Shay Williams Garrett Roll-outs Non-Profit Business Within A good ...

Altlanta ga, Ga instruction Shay Williams-Garrett, additionally recognized because ?Shay Your own Day Diva? in order to the girl followers, is actually the author, loudspeaker as well as romantic relationship trainer that offers released the non-profit business: DIVA KNOWLEDGE (Females, Influenced in order to, Effectively, Day, Just with regard to, Relationship) within a good work in order to assist reduce the actual staggering solitary mother or father price which proceeds in order to develop within The united states. The actual objective associated with DIVA KNOWLEDGE is actually in order to assist avoid as well as finish solitary raising a child as well as teenager being pregnant through teaching as well as motivating females in order to create sensible romantic relationship options as well as in order to stay open up in order to brand new as well as healthful human relationships which eventually guide in order to relationship. The actual business expectations in order to motivate local community advancement through reducing fatherless houses.

Shay Garrett that had been as soon as the solitary mom their self states, ?Being the solitary mom is actually the actual toughest work upon planet. In order to appear in your own kid that offers in order to develop upward along with away viewing very first hands exactly what the nucleus family members seems such as is actually cardiovascular wrenching. This is actually additionally unpleasant in order to understand which your own child or even child might develop upward without having actually viewing their own mom getting cherished as well as handled correct through the great guy therefore which they will on their own will certainly become outfitted in order to replicate the actual exact same point. inches

Even though numerous possess already been elevated effectively inside solitary mother or father houses, Shay?s issues tend to be typical amongst numerous solitary moms and dads. Within inclusion, generally there tend to be the great deal associated with straight down edges in order to solitary raising a child as well as staying solitary which impact the actual whole nation. In accordance in order to the actual Agency associated with the actual Census, 63% associated with youngsters suicides, 71% associated with almost all higher college dropouts, as well as 70% associated with juveniles within condition operated establishments arrive through fatherless houses. Within 1996, younger kids residing along with single moms had been 5 occasions because probably in order to become bad as well as 10 occasions because probably in order to become very bad. Within inclusion, 72% associated with young murderers increased upward without having dads, as well as 60% associated with Many rapists increased upward the actual exact same method. Final however not really minimum, the actual percentage associated with solitary mother or father families within the local community forecasts the price associated with chaotic criminal offense as well as theft, however the actual community?s low income degree really does not really. (Resource: M. The. Cruz as well as Gary the gadget guy. L. Jarjoura, ?Social Framework as well as Legal Victimization, inches)

Shay Williams-Garrett offers assisted numerous females about the actual world via the girl on the internet training as well as courses in DIVA College discover really like as well as bring in much better high quality human relationships however might such as in order to companion along with some other females focused businesses as well as business sponsors within a good work in order to assist much more females within the girl personal back again backyard.

DIVA KNOWLEDGE expectations in order to bring up cash therefore in order to attract females that wish in order to get on the internet courses in DIVA College however are not able to pay for this or even that tend to be specific through their own local community business in order to become in higher danger with regard to bad romantic relationship options which eventually guide in order to additional repair a pregnancy or even solitary motherhood. DIVA KNOWLEDGE additionally appears ahead in order to joining up along with females businesses which will certainly suggest or even actually create obligatory with regard to their own people or even customers in order to take part within the actual academic romantic relationship programs in DIVA College.

Beginning Aug 2010, Shay Williams-Garrett as well as the girl group will certainly carry out on the internet as well as away collection courses associated with DIVA College tips, 102 as well as 103. The girl will certainly become talking in order to, teaching as well as coaching teenager young ladies, solitary moms as well as females that just wish in order to prevent creating bad romantic relationship options which may possibly guide in order to all of them getting the solitary mother or father. Within these types of programs the girl will certainly instruct solitary females along with or even without having kids regarding really like, online dating as well as human relationships as well as exactly how in order to bring in the actual guy associated with their own desires within much less compared to 35 times. This particular very first begins along with recovery previous injuries as well as busting straight down perception obstacles which perhaps position within their own method associated with bringing in the healthful really like encounter.

Shay really does not really guarantee the girl college students will certainly discover really like within 35 times, because the issue associated with reality the girl attempts this. The girl guarantees which the girl may assist any kind of lady that is actually prepared in order to bring in the great guy that may possibly become ?The One? within much less compared to 35 times. With regard to a few college students the actual 30-day procedure in order to bringing in the excellent guy are not able to start till the actual psychological problems tend to be recovered. DIVA College courses will certainly acknowledge among 30-50 females for each course as well as Shay Williams-Garrett will certainly fulfill along with all of them on the internet, as soon as the 7 days with regard to 7 several weeks with regard to a good hours every course. The girl will certainly additionally journey in order to services via away the actual nation in order to carry out weekend break lengthy workshops which reduce the actual on the internet course in to a few times. These types of online courses will certainly become info loaded, packed along with actions as well as tend to be certain in order to modify the actual life associated with females almost all about the actual nation.

DIVA KNOWLEDGE will certainly spend with regard to every lady that qualifies in order to get totally free sign up in order to the actual DIVA College programs, monthly subscriptions with regard to 3 on the internet online dating websites as well as a few childcare costs, a few females will certainly actually be eligible in order to get upon heading training through Shay Williams-Garrett individually.

Shay Williams-Garrett feels which because the actual improve associated with fatherless houses adversely impacts the actual whole nation, all of us almost all ought to perform our own component within assisting in order to enhance this particular scenario. Business sponsors tend to be motivated in order to check out the actual web site in www.divawisdom.com in order to create the monetary gift associated with in minimum $1500 these days or even market DIVA KNOWLEDGE through their own mag, radio stations display or even organization web site. Daily males as well as females tend to be motivated in order to donate in minimum $5. Almost all sponsors will certainly get reputation with regard to their own sponsorship. Shay request which the actual nation sign up for the girl within altering the actual globe through removing solitary the children 1 lady in the period.

http://www.shaywilliamsgarrett.com.

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Junior Dos Santos overwhelms Frank Mir

Junior Dos Santos defended his Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight belt for the first time Saturday, overwhelming older former champion Frank Mir with punching power and speed en route to a second-round technical knockout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Dos Santos (15-1) landed his deciding blow after Mir, 33, tried a left kick, but left himself open to a wicked right hand that Dos Santos landed on Mir's chin, sending the 11-year UFC veteran to the canvas.

"I let my hands go," Dos Santos, 28, said.

After Mir was downed, Dos Santos delivered a combination of punches. Mir tried to stand, but Dos Santos smacked him with another hard right, and referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at the 3-minute 4-second mark.

"He hit me hard," said Mir (16-6).

A submission specialist, Mir tried and failed to hold onto Dos Santos' right leg in the first round, and never again could seriously threaten to get the fight to the ground.

Mir was left staggered in the final seconds of the first round after effectively resigning the round with Dos Santos winning with faster hands setting up a hard right to Mir's temple.

