Friday 25 January 2013

How To Use Duck Decoys In Your Decoy Spread

By: TONY

So, what is the best decoy spread you ask? I believe the key to a good decoy spread is one that looks natural and realistic. The best way to accomplish setting up a decoy spread that looks natural and realistic is trial and error. You must be willing to change things up when ducks are not committing to your decoy spread. This is probably the one thing that most hunters fail to do. If the ducks are just flying past your spread, something doesnt look right to the them. Even if it is just adding or removing a few decoys, changing the direction the decoys are facing, or even spreading or bunching up the decoys. Just a little change can be the difference between a successful hunt or heading home empty handed.
Lets break down a duck decoy spread. There are many different duck decoys on the market, ranging from size, species, and body position. I usually just concern myself with species and a few different body positions when purchasing decoys. The main thing is to scout your hunting area before hand to determine what duck you have in your area. To keep your decoy spread looking as natural as possible, you want to make sure you use duck decoys that match species in your area. Dont limit yourself to one particular species of decoy you want to hunt. Mix it up with a few other species that are in the area. Its not natural looking for just one type of duck to be on the water. Just remember to keep like decoys grouped together. As for the number of decoys to use, there is no magic formula, so trial and error will be your determining factor. I like to start with of my decoys as the predominant species I am going for and non-predominant. Remember to be willing to make changes if the ducks are just passing by.
Adding motion to your decoy spread is another thing to consider. Since it is not realistic for a duck to sit there on the water motionless, it only makes sense to add some movement to your spread, especially on those calm days. There are several ways to add motions to you decoys. One way is to use motorized decoys. There are 2 basic types of motorized decoys. Spinning wing decoys and motorized floating decoys. The spinning wing decoys add motion by simulating a landing duck. These decoys sit on a pole a couple of feet above the waters surface and add visual motion to the decoys spread. The motorized floating decoys come in several styles such as vibrating feeders, bobbing decoys, and floating spinning wing decoys just to name a few. These motorized floating decoys add ripples to the waters surface to give overhead ducks the image of movement. Another way to add motion is to manually create motion by using a jerk cord. A jerk cord is a line that is connected to a few decoys on one end and the other end is run to you blind. When you tug on the line it causes the decoys to jerk and make ripples. Whichever way you decide to add motion to your decoys is up to you and will help add realism to your spread. Again, be willing to change it up if the ducks are not committing to your decoys.
Now lets talk about the shape of your decoy spread and creating a landing zone. There are 3 basic shapes to a decoy spread. The J, C, and U shape. With any shape you use, you need to create an effective landing zone for the ducks to land. Ducks will always land with their face to the wind. So keep this in mind when setting up your decoy shape. You want to make the opening of whichever shape you use to go with the wind. Meaning if the wind is coming out of the north you would want to face the opening of your decoy spread to the south. Think of it as a runway for the ducks to land. You want to try to keep it clear for landing. Again, there is no magic formula. Trial and error and willingness to change it up will help determine what works best.
Here is a quick rundown of how I setup my decoys. If you are interested in the duck decoys I use, Click here. Once I get to my blind I set out a wind driven spinning wing decoy. I set this up first in a location that I want the ducks to land and within shotgun range. This helps me determine wind direction and gives me a starting point for laying out my decoy spread shape. Next I begin setting out my decoys around the wind driven decoy in a shape that fits the water and terrain layout. Once I have laid out all the floating decoys, I place a remote controlled motorized spinning wing decoy within the landing zone and throw out a few motorized floating feeder decoys on either end of the spread. Then settle in to hunt and make changes as needed.


About the Author:
Growing up in south Louisiana and duck hunting nearly all his life has given Tony year of experience. With those years of experience he has learned a lot of do's and don'ts when it comes to duck hunting. He has also created a website to share some of the tools of the trade. Click Here to visit his website.

Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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Thursday 24 January 2013

Amazon Gets Into Voice Recognition, Buys Ivona Software To ...

Amazon today announced that it is acquiring Ivona Software, a Polish-based specialist in voice technologies that competes with Nuance and is already used in the Kindle Fire for services covering text-to-speech, voice commands and ?Explore by Touch.? The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The move is significant for a couple of reasons. First, it shows that Amazon is looking to enhance its features and functionality on its devices, moving ever further away from pared-down, cheaper hardware to compete better against products like the iPad and higher-spec tablets from the likes of Samsung.

Second, it paves the way for Amazon to do more in hardware beyond tablets. Specifically, adding voice services points further to a mobile handset/smartphone, as many have suspected Amazon would eventually launch. No comment on a phone specifically in today?s statements, but an intentionally vague reference to future products that is sure to send imaginations racing:

?IVONA?s exceptional text-to-speech technology leads the industry in natural voice quality, accuracy and ease of use. IVONA is already instrumental in helping us deliver excellent accessibility features on Kindle Fire, including Text-to-Speech, Voice Guide and Explore by Touch,? said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle, in a statement. ?The IVONA team shares our passion for innovation and customer obsession, and we?look forward to building great products to deliver world-class voice solutions to customers around the world.?

Although Amazon?s use of voice recognition today isn?t as highlighted and center-stage as Siri is in Apple?s iOS, it?s nevertheless an important part of the company?s business proposition, since a cornerstone of Amazon?s content is based in reading and ?reading? in different formats, like audiobooks. Here is what one of the voice features looks like currently on the Kindle Fire:

amazon voice feature

Ivona?s products, the company says, are already available for 44 voices in 17 languages ?and more in development?, which points to how Amazon can use the technology to underpin its international ambitions. Over the last year, the company has been ramping up products and Kindle stores for countries outside of the U.S., including finally launching the Kindle Fire tablets internationally.

What?s still unclear is how Ivona?s existing business will develop. We?re contacting Ivona to ask the question and will update as we learn more, but currently, Ivona works with other organizations and businesses, to provide voice recognition, and it has also made a big push on growing its developer ecosystem. Unless Amazon decides to take Ivona in-house completely, and use its tech exclusively in its own products, this presents a couple of opportunities.

It could see Amazon offering out the speech recognition capability in the form of an API, something that Apple has yet to do with Siri, for developers to use in their apps for the Kindle Fire and other platforms. (Amazon is doing a lot to court developers and continues to extend the ways in which to link them into its own platform.)

Ivona could potentially also get used by Amazon in its wider suite of enterprise, cloud-based services, which also includes hosting and other data management via Amazon Web Services.

