and often called corded if very tightly looped.
  • Cut, but short dense cut pile (velvet) is susceptible to shading and shows up tread and furniture marks. A less dense pile is known as Saxony carpet and shag pile is the longest cut pile and should be avoided on stairs. Twist pile is twisted cut pile, the more tightly twisted, the greater the durability and resistance to flattening.
  • A combination of cut and looped for a textured effect.
  • A Berber carpet that can be cut or loop with flecks of contrasting color throughout.

Alienware Area-51 17-Inch PC Laptop Review Model: M7700

There are some laptops on the market that are so amazing, many have not even heard of them. If you are searching for a laptop that has been developed with the serious gamer in mind, then you will definitely want to view the following product. Even if you are not a gamer, but require a high-performance computing system, you will still be able to benefit from this laptop. The Alienware Area 5117-Inch M7700 PC Laptop will provide you with one of the most stable and advanced computing systems on the market. With advanced features and a design that is just plain cool, you will really enjoy this laptop for whatever reasons you use it.

Product Ratings:

  • User-Friendliness: 5/5 Stars
  • Processor Quality: 4.5/5 Stars
  • Product Features: 5/5 Stars
  • Overall Rating: 4.5/5 Stars

Product Overview:

Within this Alienware Area 51 M7700 Laptop you will have the ability to streamline your productivity and if you are a gamer, then you will absolutely fall for this laptop computer. Like most computers, this laptop comes with downfalls, which I will discuss further down.

To start off this laptop comes with the Intel Pentium Processor, which allows you to have a stable platform to perform all of your computer tasks. Whether you are into intense gaming or just want a fun and fast laptop to do your daily tasks, this laptop is well-capable of doing that.

The screen for this laptop is a massive 17-inches, with a screen resolution of 1400 x 900. This screen has been developed to provide you with real-life details that are fluid in their motions and full of color and depth. Again, this laptop was designed for gamers, so you can believe that the screen looks breathtaking.

The graphics processor this laptop is the NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800, which has been deemed as a very stable graphics card. While this isn’t the most advanced graphics card that is currently available, it can definitely compete with some of the other high-performance computers on the market.

Okay, now to discuss the downsides to this laptop The hard drive for this laptop is very small, only 60GB with a run speed of 5400RPM. If you are using this laptop solely for online and offline gaming purposes then you will find this hard drive to be sufficient, but if not, then you will be very disappointed with its storage capacity.

You will also be able to burn/read CDs and DVDs at variable speeds. There is also a 7-in-1 memory card reader, which will allow you to easily access and upload your digital photographs and movies, however, due to the hard drive capacity, I wouldn’t recommend uploading movies.

Price and Availability:

This Alienware Area 51 17-Inch M7700 Laptop can be purchased online and at select retail stores for an average price of $1,200.

Six Great Places to Start Earning Online

Get paid to share your opinion, write a blog or sell niche products. These six Web sites are designed to do just that. So sit back relax and enjoy as we visit the 6 best stress free places to get started on the Internet.

Before I mention the first site on my list let me just say, I understand getting paid for surveys is not considered glamorous or romantic but the reality is that lots of money is saved and therefore gained by using some of these so called survey sites.

Surveyscout.com is one of the better ones. They claim to have jobs that pay anywhere from five to seventy five dollars per survey. In addition they have also added a Jobs or Career Opportunities section as I like to call it. Paidsurveysetc.com is another good “pay for opinion site” that offers similar services but is not as large as Surveyscout.com.

If you are serious about becoming a “Professional” blogger then you should consider becomeablogger.com. This is hands on instructional video for anybody that is considering joining the industry. What’s great about it is that you don’t have to rely on the slow drip of information that so often keeps bloggers from being immediately productive. Becomeablogger.com is also stocked with tons of free stuff including lots of free videos to get you started. The information contained in this course will save you a lot of time and money. Or perhaps you’re the kind of guy who’s got a couple Blogs and you’ve been sitting on the fence about being a Pro Blogger you could also enlist the aid of your own Blog Mastermind at Blogmastermind.com. You can learn to set up and customize your blog, build your readership and make money under one roof.

If perhaps you are more of a maverick then niche marketing may be more your thing. It involves joining affiliate organizations such as Clickbank.com in order to resell products. Developers are looking for talented people who know how to get product in front of the masses. If you have the Talent Clickbank.com has the product. You can promote and resell anything from tools like Acautilities.com to get rid of that spyware to Xboxrepairkit.com for the dreaded Xbox rings of death. They have one of the most complete lists of products that I have ever seen and payment is always on time.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have to admit that I’m a loyal Clickbank affiliate and thus far have been pleased with the results. As always all comments are welcome and look forward to hearing from anyone who has used any of these products.

