Google to put user names, photos, comments in ads

2 hours ago

© Chris Helgren / Reuters

Users under 18 will be exempt from the ads and Google+ users will have the ability to opt out of the new program.

SAN FRANCISCO — Google plans to launch new product-endorsement ads incorporating photos, comments and names of its users, in a move to match the "social" ads pioneered by rival Facebook that is raising some privacy concerns. 

The changes, which Google announced in a revised terms of service policy on Friday, set the stage for Google to introduce "shared endorsements" ads on its sites as well as millions of other websites that are part of Google's display advertising network. 

The new types of ads would use personal information of the members of Google+, the social network launched by the company in 2011. 

If a Google+ user has publicly endorsed a particular brand or product by clicking on the +1 button, that person's image might appear in an ad. Reviews and ratings of restaurants or music that Google+ users share on other Google services, such as in the Google Play online store, would also become fair game for advertisers. 

The ads are similar to the social ads on Facebook, the world's No. 1 social network, which has 1.15 billion users. 

Those ads are attractive to marketers, but they unfairly commercialize Internet users' images, said Marc Rotenberg, the director of online privacy group EPIC. 

"It's a huge privacy problem," said Rotenberg. He said the U.S. Federal Trade Commission should review the policy change to determine whether it violates a 2011 consent order Google entered into which prohibits the company from retroactively changing users' privacy settings. 

Users under 18 will be exempt from the ads and Google+ users will have the ability to opt out. But Rotenberg said users "shouldn't have to go back and restore their privacy defaults every time Google makes a change." 

Information Google+ users have previously shared with a limited "circle" of friends will remain viewable only to that group, as will any shared endorsement ads that incorporate the information, Google said in a posting on its website explaining the new terms of service. 

Google, which makes the vast majority of its revenue from advertising, operates the world's most popular Web search engine as well as other online services such as maps, email and video website YouTube. 

The revised terms of service are the latest policy change by Google to raise privacy concerns. Last month, French regulators said they would begin a process to sanction Google for a 2012 change to its policy that allowed the company to combine data collected on individual users across its services, including YouTube, Gmail and social network Google+. Google has said its privacy policy respects European law and is intended to create better services for its users. 

Google's latest terms of service change will go live on Nov. 11. 

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663301/s/325a33b5/sc/21/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cgoogle0Eput0Euser0Enames0Ephotos0Ecomments0Eads0E8C11379331/story01.htm
Similar Articles: calvin johnson   kaley cuoco   james spader   djokovic   royal baby  

YouTube now serving videos to 1 billion people

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? YouTube says more than 1 billion people are now visiting its online video site each month to watch everything from zany clips of cute kittens to sobering scenes of social unrest around the world.

The milestone was announced Wednesday at a splashy event in Santa Monica that was aimed at advertisers and featured performances from some of the website's biggest stars, such as the bands CDZA and Monsters Calling Home. It marks another step in YouTube's evolution from a quirky startup launched in 2005 to one of the most influential forces in today's media landscape.

YouTube crossed the 1 billion threshold five months after Facebook Inc. said its online social network had reached that figure for the first time. YouTube first hit 800 million monthly visitors in October 2011.

The vast audience has given YouTube's owner, Google Inc., another lucrative channel for selling online ads beyond its dominant Internet search engine.

Google bought YouTube for $1.76 billion in 2006 when the video site had an estimated 50 million users worldwide.

Since late 2011, YouTube has refocused its site to prioritize watching along distinct channels of its creators. Such channels were seen as better allowing advertisers to focus on certain genres of content like beauty or music.

In 2012, it seeded 96 channels with around $100 million in funding to help them accelerate that growth, often partnering with big-name Hollywood producers and directors that had made it big in movies or TV but not on the Internet, including "CSI" creator Anthony Zuiker. Later, YouTube vowed to spend another $200 million marketing the channels to boost viewers.

But Wednesday's event focused largely on those who had succeeded on YouTube before the channel-funding strategy was in place, such as Michelle Phan, a YouTuber who has been giving viewers makeup tips since 2006.

Robert Kyncl, vice president and global head of content partnerships, acknowledged to reporters after the event that the channel funding strategy had not worked as well as hoped.

When asked if the channel funding investment had paid off, Kyncl said, "Every year we reserve the right to get smarter."

He said that while YouTube was committed to continuing to invest in content, he said more of such investment in the future would go to those channels that had already proven they can be successful at building an audience on their own.

"What we're looking for is the acceleration of those who are figuring out how to retail their content," he said.

___

AP Business Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/youtube-now-serving-videos-1-billion-people-013554165.html

celebration church new york auto show 2012 tulsa easter eggs pineapple upside down cake free ecards flying car

Ex-gov. Blagojevich teaching history class in prison

You probably haven?t been wondering how former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich is holding up in federal prison. You?re probably just happy that a jury found him guilty of conspiracy to solicit bribes and a host of other counts related to a brazen effort to sell President Barack Obama?s U.S. Senate seat.

Just in case you have been wondering, though, Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the disgraced Democrat?s incarceration. Blagojevich?s family says that he has been whiling away his time in the hoosegow by teaching history to other inmates, reports the International Business Times.

?He teaches a class on the Civil War,? Blagojevich?s wife, Patti, told the world on her Facebook page on Friday.

?He is surviving ? trying to make the best of an untenable situation,? she also wrote.

Patti Blagojevich explained that her husband?s absence has been especially hard on the couple?s two daughters. Birthdays, music recitals, driving tests and even mundane moments can be trying.

?Unfortunately, those moment[s] have been stolen from my children and there is no getting them back,? she wrote.

Patti Blagojevich added that Blagojevich?s nuclear family has visited him ?many times? over the past year.

The former governor?s home away from home while he serves his 14-year sentence is the Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood, a low-security federal prison for male inmates located some 15 miles southwest of Denver.

Provided that he doesn?t win an appeal currently in the works, Blagojevich must serve at least 85 percent of his term. That works out to almost 12 years.

In addition to his newfound role as a pokey professor, Prisoner No. 40892-424 stays in shape by running extensively on the quarter-mile track inside the prison walls.

As so many prisoners seem to do, Blagojevich has also picked up the guitar, according to his wife.

Other notable prisoners at FCI Englewood include Enron?s former president Jeffrey Skilling and Orange County, California?s former sheriff Mike Carona. Skilling is serving a 24-year sentence related to securities fraud and insider trading. Carona is serving a 66-month sentence for witness tampering.

It is unknown whether Skilling or Carona are pupils in Blagojevich?s course on the Civil War.

