Iraqi man pleads guilty in Ky. terrorism case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ? An Iraqi man pleaded guilty Tuesday to 10 charges of conspiring to send weapons, cash and explosives to al-Qaida in Iraq and two counts of lying to federal immigration agents to get into the United States and stay in the country.

Mohanad Shareef Hammadi, 24, gave simple "yes" and "I plead guilty" answers to questions from U.S. District Judge Thomas B. Russell in federal court in Louisville. The surprise plea came a week before Hammadi was set to stand trial on the charges in Bowling Green, Ky., where he and a co-defendant were arrested in May 2011 after a federal sting operation.

Hammadi, who did not have a plea agreement with prosecutors, faces 25 years to life in federal prison plus millions of dollars in fines when he's sentenced Dec. 5. He had been scheduled for trial Aug. 28 in Bowling Green. The co-defendant, 30-year-old Waad Ramadan Alwan, previously pleaded guilty and is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 3 in Bowling Green.

The plea came as good news to soldiers who fought near the city of Bayji, Iraq, in the Sunni Triangle north of Baghdad in 2005, where Hammadi and Alwan told the FBI they worked as insurgents. Six Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers died in that area in August 2005 and Hammadi and Alwan told the FBI and an informant that they were active insurgents there.

Justin Hunt of Alexandria, Va., served with the 173rd Long Range Surveillance Detachment of the Rhode Island National Guard near Bayji. His unit responded to assist on Aug. 9, 2005, when a roadside bomb killed four of the soldiers from Pennsylvania. Hunt sees Hammadi's plea as justice.

"This guy was not smart," Hunt told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "He was just lucky. His luck has run out."

Brandon Miller of Chadds Ford, Pa., received a Purple Heart for burn injuries he sustained after his Humvee blew up after hitting a roadside bomb near Bayji. He described the plea as "outstanding."

"It spares everybody a lot of trouble," said Miller, a former Pennsylvania National Guard sergeant.

Hammadi's defense attorney, Jim Earhart of Louisville, said his client "grew up in a different world" and never intended to get caught up in shipping weapons and explosives to al-Qaida in Iraq. Earhart described Hammadi as willing to plead guilty rather than go through the rigors of a trial to achieve the same result.

"He's hesitant. He's 24 years-old," Earhart said. "He's looking at 25 years to life. Who wouldn't be?"

Earlier in the day at a pre-trial hearing, U.S. Justice Department attorney Larry Schneider said the government has "definitive proof" linking Hammadi to insurgent attacks after the American-led invasion of Iraq.

"He was either part of Al-Qaida in Iraq or a group affiliated with Al-Qaida in Iraq," Schneider said during a pre-trial conference.

After the plea hearing, U.S. Attorney David J. Hale noted that Hammadi pleaded guilty to lying about his involvement with insurgent and terrorist groups.

"It speaks for itself, what he admitted to," Hale said.

The U.S. State Department estimated that al-Qaida in Iraq had about 1,000 core members in 2005 and about 10,000 affiliated fighters at its peak in 2010.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Calhoun spelled out nine charges against Hammadi involving attempts to ship sniper rifles, cases of C4 explosives, rocket propelled grenades, hand grenades, machine guns and wads of cash to al-Qaida in Iraq from January 2011 until the sting operation closed in May 2011. Calhoun also laid out count 10, which involved an attempt to send Stinger missile systems and counts 11 and 12, which charged Hammadi with lying about prior associations with terrorist organizations on a form to enter the United States as a refugee and another form seeking permanent legal resident status.

After each charge, the green jumpsuit-clad and shackled Hammadi answered "yes" and "I do plead guilty."

A government informant identified only as "Ammar" first started working with Alwan in late 2010. Hammadi admitted to joining the conspiracy in January 2011. Hale said all of the weapons involved were inactive and couldn't have been used. Hale added that none made it overseas.

Hale credited the efforts of the Joint Terrorism Task Force, a group that includes the FBI and Bowling Green Police Department, with running the sting and making the case winnable.

"In short, the system that was put in place post-9/11 worked," Hale said. "There's no place to hide. They chose Bowling Green, Ky., ... that's no different than choosing a major American city."

______

Follow Associated Press reporter Brett Barrouquere on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBarrouquereAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraqi-man-pleads-guilty-ky-terrorism-case-195144474.html

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The Link Between Oily Hair and Hair Loss ?

Copyright (c) 2012 www.oilyhairoilyscalp.com

Hair loss, clinically known as Alopecia is a condition that affects many men and women. Hair loss can be caused by a number of factors. Men that experience pattern hair loss have a genetic predisposition but alopecia can also be triggered by androgen hormones in both men and women. Lack of necessary nutrients like iron and essential fatty acids, can also lead to excessive hair loss. The other important factor to consider is an oily hair condition that must not be ignored by people suffering from hair loss.

Firstly, it is important to note that your hair has different growing stages that determine which hairs fall out and which ones continue their growth. There are 3 hair-growth stages:

Anagen phase
This one lasts from 2 to 6 years and it is the active growing phase of hair. Approximately 80% of your hair is in this phase.
Catagen phase
This lasts about 2 weeks and it is a transitional phase when the hair follicle prepares for the last phase. The hairs that are going to be replaced enter this phase.
Telogen phase
Telohen phase is the last phase in which the hair follicle rests and hair starts to fall out. Approximately 10-15% of the hair is in this phase every day.After all the phases are completed, the hair follicle reenters the Anagen phase and starts the hair growth all over again.

Hair loss can be influenced by oily scalp skin and hairThe growing phase of a hair follicle can also be interrupted by a number of factors. Among them, there can be an oily hair condition that can be accompanied or not by seborrheic dermatitis.

It is important to note that your hair follicle needs 3 things to produce healthy hair: 1) minerals and vitamins, 2) oxygen and 3) adequate blood supply. When your scalp produces too much oil, this can clog your hair follicle and cause hair loss. Air and blood can?t reach your hair root because of the excess oil and this interrupts the normal hair-growth cycle.

Although humans can shed up to 100 hairs each day, when you start to notice excessive hair loss every time you wash and brush your hair, this means that measures have to be taken. In some cases, the hair follicle keeps growing new hair so you might not notice any signs of hair loss on your scalp. In time, if this condition is left untreated, the hair follicle can stop reentering the hair growth phase and the hair loss will become more evident.

Treating hair loss by using medication and different hair treatments might be of no use if you have oily hair. An excessive oily scalp will suffocate your hair follicle and this must be treated before you start any hair loss regimen. There is no use of using many chemical treatments if the hair follicle is completely blocked and unable to benefit them.

What can you do for oily hair to prevent hair loss? The first thing you can do for oily hair is to use some natural homemade remedies that are very easy to make and use.

The most effective remedy is to use this simple regimen for at least 2-3 months ? egg yolk mask and lemon water. The egg yolk mask is the most effective natural remedy against hair loss because it offers all the necessary nutrients that your hair needs. You just need to take 2 eggs and separate the yolks. Make a mask out of the 2 yolks and put it on your wet hair before you wash it. Leave it on for 30 minutes and then rinse with lots of water. Wash with a mild shampoo, preferably diluted with a little water. At the end, take the juice of one lemon and mix it with 1-2 liters of water. Use this lemon water for your last rinse.

