Author’s program note. Have you ever been to South Boston’s St. Patrick’s Day parade? It is at the best of times a pitiable thing, ramshackle, disorganized, still smelling of the mother load that Billy O’Sullivan barfed on Monseigneur Murray last year as he bent down to bless the laddie, age 38 and unemployed.

No one was particularly surprised, including the Monseigneur who always knew the O’Sullivans were a bad lot… but they are County Clare Irish, their father a reliable campaign worker (his record five votes in a single day), and (it’s important to inform you) didn’t tell the world what happened when the twins were apple-cheeked altar boys at St. Matt’s…

That’s a comfort to his eminence, although his lawyers told him to pony up $60,000 for each of them because he loved them not wisely but too well. Hallelujah. And, yes, they’ll be marching in the parade, wearing their new store-bought duds. They even chipped in for something for Billy since the ones he wore last year are encrusted with dull green puke and stink to high Heaven.

Ordinarily no one would mention it but, as I said, they’re from the County Clare O’Sullivans who have standards to maintain. They’ll be a gay sight to see, and their poor mother (who’s still paying for the bail money) will be so proud to hear them break into uneven song just for her…

She hopes it won’t be “I’ll take you home again, Kathleen/ Across the ocean wild and wide… The roses all have left your cheek/ I’ve watched them fade away and die”. (Thank God, she’s just got time for a concealing facial. Trixie is such a treasure. She’s always so good at removing the dead skin cells… at least most of them. Such a pity she’s cross-eyed and misses a patch or two. Still what a bargain at just $25… though she says her price will double if she ever gets her license. No fear of that. She’s 70 now if she’s a day.)

Such a serenade it will be. It’s sad most of the boys singing are missing their front teeth, a combination of hockey pucks gone astray and punches from the O’Malley’s. In truth they shouldn’t have called their cousin Fiona a whore, though if the truth be told… Still, the Christian way is to say nothing and hope that Father Pat can give her some good solid advice before this baby ends up in the Home for Little Wanderers like her last one. Who finally admitted paternity in that case anyway?

Oh, yes, now I remember. That would be Jimmy Hennessey, who set the record for most AWOL days in the USMC. It was said, but never proved, that he had girls in every port. He told me right on this very porch he always kept the lights out when he had visitors of the female persuasion so they couldn’t see all his tattoos and figure out where they stood in the pecking order.

The first one saying “Rosita” was the biggest and as he added the girlies he cut the size. I shouldn’t tell you where the most recent was engraved… he said he could only fess up if he had another brew or two… I gave him the bottles of course, not to see mind, but only out of courtesy. I looked… then I had to look away. It was D-I-S-G-U-S-T-I-N-G.He told me he’d be marching in the parade… then laughed and showed me his tattered underwear. “I’m charging 50 cents per view.” He would. (OMG how I love my neighborhood and all the good people within it… they make our parade the best ever and everywhere).

Old French Proverb, hence unknown in the Emerald Isle. The old guard obstructs, blocks, embarrasses, dies. But it never thinks and never surrenders. Theirs is the most foolish consistency of the littlest minds.

For over 20 years now the people of Southie have done everything they could to keep the wrong sort of people as far away from them and their civic endeavors as possible. They wanted a parade that showcased their adamant (Roman Catholic) family values, their local and vocal celebration and veneration of St. Patrick, Patron Saint of Ireland, and the evacuation of the British fleet and army from Boston in 1776.

These disparate factors come together once every year to create a humdinger of an event… bigger and better every single year. And still pure as the driven snow. No perverts, if you catch my meaning. Of course my little signs have helped a lot, “No perverts need apply!” I’ve dished out at least 100 but only to my lace-curtained friends and neighbors. They cost good money after all.

Brother Thomas Dalton’s true colors.

This year the forces of Sodom and Gomorrah made a concerted attack on the parade. Since last year at this time they had gained a very significant supporter in his newly elected honor Mayor Martin Walsh. Walsh is as Irish as they get but he knows that perverts walk nowadays in every city’s parade but two, and he wants New York to be the last one standing, habit-ed in shame and prejudice. Thus, he made a major effort to get them a place and bury the problem.

