Sorry, I found this way too funny! LOL

Stop Thanking God, and Thank Yourself!

Hello All   

 I am here to say that if you accomplish something great, or recover from some disease, or any number of difficult events in your life. Please stop thanking god. You did it all yourself. And you should be proud of yourself. Not God.

  May I put it another way. Let's say that you are in a car with your best friend, and some drunk driver slams into you head on. You both go to the hospital, and you turn out okay, but your best friend was injured and is now paralysed from the neck down. Would you thank God? If you do then you are a egomaniac to think that you are better than your friend who will live a dismal life for the rest of his/her days.

  Are you better than your friend? What have you done in your life that a God would save you over your friend. Let me say that if you "Thank God" that you were not harmed then you are committing the sin of Vanity. Never thank god for anything. Thank Yourself.

  The Bible tells a different story. It almost seems as if the teachings of the bible want you to be a robot, or a mindless lump of flesh. For instance, I will give you one of the seven "Deadly" sins as examples.

Pride (Latin, superbia), or hubris (Greek), is considered the original and most serious of the seven deadly sins, and the source of the others. It is identified as a desire to be more important or attractive than others, failing to acknowledge the good work of others, and excessive love of self (especially holding self out of proper position toward God). Dante's definition was "love of self perverted to hatred and contempt for one's neighbor." In Jacob Bidermann's medieval miracle play, Cenodoxus, pride is the deadliest of all the sins and leads directly to the damnation of the titulary famed Parisian doctor. In perhaps the best-known example, the story of Lucifer, pride (his desire to compete with God) was what caused his fall from Heaven, and his resultant transformation into Satan. In Dante's Divine Comedy, the penitents were forced to walk with stone slabs bearing down on their backs to induce feelings of humility.

The Tower of Babel was viewed as a construct of pride for Dante

So what the Bible is basically saying is that whatever you accomplish, or create, or do in your life, you must not be proud of that fact, or you will be sentenced to Hell.

Heart Warming! Isn't it?

MOST atheistic song???

I was trying to find the MOST atheistic song out there and I kept coming back to this one. You tell me if you have a better, more fitting one.

I have also included a song that aptly describes my day to day feelings. If anyone can recognize then please comment or contact me some other way.

Thanks
American Atheist.

And here is how I feel everyday.

Everyone stay safe, and happy!

American Atheist!

Young Atheist's Handbooks sent to secondary schools

Copies of Alom Shaha's 'Lessons for Living a Good Life Without God' donated by the British Humanist Association.

 'Schools should be places where pupils are free to encounter the full range of philosophies' … children at the Thomas Tallis secondary school. Photograph: Garry Weaser for the Guardian.

After Michael Gove gave copies of the King James Bible to every school in England, the British Humanist Association is this week sending out copies of The Young Atheist's Handbook to secondary schools in England and Wales.

Subtitled Lessons for Living a Good Life Without God, the book is by science teacher Alom Shaha and tells of his upbringing in a Bangladeshi Muslim community in south-east London, "how he overcame his inner conflict surrounding his atheism, and the lessons he learnt in leading a good life, full of awe and wonder, based on humanist principles", said the Association.

The BHA raised more than £11,000 to send the book to schools through public donations from "thousands of people" at Justgiving, and hopes the initiative will give young people "access to resources that enable them to come to their own decisions about their values and beliefs".

A spokesperson for the BHA said it had received "loads of lovely responses", but that a couple of Catholic schools had said they would dispose of the book if the Association didn't provide a stamped addressed envelope to return it.

"Which we think is a shame, as we only sent the books to state schools and we think all such schools should want their young people to be exposed to a variety of views and to make their own minds up in a spirit of free inquiry," said Sara Passmore,  the BHA's head of education.

The Association points out that the book was "well received" by RE Today – the magazine said that "this book will make you think and it's hard to give a greater compliment than that" – and says it "has been welcomed by RE teachers".

The scheme was suggested to the BHA by the science teacher Ian Horsewell, who got in touch with the Association after it helped launch the title. Horsewell has said that he was "amazed by the evocative prose in [Shaha's] book and the challenges he faced moving from nominal believer to outspoken freethinker".

"It made me realise how fortunate many of us are to be able to take for granted our own freedom to believe, or not, in the faith of our parents. It seemed to me that the very students who needed to read Alom's book would find it hard to buy for themselves, so instead I wondered if we could place a copy in every secondary school library," said Horsewell.

BHA chief executive Andrew Copson added that "in a large number of schools, pupils will have access to a number of religious perspectives on life's bigger questions, but not to what most non-religious people believe and how they find happiness and satisfaction in their daily lives".
"We believe schools should be places where pupils are free to encounter the full range of philosophies and world views available to them in modern Britain," said Copson.

But Trevor Cooling, professor of Christian education at Canterbury Christ Church University, told the Times Educational Supplement that "the humanists seem to be behaving a bit like a persecuted minority. Children should be exposed to many and varied ideas, but this book seems to be an overreaction."

"The evidence suggests that most children's understanding of science is already largely atheistic. The BHA itself says that most children have non-religious beliefs, so why do they feel it is so important to send out this book?" said Cooling. "The status of a handbook written by a science teacher from London cannot be compared with that of a sacred Christian text and it cannot in any way be said to be offering balance."

The Young Atheist's Handbook is published by Biteback Publishing. The BHA said the initiative was not a response to Gove's Bible mailout, which cost £370,000 in private money, rather that Horsewell had felt The Young Atheist's Handbook is "a book that all young people should have access to".

Get 5,000 Visitors to Your Next Blog Post… (WITHOUT Google)

So, you’ve created an EPIC blog post, hit the publish button, and then waited for the traffic to start pouring in to see your brilliant creation.

Unfortunately, all you heard were crickets. Of course your mom visited the site and said it was AMAZING. She’s your #1 fan :)

But she’s also the ONLY fan…

Because you’re missing a critical piece of the blogging puzzle.
It doesn’t matter how great your content is. Without actively promoting your content, your blog is STILL going to be a ghost town.

* Content is not king if nobody can see it. *
So you’ve got to flip the formula on it’s head…
Spend 20% of your time creating epic content. And spend 80% of your
time promoting that content.

I can hear the whiners now…. “But Kim, it took me an entire day to
create that blog post. I don’t have time to now go out and spend hours promoting it.”
If that’s the case – you probably don’t have time to build a successful online business and this article probably isn’t for you.