The lemon will make your scalp free of grease by restoring the natural acidic PH of your skin. It will also make your whole hair shiny and healthy by infusing it with vitamin C and other nutrients. The lemon water routine should be followed after each hair-washing and the egg mask at least once a week for an effective hair loss and greasy-hair prevention and treatment.

Coconut oil can treat seborrheic dermatitis. For people suffering from seborrheic dermatitis that causes flaking and itchiness along with oily hair and hair loss, it is advisable to try a coconut mask. Take 2-3 tablespoons of coconut butter or oil and warm it a little bit over the stove until it is liquid enough to put on your hair. Make sure that it is not too warm before you put it all over your hair. Wait for at least an hour before you wash your hair so that all the nutrients can get to your hair follicle and scalp skin. Wash with lots of herbal shampoo to get all the coconut oil out. You might need to wash 2 times and use lemon water to rinse at the end.

Oily hair can be unaesthetic as well as cause severe problems like hair loss. It can also be linked to acne and other hormonal issue, especially among teenagers and pregnant women. There a lot of other natural remedies that can be used to treat this condition, and for the more severe cases a medicinal shampoo can also be considered.

?How Does Hair Grow ? The Link between Oily Hair and Hair Loss? is a great online free resource that explains the different stages of hair growth and how an oily scalp can lead to hair loss. Grow Your Hair Back by first managing oily scalp and oily hair conditions

Source: http://all-articles-directory.com/the-link-between-oily-hair-and-hair-loss/

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Online Business Ideas and Home Business Tips: Internet Marketing ...

Internet marketing is a fairly new way of marketing and yet, it has grown to practically overtake the other methods of advertising. There is no match for internet marketing, when it comes to reaching customers and attracting traffic to your business. This article can direct you to the ways that will help your business join the success stories of internet marketing.

When advertising a product, don't be shy about mentioning its flaws. If you try and make your product seem perfect and people buy it and find major flaws, they won't be too happy with you. But if you admit things your product isn't great for up front, they're more likely to appreciate your honesty.

Make it as easy as possible for your customers to find the price of the product or service you offer them. Online shoppers never appreciate a hidden price; many of them will assume such hidden prices indicate something shady about the product or its seller. Being coy about your prices only hurts the trust and loyalty you want to encourage in your customers.

In your internet marketing ads and slogans, use the word fast. People are in a crunch for time, and right from the start you are working at a disadvantage because when shopping online people do not have the instant gratifications they receive from shopping in the department stores. So use the word fast, for instance, "Super-fast shipping" or "Fast and easy ordering".

Most search engines show brief descriptions of your business, product or service on the search results page. If your description stands out from the rest, you optimize your chances of driving traffic to your website. Instead of using the manufacturer's bland description, write your own unique content using keywords that potential buyers are likely use in their search engine description. Don't wildly embellish the usefulness of the product or service, but be creative and resourceful in your word choice.

During the holidays of the year such as Christmas, make sure that you offer as many deals as possible on your site. This is the time where most companies are going to offer bargains, so you do not want to be behind the curve with high prices that are not attractive to customers.

Create a series of freebies for your visitors. Include your ad within the freebie. For instance, you could create some Java-script games around your products or simply feature some good games with your advertisement at the bottom of the screen for instance. Try to come up with freebies that will interest your visitors.

When you are trying to build your internet marketing empire, remember to put unique content on your site. The more specialized and creative your content, the more attractive it is to your customers. People are drawn to conversational websites. Have a place on your site where people can comment for best results.

Follow these tips and set your business up for the kind of success you want to see. By using internet marketing to propel your business, you will not only get noticed, but you can attract prospective buyers who want what you have to offer. Have a strong internet marketing plan, and your business will succeed.

Source: http://online-business-tips-and-news.blogspot.com/2012/08/internet-marketing-has-never-been-this.html

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Tuesday Roundup: 19 Million Without Broadband | Daily Yonder ...

08/21/2012

Barge traffic stuck on the dwindling Mississippi ? Flu infects hogs at state and county fairs ? Will wind blow Romney down in Iowa? ? Drought hurts Kentucky pumpkin contest

Here is a satellite shot of the Mississippi River (or what's left of it) near Greenville, Mississippi, just a few days ago. You can see the sand bars rising and barges stacked up, waiting for an 11-mile stretch of the river to clear. A barge ran aground earlier in the month and has been blocking traffic. Some 100 barges are waiting to get through the clogged part of the river.

The Federal Communications Commission reported today that 19 million Americans don't have access to broadband Internet connections.?

There's been an improvement in access. Last year the FCC said that 26 million were without broadband.?

"The lack of access continues to hamper rural Americans in particular," reports Roger Yu at USA Today. "About 14.5 million rural Americans ? or 23.7% of 61 million people living in rural areas ? had no fast Internet service offered for their homes. In contrast, only 1.8% Americans living in non-rural areas ? 4.5 million out of 254.9 million ? had no broadband access."

West Virginia had the least amount of broadband access, with 45.9 percent of the state's population lacking fast Internet connection. Montana had 26.7 percent without broadband; South Dakota, 21.1 percent; and Alaska, 19.6 percent.

In California, 35 percent of rural residents couldn't get a broadband connection.

An Election on the Wind ? Will the presidential vote in Iowa depend on wind?

Paul Hammel of the Omaha World-Herald travels east to find that Iowans like their wind power ? and they don't much like Republican Mitt Romney's stance against incentives for wind power development. Romney says wind energy should be able to make it in the market without subsidies.?

?Because the race is so close here, both candidates will try to latch onto any issue that will make a difference with Iowans,? said Dianne Bystrom of Iowa State University, a specialist in political communications. ?In the past, it was ethanol. Now it's wind.?

The tradition in Iowa is for politicians to favor wind energy. Hammel notes that every governor, regardless of party, in the past 20 years has supported wind energy production. And all seven members of the Iowa Congressional delegation favor the federal production credit for wind that Romney opposes.

Now, 20 percent of Iowa's power comes from wind.

Vets' Biggest Challenge ? Two-thirds of veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars say that their greatest challenge is finding a job.?

A study of Iraq/Arghanistan era vets found that 44 percent of veterans said they were not ready to make the transition to civilian life. Half of those surveyed said they needed more education or technical training.

Vets in these wars disproportionately come from rural areas.

Only Two Pumpkins ? How bad is the drought??

A friend just returned from the Kentucky State tells us that there were only two entries in the biggest pumpkin contest. The winner was a 1,074.5 pound pumpkin from Somerset, growth by brothers Jim and John Van Hook. Yes, that's a record.

?It?s kind of sad just to see two? pumpkins, said Anna Lucio, the Agriculture Department official in charge of the contest. But she said it was indicative of a ?really, really tough growing season? for fruits and vegetables.

Sick Fair Hogs? ? There's a new strain of flu being passed from pigs to humans and that has caused state fair officials in Minnesota to say the swine exhibits at the state fair should be closed.?

A university official says the number of pig to human infections has been "unprecedented" this year. And since the viruses can change when they cross species, there is the possibility of a widespread health threat. The officials told the Minneapolis newspaper that "we're tempting fate."

The swine flue has infected 200 people in eight states. The flue is mild and primarily affects children who are exposed to pigs at state and county fairs.

The Minnesota fair is expecting 1,000 pigs to arrive at the fairgrounds in the next few days.

