Raised Gardening - What Are the Advantages?

There has been a considerable increase in the number of people turning to their own gardens to grow their own vegetables to save money and to eat healthier food. Organic gardening is enjoying a level of popularity like never before and raised gardening seems to be the popular choice. A quick stroll around a few of the gardens in your neighborhood will reveal small board or stone sided rectangles in peoples' backyards housing mini vegetable gardens.

First let us look at what a raised bed is. It is a small patch of land that is fenced in by either wood, stone, cinderblock or brick. In this article we cover some of the main aspects of raised bed gardening to help you make the transition from in-ground to raised bed gardening in a smooth way. The beds are built atop the native soil and may or may not incorporate the soil. The raised bed gardens can be built with a variety of materials. Alternatively you can simply pile up the soil and ingredients to several inches in height and go ahead and plant anything from herbs to vegetables.

Raised gardening is not a new concept and has been in use for centuries to grow cash crops. There are advantages to be had in using this method to grow a healthy garden, though it may be a bit more expensive than just digging up the existing soil and planting your vegetables. The raised beds are uniformly spaced out and the gardener can tend them from both sides quite comfortably.

When planning a raised garden you have to consider the cost of rot resistant, untreated wood, if wood is your choice of wall frame for the garden. Line the bottom with a hardware fabric or chicken wire to prevent the voles and moles from getting into the garden. If you think you don't have any in your garden, guess again! Look into the watering system you have, if your garden is going to be large enough to warrant more than a hose and spray nozzle you will need to have the connect laid on. You will buy the best quality soil and compost so factor that in as well.

Some of the advantages of having a raised bed garden are:

• You have the opportunity to grow your vegetables in the highest quality soil and compost available. Raised beds help you build up a rich and fertile base for your plants and you can make the adjustments with compost and fertilizer very easily.






• Soil drainage is far better in raised beds than in-ground gardens and you will not have to stand in puddle water in your garden. Make sure to line the bottom with sand and rocks to facilitate good drainage.






• Weeds and slugs will mostly stay out of your raised garden; it is not so easy for the weeds to get into a raised bed garden. If you leave enough room between the rows you can even use your mower to keep things tidy.






• A well laid out garden means less maintenance time and no need to bend over for ages tending the beds.






• A well laid out garden means less maintenance time and no need to bend over for ages tending the beds.

Robinson Crusoe - Contest Between Man & Nature

Daniel Defoe was born in 1659 at St. Louis. Gille's, Cripplegate in London. He was a man of many shades. These different personal exercises are reflected in his literary contribution. He had done a numerous occupation during his life time. (1705), "The Apparition of Mrs. Veal" (1705), "The Hymn to Pillary" (1703), "The Essence on Progects" (1770), "History of the Union" (1708-09), "Reasons Against Succession of the House of Hanover" (1712), "General History of Trade" (1713), "Robinson Crusoe" Captain Singleton "(1720)," Mole Flanders "(1722)" Rexona or the Fortunate Mistress "(1724) and other important literary works will remain glorious through the ages.

Man has control over everything except nature. But the fact is false in case of Defoe's "ROBINSON CRUSOE". Defoe's hero Robinson Crusoe has total control over the environment. He is hardcore traveler. He loves to explore new and unknown places. Due to his bad luck, and also a storm, his ship has been destroyed and he comes to an unknown island. The island is not only unknown to Robinson but it is too lonely. Robinson does not able to find a single human being. He is totally confused. He feels confusion due to uncertainty of his destiny. He has no shelter, no food and no clothing. He is alone. He does not get even a rare shadow of any one in this deserted and lonely island. He finds nothing on the island to survive. He has no shelter, food, fresh drinking water, no proper clothing, and the very basic elements to live a life. He stands all alone and he has to face the Nature from now onward.

Robinson cries bitterly but there is no one who can give assurance. There is no one who can provide the best comfort and warmth. But he has to survive as he comes in a desolated island. Slowly and gradually he understands Nature. More over it can be interpreted that Nature some plays a major role in bringing the required liability in Robinson. Nature grooms Robinson to be responsible man. He is traveler, he runs from his much protected shelter, ignoring his parent's warning but he never takes life as seriously.

He has been cast into an alien island and now he really understands the life how tough it is. But in the novel Nature has been portrayed as very polite character. Nature gives her ever thing to Robinson. Robinson learns to make adjustment with adverse situation. He wins over the hostile location. Nature makes him much more experienced, courageous, and skillful. Robinson should be thankful to Nature. She gives him every essential goods to survive decently on such a strange place.