But… if you want to get 5,000 visitors to your next blog post… (WITHOUT Google) – then grab some coffee and let’s get ROCKIN :)

1. Twitter Tribes.

One of the first things I like to do after I publish my content is to ‘seed’ it inside a variety of Twitter Tribes.
One of my favorite Twitter Tribes is called JustRetweet.com.
JustRetweet is a social sharing community that works together
to promote each others content.
Kind of like a ‘you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours.’
But… the cool part is that they have a ton of content that you’ll be proud to share with your tribe.
Plus, they’ve also added support for Facebook likes and Google
Plus One votes.
The site works on a credit based system. As you share other people’s content within the community you earn ‘credits’ that allow you to get shares and retweets on your own content.
You can also buy credits – which are extremely affordable as well.
This is a super simple strategy for getting your first 20-30 retweets
and Facebook likes. Which will immediately kick off your first bit
of momentum.
Two other great Twitter Tribes you can join are Triberr.com and ViralContentBuzz.com.
Additional Resources:
17 Twitter Marketing Tips from the Pros
The Ultimate Twitter Guide
List Building with Social Media
How I Got 50,000+ Twitter Followers
16 Ways to Get People to Read and Retweet Your Content

2. Google Plus Communities

Google Plus is here to stay. After many attempts at building a social network to compete with the likes of Facebook and Twitter – it looks like Google has finally hit upon a winner.
And… it’s a great tool for driving hundreds of visitors to your
latest blog post. Regardless of how many followers you have.
That’s the beauty of this particular strategy. All you need to do is setup a good profile on Google Plus. You can then leverage existing audiences on Google Plus via Communities.
Communities are the ‘secret sauce’ inside Google Plus.

These are basically large groups of people based around common interests. They’re kind of like mini-forums.
Plus, it’s one of my favorite ways to find cool and interesting conversations on Google Plus.
You can search for related communities here:
https://plus.google.com/communities
Once you join some related groups – you’ll find out there are
actually a LOT of interesting conversations going on within Google Plus.
In fact, it’s becoming one of my favorite social networks. Plus, it’s a LOT less crowded.
And it should DEFINITELY be part of your content promotion checklist.
First, start engaging with 5-10 related communities. By this I mean
joining in on the conversation. Adding value. Voting up OTHER people’s content.
Like any social media platform – you need to provide VALUE first.
Engage first.
Then, whenever you have a really good blog post that you’d like to
share – simply post a link to your favorite 5-10 related communities.
Then sit back and watch the traffic roll in :)
Additional Resources:
The Ultimate Google+ Marketing Guide
Google+ Communities: What Marketers Need to Know
How to Market Your Content on Google Plus
3 Ways to Boost Your Traffic with Google Plus

3. Email Trumps All.

Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Google Plus can be very powerful tools for promoting your content – but your biggest media channel will ALWAYS be your email subscriber list.
We personally use our subscriber list to generate 2,000+ visitors
PER email.
Imagine the power of being able to send that much traffic simply
by pushing the ‘SEND’ button.
Your business should be BUILT on email. Building a community of
raving fans who look forward to your next email.
This is THE #1 asset in your business.
And it allows you to build instant momentum for EVERY blog post.
Additional Resources:
Pat Flynn’s Guide to Email Marketing (Part 1)
Pat Flynn’s Guide to Email Marketing (Part 2)
DropDeadCopy.com – The BEST podcast online about email marketing.

4. Facebook Sponsored Stories (In the News Feed).

Here’s one of my secret sources… If you want to promote your content quickly WITHOUT all the elbow grease, then Facebook Sponsored Stories are going to be your new love affair :)
This is one of the best ways to ‘seed’ your content and start gaining virality.
Promote your content using Facebook Sponsored stories in the News Feed.
This has become one of my favorite ways to generate highly targeted traffic on demand.
You simply post a new story on your fan page. (a.k.a your latest blog post)
And then you setup an ad to promote that post.
Using Facebook you can laser-target your audience by choosing exactly which Fan pages you want to target. So you simply choose 3-5 highly related fan pages that your post will be promoted to.
This is the ‘audience’ that will see your post.
But there’s one small tweak you need to make to get the best results. This is the ‘secret sauce’…
What I do is I first create my ad in the traditional Facebook Ad Manager. Then from there I go into what’s called the ‘Power Editor’ and customize the audience so that my story is ONLY shown in the News Feed.
This will give you MANY more visitors for a MUCH lower price.
Facebook is quickly becoming one of the best places to build and grow your business.
Additional Resources:
My Go-To Girl for ALL things Facebook: Amy Porterfield

5. Content Syndication.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my secret spots for a quick injection of traffic. These are social communities (kind of like Digg in the old days) where you can share your content and vote / comment on other people’s content as well.
Here are my Top Picks:
BlogEngage.com
BizSugar.com
Blokube.com
Inbound.org
Kingged.com
DoSplash.com
Other Niche Social Networks where you can Share Your Content…
Care2.com
PFBuzz.com (Personal Finance)
Yakezie
Dogster
Catster
Gentlemint.com – Pinterest for men
But keep in mind the key to getting the most benefit out of any community is getting involved. (a.k.a not being a douche who just comes and drops your link.)
These are amazing communities with awesome people that you can meet. Plus, it’s great for sourcing content that you can share within your social media profiles as well.
Provide massive value to the community – and it will deliver massive value back :)
Additional Resources:
The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing

6. Content Aggregators.

If you’re publishing great content on a weekly basis – you can get hundreds of extra visitors from sites like AllTop.com, Affposts.com, AffBuzz.com, and AffDaily.com. These are content aggregators that pull in the best content from around the web.
AllTop.com is perfect for ANY blogger because they have sections for almost every topic under the sun.
So whether you blog about pets or parenting – this is a great passive
traffic pipeline you can tap into.
And the cool thing is they’re always looking for new blogs to publish.
Simply find a relevant category and submit your blog at:
http://alltop.com/submission/
Or – if you have a site related to affiliate marketing, SEO, or blogging then you can get hundreds of new weekly visitors from sites like BloggerScope.com, Affposts.com, AffBuzz.com, and AffDaily.com.

7. Scoop.it

Scoop.it is my one-stop shop for getting fresh new traffic to EVERY blog post.
Scoop.it is content curation at it’s best. With thousands of different topics and curators who collect their favorite content from around the web.
And the best part is – you can ‘suggest’ your latest blog post with just a few clicks.
You’ll see a link at the top of each Scoop.it pages that allows you to submit a suggested link. It takes all of 10 seconds to suggest your link.
If the creator of that page decides to share your link, it gets published and any followers of that page also get notified (instant backlink and high-quality traffic).
I recommend submitting your content to at least 20 Scoop.it pages for each new blog post you publish.
Additional Resources:
How To Curate Content and Build Authority With Scoop.it

8. Forum Marketing. The unsung hero.

There are currently millions of conversations taking place around the web about parenting, photography, fitness, pet care, personal finance, traveling, and every other topic under the sun.
Forums are hot spots of conversation where like-minded people get
together to talk about their shared passions.
Making it also one of the best hot spots for generating laser-targeted traffic.
Create some good content, post it on a popular forum in your market and you can start generating traffic within 5 minutes of posting.
There is simply no other strategy out there that works this quickly,
this effectively, and completely for free.
Forum marketing is an unsung hero that can drive thousands of visitors per month in ANY market.
When I first got started online, this was the main strategy I used to start building my subscriber list.
When my dad started his first website I recommended that he do the same.
But he took it to an entirely new level.
Generating 14,000+ visitors per month in a tiny, weird little niche…
‘Tennessee Walking Horses’
He found what I like to call his ‘Big Kahuna’. One big forum with rapidly passionate members who LOVED his videos.
This was his main traffic source when he first got started.
Of course I encouraged him to also build a subscriber list so now
he OWNS the traffic and can funnel it at will whenever he sends out
an email. Forum traffic is like a honeypot. But you want to collect
as much as that honey as possible and store it up for the winter.
(a.k.a getting them on your subscriber list :)
So go to Google – find the most active forums within YOUR market, and start engaging with the community. Provide over-the-top value and link to your squeeze page or blog in your signature file.
I think you’ll be surprised at what a ‘traffic powerhouse’ this can be.
Plus, what’s nice about forum traffic is that it’s generally VERY high converting. The traffic is laser-targeted and converts quickly into subscribers AND sales.
We’ve seen a 10% conversion rate into sales from our forum traffic. (tracked using Adtrackz Gold)
Average conversion rate for a sales letter is 2%. Forums got us 10% because this is some of the most targeted traffic you can get.
It just doesn’t get any better than that.
Old-School is still ROCKIN!