For an instant, but only for an instant, his round-the-clock endeavors paid off. The parade organizers at The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, with their personal pit bull John J. “Wacko” Hurley in the vanguard, agreed to let gays and lesbians march, so long as they wore no identification, no badges, no tell-tale insignia. It was insulting, of course, discriminatory, and demeaning. No body liked this compromise which may have been the surest indicator that it was the best that could be achieved just now.

Unfortunately the bigot brigade, which never slept during these tumultuous negotiations, immediately sent in one of their dimmest bulbs, Bro’. Thomas Dalton, Principal of the Immaculate Heart of Mary school in Harvard, Massachusetts. He pulled the school’s marching band out of the parade saying he couldn’t allow his petted darlings within a country mile of anyone “condoning the homosexual lifestyle.” Thus, with a whiff of the Inquisition this uneducated educator made his unenlightened opinion known… and the agreement fell apart, disgust and finger- pointing from every side.

Was that completely unacceptable outcome absolutely necessary? Certainly not! As an internationally known management consultant, I offer a better way, a thinking-outside-the-box way, a way that will solve this pesky problem… with the extra advantage that it leaves Manhattan and its biased practices in the trash. Delicious.

Dr. Lant’s idea for solving this problem now.

We have all wasted enough ink on this situation. Let’s solve it now, people.

“Wacko” Hurley and company would prefer no homosexuals walking the parade route. But given enough mayoral arm twisting, they would probably re-accept the deal they originally offered and then withdrew.

Gay rights organizations understandably want total equality, absolutely no hint of condescension and moral disapproval. Political realities being what they are, they’ll have to hold their noses and take the original offer with as much grace as possible… always remembering that this grand presentation I’m here recommending ensures maximum worldwide publicity and an eye-opening response from the recalcitrant and mulish organizers.

Hurley says no badges or insignias or political statements of any kind. No problem. Thus, position a bevy of frilly drag queens at the front, two holding a big sign saying “Oh, Danny boy.”

Six examples of pulchritudinous beefcake should follow, dressed in green jock straps, broad green ribbons, and leprechaun hats with pointed ears. Nothing else except for “Erin Go Bragh” artfully engraved in bright green on the right buttock. These boys, tap dancing, will from time to time open like shamrocks at sunrise… only to reveal this scenario.

Billy O’Sullivan naked as the day he was born kneeling before a picture of Brad Pitt singing the ultimate Irish lyric…

“And I’ll be here in sunshine or in shadow”/Oh, Danny boy… I love you so!” Given what Billy’s packin’, it’s easy to see why… and there won’t be a dry eye in the house, which is just as it should be.

Envoi.

“Danny Boy” is one of the most famous and affecting songs in the world. It is a ballad written by English songwriter Frederic Weatherly (1913). It is usually set to the Irish tune of the “Londonderry Air.” It was recorded in 1915 by the celebrated vocalist Ernestine Schumann-Heink who gave its simple words their soaring majesty. Go now to any search engine and find the version you prefer from so many notable alternatives.

Since its release people have argued about its meaning. Is it a parent singing for a child off to the Great War with its sickening casualty lists? Or is it about another leaving the profound beauty of Ireland, so easy to admire and break your heart? What matter? It is a song of love, however given, wherever needed. As such one man should indeed sing it to another whenever his love is ardent and true, whether he be straight, gay, or anything else.

The revival of vinyl has not only allowed me to enjoy hearing some modern bands on record, but it has also given me the chance to revisit some of the albums I had not heard in several decades. Some of these I had overlooked in my youth, only to now find the appealing in middle age.

One example is a release by Gary Wright, who reached as high as number two on the singles chart back in the mid seventies. The album is Dream Weaver , which spawned singles like "Love Is Alive" and the title track.

While I had heard those two tracks occasionally on the local oldies station, several other tunes stuck me when I spun it on the record player recently. I was particularly impressed by a song called "Can not Find the Judge."

