1. Talk to your child. The first thing you want to do is sit your child down for a little chat to find out if the poor grades are a fluke or if something more serious is going on. Perhaps he is being bullied by another child, to the point of distraction in class. Maybe the teacher was unfairly hard on him. Or it could be that he is having a totally separate issue like trouble seeing, reading, or focusing. All of these problems can be addressed, but only if you know about them.

2. Talk to teachers. If you’re child seems to hedge when you ask about the cause of his grades or he simply clams up, you may have to talk to his teacher to find out what the problem is. In fact, you should probably do this either way, just to get another perspective on the issue. It may come out that he hasn’t been turning in his homework, or that he’s been playing the class clown. Again, this is something that you can definitely deal with as long as you know it’s occurring.

3. Seek out specialists. In some cases, your child may require the help of a specialist. If, for example, it turns out that he has some kind of learning disability, you should have it diagnosed as early as possible so that he has the best chance to continue learning and performing at grade level (or the opportunity to catch up). In these situations it is best to face the issue head on and deal with it rather than wasting precious time in denial. If you’re worried about a misdiagnosis, simply get multiple opinions.

4. Offer help. Sometimes all your child needs is a little extra help, and often you can provide it by making the time to sit with him while he does his homework so that you can answer questions, offer advice, and check his work when he’s done.

5. Hire a tutor. Home tuition can be expensive, but it can also provide the impetus and extra attention your child needs to get back on track with his academic progress. If his current class work is beyond your ability to aide him, or your lessons just don’t seem to be getting through, then it’s time to bring in outside help. If you don’t want a stranger in your home, though, consider online tutoring services.

Wilson Chandler’s Guangsha Lions are in the midst of a dire losing streak whilst Stephon Marbury’s Beijing Ducks have only recently managed to halt their own malaise. The Xinjiang Tigers, Guangdong’s perennial rival for the CBA title over the last few years, might not even make the playoffs having fired their coach and kicked out their expensively acquired duo of Kenyon Martin and Kyle Mills. Around them, young pretenders like the Shanghai Sharks, Liaoning Jaguars or JR Smith’s Zhejiang Lions are trying to sneak into the postseason and right now, no one is sure who is going to make the knock-out phase of the league.

Trying to understand the style of the league is no less interesting but a little more straightforward. The most obvious thing you realise is that the CBA has no intention of being the NBA and its native players play basketball in a very Chinese way- everyone has their part to play and is expected to execute those expectations accordingly. The guards prowl around the perimeter whilst the bigger players fight it out closer to the rim, looking to bury their jump shots or drop in a layup. The reason why overseas signings are so useful in the CBA is that these players, particularly the North Americans, have been conditioned to think outside the box if the opportunity presents itself.
Of all the overseas players currently in the CBA right now, the most popular is still one of the more established ones on the circuit, Stephon Marbury. Now in his third season in China, the American finally appears to have found his home in Beijing; he takes the metro to practice, runs his shoe company from the city, speaks limited but well intentioned Mandarin and has talked openly about retiring in the CBA. In addition to the way he has endeared himself to the Chinese, Marbury can also put up serious numbers. He recently made a massive triple-double against Xinjiang that consisted of 45 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and the point guard has been arguably one of the best players in the league this year.

Having been aware of the popularity of Marbury, a number of CBA clubs were determined to get themselves a well-known American for the current season and the chaos of the recent NBA lockout came at an ideal time and attendances for league games have been high.

However, a big name doesn’t mean that a player is guaranteed to do well out in China. Whilst Smith leads the league in scoring (33.8ppg), just behind him is the Qingdao Eagles’ Lester Hudson (33.3ppg), a late second round pick in the 2009 NBA draft who bounced around three clubs before being released the following year.

A reliable scorer who can cause match-up problems against Chinese guards, Hudson has gone from being a bench player in the NBA to becoming one of the most recognisable and popular men in Qingdao, a city of 7.8 million people, and though this a nice redemption story, interestingly he isn’t the only one. Shavlik Randolph, Will McDonald and Marcus Williams are other examples of less vaunted players who have shown they can adapt to the Chinese lifestyle and the differences in climate, facilities and refereeing standards within the CBA, and are currently putting up big numbers here.