Robinson goes back to the damaged ship to bring the goods. He finds biscuits, rice, bread, cheese, goat's flesh, corn, wine, carpenter's tool, ammunition, arms, barrels, clothes, money and hundreds of other essential merchandise. He needs a roof to protect him and also to reserve the most wanted goods. He finds a suitable place where he can stock his goods. He even gets plenty of fresh water near his shelter. He starts using and exploiting the Nature from now on wards.

Nature teachers him to do many kinds of chores. He learns farming, baking, fencing, plowing, reaping and many other farm duties. He exploits Nature for his own purpose and Nature too helps him whole-heartedly. Robinson uses everything that he has brought from the ship but he can not use money. As in such a deserted island he can not able to buy or sell anything. So money or the wealth is just a useless thing to Robinson.

With the help of Nature he makes his personal life much more pleasurable and comfortable. He has everything. He prepares required furniture for his comfort, he reads the Bible, he learns that there are two farming seasons, he learns to make earthen utensils and also knows how to make them durable. He has goats, parrots with which he sees his leisure time. He remains busy all day with many kinds of works. But still he feels seclusion. Lonesomeness is the major problem for Robinson. He remains flourishing in utilizing the Nature. He makes all arrangement for his survival. He has full control over Nature. He remains victorious in the silent battle with the Nature.

Thus in Defoe's "ROBINSON CRUSOE" the protagonist has full power and control over Nature that Nature which can destroy anything within a fraction of second and that Nature which can be calm and serene at the same time.

How To Evaluate A Business Idea For Developing An Enterprise

Why Do You Need A Business Plan?

Planning is a process that never ends for all businesses. It is extremely important in the early stages of any venture when the entrepreneur will need to prepare a preliminary business plan.

There are different types of plans that may be part of any business operation. These include but not limited to Financial plans, Marketing plan, Human Resource plan, Production plans, Sales plans etc. Plans may be short term or long term or may be strategic or operational. Whatever the type of plan or the function, plans have one important purpose; to provide guidance and structure to management in a rapidly changing market environment.

A business plan on the other hand is a written document prepared by the entrepreneur that describes all the relevant external and internal elements involved in starting a new venture. It is often an integration of functional plans such as marketing, finance, manufacturing and human resources. It also addresses both short term and long term decision making for the first three years of operation. So, the business plan, or road map, answers the strategic questions of where am I now? Where am I going? And how will I get there? Potential investors, suppliers and even customers will request or require a business plan.

How I Prepared My Preliminary Project Proposal

In my case, I followed the following break downs keeping each section as brief as possible.

1. Background : In this section, I established the context of the project by giving an account of the problem it is trying to address.

2. State of the art: I gave an overview of existing and emerging technology in the field, including an account of rival technologies and a comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of the various options.

3. Proposal: I wrote an overview of the proposed project and the approach, ie the activities which I will be mandated to achieve the project objectives. Clearly establish the research element or novelty component in the proposal.

4. Consortium: an overview of the proposed manpower and establish the required ability to carry out the project successfully (eg skills, competencies, etc.)

5. Objectives and Deliverables: Identify (1) the objectives and (2) the deliverables of the proposed project.

6. Competitiveness: if applicable, establish the competitiveness or advantages of the proposed solution compared to other solutions, whether these already exist or are still being researched.

7. Cost: give an overview of the project cost (including start-up cost and working capital requirements).

8. Impact: this section should include:
i. Markets and Uses: identify possible uses and markets for the deliverables of the project.

ii. Benefits and Beneficiaries: identify the beneficies of the project's results (eg the project participants, the general public, third parties) and the manner in which they will benefit.

iii. Roadmap: give an indication regarding what further steps, effort, costs and timeframes are necessary before possible benefits can be realized from the deliverables or results of the project (unless these are realized within the lifetime of the project).

iv. Spillover Benefits: identify any secondary benefits of the project (eg facilitating participation in funding programs, improving Malta's ranking, strengthening Malta's reputation in a particular area, etc.)

Preparing a Detailed Business Plan
Stages of writing a business plan are: After deciding to go into business, before starting the business and when updating is required.

Business plans can be written for retail business, wholesale business, service business, manufacturing and any other type of business.

A business plan is written by doing the following:
Identifying all the questions that could have asked about the business.
Determining what additional information needs to be collected to answer all the questions.
Obtaining all the necessary information.
Comparison various alternatives
Making a decision on each question.

A business plan should:
Have a good appearance
Provide an index
Provide a summary
Number each copy
Be signed to show who is submitting it.
Depend on the nature of the business.

