Mike Foti asked:




If you’re a craft professional looking for something unique to sell, a non-profit fund raiser working to secure donations in exchange for a unique gift, or just an individual looking for a personalized present for Thanksgiving or Christmas there is something new and different to consider - glass block lights, banks, and vases. Below you can learn more about these products and their benefits and features for your project or gift.

Pre-drilled Glass Block Lights for Crafts & Gifts

If you’re looking for a cool nightlight for a bedroom or bathroom, a lighted block for a cake or table at a wedding or convention, or a Christmas decoration to put on your kitchen counter, a lighted block can be perfect for you. Here are some key features and benefits of this product:

1. Available with pre-drilled holes - Cutting and cleaning out the inside of a block is not the easiest or safest thing in the world to do. With pre-drilled ½” to 5/8″ holes the block units are craft-ready without needing to invest in a drill press or expensive diamond drill bits. The 5/8″ holes are create a snug, secure fit for lights. The holes can be put either on the face of the block for upright projects or the side of the block for flat gifts.

2. Any size or pattern of block can be pre-drilled and illuminated - The block can be ordered in 4″ x 8″, 6″ x 6″, 6″ x 8″, 8″ x 8″, or even 12″ x 12″ sizes with any pattern of block. The different sizes can actually be quite helpful. One crafter looking to save on the ribbon cost going around the block unit chose to work with 4″ x 8″ and 6″ x 6″ sizes to save money. A homeowner in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania was looking to finish off his “man-den” with two yellow colored 12″ x 12″ blocks to support shelving in Pittsburgh Steelers themed basement.

3. Several blocks can be put together for unique gifts or home accessories - Glass block lamps, furniture, telephones, and Christmas decorations have been created by assembling more than one pre-drilled block together. One woman in Cincinnati Ohio creates block snowman with lights running through multiples blocks. Glass shapes and images can be purchased at crafts stores and put onto the faces of the block with contact cement to make a stylish paperweight or book end. You might also consider cementing several blocks together to make a spice rack or bookshelf. A rub on appliqué can be put on the block face for a unique design as well.

4. Nationwide shipping for craft enthusiasts - Since the block are a very solid 3 1/8″ or 3 7/8″ thick they can be shipped from Maine to Oregon without a problem, allowing you to source hard to find block patterns and sizes that are professionally drilled and ready for your project.

Glass Block Banks For Fundraising and Christmas Gifts

There’s nothing quite like a glass piggy bank where you can watch your money grow. The following benefits and features of the product have expanded the block specialty sales greatly.

1. Available with pre-drilled coin slots at the top and plugs at the bottom - Older style block banks only had a slot at the top of the block - making it a tough exercise to get the money out! Now block banks come with slots at the top and plugs at the bottom making coin removal painless.

2. Sizes and patterns for unique looks - Most common glass block banks come in 6″ x 6″ x 3 1/8″ and 8″ x 8″ x 3 1/8″ sizes in a Wave pattern. There are also some availability of 6″ x 8″ sizes and Icescapes, Mist, and Bubble patterns.

3. Personalized engraving for a unique touch - The faces of the block units can be personalized with any type of image or logo to make a unique gift for a family member or donor to your organization.

Glass Block Vases for Floral Shops and Home Decorating

If you’re looking for a cool, contemporary, and sturdy vase all wrapped into one a glass block vase is for you. Here are some of it’s key features and benefits:

1. Multiple sizes for square and vertical vases - Available in 6″ x 6″ and 8″ x 8″ square sizes or 4 ½” x 9 ½” for a vertical look.

2. Can be safely shipped - Since the blocks are sturdy with thick faces on the glass they are safe to ship anywhere in the nation.

3. Your cat will have a hard time knocking this vase over - Ever come home and find your cat sniffing the flowers from a vase they’ve recently knocked down and broken while you’ve been away? Block glass vases are more sturdy and heavy than traditional vases and much less likely for your pet to knock down.

If you’re ready for something new, fun, and personalized for your crafting business, fund raising events, or gift for a family member consider pre-drilled glass block lights, banks, and vases this upcoming holiday season.

David Tishko asked:




In bracket racing is there advantages of running a big block over a small block? It all depends on what you really want to do. There are plenty of small blocks out there with standard 23 degree heads that keep up with the big blocks. With the inches you can get out of a small block these days you can have a small block appearance, but really have as big and in some cases more cubic inches than a big block.

From my experiences and what I’ve seen at the track most small blocks will outrun the big blocks in the short times early in track, but the big blocks will run bigger mile per hour. With the small blocks weighing less and having almost as much if not as much stroke as some big blocks they are able to take off better, but with the flow from the big block heads they are able to get more horsepower and turn that into big mile per hour. In order to get a small block to run as good as a big block in the long run it would probably take more $ to be able to keep up with the big blocks.

To get a fairly light car to run in the 10 second range it would take a pretty good built small block with aftermarket heads to accomplish that. With the big block you can take a basic motor with 10:1 compression, little head porting and mild cam and still be able to run on pump gas to go in the 10’s. When you get down the 8-9 second range it’s much more difficult to get a 23 degree headed small block to go especially into the 8’s unless it’s in a very light car. You can spend almost as much money for a 434 c.i. small block shortblock as you would spend on a 565 c.i. big block.

In my opinion big blocks are the way to go bracket racing. It takes less work to go as fast if not faster than a small block. It’s alway great to see a fast small block but big blocks are the way to go.

Mike Foti asked:




Why should you even care about a basement window - it’s just the small little nasty bug filled window in the lower level of your home that hardly ever gets opened? With energy prices rising at an unprecedented pace, security concerns increasing, and water levels rising in some areas of the country causing flooding, you might be ignoring these lower level windows at your own expense. This article will explore the benefits, latest trends and product options with lower level windows with a focus on basement glass block windows.

