Pixabella

John Lennon said it best when he wrote his masterpiece song "Give Peace a Chance" but sadly people are still suffering the effects of war and dictatorships every day around the world.

I saw this on the news this morning about a 16yr old New York Teenager, Trevor Dougherty, who somehow managed to get nearly 6000 people together and create a giant human peace sign on the lawn of his local park.

The story is now doing the YouTube rounds and is turning viral which is really cool, the more people we can get believing peace is the way forward instead of the barrel of a gun the better. The only thing that concerns me is that many of the people most at risk from war are also the people who don't have Internet access so they may never see it.

Investing in real estate for profit isn't something most people can just decide to do and be instantly successful. The knowledge you need to acquire is detailed, extensive, and a simple mistake can be very costly. This doesn't mean you'll necessarily make a mistake but wouldn't it be great to know that you won't, and that you'll be guided to make the right decisions.

This is why Nouveau Riche University was founded to give investors a practical course that teaches everything there is to know about property investment by offering on campus or distance learning property investment education.

Nouveau Riche University speakers and mentors have all been in the same position as you when they started out, and they were all lucky enough to find knowledgeable people in their network who were able to give them the guidance they needed. Undertaking the NRU course let's you meet some of these inspirational people and find out first hand what it takes to have success.

As a graduate of Nouveau Riche University you not only have all of the books, CDs, and DVDs provided during the course, you also get to network with other graduates and learn from their successes. An example I enjoyed reading was Clifton from Nigeria who arrived in the US at the age of 17 and immediately set out to claim his place as a successful entrepreneur.

This morning when I woke up our power wasn't working. I checked the switch box and everything seemed to be OK, so then I went outside to see if the neighbors had power. Nobody was awake or out on their patios, but the pool wasn't working and the village seemed deathly quiet.

I was still able to use my laptop, well until the battery goes flat, and we have gas hot water, so I can still shower, but with no power I can't make a coffee, the Internet doesn't work, and I can't even see in the bathroom because it's at the back of the house and has no window.

How do you cope in situations like these? The power going off means we can't cook or boil water since we don't have any emergency cooking facilities, and the little tea light candles we have don't provide enough light to see by.

It might be time for us to invest in some emergency equipment. At the very least I think we need some kind gas cooking so I can boil enough water for a coffee. But it might also be a great idea to get one of those battery powered lights with the really efficient white LEDs in them.

I'm really getting quite excited about the various background images I think I'm going to create and it makes sense to give you guys a quick tutorial on how to use them.

Basically you only need to make a one line change to the stylesheet of your website, so I hope it won't be too difficult to do.

Your stylesheet will typically be called style.css or default.css although other names could be used. Also, if you're using blogspot you won't actually have a separate stylesheet just to confuse matters. Hopefully you'll be able to work with these background images without too much difficulty.

So, once you're looking at your website stylesheet, simply search for the body element. This will most likely be somewhere close to the top.

Next, add this line

background: transparent url(path-to-image/caramel-chevron.png) repeat;

You'll need to change the 'path-to-image' part to the url of the folder where your images are stored, and of course you'll need to change the name of the background image if you aren't the caramel chevron.

That's it, your website should now be showing your new background. Let me know if you have any problems or suggestions.

Professional looking trade show displays are pretty much essential if you want to be successful at expos, shows, or even just at the local shopping mall.

In fact it often amazes me the number of companies that have these amazing products, or the best customer service team and they let themselves down with brochures and posters that look like they were prepared by the office junior. That's why I think tabletop trade show displays from the Godfrey Group are such a wonderful idea.

They carry a full range of display merchandise but for the average small business an attractive display that can sit on top of a table is a great start. They look fantastic and will definitely get the attention of potential customers as they walk by.

I'm having some fun playing around with various backgrounds for websites or scrapbooking pages and the latest one is based around a chevron pattern, although each of the four background tiles has been given a colour based on types of chocolate.

I hope you like them, and tomorrow I'll write a quick guide on how to use them in your website. Feel free to download these to use in your own website if you like them.

Spanish style homes are wonderful because the window ledges are quite wide and deep so I am able to protect my plants from the harsh sun and create beautiful displays.

There is nothing more spectacular than walking past a window filled with flowers and then noticing an exquisite scent in the air. If you're limited by the design of your abode, just ignore the names given to pots or trays, and don't limit yourself to exactly the right type of window box. Instead, just pop your plants anywhere you have space.

Using your outdoor area as an extension of your home will make for a nice change being stuck indoors. Take the time out and enjoy the stunning area you created.

Experiment with different flower types, colours and trailing and upright varieties. One of my favourite window box creations is sweet white Alyssum as a border plant and beautiful scented carnations. The Alyssum smells as sweet as honey and the carnations smell of musk.

Window boxes look so beautiful from both sides of the window. When you're not outside enjoying the scent and visual display, open your windows and enjoy the sweet scent drifting through the house which is a natural deodoriser.