Follow Eric on Twitter
Join the conversation on The Daily Caller

Read more stories from The Daily Caller

Rod Blagojevich has got this new thing teaching history in prison, and it's #@%!& golden

Palin returns to spotlight by launching zingers at Obama, Bloomberg and media

Student who got kicked out of college over 'Hot for Teacher' essay sues for $2.2 million

Rural Ohio school district moves decades-old Jesus portrait; ACLU not impressed

Elizabeth Warren aligns with daughter's think tank on policy goals

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rod-blagojevich-got-thing-teaching-182024931.html

Prince Harry Vegas pictures Avril Lavigne Microsoft Tropical Storm Isaac amber portwood Phyllis Diller Darla Moore

SXSW Review Wrap-Up: 'Evil Dead,' 'Burt Wonderstone,' 'Spring Breakers' And More

The fine folks over at Film.com headed to central Texas for a little something the locals like to call SXSW. Now that most of the movie-related festivities have wrapped up in Austin, it's time we take a look at what SXSW turned up. Clip past the jump for our roundup of Film.com reviews from SXSW! [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/03/14/sxsw-review-wrap-up/

pilar sanders andrew young real life barbie zipper armenian genocide asteroid mining memorial day

BHP Billiton faces corruption probe over Beijing Olympics

By Sonali Paul and Lucy Hornby

MELBOURNE/BEIJING (Reuters) - The U.S. government is investigating top global miner BHP Billiton Ltd for possible corrupt practices, the company confirmed, after media reports said it was being probed for its sponsorship of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Australia's Fairfax Media reported that the U.S. Department of Justice and the Australian Federal Police (AFP) were investigating allegations that BHP provided inducements, hospitality and gifts to Chinese and other foreign officials.

The U.S. Justice Department told Fairfax, in response to a freedom of information request, it was conducting "law enforcement proceedings" involving BHP, which supplied the materials for gold, silver and bronze medals used in Beijing. The Department of Justice declined to comment after U.S. office hours on Tuesday.

Australian police confirmed they had been working with foreign counterparts and local regulators on Australian aspects of the U.S. investigation, without providing further details.

BHP said it had been cooperating with "relevant authorities", and in response to media queries said it believed it had complied with all applicable laws in regards to its Olympics sponsorship.

"BHP Billiton is fully committed to operating with integrity and the Group's policies specifically prohibit engaging in bribery in all its forms," BHP said in an emailed statement.

The world's biggest mining company has been under investigation for possible corrupt practices since at least 2009, disclosing in 2010 that it had uncovered possible violations of some anti-corruption laws.

BHP said on Wednesday it could not comment on whether that investigation had been expanded or whether the probe referred to on Wednesday was separate.

WOOING CUSTOMERS

Fairfax reported that between 2000 and 2008, BHP spent millions of dollars on a major Olympics sponsorship deal and hospitality package which according to a former China staffer involved more than 170 VIPs, including senior government officials and Chinese steel and mineral company CEOs.

Unlike most major consumer-focused sponsors, BHP's involvement at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was targeted mostly at its close circle of Chinese buyers and employees.

"Most sponsorships focus on media buys and advertising. We've done almost none," Maria McCarthy, the head of BHP's Olympic sponsorship team, told Reuters in March 2008.

"Instead, we are focusing on community leveraging, stakeholder leveraging that involves governments and customers, and our staff," she said.

A former BHP employee involved in the Olympics arrangements told Reuters BHP went out of its way to comply with Australian rules and compiled extensive documentation on its activities.

Fairfax Media said the officials BHP entertained included the head of state-owned Chinese aluminum producer Chinalco and the secretary-general of the China Iron and Steel Association, which coordinates industrial policy for China's steel sector.

"The long-standing enforcement practice of the U.S. DoJ (Department of Justice) and SEC has been to treat executives of SOEs as government officials for purposes of the anti-bribery provisions," said Nathan Bush, an attorney specializing in anti-corruption regulations with O'Melveny & Myers LLP in Beijing.

An employee from China's flagship steelmaker, Baosteel, said BHP held a roundtable for its iron ore clients during the Olympic Games, where they discussed the outlook for the steel industry. He said lower-ranking employees attended.

"It was all part of their sponsorship, there was nothing out of the ordinary," he said, adding that BHP gave participants Olympics T-shirts and tickets from its sponsorship package.

At the time, BHP was championing market pricing for iron ore instead of annual contracts, drawing an angry response from Chinese steel mills forced to pay much more for raw materials.

BHP was not one of the 12 sponsors in the International Olympic Committee's elite "TOP" program - companies such as Coca Cola, Adidas, McDonalds and Johnson & Johnson who paid for the right to market themselves worldwide as partners.

The miner was instead a local sponsor, as it had been for the 2000 Games in Sydney, paying Beijing organizers an undisclosed amount of money and providing materials for the 6,000 or so medals required for the Olympics and Paralympics.

In 2010, after receiving questions from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, BHP said it had discovered possible violations of anti-corruption laws mainly related to some exploration projects that it had already terminated at the time.

It said then that the SEC's requests for information did not relate to any activity in China or any of BHP's sales and marketing activities.

(Additional reporting by Rob Taylor in Canberra and Nick Mulvenney in Sydney; Editing by John Mair and Richard Pullin)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bhp-billiton-says-faces-questions-over-olympics-hospitality-002241253--finance.html

us open tennis us open tennis Empire State Building shooting Republican National Convention Karlie Redd guild wars 2 adrian gonzalez

U of M gay bias lawsuit turns on cellphone, text records ? Business ...

Ongoing employment discrimination litigation between the University of Minnesota and a former golf coach is now focused on a cellphone. Former women?s associate golf instructor Kathryn Brenny sued the university, claiming that golf director John Harris stripped her of her duties once he discovered she is a lesbian.

Brenny had moved to Minnesota to take the position, but was fired shortly after arriving. She alleged the university discriminated against her based on her sexual orientation.

Key to her claim are text messages from Harris? university-issued phone. Starting two years ago, Brenny?s attorney repeatedly asked to examine the cellphone, but the university refused.

Finally, the university admitted that the cellphone?s memory had been wiped out before it was issued to another university employee.

The judge in the case ordered the university to pay Brenny $5,000 as a penalty for destroying evidence. The university has appealed, stating that nothing on the phone was relevant to the case.

Advice: Establish procedures to preserve evidence that may be used in litigation, including text messages.

Like what you've read? ...Republish it and share great business tips!

Attention: Readers, Publishers, Editors, Bloggers, Media, Webmasters and more...

We believe great content should be read and passed around. After all, knowledge IS power. And good business can become great with the right information at their fingertips. If you'd like to share any of the insightful articles on BusinessManagementDaily.com, you may republish or syndicate it without charge.

The only thing we ask is that you keep the article exactly as it was written and formatted. You also need to include an attribution statement and link to the article.