Whereas someone like Martin couldn’t deal with life in China and bought out his contract after just fifteen games, Hudson has thrived amidst the occasional chaos of the CBA and will probably return next season and justify a contract that will be far higher than one he could get back in America.

From a fan’s perspective, the game experience is equally quaint. Here tickets range from $5-$30 and within these smaller arenas, the noise and intensity of the crowd make it an exciting and reasonably cheap way to waste a weekday evening.

Certain teams have large groups of fans that will fly to games in other parts of the country whilst big cities like Shanghai or Beijing will have enough regional expatriates there that away teams arrive to find pockets of fans already waiting for them in the stands. With China being as large as it is, bragging rights between the different provinces adds spice to proceedings and certain games can become more than just basketball. One game that stands out this season was when the team from Xinjiang, a Turkic-speaking region in Western China, visited Shanghai and for two hours, the arena echoed to banter and heckles being exchanged between the Shanghainse Han populace and the Xinjiang-supporting Uighurs.

Chinese basketball is at the best of times enigmatic, confusing and bizarre. However it is also pulsating drama. For the price of a beer in somewhere like Shanghai, you get whisked into a world where Yao Ming watches close by from his directors box and Stephon Marbury is out on the court in front of you. Basketball isn’t normally this unusual, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing.

Want to see some CBA action? Check out: pptv.com
The league restarts this coming Sunday (Jan 29th) and games are played every Sunday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:30pm, Chinese Standard Time.

1. Make time to talk. Trading pleasantries at the door, the dinner table, and before going to bed hardly qualifies as quality communication (or communication at all, really). You got married to share your life with another person, so instead of letting stress and fatigue get the best of you, make the time to talk to your spouse every day. Talk about anything, from your struggles and successes at work, to an item in the news that caught your interest, to a song you heard on the radio. Staying invested in a relationship requires that you grow together.

2. Be honest, but tactful. Nothing will tank a relationship faster than lies. And it’s just a hop, skip, and jump from telling your partner that an outfit looks great when it doesn’t to fibbing about hitting a strip club or bar when you’re supposed to be working. And while little white lies may seem harmless, the big ones are sure to
wound when they come out (and they will). So tell the truth, but tactfully. Exercising this kind of integrity on the little things will help you to stay on the straight and narrow everywhere else. And you’ll find that honesty brings major rewards (like trust).

3. Say “I love you” and mean it. There’s no reason to hurry this statement. If you can’t say it with meaning, save it until you have time to show your loved one just how you feel. It’s all too easy to take a spouse for granted, but making the effort to be present and mindful when you say this special phrase will remind you (and your partner) of just how much these three little words can mean.

4. Fan the flames. Hey, we’ve all had to face the fact that passion can fizzle in the face of everyday life. But you can rekindle the romance in ways both large and small (a massage here, a romantic dinner there, a star named after your loved one through the international star registry…). There are literally endless ways to spice up your love life.

5. Take a trip. If you’re wondering how to rekindle a marriage, then you’re ahead of most people. And to answer your question, you have to work at it. You must constantly remind yourself why you love this one person (although it shouldn’t be hard to do). And you have to find ways to remind your honey why he/she loves you. On that score, a little vacay is a great way to find some alone time and just enjoy each other’s company. If your first thought is that you have neither the time nor the money, think about how much time (and how little money) you’ll have if your spouse leaves you.

1. Know your limits: A lot of people get depressed because they don’t understand their lives and tend to do too much. The lack of self awareness can lead to depression and other health problems.

2. Ask for help: There is no need to feel ashamed of asking others to help you carry some of your burdens. If you are a mother/father who is constantly juggling life and children, it is nice to ask other to give you a helping hand. Asking your spouse to help instead of expecting him/her to know that you need assistance is a good idea.

3. Exercise regularly: The human body is designed to take care of itself and you can help fight depression and seasonal affective disorder by doing a bit of daily workout. Cleaning the housing is not the same as going for a brisk walk.

4. Search for the Sun: Some people seem to suffer from seasonal affective disorder during winter. If you can afford it, pack your things and move to a location with more sunlight.

5. Eat a balanced diet: Eating is such a great way to fight depression but you need to keep that in check so that you don’t compound your health issues. A balanced diet can lift your spirit and make your feel good about yourself.

