Home Kitchen

Do you know the details of the ready-to-assemble cabinet?

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Available in up and down counter versions, RTA cabinets help save money. You could spend double the amount on custom cabinets. Understand the brands, how they were built, the quality and the finish of the wood, before buying imported products.

Beware of these factors on imported RTA cabinets.

• Aim for nice colors and finishes.

• Finishing by hand lasts longer than spraying.

• It is best to avoid cam locks and slot assembly.

• Component replacement easily done by local manufacturers.

• Check quality and ask questions about breakage.

Some buying tips

Hardware-wise, make sure the sliders are of good quality and close smoothly. Does it have self-closing hinges? Ask about replacements and damage and how long it would take to receive new parts. Cabinets made in America would be better and more convenient. If it is a shelf, it is not necessary to replace the entire cabinet. Finishing material made in America would be better because imported ones have poor coating. Hand cleaned liner is better with a richer depth and more expensive due to labor and materials.

Some imported RTAs offer a true slot mount with fasteners and glues that can be screwed or nailed down. What happens over time is that the expansion and contraction of the wood takes place and also the displacement and peeling begins. Dovetail technology is offered by an American manufacturer, which means that crumbling cannot take place after assembly.

Examine the drawers and doors. Consider your preferences as a full overlay or recessed door. Do you have a particular color in mind? Maybe you can buy an unfinished piece if you want to apply the finish? Chinese imports don’t allow all that flexibility and domestic products may be better.

Would you buy Chinese regional trade agreements?

Why not go for the Chinese with affordable prices and pretty good standards? Buying household products relieves you of some worries, such as obtaining replacement parts. However, many manufacturers in China are doing quite well and their products are definitely worth buying. If you’re a smart shopper, you know the benefits and pitfalls of imported RTAs. Please buy accordingly with understanding. Be prepared for staggeringly low prices, which come straight from the factory.

buildings

Chinese cabinets are made of plywood and that is cheap. The design is easy to assemble. Avoid relying only on cam locks and use glue for added strength. The 6-8 door style and various commonly available finishes are inexpensive. It will not be possible to mix and match. There are limited options available when it comes to door styles in terms of colors and glass doors are not to be found. The common wood is Russian birch. Buy with confidence.

Auto

History of Mercedes Benz: The 230SL Pagoda

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The Mercedes Benz 230SL and its successors 250SL and 280SL (1963-1971)

For the first time in the history of Mercedes Benz, the car was shown to the press two weeks before its official presentation on March 14, 1963 at the Geneva Motor Show. In this way, it was ensured that their reports were published on or before the car’s official launch date. This Benz was eagerly awaited and no one knew whether it would follow the mighty 300SL or the popular 190SL. He did not follow any of them. When Prof. Fritz Nallinger, chief engineer and member of the executive board, introduced the new Mercedes Benz 230SL, internally called W 113, it created something of a stir. As Erich Waxenberger, Rudolf Uhlenhaut’s talented engineer once remarked, the car looked as if a tree had fallen on top of it. The ceiling was, well … unusual. But it wasn’t just the roof that created some buzz, it was also the car’s performance. Everyone expected a successor to the legendary 300SL.

Daimler-Benz, of course, was firm in its approach to the role of the new SL. It was neither a 300SL nor a 190SL. It was a high-performance touring sports car with superior handling characteristics that could carry two passengers plus their luggage in style, comfort, and most of all, safety. It was a very Mercedes Benz on its own. To demonstrate the sporty aspect, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, always available for a quick blast on a race track, pushed the 230SL down a 1.5km circular circuit near Montreux in the presence of the press. Most impressive was that British Grand Prix driver Mike Parkes was not able to drive much faster. However, his car was not the SL, his car was a Ferrari 250GT Berlinetta!