The song, a bluesy endeavor unlike most of the synthesized based album, is unusual in its context. It is the pleading of a man to find the judge who sent his woman to prison.

Almost she had committed a violent crime somehow in defense of the man singing the song. Before the time of that song, and really even since, the man has been the one who commits a violent crime.

Songs about men committing crimes are too many to list, so I began to consider those by guys who commit crimes but have not yet been done. Here is a list of ten such tunes about men on the run from the law.

"Indiana Wants Me" by R. Dean Taylor

The sirens and the police bullhorn at the fade out lets everyone know that the fugitive is finally caught after having committed a crime to somehow defend his lover.

"Renegade" by Styx

It did not take guitarist Tommy Shaw long to carve his niche in the band, scoring this Pieces of Eight mega-hit on just his second LP with them.

"Do not Take Me Alive" by Steely Dan

The wanted man here, a bookkeeper's son armed with a case of dynamite, is surrounded in this track from The Royal Scam .

"Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi or Warren Zevon

Bon Jovi charted much better with this title, but Zevon's acoustic track fits perfectly on his solid but poorly-promoted Wanted Dead or Alive album.

"Gimme Some Water" by Eddie Money

The fugitive in this tune shut a man on the Mexican border, a crime for which he is hung when finally caught at the end.

"Bad Man's Blunder" by the Kingston Trio

The folk trio somehow managed to make a light-hearted song out of a tale about a man shooting a deputy just for the fun of it.

"John Wesley Harding" by Bob Dylan

This title track about a Robin Hood of the Old West helps set the tone for the entire folksy album that followed up Blonde on Blonde .

"Pretty Boy Floyd" by Woody Guthrie

Likely, Dylan got the idea for his tune after this tale from his idol, who sang about another bandit who stop from the rich to give to the poor.

"Take the Money and Run" by the Steve Miller Band

This story about Billie Joe and Bobbi Sue narrates how the couple go on the run after he shot a man while robbing his castle.

"I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley or Eric Clapton

The reggae legend penned this classic, but it was Slow Hand who turned it into a Top Ten single.

Kilts are associated with Scottish and Irish heritage and have a long tradition as a part of Celtic culture. For Irish and Scottish gents, kilts can be a way to show off pride for their nationalities, and that leads to an important question–is it offensive for non-Scots to wear a kilt?

Unfortunately, there is no single answer. To determine whether it’s a good idea or not, consider the following:

– The Kilt Style.

The plaid patterns of tartan kilts are often associated with heraldry. Scottish and Irish families often have a tartan pattern that is considered to be theirs. If someone from one of those families were to see you wearing their tartan, they may take offense, especially if you’re a stranger and not a Scot or Irishman at all. It is also generally considered to be poor taste to wear a Scottish or Irish military kilt if you are not a service member or veteran or to wear an organization’s tartan if you are not a member. If you want to steer clear of tartans entirely, there are still many other types of kilts that you can choose from. Contemporary, utility and hybrid kilts are all great choices for guys who aren’t Scots.

– The Occasion.

If you’re at a highland games, a Celtic or Scottish festival or a wedding where the gentlemen will be wearing kilts, you can easily sport a kilt without offending anyone; however, if you’re attending a Halloween party or a fancy dress party, someone who is Scottish might find a kilt worn as a costume to be offensive and disrespectful of their heritage. Wearing a kilt everyday for work or to a club will typically not be construed as offensive.

– The Context.

Even though you are unlikely to offend anyone by wearing a kilt that isn’t associated with heraldry, military service or an organization, how you behave in a kilt could be offensive, and not just to Scots. Make sure that you remember to keep your legs closed when you’re wearing a kilt and to be modest. That rule applies to Scots, too!

– How You Wear It.

Another important thing to consider when you’re planning to wear a kilt and you’re not a Scot is the fit. A kilt that doesn’t fit well and is too short and tight or too baggy or sloppy might look like you are mocking Scotsmen. That’s why it’s best to choose a kilt that fits well. Better yet, have a kilt made especially to your specifications, so that you’re guaranteed you will look your best in it.