Update: An Amazon spokesperson had this to say, confirming that Ivona will continue to work with third parties, meaning that this provides another bridge out for Amazon both to enterprise cloud services as well as to developers, specifically in the area of voice recognition: ?Yes ? IVONA will continue to provide voice solutions for our Kindle Fire tablets (text-to-speech, voice guide, explore-by-touch) and also continue to distribute their products and services to developers, businesses and customers around the world.?

Release below.

SEATTLE?(BUSINESS WIRE)?Jan. 24, 2013? (NASDAQ:AMZN)?Amazon.com, Inc. today announced that it has acquired leading text-to-speech technology company IVONA Software. IVONA delivers world-class technologies that power the ?Text-to-Speech,? ?Voice Guide? and ?Explore by Touch? features on Kindle Fire tablets. Additionally, IVONA delivers text-to-speech products and services for thousands of developers, businesses and customers around the world.

?IVONA?s exceptional text-to-speech technology leads the industry in natural voice quality, accuracy and ease of use. IVONA is already instrumental in helping us deliver excellent accessibility features on Kindle Fire, including Text-to-Speech, Voice Guide and Explore by Touch,? said Dave Limp, Vice President, Amazon Kindle, in a statement. ?The IVONA team shares our passion for innovation and customer obsession, and we look forward to building great products to deliver world-class voice solutions to customers around the world.?

?For more than ten years, the IVONA team has been focused on creating innovative text-to-speech technologies,? said Lukasz Osowski, CEO and co-founder of IVONA. ?We are all thrilled that Amazon is supporting our growth so that we can continue to innovate and deliver exceptional voice and language support for our customers.?

IVONA offers voice and language portfolios with 44 voices in 17 languages and more in development.

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc., a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth?s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth?s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon?s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon?s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design. The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns. Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support, dual-antennas and MIMO for faster streaming and downloads, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine?and it is available in two display sizes?7? and 8.9?. The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with a groundbreaking $49.99 introductory 4G LTE data package. The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including http://www.amazon.com, http://www.amazon.co.uk, http://www.amazon.de, http://www.amazon.co.jp, http://www.amazon.fr, http://www.amazon.ca, http://www.amazon.cn, http://www.amazon.it, and http://www.amazon.es. As used herein, ?Amazon.com,? ?we,? ?our? and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

About IVONA Software

IVONA Software develops award-winning text-to-speech technology for use in the voice user interfaces on mobile devices, computers, communication systems and services. Its text-to-speech products have been recognized as industry leading in terms of natural voice quality, accuracy and ease of use. Today, IVONA offers one of the fastest growing voice and language portfolios with 44 voices in 17 languages and more in development. The IVONA suite includes a wide range of text-to-speech solutions for consumers, developers who want to incorporate text-to-speech into their user interfaces, and business customers from a variety of industries, including accessibility, public announcement/transportation, telecommunications, e-learning and more. Additionally, in support of its long-standing commitment to accessibility, IVONA works closely with the largest organizations supporting blind and visually impaired people all over the world, including the Royal National Institute of Blind People and the DAISY Consortium. For more information on the IVONA Text-to-Speech visit http://www.ivona.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management?s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com?s financial results is included in Amazon.com?s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.


Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN), is a leading global Internet company and one of the most trafficked Internet retail destinations worldwide. Amazon is one of the first companies to sell products deep into the long tail by housing them in numerous warehouses and distributing products from many partner companies. Amazon directly sells or acts as a platform for the sale of a broad range of products. These include books, music, videos, consumer electronics, clothing and household products. The majority of Amazon?s...

? Learn more

IVONA is widely recognized and awarded as the highest-quality, most natural-sounding TTS system in the world. The IVONA suite of products includes a wide range of specialty TTS solutions for business, telecommunications, SaaS, mobile, and home use. Among its most notable innovations, IVONA developed a Rapid Voice Development technology which is able to generate custom branded voices for use in IVONA TTS in under 60 days. In support of its long-standing commitment to accessibility, the Company works closely...

? Learn more

Source: http://techcrunch.com/2013/01/24/amazon-gets-into-voice-recognition-buys-ivona-software-to-compete-against-apples-siri/

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Rental Real Estate Industry News - January 24, 2013 | Real ... - Zillow

rental industry news

striatic Source: Flickr

In this week?s rental industry headlines, find out why rents are predicted to rise even more, and why some think big-city micro-apartments aren?t the solution. Be aware of the latest real estate scams, and know the problems you can?t afford not to fix on your rental property.

Moving On Up: Stage Set for Rents to Go Higher

Tenants pinched by rising rents shouldn?t expect relief soon from the new apartments for a simple reason: Demand is likely to outpace supply for some time.

Who Will Live in Bloomberg?s Micro-Apartments??

City officials said the micro-units will help to meet the changing needs of New Yorkers and are ?critical to the city?s future economic success.??But some have called the micro-units tenements for the 21st century, though at the price, they would certainly not be housing large, low-income families.

Toll Seeks Bigger Stake in Apartment Market

Toll Brothers,?the nation?s largest builder of luxury single-family homes, making a bigger push into the?condo market?with the purchase of land near Washington, D.C. The company is also expanding its rental operations.

Real Estate Agents Scammed, Says BBB

The Better Business Bureau says St. Louis real estate agents are being victimized in a ?shakedown? run by operators of a ?phony? complaint website.

Raw Sewage In Your Apartment: Repairs Your Landlord Can?t Ignore

There are lots of crappy situations you can run into when you?re living in multi-unit housing.?But we can?t think of anything crappier ? literally ? than your apartment filling up with raw sewage.?This raises the question: Doesn?t the landlord?have?to fix this problem?




Source: http://www.zillow.com/blog/pro/2013-01-24/rental-real-estate-industry-news-january-24-2013/

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What?s really going on with Apple and it?s stock price in 2013?

What?s really going on with Apple and it?s stock price in 2013?

Here we go again. Another Apple quarter that demonstrates long term strength in its business, and another quarter where Wall Street is waving its hands in the air claiming that the business is broken. Apple shares are down over $50 (10%) as I write this.

Always remember value investor Benjamin Graham?s famous expression: In the short term the market acts like a voting machine. In the long term it acts like a weighing machine. Today, the voting machine dominates. But over the course of many product cycles, those daily votes amount to nothing. That?s why the market is volatile, and why I focus on long term investing.

Apple reported the best quarter in its history. Sales of $54.5 billion were up huge compared to $46.3 billion in the year ago holiday quarter. Earnings were $13.81 per share versus $13.87 last year. But once you adjust for the 13-week quarter in the current year versus 14 weeks last year, earnings actually grew 7% year over year.