Privatized Child Welfare ? In 2009, Nebraska shifted much of the responsibility for running the state's child welfare system to private contractors.

The idea was to save money and make the system more efficient. That didn't happen, according to an article by Kevin O'Hanlon for the Center for Public Integrity.

"In fact, the whole thing was such a dismal failure that state lawmakers passed a sweeping package of bills earlier this year aimed at fixing the system," O'Hanlon wrote.

O'Hanlon explores why Nebraska has a very high percentage of its children in the child welfare system.

One in Four Hungry ? One in four residents of Mississippi said there was at least one time in the past year when they didn't have enough money to buy the food they or their family needed, according to a Gallup poll.?

Alabama, Delaware, Georgia, Nevada and Arkansas followed Mississippi. The states with the smallest percentage of residents who didn't have enough money for food were North Dakota (9.6 percent); South Dakota (11.8 percent); Vermont (11.9 percent) and Wisconsin (12 percent).

?

Source: http://www.dailyyonder.com/tuesday-roundup-19-million-without-broadband/2012/08/21/4328

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Burglar stole Apple founder Steve Jobs' wallet - police - The Daily Telegraph

Burglar stole Apple founder Steve Jobs' wallet - police
The Daily Telegraph
Got feedback? Tell us what you think - if you have a comment or suggestions about our Technology site, we'd love to hear from you. Mobile ? RSS Feeds ? Newsletters ? Send Stories ? Send Your Photos ? Terms & Conditions ? Privacy Policy ? Accessibility ...

and more ?

Link To Original Article

Source: http://www.phoneforums.org/news/398302-burglar-stole-apple-founder-steve-jobs-wallet-police-daily-telegraph.html

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Introduction to the Mobile Gambling Casino - Art and Entertainment ...

Aug 19, 2012 Author: admin | Filed under: Games

Mobile Casinos is one of the great game inventions in the modern era. Nowadays people don?t have to go to Chicago, Las Vegas or Macau when they want to play poker, jack black or any other casino games. When they feel that they want to play those games then what they have to do is just go online and download the application.

Mobile gambling companies nowadays are so many, you can choose your best mobile casino games based on your own preferences. There is a thing that should be consider when you are about to choose and download the games, what you have to do first is consider the safety aspect that the mobile casino games company created. What is the safety aspect of the mobile casino games? It is about the security of the fund.

When you are about to enter such games then you have to make deposit first. Bad company might take your deposit and leave you with nothing. Thus in order to prevent that bad scenario from happen then you should choose the best mobile casino company. Choose the one which offers security and protection for your fund deposit. You can browse and see the background of the companies in the internet then after that you can decide one which you feel it most desirable and trustworthy.

Source: http://www.purvislowerelementary.com/2012/08/introduction-to-the-mobile-gambling-casino/

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How To Promote Online Sales | SEO Internet Marketing

Aug 19 2012

As with many existing stores or local businesses they?re next step is to put an SEO strategy in place. With so many to choose from, finding the right Search Engine Optimization company can be difficult. These companies typically use established techniques to help on-line presence grow through specific search analysis. With thousands of customers searching the Internet daily, an SEO companies goal is to get on the first page. That means more leads and more business.

In uncomplicated terms, Search Engine Optimization is the getting a website to the top of search results like Google or Bing for products and services by using the correct keywords and terms. Choosing a leader in Organic SEO is the basis of a solid SEO campaign. Typically, poorly selected keywords lead to poor search volume and nearly negligent traffic of any value. A superior selection of phrases and terms for an audience ensures that a business can be located by people who require exactly what they provide.

The advantages of SE Optimization can make a business visible at a global level and open it up beyond the local market. Starting by properly configuring a website for broad specific customers, they build relevant content and create a campaign to make it an authority on the web. Website activity will improve and with it quality traffic. With properly created landing pages, this traffic gets convert to actual sales. With more and more customers getting on board with SEO it?s a proven fact that it can help businesses grow.

?It?s a fact that that even a little bit of quality traffic will net more sales than tremendous amount of random visits,? says Randall Bootman, with an Attorney SEO Company. Search Engine Optimization companies look to provide their customers relevant web traffic utilizing using modern tactics and advanced methods. They will craft engaging articles and optimize a web-page to become SEO friendly. They may also launch an Internet marketing campaign for a site to be recognized as an authority in specific market. Most SEO companies also offer web design and can create interactive landing pages to engage and convert customers. They also provide advanced analysis of trending data to evaluate the quality of search traffic to a website and promote content with social media marketing.

Many SEO Firms claim to provide quality SEO related services. Typically, these methods fall short due to weak strategy or poor keyword creation. Finding the right SEO Company can help you stay current on all SEO strategies and techniques. Look for one who employs field experts in various markets to provide in-depth keyword creation. Also look for one with a local office so you are able to meet face-to-face. These factors will differentiate competitors of SEO Services.

Source: http://www.mehblog.org/how-to-promote-online-sales

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West Nile virus flying through many Florida and Georgia counties on mosquito wings

West Nile virus flying through many Florida and Georgia counties on mosquito wings

As rain continues to fall, creating ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes, more cases of West Nile virus are cropping up throughout Florida and Georgia, according to state health officials.

A mosquito-borne illness alert was issued Monday for Jacksonville by the Duval County Health Department after four additional human cases of West Nile virus illness were confirmed - a 46-, 60- and 61-year-old male and a 70-year-old woman. Duval County now has nine confirmed cases of West Nile virus in 2012. State health officials confirm that 13 sentinel chickens in Bay, Duval, Sarasota, and Walton counties tested positive for antibodies to West Nile virus. And so far this year, positive samples from nine humans and 83 sentinel chickens have been received from 13 Florida counties.

Along with Duval County, Holmes, St. Johns, Walton, and Washington counties are under mosquito-borne illness advisories.

Because of recent heavy rains, mosquitoes are breeding and multiplying in standing water. So county health department are warning the public to destroy any place that mosquitoes, which carry the virus, breed and multiply.

Symptoms of West Nile virus include headache, fever, fatigue, dizziness, weakness and confusion.

For more information, go to ow.ly/cN765 or call the Duval County Health Department at (904) 253-1850.

Source: http://feeds.jacksonville.com/~r/JacksonvillecomsNewsSportsAndEntertainment/~3/Qm67BlUJIJc/west-nile-virus-flying-through-many-florida-and-georgia-counties

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b1g1nj4p4n: RT @rickmarshall: Hey folks, where can someone donate comics these days? My hospital & military donation connections have gone away. ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://twitter.com/b1g1nj4p4n/statuses/236618755705282560

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Beleaguered Kean eyes promotion

Under-pressure Blackburn manager Steve Kean insisted his players were good enough to win a return to the Premier League despite watching them concede a late equaliser in their first Championship match since 1999.

Kean was told this week that he will lose his job if his team loses three consecutive matches early in the season, but his players responded to that threat by the club's global adviser Shebby Singh by grinding out a 1-1 draw at Ipswich.

The Scot was encouraged by Blackburn's spirited efforts even though they squandered the chance for a morale-boosting win when Jason Lowe's 83rd minute own goal cancelled out a debut strike from Colin Kazim-Ricahrds.

"Our fans travelled in numbers and saw a spirited, organised and athletic performance," Kean said.

"We feel we've got a really good, competitive squad and that we're good enough to bounce back at the first attempt."