9. Blogger Outreach.

I’ve saved the best for last :)
If you have a valuable piece of content that you want shared around
the blogosphere, the very best thing you can do is to contact 100-200
related bloggers.
You can find related bloggers using sites like:
Technorati.com
WeFollow.com
Twellow.com
FindPeopleOnPlus.com
CircleCount.com
AllTop.com
Topsy.com
FanPageList.com

Create a list of 100 influencers within your market.
You can do this within Excel or using a more sophisticated program
like BuzzStream or GroupHigh.
After you’ve built your list you’ll need to send a personalized
message to each blogger.
This works out even better if you’ve included a link to their website
in the article itself.
Here’s a sample email…
Subject Line: I Love Pat Flynn! (and your latest podcast :)
Hey Pat!
Just wanted to send you a quick note to let you know
how much I enjoyed your latest podcast with Neil Patel.
ROCKIN!
Shared it on Facebook and encouraged all of my readers
to listen in as well.
Also wanted to let you know I’ve included SmartPassiveIncome.com
in our latest blog post at:
http://mytrafficmentor.com/23-steps-to-100000-visitors/
Would love to know what you think.
Thanks so much for all that you do!

Cheers,
American Atheist

Five FREE Ways to Advance Your Publishing Project.

August 2010
Five FREE Ways to Advance Your Publishing Project
Hi authonomists!
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	Get in the Know Access a wealth of free publishing resources, including articles, web seminars, blogs and video tutorials.
	Start Publishing! Use CreateSpace's free do-it-yourself tools to publish and sell your book across a broad distribution network. Simply upload your book files, select your sales channels, and start selling!

To get started, create a free CreateSpace account today.

Ten errors in the bible.

1. The genealogy of Christ. Matthew 1 and Luke 3 give two very different genealogies for Joseph, Mary's husband. In fact, even Luke admits that he isn't sure that Joseph was actually Jesus' father (Luke 3:23, NIV). You would think that someone who was directly inspired by god would know what he's writing.
2. Scientific errors. I find it suspect that those who take the Bible literally as a scientific text for the larger, cosmological arguments can simply ignore the number of small scientific mistakes the Bible makes. For example, rabbits don't chew their cud and the bat is not a bird. Those are only two. For more scientific and mathematical mistakes in the Bible, click here.
3. The story of Jesus' death and resurrection. Were Jesus' last words “Father, unto thy hands I commend my spirit,” “"It is finished,” or “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me” followed by a loud cry? Did the rooster crow once or twice? How did Judas die—by suicide or fall?
4. God or Gods? In Hebrew, Genesis 1 mentions “Elohim” created the heavens and the earth. Elohim is plural (the rationalization of this is really extraordinary), and Genesis states that God said “Let us make men in our image.” Also, in Jewish literature, Asherah is the female counterpart to Yahweh, though the Bible condemns worshiping her. Nevertheless, she appears in the same Jewish literature the Old Testament is drawn from, but is completely ignored in Christianity.
5. Faith or works or belief? Ephesians 2:8-9 says that salvation is not of works, “lest any man should boast.” James 2:24 says man is justified by works and “not by faith alone.” Most justify it by saying it is both, but Paul is very clear that salvation is not of works, and even gives a reason why. Then, to add confusion to the mix, verses such as Acts 16:31 claim that belief alone is sufficient salvation. Not only that, but your entire household will be saved just by one person believing. Other verses show various conglomerations of the three.
6. Where is Jesus? In Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus is quoted as saying that he would return before the end of that generation. There are some interesting theories as to why he has not yet returned, the most common being that there is a gap or a figurative generation, however, it is obvious that the writer's of the text thought he meant that physical generation. I find it hard to believe that a theologian 2,000 years later can better figure out what Jesus meant than the people who were actually there. Some people think it is a mistranslation, and that Jesus actually meant “race,” not “generation.” This probably makes the most sense, but still is dubious and does not explain much.
7. Freewill or not? There is almost no greater theological debate bigger than the idea of Calvinism vs. Arminianism, or freewill vs. predestination. Do we humans have any choice whether to believe in God or not? Though most Christians acknowledge the differing viewpoints, somehow the fact that the issue is confusing because the Bible is so contradictory on the subject escapes many.
8. Does God ever change? Ezekiel 24:14: "I  the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD." (KJV) But God changed his mind about destroying or punishing people several times in the Bible, most notably in Genesis 18:23-33. The Bible also directly contradicts Ezekial 24:14 in Genesis 6:6: “And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.”
9. Are God's laws good? Many verses seem to suggest that God is, indeed good. There are too many to list. But the Bible also says "Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live; And I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that openeth the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am the LORD." Ezekial 20:25-26.
10. Should we judge? 1 Corinthians 2:15 says "The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment,” but 1 Corinthians 4:5 says "Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."

For many Christians, these errors are minor, simply explained away, or ignored on faith, and they don't take away from the overall message of the Bible. One site even claims that the Bible can have no errors, but it does have "difficulties." Not everything in the above list can fit into the categories the writer lists to explain away the contradictions, though. Also, an entire book written to explain religion should at least explain it. It's true that many contradictions aren't “serious,” but whether or not we have any choice in whether or not we believe and how to obtain salvation (faith or works or belief?) are two very important, even critical issues. If the Bible is clear on anything, it should be how to obtain salvation. I've heard it explained that the stories and writings sometimes contradict in small matters merely because the writers have different perspectives, but for those that rely on the Bible as a science and historical book, or believe that every word was directly inspired by God, these errors present more of a problem. Remember, too, that these errors and contradictions are just the tip of the iceberg. There are many more that are inferred, such as using pi to find a numerical error, etc. Add to that debates over other aspects of Biblical correctness such as who actually wrote what book of the Bible, translation errors, application problems, etc, and it becomes a dubious prospect to believe that every word in it is true, and completely ludicrous to believe it is error-free.

Sources: Infidels.org and Laura Talley Little Rock Atheism Examiner

The Minch who Forced Christmas

Posted by grimachu on 13/10/2011

Every Bright down in Bright-ville liked the winter season…

But the Minch, who lived just North of Bright-ville, demanded “A REASON!”