" This information is proudly provided by Business Management Daily.com: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/34611/u-of-m-gay-bias-lawsuit-turns-on-cellphone-text-records "

Source: http://www.businessmanagementdaily.com/34611/u-of-m-gay-bias-lawsuit-turns-on-cellphone-text-records

david bradley david foster wallace

iMore show. Tonight. 6pm PDT. 9pm EDT. Be here!

The iMore show returns tonight with special guest Brian Klug of Anandtech, and we're going to discuss all the week's news. And science! Keep an eye on the time as well, because some of us shifted to daylight savings time, which means things could be shifted an hour in your part of the world. (Thankfully smartphones and tablets have clock apps for that, right?)

6pm PDT, 9pm EDT. Be here!

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/R5xSfbELcYM/story01.htm

Kitty Wells

Pluto Gives Astronomers the Finger as They Announce Tiniest Planet Ever Discovered

If I were Pluto, I would be really pissed off with the astronomers that just announced the tiniest planet ever discovered. It's a new planetary system called Kepler-37, which is centered around a star similar to our sun about 210 light-years from Earth, in the constellation Lyra. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/ixgIQOdyf8E/pluto-gives-astronomers-the-finger-as-they-announce-tiniest-planet-ever

kim kardashian flour bomb hunger games box office xavier joan crawford joan crawford john goodman

From Mobile Police: The Order of Myths Parade will roll at 5pm tonight, instead...

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

Source: http://www.facebook.com/LOCAL15News/posts/10151266412836587

once upon a time bachelor RG3 Monsters University nfl playoff schedule Rex Ryan tattoo Alaska earthquake

Gaps in mental health infrastructure for youth identified in many US communities

Feb. 12, 2013 ? Mental health facilities that provide outpatient specialty services for youth are a critical element of the mental health care infrastructure, especially for youth who are uninsured or publically insured.

In a Viewpoint article in the February 13 issue of JAMA, Janet Cummings, PhD, assistant professor of health policy and management at Emory's Rollins School of Public Health, presents data from the 2008 National Survey of Mental Health Treatment Facilities and examines the extent to which gaps exist in the mental health treatment system for youth.

Based on survey data from facilities that provide specialty mental health services, such as psychiatric hospitals, residential treatment centers, freestanding outpatient clinics or partial-care facilities, and multiservice mental health facilities, only 63 percent of U.S. counties have at least one mental health facility that provides outpatient treatment for youth. Less than half of U.S. counties have a mental health facility with special programs for youth with severe emotional disturbance. The gaps in infrastructure are even larger in rural communities, where less than half even have one mental health facility that provides outpatient care and only one-third has outpatient facilities with specific programs for youth with severe illness.

"These numbers are especially concerning because these facilities are a critical resource for the uninsured and publically insured, which accounts for almost half of our nation's youth," explains Cummings. "Given these gaps in the mental health care infrastructure, policies need to be implemented that ensure specialty mental health treatment is available for all youth who need services -- especially youth with the most severe mental health problems."

The article also suggests that current estimates of the infrastructure gaps could be worse than the estimates from the 2008 survey due to ongoing budget cuts. Between 2009 and 2012, states eliminated more than $1.6 billion in general funds from their state mental health agency budgets, which adversely affected services and programs for both youth and adults with serious mental illness.

"The recent attention to mental health care access has ignited a more critical examination of the mental health treatment system for youth," explains Cummings. "These gaps in geographic access to mental health facilities are compounded by other problems such as provider shortages and stigma, which will ultimately require a comprehensive strategy from policymakers to yield meaningful improvements for this system."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Emory Health Sciences, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

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

---

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/~3/3uzgFB-pWsc/130212172211.htm

gallagher madmen james cameron liam hemsworth miss canada justin bieber boyfriend marianas trench

$10 Free No Deposit At Lucky Emperor Casino ... - Streak Gaming

Get $10 FREE just for signing up

Then when you make your first deposit of $100 we'll match it with another $100! Lucky Emperor Casino is powered by Microgaming.

We are so confident that you will enjoy the friendly atmosphere and exciting games that we will give you $10 for FREE, no deposit required! Lucky Emperor Casino is the best online casino with a no deposit bonus. All you have to do is download the software, register as a real player and register a credit card, and we will deposit $10 FREE directly into your account.

As an additional casino bonus, when you make your first deposit of $100, we'll credit your account with a complimentary $100 FREE! That's a grand total of $110 free at the net's number one online casino with no deposit bonus. If you don't have a credit card, check out our other methods of crediting your account. $10 of Microgaming Free Play is great.

IMPORTANT!

Please ensure you consistently use one e-mail address for all promotions and registrations at Lucky Emperor Casino. This ensures that all winnings will be linked into your Lucky Emperor Casino account.

Sit back and enjoy state of the art online casino entertainment with up to $110 absolutely free!

Find more offers like this at our Free Casino Cash site.

Source: http://www.streakgaming.com/forum/10-free-no-deposit-lucky-emperor-casino-microgaming-t41210.html

ice t new york knicks president day lin

NASA Laser Beams Send Mona Lisa to the Moon and Back

An image of the Mona Lisa has traveled nearly 240,000 miles digitally, going from the Next Generation Satellite Laser Ranging station at NASA?s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., to the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter (LOLA) instrument on NASA?s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. By transmitting the image on top of on laser pulses regularly sent in order to track position, simultaneous laser communication and tracking was achieved.

?This is the first time anyone has achieved one-way laser communication at planetary distances,? says David Smith of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ?In the near future, this type of simple laser communication might serve as a backup for the radio communication that satellites use. In the more distant future, it may allow communication at higher data rates than present radio links can provide.?

Satellites which go outside of Earth orbit characteristically use radio waves for tracking and communication. The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter is the only satellite in orbit around a body other than Earth to be tracked by laser also.

?Because LRO is already set up to receive laser signals through the LOLA instrument, we had a unique opportunity to demonstrate one-way laser communication with a distant satellite,? explained Xiaoli Sun, scientist at NASA Goddard and lead author of a paper detailing the work.

Timing a Pixel Array

The key to transmitting the image was accurate timing. Sun and his team divided the Mona Lisa image into an array of 152 pixels by 200 pixels. Each pixel was converted into a shade of gray, represented by a number between zero and 4,095. (I guess 50 shades of grey wasn?t to their liking.) Every pixel was then transmitted by a laser pulse, with the pulse being fired in one of 4,096 possible time slots during a brief time window allotted for laser tracking. The complete image was transmitted at a data rate of about 300 bits per second.

Received by LRO?s Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument, the laser pulses reconstructed the image based on the arrival times of the pulses from Earth. This was accomplished with no interruption of LOLA?s primary task of mapping the moon?s elevation and terrain and the Goddard Space Flight Center?s main task of tracking LRO. The image was then returned to Earth using the spacecraft?s radio telemetry system in order to verify the success of the laser transmission.