Glass Block Window Benefits for your lower level space

Here are the 5 top benefits you’ll realize by replacing your existing basement windows:

1. Reduce High Energy Costs - Most lower level windows have old rusted metal frames or rotten wood frames with a single pane window glass inside. They are usually the most inefficient windows in the home. Block glass windows are 10 times more energy efficient than single pane glass.

2. Increased Security/Ease of Gaining Entry into the Home - Existing window are flimsy, usually held in with caulk and are an easy target for break ins. New glass brick windows are mortated into the foundation making them difficult and time consuming to attempt to break through.

3. Increased privacy - It’s easy to see into the lower level through the clear glass in the existing windows. With block you can pick a high privacy pattern like Icescapes or Delphi from Pittsburgh Corning or Ice or Pristal from Mulia to let the light in, yet keep others from looking in.

4. Cut Maintenance takes time, money and energy - Single pane metal and wood windows need to be repainted and caulked to keep the elements out and to prevent rust and erosion. With glass block basement windows there is no maintenance needed since the windows are mortared into the foundation.

5. Windows will become easy to operate - Lower level windows are often rusted shut, or cannot easily be opened making a basement smell musty and allowing mold spores to grow. New block windows can be combined with fresh air vents or power exhaust fans to make your basement healthier for your family and friends.

Lower Level Window and Wall Hot Trends and Product Options

Although basement windows have been in existence for ages, like most products the options have expanded in proportion to the needs of the families they serve. Here are some of the hottest trends in lower level living spaces and product options available to you:

- Trend 1- Remodeling the Lower Level to Add Cost Effective Space with Egress Windows It is more cost effective to build down (remodeling the basement) than to build out (adding a room addition) or to build up (adding another floor). If you’re looking to add a bedroom in the basement consider digging out around your foundation and putting an egress window in for more air flow and the ability to get out of the space in the case of an emergency. Consider an operable acrylic block egress window to accomplish this objective.

- Trend 2 - Turning your lower level space into a “Man Den” with custom decorated and colored glass block windows and walls - If you’re looking for a place to hang out with friends, watch some great sporting events on a big screen TV the lower level is becoming the place to do it. If you’re a college or pro sports fan you can have the glass block windows or walls custom decorated with your team’s colors, or designs. This will give you the privacy you want with the one of kind style at the same time!

- Trend 3 - Finding and creating the right space for your hobbies with security, privacy and proper air ventilation - If you’d like to use your basement for crafts, sewing, wood working, machining you may be bringing in expensive equipment into your basement and have the need for more air flow. With basement glass block windows you can now incorporate high privacy patterns and exhaust fans within the glass window for the additional air flow - turning your basement into your hobby headquarters.

Your basement no longer needs to be the dungeon of your home. With glass block basement windows and wall products you can get the functional benefits you need with the cool style you desire!

Mike Foti asked:




Understanding how to develop the right size shower base and shower walls with glass blocks does not need to be some mysterious process. If you’ll follow the steps in this article you’ll have an easy to clean, structurally sound, and unique shower you can enjoy in your home or commercial property for years to come.

Step 1) What type of glass block shower do you want?

There are basically two types of showers you can use - a shower without a door, and a shower with a door. Here’s an overview of where to use both:

A) Showers without a door (walk in and roll in showers) - Door-less showers have become hot in bathroom design over the last 5 years. The two most popular types of these showers are walk in and roll in showers. The biggest advantage of walk in showers is you can eliminate the cost of the shower door and having to bend over to clean around the door’s framing system. The roll in shower also does not have a door, but also eliminates the curb around the base that someone has to step over to get into the shower. This makes the shower much more accessible to those with special needs. The roll in shower base is gradually sloped in towards the drain. The biggest disadvantages of the doorless showers is their bases (or platforms) need to be sized larger.

B) Showers with a door (neo angle or corner showers) - Most showers have doors to prevent water from splashing out. A popular type of shower enclosure is a neo angle variety that is placed in the corner of a bathroom to conserve space. The advantage of a shower enclosure system with a door is that it can fit into tighter spaces (these showers can be as small as 32″ or 36″).

Step 2) What type of glass block shower base do you want? How do you size this base and design it out at your project site?

There are two generic types of shower bases available for block - (1) the preformed base and (2) the custom concrete base.

• The preformed base is created and sized before it is brought to the job site and can be made out of acrylic, cultured marble, or other solid surface materials. It is generally thought to cost less than a custom base, which is often true, but not always. The biggest advantage of these types of systems is they are built as one solid unit to minimize the concern about water leakage through the base. The biggest disadvantage is their size cannot be adjusted at the job site. Pittsburgh Corning makes an acrylic right or left hand entry walk in glass block shower base measuring 72″ x 51″, a Neo Angle shower measuring 51″ x 51″, a Square corner shower measuring 48″ x 48″ and even an acrylic shower base 60″ x 32″ that can be used to convert a small existing tub space into a new contemporary shower!

• The custom concrete or mud set pan base is sized at the new home, remodeling, or commercial building site. Since glass block cannot be cut like tile, you’ll need to use layout cards that correspond to the size of the block units to make sure the custom base you’ll make will match up with the specific block sizes for your design. Most of the layout cards are approximately 4″ wide (3 7/8″ is the exact size) to accommodate for the most common thickness of block used for showers. The other base thickness is 3 1/8″ wide, although design options with this thickness series are more limited.

Step 3) Choosing the right sizes, shapes, and colors to make your glass block shower cool and unique.