"I couldn't take them," Mir said of Dos Santos' strikes. "Very dangerous guy."

Before the knockout in the second, Dos Santos hit Mir with a right that caused the challenger to tumble. Mir later apparently was poked in the eye before being belted down again.

Earlier, Cain Velasquez pronounced his full recovery from the disastrous surrender of his UFC heavyweight belt to Dos Santos in November.

The San Jose fighter dominated bigger heavyweight Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, turning the bout into a bloodbath and scoring a first-round technical knockout in 3:36.

Velasquez (10-1) gave up his belt by suffering a first-round knockout 64 seconds into the massively watched UFC debut card on Fox.

Against Silva (16-4), Velasquez quickly grabbed Silva's leg to score a takedown, then started delivering short elbows to the face, opening a nasty cut on the bridge of Silva's nose that required medical attention.

When fighting resumed, Velasquez unloaded a series of hard lefts to Silva's face that set up the stoppage.

Pugmire reported from Los Angeles.

lance.pugmire@latimes.com

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Preppy Pet Suites to host animal adoption event

FITCHBURG - Preppy Pet Suites, a cage-free doggie daycare and boarding facility at 147 John Fitch Highway, will host an Open House and Adoption Event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The public is welcome to tour the recently renovated facility.

There will be free raffles with prizes, games for people and pets, samples, snacks, coupons and giveaways.

Local dogs available for adoption will be present from the City of Fitchburg Animal Shelter, as well as information about ACE-Fitchburg, the volunteer group that supports the shelter.

Kit Kat Photography will be taking pet portraits, with proceeds going toward ACEFitchburg/ City of Fitchburg Shelter Dogs. Cheryl Ruf will offer complimentary Reiki services for pets. This event is open to the entire family; leashed dogs welcome. For information, visit www.facebook. com/FitchburgPreppyPet.

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Sometimes we have to steal, borrow and add when it comes to staging

This Seattle house in the View Ridge neighborhood is an example of such a situation. The homeowners previously had their home on the market for quite a while without any success. After not seeing any results, they decided to go with a different realtor?who they felt had better marketing and negotiating skills. They chose Phillip Blenkley from CBBain.?

This home was built on a hill and had a very unique floor plan. ?Right away we knew this was not going to be a home for everyone and decided to target professional couples with no children. But what this house had going for it was the views of Lake Washington from just about any window. The home was not prepared for potential buyers who came through and it was obvious why this beautiful house had not been sold.

?Below is the list of the problems that we identified and the solutions that we came up with to address them with our staging approach. We had to borrow, steal, and add on to make it all work.

1. The home sellers had to sell their home right away for the highest amount of money possible for financial reasons. They had a limited budget to work with and it was not enough to cover all that we needed to do. We?started?to think outside of the box, something that most home stagers are skilled at.?
2. This home had five different outdoor spaces and this was one of the main features of this water-view home. These spaces needed to be showcased in a big way, but they had no outdoor furniture. We could have provided these, but the homeowners? budget didn?t allow for that, yet we knew we could not leave these wonderful spaces empty. We decided that these pieces could be borrowed from their friends and neighbors. After all, it was the beginning of March and the weather in Seattle was not yet warm enough to sit outside so it was a good time to borrow these essential pieces. All the outdoor furniture pictured below was borrowed.
3. The dining room was in the family room and the narrow dining room looked like a hallway. One of the most common mistakes that people do when they put their home on the market is when they have used ?rooms for different purposes while they are living in the them, and they fail to change it back.?We asked the owners to place the dining table back into the dining room. There were lots of built-in bookshelves in this room as well. We asked them to pack half of the shelves. We wanted to re-arrange and design these bookshelves, since they were in the main room of the house. We also let them know that we would be stealing items from different rooms and cabinets to fill in the shelves.?
4. For the family room, we needed seating, since the dining table was placed in the family room. ?
5. The formal living room lacked the right sitting, elegance, and definition. We wanted to showcase a large entertaining space and we selected a big sectional for this room.?
6. The master bedroom lacked luster and elegance. We brought in a bedroom set to showcase the generous size of this room.
7. The rec/play room had become a catchall place. We identified the pieces that should stay in this room and we requested that the rest of the items be removed. By adding wall art and redesigning the remaining furniture pieces, we achieved our goal of creating an inviting rec/play room.
8. The second bedroom was a large room, but it only had a single bed which was lost in the room. We exchanged the bed with a queen size bed and added bold wall art. The transformation was fantastic!
9. The third bedroom was not even being used as a bedroom but rather, a boxing and exercise room. We felt it was important to show this room as a bedroom and a home office since it was such a large room.?

By thinking outside of the box, borrowing, renting, and stealing items from one room for another room, we managed to transform this house and prepare it for the market. This house had been on the market for quite a while yet not selling. Four weeks after we staged this beautiful lake view house in Sand Point, it was SOLD.

?

These home sellers were super motivated and they needed to sell their home. By following our recommendations, they met their sales goals.?

?

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Church Video Surveillance System

Windows can become a temptation to criminals if they are not secured and monitored. A church security system should have alarms that connect with all windows as well as all doors. All members of the staff and the church should be aware of the security measures in place to keep out unwanted intruders. Members will appreciate any church that wants to provide a secure place that they can come and worship the Lord without fear of theft or vandalism. "And of Benjamin He said, The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover Him all the day long, and He shall dwell between His shoulders." (Deuteronomy 33:12)

Rooms that are used to handle money and valuables should be restricted areas to all unauthorized members and have a sign that lets people know that it is restricted. A church video surveillance system should be set up to monitor areas that are restricted. A sign should be posted in high traffic locations that suggest members keep their valuables on person or leave them at home, that the church is not responsible for theft or vandalism. Fire exits need to be in plain sight and easily accessible just in case of a fire or other threat.

Each church should have a plan to initiate in case of emergencies. This would include any alarms going off whether they are security alarms or fire alarms. Staff members may want to carry pagers or cell phones to communicate with one another in case of emergencies. The clergy and staff should know if the area that the building is located in is in a high-crime area and should consider the amount of security needed based upon this information. One person should be in charge of making sure that the church security system is operational at all times and should oversee all the details associated with that position.

People are much more fearful today than in past times because of the daily news about crime and terrorism. Some people do not like to be in places where there are a lot of people because of the threat of terrorism and the increase of the likelihood of theft and vandalism associated with public places. A church video surveillance system will offer members a secure and safe place to worship God with other believers especially for those who see it as a growing necessity in today's world.

Another concern in today's society is the prevalent need to keep children safe. Unfortunately with divorce rates up children are at a greater risk for being victims. A church security system can provide attendance tracking and child security for every member of a family. Self check in technology can make it easy and flexible for each member attending services. One person can go to a computer screen and sign in the entire family. Before a person can pick up a child they have to be able to use the check in system with security code. This eliminates the possibility of someone who is not authorized to pick up the child.