Bolton fared worse in their return to second-tier football, losing 2-0 to local rivals Burnley, whose fans gave former Clarets manager and current Wanderers boss Owen Coyle a hostile reception.

"The atmosphere was what it was," he said. "Whatever happened today was never going to spoil my view of this club.

"We used the fans to great effect when I was at the club so I can hardly moan when I leave and they react like that."

Current Burnley boss Eddie Howe hoped the comfortable win would set his team up for the season ahead.

"It's only one game so we can't get carried away, but it's certainly a good performance and hopefully it will give the lads a lot of confidence," he said.

Stale Solbakken, the new manager of relegated Wolves, admitted he was desperate to change the club's losing mentality after going down 1-0 at Leeds.

"The only way you can change it is to win that first game and get that winning feeling," he said.

"We are trying to find a winning formula. The team lost many games last season, maybe one win in 26 or 27. But now we have two home games and maybe we can get it then."

Leicester manager Nigel Pearson was relieved after his team lived up to their status as favourites for promotion by cruising to a 2-0 win in their opener against Peterborough.

"It is good to get off to a winning start because we know the expectation on us is going to be there," he said.

"We all want to do it, but it is going to be hard work for us. It is a very difficult division to get promoted and we have a tough opening 10 games so we need to do well at home".

After a goalless first half at the King Power Stadium, defender Wes Morgan claimed the Foxes' first goal of the season before substitute Andy King sealed the win with a neat finish from inside the penalty area.

New Watford boss Gianfranco Zola urged his players to set their sights on the top of the table after loanees Almen Abdi and Matej Vydra scored two late goals to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win at Crystal Palace.

"The two new players who scored are quality players," former Chelsea star Zola said. "They have shown it today. Hopefully that is just the beginning.

"How far we can go is difficult to say, but we will give it (promotion) a go."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/leeds-tame-wolves-161407236--sow.html

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Either Commit to TRULY Understand Real Estate Investing ? or ...

Your ability to attract capital is NOT flashy brochures and websites ? it is all in your language?

Like most people, you may have entered a meeting with a potential joint venture partner and left there with the feeling they are not too thrilled about the perceived risk involved, or had a current partner bring up a concern that you really had no immediate answer to.

It?s time to understand that it happens to all of us ? even the best ?money magnets? get pushed away once in a while. This is becoming even more frequent now with the uncertainty in the world and most prevalent if the potential JV partner is about to enter their first venture into the real estate market. As the sophisticated investor on the team, it?s your job to put your partner at ease when something comes up that makes them a little queasy. What you will learn as you progress along the real estate investing paradigm is that it is even more effective if you pro-actively address potential issues in advance of your partner even bringing them up. It proves to them that they are in good hands.

But what do you do if you?re not comfortable answering their question, or you want to ensure you are providing the confidence they are looking for before taking the plunge?

Below is a list of four of the most common objections real estate investors hear from potential joint venture partners, followed by words and angles you can take to shed a positive light on each and every one of them. Your job is to take these responses and work them into your language so that you are armed and ready when your joint venture partner raises their eyebrow:

Objection #1: I have heard of people losing money in real estate?

?Of course, no one can control what will happen in the future, however the best way to protect ourselves is to NOT get caught speculating in a market. I continually keep a watchful eye on our local market, I watch for the subtle signs of shifting cycles so we can be pro-active before others even see it happening. The trick in it all is to buy positive cash flow property in an economically sound region. This will not only provide both of us with a good return on our investment, and if the market does not perform as well as anticipated, we will be protected by our cash flow and mortgage pay down??

?In reality, people make money and lose money by investing poorly and non-strategically in all types of investments. Our goal here, in this partnership, is to mitigate the risks by being pro-active in managing the ?business? we have formed and to maximize the return on the investment.?

Objection #2: What happens if our tenant trashes our property?

?A tenant can trash our unit, but the best way to ensure this does not happen is to properly screen and select the tenant from the beginning. Providing top notch properties to tenants is my business and I have a five-step check system to screen tenants including: job verification, previous two landlord checks, professional credit and background check? five people have to approve this tenant before they move into our hundred thousand dollar asset.

The second way I protect our investment is by having a very special insurance policy I am able to get exclusively as a REIN Member that covers us for tenant vandalism. This coverage really allows us to sleep well at night. So far, in all my years of investing I have not had to use it due to our tenant screening process, but it is sure nice to have as a back-up. ?

Objection #3: What happens if you die?

?Great question ? and an important one that goes both ways. This is just one of the reasons we ensure that we have a well written, professional legal joint venture agreement that clearly protects you and your estate. You will continue to own your 50% of the deal and my executor or heir will take care of my 50%. There are options we can put into place that make it even better for you. Optionally we can:

1. Buy insurance on each other (paid for by the property cash flow) that covers the underlying mortgage and potential taxes so it keeps the property clean for the surviving parties, OR
2. We put a clause in that instructs the executor to get an appraisal and offers to sell you the 50% automatically, OR
3. We can put in a clause that kicks in upon either of our deaths that forces the property to be sold and the monies distributed. I am not a big fan of this option as it just might be the exact wrong time to sell (according to the market fundamentals).

So as you can see, we can design it however we want to ensure that there is no confusion if this ever happens.?

Objection #4: What happens if I need to sell and get my money out quickly?

The first question you would ask a potential partner at this point (as it is a red flag) is, ?Do you see something in your life right now that may force this situation? Is there something I need to know about now?? You want to find out sooner rather than later if they suspect they might need the money for something else.

They may respond with a ?yes? or ?no?.

By this point you have already explained to them in your initial presentation that this is a minimum five year commitment. When this comes up I always take it as a bit of a flag (and an opportunity for clarity).

If there is nothing they can identify on their horizon then it is either an automatic defense mechanism they have (which has kept them out of many deals before) or it is a sign that they are not committed to the long term length of a real estate investment.

You may hear something like: ?Well, what if something happens??

?I know, life happens. But with real estate, you have to know that selling at the wrong time of the cycle can cost us both money and even if we decide that you need to get out, that is a process that takes time. For example, three options we might consider are:

1. You or I find a different partner who would buy out your portion based on net market value, OR
2. We could list the property and hope for a fast sale (without hurting either of us financially), OR
3. We would sit down together and walk through the reason you need your capital back and brainstorm a solution that might save you from dumping a good property. Together, as partners, we would determine the best course of action.?

It is important to remind them that this is a true partnership, where both parties are responsible for the outcome of the investment and within partnerships there will be changing priorities, life changes and speed bumps that all have to be negotiated.

There are many more objections you might hear?

Let?s be realistic ? you are raising capital from your circle of friends and contacts. They have worked hard for their money and if they haven?t asked you some probing questions, I would ask if they really understand what they are getting in to.

A BAD sign is if they are not asking questions. It isn?t an indication that you did a great job in your presentation; it is often an indication that you have spoken over their head or confused them but they are afraid to admit it out of fear of embarrassment. You MUST do all that you can to ensure they know what they are getting into because if you don?t, it will come back and bite you years (or months) down the road when they plead ignorance and accuse you of not explaining the whole deal.

Being armed with the right answers to the tough questions is just another way of showing your expertise and commitment to success. It is not an opportunity to make them feel bad, or to dismiss their concern. Your job as the 'real estate expert' in the relationship is to provide them answers and to make sure they understand the deal properly. The more dismissive or evasive you are to answer questions at the beginning, the higher risk you run of that relationship souring in the first couple of years? and you being blamed for it.