Although many of the car’s technical features weren’t new at all, it was the combination and its enhancements that made this Benz special. The undercarriage had a recirculating ball steering and a dual-circuit braking system. Girling disc brakes were installed on the front axle, while Alfin vacuum-assisted drums were installed on the rear. For the first time in the history of Mercedes Benz, such a car could be ordered with power steering and the most shocking thing for most European journalists – automatic transmission. A sports car and automatic transmission? Absolutely impossible! Not only did the press think that way, it was the same with most of the European public. Not surprisingly, very few cars of this type were sold in Europe. The Americans were already one step ahead, for them the combination of sports car and automatic transmission made perfect sense. And since Daimler-Benz thought of selling about 80 percent of the car abroad, this extra was certainly beneficial. The Benz came standard with a four-speed manual transmission with a 3.75: 1 gear ratio. It was similar to the one used in the 220SE but with a shorter first gear ratio of 4.42: 1 instead of 3.64: 1. It should. guaranteeing faster acceleration, but it was not universally appreciated, so in 1965 the manual transmission of the new 250S / SE was adopted.

In 1967, two years after the launch of the 250 series sedan, the 230SL was replaced by the 250SL. Its larger engine reduced somewhat mediocre performance at low revs. Unfortunately, it suffered from reliability issues at high speeds, something that didn’t amuse a sports car driver much. Although this problem was quickly resolved, the car was also famous for its relatively high fuel consumption. After just one year, it was replaced by the bigger, more stuffy 2.8L engine. It offered 170 hp at 5,750 rpm compared to the previous 150 hp at 5,500 rpm, it also had a bit more torque and improved fuel economy.

While the 250SL Benz cost 22,800.- DM ($ 5,700.-) about the same as the 230SL, the 280SL cost 1,500.- DM ($ 375.-) more expensive. In the United States the 280SL costs around $ 7,500.-, depending on the extras. However, the customers didn’t care, they loved the package and came running. In its five years the Mercedes Benz 280SL managed to sell 23,885 units, more than half of them went to North America. The 230SL sold 19,813 units during the same period.

Digital Marketing

Facebook Marketing Tips

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Is Facebook Helpful For Your Marketing Goals? Is Facebook a path to success and does it contribute to promoting business in the digital world? Many questions and answers come to mind. But the truth is, yes! It is the great platform and the success among successful entrepreneurs. Be one of them / ours.

The components of Facebook are the fruitful marketing push. Their goal is to reach out, discover the quality of information, and advertise more valuable Facebook user stories. According to Facebook, to reduce the chances of a larger audience, a sensational headline is the common factor. It’s about consistency of value, quality over quantity. You will notice audience decline on your Facebook business page when you post content all the time; it is a sign to take into account. Combining informational content and visual content is essential. This way, Facebook’s tentacles will click and get an attachment on your post. Thinking of your audience is the most important strategy for Facebook marketing tips.

Here are the tips for Facebook marketing tools to maximize traffic to your business site:

Talking to Customers – This is average marketing tip that everyone should know about. The happiness of each customer is the profit. When doing this idea, you need to remember a few important words about how to communicate or speak with customers; watch your manners, be positive, and avoid conversational killers and ghosts. Through the contents and the commented questions, it is the best way to get customers to adhere. They will tell you what they think, what they don’t like, and what they want from your business or product. Don’t be afraid to accommodate your current and negative opinion. Please do it for inspiration to do better. Finally, encourage them to get involved in what happens in your business and share their stories, and do yours too because the audience will love being part of your success.

Always go to work – the audience has different expectations. Always post the most attractive Facebook posts. Their interests, different ages, genders, and other crowd characteristics is your target for your advertising campaign. Facebook makes it easy, where you can customize where to deliver, who can see your album in a given period. Facebook business page information is valuable growth from a great tool.

Go visual: Social media marketers use visual content for fun. Posting visuals should be enjoyable, interesting, and varied. Boring images are nothing. Visual content can be drawn into still images, collages, charts, infographics, giveaways, comics, and videos for better formatting in post. When trying this idea, remember to keep people in a certain sense. Edit the existing layout for the image infographic. It is the tool for creating graphics and presentations. It is also very helpful to your audience.

Bid optimization: Facebook’s bid strategy makes it easy for you. Allows you to bid on the ad based on the limitation. It will help drive the budget. Spending too much money would be more expensive. Instead, budget allocations for Facebook ads are an ideal option. Regarding your campaign, by setting your bid, you can save money and make it more flexible.

Cover photo: the best marketing tool is visual. Make it more attractive and believe it your audience hasn’t seen yet; It is an image like no other. Update a photo to be more visible to your friends and your friends’ newsfeed. Showing up on your timeline is a huge plus for your market. It is not just a photo, but it has an inspiring story. Remember, the image is a fundamental property.