The Minch hated secular wintertime fun!
Now, please don’t ask why. No one knows, he’s a bum.
It could be that his brain wasn’t screwed in just right.
It could be, perhaps that his pants were too tight.
But I think that the most likely reason for his libel
May have been down to his love for the bible.

But, whatever the reason,
His bible or pants,
He stood there in winter, hating the Brights,
Staring down from his pulpet with a sour, Minchy frown
At all the damn heathens, below in their town.
For he knew every Bright down in Bright-ville beneath
Was busy now cooking their wintertime feast.

“And they’re wrapping their presents!” He snarled with a sneer.
“Tommorow is CHRISTmas! It’s practically here!”
Then he growled, with his minch fingers nervously strumming,
“I must find a way to force CHRISTmas upon ‘em!”
For, tomorrow he knew…

…All the Bright girls and boys
Would wake up BRIGHT and early. They’d rush for their presents!
And then! Oh, lord Mammon! The one RESENTS! RESENTS! RESENTS!

Them the Brights, young and old, would sit down to a lunch.
And they’d lunch And they’d lunch!
And they’d LUNCH! LUNCH! LUNCH! LUNCH!
They would start on Chinese and rare curried-beast
Which was something the Munch couldn’t stomach the least!

And THEN
They would do something he liked least of all.
Not one Bright in Bright-ville, the big or the small,
Would offer a prayer or visit the church.
They’d waddle to the TV with an unsteady lurch!

They’d sit! And they’d sit!
And they’d SIT! SIT! SIT! SIT!
And the more the Minch thought of their ungodling sitting.
The more the Minch though, “I must force their god-getting!”
“Why for a couple of years I’ve put up with it now!”
“I must club them with Jesus!”
“But – goddamnit – HOW?”

Then he got an idea!
An awful idea!
The Minch
Got a wonderful, awful idea!

“I know just what to do!” The Minch laughed in his throat.
And he made a quick cross and a Jesus Christ cloak.
And he gloated and chortled, “What a great Minchy trick!”
“With this I can give ‘em the saviour schtick!”

“All I need is an angel…”
The Minch looked around.
But since angels aren’t real, there was none to be found.
Did that stop the old Minch…?”
No! The Minch simply said,
“If I can’t find an angel, I’ll make one instead!”
So he made up some nonsense about people with wings
And if anyone questioned, he beat them with things.

THEN

He loaded some boxes
And old shopping bags
On a ramshackle cross
Which to Bright-ville he dragged.

Then the Minch said “Huzzah!”
And he dragged the cross down
Toward the homes where the Brights
Lay asleep in their town.

All their windows were black. Icy chill filled the air.
All the Brights were all dreaming of a future most fair.
Then he came to the first house, there, in the square.
“This is stop number one,” The old Minch-Jesus grumbled
And he smashed down the door “PRAISE THE LORD!” His voice rumbled.

Then he smashed all their toys and their pagan display.
For trees are from Satan, or so he would say.
His cross stuck in the door, for a moment or three,
Then he dragged it inside, in place of the tree.
“Repent sinners! He cried as he ruined their day
With a smile on his face, the godless would pay.

Then he strutted and shouted with a gurn most revolting
When the family came down he was very insulting
“Dawkins and Dennett and Sam Harros too!”
“You’re going to HELL there’s no mercy for you!”
And leaving them confused, their holiday wrecked
He pressed bibles upon them, then outside he schlepped.

He trudged to the next house, a scientist’s place!
He burned all his textbooks and spat in his face.
“Don’t you know?” He said “There’s been revolution!”
“Behe has proven there’s NO EVOLUTION!”

Then he ripped down decorations and shit on their feast.
“S’not me.” He declared. “It’s GOD with the beef!”

And the Minch grabbed a pagan and punched them quite rough
When he heard a small sound, sounding out like a cough.
He turned around quick and he saw a small Bright.
Little Righty-Right Bright, who was always quite right.

The Minch had been cornered by this little Bright daughter
Who’d heard all the noise and had assumed a slaughter.
She stared at the Minch and said, “Who are you?”
“Because Jesus is myth AND not a wanker like you!”

But, you know, that old Minch was a stubborn fanatic
He gathered himself for he never would panic.
“Why, my sweet little girl…” And he gave a quotation
That stemmed from the bible – his only fixation.
That said unto her, in no uncertain terms
That you must honour god or in hell you will burn.

And his lies scared the child, then he smacked her small head
And left her unconcious for Catholics to bed.
And while Righty-Right suffered at the hands of the priests
He had no guilty conscience, not one bit in the least!

Then the last thing he did
Was, he warned of hell fire
Then out he went, the callous old liar
In their house left nothing, but murderous ire.

And the one thing he left
When he ravished the house
Was a scripture fallacious and the spit from his mouth.

Then he did the same thing to the other Bright’s houses.

Leaving drool and invective, from angers he rouses.

It was quarter past nine
All the Brights out of bed
All the Brights not a snoozing
As the Minch-bastard fled.
He’d smashed all their presents and burned all their books
Insulted philosophers, called scientists crooks!

Four-thousand feet up! Up the side of Mount Todd
“Now they’ll have no choice left but turning to god!”
“They’re finding out just how little it means”
“Without god in their lives how mean it must seem!”
“They’ll be wailing and gnashing and turning to the Lord!”
“They’ll be crying and sobbing and out of their gourd!”

“That a triumph” Grinned the Minch,
“To which I must lend an ear.”
So he paused and he quietened, the better to hear.
And he did hear a sound, and so he bit his knuckle.
It wasn’t a sob or a moan… but a chuckle.

This sound wasn’t pained,
His head gave a nod
Could it be that they were not…
Crying out to his god?

He glared down at Bright-ville
And his face turned quite red
The people weren’t moaning
To church they’d not fled!

Every Bright down in Bright-ville, the big and the small,
Were rolling their eyes, were they pained, not at all!
He hadn’t forced Christmas, turned them to the Lord
They were laughing, AT HIM, he was quite appalled!

And the Minch, with his Minch hands, rimed with the frost.
Stood puzzling and worrying, did they not know the cost?
“I brought wrath upon them, I worked to deceive”
“But still good-god’s grace they will not recieve!”
And he stood there three hours, while his heart sank much lower
Could it be they were right, was he stupid or just slower?
“Maybe winter…” He thought “Doesn’t depend on Jesus.”
“Maybe it’s just a time to warm up from the freezes.”

And what happened then…?
Well, in Bright-ville they say
That the Minch’s small brain
Grew 6 IQ points that day!
And the minute his brain had lit up oh-so bright
He didn’t believe, in a FLASH of insight!

He whizzed back to down with the cash from his church
Found those he’d wronged – it wasn’t much of a search
And he bought them new presents, new trees, decorations
And joined in with their secular year-celebrations
Then he raised up his glass and he cried, with good cheer

“There’s no reason for the season, it just IS…
Thats clear?”

Bad Reasons to Believe in God: Empty Threats

Posted by grimachu on 29/10/2011

Let us suppose, hypothetically, in our imaginations, just for a moment or two that I were to come to you and to tell you the following:

“If you don’t give me a hundred dollars, Bigfoot will track you down and kick you in the nuts.”

