Thursday 12 May 2011

How To Write a Real Estate Advertisement

If you want to sell your house, or any piece of real estate property for that matter, the first thing that you should do is to come up with a great real estate advertisement. An effective advertisement will drum up interest for your property and entice people to visit the spot to appreciate the place better. On the flip side, a poorly-written real estate advertisement could not only turn away potential buyers but could also lower the value of your property. Writing a great ad goes beyond putting together a string of good adjectives to describe your property. Providing too much info can actually scare or intimidate buyers. Providing too little could make your buyer think that you are hiding something. Here are some steps and tips to remember in writing your own real estate advertisement.

* Do some research and read other property advertisements. Open the newspaper and read through the house listings. Is there an advertisement that quickly grabbed your interest? Think of the reason why you were attracted by the ad. Go online and look for professionally written advertisements. This should help you come up with the structure of the advertisement that you will write for your own property.
* Write down all the features of your house or real estate property. Since you are the owner, you will now what qualities and features of your house that you like best. These are the ones that you need to highlight in your ad. List all the other features that you can think of. Once you are done, go over your list and weed out the ones that are not so important.
* Think of a catchy headline and start your advertisement with the special or unique features of your home. Just like any other form of advertisement, getting people interested in reading your ad is the first step in selling it. Do you have a pool? Has your kitchen been recently remodeled to fit a chef’s needs? Use adjectives in describing your property and furnishings. “Oak flooring,” “granite countertops,” These are the things that you need to mention in the first few lines of the advertisement.
* Provide the basic information regarding the place. People on the lookout for real estate properties will always ask about location, number of rooms and bathrooms, size of the lot and the floor area of the house, and the price that you are asking for. After you have provided these, give the other features that you think will be relevant to a buyer. Give a general idea of the condition of the house and specify any renovations or remodeling conducted on the property. Avoid lines that profile buyers such as, “Great for a small family”. If possible, describe the neighborhood as well. Try to keep your description to about a hundred words.
* If you are posting the ad on a website, try to include photographs of your property in its best state. Newspapers generally do not allow for pictures to go along with advertisements unless you are willing to pay for extra charges. If, however, you will be putting your ad up on a website, these typically have features for you to upload some pictures of the property. Make sure to clean up the area first before you take pictures. Make sure that you do not have toys and clothes lying on the floors or piled up in a corner. Make sure that the pictures are clear.
* Finally, write down the information of the person who the buyers should contact. If you plan on handling any inquiries yourself, provide your name, email address, and phone number. If necessary, indicate on your ad the time when buyers could contact you.


Once you are done writing your ad, show it to a friend or relative and ask for an honest appraisal. Get their feedback and use this to improve your advertisement. Once you finish your final draft and choose the best photos to go with the ad, send it to the office of your local newspaper or post it on a community website.

How To Write a New Employee Press Release

If you have a new employee in your company, you should take the time to make a press release for him. This is a smart move not just to let other employees know of him (which is important specially if the new employee’s tasks will bring him to close association with his co-workers), but to boost employee morale as well.

* Determine whether the press release will be strictly professional and formal, or very laidback. This will depend on the overall atmosphere of your company. Take your cue from previous newsletters and press releases. You might even want to create two types of employee press release: a formal one for wider release, including to the bosses and managers, and an informal one for your department, to foster camaraderie and good fun among the employees.
* Begin by stating the new employee’s work and task responsibilities in the company. This is actually what’s most important for the other employees to know.
* Include a short bio about the new employee. The most important details to include here are his previous training and work experience. You could also include details such as his place of origin, the name of his college/ university and his birthday (excluding the year, if this is his choice; see next tip).
* Acquire permission to report all the information. This is very important: for his own good reasons, he may not desire the entire company to know about his birthday or other personal details about him. While you’re talking with him, you should also take the time to confirm with him if all the details that you have about him are accurate.
* Obtain a quote from him about how it’s like to work for the company. This is great for either opening your press release, or closing it. Plus, the other employees will probably be interested to know about the impression they are making on the new guy.
* Obtain a quote from upper management about their impression on the new employee. This could be a great way to boost the morale of the new employee and make him feel like he is part of the work family already.
* Know of other information that you may include. Again, this will largely depend on the degree of formality/ informality that your press release will take. If you work at a small, local business with few employees, for example, it may be more important to make the new employee feel at home in your company. You could include more personal information such as his favorites, his hobbies, and data about his family. Again, it’s very important that you seek his approval before you publish any of this information.
* Follow the format of previous press releases. To reduce any possibility of going against company procedures, it’s best that you format your press release according to previous ones. If other press releases have pictures, then you should add one to this new press release, as well. You could also consider sending out an email to every employee instead of a printed memo-type press release; this way, you could save up on resources and not add on to anyone’s clutter, too.