High tech equipment is able to use surveillance that includes enhanced night vision and tracking features. Motion detectors allow the church video surveillance system to target in on any motion and follow it as long as it is detected. Equipment that is tied in with a computer assisted operation can allow the operator to set the controls to high alert so that an alarm will sound in case anything or anyone moves in front of the view of the camera. Some systems that are much more expensive can even detect motion behind walls. Others include infrared technology that picks up on anything that gives an energy signature so that anything can be detected in spite of bad weather or other types of interference.

Some high tech cameras for surveillance have a protective casing to protect them from vandalism and some are very small and can be hidden from sight. Technology in this area has become so advanced that the computer can be programmed to zoom in and scan items that may be hidden under clothing such as guns or other objects that can be harmful to others. This type of technology is already being used by some law enforcement and government officials. In some areas cameras on toll roads can take a picture of a car and bill that person for toll fees. Cameras stationed at traffic lights can take a picture of a car that has run a red light and bill the owner for a traffic violation.

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Recap: House Party 2012 Raises Funds For Ronald McDonald ...

Friends of the House, an organization of passionate young professionals dedicated to supporting the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin & Central Texas, hosted the inaugural House Party 2012 on Saturday, May 19^th at the Lytle Pressley Contemporary?art gallery.

Ginny Lewis, Justin Clowers and Shannon Ferguson (Photo Credit: Amanda Ivarra)

Nearly 150 young professionals attended the cocktail party and raised more than $19,000 for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Austin & Central Texas.? This was a huge success for the organizers, who set an initial fundraising goal of $10,000!

Shannon Ferguson, co-chair for the event, said, ?House Party 2012 was a great success across the board.? We exceeded our fundraising goal, spread the word about Friends of the House and raised awareness for Ronald McDonald House Charities, all while enjoying a truly fabulous party. I am already looking forward to House Party 2013!

Ferguson has a personal connection to the Ronald McDonald House Charities.? Her family is one of the many families that the organization has served.? The organization provides lodging and support services in a nurturing, home-like environment to families during the treatment and care of their critically ill or injured children.? Joining Friends of the House is her way of giving back to the organization.

Members of Friends of the House range in ages from 25 to 40 with professional backgrounds in various industries.? Justin Clowers, co-chair for House Party 2012, was telling me he was introduced to the organization by a friend, and he?s hoping to introduce other young professionals to the organization.? ?People want to be involved, but they just don?t know how,? says Clowers.? Through his involvement with Friends of the House, Clowers has been able to strengthen his leadership skills while volunteering his time and raising funds for a good cause.

Sasha St. Martin and Hallie Mullins (Photo Credit: Amanda Ivarra)

House Party 2012 was a hotspot for young professionals!? Austin?s young and hot enjoyed an evening of tasty hors d?oeuvres from Apothecary Cafe, fabulous cocktails from Bacardi, complimentary beer provided by KEG 1 and music by popular DJ, el john Selector. ?Guests also had the opportunity to browse more than 50 silent auction items and contemporary art exhibits throughout the gallery.? The night continued with an after party held at Tacos and Tequila (TNT).

Plans for House Party 2013 are already in the works!? Next year?s event will be held in June, and tickets will be available in the spring.? Information will be available on the Friends of the House website.

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New telescope to be in South Africa, Australia

PRETORIA, South Africa (AP) ? Australia and South Africa will share hosting of a giant radio telescope made up of thousands of separate dishes and intended to help scientists figure out the make-up of the universe, the international consortium overseeing the project announced Friday.

South Africa led an African consortium that included Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia, and telescopes will be erected in all its partners. In South Africa, dishes will be added to a remote site in the arid Karoo desert where a smaller radio telescope project already is underway.

South Africa and Australia, which partnered with New Zealand in bidding for the project, had competed fiercely. South Africa claimed victory Friday, saying it got two of the projects three major components.

"We may feel slightly disappointed that we didn't get the whole thing. But I think one should emphasize that we did get most of it," said Justin Jonas, the chief South African scientist on the project. "Two-thirds of the biggest instrument in the world is still the biggest instrument in the world."

South Africa's science minister Naledi Pandor and scientists who had prepared the country's bid celebrated with an Africa-shaped cake at a news conference in South Africa's capital.

"This marks a real turning point in Africa, where we are becoming a destination for science and engineering, and not just a place where there are resources and tourism opportunities," Jonas added.

Australia also welcomed the split decision.

"It is an outstanding result for the Australia-New Zealand bid after many years of preparation and an intensive international process," said Sen. Chris Evans, Australia's science minister.

The Square Kilometer Array telescope will be 50 times more sensitive and scan the sky 10,000 times faster than any existing telescope. It requires huge open spaces with very few humans.

John Womersley, chair of the consortium's board, said the telescope will help scientists answer key questions: "Where do we come from? Where are we going? What is this universe we live in?"

"We don't understand what 96 percent of our universe is made of," he said.

The organization said dividing construction of the telescope will "maximize on investments already made by both Australia and South Africa."

Womersley said that splitting construction between the two nations will likely add around 10 percent to the ?350 million ($439 million) cost of the first phase of building the giant telescope. But he said there would be a payoff for astronomers.

"It delivers more science in phase one. The capabilities of this instrument are greater than the original design," Womersley said.

____

Associated Press writer Mike Corder contributed from Amsterdam.

Associated Press

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[USA-NL-DE] LeaseWeb's Reseller Program! - Web Hosting Talk

LeaseWeb is a quality hosting provider and operator of a first-class worldwide network. With 8 datacenters worldwide, over 40,000 servers and more than 2.3 Tbps of available bandwidth. LeaseWeb is the most reliable partner for your colocation needs, and since we are rapidly expanding you can now benefit from some competitive colocation offers in our Virginia facility!

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Great partnership opportunity for VARs, solution providers, managed services providers & system integrators.

Many resellers have found their customers appreciate the superb quality of the LeaseWeb network, servers and support. In turn, LeaseWeb values its resellers and devotes considerable resources to ensure a mutually beneficial relationship with them.

In return, the

LeaseWeb Reseller Program provides many exclusive reseller benefits, such as substantial discounts on LeaseWeb?s dedicated servers, services and upgrades (including setup fees). Another exclusive service is the dedicated Support Engineer assigned to your account. This person will be your direct contact at LeaseWeb?s Support department and will make sure you receive efficient support quickly by supervising your requests. You will also receive many other benefits, including 24/7 technical support with guaranteed response times and non-exclusive rights to offer LeaseWeb products under the LeaseWeb brand name or ?white label?.

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If you wish to enter the LeaseWeb Reseller Program and you meet the requirements above, please review and complete the Reseller Application Form. One of our sales representatives will then contact you. If you have specific questions about the reseller program, please send an email to sales@leaseweb.com or contact sales at +31 20 316 2880.