A business plan should be organized to carry a cover page, table of contents, executive summary, business description, marketing plan, organizational plan, operational plan, financial plan and appendices.

Outline of a typical business plan is as below;

1. Title: Feasibility study Report on______________________
Commissioned by_________________
2. Project consultants
3. Table of contents:

Executive Summary
The Report
Project Background
Objective of study
Project description and
Loan promotion
Promoter
Location

Market and marketing plan
Potential customers
Competition
Pricing
Sales Tactics
Advertising and Promotion
Distribution.

Technical Feasibility and management plan:
Factory
Machinery
Overhead charges
Packaging materials
Raw materials Manpower and Labor costs.

Financial Projection / Feasibility:
Overview on capital requirement
Financial plan
Projected cash flow
Projected profit and loss account
Expected balance sheet
Break-even analysis
Source and application of funds

Organization Plan:
Form of ownership
Identification of partners / Principal shareholders
Authority of Principals.
Management team background
Roles and responsibilities of members of organization

Assessment of Risk:
Evaluate weakness of business
New technologies
Contingency plans.

Schedules:
12 months projected sales
12 months proposed purchase
Fixed Assets and depreciation schedule
Profitability index.

Thanks for reading

Reasons Which Make Video Games the Most Addictive Interface

Talk about video games and all heads start turning. In the present scenario where the technology is advancing rapidly, the games are gaining huge momentum. Whether kids, youngsters or even older people, all seem to have traveled with its addiction. These have been in existence for quite a while now and is also one of the largest source of entertainment around us. To understand it better, let us have a close overview of the types of games and the negative and positive effects it has.

Types of Video interface games- These are different kinds and have different skill sets, with time limits as well, some are quite basic while others are too advanced. A few of them are-

• Casual Play Games- These games are generally of small duration and are easy to play. They do not need any specific software or system.

• Online gaming - These types of games can be played on any sort of browser and thus attracts a larger audience, objectives strategy and role plays. These games need no specific operating system and are more often played by dedicated gamers.

• Social Network games- These are very common games which are played with the help of social networking forums in order to access its users.

Effects of Video Console Games- Playing such games comes very naturally to kids, something which needs not to be taught to them and they get well conversant with it as they keep playing and has its own effects, some of which are quite positive, while others which are detrimental to the health and the overall well-being. Let us take a look at its positive and negative sides.

Positive Effects

• It is said that playing video console games makes the brain very sharp and improves hand eye synchronization.

• They become more adept in facing situations later in life as the skill sets of each level are different and they have to keep the pace going in order to play the game.
Negative Effects

• It is more of an addiction and kids give it the earlier importance.

• The attention diverts from studies due to playing games

• Few games involve getting violent in order to kill the opponent and win it so the player starts practicing the same in the real life as well.

• Physical exercise gets reduced as kids want to play video games and not outdoor games.

Even though video games are the most comfortable and user friendly gadgets for people of all ages, especially kids, yet if proper care is not taken it can prove hazardous for the health. So it is of utmost importance that these are given for a stipulated time and are played under proper guidance.

Autoresponder - The Key to Running a Successful Online Business

In this article, we shall define what autoresponders are, and why you should utilize them to achieve successful online business.

If you run an online business it means you already own a website or a blog. Once your online business is setup, the next most important thing to consider is using an effective autoresponder.

Autoresponder defined

In simple understandable term, it is actually electronic newsletters forwarded automatically to your subscribers via your mailing list, and this is done at intervals that you specify or define. By sample, you can design and specify an autoresponder so that once a person signs up to your mailing list he or she will receive a welcome note from your business. Subsequently, you can send other messages such as business discount codes, invitation to connect on social media, new product launch, etc.

The importance of autoresponders

Using autoresponders for your online business keeps a large bulk of your email marketing automated, and that's if you setup things appropriately. With an autoresponder installed on your website, your subscribers will be able to receive specific vital key messages about your business. With this benefit, you do not need to bother about manually sending these messages out, as it is fully automated as set. This simply makes the importance of using autoresponders all the more clear. In short, they help you save time running your online business, loads of it.

How can you utilize autoresponders to help promote your online business?

• You can utilize them to forward custom birthday greetings with other related offers to subscribers on your mailing list.

• You can transition a subscriber from one phase of communication to another after they purchase an item/product. For example, you can move a subscriber from a 'prospect' level series of messaging to 'upsell' series of communication.

• You can forward mails to subscribers exactly one month after they purchased a product. This can be done to motivate them to renew a 'policy or guarantee.'

When autoresponders are utilized in such creative and meaningful ways, it can help generate substantial sales and income - with high returns on investment for your business.