You just got your new Kindle and have loaded it up with e-books and audio books. After playing a while you decide to make a few phone calls. When you come back, you find your Kindle screen is frozen! Unresponsive. The Next Page and Previous Page buttons don’t work. The (Aaa) doesn’t “wake it up.” Nothing seems to bring your Kindle back to life. That old-school screen saver just stares back at you.

First of all – don’t panic. As with any other electronic device, the Kindle occasionally has a few hiccups. There are a few things you can do to get your Kindle running again good as new.

1. Plug-in your charger. Sometimes the Kindle battery can get run-down enough so that it will “freeze.” Plugging the charger in and giving your Kindle battery some much needed power often will un-freeze the screen.

2. If that doesn’t work, try what is called a “soft reset.” To do a soft reset on your Kindle press the , , and keys simultaneously. Your Kindle screen should go blank or dark and then slowly come back to life.

3. When doing a soft reset doesn’t work, you will occasionally have to do a “hard reset.” To do a hard reset –

– Make sure your Kindle’s battery is charged (about an hour of charging time should do it)

– Remove the charger cord from your Kindle

– Open the back of your Kindle

– Locate the small hole under the word “Reset”

– Open a small paper clip

– Insert the paper clip end into the hole and press GENTLY for about 10 seconds

– Your Kindle screen should go blank (or black) and then the Kindle should re-start

4. When a hard reset doesn’t work you can try to remove and replace the battery in your Kindle. This is a bit more complex but not too difficult –

– Turn your Kindle off

– Remove the charger cord from your Kindle

– Open the back of your Kindle

– Locate the gray battery, and the finger-notch for removing the battery

– Gently press the battery toward the back of its compartment, then lift the battery out

– Locate the connector that attaches the battery to the Kindle

– GENTLY pull the battery connector out of the Kindle

– With the battery out of the Kindle turn it on for about 5 seconds

– Replace the battery and close the back cover of your Kindle

– Turn the Kindle on

If your Kindle is still “frozen” after completing the steps above, your next move is to contact the Amazon Kindle support team. Go to your Amazon account page – select “Manage my Kindle” and contact the support team from there. You can find the link at the top of the “Manage my Kindle” page on the far right side.

There is a good chance, however, that the steps above will get your Kindle un-frozen and by now you’ll be back enjoying your favorite e-book or audio book.

Congratulations! You’ve now learned how to do a soft and hard reset on your Amazon Kindle wireless reading device.

Dependence on technology might have lowered our ability to recall anniversaries or birthdays but often our mobile gadgets come handy at the time of setting reminders. Forgetting or missing out on someone’s birthday can be overcome if you are using an iPhone or a Mac.

If you own an iPhone 4S or 5 then it becomes easy to set reminders for birthday. Additionally, if your iPhone is already loaded with widgets and reminders then you may find buzzing off annoying reminders that keep reminding you about various alerts including, Facebook alerts and messages from your friend network. All this is easily manageable with your iOS device including setting important birthday alerts. You can even make settings to turn off unnecessary reminders that are no longer needed like that of random business contacts or birthday parties that you would rather like to give a miss. Whatever be your reason here are a few tips that will help you manage your birthday alerts on your iPhone.

Before we get started upon how the birthday reminders work and how to manage them you first need to ensure that you have the birthday details in your Contacts App. You can set an automatic birthday reminder by tweaking your calendar settings or turn off the reminder as per your convenience.

Apply the following steps for setting a Birthday reminder:

• Initially you need to launch the Calendar app on your iPhone by tapping on the Calendars located at the right side upper corner of your iPhone screen.

• Scroll down to the Calendars menu and locate Birthdays under Other.

• If you are looking forward to enable the option for birthday reminders on your iPhone then you need to ensure that your Birthdays calendar is check marked or is already a selected option. This will fetch you birthday reminders and send you alert message whenever a birthday is coming up.

