Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/LOUgQzMXor8/story01.htm
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Monday, December 31, 2012
China's Controversial Brain Surgery To Cure Drug Addiction
kkleiner writes "A small handful of doctors in China are using a highly controversial procedure to rid people of drug addiction by destroying a part of patients' brains. The procedure involves drilling small holes into the skulls of patients and inserting long electrodes that destroy a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. This area, often referred to as the "pleasure center" of the brain, is the major nucleus of the brain's reward circuit. is it worth being cured of addiction if, losing the addiction, we also lose part of who we are? Is it worth being cured of addiction if, losing the addiction, we also lose part of who we are?" The practice has been officially banned, but apparently continues nonetheless.
Eric Chua : Life, Business and Real Estate in Singapore ? Buying ...
Although there are several safe real estate investments, there are also many pitfalls you must watch out for. Do not lose your hard earned money buying a home that is priced higher than it should be, these tips can help you make a smart choice.
It is vital that you contact a mortgage lender and get pre-qualified prior to searching for a new home. One main reason to do this is to make sure you are searching for a home that fits within your budget. Furthermore, since obtaining a mortgage can take some time, it makes sense to get the ball rolling early.
Individuals with families, either existing or planned for the future, should shop for homes with enough square footage to handle an entire family. Look into the home?s safety as well. This is particularly true if the home that you?re considering has steep stairs or a large swimming pool. Buying a house from people who raised children in it should guarantee you a safe house.
TIP! If you are planning on starting a family, your home should have plenty of space for everyone. Be mindful of safety also, especially if the house you are viewing has a pool or stairs.
Hire your own people to provide support services when you decide to purchase a residence. It could be very enticing to use the seller?s appraisers and inspectors, but choose not to do so. You may think it is silly to spend money for services that could be procured at no cost. Even so, it is always best to hire people you personally can trust. Knowing you can rely on the advice you get will give you much peace of mind, and can save you quite a bit of money over the long term.
Look for the house of your dreams. A lot of investors will suggest that you should not sell your home and buy a larger one at this moment, but others disagree. This may be the best time to buy your dream property because housing prices are expected to rise.
Exercise flexibility when making decisions. There are trade-offs that must sometimes be made between buying in a particular neighborhood, buying the ideal house, and what you can afford. Think about settling for a different house or a different area you can afford.
TIP! If you are inexperienced with real estate investing, enlist the services of a broker or real estate agent. These real estate professionals have access to additional tools and databases that you may not have.
When deciding to purchase a large and commercial piece of real estate, make sure you get a trustworthy partner. It will make it easier to qualify for the loan that you need to buy the property. Having a partner is a great way to ensure that you have the necessary down payment amount as well as the creditworthiness required by commercial lenders.
Houses that need some ?tender loving care? are priced less. This will let you save some money in the beginning, and fix up the house as you see fit. You can build equity in your home while making improvements that maximize its livability for you and your family. Do not focus on what is wrong with the house; instead, focus on what is good. The home of your dreams might be waiting for you behind an outwardly rough exterior.
TIP! Make sure to ask your Realtor to supply you with a checklist. A good Realtor will be able to give you a list that covers the different steps of a transaction, from finding a home to getting approved for your mortgage.
If you are thinking about moving, you may want to research the neighborhoods of properties you are interested in online. You will be able to find lots of information, no matter the size and population of the town. Do thorough research into any area in which you plan to purchase real estate. It is no fun to find out later that you have invested in dead-end real estate.
Investing in real estate is always a risky situation. Upsets in the real estate market have resulted in low prices for buyers. This is a perfect time for first-time home buyers to get into a home, or for current home owners to invest in a larger property. Eventually, the market will rise again over time, making your investment profitable.
Get as much information about potential rental properties as possible. If you are thinking about buying a rental property, look at the records for this pertaining to the property for a couple years back or more. The reason for this is that you have to make sure that the seller has made full and accurate disclosure regarding the property?s potential for income. The lender will want to see income verification before issuing a loan for a property.
TIP! Do some research and analysis on the area housing market. Find out how many homes in your area face foreclosure as well as how long it takes to sell an average house and the price you can expect to pay for your new house.
Purchasing a home can be very difficult and complex, and it is very easy to make a costly mistake. If you follow the tips you have just read about, you will be able to recognize good deals. The next thing you must do is capitalize.
Join me on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/maynaseric
Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/buying-real-estate-advice-that-will-keep-you-from-making-mistakes
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Sunday, December 30, 2012
Going Green for a Longer Living Pet - Dog and Cat Vitamins
Adding a bit of green to your pet?s diet can do as much good for the planet as it can for your dog or cat.? Eating more fresh fruits and vegetables has many heath benefits; one important one being decreasing cancer risk.?? Cats often like cooked asparagus and cantaloupe melon while our easier to please canine friends love everything from a piece of apple to a broccoli stem. Deserving Pets VITAL VITIES has kale, broccoli, beets, carrots, concentrated alfalfa extract, pumpkin, dandelion, and apples.
Create a dog and cat friendly outdoor environment by using natural fertilizers and pest control.? In 2004, the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine linked bladder cancer in Scottish Terriers to exposure to lawn chemicals. Rain creates a mist of these chemicals lingering at just the height of our pets and many pets enjoy chewing on that occasional blade of grass.
?Green? toys accomplish the same goals as more traditional toys, but impact the environment less.?? Non-organic cotton uses more insecticides than any other single major crop.? Many companies now offer pet toys, collars and leashes made from organic cotton, hemp or recycled materials.? They may cost a bit more but you and your pets are caring for the planet.
Believe it or not, 8 billion pounds of cat litter wind up in landfills each year!? Consider litters made from recycled materials such as wood, pine, bark or natural flushable litters from corn and wheat.?? Your cats don?t need to ingest chemical laden scented litter particles as they clean their furry feet. Caring for the planet becomes a winning experience for everyone involved!
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Source: http://www.dogandcatvitamins.com/going-green-for-a-longer-living-pet/
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Hafeez hails ?exceptional? Yuvraj Singh ? Cricket News Update ...
Hafeez hails ?exceptional? Yuvraj Singh ? Cricket News Update
Pakistan?s T20 skipper Mohammad Hafeez lauded Man of the Match Yuvraj Singh for his blistering half-century knock in the second and final T20 International against India in Ahmedabad on Friday, saying the veteran left-hander was ?exceptional? with the bat.
The 31-year-old Chandigarh star smashed a swashbuckling 72 off just 36 balls to help India set an intimidating 193-run target for the archrivals Pakistan in the must-win encounter. On the course, the left-hander shared a 97-run stand with skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni (33 off 23), with the bulk coming from the former, who smashed seven huge sixes and four boundaries during his 59-minute stay at the crease.
"No doubt, Yuvi was exceptional today," Hafeez said while speaking to media reporters after his side?s 11-run defeat in the second T20I. "His partnership with?MS Dhoni?was the turning point of this match."?