Facebook’s strategy will engage through valuable content. It is the best platform. In which Facebook is the ideal social network to launch a campaign despite all the different social media websites. It is mainly used for social media optimization (SMO). Having traffic on Facebook is the most effective way to make it relevant to your ad campaign. Potential clients will create a real demand for your services. MailChimp will be integrated and will have advanced and improved for automation. If Facebook is not fast, better find another option. We can do SMS. In messaging, niches also help fast market, even if overused.

By promoting yourself and business page for professionals and personals, Facebook allows it. When discussing the controversial, you should keep it personal. On the business page allow people to contact you. But remember, to communicate with customers, the Facebook business page is the correct target market and it is the place where customers talk to you.

Relationship

Pastor Anniversary Scriptures and Themes

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Creating a pastor anniversary The topic can be intimidating, overwhelming, and sometimes over-thought. Selecting a topic for your pastor is nothing more than creating a prayer based on the direction or progression of your ministry. The subject must also have some kind of deep meaning in some cases, with an underlying intelligent thought.

First, let’s discuss where to get theme ideas that will help you create your pastor’s anniversary theme. First of all, I always look in the Holy Bible, as there are countless examples of topics for a pastor. The idea is to choose a scripture that has a word of encouragement and direction from God. Not all scriptures are the same, and not all scriptures convey the message that is needed to convey the general idea of ​​the message.

Here is a list of scriptures that speak directly about honoring your pastor:

  • Jeremiah 3:15– And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

  • Ephesians 4:11– And gave to some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edification of the body of Christ.

  • I Thessalonians 5: 12-13– And we beseech you, brothers, that you know those who work among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And esteem them very much in love for the sake of their work. And be at peace among yourselves.

  • I Timothy 5:17– That the elders who govern well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work in word and doctrine.

  • Hebrews 13:17– Obey those who govern you and submit to yourselves, because they watch over your souls, as those who must give an account, so that they do so with joy and not with pain: because that does not benefit you.

Using wording within scriptures, you can create themes or themes that will be more than appropriate to celebrate your pastor’s anniversary.

Here is a list of examples of pastor appreciation and anniversary themes that was created using scripture writing.

  • Jeremiah 3:15– Honoring the spiritual knowledge and earthly understanding of our pastor.
  • Ephesians 4:11– Perfecting the saints for the work of the ministry.
  • I Thessalonians 5: 12-13 – Celebrating the worker who lives among us.
  • I Timothy 5:17-Giving our pastor double honor for his work in the Word.
  • Hebrews 13:17– Recognizing the leadership that watches over our souls.

With just a little creative thinking, you can create a theme for your pastor’s thank you service, day or month. There are other ways to create a theme, you can use titles from: songs, books, movies, scriptures or even famous quotes by legendary people. There are many ways to create the perfect theme for your pastor, you just have to get creative and put a little work into it.

Here is a list of examples of pastor appreciation and anniversary themes that were created using songs, books, movies, scriptures, and even quotes.

  • Spiritual guidance that propels us forward
  • The audacity of faithful leadership
  • Sacred teaching for earthly life
  • Divine advice to the crowd of people
  • Celebrating the man of God for his people
  • Celebrating the woman of God for his people
  • Shaping lives to be good stewards
  • Vessel chosen by God for his purpose and direction
  • A spiritual report for God’s people
  • The gift of giving without reward
  • Appreciate the giver of spiritual knowledge
  • Illustrating the holy life through precept and example
  • Celebrating victory in the Holy Word of God
  • Great is your fidelity

As you prepare the celebration activities and appreciate it, your pastor takes time to really search for the correct message for the overall theme. Members of your church will be happy to help find the scriptures that match the message.

Health Fitness

Healthy Foods to Eat on a Budget

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If you are on a tight budget, finding healthy foods in the grocery store may seem like a challenge, but there are healthy and inexpensive options in every aisle of the store. As tempting as all that junk food may seem, it can actually be cheaper to eat food prepared at home. And with a little imagination and experimenting with herbs and spices in the kitchen, it will taste better too. The first key to healthier eating is having more healthy foods available to eat at home. So stop going self-service and buy no more prepackaged and processed foods than you probably have in your kitchen now. Get organized by creating a meal plan and a shopping list of the foods you need to prepare those meals. The next step is to go to your local grocery store and start shopping for whole foods that you can make at home with the kitchen resources you have there.