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GM won't advertise on next Super Bowl

By Paul A. Eisenstein, The Detroit Bureau

Facebook is not the only place GM is unfriending.

In the latest in a series of surprise moves, General Motors has decided to boycott next January?s Super Bowl advertising extravaganza in protest over a huge increase in advertiser rates.

The decision follows word that the maker will also pull its ads off Facebook, the social media site that is today on its way to what could be the largest IPO in U.S. history. But insiders say GM is weighing more heavily than ever the perceived payoff for its estimated $4.5 billion ad budget, backing out of purchases that might deliver a halo but relatively little in terms of actual results.

?We continue to understand the value the Super Bowl provides,? said GM marketing spokesman Pat Morrissey, ?but with the continued increase in price we just can?t justify it,? he said confirming a report in the Wall Street Journal itself attributed to the maker?s marketing czar Joel Ewanick.

The Super Bowl is considered not only the championship game for American football but the ultimate venue for advertisers ? at least when it comes to ?counting eyeballs,? in advertising parlance.? The Nielsen Co. reported 111.3 million Americans watched the game in February of this year, making it the third consecutive year it set a record as the most-watched TV program in U.S. history.? It was one of only four broadcasts to top 100 million viewers, a rarified list including the previous two championship games and the 1983 finale of TV series M*A*S*H.

Shake-Up at GM As Maker Prepares for Critical New Product Launches

But advertising rates have been rising faster than the actual viewership of the game, according to industry experts, reportedly reaching between $3.0 million to $3.2 million in February 2012.?Sources told TheDetroitBureau.com that the figure is approaching $4 million for the game airing on CBS in 2013.

GM spokesman Morrissey would only say that the maker balked at what he described as a ?pretty significant? increase for the planned broadcast of Super Bowl XLVII.

The maker?s boycott comes with a big asterisk, however.? GM is only dropping out of ?national advertising specific to the in-game? broadcast.? In February of this year that included three 30-second spots and a longer, 1-minute commercial for the Chevrolet Silverado that was itself quite controversial.

(It aimed to suggest that after the apocalypse purportedly predicted in the Mayan calendar for late 2012 only the Chevy pickup will still be running.? Ford Motor Co. threatened to sue to prevent the commercial?s airing, claiming industry data showed that maker?s F-Series model was more likely to survive the end of life, the universe and everything.)

Martin Scorcese Working up Rolls-Royce Biopic

But it appears GM might not be totally absent from the football festivities.? It also ran several ads during the Super Bowl pre- and post-game TV coverage.? And Morrissey acknowledged that it has not yet been decided whether to continue or drop those programs, as well.

GM previously pulled out of the 2009 Super Bowl due to the financial crisis that led to it filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection that year.

The maker confirmed, earlier this week, that it will be ending its ad relationship with Facebook over the summer, Chevrolet marketing chief Chris Perry arguing the ads generated ?insufficient? results.? But GM has also said it will maintain an unpaid presence on the 900-million-member social media site.

Ford and GM Battle it Out in Twitter Flame War

The decisions to drop Facebook and now walk away from the Super Bowl aren?t coming as a huge surprise to Detroit-watchers who have seen big changes in the way the domestic makers have been operating over the last several years.? Each of the Big Three has been looking for ways to break out as they struggle to reach potential buyers ? especially those who have long ignored domestic products.

GM?s Ewanick has been especially aggressive, building a reputation as a game-changer since his arrival at the maker?s riverfront Detroit headquarters in May 2010.? He has fired long-standing agencies, such as Chevy?s nearly eight-decade partner Campbell-Ewald, and more recently approved plans to consolidate a group of agencies to serve the brand on a global scale.

The former head of Hyundai marketing, Ewanick has promised to re-evaluate every aspect of the massive GM ad budget.

Among other things, it has long been a matter of debate just how well sports advertising pays off, but a well-placed media executive at one of Detroit?s largest ad agencies said that the regular run-up in pricing for the Super Bowl spots is simply ?all about supply and demand.?? Asking not to be identified by name because they didn?t have permission to talk to the media, the executive said, ?The rates won?t come down as long as there?s someone who wants it.?

So, might GM?s decision to back out put downward pressure on CBS deal-makers? Not likely, said the advertising executive.? ?Somebody else will want (the ad slots).?

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Senate Democrats reject House GOP budget plan

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Democrats controlling the Senate rejected for the second year in a row Wednesday a budget plan passed by House Republicans.

The 58-41 vote against the GOP budget came after a daylong debate in which Democrats blasted Republicans for refusing to consider tax increases as part of a solution to trillion-dollar deficits, and Republicans in turn attacked Democrats for not offering a budget at all.

Republicans launched the debate, which was aimed less at successfully passing a bill than highlighting the failure of Senate Democrats to deal with a budget deficit expected to top $1 trillion for the fourth consecutive year.

The Senate rejected five separate budget plans, including one based on President Barack Obama's February budget and offered by Republicans to embarrass Democrats and the White House. It failed on a 99-0 vote. Three GOP senators elected in 2010 with tea party support also offered plans in a competition to see whose budget could cut government the most.

The end results were preordained: sweeping rejection of Obama's budget and a near party-line vote to block the main alternative, the blueprint of Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., that passed the House in March. The tallies on the Ryan budget and a tougher version offered by Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., defeated on a 57-42 vote, were probably inflated since the votes weren't on the actual budgets themselves but rather on a motion to simply take them up for debate.

Five Republicans voted against the Ryan plan: Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Dean Heller of Nevada and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Heller voted for the measure last year but, in the midst of a competitive race to retain his seat, switched his vote on Wednesday.

Toomey's plan received 42 "aye" votes, one more than the Ryan plan.

At issue is the arcane budget process on Capitol Hill, which involves a nonbinding measure called a budget resolution. Actual changes to the budget are made in follow-up legislation.

Democrats haven't passed a budget since 2009, opting against weeklong floor debates that would have exposed party members to dozens of politically difficult votes or put themselves on record in favor of tax hikes or huge deficits.

In most years, all a congressional budget really does is assign an overall "cap" on the annual appropriations bills that set agency operating budgets. Democrats note that last summer's budget pact already set such a cap for the ongoing round of spending bills, so Wednesday's debate wasn't really necessary.

But Republicans said Democrats were abdicating their responsibility to tell voters their solution to the government's daunting budget problems, which economists of all stripes warn will swamp the economy and spook the markets unless they're dealt with before long.

"It is very hard to overstate how urgent the fiscal crisis that we face really is when you are going the fourth consecutive year with a budget deficit of over $1 trillion," Toomey said. "There is one party that is seriously addressing these problems."

The GOP plans varied in their toughness, with the House-passed measure ? which fails to produce balance in the 10-year budget window ? actually being the least stringent. Sen. Rand Paul's measure was the toughest, calling for the elimination of four Cabinet departments: Commerce, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and Energy while calling for a 17 percent flat tax on both individuals and corporations.