"We were not expecting it to go that further. We were thinking about restricting them to 160-170. I think [India] did the basics right," lamented the experienced all-rounder.
In reply, opener Nasir Jamshed (41) and the visiting skipper Mohammad Hafeez (55) tried their best to chase down the 193-run target, but a clinical bowling performance from Bengal pacer Ashok Dinda (4-0-36-3) in the death overs ensured it was India?s day. Dinda dismissed big hitting Umar Akmal (24 off 17) in the 17th over, before removing danger man Hafeez and wicketkeeper batsman Kamran Akmal in the penultimate over of Pakistan?s chase, to help the hosts restrict the Men in Green to 181 for 7.
"[Ashok] Dinda was good in the last two overs," said Hafeez, a veteran of 29 Tests and 107 One Day Internationals.
"His yorkers were right and we thought if we can get a ball to hit then we can win the match. But the second last over, Dinda bowled well where Kamran and I got out. If either of us had scored a boundary, then it would have eased the pressure," added the visiting skipper, who walked away with the Player of the Series award for scoring back-to-back half centuries in the short series.
Source: http://blogs.bettor.com/Hafeez-hails-exceptional-Yuvraj-Singh-Cricket-News-Update-a211815
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Saturday, December 29, 2012
Lessons We Learn By Overcoming Addiction
In recovery we learn much about how we are put together. We might regard it as a process of self-study. In particular, we learn how we have sabotaged ourselves and all our best intentions. Until we become rooted in our Healthy Self, we remain vulnerable to our worst elements.
At this point we already know how acting out under the influence of the inner Addict results in great suffering and harm. We may have learned from professional therapists and from people in recovery how to abstain from our primary addiction. But the addictive side of our personality, the inner Addict, still has some tricks up its sleeve. It sneaks into our lives by sweet talking us into some supposedly harmless behavior, which can easily turn into a substitute addiction. Now what are we going to do?
Obviously we still have a lot to learn about the addictive process. And we each have our own delusions that arise out of our past conditioning. Some of us, for example, are prone to think of our abilities as superior and even unlimited, while others don?t believe they have much talent at all. Both of these evaluations are wrong, and we need to challenge these mistaken images of ourselves and see just how they set us up to become victims of our own making.
We know from our primary addiction that we have a craving to get high. Getting sober from our favorite addiction does not abolish this craving. We will seek another way to satisfy it, because our craving is so intense and so deeply rooted in our psyche. Eventually we learn that our efforts to get high are not worth the trouble. The high doesn?t last very long, and we get hurt in the hunt. And so we realize we need to let go of this craving and replace it with a desire for peacefulness.
We have seen how the inner Addict survives by seducing us with a replacement addiction. And we have learned some of the techniques it uses to control us.
In summary, the inner Addict is:
Sneaky
It creeps into our thoughts and whispers in our ear. It wants us to reward ourselves for being so good by indulging in a ?harmless? activity or substance.
Seductive
It tempts us with promises of happiness. If need be, it hints that we will become delirious, although it doesn?t explain exactly how this will happen.
Smart
The inner Addict knows us better than we do, it knows what buttons of ours to push to get us to do what it wants. For this reason, we need to improve our self-knowledge and learn how the inner Addict operates.
Strong
It deceives us into thinking it is flimsy and weak, but in reality the inner Addict is enormously powerful. As long as it appears to be invisible, it can dominate us and destroy us.
Clever
The inner Addict manages to persuade us by using shrewd tactics. It always exaggerates how wonderful we are going to feel when we get high. It inflates us with flattery by telling us how invincible we are. It minimizes any problems that might occur and tells us to ignore any evidence to the contrary.
Impulsive
This addictive side of our personality is always in a hurry, it wants us to act quickly before the opportunity is lost. It doesn?t want us to take time to evaluate the consequences.
Permissive
It overrides any inhibition we may have and tells us it?s all right to have some fun. In fact, it insists we are entitled to have lots of fun.
Enchanting
It casts a spell over us with the irresistible desire to get high. Once we succumb to its allure, it?s as if we were hypnotized or acting on auto pilot.
Obviously the inner Addict is a troublemaker.
By learning how it manipulates us, we can free ourselves from its control and be able to help others as well.
Richard G. Hartnett, MA, MS, LCADC is a former Jesuit priest who now lives with his wife, Kathy, by a lake in northwestern New Jersey. He has served as the chaplain at Hazelden New York, pastoral counselor at the Chemical Dependency Department of the International Center for the Disabled in NYC, and continuing care counselor at the outpatient Chemical Dependency Program of High Focus Centers in New Jersey. Currently he maintains a private practice in New Jersey. He is the author of The Presence at the Center, Renewing Your Fourth Step, The Three Inner Voices: Uncovering the Spiritual Roots of Addiction and Recovery, and Sobriety and Inspiration: Entrusting Ourselves to the Source of Our Healing and Creativity.
Source: http://www.myaddiction.com/lifestyle/drugs/lessons-we-learn-by-overcoming-addiction
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Worst CEO of 2012: Best Buy's Brian Dunn | Daily ... - Yahoo! Finance
As 2012 comes to a close, it's that time of year again to list some of the best and worst CEOs over the past 12 months.
Sydney Finkelstein, a professor of management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and author of ?Why Smart Executives Fail? and ?Think Again," shared his annual "Worst CEOs" list with The Daily Ticker.
Two of the CEOs were so bad they are no longer on the job. For the CEOs who remain on the payroll, watch out. All of the CEOs on Finkelstein?s 2011 list have been shown the door.
While stock price is an important part of Finkelstein's criteria, it is not the only determining factor. The lack of corporate governance also plays an important part.
Without further ado, the top two ?Worst CEOs of 2012? are Brian Dunn of Best Buy (BBY) and Audrey McClendon of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHK). Honorable mentions also go to Facebook?s (FB) Mark Zuckerberg and Groupon?s (GRPN) Andrew Mason.
1. Brian Dunn, former CEO, Best Buy (resigned April 2012)
?Brian Dunn...there is really not a lot of great things to say,? says Finkelstein in the accompanying interview. ?You have a company that is in a virtual free fall. The stock is down something like 50% this year; cash is down; EPS is down; same-store-sales are down. You name it?s down.?
Dunn resigned this past spring; during his tenure Best Buy stock has fallen 80% in five years.
The electronics retailer's competitors ? like Amazon (AMZN), Wal-Mart (WMT) and Apple (AAPL) ?have been breathing down its neck for years and Dunn did little to fight back, says Finkelstein. Dunn also deserves blame for not improving Best Buy?s customer service, Finkelstein adds. Dunn also "completely wasted" $6.4 billion in company cash on stock repurchases, says Finkelstein. Dunn was also accused of dating a 29-year-old female employee.
2. Aubrey McClendon, CEO, Chesapeake Energy (resigned as chairman, still CEO)
?Aubrey McClendon is a classic entrepreneur who breaks all the rules,? says Finkelstein.