How would you react to such a threat?

It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? Only fools think Bigfoot is real. There’s no good evidence for Bigfoot, just some dodgy film of some chap in an ape suit running around and some vague nonsense about footprints and hair. It’s really not very convincing is it?

You wouldn’t give me the money, would you? It wouldn’t even cross your mind for a second, you wouldn’t be scared. You wouldn’t make even so minor a change in your life as to be out $100 once off on such a threat. Good for you!

So, my question, then is this.

Why, the merry fuck, do you think I’d find the threat of hell remotely convincing?

Want to make money selling Kick Ass T-Shirts?

Of course you do. Here are a few examples of the shirts you can sell and profit from.

Or you can just click here to get in on the action!

Feel free to check the website out. They are always adding new offensively marvelous T-Shirt's. And don't forget that if you have a blog or website, you can refer others and make money that way too.

Good Luck

American Atheist!

Jim Jefferies at His Best!

Christianity and Sin, an Atheist responds.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ydTypARJqI]

I was so close to reading this sucker.
Too late now. I am curious what chapter has Jesus riding the dinosaurs and the recipe
to make wine from water. No one tell me what happens with Stephen King's Gunslinger Series,
those books are next.

Top 10 Best Free Blog Hosting Providers

1. Blogger – This is one of the more popular widely used blog hosts. Litterally millions of users !! They are free , offer heavy customization as well as themes. Just google the term “Blogger templates” and you’ll see what I’m talking about. Almost forgot to mention that they have street cred to since they are part of Google!
   
   
2. Xanga - This is another popular online blog host which caters to a younger audience such as late teens. It is not as customizable as blogger which may not be such a bad thing if you want to write something quick and easy without worrying about re-arranging this and that.
   
   
3. LiveJournal - This is another great quality blog host that does not charge you a penny. I have personally used it and liked it a lot but it is similar to Xanga that it is not 100% customizable but in my opinion is a notch above Xanga.
   
   
4. Wordpress – Wordpress is the the mecca of blogging origins. If you go on their site and look on the bottom, you can see well known media company names that depend upon wordpress like the New York Times or Yahoo. The great thing about wordpress is that it allows you to host and customize virutally anything. Any first time users will really want to create an account with them to get things rolling.
   
   
5. Tumblr – Now I have not used Tumblr so I would be lying to say that I have first experience. But from what I have noticed most recently is that a lot of great websites out there use the Tumblr platform for blogging. It also looks to be quite as versatile as Wordpress. Check it out!
   
   
6. Weebly - Next up is a website / blog-host called Weebly. It is not well known but it does look promising as it offers free blog hosting and other tools to support you with.
   
   
7. Blog.com – Such an original name , and blunt to the point. I like that , don’t you ? At least it doesn’t sound like a weedwacker compared to the others. This website also follows the suit in offering free webhosting as well as support to help you create your own blog. Setting up an account doesn’t take too long either. So take advantage now !
   
   
8. Thoughts – At the eighth spot I listed Thoughts as another blogging hosting provider. I haven’t checked it out too much. This is definatly great for those of you who want something a little less mainstream.
   
   
9. Experience-Projects – Here is another provider for a person to start blogging away.
   
   
10. Free-Blog-It – Seems to be another promising website to lend bloggers a helping hand.

Inbox Dollars. Make money just by reading E-Mails.

>

Newbies Guide to Ebay

Welcome to eBay and Tons of Income Opportunities!

If you've ever read an article about eBay, you will have seen the kinds of incomes
people make - it isn't unusual to hear of people making thousands of dollars per
month on eBay.

Next time you're on eBay, take a look at how many PowerSellers there are: you'll
find quite a few. Now consider that every single one of one of them must be
making at least $1,000 per month, as that's eBay's requirement for becoming a
PowerSeller.

• Silver PowerSellers make at least $3,000 each month,
• Gold PowerSellers make more than $10,000,
• Platinum Powersellers make more than $25,000, and
• Titanium PowerSellers make at least a whopping $150,000 in sales every
month!

The fact that these people exist gives you come idea of the income possibilities
here. Most of them never set out to even set up a business on eBay - they simply
started selling a few things, and then kept going. There are plenty of people
whose full-time job is selling things on eBay, and some of them have been doing
it for years now.

Can you imagine that? Once they've bought the stock, everything else is pretty
much pure profit for these people - they don't need to pay for any business
premises, staff, or anything else. There are multi-million pound businesses
making less in actual profit than eBay PowerSellers do.

Even if you don't want to quit your job and really go for it, you can still use eBay
to make a significant second income. You can pack up orders during the week and
take them down to the post office for delivery each Saturday. There are few other
things you could be doing with your spare time that have anywhere near that kind
of earning potential.

What's more, eBay doesn't care who you are, where you live, or what you look
like: some PowerSellers are very old, or very young. Some live out in the middle
of nowhere where selling on eBay is one of the few alternatives to farming or
being very poor. eBay tears down the barriers to earning that the real world
constantly puts up. There's no job interview and no commuting involved - if you
can post things, you can do it.

Put it this way: if you know where to get something reasonably cheaply that you
could sell, then you can sell it on eBay - and since you can always get discounts
for bulk at wholesale, that's not exactly difficult. Buy a job lot of something indemand
cheaply, sell it on eBay, and you're making money already, with no setup
costs.

If you want to dip your toe in the water before you commit to actually buying
anything, then you can just sell things that you've got lying around in the house.
Search through that cupboard of stuff you never use, and you'll probably find
you've got a few hundred dollars' worth of stuff lying around in there! This is the
power of eBay: there is always someone who wants what you're selling, whatever
it might be, and since they've come looking for you, you don't even need to do
anything to get them to buy it.

So you want to get started on eBay? Well, that's great! There are only a few little
things you need to learn to get started. Read on!

What You Need to Know Before Getting Started

So you've decided that you want to get started as a seller on eBay. There are a few
things that you really need to know before you go and throw yourself in at the
deep end.

What to Sell:
First off, you need to know what it is you're going to sell: what's your speciality?
You'll do far better on eBay if you become a great source for certain kind of
products, as people who are interested in those products will come back to you
again and again. You won't get any loyalty or real reputation if you just sell
rubbish at random.

When you think about what to sell, there are a few things to consider. The most
important of these is to always sell what you know. If you try to sell something
that you just don't know anything about then you'll never write a good
description and sell it for a good price.

You might think you're not especially interested in anything, but if you think
about what kind of things you usually buy and which websites you go to most
often, I'm sure you'll discover some kind of interest. If all else fails mention it to
your friends and family: they'll almost certainly say "Oh, well why don't you
sell…" and you'll slap your forehead.

Out of the things you know enough about, you should then consider which things
you could actually get for a good enough price to resell, and how suitable they
would be for posting. If you can think of something of that you're knowledgeable
about and it's small and light enough for postage to be relatively cheap, then
that's great!