Increasing your consumption of whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, will make your overall food selection much easier. If the foods you are choosing contain more than 5 ingredients and include many unknown and unpronounceable items, you may want to reconsider your purchase. Counting calories, carbohydrates or grams of fat will not be as necessary when selecting foods that are more of a product of nature than a product of industry. Finding healthy foods to eat at the grocery store is pretty simple. They are found in “fresh food” sections such as the produce and refrigerated meat and fish departments. Frozen and dry aisles also contain good healthy foods, though there are plenty of unhealthy distractions too.

Healthy foods to have available at home to cook include whole foods (foods in their most natural state), fruits and vegetables, dairy products (low-fat milk, yogurt, cheese, and eggs), seafood, lean cuts of pork, and meat. beef and chicken, naturally sweetened whole juices and lots of water.

The types of foods to avoid include refined grains (white flour or white rice), refined white sugar, any form of corn syrup, and anything that contains more than 5 ingredients in a box.

Making the switch to eating healthy foods requires a change in mindset, along with some imagination and preparation. It will help to make a weekly meal plan and, from there, a good, organized shopping list to take to the store. This will help you stay focused and reduce the amount of trips you make to the grocery store.

Legal Law

Excellent Facilities and Quality Education – Saint Louis University in Baguio City in the Philippines

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Saint Louis University (SLU) is conveniently located within the Baguio Central Business District (CBD) along Andrés Bonifacio Street. It is strategically located just a short walk or jeepney distance from the main attractions of Baguio city, such as the Baguio City Public Market, the Church of Our Lady of Atonement or more popularly known as the Baguio Cathedral, Session Road and Burnham Park.

Almost all the local jeepneys end in the heart of the CBD. To get to SLU, you can take any jeepney that passes or ends its route in the CBD. Taking a taxi can be more expensive, but it is more convenient since passengers alight in front of the main entrance of the university.

Saint Louis University is a non-profit, non-equity educational institution founded in 1911 by the Congregation of the Heart of Mary. It started with 10 students in a wooden hut. It was in 1915 that the intermediate level was offered, while the secondary level began with a group of boys in 1921. The university level began in 1952 with courses in Liberal Arts and Commerce. In 1963, Saint Louis University received its University Charter, making it the first private university in the northern Philippines.

As of February 2009, SLU has grown exponentially to 54,392 students and more than 2,000 faculty and staff, with a laboratory primary and secondary school, and with 7 universities with their respective graduate and postgraduate programs totaling nearly 100 courses. . of which are undergraduate courses.

Students can enroll in undergraduate courses such as Accounting, Business Administration, Education courses, numerous Engineering and Architecture courses, Human Sciences courses such as Psychology and Mass Communication, IT courses, Natural Sciences courses such as Biology and Pharmacy, Law , Nursing and Medicine. Numerous undergraduate and graduate courses are also offered at the 7 universities.

Saint Louis University sees itself as the Light of the North, an excellent missionary and transformative educational institution that is capable of harnessing and enhancing human potential. Being a Catholic institution, education is an evangelical work aimed at producing human beings imbued with the Christian Spirit, competent, creative and involved with their community and society.

On average, a student can expect to shell out around Php 13,000-15,000 per semester for an average of 24 units. This would vary depending on the course a student would take, as the course that would require specialized classes would mean an additional cost. However, SLU offers scholarships for working students, as well as scholarships from governmental, non-governmental and private organizations for deserving students.

SLU has its own general tertiary level hospital, Saint Louis University Hospital of the Sacred Heart that began in 1977. SLU has a Child and Youth Wellness Center, affectionately called the Sunflower Children’s Center, which offers assessment and therapy sessions for children with behavior problems. . Also present is the SLU Alumni Foundation, Inc. with Louisians as recipients of the most popular project, the scholarship program for students with financial difficulties but who deserve it. SLU also established research units that focus on improving the curriculum, presenting solutions to economic, environmental and community problems.