While he was a visionary in his line of work, he also pushed the envelope when it came to mixing business finances with personal finances. For example, McClendon used the corporate jet for his personal use and he cut a corporate sponsorship deal with a sports team he privately owned.
According to Finkelstein, McClendon's inappropriate behavior includes:
- Documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal show that several major Wall Street banks lent McClendon money and then received lucrative work as public-offering underwriters or financial advisers to Chesapeake.
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- Personally borrowed $500 million from EIG Global Energy Partners, which had also been a large financer for Chesapeake. In securing personal loans from his company's business associate, McClendon exposed himself to a potential conflict of interest, as it's reasonable to expect him to feel pressure to serve EIG's interests in future corporate transactions, potentially at the expense of the best interests of shareholders.
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- Reuters exposed a $200 million hedge fund trading oil and gas McClendon ran at the same time he was CEO of Chesapeake -- an obvious conflict of interest.
?Nothing is illegal, everything is disclosed (as far as we know) but it sure doesn?t look good,? says Finkelstein.
3. Andrea Jung, Avon, Chairman of Board (resigned as CEO April 2012)
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Andrea Jung of Avon (AVP) made this year?s list of worst CEOs due to a long string of poor performance and her inability to remedy operational issues, says Finkelstein.
Avon?s stock price is down 18% in 2012 and was down more than 80% in the last quarter.
The U.S. Department of Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission are also looking into Avon's potential bribery of foreign officials. The investigation has been ongoing since 2011 and to date Avon has spent $300 million in legal fees.
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4. Mark Pincus, CEO, Zynga
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Mark Pincus of Zynga (ZNGA) made the list because of the huge declines in Zynga's stock price.
Zynga?s stock price is down 75% in 2012. Even though the number of users is increasing, the number of paying customers is shrinking, notes Finkelstein.
On top of that, there has been an ?incredible exodus of top executive talent, always one of the biggest warning signs for impending disaster," says Finkelstein.
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Another foreboding sign is the fact that the gaming company is dependent upon Facebook for 90% of its revenues.
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5. Rodrigo Rato, President, Bankia (Spain)
Rato became the chief executive officer in 2010 and resigned this year after wrongfully promoting the health of the bank and its shares. The Spanish government had to step in and bail out the financial institution.
Tell us what you think!
Who do you think was the worst CEO of 2012? Tell us in the comments section below.
Got a topic you?d like covered? Have a guest you?d like to see interviewed? We?d love to hear from you! Send us an email at thedailyticker@yahoo.com.
You can also look us up on Twitter and Facebook. Follow Aaron Task on Twitter at @aarontask.
Check out these other videos from The Daily Ticker:
January's Highlights (and Lowlights) in Executive Compensation
Footnoted.com: February's Highlights (and Lowlights) in Executive Compensation
March Highlights (and Lowlights) in Executive Compensation
April's Highlights (and Lowlights) in Executive Compensation
Outrageous CEO Compensation: Wynn, Adelson, Dell and Abercrombie Shockers
June's Highlights (and Lowlights) in Executive Compensation
Zynga, Ralph Lauren: Most Outrageous Acts of Corporate America
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/worst-ceo-2012-best-buy-brian-dunn-124535841.html
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Australia thrash Sri Lanka to claim series ? Cricket News Roundup ...
Australia thrash Sri Lanka to claim series ? Cricket News Roundup ? December 28, 2012 - Part 1
Australia thrashed Sri Lankan by an innings and 201 runs to claim victory in the second Test, and take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Resuming the third day on 440 for 8, the Aussies stretched the lead past 300 courtesy Mitchell Johnson, who remained unbeaten on 92.
Johnson then started the damage with the ball by claiming the wicket of Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first over. Jackson Bird, the debutant, again left a striking impression by taking out Lankan old hands in Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera before a wicket each for Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon allowed the hosts to bowl out the Lankans on 103. Johnson was named Player of the Match for his all-round contributions.
Sri Lankan veteran batsman, Kumar Sangakkara, has been ruled out for the remainder of the Australian tour after injuring his index finger during the defeat in Melbourne.
Sangakkara was hit by a ferocious bouncer by Mitchell Johnson on day 3, forcing him to leave the field. Scans revealed that the player has suffered a fracture in his left hand, which will keep him out of competitive action for at least six weeks.
The left-hander had to keep gloves during the match after Test keeper, Prasanna Jayawardene, failed to recover from a hairline fracture he sustained on day 1. The Lankans are also waiting on injury news of fast bowler, Nuwan Kulasekara, who missed the clash after sustaining a rib fracture in the opening Test at Hobart. Chanaka Welegedara has already been ruled out of the upcoming final game due to a hamstring tear.
New Zealand have rested fast bowler Doug Bracewell from the ODI clashes against South Africa in a bid to manage his workload.
Bracewell played in the recent T20I series against the Proteas, and is a part of the upcoming Test series, which starts on January 2. Given his extended workload, the management has decided to give him a break from the ODI clashes, which follow the longer version bouts.
"He has a big role to play in the Test series against South Africa and will benefit from the opportunity to freshen up ahead of the home series [in February-March] against England," said Head Coach, Mike Hesson.?
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Friday, December 28, 2012
New Years Eve at JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort - R ...
Whew! Did you survive the Christmas Holiday? ?Was it filled with hustle & bustle and now you're ready for a real break?
We actually had a nice and quiet Christmas break and are looking forward to planning the New Years Festivities. ?There are a few things to do around here (Austin) as a family, but I discovered another fun place to go for the holiday that I wanted to share as well.
- Crooked Branch Bar ? Live music will be playing from Ben McPeak and his 5-piece band; dance floor open; champagne tasting bar and menu
- Family Gamecation ? Families who play together will stay together: ?in the resort's ballrooms with games galore and Games2U experiences for all ages
- Teen Scene Glow and Toast party ? Glow sticks will light up the teen party with an 11 p.m. New York countdown and New Year's cider toast. ?Movie and music will be playing!
- Children's Pajama Party ? Activities galore for ages 4 to 12 from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. that includes dinner, games, arts and crafts, movie with popcorn, New Year cider toasts at 9 pm and 11 pm
- New Year's specialty dinners at three of our restaurants
- Lantana Spa specials for a soothing celebration or post holiday rejuvenation
- Golf to relax or challenge your game on one of the two TPC San Antonio PGA TOUR golf courses?
Sounds pretty fun, doesn't it? ?Resort rooms begin at just $199 a night - I imagine those will go fast! ?So jump on it and have a spectacular New Years!?
Source: http://www.rwethereyetmom.com/2012/12/new-years-eve-at-jw-marriott-san.html
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The year's top ancient mysteries (and missteps)
New questions are being raised about whether Jesus was married after Harvard historian Karen King found an ancient papyrus with words apparently referring to Jesus' wife. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.
By Alan Boyle
Long-ago lore still has the power to ignite modern-day controversies: Witness the tempests that were stirred up this year over the Maya calendar, the purported "Gospel of Jesus' Wife," a bone box linked to early Christians, a disputed dinosaur skeleton and the plan to clone a woolly mammoth.