Paul's budget won 16 votes; a measure by Mike Lee, R-Utah, received 17 votes.

Each GOP measure, though, would sharply cut domestic programs and called for a dramatic transformation of Medicare that would turn it into a voucher-like program in which future beneficiaries, those presently under the age of 55, would have to buy health insurance on the open market rather than have the government pay hospital and doctor bills.

Democrats called for a "balanced" solution blending tax increases on wealthier people with less severe spending cuts.

"We will not allow the debt and deficit to be reduced on the backs of the middle class and most vulnerable Americans without calling on the wealthiest to contribute," Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said. "That is not fair, it's not what the American people want, and it's simply not going to happen."

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Modern Kinds of online Jobs | BusinessesA-Z.blogspot.com

If you're] a individual who is interested in commencing a work From Home business then the supreme choice for you is usually to start up virtually any of online job. Honestly the tremendous development] of internet implies that there is an extremely constant need of the people to offer various online services. These kinds of services may be provided from anywhere in the world as a result of the nature of the internet. In this particular article we are going to talk regarding one of the most accepted kinds of online jobs.

Online Data Entry Jobs:

There is a large need of online data entry in this particular arena of freelancing, simply because several agencies should put their info right into a more efficient as well as workable form. In today's world a wide range of data entry works are obtainable. These activities are from ordinary entering numbers into many transactions to management of advanced documents.

For many sorts] of online jobs it is important to possess excellent typing skills. If anyone is applying for an online data entry job as well as heshe is an easy as well as accurate typist then this is really a very huge gain for himher. Today many businesses are searching for online data entry operators however the fact is that every one of them are not legitimate. So it is beneficial to ensure the company in which you are applying for the job is licensed and it's also following all sort of rules as well as laws.

Online Writing Jobs:

This really is one of the most modern sorts] of online job. On account of the development of the internet the need of written message is improving highly. Like people found the numerous means to get the high ranks on the search engine, therefore the need of high quality as well as well written articles for unique websites as well as blogs is expanding.

These days various kinds online jobs can be obtained for writing. One of the most fascinating kinds of online writing is blogging. Honestly blogs are smaller then the traditional or regular articles. Blog writing will need a casual style of writing. There are so many excellent possibilities in blogging are available.

Various technological as well as ghost writing online jobs are also attainable. Genuinely technical writing is actually a type writing which includes different kind of discussions and also several ratings of the products but the key focus of technical writing is technology which will consist of several discussions regarding the upcoming technology as well as reviews of the latest devices. Even though on the other hand ghost writing is a type online job in which the realistic writer won't able to put hisher name along with the article.

Filling Forms of several Online Surveys:

May be it truly is one of the most formal type job among all kind of online jobs. In this job all you need to do is always to give your individual opinion. These kind of surveys will contain several kind of queries like which is your favorite bank, which kind of music you like, who is your favorite actor or singer as well as thousands of other general queries.

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Two highly evolved Sony cameras vie for your $600

1 hr.

Devin Coldewey

There's a lot of competition in the enthusiast camera sector, with dozens of great cameras competing for attention in the $500-$1000 range. Sony's latest interchangeable-lens cameras, the compact NEX-F3 and SLR-style A37, even compete against each other with an array of?useful features, some inherited from Sony's?more expensive models. They're both solid picks, but which would be better for you?

The 16-megapixel NEX-F3 is an upgrade to the least expensive NEX series camera, the NEX-3. It adds a better sensor and image processor, a built-in flash, and a handy flipping screen for self-shots. It does 1080p video, and now shares the "Clear Image Zoom" enhanced digital zoom and automatic portrait framing found on the A57.

I got a chance to take the NEX-F3 for a spin on a sunny day, and found it to be an eminently usable camera. The flipping LCD?thoughtfully?mirrors the image for easy composition of self-shots. The body is larger and better-designed than its predecessor and feels more like a real camera than before. Adjusting settings manually wasn't a simple task, however, so whoever's shooting should be comfortable with letting the camera's intelligent auto modes do their thing, be it multiple exposures or bumping the ISO instead of lowering the shutter speed.

The A37, also 16 megapixels, looks like an SLR ? but unlike that type of camera, the mirror element inside?doesn't flip up during exposure, it's merely translucent, allowing light to pass through onto the sensor and to bounce up to the eyepiece for you to see. One of the benefits is highly improved autofocus performance, especially when shooting video: keeping subjects in focus during videos is critical, of course, especially in action shots, and the Alpha series excels at it.

The camera itself is a mix of upgrades and downgrades from the?earlier?A33 model. The A37's screen isn't as nice, and now it can't shoot 60p, but it gains a better electronic viewfinder, some new shooting modes, a better body, and stereo mics. It also sells for $150 less, making it more of a budget option than it was before.

Both the NEX-F3 and A37 will be available in June with an 18-55mm kit zoom for "about $600." Is one the better buy? The NEX-F3 is ?more compact, but with a zoom lens on there you really don't end up saving that?much space. The A37 is a bit more capable and is quite compact for a DSLR-style camera. If you don't really need that rotating LCD, or you plan on doing much video, you'll probably get more for your money with?the A37.

Devin Coldewey is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. His personal website is coldewey.cc.

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As IPO nears, millions of users still opt out of Facebook

Even though many avoid the service, the 900 million users it does have are a key part of its value.

By Anick Jesdanun,?The Associated Press / May 17, 2012

Facebook increased the size of its initial public offering by almost 25 percent and could raise as much as $16 billion. Regardless, some advertising agencies and companies say the social network won't be able to drive up advertising revenue.

Valentin Flauraud/Reuters

Enlarge

Don't try to friend MaLi Arwood on Facebook. You won't find her there.

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You won't find Thomas Chin, either. Or Kariann Goldschmitt. Or Jake Edelstein.

More than 900 million people worldwide check their Facebook accounts at least once a month, but millions more are Facebook holdouts.

They say they don't want Facebook. They insist they don't need Facebook. They say they're living life just fine without the long-forgotten acquaintances that the world's largest social network sometimes resurrects.

They are the resisters.

"I'm absolutely in touch with everyone in my life that I want to be in touch with," Arwood says. "I don't need to share triviality with someone that I might have known for six months 12 years ago."

Even without people like Arwood, Facebook is one of the biggest business success stories in history. The site had 1 million users by the end of 2004, the year Mark Zuckerberg started it in his Harvard dorm room. Two years later, it had 12 million. Facebook had 500 million by summer 2010 and 901 million as of March 31, according to the company.

That staggering rise in popularity is one reason why Facebook Inc.'s initial public offering is one of the most hotly anticipated in years. The company's shares are expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday under the ticker symbol "FB". Facebook is likely to have an estimated market valuation of some $100 billion, making it worth more than Kraft Foods, Ford or Disney.