Saint Louis University actively participates in Philippine organizations CEAP and PAASCU, and international organizations such as the Association of Southeast Asian Higher Learning Institutions (ASAIHL) and the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP). It has also fostered links with universities and international organizations such as the American Studies Resource Center (Thomas Jefferson Information Center, USA); Catholic University of Lovain (Belgium), Ford Foundation (USA), Jinan University (Guangzhou, China) and others. These open the way for the pursuit of a higher education, as well as the exchange of students and teachers.

Lifestyle Fashion

Curious sayings and humorous expressions in Pennsylvania Dutch English

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English as a world language

English, with its increasing number of varieties, pidgins, and inflections, is now firmly established as a world language. It is currently spoken as a second or foreign language by more speakers than those who call it their first language. There are now more than three non-native speakers of English for every native speaker, and the number of non-native speakers of English continues to grow daily. “Never before has there been a language that has been spoken by more people as second than first,” said David Crystal, author of the book “English as a Global Language.” In the area where I grew up in south-central Pennsylvania, there is an interesting variety of the English language spoken by the “Pennsylvania Dutch.”

A difficult aspect of English speaking in Dauphin, Lancaster, and York counties in south central Pennsylvania, where a large concentration of Amish, Mennonites, and other “Pennsylvania Dutch” sects live, is the manipulation of the grammatical elements of English. Here are some examples of the ways in which grammar and word order are handled in everyday speech in Pennsylvania Dutch. For “outsiders” – anyone other than Pennsylvania Dutch – these expressions of everyday speech can range from funny to surprising. Here are some of the many aspects of this variety of English.

Intricate grammatical forms

“He throws dad down the stairs with his hat.”

Explanation: Throw Daddy’s hat down the stairs. (I don’t care how old he is, don’t you dare touch the old Pope!)

“Go out and tie the dog and don’t forget to turn off the light.”

This expression uses complicated grammar in addition to “Germanic” verbalizations. Here the verb “outen” means “to go out”. The adjective and noun are used in reverse order to other forms of Standard English.

“The owner says he will pay me ten dollars a day if I eat myself, but only five dollars if he eats me.”

Explanation: No, there is no cannibalism here! The worker will receive $ 10 a day for providing his own meals, but $ 5 a day if the owner has to provide the worker’s meal. (Wow! I’m glad we cleared that up!)

“He’s a pretty good man still, isn’t he?”

Explanation: He’s a good man (provider), right? (a label question form)

Use of specialized vocabulary

The addition of specialized but “local” vocabulary is also done quite frequently, as demonstrated in these examples.

“Should I put the candy in a bite?” (A “toot” is a paper bag).

When talking about the fact that his father or grandfather is sick, a child might say:

“Dad is not that good; his food is gone and it doesn’t look that good on his face either.”

Speaking of his son’s difficulties in school, a parent could be heard expressing the following feelings: “My son is not stupid. It’s not that he can’t learn, it’s just that after he learns it, he forgets it.”

If you don’t speak “Pennsylvania Dutch” in one of its many forms, you may be told, “You don’t distinguish yourself so well. You speak so gracefully as if a body can’t understand you.”

When talking about someone who does not read aloud well, in a meeting or at school, for example, people might say something like, “When you get up to read, you get confused.”

Or how about this fun little observation of someone else’s speech: “Don’t talk too fast, it runs too much when I think.”

Pennsylvania Dutch Proverbs

Some interesting Pennsylvania Dutch proverbs include these offerings:

“Kissing wears out, cooking doesn’t”

“No woman can be happy with less than seven to cook”

“A plump wife and a big barn never hurt a man”

“He who has a secret does not dare to tell his wife”

“We get too old and too late, idiots”

The state of the cornerstone

In this region of the “Keystone state,” as Pennsylvania is called, this variety is often called “Ferhoodled English” by the Pennsylvania Dutch themselves and by local “outsiders.” Famous for their frugal lifestyle and delicious fresh, natural cuisine, the Amish and other sects contribute to the state’s tourism. Hundreds of thousands of visitors come to taste the crafts, food and “peculiar” language of this austere town. It is just another one of the many varieties of English that is continually developing as a global language.