That 7% growth comes despite gross margin dropping, which is a fact of life when you introduce revolutionary products like the iPad mini. The growth also comes despite the fact that Apple built less channel inventory this year versus last year. Add another $700 million to Apple?s top line this year (or subtract it from last year) to get a more fair comparison.

Oh, and let?s not forget the new iMacs, which were severely supply constrained. Apple sold about a million fewer Macs than last year, which equites to over a billion dollars of revenue. Let?s add that to our adjustment of Apple?s so-called ?broken? business.

Wall Street is worried about earnings growth. They see the revenue growth, but they focus on the gross margin decline of 6% year over year. Wall Street focuses on the short term ?optics? of a situation. And in the short term, Apple looks weak because margin weakness seems to be offsetting the revenue growth.

But look at the bigger picture. The iPad and the iPad mini are canabalizing the PC market. This includes Macs, but it also includes Windows machines. This is the quote that I found most interesting out of last night?s conference call:

?I see cannibalization as a huge opportunity for us...On iPad in particular, we have the mother of all opportunities here, because the Windows market is much, much larger than the Mac market is. And I think it is clear that it?s already cannibalizing some and I think there is a tremendous amount more opportunity there. And as you know, I have said for two or three, actually three years now I believe that I believe the tablet market will be larger than the PC market at some point. And I still believe that. And you can see by the growth in tablets and the pressure on PCs that those lines are beginning to converge.?

And let?s not forget China. Is it totally lost on investors that China has become such a huge market for Apple that they need to break it out as a separate reporting segment? $6.8 billion of Apple?s revenue (that?s 12.5%) came from Greater China. Year over year growth was only a modest 67%. Hmmm, sure seems like a broken story to me.

Speaking of China - there has been a lot of attention on the possibility of a less expensive iPhone. Until last night, I was of the view that we?d see one of these lower cost phones hit sooner rather than later. But I?m not so sure anymore. Obviously Apple can sell a TON of iPhones in China at full price. So there is no need to rush out with a cheaper product. Apple?s style is to absorb as much growth as they can with higher priced products before launching lower cost versions. I don?t think we?ll see a less expensive iPhone in 2013.

The media and the investing community is fully absorbed in the bear story around Apple. That story is probably best told by the Nomura analyst. I don?t mean this in a good way, because I honestly feel the guy is insane to put forth this analysis, but it is what it is. And the market believes it right now.

Nomura?s position is that Apple isn?t growing any more. They?re an ?ex-growth? story with earnings potential ?capped? at about $50 per share. Without growth, people shouldn?t pay more than about 8x earnings (so $400) plus the company?s excess cash balance, which is another $89 per share. Round it up to $490 and you have their target price.

Why 8x earnings? Apparently because that?s what Microsoft fetches. And Microsoft is also an ?ex-growth? stock.

Does anyone else notice the total insanity in this statement? We have the Mac market that has been outgrowing the PC market for a very, very long time. And now we have the iPad market cannibalizing the PC market, which allows Apple to grow at the expense of Microsoft. One company is slaughtering the other. Yet we are to believe both stocks should trade at a similar earnings multiple?

As Rene said to me earlier today, ?It makes you think it's humans that are doomed.? Of course humans are emotional. Investors and analysts are human. Wall Street is all about the short term. Nobody wants to get caught being wrong on a stock in the short term. The pain of being short term wrong outweighs the pleasure of being long term right. That?s why we?re seeing so many negative reports.

I thought the comments from PiperJaffray and JP Morgan were much more rational. Piper calls for investors to return to the stock once the focus shifts to new products in the next 3-6 months. Makes sense. JP Morgan uses the beautiful line, ?Apples and Oranges: Fundamentals and Investor Expectations Continue to Diverge?.

I couldn?t have said it better.

Chris owns shares in, and is long on, Apple.



Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/2G1hdAWFOM0/story01.htm

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Wednesday 23 January 2013

PFT: Woody denies Tebow was forced on him

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As the allegations of sabotage in Super Bowl XXXVII grew, it was only a matter of time before former Raiders coach Bill Callahan addressed them.? And address them he did, via a late-night statement suggesting that he has gotten himself lawyered up.

By uttering the ?D? word (not the one that ends in ?bag?), Callahan and/or whoever wrote the statement is making it clear to Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, and the persons who represent their legal interests that litigation is at least being contemplated.

But while a defamation lawsuit against one or both former players would become great theater, it would entail many challenges ? and cause significant collateral damage for Callahan, and possibly others.

1.? The statute of limitations against Brown possibly has expired.?

When pressed last night by Erik Kuselias of Pro Football Talk on the assertion of sabotage a decade after the game, Brown said that he has been talking about his suspicions on national television and Dallas radio for years.? Which means that, if Brown is sued, his first defense will be that Callahan waited too long to sue.

In most jurisdictions, the statute of limitations is one year.? It has been more than one year since Brown made his statements in a public setting.

I haven?t research the issue completely (which as I learned early in my legal career is standard lawyer code for ?I don?t really know what I?m talking about?), so it?s entirely possible that, in whichever jurisdiction Callahan would sue, each utterance of the false statement sets the clock back to zero.

2.? The difference between fact and opinion.

If a lawsuit is filed (and if it?s determined to be within the statute of limitations), the biggest challenge will be drawing a line between fact and opinion.? False statements of fact can lead to litigation; uninformed or incorrect opinions based on actual facts are protected.

The factual assertion from Brown is that Callahan drastically changed the offensive game plan two days before Super Bowl XXXVII.? Brown?s opinion is that Callahan was trying to sabotage the Raiders.

It?s a fine line, but Brown arguably has stayed on the right side of it.? Even last night, when he was as candid as he?s ever been about his beliefs, Brown said, ?I?m not necessarily saying he [changed the game plan] for that reason, but it happened.?

Rice may not have been as careful.? ?For some reason ? and I don?t know why ? Bill Callahan did not like me,? Rice said Tuesday on ESPN. ?In a way, maybe because he didn?t like the Raiders, he decided, ?Maybe we should sabotage this a little bit and let Jon Gruden go out and win this one.??

3.? Callahan is a public figure.

For ordinary citizens, any untrue statement of fact can provide the basis for a defamation lawsuit.? For public figures, a higher standard applies.

Callahan will have to show that Brown and Rice knew the allegations were false, or that they acted with reckless disregard to the truth or falsity of their comments.? That necessarily makes any case of defamation against a public figure like Callahan harder to prove.