Error Correction by Reed-Solomon Coding

Transmission errors were introduced by turbulence in Earth?s atmosphere, even when the sky was clear. To overcome these effects, Sun and colleagues used Reed-Solomon coding, which is the same type of error-correction code commonly used in CDs and DVDs. The illustration at the top of the page shows the image before and after correction. The white stripe indicates a brief period when transmission was paused.

?This pathfinding achievement sets the stage for the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration (LLCD), a high data rate laser-communication demonstrations that will be a central feature of NASA?s next moon mission, the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE),? says Goddard?s Richard Vondrak.

The next step following the Lunar Laser Communications Demonstration is the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration (LCRD), NASA?s first long-duration optical communications mission. LCRD will help develop concepts and deliver technologies applicable to near-Earth and deep-space communication.

Reference:

Free space laser communication experiments from Earth to the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter in lunar orbit
Sun, Xiaoli; Skillman, David R; Hoffman, Evan D; Mao, Dandan; McGarry, Jan F; McIntire, Leva; Zellar, Ronald S; Davidson, Frederic M; Fong, Wai H; Krainak, Michael A; Neumann, Gregory A; Zuber, Maria T; Smith, David E

Optics Express, Vol. 21, Issue 2, pp. 1865-1871 (2013) http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.21.001865

Image courtesy Xiaoli Sun, NASA Goddard

Tagged as: laser, NASA

Source: http://www.techfragments.com/1961/nasa-laser-beams-mona-lisa-moon/

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

12 Better Business and Personal Marketing Practices for 2013

As a small business, you will have to respond to these business marketing trends to keep your business relevant in 2013.

As a business owner or manager, the suggested personal marketing practices will prove to be valuable for helping you to better implement them for maximum business marketing benefit.

Business Marketing Trends and Practices

#1 ? Original Content is Highly Valued

If this wasn?t true, then media outlets would not always be racing to be the first to report the news to achieve the temporary prize of being first. There is no need to race when YOU are the only source.

Google Authorship is evidence that original marketing content ? one of a kind ? a category of one -?will always be more highly prized.

#2 ? Business is Now Personal

The personal perspective that you provide is what makes any type of content marketing original. Repurposing content is accepting mediocrity ? something that places you in a race to the bottom.

#3 ? Customers Want to Make Better Choices

Those who use their expertise to help their customers will earn their trust. First help your customers to be better buyers ? then help them further with your expertise. So this year, help your community to simplify.

#4 ? Social Media Will Not Fix Anything

If your business is broken social media will amplify that. So, to help you get better, why not consider blogging just for you. It will help you to dig deep and find better solutions for your customers.

#5 ? Consistency Sets Expectations

How often should you be publishing to your online channels? ?If you make regular contributions, even if that is quarterly, it is better than nothing at all ? and certainly better than anything irregular. Consistency is a mark of professionals.

#6 ? You Have to Love What You Do

I love to blog and it pains me that the gap since my last post is the widest in years. Looking on the bright side, I?ve just completed my first book on social marketing for small business?and that is reward enough for me ? especially if members of my tribe like you find it useful.

Personal Marketing Practices

#7 ? Surprise Your Audience

Pay attention to those that nobody pays attention to ? it could be the greatest gift they receive all year.?Buy the person?s lunch in the line with you. Send an anonymous gift.

#8 ? Show up Even When You are Unprepared

We all think that we need to be prepared, and we should be, but sometimes the most amazing days of our lives are those when we improvise from the heart in service to our communities. It?s a wonderful thing.

#9 ? Face Your fears

Being yourself means facing your fears and doing what you know has to be done if you are to feel the sense of accomplishment that drives your happiness and success. When you do what is uncomfortable you learn things about yourself that help you to better serve your customers.

#10 ? Love Yourself

Steve Jobs famously said, ?they are no smarter than you are.? ?When you really embrace that concept the fears that hold you back fall away. What?s left is the innate confidence in your own abilities that shines through.

#11 ? Your Work is Never Done

If it were, then you would have nothing to aspire to. Try to view life, and certainly business, as a process ? not a transaction. How can you do more together with your customers? They are probably wondering the same thing. Help them get what they really want.

#12 ? Show Your gratitude

Believe it or not, being grateful for the contribution of others helps you just as much, if not more than them. When you put that positive energy into the world it helps you realize you are part of something bigger ? an ecosystem that needs your contribution.

How about you?

What is your small business marketing manifesto for 2013?

If you liked this ? please leave a comment below and share with your friends

About the Author:??Jeff Korhan, MBA, helps mainstream small businesses create exceptional customer experiences that accelerate business growth. ?Get more from Jeff on?LinkedIn,?Twitter?and?Google+.

Jeff is also the author of?Built-In Social: ?Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business ? Published by Wiley, April 15, 2013

?

Photo Credit

Source: http://www.jeffkorhan.com/2013/01/12-better-marketing-trendspractices-2013.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=12-better-marketing-trendspractices-2013

ozzie guillen ozzie guillen buster posey eric holder eric holder carole king crystal renn

IRL: Securifi Almond, Samsung Galaxy Note II and the LG Optimus G

Welcome to IRL, an ongoing feature where we talk about the gadgets, apps and toys we're using in real life and take a second look at products that already got the formal review treatment.

This is the one place where it's okay for us Engadget editors to be slightly behind the times. Back at CES a couple weeks ago, for instance, we got hands-on with the Securifi Almond+, a touchscreen router with a fancy all-white design and even fancier support for Zigbee / W-Wave home automation. Here in "IRL," though, we're just fine to talk about the OG Almond, which doesn't offer quite so many add-ons. Rounding things out, we've also got some anecdotes about the Galaxy Note II and Optimus G, neither of which need an introduction at this point.

Securifi Almond

Look, I moonlight as the IT guy at the White House, okay? Now that we're having such an honest conversation, I will say that I've been on the hunt for an ideal WiFi range extender for some time now. Western Digital's My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender does a fine job, but a) it's pretty large and b) it lacks bells and whistles. If you're looking for an alternative that addresses both of those issues, let me introduce you to the other product I'd trust to stretch WiFi waves from the Situation Room to the Rose Garden: the Securifi Almond.

While this is a bona fide WLAN access point / router at heart, I was focused primarily on testing its range extension abilities. I plugged the unit in some 90 feet away from a Netgear N900, watched the colorful touchscreen dance to life, and then tapped on a few screens in the Wizard Guide to set it all up. We've all heard it before -- "easy to set up!" -- but this one's truly capable of doing as advertised. Within four minutes, the unit had found my local 2.4GHz network, accepted my password and created a new network using that same password for areas that were previously out of reach.

