Older Desktops vs. New Computers

So you remember that desktop from 5 years ago? You know, the one sitting in your garage. Maybe buried in a corner. You hate to throw it out since it cost you over $500 bucks back then, but you know how technology is. Too old, too slow, has xp on it, probably infested with viruses last you remember. You doubt you could sell it for $50. Probably donate it to the goodwill someday. Well, I have four of them. The budget ones. And they run like old men on fruit, vegetables, vitamins, and viagra. These young duo core, quadra core, everything more laptops, notebooks, netbooks, ipod, ipad, isupercore or iwhatevercore machines are what my wallet calls service call income. I love my $30 desktops. Reliable, fast, able to do anything. If anyone is interested I'll write a full guide on how you can do it for free or for under $20 if you have missing keyboards, monitors, mice, keyboards, etc.. In return, all I ask is respect for my old guys. No tech blabber, although knowing how to right click is desireable. If just one person wants to know, I'll write it.

A Collectors Guide to Lladro – Some Hints and Tips

This guide has been written to offer help and suggestions for collecting Lladro porcelain. Having been a collector for about 30 years I will try to share some of my experience and views.

It is advisable to also read all my guides on Lladro porcelain, along with this guide.

The intent of this guide is to offer collectors and potential collectors some best practice and advice.

As a collector these are my views – you may not agree with all of them!

Lladro v Nao

Before beginning a collection of Spanish porcelain it is worth spending some time getting to grips with the differences between Lladro, Nao (sometimes termed “Nao by Lladro”) and the other Spanish brands that you will find (e.g. Nadal, Golden Memories, Nalda, Zaphir, Hispania, Rosal, Tang, and Cascades).

By studying the various Spanish porcelain products you will soon see that there is a vast difference in quality between Lladro and all the other “wannabes”.

There isn’t any thing wrong per se in collecting Nao items (or the other wannabes) if that is all you can afford or it suits your style. However, the Lladro range is absolutely way ahead in the quality stakes. There by a better investment for the future.

Unfortunately, there is confusion because Nao is a sub-brand of Lladro and often Nao items are seen on eBay listed as Lladro. Most of the time sellers probably do not know that they are wrongly listing Nao as Lladro and misleading buyers; on the other hand there are some sellers who perpetuate the deception and try to add more value to their Nao items.

As a Lladro collector I shun all other products and would consider anything else as inferior.

Top Tips to ensure you only buy Lladro items:-

1. Check the piece number and description against the Lladro web site.
2. Always check a photo of the base, if it has the trademark with the full bellflower – you are safe.
3. Take great care not to be deceived in to buying a Nao item when you are collecting Lladro.

Lladro Style/ look alike/ similar / type

You will see listings of items that purport to be comparable to real Lladro. They will say things like Lladro style, Lladro look alike, similar to Lladro, Lladro type, from Valencia etc etc….ignore them all.

Top Tip to ensure you only buy Lladro item:-

1. If it isn’t Lladro – it isn’t Lladro!

Lladro Bellflower Trademark

The Lladro trademarks are well documented in other guides and elsewhere, so I am not going to repeat detail here. Only the very early Lladro pieces use trademarks prior to the blue bellflower.

Remember it is a bellflower – the local plant of the Valencia region. A sure sign of a novice is someone who calls it a tulip, flower, feather or anything else.

Top Tips when talking about the trademark:-

1. Always call it the bellflower
2. Always view a photo of the base with the full trademark clearly defined.
3. If a seller says it has the Lladro trademark, still confirm that it is the full trademark with the bellflower. Read on to the next paragraph to see why this is important.

Seconds

Warning -there are lots of second quality Lladro items in circulation. There has been a massive supply to the secondary market from Lladro Outlets and unscrupulous sellers, sometimes from Spain (or imported from Spain). There are also outlets in the USA.

Other guides and articles have covered how and why seconds have come on to the market. So, again I’m not going to repeat this information.

Let me be absolutely clear – seconds are fine if that is what you want in your collection and all you can afford. You will also have accepted that the item you have bought has little value on the secondary market (if any value at all!).

Serious collectors do not want seconds in their collection. I consider myself diligent when it comes to authentication, however even I have nearly been deceived more than a few times.

Seconds are quite clearly identified by virtue of not having that all important bellflower. They will be clearly defaced where the bellflower has been scratched away.

The big issue with seconds is really the sellers who market them as first quality i.e. they don’t mention that it is a second!

I have seen items for sale with photos of the base that were sufficiently blurred (intentionally I guess) to make it look like the trademark was complete and that of a first quality.