It turned out that there was much more to each of these cases than met the eye. Or sometimes much less. Either way, we'll be hearing more about ancient mysteries in the year to come. Here's a status report on six of 2012's most controversial mysteries (and missteps) in the realms of archaeology, anthropology and paleontology.
Gospel of Jesus' Wife: Harvard historian Karen King stirred up a sensation in September with the unveiling of a papyrus that apparently quotes Jesus talking about "my wife." The claims quickly sparked questions about the murky origins of the papyrus, and the Vatican suggested that the controversial text was faked. Most other experts on textual analysis were similarly skeptical.
The Harvard Theological Review withdrew plans to publish a scholarly article about the papyrus in its January issue, and this month a spokesman for the journal said tests to authenticate the document were not yet complete. The Smithsonian Channel has delayed broadcasting a documentary on the find, pending further testing. Status: In limbo.
The Jonah box: In February, researchers announced that they used a camera-equipped robotic arm to study an ossuary, or funerary bone box, within a sealed underground tomb in Jerusalem. They said the box was engraved with a picture of a fish, as well as allusions to "Jonah" and resurrection. Their conclusion was that the inscriptions served as evidence that early Christians were buried in the tomb ? but skeptics disputed that interpretation. Did the picture really show a fish, or was it an upside-down tower, or an urn? The controversy was stoked by the fact that the "Jonah box" team was also behind the even more hotly debated "Jesus Tomb" project a couple of years earlier.
Months later, the findings are still in dispute. One of the researchers behind the find is James Tabor, a religious studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. ?He says some experts have told him privately that they agree with his interpretation, but they're reluctant to speak out because of the acrimony surrounding the original reports. One expert who has voiced cautious support for the "Jonah and the fish" interpretation is Princeton Theological Seminary's James Charlesworth. (That support, too, has come under criticism.) Tabor acknowledges that more evidence is needed. "What we really need to do is enter the tomb and bring those ossuaries out. ... But that would have to be maybe next year," he said today.?Status: In limbo.
Maya calendar: 2012's most publicized ancient mystery has to do with the Maya calendar, and the fact that Dec. 21 apparently marked the end of a series of cycles ? including the 394-year baktun cycle as well as the 5,126-year "cycle of creation." Somehow, those calendrical cycles got mixed up with worries about the end of the world. Did the ancient Maya really think the cosmos would blink out of existence when the calendar ended? And if they did, why should we believe them?
Nothing happened on Dec. 21, other than some New Age-style celebrations of the new age. But the controversy did attract some extra attention for archaeological finds???including the discovery of a calendar workshop that clearly referred to dates beyond 2012, and an inscription that refers to the end of a calendar cycle in 2012, but not the end of the world. Status: Case closed.
Heritage Auctions via Reuters
An 8-foot-tall dinosaur skeleton is tied up in federal court proceedings.
Disputed dinosaur: You could argue that the world's hottest dinosaur fossil is currently in federal custody in New York. The 24-foot-long skeleton, nicknamed Ty, was said to come from a tyrannosaur-like species known as Tarbosaurus bataar. Fossil dealer Eric Prokopi sold it for more than $1 million in May, but experts claimed that the bones must have been smuggled out of Mongolia years earlier. Federal authorities seized the skeleton and filed criminal charges against Prokopi.
The civil and criminal proceedings yielded some surprises: Prokopi's lawyers said the skeleton was assembled from bones that were gathered up from various sources, leading to a new nickname: "Franken-saurus."?Government prosecutors, meanwhile, said they have photos and forms to back up their claims that the dealer was "a participant in the black market" in Mongolia. Just today, Prokopi pleaded guilty to the smuggling charges and agreed to give up the dinosaur skeleton. That means Ty will eventually be sent back to Mongolia. Prokopi could be sentenced to up to 17 years in prison, but today's plea may win him leniency from the court.?Status: Case essentially closed.
Pyramids on Google Earth:?Researcher Angela Micol made a splash in August with claims that Google Earth imagery appeared to show pyramid-type structures in the Egyptian desert. She suggested that these were previously unknown sites ? but it turns out that archaeologists have known about them for decades, and have studied them up close. The most intriguing formations are natural mounds, topped by structures that may have served as watchtowers and/or wells, said Italian Egyptologist Paola Davoli.
Another formation that Micol saw in the imagery is thought to be an oddly shaped natural butte.?Micol told me in September that she was working with contacts in Egypt to get a closer look, but there haven't been any new revelations lately. Status: Case close to being closed.
Cloning a woolly mammoth: Is it really possible to bring the woolly mammoth back to life, tens of thousands of years after the species went extinct? It's highly doubtful, but Korean and Russian researchers are still trying. The project, unveiled in March, would involve recovering viable cells from a mammoth specimen pulled from the Siberian permafrost, implanting the cells' genetic material into an elephant egg, creating a cloned embryo, then transferring the embryo to an elephant womb for gestation. Each of those steps is fraught with difficulty ??and the South Korea scientist in charge of the project is none other than Woo-Suk Hwang, who was disgraced several years ago in a scandal surrounding faked cloning results.
Last month, The Siberian Times reported that samples of mammoth bone marrow, hair, muscles and fat tissue were taken from Yakutsk to Seoul, to find out whether living cells could be extracted. Sources at the lab in Seoul did not respond to phone or email inquiries this week, but even if the cells turn out to be viable, don't expect to see a mammoth resurrection anytime soon. Russian researcher Semyon Grigoriev said it would be "years before we learn to choose the suitable cells or to re-create an extinct DNA molecule." Status: Case not yet closed. Or should that be, "not yet cloned"?
Dinosaurs ... and more: Science writer Brian Switek (a.k.a. @Laelaps) rounded up the year's top stories in paleontology at his "Dinosaur Tracking" blog, just before shifting over to Phenomena, National Geographic's new online science salon. In an email, he highlighted a few of his favorite stories:
"I was particularly interested by Nyasasaurus (confirming an earlier origin for dinosaurs), Yutyrannus (showing that feathers were not just for small dinosaurs)?and mammal bones adding new evidence that dinosaurs may have been endothermic," he told me. "In other fossil news, the two that jump to mind are: fossil turtles caught in the act of mating; and?a new fossil shark species which shows that Carcharocles megalodon was not a giant ancestor of today's white shark, but a member of a different lineage altogether."