• There are a wide selection of block sizes, patterns, shapes, colors and even artistically designed murals available for your shower. Here’s a brief overview of your options:

o Sizes and thicknesses of glass blocks for showers - Glass masonry units are made is both metric and American sizes. Most of the blocks available in the United States are American sized. The American sized blocks are available in 4″ x 8″, 6″ x 6″, 6″ x 8″, 8″ x 8″, and 12″ x 12″. Specialty shapes can help you turn corners, make 45 degree neo angle showers, create rounded or radius walls if you’re looking to make a walk in or roll in shower, or finish off the end of the shower wall with a smooth bullnose look. The blocks have nominal sizes meaning the actual size of the block units is ¼” smaller allowing for a mortar joint to adhere the block to one another (an 8″ x 8″ block actually measures 7 ¾” x 7 ¾”). The blocks for showers are 3″ and 4″ thick. Thinner block (3 1/8″) are more cost effective, but shower design options are much more limited in this thickness of block.

o Patterns, designs and colored glass blocks - Blocks come in a multitude of patterns providing different levels of privacy, style, and design options. The block are now available in standard and custom colors, tints, and artistically decorated murals to match any interior design style. Check out a comprehensive block web site to see the possibilities.

Step 4) How tall should you make your glass block shower? What do you need to do to make it structurally sound? Most block showers are built on a curb (with the exception of the roll in shower) which is 4″ to 5″ in height. Since many shower heads are placed 84″ above the finished floor consider building your glass block wall 80″ tall (this will make the size of your glass block wall + the size of your base equal to the height of your shower head). To make the glass shower walls structurally sound they should be tied into side walls with anchors every third coursing of block (usually this is every 24″).

Step 5) Don’t worry about any of the first 4 steps and call a glass block shower supplier and installation professional - If you really don’t want to figure out what size, shape, and shower base is best call a block specialty company who offers design, supply and installation services. This type of company will usually come to your home or business (without a charge), measure your shower space, figure out the possible types of bases and showers for you, and install it with a guarantee.

Mike Foti asked:




When sizing a glass block window panel you need to throw out the old saying “measure twice and cut once.” With an interior or exterior block window project you need to measure twice and don’t cut at all (this is because you can’t slice through a block and have it retain it’s structural integrity and energy efficiency properties). Although determining the size of the block glass window does require skill and knowledge, it does not take a neurosurgeon to figure this stuff out. In this article you’ll learn the 4 step process to get the correct window size, system, pattern, color and options for your needs and tastes.

Step 1) Where do you want to use the block window? What material is (or will be surrounding) surrounding the window opening?

• Will your glass block window be used in a lower level basement, a 1st floor garage or commercial building, or a 2nd floor bathroom window that is 20 foot to the sill? If you’re putting the window on the lower level you can generally make the window panel larger since you won’t have to be lifting it in the air (most basement windows tend to use anywhere from 8 to 15 blocks in a pre-assembled section - weighing from 50 lbs. to 90 lbs per section). Most second floor bathroom windows tend to use 12 to 24 blocks so you might want to select a thinner block thickness (either 2″ or 3 1/8″) so the panel is lighter and easier to install.

• The surrounding materials the window panel will be set in (also called the head - or top, jambs - or side, or sill - or bottom) are also important. If you’re doing a basement foundation window that will be set inside a masonry wall made of concrete block, sandstone, or poured concrete you may want to size your block window using a mortar joint (to match up with your surrounding masonry materials) vs. a silicone jointing process for the window. For a bathroom window inside of a wood framed opening the silicone vinyl framed glass block window system might be preferred because this window is lighter (usually built with 2″ thick blocks) and easier to set, making an upper level installation safer.

Step 2) Measuring an existing opening or determining the size you’d like to create a new opening

• To replace an existing window you start by measuring the opening first. When measuring an existing masonry opening for block basement windows or upper floor windows you usually want to measure assuming the frame will be removed (this happens about 90% of the time), from side to side, and from the top of the sill to the top of the header plate. The block window will need to be sized smaller than this opening remembering that you can’t cut the glass, or as my Dad used to say fit 10 lbs of you know what into a 5 lb. bag. For upper floor frame openings you usually will measure the area inside of the frame after the window sashes would be removed to size your window.

• Creating a new opening for a block window If you’re creating a new opening for a block window you want to begin with the end in mind. Choose your specific block window system, pattern, design, and/or colors and find out from your glass block window manufacturer what size the window panel will be after it’s manufactured. Then you’ll create your opening usually about ½” larger than the size of the panel (for example if the glass panel size is 40″ x 40″ you’ll want to create your rough opening to be 40 ½” x 40 ½”).

Step 3) Choose a glass block window system and select your pattern, design, air vent, colors, and block sizes.

• Block window panels can be made either with or without a frame. For existing basement windows in masonry openings a frameless block window is more cost effective, can be mortared in place, and is usually the way to go. The frameless window panels can be joined together either with mortar or silicone. The advantage of the mortared windows is they are harder to break in through and match most foundations. The advantage of the siliconed windows are they are smaller in size when pre-assembled together (which works well for tighter fitting openings), lighter, and have an all glass look.

• For upper level frame openings a vinyl framed block window can be an excellent choice since these windows are available in different frame colors and can be installed just like a standard replacement window. For openings you are creating, or can modify the size of, this is the way to go.

• There are a wide selection of block sizes, patterns, design possibilities, air ventilation products, and colors for your windows. A brief overview is presented below:

o Sizes and thicknesses of glass blocks - Glass masonry units are made is both metric and American sizes. Most of the blocks available in the United States are American sized. The American sized blocks are available in 4″ x 8″, 6″ x 6″, 6″ x 8″, 8″ x 8″, 12″ x 12″ and specialty shapes to turn corners or radiuses if you’re looking to create a bay or bow block window. The blocks have nominal sizes meaning the actual size of the block units is ¼” smaller allowing for a mortar joint (a 6″ x 6″ block actually measuring 5 ¾” x 5 3′4″). There are 3 available thicknesses - 2″, 3 1/8″, and 4″ thick. Thinner blocks are lighter and generally easier for someone less experienced to work with.

o Patterns, designs and colored glass blocks - Blocks come in a multitude of patterns providing different levels of privacy, style, security, and energy efficiency. The block are now available in standard and custom colors and artistically decorated murals to match any interior design style. Check out a comprehensive block web site to see the possibilities.

o Air ventilation and acrylic block windows - Glass block windows are available with vinyl air vents, dryer vents, or power exhaust fans. There are also acrylic block casement and awning windows that give you the look and feel of real block with the ability to open completely as well.