In this case, it means that Brown and Rice would give detailed testimony on what they experienced that caused them to believe what they believed.? They?ll surely say that something different happened before that game than anything they?d experienced in all their years of playing football, which caused them to believe that Callahan was up to something.

Against a private citizen, that may not matter.? Against a public figure, that explanation could result in the case being tossed before it ever would be presented to a jury.

4.? Callahan would expose himself to significant criticism.

If the case goes forward, many former Raiders players and coaches will be questioned under oath.? And while they will have different perceptions and beliefs about the reasons for the decisions made and not made by Callahan, the questioning will rehash everything that happened in preparation for the game, including whether the game plan was changed and why the audibles and other terminology installed by Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden during his time as the Raiders coach wasn?t.

In other words, and as Kuselias framed the issue last night, Callahan was either corrupt or incompetent.? By proving he wasn?t corrupt, Callahan could end up shining a bright light on the notion that he is incompetent.

5.? Plenty of big names will be involved.

If it goes to trial, this lawsuit ultimately could top, from a media standpoint, every lawsuit ever filed or threatened by the late Al Davis.? The parade in and out of the courtroom would be even more impressive than the? Seinfeld finale, with guys like Rich Gannon and Tyrone Wheatley and Lincoln Kennedy and Bill Romanowski and Rod Woodson and Charles Woodson and Charlie Garner and maybe even Shane Lechler and Sebastian Janikowski making the walk to the witness stand, along with members of the 2002 Raiders coaching staff, including current NFL head coaches Marc Trestman and Jim Harbaugh.

Jon Gruden would likely make an appearance at some point, possibly along with members of the Buccaneers defense (which had guys like Warren Sapp, Derrick Brooks, and John Lynch), who would be able to shed light on whether or not Gruden seemed to know what was going to happen, and possibly why he knew that.

Current and former NFL head coaches like Rod Marinelli, Raheem Morris, and Mike Tomlin ? all members of the 2002 Buccaneers coaching staff ? also could be involved, along with former Bucs (and current Cowboys) defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin.

At one point during the game, Lynch told Tomlin, ?Mike, every play they?ve run, we ran in practice.? It?s unreal.?

Said Tomlin in response, ?I know.?

The biggest name of all could be the guy who won?t be able to directly participate.? If the game plan was indeed changed by Callahan, we continue to believe the most plausible explanation is that Callahan was ordered to do so by owner Al Davis.? It would be fitting if the outcome of the lawsuit turns on whether a jury believes that Callahan was simply following the marching orders given to him by one of the most litigious owners in sports history.

6.? What should happen next.

Though it would be fascinating to cover the litigation and any trial that would happen, the smart move in the short term would be for Brown and Rice to issue statements explaining clearly that they are merely stating their opinions, based on the facts that they experienced.

And then they should never discuss the situation publicly again.

While on one hand the issuance of statements would suggest that they fear litigation, on the other hand it would be a prudent way of both putting a bow on a story that has quickly taken on a life of its own and managing potential liability risks.

Either way, the ball is not back in Brown?s and Rice?s court.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/01/23/source-scoffs-at-woodys-claim-tebow-was-forced-on-him/related/

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    • Click the 'Programs' tab and check the box for Internet Explorer to check if it is the default browser and save your change
    • Close your browser, re-open it, and when prompted, select Internet Explorer as your default
    • You can then click on an ad in your newsletter and visit the site you wish to view

Source: http://ads.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=cd12cdb2b565c1fd38e2e9efa3c44d43&p=4

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We are Hiring: Relationship Manager | Home Staging services ...

Job title: Relationship Manager


Department/ Location of job:

Business Development/ South San Francisco, CA

Position reports to:

General Manager

Job Purpose Summary:

To maintain internal (working with vendors and subcontractors, scheduling) and external relationships (retain and grow customer relationships, customer service, attend periodic networking events and scheduling events).

Essential responsibilities:

-Works with General Manager to develop a system for follow up and follow through for projects and prospecting

-Develop new client sources: attend periodic networking events, research new sources of business

-Client maintenance: work with General Manager on developing weekly and monthly marketing tasks such as phone calls, monthly newsletter, etc. Communicate with clients during and after projects.

-Execute marketing campaigns

-Problem solve for clients and vendors if needed

-Maintain good and develop new relationships with vendors (such as movers) and freelancers (our stylists)

-Project management: scheduling movers and stylists for projects, coordinating with Prop Master for project wrap and packs

-Basic event planning: book speaking engagements, plan educational events

-Some admin and organization around the office

Accountability/ duties:

The success of the position is determined by growth of the client base.

Measures of success

Excellent customer service as evidenced by feedback from clients and customers

Effectively manages marketing programs in a timely and efficient way

Coordinates all moves reliably and efficiently without preventable mistakes

Dimensions/ territory/scope:

This position requires a lot of coordination and relationship building within and outside of the company with our vendors, independent contractors, and customers.

Required experience: No real estate industry experience is okay, although nice to have. Customer service experience is a must.

Required skills:

-Microsoft suite

-Research

-Organization

-Customer service

-Oral and written communication

-MUST BE sociable, people-focused and calm under pressure

-Through and diligent in following up

-Attention to detail

-Organized

-Problem Solver

Education:

High school graduate/ GED

Hours and Pay Range:

We are looking at 1-3 days per week based on the workload. There is no benefits for this part time position. The hours are fairly flexible, as long as they are pre-approved by General Manager.

To apply, please email a cover letter and resume and desired hourly pay.


Related posts:

  1. We are hiring for a Prop Master!
  2. WE ARE HIRING for a General Assistant!
  3. We are HIRING! General Assistant for award-winning home staging firm (south san francisco)
  4. We are Hiring! Awesome, Deadline Conscious Admin Assistant Needed
  5. We are Hiring! Organizational Wonderworker Needed for Award-Winning Home Staging Firm

Source: http://staged4more.com/2013/01/22/we-are-hiring-relationship-manager/

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Tuesday 22 January 2013

Daily Use Personal Training Health And Fitness Suggestions For A ...



January 22, 2013 ‐ Posted by Fitness Tips ‐ Under: Fitness Tips


When you are getting into shape it is imperative that you stay motivated for best workout routine. Setting goals and getting excited about them is something you need to do. You need to ensure that you make exercising enjoyable. Make it rewarding to you. Your workout doesn?t have to be monotonous. Believe it or not, a workout routine can actually be a lot of fun. In the following paragraphs, you will find a variety of tips that can make working out a lot more fun.