Facebook still has plenty of room to grow, particularly in developing countries where people are only starting to get Internet access. As it is, about 80 percent of its users are outside U.S. and Canada.

But if Facebook is to live up to its pre-IPO hype and reward the investors who are clamoring for its stock this week, it needs to convince some of the resisters to join. Two out of every five American adults have not joined Facebook, according to a recent Associated Press-CNBC poll. Among those who are not on Facebook, a third cited a lack of interest or need.

If all those people continue to shun Facebook, the social network could become akin to a postal system that only delivers mail to houses on one side of the street. The system isn't as useful, and people aren't apt to spend as much time with it. That means fewer opportunities for Facebook to sell ads.

Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project, says that new communications channels ? from the telephone to radio, TV and personal computers ? often breed a cadre of holdouts in their early days.

"It's disorienting because people have different relationships with others depending on the media they use," Rainie says. "But we've been through this before. As each new communications media comes to prominence, there is a period of adoption."

Len Kleinrock, 77, says Facebook is fine for his grandchildren, but it's not for him.

"I do not want more distractions," he says. "As it is, I am deluged with email. My friends and colleagues have ready access to me and I don't really want another service that I would feel obliged to check into on a frequent basis."

Kleinrock says his resistance is generational, but discomfort with technology isn't a factor.

After all, Kleinrock is arguably the world's first Internet user. The University of California, Los Angeles professor was part of the team that invented the Internet. His lab was where researchers gathered in 1969 to send test data between two bulky computers ?the beginnings of the Arpanet network, which morphed into the Internet we know today.

"I'm having a 'been-there, done-that' feeling," Kleinrock says. "There's not a need on my part for reaching out and finding new social groups to interact with. I have trouble keeping up with those I'm involved with now."

Thomas Chin, 35, who works at an advertising and media planning company in New York, says he may be missing out on what friends-of-friends-of-friends are doing, but he doesn't need Facebook to connect with family and closer acquaintances.

"If we're going to go out to do stuff, we organize it (outside) of Facebook," he says.

Some people don't join the social network because they don't have a computer or Internet access, are concerned about privacy, or generally dislike Facebook. Those without a college education are less likely to be on Facebook, as are those with lower incomes. Women who choose to skip Facebook are more likely than men to cite privacy issues, while seniors are more likely than those 50-64 years old to cite computer issues, according the AP-CNBC poll.

About three-quarters of seniors are not on Facebook. By contrast, more than half of those under 35 use it every day.

The poll of 1,004 adults nationwide was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications May 3-7 and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

Steve Jones, a professor who studies online culture and communications at the University of Illinois at Chicago, says many resisters consider Facebook to be too much of a chore.

"We've added social networking to our lives. We haven't added any hours to our days," Jones says. "The decision to be online on Facebook is simultaneously a decision not to be doing something else."

Jones says many people on Facebook try to overcome that by multitasking, but they end up splitting their attention and engaging with others online only superficially.

Arwood, 47, a restaurant manager in Chicago, says she was surprised when colleagues on an English-teaching program in rural Spain in 2010 opted to spend their breaks checking Facebook.

"I spent my time on break trying to learn more about the Spanish culture, really taking advantage of it," she says. "I went on walks with some of the students and asked them questions."

Kariann Goldschmitt, 32, a music professor at New College of Florida in Sarasota, Fla., was on Facebook not long after its founding in 2004, but she quit in 2010. In part, it was because of growing concerns about her privacy and Facebook's ongoing encouragement of people to share more about themselves with the company, with marketers and with the world.

She says she's been much more productive since leaving.

"I was a typical user, on it once or twice a day," she says. "After a certain point, I sort of resented how it felt like an obligation rather than fun."

Besides Facebook resisters and quitters, there are those who take a break. In some cases, people quit temporarily as they apply for new jobs, so that potential employers won't stumble on photos of their wild nights out drinking. Although Facebook doesn't make it easy to find, it offers an option for suspending accounts (Look for a link under the "Security" tab in "Account Settings.")

Goldschmitt says it takes effort to stay in touch with friends and relatives without Facebook. For instance, she has to make mental notes of when her friends are expecting babies, knowing that they have become so used to Facebook "that they don't engage with us anymore."

"I'm like, 'Hmmm, when is nine months?' I have to remember to contact them since they won't remember to tell me when the baby's born."

Neil Robinson, 54, a government lawyer in Washington, says that when his nephew's son was born, pictures went up on Facebook almost immediately. As a Facebook holdout, he had to wait for someone to email photos.

After years of resisting, Robinson plans to join next month, mostly because he doesn't want to lose touch with younger relatives who choose Facebook as their primary means of communication.

But for every Robinson, there is an Edelstein, who has no desire for Facebook and prefers email and postcards.

"I prefer to keep my communications personal and targeted," says Jake Edelstein, 41, a pharmaceutical consultant in New York. "You're getting a message that's written for you. Clearly someone took the time to sit down to do it."

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Is J.C. Penney the new Sears?

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J.C. Penney (JCP) shares tumbled Wednesday after the retailer reported a much wider-than-expected first-quarter loss, suspended its dividend and saw weakness across all core metrics.

In an apparent rebuke to new CEO Ron Johnson's strategy to change the company's focus from discounts to everyday low prices, total sales fell 20% while same-store sales declined 19% and gross margins fell to 37.6% from 40.5% as foot traffic in the stores dropped 10%.

"Our marketing isn't doing the work," Johnson said in a conference call. "We've got to get our pricing across. Coupons were a drug, they really drove traffic. [Customers] need to understand the value we're offering."

But it's Johnson, not J.C. Penney's customers, who has a problem understanding what the retailer needs, says Howard Davidowitz, a veteran retail banker and CEO of Davidowitz & Associates.

"He's caused incalculable damage," Davidowitz says of Johnson, who joined J.C. Penney last year after running Apple's (AAPL) retail operations. "The customers are everything. They don't know what the hell he's doing."

In a nutshell, Johnson wanted to wean customers off one-time discounts -- notably coupons -- and get them to look at J.C. Penney as a place for everyday low prices. (See: J.C. Penney CEO: We Can Become America's Favorite Store)

But that's "a very tricky thing to get customers to believe," Davidowitz says. "What is a 'fair' price? Who's to determine it?"

Using Target's (TGT) multi-year rollout of groceries as an example, Davidowitz says "experiments" are good in retail but need to be done on a test basis and introduced slowly to get customers comfortable with a new concept.

"J.C. Penney didn't need a revolution, it needed an evolution," he says. "You can't take an old line company that's been operating the same way a very long time and throw everything out the window and say 'now we've reinvented the company.'"

Davidowitz does have a flair for the dramatic, as you can see in the accompanying video. But he was also one of the few who didn't buy into the hype last year when Johnson was named J.C. Penney's CEO, as you can see here.

