I have been doing a lot of gardening lately. I helped start vegetable and ornamental garden for one friend and I have been taking care of another friend’s herbs and flowers for the past few weeks. Another friend is starting up an organic rooftop garden as part of an experiment to look at sustainability of gardening with potted plants. All of these projects have been greatly rewarding and they remind me of both my huge cacti garden which used to grace my backyard when I was living on the East coast of the states and also of my ex-girlfriend’s venture into bonsai gardening.

I won’t say much this time about my cacti, although I can’t resist mentioning how great cacti and succulents are and how fun they are to grow! They always provided me with pleasure after a long day at work and I had a table a few chairs situated in the centre of the garden, so that I could have breakfast or tea surrounded by my spiny green children. Cacti gardening can be unbelievably relaxing and provide years of entertainment!

But enough of that (for now,) the real reason I am writing a blog today is to tell you about Bonsai gardening. My ex-girlfriend got started by taking some expensive classes and to be honest, I don’t think she was getting good instruction or the correct amount of attention in her courses. She spend tons of money on the plants and equipment and even more on the classes themselves. She had decent results sometimes, but mostly because she worked hard. She learned a lot, but not because of the classes.

Why am I writing all this: I found some great Bonsai courses you can get online and by-pass all the expensive non-sense that my ex-girlfriend went through and you will probably get better results (not because my ex was a bad gardener, but because these courses explain things very well and are not concerned with racking up charges or keeping certain information secret.)

To read a review of the top two best Bonsai guides you can get online go here: Bonsai Reviews

I think you will agree that these guides are very exciting and if you are looking to delve into Bonsai gardening, these can be the best information you can find to get you started and keep you getting great results with your Bonsai garden!

I hoe that you all go start a new garden today!

Cheers and thanks for reading,

Quentin Yu

More dog training stuff for you to sift through:

Dove Cresswell’s Dog Training Program

Sit Stay Fetch

Dog Discovery Training Program

D.I.Y. Dog Training Program

Dog Training Mastery

Dog Training Masters Home Study Course

Housebreak Your Puppy in 7 Days

Insider’s Guide to Dog Training

Dog Training Zone

Hands off! No Touch Dog Training

House Train Any Dog 

Ultimate Guide to Puppy Housetraining

Doctor Dog’s Behavior Solutions 

Fido Problems Training Package

Instant Access Dog Training Videos

Puppy N Dog Training Secrets

Teach Your Dog Any Trick 

A1 Dog Training Manuals 

Dog Training for Lovers 

Animal Trainer Dot Com

Complete Dog Training System 

Okay. I hope you find some stuff you can use and I will post more soon!

My second review today (It’s the weekend. I have extra time on my hands…) is about making your own record label. I have tried this one before. Actually, I have tried getting signed, booking my own tours, getting picked up by booking agents, working with and in studios, and trying to start up a record label. Why would I do all that? Because major labels have one goal: exploit the small artist and keep the creativity of the artists to conformation with their marketing guidelines.

Well, what does that have to do with anything? Here’s the scoop: If you have any creative integrity at all and it does not meet the guidelines set up by major label marketing, forget signing a contract with them. Where does that leave you? No label, struggling to create demos and product and get your work distributed, finding gigs is a hassle, and you remain at home, working on material that no one will ever hear because you have been stumped.

That or start your own label. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? Too much work – too many things to worry about – maybe you should just give up. Well, if you are like me, even if it is too much work, you simply can’t let go of the music and creativity, so you try again, but this time with a different plan. Starting your own label solves all sorts of problems and there are several big name artists who have done the same thing! They start their own label, release what they feel is quality material, and they reap the benefits and the profits from their hard work, not the major label execs that don’t care about the music, only the bucks. This way you can care about both the music and the bucks and it will show through like an exploding star!

Okay. This is supposed to be a product review, not a rant. Sorry. Being a musician that has done successful self-booked tours and recording publications, I understand the frustration that may come along with trying be professional and not have label backing. No worries. I stumbled across this gem of a opportunity for all those folks that want to start their own label and get ahead in the music biz!

The product is called Get Put On! They direct their marketing towards the hip hop artists, probably because those guys and girls are total go-getters that can taste the musical success they seek. Here’s the great news: The guide that this site promotes will work for any music genre at all! These tricks and tips and places to get started are genre-non specific, although they do lean towards the hip hop styles more than others with some aspects of the guide.

Okay. Check this out: The guide discusses the radio industry and how to get airtime; Marketing; pressing discs; distribution, copyrighting; Studio tricks and mastering final products; production; artwork; et cetera. Speaking from an experienced musician point of few, I was thoroughly impressed by the amount of topics covered in this guide! WOW! Get Put On! is an amazing wealth of information!