Step 4) Don’t worry about any of the first 3 steps and call a glass block window manufacturer and installation professional - If you really don’t want to figure out what size window you need call a block specialty company who offers design, fabrication and installation services. This type of company will usually come to your home or business (without a charge), measure your openings, figure out the right window size, and install it for you with a guarantee.

Bling Cases asked:


When looking to purchase a rhinestone cell phone case as a gift or for yourself, there are a few important things to think about. Like any other product, there are high-quality rhinestone cases and others that are not so nice. Choosing the best case, one that will last a long time, at the most affordable price is crucial.

On to the good stuff — how to choose a rhinestone cell phone case:

1) Quality - Purchasing a rhinestone case that looks classy and well-constructed is extremely important. The last thing you want to do is purchase a cell phone case that’s tacky and unprofessional. Rhinestone cases can be classy; you just have to find the right one.

2) Durability — Longevity of phone accessories, especially rhinestone cases, is often very limited. Finding a cell phone accessory that will last for a considerable amount of time should be the ultimate goal. Many companies, like blingcases.com, offer hybrid rhinestone mobile phone cases that incorporate the best of both worlds. The cases actually have stones/crystals built in, so the dreaded issue of rhinestones falling off is eliminated. Of course over time, with constant punishment, anything will wear down, though by having accents as part of each case itself, the wear and tear is drastically reduced.

3) Fitment — Finding a rhinestone case that fits your cell phone perfectly is very important. Loose cases are no fun, and cases that block the mic or hinder typical use are troublesome. Your best bet is finding a rhinestone case that’s made specifically for your phone, whether it be a Blackberry, iPhone, or other make.

4) Price — Purchasing a cellular accessory that’s attractive and cool should not include a super high price tag. When “bling cases” first became popular, phone users were spending hundreds of dollars to have their phone coated in rhinestones that, after a month or less, would start to fall off. Nowadays, rhinestone cases are available for much less and last much longer.

In conclusion, good luck with your rhinestone cellular phone case purchase, and keep the above tips in mind. I hope they have been helpful.

Sincerely,

BlingCases.com

Mike Foti asked:




A prospective customer recently asked, “How can I get a cool looking glass block shower without breaking the bank?” Fortunately, doing a glass shower project doesn’t have to be a magical mystery tour that drains your wallet. It’s all about finding the right people to take you through the right processes and design, while not forgetting to give you style and value for your money. Here’s 6 1/2 cost saving ideas to get you going and keep your budget in tact.

The Right People

Cost Saving Idea 1 - Go Skilled - A project in Columbus Ohio looked terrible. The joints were uneven, metal reinforcing had rusted on the inside of the shower, and the wall was not level. The customer wanted the wall down NOW! When asked who installed the shower the homeowner said, “It was our tile guy - he said doing a block shower was no problem, but after 4 weeks of delays and poor quality you can see we found out otherwise!”

The reality is many tile contractors and even skilled masons install block showers on a limited basis. Since glass blocks take longer to lay than brick, block, or tile there can be a tendency to rush and sacrifice quality. If possible find out a skilled glass block specialty contractor. Ask about their experience with shower walls (some block companies focus on windows only and don’t have the higher skills for shower walls) and ask for references. If you can’t find a skilled block contractor go to Cost Saving Idea 5 and consider buying glass block panels you can stack up.

The Right Process

Cost Saving Idea 2 - Get Coordinated - There is a famous saying - measure twice, cut once. In a glass block shower project you can’t even cut once because the blocks cannot be cut like tile or flat glass. The key is to get coordinated first to save money, time and aggravation later. Get the right people to the site in the beginning (your tile or shower base contractor, the block contractor, and the person who will be using the new shower). At this meeting determine the size, shape, and height of the shower walls before the base is created (note: ask your block contractor if they have layout cards to assist in this design and construction planning process).

The Right Design and Wall Fabrication Approach

Keeping your prices and costs down is often a matter of pre-planning the design and fabricating the walls in the most cost effective manner. The design and fabrication approached below will help.

Cost Saving Idea 3 - Go Straight - A block wall can be built in either radius design or straight wall. Straight walls are easier and less costly to build because the skill level of the contractor does not need to be as high (radius walls are often set block by block with different inside mortar joints vs. outside joints - a very difficult installation for a novice block layer). Spacers and prefabricated wall sections can make the project easier as well.

Cost Saving Idea 4 - Get Skinny - Glass block shower walls are built in either 3 1/8″ or 3 7/8″ thicknesses. Most block walls are built with 3 7/8″ blocks due to the product range (the full range of shaped corners, ends, angles, radius and double ended blocks come in this thickness) and it is easier to install thicker blocks than thinner blocks. For some straight walls using the 3 1/8″ block can be a nice cost savings. One manufacturer (Mulia Inc.) even makes a 3 1/8″ finished end block to complete the end of your block wall. The thinner materials are priced less and can sometimes be exactly what’s needed if you want to put a block wall on an existing base that is not wide enough to for the thicker blocks.

Cost Saving Idea 5 - Stack it Up - Why do a project block by block when you can often save time, money, and improve quality with pre-fabricated glass block wall panels? An installation system called Vinyl Stack can be used to join the blocks to make stacking pre-made sections easier than a unit by unit installation. These wall sections are shipped nationwide - from as far away places as Oregon to Florida to Maine to Iowa. Panels are designed in sections that aren’t too large to be handled and are simply stacked, anchored, and finished grouted at the project site.