6. Losing weight: If you are obese and you constantly get depressed about finding the appropriate clothing to wear. Going on a diet can do your ego a world of good. You will get compliments from others and it will help fight depression.

7. Have good friends: There are times when all you need to get over a depressing situation are, a good cry and someone who is a good listener. That is why a trusted ally will come in handy.

8. Vacation: There are those who never try to get out of their busy routine because they feel there is so much to do. Taking time off to go on vacation is really great to unwind and reset your mind.

9. Keep a diary or a blog: Writing about how you feel can help you fight depression. A blog or a personal diary can do wonders.

10. Stay away from negative people: This is important because they can bring you down.

11. Quite your job: Stepping away from a stressful but well paying job can improve your health.

12. Avoid isolating yourself: Interacting with others will help you focus on other things and not on your sad situation.

13. Don’t blame others: Playing the blaming game will prevent people from being sympathetic to your plight.

14. Avoid imagining the worst that could happen

15. Talk to your doctor: There are times when you need medical attention to fight depression or to beat seasonal affective disorder.

16. Take any medications as prescribed: Just because you feel better doesn’t mean you should stop halfway through your treatment.

17. Get a pet: Taking care of a little cute animal can lift your spirit and improve your sense of self worth.

18. Live for today: There is no need to worry excessively about the future, because often you can’t do much about it.

19. Don’t expect everyone to understand: Depression is a difficult health issue to understand. If you don’t understand fully what you are going through, it will likely be the same for others.

20. Get sufficient sleep: Depression can make you feel mentally drained and getting sufficient rest is essential.

21. Avoid reading imaginary stories (mills and boons): If your depression is related to finding a soul mate, avoid watching romantic movies and reading romantic novels. There is no need to wallow in self pity.

22. Don’t avoid sexual intimacy: If you have a partner, having energetic sex can be quite good for your mental health.

23. Strive to achieve little goals: Don’t put too much on your plate. Pat yourself on the back for the little things you can do.

24. Be realistic about your situation: Giving yourself time to heal and not comparing yourself to others will help deal with depression.

25. Avoid blaming yourself: Depression can be a guilt trip and blaming yourself for past errors will only make things worse.

26. If you are religious, read some Psalms: Reading prayers set to music can be uplifting for those who believe in God.

27. If you are a believer, pray to God: Pouring your heart to God can also have a calming effect and help you cope with depression or seasonal affective disorder.

28. Be positive and believe that things will get better: A lot has to do with the mind and channeling your thoughts on the brighter side of life can be really helpful.

29. Light therapy: If you cannot go away to a nice sunny location, light therapy has been known to produce good results in people who suffer from seasonal affective disorder.

30. Vitamin supplements: Vitamin D can help fight depression but you need to consult with a doctor before going down this road.

Below are our favorites from the past week. Please take a moment to tell us in the comments which one(s) are your favorites. A big thanks and congratulations to all included in this week’s list. If you would like to be considered in next week’s collection, please join our group on flickr and add your best shots!

Please note that all flickr photos link back to the creator/author’s flickr stream. ThirtyMag.com does not take any credit for the photos and wants to make sure the creator/author gets full credit and recognition. Please click an image to see more work from that creator. Thanks!

The biggest danger that many parents fail to foresee is the threat of falling (and falling objects). Curious kids (and those just learning to walk, in particular) are disposed to using any handy object in the environment to pull themselves up and this could lead to objects falling on top of them (either those that they grab or the items the rest atop them). However, there is a relatively easy fix for this. Furniture can be secured to walls or flooring in a variety of ways and heavy items like TVs and other electronics can be held in place with safety straps while smaller articles (lamps, photo frames, etc.) can be affixed with Velcro strips. As for the danger of falling that accompanies a child’s penchant for vertical exploration, simply avoid shelving units on the ground (place shelves higher up) and block off any furnishings (or even entire rooms) that pose a hazard along these lines.