Okay. I can rave and rave about this one for pages, so I will be quiet now and simply let you check it out for yourself. This one is truly a gem! Check them out if you have any interest at all in breaking into the music business or finding out how to start up your own label! Great resource!!!

Go here to see for yourself: Get Put On!

My second review today (It’s the weekend. I have extra time on my hands…) is about making your own record label. I have tried this one before. Actually, I have tried getting signed, booking my own tours, getting picked up by booking agents, working with and in studios, and trying to start up a record label. Why would I do all that? Because major labels have one goal: exploit the small artist and keep the creativity of the artists to conformation with their marketing guidelines.

Well, what does that have to do with anything? Here’s the scoop: If you have any creative integrity at all and it does not meet the guidelines set up by major label marketing, forget signing a contract with them. Where does that leave you? No label, struggling to create demos and product and get your work distributed, finding gigs is a hassle, and you remain at home, working on material that no one will ever hear because you have been stumped.

That or start your own label. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? Too much work – too many things to worry about – maybe you should just give up. Well, if you are like me, even if it is too much work, you simply can’t let go of the music and creativity, so you try again, but this time with a different plan. Starting your own label solves all sorts of problems and there are several big name artists who have done the same thing! They start their own label, release what they feel is quality material, and they reap the benefits and the profits from their hard work, not the major label execs that don’t care about the music, only the bucks. This way you can care about both the music and the bucks and it will show through like an exploding star!

Okay. This is supposed to be a product review, not a rant. Sorry. Being a musician that has done successful self-booked tours and recording publications, I understand the frustration that may come along with trying be professional and not have label backing. No worries. I stumbled across this gem of a opportunity for all those folks that want to start their own label and get ahead in the music biz!

The product is called Get Put On! They direct their marketing towards the hip hop artists, probably because those guys and girls are total go-getters that can taste the musical success they seek. Here’s the great news: The guide that this site promotes will work for any music genre at all! These tricks and tips and places to get started are genre-non specific, although they do lean towards the hip hop styles more than others with some aspects of the guide.

Okay. Check this out: The guide discusses the radio industry and how to get airtime; Marketing; pressing discs; distribution, copyrighting; Studio tricks and mastering final products; production; artwork; et cetera. Speaking from an experienced musician point of few, I was thoroughly impressed by the amount of topics covered in this guide! WOW! Get Put On! is an amazing wealth of information!

Okay. I can rave and rave about this one for pages, so i will be quite now and simply let you check it out for yourself. This one is truly a gem! Check them out if you have any interest at all in breaking into the music business or finding out how to start up your own label! Great resource!!!

Go here to see for yourself: Get Put On!

This led me to think that surveying a few puppy and dog training online courses would be beneficial to some dog owners. I tracked down a few and found one that I really like. There were two others that seemed almost as good, but I have to be honest and say that I only followed up on the one that I will fully review here: Dove Cresswell’s Dog Training Course

On her site she lists a long series of professional dog training gigs that she’s had. It is impressive, I suppose, but lots of people list things like that on their site. To be honest, I would expect no less from a dog trainer. The truly impressive thing about her site and course comes in the form of a free lesson to which you can watch and see what her teaching style will be and the subject matter covered in the course. I found her course to be more complete than some of the others professing full train, but only offering basic heeling and off the couch training. Her course also offers tricks, anti-barking, some great dog psychology that is partly the reason i was able to reduce my dogs separation anxiety, and much more.

There was loads of free bonus stuff too. Unlike many cases I have seen online, the bonuses had some value. Not all of them, but the potential was there to have value to various people in different situations, so I give her a hats off to making her package attractive and flexible.

There is a LOT more information on her site! I am sort of pushing this one because it really did out shine the others that I found. If you are interested in owning a well-behaved, comfortable dog that enjoys your company and can handle themselves well when you are not around, too, this package may well be a great way to accomplish that goal! Check it out here and see what you think: Dove Cresswell’s Dog Training Course

Another one that turned my head is the Sit Stay Fetch Online Dog Training Course.

This package was very similar to Dove Cresswell’s Dog Training Course mentioned above, containing even more free extras and a long list of testimonials, but there were two differences that makes me put Dove’s course on top: The Sit Stay Fetch Online Dog Training Course is geared almost strictly towards behavioral problems and seems to address dog psychology and more leisurely fun dog training less. In addition to that, there are NO free lessons on the front page of the site, so you don’t get a solid idea of the training techniques and the package itself before you get involved.