I've included the fossil turtle-sex tale in our annual roundup for the Weird Science Awards, but here are 30 more ancient mysteries that should keep you clicking into the new year:
Ten top paleontology tales from Cosmic Log and NBC News:
Ten top anthropology tales from Cosmic Log and NBC News:
Top 10 discoveries from Archaeology magazine:
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the?Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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SAIC shows how DARPA's submarine-tracking drone ship finds its silent targets (video)
Some of us have been feeding advice to DARPA's ACTUV sub-tracking drone project for more than a year, but we haven't had a in-depth look at how the autonomous ship will go about its business, especially when chasing very silent diesel-electric subs. Thankfully, craft designer SAIC has stepped in with a detailed video tour. If there's suspicions that a diesel sub is in the area, the US Navy can deploy sonar buoys that give the ACTUV an inkling of where to go first. After that, the drone takes over with both long-range and short-range sonar. The vehicle can gauge the intent of ships in its path (with human failsafes) and hound a target for up to 13 weeks -- either letting the Navy close in for an attack or, ideally, spooking the sub into avoiding conflict in the first place. While ACTUV won't hit the waves for years, there's a promise that we'll always know about underwater threats and deal with them on our own terms.
Filed under: Robots
Source: Wired
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/ORwa_a4vPLM/
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Farmington Girls Basketball vs. Rocky Hill--REC NIGHT ...
Farmington High School is a standards-based school intent on graduating students of high academic acheivement. Recently the school district has extended the town's focus to include a civic component, which will produce the type of graduates employers are looking for: self-motivated, responsible, communicative and innovative.
In addition to high GPAs and outstanding test scores, Farmington High School is noted for its art and music programs. Unbeatable soccer teams are a hallmark of the town and the high school's boys and girls teams are both known around the state.
Despite several years of budget cuts, Farmington High School, led by Principal Timothy Breslin, continues to offer a broad range of sports and non-academic programs.
One note-worthy fact is that 9.9% of the school's 2008 students came from homes where English was not the primary language.
Source: http://farmington.patch.com/events/farmington-girls-basketball-vs-rocky-hill-rec-night
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5 Mid-Cap Dividend Stocks For Value Investors - Seeking Alpha
Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.
Business relationship disclosure: Dividendinvestr is a team of analysts. This article was written by Serkan Unal, one of our writers. We did not receive compensation for this article (other than from Seeking Alpha), and we have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
By Serkan Unal
Mid-cap stocks with attractive dividend yields or consistent dividend growth, or a combination of both, that are less expensive than the market and growing steadily represent good investments in any market environment. Mid-cap value stocks have shown to outperform the broad market over specific time horizons. For example, over the past 10 years, the Russell Midcap Value Index beat the broader-market benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index, by a differential of nearly 3 percentage points. Year-to-date, that differential is about 2 percentage points.
We looked for the best mid-cap value stocks in the Dreman Mid Cap Value Fund, which is managed by the renowned contrarian investor David Dreman, who boasts 53 years of investing experience. The fund consists of 69 securities of companies "in the prime growth phase of their business cycle" that are priced below the market or their respective industries. We scanned the fund's non-financial holdings with market capitalization between $2 and $10 billion and picked five stocks with yields above 2%, focusing on those that have the largest shares in the fund's net assets. Here is a closer look at the selected five stocks.
Cardinal Health (CAH), a drug and medical supplies wholesaler, pays a yield of 2.6% on a payout ratio of 35%. Its dividends grew, on average, by 16.6% annually over the past five years. Analysts forecast the company's 5-year EPS CAGR at close to 10%, a slight acceleration compared to average annual growth over the past five years. The steady pharmaceutical demand and its oligopolistic market position in the drug distribution market bode well for the company's sustained profitability and strong cash flows. The ratings house Fitch Ratings recently concluded that "the amount of cash returned to CAH shareholders will likely continue to grow," given the company's ample liquidity. The stock has a miniscule price-to-sales of only 0.1, and is priced below its peer group based on a price-to-book ratio. It is valued at 13.1x its trailing earnings and 11.1x its forward earnings. The stock has a free cash flow yield of 4.9% and ROE of 18.4%. Viking Global's Andreas Halvorsen owns more than $200 million in this stock.
Huntsman Corporation (HUN), an inorganic and organic chemicals maker, yields 2.5% on a payout ratio of only 19%. This cash-rich company has a free cash flow yield of 11.2%. Its dividend has been flat since 2007, and it was maintained constant even during the down years. The company's long-term EPS growth is forecasted at 7.4%, reversing the trend of negative growth, on average, over the past five years. Huntsman beat on EPS growth in the latest quarter, even though it missed on revenues. The company has seen some pricing power return and is expanding a plant producing foam insulation compounds to meet the rising demand. Huntsman shares are trading at below-industry price-to-book of 1.8 and price-to-sales of only 0.3. It is good value given its forward P/E of 6.1x and a PEG of only 0.4. The stock has a ROE of 26%. It is popular with fund managers John Burbank and David Tepper, both of whom raised their stakes in the chemicals maker in the previous quarter.
Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO), an energy company, has a dividend yield of 2.2% and a payout ratio of 27%. Marathon Oil increased its dividend in 2012 by 13.3%, although the quarterly dividend remains below levels in some of the previous years. The company's long-term EPS growth is forecasted at about 6.0%, based on increased oil production from the rich oil shale play Eagle Ford. The company has beaten and raised targets and is transforming into a growth story. These factors should lead it toward a higher multiple. The energy company is trading at a 20% discount to its industry based on a price-to-book ratio of 1.2. It is priced at 12.2x trailing earnings and 9.4x forward earnings. It is good value given its PEG of 0.8. In the previous quarter, billionaire Steven Cohen boosted his stake in the company by nearly 200%.
Crane Co. (CR) produces engineered industrial products, airplane componentsm and fluid handling valves. Its dividend is yielding 2.4% on a payout ratio of 142% of trailing earnings and 58% of free cash flow. Over the past five years, the company's dividends grew, on average, by 10.4% annually. Analysts forecast the company's long-term EPS growth at 8.5%. Crane has just agreed to acquire MEI Conlux Holdings, an unattended payment solutions company, for $820 million. The deal, funded by a combination of cash and debt, will improve Crane's standing in payment solutions and will be accretive to EPS expansion and general growth prospects. Crane's shares are trading 10.6x its forward earnings. Its price-to-sales of 1 is 40% lower than the industry average. Value investor Chuck Royce is a buyer of this stock.
Energizer Holdings Inc. (ENR), the battery and razor maker, pays a dividend yield of 2.0% on a payout ratio of 26%. The company started paying a dividend in the third quarter of 2012. This cash-rich company has a free cash flow yield of 10.5% and generates consistently strong cash flows, which suggests it may be likely to grow its dividend in the future. Analysts forecast the company's long-term EPS growth at 10.6%, much faster than over the past five years. The company has just released its preliminary EPS forecast for 2013, which surpassed analyst expectations. This expected growth will be driven by the battery maker's diversified product mix, innovative new products introduction, and the ongoing restructuring efforts. The stock has a below-industry price-to-book, price-to-sales, and price-to-cash flow ratios. It is cheaper than its peer group on a forward basis, with a forward P/E of 12.1x versus the industry's 16.9x. Fund manager Alexander Roepers (Atlantic Investment Management) held nearly $190 million in the stock at the end of September.
Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/1082761-5-mid-cap-dividend-stocks-for-value-investors
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An Introduction To The Environmental Pest Control - News and Society
Every year millions of homes and businesses are exposed to toxic chemicals in an effort to fight insect and rodent infestations. More than a billion pounds of chemicals are used every year in the United States to fight vermin. Before heading to the store to pick up some insect spray or before picking up the phone to call the exterminator, it is important to know the facts about pest control. One can visit mrcarpetcleaner.co.nz/MPC.html for more details.
The first thing to know about pest control is the kinds of chemicals used. The three most commonly used chemicals in pest control were created to attack the nervous systems of vermin. These chemicals were synthesized from the template of nerve agents that were designed during the fighting in World War II. Therefore, they are highly toxic and should be handled with extreme care. These chemicals do not just attack the nervous systems of pests. They will also attack the nervous systems of human beings and pets as well. They will not likely have a lethal effect, because they are designed to attack much smaller animals. However, the smaller the child or pet is, the greater the danger to them when they are exposed to these poisons.
With that in mind, it is important to be very cautious when the exterminator comes to visit. If you have pets or children, you should send them to another place for the duration of the exterminator?s visit. It is also highly advisable to keep them away from the house for at least 48 hours after the chemicals have been sprayed. Some experts will even recommend keeping them away as long as a week after the pest control spray has been applied. This advice is especially important to heed in regards to children. One can also check www.flybusters.co.nz/antcontrol.html out for the details.
Children?s nervous systems are still developing, so they are highly sensitive to any amount of toxin in the environment. Minute amounts of toxins that would have little to no effect on adults, can have devastating results in the nervous systems of children. These results can range from the mild, such as dizziness or nausea, to the severe, such as long-term developmental disorders. For that reason, it is extremely important to use every precaution when using these kinds of poisonous substances in the home.
The same kinds of precautions should be applied. Never use the pest control or fly control chemicals in areas frequented by pets and children. Because children and pets spend much of their time on the floor, they are more apt to come in contact with these toxins than adults. This applies to pieces of pest control equipment like roach traps as well. Make sure never to use them in areas that pets or children inhabit.
Source: http://www.gongyifair.org/an-introduction-to-the-environmental-pest-control.html
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Source: http://bdpykeok.posterous.com/an-introduction-to-the-environmental-pest-con
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Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Immune system changes may drive aggressiveness of recurrent tumors
Dec. 26, 2012 ? Nearly half of the 700,000 cancer patients who undergo surgical removal of a primary tumor each year suffer a recurrence of their disease at some point, and many of those patients will eventually die from their disease. The traditional view of recurrent tumors is that they are resistant to therapy because they've acquired additional genetic mutations that make them more aggressive and impervious to drugs. Now, however, researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania show in an animal model that the enhanced aggressiveness of recurrent tumors may be due to changes in the body's immune response.
The findings are published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"Typically when a patient has a tumor recurrence, their oncologist treats them, much like they treated them for the primary tumor -- with drugs aimed at the tumor cells themselves. But we've found that it might be better to attack the tumor cells and knock down the bad immune cells that are protecting the tumor," says senior study author Sunil Singhal, MD,assistant professor of Surgery and director, Thoracic Surgery Research Laboratory at the Perelman School of Medicine.
To assess the impact of anti-cancer vaccines on primary and recurrent tumors, the researchers immunized mice that had a primary or a recurrent tumor in their flank. Although both groups of animals developed an immune response to the vaccine, only the primary-tumor animals showed tumor shrinkage in response to the vaccine. The recurrent tumors appeared unaffected by the vaccine response. Moreover, this pattern held for several different vaccines.
Despite the prevailing models of tumor recurrence -- which emphasize genetic changes in the tumor cells themselves -- Singhal and colleagues could not find substantial genetic or behavior differences in the recurrent versus primary tumors that might account for the pattern of response.
By contrast, when the team looked at the types of immune cells in and around the tumor, Singhal's team saw a big difference. The recurrent-tumor mice had a large increase in the number of regulatory T cells, compared with primary-tumor animals. That could be important, says Singhal, because T regulatory cells are responsible for holding other immune cells in check and blocking immune responses.
Additionally, macrophages that protect the tumor cells from immune system also increased in number and activity in the recurrent-tumor animals.
Remarkably, when the researchers treated recurrent-tumor animals with drugs that block macrophage activity, tumor growth slowed significantly. However, the same drugs had no effect on primary-tumor animals.
Singhal says it is not clear exactly what triggers the immune system changes, but whatever it is appears to happen at the time of surgery. His group has already started looking for alterations in signaling molecules.
In the meantime, though, he notes that there are newly approved drugs and experimental agents that block regulatory T cells. Given his team's new results, he thinks testing these agents in patients with recurrent disease -- in combination with drugs that attack the tumor cells themselves -- could be an important advance for patients.
"We could impact the outcomes of as many as 250,000 patients a year, if this strategy works," he said.
Other authors from Penn include first author Jerrod Predina and co-authors, Evgeniy Eruslanov, Brendan Judy, Veena Kapoor, Guanjun Cheng, Liang-Chuan Wang, Jing Sun, Edmund K. Moon, Zvi Gregorio Fridlender, and Steven Albelda.
Funding for the study came from a National Institutes of Health Paul Calabresi Scholarship, the Lavin Family Foundation, and the National Lung Cancer Partnership.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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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/~3/KosCqoFvmuQ/121226153021.htm
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Newtown, Conn., officials request halt to gifts
Snow-covered stuffed animals with photos attached sit at a memorial in Newtown, Conn. Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. People continue to visit memorials after gunman Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Friday, Dec. 14, and opened fire, killing 26, including 20 children, before killing himself. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
Snow-covered stuffed animals with photos attached sit at a memorial in Newtown, Conn. Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012. People continue to visit memorials after gunman Adam Lanza walked into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Friday, Dec. 14, and opened fire, killing 26, including 20 children, before killing himself. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
NEWTOWN, Conn. (AP) ? Officials in Newtown, Conn., are asking people to stop sending gifts to the grief-stricken community following the deadly school shooting, saying they're deeply grateful but can't handle the donation deluge.
The town's first selectman, police chief and schools superintendent made the request Wednesday through an editor at The Newtown Bee newspaper.
They say since a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators Dec. 14, gifts from school supplies to artwork have arrived in such numbers they've overwhelmed the small community's ability to process them.
The officials are asking people to temporarily stop sending gifts. They say once they process the "warehouses full of items," they'll detail the best ways to help.
Meanwhile, the United Way of Western Connecticut announced Wednesday that a fund established after the shooting to support Newtown has grown to $3.5 million.
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di: home infusion/IV pharmacy/mental health?pt 1
After my week in outpatient counseling, I had my last rotation of 2012! This week is split between three different locations ? where you only spend 1 or 2 days in each place.
Since I was in three different places, I?m going to split this into two posts (so it doesn?t get too long). This is post 1.