I trust these first few answers to potential objections have helped. The key take away is that you must be prepared for inevitable questions ? embrace them as they are a sign of engagement. Think about what types of questions you would be asking, then answer them in advance. Be prepared, but be OK with saying:

?That?s a good question, to which I don?t have the answer. Let me get you that answer!?

Be a professional investor rather than always trying to push and sell? you will do so much better over the long haul.

Join me and an expert faculty of money raising machines to learn how to solve the biggest challenge faced by real estate investors today: lack of capital. The Raising & Deploying Capital event will be in Calgary on August 25th and if you register before this Sunday, you can take advantage of a $210 discount off the regular price. Click here for information and to register.?

Source: http://www.donrcampbell.com/either-commit-to-truly-understanding-real-estate-investing-or-stop-trying-to-create-joint-ventures

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Expand your Google Play library with YouTube music on your Mac

Browsing YouTube for the latest music, downloading, converting and uploading to back to Google Play is the updated version of listening to the radio, hearing a song for the first time, and adding it to your music collection directly from the radio.

When I read that the No. 1 way that teenagers are listening to music?is through the online video service YouTube, I thought they were nuts. ?Then I recalled my younger cousin?s graduation party where they had a Mac connected to a sound system playing YouTube videos to an overly energetic, makeshift dance club in the driveway. No crate of albums, no turntable or fancy disc player, not even an iPod. ?No real music collection of any kind: YouTube was the DJ. ?All I could think of was data plans, connection speeds, and the impracticality of streaming video online just to hear a tune. And to think, this is how majority of today?s teenagers are listening to music.

There has to be a more practical solution. And there is: it requires a little more work up front. But it?s closer to shopping for music at the music store;?just treat YouTube as the Music Store, and not your own personal DJ. ?The goal is simple: you want to manage your own music library, while continuing to use YouTube as the primary source of discovering music. ?In fact, YouTube is taking music discovery very seriously. ?They have enhanced their music search and discovery features quite a bit over the last few months. ?Creating and subscribing to channels, sharing links to new music ? all that remains the same. ?And in the end, you can have the best of both worlds. ?By following these steps, what you and up with is your own YouTube-discovered music collection that you can take anywhere with you. ?And that you can play even when there?s no available internet connectivity nearby.

Here?s how you do it.

The first step of the process is to get the music off of YouTube and onto your hard drive. A quick search online, and you will find plenty of YouTube-to-MP3 converters for Windows. Add ?for Mac??to the Google search string and you will be directed to?MacUpdate.com?where you will find?MediaHuman YouTube to MP3?converter. ?With MediaHuman YouTube to MP3 all you need to do is?browse?YouTube?s new Music site?with Safari and simply drag and drop the URL of the music video you want to convert into a music file on your Mac. ?You can keep it up and running within view of Safari while you surf YouTube checking out your favorite channel?s newest songs. ?There are a couple of configuration preferences you need to set up just once, like?where you want your music downloaded?and the?quality setting for the music format you prefer. ?But for the most part, it is a simple and straightforward process.

The problem with this technique is that the tags used to identify the music file are not complete. You will realize this when you import the music files into your favorite music player. ?The music files will have the title of the track as well as the artist, and you can enter the album if you know it a the time of the downlaod, but thats about it. If you want to complete your music collection in style, you will have to update the music file?s?ID3 tag.

To do this, you will want to use a tagging application that will update the music files for you. You will want something that can identify the songs automatically, and once identified, look up the songs? information online in order to fill in the album, artist, year, genre and other information. And?MusicBrainz Picard?does a great job of doing just that. You open your converted music files and?click the look-up button on the toolbar. Picard will then try to match the music file based off of the existing information like the title of the track, the name of the artist, and even the length of the song. ?And if that does not work, you can also ?scan? the music files using Picard?s fingerprinting capabilities. ?Picard uses an online service called AcoustID?to identify each song and perform the look-up into MusicBranz?s online database. ?Once you have located the entry in MusicBrainz database that matches the song you download and converted from YouTube, you simply save your changes. ?Now you can organize and access your music files the way you like. ?No manual editing of information, Picard will do all that for you.

Now that you have your music downloaded, converted and tagged, you can import the songs directly into iTunes and start using them throughout the iTunes ecosystem. An alternative would be to upload your music files to Google?s online music service Google Play. To upload your music files you will need to use the Google Play Music Manager. The upload process is quick and easy. ?Simply select the music folder you want to upload your music files from and continue. Once uploaded you can access the music files from anywhere.

For iOS there is an app from Interactive Innovative Solutions?called gMusic that can be used to access your Google Play music library. ?Once installed you log on with your GoogleID to access your Google Play music library. ?The best feature of gMusic is that you can download your music onto your device for playback when you are not connected to the internet.

It may seem to be a lot of steps from a lot of different companies just to get music files from Google?s YouTube online video service over to Google?s Play online music service. ?But most of the steps are automated once you have all of the tools installed and configured. ?Just imagine going to a coffee shop, using the free Wi-Fi, browsing YouTube for the latest music, downloading, converting, tagging and uploading to back to Google Play. ?Comparing days past to the present, it would be like listening to the radio, hearing a song for the first time, and adding it to your music collection directly from the radio. ?If YouTube is how you discover new music, let it be your Radio, DJ and music store all in one.

Source: http://gigaom.com/apple/expand-your-google-play-library-with-youtube-music-on-your-mac/

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Great Tips And Ideas On Home Improvement | michael kors

Posted on | August 16, 2012 | Comments Off

Cleaning your decanter can be made quite easy with the following steps. Fill up your decanter up with hot water halfway and add several drops of dishwashing liquid inside. Add two or three tablespoons of vinegar and one cup of raw rice (doesn?t matter what type). Swirl the concoction in your decanter until clean. The rice helps rub off the excess dirt while you?re swirling the liquid.

If you are going to do a large renovation to create a large master bathroom consider installing a separate shower and bathtub. This may not seem like something that is that important, but many buyers are more interested in homes that have separate areas for both, since two people can get ready at the same time.

Take a close look at your home and ideas. As with any home improvement project, you need to know where to begin. Looking through your entire home and cataloging changes you want to see if you can get the best idea of where to start out. Work through the list from necessity to wants.

After some initial use, your kitchen cabinets can start to lose their luster. You can shine up kitchen cabinetry by using car wax. Apply some car wax liberally to a towel and wipe your cabinets down in a circular motion. This can make your cabinets appear like they?re new and shiny.

Think about saving money for a little longer to buy more energy-efficient products and materials for your home-improvement project. This will save you money over time on heating and electric bills which will pay for the renovations you make in no time. Consider long-term gains over short-term savings.

A mistake that people make when deciding on painting is they do not test their paint first. When you are going to paint your exterior, or even an interior room, go buy a quart of the color you are thinking of and put it on the wall for a week to see how you like it. If after a week you still like it, go buy the paint and finish.

Improve the efficiency of your tank-style water heater by wrapping it with a special water heater blanket. These blankets help to trap some of the heat typically lost to the surrounding air, which can reduce the amount of energy it takes to heat the water in the water heater?s tank.