Remember, writing a new employee press release is all a matter of finding how formal or informal you should make it to be, and ensuring that every piece of information that you report is accurate.

How To Uninstall McAfee Legacy Programs

McAfee is probably one of the most popular names when it comes to computer security. It is the top name when it comes to antivirus applications and is known to provide a fully functional suite of computer security applications that not only provides virus protection but a whole slew of other functionalities such as firewalls to protect from unwanted intrusion, spam filters to prevent spam emails, and other critical security features that will keep your computer and the information in it safe and sound.

While McAfee may be one of the best when it comes to security, it can still sometimes be a big pain in the butt. For instance, whenever you install applications from McAfee such as the antivirus application, many small components are likewise installed in the process called legacy programs. Normally, these programs are pretty useful if you currently use McAfee as your antivirus program. However, there will come a time when you will want to replace the particular program with another more current one, say from a different name in computer security. At that point, you will have to uninstall the program. The problem is that you really can’t uninstall McAfee’s antivirus program without having to manually uninstall these pesky legacy programs. Well, if that is the case you are stuck with, don’t fret. Help is here. Here are some of the things you can do.

* Use the McAfee removal tool. Fortunately, the problem with the legacy programs has not escaped McAfee’s attention. They knew that these programs will eventually cause problems to users and that is why they devised a removal tool that you can download and use for free in order to rid you of these legacy programs.
* To get the tool, simply log on to the McAfee website and download it. As soon as the download completes, click on the file and the tool will run. Now, bear in mind that once you start the process, the tool will automatically remove these programs and save you the hassle of doing it yourself. Obviously, this is convenient for you. That said proceed with the tool and follow the prompt until the process starts. The uninstalling of these programs will not take too long. The tool will even provide you with clock to monitor the progress. Once the process if finished, the legacy programs will have been removed. You can now continue to uninstall the antivirus from your system without any other issue.
* Use the Windows Program Uninstallation tool. Another way to remove the McAfee legacy programs is to do it manually. This is possible if you are using Windows as your computer’s operating system. There is a built in program removing and uninstalling tool that you can access through the Control Panel. Simply open up the Control Panel and select Add or Remove Programs. If you are using Windows 7 or Vista, it would be labeled as Uninstall a Program. Once you select it, it will open up a window displaying all the existing programs and applications currently installed. What you will want to do is locate all the programs with the name McAfee and remove them. Of course, you should leave the actual McAfee antivirus application for last. Remove the components first then remove the antivirus. It is automated once you select the programs you wish to remove.


There you have it, the 2 ways to uninstall McAfee’s legacy programs.

How to Adjust the Timing on a 4.3L

Ever since General Motors added the 4.3L to its 90-degree V6 family of engines in 1985, several models, including full-size sedans, pickups and vans were fitted with the new machine configuration. The engine saw several modifications until its final production year in 1996. Many of the early 4.3L models allow for synchronization inspection and adjustment as part of their maintenance schedule. This means that you can adjust ignition timing in your garage and restore engine performance to your 4.3L engine model in a matter of minutes.