In practice, it adds another 150-odd feet of range to my N900, and I saw no degradation in performance while streaming video. The touchscreen also continues to be useful after you've pecked in your information. You can have it display the local weather or the time, making it a pretty awesome glanceable piece of technology while it's broadcasting in the background. Two quirks, though: one, the weather forecast (apparently) doesn't update on its own, and two, the clock reversed AM and PM in my testing. Granted, both of these are in "Beta," and I'm hoping the company adds even more functionality through OTA software updates -- which the unit is fully capable of receiving.

The other bits you should know about: it won't rebroadcast 5GHz signals (boo!), and it actually creates a new SSID (network name) instead of just amplifying your existing one. This means that once you walk out of range of your existing router, you need to disconnect and reconnect to a new network name, which is a slight hassle. Those things aside, it's a solid performer at $80, and hopefully it'll get even better once the updates begin to roll in.

-- Darren Murph

Samsung Galaxy Note II

I was among the naysayers when Samsung released the Galaxy Note. Maybe it was my memories of the Streak 5 or perhaps it was just dread at the idea of carrying around a gargantuan handset. The Note's massive success did little to change my perception, but it did make me look at its successor with respect. Spec bump aside, the Galaxy Note II is certainly a more mature product compared to the OG Note, what with its bag of software tricks and that improved S Pen. I can see the S Pen's usefulness for not only the creative types, but also obsessive note takers and for general tomfoolery. Add smooth performance and impressive battery life, and it makes the Note II quite a compelling proposition indeed.

Attempting to occupy that middle ground between smartphone and tablet, the Note II's size is its chief strength as well weakness, depending on how you look at it. Despite the new one-handed mode that shrinks the keyboard and dialing pad and docks them to the side, I still think the large size is tough to handle with a single hand. Heck, even using the lockscreen slider to accept or reject calls might be an issue if you try doing it one-handed, making the pebble-smooth handset prone to slipping. Ditto when you stretch your thumb across the glass to pull down the notification bar or to reach any app controls placed on the top.

On the flip side, watching movies is lots of fun thanks to that big display, as is playing games. Apps like Flipboard also shine with some extra screen real estate. Features such as multi-window and pop-up video make great use of the extra screen real estate and add to the device's pull factor, much more than having the same functionality on its smaller sibling, the Galaxy S III.

Basically, when it comes to smartphones, size does matter. It's really up to you what you prefer -- a large slab that can possibly help avoid the hassle of lugging both a phone and a tablet, or a conventional-sized blower that's more pocket-friendly but leaves something to be desired when it comes to the media and app experience. Personally, I think of these high-end phablets as SUVs of the smartphone world -- hardly easy to parallel park or squeeze into tight spaces -- but big, powerful and spacious. Love 'em or leave 'em, they're here to stay.

-- Deepak Dhingra

LG Optimus G on Rogers

The Optimus G feels like the Nexus 4's neglected cousin. Both LG phones are capable, but the Nexus 4's status as the official Google phone -- and the accompanying $350 unlocked price -- tend to overshadow the Optimus G's more traditional approach. I felt compelled to try the Optimus G on Rogers for a few weeks for just that reason. Is it worth it to give up stock Android and pay more, all so that you can score a few hardware advantages?

The Cliff's Notes answer: yes. In some cases, anyway. The battery life could certainly clinch a few sales. Where the Nexus 4's runtime is fairly average, the Optimus G has no problem lasting through a photo- and Twitter-heavy day. The 32GB of storage space is naturally useful for a hefty music collection like mine, too. LTE is indeed appreciated versus the Nexus 4's dual-carrier HSPA+ 3G, although I'll readily acknowledge that the 3G in my area is often fast enough. I'm even sanguine about the interface, despite my preference for pure Android. LG's custom interface feels relatively unintrusive and light, at least next to Samsung's TouchWiz. It mostly stays out of the way, and it doesn't lean on gestures that might only be useful once in a blue moon (see: Samsung's tilt-to-zoom).

If an unfettered Google experience isn't a factor, about the only potential dealbreaker is that oh-so-frustrating camera focus system. The Optimus G's camera (eight megapixels on the Rogers model) is fine in much of the time, but it's tough to compose some macro or close-up portrait shots when the continuous autofocusing offers just a split second of sharpness before it readjusts; I've taken a few photos that looked fine in the preview but were blurred by the time I hit the capture button. If LG ever embraces traditional autofocus for the Optimus G's camera, though, it'll be easier to recommend it, regardless of whether the Nexus 4 is on the shopping list.

-- Jon Fingas

Filed under: Misc, Samsung, LG

Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/20/irl-securifi-almond-samsung-galaxy-note-ii-lg-optimus-g-rogers/

weather radar the weather channel national grid LIPA MBTA Cnn Live Garcinia Cambogia

Senate's Reid reassured by Republicans' debt ceiling move

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office said on Friday that if the Republican-led House of Representatives can pass a "clean" debt ceiling increase, the Democrat-majority Senate "will be happy to consider it."

"It is reassuring to see Republicans beginning to back off their threat to hold our economy hostage," Reid's spokesman Adam Jentleson said in a statement.

The statement was issued after House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Republican, said the House would consider a bill next week to extend the U.S. debt limit by three months.

(Reporting by Alistair Bell; Editing by Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/senates-reid-reassured-republicans-debt-ceiling-move-184154974--business.html

rihanna and chris brown affirmative action helicon zac efron and taylor swift real housewives of orange county bloom energy franklin graham

Virginia-Based Energy Company Looking to Build Large Wind Farm In OK

',
calendar:'',
week:'{week}', dayClickable:'{date}', dayCurrent:'{date}', dayNone:'', day:'{date}', search:'' }, // Stored objects $container = $(loc), now = new Date(), current = now, minDate = new Date('12/5/2007'), station = wng_pageInfo.affiliateName||'kotv', months = ['January', 'February', 'March', 'April', 'May', 'June', 'July', 'August', 'September', 'October', 'November', 'December'], monthLengths = [31, 28, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31, 31, 30, 31, 30, 31], // Helper methods renderTemplate = function(tpl, vars) { var retVal = templates[tpl]; if (typeof(retVal) === 'string') { for (var i in vars) { var regEx = new RegExp('\{' + i + '\}', 'g'); retVal = retVal.replace(regEx, vars[i]); } } else { retVal = null; } return retVal; }, // Renderers makeCalendar = function(date) { // Copy the date to a new object (so as not to overwrite the original) and set us to the beginning of the month date = new Date(date); date.setDate(1); current = date; var month = date.getMonth(), year = date.getFullYear(), firstDay = date.getDay(), out = '', days = '', colCount = 0, monthLength = monthLengths[month] + (month == 1 && year % 4 == 0 ? 2 : 1); // Figure up the month length taking into consideration leap years. Not accurate to 100+ years // Render the days before the start of the month if necessary for (var i = 0; i = minDate) { tpl = 'dayClickable'; } days += renderTemplate(tpl, {date:i}); colCount++; if (colCount % 7 == 0) { out += renderTemplate('week', {week:days}); days = ''; } } // Tack on the last week if (days != '') { out += renderTemplate('week', {week:days}); } // Render to the DOM out = renderTemplate('calendar', {days:out}); out = renderTemplate('controls', {month:months[month], year:year}) + out + templates.search; $container.html(out); // Determine whether the previous/next buttons should be shown date.setDate(1); if (date 12) { month = 1; year++; } makeCalendar(new Date(month + '/1/' + year)); } }, // Init init = function() { $container.addClass('gnmCalendar'); makeCalendar(now); }; init(); };