To use them, you can sign up with popular providers such as MailChimp, Getresponse, Aweber, Mad Mimi or Campaign Monitor, etc. These providers are renowned for offering businesses robust autoresponders with dedicated tools for hosting mailing lists and forwarding newsletters and messages.

Finally, autoresponders when setup and used properly can help online businesses automate lots of marketing activities and tailor specific messages to a mailing list for profit making and client engagement.

Bitdefender Total Security Guide - A Look at New Tools, Improved Features, and Many of Your Options

How much security does your PC need? What about your other devices? Bitdefender Total Security offers all of the security and protection you need from all types of cyber threats. The newest edition also offers protection for iOS devices.

As far as comprehensive security solutions go, this is one of the best. With a subscription, you can install the suite on five different devices. It is compatible with Windows, Android, and macOS. Any of the iOS installations do not count against the total. You can also get an unlimited number of license with the family pack.

The iOS installation includes the following:

• Protection

• Account privacy

• Parental advisor feature

For Windows and other OS systems, you get tons of other great features for not only enhancing privacy and protection, but performance.

The performance features for Windows with Bitdefender Total Security include:

• Battery Mode

• Bitdefender AutopilotTM

• PhotonTM

• Global Protective Network

• Game, Work, and Movie Modes

The Game/Work/Movie Modes is very useful for those who enjoy entertainment and work on the same devices. Total Security 2018 detects whenever you are watching a movie, playing a game, or busy with work and will not bother you with unnecessary requests. Things like pop-ups and unimportant background activities are temporarily halted when you are in one of the Modes.

Other Benefits of Bitdefender Total Security

On your laptops, MacBooks, and Android devices, this suite offers everything from anti-theft protection to VPN and safe online banking.

Some of the new features, like Advanced Threat Defense, are new. This includes "app monitoring", which uses "behavioral detection" to monitor all of your active apps very closely. If anything suspicious is detected, instant action is taken to protect the device from infections. The new Safe Files feature prevents unauthorized changes to crucial files. All you have to do is add the folders to the "watch list" and their contents will be guarded against malware and ransom-ware.

Many of the features and tools from previous Bitdefender products have been improved. The Privacy Firewall provides powerful network protection and Password Manager keeps your passwords, sensitive data, credit card details, etc... in a secure vault for easy access for whenever YOU need them. There is also an option to auto-fill online forms.

For Android devices, the Anti-Theft feature can be used to remotely locate, lock, or even wipe data in the event that your tablet or smartphone is stolen or found. If anyone tries to tamper with it when you are not around, the camera phone takes a "mugshot" of the person and emails it to you.

This is just a small overview of all of the great things Bitdefender Total Security is capable of. There are various purchase / subscription solutions to choose from, all of which are affordable.

This Romania-based anti-virus software company really offers great products at an affordable price. Before you place your order online, be sure to look over Bitdefender Total Security coupons and other promotional offers to help you save on whichever subscription you choose.

The Difference a Holistic Business Approach Makes

A holistic business approach is a relatively new concept that is increasingly being accepted by the business world. To be a business that uses holistic techniques, it means that the entire organization is considered in its processes and policies, as opposed to focusing only on its specific components. By using the holistic approach to running a business, you will make sure that your business is running at its full potential, as opposed to simply having strong areas and weak areas.

Holistic approaches to business, such as the increasingly popular Six Sigma business strategy developed by Motorola, involve the consideration of the entire business situation instead of only a single time or portion of it.

In order to implement such a process, many businesses choose to reach out to professionals for help, with consultants such as the Six Sigma Champions and Black Belts who will help different team members to see the organization in an entirely new light.

This thinking is not simply "out of the box", but instead it believes that it removes the box altogether. In this sense, holistic business strategies allow business people to develop entirely new mindsets and beliefs about their companies and their roles within them. Dramatic improvements are made to help to maximize the potential of the business, and then take full advantage of that potential.

This type of business strategy is considered by many experts to be fundamental to achieving the successes that are desired. To reach the right goals, a proper foundation must be laid, and according to many, this foundation is a strong holistic business strategy.

The training for a holistic business strategy does not involve just a handful of an organization's team members, but will instead involve the entire team. After all, since the entire basis of a holistic business strategy is that the entire company and its situation must be considered in order to achieve success, this is only possible if the entire staff of the business is functioning on this same level.

If you are curious about implementing a holistic business strategy in your company in order to bring about its full potential, your first step is probably the internet. Have a look at the different holistic options available. Six Sigma is among the most accepted at the moment, but there are many options out there that will allow you to get the most out of your business and have it perform at its highest ability.