1

Locate the adjusting timing scale above the crankshaft pulley on the front and bottom of the engine. Wipe off dirt or grease from the timing scale marks with a shop rag and trace the marks with a white marker to make the numbers and dashes more visible during timing adjustment.
2

Locate the small groove mark on the crankshaft pulley. You will find it on the edge of the pulley as it rotates right in front of the timing scale. You might need to set your transmission to "Neutral" and rotate the crankshaft pulley clockwise with a breaker bar and socket to find this mark. Once you find it, trace it with the white marker to make it more visible during the timing adjustment.
3

Drive your vehicle for about 20 minutes on the highway, to make sure the engine reaches operating temperature, and go back to your driveway. Turn off the engine, set the parking brake and block the front and rear wheels with four wooden blocks.
4

Open the hood and connect a timing light to the engine. The two cables with the alligator clip terminals on the timing light hook up to the battery. The red clip connects to the positive (+) or red battery cable and the black clip connects to the ground (black) battery cable.
5

Connect the third cable on the timing light to the spark plug wire on the No. 1 cylinder. This third cable on the timing light has a clip that fully encloses the spark plug wire. The No. 1 cylinder is the closest to the front of the engine, the side where the drive or serpentine belt is located.
6

Unplug the thin rubber hose from the distributor advance. The advance is the metal, spinning top-shaped component on one side of the distributor. The distributor is where all the spark plug wires connect. Plug the thin hose opening with a screw or golf tee. If your 4.3L model does not come equipped with this distributor advance, look for the electronic spark timing (EST) connector, a small plastic cylinder with a single wire on each side. You may find it under the floor carpet on the passenger's side or near the brake booster inside the engine compartment on the driver's side or passenger side.
7

Find the emission label on the engine compartment, a small square label with tuneup information for your specific vehicle, and find the required engine speed or RPM for the engine during timing adjustment and the number indicating the correct timing for your specific vehicle model. Otherwise, look up the information in your vehicle service manual or call your local dealer.
8

Make sure the timing light wires are out of the way of the cooling fan, drive belts or other moving parts inside the engine compartment. Start the engine and have an assistant slightly step on the accelerator, if necessary, to speed up the engine to the required RPM.
9

Activate and aim the timing light at the timing marks on the crankshaft pulley. The strobe light will let you see the timing mark on the crankshaft pulley pointing to one of the numbers on the timing scale above the pulley. If the mark is pointing to the incorrect number on the scale, go to the next step. Otherwise, go to Step 11.
10

Loosen the bolt holding the distributor base to the engine using a wrench. Ask an assistant to grab the distributor body and slightly turn the distributor left or right, so the mark on the crankshaft pulley moves to the correct number on the timing scale. Tighten the distributor-mounting bolt and double check the pulley mark is still pointing to the correct number on the scale.
11

Shut off the engine and disconnect the timing light. Connect the distributor advance or EST electrical connector. Close the hood and remove the four wooden blocks from the wheels.

How To Create a Website Logo

How important is it to create a website logo? Creating a website logo is among the first and important tasks or steps that you should do if you are creating a website. It is the graphical trademark that you put on your website. It symbolizes ownership and privacy.

Here are the basic steps on how to create a logo, whether you are making a blog or an traditional website.

Technical

Before creating a website logo, you must first prepare the necessary materials and understand what you are about to form. If you are making a logo for your existing business then it is most probable that you already have the sign. And because what you're about to create is a brand mark, you should scan and use it as it is. In case you still do not have one, you can either pay a graphical artist or do it yourself.

1. Know the different applications that you can use to create website badge. There are several programs that you can use to create a logo. What you must remember when choosing the right software is the ease and simplicity of its use.
2. Know the type or format that you want for your website logo. Different formats require different applications or illustrators, so knowing it is a must.

Procedural

Having the necessary materials and software, you may now start creating your website logo.

1. Create your graphical design or retrieve your image. Again, you can either draw your own website logo or use your existing company or brand logo.

2. Layout the logo. What you have to do when you layout the logo is create a projection of what your design would look like when it is done. This gives you different alternatives for your web design logo.
3. Work on your text. Image and text logos are created separately. The integration or combination of these two is done after both of their designs were finalized.
4. Access your logo builder software and integrate your textual and graphical designs and save it under a new file name.

Posting Your Website Logo

Once you have finalized and created your website logo all that is left to do is posting it on your site.

1. Save your design in any of these three formats: GIF, PNG, or JPG. If your brand mark has a banner on it then it is advisable that you save it in either PNG or JPG. These two formats can preserve the color quality of your website logo once uploaded.
2. Post your website's graphical mark by uploading it in your website.

Aside from imposing ownership, a website logo can also make your website appear more official and hippy. You can use button logos and other menu logos in customizing your website. Choice of a color scheme is also a good way to make your site cooler. In creating a website logo, it is important that you have a bit of artistry and creativity.