There?s something about music that gets your body moving. No can resist moving their feet to a catchy beat or singing along to their favorite tunes. Not including music in your exercise routine should be against the law. Turn up the music and get moving. Music is a powerful motivator and will help you keep at your workout routine and get your body in shape.

TIP! Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. -Albert Einstein

Invite a friend to join you in your workouts. This is a great way to help each other stay motivated. Having a friend to exercise with can make it more fun. When you have a friend to work out with, you will be constantly delighted and surprised by the fun you will experience.

Consider purchasing a video game that is also a workout routine. Exercise video games are great because they make you forget you are working out. You can keep your energy level up when you get into the exercise. If you keep your mind focused on other things, you will not feel fatigued as quickly.

Purchase some great exercise clothes to help motivate you to exercise! You should buy exercise clothes that make you feel good when you wear them! You can find workout gear in every color and style imaginable. Just choose something that you like and enjoy wearing. Get inspired! Look at outfits you normally wouldn?t consider; be a little adventurous. Choose workout clothes that will make you motivated to exercise or go to the gym.

TIP! You miss 100% of the shots you don?t take. -Wayne Gretzky

Keep your exercise routine interesting by avoiding repetition. Mix up your workouts often. If you want to be productive, you must avoid being bored. There is a chance that without proper incentive to keep trying, you might even abandon your goals. Changing a workout routine around regularly is a good idea to keep things fresh. Variety is important to keeping yourself interested in work outs. Once you stop your exercise routine, it is extremely difficult to regain your motivation to start again and any benefits you have achieved may soon be lost.

After every fitness milestone you need to reward yourself with something special. Thus you will stay focused on your targets. The rewards need not be major. It could just be a special dessert or a new sweater. It truly does not matter what the reward is as long as it serves as an incentive to keep you motivated until you earn it. It is important to stay motivated as you work towards your goals and fitness ambitions.

Daily Use Personal Training Health And Fitness Suggestions For A Fit Body

0 votes, 0.00 avg. rating (0% score)

Source: http://www.fitnessspotlight.net/daily-use-personal-training-health-and-fitness-suggestions-for-a-fit-body/

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Innovation made easy for SMBs | Dynamic Business ? Small ...

Stretched for time, money and resources ? getting new ideas off the ground is often the last thing on an SMB?s priority list. How then should smaller companies approach innovation in the digital age??

Innovation is a term that is bandied around quite a lot. Businesses large and small know it is a necessity but few get it right. For large businesses, there?s more room for trial and error and costly mistakes can be absorbed. For smaller businesses, the margin for error is a lot finer and more often than not, the old adage, ?If it ain?t broke, don?t fix it? rings true.

A lot of opportunities in today?s digital age also come from exploiting new technologies like mobile apps and social media, an area many SMBs already struggle to keep-up with.

The statistics

In this context, it?s perfectly understandable that few if any small business feels they necessarily have the time, resources or tech know-how to turn an idea into reality. The latest government statistics on Australian Small Businesses are quite telling. Only 30 percent of micro businesses (employing up to 4 people) undertook an innovative activity. This rises to 62 percent for medium businesses and 66 percent for large businesses. When asked what the typical barriers to innovation were, smaller businesses typically cited a lack of funds, skills and/or the actual cost involved in implementing said innovation.

How then should smaller companies realistically approach innovation ? particularly in the digital age?

Collaboration is the key to innovation

The news is not all bad. The same set of government statistics suggests collaboration is the golden key. Where collaborative agreements are in place, a higher proportion of smaller businesses have been shown to increase the number of products and services they provide, as well as improving their overall productivity and profitability.

In hindsight, this seems quite logical. The reality for most small businesses is that they are unlikely to ever have the combination of time, skills or resources necessary to devote to an innovation. Partnering can help fill in potential gaps and amplify business outcomes. Where that gap involves the added complexity of technology, collaboration is arguably even more potent.

Practical tips for SMBs looking to innovate

Here are a few practical tips for SMBs looking to get started:

  • If you are short of new ideas, talk to your customers and suppliers. Ideas for innovation often come from within the same industry.
  • Most new products fail, regardless of how great it is. As a first step, companies should spend time considering how an innovation will fit into their existing business and potentially compete in the market place.
  • For SMBs looking for rapid results, be realistic about what you can and can?t do. Find a good partner that can help fill in the gaps. Ideally it?s someone also willing to learn about and understand your business.
  • To be innovative is to do something that has never been done before. Not all innovations however require a ?Big Bang? approach. Many can be undertaken incrementally ? one step at a time. This not only reduces overall risk, it helps you test some basic assumptions behind the idea as you go.

For many smaller businesses, innovation is a well known and understood priority. With limited time, skills and resources however, it is a challenge at the best of times. SMBs looking for results should seriously consider collaboration as a means to addressing the gap between theory and practice ? especially in today?s fast moving digital age.

Source: http://www.dynamicbusiness.com.au/blogs/innovation-made-easy-for-smbs-22012013.html

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This Is the First Official Firefox Phone (But It's Just for Developers)

Mozilla has just announced a Developer Preview Phone that will come sporting its new, in-development Firefox OS. It has basic specs, is just for developers and looks... very, very orange. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/5mQsccHtDeo/this-is-the-first-official-firefox-phone-but-its-just-for-developers

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Monday 21 January 2013

Fort Lauderdale Real Estate | Green | Paperless Real Estate Team

Green Paperless Real Estate TeamDale Palmer & Associates would like to announce we went green. ?We are now a paperless real estate team. ?By taking advantage of the iPad, all documents, contracts, etc?. are now paperless on my team. ?Buyers and Sellers alike can sign all required documents directly on my iPad. ?Were ready when showing property. ?A contract can be written up on the spot and sent to the listing agent before we even leave the driveway.

No more folders for each customer, they are all accessible from my iPad and even iPhone if required. ?No more?going back to the office, printing out the contract, then signing and scanning it back in.

The customer can also sign documents directly on their tablet in case they are making a decision at a later time on the purchase.

As the inventory stays low in the Fort Lauderdale Real Estate market its very important for your real estate agent to be ready when you see the property you fall in love with, getting your offer in as soon as possible. ?Dale Palmer & Associates is ready to write up the contract, submit it and even respond to counter offers with changes without printing out 1 piece of paper. ?We are very proud of this, since were always trying to reduce printing paper and saving a tree or two.