Source: http://www.news9.com/story/20619179/virginia-based-energy-company-looking-to-build-large-wind-farm-in-ok

gunner kiel gunner kiel groundhog soulja boy did the groundhog see his shadow punxsutawney phil groundhog day

This Awesome Animated Short Is a Student Film. A+!

Good. Bad. These are relative ideals that depend almost entirely on which end of the gun is facing us. A quartet of French art students—Micha?l Balthazart, Cl?ment Granjon, Quentin Sauvinet, and Rapha?l Gaudin—collaborated at ArtFX 2012 to explore this concept in Voile Noir, which follows a pair of pilots, Allan and Yvan, as they attempt to deliver a bomb that will single-handedly end the war. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/7QDLAVRRrpE/this-awesome-animated-short-is-a-student-film-a%252B

nfl free agents 2012 encyclopedia brittanica nfl free agency jonbenet ramsey jason campbell doobie brothers jennie garth peter facinelli

Video: Intel Q4 EPS: $0.48 vs. $0.45 Est.

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

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50499114/

bernard hopkins nfl draft grades devils dodgers rachel maddow gia la riots

Lafayette PC is Small Business of the Year | WLFI - Lafayette, Indiana

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Greater Lafayette Commerce has computed the votes and chosen its 2012 Small Business of the Year.

During a ceremony Wednesday at the Holiday Inn in Downtown Lafayette, Lafayette P-C was announced as the winner.

Lafayette PC is located on Main Street and owned by Jason and Julie Rusbam. It opened in 2008 and specializes in home computer support, repair, and data networking.

The Rusbams said they were certainly weren't expecting the recognition, but they were thrilled when their name was called.

"You know, it just helps to reaffirm that we're doing the right thing, hopefully," said Jason Rusbam. "That we're heading in the right direction, that we're growing our business, we're doing the right things, so it's very reassuring to know people can se that we're making a good effort."

Lafayette PC was chosen from a group of 11 previous Small Business of the Month winners named from September 2011 through August 2012.

Businesses nominated for the monthly award must be a member of Greater Lafayette Commerce, privately owned, in business under current ownership for at least three years, have 50 or fewer employees and be involved in the community.

Source: http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/lafayette-pc-is-small-business-of-the-year

boston marathon tu pac hologram shuttle pippa middleton space shuttle discovery spacex tupac hologram

Due to the country's staggering tally of gun violence, Mexico City recently held...

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

Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151344253592440&set=a.319641962439.152569.9287842439&type=1

Tony Farmer West Nile virus symptoms snooki ll cool j amy schumer amy schumer Prince Harry Vegas pictures

Apple vs Samsung: Does Galaxy S3 maker need to worry over iPhone's twin launch in June?

Apple is working on two new iPhones this year and both the models could be out by June or July this year, a senior analyst has said.

According to an analyst at KGI Securities, Apple is expected to release both an upgraded version of the iPhone5 and an economy version with more colour options for users.

A report published by MacRumors quoting analyst Ming Chi Kuo reveals the roadmap of all the 2013 scheduled releases, pointing out that there could be updates for both its iPads and Macbook Pro series.

?Kuo expects that Apple will introduce both an iPhone 5S and a revamped iPhone 5 around June or July of this year, with the iPhone 5S appearing very similar to the current iPhone 5 but carrying a number of upgrades?..?the report says.

According to the analyst the upgraded iPhone will run on an A7 chip, and will come with the much awaited fingerprint sensor. Last year Apple acquired tech company Authentic, which specialized in developing the finger print technology.

Apple is also expected to bring out the next iPhone with near field communications (NFC) to facilitate mobile payments through its Passbook app. It was widely expected that Apple would do so with iPhone5. But the phone came with an upgraded iOS6 operating system that introduced the new Passbook feature but without NFC.

Emirates 247 had earlier reported about Apple working on a low budget series with multiple colours to choose from.

According to Chi Kuo the budget iPhone mainly aimed at taking on the competition from Samsung will be an iPhone 5 repackaged and come in plastic covers of six colours rather than the more expensive aluminium covers that all iPhones have been using so far.

Interestingly, Samsung which is also expected to launch its Galaxy S4 is expected to do so ahead of the iPhone release.

Samsung has already denied earlier reports that the S4 would be launched in March, making it highly probable for either a May or a June launch.

ALSO READ:

Three-day weekend: Milad Al Nabi holiday for UAE public and private sector employees

Non-registered mobile SIM users can receive calls

?

Source: http://www.emirates247.com/business/apple-vs-samsung-does-galaxy-s3-maker-need-to-worry-over-iphone-s-twin-launch-in-june-2013-01-17-1.491435

erin brockovich dodgeball 2012 pro bowl postsecret ufc on fox 2 supercross christina aguilera etta james funeral

Marc Trestman named Bears' head coach

Marc Trestman will become the 14^th head coach of the Chicago Bears. The team announced the news Wednesday morning.

(So, if the number 13 is unlucky, does that give Trestman an edge over Lovie Smith right out of the gate? Double sevens, baby! Alright, I digress ...)

Here?s the deal:

In his first season as offensive coordinator of the San Francisco 49ers in 1995, Trestman helped his team to the best overall point differential in the NFL, the best overall yardage differential, the second-best total offense, and the first-ranked total passing offense. The team went 11-5, losing their first playoff game. But in 1996, the team did one better all-around, finishing 12-4 and making it through the first round of the postseason.

That was with Steve Young at quarterback.

In 1998, Trestman began a three-year, unimpressive stint as offensive coordinator in Arizona, working with a below average QB in Jake Plumber, and a bad offensive line. My pointing those things out is not a defense mechanism, it?s a reality. But, despite the poor-passer, poor-protection, Trestman helped a dismal Cardinals team to a 9-7 record and a playoff win?the team?s first in 51 years?and their first nine-win season of the previous 14.

And by the turn of the century, Trestman had built a name for himself as bit of an offensive Einstein.