• If you do not want to get any birthday alerts then simply tap Birthdays to unselect the option. Now you will not receive any reminders.

• If you want to connect your iPhone to Facebook then, Settings>Facebook> enter user name and password and then select the Birthdays option. This way you will be reminded of any arriving Birthdays occurring amongst your Facebook friends. Similarly, to turn off the feature you just need to unselect the Birthdays option.

• To make settings on your iPhone you need to go to Settings> Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars section> Calendars>Default Alert Times. This will reveal three options, Events, Birthdays and All-Day Events.

• Tap to select Birthdays and choose a time to remind you for an upcoming birthday. This time can be two days earlier, same day, a day earlier or a week earlier. If you do not want to set an alert for birthday then you can choose the none option.

• You can also pick a style to suit your birthday reminder alert. For example, you can choose from the given options of banners or pre-defined alerts for Calendar or Birthday reminders.

Now that you are already aware of the calendar and birthday synching options on your iPhone let us take a look at other tips that may come handy for your Mac. Let us move on to another section where you will learn about iCal and iCloud synchronizing option on your Mac to enable reminders and birthday alerts.

Some Tips for Mac Users

In addition to the tips given above you can also make other settings that include synchronizing option related to iCal for your Mac via iCloud. One thing that you need to keep in mind is that iCal has inbuilt settings for sending automatic alerts for birthdays on your Mac. For iCal synchronizing apply the following steps:

• Launch iCal on your Mac> iCal Menu>Preferences> Alerts

• Go to the pull down menu and then choose the option from Calendar Accounts that contain options like Google, Yahoo, iCloud, etc. choose iCloud option

• Now you need to choose settings for receiving automatic alerts for Birthdays by selecting Birthdays

Following the above-mentioned tips will help you set birthday reminders on your iPhone and Mac.

Citizen journalism is all about people collecting, reporting, analyzing and disseminating news and information especially on the social media.

This is not my definition, but that of Wikipedia.

As we all know, our world is now a global village. Therefore, we all are reporters or citizen journalists using online platforms to tell the entire world what is happening around us.

Trained journalists now rely on the social media and citizen reporters to get tips on what is happening around the world.

These tips are downloaded and then processed in accordance with the journalism ethics and then sold back to the same members of the public.

But, the truth is that hard copies of newspapers and magazines are not selling much these days. Online media platforms, blogs, forums, directories and the social media have taken over. This is good for humanity.

A citizen journalist can make a living from collecting and passing on of information, photos, tips and events for established newspapers, magazines, websites, blogs and forums for publication. This may or may be free.

But, the value of a citizen reporter helping to spread the news, good, bad or ugly will have impart on our world.

This is because lots and lots of people out there benefit one way or the other from the conventional or the social media.

These persons could be researchers, security experts, housewives, business people, bankers, journalists, lecturer, online marketers, motivational speakers, sportsmen and women, etc.

We all need the right information at any point in time to make informed opinion and decisions. And it is the media that will help us here.

Since trained journalists cannot be everywhere at the same time, the contributions of citizen reporters to informing, educating and entertaining members of the public becomes very handy.

But, the social media is not regulated for now. Therefore, some information posted on the social media are not processed. This is where our world leaders should come in.

Apart from the monetary benefits, citizen reporters will also experience a sense of fulfillment when they know that their contributions are helping to shape the world in order to make it a better place. This is immortal and goes beyond money.

I feel deep down that with time, the social media will fall in line and be able to regulate itself.

To a citizen reporter, there are many jobs out there for you and there are no limits to how much money you could make passing on tips, information and photos to established media outfits, websites, blogs and forums for possible publications.

Mastering different deep throat techniques will certainly get you on your way to some sexy deep throat love. And with the instruction you can create an incredibly erotic visual and a heightened sense of pleasure on the underside of your partners shaft.

But if you’ve only ever seen images of a woman’s throat expanding and contracting as a penis bulges in and out. Then it’s only natural to be thinking, what’s really in this for me other than a strong throat constitution and avoiding the taste of semen?