Don't worry if you think the thing you're selling is too obscure - it isn't. There's a
market for almost everything on eBay, even things that wouldn't sell once in a
year if you stocked them in a shop. You'll probably do even better if you fill a
niche than if you sell something common.

Tax and Legal Matters
If you earn enough money, you should be aware that you're going to have to start
paying tax - this won't be done for you. If you decide to sell on eBay on a full-time
basis, you should probably register as a business.

Prepare Yourself
There are going to be ups and downs when you sell on eBay. Don't pack it in if
something goes a little wrong in your first few sales: the sellers who are successful
on eBay are the ones who enjoy it, and stick at it whatever happens.

Anyone can sell on eBay, if they believe in themselves - and if you do decide it's
not for you, then the start-up costs are so low that you won't really have lost
anything.

If you're ready to start selling, then the next thing you need to know is the
different auction types, so you can decide which ones you will use to sell your
items.

5 Easy Steps to Posting Your First eBay Auction
It's surprisingly simple to get started posting your very first auction on eBay.
Here's what you need to do.

Step 1: Open an eBay seller's account.
If you've bought things on eBay, then you already have an account - just log in
with it and click 'Sell' in the toolbar at the top of the page, then click 'Create a
seller's account'. If you've never used eBay before, then you'll need to open an
account first using the 'register' link underneath the toolbar, and then click 'Sell'
and 'Create a seller's account'. The eBay site will then guide you through the
process. For security, this may involve giving card details and bank information.

Step 2: Decide what to sell.
For your first little experiment with eBay, it doesn't really matter what you sell.
Take a look around the room you're in - I'm sure there's something in there that
you're not all that attached to and could put in the post. Small books and CDs are
ideal first items.

Step 3: Submit your item.
Click 'Sell', and you're on your way to listing your item.
The first thing you need to do is choose a category - it's best to just type in what
the item is and let eBay choose for you. Next, write a title and description.
Include key words you think people will search for in the title box, and all the
information you have about the item in the description box.
Now set a starting price. $0.01 is the best starting price, as it draws people in to
bid who otherwise wouldn't, and items will almost never finish at such a low
price. The next thing to set is the duration of the auction: 3, 5, 7 or 10 days. This
is up to you: longer sales will usually get more bids, but will also seem to drag on
forever. If you've taken a picture, add it now - items with pictures always sell for
more. Finally, tick the payment methods you will accept (just PayPal is best for
now), and where you will post to (limit yourself to your own country to begin
with). Submit and you're done!

Step 4: Wait for it to sell.
This is just a matter of sitting back and letting eBay do its thing - buyers will find
your item and leave bids on it. Some bidders might email you with questions
about the item, and you should do your best to answer these questions as quickly
as you can.
** Remember that if your item doesn't sell then you can list it again for free. **

Step 5: Collect payment and post it.
eBay will sent your buyer emails guiding them through the process of sending you
payment for the item. Make sure you have the money before you send anything.
Once you've got the payment, all you need to do is pack the item for posting
(make sure to use some bubble wrap), take the buyer's address from the
confirmation email eBay sent you, and write it on the parcel. Put some stamps on,
post it, and you're done!

An eBay Seller's Checklist
Being a seller is a lot of responsibility, and sometimes you might feel like you're
not doing everything you should be. This simple checklist will help you keep on
top of things.

Have you found out everything you possibly could about your items? Try typing
their names into a search engine - you might find out something you didn't know.
If someone else is selling the same thing as you, then always try to provide more
information about it than they do.

Do you monitor the competition? Always keep an eye on how much other items
the same as or similar to yours are selling, and what prices they're being offered
at. There's usually little point in starting a fixed price auction for $100 when
someone else is selling the item for $90.

Have you got pictures of the items? It's worth taking the time to photograph your
items, especially if you have a digital camera. If you get serious about eBay but
don't have a camera, then you will probably want to invest in one at some point.

Are you emailing your sellers? It's worth sending a brief email when transactions
go through: something like a simple "Thank you for buying my item, please let
me know when you have sent the payment". Follow this up with "Thanks for your
payment, I have posted your [item name] today". You will be surprised how many
problems you will avoid just by communicating this way.

Also, are you checking your emails? Remember that potential buyers can send
you email about anything at any time, and not answering these emails will just
make them go somewhere else instead of buying from you.

Do your item description pages have everything that buyers need to know? If
you're planning to offer international delivery, then it's good to make a list of the
charges to different counties and display it on each auction. If you have any
special terms and conditions (for example, if you will give a refund on any item as
long as it hasn't been opened), then you should make sure these are displayed
too.

Have you been wrapping your items correctly? Your wrapping should be
professional for the best impression: use appropriately sized envelopes or parcels,
wrap the item in bubble wrap to stop it from getting damaged, and print labels
instead of hand-writing addresses. Oh, and always use first class post - don't be
cheap.

Do you follow up? It is worth sending out an email a few days after you post an
item, saying "Is everything alright with your purchase? I hope you received it and
it was as you expected." This might sound like giving the customer an
opportunity to complain, but you should be trying to help your customers, not
take their money and run.

Being a really good eBay seller, more than anything else, is about providing
genuinely good and honest customer service. That's the only foolproof way to
protect your reputation.

What's Your eBay Reputation Really Worth?
Your eBay reputation is everything you are on eBay - without it, you're nothing.
Your reputation is worth as much as every sale you will ever make.

If you've ever bought anything on eBay (and the chances are you have), then
think about your own behavior. Buying from a seller with a low feedback rating
makes you feel a little nervous and insecure, while buying from a PowerSeller
with their reputation in the thousands doesn't require any thought or fear - it
feels just like buying from a shop.

A Bad Reputation Will Lose You Sales.
In fact, a bad reputation will lose you almost all your sales. If someone leaves you
negative feedback, you will feel the pain straight away, as that rating will go right
at the top of your user page for everyone to see. Who's going to want to do
business with you when they've just read that you "took a month to deliver the
item", or that you had "bad communication and sent a damaged item"? The
answer is no-one.

Your next few items will need to be very cheap things, just to push that negative
down the page. You might have to spend days or even weeks selling cheap stuff to
get enough positive feedback to make anyone deal with you again.

It's even worse if you consistently let buyers leave negative feedback - once you
get below 90% positive ratings, you might as well be invisible.

You Can't Just Open a New Account.
Besides eBay's rules about only having one account, there are far more downsides
than that to getting a new account. You literally have to start all over again from
scratch.

You won't be able to use all the different eBay features. Your existing customers
won't be able to find you any more. Your auctions will finish at a lower price
because of your low feedback rating. Opening a new account is like moving to a
new town to get away from a few people who are spreading rumors about you: it's
throwing out the baby with the bathwater.

A Good Reputation Will Get You Sales.
When a PowerSeller tells me something, I tend to believe them. They can be
selling a pretty unlikely item, but if they guarantee it is what they say it is, then I
trust them - they're not going to risk their reputation, after all. This is the power
of a reputation: people know you want to keep it, and they know you'll go to
almost any lengths to do so.