In 2002, Trestman was hired as the offensive coordinator of the Oakland Raiders. Richard Joseph Gannon, the team?s starting QB at the time, went on to have a career year under Trestman, throwing for 4,689 yards, 26 TDs, 10 INTs and a 67.6 completion percentage. Was it Trestman? Tough to say considering Gannon missed significant time due to injury the next two seasons and never returned to the NFL.

That?s the short and skinny on Trestman?s NFL career as an offensive coordinator. What does it all mean? I?m not sure, really. You could argue that in the role of coordinator, which will be his role in Chicago regardless of who he hires to carry the title, Trestman has brought immediate success to every team he?s gone to. You could also argue, however, that the League has evolved. And while it was doing so, Trestman was north of the boarder, working in the CFL.

There, as head coach of the Montreal Alouettes, Trestman led his team to back-to-back Grey Cup championships?the CFL?s version of a Super Bowl?and 2009 CFL Coach of the Year honors. But the CFL is not the NFL.

The question as to why, if Trestman is such a great offensive mind, has he not been able to sustain a long-term run in the NFL is a fair one. But those who?ve worked closest with him continue to sing his praises as a QB guru and an offensive innovator.

The only thing that is certain is that Bears? GM Phil Emery led an exhaustive search to find the right guy?a search that led some candidates to say they?d never seen someone as prepared for an interview as Emery?and that search ended with Trestman. All that matters now is what happens moving forward.

The goal is championships, and the race to the top starts today.

. . .

The Bears will hold a press conference to introduce Trestman on Thursday, January?17 at 10:00 A.M. CT in the Mugs Halas Auditorium.

Trestman's Coaching Career:

1981-1982: University of Miami (FL)? - Volunteer Assistant
1983-1984: University of Miami (FL)? - Quarterbacks Coach
1985-1986: Minnesota Vikings ? Running Backs Coach
1987: Tampa Bay Buccaneers ? Quarterbacks Coach
1988: Cleveland Browns - Quarterbacks Coach
1989: Cleveland Browns ? Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
1990-1991: Minnesota Vikings - Quarterbacks Coach
1995: San Francisco 49ers ? Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
1996: San Francisco 49ers ? Offensive Coordinator
1997: Detroit Lions - Quarterbacks Coach
1998-2000: Arizona Cardinals ? Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
2001: Oakland Raiders ? Senior Assistant
2002-2003: Oakland Raiders ? Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
2004: Miami Dolphins ? Assistant Head Coach/Quarterbacks
2005-2006: North Carolina State ? Offensive Coordinator
2008-2012: Head Coach ? Montreal Alouettes (CFL)
2013: Head Coach ? Chicago Bears

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/2013/01/marc-trestman-named-bears-head-coach/

Cal State Fullerton Pacific Rim tumblr Ravi Shankar Geminid meteor shower right to work Clackamas Town Center

Two in custody after man killed outside Chicago State University

The Simeon and Morgan Park High School basketball teams ended their game at Chicago State University with a melee between players on the court. (Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune)

Staff report

12:17 a.m. CST, January 17, 2013

A 20-year-old man was shot and killed outside a Chicago Public Schools high school basketball game at Chicago State University Wednesday night after a melee broke out in a handshake line after the game.

The man was taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

The shooting happened about 9:20 p.m. outside the campus gymnasium near 95th Street and King Drive, said police News Affairs Officer Daniel O?Brien. He was pronounced dead at Christ hospital Wednesday night.

Chicago State Police put out a quick message to nearby officers, asking them to watch for a jeep that was pulled over east of the school a short time later, police said, citing early reports. Two people were taken into custody and police found a gun inside the jeep.

The game was between Simeon Career Academy and Morgan Park High School, both schools located on Vincennes Avenue about 30 blocks apart, at 81st and 111th Streets.

An argument in a handshake line after the game preceeded the shooting, police said. The gym was tense and word spread through the gym that someone had been shot.

Police said the argument spilled into the parking lot and someone pulled out a weapon and shot the 20-year-old.

Each team was held for longer than normal in the locker rooms after the game. Nothing outside ordinary bumps and physical contact happened during the game.

Chicago police responded to the scene but are not involved with the investigation, O'Brien said.

Chicago State Police refused to comment about the incident and city police referred inquiries to them and Illinois State Police, who said they were not involved in the investigation.

Check back for details.

Contributor Mike Helfgot and Tribune reporters Peter Nickeas, Rosemary Regina Sobol and Jeremy Gorner contributed to this story.

chicagobreaking@tribune.com
Twitter: @chicagobreaking

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ChicagoBreakingNews/~3/JgUPIBe_u5M/story01.htm

calvin johnson calvin johnson festivus festivus nfl playoff picture nfl playoff picture Peter Billingsley

Playboy Israel Is Coming

January 16, 2013, 6:00am

By Lilit Marcus

Getty Images

Watch out, Israel, Playboy bunnies are heading your way.

Make sure you know how to pronounce shfanfanat. It means ?Bunny,? and there are about to be a whole lot more bunnies in Israel. That?s right: Playboy is coming to the Holy Land.

The famed U.S. lad mag, founded by Hugh Hefner in 1953, will be making its Middle East debut later this year. The project was the brainchild of Daniel Pomerantz, an American attorney who stuffed copies of the magazine in his suitcase when he made aliyah last year. He partnered with some businessmen from back home, and they spent time hunkered down with Hefner?s staff to get a sense of the magazine?s history.

An Israeli expansion makes plenty of sense for Playboy, which has been struggling financially for the last few years. Though the brand is still valuable, thanks to licensing deals that make everything from Playboy condoms to bunny-print clothing and beauty products, the magazine has followed industry trends and lost money hand over fist. The company reportedly earned more money from a reality show, ?The Girls Next Door,? about Hef?s three then-girlfriends, than it did from traditional advertising sales. The brand clearly needs to support its flailing magazine division, and launching new international editions is one way to do that.

How will Israel react to Playboy? If the short-lived attempt at bringing Penthouse to Israel (it lasted from 1989 to1993) is any indication, porn will be a hard sell. It?s basically a given that the country?s ultra-Orthodox population, which wouldn?t even show photographs of Tzipi Livni when she was running for Prime Minister, will protest the new magazine.

But it may not just be the Haredi community that has a problem with Playboy En Ivrit. Many feminists are anti-pornography, arguing that it objectifies and humiliates women. Gail Dines, a Britain-born feminist scholar who lived for many years in Israel, is one of the world?s most outspoken critics of pornography. In a 2010 interview in support of her book Pornland, Dines specifically addressed Playboy and why she felt it was so insidious: ?The advertising in Playboy was about telling men that if you consume at this level, then you will get the real prize, which is the women in the magazine, or women who look like women in the magazine. So what [Hefner] did ? he didn?t just commodify sexuality, he sexualized commodities, which is his brilliance.