How to Quote and Cite a Poem in an Essay Using MLA Format

College-level essays about literature usually follow Modern Language Association, or MLA, style. MLA has very specific guidelines for quoting and citing lines from poems. Citing lines of poetry is always the same, but formatting quotations depends on how many lines you quote.

1
Remember first that any exact wording from poems must be properly quoted and cited. Plagiarism occurs when you do not quote and cite material correctly. Most likely, your instructor has outlined the penalties for plagiarism in your class.
2
Lead in to all quotations. A lead-in is a short explanation of the quote's context and who is saying it. For example: When she heard the loud noise, she said, "What's that?" Do not use floating quotations--ones stuck into a paragraph with no explanation.
3
Cite all quotations from a poem by including the author's name and the line of poetry being quoted. For example, if you are citing line 3 from Sylvia Plath's poem "Metaphors," your citation should look like this: (Plath line 3).
4
Add the word "line" in the first citation. On subsequent citations, you can just put the line number. First time: (Plath line 3), after that: (Plath 3) or (3), if you are only discussing this one poem.
5
Quote one line of poetry in the text by simply enclosing in quotation marks and adding a lead-in and a citation. Add a comma after the lead-in. For example: Sylvia Plath describes the speaker's perception of her physical appearance by saying, "An elephant, a ponderous house" (Plath 2).
6
Quote up to three lines of poetry the same way you quote one line. The only difference is that a slash (/) must be placed between lines of poetry to show where lines begin and end. Example: Sylvia Plath describes the speaker's perception of her physical appearance by saying, "An elephant, a ponderous house / A melon strolling on two tendrils / O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!" (2-4).
7
Quote four or more lines of a poem using block format. This means that instead of enclosing it in quotation marks, the quotation should be on a separate line from the lead-in and indented 10 spaces. Each line of the poem should be a separate line in the block quote. For block quotes, end the lead-in with a colon. Example:

Plath's speaker lets her unexpected feelings about pregnancy be known:

Money's new-minted in this fat purse.

I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf.

I've eaten a bag of green apples,

Boarded the train there's no getting off. (6-9)

How To Write a Personal Blog

A blog is a site on the internet where a person gets to express his or her views. The views may be personal or professional or mere rants. Some write their blogs based on their personal experiences, some write to report things of interest. Many bloggers write their blogs in a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) fashion. Others are careful about their grammar, syntax, format and other presentation forms. There are even blog writing courses available online.

Preparing to start blogging

You would have heard of blogs from your relatives or friends, from news channels or news papers. You may wish to write blogs based on personal experiences that you wish to share with your loved ones and friends. A personal blog need not follow any particular pattern.

What to blog about

You can begin your blog with some activity you have recently undertaken. Mention what is interesting to you. Update your blog regularly about something new you have discovered while pursuing your activity. This will keep the interest of your readers alive and they will keep revisiting your site. Personal blog content and format

Have a good theme all the time. You can vary your blog with different posts. Put up a photograph if possible. Video is a good idea if you are sure it is interesting enough for visitors to have the patience for it to load. Your blog should be easy to read. Unless you are an academician who have fellow academicians or pedantically oriented fellow individuals who can read pages without paragraph breaks, your blog should be divided into equal paragraphs, headings, graphics and where possible, pictures to illustrate your point.

Use your personal style and let your style and personality come out but try and ensure your spellings, grammar and syntax are intact. If your personal style keeps varying according to your mood, then so be it. Even that attracts visitors.

Connecting personal blogs

Write your blog such that when you link it to others, preferably like-minded individuals with quality content that is related to your niche content, there should be a reverse traffic and link back as well. Once you begin the link, others will cross-link to your blog.

Blogging should be fun and not tedious. Keep yourself amused and interest by varying your topics. If you feel like ranting, do it in a humorous fashion. If you have a humorous situation, try to present it dryly. Give both perspectives while writing a topic that invites discussions or requires the need to present arguments. Interact with your visitors. You will find that your personal blog will also attract mischievous elements that only seek to wreak havoc with your personal blog. Ignore or block them, but do not let them discourage you from continuing to write on your personal blog.