Whilst it’s definitely not for all women, if you love to be in control, have a sense for adventure and already thoroughly enjoy giving head, chances are with the right techniques you might just get a kick out of performing it.

Starting out, deep throat love can appear a daunting task but if you want to learn to deep throat you must first acknowledge that it’s a process that is practiced in stages. You’re not going to achieve the results either of you desire with you closing your eyes and hoping for the best and him being over eager, thrusting away with you choking on the other end. No one wants deep throat choke, so take the time to learn the proper deep throat techniques that will make performing it a lot easier to swallow.

Stage 1 – Positioning

Your correct positioning is one of the most important techniques, especially when starting out. The best way to learn is with him lying on his back with you on your side dictating when and how far you can comfortably go. Only when you have become totally accustomed to the sensation of deep throat and can control your body’s natural reflexes, should you consider trying a more submissive position such as lying on your back with your head hanging off the back of the bed. (irrumatio)

Stage 2 – Lubrication

There will definitely be no deep throat love if your mouth and throat are totally dry. So it’s very important to acquire the right deep throat techniques to ensure your mouth is well lubricated in assisting his penis sliding in to your throat. Regular sucking can tend to dry your mouth out after a while but if you press his penis as far back in to your mouth as you possibly can and hold it there for a few seconds, the back of your throat will begin to lubricate with thick saliva. Continue to do this a few times. Suck then hold, take a breath, then suck and hold again. This is known as the deep throat suck and with persistence, gradually your mouth will become a super slippery, deep throat friendly environment.

Stage 3 – Open Wide

It goes without saying that in order to perform any sort of sexy deep throat you are going to have to open your mouth really wide, but there is even a savvy deep throat technique for this. You may have noticed during fellatio the back of your throat prevents the penis from going any further. In order to get passed this, the trick to successful deep throat is opening your mouth wide enough (like a yawn) and titling your head back far enough to allow the penis to slip into your throat. This is easier said than done and will take some practice. Essentially you will need to try to create one long straight line between your mouth and throat. If you don’t get this straight line with your head tilted back, his penis will get stuck at the back of your mouth and won’t be able to move down your throat.

Stage 4 – Prepare For The Gag Reflex

Once you have practiced the head tilt, you should now be ready to take him in your mouth. As he enters, a good technique is to flatten the back of your tongue to help the muscles in your throat open.

At this point you should also prepare for the gag reflex. Unfortunately, there is no avoiding this, so when it occurs, try to be calm, pause, and hold him there as long as possible. Gagging is uncomfortable and can take a while to get used to but if you can repeat this step as many times as you can, eventually you should be able to suppress this feeling and gradually be able to take him in further. A good trick to help with this is to also try breathing out while taking him in to help stop the gagging reflex.

Stage 5 – Persistence

When you take it upon yourself to learn to deep throat, you must be prepared to be persistent. So when you get to the point where his penis hits the beginning of your throat it will be normal to feel a little resistance. In this case, you will need to flatten your tongue to open the back of your throat and create the flat straight line again. A little push from your partner is another deep throat technique that can help, as long as you’re aware it’s coming. You can also try to pull his penis in further using your tongue as a lever, to draw it in then push it back out. With a little persistence you should be able to take his penis in deeper to the point where you can take the entire length of it over your tongue and down in to your deep, deep throat.

When you have gotten this far just remember you don’t need to hold him in your throat for too long. Good deep throat techniques include practicing comfortably bringing him in and then letting him out, giving yourself a break when you need it. Deep throat does not have to mean leaving his penis in your throat.

Stage 6 – Breathing

No one wants a deep throat choke so always remember to breathe! It may sound obvious but it’s actually very easy to get lost in the process and tighten up as a result of a large foreign object pushing into your throat. It’s important to relax and take your time and learn to maintain a normal breathing level.

Stage 7 – Practice

Perfecting these techniques will take practice and perseverance. Follow the stages slowly and at your own pace to help you progress to where you can comfortably and confidently move on to the next stage. With practice your movements will become smoother and faster.