“When you come, get out” When you are in the area, stop by. See, hear and experience Pennsylvania Dutch food and Dutch for yourself.

Pets

Shih Tzu: Pros and Cons of Owning This Adorable Pet

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The good and bad points of having a Shih Tzu as a pet

The Shih Tzu is among the most popular dogs and ranks fairly high in ownership according to the American Kennel Club. Even though it is highly rated as adopted or purchased dogs each year, there are some advantages and disadvantages to having this particular breed of dog as a pet. Here are some of the biggest reasons for and against owning one of these adorable pets.

Pros:

A Shih Tzu is a very outgoing pet and friendly to everyone it comes into contact with. They will almost turn around when you pay attention to them. This particular breed is also very loyal to its owners and loves to please them. They will also get along with almost all types of animals they come in contact with.

One very good trait that this breed of dog possesses is that they don’t bark as much as some of the other toy dog ​​breeds. Most other types of toy dogs will bark at everything and everyone, while the Shih Tzu typically only barks when it needs attention or is being paid attention to.

Another advantage for a Shih Tzu pet is that they will require little exercise. This makes them an especially good pet for someone who is not very active. If you are looking for a companion dog and you have little space in your house or apartment, this would be a good breed of dog for you. Other than walking the dog on a daily basis, the dog has little interest in participating in other activities. This doesn’t mean that they don’t enjoy a good ballgame every now and then, it just doesn’t require much more than that.

Because they are not as active as other dogs, they will eat less and, coupled with the fact that they are generally small and hardy, means that they generally cost less than other dogs to keep.

Cons:

A Shih Tzu will crave your attention and can become quite jealous of other people and pets. This can become a problem over time and is therefore most enjoyed as a companion to someone who is single or living alone. If you introduce a puppy to your family at an early age, you are likely to have fewer problems than if you wanted to acquire one at the age of 5 years or older.

If you have children and you have an older Shih Tzu, sometimes this pet can be agile with them. This is especially true when they want to play with them and your pet doesn’t want to be disturbed or children play too rough with them. This can be a problem and may be one of the reasons why many older people who do not have children around them choose them as the ideal pet.

Another thing to consider is that you will need constant Shih Tzu care. You will find that if the dog is not brushed daily and groomed weekly, your pet’s coat can become tangled and tangled. Many owners trim their pets’ coats to make them easier to care for.

Some of the medical problems with Shih Tzus are that they can develop ear infections and eye problems and they can have early tooth loss. They often wheeze and snoring and can develop breathing problems. These dogs should not be overfed as they gain weight easily.

Although there are several downsides to owning these adorable little dogs, I think the pros far outweigh them. Although they are not the ideal older pet for a young family, this can usually be overcome by getting a puppy and then teaching the children how to treat the pet while also teaching the dog how to interact with its humans. Ask a Shih Tzu owner about their pet and you’ll likely get rave reviews and many reasons why you should get one.

Real Estate

The evolution of real estate

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Arguably, the Internet has not had a more significant impact on any industry than real estate. Indeed, it has changed the way potential home buyers find the property they ultimately buy.

Here is the most compelling statistic to back up my argument: According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 70% of home buyers found the home / property they finally bought online “BEFORE” hiring a realtor. Before the internet, people looking to buy a new home had to go to a real estate agent and describe their requirements (price, rooms, bathrooms, region, etc.) and then have the real estate agent go through the MLS to find suitable properties to suit your requirements. The real estate agent would then present his findings and schedule appointments to view. Today, prospective buyers have access to that same information and can use web-based products like Google Earth to zoom in and view aerial photos of homes and neighborhoods. They can also go online and get free appraisals or access real estate comparables and see exactly how much the house sold down the street. They can also search for mortgages and compare rates. City data sites provide demographic data, rank school systems, and provide community characteristics for virtually every city and town in the United States. And the best part, it’s all free and easily accessible at your fingertips!

While there are many websites that offer access to real estate listings according to Hitwise (an internet monitor that collects data directly from ISP networks), here are the top 10 real estate websites:

1.realtor.com (the most active site in the world with 350 million visits per month)

2.realtytrac.com

3.homegain.com

4. rent.com

5.remax.com

6.realestate.yahoo.com

7.zillow.com

8. apartments.com

9.ziprealty.com

10. move.com

Realtor.com, the official site of the National Association of Realtors, is by far the No. 1 ranked real estate website with an 8.8% market share. According to USA Today, traffic to real estate websites increased 8% in 2005, twice the growth rate of overall Internet traffic.