Cost Saving Idea 6 - Go Doorless - The glass block walk in shower without a door is becoming one of the hottest design trends for two reasons (1) it saves on maintenance and aggravation of cleaning around the door frames and (2) it cuts out the cost of the shower door. Hot style and lower prices, a good combination.

The Right Products for Your Style

Cost Saving Idea 6 1/2 - Use Colors and Shapes - Why is this called cost saving idea 6 1/2 vs. idea 7? This tip might not save you money but it will provide the style, interest, and cool factor homeowners usually want when they’re installing a block shower. Shaped blocks are used to turn corners, step down a wall in 8″ increments, create rounded corners, and finish the end of a wall. They add an upscale look and in many cases save money from having to use a dissimilar material (like tile or granite or wood) to finish off the end of a wall. Colored glass blocks can be made in either vibrant reds, oranges, purples, blues, yellows (or any custom color you can think of) or muted satin color finishes for a more understated hint of color. Custom artistically designed block murals are also available if you want a one of a kind look.

Now that you’re equipped with these 6 1/2 price and cost saving shower ideas you should be ready to start your project.

Eren asked:


HOW TO WRITE POEMS THAT RHYME: WRITING POETRY WITH RHYMING VERSES –GREAT POETS RYMED

Writing beautiful rhyme makes poetry, poets - all love rhymes, verses; rhyming verse is easy ~ tips on how to write a poem, composing poems that rhyme

This should enable you to easily compose poems that rhyme, poetry with rhymes -to know the ‘techniques of writing poetry’ and be known as the poet that you are, already, in heart.

A poet is not simply one who can compose poems. Writing poetry is the highest, noblest, art form; and poets are those who can feel what can be beautifully expressed in poetry, as poems. Poetic rhymes contribute to that. To rhyme poems is not difficult; rhyming is easy. This will tell you how to rhyme in poetry, compose rhyming poems -write a poem with verses that rhyme.

Is there anyone who does not like and enjoy poetry -yet are not poems, poetry books, the least published? Why? Because only so few are true poets; few rhyme poems, few can compose a poem that rhymes -yet poetry most loved are poetry that rhyme, and it is easy to rhyme poems.

Poetry and poets are encouraged by poetry contests; but are confused many poets in distinguishing between academic study of poets and their techniques, and writing the creative poem, the most loved poetry -poems that rhyme.

The many techniques do not make poetry -at best they enhance poems ~just as knowledge of the techniques of mixing and applying colours on canvas does on its own make one an artist or a painting beautiful.

If you have studied the techniques of writing poetry, this may have surprised you: some poets, even while going to great lengths to write metered verse, to such an extent cannot have appreciated truly even the reason for use of them that, while trying by use of them to make the verses sound pleasanter to the ear, they have used visual rhymes in their poems -rhymes with words spelt similarly but not sounding similar.

In writing poetry you do not need technique to compose poems. Poetry books, courses tell of poets’ techniques in poems, regard them essential in writing poetry. Those are for formal study of poetry academically ~it is only then that you need to know the difference between similes and metaphors, and metric feet and about the iamb, the trochee, the anapaest, the dactyl, the amphibrach, the spondee, the pyrrhic, or what is a descriptive poem or narrative or dramatic or didactic poetry or light verse, let alone about e.g. sonnets and regular-sonnets or the rhyme-royal.. or even about what is masculine rhyme and what is feminine rhyme. You need only beautiful expression in poetry -rhymes help.

Poetry is the poetic, beautiful, expression of the poet’s passion -that is not fixed as the symptoms of an ailment or the formula for calculating the strength of materials ~in poetry poets express passions sensibly and beautifully.. then, the academic fits poetry into technical categories enabling studying of poets and their poems. In writing poetry, composing poems, poets do not go by academics -academics go by poets.

Passion can be about love or a lover, or anything -here are verses from a poem by the Cypriot writer, thinker, poet, the late Orhan Seyfi Ari (translated.) about the state the world :

Neither the sun’s risen, nor the moon’s down gone,

Even the guardian angels’ve asleep fallen,

The djinn’s everywhere claiming the light,

Destroying, destroying, at man’s suffering’s height!

Here is how you can express yourself in rhyme, in poems…

Do the verses have to rhyme? Technically speaking, no. Technically a poem is simply elevated composition in prose or verse -beautifully written prose can be called a poem ~poetry is the expression of elevated or beautiful thought or imagination or feeling in appropriate language.

What is ‘elevated’..? In poetry it is what can be expressed in picturesque or lyrical, or high winded language -it is what is capable of expression in prose or verse in a way that does justice in making the passion of a thought or imagination or feeling or emotion be transferred as excitedly as felt to another…

What is ‘beautiful’..? In poetry too it is the quality that delights…

And ‘appropriate language’..? In poetry it means in language that the reader or the listener will understand and which is acceptable and will not put the reader or the listener off by belittling in his or her eyes the composer of the elevated and/or beautiful prose or verse, the poem, as lacking in manners or as so ignorant as to be incapable of expression in other than by use of e.g. four-letter words if there does not exit between the poet and the reader or the listener such intimacy.

In writing poetry, to compose poems, this is all you need: make sense.. beautifully…

Let’s take an example in expressing the following:

You are so beautiful!.. You turn me on!

Is that passionate and beautiful a thing to express in poetry? Yes. Is it a poem? Not in the sense that most people expect it to be, in verse ~and you want people to enjoying what you write -as poetry; people love poems…

Chop that into verses, then..?

You are so beautiful!

You turn me on!

Is that poetry, a poem? Yes… Only as much as it was as prose, though ~unless you are in a position to argue with your reader that it is ‘free verse’ as many believe free verse to be -but what if your reader knows that to mean un-metered and points out to you that the poet celebrated over free verse, in fact, except as far goes his poetry that were special as part of some poems on a specific topic as a collection, almost totally wrote his non-experimental individual stand-alone poems (in the 1920s) all in rhyme..?! You might just as well have written it as prose and explain that in dictionaries technically that too is a poem…

Rhyme enhances poems. Poetry in rhyme sound pleasanter -it adds to its beauty… Why not ‘cash in’ on that in your poetry?