You may also want to consider the contents of your fridge and pantry in regards to the health and safety of your children. Many parents don’t realize the dangers that can lurk in something as seemingly innocuous as food. You’re probably thinking about items that are alcoholic or those that have gone bad, but the truth is that the everyday items you feed your kids could pose a major health risk if you don’t pay attention to dietary needs. With childhood obesity on the rise (nearly 1 in 3 children are currently overweight), affected kids could face ongoing health concerns like diabetes and even heart disease. Luckily, the condition is totally preventable. Ask your pediatrician for nutrition information for your kids (or visit the USDA Food Pyramid website) and make sure to limit unhealthy fats, processed sugars, and foods with lots of additives and preservatives. The food your kids eat should never be a source of danger to their health.

Of course, there are plenty of other hazards to contend with, as well, but many are easy to address. Fire safety requires that you have working smoke alarms and fire extinguishers on hand (check them frequently) and that you arm older kids with a fire escape plan. You should also make sure that potentially poisonous items (household cleaners, medications, and other chemicals) are locked away in high cabinets. And when it comes to electrical outlets, child safety covers are practically a dime a dozen, so there’s no excuse not to use them.

As for the types of home security systems you might employ, there are many options, from locked gates and motion-sensing floodlights to intruder alarms and surveillance cameras. But none of these will pose the same threat to your kids that keeping weapons in the home could, specifically firearms. These weapons should be kept in a secure gun safe, unloaded, to ensure that kids never suffer the ill-effects of an accidental shooting situation.

1. Before seeking out vendors and searching for a venue, brainstorm what you envision for your wedding. Feel free to let your imagination run wild, this is simply a starting point to help guide you in the right direction.

2. Don’t try to manage all the wedding details yourself; enlist the help of your best friend, a family member, or hire a wedding planner.

3. If you do not already know your wedding date, discuss options with your fiancé. Anniversaries of a first meeting, first date, or first kiss are great dates to consider.

4. Once you’ve set a date for your special celebration, it’s time to find wedding invitations. Online retailers like Storkie provide invites to suit any style and that look as if they were made by hand.

5. Search for an invitation design that incorporates your wedding colors or theme and suits your personality as well as your fiancé’s.

6. Send wedding invites out as soon as you possibly can in order to give guests ample time to plan.

7. Keep your meddling monster-in-law-to-be out of your hair by allowing her to help with those tasks you don’t particularly care for. She will love being included and might keep the rest of her unwanted opinions to herself.

8. It may seem like a no-brainer, but be sure to fulfill all local marriage requirements as soon as possible.

9. Choose at least one store to create a wedding registry so that guests will have ideas about what you’d like to receive. Try to keep the wish list practical.

10. Discuss with your fiancé whether or not you will be changing names. You don’t want to end up in an argument right before the wedding due to assumptions about something you’ve never talked about.

11. If you are writing your own vows, do not wait until the week (or day) before your wedding. They should be thought out well in advance and should come from the heart.

12. Keep the season in mind while deciding wedding details. Tropical colors and short, strapless dresses don’t go so well with below freezing temperatures.

13. Choose foods that are not too out of the ordinary. Stick with tried-and-true options that can be enjoyed by all (or at least most).

14. Look over your guest list and see which guests may require special considerations such as a vegetarian or vegan dinner, sugar free dessert, or sparkling cider instead of champagne for the toast. They will appreciate the extra consideration.

15. Chances are there will be at least a few children at your wedding, so be sure to avoid meltdowns by giving them something to do. Let the kids become little photographers, taking photos with disposable cameras. Who knows, maybe your favorite wedding photo will be snapped by your four-year-old niece or nephew.

16. It might seem easier to allow guests choose their own seats and have one less thing for you to worry about. However, that can lead to hurt feelings and certain people placed in unwanted seats. Take the extra time to create a suitable seating chart that will make all your guests happy.

17. Make sure hard-of-hearing family members are seated relatively close to speakers.

18. Keep feuding family members at separate tables.

19. Avoid seating divorced couples right next to one another.

20. And be sure to keep your alcoholic aunts and uncles a good distance away from the bar.

21. Keep in mind that kids and elderly get cranky when not fed on time. So be sure to get them fed and satisfied as soon as possible after the bridal party has been served.

22. Discuss the cake cutting and eating with your fiancé. While he may be looking forward to smashing the cake all over your face, chances are you will not want to spoil your dress.