Add a whole new room! If you are the adventurous type of homeowner, you may want to work on an addition to your home. An addition has many benefits, including more space, a longer project, and a lasting change. Be cautious of your building codes however, you do not want to start an addition only to find out it is illegal to continue.

If you have a small bathroom, consider finding ways to save space as your next home improvement project. It is easy to use an adjacent closet or to reformat an old kitchen cabinet into a new storage facility for your bathroom. Always make sure not to remove any structural support that the room has.

A great home improvement project is to add a deck to your house. An outdoor living area that a deck provides is an instant value gain on your property. Everyone loves to be outside when it is nice out and having a deck is great for when the family comes over and entertaining friends.

Guessing wrong about a sale item can put you in a very uncomfortable position since you probably won?t be able to return it. Carry a tape measure and a list of the dimensions of your rooms with you all the time. In this way, if you see the perfect item of furnishing, appliance, or fixture on sale, you will be able to measure it to see if it will fit the space you have in mind.

As you can see from the above article, you can change your home into what you dreamed it could be by following the above examples. Your friends will be impressed with all the wonderful things you have done to improve your home. You can keep it your own little secret that you got your ideas from a home improvement article.

Benton Steinkuehler is a professional on best water purifier

Comments

Source: http://how-guide.com/2012/08/great-tips-and-ideas-on-home-improvement/

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Magnum Opus2 | Business First Magazine

Rags to riches may be a tired clich? in the world of business, but sometimes it is the only phrase that works. Rory Ross meets a man who in his lifetime has made a huge success of three businesses. And who came from nothing.

?Graham Smith, Court?Reporting Tycoon?, may?not be an introduction that?resonates in A-list circles,?but in the forensic world?of Crown Court trials and multi-million?pound hearings and public inquiries,?Graham Smith?s reputation as an enabler?to barristers and high court judges is the?equivalent of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg?and Steve Jobs rolled into one.

A humble court reporter tapping away at?his stenograph in the 1980s, Smith spotted?the potential of applying nascent computer?technology to the fossilised court reporting?industry, an industry that had barely changed?since Charles Dickens?s days as a forensic?scribe. He devised LiveNote, a computer?program that helped lawyers find needles?in haystacks. It gave judges and barristers?the chance to access and annotate live?transcripts of courtroom proceedings on?a computer screen that was hooked up to?the court?s stenograph machine. Within a?few seconds of courtroom utterances being?typed into the stenograph, they would flash?up on computer screens that were set?before the lawyers.

?LiveNote eliminated the need for manual?note-taking,? says Smith. ?Lawyers could?quickly and easily refer to their notes?or print out passages of text that they?had marked.? It saved them having to sift?through reams of documents in order to?find key passages of testimony, thereby?slashing court time and costs. LiveNote?marked the beginning of the smart-enabled?court room and has ushered in the era of?the super inquiry and the global super trial.

Within two years, LiveNote had become?the de facto standard for all transcript?management. It was used in United?Nations war crime tribunals in The Hague,?Lord Savile?s Bloody Sunday Inquiry, the?Maxwell trial, the BCCI hearing, Lloyds of?London, Arms to Iraq and the Guildford?Four trial. In the 1990s, Smith introduced?LiveNote to the United States where the?legal industry is, as Smith puts it, ?One?thousand times bigger than Britain?s?.?Johnny Cochrane used LiveNote when he?defended OJ Simpson against the charge?of murder. For five years in succession,?LiveNote was the most widely used?litigation software in the States. In the?meantime, Smith had control of 80 per?cent of the British court reporting market.

Having thus cornered the market, Smith?sold LiveNote to Thomson West (now?Thomson Reuters) for a rumoured $70m?in 2006. He retired to the magnificent?Celestine Abbey near Perugia in Umbria,?once visited by St. Francis of Assisi and in?whose gardens is embedded a six-hole golf?course. Here Smith bred koi carp, golfed,?collected Italian wine, tootled about in his?Aston Martin, and spent quality downtime with?his family; he and his Bolivian wife Marcella have?three children: Alex, Richard, and Carla.

Then he got bored. It was time to relaunch?himself back into the world of court?reporting. The result? Opus 2, a new court?reporting business powered by a sensational?new litigation support programme, name of?Magnum, which uses cloud technology to?allow barristers, legal teams and judges to?access all court-admissible documents and?data remotely and in real time.

Psych v tech

A large, bonhomous man, Smith is an?ebullient life-enhancer. To meet him in person?and hear his stock of often ribald jokes, it is?hard to imagine him dressed up and behaving?himself correctly before a high court judge.?But then he isn?t a lawyer but a business man.

?There are two types of business,? he says?when we met in Opus 2?s gleaming?computer-packed offices in Fetter Lane,?a few yards from the Royal Courts of?Justice. ?At one extreme, you have?commodity-type businesses like, for example,?selling cauliflowers and sausages. Since?supermarkets hold the economies of scale?and distribution, any entrepreneur who?thinks they can set up as a greengrocer is?nuts. At the other extreme, you have?immature industries in terms of their?exploitation of technology, such as the law.?Getting a high court judge to use a computer?successfully is all about the art of psychology?not the science of technology. Never mind?geeks or IT people, only when lawyers?themselves can successfully use technology?hands-on will its full potential be reaped.?

Twigging that psychology trumps technology,?is, Smith argues, a critical difference between?entrepreneurial and corporate mind-sets.?Take Smith himself. With few formal?qualifications, he has relied on gut instinct,?intuition, core competency and ?not trying?to be all things to all men.? He?s no geek. As?he points out, technology is not something?that he is actually particularly proficient in.??In fact, if I spent time learning something that?I am not good at, it would be at a cost to the?business,? he says. ?LiveNote?s success was?only in small part down to technology. No?one was asking for LiveNote; it didn?t meet?a need. But we guessed that if we could?throw a live script before a lawyer so?that he could scroll back and forth while?making notes, then he would make fewer?notes and wouldn?t have to spend that?evening poring over the transcript.?

Smith points out that corporations like?Arthur Andersen (now Accenture) and?PricewaterhouseCoopers have tried to?muscle in on the multi-million pound?legal space but without success. The fate?of LiveNote after Thomson bought it?illustrates this point. ?Thomson came back?to market, and said ?Okay, here is the next?generation of LiveNote. Look at all these?goodies we have added to create an all-inone?product at three times the price.? But?the market found new LiveNote wasn?t?as good as old LiveNote. There was too?much emphasis on the ?what?, not enough?on the ?how? and the ?why?. The legal?world is an idiosyncratic, relationshipdependent?thing. Just as law firms don?t?offer a commoditisable product, so when?it comes to offering specialised document?management services to courts, they are?not commoditisable either.

?This is the problem when the corporate?mindset tries to enter the legal space. The?corporate says, ?If I create a product with all?the bells and whistles, then Game, Set and?Match to me.? But all you end up with is an?expensive proprietary suite of technology?with closed doors all around it which tries?to achieve lock-in. Most of the smart firms?want something leaner and meaner. For the?entrepreneur, the important skill is getting?things to market, and getting the market to?tell you what it wants. It?s not the ?what??but the ?why and the ?how?.?