On a final note, if you get through all the stages you will want to know if he his planning or hoping to ejaculate down your throat. Some women do not like the taste of semen and deep throating gets around this. However having a man ejaculate directly down your throat in a restrictive position may be confronting and not desirable to some women. It is not absolutely necessary for you to have to deep throat swallow so discuss your partners intentions beforehand to ensure good, mutual happy deep throating!

Seven top tips for your next trade shows or exhibitions

We know that many of the products we sell will be used as promotional giveaways at trade shows, conferences and exhibitions. Through this we have learnt a few things that will help you market your brand at these events.

We’ve got a mixture of advice and potential promotional products.

Here are seven top tips:

1. If the customer is going to say no to you, make sure “no” the answer you want to hear. Instead of asking if they would like some free promotional products, ask them “have you seen our free merchandise”. It’s far more difficult to say no to somebody when a simple “no thanks” will get the job done.

2. Make one of your handouts pre-charged power banks. These make a fantastic promotional product in their own right, but the added practicality of being pre-charged, your printed product has gone from being a useful item to have in the future to being a lifesaver there and then.

It may take a bit of time charging the power banks before the event but it will be worth it. Your company’s message and logo will be on the product which saved the day.

3. On the topic of taking time before the event, social media is a great tool to use to promote your brand. Making sure your customers and clients know you’re at an event is important, but equally important is the need to use social media during the event.

It’s often said that content is king and this is the case here. Use Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook during the event. Take pictures, engage with other companies who are at the event too. Create content will you are promoting your brand. At these events your digital communications can be as important as chatting face to face.

4. Pre-loaded USB sticks, memory sticks or flash drives can be a great way to promote your brand at trade shows. Memory sticks are practical products which are used frequently in all areas of industry. Such as the pre-loaded power banks, the USB flash drives make an excellent promotional product in their own right, however, why not load your companies contact details on or host a PDF version of your catalogue on there?

Your customers and clients can then browse a digital version of your catalogue at their own pace. They are also free to delete it and use the memory stick for its intended purpose. Your printed branding will still be loud and clear to see.

5. Get something in return for your promotional merchandise. Whether you’re giving away mugs, pens or pre-loaded flash drives and pre-charged power banks, try and make sure you get something in return for your products.

It doesn’t have to be a like for like swap. Ask for an email address, a follow or a like on social media or even a business card. These events are just as much about branching out and creating small leads for the future than selling your product on the spot.

6. Promotional bags can be a memorable product at any trade show. Branded bags, whether drawstring, jute or backpacks can be a great way to market your brand. However, these products do come with a slight issue. Promotional bags are consistently a top selling promotional merchandise item in the UK so it’s likely other stalls and tables are going to be giving bags away.

The plus side is that these products are practical, long lasting and have an excellent print area for your brand to take advantage of.

7. The final point echoes a comment from legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi. “When you get in the endzone, act like you’ve been there before.” Lombardi may have been talking about not over celebrating after scoring a touchdown but at trade shows the sentiment is the same.

If a potential customer seems interested in your product and what you have to say, whether or not you have, act like you’ve been there before. Sell your product in a friendly and confident way.

Trade shows and exhibitions can be a great way to promote your brand if you approach it with an open minded and positive way.

For more information and tips, head to EverythingBranded’s blog site.

Shipping containers are essentially intended to convey payloads of a few tons, over every one of the oceans and seas of each mainland, without consuming or misshaping, but they can be used for the shape of shipping containers homes too. They are all worked to exact and accurate estimates with the goal that they can without much of a stretch be stacked onto different trucks, ships, and preparations furthermore bolt into opportune place so they do not move during traveling. These containers are composed in a one of a kind bringing together way, secure and climate verification to anticipate robbery and break-ins.