Recently, I saw an item with a photo that clearly showed that it was a second, with the seller describing the item as stunning, perfect etc and not mentioning that the item was a second quality. The seller has a 100% feedback on over 11,000 feedback points. I wrote to this seller telling them that the item was a second and should be for sale as such – my message was ignored. The item went on to receive 29 bids and realised over £52 – so there are a lot of people buying with little knowledge and one sorry individual bought an item that is worth less (and to a collector worthless, I would not have even paid £2 for it, let alone £52!).

Top Tips on seconds:-

1. If you want a second then accept that it has no investment potential and is worth less.
2. Check that bellflower and don’t trust anyone (not even a seller with a 100% feedback rating).
3. If you suspect an item is a second, tell the seller – certainly don’t bid! Unless you really want a valueless second!

Tinkling noise/something loose inside

I have seen some listings on eBay where the seller describes a tinkling sound when their item is just shaken. This isn’t a fault and is quite normal. Think about the breathing hole in the base – what happens to the small plug?

Top Tip:-

1. Worry about something else!

As found (A/F)

This phrase used in some Lladro item titles should sound the alarm bell for any collector. Any item purchased on eBay is sold “as is” or “as found” – it is always the case of “buyer beware”. Sellers using this phrase in their description are really saying some thing like..”it’s fake, it’s damaged…if you find a fault buddy you ain’t gonna get a refund”.

Top Tip:-

1. Avoid listings with this expression or find out what the seller really means.

Value of damaged items.

How often do you read an eBay listing for a Lladro piece you could be interested in that says “stunning, excellent condition blah blah” and then you read on…accept missing some fingers, petals etc. I have a clear message “if there is any damage – it isn’t stunning or excellent!!”

Lladro is a delicate collectible and can very easily sustain damage. I have read that the value of a damaged item can be reduced by 75%. Even if the item is extremely rare and/or was very valuable or has great sentimental value then a seller should consider that the financial value has been reduced by 100% to £zero !

As a collector there are almost always perfect, undamaged examples of the same item to be had even if it means waiting.

Top Tips regarding damaged items:-

1. To a serious collector damaged items have little value (or no value whatsoever).
2. Owners of damaged items should consider a “write off” or the alternative of restoration.

Daisa (or Daisy!) and the date

It is often obvious when this word is used in a listing that the seller does not know what Daisa stands for. Simply put, you can just substitute “copyright” for “Daisa”. That is the date the design of the item was copyrighted – it doesn’t mean the date of production. So, you might see Daisa 1978, production may have started in 1979 and still be in production (not retired), so the item may have been manufactured in any year from 1979 to present!

Some sellers seem to use this “Daisa” date to imply age and therefore rarity.

Top Tip on dates:-

1. Use the piece number to look up the item on the Lladro site, this will give you the issue date and tell you when the item was retired or whether it is still in production.
2. Consider the Daisa date as interesting, but not an indication of actual age.

I hope you have found this guide useful - please take a look at my other guides on Lladro.

Holiday by Bob Mackie 2005 Barbie Doll 12 Reviews

All of us have an article of clothing that makes us feel good, dressed to impress. Lots of times these items could use an up date. A new tie a sweater, jacket or a piece of jewelry would do the job. Remember clothing is your accessory and should highlight positives. How much or where these items come from should be secondary. Be the best you can be does not need to be expensive.

Wedding/Special Event/Job Interview

When going to a wedding or special event we run to the mall to find the right outfit. I say first run to your closet and find out if you need something. After shopping at home you may realize you need a specific item to up date a special outfit. Because it is a one time occasion decide if you need to spend full retail money for this purchase. Could you pick up a tie, jacket or dress that does the job online and use the extra money for something else.

Fad/Fashion

Are you a slave to fashion? Don’t worry we’ve got resale of that. Plenty of people have great taste and throw things our as soon as the next new style is available. Buy the main article at the mall and fill in the gabs at higher end resale shops. It may take time to find the shops that are right for you but you should enjoy the hunt. There are endless options online as well.

Comfort Equals Worn

Some things are just better older. I love my Levi’s and more worn the better they feel. Some people hate to break in dress shoes. Also, I know the exact size, style number and color of my favorite things. This makes it much easier to buy on line or resale.

Shrinking/Growing

Some of us are growing to fast while others are shrinking. My youngest grew three inches from July to September this year. All the lovely khaki pants I just bought for school made him look like a perverted Michael Jackson wanna be at the worst time. I went to my local resale shops half price sale and bought 6 pairs of khakis for $12. Two pairs of these pants still had the tags on them. Boys dress clothes make great resale choices because boys grow out of these items before they wear out.