The internet has effectively leveled the playing field: Home buyers simply don’t need a real estate agent as much as they used to, this fact ultimately puts pressure on real estate agents to justify their commission fees. Supporting this perspective is the fact that real estate commissions have fallen to an average of 5.1%, down from the long-standing 6%, according to Real Trends.

As in any industry, the less you do, the less you get paid, why should real estate agents be any different? The funny thing is, as home prices go up, so do commissions, unless, of course, you hire a “discount” realtor. These brokers recognize their reduced role and workload and simply offer their services at a reduced price. But don’t underestimate the NAR’s powerful lobby (remember they have 91 BILLION reasons to protect their industry). Real estate agents have helped “persuade” a dozen states to pass laws limiting the ability of real estate agents to grant rebates to home buyers or offer low-cost, on-demand services to home sellers. The Justice Department, in an effort to protect competition laws, has lobbied some states to reverse plans to pass those laws.

In 1995, only 2% of home buyers used the Internet to search for a home. Last year, 77% of home buyers went online to search for a home. Surprisingly, again, according to the NAR, the average Realtor spent less than $ 500 a year on the Internet (advertising and development).

The growing dominance of the Internet comes at a crucial point in the real estate market. Median home prices fell 6% this year. Meanwhile, home buyers and sellers are looking for new ways to save money and find them online. Armed with more information, many home sellers are cutting the real estate agent entirely and moving toward “Sale by Owner” (FSBO). The biggest challenge for FSBOs is effectively marketing their property. While there are many (thousands) of websites catering to FSBOs, the industry is extremely fragmented and there is no repository of properties that competes with Realtor.com or any of the other “Top 10” real estate sites listed above. One option is flat rate MLS. With Flat Fee MLS, a real estate agent essentially agrees to list an FSBO property in the MLS for a “flat fee” rather than a commission. The service is basic and the real estate agent listing the property does not provide any services beyond listing the property in the MLS. However, it exposes the typically marketing-challenged FSBO to the real estate agents’ most effective sales / marketing tool for a minimal fee (typically $ 399 – $ 699). Another option is to simply list your property on Realtor.com (my preference, I’ll explain why in another article).

While the way people “search” for a property has changed, the way they buy has not: 81% of home buyers who used the Internet to search for a home still hired a real estate agent to to buy.

The fact is, the internet has dramatically eroded the value of traditional real estate agents. Ask yourself this question: will you put a sign on your property, list the property in MLS, and then spend the next 3 months convincing you to reduce the sale price by 3%? Is a home “showing” worth 3% of the sale price? Am I being too harsh, maybe? I understand that real estate agents provide a level of expertise and in most cases “deliver” the buyer to their doorstep, but if you look at the process of getting there, the buyer is clearly doing the most of it. From the escalation, a real estate agent simply opens the door after your trip.

Shopping Product Reviews

Minecraft’s Failed Brother: Scrolls

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Mojang, the study that was valued at $ 2.5 trillion by Microsoft in 2015, the studio responsible for the huge success of Minecraft, which has been shipped 70 million copies he is also responsible for another game. That game is Scrolls, one that Mojang would probably rather forget about.

Minecraft’s long-lost brother Scrolls couldn’t have had a more conventional start to life than his older brother. It was designed with a specific plan in mind, for a specific market, by a well-funded development studio and with an eager audience waiting for any opportunity to play it. Minecraft lacked all of these advantages. So why was Scrolls a failure?

Announced in early March 2011, Scrolls was described by Mojang’s creative minds as a mix of ‘trading card games‘Y’traditional board games‘, something they felt was missing from the market. In early December 2014 it came out of the Beta development phase and was officially released. Then just six months later, in 2015, Mojang announced defeat. They revealed that the active development of Scrolls would cease, and that they could not guarantee that the servers would work after July 2016.