23. Do your best to avoid too much time between the ceremony and reception. Guests will get annoyed and will become impatient after more than 20 minutes or so.

24. Create a ‘wedding day emergency kit’ containing items like ibuprofen, antacid, nail polish, nylons, lipstick, toothbrush, breath mints, etc. to keep with you during wedding day preparations.

25. Don’t forget to bring some comfortable shoes for dancing the night away.

26. If you’re a bride who will have no less than a can of hairspray in your hair, avoid sparklers for your sendoff. Highly flammable hairspray plus fire equals disaster.

27. Ask someone to take care of the leftover food from the reception. Some couples choose to have a friend or family member deliver leftovers to a local food pantry or shelter.

28. If you have any pets that will be left at home during your honeymoon, make arrangements for someone to feed, play with, and walk them.

29. Be sure to ask someone to grab your mail for you as well. It would be a nightmare to come home from your fantastic honeymoon only to find someone had stolen your identity, applied for a credit card in your name, or cashed an important check of yours.

30. Once you’re back at home and settled into a normal schedule, send out thank you cards as soon as possible. If you don’t get them done quickly, you’ll likely forget about them.

This last month we took a trip to Florida. Flying with a family the size of ours is really out of the question and the budget so we planned to drive.

I like to get started early, this can be a challenge with one or two kids. I remember those days. Loading them up in the back of the Corolla trying to keep them asleep while you buckle them into their car seats. Failing that and hoping that if you drive smooth, and don’t turn on the radio they will fall back asleep and let you get a few hours on the road before they see the first McDonald’s sign and start asking for breakfast, and bathroom breaks.

Needless to say, with 9 kids starting early never goes as smoothly as I would like. The van is noisy, the older kids don’t fall asleep just because the engine is running, and you need the radio on to keep them quiet so they don’t wake up the younger ones. And it is a law of physics or something that when you ride in a big van that you will get 26 miles from the last bathroom break before someone will need to go again.

This trip was no different. After a false start where everyone was almost out the door when I discovered the van would not start due to a dead battery. Fixing that and getting on the road an hour later, and then finding out that one of the younger kids gets car sick, and stopping to clean them up, we did finally make it to our destination.

This is starting to sound like one of those things that a dad does because as a dad it is part of the job, but in truth I had been looking forward to this for a long time. I really like traveling with the family. Sure there are problems. When I was standing in the park and ride and hour from the house, already and hour and a half after I had planned to be at this point in the trip, cleaning vomit off a car seat and a half asleep kid, covered in soda because when I opened the back of the van the things had shifted and several cans spilled out onto the asphalt splitting and spraying all over me, I will admit it was one of those moments when I wondered what I had gotten myself into. Sure there are issues with kids getting sick and cars that won’t start, and bickering in the car, but in the end, we are a family and we have a lot of fun together.

Because of the size of the family, (11 if you count my wife and I) we don’t travel a lot. So when we do travel it is a huge deal. The older kids can remember being in hotels before, but for the younger ones (and there are always young ones who don’t remember) this is something totally new. Doing things like riding up in the big glass elevator, swimming in the hotel pool, going in the hot tub, seeing a pull out bed, beds that have more pillows on them than bodies that could possibly fit in them, maybe nothing new to you, but to the little ones are all new and exciting. Some times it is like watching a little kid on Christmas.

In my experience that is what it is all about. It it is not about is this vacation for you or for the kids, it is about enjoying it together. Doing things as a family. Watching the younger ones doing things for the first time, even if that is pushing the elevator button. Watching the older kids do things for the first time like taking pictures of the dolphins chasing fish right out of the water. So relax and enjoy your vacation.

1. Writing for revenue sharing websites is hands down the best way to start making money online. These sites are article aggregators that allow users to submit original content on informative or entertaining topics in order to receive a cut of the advertising revenue these articles generate. Notable revenue sharing sites include Infobarrel.com, Squidoo.com, and Hubpages.com.

2. Youtube isn’t just for listening to your favorite music or watching internet celebrities test the extremes of decency. If you start submitting informative or entertaining videos to youtube and begin to generate a healthy number of views, eventually you will receive an invitation to the Youtube Partnership program. This program allows you to integrate a google adsense account so that you can earn revenue for your total number of video views as well as any ad clicks your videos generate.