On the other end of the spectrum I am attempting to shrink. Yes, I’d love a new wardrobe for every size change but I can’t afford that. This summer I bought 5 pairs of shorts and a few new sun dresses for the price of one pair of shorts at the mall. I felt good showing off my slimmer bum. Hopefully next summer my bum will be even smaller so I won’t feel bad passing my shorts on down the line for new ones.

Confidence/Style

ROSEMARY ROGERS - Her Complete & Up-To-Date Book List!

The following is a list of all Rosemary Rogers Books...

I'll let her series first, then any single titles in order of publication...

Most of her Books are Historical Romances... The Few Contemporaries will be Noted...

Thanks so much for looking and I hope it's useful =)

MORGAN - CHALLENGER SERIES:

1. Sweet Savage Love (1974)

2. Dark Fires (1975)

3. Wicked Loving Lies (1976)

4. Lost Love, Last Love (1980)

5. Bond by Desire (1988)

6. Savage Desire (2000)

LOGAN - CAMPBELL SERIES:

1. An Honorable Man (2002)

2. Return to Me (2003

SINGLE TITLES:

The Wildest Heart (1974)

The Crowd Pleasers (1978) Contemporary Romance

The Insiders (1979) Contemporary Romance

Love Play (1981) Contemporary Romance

Surrender to Love (1982)

The Wanton (1985)

The Tea Planter's Bride (1995)

A Dangerous Man (1996)

Midnight Lady (1997)

All I Desire (1998)

In Your Arms (2000)

A Reckless Encounter (2001)

Jewel of my Heart (2004)

Sapphire (2005)

A Daring Passion (2007)

Scandalous Deception (2008)

Bound by Love (2009)

Scoundrel's Honor (2010)

Bride for a Night (2011)

How to Clean Brass

Everyone that has brass knows that it is just a matter of time before the brass becomes tarnished and that the chore of cleaning it is inevitable. There is one easy way to clean your brass. No one wants to spend hours scrubbing and rubbing the brass with paste or home made recipes, containing salt or other abrasive properties, only to get tired and angry that you have scratched your prized possessions.

The first thing you need to do is figure out if the brass is covered with a lacquer coating. If so, the coating will have to be removed in order to remove the tarnish. Obviously, if ANY brass cleaner is applied to a piece of brass that is coated w/ lacquer or has been coated with grease (like gears in a clock), the piece will not come clean and HAS to have the coating removed in order to clean it. Go to your local hardware store to get lacquer thinner to remove a lacquer coating. Use a degreaser to remove any grease coating from brass parts that need to be cleaned. Once the lacquer or grease coating is removed, then it is time to pick a brass cleaner.

I only use one brass cleaner, Brassmate. Brassmate is a reusable liquid brass cleaner that removes tarnish, cleans and polishes all in about 20 seconds. Just submerge the brass or copper piece in Brassmate, move it back and forth for up to 20 seconds, rinse it off and dry it well with a towel. That is all there is to it. Brassmate does not leave residue or build up and is NOT abrasive.

iRobot Roomba 560 Robotic Cleaner 669 Reviews

Silver is one of the most beautiful, precious & most valuable metals in the world and people love to display it..... UNTIL it becomes black & tarnished. Cleaning silver is a huge, time consuming chore that no one wants to do so most people hide their prized silver pieces in the cubbord or closet once they become tarnished and unsightly. Many people pull out their silver back out to use or display for the holidays only to find it black & filthy. There is an easy way to maintain beautiful silver but be careful with what you choose to use.

NEVER use any home recipes like: aluminum & baking soda or salt! This process removes silver, along with the tarnish, and does not polish the silver. Heck, salt corrodes silver! Toothpaste scratches silver. Most store bought paste or cream silver cleaners require you to rub or buff the silver, which in actuality, is the same as sanding off the tarnish! Using any of these methods may work great for you with out any problems for a long time. One day you might use one of these cleaning processes & notice you have rubbed through the silver plating or rubbed off the designs on sterling silver!

I found out through a silversmith that the safest & best way to clean silver is to use Silvermate liquid silver cleaner. Silvermate cleans & polishes silver plate & sterling silver in just a few seconds without rubbing or harming your silver. Just submerge a piece of silver in Silvermate, move it back and forth for up to 20 seconds, rinse it off & dry it w/ a towel. Silvermate makes cleaning AND MAINTAINING silver & gold so easy it doesn't even seem like a chore. Look for Silvermate on Ebay in their store called Silvermate52.