On the reverse side of that, the front page has SO much information on it that perhaps there is no need for these extra things and you can get a full idea of what you would get with the package. It also seems well thought-out and organized. The package offers tons and if you want to go with someone that has more posted testimonials and flash, then you should check them out. To do that, go here: Sit Stay Fetch Online Dog Training Course

The last course into which I looked was a course called the Dog Training Discovery Course and it has one interesting claim to fame: training your puppy or dog with results overnight. The page is not flashy and gives loads of stories that anyone could have come up with, but the attraction is still there. What if this method works? The page is full of discussion on the one-evening/overnight techniques and if the testimonials are real, then if may well be a great way to take care of dog behavioral problems in a short time span. It at least is worth checking out the page. Go Here: Dog Discovery Training Course

Okay! That’s it for now. If you are in the market for dog training materials, I hope that my little rant has assisted you in some way. Take care and happy dog days!

Sincerely,
Quentin Yu

Today’s review will be about custom tattoo designs online. I have been thinking about getting more ink, as it were, and I have a specific need (as I assume anyone that is looking for a tattoo may have.) I am trying to conform to a theme of Tibetan style art for my tattoos. I got my first four tattoos a few years ago in another part of the country and the artist was and still is wonderful. Unfortunately, he is about as far away from me as you can get and still be in the same country, since I have moved to Hawaii and he is on the East coast.

I started looking around for custom tattoo designs online and I found a few sites that caught my eye. Many of them turned out to be worthless, in my opinion because they offered standard flash that you can get anywhere, and not even well-done flash at that, but listed below are five sites that I think out-ranked all the others, so I am sharing my thoughts in case you want to check them out and create of find a great design you will cherish forever (after all, these things are going to be on your body for the rest of your days! You need to get them done well and be proud of them!)

Chopper Tattoos

One of the bigger sties may actually be the best. It is called Chopper Tattoos and they certainly seem to have the biggest and most kick ass selection of flash. As with most of these sites, you cannot get to the artwork without becoming a member. That is understandable seeing as they are selling you their designs. What this site does (as do a few of the others I will talk about) is they show some examples on the front page of the site so you can get an idea of what to expect as far as quality. Also they give a full list of the general categories of art they handle, which is quite extensive. I definitely give them a thumbs up! Heck, they even have free music downloads on the site to add to the value of their services! Nice!

Check them out here: Chopper Tattoos

Tattoo Me Now

Close to Chopper Tattoos in value is Tattoo Me Now. This site seems to have the best instructional material for making sure you get the artwork you want. I HIGHLY recommend this site for those getting their first ink job!!! They have loads and loads of designs and a great series of instructions on super important things like picking your artist, placing your tattoo, et cetera. Not much art on the front page, but the quality of the art on the inside is ace! The amount of information you get on the front page will give you an idea of the seriousness of the artists involved. I definitely recommend this page, especially for the walking blank canvases out there ready to take the tattoo plunge!

Get your first ink design here: Tattoo Me Now

Custom Chinese Tattoo Design

The next site is a specialized site called Custom Chinese Tattoo Design. They are just that. I went here looking for Tibetan art, but it seems they don’t have much of anything but Han related art, focusing on Hanzi or Chinese language characters. It also appears that they prefer traditional characters to simplified ones, leaning towards calligraphic designs, but they are open to other forms of characters, too. The site is great for those wishing to get a Chinese character oriented design or something Han Chinese related that may have a character involved. The site features wonderful work and loads of pictures on the front page to show the quality of the work. Absolutely great site for those looking to get a design of this nature!

Design a great Chinese character tattoo here: Custom Chinese Tattoo Design

Find Your Tattoo

The next site is a great site for basic design work. It is the Find Your Tattoo site. The page is a little hard to find, so follow the link below to go straight to it. There is no artwork on the front page, but there is a video of the art and the package that you get. It is a download of images to plough through and that is about all, but it does have great standard flash work and it is cheap – less the ten dollars. The site holds great value for what you get if you are in the market for something basic or standard, but still high quality. I recommend checking out the video on the front page and see if it is right for you.

Visit them here: Find Your Tattoo

Tattoo My Brain

The last one for today is Tattoo My Brain. This site also seems quite concerned with making sure the custom is pleased with their choices. It is somewhat directed to first-time customers, but it definitely holds many designs for the person looking to get something special. They encourage taking the designs on their site and using them to inspire original, custom work. Like Tattoo Me Now, they also give lots of instruction of selecting artists, parlors, and other important health and satisfaction tips. I would definitely check them out if you are wanting to get ideas for an original work and want more insight into the whole process of getting inked!

Go to their site here: Tattoo My Brain

That’s it for today. I do hope that you all find my tid bits on custom tattoo designs online helpful! Happy inking!

Sincerely,
Quentin Yu