3. Freelance writing jobs are yours for the taking on sites like online-writing-jobs.com. Article buyers will post job details so that you can search for a good fit and then contact the buyer directly. A word of caution: be aware that these sites don’t have the same protections in place as some of the aforementioned revenue sharing sites. It’s up to you to negotiate and secure payment from your buyer.

4. Auction off your garage for profit! eBay is an excellent choice for selling just about anything online, and its integration with paypal makes for secure transactions between buyers and sellers. Listing your item on eBay will instantly put it in front of a national audience. If you can find a means of obtaining a steady stream of discounted merchandise or goods, you can often resell your stock on eBay for a slight price increase to make a steady profit.

5. Craigslist.com is largely overlooked in the world of online money making, but many people use it for a steady side income. Certain items actually sell better on Craigslist than they would on eBay due to their size. For example, you will often meet more success and higher total profits listing items like used treadmills, bicycles and rowing machines locally on craigslist, where a buyer can simply drive over to you in a pick-up truck, than on eBay, where you and an out-of-state buyer would need to consult a freight company and build their cost into the sale price.

6. Stock photography is slightly more technically demanding, but the potential returns are impressive. If you are an intermediate or professional photographer, you can earn anywhere from 50 cents to several dollars per download of high resolution, professionally composed stock images. The learning curve here is a bit steeper because the best paying sites, like istockphotography.com and bigstockphoto.com have strict guidelines for what they will accept into their catalog.

7. Twitter fanatics can cash in on their followings by signing up for services like sponsoredtweets.com. This advertising network will match your twitter feed with interested advertisers and then pay you a certain amount of money for each of your tweets that features their products. The amount you get paid per tweet is roughly based on your total followers, so this has big potential for active twitter users with large followings.

8. Feeling crafty? Online marketplaces like Etsy.com specialize in helping folks sell their original crafty and homemade products. Whether you have a penchant for sculpting, making jewelry or accessories, knitting or producing art in various mediums, you can set up a store on Etsy.com and set your own prices!

9. If you have some degree of technical savvy, setting up your own website is an excellent longterm investment. It may takes you months or years to build up a respectable level of steady traffic, but once you do there are literally dozens of ways to monetize it. When you create a website, you should look for topics that are both commercially viable and a source of inspiration for you. The more valuable content you are able to provide on the subject, the better your website will perform online and the more revenue it will generate.

10. Selling someone else’s goods is another great way to cash in online. There are thousands upon thousands of affiliate programs that are free to join and that will pay you everytime you drive a sale of a given product, e-book, or service. Affiliate marketing works very well in conjunction with revenue sharing article sites and your own personal websites.

11. Flipping websites is a step or two above making your own sites in terms of difficulty, but the payoffs are huge. Website flippers specialize in buying up domains, building successful sites from scratch, documenting proof of their steady traffic levels through use of google analytics and adsense, and then selling the sites outright to buyers on flippa.com, the best know marketplace for websites. Small but successful sites sell for as much as $2400, while medium to large sites can sell for $15-60K!

12. Forex trading is definitely not recommended for beginners, but seasoned financial professionals or folks with an intimate knowledge of money trading can use the online marketplace to capitalize on currency fluctuations around the world from the comfort of home.

13. Elance.com and Odesk.com are two of the web’s best platforms for freelancing remotely. The best thing about these platforms is that you can take your own current skills and experience online and start getting hired. Whether you are a content writer, programmer, data processor, system manager or web designer, the market for tech-based skills is booming on these sites and you can earn increasingly more per hour as you prove yourself and build up your profile with satisfied customers. Successful wordpress designers, for example, are earning upwards of $55 per hour on Elance currently.

14. Becoming a virtual assistant is a great way to develop a steady stream of work-from-home income. It may take you some time to develop the right relationships with one or more clients, but many professionals work from home supporting small or medium businesses in administrative, technical or management roles. You can start by building up references on remote freelancing sites like Elance.com.

15. Feeling social? Some of the most successful and lucrative web properties are forums with monetized by advertising. These community indexes allow people that share a common interest to come and discuss various topics. Forums take longer to setup and populate than your average website, but this effort more than pays off once you have an active community producing fresh monetized content for you on a daily basis!