This is true even to the point that I would sooner buy something for $20 from a
seller I know I can trust than for $15 from someone with average feedback. It's
worth the extra money to feel like the seller knows what they're doing, has all
their systems in place and will get me the item quickly and efficiently.

10 Steps to Successful Selling on eBay
So you want to be a successful seller with your own eBay business, do you? Here's
a simple, ten-step path to eBay enlightenment.

Step 1: Identify your market.
Take a while to sit and watch for what sells and what doesn't out of the items
you're interested in. Any market research data you can collect will be very useful
to you later on. You'll probably see the 'sweet spots' quite quickly - those one or
two items that always seem to sell for a good price.
Step 2: Watch the competition.
Before you invest any money, see what the other sellers in your category are up
to, and what their strategies are. Pay special attention to any flaws their auctions
might have, because this is where you can move in and beat them at their own
game.
Step 3: Find a product.
Get hold of a supplier for whatever it is you want to sell, and see what the best
rates you can get are - don't be afraid to ring round quite a few to get the best
deal. If the eBay prices you've seen are higher than the supplier's, then you're set.
Step 4: Start small.
Don't throw thousands at your idea straight away - get started slowly, see what
works and what doesn't, and learn as you go. Remember that it's very cheap to try
out even the craziest ideas on eBay, and who knows, they might just work!
Step 5: Test and repeat.
Keep trying different strategies until you find something that works, and then
don't be ashamed to keep doing it, again and again. The chances are that you've
just found a good niche.
Step 6: Work out a business plan.
A business plan doesn't need to be anything formal, just a few pages that outline
the market opportunity you've spotted, your strategy, strengths and weaknesses
of the plan and a brief budget. This is more for you than it is for anyone else.
Step 7: Invest and expand.
This is the time to throw money at the problem. Buy inventory, and start
spending more time on your business. Set a goal number of sales each week,
increasing it each time.
Step 8: Make it official.
Once you've made a few thousand dollars worth of sales, you should really
register yourself as a business. Don't worry, it's not expensive or hard to do - a
lawyer is the best person to help you through the process.
Step 9: Automate.
You'll probably find that you're writing the same things again and again in emails
or item descriptions. This is the time to give up on the manual method and turn
to automated software that can create listings for you, and respond to completed
auctions and payments with whatever message you provide.
Step 10: Never give up.
Even when it looks like it's all going wrong, don't stop trying until you succeed. If
you keep working at it then you'll almost always find that you make a real
breakthrough just when things are starting to look desperate.

Once you get into the swing of things, you might start thinking that you should
quit your job and take up eBay selling part time. But it's not always as easy as that
- there are all sorts of factors that you need to consider. The next email will weigh
up the case for and against taking up eBay full-time.

How to Think Like an eBay PowerSeller

As explained earlier in this guide, PowerSellers are the people on eBay who've
made it, recognizable by the little 'PowerSeller' badge next to their name. You've
probably seen these people around - and to succeed on eBay, you want to think
the way they do.

How to People Get the Right to Call Themselves PowerSellers?

eBay gets to decide who can be a PowerSeller and who can't, and they have strict
requirements. To get in at the minimum PowerSeller level, you must have a
feedback rating of at least 100 (minimum 98% positive) and sell at least $1,000
worth of items every month for three months in a row. There are different levels
of PowerSeller membership as you sell items of greater value: $1,000 total is
bronze, $3,000 is silver, $10,000 is gold, $25,000 is platinum and $125,000 is
titanium.

If PowerSellers ever fail to meet the required amount of sales, or their feedback
falls below 98% positive, then they lose their PowerSeller status. In short, the
only people who get to be PowerSellers on eBay are the people who have been
successful for a good while, and are on track to stay that way.

The Shop and the Marketplace

This is the most important part of understanding how PowerSellers think. They
don't see what they're doing as being some random bazaar, or a hobby - instead,
they see themselves as a business.

Put it like this. If you run a stall in a marketplace, the chances are that you have a
general area of business, but you mostly just sell whatever you can get your hands
on that week. If your dodgy buddy got his hands of a job lot of something at a
discount, then that's what you'll be selling. This might be fun - and when you
have a good week, you'll have a really good week - but it's no way to run a real
business in the long-term.

PowerSellers think far more like shops. They sell the same things again and
again, every week - regular stock for regular customers. They do 'boring' business
things like keep inventories and budgets. They know what they're going to be
selling, how much they buy it for and how much they expect to sell for. Just like a
real shop, there can be hard times sometimes, but their income is stable and their
business can grow slowly.

The best advice I can give you on thinking like a PowerSeller is this:
don't take long-term risks for short-term gain. Look after your reputation,
manage your selling properly, provide good customer service and the rewards will
come to you in due course. And you'll get a little badge next to your name that
makes people trust you more!

One possibility that you might have realised so far is what eBay can do for any
other businesses you might have. Remember, millions of people visit eBay every
day - why keep everything separate when you're starting to tap into that kind of
power?

Choosing the Right eBay Product Category

Some people think it's easy to choose the right eBay category, and often it is.
Sometimes, though, it might not be quite clear exactly what to go for.
Why is it Even Important?

Plenty of people use the category system to find items, when they're not looking
for something specific. If your item is listed in the wrong category - or you've just
given up and listed it in 'Everything Else' - then these people aren't going to find
your auction.

Also, listing items in the wrong categories is against eBay's rules, and eBay say
they will remove any auctions that are wrongly categorised. They don't often
actually do this, but it's not worth the risk - especially since breaking any rules
can cause them to penalise your account, including losing PowerSeller status if
you have it.

So What Can You Do?

eBay will suggest categories for you when you sell your item, if you type in a few
words to describe the item on the category selection page and click 'search'. You
can make the best of this feature by typing in exactly what your item is, with
brand name and model number (if any), so that eBay can find the best category
for you.

If that doesn't work for you, then search yourself for items like yours, and pay
attention to which category most of them seem to be in (you can see this near the
top of each item's description page). Try different words and see which ones come
back with the most results. You can also browse through all the available
categories from eBay's front page.

Remember that the more specific the category is, the better - use as many
subcategories as are appropriate. Don't just list your HP laptop in the
'Computers' category, for example - list it in 'Computers & Laptops & HP'. Don't
worry: your item will still appear in the 'Computers' category, as well as
'Computers & Laptops', because items listed in subcategories are always listed in
every category above.

Take some time to look through all the categories and get familiar with the way
eBay as a whole is laid out. After all, that's better than getting a few months down
the line and finding that you still think of eBay's category system like it's some
kind of scary jungle.

What if More Than One Category Fits?

Don't worry, eBay have you covered. For a small extra fee, you can list your item
in an extra category, to increase the number of potential buyers who will see it.
This isn't always worth it, though - some items only really fit properly in one
category, and listing them in extra categories is just a waste.

Once you know where to list your item, the next step is to write your auction's
title. The title is the most important thing about your auction - the difference
between a good title and a bad title can be the difference between $10 and $100.
To learn why this is the case…

Tips on Writing Your eBay Title

Trying to be help your buyers find your auctions can be a truly daunting task.
Most people only search eBay by title, not by description, and that means that
you only have those 55 characters of the title to cover all the possible search
terms. That's not easy. In this email, I'll give you a few pointers.