Shipping Container Homes Paybacks

Notwithstanding, for quite a while, shipping containers have been for better lodging in better places and circumstances. One of the benefits of utilizing container homes is that they are anything but difficult to migrate. As opposed to other home structures, you do not have to destroy your container to make it for transportation; you just need to lift it and move it to an ideal spot with the guide of other hardware and gear. Case in point, containers have been utilized for workplaces and capacity sheds on different development and mining locales since they are effortlessly transported. They are specifically intended to be moved and lifted by forklifts and cranes. In many spots, they can likewise be utilized as primary stores because of the level of security they offer. Mining and development organizations regularly regularly profit by utilizing shipping container homes as better lodging for their workers at the locales. They rush to introduce in where as all you need is to set up the ground and that is all.

This sort of homes can likewise be utilized as a part of spots with cruel climate conditions. For example, casualties of tropical storms affected areas can utilize shipping container homes as option speedy homes. This is on the grounds that they are effectively accessible and snappy to familiarizeize just anyplace. The low income families can likewise profit by these homes as they are moderately reasonable. Nowadays, there are a ton of extra lines of container homes. Some of them are utilized for different shops and stores. It is a true reality that in verging on each city and town around the globe, you would be astounded to discover distinct shops and eateries work from these containers. They offer better security and lodging for touchy things.

The unassuming containers speak to the colossal insufficiency in the development business for a drawn out stretch of time. As other development materials are getting to be scarcer these days, container homes would be a superior lodging arrangement. They are simply instant locking modules that anticipate disclosure and use. They are more sturdy and strong, and all the more vitally conservative building pieces when contrasted with custom and other current styles of lodging. At the point when a container is determined to a strong and extremely solid establishment, it can likewise make due in regions that are for the most part influenced by avalanches and tremors.

Basically, shipping container homes can give a secure and better lodging for some people. As the populace keeps on developing the world and development materials turning out to be less reachable for current styles of lodging, these containers are the better choice for some. The pattern as thought about different mind blowing plans of these containers to meet different lodging needs.

Drones are being extensively used in the field of photography. It started as a hobby, but recently it has taken a professional turn. A drone is an amazing tool that can help capture breathtaking aerial shots that were unimaginable before. You might have seen stunning aerial shots of landscapes like mountains, rivers, deserts and fields in movies. A helicopter is usually used for filming such images in the movie business and a large crew is present to assist the camera person. However, in real life it is almost impossible to arrange for a helicopter. Even if you have the finances available to you to arrange for a helicopter, you would require a pilot to fly the helicopter so that you can take photos. So, if you want to indulge in aerial photography without having to spend a fortune over it, then drones are your best option.

Drones come in various varieties. You can choose the one most suited to your photography needs quite easily. There are some models that can be bought for less than $100 such as the Blade Nano QX. This model is ideal for beginners and budding photographers who have just started using drones for photography purposes. There is always a possibility that the drone will crash while you are learning to fly it, so it is better to buy a cheaper version first.

Photographers who are well-versed in piloting a drone by themselves can opt to buy more advanced drones that have the capability of carrying a larger camera. Some of the most popular models of drones that are currently being used for commercial photography include the DJI Phantom series. If you are confident about your drone flying skills then you can even go for the Iris by 3D Robotics. These drones may cost you around $800, but they are worth the cost. The quality of photos that you get from these drones is amazing.

There are other drones that come with an attached Go Pro camera such as DJI Phantom 2 but the cost is double of what you will pay for the ones mentioned above. Do keep in mind that better the camera you have on your drone, the higher the quality of pictures and videos you will be able to shoot.

The camera is the most important piece of equipment when you are interested in clicking great shots with the help of your drone. A crucial factor in the selection of the camera is its weight. The best camera in the market at the moment is the GoPro Hero3 Black edition which weighs a mere 73 grams and can give you high quality photos and videos. This camera has built-in Wi-Fi and is compatible with OEM and third party accessories. The accessories that you may want to buy include:

· Transmitter to increase the range of your link.

· Receiver to decrease the noise when you receive the video on the ground.

· Goggles to view the video feeds.

· Anti-gravity motors and specialized remote controls are also a few accessories that will improve your experience with your drone.