6 Must Have Survival Tips For Young Mothers

A lot of things come up when you’re a young mother that you may not always be ready to handle. Being a young mother is like being thrown into a pool of water without knowing how to swim. There are things you must learn and learn fast! Everyone won’t always want to help you out; there are some things that you must do yourself. Below I have listed the best survival tips when it comes to being a young mother.

Staying Focused: Keeping your mentality is essential when u are a young mother because you will need to have a clear and rational mind especially when are raising your children on your own. Sure you may feel down from time to time, however; you can’t let the negatives in life interfere with the positives; always push forward no matter what.

Don’t lose Yourself: Just because you have kids doesn’t mean you can’t do things you once enjoyed prior to having kids. Take the time to pencil yourself in a special day just for you without the kids so you can pamper yourself. A lot single young mothers seem to forget that it is okay to take a little more time getting dress to go out the house instead of wearing pajamas every where you go. I feel as if you weren’t wearing PJ’s out doors prior to you having kids, don’t start because you should always lead by example.

Lead by Example: Remember your kids are watching your every move so when you teach them right from wrong, make sure that you are actually practicing what you preach. If you had to drop out of school just for the simple fact you were pregnant and could no longer do school while in this state, after you give birth you can always go back to school. If you don’t do it for you, do it for your kids! Show them that you can do anything you set your mind to no matter what obstacles come your way and they will respect you for it.

Financial Support: Everyone needs a little help sometimes and it’s understandable if you reach out to get help from the government. In the helping of you bettering yourself, so you do not always have to depend on that once a month check, just call your local D.E.S (Department of Economic Security) for more information. When you do work, do not over work your body because it is not fair to your child. If you overwork yourself on a daily basis, you will not want to play with them and that will make raising your child difficult.

Don’t get Discouraged: Getting discouraged is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to raising a child by yourself. Not only will this affect your attitude from day to day, it will also effect how you talk and play with your child. Children have no idea what “problems” are, all they know is how much they love their mother and how to have fun, let them stay in a child’s place. If you have other problems or concerns on your mind, never take them out on your children!

Family Support: If you’re family is willing to be there for you and your child, you’re one of the lucky ones! Don’t take that for granted, however; if you feel as though your family has strayed away from you due to you having a child at a young age, TRY to move past it. The reason I say TRY is because I know how hard it can be to stay strong when you feel as though the whole world is against you. If you’re family isn’t willing to accept your situation, the only thing you can do is keep moving forward for you and your child. It sounds a lot easier than it really is, I know, however; you must keep your head towards the skies in order to pull through this difficult time.

5 Questions To Ask Before Joining The Military

If you are thinking of joining the military, you should probably read this before you speak with your recruiter. Keep in mind that your recruiter is doing their job by making the high points of the military sound good, and downplaying the low points. It is also part of their job to divert your attention to the well-known things about your branch, and not to tell you about the many questions that he or she had before entrance. Maybe after reading this, you will have a little more insight into your chosen career. Always ask about an open contract. When I joined the military, I had a specific job in mind. But when I joined, I was told that job had a 20-year waiting list, would I be interested in another? I scored very high in the medical field on my ASVAB, as well as the sciences. So I could choose just about whatever I wanted. I chose medical lab technician. Or at least that’s what I thought I chose. The man at our induction center left my contract open. That means that you are required to do whatever job Uncle Sam puts you doing, like cleaning latrines for your whole 4-year tour.

Ask to see any videos that are available. They give you a little better understanding of what daily life in basic training will be like, rather than a watered down version of what your recruiter remembers from years ago when they went through. Pay attention to the looks on the recruits’ faces. It’s not a happy look; this is what you are going to look like when you ship out.

Ask about the buddy system, and credit for having others join with you. If you have a friend that wants to join with you and be battle buddies, you can join at the same time and both of you receive a higher rank. You both will be an E-2 in the Air Force, before even entering basic training. So this gives you a raise in pay, and it’s easier to climb the ladder when you’re one rung above the crowd.

Ask what you will be paid, and how long you must serve to be eligible for your Veteran’s benefits. You are entitled to college tuition reimbursement, health insurance, aid in purchasing a home or vehicle, among many other things. But in order for you to get those things, you must serve for at least 6 months, not including basic training. So if you are in the Air Force, you must complete basic training, and then work 6 months of active duty and then be discharged honorably or uncharacterized in order to get these benefits. You are paid on a card given to you during your induction onto base once you begin basic training. This will be linked to an account that has your monthly pay, and you can do as you please with it.

Lastly, ask about your options during wartime. The job you choose may not have a huge calling during war time, but with the war mongering that has gone on in recent years, you seriously need to consider the thought you may go to war. If your job is going to be greatly involved in a war, and you are not comfortable with that, DON’T sign a thing. Once you sign, that is it; you are now property of Uncle Sam. If you even get a tattoo now you can be court marshaled for destruction of government property. So really think over your decision before you ever sign a paper. Once they have that piece of paper, yore recruiter gives two shakes about you. They just made quota for the month!