In addition to Dines, the late Jewish feminist Andrea Dworkin was considered one of the world?s most rabid anti-porn activists. She was known for going into stores, ripping up copies of magazines like Playboy, and claiming that the act was protected under free speech. As for whether we?ll see Israeli women going into grocery stores and ripping up copies of Playboy is yet to be seen, but I think it?s safe to say that Daniel Pomerantz has an uphill battle ahead of him.

As for me? I?m a pretty ardent feminist, but I also don?t think it?s fair to judge something before we?ve seen it. Pomerantz told Ha?aretz that he?s planning to include long-form journalism and fiction alongside the centerfolds in Playboy Israel, and I?m excited about the possibility of writing on par with the level of American Playboy?s golden era. Despite the old classic ?I just read the articles? joke, Playboy has been known for running great work from acclaimed authors like Margaret Atwood, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and Norman Mailer, and for paying them pretty reasonable rates as well. If Playboy Israel continues this trend, I would definitely read it just for the articles. My suggestion? See if Etgar Keret is interested.

Source: http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/169297/

billy beane road conditions newt gingrich wives at last al green gina carano burger king delivery

UN supports France's military intervention in Mali

An islamic theocracy** a system where women are forced to wear burka, where they can't go outside without a male sibling following them, where Homosexuals are killed for just being different and where they cut your leg off if you steel.

No, that's not what the people of mali want, that's why the majority of malians are praising france for saving their country? from becomming a theocracy. Mali is democratic, Syria isn't, that's why people support the government of Mali and not Syria's government.

Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QLTaWagRT0&feature=youtube_gdata

million hoodie march tebow trade mike the situation jacksonville jaguars jacksonville jaguars benjarvus green ellis shaka smart

Jack Reacher Sequels Seem Unlikely

Despite earning Paramount $700 million worldwide with Mission: Impossible ? Ghost Protocol, it looks like Tom Cruise won?t be getting to go ahead from the studio to turn his newest action film, Jack Reacher, into a franchise. Nothing is official just yet but if the film can?t do big business at the box office overseas, then it looks like plans for the sequel may be abandoned.

Though the film received mediocre reviews from critics, many still hoped that the studio would give Cruise another chance, especially given the fact that author Lee Child has written over 15 novels about the character.

Made on a $60 million budget, the film?s $150 million-plus worldwide haul isn?t anything to scoff at, but apparently Paramount is looking for $250 million before it will entertain the idea of a sequel.

Now, there still is hope for all you Reacher fans out there. The film has yet to be released in markets like Japan, China and more. If it makes a splash overseas, it could hit that 250 mark. It will be tough, but not impossible.

Personally, I wouldn?t mind seeing a Jack Reacher sequel. The first film wasn?t great but it did have its moments. If director Christopher McQuarrie and Tom Cruise could step it up a bit for round two, then it could work out. There?s certainly more than enough source material to draw from.

What do you think? Do you want to see a sequel to Jack Reacher?

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1926671/news/1926671/

whitney houston dies dolly parton i will always love you beverly hilton hotel whitney houston found dead i will always love you whitney houston 2012 grammy awards powerball results

8 Useful Tips for Developing a Good Web Design

Online businesses are growing in leaps and bounds as more and more number of people are taking to the internet to shop, share and interact. Even large corporate companies, various manufacturing industries, educational institutions and various other industries are harnessing the power of the internet for marketing purposes. Whether you are starting a new business, or need a boost to your old venture, use online marketing strategies to attract a wider target audience to use your products and services. If you don?t know how to use the internet to your advantage, hire professional and affordable web design services in London to help you make the most of your online business.
?
What Services Do Internet Marketing Companies Offer?:-If you aren?t familiar with online marketing procedures, then it is best to leave the job to professionals who will design different strategies to promote your business on the internet. When you hire professional and affordable web design services in London, you will be offered a host of online marketing services that are bound to improve your business and provide World Wide visibility to your brand. Good web design companies offer variety of web design and development services, SEO marketing, social media marketing, pay per click advertising, email marketing, marketing analytics, content management system and advanced website services.

How Do Online Marketing Companies Function?:-Online marketing companies offer highly customized services based on your marketing needs. They will work as a team along with you to understand your marketing goals and objectives. After analyzing your existing marketing position, they will design suitable marketing strategies and services. Companies that specialize in professional and affordable web design services in London will assign a specialized team comprising market researchers, graphic designers, content writers, programmers and web designers to handle your account from start to finish. Apart from providing marketing solutions, they will also track your online business performance and fine tune it to ensure complete efficiency.
?
Tips for a Good Online Campaign:-Although your agency specializing in professional and affordable web design services in London will ensure to develop an effective business website, here are some tips that you can use when designing a new business website. Use
graphics wisely, do not overload your site with unnecessary pictures. Make sure the content is brief, clear and factual. Write only what you are able to deliver. Avoid exaggeration. Include only active links and keep your website browser friendly. Make sure that visitors
don?t have to jump from one link to another, make navigation easy for them and provide all the tools they will need to take immediate action like support and services for web design.

Source: http://www.smartask.com.au/83825/8-useful-tips-for-developing-a-good-web-design

sarah palin today show dallas tornado video 1940 census instagram for android dallas news dallas fort worth dfw

bitterempress: 1800?s French Military Uniform Today?s Military Uniforms where did all the style...

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

Source: http://inclinant.tumblr.com/post/40168503018

independent spirit awards 2012 jan brewer independent spirit awards 2012 oscar predictions jim jones tony stewart kurt busch

Grand jury declines to indict parade float driver in Texas train collision

Wednesday, January 9, 2013 - 7:35pm

CNN ? A grand jury in Texas declined to indict the driver of a parade float involved in a deadly accident with a train during a November 15 parade, a prosecutor said Wednesday.

Four people were killed when the flatbed truck driven by Dale Andrew Hayden was struck by a train during a parade to honor the military.

Midland County prosecutor Eric Kalenak said the 12 members of the grand jury decided against indicting Hayden, who last month had been cleared by Midland police.

Hayden was driving the last flatbed truck in the parade and was crossing the tracks when an eastbound Union Pacific train slammed into the float, killing Marine Corps Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Stouffer, 37; Army Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin, 47; Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, 34; and Army Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers, 43.

At least 12 other people were injured.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in December that the grade-crossing warning system, which consists of a bell, lights and a gate, operated as designed, giving a 20-second warning of the train's arrival. The truck entered the crossing and the gate lowered, tipping over flag stands on the float.

The board re-created the accident as part of an investigation.
?

Source: http://www.ketknbc.com/news/grand-jury-declines-to-indict-parade-float-driver

mlk mlk school closures being human being human chicago news chicago news