To rhyme in poetry is not difficult as many think.. it is easy…

Here is how to easily, quickly, rhyme your poem’s verses…

So… What rhymes with ‘beautiful’ -hmnn.. yes.. ‘dutiful’ ~but, hold on.. it is not suitable, is it..? Not for what you want to express in the second verse of your poem…

In poetry, if you can not quickly and easily think of a rhyme for your verses.. without loosing its meaning, you change the places of the words in your verse…

In our poem the verses were…

You are so beautiful!

You turn me on!

They still express the very same thing, below.. plus.. would that not sound better, more like poetry, a poem, put as below?..

So beautiful are you!

Turn me on, you do!

Now, those many people who would tell you that you just chopped into lines straight prose and called it verses can’t tell you that there is no difference between this as it is now and if it were straight prose, can they..? Of course not. These rhyme.

How does one rhyme..? Many poets use a rhyming dictionary!

Here is a way you might find enjoyable in writing poetry…

Quickly run in your mind through the alphabet… ‘a’.. Does a word quickly spring to mind.. no?.. Move on to.. ‘b’.. hmnn.. ‘boo’.. that rhymes with ‘you’ -but not what you want is it? What about ‘c’?.. Hey.. ‘coo’.. and it immediately brings to mind ‘woo’ -jot them down.. they are two more verses on the same lines: one ending ‘…. you woo’ the other ‘… I coo’…

Now you have a poem, a quatrain -to all it is now poetry.

So beautiful are you

Turn me on, you do

…….…… you woo

……….. … .. I coo

Ah, but does your romantic poem make sense? Of course -unless you are male and fancy ‘Nancy’ ~than, it is, of course…

…… ..…… .. i woo

……. … … you coo

You know best what in your poems you want to express beautifully.. something philosophical, satirical, patriotic, about nature, romance, love…

1. Make sense..

2. Use rhyme…

You can’t go wrong!

A site on also views on peotry teaching of thinker-poet teacher Ari orhanseyfiari.com

Bling Cases asked:


Looking for that perfect holiday gift? A gift that can be used on a daily basis and is both inexpensive and hip at the same time? Well, you have met your match. Rhinestone and crystal cell phone cases have become extremely popular throughout the world, and this holiday season many will flock to cell phone stores and websites to buy phone cases. Customized cases offer cell phone users a uniqueness that cannot be found elsewhere.

Some may ask: what is a bling case? To help clarify everyone’s questions, bling cases are rhinestone cell phone cases or crystal cases, that either have stones or shiny surfaces on their exterior. The cases are crafted with a wide variety of designs to showcase a plethora of interests including dog paws, leopard prints, butterflies, and everything else one can think of. With a unique and cool case, your phone will be transformed from being one in 10 million+ to a prized possession.

Think about it just for one second: mobile phones are everywhere. I have one, you have one, our great-grandmothers have them, but what’s to distinguish yours from your girlfriends? Surely she would appreciate one more thing to make her feel special.

The holiday season presents more than a few worries. If you live in an area that snows, you will surely need to think about getting up early enough to scrape snow off of the car. If you have a holiday party, you will need to figure out who is going to bring the jello mold, and, perhaps even more nerve-wracking, you will need to find gifts for everyone. This holiday season, when looking for presents, I highly suggest you cross that tast off your list and consider a rhinestone cell phone case for your friends or family members, especially for the ladies. Why? See below:

1) Cost-effective

2) Useful on a daily basis

3) Unique

Good luck with your gift hunt, and may the force be with you.

Sincerely,

BlingCases.com

Edgar E. Kneel asked:


Why is it important for your pages to load fast you might ask.  The answer is easy; if your pages load slowly you will loose sales.  From a consumer perspective you have a fraction of a second to show activity.  Your page doesn’t have to load completely but they certainly need to see some activity right away.  Consumers are impatient and have been trained by the major sites that pages start displaying immediately.  If you don’t have fast loading pages, most consumers will go to the next site.  It’s not just consumers that value speed, major search engines have stated that it is important for pages to load fast if you want them indexed.  The faster page loads, the more pages you will get indexed.  Some search engines have come out and stated that they will even downgrade your paid search marketing if your pages load slowly.  What can you do to increase page load speed?  Below are the techniques I used to successfully decrease the time it takes to load web pages.

 

Web Server Optimization



SQL Server Optimization

The first thing to check is your disk using PerfMon (Windows Performance Monitor).  Use this to determine if your physical disk is keeping up.  Using PerfMon, select the PhysicalDisk object, Avg. Disk Queue Length counter, then the instance for the drive your SQL database is installed on.  This indicator count will vary based on if the drive you are monitoring is part of an array but it’s best to keep the average below 1 if possible.  See Microsoft’s documentation on this for more information especially when calculating for drive arrays.  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/146005

Next you want to check SQL memory usage.  By right clicking the server in Enterprise Manager and selecting properties you can view the Memory tab.  Use this tab to give as much memory as you can afford to SQL.  The more memory you give the SQL the more data it can cache, thus returning results faster.  Does your server have more than 2GB memory?  If so use this guide to configure your server to see all that available memory http://support.microsoft.com/kb/283037 then this guide http://support.microsoft.com/kb/274750 to configure SQL to see more available memory.  To make sure SQL is using available memory don’t use task manager as it may report incorrectly.  Instead use PerfMon Process Object, Working Set Counter, sqlservr Instance.  Give your server time to build up its cache after restarting before checking this counter.