Sellers can sign the listing agreement, contracts, etc?. on my iPad and I send them a copy to their email before I even leave their home. ?Our team is extremely techie and with our Sellers Extreme Internet Marketing program we get your property SOLD and for the highest dollar amount possible. ?Over 90% of Buyers start their search on the internet.

Contact Dale Palmer & Associates at 954-895-8999 or contact-us today for
private showings of any property for sale from our MLS.

To see property for sale from our MLS system,
please see our webpage Fort Lauderdale Real Estate including property
for all of Broward County.

Source: http://fortlauderdalerealestatemls.com/news/fort-lauderdale-real-estate-green-paperless

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The inaugural do-over: time to relax and savor

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Let's hear it for the do-over.

Inaugurations are always moments of great ceremony and pageantry. But, hey, everybody can rel-a-a-a-ax a little the second time around.

After the electric moment of President Barack Obama's first swearing-in, the second inaugural was just so much more ... comfortable.

(Really, Monday was a do-over of the do-over. The actual swearing-in took place a day earlier in a private ceremony at the White House.)

A little before noon, Obama daughters Sasha and Malia strolled onto the inaugural platform at the Capitol like they were heading out to meet up with a few friends, chatting up their cousins on the stand, completely uncowed by the millions watching via Jumbotron and television.

Obama himself seemed more relaxed, too.

"I miss this place," the onetime senator said with a big smile as he greeted congressional leaders upon arriving at the Capitol.

The inaugural crowds ? down considerably from four years ago ? knew there was no repeating the raw emotion of 2009, and most people didn't demand it.

"I just feel so proud," said Sharon Davis, of Suitland, Md., who attended both.

But the different vibe was palpable.

"Before, it was just so exciting ? you could be walking for miles and miles and it didn't even feel like an effort," said Katasha Smart of Randallstown, Md.

The sentiment was the same from afar for many.

"We've been there, done that in terms of electing the first African-American president," said Beniam Fantu, 34, speaking from Dallas.

With the smaller crowds came smaller headaches.

Sure, there were still snags at security checkpoints and Metro stops and the like. There was a smattering of protesters, and some glitches with the sound system.

But there was no repeat of 2009's Purple Tunnel of Doom, the underpass where throngs of purple ticket-holders famously were stranded for hours.

Even the weather cooperated ? 40 degrees at high noon, up from 28 four years ago.

And for all that was not-so-new, it was still a moment to savor. And Obama did.

As he headed back into the Capitol after the swearing-in, the president pivoted and planted himself to look back at the scene.

"I want to take a look, one more time," he said. "I'm not going to see this again."

Obama, who won't ever face re-election, felt free to ramp up the inaugural program's Hollywood quotient this time.

Beyonce sang the national anthem, Kelly Clarkson did "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," James Taylor offered "America the Beautiful."

Contrast that to four years ago, when the inaugural ceremony included Aretha Franklin but also classical musicians such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Itzhak Perlman and others, and the Hollywood types were largely saved for the evening's balls.

Even Michelle Obama seemed more liberated this time, sporting a new haircut ? with bangs! ? that's a little less first-lady-ish.

Lots of lessons learned were deployed.

Chief Justice John Roberts, who administered the oath of office to Obama on both occasions, read from notes this time.

In 2008, he'd worked from memory and flubbed the wording, requiring a private do-over the next day.

This time, the only snag in the oath-taking was a little catch in Obama's voice as he uttered the word "states" in the phrase "president of the United States."

Even the parade planners learned a thing or two.

They made this year's floats shorter, to improve their turning radius and allow them to move along Pennsylvania Avenue at a faster clip.

And about those portable toilets: organizers arranged them in clusters this year rather than long lines, to make it easier to get around them.

Some glitches were inevitable.

Malfunctioning speakers made it nearly impossible for the flag-waving fans stuck in the overflow section near the Washington Monument to hear what the president was saying.

"You're in the IT capital of the world: How can this be so hard?" a frustrated Smart demanded.

But even there, good will was in evidence.

"It does take away from the experience, but it's so minute, compared to being able to raise the flag for Obama," said Anna Johnson, who came from Decatur, Ga.

The party scene for this year's inauguration was more muted: Fewer big names. No concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Two official inaugural balls instead of 10.

But 40,000 people were ready to cram into the Washington Convention Center for those two balls.

And for many, being a part of it all was still hugely important. The fact that the inaugural festivities coincided with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday sweetened the deal for some.

Julie Davis, 69, of suburban Dayton, Ohio, said attending the event reduced her pangs of guilt for not joining King's 1963 March on Washington, back when she was working in the city as a black, 19-year-old intern.

She's always regretted that she didn't skip an out-of-town meeting to attend the march.

"Every year since that time, whenever I heard of the March on Washington or thought about it or somebody made reference to it, it was almost like a knife cutting me," Davis said. "I am very, very, very happy to be here."

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Barakat, Alan Fram, Dave Dishneau, Thomas Ritchie, C.J. Jackson, Donna Cassata, Sam Hananel and Calvin Woodward contributed to this report.

___

Follow Nancy Benac on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nbenac

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/inaugural-over-time-relax-savor-215011963--politics.html

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91% Lincoln

All Critics (193) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (176) | Rotten (17)

It's the most remarkable movie Steven Spielberg has made in quite a spell, and one of the things that makes it remarkable is how it fulfills those expectations by simultaneously ignoring and transcending them.

Lincoln paints a powerful and compelling portrait of the man who has become an icon. We don't need to see more of his life to understand how rare a figure he was - this window is more than sufficient.

Lincoln offers proof of what magic can happen when an actor falls in love with his character. Because as great as Day-Lewis has been in his many parts, he has never seemed quite so smitten.

The film masterfully captures the dual dilemmas facing the president in the final months of his life: how to bring the war between the states to an end, and how to eradicate slavery, once and for all.

Lincoln is a stirring reminder that politics can be noble. Might there be a lesson here for today's shrill D.C. discourse? 'Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.

Day-Lewis' voice is thin and reedy, which jibes with historical accounts but subverts our expectations. His attitude makes listeners lean in, and so do we, magnetized by his kindly reserve.

Lincoln is okay: a well-acted, nicely shot, perfectly watchable biopic that I assume has one hundred times more resonance when viewed from the opposite of the Atlantic.

A film as absorbing and unassuming as the central character.

Steven Spielberg's masterly, high-minded recreation of Abraham Lincoln's long-shot battle to get the 13th amendment outlawing slavery through a hostile Congress.