The first rotation was 2 days long and was at Walgreens Home Infusion. This is a home IV pharmacy that provides IV medications and nutrition support to patients in their home environment. This is a very profitable business because it saves patients (and insurance companies) to not stay in the hospital for extended amounts of time if they need to continue on certain medications or if they need ongoing nutrition support. It allows patients to have a better quality of life because they can administer these medications/nutrition themselves or through the help of a home health nurse/agency.
Walgreens is one of the few home infusion pharmacies that actually employs RDs. Their DFW office has two RDs on staff, who take care of all the patients this company supports on nutrition support. These patients are receiving ongoing enteral (tube feeds) or parenteral (IV) nutrition ? sometimes for weeks to months, or even up to years to lifelong support. Most of the time, the patients discharge from the hospital with home nutrition support orders. Sometimes the orders may come from an outpatient doctor?s office as well. But regardless, once they are at home these home infusion RDs are responsible for their care.
The job of the home infusion RD is very broad. In some situations, they are the only health care professional who sees this patient for long periods of time. They have to be very proactive and spend a lot of time communicating with doctors about the patient?s status and needs. They really become a patient advocate in many cases.
They will initially provide education to the patients and teach them how to run the nutrition pumps and/or manage their own nutrition support so they can become self sufficient. They will assess the patient over time and adjust their nutrition support if needed. They may advocate for changes to the orders that are originally sent for the patient after their assessment. They check in with patients often and help them manage their home health care. They also travel to patient?s homes and see them in their home environment and help them navigate nutrition support considering in this setting. They will help them to problem solve things like clots in enteral tubes and managing timing of nutrition support with the other priorities in their lives.
While in this rotation, I sat with every member of the home infusion team to understand how everyone works together in a team environment. I saw the intake (new patient) team, the pharmacy techs who compound the IV medications/TPNs, the order specialists who call each enteral patient once a month to obtain their formula and supply orders and the shipment team who take in supplies and then redistribute them in individual packages for each patient.
I obviously also worked with the RDs who taught me about all the pumps and supplies used for nutrition support in the home setting. I received training on how these pumps work and how to teach patients to use them. I also received training from a nurse on all the different forms of IV access into the body and what can be placed in the home by a nurse vs. in the hospital by a doctor.
The best part of the rotation was gowning up and being in the sterile IV compounding room. I worked with a pharmacy tech to make TPNs and other IV medications. It was so awesome to see how TPNs are made and to understand the entire process of how I would write a TPN, to how it gets entered, to how it?s made and then how it?s checked and delivered to the patient?s home.
Home infusion is awesome. These RDs ONLY work with nutrition support and they have a education/counseling component to their job, as well as a business and sales component. I really enjoyed working with these RDs and understanding another area that I could work in one day if I wanted! I definitely will keep home infusion in my mind as a possibility for a combined clinical and business position.
Any questions on home infusion that I can answer? Part 2 will be up in a few days!
Source: http://www.oddduckblog.com/di-home-infusioniv-pharmacymental-healthpt-1/
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Tuesday, December 25, 2012
The Nexus 7 giveaway winners list is here
You might remember that we hooked with Google last week and set up some giveaways for Nexus 7 tablets and Google Play gift cards. That's the kind of awesome stuff we do around these parts, and spreading the Android love around is something we enjoy. Anyhow, back to those giveaways.
We went through the forums threads and picked out our winners, and here they be.
- Day one (December 17): scottyhifi
- Day two (December 18): randyw
- Day three (December 19): Culex316
- Day four (December 21): Danrarbc
- Day five (December 22): lexflo
Congrats all around! Keep an eye on your inboxes, as I'm going to need to know where to send the Nexus 7s. Thanks everyone for entering, and keep an eye out for more big contests.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/lClYenaZDLk/story01.htm
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Look At These Fantastic Home Improvement Suggestions!
There exists a huge assortment of assist accessible to you when you wish to do renovations, regardless if you are skilled or a newbie. There are several courses, e-tutorials, guides, video tutorials, along with other assets readily available. The subsequent group of recommendations will give you guidance on strategies to make your redecorating work easier.
Prep is crucial is any type of redecorating career! Prior to an internal painting career, all of the room?s furniture need to be moved out or appropriately protected. Your furnishings could be destroyed for a long time should you get fresh paint upon it. Furniture can be shielded from fresh paint with straightforward sheets.
When you are buying a home, employ an inspector. House inspectors examine your home for improvements that are essential. An expert could also behave as a mediator, letting the deal to remain civil.
Be sure you dirt all of your current home once a week. Just a few days could permit a considerable amount of dirt to build up and cause allergies concerns in the home. Dusting home extras not only removes dirt and allergens, furthermore, it discovers pests such as ticks, ants & spiders significantly quicker.
Should you refinish your existing kitchen cabinets, as an alternative to getting brand new ones, you save a whole lot in your kitchen upgrade. It is possible to provide them with a completely change by painting the bases and transforming the entrance doors. You are going to modernize your complete kitchen area without spending a ton of money.
Monitor the major redesigning sequence merchants and await a carpet purchase that also includes cheaper set up. Usually, they will likely lessen the fee for installing to really low levels to aid market the actual carpets and rugs. Swapping the carpets at your residence while in one of these campaigns could help you save hundreds and even 1000s of dollars on labor and set up.
Make sure you have got a plan to get rid of the trash that outcomes from your own home enhancement tasks. It can be expensive to remove each of the trash can, so getting yourself ready for that in advance could help you save money whilst keeping your project on course.
Reduction in normal water pressure might nicely be simple to identify. Check with the people who live in your area in case they have a similar problem. Or even, the catch is within your house. Examine your faucet?s drinking water tension to see if the thing is happening in all of the areas in your own home. You might find the situation just associated with an aerator needing modification, or maybe wise, a phone call to your specialist can be to be able.
All-natural wood units are a great thought should you be contemplating shifting stuff in the kitchen. These are extremely resilient. Several of the more usual forest for kitchen cabinetry include maple, oak and cherry. All of them acquire unsightly stains nicely, giving you the choice to alter the colour later on if you wish.
Take into consideration how much you will end up at home. When you find yourself only going to live in the home for the short period of time, you must decrease just how much you intend to invest on home improvement. Although you continue to need to allocate money for maintenance, the upgrades could possibly be remaining on the long lasting operator.
You are able to produce aesthetic fine detail and disguise defects by using textured drywall soil techniques. It is actually simple to do texturing. Apply the soil using a trowel and employ an inflexible brush, sponge or possibly a crumpled travelling bag to add texture to the area.
When making home improvements, there are many of screws you may use. It?s a great idea to know which kind of attach is perfect for what sort of task you may have scheduled. Wood anchoring screws are fantastic for projects which entail hardwood since they could easily undergo it. Page steel tasks need page metallic anchoring screws.
If this information has accomplished its career, you have to be looking forward to the next redecorating career after some more assurance and a little less anxiety. It can be actually entertaining when someone would like to improve their residence. By using these suggestions under consideration, you could start enhancing your residence, like a pro!
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Source: http://www.affordsl.com/look-at-these-fantastic-home-improvement-suggestions/
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Don't be fooled by January pay -- higher taxes loom
9 hrs.