Don't bother with eBay clichés: There are plenty of eBay auction titles that
say things like "Super rare camera wow look low price". These are stupid things
to put in your title, as no-one is going to search for them.

Think like a buyer: If you were looking for your item, then what exactly would
you type into that box? If you think it'd help, try searching yourself to find
someone else selling your item. What were the first things you thought of typing?

Think like other sellers: Keep an eye on which sellers are doing best with
items like yours, and try to copy their title styles - if it works for them, it can work
for you.

Be specific: You should be sure to write the item's brand and specific model
number in the title, as people will often search only for this information. Make
sure that you also say exactly what the item is.

A few examples:
"Dell Latitude Laptop P3 500mhz Notebook PC Computer"
If you know about computers, you'll know instantly what this auction is selling. It
has manufacturer (Dell) and product line (Latitude), followed by a few technical
specifications (P3 500mhz is the processor speed). Notice also that the title
includes the four words 'laptop', 'notebook', 'PC' and 'computer', as the seller
wants people looking for any of those words to see his auction.

"OASIS Don't Believe the Truth CD Album (New)"
This auction for a CD is well formatted: it gives the artist name in capital letters,
followed by the album name. It then manages to include the two key words 'CD'
and 'album', as well as the word 'new' - that means that anyone searching for 'new
oasis cd', 'oasis new album' and so on will find this auction.

"1840 Penny Black stamp, certificate, four margins"
Here's a slightly more obscure one, from the exciting world of stamp collecting. A
penny black is one of the oldest and most famous stamps. It uses a few key words
that collectors will consider important: 'four margins' indicates that the stamp
has been cut out with some margins around it and so isn't damaged, and
'certificate' tells you that the item has a certificate of authenticity - it's a real
penny black. Remember to use every bit of space to squeeze in as much important
information as you can in the title.

So now that you've written a winning title, you need to start on a great
description.

eBay Description Writing Tips

Once you've drawn the buyers in with your title, the next thing to do is to tell
them all about your item with the description. But just what should you write in
your description?

At its heart, your item description is an ad. Without making it too obvious, you
should be writing sales copy. You're trying to get buyers excited about your
products, and that's usually hard - but on eBay, if you have the right thing to sell
and give enough details, the buyers almost excite themselves.
Technical Details

Include every technical detail you know, including the item's manufacturer, its
condition, how big it is, where and when it was made, its history, and anything
else special about it. Don't be too boring, though: the best descriptions are
written in friendly, conversational language, and show a real knowledge of the
item. Whatever you do, make sure you tell the truth!

Remember that most of the people who'll be buying your item will be just as
knowledgeable about it as you are, if not more - this is their hobby, and they're
experts. Don't feel like you need to explain the basics of the item: just go into as
much technical detail as you can. As a rule, don't write anything in the
description if you don't know what it means, as the chances are someone will, and
if you've got it slightly wrong then you'll look like you don't know what you're
talking about.

Interesting Details

You might find that you enjoy writing a few things about how you got the item,
why you're selling it, and who you think might like it. This isn't strictly necessary,
but it gives your auctions some character and a personal touch, and can make
people more likely to trust you. People might wonder what you're doing selling
500 CDs all at once, and if you tell them the reason, then they'll feel reassured
that nothing dodgy is going on. If you're selling them because you're having a
baby and you need the space, just say so.

Write as Much as You Can

Leave nothing out of your description, even if that seems to you like it makes it
cumbersomely long. There is no way you can be too thorough: someone,
somewhere will appreciate that you took the time to write the extra information.
Don't assume that anyone who wants extra information will email you to ask a
question: many buyers are shy and won't do it. Think of questions that buyers
might have and add the answers to your description, as people generally tend to
ask the same questions over and over again.

Each time a buyer does email you with a question, you should both answer their
question and update your description so that it will include the answer next time.
If people ask questions that are answered in the description, try putting these
parts of the auction on a line alone, or in bold, to make them easier to notice.

10 Tips for Increasing Your eBay Response

So you've got the buyer in front of your auction, and they've read the description.
They're must be interested, or they wouldn't be looking… but just how can you
push them over that line and make them leave a bid? Read on for some tips.
Improve your picture: In all that description writing, you might have missed
the vital importance of your item's picture. A picture with bad lighting or an
intrusive background looks amateurish and won't make anyone want to buy from
you.

Add an About Me page: You'll be surprised how much you can reassure
bidders just by creating an About Me page and putting a little bit about yourself
on your business on there. You can also have a few special offers there for people
who bother to look at the page, and let people subscribe to your mailing list so
that you can email them updates.

Use SquareTrade: Signing up at SquareTrade and displaying their logo on your
auctions shows that you are committed to have them resolve any disputes that
arise. You always see this on PowerSellers auctions - it makes you look more
professional.

Write terms and conditions: Have the 'small print' clearly visible on all your
auctions, giving details of things like shipping times and prices, your refund
policy, and any other business practices you might have. This helps build
confidence with buyers.

Show off your feedback: Copy and paste a selection of the feedback comments
you're most proud of to each item's description page, instead of making bidders
go and look for it. If you have 100% positive feedback, be sure to write that on
every auction too.

Add NR to your titles: If you have extra space in a title, put 'NR' (no reserve)
on the end. Bidders prefer auctions that don't have a reserve price, and doing this
lets them see that yours don't.

Benefits not features: Make sure your description focuses on the benefits that
your item can give to the customer, not just its features. This is a classic sales
technique. If you have trouble with this, remember: 'cheap' is a feature, 'save
money' is a benefit.

List more items: If you want more people to respond to your items, then list
more items! You might find you have better like listing items at the same time,
instead of one-by-one. There's no need to use a Dutch auction - you can just keep
two or three auctions going at once for an item you have more than one of in
stock.

Accept unusual payment methods: To reach those last few buyers, accept
payment methods that many sellers don't, like checks.

Buy some upgrades: The best upgrade is the most expensive one, which makes
your item appear first in search results. In crowded categories, you might find
that this is worth the money.

Once you've got some buyers, you want to keep them coming back to you!
As this guide draws to a near end, we’ll conclude this awesome roller coaster
guide to eBay selling with a list of often-used terms and jargons in one of the
world’s highly trafficked auction site!

All the best and have fun! To becoming the next PowerSeller!

The eBay Glossary

Bid: telling eBay's system the maximum price you are prepared to pay for
an item.

Dutch: an auction where more than one of an item is available.
Feedback: positive or negative comments left about other users on eBay.
Mint: in perfect condition.

Non-paying bidder: a bidder who wins an auction but does not then go
on to buy the item.

PayPal: an electronic payment method accepted by most sellers.
Rare: used and abused on eBay, now entirely meaningless.

Reserve: the minimum price the seller will accept for the item.

Shill bid: a fake bid placed by a seller trying to drive up their auction's
price.

Snail Mail: the post, which is obviously very slow compared to email.
Sniping: bidding at the last second to win the item before anyone else can
outbid you.