Getting to market fast is vital. This, according?to Smith, is why entrepreneurs minimise?their internal infrastructure. They get to?market with one or two products that?make sense, and then ? and this is the really?important bit ? get the market to tell them?what to do. ?Corporates, on the other hand,?take the opposite approach,? says Smith.??Corporates are ivory tower merchants.?They spend their time in meeting rooms,?instead of with clients. LiveNote only employed?fifteen staff but ended up with the most?widely used software in the legal world. The?difference between the entrepreneur and?the corporate is the difference between?a racing yacht and an oil tanker. Steve Jobs?sailed an oil tanker like it was a racing yacht.?Bill Gates conceived Microsoft in his garage.?Zuckerberg came up with Facebook in his?room at Harvard. That is how these things?are done and how they should be done. It?s?far more human than creating a monolithic?corporate structure.?

Magnum force

Smith then turns to enthusing about Magnum,?his revolutionary new document management?system. It?s LiveNote on steroids. Where?LiveNote rode the personal computer tech?wave, Magnum exploits internet technology?to globalise data transfer within the legal?sector. Magnum can handle a greater variety?of documentation than LiveNote while?providing a secure, cloud-based interface for?accessing, annotating, tagging and managing?transcripts, documents and web pages,?and then helping litigators develop their?cases after they have sorted and reviewed?documents. The cloud function allows teams?of lawyers to access the data remotely and?collaborate on it, so they can follow a trial?in real time from anywhere in the world.??Rather than spend millions on developing?a monolithic structure, our strategy and?technology emulates life itself, which is how?things should be done,? says Smith. ?We let it?evolve. We can chop and change depending?on what the market tells us.?

Magnum has made remarkably swift headway.?The recent $5 billion litigation between?Roman Abramovich and Boris Beresovsky?used Magnum. Addleshaw Goddard, who?represented Berezovsky, noted on its?website that, ?It was clear from the outset?that it was going to be unmanageable and?inefficient for the parties [to proceed?without technology].? It added that the way?witness statements, expert reports, skeleton?arguments and daily transcripts were?hyperlinked to the underlying disclosed?documents saved ?hours of flicking through?files to find the correct page.?

Abramovich vs. Beresovsky cost ?1 million?a day, but that?s cheap thanks to Magnum.?Removing the need to produce hard?copies of all the documentation at ?26,000?a set saved ?3 to 4 million pieces of paper?- equivalent to several trees ? and endless?Post-it notes, pink marker pens and?couriers lugging documents around,? says?Smith. ?Now, just about every trial will use?www.businessfirstmagazine.co.uk?Magnum. And we?ve only been going for?12 months.?

Lord Savile is a big fan of Magnum. ?I have?no doubt that [Magnum] will be of very?considerable benefit to litigators, judges?and arbitrators in any case of size,? he says.??To my mind, the most important feature?is the fact that the program is cloudbased?thus enabling all concerned to have?ready access to properly organised and?hyperlinked transcripts and documents.???

Opus 2 will turn over ?6 million this year,??says Smith. ?Our US business is doubling?every year. Magnum is about attracting the?best technologists, operations people and?financial people. It is a non-political, noncorporate?environment. We are capable of?doing so much more than many companies?because of our culture of very smart?people who feel they have a voice.?

Slough, no despond

Smith has travelled far and fast. ?You can?see the playing fields of Eton from the?hospital where I was born in Slough,? he?laughs. ?The only snag was the M4 that?ran in between. I come from the wrong?side of the tracks. My parents separated?when I was 4. Until 6, I went to the local?comprehensive in Maidenhead. When?father ran off, we were on skid row. I failed?the 11-plus, so left school with one GCSE?in English and no idea what to do.?

Smith enrolled in a business college in?Guildford and took a course in stenography.?He soon became a court reporter. ?I got?to 160 words per minute, and could write?shorthand within 6 months,? he says. At 23,?he had launched his own court reporting?business. By 26, he employed more than?100 staff across the UK, and was appointed?to more than 60 courts in eight cities.??When it became possible to hook up the?stenograph to a personal computer,? he?says, ?that is when I came up with the idea?for LiveNote.?

?I have always been driven by an instinctive?feel for things,? says Smith. ?Before you can?trust your instincts, you need to turn them?on. Be open and learn, not only the tangibles?but also the intangibles. Remember, it?s not the??what? but the ?how? and ?why? that matter.?

Source: http://www.businessfirstmagazine.co.uk/magnum-opus2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=magnum-opus2

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Comments - Ideas for Women

Kids love cutting and gluing things together. This craft is simple for them and will give you something pretty to hang in the window when they get done. Be sure that you are there to help children who are not old enough to manage scissors on their own yet.

Materials:

• Black construction paper
• Clear contact paper
• Tissue paper in a variety of colors
• Template of some sort (these can be found on the internet or you can make your own)
• Scissors
• White crayon

How To:

• Cut out your template and trace it onto black construction paper with a white crayon.? Cut the image out of the black construction paper.
• Cut out the middle leaving about a 1/2? of the outside intact.? Discard the center you just cut out.
• Peel the backing paper off of the contact paper and stick your outline onto it.? Cut off any excess contact paper off.
• Cut tissue paper into 1 inch squares.? Make sure to use a few different colors.
• Stick the tissue paper onto the middle area of the contact making sure to overlap the pieces.
• Trim off any tissue paper that hangs over the black outline.
• Hang up on a sunny window.

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Source: http://blogs.ideasforwomen.com/blogs/family/2012/08/crafting-with-kids-tissue-paper-stained-glass/

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This is the Modem World: whatchoo got under the hood?

Each week Joshua Fruhlinger contributes This is the Modem World, a column dedicated to exploring the culture of consumer technology.

I just bought a new car. I chose an automatic transmission. I know, I know. In order to really appreciate driving, one must have three pedals and be in complete control of his torque curve.

But I do love driving and can hold my own in a conversation about horsepower, suspensions and cold-air intakes. As for working on cars, I could change my oil, but nothing more. In my teens, I drove a manual 1980 VW Rabbit that I took from Orange County to LA and back again almost every weekend. I loved the car, but after years of stop-and-go, my clutch leg grew giant-sized, like a crab. I promised myself to never sit in traffic in a manual transmission again.

Continue reading This is the Modem World: whatchoo got under the hood?

Filed under: Transportation

This is the Modem World: whatchoo got under the hood? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Aug 2012 18:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/15/whatchoo-got-under-the-hood/

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Effective Real Estate Marketing Strategies

Congratulations! It?s official. You?re finally a licensed real estate agent. So, what do you do now?

Newly licensed real estate agents all over the country face the same dilemma; life after real estate agent licensing exams.

Truth is there are more real estate agents than you can shake a stick at, but only a few fully embrace the opportunity to distinguish themselves from the others.

Simply being licensed is no longer enough and there are no guaranteed shortcuts to success. Still, there are scores of companies guaranteeing success if you buy their products.

Well, save your money because there are no guarantees; only hard, focused work coupled with products that will enhance your success, which begins and ends with 2 simple things;

1. getting prospects
2. converting them to paying customers

Getting Prospects

Getting prospects is easier said than done and only when you have some you will you have an opportunity to blend your knowledge, charm and personality to close them.

But the key remains getting them. How do you do that?

Having a real estate listing system is one good way and should be every newly licensed real estate agent?s top priority; veteran agents, too if they never had one.

Although you can find real estate listing systems a dime a dozen there is nothing that helps you achieve the level of real estate marketing and sales ?success? you want quite like a proven one, whether they?re complicated ones at outrageous prices, or simple ones at reasonable cost.