The filmmakers write history with lightning, and their instrument is Daniel Day-Lewis as the graying, hunched and shuffling Lincoln, bent but not broken and as tall and thin as a stick figure in a Tim Burton cartoon.

Lewis keeps his fire on a low flame, quietly navigating the underlying tone of hagiography and emerging as a believable man, and exactly the kind of pragmatic idealist America could use today.

This is movie magic -- history coming to life, before our eyes.

Even as a historical figure considerably better known than any he's played before, there's no trace of impersonation in Lewis's performance.

As one of this generations greatest actors, two time Oscar winner Day-Lewis is a shoo-in for a chance at a third trophy.

As essential an entry in Spielberg's catalog as his most popular blockbusters and heralded epics.

Spielberg undoubtedly is asking us to pay attention and learn something - there is no nodding off in this class - but even with all the talk of ratification, and envoys, and securing votes, Lincoln is an engaging, if not rousing film-going experience.

Lincoln is a performance masterclass. Spielberg humanises the icon and admires Lincoln the man - in the face of the challenges that defined him. It's a special effort in the capable hands of a legend.

Lincoln is Spielberg's best film since 2005's Munich, and one of 2012's finest.

This is an almost religiously revered president portrayed as he's never been portrayed on screen before, a tale told with grace and sophistication. If only for this fact alone, Lincoln is a work deserving of praise.

Especially in today's frustratingly gridlocked political environment, Lincoln is timelier than ever. It gives us hope that government can accomplish great things even as it drags itself through the muck and strain of corruption.

While Spielberg captures a time, Day-Lewis captures another brilliant performance, and some of the supporting actors may capture Oscar nominations, the film didn't capture my soul the way I was hoping.

The film presents Abraham Lincoln's deliberations as a function of his innate morality, as well as an emotional rightness.

A fascinating history lesson taking place mostly in the backrooms of Washington.

Good film, but 'Lincoln' is not a movie about Abraham Lincoln - it's about a man in an Abe costume posing as someone who had overwhelming love for African-Americans, when in reality that was far from the Lincoln documented in history.

It's a superior achievement for Kushner, and makes for one of the best of Spielberg's "serious" movies.

A paternalistic Lincoln who freed the slaves? Bad movie and worse politics...

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lincoln_2011/

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Sunday 20 January 2013

Epigenetics explains rheumatism? Genes and their regulatory 'tags' conspire to promote rheumatoid arthritis

Jan. 20, 2013 ? In one of the first genome-wide studies to hunt for both genes and their regulatory "tags" in patients suffering from a common disease, researchers have found a clear role for the tags in mediating genetic risk for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an immune disorder that afflicts an estimated 1.5 million American adults. By teasing apart the tagging events that result from RA from those that help cause it, the scientists say they were able to spot tagged DNA sequences that may be important for the development of RA. And they suspect their experimental method can be applied to predict similar risk factors for other common, noninfectious diseases, like type II diabetes and heart ailments.

In a report published in Nature Biotechnology Jan. 20, the researchers at Johns Hopkins and the Karolinska Institutet say their study bridges the gap between whole-genome genetic sequencing and diseases that have no single or direct genetic cause. Most genetic changes associated with disease do not occur in protein-coding regions of DNA, but in their regulatory regions, explains Andrew Feinberg, M.D., M.P.H., a Gilman scholar, professor of molecular medicine and director of the Center for Epigenetics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine's Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences. "Our study analyzed both and shows how genetics and epigenetics can work together to cause disease," he says.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a debilitating disease that causes inflammation, stiffness, pain and disfigurement in joints, especially the small joints of the hands and feet. It is thought to be an autoimmune disease, meaning that the body's immune system attacks its own tissues, an assault led primarily by white blood cells. According to Feinberg, several DNA mutations are known to confer risk for RA, but there seem to be additional factors that suppress or enhance that risk. One probable factor involves chemical "tags" that attach to DNA sequences, part of a so-called epigenetic system that helps regulate when and how DNA sequences are "read," how they're used to create proteins and how they affect the onset or progress of disease.

To complicate matters, Feinberg notes, the attachment of the tags to particular DNA sequences can itself be regulated by genes. "The details of what causes a particular sequence to be tagged are unclear, but it seems that some tagging events depend on certain DNA sequences. In other words, those tagging events are under genetic control," he says. Other tagging events, however, seem to depend on cellular processes and environmental changes, some of which could be the result, rather than the cause, of disease.

To tease apart these two types of tagging events, the researchers catalogued DNA sequences and their tagging patterns in the white blood cells of more than 300 people with and without one form of RA.

The team then began filtering out the tags that did not appear to affect RA risk. For example, if tags were seen on the same DNA sequence in those with and without RA, it was assumed that the tags at those sites were irrelevant to the cause or development of the disease. Then, from among the RA-relevant tags, they narrowed in on tags whose placement seemed to be dependent on DNA sequence. Finally, they made sure that the DNA sequences identified were themselves more prevalent in patients with RA. In this way, they created a list of DNA sequences associated with altered DNA tagging patterns, both of which were associated with RA.

Ultimately, the team identified 10 DNA sites that were tagged differently in RA patients and whose tagging seemed to affect risk for RA. Nine of the 10 sites were within a region of the genome known to play an important role in autoimmune diseases, while the 10th was on a gene that had never before been associated with the disease. "Since RA is a disease in which the body's immune system turns on itself, current treatments often involve suppressing the entire immune system, which can have serious side effects," Feinberg says. "The results of this study may allow clinicians to instead directly target the culpable genes and/or their tags."

"Our method allows us to predict which tagging sites are most important in the development of a disease. In this study, we looked for tagging sites under genetic control, but similar tags can be triggered by environmental exposures, like smoking, so there are many applications for this type of work," says Yun Liu, Ph.D., a lead researcher on the project.

The study also may shed light on how evolution works, explains Feinberg. "It seems that natural selection might not simply be selecting for an individual's current fitness level but also for the adaptability of future generations given an unknown future. We think that certain genetic sequences may be biologically beneficial and conserved over time because they increase the amount of variation found in tagging patterns, giving individuals a greater chance of adapting to environmental changes."