So where did Mojang go wrong? On the surface, Scrolls had everything going for him, from a development studio literally awash in money to a massive audience that was excited to try everything Mojang could produce. It should have been a sure hit. However, what we have seen is evidence that regardless of the endorsement, no development project is a guaranteed success.

The development behind Scrolls was spread out for a game of its size, not an overly ambitious project, it still spent four years in development or ‘beta’ before being deemed ready for release. The launch itself perhaps hinted that the game was not getting off to a perfect start. The release date was suddenly announced by Mojang on December 10, 2015. Before any period of preparation, they chose to release it just one day later, on the 11th. At the same time, they reduced the price to only $ 5 dollars. Usually the price would go up, or at least stay the same with a move out of beta …

Then there’s the highly publicized lawsuit with Bethesda over the word Scrolls trademark. Obviously, this isn’t necessarily a sign of poor development, but it again shows problems with planning and behind-the-scenes development. It would certainly have been an unnecessary strain on the management team.

Ultimately, however, the problem that caused Scrolls to fail is simple. They didn’t have enough players to sustain the game. As the post that describes their decision to stop development says “the game has reached a point where it can no longer sustain continuous development“This is a clear indication that their player base, along with the profits generated, was not enough. to justify continued spending on the game.

The sudden decision to release the game reinforces this theory, as his hope would have been to generate interest in the game by announcing a change outside of beta. But as the ad showed half a year later, it didn’t deliver the result they hoped for.

We don’t have concrete figures on how Scrolls was sold, other than a tweet from developer Henrik Pettersson who had shipped 100,000 copies on July 21, 2013. This is during the game’s beta period, and we can only assume it grew by release. But is 100,000 copies enough to support what is essentially a multiplayer board / card game?

Assuming a very rough one-week retention rate of 15%, based on the PC gaming figures here. We would be looking 15,000 players are still playing after a week.. After several months, the figures are described as a retention rate of 3-5% from players. So optimistically, we would be looking 5,000 players playing Scrolls for more than a few months. Obviously this is a percentage that is taken from a game, very different from Scrolls and therefore the rates are likely to be very different. Still, it shows how 100,000 copies doesn’t necessarily mean a healthy player base.

A multiplayer game requires enough players to facilitate matchmaking throughout the day, and at the time of writing, the online player count is around 25. This is no different from when they announced the cessation of development. The number of copies sold for Scrolls could have been considered a success for a single-player game, but ultimately, for an online game like Scrolls, the active number of players is more important. Unfortunately, this number was too low..

Lack of player retention and overall low player base can contribute to a number of things, first of all, while Scrolls received mixed to reasonably positive reviews from critics, was plagued with issues with balance, and was lacking or lacking aspects. that for many made it a less than pleasant experience. Released content patches such as ‘Echoes’ were designed to some extent to address this issue, but were too slow or missing.

Second, a lack of clear communication from developers and leadership in moving the game forward. Minecraft, being a very open game, which thrived with a single player mode and a player-led multiplayer mode, did not require leadership from the developers, it grew organically with players creating mods, creating servers and creating adventures themselves. However, with Scrolls being a semi-competitive multiplayer strategy game, the developers had to take a different approach, something they may not have had experience with or expected.

Third, he did not receive the extensive marketing required it as a multiplayer strategy board game. Minecraft was a game that went viral, for a long time it was tea I play on YouTube and as a result Mojang never had to market it. On the other hand, Scrolls did not receive this free marketing and Mojang was not prepared for this. They didn’t anticipate that in order to maintain a steady supply of new players for an online game, you have to market it. Hearthstone, a very similar game from much more experienced Blizzard, is still heavily commercialized with ads, something that Scrolls always lacked.

Finally Scrolls was a strategy game, a competitive game. Mojang might have expected the larger Minecraft community to keep Scrolls marketing-free, but the communities largely disagreed. The initial success of Scrolls came from excited Minecraft players who tried it out, but what they found was a very different kind of game. The scrolls needed a different audience, but Mojang did not seek this audience.

Scrolls wasn’t necessarily a bad game, and it has found a small but devoted fanbase dedicated to keeping it alive. Maybe they will. In the end, though, what we’ve seen is a studio that doesn’t appreciate the full scope of what needs to be done to produce a successful multiplayer game. Maybe doing it for free would have been the way to go …