Generally, the more complicated and cumbersome the systems are the more expensive they are. They aren?t necessarily better because, just costlier.

The type of system you chose can be as simple as mailing pre- written real estate marketing letters to owners of expired listings, some of which are extremely effective.

Prices range from under $9 ? 10 to over $4,000.00; several can be found for less than $50.00.

But as you grow in experience and ability incorporating call in 800 number lead generating systems and websites are almost a must if you want be competitive and ensure your success.

Let?s face it ? real estate agents need listings and the more they have the more money they?re likely to make through their real estate marketing efforts. On the other hand agents who can?t get listings don?t last in the profession too long.

Real estate listing systems help agents get listings. They can help new agents get off to good starts and recharge the careers of veteran agents who have been around for awhile.

Also, with a good system, expired listings, fsbo?s and whatever it might be, newly licensed real estate agents can gain significant marketing exposure in months, rather than years.

Signs with your name on them dotted throughout your community will give you instant credibility and generate more listings. Everybody likes doing business with successful real estate agents, which you?ll be thought of as when you have lots of listings.

Another nice thing about farming expired listings is that the sellers are typically Realtor friendly, eager to sell their properties and willing do what it takes to get them sold.

So, if you don? have one, get one. And don?t worry if you can?t afford the most expensive one. Just get the one the seems best suited to you that you can afford now. You can always upgrade and add to it as time goes by.

Good luck and happy listings!

by Lanard Perry who is the author of ?Farming Expired Listings?, a Real Estate Listing Guide that shows Realtors how to average 1 or more listings a week.

Source: http://www.ecommissionblog.com/2012/08/16/effective-real-estate-marketing-strategies/

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Knockout of the week: Dan Henderson introduces Wanderlei Silva to his fist

For the Knockout of the Week, we jump into the DeLorean and head back to 2007 for Dan Henderson's last Pride fight. Here, he is fighting fellow Pride star Wanderlei Silva, and shows the "Axe Murderer" just what the H-Bomb looks like.

When the UFC swallowed up Pride, it took many of its fighters and its fight footage, but left behind its pageantry. Example one: the confetti that came down at the end of Henderson's win. What do we need to do to bring confetti back? It will add an air of festivity that is sorely missing from the end of fight nights.

What's not missing from the UFC is Henderson hitting people in the head really hard. He'll get another chance to show off that H-Bomb on Sept. 1 against Jon Jones. Is he the guy who can stop Jones? Tell us in the comments, on Twitter or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/knockout-week-dan-henderson-introduces-wanderlei-silva-fist-164320507--mma.html

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College Sports News 24/7: Daily Alert: Personal Finance

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Pentagon: Iran building, training militia in Syria

FILE - In this June 29, 2012 file photo, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, gestures during a news conference at the Pentagon. Top Pentagon leaders say have talked by phone with their new Egyptian counterparts and are hoping to continue the longtime military relationship between Washington and Cairo. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi shook up his nation's military over the weekend, replacing two men who'd had strong working relationships with the Pentagon. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

FILE - In this June 29, 2012 file photo, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, left, accompanied by Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, gestures during a news conference at the Pentagon. Top Pentagon leaders say have talked by phone with their new Egyptian counterparts and are hoping to continue the longtime military relationship between Washington and Cairo. Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi shook up his nation's military over the weekend, replacing two men who'd had strong working relationships with the Pentagon. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Iran is playing a growing role supporting the Syrian regime and is helping to build and train a militia to fight opposition forces, U.S. defense officials said Tuesday.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told Pentagon reporters that the militia, which is generally made up of Syrian Shiite forces, is being used to take the pressure off the Syrian regime forces, which have been at war for almost 18 months.

"Any army would be taxed with that kind of pace," Dempsey said. "They are having re-supply problems, they are having morale problems, they are having the kind of wear-and-tear that would come of being in a fight for as long as they have."

Dempsey also said that it appears Syrian rebels were able to shoot down a Syrian warplane, but said he has seen no indication that they are armed with heavy weapons or surface-to-air missiles, at least not yet.

He says the MiG fighter could have been shot down with small arms fire. Syria has blamed the crash on a technical malfunction, but Dempsey said the cause "didn't appear to be mechanical."

Dempsey and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta voiced concerns about Iran's growing presence in Syria, even as President Bashar Assad's regime steps up its aerial attacks against the rebel forces. Fierce fighting and attacks from warplanes and helicopter gunships have pushed the opposition forces back in key fronts, such as Aleppo.

And the fighting ? including alleged massacres by the regime ? have led to the deaths of more than 20,000, according to activists.

Panetta said it has become obvious that Iran is doing more for the Syrian regime, including providing assistance and training.

"We do not think that Iran ought to be playing that role at this moment in time," the defense secretary said. He said that "it's dangerous, that it's adding to the killing that's going on in Syria and that it tries to bolster a regime that we think ultimately is going to come down."

Asked about military options for intervention in Syria, Dempsey said the U.S. has been in discussions with Jordan and Turkey about the possible need for a safe zone, because the two countries neighboring Syria are seeing an influx of refugees fleeing the fighting.

"And with a safe haven would probably come some form of no-fly zone, but we're not planning anything unilaterally," Dempsey said.

Panetta repeated assertions he made during an Associated Press interview Monday, saying that right now, creating a no-fly zone in the region "is not a front-burner issue" for the U.S. Instead, he said, the U.S. is focusing on providing humanitarian and non-lethal assistance and on ensuring the chemical and biological weapons in Syria are secure.

A no-fly zone is a militarily enforced area in which outside nations would prohibit Syrian warplanes from flying and attacking its own people.

The Obama administration has insisted repeatedly that Assad must go, and that diplomatic and economic pressures, including sanctions, must be given time to work. Defense officials, including Panetta, have warned that putting a no-fly zone in place would be difficult because of the Syrian regime's relatively modern and plentiful air defense systems.

In other comments, Panetta and Dempsey said commanders in Afghanistan are taking new, additional steps to deal with the increasing number of insider attacks against U.S. and coalition forces.

Panetta said more intelligence officers will be added to the larger military units to help root out possible attackers, and officials will do more in-depth forensic reviews of the incidents, in which Afghan Army or police members ? or militants in disguise ? attack and kill American troops and other allies.

Dempsey said Gen. John Allen, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, has created a new team that will review the attacks to determine whether the recruiting process was followed properly, including the required vetting of the Afghan security force members, and whether there were indicators of possible problems that were missed.

Earlier this year, Allen increased security measures to protect U.S. forces from such attacks, including a program that assigned "guardian angels" ? troops that watch over their comrades ? when they are sleeping, working out or doing other tasks.

Panetta said Allen plans to meet with Afghan security leaders to talk about any other steps that can be taken, and also is gathering all the senior U.S. and coalition officers for a conference to talk about any other steps commanders can take to safeguard the troops.

According to the Pentagon, there have been 37 U.S. and coalition troops killed in 29 insider attacks this year. Of those killed, 21 have been U.S. service members.

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Associated Press writer Pauline Jelinek contributed to this report.

___

Lolita C. Baldor can be followed on Twitter: http://twitter.com/lbaldor

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-08-14-US-Syria-Militia/id-59cfce0afaea4d01b13e59ffc77619dc

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