16. Riddle me this: how can you make money by simply answering questions online? Webanswers.com allows you to register and start answering questions on topics ranging from history to technology to travel advice. If your answers are voted to be the best for a given question, you will receive lifetime royalties on the advertising revenue that page generates.

17. Gazelle.com is the online pawn shop of everything electronic. Whether you have a few busted ipods or several high end laptops at home, you can enter your product type and model number into gazelle’s intuitive user interface and receive a cash offer after describing the condition of your item. Once you ship your goods to Gazelle and they receive and verify them, they will paypal you the total payment.

18. Cash4Books.net is one of several websites that will allow you to enter the ISBN codes of any new or used books you have at home en mass, in order to calculate a total offer. They even have an iphone app that lets you scan all your books quickly. Best of all, they will allow you to print a pre-paid postage stamp and foot the bill for your books to make it over to them. Once they verify the contents they will mail you a check or pay you electronically.

19. Ever thought of cashing in on your knowledge of the English language? Native speakers have a number of options for making money online teaching English. If you already have some prospective students lined up, you could teach them one on one over Skype and collect payments via paypal. Otherwise, sites like englishtutorsonline.com offer employment for dynamic, engaging native speakers that would like to tutor students online.

20. Already have a functioning blog or website? Break out of the traditional advertising mold by using a CPA (Cost Per Action) program. CPA advertisers pay you to generate hot leads and actions from readers interested in their services.

21. Graphically inclined entrepreneurs can design logos for websites, applications, flyers, and company letterheads. Even if you don’t have good graphics software at home, free options like sumopaint.com are incredibly comprehensive and powerful. Set up a small blog detailing your services or become known in internet marketing forums like www.warriorforum.com to start finding clients.

22. Write an ebook. No matter what your area of expertise or interest may be, there is probably a small market of readers who would be interested in what you have to say. Although you should provide as much value and content as possible, writing and selling an e-book doesn’t have to be a technical nightmare. Simply publish your ebook in pdf format and you can attach it via e-mails to your buyers.

23. Become a published amazon.com author. Amazon’s new kindle direct publishing program allows anyone to publish their properly formatted ebook to the amazon kindle store. You can earn up to 70% royalties on each download and leverage the massing buying power of amazon’s online marketplace!

24. Bloggers can get paid to write reviews of quality products by registering their site with reviewme.com. This site pairs advertisers with webmasters so that product owners can have personalized and trustworthy reviews written on request. Payments per review can range from $30 to $500 depending on your site’s profile!

25. Feeling analytical? Become a usability tester through trymyui.com, a site that pays people to test out various websites and produce detailed critiques of the overall user experience and what the site should improve upon. Testers receive $10 per critique.

26. Fiverr.com is a fun site with a unique concept: you can post any job or task you are willing to do, so long as the cost is $5! Some people have had great success offering marketing services such as writing a post about someone’s product on their blog, or running through a crowded town square with someone’s brand painted on their chest. Think of a job that provides enough value to get a lot of orders, yet can be done quickly enough to be repeated for higher profit.

27. Amazon Mechanical Turk has received mixed reviews, but it’s worth a look if you haven’t heard of it before. Basically, AMT breaks down large projects into micro-tasks, such as repeatedly entering data into a field again and again. Tasks vary wildly in difficulty and payment amount, so it takes some finagling and trial and error to learn how to turn a good hourly wage here.

28. Ether.com is a site that pays you to take calls and e-mails from people looking for industry specific advice or expertise. Think of it as a means of setting up your own call center. If you are a technical support expert, for example, you can set your pay rate per hour or per call and flag yourself as online when you’re ready to take calls. Whether you’re an expert in counseling or taxes or just good at giving advice, Ether makes it possible to start taking paying phone calls.

29. Do you speak a second language? Sites like telelanguage.com will pay you to provide over-the-phone interpretation services. Depending on the desirability of your second language, you can expect to make anywhere from $10-50 per hour or possibly more.

30. If you’re feeling overwhelmed and just want a simple entrypoint into the world of making money online, you can try sites like surfbounty.com. These sites monetize your time online by having you read marketed e-mails, take surveys and generally browse the web while viewing a variety of their network ads.