Other authors of the report include Martin J. Aryee, M. Daniele Fallin, Arni Runarsson and Margaret Taub of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; and Leonid Padyukov, Espen Hesselberg, Lovisa Reinius, Nathalie Acevedo, Marcus Ronninger, Lementy Shchetynsky, Annika Scheynius, Juha Kere, Lars Alfredsson, Lars Klareskog and Tomas J. Ekstr?m of the Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health's Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science (5P50HG003233), the Swedish Research Council, the Swedish COMBINE project, the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Research, AFA Insurance and the European Research Council.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Yun Liu, Martin J Aryee, Leonid Padyukov, M Daniele Fallin, Espen Hesselberg, Arni Runarsson, Lovisa Reinius, Nathalie Acevedo, Margaret Taub, Marcus Ronninger, Klementy Shchetynsky, Annika Scheynius, Juha Kere, Lars Alfredsson, Lars Klareskog, Tomas J Ekstr?m, Andrew P Feinberg. Epigenome-wide association data implicate DNA methylation as an intermediary of genetic risk in rheumatoid arthritis. Nature Biotechnology, 2013; DOI: 10.1038/nbt.2487

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/I0jgHEjY7vw/130120145813.htm

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Why ?Following the Herd? Mentality In Commercial Real Estate ...

business_law.jpg

As real estate investors are looking for new entry opportunities and ways to make bigger profit in the current economy, much of the typical and conventional ?wisdom? that may work for some may not work for all.

A prime example is the so-called Commercial Gold Rush Foreclosure ?Opportunity? This example of over-hyped real estate information from marketing gurus, is all about the ?huge? profits to be made with commercial foreclosures. There are quite a few new expensive real estate courses being sold by these self-proclaimed gurus who seem to know everything about marketing and sales in the industry. But do they?

Thousands of new investors have been essentially taken in with these products. They have been enticed with the promise of quick profits and real estate success. The sales pitch about the opportunity involves snatching up distressed real commercial property and then quickly selling it for a profit. Their idea revolves around the assumption that building owners just want to walk away from their troubles by giving the property back to the bank. Since many banks do not want the bad debt, it goes to the assumption there are some good profit-making opportunities.

Typically, these courses purport to include information on where to look for foreclosure opportunities or how to legally ?steal from banks?. These commercial real estate courses also teach methods for ?capitalizing? on property owners in distress. The sales pitch is that all the new investor has to do is simply put new management in place, get the building rented out, then turn around and sell the property for ?massive? profits. Since this is the ?valuable? information they taut that give investors the inside track on how to get a hold of these so-called ?goldmine? opportunities, it?s no surprise that new real estate investors have been buying (into) these types of products in droves!

The Flaw with Commercial Foreclosure Opportunity Products

On the surface, especially for newbies, the opportunity that could have them making huge amounts of profit is tempting and seems rather legitimate. However, these real estate courses are definitely not for everyone and frequently teach the process in much simpler detail than what it really takes to succeed in Commercial Foreclosures.

What DOES work in today?s real estate market is getting back to the basics of real estate investing and learning from the ground up! Though money may not come as quickly, the building of relationships builds credibility! This is KEY as a real estate investor, whether new or experienced. It is fundamentally VITAL to your success. In these economic times it can be difficult for anyone but especially for the ?newbies? just coming on to the scene.

TRUE success in the real estate investment field involves market research, figuring out which commercial foreclosures represent good opportunities, and finding buyers for those properties. Finding buyers, especially in this rough economy is tough, it takes practice, it takes experience to know how to be a success in this business.

Like the California Gold Rush of its day, this ?Commercial Gold Rush? will have both winners and losers, too. If you remember your history your will recall there were far few winners? True, some experienced investors and some new real estate investors can profit from these opportunities that are created by commercial foreclosures, BUT the many inexperienced individuals who have been falling for these fly-by night, expensive real estate courses promising RICHES are only doomed for failure. I highly recommend not becoming one of those ?Sheeple?, following the crowd over the cliff? and Investing in Commercial Real Estate the tried and true way!

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Source: http://rawbusinesslaw.com/2013/01/20/why-following-the-herd-mentality-in-commercial-real-estate-investing-leads-to-failure-business/

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Saturday 19 January 2013

94% The Sessions

All Critics (170) | Top Critics (41) | Fresh (161) | Rotten (10) | DVD (1)

Thanks to Lewin's light but assured touch, The Sessions never wears its theological preoccupations heavily, instead allowing transcendence to creep up on the audience quietly.

A very different kind of love story, breaking taboos lightly, with sensitivity and humor.

Achieves its sunny disposition by pulling punches.

A funny, tender and mostly unsentimentalized movie about physical and emotional triumph.

Forced to do all his acting with his face, Hawkes displays the kind of camera-arresting capability that has earned others Oscar nominations.

It's a brave performance from Hunt, who spends much of the film entirely naked. Both her and Hawkes are brilliant in a movie that is a massively uplifting experience.

The movie becomes a touching, often funny portrayal of sex as a form of kindness and human contact.

Hunt is a prodigy. No other actress could have brought such easeful transparency, such a glow of givingness, such heedlessness of glamour each time she strips naked.

Not only does it deal with sex in a straightforward manner, but it also deals with the equally sensitive themes of disability and religion, all of which writer/director Ben Lewin pulls off skilfully.

The Sessions can be sugary, but it's likable.

You could maybe see it working as a play, though the tactile detail of these scenes needs close-ups on the actors' faces to communicate what the transaction means to them both.

It's tender, humane and funny and superbly acted; a simple but affecting parable about experiencing life to the fullest.

Three days after viewing, the film's questioning generosity and sense of perspective will still be knocking around your head.

The Sessions finally proves that Hollywood can take physical incapacity and/or sex far more seriously than it does the potential side effects of shooting so many people on screen so often.

A touching gem of a movie largely thanks to subtly dynamic performances from Helen Hunt and John Hawkes.

Hugely enjoyable, warm-hearted and frequently laugh-out-loud funny disability drama with a superb script and a pair of terrific performances from John Hawkes and Helen Hunt.

Lewin, who has fought his own lifelong polio battle, handles tricky material with a gentle, empathetic touch.

Formulaic but uplifting, positive and accessible.

In its barest form this is a traditional rites-of-passage yarn, dealing in first love and lost innocence, and even with a candid discussion of sex, it's mostly sweetness and light.

Few movies are so frank about the sexual mechanics of the disabled ...

All thinking viewers will come away with a better understanding as to how the seemingly different amongst us are really just the one-in-the-same when getting up close and personal.

For the most part, an authentically subversion take on fringe sexuality.

The Sessions belongs completely to Hawkes, who disappears into the role of Mark O'Brien, delivering a stunning performance that illuminates what it means to be a whole person.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_sessions/

London 2012 Slalom Canoe Alex Morgan Misty May Treanor Lolo Jones Aly Raisman Marvin Hamlisch Megan Rossee