After calling J.C. Penney shares a short last June, Davidowitz remains glum about the company's prospects following its dismal quarter, predicting the company will now slash inventories -- limiting customer choice -- cut staff and eliminate all promotions.

In other words, Davidowitz says J.C. Penney is going down the same path as Sears Holdings (SHLD), another retailer that has fallen on hard times. As with Eddie Lampert at Sears, J.C. Penney has come under the influence of financial heavyweights, hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and Vornado Realty Trust's Steven Roth.

Lampert, Ackman and Roth are all incredibly accomplished investors and brilliant by all accounts. But the early returns at J.C. Penney suggest once again that being a great investor does not necessarily make for a great retailer.

Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker. You can follow him on Twitter at @aarontask or email him at altask@yahoo.com

More from The Daily Ticker

Yahoo! Finance to stream LIVE coverage of the Facebook IPO Friday starting at 10:30 am. WATCH IT LIVE HERE!

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3 Seo 'w' Factors To think about When Advertising Your Business On ...

Internet analytics present resources on comprehending your market place; from their behavioral patterns and acquiring capability for the possibilities: what your market marketplace desires, how to make your internet site guests hold coming again and ultimately the way to transform them into devoted clients.

Present day booming internet promoting has become additional difficult and aggressive not just using the mushrooming of on the internet businesses, but in addition because extra and far more on-line businesses fold-up just like soon as they have began. This can be primarily as a result of the poor evaluation of marketplace trending, demographics; and quite a few qualitative and quantitative components.

? Three Elements to consider in On the internet Marketing:

There are several variables online companies take into account to establish their achievement or failure. Hits, or even the variety of instances the internet site was seen, utilized to be one this sort of aspect. These mostly say a great deal about how web surfers see your web-site. But then, on the net marketers wished to discover more than how lots of occasions they had been seen. Internet analytics devised a system that would profile every unique visitor and store their details for long term reference so it may furthermore be determined when repeat visits occur. From these profiles, the marketer gets an notion of three critical W?s: Who, What and When.

Who -visits you. Who was intrigued initially sight, but in no way checked out almost every other pages in your web site? Whom did you preserve engrossed so much so he/she acquired your products/services? Who took the time to fill-out your study types or who dropped-out of purchasing a thing in midstream? When answering these questions, it is possible to now see who are people who can come to be possible purchasers and people who just dropped within your internet site.

What -were they looking for that led them to you personally? Did the online search engine they used appropriately brought them for you? What sort of products/services do they have to have that you just can perhaps give within the future? This way, you are going to know which solutions or services you?ll be able to improve to superior fit your guests. What pages did they devote the majority of their time on? What produced far more revenue? Maybe the lookup wrongly led them for you but by means of the net analytic facts, you could have found out their details and strategize a sport plan that could allow you to provide them with what it can be they are on the lookout for, in the close to long term.

When -they seen your internet site. This information is really an essential part of the components for good results. Figuring out the peak and off-peak hours you had been seen, you could possibly formulate promoting schemes that would improve site visits, decrease bounce prices and drop-outs.

? How These Elements Aid To Zero in In your Market place:

These three W?s will assist in determining what parts of one?s internet site need improving. You can also know how you can alter your internet style inside a way that will cater more to your niche market and impact their acquiring powers or do a common make-over by using the demographics of one?s viewers. You may have surely gathered these from the intricate and thorough report of internet analytics. These can also inform if you?re attracting the right targeted traffic. When you have numbers of visits but bounce and drop-out charges are nearly in parallel to them, chances are you are very probably attracting the incorrect crowd. Since the onset of net advertising and marketing and online organizations, this industry has never ever experienced a lot more help than when web analytics arrived into the picture.

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This entry was posted on 16. May 2012 at 23:50 and is filed under Blogroll. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

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Video Game Reviews | Minecraft | RotoRob

As I?ve noted many times, I am a console gamer. That means no PC, no phone and no tablet games. As such, I was very much looking forward to the fourth and final week of Xbox Live?s Arcade Next, which signaled the arrival of Minecraft on the Xbox 360. I had a general idea of what the game was all about, but I was surprised at just how easily I was sucked into its blocky world.

CONTROLS (4/5)

When PC games that rely on point-and-click mouse controls are ported over to controllers, the worry is that too much precision will be lost and you?ll end up with a clunky setup. By and large, Minecraft avoids this fate. Navigating and mining feel natural on the controller, leaving only a sometimes aggravating inventory system to deal with. Crafting items are separated and can be tabbed through quickly, but the overall inventory interface is somewhat shaky.

GRAPHICS/SOUND (3.5/5)

From a technical aspect, Minecraft is comically outdated. Of course, those blocky pixilated visuals have become iconic among gamers so any change would have been rejected. That?s because, despite their simplicity, the visuals pack an undeniable charm. The world is massive and feels somehow alive even with its clear disconnect from reality. There are probably a certain percentage of gamers that won?t be able to get past it, but that?s to their detriment.

The soundtrack is generally calm and serene; at first I didn?t think I?d like it. It grew on me, though, and fits perfectly with the generally leisurely pace of the game. Sound effects are good with all the basic animal noises covered and even a surprisingly creepy zombie moan.

GAMEPLAY (4/5)

In some ways it?s hard to describe Minecraft in regard to its purpose as a video game to someone that was entirely unfamiliar with the concept. There is no story, no characters, no dialogue, no bad guy and no definitive motive for playing. You are plopped into a vast world armed only with a map and your bare hands and told, ?OK, create something.? And therein lays either the title?s greatest strength or most glaring weakness, depending on what you?re looking for from a video game.

If you?re someone that really values freedom and creativity for their gaming dollar, it?s tough to get much better than this. As long as you?re willing to put in the time, there is little you cannot do. Essentially, the game breaks down into you mining cubes of various materials, which are then used and combined to construct new objects ? many of which can then be merged further to create more complex and valuable items.

Early on you?ll likely be working hard to get a small homestead going, which means busting down trees for wood and then processing the wood into planks for construction. Amazingly, every item you find in Minecraft seems to have one or more uses so there can be a lot to digest. One nice time-saving feature is that if you push the left bumper while viewing something, an in-game tutorial pops up and gives you a breakdown of that item and what can be done with it. For example, cows can be hit until they turn into leather? or, if you have a bucket, they can be milked.

Not everything in Minecraft is friendly, however, and when day turns to night, all sorts of unsavory things show up to come after you. Zombies, spiders, the infamous creepers and more will attack you with a relentless fervour if you choose to stay out after dark. You are able to build weapons and armour to defend yourself, but for most the preferred course will be to sleep the nights away. That?s because if all of your hearts are depleted you?ll be sent back to the last bed you slept in, and all the items you were carrying will remain where you were killed. If you?re close to home it?s not an issue, though if you?d become lost or had traveled far it can be frustrating to lose your stuff.