You want to make sure your CPU can keep up.  Caution this counter can be misleading.  Although you may be recording sustained high CPU utilization this may not mean you need a faster CPU, the lack of adequate disk speed and memory may be artificially increasing CPU utilization.  If CPU utilization is averaging over 80% for an extended period of time and you have already ruled out memory and disk as an issue you may need to upgrade your CPU(s).  Use PerfMon to track CPU utilization using the Processor Object, % Processor Time Counter, and applicable instance if you have more than one CPU.  If your server has more than one CPU and you can afford to let SQL use more than one, right click on the server in Enterprise Manager, select Properties, and then the Processor tab.  This will allow you to select multiple or all CPUs for SQL utilization.

Bandwidth is a little more obvious but still needs to be mentioned.  If you have sustained high bandwidth utilization this will become a bottleneck causing slowdowns.  Bandwidth utilization can be a bit harder to check.  If you are using a hosting company they should be able to tell you (typically with some type of real time monitor that you can log into) what you are averaging with bandwidth as well as spikes in bandwidth.  You will want to make sure you have plenty of available bandwidth from your hosting company especially during the busy part of your day.  If your hosting company cannot provide these reports you can utilize a hardware or software sniffer to determine bandwidth usage.  The key is to make sure your connection can handle much more than you typically use.  If you are averaging 80% utilization you should consider upgrading your connection.

Now that you have checked the major hardware bottlenecks put your DBA hat on and make sure your indexes are up to date.  If you’re not an experienced DBA that knows the best way to manage your indexes, use SQL Profiler (Tools, SQL Profiler from Enterprise Manager).  Create a new trace and select the SQLProfilerTuning template.  Make sure the time you record is long enough to collect data on regular activity.  Additionally if you can generate additional traffic (especially traffic that causes slowdowns) you will want to do as much of this as possible while collecting data.  Once you have finished collecting data, click Tools, Index Tuning Wizard.  Use the profile you just created and make sure to select the database in question.  When finished running apply any changes suggested.  You may need to run this multiple times until there are not recommended changes.  Additionally as you make changes to your database such as adding new fields you will want to run this entire process again to find and apply new recommendations.  I like to run this process on the regular basis just make sure everything is running smooth.  As a side note, make sure every table in your database has a primary key. 

Once you have optimized your indexes run SQL Profiler again to check what kind of activity you are having on your SQL server. Do you have long running queries that could be changed to run more efficiently?  Do you have queries that are being run over and over that you could cache inside your website application?  As you make upgrades and additions to your web pages you many times will add extra queries to your database.  Go through your pages and find out if you can combine queries to return information with one query instead of two.  If you have to make multiple queries, try to make one connection to the database, and then use that same connection for all the queries.  This way you are not making repetitive connections to the database one after the other.  Making a database connection can be time consuming and resource intensive.

The way you partition your database across drives on your SQL server can help if you are suffering from high disk utilization.  The following configuration has worked well for me note that each partition is on a separate physical drive:

C: Operating System and SQL executables

D: Database File - RAID 5

E: SQL Log Files

F: Temp Database

G: Backups

Using RAID 5 on the D drive allows very fast reads because multiple drives can respond to the request.  Additionally requests do not have to wait for writes to the Log Files or Temp database.  Because the D drive is for read data, SQL can more effectively use memory to cache frequent requests.  There are a lot of write requests to the SQL log files and temp database so giving them they’re own separate drive reduces contention.  It goes without saying that using drives with higher RPM, more throughput, and a larger cache will assist your SQL server to run faster.

Web Server Optimization

Since almost every page the typical Internet retailer website has will make some type of database connection, your bottleneck will probably be retrieving data from SQL.  If this is the case you probably won’t need to do much optimization for your web server.  Generally speaking you will want to make sure the server has plenty of CPU, memory, and disk resources available to your web server.    Increasing memory to allow more web page caching (see caching section of this article) is one area you can really boost page load time.  Additionally if you find your disk having problems keeping up try some of the following:

1 Add memory and increase caching

2 If you have logging enabled, move the log file locations to another drive.

3 Make sure your web pages are being loaded from a RAID 5 partition.

Database Backups

I won’t go into all the specifics of database backups as that requires an article of its own.  From a question of performance you will want to schedule your backup to run when you have the most available resources.  If you are backing up to another server, consider backing up to a local drive first, and then backing up across the LAN.  This can help complete the backup faster because it’s done locally, then when transferring the backup to another server you won’t need to be concerned with how long it takes to transfer to another server.  Another option is to setup a separate server that you mirror data to, then you can simply backup the mirrored server instead of the primary.  This mirrored server can also be utilized as a fail over server in the case the primary server fails.

Load Balancing/Multiple Servers

If you are still having problems after you have optimized your web server, database server, web pages, and server hardware you can consider adding servers and load balancing these servers.  Since every situation is different it’s impossible to list every possible configuration.  Below are some examples but it’s important for you to do in depth research to determine  exactly what resources are lacking and what is utilizing those resources so you can make the best decisions on what type of servers to put up and how to load balance.

If you currently run a single server, determine what resources are lacking, probably disk or memory, maybe CPU and what is using these resources.  Typically when moving from a single server to multiple servers you will put in a new server and only put your database on that new server.

Next I’ll show you a configuration with three servers that has worked out exceedingly well for me:

Each server has SQL and IIS installed.  We have one master server and two slave servers.  The master server has our entire database on it, the websites can write orders to this database and our staff can process orders using this database and we keep vendor inventory records up to date on this server.  The master server is the only server that gets backed up.  The two slave servers are setup so that only the parts of the websites and database that are needed for the public to use our websites are replicated.  Therefore any change that is made to the master server is replicated to the slave servers within 15 min. of the change.  Because the public websites write back to the master server the slave servers can run in a “read only” mode which allows them to process an enormous number of requests very fast.  Because our master server only receives writes from the public websites when orders are being taken, it only has to handle a small amount of our public traffic.  As our traffic grows we simply add more read only servers.  In our case we have enough websites that we simply split them up between servers.  If however you have a single website, you can still load balance using a DNS round robin or in more extreme situations an appliance like F5 Big IP http://www.f5.com/products/big-ip/ which can perform smart load balancing based on current server load.

