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Google Advanced Search

Google advanced search is one of the most helpful tools I use. In case you're not familiar with it, it allows you a very easy way to find content that you know is on a particular site, but you just don't know where it is.

There are probably a lot of other uses for Google Advanced Search, but the one I just told you about is the way I used it most.

You can access the advanced search tool in a couple ways:

It could be that there is a link to it on your Google home page. If there isn't, you can use this link:

Google Advanced Search

Below is what the top part of the page looks like. You can see I'm doing a search for a blog post that I wrote a long time ago, one where I implemented a 4 hour work day as an experiment (workday, not work week!).

See, I typed 4 hour work day in the field for "this exact word or phrase". You can click the image to see a bigger version; there are instructions next to each field on what to put in it.

Then, in the lower half of the advanced search page you specify where Google is supposed to search. I use the domain URL field most of the time, because I know what website the content is on, but I just don't know where the content is.

Then, you click the "Advanced Search" button et voila, there is the page that I'm looking for:

 

This little trick is definitely not hard, as you can see! It's just a very simple way to get more specific searches done when you need them. I use this for work all the time, and it's a time saver.

The Search For A Cute Laptop Carrying Case

This week I finally caved in an bought a new laptop. My other laptop was very large (17 inch), and it was a pain to take it places because it was so heavy.

So, this time I got a smaller 14 inch one that is just under 5 pounds. I love it!

It's so much more portable, and because I imagine myself taking it all over the place including when I travel, I have been looking for a stylish laptop carrying case.

So far, no luck. The ones that are cute are rather expensive. (I found some adorable ones on Etsy.com.) There are other cute ones that are less expensive, but they are just sleeves and don't have the carrying strap.

The more I got into this search, the more complicated this simple task started to become. I found this option, the Laptop Weekender, which is like a small suitcase that has special compartments for all your electronics, including a laptop, plus a few days worth of clothing.

This would be great if you travel often:

            

If I took a lot of short trips, I would definitely look into the Weekender.

What I'm really looking for though is something that is more versatile (smaller). I was also hoping for something cuter.

After looking at some adorable laptop bags at Etsy.com, I thought "Hey, why can't I make my own laptop carrying case, like they did?"

So, that's where I am now--looking for a tutorial on how to make your own laptop carrying case. This is the one I've settle on:

DIY Laptop Bag

Cute, huh?  I like the design. It looks more like a purse than a utilitarian laptop carrying case.

I know just the fabric to use--I am one of those people who collects fabric. I see a beautiful fabric and I get it not knowing what I'm going to make with it. So, I end up having fabric on hand that I can just use when the need arises.

In the process of doing research, I also found this ingenius idea--making your own laptop carrying case out of a hoodie:

 

Cute idea to do in an emergency, but I don't know that I'd feel comfortable carrying my laptop around in a hoodie on a regular basis. :)

I know it could be a lot easier if I just went to Walmart and picked out one there, but I like to sew and I like to make my own stuff.

Sometimes this works great--I recently made an heirloom cut chenille baby blanket for my sister's baby, and it was amazing.

Other times it doesn't pay off--one time I tried to make my own iPod holder, and it was a fiasco. I ended up just buying one.

We'll see how this goes... If it turns out well I'll post photos of how I made the laptop bag.

 

How To Market A Book Online: Step 6, Virtual Book Tour

A virtual book tour is a very cool idea. Instead of traveling from bookstore to bookstore in your area or across the country, you make things "virtual" by visiting different communities on different websites and doing live webinars. 

Here are some of the forms a virtual book tour may take:

• Guest posting on people's blogs. These would be blogs that you have researched to have readerships that might be interested in your book. 
• Doing interviews with bloggers and then the interview is posted on their blog. 
• Doing a live webinar (as mentioned above). This is like doing a seminar on the web where people can see you and hear your voice. 
• Doing a free online class, either over a conference call or via a webinar. The idea is that people will be drawn to the free class because of the value that you offer. That also sets you up perfectly to make sales for your product. (It's sort of like when Home Depot does those free classes for home improvement projects, and then you end up buying your supplies from their store!)
• Being interviewed on people's podcasts and videos.