However, while the game offers a ton of things to do, it never directs you to do a single one of them. You are truly on your own outside of an admittedly solid tutorial mode, and if you lack the initiative to build the proverbial ?better mousetrap? this won?t be for you. It takes a significant time investment to truly immerse yourself and start shaping your randomly generate cube world into something unique. If that doesn?t sound like you then your money is better spent elsewhere.

For those that are interested in taking the plunge, Minecraft also offers up multiplayer action locally as well as through Xbox Live. This is a surprisingly cool feature and one that is slickly handled with the ability to join or invite being very simple. It?s also another way to enjoy the game if you feel like mixing it up and traveling to another player?s world or bringing them into yours.

OVERALL (4/5)

If I may dip back into my book of axioms, Minecraft is the epitome of a game where you get out of it what you put into it. So if you?ve got the imagination and resolve to put in the hours necessary to do something special, this could be the best 1,600 MS Points (US$20) you spend all year.

By Herija Green
This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 6:10 pm and is filed under Herija Green, Video Game Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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from our front porch lookin' in...: Homeschooling Through Vision ...

I started homeschooling when my oldest, Sammi, was 5 and ready for Kindergarten. That was back in 2007. She was the only person in my life that I'd ever attempted to teach to read.

It did not go well.

My first assumption, of course, was that I was just incapable of teaching reading.

Progress would come... but it was painfully slow. None of concepts tied to reading were "clicking" for her. And we tried everything.

Since then, I've briefly alluded to Sam's issues. Ultimately, I heeded the advice of several older & wiser homeschooling mothers, who told me to take a step back... to give Sam breathing room and to avoid pressuring her to meet my schedule?of reading development.

Sammi is so bright! She is creative, crafty, and has a working vocabulary that is about a grade level or two above her current grade. Her memorization ability is also quite good, so the continued slow progress through learning to read just confounded me.

In November of 2010, I got the chance to attend a talk entitled?"A Critical Link Between Vision and Learning" by Dr. Genia Beasley, at our local homeschool group's Parent Workshop. It didn't take long before the handouts she gave us during that meeting had the hair standing up on the back of my neck. Of the twenty-four symptoms listed as signals for a visual processing disorder, I checked off nineteen of them as fitting Sam. After meeting with Dr. Beasley, it become clear that Sammi was indeed a good candidate for further testing and most likely some form of vision therapy.

The bad news was... none of it would be covered by our insurance(s). Neither our vision insurance nor our medical insurance.

For us, at the time, that was that. We just did not have room in the budget for something like this. So I buckled down, did my research... learned what we?could do to help improve her vision and we set out on a path for the rest of that school year with deeper understanding of what Sammi was dealing with and how we could help?accommodate?her. Her reading continually improved and even began improving at a faster and faster pace, which was extremely encouraging to us.

Then came this year.

And while her reading was still steadily improving... {and?she was falling in love with books!} we hit a whole new brick wall: Math.

I never even saw it coming. Granted, she had struggled a little with adding and subtracting three digit numbers... but when we attempted to toss in multiplication and division, all bets were off. When I was checking her work, it was clear that she was understanding the concepts?of multiplication, but it was almost like she could tell which problems were to be added and which were to be multiplied!


Of course, because I was now aware of the potential visual processing deficiency that she was working with, that was the first thing that came to mind. Not knowing what else to do, we just quit trying to move forward in math. In the meantime, we switched from Singapore Math to Math-U-See {at the suggesting of some more very helpful homeschooling friends working through similar issues...} and began making more concrete plans to get Sam evaluated and treated, regardless of the cost. {Of course, it helps that we've also recently paid off some previously binding medical debt.}?

Today is Step 1. Sammi is going in this morning for an exam with my eye doctor, who is?covered on our vision insurance and we are praying {and wouldn't mind others praying with us!} for answers or at the very least... direction.

In the meantime, I plan to blog about this because a) it's completely foreign to me and blogging it all out helps my mind to cope with the details of it all and b) because if I had to venture a guess, I'd say that there just might be someone out there experiencing similar issues with their child and something that I write might just be the very thing they need to read at the moment they happen upon us here. A least that is my hope.?:-)

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Private Equity Likes Real Estate Investing in Pune, India's Other ...

Sameer Gholve

According to Sameer Gholve, Manager of Capital Markets at Jones Lang LaSalle India, Pune has been favored destination amongst Real Estate PE funds since 2005 - the year FDI opened for real estate.

Most of the funds are based out of Mumbai, which gives Pune obvious preference, as the city's proximity allows these funds to track and monitor the market - and their investments - easily. Also, Pune is among the most rapidly growing cities in India after Mumbai, NCR and Bangalore.

The total flow of PE funds into Pune until December 2011 was approximately US$800 million. This consisted of both foreign and domestic monies through around 32 major transactions over the last five years. 2009 saw the lowest flow of private equity funds into the city, though Investors regained confidence in 2010 arrived. The renewed investor confidence resulted in a massive recovery of private equity deal closures in Pune

As expected, most of these funds have been invested in the residential property asset class. In fact, residential real estate has proved to be the most consistent and enduring magnet for private equity funds into Pune's real estate sector. In comparison, investments into SEZs, industrial parks (STPIT) and mixed-use townships have primarily been seen only before mid-2008. From 2010 onwards, the interest in these formats as asset classes has been quite meager.

Significantly, 61% of the total private equity investments that have been seen in Pune were done in projects located in East Pune. East Pune has the majority of the city's IT industry developments such as Magarpatta Cyber City in Hadapsar, EON IT Park in Kharadi, CommerZone in Yerawada, Weikefield IT Park on Nagar Road, etc. These IT developments have had a major spin-off effect on the profile of these areas. The higher spending power and commensurate aspirations of the people working in these establishments has caused the arrival of massive malls and also generated a huge demand for quality residential projects. These projects are proving to be the major magnets for private equity investments into Pune's real estate sector.

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Octomom to Tanning Mom: You Suck!

Octomom just heard about the New Jersey woman giving her a run for Mother of the Year, Patricia Krentcil, and boy oh boy, is she incredulous!

Nadya Suleman admits that while she is always inclined to give parents the benefit of the doubt ... the now-infamous Tanning Mom needs help.

If not mental help, then some serious parenting classes.

From one amazing parent to another ...

Octomom says she doesn't feel Patricia Krentcil should lose her kid, even though she was recently arrested for taking her little girl tanning.

She does feel, however, that Child Protective Services should step in to give Krentcil some tips on child-rearing. Hard to argue with that.

It's kind of like the pot calling the kettle bronze here. No, Octo hasn't been arrested at any point, but she's messing up 13 more kids than Patty.

In any case, when a woman who's been visited by CPS herself, filed for bankruptcy and started an adult film career (Octomom's porn video debut is slated for later this year) decides to call you out on your mothering skills ... never a good sign.

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