Another popular method is to setup multiple SQL servers (assuming this is the main bottleneck) with separate data.  For instance if you keep your images in SQL, you may want to move them to they’re own server then make a connection to one server for some of your data and to the other server for retrieving images.

Web Page Design

Java Script and CSS Files

Putting Java Script and CSS in files instead of inline allows your browser to cache them instead of reading them each time.  Since your browser has to download each file separately, do your best to keep all your Java Script in a single file and do the same with CSS

Image Optimization

Optimizing images is very important in page load time.  Convert your images to PNG.  Don’t use HTML to resize your images, resize and optimize them prior to uploading.  Try to keep your larger images to a file size under 30K if possible.  There are some advanced optimizations that can be done with inline images, sprites, and image maps but I am not experienced with them for the most part and in many instances management of this can be a nightmare.  Additionally there may be browser support issues. 

Caching

Caching is one way to drastically reduce page load time, especially for popular pages.  Even if your page is dynamic, you may be able to cache it for 4 hours or at least 15 min. 

You can enable browser caching by using the HTML Expires heading for any pages that can cache.  This type of caching tells the visitors browser that if it returns to this exact page it’s doesn’t need to go back to the web server and retrieve the page again.  This will help when people are browsing your site and come back to the same page multiple times.  If the page is more static, like an article page for instance, you may be able to set it to cache for 30 days.  This will allow the same person to go to that page different days without having to hit your server.  The downfall of this caching is that it only helps if people visit your page more than once within the caching time.

Another type of caching is server side page caching.  This allows you to cache a page on the server instead of the browser, therefore when defining the caching time, anyone that requests the page inside of the cache time will receive the cached page.  Server side caching will allow your web server to cache the page in memory (given there are enough memory resources available) which means it does not have to go to the disk to retrieve the page or query the database.  Let’s say for example the front page of your website has a tree view menu that makes multiple database queries to build the page.  If this page is requested many times an hour it will generate a lot of resource strain on your servers.  If you set this page to cache for 15 min. you now only create that resource strain once every 15 min. allowing your server to respond better to other requests and your page will display much faster.  Of all the things you can do to make your site faster, this may have the biggest impact. 

Similar to server side page caching is partial page caching.  This is a little more complicated but allows you to cache parts of your page.  Let’s use the example above again but this time the criteria mandates that we can’t cache everything in the page.  In this case we may want to just cache the menu as the menu is relatively static and is a large resource drain on the servers and slows down page delivery.

Separate Domains

Some browsers will open multiple connections to download files simultaneously but will have a limit to how many per domain it will concurrently download.  To get around this you could move files like Images, CSS, and Java Script to separate domains thus allowing the browser to download more files simultaneously.

Progressive Rendering

Progressive rendering is when you visit a page and you start seeing parts of the page display right away instead of displaying the entire page at once.  This process gives the user feedback right away and they know more is coming.  If your page takes a second or so before it renders to the browser, the user may thing there is a problem and instead of waiting will move to a different page.  Progressive rendering can also give the illusion that the page is loading faster even though it takes the same amount of time to completely render the entire page.  To progressive render your page you may need to tell your back end programming language to pass parts of your page as they render.  Additionally with components like an ASP.NET Gridview you cannot progressively render that component, instead it will render than entire object all at once.  From an HTML perspective you will want to make sure style sheets are loaded in the page head and Java Script is loaded at the end of the page.  Not doing this can prevent your entire page from progressively rendering.

Large Classes

One of the benefits ASP.NET is using extremely rich classes like the grid view.  You could dedicate a complete book (and I’m sure someone has) to explore the features and inner workings of the grid view.  It’s extremely flexible and easy to use.  With a couple simple queries you can define a simple editable grid view.  One cost of using the grid view is that because of all that’s built in it carries a heavy payload.  Many times this is not an issue but you will notice a speed increase for simple display grid views if you generate the HTML and render it in a table or some other rudimentary display manner.

Compression

Remove excessive white space in your rendered code will reduce the size of the data being transferred, thus speeding up the page load time.  Additionally configurations can be made to most web servers to support GZIP (a GNU Compression Utility) http://www.gzip.org/ this can easily cut the size of what you are transferring in half or more.  This involves extra CPU cycles on the server to compress and on the browser to decompress but unless your server is running sustained high CPU utilization you shouldn’t see much of a CPU hit or slowdown because of this.  On a side note, utilizing this compression could cut the bandwidth portion of your hosting bill in half or at least free up extra bandwidth.

Website Errors

Errors will slow everything down, not to mention annoying your customers.  Every time your back end code or web server has to engage error processing it takes extra resources away from your server.  Capture coding errors using error control is the first step.  As a common practice I have all errors emailed to me so I am forced to see them and mentally acknowledge them.  This also helps me judge the frequency of the errors.  Because I am always seeing them it’s usually on the top of my list to get them fixed.  Over time coding in fixes for all the possible errors will prevent error control from having to engage as often thus increasing overall performance.  The other errors you will want to keep track of are the web server errors such as 404 (Page Not Found).  You can track the occurrence of these errors in your server web logs.  If for instance, there is an old link to a page that no longer exists, instead of letting the web server generate a 404 error, place a file (same name and location of the missing one) with a friendly “does not exist” message or a script to redirect to another page on your website.

There are certainly many additional things you can do that don’t fit the scope of this article.  This is meant as a practical guide for the small to mid size Internet retailer.  I hope you have found this informative and at lease consider each one of these techniques before exploring more in-depth or expensive solutions. Here is a free Web Page Load Time Tracker that you can use to monitor the speed at which your pages load over time. This resource is unique in that it uses an actual web browser to render the page including downloading and displaying CSS, Images, and JavaScript.  Set this up now on all your different pages so you have data to chart against when you make changes to your site.