Workers probably won't feel the full brunt of next year's tax increases in their January paychecks, but don't be fooled by the temporary reprieve.?
No matter what Congress does to address the year-end fiscal cliff, it's already too late for employers to accurately withhold income taxes from January paychecks, unless all the current tax rates remain unchanged, which is an unlikely scenario.?
Social Security payroll taxes are set to increase on Jan. 1, so workers should immediately feel the squeeze of a 2 percent cut in their take-home pay. But as talks drag on over how to address other year-end tax increases, the Internal Revenue Service has delayed releasing income tax withholding tables for 2013.?
As a result, employers are planning to withhold income taxes at the 2012 rates, at least for the first one or two paychecks of the year, said Michael O'Toole of the American Payroll Association.?
If employers don't withhold enough taxes in January, they will have to withhold even more taxes later in the year to make up the difference. Otherwise, taxpayers could get hit with big tax bills, and possibly penalties, when they file their 2013 returns.?
The tax increases could be steep. If Congress fails to act, workers at every income level face significant tax increases next year as part of the year-end "fiscal cliff."?
A taxpayer making between $50,000 and $75,000 would get an average tax increase of $2,400, according to the Tax Policy Center, a Washington research group. If the worker is paid every two weeks, that's about $92 a paycheck, on average.?
Someone making between $75,000 and $100,000 would get a tax increase averaging nearly $3,700. If the worker is paid every two weeks, that's about $142 a paycheck.?
O'Toole said it would take most employers two weeks to four weeks to update their payroll systems, once new tax withholding tables are released. For some small businesses, it could take longer.?
"Employers can't really just come up with withholding tables on their own, depending on what the rates are," O'Toole said. "The smaller companies that do not use a payroll processing service probably would have more problems than anyone else."?
On Friday, the IRS said it plans to issue guidance by the end the year, though it won't be early enough to affect paychecks in early January.?
"We are aware that employers have questions with respect to 2013 withholding," the agency said in a written statement. "Since Congress is still considering changes to the tax law, we continue to closely monitor the situation. We intend to issue guidance by the end of the year on appropriate withholding for 2013."?
About three-quarters of taxpayers got tax refunds this year, averaging $2,707, according to the IRS. That gives most taxpayers some leeway to manage their income tax withholding. However, many people rely on tax refunds to pay bills or make major purchases.?
"The reality is, the vast majority of Americans do live paycheck to paycheck and that tax refund is their most significant payday of the year," said Bob Meighan, vice president of TurboTax, an online tax preparation service.?
Most of the expiring tax breaks were first enacted under President George W. Bush and extended under President Barack Obama. Obama campaigned for re-election on extending the tax cuts on incomes below $200,000 for individuals and $250,000 for married couples. Obama would let the tax cuts expire on incomes above those amounts.?
Boehner's offer
In negotiations with House Speaker John Boehner, Obama offered to raise the income threshold, limiting tax increases to those making more than $400,000. Boehner, who has argued for years that the tax cuts should be made permanent for everyone, responded by trying to push a bill through the House that would have let many of the tax cuts expire on incomes above $1 million.?
Many Republicans revolted and Boehner, R-Ohio, shelved the bill, sending lawmakers home for the Christmas holiday and leaving the outcome of talks in doubt as the new year approaches.?
If Congress and the White House cannot reach a deal, income tax rates would go up, estate taxes and investment taxes would increase and the alternative minimum tax would hit millions of middle-income people. A temporary payroll tax cut that has benefited nearly every wage earner in 2011 and 2012 expires, costing the average family an additional $1,000 a year by itself.?
In addition, dozens of other tax breaks for businesses and individuals that are routinely renewed each year already expired at the end of 2011. Congress was expected to renew many of them by January, so taxpayers could still claim them on their 2012 tax returns.?
If Congress doesn't act on those tax cuts, businesses would lose a popular tax credit for research and development as well as generous tax breaks for investing in new plants and equipment. Individuals would lose federal tax breaks for paying local sales taxes, buying energy efficient appliances and using mass transit.?
In all, taxes would go up by about $536 billion next year.?
Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/dont-be-fooled-january-pay-higher-taxes-loom-1C7660248
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Ambushed NY firemen shot dead; two police killed elsewhere
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A gunman, who spent 17 years in prison for murder, ambushed and killed two volunteer firefighters and wounded two others on Monday near Rochester, New York, as they responded to a house fire he deliberately set, police said.
William Spengler, 62, shot and killed himself after a gunfight with a police officer in Webster, a Rochester suburb, Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering said.
"It was a trap set by Mr. Spengler, who laid in wait and shot first responders," Pickering told a news conference.
Separately, a police officer in Wisconsin and another in Texas were shot and killed on Monday, according to police and media reports.
The attacks on first responders came 10 days after one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history that left 20 students and six adults dead at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, and intensified the debate about gun control in the United States.
Spengler was convicted of manslaughter in 1981 for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer, according to New York State Department of Corrections records. After prison he spent eight years on parole.
"We don't have an easy reason" for the attack on the firefighters, Pickering said, "but just looking at the history ... obviously this was an individual with a lot of problems."
Spengler opened fire around 5:45 a.m. after two of the firefighters arrived at the house in a fire truck and two others responded in their own cars, Pickering said.
Pickering appeared to wipe tears from his eyes at an earlier news conference when he identified the dead firefighters as Lieutenant Michael Chiapperini and Tomasz Kaczowka. Chiapperini was also a police lieutenant.
The injured firefighters, one of whom was in critical condition, were identified as Joseph Hofsetter and Theodore Scardino. Off-duty Police Officer John Ritter was hit by gunfire as he drove past the scene.
Pickering said police had found several types of weapons, including a rifle used to shoot the firefighters. As a convicted felon it was illegal for Spengler to own guns.
Police had not had any contact with Spengler in the "recent past," Pickering said.
Four houses were destroyed by the fire and four were damaged, Pickering said.
COPS TARGETED
Police Officer Jennifer Sebena, 30, was found dead on Monday in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin, suburb of Wauwatosa, police said.
Sebena was on patrol between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. and wearing body armor when she was shot several times, police said. She was found by another officer after she did not respond to calls from the police dispatcher.
In Houston, Texas, an officer with the Bellaire Police Department died after a shootout at around 9 a.m. and a bystander was also killed, according to local media reports.
A spokesperson for the Houston Police Department was not immediately available for comment. A police officer answering the telephone confirmed media reports but declined further comment. A suspect was in the hospital, according to reports.
Before Monday's killings, the Washington-based National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund reported that 125 federal, state and local officers had died in the line of duty this year.
Forty-seven deaths were firearms-related, 50 were from traffic-related incidents, and 28 were from other causes, it said.
(This story is corrected with spelling of gunman's name throughout, Spengler not Spangler)
(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by David Brunnstrom and M.D. Golan)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ambushed-ny-firemen-shot-dead-two-police-killed-015312529.html
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